"I'm Zhang Fan, these two are Hu Yi and Xu Ersan. Eunuch Feng sent us to go to Lingzhou with Brother Cheng."
Early the next morning, Cheng Sanwu packed up and led his horse out of Qingjin Courtyard. Three embroidered messengers from the Ministry of Internal Affairs were already waiting outside the door.
Because Zhang Fan is a little older, with a mustache around his mouth, piercing eyes, and deep breathing, he must have good martial arts skills.
There is a man and a woman in the back. Hu Yi is of Hu origin, with deep eyes and tendrils, slightly lighter eyes, broad shoulders and thick back, big shoulders and round waist. Xu Ersan is a woman dressed in men's clothing, with a thin figure, a slender face, and a slightly slender eyebrow.
Appearing mean.
Cheng Sanwu cupped his fists and couldn't help but laugh: "The names of these two are... very interesting."
These words were obviously talking about Hu Yi and Xu Ersan. They looked at each other and looked at Cheng Sanwu with strange expressions.
"Your name is Cheng Sanwu, you are much weirder than us." Xu Ersan pointed it out directly, with a biting tone.
Zhang Fan coughed lightly and explained: "Brother Cheng may not be very clear about the rules of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. We, the embroidered messengers who go out to do business, are involved in many secrets. We usually do not use our own names, but use the names of the heavenly stems and earthly branches.
Sequential replacement."
"But my name is Cheng Sanwu. Do I need to change it?" Cheng Sanwu asked puzzledly.
"I don't think it's necessary." Zhang Fan responded with a wry smile. If he hadn't been entrusted by Eunuch Feng in advance and knew that he was Shang Zhangjun's personal subordinate, otherwise he would have scolded such an idiot who didn't understand the rules. "Speaking of the embroidered messengers, why don't I see you wearing those embroidered brocade robes?" Cheng Sanwu asked again: "I saw a few embroidered messengers in Yishanfang yesterday. They looked so majestic!" p>
The three Zhang Fans all wear ordinary round-necked robes with arrow sleeves. They are nothing more than carrying weapons. They are like martial arts people walking in the rivers and lakes, and they are not at all like the embroidered messengers who can make hundreds of officials and ministers jealous.
"Brother Cheng is joking. The embroidered brocade robe worn by the embroidered messenger is a costume given by the emperor. Not everyone has it, and it can't be worn on all occasions." Zhang Fan had to explain patiently:
"The Ministry of Internal Affairs is His Majesty's closest minister. If there is a tour, the embroidered messenger will also serve as the precursor of the ceremonial guard. Naturally, we need to be more particular about our clothes. And those of us who go out to do business should not alert others. We must keep confidentiality first, and we should not show our embroidered clothes everywhere.
Brother Cheng, please pay attention to the identity of the envoy."
"I understand." Cheng Sanwu nodded: "Then in what name are we going to Lingzhou?"
Zhang Fan replied: "We are nominally disciples of the Changshishan Hengsect. Our sect's foundation was taken away, so we had no choice but to go to Lingzhou to find another way out."
"Horizontal sect? Is there really such a sect?" Cheng Sanwu was very curious.
"Yes, I am from the Hengshu sect." Zhang Fan did not hide it, with a hint of helplessness in his smile: "When I was young, the Hengshu sect had declined, and my mentor was beaten by enemies who came to challenge him. His legs were disabled, and he even lived in the house.
I can’t even keep my property.”
Cheng Sanwu didn't expect Zhang Fan to have such a past, so he didn't have much to say, so he could only say: "If there is nothing else, let's set off right away!"
……
Leaving Chang'an and walking northwest along the Jing River, within a few days, the four of them arrived at Changwu City at the junction of the two prefectures of Xing and Ning.
Changwucheng is not the seat of a state or county. Because the Jingshui River and the Malingshui River meet here and are surrounded by mountains and rivers, it is one of the key passes leading to Guanzhong. Therefore, a city fortress was built here in the early years of this dynasty.
