The Golden County Magistrate

Looking at the soldiers fleeing everywhere, arrows still shooting from the darkness and blazing forest fires, Zhao Changhe's heart sank, and he had to choose a random direction and flee in a hurry under the protection of the deputy general and the prefect's personal guards.

Fortunately, he did not encounter any enemies along the way. After running for more than an hour, he finally got out of the forest and arrived at a tributary of the Long River.

Zhao Changhe was relieved a little.

But looking at the soldiers who followed him, there were only thirty or so personal guards left, and the rest were gone. Zhao Changhe was furious and roared at the deputy general!

"What's going on! Who attacked us!"

"I don't know either!" The deputy general stammered.

Zhao Changhe's face was gloomy with anger, and he wanted to cry but had no tears.

He was still in high spirits when he set out.

In less than a day, he was defeated and fled!

What's worse is that the surrounding environment is so unfamiliar that he has no idea where he has fled to. He doesn't even know the way back to the prefecture to regroup!

In desperation, he had to camp by the river and rest temporarily.

However, after being disturbed, no one in the prefecture army wanted to sleep that night, and they stayed up trembling until dawn.

After dawn, Zhao Changhe sent people to explore the path, but they still couldn't find a way out.

The vast forest formed a natural maze, trapping these outsiders.

At noon, Zhao Changhe stood by the river, staring blankly at the river.

The river is about fifty feet wide, and the water is rushing. It is definitely impossible to cross it.

If there is a boat, it may be possible to go downstream to a place with people.

He was just thinking about whether to ask his personal guards to cut wood and build a raft, when suddenly the deputy general next to him shouted: "Sir! There are people on the opposite side!"

Zhao Changhe was startled and looked up, only to see a dozen people rushing out of the bushes on the opposite side, all wearing full body armor, even covering their heads.

Under the sunlight, the armor reflected cold rays, which was even more frightening!

Zhao Changhe's face changed, and he couldn't help but step back a few steps.

"Sir, don't be afraid, they can't get through!" The deputy general said hurriedly.

"Who... who is afraid!" Zhao Changhe also reacted, stopped quickly, and glared at the deputy general.

"Yes, yes, these guys are obviously not good people at first glance, could they be the deserters of the rebellious king back then?" The deputy general quickly changed the subject.

"Humph, can deserters have such armor?" Zhao Changhe's face darkened.

Full body armor is not too uncommon, he has seen a lot of them. But this kind of equipment is extremely expensive, usually only the most elite troops can be equipped, not even his palace army!

Could it be Chen Yan's people?

No, it's impossible!

Chen Yan is so poor that he almost sells his pants, where can he get the money to buy such expensive armor?

"Who is coming!" Zhao Changhe shouted loudly.

The people on the opposite side did not react at all, just looked at them coldly.

Zhao Changhe was secretly angry and shouted: "Shoot them!"

The guards around him took out bows and arrows, and dozens of long arrows were shot out.

However, the standard bow equipped by the Great Zhou infantry is a stone bow, which can barely guarantee the effective range of about thirty feet. If it is farther, it will have no power and accuracy.

At this time, most of the dozens of arrows fell into the water before reaching the other side. Only a few of them reached the other side, but they were blocked by the opponent's armor and did not cause any damage at all.

"Waste! A bunch of waste!" Zhao Changhe was furious and cursed.

"Sir! It's too far! The arrows can't reach them at all!" The deputy general cried out.

As soon as he finished speaking, the dozen or so mysterious men in iron armor on the opposite side suddenly took out bows and arrows from their backs, raised their hands to draw the bowstrings, and aimed at them.

"Are these guys stupid? The arrows can't reach them at all..." a guard muttered.

As a result, just halfway through the words, the opponent had already shot arrows!

Whoosh whoosh whoosh...

With the amazing sound of breaking wind, the long arrows instantly swept across the river!

The guards who thought that the opponent couldn't shoot either, when they realized that something was wrong, it was too late!

"Ah!"

"What's going on!"

"How can their arrows shoot so far! Ah!"

