PS: Last night, there should have been something wrong with the starting point background, and I updated it at about half past eleven.』

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"Yang Ding, is that Yang Ding?"

Slightly lowering his head, Zhao Yu held a wine bowl in front of his mouth and nose, as if to hide his face, but his eyes glanced at the young man from the countryside who called himself 'Yang Ding' next to him from time to time.

Zhao Yu is not unfamiliar with this name, and it can even be said that he cares a little, because his father Luyang Xianghou once used this person to encourage him.

It was five years ago, when Zhao Yu went to Ruyang with his father Luyang Township Marquis, as well as Luyang County Commander Liu Wei, ready to coerce Zhu County to say that Ruyang County ordered Wang Dan to provide money and grain to assist him in Luyang County to implement the measure of work for relief, and then returned to the Xianghou Mansion, when the father and son took a bath together, the Luyang Township Marquis mentioned this Yang Ding, intended to warn Zhao Yu, so that his son can understand the truth that there are mountains outside the mountains and people outside the people, and don't be complacent and not enterprising because of a little cleverness.

According to the narration of the Luyang townsman at that time, this Yang Ding is not simple, probably around the time when Zhao Yin and Zhao Yu brothers were born, this Yang Ding was famous in Handan at the age of eight, according to legend, he read the whole book, and adults could not argue with it, so he was favored by Wang Ying, the master of the dynasty, and accepted as a disciple, not only was he famous in Handan at a young age, but even in other parts of the world, there was also a reputation of this person, saying that "Handan has a prodigy" Yunyun.

At first, Zhao Yu didn't think so, thinking that it was just a character made up by his father to inspire him, but later, this matter was confirmed by Liu Wei, the commander of Luyang County, who also said that when he was seeking an official in Handan, he had seen this Yang Ding from afar, and he was shocked at that time.

It was precisely because of the praise of the Marquis of Luyang and Liu Wei that Zhao Yu remembered the name Yang Ding at that time, so today he suddenly heard someone calling himself Yang Ding, and he subconsciously turned his head to look over.

Could it be this Yang Ding, is it Yang Ding?

“……”

Holding the wine bowl, glancing at the neighbor seat with the corner of his eye, and glancing at the young man who was humble and polite in the neighbor's seat, Zhao Yu frowned slightly and pondered.

Zhao Yu's abnormal behavior immediately attracted the attention of Jing Nu, who was sitting on Zhao Yu's left hand, leaned her body slightly towards Zhao Yu, and asked in a low voice, "Young Master, what's wrong?" ”

Zhao Yu reached out and patted the back of Jing Nu's hand as a gesture, and Jing Nu, who knew about it, immediately stopped talking.

About a quarter of an hour later, the people sitting next to each other had a few drinks and food, and then left the restaurant after settling the bill.

Looking at the backs of these people leaving, Zhao Yu instructed the two black tiger thieves sitting in the same seat: "Keep an eye on these people from afar, see what they do, and where they end up." ”

The two black tiger thieves nodded silently, stood up quietly, and walked out of the liquor store.

Seeing this, Niu Heng was puzzled and asked, "Ah Hu, do you know those people?" ”

Jingnu also looked at Zhao Yu with a confused gaze.

"I don't know, but it's ......," Zhao Yu's eyes still fell on the outside of the wine shop, looking in the direction where Yang Ding and the others left.

This Yang Ding, could it really be that Yang Ding?

Yes, Zhao Yu guessed correctly, the young man he happened to meet today who called himself Yang Ding was indeed the prodigy who was famous in Handan back then, but now he is called a prodigy, which is really a bit inappropriate, because he is eight years older than Zhao Yu, and he is now twenty-three years old.

This time, Yang Ding came all the way from Handan to Ye County in order to replace the late Mao Gong and serve as the county commander of Ye County.

Since he is going to serve as the county magistrate of Ye County, he naturally has to know something about this county seat.

Therefore, after arriving in Ye County today, Yang Ding first went to the county government to submit the relevant official documents, and then went to the back office to meet Mrs. Mao, and then took the generals and his entourage to wander the streets, and by the way, inquired about the cultural customs of Ye County, so as not to make any jokes in the future because of ignorance.

Recalling the process of meeting the old lady Mao at that time, Yang Dingxin couldn't help but sigh.

He is a disciple of Taishi Wang Ying and belongs to the 'Wang family', and Mrs. Mao's deceased wife Mao Gong is a close friend of Mrs. Chen, and Mrs. Chen and Yang Ding's teacher Wang Ying are political enemies of each other in the court, which is destined to Mrs. Mao will not give him a good look.

