The summer thunderstorm came and went quickly. In less than an hour, the clouds stopped and the rain stopped. A ray of sunshine shone into the tavern from the hole in the wall, shining on the three strong men who had been tied up. At this time, they no longer had the arrogance and arrogance they had before. They all looked down and looked at each other, letting others take advantage of them.
In front of the three of them, in addition to a few people from Sun Tu who had fought with them, there were also some strong men from the town who came after hearing the news. The leader was Li Zheng Wang Xi of Qingdian Town. But at this time, there was no joy on his face. Instead, he was full of worry. After looking at Sun Tu and the others furtively, he muttered: "This... what should I do?"
Although these words were spoken very softly, they were still heard by many people around them. Before Sun Tu and the others could speak, the girl had already spoken first: "You happen to be unreasonable here. Let's help you." The thieves who disturbed the place not only refused to thank you, but actually acted like this. Could it be that you are an accomplice with them?" As she spoke, her pretty face became cold, and her hand was on the horse she had just taken off her horse. On the Yuanyang long knife, there is an awe-inspiring evil spirit.
Wang Xi was so frightened by her that he hurriedly defended himself: "How could a villain associate with them? In the past few years, we in Qingdian Town have been harassed and bullied by these thieves. It was too late for us to prevent them. "
As he said this, the young men in the town who were also looking sad next to him all nodded in agreement: "Yes, yes, we are all responsible people, how dare we associate with such thieves..."
Only then did Sun Tu speak slowly: "Wang Lizheng, there is no need to panic. I can see that you are all good people and will never collude with thieves. But your reaction to this matter cannot help but make you suspicious. . If you have any difficulties, just tell me. Although I am not a local official, I can help you calm the place as long as I can."
"May I ask if you are... from the government?" Wang Xi asked expectantly after hesitating for a moment.
"Yes, I am a sixth-grade military attache of the imperial court who has gone to Qingzhou to take up a post. If you have anything to say, just say it. Even the prefect of Jeju can see me."
"To be honest, these three men and their accomplices have long been a serious problem for us in Jeju. They are known as Jeju thieves..." After a slight hesitation, Wang Xi finally revealed the other identity of the three heroes of Jeju.
It turns out that the real trouble for the people in Jeju is not the group of bandits hiding in Yangshanbo, but this group of thirty or fifty bandits who come and go like the wind. Shandong's folk customs are fierce, and due to the convenient location, many families raise horses, so a group of guys who are unwilling to live an honest life and have practiced martial arts, riding and archery gather together and rob houses and houses in this area, and looting becomes common. Known as horse thieves.
Compared with the Liangshan heroes who do not eat grass from their nests and abide by the moral principles of the world, these thieves have no bottom line at all. As long as they provoke them, or if they find out that someone has a lot of wealth, they will come to the door and kill the whole family of the target, and even several villages and towns have been wiped out by them.
After hearing the name of the thief, Zhu Sanlang, the girl, and the long-haired Toutuo who had just watched with cold eyes all showed strange expressions on their faces. Sun Tu did not pay attention to their reactions at this time, but asked with some surprise: "Since the thieves are in trouble, why do you
Why not report them to the government and let the government army destroy them? Could thirty or fifty bandits still be able to resist the army? "
"Brother Sun doesn't know anything. The horse thieves are the most cunning and good at judging the situation. As soon as there is any sign of trouble, they will flee and sneak into the surrounding mountains. The government has used troops against them several times, and it is because of this. Let them escape and escape, so all the people can do is defend themselves." Zhu Sanlang immediately answered.
"Hey, Brother Zhu actually knows their way of doing things. Have you ever dealt with them before?" Sun Tu looked at the other party curiously and asked.
"As long as you are from Jeju, who doesn't know all the evil deeds of the horse thieves that have emerged in the past two years? Moreover, I Zhujiazhuang and the surrounding Huli Village have formed an alliance to attack and defend. In addition to guarding against the Liangshan group of thieves, In addition, it is also to resist the thieves who come and go like the wind." As he said that, Zhu Sanlang glanced at the girl next to him and added in his heart, but it was an unexpected joy to be able to get close to Sister Rong.
After a pause, he continued: "However, since I, Zhu Hu Li Sanzhuang, formed an alliance to fight against the thieves, these thieves have known how to escape and have never harassed us again. I just didn't expect them. He actually came here to cause trouble..."
Wang Xi nodded and said: "Yeah, this past year, these horse thieves have done a lot of harm to the villages and towns in our area. When the officers and soldiers came, they were nowhere to be seen. We can't keep them stationed in the town. So..." After saying that, there was another sigh. Immediately, he glanced at the three wilted guys on the ground, and said with a sad face: "Now the three of them have been captured in our town of Qingdian. As soon as the news spreads, I'm afraid those fellow thieves will come soon." Revenge. Moreover, a man who was at the same table with them had already left early. He knew that these three people had been to my town. Now something happened to them... What should we do..." Thinking of fear, he suddenly Shivered.
