After lifting the curtain and taking a glimpse, Naru couldn't help but urge the driver again: "Go faster and get rid of the car behind you."

He was so upset because he knew that the person sitting in the carriage behind him was Woolley.

Naru hated Wu Lai for many reasons, but the main reason was because of the fight last night. Naru was a man who cared about his reputation, and being knocked to the ground by Wu Lai in public was not too embarrassing. After all, the other party was young and upright while he was already old. What made him feel most ashamed was that when he was knocked to the ground by Wu Lai, he actually took advantage of Wu Lai's hand to support him and punched him. As a result, this punch not only did not save his face, but also aroused Wu Lai's anger. Then, he was punched again, and when he woke up, it was already late at night...

Naru, who always cared about his reputation, felt that he could not afford to lose face in front of this man, so he urged the coachman to prepare the horses and harness the carriage before dawn. Unexpectedly, Wu Lai's carriage caught up with his carriage less than a mile out of the town.

Of course, Wu Lai would not think that he was chasing Naru's car. According to him, it was just a coincidence. Besides, there was only one road leading to the city of Lunvington, and there was no rule that no one could take it.

A few miles after the two's carriage drove out of Salt Marsh Town, another carriage drove out of Salt Marsh Town. In this carriage sat four Daishan teenagers, but they were only half of Wu Lai's escort force. The other four teenagers set out earlier than Naru.

This was the first time that Wu Lai arranged so many people to protect himself. He was shocked by what Nivea and Bird said a few days ago - more than 90% of the attacks that Salt Marsh Town had suffered in the past decade were caused by collusion between officials and bandits. Every time the bandits went out on a large scale, nearly 30% of the profits would go into the pockets of these officials and insiders.

Wu Lai knew that the so-called 30% was not taken seriously by these officials and insiders, because every time the town was robbed, it was the best opportunity for these guys to make money. They would exaggerate the losses, and then apply for subsidies from the city-state of Lunwenton for various reasons, such as repairing the retaining wall, rebuilding facilities, recruiting soldiers, purchasing weapons, and providing pensions to the townspeople. They would double or triple the amount of the town's losses and report it. Are they still worried that they can't make money? It is said that this method can be used once or twice but not three times, but it has been successful repeatedly. In addition to the fact that the most powerful people in Lunwenton not only have a share but also get the lion's share, there is another most critical reason - although Salt Marsh Town is directly managed by the city-state of Lunwenton, all its expenses are paid by the Supreme Council of Assyrian Nobles. This is why Chief Connor lent Wu Lai so many gold coins for construction, and no member of the Supreme Council objected.

The Supreme Council had no choice but to bear all the losses of Salt Marsh Town. The First Legion's garrison in Lunvington was unwilling to go all out to suppress the bandits, and those who held real power in Lunvington City always complained that Salt Marsh Town was burdened with too much and planned to give it up, and let the townspeople migrate to an area suitable for planting near Lunvington City to build a new town...

How could the Supreme Council dare to reduce the salt production in the Assyrian territory by 60%? If the salt production is reduced, the price of salt will inevitably soar, and the people will be resentful. Maybe the Assyrian territory will be in chaos. If there is civil unrest, how can the Hurrians, who have been eyeing the Assyrian territory and are eager to take action, not take advantage of the situation?

Therefore, even if the salt production in Salt Marsh Town is getting worse and worse, even if Salt Marsh Town is plagued by banditry every year and suffers all kinds of real and fake losses, the Supreme Council of Nobles headed by Chief Connor must accept it all. Failure to support Salt Marsh Town will not only mean handing over this town, which is related to the lifeline of Assyria, to certain people with inflated ambitions, but will also bring numerous hidden dangers to Assyria. If one is not careful, the consequences will be disastrous.

The people who secretly controlled Lunvington were of course aware of the Supreme Council's thoughts, so they didn't mind reporting more losses. In the past ten years, not only did the Supreme Council not receive a single gold coin from the salt production in Salt Marsh Town, but it also had to pay an average of 20,000 to 30,000 gold coins in subsidies every year. However, it finally guaranteed the supply of salt in the Assyrian territory, and also prevented those ambitious guys from finding an excuse to abandon the town.

