Zhang Lu saw Yan Pu entering the house and hurriedly waved to him and asked, "Zimao came just in time. Have you noticed anything unusual in the city these days?"
Yan Pu looked around at Zhang Wei, Yang Song and others in the hall, and then quickly stepped forward and saluted Zhang Lu. Yang Song's heart was beating fast when he saw it, and he was worried that he had found something, but his expression remained unchanged. .
"My lord, after days of low-level investigation, I found out that there was a suspicious Central Plains caravan. The leader was called Song Jiang. He had given money to the poor many times in Hanzhong City. Song Jiang's followers also called him Timely Rain, but he also disappeared a few days ago. , maybe these people are Pound's internal agents." Yan Pu described.
After hearing this, Yang Song was devastated. Fortunately, Song Jiang was good at confusing outsiders and did not implicate the Yang family. As for the connotation of charity, he knew better than anyone else.
Zhang Lu frowned: "Zhongyuan's caravan? It must be Cao Cao's careful manipulation. It seems that Wei Gong has never forgotten Hanzhong. From which pass did Song Jiang's caravan enter?"
Zhang Lu looked at Yang Ren when he spoke, and he quickly replied hesitantly: "It must not have come through Yangping Pass, maybe it came from Baoxe Road..."
"Hmph, how can you have the face to argue in front of the hall after being manipulated by Pang Depifu? From now on, I will guard the praise lane." The more Zhang Lu thought about it, the angrier he became.
"Wei." Yang Ren responded with his head lowered and his fists clasped.
Yan Pu continued: "Pang De fled Yangping Pass pushing a grain truck, but his humble position did not discover the large transactions of the commercial banks in the city, so in addition to Song Jiang, there are other insiders to support..."
"who is it?"
Yan Pu was interrupted by Zhang Lu before he finished speaking, and Yang Song's cold sweat directly soaked his inner shirt.
"Cheng Yin, who is also from Xiliang, is very suspicious. He was seen delivering wine to Pangde's camp on Yuan Dynasty night. Does the lord want to send someone secretly to investigate?" Yan Pu analyzed.
Zhang Lu twitched his beard and thought deeply. Cheng Yin brought seven or eight thousand people to rely on him. He could save one province and collect hundreds of carts of food for Pang De.
Zhang Lu immediately reviewed the incident and was led by businessman Song Jiang. Cheng Yin provided wine and food to cooperate with Pang Rou and Pang De in their escape.
"Brother, since Cheng Yin has second thoughts, do you want me to take measures?" Zhang Wei asked.
Zhang Lu waved his hand with a gloomy look on his face: "Cheng Yin still has seven or eight thousand arrogant soldiers. If we force him to rebel directly, it may make Hanzhong people panic, so we must think of a perfect strategy."
Yan Pu suggested: "The grain that Cheng Yin subsidizes Pound should be the supplies you provide to him. The lord can use the excuse of fire in the granary, rat plague and other reasons to reduce the supply. They can only accept the penalty and starve when the soldiers are hungry. If they mutiny, they will be in chaos, but if the generals attack them with troops, they will get twice the result with half the effort."
"Wonderful, Gong Ze, just do as Zi Mao said." Zhang Lu was overjoyed.
"only."
Pang De's escape could only be ignored. Zhang Wei, Yang Ren, Yang Song and others left one after another, but Zhang Lu finally called back the meritorious Cao Yan Pu.
"My lord, do you have any other instructions?" Yan Pu asked with his hands raised.
"Xiahou Yuan defeated Longyou, and Hanzhong has become the target of Duke Wei. What if they raise troops to capture Ruzhi?" Zhang Lu asked worriedly.
Yan Pu shook his head and replied: "Wei Gong now has two-thirds of the world. My lord, using the strength of a Hanzhong county to contend with him is like a mantis' arm serving as a chariot, unless he asks Liu Bei of Yizhou for help..."
"Looking to Liu Bei for help? Liu Zhang lost Yizhou like this. Even if he is attached to Liu Bei now, won't Duke Cao attack Hanzhong? The people here will still be in ruins, so I would rather be Duke Cao's slave than a guest at Liu Bei's table... ." Zhang Lu showed disdain in his eyes.
