Fushang County often has soldiers and horses crossing the border, but except for the time when Song Zhiyi's soldiers and horses invaded the city, it has rarely been so full of soldiers and chaos in the past few days.
The rising sun at dawn slowly spread from outside the city and illuminated the earth. Dozens more corpses appeared in the small square on the east side street of the city.
The difference from before is that these dozens of corpses are all soldiers sitting in the camp.
Only three assassins have been found so far, and they have been turned into corpses. Zhao Jianjun ordered their heads to be chopped off and hung high in the city. The corpses were disemboweled and dried on the ground.
The weapons they held, two were sharp axes and one was a broadsword, were both so heavy that ordinary soldiers could not even lift them with one hand.
Apart from these three assassins, several more bodies of men in black were found in the courtyard leading to the prison from the back office of the Yingwei Mansion.
There was nothing on the body that could prove his identity, but judging from his body shape and the weapons he carried, he was not an accomplice of the assassins.
However, after Zhao Jianjun heard this, he immediately waved his hand and ordered his head to be chopped off and treated in the same way, and classified as one of the assassins on the street.
Not all the assassins were found and executed. To all the officers in the camp, it was like being slapped in the face with the soles of their shoes.
And, it’s even harder to explain.
The army garrisoned at Du'ankou was wiped out by the Ji family in one night. King Xunping was furious and issued seven military orders in succession. If the troublemakers in Fushang County were brought up, I'm afraid they, the deputy generals and the supervising military captains, would all have to go to see them.
Now from top to bottom, the entire Fushang County has long been plunged into a strange mixture of noise and silence.
It's either quiet, or it's chaotic, and then suddenly quiet again.
The vegetable market is vacant, the shops are closed, the inns are closed, and no one dares to walk on the streets, except for soldiers and horses, and... people who have to leave.
Xia Zhaoyi and Shen Lie need to rush to Linning as soon as possible to report to Du Xuan and others that they are safe, otherwise they don't know what kind of panic there will be in Linning.
Also, Xia Zhaoyi had said before they separated from Zhili in Youzizhuang that she would return to Liling at least half a month later than them.
But there were too many changes, and she was afraid she wouldn't be able to do it.
This may be the first time she has broken an appointment with Zhi.
Now, Xia Zhaoyi and Shen Lie bid farewell to Mr. Liu He's elegant residence and left with Lin Zhonghu, who was seriously injured.
The goal of acting together is too big, so when Xia Zhaoyi and Shen Lie discussed this morning, they unanimously proposed to separate the two groups.
It was not difficult for them to sneak attack a group of about four or five patrol soldiers. After being knocked unconscious, they took off two pieces of armor according to their body size.
Then, Xia Zhaoyi went to wait for them outside the city.
Shen Lie took Lin Zhonghu with him to find an appropriate time to leave the city.
The outside of the city is also heavily guarded, but it is better than the silence inside the city. It is the farming season, and all soldiers know that food and grass are precious, so they will not have trouble with the farmers.
Xia Zhaoyi did not follow the agreement with Shen Lie and first went to the grove in the wetland in the northeast to wait. She was not reassured, so after leaving the city, she hid near the city gate and wanted to see Shen Lie come out with her own eyes.
Practical.
Time passed slowly. The shade of the tree she was hiding in was extremely secluded and her vision was excellent. From this angle, she unexpectedly saw an acquaintance.
Tao Yinhe, the lieutenant general who accompanied Zhao Guo to defend Panzhou Peifeng.
It was indeed a surprise for Xia Zhaoyi to see him, because he was wearing simple peasant clothes, and his back was specially bent, making it difficult to recognize him.
Tao Yinhe was not alone. He was pulling an old cow beside a field in the distance. People would pass by him from time to time, and occasionally someone would stop and say a word or two to him.
They looked casual, as if they were simply chatting about the harvest.
In the current situation, Xia Zhaoyi couldn't find him, and if he found him, he didn't know what to say.
Tao Yinhe was from the Duke of Zheng's palace. In the twenty-fifth year of the Xuanyan period, Duke Zheng left Daqian and returned to Zhengbei. Tao Yinhe also left with Tianchengying.
Now, the other party came to Fushang County from Zhengbei in disguise like this. It must have a purpose, or it may be related to the military.
It's not appropriate for her to rush into things like this.
I just hope that the two have nothing to do with each other.
They go their own way and don't miss her and Shen Lie's departure arrangements.
Xia Zhaoyi retracted his gaze and continued to look at the city gate.
After waiting and waiting, at about six quarters, she finally saw Shen Lie and Lin Zhonghu coming out of the city.
Xia Zhaoyi breathed a sigh of relief, silently rolled down from the tree, and quietly headed towards the place she had agreed with Shen Lie.
The route we took was a shortcut, so we went a little faster. We just stopped to unscrew the water bag when we heard the sound of horse hooves.
Xia Zhaoyi shuddered and was about to hide, but saw Shen Lie and Lin Zhonghu coming on horseback.
In addition to what the two of them were riding on, there was also another horse following behind.
It was impossible for them to go to Lining on foot. It was inevitable to seize the horse, but Shen Lie brought it like this, which made Xia Zhaoyi even more happy.
After getting closer, Shen Lie stood up and saw her face that had not yet faded away from the blush, and the broken hair on her temples that was wet with sweat. He took out the clean towel he asked for from Mr. Liu He and handed it over, asking with concern: " Did something happen?"
The sun was shining brightly, but the trees in the wetland forest were the best place to escape the heat. Xia Zhaoyi was sweating so much that Shen Lie was afraid that there were ambushes around, or that she was an ambush and was going to deal with someone.
"Thank you." Xia Zhaoyi took it and gently wiped her cheeks. She felt guilty for a moment and suddenly laughed.
She did not answer, but turned to look at the horse behind her. She went over and stroked the horse's neck, running her slender fingers along the horse's mane. Under the sun, her glowing skin color was in sharp contrast with the navy blue hair of the war horse.
"It's best to go with Shen Langjun to save time and effort," Xia Zhaoyi said with a smile, turning to look at Shen Lie, "I rarely feel like this."
Being able to think about what she thinks, and thinking about her first, is what I used to do when I was with the eldest and second brothers. Most of the time, she was the one who took the lead and took everything into consideration.
Shen Lie curled his lips: "...Hmm."
Xia Zhaoyi hung the few small bundles on the horse, turned over lightly, and said with a smile: "Without further delay, let's go."
She looked at Lin Zhonghu, who was watching them from the side: "Is your health okay?"
Lin Zhonghu came back to his senses and paused: "It's okay, don't worry about me, I'm fine! Just..."
He looked towards Shen Lie.
The handsome man in his early twenties turned into a cold face after meeting his gaze, and his whole body was like an ice blade under the sun.
Lin Zhonghu was reluctant to leave. The reason why he went to the prison in the back office of the Wei Mansion was to save people.
Shen Lie mentioned this when he came to see him this morning, and said bluntly that he would not be able to save anyone by himself, and that the entire Fushang County would be controlled even more tightly in the next few days, like an iron wall.
If you want to leave, you can leave now. If you want to stay, Shen Lie will not agree. For the safety of Mr. Liu He, Shen Lie leaves Lin Zhonghu with only one dead end.
On the one hand, he was dying in vain, on the other hand, he was escaping and ascending to heaven. No matter how unwilling Lin Zhonghu was, he knew which path he should choose.
Although this young man spoke distantly and indifferently, without any leeway, at least they were willing to take him as a drag out of the city instead of sending him directly to the west.
The tiger in the forest looked towards the far horizon.
My heart is full of sorrow, helpless and powerless.
