Ji Chong and Li Shousheng have known each other for a long time.

The two of them, one can be regarded as the most famous local snake in Yidu, and they travel extensively, from the officials to the ordinary people, all of whom do not know his name, and they know people all over the three religions and nine streams, and they have a complex network of relationships. The other is the biggest spy boss in Yidu, specializing in intelligence work. If we want to do a good job in intelligence work, the most important thing is to have enough sources of intelligence. Maybe in the eyes of others, Ji Chong is a "local snake" and a "Yanei", but in the eyes of Li Shousheng, he has only one identity, that is, a natural and excellent "informant".

Because of this, Li Shousheng and Ji Chong have known each other for a long time.

After getting acquainted, and because of one, in order to expand the source of intelligence, Li Shousheng would inevitably go to Ji Chong from time to time to borrow his relationship; At the same time, Ji Chong is by no means a person who doesn't know the importance of things, he seems to be reckless, but in fact, he knows it in his heart, and his tone is also very strict, he asks what he should ask, and he doesn't ask what he shouldn't. On the whole, Li Shousheng is still quite satisfied with him. In this way, after coming and going, seeing each other more times, and cooperating more times, the two of them naturally changed from acquaintance to acquaintance, and from acquaintance to similar friends, and the relationship between them is still good.

However, it was said that after Ji Chong saw Fang Congzhe, he urged the horse to drive to Li Shousheng's mansion.

When I arrived at the door and asked, I learned that Li Shousheng had not come back yet, and was still working in the yamen. The General Administration Department is very busy, not to mention going home late, it is common not to go home for a few days. As soon as there is a task, food and accommodation are in the yamen. Ji Chong specially asked clearly, and asked, "What is the important matter in the yamen?" ”

Li Shousheng's mansion is not large, with two in and two out.

The gatekeeper was a man in his forties, with a scar on his face. Ji Chong also knew him, and knew that this person was originally a veteran of Haidong, but an old subordinate before Li Shousheng did not change careers, because he was disabled on the battlefield later, his left arm was a little inconvenient, and like Luo Yongming, he was unwilling to be settled in a place, so he traveled thousands of miles to Yidu to find his old superiors, and begged Li Shousheng to leave him behind. Li Shousheng also specially asked Deng She for this purpose, and after obtaining permission, he placed him in the gatehouse.

Ji Chong heard him reply: "I don't know if there is anything important in the yamen. But the master never talked to us about business. However, in the past few days, the old man has returned home quite on time. About the yamen, there should be nothing important. Only then did he settle down and wait quietly at the door.

The porter said: "The night is getting darker, and it is only after the rain, and the wind is cold outside the door. Da Lang and the old man have known each other for a long time, no more than outsiders, why not go to the house and wait? I don't know what will happen to the master. ”

Ji Chong is cautious, can the mansion of the general administration secretary be entered casually? Especially when Li Shousheng is not at home. Insistent refusal. In the wind at night, until it was almost two watches, I saw in the distance that there were torches shining at the corner of the street, and several horses were slowly coming. Walking to the front, riding in front of the head, it was Li Shousheng. According to the system, the Department of General Administration should be under the control of the left and right departments of the province, although he is a civilian, he is dressed in soft armor. He wore a bright red cloak, a simple short sword at his waist, and a horse at his crotch, on which he sat upright, and his figure was straight.

"Da Lang is here?"

"Xiaguan Ji Chong, I've seen Master Li."

"Why didn't you enter the house? How cold it is at this door! ”

Li Shousheng didn't get off the horse, so he condescendingly bowed his hand to Ji Chong on the horse, and without saying a few words, he turned his head and went to blame the porter, saying: "How many times have I said, Da Lang is no better than outsiders, if you come, whether I am at home or not, you can be invited directly into the house!" and asked the eldest man to wait outside the door. ”

He was born as an old man who was a horse thief, first fought on the battlefield, killed people without counting, and had his own fierce murderous aura. And since he took over the management of the political secretary, the daily contact has added a bit of ruthlessness. ruthless, fierce, and murderous. Take the few words he said to reproach the porter, but the usual few words actually didn't have much of a reprimanding tone, but when they heard Ji Chong's ears, they couldn't help but shudder because of this.

