Chapter 56: Visit Xiaolianzi Mountain Again
In the main hall of Youzhou Governor's Mansion, Di Renjie gave instructions to Qiao Taier and told him some precautions.

"Please rest assured, sir. I will do my best to ensure peace in Youzhou." Qiao Tai bowed in response.

"Okay, go ahead." Di Renjie waved his hand.

When Qiao Tai went downstairs, Zhao Ji just came to the main hall and said, "Sir, everything has been arranged. We can set off at any time."

"Okay, notify Jili Khan, Yuan Fang and Da You, and we will leave immediately."

A moment later, the imperial guards and the guards of honor escorted a carriage and set off from the main gate in a grand procession.

Not far away, Yu Feng and a killer looked at each other behind the corner and said, "Follow me."

The killer immediately put on a hat and followed.

At the same time, a covered food delivery truck slowly drove out of the back door of the Governor's Mansion.

In the car, Di Renjie put on the clothes of a traveling doctor again, and Jili Khan changed into ordinary clothes with a stubble on his face. Li Yuanfang, Zhao Ji and Lu Dayou were also dressed in disguise and sat opposite them.

Li Yuanfang smiled and said, "Your Excellency's attire reminds me of the time when I first came to Youzhou and visited Daliushu Village."

"That time I returned to Youzhou halfway and was unable to follow you all the way, which was a pity. This time I have made up for the regret." Zhao Ji said with emotion.

Di Renjie smiled and nodded. "Last time, we found out the inside story of the rebellion of the villagers in Daliushu Village and caught the fake Fang Qian off guard. Now, we are going to visit incognito again, and I believe we can also gain something."

Lu Dayou smiled and said, "The villagers of Xiaolianzi Village are looking forward to your arrival soon."

Di Renjie shook his head and said seriously: "Don't let the villagers know. This operation must be kept absolutely secret. Don't alert the thieves, otherwise they will definitely be on guard."
-
After a day of rapid travel, the group finally arrived at Xiaolianzi Mountain.

The mountain was covered with mist. The news of the discovery of a dead body in the cave had spread widely in the past few days, so the hunters were very cautious when going up the mountain. Therefore, there was no sound of people around and it was eerily quiet.

Several figures appeared in the valley of Xiaolianzi Mountain. They were Di Renjie, Zhao Ji and his party.

Lu Dayou pointed to the fence not far ahead and said, "Sir, it's right there."

Zhao Ji and Li Yuanfang took out fire starters, lit torches, and led the way. Di Renjie, Jili Khan, and Lu Dayou followed behind and entered the cave.

The stench in the cave had almost dissipated, leaving it a little damp.

The four of them lowered their heads and walked slowly forward.

There were scattered wooden stakes in the cave, but most of them had fallen to the ground in a disorderly manner.

The entrance of the cave is very deep, and there are traces of artificial excavation on the stone walls on both sides.

Di Renjie stopped, stood beside the stone wall, looked at it carefully, and then reached out and touched it.

Li Yuanfang asked, "Sir, is there something wrong?"

Di Renjie shook his head: "Let's go."

The four continued to move forward. Not far away, there was a high pile of stones, the top of which seemed to touch the top of the cave.

Di Renjie walked to the pile of stones and stopped, bent down to pick up a stone, looked at it carefully, and said, "This is an ironstone mine. These stones contain a lot of iron, and can be smelted into iron blocks after being quenched in a big fire. I have come into contact with these when I was the assistant minister of the Ministry of Land (Revenue)."

Jili nodded and said, "I see."

Li Yuanfang suddenly shouted: "I understand why the villagers died here."

Di Renjie nodded and continued, "Yes, they used the ghost town as a cover, captured nearby villagers to do hard labor, mined iron ore, and forged weapons and armor. This was all in preparation for a rebellion."

