Chapter 4 Chapter Four

Reunited after a long absence, both of them dropped their weapons and hugged each other tightly.Wang Jian took Jin Hui's hand, looked him up and down, and said with emotion: "I beat you to Chang'an, and I dreamed that you would come back! I'm not in a dream, am I?" "I didn't even enter the door of Xuzhou's hometown, so I rushed to Wuyang. I miss my brother!" "I'm in a hurry to rush to the county seat, so I won't take you home yet, you follow me to a small hotel." "I was just about to ask, why is Myna so hurried?" "Well, Tian Wei reported to me in the afternoon that Brother Shitai came from Xuzhou to meet on important matters, and we met at Banxianju before Xushi. I couldn't make out two or three sentences. I reckoned that it might be the group. Something went wrong."

Jin Hui probably understood that the "batch of goods" Wang Jian was referring to should be a private salt sale.The Tian Wei mentioned was a gangster who used to wander with Wang Jian's subordinates, and was a native of Wuyang.And the "big brother Shitai" he mentioned should refer to Li Shitai, who is the heir of a squire in Xuzhou.In the past, when Wang Jian and his group were active in Xuzhou, they made friends with Li Shitai.As for how this person also joined Wang Jian to sell salt together, it is not known. The two bypassed a fork in the road, and in a somewhat remote alley, they saw a neat row of attics.Overhanging the corridor on the second floor is a large red-edged and light-yellow-bottomed cover, with the words "Banxianju" written in ink on it.Although this restaurant is not one of the best in Wuyang County, it is somewhat well-known inside and outside the county because of its two skilled cooks.Although it was already evening, many businesses were still open. When approaching this spacious restaurant, there was a waiter standing leisurely at the door, with a clean white cloth towel on his shoulder, leaning against the red-painted doorpost.In an elegant room facing the street on the south side of the second floor above the verandah, half of the window is propped up by a slanting rod.A tall man in his early thirties, with a curly beard and a bamboo hat on his head, was leaning against the window, silently watching the passers-by on the street.

"Guest officer, please come inside!" The shop clerk suddenly walked two steps to the side of the street, smiling all over his face.The big man followed his voice and looked down the street: he saw two people coming up one behind the other. The one in front wearing a bamboo hat was Wang Jian, whom he knew; followed by a young man in his twenties, seven feet long, and dressed in plain clothes. And clean, but also led a tall horse.The man tied the horse to the stake at the entrance of the inn and followed Wang Jian into the inn. The big man upstairs took two quick steps, left the private room, and met the stairs. Seeing the two people rushing upstairs, he quickly took off his bamboo hat and said, "Old Ba, you are finally here." Wang Jian pulled him over. The big man held his hand and said in a low voice: "Brother Shitai has been waiting for a long time." The three of them entered the private room and closed the door.

"After Tian Wei delivered the letter, I rushed over. What happened?" Wang Jian got straight to the point as soon as he sat down. Li Shitai slanted his eyes and looked up and down Jin Hui, hesitant to speak. It was only then that Wang Jian remembered to introduce to the two of them: "This is Big Brother Shitai, the famous steel knife white bear in Xuzhou." Jin Hui cupped his fists and looked at this person whom Wang Jian had mentioned many times: this person is tall and tall, Big shoulders and round waist, black and bushy beards on both cheeks, but a broad face as white as a scholar, no wonder he got the nickname "White Bear".

"This is Jin Guangyuan, a well-known chivalrous man from Xuzhou in the past. Guangyuan just came from Xuzhou to meet me today, and he has a life-long friendship with me. Close the door, we are a gang, serve the soup, we The three are also scooping in the same basin. Brother, feel free to tell me anything, Guangyuan is not an outsider." Shi Tai nodded, sighed with frowning eyebrows, and said with some regret: "The salt was lost on the eighth day of last month, and Zhang Jie... was also arrested." "How did this happen? I specifically told First Young Master Chen about this batch of goods. How could something happen to him with his official background?"

"Hmph!" Li Shitai clenched his fists and said angrily, "Chen Deguang? I suspect that guy wants to swallow this batch of goods. I heard that the little emperor of Gou Ri asked every state in Henan Province to arrest 20 troublesome people. Zhang Jie That fiery temper, coupled with his heartlessness, must have annoyed that guy. Now, that guy is colluding with the officials behind him, and has taken Zhang Jie as a troublemaker!" Wang Jian frowned, but said nothing.At this moment, there was a knock on the door—— "Brother, it's me." The door opened, and two people came in one behind the other.The person in front of him was in his early twenties, tall and thin, with a sharp mouth and monkey cheeks. He was the aforementioned Tian Wei.The young man behind Tian Wei, who is no more than twenty years old, is named Zhou Dequan, and he has also followed Wang Jian since he was a child.

