Delong

Chapter 50

It is a very strange answer that the compass needle points to Funiu Mountain in the south.

Very very strange.

Because according to conventional thinking, the safest, most convenient, and most natural place for Han Shixiong to escape from Taolin Station must be Tongguan, where his uncle Han Yingong was stationed.

Tongguan is just over a dozen miles west of Taolinyi, not to mention the convenience of going there, it is still full of their old Han clan, and Han Yingong has always been recognized as a violent person, if he really hides inside, Han Yingong will Accepted, it's your turn to Bai Yousi to be intercepted and killed by the masters of the army in different levels, and even form an army array with the attribute of true energy to shoot a large area of ​​crossbow arrows, and then explode the inner alchemy.

In fact, this is why everyone regards this trip as daunting.

Of course, there is also a possibility that after Han Yingong or others rescued Han Shixiong, in order to avoid suspicion, they immediately sent him to the Xidu behind him or the Hedong area opposite the river... The former is the foundation of the Guanlong Great Clan. There are relatives and friends who are not afraid of death and are willing to protect people; the latter needless to say, after crossing the river, there will be a geographical dividing line, that is, to escape from the most core ruling area of ​​the imperial court, and run in all directions.

Even if people go to Dongdu, it is possible to have a dark place under the lights, and Dongdu is also convenient for Tibetans.

In short, according to the previous speculation, as long as Han Shixiong escaped deliberately, as long as there is a way to meet him, he should run in the other three directions.

"Is your compass accurate?" After a while, Bai Yousi made the most reasonable question.

"Never made a mistake." Under the lights, Zhang Xing answered seriously. "But there must be other explanations for this trip. It is absolutely impossible to just drill the mountain to bring people back..."

"I understand!" Bai You thought for a moment, then carefully asked with the long sword in his hand. "Why do you still use a compass yourself?"

"Because I didn't want to frame others for the family's private schemes, I let the inspector's half-brother-in-law go." Zhang Xing was expressionless. "But because of the great grace of the inspectorate, I had to report it, so I did that."

Bai Yousi was slightly taken aback, hesitating to speak, but after hesitating for a long time, he could only nod calmly: "Don't show your compass to other people in the inspection team, or you will bring trouble to those people... Tomorrow I will show you your compass." You cover up, let's search the mountains together!"

Zhang Xing nodded in agreement.

There was no words that night, but in the morning of the next day, Bai Yousi suddenly gathered the crowd and sent an order to search the mountains... This action naturally caused some turmoil. In fact, I already had a vague idea of ​​solving the problem in my heart, especially the two people I caught last night were obviously a breakthrough, and they disappeared.

In addition, searching for mountains is a technical task, and Funiu Mountain itself is also part of the Xiaoshan Mountains, with a vast area, so searching for mountains is very difficult.

But Bai Yousi insisted on such a guarantee, and everyone was helpless.

In the end, it's still the same sentence... Everyone's trip seems to be an official business, but in essence, they are still doing private affairs for the Bai family. The Lord has made up his mind, so what about them?
There are plenty of supplies here at Taolin Station, and there are some soldiers of the Jinwu Guard who escorted Han Shixiong before, officials of the Ministry of Justice, etc., and they happened to be used together... So a plan was made on the same day, and Hu Yan was invited to sit in Taolin Station. He was dispatched in the middle, and also dealt with official correspondence; Immediately, Bai Yousi led a team of elites, not many, six or seven people, including Zhang Xing, Qin Bao, and Li Qingchen, and scattered forward; Qian Tang led a team of backup , and then approached and followed... The three teams prepared their supplies and headed for the mountains.

On the surface, it is natural to take advantage of Bai Yousi's high mobility to pass information back and forth and contact everyone; in fact, it is just to take the opportunity to let Zhang Xing activate the compass and quickly lead to the target.

Sure enough, after entering the mountain for two days and using the compass three times, the scope was greatly narrowed, and Xia Xia gradually realized that this was not the imaginary search for the mountain, but a purposeful pursuit, because everyone was obviously running for the Funiu Mountains I went to a specific core area around the main peak.

This place is on the border between Hongnong County and Henan County to which Dongdu belongs.

And with the arrival of the third day, Zhang Xing used the compass again, and the mountain search team, led by Bai Yousi, entered a mountain road northwest of the main peak of Funiu Mountain, and they quickly discovered a large number of traces and suspicious points. There is no need for Zhang Xing to urge him to use some magical artifact in his hand.

Even the possible danger of this trip was revealed beyond doubt.

"There's a den of thieves in the mountains."

Bai Yousi obviously brought an unbelievable expression to report and explain to Zhang Xing. "Qin Bao found an abandoned village, where there were traces of many people staying overnight, and then I followed the traces in the village to find a road leading to a valley, and saw a den of thieves in the distance. The one that hangs a banner with the word "Yi"... the location of the den of thieves is exactly the same as your compass, it's just northwest of the main peak of Funiu Mountain."

