The person Xia Yun deliberately made friends with was Zhao Ying, the nephew of Zhao Ju, the military governor of Fanyang, and the commander of the Tanzhou marching army.
Zhao Ying was originally a military general and had a Confucian style in his dealings with others. He originally had a bright future. Unfortunately, in a hand-to-hand conflict, his heart was severely damaged and he could no longer fight on horseback, so he became a civilian. Although the Marching Sima was a civilian, he was in charge of military status, talisman, and orders and seals. He had a close relationship with the military. The judge in charge of money and grain planning was also his crony. However, the governor was old and frail, and the deputy governor was weak and incompetent. Tanzhou had real power. It all fell into the hands of Zhao Ying. This was a secret known to everyone.
If you want to bet, bet bigger. The governor of Tanzhou is just the starting point, and Zhao Ju's sons have done nothing. Xia Yong believes that Zhao Ying is the most powerful contender for the future military governor of Fan Yang, so he decided to put his chips on Zhao Ying. This is also Xia Qian's view.
The rise of Xia Yong also provided Zhao Ying with another option.
There are two intertwined civil forces in the three towns of Hebei that cannot be circumvented or avoided. One is the Heshuo Yang clan, and the other is the Yinma Gang. The Heshuo Yang clan monopolizes the people's livelihood, and the Yinma Gang controls the black and white, and can affect the whole body. Although the military and political envoys of the feudal town combine military and political power, they still need their support.
Once the Heshuo Yang clan was destroyed, the Yinma Gang became more and more important.
The Yinma Gang is very powerful, with branches spread across three towns in Hebei Province. The gang leader Pan Xingzhou is in his prime and is known as the "No. 1 in Heshuo". He is inextricably related to Qian Zhiwei, the military governor of Weibo. It is said that he is Qian Zhiwei, the military governor of Weibo. One of many illegitimate children. Zhao Ju didn't like that Qian Zhiwei was aggressive and regarded himself as the leader of the three towns. The three divisions of the Yin Ma Gang in Fanyang Town were like a bone stuck in his throat. He was eager to eradicate the power of the Yin Ma Gang and cultivate people loyal to him. Gangs, and it is inconvenient to use direct force to avoid a head-on conflict with Weibo Town.
Fanyang Town governs the seven states of You, Ying, Ping, Ji, Gui, Tan, and Mo. Tanzhou is adjacent to the border and has few people and a small city. In Pan Xingzhou's eyes, the three branches are far apart and beyond reach. It is precisely in such a subtle situation. Under this situation, Zhao Ying began to contact Xia Yong.
Before that, Zhao Ying observed for a long time.
According to the reports coming from the south, Xia Yun was the young leader of the Tianlong Gang and was quite talented. Because the Han army from the Jiangdu camp sent troops to clear out the roots and cut off the roots, he hurriedly went north with only a few loyal men and settled in Tanzhou. Settled in the city, while raising money by running a jewelry and drug store business, he also recruited helpers to restart the business and carefully develop and grow.
Tanzhou is far away from the sacred land in the south of the Yangtze River and lacks people and wealth. It is not easy to start from scratch. Xia Yun himself is calm and courageous, smart and courageous. Although there are not many people available under him, they all have their own strengths, and they quickly open up the situation.
Yi Lian, the elder of Tianlong Gang's Jinkou Branch Medicine Refining Hall, is good at refining snake medicine, which can relieve serious illnesses and treat serious illnesses. Xia Qian, the daughter of Xia Quji, the old leader of the Tianlong Gang, and the younger sister of Xia Yun, are clever and handy and manage the jewelry business. Yang Hu, the son of Yang Zigui, the only survivor of the Yang family in Heshuo, and a group of loyal old shopkeepers of the Yang family, came to Tanzhou to join him one after another. A Taoist named Yiqing, with unknown origins and strange swordsmanship, defeated the horse thieves in Bagong Mountain overnight and established himself as the number one master of the Tianlong Gang.
These four people alone are not that eye-catching, but together they complement each other and support most of the sky of the Tianlong Gang. If it were not for the serious injury of the sheep, it would be difficult to treat it, and they would hang their lives with ginseng and multiflorum every day. With a large amount of money, Xia Yun's rise will be even faster by three points.
