Fenghou

Chapter 460
A shop on South Street was surrounded by hundreds of soldiers. The soldiers rushed in and escorted the shopkeeper and a few clerks out after a while. Several soldiers brought out a large cage with five or six pigeons inside.

The shopkeeper was pushed to the ground by the soldiers and tied up behind his back. He was so frightened that his face turned ashen, and he cried loudly, "I didn't let the pigeons go. I just fed them. I accidentally got run away by it!"

At this time, Hu Yantong hurried over with his soldiers, he gritted his teeth with hatred, rushed forward and kicked the shopkeeper twice.

"How did I explain that all pigeons must be handed over to supervision, how dare you keep them private!"

The shopkeeper howled like killing a pig, "The villain dare not! Don't dare! Spare me!"

Hu Yantong pointed at him and said sharply: "I suspect you are a spy from Xixia, search for me thoroughly!"

Chen Qing walked over slowly. He looked at the shopkeeper and several of his assistants. Their faces were pale with fright. There was only fear in their eyes but no panic. He had an intuition that it was not a Xixia spy, but he did not interfere, but watched Hu Yantong's handling. .

Not long after, the head of the capital came out to report, "General Huyan, nothing suspicious was found, it was just an ordinary grocery store."

At this time, Chen Qing saw that something was wrong. Grocery stores had very low profits, and they were usually husband-and-wife stores. How could there be three employees in this store? Also, what does the grocery store keep pigeons for?And just feeding, how could the pigeons run away?There is obviously a feeding port on the pigeon cage!

"General Huyan!" Chen Qing shouted.

Hu Yantong quickly stepped forward to salute, "Please give orders!"

"Send someone to notify the internal guards to come!"

There are also [-] people in the inner guard battalion in Longxi County, led by the deputy commander Cheng Deng.

Before Hu Yantong sent someone, Cheng Deng led a hundred of his men and ran over. He stepped forward and knelt down on one knee to salute, "See Du Tong for humble posts!"

Chen Qing said slowly: "This store is a bit suspicious. The grocery store actually employs three employees and also raises pigeons. You are the internal guards. You are the ones to search, and you are not allowed to let go of every corner!"

"Humble post obeys orders!"

With a wave of his hand, Cheng Deng led dozens of soldiers into the store, while the rest of the soldiers were checking the outside.

The shopkeeper was still howling, but there was a flash of panic in his eyes, which was caught by Chen Qing keenly.

Chen Qing was even more suspicious. He looked at the shops on both sides. There was a cloth shop on the left and a snack shop on the right, but the doors were closed.

Generally speaking, there are many pedestrians coming and going on the front street. If there is a problem, it is easy to be found, and the shops on both sides will definitely not have a problem. If there is a problem, it must be behind.

Chen Qing nodded to an inner guard and said, "You lead a dozen brothers to check on the neighbors behind him."

"Follow the order!" Dutou rushed away with twenty soldiers.

The panic in the shopkeeper's eyes became more obvious, and even a few of the guys began to become abnormal, and the uneasiness in their eyes could be clearly seen.

Soon, Cheng Deng discovered that there was a tunnel in the firewood house in the backyard, which led to the house next door, but the house next door was an ordinary house that was unoccupied all year round.

Cheng Deng walked quickly with a stack of documents, and the soldiers behind him were holding bundles of weapons.

"Qi Dutong, I found this next door. This grocery store turned out to be the intelligence point of the Puppet Qi in Longxi County."

It's really interesting that it's the information point of Pseudo-Qi. Chen Qing looked at the shopkeeper, who collapsed to the ground in fright, not daring to say a word.

The inner guard soldiers took away the shopkeeper and the buddies, and sealed up the shop.

Hu Yantong stepped forward with a face full of shame, "If everyone hadn't been vigilant, they would have almost slipped through the net."

"It's because they exposed themselves. The release of pigeons at this time is obviously to convey information!"

"But... the carrier pigeon doesn't carry information!"

Chen Qing smiled lightly, "Sometimes you don't need to bring any information. The carrier pigeon itself is the information. For example, this carrier pigeon is different from other pigeon letters. When the other party sees this carrier pigeon, they will know that Chen Qing is in Longxi County.

