The Great Qin Empire---Qin Li

When Heifu and others arrived at the township stable garden, they found that it was already ablaze and had turned into a scorching fire.

The stable official in black clothes did not even have time to put on his crown. With his hair loose, he led everyone to put out the fire and subdue the cattle and horses that were on fire and running around neighing...

Wei Shi Anpu and Ling Lile looked at the scene in front of them and were stunned for a moment. Heifu saw a familiar figure carrying a bucket of water and went over to help.

"Juzhang! Are you okay?"

Ju was a minor official working in the stable garden, otherwise he would not have been able to raise such a good horse to give to Heifu.

Heifu took the bucket of water and poured it on the stable surrounded by flames, but found that it was just a drop in the bucket and was of no help at all.

At this time, a gust of wind blew, and the fire became more and more fierce. Heifu hurriedly pulled Ju to the side and asked him what was going on?

Ju's face was covered with fire ash: "Before breakfast, several people came to the stables, claiming to be serving guards, and were ordered by the township officials to repair the stables. The stable manager wanted to check their credentials, but the thin man who led the group showed his short knife and stopped them. The other seven people also rushed forward and pressed the grooms and shepherds who were feeding the cattle and horses to the ground!"

"They tied us up by the well, led a dozen horses out of the stable, and then set the stables on fire... Fortunately, a few shepherds hid in the house and didn't make a sound. After the thieves left, they ran out to help us untie the ropes."

The more Heifu listened, the heavier his face became.

After all, the ancestors of the Qin State started out as animal husbandry, so they attached great importance to cattle and horses. In each county, a "stable steward" was specially set up to manage them, which was equivalent to the county transportation bureau. Each township also has a stable garden, which is equivalent to a state-owned ranch and is managed by a stable manager. Almost all the horses used by the township government are domesticated here, and they have to write an application if they need to be called.

There is no doubt that the eight people are the disappeared farmers. They are not satisfied with their days in Qin and have been planning to escape back to Chu for a long time. Today they finally made trouble!

However, Ao led those people to attack and burn the stable garden just to rob horses for transportation and facilitate escape?

Also, do all those Chu people really know how to ride horses? Hei Fu, who spent a month or so to learn to ride a horse from scratch, does not believe that the quality of the Chu refugees is so high.

Hei Fu immediately asked, "Juzhang, what is the loss of the stables? How many cattle and horses were rescued?"

Ju said, "Our stables are not big. We only have more than 30 horses for carriages and more than 20 oxen for farming. The leading thief opened the cattle pen and tied up all the horses. When the fire broke out, the cattle ran out by themselves, but the horses that were not taken away were almost all burned to death. Those that were not dead were also frightened and burned, and I am afraid they will never be used again..."

"It is true!"

Hei Fu couldn't help cursing in his heart: "Ao, you are really scheming. You deliberately burned those horses for carriages so that the village would not have enough horses to chase!"

However, why did he deliberately let the oxen go? Was he afraid that the Qin farmers would not be able to farm next year? Moreover, he did not kill anyone present.

He was ruthless when he killed the prison guard and his mistress, but he suddenly showed kindness at the critical moment; he planned carefully and used tricks well, but left unnecessary loopholes in many places.

Contradictory, too contradictory. The more Heifu thought about it, the more confused he became. This Ao was really not simple.

Ju Ze looked at the fire in the stable garden, which was getting bigger and bigger, and the corpses of livestock that were burned and smelled in the fire, with lingering fear, and said with emotion: "The stable owner loves horses the most. He often tells us that there is a law that if the horse is not properly controlled and the horse is injured, if the horse's hide is damaged by one inch, it will be fined one shield; two inches, two shields; more than two inches, one armor. So the people in the stable garden are reluctant to hit the horses, and now more than ten horses have died at once, it's really..."

In other words, because of this fire, Anlu County lost 100,000 coins.

According to the principles of Qin law, if the horse and oxen domesticated in the stable garden are lost or die for some reason, the responsibilities of the groom and the herdsman should be investigated first, and the stable owner should also be punished jointly.

