Chapter 182: Going to Xuzhou

The imperial envoy started his ceremonial battle, and Xiao Fan's car was driving in the middle of the team. A yellow dragon flag fluttered in the wind, and a dragon flying and phoenix dancing on the other flag was embroidered with a big "Xiao".

On the official road, a team of 3,000 people was like a marching army, and the speed was very fast. After the river boat crossed to the north bank of the Yangtze River, the guard of honor went straight to Xuzhou Prefecture. On the bumpy official road, thousands of people were moving forward silently and quickly. Fortunately, this trip was accompanied by the imperial guards who had been trained in the palace and the carefully selected Jinyiwei School Captain, which could be regarded as a truly elite army.

The first stop of the imperial envoy was Xuzhou Prefecture. Because of the spies' reward, Jiangdu and Chen Ying'er lost their traces outside Xuzhou City, and Xiao Fan had to go to Xuzhou to find them.

Cao Yi was worried about the danger of this trip. He was once a hundred generals under Zhu Di. He knew very well what kind of person Zhu Di was. Xiao Fan offended Zhu Di so much, and this time he took the initiative to send him to his door. The consequences...

"Brother Xiao, do you have to go to Beijing? If we find our younger brothers and sisters before entering the territory of Peking, should we just go back to Beijing? Peking... is dangerous!" Cao Yi frowned, with deep worries in his eyes.

Xiao Fan shook his head and said calmly but firmly: "No matter whether you can find Jiangdu or not, you must go to Peiping!"

"Why?"

"If we didn't find Jiangdu before entering Peiping, she didn't know that I was looking for her, and she would definitely travel all the way and eventually enter the boundary of Peiping. If we don't find her, we can only wait for her in Peiping Prefecture. With me here, we can keep her safe and safe..."

"What if we found them before entering Peiping? Our marching speed will definitely be much faster than their leisurely and elegant tours along the way. There is a great chance of finding them. If we had already found them at that time, why would we go to Peiping?"

Xiao Fan smiled and said, "Brother Cao, don't forget our mission to Beiping this time. We must convey the court's kindness to him to the King of Yan, deliberately appease him, delay his rebellion, and also understand the local people's sentiments and hearts, and various details of the garrison in Peking, including the number of soldiers, training level, the general's personality and hobbies, etc., know yourself and the enemy, and we will have a better chance of victory when we fight him on the battlefield in the future..."

Cao Yi was stunned and said, "But it's okay to leave these things to others. You are now a stamina of power, so why bother with personal risk?"

Xiao Fan smiled with a firmness and said lightly: "Because I promised the Emperor, I must do it. The Emperor and I are both monarchs and ministers, and they are brothers who are close to each other. His business is mine. If a man does not keep his word, is he still a man?"

Cao Yi was silent for a moment, Zhan Yan smiled and said, "No, Brother Xiao, you value love and friendship, and you are worthy of your friends. Cao knows you, and it will be worthwhile to your life!"

As he said that, Cao Yi was so angry that he laughed at the sky: "Okay! Let's go to Peking for a walk! No matter what kind of dragon, pond and tiger den, we brothers will travel back and forth. A real man stands in the world, and is fearless. He is willing to give up this smelly skin. Where can I dare to go in the world?"

Xiao Fan looked at Cao Yi's bold laughter, and he also showed a sincere smile.

In this life, a person always has to do a few things that seem stupid but have to do. Perhaps, everyone has a belief in their hearts that others do not agree with but have always insisted on. This belief makes life fulfilling and beautiful, and it is worth persisting in.

If a friend can accompany him to do this stupid thing without hesitation, it will be a comfort to his life.

The middle-aged man who had just been tied up by the captain of Jinyi and was still blocked by the mouth of a mouth, was placed in a strange posture on the back of the horse behind the two. When he heard the conversation between them, the middle-aged man did not struggle or whine, and his eyes were no longer on Xiao Fan and Cao Yi, and his eyes showed a bit of deep meaning.

After Xiao Fan smiled, he glanced at him and saw the unlucky guy behind him.

"After arriving in Xuzhou, he threw him to the prefect of Xuzhou and tried to punish him after being severely interrogated. Didn't he say he was a minister of the court? Commoners pretended to be ministers and should be beheaded according to the law. We don't have to worry about this." Xiao Fan's thoughts were all on Jiangdu, and he was really not in the mood to care about other idiots.

Cao Yi looked at the middle-aged man with malicious intentions and smiled: "Since you will be beheaded sooner or later, it is better to just cut him here. In the past, before the army set out, they would always cut two prisoners to sacrifice flags, which not only inspire morale, but also seek good luck..."

The middle-aged man suddenly opened his eyes in horror, twisted his body and struggled constantly.

Xiao Fan glanced at him indifferently and said, "Whatever you want, chop him, drag him away and chop him away. I am kind and can't stand the blood..."

