The sullen Jiang Ye closed his mouth, his eagle-like gaze hovering back and forth over Zhang Jeff and Le Lin. After the three people faced off for a while, Xu Ping suddenly took two steps forward and bowed to the three heroes: "Although I

I am greedy for life, but I will not force others to make things difficult for me. I will go to the official position on my own and will not involve the three of them, but..."

Xu Ping pointed to Zhong Guinian and Hei Baoyi behind him, and said to Zhang Jeff and the others: "It's just my two friends. I hope that Zhang Daxia will take more care of them so that they can leave this Dezhou city safely."

Looking for the three Texas heroes is Xu Ping's way to survive. If the other party refuses to help, he will never believe that three people can fight out of the city. Now Xu Ping is determined to give these three heroes a reward.

, in exchange for Zhong Guinian and Hei Baoyi being able to escape. In the past, Xu Ping could insist that they were just his businessmen friends if he missed anything, but now because the arrested spy confessed that he had surrendered, these two people would definitely

Once arrested, there will definitely be no way to survive.

Le Lin hurriedly shouted: "General Xu, wait a minute." He was worried that if Xu Ping was tortured and confessed, the relationship between their brothers was not small. Zhong Guinian was not willing to let Xu Ping die, and only Hei Bao was cold.

He snorted: "Why go out? It's better to grab the city gate and fight your way out of this bird city than to die."

Zhang Jeff looked at Jiang Ye angrily and asked: "Master Jiang, I know you are not a person who repays kindness with hatred. How long are you going to pretend to be hesitant?"

Jiang Ye shook his head, sighed helplessly, and slowly said to Xu Ping: "General Xu, you saved my life. If I don't save my life, it would be the behavior of a beast..."

After several people discussed the specific details, Zhang Jeff called a close disciple and asked him to arrange for Xu Ping and the others to hide temporarily.

After Xu Ping and others left the house, Jiang Ye stared into Zhang Jeff's eyes and asked, "Are you going to put your treasure on the thieves? Not only have the thieves robbed us, they also want the lives of people like us."

Zhang Jeff turned around uncomfortably and said nothing. Le Lin on the side helped: "That's why we have to do this. We just want to leave a way out."

"Risk the lives of the whole family for this?" Jiang Ye asked reluctantly. Helping Xu Ping escape from the city was not too difficult for these three local gangsters. Needless to say, the local garrison in Texas was the new army.

There is also their relationship in it. But we are not afraid of ten thousand, just in case. Although the possibility of this matter being exposed is small, the consequences will be extremely serious.

"Today's the world!" Zhang Jeff, who had been silent until now, suddenly jumped up, pointed at Jiang Ye's nose and shouted at him: "Are you blind?"

…

The next day, taking advantage of the darkness before dawn, Hei Baoyi and Zhong Guinian got into the empty barrel on the cart one after another. Xu Ping thanked Zhang Jeff who came to see him off. The latter said a few polite words,

He suddenly said: "General Xu, in the final analysis, we are just ordinary people in troubled times. The people under our command also have families to feed. In troubled times, we have to put our conscience aside and do things that are unavoidable. Please don't

Look down on us so much.”

Xu Ping looked at Zhang Jeff with some surprise, and he could barely see the wry smile on his face in the night.

Zhang Jiefu added: "General Xu, Yuanbao has been with our senior brothers for many years. He is not someone who doesn't know what is going on."

Xu Ping was speechless for a moment and hesitated a few times before getting in the car. At this time, Zhang Jeff took out two letters and handed them to Xu Ping. He lowered his voice and said: "General Xu, this is for the heroes of the Central Plains and the heroes of Heluo.

"Xia, they have an old relationship with Jiang Daxia. If General Xu is unsuccessful in breaking into the camp in the future, he might as well go to Kaifeng or Luoyang to find them."

Xu Ping put away the letter: "Master Zhang, I am no longer a general of the imperial court."

After the caravan left, Jiang Ye hummed and said, "I hope Zhang Daxia's prediction is good. Although it is a piece of cake, you still have to take risks."

"Don't worry, Xu Ping is a cold-hearted person, probably because he comes from a humble background. He will be fierce when someone tries to push him, but he will become soft-hearted as long as he pretends to be pitiful. He is very good at this. If he breaks into the camp one day

Big," Zhang Jeff stroked his beard: "He will never let us down."

In the dim light of the early morning, the heavily guarded Dezhou city gate slowly opened, and large vehicles from Jiang Ye's caravan filed out of the city gate hole. Accompanying Yuanbao was a new army commander from the fire-fighting camp.

