The next day, the Queen Mother issued a decree pardoning Dong Jin, Lu Zhi and Guo Shu, allowing them to return to Chengdu, and demoted them to civilians.
Ju Wenzhen immediately ordered Zuo Yintai to cancel the surveillance of the three family members, and allowed them to leave Chengdu with their families and go to Chang'an. Hun Yao's family members were also pardoned at the same time, and they were allowed to leave Chengdu.
Anyone with a discerning eye can tell at a glance that this is the result of a deal. As for who made the deal with Beiya, many people have guessed that it will be no one else except Jin Wang Guo Song.
These three people can be said to be the last batch of good officials among the senior officials of the Southern Tang Dynasty. Their departure means that there is no backbone among the senior officials of the Southern Tang Dynasty and they have completely surrendered to the despotic power of the eunuchs.
Time flies to the beginning of December, the weather is gradually getting colder, the autumn harvest in Qinghe County has ended, and the streets have become very lively. This morning, Zhou Fei came to the cabinet shop as usual. Shopkeeper Yang said with a smile: "There is a need for work.
You go to Chang'an."
Transporting valuables for guests is also one of the basic businesses of Baoju Cabinet Shop. Zhou Fei has already made two trips, one to Youzhou and one to Mingzhou, which are both bounded by Hebei, but he has never been to Chang'an.
Pass.
However, the benefits of field service are very good, and they are paid at double the salary, so everyone is willing to work in the field.
Zhou Fei nodded, "Is it a big or small item this time?"
The shopkeeper smiled and said: "This time it's not an item, but a person."
Zhou Fei was stunned, he actually asked him to escort someone to Chang'an.
At this time, a heavy cough came from the back room, and a tall and fat middle-aged man walked out of it. He said impatiently: "I have to leave early tomorrow morning. Do I have a suitable escort?"
The shopkeeper quickly pointed at Zhou Fei and said with a smile: "Boss Zhang, this is the Zhou guard with the highest martial arts in our store. The warriors hired from outside are not as good as him."
This proprietor Zhang is naturally Zhang Lei, the proprietor of Baoju Cabinets. When Baoju Cabinets opened in Youzhou, Hebei Province, Zhang Lei came to preside over the ceremony and also visited Baoju Cabinets in Qinghe County.
Currently, Baoju Cabinet has four branches in Hebei, including Xindu County, Yuancheng County, Jixian County and Qinghe County. The reason why it opened a branch in Qinghe County is mainly because Qinghe County is the two largest trade centers in the Jin and Wei dynasties.
Not only Baoju Cabinet Shop, but also several large cabinet shops have opened branches here.
Zhang Lei came here with the Youzhou transport fleet, but seeing that it was about to freeze, the fleet stopped returning to Chang'an and would not return until the spring of next year.
Zhang Leike couldn't wait any longer, so he wanted to find a warrior from a martial arts school to escort him back to Chang'an. Unexpectedly, he asked several of them, but they all stopped their overseas business because of the Chinese New Year, and either refused to accept orders or waited until next year.
If that didn't work, he could only follow the arrangement of the shopkeeper of the cabinet shop and let the warriors of the cabinet house escort him back to Chang'an.
Zhang Lei quickly glanced at Zhou Fei and punched him hard. The punch was very fast and hit Zhou Fei hard on the shoulder, but Zhou Fei didn't move at all, as if he was hit on a big tree.
"Good boy, your bones are so strong!"
Zhang Lei's fists are sore. He has been pampered for the past twenty years, and the martial arts he learned when he was young has long been returned to his master. If his master, Mu Zhenren, found out, he would be so angry that he would vomit blood, and his apprentice would actually find a bodyguard to protect him.
"That's it! The other guards in the store will also come with me, and each one will be given fifty guan as a New Year's fee."
Zhang Lei pointed at Zhou Fei again, "Give this guy a hundred guan!"
........
Zhang Lei took two tents and six guards including Zhou Fei on the road.
The group of people were all on horseback, heading from Qinghe County to Fukouxing.
Although they are all the territory of the Jin State, it is not peaceful along the way, especially in the Taihang Mountains, where there are many small bandits. If you are unlucky, you will encounter large groups of bandits.
Of course, today's bandits also know how to fish from the lake, so they usually only rob money. As long as they don't resist, they can basically lose money and avoid disaster.
This is true for ordinary businessmen, but for a rich man like Zhang Lei, it is not as simple as losing money to avoid disaster. Once his identity is recognized, there is no way to redeem him without hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Zhang Lei also knew this very well, so he simply pretended to be a small businessman and kept a low profile all the way, basically staying in small inns.
That morning, when they arrived at Fukouxing, Zhang Lei asked with a smile: "Xiao Zhou, can you use other weapons besides swords?"
Everyone became familiar with him along the way, and Zhou Fei also knew that this tall, fat man was the big proprietor of their cabinet shop, and he was also a well-known rich man in Chang'an.
