Mrs. Cao bowed and said, "Thank you very much, King Yan, for your concern. I have already considered it. I think that my master will devote his whole life to the official family of Zhao Song. No matter how confused the official family of Zhao Song is, they will not doubt my master's loyalty."
Yang Peng nodded and said: "Since you have thought it through, I won't say anything. I can only wish you to take care of yourself along the way." "Thank you very much, King Yan! The common woman wishes King Yan to be safe and secure and to rule the world as soon as possible! The common woman resigns!" Yang Peng nodded. Mrs. Cao bowed and retreated. Cao Yong quickly clasped his fists towards Yang Peng and said, "King Yan, please go and see your sister-in-law off." "Go." Cao Hu bowed to Yang Peng, caught up with Mrs. Cao, and left together.
The next morning, Cao Hu came to the post house and saw King Yan talking to Sun Xie, the general of the Hanzhong Army. He immediately stepped forward and said, "My subordinates pay homage to King Yan." Yang Peng smiled and nodded. Cao Hu turned around and cupped his fists at Sun Xie and said, "General Sun." Sun Xie returned the salute and said, "Master Cao."
Yang Peng asked Cao Hu: "Have your sister-in-law and her family left?" "Yes, my subordinate personally sent them out of Tanzhou just now. My sister-in-law specially asked me to express my gratitude to King Yan on my behalf."
Yang Peng sighed, "There's no need to thank them. I just hope nothing happens to them when they go!" Cao Hu couldn't help but worry.
Sun Jie said: "Confucianism always talks about others all the time, but in fact it is extremely cruel to its own people! It is said that if the king wants his ministers to die, they must die. Such nonsense is actually a golden rule! As long as the loyalty of the ministers is slightly compromised. Doubts often lead to doom! I really can’t tell whether Master Wu’s sister-in-law’s departure is bad or good!” Cao Hu glanced at Sun Xie with some surprise. Although Sun Xie had already defected to Yanyun, but The two of them were old acquaintances. In Wu Lin's impression, Sun Xie was very knowledgeable about Confucian classics and had even been praised by Emperor Huizong. Unexpectedly, the scholar who studied Confucian classics in the past was like this today. He gritted his teeth and pointed at Confucianism. Thinking of what his sister-in-law might encounter during her trip, Wu Lin couldn't help but sigh, and said helplessly: "My sister-in-law insists on going to reunite with my brother, so I can only resign myself to fate!"
Yang Peng waved his hand, "There is no need to think about the worst. On the other hand, it can be said that Zhao Song can maintain the current situation entirely because of Cao Yong and Zhang Jun. If there is a problem with Wu Jie's loyalty, Zhao Song Song Jiangshan is dead a long time ago! No matter how stupid Zhao Heng is, he can understand this simple truth, so he shouldn't have any doubts about Cao Yong's loyalty just because Mrs. Cao's family passed by us." Sun Xi said: "I'm afraid Yan The king is using himself to save others! If the Yellow Emperor of the Zhao family had the insight and mind of King Yan, why would he do this!" Cao Hu sighed, shook his head and said: "My sister-in-law has passed away, no matter whether it is good or bad, I can't care about it. I just hope that my sister-in-law and brother will be blessed with good fortune and good fortune!"
Then he clasped his fist toward Yang Peng with an apologetic look and said, "I am ashamed, because my family affairs have upset King Yan."
Yang Peng shook his head, "You and I are our own people, don't say such unreasonable things." Cao Hu felt warm in his heart, and thinking of business, he quickly said: "Since Jinghu South Road was conquered by Yan Yun, my subordinates have followed Yan Yun's instructions. The king's instructions are to implement various policies. Everything else is fine, there is only one problem." Yang Peng waited quietly for the next step, and Cao Hu continued: "About the distribution of land. Since Jiangnan is not like the Central Plains of Jiangbei, it was messed up by the Khitans first. Now, a lot of land can be treated as ownerless land. All land in Jiangnan has owners, and the owners are gentry and officials from various places, so there is not much land that can be allocated to ordinary people at the moment."
Yang Peng asked: "Has the tax policy been promulgated?"
Cao Hu said: "It has been promulgated. The gentry and gentry are full of complaints, including some extreme remarks!"
