It was already the third day that Chen Qing had been under house arrest. During this period, he knew nothing about the fierce struggles within the imperial court and the massive demonstrations by Taipei students and ordinary people.
It would be unrealistic to say that Chen Qing was not nervous. After all, he was too insignificant. Being able to exchange someone as insignificant as him for the Queen Mother would be a cost-effective deal anyway. He believed that most officials would agree. This is the Song Dynasty, where military generals
The civil servants never cared about his life or death.
However, he was still under house arrest for three days, which also shows that the internal struggle within the imperial court was fierce. There was only one reason for this fierceness. Lu Yihao was trying his best to rescue himself.
For the first time, Chen Qing felt like his days were like a year. He was not afraid of the tragedy and tragedy on the battlefield, but he never liked the feeling of cutting flesh with a dull knife, which made people suffer in uneasiness.
In the afternoon, Chen Qing was sitting cross-legged in front of the bed reading a book. The courtyard door outside suddenly opened, and Yang Xizhong walked in quickly.
"General Chen!" Yang Xizhong stood in the courtyard.
Chen Qing put down his book and walked out, "Is there something wrong, Commander Yang?"
Yang Xizhong cupped his fists and saluted him, "Your Majesty heard that you were under house arrest. He was very angry. He scolded Mr. Qin and issued an order to release him immediately. General Chen, you are free."
Chen Qing smiled lightly, "Qin Xianggong is indeed capable, and he can actually command the imperial army to arrest people."
Yang Xizhong blushed and said, "General Chen, it's not easy for the officials to give up the chance to save my mother for you."
"Yes, I understand in my heart."
Chen Qingping said calmly: "There should be additional conditions for letting me out!"
"There is indeed an additional condition. You must leave Lin'an before dark. In addition, the officials will reward you with three hundred taels of gold as a reward for welcoming back the Shenzong Golden Buddha."
"There is actually a reward!"
Chen Qing smiled sarcastically. He looked up at the sky and said, "It's almost dark, but I still have to find a boat?"
"No, the imperial court has arranged a thousand-stone passenger ship for you, which can take you directly to Chengdu. It's on the pier outside Yuhangmen. Where there are people waiting for you, your friends will be there too."
"You are very thoughtful, thank you very much!"
Yang Xizhong returned Chen Qing's bow, arrows, sword and halberd to him. Chen Qing unexpectedly found two more pots of arrows. He turned back and looked at Yang Xizhong.
Yang Xizhong smiled slightly, "There are many thieves in the Yangtze River, so it's definitely a good idea to bring more weapons!"
Chen Qing immediately understood that the sword must have been secretly given to him by Yang Xizhong. He felt warm in his heart, cupped his fists and saluted, "Thank you, General Yang, for your care!"
Yang Xizhong nodded, "Have a nice trip, Commander Chen!"
An ox cart had been prepared outside. Chen Qing boarded the ox cart and waved to Yang Xizhong. Under the supervision of more than 20 cavalrymen, the ox cart drove slowly towards Yuhangmen.
...........
Qin Hui knelt in the Qinzheng Hall to plead guilty. Zhao Gou, an official, sat behind the curtain and drank tea. He said for a long time: "Don't mention the matter of Chen Qing anymore. Let's continue the negotiation! I can agree to their conditions, but it must be based on treating the Queen Mother well."
!”
"Wei Chen, let's see if we can redeem the Queen Mother with money."
"It's up to you, I'm a little tired, let's go!"
"Wei Chen resigns."
Qin Hui stood up and slowly retreated.
Zhao Gou sighed and said to himself: "People's hearts are unpredictable!"
.........
On the pier outside Yuhangmen, a thousand-stone passenger ship was moored quietly on the shore. Seven or eight boatmen were ready. Not far away, Hu Yantong and Liu Qiong had been waiting for a long time, and there were several entourages behind them leading war horses.
When Chen Qing came out of the bullock cart, Hu Yantong immediately walked up to him and hugged him tightly, sighing: "It's not easy for you to come out!"
"Tell me, what happened?"
Hu Yantong told Chen Qing what had happened recently, and finally said: "My father said that I am afraid that the parade of Taixue students was arranged behind the scenes by Xianggong Lu. Xianggong Lu has deep connections in Taixue."
Chen Qing nodded, "I can't say goodbye to Mr. Lu. Please tell him for me that I, Chen Qing, will keep his kindness in mind."
"and this!"
Hu Yantong took out a wooden box from his arms and said, "This is what Li Qingzhao gave to you. I gave her your 1,500 yuan. She feels deeply for you and will definitely copy books for you."
Chen Qing took the wooden box and found a book inside. It was a collection of works compiled by Li Qingzhao over the years. The cover said, 'To General Chen Qing'.
Chen Qing turned over a page and suddenly thought of something. He asked the soldier to get a pen and paper, wrote a few words in it, and then put the collection of poems and poems back into the wooden box.
He simply wrote another short message and handed it to Hu Yantong together with the wooden box.
"Please give this letter and wooden box to Xianggong Lu for me!"
