After a day's driving in the middle of the night, Zhi County came into view.
Zhi County is not big, but it creates a myth.
As a small county with less than 10,000 people, it is bordered by three roads and is a transfer station for transporting grain and grass. In addition, there are countless fertile fields nearby. Once there is a war in Nanguan, it will be the busiest place besides the front line and Qiongzhou. .
Why is this place a myth? The folk customs here are extremely strong. The local government organized civilians to go to Nanguan to deliver supplies. The civilians went directly to the city wall to join the army and do things for foreigners. There were countless people.
To describe it in one sentence, when I am free, I farm, when I am at war, I deliver food, when the wind is favorable, I watch the excitement, when the wind is favorable, I go into battle.
Don't look at the fact that there are less than 10,000 people in Zhi County, half of them are young and strong, and have never been married. When they go into battle, they are all old and fierce, just like Gao Qiqiang who has never been with a partner.
Many of the people in Zhi County are prisoners of crime or those who have been prisoners of crime. Because it is close to the border, many people from Beijing are imprisoned and sent here. Serious people will not stay in Zhi County, and there are no serious girls. Most of them They are all bachelors, old bachelors.
Fu Yuxiang personally brought two soldiers to visit Zhi County two hours early. He rode a horse around outside and was sure that there was nothing unusual without entering the city.
He didn't go into the city because the city walls in Zhi County were not as high as Guo Xiaosi's, the houses were dilapidated, and most of the buildings were warehouses.
Han You and his party were exactly twenty people, all riding tall horses. When they arrived outside Zhi County, they were not in a hurry to enter the city.
Han You still has this common sense. If there is a problem in Zhi County, it is easy to be ambushed when entering. Stay outside the city and wait for the local county government to come to greet you. By observing the complexion, let the soldiers go in to get a deeper understanding. If necessary, First control the families of local officials, and then you can not enter the city until it is safe. Even if there is a problem, you can just turn around and run away.
Feng Bai had already entered the city to announce that Han You, the master of the Yidao Guard, was here. Even the prefect and his subordinates had to go out of the city to greet him, let alone the county government.
In fact, Han You's official position is very vague. If he is the commander, he is the commander. If he is the flag, he is the flag. If necessary, he can directly replace Eunuch Suan and become the commander of the Yi Dao Guard, but it is not necessary, because everyone knows that, The one who wields the sword has the final say in Yidaowei, and Han You is the sword master.
In addition, he has the status of an imperial envoy. As long as he is an imperial envoy and leaves the capital and comes to a local area, his relative rank and power will be higher than those of local officials.
After Han You got out of the carriage, he got on the horse, not because he was handsome, but mainly because he wanted to run fast.
When they arrived outside the city, the Zhixian County Government had been waiting for a long time with about 20 subordinate officials.
The county government's surname is Sun, Sun Shangjin. Anyone who can be an official in Zhi County will basically not be able to advance, and he has nothing to do with Sun Shangxiang.
The ancients regarded growing beards as a beauty, especially for civil servants. However, people have different genes and hair growth. If you don't understand how to grow a beard, it can easily turn into a three-inch rat beard.
Sun Shangjin's beard is not good-looking, mainly because he has few hairs, only two hairs, and he has a middle parting, which looks like a cricket.
Han You almost laughed when he saw Sun Shangjin, but he didn't expect the county governor to have such a dignified appearance.
However, Han You also quickly became in awe of Sun Shangjin.
Although it is unfair, appearance does determine some advantages and disadvantages.
Sun Shangjin, who looks like a bear, can actually hold the position of county government. You can imagine how much effort he put in behind the scenes.
"My lower official, Sun Shangjin, has met General Han, met all the generals, and met all the great lords."
Not only is this guy ugly, he also sounds like a male duck.
All the officials came together to salute.
Han You looked past the group of people and towards the city.
The so-called city, the city wall cannot be said to be in ruins, it can only be said to be better than nothing.
During the war, everything was about speed. There were some redundant city walls and redundant doors. It was the most time-saving way to grab things from a few warehouses and run to the south.
The inside of the city is not that great, but the outside is refreshing.
Large tracts of terraced fields are climbed up the stairs. Now that spring is coming, they are like strings of silver locks hanging in the mountains. The terraces are connected to each other. The maximum is only one acre. Most of them are small and broken fields. There are one or two rows of crops, and the mountains and fields are endless. This is people's life, food!
There is no Zhechong Prefecture near Zhi County, there are only garrison guards, three garrison guards, who receive food and salary from the court and do not have to do anything but farm the land.
Han You winked, and Jiang Zhui led two soldiers into the city quickly.
"Master Sun, right?"
Han You got off his horse, and Sun Shangjin kept saying that he didn't dare to take it seriously.
Hands behind his back, Han You strolled forward, and Sun Shangjin quickly followed.
