Qin Mubai called Yuwen Hongtai in and said to him: "Heizi, now His Royal Highness should go to the Assassin's Mansion, you should go too, there should be a good feast waiting for you." Tell His Highness that I won't go to the Assassin's Mansion today, and I'll go to meet him when I'm done with the things at hand. By the way, help me call Pang Fei and his party. Tell him to send a few men to hire a carriage in the state town, find a quiet place to stay, and then invite the best doctor in the state town. ”

Yuwen Hongtai listened attentively, took notes with his fingers, and grinned after listening: "Third Brother Qin...... There are so many things, I can't remember it at once! ”

Qin Mubai and Chen Yan were both amused.

"Then you go and call Pang Fei!"

"Oh, then I'm gone." Yuwen Hongtai laughed twice, looked Chen Yan up and down curiously, and wondered, "Third Brother Qin, this is your friend, why have I never seen it?" It's so pitiful, why was it made like this? ”

"Less nonsense, go quickly!"

Yuwen Hongtai hurriedly left, and Chen Yan smiled: "This big black man is really a straightforward and interesting person. Mu Bai, why did you leave Baiqi again and be transferred to Xiangzhou? ”

"That's a long story, let's go into more detail when I have time in the future!" Qin Mubai called the prison to remove the shackles and handcuffs from Chen Yan, saying that he would take people away.

The head of the cell made a difficulty, and said timidly: "The general wants to take away the prisoners, and the villain will never dare to stop him." But...... The king's law is strict, and the villain is also his duty. In case the official asks, how should the villain reply? ”

"Do you want me to write a note for you?" Qin Mubai sneered.

"Uh...... The villain doesn't dare! It's just that there is a note, and the villain is good to reply to Shangguan. Please also ask the general to be considerate of the villain's difficulties. The cell boss smiled cautiously and somewhat flatteringly.

"Face, reach over." Qin Mubai hooked his fingers at him, reached into his arms and took out his official seal, and sighed.

The cell leader's face twitched a few times, he didn't know what Qin Mubai was going to do, but he didn't dare to resist, so he had to stretch his head over and face him sideways.

With a "snap", Qin Mubai put the official seal on the face of the cell leader, and said with a smile, "Okay, as long as you don't wash your face, no one will embarrass you." In this Xiangzhou land, except for His Royal Highness King Wu, no one dares to make irresponsible remarks about this general. You have to ask for a note, so you have to do what you want. ”

The cell head grinned in pain and annoyance, did not dare to say anything more, and retreated in disgrace.

Chen Yan shook her head and smiled, and said, "I haven't seen you for a few days, and your ability to play majestic has grown a lot." What's the matter, is it because he became the emperor's son-in-law, and the shelf has risen? ”

"Hehe, your ability to make fun of people is also increasing day by day!" Qin Mubai smiled, "Don't listen to that sunspot nonsense, I haven't been a colt yet!" ”

Chen Yan smiled and said, "Unexpectedly, you finally got together with that little princess." Where's your girl? ”

Qin Mubai laughed self-deprecatingly: "This is even more long." Why don't your injuries hurt at all, and you're still in the mood to chat with me? ”

"I'm used to walking the rivers and lakes, and this injury is nothing." Chen Yan was slightly pale, but her face was still as pale as paper.

Qin Mubai knew that she was holding her mouth hard. After a while, Pang Fei finally came with thirty accompanying hundred cavalry soldiers. Although Yuwen Hongtai is familiar with himself, he is a little rough and is a person from Wu Wangfu, so it is inconvenient to support him. Pang Aircraft is smart and smart, and he has always been the most heart-warming for Qin Mubai.

So he ordered some trivial things, and it didn't take long for Pang Fei to take care of them one by one. A moment later, Qin and Chen got into a carriage and left the prison under the escort of a group of 100 horsemen, and arrived at a secluded inn in the south of Xiangyang City. The doctor was also invited, and immediately began to treat Chen Yan's illness.

