seventy four
The journey might take a long time, so Xiao Weixin pulled him into his tent the night before he left and gave him a proper farewell party.
So much so that when You Shu went out early the next morning, his waist still felt a little sore.
It's different for those who have started to eat meat, especially their prince who has a strong learning ability. In just a short while, he can put what he learned in the book to use flexibly, and he has unlocked many new tricks without any guidance, which almost made You Shu, who is the first in physical fitness, unable to cope with it.
Well, it was just because he couldn’t hold back his laughter last time, and his prince insisted on getting back at him.
These men have boring egos.
You Shu sighed hypocritically, not thinking at all that he was also one of the people who enjoyed it last night.
After packing up everything, You Shu tried to travel light. He was traveling alone this time, and Xiao Weixin wanted to send two more people to go with him, but You Shu thought about it and felt that this was not appropriate. He had heard about the situation in Huzhou from Yingba before, and if too many people went, it would definitely arouse suspicion. It would be better for him to go alone, to save trouble.
Moreover, he still cared about what happened two nights ago. You Shu's sixth sense was always very accurate. Whenever he encountered danger, he would always follow his sixth sense and almost avoid most of the dangers. So he finally chose to leave Yingjiu, Yingqi and Yingsi with Xiao Weixin, so that he could feel more at ease when he went out.
It is not easy to sneak into Huzhou. You Shu pondered for a long time outside the city, observing the people coming and going in the city gate, and found that those who could successfully enter and leave the city had a special wooden sign hanging around their waists. The sign should be something like a pass. If you don't have it, you will not be allowed to enter.
You Shu made up his mind and waited in ambush on a small road outside the city to select a suitable candidate. It was not until the third day that he met a suitable person. He was a passerby dressed as a traveling merchant. Judging from his height and body shape, he was a bit similar to himself. If he borrowed his identity to sneak into the city, he should not be discovered.
After knocking the man unconscious, You Shu stripped him of his clothes and badge, tied him up and threw him on his horse without any hesitation. His horse had the ability to recognize the road and would take the man safely to Mianzhou.
After completing the disguise, You Shu put on a mask and swaggered into the city. As expected, the soldiers guarding the gate interrogated him. You Shu had been doing intelligence work for more than a year or two, so it was no difficulty for him to handle such trivial matters. He answered freely without any hesitation. The guards carefully checked his badge and let him go only after confirming that there was no problem.
The city of Huzhou was just as Lao Ba had said, with tight security everywhere. After You Shu sneaked into the city, he found that there were soldiers patrolling the main roads from time to time in the city, and everything was in an orderly manner. As long as they spotted anyone suspicious, they would mercilessly approach and arrest the person, so there were no people wandering around the streets.
You Shu chose a small inn to stay in. In a small room in a corner on the second floor, he could see most of the city. He stood in front of the window and looked out. The beacon tower not far away was where the rebel leader was stationed. If he wanted to really find out the situation, he had to find a way to enter the camp.
The main city of Huzhou is not as good as Mianzhou in a small way. The buildings and facilities in the city are old and simple, without any prosperous atmosphere. Moreover, the soil here is not very suitable for growing crops. Therefore, people here can only rely on doing business to earn some money for their families.
You Shu sniffed hard with his nose. There was always a strange fragrance in the air. He couldn't tell what it was. If he smelled it for a long time, he would feel relaxed and numb.
But that kind of mental relaxation was not normal relaxation. You Shu couldn't describe it accurately. He thought about it for a long time but couldn't figure it out. Forget it, let's wait and see after the investigation.
It was getting late now. You Shu asked the waiter to bring up some food and ate dinner alone in the small room. There was a knocking sound outside the window. You Shu put down his bowl and chopsticks and walked over to open the window. Sure enough, it was a kingfisher.
The Shadow Guard Battalion has its own special method of communication. Ordinary carrier pigeons can be easily intercepted and discovered, so they trained kingfishers to replace carrier pigeons and use them to deliver messages.
You Shu stuffed a small note into the bamboo tube under the kingfisher's wings, and then released the kingfisher, letting it go back to bring the letter to Xiao Weixin.
After finishing all this, You Shu asked someone to take away the empty plates, washed up briefly, turned off the lights and went to bed. This was the first time he had slept alone in such a long time, and he still felt empty all around him while lying on the small single bed, as if something was missing.
It turned out that he had gotten used to sleeping in the same bed with Xiao Weixin without knowing when, and he was really not used to sleeping alone again.
You Shu leaned sideways and looked at the waning moon in the sky through the half-open window, thinking about Xiao Weixin, and fell asleep unknowingly.
The next morning he got up and went downstairs to eat. There were not many guests in the inn, and the innkeeper served him food enthusiastically. When he heard that he would stay for a few more days, he was even happier and asked the waiter to bring him another plate of pickles.
You Shu asked casually, "Boss, why are you out of business?"
