It was a sunny day, but every household in Hebeiling Village locked their doors tightly, fearing that someone would knock on them. Early in the morning, several groups of bandit soldiers were seen entering the village. From the sound of the noise, it seemed that several households had been harmed by them. The neighbors were angry and afraid, but no one came forward to help.
"Follow me!" Xia Chengcan waved his gun, and a team of light cavalry followed him.
Although he knew that it was reckless and dangerous for him to do this, Xia Muyang did not stop him. In his opinion, the future emperor of Great China should have such righteousness and courage. A young master who is protected by others all day long cannot truly develop such righteousness and courage. "Chengcan, you come with me to Binan this time. You can do whatever you want, I don't care. After you go back, you will come to the army to help your father. You are the eldest son of Prince Zhi, and the White Army will eventually be handed over to you. You and I can rest assured!" This is what Xia Muyang said to Xia Chengcan two days before leaving. In fact, there is one thing that he has not told his beloved son, and that is: Emperor Yonghua has made it clear to him that if things slow down for a while, he will meditate on himself. He will be the emperor of Dahua, and Xia Chengcan will be the prince of Dahua.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!" There was a sound of horse hooves coming from outside. After hearing this, the thirteen people in the courtyard stopped and hid quietly, holding the weapons tightly in their hands.
"Hey~" Xia Chengcan reined in the horse and rode back. Sure enough, he found that the door of a house was smashed. Going closer, through the hole in the door, he could see a big pool of blood inside, and a child's body. corpse. He held the gun in his hand tightly and said fiercely: "Come in and leave no one behind!"
After receiving his order, more than thirty people quickly climbed the walls from all over the courtyard and entered, and soon there were sounds of fighting inside.
The evil-faced man finally rushed to the door, but suddenly felt a chill in his throat, and was shot through the neck by Xia Chengcan.
"Kill the old, weak, women and children without mercy!"
In the alleyway, a farmer in his thirties hurried over with a hoe on his shoulder, his face already pale.
"Ah! Ah! Ah~~~Xiao Xian...Zai Zai...I, I can't help you!" The young farmer collapsed on the ground, crying tremblingly: "What a world! What a world! I created What a sin!..."
Xia Chengcan tightly held the gun in his hand, gritted his teeth, and imprinted this scene deeply in his mind. "Is this the troubled times?"
... ...
"No! No! His Majesty the King of Jaws, Xiaguan...Xiaguan is just, just a little...a little surprised." Guo Zimu stood with his hands hanging down, with sweat on his face. When people came to report, King Jaw got out of his sedan chair outside the gate. He was really stunned. "How is it possible? How could King Jaw come to my place?" Guo Zimu never expected that Xia Muchao did not go to the County Government Office or the Salt Transport Government Office, but went straight to the General's Office where he was stationed. And the first thing he said when he came in and saw me was: "Are you doing something wrong if you are so nervous?"
"This king has been assigned to supervise the defense of the northwest. I have the right to kill first and report later!" Xia Muchao said this coldly again. After speaking, he threw a scroll of things at Guo Zimu. "General Guo, take a closer look!" He was naturally very dissatisfied with Guo Zimu's refusal to send troops to aid Suzhou.
Guo Zimu naturally knew that the scroll was an imperial edict, so he immediately knelt down and stretched out his hands to pick it up. Carefully spread it out and take a look. As Xia Muchao said, the sweat flowed even faster. At this moment, a wailing sound came from the courtyard, as if a female family member was crying. Guo Zimu felt an unknown feeling in his heart and hurriedly looked back.
Xia Muchao sneered and said: "Don't go and see! I am worried that you will not be able to do your job, so I will detain your family members first!"
"Your Majesty!" Guo Zimu heard that he was arresting his own family members, how could he give up? Holding back his anger, he growled.
"Hmph! Just get things done, if not, you should know the consequences!" Xia Muchao said coldly, unmoved.
Guo Zimu suddenly stood up from the ground, clenched his fists, and glared at Xia Muchao. His mouth twitched, and he stopped talking several times. After a long while, he clasped his fists and said: "His Royal Highness, King Jaw, has been given the holy order to supervise the defense of the northwest. The general will obey the prince's orders." , Don’t dare to disobey everything!”
"Okay! I'll tell you what I want you to do later. Let's wait here for Master He first." Xia Mu said in a clear voice with a smile on his face.
After hearing what he said, Guo Zimu already knew that He's family members would also be taken away by people sent by the prince. I thought to myself: "King Jaw is famous for his wisdom. He is indeed beyond the reach of ordinary people. As soon as he came to Jinzhou, he firmly grasped the lifeblood of Anxian's civil and military chiefs. Who dares not to work hard for him?"
