Chapter 81, a disaster in the county

Listening to the comments of the children, Zu Zhao suddenly had an incomprehensible idea in his mind.

If Zhang Wan in Changcheng County is the mastermind behind this series of accidents, how did he establish a relationship with the barbarians? Changcheng is located in the south of Youbeiping County. If you really want to echo the Hu people, the geographical location of Changcheng is really not ideal. On the surface, Zhang Wan now controls nearly 5,000 rebels, but the combat effectiveness of these 5,000 people is obviously limited. Even if the Hu people receive from the north, Zhang Wei needs to capture many counties, including the county government, all the way north. How can 5,000 people alone be so smooth?

Taking a step back, Zhang Wan is trying to use the Hu people as the main force, and Changcheng is only responsible for containing the officers and soldiers of Right Beiping County. However, how many Hu people can be dispatched in the north? You should know that Beiping County, as a border county, is still stationed with border troops stationed to guard against the Hu people. Even if Luronse's military strength is insufficient, he can hold on to the fortress for a period of time. In addition, Zhang Wen, the riding general, is in Youzhou during this period. If it is very noisy, Zhang Wen will definitely draw troops to help.

To sum up, Zu Zhao can't help but feel that either Zhang Wan is a visionless person, or Changcheng County must have another mystery.

However, in terms of his arrangement for Lv Wei to be included in the list of inspection and skillfully attacking east and west in the assassination of the Taishou Mansion, this master messenger behind the scenes should not be a stupid person. Conspiracy is a great crime, and there have been few successful precedents since ancient times, and what the losers have to face is the heavy punishment of the three Yi clans. Zhang Wan is a local rich man and has no worries about food and clothing. Why should he take such a big risk?

When everyone saw that Zu Zhao had been silent for a long time, they couldn't help but be a little strange.

Zu Ji asked, "Big son, what are you thinking about?"

Zu Zhao sighed and said thoughtfully, "I always feel that this matter should not be so simple. Zhang Wan... Will there be another plot, or is he not the mastermind behind the assassination of the Taishou at all?

Zu Ji was surprised, "How can I see it?"

Other children also looked strange and focused their eyes on Zu Zhao.

Zu Zhao said slowly, "It's just some clues. If Zhang Wan really wants to collude with the Hu people, the border is far away from Changcheng. Now that the riding general is still in Youzhou, Zhang Wan should not act so hastily.

Hearing this, others may not have been enlightened, but Han immediately lit up and said seriously, "Brother Zu's words are really at a junct moment. However, the previous attack on the county government has a close relationship with Changcheng County. If Zhang Wan is not the mastermind, he must be instructed by others. In other words, there must be other actions behind this.

Zu Zhao took a deep breath and said solemnly, "Even so, I, Xu Wuxian, can't do too much. We should not only guard against thieves, but also be wary of changes in the county. As a matter of urgency, we still need to make the county look brave as soon as possible. If you don't dislike it, I would like to recommend my brother as the chief teacher of the county's righteous bow and horse.

Han Dang thought about it. He was not a mother-in-law, and he was quite conceited about his archery, so he agreed cleanly: "If there is a place where Han can be used, Han will do his best."

Zuo Zhao smiled and said, "Then it's settled. Thank you first, brother."

He knew that Han Dang agreed to participate in Xu Wuxian Yiyong this time and recognized himself to some extent.

Although Xu Wuxian County was mostly the commander-in-chief of the county lieutenant in previous years, in fact, the county lieutenant's command of the children of the family was extremely limited. In order to end the conflict, often the county lieutenants can only hang up an empty command. Not only that, they must also let the rich people serve as the leaders of each team. This year's preparation for thieves is not the same as in the past. The ancestral family seems to have taken the lead, and there is the support of Chen Xianjun behind him. Although the captain of Wen County has a bad temper, he has known Zuju in the past and has to give face to the ancestral family.

In a word, the courage to prepare for thieves this year is almost presided over by the ancestral family. Other rich people may have private thoughts, but in the current overall situation, the general direction is still the first of the ancestral horse. Han Dang accepted Zu Zhao's invitation, and on the other hand, he expressed his willingness to serve the ancestral family.