However, patience always has a limit. For example, Woolley's appointment this time was a decision made by Chief Connor when he could no longer tolerate it. For this powerful man who has been in a high position for a long time, appointing Woolley was a bold attempt, but it was not without confidence, because the commotion Woolley caused in the city of Assyria could well demonstrate his ability and explain his position.

No one except Woolley and Connor knew what the two talked about in their last meeting before Woolley took office. Many years later, the elderly Connor, due to his old age and forgetfulness, was unable to give a clear description of this experience in his memoirs, but only wrote it as an ordinary conversation. However, at the end of the description of this memory, he wrote-"When Woolley and Grind got up to leave, I said to him, 'You must beat them.' He replied, 'I will win.'"

This can make people appreciate the unusualness of it...

The day after leaving Salt Marsh Town, Naru still couldn't get rid of Wu Lai, but he felt much more at ease because Wu Lai didn't come to find him when he stayed at the hotel last night. This made Naru, who originally thought that Wu Lai would come to tease him, feel pretty good. At least he didn't feel embarrassed.

In the afternoon, the two cars followed the horse trail into the dense forest area. From here, the horse trail plunged into the depths of the mountains with thick shadows covering the sky. The road crossed the mountains, ups and downs, looming, like a winding, floating gray-yellow belt.

This dense forest area is very vast. If a horse or vehicle travels at a normal speed, it will take about half a day to pass through it. Because this area has high mountains, dense forests and numerous streams, it has also become a hiding place for many bandit groups. For example, the Crow Valley occupied by the Crow bandit group is less than 40 miles away from the horse trail.

At the same time, this dense forest area is also the place where traveling merchants are robbed most often.

Naru's carriage sped up after entering the dense forest area. He was not worried about encountering bandits. The markings on his carriage were so obvious that even if there were bandits hiding on the side of the road, they would not come forward to bother him, because the bandits always knew who they could touch and who they could not. Naru was the salt inspector of Lunvington. If he provoked him, some tacit understanding would definitely be destroyed, and things that should not have happened would happen.

Wu Lai slowed down the car and told the driver to sit behind the curtain.

"Master Wu Lai, you think there will be an ambush by bandits, right?" the driver asked hurriedly. As a full-time driver in Yanhuan Town, he has traveled this road countless times and naturally knew that Wu Lai was taking precautions.

"Maybe." Wu Lai replied. Although the coachman was of humble status, he was also a human life. Wu Lai would never put the coachman in danger.

"Lord Wu Lai, how about I drive the horse faster and catch up with the carriage of the Salt Governor Naru?" The driver hesitated and asked. When traveling on a road like this, it is naturally better to travel in a group.

"No need." Wu Lai shook his head and reached for the wooden box in the corner of the carriage with his left hand.

The wooden box has two layers. The first layer is a single-soldier crossbow, which has a better range and lethality than the one used by Daishan team. The second layer is a long sword with a narrow and slender blade and a sharp tip, which is suitable for stabbing.

Wu Lai quickly took out the crossbow and began to put it on his left arm. When the driver heard the noise, he couldn't help but turn around and take a look. Seeing Wu Lai's actions, he was also shocked. He thought that Lord Wu Lai actually made such preparations. Wouldn't there really be bandits appearing soon? Behind Wu Lai's carriage, the carriage of the Daishan team was still following slowly, about a mile away.

At the same time, about two miles ahead of Wu Lai's carriage, Naru's carriage just passed a black-topped carriage...

After another meal, Wu Lai's carriage came to a narrow road. On both sides of the road, there were steep peaks and huge rocks, like ferocious claws and fangs, or like ferocious beasts from ancient times, leaping, standing, or lying, in various postures.

Wu Lai frowned and was alert. The driver dared not speak at this moment. He whipped the driver and whispered to himself, "Please don't let any bandits come..."

