Fenghou

Zhu Shengfei walked into the big tent, and saw the late emperor Zhao Huan sitting on the couch at a glance, he recognized it immediately, with a sore nose, knelt down and sobbed: "My humble minister Zhu Shengfei sees Your Majesty!"

"Ah! You are... Zhu Aiqing."

"It's Weichen!"

The monarch and his ministers cried with each other, at this moment Zhu Shengfei completely forgot the strict order given to him by the emperor Zhao Gou: you are not allowed to address the first emperor, and you are not allowed to address your majesty.

……

Zhou Kuan waited outside the tent. After a while, Zhu Shengfei came out with red eyes and tears on his face. He sighed and said, "When we met, I couldn't help it. I made Duke Zhou laugh."

"It's okay, nostalgia is human nature!"

The two came to the big tent again, where the guests and the host were seated. A follower came in to serve tea. Zhou Kuan smiled and said: "The emperor wants to meet the emperor, after all, they are brothers, and the emperor also wants to pay homage to the mausoleum of the Supreme Emperor. Let's see how to arrange it." Suitable?"

Zhu Shengfei hesitated and said: "It's okay to pay homage to the emperor's mausoleum, just arrange it, but there are no two kings. It's a bit difficult to deal with who will be the king and who will be the minister when they meet!"

"I suggest not to talk about monarchs and ministers, but to meet each other between brothers to reminisce about old relationships. There are not many people. I have a plan. Zhu Xianggong will see if it is suitable?"

"Duke Zhou, please tell me!"

Zhou Kuan smiled slightly and said: "Arrange a big boat on the West Lake, and then the two brothers will meet on the big boat, and we will be guards on the nearby boat."

"You mean, there are only two brothers on the big ship?"

Zhou Kuan nodded, "On the first floor of the big ship, there can be a few court ladies and eunuchs to serve at any time. On the second floor, there are only their brothers. They can drink tea, enjoy the scenery, and talk about brotherhood."

Zhu Shengfei thought about it, and felt that the problem was not serious, so he said, "I'll go back and report to the emperor. If the emperor thinks it's feasible, I will arrange it immediately."

"Then Mr. Zhu will have to work hard."

"But... I still want to have a good talk with the county king. This is the emperor's request. You must have prepared a list. We might as well be honest."

Zhou Kuan said indifferently: "Meet us first, and we will have a good talk after they meet. I believe the king's request is not high."

Zhu Shengfei understood that the meeting between the Son of Heaven and the late Emperor was a prerequisite, and the conversation could only continue after meeting.

He nodded, "Then I will take my leave first and go back to report to the emperor!"

……

After listening to Zhu Shengfei's report with a gloomy face, Zhao Gou sneered and said, "It turned out that they didn't want to call the emperor your majesty, but actually called him Dijun. I can figure it out, but this title is not bad either!"

"Weichen also saw the emperor. There is not much change, but he looks a lot older, and his hair is half gray. He is only 40 years old!"

Zhao Gou snorted, "So you also cried bitterly?"

Zhu Shengfei was startled, and hurriedly said: "I don't dare, I asked them beforehand, and then I followed them to address the emperor."

Zhao Gou then asked Xu Xiantu next to him, "What do you think, Xianggong Xu?"

Xu Xiantu stroked his beard and said: "The other party regards the meeting as a prerequisite for the meeting. It is not enough for His Majesty to meet, but I also understand what Chen Qing means. The reason why Chen Qing wants to lead the army to An'an this time has nothing to do with him. Your Majesty meets the Emperor."

"Ai Qing means, I still want to see you?"

"Actually, it's not bad for His Majesty and Brother Huang to meet in the name of brothers. It means that His Majesty attaches great importance to Brother Huang and regards brotherhood as the most important thing. It can block some people's mouths. The other party's arrangement suggestions are also good. On the West Lake big boat, only Your Majesty and Brother Huang, no one knows what you say."

Zhao Gou said bitterly: "He also treats me like a puppet."

Xu Xiantu persuaded: "In order for this plague god to leave Lin'an sooner, His Majesty just agrees to him with one condition."

"Okay! I'll just see Brother Huang. After so many years of separation, I want to see him too."

Zhao Gou said to Zhu Shengfei: "Zhu Xianggong is in charge of arranging the big ship. The various guards will discuss with each other first, and every detail must be implemented. I absolutely don't want any accidents to happen."