However, as the Xia Dynasty opened its borders to an unprecedented extent, powerful enemies in the past either died or declined, and Changwucheng turned from the frontier to the hinterland. The imperial court also withdrew the soldiers and horses stationed here, leaving only some people in the fields.
Household.
After hundreds of years, Changwu City, which was built on the mountain, was built into a sizable city. Because this place was the only way to Lingzhou and Shuofang, the tribes in Monan who belonged to Daxia wanted to pay tribute to Chang'an.
Trade of goods often passes through Changwucheng, which makes this place prosperous.
When Cheng Sanwu and his party arrived in Changwu City, it happened to be the New Year's Day. The local wealthy families held banquets to worship their ancestors, and there were also various performances in rural temples, attracting passers-by.
However, the four of them did not go to the city to join in the fun. Instead, they chose to stop at a roadside inn to feed their horses and prepare to spend the night.
Naturally, this kind of country shop cannot be compared with the high-rise buildings and grand halls of Chang'an, and the singers and dancers who entertain and accompany the wine are even more unexplored. It is at best a bit more spacious than a country house. With the diligent cleaning of the shop, it can barely reach the windows and keep it clean, so that there is no dust everywhere.
, making the guest officer unhappy.
Cheng Sanwu had just finished feeding the horses in the front yard and came to sit down in the store when he saw Zhang Fan secretly peeking at another table of customers in the corner.
"What's wrong?" Cheng Sanwu asked in a low voice, picking up a piece of Hu cake, tearing it into small pieces and throwing it into the soup basin in front of him.
"That man has martial arts skills." Zhang Fan showed a slightly cautious look, but he was far from alert.
Cheng Sanwu raised his eyes and looked at the table. There were two guests at the table, a man and a woman. The man had his back to him and was wearing coarse cloth. His hands resting on the table had thick joints and calluses. He could tell at a glance that he was a martial artist who was used to boxing.
The woman next to her was fair-skinned and beautiful. Although she was wearing a sarong and hairpin sarong for an ordinary civilian girl, it could not hide her appearance and temperament of wealth and fertility. She also held a big baggage in her arms, which she cherished very much.
"I smell the medicine." Cheng Sanwu sniffed.
Zhang Fan nodded: "That man is injured...passers-by, please don't pay too much attention."
Cheng Sanwu shrugged and didn't say much. Anyway, he was on errands for the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
In the past few days, Zhang Fan also told himself many strategies for the embroidered messengers to do things while traveling. Especially when investigating confidential information or major cases, high-ranking officials would often be implicated.
Literary regulations, laws and regulations are bound by regulations.
Therefore, dressing up in disguise and concealing one's identity has become the key. Only by not making others wary can it be easier to find out the truth.
Zhang Fan also said that those who work for the Ministry of Internal Affairs and investigate cases should not covet fame and reputation. If they put themselves in the public eye, it will make things difficult. Therefore, when walking outside, it is best to keep a low profile and not cause trouble. Seeing that the sky was getting dark, everyone had finished their meal and it was time to go back to their rooms to rest. Cheng Sanwu was just thinking about practicing in a place where no one was around, but he heard the sound of horse hooves in the distance. Looking at the table, the water in the bowl was also ripples. The four people in the Ministry of Internal Affairs all had martial arts skills and immediately noticed something strange. Hu Yi immediately lay down on the ground, listened with his ear to the ground for a while, then stood up and whispered: "About twenty or thirty riders."
"Officers and soldiers?" Zhang Fan frowned slightly.
"It's not like that." Hu Yi shook his head.
Cheng Sanwu crossed his arms across his chest and glanced sideways at the man and woman in the corner. They were obviously aware of something strange. The woman couldn't hide her fear. The man pressed a few copper plates on the table and held his hand.
The female companion got up and wanted to leave.
