Deserts, ruins, and the strong smell of blood.

Countless black riders galloped back and forth in the distance. On the long river in the distance, a round blood-colored sunset; In the lonely city, the wolf smoke is piercing straight into the dusky sky.

He struggled to straighten up and shouted angrily. But the walls were surrounded by mountains of corpses, and no one stood up to answer his call. Only a broken dragon flag hung at the head of the city, and the flagpole was crooked, almost breaking and folding.

Knock knock, the enemy's attacking drums sounded, and the bone arrows were dense like flying locusts. This time, he was the only one who faced ......

Zhang Xiaojing woke up suddenly, only to realize that he was not in the Western Regions, but on death row in Chang'an County. The shackles were firmly locked around his neck and hands, and he couldn't even move when he woke up from his dream.

The sound of the war drums in the dream turned out to be someone beating the wooden sill with the handle of the whip. He lifted his eyelids and saw two men standing in front of the cell door, one of them was a section on death row; There was also a man with a narrow face and short eyebrows, five long messy strands of hair on his chin, and a concerned look in his eyes.

"Xu Bin Xu Youde?" Zhang Xiaojing was slightly stunned, and then smiled, "I didn't expect that it was you who came to see him off in the end." Between the words, I couldn't hear the slightest loss of soul before the execution.

Xu Bin knew that he had misunderstood, but it was not easy to explain, so he arched his hand and said, "Please open the prison door and remove the shackles." The section puffed out two slightly bulging eyes, like an unwilling toad. But when he swept the silverfish bag that Xu Bin was holding in his right hand, he flinched again, so he had to take out the key, unlock the lock with a bang, and let the two cell heads unload the flail.

The two cell bosses trembled, and seemed to be in awe of Zhang Xiaojing, so nervous that they couldn't break the shackles. Zhang Xiaojing snorted coldly: "Stupid, this is a three-twisted snake lock, the thumb has to be pulled from below, and the middle is hard." The cell boss complied, and with a click, the shackles finally broke in two. The two of them each held a piece and stood away in a hurry. Zhang Xiaojing glanced at the section level with his residual light. The latter shuddered and quickly avoided his gaze.

Zhang Xiaojing is not tall, but he is as strong as a rock of Mount Tai, with a slightly convex forehead and two short black eyebrows. He shook his sore wrist, looked around to the left and right, and said loudly, "Where is the food and drink?" The county buys severed head wine, and the standard is 500 yuan, so you don't want to deduct it. ”

The people around him avoided it like a plague and didn't talk to him. Xu Bin bent down into the prison, grabbed his arm, and whispered, "Someone wants to see you......"

"Huh?"

Zhang Xiaojing looked surprised. It turns out that Xu Bin is not here to see off the end, but to fish for people? But he is a good gentleman, where did he get the magic power to save people from death row?

Xu Bin didn't explain too much, but just urged the section level to hurry up and go through the formalities. Soon Xu sent down a document and asked Xu Bin to sign it. Zhang Xiaojing looked at the side cover of the document and knew that this was not a pardon, but a document for transferring prisoners, which was generally used in Dali Temple or the Criminal Department to transfer prisoners from the county prison - these two promotions would not remove the prisoners first.

Zhang Xiaojing was suspicious in his heart, but this was not the time to ask, he remained silent.

Xu Binlong signed his name in a flying dance, and then the group left the gloomy death row and returned to the ground. Sunlight shines through the entrance, creating a striking contrast of light and dark on the final steps. Zhang Xiaojing stepped on the last step and suddenly stopped, with a little emotion on his face.

This level is the boundary between yin and yang. He had the heart to die, but he didn't expect to turn around from the ghost gate and come back inexplicably.

I don't know if it's good or bad next, but I took a good look at the sunshine, and it's worth it!

Zhang Xiaojing walked to a well as if no one was around, which was somewhat unruly, but the prisoners around him stood far away, and no one was drinking. Zhang Xiaojing's iron pincer-like hands alternately dragged the well rope, and soon hit a bucket of well water with ice ballast. He raised the bucket and poured ice water on his head, causing him to shiver comfortably, sweeping away the filth and malaise of the dungeon.

Zhang Xiaojing put down the bucket, raised his head high, and the ice water dripped down his hairlocks, faintly exuding a fierce momentum from his body. The sun was blazing, and the golden sun shone down in his left eye socket. There were no eyes there, only a deep old scar, which was extremely fierce in the sun.

