Gao Heng and Lu Tao ducked out of the teahouse. Wang Qi and the other three people found a corner to sit down. The location here was not very eye-catching. Wang Qi spoke Annan dialect well. The waiter who served the tea was not the same as the people at the other tables. No flaws were found.
Although it is in a state of war, the social operation of Yuan County is still in a relatively stable state. On the one hand, because the Annan Army is in a superior strength and offensive position, there is no need for the people to retreat.
On the other hand, the constant arrival of soldiers has added prosperity to the industries here. For example, businesses such as taverns and brothels in the county are much more prosperous than usual.
The mentality of Annan soldiers is different from ordinary people. If you have money, you will spend it immediately. It is normal to eat, drink, and gamble. Who knows whether you will survive tomorrow. The people also like to see this. The big-headed soldier has become the God of Wealth. Who doesn't like it? .
Gao Heng and Lu Tao walked side by side on Chengmen Street, which would not arouse suspicion. At this moment, no fewer than dozens of soldiers could be seen on the street, and there were even more people, including many pushing carts. The civilian husbands seemed to be transporting supplies such as grain and fodder, but the soldiers escorting them behind them were all fierce and fierce, beating them with whips from time to time. Some of the civilian husbands knelt down and bowed their hands, apparently begging for mercy.
Lu Tao whispered: "These bastards are really evil and cruel to their own people." Gao Heng looked back at him and said: "Brother, don't laugh at the second brother, am I also a civilian husband?" Lu Tao realized then. He seemed to have said the wrong thing, and the Ming army was no better to civilians like Gao Heng.
The two pretended not to see it and continued to move forward. Suddenly, Gao Heng paused. He clearly heard that the words of these people begging for mercy were clearly Annan dialect mixed with Chinese. Their Annan dialect was relatively standard, but the Chinese language It sounded good. Gao Heng was a little confused. What were the identities of these people?
"Lu Tao, do you know what's going on with these people?" Gao Heng turned his head and asked in a low voice as he walked.
Lu Tao pondered for a while and said: "I haven't been here long, but I have heard that there are two types of Annan people. One is naturally locals, and the other is immigrants."
"Immigration?" Gao Heng was a little surprised, and then he immediately responded, "You mean, these people are immigrants from China?"
Lu Tao nodded and said: "Yes, nine times out of ten, there are many immigrants living in the border area between the two countries. The Ming Dynasty has a large population. For hundreds of years, people have continuously immigrated to Annan to live or trade. The Ming Dynasty people in Annan are There are a lot of immigrants.”
"How many are there?" Gao Heng asked again.
"I'm not sure exactly. I guess there must be tens of thousands of people." Lu Tao whispered.
Gao Heng only felt his blood rising. After all, he was a Chinese soldier. He had a very deep understanding of the anti-Chinese incidents in later generations. It seemed that these things not only happened in later generations. At the moment, immigrants were being bullied in Annan, and this was just them. What you see, what you can’t see behind, you don’t know how miserable the situation can be.
Gao Heng gritted his teeth and wanted to rush forward and kill those arrogant Annan soldiers. Lu Tao saw that his expression was wrong and immediately reminded him: "Such things happen in the border area. We can't control it. Or It is important to complete the mission, kill Zheng Guang and destroy this Annan army, which can be regarded as revenge for them."
Of course Gao Heng knew that Lu Tao was right. He put away his edge and continued to move towards the county government. The county town is not big. In the later generations' words, you can walk back and forth just by taking a pee. After a while, they saw the county government office. It's a bit funny to say that if there weren't dozens of Annan soldiers standing guard around the county government office, you would have no problem saying that this is a Chinese government office. Annan also uses Chinese characters, so the word "county government" is directly on the plaque at the door, which is easy to identify. .
The two followed the flow of people and walked around the county government office. Lu Tao said: "This county government office is very small. It is only half the size of the normal county government office in the Ming Dynasty. It is probably simplified. The six courtyards have become three courtyards." Gao Heng was a little bit Confused, I don’t know what Lu Tao means.
Lu Tao added: "My Daming County government office generally has six courtyards. There are three entrance courtyards in the front, the prison, the government office, the lobby, and the second courtyard each perform their own duties. There are also left and right side courtyards and backyards. Looking at them like this, they should be paintings. A tiger cannot be compared to a dog, and it will be short of a few to enter the hospital.”
Gao Heng said: "It would be nice if we could go in and take a look, but there are guards around. We can't get in in broad daylight."