The fire-fighting camp flag on this caravan was the one he was ordered to bring from the camp. Along the way, President Qian talked and laughed with Yuanbao, and even talked about Xu Ping's deeds several times.

This long convoy headed west along the official road. When it got dark and was far away from Texas, the fire camp president Qian and Yuanbao said goodbye. Then a car in the convoy left the convoy and headed straight for the jungle along the path.

Finally, we stopped at a secluded and deserted stream.

After Yuanbao asked the coachman to get off the car, he immediately went on foot to catch up with the team. After the coachman's back turned into a small dot in the distance, Yuanbao took out the iron rod from under the seat, jumped on the back of the car, and nailed the three wooden barrels one by one.

After Xu Ping and others got out, Yuan Bao pried open another wooden barrel behind the car and took out all the swords and firecrackers inside. He handed these to Xu Ping and pointed at the three barrels tied to the back of the car.

The horse said: "General Xu, I will send you here."

"Thank you, Young Master Yuan."

"General Xu, please take this very seriously." After Yuan Bao finished speaking, he turned back, untied the bundles of dry firewood in the car, poured oil on them and lit them on fire.

The three of them rode on horseback and continued on their way. After entering the Dongjiang Army activity area, Xu Ping still did not reveal his identity, leaving Zhong Guinian in charge of taking care of everything. On the morning of October 12th, they had arrived in Jining Prefecture.

After changing horses in the afternoon, the three of them slowed down and rode their horses slowly on the road. During the conversation, Xu Ping and Zhong Guinian would burst into laughter from time to time, while Hei Baoyi followed them silently.

At a fork in the road, Zhong Guinian cupped his fists at Xu Ping and said, "Brother Xu, we have to say goodbye today. I don't know when we can see you again."

The branch road heading north in front of him leads to Dongchang Mansion, where Zhong Guinian's caravan is waiting for him, while Hei Baoyi and Xu Ping will go west into the Henan realm. Xu Ping straightens his body and rushes towards Zhong Guinian on horseback.

He clasped his fists solemnly: "There are close friends in the sea, and we are as close as our neighbors in the world. Brother Zhong cherishes them."

"Brother Xu, please take good care of me. I will see you at the Golden Palace in the future." Zhong Guinian wore a sword around his waist. Not only was he a disciple of Niu Jinxing, he also had the identity of a scholar as a cover. At this time, the scholar could wear a sword around his waist.

A sword was even more convenient for Zhong Guinian. He shook the horse's reins and clamped the horse's belly hard, and the horse galloped away with Zhong Guinian.

Xu Ping stared at the heroic figure as he walked away, and called Hei Bao back: "Brother Hei, let's go."

…

On the second day of November, heavy snow suddenly fell on the land of Henan. Xia Dahai looked at the heavy snow everywhere and shouted happily: "It has been snowier every year in the past three years. It seems that there will not be another severe drought next year."

Several fellow villagers nearby nodded in agreement. However, the snow also had some impact on their actions. Under the heavy snow cover, it became more difficult to find vole nests. Xia Dahai carefully searched the ground

, occasionally packing a few wild vegetables and tubers into his baggage. Although he did not find any field mouse nests or snake holes today, he still searched with hope. There was an indescribable premonition that supported Xia Dahai.

, this feeling has been very strong since he opened his eyes this morning, making Xia Dahai believe that he will have good luck today.

Last year, the drought had been greatly alleviated. The 60-year-old village chief said that they had never seen so much snow in a winter in their lives. After the autumn harvest, the wolf-like government officials took away most of the grain.

However, the farmers still could not pay off the grain arrears accumulated over the years. The famine did not disappear because the drought eased. The farmers still had no food. Before winter came, the women and children had stripped the bark of nearby trees and collected all the bark they could find.

Small animals are caught to satisfy hunger.

I heard that Li Zicheng, the king of Chuang, was besieging Luoyang. All the Ming army's actions to relieve Luoyang in the past few months had failed. Pedestrians on the road rumored that the Bian army was defeated by the Chuang army again last month. Liu Zongmin, the brave general of the Chuang camp, had been chasing the defeated troops.

The Ming army went straight to Hulao Pass, and the Bian army fled here before using Xiongguan to barely gain a foothold. The Ming army in the west either fled or surrendered, and had been wiped out by the Chu army.

Xia Dahai and other men have recently begun to search for food in the wild. This year's harvest is nearly 20% more than last year. People's situation is better than in previous years. Every family has hidden some food secretly. As long as they find a way

If you dig out a few more vole nests and catch a few more hibernating snakes, you may be able to survive this winter. Xia Dahai wondered how he would not be forced to eat soil again this year, although eating Guanyin soil can make people survive.

