After dark, the house of Hu Mingzong, a well-known wealthy businessman in Jeju City, was brightly lit, and guests kept visiting because today was his fiftieth birthday.
Although the officials in the city did not condescend to express their congratulations in person due to their status, they all ordered their subordinates to express their gratitude. As for the other businessmen and gentry, they were all present, and there was even a banquet in the front yard of the Hu family. Ten seats and hundreds of guests gathered to celebrate his birthday. For this reason, the Hu family even invited famous opera troupes from Shandong to perform here for three consecutive days. It was really lively.
But apart from this lively birthday celebration scene, in the study room of the Hu family's third courtyard, the birthday boy Hu Mingzong could not see a trace of joy on his face. Instead, he frowned deeply and looked at Looking at the burly men in front of him with fierce expressions on their faces, he said: "Brother Cao and the others were not late for Chinese New Years and festivals in the past. Today, I am fifty years old and they will not be late. Why are they not late at this time today?" Haven't arrived yet? Did something happen on the way?"
No one would have thought that Hu Mingzong, a famous businessman in Jeju City, always likes to repair bridges and roads and do good deeds on weekdays. In times of disaster, he would spend a lot of money to help the local poor. The leader of the horse thieves who has been causing trouble in Jeju for many years and has claimed at least hundreds of innocent lives. And today, in addition to the good and conscientious people who came to congratulate him on his birthday, there were actually many of his fellow bandits.
Just when someone wanted to reassure him not to worry too much, a man with a scar on his face said: "Boss Hu, earlier today I was traveling with Brother Cao and the others, and we were only two people away from here. We broke up with you in Qingdian Town, which is ten miles away. They had planned to find some good things after beating you and then come to celebrate your birthday. Could it be that they were delayed because of this?"
"It won't take so long to find a fat sheep, and it's already this hour. Could it be that they really encountered some hard idea?" A man with a fair face and a slight beard also frowned and said, "Where is Qingdian Town?" They also have our eyes and ears, maybe..."
Before he finished speaking, there was a sudden knock on the door: "Master, there is a brother named Chen Dong who is anxious to see you, saying something big has happened."
"Boss, Chen Dong is our eyes and ears in Qingdian Town. If he comes here right now, I'm afraid something went wrong with Cao Laosi and the others." This person immediately made a guess, but in fact, he didn't need to say anything else. Hu Mingzong had already spoken immediately: "Let him come in and talk!" As the door opened, more than a dozen pairs of eyes immediately fell on the thin, dark man who entered the door and looked like a complete farmer.
Chen Dong was stared at by these people, his heart trembled, and his body trembled, and then he hurriedly prostrated: "I have seen Boss Hu... Boss, Fourth Brother Cao and the others lost their hands during the day, and unexpectedly He fell into the hands of someone from the government and is still imprisoned in Qingdian Town. I heard that he will be escorted to the capital early tomorrow morning."
"What?" Even though they had expected it, after hearing this report, the faces of these men all changed. The white-faced man even asked eagerly: "What on earth is going on? We didn't hear that Have soldiers and horses been mobilized in Jeju Prefecture in the past two days, or have officers and soldiers from elsewhere just happened to encounter them?"
"When we got back to the military advisor, Brother Cao and the others were captured by a few people from the government who were passing by. They didn't
Not our local officials in Jeju Prefecture. "Chen Dong immediately told everything he knew about what happened. Although he was not in the tavern at the time, he still found out how Sun Tu and others captured Cao Xinxiong and the others through inquiring.
After listening to his story, everyone showed expressions of disbelief. One of the impatient ones said loudly: "This is impossible! There are only four or five government officials, and there is a girl among them. How could they How many of you can possibly take down Brother Cao? Let’s forget about others. With Brother Cao’s martial arts skills, how could he be arrested? Tell me honestly, there are hundreds of officers and soldiers in the town now?”
"Just... there are only six or seven passing guests at most, and there are only three or five people here with official backgrounds. I don't dare to hide anything about this matter." Chen Dong was immediately a little confused when he asked him. He became nervous and quickly explained.
Seeing that he was about to say anything more, the white-faced military advisor had already waved his hand: "Forget it, Lao Qi, don't worry, it seems that what he said is indeed the truth. Boss, this time Cao Laosi and the others have indeed encountered a hard idea. , after all, there can be powerful roles in the government, he is just unlucky."
Hu Mingzong had regained his composure at this time. When he heard this, he only darkened his face and nodded: "Lao Er Bai, he is right. Chen Dong has been with me for many years and would never lie to me on such a big matter. Er Er, take it." What should we do when we get down?"
Before Bai Kuan, their wise man, could reply, two brothers shouted anxiously: "Boss, what else is there to think about? Our brothers will naturally be saved if they fall into the hands of the government."
