Bastard's Counterattack [Rebirth]

The sound of horseshoes stamping on the ground was crisp and connected, and it sounded that there were many people coming.

Rong Youtang held his breath and stared up:

In an instant, the soldiers headed by King Qing who rushed to Beiying rode out of the morning mist, Guo Da followed closely behind, and Qi Zhiyang, who was carrying a monk's sword with a burden on his back, was also in the crowd.

coming!

Rong Youtang immediately ran down the steps and rushed forward to meet him.

"Woo." Zhao Zeyong reined in the horse, and the horse spun a few and a half circles on the spot, but he jumped off quickly and freely, and the rest of them dismounted.

"Your Highness, are you going to the North Camp?" Rong Youtang smiled and asked knowingly.

"Hmm." Zhao Zeyong's eyes were piercing, and he fixedly looked at the man dressed in azure robe and dressed as an ordinary businessman: the man wore a palm-wide frost-colored girdle around his waist, making him look taller, taller, young and handsome , with picturesque features...too outstanding in appearance is not entirely a good thing.

"Your Highness?" Rong Youtang was a little puzzled, and mistakenly thought that he was not good-looking, so he stretched his girdle.

Zhao Zeyong instructed in a low voice: "It's windy on the boat, just stay in the cabin and don't wander around."

"Yes!" Rong Youtang did not refuse at this moment.He suppressed his personal emotions, turned his head and said, "Hi, General Guo, good morning, everyone."

"It just happened to be on the way, so I was able to see you off." Guo Da held the horsewhip, and said with concern: "I went to Hejian to do my job well, take care of myself, check it out and come back earlier."

"Yes." Rong Youtang bowed his head respectfully.

Qi Zhiyang smiled, and walked to Rong Youtang's side. He was wearing a half-new and half-worn Tibetan military uniform. He was tall and strong, with distinctly bulging arms and chest muscles. He looked like someone who could not be easily provoked.

At this time, Rong Kaiji was carrying the burden, and Li Shun was carrying an extra bag of dry food and water, and quickly walked down the steps, ready to salute King Qing and the others.

Zhao Zeyong raised his hand and said, "Excuse me."

"Thank you, Your Highness." Rong Kaiji's etiquette was impeccable.Now he is always very uncomfortable when facing King Qing, and he is very polite when they meet each other, and he doesn't want to make a scene known to everyone.

"Two bags?" Zhao Zeyong asked, and gave Rong Youtang a meaningful look, who glanced at the medium-sized bag that Qi Zhiyang was carrying from the corner of his eye, feeling a little embarrassed.

"Return to Your Highness: Here are shoes, socks, clothes and some self-defense pills. Those are the dry food for Tang'er and General Qi on the boat. There is nothing extra." Rong Kaiji hurriedly explained.

"Well, not bad." Zhao Zeyong smiled.

nice what?

Young Master Rong murmured in his heart, took the burden from his adoptive father to carry it, and was about to take the dry food held by the housekeeper——

"Thanks to Mr. Rong for taking care of me, I am very grateful. Come, let me take it." Qi Zhiyang greeted with a smile, and took the dry food bag from Li Shun's hand, heartily and kindly.

"Don't dare. On the contrary, the child has never traveled far. He is young and doesn't know much. Please ask General Qi to take care of him." Rong Kaiji solemnly wanted to hand over, Qi Zhiyang hurriedly put his hands on his hands, and said with a startled smile: "Rong is old! I'm sorry, I'm really sorry! Lord Xiaorong and I are colleagues who share the same pot of food and have gone out with His Highness, so we will take care of each other, please don't worry."

The father is worried when the son travels thousands of miles.How can Rong Kaiji rest assured when he hears about all the chaos in the river?He asked repeatedly.

Zhao Zeyong stood three feet in front of Rong Youtang, and said gently: "When we went to suppress the bandits at the beginning of the year, part of the canal in the north was frozen, and we could only go by land. Now if you take a boat, if the wind is smooth, you should be able to arrive in three days At Ningwei Ferry, we will reach Guanzhou in a day or two."

