Early the next morning, Xu Huai, surrounded by guards and horses, walked up the Xi River to the Xixia. Xichuan City, which had been noisy for a day, returned to its former peace.
Xishui River alluvialized a plain that is more than a hundred miles long between the mountains at the southern foot of Funiu Mountain. Xichuan City was built between the plains, bordered by
There are only five or six hundred steps in the direction, which is extremely narrow.
Niuwei Mountain is higher in the west and lower in the east, just like an ox's tail lying on the bank of Xishui River. A section of the east wall of Xichuan City is built on the gentle slope of the western foot of Niuwei Mountain, and the terrain is higher.
Chen Songze limped to the bottom of the east city wall in the early morning. The terrain here is higher. Beyond the west city wall, he could see the Xishui River slowly flowing from the north to the south.
After winter, the Xi River has become thinner, and a large area of dark brown river beach is exposed. Several fishing boats are moored in the almost still clear river water - Xu Huai's bodyguards and horses are along the east bank of the Xi River.
Winding northward on the riverbank, the cavalry looked like a ferocious black dragon in the mist.
"I heard that in addition to ordering the county captain to send personnel to protect Mr. Dong's safety, the envoy also sent people to Guzhuang Lane to present gifts before leaving the city.
The boxes and cages containing the gifts were filled with two carriages; Dong Yi is about to leave for Biyang, and I heard that he will first enter Nanyang Academy to study official affairs."
A middle-aged scribe walked up behind Chen Songze and said,
"However, what matters most to me is Mr. Dong's reputation. I don't feel dissatisfied with your arrogance. It's also because of Mr. Dong - you didn't go to the Guzhuang Lane to help Mr. Dong's house, but you came here to look at it early in the morning.
, do you really think that your tricks will really catch the eye of the envoy?"
At the foot of the city wall, there were many hungry people begging, lying or sitting basking in the sun.
Chen Songze turned around and glanced at Zhou Li, the county magistrate who was wearing casual robes, and said with a smile: "As the saying goes, how can a bird know the ambition of a swan? Whether my frivolous and dissolute behavior can catch the eyes of the envoy is not something that the county magistrate has to worry about...
"
Zhou Li said: "Dong Gong is a horse bone bought by the envoy's daughter. Even if he is not on the same level as Shi Han and others, he must be a noble man when he joins the company. Brother Chen is supported by Dong Gong. It is indeed true.
You don’t need to worry about me, maybe Brother Chen will join the government again to serve the court. The reason why I say a few more words is that I hope that Brother Chen will not think too much about the past for my colleagues in the future. The county magistrate and I put together some
This small gift has been sent to Brother Chen's house, please accept it..."
"..." Chen Songze lifted up the skirt of his robe and rolled up his Tsing Yi trousers, revealing his horribly scarred lame feet. He laughed and said, "Mr. Zhou Langjun and the county magistrate are worried about the future. It seems they have worshiped the wrong god. In front of you, Chen Songze
Here, I am just a small commoner, how can I possibly win over you? You are worshiping the wrong god, you should know better than me what I want."
Zhou Li said with a gloomy face: "Whatever your Majesty wants, is it possible that everyone in the world will take advantage of him? After all, Jingxiang and Xiangyang are still the Jingxiang and Xiangyang of Dayue. Your Majesty relies on your Majesty to resist the barbarians, but you are not the only one in Dayue."
Able to fight with Japanese soldiers. There are many things that you cannot understand in the countryside, so I won’t tell you more. In order to escape from prison two years ago, your family gave me two thousand taels of silver.
, I am now thinking about how we all worked together in the past and may still be working together in the same room in the future. I should not have accepted this money and have already returned it to Brother Chen’s house..."
Chen Songze seemed to be caught up in the memories of the past. Zhou Li saw that he was speechless, and after waiting for a while, he handed over his hands and left. "The dignified county magistrate is not afraid of the system, but he is quite afraid of Brother Chen. He must have a lot of reasons.
It’s in the hands of Brother Chen!” A middle-aged man in ragged clothes walked over from the base of the city wall and said with emotion.
"..." Chen Songze looked at the middle-aged man hesitantly and saw that he was thin and his face was like cracked tree bark, covered with scratches of time.
But a sharp edge.
Although Chen Songze was crippled by torture a few years ago under Yu Lian's order, at this moment his front feet stood firm and his back feet were splayed. His body was suddenly in a state of alert like a crossbow with an open string, ready to react to sudden killing moves at any time.
"Military Intelligence Department Jiang Ping got close to Brother Chen on the order of Mr. Han Guihan,"
Jiang Ping took a look at Chen Songze, who was not weak in martial arts, then he smiled and said,
"As Brother Chen said, Xichuan is about to meet the enemy. However, there are many rural gentry who are resentful of Zhisi. There are also many refugees in the city. It is possible that many Red Guard spies have infiltrated into the city. The Military Intelligence Department needs to get a feel for the situation. Chen
If you don’t believe me, brother, we can go to Mr. Dong’s residence and have a good chat..."
"Matsuzawa is abrupt,"
After hearing that Jiang Ping reported his family background and talked about some confidential things that were difficult for outsiders to know, Chen Songze immediately clasped his fists and apologized,
"I was involved in several old cases in my early years. Yu Lian and others were unable to beat me into submission even though they tortured me. I was eventually expelled from public life. I relied on some savings from my early years to live a leisurely life. However, Yu Lian, Zhou Li and others did not
He had no intention of letting me go, but he still kept in mind Chen's little personal wealth. The year before last, a refugee starved to death in front of Chen's house, and he detained me in prison and falsely accused me of murder. I had to give away all my wealth and pass it on to Yu Lian, Zhou Li and others.
In exchange for a dog’s life…”
"If Brother Chen doesn't mind, I'd really like to hear what happened to some old cases from back then," Jiang Ping said.