Zhou Fei joked: "Proprietor, let me tell you this! Among all weapons, my sword is the weakest."
"What a loud tone. What did you do?"
"After serving as a soldier for a few years, I offended my superiors and quit."
"Your boy turns out to be a deserter!"
Zhang Lei laughed and took out a military crossbow from his horse bag, "Can you use this thing?"
"Crossbow!"
Zhou Fei was shocked, "This is a forbidden item!"
"Stop talking nonsense, I'm just asking you if you can use it?"
Zhou Fei took the crossbow and the arrow pot. He carried the arrow pot behind his back, skillfully stringed the bow, pulled out a crossbow arrow, loaded it into the crossbow slot, raised his hand and shot an arrow.
There was a sound of banging on the top of the tree, and a pheasant fell from the tree, and the arrow shot through its chest.
Zhang Lei grinned and gave a thumbs up, "You are such an amazing archer. It's really unfair to ask you to be a cabinet guard."
Zhou Fei shook his head and said: "Now I can live with my wife and children. The shopkeeper treats me well and I can earn ten guan a month. I am really satisfied."
Zhang Lei frowned, "How many years can I be a guard? Do you think you can continue to be a guard after you turn forty?"
"After I turned 40, I saved a lot of money and went to the countryside to buy land and farm it."
"Hey! I don't know what to say about you, a kid with no ambitions."
"Proprietor, it should be said that everyone has his own ambitions!"
The group passed Fuyang Pass and entered the Taihang Mountains...
It will take at least three days to cross Fukouxing. If the army passes through Fukouxing, nothing will happen. But if there is no army and only merchants, the situation will be difficult to say.
There are countless passes and mountain roads in Fukouxing. By climbing along the mountain roads, you can reach the depths of the Taihang Mountains dozens of miles away. Countless thieves are hiding in the Taihang Mountains. It is difficult for the government to eradicate them. They are very familiar with Jingxing Road and often
Appear at night to intercept merchants coming and going.
At the first watch, everyone was resting in a mountain col leeward from the wind. The col was not long, only a dozen feet deep, and there were cliffs above it. This was a resting place for the merchants, and there were a lot of dry firewood and dead branches inside.
Everyone put their horses in the mountain col, and they lit a bonfire near the entrance of the mountain col. On the fire, they roasted several hares and a pheasant that Zhou Fei had hunted. Zhang Lei laughed and said: "When I was young, I
In Kongtong Mountain, I often catch rabbits and fish to bake and eat. Now I feel like I have returned to my youth again. I really miss them!"
"Dongzhu Zhang, I heard that His Highness the King of Jin was also from Kongtong Mountain, do you know him?" a guard asked.
Zhang Lei grinned and was about to brag when Zhou Fei suddenly stood up and stared at the dark place opposite. Everyone was startled, wondering what happened to him?
Zhou Fei raised his crossbow and said, "Come out, or I will release the arrow!"
There was a burst of laughter from the other side, "This guy's eyes are very poisonous! He actually found me, brothers, go out and have some fun!"
I saw countless black shadows appearing from the rocks opposite and jumping down one after another. They were all bandits wearing ragged clothes and carrying all kinds of weapons. They were all sallow, thin, and malnourished.
The leader was a man as strong as a bear. He walked out carrying an iron rod. The iron rod was as thick as the mouth of a bowl. His face was as black as the bottom of a pot. He looked exactly like a black bear.
"Zhenyue Mountain God!" a guard shouted.
"Haha! Someone actually knows Grandpa Li. Yes, I am Li Bao, the god of Zhenyue Mountain. I rarely come down the mountain. I hope you are fat sheep, not skinny monkeys."
Zhou Fei waved his hand to indicate that everyone would escort the proprietor in. The crowd surrounded Zhang Lei and quickly retreated. He remained silent. This was not the time for him to show off. If the other party knew his identity, he would be in big trouble.
Zhou Fei put out the fire with a few steps, and the entrance to the mountain col suddenly became dark.
Li Bao sneered, "Does it make sense? Do you still want to resist?"
Zhou Fei said loudly: "I could kill you with one arrow, but I didn't do it. Since you follow the rules, let's follow the rules!"
Li Bao laughed loudly, "Boy, you actually want to bet with me?"
Zhou Fei nodded, "As long as I win, you will let us go. If you accept this rule, I am willing to give it a try. Of course, if I lose, we will be at your disposal!"
Li Bao narrowed his eyes. No one had dared to make this request in front of him for many years. He suddenly became a little interested. This boy thought he had won him?
To put it bluntly, even if this kid is lucky as shit and manages to defeat me by a single move, do they think they can get away? It's so damn interesting.
"Since you want to play, grandpa will play with you!"
He shook his shoulders slightly, stepped forward, hooked Zhou Fei, "Boy, let grandpa see what you are capable of."
Zhou Fei suddenly rushed forward like a leopard, extremely fast, Li Bao roared, and swept away with the iron rod...