Chapter 14 The Thirteenth Round

Only Mr. An said with a grin, "I've been looking for you so hard, are you willing to burn you? Let's talk about the past!" He kicked the door with two feet, and the latch broke with a click. up.Yuan Chengzhi heard the sound of kicking the door and knew that he was quite good at martial arts. In the darkness, the light of the knife flickered, and Mrs. An slashed straight out with the knife.Mrs. An laughed and said: "Okay, murder my husband!" Afraid of other people in the house, he didn't dare to rush in, so he stood outside the door and fought with Mrs. An empty-handed.Yuan Chengzhi slowly climbed closer, watching the battle with his eyes wide open.

Mr. An's martial arts are really extraordinary, in the dark he listened to Dao Feng's dodging moves, but he kept teasing with gossip.Mrs. An was very angry, beating and scolding.After fighting for a while, Master An suddenly reached out and touched her body.Mrs. An was even more angry, and slashed at her head with a knife. Mrs. An was just trying to lure her with this trick, so she leaned forward and grabbed her wrist, twisted it hard, and Mrs. An fell to the ground with a single sword.Mrs. An pinched her hands, and her right leg rested on her knees. Mrs. An couldn't move for a moment.

Yuan Chengzhi thought to himself: "Listen to the tone of this surname An, so I won't hurt her for a while, I will inquire for a while, and then I will help." He got in from the corner of the door, touched the wall lightly, performed the "Gecko Swimming Wall Kungfu" and climbed straight up to the beam. Only Mr. An shouted: "Mr. Hu, go in and light a fire!" Hu Laosan lit the fire pocket outside the door, drew his sword to protect himself, first turned the fire into the door, then leaned over to pick up a stone and threw it into the door. After entering the house, there was no movement after a while, and then I found the candlestick on the table and lit the candle.Mrs. An carried Mrs. An into the house and winked. Mr. Hu took out the rope from his side and bound Mrs. An's hands and feet.Mrs. An smiled and said, "You said you would never see me again, is this gone? Look at me, how many more gray hairs do you have?" Mrs. An closed her eyes and did not answer.

Yuan Chengzhi looked down from the beam, and Mrs. An's face could be seen more clearly. Although he was over middle age, he was still handsome. He must have been a beautiful boy when he was young, and he was a good pair with Mrs. An. Master An stretched out his hand to touch Mrs. An's face, and said with a smile, "Okay, I haven't seen you for more than ten years, but her face is still white and tender." He turned his head to San Hu and said, "Get out!" closed the door. The two were relatively silent.After a while, Mrs. An sighed: "Where is Xiaohui? I miss her every day these years." Mrs. An still ignored her.Mr. An said: "You and I are young couples, we are very angry, and we have turned against each other for a while. We have been separated for many years, and now we should reconcile as before." After a while, he said: "Look at me for more than ten years. Didn’t marry another, why did you ever forget you for a moment? Don’t you even have a little love between husband and wife?” Mrs. An said sharply: “How did my father and elder brother die? Have you forgotten?” Mrs. An sighed: “I The father-in-law and brother-in-law were killed by Jin Yiwei, that’s good. But you can’t kill a boatload of people with a penny. There are good people and bad people in Jin Yiwei. I work for the emperor, which is also a decent thing for the ancestors..." Before finishing speaking, Mrs. An was already spitting on the ground "Bah, bah, bah".

After a while, Mrs. An changed the subject: "I miss Xiaohui and asked someone to pick her up. Why are you running around and never letting her see me?" Mrs. An said, "I told her, Her good father died a long time ago! Her father is so capable and ambitious, but it is a pity that his life is shorter!" His tone was full of resentment.Mrs. An said: "Why did you lie to her? Why did you curse me?" Mrs. An said: "Her father was really a good man with ambition. People in my family didn't allow me to marry him, so I followed him secretly. How could I know? ..." At this point, his voice choked up, and he said bitterly: "You killed my good husband, I wish I could kill you." Mr. An said: "Hey, this is strange, I am you Husband, why do you say that I killed your husband?" Mrs. An said: "My husband was originally a good man with a bloody spirit, but for some reason, his heart was swayed by his interests. He no longer wants his wife or daughter. He just wants to be a high-ranking official. , make a fortune...my former good husband died a long time ago, and I will never see him again!" Yuan Chengzhi couldn't help but feel pity when he heard this.

Mrs. An said: "My husband's name is An Jianqing. He was a hero in the world. Didn't you, the chief of the Jinyi Guard, Mr. An, kill him? My husband has a mentor, Chu Dadao, an old boxer. It was Mr. An who was greedy for profit and killed him. His. Mrs. Chu's wife and daughter were all killed by An Da..." An Jianqing yelled angrily: "Don't say any more!" Mrs. An said: "You wolf-hearted person, think about it for yourself." An Jianqing said: "The government wants Chu Dadao to interrogate, and it doesn't necessarily make things difficult for him. Why did he kill me? His wife and daughter committed suicide, so who is to blame?" Mrs. An said: "Yes, Chu Dadao Blind, who taught him to accept such a good apprentice? This apprentice is freezing and starving to death, Chu Dadao taught him martial arts, raised him, and married him a wife..." The more she said, the more resentful she became .An Jianqing slapped the table violently, and shouted: "Today you and I meet each other, what a joyful event, what are you doing mentioning that dead man?" Mrs. An shouted: "If you want to kill, kill him, I just want to kill you." To mention!"

Yuan Chengzhi figured out the situation at the time from the words of the two people. An Jianqing was raised by Chu Dadao alone. Later, he was greedy for wealth and killed his master's family.An Jianqing worked in Jinyiwei, but Mrs. An's father and elder brother were killed by Jinyiwei.Aunt An was so angry that she finally broke up with her husband.In the past, Mrs. Hu came to snatch Xiaohui, and Mrs. An ran around here and there, all because of her vicious husband, Mrs. An Jian Qing'an.Yuan Chengzhi thought to himself: "I think that when he killed his mentor's family that day, the situation must have been very miserable. This person has more than culpable death. But I don't know if Mrs. An still has husband and wife feelings for him, so don't be reckless." I want to listen to more words , in order to decide whether to kill him or not, but they both stopped talking and remained silent.

After a while, there was a faint sound of horseshoes in the distance.An Jianqing pulled out his saber, and shouted in a low voice: "When someone comes, if you shout to warn me, I don't care about the relationship between husband and wife!" Mrs. An snorted, and said: "I want to hurt someone again." Knowing his wife's temper, An Jianqing cut off a piece of cloth curtain with a knife and stuffed it in her mouth.At this time, the sound of horseshoes was getting closer, An Jianqing put Mrs. An on the bed, lowered the curtain, and hid behind the door with a knife. Yuan Chengzhi knew that he was trying to kill him secretly. Although he didn't know who it was, he was always a good person from Mrs. An's side. He wiped some dust on the beam, added some saliva, kneaded it into a small ball of mud, and threw it at the candlelight. Go, with a snort, the candle was extinguished immediately.An Jianqing muttered curses.Yuan Chengzhi took him to touch the fire, slipped down gently, went around the outside of the house, and saw a Jinyi guard lying on the ground with a knife at the corner of the house, watching the movement in the house with all his attention, so he approached him and whispered: "Come here!" Lah!" The Jin Yiwei also whispered: "Well, get down quickly." Yuan Chengzhi reached out and touched his acupuncture points, took off his coat, covered himself, then tore off a piece of cloth from his inner coat, and covered his face Go up, tore open two eye holes, then hugged the man and crawled towards the door.

