Although Fang really didn't know the rules of words and deeds in the military, the fate of disobeying orders was very clear. He did not dare to slack off, and hurriedly told the coachman to turn the horse's head. Because the military order taught him to "return immediately", he couldn't pity the Hedong horse that he had bought with great difficulty, and urged the groom to "hurry up and hesitate". The groom whipped the horse with a whip and neighed, and spread his hooves and galloped all the way. It took him more than half an hour before and after he left the command yamen and walked here, and then he returned to the outer city of the east city gate, but it only took less than a moment.

The City Boor Division was located on the former site of the Mingzhou Ship Division in the Tang Dynasty. According to the records of the local annals, two hundred years ago, the Ship Division and the attached Rongchang were "dozens of acres in circumference, divided into nine Qu and twelve lanes, and Hujia of Goryeo, Wa, Zhenla, Tianzhu, Dashi, Persia and other countries have their own markets because of their origins, and they must not be mixed." He also said, "But when a boat arrives, the merchant must first carry out all the details until the lawsuit is inspected, and the financial books are in harmony, and after the tax is paid, he can get the market money, and then he can enter the market." Until today, there are still two fragments of stone tablets erected in the third year of Changqing in the Tang Dynasty outside the east gate of the field, with the handwriting of "no market money and no private goods". These two broken stone tablets are the best witnesses of Mingzhou City from prosperity to decline......

Fang Qu rushed to the commanding yamen with sweat on his head, and was immediately led to the main hall to see the commander.

However, the person who is now commanding the affairs in the yamen is no longer the old subordinate of Gu Shi who was selected by the military department. In mid-April, the Ministry of War considered that it was very likely that the affairs of the Eastern Wai would be resolved at the beginning of this autumn, and that the Qingzhou army would not arrive in the Eastern Empire until the summer of next year, and that during this period, all kinds of matters that occurred in the Eastern Wai would need to be arranged as a whole. This suggestion was both reasonable and reasonable, so it was quickly approved by the Prime Minister's Office. However, as soon as the official document of the newly established Sanjiang Command Yamen was issued, someone on the back foot revealed that Gu Shi's old subordinate had whipped the soldiers to death for no reason, and the human and material evidence was complete, and Gu Shi's old subordinates could not deny it at all, so they could only resign gloomily. The secretary of the military department immediately proposed that the matter of conquest of the Japanese could not be left unannounced, and Yan Xuan, the commander of Qingzhou who had taken over but had not yet left Beijing, was transferred to Mingzhou, and the vacant Qingzhou commander was replaced by Shangguan Rui, who joined the army of the Liyuan battalion. This is a hornet's nest; Originally, people from all walks of life had a tacit understanding, and the generals of the valley system led the troops to the east of the country, but as a result, Yan Gu tore his face and broke the rules from the oblique stab, which immediately triggered a competition for the position of the two newly established commanders. Gu Shi gritted his teeth against Yan Gu, but he could only help Yan Xuan keep the Qingzhou commander, and as for the Sanjiang commander, he had the heart and was powerless. Subsequently, the army in Beijing recommended their own people, all of whom wanted to hold the Sanjiang Command Yamen in the land of Jiangnan. However, the contradictions between the three parties have been going on for a long time, and they can't work together at all, and they look down on each other and tear each other down, and as a result, one is unlucky to be recommended, and one is nominated, and in less than half a month, four or five generals in Beijing who were originally very promising to be in Duzhen Dongwu were all dismissed. As soon as the rest of the people saw that the momentum was not good, they calmed down with a hot heart, either asking for sick leave or applying for a business trip to other places under the pretext of their relationship, in a word, this Sanjiang commander could not do it. The Prime Minister's Mansion is even more of a headache, who knew that a few days ago it was an errand to break his head, and in a blink of an eye, it became a mud pit? Moreover, the southern front is the key to controlling the overall situation, not only to uproot the Fujiwara clan and its important henchmen with a thunderous blow, but also to bear the heavy responsibility of ensuring the safety of hundreds of thousands of borrowed funds, which puts forward extremely high requirements for the generals who command the southern front operations, and the commander of Sanjiang must not only be good at military affairs, but also must gain the trust of the clan headed by the Eastern Yuan Emperor, so that the clan can rest assured of him! I have to say that such talents are really hard to find......

