"Where did you hear about this?" Zheng Shuqi frowned.
Because he didn't get any news.
Whether it was news from Datong or news about Dongshan Iron Station, he didn't receive any news at all.
"The ordinary people don't dare to expire. If the guard doesn't believe it, you can send someone to the Dongshan Iron Field and you will know at a glance." Fatty Xu said.
Zheng Shuqi tapped his fingers on the table at hand, hesitated for a moment, and then said: "Zheng Fei, send someone to ride a fast horse to Dongshan, and then find the two thousand households guarding the camp."
There was no news from Datong. Either there was no movement from the court, or the news was still on the way. But the news about Dongshan Iron Station was known to even the squires in the city, but he didn't know it. It could only be the deliberate intention of the two thousand households below. hide.
Zheng Fei left to make arrangements.
"You guys should sit down too and wait with me." Zheng Shuqi motioned to Fatty Xu and others to find seats and sit down.
Although he believed that Fatty Xu would not dare to deceive him on such a matter, it was about the tiger-character flag and he could not help but be careless.
Yang Yuqian and Li Lidong both found seats and sat down carefully.
Only Fatty Xu was a little troublesome and sat on the stool brought in specially for him.
Although the three of them had seats to sit down, Zheng Shuqi had no intention of serving tea to them and just asked them to wait here.
The journey from Lingqiu County to Dongshan Railway Station is only a few dozen miles.
In less than a stick of incense, the person sent to Dongshan Iron Field to inquire about information was brought in by Zheng Fei.
"I've met the eldest sir." The visitor bowed after entering the room.
Zheng Shuqi didn't care about etiquette and asked eagerly: "Is there any movement at the Dongshan Iron Station?"
"As far as I'm concerned, sir, all the furnaces in the Dongshan Iron Works have been sealed, and the miners and their families have also come down the mountain," the visitor reported back.
Zheng Shuqi's brows knitted together after hearing this.
The news brought back by the people below proved that Fatty Xu had not lied to him about this matter, but now he was a little confused about what the tiger character flag wanted to do.
After all, he has not yet received news that the imperial court has taken action against the Tiger Flag.
A force like Tiger Character Flag can no longer be simply regarded as a business. Even if many people in the Datong officialdom know that Tiger Character Flag has been targeted by the court, as long as there is no order from the court, no one will dare to really target Tiger Character Flag. What does the flag do.
"Master of the defense, do you think it's possible that the Tiger Flag knows that the imperial court is going to attack them and wants to escape in advance?" Fatty Xu said cautiously.
Being a bandit in the mountains requires a certificate of surrender, so he had to tell his guess at this time.
Otherwise, people like him would not be of much use to Zheng Shuqi after Hu Ziqi escaped with his men. In order to distance himself from Tiger Ziqi, the more he targeted Hu Ziqi at this time, the more he could prove his innocence.
"Impossible, I don't have any..." Zheng Shuqi suddenly paused mid-sentence.
Because he realized that what Fatty Xu said was not unreasonable. After all, he was just a small guard in Lingqiu. Even if the court had decided to take action against the Tiger Flag, he would only be the last one to receive the news, and the Tiger Flag was It is not surprising that he had received news from the imperial court before.
At this moment, two military attachés walked in outside the house.
"Your Majesty, please see Zheng Shoubei."
Chen Yusheng and Xu Cunzhong, who had arrived late from the Lingqiu garrison camp, entered the room and saluted Zheng Shuqi.
When Zheng Shuqi saw these two people, his face sank and he scolded, "I sent someone to inform you a long time ago. Why did it take so long to arrive?"
The people sent to Dongshan to inquire about the news had all returned, but the two thousand households guarding the camp next to the county seat had only arrived at the garrison mansion, which made him extremely angry.
"When the guards arrived, Xiaguan and Xu Qianhu were busy with business. After finishing their business, they hurried over." Chen Yusheng explained casually.
Hearing this, Zheng Shuqi became even more angry.
Whatever he was busy with official duties was an excuse in his eyes. He didn't believe that Chen Yusheng and Xu Cunzhong didn't understand why Shangguan summoned them and they had to come immediately.
"I wonder if Zheng Shoubei has something to do? If nothing happens, I still have a lot of official business to deal with." Chen Yusheng did not save Zheng Shuqi's face at all.
Fatty Xu, the local squires, all lowered their heads at this moment, trying their best to hide their presence.
Local squires like them were not qualified to get involved in the fight between the garrison and the thousands of families below. If they didn't dare to make any big moves, they would all want to cover their ears with their hands.
Zheng Shuqi knew that he had been in office for too short a time and had not been able to recruit enough soldiers and generals under the garrison. If anything happened, he would still have to rely on these two thousand households in front of him.
Immediately, he suppressed the anger in his heart and said: "As the Qianhu who guard the camp, do you know what is going on at the Dongshan Iron Field?"
"Dongshan Iron Field? What's going on? Isn't it the same as before?" Chen Yusheng asked with a puzzled look on his face.
It seems like he really doesn't know anything.
Zheng Shuqi didn't believe it at all.
Even he knew something, but he didn't believe that Chen Yusheng, a local snake, didn't receive the news.
"Xiaoguan has received some news about the Dongshan Iron Station, but he thought it was someone deliberately spreading lies, so he didn't take it seriously." Xu Cunzhong explained for himself, so that neither party would be offended.
Chen Yusheng next to him snorted coldly when he heard this.
Obviously he was dissatisfied with Xu Cunzhong's soft approach to Zheng Shuqi.
Zheng Shuqi turned to look at Xu Cunzhong and said: "This is not someone deliberately spreading lies, but it is indeed true, and I personally sent someone to investigate."
"It turns out it's true. Alas, it's all my fault. I just thought it was a bit unbelievable and didn't take it seriously." Xu Cunzhong said apologetically.
Zheng Shuqi didn't care whether the other party was really apologizing or fake, but Xu Cunzhong's attitude made him feel a lot more comfortable.
Fatty Xu and others were startled and hurriedly bowed their heads to apologize.
Zheng Shuqi's face softened a little, and he immediately said: "You are here to see me just to inquire about this matter. I have nothing to say. Zheng Fei will see you off."
An eviction order was issued.
"Master Guards, please calm down. When we come here this time, we really have something important to tell Master Guards, and we also ask the Master to allow the common people to show it." Fatty Xu's posture was extremely low.
He knew that if he and the Xu family wanted to continue to stay in Lingqiu and enjoy everything they had now, they could only hope to establish a relationship with Zheng Shoubei and clear the relationship with Tiger Character Banner.
"What are you talking about?" Zheng Shuqi waved his hand to Zheng Fei, indicating that he would chase them away later.
Fatty Xu breathed a sigh of relief when he saw this, and then he said: "The grassroots received the news. The Tiger Character Banner summoned all the carts and took them to Dongshan. They took the miners from the Dongshan Iron Field to prepare to escape."
After speaking, he secretly looked at Zheng Shuqi who was sitting in his seat.
