Perhaps she was alarmed, but a girl with a yellow face stood timidly at the door, looking at Ning Fan with wide eyes.
"Little sister, are your adults here?"
Ning Fan tried to ask.
The little girl turned around and walked into the house with vigilance in her eyes. After a while, a woman in her early thirties came out.
"May I ask where the guest comes from?"
The woman was polite and opened the door calmly and invited Ning Fan in.
"We came from Ninghua Prefecture. We were passing by and wanted to ask for a bowl of water."
Ning Fan told a lie.
The house was completely bare, with half a piece of uneaten black noodle steamed bread and half a bowl of corn paste on the table.
"I'm going to cook for the guests."
The hostess poured the water and was about to get up to cook, but was stopped by Ning Fan: "Sister, don't bother, we've already eaten."
When the woman heard what Ning Fan said, she stood there a little embarrassed: "Actually, there is nothing to entertain at home. If you really don't mind, you can kill the dog and there will still be some meat."
Ning Fan quickly waved his hand and motioned for the woman to sit down: "Sister, where is your man?"
"My man is dead. He died at the northwest border for several years."
The woman looked indifferent, but the girl beside her shed tears.
When Ning Fan heard that he was a family member of a fallen soldier, he was immediately in awe.
"Sister, are you having an easy time now?"
Ning Fan asked again.
"The harvest is not good and the taxes are high. I work in the fields all day long. In the end, I still owe the court taxes and fees. Year by year, I can't pay them back..."
When talking about whether her life is good or not, there is a hint of helplessness and despair in the woman's eyes.
It was a kind of despair that came from the soul, with no hope at all.
Ning Fan asked carefully. In addition to the three wages, there were also various exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes. The names were so numerous that ordinary people could not remember them clearly.
After asking, Ning Fan felt heavy in his heart. Before leaving, he left ten taels of silver and then left with Yueying Xingchen.
"Your Highness, only a small part of these exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes went into the imperial treasury, and most of them were used by local officials for corruption! These dog officials are the ones who deserve to die."
Xingchen, who had always spoken very little, suddenly said.
When Ning Fan heard what Xingchen said, his face showed a bit of surprise: "You also know?"
"Who doesn't know about kicking the tip of dendrobium? The storyteller said it!"
Xingchen said angrily.
Ning Fan stopped talking and just looked back at the farmer's house. He couldn't help but sigh again when he saw the mother and daughter still waving from a distance.
Back in the car, Ning Fan asked Yue Ying to sharpen his ink again, and then clearly and carefully recorded what he heard and saw.
The days passed slowly during the journey, and Ning Fan gradually began to analyze and plan as he was about to arrive at Tianzhou Mansion.
Among the many officials in Tianjiang, Ning Fan only knew three chief officials.
The first one is Song Chengzhou, the governor of Tianjiang. This is the largest official in Tianjiang Province and has overall power over the province!
The other is the informer Zhuang Wen, who is the governor of Tianzhou, the capital of Tianjiang. His status is slightly lower than that of Song Chengzhou. He is a second-rank official, but in actual power the two may be equally matched.
Yue Chunping is also a key figure. He is the commander-in-chief of Tianjiang. He is in charge of the troops of a province and has great power.
These three figures are the core figures that Ning Fan will come into contact with as the imperial envoy this time.
To investigate whether Song Chengzhou had any intentions of rebellion, we can only start with these three people.
The secret letter was submitted to the imperial court by Zhuang Wen, the governor of Tianzhou. The secret letter clearly stated that Song Chengzhou, the governor of Tianjiang, had the intention of treason.
However, when he arrived, the chief minister of the cabinet, Cheng Wei, gave Ning Fan a warning, asking him not to listen to one side or to believe only what he saw with his eyes.
Ning Fan thought about these words for a long time and smacked them carefully, but still couldn't understand what they meant.
Perhaps Cheng Wei is conveying a message, that is, the informant Zhuang Wen cannot be completely trusted...
"Your Highness, we are going to enter Tianzhou tomorrow. Should we send someone to inform you in advance?"
Luo Yong stood outside the carriage and asked in a low voice.
When Ning Fan heard what Luo Yong said, he thought about it carefully and did not answer immediately. Instead, he asked: "If you want to rebel, and the imperial envoy is sent by the imperial court at this time, what will you do?"
Ning Fan's words immediately stunned Luo Yong.
After thinking carefully, he replied: "If it were me, then I would not stop doing anything and raise troops directly! If the time has not come, then try to delay it as much as possible!"
"How to delay?"
Ning Fan asked.
"Kill the imperial envoy!"
"You can't kill openly. You have to assassinate secretly. On the surface, you have to pretend as if nothing has happened and try your best to confuse the court."
Luo Yong said in a deep voice.
Ning Fan opened the curtain and nodded: "You think so, doesn't Song Chengzhou understand? If he had known that we had entered Tianzhou, wouldn't it have been obvious to tell him our whereabouts?"
"Wouldn't it be more dangerous in Tianzhou?"
Yueying on the side couldn't help but said.
"It's not dangerous now that we're here! Because everyone knows that we're in Tianzhou. If something happens to us, the court will naturally hold Tianzhou's three chief officials accountable, so it's unlikely that anything will happen to us in Tianzhou. .”
Ning Fan analyzed and said.
"I understand. Your Highness means that the section from the boundary of Tianzhou to the city is very dangerous."
Ergou stood aside and listened, and couldn't help but interrupt at this time.
"What should we do?"
Yueying became a little worried.
Ning Fan thought for a moment and then said to Yue Ying: "You and your brother will be responsible for being scouts, disguised as ordinary people and walk in front. Once you discover anything, you will come back immediately to report."
Ning Fan said.
In addition, Ning Fan turned to Luo Yong and said: "Among the state capitals closest to Tianzhou, which place can mobilize troops the fastest? Once there is an emergency, I need you to mobilize troops in the shortest possible time with my seal. .”
"Both Shoukang and Fulin, who are close to Tianzhou, can mobilize troops. As long as they have the seal of the imperial court, they dare not disobey."
Luo Yong was well prepared and seemed to have surveyed in advance.
"Well, let's continue heading towards Tianzhou, but we have to be extra careful on this section of the road."
Ning Fan said.
The carriage continued to move, and in one day, it was infinitely close to Tianzhou.
According to the distance calculation, it only takes half a day to reach Tianzhou City.
That night, Ning Fan did not choose to live in the wilderness, but led everyone into Shoukang City.
Shoukang is the closest county to Tianzhou, and you can reach Tianzhou in half a day's journey.
Shoukang is not a border area, and there are no permanent troops stationed there. However, the county has patrol inspections and is in charge of a garrison of hundreds of people.
These garrison soldiers are not very powerful in combat, but they are enough to deal with small groups of refugees and ordinary bandits.
At the critical moment, Ning Fan will use this garrison of less than 500 people.
