Through spying and observation during this period, Han Bao and the others have identified that Guanjiang Tower is quite similar to Late Red Tower, which operated a brothel and warehouse in the early years. In fact, it is the remnants of Wang Jingrong and the Shenling Division of the Chengdu Army Jiedushi in Heshuo and Hedong areas.
The core organization established by the operation.
In the early years, with the support of Jin Prince Shi Chengzu, Guanjianglou shared the right to negotiate and sell salt and wine with more than a dozen aristocratic families in the Jin State, becoming a major salt merchant and wine merchant in the Jin State, and secretly cultivated close associates.
Covering the main prefectures and counties of Jin State.
It is not too difficult to guess that Guanjianglou is related to Wang Jinrong.
Guanjianglou only started selling it to the public four or five years ago. It is a kind of spirit that is particularly popular in the North. Its taste is similar to Yandangchun in the early years. It is not difficult for Han Bao to speculate that Guanjianglou actually obtained the steamed wine from Wanhonglou.
method.
And once the focus is on Guanjiang Tower, more clues have been uncovered over the past month or so.
The four-story building opposite the tea shop is the main building of Guanjiang Tower in Dingzhou.
In addition to the large and small restaurants in Dingzhou City, wine shops, officials and citizens must go here to buy drinks, and private brewing is strictly prohibited. This place itself is also the most magnificent inn and restaurant in Dingzhou City.
Not to mention the ordinary dignitaries in Dingzhou City, even Wang Yuankui, the governor of the Chengde Army, his son Sima of the Chengde Army, and Wang Mao, the commander of the Ya Army, often entertained generals, guests and friends here.
Han Bao's time to enter Dingzhou was still short, and he didn't have many manpower to use. In the early stage, he could only focus on Guanjiang to spy on the remaining forces of the Shenling Division in the Heshuo area and the internal and external collusion.
However, the tea shop is not a place for talking. Now that he has contacted Huo Li and Wang Che, Han Bao did not say much to them in the tea shop to avoid attracting attention. He directly told them his current destination and left first.
Tea shop, walk through the streets and alleys, and return to a dilapidated courtyard behind Guanjiang Tower.
After a while, Huo Li, Wang Che and others dispersed and rushed over to meet up. Han Bao took them through two secret doors and entered a collapsed and abandoned courtyard next door. Then they officially sat down to talk to each other in a dark room.
Introduce the recent situation and progress in Dingzhou and Tangyi.
Han Bao has been secretly monitoring Guanjiang Tower for half a month. Three days ago, he successfully sent two of his subordinates who had just secured their cover in Dingzhou to work in Guanjiang Tower. However, in the early stage, Guanjiang Tower only served as a restaurant.
Young man, I can’t get in touch with the core people and things.
What can be confirmed so far is that Guanjianglou established commercial ties with areas controlled by the Mongol people through the trade of wine, furs, ironware and other commodities in the early years; and with the secret support of Wang Jinrong, the Mongol caravans
In 2006, we were able to directly enter Hengzhou, Dingzhou, Cangzhou and other places controlled by the German army from Youzhou and Tanzhou areas to conduct trade.
Although the caravans that the Mongols entered Dingzhou mainly hired Han people from Youtan and other places, the forces behind the caravans that controlled the caravans were not natives from Youtan and other states that were occupied by the Mongols more than ten years ago.
clan, but more of the well-dressed nobles who went directly north from Guanzhong to seek refuge with the Mongol people in order to escape the pursuit of Liang Jun when the previous dynasty was overthrown.
It can be speculated that the remnants of the Shenling Division in Heshuo have long established close ties with the former gentry who fled north more than 20 years ago.
Although Han Bao did not have enough manpower for the time being, he was sent to Tanzhou, Youzhou and other places to gather information. However, through observing the Mongol caravans and listening to the rumors about the Mongol caravans among Dingzhou residents, he speculated that the "Book of Heavenly Craftsmen"
Part of the content has already been introduced to Youtan and other places in Guanjiang Tower.
Because the Mongol caravans have been entering Dingzhou regularly for seven or eight years, many things are not secrets in Dingzhou - Han Bao has deeper information, so it is not difficult to uncover many superficial fragments.
information.
The forces behind the control of these Mongol caravans were mainly the Xiao family, a clan of nobles who had fled north.
The ancestors of the Xiao family, Xiao Wending and Xiao Jun, served as prime ministers in the previous dynasties twice. They can be said to be the first-class well-dressed nobles in the middle and late dynasties.
After the Xiao family fled north to join the Mongols, they were greatly valued and trusted by Wusu Dashi, the eldest son of the Mongolian Governor's Palace at that time.
