C135

On a certain street in Qinghe County, Chen Da was bringing along Mo Bingmei dressed in men's attire, walking hurriedly, looking extremely alert. That day, Chen Da led the way. He lured Xu Hao and Xu Yang around to collect protection fees, and in the end, the two of them had successfully 'scammed' him. After that, he did not leave the Qinghe County and changed his appearance to become a merchant who opened a grocery store.

Passing through this street, they came to a general store at the corner of the street. This was the general store of the Chen Da, or rather, a small stronghold of the Mo Sect. Of course, a small grocery store couldn't use too many people, otherwise it would attract suspicion. Hence, other than the owner Chen Da, there was only one other person in the shop, Chen Er.

It was currently afternoon and the morning market had already dispersed. Usually, no one would enter the grocery store for two hours. Chen Er looked around from beside the door and followed them into the inner room.

It was a very small yard, and there were all sorts of junk piled up all over the place. There was a wooden cage on the left side of the wall, and occasionally the cooing of pigeons could be heard.

Without waiting for Mo Bingmei to ask about the situation, Chen Da took out a small bamboo tube from a corner and handed it over to him while bowing: "Bo Ling has just turned over General Gongsun Xu's letter, please have a look."

"Your movements are quite fast." Mo Bingmei's mouth revealed a faint smile, she took the bamboo tube and retrieved a small scroll and opened it. After reading it, her eyes became serious.

Chen Da and Chen Er looked at each other, although they were very curious, they did not dare to ask. Mo Bingmei's prestige was slowly accumulating, and had nothing to do with her being the daughter of the one in charge.

"Where is Xu You's home?" Mo Bingmei suddenly asked indifferently.

Chen Da replied softly, "They are only two streets away from here. Great Master, could it be that General Gongsun wants us to send Xu You's family out of the city? "

"Send it out?" Mo Bingmei suddenly laughed and coldly said: "Not only will they not send you off, they will also cause trouble for them to stay behind, until Yuan Shao learns of Xu You's betrayal and comes to criticize him."

Chen Da and Chen Er looked at each other, puzzled.

Mo Bingmei seemed to be in a good mood, and explained in a rare low voice: "Xu You's family's value is greater than staying here to live by his side, at any rate, I have to give Yuan Shao a chance to vent my anger!"

Chen Er was still at a loss, but Chen Da suddenly realized something, if Yuan Shao knew that it was because of Xu You that all of them were killed, he would definitely punish all of Xu You's family members severely, maybe even kill a few to vent his anger! Although Xu You did not care about the families of the Qing He City, once he found out that these people were all dead, he would definitely hate Yuan Shao to the bones, and would wholeheartedly serve the Gongsun Xu father and son. Furthermore, he could even use this matter to make a big fuss and brag about Yuan Shao's ruthlessness. This was precisely the so called "disaster will not affect the family," let alone the concubines and concubines that would not even show up. Yuan Shao did not even let these people go, so it was obvious how he would treat the other traitors in the future.

Mo Bingmei brushed the dust off of the stone bench with her sleeve, and after she sat down she instructed: "Let's talk about this later, first tell me about other valuable information."

Chen Da pondered for a moment, then told his everything that had happened in the Qing He City in the past two days.

Yesterday, when Yan Liang and his forty thousand strong army left, Yuan Shao began to look everywhere to recruit troops. However, because the young and strong had already been dragged into the army, and many people had fled elsewhere, it took them only a day to gather seven to eight hundred people. After that, under Ju Shou's persuasion, Yuan Shao had no choice but to cancel the summoning order, but many people had already started to escape from Qinghe County, so Yuan Shao sent a large group of people to the city gate to intercept the escapees.

Other than that, Yuan Shao had also named Yuan Shang to ride on the Academy Officer, making him command a troop of five thousand elite soldiers. At the same time, he had weakened a portion of the horses in the hands of the Yuan Tan brothers. It seemed as if preparations were being made for the crown prince.

Other than these two things, there was nothing else worth noting in the Qing He City from yesterday until now.

After Mo Bingmei finished listening, she sneered, "Yuan Shao is only the ruler of a region in Jizhou, yet he doesn't sympathize with the common people.

Chen Da laughed: "How can Yuan Shao compare with General Gongsun? Over the past year, the General Gongsun has placed five to six hundred thousand displaced people inside, giving them food, clothes, and shelter. They have truly realized the ancestor's concept of 'loving together'.

In truth, the task of settling down the refugees was initially done by Liu Yu, but most of the credit came from Wang Chao, so Gongsun Xu did not have much of an impact, but Chen Da was smart and tactful, and knew what Mo Bingmei liked to hear, so she placed the credit on Gongsun Xu.

