Chapter 102: The Mysterious Prisoners

Chen Mo looked at the official document in his hand; this document was quite strange, so strange that he could not quite understand it.

In a few days, a batch of prisoners would be sent from Yangyang Prefecture, and this batch of prisoners would pass through the territory under his jurisdiction.

This was not a major matter, but this official document ordered him to strengthen security and go to escort this batch of prisoners.

This was somewhat suspicious; logically speaking, there was no reason for him to go and escort a group of prisoners for no reason.

Unless this group of prisoners was very important and someone wanted to make a move against them, which was why security had to be strengthened.

However, this official document did not specify this, nor did it even say where these prisoners were to be sent; it only told him to escort them along the way.

Chen Mo truly could not fathom what kind of extremely important prisoners Yangyang Prefecture could possibly have.

Even if there were reasons involving the Dutian Dao, the Dutian Dao had basically been almost completely wiped out.

Even the nine generations of the Prefecture Assistant had been executed; could it be that this group of prisoners involved higher-level figures?

Otherwise, it would not have been necessary to issue an official document ordering him to go and escort them as well.

Chen Mo put away the document; the description in the document was vague, and he would know the specific situation once he went to take a look.

However, he had to make more preparations; his foster father had specifically pointed out in the document that he should be well-prepared, so it was evident that this matter carried significant risk.

Fortunately, he was only helping with the escort, and it was only an official document issued by his foster father, not one issued by the Ministry of War.

Even if something really went wrong with this matter, the primary responsibility would not fall on his head.

Chen Mo put away the document, stood up, walked outside the house, and said, "There are some matters in the army; I have to set off and go out the day after tomorrow."

Zhao Yu was basking in the warm winter sun, mending clothes by hand; hearing the sound, she immediately stopped the work in her hands.

"Alright, then I will go and prepare some dry rations for you," she said, putting away her needle and thread.

Chen Mo went to inspect the light armor he planned to wear.

This time it was an escort, and an escort with a certain degree of risk, not a battle in a military formation; heavy armor would not be of much use.

On the contrary, it was better to wear light armor, as it would be more convenient and flexible for movement; if he really encountered a strong enemy, he could run faster.

After all, it was just escorting a group of prisoners; if the prisoners died, they died, but he could not risk his own life there.

As for the weapon transformed by the Mirage Spirit, Chen Mo still decided to carry it with him.

He could forgo the heavy armor that affected his agility, but it was better to carry a handy weapon.

Having made preparations and rested at home for another day, Chen Mo officially set off on the morning of the day after next.

He did not ride a horse, but was dressed in armor, holding a weapon, and carrying the dry rations prepared by Zhao Yu.

Chen Mo walked along the street corner, stopped, and turned around; Zhao Yu was indeed still standing in front of the door watching him.

He did not say much, smiled slightly, and waved goodbye to her.

Leaving Zhu Niu Ji, Chen Mo walked along the official road; his speed was not very fast, but he maintained a steady, uniform pace throughout.

After walking for about an hour or so, he covered more than one hundred and fifty li.

Only then did Chen Mo arrive at Shuangma Shop; this place was actually not much different from Zhu Niu Ji.

Both were cattle and horse trading markets established for the purpose of mining and transporting salt.

The Salt Transport Commissioner stationed here, upon learning of Chen Mo's arrival, hurriedly ordered people to prepare a banquet and found a quiet small courtyard for Chen Mo to rest.

Waiting here for a day and two nights, it was not until noon the day after next that a large group of men and horses arrived.

Chen Mo did not know exactly how many prisoners were to be escorted; as of now, the soldiers he saw already exceeded four hundred.

Each one was armored, well-trained, and moved in perfect unison; they were all rare, elite, and fierce soldiers.

Using these people to escort prisoners was enough to show the importance of those prisoners.

Chen Mo even saw the Yangyang Prefecture Garrison; it was clear that this batch of prisoners was being escorted and guarded by him personally.

"Thirteen!" A loud and affectionate shout rang out.

Looking in the direction of the voice, Chen Mo saw Mo Hu walking toward him with a smile.

"Fifth Brother," Chen Mo greeted with a smile; he was not very surprised to see him.

Since his foster father had issued him an official document to go and escort them, it was only natural to have Mo Hu go along as well.