He smiled hurriedly and said, "Please don't be angry. The porter brother also invited me into the house to wait. It's just that adults, you also know that I am a little angry, and I have a problem, and I am afraid of heat and cold. The colder it is, the more I like it. That's why I don't want to enter the house, regardless of the big brother of the porter. ”

Li Shousheng's face moved, maybe he smiled, in the gloomy night, he couldn't see it clearly, I saw him slightly pick up the horsewhip, nodded Ji Chong, and said, "Da Lang! I haven't seen you for three days, but your mouth is getting more and more able to speak. "I can't tell if it's a boast or a loss. Ji Chong smiled: "Don't dare." A cold wind blew, Li Shousheng covered his mouth, coughed lightly twice, and asked, "What are you looking for?" ”

Ji Chong looked at Li Shousheng's left and right, and said if he refused, but said, "Today, on the street, I bumped into a person." The lower official felt the need to come and tell you. ”

"Please come in."

Li Shousheng whipped his horse, led his entourage, and did not go to the main gate, but walked through the corner gate on the side, and galloped into the house. This is his mansion, he can ride a horse to step on the door, Ji Chong's official is not as tall as him, his power is not as big as him, he can't hold it up, he hurriedly lost his mount to the little maid to take care of, picked up his robe, and trotted to follow.

Li Shousheng didn't invite his little servant into the house. Therefore, his little servant had no choice but to continue waiting at the door. It's the middle of the night. After the third watch, it was almost the fourth watch, and Ji Chong came out of Li Shousheng's mansion.

I don't know what he and Li Shousheng have said, it took so long. The little guy was already shivering from the cold, and he leaned over and handed over the reins. Ji Chong stretched out his hand to catch it, and before getting on the horse, he looked up at the night. Although the rain has stopped, the clouds have not disappeared. The stars and the moon are lightless, cold and deep.

In the middle of the night, the wind became even colder, and the sound of whistling was heard. The two rows of lanterns hanging in front of Li Shousheng's Mansion were rolled, flipped and crackled. He shuddered and muttered, "Straight lady thief, it's really his grandmother's cold!" "Pedal on the saddle, turn on one side, punch at the porter, and urge the horse to go.

Soon after he left, Li Shousheng also came out of the mansion and went to the yamen. The next day, before noon, he personally sent a stack of information to Dunshe's desk.

Dunshe is also a human being, not iron-clad, and also needs to rest. On this day, there was no urgent business to deal with, and when Li Shousheng came, he was studying in a small pavilion in Liang Yuan, and he didn't have many people with him, only two maids with him. One pours tea, the other holds the stove.

The wind is cold on the pavilion, and if the hand used to turn the book is cold, he will reach out to the stove to warm up. If you are interested in reading a book, you can take two sips of tea. Sitting sullen, stand up, walk two steps, and look at the pavilions and pavilions from afar, which is enough to broaden your mind; Looking closely, the small bridge is full of water, which is enough to cultivate sentiment.

The fly in the ointment is that around the pavilion, there are dozens and hundreds of guards scattered around, all wearing helmets and armor, all holding guns, tigers and bears, and their faces are solemn. It's all murderous. It is inevitably a little incompatible with the pleasant scenery in this beam garden, and it is a little suspicious of ruining the scenery.

With the improvement of Deng She's status and the expansion of Haidong's territory, his guard team has long been different from the old weather, and after many expansions, it has now reached the scale of nearly 2,000 people.

Although these guards are called guards to the outside world. However, it can be divided into two categories.

One is the palace guard formed by the soldiers, with 1,000 people, whose duty is to serve the usual travel of Deng She and the daily vigilance work of the Yan Palace. They are all carefully selected from various armies and offices, and they are all elite soldiers who have been on the battlefield for a long time. This part can be said to be the main force in Dunshe's guard.

The other is the Proton Army. When it was in Shuangcheng, it was called the Proton Battalion, and now there are more people, about eight or nine hundred people, so it was renamed "Army".

Most of the members are the sons and nephews of civil and military officials above the fifth rank in Haidong. Some of them are from good families, that is, commoners or ordinary military families, or families of petty officials.

But it may be because of the prestige of the family in the local area, such as generations of scholars and wealthy families; Or because although the elders in his family have less than five official positions, they have made meritorious contributions to Haidong, such as outstanding military exploits. It is also to win over the locality, and it is also to recognize meritorious service. Therefore, even though their origins did not meet the requirements for being selected for the Proton Army, they were also selected to join the Army.

Its day-to-day duties are different from those of the palace guards, and they are not mainly guards, but mainly in the nature of retinues. He has been by Deng She's side all the year round, and he always goes with him. In addition to being a "proton" and an entourage, sometimes, Dunshe will also choose some of them who perform better and can be trusted to do some things. If you do it well, you can often be promoted immediately and let go to the province or the local errand boy. This can also be regarded as a group of reserve officials in Deng She, and it is also a team of cronies that he focuses on cultivating.

