Chapter 593 Layout (1)

Sunjia Town is fifty miles east of Yingcheng.

Zhu Sanshan’s advisor Xu Shanchang was drinking tea slowly in a roadside teahouse. He looked like he was waiting for someone to arrive...

With the help of Zhang Zhen and others, Zhu Sanshan obtained a large amount of firearms, money, food and other resources. He also learned from the lessons of his last defeat. After listening to the guerrilla advice of Zhang Zhen and others, he successfully made a comeback and almost successfully recaptured Yingcheng again.

Facing Gao Dingshan's fierce encirclement and suppression this time, Zhu Sanshan also insisted on the guerrilla tactics and never confronted Gao Dingshan head-on. Relying on the support of the people and his familiarity with the terrain, he divided his troops into several groups and was not in a hurry at all. He slowly dealt with Gao Dingshan in the surrounding mountains.

Although Gao Dingshan was in a difficult situation, he didn't have any particularly good solutions. He could only hope to stop Zhu Sanshan and kill the bandit leader so that Sanshan's bandit group would collapse on its own.

As Zhu Sanshan's advisor, Xu Shanchang was supposed to wander around the mountains with Zhu Sanshan and give him advice, but for safety reasons and to avoid being implicated, Xu Shanchang's wife and children also moved with everyone to Daya Mountain.

At this time, Xu Shanchang's wife Wang became pregnant. At the same time, under the siege of Gao Dingshan, Zhu Sanshan's gang of bandits had to hide from place to place. It was inconvenient to bring their female relatives with them, so they hid these women secretly in Sunjia Town, which had secretly surrendered to them.

Three days ago, Xu Shanchang’s wife Wang gave birth to a child, so Zhu Sanshan specially approved him to go to Sunjia Town to accompany his wife and child...
Although he was enjoying the rare warm time with his wife and children, Xu Shanchang was not idle either. He was quietly doing some other things!

Xu Shanchang didn't have to wait too long. A thieving middle-aged man quietly sat down next to Yu Shanchang. Upon seeing this man, Xu Shanchang took a sip of tea and asked calmly:
"Have you found out what I asked you to find out?"

"Where's the silver?"

Qian Wu asked cautiously. As a well-known intelligence dealer in Hebei and Henan, his rule has always been to collect the money first and then give the information.

Xu Shanchang didn't say much after hearing this. He just took out two silver bills from his pocket and handed them over. After taking the silver bills, Qian Wu's eyes showed a smile and he said in a low voice:
"I asked a lot of people for you, and there's no one named Zhang Zhen around Zhao Jianan, nor are there any of those people you mentioned!"

Hearing this answer, Xu Shanchang's eyes did not show much surprise. He had already anticipated this situation, but to be on the safe side, he continued to ask:

"Did you show them the pictures I showed you?"

"I showed them the portraits, and they all said they had never seen this person. The people I asked were all Zhao Jianan's confidants. If there really was this person around Zhao Jianan, they would definitely know!" Qian Wu patted his chest and said confidently:
Xu Shanchang nodded slightly upon hearing this and then warned:
"Keep the matter to yourself and don't let it leak out!"

"Hey, you can trust me to do the job!" Qian Wu said and left quietly.
After Xu Shanchang finished drinking the pot of tea, he slowly left and returned to his residence in Sunjia Town.
At night, Xu Shanchang was teasing his newborn son in the house, his eyes full of fatherly love. He and his first wife had a daughter before, but unfortunately she died, so Xu Shanchang cherished the birth of this son very much.

"Husband, you've only been back for a few days, why are you going again?" Wang, who had not yet completed her confinement, complained while packing Xu Shanchang's luggage.

Listening to the complaints, Xu Shanchang said nothing more, and continued to tease his son with a loving look on his face. Seeing this, Wang hesitated for a moment and said:
"My husband, you are a scholar, there is no need to risk your life and get involved with that gang of bandits. Although Zhu Sanshan has a good reputation and is very good to our family, he is still a bandit and will be wiped out by the government sooner or later. What will you do then? I am worried every day here. If anything happens to you, how will my child and I survive? The child cannot be without a father when he is just born!"

