On Dagong Mountain, Luan Qingshan looked at the traffic on the Liangjing Post Road down the mountain, and said to Xue Lei beside him: "This is someone from Kaifeng Mansion, going to Luoyang. I heard that Liu Lin went to Kaifeng Mansion to open the Prince's Mansion, recruit troops, and recruit talents. His ambitions are not small. When the army of Commander-in-Chief comes from the north, the people of Puppet Qi will not dare to look down upon him."
Xue Lei said: "There is a big battle ahead, and there are only a few dozen people below. What use are they for?"
Luan Qingshan said: "Who knows? Maybe he is some wise man who went to Luoyang to advise Meng Bangxiong. - Well, this matter has nothing to do with us and we are too lazy to care about it. The weather is cold this year and there are too many ice floes in the Yellow River. We It has been delayed for some days. The weather has been fine these days and there are not many ice floes in the river. We will cross the river tomorrow! When we arrive in Wenxian County, we will take Jiyuan and cross Wangwu Mountain. Go faster on the road. It is best to arrive in Shanxi Province before the end of the year. state."
Xue Lei and others said yes together and no longer looked at the cars on the road.
Early the next morning, Luan Qingshan went to the bank of the Yellow River and looked at the ice floes with the boatman. Seeing that there was no serious harm, they crossed the Yellow River before noon.
The Yellow River in the Song Dynasty flowed north and entered the sea near Tianjin. This section of the Yellow River near Luoyang is the southernmost and does not freeze every year. Even in cold weather, there are only ice floes on the river. On the contrary, downstream, a large area of the Yellow River is frozen and has no defensive role in winter.
There was no Jin army stationed in Wen County. A local Dahutian official claimed to be the county magistrate and managed the place under the orders of the Jin Dynasty from afar. Nowadays, the market is depressed, there are very few business trips, and it looks very desolate. Luan Qingshan and others did not stay long, and went to Jiyuan the next day, climbed over Wangwu Mountain and entered Hedong. No one contacted Jiang Min along the way, so he walked through Yuanqu, Quwo, and Xiangling, and finally arrived outside Jinzhou City on the 28th of the twelfth lunar month, the day before New Year's Eve.
In a teahouse outside the city, Luan Qingshan said to everyone: "Pingyang Mansion is an important town in southern Shanxi. There is a thousand gold army stationed there, so don't get too involved. You guys stay outside the city first, and I will go into the city to have a look. The commander has arranged it here. As long as we find people, we will have a place to stay.”
Everyone said yes. After drinking tea for a while, we found an inn to stay outside the city.
Jin Jun's management is rough and the hotel inspection is not strict. These people just make up names and origins, and no one will ask.
Luan Qingshan washed up and changed his clothes. Seeing that it was still early, I walked away and strode into Jinzhou City.
Jinzhou is an important town on Hedong Road. It is the governor of Pingyang County and Jianxiong Army. It is stationed in Linfen County. It was promoted to Pingyang Prefecture during the Zhenghe Period. The state names in the Song Dynasty were relatively complicated. In addition to the state names, there were also county names, festivals, etc., each with its own origin. It is customary for people to sometimes call the name of the state, sometimes the name of the county, and sometimes the name of the festival. For example, Henan Prefecture in Xijing is Luoyang County, so it is often called Luoyang. Yuezhou is Baling County, and it is said in "Yueyang Tower" that Teng Zijing was relegated to guard Baling. Yongxing Army is from Jingzhao County and is customarily called Yongxing Army. It was not until the second year of Xuanhe that there was an edict not to call the military by its name, but by calling it Jingzhao Prefecture.
Although it was promoted to Pingyang Prefecture, people still used to call this place Jinzhou. The place name of Linfen County, where he was based, has never been changed and has been passed down to later generations.
In fact, many place names come from this. In later generations, some used state names, such as Hangzhou and Suzhou; some used county names, such as Hefei and Linfen. Some use county names, such as Luoyang and Hejian; some use festival names, such as Zhenjiang and Jiaxing. Only a few place names have no origin and were changed by later generations for various reasons. So when the nice-sounding Luzhou was changed to Hefei or something like that, it was just a joke made up by people, and the place name was not changed.
Entering the city, we walked along the main street, walked around the city, and then came out through the west gate. When he arrived at the pier of Fenhe River, there was a "Wutong Inn", and Luan Qingshan stopped. Looking around, Shi Shiran entered the inn.
A waiter hurriedly came up to greet me and said, "Thank you, sir. I wonder how many days you will stay in the hotel this time?"
Luan Qingshan said: "Don't worry, let's see when the goods arrive. By the way, is your master in the store? If so, please come out and talk."
The waiter smiled and said: "To be honest, our guest has a lot of business in this inn, and the owner has been busy. It seems that he is not in the store now."
Luan Qingshan said: "You go in and have a look. I said there is an old acquaintance of Luan Yuan from the south, waiting here."
