Fenghou

After discussing with Tang Qian, Liu Qiong decided that Tang Qian would personally lead the team to Xiangyang City to find out information.

"Old Brother Fu, I feel that Xiangyang is much more prosperous than Dengzhou!"

Tang Qian saw that the Han River was full of ships, goods piled up like mountains, and crowds of people flowed like streams, so he couldn't help but feel emotional.

Xu Zhifu said with a chuckle, "That's for sure. Although there was a war in Xiangyang, the damage was not great. Unlike Dengzhou, the tug-of-war broke out in Dengzhou in the past few years, and many people ran away from Xiangyang. Yes, but as long as Dengzhou restores stability, the common people will go home, earning a living outside is not as good as at home!"

Xu Zhifu saw that Tang Qian's subordinates were a little nervous, so he smiled slightly and said, "Master Tang, please don't worry, this is the territory of the Song Army. Even if you are discovered, you will not be embarrassed. You will only be sent out as a gift, and even I know it. Yue Dutong and His Royal Highness King Yong have a transit agreement, not all the Sichuan-Shaanxi troops going to Jinghu South Road transit here, so there is no need to worry at all."

Tang Qian turned around and saw that his subordinates were really nervous, so he smiled and said, "Don't be nervous, this is not the Kingdom of Jin, we are also the Song Army!"

Everyone was obviously relieved, they were a little nervous habitually, and it was right to think about it, this is the territory of the imperial court, so there is really no need to worry about the danger of life.

Chapter 982 Xiangyang

There was a lot of people on the pier, Xu Zhifu said to Tang Qian: "The proprietor wait a moment, I will go find a boat to cross the river!"

Xu Zhifu left in a hurry. Tang Qian and his men were looking at the situation on the pier. At this moment, a soldier nudged Tang Qian with his elbow, "Look over there, General!"

Tang Qian turned around, only to find that a group of Song troops had arrived. There were 30 to [-] people. They seemed to be patrolling the pier. The leader was a black-faced general in his thirties. Looking at the military uniform, he should be named Yuhou.

At this time, Song Jun Yuhou saw Tang Qian and others at a glance, and saw that they were all tall and tall, and Tang Qian's figure was especially tall. According to the standards of later generations, it was already 1.9 meters.

This group of people standing behind was particularly eye-catching, Song Jun Yuhou was a little surprised, and walked over with his men.

"Hey! That man, where are you from?"

A clerk hurriedly cupped his fists and said, "Sir, we are from Dengzhou!"

Except for Tang Qian, the other soldiers are all from Dengzhou. As long as Tang Qian doesn't speak, there will be no problem with his accent.

Yu Hou nodded, "The accent sounds like a native of the country, what about him?"

Yu Hou pointed at Tang Qian, Tang Qian's temperament was so outstanding that he overwhelmed everyone, Yu Hou looked at him and said: "He looks quite handsome, he can't be a buddy too!"

The clerk laughed and said: "He is our young proprietor, it's his first time to go out, please forgive me, Mr. Jun!"

At this time, Xu Zhifu hurried up and said with a smile, "What is Zhang Yuhou doing!"

Yu Hou glanced back, very familiar, "Ah! It's old Xu, is this your caravan?"

"Yes! Yes! Yes! This is the young proprietor of my family, going out for the first time."

"Don't you own a shop?"

Xu Zhifu hurriedly pulled Yuhou aside and said in a low voice: "My shop was burned by Jin Bing, and all the goods were robbed. I am now working for someone else. That is my young boss. Zhang Yuhou, please take care of me."

After speaking, he stuffed a tael of silver into Yuhou's hand.

But Zhang Yuhou returned the money back, "It will kill me to take this little money from you. Your young proprietor looks like a man who leads troops to fight. I'm not a fool. I know who they are, anyway. Jin Bing, I will keep my eyes open and close my eyes, because Yue Dutong is not here, and now the deputy king is in charge, so be careful, I will act as if I didn’t see anything!"