Seeing his wife say this, Xu Shanchang could no longer remain indifferent. However, just as he was about to comfort his wife, he suddenly heard footsteps outside the courtyard gate. It was late at night, and when Xu Shanchang heard the footsteps, he suddenly had a bad premonition in his heart for no reason.

Xu Shanchang quickly made a gesture to his wife to keep quiet, and then blew out the candle in the room, trying to create the illusion that no one was in the room. After doing all this, Xu Shanchang took out a dagger from his arms and quietly stood at the door. Although he followed Zhu Sanshan up the mountain and became a bandit, as a scholar he had never killed even a chicken. He bought this dagger for self-defense, and he had never seen blood before.
Despite this, as a father and a husband, when his wife and children are in danger, Xu Shanchang still has the courage and bloodiness to fight to the death, and will not tremble and wait to be killed...
Just when Xu Shanchang was nervously preparing for a desperate fight with the intruder, the yard outside suddenly became quiet, with only the rustling of the night wind. Xu Shanchang's heart was in his throat, but when he saw nothing unusual outside the door, he relaxed quietly. However, at this moment, his son in his cradle, probably because he was hungry, started crying and making a fuss.

Seeing this, Xu Shanchang's heart tightened again, and he nervously gestured to his wife Wang behind him, asking her to keep an eye on their son. Wang was still calm at this time, and she gently stroked the child's back and covered his mouth lightly. Although the couple reacted quickly, they were still a step too late. A faint voice came into the room.

"Master Xu, I'm Zhang Zhen! Can you come out and see me?"

After hearing this, Xu Shanchang was surprised and also felt very bitter. He knew that he could not escape this disaster today. He took a deep breath to calm himself. He looked at his wife Wang and pointed to the cellar in the house. Although she didn't understand why the man named Zhang Zhen outside the house made her husband so nervous and scared, Wang gave Xu Shanchang a concerned look, then quietly walked towards the cellar with the child in her arms.

Seeing that his wife and children had already entered the cellar, Xu Shanchang felt relieved. He put the dagger in his arms, tidied his clothes, and then slowly opened the door and walked out...

In addition to Zhang Zhen, there were five other strong men standing in their yard at this time. What made Xu Shanchang's heart sink the most was that there were faint traces of blood on these men. There was no doubt that these men had just experienced a fierce battle!
Although he had roughly guessed the purpose of Zhang Zhen and others' visit, in order to get away with it, Xu Shanchang still pretended not to know and smiled and bowed and asked:

"Mr. Zhang, I wonder what brings you all here so late at night?"

After taking a deep look at the smiling scholar in front of him, Zhang Zhen shook his head and said with some regret: "Master Xu, I have to admit that I underestimated you!"

Although Zhang Zhen's words were incoherent, they made Xu Shanchang feel even more serious. Just when he wanted to say something to save the situation, Zhang Zhen looked at him and continued:
"Master Xu, do you know whose bloodstains are on our bodies?"

Facing this question, Xu Shanchang's heart sank, but he pretended to be calm on the surface and said:

"Mr. Zhang, please don't joke with a scholar like me. How would I know anything about your affairs?"

Hearing Xu Shanchang's answer, Zhang Zhen said with a half-smile:

"You know this person, Master Xu. After all, you just met him today..."

As soon as Xu Shanchang heard this, he realized that his opponent had revealed his true intentions. His face immediately changed. He pulled out a dagger from his arms and stabbed towards Zhang Zhen. He actually intended to strike first.

As a scholar, Xu Shanchang was indeed courageous, but courage alone was not enough to do things. Before Xu Shanchang could even reach Zhang Zhen, he was kicked to the ground by Zhang Zhen. The dagger in his hand fell several meters away, and he rolled on the ground in pain, holding his hand.

Seeing Xu Shanchang like this, Zhang Zhen said calmly:
"Master Xu, you really found a good helper. Although Qian Wu looks like a thief, he is actually a tough guy. My brothers and I used several tricks on him before he finally betrayed you!"

"Can't you just be a good advisor to Zhu Sanshan? Why do you have to ask so many questions? What good will this do you?"

