Hanhou

The cold water was splashed on the face, and the shards of ice embedded in the wound, Xu Buyong let out a scream, and was forced to wake up from the coma.

Zhou Jue Cao held a wooden tablet and gestured to the jailer on one side.The latter grabbed the whip, and with all his strength, the sound of breaking wind continued, making Xu Buyong howl like ghosts and wolves.

The screams came out of the torture room and echoed in the corridor.Shubuli sat in the prison cell, thinking that it would be his turn soon, he couldn't help turning pale and trembling all over.

The cry lasted for half a stick of incense, Zhou Juecao signaled the jailer to stop, raised Xu Buyong's chin with a sharp knife point, and said coldly: "How many soldiers and horses does King Zuo Tuqi have, how many tribes are there under his command, and how many people are there?" The geometry, the geometry of cattle and sheep, how they migrate each year."

Xu Buyong's eyelids were red and swollen, blood mixed with cold sweat blurred his vision.His throat became hoarse due to the pain, he felt the sharp pain in his jaw, and trembling all over, he finally confessed and gave the answer Zhou Juecao wanted.

After he finished speaking, the clerk in charge of recording stopped writing at the same time, and sent the recorded statement to Zhou Jue Cao.Zhou Jue Cao read it carefully, nodded slightly, messed up the entries, and asked again. If he couldn't check it, he would be whipped again immediately.

He went back and forth several times, until Xu Buyong's screams began to change, and he was released from the stake and imprisoned in the cell next to the execution room.

"Bring Shubuli."

"promise!"

The sound of the jailer's footsteps was getting closer and closer, and Shubuli shrank like a leaf falling in the wind, shrank to a corner of the cell.He was forcibly dragged out and dragged all the way into the execution room. Seeing the whip in the hands of the jailer and scanning all kinds of instruments of torture hanging on the wall, Xu Buli was terrified, collapsed on the spot, and burst into tears.

There was no need for torture at all, he almost threw himself at Zhou Jue Cao's feet, expressing loudly that he was willing to surrender, as long as he knew, he would definitely know everything and say everything.

"That being the case, let's start with King Zuo Tuqi's subordinates." Zhou Juecao kicked Shubuli, swung the jailer back, and squatted down, without any fluctuation in his voice.

Seeing that the jailer didn't come forward any more, Xu Buli tremblingly told out what he knew in detail as if he had received an amnesty.

He not only said the number of people under his jurisdiction, but also the number of young and old, old and young, women and children.In addition, it also gave the detailed route of the tribe's migration, and said that many small tribes were targeted by large tribes in the event of natural disasters, cattle and sheep were robbed, and herdsmen were either killed or reduced to slaves.

Xu Buli explained in great detail, fearing that Zhou Jue Cao would be dissatisfied, he ordered him to be tortured.

When he confessed, Zhou Jue Cao personally checked Xu Buyong’s confession and found that there were several inconsistencies, especially the migration route of the tribe. Only [-]% of what Xu Buli and Xu Buyong said were similar, and the rest were completely different. Contrary to each other.

Who is lying?

Zhou Jue Cao sneered and signaled to the jailer.The latter immediately walked out of the torture room, dragged Xu Buyong who was covered in welts, hung him upside down with a rope, filled the tank below, and poured in large pieces of crushed ice.

Seeing Xu Buli kneeling on the ground, and looking at the bamboo slips in Zhou Juecao's hands, Xu Buyong couldn't understand, his little idea of ​​playing has been seen through.

Determined to die, he began to curse.

Zhou Jue Cao was not angry, but smiled instead.

"Very good."

Hearing this sentence, the prison guards and civil servants felt their scalps go numb, and they looked at Xu Buyong as if they were looking at a dead person.

Following Zhou Juecao's order, the wooden pole pulling the rope was pulled down, and Xu Puyong slipped down from mid-air, immersing himself in cold water from head to toe.The process is slow, and the sense of fear keeps rising.Even iron-clad nerves will face collapse the moment they are submerged in water.

Amidst the creaking sound, the rope kept falling, and the water filled Xu Buyong's nostrils. He began to struggle hard, like a fish on a fishing rod.

Witnessing this scene, Xubuli's expression turned pale, he was almost paralyzed on the ground, his expression was full of fear.

Zhou Juecao took the bamboo slips recorded by the civil servants, put the sharp point of the knife against Xu Buli's left eye, and said, "Let's talk about the water source on the way of migration again."

Xu Buli's throat tightened, he swallowed hard a few times, regardless of the burning pain in his throat, he told all the water sources he knew, not daring to hide anything.

When he was speaking, the water had already covered Xu Buyong's chin, and the jailer didn't get Zhou Juecao's instructions, so he kept pulling the wooden pole and continued to immerse him in the water.

As the water covered his chest, Xu Buyong's struggle became weaker and weaker.Even if he wanted to ask for forgiveness, he couldn't do it at this moment.