The sound of hoofbeats became louder in the darkness, and Wu rode his horse to the front of the house.The rider jumped off the horse and patted three palms.An Jianqing slapped three palms back in the room, lit the lights, and shrank behind the door, only to hear the sound of the door, and a person poked his head in. He raised his knife and slashed violently. A man's skull rolled aside, and blood spurted from his neck.Glancing at the head under the candlelight, he was shocked that the one who hacked to death was actually one of his companions.Just about to open his mouth to scream wildly, a masked strange man rushed in from the door, pointed at his acupoints, and hit the "Dazhui acupoint" on the back of his neck with his backhand. Still can move?Yuan Chengzhi took the saber in his hand and put it gently on the ground so that no one outside the door could hear him. He went to the bed to help Mrs. An, tore off the ropes tied to her hands and feet, and whispered: "Aunt An, I'm here to save you!"

Mrs. An saw that he was wearing brocade clothes and guards, and his face was covered with a cloth. She felt suspicious, and just asked, "Who is your lord?" Five people rushed in outside, and the first person greeted Mrs. An. When I arrived at the situation in the house, I was stunned. Outside the gate, Jin Yiwei saw that there were many people coming in, and was afraid that An Jianqing would be the only one to lose. Two people rushed in and raised their knives to chop.The enemies outside the door came in one after another. Yuan Chengzhi beat and grabbed them, picked them up and threw them out one by one. Some were kicked out as soon as they ran in. It also seems to have escaped.Yuan Chengzhi tore off the cloth strips, stuffed them into An Jianqing's ears, tore off two pieces of clothing from the dead man, wrapped several layers on his head, taught him not to hear any sound or see any light, and then tore off the mask. With a rag covering his face, he smiled at one of the five people, "Brother, hello. How is King Chuang?"

The man was stunned, then laughed loudly, took his hand and shook it again and again.It turned out that this person was none other than Li Yan, a general under King Li Chuang, Yuan Chengzhi and Li Yan who became brothers with him. Yuan Chengzhi accidentally rescued two old friends, and he liked it very much. He turned to Aunt An and said, "Aunt An, do you still remember me?" It has been ten years, he has grown up from a small child, how can Aunt An recognize him? Yuan Chengzhi took out the small gold bracelet that Aunt An gave him that day from his underwear pocket, and said, "I take it with me every day." Aunt An suddenly remembered, and pulled him closer to the candlelight, and saw a faint tinge on his left eyebrow. With a scar, he was surprised and happy, and said: "Ah, child, you have grown so tall, and you have learned such a handsome kung fu." Yuan Chengzhi said: "I saw sister Xiaohui in Zhejiang, and she also grew taller." Lah!" Mrs. An said: "Unknowingly, the children are all grown up, and the time passes by so quickly." She glanced at her husband lying on the ground, sighed, and said, "Unexpectedly, it was you, the child, who came to save me. .” Li Yan didn't know that they had an old relationship. Hearing that Mrs. An called him "son, child", he only knew that the two were relatives, and said with a smile: "Today's matter is very dangerous. I was ordered by King Chuang to go to Hebei Come and meet a few people. Jin Yiwei's news is also very good, I don't know how to get the wind, and am in ambush here." Yuan Chengzhi said: "Brother, is your friend coming soon?" Before Li Yan could answer, he heard the sound of hoofbeats in the distance, and said with a smile, "Isn't it?" He opened the door and went out, and soon three people came in.One of these three people is Liu Fangliang and the other is Tian Jianxiu, they all met at the Shengfengzhang meeting back then.The two of them no longer knew Yuan Chengzhi, but Yuan Chengzhi still remembered their appearance.The other surnamed Hou, but he had met him at the Taishan Conference.After the three of them greeted Li Yan, the man surnamed Hou saluted Yuan Chengzhi respectfully and said, "Hello, leader!" Both Li Yan and Mrs. An said, "You guys knew each other?" The one surnamed Hou said, "Leader Yuan is the head of the seven provinces, and all the brothers are under orders." Li Yanxi said, "Ah, I'm busy doing business in Henan. All the news from the road has been cut off. It turns out that such a major event has happened, so we are gratifying." Yuan Chengzhi said: "This is what happened last month. Cheng Hao's friends think highly of it. They gave such a title. In fact, where are the brothers responsible? Can you afford it?" The surnamed Hou said: "It goes without saying that the leader is good at martial arts and has high knowledge, but for this benevolence and righteousness alone, which one in the martial arts world does not admire?" Li Yan said happily: "That's great." Immediately, the order of King Chuang was conveyed.It turned out that Li Zicheng had more than 100,000 officers and soldiers under the command of Sun Chuanting, Minister of the Dapo War Department in Ruzhou, Henan, and entered Tongguan. He ordered Li Yan to come to Hebei secretly and contact Qunhao to respond. The surnamed Hou said: "Leader, what do you think we should do?" Yuan Chengzhi said: "Chuang Wang's righteous deeds, the world's heroes will naturally rise up when they hear the news. The younger brother immediately sent a message. We heroes from