Xu Shiji also has no choice. Chen Yingliang has been running on him with words all the time, forcing him to keep his promise and keep his promise. If Xu Shiji reneges on his word and continues to force Chen Yingliang to go to Wagang with him, then Xu Shiji will first have to settle for a dishonorable reputation. , getting a bad name in the Greenway. Such infamy may be an insignificant matter in modern society, but in ancient society where reputation and morality were valued, it was quite a major event. Especially for an arrogant young man like Xu Shiji, he values reputation and morality more than his life.
Secondly, even if Xu Shiji wanted to renege on his word like Lu Mingming, he still had nothing to do with Chen Yingliang, because Chen Yingliang had been holding a knife on King Shaoling's neck. If the King of Mausoleum was chopped off, then Xu Shiji would lose both fame and wealth—of course, if Xu Shiji knew that if he really ordered the robbery, Chen Yingliang would immediately hand over the money to Xiangmin in exchange for his life without hesitation. Certainly not so hesitant.
If so, it's a pity that Xu Shiji didn't know Chen Yingliang's true identity and purpose. In a dilemma, Xu Shiji chose to preserve his reputation and hope, fulfill his promise and let Chen Yingliang and others leave, counting on Chen Yingliang and that Wu Jun Liu Tianzi found out with conscience that he would give him 30% of the treasure in the future, and also gave Chen Yingliang the useless Lu Mingxing to Chen Yingliang.
It is conceivable that the nationalist army rushed to Chen Yingliang's surprised expression, especially Pei Xingyan, who was already covered in blood, because his precious sister Pei Cuiyun ran to Chen Yingliang at some point, and he thought he was a little timid at one time Chen Yingliang, on the other hand, was proud of himself, standing unscathed at the place surrounded by many enemies just now, holding in his hand the head of Lu Xingxing, who is said to be the great bandit of Jibei. I couldn't believe my eyes, and directly opened my mouth and dislocated it.
Seeing that Chen Yingliang was safe and sound, Changsun Wuji, Ma Sanbao and the others burst into joy, but they were immediately scolded by Chen Yingliang, accusing them of failing to rescue them, and did not come to help Chen Yingliang immediately. Wuji explained aggrievedly that his ship was accidentally bumped into an official ship full of patriotic soldiers, which caused the ship to be damaged and could not speed up to come to rescue Chen Yingliang immediately. Chen Yingliang saw that Chen Yingliang shut his mouth, knowing that he had misunderstood his brother-in-law and Ma Sanbao.
He also asked Guo Feng, Chen Ci and other old lackeys about what happened just now. Only then did Chen Yingliang know the cause and effect of the whole incident. After the fleet was out of touch, they also took advantage of the opportunity of Pei Xingyan's ship colliding with the dilapidated civilian ship to stop, and arranged for water ghosts to try to scuttle Pei Xingyan's ship, trying to cause more trouble for the Sui army's troop carrier. , but it also wasted some time. At the same time, because of the damage to the sails, the speed of the four troop carriers carrying more troops and deep water could not catch up with Chen Yingliang's ship that only carried porcelain, so naturally they couldn't come to the rescue quickly. .
As Chen Yingliang's lackeys, although the delay in the rescue was caused by various objective reasons, Guo Feng and Chen Ci honestly pleaded guilty to Chen Yingliang and expressed their willingness to bear all punishments. Fortunately, Chen Yingliang is also a down-to-earth person. After thinking silently for a while, Chen Yingliang shook his head and said, "It's not your fault. My biggest responsibility is that I don't understand water warfare. Soldiers and porcelain were not mixed together. Like the land battle, the combat power was concentrated at one point, and the flaws were exposed, which gave the enemy a chance to attack, and I will remember this lesson."
After reviewing his mistakes, Chen Yingliang came back to comfort Guo Feng, Chen Ci, Qian Xiangmin and the others, saying: "Don't worry, this time we lost the two boats and the porcelain we escorted, but we still got the money. At the head of Lu Xingxing, the big bandit in Jibei, he killed a lot of thieves, at least he can pay off the crime, and I will plead with Fan Liushou on your behalf. It shouldn’t be a big problem to get someone who won’t be rewarded or punished, at least not Because I lost my imperial treasure and lost my head."