It is the most difficult life, but many people will fall ill or even die from it.

"Eat his mother, wear his mother, King Chuang will not pay for food when he comes." Xia Dahai finally dug a field mouse nest, and he hummed softly with joy. His hands were so cold that he lost all feeling, but Xia Dahai still carefully dug a vole nest.

Every seed in the rat's nest was picked out from the soil and put into his bag with great joy: "It's really a blessing from the Bodhisattva!"

On the way home, several fellow villagers chatted and laughed, and soon they arrived at the entrance of the village. It was very quiet at the entrance of the village today, and the children did not come out to play in the snow. Xia Dahai just felt a little strange, and there was a thunderous shout beside him

He was so frightened that he trembled. Following the loud shouting, several big men with sticks and guns suddenly jumped out from the roadside. In the blink of an eye, Xia Dahai felt that he had been hit hard by several sticks. He fell to the ground.

While he was on the ground, he instinctively held his head. There was a sudden light on his back, and his pocket had been snatched away by others.

When Xia Dahai stood up, he saw clearly that he was surrounded by a group of soldiers from the Bian Army from Zhengzhou. Several fellow villagers who were traveling with him were pushed and shoved into the village. He saw that the whole village of men and women had gathered here.

Several Bian officers and soldiers were surrounding them with eager eyes. An officer with the appearance of a hundred households sat in front of the crowd like a fierce man, accompanied by Qi Deyuan, a government official who usually came to collect grain. Qi Deyuan counted the heads and turned towards the hundred households.

With a nod, several soldiers dragged the village chief out of the kneeling crowd.

The white village chief did not dare to struggle, but just begged: "Master Jun, there really is no secret food in the village."

The soldier pushed the old man to the ground without waiting for the officer's order, swung the whip and whipped him on the back. The village chief screamed loudly, but as the heavy sound of the whip came one after another, his shouts became louder and louder.

Get smaller and smaller until you can't hear it at all.

Seeing that he had wasted so much effort, the whip-swinging soldier spit fiercely at the deceased and cursed: "Tricky people."

Baihu shook his head, and several soldiers came over and stared at the young girl in the crowd unscrupulously. Soon someone started to pull one of them out from her parents, while her father whispered submissively: "

She is lucky that the military master likes her."

This shout made the faces of the fellow villagers change color. Several young people roared one after another, jumped up and threw themselves at the weapons thrown by the officers and soldiers on the ground.

In the blink of an eye, shouts of "The King of Chuang is coming" and "The robber is coming" rang out over the village. Xu Ping swung his sword to chop down a disheveled officer and soldier who had just rushed out of the house, and then caught up with him.

A Ming army soldier tried to escape from the village. The soldier was first knocked over by a horse, and then his right leg was trampled directly to the ground by a heavy horse's hoof, and he screamed in agony that was not like a human voice.

When Heibao crossed the village, slashing and killing all the way to the entrance of the village on the other side to intercept the deserters, Xu Ping drew his sword, turned his horse's head and returned to the entrance to guard, cutting down the officers and soldiers who tried to escape from here.

, Heibaoyi once said: As long as one officer and soldier escapes from danger, the village will be destroyed.

In front of Xu Ping, the people in the village chased the officers and soldiers everywhere like crazy, beating them to death by the threshold and the well with sticks.

…

capital, teaching team

Today, another group of officers and hundreds of new recruits graduate. After Song Jianjun gives these officers and soldiers a lecture, they will rush to their respective posts to take up their posts: "Everyone, please work hard to create peace for the Holy Emperor."

In the training team's library, two young New Army officers were sitting at the table studying battle cases. One of them was named Chen Zhe and the other was named Han Dake. The two were old acquaintances. A few days ago they

They were recruited together by Yang Zhiyuan and announced that they would be taught tactics courses by Zhendong Marquis himself.

There were two other people studying under Zhendong Hou with them, one of them was Jin Shentong, the commander of Zhiwei. Chen and Han successfully put another person in the same group as Jin Shentong, which made the two of them

They all breathed a huge sigh of relief.

"General Xiao Jin has always looked down on us. He always raises his chin to the sky and ignores us. Humph, isn't it because he has a good father and a good wife?" Han Dake said during the discussion.

to their classmates: "I'm really sorry for Lao Zhao, but every time I'm with General Jin, I feel uncomfortable all over."

"Zhao Yixing has the best temper. In that case, let him deal with it." Chen Zhe seemed even more dissatisfied than Han Dake.
To be continued...