Not only him, but the faces of the young men were also full of panic, and they kept saying: "Yeah, what should we do? Our town has no cover. Once they come, with only our few manpower, there is no way to defeat them." I can’t resist it. A town full of hundreds of people will just..."
These words made Sun Tu frown even more. He really didn't expect that there was such a large force behind the Three Heroes of Jeju, and that he could bring such disaster to the local people when he was a thief.
At this time, Nie Wanxiong, who was the least injured, suddenly said with a cruel smile: "Now you know what the consequences will be, right? If someone with sense releases our brothers quickly and gives us those horses, then If you spend five thousand gu to buy your life, maybe grandpas can let you go. If you dare to disobey again, the people of your town will be dead soon... Ah..." Before he could finish his words, a The slender and delicate long legs flew over and kicked him, hitting him right in the face. The kick made him fall on his back, and blood flowed out. The girl Hu Rong, who was suddenly kicked out, had her eyebrows raised, her pink face was cold, and she screamed sweetly. He said: "If you, a prisoner like you, dare to boast nonsense, I will kill you first!" As he said that, he had already drawn a knife and was about to step forward.
Fortunately, Sun Tu reacted quickly enough and stopped her quickly, saying urgently: "Girl, please don't be impatient. Even killing the three of them will not help at this time. It may be more effective to save their lives."
Being stopped by him, Hu Rong's movements were like a pause, thinking
He wanted to retort, but after meeting Sun Tu's eyes, his heart skipped a beat, his pretty face turned red, and he obediently stopped and said no more. This reaction naturally fell into the eyes of Zhu Sanlang and Ya'er, who was guarded by Tang Feng a little further away. Both of them felt a little uncomfortable in their hearts.
Sun Tu, on the other hand, was focused on business and did not pay too much attention to the girl's strange reaction. He quickly turned around, stepped on Nie Wanxiong's body, and said in a deep voice: "Tell me honestly, where are your accomplices hiding? Tell me. The government may be able to spare your life, otherwise I can kill you on the spot based on the serious crimes you committed before!"
"Haha, do you think I'm afraid of death? As long as you're not afraid of pulling a whole town of people to bury me with you, just kill me. If you frown, grandpa won't be considered a hero!" Nie Wanxiong took a sip with disdain, even though he was lying on his back. The ground was in a very embarrassed state, but he still looked back at Sun Tu fearlessly.
"You..." Zhu Sanlang was furious when he heard this. He took a step forward and said, "Don't be complacent. We have many means to keep you alive but not dead!" Obviously, he wanted to torture him.
But Sun Tu immediately shook his head and denied this choice: "No, I'm afraid it's too late to torture them now. Just now, the three of them mentioned that they would go to Jeju City to celebrate the birthday of their accomplices tonight, and now It's almost evening, and I'm afraid it won't be long before those horse thieves realize something is wrong with them."
After hearing this judgment, Wang Xi and others were even more panicked, trembling all over and saying, "This... what should we do?"
"Don't worry, since this matter is caused by us, and we are responsible for you, I, Sun Tu, will never abandon you and leave without caring about you." Sun Tu said, and glanced at the people around him. Luda didn't care. He nodded hesitantly and said: "Yes, aren't they just thirty or fifty horse thieves? The Sa family wants to compete with them to see what abilities they have that can disturb the peace of the entire Jeju Prefecture!"
Hu Rong immediately followed and said: "Yes, these horse thieves are causing trouble in all directions in our territory of Jeju, so we naturally have to eliminate them for the people. If they encounter us this time, it will be the end of them. Zhu Sanlang, do you think so? no?"
Zhu Sanlang was still murmuring in his heart, after all, there were really few people here who could fight, but since Hu Rong said so, he couldn't go against his sweetheart's wishes, so he nodded: "Of course we want to eliminate harm for the people. , but how to deal with them must be carefully considered, and we must think of a way to defeat the enemy."
"Brother Zhu, what I said deeply touched my heart. Although we have fewer people, we may not have no chance if we are calculated mentally or not. And I believe that few of those thieves can be as powerful as him. Ordinary people Bandits are not too much of a threat." Sun Tu said, looking at Cao Xinxiong who was still unconscious, and began to quickly formulate a strategy in his mind.
At this time, another voice sounded from the side: "Since we are in this town, I can be counted as one of the ones who kill the bandits." The voice was loud but unfamiliar. It was Toutuo who had not made any move, and spoke.
Sun Tu had seen before that this person was extraordinary and should be a master. Seeing him taking the initiative to help at this time, he was also happy: "Okay, this way we have a better chance of winning. But before arranging everything, we must first It's better for the old and the weak to hide. Wang Lizheng, I think there should be a safe hiding place in this town, right?"