I am the county magistrate in Daming

After Mu Qingtian and his party arrived in Yongping, they didn't continue to move forward. They rented a house for dozens of taels and hid the caravan and supplies underground.

Liu Guizhou opened a free clinic, and soon got some useful information.

"Beiyuan cut off the connection between Datong and the Central Plains."

Mu Qingtian's heart twitched.

"How long has it been, when will the little prince attack the city?"

Liu Guizhou pursed his lips and said after a while, "It's probably after the year."

"So, Datong's armaments are still sufficient?" Cui Han asked.

Who knew Liu Guizhou shook his head.

"Datong fell first, and was once captured by Beiyuan."

When Liu Duan heard his father's words, his complexion became serious.

"Northern Yuan people are not short of horses, they are short of food and grass."

In the important town of Datong, in order to resist the little prince and the occasional privet, a group of cavalry was specially trained.The horses used by these cavalry are also good horses from the Central Plains or outside the Great Wall.

In ordinary wars, horses can not only fight, but also undertake the task of transportation, and are the primary plundered resources.Sometimes armies even gave up weapons that were not easily carried in favor of horses.

But the ancestors of the Northern Yuan Dynasty were nomads, and they could obtain and tame more and better horses.

The only thing they coveted in Datong City was the common people and the city guards who gathered together to prepare food and clothes for the winter.

"Later, King Qing regained Datong, and Gu Fan came back to defend again."

"It didn't take long for the little prince to cut off the supply of food and grass."

In other words, the food supply in Datong City is likely to be in a hurry now, but it is autumn, and there are still some wild vegetables that can be picked to fill the stomach.

"Then why did Mr. Liu say that the little prince will attack the city after the next year?"

Deterrence.

According to common sense, after the siege has run out of ammunition and food, the other side should prepare to attack the city. Before the other side's reinforcements arrive, they should cut the weeds and root them out.

But Liu Guizhou recalled those years, and his intuition told him that the little prince didn't just want to capture Datong City.

The man stationed in Datong City is the God of War of Ming Dynasty, King Qing Zhu Jingshou.If the little prince can surround Zhu Jingshou, he will not be afraid of the so-called "reinforcements" brought by other crooked people.

At the same time, precisely because of Zhu Jingshou's status as "Prince", if the little prince wins, it will be a great insult to Daming, and it will seriously shake the confidence of Daming Baixin in the court.

The most murderous way is not to kill Zhu Jingshou, but to "death" Datong, starving the people and the city defenders to death in the city.Fear and despair will quickly sweep through the cities around Datong. By then, it will only be a matter of time before the capital is captured.

Mu Qingtian gripped her clothes tightly with her fingers.

"Got to find a new way."

"Okay, let's inquire more and see if there are any mountain paths to walk."

A few days later, a businessman surnamed Fan came to his door, wanting to discuss business with Liu Guizhou.

Fan Yuanwai is a local medicinal material merchant, and usually transports a lot of medicinal materials to Datong.

But now, the little prince has lost his way, and his medicinal materials are backlogged, and he has lost hundreds of taels of silver.

Mu Qingtian was dubious, and asked: "Then it's useless for you to find us."

Fan Yuanwai wiped the sweat that didn't exist on his forehead, and smiled flatteringly: "I heard that the little brother is also in business and has his own fleet."

"Let's go together, the strength of many people is great, haha, don't you think..."

Fan Yuanwai's words and deeds are really suspicious. At one moment he said that he wanted to send out the medicinal materials quickly to stop the deficit, and at another moment he said that as long as Mu Qingtian was willing to take him with him, he would give [-]% of the profit as a thank you.

Mu Qingtian pointed at the table and said to Fan Yuanwai: "I have to discuss this matter with other people."

"Okay, okay." Fan Yuanwai put on his fur cap again, and timidly exited the door.

Liu Duan helped Liu Guizhou out from behind the screen and sat next to Mu Qingtian.

"This person cannot be trusted." Liu Guizhou asserted.

"Brother Mu, be careful of cheating." Liu Duan also echoed.