"...Songze has been together for half his life, and he has indeed done some not-so-honest things," Chen Songze said. "If General Jiang has free time, there is a tea shop on the front street that also sells some snacks, which is very good..."
The production department and selectors will conduct an investigation.
Xu Huai, Shi Zhen, Han Gui and others all valued Chen Songze very much, and they might be entrusted with important tasks, involved in secrets, and conduct detailed investigations at some point.
The most convenient and direct thing is that Chen Songze can describe his life and then select the key points for verification.
Chen Songze also knew very well Jiang Ping's intention of asking about the old case. The two of them walked into the tea shop, asked for a pot of tea and some snacks, and then sat at the window facing the long street and started talking.
Chen Songze is indeed involved with private salt dealers, but this also involves Chen Songze's deceased father, Chen Yuan.
Chen Songze's ancestral home was in Chenjiazhai, Qihe, and his family was poor. When he was young, his father Chen Yuan was unwilling to work all day long but still suffered from hunger. With some fist and foot skills, he secretly recruited several poor children from Zhongzhai to smuggle smuggled salt. After he became successful, he
He changed his name to selling tea medicine and soon became one of the few wealthy people in Xichuan.
It was also on his way to Yingchuan to sell tea and medicine that Chen Yuan met Dong Cheng, who was still studying hard in Yingchuan at that time. He married his daughter to Dong Cheng and helped him participate in the imperial examination and enter his official career.
Chen Songze was naughty when he was young. He was forced to study by his father until he was in his teens. How could he hope to take the imperial examination? When he became an adult, his father Chen Yuan sent him to the county government as an official, and at the same time he looked at the family's tea and medicine business.
Although Chen Yuan left a fortune of tens of thousands after his death, Chen Songze had no worries about food and clothing. What's more, after Dong Cheng passed the imperial examination, he was well-rounded in the county government and there was no need to follow his father's old path. However, his chivalrous and righteous temperament could not be changed after all.
In addition to generous financial support for wealthy businessmen living in Xichuan, there were several times when Xichuan County caught criminals selling illegal salt, and even poor people in the county were caught running away from tenants and evading debts.
Taste the reputation.
After Dong Cheng was demoted to a civilian position, Xichuan County officials began to investigate several old salt smuggling cases in which Chen Songze had been involved in order to clear his ties with Cai Zheng.
In the final analysis, Chen Songze only helped to deal with those old cases and smoothed the relationship. He himself was not involved. Even though he had been an honest official over the years, he was always lax and dishonest. His family wealth was greatly reduced compared to that of his father.
, have never done anything to line their own pockets.
Dong Cheng survived the corporal punishment, and the county government did not find anything against him. At the same time, he was generous and generous, and there were many people in the county who helped him. In the end, he was just expelled from the county government, and he did not encounter much trouble at that time.
But the year before last, a refugee died in front of his house and was falsely accused of murder. Chen Songze had to spend all his money to escape. Later, in order to make a living, he secretly contacted the private salt dealers he had helped before and traveled to Shangzhou and other places to start a smuggling business.
The sale and purchase of salt???????????????
Of course, Dong Cheng didn't have much savings, and the private salt dealers he helped before were all low-income people themselves, not big salt lords. The big salt lords had already smoothed all kinds of relationships, and Dong Cheng was not needed.
After coming to the rescue, Dong Cheng's private salt business could only be considered to be in its infancy at this time. He had just assembled a team of thirty or forty people, mainly traveling between Shangzhou and Xichuan, and it was still far from the peak level of his father's early years.
After Chen Songze told the story of the Chen family's fortune and their marriage to Dong Cheng, he said with emotion:
"... When the prince took office as the pacification envoy of the Jingxiang system, Songze expected that the system would vigorously crack down on illegal salt. The system would open mountains and surround the swamps to build villages, which was far beyond the reach of others, and would definitely use all the salt.
When the crossroads were blocked and there were no more loopholes, Songze thought about giving up completely and finding another way to make a living. Unexpectedly, the prince was so magnanimous that he could clear up his past grudges and recognize Dong Cheng's talent. Songze was also arrogant for a while and boldly recommended himself to the king.
.Please also Mr. Jiang to tell Han Langjun that if Songze is lucky enough to serve the Lord, he will definitely change his past, disband his troops, and will never have anything to do with the smuggling of smuggled salt again..."
[The problem of slow update of new chapters has finally been solved with an app that can change sources. Download the source-changing app here to view the latest chapters of this book on multiple sites at the same time.]
"But there is no need to disband the troops," Jiang Ping frowned slightly and asked, "How many of the thirty or forty men know your true identity?"
"Only four people know my identity," Chen Songze said.
"You recall these four people immediately and let the Military Intelligence Department send someone to take over their affairs," Jiang Ping said.
"Why, is Shangzhou really unable to defend itself at all?" Chen Songze asked.
Chen Songze was smuggled in smuggled salt and set up a trap in Shangzhou. Now that the Military Intelligence Department is taking over the matter, the greatest value is that he can quietly deploy his eyes and ears in Shangzhou - and this also means that the Military Intelligence Department has judged that Shangzhou is about to fall.
to the enemy, otherwise there would be no need to do these tricks.
Although Chen Songze wildly said yesterday that Lantian will be lost, Shangzhou is located deep in the Qinling Mountains after all. Will the Chihu people attack at all costs, or will the soldiers and horses on Dongchuan Road withdraw from the defense, or will Jingxiang send troops to take over?
Chen Songze did not have a very clear judgment on Shangzhou's defense.
Listening to Jiang Ping's words at this time, Chen Songze guessed that after Lantian fell to the enemy, at least Jingxiang would not consider sending troops to take over Shangzhou's defense.