Such a large number of casualties was enough to make the stable official lose his official position, be stripped of his title, and lose all his money. No wonder he was so desperate and depressed.

At this time, the village headman and patrol officer Shuwu also arrived. The stable officer, who had been sitting on the ground like a wooden chicken, immediately jumped up, grabbed Shuwu's collar and cursed: "Shuwu, where are the five village guards who usually guard the stable? Why is there only one old guard left? After we escaped, we beat the drum for help, why didn't the village send troops? Are you deaf or blind! Ah!"

Anlu County has not had such rampant thieves for many years. Shuwu dared not take the blame. He quickly pushed the stable officer away and argued:

"In the past few days, the county asked the lieutenant, the clerk, and this black man to come to the village to handle the case and arrest the murderer. The guards were all recruited by them to search in various villages. How could there be any left? This morning, the lieutenant asked me for the last ten people and sent them to a certain village in the east of the village, saying that they were going to hunt down several peasants suspected of murder. I was just following orders. If you want to punish them, go find them!"

Wei Shi Anpu didn't expect Shu Wu to dare to push the blame on him. He was shocked and said quickly: "Youjiao, assisting us in handling the case and protecting the township and stables are all your responsibilities. You made improper arrangements, so don't blame us!"

"That's right! This matter has nothing to do with us!"

The responsibilities and interests of the case-solving team are consistent, and Ling Lile also hurriedly agreed. However, since the criminals they were chasing have committed crimes again and again, the three of them are probably to blame.

Seeing that the Qin officials present fell into Ao's plan to lure the tiger away from the mountain, they began to shirk responsibility and quarrel with each other, so Hei Fu stepped forward to stop them.

"Gentlemen, please listen to me!"

The five people, Xiangshoufu, Youjiao, Stable Manager, Wei Shi, and Lingshi, turned around and looked at the little pavilion chief with the lowest official position and the lowest title.

"The stables and gardens have been destroyed, and all the horses in the carriages have died. This is irreversible. This matter will definitely shock the county court. According to the Qin law, even if you guys shirk all the responsibility here, you will inevitably be punished..."

Heifu's words make sense, and everyone understands that no matter how they shirk responsibility, none of them can escape.

"If you do nothing, you can only wait for punishment. For now, if you want to keep your official position and title, you have to find a way to arrest those bandits who killed people and stole horses!"

"That's right!"

Shi Le's eyes lit up: "Heifu Pavilion Chief's words make sense. More than five people are bandits. Those thieves are undoubtedly bandits! If you capture or kill the bandits alive, the reward will be doubled. If we can arrest those eight people, we can not only redeem our merits, but also get rewards!"

The Qin officials who were trembling with shock at the incident in front of them found a glimmer of hope, put aside their personal grudges, and actively discussed.

If you want to catch up with the horse riders, you still have to ride horses, but now the horses used by the government have been burned to death, and those poor horses that pull heavy objects are not suitable for riding, so you can only think of private horses.

The red horse named "Red Gall" by Heifu was ridden by him, so it counts as one horse. The Qin officials present, Wei Shi Anpu and Youjiao Shuwu also came on horseback, and the township official even contributed his two horses for pulling the carriage.

The crowd hurriedly gathered five horses. Heifu, Anpu, and Shuwu were military officials, so they naturally had to go. In addition, the township pavilion chief and a pavilion soldier made it exactly five people.

However, the stable master, who was in his forties and had disheveled hair, forcibly pulled the guard down, and jumped onto the horse's back, gritting his teeth and saying:

"I was a knight in the county in the past, and I was familiar with the nature of horses, so I got this position. Who would have thought that years of hard work would be ruined in an instant! Although there is raw meat between my thighs, I can still ride a horse. I must go with you to capture the thief and wash away the shame!"

Hei Fu did not say anything, but nodded and said, "There is no time to lose. The later we chase, the slimmer our hope of catching the thief will be. I dare to ask the township official to continue to requisition private horses in the township and let the guards who can ride horses support us. The clerk can go to the county to report this matter. What do you think?"

