With the granary burned down at this time, not only the entire Junxian but likely the whole of Hebei would soon descend into chaos.
If the situation here couldn't be reported to Han Mo quickly, who knew if Han Mo himself would get entangled in this affair in the end.
Therefore, after the soldiers had their ropes untied, Jiang Yan immediately knelt on one knee and said to Zhong Shidao.
"Alright, you write a letter and I'll immediately send someone to deliver it to him overnight."
Zhong Shidao did not hesitate on this matter.
Although he had not dealt with Han Mo, and they had never even exchanged a letter, the letters written to him by Zhong Yanchong had never been stingy with their praise.
It was a rare opportunity to do Han Mo a small favor, and naturally he was willing to build such a good relationship now.
"Thank you, old general!"
Hearing Zhong Shidao agree, Jiang Yan breathed a sigh of relief.
He took the paper and brush from the soldiers and quickly wrote down the situation he knew, then sealed it in an envelope and handed it to Zhong Shidao.
Zhong Shidao did not delay and immediately ordered someone to send the letter to Neihuang County.
"Brother Mo, you haven't slept all night. It's already dawn. Why don't you go back and lie down for a while?"
The sun finally rose again, but the news from Jiang Yan and the others had not yet returned.
Han Mo truly had not felt sleepy at all throughout the entire night.
Countless thoughts flashed through his mind, but without concrete evidence, everything could only be considered speculation.
"Never mind, you go and attend to your business. I'm not sleepy yet!"
He reached out and pinched Chun Tao's face, then walked straight into the courtyard. After splashing some cold well water on his face, he immediately felt much more refreshed.
"Then I'll go and get you something to eat. You must be hungry after staying up all night!"
Although she didn't know what Han Mo was worrying about, Chun Tao instinctively wanted to care for him in her own way.
"That would be wonderful. I haven't eaten anything you made in a long time!"
Seeing the concern on the young girl's face, Han Mo suddenly patted Chun Tao on the shoulder and said.
"Someone saw..."
Chun Tao was still a young girl, and her skin was quite thin. Although they had depended on each other for many years, and she had some unspoken feelings for Han Mo, seeing him act so intimately still made her a little embarrassed.
After uttering a playful complaint, she turned and ran towards the kitchen.
"My lord, someone delivered a letter from outside. They said it was from the old General Zhong!"
Chun Tao had just left when Xu Fengnian rushed in.
"Old General Zhong? Which old General Zhong?"
"The old Prime Minister Zhong of the Western Army!"
As Xu Fengnian spoke, he quickly handed over the letter in his hand.
"Where is the messenger?"
After quickly scanning the contents of the letter, Han Mo finally let out a long sigh of relief.
As expected, everything was as he had anticipated.
The only bad news was that the permanent granary in Junxian had indeed been burned, and despite the all-out rescue efforts of the nearby military and civilians, the loss was still extremely heavy.
Even though the final statistics had not yet been released, Han Mo knew in his heart that this incident alone was enough to give those ambitious individuals plenty of material to work with.
"He is still waiting in the front hall!"
"Immediately send someone to prepare him some wine and food, and I will write a reply and ask him to be sure to pass it on to the old General Zhong!"
Although Han Mo had not expected to directly connect with Zhong Shidao by chance this time.
However, for Han Mo, this was an unexpected pleasure.
Han Mo had an extraordinary admiration for this famous general of the Song Dynasty.
In the original historical records, if Emperor Qinzong of Song, Zhao Huan, had heeded the advice of this old general, those Jurchen invaders would likely have been driven back home long ago.
Even with the Taiyuan city lacking grain and supplies and with no external reinforcements, it managed to hold out for more than 250 days.
Given the sturdiness of the Tokyo city, it would have been impossible for the Jurchens to breach Bianliang city without leaving behind tens of thousands of casualties!
Of course, Han Mo also knew that history had no "ifs"...
Therefore, this was also one of the reasons why, even though he knew Zhao Huan would ascend the throne as emperor in the near future, he still did not want to choose to support him.
"Yes!"
After quickly writing a reply and sealing it with wax, Han Mo had the letter handed back to the messenger.
After the messenger left, those who had escorted the assassins the previous night finally returned to the county yamen.
"You handled this matter excellently. You may go and rest now!"
After confirming that these people were still alive, Han Mo directly ordered them to be thrown into prison.
"My lord, that Li Yan is here again!"
As soon as the escorting soldiers left, Lü Ying hurried in.
"Let him come. This was expected. Let's go and see what new excuses our Lord Li has this time!"
With messengers and prisoners arriving so early in the morning, even the ordinary citizens of the county knew that something must have happened, let alone this well-informed Lord Li.
Furthermore, Lord Li had been keeping people watching outside Han Mo's courtyard, so Han Mo would have found it strange if he hadn't come today.
"County Magistrate Han, we meet again!"
As soon as he reached the gate, Li Yan was seen leading his men towards them from a distance.
"I wonder if Lord Li's esteemed visit today is for any particular reason? Is there something unclear about the accounts?"
Han Mo was not polite with this fellow, speaking in a purely business-like tone.
"Lord Han is joking. If there were any problems with these accounts, they wouldn't be in my hands!"
Li Yan said with a forced smile.
"My lord, I don't understand what you mean. Are you implying that I am falsifying accounts?"
"County Magistrate Han misunderstands. I have come today specifically to invite County Magistrate Han to my residence for a chat. Minister Tang is waiting in my courtyard. Let's go quickly!"
"Minister Tang?"
Tang Ke wanting to see Han Mo at this time was indeed a surprise to Han Mo.
With such a major incident occurring in Junxian, shouldn't this fellow be there at this time? Why had he come here?
"Since Minister Tang has summoned me, your subordinate naturally obeys without question. Please wait here for a moment, sir, and allow me to finish my current tasks!"
"I don't think that's necessary. Minister Tang is waiting. Besides, it's just a casual chat with Minister Han, it won't take much time!"