"stop!"
"stop!"
"stop!"
Xu He, Chen Hua, and Lao Zhengtou roared out at the same time.
If Wang Zhuer is allowed to kill him, there will really be no room for redemption.
By then, the crime of killing officials and rebelling in the tea farm would be completely pinned on everyone, and all the previous efforts made by Xu He and the others would be in vain!
Wang Zhuer didn't look at Xu He and Chen Hua at all, and said to Old Zheng with an anxious look on his face: "Uncle, if you don't rush out, it will be too late. We, the thousands of people who make tea, all have to answer here tonight!" "
Old Zhengtou's face was distorted, and he was obviously in a dilemma inside.
Seeing this, Xu He was afraid that things would happen again, so he took a step forward and said to Wang Zhuer: "Quick, lead me to see those officers and soldiers quickly!"
Wang Zhuer ignored Xu He and turned to look at Lao Zhengtou.
Xu He was furious: "Quick, if you hesitate any longer, you will be the sinners of the Tuancha Saltworks!"
Old Zhengtou gritted his teeth when he heard this and finally made up his mind: "Zhu'er, take Mr. Xu with you!"
Wang Zhuer shouted in disappointment: "Uncle..."
"Go quickly!" Old Zhengtou had made a decision at this time, so he remained unmoved.
Seeing this, Wang Zhuer could only stamp his feet in hatred, and then glared at Xu He.
Time was urgent. Without saying a word, Chen Hua leaned on the table and wrote a letter. Then he stamped it with the magistrate's customs protection and handed it to Xu He: "Xu, Xiaohe, take care!"
Xu He reluctantly smiled and comforted: "It's okay!"
After saying that, he followed Wang Zhuer and left the house.
When he came outside the house, Xu He looked up at the sky and saw dark clouds covering the moon. Even if there were torches outside to guide the way, they could only illuminate a distance of five or six meters.
But just like that, Xu He didn't dare to delay, and followed Wang Zhuer, walking slowly on the country dirt road.
Wang Zhuer may be angry that Old Zhengtou believed in Xu He, an outsider, and never reminded Xu He of the ups and downs, causing Xu He to fall several times, and once even rolled into a pond, leaving him in a state of embarrassment.
But Xu He gritted his teeth, got up after falling, and followed Wang Zhuer without a single complaint.
Wang Zhuer was a little gloating at first, but later he saw Xu He's behavior and felt a little admired, so he deliberately walked slower so that Xu He could see the light of the torch.
Just like that, the two of them walked outside the venue in the dark.
In fact, for the convenience of management, the salt farm is isolated by guardrails. Although these guardrails are not high, they are mostly built above the ditch where the sea water is led.
On weekdays, the only way to get in and out of Kuancha is the gate of the salt field, which is where Xu Dai entered the field that day.
When Xu He and the two came to the gate made of wooden gates, he had already seen a long line of firelights coming quickly along the road.
Xu He stepped out of the wooden gate and walked towards the firelight without saying a word.
Wang Zhuer hesitated for a moment, gritted his teeth and followed.
As Xu He walked, he looked towards the firelight. A rough count showed that there were about a thousand torches. If the other two places were of the same size, the number of officers and soldiers coming would be at least three thousand.
Local officials definitely don't have the ability to mobilize so many officers and soldiers. In other words, this matter has now at least reached the Southern Zhili War Department.
Thinking of this section, Xu He's heart sank. It is still difficult to determine the nature of this matter. If more yamen are involved, officials will have different opinions based on interests.
Some people want to suppress the matter, and some people want to expose the problem.
Some people want to use this thing to achieve their own goals, and some people want to use this thing to get promoted and make a fortune.
But no matter what, the more people know about it, it means that there are more people talking about it, and the risk increases exponentially.
Just when Xu He was worried, on a slope two miles away from the tea farm, a general wearing a phoenix-winged forehead helmet and a mouth-swallowing beast's metal armor was sitting on the stone outside an abandoned thatched cottage. Look at the map.