When three thousand new officials took office, he took office as the thousand households of the palace guards. Outside the cordon, I saw three thousand. Both of them were old men who got on the horse, and they had some affection when they met. Li Shousheng's gloomy face is also rare to show a real smile. Because he said that he had something important to ask to see Dunshe. Shi Sanqian didn't dare to be sloppy, left him outside, went to ask Deng She, and then turned back and let him in.

Li Shousheng's saber was untied before entering the Yan Palace. Shi Sanqian searched him meticulously, sent two hundred households, led the way, and also did surveillance by the way, leading him into the pavilion.

Seeing him coming, Deng She put down the book and said with a smile: "Lao Li, Lao Li, how rare it is for me to have some leisure and steal some time." You're going to bother me again. What's wrong? Jinan, Dizhou? Jining, Gaotang Prefecture? Or is it Jinji? Where is the emergency? Sit down first, and then come. ”

In the pavilion is a stone table, two stone piers. Just like Ji Chong didn't dare to ride into his mansion, he also didn't dare to sit down in front of Deng She, thanked him in his mouth, stood still, bowed his body, and said with a smile: "I shouldn't have come to disturb the lord when he had rare leisure, but it was really a big deal." ”

"Oh? What the hell is going on? ”

"This ,......。"

Deng She understood, waved his hand, and motioned for the maid and the two guards to retreat. Li Shousheng only saw that they were far away, so he spoke, lowered his voice, and said: "Last night, the minister heard that why bother to gather and come to Yidu again. After a midnight and this morning's investigation, one thing was discovered. He took out a stack of paperwork from his sleeve and presented it respectfully to Dunshe.

Deng She took it, opened it and glanced at it, and his originally relaxed expression gradually became serious: "Liuqian Street? ......, why bother. ”

"Liuqian Street is the gathering area of Shicheng's former ministers. The minister is there, and there is eyeliner planted. Why bother to gather last night and go to the homes of three Shicheng former ministers. the longest, who speaks for an hour; The shortest, also has two quarters of an hour to speak. What is the specific content of his conversation with Shicheng's old minister, although the minister has not yet investigated, but he has not been able to go to three households in one night, and the time for the conversation is not short, the minister thinks that this matter is very suspicious! As soon as he talked about business, Li Shousheng's face became gloomy again.

Deng She frowned and said, "Not long after Wang Shicheng gained Yidu, why bother to come to Yidu." Wu Guogong sent him to cook for Xiao Mao Pingzhang, and often went in and out of Xiao Mao Pingzhang and Shicheng's house, he and Shicheng's old ministers already knew each other, but it was not surprising. Now that he has met, he came to Yidu again after a few months, and by the way, he went to visit his old acquaintances, meet each other, and talk to each other, but it is even more ordinary. There's nothing to fuss about. ......, the crux of the matter is, the purpose of his coming to my Yidu again this time, have you found out? ”

"The minister, the minister is still investigating."

Deng She nodded, didn't speak for a while, and then carefully read the information sent by Li Shousheng from beginning to end. After reading it, he casually put his hand on the stone case and said, "Your information is not of much use. It looks very detailed, why bother gathering at whom's house at what time and who's house at what time. One, you don't know what they're talking about; Second, you don't know the purpose of his coming to Yidu. What is the use of his actions, his activities, no matter how clearly you investigate? ”

"Yes, yes."

"Of course, I'm not unreasonable. You said you only found out last night? It only took half a night and half a day's work to figure out why bother gathering last night's activities so clearly, hard work! Deng She stood up, paced a few steps in the pavilion with his hands in his hands, looked at Li Shousheng's face, and said with a smile, "Look at your eyes are dark, and listen to your hoarse voice." Last night, I'm afraid I didn't sleep all night? ”

"The duty of the minister, I didn't sleep all night. But until now, I haven't figured out why I got together, and I'm really ashamed of my lord's credibility. ”

"You're an old man in the army, my brother. I don't trust you, who else can I trust? You are now in charge of the General Administration, you are my Haidong's eyes, my Haidong's ears, and my eagle dog! It's right to be conscientious. But then again, you also have to take care of your body. Now that we have a strong enemy outside Yidu, and when Chahan is completely cleaned up, I still think that I will still be like before, and I will gather our old brothers to drink and talk together, wouldn't it be happy? If one day, the war can be calmed down, even better! Have you thought about it? At that time, we monarchs and ministers will be happy, enjoy peace together, and live a prosperous life together for decades. You say, don't you think it's beautiful? Wouldn't it be even more joyful! ”

