Ma Maoguan followed the Yin Yun team out of the Guanzhong Plain and headed north.
When the great plain recedes behind you and you walk along the mountain road winding through the Qishui River Valley, you will see deep ravines and huge ravines on both sides of you, forming large plateaus in the mountains.
The plateau is densely populated, and there are endless villages and fields. In the busy farming season, the fields are being plowed and planted everywhere.
God favored it with rain, and people said it was a good sign of a good harvest.
Near Jinsuoguan, the road becomes narrower and narrower, and the large plateaus on both sides turn into small plateaus with thousands of ravines and ravines. There is no longer any flat land beyond the horizon.
After passing Jinsuo Pass, Ma Maoguan finally breathed a sigh of relief and looked at the carriage transporting the silver with increasingly eager eyes.
But that day, I heard someone suddenly shouting from the front: "Ma Mao Guan, Ma Mao Guan, come forward!"
Ma Maoguan's heart skipped a beat and he turned to look at his brother-in-law Qi Shuangquan.
The brother-in-law's face still had scars from being beaten with a riding crop. He was also full of vigilance, and his hand was already pressed on the handle of the knife at his waist.
Ma Maoguan shook his head, took a deep breath and strode forward.
I saw a group of people stationed in front of them. The leader was wearing a peacock patchwork scarlet robe, and there were generals riding horses behind them.
Ma Maoguan was startled, and thousands of thoughts flashed through his mind. At this time, he couldn't think too much and hurriedly walked forward a few minutes to salute.
"The villain, Ma Maoguan, comes to see the military commander."
This man's name is Zhang Yundeng. He served as the official of his hometown Xianyang in the early years. He has benefited the whole place and has a reputation for good governance.
The master was Tang Binyin, the leader of the Xuan Party, and he was selected as a Jinshi, but he was not attached to Tang Binyin, so Tang Binyin didn't like him, and everyone in Donglin also didn't like him because of the Xuan Party.
However, his political achievements in Xianyang were outstanding, and they were most prominent in the triennial inspection of local officials at that time.
As a result, he was highly regarded by Shaanxi Province and was promoted by the imperial court to head of the Ministry of Punishment. He was sent to the prefecture of Yanzhou, handled mutinies, and participated in the suppression of the She'an rebellion in Guizhou.
I was originally going to Huguang to participate in politics, but I didn't go because I got sick last year. This year, I recorded the meritorious service of Shuixi and was sent to Shaanxi to participate in politics and guard Yanqing as deputy military envoy.
"You come with me." Zhang Yundeng nodded, turned to the general and said, "General Commander Yang will be guarding Xie Yin. We must be careful and vigilant along the way."
On the way to Yanzhou, Zhang Yundeng asked Ma Maoguan to walk beside him. He said nothing while walking in the daytime.
When he arrived at Yijun City in the evening, Zhang Yundeng left him in Yunyang Yicheng and went to the county government himself.
Not long afterward, all the followers of Bingbeidao went out to deliver disaster relief food outside the city.
Ma Maoguan was restless. He kept wondering whether his contact with Liu Chengzong had been exposed and whether he should run away, but he was also afraid that running away would implicate his family.
Zhang Yundeng didn't come back until dark. He looked very angry, but he cursed in Sichuan dialect and spoke very fast, and even Ma Maoguan couldn't understand him.
I only know that it probably means that rich people are like pigs and are not enthusiastic about disaster relief.
But I didn't expect Zhang Yunden to be very enthusiastic towards him. When he saw him, he slapped his head: "I forgot about you. I haven't eaten until midnight. Come and eat together."
Then he called Ma Maoguan to the official room and asked him to prepare food at the post station. He also asked him if he wanted to drink. When he heard that he said no, Zhang Yunden smiled and said, "It's better if you don't drink. Brewing this will cost a lot of food."
After sitting down, Zhang Yundeng asked: "I heard someone said that you are from Xianyang?"
Ma Maoguan said quickly: "Yes, the villain is indeed from Xianyang. Speaking of which, Master Bingxian is the parent of the villain."
"Yes, I found someone from Xianyang who fought in Wen'anyi. Let me tell you."
Ma Maoguan blinked: "Tell me, what did you say?"
"What can I say?"
Zhang Yundeng said happily: "I know that you used to be in charge of the team, and you were removed from your position when you returned. But people always recover, and it's just a team leader. If you perform a little merit, you can be reinstated. There is nothing wrong with going further."
"Liu Chengzong, how many soldiers and horses are there in his army, how are their armors, where are their nests, how are their food and fodder, why..." Zhang Yundeng said: "Why did you let them all go?"
Zhang Yundeng has always been curious about Liu Chengzong, and he has heard this name for a long time.
Last year, when he was recuperating in his hometown, he heard about the prison robbery in Yan'an Prefecture through letters from friends.
In his eyes, this thief is different from others.
Most thieves in northern Shaanxi actually do the same thing, that is, rob, and rob wherever they go. This is normal.
Zhang Yundeng can understand that it is natural for people to eat.
