Zhurou

Chapter 115 Reining in
Zhao Mingzhi asked: "I don't know if there are any fields controlled by the military nearby? Can I go and have a look?"

"Yes, yes." Uncle Bie hesitated, "It's just that it's freezing cold, the fields are empty, and the grain has been harvested early, so there's nothing to see."

Zhao Mingzhi didn't go to enjoy the scenery, he said: "It's okay, if it's convenient, it's also good to take a walk around."

Uncle Bie hurriedly said: "Today I just go out for a stroll, so it's not inconvenient, but the place is a bit remote and there are not many people. It will take a few hours before we can see Qutian."

When he said this, he thought about it and said: "But there is also a large water tank next to it. Since the girl is interested, why don't you go and have a look?"

If it takes an hour to go, it will take half a day to go back and forth.

Zhao Mingzhi looked up at the sky, hesitant.

Uncle Bie is an old man, and he could hear the voices behind him when he was driving. Seeing Zhao Mingzhi now, he pretended to have a sore throat, coughed twice, and said, "It's getting late now. If you go on the main road, you won't know what time it will be if you go back and forth." When it gets dark and the road is difficult to walk, I'm afraid it will delay the return to the city, if the girl can bear a little bit, she can choose a small road, which should save half an hour—it's just a little bumpy."

No matter how bumpy it was, it was only for a while, and it was a carriage again, so Zhao Mingzhi was naturally not afraid.

She was still thinking about picking up people back home for dinner in front of the camp in Youshi, and knowing that as long as the detour can speed up a lot, there is nothing else to say, she nodded immediately, and finally said the hard work, and saw crowds of people on the bank of the river below, several queues , Thousands of people are walking quickly down the river bed.

The people who came were dressed uniformly, all in uniform colors, and at first glance they looked like battalion soldiers.

Everyone was far away, and they all shrunk into a small group, but they could still see that they were well-mannered, and they quickly completed the handover with the original people in the riverbed.

After the old people landed, they took a short rest and walked back in line.

This action, the newcomers took over, the old ones took over, took a break, and set off in line. The rough count of the number of people, at least thousands of people, took less than a quarter of an hour in total.

This is not a march, but just daily labor, and it can be done so quickly, which shows the laws of the Western Army.

Zhao Mingzhi looked at it for another quarter of an hour. She was a layman, and she inevitably felt a lot of confusion, so she asked Uncle Bie and Mu Xiang about what was convenient, and secretly asked about some things that were private in the army and feared being misunderstood. Make a note, and plan to meet Pei Yong at night and ask him again.

After finishing their work here, the three of them boarded the carriage again, and the guards in the back were divided into two sides, two or three rode ahead to clear the way, and the rest followed behind, and the group continued to move forward.

After walking for a few sticks of incense, the group made a big turn, turned in from the official road, and walked out of the road where there was no road. After walking for a while, they saw the hidden path ahead, but it was covered by snow. If it weren't for the slope in some places Larger and covered by mountains and forests, even the traces of the previous journey cannot be seen.

Uncle Bie didn't exaggerate, this trail is indeed a bit bumpy.

Zhao Mingzhi was dizzy from the shaking, and fell asleep on the small table. When he woke up again, he opened his eyes and saw Mu Xiang rubbing his temples with both hands, his face turned pale, obviously not feeling well.

She half stood up, stretched out her hand to lift aside the curtain, and opened the car window again, letting the outside wind blow into the car.

Mu Xiang noticed the movement here, hurriedly moved a few steps over, and asked, "Miss is awake? Why did you open the window so wide? But what's uncomfortable?"

Zhao Mingzhi shook his head and said, "I took the medicine at noon, and I slept well just now, and I didn't feel any discomfort."

He said again: "I see that your complexion is not very good, I thought about opening the window to give you some air."

Mu Xiang was taken aback for a moment, then looked up at the big window. Sure enough, although it was cold, but the cold wind blowing into the car compartment made her feel much more refreshed. Compared to just now, her forehead and temples did not twitch so much. It hurt.