"Lang Lang, don't come unharmed."

He raised his fist and swung it hard into the sky. At that moment, the light and shadow shook, and the side face like a knife and axe was as hideous as King Kong.

After completing the promotion procedures, Xu Bin hurriedly took Zhang Xiaojing out of the Chang'an County Public Mansion. Xu Bin was so anxious that he didn't even have time to let him change his prison uniform. There are two Liangzhou hussars in front of the tethered stone in front of the public house, and there is a striking tortoiseshell belt in front of the forehead of the horse, which means that the two horses can gallop on any street, even the royal road on Suzaku Street, without being restricted by the "Ritual Order".

The two stepped on each horse, and Zhang Xiaojing asked, "Where to go?" Xu Bin replied: "Hey, let's go back to Jing'an Division in Guangdefang." He glanced at the sundial in front of the tooth gate: "Gotta get there as soon as possible, well, gotta hurry, gotta run for a quarter and a half." ”

"Arrive in a moment." Zhang Xiaojing swept the horse's ears with his ring finger, and the horse's sensitive reaction made him very satisfied.

Chang'an Waiguo is separated by Zhuque Street, the east is under the jurisdiction of Wannian County, the west is under the jurisdiction of Chang'an County, and the prison of Chang'an County is located in Yongda Fang in Xicheng. If you want to arrive in a moment, you must gallop without delay.

The two of them whipped up the street and galloped away. Two tall horses rushed onto the road, and both pedestrians and shoulders on the street avoided for fear of colliding. Xu Bin's riding skills were obviously inferior to Zhang Xiaojing, and he was almost lying on the back of the horse, clutching the reins with both hands, quite embarrassed.

Zhang Xiaojing slowed down a little, was on par with Xu Bin, and slanted with one eye: "Brother Youde, what's going on?" ”

Xu Bin barely controlled his riding posture, took a breath, and then spoke: "It was Jing'an Division who fished you out." ”

"Yasuyashi?" Zhang Xiaojing was slightly surprised, he was familiar with the Chang'an government system, but he had never heard of this name.

Xu Bin explained: "The Jing'an Division is the newly established official office of the imperial court, and it is the official office of the entire Western Capital that oversees the thieves and defenses of the entire Western Capital - this is all after you enter - they are now recruiting talents, so I recommend you." ”

Zhang Xiaojing raised his eyebrows. The street envoys of Jin Wuwei, the patrol envoys of Yushitai, and the thieves of Chang'an and Wannian counties are responsible for the security of Chang'an City, forcing the imperial court to set up a new bureau to deal with it?

Xu Bin continued: "The person in charge of Jing'an Division is called Li Yu, and the word Changyuan. He waited for Zhao Hanlin to know Jing An Sicheng. It was Li Sicheng who wanted to see you. ”

Zhang Xiaojing hissed, and his suspicions increased, which was even more abnormal. The duty of the Jing'an Division is to "plan and prevent thieves", and the general affairs are bound to be complicated. Let an idle and innocent civil official like Zhao Hanlin take charge of catching thieves? Isn't this nonsense?

Zhang Xiaojing searched for the name in his mind, and suddenly remembered: "Could it be ...... Is that chess prodigy? ”

Xu Bin nodded meaningfully.

In the thirteenth year of Kaiyuan, a seven-year-old prodigy named Li Mi entered the palace for Hajj. The Son of Heaven is playing chess with Zhongshu Ling Zhang. The Son of Heaven ordered Zhang Shuo and Li Mi to chant chess with the theme of "Fang Yuan Movement". Zhang Shuo wrote: "The square is like a chess game, and the circle is like a chess piece." Movement is like chess life, quiet is like chess death. And Li Mi said: "Fang is like doing righteousness, and circle is like using wisdom." Movement is like talent, quiet is like satisfaction. He was greatly appreciated by the Son of Heaven and sent him to the East Palace to accompany the prince to study.

Now counted, Li Mi is twenty-six years old, and it is the time for ambition to emerge. Jing'an Si Cheng is humble and powerful, and he can accumulate general service qualifications, which is a perfect promotion level. Thinking of this, Zhang Xiaojing scraped his left eye socket with his little thumb, and smiled: "Li Sicheng is so thirsty, it seems that Jing'an Si has caused * annoyance, right?" He always spoke with a faint hint of sarcasm.

