Chapter 422: Magistrate Luan, take a look, who is this official? (5k)
In the morning, a caravan from the north came to Fengcheng County.
The carriage drove on the main road that connected the north and south of this ancient city. The wheels rolled and rolled over the bluestone slabs, making a monotonous sound.
Zhao Duan sat in his own carriage, opened the curtain, and scanned the ancient buildings on both sides of the streets in Fengcheng - the buildings on Binhai Road were different from those in the capital and Huaishui.
Most of them are two-story buildings. The roofs of the buildings are steeper and larger than those in the north. Ditches are dug on both sides of the streets to drain rainwater.
"Dayu Geography" records that Binhai Road is low-lying and is close to the Dadonghai Sea. Fengcheng's terrain is particularly low-lying, and because it faces a mountain range called "Yunling" nearby, it forms a particularly rainy geographical pattern.
To the south of Yunling, it is said that it leads intermittently to "Luoshan" where the road was built, which is the place where emperors of all dynasties "consecrated Zen".
To the east of Fengcheng, all the way to the end, is the big green mountain next to Emperor Wu City that is shrouded in sea fog all year round.
"Qingshan is located on the coast, so there are many Jianghu forces on Binhai Road. Green Forest wanted criminals often cross this border. Zhuang Xiaocheng really put a lot of thought into hiding here."
Zhao Duan withdrew his gaze, holding the simple and mysterious "Fengyue Treasure Mirror" in his hand.
At this moment, the bronze mirror reflected his ordinary face after wearing the mask.
"Zhuang Xiaocheng..."
Zhao Duan stared at the mirror, recalling Zhuang Xiaocheng's appearance in his mind. Clouds and mist surged up on the mirror, rolling endlessly. A vague image seemed to appear in the mirror, but it was so blurry that it was impossible to see clearly.
"Sure enough, although Zhuang Xiaocheng is a mortal, he must have a way to avoid being tracked by magic, and Fengyue Baojian cannot spy on him...
However, Baojian's reaction shows that there is a high probability that this person is indeed in the boundary of Fengcheng, otherwise the spell will only fail, and it will not be like a mosaic..."
Zhao Duan was not surprised. This meant that the method of directly finding the location of the headquarters through the Fengyue Treasure Mirror was not possible.
It’s not surprising, if it could be found so easily, Kuangfu Society would have been destroyed long ago.
Feeling the convoy turning, Zhao Duan flipped his wrist, put away the bronze mirror, and waited silently.
……
Not long after, the carriage circled around and stopped behind a slightly secluded inn.
The people in brocade clothes disguised as caravan members got out of their cars, knocked on the door, and immediately led the carriage and goods into the backyard of the inn.
It looks like a normal business accommodation.
Zhao Duan got out of the car, looked at his colleagues who also came out, and gave a look. The group entered the backyard and entered the main hall of the courtyard under the guidance of a waiter.
The main hall is not big, with tables and chairs on both sides, and cheap calligraphy and paintings on the walls.
"This is a stronghold of the Imperial Shadow Guards. Oh, the inn is also real. It is run by the peripheral Shadow Guards to convey messages."
Haitang looked at Gongshu Tianyuan and the listless Jin Jian with curious expressions on their faces, and took the initiative to explain in a low voice.
The little fat priest nodded slowly, put his hands behind his back, raised his chest proudly, and looked around the room furnishings:
"We, disciples of the Tianshi Mansion, can also hold our Dharma baskets and go to any Taoist temple to stay overnight when we are away from home. Even if we go to any government office, we will always be guests."
As a priest at Zhu Dian, Gongshu Tianyuan joined the government ranks this time to repay a favor, but he was always thinking about maintaining the high image of the Tianshi Mansion.
"The presence of the priests of Tianshi Mansion represents the face of the leader of the Taoist sect. He cannot lose his status!"
Before leaving the city, Gongshu Tianyuan repeatedly warned the confused gold slip.
At this moment, the palm-sized face of the young priest was full of sleepiness, and her eyelids couldn't help drooping. After hearing the words of the senior brother, she still stood up and said proudly:
"Yes...yawn..."
No...it's okay for this fat guy Gongshu to keep his status in mind all day long. You're so sleepy, why are you joining in the fun...Zhao Duan cursed, suddenly having a headache.
With Jin Jian’s virtue, does it mean that future fights can only be fought at night?
