Bailang came to the pier and glanced at a woman wearing light pink standing under a large camphor tree near the water not far away. He stopped for a moment and turned around to greet his subordinates:
"You go and get ready to sail. I'll take a look at the scenery along the pier." After saying that, he walked a few steps forward and suddenly turned back and asked the finless porpoise officer who was seeing him off: "Who is under the tree?"
"Oh, it seems... it's the second lady." Probably because he knew that this would be the son-in-law of the Jiang family, the general answered in a very polite tone. He looked in that direction again and said with certainty: "Yes, it must be the second young lady!"
"Oh? The second sister is also here today?" Finless Porpoise always hides its daughters from others as if they were hiding treasures. This time both girls were brought, which was beyond Bai Lang's expectation. "This old guy!" he cursed secretly.
"Yes, it's rare for the two young ladies to come out to relax, but it's indeed rare today!" the general replied with a smile. Read the book
"No. However, I guess she has also seen me. Since I am engaged to my third sister, it seems unreasonable not to say goodbye?"
The general hesitated for a moment: "That's fine. Master Bai, please go over and say hello. Isn't it strange that there are so many people?"
"That's right, that's right, I think so too. Then please tell my people to get ready to sail. I'll be here right away."
"Okay, okay, Mr. Bai, please excuse me."
Seeing that the general was heading towards the ship, Bailang strode forward, took a few steps uphill to get some distance away, and said with cupped hands, "Bailang has seen my second sister, she is fine!"
Jiang Yun'er heard the footsteps and saw him coming over from the corner of her eye. She raised her arms and covered her face with her wide sleeves. When she heard this, a petite maid came out from behind her and answered for her: "Girl, please General Bai is in good health. The girl said, I am very happy to hear that the general is engaged to my third girl!"
"Thank you, sister. I also heard from my father-in-law that my second sister is engaged to Junshanhu Chentong. I have specially prepared a congratulatory gift this time to congratulate my sister on finding a good son-in-law."
After saying this, there was no answer. Soon there was a sound and the little maid disappeared. Chen Yun'er slowly put down his arms and sighed: "My son-in-law has decided, whether he is good or not, maybe the general knows better than me?"
Bailang was stunned for a moment, but didn't know how to answer.
He had met Chen Tong and knew his reputation.
This is a lawless little bully, a master at playing with women. It is said that he does not let go of women from village girls to nuns, from teenage girls to women in their thirties.
As long as he thought he was pretty, he would bring her to the village, and he even caused a ridiculous incident of raping a prostitute in broad daylight, which was notorious throughout Poyang Lake.
As a result, many villages publicly prohibited his boats from entering their waters, but he didn't care to go his own way, so the area around the village was sparsely populated and business travel was closed.
His father, Chen Yuanhai, only had two sons. The eldest son, Chen Shu, was a concubine and therefore was neglected. Now he wandered around in the name of "jianxue" (seeing and learning while traveling, which is called "jianxue"), and no one knows where he ended up.
Chen Yuanhai treated Chen Tong like a treasure and said, "This is my hobby. As long as it doesn't hurt anyone's life, let him go."
His requirement was that no one should be killed or harmed. As long as he didn't touch this, he didn't care how many women this boy got!
As the saying goes: If the upper beam is not straight, the lower beam is crooked. In fact, Chen Yuanhai himself has seven or eight concubines, so his father is mostly responsible for Chen Tong being led astray since he was a child!
Because Shinao Village likes to snatch women everywhere, it has a bad reputation around the lake, and other villages are not ashamed to associate with it.
The finless porpoise is not unaware of these things. Bai Lang guessed that the reason why he got married to the Chen family was because he wanted to win over them.
Although Shinaozhai is located in the southernmost part of the entire lake area, because it is at the junction of Nanchang, Raozhou and Fuzhou, its strength has been expanding in recent years and it has become a major player in Huxi.
The finless porpoise wooed the Chen family, in fact, from the perspective of the alliance leader, they wanted to influence many miscellaneous forces in Huxi through the Chen family after getting married.
