Lord: Start with a book of Water Margin

Chapter 249: Wu Xuejiu Visits Dongping Prefecture
The next day, at breakfast time, Zhao Zhen asked Cheng Wan'er, "Madam, did the white fox not come back yesterday, or did he go out again early this morning?"

Cheng Wan'er said, "My husband, the five little ones didn't come back last night. I asked the steward Zhao Yuanli this morning and he said that Li Ji followed them."

While eating, Zhao Yuanli came in and said, "Sir, Mr. Wu Yong and his group came back late last night. Seeing that it was getting late, Mr. Wu told us not to disturb you. Today, he will come to report to the Dongping Prefecture and is waiting in the hall now."

Zhao Zhen ate the flower roll in his hand in a few bites, picked up the bowl, and drank the bowl of seafood porridge made of pearl rice and dried abalone. He drank tea and rinsed his mouth, said hello to Cheng Wan'er and the other two, and stood up and followed Zhao Yuanli to the hall.

After entering the meeting room, Zhao Zhen asked, "Scholar, how is it?"

Wu Yong waved the goose feather fan in his hand and said, "Sir, with the old man in charge, everything will go smoothly."

"First, Zhujiazhuang started a dispute without permission, and found a complaint in the government office that former merchants had sued them for forced buying and selling. They also refused to pay taxes, so the old man designated Zhujiazhuang as a gathering place for wild people. He did not recognize it as a place under the jurisdiction of Dongping Prefecture, and banned Zhujiazhuang for provoking trouble. On the day we came back, we issued a warrant to hunt down Zhu Yongqing in Dongping Prefecture."

"Sir, there will be some movement in Jingyang Town soon. We can set up an ambush in advance and capture Zhu Yongqing as soon as he leaves the town. With his head, Dongping Prefecture can get another 300 strings of cash."

Zhao Zhen heard this and said, "Great, we finally managed to force him out. This way, we can eradicate the root of the problem. Dulonggang will be stable from now on."

Wu Yong pondered and said, "Sir, there is one more thing you should be careful about."

"It's all right for a pedant to say."

"Sir, I have seen Yun Tianbiao, the military commander of Jingyang Town, from afar in Dongping Prefecture these days. He has a face as red as a date, phoenix eyes and silkworm eyebrows, and a long beard. He wields a crescent steel knife and rides a white horse. He looks a bit like Guan Yu from the Three Kingdoms. He heard about the incident at Zhujiazhuang and went to your mansion to verify and plead for justice. I'm afraid he has a lot to do with Zhujiazhuang. We may have to fight in the future."

Zhao Zhen said, "He has only two battalions of soldiers and only Yun Tianbiao and his son as generals. I have thirty to fifty brothers who are experienced in fighting. After annexing Dulonggang, we have more soldiers. Why should I be afraid of him? Besides, he is a government army, and I am a vassal county of the Song Dynasty. We are not under the same command. As long as we don't rebel, he can't do anything to us."

Wu Yong said: "Even so, we still have to be careful. After all, he is only half a day's journey away from us."

Zhao Zhen saw that Wu Yong was serious about what he said, and after thinking for a moment, he said, "From Jingyang Town to Liangshan County, we must pass through Heihu Temple Town. Now Sun An and Deng Fei's troops have been stationed there, and Shi Jin, Chen Da, and Yang Chun's cavalry can be organized and transferred there. Then transfer Li Ying and Yang Lin's cavalry there."

"Brother Shi Xiu, who has just arrived, is very good at martial arts, bold but careful. He has now formed a group of [shield-wielding swordmen], capable of both attack and defense. He has also been transferred to the large camp at Black Tiger Temple. Another newcomer, [Golden Retriever] Duan Jingzhu, is a nimble hero like Shi Qian. He is also recruiting soldiers and will be stationed at Black Tiger Temple after the army is formed. What do you think of this arrangement, Scholar?"