At that time, Xiao Yiqing, the young master of the Xiao family, had an irreversible friendship with Wu Su Dashi. After Wu Su Dashi succeeded to the throne and founded the country, Xiao Yiqing first served as a regular attendant with a cavalry and a bachelor at his side, helping Wu Su Dashi to imitate the Central Plains Dynasty in the Great Plains.
Yingzhou and Shizhou were set up deep in the grassland to accommodate the Han people who fled north and the Mongolian cavalry who repeatedly invaded and plundered the past south. Iron casting, farming, and pool salt mining were developed in Yingzhou and Shizhou.
After the Mongols captured more than ten states including Yunyanyoutan in the north and south of Yanshan Mountain from the Jin State, Xiao Yiqing strongly advised Wusu Dashi to govern according to customs, and established two chambers in the Mongolian interior, the North and the South, to govern the southern states respectively.
The Han people in the county and the Mongol people on the northern grasslands.
In just twelve or thirteen years, Xiao Yiqing assisted Wusu Dashi in recruiting Han officials on a large scale, promoting the development of the Mongolian state from tribalism to centralized power, and moving the political, cultural, and economic center of the Mongolian state southward to Youzhou.
Xiao Yiqing was the Grand Master of the South Academy of the Mongolian Kingdom and Minister of the Ministry of War. He could be said to be one of the princes and ministers of the Mongolian Kingdom. His daughter Xiao Qiang married the crown prince Wu Sulu as his concubine.
Huo Li and Wang Che were ordered to come here this time, mainly to remind Han Bao to pay attention to the remaining forces of the Shenling Division in the Heshuo area and their contacts and collusion with the gentry who had fled north. They did not expect that Han Bao would be in Dingzhou for less than two months.
Over time, I have figured out the context here. It is really hard to imagine that four or five years ago, he was just an illiterate low-level slave under the Shang family of the Lishui family. He secretly thought to himself that they think very highly of themselves.
But if they really want to switch to Han Bao's position, can they achieve this step?
"There is a Mongolian caravan of more than a hundred people. They moved into Guanjiang Tower two months ago. However, they have not been seen entering or exiting in the past two months, and no bulk cargo has been transferred to other states and counties. They should represent the Mongolian people.
The envoy for the negotiations between the king and Wang Yuankui, but unfortunately our people were unable to penetrate into the core area of Guanjiang Tower. We don’t know who the Mongolian envoy is or what step they talked about." Han Bao said with regret.
.
"Has Liang Guo paid close attention to the developments in Dingzhou?" Huo Li asked.
"We noticed traces of people passing by among the peaks near Jingxing. There should be spies from the Liang Kingdom traveling between Lu and Dingzhou. However, we haven't found any traces of Liang Jian's activities in Dingzhou yet. They must have come over for more information.
"Morning, if we lurk deeper, we don't dare to alert the snakes and alarm them..." Han Bao said.
Huo Li nodded. After all, their main task was to pay attention to the movements of the Chengde Army and the Mongol National Congress, and ensure that when the Mongol cavalry went south, they could report to Tangyi as quickly as possible.
I went specifically to find out what kind of conditions the Chengde army and the Mongol people had reached.
In that case, once the enemy is alerted, it will not be conducive to ensuring the completion of their basic tasks.
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In order to ensure this, they also have another task, which is to set up hidden strongholds all the way south in Dingzhou, Hengzhou, Qizhou, Xingzhou, Weizhou, Caozhou, Songzhou and other places, so as to ensure that the information can be
The fastest transmission speed.
The straight-line distance from Dingzhou to Chaozhou is more than 2,000 miles. If only a group of people were to deliver the message, they would have to hide their identities and avoid many inquiries along the way. It would take at least a month to deliver the message, and there were huge obstacles along the way.
Risk of interception.
There are strongholds along the way to send messages in turn, which can at least shorten the time by half.
Whether the news of the sudden change in Heshuo was delivered to Tangyi a month later or shortened to half a month, the meaning is completely different.
Of course, Huo Li and Wang Che also brought a few homing pigeons with them when they came this time.
However, the distance from Dingzhou to Tangyi is more than two thousand miles. There is really no guarantee whether a few homing pigeons can successfully carry messages back to Tangyi across such a long distance.
They need to establish multiple information transmission channels.
In the secret room, Han Bao first introduced the current situation in Dingzhou to Huo Li and Wang Zhe, and based on the more specific information brought by Huo Li and others about the remnant forces of the Shenling Division in the Heshuo area and the nobles who fled north, he made a thorough investigation of these two
After months of collecting fragmented information and sorting it out, before I knew it, the dusk had deepened, and through the gap in the broken window, I could see that the snow in the yard had begun to lighten.