But if a person relies on robbing to keep himself fed, then he will still robbing when he is short of clothes, he will still robbing when he is short of money, and he will still robbing when he is in need of a wife. The laws of the Ming Dynasty are no longer useful, so the only thing left is robbing.
Therefore, as soon as he took office in Hexi Military Preparation, he believed that the most important direction of his work was not to rectify military preparations, but to do everything possible to provide disaster relief.
Only by providing disaster relief first can we prevent new people from becoming thieves. Isn't it difficult to deal with rogue thieves who are obsessed with robbery?
Therefore, in addition to disaster relief, he pays special attention to unusual thieves.
Then Wang Jiayin and Liu Chengzong were discovered.
What can I say about these two people? They are a bit silly.
Wang Jiayin is the enemy of Fugu County. Where is Fugu County? There are only two cities like this in the key place connecting Yulin and Xuanda, one is Fugu and the other is Meander, guarding both sides of the Yellow River.
But this impregnable Fugu County, as if the county seat was built by Wang Jiayin's father, had a doorway specially reserved for him.
In the first year of Chongzhen's reign, he started his army by breaking through Fugu. Kuang Kuang Kuang led the soldiers and bandits to break through a series of military forts, and finally broke through Fugu County.
In the second year of Chongzhen's reign, this process was repeated again. When he went to Hequ in the spring of this year, he first defeated Fugu County.
Anyway, if you can defeat the officers and soldiers, you must first break down a palace to boost the morale of your brothers; if you cannot defeat the officers and soldiers, you must break down a palace to find a shelter for yourself; before leaving Shaanxi, you must break down a palace to stay. A commemoration.
It is understandable that Wang Jiayin can fight. From the beginning to the present, he has been fighting against the border troops, fighting in their nests.
But Liu Chengzong was different. Zhang Yunden knew very little about Liu Chengzong. He had never heard of which county or state city Liu Chengzong besieged, nor which county or state city he defeated.
The only city in Yan'an also caused a big fuss during the prison robbery, and was defeated by hundreds of Yan'an guards in a blink of an eye, indicating that it had not yet become a phenomenon at that time.
But this is what makes Zhang Yundeng suspicious. According to the thief's plan, Liu Chengzong should have robbed wealthy gentry, but there is no news about this in Yan'an Prefecture.
Only thieves like She Tuotian, Guo Tianxing, and Cao Cao were plundering everywhere, and then the inn was gone.
When Zhang Yunden discovered Liu Chengzong again, more than a thousand officers and soldiers of Li Bei's Yan'an camp were defeated, and then Ai Mu Jinman's Yan'an camp was defeated.
He captured the Yan'an camp and beat him.
So Zhang Yundeng felt that this thief was a bit stupid. The person who defeated him was the Yan'an Guard. Why did he hold on to the Yan'an Camp and not let him go?
One is a guard and the other is a camp soldier. Is it so difficult to tell them apart?
Zhang Yundeng really wanted to get information about Liu Chengzong.
However, Yan'an Mansion is a bit hard to describe.
On the one hand, I was communicating with Zhang Nian, the prefect of Yan'an. The prefect said that although information was not easy to transmit, there were some thieves in the countryside, the people occasionally resisted taxes, and the tax collectors were as timid as rats.
But the problem is not big. Ren Quan'er, a Qianhu, is stationed in Saimen in the north, Shi Wanzhong, deputy Qianhu, is stationed in the south, and Chen Ruji, deputy Qianhu, is stationed in Zhuantianmao in the east.
The surrounding areas of Fucheng are all under control.
I just hope that Hexi Bingxian can catch Liu Chengzong quickly. This thief is extremely fierce. He even kills people near Fucheng when he returns home in winter.
People sent by Zhang Yundeng also said that the situation in Yan'an Prefecture was not bad. As long as taxes were not collected, everything was going smoothly and the people were in good spirits.
But the problem is that this place only collected about twenty taels of silver in tax in the past year. Even if other counties moved the tax to the vicinity of the capital, the tax money would be gone, and some random thief would always appear and steal the money.
The population of this place has been greatly reduced, and the remaining people can no longer live in poverty. However, according to the prefecture and county seats, they are still running well, so they should not be unable to collect taxes.
This is unreasonable.
But his question was a bit difficult for Ma Maoguan.
Ma Maoguan didn't want to tell him, but after thinking about it, he couldn't find a reason for himself not to know.
He had no choice but to bite the bullet and said: "The villain was captured last time. It seems that Liu Chengzong's troops are indeed elite. There are four thousand people under his command. They are fully equipped with soldiers and armor. They should have sufficient food and grass."
Ma Maoguan thought for a while and realized that these things couldn't be hidden anyway, so he said: "He gave the prisoners porridge with dried meat, and also treated the wounded soldiers. Then he asked us if we were willing to go with him. If we said no, we could Receive a few coins for travel expenses, give us two or three kilograms of yellow noodles, and let us go."
Zhang Yundeng pondered for a moment and asked, "Where is the nest?"
"The villain really doesn't know his lair. He only knows that he came from the east of Yanchuan last time."
"now it's right."
Zhang Yunden raised his hand and tapped it heavily on the table, raised his head and closed his eyes and sighed, his face solemn and sad.