Looking at Zhao Mingzhi, who had wrapped his face in cloth, folded his hands, and gave way to sit a few steps away from the cold wind blowing outside, Mu Xiang couldn't help feeling a little strange in his heart, and after a moment of silence, he said: "I'm not in the way." , it’s just that it’s windy outside, why don’t you cover it with the curtain? Otherwise, the wind is directly facing your head, and the girl will catch a cold carefully.”

Zhao Mingzhi smiled and said, "I was dizzy from sleeping, and a bit of cold wind is just refreshing."

She paused, and said: "I see that there is an empty horse in the back. If you feel uncomfortable, why don't you go out and ride the horse for a while to get some air? I don't have anything to do here. If something really happens, I'll just call you."

He sighed again: "Actually, if I could choose, I would rather ride a horse, but I'm afraid that if I don't use my strength for a while, the wound will not heal well."

Mu Xiang hesitated for a while, finally nodded and said: "Then I'll go out and follow the carriage for a while."

She immediately stopped the carriage and shared her thoughts with Uncle Bie.

All the people and horses stopped for a while, and someone led the new horse from behind.

Taking advantage of the time when the car was parked and the saddles of the new horses were changed, everyone also took a rest.

Zhao Mingzhi jumped out of the carriage to exercise his hands and feet, while the guards let their horses rest and scattered in all directions.

This place is a real wilderness, and even the road is hard to see. After running for a long time, there is not even a single pedestrian. Zhao Mingzhi stomped his feet, called Uncle Bie, and asked, "I don't know how much more we need to travel?"

He sighed again: "It's fortunate that you know such a barren road."

Even though it was just a simple sentence, Uncle Bie smiled and said: "I just rely on people to run a lot. In terms of knowing the way, I'm still the second master. As long as I walk by it once, he will remember it clearly."

"The last time he talked about this road, he only said that this place actually leads to Baqiao. I didn't realize it all at once, thinking he remembered it wrong..."

As he spoke, he pointed to a corner in the distance ahead, and said, "It's only when I got here that I remembered—it is indeed possible to pass through Baqiao..."

Zhao Mingzhi followed the prestige, and he didn't know if it was an illusion, but he heard the faint sound of horseshoes coming from that corner.

She has always been sensitive to five senses, so she asked: "How many people are passing by on that road? Why do I seem to hear movement on the other side?"

Uncle Bie said with a smile: "It's all trails, few people know them, and no one walks there on weekdays. How can there be any movement in this winter..."

Zhao Mingzhi turned his ears to listen, but said: "There is really someone."

She knew that her identities were different, so she didn't dare to be negligent, she turned her head and called Mu Xiang, pointed to the front, and said: "It seems that someone is coming from the front."

As soon as these words came out, the guards who were scattered around came back with a whimper, each got on their horses and formed a formation, surrounded Zhao Mingzhi and the carriage, and there were two riders and four horsemen holding something in their hands, holding a long A few, run back a distance.

But at this time, there were already two riders who were able to go forward to meet them first. While running, they turned their heads and waved at this place.

Uncle Bie was still smiling at first, but at this moment he became more cautious, and said to Zhao Mingzhi: "Girl, why don't you get in the car and sit for a while, there have been no bandits in Jingzhao Mansion for many years, if there are pedestrians, they are probably not caravans It's just that there is something wrong in the military mansion, only the second leader has explained it, and it's better to be careful when sailing for thousands of years."

As soon as he finished speaking, more than a dozen riders ran out from the corner in the distance. They were all fine horses, and their riders were dressed in different styles. Some wore felt, some wore cloaks, and some wore fur capes .

The one in front is the most ordinary one, dressed in strong clothes, looking around fifty, followed by the one wearing a felt hat and a felt cloak, the hat is so tightly covered that even with Zhao Mingzhi's eyesight, it is difficult to see clearly.

