Chapter 222 Chapter VII Bewitched by the Enemy

The small boat passed through the bottom of the bridge and stopped leisurely when it reached the eastern section of Tianjin Bridge in Luoshui. Kou Zhong stood up and shouted, "Where is Wang Shichong?" Wang Shichong, in plain clothes, appeared on the bridge, beside Rong Fengxiang, Lang Feng, Song Mengqiu and six or seven personal guards they knew, but no one from Li Shimin's side was seen. Kou Zhong smiled and said politely: "The prince can finally walk on his own pair of dog legs, it is really gratifying." Wang Shichong remained unmoved, and said in a deep voice, "It's not the first day for you, Kou Zhong, to walk in the rivers and lakes. You should understand the principle of not talking nonsense. You are already here, how do you want to exchange?"

Kou Zhong laughed and said: "Well said! Since the prince is a sensible person, he naturally came up with a way to get the best of both worlds. It not only ensures that we can leave safely, but also can exchange hostages with each other. Why don't you talk about it and discuss it with everyone to see if it is feasible?" Wang Shichong said: "Isn't this simple? We will change people on the bridge, and then I promise to let the three of you leave the city without hindrance. Mr. Rong can be your guarantee." Kou Zhong squinted his eyes and looked up at Wang Shichong on the bridge arch, shook his head and said with a smile: "The prince is not joking, is he? Your guarantee is not worth half a penny, how can Boss Rong guarantee it?"

Rong Fengxiang said in a deep voice: "Then stop talking nonsense and draw the line." Kou Zhong laughed and said: "This is extremely simple, you hand over the person to me, and after I verify that he is behind you, then you open the water gate and let us leave the city, and we will release the person after we leave the city." Wang Shichong said angrily: "You are making wishful thinking, but this must never happen, because who can guarantee that you will still fulfill your promise after you leave the city?" Kou Zhong said calmly: "When did I, Kou Zhong, ever try to keep my promises, and this matter is beyond your choice. As long as you say no, I will kill your precious son. It depends on how many people I have to kill to get away. It’s better than letting you get back your son and order your men to deal with us.”

Rong Fengxiang interjected: "Brother Kou, can you listen to the old man? The current problem is because the replacement is inside the city. If the replacement is outside the city, Brother Kou doesn't have to worry about it!" After exchanging glances with Xu Ziling who was sitting facing him, Kou Zhong shook his head and said, "Boss Rong doesn't seem to know that there is such a thing as chasing, killing and intercepting in the world. With such a replacement, our whereabouts are all in your calculations, and we will regret it at that time." , Is it too late? No need to say too much, if you want to change, you can follow your own method, and you can decide with one word."

Rong Fengxiang's murderous intent flashed away, and he dragged Wang Shichong back to a place on the bridge where Kou Zhong was out of sunlight to discuss. Kou Zhong moved to Xu Ziling's side and asked in a low voice, "Is there any movement in the water?" Xu Ziling shook his head and said, "No! But I always feel that something is wrong, but I don't know where the problem lies." Kou Zhong pondered: "Is it because I can't see Li Xiaozi and his people?" Xu Ziling nodded and said: "This may be one of the reasons, and the main reason is that if Wang Shichong is sincere in changing people, Rong Fengxiang should not be involved."

Kou Zhong was startled and said, "It makes sense!" At this time, Wang Shichong, Rong Fengxiang and others appeared in front of the bridge arch again. Kou Zhong sneered, "I'm getting impatient!" Wang Shichong said calmly: "Let's just trust you. But you need to swear in public and promise to fulfill your promise. If you don't agree, I, Wang Shichong, will have to do my best to avenge my son. If I do falsely, I will be humiliated. If I don't want to live, I want to die." No. You also have to pray to heaven that it will not fall into my hands."

Kou Zhong said disdainfully: "How much is your Wang Shichong? Let's talk!" Wang Shichong shouted: "Bring it up!" Xu Ziling looked away, the upper half of Xu Xingzhi's body appeared on the bridge railing, he saw his hair disheveled, his face was covered with blood stains and scars, his body was tied tightly with thick hemp rope, his eyes were closed tightly, and he seemed to have passed out , can only vaguely recognize his outline. Kou Zhong became suspicious, and shouted: "Wake him up and say a few words!" Wang Shichong yelled coldly: "Leave it to you. Let's talk after checking it out! Throw it down by me."