the seven provinces will do it vigorously!" Six People talked impassionedly, beaming with joy. Li Yan said: "The officials and the army are extremely corrupt. Once the volunteers arrive, they will be destroyed and destroyed, but there is a problem in front of them." Yuan Chengzhi said: "What?" Li Yan said: "I just received an urgent report saying that there are ten Western soldiers The Hongyi cannons were to be transported to Tongguan for Sun Chuanting. After Sun Laoer was defeated, his soldiers had no fighting spirit, so it was no longer a danger. It's just that the power of the Hongyi cannons is no small matter. When it comes out, it will kill hundreds of people immediately. A hidden worry." Yuan Chengzhi said: "I have seen these ten cannons on the road, and they are indeed formidable. They are very powerful. Couldn't they be transported to Shanhaiguan to fight against the Qing Dynasty?" Li Yan said: "These cannons were transported from thousands of miles. Originally, we were going to Shanhaiguan to guard against the Qing soldiers. But after Chuangwang won every victory, the court changed its mind, and the ten cannons were folded and went south, and the first journey was to Tongguan." Yuan Chengzhi frowned and said: "The emperor's defense against the people is more important than foreign enemies. Brother, what do you think should we do?" Li Yan said: "Once the cannon arrives at Tongguan, when we attack the key, we must use our flesh and blood to resist the artillery weapon, although we may not necessarily lose. , but there will be many losses..." Yuan Chengzhi said: "So we have to stop him halfway." Li Yan was overjoyed with his hands in his palm, and said, "This is going to take a lot of work, brother, to make such a great contribution." Yuan Chengzhi pondered: "The foreign weapons and firearms are very powerful, and my brother has seen some of them. If we want to seize the cannon, we need to find another plan. Can you It's really hard to say if it's going to happen. But this matter is related to the luck of the world, and I must do my best. If I can succeed in one fell swoop by relying on the supernatural power of Chuang Wang, it will be a blessing for all people." Everyone talked about the military for a while, and Yuan Chengzhi asked about Li Yan's wife.Li Yan said: "She is in Henan, and she often talks about you." Aunt An interrupted: "General Li's wife is really a heroine. Hey, son, do you have someone you like?" Yuan Chengzhi blushed when he thought of Qingqing , Smile and don't answer.Mrs. An sighed: "I don't know who is blessed with a talent like you, alas!" Suddenly she remembered Xiaohui: "Xiaohui and him were old friends in trouble when we were young. If he can be my son-in-law, Xiaohui is really happy." There is a lifelong trust. But she happens to be good with that stupid Cui Ximin, that's also called each has its own fate." Liu, Tian, ​​and Hou heard that they were talking about private matters, but they couldn't get in, so they stood up and said goodbye.Hou Feiwen, surnamed Hou, said: "Leader, tomorrow morning, I will lead my brothers to listen to the order." Yuan Chengzhi said: "Okay!" The three resigned and left. Li Yan and Yuan Chengzhi had a long talk about the general trend of the world, and the more they talked, the more they fell in love with each other.Yuan Chengzhi knew very superficially about the rise and fall of national affairs and the changing world situation. Hearing Li Yan's talk, every word made him feel enlightened.Until Dongfang Dabai and the golden rooster sang three times, the two were still happy.Looking back at Mrs. An, I saw her resting her head on her hands, looking at her husband lying on the ground silently lost in thought. Li Yan called out in a low voice: "Ms. An!" Mrs. An raised her head.Li Yan said: "How to deal with this person?" Aunt An was so upset that she shook her head and did not answer.Li Yan knew that it was difficult for her to make a decision, so he ignored it, and said to Yuan Chengzhi: "Brother, you and I will leave here." Yuan Chengzhi said: "I will send my elder brother for a ride." The two said goodbye to Mrs. An, went out of the house hand in hand, and walked side by side.Li Yan's servants followed far behind.The two talked all the way and walked seven or eight miles.Li Yan said: "I will send you off for thousands of miles, but I will have to say goodbye. Brother, you go back." Yuan Chengzhi and him are congenial and reluctant to part.Li Yan said: "Brother, after the success of King Chuang's event, I will live in seclusion with you in the mountains and forests, drinking for fun, and the days to come will be long." Yuan Chengzhi said happily: "If this can be done, it will be my life's wish." The two of them shed tears and said goodbye . Yuan Chengzhi watched his brother-in-law get on his horse and leave in the dust before returning to the inn.I saw that Hou Feiwen had already brought dozens of strong men waiting in the store, crowding the hall and several yards to the brim.Qingqing, Dumb, Hong Shenghai and others were gone.Ah Jiu and the rest of the servants stayed in the room without showing any expressions when they saw so many rough and burly men.Yuan Chengzhi said to Hou Feiwen: "Brother Hou, you lead a few brothers to investigate to the south to see whether the cannons carried by that team of Western soldiers are heading north or turning south. After you find out, please report back as soon as possible." Hou Feiwen After listening, he picked three companions, got on his horse and left the shop. As soon