Wu Yong said: "Your Excellency has considered it very carefully. This arrangement can not only take care of Dulonggang, but also provide the power of investigation and defense. Please give the order to have Lin Chong, Li Ying, and Sun An sneak into the vicinity of Jingyang Town and ambush today. I think Zhu Yongqing will go out to avoid disaster and seek refuge elsewhere in the next two days."

When Zhao Zhen heard this, he immediately wrote a transfer order, used the seal, and ordered Zhao Ji and Zhang Qi to pass on the military order separately. He also called [Advance Officer] Li San, disguised himself and went to Jingyang Town to contact [White Rat] Bai Sheng, secretly inquired and passed on the news to prevent Zhu Yongqing from escaping. Seeing that Zhao Zhen was done, Wu Yong continued: "After talking about Zhujiazhuang, let's talk about the weapons and armor that the master is concerned about. This time I went there, I told the old man that the county is surrounded by fog, and many forces are not used to us becoming a vassal county, and they are making things difficult for us everywhere. It's a pity that the county's military equipment is not complete, and I pray that the old man can give me some advice."

"At first, the old man was a little hesitant. I asked the old steward Zhao Xing to pretend to mention it in front of the old lady. The old lady was worried about her daughter, so she forced the old man to go to the warehouse to collect a batch of armor."

"I bribed the clerk who was guarding the storehouse, and with his advice, I spent some silver to buy 800 pieces of leather armor at the price of 7 guan each. I also bought 500 pieces of iron armor that the imperial guards replaced at the price of 12 guan each. I also bought 150 pieces of infantry armor at the price of 25 guan each."

"The official saw that we were also officials of the Song Dynasty, and that I wanted a lot of armor, so he asked me if I wanted weapons. I thought that although the county had no shortage of them, I might as well take a look."

"So I pretended to be reluctant and said, 'This weapon can be made by a blacksmith, and the price is cheaper than these depreciated ones.' But I didn't expect that this man actually led me to the deepest part of the warehouse, and took out swords and guns. They were all new swords that had been greased and wrapped tightly. I showed them to Brother Shi Jin, and they were all top-quality weapons that had been tempered thirty times. There were two thousand spear heads, three hundred daggers, five hundred broadswords, and one hundred phoenix-beak swords."

"After the transaction, this man saw that I was a big customer, and secretly asked me to go to a house. He took out thirty divine arm bows, each equipped with a hundred crossbow arrows, and asked me for a thousand strings of cash. He said that the master craftsman in the workshop made extra bows, so he gave it to me at a low price."

"Only these weapons and armor cost nearly 25,000 strings of cash. The remaining 5,000 strings of cash were used to purchase horses, mules, and carts, as well as rice and flour. The lower part was armored with weapons, and the upper part was covered with rice and flour to confuse the audience."

Zhao Zhen said, "I thought it would be good enough to buy leather armor, but I didn't expect there would be infantry armor. This crossbow is even more valuable. I heard that the army has strict control and never leaks it. I didn't expect it to leak out from the Artisan Institute."

Wu Yong said: "It's all because of these corrupt officials who are lining their pockets. Hey, why are you talking about this. Sir, there are two good things to do on this trip to Dongping Prefecture."

"What's the matter? The scholar is laughing so happily."

Wu Yong smiled and said, "Sir, this first one is indeed a happy event. Brother Shi Jin had nothing to do, so he wandered around Dongping Prefecture and met a prostitute named Li Ruilan. He took her as his concubine. Now he has brought the whole family to Liangshan County."

"Yes, it is a happy event. What about the second one?"

Wu Yong said: "The second one is even better. That day, the old man allowed us to purchase military equipment. He seemed to be worried about the safety of the great official, so he called a young general from the imperial army and asked him to go to Liangshan County. This man was called Fu Yu. When we talked, we found out that he was actually the apprentice of Brother Luan Tingyu."

Zhao Zhen said: "It is true that if we are not destined to meet, we will not meet even if we are face to face. If we are destined to meet, we will meet even if we are thousands of miles apart. I wonder where Fu Yu is. Please come and meet her as soon as possible."

(End of this chapter)