Xu Bin turned his gaze away a little embarrassed, his friend's eyes were too poisonous, but his speech was too straight, the combination of these two characteristics was really unbearable.

"I'm sorry, I can't say that yet. Oops...... Li Sicheng will tell you later. ”

Zhang Xiaojing laughed: "Okay, don't ask." It doesn't matter what happens, no matter how miserable it is, can it be worse than being killed? ”

Xu Bin's gaze was cast forward, and his face was solemn: "This ...... Heck, it's hard to say. ”

At the same time as the two of them were galloping towards Jing'an, Cao Poyan had just climbed the steep embankment of the Cao Canal. There happens to be a bluestone road monument more than two zhang high on the shore, and the four characters of "Yongan North Canal" are written on it. He ran to the stele with his hands and feet, and sat down with his back against the stele, his face pale and panting.

His left elbow was bent all the way, a swarthy* arrow tail was exposed at the joint, and there was blood on the sleeve. He was lucky that if he had an arrow on it, he was afraid that his entire arm would be useless.

Suddenly, Cao Poyan's ears moved, and he quickly lowered his body and covered his figure with a stone tablet. On the main road not far away, a patrol of Jinwuwei Street Envoys rumbled over. There are a lot of pedestrians, cars and horses on this road, and it is often congested. The patrol had to shout loudly to separate a road—in which case almost no one paid attention to the movement along the canal.

When the patrol team was far away, Cao Poyan covered his left elbow with his right hand and slowly got up. He looked around and was about to step out when his gaze suddenly lit up. In the distance, a man left the avenue, crossed the gutter, and was swaying towards the stele.

This is a drunk man in his forties, wearing a white robe with a lack of hips, and his chest is covered with wet marks. Cao Poyan had to lower his body again and try to keep his breathing as low as possible.

The drunk man walked up to the stele, burped loudly, then lifted the edge of his robe with one slit, untied his belt with the other, and began to pee on the stele. This soak of urine is really long, and the drunk man still holds on to * with great interest, and goes to flush the floating soil on the stele. After peeing, the drunk casually tied his belt and turned around to leave, but he suddenly lowered his head and let out: "Huh? ”

He saw a series of messy water footprints on the embankment between the canal and the stone monument. The drunk man curiously took a few steps forward, bypassing the stele, and happened to meet Cao Poyan's eyes behind the stele.

The drunk man was stunned for a moment, then laughed, and said, "Zimei, it turns out that you are back, come and have a drink." Cao Po stretched out his hand and put his arms around his neck, and the drunk muttered to himself, don't make trouble, don't make trouble. In the next moment, the sound of the neck bone being broken came from behind the stele, and the muttering stopped abruptly.

After a while, Cao Poyan was wearing a shirt with a lack of hips, and his demeanor naturally walked towards the street. The Hu people wore Chinese robes, which was very common in Chang'an. He just walked into the crowd like a grain of sand falling into the desert.

Zhang Xiaojing and Xu Bin arrived at Guangdefang, and it took exactly a moment at the cost of Xu Bin losing his headscarf. After a strict search, the two met Li Mi in a secluded courtyard behind the main hall of Jing'an.

This is a retreat room, plain walls and gray tiles, flat seats and simple tables, scribbled under the window planted with honeysuckle, bauhinia, a few clusters of half-withered yellow bamboo, the owner obviously did not put any thought into the decoration. The only thing special is a small sundial of the bronze finch pointing obliquely at the sky, which shows that the owner cares about time very much. A small canal was dug around the sundial, and the gurgling water meandered to the back of the hospital.

Xu Bin returned the whitebait bag and bowed to leave, leaving only Zhang Xiaojing and Li Mi to face alone.

Zhang Xiaojing rubbed his hands deeply, and one eye took the opportunity to look at it quickly. This fair-faced chess prodigy was dressed in a dark green robe, which was in line with the six-rank rank of Zhao Hanlin. But the fish bag is only allowed to be admired by officials above the fifth grade, and he was given a silver fish bag, which shows that it is a super gift from the Son of Heaven - from this small detail, you can smell the strong taste of the saints.

However, at this time, Li Mi was not so proud. Although he tried his best to maintain his calmness, the muscles at the corners of his eyebrows and lips were tense, and Zhang Xiaojing could see at a glance that this young man was under great pressure.

The most interesting thing is that Li Mi actually holds a whisk in his hand, and I don't know why a general officer of the Jing'an Division is holding such a Taoist weapon.