The shopkeeper sighed as he was counting on his abacus: "It's all because of the war. At the beginning of this year, there was a famine here, and the emperor imposed heavy taxes. Everyone couldn't stand it anymore, so some of the brothers followed him and joined the army."
"At first, everyone just wanted to have something to eat, but I don't know how they got such a large group of people. Now there is a strict martial law inside and outside the city. I heard that they want to fight with the emperor."
"Well, if you ask me, fighting doesn't matter. It doesn't matter who is the emperor. But if our little inn has no more guests staying in it, it will really be closed down."
You Shu ate his pancakes while listening to the shopkeeper's complaints, occasionally asking, "Who is the leader here?"
"He's a man called Liu Tiezhu." The shopkeeper shook his head. "He wasn't originally from here. I heard he was a bandit who fled from Jianghuai and became a bandit. He gathered a group of chivalrous people and rebelled against the heavens. Who would have thought that he would actually become a big shot."
"It's because of their military advisor." The waiter also interrupted at this time, "The military advisor is so elusive. Without him, would Liu Tiezhu be able to succeed?"
You Shu paused holding the pancake, raised his eyes and asked in confusion: "Military Advisor?"
"Yes." The shopkeeper was very talkative. As soon as You Shu raised a question, he began to chatter on: "It is said that Liu Tiezhu is very obedient to him and listens to him in everything."
"None of us has ever seen the military advisor, and we don't know what he looks like."
"He must be a capable person like Zhuge Liang. Otherwise, how could he have helped Liu Tiezhu, a useless man, to his current position?"
You Shu chewed a biscuit and listened silently to their conversation. It seemed that his prince's judgment was correct. Liu Tiezhu was probably not something to be feared. The really powerful person was some military advisor who was behind him and gave orders.
After finishing his meal, You Shu walked out of the inn, carrying a basket of cloth and pretending to be a traveling merchant to sell cloth. He observed that the guards on the street appeared every half an hour.
You Shu stood by the road and watched for a while, and found that their steps were neat and in unison, and even their footsteps were surprisingly regular. This was definitely not a result that ordinary militia could train to achieve in a short period of time. Even if the military advisor was so powerful, it would be impossible for him to train a group of idle bandits to be so disciplined in just a few months.
He was sure that these people were definitely from the regular army, or at least had served in the military properly.
But didn’t Yingba’s intelligence say that the rebels were all bandits? Where did these regular troops come from
It seems that there are indeed many strange places in Huzhou City.
You Shu pulled the brim of his hat lower, and after the group of people left, he followed them quietly. After the patrol soldiers patrolled around the main city for a long time, they returned to the camp.
The camp was in the southwest corner of Huzhou City. It was originally the main camp of the garrison troops, but now it was occupied by the rebels. You Shu hid in a tree at a distance. The patrol stopped at the gate and had a brief handover and inspection with the gatekeepers before being allowed to enter.
Complete military facilities can be seen in the camp, including a lookout tower, beacon tower, and martial arts field. It would be difficult for You Shu to enter like this. Ying Ba almost lost his life here, so he must be more careful.
You Shu squatted on a tree and stared at the camp, thinking that it would be great if he had a telescope. At such a long distance, even he couldn't see the people clearly.
It was not until noon that You Shu saw someone walking out of the camp. Judging from his clothes, he was probably a leader, perhaps Liu Tiezhu.
Liu Tiezhu walked around the camp and then started to walk out. He spoke to the gatekeeper and left the camp. You Shu held his breath and hid himself, not daring to leave any trace.
Liu Tiezhu led a few soldiers all the way north, talking and laughing from time to time on the way. He didn't look like he was going to do anything big. It was hard to imagine that even though he led such a large rebel army, he was no different from an ordinary farmer walking on the roadside.
Therefore, You Shu became more curious about the military advisor. Why did he choose Liu Tiezhu? Such a person would have a hard time becoming a future emperor, even a small village chief, but he could be a mountain king.
Generally, capable people must have considerations when choosing a master. Zhuge Liang did not just follow Liu Bei casually. I can't understand it.
You Shu jumped down from the tree only after the people had gone far away. After hesitating for a while, he still did not follow. He felt that he could not get any information from Liu Tiezhu, and the key still lay with the military advisor.
You Shu was not in a hurry to alert the enemy now, as today's mission had been almost completed. He knew that the military advisor did not come every day, so he could just find an opportunity to come again.
You Shu walked back in the setting sun, his mind still thinking about everything that had happened that day.
As expected, his brain is not very good and he is extremely insensitive to such things. If their prince were here, he would definitely be able to analyze for him who the military advisor might be.
On the first day of separation, You Shu actually felt as if "a long time has passed".
Although he didn't want to admit it, he did miss Xiao Weixin a little.
He now has the illusion of being a great writer, and he can write many love poems as soon as he picks up a pen, but the little diary is not in his hand.
It’s a pity that I can’t show my talent.