mountain and river oath

In the middle of the night, Zhao Jing heard some soldiers with lanterns calling their names. Shu Zilan and Zhao Jing looked at each other, but there was no news of rescue on their faces. They looked at each other warily. Zhao Jing looked at the dense forest behind him. , Shu Zilan nodded, the two extinguished the firewood, and hid quietly behind the dense forest. The light of the torch was getting closer and closer, and the two carefully observed the people who came to search and rescue.

"Your Highness, Young Master Shu"

When he heard Zhang Jun's familiar voice, Zhao Jing followed Shu Zilan out from behind the dense forest.

"Your Highness, Mr. Shu." Zhang Jun looked at the two of them happily.

"It's great that you're all right." Tears welled up in Zhang Jun's eyes.

Zhao Jing was touched, and reached out to pat Zhang Jun on the shoulder. Zhang Jun gradually calmed down his excitement,

"Let's go back," Zhao Jing said.

"Okay" Zhang Jun said.

"Where are we going?" Shu Zilan looked at Zhao Jing and asked.

"Red City" Zhao Jing said.

"Well, the Yongjia River in the Red City broke its embankment, so it makes sense for us to be in the Red City," Shu Zilan said.

"Yes, when we go back this time, Duan Zhenli will definitely find ways to deal with us. We must avoid him, find ways to delay time, and look for opportunities to counterattack." Zhao Jing said.

"I don't know how Duan Zhenli will deal with us?" Shu Zilan said.

"I don't know, let's go back," Zhao Jing said.

A group of people returned to Hongcheng in the dark and stayed at the county government office.

And in Rongyang magistrate's government office, Duan Zhenli was sitting on the couch, opposite to him was the government office master, both of them looked serious.

"The sixth prince and Shu Zilan have been found," Duan Zhenli said.

"How come, aren't they dead?" The master asked in surprise. They took advantage of Zhao Jing's busy relief efforts and secretly hollowed out the ground on both sides of the river. I thought of everything, but I didn't expect that they didn't die.

"Now they live in the Hongcheng County Government Office under the pretext that the Hongcheng River broke its embankment," Duan Zhenli said.

"It seems that they guessed that we did it, and they have already started to take precautions. What should we do?" the master asked in fear.

"What are you afraid of?" Duan Zhenli scolded.

The master shrank slightly and said, "This is a capital crime."

Duan Zhenli despised the master for being timid and fearful. "We are already doomed, why not seek survival in danger," Duan Zhenli said.

"How to find life?" the master said.

"The Yongjia River broke its embankment and Meng Qinghe's rescue was not good. Meng Qinghe felt ashamed of the elders in Hongcheng, and committed suicide to apologize. The biggest reason this time is that King Jing's command was improper and the employment was unknown. King Jing should be responsible to the people of Hongcheng. , spread the news tomorrow," Duan Zhenli said.

"Yes, just?" The master looked at Duan Zhenli in embarrassment.

"What's wrong?" Duan Zhenli said.

"Meng Qinghe served as the county magistrate of Hongcheng for five years. He was an upright official and cared for the people. He was loved by the people in Hongcheng. Besides, how could Meng Qinghe commit suicide?" said the master.

"Meng Qinghe is a clean official, but now that the Yongjia River in the Red City has burst its embankment, how many people have been displaced and how many acres of land have been destroyed. You sent people to kill Meng Qinghe, and said to the outside world that Meng Qinghe felt ashamed of the people in the Red City, and died to the Red City. The people of the city apologize”

"Your subordinate will do it now," the master said, turning around to go out.

"Wait" Duan Zhenli looked at the master and said.

Master turned to look at Duan Zhenli.

"Turn those people over, it's time for those people to show their skills." Duan Zhenli had a sinister smile on his lips.

"My lord," the master said in horror.

"Now we can only do this. They and us must die. Either they or us. Do you want us to die?" Duan Zhenli said.

The master looked at Duan Zhenli and couldn't believe it. Duan Zhenli was so crazy, but they were in the same boat, one was prosperous and the other was damaged.

"These two people, one is the sixth prince, and the other is a confidant of King Yu. Killing these two people is to clear the way for the prince. When the time comes, I will ask the prince to try to save us. If not, we will It is worthwhile to have these two people buried with you when you die," Duan Zhenli said.

"Okay" the master turned and walked out.

Zhao Jing and his party returned to the Red City in the dark. It was already the third watch. When they returned, a servant came up to serve him attentively, bringing bath water and clean clothes. Not open, the servant dried her hair and retreated, Shu Zilan fell into a deep sleep.

Zhao Jing called Zhang Jun and said, "Send a letter to Lianqiao, asking her to investigate Duan Zhenli, and give me the news within two days."

"Yes" Zhang Jun leaned over and replied.

"Transfer half of the staff from Swallow Building to Red City," Zhao Jing said.

"Your Highness, Mr. Shu is a member of King Yu. If he knows, it means that King Yu knows, and our hidden cards will be fully exposed." Zhang Jun disagreed.

