"Brother, it's already the eighth day. My brothers have searched Luo Yangxing's courtyard outside the city, but still found nothing!"
Gao Yiyue, riding on the horse, said with some frustration that they had only brought five days' worth of dry food when they came out to look for the former commander.
If I hadn't bought some more on the road, I wouldn't have been able to hold on long ago. There were few restaurants and inns in the wild, and most of them were sleeping in the open air.
Everyone no longer had the energy they had when they first came out. They sat on their horses and looked at the surrounding scenery in boredom.
But no one dared to mention the matter of returning to the city, because if Luo Yangxing could not be caught, they would not be able to explain to Wang Shide.
Wang Shide gave Lu Shang one hundred taels of gold and instructed him to assassinate Luo Yangxing, but the matter was delayed due to the target's early departure from the city and the subsequent mutiny in the Beijing camp.
But later Lu Shang also learned that the real mastermind behind the scenes was Fang Zhenghua, the governor of the East Factory, and now he did not dare to refuse easily.
Now that you have come out, if you don't get something that will benefit you, you will have no shame in going back, and it will be easier to lose your life.
"...Try your luck again!"
Lu Shang had no choice but to grit his teeth and persist. Although there were more than eighty people in their team, most of them were from Dongchang. If they returned empty-handed, they would be incompetent, and the consequences could be imagined.
The bottom line in his mind is ten days. If he still doesn't touch Luo Yangxing beyond this time, he is really in trouble. But I am still in the city and must not give up until the end.
Since there were many subordinates under his command this time, Lu Shang spent a lot of money buying food. Lu Shang even spent part of the one hundred taels of gold deposit given to him by Wang Shide.
If he returns in vain this time, fails to catch the prey, and cannot return all the gold, and the higher-ups blame him, he will have no choice but to pay for it with his life.
If you fail to complete the tasks assigned by your superiors this time, even if you are not punished, your future career will be ruined and you will no longer be able to get promotion opportunities.
Shen Lang was riding behind with Liu Jiaxu, the leader of the Dongchang team. They had met once when they were on errands. Although they were not very close, they could still be of some use.
As long as Jin Yiwei doesn't mention returning to the city, the people in the East Factory will never speak. They will follow Jin Yiwei wherever he goes.
"Stop! What are you doing?"
"...Liu Min!"
The feudal lord who was walking at the front met three guys passing by. All three of them had disheveled hair, miserable faces, and shabby clothes. They had not showered for many days, and they still had a disgusting rancid smell.
"Have you seen anyone suspicious before?"
"Never... never seen it!"
When the three people faced the Jin Yiwei who was riding on the horse and shouted sternly, they all showed fear. Everyone who pressed the hilt of the knife felt relieved. The three people in front of them should not be in danger.
"That's it!"
Gao Yiyue was not in the mood to waste time and simply asked his men to let these people go. They were all in this state, so there was no need to deliberately embarrass them.
The three of them stood on the side of the road, silently planning to watch the Jin Yiwei's cavalry slowly leave.
Shen Lang looked them up and down when passing by them, but didn't see anything wrong.
When his eyes passed over the eyes of the leader, he suddenly noticed a sly light.
"Wait!"
This was something Liu Min would never do. Shen Lang, who had a keen sense, immediately realized that something was wrong. He immediately reined in the reins and stopped his mount. He then turned over and dismounted, holding the sword in his hand, and walked straight over.
"You are Liu Min, where are you from?"
Based on Jin Yiwei's instinct and years of accumulated experience, Shen Lang believed that his feeling was correct. The true identity of these three people could not be Liu Min, and there must be something hidden.
"Your Majesty, my hometown is Xuanfu. Because my family suffered a disaster, I couldn't pay the taxes and had to be displaced!"
The guy in the lead responded extremely politely, with a very flattering tone and a silly smile on his face.
"Where is your hometown in Xuanfu?"
Shen Lang was still observing the other party calmly, and the four subordinates behind him also got off their horses and walked over with alert expressions.
"Your Majesty, the younger one is from the Chang'an Office of the Xuan Mansion!"
The leader's expression remained unchanged, and his expression did not change at all. It did not look like he was deliberately making it up.
"Oh~! Isn't the Qingshui River to the east of there!"
Shen Lang also went to Chang'an Office when he was on business, and he knew a little bit about the geography there.
"Yes, yes, the officer is right!"
The other party hurriedly agreed, as long as he didn't say the wrong thing, everything would be fine.
"That's bullshit! Say it! What are you doing? If you say one wrong word, you will die!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Shen Lang pulled out the sharp Yanling knife and put it directly on the other person's neck to question.
"Guan Ye, I am really Liu Min~!"