Guo Feng and Chen Ci nodded in agreement, while Qian Xiangmin was satisfied as long as he could save his life, so he dared to say more, of course he nodded again and again, expressing his willingness to obey Chen Yingliang's arrangements. At that moment, Chen Yingliang ordered the fleet to anchor on the spot, and tried his best to salvage the sunken ship to recover the loss, and then discussed with Qian Xiangmin how to report to Fan Zigai. But at this moment, Pei Cuiyun came up, and asked Chen Yingliang confidently: "Boy Chen, I saved you this time, how can you thank me?"
"If you go through fire and water, you will be rewarded generously." Chen Yingliang replied with a wry smile.
"I don't want you to get married, and I don't want you to go through fire and water." Pei Cuiyun's arrogant words were startling, "Go back and annul your previous engagement, and then marry me, it will be considered as your repayment."
Changsun Wuji's face changed from staring at him, Pei Xingyan rushed up to drag his sister away, the surrounding soldiers of the Nationalist Army roared with laughter, Chen Yingliang even shook his head and smiled wryly, and said inwardly, "I'm sorry, this time I will definitely be entangled with this girl." I don't know."
Because the famous Baoguo army was in town, and hundreds of heads were chopped off to demonstrate. In the following time, no matter whether it was the Wagang army who robbed the canal for food or other bandits of the rebel army, they did not dare to approach again. Within ten miles of the Baoguo Army camp, Chen Yingliang's team was able to salvage the wrecked cargo with peace of mind. After a day's salvage, about 40% of the cargo was salvaged ashore. The official ship has also been repaired and can continue sailing.
Chen Yingliang himself was quite satisfied with this result, but Qian Xiangmin, who was in charge of escorting the goods, was worried, because Qian Xiangmin knew very well that by beheading Lu Mingxing and hundreds of thieves, he had reported to the national army. Basically, it can be guaranteed that nothing will happen, but I, the transportation supervisor, may be pushed out as a scapegoat and bear the responsibility of losing 60% of the imperial treasures. But it was useless to worry about it. Qian Xiangmin finally listened to Chen Yingliang's persuasion and decided to continue escorting the remaining porcelain to Jiangdu for a business trip. He wrote a letter to report the truth to Fan Zigai, and pleaded with Fan Zigai not to mention Qian Xiangmin.
Chen Yingliang tried his best to persuade Qian Xiangmin to go to Jiangdu, of course he had selfish intentions, because Chen Yingliang had already seen the power of the Wagang Army, and he had just slapped Xu Shiji, one of the three leaders of the Wagang Army, so of course he did not dare to leave the newspaper. Under the protection of the national army, he ventured alone on the Yongji Canal. After successfully persuading Qian Xiangmin to continue eastward to protect himself, Pei Xingyan came to Chen Yingliang again, and said coyly, "Brother Yingliang, I have something to tell you. My sister who hates me has to stay with us." Go, and have to live on your boat, I hope you will be accommodating."
"Why? Why hasn't she returned to the Eastern Capital?" Chen Yingliang, who didn't want to continue entanglement with Pei Cuiyun, changed his face slightly.
"She said it was too dangerous to go back alone, so I didn't feel at ease, so I had to agree." Pei Xingyan said with a mournful face: "Also, she said that all the officers on the troop transport ship are men, and she is a girl, so it is inconvenient to live on the officer ship." , I have no choice but to ask you to let her live on your civilian ship."
"You really know how to make excuses! Why are you not afraid of danger when you come chasing me alone?" Chen Yingliang gritted his teeth, but he couldn't refuse, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and agree. After moving to the civilian ship, Chen Yingliang used the excuse to vacate the cabin for Pei Cuiyun, and immediately moved to live on the official ship. He would rather sleep with a group of big men than to get entangled with Pei Cuiyun, a little pepper. Of course, Pei Cuiyun hated her so much that her teeth itch, while Changsun Wuji nodded repeatedly, praising his sister for marrying the right person.
After the Wagang Army's ambush incident, Chen Yingliang, who was already cautious, became even more cautious when he led the team eastward. He was always on guard against sneak attacks from the water and the shore. They sent small boats to board the ship for inspection and ordered incoming ships to give way. It wasn't until the fleet passed the girder and re-entered the densely populated place that Chen Yingliang felt a little relieved. At the same time, he sent his servants to rush to Qiao County first, and reported his itinerary to Xu Minlian, the prefect of Qiao County, and asked for instructions. Should he go to Qiao County to meet the superior, or go directly to Yongcheng where he is stationed
More than two days later, when Chen Yingliang's fleet crossed Songcheng, the prefecture of Liang County, the servants sent to communicate with Xu Minlian returned to Chen Yingliang, reporting that Xu Minlian was ecstatic about Chen Yingliang's arrival, and he did not hesitate. He decided to go to Yongcheng by the canal to meet Chen Yingliang, a subordinate, and let Chen Yingliang go straight to Yongcheng by boat, so that he didn't have to go to Qiao County to meet Shangguan.
