"Right now, the rebellion is raging in Dongjiang Town. In order to suppress the rebellion, our army is fighting fiercely with it. The war-torn place is full of dangers and should be isolated."
The question was polite, and the leading general also responded politely.
That man understood and actually knew quite a lot.
"But we originally planned to go to Linqing, but we didn't hear that there's a war there too."
As soon as he heard the word "Linqing", the officer's expression changed.
"Where are you from? Why are you going to Linqing? Also, since you are going to Linqing, why not follow the canal from Dezhou and come here?"
Going from Dezhou to Linqing is the same road Zuo Menggeng and Xu Ruolin took back home.
Either you can take a boat down the canal and go directly to Linqing; if you take the official road, you have to go southwest and pass through Wucheng.
But the route taken by this group of people had already deviated from the direction.
After arriving in Pingyuan County, we have to turn back to the southwest and pass through En County and Xiajin before we can reach Linqing.
As the conversation continued, the man in fox fur behind him couldn't bear it any longer and drove his horse forward without getting down. His tone was quite arrogant.
"Why does it take so long? Just give a few Qiu Ba some money and let them go."
The servant's scalp was numb, and he thought to himself, Master, you are really capable of causing trouble.
Sure enough, the officer in front of him looked wrong.
"Tell me, why did you come here?"
The official road here in the plain can go south to Jinan, or turn east to Qingzhou or Denglai, but it is not the road to Linqing.
Master Huqiu was angry.
"You are really domineering, don't you know the superiority and inferiority of superiors and subordinates?"
The officer was unexpectedly not angry, but looked strange. His squinted eyes were always staring at Mr. Foxqiu's waistband.
Because there is a piece of exquisite jade pendant hanging there.
At first glance, you can tell that it is precious Kunshan jade, and it has been carved by skilled craftsmen. It is absolutely extraordinary and is probably unique in the world.
The officer looked carefully and waved his hand violently.
The soldiers who were originally quiet suddenly became restless, and after a burst of footsteps, they were surrounded.
Not only that, all the guns were pointed at him, with murderous intent, even worse than before.
"Master Jun, calm down, calm down, haha... My master was drunk, and he didn't mean to quarrel..."
The officer stopped listening and pointed directly at the jade pendant on the waist of Mr. Foxqiu and asked: "Where did this thing come from?"
Mr. Hu Qiu misunderstood and thought that these Qiu Ba were trying to make money and wanted to rob him.
I think he has always loved money as much as his life. Any treasure can only be in his hands. When has he ever lost it?
"Hmph, this is my master's family heirloom. How dare you, Qiu Ba, to covet it even though it looks like nothing more than a small flag? Do you know who I am? I'm afraid that if you want it, you will lose your life."
The officer gave the order directly.
"Take them down."
The soldiers immediately swarmed forward and attacked Master Huqiu.
Unexpectedly, these Qiu Ba people were so overbearing and did not care about their identity or offending noble people. Master Hu Qiu couldn't help but be confused and screamed.
"How dare you? My daughter is a general under Zuo Menggeng's command. If you offend me, you will not suffer the consequences."
The soldiers' actions were astonishing.
The officer looked over suspiciously, and in response to Master Huqiu's panic, he warned, "Do you know us?"
Master Huqiu came to life instantly.
"Are you Zuo Mengeng's soldiers?"
The officer couldn't help but be a little cautious.
Listening to him being addressed like this, it seems that he has a very important relationship with Zuo Mengeng.
"I haven't asked you how to address me sir? What does it have to do with us attending the table?"
Mr. Hu Qiu became arrogant again. If he hadn't seen the dark muzzles of the soldiers' guns, he would have wanted to whip them.
He had no idea that if he really did that, even if they knew he knew Zuo Mengeng, these soldiers would shoot him.
The rules of the New Army have long been nailed down.
No one is allowed to be humiliated as long as he is a soldier of the New Army.
