Ouyang Xuan drove away the envoys who persuaded him to surrender and showed Zhao Shicai's head to the public. This was a public slap in Liu Heima's face and a slap in the face of the Mongols. But the Mongols, uncharacteristically, did not retaliate, and even the cavalry rarely came to the mountains to conduct reconnaissance. Xiong Ben and his men were scared out of their wits and only dared to operate near Yongkang City. The bandits around the area controlled by the Perak Army were also much more honest. If they accidentally bumped into the Perak Army scouts, they stayed away and did not dare to do so. Come and take the initiative to provoke the Perak Army. This created a more stable environment for the Pili Army to concentrate on its development, and also expanded the frequency and scope of intelligence personnel's activities. Dong Hu even set up secret guard posts in Yongqu Township and other places, which allowed the Pili Army and the Intelligence acquisition has also become easier.
Winter in western Sichuan is always gloomy, and if it snows, it will be even more difficult to see. Chen Laosi, a soldier from the Eighth Squadron of the Reconnaissance Company of the Pili Army Internal Guard Battalion, encountered this problem. At this moment, he was hiding in the reeds next to the ferry in Yongqu Township, monitoring the official road from Chongqing Prefecture to Yongkang County. Although it was noon, the visibility was very low due to the snowflakes in the sky. Although his eyes were so painful, he could barely see the official road about twenty meters ahead. Although there were reeds around to block the wind and snow, and he was wearing an animal skin jacket, Chen Laosi, lying quietly on the ground, still felt cold all over. "If you hold on for a while, my companion will come to change the shift," he thought to himself. Today is the 13th day of the twelfth lunar month, and it is also the fifth day that he and three soldiers from his class have come to Yongqu Township with squad leader Li Ganzi to guard the secret posts. In five days, they can return to the mountains to wait for the New Year. Thinking of the New Year, he was full of expectations. The Perak Army was sure to win every battle and captured a lot of trophies. They also purchased a lot of daily necessities through the trade team. Brother Xuan had already said that he would reward everyone well during the New Year. It would be no exaggeration to say that Brother Xuan is really a god. The magical things he created have made the mountain develop at a rapid pace. It is not an exaggeration to say that one day is better than ten years. Under his leadership, the people under the rule of the Perak Army also lived a stable life. In the past, as an orphan, I never dared to think about having enough food and clothing.
"Oh, the braised pork after the last victory was so delicious." Just when Chen Laosi was salivating at the memory, a burst of footsteps sounded in front of him from far to near, and then a hazy figure appeared on the official road. He wiped the saliva from his chest and took a closer look. He saw that the person who came was a strong man with a long knife. Although the man looked exhausted and hungry, Chen Laosi still did not dare to step forward and ask questions. He quietly turned around and dived back. Squad leader Li Ganzi and other companions were resting in a shack at the confluence of three rivers not far away. The original owner of this shack was Huang Da who rescued Ouyang Xuan. After Brother Xuan took Huang Da to Liuliba for retirement, the vacant shack became the stronghold of the Perak Army scouts in Yongqu Township.
When Chen Laosi brought his people back, the strange man with the knife had arrived at the river and was anxiously wandering back and forth at the broken bridge by the river. The wooden bridge on the official road had long been destroyed by the war, and there were no boats on the ferry. It obviously required great courage to swim in the cold weather. Just as the strange man was about to walk upstream along the river bank, he was knocked down by Chen Laosi and others who came out of the reeds and tied up tightly. This man showed no fear after being tied up, and his mouth was too tight. He said nothing to Li Ganzi's questions. After taking some punches, he said that he was from Xinjin County and that he was visiting relatives in Hengyuan Village. , the knife is for self-defense. Li Ganzi was convinced that, not to mention the well-made long knife, just by looking at the thick calluses on his palms and the flesh all over his body, he was definitely not an ordinary person. Seeing that he didn't tell the truth, Li Gangzi put the knife against his neck as if to stab it in, but the man still didn't speak and just slowly closed his eyes. Li Ganzi's face turned blue and white with anger. After a while, he threw the knife to the ground and shouted loudly: "If it weren't for the rules of our Perak Army, I would want you to look good today. Alas, Brother Xuan is really a bodhisattva."
After hearing Li Ganzi's shouting, the man suddenly opened his eyes and asked, "Are you the Thunderbolt Army?" "I am the Thunderbolt Army, what do you want?" Chen Laosi and others said in unison. "I was sent by the Chongqing government office. I have important military information to meet with Ouyang Xuan." When the man heard that several people were from the Thunderbolt Army, he changed his previous silence and hurriedly told his situation.
This man calls himself Le Quan'an and is a navy commander in Xinjin Village. This time, he was ordered by Pan Tongzhi of the Chongqing Mansion to escort the messenger to Wanjiazhai to meet Ouyang Xuan. Six days ago, the four of them set out from Xinjin Village. It is said that the distance between the two places is only two hundred miles, and they should have arrived at Wanjiazhai long ago. However, because Jiangyuan County and Chongqing Fucheng were both occupied by the Mongols, in order to prevent being discovered by the Mongols They had no choice but to walk around and hide when there was any disturbance. But even so, the journey was still full of dangers. Not long after entering Jiangyuan County, two companions were shot dead by Mongolian cavalry. On the third day, they were chased by the Mongols again and had to hide in a mire for two days. The messenger also caught the wind and cold from standing in the cold mire for a long time. The messenger who couldn't walk anymore gave him the letter and asked him to continue to Wanjiazhai. He was hiding and hiding along the way, and was almost killed by a pack of wolves. To make matters worse, due to the long delay, he quickly ran out of dry food. By the time he got here, he was so hungry that he was eating grass roots. After listening to Le Quan'an's words, Li Ganzi asked someone to untie the rope and give him water. He also ordered Chen Laosi and another soldier to push out the boat hidden in the reed swamp, and immediately escorted Le Quan'an to Wanjiazhai to meet him. Ouyang Xuan.
The news brought by Le Quan'an was so shocking that it caused controversy among the top brass of the Pili Army. Pan Tongzhi said in the letter that General Pu Zezhi, under orders from the Lin'an court, would attack Chengdu after the beginning of spring and retake this important place in western Sichuan. Pu Zezhi was the envoy of Sichuan in the Southern Song Dynasty and the highest military and political officer of the imperial court in Sichuan. Pan Tongzhi also said in the letter that he had learned that the Perak Army defeated the new auxiliary army and beheaded Zhao Shicai some time ago, and he had reported to Pu Shuai to appoint Ouyang Xuan as the magistrate of Yongkang County. The messenger came here to discuss the matter of working together to retake Chongqing Fucheng.
Regarding Pan Tongzhi's letter, Lu Dezhi and Yu Zhu believed that it was Pan Tongzhi's plan to drive away wolves and swallow tigers. Li Shuang and Cao Ergou were even more fierce in their words. They also believed that showing courtesy for nothing was either cheating or stealing, and Pan Tongzhi was definitely not safe. Dong Hu felt that Le Quan'an came alone and his identity was doubtful. The joint attack on Chongqing Mansion might be a Mongolian plan. Ouyang Xuan remembered that there were records in history books that Pu Zezhi briefly occupied the city of Chengdu, but was immediately defeated by the Mongolian attack. But he didn't know whether Pan Tongzhi's words were credible, and he wasn't sure whether Le Quan'an was sent by Pan Tongzhi. So he thought over and over again and decided to increase the reconnaissance outside the mountain on the one hand, and on the other hand, he also sent a messenger to Xinjin Village to find out what happened.