As soon as a group of people sat down in the hall, two figures walked side by side outside, namely:
He is dressed like a scholar and his complexion is sickly and pale, like a sick young man who will collapse in the wind.
A woman who looks like a heroine with a sword tied to her back and most of her face covered with a bronze mask.
At this moment, two sharp eyes appeared in the hollow of her mask.
As soon as the two stepped into the room, they looked around and locked eyes on the strange man who was obviously sitting in the main seat. They raised their hands and saluted:
"My subordinates have come to see Mr. Zhao. I don't know that when you enter the city, you will not be welcomed from afar."
The spies waiting at the Jinfu Inn turned out to be the two "golden shadow guards" who had captured the county magistrate Wang Chusheng in Taicang.
The man's codename is "Scholar" and the woman's codename is "Hongye".
Because the latter was suspected to be a descendant of Pei Niannu, Zhao Duan had reviewed the files in the palace and was deeply impressed.
In addition to recognizing the abilities of the two, Zhao Duan ordered that the task of contacting the spies be given to them when they were planning to exchange prisoners and install spies.
This time when we came to Fengcheng, we made arrangements in advance. Two shadow guards arrived early and stayed in the inn as "travelers" for several days.
"No need to be polite, just sit down and talk,"
Zhao Duan smiled and saw the two shadow guards sitting down slightly solemnly before asking:
"I came here incognito. You all know the purpose of this trip. Has anything changed in this place during these days?"
The scholar and Hongye looked at each other, and the former said seriously:
"Replying to your lord, according to your instructions, we have been maintaining secret contact with the spies headed by the 'actor'. Many of the rebels who came back from the prisoner exchange are still placed in a manor ten miles east of the city and have not yet been transferred. .
During the Chinese New Year a few days ago, the traitors had a gathering here, and Zhuang Xiaocheng showed up... Unfortunately, there was no warning in advance, and by the time the spies sent back the news, the people had already dispersed. ”
"As for these days, to be cautious, I did not contact them. However, we investigated secretly and learned that something was wrong."
"Oh?" Zhao Duan raised his eyebrows.
The sick scholar was about to speak. Suddenly, Jin Jian, who was languid in his chair and was drowsy, opened his eyelids and looked outside in a nervous manner.
Then, Ji Yue, Lang Shiba, and Gongshu Tianyuan all looked out of the house with stunned expressions almost at the same time.
"The sound of horse hooves...and swords...many people...are coming this way and are surrounding the inn."
The drunkard Lang Shiba suddenly spoke.
The former Admiral of Jubei City had sharp eyes, walked to the corner of the room, opened the window a crack, and said in a deep voice.
Surrounding the inn? Sword? Zhao Duan was stunned and looked at the scholar and Hongye in astonishment.
The two gold medal shadow guards also had blank expressions and did not understand what was happening.
"Go out and take a look." Zhao Duan stood up and said, taking the lead to walk out, followed by several people in the house.
As soon as they walked out of the room, they heard noise coming from the front door of the inn, accompanied by people's exclamations and loud shouts:
"The imperial court is arresting the traitor, everyone squat down quickly!"
At the same time, Zhao Duan relied on his excellent hearing to capture that the entire area around the inn was filled with footsteps.
He turned his head left and right and saw a famous crossbowman leaping out of the walls in all directions and on the roof of the building next door.
They all held military crossbows and aimed them at the patio in the backyard of the inn. The sharp arrows shone coldly in the sunlight.
"Be careful, adults..."
The Jinyi people who were cleaning up the rooms in the inn also swarmed out. Hou Ren suddenly took out his sword from his luggage and ran out quickly. He raised his head and glanced at the crossbowmen at several "shooting points" around him, and his expression changed:
"It's a magic weapon crossbow!"
"Protect your lord!"
A group of Jinyi captains each drew their swords and surrounded Zhao Duan and others in a circle, alert to the rain of arrows that might come at any time.
It seems that they have forgotten that compared to the four worldly realms around Zhao Duan, the ones who should be protected more are themselves...
"Bang!"
Immediately, the front door of the inn was kicked away with a strong force, and the entire door flew out and hit the ground in the backyard, raising a plume of smoke and dust.
Zhao Duan looked coldly and saw a group of heavily armed elite officers with armor and swords pouring into the courtyard like a torrent, surrounding everyone in the courtyard in a semicircle.
