Until the next day, the supplies in the Jiazhang Storehouse had not been completely counted. Wang Xiaolie sent former officials from the city to help with the inventory.

At noon, Shao Ling suddenly sent someone, saying that he had something important to report.

Calling the person in, Wang Xiaolian asked: "What happened? Could it be that I caught up with Yang Jin?"

The soldier said: "Report to the governor, we pursued all the way but failed to catch up with Yang Jin. Yang Jin passed by the Guanghua Army and did not attack the city. He went straight to Gucheng County in Xiangyang Prefecture. Judging from his appearance, both Shao Tongzhi and Niu Tongzhi were both

It is estimated that he is going to attack Xiangyang Mansion."

"Oh, what happened? Shao Ling sent you back?"

The soldier said: "We passed through the Guanghua Army and unexpectedly met the imperial envoy, saying that we were going to Henan Mansion to welcome the gods. In order to avoid Yang Jin's army, we hid in a farmer's house outside the Guanghua Army. Shao Tongzhi wanted to pursue Yang.

We had no choice but to send dozens of soldiers to escort them to Dengzhou."

"Envoy?" Wang Xiaolie couldn't help but feel strange after hearing this. This year, the Jin army did not move south in a large scale, so why did the imperial court send people to welcome the emperor's mausoleum as he marched south? Wouldn't this make people doubt that they had no intention of the Northern Expedition?

After pondering for a while, Wang Xiaolie asked: "Who is this person? Where are they now?"

The soldiers said: "The ones coming are Ji Ling from Zhongshushe, and Wang Ruohai from the Supervisory and Examination Institute. They are guarded by the soldiers and are coming to Dengzhou."

Wang Xiaolie asked in detail about the number of people who came and the size of the ceremonial guard, and then asked the soldiers to go back and answer. He told Shao Ling that he must pursue Yang Jin closely. For other unimportant matters, just send someone to tell him, and don't be distracted.

After thinking for a while, Wang Xiaolie decided to greet the imperial envoy in person. He had always played the role of a loyal court official, and when an envoy came, and his official position was much higher than his own, it was better to be more respectful.

Wang Ruohai, who was in charge of the Procuratorate, did not have a high official position and was still young, so he could be ignored. Zhongshushe was a noble Ci official, and his status in the Song Dynasty court had always been very high. Ci ministers and censors were always noble, even if they held official positions

The grades are the same, but the courtesy is much higher. Leaving a good impression on such people and saying a few good words to yourself in the court will be of much greater use.

Looking at the sky, Wang Xiaolie took Yu Huan and a hundred soldiers out of Dengzhou and marched to the Guanghua Army in the south. It was already dark after crossing Chaoshui, so he stayed at an abandoned post station for one night, and the next day

Continue southbound.

After traveling for more than twenty miles, it was almost noon. Wang Xiaolie ordered to find a place to drink some tea. When the soldiers were looking for a suitable place, they saw a fast horse galloping towards them. When they arrived, they dismounted.

It turned out that they were people sent by Shao Ling to protect the envoy. They were resting at a farmhouse a few miles away by the roadside. When they saw Wang Xiaolie arriving, they hurried to join them. On this official road, the Jin army passed by last year, burning, killing and looting.

It was difficult for anyone to survive. It was the homes farther away from the road, because the Jin army did not have time to search around, and they survived.

With his subordinates, Wang Xiaolie came a few miles away. He saw a house by the river with three thatched houses and a bamboo-fenced courtyard, which was very quiet. Outside the courtyard gate, a yellow dog lay lazily on a big stone.

When he saw everyone coming, he got up and barked non-stop.

When they arrived outside the door, someone came out. Seeing that it was Wang Xiaolie, he hurriedly stepped forward to salute.

Entering the courtyard, they saw a pot of charcoal fire lit under the shed in the courtyard and several people surrounding it. Standing outside in the courtyard were the soldiers sent by Shao Ling to protect them. Seeing Wang Xiaolie come in, they crossed their hands and sang a promise together.

.

Approaching the shed, Wang Xiaolie saw that sitting in the middle was an official in his forties or fifties dressed in purple, and next to him was an official in Tsing Yi.

At this time, there are regulations on the clothes of officials, such as the color of the official uniform and the fish bag used. It can be seen at a glance. Wang Xiaolie recognized that the person sitting in the middle should be Ji Ling, and stepped forward to salute. He cupped his hands and said: "Ruzhou

The king of Zhizhou met two envoys at night."

