Three Kingdoms King of the North

Han Zhan is about to return to Jizhou, so naturally he has many things to explain to Chen Zhen and Gao Lan.While he was talking, an officer hurried in and reported to Chen Zhen, "Report to the prefect, there is a woman asking to see you outside!"

"A woman asking for an interview?" After listening to the officer's report, Chen asked with some displeasure: "What is she looking for from this officer?"

"Return to the prefect," the guard replied cautiously, "She said she read the notice posted outside and came here to report the news."

The officer's words immediately reminded Han Zhan that he asked Chen Zhen to post a list in the city yesterday, offering a reward for the capture of the assassin hiding in the city.Those who bind assassins to the government will be rewarded fifty gold; those who tip off the news will be rewarded ten gold.Unexpectedly, just a day after the list was posted, someone came to report the news.

Han Zhan quickly ordered the guards: "Go and invite that woman in!"

After a while, the guard brought a young woman into the lobby.The woman knelt in the middle of the hall, with her head on the ground, and tremblingly said: "Little lady, see you adults."

"No courtesy!" After receiving Han Zhan's hint, Chen Zhen said, "Women in the hall don't need to be polite, just tell me what you want!"

"Thank you, Lord Prefect." After the woman finished speaking, she straightened up and said nervously: "In the yard next to the little woman's house, more than a dozen rough men lived in the past two months. But what is strange is that , They live in seclusion on weekdays, and hardly go out except to buy daily necessities. The little lady saw the list posted by the prefect yesterday, and felt that they were acting suspiciously, so she came to report to the adults."

Han Zhan, who was sitting on the side, looked at the woman who reported the news with a kind face.After the other party finished speaking, he opened his mouth and said: "This lady, I see that you have a kind face. I seem to have seen you somewhere?"

When the woman heard Han Zhan's voice, she stared at him for a while, and then exclaimed, "You, aren't you a national order? Why are you here?"

"The lady in the hall is so rude!" Seeing that the woman lost her composure, Chen Zhen hurriedly stopped him: "This is the new Jizhou Shepherd and Zhangshuiting Marquis Master Han."

Unexpectedly, after hearing Chen Zhen's words, the woman had a surprised expression on her face: "Sure enough, it's a national decree. My lord, don't you really know the little woman?"

Han Zhan looked at the woman carefully, thinking quickly in his mind, where had he seen this woman before, and why did she look so familiar?

Seeing that Han Zhan didn't recognize her, the woman quickly reminded him: "My lord, do you still remember that when we were in Sheguo County, my brother was killed by some hooligans, and it was my lord who upheld justice, sentenced them to death, and gave ten Gold for us."

After being reminded by the woman, Han Zhan immediately remembered the identity of the other party. He pointed at the woman and said with a smile, "I remember now. You are Shisanlang's sister Chen." Poor little widow, Han Zhan couldn't help but added, "I don't know how your younger brother and sister Wang are doing now?"

Seeing that Han Zhan not only thought of herself, but even her younger siblings, Mrs. Chen couldn't help sighing and said, "My brother died tragically, and the body has not been found yet. The twin daughters in the family can only be given by Mrs. Wang." Doing a little needlework to support myself made life extremely difficult."

"Didn't the Marquis give you ten gold when the case was closed?" Han Zhanxin said that in this dynasty, ten gold can buy a good house, but after more than half a year, you all used up all the money.So he asked in a displeased tone, "Why did you run out so quickly?"

"Return to your lord," Mrs. Chen heard Han Zhan's dissatisfaction from his tone, and quickly explained, "Ms. Wang said that Sheguo County is a sad place, and she didn't want to stay there anymore, so we left Sheguo County, planning to come to Guantao to settle down. Unexpectedly, we met bandits on the way, and all our pockets were robbed, so we had to beg all the way back to Guantao."

After hearing Chen's experience, Han Zhan couldn't help sighing. He looked at Chen Zhen and said, "Be filial, immediately arrange for servants to follow this woman back to her residence to check. If those people are really leaked assassins, immediately Catch them and bring them to justice."

After Gao Lan waited for Han Zhan to finish speaking, he stood up with difficulty, cupped his hands and said, "My lord, those assassins are very skilled. I'm afraid they can't be dealt with by just relying on a group of servants. Why don't you send some more soldiers and horses to go with you?"

"My lord," Xia Houlan, who was sitting on the side, also stood up and asked Han Zhan, "The final general is willing to lead five hundred soldiers to capture these assassins."

