Qianni City has been in a state of chaos recently, with 70% to 80% fewer people on the streets. Only those who have no choice but to come out to look for food dare to walk around with their necks curled up. No one is willing to leave their house even if they can deal with it.
Mo Cong and Shao Weng were drinking tea again. Mo Cong's face was intoxicated, but Shao Weng was already impatient: "This kid is looking for death!"
Mo Cong chuckled: "It's not surprising, this is not the first time he has done this. I remember he did it in Chang'an a few years ago. I suffered heavy losses at that time. Half of Chang'an's manpower was lost, and now there are even less.
There are no fewer than a few people, and now they have arrived in the Western Region."
"Is this the handiwork of his people hiding in the dark?"
Mo Cong nodded: "Not bad!" He turned around and asked Mo Yu, who was standing beside him: "How many people have died?"
"One hundred and ninety-seven people have died in three days. Our people account for the majority, including Mr. Shao's."
"Why are there still ordinary people?"
Mo Yu quickly said: "There are not ordinary people. The rest are merchants from all over the country. There is no rule in killing these merchants. Anyone who acts alone is assassinated. Now the merchants are all frightened. Some of them have gone back.
But he was assassinated on the way and couldn't get out of Qianni City for thirty miles."
"So cruel? Could it be that this kid wants to trap Qianni City to death?"
Mo Cong said: "It's hard to say, but this kid also has another characteristic, that is, he is bold, and he is surprisingly bold. When he first attacked the Southern Barbarians, he once led 10,000 people to sneak attack the capital of the Southern Barbarians. This kind of thing can't be done by ordinary people.
I can’t do it.”
"Hmph! What can you do if you are brave? Send people to kill him and his thousand guards tomorrow! I don't believe it, his guards can compare with the elite soldiers of Shanshan Kingdom!"
Mo Cong waved his hand: "This is a last resort. Don't worry, I have already anticipated these things. He can't escape."
Su Ren was scratching his head in the inn room. There was a row of corpses in front of him. They were all the ones who came to cause trouble last night. Su Ren was awakened when he went to sleep, but he didn't hear anything last night. The corpses in front of him were from the Western Regions and Qiang.
People, and Huns. Judging from their clothes, they should be guards, but the delicate looks on their faces gave them away.
The clothes of the corpses are very casual, but they all have Han faces. Even if the hair and eyes are messy, the flat face cannot be disguised. Speaking of which, every race has its own characteristics. The faces of Han people are relatively square,
The cheekbones are not as high as Europeans, and the eye sockets are not as deep as other people's, not to mention their height. But there is one thing that Europeans cannot compare to Asians, and that is endurance.
The tortured guy was almost covered in bruises, but he still clenched his teeth and did not speak. No matter what Shi Bao asked, he pretended to be deaf and dumb. After discovering the poison hidden in the gaps between his back molars, this guy became a living dead.
After looking at the body, Su Ren had no objection. He waved his hand and asked someone to throw it out of the inn. No matter what the people of Shanshan Kingdom did, he took Huang Shisan and Man Niu to Shi Bao's interrogation room. The light in the room was very dark.
This place was originally the woodshed of the inn. After Su Ren rented it and asked the owner not to come over no matter what happened here, it became Shi Bao's interrogation room.
Pulling the man's chest with a knife, Shi Bao chuckled: "Don't you want to tell me yet? Don't pretend not to understand. You don't have to hide the fact that you are Han."
The man didn't say a word, but he just clenched his teeth. When he first came in, he could still feel the pain from these tortures, but now even if he was chopped, he didn't feel much.
Another knife strike, this time Shi Bao cut off a piece of flesh and waved it in front of the man: "There is a kind of punishment you should know, called the punishment of mutilation. It is said that it was invented by King Zhou. The person who is being punished will undergo different punishments according to the degree of guilt.
The number of knives ranges from three to five to as many as 360 knives. It is said to comply with some natural laws. From my point of view, there is a lot of flesh on the human body. If I cut it off with one knives, how can I finish cutting it with 360 knives?"
Before the man could say anything, Shi Bao continued: "You're lucky. I've seen such a punishment before in Yuanshan. All the flesh on that man's body was cut off, but he still didn't die. He spent a whole night like this.
He just died. Do you know how he died? Let me tell you, he was not tortured to death, but was sucked to death by the mosquitoes in Wonsan. There was not much blood on the ground when he died. I didn’t sleep for three days after watching this.
"
"Later, I learned this method from that person, but I never had a chance to practice it. Today is a good day, so you can practice it!" Shi Bao paused and glanced at the man: "After all these years, I don't know how to do it.
You're not unfamiliar. If you're not dead after three hundred and sixty cuts, don't blame me. There are few mosquitoes in the Western Regions, and it's still winter. People's blood flow slows down when the weather is cold. I think you'll live longer.
"
The man's forehead was already sweating, and the salty sweat seeped into the wound, making it even more painful.
Su Ren was sitting on the chair next to the door. Among his subordinates, Huo Jin was brave, Han Qing was erudite, and Gou Tianming was loyal. Only Shi Bao was a geek. He had lived in Yuanshan since he was a child, in a dangerous environment and the conflicts between his fathers.
