The young general of the Ning Kou army was carrying a silver lance tip with a eucalyptus pole on his back, standing majestically on his horse. More than a hundred cavalrymen gathered behind them, guiding them out of the valley.
Xiao Hua crossed her arms on her horse and said, "General, our Zhonghou, who was accompanied by two right-wing guards, was brutally killed by bandits. Please ask General to search for their bodies on our behalf."
After hearing this, the young general nodded, and immediately ordered an officer behind him: "Immediately lead people to search for the bodies of the two lieutenant marquises in the mountains. You have to find them for me even if you dig three feet into the ground."
"Here!" After receiving the order, the officer immediately dispatched more than fifty troops and dispersed them into the pine forests on both sides of the valley.
The young general led them forward and said to Xiao Hua Yuanzai beside him: "Two superior officers, please follow me to the inn ahead to rest. I will follow them after they find the body."
"Thank you so much, General."
Yuan Zai was restless at the side, secretly looking back at these cavalrymen with evil faces, the fear in his heart was still not eliminated.
Xiao Hua, however, remained calm. She didn't know whether it was because of her thick nerves or because she was born with a fearless temperament. She said with emotion: "I didn't expect that the security in Hexi is so bad. Bandits dare to attack the imperial officials in broad daylight. Is it because they are not educated enough?"
Caused by this? It’s hard to imagine that this was the prosperous Tang Dynasty when households were not closed at night and people did not pick up lost things on the road. You, the local officials in Hexi, have no shirk in your duty."
As soon as Xiao Hua finished speaking, the cavalry behind them either lowered their heads quietly or showed contempt. The young general appeared to be humble and sincere: "What Shangguan taught us is that after we arrived at the inn, we should report the case to Ning Kou immediately.
The military envoys and the Liangzhou Prefecture believe that it will not take a few days before the Liangzhou Prefecture will issue a reward to capture the mountain bandits active in the area from Qilian Mountain to Madi Mountain and completely eliminate these bandits."
"No matter how you fix it afterwards, it won't help. It's a waste of time to save the lives of the two lieutenants."
There is an official post at the end of the Linsong Valley at the foot of Horseshoe Mountain. This is not the main road of trade, so the scale of the post is relatively small, with only a thatched hall, a surrounding earthen wall and stables.
The military men led their horses into the post station, making this remote little post house noisy and crowded. The postmaster was also so surprised that he couldn't open his mouth from ear to ear. He had never seen so many people since he took over the post house, and he quickly arranged for the postmen to
Draw water from the well to quench the thirst of everyone.
The young general ordered his subordinates to bring water from sea bowls to Xiao Hua and Yuan Zai: "Both officers, please drink first. We will rest here for a while. I believe the body will be found soon."
Just a moment later, the tapping sound of horse hooves appeared outside the inn. He stood up on the Xiaohua steps and looked out. He saw several soldiers leading their horses into the arch of the inn, with two corpses on their backs.
The soldiers put the body down and placed two bloody gourd-like heads above their necks. The young admiral Xiao Hua Yuanzai crossed his hands and said, "Please also ask the two superiors to identify the bodies to see if they are the two who were killed."
Zhonghou."
The bloody smell of the corpse spread over a long distance, and the two of them frowned and pinched their noses. Xiao Hua turned to Yuan Zai and said, "Otherwise, you go and identify it."
Yuan Zai waved his hands repeatedly and said: "No, no, I won't go, you go."
Xiaohua put her hands on her hips and asked, "Which of us is the master and who is the slave? How can you disobey Shangguan's order?"
Yuan Zai raised his hand and pointed at him helplessly: "You, okay, I'll go."
He raised his sleeves to cover his mouth and nose, and moved slowly towards the two corpses. The soldiers stood aside with their arms folded, watching the show.
Yuan Zai approached the corpse two feet away with his eyes closed. When he opened his eyes, he could clearly see the corpse's decapitated head and flesh were turned up. The two heads suddenly opened wide and their eyes were covered with blood. His stomach suddenly felt like a river, and he quickly ran to the wall and bent down.
Vomited out the half bowl of water he just drank.
"Pfft hee hee." The Ning Kou soldiers laughed sarcastically, and the young general scolded with a straight face: "Why are you laughing? Why don't you put the body in a sack quickly? Don't scare the two superior officers!"
He walked up to Yuan Zai with a bowl of hot water, patted his back gently, and handed the bowl over.
Xiao Hua stood up from the steps with a serious look and told the young general: "Please general, please send the bodies of the two lieutenant princes to Liangzhou Mansion for examination by Wu, and then transport them back to Chang'an and hand them over to You Xiaowei for burial."
.”