"Now I can't take care of that much anymore. Duan Zhenli is a local snake. He has been operating in Rongyang for many years and has great influence. We don't have a single soldier in Rongyang. If we don't mobilize the power of Yanzilou, how can we protect ourselves, let alone how to protect ourselves in Rongyang?" To take the lead in this situation, we must invest more people to control the situation, Duan Zhenli is related to the overall situation," Zhao Jing said.

"The Rongyang garrison can be mobilized," Zhang Jun said.

"Fool, I can mobilize him for disaster relief, but I must not hand over my wealth and life to him," Zhao Jing said.

Zhang Jun wanted to say something else, but Zhao Jing interrupted, "Let's do it, Mr. Shu, I will find a way."

Zhang Jun walked out.

Zhao Jing was still sleeping, but he heard the noise outside the door. He couldn't sleep, and got up in his underwear. Wang Lu saw Zhao Jing get up, and hurried in, holding a water basin towel, and said, "Your Highness, why don't you sleep for a while?" gone?"

"What happened outside the door?" Zhao Jing asked.

"The people of Rongyang didn't know where they knew that His Highness lived in the Hongcheng county government office. They came to the county government office early this morning and shouted that it was His Highness's fault that the red city's embankment broke," Wang Lu said cautiously.

"Oh..." Zhao Jing had a calm face, without any anxiety, and washed his face slowly.

"Let's go have breakfast," Zhao Jing said to Wang Lu after washing his face.

Wang Lu followed Zhao Jing carefully, not daring to speak.

Zhao Jing walked in, looked up and saw Shu Zilan had arrived at some time, sitting in front of the table, with Shu Ting, his bodyguard, beside him.

"Coming" Shu Zilan said.

"En." Zhao Jing sat down, and the servant brought over exquisite dishes. The two of them ate quietly without saying a word.

"Your Highness, it's not good, Hongcheng County Magistrate Meng Qinghe committed suicide." Zhang Jun walked in in a panic and said.

"What are you panicking?" Zhao Jing looked at Zhang Jun dissatisfied, and Zhang Jun's nervous mood calmed down instantly.

Shu Zilan ate slowly, looked up at Zhao Jing, the two looked at each other, Zhao Jing put down his chopsticks, and said, "It seems that today's breakfast is uneasy."

Shu Zilan rinsed her mouth with the tea offered by the servant, picked up a satin towel and wiped her hands carefully, the servant handed over a cup of fragrant tea, Shu Zilan took it, and slowly sipped it.

"Your Highness, Mr. Shu, it's not good. The people heard that the magistrate of Hongcheng had died, and they were agitated. The guards guarding the gate were about to lose their guard," a guard ran in.

"Understood, you go down," Zhao Jing said.

Shu Zilan looked at the servants serving beside her, and the servants stepped back tactfully,

"Go outside and watch the door, don't let anyone approach," Zhao Jing said.

"Yes" Zhang Jun went out, Shu Zilan looked at Shu Ting, Shu Ting understood, and followed Zhang Jun out.

"It turns out that Duan Zhenli used such a move," Shu Zilan said.

"Forcing Meng Qinghe to death, spreading rumors, passing on responsibility, and fooling innocent people, Duan Zhenli is really hateful," said Zhao Jing.

"For the present plan, we must break his situation," Shu Zilan said.

"How?" Zhao Jing said.

"The rumors are raging. It looks like a murder weapon, but as long as it is used properly, this weapon may be used by us to turn the whole situation around." Shu Zilan said with a smile.

Zhao Jing laughed, "Everything is up to Rong Qing."

"Meng Qinghe's suicide must be caused by Duan Zhenli. The purpose is to shirk responsibility and put all the responsibility for the Yongjia River's embankment on Meng Qinghe. Anyway, Meng Qinghe died, and there is no evidence for his death. Love the people like a child, and are deeply loved by the people. Now the people in the city are crowded at the gate of the county government. On the one hand, it is because of the Yongjia River breaking the embankment, and partly because they think you killed Meng Qinghe." Shu Zilan looked at Zhao Jingdao "Now, on the one hand, we need to secretly send people to find out the real cause of Meng Qinghe's death. At the same time, we need to check the accounts books of the past years in the county government office, and use real evidence to prove that the real reason for the Yongjia River's embankment breach was due to years of disrepair and flood discharge capacity. Insufficient, and the chief culprit of all this is Duan Zhenli. In the end, we sent people to secretly search for Duan Zhenli's criminal facts. It takes time to do these things, and right now, the people are asking for explanations outside the door. The first thing we have to do is to appease the people. On the one hand, we mobilize the yamen servants to guard the county government. On the other hand, let the leaders of the riots come in, and we discuss with them Countermeasures, if they have any demands, we try our best to satisfy them. In order to prevent the common people from having accidents outside the door, we can find a prestigious squire in the county seat, open the porridge shed, and put some quilts for the common people to spend the night. Treat both symptoms and root causes, and they will naturally disperse after a while," Shu Zilan said with eloquence.

Zhao Jing was excited when he heard it, and praised him again and again in his heart. Shu Zilan is such a talented person, but it's a pity that he is not his person, "Good plan, good plan" Zhao Jing said.

