Seventeen officers and soldiers were killed by Liu Xiu and others. After inspecting the battlefield, Liu Xiu walked to the carriage and lifted the door curtain.
People's screams immediately came from the car. Liu Xiu took a closer look and saw that the four people in the car were trembling and hugging each other, shaking into a ball.
Liu Xiu glanced quickly, sheathed his sword, waved to the four people, and said softly: "You don't have to be afraid, we are from the Yuzhu Tiandu tribe, and we are here in Yanqu to take you to Caiyang.
Take refuge.”
A middle-aged couple and two young girls in the car looked at each other. The middle-aged man asked tremblingly: "Zhu...Zhu Tiandu? Who is...?"
Liu Xiu smiled and said word by word: "Han Army."
The words "Han Army" caused the expressions of the four people in the car to change drastically, and they were stunned. After a moment, the middle-aged man reacted, knelt in the car, kowtowed to Liu Xiu who was standing outside, and stammered.
Said: "The brave man spares his life, the brave man spares his life!"
The Han Dynasty was the former dynasty, and the so-called Han troops were rebels and rebels. And their son Zhao Ying was the county lieutenant of Deng County. If the Han army came to find him, he was afraid that the lives of his whole family would be in danger.
Liu Xiuxiao asked: "Excuse me, who are you?"
"I...I'm Zhao Yuan, please...please spare my life..."
Liu Xiu suddenly realized and said: "It turns out to be Mr. Zhao! I think Mr. Zhao has misunderstood us. I have made it very clear just now that we did not come to Yanqu to hurt your life. On the contrary, we came to Yanqu."
To protect you."
"Ah?" Zhao Yuan looked at Liu Xiu blankly, his face full of confusion.
Liu Xiu said: "This is not the place to talk. Let's talk about the details on the road!" After speaking, he smiled at the four people in the car, then lowered the curtain and looked at Gai Yan and Li Tong not far away.
Waved.
Gai Yan and Li Tong quickly stepped forward, stepped in to salute, and said, "My lord!"
"Juqing, Jiyuan, you and your brothers will be responsible for escorting Zhao Ying's family to Caiyang."
There were more than a dozen people who came with Liu Xiu. In addition to Yan Guang, Gai Yan, Feng Yi, Fu Jun, Li Tong, and Jiu'er, there were also several followers with good skills.
Gai Yan and Li Tong nodded first, and then asked in unison: "Master, what about you?"
Liu Xiu shrugged and said, "I have to go to the city to meet Zhao Ying."
Gai Yan frowned and asked cautiously: "Lord, is there any danger?"
Liu Xiu nuzzled towards the carriage and said with a smile: "Don't worry, as long as Zhao Ying's family is still in our hands, he won't dare to do anything to me."
Gai Yan and Li Tong looked at each other, nodded, and said, "Master, don't be careless after entering the city. It's better to be more careful."
"I will! Let's go!" After saying that, Liu Xiu suddenly thought of something. He turned around and lifted the car curtain again, and glanced at Zhao Yuan.
When he saw the jade pendant hanging on Zhao Yuan's waist, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he took off Zhao Yuan's jade pendant with a wave of his hand.
Zhao Yuan was startled and looked at Liu Xiu in shock and fear. Liu Xiu lowered his head to play with the jade pendant and asked: "Mr. Zhao's jade pendant looks to be quite old. I think Mr. Zhao should also know it."
he."
"Strong man, you...you want to..."
Liu Xiu put the jade pendant into his arms and said, "Mr. Zhao, please lend me this jade pendant first!"
Zhao Yuan was shocked and was about to speak when Liu Xiu waved his hand and said, "Mr. Zhao, don't worry, I have no intention of harming Mr. Zhao, but I want to show him a clear path!"
His so-called clear path was naturally to persuade Zhao Ying to defect.
Just relying on words to persuade others won't have much effect, but using Zhao Yuan's jade pendant to persuade others will be different.
Liu Xiu and others divided their troops into two groups. Gai Yan, Li Tong and others sent Zhao Yuan's family of four to Cai Yang. Liu Xiu, Yan Guang, Feng Yi, Fu Jun, and Jiu'er stayed in Yanqu.
Nearby, I stayed overnight in the woods not far from the village.
The next morning, when it got dark, Liu Xiu and others walked out of the woods and headed for Deng County.
Nanyang is a large county with more than thirty counties in its territory, such as Caiyang, Xinye, Wancheng, Dengxian, etc., are among them.
Deng County is about the same size as Caiyang, with a population of 50,000 to 60,000 in the city. It is not lively and prosperous, but it is not deserted or rundown either.
The news that Zhao Ying's family had been robbed had already reached the county government. The county magistrate Zhang Chong, the county lieutenant Zhao Ying and the main officials of the county government were all sitting in the lobby of the county government. People's faces were gloomy and the atmosphere was solemn. There were still people in the hall.
Standing was a man dressed as a headhunter.
Zhang Chong slapped the table and asked loudly: "Where is Mr. Zhao's family now and who was kidnapped? Mr. Xing, when are you going to find out?"
The catcher shrank his neck, lowered his head, and whispered: "Reporting to your lord, Mr. Zhao's family was taken out of the village by the county soldiers first. An accident occurred outside the village. There were no survivors left at the scene. Seventeen people
All the county soldiers were killed, and no one had seen these villains..."
Before he could finish speaking, Zhang Chong took a picture of the case on the table again and said angrily: "I sent you to investigate, and you investigated for most of the night and found this?"
