Fenghou

Chapter 412 Fortune Telling
Chen Qing's [-] troops arrived in Longxi County at dusk, and when he learned that Huyanlei led the army and civilians to resist the attack of the [-] Xixia Army, Chen Qing immediately ordered all the soldiers to be promoted to a higher level, with a reward of [-] guan. For the general commander.

Hu Yanlei felt elated for the first time since being chased and killed by Jiang Yanxian in Xiangyang.

Chen Qing is also bound to win Longxi County. If he can't win Gongzhou, his westward advance will encounter great obstacles. The gate to the Hexi Corridor.

If you want to control Xihe Road, you must capture Lanzhou. A decisive battle with the Xixia Army is inevitable, but now is not the time.

In addition, Gongzhou also has an important product, that is, the saltpeter mine, which is located eighty miles south of Longxi County, where the imperial court once opened a mine.

Not long after entering Longxi County, Chen Qing couldn't take a break, so he first visited Li Qiao. This was the experience and lessons Chen Qing had learned in Qinzhou. If he wanted to control the states and counties, he must have the support of the famous local gentry.

In fact, not only Chen Qing understood this point, but also the puppet Qi army, but the puppet Qi wooed the No. [-] prominent family Wu family, and this was the reason why Wu Shangang, the county magistrate, was unwilling to surrender to the Song army at first.

Li Qiao personally greeted Chen Qing in front of the gate, and said with a smile on his face, "Warmly welcome the Jiedu envoy to come to the door, and make the Li family flourish!"

"It's right to come to thank you. Without the help of everyone in the Li family, my scout battalion may suffer heavy losses. Thank you Patriarch for your full help."

"The Jiedu Envoy is too polite, as it should be, Jiedu Envoy, please sit in the mansion and rest for a while!"

"Patriarch please!"

The two entered Li's mansion humbly, came to the VIP hall where the guests and the host were seated, and the maid came in to serve tea.

Li Qiao said happily: "The best news I heard today is that General Yang Zaixing shot and killed the bandit Xia Baihu. The city was full of joy. How many families in the city were killed by him and lost their relatives. He was full of evil, and finally got his retribution! "

Chen Qing pondered for a while and said: "This Xia Baihu actually led two thousand Xixia troops to lurk in Gongzhou. It was really beyond my expectation. I wonder if the Patriarch is aware of the situation of the Xixia people in Gongzhou? Besides this Xia Baihu, there are others The army?"

"Does the Jiedushi think there will be?"

Chen Qing nodded, "I think there should be, otherwise where will the supplies for the two thousand troops come from?"

Li Qiao sighed and said: "Jiedu Envoy's guess is correct. There is also a Xixia army in Dingxi County, with about ten thousand people. They have come a long time ago, and one is stationed in Dingxi County. Xia Baihu's army is just their vanguard. military."

"How many people are there in Dingxi County?"

"There are not many people, about [-] families, about [-] people. I think the reason why the Xixia Army chose Dingxi County has nothing to do with the people. The main reason is that it is close to Lanzhou and the supply is convenient. The second is that the city is relatively strong. They have been waiting for the opportunity to occupy Longxi County, but in the end the Jiedushi took the lead."

Chen Qing nodded with a smile and said, "I may have a rather strange question. After I entered the city, I only knew that there was a county government office and a county magistrate. Why didn't there be a state government office and a prefectural magistrate?"

Li Qiao laughed and said: "Originally there were. The county government and the state government were together, half of the family. After the Jin soldiers occupied Gongzhou, they felt that there was no need to set up a state government in Gongzhou, so they abolished the state government. Stay in the county government."

"So that's the case, but I still want to restore the state government and let my nephew Wang Huai be the magistrate. Does the Patriarch think there will be any problems?"

Li Qiao pondered for a while and said: "To be honest with the Jiedushi, Gongzhou has always been the balance between the Li and Wu families. I used to be the prefect. After the Jinbing abolished the state, the puppet Qi supported the Wu family. If the Jiedushi wanted to keep Gong If the state is stable, then the Wu family's relationship must be handled well."

"How about Wu Shan?" Chen Qing asked again.

"Wu Shan is a very good magistrate. He is kind. He does not increase taxes on the people, does not harass the people. He has done a good job in building roads and bridges and running schools. Five of the seven schools in the city are newly run by him. I suggest that he continue As the county magistrate, the Wu family will be stable."

