"Master Xu!!"
"Thank you so much, Master Xu, for saving my life!!"
The people were excited and applauded at Zhao Cheng's urging. Some villagers even brought vegetables and eggs.
“A shrine must be erected, and the favor must be repaid.” Zhao Cheng grabbed Xu Qingshan’s hand and said, “Great Hero Xu, come back to Yanchuan with me. I want to take you to see my father so he can properly thank you!”
Xu Qingshan tried to pull his hand away, but found that Zhao Cheng had used force and he couldn't pull it away even if he tried.
"I am just a commoner, is it really necessary for me to meet with the Right Prime Minister?"
"Then let me treat you well!"
When he heard Zhao Cheng say his name, Xu Qingshan gradually realized what was going on.
The current situation is something that both sides understand without saying a word.
Zhao Cheng knew Xu Qingshan wanted to kill him, Xu Qingshan knew Zhao Cheng knew he wanted to kill him, and Zhao Cheng also knew Xu Qingshan knew he knew he wanted to kill him...
"Zhao Wu!"
Zhao Cheng suddenly shouted, "Have you found out the identities of these assassins?"
"Huh?" Zhao Wu was a little confused.
As Zhao Wuzheng pondered, Park Wudi remembered Zhao Cheng's instructions: to act according to his signals...
Park Moo-di immediately said, "We've found out that these assassins are indeed from the Southern Zhou Dynasty, and they are even Southern Zhou spies lurking in Changsui City!"
"What?!" Zhao Cheng feigned surprise, then put on an air of certainty, and exclaimed loudly, "It really is a spy from Southern Zhou!!"
"What's going on, General Zhaoyong?" a villager asked, puzzled.
Zhao Cheng raised his hands to quell the surrounding noise and said, "Everyone knows about the marriage alliance between Southern Zhou and our Great Jing, right? Southern Zhou originally wanted the eldest princess as their marriage partner, but the eldest princess had already pledged her life to me in secret. In the end, the emperor betrothed the eldest princess to me, and Southern Zhou held a grudge because of this and wanted to take the opportunity to kill me to vent their hatred!"
Upon hearing this, the villagers began to discuss it.
"Did the eldest princess secretly pledge her life to you?"
"The emperor has betrothed the eldest princess to you?"
"Isn't it the young prime minister who's on good terms with the eldest princess?"
"Ah! I almost forgot, General Zhaoyong is the young prime minister!"
"So you're the young prime minister! That makes sense! It's right that the Southern Zhou spy died at the young prime minister's hands!"
"Is the young prime minister a treacherous spy from the south?!"
"..."
Zhao Cheng was stunned, wondering when he had gained such a good reputation among the people.
Southern spy killer...
How did the whole country come to know about it?
Patriotism is indeed very important; the halo of winning glory for the country can cover up the fact that one is a spendthrift.
Zhao Cheng raised his voice and changed the subject, saying, "Everyone, please be quiet! Although my plan to eliminate these Southern Zhou spies was good, the greatest credit goes to Hero Xu!"
"It was his sword that cut the vicious dog down at his feet!"
"It was his sword that defended the prestige of the Great Jing Kingdom!!"
Seeing the villagers' excitement rising, Park Moo-di quickly raised his hand and shouted, "Hero Xu is mighty!!"
"Hero Xu is mighty!!"
"Young Prime Minister, the Southern Spy Star, draws his sword to slay the dog, Master Xu!"
"The ruthless young prime minister of the South, the chivalrous swordsman Xu, draws his sword to slay the dog!!"
Zhao Cheng and Xu Qingshan were stunned to see Park Moo-di and the villagers singing in unison.
Zhao Cheng whispered, "Zhao Wu, Wudi is much better at handling things than you..."
Zhao Wu curled his lip and said, "I'm not as shameless as him."
More villagers brought eggs and vegetable leaves, and the crowd once again surrounded Xu Qingshan.
Zhao Cheng and his two companions emerged from the crowd, breathing in the fresh air.
