Two prayer and fortune lamps were placed on both ends of the incense table. Zeng Yu stood on the side of the incense table. Behind him, Peng Laoqiu was holding a lantern with a "Fu" illuminating high. Under the dim light, more than ten faces with different expressions appeared around the young scholar in the square scarf and mattress. They were thieves from Wu Ping, wearing hats or skeletons. They all had hideous faces and fierce eyes, which made the hostages in the hall feel fear. The young scholar with a graceful appearance in the middle seemed out of place with the people around him. It was really mysterious and weird that the scholar appeared here.

The scholar with the square scarf and mattress spoke: "Don't panic, as long as you pay the redemption bank before dark tomorrow, you will be sent back. Now please come up and register your names so that you can collect the redemption bank and release it as soon as possible."

I said this three times, but no one dared to come forward. It was safe to huddle in the crowd, and I was afraid that I would be dragged out and chopped my head as soon as I came up.

Zeng Yu had no choice but to point to a middle-aged man in front and said, "This guy comes forward to register, don't be afraid."

Peng Laoqiu behind him shouted, "Come here quickly, do you want to get a knife by slowing down?"

The middle-aged man hunched over and bowed, "The Caomin greets King Zeng--"

Zeng Yu rolled his eyes and looked at the dim dome of the hall, thinking to himself: "I have become King Zeng, and I am famous, so I am going to force you to go to Liangshan." He lowered his head and said: "Don't call me King Zeng, I am a temporary worker, yes, I am a short-term worker - where is your family, what is your surname, and can my family pay you 250 taels of redemption for you, and report it quickly."

The middle-aged man repeatedly claimed yes, and then said: "Caomin, yes, is a native of Qianshan, surnamed Wang and named Hu——"

Zeng Yu reminded: "Don't lie about false names, otherwise your family will come to redeem you tomorrow and you won't be able to go back. What's wrong with reporting your name? You are all here. Is your name more important than a living person?"

Peng Laoqiu was waiting to be scolded again, but was stopped by Zeng Yu. The middle-aged man hesitated for a moment and said, "Caomin's surname is Hu Xingwang, and his family can barely get enough money to redeem the money."

At this time, Zheng Shi had already ground the ink, took a piece of bamboo paper in lead mangosteen and wrote down the words "Hu Xingwang, male, can pay the redemption silver."

Hu Xingwang retreated, Zeng Yu waved to the other hostage to come forward, inquire, register—

The bandit leader Wu Ping looked around without saying a word for a while. The more than 200 hostages were to be registered for the middle of the night. He was impatient and said, "The matter here is for Zeng Xiucai. Wu will go back to Yude Hall first and discuss matters tomorrow.

Wu Ping whispered a few instructions to the little leader guarding the hostages, and then led a few people back to the Yude Hall of the main courtyard. Zeng Yu registered and compiled hostages one by one. Most of the hostages caught were wealthy, so it should not be difficult to pay the redemption silver. However, a person with a porter looked at him and smiled and said, "You can hear it clearly. It's 250 taels of silver, not 250 coins of copper coins."

The hostage like this porter hesitated for a moment, or if he could afford the redemption silver, Zeng Yu didn't believe that 250 taels of silver is not a small amount, and the annual cost of a family of five is only about ten taels of silver. I guess the porter was afraid that he would be dragged out to be beheaded if he could not afford the redemption silver, so he said he could afford it and spend it tonight first.

Zeng Yu didn't ask any more questions and let the porter go down.

At this time, the rich-looking old man limped up. Zeng Yu recognized the old man and hurriedly said, "It doesn't matter if my father-in-law's leg is injured."

The old man stood close to the other side of the incense table and bowed, "It's okay, it's okay, thank you for your help from Xianggong Zeng." He looked at Zeng Yu carefully while speaking.

With bandits around, Zeng Yu was not inconvenient to talk to the old man, so he asked the old man about his fairyland and his surname?

The old man who looked like a rich man said, "I am from Jiaxing Prefecture, Zhejiang Province. His surname is Yuan and his name is Zhong. He came here to do business, but unexpectedly he was captured here."

Zeng Yu said: "The storm in the rivers and lakes is a bad situation, so Boss Yuan is considered to have lost money and eliminate disasters."

The old man Yuan Zhong said: "I will not hide it from Zeng Hun, I can take out the 250 taels of redemption silver, but my merchant ship has probably gone to Shangrao and I dare not stay here."

A bandit behind Zeng Yu sneered: "That's a complaint that you have a bad life and you can't pay the redemption before dark tomorrow, so just one knife or two pieces."

The old man Yuan Zhong did not dare to speak, and looked at Zeng Yu with a begging look, hoping that Zeng Yu could save him.

Zeng Yu said: "Let's talk about it tomorrow. There is no way out. My father-in-law goes down and rest." Let Lai Fu help the old man Yuan Zhong go down.

After more than 200 hostages were registered one by one, it was already midnight. The bandits in charge of guarding were yawning. It was late at night. The bandits lit a bonfire in front of the hall gate to sit around to keep warm. The hostages in the cold hall could only crowd each other to resist the cold and hunger.

Zeng Yu did not return to the Daizong Hall of the Zhengyuan. He wanted to stay with these hostages and he wanted to try his best to save the lives of these hostages.

There were sixteen bandits responsible for guarding the hostages, divided into two shifts. Eight bandits on duty sat around the fire to drink. When the little leader saw Wu Ping respecting Zeng Xiucai, he did not dare to be disrespectful. When the hostage registration was completed, he invited Zeng Yu. Zheng Shi sat together and drank. Zeng Yuci was unable to drink, so he called Lai Fu to find two cushions. He and Zheng Shi sat cross-legged and practiced the eight-section brocade guidance method. Zheng Shi had asked Zeng Yu for advice before, and then asked Zeng Yu about some problems encountered during the practice process.