"Your Highness, King Jaw!" He Houtang's anxious voice came from outside the hall. Just now, more than a hundred soldiers suddenly came to the mansion. Without saying anything, they went straight to the backyard and arrested more than 30 people, old and young, and their family members. Although the county government has fifty or sixty government officials, when they see more than a hundred opponents, their swords are unsheathed, and they dare not stop them. He Houtang shouted loudly from behind, but the group of people didn't answer a word. Before leaving, a tall and thin man in a centurion uniform came over and said to him: "His Royal Highness the King of Jaw is currently stationed at the General's Mansion. Mr. He will know when he comes over." ." After hearing this, he hurried here.
"Your Highness, King Jaw, what do you mean by this? Please release my family members immediately, otherwise, I will sue the emperor to seek justice!" He Houtang stood next to Guo Zimu and stared at Xia Muchao. , said fiercely.
Guo Zimu handed him the imperial edict and motioned for him to open it and read it. He Houtang glanced at him suspiciously, took the imperial edict and read it carefully.
"Your Highness, although you have been ordered to supervise the defense of the northwest, I, He Houtang, have no fault. Why do you have people arrest my family members of the county government?" He has been serving as an official abroad and is a real local official. At this moment, although Xia Muchao had the sacred mandate in hand, he was not convinced.
"You two sit down first. The king has something for you to do. This matter needs both of you to do your best. You must not be perfunctory in the slightest. That's why Mu Chao made this decision. If things are done well, they will be safe. When you return, you will each receive your own reward." Xia Muchao sat in the main seat and said with a chuckle.
After hearing what he said, the two of them felt a little calmer. Now that the matter has come to this, they have no choice but to just turn their backs and take the person away by force, right?
"His Highness has something to do with me and me, but as long as the order is given, how dare we disobey?" He Houtang asked coldly: "Why do you need to hold my family members hostage?"
Xia Muchao put down the teacup in his hand, looked at the two of them, sighed heavily, and said: "When I traveled to Danzhou, I was assassinated by more than two hundred people and almost died." What a big deal. However, after hearing this, the two people sitting down couldn't help but change their expressions. You looked at me, I looked at you, and they looked at each other, speechless for a moment.
The two subordinates were not well protected, please forgive me, Your Majesty! "He Houtang and Guo Zimu hurriedly stood up from their seats and knelt on the ground together. This matter is big or small. It is not unreasonable for Xia Muchao to deal with them this way.
"Hmph, there are more than two hundred assassins and dead soldiers. If I hadn't been prepared in advance, how could I have survived to Jinzhou?"
What was Xia Muchao's identity? He might be the future emperor. He encountered such a large-scale assassination on his way to his appointment. As the chief civil and military officials of the place where Xia Muchao was appointed, they had unshirkable responsibilities. "Looking at it from this point of view, it doesn't mean that we are unknown. Could it be that we need the help of the Chief Secretary Yamen and the military camp to arrest the murderer? This is a matter between the two of us, so there is no need to detain my family members?" He Houtang lowered his head and thought.
Xia Muchao could see the change in their momentum. He smiled again and asked, "Who do you two think the murderer will be?"
He Houtang was trembling in his heart, "Well, how dare you make random guesses?" He replied, "I guess it is Jue Guo who is unwilling to give up and actually wants to harm His Highness while he is far away from the capital!"
"Yes, that's what I think! But these gangsters are still in Anxian territory, and we will eventually bring them to justice!" Guo Zimu felt that what He Houtang said was very possible, and immediately agreed.
If the culprit hadn't been interrogated, Xia Muchao might have suspected that Duanmulan had someone do it. Seeing the two of them talking like this, he didn't want to guess whether they meant it or not. He said in a clear voice: "There is one more thing that you don't even know about even if you think about it."
"Oh?" He Houtang raised his head, surprised and confused.
Xia Muchao said calmly: "When Shatuo's army attacked Suzhou City, they actually used our Dahua crash carts and siege towers!"
"What? This happened?" Guo Zimu was shocked. He is the resident general, so he naturally knows what this means. "Your Majesty is aware of it! The Jinzhou Military Camp's crash and siege towers are all registered in the Ministry of War. The Jinzhou Military Camp is always waiting for Your Majesty's inspection!"
He Houtang was not as surprised as Guo Zimu, "There is someone who collaborates with the enemy! How come I don't know about this? This... naturally can be regarded as a serious crime! Who could be the collaborator?"
"Master He, what do you think?" Seeing that He Houtang did not answer, Xia Muchao took the initiative to ask him.
"Someone is collaborating with the enemy, but the lower official didn't know anything about it. The lower official knows the crime!" He Houtang replied softly.
Someone collaborated with the enemy, and these large siege equipment appeared under their rule, but they did not report it. Did they not know about it, or did they not report it? There may be different opinions. In any case, it was at least a crime of dereliction of duty, enough to disqualify them from their positions.
Xia Muchao didn't want the two of them to be suspicious, so he stood up and said coldly: "It has been found that the collaborator is Zhao Qianming, the general stationed in the north. What I want you two to do is to help me take down this traitor!"
