In late October, the county government of Hedong was jubilant, because the Taishou Yan Xing married the Pei family, married the lady of the Pei family, this is a rare event in Hedong in recent years, on the wedding day, the team of greeting relatives rode the road, the drum music was noisy, from outside the city to the city, you can see dense people along the way.

On the streets of Anyi City, the crowd is even more crowded, and the guests who are invited to come to the county government for a banquet and take the initiative to offer congratulatory gifts to Taishou are like a tide, and the streets outside the county hall are full of all kinds of carts and cars.

Yan Xing has promulgated a decree of thrift this year, but he didn't want to be extravagant, how can he be in a high position, marrying both sides of the hot government Taishou, and the other side is the famous Wenxi Pei family, the guests are crowded, competing to celebrate, and the civil and military under his command are even gathered in Anyi to celebrate their lord.

And Yan Shi, who was in charge of the wedding, also believed that this matter was not only about the majesty of the county government, but also conducive to Yan Xing's Xiliang people taking root in Hedong, so the county government rested for three days and feasted guests, and the festive occasion of the marriage of the two families became the most talked about thing in Anyi Shimin this year.

Compared with the festivity of Hedong Anyi, the Linjin City with a strip of water seems to usher in the late autumn slaughter in advance, there is a team of light horse scouts outside the city from time to time to drive by, the military camp in the city is also the frequent transfer of sergeants, the blacksmith in the city "clanging" forging sound does not stop all day long, and the patrol soldiers on the city wall at night have increased significantly······

And under the atmosphere of the city's defense, an invisible undercurrent is surging.

Linjin City, the hall of the official temple.

"General Zhonglang, the military baggage transported from Hedong has arrived in the city, with a total of 3,000 Wei Ben, 4,000 winter clothes, 100,000 stone grain and grass, and a number of ordnance, which have been verified and put into storage, and suddenly come to restore their lives!"

Meng Tu, who had returned from Hedong to escort the military quartermasters, stood on the hall and shouted to Ganling, and the scribe in the hall held the account book and handed it to Ganling at a trot.

"With Lao Mengsi, everything is okay in Hedong?"

Gan Ling asked with a smile. On the occasion of Yan Xing's wedding, as the number one general under his command, Gan Ling originally wanted to rush to Anyi in person to congratulate Yan Xing, but he was burdened with a heavy responsibility, and he was responsible for the defense of the city of Xihe, and he did not dare to leave Xihe without permission.

So Gan Ling could only send a fast horse to deliver a letter to Anyi in Hedong, and while offering a congratulatory gift, he also explained to Yan Xing the situation in Xihe, and his own hardships of not daring to leave the defense area lightly in this special period.

After Yan Xing saw Ganling's letter, he immediately repaired a letter, and sent a fast horse back to Xihe, clarifying his trust, and telling Ganling not to leave Linjin for his wedding, and return to Anyi in Hedong, and everything was focused on the defense of Xihe.

Although Gan Ling, who received Yan Xing's letter, was relieved, he couldn't help but ask about the situation in Hedong when he saw Meng Tu returning from Hedong.

"The general trained in Tuntian, Hedong, and won the hearts of the people. Hedong is politically harmonious, and everything is very good. ”

Meng Tu also smiled when he talked about Hedong.

"That's good, that's good."

"However, after returning to Linjin suddenly, I heard a lot of rumors."

Meng Tu suddenly changed his words, glanced at Gan Ling a few times, and said slowly.

"Oh, what's the rumor in Linjin?"

"There are rumors in Linjin City, saying that Zhonglang will not go to Hedong Anyi, personally congratulate General Pingbei, repair the city defense, and straighten the sergeants, I'm afraid there is——"

"What's it?"

Meng Tu said this, he wanted to speak and stopped, his eyes stared directly at Gan Ling, and Gan Ling also noticed the strangeness in his words, and met Meng Tu's gaze and asked intently.

Meng Tu looked at Gan Ling's face, and after a while, he didn't see anything unusual, so he said slowly.

"I'm afraid I have different ambitions and want to divide one side."

When Gan Ling heard Meng Tu's words, his heart chuckled, his pupils also dilated a little, he stared at Meng Tu, and asked quickly:

"You just returned to Xihe from Hedong, where did you hear the rumors, was it in the city or in the army?"

"Don't hide it from the general, I first learned about it from the soldiers, and later found out that there were also secret rumors in the city."

Hearing Meng Tu's words, Gan Ling instantly fell silent. It can be secretly spread in the army, and it is obvious that many soldiers already know about it, and the spread among the markets proves that this groundless statement has captured the hearts of some people.

What's more serious is that he has not received a report from his military officials on this matter in the past few days.

Gan Ling knew the seriousness of this matter, and he also understood the truth that the three of them became tigers, so he hurriedly asked people to summon Ma Lin and prepare to ask him about the situation of the officers and men in the army and the influence of the army's morale.

