1. Countless black horses galloped back and forth in the distance. Far above the long river,

a round blood-colored sunset; In the lonely city,

The wolf smoke pierced straight into the dusky sky. Tianbao three years, January 14th, Sizheng.

Chang'an, Chang'an County, West City.

The spring is cold and the sun is shining. At this time, there were no clouds over Chang'an City, and it should be a good weather today.

With a creaking sound, the two heavy doors of the West Market were slowly pushed open, and an enlightened beast flag hung high in the middle of the lintel. Outside, more than a dozen Luo teams had already gathered on the street. As soon as they saw the flag being hoisted, they immediately became noisy. The men drove up the camels lying on the ground with small cowhide whips, counted the boxes, called out to their companions, and shouted in foreign accents.

This was the last group of Hu caravans to arrive in Chang'an before the Shangyuan Festival. They set out from distant Fulin, Persia and other places, day and night, just to catch up with this most important festival in Chang'an. You must know that from tonight, the Shangyuan Lantern Festival will last for three nights, and the dignitaries and nobles of the Tang Dynasty will spend money, but they will not be merciful.

The officials of the West Market Bureau stood on both sides of the west entrance of the West Market with a book in one hand and a pen in the other, and inspected the customs clearance documents and goods one by one with expressionless faces. Today is a special day, and the West Market opens half an hour earlier than usual. These officials wanted to finish their work as soon as possible and go home for the holidays, but the inspection speed was a little faster.

An old official quickly registered a group of Persian merchants, and then beckoned to those at the back of the line. A man in a short chestnut robe with a double lapel walked over and presented his hands to him.

The old official took it and took a look, and was stunned for a moment.

The transgression itself is unassailable. The applicant's name was Cao Poyan, a Sogdian, from Kangguo. This time, he came to Chang'an with a total of fifteen companions, fifteen camels and a stallion, and the goods he carried were thirty wool felt blankets and variegated leather goods.

The problem is not in the pass, but in the goods.

The old official has been doing this business for twenty years, and he has seen too many caravans and goods, and he has already developed a pair of eyes as sharp as an eagle. Sixteen people, but only such a small amount of goods are transported, how high is the cost of amortization? What's more, Chang'an is already in spring, and the felt carpet market is down. Even if all these goods are sold, I'm afraid that I won't even be able to cover the cost of going back and forth - how can there be such a stupid businessman on the long road?

The old official couldn't help frowning and carefully looked at the Hu merchant in front of him. Cao Poyan was about thirty years old, with a high nose and deep eyes, and a thin jaw with a ring of hard cheeks and black beard, like a hard bristle brush. If you count the white-pointed felt hat he wears, the whole person must be more than seven feet tall.

The old official asked a few simple questions, and Cao Poyan answered them one by one. His Tang language is very blunt, just a few words come and go, and there is no smile on his face all the time, not like a businessman at all. The old officer noticed that this guy always unconsciously touched his waist with his right hand when answering. It's a habit of holding a weapon, but it's a pity that now he only has a small empty copper hook on his belt.

For security reasons, all merchants' belongings were confiscated by the gatekeeper when they entered the city, and they were returned when they left the city.

The old official quietly put down the pen and walked around Cao Poyan's caravan. There is no problem with the goods, ordinary goods. The fifteen companions are all Hu people, with tight legs and pointy shoes, and they are all about the same age as Cao Poyan. They each led a camel, silent, but their shoulders tensed slightly.

"These guys are nervous." The old official secretly made a judgment, picked up his pen, and planned to put the word "not" on the pass - which meant that the identity of this caravan was doubtful, and it had to be further investigated by the West City Bureau. But the pen did not fall, but was stopped by a big hand.

The old man looked up and found a man with thick eyebrows and a wide face, smiling at him.

"Cui Liulang?"

This person is a well-known broker in the West Market, with a wide range of contacts, such as going to the goods warehouse, renting a house to find people, and litigation talks, etc., it is not wrong to find him as an intermediary. So although he has no official status, he is quite open on the ground in the West Market.

Cui Liulang smiled and said, "You haven't eaten the morning food yet, right?" I brought you a piece of bread for you, uncle. Then he handed over a steaming flax pastry, decorated with large sesame seeds on the front, and the aroma was fragrant. The old man pinched it and found that a small straight silver collar was deeply pressed on the opposite side of the dough. He secretly weighed it, afraid that if he didn't have two taels, although he couldn't make cash, he could also make a good hairpin for his daughter.

"These friends came to Chang'an for the first time, and many of the rules were not clear, so I asked my husband to be accommodating." Cui Liulang lowered his voice.

The old official hesitated slightly, but still took the bread, and then approved a "listen" at the office and allowed him to enter the market. Cui Liulang crossed his hands in thanks, turned away, and spoke a flurry of Sogdian fluently. Cao Poyan just nodded slightly, neither happy nor excited.

Under the leadership of Cui Liulang, the small camel team entered the West Market along the threshold.

