Two days later, some information from the Sky Eye and the Earthly Network finally came back, but the specific situation of the enemy army was still not very clear. This was not because the spies didn't want to find out, but because they couldn't find out at all.
The Peng army on the other side of the Pan River is extremely well-defended. The patrolling guards even extend out dozens of miles away, especially in the dense forest opposite Lishan City. There is a post every three steps and a sentry every five steps. The spies of Tianyan and Diwang can easily get close.
would be discovered, and all the spies sent earlier were poisoned by the enemy because of this.
This time the spies did not dare to get too close, and the information they investigated was very general. They only found out that the strength of the Peng Army was between 10,000 and 20,000 people. Judging from the clearings in the forest observed from a distance, they were hiding in it.
There should be more than twenty trebuchets.
This meager amount of information was almost useless to Tang Yin, but Letian and Ai Jia brought back a villager, which surprised Tang Yin.
This villager is about thirty years old. He is dark and thin, not tall and old, but his skin is as rough as dried orange peels. The clothes on his body are not bad, but they cannot be called new, but
There was no patch either. After he was led closer by Lotte and Ai Jia, he looked around, his eyes were exhausted, and everything he saw felt new.
Tang Yin looked at the man for a few times, shrugged and smiled, then looked at Le and Ai and asked, "Who is he?"
"His name is Zhao An, and he is a villager in the east of Lishan City." Lotte replied.
Ai Jia turned back and glanced at the villagers, frowned and scolded: "When you see the Lord, why don't you greet him quickly?!"
"Sir? What master?" Zhao An looked at Tang Yin without hesitation. Tang Yin was only wearing a coat and was shirtless underneath. In Zhao An's eyes, he certainly didn't have the armor-clad Lotte and Ai Jia.
Wei Feng naturally thought that his official position should not be as high as that of Lotte and Ai Jia.
Ai Jia glared at him fiercely and said in a low voice: "This is Mr. Tang Yintang."
Hearing this, Zhao An let out a surprised sound. He obviously didn't expect that the sick young man in front of him was Tang Yin. He was stunned for a moment, then fell to his knees with a plop, kowtowed repeatedly, and said in a trembling voice: "Little... little...
People...Zhao An, I've met...I've met Mr. Tang!"
Tang Yin had no time to waste on the villagers now. He just waved his hand casually and said, "Get up!" After saying that, he looked at Letian and Ai Jia in confusion.
Ai Jia took a step forward and said seriously: "Sir, Zhao An said that he knows that there is a shoal in Pan River, and one can cross the river even without boats and rafts."
"Oh?" After hearing this, Tang Yin's eyes suddenly brightened up and he turned to look at Zhao An.
Zhao An had never seen a person's eyes so bright, almost shining. He had already stood up, but under Tang Yin's gaze, his legs became weak. He lowered his body and fell to his knees again, without even looking back.
Dare to lift it up, let alone look into Tang Yin's eyes.
Seeing this, Tang Yin smiled and said softly: "Zhao An, you don't have to be afraid. I'm not a tiger and I won't eat you."
He meant it as a joke, but Zhao An didn't dare to raise his head while he was kneeling on the ground. Instead, he responded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, yes! Sir... you are not a tiger and will not eat me..."
Pfft! Ai Jia couldn't help but laugh out loud, and Tang Yin was also happy. He motioned to the guards on the left and right to bring a chair over and let Zhao An sit down.
Zhao An has never faced an official as big as Tang Yin in his life, and has never seen much of the world. At this time, he was nervous and scared, and his body was trembling into a ball. Even when he sat on the chair, his buttocks were just sticky.
On one side, his body was stiff, as if he would slide off the chair at any time.
Tang Yin asked with a smile: "Zhao An, do you know that there are shoals in the Pan River, and you can cross there even without a boat?"
"Yes...yes!" Zhao An stammered.
"Where is it?" Tang Yin's body, which was originally lying on the soft floor, also subconsciously sat up.
"Answer... the person is... just ten miles east of Lishan City."
"Oh?" Tang Yin stared at Zhao An without blinking, his sharp eyes seeming to see directly into his heart. After a long pause, he rolled his eyes, grabbed the map next to him, and pointed to Zhao An.
An shook it off and said, "Show it to me!"
Zhao An always lowered his head. Leng Ran was hit by the map that was thrown at him. He was so frightened that he slipped out of the chair and fell to the ground. After staying for a while, he came back to his senses. He unfolded the map with trembling hands and looked at it.
He looked at it, then looked at it the other way around, and finally raised his head bravely, looked at Tang Yin with embarrassment, and whispered: "Sir... I can't understand... I can't read either..."
Alas! Tang Yin sighed feebly. There was really nothing he could do against such villagers. He chuckled and said, "Then tell me, how do you know that shoal? How many people know that place? Why?
I've never heard anyone mention it?"
"Sir, not many people know about that shoal. I discovered it by accident, and it is only a shoal there in July and August when the tide is low. In normal months, the river there is still very deep..."
