Li Hu stretched out his foot and kicked the body of the dead night owl flying far away, and cursed: "Bad luck!"
Chao Chao and Mahan had already entered the front yard of the temple. The courtyard was overgrown with grass and dead branches, making it look extremely decadent. If it weren't for the trampled grass, it would be impossible to walk around. There were also grass growing in the gaps in the gravel road underfoot.
There are weeds everywhere, this temple has obviously not been taken care of for a long time. Update the novel as soon as possible
"Two gentlemen, go this way. That's where the grain was piled that day." Wang Wu followed behind Wang Dynasty Mahan and pointed towards the south of the yard.
With the faint light of the wind lantern, you can clearly see a large road made by rolling in the long grass. Following this passage trampled by rutted horseshoes, after walking for less than ten steps, a large open space appears in front of you.
The grass in the open space had obviously been cleared by someone. Only a few inches of short grass stems were left in the knee-long grass. It is not difficult to imagine that that night, the team transporting grain had cleared this open space and used it to clear the grass.
Pile the smuggled food when it comes.
Unsurprisingly, the open space was empty. There were only broken sacks all over the ground, ashes left by several fires, and some cattle, arrows and horses. If you looked closely, you could see some things scattered on the grass.
There are more than a dozen wild rats running around eating these grain pellets. I am afraid that the night owl just chose to forage here because of the infestation of rats and grass.
"There was a huge pile of grain piled up here that night, and I don't know where it was shipped to now. Maybe it's in the temple hall. Should we go in and have a look?" Li Hu asked.
"No, it's obviously been transported away. It was originally stored here temporarily, and it must have been transported away and hidden during the next day." Wang Chao said softly.
"Where can it be transported? Is it really like what the young master said, that it was transported to Tianchang and hidden?" Ma Han said.
"It is very possible that it is not safe in the suburbs of Yangzhou after all. People inside and outside Yangzhou city know that the young master is searching for grain. If it is placed around Yangzhou city, such a large amount of grain will be easily discovered by others. Once reported,
They are in trouble; they have such a thorough plan, so how could they take risks?" Chao Chao said.
Li Hu said: "Master, this place is only more than twenty miles away from Tianchang. It is very convenient to transport it to Tianchang County and hide it. The official road leads directly to Tianchang County. Although the road is not easy to travel, it is quite easy with carriages and horses.
."
Ma Han said: "I'm afraid they will just find a nook and cranny to hide the grain, and that will be the end of it. We can't dig three feet into the mountains and fields to find it."
Chao Chao shook his head and said: "No, they are in a hurry. How could they find a place to hide in the mountains in advance? Besides, food is no better than other things. Once the rain and snow fall, and get damp, even if it is freezing and snowy outside, the food pile will still generate heat.
If it germinates and becomes moldy, it must be placed in a place with a building to protect it from wind and rain. In this way, it is impossible to be sure of the food anyway. Mahan, we might as well work separately. After daybreak, you go back and report to the young master that you have found traces of food and ask him.
Send more people to search the surrounding villages. I will go to Tianchang to look for Li Chong. If the food reaches Tianchang County, it will not be difficult to find it with the help of his parents."
Mahan nodded in agreement. Since traces of grain were found, could so much grain still be able to fly? As long as there are enough people and patient exploration, it can always be found.
Mahan of the Dynasty did not intend to return to the village, so he thanked Li Hu and Wang Wu and sent them back on their own. They cut several large bundles of dead grass and found them in the main hall of Lanruo Temple where spiders were piled with dust. They lit a fire in a corner, spread it on hay and lay down. After a day of exhaustion, and finally finding the whereabouts of food, the two of them felt very relaxed. Leaning against the hot fire, they snored loudly and fell asleep after a while.
…
On the eleventh day of the twelfth lunar month, the winter sun shines brightly.
Just after noon, the defenders on the west gate tower of Yangzhou saw from a distance a group of soldiers, a team of fifty or sixty horses, and three or four carts coming slowly towards the west gate of Yangzhou on the avenue outside the west gate.
The soldiers hurriedly shouted down to inform the guard who was leading the guard at the city gate. The guard was leaning against the wind in the small barracks and chatting with a few team captains. When he heard something was going on, he quickly put on his armor and raised his hand. The sword climbed onto the tower.
The cavalry slowly approached, and Weidu squinted his head to take a closer look. Suddenly, he discovered that there was an acquaintance in the team.
