The afterglow of the setting sun shone all over the ground, and the entire salt transportation department hall was soaked in blood red. Liu Mo sat high in the hall, tiredness written on his face.
"Are you sure they are not bandits?" Huo Cheng, who was sitting below, asked softly.
A group of villagers knelt on their knees, men, women, old and young. They were all dressed in tatters, covered in blood, and their faces were full of fear. The three land security guards who brought them in to testify stood in the back.
"Bandits? How could they be bandits?" a villager said anxiously.
"That's right, sir, bandits don't have such discipline!" A land security guard with sad eyes pointed at the villagers kneeling on the ground and said: "These are the only people left in the whole village of Jietou, the others are the same as the residents of Dashe Village. , all of them died."
"Please get up," Liu Mo ordered the villagers. "You all get up."
After hearing this, the residents of Jietou Village struggled to get up. An old man had to be helped to stand up, while the other girl in blood-stained clothes remained kneeling and looked at Liu Mo blankly.
"You!" the security guard said to a bald man, "tell the adults what happened."
The bald head kowtowed several times, "Sir... I used to open a tavern, sir, in Jietou, next to the stone bridge. Everyone said that the daughter's red wine I brewed was the best in Rongcheng, sir. Please forgive me.
But sir, it's all gone now. They came in, drank their fill, threw away the rest, and then set fire to the house. Originally, my lord, they planned to kill me, but they didn't catch me. "
"They set fire to force us away," said a farmer next to him. "They came out in the middle of the night and burned the fields and houses. Anyone who dared to stop them would be killed.
But sir, they are not robbers, because they are not here to steal anything. "
"They also trampled my apprentice to death," said a stocky man with the muscles of a blacksmith and a bandage on his head. "They laughed on their horses, chased him around, and poked him with their spears, as if they were playing a game."
The girl kneeling on the ground stretched her neck and looked up at Liu Mo. "Sir, they also killed my mother. And then they... they... didn't let me go either..." Her voice trailed off, as if she had forgotten what she was going to say and started crying.
The local security guard took over, "They drove all the villagers in Dashe Village into their wooden houses, then spread them with straw, trying to burn them alive inside.
Some people opened the door and rushed out of the fire scene to escape, and they shot them with bows and arrows, even the woman holding Milk Baby in her arms. "
"Damn it, how could someone be so cruel?" Zhao Da roared.
Liu Mo leaned forward, "It's most likely the Zhou Dynasty's army!"
"Even if they are not bandits, they are not Zhou Dynasty troops!" Huo Cheng retorted, "The border has not been lost!"
"Sir, all of them are riding horses and wearing armor," Dibao replied calmly, "holding spears in their hands and simple knives used to slaughter villagers." He pointed at one of the ragged survivors. .
"You, yes, it's you. It doesn't matter if you say it. Tell Mr. Liu everything you said to me."
The old man lowered his head. "As to the horses they ride," he said, "they ride war horses!"
"How many are there in total?" Liu Mo asked.
"Dozens!" the land guard replied, "at least fifty! The leader is very special. He doesn't look like a soldier, he is very handsome!"
"Very handsome!" Liu Mo was shocked, "It must be Yang Yizhi!"
Most of these villains are like Yang Yizhi and have been lurking in Daxia for a long time.
Whispers came and went in the hall, and the uneasy voices reached Liu Mo's ears.
There are fifty officials in the Salt Transportation Department, plus the county government and the experts in the salt gang. Can form an "army" of two hundred people!
But the problem is, if the information from the surviving villagers is correct, the other party is a regular army that has experienced hundreds of battles!
What's more, there is Yang Yizhi who can kill Zhao Da instantly!
This is Yang Yizhi's trap, and Liu Mo certainly knows it.
You are so damn cruel, massacring the people in the villages around Rongcheng and trying to force me out.
No wonder Su Xiaowan didn't fall in love with you, you are so cruel and not a human being at all!
Kill people, set fires, what's the next chance? What will be the ultimate goal?
Could it be a full-scale invasion? Liu Mo was frightened by his guess!
The possibility is great! First, they set fire to Rongcheng to create panic. Rongcheng lacked military strength and the army must be mobilized to quell the chaos.
And there is another God-given opportunity, that is: Gao Qi and his group of Hu troops were sanctioned!
Although Gao Qi was a butcher, his sword had two sides. He could massacre the members of the Salt Gang, and he could also frighten the Zhou Dynasty's army!
Such a good opportunity would not be missed by Liu Mo.
The reason why the war broke out was all for profit. Why did the Zhou Dynasty choose to reignite the war? It's simple: new salt!
At present, all the new salt processing plants of the Great Xia Dynasty are in Jianglin Mansion. If they cannot develop new salt and smuggling has failed, they will simply use force to seize them.
"Is there any news about General Zhu?" Liu Mo turned to ask Huo Cheng.
"not yet!"
At this moment, Liu Mo no longer knew whether he wanted Zhu Min to come to Rongcheng or whether he wanted him to go to the border to provide support.
"What about the Governor of Jiangsu and Zhejiang?"
After guessing Yang Yizhi's purpose, Liu Mo immediately sent a letter to the Sixth Prince eight hundred miles away, asking him to order the governor of Jiangsu and Zhejiang to assemble the Jiangsu and Zhejiang guards' troops to prepare for war.
"It stands to reason that the Governor of Jiangsu and Zhejiang has received the decree, but..." Huo Cheng replied.
Does the Sixth Prince not believe it? Or does the Governor of Jiangsu and Zhejiang not believe it? Does Jiang Lin Mansion have to fall before any action can be taken?
"Dear citizens of Rongcheng, there is no resurrection after death." Liu Mo said, "What I can do is to give you justice and avenge you! Before that, please stay in Rongcheng and I will arrange your accommodation. !”
After his men took away the surviving villagers, Liu Mo slowly stood up and planned to leave.
"Sir, won't you send troops to destroy them?" Zhao Da said in surprise.
Exterminate? It's safe to say that you are going to die! Liu Mo thought to himself, one Yang Yizhi can deal with hundreds of our people!
"Wait a moment and let General Zhu do it!"
"There is no news from General Zhu yet, who knows how long it will take!" Zhao shouted, "I beg you to let me lead the troops, I swear I will not let you down!"
"You can't beat Yang Yizhi!" Liu Mo thought to himself, one move will take you seconds, there's no need to show off!
"That's it for today, let's go!"
After the lingering sound faded, Zhao Da and Huo Chengdu asked with confused expressions: "Master Liu, what should we do!"
Liu Mo had to stop and asked, "Are the people in the villages around Rongcheng more important, or the people in the entire Rongcheng?" He explained, "If anything goes wrong, the Zhou Dynasty's army will attack Rongcheng unscrupulously!"
What he wanted to emphasize was that Yang Yizhi just wanted to trick us out of the city and weaken our defensive strength!
"Then we just watch the Zhou Dynasty's bastards slaughter the people... and remain indifferent?"
"Who said they would be indifferent!" A loud voice came from the west side of the hall, and a tall man strode forward. "Let's see how I kill all these bastards!"
When Liu Mo heard this, he couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth slightly, "Brother Zhu, you came on time!"