The other party did not resist, but was determined to continue to quibble.
With his appearance, others would regard him as Liu Min even if he was not called Liu Min.
"Hmph, Liu Min? Have you ever held a knife in this hand before?"
Shen Lang took the opponent's right hand, turned it over and looked at the calluses to see what he used to do.
Squeezing it upward, you can see that his arms are so thick that you can't even grasp them with your palms. This person is definitely not a farmer.
"My lord has misunderstood. I am a farmer. It never rained last year. The land was terribly dry and I couldn't farm. That's why I became Liu Min!"
The other party was still unwilling to admit Shen Lang's judgment and found a very suitable excuse.
Shen Lang smiled evilly and pointed out the mistake in his disguise: "If your hometown is really Chang'an Institute, you should know that Qingshui River is to the south of Chang'an Institute. Do you still want to continue to quibble?"
The four vassals behind him didn't just watch the excitement. Seeing that the other party could conceal their identity, they all drew their Yanling knives.
At the same time, Lu Shang, Gao Yiyue and others also gathered around, intending to find out.
"...Master, spare your life!"
The leader fell to his knees, and the two followers behind him also knelt down and begged for mercy when they saw what was going on.
"Whether we can be spared depends on whether you are willing to tell the truth. If it is true, someone will come to identify it after you take it back. If you keep concealing it, I will guarantee that you will not survive today!"
Shen Lang couldn't guess the other party's true identity yet, but it was miserable enough to end up like this, and he felt a little funny in his heart.
"...Master, I'm waiting..."
"Speak quickly! Don't hesitate!"
"Soldiers of Beijing Camp!"
"..."
The strong guy at the head was Damshao, and the two behind him were Zhang Pozui and Yang Dashu. Er Mazi and San Hui all died in the city. They took advantage of the chaos and escaped overnight, and then picked up Otherwise, he would be shot dead on the order of a certain prince.
Since he didn't carry much dry food with him, he had to face an endless stream of Qin cavalry when he was running. Fortunately, he threw away his weapons and bought some rags from a family to change into, transforming into Liu Min. Much safer.
The three of them muddled through like this all the way, until they met the unlucky Lu Shang and his gang, and they hit the south wall. Now they could no longer cheat, so they had to confess, otherwise they would be taken to the capital, and finally There are still flaws to be exposed.
Damasao briefly told his story and put the blame for the rebellion directly on the generals above. Like many soldiers in the Beijing camp, they were just beguiled by the generals who committed the crime of deceiving the emperor and sacrificed their lives.
"Have you ever seen anyone suspicious?"
Although it was hateful for the soldiers of the Beijing camp to join the rebellion, Shen Lang's target was Luo Yangxing. He could just take these three men back and hand them over to their superiors.
"...I saw a group of people about half an hour ago, hurriedly heading south, right at the fork in the road above!"
Damasao and others had seen them before and watched them leave.
"Why didn't you say anything?"
Shen Lang couldn't help but get angry after hearing this. These bastards were really cunning.
"If you can't catch me, I'll be cheating!"
Damasao also had his own considerations. Escape was the most important thing at the moment, so naturally it was better to do less than to do more.
"Didn't this team recognize your identity?"
Shen Lang still had doubts and wanted to ask for clarification.
"The little one lay down on the side of the road and hid!"
If this place wasn't open in all directions and there was no time to hide, Damasao would have wanted to hide in this way.
"How are the people on this team dressed?"
Lu Shang is most concerned about this. If it is an official or an army, forget it. If the other party is disguised, then he can pursue it.
"They are all... Jin Yiwei!"
Damasao was also very surprised as to why so many Jin Yiwei came out of the city.
"Don't talk nonsense!"
Lu Shang warned sternly, don't say anything wrong about this kind of thing.
"You don't dare, the distance is so close, I'm sure I won't get it wrong!"
With that kind of outfit, anyone who is not blind would be wary and stay away, for fear of getting into trouble.
"In which direction?"
"Follow the road south!"
"Take them with you, mount your horse and chase after them!"
After whispering to Liu Jiaxu, who was leading the team in Dongchang, although Dongchang had many people, the current focus was on the capital, and there were only a handful of people who could go out of the city to search for Luo Yangxing.
After the discussion, Lu Shang was 70% sure that this group of people must be Luo Yangxing's men. Whether the former commander was included was still unknown, but as long as he caught up with the target, he would know one or two things.
This time, he did not bring any extra horses for the three of them to ride on, so Lu Shang left nine people behind and asked the three of them to ride the three suspects on horseback. The other six were responsible for keeping watch, while the remaining more than 70 people quickly chased the prey.
