In the room, Hu Yanqing stood up, made a fist with his right hand, and banged it on the table next to him.
"I have decided to go to Baoding Prefecture. If I join the King of Han Dynasty, my future may not be bright. If we follow the organization's decision, at least we don't have to worry so much. In the past two days, I have been staying in such a small village.
I don’t want to continue living like this in fear.”
Hu Yanqing shook his head and said.
"However, it is only a hundred miles from Gu'an to Baoding. We were delayed for two days. The higher-ups will definitely investigate this responsibility." The deputy on the side said his opinion.
"I have already thought of this excuse. We are escorting the prince, and all officers and soldiers on the road must avoid it. It is normal to delay for a few days. As long as the prince arrives safely, everything else will be easy to talk about." Hu Yanqing said.
"Since the general has decided, let's do what you want. When will we set off?" The deputy also stood up.
"Dispose of the bodies in the courtyard behind the village, and then we'll set off."
...
After running all night, at dawn, Xiao Chen's team had arrived less than ten miles away from Baoding City.
Xiao Chen, who was at the front, slowed down his horse. And the team behind also slowed down.
Seeing pedestrians gradually appearing on the pipeline, Xiao Chen frowned slightly, tightened the reins of the horse in his hand, left the official road, and walked towards a small road.
Only when a deserted rocky beach appeared in front of him did Xiao Chen stop.
After learning the lesson from Gu'an, Xiao Chen didn't want others to see his team of dozens of fast riders again.
"Should I take the Shen Ji Yu and set up a temporary camp outside the city?" Liu Rufeng asked in a low voice as he looked up at the vast rocky beach.
"Well, you should camp outside and wait for my communication fireworks. However, this place is too flat, and you will be discovered if you camp. Go a little further and find a hidden terrain." Xiao Chen also looked around.
Ichiban.
"Okay, you take a few captains into the city, and I will take the team to find a place to camp. After everything is settled, I will send someone to join here." After Liu Rufeng finished speaking, he led the team towards the depths of the rocky beach.
Baoding City is the seat of the government office of Baoding Prefecture.
At the gate of the city stood soldiers guarding the city.
Although it cannot be said that the inspection was very strict, the soldier's eyes were still very careful to look at the people entering and leaving the city gate.
Xiao Chen and his party of four, Duan Tianming, and two other captains.
Although the four of them were dressed in commoners, the muscular horses underneath them were very eye-catching.
"After entering the city, should we find an inn to stay on our own, or should we contact the Baoding government office first?" Duan Tianming asked in a low voice while riding on his horse.
"Let's find an inn to stay in first. I don't want to alert the government until it is absolutely necessary." Xiao Chen said.
"Don't worry about them?"
"A bit." Xiao Chen nodded, "The fact that the other party was able to escort the prince here means that Baoding Mansion must have their secret base. Who knows how many years they have been operating this organization and whether they have infiltrated the Baoding Mansion."
"That's right." Duan Tianming said, "Even if they didn't infiltrate the Baoding government office, they must have eyes on this street."
While they were talking, the four of them had already arrived at the city gate.
It was already dark now, and there were many people working out of the city. One by one, carrying farm tools, they walked out of the city gate talking and laughing.
Xiao Chen consciously let the horse walk to the edge.
"Hey, you four, if you don't dismount when you enter the city, do you think you are from the government office?" A loud scolding came from the side, and the speaker was the guard soldier standing at the city gate.
Xiao Chen was stunned for a moment, then jumped off the horse.
The three people behind also jumped down.
It is better to do less than to do more. I have important things to do, so there is no need to waste time at the gate of the city.
"Come here, you four, bring the horses over." The soldiers at the door hooked their hands towards Xiao Chen and the others.
Duan Tianming was stunned and looked towards Xiao Chen.
Xiao Chen shook his head helplessly, and followed the other party's request, leading the horse over.
"What do you do?" The soldier held a long gun in his hand and looked Xiao Chen up and down.
After seeing clearly the cloth he was wearing, he looked at the three people behind him.
