Chapter 117 Chapter Eleven Under the Reward

At noon the next day, the boat arrived at Hannan, another big city before Jingling, and the dock was full of boats, but there were only boats turning back, but no boats heading in the direction of Jingling. The boatman went to inquire about the news, but there were different opinions. Some people said that there were bandits blocking the river to rob ships, some said that Jingling City was destroyed by the Jianghuai army, and even that there were water ghosts digging boats in the river. In short, people were panicked and no one dared to drive forward. Of course, this boatman is no exception, no matter how much Xu Yang and others try to lure him, he will never take this risk.

Finally the boatman said: "Why don't I sell this boat to you and let you go to Jingling by yourself!" Xu Yang and the others looked at each other in blank dismay, because no one knew how to maneuver a boat. Kou Zhong "stepped forward" at this moment, patting his chest to express that everything was on him. The transaction was completed with a lot of money. After the boatman left happily with Jin Huan, Kou Zhong said: "Our luggage and supplies are all left in Xiangyang. Now that we have arrived in Hannan, why don't we go to the city to buy everything first? It is best to buy a dozen strong bows and a thousand sticks of strength. Arrow, if something happens, you won't be in the situation of being beaten."

He said again: "There are fire oil, oilcloth and other things. I am best at water warfare, and fire attack is the most important thing, so you must be prepared." Shang Xiuxun, dressed in men's clothing, asked doubtfully, "Are you really good at it?" Kou Zhong said triumphantly: "Haven't you heard about my mighty record of defeating the Haisha Gang? If I don't have a little bit of water combat, how can I defeat the Haisha Gang?" Liang Zhi asked humbly, "Then what else should I buy?" Seeing Xu Ziling snickering aside, Kou Zhong called him "what's so funny?" and then told everyone what they needed to buy one by one.

Chen Yan, Luo Fang and the others listened attentively, and rushed away, each following their orders to go shopping in the city. Seeing that he had nothing to do, Kou Zhong proposed to have a meal at the restaurant next to the pier first. Liang Zhi shook his head and said: "The times are not good, and this ship is hard to come by. You go! I will take care of the ship." Shang Peng and Shang He also refused to go ashore. Seeing Kou Zhong's expectant look, Shang Xiuxun said softly, "Okay!" Xu Ziling was about to say he wanted to go back to his room to rest, but Kou Zhong dragged him away.

Shang Xiuxun stepped into the restaurant and immediately frowned. It turned out that it was crowded with people from all walks of life, from all walks of life, and filled all the more than 30 tables. Shang Xiuxun turned around and left. Kou Zhong tugged at her sleeve and said, "Don't worry, the host, the subordinates will make proper arrangements." Shang Xiuxun shook off his hand and said, "If you want me to sit at a table with these people, it won't work. If you want to squeeze you, let's squeeze enough!" Kou Zhong smiled and said: "I told you that you can rest assured. We know the owner's temper, so give me a few taels of silver first! I'll immediately change into a private seat and come out to show you."

Shang Xiuxun said angrily, "Don't you have any money yourself?" Kou Zhong said with a playful smile: "It's a little bit, but how can it compare to the wealth of the owner?" Shang Xiuxun suppressed a smile, grabbed three taels of silver and put it in his open palm. Kou Zhong took the money and left boldly. Shang Xiuxun moved to Xu Ziling's side, and said softly, "I haven't had a chance to thank you yet!" Knowing that she was referring to the fight together that night, Xu Ziling smiled and said, "That was an unforgettable memory, I should thank you."

Shang Xiuxun said with a "puchi" coquettish smile: "You and Kou Zhong are two completely different types of people. I really don't understand how you can get mixed up. He can exaggerate small things into big things, but you like to talk about them." Big things become trivial things.” Xu Ziling said: "Usually he will have the kind of virtue you mentioned, but when encountering real big events, he will never mess around. Maybe everyone has his other side!" Shang Xiuxun suddenly blushed, and said in a low voice: "I suddenly feel very happy, do you want to know the reason?"

A strange feeling arose in Xu Ziling's heart, and he asked in surprise, "What is the host happy about?" Shang Xiuxun shrugged her shoulders coquettishly and said calmly: "There is no reason at all. After I became the host, it is the first time that I am not happy about something particularly happy. Childhood feeling." Xu Ziling nodded and said: "The words of the host are really thought-provoking, hey! That kid has succeeded!" Under the heavy reward, the bought guy specially added a small table by the window for them, so that no one would come to sit on it, and they could enjoy the scenery of Hanshui Wharf.

