Chapter 350 Old Friends, King Qing’s Way to Wealth

May 17.

The Wuliang army invaded Liaoxi, and the court issued an order to Chongshan Town, Beiyuan Town, and the Liaoxi and Liaodong armies to lead troops to rush to the rescue.

May 18.

Chen Tonghui, the left assistant minister of the Ministry of War, was given the title of right deputy imperial envoy and governor of the Liaoxi war.

May 19.

The 6,500-man Tenglong Guard camp and 10,000 ordinary soldiers gathered outside the city, with weapons, armor, and food ready, ready to go at any time.

In the study room of the Weisi Yamen, Yang Zhengshan looked at the hanging map and pondered the next battle.

At this time, the Qinghuafu City had been sealed off, and the city had fallen into the hands of King Qing. In addition, King Qing mobilized the palace guards and Qinghua Guards to enter the city, with a total of more than 11,000 troops.

In addition, Chongshan Town also fed back a lot of information. It can be confirmed that Hou Yao, the lieutenant general of Fuzhou Guard in the north of Chongshan Town, and Liu Zeqing, the lieutenant general of Songzhou Guard in the east, have surrendered to Ji Feiyu, and Lu Chongde, the governor of Chongshan Town, and Ji He, the lieutenant general of Dingliao Guard in the south, have become prisoners.

The only thing that made Yang Zhengshan feel fortunate was that he received a reply from Niuzhuang and Tang Feihu. These two were not captured by Ji Feiyu and were already preparing for war.

At this time, the situation in front of Yang Zhengshan was divided into two parts. One part was the Wuliang army in Liaoxi. Liaoxi and Liaodong were separated by Changqing Mountain. The Wuliang army should not enter the territory of Liaodong in a short time.

The second part was Chongshan Town and Qinghua Prefecture. The rebels of King Qing and the court army were intertwined. You have me and I have you.

Ji Feiyu, the general of Chongshan Town, together with Hou Yao, the lieutenant general of the north, Liu Zeqing, the lieutenant general of the east, and Cui Liang, the lieutenant general of the west, should be able to gather 50,000 to 80,000 troops.

Niu Zhuang and Tang Feihu are estimated to be able to gather 20,000 troops, which is a big gap between their forces and the enemy. However, the garrisons of the various cities in Chongshan Town and the officials of the various garrisons may not all surrender to Ji Feiyu. Although the garrison officers and garrisons are relatively weak, the forces they control are not a small number.

But now Chongshan Town is in chaos, and these garrison officers and garrisons are now in a mess.

Yang Zhengshan marked them one by one on the map, frowning and thinking: "I don't know if the court has received the news of the rebellion of Prince Qing and Ji Feiyu!"

"The problem now is that Chongshan Town is in a mess, and a strong person is needed to lead Chongshan Town and gather this mess into a force!"

The trouble is here. Ji Feiyu is in rebellion, Governor Lu Chongde is imprisoned, and the Governor's Office and the Dusi Office are all in decline, so that no one in Chongshan Town can lead the overall situation now.

Niu Zhuang and Tang Feihu are definitely not good enough. They are lieutenant generals. They are good in their own territories, but outside the middle road, it is difficult for them to mobilize those guards and garrisons.

Yang Zhengshan is even worse. He is the commander of Tenglong Guard and has no relationship with Chongshan Town.

Without a subordinate relationship, he cannot mobilize the guards and garrisons of Chongshan Town.

"I hope the court can react faster!"

Yang Zhengshan can only put his hope on the speed of the court's reaction.

Just as Yang Zhengshan was thinking about the situation in Chongshan Town, a personal attendant outside the door walked in quickly, "Sir, there is someone outside the door asking to see you. The person's surname is Wei, and he said he is your old friend!"

"Old friend!"

Yang Zhengshan's expression moved, and he said, "Please bring him over!"

There seems to be only one old friend named Wei.

Sure enough, as Yang Zhengshan expected, the personal attendant soon brought Wei Cen to the study.

"Meet the general!" Wei Cen was still the same, with a solemn face, without any extra emotions.

Yang Zhengshan's mouth curled up slightly, "I didn't expect you to be in Liaodong!"

"I've always been in Liaodong!" Wei Cen said.

Yang Zhengshan nodded slightly, not surprised.

He always knew that the Secret Guard was keeping an eye on King Qing, but he didn't know who the leader of the Secret Guard in Liaodong was.

"Sit down! Serve tea!" Yang Zhengshan said slowly.

When the tea came, Yang Zhengshan looked at Wei Cen. They hadn't seen each other for seven or eight years. When they met again, Yang Zhengshan felt a little strange.

"Why did you come?" Yang Zhengshan asked.

"King Qing!" Wei Cen said concisely.

Yang Zhengshan nodded, "Tell me, I'm a little confused now!"

All his judgments now are based on guesses, and he doesn't know whether his guesses are right or wrong.