After running for several miles in the direction pointed by the three Liu Min, the vassal at the front discovered a group of horse hoof prints, which was quite consistent with the information they had obtained previously.
Although no one was seen, there was hope after all, and everyone's spirits were lifted. Lu Shang led the team and ran for more than an hour, and asked several passers-by, and all received affirmative answers.
"this……"
Just when he thought he had caught up with his prey, Lu Shang suddenly discovered a group of officers and soldiers. The opponent was not pretending to be a group, but the vanguard of Yang Wenyue's army from Baoding who was sent north under orders.
Everyone was quite discouraged, but the other party had seen a group of Jin Yiwei who had just walked away, probably only three to five miles away.
At this point, Lu Shang had no choice but to use all his luck to pursue the opponent to the end, regardless of his identity.
"Brother, what is there to fear about the Huangkou boy? If I had known this, I would have joined forces with the Beijing camp, and now we have captured the imperial city!"
Behind a hillside that was rarely inhabited, Luo Yangde was complaining to his eldest brother. If they hadn't been running away from the city like a lost dog a few days ago, together with the generals of the Beijing camp, their brothers would still be in great glory.
It's a good thing now, it's no longer possible to go north to get out of the customs, so we have to go south to seek a boat to go to sea. It's a pity that the gold, silver and jewelry accumulated over the years are all cheap to the bastard prince.
"Stop making any noise!"
Things have been going badly recently, which made Luo Yangxing, who was closing his eyes and recuperating, even more depressed. Originally, his first choice was to exit from the Great Wall, but unexpectedly, the Shenshu Battalion came up from behind, followed by a large number of Yongwei Battalion. cavalry.
The group of them was alone and had no choice but to stay away from the enemy for the time being. Fearing that they would be discovered, they turned back to the south and sought to go to sea from Tianjin. When they arrived in the Qing Dynasty and took refuge with Huang Taiji, they could survive.
Although he lost his family fortune worth hundreds of thousands of taels, Luo Yangxing, who had been running Jinyiwei for many years, also received a very important greeting gift, which was the defense map of Jiliao Frontier Fortress.
Using this to please Huang Taiji might be the right way to go. If the new boss already exists, he can also use the many informants in the capital to provide a steady stream of intelligence to the Qing Dynasty.
Judging from what they saw and heard along the way, the Beijing camp mutiny had failed, and they would never be able to go back. Now they had to make up their mind to go to the Qing Dynasty and strive to serve under Huang Taiji's tent.
"Brother, there is the sound of horse hooves!"
The fourth brother Luo Yangxin sensed something was wrong, so he leaned on the ground and listened. Sure enough, there were pursuers coming up from behind, and there were quite a lot of them. He hurriedly reported to Luo Yangxin.
"Brothers, copy the guy!"
Luo Yangde didn't want to be a lost dog. He was reprimanded by his eldest brother just now and had no place to vent his anger. If there were really blind people who caused trouble for him, then let these people move their heads away.
Although there are female relatives in the team, the Luo family has no less than a hundred warlike servants in their captivity. They are all fierce and evil-minded, and all of them are armed with weapons. With just one order from Luo Yangxing, they can fight a bloody path for them.
When the opponent didn't find his hiding place, Luo Yangxing still planned to stop quietly so as not to scare the enemy. Even if the opponent really rushed towards him, he could let his men ambush on both sides and catch the opponent off guard.
With a glance from Luo Yangxing, the family relationship became clear. Luo Yangde took his fifth brother-in-law Zhang Xuluan and sixth brother-in-law Liu Quanshan to take charge of the front. The third brother Luo Yangxiu and the fourth brother Luo Yangxin were ambushing on the left and right respectively.
More than a dozen family servants protected Luo Yangxing, who was watching the battle from behind. Once the dust settled in front, he could retreat unscathed.
"Master Luo, it's so easy for me to find you~! Now that the matter has come to this, you still don't want to show up?"
The other party had obviously discovered their hiding place and shouted loudly with confidence so that everyone present could hear them clearly. However, without Luo Yangxing's order, no one present would talk to them without permission, lest they exposure.
"Lord Luo left without saying goodbye. His Highness the Crown Prince really wanted to see Lord Luo. I wonder if Lord Luo is willing to return to the capital?"
If Luo Yangxing didn't have something in his heart, he wouldn't have done such a secret escape. No matter who tried to persuade him, Luo Yangxing had no intention of going back. For him, going to Liaodong to follow Huang Taiji was the right way.
"Listen to the hero on the other side. I'm offering you one thousand taels of gold. How about asking the hero to get out of the way? It's worth tens of thousands of taels of silver!"
If possible, try not to fight. Luo Yangxing doesn't want to end up with a lonely family running to the beach to find a boat.
