New and dark light years

Chapter 179 Tianjin County on the Verge of Collapse

Su Bei found a high ground nearby that was easy to defend and difficult to attack, as a place to re-establish his camp.

Then everyone extinguished their torches and gathered together.

Li Lin sprinkled a circle of Imperial Powder around the camp.

Then I sat in the tent and waited.

The others stayed quietly in their own tents.

Li Lin also placed several small paper figures around the camp to serve as sentries.

The other paper figures were keeping watch near the military camp in Beiliu County.

The moonlight was bright tonight, and the little paper figures peeked out from the grass at the silent military camp of Beiliu Township ahead.

Time passed slowly, but there was still no movement from the Beiliu camp.

There was no movement around Li Lin's camp.

This situation continued until the early morning of the next day.

As dawn broke, Li Lin finally couldn't hold back any longer and controlled the little paper figure to enter the camp of the Beiliu Township Army.

There was no one inside.

"Looks like we misjudged them; their target isn't us." Li Lin rubbed his chin, somewhat puzzled. "Then who could it be?"

Here is a map, placed in front of Li Lin.

Before coming here, he specifically asked Jiang Jili for a topographical map of Tianjin to bring with him.

Ordinary people are not allowed to see or possess such military maps, but as a county lieutenant, he was qualified to do so.

The people of Beiliu County have indeed disappeared. There are no corpses or bones in the camp, which means they did not have any conflict with the ghosts.

So... where did these people go?

Li Lin kept looking at the map, then subconsciously glanced southwest for a while, before frowning deeply.

"Wait, this is... Fumin Military Town."

Li Lin tapped lightly on a certain 'point' with his finger.

Looking at the long official road leading directly to Jin County, Li Lin immediately had a bad feeling.

"Everyone, set off immediately and retreat back to Tianjin! Quickly!"

Li Lin shouted loudly.

Su Bei immediately noticed Li Lin's serious expression and knew that things might be going in a bad direction. He rushed out and shouted for the local militia to move.

Li Lin then looked at Xiao Chunzhu beside him and said, "Your Lingxiao Sect's lightness technique is very fast. I need you to ride to Jincheng immediately and report to Prefect Huang that the Beiliu Township Army has disappeared and may have gone to Fumin Military Town. He will understand then."

"I can't see the prefect," Xiao Chunzhu said helplessly.

Li Lin took off his Spirit Hunter jade token and handed it to him: "Give me my name, and he should see you. After that, stay in Jin County and don't come out again until this is over before returning to Yulin County."

"it is good!"

Xiao Chunzhu stood up, immediately turned around and left the tent, then used her lightness technique to run wildly on the official road.

The Lingxiao Sect's lightness technique is very famous in the martial arts world, and its characteristic is speed.

Since it's about speed, it requires a lot of physical strength, but Xiao Chunzhu couldn't care less about that.

He was running with almost all his might, and the strong wind behind him kicked up a cloud of yellow dust that soared straight up.

It normally takes about an hour to travel from Luofeng Ridge to Jincheng, even by horseback, but Xiao Chunzhu arrived in just half an hour.

He was panting heavily, covered in sweat, and his throat tasted rusty as he breathed.

It smells terrible.

Once inside the city, Xiao Chunzhu, exhausted, didn't dare to rest. Dragging his legs, which had little feeling left, he arrived at the gate of the government office.

Several constables were standing there. When they saw Xiao Chunzhu, they were about to curse him, but when they saw that he was dressed as a constable, they restrained their temper and walked over.

One of the constables asked, "Haven't we seen you before? Are you a constable from the county town?"

Xiao Chunzhu, panting heavily, presented the Hunter's Jade Token in his hand and said, "By order of... Li Lin,... the... magistrate of Yulin County, I request an audience with... the Prefect." "What kind of status does the Prefect hold? How can a mere constable like you simply request an audience? Have your county magistrate come here personally..."

The constable's words were indeed reasonable and not an attempt to make things difficult. Generally speaking, the head constable of a local county government was not qualified to request an audience with a sixth-rank civil official.

