Chen Qing arrived at Chengji County at night and returned to the military camp. Chen Qing immediately arranged for the soldiers to boil a large bucket of hot water, took a quick bath, washed away the bloody smell on his body, and put on clean clothes.
At this time, a soldier reported, "Qi Zong, Vice General Yang wants to see you!"
"Let him in!"
After a moment, Yang Yuanqing walked quickly into the tent, carrying a small box in his hand.
He put the box on the table and said, "Commander, I'm here to deliver a message!"
Chen Qing was startled, "What kind of business?"
Yang Yuanqing opened the small box and found a human head inside. If he looked carefully, it turned out to be Zhang Jian's head.
"Did you kill him?" Chen Qing was shocked.
Yang Yuanqing nodded, "I told him back then that I don't care if he does things for Jin Bing, but if he betrays me again, I will definitely kill him with my own hands. This time I sent two highly skilled martial artists.
The scouts killed him in Fengxiang County."
"Did he follow Fu Xuan?" Chen Qing asked again.
Yang Yuanqing shook his head, "The scout told me that Fu Xuan didn't want to see him at all. He didn't even meet him once. He has been living in the inn."
Yang Yuanqing closed the box, "Although the commander does not pursue the responsibility of a humble position, I guarantee Zhang Jian. If I don't give the commander an explanation for this matter, I'm afraid I won't even be able to pass this test myself."
Chen Qing nodded, "After all, Zhang Jian has made a lot of contributions. You send someone to send five hundred taels of silver to his wife and children, and then return his head and personal belongings to his family."
"The humble job will definitely be arranged!"
At this time, Chen Qing asked: "How is the recruitment situation?"
"According to the requirements of the commander, two thousand people were recruited. Half of them are former Song troops and the other half are new soldiers and are currently training!"
Chen Qing nodded and asked again: "Are you ready for the logistics supplies that I asked you to prepare before I left?"
"It's ready. I've recruited more than 500 carts, a total of 1,000 carts, ready to go at any time."
Yang Yuanqing's thoroughness really satisfied Chen Qing, and he said happily: "I will leave the training of the two thousand recruits to you. The day after tomorrow, I will personally lead the five thousand troops to Anxi County."
Yang Yuanqing hesitated and said: "Controller, there is a saying about humble positions. I don't know whether to say it or not?"
"you say!"
"I feel that the Xixia Army is not ready yet. They will attack Anxi County, at least until the autumn!"
Chen Qing said calmly: "Who said I was going to defend? I was going to attack the Xixia Army in Deshun Prefecture."
"ah!"
Yang Yuanqing was stunned for a moment. The commander actually wanted to pre-emptively provoke a war.
"Tongzhi, wouldn't it be too hasty to start a war now?"
Chen Qing shook his head, "In two days, Zhu Shengfei's special envoy will arrive in Qinzhou. Although he has no right to remove me from my post, he can use the investigation as an excuse to suspend me from my post.
Of course, I can ignore him, but the cost is too high. After all, he is the envoy of Sichuan and Shaanxi. The court will not tolerate his crimes, and the Western Army will not tolerate them. So I have repeatedly considered that the best countermeasure is to provoke a war. Once
If a war breaks out, it will not be a battle for one city or one region, but will trigger a war in the entire northwest. The three families of Song, Qi, and Xixia will be involved. As for when the war will end, Zhu Shengfei cannot control it."
Yang Yuanqing nodded silently. He had seen a lot of Chen Qing's generosity. He was not surprised at all by triggering a war to deal with Zhu Shengfei.
It's just that he felt Chen Qing's determination. If Zhu Shengfei wanted to attack him, he would fight back without hesitation.
........
Chen Qing was indeed not fully prepared for this expedition. The main problem was food. Their military rations were only enough for the army for three months. There were so many people who needed relief, and there was simply not enough food.
Although they can still buy some sheep from the Qiang people, for a war, they need to prepare military rations for at least half a year. The key is whether the Bashu grain purchase plan can be implemented smoothly.
Chen Qing had no choice. Things like food were highly variable and beyond his control. He could only take a gamble and either obtain food in Deshun Prefecture or the food from Bashu could reach Qinzhou smoothly.
