Zhu Li instantly remembered Shi Pu and Chen, and without hesitation put them on the list of people who must be killed. However, getting rid of them was not an easy task.
How to eliminate the two thieves and replace the Xuzhou folks with better officials has become a difficult problem.
Zhu Li frowned and looked around in confusion, and suddenly saw a young boy, who was the boy they rescued first. The boy's name was Wang Zeng. He had almost starved to death before. Even now, Wang Zeng still had a lingering fear on his face.
Ever since Zhu Li and others rescued him, he knew that there was no food anywhere else except Zhu Li's place, so he stayed here in a very funny way and refused to leave, no matter what they told him to do.
"Wang Zeng, you seem to have said that the Ganhua Army has set out again. Who are they going to attack?" Zhu Li asked casually when he saw Wang Zeng.
Wang Zeng was very happy to see the kind-hearted general talking to him, and said quickly: "General, I know this. I heard from the rent collectors that the Ganhua Army is fighting against bandits. It seems that a group of bandits have fled to Xuzhou, and the leader seems to be called Shang Rang."
"Shang Rang?" Zhu Li was doubtful, "Do you know where Cao's army is now?"
"I don't know." Wang Zeng shook his head and replied somewhat embarrassedly. He just happened to hear the news and remembered it unconsciously. First of all, he didn't listen carefully. In addition, those people were just chatting and didn't reveal much, so it was impossible for him to know everything.
"Zaixing, you and Jing Ming go out and ask around. I want to know about Shang Rang's situation?" Zhu Li instructed immediately.
"promise"
Yang Zaixing and Jing Ming turned around and walked out of the room, untied the reins in the yard, jumped on their horses, and took a dozen ghost warriors with them. They went straight out of the yard and ran out of the town of Yongfengli, heading somewhere unknown to get news.
Those who stayed behind chose empty houses that could be repaired and tidied up as temporary residences, and Zhu Li delivered the purchased food to the homes of the villagers who had residents. He also asked people to buy some daily necessities such as cotton-padded clothes and quilts, and gave them all to the villagers.
The group of people waited for two days before Yang Zaixing and Jing Ming came back.
"How is it? Any news?" Zhu Li asked immediately when he saw Yang Zaixing.
"General, Huang Chao has been fleeing eastward since his defeat in Chang'an, attempting to escape to the lands of Yan and Xu. However, Zhu Wen pursued him too closely, forcing Cao's army to deviate from the direction."
"Some time ago, when we were still in Yangzhou, Huang Chao had already captured Caizhou and forced the Caizhou governor Qin Zongquan to surrender; now Huang Chao and Qin Zongquan have joined forces and are attacking Chenzhou." Yang Zaixing replied quickly.
Zhu Li frowned when he heard this. He mainly wanted to know about Shang Rang, so he continued to ask, "Why did Shang Rang flee to Xuzhou?"
Jing Ming interrupted and said, "Sir, the reason why Shang Rang fled to Xuzhou was because Huang Chao's attack on Chenzhou was unsuccessful."
"Well, what's going on?"
"Huang Chao attacked Chenzhou with three routes. Huang Chao and Qin Zongquan led troops from Shangcai and attacked Chenzhou from the west. General Meng Kai of Cao Army advanced to Yingzhou and led troops from Shenqiu and attacked Chenzhou from the south. General Shang Rang stationed troops in Taikang and attacked from the east."
As Jing Ming was speaking, Yang Zaixing could not help but interrupt and said, "It's just that Chenzhou Governor Zhao is a fierce man. He not only swore to defend Chenzhou to the death,
He also killed the Cao army general Meng Kai, cutting off the connection between Huang Chao and Shang Rang. Huang Chao had no choice but to send Qin Zongquan to replace Meng Kai. But at this time, Zhu Wen came to Chenzhou. With Zhao and Zhu Wen joining forces, Huang Chao's plan to capture Chenzhou became even more difficult to achieve.
"Huang Chao wanted to retreat, so he ordered Shang Rang in the east to advance eastwards, intending to capture Xuzhou. Now, Shi Pu's Ganhua Army and Shang Rang's Cao Army are facing each other in Xiao County."
"Did they go to war?"
"Not yet, just a standoff."
Zhu Li's expression eased slightly after hearing this. He turned to look at Yan Keqiu and said, "Sir, if I sneak into the Cao army and fight against Shi Pu, what are my chances of killing Shi Pu and Chen the two thieves in battle?"
Upon hearing this, Yan Keqiu frowned and smacked his lips. After a while, he cupped his hands and said, "General, if you really want to do this, there is a great chance of killing Shi Pu, Chen Pan and others. But have you ever thought about who will take over Xuzhou if Shi Pu, Chen Pan and others are killed? If Xuzhou falls into Huang Chao's hands, what is the difference between this and being controlled by Shi Pu? I'm afraid that all your efforts will only result in a tiger being sent out from the back door and a wolf coming in from the front door."
"We can let the Korean soldiers take control of Xuzhou." Wang Zeng suddenly said.
"Go away, the general is deciding an important matter, kids shouldn't butt in." Wang Zeng's interruption made Yang Zaixing very dissatisfied, and he scolded him casually.
After being scolded by Yang Zaixing, Wang Zeng felt very aggrieved and murmured in a low voice, "The Korean scholar is very famous, has great ambitions, and treats us people very well, but no one believes him."
Zhu Li didn't think the Korean scholar the kid mentioned was that powerful, but the name was quite intimidating. Seeing the kid's aggrieved expression, he couldn't help but comfort him, "Think of the people. Wang Zeng, the Korean scholar you mentioned is at least not a bad person."
