At dawn the next day, Zu Zhao still felt physically weak and could not stay.

However, at noon, Zu Cheng came to visit Zu Zhao in the courtyard. Zu Cheng was also injured, not only his nose was blue and his face was swollen, but he also looked very difficult and staggering when he walked. Zu Zhao saw that Zu Cheng could still walk, and he was naturally relieved in his heart. He first asked Zu Cheng how the other people were injured, especially those who were seriously injured and had woken up now. It's a pity that Zu Cheng doesn't know a lot, so he simply coped with a few words.

"Those thieves yesterday, what clues did Ah Fan torture?"

After Zu Zhao sat down, he sat up from the bed with difficulty and asked quite seriously.

"Yes, I came to see the eldest prince today to tell the eldest prince about this." Zu Cheng nodded again and again.

After briefly treating his wounds yesterday, he followed Zu Fan to the county government prison, and witnessed the torture process. Early this morning, I also sent someone to Zu Fan to inquire about new news.

In the process of chasing the thieves, Zu Fan and his party killed a total of seven thieves and arrested nine thieves. There are only three or five fugitives left. After a night of torture, although there were still a few thieves who were stubborn, the rest of the others still couldn't survive the torture and told all the things they had to say.

"Are these thieves interrogated individually?" When he heard this, Zu Zhao suddenly interjected and asked, he must ensure that the thief would not have premeditated and colluded to confess, this matter is really strange, he has been assassinated by a reward, how can he not face it seriously.

"I don't know." Zu Cheng shook his head, "Go back and ask Ah Fan what the hell is going on."

He then told Zu Zhao the results of the torture that some of the thieves who ambushed them in Anyang Pavilion this time were from this county, and they were idle on weekdays and had a lot of dealings with the bandits in the nearby mountains and forests. And the other part of the people, all of them are bandits and robbers who are active at the junction of Xu Wu and Lingzhi counties.

Most of these bandits and robbers, who are ordinary people in the nearby mountain villages on weekdays, only in late autumn and early winter will they become thieves in groups and plunder everywhere. There are not many people who are really bandits and habitual thieves, who are stationed in the mountainous woodlands all the year round, saying that they are falling into the grass, but in fact they have nowhere to lean, relying on a little courage and white blades in their hands, staring at the lone passers-by to make a living.

Zu Zhao knew that the border between the two counties was the most unstable, but because the two nearby counties knew this truth, most of them would go to this place in groups, or hire guards to escort them. Like Zujiazhuang, it has its own caravan, and the caravan is also escorted by the children of the clan, and it has basically not encountered any major accidents in recent years, even if it occasionally encounters thieves, it can be easily dealt with.

After listening to Zu Cheng's words, he couldn't help but sigh: "This winter is really a time for thieves. But why do these thieves shout for a reward of 5,000 gold for my head?

Zu Cheng sighed, and said with a stern expression: "They are also very worried about this matter, how can they make such a nonsense thing, where is there still a thief offering a reward to assassinate the good and righteous, this bounty is lawless."

He said this first, and then told Zu Zhao that the thieves also confessed to the reason for the reward.

However, this matter is very strange, these thieves were instructed by the chief of the thieves on the border between the two counties, and the words of the reward were also said by the chief, but it is said that the chief also just listened to people's orders, and then ordered a group of small minions to act. It is said that after the deed is completed, the five thousand bounties will be divided equally. Zu Fan asked again and again, but unfortunately the thieves captured yesterday were all small minions, they only knew the thief chief, and they didn't know who the thief chief really released the reward behind him.

"Can't you really ask at all?" After pondering for a moment, Zu Zhao asked solemnly.

I have to say that since he encountered the black arrow, he always felt that he was experiencing a rugged and serial accident, and he originally thought that he would just need to calmly deal with the upcoming Yellow Turban Rebellion, but now he has to have another understanding: the Yellow Turban Rebellion may not be a terrible thing, but many people use the opportunity of the Yellow Turban Rebellion to commit injustice, which makes this era more chaotic and abnormal.

Zu Cheng looked a little helpless, sighed and shook his head.

"If you really want to find out who is hanging the reward, you really have to catch the thief chief."

"I wait for the junction of the two counties, although I have occasionally heard of gangsters robbing the road, but I have never heard of any extremely vicious people, nor have I heard of a thief's den and bandit village that occupies the mountain as the king nearby. Who is this thief chief this time? Zu Zhao asked.

