Six months ago, a salesman appeared in Xiangyang who was not very good-looking but could not help but attract some people's attention.
This man is tall and never trim. He often wears messy clothes and a messy beard. He is taciturn but kind to others. Every day, he carries a load carrying some candy snacks that children like or linen needlework and other items, and travels between Xiangyang's urban and rural areas, rain or shine.
There are many such salesmen everywhere. It was an accidental incident that brought him to people's attention. On that day, he was still carrying a load to sell goods in the port city in the north of the city. Suddenly, a frightened crazy horse rushed into the port city, knocking over many stalls and injuring some people. Seeing that it was about to crash into a shop that specialized in making and selling candy, there were many children, women and children, and it was full of dangers. At this time, the salesman's thorn came out, and hit the side of the horse's head like lightning. With just one punch, he knocked the crazy horse to the ground!
A tragedy was averted, and people seemed to notice for the first time that this secretive and incredibly powerful salesman only had one arm.
"General, I respect you!"
In a private house, the salesman raised his bowl with one hand and smiled at Qin Mubai, doing it first as a sign of respect.
Qin Mubai held up the bowl, but he was not in a hurry to drink it. Instead, he looked at the familiar yet unfamiliar man opposite him and smiled.
"Zhang Tong, have you always stayed in Xiangyang?"
"No, I just came back a year ago." Zhang Tong wiped his mouth and grinned, a little ashamed, but without reservation or scheming.
Just a year or two ago, the Zhang Tong in front of me was still a glorious member of the Hundred Cavalry. He, Pang Fei and 30 other Baiqi accompanied Qin Mubai to Xiangzhou, but secretly helped his biological father Wei Xiaochen betray Qin Mubai, and finally cut off his arm to atone for his sin. From that time on, Qin Mubai never heard from him again. Unexpectedly, he met him again here today.
When old friends meet, all the grudges of the past are about to disappear. What is now here is more emotion and sigh.
Qin Mubai drank a bowl of wine and looked around at the shabby and dilapidated house. There was still a knife hanging on the wall. It was the Baiqi sword that he used to chop off his own arm that day. . Other than that, everything is ordinary and basic.
Qin Mubai said: "Zhang Tong, why didn't you return to Chang'an?"
"I'm back." Zhang Tong nodded and replied briefly, "I returned to my hometown to recuperate from my injuries and stay with my mother. My mother passed away not long after, and I couldn't have peace every day in Chang'an, so I came to Xiangyang again."
"No peace?" Qin Mubai frowned in confusion.
"King Wei." Zhang Tong frowned and said, "I don't know where he got the news about me, so he wanted to win me over to his camp."
"Winning you over?" Qin Mubai was even more confused, "Why?"
Zhang Tong smiled slightly and said: "Have the general forgotten the Xiangyang Water Ghost Case? There were not many people who really knew all the truth at that time. The villain is one of them. In fact, the villain is already a useless person, and he has no I have no power, no reputation, no hope, what use does the King of Wei have for me?”
Qin Mubai couldn't help but feel bright in his heart and said, "He wants to target King Wu and me?"
Zhang Tong glanced at Qin Mubai, nodded solemnly, and said: "The Xiangyang Water Ghost case involves many people, including the Chang'an Weidu family, and also involves many officials and squires in Jingxiang area. Xiao He did not promise the King of Wei anything, but vaguely felt from his words that in addition to wanting to know all the details of the Water Ghost case, he also expected the villain to make perjury and slander the general and the King of Wu about how they were corrupt and perverted the law in Xiangzhou. Massacres and massacres, as well as secret collusion to form a faction with evil intentions against the East Palace.”
Qin Mubai nodded slowly and said: "By the time you returned to Chang'an to recuperate and King Wei knew the news, it would have been around the time when Emperor Yang's mausoleum was discovered. At that time, King Qi happened to plot to assassinate the East Palace and put the blame on it. Give me and the King of Wu a rebellion. It was indeed a cruel move for the King of Wei to find you at that time and ask you to testify. Firstly, you are someone close to me who knows everything about the case. Secondly, you are your best friend. The identity is also a powerful explanation. If you had agreed to join the King of Wei, the King of Wu and I would have been quite passive."
