Xianyu Infrastructure, I have a lot of troops in my hands

Li Tao, the leader of Hutou Village, smiled bitterly: "The harvest was not going to be good this year. A group of soldiers with swords came from Qionglou Village at some point and asked us, the three mountains and twelve villages, to submit to them. Some time ago, they asked us to pay attention to the refugees living in the mountains."

When he said this, he looked up at Xie Xian, as if he found it difficult to speak.

Niu Er stepped forward and kicked him to the ground: "Stop nagging, are you going to tell the truth or not!" Several people became impatient after listening to him.

"They want young and strong men, both men and women, and they also said that if you catch them directly, you can get 20 yuan per person."

"Did you catch it?" Xie Xian had sat up straight without her noticing.

Seeing Xie Xian's expression change, Li Tao hurriedly said, "I am wronged. Although it is called Hutou Village, we only farm in the mountains. We have never done anything that harms the world."

Then he continued, "Because we didn't hand over the people, they took away all the women and children in the village. They also asked us to exchange people for them."

Xie Xian looked at the few people in front of her who were so thin that they could be blown away by a gust of wind. They looked so timid and she thought that asking them to kidnap people might as well be asking them to deliver food.

The tall and thin Li Tao's eyes flickered as he passed by the waists of Niu Er and his companions. They discussed for half a day.

Thinking that no matter what, he had to get his family back, he prepared to go down the mountain to kidnap them. However, he didn't expect that after waiting for a long time, the people finally showed up, but there were a little too many of them.

I was glad that I didn't take any action. These were the Black Stone Guards! How could these 'bandits' hide in the woods for so long?

It’s all because of the existence of the Black Stone Guards that there are no vicious people within a hundred miles, otherwise they would have been eaten to the point of leaving nothing behind.

That's why when he heard that it was someone from the Black Stone Guard, he quickly welcomed him. He didn't expect that the newly appointed Lord of Justice was such a handsome young man.

That night, Xie Xian stationed in Hutou Village. Liu Yu suggested that they should first find out the situation in the nearby mountain villages before making any plans. Judging from what happened to Hutou, they were not the only family that was exploited by Qionglou Village.

Xie Xian had no objection. Professional matters should be left to professionals. She would readily follow their advice and would be considered a good master as long as she did not cause them any trouble.

In the next three days, just as Si Ji and others had expected, almost all the nearby bandits were captured by Qionglou Village.

"What does Qionglou Village need so many people for?" Xie Xian was puzzled.

The leader of the Three Crows Village carefully glanced at Xie Xian's face and said uncertainly, "I heard that something seemed to have been found in the tiankeng, and almost no one who went there has ever come out."

"And several people in the nearby villages disappeared for no reason." Another person also said. At this time, Hutou Village was no longer the shabby hut where they had just arrived.

There was an iron stove in the middle of the hall, the furnace was burning red, and everyone sat around it, with their expressions relaxed a little.

In three days, with Li Tao as their guide, they easily found the leaders of several other villages. Adhering to the principle of taking action rather than talking, when they came to meet Xie Xian, their attitude was extremely respectful.

When asked about Qionglou Village, he told her everything he knew.

"Those guys look like military commanders," Li Tao had been hanging out with Niu Er and the others these past few days, and they had become familiar with each other, so they spoke without restraint.

Seeing everyone looking over, Li Tao said again: "The way they tie the knife is the same as Brother Niu's." He pointed at the straight knife tied behind Niu Er's waist.

Niu Er frowned slightly. If Li Tao had said at the beginning that the people in Qionglou Village were deserters, they would not have believed it, because the government had very strict management of deserters, and if they were really deserters, they would be punished together.

Once discovered, the whole family would be exiled, which is a very serious crime.

"That's not right! There haven't been any major battles at Tongguan in the past few years, let alone records of routs."

The small-scale conflicts in the Xia Dynasty were at most just a few flirtations between the two sides, where someone would leave his guards to desert because he had too much to eat.

Xie Xian glanced lightly across the house. It seemed that the water in Qionglou Village was quite deep!

In the three mountains and twelve villages, on average, every village has people taken hostage. Even if they capture refugees to exchange them, they will use various excuses to shirk responsibility, just like loan sharks.

"If what you said is true, and there is a mine in this sinkhole, then your family may not be able to come back?" Si Ji said.

Everyone's face changed slightly. They had just thought of this, and now they had completely given up.

The leader of Hutouzhai fell to his knees and said, "Sir, please save my family. I am willing to follow your orders."

The people behind him looked at each other, then knelt down quickly and kowtowed in one go.

"I am willing to die for you, sir."

