The sergeants gathered around him with their guns in hand. Yuwen Hongtai was stunned for a moment, then laughed: "Just in time, I'm worried that I can't find the boundary of Xiangyang County Government!"
The leading military academy member was startled for a moment, then looked at Qin Mubai and others carefully, took a few steps forward and asked in a solemn voice: "Who are you?"
Qin Mubai then smiled and said, "Didn't the military master just now think that we are accomplices of the water ghosts? Why are you asking questions again?"
The military academy's face twitched, and he grinned and said: "Look at you, you look very calm and calm, I guess you are not an ordinary person. To tell the truth, I can think about it carefully."
"Lieutenant?" Qin Mubai smiled slightly when he heard this, "I wonder what title the military master will have?"
"Zhao Chong is the captain of a certain Xiangzhou Prefecture Zuoying School." After the military academy finished speaking in a deep voice, his brows were still furrowed, "Quickly tell me, who are you?"
"Colonel? I thought you were the captain!" Qin Mubai couldn't help but laugh, "It's the responsibility of the yamen to interrogate cases and criminals, right? What does it have to do with you, the captain of the military government? Stop chatting and take us with you. Let’s go!”
"You!... You really refused to drink the toast, but drank the fine wine!" Zhao Chong was annoyed, his eyes were glaring with anger, his eyebrows were standing up, and a flesh-colored scar appeared on the left side of his face, which looked a bit ferocious.
At this time, Li Ke came out and said with a smile: "Captain Zhao, calm down! We are just ordinary businessmen. We have always been friendly to make money, and peace is the most important thing. The people do not fight with the officials, since the captain has determined that we are water ghosts Comrades, then take us to the county government or the state government, and wait for the governor or the county magistrate to come to the court to inquire about the case. How can we be heard in public and asked about it? Let outsiders mistakenly believe that Colonel Zhao has set up a private court? "
"You, you... you have such a slippery mouth!" Zhao Chong became more and more angry, swung his horsewhip angrily, and shouted at the sergeant behind him, "What are you doing standing still? Tie them all up and take them away!"
"How dare you!" Yuwen Hongtai yelled, and Li Ke hurriedly grabbed him, "That's all, it's Wang Fa of the Tang Dynasty who kidnapped us, not Captain Zhao, let him be!"
"Hmph! The surnamed Zhao! Foolish official, dog official, stupid official! Remember today for grandpa! If you dare to tie us, tomorrow grandpa will tie you up and drag you to the streets until you die - come on, tie us up!" Yuwen Hongtai threw his hands behind his back and shouted.
This roar made Zhao Chong tremble all over, his eyes turned suspiciously, and he wondered in his heart: This is strange, where can there be such unfaithful people who are not afraid of officials? Judging by the demeanor and conversation of these people, they must be extraordinary people; just after listening to the words of this big black man, he seemed to be confident. Could it be that he really has a great background? Or just posturing? ... That's all, be careful and make the Wannian Ship, I am only responsible for picking up people, how to ask the case is from the yamen, can I offend people again
"I am not the same as you!" Zhao Chong sneered at Yuwen Hongtai, "Come here, put them on the horse and go directly to the Yamen of the Governor's Mansion. This is a big case and must be heard directly by the Governor's Mansion. Since riding a horse ... There’s no need to tie them up! You all should be honest! If you dare to escape or make trouble, these carbines and crossbows don’t have eyes, huh!”
Qin Mubai and Li Ke laughed, thinking that Zhao Chong still had some eyesight and knew some good and bad things.
So several sergeants stepped forward, half pushing and half pushing Qin Mubai and others onto their horses, holding them with knives, and then one person rode behind them, and more than fifty riders galloped away.
A group of government officials were left there in a daze. The leader of the government officials, Zhou Laojiu, murmured with puzzled eyes: "Something's wrong... Why do I feel that this group of people are more anxious to go to the government office than Zhao Chong? How can there be such a thing in the world?" Thief? It’s broken! … I’m afraid I’m causing trouble this time and I’ve offended someone I shouldn’t have!”
"Come here! Go to the county office quickly and inform the county governor of what just happened!"
"yes-"
Xiangyang County is the capital of Xiangzhou. The county government office and the state government office are across the street, and it only takes a cup of tea to walk. As for Xiangzhou Prefecture, more than 2,000 troops and horses were stationed in the Maolin Plateau in the west of Zhouyang City, less than fifteen miles away from the city. The Eight Ghost Crossing where the incident occurred is even closer to the Xiangzhou Military Mansion, only less than five miles away, so Zhao Chong and others arrived quickly enough today.