"What exactly is the background of these prisoners being escorted? Why does the Imperial Court attach such importance to them?" Chen Mo asked in a low voice, his tone filled with doubt.

Mo Hu frowned slightly and shook his head slowly, "I don't know either. I only know there are eighty prisoners, but looking at this formation, let alone eighty prisoners, I reckon even eighty carts of gold wouldn't need this many people to escort them."

Mo Hu was also completely baffled; five hundred fully armored elite soldiers might not be enough to attack a prefecture city, but they were definitely more than enough to take down an ordinary county town.

All the bandits within the entire Ding Prefecture combined might not be able to deal with these five hundred elite soldiers.

Moreover, no bandits were so foolish as to suddenly want to rob a prisoner transport.

Yet, under these circumstances, the Imperial Court still arranged for so many aspects, which could only prove that these prisoners were extremely important.

And it was possible that someone wanted to make a move against these prisoners, which was why the Imperial Court arranged such defenses.

"You just saw Magistrate Yang of the Yangyang Prefecture Garrison, right? The matter of escorting the prisoners is not managed by him; it is General Zhou Dong who is leading the team personally.

In addition to the elite soldiers under Magistrate Yang, there are also one hundred Patrol Heaven Guards escorting them together."

Mo Hu said in a low voice, his tone still carrying a hint of surprise.

If the Personal Soldiers were the elite under a general, then the Patrol Heaven Guards were the elite among the elite.

Anyone who could be selected for the Patrol Heaven Guards was almost always a Martial Cultivated Talent.

These Martial Cultivated Talents had no connections to get ahead, so they could only rely on themselves to fight for it.

If they joined the Patrol Heaven Guards and endured for two or three years, they would have a chance to land an official position.

It could almost be said that every Patrol Heaven Guard was an elite Martial Artist; at the very least, being able to obtain the status of a Cultivated Talent was enough to prove that their strength was not poor.

"Then it seems this matter is very unusual!" Hearing this, Chen Mo understood even more how deep the waters of this matter were.

To be able to have a Post-Heaven powerhouse lead what could be called the most elite armored soldiers in the entire Ding Prefecture to escort these prisoners.

Chen Mo was now curious about who these prisoners had colluded with to be so important.

Or perhaps their own identities were also quite important; even if they were royal relatives who had committed the crime of treason and were to be sent to the Capital to be tried by the Son of Heaven personally, this was likely the scale of it.

"Who's to say otherwise? One can only hope for peace and stability, and that nothing goes wrong," Mo Hu also spoke up in agreement.

"But Fifth Brother, how is the effect of that Spirit-Nourishing Blood-Cultivating Pill of yours?" Chen Mo looked at Mo Hu again and asked.

The Spirit-Nourishing Blood-Cultivating Pill, which can assist a Martial Artist in condensing Inner Qi, was bestowed by the Imperial Court.

Mo Hu had obtained this pill for over a month, and it was unclear whether he had consumed it.

"The effect is alright; I have already cultivated a wisp of Inner Qi, though I hadn't told you all yet." Mo Hu revealed a smile; speaking of this, his mood was quite good.

"That is a good thing! I will have someone prepare a banquet right now, and we brothers shall drink a few cups well today."

Chen Mo was quite happy for Mo Hu; if he could cultivate Inner Qi, his strength would inevitably have increased as well.

At his age, as long as he cultivated diligently in the future, there was still a chance to earn a Scholar degree.

If he couldn't get the first or second rank, the third rank was at least possible.

"Let's drink fewer cups for now, and drink more when night comes." Mo Hu did not refuse this, but he was unsure how long the main army would be stationed here.

If they were to be stationed until tomorrow before setting off, then they could indeed drink a few cups well.

"I have a temporary residence here; Fifth Brother, you go there to rest."

Chen Mo took a key from his Huai, though he was only staying here temporarily.

But the Salt Transport Department official here still bought this residence and gifted it to Chen Mo, and even found two maidservants for him to attend to his daily life.

"I will go pay a visit to General Zhou first; we two brothers can catch up later."

Chen Mo handed the key to him, then turned and went to find General Zhou.

His coming to escort this time was not just for escorting; the most important thing was to lead the way.

