The two carriages stopped in front of the courtyard of Xu Jin's house, surrounded by people from Xujia Village, as well as neighboring villages running to join in the fun, and the voices of the people at the end were boiling, as if they were rushing to the market during the New Year.

Xu Jin greeted the villagers, and asked Xiaowan to distribute the candy and snacks and other items she brought back, and everyone was happy for a while. After sending away a group of villagers and packing up and settling down, Xu Jin followed the chief Xu Youguang to visit the patriarch. As a result, as soon as he walked out of the courtyard gate, he saw Xu Deming coming on crutches, as well as a few clan elders.

Although Xu Jin was not interested in this patriarch, he still hurriedly stepped forward and saluted: "Xu Jin greets uncle!" ”

Xu Deming nodded reservedly and said, "Okay, just come back, go inside and talk." ”

Originally, Xu Deming wanted to wait at home for Xu Jin to come to the door to say hello, but when he heard that the villagers had reported that Xu Jin had also caught two thieves and came back, he immediately couldn't help it and ran to see what was going on in person.

"Brother Jin, I heard that you were attacked by bandits on the way?" Xu Deming entered the courtyard and hurriedly asked before he sat down.

Xu Jin nodded: "My nephew did encounter a group of bandits robbing the road in Hutougou, fortunately, Fei Ge Lao sent three guards to escort him this time, and in addition, Xiao Wan's two brothers also know martial arts, not only repelled the bandits, but also captured two alive." ”

Xu Deming breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this: "Fortunately, Brother Jin Erji is a natural person, these thieves have become more and more rampant in recent years, etc...... Where did you just say you met the bandits? ”

"Hutougou!" Xu Jin repeated.

Xu Deming and the elders couldn't help but change their faces, Hutougou is only five or six miles away from Xujia Village, it can be said that they are already under their noses, when did a group of bandits come out of this vicinity? Why haven't you heard of it before, is it new?

Xu Deming's face became extremely solemn, you must know that the villagers of Xujia Village usually go to the town to catch the market, and they take this road to enter and exit, if a group of bandits come here, how can it be good?

A clan elder said in a deep voice: "Oh no, I heard that bandits are being suppressed over there in Leadshan County, could it be that the bandits are running from there?" ”

Xu Deming nodded and said: "Very likely, no, inform everyone to wake up the spirit tonight, there is light, you arrange for people to take turns on duty, Brother Jin caught two thieves, and the gang of thieves may come to provoke and retaliate." ”

Xu Youguang didn't dare to slack off, and hurriedly ran to make arrangements, you must know that the bandits are extremely vicious, and it is not uncommon to slaughter the entire village.

As the saying goes, if there is an old man in the family, if there is a treasure, the role of the patriarch will be reflected at this time, and the role of the ethnic group will also be revealed, why is the ethnic concept of the ancients so strong? Because only by uniting together can we ensure our own safety and interests!

Xu Jin was still thinking about how to use to make the villagers more vigilant and wary of Ning Wang Shizi sending people to attack the village, which would save trouble, and Xu Deming arranged everything.

It is precisely because of the poor security in ancient times, all kinds of thieves were rampant, it is impossible to rely on the government alone, and the most important thing to protect the homeland is to rely on the unity of the people, so the ancients had a very strong sense of anti-theft and anti-thief, which can be seen from the existing ancient architectural design.

Take Xujia Village as an example, there is a carved tower specially built in the village for lookouts, and the walls of the ancestral hall are built high and thick, and even the gate is built of sturdy high-quality wood, which is to come in handy in times of crisis and protect the lives of the villagers.

Xu Deming arranged the matter of guarding the guard, and asked solemnly: "Brother Jin, have you sent someone to report the matter of the thieves to the county government?" ”

Xu Jin's perception of Xu Deming changed at this time, and he nodded: "My nephew has already sent someone back to the county seat to report the case, if there is no accident, the county lord will send someone to come before dark." ”

Xu Deming nodded with satisfaction when he heard this, his nephew has changed since he fell into the river last year, not only is his brain smart, but he is also calm and sophisticated, and he is strange!

"Brother Jin, take the old man to see those two bandits!" Xu Deming leaned on his crutches and said.

The elders who came with him were also curious about what this bandit looked like, so they went into the kitchen with Xu Deming.

Zhao Baobao and Zou Erliu were tied up and thrown into the firewood and grass pile in the kitchen, they had already woken up at this moment, and when they saw Xu Jin coming in with a few old men, they suddenly glared fiercely, and their mouths were stuffed with cloth and let out a low roar, which frightened Xu Deming and several clan elders to retreat again and again.

Xu Deming saw that although the two thieves were fierce and fierce, they were tied up strongly, he immediately calmed down, stepped forward and raised his cane and knocked a few sticks on the heads of Zhao Baobao and Zou Erliu, and scolded: "Bah, two thieves, the old man let you cross, the beast with thousands of knives!" ”

Seeing this, several clan elders also picked up the dry firewood next to them and joined the siege, Xu Jin couldn't help but sweat secretly, if Xu Deming and the others knew that these thieves were related to the soil emperor of Jiangxi, I don't know if they would dare to fight?

Woo ...... Prosperous!

A muffled thunder shook the sky, the weather was originally sunny, but it was pouring rain in the afternoon, Xu Jin stood under the eaves, looking at the torrential rain outside, his mood couldn't help but become heavy, the sky is not beautiful, I hope the second brother-in-law can rush to the lead mountain in time to see Governor Sun, as for Zhao Xing, if there is no accident, he should have returned to the county, I don't know how Liu Qingyuan reacted.