The catcher was hunched over, sweating like rain. As he wiped away the sweat, he secretly grinned and said hesitantly: "These...these gangsters are highly skilled, vicious, and experienced. They didn't leave anything behind at the scene."
There are no clues and no witnesses. The villain...the villain really...has nowhere to trace..."
"Trash! What's the point of keeping you here?" Zhang Chong was so angry that he grabbed the teacup and tried to throw it at the catcher. Zhao Ying hurriedly stretched out his hand to stop him. He sighed and said: "Master Zhang, catcher Xing is sure too.
After trying our best, the other party killed seventeen county soldiers without leaving any clues. This only shows that the other party has a great background and is not an ordinary person!"
Zhang Chong slowly put down his teacup, spread his hands and asked, "Mr. Zhao, do you have anyone to suspect?"
The county captain and the county magistrate, one is in charge of the army and the other is in charge of administration. In reality, they are almost equal to each other. However, in theory, the county magistrate is half a rank higher than the county captain, at least slightly higher in salary.
Zhao Ying shook his head slowly. He had no clue now. After being silent for a long time, he raised his eyes to look at the sky outside, and said to Zhang Chong and others: "Master Zhang and all of you have worked hard for my affairs. Now the sky has turned dark."
Daliang, everyone, please go back and have a rest!" As he spoke, he stood up, cupped his hands to Zhang Chong and said, "Master Zhang, I will take my leave now."
Zhang Chong waved to other officials, and after everyone else left, he said to Zhao Ying: "Master Zhao, you don't have to worry too much. Since the gangsters robbed your father's hall, I think they won't hurt him and his elders for the time being.
life."
Zhao Ying nodded and said: "I know, this matter has also caused Mr. Zhang to worry."
"Master Zhao, do you still have to be polite to me?" Zhang Chong is in his early forties, while Zhao Ying is less than thirty, but they have been working together for five or six years. After so many years of interaction, they know each other well.
, the friendship has always been very good.
Zhang Chong comforted Zhao Ying again. Seeing that the latter was absent-minded and full of sadness, he couldn't say any more. Finally, he patted Zhao Ying on the shoulder and said: "Master Zhao, you should go back and have a sleep as soon as possible.
Don't tire yourself out, I will send officials to continue investigating this matter."
"Thank you, Mr. Zhang."
"Master Zhao, you're welcome."
Zhao Ying left the county government and went back to his home. He was in a carriage and walking towards his home. Suddenly, he heard someone shouting on the side of the road: "Stealer? Damn, you are so brave, how dare you"
Steal my jade pendant!"
Deng County has a small population and good public security. It is not common for thieves to appear in broad daylight. Hearing this, Zhao Ying subconsciously lifted the curtain of the car window and looked outside.
I saw a half-grown child who looked like a beggar running forward, followed by a man of medium stature chasing after him. The two of them happened to run past the carriage one behind the other.
At the moment when the two of them ran over, Zhao Ying sharply saw the jade pendant on the man's waist. He was very familiar with this jade pendant, it was his father's personal jade pendant.
Zhao Ying was stunned for a moment, and then he was shot out of the car. The driver and the entourage on the left and right were all startled, and they all exclaimed: "My lord——"
"Come with me quickly!" Zhao Ying dropped this sentence, threw his legs, and chased the big man in front of him.
The beggar at the front ran very fast and crossed half the street in the blink of an eye. Then he turned around and got into the alley on the side of the road. The man behind him followed closely and followed him into the alley.
Zhao Ying didn't even hesitate and jumped into the alley.
When his followers caught up, they looked at the alley. Where was Zhao Ying's figure? Everyone ran in and shouted: "Sir, wait a minute! Your Majesty?"
At this time, Zhao Ying was like crazy, using all her strength to chase the big man in front of her.
He didn't know how long he had been running. When the man in front of him stopped, Zhao Yingcai slowed down and looked around him intently. Even he didn't know where he was now.
He couldn't care less, and his eyes fell on the big man in front. He held the sword under his ribs with one hand and put the other hand behind his back. His face was expressionless and he said coldly: "Turn around!"
The man stood there without moving, still facing Zhao Ying. The latter increased his volume and shouted in a deep voice: "I asked you to turn around, do you hear me?!"
After a while, the man's body finally moved and slowly turned around. Zhao Ying held the hilt of the sword tighter, staring at the man without blinking.
This man, in his thirties, has an unattractive appearance and dark skin. If you look carefully, you can see that although his facial features are not outstanding, he is also handsome and not annoying. Zhao Ying's eyes slowly moved down and fell on the man's waist.
On that jade pendant.
After seeing the jade pendant clearly, Zhao Ying's heartbeat accelerated. He silently drew out his sword, pointed the sword pointed at the opponent's man, and said: "Take off the jade pendant and throw it over!"
The man looked at him with a smile, neither moving nor speaking. Zhao Ying was about to step forward when suddenly, footsteps came from behind him. He turned around and saw three people walking behind him.
The leader was in his early twenties, handsome and slender.
The two people behind him were both in their twenties and less than thirty years old. One of them had an ordinary appearance, but he had an air of Taoism and immortality, while the other had a handsome appearance, but the aura he exuded was sinister and cold.
Zhao Yuan squinted his eyes, and he understood everything in an instant. He looked at the handsome young man at the head and said, "Are you the gangsters who committed the murder outside Yanqu Village last night?"