"Yeah." Rong Youtang listened attentively, folded his hands, and quietly inserted the middle and middle fingers of his right hand into the left sleeve, hooked out a small corner of the close-fitting shark's clothing, secretly pointed it at King Qing, and stuffed it in again in an instant.

"You—" Zhao Zeyong raised his eyebrows, wanted to smile but forced his face to be sullen, smiled in his eyes, and ordered with a tiger face: "Your Shangfang sword and imperial decree must be kept properly, especially Shangfang sword."

Rong Youtang was full of righteousness, and he and Qi Zhiyang responded together: "Yes!"

"You need to be flexible when things happen. The imperial envoy holds the sword of Shang Fang. You can mobilize a lot of help. Use it when you need it. Don't miss the opportunity because of looking forward and backward."

The two imperial envoys nodded frequently, both excited and nervous.

"According to the law, my father will send six to eight imperial guards to protect the imperial envoys. They are already waiting at the ferry. This trip has a deadline to investigate the case. Don't delay, go and meet up." Zhao Zeyong urged.

"Yes!"

Rong Kaiji raised his foot subconsciously, desperately wanting to be sent to the ferry, but King Qing persuaded him: "I will see you off after thousands of miles. Go back."

"Yes." Rong Kaiji had no choice but to stand by the side of the road, watching his son jump on his horse, and said in a vigorous voice: "Father, Uncle Shun, I'm going to the ferry right now! Don't worry, there are so many people traveling with me, and it will take only three to five days." When I get to Guanzhou, I will go home after finishing my work."

"Hey, good! Take care of yourself." Rong Kaiji waved his hands, his face was smiling, but his brows and eyes were tightly wrinkled, unable to hide his worry, and once again watched his son leave home.

Riding horses together for about two quarters of an hour, there is a fork in the road ahead: the left leads to the northern suburbs, and the right leads to the ferry.

Rong Youtang and Qi Zhiyang reined in their horses, dismounted, and bid farewell to King Qing solemnly.

Zhao Zeyong looked down for a long time before slowly saying: "Go."

"Yes."

"Your Highness, please take care of yourself." Rong Youtang reminded earnestly.Anyone who is acquainted with him knows that King Qing is very self-disciplined and strict, and he is as busy as iron, forgetting to eat and sleep.

Zhao Zeyong's eyes were focused, he rode on the tall horse, gripped the reins tightly, sighed silently, and said again: "Go."

Guo Da observed the sky for a long while, then frowned and reminded: "It may rain, so hurry up!"

"Yes." Rong Youtang squeezed the burden belt in his hand, smiled at his acquaintances, watched King Qing and his party disappear on the way to Beiying, and then rode to the ferry with the two guards who saw him off. Eight energetic inner court guards are waiting.

In a short while, the boat going south sailed out of the ferry, set sail on the morning wind, and gradually moved away from the capital.

Time was running out, Rong Youtang and the others were on a passenger ship, and it was too late to wait for the official ship to be arranged by the Water Transportation Department.

A group of ten people asked for four connected cabins.Among them, Rong Youtang and Qi Zhiyang lived together, and the other eight guards were at their own discretion. Two people were on duty day and night to prevent accidents.

The ship is two stories high, the bow, rudder and stern are owned by the boatmen. There are a lot of goods piled up in the bottom deck. long people.

However, no matter how rich they are, the cabins they live in are all the same small: two meters high, three wide and two long, with a big bed covered with straw mats and a small low cabinet.Other than that, nothing else.

The gap between the bed and the window can only allow one person to pass through, and two people have to turn sideways if they are parallel!

Qi Zhiyang is more than eight feet tall and has a strong body. He stepped into the cabin at the east end of the second floor first, and stopped as soon as he pushed the door: only one bed?How do you sleep at night?

——Some things, Qing Wang's cronies vaguely guessed, tacitly.

"Hey, this door frame is short!" Qi Zhiyang collected himself, bent down and stepped in with his head down, turning his head to remind: "Brother Rong, be careful of bumping your head."

However, Rong Youtang didn't need to bend over, just lowered his head slightly, he could move freely, he said cheerfully: "Brother Qi, it seems that this cabin is made for people like me, you have to be careful of bumping your head. "

"Hahaha~" Qi Zhiyang laughed.