But at that moment, a young-looking official walked out of the government office. He looked at Xiao Chunzhu and asked curiously, "Are you my brother-in-law's subordinate?"

"I am Lieutenant Li's subordinate..." Xiao Chunzhu was still panting.

"Let me see the jade pendant."

Xiao Chunzhu handed over the jade pendant.

The young man was Huang Ying. After looking at the jade tablet for a while, he nodded and said, "It is indeed my brother-in-law's Spirit Hunter number. Come with me."

With Huang Ying leading the way, the constables naturally stepped aside.

Xiao Chunzhu subconsciously straightened her disheveled and sour constable's uniform, then took a few deep breaths to calm her disordered breathing.

I need to dress appropriately before meeting the prefect.

In that short time, Huang Ying brought Xiao Chunzhu to the courtroom.

Huang Yan, dressed in the robes of a sixth-rank civil official, sat upright in the high hall, focusing intently on handling state affairs, and ignored the sound.

“Father… the prefect, the head constable of Yulin County, was sent here by County Lieutenant Li, saying that he has important matters to report.”

"Speak," Huang Yan said without even looking up.

It's not worth his time to remember a mere constable or constable.

"Li County Commandant Li said that the Beiliu Township Army may have gone to Fumin Military Town."

Ok?
Huang Yan's expression immediately froze. Then he suddenly stood up, took out a topographical map, looked at it for a while, and his face turned ashen.

"This Jin County has not allowed me to have a few days of peace. It is full of holes on all sides, no different from a sieve."

Huang Yan was so angry that he slammed a calligraphy brush to the ground.

Huang Ying was puzzled: "Prefect, what exactly happened?"

"Your brother-in-law suspected that Gao Haiya, the county magistrate of Beiliu County, had stormed into Fumin Military Town, intending to help the Southern Barbarians open the gates... no, it should be said that he was helping Qin Tuo open the city gates."

"Isn't my brother-in-law exaggerating a bit?"

Huang Yan also looked at Xiao Chunzhu: "Tell me everything that happened in the past two days."

At that moment, Xiao Chunzhu recounted the entire incident.

He also emphasized how strong Li Lin's intuition was, as he had been sending paper figures to monitor the Beiliu Township Army, and it turned out there really was a problem.

"It seems your brother-in-law guessed correctly. The Beiliu Township Army could only have gone to Fumian Military Town." Huang Yan snorted. "Ying'er, now that you are the Commander of the Northern Route of Jincheng, go to the camp immediately to lead the troops into the city and guard the west gate."

Huang Ying was stunned for a moment, then excitedly clasped her hands and shouted, "Yes, sir!"

Although he had long been the military commander, able to lead three thousand soldiers, he had never had the opportunity to lead troops into battle.

Now it seems the opportunity has arrived.

Just then, a yamen runner rushed in and said urgently, "Prefect, something terrible has happened! There are beacon fires in the west. Judging from the location, it should be in Fumin Military Town."

Huang Yan's expression was grim as he glared at Huang Ying and roared, "Hurry up and go!"

Huang Ying was startled and immediately turned around and ran out of the courtroom.

Xiao Chunzhu bowed and clasped her hands in greeting to Huang Yan before leaving the courtroom.

Huang Yan sat quietly for a while, then picked up the gavel and slammed it heavily on the table.

The sound of clapping echoed in the empty courtroom.

After a while, Huang Yan said with a headache, "How many officials in Jincheng are secretly colluding with the Qin family? This is also my fault. If I hadn't issued the order for unrestricted passage, the Beiliu Township Army wouldn't have been able to get close to Jincheng at all... Old Yu, you're fast, could you please go to the city wall and inform the beacon commander to light the beacon fires and notify all the counties in Jin County to close their cities and defend themselves for three days?"

A flat person emerges from his shadow and then transforms into a normal human form, a process akin to a paper figure becoming 'full-bodied' and gaining flesh and blood.

"Yes, sir!"

The middle-aged man with a cold and indifferent appearance left the courtroom.

(End of this chapter)