The fire in the post station did not burn out in the end. After all, the soldiers on duty were not dead.
But this move made Zhao Hongrun feel threatened.
In fact, it is more difficult to set fire to a building in early spring like this, since the weather is still cold.
But it is undeniable that after the arson incident, Zhao Hongrun became less confident about the safety of this inn.
It's no wonder, after all, although a post station like this built in the wilderness has a certain degree of defensive power, in fact, this defensive power is quite weak. It does not have a towering city wall like a county town. It is just a village at best.
If you really encounter a wave of powerful assassins, even though there is a camp with fifty soldiers guarding this inn, there is still a high chance that you will be assassinated by those assassins in your sleep.
I think the inn in Yongqiu was like this back then.
Therefore, Zhao Hongrun decided to set off for Yuxian County at dawn. Although Yuxian County was a small county, its defense force was definitely much better than that of the post station.
After deciding the matter, Zhao Hongrun asked Miss Su and the other girls to rest in the house for a while and take a nap. After all, they had traveled a whole day to get to this inn yesterday.
But to be honest, even Zhao Hongrun and the clan guards around him were a little tired from the continuous rush.
This kind of exhaustion is not entirely due to the rush, but more importantly, they have to be mentally tense at all times during the rush, guarding against the attacks of assassins lurking in the dark. The latter really makes them mentally exhausted.
.
The soldiers at the post station returned to their houses to pack their belongings and prepare to escort Zhao Hongrun and his party to Yu County, while the clan guards were busy digging holes to bury the bodies of the seven assassins in black.
While digging the hole, Zongwei Muqing laughed at himself that his digging skills were getting better and better, and he was digging faster and deeper.
I have to say that this was a sad joke. After all, before Zhao Hongrun interrogated the rangers and assassins, the clan guards dug several large pits and buried the dozens of corpses in the soil. They were half exhausted and died after a while.
Dig a hole to bury the bodies of the seven assassins in black.
"I really envy those thieves and bandits in the stories told by the storytellers. They kill them but don't bury them. It's better for us. After one stab, we still have to bury them." Mu Qing, the youngest, couldn't help but started to harass them.
The Zongwei laughed loudly.
At this time, Zongwei Zhongzhao said jokingly: "Anyway, the one you buried was the one you ended up with your sword in the end. Gao Kuo was standing there, with blood splattered on his face by that man. Now he has to dig a hole.
If he goes to bury someone's family, who will he tell his sufferings to?"
Gao Kuo rolled his eyes speechlessly amid the sneers of the clan guards.
At this time, Wei Jiao clapped his hands and said: "Okay, okay, no matter what, it has given us some knowledge. When we encounter these desperadoes in the future, we must first tie them up with ropes when interrogating them...
…”
Before he finished speaking, Zongwei Lu Mu also added: "It's best to knock out all their teeth to prevent them from biting their tongues and committing suicide..." As he spoke, a look of disbelief appeared on his face, and he murmured
: "Speaking of which, these people are so cruel. They actually bit off their own tongues. How painful it is."
The sect guards looked sad. After all, most people have had the experience of accidentally biting their tongues while eating. It was hard for the sect guards to imagine that someone in the world could be so cruel to them.
It has to be said that although the Zongwei have been strictly taught in the Zongfu since childhood, and all of them are very brave, but compared with the real desperadoes in the world, the Zongwei inevitably seem a bit pampered.
But it's no wonder, after all, they are not ordinary guards, they are comparable to bodyguards.
After spending half an hour, the sect guards finally dug another hole and buried the bodies of the seven assassins in black.
Seeing this, Wei Jiao ordered: "Leave four people to guard at the watchtowers at the four corners of the post station, while the others take a nap. I'm thinking about it, I'm afraid we won't be too safe on the way to Yuxian County."
After hearing this, except for Shen Yu, the Zongwei chief who was staying with Zhao Hongrun at the moment, the other nine Zongwei gathered around and used guessing games to decide who would stay vigil.
Lu Mu, Mu Qing, Chu Heng, and Gao Kuo unfortunately won the bid. Mu Qing held his head in his hands and wailed, but in the end he could only go to the watchtower to take charge of security.
Who calls himself unlucky?
The remaining five Zongwei found a place to take a nap amidst proud laughter.
At this time, it had already passed the third quarter of the Yin hour, and it was only about an hour before the sky became brighter, but then again, there was still an hour after all.
So, the five clan guards who had won by strength came to the house where His Highness was, but did not enter. They leaned against the wall of the house one by one, holding their weapons and taking a nap.
An hour passed quickly, and by the time it was around three quarters past nine o'clock, the sky was gradually getting brighter.
Seeing this, Zong Wei Chief Shen Yu who was guarding outside the house locked the door, then opened the door and walked in. He said to Zhao Hongrun who was still playing chess with He Zhirong in the house: "Your Highness, the sky is already bright. In order to prevent long nights and many dreams, we should go to Yuxian County as soon as possible."
"Hmm." Zhao Hongrun nodded, then put the chess pieces in his hand back on the chessboard, and said to He Zhirong with a wry smile: "He Yichang's chess skills are not as good as mine, so I am willing to be inferior."