Seeing that his words were true, the boy agreed to go inside.
Luan Qingshan saw that this inn was built next to the pier and was busy with business and travel. There is a large cargo yard at the back where customers can store their goods. In front of the store is a restaurant that sells food and wine, but no hot dishes.
The transportation here is convenient and the people are mixed. It is really a nice place.
Not long after, the boy came out quickly. When he came to Luan Qingshan, he said, "The master is indeed here. Guests, please come this way. The master is waiting behind."
Luan Qingshan smiled and followed the boy to the backyard of the inn. After walking not far, there was a small door next to it, and the boy said: "The master is waiting for guests inside! Just go in and tell me if you need anything."
Luan Qingshan thanked the boy and entered the small courtyard.
There are some green pine flowers and trees planted in the yard, and there are some dead lotuses in a pond. In the pavilion in front, stood an old man about fifty years old.
Seeing Luan Qingshan, the old man hurriedly came to greet him. He cupped his hands and said, "Is this Mr. Luan here? Long time no see!"
Luan Qingshan said: "Exactly. May I ask if he is the owner of the inn, Song Yuanwai? He still has the same style!"
The owner smiled and answered yes. He stepped forward to take Luan Qingshan's hand and walked toward the room ahead. Entering the house, he said, "Why are you here? The Chinese New Year is tomorrow, and many things are difficult to arrange. Pingyang Mansion is not as good as other places, and the Jin people check it very carefully."
Luan Qingshan said: "There is no way. The weather is cold this year and there are ice floes on the Yellow River. We waited for a few days before crossing the river. And the road is not smooth. If you encounter bandits, that's it. Don't be afraid of them. If you encounter tigers and wolves, who will you turn to? Are you trying to reason? We don’t dare to leave too early.”
"Yes, the weather is cold this year." The host said, asking Luan Qingshan to sit by the charcoal pot. "The Fen River is frozen, so there are actually not many guests. You don't see many guests outside, but most of them are related to me."
The master said, sitting down by the charcoal fire. A tabby cat saw it, jumped up from the ground, and jumped onto its owner's lap.
Luan Qingshan took out a letter from his arms and handed it to the owner. He said: "This is a letter from Mr. Wang. It tells about my origin. When working hard here, we have to rely on Yuanwai Peng for many things. We are not familiar with the place. I hope Yuanwai can help us more."
Officer Peng nodded, holding the letter and reading it carefully.
In the front, Luan Qingshan and Song Yuan are the idioms used by the intelligence officers under Wang Ruohai, indicating that they are one of their own. In fact, the owner's surname was Peng and his given name was Jimin. He was originally from Hedong. When the Jin army invaded the south, he and his family suffered a lot and fled to Xiangyang. Later, he was recruited by Wang Ruohai, came back, and became an official in charge of intelligence in Jinzhou. Luan Qingshan was also under his control when he reached Hedong.
I have read Wang Ruohai’s letter. Peng Yuanwai said: "What Wang Guanren means is that you build a mountain stronghold near Jinzhou. If someone's identity is exposed or other things happen, you can help. To be honest, Jinzhou is an important town and it won't work if it's too close to here. .”
Luan Qingshan smiled and said: "Executive members, we are all experienced in the battlefield, but a few Jin soldiers are not afraid of him."
Peng Yuanwai said: "Of course I'm not afraid of a few Jin troops, but what about a few hundred? How about thousands? Not to mention that the Jin army is used to leading the Han army in battles. It's hard for them to defeat four people with two fists. How can you cope with it? You must leave Jin." It’s safer to be some distance away from the state.”
Luan Qingshan said: "If this is the case, where do you think it is suitable?"
Peng Yuan said: "There happens to be such a place. I visited it once a few days ago. After leaving Jinzhou City and heading south for more than sixty miles, there is a village at the border with Jiangzhou. This village is not large in size. It is small, with about a hundred families. Four or five years ago, the Jin invaded the south. The village rose up to resist and was slaughtered. Now it is just a ruin. The village is on the bank of Fen, with mountains on both sides, which is easy to defend but difficult to defend. Attack. You can build a stronghold on the mountain and live in the village in your free time. If the Jin comes to attack, just go to the stronghold on the mountain, and the Jin will be helpless."
Luan Qingshan said: "It turns out that there is such a good place. Of course it is the best! It is more than sixty miles away from Jinzhou. It can be one day of urgent travel and two days of slow travel. The distance is also suitable. The commissioner will send someone tomorrow to take us to take a look there. If it’s suitable, I’ll live there!”
Officer Peng said: "You don't have to worry. Tomorrow is New Year's Eve. Let's go after the New Year. Let your people have a rest and get familiar with the geography and people here."
Luan Qingshan thought for a while. He said: "That's fine, just rest in Jinzhou for three days. When the third day of the Lunar New Year comes, Yuan Qianwan will send someone to take us there!"