The bandits looked at the two scholars with curiosity and rubbed their kidneys, while talking about Zeng Yu in a low voice. Peng Laoqiu regarded himself as Zeng Yu's confidant, and his mouth was blown away. He said that Zeng Yu knew astronomy and geography, and that Liu Bowen knew that Liu Bowen was reborn. He knew everything clearly after counting his fingers. King Wu has used him as a military advisor.

The other bandits believed it without a doubt because they saw with their own eyes that Hua Wuhan offended Zeng Yu and were executed by Wu Ping, so they respected Zeng Yu, and they did not dare to make noise when drinking and talking, and no one went to harass the hostages in the hall.

The night passed safely.

At dawn at the thirteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, the dawn dispels the darkness. Zeng Yu opened his eyes. Although he sat on the cushion for the middle of the night, he was very energetic and did not look tired at all because of practicing the "Preserve the Inner Yuanqi Method" by the old Taoist Yuangang, he was in a strong spirit and did not show any fatigue. Seeing that Zheng Shi beside him was lying on the ground and sleeping loudly. Fortunately, the fire was on the side, and he would not be freezing and sick. Then he looked at the bandits who were sleeping with their knees in their knees, and the swords and guns were on the side. If he picked up a knife, he would stab the sixteen bandits one by one, it would not be difficult to penetrate these sixteen bandits. However, there were hundreds of elite bandits in the west courtyard. The Seven Star Temple was located halfway up the mountain, which was difficult to escape. Moreover, he did not just want to escape by himself. He wanted to save people.

Zeng Yu stood up and moved his hands and feet. He heard the sound of footsteps in the hall. When he looked at him, the sister-in-law and sister-in-law of the Ji family helped him out. Li's hair was a little messy. Miss Ji was dressed in a girl. Two of the three small buns on her head were scattered. The black hair draped over her face covered half of her face. You could still see that her face was white and her eyes were shiny in the gap.

Zeng Yu nodded and greeted: "You two are old."

Li looked at the bandits beside the fire and were still sleeping. He was a little relieved, and he looked a little embarrassed, and wanted to speak.

Zeng Yu was understanding and asked in a low voice: "Do you two want to get rid of it?" There are three urgent things.

Li quickly nodded and held his sister-in-law tightly, so embarrassed that he dared not look up. The men in the hall were anxious and they were at the corner of the hall to solve the problem. The women could not do that.

Zeng Yu said: "You go to the side hall to see if there are any clean buckets?"

The sister-in-law and sister-in-law walked to the side hall in a row. Li pushed the door and looked in, quickly retracted his head. The two of them walked back. Li whispered: "Grandpa Zeng, there are all sleeping everywhere.

Zeng Yu saw that the Ji girl was trembling slightly, and the expression on her face was about to cry, and she said, "You can find a corner without anyone else to make it convenient, just behind that holly tree."

There were two holly trees several feet tall in the upper left corner of the front yard of Guangsi Hall. My sister-in-law and sister-in-law didn't care and hurried forward. The footsteps woke up a bandit. The bandit jumped up and shouted, "Where to run?" The girl of Ji was so scared that she fell.

Zeng Yu hurriedly stopped the bandit and said, "Where can you run, you're just a hurry."

The bandit said "Oh" and watched the sister-in-law of the Ji family turn to the back of the holly tree for a long time before she comes out, and then said, "When I go and see, don't run away for five hundred taels of silver."

Li's voice came from the holly tree: "No run, no run."

The bandit smiled and said, "Why did the children have been born for so long?"

A low crying sound came from the holly tree. Zeng Yu walked closer and asked, "What's wrong?"

Li pondered for a moment and said softly: "She can't solve Xiaozhi."

Zeng Yu shook his head and said, "My brother is a doctor. I also know some medical principles. Sometimes I can't solve the problem of internal impatience. Relax, don't be anxious. Rub your lower abdomen and take it slowly."

After a while, they saw Li and Ji girls turning out from behind the holly tree, and they didn't dare to raise their heads and hurried back to the hall.

Zheng Shi woke up at this time and washed his face with Zeng Yu in the water well in the west courtyard. Seeing that there was no one around, Zheng Shi said, "I don't know where Master Tongchen has been, so don't make any mistakes."

Zeng Yu couldn't imagine it, and said, "Planning is up to people, and success is up to heaven. Please ask the gods for blessing."

Zheng Shi said: "My mother didn't know that I was in the hands of a thief. She thought I was about to go to mercy. Alas, I must be unable to catch up with the scientific examination."

Zeng Yu smiled and said, "What are the scientific tests? Saving your life is the accumulation of virtue by our ancestors. I beg that King Wu later to see if I can let you go first."

Zheng Shi was a little tragic and said, "It is natural that it is difficult to deal with what Jiuli said."

Zeng Yu said: "I can't get rid of it for a while. If you can get rid of it, I'll be relieved. You and my brother, you understand what I mean."

Zheng Shi held Zeng Yu's hand and sighed.

At three o'clock in the morning, Wu Ping sent someone to invite Zeng Yu to Yude Hall to discuss matters. Zeng Yu asked Zheng Shi to stay in the west courtyard. He took the hostage list registered last night to meet Wu Ping.

Wu Ping looked through the list a few times and smiled: "Thank you for your hard work in Zeng Xiucai. Come and have a meal with me. Come and go to the riverside with me later to see if the officers and soldiers of the Qianshan Guard have the courage to cross the river."
Chapter completed!