Zhi Xuan

It rained heavily all night.

In the morning, the rain just stopped.

The dark clouds dissipated, the blue sky was like washing, and misty white mist rose from the forest, and there was the sound of Yoyo deer.

Transparent drops of water flowed along the veins of the leaf, wrapped around an unlucky beetle, rolled off the edge of the leaf, fell into the water-logged horseshoe print, and fell apart in an instant.

As the sun rises, the temperature rises rapidly. In less than half an hour, the cool morning breeze has been replaced by a heat wave. Rolling over the mountain depression that has experienced a night battle, it melts in an instant before the heat wave, and the heat is like a flowing fire.

There was too much rain at night, and there were lightning and thunder. Out of safety considerations, Zhi Xuan ordered the team to temporarily withdraw from the col, and wait until dawn to clean the battlefield.

It was a wise move.

During the night, lightning kept falling, and the few remaining big trees in the valley were broken and fell down in the lightning.By daybreak, there was only a bare tree root left, and the cracks were scorched black in the heat.

The temperature keeps rising during the day, and it doesn't take long for people to stand in the sun and become sweaty.The beasts and birds in the cage couldn't stand the heat, and they all became irritable.

The ordinary people and slaves cleaning the battlefield heard the sound and lifted the straw mat out of curiosity. The moment light replaced darkness, a pungent stench rushed towards them along with the roar of the beast, and the cage was also rattled.

"It's a wild boar, and it's not too small." A Chinese came over and saw the wild boar going mad in the cage. He told the common people and slaves to back off, bent down to pick up half a broken wooden pole, and threw it into the cage along the gap.

The wild boar was hit, furious, and slammed into the cage again.

The Chinese grabbed the mane on the top of the wild boar's head, stuck its nose in the gap of the cage, took the stone ax and smashed it several times, but failed to kill it.

The straw mats covering the cart were lifted one by one, and the wild animals and birds in the cages gradually showed their original appearance.

Detained for a long time without seeing the light of day, most of the beasts remained motionless in the cages, and some of them had died for a long time and had already begun to rot.The previous tantrums drained the energy, and the living became listless.Only the wild boar is an exception, its vitality is particularly tenacious, and it is still full of energy.

In addition to wild animals, there are also a lot of fresh venison, mushrooms and wild fruits picked, and well-stored grain in the car.

More than half of them are rice.

"Rice?"

After the guidance of the witch doctor and Sang doctor, Zhi Xuan no longer discriminates between grains and grains.After careful identification, it was confirmed that the bag was indeed unhulled rice, and I couldn't help being overjoyed.

This is good stuff!

This caravan came from Nanyou Country, so it was not surprising that they carried rice from Nanyou Country.Surprisingly, after being away for such a long time, there is still some leftovers, and now it is all cheaper for me.

"Put them all away and put them in a car alone." Zhi Xuan ordered.

The witch doctor once said that the rice in Nanyou country is high-yielding, but the same rice species are difficult to survive in other countries, and even if they survive, the yield is not high.Zhixuan believes that the witch doctor is not lying, but the seeds are delivered to him, and he will not be reconciled if he does not try it out.

What if it can be planted?

With such thoughts in mind, Zhixuan ordered people to search carefully in the camp to collect all the food.

Everyone took the lead and started a carpet search in the col.

The hard work paid off, and near noon, the food found had already filled two carts.Besides rice, there are also many wheat, millet and beans.

The temperature is getting higher and higher, and there is still a lot to do.

Zhixuan ordered people to load all the grain into trucks, pile it up temporarily, and sort it after returning to the city.

After the grain was bundled, the common people and slaves opened the collapsed tents and found a lot of salt, herbs, animal skins and weapons one after another.

In the tent where the team leader lived, someone dug out a box, the lid was opened, and inside was a complete piece of rhino hide.

A fire broke out in the camp last night and was quickly extinguished by the rain.There were scorched marks from the fire on the outside of the tent, but the items under it were intact.The tent kept sparks out, and the box did not catch fire, so that the rhinoceros hide could be preserved.

After the rhinoceros hide, the common people found several boxes one after another, which contained both animal hides and bones, as well as ungrown rhino horns and cut antlers.

In a wooden box, two tiger skins are stacked together.Under the tiger skin is pressed bison hide, and there are scales strung together, like a pangolin.

Two intact ivory tusks were hidden in the rhino horn case.Judging from the length, it should be a sub-adult baby elephant.Compared with rhino horn and ivory, deer antler is more common, cut and stacked together, without careful treatment.

In a smaller wooden box, a large number of bird feathers were found, colorful and extremely gorgeous.