To be fair, Zhao Hongrun's chess skills are actually average. His real advantage is that he can use his collective memory to simulate the moves of both sides in the next few steps or even dozens of moves in his mind. Therefore, Miss Su, who has studied chess for several years, can't play any game. Not his opponent.
But the He Zhirong he met now made it difficult for Zhao Hongrun, who had a talent like cheating, to win. It must be said that He Yichang's chess skills were not bad.
"His Royal Highness Prince Su is too modest." He Zhirong waved his hand and said with a chuckle: "The so-called skills have specializations. His Royal Highness Prince Su is good at leading troops and fighting. In comparison, my chess skills are nothing more than trivial... I usually have nothing to do. If you have nothing to do, just play chess with others, which is just to gain a little confidence in your chess skills."
…
Zhao Hongrun noticed the unnatural pause in He Zhirong's last sentence, but did not ask.
Because he had already heard from the clan guards that the old soldier Lao Li who led them into the inn yesterday had been stabbed in the abdomen by the rangers in the melee last night and died of serious injuries.
If the guess is correct, the old pawn named Lao Li is probably one of He Zhirong's chess friends.
In addition to this, six other soldiers in the station died in the attack last night.
Hidden Thief of Yangxia... Humph!
A trace of murderous intent flashed in Zhao Hongrun's eyes. Then, he concealed the murderous intent in his eyes and said to He Zhirong with a smile: "He Yichang, shall we set off soon?"
"In accordance with the wishes of His Highness King Su." He Zhirong bowed his hand.
A quarter of an hour later, Zhao Hongrun and his party, as well as more than forty soldiers inside the post station, slowly walked out of the post station.
Before leaving, He Zhirong took a deep look at a certain room in the inn.
Zhao Hongrun knew that in that room were placed the remains of the seven soldiers who died last night.
Due to the inconvenience of moving, He Zhirong decided to temporarily leave the bodies of these people at the inn until he and the rest of the soldiers escorted Zhao Hongrun and his party to Yu County, borrowed county soldiers from the county, and then came to bury the seven victims.
Handle funeral arrangements.
"Click."
After staring at the room for a while, He Zhirong closed the door of the inn and temporarily locked the inn with a lock.
However, the soldiers had already taken out all the precious things in the station, such as the horses for transfer. Zhao Hongrun counted them and found that there were about a dozen horses.
Because of the large number of soldiers, Zhao Hongrun asked Mi Jiang, Mi Rui, and Oona to squeeze into the carriage and lend the horses to He Zhirong and the others. After all, the horses in the station can be used even if the soldiers ride the same horse.
Not enough either.
"Your Highness Prince Su, let's set off." He Zhirong said to Zhao Hongrun: "Go to Yuxian County as soon as possible, so that I can return here as soon as possible... It is a big sin to close the inn privately, but I hope there will be no official consequences during this period.
The postman of urgent official documents..."
Zhao Hongrun nodded and immediately ordered the team to set off.
After all, as He Zhirong said, under normal circumstances, inns are not allowed to close. It is no exaggeration to say that even if there is a knife from the sky, inns in various places must still be open as usual, and the soldiers guarding the inns will not be allowed to close in non-emergency situations.
Even if you leave, you are not allowed to leave the inn, otherwise you will be investigated for dereliction of duty.
It's no wonder, after all, the function of the inn is so important that the imperial court had to make strict regulations on such matters.
The reason why He Zhirong temporarily closed the inn and escorted Zhao Hongrun to Yu County with his soldiers was because Zhao Hongrun was a descendant of the Zhao royal family surnamed Ji, and he was the dignified King Su. Otherwise, even if any county guard encountered
When it comes to assassination and asking for asylum, He Zhirong probably won't say "leave" lightly.
The bright sky gradually became brighter, and there were few people on the official road ahead.
This is a good thing for Zhao Hongrun and others. After all, under the current situation, the fewer people on the road, the more at ease they will feel.
But as the sun gradually rose, some people started to appear on the official road.
Those people seemed to be business travelers passing by.
Of course, it's just a look. Who knows if the true identities of those business travelers are assassins in disguise?
Therefore, Zhao Hongrun avoided these people whenever he could, and tried to keep a distance from them. If these people got too close, the Zongwei would dispatch to conduct an interrogation of these people.
But the bad thing is that most business travelers will secretly carry a few swords for self-defense during their journey. Therefore, it is not a good idea to tell whether the other party is an assassin with evil intentions by whether they carry weapons or not.
All Zhao Hongrun and his team can do is to increase their concentration, tighten their nerves and be on alert at all times.
On the way to Yuxian County, the Zongwei found several corpses dumped in the wilderness beside the official road. After careful identification, Zhao Hongrun recognized that these people were the people he had "hired" to deliver messages to Yanling or Shangshui.
Ranger.
No more, no less, exactly eleven ranger corpses.
The premonition came true, Zhao Hongrun was destined to fail to spend the thousands of taels of silver he wanted to "spend".
"Crazy! It's really too crazy!"
Zhao Hongrun clenched his fists bitterly, feeling aggrieved in his heart. (To be continued.) 8