Lin Gao Qiming

Chapter 2702 The Capital (58)

Liao Sanniang packed up, pointed to a wild and open high slope beside the road, waved to old Feng, and said, "Uncle Feng, bring that thief up to the high slope to keep an eye on us."

After finishing speaking, he climbed up first and hid behind a boulder with grass growing on it.

Lao Feng and a fellow dragged the big man up the slope with his hands. They hid behind the stones. Lao Feng grabbed the man's neck hard, pressed him to the ground, and said viciously: "If you know something, you rascal , point out your partner's hiding place clearly, and I will spare your life. The master's eyes are shining brightly, so don't try to trick me. If you dare to believe in nonsense, I have a lot of tricks, and I just want everything. It will fall on you, and let you know that the master is the current Five Sages and the present King of Hades."

The big man was clutching his blood-stained crotch, trembling with pain. He had already been bluffed out of his wits by Lao Feng, so he didn't dare to shout, but with a sad face, he lay down next to the stone with Liao Sanniang and Lao Feng, and pushed aside. Grass, poke your head out from among the branches and leaves to look around.

The man pointed to the road in front of the corner, and said: "Because there is a fork in the road, my companion should pass the news to and fro, and when he finally left, I heard him say that the leader of my family was lying in ambush on that road in order to rob the gentlemen, but he didn't know. Which section of the road is hidden, the villain is honest, and I dare not hide it from the master."

Liao Sanniang was lying on the side listening carefully, and asked from the side, "Where did you come from?"

The man replied: "We are in the same direction as the masters, just one step ahead. Xiaodi and others don't commit crimes in this area, but this time I am stupid, and the incompatibility has provoked the master."

Liao Sanniang nodded, and asked again: "Do you usually take the main road or the small road? Is this road frequent?"

The man said: "This is not certain. Dozens of people with knives and guns walking in a group is really eye-catching, but if they travel separately, it is difficult to adjust and gather together. It is always late and nothing can be done. When there is no one on the road, take the main road. On the road When there are many people, avoid taking the small road, and if there are few people, they will rob them. This road is not a commercial road, and sometimes there is no customer for several days."

Liao Sanniang nodded, expressing her full understanding of the situation. For the Ming deserters and bandits who had no sense of organization and time, the almost non-existent military discipline made it difficult for them to regroup in time once they were disbanded. people may never return.

Liao Sanniang asked a few more questions, and wrote them down on the notebook with the end of a pencil. Seeing that the man couldn't say anything, she just nodded and motioned for Lao Feng to take the man down.

When the others retreated, Liao Sanniang set up a shelter and carefully observed the forest area where the enemy was ambushing, already thinking about it.

The trees on both sides of this road are uneven, which is only good for hiding, not good for walking. In order to ensure the speed of travel, the thieves try to take more official roads and less wild places.

If you approach from the main road, the enemy is dark and you are clear, and if you go forward rashly, you may be exposed. The enemy is in front of you, and it is like throwing a sheep at a tiger.

Liao Sanniang planned in her heart, preparing to go into the jungle at the bend of the road, and with the cover of vegetation, she could go around and covertly meet the enemy from behind.

The Jingshi Station has carried out "surveying and mapping" inside and outside the capital for many years, drawing maps.Although I can't say how detailed it is, there are rough maps of most areas inside and outside the city.Important landmarks such as hills, roads, villages, temples, rivers, wells, and large tombs are clearly marked.It has brought great convenience to their field hunting.

After deciding on the starting location and route, Liao Sanniang drew a few strokes on the map to aid in memory.

Liao Sanniang came down from the high slope, found Liu Chang and Zhao Liangjian, and explained to them: "Brother Zhao, after I go to have a cigarette, you start off, escort the car slowly, walk to the middle of the road, wait for the car and horse, shout loudly, As previously discussed."

Zhao Liangjian nodded in agreement, and said: "Third Lady, if you have no bottom in your heart, or if you can't find the culprit, you will retreat, and you must not take risks lightly."

Liao Sanniang said with a smile: "Naturally, I am not a young boy who has just debuted. In the world, good fighters are not ashamed to leave, and the green hills are left behind. How can I do such vindictive things."

Liu Chang didn't talk much, he just cupped his fists beside him and said, "Be careful."

Several people have made a plan, and Liao Sanniang leads the little Bazi and goes down the road.

The two walked along the road to the bend of the road. There was no one to rest the road for a long time.

Liao Sanniang walked slowly forward under the shoulder of the road, her eyes kept switching between the ground and the front of the road.

Suddenly Liao Sanniang stopped and squatted down.

Seeing Liao Sanniang stop, Xiao Bazi, who was a few steps behind, squatted down immediately, clasped the slingshot in his hand, and looked around vigilantly.

The traces on the road were intricate, and many traces were incomplete, but the mess in the middle of the road immediately attracted Liao Sanniang's attention.

The traces were mixed together and disordered, only some messy lines could be vaguely discerned.

Liao Sanniang leaned down and recognized a relatively complete half arc from the mess. She compared it with her hands and concluded that it was the footprint of half an eight-lap hemp shoe.