"The minister obeys the order!"

……

Zhou Kuan doesn't live in Daying, he still lives in a noble hotel in the city, which is convenient for contacting people in the court.

Zhong Huan deployed more than [-] internal guard soldiers around the expensive hotel, forming a tight guard.

Chong Huan then led two of his men to the Ruyi Teahouse near Dawazi. Among the hundreds of teahouses in the city, the Ruyi Teahouse was only average and unremarkable, but it had a good location. near the house.

Ruyi Teahouse is the intelligence headquarters of the Western Army Intelligence Division in Lin'an, and there are also shops, restaurants, martial arts halls, etc.

The head of intelligence is the shopkeeper of the teahouse, named Dong An, and the scout soldiers who protected Zhou Kuan before are the instructors of the martial arts hall, and Wei Yanzong is the chief instructor of the martial arts hall.

Chong Huan showed his inner guard silver medal, and Dong An, the shopkeeper, hurriedly invited him to the backyard, and sent someone to find Wei Yanzong.

The martial arts hall is very close, not long after, Wei Yanzong arrived in a hurry.

Zhong Huan clasped his fists and said, "I'm Zhong Huan, the Commander of the Tenth Battalion of Internal Guards, who is involved in protecting the safety of the county king. Today, I'm here to find you two under the order of the county king."

"But because of the assassination of Counselor Zhou the night before yesterday?" Wei Yanzong asked.

Zhong Huan nodded, "It is for this reason that the county king asked us to find the assassin."

Chapter 856 It's Him

After listening to Wei Yanzong's narration calmly, Zhong Huan grasped the point in one sentence, "The person who sent a note to remind you never appeared again?"

Wei Yanzong shook his head, "No! I thought he would show up yesterday, but he didn't come."

Zhong Huan thought for a while and said, "Perhaps our enemies found that there was no chance, so we temporarily stopped the flag and drums. If there is no danger, naturally there will be no reminder."

Dong An asked next to him, "Does General Zhong know who sent the assassin?"

"I can only say that Uncle Wei Guo is the most suspected. He just suffered a big loss on Sichuan Road. He has a deep hatred for us and will definitely retaliate, but I have no evidence."

Dong An pondered for a while and said: "Uncle Wei Guo must take revenge. Since he suffered a big loss on Sichuan Road, he must take revenge, and he has raised many desperadoes. It is indeed possible for him. Xiao Wei, you can contact him personally Maybe he can get some news from his subordinates."

Wei Yanzong nodded, "The humble job will arrange it!"

Zhong Huan also said: "Tell me the detailed information about Uncle Wei, and I must take precautions!"

……

Wei Tong had just returned from the east city wall, Chen Qing's army had set up camp outside the east city, and the fleet in the Qiantang River was like clouds, which really stimulated Wei Tong, especially the fleet in the Qiantang River, most likely the ships of his Yonghe Trading Company.

But the mighty army made him fearful. Wei Tong was worried about gains and losses, and wanted to take revenge, but he couldn't do it.

In the afternoon, Huo Liansheng, Wei Tong's number one aide, came back in a hurry. Huo Liansheng was a Han from the Liao Kingdom. He had failed the imperial examination in the Liao Kingdom. He was introduced to work as a small tent in Wanyan Zongxian's mansion. Wei Tong was also in Wanyan Zongxian's mansion at that time. As a servant, the relationship between the two is very good.

After Wei Tong returned to the Song Dynasty and became prosperous, Huo Liansheng came to Wei Tong. It happened that Wei Tong was short of people. Huo Liansheng had a good pen, a clear mind, and had a friend with Wei Tong in times of trouble. He naturally became Wei Tong's staff and advised him , And through Wei Tong, it influenced the Empress Dowager Wei.

Speaking of which, everyone should realize that this Huo Liansheng is probably not that simple. He is indeed not an ordinary Liao Han.

It was Huo Liansheng's task to push Wei Tong to assassinate Chen Qing.

Huo Liansheng hurried into the lobby, took a cup of tea and drank it, Wei Tong asked eagerly: "How is it, is there a loophole?"

Today, Huo Liansheng took more than a hundred of his men to look for Chen Qing's loopholes near the barracks.

