Chapter 108: Seizing the Birthday Gift (35)

Liang Zhongshu originally planned to use carts to transport these birthday gifts.

Because there were too many things and they were too heavy, and it was midsummer and the weather was hot as fire, using people to carry the loads was like using them like animals.

What if one or two people can’t hold on and collapse from exhaustion along the way, there won’t even be a backup.

But last year, even though they were transported in a vehicle and protected by more than 20 elite soldiers, they were still kidnapped without leaving a single survivor, and the perpetrators were still not found after a whole year.

Obviously, this kind of transportation is not feasible.

This certainly can't happen again this year.

Yang Zhi found another way and sneaked into Beijing disguised as a porter.

He is responsible for leading the team and is also responsible for ensuring safety along the way, so he certainly cannot carry a load and waste his energy.

There were three idle people left, the old steward and two guards, all of whom were ordinary people with average physiques. Without any burdens on their shoulders, they could not catch up with the main force, let alone expect them to carry the burden.

Yang Zhi did not consider all these details, but this kind of thinking is consistent with his personality: he is a soldier.

On the battlefield, if your superior orders you to charge, you dare not look back, otherwise you will have to face the knives of the supervision team, and you will lose your head. Therefore, Yang Zhi's habitual thinking always makes him think that he is still in the army and his words are law.

No matter how heavy the burden, how far the journey, or how hot the weather, the mission must be completed. This was the order he gave to his soldiers.

But once we got on the road, problems began to arise.

In the first few days after leaving Daming Prefecture, there were still villages and houses on the road, so it was relatively safe. So Yang Zhi asked everyone to set out in the early morning when it was still cool, and rest during the hot afternoon.

After walking for five or six days, they were getting farther and farther away from the big city and there were fewer and fewer people. Yang Zhi modified his original plan: he would set out after daybreak and rest in the afternoon as usual.

This is because they have reached a place with few people and it is unsafe to set out in the dark. For safety reasons, Yang Zhi did not dare to travel in the dark.

We must wait until dawn before setting off. In this regard alone, Yang Zhi indeed showed his experience.

However, Yang Zhi's shortcoming was that he always used the ideas of leading troops to fight battles learned from his family's military books to manage the team, which led to complaints from everyone on the Birthday Gift team.

Those are the soldiers!
They are not the elite soldiers under Yang Linggong's command.

As for the porters, he would either scold them harshly or beat them with a rattan stick.

The two guards discussed with him whether they could leave when the weather was cooler. Yang Zhi immediately said: What you said sounds like fart!
The two guards could only complain quietly behind Yang Zhi's back that his words were rude.

Yang Zhi's approach is useful in the military camp, but you can't do that in a management team. You have to learn to use both kindness and severity, and know who plays the good cop and who plays the bad cop, and bring everyone together instead of just using fists to speak.

It was the fourth day of June, and it was not yet noon. The sun was bright and there was not a single cloud in the sky.

Naturally, he was tanned.

Moreover, the roads they took were all rugged paths between mountains, and the southern and northern ridges were even more physically demanding.

After walking for about 20 miles, the soldiers disguised as porters wanted to rest under the willow trees, but Yang Zhi beat them with a cane and shouted, "Hurry up! Rest earlier when you get to the destination."

The soldiers looked up at the sky, and saw not a single cloud in sight. They felt dizzy, their bodies went limp, and they had lost all their strength.

All I see is: the heat is steaming, the dust is blowing in my face. The vast universe is like a steamer, and a round umbrella of fire is in the sky. There are no clouds in the fields, the wind is strong and the waves are boiling; the mountains are burning, and the rocks will be peeled off and the ashes will fly.

The birds in the sky were dying, and they fell headlong into the depths of the woods; the fish and dragons in the water lost their scales and horns and burrowed into the mud pits. The stone tigers were panting without rest, and even iron men would sweat.

Even the stones were hot from the sun and my feet hurt so much that I couldn't walk.

In this way, the two groups of people met unexpectedly on this yellow mud hill.