The two warriors lifted Xu Xingzhi and threw it towards their small boat in the air. Xu Xingzhi, whose upper body was tied up firmly, kept rolling in the air, judging by his momentum, he was still about ten feet away before he fell onto the boat. Xu Ziling waved his oars to meet him. Kou Zhong focused on the situation around him. With a sound of "volt", Xu Xingzhi bounced up in response, and then rolled towards the position of the small boat after rising. At this moment, a sudden change occurred. The thick rope on "Xu Xingzhi" was shattered inch by inch, and he waved his hands, sending out wisps of sharp fingering wind, attacking the two of them.

At the same time, the boat shook violently and turned into many fragments. The two had been prepared for battle, but they still didn't expect that the enemy would work together to completely reverse the situation. Suddenly they were no longer standing in the boat, but were sinking into the river. The wind was blowing all around, and when more than a dozen powerful arrows on both sides of the bank shot at them, countless enemies flew down from the bridge. When the two dodged each other's pointing arrows, they both knew that the only way to reverse the defeat was to control Wang Xuanying again.

The two of them submerged in the water at a rapid speed, and immediately broke out in a cold sweat. I saw Wang Xuanying was wrapped up by something on his body, and moved away obliquely, when he remembered that it was Yuchi Jingde's Guizang whip, it was too late. The two were so painful that they almost cried in the water to vent their resentment and self-blame.But at this moment, there was no time to think about it, countless enemies wearing water jackets and holding crossbows appeared on both sides at the same time, closing towards them. It is almost delusional to avoid these long-range attack weapons with strong penetrating power in the water.

