"When I come back from Phoenix Mountain, I, A Chi, will be at your disposal at any time. Whether it's going up the mountain of swords or going down into the sea of fire, I'll do whatever you want!"
"When the time comes, you can take my life at any time."
When A Chi said these words, his attitude was decisive.
Zhao Cheng waved his hand: "Why do I want your life?"
"When you take care of things in the clan, I just need you to do me a favor." Zhao Cheng said while looking at the endless flow of the Qingshui River.
A Chi said: "Tell me, maybe I can help you now."
Zhao Cheng said: "I want you to help me find someone. Her name is Zhou Rushuang. She was originally from Qinghe County, but she seemed to have gone to Shangjing later."
"I... want to know news about her."
"Well...it's best to be more detailed. I'd really like to know how she's doing now."
A Chi thought for a while and said, "Only when I come back from Phoenix Mountain can I help you find out about this matter."
Zhao Cheng nodded: "It doesn't matter, just go and do your business first."
"In addition, I want to tell you that Sun An from Baifu will not let you go easily. At this point, I can't help."
Of course A Chi understood that Bai Jingtao would not be willing to let go of killing Bai Jingtao's personal followers.
"Don't worry, we have a solution for this matter."
Zhao Cheng bought these barbarians from Yahui and then let them go. He had done his utmost to be benevolent and even risked his life to save A Chi. Of course, he would never stand up for them again.
In fact, Sun An's revenge came quickly. He used one of his identity cards to request an investigation of the barbarians in Qinghe County in the name of Jiangying's official record and joining the army.
Since it is an official-to-official relationship, it is not a lawsuit, but an official letter.
The person who received this official letter was Chief Secretary He Lie. He took a quick look at it and saw the words "border defense, barbarians" on it, and he immediately retreated.
The Three Kings Rebellion more than ten years ago caused huge damage to Qinghe County. As a result, all the county offices were burned to the ground and all officials died.
As soon as He Lie saw the words "Border Defense", he immediately forwarded the letter to the county magistrate Pan Zhuo.
"My lord, here is an official letter from Jiangying. Because the matter is serious, my subordinates do not dare to deal with it easily. Please make up your mind."
Because the county magistrate Pan Zhuo liked to travel, the affairs of the county were often left to He Lie. And He Lie can often do it well.
So when the county magistrate Pan Zhuo received the official letter, he was still thinking about how "big the matter" must be for He Lie not to dare to deal with it easily.
With a trace of curiosity, Pan Zhuo opened the official letter and read it at a glance.
After reading this official letter, Pan Zhuo felt doubts in his heart.
Jiangying refers to the Shulin River that runs through Yanyun and Yunzhou. There is a navy on the riverside that trains soldiers here all year round.
Because this navy does not undertake the main defense mission, it is more about training navy soldiers for the imperial court. So suddenly an official letter came, and it mentioned the defense issues on the border and the barbarians in the extreme south, which made the county magistrate Pan Zhuo curious.
"What's going on?" The county magistrate shook the letter in his hand and asked the chief clerk He Lie.
Just when He Lie was about to explain, Pan Zhuo waved his hand and said, "I don't want to hear the excuses you made up. Let's just tell you what's going on."
He Lie had no choice but to tell the story about the barbarians with a grimace: "Sir, it's really not that my subordinates are trying to shirk it. It's really..."
Although He Lie didn't say anything further, the county magistrate Pan Zhuo already roughly understood what was going on.
The Bai Mansion has many former disciples and former officials in Yanyun Prefecture. As long as Bai Dongjiang gives an order, these former disciples and former officials will follow one after another, and Jiangying is one of them.
Regarding these barbarians, there should be some unclear connection with the Baifu, and because the power of the Baifu is not great in Qinghe County, at least the county magistrate Pan Zhuo is not from the Baifu.
Therefore, if they want to deal with these barbarians, they must use some official means.
They are just some barbarians. Although the county magistrate Pan Zhuo has nothing to do with the Bai Mansion, he does not want to cause any unpleasantness because of these unimportant people.
Pan Zhuo threw the official letter to He Lie again: "Just think about it and do it. You don't need to ask me about this matter."
He Lie was eager to have such an opportunity to make a good sale to the White House. He took the official letter and said with a smile, "Thank you, sir."
While the two were talking, suddenly the yamen servant outside the door came in and said to the county magistrate Pan Zhuo: "Master, someone outside the door sent this. I said that the master will know it at a glance."
Pan Zhuo took it and saw that it was a jade pendant, carved into the shape of a small snake, and there were words engraved on the back of the jade pendant. He carefully identified it and found that it should be "Youdao's own handwriting".
"You have a way?" Pan Zhuo pondered for a moment, and immediately thought of a person. He was frightened and instinctively wanted to stand up, but he forced himself down. He turned to the officer who sent the jade and said, "What else did the person who sent the jade say?"
The yamen servant reported back: "To tell you the truth, the man left an address, which is the Moon Bay Warehouse by the Qingshui River."
Pan Zhuo narrowed his eyes and immediately realized that his handling of the official letter just now was a bit hasty.
But since the matter has been entrusted to the chief registrar He Lie, it is difficult to change his mind, so he added two sentences to He Lie: "When dealing with barbarian affairs, we must use these three principles as a reference."
He raised two fingers: "First, you are not allowed to go to jail."
"Second, no forced imprisonment or torture is allowed!"
“Third, the inquiry period shall not exceed three days.”
He Lie didn't expect that Pan Zhuo only received a piece of jade pendant and suddenly reversed everything he had just decided. How could he sell it well?
So he looked troubled: "This..."
Magistrate Pan Zhuo didn't want to say anything more to him, and walked slowly towards the back house, stroking the small snake jade pendant.
At this time, Pan Zhuo's face was calm, but his heart was rolling like a stormy sea, and he kept thinking about the four words "Youdao's autograph".
Li Youdao, the prime minister of the Chen Dynasty, was inferior to one person and superior to ten thousand people. He is also one of the key figures who assisted the current emperor in putting down the Three Kings Rebellion.
The prime minister, the emperor, and the elder formed a closed circle, and all government orders in the world came from this circle.
The officials of the Chen Dynasty also came from this circle.
Although everyone is a member of the emperor, they are still divided into factions, and Pan Zhuo belongs to Li Youdao's faction.
Although scholars do not form sects like Jianghu people, they pay special attention to the discipleship. Just as Zhao Cheng initially wanted to apprentice with Zheng Yucheng, if Zheng Yucheng accepted it, Zhao Cheng would belong to Zheng Yucheng's sect.
Pan Zhuo was able to serve as the county magistrate, and of course he had factions, and his teacher was Li Youdao.
He had been the county magistrate of Qinghe County for such a long time, and Li Youdao never asked him about it once. However, after receiving the official letter from Jiang Ying, he immediately received Li Youdao's jade pendant. How could he not be surprised?