as Hou Feiwen left, Sha Tianguang and Cheng Qingzhu rushed into the store, met Yuan Chengzhi, and said happily: "Ah, Yuan Xianggong is back." Before Yuan Chengzhi could answer, they saw Qingqing, Dumb, and Hong Shenghai rushing into the hall again .Qingqing's hair was blown to pieces by the wind, and her cheeks were flushed. When she saw Yuan Chengzhi, she couldn't help but beam with joy, and said, "Why did you come back at this time?" What happened last night. Qingqing lowered her head and said nothing.Seeing that her expression was wrong, Yuan Chengzhi pulled her aside, and said softly: "I taught you to worry." Qingqing turned around and turned her head away.Knowing that she was angry, Yuan Chengzhi struck up a conversation and said, "It's a pity that you didn't see my big brother Li. Brother Qing, he can be regarded as your brother." Although Qingqing is a woman, Yuan Chengzhi kept calling her Qingqing. younger brother.Qingqing said: "My brother has no conscience, what do you want my brother to do?" Yuan Chengzhi said: "I'm really sorry, I will definitely not let you worry about it next time." Qingqing said: "Next time someone else will worry about you. What are you worried about?" Yuan Chengzhi wondered: "Hey, who is it?" Qingqing stamped her feet and went back to her room. At noon, she didn't come out to eat, so Yuan Chengzhi asked the shop assistant to deliver the food to her room, thinking why he was so angry, and after eating, he would go to make amends. Just now, he saw her flustered and anxious Looking back at this moment, I am really moved in my heart.Unexpectedly, the shop assistant brought back the food and said, "The girl is not in the room!" Yuan Chengzhi was startled, and hurriedly put down his chopsticks, and ran to the Qingqing room, only to see that the person was not there, and even took away the weapon and bag up.He was anxious and wondered: "Where did she go when she was angry? She often caused troubles, so that people can worry about it. It's just that there is a big problem right now, so I can't find it myself." So he sent Hong Shenghai out to visit, and ordered if Seeing it, at least I want to persuade the girl to come back. In the evening, Hou Feiwen came back on a fast horse. As soon as he entered the door, he said: "The foreign soldiers turned south, let's chase them quickly." Yuan Chengzhi stood up immediately, and ordered the mute to stay in the iron box in the store. Sha, Hu, Tie, Hou Feiwen and other heroes from Hebei Province rushed all night from the same road. It is estimated that the cannon is moving slowly, so they will definitely catch up. In the early morning of the third day, Yuan Chengzhi and others passed through a small town and saw ten cannons lined up outside a restaurant, with six foreign soldiers guarding each cannon with guns.Everyone was overjoyed and smiled at each other.Tie Luohan shouted: "I'm hungry, I'm hungry!" Yuan Chengzhi said: "Okay, let's meet those two foreign officials again." Everyone went straight to the restaurant, with Tie Luohan walking in the lead, and screamed as soon as he went upstairs.I saw a few foreign soldiers holding foreign guns, aimed at Qingqing, and pulled the trigger with their fingers.Sitting on the side were the two Western officers Peter and Raymond and the Western woman Ruokelin. Seeing the crowd coming up, Lei Meng yelled a few times, and several foreign soldiers pointed their guns at them and shouted loudly. Yuan Chengzhi was quick-witted, lifted a table, threw it at all the foreign soldiers, flew forward, pressed Qingqing's shoulder, the two squatted down, a burst of smoke passed, all the guns were fired, and the lead hit the table . Yuan Chengzhi was afraid that the firearms would be powerful, so he shouted: "Everyone go downstairs." Pulling Qingqing, he jumped downstairs from the window with everyone. Raymond was furious, took out his short gun and bombarded downwards.Tie Luohan let out an "ouch", was hit by a bullet in the buttocks and fell to the ground.Sha Tianguang quickly helped him up.Everyone got on their horses and galloped south.At that time, Western firearms were inconvenient to use. Once a shot was fired, gunpowder and lead had to be added. The foreign soldiers missed a single shot. Yuan Chengzhi and Qingqing rode together, and while galloping, they asked: "Why did you quarrel with the foreign soldiers?" Qingqing said: "Who knows?" Just smile and stop asking.For the past three days, I have been thinking about it day and night, and when we meet again at this moment, my heart is full of joy. After driving for more than 20 li, they arrived at a town, and everyone dismounted and started to tip.Hu Guinan used a knife to scoop out the lead in Tie Luohan's flesh.Tie Luohan screamed and cursed in pain. Qingqing pulled Yuan Chengzhi to sit at a table in the west, and said in a low voice: "Who told her to dress up like a monster, and her arms are exposed, so she is not afraid of being ugly!" Yuan Chengzhi asked, puzzled "Who?" Qingqing said, "That Western woman." Yuan Chengzhi said, "Is this in the way of you again?" Qingqing said with a smile: "I don't like it, I smashed her earrings with two copper coins "Yuan Chengzhi didn't feel it was funny, and said: "Oh, you are really messing around, what happened next?" Qingqing smiled and said: "The foreign official who lost to me in the sword fight asked the foreign soldiers to point guns at me. I don't understand him In other words, I expected to compete with me again, so let’s compare if I think about it, are you still afraid of you? At