Volume 1 Battle in the Sand Garden Chapter 7 His Way
During the ugly time, the night is as deep as water, and it is the best time for people to sleep soundly. A crescent moon in the sky casts a faint light, shrouding the quiet Shayuan Prison. Nancheng is crawling among the rolling hills, like a sickly old man, lying weakly.
I spread my limbs and looked up at the far-reaching night sky. A slight wind blew by, carrying the smell of cows and horses.
In an alley, Xiao Hu poked his head out, his eyes bright and full of excitement. The house in front of him was where Yao Gang and others were hiding. The door was closed, it was dark inside, and no sound could be heard.
Xiaohu observed for a moment longer, then waved his hand behind him, and a group of people suddenly sprang out.
There were a dozen people in this group, all teenagers in their twenties or thirteen, carrying bundles of grass on their shoulders.
They quietly sneaked under the west wall, paused briefly, and then threw a dozen straw bales into the wall with all their strength. The bales looked big, but they didn't weigh much, and they didn't make much noise when they landed.
Seeing that the mission was completed, Xiaohu waved his hand again, and everyone immediately left, disappearing without a trace in the blink of an eye.
As if at the right time, the sound of roaring suddenly occurred in the alleys of Nancheng. A long dragon made of torches quickly passed through the alleys and rushed towards here. The sound of horse hooves on the ground made the Nancheng Xiang army fall asleep.
I can tell the difference even if I feel it. But the sound of this dot is obviously unusual.
A young military general led the way, clad in armor and illuminated by fire, looking majestic and majestic.
He is a benevolent and brave captain of the ninth rank, and the commander of the heroic cavalry camp is Yuhou, who is often thousands of miles away.
More than a month ago, Qin Yutian was ordered to escort the war horses to Yanzhou. Now the head of the Xiaoqi camp is Chang Wanli, the Marquis of Duyu. This man has ordinary military force, but his mind is delicate and his tactics are ever-changing, and he has the style of a Confucian general. Chang Wanli banned the army from the capital last year
Transferred here, belonging to the general's queen, obviously just for show.
I received a tip today that Nancheng discovered Xixia's meticulous work, and Chang Wanli was immediately overjoyed.
He came here from the capital not to enjoy the wind and dust, but to accumulate military achievements and gain prestige for promotion.
With the achievement right in front of him, Chang Wanli reined in his horse and shouted loudly, "Surround us up."
The galloping cavalry suddenly split from left to right, surrounding the house from east to west. Chang Wanli touched the stirrup lightly, and the horse slowly stepped forward and stopped in front of the gate of the house. The cavalry around them held up their torches, and the door was bright. Chang Wanli
Slowly raising his right hand, he was about to give the order to break down the door, but saw the door creak open.
A rickety old man slowly walked out of the door. He was dressed as a servant, but he was extremely calm and clearly had the aura of a superior. Facing the cavalry outside the door, he seemed to have not seen him and was unhurried.
"Who are you waiting for? What are you doing here in the middle of the night?" The old man glanced at Chang Wanli, his eyes sharp.
Chang Wanli was frightened for a moment, but he didn't act rashly. He grew up in Tokyo and was used to seeing high-ranking officials. The so-called seventh-rank officials in front of the prime minister, their servants, behaved like this in front of outsiders. If you don't ask,
If you act rashly, you may end up suffering the consequences yourself.
"Old man, listen, the commander of the Xiaoqi camp is Yuhou, none other than our family's Taiwei Chang." Next to Chang Wanli, a soldier loudly announced his identity, staring at the old man with unkind eyes, waiting for the order to attack.
"Captain Chang?" The old man curled his lips with disdain.
Chang Wanli's official position is still at the lowest level of military attaché, far away from the rank of Taiwei. Calling him such a name is just to please his subordinates. Even Chang Wanli himself felt embarrassed to hear it.
He snorted coldly and said, "I received a secret report that someone from Xixia is hiding here. Get out of the way quickly, I want to go inside to check." After that, without waiting for the old man to accept his promise, he picked up the reins and barged in.
