After a few days of continuous snow, it finally stopped on the afternoon of the 28th of December. The gray clouds in the sky dispersed, revealing the dazzling but not very warm sunlight.
Jia County Magistrates had finally sent out all the gifts he could. He even asked a few bailiffs to help him deliver them to some distant places. He was really not in the mood to do this.
Those bailiffs who delivered the gifts naturally would not say that they were from the County Magistrates. Instead, they would tell the people who received the gifts that they were from Zhangjia Zhuangzi. It was not wrong to say that they were from Zhangjia Zhuangzi. However, the people who received the gifts thought that they were from the Zhang family.
"Guards, come with me." County Magistrate Jia, who was restless, put on a set of casual clothes and carried a package. No one knew what was in the package. He shouted at the yamen runners who were guarding the yamen.
Song Yang had already arranged for two bailiffs who were bribed to wait here today. When Jia County Magistrates returned from Tuqiao Village, someone delivered a letter to him. Except for himself, none of the other bailiffs knew what was written in the letter.
After Jia County Magistrates finished reading the letter, he became more excited and nervous. When he saw the letter turn into ashes and dust, he looked at the bailiffs outside the carriage vigilantly.
Today was the day for him to make his move. To be exact, it was tomorrow. He had to go to a place first. It was the border between Huayuan County and Sanshui County. Someone had found him a helper. He did something in the yamen yesterday. He did it secretly. He didn't even tell his family.
"Sir, where are you going?" Song Yang asked respectfully when the carriage was ready.
Jia County Magistrates did not tell Song Yang where he was going. He looked around and asked Song Yang, "Have you arranged the things I asked you to do?"
"Sir, don't worry. I have arranged everything. Our brothers are waiting for you on the road. But which one do you want to take?" Song Yang replied.
Jia County Magistrates smiled mysteriously, "You will know when the time comes. Let's go."
After that, Jia County Magistrates got on the carriage and went out under the escort of Song Yang and the other bailiffs. They went along a small road to Tuqiao Village.
The carriage did not go fast. In order to make it faster, they changed the driver to a donkey. This way, they did not have to worry about the horses freezing on the way.
After walking for two hours, County Magistrate Jia lifted the curtain of the carriage and ordered a yamen runner outside, "You go back now and guard outside the yamen. If anyone asks about me, just say that I went out to visit the people."
The bailiff nodded and turned to leave.
The carriage moved forward again. After another hour, Jia County Magistrates ordered another bailiff, "You go back now and gather all the bailiffs. Not only the twenty of you, but also those from other places. Ask someone to use a fast horse to report to the bailiffs in Tuqiao Village.
When everyone is here, it will be almost midnight. Go to the Little Luoshui Pier and surround the pier for this official. Something has happened there. When the time comes, this official will wait for you there. In the future, the weather in San Shui County will be different.
When the bailiff was about to leave, Song Yang advised, "Sir, there will be only me and Sir left here. You should go back first and find more people."
"Hmm? Song Yang, you have to believe that Sanshui County is safe. No one will hurt me. Go. " In the carriage, Jia County Magistrates looked at Song Yang and nodded meaningfully. He waved his hand and let the bailiff leave.
After doing this, Jia County Magistrates continued to let Song Yang drive the carriage forward. This time, he urged him to go faster. This time, Jia County Magistrates lifted the curtain and looked outside from time to time. When they reached a small slope with two big trees next to it, Jia County Magistrates stopped the carriage again.
This time, he walked out of the carriage and looked at Song Yang, who was puzzled. He asked with a smile, "Song Yang, tell me. Can I trust you?"
"Milord, what do you mean by this? This little one is loyal and devoted to milord. As long as milord orders, this little one dares to go through mountains of swords and seas of flames." Song Yang had a firm expression as he patted his chest and promised.
The smile on County Magistrate Jia's face was even brighter. He took out a letter from his arms and handed it to Song Yang. He said to Song Yang, "In this case, you take this letter to Tuqiao Village immediately. Give the letter to the Han family in Shuiyun Cottage and follow his arrangements. Be quick. Whether I can stand firm in Sanshui County depends on this."
Song Yang took the letter, looked around, and then looked at Jia County Magistrates. He said, "Sir, I can't do that. If you let me go, what should I do?"
"I will drive the carriage back myself. Don't worry. I have specially brought some things. Look." County Magistrate Jia took out a conical bamboo hat and a large piece of rough hemp clothes from his big package. They looked a little shabby.
"This official will put on these clothes and slowly drive the carriage back. You have to hurry. It's a pity that we don't have a horse. Look around and see if there are any horses. Find one and use it first. It's better than you walking. Once you've settled this matter, this official will definitely not treat you unfairly. Go quickly."
