In the morning, the warm sunshine shines on the somewhat shabby and narrow streets.
There was no one on the street and the doors on both sides were closed, making this place seem even more eerie and quiet.
A group of people came over from a distance, about thirty people in total.
The leader was a thin, middle-aged man wearing a light brown cloth. His complexion was a little sallow, and his sinister eyes could tell you that he was not a kind person at just one glance.
There were seven or eight young women in the crowd. These women were all wearing coarse clothes and had no hairpins or jewelry on their heads. They were obviously ordinary farm girls.
Everyone had tired looks on their faces, and those women were even more embarrassed.
Everyone's eyes were red from crying. Some people didn't even have two pairs of shoes on their feet, and the soles of their feet were already dripping with blood. But they were all tied up with their hands tied in a string and forced to stagger forward.
Seeing the open inn at the head of the town, some people couldn't help but curse: "I'm finally back. I'm starving to death after walking all night on the mountain road!"
Naturally, they didn't dare to walk on the main road, or even on the country roads where people were walking. They could only go over the mountains and ridges in the middle of the night and shuttle through the deep mountains and old forests.
"Boss, we're back!" The person walking at the front couldn't help shouting: "Hurry up and get some food! We found some good stuff this time!"
Before he finished speaking, something came out from inside and hit him accurately.
"What the hell?" The man was startled and was knocked to the ground by the heavy object.
He tried hard to lift the thing that was pressed against him, only to realize that it was actually a person!
Others naturally saw it clearly, and the thin middle-aged man immediately stopped vigilantly and said: "Be careful!"
Unfortunately, it was of no use. A thick smoke rose from the person who was thrown out, and the yellow smoke quickly spread and enveloped everyone around him.
"No, it's poisonous! Back away..." the middle-aged man said sternly. Unfortunately, before he could finish speaking, he felt dizzy, and soon his vision went dark and he fell unconscious.
Being mercilessly splashed awake by a ladle of cold water, the middle-aged man's eyes were dazed for a moment, but soon became sharp and alert.
He raised his head and looked forward, and saw a young and beautiful girl sitting lazily in a big chair looking at him.
Seeing him open his eyes, the girl asked: "Do you know where this place is?"
The middle-aged people looked around. They had been in this place for more than a month. How could they not know where this place was?
This is a somewhat abandoned ancestral hall in the middle of this small town. In the past, if there were any major events in the town, the mayor would summon the people in the town to talk here.
Looking around again, the people who came back with him were all kneeling on the ground motionless. The women huddled in a corner of the yard with fearful faces, leaning on each other and hugging each other for warmth.
Just a few steps in front of him, a man was lying motionless on the ground. Only his weak breathing let people know that he was still alive. Next to him, the mother and son were kneeling like wooden piles, looking ashen and not knowing what had happened to them.
What.
The rest were all strangers. In addition to the beautiful girl sitting there, there were six people scattered throughout the yard.
One is standing behind the girl, one is standing next to it, some are standing under the eaves not far away, and there is a girl sitting on the roof.
Seeing this situation, the middle-aged man secretly screamed in his heart.
This is being served from a pot!
Although he was panicking in his heart, the middle-aged man still managed to maintain some composure on his face.
"I don't know where I have offended you all? Please tell me what conditions I want." The middle-aged man said solemnly.
Gu Jue, who was leaning against the pillar, sneered. He had seen many people like this who would not give up until they reach the Yellow River.
Xie Xiao smiled and said: "It's not a big deal, it's just these few... who put smoke in our room at midnight last night. Why don't I know that such a service is available in a place like an inn?"
The middle-aged man glanced at the family of three in front of him. Although he had expected it, he couldn't help but glared at the three of them hatefully.
At first glance, these people are not ordinary people. They have harmed so many brothers because they are too greedy!
In fact, he didn't even think about it. If he had been in the inn at that time, he might not have attacked this group of people.
Furthermore, even if they really wanted to send these people away, Luo Junyao and others might not let them go.
"The boss lady wanted to lie to me last night." Luo Jun said leisurely: "Now, can you tell the truth? There should be no one of you around here, right?"
The middle-aged man's eyes flashed slightly, and before he could speak, he saw the girl sitting in the chair playing with a short knife with a faint blue light in her hand. She was looking at him with a smile but not a smile, and there seemed to be a hint of anger in her eyes.
expect.
The middle-aged man was silent for a long time, and finally lowered his head in frustration and said: "No more, our village was wiped out by the government more than a month ago, and the only ones who escaped were these thirty brothers. There are also a few who are standing guard nearby.
Of course, you must also be..."
Luo Junyao was a little disappointed, "I thought you had some backbone."
