Liu Fangzhi never expected that a guest would come to visit him during the fourth update. This was not in line with normal communication etiquette. Unless there was another intention, thinking of "the other intention", Liu Fangzhi immediately rode his horse and ran to the mansion.

The entire Xiangyang City was pitch black, including Liu's mansion, and it was dark. Only the lights were on in the reception hall. In the guest hall, Xiao Yanqin was walking back and forth with his hands behind his back. Although he knew it was extremely impolite to visit at the fourth update, soldiers patrolled around Xiao's mansion all day long. Only after the third update, the patrol soldiers were reduced by half to find an opportunity.

At this time, footsteps came from outside the hall, and Liu Fangzhi appeared at the door, "Brother Xiao, are you still having fun and elegant to visit so late?" Liu Fangzhi smiled very happily, and the laughter was spread far in the quiet night.

Xiao Yanqin hurriedly stepped forward and bowed, "I am really sorry to disturb your residence's rest so late. I hope the general will forgive me!"

Liu Fangzhi's family is also a large Jiangling clan. Although it cannot be compared with the famous county of the Xiao family, it is also a wealthy family. He is a native of Jiangling and has lived in Jiangling City for hundreds of years. This is also one of the reasons why Chai Shao reused him and wanted to win over the local forces in Jiangling.

Although the Xiao family is a famous county, it was only moved from another place a few years ago. In fact, it was more because of Xiao Xian's full support and the glory of the Xiao nobles. The two families do not have much contact on weekdays, but they are all locals. They look up and see each other without looking down, and they are very polite to each other.

More importantly, Liu Fangzhi knew the details of the Xiao family and knew that they moved from Dunhuang, not from Danyang County as they advocated to the outside world. This kind of thing can be hidden from foreign strong dragons like Chai Shao, but it cannot be hidden from the native Liu family snake.

After knowing that Xiao was moved to Dunhuang, Liu Fangzhi guessed that the Dunhuang faction in the Sui Dynasty's officialdom was most likely to have a relationship with the Xiao family. So who is Xiao Feng from the Xiao family?

Liu Fangzhi was very envious and never easily knew what his true thoughts were. He knew the background of the Xiao family, and even his confidant general Yu Shouren accepted a bribe from the Xiao family and secretly released the Xiao family's children out of the city. He knew that he never spoke.

Liu Fangzhi smiled and waved his hand, "Discount guests come to the door, it's not too early or late. Brother Xiao can come to the door. This is the honor of the Liu family. Please sit down!"

The two of them took the seats. Xiao Yanqin sighed. "It should have been normal to visit, but there are always some soldiers coming and going in front and behind Xiao's house. It is really inconvenient. Please forgive General Liu."

Of course, Liu Fangzhi knew that those soldiers were sent by Chai Shao to monitor ten famous Jiangling families including Xiao Mansion. He smiled, "That was General Chai in order to protect the safety of the Xiao family. If there was a riot in Jiangling City, there would be scattered soldiers from the army rushing into Xiao Mansion to rob. I hope Brother Xiao can understand the general's painstaking efforts."

Liu Fangzhi's explanation made Xiao Yanqin smile helplessly. However, Xiao Yanqin also knew that the relationship between the Xiao and Liu families had not reached the point of talking about everything. Xiao Yanqin came to find Liu Fangzhi tonight. It was not to be here to bribe him. Even if he took out 5,000 taels of gold, Liu Fangzhi might not accept it.

Money is not omnipotent, especially the Jiangling rich family like the Liu family, who is not short of money. If you don’t have enough friendship, you will come to talk about buying, and Liu Fangzhi will turn against each other on the spot. Xiao Yanqin came here tonight, but in fact he was just here to test.

At this time, a maid brought in two cups of tea and presented it to the two. Xiao Yanqin picked up the tea cup and drank a sip of tea, and sighed slightly: "To be honest, what the wealthy families like us, who are crowded, fear the most is war. Whether the two armies are fighting or the Sui army enters the city, we are very afraid of being destroyed. I have also exchanged opinions with several other Jiangling families. Everyone's consensus is that they hope that General Liu can stand up and protect the local interests of Jiangling."

Speaking of this, Xiao Yanqin took out a joint letter, put it on the table, and pushed it to Liu Fangzhi. Liu Fangzhi smiled but said nothing. He took the letter and read it again, pushed it back, shook his head and said, "This letter should be handed over to General Chai. I am a small official position, so I am afraid I can't do anything."

"Why should General Liu be too humble? It has reached this critical moment of life and death. We all know that if the fire in the Sui and Tang Dynasties burned the city, the whole city of Jiangling would be broken. We also beg General Liu to save Jiangling City for the sake of the villagers."

Liu Fangzhi was silent for a moment, and a sarcastic smile slowly appeared on his face, and said lightly: "Isn't it easy for the Xiao family to save Jiangling City? It's just a simple task, why should I ask for my help?"

The living room was silent and the atmosphere became a little awkward. To this extent, the two sides were actually separated by only a layer of window paper, and they could be broken with one stab.

Xiao Yanqin also understood that he wanted to persuade Liu Fangzhi to come up with real information and use unrelated things like joint letters. How could Liu Fangzhi give him anything? It seems that this layer of window paper still has to be pierced.