It seemed that his guess was correct.
Why did Liu Chengzong go from east to west? Either someone was a liaison and let him know about General Ai's appointment as a general; or he was going back to Yan'an City and bumped into Ai Mu.
His lair is near Yan'an Fucheng.
If Liu Chengzong's lair was near Yan'an Fucheng, Yan'an Fucheng shouldn't look like everything was normal.
If everything looks fine, what's the problem?
Zhang Yundeng left Ma Maoguan to eat alone. He got up and left the table and walked out of the official room. He found General Yang Xun and whispered: "General Yang, my guess is correct. Ma Maoguan doesn't know where Liu Chengzong's lair is, but he has led troops from east to west." , most likely going back to Yan'an Fucheng."
General Yang Xun was stunned for a moment. Hexi Bingbei told him that he suspected that there was something wrong with the Yan'an government office. Then he asked cautiously: "Master Bingxian said..."
Zhang Yundeng nodded slowly: "I now seriously suspect that the prefect Zhang Nian supported the bandits and embezzled taxes and money."
Yang Xun said: "This...if this is true, then Liu Chengzong must have known the official silver transportation route, and he may have blocked the road to Yanzhou and Yan'an Prefecture."
"That's right. You go to the city to find another box and eight thousand kilograms of stones. At midnight tonight, we will secretly send our confidants to break the seal and move the official silver."
"You and I will go straight to Yichuan without passing through Yanzhou, and transport it north to Yulin Town via Yanchuan. As for the official silver box, Ma Maoguan will lead the people to transport it to Yan'an Fucheng."
Breaking the seal is a big deal.
Yang Xun hesitated and said: "Sir, even if you don't break the seal without authorization, we just change the route to Yichuan. That is a long way. If Liu Chengzong started in Yanzhou and found that the boxes were filled with stones, he would definitely march to Yanchuan again. "
Zhang Yundeng nodded and said: "So we have to hurry. I will write a secret letter to the new governor of Yansuihong and ask him to send troops to Yanchuan to respond."
Yang Xun no longer hesitated and agreed immediately.
Zhang Yundeng then returned to the official room, looking much more relaxed on his brows, and said: "Captain Ma Guan, do you want to continue to serve the imperial court?"
Ma Maocai was so shocked by what he said that he was afraid that his thoughts had been exposed, so he quickly asked: "What do you mean by this, sir? I have been serving the imperial court all this time!"
Zhang Yundeng shook his head and said: "You are from Xianyang. I trust you so much. I just came from Yanchuan to report that there are thieves attacking. If you escort this batch of silver coins and transport them to Yanchuan via Yan'an Fucheng, I will be waiting for you there." .”
"Can you finish it?"
Ma Maocai frowned, he felt something was wrong.
It sounds like... It's like Zhang Yunden was afraid of Liu Chengzong, so he made such an arrangement.
But he knew very well that Zhang Yundeng had participated in pacifying the She'an Rebellion in Shuixi, and he should not be a timid person.
But before he could answer, Zhang Yunden seemed to notice his hesitation, and said: "If you succeed in this matter and are willing to stay in Hexi, I can recommend you to be the commander-in-chief. If you intend to go to the frontier fortress, I will also recommend you." I can recommend you to Governor Yan Suihong and work beside him."
Official Ma Mao was stunned.
Regardless of whether you are working next to Bing Beidao or working next to Governor Yansui, you can reach the top in one step.
If there is such a good thing, you should have said it earlier!
He took the risk just because the officer in charge of the team was raped.
As long as he lost the battle and was not demoted, his family and relatives lived well. Even if he was just a team leader, he would not think of ways to contact Liu Chengzong.
Regardless of whether Liu Chengzong is willing to divide it into 500 taels or 200 taels, is it better to be an officer for the imperial court than to live and work for this little money?
But it's too late to talk about this now. Liu Chengzong already knows about this money, and they are waiting in Ganquan County. Who can keep this money?
"The villain is willing to serve the adults, but... I am worried about encountering thieves on the way."
Ma Maoguan thought for a while and said, "My lord, why don't you let me put down some silver and follow you to the north of Yichuan? Although the road is a bit far, I am familiar with the mountain road I took when I was released last time."
Zhang Yundeng didn't say anything, but gave Ma Maoguan a meaningful look.
Look, official Ma Mao knew that it was not safe to go to Yan'an Prefecture, but Zhang Nian, the prefect of Yan'an, didn't know and said that everything was under control!
This matter is getting easier and easier to tell. Either there is a problem with all the generals, flags, troops, officials and subordinates in the garrison and the city, or there is a problem with the prefect Zhang Nian.
Which of the two is probably bigger?
Obviously, others may or may not have problems, but Zhang Nian must have problems.
Is it possible that everyone is making up lies just to deceive the prefect?
"Captain Ma, you are a smart man. If you encounter a thief on the road, you only need to find out one thing for me, whether it is Liu Chengzong."
Zhang Yundeng said: "If it's not Liu Chengzong who comes, I think you can stop him; if it's Liu Chengzong, just leave your official bank and leave. Afterwards, I will recommend you an official position, and it will be bigger than Mr. Bai."