Yang Hu is bedridden, rarely appears in public, and has not been recognized by many chambers of commerce in Heshuo. However, in Zhao Ying's view, his value is far more than that. As long as he is still alive, Yang Hu will not Complete annihilation, if Fan Yangzhen can provide enough force, the forces that carve up the Yang family's business will have to spit out even the profits.
These are all long-term considerations. The current meeting for the first time is just a chat over a drink, some interesting stories about the world, and anecdotes about the court. Zhao Ying's drinking capacity is very large, and he is said to have "the capacity of a hundred buckets". In comparison, Xia Ying is more than inferior.
The host and guest parted happily.
Courtesy returned. A few days later, Zhao Ying sent his eldest son Zhao Yi to visit and invited Xia Ying to his private residence in Dongcheng to enjoy flowers and drink. , prepare the elixir to protect the sheep from their illnesses and injuries, a good intention that cannot be turned away. Although the words were polite, the attitude was very firm. Xia Yun thought about it briefly and agreed.
After Zhao Yi left, Xia Yong discussed with Xia Qian and Yang Hu. Firstly, they were under the eaves and there was no need to offend Zhao Ying for trivial matters. Secondly, Xia Qian was very interested in the so-called "good medicine and elixir". Wei Qiyi Of course, it was all right, but he couldn't handle the fatigue of the carriage. Xia Qian had an idea and ordered someone to prepare a soft couch and put it into the carriage, so that he could travel and rest.
A few days later, Zhao Yi came to greet him, and Xia Yun rode with him to greet him, then slowly headed east of the city. The carriage carried the sheep guard along the way, while Xia Qian and Ban Xia stayed in the carriage to look after them, and four other strong The strong gang members followed closely behind, waiting for orders. Tanzhou was a small city, with just a stick of incense. When I arrived in front of Zhao Ying's newly built private house, the owner personally came to greet him, bowed his hands and smiled broadly. He did not look like a military general galloping on the battlefield.
It was still early before the dinner, so Zhao Ying invited his guests to the back garden to enjoy the apricot blossoms. The space was not big, but the construction was done with great care. I'm used to seeing salt merchants' gardens, so I didn't find it amazing. The group of people wandered around for a while, then came to the main hall and sat down. The maid served tea, and Zhao Yi introduced the doctor inside to treat the sheep.
The good doctor Zhao Ying invited was an old doctor with a yellow crown. His face was full of wrinkles. He didn't know how old he was. His eyes were as bright as stars. He glanced at Xia Yun and Xia Qian, brother and sister, and said with a sign of relief: "Immortal life and blessing, we have been apart for many years. The two donors are safe and sound, so congratulations!"
Xia Qian was slightly startled, then stood up and returned the greeting: "May you be blessed and live long, Taoist Master, I am thinking of you, but the little girl is frightened!" Her heart was filled with confusion, and she felt at a loss for a moment. The old Taoist was none other than Taoist Luofan from Shenjing Mountain. , thinking about her old father, she had a lot to ask, but she didn't know where to start.
Xia Yong also came forward to meet the old Taoist. He exchanged a few words with neither humbleness nor arrogance. Without waiting for Zhao Ying to ask questions, he took the initiative to explain to him the origin of Taoist Luolin and the Tianlong Gang. Zhao Ying secretly remembered it in his heart and said with a smile: "Since we are old acquaintances, let's take a moment. It's not too late to talk about our friendship later, and I would also like to ask the Taoist Priest to take a look at Mr. Sheep's illness first and see if there is any good medicine to cure it."
Practicing medicine requires listening, hearing and asking questions, and Taoist Luo Lin is no exception. He took half a step, raised his eyes and took a deep look at Wei Shiqi. His soul was swayed, his face changed slightly, and he subconsciously stepped back half a step, and his heart was clear. The person slumped on the soft couch is also a monk. Zhao Ying's eyes were sharp and he saw the clues, so he interrupted: "I dare to ask, sir, but what did you see?"
Taoist Luo Lan muttered: "Weird, really weird..." He suppressed the hesitation in his chest, stepped forward steadily, stretched out his hand to hold Wei Shiqi's pulse gate, and there was a loud sound in his head. This body had clearly collapsed and disintegrated. But it was firmly held together by a strange force. He had lived for so many years, something he had never heard of or seen before.
