Chapter 441 [Pick the softest persimmons]
Xue Wei, Guan Yue and their group left Wan'an Pass. The road ahead was winding through the mountains, with many blind spots.
The Gobi Desert along the way is covered with thick yellow sand and gravel, with sparse grass and trees scattered among the sand and gravel.
As dusk falls, the temperature around drops and the environment becomes unusually quiet, with only a few bats circling in the sky.
The road was difficult to travel at night, and the team's progress slowed down.
Guan Yue and Cheng Jiayu rode two horses, one black and one white, and walked at the back of the team.
As the captain of the Xin family army's light cavalry, Cheng Jiayu has a keen sense of danger.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of several dark figures hiding among the rocks not far away. He casually chatted with Guan Yue, "Ever since we left the border, there have been several of them following us. They waited until dark before making a move. They're really patient."
"Should we close the net now? Give them a chance to strike?"
Guan Yue shrugged, "They have patience, but I don't."
Over the past year, with Cheng Jiayu teaching her martial arts and having gone through various tough battles while escorting, her strength has improved by leaps and bounds, and now she has become the owner of an escort agency (a bandit leader) who can stand on her own.
Cheng Jiayu smiled and nodded at her: "Then tell Brother Xue."
Guan Yue sent a message to Xue Wei in the group, informing him that the team behind them was getting closer and closer.
After receiving the news, Xue Wei lifted the carriage curtain and said to Qiu Fang, the leader of the guards beside him, "Qiu Fang, it's getting late. We're all tired and hungry after a long day's journey."
"Notify everyone to camp in the open space ahead and make a fire to cook."
Qiu Fang was stunned when he heard this. The escorts of Guanzhaizhu delivered rice balls, roujiamo and other dry food that were easy to carry with them every day. They were delicious. The guards and logistics staff were always in good condition and had no problem traveling at night. Now that Lord Xue said this, there must be something going on.
"Yes! I'll do it right away!"
Qiu Fang informed the guards and servants one by one, "Come on, brothers, we've been traveling all day. Let's go to the open space in front to rest and prepare dinner."
"Okay!"
The team stopped in an open space in the valley and started to make a fire.
Among the group, the twelve guards sent by Emperor Qingning were all Miao people selected by the General of Cavalry, and the thirty servants who looked cowardly and powerless were all played by the veteran escorts from Guan Yueyue's escort agency.
Unlike the bodyguards who only know how to fight and kick, these veterans who came from the bandits of Guanjiazhai have learned to play the pigs and eat the tiger.
They were dressed in more miserable looks than each other, and at first glance they looked like honest people who had nowhere else to go and had to leave their hometown and travel far away.
In addition, this time they also invited "internal help", and the father of squad leader Qi Yun, Doctor Qi, was also tricked by Qi Yun.
Before Xue Wei's team set off, the squad leader told the old doctor Qi that he had signed him up for a "tour group". He would have the Yuelai Escort Agency as his bodyguards and a great writer as his tour guide while he traveled around the mountains and rivers, so that he could stay away from the hustle and bustle and power struggles of the capital.
When Doctor Qi heard this, he excitedly got into the carriage prepared by Qi Yun with his bag in his pocket.
The carriage was luxurious and the bed was soft. He fell asleep as the carriage swayed along the way.
As a result, the next morning, when the old doctor Qi opened his eyes, he saw Xue Wei saying good morning to him enthusiastically in the carriage, and the carriage was already two hundred miles away from the capital. Only then did the old doctor Qi realize that he had been deceived!
It turns out that the trip "away from the hustle and bustle of Beijing" is to a remote frontier area, and the great writer who serves as a tour guide is Xue Wei!
This is really a rip-off!
On the way, Old Doctor Qi started to curse, but later he found that the food of the team was not bad, so he cursed less fiercely. He found that the scenery along the way was sometimes really good, so his cursing became softer. Now he just occasionally complained that the itinerary was too boring and there were no entertainment activities.
Hearing Xue Wei's order for the team to stop and rest, Old Doctor Qi leisurely got off the carriage, put his hands behind his back, and looked around the camp. "What are we having for dinner tonight?"
"It's so boring every day. When will it arrive?"
The mediocre guards, the nagging sixty-year-old man, the fair-skinned Xue Wei and Cheng Jiayu, and the young and beautiful Guan Yue, this team of forty-six people was a piece of cake in the eyes of the bandits who were following them.
Behind the rocks not far from Xue Wei and his group, two groups of bandits were secretly observing them.
The leaders of the two gangs gathered together to discuss how to take over these valuables.
"What's the point of this? Just go ahead and do it!"
The person who spoke was Zou Hu, the boss of Menghu Village. He was not tall, but had broad shoulders and a big waist, and his two slanted eyes were fierce.
He had been hanging around in this area for eight years. He had originally fled to the outskirts of Wan'an Pass because he was wanted by the government for killing six people.
Zou Hu is strong, brute force, and cruel. He gradually recruited younger brothers in this area and became the boss.
The middle-aged man opposite him was the leader of the Jinyin Village. He was wearing a patched gray coat, was tall and thin, and had an unremarkable appearance. His face was so common that you would not be able to find it in a crowd.
People in the underworld didn't know his real name and only called him by the nickname "Zhang Tongban".
This man is a charlatan with superb deception skills. Even if you only have three copper coins on you, he can still cheat you out of everything. Therefore, he was named "Zhang Tongban".
Compared to the impetuous Zou Hu of Menghu Village, Zhang Tongban is more cautious.
"I heard that this year's top scholar Xue Wei is on his way to Jingshui to take up his post. Could it be them?"
The more Zhang Tongban looked at the scholar-like figure, the more he thought he resembled the legendary number one scholar. "This Xue Wei is someone the emperor has given special attention to."
"Oh, aren't you usually the smartest? Why are you so restrained at this moment?"
Zou Hu pushed him and looked at him with a look of discontent: "Being someone that the emperor particularly favors means there's a lot of money to be made, doesn't it?"
"They must have come prepared to be robbed. Why don't we just spare their lives?"
"You and I, along with the people from our two villages, have been entrenched here for so many years. We've taken on countless powerful people without ever getting into trouble. How could we possibly fall into the hands of a lousy scholar today?"
Zhang Tongban wanted to say something, but the people under his command became restless.
"Oh my god! I've been here for seven or eight years and I've never seen such a beautiful girl!"
"Chief, let's act quickly. I can't wait!"
"Even if there are more than 150 people on our two hills combined, would we be afraid of these 40-odd people?"
......
Seeing everyone's arrogance, Zhang Tongban took another closer look at the situation and said, "Okay, once we get there, you should first control the young woman, the two fair-skinned scholars, and the elderly Lao Deng. These four people."
"This way, the other guards won't dare to act rashly."
Zou Hu nodded: "Not bad, you should pick on the weak ones. I admire your tactics, brother!"
He excitedly called out to his men, "Everyone, grab your weapons and follow me! Take down those four weaklings first!"
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