Xiyuan country likes black, Bei'an country prefers red, and Nanyou country likes five colors. People in the clan country like to use bright feathers as decorations, and a few bright bird feathers will be inserted on the crown of the monarch.

The discovery of this box of feathers further confirmed the identity of the caravan. They really came from Nanyou Kingdom, which cannot be denied.

In addition to hunting rare birds and animals, caravans also engaged in the activities of plundering people.Those who were unfortunately caught became slaves, and their property naturally fell into the hands of the caravan.

Several ordinary people opened a box with some scorched black corners, and when they saw the contents inside, they immediately gasped.

"Quickly report to the son!"

In addition to gold, silk and cloth, there is actually a jade ring in the box!

The quality of the jade ring is average, and there are also defects on the edges, but it is indeed a clan thing, and not ordinary people can wear it.

The caravan robbed the common people, Nan Youhou could still find excuses to shirk.If they are bold enough to attack the people of the country and even the clan, once the matter is confirmed, Nan Youhou will lose not only military power and political power, but also his head.

No matter how noble his status is, no one can keep him if he dares to provoke the clans in the world.

Seeing the jade ring in the box, Zhi Xuan's heart sank.This jade ring is very ordinary, its nature is hard to identify.The knot on the top is red, with obvious characteristics of Bei'an.

Thinking of a certain possibility, Zhixuan immediately ordered people to interrogate the captives, and must ask where Yuhuan came from.It's a pity that the team leader has been struck to death by lightning, otherwise, the answer can be obtained from his mouth the fastest.

At first no one spoke, the guards didn't dare to speak, and the slave didn't know if he wanted to.

Zhi Xuan became ruthless, and asked someone to set up a wooden pole, hang up the captured guards in turn and whip them hard.

"Hang up and whip!"

Several strong common people took off their shirts, brandished their whips, and beat the captives up and down, causing ghosts to cry and wolves to howl.

It doesn't work if you pump it directly, just dip it in salt water.

The salt is collected from the tent, and Zhi Xuan doesn't feel bad about using it.

The whip dipped in salt water was drawn down, and the pain escalated instantly.Finally, a guard couldn't bear it anymore and confessed that Yuhuan belonged to a county doctor in Bei'an.

"The Di people attacked the border area of ​​Bei'an country and broke through a small city. The team passed outside the city, and the leader wanted to take advantage of the chaos to capture the people. When he met the county doctor, he rushed out of the city to ask for help. He pretended to help, and hacked at him when he was unprepared."

When one person opened his mouth, the others stopped insisting, explaining the situation one after another, and pieced together the whole story.

The owner of Yuhuan is a county official in Bei'an country, who has been stationed in the border town for many years. All the concubines who were arrested for stealing wheat in Zhi county before came from his rule.

According to the common people, the Di people broke through the city defenses, and the county officials disappeared in the chaos.In the end, he didn't die at the hands of Di Ren, let alone flee in fear of the battle, but was assassinated by these gangsters!

If the county doctor survived and successfully moved in reinforcements, even if the Di people broke through the city defenses, they might not be able to leave calmly, and they would definitely be hit head-on by the soldiers guarding the border.

It's too late to say anything now.

All the captives spoke up, not daring to hide anything.

Knowing the truth of the matter, Zhi Xuan asked where the county doctor's bones were now.

"In the……"

"Don't hesitate, say it!"

The whip came down again, and the captives did not dare to hide it, and finally revealed that, in order to avoid the incident from being revealed, the team leader personally ordered to feed the corpses of the county doctor and servants to the captured beasts.

"Beasts are better!"

Facing the scolding, the prisoners did not dare to raise their heads, and all knelt on the ground trembling.

Zhi Xuan took a deep breath, suppressing the anger in his heart.He had planned to take the captives back and replace slaves digging ditches.With this incident, the plan is about to change.

This matter must not be left alone, let alone concealed.

The relics of the county doctor need to be sent back to Bei'an Kingdom, and these caravan guards must also be escorted, and all of them should be handed over to Zhao Hao for disposal.All the ordinary people captured by the caravan were born in Bei'an, and Zhi Xuan decided to send them back together.

Regardless of conscience or status, this is a choice he must make.

After counting the supplies and the number of people, Zhixuan ordered people to set up the car again.

The dead beasts were lifted out of the cages, the naked ones were left for the wild beasts in the forest, and the edible ones were gathered together and processed after returning to the city.The ones who were still alive stayed in the car, and the straw mats were covered again to prevent them from roaring.

Grain, animal skins and other materials are loaded separately, and the quantity is counted in advance.After returning to the city, a part of it will be taken out as a reward for those who have done meritorious deeds.The usable tents and wood were bundled up and brought back to the city for distribution to those in need.