this moment, you are here!” Yuan Chengzhi said: “Why did you leave alone?” Qingqing originally laughed at Yan Yan, but when she heard this, her pretty face sank, and she said, "Huh, you still have to ask me, don't you know what you are doing?" Yuan Chengzhi said: "I really don't know, what is it? Offended you?" Qingqing don't ignore it at first. Yuan Chengzhi knew her temper. If she continued to ask questions, she would always refuse to answer. It was better to pretend that she didn't care. What way can we rob their cannons?" Qingqing said angrily: "Who told you this." Yuan Chengzhi said: "Okay, I will discuss it with Sha Tianguang and the others." Standing up to leave, Qingqing grabbed his arm Clothes corner, said: "You are not allowed to go, you haven't finished talking." Yuan Chengzhi smiled and sat down again.After a long time, Qingqing said: "Where is your little sister Xiaohui?" Yuan Chengzhi said: "I haven't seen her since we broke up that day, so I don't know where she is?" Qingqing said: "You talked to her mother all night, and you can't bear to let her go." When we parted, I must have kept talking about her." Yuan Chengzhi suddenly realized that she was angry because of this, so he said sincerely: "Brother Qing, don't you understand my heart for you?" Qingqing His cheeks flushed, and he turned his head away. Yuan Chengzhi said again: "I will never leave you in the future, don't worry!" Qingqing whispered: "Why are you... and your little sister Xiaohui... so good?" Yuan Chengzhi said: "I When I was young, her mother treated me very well, as if I was her son, and I was naturally grateful. Besides, don't you see that she is very close to my nephew?" Qingqing said with her mouth flattened, "What name did you say Cui's boy? He is stupid, incompetent, and ugly, why does she like it?" Yuan Chengzhi smiled and said: "Everyone loves green vegetables and radishes. My boy surnamed Yuan is stupid, incompetent, and ugly , why do you like me?" Qingqing sneered and spat: "Bah, don't be ashamed, who likes you?" After this little turmoil, the two reconciled, but their affection deepened. Yuan Chengzhi said: "Let's go eat!" Qingqing said: "Let me ask you something, do you think that little girl Ah Jiu is beautiful?" Yuan Chengzhi said: "What does she have to do with me? The person's whereabouts are secretive, so we have to be careful." Qingqing nodded.The two sat down at the table again, and discussed with Sha Tianguang, Cheng Qingzhu and others how to rob the cannon. Hu Guinan said: "Let my younger brother go to explore tonight and take the opportunity to steal a few guns. Take a few today and a few tomorrow, and slowly steal the foreign guns, so you won't be afraid of them." Yuan Chengzhi said: "This time The plan is great, I will go with you to take a look." Sha Tianguang said: "Why does the leader go out in person? Wait for the younger brother to go." Yuan Chengzhi said: "I want to understand how to use firearms. If you steal a musket, you can use foreign guns to fight foreign soldiers." Everyone nodded in agreement.Qingqing said with a smile: "He still wants to take a peek at that Western beauty." Everyone laughed. In the afternoon of the same day, Yuan Chengzhi and Hu Guinan turned back on horseback and followed the foreign soldiers from a distance. They saw them staying in the inn, and when it was three o'clock, they crossed the wall and entered the inn.As soon as I got out of the room, I could hear the sound of weapons clashing continuously, coming from a room.The two of them leaned out of the window and looked in through the crack of the window, only to see the two Western officers fighting fiercely, each with a long sword. Yuan Chengzhiwan didn't expect that these two people would fight in the same room, he felt very strange, and he lay down quietly to watch the battle.After watching dozens of moves, he saw that Lei Meng's attack was fierce and his swordsmanship was sharp, but Peter was extremely calm. Although he blindly parried and retreated, as long as he made a counterattack, he would make a fierce move.Yuan Chengzhi knew that after a long time, the senior officer would be defeated. Sure enough, at the end of the fight, Peter returned his sword and stabbed to the left. While the opponent's sword was shaking, he suddenly turned his sword and stabbed straight.Lei Meng hurriedly retracted his sword to block back, but the blade was crooked.Peter flicked vigorously from bottom to top, and Raymond's long sword was immediately released from his hand.Peter grabbed the enemy's sword, pointed the tip of the sword at the opponent's chest, and muttered a few words.Raymond trembled with anger, muttering curses.Peter picked up the underground long sword, put it on the table, turned around and opened the door to go out.Lei Mengti sword slashed across the room, cursing unceasingly, suddenly stopped, with a happy face, opened the door, went out and took a shovel, and started digging in the ground. Yuan Chengzhi and Hu Guinan wanted to leave, but at this time they wanted to see what he was going to bury. They saw that he dug for a while, dug a hole with a diameter of two feet, and threw all the soil he dug out under the bed. When I dug two feet deep, I stopped digging, tore off a piece of quilt, covered the hole, first pressed the surrounding area with soil, and then spread a thin layer of soil on the quilt.He sneered a few times, opened the door and left the room.Yuan Chengzhi and Hu Guinan were puzzled, wondering what kind of Western magic he was using. After a while, Raymond came