Seeing that time is passing day by day, there is a possibility that the strategy of the Eastern Widow will be delayed or even forced to cancel, from the clan to the prime minister's office to the six ministries of the imperial court, everyone has concentrated their anger on Yan Gu and the military department Shangshu who has joined forces with Yan Gu. But everyone tried to restrain their anger and not teach it to explode immediately. People are still hoping that someone can stand up and turn the tide and pull back the Dongwei strategy that is impossible to implement from the edge of the cliff!

Those who hoped for a miracle were not disappointed in the end, and finally someone bravely stood up.

Chen Pu, the princess of Changsha, who also led several positions such as the general of the Zhuguo, the squire of the military department, the deputy head of the Gyeonggi camp, and the deputy commander of the Liyuan battalion, recommended the guerrilla general Duan Si to the imperial court.

Although Duan Si's seniority and combat meritorious title were a long way from Sanjiang's position as commander, there were not many people who opposed him. First of all, Duan Si was recommended by Chen Pu, and the clan was very relieved of him; Secondly, Duan Si is an old man who followed Shang Yanshan very early, referring to the skills and achievements of Sun Fu, Shao Chuan, Zheng Qi and others, no matter how bad this person's ability is, it is not much worse; Third, Duan Si is Shang Yanshan's favorite general, and some of the actions of the imperial court have hurt Shang Yanshan, and now Duan Si is the commander of Sanjiang, which can be regarded as a kind of compensation for Shang Yanshan...... The last and most important reason is: If Duan Si is not allowed to go to Mingzhou, then who else goes? You can't teach the Dongwei strategy that has taken countless people's efforts to be stillborn, right? To sum up, Chen Pu's recommendation was approved on the same day. Duan Si, who was still serving as a battalion commander in the Yamen of the Plains General at that time, became the commander of Sanjiang with the rank of Ranger General in the blink of an eye, and also served as the deputy commander of Qingzhou.

Duan Si was also not ambiguous, and first asked Shang Cheng for instructions when he received the order, and then reported to the military department, and assigned Shang Cheng's guard battalion to Mingzhou to command the yamen. He received orders on the first day to prepare for the second day, and on the third day, he loaded and boarded the ship early in the morning, and went straight down the Sui-Tang Grand Canal. With the cooperation tiger talisman issued by the Prime Minister's Office and the Ministry of War, the officials and the people were unimpeded along the way, and it only took thirteen days and nights to rush to Mingzhou. Immediately afterwards, it was to rectify the various land and water soldiers and horses that had gathered in Mingzhou in the early stage, while raising boats and boats to mobilize grain and grass, and waiting for the opportunity to go to sea when the southeast wind rose. He originally planned to go to the offshore sea with a forbidden army for training today, but he never thought that two Mingzhou locals said that there were important secrets to tell him in person, and he couldn't make up his mind after hearing this, so he put down what he was doing and rushed back to the command yamen.

Now, he sat in the main hall, pointed to Fang Qu, who had just entered the door, and said, "Old Fang is here?" Sit down, I have something to ask you for! ”

Fang Qu's butt had just touched the chair, and when he heard him say this, he quickly stood up, and said that he didn't dare to take it seriously, and asked cautiously: "I don't know what the adults called me for?" ”

Duan Si smiled, pressed his shoulder to let him sit, and poured him most of the tea soup with the teapot, and said, "Okay, okay, don't drag the text for me!" You are fluttering in the sea, I am wandering around the mountains, I only know a few words, what is the tone of the jinshi to speak if you have nothing to do? He said that he also sat down, pointed to the two people sitting next to him and said, "You must know these two Mr. Qin, right?" ”

The two people hurriedly bowed and said that they didn't dare to be called Mr. Duan Si didn't pay attention to them either, just staring at Fang Qu.

