That morning, a group of people came up the official road to the east, led by two men on horseback, followed by several followers.
The riders were two men. The older one was a middle-aged man in his forties, with a medium build and a thin appearance. Judging from his appearance, he looked like a scribe who had read poetry and books.
The younger man is about thirty years old, with a medium build, but fair skin and handsome appearance, but there is a slight sinister look between his eyebrows and eyes, which ruins his clear and sunny image.
Both of these two people came from Lin'an City. The middle-aged man was called Xu Yun. He was appointed as an official in the Zuo Shiyi Department of Jian Yuan. He was responsible for understanding the folk customs of various places. This time, he was also sent by the government to Muzhou to understand the folk customs.
The young man named Wang Huan was appointed as the supervisory censor. He was sent by the censor Taigong to investigate the Muzhou Jingguan incident.
A month ago, Chen Qing annihilated more than a thousand bandits, cut off their heads, and hung them on the city wall for public display. This incident had no impact in Muzhou, but when the news reached the court, it caused an uproar in the court.
However, the news was mistransmitted, and when it reached the court, it turned out that Chen Qing massacred thousands of surrendered soldiers, beheaded their heads, and built a palace in the capital. This caused Fan Zongyin of the Prime Minister to be very angry and asked Yushitai to send someone to investigate the matter.
Qin Hui, who was in charge of political affairs, secretly informed Shen Wanqiu, the chief censor, and sent Wang Huan, the supervising censor, to Muzhou instead.
Xu Yun came to Muzhou just to accompany Wang Huan. He came to examine the customs and sentiments of Muzhou. He also wanted to transfer to Yanzhou to make preliminary preparations for the merger of Muzhou and Yanzhou.
Seeing that he was about to arrive in Chun'an County, Xu Yun advised: "Wang Yushi, what I mean is that you cannot jump to conclusions prematurely after hearing some rumors. Even if Jingguan is true, you must judge its existence based on reality."
Is it reasonable or not, rather than beating him to death with a stick regardless of whether he is right or wrong?"
Wang Huan said coldly: "Jingguan is a bloody act by the Jurchens to kill the Han people. It actually appeared in Lin'an. If you condone this cruel behavior, it will put the foundation of our country in the Song Dynasty, etiquette, justice and benevolence."
where?"
"But these are just rumors!"
"So Yushitai sent me to Muzhou to investigate. You don't need to persuade Zuo Shiyi. I, Wang Huan, are fair and strict. I will never wrongly accuse a good person, nor let a bad guy go!"
Xu Yun sighed secretly. Wang Huan's stance on good and evil was inherently problematic. How could his investigation be fair?
At this time, an army suddenly appeared behind them, which startled the two of them. They stepped aside, and the army quickly rushed forward. It was not coming towards them, but just passing in front of them.
There are about two thousand people in this army, all of them are full of energy and high morale. Each soldier is wearing armor, holding a long contradiction sign in his hand, carrying crossbow arrows and water hyacinth grain bags on his back, as well as military blanket rolls and various weights.
The total weight is at least thirty or forty pounds.
The soldiers ran very fast. Although they were sweating profusely, their steps were strong and their ranks were neat. Xu Yun secretly praised, "This army is not bad! It can be called an elite division. Where is this army?"
"Senior Xu!"
Suddenly someone called Xu Yun. Xu Yun turned around and saw a general on horseback calling him. He looked familiar, "You are -" Xu Yun really couldn't remember who he was.
"Junior Hu Yantong!" the young general said with a smile.
"Ah! Are you the Huyan Wulang who causes trouble everywhere?"
Hu Yantong jumped off his horse, scratched his head in embarrassment and said, "Junior will no longer cause trouble."
"Okay! Now you don't have to deal with your father. I heard that you followed Han Dutong?"
Hu Yantong nodded, "Exactly!"
Xu Yun pointed to the army and asked with a smile: "Is this Han Dutong's army?"
"No! These are the officers and soldiers we brought to suppress the bandits. They used to be the Ximenxiang Army."
Xu Yun's eyes widened, "Is this the Ximen Xiang Army?"
"It was the same before, but now it's completely different through training."
Seeing the soldiers running away, Hu Yantong quickly said: "I'll take a step first and come back to visit my seniors later!"
Hu Yantong cupped his fists and saluted, then got on his horse and urged his horse to catch up.
Wang Huan watched Hu Yantong go away and asked curiously: "Is Xu Shiyi familiar with this person?"
Xu Yun chuckled and explained: "I can't say we are very familiar with him. I have dealt with his father several times, so I know him. This Hu Yantong used to be known as the Demon King's Sword in Bianliang, Tokyo. He caused trouble all day long. I was Ren Jingzhao at that time.
He served in the government, so he often went to his house to complain. His uncle Hu Yande was once the censor Zhongcheng, you should also know him!"
"I've heard of it! But what did Xu Shiyi mean by Ximenxiang Army just now?"
"Haha! The Ximenxiang Army is a well-known rubbish army in Lin'an. It ranks last in the military evaluation every year. I didn't expect that the person I just saw was the Ximenxiang Army? It's interesting. I really want to meet this Chen Qing.
"
Wang Huan was thinking about another idea, whether to bribe Hu Yantong through Xu Yun?
.........
The first person Xu Yun and Wang Huan met was He Jian, the governor of Muzhou. Since they were officials sent by the imperial court, He Jian did not dare to neglect and arranged for them to stay in a distinguished hotel. He then met them at the state government office.