When we talked about this, there was a knock on the door from the side room. Uncle Hong's voice said from outside the door, "Aji, Aji, are you inside?"

Zu Ji quickly jumped up and answered, "Uncle Hong, I'm here. What's the matter?"

Uncle Hong pushed the door and entered. When he saw Zu Zhao, he quickly bent down to salute. Zu Zhao came forward and helped him.

Uncle Hong said, "I didn't expect the eldest son to be here. Coincidentally, I'm going to ask Aji to find the eldest son.

Zu Zhao asked, "Is that right? What's wrong with Uncle Hong?"

Uncle Hong smiled and said, "It's nothing important. Just now, someone came from Fan'an Pavilion and said that the money and grain donated by their pavilion were well prepared. Let's send someone there tomorrow and make a calculation."

Zu Zhao nodded slightly. Although the preparation for theft had been raised for a long time, the money and grain donated by large households in various pavilions in various towns was not in one step. Some are allocated in batches, and some need to be raised temporarily, so it may be late or short. Originally, the money and grain donated by major households should have been collected to the county government and used under the supervision of the county government. However, the ancestral family is currently casting armor for the bravery, so some of the money and grain should be handed over directly to the ancestral family.

Hearing this, Zu Ji was eager to try and said, "Ok, we will go to Fan'an Pavilion tomorrow morning."

Zu Zhao also didn't have much idea and said, "Uncle Hong, I know. I'll have all my hands later."

Uncle Hong answered, "I will prepare all the horses later."

After Uncle Hong left, Handang got up to say goodbye.

Zu Zhao stopped Han Dang and asked, "Brother, where do you live now?"

Han Dang didn't think much about it and said directly, "Now that the farming is over, I usually live in the hut of the mountain guard. When the spring comes back, I will look for another place."

Zuzuo immediately said, "This is not the way. There are so many rooms in the village, and the righteous brother might as well live in the village. Let's go to Fan'an Pavilion together tomorrow.

Han Dang thought for a while, and finally did not refuse any more. He promised, "Then it's better to obey than to obey."

Zu Zhao ordered Zu Ji to arrange a room for Han Dang to rest, and order the number of people to go to Fan'an Pavilion tomorrow. Fan'an Pavilion is the farthest pavilion from Xu Wu County. After all, it is within the county, so it doesn't need too many people. But there are more than ten people in their spare time, just go for a walk together.

was speechless all night. By the next morning, Zu Zhao got up early and came to the backyard to eat some breakfast with Zu Ji, Han Dang, Zu Cheng and others. Uncle Hong had already set up the horses properly, and his ancestor Zhao also specially ordered Uncle Hong to nail his horse's four hoofs on his horse. Although the horse palm appeared in Rome as early as the first century, for China, the real physical research is still in the early years of the Sui Dynasty. It is not known whether it appeared before the Sui Dynasty.

But Zu Zhao was very clear that no matter whether other counties were equipped with horse palms at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, he had never seen such a thing in Youbeiping County. He only had a general understanding of horse palms. He only saw those recruited craftsmen a few days ago and asked them to build four pairs of U-shaped iron palms according to their description.

Considering the continuous heavy snow for several days, he decided to test the horse palm situation he designed today.

Uncle Hong certainly knew nothing about the horse's paw. When he heard that he wanted to nail the iron block into the horse's hoof, he even objected it for fear that he would hurt the horse's hoof. Zu Zhao said at least last evening, and finally had to show the momentum of the eldest son, and then asked Uncle Hong to do it. For Zu Zhao, he also knew that the initial model of the horse's paw he designed would definitely hurt the horse's hoof. After all, he didn't know much about the specific size, thickness and tooth shape of the regular horse's paw.

Just like the saddle and the saddle, the only thing he can do is to presume the most suitable horse's paw styling through repeated experiments.

