The so-called personal guards of the governor were just an extra job for Yan Liqiang, such as walking and feeding the horses.
Huangfu Qianqi already had a groom, so every time Yan Liqiang went to the Governor's Mansion, the attitude of the groom who took care of the horses for the Governor-General towards Yan Liqiang reminded Yan Liqiang of the time when Sun Wukong was the Horse Keeper.
However, Yan Liqiang was not a pampered person. Following the principle that one of three people can be my teacher, he was polite to the groom every time he went there and did not hesitate to ask questions. After two months of serving as a personal soldier, Yan Liqiang learned most of the groom's skills in taking care of the Rhino Horse, which was a considerable achievement.
The last time Yan Liqiang saw Huangfu Qianqi was last month. Every year after the beginning of autumn, the cavalry of the Black Jie tribe would harass and loot the border between Ganzhou and Fengzhou the most. The people of the Black Jie tribe called this "beating the grass valley". It was said that the harassment of the Black Jie tribe was increasing this year, so last month, when the weather was getting colder, Huangfu Qianqi took a few other personal soldiers and a battalion of cavalry with him to patrol Baishi Pass west of Pingxi County.
Outside Baishi Pass is close to Qiyun Mountain. Although the Heijie tribe does not have a direct border with Pingxi County, and Pingxi County has been harassed by the Heijie tribe only a few times, Huangfu Qianqi is still a little worried due to his duties, so he has to go there in person.
Because Yan Liqiang wanted to study at the National Martial Arts Museum, Huangfu Qianqi met with Yan Liqiang before he left, encouraged him, and finally let Yan Liqiang stay.
Huangfu Qianqi has four rhinoceros horses. He brought two with him this time, and the other two were left in Pingxi City. So Yan Liqiang, as usual, came to the Governor's Mansion every seven days to take good care of Huangfu Qianqi's rhinoceros horses.
"It snowed last night, so we need to add some hay to the stable today to keep the ground dry so that the rhino horses can sleep more soundly. Ordinary horses sleep standing up, but rhino horses usually sleep standing up. When it's cold, they will be a bit like rhinos, curling up their legs and sleeping on their stomachs. Try to close the windows of the stable. If it's going to snow heavily at night, then when feeding the evening feed, feed each rhino horse half a pound of small black beans soaked in white wine. This way, the rhino horses won't lose weight during the winter and will be full of energy every day..."
Inside the stable of the Governor's Mansion, Yan Liqiang and the groom cleaned the stable together, covered the rooms of the rhino horses with dried straw, added evening feed, and groomed the two rhino horses until they were shiny and fit. The groom explained things to Yan Liqiang while he was working on them, and also passed on his horse-feeding skills to Yan Liqiang.
After finally taking care of the two rhinoceros horses, Yan Liqiang clapped his hands, washed them in the basin beside him, and took off the overalls he wore when doing dirty work. "Uncle Hu, that's all for today. I'm going back. I'll come back in a few days. I'm sorry to bother you these days, Uncle Hu!"
"No trouble, no trouble..." Uncle Hu, the groom, smiled naively, "I also want to thank you for the wine and beef you brought me today. It's such a big expense..."
"Hahaha, I want to learn how to feed horses from you, Uncle Hu. Why do you always come empty-handed? Next time I will bring some delicious wine to Uncle Hu..."
"My son, you will have a bright future if you follow the commander-in-chief..."
"Haha, thank you Uncle Hu for your kind words..."
After saying goodbye to the groom Uncle Hu, Yan Liqiang walked out of the Governor's Mansion from its side door. At this time, the sky was already a little dark, but the snow was still falling. The temperature seemed to be a little colder than during the day, and there were fewer pedestrians on the street. Many of the shops on the street were closed, and only a few restaurants, inns and other places still had lanterns hanging outside the shops, which made people feel a lot warmer in this cold night.
Snowflakes fell from the sky and landed right on Yan Liqiang's collar. The chill made Yan Liqiang perk up again.
Yan Liqiang pulled the dog-skin hat on his head and wrapped the scarf around his neck twice, leaving only half of his face exposed. He looked at the streets on both sides. During the day, there were rickshaw pullers on the streets, but now there was not even a rickshaw puller to be seen, and there were few pedestrians. He probably had to walk to Sanyuan Street on foot.
Fortunately, it is in Pingxi City, so it is not far no matter how far you walk. It will take at most an hour, which is enough for me to walk back home.
Yan Liqiang walked slowly along the street, heading towards the courtyard.
…
Half an hour later, Yan Liqiang had walked far away from the Governor's Mansion and the sky had become completely dark.
In order to return to the courtyard earlier, Yan Liqiang took shortcuts that he rarely took on weekdays, such as the small streets outside the main streets in Pingxi City and the alleys in the residential areas.
Yan Liqiang had just walked through an alley in a commercial district when he heard the sound of a horse-drawn carriage behind him. He took the initiative to move to the side of the road.
The carriage passed by Yan Liqiang without stopping and continued moving forward.
Yan Liqiang took a look at the carriage. It was a bit old, with a slightly long carriage. It was a cargo truck. A driver was sitting at the front waving a whip and driving the carriage. He was wearing a cloak and was exposed to the snow. He did not notice Yan Liqiang who was walking on the side of the road.
There happened to be a tavern on the roadside ahead. A row of lanterns were hung outside the tavern, illuminating the road outside the tavern. When the carriage passed by the road outside the tavern, Yan Liqiang, who was walking behind the carriage, felt as if he was stabbed. He stopped in his tracks and stared blankly at the back of the coachman who was leaving.
At that moment, under the light of the lanterns hanging outside the tavern, the back of the coachman appeared briefly. At that moment, Yan Liqiang clearly saw the side profile of the coachman's head.
The coachman was also wearing a dog-skin hat and a thick cotton jacket, but some skin was still exposed between his hat and the collar of his jacket.
The coachman's right ear had disappeared and was flat under the brim of his hat, but on the exposed few inches of skin on his neck below the ear, one could still see a snake-like mark that had not yet faded.
This fallen ear, this scar on the neck... Isn't that carriage driver the Shatu man whose ears were broken by me at the city gate that day
Although I didn't see the coachman's face, the scars on his ears and neck, as well as his back, were unmistakable.
The Shatu man was not wearing Shatu clothing at the moment, but Han clothes, wrapping himself tightly. He drove out in a carriage so late at night, far away from the city where the Shatu people were. Everything about him revealed a kind of weirdness.
The first thing Yan Liqiang thought of was whether this was a trap set by the Bushatu people, but in a second he rejected this idea because he was taking a small road today and many routes were decided on at the last minute. Even if the Bushatu people knew that he was going to come out of the Governor's Mansion today, they could not calculate which road he would take and then set a trap on the road specifically to wait for him.
The carriage in front was less than fifty meters away from the tavern when it turned left and went onto another road next to it.
After a few thoughts flashed through his mind, Yan Liqiang quickened his pace while lightening his footsteps. He used the Nine Palaces Wind Shadow Steps and quickly and quietly chased after the carriage at the turn...
(End of this chapter)