Of course Fang did know these two people. Sitting at the top is Qin Dao, the current head of the Qin family, and the other is his eldest son, Qin Qi. The Qin family is also a maritime merchant in Mingzhou, if the prosperity of the family business is two points stronger than the Fang family, Qin Dao and Qin Qi are like this, who would not know them if they have a little bit of face in Mingzhou? But he didn't know exactly why they came to the command yamen, so he just nodded to Duan Si, indicating that he and these two were acquaintances. He was a little puzzled, according to the news he received, Qin Qi's ship was off the coast of Wengzhou that only arrived yesterday, why did their father and son appear here today?

Duan Si is a crisp style cultivated and tempered in the Yanshan Admiral's Mansion, as long as he talks about business, he will never drag mud and water. He said to the other party: "The two Mr. Qin have just returned from Zhenla. That's it, they said, when they were in Chenla at the end of last month, they found that the three-legged black in the sun was hidden, so they judged that there was a good chance that the south wind would not rise this year, and the direction of the wind south of Chenla might even change to a northwest or west wind, so they hurried back before June. He stared at Fang Qu with blazing eyes, and asked slowly, word by word, "Old Fang, I came to you just to ask, is there such a thing as walking on the sea?" Is it true that when you see the three-legged black disappearing, the wind direction will change? He didn't shy away from the two surnamed Qin at all, and asked more directly: "Is this that they are deceiving the public?" ”

Hearing the words "bewitching the public" popping out of Duan Si's mouth, the faces of the Qin family's father and son suddenly turned uncontrollably pale. But both of them were able to hold their breath and did not immediately defend themselves.

Fang Cheng froze at once. He never expected that Duan Si would come to him to ask about this.

He was born as a maritime merchant and had been running around the sea for many years, so he naturally knew whether this was a fallacy or not. He knew very well in his heart that the so-called three-legged black theory must also be one of the navigation skills mastered by the Qin family, just like the secret navigation charts, navigation routes and boat-making secrets of each family. Just because the Fang family has lived next to the Qin family in Mingzhou for two hundred years, but they have never heard of this "three-legged black", obviously, if they are not the descendants of the Qin family, it is impossible to know the inside story. Since the Qin family is now willing to contribute this secret that has been hidden for an unknown number of years, they must have a greater plan. What could this conspiracy be? It can only be the imperial court's eastward strategy.

He sighed inwardly. He knew that this news would definitely not be hidden from a shrewd person like the Qin family's father and son, even if Duan Si saw his brother's affection and came forward to refuse the request of the other two sea merchants to participate in the strategy of the Eastern War, but the Qin family came up to offer such a "big gift", and Duan Si, who was shouldering the heavy responsibility, would never be able to help the Fang family continue to conceal it. He understood even more that Duan Si asked him for advice in front of the Qin family's father and son, this was a signal that Duan Si had three points of faithfulness, how could he rush back from the dock on the outer islands?

He made up his mind in an instant to help the Qin family's father and son! It's better to let the Qin family remember the Fang family's favor than to offend them! What's more, he still has a strong feeling that if he stands up now and accuses the Qin family's father and son of the rumors, he is afraid that there will be a catastrophe in the near future.

