Chapter 162 Attacked
"The Yellow River and the Hai River flow through Yangwu County, which has abundant water resources and ranks among the top counties in Kaifeng Prefecture in terms of grain production. There is a place called Bolangsha in the east of the city, where Liu Hou assassinated the First Emperor of Qin, making this place famous through the ages."
In the carriage, Wang Anshi introduced the customs and culture of Yangwu County to Zhao Xing.
There was a hint of regret in his words, as if he felt sorry that Zhang Liang had failed to successfully assassinate the First Emperor.
"Jiefu seems to be feeling sorry that Liu Hou failed to assassinate him?" Zhao Xing said with a smile.
"I just admire Liu Hou, I can't say it's a pity. If Liu Hou had succeeded at that time, it would not have been a good thing." Wang Anshi shook his head slightly.
If Zhang Liang's assassination had succeeded, the world would have been in chaos many years earlier, and the world situation would have been different.
Zhao Xing smiled slightly and said nothing. It has been more than a thousand years since then, so there is nothing much to comment on.
Suddenly, the carriage stopped.
Zhao Xing frowned slightly. According to the journey, it would take another hour or two to reach Yangwu County.
"Your Highness, the axle of the horse-drawn carriage carrying goods in the caravan ahead has broken, blocking the road. I have sent people to urge them to move the carriage to the side of the road. You need to wait for a while." Gu Tingye said as he came to the side of the carriage.
"Okay, I understand. Let the soldiers take a rest." Zhao Xing didn't care when he heard it.
"Yes!"
Gu Tingye responded and arranged for the soldiers to take turns to drink water and rest.
"Hey~"
At this moment, bursts of breaking sounds suddenly came from both sides of the road.
Gu Tingye was stunned when he heard the voice, then his face changed drastically and he shouted: "Not good, quickly protect His Highness!"
He had been practicing martial arts since he was young and had been in the army for several years, so he could naturally recognize the sound of an arrow leaving the bow.
It happened in a flash. Although Gu Tingye gave a reminder, the arrows had already hit the carriage before the soldiers could react.
"kill!"
The caravan blocking the road ahead, with more than a hundred drivers and guards, drew their weapons and charged towards the unprepared imperial guards.
Gu Tingye waved his spear and knocked away several arrows. When he saw that the carriage was full of arrows, his eyes were bloodshot.
These arrows stuck in the carriage were not so bad, because the carriage that Zhao Xing was riding in was made of high-quality red sandalwood, and the arrows could not penetrate it.
But the car windows could not block arrows. If anything happened to Zhao Xing, Gu Tingye couldn't imagine what the consequences would be.
Before Gu Tingye had time to check on Zhao Xing's safety, another burst of sound was heard.
"Hurry, surround the carriage!" Gu Tingye shouted.
The accompanying guards were the elite among the elite, and they had reacted in the gap between the two waves of arrows.
Upon hearing this, he used his flesh and blood body to block the carriage.
"Ding... Ding..."
"puff…"
"what…"
Arrows rained down, some hitting the guards' armor. Many guards were injured and screamed.
Some fell onto the carriage.
The carriage was tall, and the guards were not tall enough to completely block it.
"Sheng Changwu, Zhang Feng, take your men to take care of the archers on both sides." Gu Tingye shouted.
There are plains all around here, and wheat is planted in the fields on both sides of the road.
The arrows were shot from the fields on both sides.
Upon hearing this, Sheng Changwu and Zhang Feng hurriedly led their men, rushed into the fields on both sides, and headed straight for the archers.
Gu Tingye ran to the carriage and lifted the curtain to check on Zhao Xing's condition.
"Your Highness, are you okay?"
Gu Tingye breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the situation inside the carriage.
Zhao Xing climbed up in a somewhat embarrassed manner with the help of Sanshui.
"What's going on?" Zhao Xing looked at the arrows in the carriage with a grim expression.
If Sanshui hadn't reacted quickly after hearing Gu Tingye's shout and knocked him down, it would have been really dangerous.
"Your Highness, that caravan was disguised as assassins, and there were many archers lying in ambush in the farmlands on both sides of the road." Gu Tingye said.
"Do you think I'm a fool? Don't I know that I've encountered an assassin? What I'm asking is who sent the assassin!" Zhao Xing said angrily.
Zhao Xing was assassinated and almost lost his life. One can imagine how angry he was.
"Your Highness, the assassin has not been eliminated yet, and his identity is still unclear." Gu Tingye replied.
"Then what are you still standing here for?" Zhao Xing said coldly, "Tell them to leave them alive. I want to see who is so bold."
"Yes!" Gu Tingye bowed and turned away.
"call…"
Zhao Xing took a breath, calmed down, looked at Wang Anshi in the corner, and asked, "Is Jiefu okay?"
"Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. I am fine."
Wang Anshi was lucky. He was sitting at an angle opposite Zhao Xing with no windows on both sides. The arrow did not penetrate him, but he was just a little frightened.
"Jiefu, do you think the assassin was sent by the magistrate of Yangwu County?" Zhao Xing asked.
After learning of the assassination attempt, he first suspected the magistrate of Yangwu County. After all, not long ago, the county magistrate of Yangwu County came to him to report the magistrate of Yangwu County, and now he came to Yangwu again.
If the Yangwu County Magistrate gets to know the news, it is not impossible that he will do something crazy.