The middle-aged man couldn't help but look up at her, then at the person lying on the ground, and thought to himself: "You want me to lie, and then take the opportunity to abuse me, right?"
Luo Junyao stood up and said to Ye Feng and Gu Jue on the side: "Ask him what we want to know."
Then he turned his head to Xie Xiao and Chen Xundao: "You two can learn from me."
Xie Xiao and Chen Xun looked at each other and bowed in agreement.
Although they come from very different backgrounds, they are still ranked in the same class and in the same year. Among this group of rough people, they are the only two scholars who can still talk to each other.
The Princess Regent, a little girl, can understand so many things. They two grown men who only know how to read are still a little ashamed.
Leaving the bandits to the others, Luo Junyao walked towards the girls sitting in a corner of the yard and cuddling together.
These girls looked at Luo Junyao with panic and fear, but they were not very scared.
Although they didn't know the origins of these people, at least they knew that these people were not the same as the gangsters who robbed them.
Falling into their hands is much better than falling into the hands of those gangsters.
Luo Junyao knelt down and looked at these girls and asked, "Where are you from?"
Several girls looked at each other and did not dare to speak. It took a while before one of them plucked up the courage and trembled: "We...we were captured by these people from Songye Town."
Luo Jun shook his head and asked Xie Xiao: "Where is Songye Town? How far is it from here?"
Xie Xiao helplessly spread his hands to her and said that he didn't know. He had indeed traveled around the world and visited many places, but that didn't mean that he knew even such a small place.
This Songye Town doesn't sound like a very famous place.
The woman who spoke again said: "Songye Town...in Lishui County, we...we took a carriage ride for half a day and walked for another day and two nights before we got here."
They were all girls, and the furthest they had traveled in their lives was probably the town closest to their homes. Therefore, after walking for a day and two nights, they had no idea where they were being taken.
Xie Xiao thought for a moment after hearing this and said: "This place belongs to Wu County, just next to Lishui. According to them, it should be in the northwest of here. They walked through mountains and forests along the way, and climbed over mountains and ridges all the way.
You really can’t meet anyone.”
"Yes, those people pulled us into the mountains in cars, and then drove us all the way to here on the mountain road." The girl nodded repeatedly.
Luo Junyao thought, "A large group of people can't move very fast, so in fact it shouldn't be that far from here."
Xie Xiao smiled bitterly and said: "For ordinary people, sometimes they are separated by two mountains and never see each other again in their lifetime."
Qin Yao'er floated down from the roof and asked, "What should they do? Should we send them back?"
Xie Xiao looked at the defeated faces of those girls and swallowed back the words that came to his mouth.
These girls have been kidnapped. No matter what happened or not, life will probably not be easy after they return.
But it is impossible for them to arrange for these girls on their own, not to mention that they have important things to do now and do not have so much time to arrange for these girls. Even if they did, how could these girls who had just left home for a few days leave their families behind?
?
Maybe not all people care so much about the rumors and will take good care of their girls who have returned from the disaster.
Luo Junyao obviously wanted to go with Xie Xiao. They first asked the girls what they thought, and sure enough, they all said they wanted to go home.
For these girls, even if they know that they have lost their reputation, returning to their relatives is far more reassuring than choosing a few strangers and an unfamiliar life.
Luo Junyao thought about it carefully and left the matter to Gu Jue.
They don't need to send these girls home one by one. They only need to contact the nearby government office, and the government office will naturally take care of this matter.
With Gu Jue's ability to do things, Luo Junyao didn't have to worry about the officials under him being obedient, and he might even be able to entertain these girls.
So, Luo Junyao still gave everyone some broken silver and told them to keep it close to their bodies for emergencies.
As for the few surviving women in the town, they really have nowhere to go.
Gu Jue can only be taken away and settled together. The imperial court and the regent's palace have some manpower in various places, so it is not difficult to settle several women.
The woman who finally escaped from the evil hand hated these bandits to death, and only left with Gu Jue after receiving Luo Junyao's promise that these people would pay for their lives.
Before leaving, one of the women even picked up a stone from somewhere and made a big hole in the head of one of the bandits, but he died within a short time.
No one else said anything about this.
After sending these girls away, almost all the confessions Luo Junyao wanted came out. They were all ordinary bandits, so it was not difficult to extract confessions.
Ye Feng came forward and asked: "How to deal with these people?"
Luo Junyao turned around and glanced at the people in the yard indifferently, and said coldly: "Kill them all, go back and get the palace's token and let the local officials handle it. I didn't tell him, and I kept my mouth shut until the palace's order arrived.
Tighter."
Ye Feng nodded in agreement.
The weather was clear and sunny in the afternoon.
