The banquet ended soon, and the governors of the six counties said goodbye to Xi Jian and Xu Zongwen in turn, and returned to their respective camps outside Linzi City. The Taiping Tower was deserted and empty.
At this time, Xu Zongwen and Xi Jian stood in front of the window and looked at the night of Linzi City.
"Mr. Keeper of the promise, does he know Han Ji, the prefect of Chengyang?" The market was very lonely after the curfew, and Xu Zongwen broke the tranquility of the night in silence.
Xi Jian thought for a while, looked at the lights of Wanjia in the distance, and replied: "I know a little about Han Ji. He was born in Yan County and was from Xianbei. His father was a general in Chisha and the prefect of Pingyang. Han Ji accompanied his father on the expedition. With meritorious service in the Yan State, he was promoted to General Dongzhonglang and Governor of Chengyang. He is good at wielding a ninety-pound mountain-breaking ax and is extremely brave. He is a rare general."
Xu Zongwen thought to himself: "It turns out that he was born as a military general. No wonder he became jealous of himself when he heard that Fu Lang named him a military advisor and general. His official position was obtained by fighting on the battlefield, so naturally he was jealous of those scholars who had no power to restrain a chicken. I don’t have any good impressions, and I won’t give you a good look.”
Fortunately, Han Ji didn't know Xu Zongwen's true identity. He was just jealous that Xu Zongwen became a military advisor general for no reason. He himself went through many hardships on the battlefield, but in the end he only got the military position of a lieutenant general.
Xu Zongwen asked again: "Does Han Ji have any old memories in Linzi City?"
"Sun Liang, the former guard commander of the governor's office, once served as a cavalryman under Han Ji, and he had a good personal relationship. Sun Liang was recommended to Fu Lang by Han Ji for the position of commander. The relationship between the two is very close. In addition, there are Jia Xin, the former captain of Qi County, and Cheng Chu, the postal governor, were all old friends of Han Ji. In addition to Qi County and Linzi, Han Ji also had many personal friends in other counties in Qingzhou. After all, Han Ji served in Qingzhou for six years. If If it weren't for Fu Lang coming to Qingzhou, everyone would have thought that Han Ji would take over the post of governor, which shows how powerful he is and how strong his people are!"
"I see!"
Xu Zongwen looked at the direction where Han Ji was going and thought a lot. His eyes dropped and he sighed: "It seems that some things can no longer be hidden!"
"Asan."
"General, what are your orders?" Zhang San, who had been standing by the side, stepped forward and obeyed the order.
Xu Zongwen turned around and gave the order: "Go and capture many of the people Mr. mentioned, and take them to Linzi County Prison to await punishment."
While Xi Jian was stunned, Xu Zongwen turned to him again and said, "Mr. Youlao, write a list and give it to Ah San so that he can run his errands more smoothly."
"It should be." Xi Jian had already figured it out at this time. Xu Zongwen was afraid that the news of his attack on the governor's mansion had been leaked. If Han Ji and other self-respecting prefects from all over the country learned about it, they would jump into panic.
Xi Jian shook his head and thought to himself: This General Xu has a very delicate mind.
Xi Jian immediately wrote down the officials who had relations with Han Ji in Taiping Tower and gave them to Zhang San. Zhang San did not dare to waste time at all, ordered a team of people and immediately went to arrest the people according to the list.
Returning to the Governor's Mansion from the Taiping Tower, Xu Zongwen immediately summoned Pei Qing to come for discussion, and told the news that Han Ji might have learned that Fu Lang had been controlled by them. Now even Pei Qing and Pei Fuji, who had always been calm and steady, were also sitting Can't stand it anymore.
Pei Qing said: "Han Ji has many relatives and friends in Linzi, and the relationship is intricate. It is inevitable to know the inside story. For the current plan, close the four gates and strengthen the city defense. It can delay it for a while."
Although Han Ji has not taken any practical actions at the moment, everyone knows that it is better to be prepared in advance than to be beaten by someone when the time comes. When the time comes, he is in a hurry and Han Ji takes advantage of the chaos to attack Linzi, but there is no place to take regret medicine. go.
"Although there are still 3,000 men and horses in the city, plus the general's 500 personal troops, the prefects of the six counties outside the city have more than 40,000 county soldiers. I'm afraid they will end up fighting the fire with their salary and throwing eggs at rocks."
Xi Jian's expression was very bad. He knew Han Ji very well and knew that he was a man who kept his word and would not tolerate scorn in his eyes. As long as he knew that Fu Lang had been kidnapped, there was no question whether others would do the siege or not. , he can definitely do it.
Xu Zongwen shook his head, took a sip and said, "No, shrinking back to Linzi and defending the city is not a long-term solution."
In fact, he was brewing a shocking plan in his mind. He wanted to use 500 people to attack the 40,000 Qingzhou County soldiers outside the city...
Pei Qing suggested: "First encourage the people in Linzi City to issue weapons to help me defend the city, and disperse the gold, silver, and silk from the government treasury to reward the soldiers and boost morale!"
Xi Jian thought of someone, "Let Fu Lang persuade the governors of other counties first. As long as they withdraw their troops, Chengyang County alone can only have a force of 10,000 troops. It is okay to fight in the field, but it is overestimating what we can do to attack the city!"
Xu Zongwen took a picture of the case, thought of something, and suddenly said: "There is one more thing that the two gentlemen did not mention."