After crossing the threshold, there is a wide intersection heading on, and the four wide alleys to the east, south, west and north are lined with shops on both sides. From silk cloth shops, ironware shops, and porcelain shops to saddle shops, cloth shops, jewelry shops, and musical instrument shops. The roofs of these shops are not the same as those of Chang'an buildings, with flat roofs – not because the merchants are homesick, but because the land is at a premium, and the roofs are flat enough to store more goods.

At this time, the shops had not yet officially opened, but all the shops had already hung their banners high, and the flags were successively displayed, almost covering the entire wide alley. The peach charm that had just been hung on the lintel on Chinese New Year's Eve had not yet been removed, and there were several more lantern bamboo stands of different shapes next to it - all for tonight's lantern parade. At this time, the lantern has not yet been hung, but the smell of festivities has risen to the sky.

"Our Chang'an, there are a total of one hundred and eight squares, the fourteenth street in the north and south, and the eleventh street in the east and west. Each square is surrounded by a wall. Whether you're eating, having fun, talking about business, or staying in a hotel, you have to be in the workshop. Usually at night, you can't come out, and you will be banned at night. But don't worry today, there is a Lantern Festival at night, and the curfew will be relaxed temporarily. Actually, the day of the Shangyuan Festival is tomorrow, but the lantern festival will start tonight......"

Cui Liulang walked while enthusiastically introducing the various stories in Chang'an City to the guests. Cao Poyan glanced left and right, his eyes were always full of vigilance, like an uncooked eagle. Horses and mules neighed, wheels were rustling, and passing caravans were hurrying, and no one paid attention to the small caravan.

The two walked to the middle of the cross street. Cui Liulang stopped: "Where are we going next?" Are you looking for a hostel or do you have a store to connect with? Cao Poyan took out a folded piece of paper from his arms and handed it to him. Cui Liulang was stunned for a moment, and then said with a smile: "It turns out that you have all booked, come, go this way." He straightened his arm, pointed slightly exaggeratedly to the right, and raised his leg forward, followed by the others.

Cao Poyan didn't know that this small action of him and Cui Liulang was fully watched by Wuhou who was looking upstairs not far away.

The watchtower is a wooden black lacquered pavilion that stands in the middle of the West Market, overlooking the movement of the entire market. Upstairs there are Wu Hou, these people have been carefully selected, their eyes are sharp, and they can't hide any movement in the city.

Cui Liulang and Cao Poyan have been closely monitored by the watchtower since they entered the market. Seeing Cui Liulang's gesture, a martial artist straightened up, picked up a solid-colored black flag, waved it three times towards the east, and repeated it three times.

Two flicks of the fingers, another watchtower three hundred paces away on the east side of the watchtower also waved the same black flag; Immediately afterward, the watchtower further east also responded quickly. In this way, the first floor was passed to the first floor, but in a few dozen snaps of the fingers, the message of the black flag had crossed a street, from the West Market to the Guangde Square outside a square in the east.

The northeast corner of Guangdefang is the Jingzhao Mansion Gongfu, and next to it is the Temple of Mercy. In between, there is an inconspicuous side courtyard, which was originally Sun Simiao's former residence, but now all traces of the medicine king are gone, replaced by a solemn atmosphere, and a tall black watchtower is erected in the courtyard, which is much taller than other watchtowers.

Upstairs, Wuhou saw the black flag dancing in the distance, wrote down the color of the flag and the number of waves on a wooden tablet, and quickly threw it to the ground.

Downstairs, a tall and strong Tongchuan had already caught Mu Jian, and ran all the way into a Xuanchang hall thirty paces away. Directly above the main hall, there is a golden black wooden plaque hanging high, on the book "Jing'an Division" three-character regular script, the calligraphy is rich and full, it is Yan Zhenqing's handwriting.

As soon as you enter the hall, the first thing you see is a huge sand table of Chang'an City. The outer Guo city wall pinched by red clay, the wall of the fang market pinched by yellow beeswax, the one hundred and eight squares and twenty-five streets are arranged like a chessboard, and even the winding alleys and canals in the square are all delicate - of course, only the palace city is blank - there is a fourth-order dragon copper leakage clock in the corner of the hall next to it, which is in the same tune as the copper leak in front of the Shuntian Gate.

Overlooking this plate, supplemented by water leakage, such as looking at Chang'an from the clouds, the changes in the situation are clear in the chest.

Next to the sand table, the two officials were watching intently. The old man had white hair, wore a purple robe with a round neck with wide sleeves, and wore a goldfish bag at his waist. The young man's face was round and small, and his youthful aura had not yet faded, but there were already three shallow lines between his eyebrows, which was obviously overthinking. He wore a narrow-sleeved green robe, a silverfish bag hanging from his waist, and a Taoist whisk in his hand.

Tong Chuan ran to the two officials, holding a simple chant, and the loud voice resounded in the hall: "The wolf has entered the West Market, and it has passed the cross street!" ”

The officials were silent, and a beautiful maid beside her took a step forward, picked up a moon stick for playing polo, and pushed a black pottery figurine in the sand table from the street outside the West Market to the city, which coincided with the position of Cui Liulang and Cao Poyan.

