Su Ziji was far behind and couldn't hear the words or see the people clearly. He said goodbye to the wild Taoist people and, under the leadership of his own soldiers, followed the team in front to go ashore.
The boat Shao Sisen was on came ashore and was brought over. When the two met, they both saw a hint of caution in each other's eyes.
Without it, just looking at the faces of Cui Zhaoquan and Inspector Zhao as they approached, one could tell that although the people on the shore welcomed them grandly, there must have been something that angered the two imperial envoys.
"What happened? Looking at the ceremony and etiquette, there are not many flaws?"
Su Ziji was thoughtful. He didn't know Qian Zhidong and Qin Fengliang, but he had some knowledge about what Dazheng's military commanders wore at different levels, so he quietly got closer and looked at the people in front of him.
Scan and you will know what you are doing.
Although there were many armored soldiers on the shore and there were generals to greet him, he looked very respectful to the imperial envoy. In fact, Commander Qian Zhidong was not present.
How dare he not come to greet the imperial envoy!
A third-grade general, with a look of apologetic fear on his honest face, was explaining to the two imperial envoys: "Your Majesty, the commander-in-chief was injured during the last battle due to an urgent military situation. He is bedridden this time and cannot come to greet him in person.
Please forgive me, the two imperial envoys."
This was said very politely and was an apology. In fact, it was quite unruly and arrogant. Even the imperial envoys were here, even if they were bedridden, what was the meaning of this, just out of anger and showing off to the imperial envoys?
The expressions of Cui Zhaoquan and Inspector Zhao both turned gloomy. Before Cui Zhaoquan could speak, Inspector Zhao now knew the plan and wanted to achieve great success, so he chuckled: "It turns out that the supervisor was injured during the battle, so I can forgive him."
A general standing some distance away on one side, surrounded by his own soldiers, had dark skin, a burly figure, and sword-shaped eyebrows. He looked like a majestic general. Then he said: "Since the general was injured while supervising the battle, why not let him
I will entertain two imperial envoys in the future. The imperial envoys represent the emperor and the imperial court. How dare you be disrespectful?"
As soon as these words came out, the atmosphere on the shore suddenly froze.
Su Ziji didn't even have to guess, he already knew the identity of this person, Qin Fengliang, one of the generals of the Southwest.
Although Qin Fengliang was nominally under the jurisdiction of Qian Zhidong, in fact, Qian Zhidong had nothing to do with him, because Qin Fengliang was also a veteran general, his rank was not much worse, and he led an army alone. Unless there was a fight, he could not suppress him at all.
Just look at how he dared not to offend the generals with his own soldiers, and even though he was respectful, his words were sarcastic. Although the generals from Qian Zhidong's camp who came to greet him had angry faces, none of them really stood up.
When I came out to fight, I knew that these people were also a little jealous of Qin Fengliang.
"No wonder he is the one who has been able to compete with Qian Zhidong for so long."
"Did Qian Zhidong go crazy for fighting? Although I understand that holding a hundred thousand soldiers and taking life and death can irreversibly distort people's thinking, but now we are facing an imperial envoy and the majesty of the imperial court. How can you be so arrogant?"
"No wonder the court refuses to replace Qin Fengliang, let alone hold him accountable. It's not that Qin Fengliang doesn't have problems, but that he will be used even if there are problems."
"Without Qin Fengliang's restraint, wouldn't Qian Zhidong become the de facto king of the southwest?"
"And I understand better why the imperial court urged a decisive battle last time. It has been more than two years since the war started, and the huge consumption was still bearable by the imperial court. This is not even the real reason. It is that during the battle, the general's power is to say that he will be outside, and the emperor's orders will not be accepted.
"
"Qian Zhidong has been in charge of the army for a long time. With each passing day, his control over the army becomes deeper. If it continues, this southwestern army may become the Qian Family Army."
"Now Qian Zhidong is dissatisfied with the delay in deciding the case and even protecting Qin Fengliang, so he is putting on airs?"
"Originally, it would be difficult for a prince to kill a second-grade person, or even a first-grade general after the war, let alone me."
"I can also understand Qian Zhidong. Maybe the last conflict with Qin Fengliang was not because Qian Zhidong was unreasonable, but his anger made my difficulty drop by a level."
Su Ziji saw all this and couldn't help but think about it.
The tents of the imperial envoy and his entourage were pitched less than ten miles away from Anzhou Port.
Although the terrain is just a sloping land, there is a place where you can advance, attack, retreat and defend. You can not only observe the surrounding movements, but also be able to quickly retreat to the port and board the ship if you encounter an irresistible enemy attack.
Although living on the ship was not a blatant expression of distrust, it was a fig leaf, but this attitude was already a warning to Qian Zhidong from the two imperial envoys.
When Qian Zhidong dressed up and came to see the two imperial envoys, what he saw was this obvious unfriendliness. He looked around and saw that the guards were heavily guarded and there were many armored soldiers. He felt a little uneasy and angry in his heart.
"But are everything ready?" Taking a break from coughing, Qian Zhidong asked the captain of the soldiers. This was obviously the captain of the soldiers, but in fact he was a member of the clan.
The soldier replied in a low voice: "Commander, don't worry, we are all prepared. We have sent people to keep an eye on everyone who comes with the imperial envoy. Cui Shang's office is Lu Bai and Zhang He. Both of them have done detailed work.
Lead your men to blend in with the people and monitor the area to make sure nothing goes wrong."
"Eunuch Zhao's office is somewhat evil, but we also have capable people. Jiang Liu is from the Jianglong Gang, and he is full of businessman spirit. He has his own means of spying and tracking. If he is asked to lead people to keep an eye on the eunuchs, he should not be able to
If something goes wrong, even if there is a problem, we won't admit it when the time comes."
"We need people and money, and you have one-third of an acre of land here, Marshal. I dare not say anything else. Every move is under your control, Marshal."
Qian Zhidong shook his head: "That being said, there are two imperial envoys here. Eunuch Zhao is the emperor's dog. Who he catches and bites depends on the emperor's wishes."
"Cui Zhaoquan, on the other hand, is very hard-nosed and will be difficult to deal with if he doesn't take the hard and the soft!"
However, even though he said this, there was not much uneasiness on his face.
As his subordinates say, most of the territory in the southwest is controlled by him. The generals in the southwest mostly obey orders and act. Unless the imperial envoy can get real results, even if he has a little disrespect, he will not dare to punish himself for it.
, to avoid causing mutiny.
"By the way, I remember that you reported back that there were two young men in Cui Shangshu's office, but were they the nephews of the Cui family he brought?" Qian Zhidong continued walking, suddenly remembered something, and stopped to ask.
The soldier suddenly laughed: "Hey, what a nephew, he's just an unlucky guy."
Qian Zhidong raised his eyebrows: "Oh, what should I say?"
"Commander, you don't know something. Among the people who came with the imperial envoy this time, there are actually two imperial students who are about to take the imperial examination."
"It is said that there was a mistake in arranging manpower and they were added."
"The person you mentioned is named Su Zi. He was born in a small family. He is from Guangling Province. No matter how talented he is, this has obviously offended people. He was used by people during the New Year holiday to block his future.
It’s nothing special.”
"There is also Shao Sisen, who is a son of an official."
"Just a student?" Since he had never seen Su Ziji, Qian Zhidong didn't think much about it, but said, "Even a student can't slack off. Have you sent someone over?"