Of course, having said that, the old lady was also old, and although she didn't like him in her heart, she didn't show much of it, but just repeatedly told him to govern Ye County well.

"Young master, what's wrong?"

As if noticing that Yang Ding was a little absent-minded, an elderly general beside Yang Ding asked.

The young generals also came over.

This time when he came to Ye County, Yang Ding only brought two generals, an old man and a young man, as well as the remaining two entourages.

The older general, named Wei Dong, looks nearly half a hundred years old at first glance, and his hair and beard are a little gray, but he looks energetic; And the young family general is called Wei Chi, although he is dressed ordinarily, he only has a pair of eyes as sharp as a knife, and he can see that this person is not simple.

These two are father and son, both of whom are the generals of the Yang family, and they are also Yang Ding's most trusted confidants.

"Nothing."

Yang Ding shook his head, and immediately observed the county residents coming and going on the street, and said with emotion: "According to legend, this Ye County, originally there were nearly 10,000 county people, four or five years ago, and successively absorbed many refugees who fled from the south, which made the number of residents in the county skyrocket by tens of thousands. It's a blessing that I'm here as a prefectural magistrate. ”

Hearing this, Wei Dong, the old general, said: "Why should the young master be arrogant? The old man thought that with the talent of the young master, it was too condescending to serve as the county magistrate of a county. ”

Yang Ding shook his head with a smile, and said, "I'm not arrogant. The old man should not underestimate the handsome men in this world, such as Mao Gong, who used the financial resources of Ye County and the decree of 'work for relief' to relieve tens of thousands of displaced people without damaging the public security of Ye County, which is really admirable. ”

Wei Dong smacked his lips and said with some disberence: "The old man thinks that if the young master was in Ye County at that time, he might not be inferior to others. ”

Hearing this, Yang Ding shook his head with a wry smile.

The old general next to him has protected him for everything since he was a child, and everything he says is in vain.

The two were chatting, and suddenly, Wei Chi said in a low voice: "Young master, father, it seems that someone is following us." ”

"Huh?"

A little confusion flashed on Yang Ding's face, and he subconsciously wanted to turn back.

"Don't look back." Wei Dong reminded.

It's a pity that he was a step too late, but Yang Ding still turned his head and took a look.

Seeing this, Wei Dong no longer stopped him, and lowered his voice to remind Yang Dingdao: "Next to the stall twenty steps away." ”

After being reminded by the old general, Yang Ding noticed that about twenty steps away from them, next to a stall, there were two men in cloaks pretending to talk to the stall owner, but their eyes glanced at them from time to time.

Yang Ding asked in surprise, "Old man, you found out earlier?" ”

From the side, Wei Chi was also a little surprised.

Wei Dong smiled slightly, stroked his beard and said, "How can the old man say that he has lived for half a handful of years, how can he suffer from this easily?" …… If the old man remembers correctly, these two people, we just met in that wine shop, were sitting at the table next to us. …… There was a very burly man sitting in the seat at the time, and I looked at it twice. ”

Hearing this, not only Yang Ding, but even Wei Chi suddenly realized.

"Liquor store?"

Yang Ding frowned slightly and thought about it, and immediately remembered that when Fang was in the wine shop just now, there was indeed a group of people sitting at the table next to them.

Probably five people.

In addition to the 'burly man' mentioned by the old man Wei Dong, there was also a young man who seemed to be around fifteen years old and a girl of the same age - looking at the order of the seats of those people at that time, Yang Ding could see at a glance that the young man was the center of the group.

I remember that he was nodding to the boy at the time.

In addition to these three people, there were two people sitting at the table at that time, and it was the same two people who were watching them twenty paces away at the moment.

In Yang Ding's opinion, that young man is probably the son of a certain family in Ye County, that girl, looking at her sitting posture, she should be a maid, the burly man should be a guard, and as for the other two, that is, they are monitoring us at the moment, they should be entourages or something.

In all fairness, he didn't pay much attention to the young man, but the girl with a soft face beside the young man made him look at it a few more times, reminding him of his wife who had not yet come to Ye County.

But at this moment, the person who sent someone sent his entourage to follow them, which made Yang Ding feel a little strange.

He vaguely remembered that the young man seemed to have suddenly turned his head to look at him when he introduced himself to the guy in the liquor store.

"Does the boy recognize me?"

Yang Ding was a little confused and told Wei Dong and Wei Chi father and son his questions.

