"Yes! At least that's what the letter says! Zhao Wende was stunned when he heard this, he saw a strange light in Liu Cheng's eyes, the last time he saw Liu Cheng's appearance was before setting off to raid He Renlong, he couldn't help but take a step back and asked, "What's wrong?" ”

"But there's no record in the Tang newspaper, is it? Did you see it in the Tang Daily? ”

"No, it may not have been delivered yet!"

"Impossible!" Liu Cheng sneered: "You just said that the eldest brother arrived in Xiangyang five days ago, and it will take at least three days to get from Nanyang to Xiangyang, which is seven days." Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 infoIf a big city like Nanyang is captured, it will definitely be sent to Jingshi with 800 miles of cavalry, and I am only two days later than Jingshi here, so why is there no news at all? Besides, the thieves will not fly to Nanyang City, from the mountainous areas of western Henan and northern Hubei to Nanyang, and they will always capture a few county towns along the way, but there is no Tang newspaper, don't you think this is very strange? ”

Only then did Zhao Wende react: "You mean that someone deliberately concealed the military information?" ”

"It's not anyone!" Liu Cheng laughed: "It's Hong Chengchou, except for him, no one has such courage, nor does he have such great ability, he can hide such a big thing!" ”

"Not bad!" Zhao Wende clapped his hands: "Nanyang is an important place of the sect, if it weren't for a high-ranking official of several provinces like Hong Chengchou, others would not dare to hide it, and they wouldn't be able to hide it!" But having said that, he can't hide it for a few days, Mr. Xu and Tang Wang have arrived in Xiangyang, presumably this news is also a matter of the past few days! ”

"Uh-huh!" Liu Cheng showed a playful smile on his face: "It's a pity, it's a pity, if the eldest brother doesn't mess with this idle matter and lets King Tang die in Nanyang City, it is estimated that Hong Chengchou, the governor, will be done." King Tang is not dead, he may still have the opportunity to make meritorious contributions! ”

"The sky has no eyes, let the old thief Hong escape this catastrophe!" Zhao Wende sneered, he was Yang He's staff at the beginning, and he also knew that there was Hong Chengchou's black hand behind the failure of the old master's appeasement strategy, and now he saw that Hong Chengchou was also in a similar situation, so he was naturally very happy, but he was not sent to prison, and he was still a little unsatisfied.

"Jiansheng, don't be anxious!" Liu Cheng said with a smile, he walked to the bookcase on the side, took out a scroll of maps and unfolded it in front of Zhao Wende: "You see, this Nanyang extends in all directions, the west can go to Hanzhong, Guanzhong, the south can go to Jingxiang, the northeast can go to the Central Plains, and the southwest can go to Huaishang, even if the Tang King is not dead, Hong Chengchou's overall situation of setting up a net on ten sides to suppress thieves has also been broken. ”

"That's what your lord said!" Zhao Wende said with a smile, he knew very well that since ancient times, the official army could not compare mobility with the thieves, and the main strategy to deal with the thieves was to control the key points, force them into the mountainous areas where supplies were difficult, limit their mobility and then exterminate them, if they were allowed to rush into the rich plains, even if they could be wiped out, the damage caused to the local economy would often take decades or even centuries to recover. After the thieves invaded the Nanyang Basin this time, there were too many ways to choose out, and it was impossible for Hong Chengchou to prevent them from flowing to other places, and the officials in the court in the damaged areas would definitely attack him vigorously, and he would soon be able to taste the taste of Yang He's appeasement strategy in Shaanxi.

"That's right!" Zhao Wende patted his thigh lightly and said with a smile: "I almost forgot about what the adults said, Mr. Xu still wants to ask the adults for instructions in the letter!" ”

"What's the matter?"

"Mr. Xu said that this Tang King is a virtuous king, and his younger brother wants to stay with Tang Wang to find an envoy, and he asks for your grace!"

"King Xian?" Liu Cheng smiled: "You and I know what kind of virtue those vassal kings in the imperial court are, how else can they be virtuous?" ”

"Your Excellency!" Zhao Wende handed the letter to Liu Cheng, Liu Cheng took the letter and read it carefully, the original mocking expression on his face gradually disappeared, and finally sighed: "If it is like what is written in the letter, it is really rare, but it's a pity, it's a pity!" ”

Zhao Wende didn't speak, he knew very well what Liu Cheng meant by the two pity, obviously saying that the identity of this Tang King was quite embarrassing, he was thinking about it, but he heard Liu Cheng suddenly ask: "Is the younger brother mentioned in the letter the one who fought with the eldest brother for the position of sect leader at the beginning, and later secretly manipulated Chen Zhenhui in Jingshi to injure Wen Tiren?" ”

"Yes, it's this person, it seems to be called Xu Wanren!"

