Although there are no famous specialties here, there is an important military institution here, which is the Daning Dusi that was moved from the periphery of the Great Wall to Baoding.
Daning Dusi, subordinate to the Fifth Army Dudufu under the Ministry of War, is the "outer guard" army responsible for war in the Ming Dynasty.
The Daning Dusi and the Baoding Prefecture Yamen each go their own way and pursue their own affairs, and there is little contact between them on weekdays.
However, under the Daning Dusi, there are more than 100,000 troops, plus their families, making the entire Baoding city look very prosperous with people coming and going.
With people, there is vitality.
Businessmen from all over the country came to Baoding one after another, bringing some goods with them to make a fortune.
The inn that Xiao Chen walked into had a total of more than twenty rooms. Most of them were already occupied, and only four upper rooms were left.
Not being picky, Xiao Chen settled on the remaining four rooms.
More than an hour later, Liu Rufeng led four or five people, the first group to arrive at the inn.
In the hall, Xiao Chen was consulting with the shopkeeper whether there was any unused yard nearby that he could rent for the lieutenants to live in.
After all, the captain of the Shenji Corps carries firearms with him. He lives in a separate place and is not easily exposed.
In addition to the more than fifty military horses, there must be a large yard to tie them down.
Seeing Liu Rufeng, Xiao Chen nodded.
Liu Rufeng also pretended to be casual, walked over and stood in front of the counter, listening to the conversation between the two.
"There is a courtyard, but if it is bigger, you have to go around a street to get to the inn." The shopkeeper said politely with a smile on his face.
"It's only one street, so it doesn't matter. Can the shopkeeper arrange for someone to take us to see it?" Xiao Chen asked.
"Are you guys going to move in today?"
"Yes, I'm moving in today."
"Okay, I'll let the waiter take you to see it." The shopkeeper said, waving to the waiter on the side.
"One thing, I'd better say it in advance. If you don't mind, we'll go and see it." As if he remembered something, the shopkeeper touched his forehead and said with an embarrassed smile.
"Shopkeeper, please tell me."
"This courtyard is actually my original courtyard. It is big and spacious enough. However, the largest academy in Baoding Prefecture is separated by a wall. At dawn, the sound of reading can be heard from inside. It is also because it is too noisy.
I just moved out of here. If you can tolerate the noisy sound of reading in the morning, let's go see the yard. I can give you a cheaper rent." Looking at the two people, the shopkeeper was very sincere.
said.
"The sound of reading is so nice. Besides, we are not people who sleep in late." Liu Rufeng shook his head indifferently.
The captains of Dongchang are all very skilled, but they don't have much knowledge.
Although Dongchang also has a place dedicated to teaching them literacy, everyone is often busy with official duties, and there are very few people who actually learn to read.
It's good that there is actually an academy next door. Listening to Lang Lang's reading every day is like indirectly edifying everyone.
"Okay, I'll ask the waiter to greet you for a while, and then I'll take you to see it myself." While the shopkeeper was speaking, he had already walked out of the counter.
Xiao Chen looked at Liu Rufeng: "Go and see, I'm waiting for Captain Duan here."
"Well, okay." Liu Rufeng responded and walked out of the inn while chatting with the shopkeeper.
In the evening, Xiao Chen and Liu Rufeng were sitting in their rooms on the second floor of the inn, looking at the crowded and chaotic street from the window.
On the table, there was a pot of hot tea brought by the shopkeeper, but neither of them moved it. A trace of hot steam came out from the spout of the teapot.
"I have arranged the entire Shenji Service for such a long time. If the commander has not come back yet, is there something wrong?" Liu Rufeng tilted his head and looked at the street below, feeling a little worried.
.
Although Baoding Prefecture is not as powerful as the capital city, there are not as many powerful forces. However, the Daning Dusi established in Baoding Prefecture is a real external defense military organization.
Without being able to reveal his identity easily, if there is a conflict with someone from Daning Dusi, it would be really difficult to handle the matter.