At this time, the lights on both sides of the strait were lit, shining directly on Hanoi. The two sank straight to the dark place at the bottom of the river, as long as the enemy archers in the water caught their shadows, they would never survive. The feeling of helplessness and uselessness was as uncomfortable as a boulder pressing on the chest. If they hadn't chosen to trade on Luoshui, they would have been even more difficult to fly. Xu Ziling first sank to the bottom of the river, touched the mud of the river bed, his heart moved, he hurriedly used the spiral force to push around with both palms.The mud kicked up by the spiral swirled up, and the river water was already turbid in a short while. Kou Zhong applauded the plan and acted according to the law. At the same time, he dived to the bottom of the river and left quickly. The two climbed ashore at the bottom of a bridge in Yishui, south of the city, and could only smile wryly at each other. Kou Zhong sighed: "The enemy is really cunning, he made himself look like a rotten pig's head with disheveled hair and tied body, so I couldn't identify it for a while, otherwise we wouldn't be taken advantage of by the underwater enemy." Xu Ziling stood next to the foot of the bridge, and said in a deep voice: "The one who is pretending to be false should be Changsun Wuji. I can recognize his body and figure as soon as he starts." Kou Zhong murmured: "In my opinion, one of the false actions is to be harmed by them, and the other is to escape first, otherwise Wang Shichong will never let his son take the risk of killing himself. Because this plan is not without flaws, if at that time I am cruel enough and willing to get hurt, there is still enough time to take Wang Xuanying's life." Xu Ziling nodded in agreement and said, "I think so too. Should I try to leave the city after dawn?" Kou Zhong gritted his teeth and said, "I can't swallow this breath. But the enemy is outnumbered, and it's self-inflicted humiliation. What good idea do you have?" Xu Ziling said: "Ten years is not too late for a gentleman to take revenge, so we have to hold back for now. Don't forget that Zhu Yuyan is still watching, she may be more terrifying than Wang Shichong and Li Shimin." Kou Zhong said dejectedly: "Should we just slip away like this?" Xu Ziling said: "As long as we don't die for a day, Wang Shichong won't be able to sleep well. Let's talk about Mr. Xu after we find out about it!" Kou Zhong thought hard: "If the opportunity of false action slipped away, he should look for us, why don't we go back to Yanshi to have a look." Xu Ziling said: "Aren't you the one who contacted Song Jingang, are you going to arrange for us to go to Jiangdu?" Kou Zhongdao: "Except for you, I don't dare to trust anyone. How can I tell if it's another trap? Now I want to change my plan and go to Jiangdu to meet Li Zitong on my own. When the time comes, I will adapt and act according to circumstances. " Xu Ziling stood up and said, "We'd better steal two sets of clean clothes before dawn, so that we can be more majestic when we run for our lives." Kou Zhong smiled and said, "Please let my younger brother lead the way! I am an old friend with the owner of the biggest silk shop in Luoyang!" Miyun, heavy rain seems to be shed at any moment. Xu Ziling squatted at a bakery stall in the market to eat breakfast, thinking of his missing sister-in-law Zhen, although there were people coming and going and the noise shaking the sky, he felt alone. Personnel are constantly changing, and no one can control it. A few days ago, they were guests and distinguished guests whom Wang Shichong relied on for help, but now they have become enemies who turned against each other. Li Shimin could have become a good friend, but now he is an incompatible enemy. At this time Kou Zhong came and said with a smile: "Hello Brother Scarface, how is the steamed bun here compared to Yangzhou?" Xu Ziling put a steamed bun with vegetables and meat into his mouth, and sighed: "The buns are the best when you have no money to buy buns. Have you found Song Jingang's person?" Kou Zhong also stuffed the steamed stuffed bun into his mouth, and said vaguely: "The plan has changed slightly. I have persuaded Song Jingang's people to lend us a small cargo boat. Better than walking on your feet?" Xu Ziling shrugged and said, "Do whatever you like!" Kou Zhong said seriously: "Is this really true?" Xu Ziling frowned and said, "What's your plan?" Kou Zhong put his arms around his shoulders and said, "We will leave tomorrow morning." Xu Ziling smiled wryly, "You're not willing to give up." Kou Zhong said seriously: "This time I really don't want to try to be brave and win, but the matter has a new development." Xu Ziling asked suspiciously, "What new development?" Kou Zhongdao: "Just now I was walking along the Luo River and saw a warship sailing towards the imperial city. I'm sure it came back from Yanshi, because when we came back here by boat, it was still moored outside Yanshi. At the pier." Xu Ziling said: "Isn't this a normal thing?" Kou Zhong proudly said: "But this ship is unusual. Not only is the security on board heavily guarded, but there are more than a dozen speedboats escorting it, and there are cavalry raiding on the shore. Why do you think there is such a big battle? Of course it is afraid of someone The ones who are afraid of robbing the ship are our two heroes, Yangzhou Ssangyong." Xu Ziling was shocked and said: "Xu Xingzhi really sneaked to Yanshi to find us, but now they have captured him back." Kou Zhong resolutely said: "I don't care if there are thousands of troops in the palace, we will go into the palace to save people tonight." Xu Ziling shook his head and said, "Don't wait tonight! We will enter the palace to save people now. Didn't you say that there are still many Yang Tong's old people in the palace? As long as we can sneak into the palace, we can take advantage of it and try to save people come out." Kou Zhong scratched his head and said, "It's daylight, is it a bit of an eyesore for two big men to jump over the wall? I'm afraid people won't welcome you if you enter through the city gate." Xu Ziling looked up at the sky, and said: "This time, it is really up to man to plan things, and God to make things happen. As long as this rain succeeds, we will have a chance to enter the palace to save people, but first we must make preparations, and then we will see if God will help us." .” Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling hid under a small bridge in Huicheng Canal, Daoguangfang, north of the city, looking at the east wall of the imperial city. The dark clouds in the sky were getting thicker and thicker. Although it brought them hope, the heavy rain never fell. It was only half an hour before noon. Xu Ziling thought hard: "Lu Miaozi once said in his chapter on waterways that every large-scale building such as the imperial palace must have a waterway system underneath. This Huicheng Canal should be connected to the waterway below the palace, which is called convenience." Kou Zhong frowned and looked up at the sky, nodded and said, "Lu Miaozi's words are certainly not wrong, but others will think of what we think of. When Yang Gongqing and I were discussing how to break into the palace, Yang Gongqing pointed out All the main canals are equipped with multiple steel gates, unless you become a small fish, you can't pass through, alas! I hope it will rain." Suddenly hooves roared, and more than a thousand knights approached from afar and rushed to the bridge. Kou Zhong took a look with his head, retracted to the bottom of the bridge and said in a low voice, "It's the guards on patrol, do you want to borrow two sets of military uniforms?" Xu Ziling said unhappily: "That will only scare the snakes. If you can enter the palace by wearing a military uniform, then anyone can come in and out freely." Kou Zhong was speechless. The sound of hooves on the bridge was like thunder, and then stopped. The scalps of the two were numb, and they wondered if they had been discovered. One of the imperial guards sighed from above: "It's really unlucky today. I was sent out on duty. It would be much better if I could stay in the palace!" Another person smiled and said: "What are you, so what if you stay in the palace, do you have the right to listen to Shang Xiufang's singing?" The others let out a mocking laugh. The sound of hoofbeats reappeared and gradually faded away. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at me, two pairs of tiger eyes lit up at the same time. Kou Zhong stood on the ground and said: "Shang Xiufang is only willing to go to any banquet in the afternoon as usual, and she said that she wants to borrow two sets of military uniforms!"