Wang Anshi pondered for a moment, shook his head and said, "Your Highness, I think this possibility is very small. Even if the Yangwu County Magistrate knew that Your Highness came to Yangwu County to question His Highness, he would not have the courage to assassinate Your Highness. After all, he may not die if Your Highness questions him, but he will die if he assassinates His Highness the Crown Prince, whether he succeeds or not. Even if he did not do it, if Your Highness is assassinated in Yangwu County, he will be sentenced to death."
Zhao Xing didn't say anything when he heard this. But after thinking about it carefully, he felt that what Wang Anshi said made a lot of sense.
He is the only son of the official family. If he is assassinated, the official will go crazy regardless of whether he is safe or not.
Even if it had nothing to do with the Yangwu County magistrate, he would be implicated.
Could it be that the landlords and gentry sent people to assassinate him as a warning because of his land inventory?
Zhao Xing shook his head, thinking it was unlikely.
If the prince is assassinated, the emperor will be furious. Unless no trace is left, it will definitely be discovered.
"Your Highness, as the saying goes, those who survive a great disaster will be blessed in the future. Although being assassinated is a bad thing, it can be turned into a good thing." Wang Anshi said.
Zhao Xing thought for a moment and said, "Does Jiefu mean to take advantage of this topic to make a point?"
"That's right!" Wang Anshi nodded, a hint of ruthlessness in his eyes, and said, "There are many obstacles to measuring the land. Even if we follow your plan, there will still be various obstacles. If we tell the public that the assassins were sent by the landlords and gentry, these obstacles will disappear."
"But words alone are not convincing. There must be some convincing evidence," said Zhao Xing.
He understood what Wang Anshi meant after a little thought.
In order to prevent the land measurement, the landlords and gentry dared to send assassins, which was enough to show that there was a big problem here.
Anyone who dares to stop the measurement of land would appear to have ulterior motives.
"Your Highness, don't forget the purpose of coming to Yangwu County." Wang Anshi reminded.
"The purpose of coming to Yangwu County is..."
Zhao Xing stopped here and looked at Wang Anshi in surprise.
His purpose of coming to Yangwu was to personally lead people to measure the land, then take down the Yangwu County magistrate, and then help Shi Jingbo take office.
Although someone can be sent to do this, Wang Anshi is a good candidate.
However, Zhao Xing still came in person to show his attitude.
Wang Anshi's intention was very simple, which was to frame the Yangwu County magistrate and the local landlords and gentry.
"Doing this has another benefit. It can make the person who actually sent the assassin relax his vigilance, making it easier to find the real culprit," said Wang Anshi.
Zhao Xing remained silent upon hearing this and did not rush to express his opinion.
It’s not that he is soft-hearted, but he wants to wait for news from Gu Tingye and the others.
Seeing this, Wang Anshi guessed something and didn't say anything else.
"Your Highness!"
After about an incense stick of time, the voices of Gu Tingye and Cao Qin were heard outside the car.
When Zhao Xing left the city this time, he was accompanied by Cao Qin and Gu Tingye, who were his deputy and led troops to protect him.
After hearing the report from the scouts that there was a caravan blocking the road ahead, Cao Qin personally led people to investigate just in case.
"Has the assassin been dealt with?" Zhao Xing asked.
"Your Highness, it has been resolved!" Cao Qin replied.
Zhao Xing got off the carriage upon hearing this, and frowned when he saw the scene outside.
"How many soldiers died?"
Earlier in the carriage, he heard Gu Tingye ask the soldiers to protect the carriage with their bodies.
Although the outside has been cleaned up now, there are still traces of blood on the ground around the carriage.
"Your Highness, a total of 151 people died." Cao Qin lowered his head and did not dare to look at Zhao Xing.
Zhao Xing was filled with anger and wanted to curse, but he didn't know how to do it.
After all, many of the dead soldiers died to protect him. If he cursed them, it would be a blasphemy to the dead soldiers.
"It was my negligence that led to such heavy casualties. Please punish me, Your Highness!" Cao Qin knelt down on one knee.
He was indeed careless about this matter, thinking that there would be no danger near Bian Jing.
Even when he learned that the axle of a caravan's carriage ahead was broken and blocked the road, he felt something was wrong and personally led people to check it out.
However, they did not check carefully and were ambushed, otherwise so many people would not have died.
Seeing this, Gu Tingye also knelt down.
Zhao Xing looked at the two of them and said coldly, "Even if I kill you, will the dead soldiers be able to come back to life? Have you figured out the identity of the assassin?"
"I am incompetent. The identity of the assassin has not yet been determined!" The two men lowered their heads even lower when they heard this.
"Asshole, with so many assassins, is there no one left alive?" Zhao Xing angrily kicked Cao Qin to the ground.
After being kicked down, Cao Qin quickly got up and knelt in front of Zhao Xing again.
"Your Highness, it's not that there are no survivors, but these people are all dead warriors. Except for a few, the rest have their tongues cut and cannot speak. And those few who can speak, when they saw that the situation was not right, have already committed suicide." Gu Tingye said hurriedly.
"They are actually assassins?" Zhao Xing felt that this matter was more complicated after hearing this.
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the whole country was in chaos and the nobles and aristocrats all liked to recruit retainers, who were the earliest types of death squads.
The term "a scholar who would die for his confidant" originally referred to the loyal followers of the emperor.
(End of this chapter)