Lord: Start with a book of Water Margin

Chapter 327 Birds and Whereabouts

The day before Zhao Zhen was to return, Zhao Zhen instructed Ji Qingwan to pack up the things that she was going to take back to the fantasy world, and asked Tian Lei, who came to deliver the goods, to take them back to Bailiu Village.

On the second day, after breakfast, Zhao Zhen, Chu Yuan, and Chu Yan, accompanied by Ji Minghan, Ji Mingdan, and the three Black Ant sisters, returned to Bailiu Village. After a quick packing, Zhao Zhen and his group returned to the fantasy world.

After the tea leaves were packed and stored, and the ore was sent to the blacksmith shop, Zhao Zhen asked someone to call Zhao Shiqilang. After greeting him, Zhao Zhen pointed to a few cages and said, "Shiqilang, see if you can tame these three birds of prey, and see if you can teach these pairs of parrots to speak."

Zhao Shiqilang took a look and said, "Sir, these two falcons can only hunt tits and the like, but they cannot be used as falcons. This eagle owl is nocturnal and is also useless. At most, we can let it recognize its home and guard the vegetable garden and orchard and hunt mice at night."

After hearing this, Zhao Zhen's eyes lit up. He had originally thought that this eagle owl was of no use, but after hearing what Zhao Shiqilang said, he realized that this eagle owl could make its home in Baishi Valley, as there were quite a few mice in the spiritual fields.

Zhao Zhen said, "Then train it. This eagle owl will make Baishi Valley its home. It will go to the spiritual field to hunt mice at night. Don't waste this falcon. After training, it would be best if it can catch cicadas. Their chirping will annoy people."

"This little falcon is also the first to come to teach us. I will go down and choose a site in the manor to build an eagle's nest."

Zhao Zhen nodded, pointed at the three pairs of parrots and said, "Take a look at these parrots again. Can you teach them to talk?"

"These two pairs are Debai parrots, parrots from Sichuan and Shu. Judging from their size, they are less than one foot long and are not yet adults. Adults can grow to one and a half feet long. They are green in color, with light blue-purple heads; their chests, abdomens, undersides of wings, and thighs are light gray-blue-purple. They are brightly colored, but they cannot speak."

"The remaining four pairs of Alexandrian parrots and mynah birds can be trained. They all have good mimicry skills. Although mynah birds are all black and not bright in color, they are good at singing and can imitate and produce various melodies. Their mimicry skills are much better than those of Alexandrian parrots."

Zhao Zhen smiled when he heard this. It was worthwhile for Ji Qingwan to come to the palace. Two pairs of three kinds of parrots were prepared, and half of them would be given away after they were trained.

"I was just about to report to the great lord that Li Ji caught a crested honey buzzard two days ago. I wonder what to do with it?"

Zhao Zhen asked curiously, "Can't we tame it?"

Zhao Shiqilang said, "Your Excellency may not know that this Crested Honey Buzzard is also called the Honey Buzzard. Although it also preys on snakes and mice, its favorite food is bees, wasps, hornets, and bees. It will not refuse anything that comes. This one was caught in Dongxi Village. The bee farm manager Tang Ding reported that this Honey Buzzard preys on bees, so Lord Xiao asked Li Ji to capture it. Seeing that it looks ferocious, he sent it to me."

"Can't it be trained to hunt only snakes and rats?"

Zhao Shiqilang said, "Sir, I don't know. I can only try my best. After all, to tame a bird of prey, you have to follow its nature and induce it with food. It's probably not easy to stop it from eating bees."

Zhao Zhen said: "It doesn't hurt to give it a try."

Zhao Shiqilang reluctantly nodded his head. Before leaving, Zhao Zhen asked about the pigeon training. Zhao Shiqilang replied, "Don't worry, sir. The pigeons have already started to be trained at close range, with a two-kilometer interval. After another twenty days of training, they will be moved to Heihu Temple Town for release. After that, they can be sent to Dulonggang, Jingyang Town, and Shijie Village, which are farther away."

"When these pigeons are trained, I will have a reward." Zhao Zhen sent Zhao Shiqilang to place the birds, and promised benefits. Zhao Zhen sat in the hall and thought about it. The most important thing for Liangshan County now is to pay attention to the birthday gift. He did not lack this money, and it would only be icing on the cake. However, this birthday gift is more like a test given to him by Gongsun Sheng. Now, he can't see Gongsun Sheng's attributes, so he knows that Gongsun Sheng has not made up his mind to surrender.

Thinking of this, Zhao Zhen sent someone to invite Wu Yong and Gongsun Sheng. After they met, Zhao Zhen asked, "Xiaojiu, how is the situation at Huangnigang?"

Wu Yong waved his feather fan and said, "Don't worry, sir. Lai Yong'er and his group have concealed themselves very well and have not revealed their tracks. There has also been news from Shi Qian that the group that is heading for the open route has already set out. There are a total of twenty-one carriages, each with a guard guarding it. Each carriage has a yellow flag with the words 'Presented to the Grand Tutor on his birthday' written on it, and fifty cavalry soldiers are following it. I think the group that is heading for the secret route is also on the way, but even though we have sent many spies, we have not been able to discover their whereabouts."

Zhao Zhen asked, "Did he sneak through the back road?"

Wu Yong shook his head: "These two hundred thousand strings of gold and pearls require a lot of help. The small roads are difficult to travel, and there are bandits who rob people on the way. It is better to take the main road like Ming did. As long as the distance is not far, we can still take care of it."

Zhao Zhen nodded. Seeing that it was already lunchtime, he asked the kitchen to send the meal to the living room, and the three of them sat together to eat.

After the meal, Zhao Zhen ordered tea. While drinking the tea, Zhao Zhen said, "We purchased a lot of new tea this time. I asked Zhao Yuanli to pack it up. I will give each of you one or two ounces of [Hundred-year-old Huangshan Maofeng], and add one pound of ordinary [Huangshan Maofeng]. Drinking it for a month will also strengthen your spirit."

Wu Yong said: "I drank it last year. The soup was clear and slightly yellow, with an orchid-like fragrance and a mellow taste. I still remember it. I didn't expect to be able to taste it again this year."

After hearing this, Gongsun Sheng said, "Then you must taste it carefully." Then he raised his cup and took a sip.

Gongsun Sheng was about to speak when Zhao Yuanli led Duan Jingzhu in. After greeting him, Duan Jingzhu said, "Sir, we have found the secret path."

Upon hearing this, Wu Yong hurriedly asked, "Which road are you taking?"

Duan Jingzhu said, "We took the Huangnigang Road. Five days after leaving the city, we saw this dark road. There were about thirty people, carrying loads, all dressed as porters. They came out of the town the next day, and were only one day's journey away from the bright road ahead. If it weren't for Brother Shi Qian's carefulness and insistence on staying for one more day, we wouldn't have found this group of people."

After hearing this, Zhao Zhen looked at Wu Xuejiu and the other man.

Wu Yong said: "That's good. Now we have found out who they are. We just need someone to leak the news to Lai Yong'er and others so that they can prepare early to avoid any mistakes."

Wu Yong nodded. It was not appropriate for Shi Qian and his brothers to be involved in this matter. So he asked them to find two spies, disguise them as traveling merchants, and have them stop by his hotel to rest, and inadvertently reveal the matter of the caravan.

Then Lai Yong'er will definitely send Huangfu Xiong, who is good at running, to investigate. As long as they can track down these people, Lai Yong'er will surely have a countermeasure.

Zhao Zhen said, "If Lai Yong'er and his group succeed, how can we take this treasure from them?"

(End of this chapter)