What Rong Suihe said to Sheng Weiqiao when he left Chang'an came true immediately.
Meng was obviously determined to carry out the exhaustion strategy to the end, because in the following days, he would be attacked almost every night. Because the people under Rong Suihe were on guard and he was a gangster, murder and arson were very common. Expert, so there is no chance to set fire to others.
However, as the dead soldiers came one after another, the itinerary and spirit of the group were inevitably affected.
Probably seeing that this method is effective, after leaving Gyeonggi Province, the other party will try their best to cause trouble for them during the day.
When Rong Suihe saw this, he immediately changed his previous strategy of strictly guarding and guarding. He mobilized a group of experts from the team and spread them out far away to search for the opponent's traces first.
At first, the other party was caught off guard and many people were captured and killed. However, Meng was already on guard and could not get any useful confessions out of him.
Next, they probably saw that a direct attack on the team would not have much effect, so they changed their identities and became the guards of the Mi Zhen County Prince's Palace. They caused nuisance along the way, burned, killed, and looted.
When Sheng Weiqiao found out about this, he couldn't help but frown: "This plan is so vicious! Now the officials along the way have come forward to impeach you. Whether Meng wants you to go back to Chang'an to wait for your fate, or directly demotes you, or ruins your reputation, There are many places to operate.”
"It's just a trick." Rong Suihe said nonchalantly, "If Meng wants to call me back, he must first get through the two empresses Shu in the palace. As for the current situation, Xu Lianshan will have a way."
Xu Lianshan did have a way. He first dressed up the captured dead soldiers as Ruru's traitors, dragged them out in towns and paraded them to the public, uncovered the incident in Bishui County two years ago, and blamed all the crimes on Ruru. : Since Ruru could kill an insignificant eighth son like Meng, let alone a serious clan member, the imperial prince, and the new governor of Yizhou, right? !
Then all those who fanned the flames were shown their heads to the public, and the family was implicated. The reason was that these people were all secretly in love with Ruru and deserved to die.
As for the officials and squires who had taken refuge with the Meng family along the way, they were even more unlucky. Xu Lianshan sent people to kill people at night and brought people to the house during the day to make money under the pretext of tracking down the real murderer. Within two days, the team had a few more vehicles. full carriage.
If Rong Suihe hadn't been worried that Sheng Weiqiao would be disgusted if he found out, and felt that the top priority was to go to Yizhou to take up the post without causing any complications on the way, his return to his old career would have been so smooth.
However, Xu Lianshan began to restrain himself. As the team moved farther and farther away from Chang'an, more and more people were assassinated, and various methods became more and more unscrupulous.
If Rong Suihe hadn't accumulated a lot of prestige, and the guards from Tortoiseshell Island were each more fierce than the last, and could control the situation very well, the ordinary servants and maids and women in the team would have been in chaos long ago.
Even so, the confidant maids such as Jinli and Juli were no longer as lively as before when they came to Sheng Weiqiao: "No wonder people say that there are many unruly people in the poor mountains and rivers. Now we are getting more and more desolate. These bandits and bandits are here." There are more and more of them."
"Don't worry." Sheng Weiqiao comforted them, "We are not the kind of merchants who are easy to bully! If you dare to come here to seek death, the weapons in the hands of the guards will not look good!"
After calming down in front of the maid, he looked back and thought about the next trip. It was getting more and more desolate as he walked. With the speed of their group, it wouldn't be surprising if they couldn't see any people after walking for three or two days. If the other party was Seize this opportunity and gather a large number of people to charge forward, but what should you do
She told Rong Suihe about her worries while settling down at night, and suggested that he find a prosperous town to stay temporarily and send someone to go to the Western Xinjiang Army quickly to get some soldiers and horses to pick him up: "Even if the Western Xinjiang Army is far away, It is not as elite as the Northern Xinjiang Army, but it is a serious imperial army at least. And now it has entered the scope of Western Xinjiang. If you ask them to find an excuse to leave their base and come here, they will be willing to give them more money."
But Rong Suihe shook his head when he heard this: "My dear girl, it is indeed safer to do this, but I have passed the first prize, so in the minds of the world, I will inevitably leave the impression of being a scholar. But I am not that tall and tall. Tough, if I have to rely on the Western Xinjiang Army to support me even to reach Yizhou City, do you think the people in this place can still obey me after I take office?"
"Besides, we have never been to Western Xinjiang before, and there is no one we can trust in the Western Xinjiang army."
"On the contrary, the Meng tree has deep roots. Even if the main focus was on northern Xinjiang before, who knows if there are any arrangements in western Xinjiang in these years?"
"When the time comes, the person you spend money to buy is not a supporter, but an enemy. Wouldn't it make matters worse?"
Seeing Sheng Weiqiao's expression change after hearing this, he softened his tone and said comfortingly, "How could there be no trace of the army's movements! I have been sending people to keep an eye on the movements in Northern Xinjiang, and Meng Guiyu will also send me intelligence from the Meng family. , we are not powerless to fight back... Is it possible that your sleeping brother would still make fun of your dear daughter's life?"
Although Sheng Weiqiao was very dissatisfied with his habit of not talking carefully before the matter was accomplished, seeing that he was still thinking of teasing himself, he thought he was confident and complained a few times, so he did not ask further questions.
In the next few days, the team went more and more desolate, and the attacks became more and more frequent.
Rong Suihe and a group of guards just paid it back. They were all used to the life of licking blood with the tip of a knife, so they were not surprised by this harassment tactic. But where do servants and maids have such experiences
Even Ju Li and Jin Li, who were following Sheng Weiqiao and had been well protected, were obviously in low spirits, obviously due to being unable to sleep at night.