Yang Peng smiled and said nonchalantly: "Let them say what they want to say. Our policies will be implemented correctly!" Cao Hu said with some worry: "King Yan, if you insist on implementing such an agricultural tax, I'm afraid that the entire The gentry and gentry will all be our enemies, and then my subordinates will be worried that uncontrollable situations will arise!"
Yang Peng waved his hand, "The gentry and gentry are the cornerstone of the country's stability. At that time, Confucianism deceived the rulers, and the gentry and gentry were never the cornerstone of the country! The cornerstone of the country is thousands of ordinary people, as long as they can get benefits from the country , can feel happy, even if all the gentry and gentry in the world rebel together, it will be just a breeze, not worth mentioning!"
Cao Hu was still worried. It's not his fault. After all, the education he has received for a long time has always made him think that it is important to stabilize the gentry and gentry, and his mind can't change for a while.
Yang Peng said with a smile: "Don't worry, no matter how fiercely the gentry and gentry scream, nothing will happen! We only need to do practical things for the majority of the people. If the gentry and gentry want to change the world, we don't need to take any measures." Action, the people will never agree to it!" Cao Hu nodded, clasped his fists and said: "King Yan is wise!" Although Cao Hu was still worried, with his wisdom he could naturally understand the truth behind King Yan's words.
Yang Peng thought: "The pressure on the gentry and gentry is not enough now. They will not sell their land for a while!" Looking at Cao Hu, he said: "Just bring forward the agricultural tax that was originally collected at the end of the year. Levy and implement immediately.”
Cao Hu clasped his fists and accepted the promise, frowning and saying: "I'm afraid this stimulation is too strong, and some gentry and squires may get hot-headed and take risks!"
Yang Peng said: "For this, of course we have to be prepared." He smiled and said, "There are hundreds of thousands of troops on Jinghu South Road now. We are not afraid of the gentry and gentry rebelling, but we are afraid that they will not rebel! It is best for all of them to jump out If they are causing trouble, they can be dealt with at once and all the problems can be solved at once!" Cao Hu looked at Yang Peng with wide eyes. Yang Peng smiled and said: "Okay, don't worry! Don't take the gentry and gentry too seriously! Back in Sichuan, the gentry and gentry in Sichuan secretly colluded and united with many local officials to rebel. What was the result? In an instant Completely wiped out! Their actions did not cause much damage, but they added countless amounts of money and food to Yanyun's public treasury, making a great contribution to Yanyun!"
Cao Hu's heart was moved, he glanced at King Yan, and said to himself: King Yan is not deliberately stimulating the gentry and gentry to rebel in order to confiscate their property? Then he felt that this idea was too incredible, and he couldn't help but shake his head. Yang Peng asked with a smile: "You shake your head, do you still disagree with my decision?"
Cao Hu quickly said: "This is not what I meant. I thought of something else." Yang Peng said: "If you have no doubts, just be so confident." Cao Hu bowed and agreed. Yang Peng glanced at Cao Hu and Sun Xi, "If you have nothing else to do, just go and do your own business." The two of them agreed, bowed and retreated. Yang Peng called Wang Kai and ordered: "Call a team of people, put on casual clothes, and let's go out for a walk." Wang Kai promised and ran down.
Soon after, dozens of secret guards led by Yang Peng and Wang Kai rode out of the post house in civilian clothes and walked out of Tanzhou along the street. When we came to the bank of the Xiangjiang River, we saw green willows lingering, the Xiangshui rippling, and fishermen setting up small boats to cast nets on the Xiangjiang River to catch fish. The unique Hunan fishing songs floated along the river wind. The colors of the river and the fishermen complement each other, so wonderful. Jiangnan scenery.
Yang Peng admired the scenery along the river and couldn't help but linger. When I came to a riverside, I saw a sandbar in the middle of the river. There were several houses on the sandbar. I couldn't help but think of the Orange Island Head I had visited back then. Thousands of years had passed since then, but the scenery seemed to have not changed much. Yang Peng couldn't help but sigh with emotion.
