The captain snapped, saluted, and said, "Captain Shao, these people obviously know that there is a curfew, but they still want to get out." And he sent them away. ”

"When you get out of the customs at this time, where are you going to go?" Captain Shao led a chestnut high-headed horse, led a team of personal soldiers, and walked down slowly.

Da Jinya hurriedly and respectfully presented the customs clearance document stamped with a big seal, and said with a smile: "It turned out to be Shao Duwei, it was rude" After repeating the previous words again, he begged: "You see, the hungry people in the city are making trouble, blocking all the streets, and it is really inconvenient for us to pull so many things back, please make it convenient for Lord Duwei."

Shao Duwei carefully looked at the customs clearance document in his hand, and then said: "Since the formalities are complete, open the city gate and let it go!" ”

The captain was stunned for a moment and said: "How can this be done, it is a rule set by the old marquis of Ming to prohibit opening the city gate after the curfew, and he dare not violate it." ”

Shao Duwei frowned when he heard this, and said unhappily: "You use Old Marquis Ming to press me?" ”

The official was crushed to death, and the captain saw that his tone was not good, so he had to salute and say with a smile: "Don't dare to be humble." ”

Shao Duwei smiled, turned over and got on the horse, he patted the horse's neck affectionately, and then said seemingly casually: "Okay, then open the city gate!" The official was about to go out of the city to make his rounds. ”

The captain hesitated for a moment, then suddenly took a few steps back and waved his hand. The group of soldiers he led came with their spears raised and hurried, surrounding Shao Duwei and his own soldiers.

"You're crazy and want to do something to me?" Shao Duwei was obviously taken aback. He consciously touched the saber on his waist and shouted, "Could it be that you want to rebel?" The soldiers he brought with him had already noisily drawn their weapons and confronted the soldiers defending the city.

The captain said neither humbly nor arrogantly: "It's not that you want to rebel. It was the old marquis of Ming who gave a secret order. Whoever wants to take the opportunity to forcibly get out of the customs tonight is a spy who collaborates with the enemy and betrays the country, and must be taken on the spot. Humble office is also just acting on orders. ”

"You're talking nonsense." A strong uneasiness rose in Captain Shao's heart, and he shouted: "Since there is such a secret order, why don't I, as a captain, know about it? You, a small city gate official, dare to commit a crime and be rude to the official. Come. Take him down. "Shao Duwei saw that the situation was not good, and he wanted to take the lead.

Who knew that the little captain was not afraid, but took the lead in pulling out the waist knife. shouted loudly: "Sons, quickly take down these spies who collaborate with the enemy and betray the country, and they will be rewarded in front of the old marquis of Ming." The people on both sides just pong each other.

The captain was actually very powerful, and he had a waist knife shining with cold light in his hand. Even slashing and chopping. On the spot, several fierce and vicious soldiers were knocked down.

Seeing that the officers and soldiers on both sides actually faced each other first, the corners of his eyes couldn't help twitching sharply, and he quietly made a gesture to the guy behind him. His fellows also quietly figured out the weapons hidden in the mule cart, and glared fiercely at the soldiers who were fighting together.

"Kill!" Countless officers and soldiers armed with torches suddenly poured out from the houses and shops on both sides of the road, surrounding the long mule cart procession and the two sides of the men and horses who were fighting desperately. The leader is the old marquis of Ming, who is wearing armor, riding a famous horse with a pitch-black body, and carrying a mountain-opening axe in his hand.

Shao Duwei couldn't help but be shocked when he saw him: "Shouldn't this old man be in the prefect's yamen!" When did you get here? "Think again. He couldn't help patting his thigh and wailing, "Oh no, we've been tricked." ”

The old marquis of Ming pulled the reins with one hand. Holding the mountain axe in one hand, his eyes glared angrily, and he shouted: "You and other spies who collaborated with the enemy and betrayed the country have listened well, and they have been waiting here for a long time." Wait for the people, men, coachmen, if there is a surrenderer, you can still save a dog's life. The rest of those who resist and flee will be killed! ”

"Surrender or kill!" Torches were raised, and countless officers and men rushed into the mule cart procession with weapons in their hands and shouting slogans. Some of the people, the coachmen, and the men were kept in the bones, and they were just earning a wage to make ends meet. When they saw the menacing approach, they were all frightened, and they did not dare to resist at all, and rushed to their knees to surrender.

There were also those who were obsessed and wanted to resist and escape, and they were immediately cut down to the ground by the swarming officers and soldiers. Shao Duwei in the melee couldn't help but redden. He knew that his identity had been revealed, and that if he was caught, he would be tormented by a cruel punishment. He became more and more ruthless and ruthless, just hoping to earn a chance to survive.