into the room again, followed by Peter.Raymond spoke harshly, but Peter just shook his head.Suddenly there was a snap, and Raymond reached out and slapped him across the face.Peter was furious, drew his sword out of its sheath, and the two fought again.Raymond couldn't help moving, slowly leading Peter to the edge of the pit. Only then did Yuan Chengzhi suddenly realize that this person clearly couldn't win, so he set up a trap secretly. Since he was thinking so hard here, he had to kill the opponent.Yuan Chengzhi had no likes or dislikes towards these two people, but when he saw Lei Meng making trouble, he felt chivalrous.I saw Raymond stab several times with his sword, but Peter blocked them all.Peter counterattacked with a sword, and Raymond took two steps back.Peter rushed in with his right foot and stepped on the trap. He yelled "Ah" and fell forward.Lei Meng returned his sword and pierced his vest. Seeing that the sword was going to go straight from the back to the front, Yuan Chengzhi was already prepared. He hurriedly pushed the window pane, leaped forward, and handed out the Golden Snake Sword. Pull the blade back.Peter got out of trouble and immediately jumped up, but his right foot was twisted and dislocated.Lei Meng was on the verge of defeat, startled and angry, and stabbed Yuan Chengzhi with his sword.Yuan Chengzhi sneered, the Golden Snake Sword swayed from side to side, only to hear the sound of clanking, Lei Meng's sword body was sliced ​​off half an inch by the Golden Snake Sword, and in a short while, a short piece was left.Lei Meng was in a daze, Yuan Chengzhi rushed up and grabbed his wrist, lifted it up, head down his feet, and threw it into the trap he dug himself, laughing loudly, and jumped out of the window. Hu Guinan came from behind and said with a smile, "Look, Yuan Xianggong." He raised his hands and held three short guns.Yuan Chengzhi wondered: "Where did it come from?" Hu Guinan pointed into the window.It turned out that when Yuan Chengzhi shot to save people, Hu Guinan followed in, and in a hurry, he stole all three short guns of two Western officers.Yuan Chengzhi said with a smile: "It's really worthy of the name of master thief." The two rushed back to meet everyone.Qingqing was playing with a short gun, and inadvertently pulled the button of the gun, only to hear a bang, and the smoke filled the air.Sha Tianguang sat across from her, but fortunately he was agile, he hurriedly shrank his head, a turban fell off, and his face was covered with gunpowder ashes.Qingqing was shocked and apologized again and again.Sha Tianguang stuck out his tongue and said, "That's amazing!" The crowd took the other two short guns for a closer look, and saw gunpowder and lead pellets in the barrels of the guns.Cheng Qingzhu said: "Gunpowder is originally a Chinese thing. We use it to hunt and make firecrackers, but Westerners use it to kill people after learning it. There are more than 100 foreign soldiers in this team, and more than 100 guns are put up. It's not for fun. Yes." Everyone felt that the firearms were too powerful to fight against them with martial arts, and they were silent for a while, thinking about their countermeasures. Hu Guinan said: "Yuan Xianggong, I have a trick that won't get on the stage, I don't know if it will work?" Tie Luohan said with a smile: "Forgive me, you don't have any serious ideas." Yuan Chengzhi said: "Brother Hu, let's listen to it." .” Hu Guinan said with a smile.Qingqing applauded first.Sha Tianguang and others also suggested a clever plan.After Yuan Chengzhi thought about it carefully, he felt that this plan was feasible, so he ordered to arrange it separately.
The father of the Western girl Ruo Kelin was originally an officer of the Portuguese Army in Macau, and had passed away years ago.This time she was going to return to her home country on a sea ship carrying cannons, so she went north with the artillery army, and then went to Tianjin to board the ship.Peter is her father's subordinate and has been in love with Ruokelin for a long time.Raymond is from the mainland of Portugal. When he saw him, he wanted to win his love with a knife.Although he has a high official rank and is conceited and coquettish, he has no way to intervene. When he became angry, he challenged his rival in love.Seeing that he was the boss, Peter didn't dare to do anything, so he had to step up his guard. On this day, I came to a large village, Wangong Village, and stayed overnight in the "Wanshi Ancestral Hall" in the village.Sleeping until midnight, I suddenly heard the noise of people, and the foreign soldiers on sentry rushed in to say that there was a fire in the village.Lei Meng and Peter got up in a hurry, seeing that the fire was burning very close, they hurriedly ordered the soldiers to move the gunpowder barrel out of the ancestral hall and put it in the open space.In the panic, all the villagers brought buckets to fight the fire, and dozens of big men broke into the ancestral hall and splashed water everywhere.Raymond asked why.All the villagers said to the interpreter Qian Tongsi: "This is the ancestral hall of our ancestors, pour water on it first, so as not to spread the fire." Lei Meng felt that it was reasonable, so he did not interfere.Unexpectedly, all the villagers poured all the buckets of water on the gunpowder with their hands.The foreign soldiers picked up their guns and rushed to fight, one after another, and within a meal, the inside and outside of the ancestral hall was covered with ocean, and the powder kegs, cannons, and