newbobooks Chapter 223: Was I tricked? Go by water or by land
Chapter 223: Was I tricked? Go by water or by land
Chapter 223: Was I tricked? Go by water or by land (two in one)
"Your Majesty, he is not Li Changqing..."
The exclamation from behind stopped the King of Wu who was about to leave. He frowned and looked back, impatiently saying, "He is not, so are you?"
"Your Majesty, please take a look."
The soldier could tell that the prince was a little impatient.
Not daring to delay, he immediately reached out his hand, grabbed a piece of fake leather that was slightly flipped up after being whipped by the King of Wu, and pulled it hard.
'Swish'
A complete human skin mask was torn off Li Changqing's face by a soldier.
Revealing the other party's true face.
Looking at that very familiar face, the soldier's pupils shrank, and he said in disbelief: "Prince...Prince?"
"Ok?"
The King of Wu also fixed his eyes at this moment.
A man walked over briskly, staring at the face that looked exactly like his own, his complexion ashen, his eyes chillingly cold, and he spoke every word.
Almost gritting his teeth, he asked, "Who did this?"
"You are so brave that you dare to use my face to make a human skin mask." At this moment, King Wu was furious to the extreme and full of murderous intent.
"Check it out for me immediately!"
"Whoever dares to tease me like this will have to pay the price."
The King of Wu was furious and tore off the thin human skin mask on his face.
Suddenly, everyone present was dumbfounded.
"Lord Zhang Wu?" the soldier exclaimed.
"Zhang Wu?"
The King of Wu was obviously a little confused.
The 'Li Changqing' that Zhongkang gave him turned out to be Zhang Wu?
"Zhongkang lied to me?" The King of Wu then realized that he seemed to have been tricked.
Just now, he thought that someone had sneaked into the dungeon and put two human skin masks on Li Changqing in order to tease him, although he felt that no one would be so boring.
But he had before.
Even though he thought so, he never doubted that the person Xu Chu gave him was fake.
After all, I spent a lot of real money.
Only then did Xu Chu agree to take action and capture the person for him, which was both moral and reasonable.
You shouldn't make fun of yourself.
"What a great Xu Chu! I've made note of this account. Let's see what happens."
After King Wu figured it out, his face immediately turned gloomy.
No wonder Zhang Wu never showed up after Li Changqing was captured by Xu Chu.
No wonder!
Before sending the person here, Xu Chu mixed a poison into the Ten Fragrance Softening Powder, so that I could personally poison the person and make him mute after I came back.
"Zhongkang, I treated you with sincerity, but you deceived me like this. You took it seriously and it chilled my heart." King Wu said, taking a deep breath.
Look at the bewildered soldier standing aside.
He said in a deep voice: "I don't want anyone else to know about this matter. Keep your mouth shut."
"Yes Yes."
The soldier looked terrified and nodded repeatedly.
King Wu snorted coldly, and with a gloomy face, he was about to leave the dungeon and go to the bathhouse to vent his anger.
He is very angry now!
"Your Majesty, what about Lord Zhang Wu?"
Seeing this, the soldier asked nervously before the King of Wu left.
Upon hearing this, the King of Wu paused.
He turned around coldly, eyes full of murderous intent, and glanced at Zhang Wu, who was hanging on the rack and dying, with not a single piece of good flesh on his body.
His tone was cold and emotionless: "Kill him."
He's a waste. It's a waste of medicine even if he's cured.
"Remember to handle it cleanly and don't let anyone else notice." The housekeeper who followed behind King Wu without saying a word gave this instruction to the soldier.
He quickly trotted after him.
"clear."
The soldier was shocked when he heard this, and nodded with a pale face.
After the King of Wu and the housekeeper walked away, the panic in his heart gradually subsided. He walked silently to the rack, glanced at Zhang Wu who was barely breathing, and sighed, "Master Zhang Wu, I'm sorry."
After saying this, the soldier's expression turned ruthless and he directly picked up a short knife on the torture table.
A knife stabbed into Zhang Wu's heart.
'poof'
Accompanied by the sound of a sharp blade entering the body.
Zhang Wu, who was dying, suddenly stood up. His bulging eyes were bloodshot and he stared at the soldier, looking ferocious and terrifying.
Outside the dungeon, the butler chased out.
Hesitantly, he asked King Wu, "Your Majesty, do we still need to investigate the human skin mask?"
"There's no need to check."
Upon hearing this, the King of Wu shook his head with a dark face.
At this moment, how could he not think of who made this human skin mask.