Li Shitai continued: "I came this time just to hear your opinion. It's not a big deal if the goods are lost this time. What should I do? Do you want to save them?" "Of course we need to be saved!" Wang Jian said firmly. "Old Ba, if you think about it clearly, people can be saved, but in the eyes of the officials, what we robbed was the court's most important criminal. If things go wrong, it's not a simple crime of dumping goods." "People must be saved, big brother must have scruples..." "Bird! I, Li Shitai, are those cowards who are afraid of death? I just said the ugly things first, and people can be saved. That would be like completely turning against Chen Deguang. Now, we can only find another way out..."

"Brother, let me tell you, there is no need to lose the jobs of dozens of brothers because of Lao Zhang alone!" Tian Wei is straightforward, and he opened his mouth, "What do you do on weekdays like shaking dice, wiping knives, and visiting brothels?" He didn't do it. The man surnamed Chen has a connection in the Xuzhou Yamen, and he is also related to the gelding in the palace. The brothers in our area have given him some money for so long. It's not bad. This time, Lao Zhang If it hadn't been for moving that guy's best friend, this kind of thing wouldn't have happened. He was the only one who smashed the goods in more than a dozen local businesses in Xuzhou. The other people were in trouble, and they stabbed their brothers with knives. You can trade a cheap life, but Lao Zhang, I just don’t think it’s worth it!”

Tian Wei and Zhang Jie were looking for Li Shitai to order goods together, so he knows the whole story best.After hearing what he said, everyone realized that it was Zhang Jie who offended Chen Deguang first, which led to the loss of the goods and the dating of someone else. Li Shitai said: "Old Ba, what Tian Wei said is reasonable. There are rules and regulations, and Lao Zhang and his superiors will tear themselves apart first. We can't break this rule. It's really not worthwhile to put the future of dozens of brothers on the line." Wang Jian remained silent all this time. After listening carefully to what Tian Wei and Li Shitai said, he finally expressed his own opinion: "What you say is reasonable. If you save people, our jobs will be ruined in the future; but if you don't save people What? Zhang Jie is full of problems, especially his color, and he has indeed done a lot of unconscionable things. But after all, he is our brother who goes up in a boat and eats in a bowl. Seeing that he fell into the water, he didn’t reach out his hand Not to mention that people on the rivers and lakes will point at the back and scold us for being unjust, I am afraid that you and I will not be able to pass the test of our own conscience! The person who robbed Chen Deguang under the knife, it is true that he has a serious relationship with him; but letting go No matter, the beam formed today is still a knot, and I am afraid it will not be so easy to eat this bowl of rice. What we are doing now is not a righteous way of making a living. The stomach is the one who takes the risk. Rabbits bite people when they are in a hurry! These days, if you can’t survive, you will turn against him! Wang Xianzhi in Puzhou turned against him a few days ago, and now the wronged Huang Chao is also making trouble. Want me Look, their tossing this time will not be less noisy than Pang Xun's movement a few years ago. Huang Chao and his men only have eight people. "

Li Shitai was taken aback by Wang Jian's words: "Old Ba, why did you make such a move? Are you just talking casually, or did you think about it carefully?" "I'm laying out the way out. I'm not afraid of the worst plan, and I can go the other way." Said, Wang Jian looked at Li Shitai sincerely, the only oil lamp on the dining table was flickering a weak flame , dyed Li Shitai's originally pale face red, "Brother, how can Zhang Jie say that he is our brother, at a critical moment of life and death, we have to give him a hand! I know, if your friendship with him has not reached the point of risking your life to save him, even if you Give Wang Jian some face, I want to do this, and I have to ask my elder brother to help me."

