The world of counterfeit magistrates competes in the world

Chapter 44 Entering Shazhou to Pursue the Enemy

Seventy or eighty li to the southwest from Shahuzhai, you will leave Hengshan and go straight to the boundary of Shazhou.Shazhou, one of the eleven states of the Tianwu Empire, is located in the most northwest border of the empire, with a vast area but sparsely populated.The name of Shazhou is due to the harsh and arid environment, and the desert stretches for thousands of miles.If it weren't for the fact that there is a long corridor and ancient road leading to the Western Regions, and thousands of miles of desert can prevent the enemy from the west, I am afraid that Shazhou would not be able to become a state.

The west side of Hengshan connects with the northeast of Shazhou. From Hengshan, it reaches the boundary of Linshan County, Beishan County, Shazhou. Because it is close to Hengshan, the environment has not been desertified, and the land can still be cultivated, so some villages are scattered.But at this time, the village was already in a mess, with wreckage all over the ground.The weasel sat on the ground, gnawing on the undercooked beef, his eyes were full of tyranny.They had already been running for a day, and because they fled in a hurry, they didn't bring any dry food at all. They were tired and hungry along the way, and there were still pursuers biting them relentlessly.Today, there are only more than 100 Sand Bandits who have escaped, and there are only so few people left in the Weasel Sand Bandit Group that once traversed the corridor.

"Boss, the officers and soldiers are chasing closely now. We are exhausted now, and I'm afraid we won't be able to hold on for long." A leader next to him said dejectedly with a disheartened face.

"Hmph! Don't worry, as long as we survive tonight, we can escape tomorrow." Seeing that his subordinates were in turmoil and panic, the weasel had no choice but to give them hope. "This is Sha Tongtian's territory. Now that things have happened, we can only seek refuge with him first, and then make plans."

. . . . . .

The sound of dede's hoofbeats broke the tranquility of the village, and a dozen crows croaked and flew up.A group of people appeared outside the silent village. The young man at the head sniffed the faint smell of blood in the air with a gloomy expression. "Damn it, let them run away again."

He knew that there was no living person left in this village, and where a group of sand robbers walked by, there was scorched earth. "Go southwest, let's go!" Looking carefully at the traces left on the ground, the young man waved his hand, and a hundred light cavalry rode with whips and leaped to follow the young man to the southwest.

On the second day, Hengshan officers and soldiers, no, they are Hengshan bandits now.The Hengshan Bandit has traveled more than 100 miles out of Hengshan Mountain on horseback. During this period, he had confrontations with the Sand Bandit from time to time, but they all escaped.At this time, a large group of people was gathering in a village, killing chickens and sheep, very busy.The villagers hid in their houses, secretly opened a crack and looked at the thieves outside, with horror and confusion on their faces.This group of people rushed in early in the morning to search, snatched all their food, chickens, ducks, cattle and sheep, and threw a few pieces of silver at the end.Someone resisted, and just when everyone thought he was going to die, this group of strong men didn't kill anyone, but just knocked him down to the ground and tied him aside.

Trembling slightly, the village head went to the thieves to intercede. He didn't want the leader of this group of robbers to be a white-faced scholar who spoke very politely. After comforting the village head, he offered a sum of money to let the village head comfort the villagers.What kind of robber is this? He is more benevolent than officers and soldiers.Although the villagers were still very afraid of this, they no longer panicked.With the money given by the robber, it is enough to make up for his loss.

In the shabby hut, Lin Yifan and Luo Yi gnawed on the chicken while looking at the topographical map of the surrounding area drawn by the scouts, pointing their fingers, with serious expressions on their faces.They are not familiar with Shazhou, and they are completely blinded here.Sand Pirates is like a fish in water here, and he can only follow the trail of Sand Pirates all the way.It is impossible to rely on familiar terrain to conduct outflanking and other tactics.

Throwing away the branch in his hand, he took another bite of the chicken. Lin Yifan sighed and said, "Oh, I thought things were too simple. Unexpectedly, I just got out of Hengshan, and I was caught blind. I kept running behind the weasel like this. , sooner or later our morale will be exhausted. Uncle Luo, what do you think we should do?"

Luo Yi put down the chicken leg in his hand, wiped his hands, and said: "Sir, for the present plan, we have to find a guide, and let him act as our eyes, but this guide is not easy to find."

"We can ask the villagers here, maybe some of them are familiar with the terrain here?" Lin Yifan asked after thinking about it.

"It's hard to say. Sometimes a farmer doesn't go out for fifty miles all his life, and has never read a book. He is very unfamiliar with the outside world. Let them be guides, I'm afraid they can't even find where the east, west, north, and south are." Luo Yi shook his head.

Lin Yifan frowned deeply, paced back and forth, pondered for a while, and said, "Well, let's go to the county seat and catch a businessman, and under coercion and lure, let him be our guide. Knowing the geography well, coupled with the fear of death and speculative nature of businessmen, they will be willing to serve us."

"Is this really feasible?" With deep doubts, Luo Yi hurriedly went to assign tasks.