"Captain Duan is also a person with great experience in handling cases, so nothing will happen to him. I think the group of people he is following are probably going around the city just to be cautious. Otherwise, even Baoding City wouldn't be able to delay such a long time.
A long time." Holding an empty tea bowl in his hand, Xiao Chen turned it over in boredom.
Looking away from the window, Liu Rufeng picked up the teapot, poured a bowl for each of them, and then sat down slowly.
Pushing a bowl of tea in front of Xiao Chen, he picked up another bowl and took a sip.
"In such a large city, it will take some time to find the prince. The most important thing is that we don't know the specific situation of the other party at all, and we only got a general direction."
"With this direction, it's already very good. The next thing is to lurk and investigate secretly." Xiao Chen said calmly.
"If there is no new situation, we will have to lurk alone?" Liu Rufeng couldn't help but ask.
Even if Dongchang has the patience to lurk, the emperor may not have the patience to wait.
Once the emperor returns to Beijing and hears that the whereabouts of the prince have not yet been found, it is not certain whether he will issue an edict to recall everyone in Dongchang to hold them accountable.
"It will take three days at most. If nothing is found, it means that what shopkeeper Li gave us is false news. We will not delay any longer and evacuate Baoding and make new plans." Looking at Liu Rufeng, Xiao Chen raised three fingers.
At the gate, a figure flashed into the inn.
Just as the waiter was about to go up to greet me, the visitor rushed to the front of the counter.
It was Duan Tianming.
"Shopkeeper, the few young people who came to stay at the hotel at noon, which room are they in?" Duan Tianming asked anxiously?
"Did the young man staying in the hotel at noon bring two horses?" The shopkeeper raised his head and asked after a little thought.
"Yes, I led two horses."
"On the second floor, they have reserved the four innermost rooms." The shopkeeper smiled and pointed at the stairs.
Without further words, Duan Tianming turned and walked towards the stairs.
Looking at Duan Tianming leaving in a hurry, a trace of worry flashed across the shopkeeper's face.
"These young people today are acting in a hurry. They don't come to Baoding to do business as they said. You can keep an eye on the hotel. I just rent my yard to them, but don't give it to them."
I'll cause some trouble."
Shaking his head, the shopkeeper sighed, sat down again, picked up the abacus on the counter, and started pulling it.
As soon as he walked up the stairs, Xiao Chen was already standing at the door of the guest room, waving to Duan Tianming.
"Is there any tea in the room? I'm so thirsty." Duan Tianming walked into the guest room while muttering.
"The shopkeeper brought a large pot of hot tea. I didn't even want to drink it. I kept it just for you." Xiao Chen smiled and pointed to the teapot on the table.
Perhaps he was really thirsty, so without saying a word, Duan Tianming picked up the teapot, opened his mouth and bit the spout of the teapot, and drank most of the teapot in one go.
He burped in the middle, rubbed his stomach with his hands, and then drank every drop of the remaining tea. Then he put down the tea kettle with satisfaction, sat down on the chair Liu Rufeng handed him, and took a long breath.
One breath.
"Oh, oh..."
"What's going on? It took you so long to follow someone? Did you get lost when you came back?" Xiao Chen asked with a smile.
Liu Rufeng, who was next to him, had a serious look on his face. He looked at Duan Tianming and said slowly: "Looking at your hungry look, could it be that someone has discovered you and is chasing you? Will our Captain Duan
, chasing him through most of Baoding City?"
"Hey, don't tell me, I really traveled to most of Baoding City, maybe more than half of it." Duan Tianming patted the table and said.
"What's going on?" Xiao Chen asked in a low voice.
After looking up at the door and making sure it was closed, Duan Tianming lowered his voice: "This group of people has a big problem. Even if the prince is not in the carriage, he must be a very important person."
"how do I say this?"
"There were so many pedestrians on the street that they probably didn't notice me. However, they still walked around the city countless times before finally walking into a large courtyard."
"Big courtyard? Can you see where it is?"
"Hey, you must have never imagined that it is an academy?" Duan Tianming said.
"Academy?"
"Academy?"
Xiao Chen and Liu Rufeng looked at each other in unison.