Mu Qingtian was still tapping the table regularly, not knowing what he was thinking.

"When Cui Han comes back, I'll go and find out what's wrong with Fan Yuan."

After Cui Han heard what Fan Yuanwai said, he agreed with Liu Guizhou and Liu Duan.

"There must be something wrong with him, my lord, we can't go to the doctor in a hurry."

The four of them gathered together, and Cui Han found out that a warehouse in Datong had been burned down by the little prince, so he couldn't sit still.

Mu Qingtian gently grabbed Cui Han's clothes and pushed him back onto the stool.

"What do you think he is?"

"Beiyuan spies." The three said in unison, and then fell silent at the same time.

"Could it be that you want to follow the clues?" Liu Guizhou asked uncertainly.

Mu Qingtian nodded.

Their whereabouts have been exposed, which has attracted the attention of other forces in Yongping City.

If Fan Yuanwai really worked for the little prince, why not use him to inquire about the little prince and Datong?

"It's too dangerous." Cui Han disagreed.

Mu Qingtian sighed and said.

"I've come here, and I'm still talking about whether it's dangerous or not."

"You're right." Liu Guizhou was the first to let go.

The four of them summed up and divided into two groups. On one side, Mu Qingtian continued to talk to Fan Yuanwai to stabilize him; on the other side, Cui Han led Liu Duan to investigate Fan Yuanwai's actions and the people around him.

Fan Yuanwai heard that Mu Qingtian was willing to merge with him and jointly transport medicinal materials to Datong. He seemed very happy, so he directly treated Mu Qingtian as a guest of honor and asked him to stay in his mansion for a few days to discuss the details.

Mu Qingtian was always vigilant, and used the silver needle hidden in his sleeve to try all the meals before using his chopsticks.

Strangely, Fan Yuanwai didn't seem to have any intention of doing anything to him.

Liu Duan found that Fan Yuanwai would go to a restaurant in Yongping City every day, and the time was not fixed.

Cui Han disguised himself as a guest who wanted to stay in the store, and asked the shopkeeper if there were any vacancies.

"I'm sorry, guest officer, the shop is full." The shopkeeper smiled embarrassedly.

"Full?" Cui Han was puzzled, "I don't see anyone upstairs."

"Guest officer, you don't know, the upstairs was taken down by Master Fan in the city a few days ago."

"Oh..." Cui Han nodded thoughtfully, "Is Master Fan's relative here?"

Speaking of this, the shopkeeper seemed to be afraid of something.

"Maybe they are relatives, but they all cover their faces and their voices are weird."

"Then you dare to let them live in?"

The shopkeeper smiled.

"The world is not peaceful now, who would have trouble with money?"

Cui Han looked helplessly at the desperado in front of him, and gave him a small amount of money, which he considered as the hard work of inquiring about the news.

Covering his appearance, with a strange accent, he might be from Beiyuan.Cui Han told Liu Guizhou his guess, and sent the team's servants to Fan Mansion to inform Mu Qingtian.

Everything was negotiated, and Mu Qingtian should go back to his house.Fan Yuanwai didn't stop him, and asked the kitchen to cook a table of good dishes, and took out the pure wine that he had collected for many years, wanting to be courteous to Mu Qingtian again.

Mu Qingtian was afraid that there was something in the wine, so he didn't take a sip.Fan Yuanwai didn't mind, and drank on his own, as if "using wine to relieve his sorrow".

"What does Fan Yuanwai think of Beiyuan people?"

Mu Qingtian raised the wine glass to her lips, and raised her eyes to observe Fan Yuanwai's expression.

"Beasts, they are all animals!" Fan Yuanwai was drunk and smashed his wine glass on the table.

Mu Qingtian looked away.

Strangely, Fan Yuanwai's behavior does not seem to be fake, he really hates Beiyuan people.

Could it be that they guessed wrong?

In the treetops of the moon, Mu Qingtian called the maid to come in and clean up the food on the table on the grounds that he was "not strong enough to drink".

