Governor Liu took the order for the transfer of troops from the governor of the three sides, Wu Zhiwang, and left.

Governor Wu watched Governor Liu leave with a worried face, and said to Hong Chengchou, who participated in the politics of Shaanxi: "Liu Zhilun has a strong temperament, and there is the trust of the emperor and Cao Ge Lao in the court, he took the governor's transfer warrant to go to Xu Liang to transfer troops, I am worried that there will be more stiffness between him and Xu Liang, Yan Yin, I have to ask you to run, with Governor Liu sending troops together, with you between the two of them, the situation will at least have an intermediate buffer, so as not to make trouble that cannot end." ”

Hong Shenzheng shook his head with a wry smile and said: "Originally, we all thought that Xu Liang's promotion to the prefect of Pingliang was foolproof, and he was promoted to Xu Liang as the prefect, and gave Xu Liang an explanation. Who knew that Liu Zhilun, a soldier of the military department, suddenly inserted in the middle...... Alas, Governor, it is difficult to do things at the bottom. ”

Governor Wu's expression was gloomy, and he said with understanding: "Yan Yin, the old man is a person who lives a day anyway, but you are different, and your career is still promising." The position of a province's participation in politics is not big or small, and it has no decision-making power, so it can only be used as a transitional period, and it is not appropriate for you to stay in this position for too long. There is someone above Governor Liu, you have to be closer to him. ”

"Xia Guan understands." Hong participated in the political road.

"It's not too early, you can go."

"Yes. Take care, adults. Hong gave up his hand in politics, turned around and strode away.

Hong Shenzheng caught up with the team of Liu Zhilun, the governor of Shaanxi, on the way back to Pingliang City, and returned to Pingliang City together.

At this time, three or four thousand Ming troops had gathered outside Pingliang City, and He Renlong, the Qingyang garrison, saw Governor Liu and Hong coming back from politics, and stepped forward to greet the two. Governor Liu and Hong entered Pingliang City. I didn't even go to the prefect's yamen, and went straight to the Xu Mansion on the edge of the north city gate.

knocked on the door of the Xu Mansion. The person who received it was Feng Suqin, the eldest lady of the Xu Mansion.

Since she was the hostess, Governor Liu didn't want to stay in the Xu Mansion for a long time. At the door of the Xu Mansion, he asked Feng Suqin directly: "Xu Liang can be in the mansion?" ”

Feng Suqin shook his head and said, "My father-in-law left Pingliang a few days ago and went to other places, and he has not returned yet. Two adults, please come to the house. ”

Governor Liu shook his head and said in a deep voice, "Where did Lord Xu go?" When will I be able to return? ”

Feng Suqin said: "Xianggong went in a hurry, and he didn't tell him the specific place before leaving. As for when I'll be back, I don't know. ”

Governor Liu's face was displeased, he looked at Feng Suqin scrutinically, raised his voice and asked, "You are Lord Xu's genuine wife, Xu Liang went out for some reason, where did he go?" How long will you go, you don't know? Don't you want to deceive the official? ”

Governor Liu's face immediately sank, and he faintly assumed the official authority of the head of a province.

However, Feng Suqin is in charge of the business operations of the Xu Mansion, and recently took over the position of vice president of the Pingliang Chamber of Commerce. In the face of the red-robed high-ranking officials in the court, there is no stage fright at all, in other words, Xu Liang himself is a red-robed high-ranking official from the fourth grade, and Feng Suqin sees it almost every day.

I only heard Feng Suqin bow slightly, and replied lukewarmly: "Return to Lord Governor." Although I am the eldest lady of the Xu Mansion, when I go to the Yihua Women's Taoist family, I don't understand the affairs of your officialdom, where the Xianggong is going. What to do, he felt the need to sue me, and naturally let me know. If he doesn't tell me, then most of these things have nothing to do with me. ”

Governor Liu listened. looked at Feng Suqin in surprise, and secretly said that this woman is also at stake. In the face of his dignified three-rank official in the DPRK, he was not afraid at all, and refuted himself eloquently.