Xie Xian twitched her lips. These guys really had no moral principles. She originally thought that these villages were in a good location and could be used as a resting place for the future logistics station.

But after seeing the thatched houses in Hutouzhai that were windy on all sides, she felt disappointed. Is it really necessary to be so deceiving?

I came here to take advantage, but now I haven't gotten any, and I still need to carry out targeted poverty alleviation.

So now the pockets of these bandits are cleaner than their faces, and the only thing they can take out is the land in the village.

Xie Xian was helpless and truly convinced. She had never seen a bandit in such a miserable state.

"Is godfather okay? I haven't visited him for a long time!" When the leader of Sanya Village heard Siji talking about the old man with scar, he came forward with a look of surprise.

The rest of the people also looked happy. Xie Xian raised her eyebrows. It was really a dry kiss! At first, Suo Lao asked her to bring the scarred security guard, but she refused.

She couldn't bear to see him going on a business trip at such an old age, but there was nothing she could do later, so the other party just asked Si Ji to go there and told him that he knew someone in the village on the mountain who could help.

Since he is my godparent, I must not be too harsh on him.

After discussing for a long time, they decided to conduct an on-site investigation.

Two days later, Qionglou Village.

They disguised themselves as a passing caravan, walking slowly on the road. They originally wanted to suggest pretending to be refugees, but the size difference was too obvious and the other party was not a fool.

After much discussion, Liu Yu disguised himself as a wealthy businessman and selected ten people to act as guards. He pulled a carriage passing by the mountain, but it was obvious that the other party did not take the bait.

"No, it looks like they have no hope." Si Ji shook the grass off his body.

"These people are very vigilant. It's probably because Brother Niu and his men are too heroic." Li Tao did not forget to flatter them while analyzing. He is indeed a talented person.

Xie Xian was speechless: "It's so weird that the Qionglou Village behaves like this!" Most bandit villages should be in a period of shortage during this period, but they can actually hold back and choose their targets.

"They should not be short of food, and they are very wary of warriors." Just now, there was no flaw in Liu Yu's group. The only shortcoming was that they were all middle-aged men.

Their caution made Xie Xian even more curious.

The terrain of Qionglou Village is special. Si Ji and others had seen it from the surrounding area yesterday. The terrain of the other side is a giant sinkhole, like a deep well. The mountain wall is smooth and vertical, and it is difficult to see the bottom with the naked eye.

From top to bottom, it is estimated to be twenty feet deep, which is about the height of a 20-story building.

The people in Qionglou Village dug a one-person-wide path on the wall of the well that spiraled downwards.

They also built rope ladders connecting various places. If they attacked from the front, the enemy only needed to use arrows or cut the ropes to cut off their retreat.

That means one person will die.

She also suspected that there must be a passage inside the stone mountain that led directly to the inside of the spiral staircase. If one pushed it slightly outwards, anyone who came down would die.

What a place that is easy to defend but difficult to attack.

Xie Xian and the others discussed it and unanimously decided to wait for an opportunity. It would be best if someone could sneak in and understand the situation inside, so it would not be too late to take action then.

She didn't want her own people to go up and end up playing a cave battle with her. This kind of terrain is most suitable for playing hide-and-seek.

A luxurious carriage was coming from afar on the road heading west of Pingcheng. Du Xin yawned, as he had played too late in Guiyue Tower in Pingcheng yesterday.

If his family hadn't urged him to go to Tongguan to deliver a letter before the New Year, he could have played for two more days.

Du Xin's guard outside the carriage said, "Sir, we are missing half of our men, and I'm afraid we can't protect your safety." The soldier's eyes were firm, revealing a sense of uneasiness.

He heard from someone yesterday that there were frequent bandit attacks on this road, and there were also refugees, so it was not very peaceful.

Du Xin was so sleepy that he was staggering in the carriage. He said nonchalantly, "Hey! It's okay. I can go faster if I carry less stuff. I don't want to stay in Tongguan for too long. If it wasn't for Aye insisting that I come to deliver the letter, who would come to this shabby place?"

"If I had known earlier, I would have gone to Que County with Cui Jing. I regret it so much!"

The head of the guards twitched his lips. Didn't you see the disgusted expression on Cui Dalangjun's face? "Then there are too many guards left! Just leave one person to guard."

"That won't do. Young Master, most of my wealth is stored in Pingcheng. If it was stolen, I would cry to death."

The soldier was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. Besides loving to play, his young master also loved beautiful jade. This border town was rich in jade mines, and since the young master arrived here, what he loved most were beautiful women and beautiful jade.

Once you get the treasure, you naturally have to assign someone to guard it well.