"Of course I know I want to save them, but the question now is how to save them!" Hu Mingzong glared at the two brothers angrily, then looked at Bai Kuan and said, "Waiting for them to bring them to Fucheng. Should we take action again, or should we take the lead here? If it’s the latter, should we go to Qingdian Town to rob people, or should we set up an ambush halfway along the road?"
As the leader of this gang of horse thieves, Hu Mingzong certainly cannot be a reckless person, and his thoughts are naturally more meticulous than those of his other brothers. As a think tank and military advisor, he looked at the matter more profoundly and said after a brief thought: "We can't wait for Cao Laosi and others to enter the city before rescuing them. First, we can't guarantee that they will definitely come to the city. Maybe they are just talking. After all, Chen Dong said that they also have government backgrounds, and the people who captured us might take them to their own prefectural government offices to ask for merit. Secondly, even if they really escort people to Fucheng, our chances are not high, or even It may cause trouble for the boss."
After a pause, he added: "As for the interception halfway, there is a problem. They will not go according to our expectations in terms of time and route. Moreover, although there is only one official road from Qingdian Town to Fucheng, it is still There are several mountain roads. Once they choose to take a small road, it will be difficult for us to save people if we are scattered. Therefore, while they are staying in Qingdian Town at night, it is the best choice to go there to rescue people."
The brothers immediately agreed: "What the military advisor said is the most reasonable. Boss, without further ado, we will set off right away. This time we will not only rescue Fourth Brother and the others, but also bloodbath Qingdian Town and let the government know We are awesome!”
Hu Mingzong glanced at Bai Kuan and saw him nodding, then he slammed the coffee table and said: "Just do it like this. We are really too peaceful during this period, and the government dared to attack our brothers, right? We should let them know about us
incredible. "After saying that, he stood up and wanted to lead people out.
But then Bai Kuan stood up and stopped him: "Brother, wait a minute. There are still so many guests in the house now. If you take people out like this, it will only arouse suspicion. It is better to wait until after the second watch for everyone to disperse. It will not be too late for us to leave the city." . In this way, when we arrived in Qingdian Town, it was the third or fourth watch, which was also the time when their vigilance was at their most relaxed, making it easier to succeed."
"Okay, I'll do what you want. You all can be patient for a while, go ahead and fill your stomach, remember to drink less, and I'll send those guests away around the second watch before leaving the city to rescue people." Hu Mingzong waved his hand and ordered. Those men were the most impressed by him and immediately agreed, then they all dispersed and ran to the front yard to find something to eat.
Only Bai Kuan still had a strange look on his face when he turned around. He was always a little uneasy. He always felt that it was too smooth for Chen Dong to run from Qingdian Town to Fucheng so easily. Didn't the other party know that Cao Xinxiong Their true identities? It's just that he couldn't explain this concern to anyone in detail for a while, so he could only hope, so he thought too much.
Hu Mingzong's patience was still not enough. After only one watch, he had already found an excuse to send away all the people in the city who came to celebrate his birthday. Before the second watch, he and more than 20 brothers put on more powerful clothing that was more conducive to fighting, brought bows and arrows, swords and guns and other weapons, and pulled the horses out of the side door of his house. He left Jeju City quietly, and then rushed all the way to Qingdian Town, which was twenty miles away.
Half an hour later, this group of people had arrived in front of Qingdian Town. Under the faint light of the stars and moon, they saw the small town of Dian, which was completely shrouded in darkness. Everyone's eyes flashed. There was no need for Hu Mingzong to give orders. These people had already picked up their bows and arrows, clamped their legs on the horse's belly, and controlled the horse to rush forward at high speed with just two legs, blowing into this place like a gust of wind. A completely undefended town.
When they rushed in from the east end of the town, the leading horse thieves had already fully drawn their bows without hesitation, and shot arrows through the windows into the houses on both sides. No matter whether there were government soldiers or just ordinary people inside, they had only one idea, and that was to kill everyone.
More than 20 horse thieves, led by Hu Mingzong, rushed forward while constantly shooting arrows into the houses and shops on both sides of the road. But what surprised them was that after the arrow was shot in, there was no scream or scream as expected, and no one was so frightened that they ran away. This made the people who had already put their hands on the waist knife The horse thieves actually felt like they had nowhere to go.
Seeing this, Bai Kuan felt more and more uneasy. Just when he wanted to remind everyone that something had changed, a brother who was at the front suddenly pointed to an open space at the turn on the right front and shouted: "Then What is it... It’s Fourth Brother and the others!”
Everyone followed closely and turned around, just in time to see a bonfire lit there. There were three tied people struggling and squirming beside the fire, although their mouths were also tied with cloth strips. Although most of their faces were covered, people could still recognize them at a glance as Cao Xinxiong and the three of them!
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