Ji Ling looked Wang Xiaolie up and down and said, "Are you the magistrate of Ruzhou? You look quite young. We were ordered by the court to go to Henan Mansion to greet the emperors of the past dynasties. Unexpectedly, the Guanghua Army not only did not inform us to greet them,

We also encountered thieves. Fortunately, we hid in time, otherwise we would have been killed by the thieves. Now that we have met you, please escort us to Henan Mansion."

Wang Xiaolie was startled for a moment and said: "Sheren, Yang Jin is causing trouble to several states in front of him. He is extremely difficult to deal with. Even Zhai Taiwei, the envoy of the Northwest Road of Beijing, died in his hands. If he is not captured, let him escape.

Go, I don’t know how much trouble it will cause——”

Ji Ling said displeasedly: "The world is in trouble right now, and there are not many thieves anywhere! You local guards are not careful, so you let them flee in all directions. You can send military generals to chase us, and it is more serious to escort us with a large group! If something happens to us,

, how can you, a magistrate, bear this?"

Seeing what he meant, Wang Xiaolie understood that Ji Ling looked down on him. As a magistrate, he was only granted a temporary title by Lu Qing. How could he compare with courtiers like Ji Ling? If he hadn't been frightened by the thieves, Wang Xiaolie would have

Escort, Ji Ling didn't even bother to say so many words.

Seeing that Wang Xiaohe was silent, Wang Ruohai on the other side said: "In these troubled times, local officials still have to maintain the local area. Wang Zhizhou, you sent two to three hundred soldiers to escort us all the way. Yang Jin, this thief, is

Wang Yuan's subordinates are familiar with military affairs and should not be underestimated."

Wang Xiaolie hurriedly handed over his hand: "What the prison hospital said is that Yang Jin is extremely brave and popular. If he is given a chance, he will gather a large number of people. If he cannot be eliminated in time, it will become a big problem in the future! From here, go to Henan Prefecture.

, this is the way I came after Yang Jin, and it was peaceful all the way. I will send someone to escort you two, and there will be nothing wrong on the way!"

Ji Ling was a little unhappy. But seeing that Wang Xiaolie was unwilling to escort him, there was nothing he could do. Courtiers and noble poets were of no use now. In troubled times, one has to speak with swords and guns. Now Wang Xiaolie has

Soldiers, these courtiers can listen to what they want to hear, but they can't if they don't want to.

Ask Wang Xiaolie to sit down. Wang Ruohai said: "After passing Xiangyang Mansion, there was no one at the post station on the road. There were no officers in the Guanghua Army, and we encountered thieves. The road was really hard. When we got here, we happened to meet this family.

People come here to have a cup of tea."

This family was several miles away from the road, and Wang Xiaolie couldn't figure out how they happened to find it. It seemed that Ji Ling was tired from walking, so he sent someone to find this place. With people from the Shao Ling faction to protect him, why bother?

So tired from walking.

After sitting for a while, an old man came out of the house and saluted: "Gentlemen, I have killed a few chickens in my house for you to fill your stomachs. It is almost the twelfth lunar month, and I have brewed some wine at home. I was going to drink it during the Chinese New Year.

, don’t think it tastes too thin.”

Ji Ling waved his hand and said: "Come up quickly! I haven't been able to sleep well these past few days, and it's really hard to endure the lack of meaty taste in my mouth!"

The old man promised. He turned back to the house and brought a large pot of chicken and two wine jars with two children under ten years old.

The wine was poured into the bowl. Ji Ling took a sip and spit it out. He cursed, "This is also called wine? If you sell it in the city, who will drink it?"

The old man turned pale with fright and apologized profusely.

Wang Xiaoxing said: "The village wine is just like this, so there is no need to take it personally. Just drink it as water, eat it and let's go on our way."

Ji Ling muttered bitterly, ordered the wine to be poured again, and picked up chopsticks to eat.

In the Song Dynasty, wine was not allowed to be made without permission in the city, but in the countryside it was not allowed. Therefore, farmers with a little wealth would make wine. Especially in winter, the wine was brewed just in time to drink during the New Year, which was called wax wine. Lu You wrote a poem "Mo Xiao Farmers' wax wine"

This is what "wine is muddy" means. However, the conditions of farmers are limited, so the wine is not only weak in taste, but also muddy. A fastidious official like Ji Ling cannot drink it.

Seeing everyone eating, Wang Xiaolie got up, called a soldier, and asked him to bring a silver coin to his master. A farmer ate a few of his chickens, drank a lot of wine, and ate up all his property in one meal.

Officials are not willing to pay from their own pockets unless the government pays for it.

Seeing Wang Xiaolie ordering the master to send money, Wang Ruohai sighed inwardly. In this era, there were not many officials with such a heart, especially a military general. Knowing the suffering of the people, Wang Xiaolie was considered a good person.
Chapter completed!