For this, Chen Yingliang was not surprised. Chen Yingliang knew that Xu Minlian was blamed for the robbing of grain in Qiaojun, and he was ordered to commit crimes and make meritorious service. Xu Minlian had to raise his hands to welcome the arrival of himself, the world-famous executioner of the peasant uprising army, and he might offer incense and thank the heavens for his blessing. Qian Xiangmin, who is also an official in office, was very envious of this, and sighed on the spot: "After all, it is the Chen Ji Office. We unknown people go to the new yamen to take office. It means that we have to be careful with everyone when we meet, for fear of wearing small shoes in the future. It’s like Chen Ji’s office, the bosses all ran to the station to greet him.”
"Lord Qian, don't be too happy for me." Chen Yingliang smiled and said, "Believe it or not, if I can't quell the rebellion in Qiao County during my tenure, or if the brothers from the Tian family succeed in robbing grain again, what will happen to me? It is definitely worse than his predecessor Zanzhi Fu Jiande."
"Brother, there is also Zhang Qian." Eldest Sun Wuji reminded: "As far as we know from the memorials we collected in Daxing and Luoyang, there are two major rebellious bandits in Qiao County, one is Tian Heishe and Tian Bai. The She Brothers, one is Zhang Qian, the Tian Brothers are entrenched in the complex terrain of Mangdang Mountain and Yushan, and Zhang Qian is entrenched in the Ji Mountain south of Huanshui, all of which threaten the safety of the Yongji Canal. In addition, There are still more than a dozen groups of small thieves in Qiao County."
"Yes, there is Zhang Qian." Chen Yingliang nodded, and said with a smile: "These guys are really good at picking places. They are all hidden in the deep mountains and old forests with complex terrain. It is not so easy to wipe them out."
"Is there a way to lure them out in the next few days?" Guo Feng on the other side asked, whimsical: "If we can lure them out of the nest within a few days and let them die near the Yongcheng Wharf, then I and Chen Ci led the nationalist army, and it was easy to deal with them."
"Is that so easy?" Chen Yingliang smiled and said, "Besides, the rioters in Qiao County are not fools. Once you soldiers in white robes show up in Qiao County and fight the banner of loyal service to the country, those rioters will surely If you run away immediately, that will give you a chance to slaughter fat sheep?"
"Brother is right." Eldest Sun Wuji also nodded and said, "If we are familiar with the situation in Qiao County, have a certain intelligence network in Qiao County, and can even communicate with people in the gang of thieves, then maybe we can To lure out the thieves and gather them and wipe them out, but we have never even been to Qiao County, and it is absolutely impossible to lure the enemy out of their lairs."
Chen Yingliang sighed, and wanted to agree with Changsun Wuji's opinion, but when the words came to his lips, Chen Yingliang suddenly changed his mind and blurted out: "It's not impossible! We don't know the situation of Qiao County, but the prefect of Qiao County Xu Minlian must be aware that he has served as prefect in Qiao County for two terms, and there must be enough intelligence network in Qiao County, we may not be without hope of success if we cooperate with him to lure the enemy."
"Brother, are you really planning to do this?" Changsun Wuji was taken aback, and hurriedly reminded: "Mr. Xu must have these things, but there is too little time? We are only two days away from Yongcheng. How can we do it in two days?"
Chen Yingliang didn't answer, but turned to Qian Xiangmin quickly, and asked, "Master Qian, Fan Liushou sent you to supervise the transportation of imperial porcelain to Jiangdu Palace, did you set a time limit?"
"No." Qian Xiangmin replied truthfully: "Maybe because it is not urgent, the Taifu's order to the lower officials is only to let the lower officials supervise the transportation of the imperial porcelain to Jiangdu for delivery and return, and there is no set time limit."
"That's great! God help me too!" Chen Yingliang applauded and laughed, and after thinking for a while, Chen Yingliang said to Qian Xiangmin: "Master Qian, please do me a favor and slow down the itinerary. The two-day journey is divided into three days. In the afternoon of the next day, your fleet will arrive at Yongcheng Wharf again, is that okay?"