Li Mi shook the dust, didn't say any greetings, and went straight to the point: "What I want to tell you next is the first-class secret of the imperial court." You only have two choices, do things for me, or go back and die. ”

Zhang Xiaojing remained silent, knowing that the other party did not need to answer, but was only confirming the dominance of the conversation.

Li Mi walked to the side of the case, pulled it hard, and tore off the white thin wide silk on the wall, revealing a general map of the territory of the Tang Dynasty, pointing to a place in the north with a whisk:

"In August of the first year of Tianbao, the Turkic civil strife, the new Usumish Khan did not accept the king's transformation and raised an army. Shuofang Jiedu made Wang Zhonghei unite with Ba Ximi, Hui Hui, Ge Lulu and other troops to send troops to fight, and fought for a year and a half, and now the Turkic Khan is at the end of his rope. ”

His voice was clear, calm, and coherent, as if it had been rehearsed many times.

Li Mi said as he took down a book labeled with red silk from the bookshelf next to him and threw it to Zhang Xiaojing. It was a long roll with strips of paper taped horizontally. The handwriting on the slips of paper is sloppy, ranging from 100 words to 1 sentence, in chronological order. Looking at it alone, it is vague, but as the book slowly unfolds, Zhang Xiaojing becomes more and more frightened the more he looks at it.

"At the beginning of September of the second year, a secret recital came from the backyard of Shuo Fangliu, saying that the Turkic Khan had sent several groups of close wolf guards to infiltrate Chang'an, hoping to disadvantage the Son of Heaven and turn the tide of the battle on the front. Those Turkic wolf guards were the most fearsome elite of the steppe, cruel and cunning, and extremely loyal to the Khan. In order to specifically prevent this thief, the imperial court set up the Jing'an Division. Li Mi paused for a moment and continued, "But we don't know what the Turks' plan is. Staying in the backyard and Jing'an Division tried their best, but they only barely caught the movements of one of the teams. ”

Speaking of this, Li Mi gently tapped the pine wood table with his finger knuckles: "Originally, Jing'an Si set up a plan to invite you into the urn, and wanted to use this team of wolf guards to fish out other lurkers. It's a pity that his subordinates are mediocre, and their success is in vain, and they let the key person escape half an hour ago! ”

Li Mi instructed someone to take all the correspondence documents of the operation just now and let him browse them, which faintly meant to take the school examination. Zhang Xiaojing flipped through it, pointed to one of the records, and said: "The Turks come from the steppe and are the most sensitive to the chirping of horses. Li Sicheng, the timing of your order to clear the livestock around the warehouse is too early, and the sound will become silent, which will naturally cause alarm. ”

When Li Mi heard this, he couldn't help but be stunned, Jing'an Division had discussed before, how Cao Poyan saw through the trap, and the conclusion was inconsistent. Li Mi always thought that it was Cui Liulang's incompetence that would reveal the flaws, but he didn't expect the reason to be himself. He originally intended to test this person in the school to see if he had real skills, but it turned out that people found out his mistakes.

Thinking of this, Li Mi was slightly ashamed at first, but then smiled slightly-isn't this the person Jing Ansi is looking for?

Zhang Xiaojing's face was as usual, he had been a bad handsome man in Chang'an for nine years, and he had experienced all kinds of weird and strange cases, this simple inference was nothing at all.

Li Mi sighed and said, "After the failure of the plan to enter the urn, all the clues have been broken. The only thing we know for sure is that the wolf guard will definitely do it when the Yuan Lantern Festival is held tonight! With that, he looked out the window at the sundial with an awe-inspiring gaze.

Zhang Xiaojing was shocked when he heard this. The Shangyuan Lantern Festival has always been a candle at the unitary time, but now it has passed the middle hour, and there are only four hours left when it is full.

The Jing'an Division had to pull out all the Turkic wolf guards from the million-population Chang'an City in four hours, which was an almost impossible task.

Only then did Zhang Xiaojing understand why Li Mi was so eager to bring himself out of death row. The matter was too important, too difficult, too urgent to be done by ordinary means, and the young official had to take a dangerous step and talk to a condemned prisoner.