Seeing Zhao Jing's excited eyes sparkle, Shu Zilan felt happy. It seemed that Zhao Jing appreciated her opinion very much.

"I'll arrange people to do it right now, Zhang Jun and Shu Ting," Zhao Jing said.

Two people walked in from the door.

"Shu Ting, you go to investigate the cause of Meng Qinghe's death, Zhang Jun, you go to investigate Duan Zhenli's criminal evidence," Zhao Jing said.

"Yes" said the two.

"Remember to act in secret at this time, and don't startle the snake by surprise," Shu Zilan instructed.

"Yes" said the two.

The two retreated.

"Call the county magistrate over here," Zhao Jing said.

"Yes" Wang Lu walked in and said.

After a while, the master of Hongcheng County came over,

"Go and invite the prestigious squire from the city, the county government will pay for it, and he will set up a porridge shed outside the county government to help these disaster victims," ​​Zhao Jing said.

"Your Highness, these rioters are not worthy of His Highness's trouble to take care of them. Send a few yamen servants, arrest them and throw them into the prison. After a few days, they will be honest." The master said disapprovingly.

"Bastard" Zhao Jing felt uncomfortable when he heard it. As a local official, he said such a thing, which shows how they treat the people.

"Yes" the master saw that Zhao Jing was angry, he didn't dare to say anything, and stepped back in a calm manner.

"Wang Lu, go and prepare 100 quilts, send them out at night, let these common people cover them, and tell them to be careful not to catch a cold," Zhao Jing said.

"Yes" Wang Lu turned around and retreated.

Zhao Jing then ordered the guards at the gate to increase vigilance, but not to conflict with the people. If the people yell and beat, they can only be stopped, and the situation cannot be further aggravated. Get up, the guard leads the order to retreat.

Zhao Jing ordered all the things, he sat up and stretched, looked at Shu Zilan and said, "It's all bad things."

Shu Zilan said, "This is a dragon's pond and a tiger's den"

"But with Rong Qing here to accompany me, even if it's a dragon's lake and a tiger's den, I can solve it easily," Zhao Jing joked.

Shu Zilan smiled.

"Let's go for a walk in the yard," Zhao Jing said.

"Okay" Shu Zilan said.

The two of them walked out. After several days of cloudy and rainy days, the weather in Hongcheng finally cleared up. The sky was clear, and a few white clouds floated lazily in the sky. The warm breeze blew in, and the pagoda trees on both sides of the path fell rustlingly. , small yellow flowers fell on Shu Zilan's white clothes and hair, Zhao Jing reached out and patted the small flowers off Shu Zilan's shoulders.Shu Zilan stopped, glanced at Zhao Jing, Zhao Jing pretended not to see, and continued to walk ahead, this wide path was lined with thick pagoda trees, covering the sky with dense shade, and the wind wafted the flowers of pagoda trees. The fragrance is refreshing, and the two of them walked slowly on this path, feeling relaxed and comfortable after a long absence.

Suddenly there was a chilling smell in the wind, a sharp blade pierced the air, Zhao Jing hurriedly blocked the sword, a few black-clothed assassins suddenly appeared on the road, Zhao Jing and Shu Zilan looked at each other, each dealt with the assassins around them , the assassin's moves are fierce, they only attack but not defend, they are injured everywhere, and they still attack desperately. Zhao Jing and Shu Zilan respectively think that these assassins are not easy. Zhao Jing's moves have become sharper. , the assassin took the opportunity to move forward, Zhao Jing put a sword on the assassin's neck, oozing blood, the assassin desperately attacked regardless of his own injury, Zhao Jing had no choice but to stab the blade horizontally, the assassin fell softly, Shu Zilan dealt with it After picking up an assassin, the two of them stopped fighting separately and gathered together, back to back, watching the surrounding assassins vigilantly, frowning, they turned around, and saw in each other's eyes that the situation was serious, these assassins were unusual.

The assassin continued to attack, it was a completely desperate style of play, Zhao Jing and Shu Zilan didn't care about staying alive, they made fierce moves, the two cooperated tacitly, and the attack and defense were suitable, the assassin couldn't move forward half a step, the two sides were in a stalemate, guarding each other, Look for a breakthrough.

The assassin moved suddenly and came towards Zhao Jing, Zhao Jing raised his sword to block, the assassin suddenly stabbed at Shu Zilan, Shu Zilan suddenly, with his arm in his hand, Zhao Jing hurriedly swung the sword, blood spattered, and the assassin fell on the ground on the ground.

"How is it?" Zhao Jing asked anxiously.

"It's okay." Shu Zilan comforted with a smile, his face turning pale.

Zhao Jing's sword moves were fierce, and the assassins were all wiped out. Zhao Jing hurriedly supported Shu Zilan to sit aside and checked his wound. Red blood flowed out. Zhao Jing's nervous heart was half relaxed.

"Fortunately there is no poison on the sword," Zhao Jing said.Zhao Jing supported Shu Zilan to stand up and walked back to the inner room.