More than ten riders on rhinoceros horses galloped all the way, and in just a moment, they arrived at the north gate of Pingxi City.
Compared with usual days, the checkpoints at the North Gate are more stringent, and the number of soldiers stationed on both sides of the city gate is almost three times more than usual. When Yan Liqiang and his men arrived at the North Gate, they did not dismount. Liang Yiji, who was riding in front, took out a token, and flashed it at the officer guarding the city gate while riding on his horse. After the officer saw it clearly, the group rode their horses into the city gate.
While still in the city gate, Yan Liqiang saw that at the entrance to the city, a caravan of Shatu people was stopped by the soldiers stationed at the city gate.
"All Shatu people, get off your horses. You are not allowed to ride into the city on horseback. All goods must be inspected. Everyone must pay double the entrance fee to enter the city..." An officer at the door shouted orders to the Shatu people on horseback.
"Why, why do we have to dismount? Last time we came, we were able to ride into the city on horseback, and we didn't have to pay an entrance fee..." A Shatu caravan leader rode on a horse and shouted in fluent Chinese to the soldiers at the city gate in dissatisfaction, and the Shatu people behind him also followed suit.
The officer at the door laughed wildly, then his voice suddenly turned cold. "Why? I'll tell you why. Pingxi City has changed. We don't want to spoil you anymore. We don't want you to be our masters anymore. Is that reason enough? If you want to enter the city, follow our rules. If you don't want to enter the city, get out of the way. If you dare to force your way in, what do you say we should do, brothers?"
"Kill..." Several rows of soldiers at the entrance of the city gate roared and at the same time put down their spears and aimed them at the Shatu people. The archers on the towers on both sides also aimed their arrows below. The Shatu people who were used to bullying others experienced this scene for the first time. Their faces changed color and their mounts were frightened and took a few steps back.
Seeing Yan Liqiang and his men rushing in from the city gate on horseback, the soldiers guarding the city gate drove the Shatu caravan aside and cleared the way to the exit.
When passing by those Shatu people, Liang Yiji looked at them coldly, and a dozen rhinoceros horses galloped past them.
After galloping a hundred meters, Yan Liqiang heard the cheers of the people at the city gate behind him. He turned around and saw that the team of Shatu people dismounted obediently and paid the entrance fee before they were allowed to enter the city.
"What do you think, Li Qiang?" Liang Yiji, who was riding on a horse, turned around and asked Yan Liqiang.
"It should have been done long ago!" Yan Liqiang answered straightforwardly, "When I first came to Pingxi City, I saw the Shatu people entering the city with arrogance and domineering manners. If this continues, these Shatu people may think that they should be the masters of Pingxi City!"
"Hahaha, that's right, it should have been done long ago. If we continue to allow Ye Tiancheng and his ilk to act recklessly, collude with the Shatu people, and sell out their country for fame and fortune, sooner or later, these Shatu people will become the thorn in the side of our Han Dynasty!"
"These Shatu people are ungrateful and untameable. If that day really comes, it might be a good thing!" Yan Liqiang smiled slightly.
“Why is it a good thing?”
“Once and for all!”
After hearing Yan Liqiang's words, Liang Yiji looked at him deeply, nodded, and said nothing more.
…
The group rode out of the city and when they reached the outside, the rhinoceros horses sped up immediately. In just a few minutes, they followed the official road and arrived at a small hill seven or eight miles away from the north gate.
The hill is right next to the official road and is covered with dense bamboo forests, making it look quite quiet and peaceful. At the foot of the hill is the river.
A manor covering hundreds of acres is located deep in the bamboo forest of this hill. On weekdays, this manor seems quite mysterious. Even the villagers in the surrounding towns and villages at the foot of the hill don’t know who lives on this hill. They can only see a corner of the building with red walls and green tiles in the bamboo forest from afar. If you want to come up, you will be stopped by the servants and guards of the manor at the foot of the mountain. It is impossible for ordinary people to go up the mountain.
In the entire Pingxi City, only a few people knew that this was the real place where Ye Tiancheng, the governor of Pingxi City, stayed. Except for the occasional visit when he was working, Ye Tiancheng rarely stayed in the backyard of the so-called governor's mansion. The few days when Sun Bingchen was inspecting Pingxi City were almost the longest time that Ye Tiancheng had stayed in the governor's mansion.
When Yan Liqiang and his men arrived at the mountain, hundreds of soldiers had already gathered outside the manor in the bamboo forest. Those soldiers had surrounded the entire manor. In addition to these soldiers, there was also a team of people dressed in constable uniforms waiting outside the manor.
Seeing Liang Yiji and his men arriving, they dismounted their horses, and an officer and a constable hurried over.
“Greetings, Lord Liang…” The officer saluted Liang Yijie. Although Liang Yijie was Sun Bingchen’s attendant, his official rank was not low, so it was appropriate for the officer to call him Lord Liang Yijie.
Liang Yijie nodded to the officer, "No one has come in here these days, right?"
"No, this place was sealed off on the 19th. We have been stationed here and have surrounded the place. All the servants inside have been quarantined and taken away. No one has been here in the past few days!"
"Thank you for your hard work!"
"It's not hard, it's not hard!" said the officer, and introduced the constable next to him to Liang Yijie, "This is Constable Han from the Criminal Investigation Office..."
Captain Han of the Criminal Investigation Office is a stocky man with a beard, a square face, and a dark complexion. He looks very honest, just like a farmer in the village.
“Greetings, Lord Liang…” Captain Han also bowed to Liang Yiji.
Yan Liqiang, who was standing next to Liang Yiji, heard Captain Han speak. Although he remained calm on the surface, his heart was suddenly shaken - because this voice was exactly the same as the voice of the man whom Qi Donglai called Master that he heard at Qi Donglai's place that night. Not only the voice was the same, but if you looked closely, the body shape of this captain was exactly the same as the one he saw that night - this man was a member of the White Lotus Sect hiding in Pingxi City.
Yan Liqiang originally wanted to wait until he had time to go to the gate of the Criminal Investigation Office and look for this person, but he didn't expect to see him here.
The chief judge of the Criminal Investigation Yamen was a lackey of Ye Tiancheng's gang and had been thrown into jail, but many constables and captains in the Criminal Investigation Yamen were still on duty. Even if Sun Bingchen was an inspector, it was impossible for him to arrest all of those who were doing the wrong things.
Yan Liqiang remained calm, and Captain Han just glanced at Yan Liqiang indifferently, as if he didn't know Yan Liqiang at all.
"After receiving Lord Sun's order, Captain Han has found several craftsmen who built the manor in the past two days. Those craftsmen are familiar with all the structures in the manor and have brought them..."
(End of this chapter)