At the end of the Han Dynasty: a stingy husband from his hometown

Chapter 68

"Chirp!"

After Zhou Cheng took the order, he went directly to the window on the second floor and sent a signal to the sky.

Xiang Hong had already taken people to station in the abandoned Prime Minister's Mansion on the opposite side. After seeing the signal from the restaurant, he didn't dare to neglect in the slightest, and immediately rushed out with 50 people under his command.

Since they are now in the city, and riding horses is not conducive to street fighting, these people did not ride horses, but temporarily changed to infantry.

In fact, Zhou Qi had already been preparing for this day. When he led his troops into the city, he stationed 50 people under his command not far from the Xiakexing wine shop.

Lieutenant Liu is a local snake who can easily hide his soldiers without being discovered by Zhou Qi.

Zhou Qi doesn't have that energy, so he can only calculate in advance.

However, the two confidants of Lieutenant Liu led 200 people to quietly hide in several nearby houses that had been vacated long ago, and were leisurely drinking wine.

Lieutenant Liu thought that his arrangement was perfect. Even though he ambushed 200 people, he did not think that he would use them. Even his two confidant generals who led the ambush had the same idea.

At the beginning, they would send people to pretend to be ordinary people from time to time and wander outside the liquor market to inquire for news.

When several waves of spies came back, they reported that Lieutenant Liu and the others were drinking heavily, and there was no conflict.

As time passed, the two confidant generals who didn't think anything would happen naturally relaxed their vigilance. They even took back the spies who were wandering near the knight's wine shop, and only sent two people to hide in the street far away and pay attention. Movement in the wine shop.

If we follow common sense, Zhou Qi didn't bring many men in. Lieutenant Liu and his five generals were all extremely skilled in martial arts and wore leather armor and carried weapons. If there was a conflict, it would be enough time for them to call for help.

Unexpectedly, when Xu Chu and the others made a sudden attack, Lieutenant Liu and the others were subdued before they had time to react.

Lieutenant Liu wanted to shout to attract the attention of the spies, but Zhou Chenggong directly knocked out two teeth and kicked him in the waist, causing him to lose the ability to shout.

Zhou Qi's movements were extremely fast, and he didn't give the opponent any chance to press him, and directly let Zhou Cheng kill him.

Such a vigorous and resolute method completely shocked the remaining five generals, so that no one dared to shout to attract the attention of spies outside.

This is why after such a long time, the two lieutenant Liu's confidants, the generals, did not realize that their superior officer had been killed.

It wasn't until Zhou Cheng in the restaurant sent a signal that Xiang Hong rushed out of the abandoned Xiangguo Mansion with fifty soldiers, and the two realized that something was wrong.

There was no doubt about their loyalty to Lieutenant Liu, and they immediately took up their weapons and greeted several soldiers in the courtyard, before running out in a hurry.

At the entrance of the Knights Walk Restaurant, the general who surrendered at the beginning held Lieutenant Liu's head and shouted at 200 people who were gathering in the distance: "Lieutenant Liu wants to assassinate Zhou, but I have already killed him here, so hurry up and leave!" Go, do you want to rebel?"

The two members of Lieutenant Liu's tribe saw the head with disheveled hair and face full of blood, and their eyes showed a strong color of hatred. One of them pointed at the surrendered general and scolded: "The traitor, the lieutenant usually treats you badly." Bo, but you are so ungrateful. If I don’t smash your dog thief into thousands of pieces today, it will be hard to relieve the hatred in my heart!"

The other person also scolded: "We are members of the Lieutenant's clan, don't we know his intentions? The lieutenant is absolutely impossible to rebel, it must be you and other thieves who flatter and invite favor, betray the master for glory, and frame the lieutenant."

Speaking of this, he turned his head and shouted at the 200 people behind him: "You are either accompanied by the lieutenant, or we are members of our clan. The lieutenant is generous and considerate of his subordinates. You have been favored by the lieutenant all these years."

"Today, the lieutenant has been robbed, framed by villains, and his body is in a different place. Will you all follow me to avenge the lieutenant?"

When the two hundred soldiers heard this, they immediately waved their weapons and shouted in unison: "I am willing to kill the dog thief and avenge the lieutenant!"

"The formation."

"Charge forward!"

"Kill the dog thief, avenge blood!"

When the two Lieutenant Liu's clan members saw this, their eyes flashed with cold light, and they commanded the two hundred soldiers in an orderly manner.

"drink!"

The 200 people quickly formed an formation. According to the usual training, the sword and shield soldiers charged in front, followed by the spearmen, and killed the 50 people led by Xiang Hong.

