Ouyang Rong walked out of the door quickly and boarded the carriage with a cold face.
As soon as he entered the car, he sat down, leaned back on the pillow, closed his eyes first, and remained motionless.
The angry and indignant look on his face temporarily disappeared.
"Mingfu, where are you going now?"
Ouyang Rong was silent.
He still leaned back and closed his eyes, recalling the reactions of Li Zhengyan, Wei Shaoqi, Du Shuqing, Wang Junzhi and others when Yan Liulang and others heard the hurried footsteps at the banquet just now.
Ouyang Rong frowned slightly.
Yan Liulang held the groom's reins and waited with his eyebrows raised, without disturbing Mingfu, who was more calm at the most panicked moment.
Such a big thing as the Guizhou Mutiny was like a bolt from the blue in the southern part of the country where peace had long existed and the people were peaceful.
The news has spread throughout the city.
Public opinion was shaken.
Ouyang suddenly opened his eyes:
"Let's go to Prince Xunyang's Mansion first."
"yes."
The carriage drove quickly to Xiu Shuifang.
Half an hour later.
As the governor of Jiangsu Province, Ouyang Rong visited King Xunyang as usual and reported daily on the pre-construction of Xunyang Grottoes and the recruitment of double peaks.
In the hall, after the discussion was over, King Xunyang, who was the governor of Jiangnan, greeted the statue's adjutant Ouyang Rong.
Before the latter walked out of the hall, he suddenly paused and said calmly to King Xunyang Lixian, who had worries in his eyes and hesitated to speak several times:
"There are some rumors circulating in the city today. The truth or falsehood has not been confirmed yet, so why should the prince be worried and confused.
"Even if it is true, Jiangzhou is not Guizhou. The governor of Jiangnan Road and the princes of the imperial court of Shendu will handle it properly.
"This matter has nothing to do with your Majesty, nor does it have anything to do with the statue in Jiangzhou. Everything remains as before. Your Majesty will supervise the construction of the Donglin Buddha and share your worries with His Majesty. This is the greatest filial piety."
Li Xian was stunned for a moment. Infected by his calm and analytical attitude, he suddenly nodded:
"Thank you, Ouyang Changshi, for the tip. I know what to do."
Ouyang Rong at the door nodded, and before turning to leave, he pointed to a half-full cup of hot tea on the sandalwood table in the hall:
"This cup of sweet-scented osmanthus tea is good. The craftsmanship is really good."
Under the gaze of the surrounding officials and palace people, Li Xian said calmly: "Chang Shi, take some back."
Ouyang Rong shook his head and walked away.
After walking out of Prince Xunyang's Mansion, he boarded the carriage.
Yan Liulang drove forward and turned into a small alley in front of him.
The carriage waited for a while in an alley not far from Prince Xunyang's Mansion.
The car curtain was suddenly opened from the outside.
Ouyang Rong, who was looking down at the limited information coming from Guizhou, smelled the familiar fragrance of orchid.
This fragrant orchid fragrance is also mixed with the refreshing fragrance of April osmanthus.
At that time, a beautiful lady in red clothes, carrying a small bag of osmanthus tea, quietly boarded the carriage and sat down next to Ouyang Rong.
There is a small incense burner in the shape of a white crane with its neck raised in the center of the carriage.
This was brought by the junior sister from the palace and placed in the carriage to incense Ouyang Rong to wake up after returning from drinking.
After getting in the car, Xie Lingjiang put down the osmanthus tea and closed the window tightly.
She picked up the small poker with frosty white hands and added two pieces of smokeless lacquer charcoal.
The smoke-like mist curled up and filled the carriage.
Xie Lingjiang turned his head, looked at the puzzled Ouyang Rong with a pair of starry eyes, and glanced at the Guizhou Jiwen in his hand.
Ouyang Rong suddenly felt the skin on his neck being "ice", and immediately itched slightly. He lowered his head and saw that the starry-eyed beauty next to him was raising her hand to tidy up his collar carefully.