Cao Yi exclaimed: "Sir, the heart of a Bodhisattva..."

"Woo-Woo!" The middle-aged man became anxious and struggled more and more violently.

The team was moving forward, and the middle-aged man was originally tied and placed horizontally on the horse's back, and this struggle slid down the horse's back.

Cao Yi was quick-eyed and quickly reached out and grabbed him, lifting him up.

Xiao Fan glanced at him and said, "It seems that he does not agree with the disposal of this official..."

Cao Yi said violently: "Sir, no matter who gets such a disposal, he will not agree..."

Xiao Fan thought: "It makes sense..."

The middle-aged man nodded quickly, his eyes showing an anxious look, and his mouth was blocked still whimpering.

Xiao Fan turned his head and looked at him, blinking and said, "Do you have something to say?"

The middle-aged man nodded: "Woo-Woo!"

"Brother Cao, pull the stuff blocked from his mouth and see what he wants to say."

The middle-aged man pulled away the tampered cloth towel, and then he let out a long sigh of relief. Then he kept spitting out a few saliva in his mouth, making his face flushed, and then he said the first sentence in anger.

"Which bastard blocks my mouth with smelly socks? Bah, bah, bah, bah, bah, bah, bah, I'm so disgusting!"

Cao Yi was pinching a cloth towel that blocked his mouth in his hand. When he heard the middle-aged man say that it was a smelly sock, Cao Yi was immediately disgusted and looked around to throw it away. Seeing that the middle-aged man was full of anger, Cao Yi simply stretched out his hand and blocked his mouth with the smelly socks again. His hand kept wiping on his clothes a few times.

"Woo——" The middle-aged man looked sad and angry, and wanted to cry without tears...

Xiao Fan also made a fuss through the small window of the carriage and said with a wicked smile: "It's good to block it! Since this guy can't say anything constructive, just keep blocking it. When you arrive in Xuzhou, you'll hand him over to the prefect for punishment."

"Woo——" The middle-aged man finally shed tears of sadness.

The team moved forward very quickly, and Xiao Fan ordered a quick march, so he was almost always on the way except for eating and a small amount of rest. He arrived in Xuzhou in two days.

There were about ten miles away from Xuzhou City. The first horse exploration was to return. Xuzhou Prefect Liu Zhi led officials from all over the prefect's office, as well as more than a thousand magistrates, gentry, and people under his jurisdiction. He went out of the city and went out on the official road to welcome the emperor's imperial envoy.

Xiao Fan sighed. This was an inevitable welcome and sent off in the officialdom. It was annoying, but he had to deal with it. After all, what others welcomed was not him, but his current identity as an imperial envoy. The ancients valued gifts. He now represents the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. No matter from any perspective, he could not avoid these red tape.

At that moment, Xiao Fanqiang was energetic and ordered the imperial envoy to fight the ceremonial war and organize the team's appearance, three thousand people drove towards Xuzhou with a mighty and stern aura.

At the same time, Xiao Fan secretly sent several groups of explorers to sneak in different directions, and secretly ordered the Qianhu Station of the Jinyiwei of Xuzhou to send a cavalry to secretly search for the traces of Princess Jiangdu and others in various places near Xuzhou City.

After everything was arranged, Xiao Fan changed into a brand new official uniform, sat upright in the car, waiting for the welcoming ceremony of government officials at all levels in Xuzhou.

The ceremony was very complicated, and the officials of the local government were much more awe-inspiring than the ministers in the capital. When the imperial envoy was still more than a mile away from the officials and people who were greeted, under the leadership of the prefect Liu Zhi, the officials and people of Xuzhou City had already knelt down early. Everyone touched the ground with their heads, respectful and solemn, and devoutly as if they were kneeling down to worship the gods.

After a welcoming ceremony, it was almost dusk. Liu Zhi respectfully welcomed Xiao Fan, Cao Yi and others into Xuzhou City, while three thousand guards of ceremonial guards camped outside the city.

Liu Zhi is a middle-aged man in his forties. He is lean and concise. He is attentive and slightly unconcealed to Xiao Fan. Xiao Fan thought about it and knew why Liu Zhi was afraid of him. In addition to the identity of the imperial envoy, Xiao Fan was also the number one leader of the Jinyiwei who made the world terrified. The identity of the Jinyiwei commander alone was enough to scare Liu Zhi, a small fifth-rank prefect, to piss his pants. Until he entered the city, he arranged Xiao Fan and others into his own four-entry mansion to temporarily serve as an official post. Liu Zhi was able to remain calm along the way and did not scare the officials' demeanor. It was really difficult.

On the other hand, the magistrates and gentry following the county were pale, sweating coldly, and were trembling all over, so scared that they did not dare to raise their heads, for fear of annoying the legendary murderous devil and causing trouble, just like a group of sheep following a hungry wolf, in panic all day long.

