Chen Qing urged his horse forward, and Hu Yantong came up to greet him and saluted: "To the commander-in-chief, there is news about the three deserters who have been relegated to their posts!"
Chen Qing was slightly startled, "Are you still investigating this matter?"
Hu Yantong nodded, "I feel unwilling! I sent three teams of soldiers to find them, but the result may not be good!"
"Are they all dead?"
"One of them died, probably because of an encounter with a wolf, but the other two were captured by golden men."
"Golden Man! You mean the team of golden soldiers that exchanged hostages?"
"Exactly!"
Chen Qing frowned slightly, "Is this news accurate? How do you know?"
"It was said by a local farmer. He said that he saw with his own eyes two Song soldiers in the Jin team, riding on horses with their hands tied behind their backs, and being escorted by Jin soldiers. One was tall and the other was short. They should be the two deserters."
Speaking of this, Hu Yantong was really worried and said: "These two people will definitely leak some secrets. Should we make some adjustments?"
Chen Qing thought for a while and said: "This matter will be discussed in detail at tomorrow's military affairs meeting. You need to investigate in detail. How much do these two soldiers know?"
"I humbly obey my orders!"
Hu Yantong bowed and left.
Chen Qing felt more and more clearly that the war was not far away from them.
The results of Hu Yantong's investigation were mixed. After all, the two captured soldiers only stayed in Ganquan Fort for seven days, which was a short time. They only knew some common sense things, such as the approximate number of people in the Song army, the location of the military camp, etc.
The location of the warehouse, such as the equipment of ordinary soldiers, for example, the houses in the city are mainly stone houses, etc.
But they don't know the details, such as how much food there is, what defensive weapons there are, how many wells there are, and how many people there are in each branch of the military.
Everyone agreed that as long as the number of people and time on duty at night were adjusted, there would basically be no impact. As for the seats of military camps and warehouses, they can be seen from the Crescent Mountain, so there is no secret.
Chen Qing's suggestion to speed up preparations for war was unanimously approved by everyone.
A few days later, the Jurchen army had not yet arrived, but the imperial envoy arrived first.
The special envoy is called Wang Gong, who is appointed as a doctor in the Ministry of Rites. He is here for two things. The first is to read out the imperial edict, conferring Chen Qing the title of Xihe Road Festival Envoy, and conferring festivals on Chen Qing on behalf of the emperor. The second thing is to
They came for the hundreds of redeemed concubines and maids.
Chen Qing placed an incense table in front of the military tent in the military camp, formally accepted the emperor's festival talisman, and became the governor of Xihe Road. Chen Qing's wife Lu Xiu also accepted the imperial conferment and was named a second-class county lady.
Immediately afterwards, Wang Gong announced various promotions in the Ministry of Civil Service. Almost all generals were promoted, and their official ranks were upgraded by two levels. The wives of Zheng Ping, Yang Yuanqing, Yang Zaixing, and Liu Cui also received imperial orders. It was an appointment that everyone was happy with.
Chen Qing immediately hosted a banquet for Wang Gong and his entourage in the military camp to welcome them. In fact, Wang Gong would not be in Ganquan Fort for too long, only a few days, but after all, he represented the imperial court and had to keep his face.
.
In addition to Wang Gong, the special envoy also has deputy envoy Liu Jing. Liu Jingguan is the chief secretary of Dali Temple. He is thin and dry, with a fierce look on his face. He is completely different from Wang Gong who has an amiable smile. Moreover, Liu Jing is taciturn, with gloomy eyes, and
Wang Gong, who is jovial and good at talking, is the complete opposite.
So at the banquet, almost no one paid attention to Liu Jing. All the generals toasted to Wang Gong. The wine everyone drank was goat milk wine bought from the Qiang people. The wine was very strong and had strong stamina. Wang Gong fell down after just three bowls.
, the main course has not been served yet.
Two attendants helped Wang Gong back to the tent and went to sleep.
Chen Qing smiled and asked Liu Jingdao: "It seems that Wang Shijun's drinking capacity is not very good, right?"
Liu Jing smiled faintly, "He has a nickname called Three Cups of Pour. At the court banquet at the beginning of the year, the officials offered a glass of wine to the ministers. He drank it. Then he went to offer wine to Qin Xianggong and drank a second cup, but next to him was
Mr. Zhang, he had to offer a toast again and drank a third drink. He collapsed before he could return to his seat and was carried out by the guards. This time, he had to offer him three bowls of wine before he collapsed. This was already a great honor to Jiedu.
Already."
"What a pity, the main course hasn't been served yet!"
"Haha! Wang Shijun is not here just to eat."
Although it was a very ordinary sentence, Chen Qing always felt that there was something in Liu Jing's words.