Shocks and screams rang out one after another. The opponent's first round of ten long arrows, without exception, all hit the target!

The dozen or so guards were either pierced by the thighs, calves, or shoulders by sharp arrows!

Everyone was wearing metal armor, but even at such a distance, they still couldn't stop the arrows. They fell to the ground one after another in the splashing blood, screaming and wailing!

"Everyone be careful!"

The deputy general was extremely horrified. While shouting, he stepped forward to protect the stunned Zhao Changhe behind him and retreated.

The mysterious man in iron armor on the opposite side took out the arrow and put it on the bow again.

With a swish, the second round of arrows came!

Some of the personal guards held wooden shields and hurriedly blocked them in front of them.

However, this knot that could have been defended against even knife cuts and spear stabsThe solid shield was vulnerable to the long arrows, and it pierced through, knocking the shield-holding guard to the ground!

One of the long arrows was aimed at the deputy general. He was a martial arts expert and had a quick reaction, so he chopped the arrow with a sword.

Bang!

The sword hit the arrowhead accurately, and the long arrow flew far away in an instant!

But at the same time, the deputy general felt a sharp pain in his palm, and he could no longer hold the long sword, and the sword flew far away in a spin!

The deputy general's face turned blue.

The arrow was too powerful!

It was shot from such a distance, but it could actually shake his sword away!

Zhao Changhe finally woke up from his shock at this moment, and turned around and ran without saying a word!

If he didn't run, he might die here!

The deputy general endured the pain in his hand and wanted to catch up, but he only caught up halfway, and an arrow rushed from behind and directly pierced his left calf.

"Ah! Sir, save me!"

He screamed, fell down, and cried.

Zhao Changhe didn't even look back, and went into the woods and disappeared.

You're kidding!

Save you? If I save you, I'll lose my life!

I stumbled into the woods for an unknown period of time. The screams and wails behind me had long disappeared, but Zhao Changhe still didn't dare to stop. He didn't dare to stop until he was exhausted. He sat down against a big tree and gasped.

Looking around, there was no one left.

Four thousand troops, only a lonely man left!

And he still didn't know who his opponent was!

"Damn it! Don't let this prefect know who it is, otherwise you will die a miserable death!"

Zhao Changhe's face was ashen, and he was furious.

"Sir, I'm sorry for not coming to meet you. Please forgive me."

A voice suddenly came from not far to the right.

Zhao Changhe was shocked and rolled and crawled behind a big tree.

When he looked out, he saw a man who made him grit his teeth in his dreams every day, gradually approaching!

"Chen--Yan!"

Zhao Changhe screamed.

Chen Yan, dressed in casual clothes, approached with a smile: "Sir, don't panic, the pursuers are not here."

He was followed by Zhang Dabiao, who was also dressed in casual clothes, who glared at Zhao Changhe fiercely.

Zhao Changhe's old face turned red, and he had to straighten his clothes and came out from behind the tree. The first sentence was: "Chen Yan! What crime should you be punished for!"

Chen Yan asked back: "What crime have I committed?"

"This prefect saw that your Qingshan County was in turmoil with refugees, so I came to help, but I was harmed by bandits!"

"Your Qingshan County is so seriously plagued by bandits. As the county magistrate, you are the first to be punished for your poor governance!"

"Chen Yan, Chen Yan, what else do you have to say!"

Zhao Changhe was the first to complain, pointing at Chen Yan and scolding him.

The loss of 4,000 troops, if this is known to the higher-ups, his position will be unstable! How can he not find a scapegoat?

"Sir, why is there a bandit problem in Qingshan County?" Chen Yan was surprised.

"You dare to quibble! Just now at the riverside, I clearly encountered a group of bandits in full armor!" Zhao Changhe shouted.

"Oh, sir, it turns out that they are what you are talking about." Chen Yan suddenly realized, "They are not bandits, but my people."

Zhao Changhe was stunned.

After a while, he said: "Your people? The ones who attacked my camp last night..."

Chen Yan smiled and said: "Yes, it was all done by me."