Fenghou

Xu Hongtu sighed and said, "Do you think Ren Dejing can separate Xihe Road?"

Xu Pei shook his head, "The reason why Ren Dejing was not dealt with by Xixia is entirely because of the support of Qi and Jin behind him. Once he oversteps, Jin and Qi will immediately abandon him."

"In that case, why are you hesitating?"

"The boy is actually worried about Xi Xia!"

Xu Hongtu sneered and said, "If you don't help the Song army, the Xixia people will treat our Xu family well? Have you ever seen how the Dangxiang people behave like wolves and tigers? We, the fat sheep of the Han people, can only rely on the Han regime. Relying on foreign races is the stupidest idea!"

"The boy understands, so go and answer him now."

"Wait a minute!"

Xu Hongtu stopped his son again, "Tell him that Changwu doesn't want to go to Chengdu to study anymore, but wants to study and live in Chengji County."

Xu Pei didn't react immediately, "Father, what does this mean?"

"idiot!"

Xu Hongtu couldn't help cursing: "Do you really want to be the governor of Huangzhou? If you want to, send your son to Qinzhou as a hostage!"

……

At dusk, Xu Pei met Hu Yanlei again in the elegant room of Huangshui Restaurant.

"My father said that he is willing to do his best to help the Song army capture Huangzhou City. General Hu Yan can do whatever the Xu family needs to do!"

Hu Yanlei was overjoyed, with the support of the Xu family, the hope of success was greatly increased.

He pondered for a while and said: "There are eleven thousand defenders in the city, Ren Dejing's three nephews and two sons-in-law each control two thousand troops, and another one thousand troops are directly under Ren Dejing's army. We don't care about these high-ranking officials. , Our key is to get in touch with the middle and low-level defenders, and the Xu family should be able to make a difference in this regard."

Xu Pei nodded, "My in-law Sun Yunhu, his second son, Sun Jian, is the commander under Ren Li's tent, leading a thousand soldiers in charge of city defense, I can convince Sun Yunhu."

"Is this Sun Yunhu reliable?"

Xu Pei laughed, "Character is not important, but profit is important. What can he get from working hard for Song Jun? This is the key."

"My family will never treat him badly, including the Xu family. In the future, when governing Huangzhou, my family will have to rely on local powerful families like you, such as Wang Huai, the governor of Gongzhou. The Wang family is the number one in Qinzhou. The big family, because Qinzhou is more important, so Wang Huai was made the governor of Gongzhou, as well as Deshun Prefecture and Lintao Prefecture, all rely on the local gentry and big clan. Support is the basis for the long-term stability of Xihe Road."

"I see, I'm going to find Sun Yunhai tonight!"

……

The Sun family is also a wealthy family in Huangzhou, and they belong to the same family as the Xu family, so Xu Pei's eldest daughter married Sun Yunhai's eldest son, Sun Peng.

The big families in Huangzhou have land, but they can’t make much money from the land. They basically take the commercial route. The Sun family is mainly in the wine business. During the Xuanhe period, the Sun family’s Hehuang Shaochun was a famous wine in the west. Now it has monopolized the wine market in Huangzhou and several nearby states.

However, the Sun family also had troubles during this period. It was rumored that Ren Dejing would impose a heavy tax on alcohol. If the rumors were true, it would seriously affect the vital interests of the Sun family.

As soon as night fell, Xu Pei came to Sun Yunhu's house, and Sun Yunhu asked his eldest son Sun Peng to greet him at the door.

"Excuse me, father-in-law, how is grandfather?"

Xu Pei is quite satisfied with this son-in-law. Although his personality is a little weak, he likes to read since he was a child.

"He is in good health, don't worry, but Ayun, she is six months now! This is the most critical time of pregnancy, you should be extra careful."

"My son-in-law has hired a special midwife, and the doctor will come to see her every few days. Please rest assured, father-in-law!"

"Okay! I have something urgent to do with your father today, and I'll go see Ah Yun another day."

"Father is waiting in the study, please, father-in-law!"

Sun Peng took Xu Pei to his father's study, and Sun Yunhu had been waiting in front of the courtyard for a long time.

Sun Yunhu smiled and said: "I don't know who I am so late, I guess the person who came here is not kind!"

Xu Pei chuckled and said, "That's right! Xu came here to loot your wine cellar, if you are sensible, quickly move out the good wine, and I will spare your life!"

The two laughed, and Sun Yunhu brought Xu Pei into the study. Xu Pei told Sun Peng in a low voice, "Stay at the door and don't let anyone approach you."

Sun Peng nodded knowingly and stood guard at the door.

Sun Yunhu glanced at Xu Pei meaningfully, and said lightly: "You want to talk to me about the Song Army today!"

Chapter 475 Contact

Xu Pei said frankly: "I have received definite news that all the [-] Xixia troops who invaded Gongzhou were wiped out. Xixia completely failed in the battle for Xihe Road. It's been a few days since I was honored."

Sun Yunhu narrowed his eyes, and asked tentatively, "If I'm not mistaken, my brother and Song Jun have already had contact!"