"Damn it, isn't that Fang Dutou of the Forbidden Army's cavalry? Didn't this kid escort Shen Yaozu to the capital? Why did he come back within half a month?" Wei Dutou laughed and said: "It seems that the Forbidden Army is not the same. It's so easy to work, but you're still as tired as a dog, and you still have to go out on errands during the Chinese New Year, and it's not much better than us."
The soldiers laughed loudly, and in the midst of the laughter, the guards got down from the tower, opened the city gate and led the people out in person.
"Fang Dutou, you're fine." Wei Dutou laughed and saluted from afar.
Fang Dutou also recognized Wei Dutou, and hurriedly galloped forward, cupping his hands and saying: "Hello, Wei Dutou, please quickly send someone to inform the special envoy and the governor that Lord Ouyang, envoy from the imperial court, has arrived, and tell them to hurry up." Come and greet us quickly."
Weidu was stunned, and another imperial envoy came and said hurriedly: "Who is Mr. Ouyang? If you make it clear, I can send someone to report it."
Fang Dutou said: "Who else, Mr. Ouyang, can be worthy of the responsibility of imperial envoy? It is Ouyang Zhongcheng from Yushitai. As soon as you apply for the official position, the Song Dynasty Master and the special envoy will know it, so don't worry about it. La."
The head of the guard hurriedly sent the soldiers around him to report back, and ordered the soldiers to line up at the city gate to greet him.
The imperial envoy Ouyang's car did not enter the city directly, but stopped at the bottom of the city. Wei Dutou thought: "This imperial envoy Ouyang has such a big air. It seems that he is waiting for the envoy and the Song Dynasty. Come and greet us."
After a while, there were horse hooves in the city. Su Jin and Song Xiang hurriedly arrived on horseback with a group of petty officials and subordinates. As soon as they arrived at the gate of the city, Su Jin swung his stirrup and dismounted and asked: "Where is the person?" "
Weidu pointed his head outward and said, "Your Majesty, the special envoy, are all waiting there."
Su Jin hurriedly dusted himself off, straightened his clothes, and followed Song Xiang quickly out of the city to greet him. His expression was very serious, and Wei Dutou could even see a trace of anxiety and uneasiness on the face of the envoy.
Wei Dutou saw very accurately that Su Jin was indeed very uneasy. He had many worries in his heart. First of all, he was worried about whether the imperial court knew about the use of military rations. If so, Ouyang Xiu would come this time. It's not good.
Secondly, Su Jin also wanted to know what the imperial court said about the things he did in Yangzhou and Bagong Mountain, especially whether the incident he reported about Long Zhen, the commander of the bodyguard Ma Jun, who was derelict in his duties and feared death would cause waves. After all, this matter The person is recommended by the Privy Council. If I take this person without any explanation, will there be some unpredictable consequences?
What worries Su Jin the most is the identity of Lord Ouyang. This person is from Yushitai. If the court comes to praise and encourage him this time, someone from the Third Division is the best candidate, or it could be the Ministry of Rites or the Ministry of Rites.
Anyone from either government can be qualified for this position.
However, Ouyang Xiu, the censor Zhongcheng, was sent here. Obviously, besides conveying the decree, he had other things to do. What can the censor Zhongcheng do? This is a no-brainer. This is a department that will be equivalent to the Procuratorate in later generations. People from the Procuratorate
I'm afraid it's probably not a good thing to come to your door to invite you to tea.
Song Xiang and Su Jin led the crowd to Ouyang Xiu's motorcade, raised their hands and shouted: "Yangzhou Magistrate Song Xiang, grain envoy Su Jin respectfully welcomes the imperial envoy."
Fang Du bowed his head to Su Jinyi, and at the same time motioned for the cavalry to disperse, revealing a large black carriage in the middle of the team. Someone stepped forward and opened the curtain. Ouyang Xiu, dressed in a scarlet official uniform, bent down and stepped out of the carriage.
.
"We're finally here!" Ouyang Xiu took a breath of clear air, looked at Song Xiang, Su Jin and a group of officials who were bowing their heads in salute, and said with a smile, "Which one is the famous grain envoy Mr. Su?"
Su Jin was startled. The first thing this person asked him was about himself. He was a little surprised and hurriedly stepped forward and said, "I'm a lower official."
Ouyang Xiu's slender eyes shone with great interest. He looked Su Jin up and down and said with a smile: "It turns out that he is really a handsome young man. I didn't believe it at first. The waves behind the river push the waves ahead. I have produced such a young talent.
It’s really gratifying.”
Su Jin didn't know whether he was telling the truth or a lie, so he could only remain silent and lowered his head.