Li Mi's tall figure leaned forward slightly: "Within four hours, can you do it?" ”

Zhang Xiaojing asked rhetorically: "Why me?" ”

"I've checked your color experience, you have dealt with the Turks in the Western Regions before, and you should be very experienced in dealing with them; You have been a bad handsome man in Chang'an for another nine years, and I am afraid that no one is more familiar with the situation in this city than you. He paused deliberately, then raised a hand again, "As long as you can accomplish this errand, I will grant you an amnesty." ”

Nothing could be more tempting for a death row prisoner than a pardon.

But Zhang Xiaojing didn't show surprise, his single eye squinted slightly, as if he was thinking about something, and then respectfully bowed his hand: "Thank you Si Cheng for your kindness, I am willing to go back to prison and wait for death." ”

The corners of Li Mi's eyebrows twitched, he actually refused the only chance to survive? Why?

"There are one hundred and eight squares in Chang'an, and if you want to find a few Turks within four hours, the gods can't do it. Anyway, it's all dead, and I'm back in prison now, and I'm still in a clean province. Zhang Xiaojing spread out his hands, then turned around and walked outside.

"Is it enough to give you the rank of Xuanjie Lieutenant, plus the actual position of a general in the upper house?"

"It's not about pay."

Li Mi's face became gloomy: "I don't have time to waste, prescribe your conditions!" "He doesn't believe a person will give up this opportunity unless he doesn't want to live anymore.

Zhang Xiaojing continued to walk forward: "I have already said that this has nothing to do with the amount of remuneration, and if you can't do it, you can't do it." ”

"Do you hate the Turks?" Li Mi suddenly asked an irrelevant question.

Zhang Xiaojing's footsteps stopped.

"Hate." The voice was neither joyful nor angry.

Li Yu's voice suddenly raised: "You hate the Turks so much, do you plan to sit back and watch these beasts wreak havoc in Chang'an?" ”

Zhang Xiaojing still maintained his back-to-back posture: "There are hundreds of officials in Chang'an, and there are 100,000 strong troops under it, how can I catch the Turks, but it has become my responsibility as a death row prisoner?" There was a hint of sarcasm in his tone.

Li Mi said sharply: "Because now the only person who can save Chang'an City is you!" This was almost a scoundrel, Zhang Xiaojing was about to shake his head and leave, but Li Mi hurriedly walked forward, grabbed his sleeve regardless of his identity, and turned around to block in front of him, and the two sword eyebrows almost stood in one place:

"Zhang Xiaojing, I know that you have a grudge against the imperial court. But today's events have nothing to do with the face of the Son of Heaven, nor for my Li Mi's career, but for the safety of the people in the city! Do you understand? For the sake of the people, if you leave, how can you be at peace in your heart! I don't care what you think, but you have to get it done! That's hundreds of thousands of lives! It's human life! ”

When he said that, his voice trembled a little, apparently because of his emotional agitation. That's rare.

Zhang Xiaojing didn't expect the young official to suddenly lose his temper. When he heard the word "human life", his heart finally stirred slightly. For some reason, the scene of the mountain of corpses and the sea of blood in the dream reappeared, and the hideous wolf flag and the cry were intertwined. After being silent for a long time, he finally let out a long sigh: "Okay, Li Sicheng, you convinced me." ”

Li Mi let go of his sleeve, took a step back, and changed back to a reserved posture: "My other previous promises are still valid. ”

Zhang Xiaojing pondered for a moment and said, "But I have a request. The government has too many scruples and is constrained, and if I want to catch this fang within four hours, I have to follow my rules. ”

"Your rules...... What is it? ”

"It just doesn't follow any rules." Zhang Xiaojing's right eye flashed with a dangerous and unruly light.

Li Mi is a smart person and immediately understood what Zhang Xiaojing meant. The water in Chang'an City is too deep, and all kinds of forces are staggered and balanced, and there are many obstacles to doing things. If you can't have a quick knife to cut through this mess, let alone four hours, even four months may not be able to achieve anything. In order for Zhang Xiaojing to catch the Turks in Chang'an City within four hours, he must have the absolute authority to crush everything - do whatever he wants, everyone cooperates, and no one can stop him.

Li Mi hesitated. This guy has been a bad handsome man in Chang'an for nine years, and he has all kinds of ruthless methods, and he really has no scruples about acting, and it is hard to imagine how much impact it will have.

Seeing that he was silent, Zhang Xiaojing sneered, turned around and was about to walk out.

"Wait!"