"It's strange, I hated it to death at the beginning, I looked like I was going to peel off my skin and bones, and now I'm writing a letter for him, I really don't understand!" Liu Cheng shook his head and smiled.

"After all, it's a close relative!" Zhao Wende said with a smile: "Mr. Xu's parents seem to have gone, and there are no other brothers and sisters, this younger brother is his only blood relative in the world, as the saying goes, broken bones and tendons, what is the indelible enmity between brothers?" ”

"That's what I said, but how do you look at his younger brother is a cold-hearted person, and he is easy to take risks, I'm afraid that people will not hurt the tiger's heart, and the tiger will hurt people!"

"Then, do you mean that you are against letting that guy go to King Tang's side?"

"No, I wrote back that I have no opinion!"

Zhao Wende was confused by Liu Cheng all of a sudden, and asked, "My lord, why are you doing this?" ”

"Didn't I just say that? It hurts to put a tiger next to my eldest brother, but that Tang King is not my eldest brother, what does it have to do with us whether he is dead or alive? If Xu Wanqian wants to die, it's his own business, anyway, it's just an idle chess, let's wait and see. Liu Cheng sneered: "The most important thing now is the affairs of the imperial court, without the order of the imperial court, the factory on the Chaoyi side will not last long!" ”

Zhao Wende nodded, as Liu Cheng's henchman, he knew very well what Liu Cheng was referring to. In order to be able to provide the equipment for the planned expansion of the army, the factory in Chaoyi has been clockwork to expand production capacity since the beginning of the year, so that the quality of the products in the first few months has declined to a certain extent, but the problem is that these expanded production capacity must be supported by corresponding purchasing power in the final analysis. The expansion of production capacity at the beginning of the year will become a deadly poison, and Liu Cheng is likely to fall into the dilemma of not being able to pay his military salary.

"Your Excellency!" Zhao Wende pondered his tone for a moment and said in a low voice: "The subordinates think that this time Hong Chengchou's incident in Nanyang is an opportunity!" ”

"Hong Chengchou's matter in Nanyang? How so? ”

"My lord, think about it after Nanyang is captured this time, no matter whether Hong Chengchou wants to go to work for crime or not, the extermination of the thieves in the customs is another situation, and it will only get bigger and bigger. No matter who the future thief governor is, he will definitely ask for more troops and salaries, isn't this an opportunity for the Hongyang? ”

"Hmm!" Liu Cheng nodded: "That's right, then the most important thing at the moment is to figure out who this person is, Jiansheng, you write a letter to Gonggong Hu for me, and let him pay attention to it for me!" ”

"Yes, sir!"

Finally finished processing all the letterheads, Liu Cheng put on a heavy wolf skin cloak - although it was already the end of May, but the night in Datong was still very cold, and he accidentally caught a cold, he walked to the door and suddenly stopped: "Mr. Zhao, as soon as there is news from Ahmat, notify me immediately, no matter what time it is!" ”

"Yes, sir!" Zhao Wende smiled: "It seems that your attention is still in the north!" ”

"Jiansheng!" Liu Cheng turned around, without the usual smile on his face: "Believe me, the key to victory or defeat is not in Beijing, not in the Central Plains, not in Jiangnan, Fujian, Guangdong, in Liaodong, outside the Guan, in North Korea, whoever controls there will have the future!" ”

Hulun Lake.

"Move closer to the estuary, the fish are bigger!" Acton shouted without looking back, he could clearly see the fish swimming in the water, but they were too small to be what he wanted. The oarsman behind him answered, and after a few strokes, the boat sailed like an arrow in the direction of the estuary.