Before I knew it, it was almost noon. Wang Kai came forward and said: "Master, it's almost noon, let's go back." Yang Peng raised his head and looked at the sun. Sure enough, the sun was approaching its zenith. The sunlight was a little less gentle and a little more hot. . He nodded, "Okay, let's go back." He turned to look at the spring scenery of the Xiangjiang River and said with a smile, "We'll come back to play when Han Bing comes." Then the group of people turned their horses and galloped towards Tanzhou.
Unexpectedly, not far away, a woman's scream for help came from the woods on the right. Yang Peng and his party quickly reined in their horses. Yang Peng asked: "Did you hear that?" At this moment, the sound of exclamation came again, very shrill and frightening, as if something terrible had happened to the woman. Yang Peng frowned and immediately galloped towards the woods. The secret guards were worried that King Yan had made a mistake, so they quickly urged their horses to follow him.
A large group of people rode horses and ran into the woods. Not far away, they saw a group of bandits surrounding a young woman. One bandit had already pressed the woman on a tree trunk and was tearing her clothes apart, intending to commit the violation. , and all the bandits gathered around, eager to try, laughing strangely.
Yang Peng was furious and shouted: "Stop!" The bandits were startled and turned around in a hurry. They saw a group of knights running towards them on angry horses, and their faces changed with horror. He immediately dropped the woman, turned around and ran away. Yang Peng and others chased after him on horseback and slashed with their swords. In an instant, the forest was covered with flesh and blood and corpses. Finally, Yang Peng and others surrounded the bandit leader who almost violated the woman just now.
When the bandit leader saw that Yang Peng and others had killed more than 20 of his men in an instant, he was so frightened that his face turned pale and he shouted: "Okay, good man, we have no grievances, so why push people too far!" Yang Peng was too lazy to follow him. Nonsense, he winked at Wang Kai, who immediately rode forward. The bandit leader realized that something was wrong, and was shocked. He immediately wanted to fight with his sword, but as soon as he raised the sword in his hand, the opponent rushed in front of him. The sword flashed, and his head flew into the sky with blood. Wang Kai rushed over and turned the horse's head. At this time, the headless body of the bandit leader fell backward.
The rescued woman came over with the support of her maid, bowed to Yang Peng Yingying, and said with tears of gratitude: "Thank you brave man for saving me!" Yang Peng glanced at her, and couldn't help showing surprise, because the woman actually Unexpectedly beautiful.
Yang Peng was surprised to find that the woman in front of him was very beautiful. Although she looked very embarrassed, she could not hide her natural beauty! Although this girl is not as good as Yan Ji and other girls, she is slightly better than An Qian, Yang Tong, etc., especially her pitiful temperament, which makes people want to protect her. Come on impulse.
The woman, supported by her maid, bowed her head and said, "Thank you, brave man, for the rescue!" Yang Peng looked at the corpses of the bandits around him, frowned slightly, turned around and asked the woman, "Who are you?" The woman With a sad look on his face, he said: "The little girl went to Tanzhou to seek refuge with her relatives. Unexpectedly, she encountered bandits here!" Miaomu looked at Yang Peng and said with great gratitude: "Thanks to the brave man for saving me!"
Yang Peng said with a smile: "How do you know I am a good person? Maybe I am also a bandit!" The woman huffed, and the maid next to her looked panicked.
Yang Peng laughed and said, "I'm just kidding you." The woman laughed and said, "I didn't expect the strong man to be a funny person." Then she asked, "I wonder where the strong man is going?" Yang Peng said, "Back to Tanzhou." The woman showed joy and said quickly: "I wonder if my master and maidservant can go with the strong man?" Yang Peng nodded, "Yes." The woman was very happy and bowed Yingying: "Thank you so much, strong man!" Yang Peng said with a smile: " You're welcome, I'm very happy to be traveling with a beautiful woman!" The woman smiled slightly, a strange look flashed in her eyes.
Yang Peng asked the two women: "Can you ride a horse?"