The leader of this group of official servants had dark skin and sharp eyes. Unlike the others who wore soft armor, he only had a headcatcher's robe. The cuffs and collar were piping in deep red and embroidered with silver thread. Zhao Duan recognized him at a glance. A uniform worn only by government-level head catchers.
Zhang Han, the Chief of Police of Mudan Hall, was obviously stunned for a moment. Zhao Duan glanced at him and asked in a low voice:
"Know?"
Zhang Han lowered his voice and said:
"Zhang Jian, the head catcher of the Binhai Road West Government Office, has the same surname as me, but he is not from the same family. He is a very powerful guy, and we have met him once."
Xifu Yamen arrests the head? Luan Cheng's men?
Why did you end up in Fengcheng County? When Zhao Duan was confused, he saw a large group of official servants dressed in crimson official robes approaching menacingly.
Behind him was a county magistrate with a restraining look.
The prefect Luan Cheng, who looked like a middle-aged scribe and wore a black gauze on his head, shouted harshly:
"You boldly rebel against the party. You dare to hide in the jurisdiction of this government and walk through the city. The crime cannot be punished. Quickly lay down your weapons and surrender. This government may give you a lighter sentence!"
Zhao Duan's expression suddenly became extremely strange, and the surrounding Lihuatang Jinyi also changed from feeling like they were facing an enemy to being confused and stunned.
No...
Have we become a rebel?
Jin Jian was no longer sleepy. She took out her crystal-ground glasses from her pocket and put them on her nose to watch the show carefully. If the scene wasn't inappropriate, she would have wanted to grab a handful of melon seeds.
Gee, it’s so interesting to follow the government on the case...
"You guys..." Beside her, Haitang raised her eyebrows, took a step forward with her long legs, put one hand on the flying knife at her waist, and was about to speak.
But Zhao Duan suddenly stopped him.
"Luan Cheng, the fourth-grade magistrate of the Fengcheng area?" Zhao Duan stepped out from the crowd and confirmed with a strange look on his face.
Before he went on a business trip, he did his homework carefully and read the information of local officials.
The memory of this magistrate Luan is still fresh. He was a Jinshi in the ninth year of Jingyun. Like Lu Zhi, he served as a judge in Dali Temple. Prefect...
His resume is not special. What really makes him famous is his ability to handle cases. Among the people, he is known as the "Impartial and Selfless Luan Qingtian".
He was one of the local officials who were particularly important after the empress ascended the throne.
It is said that beside him there was a master who was once a master of martial arts and later worked for him as a bodyguard and prisoner.
How to put it... The Yuguo version of the combination of "Bao Qingtian and Zhan Weiwei" looks familiar. The difference is that the one with the black face is not Luan Cheng but the head catcher Zhang Jian, and there is no crescent moon on the forehead...
"It's me!"
Bao Qingtian of the Yu State stared directly at them, his eyes were solemn and majestic. He glanced at a group of caravans dressed in uniforms, but holding sharp blades. He saw that they were rebels against the warriors, and he was surprised and happy in his heart.
I'm glad that the information is true. Who is such a good person? When he saw the official arrival, his first reaction was to draw a sword to resist...
What is surprising is that the rebel party is huge, with dozens of people, and I don't know if they can win.
Luan Cheng said sternly: "Since you know my name, it is better to arrest him without any help than to die for the traitor Zhuang Xiaocheng!"
Zhao Duan seemed to smile, without any fear of being in a desperate situation if he rebelled against the party.
He stared at Luan Cheng and asked, "How did you know about our arrival? And when did you enter Fengcheng?"
Luan Cheng was stunned, and all the officials were also confused. Are all the rebels this tough?
Why do you look like you are interrogating me in reverse?
"Bold!" Luan Cheng looked angry and sneered:
"What a traitor, so arrogant that he dares to ask the government, OK, OK, is it you who dare to fight against the government with so many people? Zhang Jian!"
Give an order.
The head catcher, who had a black face and was as cold as iron and wore a piping iron catcher's shirt, took a step forward. His shoes clicked on the floor tiles, making a spiderweb-like indentation with a "click" sound.
Luan Zhifu is different from the mortal body.
Zhang Jian, who has been traveling around the world for half his life and was once a martial arts master in the world, felt a faint sense of pressure when he stepped into the inn.
The pressure is not on those Jinyi wielding knives.