Governor Liu was about to ask a few more questions, and Hong Shenzheng on the side stepped forward and said: "Zhongcheng, since Lord Xu has gone out and has not returned, then we can only wait for Xu Liang to come back." ”

Governor Liu glared and said, "How can that happen?" Xu Liang is not here, who will this warrant be handed over to this official? ”

Hong Shenzheng frowned, and said embarrassedly: "The warrant of Lord Wu, the governor of the three sides, was given to Xu Liang, and this warrant is naturally only qualified by Lord Xu. It's just that Xu Liang is not in the house at the moment...... It's not going to be easy. Mrs. Feng, do you know who Lord Xu went out with? ”

Feng Suqin looked at Hong Shenzheng, with a little smile on his face, and said, "I know this, Xianggong went out with General Sima." ”

The artillery battalion owner Sima Qiudao, Hong Shenzheng also knew this person, and when he heard that Xu Liang went out with Sima Qiudao, Hong Shenzheng guessed that it was most likely a matter in Liang's army.

Feng Suqin said again: "If the two adults have any instructions to convey to my father-in-law, I can transfer this on my behalf." ”

Governor Liu's expression moved, and he said, "Mrs. Feng has taken the warrant, can she act according to the warrant immediately?" ”

Feng Suqin shook her head and said, "The adults laughed. The things of Xianggong are all earth-shattering things, which is what a little woman can do as a master. I'm just transferring, and as for when it will be handed over to the prime minister, and whether the prime minister can act according to the meaning of the warrant, I can't do this. ”

Governor Liu was displeased and said, "In that case, then what's the use of you taking this warrant?!" ”

Feng Suqin couldn't help but be a little angry by Governor Liu's attitude, lowered her eyelids, and said lightly: "Two adults, just let me say nothing." ”

Governor Liu brushed his sleeves and left, returning to the prefect's yamen, holding the warrant written by Governor Wu himself, but he was worried, he was originally a military squire when he was in Beijing, and he was not ignorant of military affairs. If the Liang army did not send a single soldier, relying on the patchwork of more than 6,000 Ming troops, but had to face nearly 100,000 people's troops, the chance of winning this war would be almost zero. After going around the lobby of the prefect's yamen a few times, Governor Liu gritted his teeth and stomped his feet, pulled Hong to participate in politics and took a carriage to the Liang Jundong camp.

Hong Shenzheng followed Governor Liu to the East Camp of the Liang Army in a daze, and saw Xing Zhongshan, the deputy general of the Liang Army stationed in the East Camp, Governor Liu didn't say a word, and found out the warrant of the trilateral governor Wu Zhiwang and slapped it in front of Vice General Xing, and shouted in a deep voice: "On the order of the trilateral governor Wu Zhiwang, this time to reinforce Xi'an Mansion, the Liang army sent 30,000 troops!" This is Governor Wu's handwritten warrant, General Xing, please order troops to go out with this officer. ”

Hong Shenzheng listened to Governor Liu's words, and was shocked, and secretly said that it was going to be bad.

Sure enough, Xing Zhongshan picked up the warrant on the table with one hand, looked at it, and sneered. He threw it back to Governor Liu and said, "Lord Zhongcheng is afraid that he has made a mistake." I Liang army up and down. Only obey the orders of Lord Xu Liang Xu. What you wrote on it is the name of the Governor of the Three Sides, Lord Wu Zhiwang, I'm sorry. Although the last general also respects Governor Wu very much, the military order is like a mountain, and the last general does not dare to disobey the military order! ”

Governor Liu glared at Xing Zhongshan and said, "This is exactly the warrant that Governor Wu passed to Xu Liang!" ”

Xing Zhongshan said bluntly: "Then please ask the governor to hand over the warrant to Lord Xu, and Lord Xu will give the order, say what to do, and the Liang army will follow the order." ”

Governor Liu snorted coldly and sneered: "Xu Liang is such a great official. Don't even dare to obey Governor Wu's warrant?! ”

Xing Zhongshan raised his eyelids lightly and said indifferently: "The military order is like a mountain." ”

"You?" Governor Liu was so angry that he almost vomited blood, and glared at Xing Zhongshan angrily.