Wei Chi smiled and quipped: "Didn't you hear about the reputation of the young master from your father's mouth?" ”

Hearing this, Yang Ding smiled bitterly and shook his head: "I hope not, otherwise, I will be hated again for nothing......"

I have to say that he has always been unpopular in Handan's peer circle.

"Young master, do you want me to go over and ask?" Wei Chi asked again.

"Forget it."

Yang Ding shook his head and said: "I look at the young man next to me, not like ordinary people, maybe it is the son of someone in this county, he probably heard that we are outsiders, and he is suspicious, so he sent a servant to follow us, there is no need to make a fuss." …… As long as the other party has no malicious intent, let them go, and we are not unsightly. ”

"That's just as well." Wei Chi nodded abruptly.

At this time, Wei Dong opened his mouth and asked, "In this case, what are the arrangements for the young master next?" ”

Yang Ding thought for a while and said, "Let's go shopping again, and then go back to the county office." ”

"Hmm."

So, Yang Ding and his party wandered around the street again until it was close to dusk, and then they returned to the county office.

During this period, the two black tigers sent by Zhao Yu always followed them from a distance, followed them until the county office, and stood guard in the alley near the county government for a while, but they never saw Yang Ding and the others come out again, and then they fell back to the inn to tell Zhao Yu.

Half an hour later, in the inn where Zhao Yu and the others stayed, the two black tigers told Zhao Yu about their tracking of Yang Ding and the others, and also mentioned that they had been tracking Yang Ding and his party to the county government in the city.

Hearing this, Zhao Yu fell into deep thought.

After a while, he asked, "Is there anything else?" ”

The two Black Tigers thought for a while, and one of them said, "Halfway, those people seemed to have discovered the tracking of the two of us, but for some reason, they didn't come to ask the reason, so they let the two of us follow them. ”

Zhao Yu thought for a while, then nodded and said, "Okay, I know, you two go next door to rest first." ”

"Yes."

The two Black Tigers retreated and closed the door.

At this time, Jing Nu couldn't help but ask Zhao Yu, "Young Master, who are those people?" Why does the young master care so much? ”

Zhao Yu frowned and said, "If I didn't guess wrong...... Well, basically there will be no mistake, the person who calls himself 'Yang Ding' should be the new county magistrate of Ye County. I'll just say, after the death of Duke Mao, the post of county order cannot be vacant forever, since there has been no county order to take up the post for a long time, it means that this position has been booked. ”

From the side, Niu Heng lay on the table with his hands on his cheeks, and said with a smile: "Can you still book the position of this county order?" ”

"Why not?"

Zhao Yu chuckled and said: "After the famous family, the children of the official eunuchs, why not book a local county order?" …… However, most of these people will not be permanent in office, and they will be promoted in a year or two at most, or they will be transferred back to Gyeonggi. ”

At this point, the smile on his face gradually retracted.

If it were in other places, he wouldn't care too much, even if that Yang Ding was the Yang Ding that his father Luyang Township Marquis and Luyang County praised Liu Wei back then, but Ye County ...... But it's a little special.

After all, in Zhao Yu's plan, his next plan is to gradually infiltrate Ye County, and then control this county seat.

You must know that Ye County is the place where he founded the Luye Freemasonry Association, half of his hometown, coupled with Mao Gong's favor, Zhao Yu of course also hopes to control this county in his hands, on the one hand, it can be secretly sheltered, on the other hand, although the economy of Ye County is far inferior to four or five years ago, it may not be the current Kunyang can surpass, considering that next year the rebels may cause a large-scale catastrophe, if you can control Ye County, Zhao Yu is naturally more sure.

Kunyang, Yexian, plus Luyang, the three counties are united, and he may not have the strength to resist the rebels at that time - of course, provided that the rebels have to advance and force him to do something that he cannot accept.

What I didn't expect was that Ye County, which had been vacant for four years, suddenly ushered in a new appointment today, and this new appointment was precisely the Yang Ding who was famous in Handan back then.

I have to say that this is really not good news for Zhao Yu.

After all, this means that his attempt to secretly control Ye County will run aground nine times out of ten, and even the newly appointed Yang County Commander may become a threat to his Black Tiger Village.

However, the matter has come to this point, and Zhao Yu is helpless.

"After worshipping Mao Gong, I will return to Kunyang immediately." He said to Jingnu and Niu Heng.

Three days later, on October 22, it was Mao Gong's sacrifice day.

Approaching the depths of winter, the weather has become colder and colder, but Zhao Yu and the others still got up early, took a carriage out of the city and came to a hill where Mao Gong was buried.

