Chengji County in Qinzhou belongs to the Longyou Road and is the only way to go west to Lanzhou and the Hexi Corridor. Merchants from the south to the north meet here, and commerce is very developed.
However, since the emergence of horse bandits on Longyou Road last year, Chengji County's business has rapidly declined, seriously affecting the county's catering and accommodation industries.
This afternoon, a dozen guests came to the Gaosheng Inn in Chengji County. It was rare for so many guests to arrive at the same time. The shopkeeper and waiters were very enthusiastic and served the dozens of guests.
These dozen people were the leading scouts sent by Guo Song. The leader was named Zhang Yun, who was a scout under Yao Jin. He was shrewd and capable, and was highly regarded by Yao Jin.
Zhang Yun's first mission this time was to find the whereabouts of the horse bandits and learn as much as possible about them. Before he left, Guo Song met with him. Guo Song told him that the horse bandits might be related to the party members.
, which made Zhang Yun see a glimmer of light.
The reason why Zhang Yun came to Chengji County is because Chengji County is a place where commerce and trade are concentrated. There are many caravans coming and going, so he should be able to find out about the horse bandits.
Zhang Yun arranged for his men to stay. He found the innkeeper Liang and introduced his situation frankly, "We are the guards of the Wang's caravan in Chang'an. Not long ago, the Wang's caravan suffered heavy losses and goods worth tens of thousands of dollars were robbed.
Come on, nine of the thirteen guys died, the boss is deeply worried and sent us to investigate the situation of the horse bandits."
Shopkeeper Liang sighed and said: "Not only are you suffering losses, we are also deeply affected. We originally had five clerks and it was difficult to find a room. But now, there are only two clerks left, and most of the inns are empty. You
He is the only guest these two days."
"Should the shopkeeper know something about this raging horse bandit?" Zhang Yun asked tentatively.
"I have no personal experience. Most of it is hearsay. If Zhang Wenwei wants to hear it, I can talk about it."
Zhang Yun leaned forward slightly, his eyes full of interest, "Shopkeeper Liang, please speak, I am willing to listen attentively!"
Shopkeeper Liang pondered for a moment and said: "The first time this horse bandit appeared was around March last year. I remember it very clearly. It was the Cold Food Festival in those days. A caravan disappeared and the government sent people to look for them.
, the bodies of this caravan were found in a ravine at the junction of Qinzhou and Weizhou. Thirty-two people in total were all killed. The goods and camels were gone, and several female family members were also robbed. Later,
The state government found an eyewitness, a sheep herder, who said that hundreds of black cavalrymen came running like a black gust of wind, and the reputation of the Black Wind Horse Bandits came out."
"and after?"
"Later, there were constant reports of Black Wind Horse Bandits, saying that they specifically attacked caravans, leaving no survivors alive, and all the women were raped to death. They were extremely brutal. More and more caravans were killed, and merchants traveling on this road
The team is getting smaller and smaller.”
"What do you mean by taking this road? Is there any other way the caravan can take?" Zhang Yun asked in confusion.
Shopkeeper Liang nodded, "I heard that you can go north to Lingzhou, then go around Xiaoguan, and take the Jingshui Road to Chang'an. That way you won't run into trouble. Many caravans prefer to take the long way around."
"Without the caravan of fat sheep, will the wolves still exist?"
"Also! I heard a few days ago that they started to rob villages. They are just as brutal. Maybe one day they will rob the county town."
"Does the shopkeeper know how many people there are in this Black Wind Horse Bandit?" Zhang Yun asked again.
"There are many specific opinions. Some say hundreds of people, some say hundreds, and some say only dozens of people. There are various theories, but they are all rumors, and the real situation is not clear."
Zhang Yun pondered for a moment and asked: "The government should have detailed records of the real situation!"
"There are detailed records. The state government even sent people to investigate."
"Is there any way to obtain official records?"
The shopkeeper thought for a while and said with a smile: "This kind of thing shouldn't be considered confidential. Just spend some money and have the clerk in the state government copy it."
"Can you ask the shopkeeper to help me with this matter?"
"It's okay to help, so be it! I'll help you make an appointment with someone. You can talk to him about the details. This person is a civil servant in the state government and a relative of mine. He should be able to do something."
"Will he trade with me?"
The shopkeeper laughed, "As I said just now, this kind of thing is not a secret. There is money to be made, so why not do it?"
Zhang Yun nodded, "Then I'll trouble the shopkeeper!"
........