Black Ice Terrace.
Apart from Heibingtai, he couldn't think of anyone else in the world who could have such means. Not to mention the two human skin masks, both of them were as thin as cicada wings.
It seems to be perfect and lifelike.
There is not the slightest flaw.
If it wasn't for this time, when I was whipping him with the whip, I accidentally lifted the corner of the human skin mask, allowing the soldier to notice something unusual.
I'm afraid I'll continue to be kept in the dark.
"this…"
The old butler was stunned after hearing this.
He said rather unwillingly: "My Lord, are we just going to let it go?"
When I think of the silver and pills I gave away.
The old butler could not stop being so angry that he wanted to rush to the East Camp immediately, pull Xu Chu out, and chop him up in front of his own prince.
Of course, he only dared to think about it.
If he really did that, he wouldn't even be able to enter the tent and would be killed by the Xianzhen Camp.
"Next, I will need to borrow the power of the man in the north." King Wu did not directly answer the unwilling steward, but just said it in a bland tone.
But the words were so clear that the old butler could not have been unaware: "I understand."
……
at the same time.
Just when the King of Wu finally realized that he had been tricked by Xu Chu, and had lost both his wife and his soldiers, and dared not retaliate, he was almost furious.
Yangwu Town, after several days of inventory.
All the wealth owned by the remnants of the White Lotus Sect was also counted and recorded.
Silver: 61.32 million taels.
There were a total of three hundred chariots, more than three thousand pieces of heavy armor, nearly thirty thousand arrows, and more than six thousand long spears and short swords made of fine iron.
When this number comes out.
Everyone was shocked and stunned to the extreme.
"This is too exaggerated." Tang Cai'er looked at the account book in her hand with a look of shock on her face.
Ruan Surong said, "Who said it wasn't true? I was also shocked at the time. The speed at which the White Lotus Sect amasses wealth is truly unparalleled in the world. I'm afraid those merchants can't catch up even if they flatter themselves."
"After all, not many businessmen would dare to risk being beheaded to do something that is against the law of nature." Zhao Wanrou's tone was still gentle.
But his expression showed a hint of sadness.
He murmured in a low voice: "How can we transport so much silver, natural treasures, armor and weapons back?"
Her murmurs were very quiet.
But all the women present were highly skilled in martial arts, so they could hear it clearly.
"How about taking the water route?" Ling Yan'er thought for a moment and suggested, "Although the water route can only reach Lin'an Prefecture, it is undoubtedly the fastest option."
In the Dawu Dynasty, canals were connected in all directions.
Although there are no big rivers in the north, there are canals connecting various places.
Xingqing Prefecture is naturally no exception.
However, these canals were deliberately built by the Dawu royal family and could not lead to Chang'an.
and so…
The only way to reach Lin'an is by water.
"Going by water is one way."
The women nodded in agreement. Taking the water route not only saves time and effort.
We can also guarantee that the Cao Gang will not covet this batch of silver.
After all, the Cao Gang has been able to survive to this day thanks to the fact that they never steal the goods from the imperial court.
Even when the imperial court was transporting important supplies by water, they would take the initiative to come forward to escort, for fear that there would be some daring people who were not afraid of death.
This made the imperial court dissatisfied with the Cao Gang.
"Then we go by water?"
Seeing that everyone had no objection, Tang Cai'er hesitated and was about to make a decision.
"Wait a minute." But at this moment, Ruan Surong spoke.
The girls looked over and saw her frowning as she said, "Although the water route is convenient and fast, it is no less dangerous than the land route, and may even be much more dangerous."
"How do you mean this?" Tang Cai'er asked puzzledly.
Ruan Surong asked back: "Uncle Master, didn't you say that someone would rob us of this batch of silver on the way back to the court?"
"That's true."
Tang Caier nodded, a little puzzled: "What does this have to do with taking the waterway or the land route?"
As she spoke, Tang Cai'er seemed to remember something.
He slapped his forehead suddenly and said, "Oh, by the way, I almost forgot to tell you that at the request of His Majesty, the King of Zhenbei agreed to let Da Kaiyangshou and me escort this batch of silver back to the court."
"Big Kaiyang Hand?"
All the girls were delighted when they heard this.
Zhao Wanrou said happily, "That's great. With him here, no one can take away even a single bit of this batch of silver unless a celestial being comes in person."
This news obviously made the girls all breathe a sigh of relief, and their tense hearts finally relaxed a lot.
after all.