Gan Ling was also in charge of the affairs of Xihe, and did not stay in the army all the time, and Ma Lin, as the captain of the trap, stayed in the army for a long time, if this matter spread in the army, he must have known.

Soon, Ma Lin strode into the hall of the official temple.

"Gongshi, have you heard rumors in the army recently, I want to defend the east of the river and divide one side?"

Gan Ling and Ma Lin are both old men in the army, although Gan Ling left halfway and stayed under Niu Fu, but Ma Lin knew Gan Ling's hardships, and the two are still friends.

Therefore, as soon as they met, Gan Ling did not say anything tentative, but went straight to Ma Lin to ask questions.

Ma Lin groaned slightly, and said directly:

"The rumors you said are slightly different from what I heard in the army, the rumors in the army that most of the soldiers are people from Sanfu and Liangdi, and they don't want to stay away from their homeland in Kansai and enter Hedong, so they want to support Zhonglang General Changzhen Xihe."

"At first, I thought it was just that the soldiers were in love with the soil, so I didn't care, but now that I think about it, this kind of rumor has begun to spread in the army."

Gan Ling listened to Ma Lin's words, his face was solemn, he was responsible for the heavy responsibility, out of the town, what he was most worried about was not the enemy in front of him, but those secret enemies who could not see and lurked around him.

These rumors are much the same, the target is directly directed at oneself, and if they can spread in the market and in the military, there is naturally a place that can win the hearts of the people. Ma Lin said that he didn't care, and it was estimated that he actually had scruples, and planned to take a look at the changes in Ganling's actions before taking action, and then take action.

"In just a few days, these rumors have been spread in the army and in the city, and it seems that this secret enemy is very likely to be the enemy's spies, and even the military officials in the army."

Gan Ling said worriedly. In the land of the West River, there are Hedong people who miss their hometown and return to their hearts like arrows, as well as Qin Hu soldiers and Xiliang soldiers who are nostalgic for their homeland, as well as a large number of homeless groups with mixed fish and dragons, as well as enemy spies lurking in the shadows, and members with mixed composition, which is destined to be a hotbed for rumors to breed and spread.

Gan Ling knew that Guo Yan had the intention of seizing the city of Xihe, so he did not dare to leave Xihe lightly, and kept repairing the city defenses, reorganizing the soldiers and horses, and strengthening the defense of Zuo Fengyi's soldiers and horses.

However, under the spread of some well-intentioned people, Ganling's behavior also seemed to have a dissent to Yan Xing in Hedong, and planned to divide the land of Xihe to stand on his own, so he did not dare to take the risk in person, and at the same time repaired the city fortifications of Linjin City, trained Qianghu Yicong who were only loyal to himself, and guarded against attacks and crusades from Hedong.

If you are not a person who knows the inside story, it will be difficult to distinguish these rumors for a while, not to mention that these rumors still have their own emphasis, and they sound very serious, so they are very popular in Linjin City.

Ma Lin and Meng Tu glanced at each other, in fact, when they first heard these rumors, they also had concerns in their hearts, and they didn't dare to report to Ganling rashly without knowing the inside story, after all, it was a big matter, if it weren't for Meng Tu returning from Hedong, he noticed the danger behind the rumors, and personally tested Ganling today, I'm afraid these rumors will really continue to be spread.

"My Gan Shusheng's loyalty to General Pingbei can be seen every day. Gongshi, you and I are old people in the army who have been with the general for a long time, Zichao is the leader of the army with heavy military weapons, you and I are appointed as generals, and I am assisted in Hedong, which is my right-hand man, and now there are such rumors prevailing in the city, I am afraid that it is the enemy spies who are making trouble, and we still need to find it out and eradicate it as soon as possible, so as not to be affected by it and lose morale. ”

After Ma Lin and Meng Tu listened to Ganling's words, Meng Tu groaned, and Ma Lin took the lead in speaking:

"General Zhonglang, what you said is extremely true, I believe in your loyalty to the general, such a person who spreads rumors in the army has sinister intentions, and must not be eliminated, as long as you give an order, I will immediately lead the troops to pull him out!"

Meng Tu opened his mouth and continued:

"This matter is indeed not to be taken lightly, but since it is determined that the person who spreads these rumors is a person with ill intentions, it is not possible to act rashly, lest it alarm the other party and make him stop his actions, but it will be difficult to find out the spy hiding in the shadows."

After listening to the opinions of the two, Gan Ling nodded, and he immediately ordered:

"In this case, then we will wait for the troops to stay still, Gongshi will continue to be responsible for training soldiers and strengthening the city defense, while Zichao is responsible for following the rumors and secretly visiting the people who spread the rumors, and after collecting evidence, we will arrest and punish such ill-intentioned people, so as to enforce military discipline in the army and reassure the people in the city!"

