Tiger Guards

Chapter 689 Two Encounters
On the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month, snowflakes drifted down in and around Chang'an.

Inside the Jingzhao Yin's yamen, in what was originally Pei Mao's bedroom, he was now stripped of all dignity, his hands bound behind his back. A soldier reached out and grabbed his forehead and chin, pried open his mouth, and another soldier poured thin porridge into Pei Mao's mouth.

If they weren't afraid of injuring Pei Mao with a few punches, these people would have already gone all out.

Hunger strike?

You will only be allowed to starve yourself to death when it is time for you to die.

Otherwise, under violence, any act of resistance will only bring humiliation.

Footsteps approached, and the other two soldiers on duty turned to look, only to see Ma Zhong push open the door and enter, bringing with him a chill.

The two soldiers on duty bowed and greeted him: "Captain Ma."

"The Grand Tutor has passed Pingling. Help Pei Mao put on warm clothes. After he gets in the carriage, the four of you will stay close to him and he is not allowed to meet or speak with outsiders."

As Ma Zhong spoke, he pulled out a stack of black gauze from his waist pouch and handed it to one of the soldiers of slightly higher rank: "Cover his face. If he refuses to cooperate, use a wooden stick."

"Yes, I understand."

The soldiers bowed and agreed, then followed Ma Zhong to inspect the living room and bedroom. All possible written materials had been packed up and loaded onto trucks by Ma Zhong. The house was now empty, with chisel marks on the walls and floor tiles. They had searched every possible hidden space.

Ma Zhong left only after a thorough inspection. As soon as he left, four armored soldiers in the room took out a piece of wood that had obviously been used and, regardless of whether Pei Mao cooperated, stuffed the wood into Pei Mao's mouth and tied it tightly with a thin cowhide rope.

Then they used the black veil given by Ma Zhong to wrap Pei Mao's face in several layers. One of the soldiers felt that the black veil could not block the view, so he took out his own shawl, folded it a few times, and tied it under Pei Mao's eyebrows.

And so, Pei Mao was quickly pushed and shoved out. Walking on the familiar road, Pei Mao had no time to feel anything. If he hesitated or resisted even slightly, the soldiers escorting him would whip his calves with horsewhips.

When Ma Zhong arrived at the empty front yard, he saw Pei Mao's disheveled appearance, which made him more alert and somewhat admiring of Wang Cheng's decisiveness.

He admitted to some of the crimes he should have confessed to, downplaying the serious ones, and then committed suicide.

On the contrary, the mastermind, Pei Mao, is slow to act... It's one thing for him to suffer personal humiliation, but it will also implicate countless people who trust the Pei family.

After observing for a moment, Ma Zhong raised his hand to adjust his felt hat that shielded him from the snow, silently making up his mind that if possible, he would try not to get involved in similar matters.

If you are unfortunately involved, then when things come to a head and you are about to lose, then you should learn from Wang Cheng.

In the spacious courtyard, Pei Mao blindly turned his head left and right, assuming that officials from the Jingzhao Prefecture would be watching nearby.

There were only a dozen or so armored soldiers in the front yard, and the bloodstains at the gate still lingered.

Although the newly fallen snow covered the blood that had flowed out and frozen from the guards yesterday, the frozen blood still continued to emit that urgent smell.

Under this peculiar odor, the soldiers in the front yard all wore solemn expressions.

Everyone watched intently until Pei Mao was shoved into the carriage, and the four armored soldiers also squeezed in. Then, the two-horse carriage began to move forward.

In front of the Jingzhao Yin's office, the officials and clerks inside had already been stripped of their official robes and black gauze hats. Now they were dressed in coarse cloth, with ordinary headscarves covering their heads. They were grouped in fives, their right hands bound with cowhide ropes, and they had become criminals being escorted away.

Although the registrar Du Ji was stout, he was not very resistant to the cold and was shivering all over.

He had already endured simple torture, but he remained stubborn and didn't reveal anything, so he suffered the most severe punishment.

Whip marks are visible on the cheeks and backs of the hands, which are not covered by clothing.

Ma Zhong rode out on horseback, tilting his head and waving to his companions. This procession of convicted officials set off towards the North Gate of Chang'an. The main street along the way was quite deserted, with county soldiers on duty at every intersection, and almost no other civilians came to watch.

As Ma Zhong set off, Su Ze, who had settled in Gaoling, also began leading his team westward to meet Zhao Ji.

Inside the carriage, Su sat atop three layers of fur, draped in a sheepskin cloak, her hands tucked into the warm, cashmere sleeves.

At this moment, Su Ze remained calm and expressionless.

He could already foresee what would happen, and because of this, a deep sense of powerlessness enveloped him, both physically and mentally.

What made him even more upset was that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, according to the current itinerary, he would meet and pay homage to Zhao Ji in Pingling.

What decent houses are available in Pingling City?
Therefore, Grand Tutor Zhao will definitely move into the military camp converted from the Su family's fortified village. Although Su Ze is not a powerful branch of the Pingling Su family, he himself comes from the main lineage.

Meeting Zhao Ji in the already destroyed Su clan stronghold was destined to be an extremely awkward situation.

But this is the current schedule, so what can Su do?
Even after entering Chencang, Zhao Ji, who still maintained a long-distance march, did not want to go to Pingling, but Pingling was the most suitable place nearby.

If Zhao Ji wanted to return to Pingyang quickly, he couldn't afford to waste too much time in Guanzhong.

Therefore, we cannot lead the army across the Wei River. We can march north of the Wei River. After capturing Pei Mao, the mastermind, we must hurry to Longmen and Pubanjin.

Once they cross the river and reach Fenyin, Zhao Ji can march through the night and reach the Pingyang camp.

Su Ze's mind was actually a mess. He was analyzing everything, but it was all fragmented thinking that couldn't be connected into a coherent whole with a clear cause-and-effect relationship.

He simply couldn't predict Zhao Ji; Zhao Ji didn't have that kind of wicked sense of humor.

The roads in Guanzhong were in excellent condition, but Zhao Ji insisted on traveling dozens of miles more to reach Weicheng, which faced Chang'an across the Wei River.

South of Weicheng, Zhao Ji gazed at the south bank. Through the fine snow, he could not see the outline of Chang'an at all, only vaguely making out the other end of the Wei Bridge.

The original Wei Bridge was long ago damaged; the current Wei Bridge was repaired by Pei Mao when he was in charge of Jingzhao.

Under Zhao Ji's watchful eye, Ma Zhongdu led the escort team to the south bank, while the more than two hundred county soldiers who accompanied them remained in place.

Pei Mao was escorted off the bus by more than a hundred people and walked on foot across the Wei Bridge, while most of the vehicles were empty.

It wasn't that they had doubts about the quality of the bridge, but rather they were worried that the horses might be startled on it.

After much deliberation, Pei Mao finally delivered the goods to the north bank.

During the time Zhao Ji was waiting, his central guard unloaded some supplies and set up a simple curtain on the Weibei River beach.

Inside the curtain, a blazing charcoal fire was lit.

Zhao Ji was also expressionless, and he felt a sense of exhaustion. He thought he had done enough, but why couldn't he gain the approval of these traditional, respectable families?

I don't need their full support, I just hope they won't cause trouble at such a crucial moment.

Faced with this troubling problem, Zhao Ji decided to cut to the chase. Rather than letting himself suffer, he would rather destroy the sources of his distress.

However, he still carried some Pei blood in his veins, and perhaps the lingering memories of the original owner stirred up some sad emotions, making Zhao Ji very unhappy.

(End of this chapter)