After ordering food and wine, the waiter bowed and went. Shang Xiuxun said with satisfaction: "You have some knowledge, but it's a bit expensive to buy an empty table for three taels of silver." Kou Zhong smiled and said, "It's just a tael of silver." Shang Xiuxun asked in amazement, "What about the other two taels of silver?" Kou Zhong didn't even think about it, he replied: "Let's leave it for a while to pay the bills! Now you are acting like a delicate and expensive, white-faced and beardless Mr. Guijie, this kind of rough work of paying bills should be done by us followers. Look! There's another good thing staring at you salivating."

Shang Xiuxun's pretty face burned up, and she said fiercely: "You really can't grow ivory from your mouth, can you be more serious and gentle." Xu Ziling laughed and said, "The host has fallen for the trick. He said these words on purpose to distract you, so that you won't force him to vomit out the silver taels that he's pocketed. Why do you need so much money for the food and drinks you just ordered?" Shang Xiuxun happily said: "That's great! Xiaoling is helping me!" Turning to Kou Zhong's big palm, he said coquettishly, "Take it back!"

Kou Zhong held her delicate jade palm, lowered his head and studied: "Hold the three peaks in the palm, and you will have fame and fortune!" Shang Xiuxun withdrew her hands in embarrassment, and said angrily, "How could you be so rude." Kou Zhong yelled: "It's not fair! Let Xiaoling hold hands and have a heart-to-heart talk, why don't we just look at the palms?" Shang Xiuxun said in great embarrassment: "He has it!" Looking at the corner of his eyes, seeing Xu Ziling laughing dumbly, he came to his senses, stomped his feet and said, "Don't think I will fall into your trick again, quickly spit out the embezzled money." After saying that, she covered her mouth and kept laughing, causing more people to look at her handsome young master. Kou Zhonghu's eyes lit up coldly, and he scanned the audience, scaring those people back quickly. Shang Xiuxun gasped with a smile and said, "If you, Mr. Kou, are in urgent need of silver taels, I will not be stingy with ten ingots and eight ingots of gold. Why do you need to steal and swindle for mere two taels of silver?" Kou Zhong heaved a sigh of relief, stretched his waist and smiled, "Men who spread their palms to beg for money are the most worthless, and those who work hard to earn money are the most handsome." Xu Ziling's heart skipped a beat when he heard that. These two sentences can best sum up Kou Zhong's state of mind in striving for world hegemony. He disdains what is easy to get, but the more difficult and challenging things are, the more enthusiastic he is. Otherwise, he has accepted Du Fuwei back then, which is hard to refuse. proposed. Shang Xiuxun was obviously in a good mood and didn't care about Kou Zhong any more. At this time, the waiter brought the food, and the two of them leaned over their desks to munch, but she glanced out the window, looked at the boats returning from the Han River and said, "Who can tell me What happened to Jingling?" Kou Zhong's mouth was full of food, but he still mumbled, "A piece of gold!" Shang Xiuxun lost his voice and said, "What? I haven't calculated the two taels of silver with you just now, and now you want to be a worthless beggar?" Kou Zhong said solemnly: "Under heavy rewards, there must be a brave man. If you want information, others want gold, so fair!" Seeing his strange appearance, Shang Xiuxun couldn't help but give him a sideways glance, took out an ingot of gold, and said viciously: "It's easy for you to say, one tael of silver buys an empty table, one ingot Buying gold is ghost news, I don’t know if people who want to make gold are talking nonsense.” Kou Zhong swallowed the food and sighed comfortably: "Money is for spending, silver taels that are not spent are just waste. This is a society where money is bartered. If you spend it properly, you can enjoy everything comfortably. , life is colorful, and it can also earn you fame, fortune, power, and even the throne of the emperor's child." Shang Xiuxun moved and said: "So you want to learn from others and strive to be emperor, but now you spend all my money!" Xu Ziling was an onlooker, seeing Kou Zhong doing his best to make Shang Xiuxun overjoyed, greatly reducing the distance between him and the two, it was his means to win this beautiful woman to support him in the future. Kou Zhong suddenly stood up unexpectedly, held up the gold, and shouted: "Who can tell me what happened to Jingling, this ingot of gold is his." His voice spoke out vigorously, and immediately suppressed all the noises