There was a moment of silence in the hall, and the young man spoke first to inquire: "Eunuch He? After asking a few times, the old man opened his eyes: "Changyuan, how did you arrange it?" ”

The young man smiled slightly, and pointed to the sand table with a whisk: "Cui Qi personally led the team, and fifty brigades have been arranged in the West City." As soon as Liulang got the news, Cui Qi immediately broke down the door and arrested people. On the periphery, there are more than 100 bad people from Chang'an County guarding the alleys; There are two gates in the west market, and the guards can be closed at any time. Surrounded by three iron barriers, there is no reason for this fang to escape. ”

With the guidance of the dust, the maid quickly put down a vermilion pottery figurine. On the sand table, the red figurines surrounded the black figurines in an instant, impenetrable.

"These wolf cubs thought that they would be able to hide from the world by pretending to be Sogdian merchants, but they didn't know that we were fishing from beginning to end. With a mind to calculate without a heart, how can there be a reason to be invincible? The young man withdrew the dust, his chin slightly raised, and he looked confident. The old man let out an "um" and closed his eyes again, noncommittal.

Every hour, a loud voice would run in from outside, reporting the latest movements of Cui Liulang and Cao Poyan.

"The wolf passed the Fan Ji saddle shop and headed northwest of the cross street!"

"The wolf passed the Ruyi new silk shop, and turned right into the second round!"

"The wolf crossed the three bridges of Guangtong Canal and turned into the left lane of the single willow tree."

The maid held a moon scepter and kept moving the figurines to the corresponding position. Cao Poyan's walking trajectory was vividly presented in front of the two principals: the caravan was moving farther and farther away from the prosperous place, gradually approaching the single willow tree in the southwest of the city.

The single willow tree is a place for the West Market to kill criminals, and the merchants are unlucky, and there are many people who are far away, and there are fewer and fewer people around.

The young man tilted his head slightly: "Director Xu, what buildings are there nearby?" ”

Behind the two officials, surrounded by more than a dozen stacks of papers, dozens of low-ranking officials were busy with their heads. A slightly chubby middle-aged scribe heard the call, quickly put down the scroll in his hand and ran to the sand table. His eyesight was not very good, and he had to lean forward to the edge to see where the figurines were.

Director Xu thought for a while, and immediately replied as if reciting a book: "Northeast Lane, the terrain is low and wet, and there are only sixteen warehouses, which are connected to the Guangtong Canal. In the fifteenth year of Kaiyuan, there was a heavy rainstorm, the water in the canal soared, and the inventory of the three Hu merchants was destroyed, and the price was 5,000 yuan...... "His memory is quite amazing, and he replied casually, without suffocation.

The young man interrupted his chatter: "These sixteen warehouses, are there exits nearby?" ”

"Oh, no, but ......"

At this moment, Tongchuan broke into the main hall again and interrupted him: "The wolf entered the Bingliu warehouse and did not come out!" ”

The atmosphere in the hall was suddenly stirred up by this message, and everyone's eyes were turned to the sand table.

"This is it!" The young man's eyes lit up, "Summoning Cui Qi, prepare for action; The bad guys immediately cleared the perimeter of the warehouse and did not allow anyone to enter or leave. The second gate of the West Market is on standby at any time. Short and powerful commands came out of his mouth, and there was excitement in his tone.

He gave the order and left the temple as quickly as possible. The young man supported the edge of the sand table with his arms, leaned forward, looked at the black terracotta figurine, and muttered to himself:

"I want to see what these Turkic wolf cubs want to do when they come to Chang'an City."

The order was uploaded from the main hall of the Jing'an Division to the watchtower. Then, through a series of flags, it quickly crossed the street and returned to the watchtower on the north side of the West Market. Wu Hou copied the flag on the wooden tablet and threw it downstairs, while shouting: "Lvshuai Cui, take the order!" ”

Before Mu Jian could hit the ground, he was firmly pinched by a large hand.

The man who grabbed Mu Jian was a tall, bearded man with arms as thick as a beam. He took the wooden tablet, quickly glanced at the order above, and immediately turned around and shouted, "All assemble!" ”

From the barn beside him, fifty soldiers of the brigade rushed out. They were all dressed in inky infantry armor, armed with crossbows, and uncircled horizontal swords hanging from their waists, and ten of them also carried longbows cross-body. During the entire procession, no one spoke, only the sound of dull footsteps and breathing was heard.

Cui Qi glanced around with a gloomy face: "The target is in the C6 warehouse, first surround and then fight, try to keep alive." Be clever for a while, and no one should embarrass the brigade army! With that, he waved his hand and ran outside. The soldiers, in a line of five, followed closely the commander, trotting at first and then running at a rapid pace.

They skimmed through the cross streets, burrowed into the winding alleys, and headed towards the south square of the West Market. The merchants along the street were horrified when they saw that the street was suddenly dusty and so many soldiers had run past. Before they could talk to each other, a large number of unscrupulous people came up and demanded that the shops close their doors temporarily, and that the pedestrians on the street were invited to rest in the nearby shops, and no one was allowed to leave.

