"Yes, yes, yes!" Just as they were frowning, the low sound of horse hooves came to their ears again.
Immediately, brothers Yuan Kun and Yuan Bao no longer cared about worrying about the hard days ahead, and invariably spread their legs and ran for their lives.
The scout just let them live, but the leader of that team may not be as compassionate as the scout. And I heard from the elders that when soldiers cross the border, they usually kill or capture all the people they meet along the way.
So as not to expose its own whereabouts!
Where is it too late?
No matter how fast two legs ran, they could not outrun the horses. In the blink of an eye, Yuan Kun and Yuan Bao were overtaken by several fast horses.
The hearts of the two brothers were suddenly shrouded in despair, and they both staggered and knelt on the ground again, "Spare your lives, Lord Commander, just now your people said that they would let the two commoners live. Lord Commander, you are a great hero,
Can’t speak…”
"Don't be afraid, fellow, it's me! What I said will definitely count!" On the horseback, the voice they had heard before came again. But it was the scout, surrounded by several companions, who turned around on his horse.
And replied, "I just have some things that I need to check with you two!"
As he spoke, this man actually jumped off his mount and pulled Yuan Bao up from the ground with his own hands, "Don't be afraid, I keep what I say. I am Han Qing, the executioner that the rebel army wants to punish, I am
!”
"You are Han Qing -" Yuan Bao was so frightened that he staggered and knelt down again in an instant, "The common people are kowtowing to you, the common people, the common people were blind just now and did not recognize Lord Ti Xing, capital crime, capital crime
!”
"Death penalty, capital crime! The common people are ignorant and have offended Lord Ti Xing. I beg you to have mercy and spare the common people from death!" Yuan Kun did not dare to raise his head, he collapsed on the ground and repeated in a low voice.
Before tonight, even if he was beaten to death, he would never have imagined that a powerful traitor who was called a demon king by the rebel army would actually look like this and dress like an ordinary soldier.
"Get up, get up and talk!" Han Qing, with quick hands and eyes, pulled Yuan Bao up from the ground before he collapsed, "Isn't it normal that you don't recognize me? I've never seen you before! Zhang Fan
, Liu Hong, you guys also get off your horses. Help me up another fellow, don’t scare him!"
"Yes!" Zhang Fan and others, whose names were called, agreed in a low voice. Then they jumped off their mounts neatly and helped Yuan Kun, who was almost fainting from fright, from the ground.
"Give each of them a Yuanbao to calm their shock!" Knowing what ordinary people need most in this era, Han Qing followed in a low voice.
"Yes!" Zhang Fan agreed again, took out two silver ingots from the leather bag of the saddle, and put them into the hands of Yuan Kun and Yuan Bao without any explanation.
"Kill it, kill it, Master Ti Xing!" The fear in Yuan Kun and Yuan Bao's hearts immediately disappeared. They held the silver ingot in both hands and bowed repeatedly. "How can ordinary people be so virtuous and capable? How dare they ask you for help?
It’s a reward. I’ll kill you, I’ll kill you!”
They shouted politely, but neither of them pushed the silver ingot back. Instead, they held it tightly with both hands, lest the silver ingot turn into white light and disappear if they were not careful.
It’s no wonder that the two were greedy for money. In the Song Dynasty, although silver was not a legal tender, the exchange ratio of silver and copper coins was very stable. Usually one tael of silver can be exchanged for eight hundred good coins. If it is miscellaneous money that is not enough,
, it can be exchanged for more than 1,200 yuan.
A silver ingot, the standard weight of which is five taels, can be converted into 4,000 yuan. Previously, Yuan Bao was thinking about selling his life to the rebels, but he only wanted to exchange it for 800 coins.
Four thousand pieces of good money were enough for him to work hard five times!
In addition, since Han Qing was rewarded with silver, it meant that he would not kill the two of them. Otherwise, he would tie them to a tree and beat them severely. If he couldn't find out what information he wanted to ask, why go to all this trouble?
"Boy, is this village called Yuanjia Village? Yuanjia Village is just over eight miles away from Zhaoyuan Village?" Seeing that the two of them were no longer as scared as before, Han Qing smiled friendly and started to ask questions.
"When it comes to punishment, it's Yuanjia Village. There is only one Yuanjia Village within a radius of ten miles." Yuan Kun still couldn't believe that the young, handsome, and friendly scout in front of him was the legendary traitor who framed Zhongliang. He hesitated for a moment,
Respond in a very low voice.
"Your Majesty!" Yuan Bao glanced at Han Qing secretly, then followed Yuan Kun's example and bowed, "This is Yuanjia Village. Most of the people in the village have the surname Yuan."
"Looking at the looks of the two of you, do you work in a gold mine?" Han Qing nodded friendly and continued to ask with a smile.
"Master Ti's guess is correct. We were absent from work before. But not anymore!" Yuan Bao's heart sank when he was asked, and his response was immediately filled with sadness.
"Why?" Han Qing frowned slightly and inquired in a low voice.
"The mine supervisor and patrol inspector are gone. The mine is also blocked." Yuan Kun was afraid that Yuan Bao would talk nonsense, so he rushed to answer for him.
