Does Salin use soldiers like this to guard the border? It's really poor enough, not at all like the rumors. Sure enough... some rumors can't be completely believed... Xia Zuo felt funny in his heart after reading it. He raised the corners of his mouth, looked down at the old soldier, and asked aloud: "What are you doing here?"
"We are performing our duties. One, to prevent unknown troops from invading, two, to prevent criminals from entering the sarin, three, to prevent unscrupulous traders from smuggling goods, four..." The old soldier said, holding his long gun tightly, with a tense expression. The tone of voice was blunt, and it looked like he had memorized the content by rote. Xia Zuodu doubted whether the other party knew the meaning of the words, "... Seven, check whether the entry documents are legal and complete, eight..."
"Okay, stop!" Xia Ya interrupted the old man's recitation, moved his eyebrows and asked, "Why, according to what you said, if people like me want to enter the sarin, we have to hand in a pass? Otherwise, we can only turn around and go back?"
"Actually... you have already entered sarin, so whether you want to go back or not, you must hand in legal and complete entry documents, otherwise you will enter the country illegally." The old soldier hesitated and answered bravely.
"Ha!" Xia Zuo couldn't help opening his mouth to laugh after hearing this. He looked at the two soldiers, one old and one young, and then at the five hundred cavalry beside him. He felt like he was hearing the funniest joke, and his lips burst into laughter. The two beards trembled.
"Did I hear it wrong, or did you say it wrong? Just the two of you, you want to check me? What if I refuse?" After Xia Ya smiled for a while, he stopped his smile and asked the two soldiers.
The old soldier's expression changed, and he took a step back and said, "Sir, please don't make things difficult for us. We are doing this on a routine basis. Please cooperate..."
"Hahaha, hahaha." After hearing the old soldier's words, Xia Zuo couldn't help but laugh again, thinking it was really funny. After laughing for a few seconds, he turned to look at the soldiers beside him, with a serious expression on his face, and said, "What are you still doing? Take these two people down."
"Yes!" The soldier obeyed the order and immediately rushed towards the two Sarin soldiers.
Two Sarin soldiers tried to resist, but the old man and the young man were really incapable of fighting. They were knocked to the ground within a few seconds, and the spears used as weapons were kicked more than ten meters away.
The strong soldier pinned the two Sarin soldiers to the ground, looked at Xia Zuo and asked, "Sir, do you want to kill them?"
"That's not necessary." Xia Zuo waved his hand, "We are here to visit Sarin, not to invade. Killing is too much. Tie up these two guys with bad minds and the following crimes, and throw them here. Just let them fend for themselves and then we go on our way."
"By the way, remember to knock him out before leaving him here." Xia Zuo added seriously, "I don't want them to find a way to untie the rope as soon as we leave, and then use some unknown method to attack Atlanta. If we leak the information, it will be difficult for us to keep this operation secret."
"Yes, sir." The strong soldier nodded, dragging the two Sarin soldiers towards the stone building.
The young soldier struggled fiercely and kept shouting, as if he was cursing: "You will not end well if you dare to do this. You are illegally invading and attacking sentries. If the regular Sarin troops find out, you will definitely You will regret it. Sarin’s regular troops will definitely tear you apart and make you understand that Sarin is not something to be trifled with..."
However, the shouting stopped abruptly, accompanied by a muffled groan.
Then the strong soldier who walked into the stone building came out and reported back to Xia Zuo: "Sir, everything is done."
"Well, let's go." Xia Zuo didn't say much. He waved his hand and signaled the team to start again and head towards the depths of the sand forest.
…
Soon, the team marched for several miles, and as expected, as Xia Zuo's men in yellow clothes said, the terrain began to rise and fall, and the existence of the outpost was no longer visible.
"Ta-ta-ta..."
While riding on horseback, Xia Zuo looked back at the direction of the previous outpost and asked his men in yellow clothes: "We have completely entered the sarin now, right?"
"Yes, my lord."
"However, we did not encounter anyone's obstruction. It seems that there is a big gap between Sarin and what he said, and the military's vigilance is not very high." Xia Zuo said sarcastically, thought for a while, and added, "By the way, from now on, two ten-person reconnaissance teams will be sent to our front, left and right. The reconnaissance distance is three miles. We will send people in turns to report the investigation content and determine whether the surrounding area is safe."