that sounded like a market. Everyone looked at him, and when they saw the yellow gold he was holding up in mid-air, 70% of them shouted "know" and stood up abruptly, creating a commotion. "Zheng!" Kou Zhong pulled out Jing Zhongyue, with a light wave, the treasured sword shot up into the sky like lightning, the blade's edge was deeply embedded in the beam. When the part of the knife protruding from the beam was still trembling, Kou Zhong shouted loudly: "I am the Kou Zhong who cut off Ren Shaoming's bird head, if anyone dares to lie to me with nonsense If everyone knows the news, I will kick his mother's balls." After these few words, everyone sat back immediately, and stopped humming. At this moment, a middle-aged man dressed as a scholar stood up spontaneously, and he couldn't speak more calmly. Kou Zhong shouted: "You continue to eat, the uncle doesn't like being watched by others!" All the guests were silent, and buried their heads at the dinner table, and the voices of talking and laughing were greatly reduced. Kou Zhong pointed to the middle-aged Confucian scholar and said, "Come here!" Then Dama Jindao sat down and said to Shang Xiuxun who was shaking with laughter: "It's interesting! This is the power of gold combined with a knife." Shang Xiuxun rolled his coquettish eyes, and cursed in a low voice: "You're a bloody bully." A strange feeling arose in Fangxin at the same time. She has always been aloof in the Pegasus Ranch, not to mention being teased or teased by others, and she can't even find anyone who wants to confide in her heart.It's the kid in front of me who always makes me happy, but also shame and anger. This is indeed a fresh and moving feeling. She couldn't help but cast a glance at Xu Ziling, he was showing a thoughtful expression, which was another feeling that touched her heartstrings. When the middle-aged Confucian scholar came to the stage, the waiter hurriedly set up a chair for him, and returned the front and rear of Master Kou for fear that he would not be well served. After the buddy left, Kou Zhong put the gold in front of the Confucian scholar, said with a slight smile, "Let's see what qualifications you have to earn this gold." The Confucian scholar smiled and said, "I'm a person from Jingling, who used to work as a clerk under Fang Daoyuan, the right vanguard of the domineering villa. I just came here this morning by boat. May I ask Lord Kou, is this qualification acceptable?" This man spoke gracefully and calmly, neither humble nor overbearing, the three of them couldn't help but look at him again. Xu Xingzhi is about thirty years old, his eyes are hidden, he is obviously proficient in martial arts, and has a considerable foundation, his eyes are straight and his nose is straight, and he has five long beards, which match his delicate features. Quite a bit of fairy style. Kou Zhong nodded and said: "There is no problem with qualifications, please continue!" Xu Xingzhi looked up at Jing Zhongyue on the beam, and said spontaneously: "The most important thing in using troops is military intelligence. Can Lord Kou add an extra ingot of gold?" When Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other in astonishment, Shang Xiuxun took out another ingot of gold, put it heavily on the front desk beside him, and snorted coldly: "If what you said is not worth two ingots of gold, I will cut off one of you." ear." Xu Xingzhi laughed, took the two ingots of gold into his arms, and said without fear: "Everyone, don't worry, I will definitely earn these two ingots of gold." Kou Zhong said impatiently: "Hurry up!" Xu Xingzhi still took his time, and said slowly: "Jingling is facing external troubles and internal troubles. Outside, there are Jianghuai troops resting heavily outside the city, cutting off water and land traffic; inside, there are alluring witches, causing brothers to close the wall and kill each other. " Kou Zhong and the others immediately changed their expressions, and at the same time felt that the two ingots of gold flowers were worth the money. Xu Ziling said in a deep voice, "Is that demon girl called Wanwan?" This time it was Xu Xingzhi's turn to be surprised and said: "This is Mr. Xu! How do you know this girl?" Shang Xiuxun said: "Let's talk about these things later, you report to me about Jingling in detail, don't miss anything." The way of false action: "If my guess is correct, the young lady should be Shang Xiuxun, the owner of the Pegasus Ranch, so she cares about Jingling so much, and she is so generous." The three of them were moved again, feeling that this false action was by no means simple.Of course, Shang Xiuxun's domineering attitude also reveals that