Old Marquis Ming was just watching the battle from the sidelines, he saw that Captain Shao was like a mad tiger, and in a blink of an eye, he cut down a lot of soldiers, and couldn't help but be angry, he slapped the horse's buttocks, and shouted: "Little rabbit cub, dare to resist, see Benhou take you down with his own hands." He galloped away to meet Shao Duwei.

Shao Duwei saw that the old marquis suddenly rushed over, and couldn't help but smile cruelly: "It's good to come, if you can pull a marquis on your back before you die, it will not be in vain in this life." ”

He turned the horse's head, and a pair of dead fish eyes stared closely at the galloping old marquis Ming, and the waist knife he held in his hand was not only bloody, but even the blade was rolled up. At this moment, a team of archers with iron bows suddenly stood on the city wall, led by one who quietly pulled out the iron bow in his hand, and the arrows flashing with cold light were aimed at Shao Duwei, who was waiting to fight to the death with the old Marquis of Ming.

With a soft "whoosh" sound, his fingers loosened, and an arrow shot towards Shao Duwei like a meteor.

Shao Duwei's eyes widened suddenly, the arrow was infinitely magnified in his pupils, and he didn't even have time to dodge, he was pierced through his brain by the arrow, and immediately rolled off the horse without saying a word.

As soon as he died, the big golden tooth, who was still resisting, and his accomplices saw this scene, and they couldn't help but be frightened, so they abandoned their weapons and surrendered. A melee that was not evenly matched immediately turned into a one-sided massacre, and the soldiers and horses brought by the old marquis of Ming quickly controlled the whole situation.

The old marquis of Ming rushed over, but suddenly there was no opponent, he couldn't help but raise the mountain axe and shouted angrily: "The stinky boy surnamed Rong will roll down this candidate." ”

Rong Xi put away his bow and arrows, and walked down from the city tower with a smile. Came to the horse of the old marquis of Ming, and arched his hand and said, "I don't know what instructions the marquis has?" ”

The old marquis of Ming was extremely dissatisfied and said: "Ben Hou has been in ambush for so long, just to be able to have a good fight with this adulterous and traitorous dog." You're good. When you come up, you shoot him directly, didn't your general want you to stay alive or something? ”

Rong Xi clenched his fists and arched his hands, and said righteously: "Our general said, it's nothing if this job is left behind, but the safety of the Hou Ye is the first priority. ”

"Stinky boy, it's very good." The old marquis of Ming had to give up.

Rongxi hurried to the mule cart and lifted the tarpaulin that covered it. What caught my eye was indeed a large bundle of medicinal herbs. But when I opened the herbs, I could see the sacks below, neatly stacked together. He grabbed a bag casually. The sack was cut open, and what flowed out of it was indeed white rice.

Rong Xi said happily: "Sure enough, it was the rice smuggled out by the Li family's grain shop." He clapped his hands and shouted, "Okay, drive the mule cart back to the prefect's yamen." Your Excellency is still waiting there! ”

Old Marquis Ming. Glory. The two of them took the soldiers and horses, escorted the batch of grain that had returned to their hands after several rounds, as well as a large number of prisoners, and returned to the prefect's yamen.

At this moment, the deputy chief soldier was still reporting to Guo Chengsi and Yang Yuanyi about the firefighting, and looking at his serious facial expressions, he knew that the fire was not successful. Guo Chengsi was silent, but Yang Yuanyi's face was so black that it could almost drip water. He was meant to be a sinful being. I also want to be able to atone for my sins and keep my current official status. Who knows the opposite, and this series of chaos comes out. He didn't talk about meritorious service, but he was afraid that he would not even be able to save his life.

Rong Xi entered the lobby, and the first thing he did was to report to Guo Chenghe: "General Qiyu, General Ming Lao led the humble post to intercept a batch of grain and grass that was ready to be smuggled out at the south gate, and it was about 50,000 stones. He suspected that this batch of grain and grass should be part of the batch of grain and grass used for disaster relief. ”

"When did Old Marquis Ming go out, hasn't he been bathing and changing clothes in the backyard?" Yang Yuanyi was a little dazed, but when he heard the word grain and grass, his eyes immediately lit up, and he said in surprise: "Isn't that batch of grain burned?" ”

The old marquis of Ming walked in with a laugh and said: "Bathing and changing clothes is just a cover-up, because Ben Hou and General Wu Xian got a secret report before leaving, and the secret report reported that Luo Tongzhi used his power to privately withhold the grain and grass of the hungry people to fill his own pockets, and starved countless hungry people to death before causing this riot. Even the whereabouts of the grain and grass are clearly written in the secret report, pointing directly to the largest Li Ji grain shop in Juchong Pass.