"The King of Qin's decree." Seeing the two people staring at him, Xu Zongwen blurted out.
Xu Zongwen stood up and said slowly with his hands behind his back: "Explain the King of Qin's edict and call on the prefects of all counties to kill the rebels! I don't believe it. If Han Ji rebels, can other prefects also rebel?"
"In addition, all of Han Ji's old friends should be beheaded and their heads hung on the city gate to frighten the county soldiers." Xi Jian then said.
To be honest, Xu Zongwen would have believed the proposal to kill Han Ji's relatives and friends if he had come from Pei Qing's mouth. After all, when attacking Pengcheng, Pei Qing proposed a plan to dig up the Si River and flood Pengcheng, but Xi Jian looked like a scholar, gentle and elegant, as if Jade gentleman, I never thought that my heart could be so hard and my methods so ruthless!
Xu Zongwen's impression was refreshed by Xi Jian. This time Xi Jian kept his promise, which made Xu Zongwen look at him with admiration.
Regarding Xi Jian's proposal to kill Han Ji's relatives and friends, Xu Zongwen expressed his acquiescence, and Pei Qing did not object, so it was settled.
Early the next morning, on the streets of Linzi City, Zhang San rode on horseback and led his pro-soldiers into and out of the market according to the list to arrest Han Ji's old friends from door to door, causing a burst of noise in the busy city.
"What's going on? Why are there so many soldiers?"
"Something big has happened, something big is going to happen!"
"Everyone disperse, find out that Jia Xin, the captain of the original county, and Cheng Chu, the former governor, have an affair with the governor of Xuzhou of the Jin Dynasty. They intend to commit treason and rebellion. They are guilty of unpardonable crimes. They are now arrested and brought to justice by the order of the envoy. Get out of the way!" "
"Oh my God! Captain Jia said he was unclean and often accepted bribes, but he didn't expect that he was rebelling and wanted to surrender to the enemy and treason!"
"Then Governor Cheng Chu has a good reputation. He has investigated and dealt with many corrupt officials. How could he do such dirty things?"
"What do you know? Cheng Chu is all pretending. He is investigating honest officials who refuse to bribe him. He has made so much money in Qi County for so many years, and you still speak for him?"
"real or fake?"
"I have also heard about this, so I dismissed him from the post of postal supervisor a few days ago, and it seems that I have to report it to the court captain for trial. Such real villains and hypocrites have really suffered for themselves when they ended up like this!"
The common people gathered together and talked incessantly. They watched groups of soldiers escorting the prisoners away.
"General, Qi Commandery Tiancao Liu Yan has escaped!"
Early in the morning, before Xu Zongwen stepped out of the room, Zhang San ran and knelt down directly in front of him!
Xu Zongwen worked hard all night and was still sleepy. Now when he heard Zhang San's report and learned that the news was leaked, he felt a thump in his heart. Paper can't cover up the fire after all!
Although Xu Zongwen has taken precautions, if the matter is confirmed, it is another matter. In this way, he will fall into passivity!
"When did it happen?"
Zhang San: "I left the city at noon yesterday."
"This is none of your business, get up!" Xu Zongwen stepped on the threshold and walked out of the room.
After the banquet at Taipinglou, Xu Zongwen and others ordered the four gates of Linzi City to be blocked. Zhang San cannot be blamed for this at all.
Just as Zhang San was about to retreat, Xu Zongwen suddenly stopped Zhang San, stared at him, and ordered: "Wait a minute, gather the blacksmiths and carpenters in the city together, I have a sharp weapon that needs to be made immediately to defeat the enemy!"
"promise!"
"Urgent report! Chengyang Prefect Han Ji, Beihai Prefect Kong Qi, Changguang Prefect Zhou Jing, Donglai Prefect Kou Xiuzhi, Le'an Prefect Sun Ping have led their troops to surround Linzi City!"
After Zhang San left, his troops came to report that the prefects from various places, led by Han Ji, the prefect of Chengyang, led the county soldiers to surround Linzi City.
Five prefects from the Six Counties came, and where is Cui Cheng, the prefect from Qi Commandery?
Just when Xu Zongwen was suspicious, there was another burst of hurried footsteps behind him.
"General, Qi County Governor Cui Cheng has taken the initiative to join us. The general is right. King Qin's edict is more effective than any magical weapon. Now that we have Qi County's 8,000 troops, we will not be too passive in defending the city. ." Pei Qing walked in with a cheerful face, followed by a man in Confucian uniform and a high crown.
"My subordinate Cui Cheng has met the military advisor general and Xi Zhizhong."
This handsome and graceful middle-aged man is Cui Cheng, the prefect of Qi County who surrendered on his own initiative.
Xu Zongwen was overjoyed: "It is really a great blessing for Mr. Cui to abandon the dark side and turn to the bright side!"
It was a blessing in disguise. Liu Yan just escaped over there, and Cui Cheng came over here.
"I wonder what the relationship between Lord Cui and the Cui family of Qinghe is?" Xu Zongwen personally greeted Cui Cheng at the door and asked with a concerned smile.
"This subordinate is from the Cui family of Qinghe, a descendant of Cui Yan, the lieutenant of Cao Wei."
Cui Yan, the first head of the Cui family in Qinghe, was used by Yuan Shao and Cao Cao successively in the late Han Dynasty. He was the leader of the Hebei gentry. The charming Cao Zhi was his son-in-law.
