Tiger Guards

Chapter 173 The Chariot Was Attacked
The next day, the queen set off in her carriage.

Fu De led more than a hundred palace guards to escort the carriage, but nearly half of the remaining palace guards fled.

The team set off only after it got light.

After crossing the Sushui Bridge, there are paddy fields on both sides of the road to the east.

Fu Shou sat in the car, looking at the scenery on both sides of the Sushui River, and felt a little envious of the people here.

With Zhao Yan and Zhao Ji around, the people here should live better than those elsewhere.

When the empress's carriage passed through Wenxi County, it alarmed Hu Ban, who led a dozen county officials out of the city to offer water and wine.

He was not even qualified to meet the queen, so several elders of Wenxi County represented the people of Wenxi and came forward to present some local specialties to the queen.

It mainly consists of dried dates, honey water and the like, nothing else.

Hu Ban waited outside, feeling anxious. He whispered to Pei Zheng, "The clan bandits haven't been eliminated, and the Jishan bandits are still around. The guards on both sides of the empress's carriage are only from the county. If we encounter the Jishan bandits, how many of them will dare to fight to the death?"

Pei Zheng was stunned by what he heard. "That's not possible, is it? Now that Aji is in power, he spared Wei Ji and Wei Gu, and even Ma Wan escaped."

"Do you dare to bet? I don't dare to bet."

Hu Ban asked, leading Pei Zheng a few steps away: "What if the bandits from Jishan attacked the imperial carriage and abducted the empress in my Wenxi territory...what would Aji do? What would you and I do?"

The more than one hundred palace guards who were protecting the emperor's carriage were unable to stop the bandits and did not dare to fight to the death with the Jishan bandits.

Pei Zheng didn't dare to say anything. If such a low-probability event really happened, it would be very embarrassing.

He had no respect for the queen. If she was abducted by thieves, it would hurt the reputation of the court and Zhao Ji.

If we pursue the matter strictly at that time, it will definitely affect Hedong's current recovery.

Even if ten queens died of illness, so be it. The emperor has no shortage of queens, and none of them are irreplaceable, so he can just replace them.

Princess Hongnong was considered half a queen, but wasn't she kept at home by Li Jue?
Empress Dowager Dong and Empress Dowager He, didn’t they die just like that?
There is no powerful person in the Langya Fu family, so the queen is dead, and there is really no need to feel sad.

But if it affects Hedong and Wenxi, that’s not acceptable.

Pei Zheng understood and immediately said to Hu Ban, "I'll send someone on horseback to inform Beijiang! Zhao Fan is foolish. He borrowed over a hundred cavalrymen from Aji for protection, but how could such a hidden danger exist?"

Hu Ban raised his hand and patted Pei Zheng on the shoulder: "Go quickly, the clan thieves will never sit idly by when they find out."

This is not something that the clan thieves dare to do. If these people get the chance, they will definitely take action!
Pei Zheng did not dare to delay and immediately turned around to find the county thief Cao and whispered twice, who was horrified.

After taking a few glances at Fu De and Zhao Fan who were chatting and laughing with the three elders of the county, he immediately hurried to arrange capable men. Each group consisted of three people and six horses, and all the spare men and horses in the county were sent out.

Most of the people in Wenxi who dared to fight were transferred to the Tiger Infantry Army, and now the county has no additional mobilization forces.

We can only place our hopes on the north, hoping that no more Jishan bandits appear.

After accepting the hospitality of the county, Fude and his party continued on their journey.

We were traveling on the highway. It was noon and the weather was extremely hot, so we took a rest in a newly built pavilion on the side of the road.

Fude was also worried about bandits, so he personally fed the horses. The commander of the garrison was also feeding the horses. Fude said, "Wenxi County is more than 30 miles away from Anyi, and its county is more than 50 miles away from Beixiang. It's really strange."

The garrison commander smiled and said, "This isn't the farthest. The farthest from Wenxi is Dongxiang, about sixty miles away. Xixiang, where Minister Zhao was born, is even farther away, and the road there is also difficult to travel."

"Has Captain Han ever been to Wenxi West Township?"

"In the early years, when the world was not in turmoil and Hedong was rich, we offered sacrifices to King Ji every year and often traveled to the Western Region."

Village Chief Han turned his head to look at the layers of mountains in the distance to the northwest. "Jishan is very high, and it's difficult for vehicles to pass through. Sacrificial ceremonies are often held in spring and autumn. If there are mountain torrents, we have to walk, which is very difficult."

Fu De nodded and said, "I really want to go to Xixiang to see where Minister Zhao lives in seclusion."

"If your lord is interested, it won't be too late to go to Xixiang after you select your knights in Beijiang."