When Yang Zaixing heard this, he knew that Zhu Li was trying to comfort Wang Zeng, but with his gossipy nature, he couldn't help but say, "Your Excellency, I have heard of this Han Guoshi before. He is a very good person. His real name is Han Zhi. In order to attract the attention of the government, he claims to be an expert in military tactics and a peerless national hero, and he pretends to live in seclusion in Yunlong Mountain."
"But this man can't even support himself, and sometimes he even does sneaky things. Everyone hates him. Not only did the former Wuning Jiedushi Zhi Xiang not want to deal with him, but even the current Shi Pu looks down on him."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Li burst out laughing. There are such people in this world. There are really all kinds of people.
But Wang Zeng saw that the man he admired was actually spoken so badly by Yang Zaixing, so he quickly retorted: "The state scholar once said that heroes are mostly butchers, and scholars are always the most heartless. Fill your stomach and wait for the opportunity. What does a little bad reputation mean? Just wait for the day when the storm comes and heroes fight to save the people."
When these words were spoken, not only Yang Zaixing was stunned, but Zhu Li and Yan Keqiu were also stunned. If these words were really said by that notorious person, it could be seen that he was definitely extraordinary. At least he was not pedantic, but also a resolute person who could endure humiliation and bear heavy burdens.
Yang Zaixing thought about himself. In this life, hadn't he also been hanging around in the market? Not long ago, he was involved in a murder lawsuit. Having lived two lives, he naturally considered himself a hero. He never looked down on himself and had a high opinion of himself. However, he was not as arrogant and shameless as this so-called patriot. Although he conceived himself to be a hero, he never spoke about it out loud or publicized it.
The Han Zhi mentioned by Wang Zeng is more shameless than him in that Han Zhi is very self-righteous and brags about it everywhere, as if he is afraid that others don't know it.
Zhu Li seemed to realize something when he heard this. He looked at Xiao Wang Zeng seriously and asked solemnly, "Do you know Han Zhi?"
Wang Zeng nodded slightly when asked, and said embarrassedly: "Han Guoshi is almost known to everyone in Xuzhou. Before the autumn harvest this year, when I was about to starve to death, he appeared in Yongfengli and gave me two chicken legs. He took care of me for several days before leaving."
"Didn't you say that he lived in seclusion in Yunlong Mountain?" Yan Keqiu wondered.
When Xiao Wang Zeng heard this, his face turned even redder, and he stammered, "He claimed to be living in seclusion in Yunlong Mountain, but he would also go down the mountain to look for food, and sometimes he would walk around everywhere."
It seems that the rumors about this person stealing and cheating are not groundless. However, this person has attracted Zhu Li's attention, and he wants to meet him.
Yan Keqiu's analysis prevented Zhu Li from acting rashly. It was undeniable that the other party's concerns were very reasonable.
If they really followed Zhu Li's plan, even if they killed Shi Pu, Chen and others, there was no guarantee that Xuzhou would not fall into Huang Chao's hands. Given Huang Chao's usual practices, there was no guarantee that the people of Xuzhou would not be taken away by him.
Before killing Shi Pu and others, it would be best to find someone with outstanding abilities and who cares about the people to replace him. Wang Zeng's mention of Han Zhi made Zhu Li think of someone.
He wanted to meet this person to confirm his guess.
Yunlong Mountain, also known as Shifo Mountain.
The mountain is winding like a dragon, roaring to the east and dragging its tail to the southwest; the mountains are magnificent and the valleys are deep and the lakes are clear.
Since he had decided to meet Han Zhi, Zhu Li certainly would not just talk the talk and not do anything. The next day, he took Wang Zeng and Yang Zaixing and rode to Yunlong Mountain.
Yunlong Mountain is not big, and the three of them wandered around for two or three hours without finding Han Zhi.
It was almost noon when the three entered the Stone Buddha Temple. This ancient temple was first built during the Northern Wei Dynasty and was renovated once during the Xingyuan period. It got its name because there was a large stone Buddha from the Northern Wei Dynasty in the temple.
Although it was a time of turmoil and it was almost the end of the year, the Stone Buddha Temple was still visited by many tourists. Among the visitors were not only devout believers who came to worship Buddha, but also literati and scholars who came specifically to see the cliff carvings.
Some actors even chose a relatively open place, built a huge stage, and performed singing and dancing. It was the most famous "Seven Virtues Dance" from the Tang Dynasty. You may not be familiar with the "Seven Virtues Dance", which is the "Dance of the Qin King Breaking the Formation".
It tells the story of Emperor Taizong Li Shimin defeating Liu Wuzhou. The actors danced very gracefully, left circle, right square, first biased, then five, fish beautiful, goose crossed, Ji Zhang, Yi Shu, alternating flexion and extension, head and tail turning back and forth, stabbing back and forth, like a battle formation.
But before the play was over, there was a sudden sigh from the audience, and a man shouted: "The Seven Virtues is beautiful, but it is too sonorous and not heroic enough; it is not as good as the Great Wind Song in the Hundred Plays, which can better show the man's high-spirited spirit and the lofty spirit of wielding a sword to conquer the world."
A single word caused a thousand waves, and countless people looked at him sideways. Hatred, anger, spitting, etc., became agitated in an instant, like a hundred birds making noise in the forest, and the sound was endless.
One must know that the "Seven Virtues Dance" had been polished, processed, and perfected by Emperor Taizong himself. The person who suddenly spoke out and commented on the "Seven Virtues Dance" in this way was simply treasonous.