He has always been invincible and loved, and he has long developed a proud spirit in the New Army. How can he be allowed to be trampled on by others?
"I have been friends with your family's general for a long time. I heard that my daughter-in-law, Wang Siyi, is in your army. Is there anything wrong?"
The officer smiled.
"It turns out to be Commander Wang's father. Nice to meet you."
Everyone knows that Wang Siyi is the most powerful general in the new army. Although this officer has no affiliation with Wang Siyi, he is somewhat close to him.
This Mr. Hu Qiu is none other than Wang Siyi’s father, Wang Shizhong.
After entering the Chongzhen period, because the Ming Dynasty was retreating steadily in Liaodong, Wang Shizhong was basically useless. He lost his power and had no choice but to hang out in the capital.
Wang Shizhong found a job, and gave up all thoughts of reviving the Hada tribe. He only thought about making money and started a life of luxury.
Wang Siyi ran to Shandong and joined Zuo Mengeng's army, but he didn't care.
Recently, his corruption has been discovered, and he is expected to take advantage of it.
Wang Shizhong was so frightened that he quickly resigned and planned to go to Shandong to find his daughter to avoid the limelight.
Unexpectedly, I encountered the new army's checkpoint and almost couldn't get in.
Even though he announced his home, the soldiers did not let him in. After all, verification still needed to be done, and there was another urgent question that had to be raised.
The officer pointed to the jade pendant around Wang Shizhong's waist again, and this time he explained a little more clearly.
"Mr. Wang, this jade pendant belongs to the steward of my family. Can you tell me why it got into your hands?"
"this……"
The officer was right, this jade pendant did indeed belong to its owner.
As for why it fell into the hands of Wang Shizhong...
Wang Shizhong scratched his head and pointed to the carriageway behind him: "On the way south, I encountered this lonely carriage halfway. There was an old man half-dead in the carriage, seriously injured, but I didn't know it was one of your family members."
The officer said "Ouch" and hurried to the carriage. He opened the curtain and took a look. He was really a dead man. He turned around and shouted.
"Go to the doctor quickly and ask the best doctor to come over."
The person on the carriage was none other than Zuo Yan.
As the steward of Zuo Mansion, Zuo Yan often moved around Linqing City, so many members of the New Army knew him.
His jade pendant is an even more conspicuous symbol.
This is also the reason why the officer got angry on the spot when he saw Wang Shizhong wearing it behind his back.
Everything about the new army was very efficient. Not long after, a larger group of people came, led by a local general.
After listening to the officer's story and seeing the doctors treating the unconscious Zuo Yan, he walked to Wang Shizhong.
"Uncle Wang, my nephew is polite."
Wang Shizhong was still worried, but he didn't expect that saving an old man halfway would lead to such a big battle.
He didn't tell the truth.
He indeed met Zuo Yan's carriage on the way, and saw that the carriage was well decorated and the people in it were well-known.
But Wang Shizhong's original idea was to use Zuo Yan to form a good relationship.
Nowadays, his life is getting harder and harder, and he doesn't know where to go in the future. So when he saw Zuo Yan's carriage was so luxurious, he thought it was some kind of powerful person.
As for the jade pendant, it was actually Wang Shizhong who was so happy to see that he wanted to collect some interest for rescuing people.
And the reason why he took this path was because of Zuo Yan.
Zuo Yan was groggy. After his simple treatment, he finally saved his life. But he was always worried that Zuo Liangyu would come back to cause trouble, so he kept muttering that he was going to Denglai.
He didn't know that Zuo Mengeng had returned to Linqing.
The last time Wang Shizhong received a letter from Wang Siyi, Wang Siyi was fighting in Denglai at that time. He thought he would be on the way, so he took this route.
By coincidence, I met the New Army setting up a checkpoint.
Otherwise, with Zuo Yan's condition, it would be questionable whether he could survive to Denglai.