To the south of Jinzhou City, close to the Fen River, is a large area of Pitang Zhize, where fishermen fish. "The river opens on the seventh and ninth day of the year, and the swallows come on the eighth and ninth day." The nineteenth day of the first lunar month is the seventh and ninth day of the lunar month, and farmers start to get busy. The nearby fishermen arranged their fishing gear and ran to the river to see if the ice had melted.
On the edge of the pond, there is a pavilion for fishermen to rest. On the twentieth day, Yuan Peng took two of his family members, changed their clothes, and came to the pavilion.
Luan Qingshan had been waiting in the pavilion for a long time. When he saw Yuan Peng arriving, he hurriedly got up to ask questions.
The two sat down. Peng Yuanwai said: "You are so generous. You robbed He Yuan's wife's house outside the city. Now there are rumors everywhere in Jinzhou that a group of extremely vicious robbers have come and are specializing in robbing families. Rich families have abandoned them one after another. The countryside outside the city has been moved to the city.”
Luan Qingshan said: "When we came here, Wang Guanren didn't give much money, so we had to grab some. Now that we have money, we won't rob anymore."
Peng Yuanwai complained: "Why don't you discuss such a big matter with me? He Yuanwai's son is the governor, and now he is leading soldiers around the city, saying he is looking for your lair. He just wants to give it up, He Yuanwai My fourth daughter married the city’s Jin Army guard general as a concubine, and you snatched her away. Now that the Jin general is back, how can he be willing to let you go? It won’t be long before he leads his troops to find you!”
Luan Qingshan smiled and said: "Then come and find us! Let's pack our luggage into several bundles and run to the mountains. What can he do to me?"
Peng Yuanwai said: "It's better if you have countermeasures. The news I got is that in a few days, Taiyuan will come with an army. But it is not to deal with you, but to go to Shenshan County. Jiang Zhaofu built a fortress in Shenshan County, and the people were all hiding. When he entered the fort, he seemed to be making a big fuss. How could the Jin army tolerate him? It is said that Wanyan Yunying, the son of Wanyan Yinshuke, led the army. After arriving in Jinzhou, he sent troops from here to attack Shenshan County directly."
Luan Qingshan said: "What should I do?"
Peng Yuan said: "The Forbidden Army in the west of Beijing and Hedong have defected to Shenshan County with great ambition. Those ineffective ones are planning to defect to you because you robbed a big one. There are all kinds of characters in the Forbidden Army. You must have them." Prepare."
Luan Qingshan said: "A useless person has come to seek refuge with me? Am I so unpopular here?"
Peng Yuanwai sighed: "Which of the armies that are really going to fight will rob civilians? Only the rebel army has no scruples. If the Jin army comes, Jiang Zhaofu will fight frontally, and you will lead the people behind to harass. Jiang Zhaofu comes to Hedong. In less than a year, I don’t know if we can stop the Jin Army.”
Luan Qingshan nodded, but also murmured in his heart. I have been a soldier myself and fought against the Jin Army, so I know how powerful the Jin Army is. Jiang Min jumped thousands of miles to defeat the enemy, but he didn't have many soldiers and horses. Why should he go against the Jin army? The best way is to break up the Jin army before it arrives and flee into the mountains. After the Jin army retreated and came out of the mountains, there was nothing the Jin army could do against them.
After discussing the recent situation, Luan Qingshan took out a baggage and said: "This is the jewelry stolen from the He family. We can't get rid of it, so we will give it to other members. If it is convenient, give us some gold and silver. It will be needed in the village."
Peng Yuwai opened the bag, looked at it and said, "You guys grabbed a lot! Leave it with me first, and I'll find a way to sell it to you. But first, let's agree that it will take a few months, so this matter can't be rushed. He Yuan’s wife’s family has been robbed of so much money, so they’ve been keeping a close eye on it lately!”
Luan Qingshan smiled and said: "How dare you rush Yuan Wai? We robbed Yuan Wai of 40,000 to 50,000 taels of silver. Do you still have money? What's the use of keeping a close eye on him?"
Peng Yuan said: "Their family has been cooking alum for decades, but they only have tens of thousands of taels of silver in savings? That one village is worth a lot of silver, not to mention there are shops in the city. It's the treasures hidden at home. If you find half of them, they will be gone." Not bad.”
Luan Qingshan clicked his tongue: "This old man is so rich!"
Peng Yuan said: "Jinzhou has a vitriol refining business, which is not comparable to other places. Except for the several alum refining companies, every one of them has hundreds of thousands of gold. When the Jin army invaded, some fled to the south, and some people's wealth was scattered. It’s no better than before.”
The two chatted for a while, then Yuan Peng picked up Luan Qingshan's baggage and took a detour back to the city from the south of the city gate.