It is said to be a small hill, but it is actually just a low hill, but it is very close to the county seat, and after climbing this low hill, you can clearly see the county seat of Yexian County in the distance.

Of course, Zhao Yu understood the intention of Mrs. Mao to bury her wife here, that is, she hoped that Mao Gong would be able to see Yexian County, where he had served for 20 years, after his death, but to be honest, Zhao Yu felt that this hill was not good.

It's not that feng shui is bad - he doesn't understand that, the reason why he thinks this hill is bad is because it is too close to the county seat, and if the rebels attack Ye County in the future, this hill may be occupied by the rebels because of its special location, which is used to monitor the movements of Ye County.

Of course, this is just an idea of Zhao Yu, and he thinks that Ye County will not allow this kind of thing to happen when the time comes.

Climbing this hill, according to the county people, in front of Mao Gong's cemetery, Zhao Yu and Jingnu laid tribute and lit candles and incense.

For Mao Gong, in fact, Zhao Yu does not have much contact, but it must be admitted that Mao Gong is indeed not thin on his family.

For example, when the Luye Freemasonry Association was founded, if it weren't for the prestige of Mao Gong, how could the businessmen of Ye County, like Wei Pu and Lu Kuang, gather in the county government so obediently and listen to him Zhao Yu talk about the benefits of building a joint chamber of commerce?

Besides, this time the general stationed in Jinan Zhang Jing helped him Luyang Zhao to wash away the stigma, if it wasn't for Mao Gong's deathbed letter entrustment, how could Zhang Jing, one of the five tigers of the dignified Chen Sect, help him Zhao for no reason?

"Gong Mao, thanks to you, Zhang Jing has clarified the charges in the imperial court on behalf of my family......"

In front of Mao Gong's cemetery, Zhao Yu whispered about 'Zhang Jing helping his family wash away the stigma', thanked Mao Gong for taking care of his family, and then burned a bunch of paper money in front of the cemetery.

Around two o'clock in the morning, suddenly a group of black tigers watching from the mountain came to report: "Chief, a group of people have come up the mountain. ”

Zhao Yu guessed that it must be someone who came to worship Mao Gong, and after respectfully bowing to the tombstone a few times, he immediately led everyone to leave from the other side of the hill.

As he expected, as soon as he left on the front foot, Yang Ding took his entourage with his generals, and Mrs. Mao, as well as Gao Chun, the county lieutenant of Ye County, and a cadre of officials, came to this mountain to worship Mao Gong.

When they saw the tribute in front of Mao's cemetery and the burned paper money, everyone was stunned.

In the eyes of everyone, they were early enough, but they didn't expect that someone would come to worship Mao Gong earlier than them, but ......

What about people?

Yang Ding's hometown approached Wei Dong, squatted down and touched the candle, frowned and said, "The candle is still hot, it shouldn't have gone far." ”

Hearing this, his son Wei Chi immediately ran to the top of the mountain, condescendingly looked around, and after a while, he returned to Yang Ding's side, clasped his fists and said: "Young master, I saw a group of people hurrying down the mountain from the northeast slope, it should be these people." ”

After that, he approached Yang Ding and whispered: "Looking at the clothes, it seems to be a bit similar to the people who followed us a few days ago. ”

"Huh?"

Yang Ding was stunned when he heard this, and immediately signaled Wei Chi not to make a noise.

After thinking for a while, he asked Mrs. Mao: "Old lady, does Gong Mao have friends who are good but not easy to show up?" ”

Old Madam Mao glanced at Yang Ding strangely, frowned and said, "You want to ask if your deceased husband had any outlaws during his lifetime?" ”

"Uh...... Forgiveness. ”

Yang Ding smiled and hurriedly explained: "That's not what I mean, don't blame the old lady." ”

“……”

Probably Mrs. Mao didn't like Yang Ding in the first place, so after taking a look at the latter, she walked to the tombstone of her deceased husband.

Yang Ding walked to the side with interest, watching Mrs. Mao worship Mao Gong with the officials of the Yexian County Government, and thought about this strange thing in his mind.

Obviously, the other party also came to worship Mao Gong, but why did he leave in a hurry? Don't want to meet them?

Is it not an appearance?

Also, those guys, are they really the ones who followed them a few days ago?

『…… Who could it be?'

The young man he had seen in the wine shop that day flashed in his mind, and Yang Ding fell into deep thought.

He regretted that he hadn't been able to look more closely that day.