Although Fang did decide to help, he was extremely cautious in his words. He said: "My lord, when sailing on the sea, each family has a skill that has not been passed down to the outside world. Some are good at distinguishing the direction of the wind, some can recognize the brackish seawater, some have the advantage of distinguishing the direction, the difference of thousands of miles of sea is not more than a few miles, some can predict the meteorological changes of the next day or days with the help of celestial phenomena and stars, and some can also judge the place they have passed through from the fish and shrimp in the water. The three-legged black elephant that the two Mr. Qin mentioned is a kind of celestial phenomenon. However, this is their uniqueness, and it is difficult for others to distinguish their authenticity. ”

Duan Si raised his face and smiled, and said, "This is a certainty. If anyone can understand it, then what kind of unique ability is it? He called in a small colonel on duty at the door, explained two sentences in a low voice, and said to the Qin family father and son, "I originally only believed in three points of your words, but the old man said it well, so he couldn't help but teach people to be faithful for five points." I won't inquire into your exclusive secrets. One by one, however, I put an unpleasant sentence here first, anything is easy to say now, after this hour, there is no chance to say it again! I'm not afraid to tell you that I don't know anything about the three-legged black, but my old boss is the most proficient in all things on the sea. I have just written a letter about your words, and sent them to Beijing by 800,000 miles of urgent delivery, and there will be a reply within half a month, I just hope that the two of you will not mistake yourself and others! As he spoke, the pro-soldier colonel who had just gone out came in with two pieces of brocade. Duan Si walked to the table, brushed a few strokes to add words to the brocade, and handed them to the Qin family father and son. "These are two titles. First wronged the two of you, temporarily be a martial artist in the barracks, help the old party deal with logistics affairs, and wait for the martial arts to be done, let's reward according to the merits! He turned around and said to the other party, "You tell them the details of the martial arts, and let them help you first......

Qin Qi suddenly had the courage to interject and said, "Under the ...... Oh no, it's a job...... I take the liberty of my post and want to ask my lordship, do I want to use troops against the Eastern War? ”

Duan Si turned his head to look at him and said with a smile: "You have a bit of vision. One by one, anyway, if you receive a military position, you will no longer be an outsider. You're right, I'm leading the army to the East! He smiled and said, "You don't have to be restrained. Like Lao Fang, although you have a military position, this is only a cheap way to make it convenient for you to enter and exit the barracks, so you don't have to be as strict as others. As long as you can keep it a secret and do things with all your heart, that's enough. ”

His words were both exhortations and comforts, and Qin Qi's heart was hot when he heard it, and he said a little excitedly: "Since the lord is leading the army to conquer the Eastern Wa, his post can lead the army." In the past 10 years, I have been in Dongwo three times, and I have known many people there. Especially in the port of Namba in Towa, I also know a local wealthy family, and I know them very well. This man had built a secret wharf in a remote place thirty miles north of Namba Port, and a large sea boat of 2,000 koku could be berthed side by side. ”

Duan Si is a northerner, but Qin Qi's Mingzhou accent is extremely strong, even if he speaks the official dialect of Shangjing, he has to guess to understand the words of the ten stops and the seven stops. Now that Qin Qi was in a state of excitement, he spoke at length, and the Mingzhou accent naturally became more and more obvious, and he was a little impatient when he landed, and his face was not very good-looking. He listened with a frown, and suddenly heard Qin Qi say that there was a dock port where a thousand stone boats could be moored, and in shock, he grabbed Qin Qi's arm and asked repeatedly: "The dock you are talking about, but is it really true?" ”

"Of course it's true!" Qin Qi did not hesitate to make a guarantee. That wharf was built secretly by him in order to avoid the collection of taxes by the Japanese and paid off the wealthy family, and most of the goods sold by the Qin family to the East were landed there, how could it be fake? He said, "That wealthy family also has a lot of power in Namba Port, and he is also a garrison official in Namba Port, so he has the power to mobilize local soldiers......

Duan Si laughed. A few days ago, he had been worrying about how to moor these hundreds of thousands of stone boats, how the soldiers and horses on the boats would go ashore, and he couldn't imagine that he would meet a pillow when he was sleepy, and this Qin Qi actually sent such a big gift! He patted Qin Qi's shoulder and said loudly, "Okay! As long as there is this dock, I will be seven points sure that I will send troops this time. I promise you now, as long as you succeed, regardless of martial arts, I will protect you with a seven-grade official body! ”