"So the villain didn't agree." Zhang Tong's expression was very calm, but his eyes were shining with two scorching lights, and he said sonorously, "Zhang has betrayed the general once, and his conscience will be punished, which is worse than death! It is extremely unfilial. If so, my mother's death is not as painful as the condemnation of my conscience! Even though Zhang has lost his arm, he cannot forgive his previous sin! How could he betray the general again?"
Qin Mubai breathed a sigh of relief and nodded, "Come on, drink this bowl!"
After drinking a bowl of wine, Zhang Tong said: "At that time, Zhang was still observing filial piety, but he didn't care so much and escaped overnight. Originally, I wanted to find you and explain this to you, but at that time... Zhang was really shameless. Go to see the general again. Moreover, the general was also in trouble due to the rebellion of King Qi. If Zhang showed up again, he would be more suspicious. So Zhang changed his name and returned to Xiangyang, starting an inconspicuous job. "But General Pang Fei knows the villain! It is precisely because General Pang Fei is here that the villain dares to live in seclusion in Xiangyang."
Qin Mubai couldn't help but smile: "Pang Fei, that brat, has a good mouth. He didn't tell me about you even when we met."
"Perhaps we just met and didn't have time to talk!" Zhang Tong smiled and said, "Today, I ran into General Pang Fei and several of his former colleagues on the street, and ran away in a hurry. Seeing those former colleagues, I also said Knowing that the general was coming to Xiangyang, the villain waited patiently after hearing the news. At midnight, he finally met the general! "
Qin Mubai nodded deeply and smiled: "Zhang Tong, I said that day, you are guilty, but you are not wrong. I have never really blamed you. Now, no matter what you choose If you can live a peaceful life like this, I feel relieved. Although your current life is a bit miserable, it can be considered a normal life. In this way, you don't have to live a shady life incognito. It's all over, I don't blame you, and King Wei won't have any more ideas for you. Just go to Qinxian's business to find a job, buy a decent house, and find a decent wife. I'll make arrangements for you."
"No, no, no!" Zhang Tong stood up hurriedly, waving one hand and saying in panic, "Zhang Tong will have no regrets in his life if he can see the general again and have a conversation with him over wine like this! Zhang Tong is a sinner. , I have no shame in going back to the general, and no more shame in seeing my former colleagues! General... Please forgive me for not accepting this!"
Qin Mubai looked at Zhang Tong with a smile and nodded: "Everyone has his own ambitions, I won't force you. However, the door of my Qin family will always be open to you. Whenever you have any difficulties, just come to me, no need to be polite ”
Zhang Tong's face covered with the vicissitudes of life and messy beard was tensed up, his eyebrows were knitted and he looked at Qin Mubai with fiery eyes. He raised a fist and put it on his chest, saying: "General, even though I'm a villain, I am no longer worthy of being a soldier, but in the villain’s mind, the villain will always be the general’s soldier! Please accept the villain’s single fist and bow!”
Clenching his fists, he knelt down on one knee. He lowered his head, and although he endured it, tears flowed down unsatisfactorily.
Qin Mubai stepped forward and slapped his fist together, just in time to make a fist-clenching military salute.
"I accept this prayer."
"Thank you General!"
Zhang Tong's tears flowed out like a torrent and he couldn't hold it back any longer, so he kowtowed on the ground.
Qin Mubai didn't pull him up or ask him to stop. Perhaps, this would make him feel happier and untie the knot that had been suppressed in his heart for a long time.
Quietly, Qin Mubai took off his money bag and put it on the table. He patted Zhang Tong, who was still kowtowing, and said, "I'm leaving, take care of yourself."
"Farewell, general!" Zhang Tong did not try to hold him back, but turned around on the ground and continued to kowtow to the door where Qin Mubai left.
Banging sounds seemed to fall on Qin Mubai's heart.
"How can I, Qin Mubai, be so virtuous? I am not even a good person, but I am worthy of Zhang Tong treating me like this... A Zhang Tong with a broken arm, many Zhang Tong who died in battle, and many more who are still with me today. Zhang Tong.”
"Cherish it!... Their existence proves that my life is not in vain!"
