The sun climbed up little by little from the east mountain, and its dazzling light enveloped the earth in an instant.
Under the wall inside the Gongchang City Gate, wisps of smoke shot straight into the sky.
Everyone has started to light a fire and prepare to cook for the victims outside the city.
The government office and the magistrate Wei Li, as before, registered the number of refugees outside the city one by one, so that they could add rice to the pot according to the number of people.
There were all busy people coming and going, but Xiao Chen found a quiet place and sat on the curb on the street. He picked a grass branch and put it in his mouth, quietly watching everyone busy.
Busy.
Yesterday, I got my wish and imprisoned Wang Rong, Marquis of Dingxi, in Gongchang Prison. Not only did I not feel the slightest sense of accomplishment, I actually felt a little anxious.
For Xiao Chen, who has a keen sense of smell, the words "fake jade seal" are like an edict, calling him to uncover the mystery of this matter.
However, Ding Xihou was a real old fox. He wanted a city with a palace and a resourceful mind. If he wanted to get him to speak, Xiao Chen really couldn't think of any good tricks for a while.
Hard, absolutely can't come.
Having experienced the baptism of battle, coupled with his status as a marquis, torture would have no effect on him.
All you get in return is a cold corpse.
As for everything related to the fake jade seal, it is even harder to figure it out.
But the soft one has no effect at all.
Yesterday, I tried my best to make Dingxihou believe that I had always respected him. But as soon as I mentioned the words fake jade seal, the other party either kept silent or said it was just casual.
Just saying.
But Xiao Chen understood that this was definitely not a casual comment.
If ordinary people said this, Xiao Chen might think that he was just talking casually.
However, from the mouth of a founding marquis, Xiao Chen would only believe that there must be a huge conspiracy hidden behind it.
As for this conspiracy, it is unknown whether it has already existed in the past or is about to be carried out.
"What are you doing sitting here?" Duan Tianming walked over with a handful of wild onions in his hand and a playful smile.
"Watch everyone lighting the fire and cooking." Xiao Chen said with a grass branch in his mouth.
"What's the point of cooking on the fire? Let's go back to Guanyi and have a few bowls of wine." Duan Tianming patted Xiao Chen's shoulder.
Raising his head, Xiao Chen's eyes shone brightly: "Is there any meat to eat?"
"Of course, if there is no meat, what's the point of just drinking wine?" Duan Tianming smiled proudly.
"Walk."
Xiao Chen stood up quickly, patted the dust on his butt with his hand, and took the lead in walking towards the official post.
When I walked outside the gate of the official post office, I could already hear the laughter inside.
Xiao Chen opened the door without saying a word.
What caught his eye was the carcass of a wild boar with gray-brown manes.
Two half-foot-long tusks stuck out of the mouth, and an arrow shot through the wild boar's head without missing a beat.
"Who shot this thing?" Xiao Chen turned around and looked at Duan Tianming who was following closely behind.
Dongchang was not equipped with bows and arrows, but the wild boar was killed by a bow and arrow. Could it be that the wild boar was Gong Changwei's prey and was snatched away by Dongchang?
Although everyone has not eaten meat for a long time, Gongchangwei is a regular military guard of the imperial court. If it were reported that he had a dispute with the other party over a wild boar, it would make people laugh.
"It's me." With a smile on his face, Duan Tianming patted his chest proudly.
"You?" Xiao Chen looked Duan Tianming up and down in disbelief, "Dongchang is not equipped with bows and arrows. Where did you steal the bows and arrows to kill wild boars?"
"What's stolen? Am I the one who stole things? I picked them up."
"Picked it up?" Xiao Chen glanced at Duan Tianming, then turned back and walked to the wild boar carcass.
He raised his foot and stepped on the wild boar's head, grabbed the arrow, and pulled it out with a "pop".
The entire front end of the arrow had been dyed red, but the arrowhead made of refined iron remained cold and shiny as the blood slipped away, and returned to its original color.
"Where's the bow?" Xiao Chen looked at Duan Tianming again.
Before Duan Tianming could speak, a school captain next to him had already handed over the long bow in his hand.
The bow is more than three feet long, with a cow tendon tied at both ends and stretched straight.
