The prince is more stable

Chapter 252: Die First
Great Song Dynasty, Yingtian Prefecture.

Yingtian Prefecture is not the Nanjing of later generations, but belongs to the Shangqiu area of ​​Henan Province. It is not far from Bianjing and is considered one of the important cities of the Song Dynasty.

In a mountain village outside Yingtian Prefecture, more than ten riders were riding slowly on a rugged and muddy country road.

The leader was wearing a black robe and a jade crown on his head. He was about thirty years old, with an ordinary appearance, bright eyes, and a capable look.

This man's name is Zhao Xin, and he is an officer under the Imperial City Administration.

As for the more than ten people behind Zhao Xin, one of them was a bailiff, and the rest were elite soldiers under the Imperial City Bureau.

Although Zhao Xin's surname was Zhao, he had no relationship with the royal family. He just happened to have the surname Zhao.

The guaya official was not a formal official, but a "clerk".

The official structure of the Song Dynasty was bloated and inefficient. The situation improved slightly after the Yuanfeng Reform, but there were still many officials in the Song Dynasty who were just sitting there doing nothing.

The people who really did things in the Song Dynasty still had to rely on these low-ranking clerks. To be honest, it was precisely because of these clerks that the Song Dynasty did not collapse so quickly.

Other petty officials may have no hope of promotion and just sit in their positions and muddle through, but clerks are different. They really have hope of promotion and can enter the officialdom without passing the imperial examination. However, they have to accumulate experience and work hard, and it will take at least more than ten years before they can get the official rank.

Of course, one must also have political achievements and merits to show for it. Otherwise, it would be too naive to think that one can become an official just by enduring a dozen years of work.

Zhao Xin was one of the thousands of clerks in the Song Dynasty.

If there were television interviews in this era, Zhao Xin would definitely shout at the top of his lungs, "My life motto is, as long as I survive, I'll work until I die! Serving the Song Dynasty and advancing my career!"

That's right, Zhao Xin is the most hardworking and diligent person in the Imperial City Bureau, and he is also the most hardworking. With the experience accumulated over the years, he is still a little bit away from obtaining a true official position.

A Jindan cultivator needs to advance to the Yuanying stage only to survive a tribulation and be struck by lightning.

The spring is bright and beautiful, and Zhao Xin is in a good mood.

Wei Jie said that if he did a good job on this mission and went out of the capital to deal with official business, he would report to the Ministry of Personnel when he returned to the capital. If nothing else, his position as an eighth-rank official would be secured.

Most people will never be able to reach the level of an official in their lifetime, but Zhao Xin is very close to becoming an official.

Just thinking about it makes me tremble with excitement.

Of course, the prerequisite is that the job must be done well.

Looking up, the mountain village in the distance is vaguely visible with houses of varying heights, and the target is not far away.

This address was obtained by Zhao Xin and his subordinates from the Imperial City Bureau after much hard work.

Liu Yao, the former Chief Inspector of Military Equipment, retired and returned to his hometown several years ago. The amazing thing is that after returning to his hometown, Liu Yao's entire family mysteriously disappeared without saying goodbye to anyone. They moved their family overnight and have been missing since then.

Zhao Xin found nothing in Liu Yao's hometown and was so anxious that he almost jumped into a well. Later, his subordinates gave him some advice: whether alive or dead, there must be a trace of the whole family, and it is impossible for them to move to another world out of thin air.

So Zhao Xin changed direction and began to look for Liu Yao's close and distant neighbors. Any neighbors, friends, and distant relatives who had contact with the Liu family were screened by the Imperial City Bureau.

Finally, outside the city of Yingtian Prefecture, the Imperial City Bureau found a distant relative of Liu Yao who was within the fifth degree of mourning. After a friendly interrogation, the distant relative confessed the current address of Liu Yao's family.

Right now, in a mountain village not far ahead.

Zhao Xin's mission today is to bring Liu Yao and his family back to the Imperial City of Bian Jing, so that the whole family can be reunited in front of Duke Zhao.

Once this matter is done, Zhao Xin's mission will be completed and he will be waiting for promotion.

As for the interrogation of Liu Yao, it was no longer his responsibility. That was the job of the shady killer Liu Dan in Bingjingwu.

"Boss, the village where Liu Yao lives is two miles ahead. Let's make a plan on how we should capture him." said a spy from the Imperial City Division.

Zhao Xin narrowed his eyes as he gazed at the outline of the barren mountain village in the distance. The corners of his mouth curled up. "Liu Yao is quite good at hiding, quietly moving to this desolate place... Ha!"

"A dozen of us will surround them first. Li Yashi and I will rush in and capture the man ourselves. Remember, Liu Yao's family members must not be spared, and they must be taken alive. The Duke of Zhao is counting on him."

More than ten riders responded and were about to split up and surround the village from four directions.

Who would have thought that on the country road in front of the mountain village, four riders were riding their horses at full speed. All four of them were wearing black clothes, and they were galloping on the muddy dirt road in the countryside.