However, in doing so, he had to sacrifice his own daughter, and she was the most outstanding one among the three girls.
So now Miss Yun'er sighed, Bai Lang didn't know how to answer this question. comfort? agree? Neither is good.
I could only say half-jokingly: "My father-in-law's vision must be right. Don't you think he likes me?" After saying that, I suddenly felt that something was wrong, but it was like water that was thrown out, and there was no way I could get it back. ?
I heard Yun'er sneer: "If he had good taste, he wouldn't have chosen Chen Tong. He would have chosen the general long ago..." He stopped abruptly before he finished speaking.
Bai Lang was stunned to see a blush staining Yun'er's cheeks, and even his neck turned red.
Jiang Yun'er lowered her head and bit her lip gently. Suddenly she realized that Bai Lang was watching her from the side, and she hurriedly raised her hand to cover it with her wide sleeves. With the light coming through, Bai Lang could only vaguely see her outline.
Jiang Yun'er is tall, about five feet (162c). Unlike her younger sister who has not yet fully grown, she has a delicate oval face, a small nose, and light eyebrows that are as curved as black and white, making people feel as if she is expecting something at any time.
Judging from Yun'er's hand exposed outside the sleeve, it is very small, with slender fingers, white and delicate.
Bai Lang suddenly felt that his breathing was a little short. He avoided looking at the cloud-like black hair, lowered his head and saw the red satin embroidered waterfowl pinch-top flower shoes exposed under the azalea pleated skirt, which made him feel more and more thirsty and restless in his throat.
When he was about to leave, he felt it was inappropriate, so he quickly turned back and crossed his hands and said, "My sister has been blessed, so there is no need to complain. Uh..."
His mind went blank, and he finally choked out a sentence: "Bailang will go on an expedition soon. Maybe the second sister will be able to go to Shinao Village to ask for a wedding drink on the day of her wedding. Sister, please wait for your brother to come and drink the wine you proposed, and it won't be too late before the bridal chamber... ..."
Bailang had never felt that his words were so confusing. What kind of blessing words were these? Stupid! He couldn't make it up anymore, so he mumbled something incomprehensible, then said goodbye and ran away.
Jiang Yun'er heard what he said about the wedding wine and the bridal chamber, and she couldn't help but feel ashamed. Hearing the footsteps receding, I quietly looked through the light and saw that the person was gone. Then I gasped for breath. I put down my slightly trembling arm and held my heaving chest with the other hand.
"Miss, General Bai is gone." The little maid came over to support her and asked in surprise: "You look bad, but what rash words did he say?"
"No, no, he was clumsy..." Jiang Yun'er stamped her feet, but it was difficult to talk to this girl. He just turned his face and looked at the boat that had left the dock, and at the idiot standing on the bow who turned around and waved.
"Hey, does he mean to go to Shi Nao Village for a banquet? Otherwise, why did he say he wanted to drink wedding wine? He wants me to toast him first before entering the bridal chamber? How can there be such a rule?
Alas, you fool, you fool, I heard people say in vain that this Bailang is a hero, even his father can't beat him, it turns out he is just a rough guy! "
Jiang Yun'er was thinking wildly, and unknowingly she had walked up the bank. Looking back, she saw that Ye Bianzhou was only a black spot, looking smaller and smaller on the endless lake.
The autumn wind suddenly picked up, and Feng Shen finally arrived at Yugan. Li Dan had no time to let him rest, so he sent people to invite Han An, Gu Da, Yang Yi, Zhao Jingzi, Master Ba, Zhou Qin, Tan Zhongxiao and Yang Dayi to come and discuss the matter.
The east courtyard of the Chenghuang Temple has been officially requisitioned by the county, and a wooden sign has been hung at the door, which reads: Raozhou Regiment Training Yugan County Headquarters.
The calligraphy is straight and powerful, written by Han An. He is now employed as the secretary of Yu Gan Tuan Training Institute and works in this courtyard. Hearing the call, he went to the conference hall and saw Zhong Siqi running out in a hurry.