Only half a day later, on the way of chasing sand robbers, Luo Feng escorted a plump fat man to Lin Yifan. As soon as he saw him, he knew that the fat man must be a merchant, with his trembling body and a pair of flustered But the little eyeballs couldn't help turning.It was revealed in minutes that this person was a businessman with an eye for money and good at calculation.

I saw the fat man lying on the ground, wriggling and crawling in front of Lin Yifan's horse, crying bitterly, begging for mercy: "My lord, please forgive me. I have money in my family. As long as the lord spares the villain, the villain is willing to reward you with a lot of money. Please, my lord." Good luck."

Lin Yifan felt a little funny, so he smirked and said, "In that case, if I let you go, how much are you willing to give us?"

"Small, the villain is willing to present the king five, 500 taels of silver." The fat man hesitated for a long time before slowly stretching out five fingers, and said distressedly.

"What? Five hundred, five hundred taels?" Lin Yifan and the others were stunned. This fat man was dressed in expensive silk, and he was wearing several expensive jade pendants. Even the rings on his fingers looked very expensive. A small life of his own is only paid 500 taels? This small life is worth less than the clothes he wears. He is really a master who wants money but not life.

Lin Yifan snorted coldly, and shouted: "Come on, drag him out and slaughter him."

When the fat man heard this, he was scared to pee, cried and yelled and hugged the horse's legs, no matter how the horse moved, he would not let go, "Your Majesty, don't do it, the villain is willing, I am willing to pay you another 500 taels, the whole 1000 taels for you, no More."

"Your life is in my hands now, how dare you bargain with me?" Lin Yifan laughed angrily, "If I took off your outfit, it would be more than 1000 taels. Believe it or not, I stripped you naked and threw it out." ?”

"These are all fakes, Great Wang Mingjian. The villain was confused for a moment, I, I would like to add another 1000 taels. Please let me go." The fat man covered the expensive decorations on his body, his eyes flustered.Immediately raise the price again.

Lin Yifan was not interested in teasing him anymore, and said seriously: "It's okay if you want me to spare you, but you have to do one thing for me first, and after the thing is done, I will let you go, maybe I can do you some good .”

As soon as he heard that it was good, the fat man immediately forgot his situation, got up quickly, grabbed the rein of the horse and asked, "I don't know what the good is, uh, I don't know what the king wants me to do?"

"I'm currently catching a group of sand thieves, but I'm not familiar with this place, so I can't wipe out this group of sand thieves. If you are familiar with the terrain here and are willing to be our guide, you will be very grateful when things are done."

"Pursuing Sand Pirates?" The fat man looked at Lin Yifan and the others suspiciously, and saw that this team was well-equipped and well-mannered, and they looked more like officers and soldiers than officers and soldiers.But this is not something he can guess, and he doesn't want to know too much.Then he said with a righteous face: "The pursuit of sand robbers is the place of righteousness, and it is undeniable. Although I am a merchant, I am also a member of the people in the world. This place is the way I must pass when I do business all the year round. The nearby mountains, rivers and rivers I know everything in the palm of my hand. I am willing to guide the king and eradicate the sand robbers."

Seeing Fatty's righteousness and awe-inspiring attitude, Lin Yifan didn't care whether he was sincere or not, as long as he could lead him the way.Then he took out a blueprint and handed it to the fat man, "If that's the case, then take a look at this map, is there anything wrong or missing?"

The fat man quickly took the blueprint, looked at it carefully, and then handed it to Lin Yifan, saying, "Dare to ask your majesty, the red line on it is the direction where the sand bandits are?"

"Not bad." Lin Yifan nodded approvingly, very satisfied with Fatty's performance.

"If this is the case, then the king must not move forward, the front is very dangerous." The fat man trembled slightly, thinking about his own life, he must stop this group of people from taking him to take risks.

"It's dangerous ahead, what's the danger? Tell me quickly." Lin Yifan was startled and hurriedly urged.

"My lord, in front of you is the territory of Sha Tongtian, the most powerful horse thief in the east of the Shazhou Promenade. Your team of hundreds of people recklessly goes there, I am afraid that you will anger Sha Tongtian, you must think twice."

"Sha Tongtian? How is this man's strength?" Lin Yifan's face changed, and he immediately thought of the weasel's intention, so he could use a knife to kill someone.But now that the arrow is on the string, he has no choice but to shoot, and he has vowed to cut off the head of the Sand Bandit before he will turn back. If he leaves in despair at this time, I'm afraid it will have a great impact on his prestige.

"Sha Tongtian has more than 1000 people under him, spanning five hundred miles to the east of the long corridor. Even the government is helpless, and after repeated defeats, they have to compromise and acquiesce in his existence..."

After listening to the fat man's words, Lin Yifan's face softened a little. He believed that with his capable cavalry, he was not afraid of that Sha Tongtian at all.It would be best if Sha Tongtian didn't come to provoke him, if he dared to do so.Then even he was suppressed together. "I know now, so let's move on."

"Your Majesty, as I said just now, Sha Tongtian is very powerful and dangerous. Why are you still going?" The fat man turned pale with shock and hurriedly shouted.

Lin Yifan turned his head and gave him a cold look, with the corners of his mouth slightly raised, "Because we are more dangerous than him."

(End of this chapter)