The capital is thousands of miles away from Luozhou.
The bumpy ride made Yang Dong feel like his bones were about to fall apart.
He rubbed his sore neck and was about to stand up when he felt a slightly cold, soft hand gently squeezing his shoulder.
"Xiaojia, why don't you stay in the palace? You come to this miserable place with me to suffer."
"If I were you, you would kill me without even leaving the palace!"
Behind the scenes, a satisfied smile appeared on Yao Jia's face.
Being able to serve Yang Dong closely these past few days made her feel extremely satisfied.
She even thought about how great it would be if she could keep going like this!
But unfortunately, in half a day's journey, they will enter the territory of Luozhou.
The capital of Luozhou is closed, located in the north of Luozhou.
According to common sense, most state pastoral offices are located in capital cities.
But the capital of Luozhou is located in Jiaocheng in the south of Luozhou, which echoes the closure of the capital.
The purpose of this trip for Yang Dong and his party is to visit the Prefectural Mufu in Jiaocheng.
His secret order was to be delivered to Luozhou Prefect Han Zheng.
If you want to go to Jiaocheng, you have to pass through Fengcheng. If we forcefully bypass the lockdown, it will take at least ten more days to travel.
Originally, Yang Dong planned to bypass the closed city, even if it meant taking an extra ten days' journey.
But Hong Laoliu gave up his idea with just one word.
"Boss Yang, this is inappropriate! Now that the war is in chaos, we can only take country roads to bypass the closed city. In this case, wouldn't we become fat in the eyes of the gangsters?"
As soon as he said this, Yang Dong no longer insisted on taking a detour.
Hong Laoliu would never admit it. He just didn't want to waste ten more days on the carriage.
Originally, Yang Dong and his party wanted to cover up and try not to attract Fengcheng's attention.
But what he didn't expect was that the old prince and Lin Luo had already prepared. Before they entered the city, a group of Longwu troops were dispatched to protect and monitor them.
As a result, Yang Dong and his party were forced to enter the closed city.
The city was under lockdown, but it was still devastated.
Although Yang Dong knew about the closure of the city from Yao Rui's secret letter.
But the sight before him still made it hard for him to breathe.
"Is this... the tragedy of the city being closed down?"
"If Lin Luo hadn't acted against the will, why would those people be like this!"
Yang Dong sighed deeply, lowered his head and remained silent.
Yao Jia stayed by his side, already crying into tears.
Even Hong Laoliu, who used to be the most unconventional person, has now put away his cynical attitude.
With a sullen face, he drove the carriage without saying a word.
As for the high and low protectors, their eyes were wide open, their eye sockets were red, and they were panting like an ox.
"Brother, I feel bad."
"Alas! Isn't this the despicable fate of us people! If it weren't for the protection of the saint, the same would be true for us two brothers."
…
Soon, under the leadership of Long Wujun,
Yang Dong's carriage stopped at the inn near the government office.
Yes, this was the inn where Yao Rui lived, but Yao Rui and the businessmen were all gone.
Captain Longwu only said that the old prince would personally summon them later, and then left.
Yang Dong and his party said they were resting in the inn, but in fact they were imprisoned in the inn.
Yang Dong tugged on Hong Laoliu's sleeves, and Hong Laoliu immediately understood.
After entering a guest room, Hong Laoliu took out a white porcelain bottle from his body and threw it out the window.
After a while, with a dull sound of falling to the ground, Hong Laoliu said:
"Tell me, Boss Yang, what do you want me to do?"
"We have an agreement beforehand. Your twenty taels are just for hiring me to protect your life, but they do not include doing things for you. If you..."
"Time is running out, please listen carefully."
Yang Dong took out a tael of broken silver with his backhand and stuffed it into Hong Laoliu's palm.
Hong Laoliu's eyes lit up and he nodded immediately.
Yang Dong said no more, but took out three explosive bags prepared in advance from the bag.
Under Hong Laoliu's doubtful eyes, he handed it to him.
"Senior Hong, please hide these three explosive bags in the main hall where we are hosting today's banquet, in the courtyard outside the main hall, and under the city gate. I wonder if you can do it?"
"Tch, why is this so difficult! Boy, you underestimate my strength, Hong Laoliu!"
With a look of disdain, Hong Laoliu pulled off the sheets from the bed and wrapped three explosive packets in them.
"But it's a long way to go, old beggar, I'm getting old, you have to pay more!"
There was a hint of hesitation on Yang Dong's face, and after a moment he changed the five taels of silver ingots in his hand into a copper coin.
With Hong Laoliu's greedy character, he should be able to do it with just a copper coin, right?
While he was thinking about it, Hong Laoliu had already snatched a copper coin.
He picked up the copper coin, wiped it, and immediately stuffed it into his pocket solemnly.
"Okay, don't worry, leave this matter to me!"
"gone!"
While talking, Hong Laoliu's figure had disappeared into the guest room.
Yang Dong looked out the window and saw Hong Laoliu's moving figure, and couldn't help but take a breath of cold air.
With such a dexterous figure, is he really just a fifth-grade martial artist?
…
Before I knew it, the sky was getting dark.
The old prince sent a carriage over, saying that he wanted to pick up the wind and wash away the dust for Yang Dong.
Yang Dong first arranged for spies from the West Factory to hide secretly and prepare to detonate explosive packs at any time.
He also called for the high and low Dharma protectors and whispered:
"After I leave, you must keep an eye on our carriage. If you hear thunder from the government office, you should immediately take the carriage and leave the city."
"Anyone who stands in the way will be killed without mercy."
After saying this, he took Yao Jia and Hong Laoliu and boarded the carriage sent by the old prince.
About half an hour later,
A small garden building like a fairyland on earth appeared in front of Yang Dong and others.
Yang Dong frowned slightly, looked at the surrounding scenery and said:
"The city has been closed down twice and suffered two major disasters. How can we still have such a beautiful scene?"
"No, why are there still fruits on the fruit trees over there? Could it be that the victims of the disaster never discovered this place?"
Hong Laoliu sneered and explained:
"This is the place where Fengcheng government officials hold banquets. The natural scenery is extraordinary."
"As for the victims, it's not that they never noticed this place, it's just that... they have no choice."
"There are as many as six corpse pits here, and there are many more..."
When Yao Jia heard this, her innocent and pretty face turned pale slightly.
Yang Dong's face was also very ugly.
Having received nine years of compulsory education, it was difficult for him to accept the reality before him.
This behavior of treating human life as nothing, like a silver needle, pierced deeply into his heart.
At this moment, he thought a little more about his own existence.
Is it possible that this is God's will?
God sent me to Dazhou, but actually he wanted me to change this cruel world?
Yang Dong nodded and shook his head.
A look of mockery appeared on his face.
God's will or whatever, it doesn't matter.
The important thing is that you have to be worthy of your own conscience!
So many victims of the Luozhou disaster died like insects.
How could I just sit back and watch?