Yu Qingzhi, the Great Kaiyang Hand, showed his prowess in the battle of Yangwu Town.
In the late stage of celestial phenomena, he attacked the half-step celestial being.
"Since he is here, it doesn't matter whether we go by water or by land." Lin Shu raised his hand and looked at Ruan Surong.
"really."
Ruan Surong nodded when she heard this.
But then he changed the subject and said, "But I still suggest you take the land route. Compared to the undercurrents underwater, the land route is safer. Even if there is an ambush, we can react in time."
"Also, if we go by water, we need to go around Guangling before we can return to Lin'an. There are many hidden reefs and the water is fast. Plus, there are dangers that may arise at any time. It is inevitable that ships will sink. Now that Senior Sister is short of money, any shipwreck, no matter how many, will be an enormous loss." Ruan Surong's words made the faces of several sisters change slightly.
Obviously, he thought of the danger.
"Senior sister, you are right."
After a while, Ling Yan'er finally spoke: "It seems that traveling by land is the best option."
"I have no objection." Zhao Wanrou nodded.
"I, I, I..."
Lin Shu raised his hand again while gnawing on a chicken leg until his mouth was full of oil.
He said vaguely, "I don't have the sword."
"Then it's decided. We'll go by land."
Seeing that no one disagreed, Tang Caier made a decision immediately: "Without further delay, I will contact Heibingtai, and Ruanruan and Yanyan will go to find King Wu and ask him to prepare all the remaining carriages and horses before tomorrow morning."
"it is good."
The two girls nodded and left after hearing this.
"As for Junior Sister and Xiao Shu, just stay and watch. Let the Jinyiwei and the soldiers left behind by King Wu load the vehicles overnight and set off at noon tomorrow." After watching the two girls leave, Tang Cai'er turned and said to Zhao Wanrou.
"no problem."
That night, Yangwu Town was brightly lit.
The noise continued from nightfall until dawn and still did not end.
"Go back and inform the adults that the silver in Yangwu Town will be transported away soon." Some spies who were watching from afar also immediately spread the news.
However, what these spies did not know was.
When they left, they were followed by men in black.
that's it.
The noise in Yangwu Town continued until noon, when it gradually died down.
"set off!"
Following Tang Caier's order.
A row of horse-drawn carriages formed a long line and left Yangwu Town in a mighty procession.
"Commander Yu, I'm sorry to bother you this time."
Ruan Surong followed in the middle of the convoy and bowed to Yu Qingzhi who was traveling with them.
"Ah."
Yu Qingzhi hummed when he heard this.
He said nothing more, obviously having no intention of starting a conversation.
Seeing this, Ruan Surong did not make herself look unhappy, but looked towards Chang'an with a worried look on her face, and murmured in a low voice: "I hope there will be no accidents on this trip."
……
Changan.
After escaping from Yangwu Town, Li Changqing finally arrived at his destination after going through untold hardships.
At this time, he was unkempt, ragged, and walked with a limp. He held a cane and a broken bowl in his hands, looking just like a beggar.
No, it should be said that he is a beggar.
"Damn it, Xu Chu, you better remember this, I will definitely avenge myself, and even the prince can't stop me." Li Changqing limped along, cursing.
Yes, his limp was not fake.
Instead, he was beaten by Xu Chu.
That day he fought one against two, and forced Ruan Surong and Luo Xiaobei to retreat step by step without any resistance. Seeing that the two were about to be defeated, in order to make the play go on perfectly, Xu Chu took action.
He suddenly appeared and punched him, catching him off guard and almost killing him.
"He hit me so hard, that guy must have done it on purpose."
Feeling the stinging pain in his right leg, Li Changqing frowned and couldn't help cursing again: "Isn't it just that I took some money out of you? Is it that serious?"
While cursing, Li Changqing entered the city.
Without saying a word, he headed towards the east of the city, where the White Lotus stronghold was.
It is also the destination of his trip.
At the same time, not long after Li Changqing entered the city.
A woman wearing a white plain dress, with her long black hair casually flowing, who was extremely beautiful yet extremely cold, also came to Chang'an and entered the city from the south gate.
"Chang'an..."
The woman stood in the downtown area, looking at the bustling scene before her.
For some reason, a hint of complexity and sadness suddenly appeared in her eyes. Although it was fleeting, it did appear, and it made people want to pity her.
But only in the blink of an eye.
The sadness in her expression disappeared completely, and was replaced by...
It's the coldness that keeps people away.
"Master, you are finally here..."
(End of this chapter)