At the east and west entrances of the West Market, the gatekeepers lifted the stone latch from the pit and could close the gate at any time.

The cobwebs weaved layer by layer, and a sharp arrow pierced straight away.

After entering the range of the No. C warehouse, Cui Qi made a few gestures, and the brigade army, which had already had a tacit understanding, divided into three directions and quietly approached the C6 warehouse, and the bad guys had quietly blocked all the nearby roads. There were only a few caravans of horses and livestock tethered here in this area, and three or two men watched. There are bad people who come over, negotiate a few words, and pull the cattle away.

At this point, the C6 warehouse is completely isolated from the West Market.

Cui Qi half-squatted at the corner of an earthen wall near the Bingliu Inn, took off the heart guard on his chest, hung it on the head of the horizontal knife, and carefully stretched it outward. With the reflection of the goggles, he didn't have to look to see what was ahead.

The C6 Warehouse is a wooden building with pressed eaves, 60 steps long and 45 steps wide, almost square, with only one entrance, and ventilation windows on all sides, but it is very small and not allowed for adults to pass. Because this area is close to a canal, it is easy to be flooded in summer, so the bottom of the building is suspended and supported by sixteen wooden columns, which is somewhat similar to the Lingnan architectural style.

There was a big-nosed bearded man guarding the door, who was one of Cao Poyan's fifteen companions. He leaned his back against the wooden door, and from time to time he lowered his head to play with a string of wooden beads on his wrist, looking absent-minded. Cui Qi estimated the distance of the crossbow arrow, and if he really wanted to do it, he was confident that he could break through the door within ten snaps of his fingers.

Cui Ji set his eyes on the entrance and held his breath. Everything is ready, just wait for the movement in the warehouse.

In the warehouse, separated from the outside world by a wooden wall, Cao Poyan stood with his arms in his hands against the corner of the house, facing the entrance. He had taken off his white-tipped felt hat, revealing a thick black braid. The others spread out between the shelves, talking in whispers, but not in Sogdian but in Turkic — of course, as Cui Liulang stood by the window, looking completely incomprehensible.

Cui Liulang rubbed his hands and smiled: "Gong Cao, who found this place for you?" It's very humid here, and there are no restaurants nearby, so why don't I arrange another one for you? ”

Cao Poyan replied coldly as if he hadn't heard the question: "Do the right thing." ”

Cui Liulang was not embarrassed: "Okay, good." What the hell are you looking for me to do, can you say it now? ”

Cao Poyan snapped his fingers, and the two companions walked over and spread a roll of cloth on the ground, which was unfolded to a wide square size. Then they took out a little wolf, an ink ingot, and an inkstone. Cui Liulang was stunned, I don't know what this means, is it possible to open a scientific examination for poetry?

When he looked at the hard yellow cloth again, he couldn't help but gasp. There are countless squares densely drawn on the cloth, and the ink lines are vertical and horizontal, which is the one hundred and eight squares of Chang'an City. However, the map is too sketchy, and it only outlines the outline and name of the city.

"This thing is only collected in the secret palace of the imperial city, and the people who have it privately are hidden, but it is a big crime to kill the head!"

Cao Poyan's eyes narrowed: "...... You don't dare to pick it up? ”

Cui Liulang laughed, took a step back and sat cross-legged on the ground: "If I don't dare, I won't take you into the West Market." Rich and dangerous, how many people who do my job take the Datang Law Order seriously? Come on, pen and ink waiting, what do you want to mark? ”

"I want you to mark all the hidden doors, culverts, sandwich wall passages and other key points on this Chang'an Fang map." Cao Poyan said word by word.

Cui Liulang agreed, and his mind was spinning rapidly. The interior of Chang'an City is intricate, but it is not as simple as 25 roads and streets. There are water and land channels between the squares, there are sandwich walls between the city walls, there are ditches under the bridges, and there are ridges beside the slopes.

If you have such a full map in hand, most of the virtual and real things in Chang'an City can be controlled, and you can come and go freely. It seems that these Turks are not small...

One person took out the skin, poured some water on the inkstone, and worked for a while to develop a shallow pile of ink. Cui Liulang licked the tip of the wolf's pen, dipped it in ink, drew a few strokes, and suddenly stopped: "Cao Gong, you are not from the Central Plains, and you are not familiar with cloth." This cloth, no. This is called hard yellow cloth, which is suitable for making clothes, but the ink is slightly sluggish. Why don't I go buy some rice paper and come back......"

"You can't leave." Cao Poyan categorically vetoed it.

Cui Liulang shook his head, picked up the pen and began to sketch. As soon as he finished filling in a corner of Chang'an City, he raised his eyes again and said: "Chang'an City is too big, if you paint everything in every detail, you won't be able to finish it in three days and three nights." Cao Gong, what are you using this picture for? I know it in my heart, and I will naturally have a detailed plan when I write it. ”

Cao Poyan said: "This has nothing to do with you. ”

Cui Liulang spread his hands: "You want me to fill in the whole map of Chang'an City in two hours, but you don't even want to say what to do - sorry, I can't draw it." ”

Cao Poyan couldn't help but be furious when he heard this string of words, stepped in front of Cui Liulang, and stretched out his hand to strangle his throat.

