Ji Jihu didn't dare to say anything more, and followed him to the nearest shaft, where a mine slave crawled out. He was naked, and only wore a strip of cloth around his waist to cover his shame, which should have been a light color, but now he can't see the color. The man seemed to have crawled out of a pile of dust, dust from head to toe, and his beard was gray and dusty, and he couldn't see his true face.

Ji Hu was startled, and hurriedly hid behind Zhao Bohu, and E Yufang comforted him: "Don't be afraid, they are all mining slaves." ”

"Mine slaves? Are you all mining with captives here? Zhao Bohu asked.

"Yes, most of them are Yi people, they have been at war with Chu State a lot over the years, and there are also Chu people." E Yufang explained.

Zhao Bohu didn't say anything more, only stared at the blood stains on the slave's arm, and felt unbearable: "In the future, give them an arm guard to wear when you go down the well!" ”

"No!" Enu Fang responded in his mouth, but he was very disapprehensive in his heart.

Ji Hu was sitting on the threshold and pondering, when he suddenly felt a familiar big hand caressing the top of his head, and he didn't have to look up to know who it was: "Brother! ”

"What's wrong? What do you think about when you come out of the mine and keep your head down? Zhao Bohu asked with concern.

"It's nothing, I just think those mining slaves are very pitiful, and I feel panicked. I've seen a lot of slaves in Hokyo, but at least they still have clothes to wear, and I've never seen anything like that. ”

"Oh-" Zhao Bohu felt relieved, he felt that this kid had thought a lot about things and matured a lot along the way. As a king, you must have compassion for others, but you must also be decisive, how to unify the two? He pondered for a moment and said:

"They are all prisoners of war, and in today's world, we are surrounded by dangers. These Rong Di people are like tigers squatting beside us, once my Zhou Dynasty shows a little fatigue, they will definitely tear us to pieces like hungry tigers. At that time, the people of my Great Zhou will all become captives, just like them, and even the situation will be even more miserable. Therefore, war is such a cruel and ruthless thing, as a king who kills decisively, is ruthless and ruthless, and it is also a helpless move. After all, it's our own people that we want to protect, right? ”

Ji Hu nodded as if he didn't understand, after all, he was a child's heart, and his attention was quickly attracted by a long and pointed brass object in Zhao Bohu's hand: "What is this?" ”

"What's this," Zhao Bohu shook the metal in his hand, and said with a smile: "I invented the car thorn, which is installed in the middle of the wheel of the chariot, like a hard thorn, and when it goes on a rampage in battle, it can directly kill and disperse the enemy formation and crush the enemy's convoy." This is just made, and the length needs to be adjusted. Let's go to the mine supervisor together! ”

"Good!" Ji Hu clapped his hands and happily agreed to go with him.

It was only half a mile from their residence to the mining area, and the two of them, with only four or five guards, walked on this forest path, talking and laughing. It was late spring, and the scattered petals were paved all over the road, and the shoes of the group stepped on it, stepping on a line of flower mud. Everyone can hear their own footsteps.

Zhao Bohu is a sensitive person, although he has not been in battle, but he has been in the army for a long time these days, and unconsciously, he has become extremely sensitive to such an ethereal thing as murderous aura. A light breeze blew, and the surrounding bushes bent over in unison.

"Whoosh-" With a bang, a cold arrow flew out of the bushes on his right, heading towards Zhao Bohu's front door. It was too late to draw his sword, so Zhao Bohu took two steps back, trying to give way sideways. Unexpectedly, the speed of the arrow was extremely fast, and the tip of the nose could already feel the arrow wind brought by the high-speed rotation of the arrowhead. Zhao Bohu's heart was cold, could it be that he had explained here like this in this life?

I only heard the sound of "dang-", and the arrow actually fell to the ground. It turned out that Ji Hu was holding his short saber in his hand, and he struggled to raise his hands to block it, and the scabbard was made of copper and tin, which was unusually hard, and it actually resisted the attack of the arrowhead. It's just that Ji Hu is young and weak after all, the arrow is menacing and fierce, and his arms are numb for a while, and he retreats several steps and falls on his back in Zhao Bohu's arms.

"Guards! Guard! The five guards drew their swords and surrounded the two of them in the core, which was considered a "human shield".

A sound of uniform footsteps came from the bottom of the mountain, and a whistle sounded, and hundreds of ironclad warriors surrounded them tightly. Among them, there is a young general riding a jujube red horse, who is it not Ji Duoyou?

Zhao Bohu breathed a sigh of relief, helped Ji Hu up, and said to Ji Duoyou: "Quick! The Assassins are hiding in this bush and are searching for it! ”

"Archers on standby!" Ji Hu waved his hand, and a dozen crossbowmen wound their arrows, and after a burst of fire at the bushes on the right, there was no sound. Ji Hu turned his face to Zhao Bohu and said, "I'll take people to search, and leave a team of people to guard you!" ”

At this time, Zhao Bohu made time to ask Ji Hu, "Are you injured?" ”

Ji Hu seemed a little frightened and shook his head blankly. Zhao Bohu was very afraid: "Why are you so reckless?" What should I do if I rush to block the sword and get hurt? Are you------ do you know who you are? ”

"I------ if I don't stop, don't you ------, big brother, won't you die?" Ji Hu was a little aggrieved.