Wei Cen sat opposite him and said slowly: "We have been investigating King Qing for these years, but now we find that our investigation direction is wrong~~"

He told Yang Zhengshan about their investigations on King Qing over the years.

The ability of the Secret Guard is unquestionable, but the cunningness of King Qing also opened Yang Zhengshan's eyes.

According to Wei Cen's narration, the Secret Guard's focus was actually the same as Yang Zhengshan's. At the beginning, they were attracted by King Qing's fleet, but the Secret Guard knew much more than Yang Zhengshan.

King Qing did have a fleet, and the scale of this fleet was not small, but this fleet was not in Qinghuafu, or even in Dayong, but in Heishan Island.

That's right, the pirates on Heishan Island were King Qing's fleet.

The pirates on Heishan Island rarely took the initiative to rob merchant ships unless the merchant ships were close to Heishan Island, because they were not real pirates.

King Qing's navy has always been hidden on Heishan Island, but they did not stay only on Heishan Island.

Previously, the pirates on Heishan Island defeated the navy of the Li Sheng Dynasty, and then the Silla Jin family began to rebel.

"So the Silla Jin family is King Qing's people?" Yang Zhengshan frowned when he heard this.

If the Silla Jin family is King Qing's people, it will be troublesome.

Although the strength of the Lisheng Dynasty is not very good, it is a dynasty after all.

"No, the Silla Jin family and King Qing are in a cooperative relationship. Although the Silla Jin family was supported by King Qing in the early days, now that the Silla Jin family has become king, they are not controlled by King Qing." Wei Cen said.

Yang Zhengshan nodded slightly, which is reasonable.

Whether it is the Lee royal family or the Silla Jin family, they actually respect Da Rong in their bones.

Although the Silla Jin family has occupied the Lee Seong Dynasty now, no, there is no Lee Seong Dynasty now. Two years ago, the Silla Jin family changed the country's name to the Jin Rong Dynasty, but they have not yet been canonized by the old emperor.

There are still several people from the Lee royal family in Kyoto. Although the Lee Seong Dynasty has been destroyed, the Lee royal family still has blood.

In recent years, the Silla Jin family has been seeking to be canonized by the old emperor, and the attitude of the court is divided into two factions. Some people want to help the Lee Dynasty regain the throne, and some people think that the Silla Jin family can be canonized.

"Then the Silla Jin family may also cooperate with King Qing. As long as they help King Qing obtain the throne, King Qing will definitely recognize the Jinrong Dynasty!" Yang Zhengshan said.

Wei Cen nodded, "This possibility is not ruled out!"

In order to obtain the title of Darong and help King Qing ascend to the throne, this is not impossible.

It depends on whether the Silla Jin family dares to bet on King Qing.

"Are there any others?" Yang Zhengshan asked.

"Yes, we found that King Qing's fleet has been providing supplies for the Silla Jin family, and their supplies come from Jiangnan!" Wei Cen said.

That means there are people in Jiangnan working for King Qing!

Yang Zhengshan looked up at the map next to him and frowned in thought.

It costs a lot of money to train an army. According to the currently known intelligence, King Qing controls the soldiers of the two guards and a navy. The rebels in Chongshan Town can be trained with the power of the court, but the power in his hands can only be supported by himself.

The money and food consumed to support the soldiers of the two guards and a large navy is definitely not a small amount.

This shows that King Qing has other ways to make money, otherwise he would never be able to support so many troops.

Jiangnan and the Li Sheng Dynasty, this is a way to make money.

In the past, smuggling in Anyuan City was also a way to make money.

But it is not enough, there is still one more way.

Ji Feiyu and the Wulianghu tribe!

"You didn't notice that King Qing and Ji Feiyu were colluding at all?" Yang Zhengshan asked.

"No!" Wei Cen showed a bitter smile.

This time, their Secret Guard Zhenbei Division was seriously derelict in duty. After so many years of investigation, they actually didn't notice the collusion between King Qing and Ji Feiyu. It can be said that they have lost the face of the Secret Guard.

"Then how did Ji Feiyu and the Wulianghu tribe collude with each other?" Yang Zhengshan raised his question.

Obviously, Ji Feiyu and the Wulianghu tribe have been colluding for a long time. When Ji Feiyu was still the deputy general of Chongshan Town West Road, he had already colluded with the Wulianghu tribe.

How did the two sides reach cooperation? What is the foundation of mutual trust?

It is impossible for Ji Feiyu to send someone to talk and the Wuliang Hu tribe will be willing to cooperate with them, right?

This is definitely impossible!

Ji Feiyu and the Wuliang Hu tribe must have interests involved!

And the interests involved between them must be smuggling.

Simply put, Ji Feiyu may have been providing various resources to the Wuliang Hu tribe.

Both parties trade, share what they have and what they don’t have, and make profits together.

The Wuliang Hu tribe needs the supplies provided by Ji Feiyu, and Ji Feiyu, or King Qing, can earn money and food from it.