Cui Liulang hesitated for a moment and did not dodge. He knew that Jing'an's people were outside, and with a shout, none of these Turks could escape. But in that case, all the previous hard work will be wasted. He bet that Cao Poyan is just bluffing now, and he won't really start if he doesn't get the map.

With a little more deception, you can figure out their true purpose.

Cao Poyan's hand on Cui Liulang's throat suddenly stopped, and Cui Liulang's heart was relieved, knowing that he had made the right bet. Cao Poyan maintained this posture, and his head suddenly tilted towards the window, as if he was listening. Cui Liulang was a little nervous, could it be that the people in the brigade were careless and made the noise? He hurriedly asked, "Gong Cao, what's wrong?" ”

"Did you hear anything?" Cao Poyan pointed out the window.

Cui Liulang listened, and there was silence outside. He shook his head a little dazedly: "Nothing." ”

"Yes, nothing." Cao Poyan showed a hideous smile that only a steppe wolf has, and his fingers suddenly exerted force, "When I entered the door just now, there were obviously many cattle tied up nearby, and it was very lively, but now there is not even a horse roar." ”

As soon as he heard this, Cui Liulang's face suddenly changed color, first because of panic, and then because of suffocation.

Cui Qi waited outside, feeling more and more uneasy. There was no movement over there, but he just felt that something was wrong. As a veteran, this instinct of his is often accurate.

He poked the goggles out with his knife again, this time aimed at the window of the C6 warehouse. The window was so small that I could barely see a figure swaying in the mirror. Suddenly, a figure disappeared in front of the window, and at the same time there was a "thump", and it seemed that something heavy had fallen to the ground.

Not good! Cui Qi's heart suddenly stopped, he suddenly withdrew the horizontal knife, and shouted eagerly to the surroundings: "Break the door!" Fast! ”

The brigade was already ready in their respective positions, and with one order, eight crossbow arrows were fired from three directions at once, nailing the Turks guarding the gate into a hedgehog. At the same time, two soldiers slammed up the wooden steps in front of the door, swept past the limp of the enemy, and slammed their thick shoulders against the door.

The bamboo pivot could not withstand the pressure and burst in an instant. With a bang, the soldier's body fell inside, along with the door panel. Behind them, two other soldiers did not hesitate to step over their companion's body and rush into the house. The crossbow in his hand aimed at the room and shot a round, then quickly lowered down. By this time, the two soldiers lying on the ground had already turned over and lifted the door panel to form a makeshift wooden shield, which was guarded by their companions, and gave them time to wind their crossbow arrows.

This sequence of movements is so fluid that it seems to have been rehearsed countless times.

The nearest Turks screamed and pounced, and suddenly fell to the ground again, screaming in pain. Three longbows were fired in the distance of the inn, and the two-foot-long iron arrow pierced their thighs through the narrow window of the inn with precision.

This round of offensive bought more than enough time. More soldiers rushed into the warehouse, raising their crossbows and shouting as they went, "Get down! Don't kill! ”

But as if they didn't understand, the Turks pounced out of the corners of the shelves one after another. They chanted the Khan's name and rushed over with their bare hands. For the soldiers of the brigade army, these people were simply live targets, and for a while, the warehouse was filled with the muffled sound of metal entering the flesh and the screams of people.

The soldiers were not in a hurry to advance, they moved slowly forward in groups of three, covering each other. The slightest appearance of the Turks will immediately be shot by several shots*.

The soldiers were instructed to keep as many holes alive as possible, so they tried to aim for non-vital parts. But these desperate steppe wolves are not afraid of death, and even if they have only one breath left, they will try to fight back. Several soldiers hesitated for a moment because they could not kill the killer, but they were injured and even killed in a sneak attack. Even if they are unable to fight back, those Turks will immediately commit suicide without hesitation.

Soon silence returned to the house, leaving only corpses lying in the hallway and wooden shelves. After paying the price of three soldiers killed in battle, the brigade army finally took control of the entire warehouse.

The soldiers did not let their guard down and cautiously searched from shelf to shelf. Suddenly, a Turk who had been lying on the ground jumped up and pounced on the nearest soldier. The soldier was caught off guard and was stopped by him and embraced, and the two became entangled. The Turk opened his mouth and bit the soldier's nose, but his movements froze and he fell to the ground with a crossbow bolt stuck in the back of his head.

At the end of the aisle, a fellow soldier held the air*, his arm slowly drooping, his eyes flustered. He was supposed to let the Turks live, but what happened to his comrades made him forget the instructions.

"Stupid! How I taught you! ”

Cui Qi snatched the soldier's *, and raised his hand to slap him. His swarthy face seemed to be painted a leaden gray, dull and dull.

It only took ten snaps of fingers to break the door, and the total destruction of the enemy was within twenty-six snaps of fingers, which was an outstanding achievement among the guards in the capital. But the Turks are so fierce that they don't have a single living mouth, which is not the result that the boss wants.