In the distance, Wu Yong, who had already found out about the escort personnel, stood in the shade, waiting for the plan to succeed.

When it came to stealing the birthday gift, he really had a plan in mind and didn't give Yang Zhi any chance at all.

At this moment, he was shaking his goose feather fan and muttering to himself, "It's a pity that it's that Green-faced Beast Yang Zhi who is escorting the birthday gift. He has seen my face and cannot give instructions personally. Fortunately, I have appointed Shi Qian, Du Qian, and Jin Dajian, and Mr. Gongsun is beside them, so there shouldn't be any mistakes." Soon, a short and thin man, carrying a pair of buckets, came up to sing the Gangzi.

The tune of a country song came from far away, and it sounded quite pleasant: "The scorching sun is like a burning fire, and the crops in the fields are half burnt. The farmer's heart is boiling like boiling water, and the prince on the upper floor is fanning himself."

After waiting for a while, I heard a sharp whistle, one long and two short, coming from the yellow mud hill.

"My plan has worked."

Wu Yong folded his goose feather fan, took a step forward and strode over.

Over there, the six strong men selling dates stood by the pine tree, pointing at the fifteen people and saying, "That's right, that's right!"

These fifteen men, with heads heavy and feet light, looked at each other and collapsed.

The robbers swiftly pushed several carts out of the pine forest, dumped all the dates on the carts on the ground, and loaded the eleven loads of gold and pearls into the carts, shouting, "Shut up!"

So he pushed it all the way down Huangnigang.

Yang Zhi just cried out in pain, his body went limp, and he couldn't struggle. The fifteen people also watched helplessly as those people took away the gold treasure, but they couldn't get up, struggle, or say anything.

For a moment, I felt the world spinning and the sky falling into place.

"Brother Military Advisor, it's done!"

"Student, what a good plan! It took no effort to rob a hundred thousand strings of cash."

"Zhuge Liang would have been no better than this if he were still alive."

Wu Yong looked at the yellow mud hill and frowned, saying, "Let's transport the treasure back first, and then ask Brother Liu Tang to rob Yang Zhi, who is escorting the birthday gift!"

"Ah?! Why rob that person? Do you want him to live or die?"

"Of course I want to live. I didn't expect that this person would be the escort. If he loses these treasures, he will either die or become a bandit in the mountains. Why not follow me up the mountain?"

"This...if he wakes up, will he..."

"I have my own thoughts."

"Okay, wait a moment, brother."

Soon, Liu Tang ran back with Yang Zhi on his back, threw him into the car, and rushed to Dongxi Village.

In the meantime, Wu Yong fed him a few sleeping pills, which made it impossible for him to wake up early.

On Huangnigang, the fourteen escorts did not wake up until the second watch. They climbed up one by one, crying out in pain.

The old man said: "It's all because you didn't listen to Yang Tixia's words. What should we do now?!"

"Master, the birthday gift has been lost. Let's discuss what to do."

The old steward spread his hands and said, "What do you think we should do?"

Everyone said at once, "We are not right. As the ancients said, if a fire burns your body, you should sweep it away; if a bee or a scorpion enters your bosom, you should immediately take off your clothes. If Yang Tixia were here, we would not be talking about this.

Now he is missing, why don't we go back to see Liang Zhongshu and blame him for everything? Just say: He insulted and beat everyone along the way, and forced us to be unable to move. He worked with the strong men, used knockout drugs to make us unconscious, tied our hands and feet, and took away all the gold and treasures."

The old steward thought for a moment and nodded, "That's true. We will wait until daybreak and report to the authorities first. We will leave two guards to wait in the yamen and catch the thieves. We will rush back to Daming Prefecture overnight and report to the Secretary of State. Then we will write a document to let the Grand Tutor know and make sure that Jeju Prefecture tracks down this gang of thugs."

"well!"

As long as I can pass on the blame, everything will be fine.

[I owe you two chapters today, I’ll make up for it later! ]

(End of this chapter)