The smuggling collusion between Anyuan City and the Donghai Hu tribe was exposed before, but it became the best cover for Ji Feiyu.

However, there is another problem, that is, how the supplies were transported to the west road of Chongshan Town.

It must not have been transported from Qinghua Prefecture, otherwise this line would have been exposed long ago!

Yang Zhengshan looked at the map with his eyes narrowed.

"Jiangnan, Jizhou, Liaoxi, Chongshanzhen West Road!"

"Jiangnan, Jizhou, Li Sheng Dynasty!"

"Brother Wei, it seems that your investigation of King Qing has only uncovered the tip of the iceberg!"

"You are looking in the wrong direction. Neither Qinghua Prefecture nor Li Sheng Dynasty is the key. The key is Jizhou!"

Wei Cen also looked at the map, but he couldn't say a word.

This has to say how perfect King Qing's layout is.

Jiangnan, Jizhou, Liaoxi, Chongshanzhen West Road, this line has nothing to do with Qinghua Prefecture at all, and it can form a complete commercial route without passing through Qinghua Prefecture.

No one would doubt that the caravan entering Chongshanzhen West Road from Liaoxi would have something to do with King Qing.

The trade route between Jiangnan and Li Sheng Dynasty is on the sea, and even if it requires a fixed route to travel on the sea, it is difficult to catch their tail.

The only risk of exposure is that the money they harvested must be transported to part of Qinghua Prefecture, so the news that King Qing has a fleet in his hands cannot be hidden.

But it is very difficult to find out the situation and whereabouts of this fleet, because it is difficult to get on board and track it on the sea.

Yang Zhengshan changed the subject and asked: "What do you need to do next? What do you need me to do?"

Wei Cen shook his head, "It's not what we need you to do, it's what you need us to do?"

"According to the order of the admiral, I will provide all intelligence information to the general next. As long as the general needs it, I can provide the general with the information I have, and the general can tell me what information is needed, and I can arrange people to investigate!" Wei Cen said.

"Admiral, where is Eunuch Lu now?" Yang Zhengshan asked.

"The admiral has gone to Liaoxi!"

"How many people do you have?" Yang Zhengshan continued to ask.

Wei Cen said: "I am now a thousand-householder of Zhenbei Division, with 180 secret agents and 300 secret cavalrymen under my command. In addition, I can activate all the shadows in Liaodong area and Chongshan Town!"

Yang Zhengshan looked at Wei Cen in surprise.

Is he already a thousand-householder?

Secret agents are personnel responsible for investigating cases and gathering intelligence.

Secret cavalrymen are the armed forces of the Secret Guard.

Shadows refer to intelligence personnel lurking and hiding in the dark.

The Secret Guard can mobilize a lot of forces.

Yang Zhengshan pondered for a while and said: "I need you to provide me with all the intelligence of Chongshan Town, every city, every garrison, the more detailed the better!"

"No problem!" Wei Cen agreed without hesitation.

"Also, keep an eye on the Jinrong Dynasty. If they have the intention to send troops, tell me in advance!" Yang Zhengshan said.

If the Jinrong Dynasty is willing to send troops to help King Qing, the situation will become more complicated.

In the past four years, Tenglong Guard has also cooperated with Jinrong Dynasty. The two sides have frequent maritime trade. Speaking of Tenglong Guard, there is also suspicion of aiding the enemy, but this is allowed by the old emperor, so Yang Zhengshan is not too worried.

"Okay!"

Yang Zhengshan thought about it again and asked, "Do you still have people in Chongshan Pass?"

"Yes, but there are not many, probably only more than 30 people! Well, they are all warriors!" Wei Cen said.

"Can we still contact them?"

"Yes!"

Yang Zhengshan's eyes lit up, "Try to rescue Lu Chongde."

Wei Cen shook his head, "We have tried, and we can't rescue him!"

"..."

Yang Zhengshan was a little speechless.

Lu Chongde, the governor of Chongshan Town, is now the only one who can lead the overall situation of Chongshan Town. Yang Zhengshan still wants to rescue him, but now it seems that there is no chance.

"Then forget it!" Yang Zhengshan could only say so.

Wei Cen didn't care about Yang Zhengshan's disappointment, because his coming to Yang Zhengshan meant that Yang Zhengshan was the only one who could change the situation in Liaodong and Chongshan Town.

Lu Hua understood this point, so he asked Wei Cen to help Yang Zhengshan.

Of course, they also arranged people to find Niuzhuang and Tang Feihu, but their main force was still on Yang Zhengshan.

Yang Zhengshan stood up, took another look at the map, and said: "Next, I plan to besiege Qinghua City. I need you to keep an eye on Chongshan Pass and Songzhou Guard. Once they send troops to Qinghua City, I want to know it first."

Undoubtedly, the key to this battle is King Qing, and as long as King Qing is captured, the biggest problem will be solved.

So the battle of Qinghua City has become the most important battle.

"I obey your order!" Wei Cen stood up and clasped his fists in response.