After Han Zhan learned about the terrain there from Mrs. Chen, he immediately told Xiahoulan: "Xiahoulan, you have five hundred soldiers to block the streets there. You are allowed to enter and not to leave, and absolutely no assassin is allowed to escape."

Seeing that Han Zhan agreed to her request, Xia Houlan said happily, "The general will obey."

Han Zhan turned his head to look at Chen Zhen again, and said to him: "Xiaoqi, after Captain Xiahou led people to surround the courtyard where the assassin lived, your servants would rush in and arrest them. If they encounter resistance, they will be killed. "

After two incense sticks, Xia Houlan led troops to block the street where Chen's house was located, and drove the idlers back to her room. A Du Bo led a hundred soldiers to surround the courtyard that Chen said.

In the yard, a burly man was splitting wood. Hearing the sound of hurried and orderly footsteps outside, he turned his head and saw groups of officers and soldiers appearing outside the yard, as if they were about to surround the yard.Knowing that something was wrong, he hurriedly whistled, and rushed towards the officers and soldiers with an ax in hand, trying to kill a bloody way out of the chaos.

Xia Houlan, who personally led the team, actually didn't quite believe what Chen said, thinking that she came here to report fake news for a big reward.At this moment, seeing a burly man rushing out with an ax in hand, he quickly shouted: "Array!"

Following his shout, the sword and shield soldiers holding shields quickly lined up in a row and raised the shields in their hands, while the spearmen in the back row stretched out their spears through the gaps in the shields.The burly man rushed to the front of the queue, without saying a word, he raised his ax and chopped.The sword and shield soldier who was hit by him on the shield, although his arm was numb from the shock, still gritted his teeth and chopped the knife in his hand forward.At the same time, the two spearmen behind him stabbed the big man with their spears.

The big man who was shot twice and stabbed in the body screamed, the ax in his hand fell to the ground, and his body stopped moving.After the spear that pierced his body was pulled out, he fell on his back, and blood gushed out from several holes in his body.

The people staying in the house heard the whistle of the big man and knew that something happened outside, so they rushed out with weapons in their hands.When I rushed to the yard to see, there was an army outside.In terms of fighting alone, four or five of the soldiers outside couldn't beat one of them, but facing such a strict formation, they didn't have much use for them.There were two unbelievers, waving the weapons in their hands, trying to rush out, but they all stabbed into a hornet's nest with random guns.Seeing that the situation was not good, the rest quickly threw away the weapons in their hands and knelt down to beg for mercy.

Xia Houlan knew that if she wanted to find out the behind-the-scenes instigation of Gao Lan's assassination, she had to take them back alive, so she ordered the officers who had just arrived to enter the yard to arrest them.In order to prevent these assassins from resisting, twenty crossbowmen held their crossbows and stood outside the courtyard wall. As long as the opponents tried to resist, they would be shot into hedgehogs immediately.

The operation to capture the assassin was extremely smooth. Except for the dislocated arm of a sword and shield soldier, there were no casualties.Killed three assassins on the spot and captured five alive.Seeing that the assassins were all captured without a fight, Xia Houlan ordered: "Bring them all back to the eunuch's mansion."

Han Zhan, who stayed in the prefect's mansion, thought that Xia Houlan would take two or three hours at the earliest to come back when he went to capture the assassin this time.Unexpectedly, less than half an hour later, Xia Houlan walked into the main hall with her head held high.He came to Han Zhan and bowed to salute: "The last general will see the lord. Fortunately, the last general did not disgrace his life and has killed all the assassins."

"Caught the assassins so quickly?" Hearing that Xia Houlan said that all the assassins had fallen, even Gao Lan found it unbelievable. It has been almost a month since he was assassinated. According to his own thinking, these assassins are not fools. He will stay in the city and if he catches him by himself, he probably would have escaped long ago.Unexpectedly, Han Zhan received a tip and ordered Xia Houlan to arrest them. Within half an hour, all the assassins were caught. "Captain Xiahou, you won't arrest the wrong person, will you?"

"Lieutenant Gao Gao, please rest assured," Xia Houlan turned her head to look at Gao Lan, and said with a smile, "I have interrogated one of the assassins, and he has confessed that they are the assassins who assassinated you."

In order to find out who was behind the assassination of Gao Lan, Han Zhan quickly ordered: "Bring the assassins up, and the Marquis will interrogate them himself."