Hu Yantong glanced at the words "Zhuan Luxiu Girl" written on the wooden box. He couldn't help but smile and said: "You won't commit yourself to me just because you are grateful!"
Chen Qing's face turned red and he cursed: "You know nothing. If you don't want to help, forget it."
"I'll give it to you! I'll just give it to you."
Hu Yantong chuckled and put the wooden box into his arms.
Liu Qiong beside him couldn't help but said: "Hu Yan, let's talk about business!"
Hu Yantong woke up, turned around and waved, and three strong men stepped forward.
Hu Yantong said with a solemn expression: "My old man said that it may not be safe for you to return west. These three people are loyal generals of my Huyan family. They will escort you to Chengdu."
Chen Qing was moved in his heart, "Tell the old man to take good care of his health, and I will definitely come back to practice martial arts with him!"
Hu Yantong nodded, "It's getting dark, let's go!"
Chen Qing hugged Hu Yantong and Liu Qiong tightly, turned around and got on the cart. The boatman held up the pole and the boat started slowly. Chen Qing stood at the stern and waved goodbye to his two friends, and finally left Lin'an.
...........
As night falls, Qingfeng Restaurant located in Lin'an Sanqiao is bustling with people and business is booming. In addition to the main building, Qingfeng Restaurant also has a large courtyard, which is divided into eight small courtyards, and each has its own small door to go out, making it relatively hidden.
A carriage slowly stopped in front of the door of the second small private courtyard. The door opened, and eight big men got down and guarded both ends of the carriage. A middle-aged man walked out of the carriage with a gentle smile, but his eyes were very sharp.
This man was none other than Wan Yanchang. He changed into Han clothes, and his men also dressed up as Han warriors, but Wanyan Huonv did not follow him.
Wan Yanchang quickly walked into the small courtyard, followed by eight of his men, and the door was closed.
Entering the room, Qin Hui stood up with a smile and saluted, "It's so late at night, I've worked hard to supervise the army."
Wan Yanchang said calmly: "Ms. Qin, I didn't bring you any good news today!"
The smile on Qin Hui's face disappeared and he waved his hand, "Please sit down!"
Wan Yanchang sat down and his soldiers filled the wine cup for him. He picked up the wine cup and said, "Give me an explanation!"
Qin Hui sighed and said: "Wanyan Supervisor also knows that the pressure from the government is too great. More than 100,000 Lin'an people took to the streets to protest. Most of the court officials opposed it, and the Zhizhengtang also vetoed it. Of course the government wanted to take back his mother.
, but he cannot fight against public opinion and can only let Chen Qing go."
"Then what?"
Of course Wan Yanchang knew that it was impossible for Chen Qing to be handed over to the Kingdom of Jin, but he needed subsequent compensation.
"The official is willing to pay 300,000 bolts of silk to redeem the Queen Mother..."
The Kingdom of Jin did not want to return the Queen Mother to the Song Dynasty at all. How could such a good bargaining chip be easily handed back? Even if the Song Dynasty really sent Chen Qing, the most would be to replace it with a prince or an emperor, and it would be impossible for the Queen Mother to return it.
Wan Yanchang shook his head, "You only have one chance. If you miss it, you won't get it again."
"Isn't there any room for negotiation?"
Wan Yanchang narrowed his eyes and smiled: "We can place the Queen Mother in Bianliang, and we can also let her enjoy the Queen Mother's glory and wealth, but even so, it depends on your sincerity."
This means using the Queen Mother in exchange for benefits, but not giving the Queen Mother back, and using her again and again to force the Song Emperor to make concessions.
"Two hundred thousand bolts of silk!"
"You can have this, but it's not enough!"
"We can agree to the Eastern Front troops withdrawing to the south of the Yangtze River. This condition is enough!"
Wan Yanchang still shook his head, "Don't think I'm a fool. You only have a few counties left north of the Yangtze River. What's the point of withdrawing or not?"
Qin Hui added another one, "In addition to Chen Qing's whereabouts, I will tell you his whereabouts. Whether you can catch him halfway depends on your ability."
Wan Yanchang thought for a while and said: "In addition, we will add an additional 50,000 taels of silver per year to support the Queen Mother, a total of four conditions."
...........
Qin Hui returned to his mansion and sent someone to find Wang Bo.
"I give you an important task. I will give you thirty elite men. You are responsible for keeping an eye on Chen Qing's ship along the way. I don't want you to take action. You just keep an eye on Chen Qing. If the government comes to cause trouble, you are responsible for fighting with the government.
Negotiate.”
Speaking of this, Qin Hui lowered his voice and said: "Among your thirty men, eleven are dressed as golden men. You have to protect them. They will naturally contact other people and have nothing to do with you!"
Wang Bo immediately understood that the Jin people wanted to deal with Chen Qing halfway, and he immediately agreed excitedly.
Qin Hui gave him another gold medal so that he would not be afraid of government interference along the way.
Half an hour later, Wang Bo led a group of knights on horseback to rush out of Lin'an City. In the darkness, they ran north along the canal.