The intrigues caused Shi Bao to change a lot. In front of Twelve Niangs, Shi Bao was an obedient baby. In front of Su Ren, Shi Bao was a slippery gangster. In front of all enemies, Shi Bao was a cunning fox. Today he showed his cruelty again.
face.
Shi Bao raised his dagger and said, "You still don't want to say anything? Well, I'll ask you once before you cut a piece of flesh. How many cuts are you prepared to take before you die? It's all up to you!"
"Ah..." This was the first time the man had made a sound since last night. Shi Bao chuckled: "I thought you were mute? Tell me, if you dare to come here to commit an assassination, you are already dead. As for how you will die.
You can choose, this condition is very cost-effective, and let me tell you one more thing, our husband will never harm his family, of course there is a limit to not harming his family, don't you think so, Wang Liu?"
When he heard the word "Wang Liu", the guy's eyes suddenly widened, and then became dim. Shi Baodao: "Your family is in Wangjiazhuang, Jibei. There are my mother and my wife at home. I have a son and a daughter. The eldest son is only five years old this year.
You are only three years old. The people in Wangjiazhuang are all your tribe. Although the place is hidden, it is a good place to set fire. As long as the entrance to the village is blocked and the fire is set, I guess..."
"Stop talking! I'm telling you, I'm telling you everything..." Wang Liu's raised head drooped, tears dripping down the tip of his nose to the ground.
Shi Bao chuckled: "That's right. It's better to die alone than to die as a family. Go on, tell me everything you know."
"You promise not to harm my people?"
"I promise!" Su Ren stood up and stood next to Shi Bao.
Wang Liu glanced at Su Ren: "Mr. Su is true to his word, I believe it!"
Mo Yu hurriedly ran into the back garden of the palace, turning a blind eye to the looks from the maids and women. When he buried one foot in the Moon Gate, he saw Mo Cong admiring the flowers with his hands behind his back. It was a wintersweet, not tall at all.
It was not thick, and the flowers that bloomed were sparse and lackluster. However, Mo Cong looked at it very carefully, looking twice at every petal and every stamen.
"Big man!" Mo Yu stood a foot away behind Mo Cong and saluted.
Mo Cong didn't look back: "How?"
"Wang Liu has already said it. He only said it under severe torture."
Mo Cong smiled slightly: "Then do you believe Su Ren?"
"I don't know!"
Mo Cong looked back at Mo Yu and walked into the pavilion along the path. The weather was very good today. The wind that had been blowing for a long time stopped. The sun was hanging in the sky and the snow was melting where it was hit. This was a good sign, indicating that
Spring is not far away. However, no one took off their furs immediately because this is the Western Region and it is very cold even in spring.
Mo Cong said as he walked: "Do you also think that I use this method to be a bit cruel?"
Mo Yu remained silent. Mo Cong continued: "This is also a last resort. Su Ren has a cunning temperament and a great vision. He will analyze the reasons for ordinary news. Only by using this kind of death can he gain something! Of course, as a teacher, he will not
I can guarantee whether Su Ren will really believe it, but as long as Su Ren believes half of it, it will be enough."
Mo Yu still remained silent. Mo Cong nodded helplessly: "What's going on with Ying Guangji and Jingji?"
"These two people are very quiet. They have stayed with their own people since the incident in the city and have never left their side."
"Haha, these two people still have some shortcomings compared to Su Ren. Such a good situation is a good opportunity for them to fight hard, but they shrink back. No wonder they are not Su Ren's opponents." Mo Cong said: "Go tell Brother Shao,
Just say let’s start!”
"promise!"
Mo Yu turned to leave, but Mo Cong suddenly stopped him: "By the way, there is one more thing I should let you know. Your good friend is now in Cheshi Country, and he is with the Han envoy. It is said that he came from Alashankou
, they will come to Qianni City next month at the latest, and their whereabouts have been tracked by the Huns. If you want to go, go ahead."
Mo Yu lowered his head and showed extra respect. Mo Cong sighed: "You are a child who values loyalty. Just think of this as repaying your apology to your friend. Who knows what the outcome of the matter in the Western Region will be in the end.
Maybe I will still need your protection in the future, so this can be regarded as a way out for myself as a master, right?"
Mo Yu knelt down on the gravel road with a thump. The sound made people shudder. Mo Cong turned around and waved his hand. Mo Yu kowtowed to Mo Cong's back, got up and left the back garden of the royal city. The two of them said that they were forgetful of each other, and no one could
They didn't notice that there was a pair of eyes behind a clump of purple bamboo not far from them, and they could see their whereabouts clearly.
Mo Yu had just left, and those eyes disappeared into the bamboo bushes. When the man left, Mo Cong shook his head and smiled bitterly. Without even looking at that place, he picked up the tea bowl on the stone table and took a sip. Tea gets cold very quickly in winter.
The tea that had just been poured had become cold, and it tasted very unpleasant in the mouth. There was no sweetness, only bitterness. But Mo Cong insisted on drinking the cup of tea, and the coldness rushed straight from his throat into his stomach, except that the taste was not good.
Besides, the refreshing smell is very nice. (To be continued)