Hearing the messenger's answer, even Wang Zhen, who had been stationed in Taiyuan Mansion to confront powerful enemies all year round, couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.
"More than a hundred guards killed a thousand thieves. If they were elite soldiers, they could certainly do it, but no one was killed. This is a bit unbelievable."
"etc!"
Wang Zhen suddenly thought of something, and his eyes changed instantly.
"The traitors who intend to get rid of the prince naturally know the power of the prince's protection."
"If the prince is surrounded by heavily armored soldiers, then if you want to kill the prince with bandits, you must equip them with armor-piercing weapons."
"And now, the reason why these bandits are being killed must be because they lack effective armor-breaking weapons."
"Those sycophants are definitely not that stupid, unless...the role of that group of thieves is just to delay the prince, and the real killer move is yet to come."
After Wang Zhen's analysis, his subordinates immediately sensed a strong sense of crisis.
"Xingzhou has not moved a single soldier. It is most likely that he is making way for a certain force, and this force is the trump card to get rid of the prince."
"The force that can defeat heavily armored soldiers head-on...must be the regular army!"
Hearing this, Wang Zhen felt a chill in his heart. He quickly stood up and shouted in a low voice: "Go and check quickly to see if there are any unauthorized deployments of the Taiyuan Prefecture garrison!"
"If anyone is found who dares to leave Taiyuan without authorization, go to Xingzhou and have the law rectified on the spot!"
Wang Zhen was already a little uneasy. If the traitor party in the DPRK bribed the Taiyuan soldiers to intercept and kill Zhao Huan on the way, then Wang Zhen would definitely be implicated.
It's not that he's afraid of taking responsibility, but that a war is imminent and there must be no turmoil in Taiyuan Mansion.
Otherwise this will endanger the entire Song Dynasty.
Not long after, his subordinates hurried back and said, "Sir, no one in the garrison has acted rashly."
After receiving the answer, Wang Zhen breathed a sigh of relief, but then he had even stronger doubts in his heart.
"Since this force is not Taiyuan soldiers, who can it be?"
"It can't be... Jin Bing?"
"Golden Soldiers..."
"not good!"
"King Ding has repeatedly ruined the plans of the Jin people. The Jin people must have hated King Ding deeply. They may have sent dead soldiers to sneak into Xingzhou to get rid of the prince, a die-hard hawk."
"As long as King Ding dies, the whole dynasty will be full of weaklings. With a little pressure from the Jin people, they can achieve their strategic intentions and conquer the Song Dynasty at the minimum cost."
Although Wang Zhen did not want to get involved in the party disputes in the court, it was undeniable that there was indeed no stronger person in the civil and military circles than Zhao Huan.
If Zhao Huan dies, it will naturally be great news for the Jin people.
Even to prevent the Jin from succeeding, Wang Zhen had to send troops to rescue.
"Quickly mobilize your troops and go to Xingzhou to rescue King Ding!"
At the same time, Zhao Huan had arrived in Shahe County, Xingzhou, only one step away from the boundary of Taiyuan.
But Zhao Huan ordered to stop advancing.
Wang Daquan was puzzled: "Your Majesty, we have been delayed too much on the road. We are about to arrive in Taiyuan, why did we stop again?"
"The previous attack is enough to prove that Cai's faction members are determined to destroy the king. Only by arriving in Taiyuan as soon as possible can we feel at ease under Wang Zhen's protection."
Zhao Huan, with his hands behind his back, stood on the slope and looked at the pass ahead.
The official road passing through Shahe County is very close, but there are steep peaks on both sides of the official road, forming a canyon.
This is simply the perfect place for an ambush.
"Even you know that the members of the Cai faction are determined to destroy me. How could I not know this?"
"No matter how stupid Tsai's party members are, they will not put all their bets on a group of rabble."
"Those thieves and bandits are just an appetizer. The real highlight is right in front of us."
Wang Daquan's face darkened, and he turned to look at the pass not far away. He couldn't help but become nervous: "Your Majesty, you mean... there might be an ambush ahead?"
The corners of Zhao Huan's mouth raised, showing a relaxed smile: "I can't say that I am 100% sure, but I have to be at least 80% sure."
"Although the guards around me are brave and good at fighting, they are still alone without the protection of the servant army."
"If you hold a large shield, the number of combatants will be greatly reduced."
"On the contrary, without the protection of a large shield, the enemy will form an all-round pincer attack from top to bottom, from both wings, and from the front and rear, and will definitely be completely annihilated."
Zhu Peng, who was next to him, originally planned to follow Zhao Huan out to see the world, but he ended up feeling nervous all the way.
Knowing that there might be an ambush ahead, Zhu Peng said with a sad face: "Uncle, how about we take a detour?"
Before Zhao Huan could answer, Wang Ben pointed to the peaks on both sides and said in a deep voice: "If we take a detour, it will take at least five more days."
Zhu Peng swallowed his saliva and said nervously: "Five more days is just five more days. We can live for decades, why are we afraid of wasting just five days?"
"It's better to sail a ten-thousand-year-old ship carefully than to lose your life, right?"
Zhao Huan reached out and patted Zhu Peng's shoulder, and said earnestly: "You should have less contact with Chen Zhao in the future. You haven't learned anything else. You are a coward and a timid person, but you have learned a lot."
"You stay here."
As the people in the way were blasted away, Wang Ben walked to Zhao Huan's side and said fearlessly: "Why don't I send two of my subordinates to investigate first?"
The so-called "Tabai" is actually "scout".
Before the Tang Dynasty, they were called scouts. In the Tang Dynasty, they became "capture generals" and in the Song Dynasty, they were called "tabai".
Anyone who can become a Tabai is a very brave and elite scout.
Zhao Huan shook his head and rejected Wang Ben's proposal.
"The pass is steep. If there is an ambush inside, it must be a soldier with the ability to break armor."
"The mountain is fortified at every level. If you step into it, you will only die."
"First, stay in place and prepare all weapons and equipment to fight at any time. In addition, send Tabai to move around to investigate the terrain and nearby residents."
Wang Ben took the order and left. Two hours later, in the evening, the investigation was completed according to Zhao Huan's instructions.
Wang Ben reported in person: "Because this place is an official road, there are many villages nearby, at least two to three thousand people."
Hearing this, Zhao Huan couldn't help but sigh. He originally planned to burn the mountain directly to burn out the evil spirits inside.
Since there are many people living around, the idea of burning the mountain is naturally gone.
Moreover, according to the information provided by Wang Ben, there were almost no soldiers around, which further confirmed Zhao Huan's guess that there must be an ambush in the pass!
The members of the Cai faction had already cleared out the surrounding soldiers in advance to avoid a fight and someone suddenly came to support Zhao Huan.
Zhao Huan simply stretched out and said lightly: "Then stay for a while longer. It is impossible to break in by force. I am not a fool."
"Let's see if it's me who is impatient, or the bandits in the mountains who are impatient."
Zhao Huan turned around and got into the carriage.
As Zhao Huan expected, there was a mixed force composed of Jurchens, Khitans and Bohai people hidden in the pass.