As soon as the hat-wearing man saw the two horsemen from Zhao Mingzhi's side coming up to meet him, and saw the horse-drawn carriage and the team, he immediately pulled the reins, but instead of moving forward, he stopped the leader first, and said something to the other party, before returning Turning around, he called out to the person behind him.

A voice soon came from the cavalry behind.

The group of unknown people reined in their horses back and forth, and each leaned on their bulging waists, all staring at the carriage.

Before Zhao Mingzhi got on the horse in the future, he felt a dozen eyes focused on him.

Those cold gazes were somewhat murderous.

She retreated subconsciously, while Mu Xiang hurried forward, Uncle Bie's expression changed, and he whistled immediately.

The guards at the back almost immediately gathered forward, covering Zhao Mingzhi completely, and the leading one lifted the spear in his hand and placed it across the horse's back in front of him.

There were tens of steps between the people on both sides, but none of them took the initiative to speak, and no one moved. The atmosphere was tense, as if the arrow was on the line.

Zhao Mingzhi had experienced quite a few scenes along the way. Seeing the murderous look on Yingying's body, Zhao Mingzhi was quite sure that this was no ordinary merchant, and he was not some bandit.

During the confrontation, the person leading the way on the opposite side suddenly turned around and returned to the queue.

He didn't know who he was looking for and what he said. Someone in the queue shouted a few words, and a group of people responded one after another.

Although everyone did not let go of their waists, they looked at Zhao Mingzhi and his party viciously, and slowly beat their horses to get out of the way.

Uncle Bie was not impulsive either, and with an order, several riders cleared the way, guarding the carriage and passing by the opposite team.

The trail was not wide at all, with mountains on one side and steep slopes on the other half. Zhao Mingzhi hid half of his body in the carriage and looked out through the window. When he was closest, he was no more than an arm's length away from the opposite horse.

The guards who came out today have no sharp weapons in their hands. Zhao and Pei have no identities to the outside world. In order not to violate the prohibition, the guards either carry wooden sticks or hold long spears. Even the leader only has a wooden spear. After a little cover up, some people still didn't cover it up, revealing what's underneath.

Zhao Mingzhi has excellent eyesight, but also pays attention, so he quickly identified it.

It is a machete.

Those blades were relatively uniform in style, and looked extremely long, even hanging down to the belly of the horse.

And after the first few riders, there were two more riders guarding a man in the queue. He was wearing a coat and a crane cloak. He wears several thick and large gold rings.

In addition, he was wearing a tall felt hat and a scarf around his face, revealing a pair of dark eyes, staring closely at the carriage.

The carriage was not big, and Zhao Mingzhi didn't close the windows, so it was easy to see from the inside, and not difficult to see in from the outside.

The man quickly took a panoramic view of the display in the carriage, saw Zhao Mingzhi again, looked at the wooden weapons in the hands of the front and rear guards again, pursed his lips, and stretched out his hand to call the guide back. Zhao Mingzhi and his party passed through.

Uncle Bie swung the whip in his hand very fast, and when he dragged the carriage into the road ahead, he didn't slow down, he just walked forward with all his might.

After running out of Xiaoerli Road, he could barely see anyone behind him, so he slowed down a bit, let the horse go, turned his head and said: "Miss Zhao, the group of people just now were all carrying prohibited weapons, and they were not officers and soldiers. It looks like a fan, and I don't know what the intention is. Do you think we should go back to the main road? It's only a quarter of an hour away now."

Zhao Mingzhi naturally obeyed, and asked again: "If it's inconvenient, you can turn around today, or safety is the priority."

Uncle Bie hurriedly said: "It doesn't matter, there is our bodyguard bureau not far from here, not to mention that the team just now has only a dozen people, it may not be better than ours, but there are too many people, let us call for people to come later Accept, it will only take a while to respond, the girl just rest assured."

The two were talking, when they heard someone shouting from behind: "Who is coming, and what are you doing here?"

Zhao Mingzhi turned his head when he heard the sound, and pushed open the back door on the side of the car, just as he saw a guard throwing the wooden gun in his hand far away.