And from a few obviously weird people beside the rebel leader:
The fat man tried hard to put his hands behind his back, puff out his chest, and point his nostrils to the sky.
Wearing strange glasses, she tried to open her eyelids with her fingers, a confused girl.
A man carrying a wine gourd on his back and holding on to the hilt of his scimitar.
The woman huddled in the corner, lowered her head, burying her face in her messy black hair...
A sick scholar and a woman with a bronze mask on her face.
This team almost has the word "evil" welded on their faces.
Out of 10, there is something wrong with 12 out of 10 points.
Even the most "normal" looking man and woman always gave him a faint sense of threat.
Zhang Jian complained in his heart and said, "Sir, please stop talking. This time it seems that I have hit a brick wall."
But the matter has come to this, and he who has been wandering in the world for half his life knows that the brave will win when meeting on a narrow road. In the current situation, it is impossible to retreat safely. Instead of passively defending, it is better to capture the thief first and capture the king first, or there may be a chance.
Therefore, when the prefect uttered the word "Zhang", he had already moved. While taking a step, he pulled out the two knives from his waist with both hands.
There are two knives, one long and one short. The long one is thick and narrow, which is called Zhenlei.
The short ones are as thin as cicada wings and are called autumn leaves.
At this moment, the morning thunder of the long knife buzzed and trembled, and the Qi machine turned into wisps of illusory flames in a burning manner, spraying out from the pores, winding towards the narrow knife similar in style to the people of Donghai Hailang, flowing down from the tip of the knife, A drop fell on the ground, burning the floor tiles into mottled black marks.
The dagger Qiuye was thrown suddenly, spinning like a wheel in mid-air, and with the force of lightning, it attacked Zhao Duan who was standing at the front from another angle.
"Good knife skills!"
Zhao Duan's eyes lit up. With his current vision, few martial arts in the world could amaze him.
But I don’t know where I learned the sword skills. The two swords are one bright and one dark, one is on the wrong side, the other is on the right path, and the good and evil complement each other.
The timing and decisiveness of the sword attack are also remarkable. Zhang Han has only seen him once and remembered him in his heart.
Well, not to mention the rest, this person's solid martial arts alone is on par with Zhang Han, the Chief of Police of Mudan Hall.
Even in the capital, he could earn a position, so being placed as a prefect's guard in this place is indeed an understatement of talent.
Many thoughts flashed through him in an instant, and the whirling Akiha sword had already rushed towards his face.
Zhao Duan's hair was slightly lifted back. He was about to try out the newly mastered "Buddhist Golden Bell" when Lang Shiba swept out from behind him.
The vicissitudes of Beidi Xue Dao's face, which was carrying a wine gourd, was covered with green stubble, and the autumn leaf knife spinning like a wheel was reflected in his pupils.
The thumb covered with scars on his waist moved up and picked out the sharp scimitar from the Western Regions.
There seemed to be a moonlight shining in the courtyard.
Lang Shiba's fingers were frivolous, and the scimitar flew out like a joy, pulling his hand, and hit the Akiba knife that whirled out of the shadow with a "ding" sound.
The Akiha sword, which seemed as thin as a cicada's wings but could actually cut an adult man in half, was knocked away by the scimitar without any resistance.
With a whoosh, it deviated from the track, grazed Jin Jian's scalp, and stabbed hard into the pillar behind everyone. The blade penetrated halfway, and the handle of the knife vibrated!
Jin Jian, who held her eyelids with both hands, was stunned for a moment, and the bloody moon shadow behind her head slowly faded away.
Lang Shiba, who was in the world realm, slashed out with his sword like a broken bamboo, and appeared in front of Zhang Jian in the blink of an eye. Zhao Duan's lazy voice came to his ears:
"A small punishment but a big warning."
Lang Shiba casually dropped the scimitar, spread his fingers, and turned the sword into a palm. Under Zhang Jian's horrified gaze, he beat the famous head catcher's feet off the ground and flew backwards like a cannonball. out.
"Boom!!"
Zhang Jian smashed the window of the inn, smashed into the room, knocked over the tables and chairs, leaving only a large human-shaped hole in the window.
Lang Shiba kicked up the scimitar with his foot, sheathed it, and walked back to the team calmly, as if he had done a small thing.
Gongshu Tianyuan and the others looked bored, without any emotion of surprise.
What about the masters of martial arts? It's just a divine chapter. Lang Shiba attacks with all his strength, and the opponent has no possibility of coming back.