The other three people in the Ministry of Internal Affairs turned a blind eye to this, and Zhang Fan even stepped aside to make it easier for the man and woman to leave. Cheng Sanwu didn't want to speak at first, but when he turned around, he happened to see the woman's slightly bulging belly, and he cursed in his heart.
With a cry, he immediately spoke:
"It's too late. Your carriage is too slow to run away."
The man and woman suddenly stopped, and the man turned his head and stared. Although he looked a little worse due to injuries, he still had a handsome face.
"Ahem!" Zhang Fan coughed twice to signal: "You two want to leave, we won't stop you, please do it yourself."
But just after such a delay, shouts came from outside the hospital: "The little thief of the Wei family, please return the wife of the Deng family quickly!"
This shout is particularly loud, which shows that the person who made the sound is very capable.
When the woman in the sarong skirt heard the shout, her face suddenly changed. She hugged her male companion's arm tightly, tears uncontrollable, and whispered: "Wei Lang, you can escape alone, they don't dare to hurt me." "No! I will never be one of those people who is greedy for life and afraid of death!" The man who was called Wei Lang resolutely refused, but he still couldn't hide his anxiety, looking around, trying to find a way to escape.
But where is the hiding place in such a country shop set up next to the road? Taking the risk of escaping will inevitably expose your traces.
"Wu Brigadier! In addition to the carriage, there are several other horses in the courtyard!" At this time, someone outside the courtyard said.
"Take the horse away! Others are surrounding this place!"
As soon as Zhang Fan and others said this, Cheng Sanwu reacted first, unable to hide his anger, grinning and cursing: "Fuck you, how dare you touch my horse?!"
Cheng Sanwu rushed out of the inn and saw more than 20 riders wandering outside the inn courtyard. Everyone was carrying knives and sticks, and the momentum was not small. At this time, one of them was trying to kill the horses of Cheng Sanwu and others.
He was taken away without asking who the owner was, which shows that he is very arrogant.
"Where did the thief come from? You can lead my horse as you like?" Cheng Sanwu shouted loudly, then flew over and kicked the opponent down.
In fact, Cheng Sanwu never tied the reins of the big maroon horse to the wooden stake, but let it come and go as he pleased, so that he could whistle and call.
"Are you the accomplice recruited by that Wei thief?!" A rider wearing a fox fur and a black cloak leaped forward, carrying a strong wooden stick with iron studs on both ends. If the stick is hit hard, the tendons and bones will inevitably be broken.
.
"Who do you care who I am?" Cheng Sanwu didn't mean to show any weakness at all, and said with his hands on his hips: "Hurry up and leave, I want to sleep!"
"Seeking death!"
Brigadier Wu was immediately furious. He slapped his horse on the back and lifted himself up into the air. Wearing the fox fur and black cloak, he looked like a big black bear descending from the sky and smashing the iron rod down through the air.
Cheng Sanwu didn't take it forcefully, but turned sideways and hit the ground with a loud bang, which made people tremble in fear, thinking about how heavy the force was.
Missing a hit, Brigadier Wu turned around and swept his legs. Cheng Sanwu took a few steps back, and the opponent took advantage of the opportunity to swing his stick and strike from left to right.
The attack of the stick was extremely fast and fierce. Even though Cheng Sanwu dodged sharply, the iron hoop at the end of the stick still slightly rubbed his abdomen. There was a tearing sound and several strands of clothing were torn.
"So cruel!"
Cheng Sanwu secretly said something in his mind. Before he could express his words of praise, Wu Brigade's moves changed instantly. His stick no longer blocked the attack, but focused on picking thorns in the middle. It was like a poisonous snake spitting out messages. All that could be seen with the naked eye was the chaotic shadow of the stick, which made people feel uncomfortable.
Hard to guard against.
Zhang Fan and others also came outside at this moment. When they saw Brigadier Wu's move, they immediately recognized it as a martial art in the army.
