Shu Blossoms

Chapter 498 Out of the City
At the south gate of Hongdu, the people from the city defense battalion and the soldiers from the county guard's mansion mixed together. The soldiers from the county guard's mansion didn't want many of the people from the city defense camp to come back from the battlefield and didn't have much experience in combat. Soon being suppressed, Yang Zongzhou's face turned blue when he saw the anger, and he shouted angrily: "You guys are so bold, how dare you call someone to come!"

In just a cup of tea, more than a thousand government soldiers rushed in and surrounded the South City Gate.

The people in the city defense battalion were quickly restrained, and the soldiers of the county guard's mansion also controlled the south gate. Yang Zongzhou got out of the carriage with a sullen face, looked at the people in the city defense battalion coldly, and asked in a deep voice, "Hongdu Who has the final say? The sheriff or the battalion commander?"

The little guard lowered his head when asked, and said in a low voice, "Of course it's the county guard!"

"Then why, I can't go out of the city to see my family?" Yang Zongzhou's voice suddenly became sharp.

"Forgive me, Lord Sheriff, there are thieves in the city"

The little guard quickly raised his head to explain, but Yang Zongzhou's confidant retorted: "You mean that the thief had the audacity to hide in the Magistrate's carriage?"

Yang Zongzhou sneered, "He thinks the sheriff and the thief are together, and suspects that the sheriff is hiding the thief!"

The city defense battalion didn't dare to bear this charge, and the little guard couldn't afford it either, he shook his head and denied it, "No, the battalion chief is just worried that the thieves will get hurt."

"Okay, since that's the case, then you search, search inside and outside the carriage, and the people brought by the county guard are all registered in the yamen, you can also check them one by one!"

As Yang Zongzhou spoke, he waved his big hand, with an open and frank look, and asked the government soldiers to release the young guards and let them search in the carriage.

The little guard naturally knew that nothing could be found at this moment, so he flattered him with a smile, "How dare you search the carriage of the county guard, I was just fooled by the little lard and talked nonsense."

"Search!" How could Yang Zongzhou let him go like this, shouted sharply, the little guard had no choice but to push the carriage away with those people and searched again, and said with a wry smile: "The county guard has finished searching."

"Can you be a thief?" Yang Zongzhou asked, the guard shook his head again and again, "No!"

Yang Zongzhou's expression did not ease, but he waved his hand, and his confidant immediately presented a roster, and said to the little guard: "This is the roster of our soldiers, come and see if there are any thieves. mixed in?"

Looking at the roster prepared by the county guard in advance, there is still something that the young guard doesn't understand. The county guard Yang clearly slapped the head of the battalion on purpose while the master of the battalion was not in the city. This is to tell everyone in Hongducheng Guys, who is the real boss of Hongdu!

"No need, how could the guard's soldiers have anything to do with thieves, I'll open the city gate for you!" The young guard was afraid of causing trouble to the battalion chief, so he didn't dare to hold on anymore, so he sent someone to open the gate.

Yang Zongzhou didn't intend to let it go like this. Since there was such a commotion, the people in Hongdu City had to know who was really protecting them.

With a plan in mind, he pointed to the surrounding people and asked the little guard, "Where are these people, have you checked them all?"

"Not yet," the little guard faltered.

"Then quickly check, these people can't be all thieves, right?" Yang Zongzhou deliberately raised his voice, and the people around him could hear them clearly, begging one after another: "Your Majesty, the county guard, the little people are from Liujia Village outside the city. Yes, I came to the city yesterday to get medicine for my father, and my father at home is still waiting for the medicine to save his life!"

"Yes, yes, Xiaomin went to the city to sell vegetables and earn some money to support his family. The elderly and children in the family are thinking about it!"

Yang Zongzhou took a few steps forward, raised his hand to calm the panic, and then looked at the guard, "You have also seen that most of them are ordinary Li people. They go to the city to make a living or to save their lives. If your delay caused people to die, you, the head of the battalion, must feel uneasy, right?"

The guard didn't dare to respond this time, he was afraid that the head of the battalion would find someone to mix in with them, and once they were released, wouldn't it be a catastrophe.

Seeing this, Yang Zongzhou smiled at the common people again, and persuaded with some earnestness: "If you are not at ease, how about it, the people in the villages outside the city of Hongdu have all made records in their household registration books, and the county guard will send someone to fetch them for you. , you check with the household registration books one by one, if they match what they said, let them go and go home, how about that?"

This method sounds feasible, but the guard hesitated a little, but Yang Zongzhou did not allow him to refuse, and immediately sent someone from the Huifu Yamen to fetch the household registration book.

The common people kowtowed in gratitude, Yang Zongzhou personally stepped forward to help an elderly man, and turned to look at the guard, "The city gate is not yet open!"

Now everyone in Hongdu City knows that the closure of the city was not the intention of the county guard, but that the commander of the battalion did it without authorization, and the guard looked at the county guard, who was full of praise from the people, and went out of the city, thinking. The last sentence he said before getting into the carriage, "I will tell you later, my lord, if you still feel that the county guard is colluding with the thieves, you can go to the house to search. I have already ordered the big steward, and he will cooperate wholeheartedly!" 'My heart is always a little uneasy.

In the gazebo two miles outside the city, Xiao Yucheng waited inside early, and when he saw Yang Zongzhou's carriage approaching, he felt more fortunate when he thought of the incident that he had slipped out of the city just now.

The carriage stopped not far from the gazebo, Yang Zongzhou came up and asked Xiao Yucheng, "What's the plan for Brother Xiao in the future?"

"Maybe go back to Jiujiang!" Xiao Yucheng's words surprised him, didn't this mean that he knew that there were tigers in the mountains and went to the Tiger Mountains!

But he had heard about Xiao Yucheng's name a long time ago, coupled with this short half-day get-together, he already knew that Xiao Yucheng was not a reckless person, since he made such a decision, he had already planned it.

After all, they just reached an alliance in words, and they haven't trusted each other enough to tell each other their cards.

Yang Zongzhou was about to say goodbye and leave, but Xiao Yucheng called him back again, "Mr. Yang, I have another merciless request."

He suddenly felt a little dizzy, "Isn't it because you have some accomplices in the city? Didn't you tell me earlier?"

"I just want to ask the sheriff to send someone to take care of a family in the weaving and embroidery workshop, so that no one can hurt them."

After Xiao Yucheng finished speaking, Yang Zongzhou smiled in relief, "Brother Xiao, don't worry about such a trivial matter!"

"Since brother Xiao trusts you so much, I have some doubts in my heart. I don't know if I'm willing to solve the doubt." Yang Zongzhou suddenly felt that he could continue talking with Xiao Yucheng, so he asked tentatively: "Has your army arrived yet? Isn't it just outside the city of Hongdu?"

Xiao Yucheng didn't expect him to ask this, he hesitated for a moment, looked at Yang Zongzhou and said calmly: "Your Excellency, you should know that this is a military secret, you can't ask and you can't tell it!"

"I know, I know, I don't want to inquire about your military situation, I just want to borrow some soldiers from my brother, and you have also seen that I have completely torn faces with Jiujiang today, so I thought about taking this opportunity to take Hong If the capital is stable, it will be cheaper for His Majesty to use troops against Jiujiang in the future." After Yang Zongzhou explained, Xiao Yucheng nodded in agreement,

(End of this chapter)