Ma Lin and Meng Tu immediately received the order, each retreated, and went to the army.

When the two of them retreated, Gan Ling sat on the seat, his face contemplative and his face solemn.

The reason why he wanted to entrust Ma Lin and Meng Tu to this matter, instead of personally investigating the person who was secretly spreading rumors, was that he was afraid that this matter would become darker and darker, and the more chaotic it became.

If there are more rumors that he has excluded dissidents from the army, and his traces have been exposed, it will really be more difficult to solve.

Therefore, Gan Ling wants to entrust this matter to his lieutenant general in the army to solve it, and he will not move, which is not only to confuse the secret spy, but also to celebrate his own suspicion, so that Ma Lin and Meng Tu will believe in themselves more.

However, this matter still has to be reported to Yan Xing in Anyi, lest these rumors spread and flow into Hedong, which will really cause more evil consequences.

Thinking of this, Gan Ling sighed, the current Linjin City seemed to be heavily guarded and orderly, but in fact, there was already an undercurrent surging, and it was extremely dangerous.

This is really, the mountain rain is coming, and the wind is full of buildings!

···

Linjin, a large camp outside the city.

Outside Yang Feng's military tent, the candidate gently opened the tent door and leaned in.

Yang Feng was in the tent on this matter, and after he saw the candidate, he immediately showed joy and asked:

"How's it going in the city?"

"I have secretly sent henchmen to spread the rumors, and according to your previous instructions, send different subordinates, choose different places, use different methods, and mix different contents, which will definitely make it difficult for the people in the city to distinguish the truth from the false for a while, and the military will be confused."

The candidate replied in a low voice, Yang Feng slapped his hands and laughed when he heard this, he suppressed the excitement in his heart and didn't let himself laugh too loudly.

"I have taken the risk of doing so many things, if we can really succeed and sacrifice these cities of Xihe, what the other party promised, can I really fulfill it?"

The candidate looked at Yang Feng who was smiling, but he was still a little worried, he looked at Yang Feng and asked worriedly.

"You can rest assured, the person who came is the general of the chariot cavalry, this time, the two generals Li and Guo of Chang'an, are determined to seize the cities of Xihe, if we can successfully dedicate the city, break away from the east of the river, and wait for the general, it will not be a problem."

The corners of Yang Feng's mouth raised, and he swore and promised, and he looked at the candidate again and said:

"I think that when you were in Hedong, you were also a strong man who divided a county, but the situation was forced to surrender Yan Yan, but how could they really treat us and others who surrendered, and they still regarded us as thieves in their hearts, and the credit was not gained, but it was used as a tool, from Pingyang to Pi's, and then from Pi's to Xihe."

"Especially that Zhai Hao, who is proud of his achievements, He Zeng has looked at us and others with a straight eye. Rather than continue to be angry under Yan Yan's command and have no future, it is better to take the opportunity to sacrifice the city in exchange for the glory and wealth of Chang'an. ”

The candidate glanced at the excited Yang Feng, sighed, and said:

"If you hadn't come to me in person, I really didn't think that I would have to turn my back on Hedong, under the command of General Pingbei, although the military discipline is strict, but there are clear rewards and punishments, if you can survive in Xihe for a period of time, and then make some military merits, maybe you will be able to become your own people under the command of General Pingbei."

"Hehe, what you think is too simple, this Yan Yan command, there are his Xiliang soldiers and horses, and there are also local people and horses in Hedong, restraining each other, I wait for such surrendered thieves, if you want to make meritorious contributions, it is really more difficult than ascending to the sky, I am not afraid to tell you, not only you, but also other people, also plan to turn their backs on Hedong, and are ready to exchange Linjin City for fame and wealth."

"Who?"

Hearing Yang Feng sneer, the candidate's eyes couldn't help but light up, and he asked in a low voice, Yang Feng blinked when he heard this, and said mysteriously:

"Zuo Fengyi's husband Mengji also secretly took refuge in the two generals Li and Guo, you must know that he wants to become Zuo Fengyi's tribal lord, this matter, not only Ganling can help him, Chang'an can also help him, but also can give him a higher status, how can Fu Mengji not work?"

"If Feng Yiqiang's people also join in, then I have a better chance of waiting, but I don't know when to do it?"

Hearing that Zuo Fengyi was also going to join, the candidate also became a little excited, and he asked eagerly.

"Naturally, the sooner the better, you know, although those rumors can confuse people's hearts, but they are only for a short time, and after a while, the connection between Xihe and Hedong is still close, and there is no rebellion in Ganling, then these rumors will also collapse."

"Besides, although this rumor is spread in the dark, if you track it down, you may not be able to find out who is spreading it, after all, it takes some time and effort to find out who is spreading it, and you can always trace it to your head."

Listening to Yang Feng's words, the candidate nodded.

"Go back to the city and prepare well, I think, it's just a few days before you dedicate yourself to the city."