To whom would Mr. Peng sell the treasures that Luan Qingshan snatched away in this day and age? It was nothing more than asking someone to take it back to the rear and give gold and silver to Luan Qingshan and others. After all, Luan Qingshan and others were not regular troops and had a mixed bag of men, so they used this method. If it were Jiang Min's army, there would be no need to give gold and silver to Yuan Yuan.
Jinzhou guard Salitu came back from Taiyuan and began military preparations. The first thing is to prepare food and fodder. When Wanyan Yuying led his people from Taiyuan, they would not bring supplies, but would be provided by the prefectures and counties along the way. Jinzhou is near Shenshan County and is the rear area of this war.
For a time, Jinzhou was in a state of panic and everyone was panicking. No one was paying attention to the robbery in Hejiazhuang.
In Luoyang City, the new year has passed, and the colorful lanterns have been slowly removed, returning to their usual appearance. Although the left-behind Si Yamen is still dilapidated, the place where Meng Bangxiong's family lives has been tidied up and looks magnificent.
In the back office, brothers Meng Bangxiong and Meng Bangjie sat separately and continued to persuade Lian Gongjin, who was sitting in the chair, to drink.
After drinking for three rounds, Lian Gong said sincerely: "I have been in Xijing for some time. To be honest with you, I finally accomplished something big."
Meng Bangxiong said: "Xiangong Tao has surpassed others and is beyond the reach of others. I wonder what great things have been accomplished? Can you tell us something?"
Lian Gongjin smiled: "When Ding Jin was ascending the throne, the prince sent Jiang Yi to persuade him to serve the court. I didn't want Wang Xiaolie to wake up from this, and Jiang Yi died, so the matter would go away. But even though Jiang Yi died, , the people from Zhai Xing’s army who contacted him back then are still there.”
After saying that, he looked at the two Meng Bangxiong brothers with a complacent look on his face.
Meng Bangxiong said hurriedly: "I wonder which general he is?"
Lian Gongjin shook his head: "The secret must not be leaked. Just gather your troops and prepare for a big battle. When the time comes, someone will naturally take Zhai Xing's life. As long as Zhai Xing dies, won't the Zhai family's army be scattered? At that time, you defeated the Zhai family's army. If we attack to the west and disperse Dong Xian's army, there will be no more rebels in Henan Prefecture!"
Meng Bangxiong was stunned for a moment. Said: "Defeat Zhai Xing and Dong Xian, as well as Wang Xiaolie's army!"
Duke Lian said sincerely: "The prince thinks there is nothing to worry about! It is said that Wang Xiaolie's tens of thousands of troops crossed the mountains to Ruzhou, but they have done nothing yet. With Zhai Xing's help, Wang Xiaolie stayed still in Ruzhou. If Zhai Xing is gone, What else can he do? He can only take people back over the mountains to Dengzhou!"
Meng Bangxiong glanced at his brother Meng Bangjie and felt disapproving.
Luoyang is close, and although Meng Bangxiong is not very clear about the situation of Wang Xiaolie's army, he still has a general understanding. Wang Xiaolie's tens of thousands of troops were strictly disciplined in Ruzhou, and Qiu did not commit any crimes. They were not comparable to the Zhai family's army. The reason why they didn't move in Ruzhou was probably because they were concerned that Luoyang was Zhai Xing's territory.
Zhai Xing's Northern Expedition was not an action of the Song Dynasty court. There were no commanders and ministers, and they were not under each other's control. Zhai Xing failed to mobilize Dong Xian, and Wang Xiaolie watched on. The forces of various departments could not be twisted into a rope and no resultant force could be formed. Once Zhai Xing has an accident, things will be hard to say.
Lian Gongjin was originally a minor official. His beautiful daughter was given to Liu Lin and his daughter-in-law accompanied her. Liu Lin gave these two women to Liu Yu, and thus became the preparation committee of the prince's palace. With this kind of status, a real villain succeeds. He only listens to complimentary words, but not unpleasant words.
After thinking about it, Meng Bangxiong said: "Luoyang is in ruins. Although I am staying in Xijing, I can't raise an army. Now there are several armies surrounding Luoyang, which is really dangerous. It's best for the prince to send reinforcements and join forces with me to protect Luoyang." .”
Duke Lian said sincerely: "The prince's palace has not been established for a long time, so it is not easy to send a large army. You don't have to worry, if I come, I will take Zhai Xing's life! Without Zhai Xing, what else can we worry about? In these years, only Zhai Xing has been killed." Xing keeps making chaos, and others have nothing!"
Meng Bangjie couldn't help but interjected: "Ms. sir, Wang Xiaolei's 100,000 troops from the south have now come north, which is the biggest threat! Our brothers have been looking forward to reinforcements for the past few months, and it's not just Zhai Xing!"