After a day's rest, before dawn on the third day, Chen Qing led an army of five thousand and set off, accompanied by a thousand carts loaded with grain and military supplies. The grain and dried mutton on the carts could sustain the army for a month.
.........
Jianmen Pass is located in the north of Longqing Prefecture, and Zitong County, the prefecture of Longqing Prefecture, has become the most important commercial transit place in northern Sichuan.
Especially during the Song and Jin wars in the past two years, money, grain and materials from all of Sichuan were continuously transported to Hanzhong, and Zitong County became the rear area of the rear. A large amount of grain and grass materials were gathered here from all directions, and from here they were transported northwards by land.
The Zitong River, which connects to the Fu River, has become the main channel for water transportation of grain and materials. Thousands of large warehouses have been built at the docks outside the county in the past two years. At the busiest time, there were tens of thousands of dock porters active on both sides of the Zitong River.
However, as the war subsided, the busy Zitong County suddenly relaxed and became quiet, without the hustle and bustle before.
This morning, a fleet loaded with food slowly approached the dock. In the busiest time, they would have had to wait at least three days for their turn to dock, but now there was no need. They only had to wait less than an hour.
Just docked.
On the dock, Zhou Kuan has been waiting for a long time. He is now the food and material procurement envoy of the Qinzhou Army and is affiliated with the logistics battalion. Fifty soldiers followed him to Zitong County.
In a very short period of time, they rented a warehouse, opened a trading house, hired several local accounting clerks, and then established contacts with several large grain merchants through the trading house.
Today, the first batch of grain merchants purchased by Zhou Kuan arrived. The grain was purchased from Langzhou, totaling 1,000 shi, and the price was 500 guan. In addition, he paid 50 guan for water freight, and then another 100 guan.
Guan Qian hired a Shu camel team to transport the grain to Qinzhou.
"Arrived!" The boss of the ship shouted.
Zhou Kuan turned around and asked a steward: "Can we move it now?"
"anytime!"
"Then start now and move the grain to the warehouse."
The steward waved his hand, and a hundred porters ran up. They were divided into two groups. One group was responsible for carrying the grain ashore from the ship, and the other group was responsible for transporting the grain from the dock to the warehouse using wheelbarrows.
One hundred porters were busy like ants. At this time, another locally hired steward stepped forward and said to Zhou Kuan: "Chief steward, Liu Zhangtuo is here!"
From Zitong County to the north, mules are usually used for transportation, but some clever businessmen introduced camels that can carry heavy loads. These camels have a large transport capacity and are easier to take care of, so they are very popular among businessmen.
Zhou Kuan also signed a transportation agreement with a camel team consisting of a hundred camels, responsible for transporting grain to Qinzhou. If everything goes well, the contract will be signed for a long time.
After a while, a strong middle-aged man walked up. Everyone had forgotten his real name because he had a long scar on his face. Everyone called him Liu Scarzi.
Liu Scarzi had been walking on the Shu road for almost thirty years and was very familiar with every plant and tree on the Shu road. Zhou Kuan came to him because he often led his troops to Qinzhou three years before Jianyan.
"Chief steward, the food has arrived and we can set off tonight."
Zhou Kuan nodded, "It won't be a problem to transport a thousand stones of grain at once!"
Liu Scarzi grinned, "Of course there is no problem, two hundred camels can transport it away."
"How many days does it take to get to Chengji County?"
"As soon as half a month!"
Zhou Kuan secretly calculated that it would take a month to go back and forth, and he should be able to purchase the second batch of grain within a month.
At this time, Zhou Kuan suddenly remembered something and said quickly: "After leaving Beixianren Pass, take a straight line north to Chengji County. Don't take the long detour to Longzhou."
Zhou Kuan received a pigeon message from Yang Yuanqing yesterday, specifically telling him that the grain transport team should not go around Longzhou.
Liu Scarzi frowned, "If you walk in a straight line, you have to pass through the territory of the Qiang people. Those Qiang people are not easy to deal with."
"Don't worry! They won't be in trouble with the Qinzhou Army's rations. Besides, with our sergeants following you, you don't have to worry all the way through the passes!"
"Okay! We'll settle the bill when we get back."
Zhou Kuan nodded, "Put the receipt away. I will pay you after reading the receipt."
