Volume 2 Wu Zhong Ke Chapter 25 Unexpected Joy

  The raindrops on the leaves dripped and dropped, and the plum rains that had lasted for over a month finally came to an end.

  After the rain, the sky is clear, with a brilliant sunset on the horizon. Under the glow of the setting sun, Yin Xu and Ying Bu stood at the entrance of the cave, gazing into the distance.

  "The rain has stopped!"

  "Yes! If we don't stop, we'll be drinking northwest wind!"

  "To be honest, I feel somewhat guilty for Brother Yin. If it weren't for the hundreds of us being here, Brother Yin wouldn't have been reduced to such straits."

  "Big Brother Ying said where words, you and I are brothers, no need to be polite, food is gone think of a way."

  Yin Xu's attitude made Ying Bu feel relieved, on that day he killed dozens of Ba Hu's subordinates, Yin Xu did not show off to him as expected. Instead, he showed more courtesy to himself, this result made him scratch his head for a while, and he remained vigilant.

  After several days of continuous contact, Ying Bu felt that Yin Xu was not pretending, but genuinely respectful. In a few days, the two became intimate and inseparable brothers, often discussing military tactics, combat, martial arts and swordsmanship in their free time.

  Ying Bu was very interested in Yin Xu's fighting skills, and spent every day studying and practicing with him. In return, he taught Yin Xu his excellent swordsmanship. Who is Ying Bu? A famous general of the Chu-Han era, the first brave warrior under Xiang Yu's command - how could his swordsmanship be bad? Therefore, Yin Xu was overjoyed and benefited greatly.

  However, due to the sudden increase in the number of people, the originally prepared food was consumed quickly, and it has become somewhat difficult to make ends meet.

  Ying Bu asked: "As for food, does Brother Yin have a plan?"

  "Brother Ying is always so polite, just call me Dong and it's fine!" Yin Xu thought to himself: This nickname is finally useful, and it's also worthy of the name Dong. With an expression that wasn't convenient to show on his face, he said: "The Jiangdong region has a sparse population, and the common people have been exploited for years, even with money, they can't buy food. So! This matter still falls on the shoulders of the Qin army, who made them our transportation team leader?"

  "Transportation team leader?" Ying Bu burst out laughing: "This phrase is fresh, Donglai brothers are indeed eloquent!" At the same time, he also admired Yin Xu's style of not disturbing the people and not plundering.

  "Where?" Yin Xu smiled awkwardly and said, "The sky has also cleared up. The Qin army will enter the mountain sooner or later. This place is not safe anymore. It's time to go out for a walk."

  "Where to go? The north has Zhou Kang's 30,000 strong army, and the south is said to have several thousand cavalry, but it seems like they're your defeated generals!" Ying Bu analyzed, not forgetting to mock a few sentences.

  Yin Xu said, "Yes! An Tong was already a defeated general under my command before. Now with Ying Da Ge and these hundreds of brothers, I'm even more fearless. Of course, this matter of grain naturally falls to him."

  ……

  In the north of Fan Township, a team of soldiers was escorting more than ten grain carts in a hurry. When An Tong's army came to suppress the rebellion, Zhao Gao had ordered Fan Township to provide grain and fodder. This time, Zhou Kang's army arrived with many people, so the demand for supplies naturally increased. Fan Township, being a small county, could not afford it, so everything was transported from Kuaiji. However, An Tong's more than 4,000 soldiers were still stationed nearby, and the grain and fodder were still supplied by Fan Township.

  Yin Xu's previous fire burned a lot of his stored grain, and although a batch was transported later, the continuous heavy rain for over a month left the grain and hay in Antongying almost depleted. Therefore, as soon as the weather cleared up, Antong sent someone to Fan Township to urge them on, Wu Rui had already handed over the matter to County Wei Chen Kui to handle, and didn't ask much about it.

  Chen Kui was sent by the imperial court, so he was very diligent and busy, as if he had nothing else to do. After the rain stopped and the road conditions improved slightly, he dispatched a dozen or so carts of grain to be hastily transported to An Tong's large camp.

  "Hurry up, hurry!" A middle-aged man walked back and forth, urging repeatedly. This person was a Gong Cao of Fan County, surnamed Zhang, and was one of Chen Kui's confidants.

  The cart that had suddenly started moving stopped, and Zhang Gongcao hurried forward, scolding: "What's going on? Why did you stop?"

  Someone immediately came back to report: "Report to Director Zhang, a landslide of rocks and stones has blocked the way ahead, probably caused by the heavy rain in recent days."

  "Oh?" Zhang Gongcao furrowed his brow, remembering what Chen County Wei had entrusted him with before he left. Besides the grain, there was something extremely important that he couldn't delay. Unfortunately, he encountered this depressing matter and could only reluctantly say: "Quickly send someone to clear it up, so the road can be unblocked!"

  "Promise!"

  Nearly a hundred soldiers rushed forward to move rocks and soil, Zhang Gongcao paced back and forth, somewhat anxiously. He didn't notice that a team of cavalry was quietly approaching under the cover of the trees, and then row after row of crossbow arrows emerged from behind the trees.