Cui Qi paced down the aisle angrily, his eyes sweeping over the corpses, his fingers clenching uneasily and releasing the hilt. Suddenly, he was stunned for a moment, and then walked two steps quickly, and in front of him was Cui Liulang's body.

His eyes were wide open, and there were obvious finger marks on his neck, and he knew that he had been strangled without examination.

"Brother!"

Cui Ji let out a tiger roar in grief and indignation, kneeling on the floor on one leg, trying to lean over to hug the deceased. The two have similar eyebrows and eyes, they are siblings, but unfortunately one of them will never be able to open his eyes.

"If only I could order three flicks of my fingers earlier...... If I can break down the door myself......" Remorse gnawed at Cui Qi's heart like an ant, his fingers trembled violently, and he could barely hold his brother's hand.

A soldier from the brigade ran over, and when he saw the appearance of the commander, he didn't dare to approach. Cui Qi turned his head and asked him what was the matter with his eyes. The soldier hurriedly stood up: "After counting the corpses just now, there are fifteen in total." ”

Except for Cui Liulang, a total of sixteen Turks entered the warehouse. In other words, there is still one person who has not been caught, and after identification, it should be Cao Poyan, who should be the leader. Cui Qi took a sharp breath and stood up again, fire dancing in his eyes.

"Search!" He shouted with a calm face.

The warehouse is not a house, it is a large open room with no partitions, and only a few wooden shelves in the middle. Cui Qi walked around the warehouse a few times and didn't find anything unusual. Such a frank and swinging place, which can be seen through at a glance, where can he hide? Could it be that this guy can do some kind of Western Regions demon law, and he can't pass through the wall?

Cui Qi suddenly felt a little cold on the top of his head, he stopped, raised his head suddenly, and his pupils contracted in an instant. Directly above him, there was a well-mouth-sized wooden lid with a slight skew to reveal a clear blue sky.

There's actually a vent here!

The top of the C6 warehouse is a corniced structure, so no one thought that there would be a vent on the roof - normally, only flat-roofed houses have such a design.

This is probably the opening secretly opened by a previous user and was not reported to the West City Department. Cui Qi scolded hatefully, ordered someone to bring a ladder, and then loaded * with a crossbow arrow with the arrow removed. The fury did not make Cui Qi lose his mind, this is the last person, and he must stay alive, otherwise the whole plan will be over.

Now the warehouse is surrounded by brigade soldiers, and even if Cao Poyan goes to the roof, there is still no way out, which is almost equivalent to catching a turtle in an urn.

Cui Qi was afraid that there would be any more omissions, so he personally climbed the ladder and climbed towards the top. Climbing to the top, Cui Qi was about to push open the wooden cover, when he suddenly felt a murderous aura. He hurriedly shrank his head, and a bar of hardwood embedded with iron nails flew past his scalp. He didn't say a word, and raised his hand to be a crossbow. Poof, as if something had been stabbed. Cui Qi was overjoyed, and climbed up with his hands and feet, but he was unexpectedly hit in his left eye by a belt.

This belt is made of cooked cowhide, and the texture is extremely hard, which makes Cui Qi dizzy with severe pain. There was a small copper hook on his waistband, and when he pulled it back, he made a long bloody cut on his cheek. This attack aroused Cui Qi's bravery, he did not retreat but advanced, pulled his belt with his backhand, pulled it hard, and rushed to the roof.

Before he could stand firm, he felt his belt loosen, and it was obvious that the other party had let go of his hand. Cui Qi suddenly lost his balance and swung his arms desperately, and finally regained his footing. At that moment, he heard a series of clicks of footsteps on the tiles, and then jumped up with a clatter, and then a dull clicking sound was heard in the distance, and then the sound of rushing water.

There was something strange about the sound, it didn't look like it had fallen on the ground. Cui Qi was in a hurry, his left eye was swollen and painful, and he couldn't see clearly, but his brain was still clear. He realized that he had made a huge mistake.

Next to the C6 warehouse, there is a wide canal close to the wall of the workshop. This canal was widened a year ago to transport timber from the Qinling Mountains, so the canal is deep and watery, and it is wide enough for boats. At this time, it was in the first lunar month, the canal had not yet thawed, and it was covered with a thin layer of ice, as smooth as Suzaku Avenue, and the water gate did not have any deployment—Cui Qi's previous arrangement, patronizing the landing route, actually ignored this matter.

What he heard was the sound of Cao Poyan crashing into the ice and falling into the water.

After the Guangtong Canal flows out of the West Market, it connects the Yongan Canal and the Qingming Canal, and further away it is also connected to the Longshou Canal and the Gong Canal, and there are more than 30 Li Fangs flowing through, spanning most of the urban area - in other words, as long as Cao Poyan dives and swims through the West City Water Gate, he can easily get out of the encirclement and go ashore anywhere in the city.

Cui Qi wanted to slap himself, this mistake was too stupid.

In desperation, he also jumped towards the canal, but he forgot that he was wearing heavy bright light armor, and as soon as his feet touched the ice, the ice broke with a click, directly dragging the brigade commander to the bottom.