"He's gone. Was he killed by Yang Xingyan?" Han Qing's heart suddenly became clear, but he still asked smoothly.
"Yes!" Yuan Kun and Yuan Bao's responses became even lower. Obviously, they were worried that their words would be heard by outsiders, and then spread to Yang Xingyan's ears, which would bring disaster to the whole family.
"What about you and the people in the mine? How will you make a living in the future?" Han Qing's words continued, but he did not ask about any military information, but was concerned about the future of Yuan Bao and Yuan Kun.
"I don't know!" Yuan Kun and Yuan Bao both shook their heads, their voices getting deeper and deeper.
"Wait for a while! If you really can't survive, go to Yexian County. They will provide some opportunities and provide relief through work!" Han Qing knew what it was like to be unemployed in his previous life, and his face immediately showed some sympathy. "Actually,
It shouldn’t take too long, as long as Yang Xingyan and I decide the winner, the gold mine can be reopened!”
This is a true statement.
No matter who wins or loses between him and Yang Xingyan, the gold mine cannot stop operating forever.
As long as the gold mine resumes operations, absenteeism will be required.
With Yuan Kun and Yuan Bao's stature, they don't have to worry about being recruited in the mines.
After that, he personally took out two bags of dry food from the spare mount, weighing about ten kilograms, and delivered them to Yuan Kun and Yuan Bao, "Okay, it's okay. Take these two bags of fried rice back for emergency use."
.As long as you soak it in boiling water, you can drink it as porridge."
This move, which was completely out of sympathy, immediately caused Yuan Kun and Yuan Bao to bow down, with red eyes, and thanked them repeatedly, "Thank you for mentioning Xing Hongen, grassroots, grassroots..."
They would not dare to become enemies of the rebel army under any circumstances. However, apart from this matter, they did not know what else they could do to repay Han Qing's kindness. Therefore, half of their words of thanks were said.
It would be unsustainable.
Han Qing didn't care. He patted Yuan Bao on the shoulder with a smile, jumped on his mount, "Okay, I'm done asking. You two, go back home. Don't come out until the results are announced tomorrow!"
"Master Ti Xing!" Yuan Bao felt his heart heat up after hearing this, and he quickly chased after him with a bag of dry food, "Grassmen, there is one more thing I forgot to tell you. Yuanjia Village is eight miles away from Zhaoyuan Village, which is said to be a major road.
You can get much closer if you take a small road!"
"Huh?" Han Qing, who had already planned to leave, immediately grabbed the reins and asked, "How many are they? How to get there?"
"The grassroots people don't know how close it is!" Yuan Bao took courage and responded in a low voice, "It's much closer anyway. The grassroots people did work in the mines before. They got up in the morning, climbed over the mountain in front of the village, and walked a little further down to get there.
It’s only half an hour’s journey in total.”
"Which mountain?" Han Qing quickly looked around, only to find that there were undulating hills on both sides of the village. It was impossible to tell which one was in front of the village and which one was in the back.
"That!" Seeing Han Qing's always gentle attitude, Yuan Bao became more courageous. He raised his hand and pointed at a not very high hill under the moonlight, "Sheep Tail Mountain. There is a road down the mountain. Climb to the top and go down.
Look, you can see the Zhaoyuanzhai gold mine."
"Where is the official office of Zhaoyuan Village? Where did the mine supervisor and patrol inspector live before?" Han Qing's eyes began to sparkle, like two stars in the night.
"Below the mine is the official hall. The former mine supervisor was afraid that we would not turn over the gold nugget, so he built an earth wall to surround the entrance of the mine and the official hall." Seeing that Han Qing was not as vicious as the rebel army claimed in the notice.
, Yuan Kun became more courageous, thought for a while, and continued to add, "The mountain road is not steep, and a horse can ride it."
"Ride over there on horseback?" Han Qing's heart skipped a beat when he heard this.
Although Wu Er has been sending Xizuo to secretly investigate the situation of the rebel army in the past few days, Xizuo is not a local after all. He can only figure out the location, size, and latest trends of the rebel army, but he has not discovered that in Yuanjia Village
Here, there is a shortcut that can go directly to the top of the official hall of Zhaoyuan Village.
If we take shortcuts, the attack on Zhaoyuan Village will take more than half an hour than expected. Its suddenness and concealment can also be greatly improved.
Just a temporary change in the plan will bring great uncertainty, and the risk will be doubled. If the rebels set up an ambush somewhere on the top of the mountain, everyone will be trapped in a trap.
"Are you going to beat the traffickers when you are sentenced?" Yuan Bao suddenly asked a question without a clue, quickly interrupting Han Qing's thinking.
"Yeah!" Han Qing made no secret and nodded with a smile.
"The grassroots people can serve as guides for Ti Xing!" Yuan Bao squeezed the silver and dry food bags in his hands, made up his mind, and volunteered with a trembling voice, "The grassroots people are familiar with the road. Before the traffickers came, they would do it every day.
Go over the mountains to work in the mines. As long as you give me another ingot of silver, the life of the common people will be yours!"
"The common people can also lead the way!" Yuan Kun gritted his teeth and followed decisively. "The common people hate those traffickers to death. They are willing to lead the horse for you!"