  A group of grain transport soldiers were happily doing their part-time job as porters when suddenly a row of crossbow arrows flew out from behind. Although the bamboo-made arrows had limited killing power, they caused the grain transport soldiers to become disordered and chaotic in an instant. Zhang Gongcao was shocked and lost his color, and before he could even figure out what was happening, a team of cavalrymen charged forward with swords drawn, led by Yin Xu and Ying Bu.

  They hastened to leave their hiding place before the arrival of Zhou Kang's army, taking advantage of their familiarity with the terrain to detour through the mountains and forests and return to the area around Rongshuling. Although they avoided the Qin army along the way, it was muddy and slippery between the mountains and forests after the rain, and they also suffered hardships on the road.

  However, when Pu Jun inquired about the news that Fan Township was about to transport grain to An Tong, everyone burst out laughing, and no matter how much suffering they had endured, it seemed insignificant. On this day, early in the morning, as soon as the grain carts left the city of Fan Township, someone was monitoring them, and Yin Xu and others set up obstacles on the road, preparing for an ambush.

  At this time, the thieves rushed forward, and the grain soldiers were still in a state of confusion, many people had not reacted to what was happening, let alone organize effective resistance. The situation was truly like wolves entering a flock of sheep, and under the circumstances, they beheaded all the grain soldiers.

  The entire battle was over in less than the time it took to burn an incense stick. Yin Xu and Ying Bu exchanged a glance, their first collaboration was very tacit. Zhou Da came to report: "Young Master, it's all settled now. How many months will these grains last us?"

  Yin Xu glanced at him and smiled: "The words are not false, but can we all take them away? Tell the brothers, each of you carry some. The remaining ones will be burned by fire, and if they can't be taken away, they can't be cheap for the Qin army."

  Although Zhou Da was reluctant, Yin Xu had instructed him and he could only follow orders. He arranged for people to divide the grain and ordered others to prepare dry firewood. At this moment, Pu Jun rushed over again, laughing: "Young master, I just saw this person sneaking around trying to escape, looking like an official. I caught him and brought him back, handing him over to you for disposal!"

  Yin Xu had not yet spoken, but the thieves beside him were already overjoyed. They hated the government army to the bone and it was clear what they wanted to do.

  Yin Xu saw that this person was a short man, about thirty years old, and didn't know if he was afraid of being seen as somewhat sly. He smiled and asked casually: "How should I address you, sir?"

  The dwarf forced a smile and said: "I am Zhang Bo, the Gong Cao of Fan Yang, may I ask how the hero is called?"

  "Oh, then can you tell me, Zhang Gongcao, when will I be able to come back?" Yun Xu asked with a smile, just joking around.

  "Yin Xu?" Zhang Gongcao's heart skipped a beat, from the beginning he had seen that the grain looters were bandits, and he was extremely surprised. The imperial court's tens of thousands of troops had surrounded and suppressed them, yet the bandits still dared to be so arrogant? At this moment, upon hearing that the young man in front of him was actually Yin Xu, the bandit chief who made An Xiaowei gnash his teeth with hatred. Thinking again about the task Chen Xiaowei had entrusted to him, his heart turned icy cold, and he couldn't help but subconsciously lower his head and glance at his chest.

  Seeing his expression was different, Yin Xu paid more attention to him, and several subtle movements all fell into his eyes, especially that one glance. Yin Xu smiled lightly, made a gesture with his eyes, and Pu Jun went up to search for a letter from Zhang Gong Cao's arms. Zhang Gong Cao's face turned pale instantly, which further confirmed the speculation, and Yin Xu handed it over directly to Gao Yi.

  Gao Yi looked at it and said seriously: "Young master, this is a letter written by Chen Kui, the county lieutenant of Fan County, to An Tong, exposing that County Lieutenant Wu Rui colluded with thieves and privately allowed you to pass through the border. It also exposed our plan to sail north and rob the stronghold."

  "Oh?"

  "Yes," Gao Yi said: "Chen Kui also said that Wu Rui's son, Wu Chen, often spoke of great irreverence and disloyalty, and also mentioned that Wu Rui already had a heart that was not loyal to the emperor."

  Yin Xu now understood that when Fan Qing said he had a way to get through the town safely, he must have gotten Wu Rui's consent. But how could Fan Qing convince Wu Rui? The purple-robed woman was mysterious and noble, so she must have had some extraordinary means. What other use did this news have? Yin Xu paced back and forth in thought.

  Ying Bu saw this and asked: "Coming from the east, have you thought of some extraordinary plan?"

  "English cloth, Wu Rui!"

  Two names flashed through her mind, and Yin Xu vaguely remembered the history books she had read in her past life. It seemed... but it had been many days since then, and she wasn't quite sure. Moreover, although it was already July now, she didn't know... Yin Xu subconsciously glanced northward, hesitated for a moment, and resolutely thought to herself: Let's give it a try!

  Looking at Ying Bu's inquiring eyes, Yin Xu smiled lightly and said, "It can't be called a clever plan, but I do have some ideas to discuss with big brother."

  At this moment, Zhou Da raised the torch and was about to set fire to the grain. Yin Xu saw the situation and hastily shouted: "Zhou Da, stop, don't burn it!"

  "Huh? Why isn't it burning again?" Zhou Da turned his head and asked in confusion.

  Yin Xu took the silk book from Gao Yi's hand and held it in his own, laughing: "Because of this, an unexpected joy!"