Xu Pei didn't want to hide it in front of Sun Yunhu, so he nodded, "That's right, this is also what my father meant, to support the Song army to seize Huangzhou."

Since it was the old man's intention, Sun Yunhu put his heart down and asked with a smile: "Then what did Chen Qing promise to give you?"

"This issue has not been involved yet, but as long as we help with all our strength, I believe that he will not treat us badly."

Sun Yunhu doesn't care who will rule Huangzhou, he only values ​​interests, so Xu Pei told Hu Yanlei that the key is interests!

"Can you be more specific?"

Xu Pei pondered for a while and said: "If you want commercial interests, I can guarantee that the Sun family's wine will be sold to Qinzhou, but I advise you that commercial interests are not important at this time, and you should think about the future of your two sons!"

Sun Yunhu was unequivocal and continued to ask: "Of course I also value my son's future more. The key is what can Chen Qing give me?"

"I can recommend Peng'er to serve as an official in the Jiedu Mansion of Chengji County, and I can also guarantee that Sun Jian will continue to serve as the commander in Chen Qing's army."

Sun Yunhu pondered for a moment and said: "I believe in the promise of the good brother, but how can the good brother guarantee that Chen Qing will not think otherwise?"

Sun Yunhu said it more implicitly, meaning, why would Chen Qing act according to your ideas?

Xu Pei was confident about this matter, and he smiled slightly: "This kind of thing is a tacit understanding between the two parties. My request is not too much. Why didn't he agree? If he doesn't even have this bit of integrity, he still wants to count on my father." Help him contact the Tubo chief?"

Sun Yunhu suddenly realized that Xu Pei's grandmother was the daughter of Qingtang Khan Dong Zhan, who tried her best to prevent the conquests among several big tribes, and made the Hehuang Tubo people win decades of peace.

Although she has passed away for 30 years, she still has a high prestige among the tribes in Tubo. If Chen Qing wants to recover Jishi Prefecture and Taozhou, he really has to rely on the Xu family.

After thinking this through, Sun Yunhu nodded, "What do I need to do now?"

"I want to bring someone to meet Sun Jian. The key to our success lies in Sun Jian."

Sun Yunhu thought for a while and said: "Tomorrow at noon I will bring Jian'er to visit, you can arrange a place."

"It's at the Huangshui Restaurant. I'll be there at noon tomorrow, so feel free to come over."

Just as he was talking, there was a sudden rush of horseshoes from the street outside, and someone shouted faintly: "Urgent military report! Emergency military report!"

This is when the messenger went to the general manager's mansion. Xu Pei and Sun Yunhu looked at each other in blank dismay. It should be the news from Chen Qing's army, and things might be turbulent.

……

It was indeed the news that the Song army crossed the Yellow River to Huangzhou City, and the [-] troops were marching towards Huangzhou City.

Ren Dejing was shocked, and immediately ordered the troops from all over the country to withdraw to Huangzhou City. At the same time, he ordered the gates of the city to be closed tightly, and no one was allowed to enter or leave the city except the army.

The atmosphere in Huangzhou City suddenly became tense. Ren Dejing ordered martial law to begin at night the next day. Once the drums sounded at the head of the city, everyone must go home immediately. He was arrested by spies from the Song Army.

The situation became very tense, so Sun Yunhu no longer went to Huangzhou Restaurant, but asked his son Sun Jian to find Xu Pei by himself.

In the backyard of the restaurant, Xu Pei introduced Sun Jian to Hu Yanlei.

Sun Jian is very young, only 20 years old, tall and strong in martial arts, especially in archery.

Hu Yanlei knew how to look at people, he saw that Sun Jian had a very heroic appearance, and his eyes were very upright, he didn't look like a treacherous person, which made him very fond of him.

The three sat down, and Sun Jian asked expectantly: "I heard that Chen Dutong is known as the No. Can't you tell me how powerful Chen Dutong is?"

Hu Yanlei laughed and said: "Chen Dutong has five tiger generals, among which Niu Gao ranks fifth. He is the number one strongman in the Xihe Army. He can carry a load of five hundred catties for fifty miles. He is also very skilled in archery. The arrows hit the enemy's vital points, even Chen Dutong can't stop it in one round with such martial arts."

"Maybe it's just because he's not good at marksmanship!"

Seeing that his newborn calf is not afraid of tigers, Hu Yanlei smiled and said: "General Sun, why not fight me and see how many tricks you can beat me?"

Sun Jian was overjoyed and immediately found two spears.

The two stood in the courtyard with their guns in hand, shouted loudly, the tip of the gun rolled towards each other and stabbed at each other. After fifteen or sixteen rounds of fierce fighting, Hu Yanlei gradually lost his support.

"stop!"

Hu Yanlei yelled, and the two of them retracted their guns instantly.

Sun Jian was really shocked, he didn't expect Chen Qing's scout generals to be so powerful in martial arts.

