Gu Qingfeng had been dead for a long time before the county lieutenant of Huayin County came slowly with several constables.
Before he could ask what happened, Zhu Li forcefully pulled the man aside.
Without saying a single word to the other party, Zhu Li showed the fish talisman to the county lieutenant without saying a word.
It was a pure gold fish token. Although it was only half, it immediately made the county lieutenant become timid.
Even officials may not have a fish token. At least a county magistrate is not qualified to wear it.
In the Tang Dynasty, only officials of the fifth rank and above were qualified to wear fish-shaped symbols, but they were only copper fish-shaped symbols; only princes and officials of the third rank or above were qualified to wear pure gold fish-shaped symbols.
The county lieutenant was just a minor official of the seventh rank. When he suddenly saw the token of an official of the third rank or above, he was stunned and didn't even bother to ask who the dead person was.
With the help of the fish token, Zhu Li successfully met the county magistrate and asked for a set of county magistrate's robes, as well as several official uniforms of the county lieutenant and minor clerks. Of course, Zhu Li also took over the defense of Huayin County from the county lieutenant.
Since the several evil servants who came with Gu Qingfeng had already been detained by Qi Miaoge's men, Gu Yanlang and others probably didn't know about Gu Qingfeng's death. As for these evildoers, they probably wouldn't be able to return to the Gu family for the rest of their lives.
The next day.
A team of Yue cavalry, about a thousand people, carrying a large flag with the word "Gu" on it, galloped towards Huayin County.
There were only a thousand people, and it was obviously not Gu Yanlang who came in person; Zhu Li immediately ordered Geng?m, Shu He and others to attack.
Geng?m, Shu He and others had been lying in ambush on the road that must be taken to Huayin early in the morning. They were also under the banner of the Tiande Army. When the enemy was still several miles away from Huayin City, Geng?m and others jumped out and immediately met the enemy. The moment they approached the enemy, Geng?m didn't even say hello, but suddenly exploded and killed the leading captain with just one halberd.
The main general was killed, and the rest of the troops were still in disarray in the wind. Geng?m and Shu He immediately took advantage of the situation and rushed forward to kill them. The poor thousand-plus German cavalrymen didn't know what was going on, and they were killed and fled in all directions.
A small victory, killing over a hundred enemies and capturing three hundred; of course, this was just a bait, a bait to lure important figures from the Gu family to come.
According to Pan Kang, Gu Yanlang was originally from Fengzhou. After he joined the Tiande Army, he was promoted by Cai Shuxiang and soon became a general. At some point, Gu Yanlang and Tian Lingzi became friends. With Tian Lingzi's support, Gu Yanlang left Song Yao with his trusted subordinates and formed his own town.
As a result, Gu Yanlang's clan members moved to Guanzhong and settled near Lantian Pass west of Huayin.
Lantian Pass was called Yao Pass in the Qin Dynasty. It was moved to Qingni in the Northern Zhou Dynasty and renamed Qingni Pass. It was renamed Lantian Pass in the Northern Qi Dynasty and has been in use ever since.
Tongguan and Lantianguan, one in the east and the other in the west, are two important passes that protect Huazhou.
Gu Yanlang's family lived west of Lantian Pass, which was close to Chang'an, but Gu Qingfeng's notoriety made him a household name even in Huazhou.
After defeating a Yue cavalry of a thousand men, the important figures of the Gu family finally arrived; in the afternoon, a large number of Tiande troops rushed to Huayin.
Upon receiving the news, Zhu Li immediately closed the four gates. According to Pan Kang's plan, the two of them dressed in the robes of county lord and county lieutenant and walked out of the city to meet them.
There were quite a lot of Tiande Army soldiers this time, roughly estimated to be six or seven thousand. The leading one was a fair and handsome man, about thirty-four or thirty-five years old, giving people a feminine and strange feeling.
The visitor saw from afar that the four gates of Huayin were closed. There was only an old man in the robes of a county lord and a young assistant officer waiting there at the foot of the city.
The other party's intention was very clear. The four gates were closed, which meant that the county magistrate did not want to let the army into the city; the fact that he went out alone to meet the soldiers also meant that he had no intention of making enemies with the Gu family. Even if he had to enter the city, he hoped that only important people would enter.
The fair-skinned man was none other than Gu Yanlang's younger brother, Gu Yanhui.
Gu Yanlang had already led more than 10,000 of his direct subordinates to Qizhou. The one who is now in charge of the Gu family is Gu Yanhui, the second-in-command of the Gu family.
The eldest nephew did not return home all night, and could not bear the crying of his sister-in-law, so he immediately sent out a team of cavalry to search for her.
But what he never expected was that as the Yue cavalry had just approached Huayin, the leading captain was chopped down, and the rest of the troops were scattered, with less than a hundred people escaping.
What he could not have imagined was that the subordinate who committed such a rebellious act was actually Geng Xin, who had always been conscientious and in charge of logistics.
At this time, he had no time to care about his nephew. He knew Gu Qingfeng's temper. This bastard might have been busy in the brothel all night and overslept. It was not surprising that he did not return home at night.
But once it comes to the major issue of military disobedience, finding Gu Qingfeng becomes just a small matter.
Upon receiving the report from the defeated soldiers, Gu Yanhui immediately led his men to Huayin to seek an explanation from Geng Yan.
But when he arrived at Huayin, he sent out countless scouts but could not find any trace of Geng M, and unknowingly came to the vicinity of Huayin City.
In his opinion, Pan Kang was undoubtedly the magistrate of Huayin County, and he knew what the other party meant by this behavior.