"Okay! I won't hide it anymore. I received a letter from my brother a few days ago, namely, Prefect Xiao of Changsha County. General Liu should also know that he told me that the King of Chu attaches great importance to the southern families and will appease the places where he passes, which is encouraging. General Liu, you should also understand the current trend that the demise of the Tang Dynasty is inevitable. Under this trend, how should we, the Jiangling families choose? I believe General Liu is also a wise man, so I don't need to say more."

The words were gradually becoming plain. Liu Fangzhi took a sip of tea and showed a smile on his face, as if he was raiding. He suddenly asked, "Who is Brother Xiao Feng, the prefect of Liang County, Brother Xiao?"

Xiao Yanqin was stunned for a moment and then realized that they had already known their background. However, this made him feel a glimmer of hope. Liu Fangzhi knew it but did not tell Chai Shao, which means that Liu Fangzhi had an idea in his mind.

Xiao Yanqin smiled awkwardly and bowed, "It's really a dog."

"Oh!" Liu Fangzhi said a long time, "I understand."

"Okay! Thank you Brother Xiao for your honest advice. I promise to keep this secret for Brother Xiao and not reveal it. It's getting late. Brother Xiao, please go back to the mansion first! The soldiers patrolling in front of the Xiao Mansion will appear again later."

Speaking of this, Liu Fangzhi laughed meaningfully and said, "General Yu Shouren told me yesterday that he should protect the Jiangling clan well, especially a famous family like the Xiao family. He seems to have a lot of affection for the Xiao family!"

"Everyone is a village party, and it should be taken care of each other!"

Xiao Yanqin seemed to understand something in his heart, so he stood up and smiled, "Then I won't bother you anymore, I'll say goodbye."

Xiao Yanqin said goodbye and left. Liu Fangzhi walked to the lobby with his hands behind his back. Looking at the dark night sky, an elusive luster flashed in his eyes, and it was difficult for people to understand his thoughts.

.........

It is not far from Xiangyang City to Jiangling City. The two places are about 400 miles apart, and the remaining Jingshan veins are separated in the middle. After passing Jingshan, the mountain gradually slows down, and then there is the endless Jingnan Plain. If you are forcibly marching, you can get from Xiangyang to Jiangling in just three days.

Among the mountains and ridges of Jingshan Mountain, there is a spacious and flat official road. This road is a major road connecting the north and south of Jingxiang. However, there are only short-distance business trips and pedestrians in the mountains. Generally, long-distance merchants will take waterways and can carry more cargo on ships.

However, during this period, there were obviously more pedestrians on the official road, especially merchants, who rushed to the road with mules and donkeys loads of goods. This was also affected by the Jingxiang Battle. The Sui army confiscated ships on the north bank of the Yangtze River, which made the cargo ships in short supply, and the merchants had to change to land.

At noon, several young businessmen were sitting by the big rock on the side of the road to rest. A young man took a water hyacinth and drank a few sips of water, looked around and asked, "Brother Wu, do you think we can do a big business this way north?"

"Why can't it be? From Xiangyang to Jiangling, there is only one way to do big business, and you will definitely meet big buyers."

The person who spoke was a man in his early thirties, with bronze skin shining under the sun, and could be seen to be very strong. One of them was four people, holding more than a dozen donkeys, full of new teas that had just been picked this year. Judging from their appearance, they seemed to be full of confidence and wanted to do a big business.

At this time, a small merchant riding a mule rushed over from the north and shouted to them: "Go away quickly, there are troops coming from the north. If you see your donkeys, you will be exiled."

The four of them looked at each other, and the dark-skinned man made a quick decision: "Enter the woods!"

The four of them hid in a forest a hundred steps away with the donkey. As soon as they entered the woods, a team of cavalry rushed towards him, about one hundred people. They were scouts who were the first to explore the way. They divided into two groups and ran towards the woods on both sides. There were many pedestrians and merchants hiding in the woods on both sides. When everyone saw the cavalry running towards the woods, they were so scared that they fled deep into the woods.

But the scouts did not care about these passers-by merchants and almost turned a blind eye to them. The cavalry scouts came to check that there were no enemy ambushing. After searching for no abnormalities, the cavalry scouts continued to speed southwards.

Several young businessmen were not valued. At this time, their eyes were focused on the official road. They knew very well that at most ten miles apart, there would be a large group of people behind them. Sure enough, a quarter of an hour later, a huge army quickly moved south along the official road.

This is a Tang army with more than 50,000 people, hurriedly marching towards Jiangling. In front of the team, the red and white flag of the Tang army fluttered high, and the red and white flag was inlaid with gold edges, which means this is a king flag. Only Li Xiaogong can be qualified to use the gold-edged king flag, and even Chai Shao does not have this qualification.

The four merchants had a surprise. They did not expect that Li Xiaogong personally led the troops south. The leader of the army was silently watching the army. The army's armor, horses, morale, baggage and other important military information were formed in his mind.

This army of 50,000 people was completely passed, and it took at least an hour. When the leader's merchant waved his hand, they hurriedly left the woods and came to another open space behind the mountain.

The young businessman took an eagle cage from the donkey's back. At this time, the leader had finished writing the information and stuffed the information into the bamboo tube tied to the eagle's legs.

They opened the eagle cage, and an eagle letter spread its wings and flew quickly into the sky, hovering in the sky twice, and with a long sound, flying southward.
Chapter completed!