Although Hei Fu's official position and title were the lowest, it seemed as if he was giving orders. Everyone nodded in agreement. Even Shu Wu, who disliked him, was silent. It seemed that this guy finally learned to be smart.

Only Le said with a bitter face that Hei Fu had handed over the scolded task to him, but he still bowed to everyone and wished them to catch the thief as soon as possible.

"Our official positions and titles all depend on you two or three! Please!"

The fire in the stable garden was almost burned out. Hei Fu and his five riders ran in the bright sun and went east along the road...

...

Among the five riders, the stable master who claimed to have been a martial knight in the county rode the fastest. Of course, it could also be that he was eager for revenge and rode like a wind and lightning.

Then there were Youjiao Shuwu and Xiangting Pavilion Chief, who also rode steadily in the front, while Hei Fu and Wei Shi Anpu fell behind.

An Pu squeezed the horse's belly to speed up, and turned back to Hei Fu, who was the worst rider, and shouted: "Since the thieves have stolen the horses, they can only take the main road and cannot go into the woods. There are three pavilions east of the township..."

Hei Fu opened his mouth to answer, but the strong wind and dust immediately came in. He could only close his mouth and thought to himself: "I guess only half of those Chu people can ride horses. Maybe two people ride on one horse. The speed must be slow. If they are lucky, they will be stopped by armed guards at the pavilion!"

But it's hard to say. It depends on whether those pavilions are as dedicated as Huyang Pavilion, and people are always watching the road. The sentinels can't fall asleep...

Hei Fu's guess soon came true. After galloping for half an hour, they arrived at the first pavilion.

Sure enough, the guards here just said that they heard the sound of horses galloping half an hour ago, and when they ran out, they only saw the smoke and dust going away...

An Pu and Ju Dian scolded the people in this pavilion, while Hei Fu squatted on the ground, looking at the dense horse hoof prints thoughtfully.

To the east of Anlu County is the remnant of Dabie Mountain and Tongbai Mountain. The terrain is getting higher and higher, and there are fewer and fewer people living there. There are more and more dense forests on both sides of the road. Unless the thieves are riding horses, they can't leave the road.

As long as they are still on the road, there is a chance to catch up!

"Keep chasing!"

The five people continued to ride on their horses. The second pavilion was far away, and it took more than half an hour to reach this pavilion barrier located between two earth mounds.

This was a large pavilion with a strong military nature. Five or six guards were holding weapons and surrounding several horse corpses and a human corpse. They looked anxiously at the road and saw Hei Fu and his men galloping. Two bows and arrows and a crossbow were immediately aimed at them!

"The officer and patrol officers are chasing the thieves here!"

The stable manager shouted loudly, reined in his horse, and immediately went to check the horse corpses. He saw that two fat and healthy horses were shot by several arrows and lay dead in the middle of the road. The other horse was shot in the leg and lay on the side in pain.

The stablekeeper caressed the only surviving horse with heartache and cursed: "You are so bold that you dare to kill my horse!"

The guards were silent. The local head of the pavilion recognized You Jiao Shuwu and hurriedly bowed and said: "I dare to tell you, two minutes ago, two thieves rode on horses, waving bamboo whips in their hands, driving seven or eight horses. We were unable to stop them and could only shoot arrows at them..."

Wei Shi Anpu also got off his horse. He was shocked when he heard the words. He pulled the head of the pavilion and asked: "Tell me again, how many people were there?"

"Two people, this is one of them, who was shot down by arrows. Another person has superb riding skills and hid on the side of the horse's belly."

The body was about the same height as Hei Fu, not like the "Ao" in Shikou who was only seven feet tall.

"There were obviously eight people, but only two of them rode here. What's going on? Where are the others?" You Jiao Shuwu and the head of the township pavilion also looked at each other in bewilderment.

Only Hei Fu reacted immediately and cursed: "We have fallen into the trap again!"

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