Fortunately, Chen Yan did not suffer any fatal injuries, but she bled excessively and had some qi and blood deficiency, and she could recover in a few days of conditioning. It's just that the flesh wounds on the body are a little troublesome, and even though the wounds are carefully cleaned and tied to the elixir that the doctor claims to use to heal the wounds, I am afraid that it is difficult to guarantee whether there will be scars in the future.

Fortunately, those scars are not on the face, otherwise Chen Yan may not be able to accept this fact.

When the doctor was prescribing medicine to wash his wounds, Qin Mubai was in the next room, writing hard with an oil lamp and writing three letters.

One was written to Cheng Huaibi, the deputy envoy of the Hundred Cavalry, asking him to help make a Hundred Cavalry military registration, of course, for Chen Yan. The Hundred Cavalry was separated from the regular army of the Six Rates and Twelve Guards of the Tang Dynasty, and was nominally subordinate to the Ministry of War, but the actual deployment of personnel was controlled by himself. Although Qin Mubai has temporarily left office, he is still a hundred horsemen of the school, and it is not a problem to absorb an ordinary pawn by himself. In this way, Chen Yan's official status is in her body, and her statement that she is a 'secret envoy of a hundred horses' will become an established fact.

The second letter was addressed to my mother and little sister, of course, to report safety. Naturally, the letter also mentioned the two brothers and Wu Meiniang, and Shuang'er would naturally talk to them.

The third letter was addressed to Princess Gaoyang. That girl, I'm afraid I'm going to have to wait until I'm anxious when I hear from myself.

Then Qin Mubai called Pang Fei in and instructed him: "There are three letters here, you immediately send them to the official and send them to Chang'an." ”

"Yes, Master." Pang Fei didn't say a word, and said, "When is the teacher going to go to the barracks?" Just now in the Assassin's Mansion, the generals of the military government have also arrived, and it is estimated that they are still waiting for their mentor there! ”

Qin Mubai was silent for a moment and said, "It's okay to dry them for a day or two. However, you go and call two people for me to interrogate, one is Zhou Laojiu, the head catcher of the county government, and the other is Zhao Chong, the captain of the left battalion of the military government. Remember, you don't have to alarm others, call them separately. ”

"Yes!"

"Go and do something, thank you!"

After cooking this, Qin Mubai breathed a sigh of relief, and there was a rumbling sound in his stomach. He called Xiao Er to order food and let him send it into the room to eat.

After a short time, the doctor finished taking care of Chen Yan's wounds, left the medicine stickers and left. Chen Yan took a bath and changed clothes in the room, and it was only good for a while. When the food was delivered, Qin Mubai went to knock on her door.

"Come in!"

Qin Mubai and Xiao Er walked in together and saw that Chen Yan had taken on a new look. After washing off the dirt and changing her clothes, Chen Yan's face was still pale and weak, but her natural beauty was rejuvenated.

"Is it better? I'm going to be hungry, so let's have something to eat. Qin Mubai stepped forward to hug her, but Chen Yan smiled slightly and avoided it lightly, sat down by herself, and then looked at him with a smile on her face, but did not speak.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Qin Mubai couldn't help laughing.

"Nothing." Chen Yan smiled slightly, "I just feel it...... It's kind of like dreaming. He was still in hell, but now it's like he's in heaven. This time, you are my savior, and I owe you. ”

"Don't be so exaggerated, right?" Qin Mubai laughed and picked up the chopsticks, "Come on, eat quickly!" I've only been in prison for a day and I'm so hungry that you're even hungrier than I am! ”

"What else do you need to say?"

"Then what are you waiting for, eat! Eat them all! ”

……

Half an hour later, Qin Mubai accompanied Chen Yan and walked slowly in the courtyard of the inn's backyard. Chen Yan took deep breaths from time to time, almost greedily enjoying the fresh air.