Qin Mubai felt a little leisurely as he rushed over. After carefully observing the riding skills of these sergeants, I found that their skills were not weak. So he made a bold guess and asked the knight behind him: "Hey, brothers, are you Yueqi from Xiangzhou Prefecture?"
"Huh?" The sergeant, who was about thirty years old, said slightly stunned, "How do you know?"
"Ha! In a land with many ports and rivers in the south, it is rare to see cavalry like you with superb riding skills and well-equipped horses." Qin Mubai said, "So I will take a guess, you should be from Xiangzhou The government’s few mercenaries and elite Yueqi soldiers.”
The sergeant opened his eyes wide in surprise, and shouted in a low voice: "Stop talking nonsense!"
Qin Mubai smiled slightly, knowing that he had guessed correctly.
The Zhenguan Tang Dynasty implemented a government military system, and the main source of military force was farmers. Farmers farmed in their spare time and served as soldiers in wartime, preparing their own grain, grass and weapons for military service. Nowadays, the martial arts of the Tang Dynasty is strong, and the country is peaceful and the people are safe and the people have no worries about food and clothing. Therefore, the military government of the Tang Dynasty never worries about the source of troops. Even so, the Tang Dynasty still hired a group of elite soldiers, who were provided with food, wages, weapons and other supplies by the state, which served as a fixed source of troops. For example, the Yulin Army such as Baiqi, Qianniu Guard, and Left and Right Prison Guards are mostly mercenary troops, but they are mostly composed of children from official families, and it is difficult for ordinary people to be selected.
Among the other twelve guards' soldiers, there are generally several types of arms: Yue cavalry, armed cavalry, platoon soldiers, infantry, archers, crossbows, etc.
Among them, Yueqi are generally mercenaries, who are specially selected to serve as those who can ride, shoot, brave and fight. In every military mansion, there must be a group of such people as the elite backbone. But if they go into battle, Yueqi is the spearhead of charging into battles and destroying cities and villages. It is also the most precious unit among the Twelve Guards of the Tang Dynasty.
In the southern border, the elite cavalrymen are particularly noble.
In other words, the group of Yueqi in front of him will be the most practical trump card in Qin Mubai's hands in the future.
Qin Mubai found it funny when he thought about it. He had just stepped onto the ground in Xiangzhou and was captured by his own men before he took office...
Zhao Chong and others "carried" Qin Mubai and his party into Xiangyang County, which is the capital of Xiangzhou, by a familiar route. When the people in the city saw the soldiers swarming into the city with great force, they all came to watch, and the city became lively for a while.
More than fifty cavalry drove directly to the Governor's Yamen. After going in and passing the news, a Cao Cao from the Governor's Office came out to pick them up. Fa Cao, surnamed Wu, was in his forties or fifties. Seeing such a formation, he was shocked at first. After asking for the reason, he announced on the spot: "In view of the fact that the new governor, Sima, Chang Shi and other superior officials have not yet taken office, we will first The prisoners were put into prison and kept under guard."
Li Ke then smiled, got off his horse and walked up to the Fa Cao calmly, looked him up and down, and said, "You are the Fa Cao of Xiangzhou Prefecture."
"Exactly." Wu Facao was a little annoyed at being looked at so unscrupulously by a criminal, and said angrily, "You, a thief who committed a crime, dare to be so arrogant in the governor's palace and talk to me like this?"
"Then how should I talk to you?" Li Ke sneered, "How come you are the only one left in such a large provincial governor's office? Where are those individuals who are driving, joining the army, and having doctorate degrees?"
"What does it have to do with you?" Wu Facao continued to scold him, but still said, "All of your colleagues have gone to Guandu Wharf to welcome the new governor of the state, His Highness King Wu. Are they still waiting to welcome you as a prisoner? Stop talking nonsense, you just Wait for the new governor to come to court for questioning—take him away!”
"Haha!" Li Ke laughed and greeted Qin Mubai, "I'm tired after traveling for several days. Everyone, it's okay for us to just go to the cell in Xiangzhou and relax."
Qin Mubai also smiled and said: "I wonder if there is such a thing as good wine and meat?"