Seeing this, Hong Shenzheng hurriedly stood between the two, separated the two, and said warmly to Xing Zhongshan: "General Xing abides by the military order, but it is understandable. It's just that...... At present, Lord Xu is not in the city, and the warrant of Governor Wu will not reach Lord Xu, and the army will soon set out. At this time, it was too late to find Lord Xu again. General Xing, is there a workaround? ”

Xing Zhongshan smiled at Hong's participation in politics and said, "Well, there is also a way." ”

"Huh? What is it. Say it! Governor Liu was overjoyed and hurriedly urged.

Xing Zhongshan only has Hong participating in politics in his eyes, and regards Governor Liu as nothing. said: "Liang Jun goes on the expedition, or Lord Xu comes to the school in person." Military orders were issued. Otherwise, it is the military order written by Lord Xu himself. And stamped with the handsome seal of the Liang army, as soon as the handsome seal came out, if Lord Xu came in person, the military order was also counted. ”

Governor Liu and Hong participated in politics and suddenly collapsed.

If you want Xu Liang to write a handwritten letter, you also have to print a handsome seal! Don't you have to go to Xu Liang!

Governor Liu still didn't give up, and asked again: "Is there any other way?" ”

Xing Zhongshan shook his head vigorously and said, "There is no other way with these two methods." ”

Governor Liu walked out of the East Battalion, and cursed indignantly all the way: "What kind of army is this, ignoring the warrants of the three governors, Lord Wu!" How unreasonable! He turned his head to look at Hong Shenzheng again, and said in a deep voice: "Yanyin, after returning to the city, you must record all the arrogance and rudeness of the soldiers of the Liang army, and ask the court to punish them severely!" ”

Hong Shenzheng smiled bitterly and said, "Lord Zhongcheng, it's useless. The nature of this Liang army was not the same as that of the regular court army. At the beginning, the emperor's decree only recognized the number of Liang Jun, and the court no longer allocated other grains, grass and silver. Therefore, the Liang army is soldiers, food and grass have been released, and the soldiers of the Liang army only obey the orders of the Liang army general Xu Liang. ”

"......" Governor Liu was speechless and cursed for a while.

Governor Liu returned to the prefect's yamen with nothing. As soon as I sat down, I received three or four urgent letters from Xi'an for help. Governor Liu said to Hong to participate in politics: "The matter of sending troops and reinforcements can not be delayed any longer, and this official has decided to lead the army to the expedition tomorrow." Regarding Xu Liang's transfer of troops to the expedition, I will leave it to Yanyin. Be sure to contact Xu Liang as much as possible and order him to lead his troops to converge! ”

Hong Shenzheng secretly complained, the ground in the northwest is so big, even Feng Suqin doesn't know Xu Liang's whereabouts, how else can Hong Shenzheng find Xu Liang. His face was a little ugly, but thinking of the words of Wu Zhiwang, the governor of the three sides, Hong Senzheng was the thing that kept a buffer. nodded slowly and said, "Xiaguan will go find someone to inquire." ”

At this time, Master Lu came in from outside with an angry expression, walked up to Governor Liu, and arched his hand: "My lord, the Diao people of Pingliang City, the profiteers are really too hateful!" Obviously, everyone knows that the government buys grain in order to help Xi'an! But these profiteers, who have suffered thousands of knives, actually increased their prices two hours ago, and the price of rice per stone rose by 20%! ”

Governor Liu was stunned at first, then came to his senses, glared at Master Lu and shouted: "Master, what are you panicking about, there are so many rice and grain stores in Pingliang City, and the price of one store is rising, you can run a few places, there are always stores that do not increase the price." ”

Master Lu's face turned pale, and he smiled bitterly: "Zhongcheng, it's not the yarn price of one or two rice grain stores, but the price of rice grain stores in the whole city has increased together. ”

"This ...... What's going on? Governor Liu was also stunned, according to his feelings, this kind of thing is often very complicated.