As the boat approached the mouth of the river, the shaking became violent. Acton spread his legs so that he could stand still in the small boat made of animal skins and wicker, and the spring snowmelt had increased the water of several rivers flowing into the huge lake, and the lake had risen sharply, and the waters near the mouth of the river had become so turbulent that the boats began to shake violently. However, it is also the place where the most fish are caught, especially the salmon, which are not yet at their fattest, but individuals over 20 feet long can often be seen. The meat is very fatty, contains a lot of fat, and can be preserved for a long time after being salted and dried, and the Jurchens and Mongols often used it as a dry food for hunting. This was also the main purpose of Acton - they were running out of dry food, and they had to prepare some dry food here for the next formation.

As the boat approached the estuary, the speed slowed down, the fish swam in the clear water, their scales glowing seductively in the sunlight, and two identical wicker boats rowing nearby, the local Arronds fishing, Acton ignored them, took out the harpoon with a rope on the tail from the cabin, and looked for his target.

Soon the target appeared, a twenty-foot-long salmon, a fierce carnivorous fish swimming rapidly in the estuary, looking for its prey, its blue-brown back was not easy to see in the water, only an opaque shadow could be seen swimming, and the smaller fish around it scattered and made a mess underwater.

Acton raised his harpoon, but hesitated. He is quite confident in his hunting skills, but the pursuit of this salmon will make the water turbid, coupled with the refraction of the underwater light, he does not have the confidence to stab at once, and the salmon that can grow to such a large is at least ten years old, they are all cunning and ferocious old fish, and they are so frightened that they will definitely hide in the deep water, and it is difficult to catch them. While hesitating, Acton suddenly saw a wild duck fall to the surface of the lake and began to look for food, he couldn't help but be happy, and whispered to his companion behind him: "Don't make a noise, there's a good show to watch!" ”

The wild duck floated on the water, pewing at the small fish and shrimp on the surface of the water from time to time, and was proud, when suddenly a shadow appeared under the water. Before it could react to what was going on, it was dragged into the water, and a splash appeared on the water, leaving only a circle of ripples.

"Quick, quick!" Acton hurriedly urged his companions, and stood on the side of the ship with his harpoon raised, looking for traces of the salmon. He knew in his heart that the great fish's favorite food was not fish and shrimp, but waterfowl, otters, and small animals that came to the shallow waters to drink and feed, and in the enchanting legend of the beggar fish, this fierce fish could drag even hunters who approached the water's edge into the lake to eat. Soon he found the prey, which had drowned the duck and was trying to swallow it, perhaps because it was enjoying its prey, and then it let its guard down and turned over to reveal its white belly, which stood out in the sunlight.

"Hah!" Acton exhaled and threw the harpoon at the target, the sharp harpoon immediately tore through the water, piercing deep into the belly of the salmon, the ferocious beast twisted its six-meter-long body in pain, its powerful tail slapped against the bottom of the lake, splashing a large amount of mud and sand, and soon Acton's vision was blocked, and the only thing he could be sure of was that he had stabbed the target, and the only thing he could be sure of was the wisps of blood that had risen to the surface.

"Quick, help me tighten the rope!" Acton shouted excitedly, even with his strength, he couldn't compare with this salmon, not to mention that this salmon was longer than the two of them combined. Several people hurriedly pulled the rope, and Acton forced the rope on the stake of the bow rope seven or eight times before he was relieved: "Okay, I'm not afraid of him running away!" ”

"Acton, this fish has so much strength, will it break the rope or break the iron fork!"

"Impossible!" Acton pulled the rope tighter for a while, and then loosened the rope to drain the strength of the salmon, and said with a smile: "This rope is kneaded with cow tendons, and several cows are constantly pulling, and the harpoon is with inverted teeth, and I will find its belly and pierce it, unless this beast does not want intestines, it will definitely not be able to break free!" Don't look at its strength now, it won't be able to bleed in half a ring! ”

Sure enough, as Acton had predicted, after about half a meal, the salmon's struggle became weak. The people in the boat rowed with all their strength to the shore, and when they were still six or seven feet away from the shore, Acton jumped into the water, and the water was only up to his waist, and he dragged the fish over, and with the help of his companions he was lifted into the boat, and climbed into the boat again, and the boat sank at once, and the lake was only a palm's length from the side of the boat.

"What a big salmon!" Acton excitedly pulled out the dagger from his waist, slashed at the back of the fish, peeled off the skin of the fish to reveal the snow-white flesh, he cut a piece and stuffed it into his mouth, chewed it, and shouted while eating: "Delicious, delicious, this is the taste, how many years have I not eaten it!" (To be continued.) )