Zhao Bohu comforted him softly: "Okay, okay, just be careful in the future!" ”

He picked up the cold arrow that had fallen to the ground, looked at it carefully, and then put it on the side of his nose and sniffed it, and there was a faint smell of sea salt, and he couldn't help but fall into deep thought------

Arrange for someone to escort Ji Hu back to his residence, and summon Bohu to bring more than a dozen samurai to follow him, and go to find Ji Duoyou, who is searching for the assassin. This is an urgent child, I can't wait to catch up with the Shenhou troops as the vanguard in one step, Xiaoxing stayed overnight, and this is three days earlier than the scheduled trip to Tonglu Mountain. As soon as he arrived, he caught up with this unsuccessful assassination.

"It's a shame I arrived in time, right? Otherwise, your brothers' lives will be in danger! Ji Tayou showed off proudly.

Zhao Bohu nodded yes, but said in his heart: Pull it down! If it weren't for the prince's short saber, wouldn't you have to collect the body for me when you came?

The guards searched the bushes and groves for several miles, but still found no suspicious person. Ji Duoyou didn't believe it: "It's such a big place, can he still go to heaven and earth?" He cast his gaze on a clearing behind the woods, where a dozen thatched roofs stood.

When the mine supervisor and Yao Yufang heard the news, they hurried over, and Ji Duoyou asked, "What kind of place is there?" He pointed to the thatched roofs.

"That's where the miners lived."

"Check it out."

These thatched houses are actually ground nests, that is, digging a big pit in the ground, some round and some square, and then ramming some ruler-high earthen walls along the edge of the pit, and then building some wooden shelves on top of them, and laying some thatch. There are no doors and windows, and the hole for one person to enter and exit is the door and window passage. There were a few planks in it, and some of them were laid on the flat ground, where the miners slept, and there was an unobstructed view.

Zhao Bohu exchanged glances with Ji Duoyou, and they both suspected that the assassin was hiding among these naked miners whose faces could not be seen clearly. Other than that, there doesn't seem to be any other place to hide.

"You," Ji Duoyou pointed to the mine supervisor, "is there a list?" Take an inventory of these people. ”

"This," the mine supervisor glanced at E Yufang in embarrassment, and the latter understood, and approached and said to Zhao Bohu: "Zhao Gongzi, these mine slaves have no names, and we don't have a list. ”

"Why?" Zhao Bohu was very surprised.

"What about this------ "E Yufang ordered the mine superintendent, "you say it yourself." ”

The mine supervisor is a middle-aged Humpty Dumpty man in his forties, the day before yesterday, he saw him wielding a big whip when he was mining, but at this time he groveled, as if his waist was born upright, and nodded to Zhao Bohu and Ji Duoyou: "The miners here die almost every day, and we never ask their names, anyway, they are used to mine stones!" You only need to know the approximate number, and if it is not enough, you will report it to the higher-ups, and then fight and dial some over. So, there is no list, and I don't recognize their faces. ”

"Rubbish!" E Yufang glared at him, he knew that assassinating the king envoy was a serious crime, and he had to give an explanation: "Since such a thing happened, it is better to put all the mine slaves living here to death, and I am not afraid that the assassins will hide!" ”

"That's fine!" Ji Duoyou replied lightly. In this day and age, slaves were no different from animals, and in many cases were not even as dignified as animals.

The miners under the pit looked at each other, all of them showing fearful eyes and trembling. Zhao Bohu suddenly recalled Ji Hu's words in his mind: "I think those mine slaves are too pitiful------"

"That's it!" He raised his hand: "This is the end of the matter!" With a great war imminent, wouldn't it delay the construction if they were to be executed? Forget it! ”

In the dead of night, Ji Hu was frightened during the day and tossed and turned for a while at night before falling asleep. Although it is almost summer, it is still as cool as water at night. Zhao Bohu tightened the corners of the quilt for Ji Hu, and sat down in front of the outer hall desk, he felt a little headache, so he pulled off the hairpin on his head, and any long hair fell down, as if this could make his tense scalp and nerves be relieved for a moment.

This room is not small, but the furnishings are simple, there is a three-foot-long wooden table in the center, and a few bamboo mats are spread on it, and it is Zhao Bohu who kneels and sits on it. Under the dim candlelight, his long hair was like a waterfall, and his ice-carved jade-like face was full of coldness and fortitude, not at all like a person who was just and weak.

He picked up the cold arrow and examined it carefully, who was going to assassinate me? Gradually, he seemed to have an answer, and his tightly knit brow slowly flattened.

"Report-", one of the guards came to report: "Someone wants to see your lordship." At the same time, a jade token was presented, and Zhao Bohu only glanced at it and knew that it was the queen Fanji's middle palace token. Immediately he said, "Invite him in." ”