"And the fake Fang Qian used the government's name to issue a mountain closure order to block the news. A few days ago, the rebels were defeated and I revoked the mountain closure order. They didn't have time to move, so they blocked the cave entrance with boulders, diverted water to flood the kiln, and killed people to silence them!" Lu Dayou suddenly realized: "Ah, so that's what happened!"

Di Renjie gnashed his teeth and said, "These beasts kill without blinking an eye! How can I, Di Renjie, face the people of Youzhou if I don't bring them to justice!"

"The crux of all this is that ghost town! Let's raid the ghost town now to see if we can find any useful clues."

Di Renjie turned around and prepared to take action, but Zhao Ji suddenly stopped him: "No!"

Everyone didn't understand what Zhao Ji's action meant and they were all stunned.

"Sir, this ghost town obviously has mysteries, and we must not act rashly. For your safety, it will not be too late to explore the ghost town after the imperial guards arrive." Zhao Ji said seriously.

In the original drama, Di Renjie was so arrogant that he took Li Yuanfang and went to the ghost town, but he was caught.

If the soldier had not killed him immediately, Fatty Di would have been too heavy to carry fast and the cart would have overturned, so Zhao Ji spoke out to stop it.

"Chengyuan, speed is of the essence in war. With you and Yuanfang's protection, everything will be fine." Di Ren stroked his beard and said confidently.

When Zhao Ji heard this, he shook his head and winked at Li Yuanfang.

Li Yuanfang immediately understood: "Sir, what Chengyuan said makes sense. The imperial guards will arrive tomorrow at the latest. Why are you in such a hurry?"

When Jili Khan heard the two generals talking, he also joined in: "Di Gong, what the two generals say makes sense. What if we wait a little longer?"

After all, Jili Khan was still waiting for Di Renjie to send troops to help him return to the country, and he certainly didn't want him to take any risks.

Seeing that all three of them said so, Di Renjie had no choice but to compromise: "Okay, then let's wait until the imperial guards arrive tomorrow before exploring the ghost town."
-
As expected, the imperial guard arrived at Xiaolianzi Mountain in the evening of the next day, exactly as Li Yuanfang had expected.

So Di Renjie wanted to use himself as bait, and he and Li Yuanfang would go to the ghost town in person, and order Zhao Ji to lead the guards to meet them.

But Zhao refused to agree to anything and, together with Li Yuanfang, cancelled Di Renjie's right to take risks.

Zhao Ji and Li Yuanfang refused to agree, and with the dissuasion of Jili Khan, Di Renjie had no choice. In the end, both sides took a step back. Zhao Ji and Li Yuanfang visited the ghost town at night, and Di Renjie led his troops to support them.

"Chengyuan, you really irritated me today. Since arriving in Youzhou, few people have dared to speak to me like this." Li Yuanfang said with a smile.

"Yuan Fang, sometimes you can't just follow the adults. General Hu is not here, and the adults' safety depends on you and me. Don't take risks if you can be safe. Don't let the adults do whatever they want." Zhao Ji advised.

Li Yuanfang agreed with Zhao Ji's words from the bottom of his heart: "Well, Chengyuan is right."

While the two were chatting and laughing, they had already entered the ghost town.

There is a main street in the middle of the town, and on the side of the road there is a huge stone with the three words "Yaojiapu" engraved on it.

Zhao Ji and Li Yuanfang stepped onto this street.

I saw that the houses on both sides of the street had no doors. In addition, it was the middle of the night, and each house looked like a ghost cave, which made the ghost town feel a bit eerie and scary.

Li Yuanfang swallowed and became a little nervous when he saw this.

Zhao Ji sensed Li Yuanfang's nervousness and said to him in comfort, "Yuanfang, don't be nervous. The houses and streets in this town look very clean and tidy. They don't look abandoned. There are obvious signs of human activities."

Li Yuanfang didn't say anything either, just nodded.

Walking along the street, Zhao Ji suddenly saw a fire in a shop.

"Yuanfang, did you see that? There is a fire in that house. Let's go in and take a look." Zhao Ji called Li Yuanfang.

(End of this chapter)