Huo Liansheng said with a look of regret: "This morning, Chen Qing took his woman to the West Lake to play, dressed up as ordinary tourists, and only brought a dozen of his men. It's a pity that I wasn't ready. If I was ready, I would be here this morning." The best chance for an assassination."

Wei Tong also rubbed his hands in remorse, "I should have prepared it if I knew it earlier."

Huo Liansheng waved his hand, "My lord, Chen Qing will definitely come out again, we must always be prepared, as long as he comes out, we will seize the opportunity."

Wei Tong thought for a while and said, "Should I contact Jia Yingfang and ask him to notify me immediately if he knows the situation."

Huo Liansheng nodded, "It's very necessary. If Chen Qing is going to pay homage to the Supreme Emperor, the county government usually needs to make arrangements in advance, and we can get the news."

"Okay! I'll send someone to deliver a letter to Jia Yingfang later."

……

Half an hour later, a man with the appearance of a housekeeper came out of the uncle's mansion and got on a bullock cart to the direction of the county government. He didn't notice that someone was following him on a donkey.

This is the monitoring method of the inner guard casting a net. As long as the uncle Wei Tong is regarded as a threat, everyone who comes out of the uncle's mansion will be monitored, and the housekeeper will naturally not let it go.

Not long after, the steward came to the county government office, he asked Archer to report, not long after, Jia Yingfang came out in a hurry, he looked to both sides, followed the steward to the side alley.

The steward handed him a letter, "The prince attaches great importance to this matter, don't neglect it."

"Don't dare! Don't dare!"

Jia Yingfang quickly took the letter and stuffed it into her arms, the two broke up immediately, and Jia Yingfang went back to the county government office.

In a corner, the inner guard soldier following the butler clearly saw this scene, and his professional instinct told the soldier that there was a problem.

He hurried back to report...

In the afternoon, Zhong Huan came to the Ruyi Teahouse, and it happened that Wei Yanzong also had a harvest and rushed back.

"Wei Dutou speaks first!"

Seeing Wei Yanzong's unconcealable excitement, Zhong Huan guessed that he might have found some important information.

Wei Yanzong said: "There is a student in our martial arts school. His elder brother is a warrior in the uncle's mansion. I invited his brother out for dinner through the students at noon. During the dinner, I tentatively asked him whether the uncle's mansion is safe. He After drinking too much, he told me that more than 100 warriors died in Chengdu, and then said that the night before yesterday, a group of warriors went out to carry out a mission, and six people were killed, and a group of ten people, six people were killed , completely in line with the assassination case, I can basically be sure that the assassination counselor Zhou is them."

Zhong Huan nodded, "It seems that our intuition is not wrong. What Wei Tong really wants to assassinate is the county king, not Zhou Shenshi."

Dong An asked with a smile: "What do you gain from General Zhong?"

Zhong Huan then recounted the matter of delivering the letter today, and asked, "Does Wei Tong have anything to do with the magistrate of Qiantang?"

"Of course there is an intersection. Wang Bo, the magistrate of Qiantang County, is Qin Hui's nephew. They have always cooperated. I checked the "Beijing News" newspaper before, and it was the two of them who joined forces. The scorched bearded official mentioned by General Zhong should be Jia Yingfang, Wang Bo's aide. , a very shrewd person."

"Then shall I also monitor Jia Yingfang?"

Dong An nodded, "It's very necessary. This Jia Yingfang has a deep influence on Wang Bo. Wang Bo almost obeys him, and Wang Bo is also an old enemy of the county king. If the two of them want to join forces to deal with the county king, it's not right..."

Dong An suddenly realized, "It was Qin Hui who wanted to use Wei Tong to assassinate the county king. He pushed his nephew Wang Bo and Wei Tong to join forces, and Jia Yingfang was a link between them."

Zhong Huan secretly admired Dong An's savvy, he pondered for a moment and said, "Qin Hui wanted to assassinate the county king, could it be the emperor's intention?"

Dong An sneered and said, "Everyone in Lin'an knows that their Prime Minister Qin is more representative of the interests of the Kingdom of Jin."

Zhong Huan nodded silently, it seems that Jia Yingfang is the key person!

……

Jia Yingfang's home is near the Bazi Bridge in the middle of the county. It is a very ordinary small courtyard, covering an area of ​​less than half an acre, with a courtyard and four or five bungalows. Jia Yingfang is not a local, but a native of Chengfu County, Bozhou. Taixue, once a county official, has a flexible mind and understands official rules. He was recommended to Qin Hui for four years in Shaoxing. Became Wang Bo's staff.