The maid wanted to drag her master back to the room, but Master Fan was drinking like crazy, muttering and hugging the legs of the table and refusing to let go.

Mu Qingtian lowered his eyelids and said: "Nothing, I will spend the night with Master Fan."

The maid said so when she saw the guests, and thanked them repeatedly.They moved the quilt and blanket to cover Master Fan, and helped Mu Qingtian make the bed.

Mu Qingtian lay down, put his hands neatly on his chest, and closed his eyes.

After a long time, a rustling sound suddenly came from my ear.Mu Qingtian quietly opened his eyes a crack, and through the moonlight coming in through the window, he saw that Fan Yuanwai, who was supposed to be dead asleep, stood up, and he didn't look drunk at all.

Soon, there was another person in the room.

"How did you come in, in case you are discovered!"

The other party spoke with a strong barbarian accent, and said disdainfully: "He is drunk, you know best."

Fan Yuanwai's voice sounded anxious.

"I have done what you asked, when will my family be released!"

Mu Qingtian just remembered that in the huge Fan Mansion, it seems that there are only Master Fan and his servants, and he has never seen Master Fan's family.

"Soon." The Beiyuan people smiled evilly, "When the time comes, you will go through the south gate, it will be safe there."

"In the day after tomorrow, our brave Khan will sneak attack Datong and take the head of Zhu Jingshou! At that time, your benefits will be indispensable."

"As for your family."

"Don't worry, we Beiyuan are not as dishonest as you Han people."

"The cellar in the east of the city, your family is all there."

Mu Qingtian remained calm and closed his eyes.

The next morning, he naturally said goodbye to Fan Yuanwai and returned to the rented house.As soon as the door closed behind him, his feet moved.

Coincidentally, Liu Duan and Cui Han also ran out.

"Someone broke into Fan's residence through the wall yesterday!"

"Fan Yuanwai is a Beiyuan spy!"

The three of them were panting, with serious expressions on their faces.

Mu Qingtian knew the most news, he grabbed Cui Han's hand and said, "The little prince is going to attack Datong, I have to inform them."

"How could you go alone!" Cui Hanba raised his voice.

Mu Qingtian was very calm, and said: "I know the safe way, and the person from Beiyuan who connected with Fan Yuanwai said it himself."

"But……"

"No more!"

Liu Guizhou slowly came out from behind and looked at Mu Qingtian.

"Are you sure you can believe it?"

Mu Qingtian nodded solemnly.

"I can."

"Okay." Liu Guizhou agreed, "Is there anything else we need to do."

Mu Qingtian thought of Fan Yuanwai's family, so he said: "Fan Yuanwai's family is in the hands of Beiyuan people, and he is threatened."

"The cellar in the east of the city, be careful."

The day after tomorrow, from Yongping to Datong, exactly one and a half days.Mu Qingtian is leaving now, and will be able to arrive in Datong in the morning of the next day.

-

In Datong City, Zhu Jingshou is counting the loss of the granary.

"Is the little prince moving?"

Gu Fan cupped his fists and took a step forward.

"The little prince's main force is moving towards the south gate."

Zhu Jingshou looked at the map and said, "Give me an order, and the investigation at the South City Gate will be shortened from three hours to one hour."

Liu Duan and Cui Han searched for a long time before they found the "City East Cellar" that Mu Qingtian said.

"Something's wrong." Liu Guizhou stopped his son, "It smells bad."

"I'll take a look." Cui Han swallowed.

When he got closer, he saw that there were dried black bloodstains all around him!

"No, I've been tricked, go to Fan Mansion quickly."

The three of them drove to the city, but on the road they heard passers-by discussing something in panic.

"Fan Yuan's family was bloodbathed, and no one was left alive."

"Who the hell did it..."

"It's scary."

The author has something to say: crazy recycling foreshadowing

Little Theater (spoilers):

Mu Qingtian: Huh.

Zhu Jingshou: ...

Mu Qingtian: Chick!

Zhu Jingshou: It's just a jade pendant. I'll grind another piece for you after I go back.

Mu Qingtian: That's different!This is the token of love you gave me!Broken!