Rong Youtang opened the door of the low cabinet, stuffed the two people's baggage in, and put the dry food bag and water bag on the cabinet.

"That's it! Let's—" Rong Youtang clapped his hands, and before he finished speaking, the wind suddenly picked up and the boat jolted!He was dizzy for a moment, and he opened his arms to maintain his balance in fright.

Qi Zhiyang, who was pushing open the window, turned around after hearing the news, and hurriedly walked over: "Are you okay? Don't be afraid, this boat is very stable. The owner of the boat has been running for half his life, and he probably knows how many trees there are along the canal."

"It's okay." Rong Youtang slowly lowered his arms, and said in embarrassment: "Brother Qi laughed, I can't swim, and I rarely take a boat."

"Dizziness and nausea?" Qi Zhiyang asked with concern.

Rong Youtang said frankly: "It's a little bit, let me get used to it."

"Okay! Go lie down for a while and take it easy." Qi Zhiyang raised his hand, just about to help the other party, but on second thought he clenched his fist, and only crossed his arms, signaling the other party to borrow his own strength.

"Thank you." Rong Youtang has always been meticulous and careful, taking the other party's concerns into his heart, just pretending not to know, so he generously used his strength to walk to the edge of the bed and sit down.

After Qi Zhiyang stopped, he inspected the cabin closely, knocked on the doors, windows, bed cabinets, and then leaned out half of his body to look out the window.

Rong Youtang could only see the other party below the waist, so he quickly reminded:

"Brother Qi, be careful."

The canal is rich in water, and the deepest can reach more than ten meters, which makes people who are afraid of water very afraid.

"It's okay, I'm holding on to it." Qi Zhiyang didn't get up, and grabbed the palm of the bulkhead.

Rong Youtang sniffed, laughing at himself who was thinking wildly.

After a long while, Qi Zhiyang straightened up in satisfaction, and said: "I'll go to the next door to see the brothers, you sit down for a while, and call if you have something to do."

"Ok."

Rong Youtang waved his hand pretending to be relaxed.In fact, the boat kept rocking, and he was extremely dizzy, nauseous, and uncomfortable!Gritting his teeth and enduring it for a while, he had an idea, simply opened the bag, took out the charcoal pencil and the topographic map, piled the dry food and water bags on the bed, dragged it close to the low cabinet, leaned over the desk, and concentrated on pointing and drawing.

in no time

Qi Zhiyang came back like a gust of wind and asked curiously:

"Drawing what? Can I see it?"

"Just scribbling casually, brother Qi, don't joke." Rong Youtang turned the topographic map, signaling the other party to look at it casually.

Qi Zhiyang bent down and took a quick look at it: "The terrain in Hejian? It's well drawn—huh?" He stopped abruptly, narrowed his eyes, and stared at several place names such as "Shangnan" and "Lushui" in surprise. .

"See it?" Rong Youtang smiled.

"Hiss, this, this..." Qi Zhiyang stretched out his finger and clicked the familiar words in it——In the meeting room of the commander of the Northern Camp, there was a huge planning map. King Qing often called his subordinates to discuss. The general is not only familiar with the commander's handwriting, but also sincerely admires it.After all, it is really rare to see people who are both civil and military like King Qing.

General Qi was indeed stable: he had the Shangfang sword wrapped in blue cloth hanging from his waist, and he didn't intend to take it off, and put it across his lap when he sat down.

"That's right." Rong Youtang informed softly: "Yesterday I felt uneasy and asked His Highness for advice."

"I see!"

Qi Zhiyang stood in awe, raised his head subconsciously, and tensed his muscles.

"Brother Qi, sit down too, let's take advantage of these few days to discuss countermeasures." Rong Youtang invited seriously.

"it is good."

Across the low cabinet, Qi Zhiyang sat on the other side of the bed.Although what he was facing was only King Qing's handwriting, he was solemn and upright, showing no sign of neglect and casualness, and respected the commander very much.