There is a tall ginkgo tree standing next to him in the courtyard. Standing silently at the door is a group of neatly-armored soldiers. Each of these soldiers is tall and tall, with thick eyebrows and big eyes. They look like the kings and powerful men in Longmen Grottoes. stone carvings.
One of them held a white horse with one hand and held a red flag tightly with the other.
This large flag has a tassel made of snow-white horsehair and a silver spear tip that shines white. In the center of the flag is a large word "陈" embroidered with black satin.
"Report!" In the quiet and solemn environment, a messenger suddenly ran into the courtyard from outside. Before he could even catch his breath, he said to the general in the courtyard: "The other two routes are in place, just waiting for your Excellency's word. As soon as the cannons were fired, they all rushed into the teahouse!"
The general did not raise his head, but still looked at the map and said, "Is there any movement in the field?"
"Before we lit up the torches, there was already a commotion in the venue. The torches were passing through the venue, obviously knowing that the army was coming!"
The general nodded and said, "Have the rear troops followed?"
"Follow me!"
As soon as the messenger finished speaking, another soldier rushed in: "Tell me, sir, two people came out of the field and said they wanted to see you!"
The general was obviously stunned when he heard this. He didn't expect that at this juncture, there would be people in the teahouse who dared to see him.
At this time, another man dressed as a military general walked out of the house. He was holding water in his hand. He handed it to the general and said with a smile: "I'm afraid he's here to ask for surrender!"
The general was noncommittal and said to the messenger who had just come in: "Go and bring the people!"
After a while, Xu He and Wang Zhuer were led into the small courtyard.
As soon as he entered the door, Xu He saw a young man in his early thirties, wearing armor and wearing a brand new blue satin cloak. In order to make it easier to take off for the upcoming battle, the man unbuttoned two buttons on the collar of the cloak.
Before the cloak was on his body, Xu He discovered that the other party had a bow slung across his back, a sword hanging from his waist, and a black and red cowhide quiver with a dozen eagle-feather arrows inserted in it.
The man put on his big cloak and asked calmly: "Who are you? Why did you come to our military base?"
Xu He bowed and said, "The student has brought a letter from Chen Hua, the magistrate of Hailing County, and I have come here to hand it to you!"
The man nodded and motioned Xu He to take it out.
After a while, he took the letter handed over by the soldier and read it. After reading it, he said calmly: "Where is County Magistrate Chen?"
Xu He quickly said: "It is very safe at the home of the original ambassador Dou Matong!"
The man searched for a moment on the map by the light of the torch, then used the riding crop in his hand to point on a point on the map, and then said to another general in armor next to him: "Take a team of people and go directly to Dou's house. Find out that county magistrate, these scholars are causing trouble for nothing!"
The general smiled and nodded, turned around and was about to go out.
Xu He was anxious: "General, County Magistrate Chen is not in danger, maybe he will listen to me!"
The general suddenly turned cold and said: "Who are you? I was ordered by the imperial court to wipe out the people in the tea farm who killed the officials and rebelled. How can I believe the one-sided words of someone who came out of the den of thieves? Come on! Take them into custody. Go down and look!”
Wang Zhuer was horrified when he heard this. Seeing the officers and soldiers pressing down on his shoulders, he struggled wildly and shouted: "Dog officer, you will not die a good death!"
Xu He was very anxious and said loudly: "General, the student is not from the tea house. The student is from the Xu family in Hailing. This time..."
When the general heard that Xu He belonged to the Xu family in Hailing, he immediately waved to the soldiers to wait. He came to Xu He, looked Xu He up and down and asked, "What's your name?"
Xu He said: "Student Xu He!"
The general asked in surprise: "Are you Xu He? The Hailing Xu He who is the head of both the county and government examinations?"
Xu He looked at him blankly and said, "It's me, I don't know who you are..."
The general laughed loudly and said: "It turns out it's you, hurry up, let them go!"