Li Mi finally made up his mind, he raised his right hand, and showed a yellow and clear copper waist plate, engraved with the words "Jing'an Ceping":

"From now on, you are the commander of the Jing'an Division, with this waist card, the watchtowers and street shops in Chang'an City, Wuhou, Fang Shouli Guard, Patrol Cavalry, City Gate Guard, and the bad people in the two counties of Jingzhao Mansion can listen to your dispatch. See the card as if you see the official. ”

Zhang Xiaojing unceremoniously took the waist card, tied it on his belt, and tied a firm Jiuhe knot. From now on, he is the most powerful death row prisoner in Chang'an.

Li Mi suddenly asked, "I give you so much authority, what if you don't tell you and run away?" ”

"There are no guarantees." Zhang Xiaojing replied without hesitation, "You choose the people, I choose the road, and we all have to be responsible for our own choices." ”

And so the conversation ended. Li Mi shook the bell on the table and called the two maidservants. They took Zhang Xiaojing to a nearby wing room, asked him to take off his gray prison clothes, and changed into a small jacket and brown cotton hakama that was easy to move. After packing up, Li Mi personally took Zhang Xiaojing to the main hall of Jing'an Division.

This is the center of the entire Jing'an Division, gathering elites from various departments, summarizing military information from various places, and deducing it; There is a huge treasury in the wing, which is stacked with files from the six departments to the two cities of Chang'an, which can be accessed at any time. Xu Bin was transferred because he had expertise in this area.

What impressed Zhang Xiaojing the most was the watchtower of Jing'an Division.

Throughout Chang'an, there are two or three watchtowers in each square, which are used to monitor bandits and fires on weekdays. Under Li Mi's deployment, the watchtower now has more functions, and a special flag holding Wuhou has been set up, and they can communicate with the agreed flag language. Flags are used during the day, and lanterns are used at night.

In this way, the situation seen by any watchtower in Chang'an City can be quickly transmitted to the center of the Jing'an Division. In the same way, the Jing'an Division Center can also quickly issue orders to any place.

This set of things was obviously learned from the Frontier Beacon, but it was more convenient than the Beacon. The watchtowers are only half a mile away from each other, and the military situation can span the entire Chang'an City in an instant. Zhang Xiaojing saw the practicality of this thing at a glance: this means that no matter where he is in Chang'an, he can keep in touch with Jing'an Division through the watchtower, and there is a giant eye overlooking Chang'an.

However, this watchtower system is extremely costly, and only a freak like Jing'an Si can afford to use it.

At this time, Cui Qi was also in the hall, and was talking in a low voice with the maid who was in charge of the sand table deduction. Li Mi shouted his name, Cui Qi hurriedly ran over and knelt down on one knee, he hadn't forgotten that he was guilty.

Li Mi said calmly: "Cui Lvshuai, Liulang's death came from the careless mistake of clearing the field. The official is also responsible for his own punishment. Cui Qi looked up suddenly, almost not believing his ears. He didn't expect that his brother's death was actually due to such a small negligence; The second didn't expect that this chief would admit his mistake, could it be ...... Is this a trick to buy people's hearts?

Li Mi pouted at this, he didn't have time to play with power now, he was just arrogant enough to disdain people. He pointed at Zhang Xiaojing: "It is this Zhang Duwei who solves this suspicion." He will take over from your brother and track down the wolf guard. ”

Cui Qi glanced at Zhang Xiaojing, with both gratitude and doubt in his eyes.

He knew that Zhang Xiaojing was a death row prisoner, and he didn't understand why Li Mi would bet on him. However, the soldier takes obedience as his duty, he performed a military etiquette, and said in a loud voice: "I have three hundred brigades of Ben troops under my command, both on foot and horse, and within two moments, I can reach any place in Chang'an - I hope Mr. Zhang can give me a chance to kill the enemy and avenge my brother!" ”

Zhang Xiaojing noticed that he was talking about Mr. Zhang, not Zhang Duwei, and the sharp sword that Li Mi handed him did not seem to be so easy to control.

Time is running out. The rest of the arrangement was tense and intensive, Zhang Xiaojing wrote down the watchtower banner and some necessary contact information, and then walked to the big sand table to listen to a brief introduction about the Turks.

The person in charge of the narration is the graceful maid who is holding a moon scepter. When she faced the sand table, she spoke in a clear and clear voice, with a slight hint of nonsense. Zhang Xiaojing glanced at her a little rudely, this girl named Tan Qi, with a high nose bridge and black hair, should be of mixed Chinese and Hu blood.