He lazily waved his hand to stop the army, rode forward, and asked Pan Kang in a dissatisfied tone, "Why did you close the city gates, sir? Do you think I, Gu Yanhui, am a bandit or a robber?"
Upon hearing this, Pan Kang secretly complained in his heart, if you knew that Gu Qingfeng died in Huayin City yesterday, you would not be just a bandit or a robber. I guarantee that you will immediately turn into a devil who eats people without leaving any bones.
Although he thought so in his heart, Pan Kang still bowed and forced a smile on the surface, saying: "General Gu has misunderstood. Two groups of your troops were fighting several miles away this morning. It was very tragic. In order to avoid being affected, I had no choice but to do this."
"As the chief official of Huayin, I must consider the safety of the people in this city. I hope the general can forgive me." Pan Kang was talking nonsense, but he was calm and no one could see anything unusual on his face.
As for the safety of the people of Huayin, Gu Yanhui didn't care, but he was confident about the fighting mentioned by the other party.
Before Pan Kang finished speaking, Gu Yanhui narrowed his eyes and asked in a deep voice, "Did Mingshang see the fight?"
Pan Kang shook his head and said apologetically, "How could I have seen it with my own eyes? This was seen by the county lieutenant, who then sent someone to report it to me."
Upon hearing this, Gu Yanhui immediately asked anxiously, "Excuse me, sir, where is the county lieutenant? I wonder if I can meet him."
Upon hearing this, Pan Kang immediately pointed to Zhu Li beside him and said seriously, "I think the general may ask some questions, so the county lieutenant has come out with me. If the general has any questions, feel free to ask."
Zhu Li was actually dressed in the attire of a county lieutenant. Following Pan Kang's direction, Gu Yanhui naturally turned his gaze to Zhu Li.
There was a man in front of him who looked very young, but extremely ugly. His green face was so green that one could vomit the food left over from the previous night. Gu Yanhui only glanced at him and turned his eyes away, but he said coldly: "This general asks you, did you see with your own eyes the fight between the two teams of the Tiande Army?"
Zhu Li quickly cupped his hands and replied, "Yes, General."
"Can you describe the situation to Gu?"
"I am willing to serve you, sir." Zhu Li bowed again and continued, "This morning, I was inspecting the towns as usual. Not long after I left the city, I encountered a group of Yue cavalry from the Tiande Army, riding from the direction of Lantian Pass."
"But at that moment, another group of Tiande Army guards came to meet them. When the two sides met, there was no joy at all as if they were meeting comrades in arms."
"The general of the Tiande Army who came later was a fierce man with a face as fierce as a lion. As soon as they met, he swung a halberd and killed the Moon Cavalry Captain on the opposite side like lightning. Then he shouted loudly, and the two teams started fighting."
His face is like a lion, isn't that exactly Genghis Khan's appearance
Moreover, Gu Yanhui heard from the defeated soldiers that they did not see clearly where Geng Yan came from at that time. As soon as the other party met them, he killed their captain and started slaughtering them without saying a word.
It seemed that the county lieutenant was not lying. With this in mind, Gu Yanhui asked, "What happened next?"
"Later, the Tiande Army suddenly appeared and defeated the Yue cavalry coming from the west as easily as cutting melons and vegetables. They fled to the west with hundreds of people."
"Westward?" Gu Yanhui raised his eyebrows suddenly, "Are you sure it's westward?"
You know, Gu Yanhui came from the direction of Lantian Pass. As soon as he received the report from the defeated soldiers, he gathered his subordinates and rushed over without stopping. If Geng?m and others went west, how could he not have encountered them? This was what puzzled him.
"It went west. I dare not lie to you, General." Zhu Li immediately pretended to be trembling with fear. "Oh, I also heard the leading general say something. He was the general who was as brave as a lion."
"What did he say?" Gu Yanhui's eyes moved and he asked quickly.
Upon hearing this, Zhu Li pretended to look at Gu Yanhui timidly, and then said timidly: "The general seemed to say, 'The little calf of the Gu family has fallen into my hands. As long as you present this generous gift to General Zhu, you will definitely be able to get a general in return.'"
As soon as these words came out, Gu Yanhui's face instantly became ferocious. Could it be that the little calf of the Gu family was Gu Qingfeng, and he also fell into Geng Yanhui's hands
He couldn't help but think so. After all, his elder brother Gu Yanlang only had Gu Qingfeng as his son. Geng Yanlang captured Gu Qingfeng and planned to present him to a general named Zhu in order to seek promotion.
A Gu Qingfeng could actually be replaced by a general. It is conceivable that the general surnamed Zhu must not be a friend of the Gu family. In Guanzhong, the Gu family rarely has enemies. Just because there were no enemies in the past does not mean there will be no enemies in the future.
Didn't Tian Lingzi recruit Gu Yanlang to march west to Qizhou just to deal with Zhu Mei? If Geng Xin captured Gu Qingfeng just to offer him to Zhu Mei, then it would make sense.
In this day and age, it is not uncommon for generals under one's command to suddenly rebel, capture the relatives of their former master, and offer them to the enemy in order to seek promotion. Gu Yanhui could not help but believe it.
After asking questions, Gu Yanhui didn't even say thank you, and led his troops to turn around and chase westward. This time, he finally got something. When approaching Lantian Pass, Gu Yanhui found a headless corpse placed in a bamboo basket. Judging from the clothes and accessories on the body, it was most likely Gu Qingfeng. Seeing this horrifying scene, Tang Gu Yanhui cried out in pain, and said with anger: "Geng?m, Zhu Mei, I will make sure you die a miserable death!"