"Wait a minute." The rickety old man shouted, took out a token from his arms, and held it high.
Chang Wanli was suddenly startled, tightened his hands, and held back the horse's reins.
The old man glanced sideways and shouted, "This is my commander's sign. Who dares to be so presumptuous?"
This loud shout startled Chang Wanli.
The so-called Commander-in-Chief is the Chief of Economic and Strategic Affairs, who is in charge of all the troops. It is roughly equivalent to the provincial military region in later generations. The highest officer is the Chief of Economic and Strategic Affairs. However, this kind of official position is not permanent and is only set up during wartime. The court selects civilian ministers to serve. .He is in charge of both military and civil affairs, with considerable authority. He is a real official in the border area.
With this token, you can indeed walk sideways on Shaanxi Road. Who can offend Shuai Si for nothing?
If it were anyone else, he would have been frightened. The opponent's hat was too big and he couldn't afford to offend him. However, the person he met at this time was Chang Wanli. He was no ordinary big-headed soldier. Chang Wanli was born as a general, and he had been hanging out in the capital since childhood. His vision and courage are beyond comparison with ordinary soldiers. Hearing the old man's words, he sneered.
Because the authority of the Shuaisi was too great, the imperial court also had many restrictions. First of all, at the road level, there were not only the Economic and Comfort Envoys, but also the Transportation Envoys, the Penal and Prison Department, and the Changping Department. These four departments were of equal rank and mutually exclusive. No one can be without scruples in restraining and supervising each other. This is the government's policy of checks and balances.
The most important thing is that the pacification envoys only have the power to manage troops, but not to mobilize troops. If they want to mobilize troops, they must send a letter to the Privy Council, and the Privy Council will issue the order to mobilize troops. Moreover, the troops under the jurisdiction of the pacification envoys, It's just a second-class Xiang army, not including the most elite Imperial Army.
In particular, supervisory departments such as the Shayuan Supervisor were directly under the imperial court's Animal Husbandry Department, and the pacification envoys department had no jurisdiction. The garrisoned imperial army was under the jurisdiction of the guards and pro-army horse military division, and was still not under the jurisdiction.
Therefore, the token of Lufenshuai Division has nothing to do with Chang Wanli. As long as the pacifier is not coming in person, Chang Wanli can ignore it. Moreover, Chang Wanli arrests Xixia Xizuo and protects the safety of Shayuan Prison. .Even if this lawsuit goes to court, it is a sure win.
Chang Wanli's eyes turned cold, he slowly raised his right hand and squeezed out a sentence between his teeth.
"Anyone who dares to stop him will be shot to death." After saying this, he waved his arms.
At this moment, a scream suddenly came from the house. "Help!" This cry for help was so shrill and shrill that it made people's hair stand on end when hearing it in the middle of the night. Hearing the cry, the rickety old man's expression also changed suddenly. But he didn't wait for him. As soon as he made a move, Chang Wanli mobilized his war horse and shouted, "Fight in."
The cavalry moved with a roar, like a toppling mountain, and rushed towards the gate. The old man knew the power of the cavalry, so he dared to block it. He nimbly dodged far away and looked back at the depths of the house, frowning deeply.
He knew very well that since he failed to block the cavalry, things here were no longer possible. It was a pity that with one or two more days, he would have gotten the desired result. Now, he could only retreat temporarily. Fortunately, the young master had already made arrangements. , otherwise we would have suffered a big loss if we were raided this time.
"Alas." The old man sighed softly, his body stooping even deeper.
Just when Chang Wanli led his troops to rush into the gate, a man jumped down from the back wall of the house. His back was bulging, as if he was carrying someone on his back. This man was very skilled, and he was carrying someone without any burden. He swept from left to right, He lowered his body, ran quickly to the alley not far away, and disappeared in the darkness in an instant.
Suddenly, a person stood up on the wall on the left. He was huge and fat. He lowered his head and looked down at the running black figures. Hehehe laughed silently, shook his hand, and a pebble as big as an egg flew out with a "woo".