At this time, there was a soft knock on the door. Han Bao opened the door and saw Zhang Shigui, who was on duty in the yard, walking in with a bronze telescope in his hand and said: "There are more than a dozen people pretending to be merchants, coming from the south gate."
Entering the city, I just entered the backyard of Guanjiang Tower and met the leader of the Mengwu caravan..."
Han Bao chose this ruined courtyard as his secret base, mainly because there are several 300-400-year-old cypress trees in the courtyard, and their crowns and leaves are still thick even in the cold winter.
They can hide in the canopy of a tree that is more than five or six stories high, and use a telescope to see what is happening in the backyard of Guanjiang Tower seven or eight hundred steps away.
Han Bao was basically able to confirm that the Mongol caravan stranded in the backyard of Guanjiang Tower during this period was the envoy sent by the Mongol Kingdom to negotiate with Wang Yuankui.
At this time, Wang Yuankui and his son Wang Mao went in and out of Guanjiang Tower to talk secretly with the Mengwu envoys. They did not make a fuss, but a dozen people in disguise entered Dingzhou City from the south and met with the Mengwu envoys at Guanjiang Tower.
, Han Bao, Huo Li, and Wang Che all stood in horror.
"Are the Jin generals stationed in Qizhou or Zhaozhou also surrendering to the Mongols, so they sent people over to meet the Mongolian envoys secretly?" Huo Li asked in surprise.
Han Bao was also a little confused. He couldn't figure out what the new discovery meant for a while, so he walked towards the yard with Huo Li and Wang Che.
At this time, there was still one person standing in the canopy of the tree, keeping an eye on the movements in the backyard of Guanjiang Tower. However, everyone who met the Mengwu envoy had entered the room at this time, and no other new discoveries had been made yet.
Wang Che, who was quite silent after the meeting, frowned and shook his head and said: "Qizhou, Zhaozhou is located in the hinterland of Heshuo. Although it is located on the passage south of the Mongol cavalry, the troops stationed in these places
There are only three to five thousand people, and even if they are willing to surrender to the Mongol people together, Wang Yuankui and Wang Jingrong do not want to alert others and leak the news, so they will not directly invite them to participate in such confidential negotiations at this time!"
"It is true that there are very few troops stationed in Zhao Qi and other states, and their combat effectiveness is not strong, and the generals guarding these places are not strong-willed. If Wang Yuankui goes to Beitou to welcome the Mongol cavalry south, he will send people to say surrender.
These cities are enough, there is no reason to alarm others now," Han Bao said.
He felt that what Wang Che said was very reasonable, and couldn't help but look at Wang Che more.
Wang Che was much weaker than Huo Liwen, who had practiced kickboxing since childhood and led a family of soldiers when he grew up.
After traveling long distances for the past month, Wang Che was much more haggard and exhausted than Huo Li. Han Bao had heard that he was usually more fond of writing and good at political affairs. He secretly felt that at such a moment, the Lord and his wife would send such a person to such a difficult time. Traveling north with Huo Li, he obviously valued his wisdom more.
Thinking of this, Han Bao asked humbly: "Master Wang Che, do you think these dozen people may have been sent by some force to secretly meet with the Mengwu envoy?"
"I'm just afraid that they came from Weibo." Wang Che frowned and said.
"A person from King Zhu Rang of Liang He?" Huo Li was determined and could not help but ask in fear at this time.
Wang Che raised his head, glanced at the tree crown, and asked, "How clear can I look at the back house of Guanjiang Tower through the looking glass from here?"
"The lights in the back house of Guanjiang Tower are brightly lit at this time, and with the help of the looking glass, I can vaguely see a person's face," Han Bao said.
"I traveled to Liang when I was young, but I also met many Liang generals. I wonder if I can see one or two familiar faces when I climb the tree." Wang Che said, if Liang He Wang Zhurang really had the opposite intention and was determined to If they collude with the Mongols to clear the way for Emperor Zhu Yu of Liang, they will definitely send their core direct descendants to come in disguise, instead of sending little-known fish and shrimps to negotiate.
"Okay. If it doesn't work, I will immediately arrange a noodle stall to guard the back door of Guanjiang Tower to see if I find anything. In addition, I will also arrange an informant in advance on the official road from Dingzhou to Weizhou..." Han Bao said .
