Before Qin Xiao could speak, he heard a voice coming from behind him: "Hey, it's great that you are here." The voice was full of excitement.
Qin Xiao didn't need to look back to know who was coming.
Hearing the sound of footsteps and running over, Qin Xiao turned around and saw the girl's beautiful face full of joy: "We meet again, do you live near here?" When he saw the man in the bamboo hat, he looked startled and frowned.
She raised her eyebrows.
Qin Xiao said angrily: "It's already dark, why are you still wandering around the streets as a girl without going home? Don't you know that Turtle City is a mixed bag of good and bad, and there are many bad people with evil intentions?"
"Bad guy?" The girl looked around and said, "I didn't see any bad guy."
The man in the hat finally said: "The bad guy he's talking about is me."
The girl said in shock: "You?"
The man in the hat stared at Qin Xiao and said, "You are following me because I am following her?"
Seeing that the other party had already told the truth, Qin Xiao didn't mince words and said directly: "Yes, what do you want to do sneakily following a girl so late at night?"
"What does it have to do with you if I follow her?" the man in the hat said coldly.
Qin Xiao said calmly: "Anyone with evil intentions in Turtle City has something to do with the government." He glanced at the girl and said, "You have been following this girl, of course I can't turn a blind eye."
"Are you from the government?"
Qin Xiao didn't hide it either: "I am from the Duwei Mansion."
Although there are many misbehaving prodigal rangers in Turtle City, most people still dare not make enemies of the Duwei Mansion.
Not long after Han Yunong first came to Turtle City, two swordsmen killed people in the streets of Turtle City and escaped from Turtle City on horseback. However, within three days, Han Yunong not only arrested the two swordsmen, but also arrested more than a dozen of their accomplices.
After half a month, half of them were beheaded in public.
Therefore, this case, which had once been turned a blind eye or even made fun of by many people, immediately shocked Zhen County. In addition to the people in Zhenhou Mansion, the people in Guicheng were still in awe when they saw the people from the Duwei Mansion.
Qin Xiao naturally knew the importance of the Duwei Mansion, so he threw out the name Duwei Mansion in the hope that the other party would retreat in the face of difficulties.
"It turns out she's from the Duwei Mansion." The man in the hat said with a smile on his lips, "I'm following her, so you want to take care of this matter?"
"I'll take care of it." Qin Xiao stared into the man's eyes.
The man in the bamboo hat chuckled and said: "If I say you can't take care of this matter, or if I say that taking care of this matter will bring you big trouble, do you still want to take care of it?"
Qin Xiao nodded and said: "If you want to take care of it, I am from the Duwei Mansion. As long as someone is causing trouble in Turtle City and harming others, I will take care of it."
"You are young, but your tone is not bad." The man in the hat said with a smile: "But he is conscientious in his duties. Han Yunong has trained his subordinates very well."
"You...who are you?" Qin Xiao was startled: "Do you know Lord Captain?"
The man in the hat didn't say much, and said to the girl: "It's already very late, it's time to go back."
The girl glanced at Qin Xiao and then said helplessly: "Uncle Wen, have you been following me?"
"This is outside the customs." The man in the bamboo hat sighed: "You can't do whatever you want anywhere. What this servant said is not wrong. Turtle City is a mixed bag of fish and dragons, and people's hearts are unpredictable. If you are really targeted by evil people, it won't be a big deal.
Good thing." Qin Xiao's expression suddenly brightened. He looked at the girl, then at the man in the hat, and finally said with a wry smile: "Do you know each other?"
He had always thought that the man in the hat was following the girl out of good intentions and was worried about the girl's safety, so he followed him, but little did he know that the two people knew each other.
Just for a moment, I felt relieved. This girl was obviously the daughter of a wealthy family from outside the customs. In this Turtle City, where people and animals were mixed, her family was naturally worried about her wandering alone in the city, and sent people to protect her secretly. This was really a matter of course.
The man in the hat was obviously protecting the girl secretly, but he regarded him as a villain. Such misunderstanding really made Qin Xiao quite embarrassed.
But since the man in the hat had no ill intentions towards the girl, Qin Xiao breathed a sigh of relief.
"This is Uncle Wen." The girl said hurriedly: "By the way, we agreed at the noodle shop that if we meet again, I will pay you back the money." She said to the man in the hat: "Uncle Wen, do you have any money?"
The man in the hat didn't waste any time, he took a piece of silver and threw it to Qin Xiao, at least four or five taels, but this action was like giving a reward to a servant.
Qin Xiao took it in his hand and said to the girl: "You know how to repay your kindness, but your uncle Wen doesn't seem to be very polite." He actually threw the silver back to the man in the hat.
The man in the bamboo hat took the silver and frowned. Qin Xiao already said: "I know you are not an ordinary person, but even if you are the king of heaven, when you repay others, no matter what their status is, you should show due respect.
." He said to the girl: "This meeting does not count. If there is another time, you can return it to me." But he didn't say another word, turned around and left.
The girl asked anxiously: "I don't know your name yet, what is your name?"
Qin Xiao ignored him, and the girl said again: "My name is Xiahou Qingcheng, you...!" Before he could finish speaking, the man in the hat had already shouted in a deep voice: "Qingcheng!"
Xiahou Qingcheng didn't dare to say anything else. Seeing Qin Xiao walking away, she said anxiously: "Uncle Wen, is he...is he angry?"