.
There was a "bang" sound, hitting the back of the black shadow's head. The black shadow was suddenly attacked and fell softly to the ground without even letting out a scream. The fat tiger jumped directly from the wall. The big tiger was responsible for responding.
He also walked out of the shadows, feeling a little depressed. This was so smooth that it didn't bother him.
Fat Tiger ignored Da Hu and looked at the man in black who fell to the ground. Sure enough, there was another person carrying him unconscious on his back. It was Xiao Nizi who Qin Zhong had told him about. He picked up Xiao Nizi and walked towards the door.
The tiger stuffed it into his arms, pinched the man in black under his arm with one hand, and quickly left the place.
At this moment, Chang Wanli also achieved fruitful results.
In the room, including the rickety old man, there were only three people in total. They were all escorted by soldiers and stood in the courtyard. The strange thing was that these three people could deal with it indifferently without any fear. It was just a scholar who encountered soldiers.
I couldn't explain why. I silently watched the soldiers rummaging through the boxes and cabinets without paying attention, as if it was none of their own business.
However, when they saw the soldiers coming with bundles of grass, they suddenly became furious.
"This is a frame-up, you are so brave."
"Let us go quickly, or you will have to bear the consequences."
If Qin Zhong were here, he would definitely be able to recognize one of them, the young master in Jinyi who harmed him. However, at this moment, the young master in Jinyi looked quite embarrassed, with disheveled hair and messy clothes. If you look closely, you will find that his body is shivering.
He was trembling. Although his eyes were still fierce, he was just afraid and afraid of falling in this small place.
He had seen a lot of rough warriors. Therefore, he was even more afraid.
"Let me go, the handsome driver Yi Wenwen Liu Liang, that's my uncle." His voice was urgent, and he finally revealed his identity. It turned out that he was relying on the handsome driver Yi Wenwen Liu Liang.
Chang Wanli had no time to pay attention to him. He grabbed a bundle of fine grass and carefully identified it with burning eyes.
"This is poisonous fern." A soldier beside Chang Wanli recognized it.
"Haha." Chang Wanli laughed strangely and turned to look at the three people who were furious. "You Xixia people worked carefully, brought a large amount of poisonous ferns, hid in the Shayuan Prison, and intended to poison our Song Dynasty war horses. The evidence is conclusive."
The poisonous grass in Chang Wanli's hand is a kind of fern with triangular leaves, which is very easy to identify. This kind of grass likes moisture and good shade, and is common along rivers and in the woods. This kind of grass is taboo in Shayuan Prison because Wan
We must not let the war horses accidentally eat them, so every spring and summer, we must mobilize people to clear them.
If cattle and horses accidentally eat it, they will lose their sight in three to five days. If treatment is not timely, they will die.
Nowadays, a large number of poisonous ferns have been found in the courtyard, which can be said to be irrefutable evidence.
"Tie them up." Chang Wanli was confident, who cares who you are?
After a while, another soldier came to report, "We found a cellar, and there were two people hiding in the cellar." After a while, a man and a woman were carried out. They were both bruised and unconscious.
"Take them all back and withdraw." Chang Wanli ordered, and everyone, including people and grass, was brought back to the military camp.
In the dark shadow in the distance, Qin Zhong watched the cavalry leave and breathed a long sigh of relief. Although the matter was done and the people were rescued, the process almost went wrong. It was all thanks to Chang Wanli. If it were another person,
If you reach 80% success, you will be frightened by Shuai Si's token, and your success will be defeated.
Fortunately, Qin Zhong wiped the sweat from his forehead, turned around and disappeared into the darkness.
It's a bit of a pity that Yao Gang is not here.
Qin Zhong rushed to the meeting place, and the sky was already white. Although he did not take action that night, he still felt exhausted. Using his brain is also physical work, Qin Zhong sighed in his heart. He was highly concentrated and always anticipated possible emergencies.
Deviations and remedial plans. After a night, it was like having a fight with someone.