Finally, Zhou Juecao raised his hand, and the jailer pulled the wooden pole in the opposite direction. The rope paused first, and then pulled upwards, lifting Xu Buyong from the water.

Leaving the water, Xu Buyong coughed loudly and panted continuously.

Zhou Juecao passed Xu Buli, the knife and pen in his hand scratched Xu Buyong's left cheek, and said coldly: "How about it, do you want to confess?"

Xu Buyong was not afraid of death, but Zhou Juecao's methods made his life worse than death and completely shattered his will.

After experiencing the fear in the water, the leader of the Xubu family was finally defeated, unable to persist, and did not dare to play tricks anymore. He did not hide anything from Zhou Jue Cao's questions.

Xu Buli was not tortured, but he seemed extremely lethargic, and his condition may not be better than Xu Buyong.

At the end of the interrogation, the two were taken out of the execution room and locked into the cell opposite each other.

When the guard's footsteps faded away, Xu Buyong opened his eyes, stared at Xu Buli, and said hoarsely: "Did you see it? We killed too many Han Chinese, and they will not accept our surrender. The best end for us is to fight." Die immediately!"

Xu Buli avoided Xu Buyong's sight, turned back suddenly, grabbed the wooden railing of the cell with both hands, and said with a distorted expression: "I don't want to die! I will live on, I want to surrender to the Han Dynasty, I am the army of the Han Dynasty Lead the way and lead them into the grassland!"

"you dare?!"

Xubu Yong was furious, and wanted to rush over, but he couldn't break through the railing of the cell.Because he moved too much, all the wounds on his body burst and began to bleed again.

Seeing this scene, Xu Buli's expression became even more distorted, and he let out a burst of piercing laughter.

"You hacked my father to death in the tent in order to fight for the position of leader, and you snatched my mother away. It wasn't that I was young and curled up at your feet like a dog. Would you let me go?"

"When my father was there, the tribe was so powerful. If it weren't for my father, where would the tribe have such a large pasture, where would there be hundreds of thousands of cattle and sheep, and where would there be slaves grazing?!"

"As a result, my father died, and all those who had been favored by him stood by and watched, and even made trouble!"

"Ingratitude, everyone deserves to die!"

"I can't take back the tribe, let it perish!"

Shubuli's smile became crazy, and his voice was like a knife and stone, which was creepy.

"The Han Dynasty is very strong, strong enough to defeat the four corners of the royal court. Anyway, I am a dog, I would rather beg for mercy from the strong! As long as my life is spared, I will be a vicious dog in the hands of the Han people, and bite all enemies for them!"

The quarrel between the two was not small, it passed through the corridor, and all of them fell into the ears of the jailer.

Zhou Jue Cao got the reward, just sneered.Just as he was about to leave it alone, his thoughts changed suddenly, and he ordered someone to bring clean water to the two, and give Xubuli a piece of steamed cake.

"Don't let him die just yet."

"promise!"

The confession of uncle and nephew Xu Buyong was presented to Wei Shang, and was quickly sorted out, and the contents were extracted and transcribed.

Almost everyone in the county has a copy of the information about the cavalry and tribes under Zuo Xianwang's command.Combined with the information sent back by the scouts, Yu Dan's old background has been found out, not to mention completely, but also in various ways.Once again, the soldiers faced each other, and the Han army could calmly arrange and dispatch, occupying a greater advantage.

It is a pity that the Xubu family has been attached to King Zuoxian for generations, and their understanding of King Youxian, King Youguli and King Zuoguli is superficial, and there is not much information that can be asked.However, with the information of Zuo Xianwang and the experience of fighting the Huns for many years, it can be deduced more or less [-]-[-]%.

"Ah Weng, the natural disasters in the grassland are even worse, and the ministries must be short of food. When they meet a caravan at this time, even if they are on guard, they will welcome it. It is really a good opportunity to spy on information."

After the Xiongnu retreated, Hushi began to rebuild, the border defenders were dispatched, and Yun Zhongqi was transferred to the county to rest.

Wei Yue stayed in the city with the army, and was arrested by Wei Taishou. He devoted himself to government affairs every day, and one person did the work of three or four people.It's hard to be able to spare energy, unlike other county officials who have black circles under their eyes and drift when walking.

"Caravan?" Wei Shang put down the bamboo slips, thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "This is feasible, you can arrange it."

"Ah Weng, this matter should be handed over to Master Wang and Zhou Jue Cao." Wei Yue's smile remained unchanged, and she didn't feel guilty at all about increasing the workload of her colleagues.

"There are other things in the county, and the two of them can't get away for the time being." Wei Taishou unfolded another bamboo slip, and wrote two lines of writing.Seeing that Wei Yue wanted to say something more, he added: "I'm too busy, let Ah Duo help you."

"Aduo is still recuperating." Wei Yue showed helplessness.

"It shouldn't hurt to start writing." Wei Shang stopped writing, frowning slightly, "The battle report has arrived in Chang'an, and the emperor may order to recruit. I wanted the king to teach him, but everything is complicated."