……

Shangrao County, the residence of King Ning's prince, the palace guard Huang Zhongzheng was kneeling on the ground, his shoulders had been soaked with blood, half of the arrow shaft was still exposed outside his clothes, his lips were pale, and his body was shaky.

"Waste, all of it is waste, a bunch of rice buckets, what's the use of raising you!" King Ning Shizi scolded with a grim face, and there was a broken teacup on the ground.

Eunuch Liu Ji frowned and said: "His Royal Highness the Prince of the World is a little restless, the matter has come to this point, the top priority is to find a way to remedy it, Huang Zhong, you just said that there is a living mouth in the hands of Xu Jin?" ”

Huang Zhong nodded and said: "Xu Jin has two masters by his side, and he captured Zhao Baobao and Zou Erliu alive just by looking at him, and one of them is quite good at archery, and his subordinates were injured by him, if it weren't for the quick retreat of his subordinates, I'm afraid they wouldn't be able to report back." ”

Ning Wang Shizi couldn't help but scolded again: "Fart, don't make excuses for your incompetence, it's really a waste, with your archery skills, you also occupy a favorable terrain, and you actually lost to a teenager, useless thing!" ”

Huang Zhong lowered his head in shame and was silent!

Liu Ji shook his head and said, "Your Royal Highness, if there is a living mouth in the hands of Xu Jin, I am afraid that it will be bad for us." ”

Ning Wang Shizi said nonchalantly: "Gonggong Liu, don't worry, Zhao Baobao and Zou Erliu are both dead soldiers trained by the palace, even if they fall into the hands of the enemy, they will not leak secrets, they will choose to take poison and commit suicide." What this Shizi hates now is that he couldn't get that person back! ”

At this moment, a subordinate came in and reported: "His Royal Highness, Governor Liu is here, saying that there are 100,000 urgent matters. ”

Ning Wang Shizi and Liu Ji glanced at each other, and the former hurriedly said, "Take Governor Lu to the living room." ”

The subordinate retreated as promised, and Ning Wang Shizi and Liu Ji immediately went to the living room, and Lu Kang hurriedly came probably related to the failure of today's operation.

When Prince Ning and Liu Ji came to the living room, Lu Kang was fidgeting, the collar of the official robe was full of sweat stains, obviously he had come in a hurry.

King Ning Shizi said in a deep voice: "Governor Lu, what happened to panic like this? ”

Lu Kang asked anxiously, "Your Royal Highness, did you send someone to intercept and kill Xu Jin halfway?" ”

King Ning's face sank, and he scolded: "Presumptuous, are you questioning this son?" ”

Lu Kang wiped the cold sweat on his forehead and said curtly: "His Royal Highness the Prince is angry, and the lower officials are also in a hurry to speak. It is said that Xu Jin returned to the village today to worship his ancestors, and was attacked by thieves halfway, but he brought good hands with him, not only killed many thieves, but also captured two thieves alive. Not long ago, he sent someone back to the city to report to Fei Hong, Fei Hong had already gone to the county government to report the case in person, Liu Qingyuan ordered people and horses and was about to rush to Xujia Village to arrest people, but now he was temporarily stopped at the city gate by the official, but it is estimated that it will not last long. ”

This time, King Ning sent someone to intercept and kill Xu Jin in an attempt to catch the little slave, he did not communicate with Lu Kang in advance about this matter, but Lu Kang was not a stupid person, so he could naturally guess that this matter was related to King Ning's son.

Now that two thieves have fallen into the hands of Xu Jin, Lu Kang is naturally anxious, you must know that he has a part in the smuggling of food and medicine out of the city, if Liu Qingyuan asks from the mouths of the two thieves, it will be troublesome.

Because until now, Liu Qingyuan's position on the envelopment of King Ning is very vague, neither agreeing nor refusing, which makes Lu Kang very unsteady, if Liu Qingyuan stabs the matter to Governor Sun, he will be finished, and it just so happens that Governor Sun is in Leadshan County to command the suppression of bandits, which is not far from here.

After listening to Lu Kang's words, Ning Wang Shizi's face couldn't help but change slightly, so Zhao Baobao and Zou Erliu didn't commit suicide by taking poison, these two wastes who are greedy for life and afraid of death, aren't they afraid that their family members who are detained in Nanchang City will be executed?

The dead soldiers trained in King Ning's mansion are generally from bandits, or death row prisoners, and their families are under house arrest in Nanchang City, and anyone who dares to rebel will be killed by the whole family, so these dead soldiers will choose to commit suicide once they miss, because then the family will not only be fine, but also get a generous pension.

When Lu Kang saw the face of King Ning Shizi, he was immediately more sure that those thieves were sent by King Ning Shizi.

King Ning Shizi pondered for a moment, and said coldly: "You put Liu Qingyuan down, don't allow him to take people out of the city, and hold him for a few hours at the worst." ”

Lu Kang wiped the fine sweat on his forehead and said, "Okay, His Royal Highness the Prince should make a decision as soon as possible!" ”

After Lu Kang finished speaking, he left the residence of King Ning and tried to find a way to drag Liu Qingyuan.

"Father-in-law Liu, how should this son deal with it?" Prince Ning asked in a deep voice.

Liu Ji's eyes flashed with murder, and he said lightly: "There are many dreams at night, and you don't do anything!" ”

King Ning Shizi was suddenly surprised, and frowned: "But at the moment, I am afraid that the manpower around this Shizi is not enough." ”

Liu Jipi said with a smile: "His Royal Highness the Prince forgot Wu Sanba? ”

Ning Wang Shizi's eyes lit up, yes, Wu Sanba is in Leadshan County, and it shouldn't take too long to send a small group of bandits to Xujia Village on fast horses.