Chen Er quietly curled his lips, he was extremely dissatisfied with Chen Da flattering him like this.

Mo Bingmei nodded her head, her expression was filled with joy, and she smiled: "Gongsun Zimin had told me before, that we would make sure everyone in the world gets food, clothes, shelter, and a place to eat, and he would completely eliminate the civil war between the Chinese, and let the militants go on a campaign against the foreign races, and give the Chinese a long and peaceful life. If it really comes to that, the Mo Sect will be dissolved."

"General Gongsun can definitely do this!"

Chen Da and Chen Er nodded, a look of anticipation in their eyes. These people did not like wealth and fame, they only pursued the kind of world that Gongsun Xu was talking about. Therefore, Gongsun Xu had told people several times that the people in the Mo Sect were a bunch of idealists.

Chen Da leisurely said: "When that day comes, I will truly open a general store, marry a virtuous wife, and make daily peace and do business."

"Truly useless!" Chen Er scoffed and raised his head, "I will throw myself into the army and follow the army to invade the foreign tribes, to help the Han people establish their territory. In the future, I might even become a great general."

"You're the general?" Chen Da rolled his eyes.

"You dare to look down on me?" Chen Er was immediately furious. He rolled up his sleeves as if he wanted to spar with his.

Chen Da and Chen Er were cousins, they had grown up together since childhood. Mo Bingmei was already used to this, he immediately said softly: "Alright, let's fight again after we get back! Chen Da, come with me to explore Xu You's home. "

"Nice to see you at the store, I'm going out with Baozi." Chen Da glanced at Chen Er complacently and followed him out.

Chen Er rolled his eyes and suddenly secretly laughed. No one knew what he was planning.

Mo Bingmei followed Chen Da around two streets and arrived at the eastern wall of Xu You's house. Mo Bingmei listened attentively for a while, and after confirming that there was no one inside, she suddenly jumped on top of the wall and looked inside.

Perhaps it was because the patriarch and her son had already left, but the people guarding the courtyard had already disappeared. A few servants dressed up lazily moved closer to the big tree to chat, and no one even glanced in Mo Bingmei's direction.

"Go to the back and take a look." Mo Bingmei jumped down, and walked around the wall until she arrived at the backyard.

It was much noisier here, and the people inside seemed to be playing some sort of game.

Mo Bingmei asked softly: How many people are there?

"Xu You has a total of seventeen family members, ten guards, thirteen servants and maids."

Mo Bingmei frowned, then asked: "Are there any children?"

"Three. One is seven, the other two are ten."

"Come over tonight." Mo Bingmei left Xu You's courtyard. Under the lead of the Chen Da, he looked around the surroundings of the prefectural governor's mansion, and then returned to the general store.

When Mo Bingmei and Chen Da arrived at the house again in the middle of the night, they discovered that it was extremely quiet inside, with the occasional sounds of sleep talking and snoring. When Master Xu You was not around, the concubines and concubines did not bother with matters related to him. The guards and maids were enjoying their time, and when the sky turned dark, they would go their separate ways to rest.

Mo Bingmei easily jumped over the wall and walked inside.

Chen Da also turned over and asked softly: "Big brother, where do we start a fire?"

Mo Bingmei did not stop and said softly: "Let's start a fire from the stable."

Chen Da nodded his head. The stables were in the front yard and no one was around at night, so they were far away from the back yard. From there, the fire would leave enough time for the people in the house to escape.

The courtyard was empty. Mo Bingmei and the Chen Da arrived near the horse stables without any surprises, only to see a lamp burning like a bean inside the horse stables. An old man's head was curled up in a pile of grass under the oil lamp, sleeping soundly. There were three horses eating the night grass inside. They only glanced at Mo Bingmei and Chen Da before they buried their heads and continued to eat the night grass.

Mo Bingmei did not expect that there would actually be someone here, and with a frown, she gestured to the Chen Da.

Chen Da stepped forward and chopped down on the Old Blue's neck with his palm. The latter didn't even make a sound before completely fainting away. Chen Da carried Old Blue's head and walked to the far and empty wall to put it down. He returned to the stable and started to light the fire.

"Wait." Mo Bingmei suddenly stopped the Chen Da, waved her sword and cut off the reins of the horse, opening the door of the horse stable.

Chen Da secretly shook his head. Ever since he had fallen for General Gongsun Jia, his heart seemed to have softened a lot. He grabbed a handful of straw and ignited it, carelessly throwing it into the stable. In the blink of an eye, a raging fire rose up, and the three horses were frightened. With a scream, they rushed out of the stable.

