The whole family travels through the book, the plot is broken but the characters are not

On May 8th, before dawn, two horses galloped to the gate of Wuping County.

The sound of horse hooves echoed in the empty streets. The soldiers guarding the gate were about to step forward for inspection when someone immediately showed his badge and the soldiers quickly opened the city gate.

Captain Wang and his deputy, Constable Qin, rushed in with a flick of their whips.

Both of them were exhausted and looked anxious. They did not stop along the way, just to convey the news they had obtained to County Magistrate Qian as soon as possible.

Qian Yongda stayed in the county government office overnight yesterday, but woke up early because he had something on his mind.

As the sound of horse hooves and neighing came, Qian Yongda became alert and quickly came to the meeting room. At this time, Master Liu, who heard the sound, also hurried over.

After riding a horse for a whole day and night, even an expert like Constable Qin was trembling with exhaustion.

After Captain Wang helped him into the house, he was about to salute County Magistrate Qian.

Qian Yongda saw the two men in such a hurry that he felt increasingly uneasy. He waved his hand and said, "Hurry up and tell me."

"Your news is true. Yesterday, when we arrived in Sanxiang County, we saw quite a few people with Jiyang accents. They were clearly well-trained and definitely not ordinary people. I'm afraid some of them have martial arts skills far superior to mine."

"Constable Qin and I have inquired with the small vendors in the surrounding area, and they say that since March, a lot of these people have been coming into Sanxiang County."

"But the strange thing is, they don't know where these people ended up. The people in the county government told them not to get involved, saying only that they were disaster victims from Jiyang and must have gone to other cities."

Captain Wang was a little unable to continue. He had been traveling all day and night. Apart from eating a few pieces of dry food, he had not had a sip of water. His throat was almost smoking.

Master Liu quickly handed a glass of water to him and Constable Qin. Constable Wang didn't care about etiquette and drank two glasses of water before continuing his report.

"Yesterday afternoon, Constable Qin and I observed several different roads, and we saw these people on every road. They moved in secret and didn't gather in groups. Most of them were in groups of three or five, pretending to be a family. But no matter which road they took, they all ended up at the same place—Wangyue Villa."

Qian Yongda knew that Wangyue Villa should be the Qi family's villa mentioned in the letter.

"Wangyue Villa is large and remote. Those people never came out after entering. Constable Qin and I didn't dare get too close. At night, we observed from a large tree outside the villa. Unfortunately, we were too far away to see clearly. We could only see shadowy figures inside the villa. There were a lot of people, and there were people patrolling the gates and walls."

"Does Constable Qin have anything to add?"

Constable Qin had just drunk some water, and his throat felt much better now, and his thigh didn't hurt as much anymore. He bowed to County Magistrate Qian.

"There should be quite a few horses and weapons in the villa. Although we're far away, it's quiet at night, and Captain Wang and I both vaguely heard the sounds of weapons, as if they were training."

Captain Wang nodded. "Yes, and not only that, there are more people entering the villa at night than during the day. Most of them are leading horses, and some are pushing carts. I suspect the carts are piled with weapons."

After listening to the reports from Captain Wang and the other man, Qian Yongda frowned and looked serious.

The magistrate of Sanxiang County was the colleague that County Magistrate Qian had previously written to inquire about. Since he was providing cover for the soldiers of Ji Yang, Sanxiang County was definitely not King Lin's target, but Wuping County was.

But what can he do now?

Even if they could get help from the city, not to mention that it was too late, how many soldiers did Shangyang Prefecture have? How could they withstand Prince Lin's army?

After letting Captain Wang and the other two go back to rest, Qian Yongda fell into a long period of contemplation.

Master Liu sighed and sat there blankly.

Until a bailiff came and startled the two silent people.

The bailiff came and reported that the wealthy businessman Yan Hui was going out of the city with his family and was taking a lot of things with him.

Under normal circumstances, the soldiers guarding the city would not deliberately stop them.

Yan Hui has a very good reputation in the county. He is generous and has a good relationship with everyone.

But starting from last night, some people started leaving the city with their families. Lin Touer, who was guarding the city, felt something was wrong, so he stopped the Yan family's team.

The Yan family? Yan Hui? Qian Yongda felt that he already knew who had written to him.

The Yan family has property in Anling Prefecture. It should be that the people there discovered something unusual, so Yan Hui wrote a letter to remind himself and then fled in a hurry, right?