Sheng Weiqiao comforted them several times, but Juli and Jinli promised that they would not worry about anything, but assassins who might appear at any time made these servants who had always been raised in the deep house compound and were not familiar with the cruelty feel terrified all day long.
"If this continues, sooner or later they won't be able to bear it." Sheng Weiqiao felt very troubled and asked Rong Suihe again to discuss, "We have to find a way... What if we can't get to Yizhou?"
Rong Suihe counted the days and said, "It's okay, we're not far from Yizhou. This nuisance won't last long, and it will be over soon."
"When will it be?" Sheng Weiqiao was awestruck when he heard this.
"We're not sure yet." Rong Suihe looked at the map spread out on the table and pointed to several directions, "These places are all suitable for setting up ambushes, but the specific location that is most suitable depends on the weather and the next steps. The level of morale in our ranks is low.”
"Are you deliberately making the servants panic?" Sheng Weiqiao frowned, "so that the other party can misjudge the situation? However, the servants are really afraid now. I'm afraid they will be in chaos if there is a big scene later. . When the time comes, it’s just a matter of leaving the boxes and cages behind, and at most we’ll lose some money. I’m just afraid that they’ll make a mess, ruin my own life, and in turn help the other party.”
Rong Suihe was about to answer, but Xu Lianshan sent someone over to invite him, saying that he had to go and make the decision on something important.
He went for a while and then came back. When he saw Sheng Weiqiao still waiting worriedly, he couldn't help but laugh. He came up to his wife and kissed her: "Good girl, get up tomorrow. Let's not take the main road!"
"Do you have any ideas?" Sheng Weiqiao asked hurriedly, "Or have you received any news?"
"You'll know when the time comes!" Rong Suihe scratched the tip of her nose and said with a smile, "The road may be difficult to walk by then, and there are places where carriages can't pass. You and your aunt can only ride in a sedan or something. My dear girl, you have to go Just get off."
Sheng Weiqiao said: "Am I such a delicate person? It's not like I can't walk on my own. As long as I can reach Yizhou City peacefully, it doesn't matter."
The next day, the team actually got off the main road, led by a strange guide whom Sheng Weiqiao had never seen before, and headed into the remote dense forest.
It looked like we had been walking in the dense forest for two days. Because the forest was deep and the grass was dense, it was difficult to take care of both the front and back. Even though there were guards patrolling around the team to guard them, two servants were still killed in the attack, which made the already frightened team even more uneasy.
Both Jinli and Juli came to Sheng Weiqiao to ask whether they should stop going into the woods and go back to the main road to ask for help from the nearby government: "Several servants have died on the road before. These are all sons and daughters of our family." , several generations of people have been serving in the Sheng Mansion, and they are not comparable to the servants who were temporarily bought from outside. If the damage is too much on the road, and I return to Yizhou, I am afraid that the queen will not be able to summon it smoothly. "
Sheng Weiqiao smiled bitterly and said: "I have told Mi Zhen this a long time ago, but Mi Zhen said that if the government could be trusted, how could the road be so uneven now? After all, we are not familiar with the person in charge of this place. If the government's What should I do if someone joins the team but harbors evil intentions?"
"We'll be able to arrive at the place in two days." At this time, Rong Sleeping Crane happened to come over. After hearing the words, he comforted, "When we get to the place, we can solve this matter. It will be fine by then."
Sheng Weiqiao asked curiously: "Where? Where? It's still some distance away from Yizhou City, right?"
And this direction doesn't seem to go directly to Yizhou City.
Rong Suihe touched her temples and said with a smile: "Find a temporary place to stay. After all, there are many of us, and the servants and women are not used to fighting. We need to find a place to settle down, so that we can safely deal with others!"
"Then why do you want to go to such a remote place?" Sheng Weiqiao asked puzzledly, "Why don't you stop in the town you passed before?"
If the Meng family dispatched troops from northern and western Xinjiang to intercept and kill them, they would not dare to openly attack towns, right
Rong Suihe smiled and said: "Good girl, didn't you say that? Those places are not trustworthy."
"Then what place in this wilderness is trustworthy?" Sheng Weiqiao thought for a while and couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "Could it be that you sent someone in advance to build a stronghold here?"
Rong Suihe just smiled and didn't answer, still saying the same thing: "You'll know when we get there."
The team then walked for another four or five days. Due to the deaths of the two servants at the beginning, the guards became more alert, but no more people died later.
But the road is getting harder and harder to walk.
Because there were dense forests all around, Sheng Weiqiao thought she was walking into the wilderness at first. Later, even if there were people taking turns holding machetes to clear the way, the carriage couldn't go, and even the sedan was not easy to pass. She really could only let her follow Xuan Yu Feng. After getting off the car and walking, I found that the terrain began to rise, heading up the mountain.
"Mi Zhen, are you planning to sell us?" Sheng Weiqiao was not the only one who was uneasy about this situation. Xuan Yu and Feng, who had always been calm, asked half jokingly and half tentatively, "Sell us to the mountains?"
Rong Suihe then revealed: "I just want to find a small village that is easy to defend but difficult to attack to place you all, and we will pick you up when the future is cleared."
Sheng Weiqiao was unhappy because of this: "If my aunt asks you, just say it. If I ask you, just take care of the other things!"
Although he explained that this was because Xuan Yu was not far from the small village when Feng asked, and there was no need to keep it secret, Sheng Weiqiao still refused to talk to him for two consecutive days... Until the third day, Rong Suihe said that the small village The village finally appeared in front of everyone.