The Bodyguard King's CEO Wife-Chapter 1385: The Escaped Slaves

"All troops accelerate forward, target, Ji County." Shangguan Jian commanded everyone to move at full speed. Ji County, once Yan, became a frontline battlefield against the Wolf Clan after Qin destroyed six countries and established Guangyang County.

Previously, some time was delayed dealing with the uprising army, but the group, after all, was not dragging logistics supplies or numerous conscriptions, and would certainly arrive in Ji County ahead of Han Hao.

"Scout groups of five, thirty miles ahead of the team, report immediately if there’s anything unusual." Perhaps overshadowed by the last incident of the Wolf Clan cavalry ambush, Shangguan Jian’s deployment was extremely comprehensive, with people on alert at every position of the team. But luckily, these days were "unusually" quiet, even the Wolf Clan’s scouts couldn’t be seen.

The group reached a flat area, only three days of travel away from Ji County. Originally, Shangguan Jian planned to march day and night to speed up their arrival, but unexpectedly, as soon as they reached here, torrential rain began to fall. Fortunately, everyone brought dry rations, otherwise Ye Shikai would worry about the food getting damp. The troops set up camp, waiting for the rain to stop before continuing.

"In the northern winter, it’s rare to have such heavy rain." Ye Shikai draped a straw raincoat over his battle armor to simply shelter from the rain. The rainfall did not lessen as imagined, instead, it grew heavier. The soil road turned very muddy, which would affect the marching speed.

"Yes, I wonder if this is a sign of a big battle." Shangguan Jian casually mentioned from behind him.

"I don’t care whether it’s a sign of a big battle, as long as it’s not a sign of a major defeat." Ye Shikai joked. To be frank, they were nothing more than mid to lower-ranked officers of the Qin Army, responsible only for tactics in battle, like pieces on a chessboard. To truly discern the entire situation was beyond their station. They only knew the Wolf Clan was on the front line, but as for the exact numbers, distribution, they were entirely unaware. Indeed, they knew nothing about Ji County, hundreds of miles away...

"What should we do now, continue marching, or... wait for the rain to stop." Shangguan Jian asked Ye Shikai’s advice. After several battles, he had to admit that from a commander’s perspective, Ye Shikai was more outstanding and more suitable, able to think of plans others never considered.

"Judging by the rain, it likely won’t stop anytime soon, we still need to march." Ye Shikai looked at the sky, dense with clouds, appearing gray and oppressive.

"Alright, I’ll call a few leaders to discuss."

"No need, they’ve been complaining to me these days about why we’re stopping here. I believe at this moment, they’re already prepared to break camp and depart." Ye Shikai waved his hand. Though the situation was unclear, the high morale made Ye Shikai quite pleased.

"Alright, let’s hurry and depart..."

"Report to the generals, our sentry found some women outside, judging by their attire, they should be Wolf Clan women. Chief Li captured them back, asking the generals to interrogate." At this time, a guard suddenly came in to report.

"Wolf Clan women, how could they appear here." Shangguan Jian expressed considerable doubt, having soldiers bring a group of women inside. As a precaution, the soldiers tied these women’s hands together and connected their ankles with ropes to prevent anyone from escaping.

"Cough, cough, who are you all." Ye Shikai couldn’t help but feel some compassion. The attire on these women was very ordinary, even somewhat shabby, their eyes full of fear, with some scars on their bodies. Could it be... Wolf Clan slaves.

"Lords, we’re not Wolf Clan, we’re taken by them as slaves." One of the women said tremblingly. Ye Shikai feared they were intimidated by the soldiers’ weapons, so he had everyone put away their weapons.

"So... you are people of the Qin Dynasty." Ye Shikai countered.

"Yes, lord." Seeing the soldiers had no malice, several women no longer felt fear.

"We are villagers of Guangyang County, captured by the Wolf Clan."

"I see, no wonder you speak Huaxia’s language." Ye Shikai realized that the Wolf Clan’s raids on villages were not something recent. Especially at border areas, once war broke out, these happenings could even be described as "commonplace." Aside from plundering property and burning villages, the Wolf Clan would also take village women as slaves. Shangguan Jian and Ye Shikai had heard of this but hadn’t encountered it until now.

"How did you come out." Shangguan Jian asked cautiously. He always instinctively cautious, it’s a necessary quality for a commander. Generally, slave masters would use ropes or shackles to connect ten or more slaves together. Thus, even if one slave wanted to escape, others would hold them back. How did these people escape?

"The Qin Army has been fighting the Wolf Clan relentlessly. Yesterday, a troop of Qin Army breached the slave master’s stronghold, we escaped in the chaos."

Shangguan Jian stepped forward, carefully inspecting these people’s ankles. His grave expression began to soften.

"Old Ye, they probably didn’t lie."

"How do you know."

"Their ankles have multiple calluses, left by prolonged wearing of shackles." Shangguan Jian explained.

"Moreover, their accent carries the Guangyang County tone. Judging by their hands, they don’t appear used to holding weapons, so... they should not be Wolf Clan spies." Shangguan Jian continued.

"Lords, please see clearly, we’re all villagers of the Qin Dynasty, definitely not Wolf Clan." The women cried out, even kneeling on the ground to plead. Their panic was not unfounded. Some generals, to prevent espionage infiltration, would rather mistakenly kill a thousand than let one go. Even if they were truly villagers, they’d be killed as spies.

"Ladies, don’t worry, since you aren’t spies, we certainly won’t harm you." Ye Shikai quickly consoled, "Man Cang, escort the ladies below, I see they’re hungry, bring them some cakes and rice porridge."

"Yes, ladies please follow me." Man Cang and soldiers escorted several women out of the tent. Ye Shikai felt surprised by this "interlude," unexpectedly encountering escaping women during the march.

"Old Ye, if these women speak the truth, then the battlefield ahead must be very intense." Shangguan Jian took out the map, excited as if discovering a new continent. Don’t forget, these women escaped from the Wolf Clan’s side, maybe... they’re aware of some battle conditions.

"Perhaps we can obtain some valuable information from their mouths."