Walking out of half a dark alley, a series of hurried footsteps suddenly sounded behind me, and Zhang Tong's voice: "Qin...!"
Qin Mubai noticed that Zhang Tong came back to return the money bag, so he stood and waited for him to speak.
Zhang Tong stood still, looked around warily, and whispered: "The villain was so excited that he forgot to tell the general an important matter! General, please come back to your humble residence!"
Qin Mubai frowned: "Okay!"
When the two returned to their humble abode, Zhang Tong seemed to be back to the hundred-horse guard he had been back then. He carefully checked that there was no one watching or listening through the wall, and then he returned to the house. Only then did he catch a glimpse of the money bag on the table, and his expression froze. I must have been kowtowing just now when I suddenly remembered this and ran away without even looking at the table.
Qin Mubai smiled and said, just accept it, don't push it, just talk about business.
Zhang Tong sat next to Qin Mubai and whispered: "When the villain returned to Chang'an, he stayed behind closed doors. One day, a man suddenly came to see me. He claimed to be from Dengzhou and was the King of Qi. The person’s surname is Liang.”
"Liang Mengbiao?" Qin Mubai said it in one breath.
"Yes, it's him! The villain once met him in Xiangyang, and he has always been with King Qi, but has never interacted with him." Zhang Tong said, "At that time, he almost made the same request as King Wei, that is, to I will provide evidence that you and the King of Wu rebelled in Xiangyang, and then I will be promised a high official position and a generous salary."
"Well, that's not surprising." Qin Mubai said, "Liang Mengbiao must have followed Yin Hongzhi's order to find you. At that time, they were already plotting to intercept King Qi and Princess Gaoyang who had returned to Beijing to confess their crimes. , and forced me and the King of Wu to rebel."
"These villains don't know that it was precisely because of his appearance that the villain escaped overnight. However, the villain heard an amazing news from his mouth!" Zhang Tong said.
"what news?"
Zhang Tong lowered his voice and said: "The King of Qi rebelled in Dengzhou at that time, and there may be an insider in the court!"
"What?!" Qin Mubai was startled, "Who is it?!"
"He didn't say anything," Zhang Tong said. "He just said that as soon as Dengzhou takes action, the capital will launch an attack to force the palace. At the same time, they hold a secret that even His Majesty the Emperor is very afraid of, so they are fully qualified to do so." Negotiating the price with the imperial court! This is exactly what he encouraged me to do, saying that as long as I provide evidence to force the general and the King of Wu to rebel, it will be a great achievement!"
Hearing this, Qin Mubai's heart was filled with a layer of gloom, "Is there a secret that even His Majesty the Emperor is afraid of?"
"Yes, that's exactly what he said." Zhang Tong said, "I don't know the details. They didn't say much to me. When I heard this, I was terrified, so I pretended to agree and accepted it. The purchase of two pieces of yellow goods made them relax their vigilance and fled overnight to avoid being silenced. "
"Well done, you have not dishonored the name of Baiqi!" Qin Mubai took a deep breath and nodded, "At that time, you were not enough to report anyone. After all, it was just one-sided words without evidence and not credible. It was right to flee overnight. But didn’t you find out anything about the internal affairs of the DPRK? "
"The villain also wanted to inquire at the time. But he was afraid that asking too much would arouse their suspicion, so he didn't dare to ask more questions." Zhang Tong said, "However, that Liang Mengbiao didn't seem to know very well, which made him a little curious. To show off. The villain deliberately tried to get close to him and talked to him while he was drunk. He only vaguely mentioned a word that made the villain very strange-Xiandi! "
"First Emperor?" Qin Mubai was even more surprised.
"Yes, the villain's memory is absolutely true and cannot be wrong. The secret may be related to the 'First Emperor'. But what it is specifically, I'm afraid Liang Mengbiao doesn't know either." Zhang Tong said.
Qin Mubai nodded slowly, thinking, now Yin Hongzhi, Li You and their gang members are all dead. Facts have proved that they did not use any internal agents or so-called "secrets" at that time, otherwise they would not have been defeated so quickly, and the court would not have seen any abnormalities.
"Who is the spy and what kind of secret is it?" Qin Mubai fell into deep thought...