Adhering to the principle of never wasting, the entire mountain pass was cleaned up, as clean as the camp outside the western capital.

After everything was ready, Zhi Xuanyue got on his horse.

Armored soldiers with halberds guarded the left and right, Chinese people carried weapons and followed behind the soldiers, ordinary people drove carts, slaves dragged captives, the team marched mightily through the forest, and flocks of birds flew away on the way.

120 carts were transported back to the city, and hundreds of captives followed the carts, passing through villages along the way, which caused quite a stir.

Not to mention the supplies on the cart, just the cattle and horses pulling the cart are a considerable income for Zhi Xuan.

When the team arrived in front of the city gate, the magistrate hurried over with people.

Several of the next doctors are not there.

During this period of time, they were either busy digging ditches at the construction site, or helping out at the forest farm. They were not specially called, and there were basically no people in sight.

Zhixuan didn't dismount, and explained the matter briefly, leaving the government order to handle the follow-up arrangements. He rode his horse back home and went directly to the study. He didn't care to change his clothes, and quickly wrote a letter, put it in the jade ring he brought back, and handed it over to others. Send it to Zhaodi.

"Send it to Gongzi Hao, don't delay."

"promise!"

After leaving the city, the messenger galloped all the way, passing the knights from the north.

The two faced each other, and both recognized the leather armor on the other's body. They greeted each other immediately, and then raised their whips to speed up. One continued to head east, and the other galloped towards the county seat.

Zhixuan's messenger flew for several days, passed several checkpoints, and finally saw Zhao Hao, and presented the letter face to face.

As the wedding party from Mo State is approaching, there are heavy guards along the way to prevent Rong Di from taking the opportunity to make trouble.

The courier encountered interrogation on the way, and there was no shortage of time.Fortunately, they arrived in time.If it is half a day later, Zhao Hao will leave the station and go to the county town agreed with Mo Country.

The courier was full of travel and dust along the way, his face was flushed from the sun, and his lips were chapped and peeled.

Zhao Hao ordered someone to take him down to rest, then unfolded the bamboo slips, looked at the contents, and poured out the jade ring that was sent back with him from the bag, his eyes gradually turned cold, like bloodthirsty blades.

Several retainers were summoned to come. Seeing Zhao Hao like this, they couldn't help but feel a chill in their hearts. They secretly guessed, could it be that some Di Rong tribe committed another mass death, thinking that their life was too long?

Zhao Hao didn't make a sound, and handed the jade ring in his hand to the retainer.

"Are you recognizable?"

The retainers passed it on for a closer look, and couldn't immediately determine the owner of the jade ring, but from the knot tied on it, it should be identified from the clan of the country.

"Young master, where did this thing come from?"

"Young Master Xuan sent it."

Young Master Xuan?

The retainers looked puzzled.

Zhao Hao handed over Zhi Xuan's letter and motioned for several people to pass it on.

The retainers lowered their heads with doubts, and after reading the content on the bamboo slips, their expressions suddenly changed and they flew into a rage.

"An dare, thief!"

A mere caravan, even if they stand behind Nanyouhou, this move is too rampant.A county doctor killed as soon as he said, it was not an upright battle, but an assassination by tricks, it was appalling.

This thief is even more daring to kidnap the common people of Zhao!

If Nanyouhou can't give an explanation, it will definitely trigger a national war!

"My lord, is this really true?" a retainer asked.

As Zhixuan had thought before, his identity was too special, and two consecutive letters were accused of being a caravan, implicating Nan Youhou in it, which inevitably aroused suspicion.

"Young Master Xuan's letter states that he will be sent back to the common people and the thief will be escorted." Another retainer reminded.

None of the people present were stupid. After thinking about it carefully, I also knew that Zhi Xuan couldn't have cheated on this matter.

Such a big matter involves a party of big princes, so it is necessary to investigate and find out.It won't do him any good if the lie can be broken as soon as he pokes it.

Since it is impossible to be false, there is only one possibility, and everything in the letter is true.

"Young master, the matter is very involved and needs to be reported to the emperor." An elderly retainer suggested.

"I have my own concerns about this matter." Zhao Hao said.

Zhixuan's letter only spoke in general terms, but did not specify all the details.When it is delivered, another interrogation is required before it can be submitted to the Marquis of Bei'an.

As for how to negotiate with Nanyouhou, whether it is a battle or a discussion, it should be decided by the court and the middle, not him alone.

However, thinking of Zhixuan's continuous delivery of letters and thinking about the deep meaning behind it, Zhao Hao couldn't help softening his expression, a softness flashed in his eyes, which he didn't even notice.