There was silence.
"Bang!"
One official's hand shook and his knife fell to the ground. The other government officials also looked like they had seen a ghost.
"A warrior in the world?" Some people guessed the possibility, but immediately felt a strong sense of confusion.
When was there such a strong person in the world who rebelled against the party?
The prefect Luan Cheng stood stunned on the spot, his anger still frozen on his face, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead, which quickly froze in the winter.
According to his assumption, this arrest would only involve a few Shenzhang realms at most, which was already the limit, and Zhang Jian and a group of officials would be enough to handle it.
But apparently things went beyond expectations.
At this time, Gongshu Tianyuan, who was focused on not losing his reputation in front of the court, curled his lips, grabbed a scarecrow from his loose sleeves, and then flicked the scarecrow's head with his fingers.
"Ah!!"
In an instant, from all directions, the crossbowmen who were ambushing on the roof screamed at the same time and were thrown away, each of them with a broken head and blood.
"Skin injuries, nothing serious. Small punishments, big warnings, I understand."
Gongshu Tianyuan explained to Zhao Duan with a smile.
You learn very quickly, but you shouldn’t compare yourself to everything... Zhao Duan cursed, and as expected, when he saw the remaining half of the officials, their faces turned pale:
"Warlock! He is a warlock!"
Luan Cheng's scalp felt numb, and then his heart felt gray, and he had a premonition that he was about to die for his country.
"Prefect Luan," Zhao Duan walked slowly to his side.
During the process, the officials hesitated and did not dare to step forward.
Zhao Duan stretched out his hand, straightened his collar with the latter's dull expression, and said softly:
"Let me ask again, how did you know we were here and when we would arrive?"
Luan Cheng's face twitched and cold sweat broke out on his back, but he gritted his teeth and stared at him fiercely, his eyes red:
"Rebel, even if you kill me, you still can't make me submit!"
Zhao Duan squinted his eyes, leaned forward, almost face to face, and stared coldly into the eyes of the middle-aged scribe:
"You want to die?"
Luan Cheng closed his eyes, his heart sank to the bottom, his whole body was cold, and he said with his last strength:
"Kill me."
The expected death did not come, and a laugh erupted in the almost dead courtyard.
Luan Cheng opened his eyes blankly and saw the rebel leader smiling softly, walking back slowly and saying:
"Lao Hou, put away all the knives. It seems that our whereabouts have been exposed. Haha, we originally thought of entering the city quietly without shooting. It seems that our opponent is more cunning than imagined, so that's all. Stop pretending.”
Hou Renmeng and other captains in Jinyi put their swords back into their sheaths and looked at the government officials with disdain:
"Sir, the officials in this place are an embarrassment to the imperial court. If it were us, we wouldn't be like this even if we couldn't defeat them."
Zhao Duan laughed and said:
"Don't say that. Are you going to risk your life for those few taels of silver?"
Jin Jian was very bored, so she took off her glasses, put them away like a treasure, and put them in the bag on her waist.
"Cough...cough cough..."
In the inn room, Agent Zhang Jian coughed and stumbled out. He saw this scene with a blank expression and turned to look at Luan Cheng:
"Master Prefect, this is..."
Luan Cheng was equally confused.
At this moment, Zhang Han walked out of the crowd, looked at the head catcher Zhang Jian with a paralyzed face, and said:
"Do you still remember me?"
Zhang Jian was stunned and carefully identified the person in front of him. He felt that he looked familiar, but couldn't remember clearly. It wasn't until Zhang Han pulled out the seven-foot sword from his waist that he opened his mouth in shock:
"You are...Zhaoya Peony Hall...Zhang Jisi?!"
Next to him, Haitang, who had a string of flying knives hanging on his waist, walked over with long legs. He glanced at the group of people a little irritably, took out the Jisi waist badge from his waist, shook it, and said:
< br>
"You haven't reacted yet?"
Zhaoyamen Jisi... Another Jisi... Yu Guo Bao Qingtian was stunned. Suddenly something came to his mind. He stammered, his eyes widened, and he looked at Zhao Duan:
"You are...you are..."
Zhao Duan grabbed his hand and took away the disguise, revealing his original appearance. He turned to look at him and said with a smile:
"Prefect Luan, please take a look, who is this official?"
Thanks to Kenshin Kyoto Fire for the 100-coin reward
(End of chapter)