Xia Houlan promised, walked to the entrance of the lobby, rushed outside and said loudly: "Bring the assassin up!"

Soon, there was a commotion outside, and five men who were tied up were escorted into the hall by strong soldiers.

After waiting for the assassins to kneel down, Chen Zhen asked them, "You were the one who assassinated the high school lieutenant in the city last month."

A man who looked like a leader, heard Chen Zhen's question, and hurriedly replied: "What you said to the adults is indeed what the villains did."

Seeing that the other party readily admitted, Chen Zhen nodded slightly, and then asked: "I ask you, who ordered you to assassinate the high school lieutenant?" The leader immediately became dumb when he heard Chen Zhen's question.

Seeing that the leader refused to answer his own question, Chen Zhen slammed the table and said sharply, "Hurry up and invite it!"

Unexpectedly, the leader knelt on the ground, kowtowed to Chen Zhen repeatedly and said, "My lord, the little one is guilty, but I want to die. Please, my lord, punish the little one."

Seeing that the leader of the assassins would take the initiative to ask for death, it was indeed beyond the expectations of everyone in the hall.After Chen Zhen and Han Zhan looked at each other, they both saw surprise in each other's eyes.Chen Zhen continued to ask: "What are your concerns, but it's okay, I will make the decision for you."

"My lord, please kill us." The leader said in a crying voice, "If the little one confesses, the whole family will die."

As soon as his words fell, those assassins who were kneeling behind also shouted: "I want to die quickly, my lord."

"Could it be that your family members are all under the control of the mastermind?" Seeing that these assassins were unwilling to confess to the mastermind, but instead were eager to die, Han Zhan felt something strange, so he tentatively said: "If This Marquis was able to rescue your family members, can you confess truthfully?"

Hearing what Han Zhan said, the boss showed a hesitant expression on his face.But he didn't speak, but turned his head and glanced at the brothers kneeling behind.When the assassins saw that the leader was looking at them, they all nodded, expressing that they could consider Han Zhan's request.

The leader sighed and said, "This lord must be the new Lord Jizhou Mu and Zhangshuiting Marquis Han. I believe you. As long as the family members are rescued, I am willing to confess truthfully."

"Brother," Han Zhan said with a sneer after the leader finished speaking, "If you don't tell us where your family members are, how will we rescue your family members?"

The leader hesitated for a long time before he said: "Young family members are all in Shouchun now. If Marquis Ting can rescue them, I am willing to confess truthfully."

When everyone in the hall heard the place name Shouchun, they were all taken aback.Then Chen Zhen slapped the table with his hands, and fell asleep roaring: "This is impossible. Lieutenant Gao Gao has no grievances with Yuan Shu, why would he send someone to assassinate him? You are simply talking nonsense."

The leader told the other party to actually say Yuan Shu's name, only to realize that he had inadvertently revealed the identity of the mastermind behind the scenes, so he shut up.Han Zhan carefully observed the expression on the assassin's leader's face, and realized that Chen Zhen's guess was completely correct, so he waved his hand and told the guards: "Put these people in prison first, and try again at another day."

After the assassin was taken away, Chen Zhen said agitatedly: "My lord, if Yuan Shao is the mastermind behind the assassin, I believe it; but if Yuan Shu is the mastermind, I think it is simply too ridiculous."

"Prefect Chen is right." As soon as Chen Zhen finished speaking, Xia Houlan continued, "Those assassins must have intentionally framed and tried to stir up conflicts between us and Yuan Shu."

Han Zhan also found the conclusion drawn by everyone's analysis ridiculous. He had no grievances with Yuan Shu in the past and had no vengeance in the present. Why did he send a group of assassins to sneak into Guantao to assassinate Gao Lan?What is his purpose in saying that?What benefits can be gained from it?

While everyone was thinking hard, Gao Lan, who was the person involved, suddenly stood up and said, "Everyone, I think what the assassin said is true. Maybe the one who sent someone to assassinate me was really Yuan Shu and Yuan Gonglu of Shouchun."

Chapter 0166 The truth about the assassination

"Yuan Gonggong, how is this possible? How could the assassin be sent by Yuan Gonggong?" Just as everyone was shocked by the conclusion they drew, Gao Lan suddenly said: "Gao believes that the mastermind behind the assassin may really be Yuan Shu and Yuan Gonggong." .”,

"Lieutenant Gao Gao," Han Zhan looked at Gao Lan and asked puzzledly, "Why are you so sure it's Yuan Gonglu?"