Then, Ouyang Rong felt a soft, boneless, smooth jade hand sneak into his palm and hold half of his palm tightly.
"Elder brother, what's the situation? What's your order for calling me here? It shouldn't be a big deal, right?
"I have heard about the incident in Guizhou. Now it is spreading in the city. There are various rumors. Some say that the governor of Guizhou, Shi Lan Changhao, is rebellious, and some say that the border guards are dissatisfied with His Majesty's construction of the Tianshu Buddha statue, which has caused resentment for a long time... …”
Xie Ling Jiang Beiqi bit his lower lip with a worried look on his face.
Ouyang Rong held her hand in his hand and silently felt the warm fat skin. He shook his head:
"I am not the official or person responsible for this matter. I don't know much better than the people of Xunyang. The news of Liuzhou garrison's mutiny cannot be concealed. Now it is coming from Jiangzhou all the way from the west of Lingnan Road, and there is no delay. how long.
“The news we are hearing now was only half a month ago.
"I don't know where these 1,500 garrison soldiers are now, whether they were stopped by the prefectures and counties along the way, or whether the frightened local officials hung up and let them go all the way. They are rushing to Hongzhou, Jiangsu, etc. state……"
Ouyang Rong rubbed his brows and silently clasped the official documents in his palms:
"The first-hand news must have reached the hands of the military chiefs of various states urgently, but all military affairs in Jiangzhou are in the hands of Wang Lengran, and almost everyone in Zhechong Mansion belongs to him.
"Perhaps, the news of Liuzhou's mutiny had reached them two days ago, but they kept it secret from me and Jiangzhou Hall for two days."
"Oh, there are 300 Jiangzhou Zhechong Mansion soldiers among the 1,500 garrison soldiers. As the military chief of Jiangzhou, Wang Lengran cannot escape the responsibility of oversight.
"Second only to Guizhou Governor Shi Lan Changhao and Hongzhou Governor Zhu Lingxu."
After calmly analyzing this, Xie Lingjiang sneered, with a sarcastic curve on his lips:
"The key is the degree of involvement. Maybe Governor Wang is now intensively discussing with the generals of Zhe Chong Mansion to exonerate himself.
"This kind of thing can definitely be kept hidden from Senior Brother for as long as it takes."
Ouyang Rong took a deep breath:
"I am not interested at all in whether they lost their official titles. I am only concerned about how to appease these 1,500 border guards.
“Looking now, they were forced to rebel by the delay.
"Fifteen hundred border guards from Hongzhou and Jiangzhou, involving many families in the two states.
"Lan Changhao, Wang Lengran, and Zhu Lingxu were just stupid enough to seek death. They treated rebellion as child's play and dragged so many innocent people into trouble.
"If a situation is not handled well and conflicts occur along the way, these garrison soldiers who mutiny and return north will be stimulated, or they may be guided by someone with intentions. The garrison soldiers returning north will attack Hongzhou and Jiangzhou, which are the southeast gateways of Jianghuai, and then follow the Yangtze River. Then, it went deep into the southeast of the tax-rich Zhou Dynasty and even Jinling, causing riots...
"At that time, we will be in big trouble. We are either rebelling or rebelling!"
Xie Lingjiang straightened his waist and Hua Rong was worried: "What to do now."
Ouyang Ronghu said: "You have to be fast."
"What's the meaning?"
"We cannot let Wang Lengran and the others monopolize Tianting, get away with the blame, and put the garrison soldiers to death. But before that..."
Ouyang Rong suddenly calmed down and turned around to give instructions:
"Liu Lang, drive to Xingzifang immediately, go to the address I reported, and pass by Zhenguang Street..."
"What are you doing in Xingzifang?"