As an imperial envoy and an acquaintance in arms, Rong Youtang did not hold back, and succinctly recounted King Qing's words.At the end, he said solemnly: "The struggle between officials and businessmen during the tax collection process of the New Deal can be played before the imperial court, which shows that the place can't be covered, and it is very likely that the situation will be like fire and water."

Qi Zhiyang nodded, and said suspiciously: "It is reported that three officials were killed in the conflict and several were seriously injured; more than ten traders involved were captured, and the number of fugitives is unknown. But, are these the only ones? I suspect that the local authorities have concealed the truth."

"They didn't explain the casualties of the vendors, and there is a high probability that both will suffer." Rong Youtang frowned, and said solemnly: "We have to rush to Guanzhou as soon as possible to interrogate the dozen or so arrested vendors."

"That's right." Qi Zhiyang sighed, "I'm afraid of accidents if I go late."

——Longyan was furious, and all levels of government in Hejian had no good fruit to eat. If someone wanted to whitewash the peace...accidental sudden death, torture, etc., the lives of the detained traders were in danger.

"When the bandits were suppressed at the beginning of the year, I went south with the army. Brother Qi was the vanguard responsible for raising food and scouting out the enemy's situation, right?" Rong Youtang asked.

"I followed General Guo and set off first." Qi Zhiyang folded his arms and turned sideways, concentrating on the rough topographical map.

"I heard that you went to Guanzhou when you were raising food?"

Qi Zhiyang raised his head and explained: "After we left Hejian Provincial Mansion, we went to Guanzhou, stayed for half a night, and then rushed to Shun County to join the army to suppress the bandits. Hey, we were under military orders at the time, so we left without seeing anything."

Rong Youtang nodded, playing with charcoal pencils unconsciously, and said with lowered eyes: "The case of the Jiufeng mountain bandits colluding with wealthy businessmen in Guanzhou has long been investigated, and many people have been arrested. Among them, the leader of the bandit, Yu Xin, was Ling Chi. Two people were beheaded and the property was confiscated."

"They have eaten their hearts and leopards, and dare to confront the court? Looting the county government, mutilating the common people, bullying men and women, lawless, the main culprit and accomplices are all dead!" Qi Zhiyang yelled angrily.

Rong Youtang was startled, and after a little thought, he figured it out, and asked curiously: "May I ask: Brother Qi, did you go to Shun County to suppress bandits before the beginning of the year?"

The banditry in Jiufeng Mountain is rampant, plundering and killing everywhere. Emperor Chengtian has deployed a large army stationed in the pass to suppress the bandits more than once, but it is a pity that he has been defeated repeatedly.

Qi Zhiyang smiled with emotion, shook his head and said: "No. There are more than [-] troops stationed in Guanzhong, and there are plenty of generals. I didn't have the opportunity to follow General Sang Jiacheng Sang to Shun County until the beginning of the year to assist His Highness King Qing in searching the mountains to encircle the bandits."

The factions of the Guanzhong Army are complicated, and Qi Zhiyang has worked hard for many years to wait for the opportunity to emerge!

When he led troops to search the mountains at the beginning of the year, his outstanding performance attracted Bole's attention-King Qing appreciated Qi Zhiyang, and when Shangzuo asked for commendations for the relevant generals, he wrote an extra line for him; King Qing selected the other party from among the many available candidates!

Therefore, Qi Zhiyang expressed his gratitude and respect to King Chongqing from the bottom of his heart.

Rong Youtang put all his heart into filling the terrain of Hejian with charcoal pens, and murmured: "Although the banditry in Jiufeng Mountain has been eliminated, it is reported that there are a few bandits occupying Hejian again. ' already?"

"The local folk customs are tough, the government can't suppress them, and they are incapable of solving cases. Robbery makes a fortune quickly, and most of them can get away with it. Bandits and pirates are naturally rampant." Qi Zhiyang couldn't help sighing: "Maybe they are ordinary people during the day, but they go into the water to stop them at night. The ship is gone!"

Rong Youtang took a deep breath, and resolutely said: "In short, when we go to Guanzhou, we must investigate and find out! Find out whether it is the government's way of implementing the New Deal that is rude and arouses public anger, or someone is inciting the people to make trouble."