Xiao Fan rubbed his nose and smiled bitterly. Am I that scary? I don’t kill people randomly, and I look very handsome, okay?

After entering the city, he went to the welcoming banquet that Liu Zhi had prepared as usual. During the banquet, everyone was afraid of Xiao Fan's power and did not dare to say much. Only the prefect Liu Zhi was afraid that the cold scene would sweep away the interest of the imperial envoy, so he hurriedly used his eloquence, frequently toasted and ordered. Another implicit flattery was slapped, which made Xiao Fan laugh and full of spring breeze. When everyone was happy when the imperial envoy was happy, they also breathed a sigh of relief. The atmosphere of the banquet became a little warmer.

That night, Xiao Fan and Cao Yi lived in Liu Zhi's home. Liu Zhi was honored to let out his bedroom and asked about his well-being in front of them, showing great attentiveness.

Later, Liu Zhi was too enthusiastic and insisted on arranging several pretty maids for the two adults to accompany the bed and sleep. Xiao Fan smiled bitterly and refused. Liu Zhi knew Xiao Fan's identity as Yibin, and his wife was the real sister of today, so he didn't dare to persuade him too much, so he turned around and begged Cao Yi to give him face and deal with the pretty maids in his family in the evening, saying that it was a blessing they had cultivated in their previous life...

Cao Yi was impatient by his grinding, so he simply slapped the table hard and said viciously: "I don't want women, I only like men, why? I can't do it?"

Liu Zhi was startled, wiped the cold sweat from his face, was silent for a while, and carefully tentatively said: "Then... the official will find a way to find a few faces for the Qianhu Lord?"

Cao Yi was suffocated, then looked at Liu Zhi in a lewd look, and smiled gloomyly: "Look at your appearance, it's quite suitable for my appetite..."

Liu Zhi's expression suddenly became tragic. He looked at Xiao Fan's smile, and hesitated for a long time. Finally, he sighed to the sky: "The official... I would like to recommend the thousand-household masters to the pillows with my remaining body, and I only ask the thousand-household masters to pity the official... Meng Sheng said: If God is going to give a great responsibility to this person, he must first suffer his mind and mind, exhaust his muscles and bones, and starve his body..."

"...Pull his chrysanthemum!" Cao Yi could no longer bear it and kicked Liu Zhi, who decided to sacrifice himself, out of the door, "Go to your grandma! You old Longyang!"

There was a scream outside the door, and then there was no sound.

Xiao Fan couldn't help laughing wildly, but Cao Yi's face became darker and darker.

After a long time, Xiao Fan smiled enough, then he held his expression and thought, "Seeing Liu Zhi's thin appearance, I suddenly remembered something..."

"What's up?"

Xiao Fan looked at him and said, "Where is the middle-aged Confucian scholar we caught outside the capital? Where is he now?"

Cao Yi said in surprise: "Ask me, who will I ask? When things get busy, who will care about that guy's life or death?"

Xiao Fan wiped his sweat and said, "...I have only heard of losing my luggage, but I have never heard of any embarrassing people. Is that guy going to be killed by any subordinate on the road, right?"

Cao Yi said indifferently: "What are you asking him? You are just poor, just die if you die..."

Xiao Fan thought for a while and said, "Let's ask, it's a life after all."

Cao Yi went out to ask the personal army of the lieutenant guarding outside the gate. After half an hour, the four lieutenants walked in with the dying middle-aged man.

Seeing that his face was dim and his face was covered in dish, Xiao Fan was humming with a mouth blocking, and couldn't help but feel surprised: "Why is he like this? Has no one fed him these two days?"

Cao Yi patted his forehead and said dryly, "I really forgot him..."

"Woo... Woo!" The middle-aged man protested weakly and indignantly, and his eyes suddenly turned red.

Xiao Fan couldn't bear it and ordered: "They are pitiful enough. We caught him without any help but offend anyone. We were still hungry for two days. Forget it, let's untie him..."

The lieutenants immediately untied the rope on his body and pulled away the smelly socks that blocked his mouth.

The middle-aged man gasped, lay weakly on the ground, grabbed Xiao Fan's ankle, and cried, saying, "My lord, my words are very constructive this time... My name is Fang Xiaoru, and... I am a fifth-rank Hanlin lecturer, the emperor Qinzhe, and... Don't, don't tamper with me anymore, hurry... Ask the doctor to rescue me... hurry..."

Xiao Fan gasped and said in a panic, saying in surprise: "Are you Fang Xiaoru? Are you Fang Xiaoru?"

Fang Xiaoru finally smiled and said weakly: "It seems... you have heard of me... The Master said: 'If you don't teach me, it is called abuse.' You privately detain the imperial officials and wait, we will never finish it!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Fang Xiaoru turned his head and fainted.
Chapter completed!