Hu Yanlei smiled and said: "General Sun's martial arts are really good. I can probably withstand you for twenty rounds. You and Niu Gao's marksmanship is on par. I also fought against him and lost in twenty rounds."

"Then brother Huyan and Chen Dutong have fought?" Sun Jian asked nervously.

Hu Yanlei nodded, "I just met him face to face, and I couldn't resist his Fang Tian painted halberd stabbing."

"why?"

"Fast and heavy, his moves are very simple, there are no tricks, he stabs with a halberd, and it reaches his throat in the blink of an eye. He wants to raise the gun to go out, but he can't hold it up. Maybe he can avoid the tip of the halberd by turning sideways, but he can't dodge it." His halberd."

After Sun Jian listened, his expression was very lonely. Couldn't he be unable to hold back even one round?

Hu Yanlei laughed loudly, patted him on the arm and said, "You must not think about competing with Chen Dutong in martial arts, even Yang Zaixing, the first general of the Five Tigers, didn't have this idea. He is the master, and we are just his subordinates and generals." , it is only natural that he is stronger than us."

Sun Jian thought about it, it was indeed the case, he was really a little ignorant, he felt better again, and quickly asked: "Then brother Huyan, do you think I have a chance to be among the five generals?"

Hu Yanlei smiled slightly and said: "You are still young, and your martial arts can still improve. In the future, the Xihe Army will continue to grow, and you may be the Seven Tiger Generals or the Ten Ultimate Generals. You have a chance to fight for one of them."

Sun Jian nodded silently, how he hoped that he could become one of the top ten generals of the Western Army in the future!

At this time, Xu Pei coughed beside him and said, "Let's talk about business!"

Hu Yanlei was a little worried that Sun Jian would not cooperate with him, but now he is no longer worried.

The three sat down again, Sun Jian thought for a while and said, "Ren Dejing is very cunning, he doesn't believe us at all, he assigned tasks to his three nephews and two sons-in-law a few days ago, and every night there must be The two are on duty, and each leads an army to guard the east and west gates, if we have to cooperate inside and outside at night, a fierce battle is inevitable."

Hu Yanlei asked again: "Can your subordinates obey orders?"

Sun Jian nodded, "They are all from this city, so there is no problem with their obedience."

Hu Yanlei said again: "In fact, it is not necessary to attack the city gates, and it is completely possible to walk through the city walls, as long as your army is responsible for guarding a section of the city wall."

"I can give it a try, as long as it's not a city gate, it's not a big problem."

"In addition, I have 30 people under my command. Incorporate us into your army."

"This is totally fine!"

After a pause, Sun Jian asked again: "When will Chen Dutong lead the army to attack the city?"

"The schedule is at midnight tomorrow night!"

Sun Jian was startled, and hurriedly said: "Last night, the spies came to report that the Song army had crossed the Yellow River. Why is it that the Song army will attack the city tomorrow night? Is it so fast?"

Hu Yanlei laughed, "If Dutong can be discovered by them, it will be too late, don't worry! Song Jun will definitely arrive on time."

Chapter 476

In the afternoon of the same day, Hu Yanlei led thirty men to put on the armor of the puppet Qi army and join Sun Jian's army. Sun Jian organized them into an independent department and put them under direct control.

The key to the success of tomorrow night's mission lies in Ren Li.

Ren Li was Ren Dejing's second-nephew and Sun Jian's immediate boss. Sun Jian was most worried about drawing lots in the morning. If Ren Li couldn't draw lots at night, things would be troublesome.

But things are like this, what is often feared, what does it come?

Early the next morning, Sun Jian returned to the barracks with a solemn expression, found Hu Yanlei and said, "It's a little troublesome, Ren Li was drawn to be on duty during the day, and I have no chance to defend the city tonight."

Hu Yanlei had weathered the storm for a long time, he didn't panic, and asked in a deep voice: "Then who is guarding the city tonight?"

"One is Ren Quan, who is also Ren Dejing's nephew, and the other is Xue Xiaoping, who is Ren Dejing's eldest son-in-law."

"If something happens to one of these two, who will take over?"

"Then it can only be Ren Li. The other two were already on duty last night. It should have been Ren Li tonight, but he has his bye."

"What hobbies do Ren Quan and Xue Xiaoping have?" Hu Yanlei asked again.

Sun Jian understood what Hu Yanlei meant, and dealt with one of these two people so that they could not be on duty tonight.

He thought for a while and said: "If you want to attack, you should attack Ren Quanquan. This man is full of licentiousness, and he likes to visit brothels. You can attack him. Moreover, he has killed many women from good families and has many enemies. normal."

"Then which brothel will he haunt?"

Sun Jian sneered, "I won't go anywhere except Baifenglou!"

……

Baifenglou is located in the middle of Huangzhou City, one of the three brothels in Huangzhou, and it is the property of Ren Dejing's second brother, Ren Dezhong. Ren Dezhong is Ren Quan's father. , and at no cost.

Ren Quan is also very young, only in his early 20s, and has not yet married. Naturally, he is more indulgent. He got into the brothel early in the morning and hung out in it.