Park Moo-di asked, "Did I do something wrong?"
Zhao Cheng said, "Very clever, you're still the same as before."
Park Moo-di said smugly, "It's still several days' journey back to Yanchuan. For safety reasons, you deliberately made a big fuss. You not only wanted the outside world to know that you wiped out the Southern Zhou spies in this village in Shangyang County, but you also wanted to drag Xu Qingshan onto the war chariot. I was just cooperating with you."
Zhao Cheng patted Pu Wudi on the shoulder and laughed, "That's right. The bigger the matter, the less those people hiding in the shadows will dare to make a move against me. By tying Xu Qingshan to me, Xu Qingshan will find it harder to act."
Zhao Wu sighed, "Zhou Nuo is right, Master, you really do make a living with your brains."
Zhao Cheng laughed and said, "My head and your knife, neither can be missing."
Park Moo-di asked, "And what about me?"
Zhao Cheng thought for a moment and said, "No rush. You will have a position that no one can replace in the future."
A while later, Zhou Nuo and Zhou Chuan returned one after the other.
Zhou Nuo brought several doctors, and Zhou Chuan brought three horses, a donkey, and two mules...
The doctors quickly treated the wounded soldiers, while the uninjured soldiers began to clean up the battlefield.
After the wounded soldiers had their medicine applied, Zhao Cheng put them all into the carriage and asked Xia Qiqiu to take care of them.
Of the three horses Zhou Chuan found, two were harnessed to the carriage, and Zhao Cheng insisted on giving the third to Xu Qingshan. He himself and Pu Wudi rode donkeys, while the two mules were given to the uninjured soldiers.
According to Zhao Wu's estimate, they should be able to reach Shuotong City in Shangyang County ahead in the early morning, where there are carriages and horses.
"Please bear with it for now, we'll change our equipment once we get to Shuotong City."
Xu Qingshan was originally going to leave, but Zhao Cheng stubbornly refused to let him go, saying that most of his group were wounded and that if the Southern Zhou spies came again, they would definitely not be able to stop them. He hoped that Master Xu could do a good deed to the end and escort them for a while.
These words were said in front of the villagers.
Of course, Xia Qi also secretly slipped some money to Xu Qingshan.
Xu Qingshan was caught in a dilemma, so he followed Zhao Cheng into Shuotong City.
After resting overnight, the group changed their equipment early the next morning, bought several horses, and a carriage to settle the wounded.
Seeing that the time was right, Xu Qingshan said, "I am going to Changsui this time, and my route is different from yours, so let's part ways here."
Zhao Cheng grabbed Xu Qingshan's clothes.
"Young Prime Minister, please don't do this." Xu Qingshan said earnestly, "I'm only about ten years older than you. It's not good for you to always hide behind me like a child..."
"I'm used to it, I'm used to it!" Zhao Cheng awkwardly let go of Xu Qingshan's hand and pulled him aside, saying, "We're fully equipped now and fast, so why don't you come with me to Yanchuan, Master Xu? I'll reward you handsomely once we get there!"
Xu Qingshan glanced at Zhou Chuan in the crowd, but did not see Zhou Nuo.
"With Zhou Chuan and his sister protecting him, and two successors of the Broken Blade Sect serving as guards, the young prime minister will be fine..."
Wen Hu's words to Zhou Chuan at the state banquet indicated that he had already investigated the matter of Lingshan. Zhou Chuan could no longer hide it from Xu Qingshan, so Zhao Cheng simply stopped him from hiding it and did nothing more. In any case, everyone understood each other without saying a word.
Zhao Cheng said, "Yu Beipiao and Chen Chong are not good people. If they want to come back, I'm afraid I won't be able to stop them... Since Master Xu has already made a move, if I leave halfway and they really kill me, you won't be able to escape responsibility either, will you?"
"That makes sense, but don't worry, young prime minister, they won't be coming back."
"What do you mean?"
Zhao Cheng was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized something and exclaimed in surprise, "You're not alone?"
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