Wang Che, who had never practiced kick boxing and was clumsy in his hands and feet, was about to use the rope ladder to climb up the tree. At this time, Shi Ruhai, who was hiding in the canopy of the tree and was on guard, shouted: "Someone escaped over the wall and escaped from the backyard of Guanjiang Tower, and was discovered by the guard... "
At this time, Han Bao and Huo Li ignored Wang Che's slow speed and climbed up the tree. Looking towards the streets in the distance, they saw a black figure running wildly in the alley behind Guanjiang Tower. There were dozens of vigorous figures jumping out of the back courtyard wall of Guanjiang Tower to catch up.
Han Bao and Huo Li looked at each other.
This ancient cypress was three to four hundred years old. Wang Che borrowed a rope ladder to climb up without being crowded at all. He used a telescope to look into the alley behind Guanjiang Tower and asked, "Is it because Liang Jun's spies who sneaked into Guanjiang Tower discovered it?" What happened, that I had to risk leaving Guanjiang Tower to report the news, and then the guards in Guanjiang Tower discovered my trace?"
Han Bao could think of this.
Although he successfully sent people to break into Guanjiang Tower two or three days ago, the two informants they broke into were only low-level servants and had no chance to touch the core area of Guanjiang Tower's backyard. Even if they found something, He won't act recklessly and alert others, so he probably isn't one of their people.
Besides, their point of contact with Guanjianglou's informant was on the other side, instead of fleeing into the alley on this side in a panic.
Of course, Liang Guo secretly was not reckless. As Wang Zhe said, he must have seen the secret and had to spread it out as soon as possible, so he had to take the risk of sneaking out to report the secret, which exposed the truth.
Liang Guo secretly successfully broke into Guanjiang Tower. If the Mongolian envoys couldn't make them fuss, how could anything happen that could suddenly make them panic?
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Han Bao and Huo Li looked at each other and thought of Wang Che's guess just now.
Emperor Liang had expected Wang Yuankui to defect to the Mongol people, so Liang Jun secretly lurked in Dingzhou and would not make a fuss. However, the fact that Liang He Wang Zhu Rang, who replaced Liang Shixiong as Weibo's military envoy, colluded with the Mongol people, was enough to cause Liang Jian to
After realizing it, I suddenly became panicked!
They were all so shocked when they thought of this just now, not to mention the secret room of Liang Guo?
"Someone is setting fire in Guanjiang Tower..." At this time, Shi Ruhai, who was standing at the top, said again.
Han Bao and Huo Li turned around and saw flames coming out of a window on the third floor of the main building of Guanjiang Building. If Shi Ruhai hadn't been staring at it, it wouldn't have been very clear at night and it would have been easy to miss it.
At this time, people started to flee to the long street south of the main building. It can be seen that the fire in the building was definitely not small, but it had not burned through the windows.
During this time, Han Bao and the others mainly observed the movements of Guanjiang Tower and Cheng Dejun's Jiedushi Mansion from the outside. They did not penetrate too deeply, nor did they easily take risks to sneak in for spying. They also did not know Liang Jun's secret relationship with Guanjiang Tower and Cheng Dejun.
How deep was the penetration into Jiedushi's mansion?
However, looking at the activities in Guanjiang Tower, Han Bao and the others understood that it was not just one or two Liang Jian who had successfully sneaked into Guanjiang Tower. It was very likely that the people who escaped over the wall before and the people who set fire later were just to create chaos or
Divert the attention of the guards at Guanjiang Tower.
In order to prevent the spies from escaping among the crowds fleeing the fire, the guards of Guanjiang Tower divided one hundred and fifty sixty people into two teams, filed out of the side door from the side alley, and blocked both sides of the long street.
These guards are all wearing strong swords and holding crossbows. At this time, you can also see how powerful the hidden weapons of Guanjiang Tower are.
"Wang Yuankui may have already secretly negotiated terms with the Mongols. Is he waiting for Zhu Rang to send someone over?" Wang Yuankui saw that the guards in Guanjiang Tower were openly equipped with armor and holding crossbows to block the long street.
Zhe said with a frown.
Han Bao and Huo Li also nodded in agreement.
It is true that Guanjiang Tower is a major merchant force in the Jin State. It has established contact points and footholds in various states and counties of the Jin State, and its minions are spread all over the Jin State. There is no problem. However, in such an important city as Dingzhou, there are hidden treasures.
The nature of the organized military force has changed, and it has become a "secret private army" with ulterior motives.
Not to mention that today they blatantly bypassed official agencies and used force blatantly on the street.
Even if the armed merchant ships under the Chishan Society are authorized to have armored soldiers to guard the goods to prevent bandits, they will report in advance when passing by local prefectures and counties.