Holding it in his hand, Xiao Chen tentatively pulled it a few times.
Although it has some strength, the rough workmanship makes it look like a private product.
"Did you pick up anything else?" Xiao Chen asked again.
"No more, and there are still more than ten arrows." Seeing Xiao Chen's serious expression, Duan Tianming hurriedly replied.
With that said, he turned around and took the package containing the arrows from the captain's hand and handed it to Xiao Chen.
Reaching out and taking out an arrow, Xiao Chen looked at it carefully several times: "This arrow is the standard arrow of the guard, and this bow is a folk bow. Where did you pick it up?"
"
"In the morning, I took my brothers for morning exercises, and accidentally ran to the foot of Nanshan Mountain. This bow and arrow was picked up in a deserted village at the foot of Nanshan Mountain."
"Inside the house?"
"Yes." Duan Tianming nodded, "The village is deserted and there is no one. This bow is hanging on the earth wall in a courtyard, and the arrows are thrown on the ground casually."
"Let's go, take me to see this village." Xiao Chen said in a deep voice.
The group got on their horses and hurried out of the city gate.
Half an hour later, according to previous memories, everyone finally found the small yard where the bow and arrow were found.
The courtyard door was wide open, and the grass on the earthen wall was more than half a foot high. Duan Tianming took the lead and walked in.
Pointing to a wooden wedge on the earthen wall under the eaves: "When I came in, the bow was hanging here."
Xiao Chen nodded: "Let's search the entire yard carefully to see if we can find other weapons."
The wooden door to the room was also ajar, so Xiao Chen pushed it open and walked in.
Against the wall is an earthen kang that can accommodate four or five people, with a tattered reed mat spread on it. No one has cleaned it for a long time, and there is already a thick layer of dust on the mat.
Xiao Chen grabbed the mat and turned it over. There was nothing underneath or above.
Connected to the earthen kang is an earthen stove.
The iron pot was gone, leaving only a large black pit filled with ashes.
Xiao Chen knelt down and looked carefully at the ashes inside.
There was also a thick layer of dust on top of the ashes, proving that there had indeed been no fire here for a long time.
The yard is not big, and within half a quarter of an hour, all the captains have returned one by one.
"I thoroughly rummaged through the firewood pile in the yard and found nothing on it."
"I've looked under the water tank, but there's nothing on top either."
"There's nothing in the cellar or above."
Listening to the captain's report, Xiao Chen stood at the door and looked at the entire yard carefully.
An ordinary folk longbow is equipped with more than a dozen guard-standard arrows. What is going on?
Did the people at the guard station leave the arrows behind and were picked up by the villagers, or was it that someone hid the arrows nearby and the villagers accidentally discovered them?
However, the drought has left no one in the village. If you want to ask this question clearly, you may never have the chance.
If it was lost by the officers and soldiers of the guard station, it doesn't matter.
If someone was accidentally discovered hiding arrows nearby, would there be other weapons hidden as well?
"Search the entire village." Xiao Chen ordered.
"Yes." In response, all the captains left one after another.
Duan Tianming came over: "Do you suspect that someone is hiding weapons?"
"Yes." Xiao Chen nodded, "I'm not afraid of personal possession. What I'm afraid of is that someone is hoarding a large amount of it. The gunpowder has been provided to the caravan, and the standard arrows of the guard were found here. Yesterday, Dingxi Hou accidentally said
Is there any connection between the words 'fake jade seal'?"
"Do you suspect that Marquis Dingxi has the intention to rebel?" Duan Tianming opened his mouth.
If while providing disaster relief, a major rebellion case is solved, Dongchang's contribution this time will be huge.
"I'm not sure about this. But the words he said about fake jade seal are definitely not out of thin air. Let's see if we can find other guards' standard weapons in the village. If not, it means these arrows,
It’s really just the officers and soldiers of the guard station who lost it. If there are other weapons, we will have to search the nearby mountains as well.”
"Searching in mountainous areas, we people don't know how long we will be searching."
"If necessary, ask Gong Changwei to assist in the search." Xiao Chen's face was extremely serious. "Hiding weapons privately is not a trivial matter. Now that you encounter it, you must find out."