"I thought about what you said. If you have never lost something, you will not realize that it is important and beautiful. Chen Yan sighed, "I have been locked up in a prison cell for more than ten days, and now I can realize the preciousness of freedom!" ”

Qin Mubai chuckled and said, "Having said that, since I said goodbye to you in Jishan that day, there has been no news from you. I also thought that you would go to Chang'an, but I didn't expect you to go south. ”

"I also thought about going to Chang'an, and then ...... Or just give up. Chen Yan smiled coincidentally, stopped the conversation at the right time, and stopped talking.

"That's fine. Such a reunion in Xiangzhou is not necessarily a bad thing. Qin Mubai smiled and said, "By the way, there is something I did without your consent, I hope you don't mind." ”

"What?"

"That's it, I'm going to do the military registration file for you." Qin Mubai smiled, "If nothing else, it won't be long before you become a hundred horsemen." ”

"What?" Chen Yan was startled at first, and then smiled, "You're too funny!" Have you ever seen a female horseman? Yang or female catcher, female officer, female soldier and female general, ? ”

"Nope." Qin Mubai pouted indifferently, "But the female hundred riders ...... I said yes, then there must be. ”

"Hehe, you're so funny!" Chen Yan was amused, "Only you can do such a ridiculous thing." How do you use women in the royal guard? ”

Qin Mubai raised his eyebrows: "There is no military order for the hundred horses, and women are not allowed." In fact, Baiqi works in the harem all the year round, and it is quite good to absorb some female soldiers. It's just that there can be a woman like you Chen Yan in the whole world, which can be described as one in a million! - Haha, don't care, it's just a military registration file, just like me, a hundred horsemen who inspect the school, it's just a name, and I won't really let you go to the palace on an errand. ”

"In that case, haven't I changed from a thief to a soldier?" Chen Yan said with a smile.

"Who said you were a thief?" Qin Mubai also smiled, "Don't forget, Princess Gaoyang still wanted to worship you as a teacher and learn martial arts from you!" Maybe one day you really become her master, then you will be a hundred times more in an instant, what is a mere hundred horsemen, even if you are a military officer of a five-grade guerrilla general, it doesn't hurt! ”

"Hehe, it's a joke." Chen Yan shook her head and smiled, "I never thought of climbing a dragon and a phoenix. Mu Bai, I know that you are bent on my good, but ...... I really don't want to have anything to do with the imperial officials, the officialdom, and the yamen. ”

"I know." Qin Mubai nodded, "To put it bluntly, this military registration file is just a piece of paper, used to confuse the public, but it's just for my own convenience, you don't have to take it seriously." ”

"Well, that's ......"

The night was getting deeper, Chen Yan was weak and tired, so Qin Mubai asked her to go back to her room early to rest. After a short time, Pang Fei called Zhou Laojiu, the head of the official officer, and the two met in Qin Mubai's room.

Zhou Laojiu already knew Qin Mubai's identity, so he knelt down when they met, and kept making amends.

"Just, get up! Those who don't know are not guilty, and I don't blame you. Qin Mubai shouted and looked at the tea, which made Zhou Laojiu very flattered, and his body trembled slightly.

The official arrests this kind of person, who has no official certificate and rank, and does not even have a fixed salary, but is privately employed by the yamen at all levels, and lives on the rewards of the yamen, to put it bluntly, he is a temporary worker who serves the bureaucratic system. A person like Zhou Laojiu is equivalent to a temporary urban management worker facing Qin Mubai, facing the commander of the provincial military district, it would be strange if he was not sincere and fearful.

"Zhou Laojiu, there are a few questions I want to ask you, will you answer me truthfully?" Qin Mubai said calmly.

"General, please ask, the villain knows everything, and he has no end to it!" Zhou Laojiu hurriedly stood up and nervously bent over and hugged his fists.

"Don't be nervous, you sit and talk." Qin Mubai smiled and said casually, "I saw that you are a somewhat clever and understanding person, so I came to you to ask questions." If you answer well and help me, the benefit is yours; If you don't answer well or deceive me......"

"The villain will never dare to deceive the general!" Zhou Laojiu was nervous and hurriedly knelt down.

