Fenghou

Chapter 184
The senile old man in front of him is actually Zhou Tong, who was famous back then?
It really surprised Chen Qing, and didn't Xu Ning say that Zhou Tong was dead?

"The Jingkang period was too chaotic, too many people died, and it was difficult to distinguish the truth from the news. It is not surprising that I died."

Zhou Tong sighed and continued: "When I was young, I wasted too much energy. Now my body is completely broken. I'm just an old man lingering on his last breath. I just come to the Zhou family's old house in Chengji County to take care of me. General Chen, don't expect too much."

The implication of Zhou Tong is to tell Chen Qing not to take himself as a hostage, and the affairs of the Zhou family have nothing to do with him.

"Who should I go to for the Zhoujiabao incident?"

Zhou Tong pointed to the middle-aged man not far away, "That steward Jia is Zhou Xin's confidant, he came here on Zhou Xin's order, the general is looking for him!"

Chen Qing didn't make things difficult for Zhou Tong. After all, he learned some of Zhou Tong's riding and shooting skills indirectly through Xu Ning. He arranged a carriage for the soldiers to take Zhou Tong into the city.

At this time, the soldiers brought up a middle-aged man. This middle-aged man was a steward named Jia Quan. He was indeed Zhou Xin's confidant. He was in charge of managing the property of the Zhou family fort. , Zhou Xin sent him to negotiate with Chen Qing.

In fact, what Jia Quan wanted to see now was not Chen Qing, but Li Dujian. He didn't expect to meet Song Army soldiers and brought them directly to Chen Qing.

At this moment Jia Quan was very nervous, his usual cleverness and eloquence were all gone, he was so frightened that he knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly: "The villain Jia Quan pays his respects to General Chen!"

Chen Qing glanced at him coldly, "Are you the person sent by Zhou Jiabao?"

"The villain is just... in charge of spreading the word!"

Zhou Xin asked him to negotiate with Chen Qing on his own behalf. He only realized when he saw Chen Qing's cold eyes. How could he have any qualifications to negotiate with the envoy of Qinzhou?
"what do you want to say?"

"Master Zhou heard that the imperial army's military supplies are in short supply, so he is willing to support the army with a thousand shi of grain."

"and then?"

"Then. Fort Lord Zhou promises to pay taxes to the government on time every year, according to the twentieth tax stipulated by the imperial court."

"Is there anything else to explain?"

"The other thing is to let Zhou Tong, the most respected and respected old man of Zhoujiabao, live in Chengji County as a hostage. The castle owner promises not to break his promise."

Chen Qing nodded, "I have seen the sincerity of your castle master, let me think about it, and I will reply you tomorrow morning."

Chen Qing waved his hand, "Take him down!"

"Thank you, General!"

Jia Quan breathed a sigh of relief, got up and saluted, and hurried down.

Zheng Ping next to him said angrily: "This is called sincerity? One thousand shi of grain is enough to send us away, and he also said to pay taxes, and pay fart taxes at the end of the year. It's just delaying time to fool us."

"What are you in a hurry?"

Chen Qing glared at Zheng Ping, "What kind of bullshit castle master is he? A commoner can pay taxes for two thousand households? What kind of bastard condition is this? Am I just so easy to fool?"

Zheng Ping was speechless for a while, scratched his head and said embarrassingly, "I thought you really thought he had compromised!"

"You've been with me for several years, why haven't you made any progress at all, you can't hold back when things are too big, you just yell nonsense, and I insist on scolding you every time."

"This time it's the humble job's fault, and it was also the humble job's fault yesterday."

Zheng Ping was scolded so submissively that he didn't dare to talk anymore.

Only then did Chen Qing slowly say: "I went to see Zhoujiabao yesterday. It's really not easy to fight, and it's not that it can't be defeated. It's just that a strong attack will cause heavy casualties. The gains outweigh the losses, so we have to use tricks. When you don’t know anything, it’s your duty to organize the people to cultivate the land and guard the camp in the city.”

Zheng Ping was a little unwilling and said: "Actually, I am very good at doing all kinds of conspiracies and tricks!"

Chen Qing smiled and patted him on the shoulder, "I'm better than you!"

At night, the county residents who had worked all day were exhausted and went to bed early. At the fourth watch, everything in Chengji County was completely silent. A cavalryman shouted loudly: "Xining County's emergency military report, open the city gate quickly!"

The city gate was opened, and the cavalry galloped into the city. The sound of horseshoes resounded through the city, and the cavalry shouted all the way: "Xining County Emergency Military Report!"