Hearing his elder brother skillfully report an unfamiliar Xingzifang address, Xie Lingjiang looked confused and asked curiously:
"Senior brother, are you going to find your colleague named Yuan Huaimin? Yes, he is Jiangzhou Sima, but isn't this a false position? He is the most idle."
"It's not him." Ouyang Rong shook his head: "You may know the person I'm looking for."
Xie Lingjiang's eyes were curious.
About half an hour later, under the afterglow of the setting sun, a carriage drove slowly through a street called "Zhenguang" in Xingzifang.
On the streets at sunset, vendors and footmen were closing up shop and going home one after another.
At the corner of the street, there was an ordinary house where the owner rarely went out. On a wall close to the street, the begonia flowers that the house's mistress often placed there were no longer there.
Instead, there was a pot of bright red azaleas, swaying lightly in the evening breeze.
A carriage drove slowly past the house on the corner of Zhenguang Street without stopping, and drove away into the distance.
"What are you looking at, Senior Brother?"
Passing by the car, a woman seemed to have her head leaning towards me, her voice was curious.
"Shh." After pressing her head, the man paused and said, "Let's go have tea."
"Tea? Where to go."
"old place."
"What's the old place?"
"Um, Yunshui Pavilion. I was talking to Liulang just now."
"Oh, you men have quite a lot of secret words." She nodded.
"..." Someone.
About an hour later.
On the bank of Xunyang River, on the third floor of Yunshui Pavilion, at the door of a certain box, Yan Liulang held a knife and was on guard.
In the box.
There were two men and one woman, kneeling and drinking tea in front of the small coffee table.
Ouyang Rong and Qin Heng met again and sat down face to face.
Xie Lingjiang sat next to Ouyang Rong and did not touch the cup of tea that her senior brother had made for her in front of the table. She looked at the room with a slightly weird face, including a bed, a bathtub, towels, neatly folded men's bathrobes and other items. tea room.
Ouyang Rong and Qin Heng couldn't care about these side details for a while and went straight to the point.
"Does Ouyang Changshi know about Guizhou?" Qin Heng asked seriously.
Ouyang Rong looked at Qin Heng, who looked a little depressed and troubled, and nodded gently:
"I've heard a little bit. General Qin should know more. Can you tell me more about it?"
Qin Heng nodded and sighed:
"I found out a little later. It was Governor Wang who suddenly summoned us to discuss the matter last night. I only found out about it and argued in the military camp outside the city all night... As a result, this morning, the news spread throughout the city. It seems that the matter is about to come to an end. , unable to suppress it anymore, Governor Wang had to say it."
Ouyang Rong ignored these and asked directly:
"I just want to know, did these 1,500 garrison soldiers attack Guizhou Prefecture at that time?"
"No, they just want to go north and return home, and they haven't done anything treasonous or evil."
"Do you carry weapons?"
"Bring it with me." Qin Heng closed his eyes and sighed: "We captured the weapons and armor of the Military Supervisory Academy."
"What about Lan Changhao? The mutiny he provoked, will he die or live?"
"Still alive and well."
Qin Heng gritted his teeth and said in a bitter tone:
"This Lan Changhao is smart. When he announced the postponement, he ordered Lieutenant Xu, who was in charge of the garrison, to go to the military camp outside the city and announce that he would stay far away in his palace inside the city, drinking tea and waiting.
"As a result, the border guards objected on the spot. They wanted to return to their hometown to reunite with their wives, children, and children, but they were prevented from doing so on the grounds that the demobilized soldiers did not have enough pay.
"Then the garrison soldiers no longer believed what the Guizhou officials said and were probably desperate to return home. At that time, they didn't know who was the instigator. They all rushed over in anger, became red-eyed, and killed Xu Dutou and two Du Yu on the spot. Finally, a popular Du Yu named Cai Qin was elected as the leader, the camp was destroyed, the warehouses were robbed, and everyone returned north."
Ouyang Rong immediately asked: "Who is this Cai Qin? Is he from Jiangzhou or Hongzhou?"
