The second commander stepped into the main tent and did not say anything. Instead, he stood aside without saying a word.
Although the first commander standing in the middle of the sand table lowered his head, he still noticed something strange about the second commander.
After a brief silence, the commander said coldly, "Okay, please retreat first. If anything happens, the commander will summon you."
Everyone in the main tent nodded, and then left one after another. With only two people left in the main tent, the commander still lowered his head and said softly.
"Second brother, what's wrong? Didn't I ask you to take 500 people to Zhenshan City to negotiate? Is it done so quickly? What did the Zhenshan County Magistrate say?"
The second commander stepped forward without hesitation and told everything that happened to him. At the same time, he took out a letter from his arms.
The Commander-in-Chief looked away from the sand table and looked at the letter in his hand, his indifferent expression showing a bit of surprise.
Looking at the second commander, he whispered, "Second brother, are these caravans from Prince Yu's palace?"
The second commander nodded solemnly and said, "Brother, I don't believe this at first, but Magistrate Zhao has absolutely no guts to lie to our Beishan Camp, let alone forge a letter from Prince Yu's Palace. Even if you give him hundreds of courages, it's impossible." .”
"This time we have encountered a serious problem. Originally, we planned to make this matter a big deal, but brother, Prince Yu's palace obviously did this deliberately to cover up. Without saying a word, they let County Magistrate Zhao release him, and also put our brother Locked up."
"This is completely a demonstration against the Beishan Camp. I can't swallow this breath. If we don't do something, whoever will obey us in Zhongzhou will probably think that the Beishan Camp is easy to bully."
It is impossible to say that the words of the second commander did not contain some element of anger.
The Commander-in-Chief can also understand that if Prince Yu's Palace had not intervened in this matter, they would have encountered just ordinary caravans, and the Commander-in-Chief would never have taken it seriously.
But this time, how could it be such a coincidence that he met someone from Prince Yu's palace, and at the very moment when Su Qi'an was entering Zhongzhou, it was hard not to think of something for the commander-in-chief.
Those who know this King of Yu, the commander-in-chief, basically do not see other people all year round. He spends most of his time in his own fiefdom. He likes to travel and enjoy the mountains and rivers. He does not care about government affairs and does not have much interaction with local officials.
How could such an idle prince come into conflict with their people at this time?
Whether it was an accident or a deliberate arrangement, it is difficult to say, but the commander-in-chief can guarantee that if they let this matter go, they will definitely miss some unknown secrets.
In addition to being the commanders of the Beishan Camp, they are also responsible for exploring Zhongzhou and delivering important intelligence clues to the two princes of Kyoto City.
The land of Zhongzhou has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times. Today's Great Liang is not as prosperous as it was when the country was first founded.
In the increasingly declining Great Liang, the exploration of such strategic locations becomes particularly important.
It is not only necessary to establish a foothold in Zhongzhou and have its own power, but more importantly, it is also important to find out how the major officials and families in Zhongzhou plan to stand and what their thoughts are.
Although the Grand Commander and the Second Commander belong to different camps, sometimes the two princes can still cooperate with each other before they actually go to war.
If the two don't cooperate, but instead target each other and fight, it will be an advantage to the third commander.
The third commander is a local faction in Zhongzhou, the manpower arranged by Zhongzhou Mu, and the third commander is in the Beishan camp, and his prestige is not weak.
The two of them fought, and they would not be stupid enough to let the third commander take advantage of them.
Therefore, precisely because the three parties calculated and exploited each other, they managed to temporarily reach a balance in Beishan Camp.
The commander-in-chief was not a hesitant person. He thought for a while and decisively gave the order immediately.
"Disperse our people immediately. No matter what the cost, we must find this caravan."
"Remember, once you find a trace, don't rush forward rashly. Follow them silently until they enter Beishan County. We won't be able to control them until then."
"Don't worry, brother, I will disperse my troops before I come back. According to their travel time, they will enter Beishan County in five days at most."
"By the way, brother, our action this time will probably let the third child know. If there is no suitable reason, I'm afraid there will be suspicion."
The commander-in-chief smiled coldly and said softly, "I have already considered this. There are bandits in Beishan County these days, and I am going to lead troops to suppress the rebellion."
"And you, after I leave, I will give you an order to lead troops and change defenses. When you are out of sight of the third child, you can meet me as quickly as possible. As for the third child, stay here and wait for us to "suppress the bandits." News of victory. "
"Haha, my eldest brother will make the arrangements. My eldest brother's plan is brilliant." The second commander was flattering him.
"Alright, time waits for no one. Take action now. Don't let these guys escape. I want to see what secrets these guys have behind them."
When the second commander led his troops back to the camp, Su Qi'an, Lao Ji and his party had already arrived at the next county town.
This county is better than Zhenshan County and is larger. There are many vendors and shops of all kinds. The city walls are not made of loess but blue bricks.
It can be seen that the economy of this county is relatively good. Su Qian and Lao Ji did not leave in a hurry this time and stayed temporarily.