The woman said: "My little girl doesn't know how to ride a horse." Yang Peng found it difficult. The two of them had just met and didn't even know their names. Naturally, it was not easy to ride a horse together, so he said: "In that case, let's go on foot together." Let's go to Tanzhou." Then he turned over and dismounted. When Wang Kai and all the secret guards saw Yang Peng dismounting, they naturally dismounted too. The woman apologized: "It's me who has delayed the warrior's schedule!" Yang Peng smiled, "Even if we get to Tanzhou, it won't delay anything." He looked up at the sky and said to the woman: "Let's go, maybe it will be better." Just in time for lunch." The woman responded. Yang Peng and his party led the horses and turned around and walked out of the woods. The woman quickly led her maid to follow them.
The woman walked side by side with Yang Peng. Although Yang Peng did not walk fast, because of his tall stature and long strides, the woman had to walk very quickly to keep up. After a while, the woman was panting and was a little weak. When Yang Peng saw this, he realized what he was doing, so he slowed down and said to himself: "It seems that this is a rich lady. She is out of breath after just a few steps!" But why did she, such a delicate young lady, travel far away with a maid? ' This question flashed through my mind, but this idea was immediately thrown away. After all, I was not familiar with her, so there was no need to ask so many questions.
When the woman saw Yang Peng slow down, she also slowed down and looked at Yang Peng gratefully. Suddenly he remembered something and said quickly: "The little girl's surname is Zhou, with the double-character name Bingqian. I wonder what the strong man calls her?"
Yang Peng said with a smile: "Miss's name is just nice. Compared with Miss's, my name is much more rustic. My name is Yang Mu." Yang Peng's name has long been known to the world. In order to avoid unnecessary Trouble, just tell Yang Mu’s fake name again.
Zhou Bingqian smiled and said: "The name of a strong man is quite simple!" After a pause, her face turned slightly red and she said: "If you don't mind the strong man, I will call you big brother!"
Yang Peng couldn't help but feel his heart skip a beat, smiled, and said jokingly: "The relationship is great, we have such a beautiful girl!" Zhou Bingqian smiled brightly, glanced at Chen Xiao, and saw Yang Peng looking at her, He quickly turned his head away, looking shy and cute. Yang Peng couldn't help but laugh, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart how he was so lucky!
Zhou Bingqian suddenly stopped with an ouch. Yang Peng stopped, looked at her, and asked, "What's wrong?" Zhou Bingqian frowned and said, "My little sister forgot her luggage!" This was the voice of her personal maid, "Miss, our luggage Still in Qinghe Town!"
Yang Peng knew that Qinghe Town was twenty miles east of Tanzhou and almost ten miles away. He couldn't help but asked in surprise: "Since you live in Qinghe Town, why did you come here?" Zhou Bingqian said embarrassedly. : "This is all my fault! My little sister took Wutong out to enjoy the scenery this morning. She came all the way and lingered over it. Unknowingly, she arrived here, and she met a bandit! If she hadn't met her elder brother, the consequences would have been unimaginable! "
Yang Peng said: "This matter is easy to handle. You tell me which inn you are staying at, and I will ask one of my men to bring you your things." Zhou Bingqian's face was red and she twisted and said: "This, this I'm afraid there will be some inconvenience!" Yang Peng felt puzzled, and then he understood: "Nine times out of ten, some women's private belongings are really inconvenient for others to touch. 'When I thought of this, I couldn't help but smile. Zhou Bingqian became even more shy when she saw Yang Peng's expression. She lowered her head and did not dare to look at Yang Peng.
Yang Peng said with a smile: "In that case, I will accompany you to Qinghe Town." Zhou Bingqian said awkwardly: "This, I'm afraid this is inappropriate!" She glanced at Yang Peng and asked, "Will it delay my elder brother's affairs? ?" Yang Peng said with a smile: "I have a lot of free time now, so I won't delay anything." Zhou Bingqian said happily: "Then I have a big brother to work with!" Yang Peng said with a smile: "Since you call me big brother, why are you so polite!" Zhou Bingqian said Showing shyness, he lowered his head.
The group then turned around and headed east to Qinghe Town. Since neither Zhou Bingqian nor her maidservant could ride a horse, their walking speed was really limited, and they had to take care of the delicate Zhou Bingqian. Therefore, the group stopped and walked very slowly. It was not until dusk that the group arrived at Qinghe Town. At this time, Qinghe Town, under the reflection of the setting sun, seemed to be covered with a hazy coat, surrounded by mountains and rivers. It was a beautiful place with beautiful scenery; Qinghe Town was filled with smoke, and people who had worked for a day were returning home, and my mother was leaning on her The child's nickname was shouted loudly by the door, with a hint of irritation; the lights had been lit, and looking around, it looked like stars. All the inns and restaurants were already busy, and travelers were sitting in the taverns and inns. Next, chatting and drinking, the fatigue of the day dissipates unconsciously.