Li Shousheng smiled, moved in his heart, and said: "The minister doesn't dare to deceive the lord, and the minister has never thought about the future." It's just that sometimes I can't help but think, just like the lord said, if I can still be like when I was in the twin cities, I can still drink and talk with the lord from time to time. The minister was satisfied. ”

"Haha. It's not easy to talk to me and drink? My Yanwang Mansion is here, you can come at any time, and I will prepare good wine at any time. Although I am now the King of Yan, I am still your old brother. It's still the 'Shegeer' of the past. Deng She and Li Shousheng talked about the past, changed the topic, and said, "Regarding why you gather here, you must continue to investigate!" Until his purpose is found. ......, have you ever speculated? Guess why he came here? ”

"Yichen deduces, why gather this time and come back to my Yidu, what he did is nothing more than three things."

"Tell me about it."

"First, I Haidong only repelled Chahan, and Wu Guogong sent him, perhaps to find out the reality inside my Yidu. Second, I heard a report a while ago that the Anfeng Imperial Court sent an envoy to our Haidong, and he is still on the way. Perhaps, Wu Guogong also learned the news, so he sent why bother to gather to find out the truth. Third,......, third, why gather together and go to see Shicheng's old ministers one after another, maybe, maybe? ”

"Maybe what?"

"Wang Shicheng was defeated in Qingzhou, his life and death are still unknown, and his whereabouts are still unknown. Could it be? ”

Dunshe paused and asked, "Could it be anything?" ”

"Could it be that Wang Shicheng is not dead? Maybe Wu Guogong found out his whereabouts? Therefore, why bother to gather to make a front stop and visit Shicheng's old ministers at night? ”

After the First World War in Cheongju, Wang Shicheng's whereabouts are unknown. This has long become a knot in the hearts of Haidong. The General Administration Department has made repeated and secret visits, almost turning over Qingzhou and even the entire Yidu, and used thousands of manpower, but not even a single hair of Wang Shicheng was found. There are rumors among the people that Wang Shicheng became a monk. Prime Minister Zhao Zhong also cooperated with the Department of General Affairs to run all the mountains and temples in Yidu, and he didn't even see the slightest trace of Wang Shicheng.

Everywhere is gone, Li Shousheng began to wonder a long time ago, did Wang Shicheng run away somewhere else? This is not only Haidong's heart knot, but also his heart knot. Even after Deng Shedu no longer took Wang Shicheng's whereabouts seriously, he was still indomitable. It's almost to the point where the wind is loud and the wind is catching shadows. Deng She pondered for a moment, shook his head, and said with a smile: "Why bother gathering, it will never be for Wang Shicheng. ”

"Why? Can the lord be so sure? ”

"Since the first battle of Chahan, my Haidong has become increasingly stable in Yidu. The old army of Shicheng was dilapidated and withered. Most of the remaining elites have also been transferred to Haidong by me. Even if Shicheng is not dead, what can he do? Why gather to meet the old ministers who saw Shicheng, and count on a few civil servants to turn over any storms? ”

"Then why do you want to gather these old ministers of Shicheng?" Li Shousheng made a gesture.

Deng She flatly refused, saying: "'If you want to add sin, why should you be in trouble? But when you see an old friend, don't let it make a big fuss! Without my order, you are absolutely forbidden, forbidden, and not allowed to alarm these people. It's okay to investigate privately and secretly, and this is exactly when I want to 'rebuild morale', and I must not act arbitrarily with the minister without real evidence. ”

"Yes."

"Go down, so let's investigate. If you find anything, you can come and see me at any time. ......, also, it is estimated that the Anfeng mission will be about to arrive. In addition to the matter of why bother to gather, you can choose a few more capable players, if you can find out their intentions before they arrive in Yidu, it is the best! ”

"Yes."

"There you go."

Li Shousheng bent down, retreated backwards, and walked straight out of the pavilion before turning around and leaving the house.

was so stirred up by him, Deng She had no intention of reading. After staying in the pavilion for a while, he flipped through the intelligence documents sent by Li Shousheng and read them twice, and muttered: "Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Yuanzhang." He knew in his heart that if Chahan was a fierce enemy in front of him, then Jinling would inevitably be a strong enemy in the future. A word came to mind, and he couldn't help but think: "The abyss is deep." "The road to conquering the world is already difficult.

The cold wind blew at the hem of his garment, and he put aside his worries for a while. Jinling is still far away, and it is said that Chahan. After all, it is only when we have successfully coped with the present that we can face the future calmly. Summoning his attendants, he slowly walked out of the pavilion and into the backyard.