Chen Anning was about to fight back.
In the dark night, a sharp arrow suddenly came through the clouds and mist.
The bandits who were chasing them were instantly hit by arrows and fell from their horses, and were trampled into mud by the hooves of the horses that came from behind.
Chen Anning looked in the direction of the arrow.
One man and one horse, holding long bows in hand, were approaching gradually in the hazy moonlight.
It's Xie Xun.
The bandits also recognized him.
With the sound of 'withdraw', it disappeared in an instant like the wind.
Chen Anning pulled the horse, glanced at the fleeing bandits, and then looked at Xie Xun who was approaching, "Has the official ship case been solved?"
"It's not that fast." Xie Xun glanced at her quickly to make sure she was not injured, and then walked with her to the village where the bandits were stationed at the foot of Zhanggong Mountain, while asking about the situation.
After Chen Anning briefly talked about it, he also asked him: "The case has not been solved, why did you come back so soon?"
"This is the same group of bandits who robbed the official ship." Xie Xun said.
Chen Anning looked at him suspiciously.
Xie Xun took out a blueprint from his arms and handed it to her, "This is what the official ship looked like after it was robbed."
Chen Anning took the picture, opened it and took a look.
The moonlight was shallow, and even though she had excellent eyesight, she could only see roughly.
Put away the picture and ask him: "Tell me about the situation."
"The official ship was hijacked while it was sailing." Xie Xun stated without emotion. "The hijacking process was roughly that the ship was stopped for some reason while it was sailing. Then the officers, soldiers and migrant workers on the official ship were killed. , all the food was transported.”
"Judging from the fact that the official ship was only slightly damaged, there should be an internal response on the official ship."
Chen Anning said: "That's two hundred thousand kilograms of grain."
Yes, two hundred thousand catties of grain.
There must be more than one robber.
But not too much.
Too much can clog the canal and easily expose your tracks.
The two looked at each other and Xie Xun said: "There should be three to four ships."
Chen Anning nodded, three or four ships should be just right.
but……
Chen Anning asked: "You just said that they were the same group of robbers. What was your basis?"
"I can only guess at the moment." Xie Xun said, "I have asked. This group of robbers has been running rampant between Huainan Road and Jiangnan Road, and there are many people. The imperial court has ordered to suppress the bandits many times, but they have all ended in failure. This time they were robbed It is an official ship with the largest carrying capacity, and ordinary robbers cannot eat it."
Chen Anning questioned: "Is this group of robbers a merchant ship?"
"I have asked Wen Baolin to take my token and check the talismans issued by the households in various counties and counties along the way." Xie Xun said, "I will know soon if there is an official ship."
Chen Anning nodded and didn't ask any more questions.
Return to the village where the Zhang Gongshan bandits are stationed.
Xie Xun went to interrogate the two bandits brought back by the secret guards, while Chen Anning went to visit the rescued child.
The child has woken up.
Sitting on the bed, looking sallow.
Wen Huan was holding water and feeding him in small mouthfuls.
Seeing Chen Anning, Wen Huan stood up and said, "I don't know if he can eat, so I'll feed him with water first."
Chen Anning walked over, touched his forehead, and checked his pulse. Then he took out a porcelain bottle, poured out pills and fed them to him. Then he carefully laid him flat on the bed and used a dagger to remove the clothes from his wound. He cut it open and asked Xu Zan to fetch a basin of water. He cleaned the wound, crushed two pills and applied them to the wound. He tore off Xu Zan's clothes and wrapped them carefully before saying, "You can drink something light first." Porridge or soup.”
"Am I not going to die?" the rescued child asked carefully.
Chen Anning looked into his clear eyes and nodded: "I won't die for the time being."
After the rescued child was obviously relieved, he asked again: "Are they...all dead?"
Chen Anning nodded, "Yes."
The rescued child's eyes darkened, "Thank you for saving me."
After Chen An'an was silent for a while, he said: "I should thank you for giving me the opportunity to save you. At the same time, I am sorry that we came too late and failed to save them."
It was probably the first time that the rescued child heard such words, and he was at a loss and asked: "You, are you officials?"
"Yes." Chen Anning softened her voice and quickly changed the subject, "How long have you been here? Do you remember?"
"I've been here for seven years." The rescued child replied firmly.
Chen Anning asked again: "Then what is your name? Do you remember it?"
The rescued child pursed his lips and answered after a long time: "Zhang Qiang. My father wanted me to be as strong as Brother Daniu, so he gave me this name."
Chen Anning touched his head, "You said you have been here for seven years. How old were you when you came here?"
"Eight years old." Zhang Qiang replied.
Chen Anning's heart trembled.
I came here when I was eight years old, and now I am fifteen.
But he looked like he was only eleven or twelve years old.
Xu Zan and Wen Huan also felt a little uncomfortable.
Wen Huan had already turned his back and secretly wiped away tears several times.
Chen Anning suppressed the depression in her heart and continued to ask: "How did you come here, do you remember?"
"When I went home to fetch water for my father, someone asked me for directions. I told him the directions, but he said he didn't understand and asked me to show him the way. I thought it wasn't far, so I led him there. As a result After leaving the village, he put him into a carriage and brought him here." Zhang Qiang said it without any hesitation.
This memory was so profound for him that even seven years later, it was still as clear as before.
Chen Anning touched his head again, and her voice became gentler, "Do you know how many children like you were robbed here?"
Zhang Qiang thought for a moment before replying: "I don't know how many there are. I only know that the good-looking children who were robbed were all sent away. I heard they said they were sent to the Flower House. The strong ones were also sent away, probably to practice martial arts. There were also some sick and weak ones. I heard they were sent to some inn and cooked and eaten. The rest, like me, who didn't occupy anything, were left behind. Come down and do the rough work.”
"Did you plant those fields outside the village?" Chen Anning asked.
Zhang Qiang said yes.
"Go to sleep, no one will come to rob you again." Seeing that he was getting tired but still too scared to sleep, Chen Anning comforted him softly, "When the injury is healed, we will take you home."
Zhang Qiang agreed and fell asleep peacefully.
After Chen Anning waited for his breathing to calm down, the softness on his face disappeared and was slowly replaced by a layer of frost. After asking Wen Huan to help look after him, Chen Anning took Xu Zan to check the village, and then walked towards Xie Xun who was interrogating the two bandits.
"This is their destination." Xie Xun handed over the paper with the location written on it.
When Chen Anning looked at it, Xie Xun continued: "I'm sure, they are from King Anbei."
Chen Anning's eyes narrowed.
Xie Xun kicked the bandit in front of him who was bruised and swollen. "You are lucky. The one you captured is a small leader, and he happens to have a flame totem tattooed on his left arm."
Chen Anning didn't wait for him to finish his words and kicked the little boss, "Stop pretending to be dead! Tell me where the children you kidnapped were sent to!"
