“What on earth…?”
Who would have thought that the small town of Meixian could hide such a big secret? And this hot potato has fallen into Zhang Fang’s hands! It’s burning, and Zhang Fang can’t handle it!
After a long pause, Uncle Xing finally found his voice and spoke normally to Zhang Fang, “Why don’t I write a letter to inform your husband? He will definitely have a way!”
“The capital is going to be in turmoil, my father…” Mentioning Prime Minister Zhang made Zhang Fang worried!
Uncle Xing wanted to stand up, but he found his legs were too heavy to move!
What to do now! Prime Minister Zhang is trapped in the capital, and Zhang Fang is trapped in Meixian!
Zhang Fang was also concerned about Prime Minister Zhang’s safety, but right now he was powerless to return to the capital. Unless he could immediately confront Prince Qi and eliminate him, directly quelling this rebellion, otherwise, it would inevitably escalate into a conflict.
Old Chen was acting as an undercover agent beside Clerk Yang, feeling anxious day and night, constantly cursing Zhang Fang in his mind.
As they reached outside Shanzhou City, the group hid in the mountains and forest. Clerk Yang asked everyone to wait outside while he entered the city alone.
Old Chen felt that something was amiss. If it were merely to scout the path, he could have sent a few people into the city, yet Clerk Yang went in personally. Was there someone of higher status in the city than him who required Clerk Yang to respectfully consult with?
The situation was getting murkier and hotter! Old Chen felt he couldn’t hold out much longer! He had to find an opportunity to escape!
Therefore, he signaled to a few others, instructing the bandit who had come with him, “Once we enter the city, we look for an opportunity to leave these people.”
“But Young Master Zhang asked us to stay with them!”
Old Chen glared menacingly at the speaker.
The man was frightened by Old Chen’s glare and immediately lowered his head, not daring to speak further.
“If you want to continue staying with these people, I won’t stop you. But once I leave, you will all be killed!” Old Chen warned them.
This was not a threat, but a fact. They should either run together or face being killed once Old Chen escaped.
Faced with the choice of life and death, the few bandits unhesitatingly chose to follow Old Chen and flee. As for Zhang Fang’s orders, they didn’t care anymore!
Just after they finished discussing, Old Chen saw Clerk Yang riding back. He wasn’t alone; a horse-drawn carriage followed behind him.
Upon seeing Clerk Yang dismount and rush to the carriage, bowing and speaking respectfully to the person inside, Old Chen was increasingly convinced of the person’s high status above Clerk Yang. Even Xu Chang, the governor of Zhangzhou, would not dare offend Clerk Yang. Whoever made Clerk Yang fear must have a status even higher than Xu Chang!
Suddenly, Clerk Yang ordered a return trip to Meixian, and Old Chen panicked even more! This group returning to Meixian would surely discover his lies! They would certainly take his life!
Panic engulfed him, yet Old Chen had to pretend to be calm as he followed the group turning back to Meixian.
Old Chen realized a harsh reality; since he entered the city to deceive Clerk Yang, he had already betrayed him and the others! Now, he had to rely either on himself or on Zhang Fang. Given the current situation, relying on himself was simply impossible. He could only pin his hopes on Zhang Fang. But Zhang Fang only had a hundred men, and all were good-for-nothings, hardly able to compete with these death warriors! Unless Zhang Fang could devise a cunning scheme to take them all down!
Gradually, clarity dawned on Old Chen, and he came up with a good plan. If Zhang Fang could bring several pounds of drug, he could poison this group! After success, Zhang Fang could bring his men to deal with these rebels!
However, he was unable to break away from the group to contact Zhang Fang! How could he send a message?
Old Chen was extremely anxious, and one of his subordinates asked him, “Since they won’t enter the city, how will we escape?”
Glancing around and seeing no one paying attention to them, Old Chen glared at the speaker and whispered harshly, “Escape? We can’t escape now! Everyone stay calm and don’t raise their suspicions, or we’ll all die!”
The man shut up awkwardly, failing to grasp the situation.
Old Chen was uncertain how far behind Zhang Fang’s men might be, and that night he planned to return a distance to see if he could encounter them.
Unexpectedly, he spotted someone dismounting from the carriage, someone who exuded nobility, though they walked with a slight limp. Clerk Yang was bent over, accompanying this person closely.
After hesitating for a moment, Old Chen crawled into a thicket, quieting his voice to walk towards them.
“Send a message to everyone, telling them to retreat back to Meixian.”
“But Meixian is flooded…” That was Clerk Yang’s voice.
“Did you see it with your own eyes?”
Clerk Yang immediately denied it: “Although my subordinates have not seen it with their own eyes, the people underneath have reported the water has risen past the city, so it must have long flooded in.”
“If Meixian were flooded, why haven’t the local citizens evacuated?”
This question left Clerk Yang speechless. He explained, “We retreated overnight, and those citizens did not know the water had reached outside the city. Once we leave, the water floods in, and they will escape through other city gates. In this period, our people hurriedly retreated, even if the citizens of Meixian fled this way, they wouldn’t catch up with us.”
So that was why they hadn’t run into any fleeing citizens from Meixian. Clerk Yang believed his explanation was reasonable.
However, Prince Qi remained silent, merely stating, “Send people to keep an eye on those bandits.”
“Understood,” Clerk Yang decided to arrange for a few people to specifically monitor Old Chen, just in case.
Hearing this, Old Chen broke into a cold sweat. He hadn’t expected this mysterious person to be so clever and already suspicious of him! At this point, he could no longer stay in the group! He had to escape quickly, returning to Meixian to inform Zhang Fang to take precautions!
Subsequently, Prince Qi again inquired about the situation in Meixian. The questions had nothing to do with the flood, mainly concerning the gold mine and the manufacture of weapons. As they walked and talked, their voices grew quieter.
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