After finishing speaking, Zhang Yuhou waved his hand, "Let's go!"

Yu Hou left with his men, Xu Zhifu wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "We've been spotted, let's go!"

Tang Qian asked in surprise, "Did he see us?"

"They hang out on the pier every day. They have seen a lot, and they can tell who they are at a glance. He knows that you are not Jinbing, so he just turned a blind eye. By the way, he said that Yue Dutong is not here, and now it is Wang Fu It’s all in charge.”

Tang Qian nodded. Wang Gui is Wang Gui, Yue Fei's confidant. He glanced at Yuhou's back and asked, "What's the name of this Yuhou?"

"I really don't know his name. I'll just call him Zhang Yuhou. He's just a little guy. The proprietor doesn't have to worry about it."

They boarded a boat and crossed the Han River, and arrived at Xiangyang City not long after, entered the West City, and directly found an inn near the city gate that Xu Zhifu was familiar with.

Tang Qian was not clueless when he came to Xiangyang this time. Before they set off from Jingzhao, Jiang Yan wrote them a letter. If they need to know the situation, they can go to Cai Kejian, Sicang of Xiangyang Prefecture. Jiang Yanxian used to be the prefect of Xiangyang , this Cai Kejian was Jiang Yanxian who was promoted from a civil servant.

The Cai family has been a famous family in Jingzhou since the Eastern Han Dynasty. After several ups and downs, it is still one of the famous families in Xiangyang Prefecture.

Cai Kejian has no fame and has never been reused. He wanted to join Jiang Yanxian twice, but Jiang Yanxian persuaded him to stay in Xiangyang with peace of mind, learn more about the situation, and make more connections. Sooner or later, he will be reused.

As soon as they settled down, Tang Qian went out to the government office with two of his subordinates, and asked someone to inform him. Not long after, a man in his thirties came out of the government office quickly. He was of medium build, fair-skinned, and looked Quite shrewd, the man stood on the steps and asked, "I am Cai Kejian, who is looking for me?"

Tang Qian came out from behind the stone lion, cupped his fists and said with a smile, "My surname is Tang. I'm coming from Jingzhao. I have a letter to give to Cai Sicang."

Cai Kejian heard that it was a letter from Jingzhao, and seeing Tang Qian's tall stature and extraordinary appearance, he guessed something in his heart, and quickly asked, "But Mr. Jiang's letter?"

"Exactly!"

Cai Kejian pointed to the west side and said: "Walk one mile to the west, and you can see a restaurant on the right hand side, called Caiwan Restaurant. It is a restaurant owned by my family. You tell the shopkeeper that you have made an appointment with us, and he will Take you to the Baiyu room, drink two glasses of wine first, and I'll be right over."

Tang Qian nodded with a smile, "Okay, Cai Sicang will go to work first, and we'll see you later!"

"I'll be right over."

Tang Qian said goodbye, and soon found Caiwan Restaurant. The shopkeeper heard that he had an appointment with the eldest son, so he quickly invited Tang Qian to Baiyutang. Tang Qian simply ordered a table of banquets, and asked two of his subordinates to take them back to the inn. He will come back by himself later.

Tang Qian drank two glasses of wine, the door creaked open, and the shopkeeper walked in with Cai Kejian, Tang Qian hurriedly got up to greet him.

Cai Kejian smiled and said, "Brother Tang has been waiting for a long time. Shopkeeper An, bring a bottle of 30-year-old wine, and let the kitchen make some good dishes, and put it on my account."

"Young master, sit down and come right away!"

Cai Kejian asked Tang Qian to sit down and said with a smile, "If I'm not wrong, my brother came from Dengzhou!"

Tang Qian gave a thumbs up and praised: "Good eyesight, I'm Tang Qian, who is currently in command of the Western Army and currently the deputy general of Liu Dutong. We captured Dengzhou and Tangzhou."