"The point is, what are the Turkic wolf guards going to do?" Zhang Xiaojing asked.

Tan Qi said: "I don't know yet. The only piece of information came from Shuo Fangliu's backyard. The Turkic leader of one tribe once claimed that the entire city of Chang'an was about to become Quelehodo - you know what that means? ”

Zhang Xiaojing nodded. Quele is a Turkic term, similar to the Nine Hells of Blood, while Hodo means to turn to dust. The whole word is both a curse and a legendary beast. The four words "Quelehodo", even if you don't understand Turkic, you can feel the monstrous killing intent in it.

Chang'an City is about to become Quelehodo, this may be an exaggerated rhetoric, maybe it is a metaphor for something, no one knows.

Tan Qi knew that the time was urgent, and spoke quickly: "...... This is a piece of scrap cloth that we found in the Bingliu Inn, on which half of the outside of Chang'an City is outlined. It is likely that what Cao Poyan wants is a detailed map of the entire Chang'an. ”

As soon as he heard that it was a picture of Chang'an Fang, Zhang Xiaojing's two silkworm eyebrows were entangled together. Li Mi noticed that his expression had become grim, and asked, "In your opinion, what do the Turks want this fang tu to do—well, let me change the question, if the fang map is in hand, what can they do?" ”

"Poisoning the canal, setting fire to the fang, killing the good at night, spreading demons, and entering the imperial city...... If it is the Shangyuan Lantern Festival, just throw a few copper coins in Chongrenfang, Yanshoufang, Xingqing Palace, and Qujiangchi to watch the lanterns, and you can make a big mess. With the guidance of the Fang Tu, they can come and go freely in this Chang'an City, but they are afraid of too many things. ”

Zhang Xiaojing crossed his fingers and talked eloquently, and every time he said a word, the faces of the people around him became a little colder.

Li Mi's face was grim, he had estimated the situation seriously enough, but he didn't expect that there would be these unbelievable sinister tricks. After all, the people of Jing'an Division are official, and their knowledge in these aspects is far inferior to that of this former bad handsome who is used to seeing ghost tricks.

"In your opinion, if you can't make a public arrest, what do you do next?" Li Mi asked.

Zhang Xiaojing replied: "Privately hiding the map of the Imperial City is a big crime to kill the head. Except for the government, ordinary people will not have it. Since Cao Poyan can't get it from Cui Liulang, he will either go to the imperial city to steal it, or ......" His gaze moved to the sand table, his body moved towards Tan Qi, almost touching her shoulder to shoulder: "The last time the watchtower saw Cao Poyan, where was it?" ”

Tan Qi was a little surprised by his boldness, and hesitated for a moment before replying: "Cao Poyan's speed over the water gate is too fast, and the watchtower has no time to monitor. However, according to our speculation, he may have come ashore in the area of Yanshoufang and Buzhengfang. Both of these places are thriving places and are easy to hide. We've sent someone to search. ”

Zhang Xiaojing said: "I guess he won't go far, and he will have to come back here in the end." After speaking, he pointed to the sand table.

"Nishichi?" Cui Qi was a little surprised. Li Mi nodded slightly, and said in unison with Zhang Xiaojing: "Hu Shang! ”

Most of the Hu businessmen gathered in the West Market, and there were many tycoons with a net worth of millions. The Chang'an Fang map is very beneficial for business, and it is not surprising that they secretly collect one. Zhang Xiaojing is very familiar with their temperament, these people are born profit-seekers, and they are more courageous than camels.

After Cui Liulang was exposed, Cao Poyan did not dare to contact the Tang people again. If he wanted to get the Fang Tu in the shortest possible time, he had no choice but to fight the Hu people's idea.

"But do you know which merchant to go to?" Li Mi frowned and asked. There are too many Hu merchants in the West Market, and it is impossible to investigate them one by one.

Zhang Xiaojing clenched his fists and replied lightly: "When it is extraordinary, there is an extraordinary method." Li Mi was a little nervous, but he still swallowed the words in his mouth.

The "extraordinary method" that this guy said may be some unkind means. But there is no time to talk about criminal law and conscience. The corners of the temple were leaking copper, and the water was still beating the barrel drop by drop. Every drop can mean the loss of hundreds of lives.