"The eldest prince, for a big family like ours, naturally don't take these little thieves seriously. However, I heard that among the people, there are still people who are rumoring about the fierceness and ruthlessness of the thieves in the county. There may not be the king of the mountain, the king of the village, etc., but there are still many thieves with heads and faces. According to folk rumors, there is a thief named Niu Hai who has been active at the junction of our two counties in recent years, and there are some people under him, and it is said that there may be two or three hundred people gathered, which is obviously exaggerated, at most there are more than 100 people. Zu Cheng said as if he was doing something, adding his own opinions without concealing it as he spoke.

Zu Zhao knew that in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, there was not much peace in various places, especially after a series of droughts, many people were desperate, and there were many people who fell into the grass and fell into the grass, so the thieves swarmed. Especially in the border area of Youzhou, there are already worries about the frequent invasion of the Hu people, and bandits in the territory are also frequent, even if the trouble is not very big, but the preparation for thieves in winter every year should not be taken lightly.

According to Zu Cheng's words, it is obvious that this thief chief named Niu Hai must be the key object of prevention in Xu Wu and Lingzhi counties every year.

"I don't know if this Niu Hai has his real name, and the folk have another nickname for him, called 'Northland Wolf', and say that his wolf specializes in eating tigers." After a slight pause, Zu Cheng continued.

"Eating tigers? Hmph, the tone is not small. Zu Zhao snorted coldly, he didn't have anyone in his eyes, but he really thought that this Niu Hai was too daring to hold up. Don't say anything about eating flies or tigers, this cow sea is almost impossible to see for a big wealthy family like the ancestral family, in addition to bullying the lonely business travelers, and gathering people in winter will only pick remote villages to start, in recent years, I have never heard of this person committing a crime against the wealthy family of Xu Wulingzhi and two counties.

If it was really a thief who specializes in eating tigers, the ancestral family should have heard of this person's name.

"What are his plans?" After sneering, Zu Zhao immediately asked again. If it weren't for the fact that he was not seriously injured and unable to stay, he would really go to the mountains and forests to find the sea of cattle and capture this thief alive.

Ah Fan consulted the county lieutenant Wen, and the county lieutenant Wen knew a lot about the security within the county. In previous years, the winter was prepared for thieves, and the preparation was a party of Niu Hai, and this thief was the best at internal and external cooperation, colluding with people in the county, and making an appointment to do things, which could not be said to be a lot of eyes and ears. It's just that Wen County came to the village as soon as possible, and when he talked about the matter with Ah Gong, he said that the county had been arresting Niu Hai for many years without success, and the thief was secretive and didn't know where he was hiding. The composition said with a sigh.

"The border between the two groups is mostly a wasteland, and the thieves should not be able to hide." Zu Zhao pondered and said.

"The same cannot be said. Niu Hai is active in the border between the two counties, but it is not necessarily here that he hides. "Ancestor Chengdao.

"In this way, it is quite inconvenient to take the initiative to capture this thief." Zu Zhao squinted his eyes, his expression gradually appeared contemplative, and he was thinking about how to calculate this matter.

"There should be no way. However, Lieutenant Wen is very determined, and when preparing for theft this year, he must do everything possible to design so that Niu Hai and his party will not come back and strive to catch them all. Zu Cheng said again.

"In any case, I should be more prepared for the thieves this year." Zu Zhao said in a deep voice.

"The eldest prince is saying that the schedule for preparing for thieves should be brought forward a little more?" Zu Cheng asked.

Earlier, the training was originally scheduled to start at the end of the month, but because the preparatory work was completed ahead of schedule, the people of each pavilion and township were gathered early, and they were planning to start organizing in advance five days later. However, the plan has not been able to keep up with the changes, and the fact that such a big accident occurred in the county yesterday may not arouse the attention and worry of all quarters.

"Yes. This is a different age from the past, the thief is now in danger, and we must not delay or hesitate at all. Zu Zhao said in a very firm tone.

"It's a pity that the eldest prince is injured, and Ah Gong said that this year's thieves are led by the eldest prince, what should I do now?" Zu Cheng said earnestly.

"Training can be carried out as usual with and without me. We and other northland boys are martial and aggressive, good at bows and horses since childhood, and in the past, they were prepared for thieves every year, and they were trained every year, and everyone was already familiar with the road, and there was nothing to worry about. The key at the moment is to let everyone know discipline, even if it is just to prepare for thieves and people, but this year is very different, and there must not be the slightest chance to underestimate the enemy. Zu Zhao said solemnly.

When Zu Cheng heard this, he thought for a while, and then nodded in agreement.

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