Lu Tao thought for a while and said: "It doesn't have to be too troublesome. I'm familiar with this job. I just walked around in a circle and roughly measured the number of steps. The county government office runs north-south. The distance between north and south is long and the distance between east and west is short. It's obvious that there are no left and right sides." The side courtyard and the backyard should also be integrated into the three-in-one courtyard. I basically conclude that this is an ordinary three-in-one courtyard, similar to the layout of the courtyards of wealthy families in Ming Dynasty."
Gao Heng glanced at Lu Tao. Sure enough, this guy was not an ordinary person. If he was not a member of the martial arts community, he must have a military background. He was so knowledgeable and had a style that resembled that of a secret service agency. Could it be said that he was?
Lu Tao did not notice the change in Gao Heng's expression, but continued: "It's easy. If Zheng Guang rests at night, he must be in Sanjin Hospital. Let's find a way to enter through the back door and go straight to the bedroom where he rests. Break the yellow dragon."
The two of them returned to the teahouse along the same route. The six of them sat together for a brief discussion. After completing the division of labor, they quietly waited for the night to fall. During this period, they changed several locations and always sat in the same teahouse. It was inevitable that they would be confused. People doubt.
As soon as it got dark, there was a lot of noise on the street. The vendors pushed their carts and disappeared into the street. The clerks in various shops began to put up the door panels and close the doors. Wu Rong immediately said: "Curfew!"
This is a common thing, not to mention here, the Zhennanguan area also does this. There is a curfew when it gets dark. In wartime, this is a routine action. Gao Heng saw that this was a tavern, so he took out some broken silver from his arms, which was found from the Annan soldiers who were killed. He handed it to Wang Qi and said: "Go and talk to the innkeeper, we will stay here again." Go up for most of an hour.”
Wang Qi understood, got up and came to the store and said, "I'll give you all this money. We brothers will have a few more drinks and then leave. You understand."
The storekeeper was about to get up and remind these soldiers that there was a night curfew and no one could be left in the store. But looking at Wang Qi's fierce look, he knew that these veterans were not easy to deal with, and they also gave so much money, which was very meaningful. Obviously, I just wanted to be lazy and stay in the store to fish for a while.
Wang Qi added: "Let's leave after drinking. Let's go through the back door so as not to cause any trouble to you." The store owner rolled his eyes. He was a fool if he didn't make money. I heard that the Ming army couldn't hold it anymore. General Zheng's reinforcements were on the way. As soon as the army arrives, Zhennanguan will definitely fall. Their business will be even better by then. Why offend these soldiers? He said with a smile on his face: "Okay, Master, do it yourself, do it yourself."
After dismissing the store owner, everyone waited for more than half an hour before they ducked out through the back door. Once they reached the street, it was already dark. The scene on the street was completely different from the daytime scene. It was quiet and there was no one around. Because they came out from the back door, they were in a small alley at the moment. Gao Heng said: "There is a patrol on the main road, so let's go through the alley. The county is not big and the road is passable."
A few people walked through the small road and climbed over the wall when they encountered an impassable road. The residents in the city were not very vigilant. Among the few people, except Fan Yu, the others were good at skills, and the journey was not long. They arrived successfully after a while. Outside the county government office.
Gao Heng lay on the roof of a bungalow and observed the movement. He could see more clearly at night than during the day. There were torches lighting up the soldiers standing guard, and the patrols also held torches. A rough look showed that there were about twenty people on each side. People, it can be seen that the total number of troops guarding the county government, including the internal ones, is about a hundred. They broke in through the back door, removed the patrol team, and fixed sentry positions with no more than ten people.
Gao Heng made a rough estimate and found that the action could not take more than five minutes. In the Ming Dynasty, it was the time for a cup of tea. He slid down and said to Fan Yu: "You go up to the room and calculate the time. We will leave in just one cup of tea. You imitate the dog barking three times, which is a signal to us. No matter whether it succeeds or not, everyone must leave, otherwise there may be an accident." Not coming."
Then he said to the other people: "The five of us are not going to go through the back door. We only need Lu Tao and I to take action. The three of you are preparing to respond in the dark corner of the wall. If there are enemies approaching, kill them directly. You must hold on for a cup of tea." Qi and others looked at each other and clasped their fists and said, "I have the order!"
The patrol rhythm of the patrol team is very regular, basically walking back and forth, with long intervals from left to right. In ancient times, unlike later generations, cities in later generations had light sources, so it didn’t feel particularly dark at night. For example, you could see the road clearly when driving without turning on your headlights. However, there were no extra light sources in ancient counties, and the lighting ability of torches was limited. They could only illuminate a few steps around a person. Further away, they were still unable to see, which was very conducive to their actions.