When Uncle Hong brought out Zu Zhao's mount, everyone around the horse farm cast curious eyes, because the sound of other people's horses' hoofs was muffled, but only the horse walked with a metal horse's paw. He handed the reins to Zu Zhao's hand, and his face was very sad. He urged, "Son, be more careful on the road, this damn thing... Alas, I'm afraid it can't slip, but it will slip."

Zu Zhao smiled, took the reins and said, "Don't worry, everything will be fine. Uncle Hong, how can you not believe me?

Uncle Hong sighed helplessly and said nothing.

After getting on the horse, Zu Zhao greeted Zu Ji and Han Dang, led a dozen children of Benzhuang, and set out of the backyard gate.

Fan'an Pavilion is about 20 miles away from North Guoting, and during this period, it also crossed the Anyang Pavilion West River Bridge.

The heavy snow has eased slightly, but the whole world has been white for a day. Zu Zhao and his party rode on the horse, and their horses' hoofs stepped on the thick snow and made a creaking sound. Although the men in the north are not afraid of the cold, the cold weather still drive away the towns and villages they have seen. After half an hour, they have not seen many people. Even the Xihe Bridge Market, which used to be lively, has been flooded by heavy snow.

After noon at Fan'an Pavilion, the snow in the sky was a little more urgent.

The group rushed to Tingyi, got off the horse, and quickly hid in the room to keep warm.

Gili has been waiting in the pavilion for a long time. After seeing the arrival of the ancestral family, they hurriedly greeted and sat down in front of the brazier and served hot tea attentively. At this time, Tingyi was ready for lunch, and everyone discussed eating a little bit here. All the money and grain donated by each village was sent to Tingyi, but there were not many large and rich families in Fan'an Pavilion, and the money and grain donated barely reached the amount announced by the county government. Large bags and small bags are piled up in the corner of the pavilion lobby.

After lunch, Zu Zhao paid for the meal, and then greeted the children to move all the donated items to the door.

An empty car has been prepared before coming, and now it should be moved to the empty car.

After punching and saying goodbye to Fan'an Pavilion, Zu Zhao led the team to return to Zujiazhuang. The snow on the road is still unabated, but it is slightly better than at noon, at least it can open people's eyes.

Zu Ji came to Zu Zhao immediately, and then ran to the back to check the carriage. His face turned red with cold and muttered from time to time, "This damn weather is so cold, so cold! Fortunately, I was taken with a halberd, otherwise my hand would definitely be frozen.

When everyone heard this, they just smiled and didn't say much. At this time, there was wind and snow, so that snowflakes would not burst into their mouths.

Due to the obstruction of wind and snow, the group walked for more than half an hour before they were about to reach the boundary of Anyang Pavilion.

There is a sparse forest in front of it, and the heavy snow has lowered the branches.

At this moment, Zu Zhao suddenly saw more than a dozen figures on the roadside in front of him. Looking carefully, more than a dozen people were dressed as farmers, either carrying a pole, carrying a pile of firewood, or twisting one or two cloth bags. At first glance, Chad is a group of hunters who have just returned from the mountains. In winter, it is very common to go to the mountains to collect firewood, winter fruits and even hunting. After all, not everyone can have no worries about food and clothing all year round.

Therefore, he didn't care too much.

Continued to walk for a while, and suddenly a low voice came from behind him warning, "Brother Zu, be careful. I think there is something wrong with these people."

Zu Zhao looked sideways. The speaker was Han Dang. He immediately raised his guard and hurriedly asked, "Brother, how about you?"

Han Dang said, "Brother, look carefully, the two woodcutters carry big branches, but they don't have axes on their bodies. With such ice and snow, so many firewood can never be picked up alone. Looking at those people who twisted the cloth bags, they seem to be collecting wild fruits and herbs, but each of them is twisting a large bag in one hand. , you can't see the weight at all.

Hearing Han Dang's words, Zu Zhao immediately reacted and couldn't help sighing: Jiang is still old and spicy.

He immediately explained to the left and right, "Everyone be careful and be vigilant."

Most people have not realized what's going on, but when they see the eldest son say so, they all feel pressure.

