“That is not something for the Aide-de-Camp to worry about!”
Facing the naked threat, Zhong Shidao merely smiled faintly, seemingly unconcerned.
“Well said, General of Guansi, I have indeed learned from you today!”
Since things had come to this, Ma Zhiyou himself understood that he had no room to resist.
With a cold sneer and a parting threat, he walked directly out of the tent.
Led by the soldiers, they arrived at a separate tent.
“General, by doing this, aren’t you cutting yourself off from Grand Counselor Tong?”
Only after Ma Zhiyou had left did the several aides-de-camp by Zhong Shidao’s side say with bitter smiles.
“Alright, I know what I’m doing!”
Zhong Shidao smiled and returned to his rest, leaving his aides-de-camp looking at each other in bewilderment.
If time was calculated, the escorts should arrive at Neihuang County before dawn. As for whether anything useful could be obtained, it would depend on Han Mo’s skills.
He originally did not want to do this, but when he heard of Ma Zhiyou’s arrival, he knew that he could not keep these people.
Therefore, he had hastily ordered them to be sent to Han Mo.
Although Jiang Yan and the others had not revealed much useful information, from the fragmented clues, he had keenly sensed the connection between this matter and the rebellion case of Li Bangyan’s younger brother.
In order to buy Han Mo some time, he could only risk keeping Ma Zhiyou here for one night.
————————————————————
“Has the master woken up?”
“Be quiet, the master isn’t awake yet!”
As dawn was just breaking, Han Mo was startled awake by Xu Fengnian’s voice.
“What is it? Is something the matter?”
Listening to Chun Tao and Xu Fengnian’s hushed whispers, Han Mo yawned a long yawn.
“Master, there’s a troop of soldiers outside. They say they’re here to deliver the spies you captured!”
“A troop of soldiers?”
Upon hearing this, Han Mo sat up abruptly.
“Is it Old General Zhong?”
Zhe Yourong also asked in a low voice.
“It looks like it’s highly likely!”
Han Mo said with a frown.
“I’ll go take a look. You can sleep a bit longer!”
Sighing, Han Mo could no longer delay and got up to dress.
Hearing the rustling sounds from inside, Chun Tao knocked on the door and immediately came in with a basin of water.
Swiftly helping Han Mo dress and put on his armor, after a quick wash, Han Mo walked out of the bedroom.
“Where are they now?”
“They are at the entrance of the posthouse. County Lieutenant Lu has gone, but those people simply won’t listen to him!”
Xu Fengnian quickly replied.
“Old General’s discipline is strict, it’s understandable. Lead the way!”
Taking a deep breath, Han Mo followed Xu Fengnian to the entrance of the posthouse.
“Master!”
Seeing Han Mo arrive, Lu Ying greeted him with a wry smile.
Today, he finally understood what it meant to be a scholar facing a soldier with no way to reason.
No matter what he said, these people paid no attention to him, only saying that they could only hand these people over to Han Mo in person.
“Alright!”
Han Mo made a shushing gesture at him and then approached the soldiers.
“Are you soldiers under Uncle Zhong’s command?”
After a glance at the soldiers, Han Mo asked.
“May I ask who you are, sir?”
A small officer at the front stepped forward and asked neither subserviently nor arrogantly.
“I am Han Mo, the Magistrate of Neihuang County!”
“Greetings, Master Han. We are under orders from the General to escort the five spies captured by your subordinate. Please verify them in person!”
After the small officer spoke, he immediately waved to the soldiers behind him, and someone stepped forward to push the people in the middle of the formation to the front.
“Thank you for your hard work. I wonder if Uncle Zhong will be attending the banquet today?”
Although Han Mo was somewhat surprised that Zhong Shidao had sent these people to him today, he did not show it and asked calmly.
“This is a letter from my General to you, sir. Please read it!”
After the small officer spoke, he directly took the letter sent by Zhong Shidao.
“Thank you for your hard work. You probably haven’t had breakfast yet, have you? Someone, take them inside to have some breakfast!”
After signaling Lu Ying to receive the spies, Han Mo began to read the contents of the letter.
“Master, my General said that we can return to camp in three days, and during this period, we will obey all your commands!”
“Thank you for your hard work. When you return, please convey to Uncle Zhong that Han Mo will never forget this kindness!”
Zhong Shidao’s handwriting in the letter was very messy, and it could be guessed that the letter was written in a hurry.
Although the letter stated that Zhong Shidao could not come himself, he had sent him fifty soldiers.
Although Han Mo could only keep these soldiers for three days, for Han Mo, it was enough.
After all, these were all elites from the Western Army. With them, even if hundreds of bandits came, they would have the strength to fight.
“I will definitely convey your message!”
“What is your name?”
Seeing that he responded fluently and showed no signs of nervousness, Han Mo actually felt a good impression of him.
“My name is Yang Zhi, and I am an officer under Old General Zhong!”
“Cough—cough—cough—”
“Yang Zhi?”
Upon hearing this, Han Mo couldn’t help but cough repeatedly, almost choking on his own saliva.
Could it be such a coincidence?
Is this the Green-faced Beast Yang Zhi from Water Margin?
“Is there something wrong?”
Yang Zhi looked at Han Mo strangely, not understanding why he was so excited.
“No, no, no. I’m just a little curious. Are you a descendant of Old General Yang?”
Han Mo cleared his throat and asked again.
“You jest, sir. If I had such a background, how could I have toiled in this Western Army for so many years…”
Yang Zhi said somewhat awkwardly.
“May I see the treasure sword at your waist?”
Han Mo licked his lips and coughed again, saying.
“Treasure sword? You jest, sir. This is just an ordinary saber from the army, worth a few copper coins!”
Yang Zhi spoke as he unbuckled his saber.
Han Mo, not believing it, reached out to test the sharpness of the saber. However, as his finger cautiously grazed the blade, Han Mo was immediately disappointed.
Although the saber was still somewhat sharp, it was far from the legendary ability to cut hair with a breath and kill without drawing blood!
Moreover, this fellow was not a descendant of the Yang family generals, let alone anything else…
“Officer Yang, does the Old General have anyone else with the same name under his command?”
Han Mo asked again, unwilling to give up.
"This..."
Yang Zhi looked at Han Mo with a strange expression, as if he were looking at a lunatic.
“It’s nothing, I was just asking casually. You may go and rest now!”
Feeling his strange gaze, Han Mo finally couldn’t stand it.