Their weapons are bright, their armor is bright, their army formation is rigorous, their momentum is like a rainbow, and they are full of murderous intent.

Zhou Qi, who was standing at the door of Xiakexing Winery, couldn't help but secretly marvel when he saw this.

He did not expect that these mere county soldiers could react so quickly. Even if they had never experienced any battle formations, they could form formations and charge forward in an orderly manner.

But soon, Zhou Qi was relieved.

It is not just a false slogan, but a history that actually existed.

No matter how the princes fought in the late Han Dynasty, they could easily defeat the foreign tribes surrounding China's borders. Even if the population was withered during the Three Kingdoms period and the nation as a whole declined to the extreme, the foreign tribes still did not dare to covet this fertile land.

The strength of the big Han lies in all aspects. Even the county soldiers who have never experienced battles can wear iron armor and have excellent weapons. This is why the Yellow Turban Uprising, which seemed to be huge, was suppressed so easily in the near future.

Although the great man is already in decline, his heritage accumulated over hundreds of years still cannot be underestimated.

Although they only have 200 people, if they really want to form a battle formation, relying on the strength of armored weapons, they can even defeat thousands of rebels, their strength must not be underestimated.

Zhou Qi's face became a little solemn when he looked at the two hundred county soldiers fighting in this formation.

This time, he only wanted to kill Lieutenant Liu to convict him, and did not want to commit more killings. This was not because Zhou Qi had a mother-in-law, but because he did not want to make the matter too big.

The strength of the two hundred elite county soldiers is extraordinary, if they really want to fight to the death with the fifty cavalry brought by Zhou Qi, even if Zhou Qi has a fierce general like Xu Chu to charge into the battle, the soldiers under his command will suffer a lot.

These soldiers are all soldiers and horses entrusted to him by Yang Qiu. If there are too many losses, Zhou Qi has no way to explain to Yang Qiu.

Thinking of this, Zhou Qi immediately took two steps forward and shouted loudly: "Fellow soldiers, I am an official under the command of Sili Xiaowei. I came to Xiang County in addition to collecting evidence of the crimes committed by the late Pei Guo Prime Minister Wang Ji during his tenure. In addition, Lieutenant Liu must also be investigated for colluding with him to harm the people."

"Although you have been favored by Lieutenant Liu, the laws of the court cannot be ignored. Lieutenant Liu is afraid that his crimes will be exposed, and he wants to kill me for working in a wine shop. How is this move different from treason?"

"Fortunately, several generals abandoned the secrets and turned to the bright side. At the critical moment, they brought order to the chaos and killed the traitor Lieutenant Liu. This way, I was able to save my life."

"You are soldiers of the country, deeply favored by the emperor, how can you act rebelliously because of a traitor, and harm your family?"

"If you all disperse at this time, forget the blame for what you have committed before. Otherwise, it will be too late to regret when you are defeated and killed, and your family is implicated!"

Zhou Qi's voice was very loud and his speech was very fast. In the end, his tone became more and more severe.

The two hundred soldiers who were charging towards them were suddenly suffocated after hearing Zhou Qi's words.

Except for the clansman selected from the family by the two generals, even Lieutenant Liu's township party and some of the personal guards felt a little hesitant at this moment.

Whether Lieutenant Liu had rebelled or not was unknown to ordinary soldiers like them.

Since the four generals under Lieutenant Liu's command, as well as Zhou Qi, the capital official, all said so convincingly that he was treasonous, then this charge can basically be confirmed.

If Lieutenant Liu was still alive, these soldiers and the township party who had benefited from him would naturally obey his orders without hesitation, even if he committed a serious crime and killed Zhou Qi.

But now, the backer of Lieutenant Liu is dead after all.

If they still insist on attacking and killing Zhou Qi and the soldiers of Sili Xiaowei's mansion at this time, even if they can win in the end, they will still be charged with the crime of treason, and they will not escape death in the end.

Even their families will be implicated.

With hesitation in their hearts, some soldiers who were charging immediately slowed down deliberately, and the originally tight formation suddenly became a little scattered.

Don't underestimate the name of righteousness.

At the beginning, Cao Jie, Wang Fu and other eunuchs held the young emperor and Queen Dowager Dou hostage, and under the guise of righteousness, they were able to make thousands of soldiers under the general Dou Wu's command disperse, and the soldiers were defeated and died.

At this time, Zhou Qi represented Sili Xiaowei and the imperial court. He had the right to investigate, arrest and even kill Lieutenant Liu.