Although there is only half of the arc-shaped trace, it is very clear. The wind and sand in the Northland are heavy. If the time is longer, the footprints will become blurred or covered by the wind and sand. Such clear footprints will not last more than half a day.

The footprints were cut off from the middle by a horizontal trace, which was the footprints of another person. The footprints of many people overlapped, stepped on, and staggered, making it difficult to keep the complete footprints. This complex trace of walking shows that this group of people not only has no formation, and most likely wandered here briefly.

This road is rarely traveled by people, and there are fewer people in groups. A group of 30 people will inevitably leave traces. There will be more clues on the way when they come, but it is impossible to go back at this moment.

Liao Sanniang's eyes moved to the road shoulder ahead, where the traces diverged left and right, one was thicker and the other was thinner.

Liao Sanniang suddenly thought that the thief might be watching by her side at this moment. Thinking of this, her body became stiff, and even her blood seemed to freeze instantly.But she immediately changed her mind, if the enemy set up an ambush here, she would not allow her to investigate calmly, but just to scare herself, she let out a breath, and her body softened again, but under the sudden relaxation and tightening, her forehead was already A dense layer of cold sweat oozes out.

Liao Sanniang's heart beat violently a few times, and she took several deep breaths in a row, finally calming down the turbulent emotions.

Liao Sanniang kept her mind steady and followed the one with fewer footprints. Looking from her toes, those people stepped off the shoulder of the road and entered the bushes. Normal pedestrians obviously would not abandon the road.

Liao Sanniang stretched out her fingers to pick up a pinch of soil on the road shoulder, and rubbed it between her fingertips. The soil is soft and slightly damp, which will make the traces last longer.

Liao Sanniang speculated that more traces would be found under the shoulder of the road, and sure enough, a clear and complete footprint was found not far away.

She found a branch from her side as a reference, compared the length of the footprints, and then cut off the excess to get a more accurate length of the footprints.This branch can be used to measure fuzzy and incomplete footprints to determine whether they are footprints of the same person, and to use this as a benchmark to estimate the person's stride and walking distance.

She took the first knuckle of her index finger as a scale and measured it. The footprint is about 8 inches, and one inch is 3.2 centimeters. The length of the footprint is multiplied by 6.8, and the height can be roughly calculated. The man is about 1.74 meters, which is about the height of ordinary people. The limited medieval society can be said to be a strong man.

This measurement method is not necessarily very precise, but it is good enough for a casual estimate.

The so-called eight-foot and nine-foot men were mostly exaggerated by the ancients and should not be used as a practical reference.

Judging from the footprints, this person's feet are outstretched, which indicates that he is an outsider. The forefoot and heel of the footprints are well-proportioned and steady, and the footprints are clear.Footprints The widest part of the feet is more than two feet. The long strides indicate a young man with a strong physique.

Going forward, the vegetation increases, and there are more and more traces left along the road, weeds that were trampled, grass stems that were scraped off while walking, small stones that were trampled over, and more footprints of different people. Further on, there are dead branches that were cut off by swords when the road was opened. The stubble of the broken stems is very fresh, indicating that the time is not long.

Liao Sanniang frowned, walking in disarray, these people acted too rough.

Judging from the number and types of footprints, there were at least seven or eight people in this team, roughly consistent with the number of people confessed by the captured man.

All footprints are all pointing forward.

At this time, Liao Sanniang had preliminarily determined that it was the gang of thieves.

Liao Sanniang stopped, she was a little puzzled, why did the thief enter the forest early at the bend of the road?

After thinking about it for a moment, she suddenly remembered that she met a group of officials from the Yamen on the road. She wondered if external pressure forced these scissors to hide in advance.

Liao Sanniang immediately shook her head, to get rid of the unnecessary troubles. She didn't need to know the reason. No matter what the reason was, it was a good thing for her, and it saved her time to find the enemy.

Liao Sanniang immediately changed her previous detour strategy and followed the clues at hand, but this increased the possibility of her encountering the enemy, and she had to be more careful.

Liao Sanniang turned around and whispered a few words to Little Bazi, and the distance between the two was three steps.

Liao Sanniang arched her body, and her steps were very light. When she walked, her heels touched the ground first, and then the soles of her feet were pressed softly. In this way, the sound of walking was quieter than that of the soles of her feet on the ground, and it was more stable than that of her toes. She looks like a sensitive tanuki,

Liao Sanniang's combat uniform is tights, which can reduce scratches.The texture is cotton. Although the fabric is not durable, it is soft enough to fit the skin and has good stretchability. It will not make a lot of noise after being soaked in water. Unlike the canvas hunting suits sold in Lingao, although it is durable and durable, it will not move when it is wet. It will make a clicking sound, which is not conducive to hiding.

Liao Sanniang never uses any cosmetics when she is on a mission. The wind will spread the strong smell to every corner of the downwind. Although the smell of sweat and body odor is unavoidable, to minimize the artificial smell, she needs to try her best to integrate into nature, and when necessary, she needs to transform into a An invisible ghost.

(End of this chapter)