"Ah! It's been a long time. I know that General Tang is the head of the scout battalion. I didn't expect General Tang to come here in person. I was rude just now."

Knowing the other party's name and accurately telling the other party's official position is the best form of flattery, which is much more effective than saying "I have admired the name for a long time". Tang Qian immediately had a much better impression of Cai Kejian.

"Don't dare to be. Now the scout battalion has been divided among the armies. I am now serving as the deputy general of the Flying Eagle Army. This time, our Flying Eagle Army is responsible for attacking the southwest of the Central Plains."

Speaking of this, Tang Qian took out Jiang Yanxian's letter from his bosom and handed it to Cai Kejian.

Cai Kejian quickly took the letter and read it carefully, and read the channel again: "Counselor Jiang's worries are not wrong. At present, [-] troops have gone south, led by Yue Yun. We are all saying internally that this is going to attack South Jingnan Road. Yuedu Tong went to Lin'an, but there was another news that someone in the imperial court was impeaching Yue Dutong, the details are not clear, and now there are rumors in the officialdom..."

"What rumor?"

Cai Kejian closed the door, and said in a low voice, "The rumors that the imperial court attacked South Jingnan Road are not true, and that it is true that Yue Dutong was deprived of military power. This time, Yue Dutong has gone to Lin'an, and whether he can come back is a big question."

Tang Qian nodded. Just as he was about to speak, the door knocked, and then the shopkeeper came in with two bartenders to deliver food and drinks.

Cai Kejian picked up a bottle of wine and said with a smile: "This is the sake we brewed when we first opened the restaurant. It has been cellared for 30 years. General Tang... Brother, try it."

Cai Kejian almost slipped the tongue, he asked the shopkeeper and the bartender to go down again, Tang Qian drank a glass of wine, and immediately praised: "It's such a mellow wine, it's really good wine, I'm afraid the tribute wine is not as good as it!"

"The tribute wine is ten years old. This is a 30-year-old wine. It must be different."

After the two drank two glasses of wine, Tang Qian got down to business again, "His Royal Highness wants us to know about the distribution of troops and the storage of grain and grass in Jingzhou. Is there any news from Cai Sicang?"

"Food, grass and supplies are my job. I know them very well. I also know some of the military strength, but not all. But I can inquire about it, but there is one thing. The deployment of troops is changing. For example, Xiangyang originally had 5000 troops, but Yue Yun led them. The 2 troops went south, and now there are only 8000 people. The Anhua Army originally had 1 people, but now it has been reduced to [-] people. Yue Yun also took away [-] people. I am afraid that there will be changes after a while. "

"It doesn't matter. I will keep two of my men in Xiangyang. If there is any change in the strength of the Xiangyang and Anhua armies, just tell them."

Cai Kejian nodded, "I will give you the specific information in three days."

Chapter 983 Expulsion

At two o'clock in the middle of the night, Tang Qian was in a deep sleep when a series of running footsteps woke him up. He was a scout and was extremely sensitive to footsteps. He turned over and sat up, holding a sword in his hand, and then there was an anxious knock on the door, " General Tang! General Tang!"

The voice sounded familiar. Tang Qian opened the door with a sword in his hand. Outside was a clerk and a short, fat middle-aged man. Tang Qian recognized at a glance that it was the shopkeeper An of Caiwan Restaurant.

"what's up?"

Shopkeeper An stuffed some money into the inn clerk, but the clerk left, and shopkeeper An hurried into the room and said: "You guys hurry up! My parents and sons have been arrested."

Tang Qian was taken aback and asked anxiously, "What happened?"

"My son went to Qiao Canjun to inquire about the news. He may have been reported by Qiao Canjun, and then a soldier came to take him away. Before he left, the son left a message. He may not be able to stand the torture and will confess you. Hurry up and go."

"I see, tell your son, I won't blame him, you go first!"

Shopkeeper An left first, Tang Qian thought for a while, the city gate was closed, they couldn't escape at all, so he simply called up his subordinates and told them to throw all the crossbow arrows into the latrine, and only bring a knife.

