Everyone was shocked when they heard this.
If things were true as the salt worker said, and if thieves were riding in the salt boat, Xie Bin would definitely be charged with dereliction of duty.
Fortunately, if you discover it in time and follow it, you can always have an excuse to make up for it afterwards.
On one side was my aunt's condition and on the other side was Xie Bin's safety. Everyone present was restless.
In the afternoon, Xie Xiu went to the inspection department several times to inquire about news, but he came back disappointed every time.
At this juncture, Xu He knew that there must be a problem on the ship, otherwise Xie Bin would not have been there for so long.
And the problem is probably not that small.
At this moment, suddenly the concierge hurried back with an old man.
Xie Xiu saw the old man's face finally showing a look of joy: "It's Mr. Hou, it's Mr. Hou!"
When everyone heard that it was Hou Desheng, they all felt that something was finally starting to develop in a good direction, and a hint of relief appeared on their faces.
But Xu He found that Menzi and Nahou Langzhong looked very panicked.
"What happened?" Xu He asked.
The old concierge finally rested. He was shaking like chaff and was completely speechless.
Only then did everyone realize the difference between the two.
Fortunately, Hou Desheng could still speak: "No, it's not good. When we came from Rugao, we found bandits looting the village. It looks like there are about five hundred people!"
Everyone was shocked when they heard this, and they all stood up.
"Five hundred people? Looting the village in broad daylight with open fire?" Xie Liangcai's eyes were splitting. "When you came, did you see soldiers dispatched from Rugao County?"
Hou Desheng took the water handed over by Xu Peng, took two gulps and shook his head: "How do you know this? If I knew that there were thieves, who would dare to go out? Anyway, there was no movement in the county when I went out!"
At this time, Xu He suddenly remembered that he had heard the teacher and others talk about bandits before.
At that time, they said that there were about a thousand thieves who robbed the Taixing County Treasury, and more than 500 of them were killed by Yushi Caojiang's troops.
The remaining people all went north along Jiangdu.
Jiangdu County also belongs to Yangzhou Prefecture, to the west of Hailing County. If this group of thieves today are the same group of thieves who robbed the county treasury.
Then their so-called march north to Huai'an Prefecture is purely a matter of attacking in the east and attacking in the west.
The thief probably walked north first, attracted the attention of the officers and soldiers, then turned east and then south, and killed Rugao from the coastal direction.
"Hiss..." Xu He took a breath, as if he thought of something.
Xie Liangcai said: "Xiaohe, what's wrong?"
Xu He said: "Brother Defu, something big has happened. If the thieves come from the east, there is no way the salt farm will transport salt to Hailing."
Xie Liangcai also came to his senses: "Those boats must be disguised as thieves! Their target..."
The two looked at each other: "Hailing County!"
Thinking of this, the two people were shocked.
Even though the salt ship was not big, it could easily accommodate twenty or thirty people.
Five boats are hundreds of people.
If these people sneak into the city, big trouble will happen in Hailing County.
"Then what should we do now?" Xie Xiu didn't care what happened to Hailing County, he only cared about his father who was following this group of thieves.
If Xie Bin doesn't handle this matter well and is discovered by the gang of thieves in advance, more than twenty soldiers who have never seen blood will immediately flee.
While everyone was talking about it, Xu He was still frowning in thought.
There are hundreds of people, not too many, not too few, but there are thousands of guard posts in Hailing County.
Although the number of soldiers stationed in Hailing is not large, it is very close to the county government office and the county treasury. This group of thieves must ensure that they hit with one hit!
A hundred people are obviously not enough.
That……
Suddenly, his eyes lit up, thinking of the wild birds that flew in the reeds last night.
Xu He originally thought that the small boat he was riding in had disturbed the wild birds, or as the waiter said, it was someone catching eels at night.
But is there a possibility that those people were actually ambushed by thieves in advance, waiting for the salt ships to sneak into Hailing, and cooperate with each other or attack in the east and west, so that the top officials in Hailing County can't care about each other!
Thinking of this, Xu He expressed his thoughts, and Xie Liangcai realized that when he fell asleep last night, he had actually passed through the gate of hell.
Xu He said: "My uncle should send soldiers to inform the county in advance! But we have to take precautions about what happened last night. Now someone needs to go to Hailing to inform the matter!"
Xu Peng said: "I'll go!"
While Xu He was thinking about it, Xie Liangcai said: "You can't go, I have to go there! According to the itinerary of the gang of thieves in Yanchuan, they will launch either in the evening or in the early morning of the next day. Only I have to ride a horse to catch up!”
Although Xu He was afraid that something would happen to him, he also knew that this matter was of great importance. Although there were people in the Inspection Department, they still had to garrison the water village and could not leave lightly. He had to report the news on his own.
Xie Liang can only ride a horse and has a special status. Only when he speaks out will the county believe him. He is undoubtedly the best person to report the news at this time.
Xie Xiu said: "My father rode away the horse of the inspection department. I know there is a family in the town who has a horse. I will borrow it now!"
Xu He reminded: "By this time, the news about the thief in Rugao may have spread. You ask the deputy inspector to go with you. If he doesn't borrow it, he will just requisition it!"
Xie Xiu nodded and turned around to go out.
Taking advantage of the opportunity to borrow a horse, Xie Liangcai said: "Xiaohe, since the thief's target is Hailing County, what happened to the thief in Rugao?"
"By looting the village, didn't they reveal that they had turned back and headed south?"
Xu He nodded: "It is indeed unreasonable, but it may also be to create a big fanfare to attract the attention of surrounding guards and soldiers, so that they will not be able to support Hailing County!"
As soon as these words came out, people around him were frightened. Xie Liangcai wiped the cold sweat from his head and said: "If you are unfortunate enough to be criticized by you, then there must be someone in this group of thieves who is planning something!"
After a while, Xie Xiu came back with a horse.
Seeing this, Xie Liangcai didn't hesitate at all. He got on his horse and said, "I'm leaving first. Please pay attention to your safety!"
Xu He came to the horse, held his hand and said, "Brother Defu, everything depends on you!"
Xie Liangcai laughed loudly and said: "It is better to be a centurion than a scholar. This is what a good man should do!"
After saying that, he reined in the horse, turned around and walked out the door, leaving a figure behind.
After Xie Liangcai left, Xu He quickly asked Hou Desheng to help treat his aunt.
At this time, Dr. Hou finally calmed down from the shock. He was about to go into the room for treatment under the leadership of Xie Lan, but Xie Lan turned around and offered him a piece of cloth to cover his mouth and nose.
Hou Desheng saw this and asked curiously: "Why is this?"
Xu He then came forward to explain the contagiousness of tuberculosis.
Hou Desheng was silent for a while after hearing this, then suddenly nodded and said: "No wonder in the countryside, if there is a person with tuberculosis in the family, there is a high probability that this disease will also appear in the family."
After saying that, he tied up his cloth and went into the room to check for his pulse.