The five men took advantage of the patrol's turn, lowered their bodies, walked out from the street corner, and went straight to the back wall of the county government office near the side wall. Five black figures flashed past, and a soldier on guard at the back door seemed to feel something. He was a little surprised when something flashed in the darkness. Several cat calls came from the darkness. He smiled and shook his head. It turned out to be a wild cat from nowhere.
Gao Heng was covered in cold sweat. Fortunately, he had quick wits, otherwise there would be a risk of being exposed. The patrol was moving to the other side and it was conceivable that they would be back soon. The courtyard wall was as high as one person. Everyone immediately took up a ladder and sent Lu Tao, who was the most dexterous, up first. Lu Tao lay on the wall and observed it for a while, then turned around and gave Gao Heng a gesture, which meant that there were four guards in the backyard, two nearly two feet tall. Gao Heng immediately took off the crossbow from his back, Lu Tao did the same, and Wang Qi motioned Gao Heng to stand on top of him.
Gao Heng and Lu Tao looked at each other. They stuck out their heads and pulled the trigger. Two crossbow arrows came out in response, and went straight into the throats of the two sentries in the distance. With two pops, the two The sentry was hit by an arrow in the throat. He couldn't scream and fell to the ground in pain, twitching violently.
The sound of the arrow being inserted into the human body was somewhat obvious in the dark night, and the two sentries nearby looked back subconsciously. Gao Heng and Lu Tao fell from the courtyard wall like agile apes. Each of them held a sharp knife and thrust it into their backs with a snap. They tightly covered the sentry's mouth to prevent them from screaming. In the blink of an eye, four sentries were killed by two people. Gao Heng thought to himself, good guy, Lu Tao's skills are probably not inferior to his own. He can be called a special forces soldier of the Ming Dynasty. I guess his judgment is not wrong.
Lu Tao went straight to the largest room in the middle. He was very familiar with this kind of county government environment. It was obvious that the room in the middle of the backyard should be Zheng Guang's bedroom.
Gao Heng pushed open the door to the dormitory and rushed into the inner room. He saw that the person lying on the bed seemed to have heard the sound of the door opening. He turned over and sat up. Gao Heng stepped forward and put a dagger against the young man's throat. , asked: "Are you Zheng Guang?" Then the man saw clearly that the two people in front of him were dressed as Annan soldiers, and this man also spoke Annan dialect. He said angrily: "Do you know what the punishment is for the following crimes?"
Gao Heng sneered and said: "I know, but we are the Ming army, and your punishment does not apply."
"What?" Zheng Guang couldn't believe his eyes. The person in front of him turned out to be the Ming Army? With a sizzling sound, Zheng Guang felt his neck tighten suddenly, his breath was suffocated, his head was dizzy, a stream of heat sprayed out, and the air was filled with a strong smell of blood. His eyes suddenly turned black, and soon the world began to spin, and he fell into endless darkness. Zheng Guang's last thought before his death was how did these bastards of the Ming army get through the layers of guards. They were bastards. All of his own guards were bastards.
Lu Tao rummaged around Zheng Guang's body for a while, took out a small gold medal, and looked at it under the candlelight. It had the word Zheng Guang engraved on it, with dragons and phoenixes carved on the side. He immediately said: "Yes, it's Zheng Guang. This is It's his identity card. As a high-ranking noble, it's not surprising to have such a gold medal." He then pulled out his sword with his backhand, chopped off Zheng Guang's head with a click, simply wrapped it in his clothes, and threw it to Gao Heng.
"Then, tie it on your body. I'll hold the gold medal. We both have evidence to prove his identity. If one of us is in danger, we will have proof." After that, he rushed out of the door, Gao Heng following behind. Woof woof woof, three dog barks were extremely sudden in the dark night, it’s time! There was a noisy sound outside. It should be that the few people squatting outside were exposed. No wonder, the patrol team consisted of ten people after all. As long as one person had sharp eyes, he could also find some clues. Wang Qi and the others could not be invisible, sticking close to each other in the dark night. Standing on the wall, one round of patrol could not detect them, but two rounds of patrols would probably not be able to hide them. Someone would always be able to locate them through the weak firelight.
Gao Heng and Lu Tao jumped off the courtyard wall. The soldiers on the patrol shouted: "Assassins! There are assassins!" The sentries picked up their weapons and rushed over. Other soldiers guarding the county government also rushed over after hearing the news.
"Charge! Rush over!" Gao Heng shouted.