"While the spring is warm and the flowers are blooming, let's come to Baoding to visit relatives." Xiao Chen said casually.
"Fart. It's spring when we're visiting relatives? Look at what you're dressed like this. Why are you wandering around here if you're not going to work in the fields?" The soldier stared at the civilian clothes of several people and "exposed" Xiao Chen's words with disdain.
.
"We are really here to visit relatives and take advantage of the warm weather to take a stroll." Xiao Chen said with a smile on his face.
Today was different from the past. He didn't want anyone to know his identity, so as long as he could enter the city smoothly, he didn't want to worry too much about other things.
"You are dressed like this, how dare you come out for a walk?" The soldier circled around Xiao Chen and then looked at the several military horses behind him.
Dongchang's military horses are as tall as a person, fat and strong, and they look particularly energetic.
If held in the hands of officers and soldiers, it can boost morale a lot.
However, holding it in the hands of these people in common clothes always felt so nondescript.
"What's wrong with this outfit? We just like to wear commoners." Duan Tianming, who was behind, couldn't hold his breath anymore. He took a step forward and almost bumped into the soldier with his chest.
"Hey, is this a bit temperamental?" the soldier said, waving to the soldiers on the other side of the city gate.
These tall military horses had already attracted the opponent's attention. Upon seeing the call, the soldier pushed aside the crowd and hurried over.
With an accomplice by his side, the soldier's confidence immediately increased.
"Tell me, where did you steal the horses?"
"Stolen horses?" Xiao Chen thought he heard wrongly and stared at the other party closely, "These horses are our own. If you like them, you can only take a look at them. Don't have any other ideas.
Stand your ground well and don't look for trouble."
"Insolent." The soldier shouted, "I am conducting a normal interrogation, why are you here to talk about something? I suspect that the four of you are horse thieves. Come on, follow me to the garrison and explain clearly."
As he spoke, the tip of the spear in the soldier's hand was already pointed at Xiao Chen.
"Alas..." Xiao Chen sighed, "I'm very busy today, don't ask for trouble. If you know how to get out of the way, you can avoid a disaster."
"Disaster? Can you bring disaster to me?" The soldier raised his head and laughed, "The 100 Lords of our guard are sitting in the tavern at the city gate. I just need to shout loudly, 100 Lords
It will come out."
As he said that, the soldier stared at Xiao Chen and laughed: "Master Baihu has a huge appetite. As long as he comes out, these four horses will be confiscated. As long as you are sensible, I will not bother to shout loudly."
Huh. I ate too much chili yesterday, and I really don’t want to strain my throat."
As he said that, the soldier raised his left hand, fingers pointing upward, and rubbed it towards Xiao Chen.
Xiao Chen could understand this gesture. The other party just wanted to extort some money.
Duan Tianming was about to get angry, but Xiao Chen raised his hand to stop him: "Don't cause trouble, give it to him."
With reluctance on his face, Duan Tianming still put his right hand into his arms. After touching for a long time, he finally found out a tael of silver.
"Here, take it." Duan Tianming put the silver into the other party's hand.
The soldier's face suddenly showed a smile.
He put the silver in his mouth and bit it a few times, then looked at Duan Tianming's waist with a smile.
"The clothes are not that good, but the money you spend is quite generous. I thought you only took out a few copper coins, but unexpectedly it turned out to be broken silver. I am even more suspicious that you are stealing horses for sale."
"Take our money and get out of the way." Xiao Chen's expression gradually turned cold.
Although he was in trouble, if he beat up the soldier guarding the city gate, who would know what would happen to him?
Just when the soldiers were about to get angry, a team of twenty or thirty people walking outside the city gate attracted the soldiers' wooden pipes.
The leader of the group was a middle-aged man. He was dressed as a commoner, but there was a cold air between his brows, which made people fear him just by looking at him.
Behind this person, there were more than 20 "common people" who were also riding tall horses and seemed to be in a formation.
Protecting these people were two carriages.
The curtains around the carriage drooped, making it impossible to see clearly what was inside the carriage.