"Zhang Duwei, the national fortunes of the imperial court and the safety of the people in the city are entrusted to you." Li Mi flicked his sleeves, solemnly clenched his fists with both hands, and bowed solemnly. Seeing this, the officials behind him also got up together and bowed their hands in unison.

Zhang Xiaojing didn't return the salute, but just dusted the dust in his left eye socket with his hand, and said indifferently: "I'm for the people of Chang'an, and I don't care about anything else." Don't be mistaken. ”

Everyone's faces changed in an instant, what is this? Although everyone has grievances against the court in private, how can they say it openly?

Zhang Xiaojing grinned, turned around and walked out of the hall. The cadres and subordinates of the Jing'an Division were frightened, and they all looked at Li Yu. Li Mi's face was as usual, and he put the dust on his arm, seemingly unconcerned.

This guy was hinting to himself that he didn't want to be controlled.

At the door, Cui Qi had already prepared a complete set of equipment: refining obstacle knife, close-fitting soft armor, smoke pills, ox tendon binding ropes, etc., and a handful of Zhang*. Zhang Xiaojing skillfully draped these things up, squatted down again, and tied his trouser legs tightly with two pieces of hemp rope. After getting dressed, a fierce and murderous aura came to his face.

Zhang Xiaojing picked up the handle*, pulled the empty string repeatedly, listened to it with his ears, and said to Cui Qi: "Remove Wangshan, and tighten the hook by two points." Cui Qi was stunned when he heard this, Wangshan is used for auxiliary aiming, which is more cumbersome, people with a quasi-head don't like to pretend, and the hook heart adjusts the speed of the crossbow arrow, the faster the more powerful, but the quasi-head is not easy to control - it seems that this is a master with a crossbow.

He hurriedly took the crossbow arrow to the craftsman to adjust, Zhang Xiaojing took the opportunity to call Xu Bin aside, and said in a low voice:

"Trouble Youde, you send someone to the southwest corner of Dunyi Fang, where there is a Wenji incense shop, send a message to the shopkeeper: leave Chang'an immediately, don't delay for a moment. It is best that you also advise your family to go out of the city as soon as possible, and never go to the lantern festival. ”

Xu Bin's eyes widened, not understanding his intentions.

Zhang Xiaojing's tone was extremely stern: "I have been in Chang'an City for so many years, and I know better than anyone how fragile this city is. If what Li Sicheng said is true, I guess—" Speaking of this, he hesitated for a rare moment, and then accentuated his tone:

"This time Chang'an is in a catastrophe."

Cao Poyan was standing at the gate of a certain square at this time. At this time, he had an extra hat on his head, and if he didn't lift it, he couldn't see his face at all.

At this time, the door of the fang was wide open, and countless vendors set up stalls under the wall of the fang, shouting and shouting. More than a dozen idlers grabbed the ends of the thick rope in an open space, pulling hooks to make a play, and the number of onlookers cheering was ten times as many. Next to the door, there is a large lantern wheel with a height of more than five feet. Colorful silk tassels hang from every corner of the lantern wheel, and candles are held after dusk.

Cao Poyan lowered his hat and walked towards the square from Liwei's side. Jing'an Division had already sent a proclamation to ask the guards of Zhufang to pay attention to a bearded man, but the matter was in a hurry and no picture was attached. The guards were busy cheering for the hook, and when they saw that Cao Poyan was not dressed in a robe, they didn't even bother to look at it, and let him enter.

Cao Poyan walked to a secluded corner near the intersection of the street, took out a small paper roll from his arms, looked at it, and then stopped a child who ran by and asked Li Ji where the bamboo shop was. When the child saw that he looked vicious, he hurriedly said that he was in the house at the end of the wide alley on the back street.

Cao Poyan followed the instructions, and there was indeed a bamboo workshop here, with lantern shelves and bamboo strips piled up in front of the aisle and door, including Luan Feng, Yunlong, and all kinds of gods and mascots. It seems that business here is good, and it is still busy on the day of the Shangyuan Festival.

He knocked on the door, three times, one short, and two more. There was silence in the room for a moment, and a high-nosed, deep-eyed thin bamboo craftsman poked his head out and held a knife-sharpening knife to his chest.

"Where is the White Felt Golden Tent located in the royal court?" He asked abruptly in Turkic.

"The eagle of the steppe is not afraid of the wind." Cao Poyan lifted his hat and replied in Turkic.

The other party opened a small slit and let him dodge in.