"Of course no problem." Qian Xiangmin agreed without thinking.
"Then please." Chen Yingliang was overjoyed, and then turned to Guo Feng and said, "Guo Feng, you can go and say hello to Chen Ci in a while, and ask all the soldiers of the Nationalist Army to take off their white robes, take off all the flags, and only pay money. Your Excellency's Taifu government office flag."
"No problem." Guo Feng nodded, then took the initiative to smile and said, "When it's not necessary, I can also let the brothers not wear military uniforms and armor, so that those thieves who are watching our movements think that we are not an army."
"I've made progress, and I can still notice these details." Chen Yingliang praised with a smile.
"It's Chen Jishi who taught you well." Guo Feng smiled and said: "I still remember the story of Chen Jishi you said about crossing the river in white. I always thought of the opportunity to learn from Lu Ziming, and now I just use it."
Chen Yingliang laughed loudly, very satisfied with the results of his training of the running dogs and accomplices, but the eldest grandson Wuji over there was in a hurry, and hurriedly reminded: "Brother, even with this arrangement, we still don't have enough time."
"Why is it not enough?" Chen Yingliang asked back: "We will take the hired private boat and sail south. If everything goes well, we will arrive at Yongcheng before tomorrow evening. The team reporting to the national army will arrive in Yongcheng in the afternoon of three days. There are almost two full days to make arrangements, which is enough."
"Arranging arrangements for two days? Is it enough?" Changsun Wuji was still a little worried.
"That's enough." Chen Yingliang smiled, and recited casually: "Yongcheng is located in the northwest of Qiao County, about 60 miles away from Mangdang Mountain in the north, about 70 miles away from Yushan Mountain, and only 47 or 8 miles away from Jishan Mountain in the south. That is to say, in two days, even if we walk, it is enough for us to make two or three round trips from Yongcheng to Mount Mangdang or Mount Ji.”
Changsun Wuji kept his mouth shut, only then did he realize that his future brother-in-law had already firmly memorized the map information of Qiaojun area in his heart. Chen Yingliang didn't hesitate, and immediately decided to change to a small boat. The light boat rushed to Yongcheng to meet Xu Minlian. The old running dog Guo Feng didn't object, but Chen Yingliang must bring ten absolutely reliable soldiers of the nationalist army to protect him. Chen Yingliang also knew this. It was the good intentions of the accomplices and lackeys, so he didn't refuse, and nodded happily in agreement. Then he called Chen Ci again, and carefully explained the time and contact method to Guo Feng, Chen Ci, and Qian Xiangmin, and then boarded the civilian boat he had hired to prepare to set off.
The only resistance to Chen Yingliang's greedy and adventurous decision came from Pei Cuiyun, the little pepper. Knowing that Chen Yingliang was going to go to Yongcheng first, Pei Cuiyun, who had already occupied Chen Yingliang's bedroom, not only refused to leave, but also found a very good reason to go with Chen Yingliang ——I am a woman, but Lao Qiuba, who has never seen a woman in eight lifetimes, is on the boat of the national army. Living on it by myself will damage my reputation! So he refused to move away, and insisted on going to Yongcheng with Chen Yingliang!
Really can't get entangled with this little pepper, and knowing that this little pepper is skilled in martial arts and extraordinary skills, bringing her by his side may not be useful, Chen Yingliang gritted his teeth, finally nodded and said: "Okay, I will take you to Yongcheng, But I have a condition, you must be obedient on the road and follow my arrangements, otherwise, I will drive you off the ship."
Pei Cuiyun smiled sweetly, showing a touching smile, and said in a gentle tone for the first time: "Of course, I am your wife who has never been married. If I don't listen to you, who will I listen to?"
The eldest grandson Wuji next to him turned pale, and said viciously in his heart: "You must keep an eye on this girl! Otherwise, my brother-in-law is so kind, if she accidentally picks flowers upside down, I will be in trouble!"
Chen Yingliang didn't have the heart to pay attention to the secret rivalry between Pei Cuiyun and Changsun Wuji. While ordering the boatman to sail immediately, Chen Yingliang couldn't wait to start thinking about the strategy to lure the enemy. The emperor has a palace in Yongcheng, and there are still palace guards to guard it, am I using this palace to make a fuss?"