Zhao Xin and others were stunned. It was rare to see people riding horses in that era. Only those who worked in the government or were wealthy families could afford to ride horses.

And at this moment, the four riders appeared so coincidentally outside the mountain village where the Imperial City Bureau happened to be doing business. How could Zhao Xin not be suspicious?
The two groups soon met on a narrow country road. The four riders were stunned when they saw Zhao Xin and others, and looked very surprised.

Zhao Xin's heart sank, and he suddenly shouted: "Catch him!"

With a clang, both sides drew their weapons. Without the usual nonsense that preceded the villain's death, the two groups charged forward with their weapons in hand, a fierce battle ensued. Over ten riders versus four, the outcome was essentially unassailable.

Zhao Xin was anxious about something else. Even as he was fighting with the enemy, he kept shouting, "Li Yasi, hurry to Liu Yao's house! Go quickly!"

Li Yasi immediately turned his horse around and rushed into the wheat field beside the country road, galloping towards Liu Yao's house.

When Zhao Xin turned around, he saw the four riders still fighting desperately. His eyes turned red and he looked like a madman, his emotions instantly ignited.

Zhao Xin drew his sword and chopped down one of the riders. He then rushed to the next one regardless of his life or death, and a slightly sad roar resounded through the sky.

"My dear official! You bastard, you are blocking my future. Die!"

…………

Two days later, in the main hall of the Bianjing Imperial City.

Zhao Xin's eyes were red and tears welled up in his eyes. He knelt in front of Zhao Xiaoqian with a look of helplessness and despair.

"I have failed the County Lord's trust and have let down my fellow officers in the Imperial City Division. I beg the County Lord to sentence me to death!"

Zhao Xiaoqian sighed and said, "It's not done well, but there's no point in taking someone's life. I'll just try harder next time."

Zhao Xin shook his head and said stubbornly, "No, please sentence me to death. I don't want to live anymore!"

Zhao Xiaoqian's eyelids twitched. He felt that the Imperial City Administration was like a mental hospital, and everyone's emotional state was not very stable.

There is Liu Dan in front and Zhao Xin behind. Can these guys really not stand setbacks?

"Not really, not really. Zhao Gouya, go home and rest for a few days. Come back to work after you have calmed down..." Zhao Xiaoqian comforted.

Zhao Xin closed his eyes, raised his head, and sighed tragically.

Wei Jie, standing beside him, finally couldn't help but say, "Don't try to persuade him, Lord. It's not because he messed up his job, but... He should have been promoted because he did a good job this time. He entered the Imperial City Bureau at the age of 18 and endured for more than ten years. Now, it's all gone to waste. If it were me, I wouldn't want to live either."

Zhao Xiaoqian: “…………”

My subordinates are a bunch of monsters!
"If you mess up this time, you can make up for it next time. Who are you showing off to?" Zhao Xiaoqian said coldly.

We can't tolerate their pretentiousness.

Zhao Xin is also a delicate character. He heard the impatience in Zhao Xiaoqian's tone, so he quickly returned to normal.

"You mean, he was killed before you arrived at Liu Yao's mansion?" Zhao Xiaoqian asked.

Zhao Xin nodded. "Yes, there were four murderers. We had intended to leave them alive, so we killed two and left two alive. But the other two had already decided to die, and seeing the situation was hopeless, they drew their swords and slashed their own throats. All four were dead."

Zhao Xiaoqian frowned. It was obvious that this was another death warrior, the kind who would die in front of him without saying a word.

Even if such people were left alive, I probably wouldn't gain anything from them.

"Where's Liu Yao? Is he dead too?"

"Yes, the other party was aiming to silence Liu Yao. Liu Yao's entire family has been killed. The officials and comrades were just one step too late, just one step..." Zhao Xin said sadly with his head down.

"Did you find any clues in his house?"

Zhao Xin's face finally showed some life and looked much rosier.

"Yes! When we arrived at Liu Yao's house, we found that Liu Yao had been stabbed in the heart, but he was not dead yet. Li Yasi had a few life-saving ginseng pills with him, and he fed Liu Yao one, which allowed him to breathe a little longer..."

Zhao Xiaoqian sat up straight and asked, "Did he leave any message?"

"Liu Yao uttered a single word, but he eventually died."

"What words?" Zhao Xiaoqian's eyes lit up. He finally felt that he was getting closer to the truth.

Zhao Xin hesitated for a moment and said, "He said the word 'Sui', but because of his accent, we still don't know whether he meant 'Sui', 'Sui', or 'Sui'..."

Zhao Xiaoqian and Wei Jie looked at each other in astonishment.

After a long pause, Wei Jie asked in astonishment, "What does this word mean?"

Zhao Xiaoqian was stunned for a moment, then hesitated and said, "Liu Yao means that he should die first as a sign of respect, and you can do whatever you want..."

(End of this chapter)