"I have never seen such a desperate prisoner like you!" Wu Fa Cao was furious, "Take them away! Take good care of them!"
A group of government officials came forward, wielding water and fire sticks, and drove Qin Mubai and his party to the prison.
Zhao Chong rolled his eyes for a while, then stepped forward and said to Wu Facao: "Brother Wu, I feel something is wrong."
"What's wrong?"
"This group of people... are very unhappy!" Zhao Chong said, "Where have you ever seen such arrogant criminals? When they entered the Yamen, they followed them as if they were at home. They were about to go to prison, but they all had smiles on their faces. Taunting us. It seems... they have a lot of background!"
Wu Facao was stunned for a moment: "How did you get these people?"
Zhao Chong then told what happened. Wu Facao was stunned for a long time, blinked his eyes and said, "Are you arresting people indiscriminately to take credit again?"
"Bullshit!" Zhao Chong was angry, "It's obvious that your government officials identified them as accomplices of the water ghosts and asked us to help catch them. How can you blame us? In this case, don't come back if you encounter trouble in the future. You're bothering my military government!" After saying that, Zhao Chong was about to leave.
"Hey, hey, hey, don't be impulsive, don't be angry, if you have something to say, please say it..."
…
Qin Mubai and the others entered the prison, but they did not suffer any grievances. Two or three people were placed in a cell. Apart from the unpleasant smell, there was nothing else to suffer from. The prison laws of the Tang Dynasty were unprecedentedly enlightened and humane. Except for a few bad guys who turned a deaf ear to the law, there were few incidents of prisoner abuse. Prisoners who have not been tried and convicted do not need to wear handcuffs.
Qin Mubai and Li Ke were only separated by a cell, and they could talk while sitting with their backs together.
"Young Master, I didn't find anything strange. I thought they would kill good people and take credit for their merits, or they might have colluded with the water ghosts themselves and wanted to kill us halfway. It was safe and sound along the way." Qin Mu Bai whispered, "In this case, they are at most neglecting their duties or being careless. It is not very likely that there is collusion between the officers, soldiers, government officials, and the water ghosts."
Li Ke nodded lightly and said: "It is still possible to determine whether there is collusion between the government, the military, and the water ghosts. But one thing is for sure, they at least did not do anything, and even tolerated the water ghosts. Maybe they were used to these chronic diseases and didn't bother to make great efforts to deal with them. They just caught a few culprits and sent them to the higher authorities, so they just arrested them without asking any questions. You saw these sergeants just now. They clearly work hard and waste less energy if they can. Even if they arrest the wrong person, they don't bother to care so much, because it is the Yamen's business to try the case, so they can just push it away. The cooperation between the governor's office and the military government in Xiangzhou is very poor, and they are pushing each other's back. "
"Young master, you really have a sharp eye." Qin Mubai nodded and smiled, "The water ghosts have been running rampant in Xiangzhou for decades, and there must be many reasons. We also heard from the yamen servant before that the water ghosts There are people who are secretly 'supporting' them. Is this inaction and slackness between the Yamen and the Military Government a tacit understanding between them? Possibly. Who can guarantee whether there is any exchange of interest between them?"
"So we have to stay calm and wait a little longer to see." Li Ke raised the corner of his mouth and said with a confident smile, "Actually, being a prisoner is quite good. At least you can see a lot of things that we usually can't see. . Now we are in this prison, adapting to the changes and seeing what tricks they can play. "
"That's fine." Qin Mubai nodded and smiled, "Sir, is it fun to travel incognito like this? I see you are enjoying it very much."
"Exciting!" Li Ke laughed.
"You are laughing so happily, you won't be able to laugh anymore for a while." Suddenly a cold voice came from the side, still a female voice.
Qin Mubai and Li Ke were startled at the same time, wondering in their hearts: Who has such outstanding ears? Did you hear our conversation in such a low voice
Xue Rengui on the side said in surprise: "I didn't expect that there are experts in this cell!"
Qin Mubai's expression was even more strange: "This voice sounds so familiar—Hey, who is talking to us?"
There was silence for a while, and then the sound of shackles was heard from the left side. In the innermost cell, a voice came from a faint voice: "How can we never meet again in life, Mu Bai! I never expected that after half a year, we would meet here in such a way."
"Ah?" Qin Mubai was shocked. He sat up and looked at the other side and said in shock, "Are you - Chen Yan?!"
"That's right." The voice said calmly, "It's me."