"Hey, why are you still going out when there is a military meeting?" Han An asked. Zhong Siqi now replaced Song Xiaoniu as the captain of the town, so he should be attending the meeting beside Li Dan.
"Your Excellency sent me to the county government office. Mr. Zhou took a detailed report and asked me to go to the interrogation!"
Zhong Siqi's face was full of excitement. Now he could sit in the hall and watch the county interrogate prisoners. Thinking about it, he was just a surrendered soldier a few months ago!
"Caught Xizuo again? Hey!" Han An was surprised, this was already the fourth time! He obviously felt like a storm was coming, and couldn't help but quicken his pace.
"Master Han, this is our intelligence chief Feng Shen." Li Dan introduced him.
Han An had heard about Feng Shen's name a long time ago, but when he left Geyang with his team and arrived at Xiaozhai, Feng Shen had already set off to Anren for reconnaissance, so today they met face to face for the first time.
Feng Shenque
Knowing that Li Dan was a disciple of Han An, he hurriedly took half a step back and bowed deeply: "Feng has met Mr. Han!"
"Okay, okay, it's best if you come back safely. We've been very worried these days!"
"I'm sorry to worry you all. After going to Anren, I went to Dongxiang and detoured to Meigang before finding a boat to cross the river back, so it took longer than agreed." Feng Shen replied.
"Have you been to Dongxiang? What's the situation there?" Han An asked hurriedly.
Before Feng Shen could answer, the people attending the meeting came in one after another, so they had to confess to Han An first. The hall immediately became lively, and everyone came to greet him. Feng Shen couldn't think of answering Han An's questions for a while.
It wasn't until the newly appointed commander of the Chinese Army Guards Liao Sanqing announced the start of the meeting that everyone sat down and the hall quickly became quiet.
This cross-yard building was originally used for pilgrims and candidates who came to the county to take the Confucian School Examination. It was originally in a state of disrepair and dilapidation, with some rooms even having broken gables or decayed beams.
Because the firewood shed next to the kitchen at the back was only separated from the primary school yard by a wall and had a door facing the street, Li Dan rented it from Miao Zhu at the price of five taels of silver per year. It is used as the headquarters of the Metropolitan Inspection Department and the remaining cadres' regiment training.
The courtyard is actually two groups of buildings. There are three entrances through the main entrance, but there are only six west-facing rooms, which are used for accounting, confidentiality, intelligence, logistics, book office, and security.
The third entrance is broad, and further inside is the kitchen stove and woodshed. Li Dan asked people to demolish the woodshed and opened a door on the back wall. The woodshed was converted into a dormitory for guards (private soldiers), and a sentry was placed at the door.
There is a moon gate on the west wall of the second entrance, and there is another courtyard when you enter. It used to be reserved for distinguished guests. There are some flowers and plants in the front half, two wing rooms and two large rooms facing south.
The wing rooms here are allocated to the staff and reconnaissance departments respectively. The smaller one in the south room is everyone's dormitory, and the larger one is used as a conference hall. This is where everyone holds meetings.
Li Dan first congratulated Feng Shen on his safe return, and then everyone applauded and asked him to tell him what he had seen after traveling north from Guixi and Yingtan. Feng Shen drank a large bowl of leaf tea under the expectant eyes of everyone, and then began to tell.
It turned out that he did not rush into Anren rashly this time, but first stayed at Wuchongguan, not far from Yingtan Town, to check whether the road to the north was smooth.
People in the audience said that the land route was probably not possible. If we could first go south to Zhoujiadu, and then take a boat to go north, it might still be possible.
This news let him know that the waterway was open, so he went down the mountain and found a deserted place by the river. He used a moso bamboo to float down at night until he passed the White Pagoda on the mountain, and then landed at the corner of the north city wall. .
"There are not many defenders on the lookout in the city. Most of them are ordinary people who were forced to patrol the city." Feng Shen said.