Before entering the water, his right eye could barely see a splash of water speeding towards the water gate.

Between the canal and the warehouse, there is a high embankment wall. It took a lot of time for the soldiers of the brigade to get around from the other end, and then they took off their armor and went into the water, and dragged the commander ashore with all their hands and feet. With such a delay, Cao Poyan had already disappeared at the other end of the water gate.

Cui Qi was rescued on the embankment, lying on his stomach and spitting ice water, his face was pale. In his hand, he also held a cowhide belt with a copper hook on it.

This is the only takeaway from the whole operation.

The atmosphere in the hall of Jing'an Division was as solemn as mercury, and every member of the team was light and did not dare to make a sound, for fear of annoying the two displeased chiefs.

No one expected that a chase would actually make the cooked duck fly. The raid was perfect, but it was pointless, and there wasn't even a single living left.

Cui Qi knelt in front of the hall on one leg, his body was so wet that he couldn't wipe it, and the water drippeds on the floor into an irregular water mark. After Cao Poyan fled, he was urgently recalled to Jing'an Division. The boss was anxious to figure out what went wrong, and the Wanglou Banner couldn't deliver too complicated news, so he could only make a trip himself.

Facing Jing'an Ling and Jing'an Sicheng, Cui Qi didn't dare to hide it, knelt on the ground and told the whole process one by one, and then lowered his head and waited for the trial. The old man flicked his sleeves and let out a long sigh: "Originally, I invited you into the urn, but it became a ...... to lure wolves into the room."

Everyone knows the gravity of this statement. That Cao Poyan had shown ferocity, cunning, and extreme instantaneous strain just now. Such a scheming Turkic broke into Chang'an City on the eve of the Shangyuan Festival, and no one could imagine what would happen next.

What's even worse is that this wolf can almost be said to have been brought in all the way by Jing'an Division, and if this responsibility is investigated, no one can bear it.

"The lowly has sent people to search and arrest along the canal." Cui Qi cautiously added, hoping to dilute a little of the shame of dereliction of duty.

The young man blushed his face and waved the dust: "What is the matter with this little person!" Do you know how long the canals of Guangtong, Yong'an, Qingming, and Longshou are? Go and transfer out the Wuhou and Lishou of the street shops, close the squares, and search them for me one by one! ”

"Changyuan, the dust is not used to smash people." The old man raised his palm and stopped him gently but resolutely, "I have only blocked the West Market for half an hour, and I am already suspected of overstepping the rules. If you come to the city once, the entire Chang'an City will be disturbed - today is the Shangyuan Festival Lantern Festival, and now there are lights everywhere on the street. You make a lot of noise, and even the saints have to ask about it. ”

The young man also argued: "Eunuch He doesn't do anything, but he doesn't know!" Cao Poyan's sixteen people were only the last to enter the city, and more of their henchmen had already hidden in the city. If we don't find out the intentions of the Turks as soon as possible, I'm afraid that there will be a catastrophe in this Chang'an City! ”

His tone was almost rude. But the old man was not angry, he stretched out a finger and nodded in the northeast direction—that was where Miyagi was: "I didn't say that I would ignore it, but it is absolutely impossible to openly search and arrest him, and he must not cause trouble to that one." ”

As soon as the old man mentioned "that one", the young man's eyes darkened. He pondered for a moment, and then burst out with even more blazing fire: "Since Eunuch He thinks that the table cannot be moved, what if I only dispatch a small number of elites to secretly capture the thief?" ”

For this suggestion, the old man stroked his beard and seemed to be undecided.

As soon as Cui Qi heard this, he suddenly raised his head and said loudly: "Cui Qi knows that he has made a big mistake, and he doesn't ask for forgiveness, he just wants to be able to kill the enemy and avenge his brother!" "Today's defeat, he made mistakes again and again, if he does not fight the banner of blood and revenge, he will be guilty, but I am afraid that the end will be worrying.

But the young and the old shook their heads at the same time.

Chang'an is home to nearly a million residents, and it is a complex vortex of light and darkness. Cui Qi only came to Chang'an half a year ago, and it was no problem to go into battle to kill the enemy, but it was unrealistic to expect him to shuttle through the city to find people.

Jing'an Division brings together elites from all over the world, including capable old officials who are proficient in the city's easy money and grain, chief clerks who have never forgotten, fierce and brave soldiers, and even a group of Hu people who are well versed in Hu Qing - now there is only a lack of an old hound who can wander in the shadows of Chang'an and has a keen sense of smell.

Originally, they had a most suitable candidate, Cui Qi's brother Cui Liulang, but unfortunately he had died in his duties. Cui Qi knew what the chief was sorry for, his eyes turned red, and he smashed his fist on the ground, which actually smashed the bricks and opened a small gap.

After a moment of silence, the old man picked up the hat on the side table, put it on properly, and tied the bag and handkerchief around his waist. The young man was stunned for a moment, and hurriedly asked Supervisor He where he was going. The old man sighed: "The palace attaches great importance to the Turkic wolf guard, and today's incident will not be hidden for long. I will enter the palace and try to delay for a few hours, during this period, Changyuan, you had better come up with a countermeasure to make up for your previous mistakes, otherwise ......" The old man lowered his eyebrows and did not speak.

