Chapter 49
Baima County is adjacent to the State of Qi, and the terrain is flat. In recent months, it has not been peaceful. First, the King of Qi sent people to recruit troops. The county magistrate closed the city and defended himself. After it stabilized, the high-ranking officials sent by the imperial court to catch thieves came arrogantly—these people were no-ones in the capital, and they were high-ranking officials here.
The county magistrate was devastated, and was quite dissatisfied. He always felt that it was a great achievement to save the county seat, and it would be fine if he did not receive a reward. Instead, he had to accept the rounds of cross-examination by the swordsman, as if he had committed a serious crime. He really wanted to ask aloud: Qi Where were you when the army was broken?
The magistrate did not dare to speak, and even thought about it in the dead of night. Today, he especially wanted to greet a special guest with a smile on his face. This person is not an official, but a eunuch.
Just after noon, a group of people, about twenty or thirty people, came on the official road. There were no flags, and there was no drum music to clear the way. The speed was extremely fast. The clothes are indeed a team of eunuchs, and there may be some guards among them. The county magistrates who rarely enter Beijing cannot recognize them.
"So fast?" The county magistrate came out from under the roadside pergola that had just been built, and was quite surprised. He only received the official letter from his boss in the morning. He thought he was moving quickly. , fortunately come out to meet early, otherwise you will make a big mistake.
The county magistrate hurriedly sorted out the official uniforms, ordered his subordinates to line up quickly, waved his hand to the master to remove the tea in the shed, and must not let the imperial envoy think that he was just drinking tea here.
When the imperial envoy arrived, dozens of horses stopped abruptly, and the raised dust gradually spread and fell. The county magistrate did not dare to escape, and led the crowd to kneel in the dust, "White Horse County welcomes the imperial envoy..."
"No ceremony." Ma's voice was cold and arrogant, which was quite in line with the identity of the imperial envoy.
Yang Feng can't remember how many places he has been to. These days, he has been running around everywhere, in order to save time and get on the road as soon as possible, he only brought a dozen entourages.
He is chasing a person, in Yang Feng's eyes, this person is very important, even more important than the rebellious King Qi.
For this fugitive, Yang Feng had to give up the emperor temporarily. He still had an idea to see if the emperor could stand on his own in the palace and whether it was worth his efforts in the future.
"Are the archers ready?" Yang Feng asked while sitting on the horse. He didn't have time to deal with local officials.
The county magistrate was puzzled when he received this request, and did not dare to ask any further questions.
When Yang Feng saw it, he slapped his horse forward, followed by his entourage. Only one eunuch remained. He dismounted and showed the document to the magistrate, asking him to sign and seal it, and complete the required procedures as soon as possible. The magistrate was in a hurry. The gifts were all in the county seat, so I never imagined that the imperial envoy was impatient. The county magistrate's official seal was not around, so he had to order the master to fetch it immediately, thinking that this eunuch imperial eunuch was not here to fight the autumn wind, and he must have a lot of things to do.
More than a hundred county soldiers stood in line, and the ranks were uneven. Many of them were dressed the same as ordinary farmers. They had no armor, but they all held stiff bows in their hands. There were seven or eight arrows in their quiver. .
Yang Feng was not surprised. Wherever he went, most of the soldiers were like this, and all the decent soldiers were recruited and sent to the north to fight against the Huns with Taifu Cui Hong.
The county captain came hurriedly. He stayed with the magistrate and had no horse, so he fell behind. Facing the dust, he panted and said to the imperial envoy on the horse: "Shangshi...cough...These are...cough... Transferred from various townships... ahem... arrows, and some are coming, by tonight..."
"These people are enough." Yang Feng begged quickly and shouted to the county soldiers: "Everyone will try three arrows later, and those who are straight and steady up to eighty paces will be rewarded with five taels of silver."
The county soldiers, who were at a loss, suddenly became excited and cheered loudly.
Yang Feng didn't care, he was used to local randomness and chaos. Baima County was not bad. Several followers went to set up simple archery targets. Yang Feng asked the county captain, "Are you familiar with the local customs?"
The county lieutenant nodded again and again, "Familiar, the lower officials are people from this county, and they have been officials for more than 20 years. There is no local squire that I don't know."
Yang Feng drove his horse out a distance to make room for the county soldiers to shoot arrows, then stopped, and said to the county lieutenant who followed, "The person I want to inquire about is not a gentleman, but a hero."
"Hero... I don't know who it is?"
"You Zhao."
"You Zhao?" The county magistrate looked blank.
"That Zhao You who is known as Qianjinbi."
"Oh, the white horse Zhao Qianjin, of course I know him, why did I ask about him..."
Yang Feng keenly noticed a trace of panic in the eyes of the county magistrate, which was why he had to make a quick decision. Local officials and heroes were in contact with each other, and the news would be leaked one step later.
"You Zhao harbored the criminals, and I came to arrest them personally at the order of the emperor. Those who disobeyed will be annihilated, and those who reported the news will be punished by death."
The county lieutenant's face suddenly turned pale, "The people of Baima County are simple and honest, and no one dares to collude with the imperial prisoners... I'll go to dispatch some troops."
"No, these people are enough." Yang Feng looked at the county soldiers who were taking turns shooting arrows. Under the heavy reward, quite a few shot far and straight, and he didn't care whether they could hit the target.
The county magistrate's face was blushing, and he finally had the courage to say: "The superior may have no idea, Zhao friends call it 'a thousand gold jade', which means that his arms have a thousand jins of strength, not a jade of a thousand gold, he wants to be arty It was changed to 'Bi Yu Zhi Bi'."
"I've heard of it." Yang Feng had already figured out the details of Zhao You.