He even got to know a man named Yang who lived on Yaqian Street and was a boy who wrote petitions and contracts for others. Yang Xian'er told him two things: Jiangshan's army only left five hundred defenders in the city, and the county magistrate Zhou was still alive.
"Only five hundred people?"
"Magistrate Zhou is not dead, but where are the others?"
"On the day the city was broken, he was hidden by a gambling shop owner named Zhou Xin." Feng Shen said: "Later, he moved to three or four more houses for safety, but I'm afraid we have to ask Zhou Xin for the specific location. "
"You didn't look for him? Didn't the rebels look for him either?" Zhao Jingzi asked.
"I didn't have time to track him down, and I was afraid that he wouldn't be exposed because of this. I thought that since I knew his whereabouts, everything would be fine. Although Zhou Xin ran a gambling house, he was quite popular in the local area.
According to Brother Yang, Anren was surrendered to the city by the chief secretary Gong Xiao, but only three days later Gong Xiao was hanged from the big willow tree in the north gate. Some people said that Zhou Xin sent people to do it, but the rebels searched for a long time and found no evidence, so the matter was dropped. "
At this point, Feng Shen turned to Li Dan and said, "By the way, General Qiu Shen originally wanted to cross the river via Shigang, but it was Gong Xiao who was afraid of trampling on his property, so he had the idea to build the pontoon bridge.
As a result, not only did General Qiu Shen lose his 10,000 brothers, the rebels directly occupied the pontoon bridge and crossed the river to attack Anren, and then the county seat was lost. "
"So this person succeeds more than he does, and more than fails, and he offered his city to the enemy. He really deserved his death!" Yang Dayi said angrily: "He was just hanged."
He is so cheap! "
"Speaking of the pontoon bridge, I have two things to tell you." Feng Shen patted his forehead and remembered: "The pontoon bridge outside the Southwest Gate is still there, but the one on the river was demolished by the rebels. It is said that the boat was used to transport grain to the Yujiang River. .”
This situation immediately attracted the attention of those present. "So it seems that Yang Xing defeated Yu Jiang?" Han An said immediately: "It seems that the number of Jiangshan troops has grown too fast, or Yang He is still preparing to attack Fuzhou, so he is short of food!"
"Sir, you are right. Yang He does not give up on Fuzhou. He is mobilizing troops and tightening the siege." Feng Shen replied.
"At least his fleet is still busy and won't be able to restore the pontoon bridge for a while. This should be beneficial to us in regaining Anren."
Zhao Jingzi stroked the short beard on his chin thoughtfully: "In addition, Yang He must listen to what he said, and it will also be difficult for Yang Xing to mobilize troops into Yugan for the time being."
"I agree, they will still regard occupying Fuzhou as their first priority." Yang Dali crossed his shoulders and looked over: "We have to seize this opportunity and find a way to weaken the Lake Bandits as much as possible."
"But Liaohuazi hasn't sent out troops yet, what can I do?" Gu Da spread his hands.
"I hope he doesn't come yet," Tan Zhongxiao said with a snort: "My right sentry suddenly became 500 men, and we need training and time. It's best if he doesn't come!"
"Hey, Lao Tan, how successful were you when you forgot to pick up the new recruits?" Master Ba jokingly winked.
"Niubi, those are two different things." Tan Zhongxiao shouted: "Do you know what happens when four hundred and fifty people who can't even tell left from right get together? It's impossible to fight in such a mess!"
His words made everyone laugh. After all, even Tan Zhongxiao himself couldn't tell the right from the left a few months ago.
"Stop talking nonsense, let's talk about that old thief Yang He!" Zhou Qin was the only one among the people who didn't smile. He kept frowning and urged Feng Shen to continue talking about the situation in Fuzhou.
Everyone didn't laugh either. After all, the Jiangshan Army besieged Fuzhou and the local soldiers and civilians were suffering. That is the hometown of Zhou Qin and fifty brothers from Zuoshao!
"Think about how many girls in that era were forced to marry and ended up depressed for the rest of their lives. Alas!"