Li Shitai slammed the table with his clenched fist: "I've won! You've given me such an idiot, and if I don't help, I'm not loyal enough! I'll listen to you, you'll be hit by a prisoner car robbery, a mountain of knives and a sea of ​​​​fire!" Wang Jian turned his head to look at Tian Wei again.Tian Wei gritted his teeth: "Mynah, don't look at me. Since I stretched out my hand when I was distributing the copper coins, I won't be left behind when I'm breaking through the gate of hell! Once you order, I will follow with a simple knife!" "Okay!" Wang Jian saw that there was no objection from the crowd, so he said to the youngest Zhou Dequan, "Dequan, go and find out, what are they going to do with Zhang Jie?" "I've found out a long time ago that in order to deal with the little emperor's errands, the governor of Xuzhou wanted to escort twenty troublemakers to Luoyang for questioning and beheading, and they were apportioned to Wuyang. The heads were four. The county magistrate of Wuyang County and Chen Deguang are relatives. Chen Deguang has already captured four people through various means, including Big Brother Zhang, and they are all locked up in Wuyang Prison. We will set off at noon tomorrow and take them to Xuzhou." "Old Ba, tell me, what do you do?" "There are two roads from Wuyang to Xuzhou. The Luan Grave Mound, fifteen miles north of the county, is the fork. It is the only way they must pass. Brother, you are resting in the store today. The shopkeeper is one of your own, so don't worry. Tomorrow morning, we will meet at the top of Luanfengangzi Mountain." After the discussion, Wang Jian led Jin Hui back home.At this time, night fell, and a crescent moon coldly sprinkled the afterglow, guiding the two of them on their way home.Jin Hui's horse trampled on the street rhythmically, and the sound of horseshoes spread into the distant silence. "Guangyuan, you didn't come at the right time. You and I don't even have time to reminisce about the past..." In the dark night, Wang Jian's deep voice revealed a sense of apology. "To save Zhang Jie tomorrow, I will go too." Jin Hui's voice was as calm as water. "You? No, no!" Wang Jian shook his head again and again, "Your father is a high-ranking official in Xuzhou, what's the matter with you getting involved? Besides, you also know that we will all be homeless if things don't work out, how can we get involved? you?" "Brother, you're out of touch if you say that. Your business is mine. You don't care about your own future for the sake of a brother. I haven't seen you for so many years. Your temperament hasn't changed at all! Besides, my father offended the eunuch Tian Lingzi was dismissed as a citizen, and he has already returned to his hometown to work in agriculture. Since I have caught up with this matter, I can’t ignore it! Don’t persuade me, if you talk too much, you and my brother will be alienated.” Wang Jian Hearing Jin Hui's sincerity, I was very grateful: "Okay, I won't persuade you anymore. Let's get a good night's sleep tonight, and when this matter is settled tomorrow, you and my brother will sit down and talk to him for three days. Three nights." Wang Jian didn't say any more, he led the way, Jin Hui led the horse, and the two gradually moved away from each other, the rhythm of the horse stepping on the ridge disappeared in the night... In the early winter, the grass and trees in the Central Plains withered, and there was no greenery to be seen.With the northwest wind blowing, the dust on the top of Chakou Mountain was swept away one after another. Wang Jian and his party hid quietly behind the dead branches on the top of the mountain, watching vigilantly the wind and grass in the direction of Wuyang County.At the foot of the mountain is a narrow dirt road, which divides into two from here, and both roads can lead to Xuzhou.The road to the northeast is the path that Jin Hui passed when he came to Wuyang. After waiting for about an hour, the sound of "creaking" wheels turning was heard from a distance.Wang Jian poked his head out and saw dozens of people escorting two prison cars slowly moving towards the fork.The team was getting closer, and Wang Jian could see clearly that there were two escorts in each of the two wooden prison carts, and four or five people in front of the team were riding horses, and the one in the middle was Chen Deguang, who had dealt with him many times in the past few years.There were about forty people on both sides of the prison car, among them were seven or eight servants of the county government, and the rest were disheveled, probably members of the Chen family.Although there are not many people, all of them are fully armed with weapons on their waists.Wang Jian guessed that apart from Zhang Jie, the remaining three people who were captured as troublemakers were by no means real villains.There is no turning back when the bow is opened. Wang Jian has no idea how to go in the future, but he has a premonition that his life will be completely changed as a result.The Chen family is the largest family in Wuyang, and this person is also a local bully, who is also related to officials from neighboring counties and counties. If he takes someone from him, no matter whether he succeeds or not, Wuyang will not be able to stay in the future... But in front of him, the arrow is on the string and has to be launched, and he can't take care of these many things.Thinking of this, Wang Jian pulled out the treasured knife from his waist and wiped it on his trousers... Just before the team came to the fork, they heard a noise from the top of the mountain.The gang of guards and servants probably didn't expect that when Fang walked out of the county town for more than ten miles, he would actually encounter someone who robbed him, and he was a little flustered for a while.But when they saw clearly that there