"A person raised by Han Yingong?" Zhang Xing, who had worked hard all afternoon and was covered in dodder juice and green cocklebur, was this first reaction. "It is convenient for him to do things that are inconvenient for him in Tongguan? It happens to hide his nephew here too? Otherwise, Tongguan Road, the vital point between the eastern capital and the western capital, where are the bandits?"

However, as soon as Zhang Xing finished speaking, he shook his head again: "It's still wrong, this location is a little far away..."

"It's not calculated in this way. Although the distance is far, the place is very right. This place is between Hongnong and Henan County. If there is any change, you can go out of Dongdu, Tongguan, or turn to Hongnong, or even go to Hongnong. Go south to Nanyang." Bai Yousi had a different opinion. "And if this is the case, it also echoes your compass. There may be real military masters hidden in the bandit's lair, which is dangerous enough for you... But it doesn't matter, they are definitely not my opponents in the chaotic battle in the valley. Go in and find out the situation, you go to the deserted village with Qin Bao and the others, and then wait for the Qiantang brigade to arrive, and then follow up with the others."

Having been tricked by the compass so many times, Zhang Xing didn't think that things would go so smoothly, but this did not delay his hasty nodding, because as far as the current information was concerned, Bai Yousi's assignment was undoubtedly the most reasonable.

Make the most correct judgments and choices based on the known information, use the existing conditions to do your best, and finally get a foot in the door without pulling your hips.

In this way, after Bai Yousi left, Zhang Xing did not hesitate, but followed the whistle and Bai Yousi's instructions before walking, channeled his true energy to the direction of the deserted village, and quickly met Qin who was waiting here. Po and the other two join up.

Then he began to sit on the ground to prick the cocklebur and other various types of plants on his body, and waited peacefully for the large army led by Qian Tang.

"Brother Zhang."

Qin Bao, who came together, tacitly didn't mention what happened that night, but started a new topic. "This village is weird."

"what?"

Zhang Xing looked around and saw the barren village exposed at the foot of the mountain, the door collapsed, silent, and he was also curious. "Is there some old corpse soaked in the well?"

Of course, Qin Bao didn't understand the other party's joke, so he just shook his head seriously: "How could it be? The corpse is soaked in the well, and there are no shortage of wild beasts and fly maggots around. Abandoned, but not in fact all abandoned.”

Zhang Xing rolled the cocklebur he picked off into a ball and threw it out casually. He stood up and looked around. He also felt that there was something weird about it, but he didn't realize it for a while, so he could only look at Qin Bao again—he was in another world. When I was young, I did help with farm work briefly when I was a child, but when it comes to serious rural life in this world, Qin Bao must have more experience.

"Although some houses are dilapidated, they are actually quite clean inside." Qin Bao answered seriously. "The more obvious one is that I just climbed up the ridge over there to see that there are crops hidden in the valley behind, and they are well taken care of."

"I understand what you mean." Zhang Xing nodded, and then suddenly came to his senses. "You mean, the people in this village...the people in this village went to the bandit's den? Or those bandits evolved from the people in the surrounding villages themselves. Otherwise, how could they have the intention to plant crops nearby?"

"Correct."

"It's hard to say..." Zhang Xingruo thought. "what are you thinking?"

"I think that if this is the case, at least the combat power at the bandit's lair is not as strong as we imagined. At most, there are only a few elites, coordinating with more local villagers." Qin Bao took it seriously.

"That's the truth." Zhang Xing nodded, but suddenly asked back. "So, do you think the villagers abandoned the village on their own initiative or were they forced?"

Qin Bao was stunned for a moment, and immediately answered: "It's all possible... It may be the bandit's coercion, or it may be that his family went up the mountain, and sometimes, it's hard to tell whether it is voluntary or forced, and the common people are the most difficult time." of."

"Yes, I understand the truth." Zhang Xing nodded. "But I'm still a little dizzy. What's the specific reason? This is Taolin Station, Tongguan, the key point of the Eastern Capital and the Western Capital, and the hinterland of the imperial court... unexpectedly want to abandon the village? Is the tax heavy?"

"In the Eastern Realm, the taxes are hard to say, but they can't be said to be light either." Qin Bao replied earnestly. "Overall, it's still very tight, but our place is the old place of the Eastern Qi Dynasty after all, and it's possible for the court to be harsh on purpose... But here, as Brother Zhang San said, it's the heart of the court, the fundamental place, When the late emperor was there, he often cut taxes, so I think it’s corvée...Third brother, think about it, the conquest of Dongyi is the most exhausted in Hebei and our eastern border. What about the corvée in the eastern capital? When the eastern capital was built, every month There are millions of conscripts, where do they all come from? Nowadays Ziwei Palace and Xiyuan, and so many government offices, all require a large amount of corvee every month."

Zhang Xing was stunned for a moment, as if something had been erased from his heart, but at this moment he could only nod his head.

Because, while speaking, Qian Tang had already appeared in the field of vision with a large army, and according to the concern of the inspector, he might organize an attack soon.

PS: Thank you Master Baiyinmeng under the snowy moon, ┭┮﹏┭┮ I am very grateful... Then everyone, continue to have a happy New Year.

(End of this chapter)