Hearing Wei Shangzhi's words, Wei Yue fell silent.

"Although Ah Duo is smart, he has no experience in government affairs and knows very little about Chang'an. The Tao Hou sent a letter a few days ago, and Guan Fu is no longer to be feared. "

The two generations of Zhao's father and son have been Wei's prefect's guests, and in the eyes of others, they have long been labeled Wei Shang.For Zhao Jia, this is both good and dangerous.

The good thing is that the bigwigs in the DPRK and China who have made good friends with Wei Shang have known his name for a long time, even if they don't take care of him deliberately, they will release a certain amount of goodwill.The dangerous point is that Wei Shang's political enemies may make things difficult for him, and the nobles who have quarrels are afraid that they will hate the family, and if they are not sure, they will trip him up.

"Don't worry, Ah Weng, I will teach Ah Duo to be careful." Wei Yue said.

"Good." Wei Shang nodded with a smile, casually separated half of the bamboo slips on the table, and pushed them in front of Wei Yue.The meaning is very clear, since there is still room to spare, let's deal with it on his behalf.

These bamboo slips should have been handed over to Wuguan, but he himself was injured during the confrontation with the Huns, and he went to work with injuries after the war. He didn't close his eyes for several days and fell asleep standing up.In order to prevent his subordinates from dying from overwork, Wei Taishou could only squeeze his nephew.

In short, four words: those who can do more work.

Wei Yue suddenly felt a headache.

It’s true that those who are capable work harder, isn’t it a little too much to work so hard?Besides, is there such a thing as "bullying" the juniors?

Knowing Wei Yue's ability well, no matter how bitter his expression was, Wei Shang remained unmoved. He took out the lacquer box containing caramel, opened the lid, and ate three pieces with a smile.

In Zhao's livestock farm, Uncle Hu is leading people to rebuild the fence.

In order to resist the Xiongnu, the fences of the livestock farms have been reinforced. There are earth and rocks on the outside, and mounds are piled up inside. Catapults are set on them, which can exert great power in battle.

Regardless of wartime, now that the Huns have retreated, some fortifications need to be dismantled, and catapults should also be sent into the city.

In addition, most of the mounds in the livestock farm need to be leveled to facilitate the construction of houses with blue bricks. They are usually used as a resting place for young adults and servants. In wartime, the doors and windows can be lowered to replace the turrets.

The young and strong waved their tools, carried away the accumulated stones, and laid down the wooden piles again.

Zhao Xin and Zhao Ponu drove the cattle and sheep, picked out weak lambs, and handed them over to the children to carry them to the barn.

Wei Qing was the first to pick up the lamb and walked like flying.Ah Zhi and A Gu followed behind him.The big dog in the farm ran after the child, barking from time to time, looking very cheerful.

The camels were moved into a new pen, with two strong female camels accompanied by a calf each.

Because of the cold weather, Zhao Jia wanted to move the baby camels into the barn, but was stopped by a woman rescued from the grassland, telling him that the female camel with the cubs would become extremely irritable and could trample wild wolves to death with one foot, so it was best not to try Take the baby camel away.

After careful consideration, Zhao Jia abandoned the original plan and moved the whole herd of camels away together.The new enclosure to keep out the wind and the protection of the female camels should keep the calves safe.

Zhao Jia put on the fur cap and strolled to the wooden fence. Seeing the cute little camel with big eyes and long eyelashes, she couldn't help but raise the corners of her mouth, wanting to touch it.After being warned by the female camel, he immediately took two steps back, not daring to approach easily.

Uncle Xiong came out of the warehouse, carrying a wooden plow that needed repairing.

Zhao Jia stepped forward to help, but was stopped with a smile.

"Lang Jun's injury is not healed, and he still needs to recuperate." Putting the wooden plow on the ground, Uncle Xiong called Ji Bao, and asked him to set up a car and go to the iron shop in the city, where he brought back all the utensils he ordered.

Everyone was busy, Zhao Jia had nothing to do, remembering what Wei Taishou said before, he began to seriously consider whether he should go to the city earlier, because he couldn't be of much help, he could always do it by copying some bamboo slips.

Just as he was thinking, a healthy servant came to the farm and brought Wei Yue's letter, asking him how his injury was and whether he could enter the city tomorrow.

What is this thinking?

Zhao Jia was in a good mood, so he quickly wrote a reply letter and handed it over to Jianfu to bring it back to the city.

Watching the approaching people gallop away, Zhao Jia stretched out his hand and stretched his waist, carelessly pulling the wound on his side, and immediately let out a cold hiss.The golden eagle flew back at this moment, hovering in the air, loosened its claws, and a hare almost hit Zhao Jia's head.

Zhao Jia took half a step back, just trying to get lucky, when he saw the golden eagle with its head tilted down on the wooden railing, he couldn't get angry no matter what.In the end, he could only bend down to pick up the hare, then turned around and walked towards the kitchen.

The golden eagle fluttered its wings and flew up into the sky, making a loud cry.