In addition to the commonly seen swords and spears, the weapons of Daxia soldiers also used weapons such as long knives and big sticks. In particular, this kind of strong wooden stick with iron nails and nails at both ends often has miraculous effects in the hands of brave men.
Don't dare to ignore it even if you are wearing heavy armor.
Cheng Sanwu was forced back by this round of provocation, and in a blink of an eye he was leaning against the courtyard wall. Seeing that he had nowhere to retreat, Brigadier Wu got lucky, and the body of the wooden stick suddenly popped out, and he stabbed directly into the rammed earth courtyard wall.
, raised up a cloud of dust, but Cheng Sanwu still managed to avoid it nimbly.
After repeated misses, Wu Brigade's chest was filled with rage. He was about to attack again, but found that he couldn't move the stick. He looked down and saw that Cheng Sanwu had grabbed the other end of the stick with one hand. No matter how he
No matter how hard I tried, I still couldn't take the stick away, as if the stick was melted into the opponent's hand.
"You... let go!" Wu Brigade was shocked and angry, and he pulled out with all his strength.
"Oh, that's what you said." Seeing him like this, Cheng Sanwu also used his luck, and the big wooden stick directly scratched the palm of Wu Brigade's tiger's mouth, passed out from the other side, and almost flew off completely.
Out.
Wu Brigadier was driven back by this overbearing force. Severe pain came from his palms. He could guess without looking that his tiger-clawed palms were now raw and fleshy, which showed the huge gap in strength between the two.
"You, where are you from?" Wu Brigadier suppressed his impulse. He knew very well that he alone could not defeat the powerful enemy in front of him.
Cheng Sanwu was about to answer when Zhang Fan stepped forward and said, "We are disciples of the Changshishan Hengsect, and we are on our way to Lingzhou and passing through here."
"Hong Kong sect?" Wu Brigadier thought for a while and confirmed that he had never heard of this name. He thought it was a small sect in some ravine.
"We are guests of the Deng family in Yong County, Qizhou. We are here to rescue the female family members on the orders of the family master." Brigadier Wu glanced at the four people in the Ministry of Internal Affairs: "The family master's daughter was abducted by a thief named Wei a few days ago. He once
He is a slave of the Deng family. According to the laws of Daxia, if a slave hurts his master, he will be hanged. We are about to arrest him and bring him before the official!"
Zhang Fan had been working for the Ministry of Internal Affairs for many years, and he had long developed a sharp eye. He could see that the Deng family woman was just running away with her lover, not being kidnapped. Although Wei Lang was injured, he also had good martial arts skills.
, the so-called theory of domestic slaves may not be true.
Of course, Zhang Fan didn't want to dwell on the specific facts. Even if Wei and Deng were sincere in love, eloping without a matchmaker would be against the law. It would be reasonable for the woman's family to file a complaint in court. Although it is also inappropriate for local wealthy families to send their guest slaves to arrest people, in many cases the government cannot take care of everything and just let the wealthy family handle the matter themselves.
"We are just passing through here. We don't know any Wei thieves, nor are we anyone's accomplices." Zhang Fan said calmly, clasping his fists and handing over his hands: "I will leave after a night's rest. It is not easy for us to travel around the world. How about making it easier for each other?
?"
Zhang Fan's words were neither humble nor arrogant. Seeing that Zhang Fan was so magnanimous and might even be more powerful than Cheng Sanwu, Commander Wu became timid and did not dare to fight again rashly.
Hearing that the other party was leaving tomorrow, Wu Brigadier did not take the risk of barging into the inn, and reluctantly handed over his hand: "Okay, see you tomorrow!"
After saying this, Brigadier Wu turned around and left. After giving a few instructions to his men, everyone dispersed and scattered around the inn to surround and monitor, obviously not planning to leave.
Zhang Fan turned around and glanced at Cheng Sanwu, who then spread his hands and said, "He's going to take our horse away. Is it possible that Cheng Sanwu just ignores him?"