Out of anger, these soldiers wanted to kill those generals who surrendered to avenge Lieutenant Liu, but they might not dare to do harm to Zhou Qi, a subordinate of the captain of Sili.

Unless they really want to rebel.

Looking at the two hundred soldiers who were in chaos because of his words, Zhou Qi secretly winked at Xu Chu.

Xu Chu understood immediately and strode to join Xiang Hong and others who were coming towards him.

Seeing this, one of Lieutenant Liu's confidant generals immediately gave Zhou Qi a bitter look, then turned around and shouted to the two hundred soldiers: "We are not raising troops to betray the imperial court, but to investigate the matter clearly."

"If Mr. Zhou is willing to hand over the murderer, we will not mess around. Otherwise, even if blood is spilled here, we will seek justice for the lieutenant!"

"If we die, we will die, but we can't make the lieutenant wronged by Jiuquan."

The 200 people reacted after hearing the words, and they all shouted: "Hand over the murderer and seek justice for the lieutenant."

However, they no longer continued to maintain their formation and charge forward like they did just now.

When Zhou Qi saw this, his face darkened.

The person who killed Lieutenant Liu was Zhou Cheng, and the instigator behind the scenes was Zhou Qi himself. These four surrendered generals were just shields for Zhou Qi to use.

If they really hand over a few people, even if Zhou Qi holds a few certificates of surrender, they will most likely turn Zhou Qi in.

If that's the case, things will be difficult to handle.

Thinking of this, a cold light flashed in Zhou Qi's eyes, and he sneered secretly: "No matter what era, the way of imperial court and those who are fluctuating in their hearts, the combination of grace and power is the most effective method."

"For this kind of people, blindly admonishing them with righteousness is not very effective. If they are encouraged, they may make progress."

"If you want to control the situation, you must use thunderous means to scare the monkeys and make these people feel fear."

Zhou Qi's later generations also encountered several group incidents where crowds gathered to make trouble. Back then, the Internet was not so developed. To deal with such apparently instigated incidents, they first captured the leaders by means of thunder and made the remaining people feel afraid. No matter how good you are, comfort them and help them resolve their demands.

In this way, things can be calmed down quickly.

However, since the development of the Internet, this method naturally cannot be used, and law enforcement has become much more civilized.

Now it is the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and the method of using both kindness and power to scare the chickens to scare the monkeys is naturally useful, so Zhou Qi does not intend to continue to reason with these people.

His previous words had already planted the seeds of hesitation in the hearts of those soldiers. If he did not use thunderous means to intimidate everyone now, but continued to give earnest advice, it might even be counterproductive.

Zhou Qi pointed at the two leading generals and shouted at Xu Chu, "Zhongkang, behead the two thieves!"

Seeing Zhou Qi's sudden change of face, the [-] soldiers who had been temporarily boosted by the two generals suddenly felt chills in their hearts. They didn't expect that Zhou Qi would act so vigorously and would kill someone if he disagreed with him.

At this time, they were in a dilemma. They didn't know whether they should continue to follow the two generals to cause chaos, or stop here.

After all, no one really wants to be saddled with the charge of rebellion.

If this is the case, his own death is the second priority, and it would be an unforgivable crime to implicate his family and clan.

Xu Chu promised loudly, and then holding the long knife he had received from Xiang Hong, he rushed towards the direction of the 200 people.

Xiang Hong was worried that Xu Chu would make a mistake, so he ordered his soldiers to follow him.

But Xu Chu shouted: "I alone will be enough to kill these two thieves, and Bode will lead the troops behind!"

Hearing this, Xiang Hong had some hesitation on his face, and turned to look at Zhou Qi to ask his opinion.

Zhou Qi was also a little surprised when he saw Xu Chu's performance, but he quickly figured out the key point, and couldn't help secretly praising Chu for being bold and careful.

At this time, the nerves of the two hundred soldiers were tense. If Xiang Hong led his men to follow, it would most likely be counterproductive and arouse their resistance, so a melee between the two sides would be necessary.

Although Xu Chu was brave, if the two generals hid behind the soldiers and commanded the battle, it would not be easy for him to break through the enemy's formation and kill them in a short time in the face of [-] fully armed soldiers.

In order to prevent soldiers from both sides from suffering losses, Xu Chu chose to end this seemingly intractable conflict in his own way.