And if someone wants to go ashore and enter the city of a prefecture or county, they can only bring short blades for self-defense. Longbows, arm-length crossbows and other weapons cannot be brought into the city at will.
The status of Guanjiang Tower in the Jin State, at least on the surface, was not higher than that of Chishan Hui, who was backed by the Tangyi Army and the Han family behind Dachu. And Chishan Hui was in Huaidong, Xiangbei and other places.
The restrictions were even greater. Yang Yuanyan and Li Zhigao wanted to send people to keep an eye on every boat and camel team entering the Chishan Society.
Even if Wang Yuankui is not a member of the Shenling Division, he has been helped by Wang Jingrong overtly and covertly over the years to take up the position of Chengde Army Jiedushi. He should have already understood the relationship between Guanjiang Tower and Heshuo's legacy in the Shenling Division, and he should also understand Guanjiang Tower.
Jianglou’s relationship with the gentry and Mongol people who fled north.
In the past, the Mongol envoys disguised themselves as caravans and entered Dingzhou and stayed in Guanjiang Tower. It can also be said that Guanjiang Tower had contacts with both sides and was suitable to act as a middleman between the Mongol and Chengdu armies.
However, at this time, it became clear that Guanjiang Tower had a full-fledged armored force in Dingzhou, and could even openly use these forces without any scruples. This shows that Guanjiang Tower and Wang Jinrong actually had more powerful soldiers in Dingzhou than outsiders imagined.
High status and power.
That's far more than just being the leader.
"Is it possible that Wang Jingrong and Guan Jianglou have secretly taken refuge with Xiao Yiqing and the Mongols?" Han Bao asked in shock when he saw the situation in front of him and thought of a possibility.
Wang Che nodded and said: "My lord and madam were a little worried about this, so I came here to see if I could find any more obvious signs. But I didn't expect that something like this would happen just after I arrived in Dingzhou."
There was only a little worry before, but what happened before them showed that this guess was closer to the truth, otherwise many of the doubts they saw could not be explained clearly.
Han Bao, a young and mature man, couldn't help but look shocked at this time.
Guanjiang Tower is attached to the Jin State, secretly supporting Wang Yuankui and other forces, or secretly colluding with the Mongol people to seek opportunities to restore the country and take revenge. This was their initial guess, which is consistent with their current speculation that Guanjiang Tower
Having surrendered to the Mongol people a long time ago and vassaling the Mongol people are completely different concepts, and the subsequent situation in Heshuo is also completely different concepts.
If it is the former, even if Wang Yuankui and the Mongols negotiate the terms of surrender, the Mongols will not be able to completely trust Wang Yuankui immediately. It may even require Wang Yuankui to send his family members to Youzhou as hostages before the Mongolian cavalry can
Dare to gather in large numbers and move south.
If it were the latter, as long as Wang Yuankui made up his mind to surrender, the Mongols could immediately control the German military and political system and the families of the main generals through Guanjiang Tower. At this time, the Mongols had probably completed their assembly in northern Dingzhou.
The cavalry only need to wait to further negotiate with the envoy sent by Zhu Rang, King of Liang He, and then they can march straight in without hesitation, and they don't even need to consider the food and grass along the way.
In the former case, the Mongol cavalry would have to spend more than a month or even longer to complete many precautions at the earliest before they dared to unite with the German army and advance to Qizhou and Zhaozhou in the south, and then further south to Weizhou.
, it will take longer to join forces with Liang He Wang Zhu Rang to use troops.
In the latter case, the Mongol cavalry could travel day and night, passing through the Chengde Army's control area and entering Qizhou and Zhaozhou within two or three days; the Chengde Army had most likely completed military mobilization secretly and could cooperate with sending troops south at any time.
At this time, Liang He Wang Zhu Rang confirmed that he would collude with the Mongol people to rebel. It can be said that it would only take four or five days at the shortest to jointly cut off the communication between the main force of the Liang army and Bianjing, which was besieging Luzhou in Zezhou at this time.
No matter how powerful Emperor Zhu Yu of the Liang Dynasty was, he would be trapped in the mountains south of his old county in Hedong. One hundred thousand elite troops would become an isolated and helpless army - he would not be given any time to dispatch troops or adjust his deployment.
Even if Zhu Yu could escape from the Mongol cavalry pursuit from the southwest of Hedong County and escape to the Guanzhong area, how long would it take for Zhu Yu to borrow a road from Guanzhong to return to Bianjing?
However, after Liang He Wang Zhu Rang officially rebelled, he waited for the Mongol cavalry to block the main force of the Liang army from Weizhou back to Bianjing. He sent troops directly from Weizhou and could attack in only four or five days.
