Everything seemed to have calmed down.

Zhao Yuan still lives in the house provided by Wang Lin. All he has to do every day is practice martial arts or wander around, as if he is a idle person, without any mention of leaving.

Not to mention Wang Lin, even Liu Zhiqing found it strange and asked Zhao Yuan more than once when she would go back. After staying here for such a long time, she really missed the green mountains, green waters, and exquisite pastries and delicacies of Hangzhou.

She is from the south and is used to eating rice, but now she has moved to the northwest, which does not produce rice at all and mainly eats pasta. Even though Wang Lin has tried to find ways to make it in different ways, it was still okay for the first few days.

, it becomes uncomfortable to eat for a long time, and people become somewhat thinner.

Zhao Yuan felt a little distressed when he saw it, but he couldn't leave here yet.

Three days later, the snow that had been falling for two days finally stopped. Today also happens to be the opening day. There were long lines inside and outside the customs gate early in the morning, waiting for the gate to open.

Zhao Yuan also got up early. After practicing his sword skills, he looked up at the sky and made some calculations in his mind.

When the city gate slowly opened, the teams on both sides began to enter and exit in an orderly manner. It was a busy day.

The soldiers on the city wall experienced this kind of scene every day, and it was a common sight. After the shift, each one held the weapons in their hands, folded their hands in their sleeves, leaned against the city wall in twos and threes and chatted. They were relatively safe on the city wall at the moment.

However, this calmness was soon broken. A group of people suddenly withdrew their horses and ran over. There were as many as three to four hundred people.

The soldiers on the city heard the sound of horse hooves and looked curiously towards the distance from where the sound came. When they saw the approaching group of people pulling out their weapons, they realized something was wrong. In an instant, drums sounded loudly on the city wall.

.

As soon as the drums sounded, the soldiers guarding the city gate below immediately began to drive away the merchants. If there was any resistance at all, the soldiers immediately faced each other with swords. Soon the heavy city gate was slowly closed again. As for the life and death of those outside,

It's not what they worry about now, their mission is just to protect the city.

The city gate was suddenly in chaos. The merchants who had gone out were already locked out of the city gate. They had not seen the enemy yet, but the sound of drums on the city wall told them that an enemy was coming.

At this moment, some of them banged the city gate loudly, but even though their hands drew blood, the soldiers inside remained unmoved and the city gate remained closed.

The smarter ones couldn't care less about the goods at the moment and started to run for their lives in a hurry. Once the war started, the city gate would be the main place for fighting. If you were still here now, wouldn't you be asking for death?

The city gate was in chaos, and the temporary town outside the city was also in chaos at the moment. They were about to face the invading enemy directly, and there was no danger to fall back on, so they cried and ran for their lives.

You can still take care of so much.

But the invading enemies were faster than they imagined, arriving like a strong wind, and then began to plunder. They were not interested in goods, they were more interested in robbing money. In addition, they also deliberately kept

The distance from the city wall is now full of archers.

Although those merchants were allowed to build temporary residences outside the city wall, there was a rule that the temporary residences must be two arrows away from the city wall, that is, 260 steps, to prevent these temporary residences from being used by invading enemies.

But now these temporary buildings are also being used by the enemies. They plunder the temporary houses without leaving in the direction of the main city wall. In this way, even though the soldiers on the city wall are waiting in full formation, with their bows and arrows drawn like a full moon,

But there was nothing they could do. Their bows and arrows could not shoot that far. Without receiving orders, they could only watch helplessly as the group of locust-like bandits began to loot.

It didn't take long for those people to loot this temporary place, then they all turned their horses and drove away, disappearing into the vast snow.

After a while, the merchants who were running around carefully returned to their residences and began to count their losses. The originally closed city gates were opened again, and a group of probing soldiers also ran out and began to investigate the situation.

At noon that day, a detailed piece of information was delivered to Mr. Hu.

He carefully looked at the information in front of him and said, "No one died?"

"yes!"

The deputy general who sent the information said: "After detailed inspection, the merchants mainly lost money and other important items, as well as medicinal materials. There was not much damage to other things. Except for a few people who were slightly injured, there were no other items.