The meeting point was the cave where Xiaohu once stored food. Hearing the footsteps, Big Tiger and Xiaohu all came out and they were all very happy. Also, a few people rescued the person back without any danger, and also brought the Jinyi
The young master was cheated, so he was indeed happy. Even Qin Chong felt a little proud.
"Where are the people?" Qin Zhong asked.
"It's tied up in the cave." Xiaohu rushed to say, looking at Qin Chong eagerly.
"Xiaohu's scream was very timely and helped a lot." Qin Zhong praised.
Xiaohu suddenly smiled and his whole body felt different. He felt light and airy, as if he was about to fly.
At this time, the sky was brightening, and the cave was much brighter. Xiao Nizi had woken up, sitting on the ground with her legs folded, her head hanging between her legs, and she remained motionless. On the other side, the man in black was tied up.
He was lying on the ground with his feet folded upside down, with a rag stuffed in his mouth. When he saw someone coming in, he couldn't help but scream.
Qin Zhong didn't say anything. He walked over and kicked the man in black on the neck, and there was no movement. Qin Zhong didn't bother to interrogate him now, and he didn't want him to hear too much. After a pause,
Qin Zhong walked two steps over and squatted in front of Xiao Nizi, thinking about how to ask.
Xiao Nizi felt someone approaching, slowly raised her head, and met Qin Zhong's eyes.
Xiao Nizi is twelve or thirteen years old, with black and white eyes, like a frightened deer. Dahu has already told her everything that happened tonight, and she also knows that the person in front of her is Qin Zhong, the benefactor who rescued her. But suddenly
In the meantime, she didn't know what to say and looked at Qin Zhong in a daze.
"Your parents are fine," Qin Zhong said.
"Really? Where are they?" Xiao Nizi's eyes were filled with urgency, and she held Qin Zhong's arm tightly.
"They're all in the Xiaoqi camp, don't worry." Qin Zhong comforted.
"Thank you, Brother Qin Chong." Xiao Nizi said softly, her face turned red and she quickly lowered her head.
Qin Zhong waved his hand indifferently and asked, "What did they ask you?"
"Yeah." Xiao Nizi bit her lower lip and said, "That person is looking for a picture, but I don't know anything."
"A picture?" Qin Zhong frowned. Then he asked, "What picture?"
"I have no idea."
"Do your parents know?" Qin Zhong asked again.
"My parents don't know either."
"Okay." Qin Chong saw that he couldn't ask anything, so he stood up and prepared to leave. Suddenly he thought, how should he arrange for Xiao Nizi? He ran out of ideas and couldn't help scratching his head. Xiao Nizi's home has been destroyed, it must be
She couldn't go back to live there. In addition, Qin Zhong had other ideas and didn't want her to be exposed to others for the time being.
He turned around to look at Big Tiger, Little Tiger and Fat Tiger. They had no choice but to stop asking. After thinking for a moment, he squatted in front of Xiao Nizi and said, "How about you go home with me for the time being?"
Xiao Nizi was stunned for a moment, then nodded with a blushing face, and softly uttered a syllable from the end of her nose, "Yeah."
"Fat Tiger, go back to herd the sheep." Qin Zhong said, "Big Tiger and Little Tiger, you two take turns watching him."
"Okay." Xiaohu responded excitedly.
"Don't let him run away." Qin Zhong warned.
"Don't worry, if you dare to run away, your legs will be broken." Dahu said dullly.
Qin Zhong suddenly felt that this sentence was so familiar. It seemed as if he had heard it before. Before he could understand it, the three people around him had already burst into laughter. Qin Zhong suddenly realized that it was his father who was lecturing him. Qin Yutian's original intention
The words were, if you dare to practice martial arts, your legs will be broken. He glared at the three of them fiercely, turned around and walked out of the cave.
Behind him, a burst of wanton laughter suddenly broke out. Qin Zhong gritted his teeth and couldn't help but laugh too.
Outside the cave, the morning sun is rising. A little further away, thousands of horses are galloping.