Although there were finely drawn maps, it would be best to have a guide familiar with the local situation.

Additionally, with him accompanying, he could mobilize all the garrison troops within the jurisdiction of the entire Salt Transport Department.

Although the garrison troops were lax in military equipment, as Auxiliary Soldiers, they could at least help with some miscellaneous tasks.

And if he did not step forward, even Zhou Dong would not be able to mobilize these garrison troops at will.

It was not that his official rank was not high enough or his power not great enough, but because doing so would not be in accordance with the rules.

The Imperial Court could not possibly allow a Patrol Heaven Guard Chief to mobilize all garrison troops at will.

The so-called Patrol Heaven Guard, derived from the four characters "patrolling on behalf of Heaven," was an intelligence organization that served only the current Emperor.

They had the duty of supervising all officials, as well as Jianghu sects and powerful clans.

Their power was great, but without the Emperor's decree, they did not have much military authority and only possessed a small number of elite armored soldiers.

Only upon receiving a decree or Command Order could they mobilize Imperial Court soldiers.

For the sake of escorting a batch of prisoners, Zhou Dong actually led Patrol Heaven Guard armored soldiers to come, which showed how much the current Emperor valued this.

"I will go with you, so you don't have to go through the trouble of announcing yourself." Mo Hu accepted the key; although he had already paid his respects to General Zhou, it didn't matter if he accompanied Chen Mo now.

The two walked side by side, heading toward the center of the numerous armored soldiers.

With Mo Hu accompanying, the numerous armored soldiers naturally would not obstruct them much, and they successively cleared a path for them.

Chen Mo also saw the prisoner carriages guarded in the center by the numerous armored soldiers; the carriages were one zhang long and seven chi wide, wrapped entirely in black cloth, making it impossible to see the situation inside.

There were fourteen or fifteen such prisoner carriages, each pulled by two horses.

Passing the prisoner carriages, they arrived in front of a small courtyard.

Several days ago, the local yamen had already received an official document, asking them to prepare food and a place to rest for the soldiers arriving here.

Many soldiers had just arrived, and people were leading them to various places to rest.

The armored soldiers who remained in place now were mainly there to watch over the prisoner carriages.

Walking into the courtyard, Zhou Dong, dressed in a Right Fourth Rank embroidered Martial Official robe, was sitting in the main hall resting.

"This subordinate pays respects to the Chief Official." Chen Mo walked up, bowed, and paid his respects.

"No need to be so distant; I am of the same year as your foster father, you can just call me Uncle Zhou."

Seeing him walk over, Zhou Dong revealed a smile.

His attitude toward Chen Mo was quite kind; for one, his relationship with Sun Shouren was decent, and for another, it was because Chen Mo's talent was quite good.

"Your foster father mentioned before that your strength is quite strong; with you on this escort, I can be more at ease."

He was telling the truth; an External Martial Artist with three thousand jin of strength was rarely seen throughout the entire Xingyuan Prefecture.

Even if he went to take the Scholar examination, he could pass.

Although there were already two Martial Dao experts—himself and the Yangyang Prefecture garrison commander—on this escort, having one more was undoubtedly safer.

"Uncle Zhou, this nephew has a confusion, and hopes you can answer it." Chen Mo asked in a deep voice.

Zhou Dong nodded lightly and waved his hand to dismiss those around him; even Mo Hu stepped out.

He knew that he shouldn't know these things, not because his official rank wasn't high enough, but because his strength wasn't strong enough.

Possessing Inner Qi cultivation could allow one to go further, but even if he cultivated for another period, he estimated his strength would reach sixteen hundred jin at most.

There was still too large a gap between him and Chen Mo; some things, if one's strength was insufficient, one shouldn't know.

Knowing too much was not a good thing.

Until only Zhou Dong and Chen Mo remained in the small courtyard, he then spoke, "If you have anything you want to ask, just ask; I will tell you everything I should."

As the strongest person in the escort team after himself and the Yangyang Prefecture garrison commander, Chen Mo was already qualified to know many things.

"Uncle Zhou, what is the background and identity of the prisoners being escorted this time, that it actually warrants such a formation?"

Chen Mo was full of confusion and asked in a deep voice.

(End of chapter)