"It is said that it was an order issued by the vice president of the Pingliang Chamber of Commerce." Master Lu reported the results of the preliminary investigation.

"Who? Who is so bold! Governor Liu was furious and shouted.

Master Lu's face was very strange, and he said, "Lord Zhongcheng, according to investigation, it is Feng Suqin, vice president of the Pingliang Chamber of Commerce. Uh, do you want to send someone to arrest this man! ”

When Governor Liu heard Feng Suqin's name, his body trembled, and he was very surprised. Pointing to Hong Shenzheng and said, "Lord Hong, you can solve this matter well." ”

Hong had no choice but to participate in politics, and he participated in politics in Shaanxi, and in just one day, he actually visited Xu Fu for the second time. Feng Suqin, the eldest lady of the Xu Mansion, was polite and thoughtful about the arrival of Hong Participating in Politics, pouring water and serving snacks.

It made Hong very embarrassed to participate in politics. However, the question that should be asked still had to be solved, so he asked Feng Suqin to reduce the price of rice back to the original price.

Feng Suqin refused!

When Hong participated in politics and asked the reason, Feng Suqin said in a very unhappy tone: "That Shaanxi governor Liu Zhilun robbed me of the official position of the prime minister, and he dared to yell at me today!" If he didn't teach him a lesson, he would think that the eldest lady of the Xu Mansion was also easy to bully. ”

Hong Shenzheng came out dejectedly, boarded the carriage, looked back at the plaque on the gate of the Xu Mansion, and sighed secretly: Xu Liang, Xu Liang, where have you been!

……

In the mountains dozens of miles northwest of Huining City in Gongchang Prefecture, Shaanxi, when he was staring at a cauldron with joy, he suddenly yawned without warning and sprinkled a few drops of saliva foam into the cauldron.

There is a large half pot of dark liquid in the pot, and the pot is supported by a few large old-fashioned pieces, and a few firewood sticks below are burning vigorously, an old man standing next to the pot, holding a wooden stick in his left hand, is slowly stirring, seeing Xu Liang's spitting star, he looked up at Xu Liang, and there was a reproach in his eyes.

Xu Liang smiled at the old man, motioned for him to continue, and said suspiciously, "Who is thinking about me?" ”

Sima Qiudao stood beside Xu Liang, and when he saw this, he asked, "My lord, what's wrong?" ”

Xu Liang shook his head, his eyes fell on the cauldron, and asked, "Did you order someone to write down all the process of the old man boiling salt?" ”

Sima Qiudao nodded violently and said, "Don't worry, my lord, the last generals have all been arranged." ”

Xu Liang nodded, then stopped talking, staring at the old man's actions.

I saw the old man holding a wooden stick in one hand, stirring in the pot very skillfully, and occasionally when the firepower was reduced, he asked the soldiers of the Liang army who lit the fire to add firewood. The dark liquid in the pot emitted bursts of steam, and after two quarters of an hour, the liquid evaporated more and more, gradually covering the entire pot.

Xu Dang and Sima Qiudao were a little worried when they saw this. However, the old man was meticulous with the wooden stick and stirred, gradually, the water vapor became faster and faster, and the moment the old man lifted the wooden stick, Xu Liang saw the white thing on the wooden stick.

The two of them were excited and relieved.

"It worked!" Sima Qiudao exclaimed in surprise.

Xu Liang nodded lightly, with a surprise in his eyes that could not be concealed, and patted Sima Qiudao's shoulder affectionately, and said, "Although you haven't been able to find the nitrate mine, you should remember a lot of credit for discovering this thing!" (To be continued......)