Yang Peng and his party followed Zhou Bingqian and his maidservant into an inn, and then walked along the wooden stairs to the room on the second floor. Zhou Bingqian turned around and said to Chen Xiao with a blushing face: "Brother, little sister, little sister, go ahead and clean up." Yang Peng smiled and nodded. Zhou Bingqian looked shy, opened the door, went in with the maid, and closed the door.
After a while, the door reopened, and Zhou Bingqian stood at the door and said, "Brother, please come in." Yang Peng walked in, Wang Kai followed, and the others remained outside the door.
Yang Peng smelled an elegant fragrance and thought to himself: The place where girls live always smells so good.
Zhou Bingqian asked Yang Peng to sit down, and then ordered Wutong to prepare tea. Wutong responded and left. Zhou Bingqian sat down next to Yang Peng and said apologetically: "My little sister is living in a foreign country, so there is nothing to entertain my elder brother!" Yang Peng said with a smile: "Since my little sister calls me big brother, why should I be so polite! Between brothers and sisters, it is casual. That's good!" Zhou Bingqian nodded with a slight blush. He turned to look at the sky outside the window and said apologetically: "It's all my fault, little sister, for wasting time!" He turned around and said: "Brother, it seems you have to stay at the inn tonight!"
Yang Peng felt that if he didn't come back overnight, the civil and military people in Tanzhou would be in such a hurry, and said: "Let's travel overnight. Hire a carriage for you, and we will be able to return to Tanzhou in a short time."
Zhou Bingqian said: "But the city gate is closed now. Even if you arrive in Tanzhou, you can't enter the city?" Yang Peng smiled and said: "Your elder brother has a way." Zhou Bingqian looked at Yang Peng in surprise, then her expression changed and she asked curiously He said: "Is it possible that the eldest brother is not an ordinary person, but the legendary Yan Yun warrior?"
Yang Peng laughed and said: "You can say that." Zhou Bingqian showed surprise, and then smiled: "Little sister should have thought of it a long time ago. The eldest brother is so brave and extraordinary, and all his subordinates are also brave and good at fighting. In addition to being powerful in the world, Who else can there be between Yan Yun’s powerful generals and Yan Yun’s army?”
At this time, Wutong came in with a pot of hot tea, came to the table and poured a full bowl of tea for Yang Peng and Zhou Bingqian respectively. Zhou Bingqian picked up the tea bowl and took a sip, but Yang Peng did not move. Seeing that Yang Peng didn't drink tea, Zhou Bingqian asked in confusion: "Brother, why don't you drink tea? Is it because you think the tea can't enter your mouth?" Yang Peng smiled and said, "I'm not thirsty." Then he stood up and said, "You guys Clean up, we will set off in a moment." Zhou Bingqian stood up and responded.
Yang Peng said: "I'm going out first." Then he walked out of the room and said to a secret guard outside the door: "Go to the town and hire a carriage." The secret guard responded and ran down. Yang Peng said to another secret guard: "Go and pay the rent of Miss Zhou, the master and the maid." The secret guard responded and ran downstairs.
There was a soft knock on the door, and Yang Peng turned around and saw Zhou Bingqian walking out with the support of her maid Wutong, who was carrying two small packages on her back. Chen Xiao asked with a smile: "Are you ready?" Zhou Bingqian nodded, "Okay. I kept you waiting for a long time." Yang Peng said, "Let's go then." Then he walked down, and everyone followed.
Everyone came to the door to wait. After a while, a carriage with a green cloth wooden shed drove to the door of the inn and stopped. The driver of the carriage was a middle-aged man with an honest and courteous appearance. Next to him sat the secret guard who had just been ordered to find the carriage. The secret guard jumped down, clasped his fists towards Chen Xiao and said, "Master, you can only find carriages like this here."
What happened after all, let’s see what happens next.