Other subordinate officers also wanted to follow. Wang Hai and Lu Baichuan suddenly held weapons in their hands, and other miscellaneous soldiers formed a human wall to isolate the two sides.
Sun Shangjin looked back, a look of horror flashed across his face.
Han You smiled and said: "Don't be afraid, follow me, I will ask you something."
"Okay, okay, I will tell you everything I know."
Sun Shangjin was groveling. He was obviously a bald man with only two hairs. Others would have cut them off long ago. He didn't know that this guy really didn't know how ridiculous his image was, but did it intentionally.
"Don't be half a step behind. I've been tricked by others lately. Please stop stabbing me in the back."
Sun Shangjin was sweating profusely and didn't know how to continue speaking, so he followed Han You's right side cautiously.
Zuo Weizun, but Han You turned his head: "Follow me on my left."
"Isn't this...isn't it against the rules?"
"I am left-handed, and the knife is stuck in the back of my waist. If I want to kill you, you stand on my left. I can save at least half a second from drawing the knife to stabbing you in the face with my backhand."
With a "plop", Sun Shangjin's knees softened and he knelt on the ground: "My lord, my lord, my lord, I'm the official... I don't know where I offended the general, but why are they all making heart-breaking remarks? I'm the official, I'm not wrong."
"Look at you, I was just joking. Get up quickly, the ground is dirty."
"Xiaguan, Xiaguan..."
"I will wake you up!"
"Yes Yes."
Sun Shangjin stood up in an extremely embarrassed manner, looking cautious.
Yidaowei has such a bad reputation!
Zhi County is not far from Qiongzhou City. Zhao Congyun was hung on the wall, many gentry in the city were wiped out, and Zhao Bao became a wanted criminal. These things had been reported a few days ago.
"Master Sun, apart from stopping by to take a look, I mainly want to inquire about you personally."
Having said this, Han You stared at Sun Shangjin, not missing the slightest change in his expression: "How is your relationship with Zhou Tianfeng?"
With a "pop" sound, he knelt down again. Sun Shangjin looked like he was about to cry. He opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but he forgot to breathe for a moment and coughed out, almost losing his breath.
Han You didn't say anything, just put his hands behind his back and looked down.
In the distance, the Zhixian officials who were blocked by the soldiers were trembling.
Han You stood there motionless until Sun Shangjin regained his breath and began to kowtow, then he stretched out his hand.
Pulling Sun Shangjin up, Han You remained expressionless: "It seems that you also know the consequences of getting involved with Zhou Tianfeng. You should be afraid, so..."
Looking at the pale-faced Sun Shangjin, Han You asked softly: "What about the eldest prince Zhou Xiao? If he doesn't want to rebel with Zhou Tianfeng, then he is preparing to rebel with Zhou Xiao?"
There was another "plop" and he knelt down three times in a row.
Sun Shangjin looked like he was about to have a heart attack: "General, General... why don't you give me a good time!"
Han You narrowed his eyes, feeling extremely confused.
Strangely, the warehouses in Zhi County are full of grain. If Zhou Tianfeng and Zhou Xiao want to rebel, seizing grain from here is the best choice. It is better to steal grain by force. Judging from the situation in Qiongzhou, the two are used to secretly wooing local gentry and Since officials like to use this method, why didn't they win over Sun Shangjin?
And judging from Sun Shangjin's appearance, he had never been in contact with these two people. Could it be that Zhou Tianfeng and Zhou Xiao were preparing to send troops to seize food before they rebelled?
The more he thought about it, the more Han You felt that something was wrong. It was not impossible to send troops to grab food, but it was too troublesome. It was extremely troublesome. Any mistakes would easily delay the overall plan.
Involuntarily, Han You focused his attention on the local officials. Could it be that one of these people had been secretly bribed?
The sound of horse hoofbeats was heard, and Jiang Zhui turned over and dismounted.
"Shao Yin, Sun County's family members are not in the city. After asking around, Sun County's family usually lives in the county government office."
Han You frowned: "The family members have been sent away long ago?"
"It's unjust, sir, it's unjust."
Sun Shangjin knelt on the ground and shouted: "There was a great epidemic in the south in the sixth year of Chengtai. Unfortunately, Zhuo Jing was infected with smallpox, and all the infant children suffered...suffered..."
At this point, Sun Shangjin burst into tears.
Han You's expression softened, and he stretched out his hand to help Sun Shangjin up.
"A big event is going to happen in the south. I don't dare to trust anyone easily. Let's go into the city and take the general to inspect the warehouses."
"Yes, yes, I will obey your orders."
Sun Shangjin stood up and wiped the tears from his face. He did not look like an official at all, but like an honest farmer who had suffered a lot.
Han You frowned, always feeling that something was not right.