guns were all drenched, but the fire gradually extinguished. At dawn, Raymond and Peter saw that the villagers behaved differently, and the gunpowder was soaked. They thought that this place was a bit evil, and it was better to leave as soon as possible. Just as they were about to give the order to start, a small officer came to report and dragged the cannons. All the animals in the car escaped in the chaos last night.Lei Meng beat him with a whip, scolded him for being careless, and ordered Qian Tongsi to lead the foreign soldiers to the village to recruit.Unexpectedly, although the village is big, it doesn't have a single animal. It seems that they have already got the wind and hid all the animals. This made it impossible to start, so Lei Meng ordered Peter to bring Qian Tongsi to the front town to gather livestock. Raymond led the soldiers, opened the gunpowder barrel, and poured out the gunpowder to dry.In the evening, the gunpowder was dry, and all the soldiers were about to put it into the barrels. Suddenly, dozens of torches were thrown from the houses and thrown into the gunpowder pile, and the flames burst into the sky.All the foreign soldiers were scared out of their wits and fled one after another, making a mess.Raymond ordered repeatedly to restrain the soldiers and fire guns at the houses.Amidst the smog, dozens of big men could be seen fleeing into the forest and disappearing.Raymond checked the gunpowder, and nine out of ten of them had been burned, and he was very frustrated.It was not until the afternoon of the third day that Peter conscripted dozens of mules and horses to haul the cannon. After walking for four or five days on the road, one day they came to a dangerous mountain gorge. They saw that it was an extremely steep downhill road. Raymond and Peter commanded the soldiers. Too steep and the cannon falls.The mountain road became more and more dangerous. Everyone was worried and tried their best to drag the cannon. Suddenly, there was a loud swishing sound in the valley, and dozens of arrows shot out. More than a dozen foreign soldiers were hit by arrows immediately, and more than a dozen arrows were shot at the mules and horses.The cattle are hurting and rushing down, how can the foreign soldiers hold back?Each of the ten cannons weighs several thousand catties, and this downward trend is really no small matter.A trap suddenly appeared on the road, and many mules and horses fell into the pit.There was a loud bang, and the last two cannons suddenly turned upside down and somersaulted all the way down.Several foreign soldiers were crushed into meat sauce.The eight cannons in front were immediately mobilized. All the soldiers didn't care about resisting the attacking enemy, they rushed to both sides.Some had no way to go, and seeing the menacing sound of the cannon rolling down, they jumped and fell into the deep valley.The ten cannons rolled and rolled, heading straight down, faster and faster.The mules and horses galloped ahead, and were soon overtaken by the cannon, crushing their flesh and blood.After a while, the loud noise was deafening, and all ten cannons fell into the deep valley. Raymond and Peter had just recovered from the shock, and when they looked back at Ruo Kelin, they saw that she had fainted from fright.The two rescued her and commanded the soldiers to lie down and fight against the enemy.The enemy had already dug a deep pit on the slope, and built a barrier with landslides. The muskets shot at it without hurting a single hair, but the feathered arrows couldn't stop whizzing.After fighting for more than two hours, the foreign soldiers were still unable to break through. Lei Meng said: "We don't have enough gunpowder, so we have to rush." ​​Peter said: "Ask Qian Tongsi to ask what these bandits want." Lei Meng said angrily: "What do you have to say to the bandits? If you dare to go, I will charge." Peter said: "The bandits are powerful with bows and arrows, why bother to be brave?" Raymond glanced at Ruokelin, spat viciously, and cursed: "Coward, coward!" Peter was angry His face turned pale, and he said in a low voice: "When the bandits are defeated, I will let you know the price of being rude." 雷蒙一跃而起，叫道：“是好汉跟我来！”彼得叫道：“雷蒙上校，你想寻死么？”众洋兵知道出去就是送死，谁肯跟他乱冲？雷蒙仗剑大呼，奔不数步，一箭射来，穿胸而死。 彼得与众洋兵缩在山沟里，仗着火器锐利，敌人不敢逼近，僵持了一日一夜，只盼官兵来救，但其时官场腐败异常，若是调兵遣将，公文来往，又要请示，又要商议，不过十天半月，官兵哪里能来？ 守到第二日傍晚，众兵饿得头昏眼花，只得竖起了白旗。钱通四高声大叫：“我们投降了，洋大人说投降了！”山坡上一人叫道：“把火枪都抛出来。”彼得道：“不能缴枪。” 敌人并不理会，也不再攻，过了一会，忽然一阵肉香酒香，随风飘了过来。众洋兵已一日两夜没吃东西，这时哪里还抵受得住？纷纷把火枪向上抛去，奔出沟来。彼得见大势已去，只得下令弃械投降。众兵把火枪堆在一起，大叫大嚷要吃东西。 只听得两边山坡上号角声响，土坑中站起数百名大汉，弯弓搭箭，对住了众洋兵。几个人缓步过来，走到临近，彼得看得清楚，当先一人便是那晚救了自己性命的少年。他身旁那人正是曾被雷蒙击落头巾的少女。若克琳叫道：“啊，就是这批有魔法的人！”彼得拔出佩剑，走上几步，双手横捧，交给袁承志，意示投降，心想输在这人手下也还值得。 袁承志先是一愣，随即领悟这是服输投降之意，于是摇了摇手，对钱通四道：“你对他说，他们洋兵带大炮来，如是帮助中国守卫国土，抵抗外敌，那么我们很是感谢，当他们是好朋友。”钱通四照他的话译了。彼得连连点头，伸出手来和袁承志拉了拉。 袁承志又道：“但你们到潼关去，是帮皇帝杀我们百姓，这个我们就不许了。”彼得道：“是去打中国百姓么？我完全不知道。”袁承志见他脸色诚恳，相信不是假话，又道：“全中国的百姓很苦，没有饭吃，只盼望有人领他们打掉皇帝，脱离苦海。皇帝怕了，叫你们用大炮去轰死百姓。”彼得道：“我也是穷人出身，知道穷人的苦处。我这就回本国去了。”袁承志道：“那很好，你把兵都带走吧。” 彼得下令集队。袁承志命部下拿出酒肉，让洋兵饱餐了一顿。彼得向袁承志举手致敬，领队上坡。袁承志叫道：“干么不把火枪带走？”钱通四译了。彼得奇道：“那是你的战利品。你放我们走，不要我们用钱来赎身，我们已很感谢你的宽洪大量了。” 袁承志笑道：“你已失了大炮，再不把枪带走，只怕回去长官责罚更重。拿去吧。”彼得道：“你不怕我们开枪打你们么？”袁承志哈哈笑道：“大丈夫一言既出，驷马难追。我们中国人讲究肝胆相照，既当你是好汉子，哪有疑心？”彼得连声道谢，命士兵取了火枪，列队而去。他一路上坡，越想越是感佩，命众兵坐下休息，和钱通四两人又驰回来，从怀里取出一个布包，对袁承志道：“阁下如此豪杰，我有一件东西相赠。” 袁承志打开布包一看，见是一张折叠着的厚纸，摊了开来，原来是一幅地图，图中所绘的似是大海中的一座岛屿，图上注了许多弯弯曲曲的文字。 彼得道：“这是南方海上的一座大岛，离开海岸有一千多里。岛上气候温暖，物产丰富，真如天堂一样。我航海时到过那里。”袁承志问道：“你给我这图是甚么意思？”彼得道：“你们在这里很是辛苦，不如带了中国没饭吃的受苦百姓，都到那岛上去。” 袁承志暗暗好笑，心道：“你这外国人心地倒好，只不过我们中国有多大，亿万之众，凭你再大的岛也居住不下。”问道：“这岛上没人住么？”彼得道：“有时有西班牙的海盗，有时没有。你们这样的英雄好汉，也不会怕那些该死的西班牙海盗。”袁承志见他一片诚意，就道了谢，收起地图。彼得作别而去。 钱通四转过身子，正要随同上山，青青忽地伸手，扯住他的耳朵，喝道：“下次再见你作威作福，欺侮同胞，小心你的狗命！”钱通四耳上剧痛，连说：“小人不敢！”他口中少了许多牙齿，说话漏风，倒似说：“小人颇敢！” 袁承志指挥众人，爬到深谷底下去察看大炮，见十尊巨炮互相碰撞，都已毁得不成模样，无法再用，于是掘土盖上。袁承志见大功告成，与侯飞文等群豪欢聚半日，痛饮一场，这才分手。次日会齐了哑巴、洪胜海等人，向北京进发。 这一役胡桂南厥功最伟，弄湿火药、掘坑陷炮等巧计都是他想出来的。众人一路上对他称扬备至。再也不敢轻视他是小偷出身。