Hoping that this journey would go smoothly, he glanced at the three carriages and five knights following behind him. There shouldn't be any foolish enough to disturb the young master!

Not far out of the city, they saw an oxcart parked not far from the roadside. The driver was tall and thin, dressed in rags, and when he saw them coming, he quickly made way.

After they passed by, the ox cart behind followed slowly.

"Sir, there's an ox cart following us!" the soldier knocked on the car window.

"Well, go ask. If it's on your way, it's okay to take it with you!"

"promise!"

The soldier rode his horse and waited for the oxcart to approach. As soon as it got close, the tall and thin driver smiled flatteringly and said, "Sir, I heard there are robbers on this road. My daughter wants to go with us for a while."

As he finished speaking, the curtain of the carriage opened, revealing two women, one with fair skin and a beautiful dress in red, and the other who looked like a maid in green, who handed a purse to the coachman.

Li Tao understood and handed the purse to the soldier, "Please do me a favor, sir."

Seeing that there was no one else in the car except the two girls, the soldier showed a strange smile on his face and weighed the purse in his hand, fearing that it might be another young lady who wanted to marry into a rich family.

He nodded reservedly, which was considered as his agreement. His master was a man who was kind and gentle to women, so he would just watch and see.

"You said there was a beauty on the ox cart behind?" Du Xin became excited when he heard this.

He opened the car curtain and looked back, feeling itchy and anxious, "Hey! I'm so lucky!"

In this way, Xie Xian and Tu Zhen sat in the ox cart and slowly followed Du Xin.

Du Xin and his entourage had three carriages, one of which was filled with grain, and another was filled with valuables. Such a convoy, with both valuables and women, could be considered a good bait.

When they were halfway through the journey, the convoy stopped to rest. Du Xin got off the car to walk around, while Xie Xian and the other person also got off the car to boil water and cook.

After turning down Du Xin's invitation to have dinner together, Xie Xian looked up at the dense forest on the mountain. This location was the entrance to the surveillance system of the mountain road.

No matter how stupid it is, someone must be sent to guard this place. Si Ji said that this location is very important and the people from Qionglou Village may pick fat sheep here.

There are majestic mountains on both sides, with only a small path in the middle for people to walk on. It is indeed a good place for an ambush.

Their original plan was that Xie Xian and Tu Zhen would follow from a distance, using the nobleman in front as bait. They could run away when they saw the situation, and once someone came to chase them, it would create good conditions for Si Ji and others.

But this young man who was used as bait was not very honest! Xie Xian thought so as he looked at Du Xin who was grinning at him.

My fist is itchy, what should I do?

"My dear lady, my name is Du Xin, a healthy person..." Du Xin looked straight at Xie Xian.

Xie Xian had no choice but to return the greeting, "Hello, Mr. Du." She was too lazy to deal with it, so she pretended to be weak and got on the ox cart early.

Du Xin took two steps forward: "I don't know..." Facing Tu Zhen's direct gaze, he could only stop. He suddenly felt that what his guard said was not entirely right.

Although this young lady's appearance was not gentle, she had a unique charm that made people forget the world. He wanted to chat with her, but he could only wait for the next opportunity.

The other party seemed to be indifferent to him, but this made him feel itchy.

The chief guard not far away simply couldn't bear to watch.

My son came back in a daze, so I had to comfort him: "Don't worry, my son, it must be the little girl who is playing hard to get."

Du Xin's expression changed, and he was pleasantly surprised. "Really? But I feel that the lady's demeanor is not like that of an ordinary person."

Although he was the son of the Duke of Chengyang, he met many people who wanted to curry favor with him. However, Du Xin only interacted with others based on his own preferences, and he thought he could guess people's attitudes to some extent.

He was hit hard by Xie Xian's perfunctory attitude just now.

"Don't worry, sir. Just tell me your name next time." He believed that no woman could resist the temptation of Chengyang Mansion, unless she was from the same noble family.

Besides, this remote border town is so barren that most of the common people have never seen the world.

Xie Xian, who was considered to be unworldly, lazily lay down behind the ox cart and said, "How long will it take? It's just robbery, but you have to be picky. That's really unprofessional."

Just now, in order to show that their family was poor, she and Tu Zhen had to make do with dried meat biscuits for their meal. Now she just felt uncomfortable in her stomach.

Tu Zhen rolled her eyes when she heard that. Who was crying and shouting, insisting on acting out the scene of an orphan girl running away? "Madam, drink some hot soup!" Seeing Xie Xian's attitude of giving up after just three minutes, what could Tu Zhen do?

"Thank you, Zhenzhen!"

"No," please don't scream so disgustingly, that's a thank you.