Half of the residents in the city were awakened by the sound of horseshoes and shouts, and the people were discussing and speculating that the Xixia army must have invaded Xining County.

The soldiers who reported the news entered the barracks. Not long after, the drums of the barracks sounded, and the tense atmosphere began to spread in the city.

Soon, the lanterns of the state government were also lit, and Wang Huai sent someone to invite several important officials to discuss the matter.

The prefectural yamen meeting hall was brightly lit, and Chen Qing, the governor, was sitting in the lobby. Next to him were Wang Huai, the general judge, Zhang Xiao, who joined the army, Li Yong, the governor of the capital, and six cao join the army, including Sihu, Judiciary, and Sishi.

Chen Qing was in full armor, with a long sword on his waist. He said to the crowd: "Just received the military report that a Xixia army of more than a thousand people invaded Xining County from Huizhou. The situation in Xining County is critical. I must immediately lead the army to support it!"

Xining County is located in the northwest of Qinzhou. It stretches out like a long antenna, sandwiched between Pingliang Prefecture, Deshun Prefecture and Huizhou. Xining County is located at the top of this antenna. It was invaded by the Xixia Army. Strange, even ordinary people can guess.

"Did the general leave overnight?" Wang Huai asked.

Chen Qing nodded, "We will set off at the fifth watch. I came here just to hope that everyone will continue to organize spring farming for the common people. This is a major event that cannot be stopped. It must be completed in one go. I have asked Zheng Ping to lead the army to cooperate with everyone, and there is also porridge relief. It can’t be stopped, it will continue to be implemented every day, and Zhou Jiabao is willing to negotiate with the government. I think this is a good thing, but it involves many specific details, and I will negotiate with Zhou Jiabao when I come back.”

Chen Qing arranged things one by one, then got up and went back to the barracks, Wang Huai sent him out of the state office, walked to the steps, Chen Qing said with a faint smile: "Why is Li Dujian not in good spirits, is there something wrong at home? "

"I haven't heard of it! Maybe it's because I didn't sleep well."

Chen Qing nodded, "I don't know much about Li Dujian's situation, Wang Tongshou should pay close attention to him these few days!"

After finishing speaking, Chen Qing got on his horse, bowed his hands and saluted, and urged the horse to run quickly with a dozen cavalrymen.

Wang Huai was confused for a while, what does it mean for him to pay attention to Li Dujian?
At five o'clock, Chen Qing took two generals, Yang Zaixing and Liu Cui, and [-] cavalry to leave the barracks, left the north city gate, and rushed north along the official road.

Before dawn, Jia Quan, who was restless in the inn, was taken to the mansion by the butler of Li Yong, the capital prison.

As soon as he entered the study, Jia Quan asked impatiently, "What happened? Why was the army mobilized at night?"

"Didn't Guanshi Jia hear the military newspaper at night?" Li Yong took a sip of hot tea and asked calmly.

"I seem to have heard something, but I didn't hear it clearly, and the horse ran over."

"It's an emergency military report from Xining County. The Xixia people invaded. I knew that the Xixia people wanted to integrate Huizhou and Deshun Prefecture. The nail in Xining County would definitely be pulled out, but I didn't expect it to come so soon."

"The Dujian means that Chen Qing led the army to Xining County?"

Li Yong nodded, "The situation over there is very urgent, he led the army to rush there overnight, and explained a lot of things to the state government before leaving."

Jia Quan quickly asked, "Did you mention us?"

Li Yong chuckled, "Of course I will mention you. What Chen Qing meant was that you have a good attitude and are worthy of recognition, but the details still need to be discussed."

Jia Quan was taken aback by these words, he didn't understand, "What do you mean by this? What are the details that need to be discussed?"

"It means that your sincerity is not enough. One thousand shi is a little less food. I estimate that it will cost at least two thousand shi. In addition, the conditions you offered are indeed too vague. The details need to be clarified. For example, if you are willing to pay taxes, then How to pay specifically? How many acres are there? How to calculate the household tax, etc., do you understand what I mean?"

"I understand. I will go back and tell Master Zhou immediately. Then what should I do? Should I continue to discuss with the state government?"

"No! Chen Qing is personally responsible for this matter. Prepare the details. When he comes back, he will be the first to find you."

Jia Quan nodded silently. Fortress Master Zhou was not sincere at all, and he would not pay a penny of taxes. It was just to delay time. How could he prepare for the details if the Fortress Lord was asked?

　The reward is bleak, Lao Gao feels uneasy, please give a reward!cheer up cheer up jingsh
　　
　
(End of this chapter)