Hantun Changdui smiled and said, as he said, if Fude really wanted to go, it would be easy to borrow some knights and guards.

One day is enough to travel from Beijiang to Xixiang.

Fu De just smiled at this. He was not interested in walking through the dangerous mountain roads to see Zhao Ji's old residence in Jishan.

After feeding the horses, the carriage team set off again and headed towards Beixiang.

When approaching Beixiang, several knights came chasing from the south of the road.

"Jishan bandits!" A guard captain in the rear shouted a warning, urging his men: "Left and right, form a line!"

Fu De pulled the reins suddenly, and the anxiety brought by the heat disappeared instantly, and he became alert. He had experienced the scene of the Jishan bandits attacking the headquarters at night.

As he reined in his horse, Zhao Fan, who was also riding beside him, panicked and said in a pale voice, "What should we do?"

Fu De didn't know what to do, so he turned to look at the garrison commander Han Gao. Han Gao had a bitter look on his face and didn't answer.

Fude could only draw his sword and raise it high: "Form a battle array!"

At his shout, most of the guards moved closer to the two chariots, while more than twenty guards threw away their spears and halberds and turned to run.

At this time, Fu Shou untied the door curtain, and her eyes happened to meet Fu De's. Fu De looked at her fiercely, as if she had provoked the Jishan bandits hiding everywhere.

There were also skilled archers and crossbowmen among the guards, forming a small crossbow formation of more than thirty people.

At this time, five more knights walked out from behind an orchard on the edge of the northern road.

Han Gao, the garrison commander, could only say: "Break out, break into Beixiang, there is only a glimmer of hope!"

Zhao Fan shouted, "No! We have more men than you and it's still light. With all our bows and crossbows, we can repel the bandits. They have only a dozen or so riders. How can they be our match?"

Han Gao and other military officers could only go to see Fu De. Fu De wanted to break out immediately, but the queen and two noble ladies were in the carriage, and there were more than a dozen palace maids supporting the carriage.

If he abandons them, he will be completely finished.

Seeing that Fude was so useless, a sergeant spat in disdain and raised his spear: "If you want to live, follow me!"

The squad leader escaped from the formation and took away more than twenty people.

Seeing this, Han Gao said, "It's only seven or eight miles from Beixiang, so it won't be difficult to break the siege."

"Damn old soldier, you have no right to speak here!"

Zhao Fan was furious, pointed at Han Gao, and raised his sword to stab him.

Seeing Han Gao's palace guards glaring at him with spears and halberds, Zhao Fan withdrew his hands and shouted, "Stop talking! Just hold your ground and wait for help!"

Suddenly, a guard stabbed Zhao Fan's right arm with a halberd from behind. As Zhao Fan howled in pain, two more people came forward and pulled him off the right side of his horse.

One of them quickly jumped onto his horse and pointed his iron halberd at Han Gao: "Follow such a fool, and your death is not far away!"

"I didn't expect you to be a bandit?"

As Han Gao roared, he drew his sword and placed it on Fude's neck. He turned his head to look at Fude and said, "You didn't expect that, did you? Me too."

In an instant, more guards abandoned their weapons and ran away. Soon, only a dozen guards were left, and they began to pick up the weapons and crossbows on the ground.

Fude was pulled off the horse, and Han Gao followed suit. He went up to him and slapped Fude left and right, giving him more than ten slaps. He immediately felt refreshed.

Rubbing his wrist, Han Gao saw that most of the items had been collected, so he said, "The ministers are unethical, but the emperor and the empress are not to blame. Please escort the emperor to Jishan with me and let the court handle the embarrassment."

All the palace maids had fled, and only Empress Fu, Concubines Dong and Zhao, and Concubine Song were sitting in the carriage.

As they were talking, three Jishan bandits from the rear of the convoy drove their horses closer, their faces painted with white powder.

But from the faces and expressions of these people, Fude recognized them as the palace guards who had escaped a few days ago.

At this time, the five knights with masked faces who were blocking the road from the north slowly approached, but both sides were on guard.

When they were about thirty steps apart, Han Gao pointed his crossbow at the leader and asked, "Who are you?"

Fude's cheeks were swollen, and he also went to see curiously.

"..."

There was no response. The other leader seemed to recognize Han Gao and led his men to slowly retreat.

Han Gao frowned and looked around: "Retreat, take the small road to Xixiang."

Fifteen bandits on foot surrounded the two carriages and left first, while Han Gao and six other knights stayed behind.

Seeing the carriage going away, Han Gao retreated and aimed his crossbow at Zhao Fan who was squatting on the ground. He shot an arrow and hit Zhao Fan's calf. Zhao Fan rolled on the ground and wailed in pain.

(End of this chapter)