此去一路之上，但见焦土残垣，野犬食尸，尽是清兵烧杀劫掠的遗迹，群雄无不看得心头火起。沙天广道：“可惜那日没杀了鞑子兵的元帅阿巴泰。盟主，咱们赶上去刺杀他如何？”青青首先便鼓掌叫好。袁承志沉吟不答。青青道：“去杀了鞑子兵元帅有甚么不好？也免得孙仲寿叔叔老是埋怨。”袁承志道：“要刺杀鞑子的头子，杀得越大越好，咱们索性便去刺杀满清的皇帝皇太极。”众人一怔，随即齐声欢呼。 袁承志详细询问洪胜海，满清的京城如何防卫，如何方能混入皇宫。洪胜海道：“满清的京城在沈阳，现今叫作盛京，那盛京规模简陋，可万万及不上北京了。小人先前在睿亲王多尔衮手下当差，有块腰牌，可以直进睿亲王府，皇宫却没进去过。”袁承志道：“咱们这就去盛京，到了之后相机行事。” 一行人先到北京，将铁箱安顿好了，派青竹帮的几名得力头目留守，当即出京，向北进发，不一日到了盛京。 众人在一家小客店中歇了，商议混进宫中之策。洪胜海道：“相公，依小人之见，请你委屈一下，扮作小人的伙伴，先去见多尔衮。他是鞑子皇帝的亲弟弟，在各位王爷中最得宠信，权力最大。咱们或能凭着他带进宫去。”袁承志道：“多尔衮派你送信给司礼太监曹化淳，你又怎地回报？”洪胜海道：“小人只说曹化淳还没能见到，但在北京打探到了机密军情，因此先行回报。”袁承志道：“甚么机密军情？”洪胜海道：“小人胡说八道一番，说是明朝皇帝已向西洋国借兵，借来几百门大炮，数千洋枪队，日内就来攻打满清。”袁承志喜道：“此计大妙，多尔衮一听，定要去禀报鞑子皇帝。”于是向青青要了那支洋枪，对洪胜海道：“你说我是西洋兵的通译钱通四，因此得悉内情。” 青青大笑，说道：“承志哥哥，你甚么人不扮，却去扮那个狗通译钱通四，我打掉你满嘴牙齿再说！”说着举起右手，假意向袁承志嘴上打去。袁承志张口便咬，青青忙缩手不迭。袁承志叽哩咕噜的说了几句冒充西洋话，众人尽皆大笑。 当日午后，袁承志随同洪胜海，去睿亲王府求见王爷。多尔衮随即传见。袁承志见那多尔衮三十一二岁年纪，身形高瘦，一脸精悍之气。洪胜海跟他说了一阵满洲话，多尔衮果然神色大变，随即以汉语询问袁承志。袁承志取出洋枪，放在桌上，将先前与洪胜海商量好的言语说了。多尔衮沉吟良久，说道：“你们报讯有功，我有重赏。这就下去吧。明日再来伺候，听取吩咐。”两人无奈，只得磕头退出。 袁承志无缘无故的向鞑子王爷磕了几个头，却见不到皇太极，回到客店，心下老大发闷。寻思一会，要洪胜海带到皇宫外去察看了一番，决意晚间径行入宫行刺。 他想此举不论成败，次日城中必定大索，捉拿刺客，于是要各人先行出城，约定明日午间在城南二十里处一座破庙中相会。各人自知武功与他相差太远，多一人非但帮不了忙，反而成为累赘，单是他一人，脱身便容易得多，俱各遵命，叮咛他务须小心。 青青出门时向袁承志凝望片刻，低声道：“承志哥哥，鞑子皇帝刺得到果然好，刺不到也就罢了，你自己可千万要保重。你知道，在我心中，一百个鞑子皇帝也及不上你一根头发，我若是从此再也见不到你……”说到这里，眼圈儿登时红了。 袁承志要让她宽怀，伸手拔下头上一根头发，笑道：“我送一百个鞑子皇帝给你。”说时将头发递将过去。青青噗哧一笑，眼泪却掉了下来。
袁承志等到初更时分，携了金蛇剑与金蛇锥，来到宫墙之外。眼见宫外守卫严密，悄步绕到一株大树后躲起，待卫士巡过，轻轻跃入宫墙。眼见殿阁处处，却不知皇太极居于何处，一时大费踌躇，心想只有抓到一名卫士或是太监来逼问。 他放轻脚步，走了小半个时辰，不见丝毫端倪，心道：“这件事艰难万分，怎比得当日大功坊中夜探？务须沉住了气，今晚不成，明晚再来，纵然须花一两个月时光，那也不妨。”这么一想，走得更加慢了，绕过一条回廊，忽见花丛中灯光闪动，忙缩身在假山之后，过不多时，只见四名太监提了宫灯，引着三名官员过来。他眼见人多，若是抢出擒人，势必惊动，只要一声张，皇帝有备，便行刺不成了，当下蹑足在后跟随，只见那七人走向一座大殿，进殿去了。见殿外匾额写着“崇政殿”三字，旁边有行弯弯曲曲的满文。 袁承志绕到殿后，伏身在地，只见殿周四五十名卫士执刀守御，心中一喜：“此处守卫森严，莫非鞑子皇帝便在殿中？”在地下慢慢爬近，拾起一块石子，投入花丛。四名卫士闻声过去查看。袁承志展开轻功，已抢到墙边，使出“壁虎游墙功”沿墙而上，顷刻间到了殿顶，伏在屋脊之上，倾听四下无声，自己踪迹未被发见，于是轻轻推开殿顶的几块琉璃瓦，从缝隙中凝目往下瞧去。只见满殿灯烛辉煌，那三名官员正跪在地下，行的是三跪九叩大礼，袁承志大喜：“果然是在参见皇帝。” 只听得最前的一名花白胡子的老官说道：“臣范文程见驾。”其次一名身材魁梧的官员道：“臣宁完我见驾。”最后一名官员脸容尖削，说道：“臣鲍承先见驾。”袁承志心道：“这三个官儿都是汉人，却投降了鞑子，都是汉奸，待会顺手一个一剑。”又想：“他们跟鞑子皇帝怎地又都说汉话？” 缓缓移身向南，从缝隙中向北瞧去，只见龙座上一人方面大耳，双目炯炯有神，约莫五十来岁年纪，那便是父亲当年的大敌皇太极了。寻思：“从此发射金蛇锥，当可取他性命，只是隔得远了，并无十足把握，倘若侍卫之中有高手在内，别要给挡格开去，还是跳下去一剑割了他首级的为是。” 只听皇太极道：“南朝军情这几天怎样？今日接到阿巴泰的急报，说在山东青州、泰安之间中伏，打了个大败仗，难道明军居然还这么能打？你们可知青州、泰安这一带的统兵官是谁？”袁承志心想：“原来他们正在说我们打的这场胜仗，倒要听听他们说些甚么？” 宁完我道：“启禀皇上，臣已详细查过。明军带兵的总兵姓水，名叫水鉴，武艺甚是了得。”皇太极“哦”了一声，道：“你们去仔细查明，能不能设法要他降我大清，瞧他是贪财呢，还是爱美色。倘若他倔强不服，便叫曹化淳在明朝皇帝跟前说他的坏话，罢他的官，杀他的头。但首先要设法令这人为我大清所用。此人能打败阿巴泰，那是人才，咱们决不能轻易放过了。”三名官员齐声道：“皇上圣明英断，那水鉴若肯降顺，是他的福气。” 皇太极叹了口气，说道：“咱们当年使反间计杀了袁崇焕，朕事后想来，常觉可惜……”袁承志听他提到自己父亲的名字，耳中登时嗡的一声，全身发热，心道：“他们使反间计，使反间计！我爹爹果然是他害的。”只听皇太极续道：“倘若袁崇焕能为朕用，南朝的江山这时候多半早已是大清的了。”袁承志暗暗呸的一声，心中骂道：“狗鞑子打的好如意算盘！我爹爹忠肝义胆，岂能降你？” 皇太极又道：“只是袁崇焕为人愚忠，不识大势，谅来也是不肯降的。”又叹了口气，问道：“洪承畴近来怎样？”袁承志知道洪承畴本是明朝的蓟辽总督，崇祯皇帝委以兵马大权，兵败被擒，降了满清。洪承畴失陷之初，崇祯还道他已殉国，曾亲自隆重祭祀。后来得知降清，天下都笑崇祯无知人之明。 范文程道：“启奏皇上，洪承畴已将南朝的实情甚么都说了。他说崇祯刚愎自用，举措失当，信用奸佞，杀害忠良，四方流寇大起。我大清大军正可乘机进关，解民倒悬。”皇太极摇头道：“崇祯的性子，他说得一点儿也不错。但我兵进关却还不是时候。总须让明兵再跟流寇打下去，双方精疲力尽，两败俱伤，大清便可收那渔翁之利，一举而得天下。你们汉人叫做卞庄刺虎之计，是不是？”三臣齐道：“是，是，皇上圣明。” 袁承志暗暗心惊：“这鞑子皇帝当真厉害，崇祯和他相比可是天差地远了。我非杀他不可，此人不除，我大汉江山不稳。就算闯王得了天下，只怕……只怕……”隐隐觉得闯王的才具与此人相较，似乎也颇有不及，只不知心中何以会生出这样的念头来。又想：“这皇帝的汉语可也说得流利得很。他还读过中国书，居然知道卞庄刺虎的典故。” 只听皇太极道：“那洪承畴还说些甚么？”范文程道：“洪承畴向臣露了几次口风，盼望皇上恩典，赏他个差使，他得以为皇上效犬马之劳，仰报天恩。”皇太极哈哈大笑，道：“这差使吗？慢慢再说。”鲍承先道：“皇上，臣愚鲁之极，心中有一事不明白，盼望皇上指明。”皇太极点点头。鲍承先道：“洪承畴先前不肯归顺，皇上大赐恩宠，亲自解下身上的貂裘，披在他身上，又连日大张筵席请他，连我大清的开国功臣也从来没这般殊荣。众臣工都不明白。皇上开导说：咱们这些年来辛辛苦苦、连年征战，为的是甚么？众臣工启奏道：为的是打南朝江山。皇上谕道：是啊，可是咱们不明南朝内情，好比都是瞎子，洪承畴一归顺，咱们都睁开了眼啦，那还不喜欢么？众臣工都拜服皇上圣明。这些日子来，那洪承畴于南朝各地的城守职官、民情风俗，果然说得详详细细，尽在皇上算中。但皇上却不赏他官职封爵，众臣工可都又不明白了。” 皇太极微微一笑，说道：“老鲍性子直爽，想问甚么，倒也直言无忌。你们三个，虽然都是汉人，但早就跟先皇和朕办事，忠心耿耿，洪承畴怎能跟你们相比？”范文程等三人忙爬下磕头，咚咚有声，显是心中感激之极。袁承志暗骂：“无耻，无耻。” 只听皇太极道：“洪承畴这人，本事是有的，可是骨气就说不上了。先前我已待他太好，若再赐他高官厚禄，这人还肯出力办事吗？哼，崇祯封他的官难道还不够大，那时他做的是甚么官？”鲍承先道：“启奏皇上：那时他在南朝官封太子太保、兵部尚书、总督蓟辽军务，麾下统率八名总兵官，实是官大权大。”皇太极道：“照啊。我封他的官再大，也大不过崇祯封他的。要他尽心竭力办事，便不能给他官做。”三臣齐声道：“皇上圣明。” 袁承志越想越有道理，觉得他这驾驭人才的法门实是高明之极，此刻听到这番话，宛似当年在华山绝顶初见《金蛇秘笈》，其中所述法门无不匪夷所思，虽然绝非正道，却令人不由得不服。 他呆了一阵，却听得皇太极在和范文程等商议，日后取得明朝天下之后如何治理，此时如何先为之备，倒似大明的江山已是他掌中之物一般。袁承志心下愤怒，轻轻又揭开了两张琉璃瓦，看准了殿中落脚之处，却听得皇太极道：“南朝所以流寇四起，说来说去，也只一个道理，就是老百姓没饭吃。咱们得了南朝江山，第一件大事，就是要让天下百姓人人有饭吃……”袁承志心下一凛：“这话对极！” 范文程等颂扬了几句。皇太极道：“要老百姓有饭吃，你们说有甚么法子？范先生，你先说说看。”他似对范文程颇为客气，称他“先生”，不像对鲍承先那样呼之为“老鲍”。 范文程道：“皇上未得江山，先就念念不忘于百姓，这番心意，必得上天眷顾。以臣愚见，要天下百姓都有饭吃，第一须得轻徭薄赋，决不可如崇祯那样，不断的加饷搜刮。”皇太极连连点头，说道：“咱们进关之后，须得定下规矩，世世代代，不得加赋，只要库中有余，就得下旨免百姓钱粮。”范文程道：“皇上如此存心，实是万民之福，臣得以投效明主，为皇上粉身碎骨，也所……也所甘愿。”说到后来，语音竟然呜咽了。 袁承志心想：“这个大汉奸，倒似确有爱民之心，不知是做戏呢，还是真心。”皇太极道：“很好，很好。你们汉人骂你们是汉奸，日后你们好好为朕办事，也就是为天下百姓办事，总得狠狠的挣一口气，让千千万万百姓瞧瞧，到底是你们这些人为汉人做了好事呢，还是崇祯手下那些只知升官发财、搜刮百姓的真汉奸做了好事。老宁，你有甚么条陈？” 宁完我道：“启奏皇上：我大清的满洲人少，汉人众多。皇上得了天下之后，以臣愚见，须得视天下满人汉人俱是皇上子民，不可像元朝蒙古人那样，强分天下百姓为四等。只消我大清对众百姓一视同仁，汉人之中纵有倔强之徒，也成不了大事。”皇太极点头道：“此言有理。元人弓马，天下无敌，可是他们在中国的江山却坐不稳，就是为了虐待汉人。这是前车甚么的？”鲍承先道：“前车覆辙。”皇太极微笑道：“对了，老鲍，我读汉人的书，始终不易有甚么长进。”鲍承先道：“皇上日理万机，这些汉人书中的典故，也不必太放在心上。”皇太极叹道：“汉人的学问，不少是很好的。只不过作主子的，读书当学书里头的本事策略，不必学汉人的秀才进士那样，学甚么吟诗作对……” 袁承志听了这些话，只觉句句入耳动心，浑忘了此来是要刺死此人，内心隐隐似盼多听一会，但听他四人商议如何整饬军纪，清兵入关之后，决计不可残杀百姓，务须严禁劫掠。只见两名侍卫走上前来，换去御座前桌上的巨烛，烛光一明一暗之际，袁承志心想：“再不动手，更待何时？”左掌提起，猛力击落，喀喇喇一声响，殿顶已断了两根椽子，他随着瓦片泥尘，跃下殿来，右足踏上龙案，金蛇剑疾向皇太极胸口刺去。 皇太极两侧抢上四名卫士，不及拔刀，已同时挡在皇太极身前。嗤嗤两响，两名卫士已身中金蛇剑而死。皇太极身手甚是敏捷，从龙椅中急跃而起，退开两步。这时又有五六名卫士抢上拦截，宁完我与鲍承先扑向袁承志身后，各伸双手去抱。袁承志左脚反踢，砰砰两声，将宁鲍两人踢得直掼出去。便这么缓得一缓，皇太极又退开了两步。 袁承志大急，心想今日莫要给这鞑子皇帝逃了出去，再要行刺，可就更加不易了，连发两枚金蛇锥，却都给卫士冲上挡去，作了替死鬼。袁承志金蛇剑连刺，更不理会众卫士来攻，疾向皇太极冲去。眼见距他已不过丈许，蓦地里帷幕后抢出八名武士，都是空手，同时扑到。袁承志右足一弹，砰的一响，踢飞了一名，左足鸳