"Since you want to know so much, it's okay for me to tell you! My name is not Zhang Zhen, nor am I from the Yan Army. My real name is Ye Zhen, and I am the deputy centurion of the Fengwu Army Coordination Office. The purpose of our support for Zhu Sanshan is to let Zhu Sanshan hold back the main force of the Henan Army at Daya Mountain, consume the Henan Army's manpower, and prepare for our army to march south to the Central Plains!"

"Master Xu, now you know everything you want to know, right? Are you satisfied?"

Xu Shanchang, who had just recovered from the severe abdominal pain while lying on the ground, was not surprised to hear Zhang Zhen's words. When he first met Zhang Zhen and his gang, he was full of doubts about their identities. Later, when he saw that Zhang Zhen and his gang had obtained more and more money, food and firearms from the Fengwu Army, Xu Shanchang became even more suspicious of the true identity of Zhang Zhen and his gang!

Although Zhang Zhen evaded the question by saying that their Yan army had many supporters in Youyan who could help them obtain money, food and firearms, in Xu Shanchang’s opinion, if the Yan army really had such great powers as Zhang Zhen, the Yan army would never have been defeated so miserably by the Fengwu army...

Xu Shanchang secretly told Zhu Sanshan about his suspicions, but Zhu Sanshan did not care much about it. In the eyes of this bandit leader, as long as the strength of his troops could be enhanced, it did not matter who sent the money, food and firearms. Moreover, the Fengwu Army had put on a full show and put Zhang Zhen and others on the wanted list. Xu Shanchang did not have any solid evidence, so Zhu Sanshan did not have much doubt about Zhang Zhen's identity and persuaded Xu Shanchang not to be suspicious!
Although he got support from Zhu Sanshan, Xu Shanchang still decided to investigate further because of his uneasiness. He found Qian Wu, a famous intelligence dealer in Hebei and Henan, and wanted to find out some news about Zhang Zhen from the former members of the Yan army through Qian Wu's channels.

Qian Wu did not disappoint him and brought him the answer he wanted. Xu Shanchang had planned to get up tomorrow and return to Zhu Sanshan to tell him the truth and let Zhu Sanshan be vigilant. However, he never expected that Zhang Zhen and his gang would act so quickly and come to his door tonight!
Staggeringly standing up from the ground, Xu Shanchang asked Ye Zhen:

"What do you want me to do?"

Xu Shanchang originally thought that Ye Zhen came tonight to kill him to silence him, but after hearing what Ye Zhen said, he realized that he was wrong. Ye Zhen did not come to take his life today. If he really came to kill him, he would have just killed him with one knife. There was no need to say so much nonsense...
Listening to Xu Shanchang's answer, Ye Zhen smiled and said with some emotion:

"It's easier to talk to smart people!"

"Master Xu, what I want you to do is very simple. You just need to pretend that you know nothing and continue to stay here with your wife and children. Then when Master Zhu sends someone to pick you up in a few days, you can go back with them!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Shanchang narrowed his eyes and asked back:
"Ye Zhen, aren't you afraid that I will report you to Master Zhu after I return?"

Ye Zhen smiled and said confidently:
"To be honest, I was a little worried before I came here, but now I'm not worried at all, because Master Xu, you are a smart person!"

"Master Xu, you are a man of great talent. The reason you are willing to collude with the bandit Zhu Sanshan is simply because you are not appreciated for your talent. Zhu Sanshan has given you the opportunity to display your talent!"

"But do you think Zhu Sanshan, the bandit leader, is a wise leader? With such a small scale, he has already started to pursue pleasure and rob women to make several concubines for himself. He treats human life as worthless in order to extort money. Although he claims to be acting on behalf of heaven, he is actually no different from those officials!"

"If it weren't for my Fengwu Army providing him with firearms, money and food, and sending instructors to help him train his troops, how could he have fought Gao Dingshan until now?"

Xu Shanchang fell silent about what Ye Zhen said. He had followed Zhu Sanshan for several months since the battle of Yingcheng and had a certain understanding of Zhu Sanshan. Zhu Sanshan was a man of ambition and ambition. If he encountered failure, he would be able to work hard day and night, but once the situation improved, his nature of being ambitious and greedy for pleasure would be revealed...
(End of this chapter)