After Tang Yin heard this, he was so angry that he wanted to scold his mother. It was now the beginning of April, and July and August were still far away. By July and August, our main army would have already arrived, and tens of thousands of rafts could be built.
, do you still need to find some shoal to cross the river?
His face was still cheerful, but his fists were slowly clenched, and his eyes drifted towards Lotte and Ai Jia from time to time, and his dissatisfaction was revealed.
Lotte and Ai Jia also secretly grinned. When they first found this villager, he never said he would wait until July or August. Isn't this just looking for trouble and causing trouble for the adults?
After Zhao An came to an end, Tang Yin sat up and lay down again, closed his eyes, waved his hand and said, "Give him some silver and send him away."
"Sir, I..." Letian wanted to explain, but really didn't know what to say. In the end, he could only shake his head helplessly and said to Zhao An: "Brother, let's go!"
Letian was about to pull Zhao An out, but the latter said hurriedly: "Sir...sir, I haven't finished speaking yet!"
Tang Yin was too lazy to look at him any longer, so he closed his eyes and asked, "What else do you have to say?"
"Yes, that's the case! Sir, if you want to cross the river without a boat, there is still a way."
Tang Yin sneered and said: "Continue to walk to the ford you mentioned?"
"Yes, sir." Zhao An swallowed and explained in detail: "The humidity in Jiangbei is heavy, and the forest is also humid. Mushrooms grow almost all year round. The villain often goes to Jiangbei to pick. Not only can he support his family, but also
I could take it to the city in exchange for some household expenses, but I had to pay for crossing the river every time. How could the villain have so much money to pay every day? So the villain waited until the tide was low in August and pulled a rope from the south bank to the shoal.
After reaching the north bank, no matter whether the tide is high or low, as long as you hold on to this rope, the little person can easily swim from the south bank to the north bank. Over the years, there has never been an accident, and this rope is hidden in the river, except for the little boy.
People, almost no one knows.”
"Oh? Is there such a thing?" Tang Yin sat up again, his eyes were shining again, his mind was spinning, and he carefully analyzed Zhao An's words. After thinking about it carefully, he felt that it was reasonable. He didn't
He nodded animatedly and asked with a smile: "Is what you said true?"
"No matter how brave you are, you won't dare to deceive adults!"
Tang Yin tilted his head, rolled his eyes, and said with a smile: "Okay! Take me there. If what you say is true, I will reward you with a hundred taels of gold. If what you say is false, I will take your gold."
Head!"
After Zhao An heard this, instead of being afraid, he was so excited that he almost jumped up on the spot. One hundred taels of gold was enough for ordinary villagers to live for a lifetime. How could he make such a windfall come from the sky?
Not happy or excited? He nodded repeatedly and said hurriedly: "Yes, yes, yes! I will take the adults to check it out now!"
Tang Yin was very satisfied with his reaction. From this, it can be seen that this person does not seem to be pretending to be a deceiver. If he is really a meticulous work of Peng Jun, his acting skills will be too superb.
This matter was of great importance. Tang Yin did not care about being injured and decided to go in person. However, he was also worried about Peng Jun's spy in Lishan City, so he did not dare to go out in a big way. Instead, he changed into casual clothes and only brought Lotte and Ai with him.
Jia, Cheng Jin and Zhao An quietly came out from the back door of the county capital, got on the carriage, and headed straight to the east of the city.
After leaving the city and confirming that there were no spies behind him, Tang Yin asked Zhao An to lead the way to the ford he mentioned.
The shoal Zhao An mentioned is located ten miles east of Lishan City. This is the foot of Lishan Mountain. There are no roads and the ground is full of stones and weeds. The carriage cannot pass. When it comes here, the carriage can only stop. Tang Yin also starts from
He came from the car and was supported by Cheng Jin and others as he walked to the shoal.
While walking, Tang Yin asked curiously: "Zhao An, did you say the rope is hidden in the river?"
"Yes, sir!" Zhao An replied respectfully.
"How long has it been?"
"Almost five years."
Tang Yin smiled and asked casually: "Five years? After such a long time, won't the rope rot in the river?"
Hey! Lotte and Ai Jia really never thought about this, and they both looked at Zhao An in unison.
Zhao An replied cheerfully: "No, no, the villain is using oil rope. Let alone five years, even if he soaks in the river for ten or twenty years, it will be fine."
Tang Yin, Lotte, Ai Jia, and Cheng Jin were all familiar with the oil rope he was talking about. Oil rope is made of special rattan that is repeatedly soaked in oil. It is strong and water-resistant. It is usually used in the military for binding.
It is used as a rope for armor. Tang Yin smiled and said: "Can you make oil rope?"
"Yes, the little man learned it from his elder brother."
"Brother Ling is..."
"My eldest brother is in the Central Army, and he used to be..."
"oh?"
"But two years ago, my eldest brother went to Ningguo and died in Hedong County." Speaking of this, Zhao An's expression became lonely, and there was sadness in his eyes. The Hedong area is the focus of the struggle between Feng and Ning.
The country has always regarded the Hedong area as its own territory, so the Hedong area is generally called Hedong County in the Feng Kingdom.