Uncle Wen, a man in a bamboo hat, looked at Qin Xiao's back gradually disappearing into the night, and murmured: "Interesting." Then he turned to Xiahou Qingcheng and said coldly: "My lord, I have told you that during your trip to Xiling, you must abide by the arrangements in everything.
You agreed, why did you sneak out?"
However, Xiahou Qingcheng had already stepped forward and took one of Uncle Wen's arms, saying coquettishly: "Uncle Wen, it's hard to come out. It's really boring to stay in the house all day and not be able to come out. Don't blame me."
"What do I blame you for?" The man in the bamboo hat sighed: "You will inevitably be scolded by the boss when you go back, just listen. But although Xiling is nominally the territory of my Datang, it is not completely controlled by my Datang.
There are everyone here, and it’s very dangerous. It’s no better than inside the pass, so you have to be careful everywhere.”
Xiahou Qingcheng blinked and said in surprise: "Uncle Wen, you said that Xiling is not the territory of the Tang Dynasty? Why...why is this? Aren't all the officials in Xiling sent by the imperial court?"
The man in the hat said: "As long as you know that Xiling is a dangerous place, you don't need to ask too many questions. The boss must be waiting for you, let's go back early."
"No, Uncle Wen, tell me what's going on." Xiahou Qingcheng shook the man in the hat's arm: "I won't go back if you don't tell me."
The man in the hat seemed a little helpless towards Xiahou Qingcheng, and said with a wry smile: "In the year when the saint ascended the throne, Murong rebelled in southern Xinjiang, and the Tusun people invaded the border in the north. The empire was attacked from the north and south. The saint mobilized troops and generals to suppress the rebellion internally and resist the enemy invaders externally. This matter
Son, you should know, right?" As he spoke, he turned around and walked slowly.
Xiahou Qingcheng immediately followed the man in the bamboo hat and said softly: "I have heard about that. I was just born that year."
"That's right." The man in the hat said: "Xiling at that time was naturally the territory of my Datang Empire. The imperial court established the Xiling Protectorate here. The people here are all my subjects of the Tang Dynasty." After a slight pause, he said
Then he continued: "The Wutuo people outside Kunlun Pass saw that the Tang Dynasty was trapped, so they gathered tens of thousands of cavalry and broke through the pass. Previously, the Wutuo people would send envoys to Kyoto every year for pilgrimage, and King Wutuo Khan even called himself
My Lord, the trade between the two countries is also very prosperous, and the imperial court never thought that the Wutuo people would take advantage of others' danger."
"Those ungrateful bad people." Xiahou Qingcheng said bitterly.
"The Wutuo Khanate was founded only a few decades ago. The founding Khan admired us, the Tang Dynasty. The two countries had been on good terms for decades, and there was never any military conflict. Therefore, there were not many officers and soldiers guarding Xiling. The Tusun people in the north attacked fiercely.
The imperial court transferred some troops and horses from Xiling, leaving only five thousand troops and horses to garrison Xiling." The man in the hat said as he walked: "King Wutuo Khan personally led tens of thousands of cavalry into the pass. At the beginning, he was almost invincible. He attacked the city and captured the territory.
The officers and soldiers guarding the Mansion retreated continuously, firstly to wear down the enemy's energy, and secondly to buy time to recruit troops and prepare money and food on the spot."
"Every place has its clans, and the same is true for Xiling." The man in the hat said slowly: "At that time, there were three clans in Xiling, the Zhen family, the Fan family and the Yuwen family. They were extremely powerful in Xiling and were native to the Xiling family.
There are countless Lang gangs, and if we want to stabilize Xiling, we must first stabilize these three gates, and the imperial court has always been very conciliatory to them."
"Zhen is Marquis Changxin, right?" Xiahou Qingcheng asked.
The man in the bamboo hat nodded and continued: "Xiling Governor Xia Duhu ordered the Xiling clan clan to gather young people to stock up on food and grass, in order to prepare to stand firm and wait for help. However, Xia Governor did not expect that in times of crisis, the Xiling clan clan would sit back and ignore them.
Each defended one side, and not only did they not have support for the front line, but they also cut off their food and grass. The Guards Army was forced to fight alone, and the situation was critical."
Xiahou Qingcheng's beautiful face was full of anger. She followed the man in the hat and asked: "How dare they do this? The imperial court... the imperial court should chop off their heads."
"At that time, the war in the south and north was raging, and the imperial court was unable to send troops and horses for reinforcements." The man in the hat sighed softly: "But Xiling must not fall into the hands of the Wutuo people. The saint guessed that the clan of Xiling
With their thoughts, the court even suspected that the Wutuo people had promised something to the Xiling clan in private. No matter who controlled Xiling, this group of people would still be deeply entrenched in Xiling. However, at that time, the court needed the power of the Xiling clan to resist the Wutuo people.
So the saint sent a person to Xiling, and a few days after that person came to Xiling, the Xiling clan began to support the protective army, and in this way, the situation improved slightly."
Xiahou Qingcheng blinked and asked: "Who was sent? Why did those nobles suddenly support the Protectorate Army?"
"At that time, many people just thought that the Xiling clan had received the saint's order, and they were afraid." The man in the hat said: "Although the situation has improved slightly, the strength of the Wutuo cavalry is still far superior to the protective army, until the snowy night capture