"Well," the young general answered with his hands crossed, and then stepped forward to ask Xiao Hua: "Why don't you two Shangguan go to Liangzhou Mansion with us? After meeting the Governor of Liangzhou, we can arrange a team of people to escort you to your destination."
Xiao Hua hesitated to answer, but Yuan Zai gave hints with his eyes and shook his head silently.
The two exchanged glances back and forth for more than a dozen times. Xiao Hua finally decided to respect Yuan Zai's opinion and said humbly: "No need, we are here to investigate the case this time. We don't want to disturb the place. You just need to follow my instructions."
Just put the body of the deceased in a safe place."
"That's fine," the young general said, bowing to the two of them and crossing his hands, "I'd like to trouble you two Shangguan to walk on the official road. There are patrol barracks and patrol envoys along the way. There will definitely be no bandits."
"Let's go!" the young general gave the order, and the cavalrymen got on their horses and filed out of the arch of the inn, leaving only swirling dust and scattered horse dung behind.
Yuan Zai breathed a long sigh of relief and sat down on the earth platform of the thatched hall. Xiao Hua glanced at him with sideways eyes and said sarcastically: "I just saw a dead man, how could I scare you to this point?"
Yuan Zai frowned and retorted: "You are really ignorant and fearless."
"I dare to ask Yuan Si Zhi what kind of articles he has learned, what classics he has studied, and where he ranks in the Jinshi subjects? Do you dare to laugh at other people's ignorance?"
"It's better for me to gain the rank of Jinshi because of my solid knowledge than for you to enter the official career just because of your family background."
"What are you talking about? Forget it, we are working together after all. The case has not been settled yet, so arguing with each other will miss the important matter. Let's both take a step back and don't mention this matter again."
Yuan Zai snorted, agreeing to his request.
The conflict between the two people is purely the discord between a poor family and a famous family. Their origin and treatment are the starting point of this conflict. As the Xiao family of Lanling and the eldest son of Prime Minister Xiao Song, Xiao Hua has just become an official.
During the ceremony, a man from Lanling County was transferred to the fifth rank of the Ministry of Punishment, and inherited the title of Xu Guogong. Yuanzai Tianbao Junior High School Jinshi, who was much older than Xiao Hua, was awarded the title of Xinping County Lieutenant, and later went to Chang'an to serve as a judge at Dali Temple.
, he was just an eighth-grade minor official. If he had not married Wang Zhongsi's queen, Yunxiu, he would have been stuck as an eighth-rank minor official in this life. How would he be able to become the direct official of Dali Temple today?
Their completely different backgrounds have created a big gap in their personalities. Yuan Zai is cautious and has low self-esteem, acts cautiously, has been trapped in money for a long time, and has to desperately climb up after recognizing the reality. Xiao Hua, on the other hand, is confident, high-spirited, and innocent.
He has idealism, regards being a prime minister as his goal in life, is not afraid of powerful people, agrees with dead principles, is ignorant of the secular world, and is naturally fearless.
Naturally, Yuan Zai couldn't fight with Xiao Hua to the end, so he had no choice but to borrow Po Xia Donkey, thinking that he had admitted his mistake.
"There are some things we cannot say here. You and I should get up early and go to Shangguan Road. I will explain it to you in detail later."
The two of them used some dry food indiscriminately, then took out the horses and left the inn, embarking on the official road to Ganzhou.
The water and grass along the official road are lush, and the river flows along the edge of the road. In the distance, there are herdsmen riding their horses and singing, and a camel team carrying goods is left behind with its bells ringing. Xiaohua is in a good mood, and she wants to recite poems and compose poems.
Zai Que took the opportunity to say from the side: "Aren't you suspicious of what happened today? The bandits of Matishan just robbed and killed the two Zhonghou people, and the soldiers and horses of the Ning army have already arrived?"
Xiao Hua nodded thoughtfully: "You mean..."
Yuan Zai sped up his speech and said hurriedly: "There are only two villages near the Pine Valley near the Matishan Mountain, and there are few human traces in the valley. The Ning Kou Army has never been to the valley before, otherwise it would be impossible to explain the post courtyard outside the valley entrance.
It was so small that even the thatched cottage could not accommodate more than a hundred people. From the expression and attitude of the postmaster, it could be seen that he had never seen so many soldiers. The desolation of this place was evident. From this, it can be seen that the soldiers of the Ning invaders were not
It happened by coincidence, but it was intentional."
Xiao Hua turned to look at Yuan Zai in horror: "How is it possible? How dare they kill the imperial official? What do the princes in Hexi regard the king's law as something?"
Yuan Zaigao raised his nostrils and had no intention of explaining much to him. He was obviously an innocent nobleman who had never been beaten by society. Telling him that the world was difficult and people's hearts were sinister was nothing short of fantasy.