The county captain was even more panicked, "Not only is Zhao Qianjin extremely powerful, he also has a group of brothers who are used to wielding knives and swords. This...this...it's not easy to deal with."
"Jianghu Kungfu is nothing to be afraid of, as long as you obey the orders."
"Listen, even if the lower official has a hundred courage, he will not dare to violate the order."
Yang Feng hummed indifferently, waited for a while, and said, "If you can catch the convicted prisoner that Zhao You harbored, you will be rewarded with at least one thousand taels of silver for one great merit. ."
The county lieutenant immediately smiled brightly. Originally, he was a little hesitant, but now even if he went to arrest his own brother, he would not care.
The test-fire ended quickly, barely able to gather 60 qualified soldiers, and the eunuchs immediately distributed the bounty, five taels per person.
There were 26 people in Yang Feng and his party, but there were 40 horses. One of them was given to the county lieutenant, and he was ordered to lead the way to round up the hero of Baima County, Zhao You, but for the time being, he did not tell the county soldiers where he was going.
The imperial envoy took the soldiers away, and the county magistrate stood on the side of the road, holding the official document and looking into the distance, unable to figure out what was going on, and did not dare to leave.
Zhao You’s house was in a village seven or eight miles outside the city. The county captain was familiar with the door and the road, and he didn’t go around at all. After seeing the manor, Yang Feng stopped and waited for the county soldiers behind to catch up.
The county captain said, "There are too few soldiers to surround the manor. It is better to let the lower officials enter the manor alone and persuade Zhao You to surrender and hand over the prisoners, which will save trouble."
"No, you lead your troops to form a formation in front of the main gate, obey my order, just shoot in salvos, and you don't need to worry about other things."
Yang Feng turned his head and indicated that most of the entourage dismounted and set off in batches, guarding the four corners of the manor, and only six people were left to protect the permanent attendant.
The county magistrate didn't dare to interject any more, he vaguely felt that this imperial envoy was different. Although he was an eunuch in the palace, he seemed to be very familiar with the affairs of the rivers and lakes.
The county soldiers followed and stood in two rows in front of the main gate, bending bows and arrows. The village had already noticed something abnormal, the gate was closed, and occasionally people probed, and they quickly retracted.
The county lieutenant was eager to make meritorious deeds, and after obtaining the permission of the imperial commissioner, he urged the horse to step forward and shouted loudly, "Zhao Qianjin, you have committed a crime! Quickly surrender, hand over the imperial prisoner, or you may be spared from death, otherwise... oops."
A figure flashed on the wall of the manor, the county captain held his head, turned his horse's head and ran back, covering his face with one hand, blood flowing from his fingers, "The thief used a hidden weapon."
Not only did the thieves use hidden weapons, but the gate of the manor suddenly opened, and more than a dozen people rushed out wielding knives and guns, shouting from their mouths. Each held a large hammer and shouted angrily, "Whoever stands in my way will die!"
Zhao Qianjin was quite well-known in Baima County, and even the county magistrate was afraid of him.
Yang Feng didn't care. He came here only after he got the exact news. Knowing that there were not many people in the village, he didn't want to compete with these desperados. He immediately ordered: "Bend the bow."
The imperial envoy supervised, and just received the reward silver, the county soldiers did not dare to retreat even if they were afraid, and immediately pulled the bowstring and waited for the order to launch.
Yang Feng watched Zhao You and the others rush forward with their teeth and claws, and they were already within 80 steps, and they refused to give an order.
A county soldier was too nervous. He released his hand and let out an arrow. He missed the target and flew over the enemy's head.
Yang Feng shouted, "Stop! Stand by!"
More than a dozen heroes of the arena were getting closer and closer. One of them kept waving his hand, throwing a flying knife, and the hidden weapon shot in front of Yang Feng was stopped by the accompanying guards. The county soldiers did not receive such good treatment. screamed.
Yang Feng still didn't give the order, and the county lieutenant turned pale again with fright.
Only 40 steps away, the dragon pattern on Zhao Qianjin's body can be clearly seen, Yang Feng finally shouted: "Release the arrow!"
Fifty or so arrows were fired in response. At this time, the accuracy of the head was not important. The arrows were like rain. Seven or eight people were shot down in an instant. The remaining six people were stunned for a while. Dance faster and keep going forward.
"Bend the bow! Shoot the arrows!" Yang Feng's second round of orders was fast, and the county soldiers could hardly keep up. Only more than 30 people shot arrows in time, but it was enough. The escapees were also shot by arrows, and they ran out not long before they met the imperial guards in ambush, and they were all killed with a knife.
The entire roundup process took less than two quarters of an hour, and only the county lieutenant and two soldiers were injured.
The guards brought by Yang Feng had already climbed over the wall and entered the village. Not long after, they rushed out of the gate with a knife and dragged a man.
The county magistrate was very curious about what kind of imperial envoy would allow the palace to send someone to hunt him down. At first glance, the man with wide robes and big sleeves did not look like a desperado or a local.
Yang Feng jumped off his horse, walked to the prisoner, stared at him for a while, and said, "You are not Chunyu Xiao."
The prisoner laughed, "The teacher is so powerful, you will never catch him!"
Yang Feng was very disappointed, a guard raised his knife and dropped the prisoner's head.
The county lieutenant was startled again, and was about to order the county soldiers to enter the village to search for the prisoner, when a hero shot by an arrow said loudly, "I know where Chunyu Xiao is, I know, save me!"
Yang Feng walked over and looked down at the terrified face, "Where?"
"help me……"
"Speak up and spare your life."
"I-I overheard them talking, Chunyu Xiao has sneaked into the capital, saying that there... there is a new emperor rising there."
Yang Feng was shocked and suddenly realized that he had been fooled.
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