He came forward alone, came to a position less than ten meters away from the front of the opponent's formation, pointed at the two generals with a knife, and said with a sneer: "You two gangsters, you want to persuade others to suffer the great crime of treason and attack and kill the commander. Wouldn't it be ridiculous for the officials under Li Xiaowei's mansion to work, but hide behind and dare not go forward?"

"If you are really men, don't bet on the lives of your brothers. You two will come together. If you can fight me undefeated, I will ask Zhou to hand over the murderer, so that you can find out more about the murderer." Investigate this matter. If Lieutenant Liu is really wronged, Mr. Zhou will definitely seek justice for him."

Even though Xu Chu looked like a reckless man, his method of provoking a general was quite heart-wrenching.

Sure enough, when the two generals heard Xu Chu's words, their faces turned red immediately. Seeing that the 200 people were all looking at them, they were in a dilemma.

Although these two people maintained their bravery, looking at Xu Chu, who was nearly two meters tall and weighed more than three hundred kilograms, the strong sense of oppression still made them feel a little palpitated.

If you dare not accept Xu Chu's challenge, then it is equivalent to being greedy for life and fearing death, but using the wealth and lives of your brothers to block the gun, which will inevitably make the two hundred soldiers feel alienated.

Zhou Qi secretly praised Chu Jiji, and took a few steps forward and said loudly: "Zhongkang's words are my meaning. If you two still have some sense of responsibility, why shouldn't you do this?"

The two people were in a dilemma. Seeing that everyone was focusing on them, they finally looked at each other. One of them shouted to Zhou Qi: "I hope Zhou Qi will keep his word."

Zhou Qi pointed his finger to the sky and said: "Heaven and earth are proof, I will never break my promise!"

When the two heard the words, they immediately strode out without continuing to ink.

Although they didn't have the confidence to defeat Xu Chu, if they just fought against each other and were undefeated, they would have some confidence because they were wearing iron armor.

Seeing the two of them walking out, a bright smile suddenly appeared on Xu Chu's face.

He didn't waste any time, just picked up the big knife and rushed towards the two of them like a human tank.

Seeing this, one of them shouted in a low voice: "Fight with him, you will be invincible!"

Based on Xu Chu's size alone, they could guess that the opponent's strength is infinite, and if he fights recklessly, he will definitely end up miserable.

But people of this size are often not very flexible. Speed ​​is Xu Chu's weakness. It is not difficult to wrestle with him for ten rounds.

Seeing that the two of them had begun to disperse, Xu Chu's expression remained solemn.

However, when he started to get three meters closer to the two of them, his speed suddenly exploded, and he rushed directly in front of one of them, raised his big knife and chopped it down.

The fact that Xu Chu of such a size could burst out with such speed was beyond everyone's expectations.

The man was caught off guard and hurriedly raised his sword to block, but he only felt a burst of force, and his hands holding the weapon were broken. Then he saw Xu Chu's sword getting closer and closer to him.

"Pfft!"

In just one move, the general's head was missing.

The other person's eyes were about to burst, but he was also horrified. Seeing Xu Chu continuing to charge towards him with the sword, he was so frightened that he couldn't care less about his dignity and fled directly in the direction of the two hundred soldiers. go.

The position where the several people fought was close to two hundred soldiers. Even if Xu Chu's explosive power was amazing, it would be difficult to stop the opponent before he hid in the army formation.

If the other party really hides in the military formation, things may have to change again.

Xu Chu didn't panic when he saw this, he kicked his right foot suddenly, and a stone flew out like a shooting star, just hitting the calf of the fleeing general.

Xu Chu's strength is so great that even a small stone can be very lethal.

"what!"

The man fell to the ground, holding his broken calf, and let out a miserable scream.

Xu Chu took this opportunity to stride forward, cut off the head of the general with a single knife, and then lifted the opponent's head, looking fiercely at the two hundred soldiers who were at a loss.

Everyone's expression changed and they didn't dare to look at him.

Only two swords, two heads.

From today onwards, everyone in Xiang County knows Xu Chu's name.

Xu Zhu walked towards Zhou Qi with his head in his hands, but the 200 people still did not dare to move rashly.

Zhou Qi was overjoyed when he saw this, and hurriedly ordered Chen Wen to bring the glass of wine that he had poured for Xu Chu before. He imitated Cao Cao in the novel and touched the glass, turned around and said to everyone: "The wine is still warm."

Then he praised: "Zhongkang is a real warrior!"

　Today the two chapters are combined into one and published together, and there is no more later.In addition, I would like to ask everyone for follow-up reading, especially tomorrow’s follow-up reading, which is really important and related to next week’s recommendation, please brothers!
　　


(End of this chapter)