The fire was getting bigger and bigger, and it was quickly spreading to the side. Just as Mo Bingmei and the Chen Da were about to cross the wall and leave, they finally heard someone shout, "They went into the water!" "Hurry and put out the fire!" She turned her head and saw dozens of people running out in a flurry, carrying buckets, basins, and other things to draw water from the courtyard's well to extinguish the fire.

After a while, the news of Xu You's home being on fire reached prefectural governor's mansion. Yuan Shao, who had been woken up from his sleep, was startled and angry. He personally brought people over and hurried over, only to find that the fire had already spread far and wide, and was getting bigger and bigger. It was completely impossible to extinguish it now.

Ju Shou, Guo Tu and the others had also heard the news and rushed over to find the guards and servants of the Xu Residence to ask them about the reason behind the fire.

"A bunch of idiots have been pulled down!" Yuan Shao finally could no longer suppress his anger and ordered the guards to kill him to vent their anger.

Xu You now followed Yan Liang to rescue Gao Yi. Furthermore, before he left, his entire family property was taken away by the Liu family, so Yuan Shao could not help but feel a little guilty towards his relationship with Xu You in the past. Now that Xu You's home was completely burnt under his eyes, it made him feel even more guilty, and at the same time, felt that he had lost all face. If they couldn't give Xu You a proper compensation or an explanation, who would be willing to serve them in the future! Killing these Xu Residence servants and guards, since Yuan Shao could vent his anger and turn back to face Xu You, why not use these people as a shield?

Ju Shou, Guo Tu and the others were extremely sensitive to Yuan Shao's thoughts, and in their eyes, these guards and servants were all cheap lives, there was no need to beg for forgiveness. Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the Xu residence's guards and servants were all dragged out by the wolf-like guards. Ignoring their pleas and screams, they were pulled to the wall and beheaded one by one.

"What should we do next?" Yuan Shao looked at the ruins on the fire, and asked Ju Shou and the rest.

Ju Shou cupped his hands and said: "My lord, let's see if anyone is burned to death before making a decision. "My lord, please go down to the fire and have a look."

Yuan Shao nodded and ordered the guards to look for Xu You's family members.

After less than an hour, Xu You's family members were all brought before Yuan Shao, including the few bastard children who did not return during the night to have fun. When they saw Yuan Shao, they were all trembling with fear, and did not dare to meet Yuan Shao's gaze.

Yuan Shao could not be bothered with them and asked: "Is everyone here?"

Guo Tu replied: "They're all here, not a single person died."

Yuan Shao heaved a sigh of relief and comforted them with a few sentences. Then, he gave an even larger manor to Xu You on the spot, allowing the homeless people to immediately move in.

An older concubine took the lead and kowtowed to Yuan Shao, thanking him profusely. A group of people under the protection of Yuan Shao's bodyguards headed towards the 'new home'.

Yuan Shao no longer had the mood to stay here, after giving a few simple instructions to Ju Shou and the others, he was ready to return to prefectural governor's mansion.

Ju Shou quickly called out to Yuan Shao, and said softly, "My lord, the arrival of this fire is very strange! You came early and you came late, yet you started a fire right when Xu Ziyuan was about to set off, could it be that there is some sort of secret? "

"What inside story?" Yuan Shao was startled, he had really not thought of this point, he had always thought that it was just the servants of the Xu family accidentally going on fire.

"When I was questioning those people just now, although they didn't say anything important, everyone said that the fire started from the stables." When I asked those people just now, although they didn't say anything important, everyone said that the fire started from the stables. Your subordinate concluded that this fire was not an accident and was deliberately set ablaze by someone! "

"What?" Yuan Shao was shocked, and frowned: "Xu Ziyuan is not at home, everyone in the city knows about this matter, furthermore, the place where the fire is happening is in a remote stable, it can be seen that the people who set it on fire are not here for him, or to burn people to death! Who in the world would do such a thing? What benefits do you want? "

Ju Shou's brows were also locked together as he shook his head: "This subordinate has no way to guess the real intentions of the person who set the fire going, but I request Master to send someone to take care of Xu Ziyuan's family members. If anything goes wrong, it will inevitably harm Master's reputation."

"That makes sense!" Yuan Shao nodded his head: "Whatever, this old man will expel twenty of his personal guards to protect Xu Ziyuan's family members, all of the daily necessities and money this old man will bestow upon them, Xu Ziyuan is currently fighting in the battlefield for this old man, this old man cannot treat him poorly! Gong Yu, I shall leave this case of arson to you. I hope that you can find out the truth as soon as possible. "

Ju Shou nodded and agreed. After sending Yuan Shao and the others off, he brought his men to visit the commoners around Xu You.