The two hit it off quite well, both eager to make some achievements and full of energy.

They pondered over the only dossier that was unclear, and talked until noon. Although they occasionally had different opinions, they exchanged ideas calmly and peacefully without blushing.

The wind is smooth, the sails are blowing and crackling all the way, and the river wind fills the small cabin, which makes people feel refreshed.

Unknowingly, Rong Youtang got used to the dizziness of the swaying boat, he looked at the sky outside the window, put down the charcoal pencil and said with a smile: "Brother Qi, let's have something to eat first."

"Okay, I'm really hungry." Qi Zhiyang readily agreed, he got up, turned his neck, stretched his arms and bones.

Unfortunately, with a sound of "dong", his hand touched the roof before he straightened it!

Qi Zhiyang smiled wryly, and had no choice but to bend his forearms to exercise his muscles and bones.

Rong Youtang couldn't help laughing, opened the door and went out for a walk, exchanged greetings with the guard next door, and sent half a bag of pastries.Qi Zhiyang couldn't stay idle either, he inspected the four cabins he had booked, and ordered the eight guards who accompanied him to take turns to be on duty. During his long military career, he was imposing with every gesture.

After a while, they returned to the cabin.Rong Youtang untied the bag of dry food, and greeted: "Brother Qi, if you don't mind, use some together? It's all the authentic flavor of the capital."

"What do you dislike? I love to eat these, thank you very much." Qi Zhiyang walked over cheerfully, and the soldiers' eating was generally heroic: he settled a bun in three mouthfuls, folded the soft and salty sesame seed cakes into his mouth, occasionally drank a sip of water, ate It was very sweet.

At this moment, there was a knock on the half-covered cabin door, and the guard on duty next door asked in a low voice: "My lords, the boat lady is selling fruits and boiled eggs, do you need some?"

Qi Zhiyang didn't even think about it, he turned his head and asked, "Brother Rong, do you want to eat?"

"I, I just had enough, Brother Qi, please feel free." Rong Youtang declined with a smile, as if he felt that he was a child who needed to be coaxed!

After Qi Zhiyang asked politely, he made a decision and said, "My father specially prepared a lot of dry food. It's not advisable to buy food with unknown details on board. If you want to eat hot food, let's wait until the next ferry. Xiao Li, we don't need it, you can do whatever you want."

"Yes."

In the afternoon there was another discussion, until the evening when they arrived at the ferry, the captain of the boat announced that they would stay for half an hour, and then all the people got off the boat, ate noodles in a hurry, and returned immediately.

The boat continued to go south until it was completely dark, and several familiar boat bosses anchored in a calm river bend.

The ship stopped, there was no wind, and the cabin was extremely hot.

Qi Zhiyang knew how to swim, but he didn't jump directly into the river to cool off like other guards. He always cared about Shang Fang's sword and the imperial decree, so he just borrowed two wooden barrels from the boatman to wipe himself.

"I'm right next door. There are guards guarding the door all night. You just need to rest at ease." Qi Zhiyang put down a bucket of river water, turned and left, and closed the door behind him.It is absolutely impossible for him to sleep on the same bed with the other party!

"I—" Rong Youtang hesitated to speak, touched his nose in embarrassment, couldn't explain too much, could only quickly scrub, then opened the door to pour water, went to the next few cabins nervously, and then fell asleep .

The weather was calm, the boat did not sway, and there was no dream until dawn.

At noon four days later, the passenger ship reached its terminal ferry:

Liuhe Ancient Ferry.

Ning Wei Province has arrived, and it is thousands of miles away from the capital.

"Guest officers, go slowly!"

The boss of the boat was full of joy, and he clasped his fists to salute from time to time, and shouted loudly: "When the guests return, if it is a double day, please patronize the boat."

The ship's side and the pier are connected by a two-foot-wide plank, and when people walk on it, the plank trembles.

"It's already noon, and there are still two hundred miles away from the river. It is said that the boat leaves early in the morning. We may have to wait until tomorrow." Rong Youtang lamented the half day and night wasted by nothing!As soon as he stepped onto the side of the boat along the wooden plank, when he lowered his head, he saw the bottomless dark green river below, and his legs softened and he stopped.