At that time, Ben Hou and General Wu Xian were thinking, what was the purpose of the person who sent the secret report? Is it just for the sake of grievances? So we started to speculate a lot. General Wu Xian began to suspect that there should be hidden spies in this Juchong Pass, who were secretly inciting the hungry people to riot. We speculate that the purpose of this spy making such a big move must not be a riot that is insignificant to them, or simply to target Luo Tongzhi.

And now Juchong Pass is full of devastation, and the people are also hungry. What else is worth their effort and making such a big fuss. There is only one thing we can think about, and that is this batch of grain and grass. In particular, the sudden fire at Li Kee Grain Shop confirmed our speculation. We are almost certain that it must have been an empty granary that was burned, and that batch of grain and grass had disappeared in plain sight.

But that batch of grain was too eye-catching, and they had to take advantage of this gap to secretly transport the grain away only by inciting the hungry people to riot and attract the attention of all the officers and soldiers in the city.

Without this batch of grain and grass, the people will be disheartened and chaos will be rampant. And the Khitan people got this batch of grain and grass, and they could get through the predicament safely and strengthen their wings. Those spies take advantage of the opportunity to make a lot of money from it, and that is their ultimate goal.

After thinking of these, Ben Hou and General Wu Xian immediately decided on this plan to kill two birds with one stone. He attracted the attention of the spy on the bright side, and Ben Hou led his troops to ambush in the shadows, waiting for the spy to take the initiative to appear and capture him in one fell swoop. Fortunately, the chaos of this night finally paid off, and the spies hidden in the army had been exposed and shot by Captain Rongdu. He also intercepted the 50,000 stone of grain that they were going to smuggle out from the hands of those thieves, which was really a big gain. ”

Everyone present was as if they were listening to a book from heaven, and they were all stunned and amazed. Someone was puzzled and asked, "Then how did the old marquis know that this batch of grain and grass would definitely be transported from the south gate?" ”

Old Marquis Ming stroked the beard on his chin, and smiled to explain their confusion: "We only guessed that they would definitely take advantage of the chaos to transport grain trucks out of the city tonight, but we really can't guess which gate they will go through." However, the four city gates were secretly ambushed, so no matter which gate they went through, it would be the same fate. It's just that General Wu Xian speculated that it was more likely that they would go through the south gate. Because although there is a big road leading to the Central Plains at the south gate, there are still many small roads that can go around the grassland. And the usual guards are not as strict as the north gate and the west gate. Therefore, the marquis personally ambushed at the south gate to wait for the rabbit. ”

Everyone was amazed, and began to praise the old marquis of Ming for being meticulous and discerning. praised Guo Chengsi for his young and promising vision.

Yang Yuanyi, who had been covered in his bones, was a little unbearable on his face, he didn't dare to be angry at the old marquis of Ming and Guo Chenghe, so he had to stare at the deputy chief soldier who was still standing at the bottom, and his eyes were a little dull, and shouted angrily: "The marquis of Ming has recovered 50,000 stone of grain, why did you just say that the fire was too big, and the entire ten granaries were all burned down, and not a single grain was left?" ”

The deputy chief soldier also said with a look of grievance: "When the lower officer ordered all the people to rush over, the fire was already burning in time, and the fire dragon team had no way to get close, so they could only pick up the nearby house to make it burn without burning, and the fire was slowly extinguished." Xia Guan did not see the situation in the granary with his own eyes, but only heard the owner cry that 150,000 grains were piled up in the granary. ”

"You believe what people say, and you have no brains." Yang Yuanyi said hatefully: "Don't retreat, don't be embarrassed here." ”

"Wait." Guo Chenghe, who had not spoken for a long time, suddenly said: "Although the 50,000 stone of grain has been intercepted, where is the remaining 100,000 stone of grain?" ”

Old Marquis Ming laughed and said: "This question is not difficult, the shopkeeper of the Li family's grain shop may be kept in his bones, but the big golden tooth that Ben Hou just captured with his own hands will definitely know." ”

"So what are you waiting for?" Guo Chengsi smiled and said, "Bring him to the hall!" ”

Yang Yuanyi frowned, and said dissatisfiedly: "Passing the hall? Isn't that a matter of the Yamen? We have pacified the hungry and recovered some of the food. If you still meddle in the affairs of the yamen, is it too long? ”

Guo Chengsi patted his head and said with a smile: "I'm really busy, I should be in the lobby of the yamen of the criminal department." He smiled at Yang Tongju again: "Then the general handed over the prisoner to you, I hope you can ask about the whereabouts of the remaining 100,000 stones of grain and grass earlier." ”

Yang Tongju hurriedly gave a salute and replied respectfully: "Please rest assured general, please also ask the marquis of Ming, Yang Zongbing rest assured, the lower officials will definitely ask about the whereabouts of the grain and grass." (To be continued.) )