Xu Yun said that he was only here to inspect the folk customs and the Yushitai's investigation had nothing to do with him. He sat aside drinking tea and did not participate in the conversation between He Jian and Wang Huan.
"Investigating the prisoner killing incident in Muzhou?"
He Jian frowned, "I'm a little confused. When did it happen? Are you sure they were prisoners of war in Muzhou, not somewhere else?"
"That's right, it's Muzhou. The time was a month ago. Chen Qing, who came to suppress the bandits, killed more than a thousand soldiers who surrendered, cut off their heads, and built a Jingguan..."
"Wait a minute!"
He Jian interrupted Wang Huan, "I understand what Wang Yushi means. What the court heard is not the truth, it is misinformation. The truth is not like this."
Xu Yun smiled and asked: "Then what is the truth?"
"A month ago, Zhang Kui led his troops to attack Chun'an County at night, but Commander Chen noticed it and took advantage of the plan. He shot and killed more than a thousand gangsters and cut off their heads and hung them on the city wall for public display to appease the people and also to
No Beijing temple was built. After the heads were hung for three days, I led people to pile them up and burn them on fire. The corpses were also piled up and burned. I guess someone saw the heads piled up and thought it was to build a Beijing temple.
Watch.”
Wang Huan punched nothing and felt a little depressed. He asked unwillingly: "Why do you want to pile them up and burn them instead of burying them properly?"
"Wang Yushi doesn't know that Muzhou has a humid climate, high mountains and dense forests, and there are many wild animals. If these corpses are not burned, they will be easily dragged out by wild animals. Exposing the corpses in the wild will cause diseases, so they must be burned into ashes and buried deeply."
Xu Yun chuckled, "So this is the truth. It seems that rumors kill people."
Wang Huan snorted, "What is the truth? Only after detailed investigation can we draw a conclusion."
He Jian felt really uncomfortable. The censor obviously didn't believe what he said.
...........
Hu Yantong and his army had just returned from a 150-li run for training, and the soldiers were resting for lunch.
Hu Yantong said that this army has been completely transformed, which is not an exaggeration at all. After one month of devilish intensive training, the soldiers not only have strong physical fitness, but also their martial arts skills have greatly improved. They are very skilled in both marksmanship and archery, and are especially good at night fighting.
Hu Yantong was very tempted by this army. He did not want to return it to the Lin'anxiang Army. It would be best for Han Du to accept it and then hand it over to his command.
Chen Qing asked Hu Yantong to sit down and asked with a smile: "Just now He Zhizhou said that the imperial court sent a supervisory censor named Wang Huan. Is this the senior you met on the road?"
Hu Yantong shook his head quickly, "The senior I'm talking about is named Xu. He is Zuo Shiyi of Jianyuan. The supervisory censor should be the younger one. What is he here to supervise?"
Chen Qing shook his head, "I don't know either, but it may have something to do with me."
Hu Yantong was even more confused, "The commander has not sent troops to disturb the people, and has always maintained strict military discipline. Could it be that he feels that you took too long to suppress the bandits, so he came here to supervise you?"
"No, the Privy Council gave me two months at that time, and it's only half over."
"Did they say they wanted to see the commander?"
"That's not true. It seems that they won't see me for the time being, but I may not have time to see them."
Hu Yantong perked up and said, "Is there any news about Zhang Kui?"
Chen Qing nodded, "I just got inside information that Zhang Kui is going to plunder Sui'an County and then move to Quzhou. The moment of decisive battle is coming."
A month ago, Chen Qing annihilated more than a thousand bandits and hung their heads on the city wall as a warning. This caused a shock in Muzhou. No one dared to liaise with the bandits. Many people persuaded their relatives to go down the mountain, and there were even two leaders.
He secretly sent someone to deliver the letter of surrender and became Chen Qing's internal agent, allowing Chen Qing to control Zhang Kui's every move.
Zhang Kui's biggest problem is that he is short of food and cannot survive. In addition, he cannot win over the people of Muzhou, so his move to the south is imminent.
Hu Yantong was gearing up excitedly, as the long-awaited moment was finally coming.
"When do we leave?"
Chen Qing pondered for a moment and said: "I plan to set off tonight, get to Sui'an County first, lay a trap and wait for Zhang Kui's arrival!"
Chen Qing didn't take Xu Yun and Wang Huan seriously. Since they didn't plan to see him for the time being, he didn't have time to deal with them. Chen Qing immediately found He Jian.
"Are you leaving tonight?" He Jian asked.
Chen Qing nodded, "The opponent can't hold on any longer. If they take the lead, Sui'an County will be in dire straits, but we still have a backup plan to prevent Zhang Kui from using his tactics to attack the west. Starting today, the city gates will not be opened.
Thousands of soldiers from the countryside need to strengthen the defense. If Zhang Kui comes to invade, can the prefect send someone to notify me immediately?"
"How do I find the commander!"
"I will leave a march map. If the situation is critical, you can come to me with the map."
He Jian nodded silently. He originally wanted to talk to Chen Qing about the censorship, but he thought it better not to distract Chen Qing. He would write a detailed report to the court to explain the matter clearly.
"If those bandits surrender, try not to kill them if you can!"
Chen Qing laughed and said, "I am not a murderous person. The warning of killing people before was just to deter other bandits. If these bandits surrender, I will distinguish and kill those who have committed the most serious crimes. If there is no life or those who raped women, I can
Spare their lives."
He Jian smiled happily and said: "This is the best! I wish the general victory and capture Zhang Kui!"
That night, Chen Qing led two thousand soldiers to leave Chun'an County and marched along the official road to Sui'an County in the southwest.