This is an agreement between Chen Qing and Yue Fei that a small number of western troops can cross the border with light troops.

Not long after, the innkeeper hurried over and said in horror: "Master Tang, what's going on, a lot of troops have come outside and surrounded the inn, call for you to go out."

"I know, don't worry!"

Tang Qian walked out with nine of his men. The outside of the inn was brightly lit. Hundreds of soldiers with torches and sabers, bows and arrows on their backs, surrounded the inn.

Leading a general, riding a white horse, tall and burly, wearing armor, holding a big knife, looking at Tang Qian who came out with cold eyes.

The general pointed his sword at him and asked, "Are you Tang Qian, the scout leader of the Western Army?"

"Exactly!"

Tang Qian said proudly: "I am the commander of Tang Qian under King Yong's command, and I am here to meet Yue Dutong under the order of King Yong!"

The general's face was a little ugly, and he asked again: "What evidence do you have?"

Tang Qian took out a military order from his bosom, "We got news from the imperial court that the emperor ordered Yue Dutong to attack South Jingnan Road in the south. I don't know if the news is accurate, so King Yong gave us an order asking us to know the situation of Xiangyang's army. Of course, one of the main generals will come to meet Yue Dutong to find out the real situation."

The general took a look at the military order, and it turned out to be Chen Qing's Yong Wangling, asking Liu Qiong and Tang Qian to go to understand the situation of the Xiangyang Army's troops going south.

The key point is that the two sides are not enemies, but both the Song army. Perhaps it is not appropriate for Tang Qian to inquire about the news secretly. The Song army in Xiangyang can also be seriously dissatisfied with his behavior, but he cannot be regarded as an enemy spy, especially a senior man like Tang Qian. General, arresting without authorization will lead to serious consequences, which gave Chen Qing an excuse to attack Xiangyang.

The general looked at the order of King Yong, and his tone softened, "My lord, Wang Gui, the vice capital of the Jingxiang Army, and Yue Dutong have gone to Lin'an, and I will take charge of the Jingxiang military administration on my behalf. I can officially tell you that I have not received the imperial court's request. Order to attack South Jing South Road."

Wang Gui used a trick. He did not receive the order from the court, but Yue Fei did.

Tang Qian looked at the surrounding soldiers and said: "Yue Dutong had an agreement with King Yong the year before last that the Sichuan-Shaanxi Army could cross the border harmlessly. I only have nine men and I didn't bring heavy weapons. I came to Xiangyang completely according to the agreement. General Wang There's no need to treat me like this!"

Wang Gui secretly sighed in his heart. Yue Fei wanted to destroy the border crossing agreement with Chen Qing without authorization, which caused [-] Sichuan-Shanxi cavalry to enter Jing South Road via Xiangyang. This transit agreement must be voided, otherwise Wang Gui would be killed The court held accountable.

Wang Gui shook his head, "I don't know what the agreement is? Yue Dutong didn't tell me either. I only know that you didn't enter the country according to the rules. You didn't formally notify the Anhua Army, and you didn't come to Xiangyang under the protection of the Anhua Army. You entered the country disguised as a businessman, so I have the right not to accept you as an envoy, please pack up and leave Xiangyang immediately, I will give you a quarter of an hour to pack up, don't let my army use force, please!"

This is the best method Wang Gui can use, to expel the other party directly, without tearing his face, but also to draw a clear line and give the court an explanation. At the same time, Chen Qing can't find an excuse to attack Jing Xiang.

Tang Qian went back and explained to Xu Zhifu, leaving him the goods and donkeys, and asked him to hire a few more men to go back.

Tang Qian walked out of the inn with nine of his men, each wearing only a knife, and a commander stepped forward and saluted, "Please! I will escort you back to Dengzhou."