At this time, Liu Jingqing said with a deep smile: "I heard that Jiedushi made the nest well, I would like to ask for advice!"
Chen Qing was suddenly startled. Shouldn't the other party know about the idea of making a nest?
Chen Qing asked tentatively: "Master Liu also likes fishing?"
Liu Jing shook his head, "I never fish!"
Chen Qing immediately understood that this Liu Jing was Lu Yihao's man. He didn't fish, but he asked him for advice on how to make a nest. This was a secret code exchange with him.
Chen Qing saw several Wang Gong's followers beside him, and he knew what was going on.
Chen Qing said a few words to the soldiers, who nodded and went off.
Not long after, a group of generals came up and toasted Wang Gong's entourage in turn. Each of them had a big bowl. The four followers could not resist it. In just a moment, they all got drunk and fell to the ground. They were helped to rest by the soldiers.
Liu Jing was the only one left in the big tent.
Liu Jing then gave Chen Qing a wink, and the two of them walked out of the tent. Liu Jing whispered to Chen Qing, "I am apparently a member of Qin Xianggong, but in fact I am Lu Gong's disciple."
Chen Qing suddenly realized, no wonder he was so careful. It turned out that he was one of Lu Yihao's eyes and ears placed beside Qin Hui.
Chen Qing nodded, "I understand!"
With that said, Liu Jing took out a letter and handed it to Chen Qing, "This is the letter from Duke Lu to the capital."
Chen Qing put away the letter and asked with a smile: "Does Mr. Liu have anything to say to me?"
Liu Jing whispered: "Wang Gong has two tasks. The first is to find an excuse for Du Tong; second, the Queen Mother does not allow the concubines and maids to return to Lin'an. Wang Gong plans to take them to Bashu and place them on the spot, but
Request that Emperor Xian De be brought back to Lin'an."
"What excuse does he want to find against me?"
"There are reasons for being disrespectful to the court and officials, and there are also reasons that go beyond etiquette. For example, the size of the carriage exceeds that of the prime minister, and the house he lives in is larger than that of the prime minister. Don't underestimate housing. The most important thing in Lin'an right now is housing.
, for example, if a local official lives in a mansion with dozens of acres, he will definitely become a public enemy of the civil and military officials of the court. It does not matter if no one wants to punish you, but if someone wants to make a fuss about it, he must be sure. In order to appease public anger, the officials will
You have to be removed."
Chen Qing nodded and smiled: "My house is not a public enemy of the court, but what if Wang Gong goes back and talks nonsense?"
"That's not true. If he dares to go back and talk nonsense, others will use this method to deal with Qin Xianggong's people next time. This is the basic rule of the court. You can add fuel to the fire, but you can't make things out of thin air."
Chen Qing nodded silently, "I understand."
"I'm afraid that I won't have a chance to say it tomorrow, so I'm reminding you now, seize the opportunity tonight, change it as soon as possible, and don't let him get any leverage. I'm going to pretend to be drunk and go back without wasting the governor's time!"
Not long after Liu Jing returned home, he fell drunk. Since all the guests had left, the banquet was over.
Chen Qing returned home and handed the letter to Lu Xiu. The letter was written to his granddaughter, so of course Chen Qing had to give it to his wife.
Lu Xiu read the letter and said to Chen Qing: "Grandpa said, I want you to be careful about this Wang Gong. He is a guy who hides his sword in his smile. Don't let him catch you."
Chen Qing pondered for a while and said: "The deputy envoy Liu Jing is your grandfather's son. He has already told me that I have no clue here. In fact, I am just worried about one thing."
"What are you worried about, husband?"
"I'm worried about Zhao Qiaoyun!"
Lu Xiu was startled, "Why?"
"Palace Queen Gong will not take them back to Lin'an. This is Empress Dowager Wei's wish. If they refuse to leave, he can't ask for more, but he wants to bring Zhao Qiaoyun back to Lin'an. After all, she is the emperor's concubine and the official's sister.
, the officials definitely want her to go back."
"But Qiaoyun refuses to go back!"
"Here's the problem. You know that Zhao Qiaoyun is only weak on the surface, but she is a fierce woman at heart. If she is forced to go back, I'm worried that she will do something drastic."
Lu Xiu's eyes widened, "My husband is worried that she will"
Chen Qing nodded, "I'm really worried that she will die to show her determination!"
Of course Lu Xiu knew that if Zhao Qiaoyun sought death, her husband's crime would be serious, and even impeachment and removal from office would be light.
She immediately asked anxiously: "What should we do?"
Chen Qing walked a few steps with his hands behind his hands: "After much thought, there is only one way!"
Chen Qing whispered a few words to Lu Xiu, and Lu Xiu nodded repeatedly, "This is a good idea, I'll go find her now!"