At dusk, Shopkeeper Liang brought over a man, who was about thirty years old. He was wearing a blue muslin shirt and a gauze hat. He had a small nose and small eyes, and his eyes revealed the desire to get rich.
"This is my cousin, his name is Luo Jiang, and he works as a clerk in the state government."
"It turns out to be Luo Shijun!" Zhang Yun smiled and saluted.
"If you don't want me to be a bad person, Guard Zhang can just call me Lao Luo."
Zhang Yun nodded, "Let's sit inside!"
The two walked into Zhang Yun's room. Zhang Yun asked him to sit down and said with a smile: "Brother Luo must already know my identity and purpose of coming."
"My cousin has already told me that I can get what you want. I will just give you a copy of the case record. I want to know how much money you can give me?" This official Luo Wen was very interested.
frank.
Zhang Yun smiled and said: "We also have cost control, I can only give you ten taels of silver at most."
The corner of Luo Jiang's mouth twitched suddenly. He thought he could get one or two taels of silver at most, but he didn't expect that the other party was willing to give him ten taels of silver. He nodded repeatedly, "I'll get it tonight!" He was afraid of having long nights and dreaming, and he couldn't wait to get it.
He immediately ran back to the state government office.
Zhang Yun also realized that his price was too high, and added: "Ten taels of silver requires all the information about the Black Wind Horse Bandits, you can't just give me part of it."
"I understand, I guarantee that it is the entire case. I will go back to the government office now and give you a copy of the information."
"Won't your governor find out?"
Luo Jiang looked outside and lowered his voice: "Li Cishi said it himself that these horse bandits have something to do with Longyou Jiedu Mansion, and the Cishi will never ask anything about it."
"Could it be that they are Tang Army cavalry in disguise?"
Luo Jiang shook his head, "It's not the cavalry of the Tang Army, it should be the Dangxiang people. Last autumn, a Qiang woman who was kidnapped escaped alive. According to her account, this horse bandit spoke Dangxiang dialect and came from the Xiazhou area. She could
Understand a little bit."
"Okay! I'm looking forward to Brother Luo's information."
The clerk did not disappoint Zhang Yun. An hour later, he delivered a thick stack of archive documents. Zhang Yun led several literate subordinates to read the records overnight and transcribed all kinds of valuable information until dawn.
At that time, they compiled a piece of intelligence with several thousand words, covering the scope of activities, number of people, equipment, operational characteristics and other important information of this horse bandit.
At daybreak, Zhang Yun sent two of his men to return the compiled intelligence to the team, and he led the rest of the soldiers to leave Chengji County and continue westward, looking for traces of the horse bandits.
.........
Dazhen Pass is the west gate of Guanzhong. The terrain is very dangerous. A long valley passes through Longshan Mountain. It has been an easy-to-defend but difficult-to-attack place since ancient times. It can be said that one man can guard the pass and ten thousand people cannot open it.
In the morning, the baggage team began to march through the Dazhenguan City Gate and toward the valley to the west, with thousands of cavalry walking in front to clear the way.
Guo Songruo felt something and kept looking back to the east sky.
"What are you looking at, husband?" Xue Tao asked with a smile from inside the oxcart.
"I just saw a small black dot appear in the sky, and I thought it was a fierce man coming!" Guo Song explained with a smile.
"Mengzi probably won't come. His child is still so young. He should be taking care of his wife and children!"
Guo Song smiled and shook his head, "Its family has always been famous for its irresponsibility. When it was a little broiler, I had never seen its father. It was its mother who was responsible for catching fish to feed it. Now there are people every day
Give them a bucket of fresh fish, and I think that guy will leave without saying goodbye just like his father."
"Husband, don't you have an eagle flute? Just try it and you will know." Xue Tao reminded.
Guo Song patted his forehead. He actually forgot about the eagle flute. He took out a small leather bag from his horse bag and took out the eagle flute. He used to hang it around his neck, but now he hasn't used it for almost a year.
Put away the eagle flute.
Guo Song took out the eagle flute and blew it. The eagle flute made a very high-pitched sound. It was a harsh low-frequency sound that had little impact on people, but the eagle could hear it in very far away places.
Not long after, a small black spot slowly appeared in the sky, getting closer and closer. Guo Song was overjoyed, the old man was really here.
He whistled for a long time, and Mengzi hovered above his head, folded its wings, and landed firmly on his shoulders. The soldiers around him couldn't help but cheer together.
At this time, Yao Jin galloped over on horseback and presented a thick piece of information to Guo Song, "This is Zhang Yun's information on the horse bandits. It is very detailed. Please take a look at it!"