The young man's shoulders drooped slightly, and he secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time he felt disdain. This old fellow is slippery, and when he sees that things are going wrong, he finds an excuse to leave, and refuses to take any responsibility for making a decision—he can go this way, so as not to tie himself up.

Now that a moment is worth a thousand dollars, he doesn't have much time to spend on dealing with his own people.

The young man sent the old man to the wall, and then turned back to the hall, his expression was obviously much more relaxed. He sternly glanced at Cui Qi, who was still kneeling at the bottom of the steps, and flicked the sleeves of his robe: "At an extraordinary time, the punishment will be postponed for the time being." Don't slack off! ”

Cui Qi's face was solemn, and he retreated. He knew that the old man surnamed He was just in name, and the one who was really in charge of Jing'an Si and his own life was the young man named Li Mi in front of him. Don't look at this Shangguan's young age, his methods are really sharp, and he is decisive in killing, and the entire Jing'an Division is obeyed by him.

After disposing of Cui Qi, Li Mi knocked on the corner of the case and called all the heads of all the departments over: "Think about it now, what suitable person can replace Cui Liulang?" - Remember, I want the best. ”

The principals of the hall fell into deep thought, and none of them said a word. There are only four hours before the Lantern Festival, and it is almost impossible to find Cao Poyan before that. If this errand is done well, it may not be beneficial; If you do it poorly, you will become a scapegoat, and even the recommender will be unlucky.

Li Mi saw his subordinates cowering, and was about to open his mouth to reprimand, when suddenly his eyes froze, and he raised his hand when he saw that the eyesighted Master Xu hesitated. He knew that this person's name was Xu Bin, who was originally a scholar in the household department, had a good memory, and never forgot to read the papers, so he was transferred to Jing'an Division as the director, but he had a slight stutter. Li Mi raised his chin and motioned for him to speak.

Director Xu hesitated for a moment and said, "Hey...... There is a candidate in the downfall, I don't know if it is to your liking. ”

"Speak!"

"He's a friend of mine, called ...... Hey, it's called Zhang Xiaojing. In the past, he was a chief in the Anxi Protectorate Army, and later Xu Gong was transferred back to Chang'an and served as a bad marshal in Wannian County for nine years. I think maybe it's in line with Li Sicheng's intentions......"

"Oh?" Li Mi's eyes narrowed.

This resume is simple to say, but it is not ordinary to think about it. The bad marshal is the deputy of the county lieutenant who catches thieves, the top official in the foreign officials, and is in charge of arresting thieves and public security. It is very rare for a small chief of the capital to be the bad handsome of a county, not to mention that this is not an ordinary county, it is a Wannian county.

Chang'an is divided into two counties, east and west, with Chang'an County in the west and Wannian County in the east. This Wannian County is at the foot of the Son of Heaven, most of the princes and nobles live here, and the relationship is intertwined, this person can actually do it steadily for nine years, Li Mi suddenly became a little interested.

"Where are the others now?"

"Oops...... He committed a crime last year, and now he is in prison in Chang'an County, and he is awaiting execution. Xu Bin pondered the words. The people around whispered, was Director Xu confused, how did he recommend a prisoner? Or a death row inmate? Isn't this a bad touch on the boss?

Who knew that Li Mi was expressionless: "What I want is not a saint, but a capable person - is this person the best?" ”

Xu Bin hurriedly raised his voice: "In Chang'an, there is no one to arrest and arrest thieves. ”

A silverfish bag swept through the air, Xu Bin hurriedly reached out to catch it, and almost didn't catch it. Li Mi said: "Use my horse to pick it up." In two moments, I'm going to see that man here. ”

Xu Bin was stunned for a moment before he understood what the chief meant. He first tied the whitebait bag around his waist, but felt that it was inappropriate, so he quickly untied it and held it in his hand, and hurriedly ran out of the hall.

Li Mi looked around and found that everyone else was looking out with their necks stretched, and couldn't help but be angry: "What are you still looking at there?" Check it out for me right away! The status of the two cities in the east and west, the inspection records of the city gate supervisors, and the news reports of the street shops everywhere have all been thoroughly checked for me, quickly! ”

The officials of the Jing'an Division hurriedly returned to their seats one after another, buried themselves in their work, and the palace was busy again. Li Mi took a piece of boiling water scalded flower brocade from the maidservant beside him, rubbed it on his face vigorously, suddenly remembered something, and said: "Yao Runeng, you go to Jingzhao Mansion and transfer Zhang Xiaojing's color injection experience." ”

A young official immediately got up and galloped out.

Li Mi tore off the chest of his outer robe, propped his arms next to the sand table, leaned forward, and continued to overlook the sand table of Chang'an City. His piercing eyes scanned each building, as if trying to rip out the wolf alive with his gaze.

The copper leak in the corner of the temple, and the water droplets are still dripping calmly. No matter how urgent the world is, it never changes.