At the same time, a few pairs of prying eyes slowly appeared on the sloping stone slope somewhere in front. The one leading the group was actually Henry, who was repeatedly suppressed by Wu Lai, and squatting beside him and spying on the situation with him were actually a few bandits.

When he saw the logo on the carriage, Henry raised a sinister smile. He quickly took out a piece of black cloth from his arms and tied it around his face, covering most of his face. Then, he gently waved his hand, and a bandit beside him immediately drew his sword and fiercely chopped at several vines...

When the rumbling sound was heard, the driver subconsciously looked in the direction of the sound, and a look of surprise immediately flashed across his eyes.

"Master Wu Lai! There are bandits!" the coachman shouted while pulling the horse.

"Don't be afraid, I'm here!" Wu Lai said in a deep voice, holding his sword. For some reason, the driver, who was originally very uneasy, suddenly felt less afraid when he heard his words.

What happened to me? The driver was wondering about his mood change while pulling the reins hard to make the horse turn around, because in the roar just now, six or seven dead trees that were more than one person tall and two people could hug rolled down the slope, blocking the way.

The horses neighed, but before they could turn around, another rumbling sound came from behind the carriage. The driver was startled and thought to himself that this was bad. From the sound, it was obvious that the way back had been blocked in the same way.

"Master Wu Lai, what should we do?" The driver panicked again, and his voice trembled with tears.

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Wu Lai was about to comfort him when he suddenly heard a sound of breaking air. Without hesitation, he reached out and grabbed the coachman's collar and pulled him back. At the same time, he fell down and heard the sound of dense arrows hitting wood - dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong. Several feather arrows pierced through the curtain and flew in. If Wu Lai had not acted quickly, he might have been safe, but the coachman who covered the front door would certainly be in danger.

"Lie here and don't move." Wu Lai shouted in a low voice. The people in ambush shot a volley of arrows at him without saying a word. It was obvious that they were not looking for money but for his life. It would certainly be much safer for the driver to lie down and not move.

The drivers didn't dare to move at this moment. After hearing this, they responded tremblingly and pressed their bodies against the carriage board as hard as they could, wishing they could get into the carriage and become one with it.

"Don't make a sound." Wu Lai lowered his voice and curled up in the corner of the carriage. The wooden boards here were specially thickened, so even if they were stabbed with a spear at close range, they might not be able to penetrate them, let alone arrows.

Wu Lai had just curled up when he was shot again. As the horse neighed in pain, the carriage of the horse jolted and shook violently, and then stopped moving...

"Master Wu Lai, the horse is probably dead." The coachman's voice was not much louder than a fly. Fortunately, Wu Lai had good hearing and he was able to hear it clearly.

"Don't worry." Wu Lai narrowed his eyes and listened attentively. Outside the car, the sound of hurried footsteps could be heard in the distance.

More than twenty people ran towards Woolley's carriage. They divided into two groups and surrounded him from the front and back. Henry was among them. At this moment, he had his face covered and walked behind the bandits with a muscular guy.

This muscular fellow is called Tulu. He is a specialist in doing dirty work among the bandits. What are dirty work? Assassination and kidnapping.

Logically speaking, Henry didn't need to take such a risk. In the Assyrian territory, colluding with bandits was an unforgivable crime for both officials and civilians. Although Henry hated Woolley very much, even if he wanted to take his life, it would be too much for him to come in person.

Henry certainly didn't want to come in person, but he didn't dare to disobey the order, so he felt a little uneasy for most of the day.

But now I feel relieved, because from the current situation, even the horse has been shot to death, how can the people in the car not die?

"Boss, there is a carriage approaching from the front and back." Before they got close to the carriage, a minion ran over to report to Tu Lu.

"Ask a few people to go over and rob them. If there are women..." Tu Lu grinned before he finished speaking. The henchman grinned and turned around to call for help.

"Let's check it out first." Henry frowned.

"It's your job to check." Tu Lu spread his hands and laughed, "We don't know what this Wu Le Green looks like."

Henry was startled, hesitated for a moment, drew his sword, and walked quickly towards the carriage that was full of arrows...