No one died, it seems that their main purpose is money and medicinal materials!"

General Hu put down the information in his hand and said, "Have you found out the origins of this group of people?"

The lieutenant general hesitated for a moment and said: "Yes... they are Xia Zizai's men. There was information a few days ago that Zizai City was attacked and the losses were serious. I guess they came out to fight against the autumn wind in order to make up for the losses."

Mr. Hu slammed the table and said: "The autumn wind actually hit me on the head. It's so bold and reckless. I simply don't take it seriously! Humph, call the master and immediately give me five hundred

Riga urgently reports to the imperial court and asks the imperial court to allow my general to send troops to encircle and suppress us!"

The deputy general did not expect General Hu to be so angry. He was really shocked and said: "General, Xia...those thieves just robbed some medicinal materials and money without killing anyone. If they reported this to the court, wouldn't they?"

Is something out of a fuss?"

General Hu turned his head, looked at the deputy general with a stern face, and asked: "Are you questioning my decision?"

The deputy general said quickly: "I don't dare!"

General Hu said: "Since you don't dare, you should follow my general's orders quickly!"

The deputy general said "Yes!"

After that, he left the room in a hurry. He really couldn't figure out why the commander-in-chief was so angry today.

The memorial was written quickly and rushed to the capital at a speed of five hundred miles.

After the thieves left, the city gate opened again. Many people were frightened. People on the street were in panic. Many people were talking about the group of robbers who suddenly came and left suddenly.

Zhao Yuan also left the house and wandered slowly on the street. Liu Zhiqing also went with him. Listening to the discussions of the people on the streets along the way, he wondered: "How dare there be bandits here to rob?"

Zhao Yuan said lightly: "What's so strange about this?"

Liu Zhiqing said: "Of course it's strange? This Jiayuguan Pass is heavily guarded. Aren't they afraid that the soldiers in the city will rush out and surround them all?"

Zhao Yuandao: "This group of robbers is obviously well prepared. Do you still think that all these robbers are just a mob?"

Liu Zhiqing said unconvinced: "It's enough, can you tell me?"

Zhao Yuandao: "First, today is the time when the gate is opened once every four days. There are loads of goods and money piled up both inside and outside. Second, once they appear, there will be chaos at the city gate. It will take a long time for the soldiers of Jiayuguan to seal the city gate."

For a while. Third, these people were very smart. They chose to rob the merchants but not get close to the city wall. In this case, the archers on the city wall would be completely useless. Fourth, they all rode horses and had good mobility.

, retreat immediately after the robbery. The Jiayuguan cavalry cannot leave the city to respond to the enemy without receiving orders, and even if they pursue them, they may not be able to catch up. These four points alone are enough to show that these people are fully prepared."

Liu Zhiqing listened carefully and said with some doubts: "What you said makes sense, but how could you know such details? You stayed in the house at that time and didn't go anywhere. It was as if you knew it in advance.

?”

Zhao Yuan was shocked. He didn't expect Liu Zhiqing to notice it. He rolled his eyes and said with a smile: "How could I know this so long ago? You really think I am a god. Then I will explain it to you. I don't need to mention the first point.

Everyone knows this, and the second point is also reasonable. There are so many people crowded at the door. When they hear that robbers are coming, the people outside want to come in desperately, and the people who have just left want to come back desperately.

It's strange that there is no chaos at the city gate. Although the third point is far away, I think it's good. The soldiers on the city wall didn't take the arrows from the arrow basket with their backhand, so it must have been an arrow that hadn't been fired.

I have also been outside the city, and I also know that the distance between those houses and the city wall is beyond the reach of arrows. As for the fourth point, of course, it is all about hearing, and my hearing has always been good."

After hearing this, Liu Zhiqing nodded doubtfully and wondered: "Who is this person who has the courage to come to Jiayuguan to rob?"

Zhao Yuan smiled and said: "I don't know. Besides, what does this have to do with us?"

Liu Zhiqing sighed and said, "If it doesn't matter, then why do you still stay here in Jiayuguan?"

Zhao Yuan was startled and looked in disbelief at Liu Zhiqing, who was lowering his head slightly and looking down at the ground.
Chapter completed!