Chen Qing nodded, he exchanged some pleasantries, and got up to leave.

He rode slowly on the main street of Longxi County. Longxi County is indeed very lively. There are shops on both sides of the street, people come and go, shouting and hawking constantly, every restaurant is full of guests, and the lights are bright, even though it is night , but business is still good, business prosperity can be seen.

Chen Qing didn't eat dinner, he suddenly felt very hungry, so he smiled to the dozens of soldiers behind him: "Let's go have dinner!"

When everyone came to a big restaurant, the waiter warmly greeted them, "Masters, welcome to the restaurant. This small restaurant is the largest restaurant in Gongzhou. All kinds of dishes are authentic, and satisfaction is guaranteed!"

Just as a soldier was about to report Chen Qing's identity, Chen Qing glared at him, then asked with a smile, "Is there any good sake?"

"Yes! Yes! Both sake and wine are available. Please come upstairs, military lords!"

The guards sat downstairs to eat, so that they could watch the horses. Chen Qing and several guards went up to the second floor and found two tables by the window. The guards sat at one table, and Chen Qing sat at the other table alone.

He ordered a pot of hot sake and some hot tea. Gongzhou is famous for its mutton, so he ordered some more mutton pies.

Chen Qing sat alone at the small table and poured himself a drink. At this moment, a Taoist fortune-teller came up from downstairs, shaking a copper bell and said slowly: "Looking at the hexagrams by face to face, revealing the secrets of heaven, twenty words and one hexagram."

The Taoist walked up to Chen Qing and said with a smile: "The small way is for the sake of cultivating Taoism, so the general should be counted as a hexagram?"

Chen Qing wore the armor of an ordinary general without any identity characteristics, so he smiled slightly and said: "If you can tell me my military position, I will give you a high price to calculate!"

The Taoist smiled slightly and said: "Those who can lead soldiers will not be inferior to commanders. Although there are several Qinzhou army commanders, there are not many who can leave the barracks to drink here. How can I not guess who you are? Change the subject!"

"No need to change!"

Chen Qing took out ten taels of silver and put it on the table, "I'll count my face, let me tell you about my origin first!"

The Taoist carefully looked at Chen Qing's face, and said, "My words may be a little unpleasant, don't blame the general!"

"You say whatever you want, and I will listen whatever you want!"

"There are hundreds of human faces, and thirty-seven generals have damaged foreheads and missing right eyebrows. The generals may have lost their parents early and their relatives have withered."

There is always something in Chen Qing's mind that puzzles him. It is reasonable that he just borrowed someone else's skin, but in the past two years, he found that his appearance is more and more like the appearance of his previous life, and even the scar on his forehead that he had since childhood also appeared. .

He had always thought that looks were born from the heart, but now the face of this Taoist priest surprised him, the other party actually saw his own destiny from his appearance.

"go on!"

"The general Yintang has a small cross pattern, which was originally the appearance of a young man who died young, but the general's sky is wide and full, his ears are over his eyebrows, and his eyebrows are colored. "

"Keep talking!"

"The general's body is straight, and the groove line shows signs of deepening. Congratulations, the general is about to have a queen!"

Chen Qing was stunned, it was obvious.

"It's a little bit good, let's talk about my future!"

The Taoist stared at Chen Qing for a long time, his expression became more solemn, and he shook his head again and again, "Don't say it, don't say it, the secret of heaven must not be revealed!"

"let it go."

Chen Qing pushed ten taels of silver to him, and said with a faint smile: "Thanks to your good words, my wife is indeed pregnant, so this silver is a donation of a few tiles to your Taoist temple!"

"Thank you General for your generosity!"

The Taoist priest took the ten taels of silver, thanked him again and again, and left in a hurry.

A drinker next to him couldn't help but said: "The general was deceived. This Taoist priest is a well-known liar. He spends all day here on the pretext of cultivating Taoism and cheating money. Ten taels of silver, hey!"

The drinker shook his head repeatedly, he felt that this person was unreasonable, ten taels of silver!

At this time, a soldier walked upstairs quickly and handed a folded note to Chen Qing, "Dutong, it was given to you by a Taoist fortune-teller. He said there are some things he can't say."

Chen Qing took the note and opened it, there was only one line on it: If you enter, you will be the lonely soul of Lin'an, and if you retreat, you will be the hero of the world.

(End of this chapter)