After coming out of the quiet and dilapidated town, the sunshine finally dispelled some of the inexplicable chill on my body.
There were seven people when we went in, but only four when we came out.
Gu Jue and Xie Xiao and Ye Feng went to deal with the follow-up matters, and it would take a few days to reunite with them.
Sitting on the horse and looking back at the town behind him, Luo Junyao said to the others: "Let's go."
Qu Fang looked at her and said, "I thought you would hand those people over to the government for disposal."
Luo Junyao smiled at him, his voice still a little cold and evil, "Mr. Qu misjudged me."
Qu Fang didn't care, nodded and said: "That's right, the princess has never been a person who plays cards according to the rules. But this time... are you playing a little too big?"
Luo Junyao raised his eyebrows and said, "I heard that when Mr. Qu was young, he was born into a bloody storm and came and went freely. Could it be that now that he is older, he is less courageous?"
Qu Fang glanced at Chen Xundao, who was following her with a half-smile and a frown on his face: "I'm not afraid, I'm just afraid that you will scare others."
Luo Junyao said: "Extraordinary things require extraordinary means. And what do you mean by that sentence? People don't waste their youth by being frivolous, right?"
Qu Fang couldn't help but laugh loudly, "The princess is right! Qu admires me. Just because of your courage, what if I accompany you to go through the bloody storm once?"
"Then thank you very much, Mr. Qu." Luo Junyao said.
In early May, the temperature along the Qingzhou coast was already a bit hot.
There is a port on the seaside two hundred miles away from the capital city of Qingzhou. It is said to be a port, but it is not like the largest port in Qingzhou or other docks where there are always people coming and going.
During the day, there are almost no people here.
At first glance, it is just a slightly concave bay.
But at night, ships occasionally come in and out.
The people loading and unloading goods here are not as busy and noisy as the people in other ports. On the contrary, both the people transporting goods and other people here are very silent. They unload and load goods silently in the dim light.
Damn, there was silence in the night. It seemed that the people working here were not a group of people, but a group of silent ghosts.
There was a creak of the door opening, and the people in the simple and dark room turned around to look at the person coming in, raised their eyebrows and said, "You're back?"
Luo Junyao came in from the outside with Chen Xun. Chen Xun's face looked very ugly.
Qu Fang sat leisurely aside, while Qin Yaoer enthusiastically came over with tea and snacks, and shook the tea for Luo Jun himself, "Girl, how are you? What did you see?"
Luo Junyao said: "Two ships docked tonight, and they are loading and unloading goods. I secretly went over and took a look, and there were indeed more than a hundred girls."
Chen Xun gritted his teeth and said, "I didn't expect...they would dare!"
After the incident at Yunhai Academy, these people obviously did not restrain themselves. They just changed places and continued to sell young girls.
Over the past six months, no one knows how many innocent women have suffered.
Luo Jun said: "With the support of the Governor of Qingzhou, what can they not dare to do?"
Qu Fang asked: "Princess, do you plan to take action today?"
Luo Junyao said: "They have a ship that comes in and out about once every five days. If you miss today... the next time will have to wait five days. I took a look and found that there were a lot of weapons in the cargo unloaded from the ship, and the goods loaded on the ship
Most of them are minerals."
Naturally, Qufang would not understand what this coming and going means.
Qingzhou itself has mineral veins, but privately forging weapons is a very dangerous thing. Once the court knows about it, it will be a serious crime of confiscating the family and exterminating the clan. Of course, privately mining is also a serious crime, but it is obviously not as eye-catching as forging weapons. The local government is
Those who have the authority to mine can naturally do a lot more.
But if the weapons-casting workshop was placed on Yingzhou Island, no one would be able to manage it.
"There are just a few of us, so what if we go to the island?" Qu Fang said.
Luo Junyao said: "Of course it's impossible for just the few of us to go. I have already sent a message to Gu Jue. Cheng Jia, the commander of the Dongzhou navy, is an old friend and subordinate that my father trusts. Cheng Jia's reputation and ability are both outstanding.
We are trustworthy and will bring people to support us when the time comes. Gu Jue might even arrive before us."
Qu Fang nodded, "I don't care about these things. Since the princess has decided, I will do as you say."
Luo Jun shook his head and said, "We will set off soon."
After that, he turned to Chen Xundao: "After we leave, you will go to Qingzhou Fucheng. Your current identity and appearance are all newly made. The Cao family will not be able to recognize you later. Dai Yunwen, Xie Xiao and Ye Feng will look for you.
, then you give my letter to Xie Xiao, he knows what to do."
Chen Xun has become accustomed to Luo Junyao's unconstrained style these days. He nodded and replied without even thinking about it: "Yes, Princess."