Jia Yingfang lived alone in Lin'an. As soon as night fell, Jia Yingfang left the residence and rode a donkey along the street to the south. He didn't know that he had been closely watched by several experienced internal guards.

Jia Yingfang rode a donkey into the gate of Dawazi calmly, crossed the side path, and came out through the side door. Next to the side door was the Ruyi Teahouse, which was closed. The teahouse was open during the day, but at night it was dominated by restaurants and brothels.

At this time, Jia Yingfang already had a stone wrapped in a piece of paper in his hand. Seeing that it was quiet and no one was around, he threw it hard, and the stone broke the paper on the window. 'Throw it into the teahouse.

Jia Yingfang urged the donkey to leave quickly, but unexpectedly, two black shadows appeared from the side, one from the left and the other from the right. They were extremely agile and pulled him off the donkey.

"I don't mean any harm, don't mess around!" Jia Yingfang yelled in fright.

The two shadows didn't give him a chance to explain, and carried him quickly into the teahouse.

Chapter 857 Opportunity

The shopkeeper Dong An and Wei Yanzong looked at each other. They never thought that the person who threw the note was Jia Yingfang. When Zhong Huan next to him knew Jia Yingfang's identity, he couldn't believe that this treacherous-looking person would actually help them.

"Mr. Jia, why is it you?" Dong An couldn't understand and asked directly.

Jia Yingfang smiled wryly for a while and said, "Shopkeeper Dong thinks I can't help you? In fact, you have been exposed long ago, and you are just suppressed by me."

Dong An was even a little uneasy. He put a cup of tea in front of Jia Yingfang with his own hands, and asked nervously, "Excuse me, Mr. Jia, how could I be exposed like this?"

"Treasurer Dong asks too many questions. It's unreasonable for a shopkeeper in an ordinary teahouse to be concerned about the number of troops in the Song Dynasty, the deployment of troops in Lin'an, the situation of food reserves, and the construction plan of the city wall. You should have asked them all!"

Dong An's complexion suddenly became ugly, Bo Yangyong, the head of Lin'an County, actually betrayed himself.

"Master Yang did not betray you. He is my fellow countryman. When he was drinking at my house, he confided this to me. I immediately guessed that you are the intelligence point of the Western Army. I told Master Yang to keep silent to prevent his family from being retaliated against. .”

Zhong Huan was even more puzzled, "Why did Mr. Jia help us?"

According to the information he got, this Jia Yingfang was very greedy for money. If he exposed them to Qin Hui, he would definitely be rewarded and promoted, but he didn't do that. Instead, he helped them at a critical moment.

Jia Yingfang sighed, "I am very greedy for money, but no matter how greedy I am, I can't stop my hatred for the imperial court and the Kingdom of Jin."

Speaking of this, his eyes showed deep hatred, "I am from Chengfu County, Bozhou. My parents, wife and children all farmed in my hometown for a living. I was the only one who studied in Yingtianfu Taixue. In the second year of Jianyan, In order to stop the Jin soldiers, Du Chong, who stayed in Tokyo, decided to break the Yellow River. The huge waves of the Yellow River engulfed my hometown, and none of my parents, wife and children survived..."

Speaking of this, Jia Yingfang was already in tears, and he said with grief and indignation: "Later I found out that it was an order from the emperor. He only cared about running for his own life, but he didn't care about the lives of the people. He ordered the Yellow River to be dug in a frenzy. It's in vain." Emperor Song."

Everyone understands that in the second year of Jianyan, the Yellow River seized the Huaihe River, and Du Chong dug the mouth of the Yellow River. Sizhou, Yingzhou, Bozhou, and Suzhou were flooded by the Yellow River. 10 people died, and millions of people left their homes. Jia Yingfang's family is the victim.

Zhong Huan picked up the note, which read: "The king of the county pays homage to Yonggu Mausoleum, beware of assassins." '

Zhuang Huan raised the note and asked, "Wei Tong is going to assassinate the county king in Yonggu Mausoleum?"

……

In the big tent, Chen Qing read the note and handed it to Zhou Kuan who was next to him. He asked, "What does Jia Yingfang say?"