"Hongzhou was originally affiliated with the Fourth Zhechong Prefecture. Most of these 1,500 soldiers are Hongzhou soldiers. Our 300 soldiers from Jiangzhou can only be regarded as being coerced and followed them back to the north."
Ouyang Rong cross-examined carefully:
"In our Jiangzhou Third Zhechong Mansion, did the captain named Su Qian take the lead in instigating the killing of the superior?"
"I don't know, probably not. I know Brother Su's character. He is not a thorn in the side that causes trouble. This time he will be forced to follow. It's a pity that it's hard to turn back now."
Qin Heng sighed sadly:
"Lord Ouyang doesn't know something. Soldiers love drinking and martial arts. Once the army rebels and are in that kind of atmosphere, sometimes they can do anything. When they wake up later, it will be too late to regret."
Ouyang Rong's expression remained unchanged and he continued to ask:
"Where are these garrison soldiers returning from the north now?"
"The latest news is that they just entered Yongzhou ten years ago."
Ouyang Rong was slightly relieved. Fortunately, Yongzhou belonged to Jiangnan Road, but it was at the junction of Lingnan Road and Jiangnan Road.
Hongzhou and Jiangzhou are located north of the center of Jiangnan Road and are on important waterways in the middle section of the Yangtze River.
These garrison soldiers were either confused and regretful after waking up, fearful of being accused of rebellion, or they temporarily lacked enough ships to carry 1,500 people by water.
Therefore, the speed is far less than that of the 800-mile express message. Now we have only traveled half the distance between Guizhou and Jiangzhou, so there should be a lot of buffering time.
What's more, most of the 1,500 mutinous garrison soldiers were Hongzhou soldiers. They would definitely return to Hongzhou City first, while Jiangzhou was ranked behind, so the risk was slightly smaller.
“Were there any conflicts along the way?”
"Master Ouyang should know that on Lingnan Road, the local indigenous people are already powerful, and the local government is short of money and food, so most of them are 'ruling by doing nothing'. For the time being, no local government dares to stop it, so it is considered unimpeded. Even..."
"That's fine. Even what?"
"I heard that when they were leaving the country in Guizhou and other places, there were villagers and elders along the way who sympathized with them and gave them food and water."
Ouyang Rong was silent.
Qin Heng couldn't help but said:
"Our officers and men in Zhechong Prefecture are originally from military families. We are all carefully selected sons of good families. We used to defend the country's borders and defend against enemies. We have a great spirit. How can we be the kind of bandits with poor military discipline? I will eventually believe it. As long as we are not at the end of the road and running out of water and food, we will not harass the people in the states and counties along the way."
As if thinking of something, he worried again:
"Sir Ouyang, Governor Wang seems to have written a memorial. He called us over today to ask the generals from the Zhe Chong Mansion to sign it together to testify for him. General Yang, Sun Changshi, and Coach Du have all signed."
Ouyang Rong nodded and praised: "He must be fast in this aspect."
"I understand, thank you General Qin for clearing up the confusion."
Ouyang Rong lowered his eyes and thought for a while, then slowly stood up and prepared to take Xie Lingjiang away.
The two of them walked to the door. Qin Heng, who was sitting alone drinking tea, immediately turned around:
"Master Ouyang, Captain Su and the others...can they return safely?"
Ouyang Rong paused for a moment, "I can't guarantee it, but I can promise to do my best."
After returning to the carriage in Yunshui Pavilion, Ouyang Rong immediately said to Xie Lingjiang:
"Follow me back to Huaiye Lane. I want to send two letters.
"One letter is a memorial sent to the court in the capital city of Shenzhou.
"One is a letter, sent to Master, and the reason for this must be explained in detail. Master's letter, follow the clan's path, and send it to the teacher for delivery on your behalf."
Xie Lingjiang said crisply: "Okay!"
(End of chapter)