The men in yellow clothes were a little puzzled after hearing this: "Sir, didn't you say... Sarin is not very vigilant? No one stopped us, so why are we still doing this?"
"It is true that Sarin's vigilance is not high, but my vigilance cannot be as low as theirs. I still have to be prepared for what I need to be prepared for." Xia Zuo said, "This time I will try my best to reach Atlanta City with no traces. Only in this way can I have the effect." surprise' effect."
"Well… "
"Okay, let's do it."
"Yes." The men in yellow clothes nodded and began to select people from the investigation team.
After a while, six ten-man teams were sent out from three directions. On alert, the army continued to march.
…
March, march, march.
After a short break midway, the soldiers ate some dry food and fed the horses some horse food. Then Xia Zuo commanded the team to continue approaching the center of Sarin, the city of Atlanta.
Along the way, Xia Zuo deliberately avoided all large and small population gathering points according to the map, trying to maintain the confidentiality of the journey.
But as we marched into the afternoon, he became a little anxious.
Not because of any problems, but because it went so smoothly.
Yes, it went very smoothly.
During his covert operations, except for the outpost he encountered at the beginning, he never encountered any other living person. Although he avoided the populated areas, he didn't even meet any farmers in the fields, fishermen in the ponds, hunters in the forests, or pedestrians on the road, which was very strange.
He couldn't help but wonder if the entire Sarin was deserted, and he had the urge to visit the population centers on the map.
However, his reason stopped him from this impulse. He gently pressed the beard on his lips, reached out and took out a flat egg-shaped creation from his pocket. After opening it, he glanced at the beating needle on it and confirmed the time.
Speaking of which, the thing called the "Golden Needle Pocket Watch" in his hand was mass-produced and circulated in Sarin. It has passed through the hands of countless businessmen. By the time it was placed in Xia Ya's shop, it was already worth a fortune. price.
Because this thing seemed not to be liked by the new emperor, it was once banned by law. But it couldn't stand up to its exquisiteness and ease of use, so it kept spreading on the black market. Finally, with no other option, the ban began to be lifted, heavy taxes were imposed instead, and tax evaders were severely punished.
The "Golden Needle Pocket Watch" in his hand was originally a complete batch of thirty pieces, which were confiscated by Xia Ya officials from smugglers who were evading taxes. After the confiscation, the pocket watches did not enter the treasury, but were returned to the market through some means. During this process, he obtained a piece at a low price through internal channels, and has been using it until now, and has become quite proficient in it. So with just a glance, I knew that it had been several hours since entering the border of Sarin.
And the more this happened, the more uneasy it made him feel.
Since Salin can produce such exquisite things as "gold needle pocket watches" in large quantities, no matter how you look at it, it shouldn't be as bad as he suspected.
Absolutely not…
But if Sarin is not so unbearable, why haven't you noticed anything about him until now? Why haven't you encountered any large-scale military strongholds or patrolling soldiers when you go to such a deep place
This is the entire border... No, is the entire territory undefended
Thinking of this, Xia Zuo couldn't help but press his beard again, and after thinking about it, he ordered again to the men in yellow clothes: "Send an additional ten-person reconnaissance team in the three directions of the front, left and right to expand the reconnaissance distance. To Wuli. In addition, three ten-person reconnaissance teams are sent to the back. No matter whether they find anything or not, ask them to report back every ten minutes."
"Sir, you..."
"implement!"
"Yes." The men in yellow clothes looked at Xia Zuo's ugly face, didn't say much, and lowered their heads decisively.
…
Not long after, six new ten-man reconnaissance teams were sent out. All the reconnaissance forces had occupied more than one-fifth of the main force, covering four complete directions, front, rear, left, and right.
Logically speaking, Xia Zuo can rest assured.
But Xia Zuo didn't, and instead became more anxious.
In anxiety, after marching for half an hour, the team began to repair for the second time.
People are not hungry, but the horses need to eat special horse food again, otherwise they will not be able to support the long and long journey ahead.
The whole team stopped to rest in an open space. The surroundings were quiet, except for the chirping of insects and birds.
Listening to the voice full of field atmosphere, Xia Zuo was in a trance and couldn't help but wonder if he was being too cautious.
At this moment, he heard the soldier on guard exclaim: "What is that?!"
"Huh?" Xia Zuo looked quickly, then narrowed his eyes and saw several black spots approaching rapidly in the distant sky.
What is it