The boss of the boat had excellent hearing and a good memory. He smiled and said, "My lord, there are indeed no boats going to Hejian right now. You guys go to the city to rest for the night. Please come back early tomorrow. The boats will leave around [-] o'clock."

"Thank you for the reminder, we will remember." Rong Youtang cupped his hands, not to block the exit, and followed his companion on the plank with his soft legs.

"There are many of you, so there is no need to be afraid, but when you arrive in Hejian, try to stay in a big hotel, and don't go out at night. When you go out, the word 'safety' is the most important thing!" The boat boss enthusiastically instructed.

Qi Zhiyang, who was in the back of the palace, turned around and clasped his fists to express his thanks, with Shang Fang's sword tied around his waist and abdomen.

Half an hour later, Rong Youtang and others checked into the Changping Inn in the provincial capital of Ningwei.

"The time limit is one month, at least ten days on the way back and forth." Qi Zhiyang was also very distressed about the half day and night waiting for the boat.

Rong Youtang said in relief: "It's okay, we will catch the earliest boat tomorrow, and we will arrive at Hejian in the evening! Let's go, brothers, go down and have a good meal together. Brother Qi has been to Ning Wei before, right?"

Qi Zhiyang smiled and said: "I have been here twice. Although the Guanzhong military camp is only five hundred miles away from here, there is no order that the soldiers are not allowed to travel far without permission. I came here on business."

Protected by two imperial guards, the two chatted while walking, and went down to the lobby of the inn. The other six guards had already picked a large round table to sit and waited. When they saw the imperial envoys, they all stood up to greet them, and took their seats after being courteous.

Xiaoer trotted forward courteously, her mouth was as sweet as honey, and she introduced a lot of "treasures of the town store".

"No wine, let's hurry." Qi Zhiyang said gently: "Brother Rong, order."

Rong Youtang hurriedly said: "Little brother is not familiar with the flavor of this place, you should order."

After giving way, Qi Zhiyang finally ordered.Rong Youtang chatted and laughed with his companions, and the atmosphere during the banquet was harmonious and happy. After the food was served, the originally restrained guards gradually let go, and replaced the wine with tea, and respected the two imperial envoys in turn.

During the three or four days on the boat, I ate dry food, and I ate two meals of noodles when I was moored at the ferry. At this moment, I was facing a table of hot meals. After several people secretly inspected them one by one with silver needles, they all ate without looking up!No nonsense.

Just as Rong Youtang buried his head in wolfing down, a baby's peculiar cry suddenly sounded from the opposite corner: "Wow wow...cough cough wow wow..." The cry was extremely sharp and rapid, and he was out of breath, which instantly aroused everyone's attention. Notice.

The lobby of the inn is quite spacious, with several tables separated, Rong Youtang held his chopsticks still, and turned his head to look suspiciously: I saw a man and a woman sitting opposite each other at the small square table in the corner, the woman was holding a swaddling baby, her profile face was dark yellow and thin Stop coaxing the child; the man was so drunk, he slapped his chopsticks hard, and shouted angrily: "Cry, cry, cry! A wild species who loses money, you know how to cry, and I cried away all my luck!"

The woman didn't dare to make a sound, her eyes were red and swollen, she lowered her head to coax the child, and when she raised her sleeves and turned her head to wipe her tears, her facial features were very beautiful.

"Stinky bitch, do you still have the face to cry? You gave me a cuckold and gave birth to a wild seed in six months, and you lied to me that it was premature? I just strangle her to death!" The drunk man tugged at the swaddle, and the woman begged to tear it, The baby burst into tears.

——The cries before were only regarded as children's noise, but now they all heard the mournful meaning.Several neighboring tables couldn't see it, so they tried to persuade them.

Rong Youtang put down his chopsticks and stood up uncontrollably. Just as he was about to speak, he heard a young guard muttering in surprise: "Hey, isn't that woman from Ningcui Pavilion? She had such a miserable life when she came out!"