Another example is the ring on the pigeon's foot, which might be a pre-appointed evidence. Seeing this ring, one knew that Chen Qing led the main force in Longxi County. In short, this pigeon did not escape by accident, but was released with a purpose. "

"Understood, I understand that I will search the whole city again, and I will never allow a carrier pigeon or a carrier hawk to slip through the net!"

Chen Qing nodded and said: "The information about me leading the army in Longxi is very important. If Cao Baozong finds out, he will probably lead the main force to attack Chengji County. At that time, we will be passive, so no matter what, no one is allowed Fish that slipped through the net, including homing pigeons and Xixia people."

Hu Yantong bowed and saluted, "I obey the order!"

There are many ways to transmit information to the outside world, and they do not necessarily rely entirely on carrier pigeons and hawks. For example, shooting three gunpowder arrows into the sky at night is also a method of information transmission, which requires all Xixia people to be controlled.

This time, Hu Yantong took a two-pronged approach. On the one hand, he sent people to search from house to house, and on the other hand, he offered a huge reward, "Those who report hiding pigeons or hawks will be rewarded with [-] guan, and those who report Xixia people who have not been quarantined will be rewarded with [-] guan." '

Cao Baozong didn't know that Chen Qing had led his army into Longxi County. He thought that Chen Qing's army set off on the fifth day of February. , And cut off the connection between the Song Army and Lintao and Hezhou.

So Cao Baozong was very anxious. He originally planned to rest for two days in the army of Tongxi County, but he asked to leave after only half a day of rest. The [-] army marched towards Longxi County, [-] miles away, with a convoy of supplies.

The supplies are mainly siege weapons such as trebuchets and siege ladders, and food is not urgent. There are [-] shi of food in Xinqing City, eighty miles to the south, enough to support the army for two months.

Just as the [-] Xixia army had just marched south, Lin Tao, the scout of the Song Army hiding near Tongxi City, immediately sent several of his men to rush eastward.

At this time, the [-] cavalry led by Yang Zaixing and Liu Qiong were [-] miles east of Tongxi County. According to Chen Qing's deployment, they needed to take Tongxi County after the main force of the enemy army went south, but they could not act too hastily.

In a forest, Yang Zaixing was discussing with Liu Qiong how to win Tongxi County.

Liu Qiong laughed and said, "One of my subordinates actually knows Tongxi County better!"

He turned his head and said to his soldiers: "Go and find the deputy commander Tang Qian!"

Not long after, Tang Qian came in a hurry. He had already accumulated meritorious service and was promoted to deputy commander, officially becoming a capable general under Liu Qiong.

"For a humble position, see Commander Liu, and Commander Yang!"

Commanders are also divided into three levels, superior commanders, commanders, and deputy commanders. Yang Zaixing, Zheng Ping, and Yang Yuanqing are the superior commanders. After World War I, Yang Zaixing should be promoted to deputy commander.

Yang Zaixing smiled slightly: "General Liu said that you know the situation in Tongxi County very well, can you briefly talk about it?"

Tang Qian hesitated and said: "The Tongxi County I know is different from the current Tongxi County. I heard that all the houses have been demolished and the city walls have been repaired. I can't talk about it anymore."

Yang Zaixing shook his head, "To build the city wall, you have to take soil and burn bricks, but there are no trees around Tongxi County, so how do you burn them? It must be using bricks from demolished houses. Do you think there are many bricks in the city?"

Tang Qian shook his head, "Most of them are mud walls, and there are very few brick houses!"

"That's right. Since there are not many bricks and stones, the Xixia people can only simply repair and replace the damaged parts. The city wall itself will not change."

Tang Qian pondered for a moment and said: "The entire city wall is very decayed, especially the north wall, which is eroded by wind and sand, and the bricks are the most rotten. Now that the humble job is useless, you can go and check it yourself to see the extent of the decay! "

Yang Zaixing smiled happily: "If you can capture Tongxi County, I will give you a great credit!"

(End of this chapter)