On the one hand, it is to see the customs and customs of various places, and on the other hand, Lao Ji's caravan also needs to exchange goods here, which will take some time.
While Lao Ji was exchanging goods, Su Qi'an tasted various delicacies on the street while reading the latest news from Xie Cang and Su Yong.
The two led the army forward, and their lives were much better than Su Qian's and others along the way.
After a short stop in the first county town in Zhongzhou, and not long after being entertained with delicious food and drinks, Zhongzhou Mu directly sent people to pick up Su Yong, Xie Cang and his party in Zhongzhou City in half a day.
A rich banquet was prepared for him, and a group of dignitaries and senior officials from Zhongzhou City had been waiting in Zhongzhou City for a long time.
In two or three days, what Su Yong saw was dazzling. It was easy to get caught up in the kind of drunkenness and wealth.
This kind of thing may be useful to others, but it doesn't have much effect on these two people.
Su Yong plays Su Qi'an. Su Qi'an is well-known in Kyoto City for his cold personality and not being interested in all kinds of banquets.
And at some point, if Su Qi'an is offended, it will be very painful.
At this banquet held for the two of them in Zhongzhou, in order to test the Zhongzhou shepherd, Su Yong lost his temper with Xie Cang's cooperation.
This temper is not without reason, but has traces. The officials, nobles of the aristocratic families in Zhongzhou, and the people in Kyoto City are all the same.
Su Yong didn't need to think of any excuses. He could easily find faults with what he saw along the way into the city. There shouldn't be too many things about bullying men and women, or using power to bully others.
These are not big things in the eyes of the powerful, but if they want to make trouble, these are good opportunities presented to them in vain.
Therefore, at the banquet, Su Yong imitated Su Qi'an's temper and lost his temper. The effect was very obvious. The powerful people in Zhongzhou were frightened. Finally, with the comfort of Xie Cang and Zhongzhou Mu, Su Yong's anger was calmed down. .
In order to make the trick even better, Su Yong stood up and left on the spot, leaving behind an embarrassed crowd.
Next, it depends on how these powerful people and Zhongzhou Mu will react.
Generally speaking, this big fuss is a slap in the face. No matter how good-tempered the Zhou Mu and the dignitaries are, there is no way they won't react at all.
As long as they take action, even if it is obscure, they can see something unusual through these.
The reason why he would test the powerful people in Zhongzhou and the state pastor was to give Su Qi'an a way out.
He had a hunch that he would definitely come back to the land of Zhongzhou. If he didn't see more of such a strategically important place and didn't know more about it, if something happened in the future and he passed through Zhongzhou again, he might be stabbed in the back by someone who wouldn't even be prepared.
He traveled around the counties in Zhongzhou to understand the local customs and customs. Xie Cang and Su Yong took his place in understanding the powerful people in Zhongzhou. Both sides worked together in parallel, which was an excellent strategy.
During this stay, the two of them stayed for three days. In addition to tasting various delicacies, through Lao Ji's introduction, Su Qi'an was there.
Many of Lao Ji’s friends were also recognized locally.
These people are not powerful people, they include businessmen, civilians, and bodyguards. Anyway, most of them are people of low status.
But these people, without exception, are very lively, cheerful, and free-spirited. They don't have so many circles to talk about, and they are very straightforward.
Su Qi'an was quite happy to get along with these people. These people reminded him of such a happy time he had in Nanzhou.
Although the status of these people in front of them cannot be compared with many Nanzhou princes and young masters, they are not much different in terms of temperament.
They are all free and easy, straightforward, and it is indeed very comfortable to get along with such people. After a short stay of three days, Su Qi'an and Lao Ji's motorcade set off again.
Continuing eastward, this journey took another seven days. In seven days, Su Qi'an and Lao Ji passed through three more counties.
There are good and bad in these three counties, but they have one thing in common. The public security in each county is pretty good and relatively stable. Even if there is a prostitute committing crimes, the Yamen will be dispatched to deal with it as soon as possible.
Apart from anything else, Su Qi'an was somewhat pleased with this style of dealing with things.
At least it won't be like in Jiaozhou and Yuezhou. The yamen are basically just decorations, not to mention the county magistrate, who can't see anyone at all.
Regarding this, Su Qi'an's attitude towards Zhongzhou gradually improved. He originally thought that Zhongzhou was located in the rear area and would basically not be disturbed by the war. The officials in the state were much the same as those in Kyoto City. He looked like he was drunk and dreaming.
But Su Qi'an underestimated Zhongzhou officials. Not only these grassroots officials, but also senior officials, such as Zhou Mu, Zhou Cheng, and Zhou Wei, could not be said to be absolutely upright officials, but they would never do anything to exploit the people.
Except for the children of local powerful families, there may be some dandies who will bully and dominate the market. However, when faced with these dandies, local officials will basically deal with them fairly and will never turn a blind eye.
In addition to what Su Qi'an saw with his own eyes during this period, these were also obtained based on the intelligence received from Xie Cang and Su Yong.