The wooden spear was not bad in strength, but it was a pity that the spear head was not strong enough, it hit the mountain in front and fell, just in time to stop a rider who was chasing up from behind.

That rider turned around and ran back, but stopped again, turned around, stretched his neck and looked forward for a while, and finally left.

Uncle Bie had just signed the ticket, and he was provoked like this, and he didn't look very good, he immediately turned his head and shouted: "Let's send the letter, and bring someone over."

After hearing his words, a guard had already lit the fuze in his hand and held it up high. Soon, a sharp sound pierced the air and shot into the sky, bringing out a cloud of gray and black smoke in the daytime, which was particularly eye-catching in the sky.

Zhao Mingzhi counted and saw that three fuzes had been released in a row.

The group of people continued to move forward, and only ran for three or four miles. When they finally turned to the main road, they saw seven or eight horsemen and horses ahead.

This group of people is dressed like an ordinary rich family going out, one master, followed by six or seven guards.

It's just that when the guards heard the voice behind them, they all turned their heads and saw that there were strangers on the road, everyone showed nervous expressions, and the formation was also disordered. Even though it wasn't snowing, he was still wearing a hat.

When he saw Zhao Mingzhi and his party, he was the calmest. He stared at the carriage and the saddle for a while, then looked at the weapons held by the guards and what they were wearing on their bodies. He could see the word "Li Dart" on the saddle and the carriage, and then he stared at Zhao Mingzhi's clothes. , and finally stretched out his hand to support the headgear, and ordered a few words to his followers, but he didn't turn his head back, urging him to run away at a faster speed.

With Zhao Mingzhi's eyesight, it is difficult to see his face under the hat, but only a glimpse of the emerald ring finger on his right hand, which is transparent and diamond-shaped, and it is very valuable at first glance. Ordinary women are even fairer.

In addition, although the other party only has seven or eight riders, they are all good horses, and the appearance and height of each guard can be seen to be handpicked.

In the wilderness, two groups of people came across one after another. Although the directions were different, the numbers were similar. Even Zhao Mingzhi, who didn't like to inquire about people's private affairs, couldn't help but think too much.

After getting out of this trail, turn onto the main road, and sure enough, I saw the group of people heading towards Jingzhao Mansion just now.

With such an accident, the rest of the trip naturally ended in a hurry.

Zhao Mingzhi took a look at Juntian for a while, and took a look at the flowers again. When he saw the water tank, he turned around without further delay.

A group of people ran halfway, and a team of dozens of bodyguards came to pick them up, and the two teams formed a team and rushed towards the sergeant's garrison in the west of the city.

It was still noon when we went out, and it was already getting dark when we returned, and when we approached the barracks, the sun was setting and the sky was getting dark.

Uncle Bie drove the carriage to find a place, and stopped within a mile or two from the gate of the barracks.

Zhao Mingzhi got out of the carriage first, and was thinking about asking people to come in for questioning, but he heard the sound of horseshoes in front of him, and several horsemen galloped towards him. They didn't wear any thick robes, and even though they were riding on horses, two of them didn't have whips.

They ran so fast that they almost fell on their horses, and a few riders followed closely behind. Among them, the leading rider cursed and didn't know what language, and held a bow and arrow in his hand. While cursing, his bow was already full. , Soon, several arrows were shot out, some missed, and some flew past the person or horse in front of him.

Nobody in the front dared to look back, only one person shouted something out of their mouths, the people behind them became even more angry, and continued to curse, the arrows became denser and they shot randomly, they could no longer distinguish the front.

Zhao Mingzhi saw dozens of arrows coming towards him, and there were several arrows running towards him. He was startled, and was about to dodge when he heard a person in front of him yelling: "Tian Ying!"

The leading pursuer turned around cursing and daring to draw the bow in his hand, but before he could shoot the arrow, a heavy sound of piercing the air, wrapped in a black shadow, came towards him.

(End of this chapter)