On this trip, the ancestors were not fully armed. Most of them carried swords and knives, and only Han Dang carried bows and arrows. Zu Zhao carefully liquidated the people on the roadside in front of him again, and the number of people was above 20. He subconsciously looked around again, and he felt more and more that the situation was really wrong. The woods on both sides of the road have to be so quiet and there is no noise at all, which is really strange. However, he still has a little comfort. It's raining and snowing. Maybe he's just over-hearted.

As he got closer and closer to those hunters and woodcutter-like people, Zu Zhao calculated to say hello first to explore the truth.

After about 30 steps of gathering, Zu Zhao came forward a little bit and shouted, "How did you come from..."

How can I know that as soon as the words were half out, the more than 20 people in front of them made a motion without warning. The woodcutter threw away the firewood on his back, and three or five people immediately surrounded them and pulled out the bright knives, swords and axes from the firewood. The man who twisted the cloth bag instantly tore open the cloth bag and took out the crossbows and arrows. The rest of the people either took out the hidden blades from their bodies or grabbed weapons from the thick snowdrifts on the ground. For a moment, these "ordinary people" became vicious gangsters.

The nearest people held spears or iron forks, and a swarm of bees rushed to Zu Zhao.

The rest of the people have waved their weapons and then shouted to kill. As for several people with crossbows, they couldn't help but take up the crossbow and shoot at Zu Zhao and others.

The change came very quickly. Fortunately, Zu Zhao listened to Han Dang's warning earlier and was more or less prepared. He bent down, avoided an arrow shot at head, and got up while pulling out his sword. He was not in a hurry to meet the enemy with his sword, but pulled his hand with the reins back hard and stiffly let the horse rise from the ground.

Just in time, a thief with an iron fork rushed to him and was about to stab the iron fork.

Zu Zhao sat down and rode a tall horse. His front hoof left the ground and immediately pulled up azhang. First, he kicked a snow block and hit the thief's face, making him unable to open his eyes. Taking this opportunity, he suddenly leaned forward, causing the mount to jump forward and land again, cleverly avoiding the thief's iron fork and stepping on the other party more fiercely.

The horse's hoof with an iron horse's paw fell, like a huge hammer hitting. Hearing a few broken bones, the thief was pressed under the horse and vomited a burst of blood and could no longer move.

At the same time, Zu Ji, Zu Cheng and other children of the ancestral family rushed up and protected Zu Zhao. Unfortunately, two children rushed too fast to let the oncoming crossbow shoot straight and fall from the horse.

Han Dang's eyes and hands were quick, and he had taken the bow in his hand as early as the moment of the accident. Take the arrow, bow, open the string, and complete the action in one go. He almost has time to aim in the future. For himself, such a close distance is enough. Hearing the sound of the bow, the arrow flew out, and an arrow shot a thief hiding behind and using a crossbow to the ground.

The two sides are fighting.

At this time, there was another movement in the forest on the left and right sides.

Those thieves who had been ambushed in the snow and behind the trees rushed out at the right time. The scene was suddenly chaotic, and the number of thieves surged to more than 40 people, which alone had an overwhelming momentum.

Zuzu Zhao is not afraid of these thieves. After all, these thieves are all hiking, and his party is all knights. Unfortunately, he was not equipped with a horse blade when he went out today, and it was very disadvantage to catch the enemy with only the dagger in his hand. Although the children of the left and right ancestors are also good at hand, they have no choice but to enter the deadlock, and it is inconvenient to play in the snow, and more and more people are injured or fall off their horses.

"Little thief, take your life!"

Zu Ji roared, kicked the horse's stomach fiercely, and rushed to the seven or eight thieves who rushed out of the forest on the left side.

His horse aggressively broke into the crowd, hit the first person, and the thief fell to the ground alive. Then he chopped left and right, and his movements were so fast and fierce that he made people feel afraid just by looking at it. It scared the seven or eight thieves on the left for a moment. More or less relieve some pressure on the people on the road.

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[Continue to ask for collection, continue to ask for red tickets. I forgot to bless all readers during the Lantern Festival, so I wish all readers a happy Valentine's Day. Hahaha!]