While speaking, County Magistrate Jia put on his bamboo hat and put on his clothes. Then, he went to the driver's seat and drove the cart forward. He didn't forget to look back at Song Yang.
Song Yang stood in place for a moment and then shouted to the carriage that didn't go back, "Sir, don't worry. I will deliver the letter as fast as I can. Take care of yourself."
After saying this, Song Yang looked around and chose a road without a road. He walked in the snow.
After a few minutes, the donkey carriage stopped. Jia County Magistrates jumped off the carriage and looked in the direction Song Yang left. He stared at Song Yang until he couldn't see him anymore. Then he sat back in the carriage and opened the bag. He put away the bamboo hat and the large garment.
Then, he took out a set of fine linen clothes, loosened his hair, and changed his hairstyle. After doing all this, County Magistrate Jia lifted the curtain of the carriage and looked at the place where Song Yang left. Then, he stuck his head out and looked back. After that, he opened the door of the carriage, closed it, and opened it again.
He repeated this five times. The cold wind kept pouring into the carriage. Jia County Magistrates stopped and waited.
After a while, four figures appeared on the hillside. Three of them stood there and looked around. One of them ran quickly to the carriage, opened the door, and got in.
"Sir, please go down quickly. Leave this to me." The man said to Jia County Magistrates as he got into the carriage. At the same time, he took the bamboo hat and clothes from Jia County Magistrates and put them on quickly. His figure was about the same as Jia County Magistrates'.
Jia County Magistrates nodded and didn't say anything. He got out of the carriage and glanced around. He trotted up the small slope and joined the three men who were on guard. They went down from the other side.
The man in the carriage also got out and sat in the driver's seat. He continued to move forward. The wheels of the carriage left deep tracks in the snow. After walking for a few dozen feet, the donkey pulling the carriage felt that the carriage was lighter and walked faster. A gust of wind swept past. There were two marks in the snow that seemed to have been deliberately messed up by someone.
Jia County Magistrates went down the slope and immediately got into another carriage. There were three identical carriages here. If one didn't look closely, they wouldn't even be able to see the horses pulling the carriages clearly. One of the carriages was being driven in the direction of the yamen. The other one turned around and went up the slope first. Then, it followed the carriage that Jia County Magistrates was driving.
County Magistrate Jia's carriage waited for a while longer before turning onto another small road. The driver seemed to be in a hurry as he kept whipping his whip. The three horses were pulling the carriage at a high speed.
*****
After leaving, Song Yang went to a farmer's house. Seeing that there weren't any animals that could be ridden, he had no choice but to run in another direction. He ran to the side of a house. Song Yang looked around and saw that there was no one around. He took out the letter from his chest and opened it to read it carefully.
It said, 'The water route is blocked. The people coming should go around Xin Ping County. The yamen runners have been sent to Little Luoshui. We will act in two days. Come quickly.'
Seeing these words, Song Yang was shocked. It seemed that Jia County Magistrates was preparing to find people from outside to deal with Little Luoshui. After thinking about it, Song Yang couldn't make up his mind. He knew that there was a small Zhuangzi village in front of him. There were more than seventy people and horses inside. Song Yang put away the letter and ran towards the village as fast as he could.
*****
"Sir, have you settled the matter in the yamen? You have to know that without that matter, we will have less people to rely on when we act tomorrow. "
When Jia County Magistrates was two li away in his carriage, a person who had been waiting for a long time got into the carriage and spoke to Jia County Magistrates.
Jia County Magistrates knew that this person was sent by the Yuan Family. He nodded and said, "Don't worry. It was done last night. I asked my son to carry it with him. There won't be any mistakes. This time, I want to see what Zhangjia Zhuangzi has to say."
"That's good. Sir, can all the yamen runners really gather at Little Luoshui? And then be transferred together? "When this person heard Jia County Magistrates' words, he relaxed a little and asked about the yamen runners.
Jia County Magistrates smiled and said, "It doesn't matter whether they are gathered or not. Even if I didn't ask them to gather, someone else would have helped. Then, they would all go to Xin Ping County to guard it. This is a diversion tactic."
"Sir, you're amazing. My master only asked you to help transfer the bailiffs away, but he didn't expect you to come up with such an unpredictable plan. Once you succeed, we'll be a family." The man flattered at the side.
Jia County Magistrates was finally relieved. He opened the package and took out his official robes and official seal. After putting them on, he said to that person, "How are things going on your side?"
"In reply to Milord, it's almost done. It's just that the Zhang and Wang family's farmstead are building houses over there. I don't know why." As the person spoke, he couldn't help but frown.
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