were only a few people coming, they calmed down and each held a weapon to protect the prison cart.Chen Deguang took a closer look, he knew Li Shitai and Wang Jian who were the leaders, and immediately understood that the other party came to save Zhang Jie. "Wang Guangtu, you are quite courageous, you dare to rob someone without looking at who it is?" "Master Chen, I don't want to make things difficult for you. If you leave Zhang Jie behind, I will let you go immediately." "Oh! What a big tone. Let me tell you, you should get out as soon as possible today. Want someone? There is no way!" Wang Jian didn't want to spend too much time with the other party, so he stepped forward and swung his knife at Chen Deguang. Tian Wei took the simple knife and slashed left and right and went straight to the prison car where Zhang Jie was imprisoned.However, there are so many defenders, it is difficult for Tian Wei to parry a dozen big servants, let alone get close to the prison car.Seeing this, Jin Hui drew his sword and rushed to the prison car from the other side. In an instant, dozens of people fought in a mess around the prison car.Wang Jian led Chen Deguang aside alone, and the two of them fought each other for dozens of rounds.And Jin Hui's swordsmanship is obviously more than enough to deal with these servants, and it didn't take long to attract several defenders.At this moment, a cheer suddenly came from the prison car: "Well played!" Jin Hui only felt that the voice was so familiar. He waved his sword and turned around to see that a man with disheveled hair in the prison car turned out to be Meng Yanfan, the money-spending businessman he met in the hotel earlier.Jin Hui didn't have time to figure out why Meng Yanfan was also locked in the prison van. He only had one belief at the moment, which was to save people quickly, not only to save Zhang Jie, but to save all four of them. Just when Jin Hui was fighting more and more fiercely, Tian Wei seized a gap, jumped into the prison car, split open the wooden cage with two slashes, and released Zhang Jie and others.Zhang Jie was originally a fierce tiger, but he has been imprisoned and tortured for the past few days, and now he can't even speak a word.Zhou Dequan rushed forward and carried Zhang Jie on his back. Most of the other prisoners were still able to move around, and they all hid behind Tian Wei's knife and rejoiced that they were also saved. Seeing that Zhang Jie was rescued, Wang Jian yelled at Li Shitai: "Leave this to me, brother, take them away quickly!" Fork in the road and run away.At this time, only Wang Jian and Jin Hui were left at the fork, and Chen Deguang gave an order, and more than 20 people surrounded Wang Jian and the two brothers.The two could only stand back to back and wield their weapons.While Jin Hui stabbed with the sword, he saw Wang Jian flying up and down with the knife in his hand from the corner of his eye.Although it is a knife, it can make clouds flow like a sword.Facing more than a dozen officers and soldiers rushing up in front of him, he was calm and unhurried, his saber skills were continuous and gentle, and his defense was impeccable.Suddenly, Wang Jian flicked his wrist, and the blade changed direction. In the blink of an eye, several knives were stabbed out, and several people who rushed in front fell to the ground.Chen Deguang took the opportunity to raise his sword and stab, Wang Jian rolled and jumped up on the spot, and wiped the knife on Chen Deguang's neck with his backhand.Chen Deguang screamed and fell off his horse with a plop. When everyone saw that the leader was cut down, they were in a mess.Wang Jian grabbed Jin Hui and ran away. "The young master was hacked to death!" "Catch 'em, don't let 'em get away!" Looking back, Wang Jian was glad that they didn't go another way to chase Li Shitai and others. He thought that as long as they arrived in Xuzhou safely, Zhou Dequan and Li Shitai were both natives of Xuzhou, so they would naturally find a way.So without hesitation, the two of them walked like flying to the northwest fork with Jin Hui. After running for half a mile, in order to get rid of the pursuers behind them, the two simply took a small path to the west and escaped.He ran for more than 30 miles in one breath, and there was no sound of chasing soldiers behind him, so he slowed down his pace out of breath. At this time, the sky had already darkened, and the two entered the rugged mountain road unknowingly.The branches all over the mountain are connected into a huge net, which makes it difficult to distinguish the position of the moon.At night, there is a mountain wind, mixed with the sound of howling wolves, which is very frightening.Wang Jian didn't think well. After running for such a distance to the west, he was no longer in Wuyang County. He had hardly been here before. If he continued to move forward rashly, he might be in trouble if he lost his way.So he discussed with Jin Hui, it seemed that those servants would not be able to catch up here, so tonight they had to find a nearby shelter from the wind to make do for the night. Taking advantage of the moonlight, Jin Hui and Wang Jian walked along the gurgling stream for another distance, and found a cave in a shoal.The two entered the hole stooping, and they couldn't see their fingers in the hole.Wang Jian casually picked up a stone from the ground and threw it into the cave. After a long time, the sound of the stone falling to the ground was heard from the depths.The hole is so deep! "Is anyone there?" Jin Hui called into the cave.In the dark night, when they came to such a strange cave, even the two desperadoes felt a little scared in their hearts.The echo came back for a long time, and the cave was extremely quiet, only the clear and gentle music of the mountain stream outside the cave could be heard faintly.