"What do you mean, lord?"
"I plan to surrender to Duke Cao. What does Zi Mao think?"
Yan Pu nodded: "The general trend of the world is Wei. Surrendering to Duke Cao is naturally the best choice. However, if you take too much initiative, you will be underestimated. Hanzhong has enough military supplies and strong passes and dangerous rivers to defend it. Why not show some skills and then sell it for a price?"
"Zimao's brilliant plan." Zhang Lu's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he suddenly continued to ask: "Pang Rou and Pang De fled in a carriage. Logically speaking, they can't go very fast. Why did Gongze and their cavalry chase them, but they didn't even have one person left?" We haven’t caught up yet, what’s the reason?”
"Uh...this is contrary to common sense..." Yan Pu shook his head after hearing this.
Seeing that his chief adviser had not expected it, Zhang Lu frowned and said carelessly: "This timely rain will not send Pang De into the river, right?"
"My lord, Chencang Road went along the Western Han River Valley. The merchant Song Jiang must have arranged a boat in advance to pick up Pang Rou and Pang De by water after leaving Yangping Pass. That's why Gongze's cavalry was in vain. Without external support, it will never disappear." Yan Pu was as excited as if he had solved a difficult problem.
Zhang Lu nodded in affirmation, "As expected of you, this is the most reasonable."
Yan Pu's analysis was correct. Song Chen and Pang De did have contacts, and that was Deng Ai, who was working in the fields near Jiameng Pass.
When Song Chen set out to circumvent Guanzhong, Lan Tian wrote to his disciple Deng Ai in Yizhou, asking him to arrange for someone to be a lookout at Jinniu Road at the end of the year and the beginning of the year to respond to those who escaped from Yangping Pass at any time.
On the night of the Shangyuan Dynasty, all the soldiers at Yangpingguan were drunk.
Pound asked someone to untie the cargo compartment of the carriage carrying wine, and then he and Song Chen's entourage escorted the grain truck out of the customs secretly on horseback.
The soldiers of Xiliang did not feel tired after being able to escape. They walked in the mountains by the light of the moon in the sky, and did not dare to raise torches to expose their whereabouts.
The march was slow at night and Song Chen was not in a hurry. After all, in addition to the time difference between them and Hanzhong, they also asked Yang Bai to attack east and west to draw Zhang Lu's attention to Chencang Road, so when he got tired midway, he stopped by the roadside to rest and wait for dawn.
The next morning, it was just dawn.
Song Chen woke up Pang Rou and Pang De and urged them to eat some dry food and set off.
Pang Rou asked with a tired look on her face: "Since we are carrying food, why not make a fire and make some hot food? Zhang Lu won't be chasing us anyway."
"Sir, I often say that there are no absolutes in this world. We must consider every possibility when marching and fighting. If something goes wrong on Yang Bai's side, shouldn't we be put in danger?" Song Chen insisted.
After hearing this, Pang De quickly stood up and pulled Pang Rou up. "General Song's words are reasonable. Now that we have not passed Jiameng Pass, we must not take anything lightly."
"Please give me some horses, General Pang. I will send people to support the rear. I will also send people to Jiameng Pass to find someone to support them."
The dozen or so idle horses last night were assigned by Pound to the generals of Xiliang to ride. At this time, Song Chen felt like he was "taking food from the tiger's mouth".
Pang Rou nodded in affirmation, "General Song is indeed very cautious. Why don't we send out scouts? Everyone in the Xiliang soldiers has excellent riding skills. You and your followers should just go with the group."
Song Chen laughed loudly: "General Pang may not know what they used to do."
"What are you doing?" Pang De and Pang Rou had doubts on their faces.
"They are from the trapped army like me, and they are the most elite reconnaissance battalion in the trapped army." Song Chen was extremely proud when he said this.
Pang Rou and Pang De frowned and looked at each other, thinking to themselves, what kind of military branch is the reconnaissance battalion? Can they have better riding skills than our Xiliang soldiers?