Tang Qian and his party left Xiangyang City under the escort of the commander and [-] cavalry, and went northward by boat overnight. Wang Gui arranged ten horses, and Tang Qian and his men rode northward. Dengzhou boundary.

……

Not long after Tang Qian and his party were expelled, in a family near the government office, Du Wen, Wang Gui's confidant and aide, squinted his eyes looking at the white 200 taels of silver on the table.

He said to the housekeeper who gave the gift: "Go back and tell your proprietor that although Cai Sicang's nature is relatively serious, he must be beheaded according to military regulations for inquiring into military secrets, but! I will try my best to intercede for him. After all, the other party is not a golden soldier, but a Song Jun, and the confidential information has not been sent out, so there is still room for maneuver, you must understand that only I can persuade General Wang to release him."

The housekeeper hurriedly said: "My master knew that only the husband can do it, so he came to ask him for help."

Du Wen was very satisfied, stroked his beard and said with a smile: "Some things can't be done with money, and I don't care about this little money. I mainly want to form a relationship with the Cai family. Don't worry! I will persuade General Wang let go."

"Thank you so much!"

"Is your master going to give someone else a gift?"

"There is also Jiang Tuanlian from the prison camp, who has already been sent away, for fear that the young master will be beaten in prison."

Du Wen nodded, "Your master is very shrewd. You should give it away. The little devil is difficult to deal with. Otherwise, if you break a leg and come out, you have no place to reason."

……

Early the next morning, under the persuasion of his staff member Du Wen, Wang Gui ordered the release of Cai Kejian and dismissed Cai Kejian from the post of warehouse manager. Tang Qian and his party.

Cai Kejian's father is Cai Jin. He was the magistrate of Xiangyang County during the Xuanhe period. He has resigned from office and stayed at home for many years. His son was arrested last night. Cai Jin sent someone to Wang Gui's confidant Du Wen overnight. Jiang Xin, the trainer of the Prison City Camp, sent fifty pennies to save his son from suffering in prison.

When Cai Kejian came to his father's study, Cai Jin saw that his son's eyes were still bruised, and asked with a sigh in his heart, "Did you get beaten up last night?"

Cai Kejian stood in front of his father and said respectfully: "I was punched during the interrogation. I can only confess truthfully. Father, did they escape?"

Cai Kejian was very worried about Yang Zaixing's fate, after all he confessed honestly.

"They were expelled from the country by Wang Gui, and the news of Shopkeeper An was also sent. Tang Qian said that you are not to blame."

Cai Kejian breathed a sigh of relief, "I'm worried that they will be arrested, and I won't be able to explain it."

Cai Jin asked his son to sit down, and asked the maid to pour a cup of hot tea for him. Then he said to his son: "Wang Gui is not a fool. He captured the general of the Western Army and gave Chen Qing an excuse to attack Xiangyang. Instead of getting The court's commendation will instead be pursued by the court and dismissed from office. Therefore, Wang Gui will definitely take a softer approach, saying it is deportation to the subordinates, and sending him out of the country as a gift to the court. Anyway, the court can explain it, and the subordinates will also It can be explained that this Wang Gui is more skillful than Yue Fei, and Yue Fei is too straight."

Cai Kejian took a sip of tea, sighed and said, "I'm really stupid to believe Qiao Buqing. He always told everyone that he would support the Western Army to fight against the Jin soldiers, but I actually believed it. betrayed me."

Cai Jin smiled slightly and said: "This kind of person is just a little clever, he wants to take advantage of both sides, he treats others as fools, although he will get some benefits by betraying you now, but in the end he will prove that he is a real fool, once Xi Jun Occupy Xiangyang, not to mention liquidating him, but we will never use him again."

"Father, what should the child do?"

Cai Jin thought for a while and said: "I guess the businessman who came with them is still there, you can go find him later, forget it, you have a good rest, I will send someone to find him, and then you go back to Dengzhou with him, Go find Tang Qian and explain the situation clearly to avoid misunderstanding."

Cai Kejian nodded, "My child understands!"