she is used to giving orders, but she is just too embarrassed to say so. Kou Zhongdao: "What happened to Jingling, and why do you know that Wanwan is a witch? Because she looks like a fairy on the surface." Xu Xingzhi smiled bitterly and said: "Since she pretended not to wake up, I have reminded Master Fang that this girl's background is strange and unreasonable, but Master Fang ignored my words and was only obsessed with her beauty." Xu Ziling wondered: "Didn't Fang Daoyuan know that Houhou belongs to Fang Zhuang?" Xu Xingzhi sighed: "This is why I want to remind Lord Fang. No one knows what happened between the demon girl and Lord Fang, but Master Fang was killed by Fang Zetao in the end. Fortunately, I know that disaster is inevitable. Only when we are prepared can we escape from Jingling alone in time. Now Fang Zetao has no more generals available, and the morale of the army is shaken. If I were the owner of the mall, the best strategy now is to return to the ranch immediately, prepare the army for war, and at the same time contact various forces to Resist the invasion of the Jianghuai army." The three of them heard you look at me, but they didn't expect Jingling to be so inferior. The strong city, which was originally as stable as an iron barrel, has been messed up by Houhou and is in danger. Kou Zhongdao: "What about Du Fuwei's situation?" Xu Xingzhi replied: "Du Fuwei personally led an army of 70,000 to besiege Jingling, but opened the official road in the southeast to shake the hearts of Jingling's soldiers and civilians and smash their will to defend to the death. It is indeed brilliant. Jingling Now that the general situation is over, the destruction of the city is only a matter of time." Shang Xiuxun said coldly: "The gold is yours now." Xu Xing knew that she was issuing an order to evict guests, and was about to get up to leave, Kou Zhonghu shot a sharp cold light, and smiled: "What is Mr. Xu's plan in the future?" Xu Xingzhi smiled wryly and said: "I originally wanted to take refuge in Guangdong, but I was a little bit unwilling, so I haven't made a decision yet." Kou Zhong tentatively said: "For a talent like Mr., when the rebels from all walks of life are employing people, why don't you try your luck around?" Xu Xingzhi sighed: "In terms of power, Li Mi should be the most important now; but in the long run, Li Clan should be the most profitable by relying on the danger in Guanzhong. But I don't like Li Mi's rebellion, and I don't like Gao The consistent official style of the family. Let’s not talk about other things.” Shang Xiuxun was surprised and said: "Li Yuan's second son, Li Shiminxiong, is very talented, and he prefers to make friends with the world's heroes. He appoints only talents, and once he has washed away the family's decadence, why does he get such a bad review from his master?" Euphemistic way: "If the Li Clan can be ruled by Li Shimin, unification can be expected. The problem is that Li Yuan is cowardly and foolish, and he abandons Li Shimin and makes his eldest son Jian as the heir apparent. Although Li Jiancheng has high martial arts skills, he is self-willed, suspicious and jealous, that's all. It seems that I should find a quiet place and be a bystander watching the excitement!" Kou Zhong's eyes became brighter, he laughed and said: "Sir, if you were born in this world, if you don't start a career vigorously, you will have learned something in your chest. If it were me, instead of striving for a lifetime, it would be better to achieve something from nothing." Some people start a new game, even if the horse is shrouded in leather, it is better than being depressed month by month." Xu Xingzhi was stunned and said: "It turns out that Lord Kou has great ambitions, but the general trend of the world has already been achieved, so what else can we do?" Kou Zhong said with a smile: "The beauty of it, I will talk about it later, if I, Kou Zhong, should not die in Jingling, I will meet the former master in Luoyang." Xu Xing's expression changed: "Are you still going to Jingling?" Shang Xiuxun said solemnly: "It's not what we did when we were afraid of difficulties and retreated." Xu Xingzhi pondered for a while, looked at Kou Zhong carefully for a while, and said decisively: "Just because of the courage of Kou and Xu to assassinate Ren Shaoming, I will wait for you in Luoyang for three months. " Only then did he happily say goodbye to the secret that he had made an appointment to meet. After taking Jing Zhongyue from the table, Kou Zhong and others hurried back to the ship, and immediately set sail after everyone returned one after another, hoping that Jingling would be released.