Qin Mubai lightly picked the corners of his mouth and smiled slightly, gently tapped the table table with his knuckles, and said, "Very good, I am very satisfied with your attitude." You have offended me before, but I don't care about you. Now you get up and answer me a few questions. ”

"The villain obeys!"

"The first question: What kind of people are the water ghosts in Xihecao? Who is their leader, and where is his stronghold? Qin Mubai asked.

Zhou Laojiu replied seriously: "The water ghosts of Xihecao refer to a group of green forest strongmen and idlers on the other side of the river crossed by the eight ghosts. The base is the West River, which is a water pool in the river. The government and the military government have sent people to suppress it several times, but the rivers there are lined with reeds, and they can't tell the way, and those people scatter like birds and beasts at the slightest breeze. These people are all very water-based, and even in the cold winter, they can be hidden in the water for a long time without showing their heads, and it is extremely difficult to hunt down. It is said that the leader's surname is Song, and he is called 'Lord Song Cao', and few people know who it is. ”

Qin Mubai nodded, and asked again: "Then these water ghosts have robbed the official salt and official food, there should always be a way out, is it possible to keep it for yourself?" How do they sell? ”

"This ...... The villain is not very clear. Zhou Laojiu shook his head, suddenly his eyes lit up again, and said, "But the villain guesses that this Song Cao Lord may have a very close relationship with the salt lords in the Xiangzhou area!" ”

"How is the Xiangzhou salt lord?" Qin Mubai asked, "Is there a tight organization?" ”

"Organization...... I've never heard of that. Zhou Laojiu shook his head, "The wharf in Xiangzhou transfers official salt to the states and counties of Jiangnan Province and Lingnan Road, so the private salt is also very lively. It is common to see all kinds of salt barons who drive horses and carry shoulders to sell smuggled salt in single gangs, but there is never a shortage of arrests. The salt they sell is half cheaper than the official salt, so many people also buy private salt, and they are repeatedly banned. ”

"There's no reason...... Qin Mubai twisted his brows in confusion, "With such a big brown salt grain product, how can the salt lords who just rely on the single gang sell it cleanly?" ”

"This ...... The villain is not too clear. Zhou Laojiu shook his head.

Qin Mubai pondered silently for a moment and nodded: "Are you interested in doing things for me in the future?" ”

"The general has a curse, and the villain goes to the soup!" Zhou Laojiu said loudly with some excitement.

Qin Mubai nodded with a smile: "Very good." You can rest assured that this will be the court leader, and everything will be done above board, and there will be no traitors and criminals, and you will not be allowed to take most risks. If you do it well, I will ensure that you wash the foundation of this government and go to the army to eat military rations. ”

"Thank you, General!" Zhou Laojiu was overjoyed and fell down again.

Yacha is not a glamorous job, and has always had no social status, and even been discriminated against. Tang Law even clearly stipulated that government officials and their descendants below three generations were not allowed to participate in the imperial examination and were not allowed to become generals. Qin Mubai ensured that Zhou Laojiu entered the army to "eat military rations", which meant that he was a little officer to do - for Zhou Laojiu, it was simply a salted fish turning over and honoring his ancestors!

"Go back first, and tell no one about today." In the future, you will keep an eye on everything related to the water ghosts, and I will send someone to contact you from time to time. Qin Mubai said.

"Yes. The villain said goodbye......" Zhou Laojiu retreated cautiously, and as soon as he went out, he couldn't hide his ecstatic look and ran wildly.

Qin Mubai stayed alone in the room and pondered, thinking: The water ghosts have no fixed residence, and it is estimated that most of them will be bamboo baskets to draw water when they rashly send troops to encircle and suppress them. If you want to exterminate this group of people, you have to start with the core key point - the so-called core key point is that they have obtained so much official food and official salt, how can they sell the goods and get rid of them?

"Official rations? Official salt! Qin Mubai's heart suddenly lit up, "Could it be ...... Is that so?! ”