Yan Hui could escape, and so could anyone. But he, the chief official of Wuping County, could not leave. He must live and die with Wuping County.

Wuping County is bound to be lost, so it would be better if more people could leave. However, he cannot spread this news now, otherwise it will cause turmoil in the entire county. It would be even worse if the people from Wangyue Villa take action in advance.

He could only try to buy some time for those who could escape.

Qian Yongda was just about to ask the city guards to let him go, but Master Liu gave him a look, and Qian Yongda had to let the bailiffs go out first.

"Sir, we shouldn't be too hasty about this matter. Yan Hui is quite prestigious in the city. If he takes his family out of the city now, it will definitely attract a lot of attention. If we let them go now, I'm afraid it will cause people to be uneasy. It would be better to let them leave in the evening."

Upon hearing this, Qian Yongda frowned and said in a deep voice, "Master, what you said makes sense. However, if someone could notice something unusual and prepare in advance, a few more people in Wuping County could have survived."

"If that's the case, why didn't Your Excellency just announce the news?"

Master Liu felt sad. He understood Dong Weng, so he had no intention of letting County Magistrate Qian escape. He was grateful to Dong Weng for his help, so naturally he had to stand by him.

I am alone and have no worries, but Lord Qian has his family here. If I can leave a root for the Qian family, it will not be in vain for the sacrifices he makes for Wuping County in the future.

"Never mind. I'll just follow Master's instructions. But I need to write a letter and send it to the capital right away. Can you help me grind the ink?"

Qian Yongda then called in the yamen runner and whispered, "Go quickly to the city gate and tell Lin Tou'er to let the Yan family stay in the county for another day and let them leave in the evening."

The bailiff took the order and left. Qian Yongda and Mr. Liu looked at each other and saw the solemnity in each other's eyes.

County Magistrate Qian wrote the letter and gave it to his confidant, asking him to ride as fast as he could and deliver it personally to Prefect Chen in the city.

After his confidant left, County Magistrate Qian turned to his advisor, Liu, and said, "You've been with me for over a decade now. I'm deeply grateful for your support. But now I've decided to serve my country. You may leave now."

Master Liu's eyes were filled with tears. "Since you are willing to sacrifice your life for the country, why not me? You don't need to persuade me anymore, I have made up my mind. But my lord, the young master is young, and staying in the city will not help. It is better to make arrangements as soon as possible."

Qian Yongda and Master Liu have known each other for many years. They understand each other's determination and no longer try to persuade each other. However, when he heard Master Liu mention his son, he felt a pang of sadness in his heart.

He has few children. He only had one son when he was in his thirties, and the son is not even ten years old this year. How could he bear to stay here and wait for death?

"I will have my wife take the children to the prefectural capital. As long as I defend Wuping County, the prefect will take care of them for the sake of the people."

Master Liu shook his head. "Prince Lin's target isn't just a small Wuping County. Wuping County is only the starting point for him to establish his authority. After he takes Wuping County, I'm afraid more Jiyang troops will arrive. By then, the surrounding prefectures will not be safe."

"So what does Master mean?"

"Send two skilled men to take the Madam and the Young Master with the Yan family. The Yan family has connections in Luo City, and Yan Hui has a discerning eye. He will definitely choose Luo City, where it's the safest. Their caravan guards are all skilled, so the Madam and the Young Master's safety is guaranteed."

Qian Yongda then understood why Master Liu had ordered people to stop the Yan family.

The Qian family has long been deserted, with only a loyal old servant, Steward Qian, following him all the time.

His wife was originally the concubine daughter of the former prefect of Dongyang Prefecture. Because her stepmother disliked her, she married him, who was then a poor scholar.

Later, my wife's aunt passed away, and the two families completely cut off contact.

Since there is no better place to settle my wife and children, let’s go to Los Angeles.

His wife's aunt was a merchant's daughter. When she married him, she gave all her dowry to his wife. Qian Yongda also saved some money over the years. With this money, his wife and children could live well in Los Angeles.

Qian Yongda has dealt with Yan Hui before. Yan Hui is a very good person. The Yan family caravan often travels back and forth between different prefectures, so their strength should not be underestimated.

If his wife and children could follow the Yan family to Luocheng, County Magistrate Qian would feel more at ease.

But if people saw the county magistrate's family and the Yan family leaving the city together, it would not only make people uneasy, so they could only leave at night.

Qian Yongda nodded to Master Liu and went home to make arrangements.