The two rode north. On the way, Song Qingshu suddenly asked, "If the Red Coat Army and the Yang family have such a relationship, why did the imperial court do nothing? As far as I know, the Huaidong Commissioner Liu Gu is stationed in Chuzhou with thirty thousand soldiers. Why is Xia Quan so fearless? "
The yellow-shirted woman's eyes flashed with anger, "It's okay if you don't mention Liu Gu. I get angry when you mention him."
"What's wrong?" Song Qingshu remembered that Yang An 'er was also dissatisfied with Liu Gu.
"It all has to do with the conflict between Han Xuan Zhou and Jia Xidao …" The yellow-shirted woman sighed and told him everything.
Originally, Han Xingzhou wholeheartedly focused on the Northern Expedition and naturally valued the Central Plains Volunteer Army. He sent his trusted aide, Xu Xiji, to be the Huaidong Commanding Officer to appease and rope in these Volunteer Army and even provided them with money, provisions, and weapons. But later, Han Xingzhou fell from power, and Xu Xiji naturally could not continue in this position. Liu Gu of the Jia Faction succeeded him. He changed his previous policy of appeasing and appeasing the Volunteer Army.
"The emperor doesn't care?" Song Qingshu was confused.
The yellow-shirted woman sneered, "You know that our emperor is a surrender party. He is worried that the existence of the Red Coat Army will anger the Jin Kingdom and get him into trouble. Plus, there are many scum in the Red Coat Army. Some of the generals accepted money and supplies from the imperial court and secretly sold them to the enemy. The officials complained about this and it became the straw that broke the camel's back, which made the emperor want to kill them. "
Song Qingshu vaguely remembered that the Red Coat Army was an uprising in the beginning. But later on, some of the leaders changed. They started to control the army and tried to gain support from the Jin Kingdom, the Song Dynasty, and the Mongols. They focused on expanding their power and didn't listen to the commands of the Song Dynasty.
Of course, the reason for this was not only because of human greed, but also because of the various discriminatory policies of the Southern Song Dynasty. For example, the Volunteer Army was called the Northern Army. They didn't allow the Northern Army to enter the Southern Song Dynasty's territory and embezzled food and supplies. When the Northern Army and the Southern Army had a dispute, the officers would definitely side with the Southern Army. Plus, the Song Dynasty had always been wary of military generals.
The yellow-robed woman spoke again, "According to the analysis of our intelligence, Xia Quan's annexation of the Red Coat Army was most likely supported by this Liu Gu!"
Song Qingshu, on the other hand, had a look of approval on his face. "This Liu Gu's methods are quite clever. He made the two tigers fight each other and then reaped the benefits. But now that we're involved, we naturally can't let him get what he wants."
"En!" The yellow-robed woman secretly clenched her fists, thinking that she must rescue the Yang Family this time.
The two of them traveled for several hours and finally rested in a small town. The yellow-robed woman said, "Wait for me at the teahouse up ahead. I'll be right back."
"Where are you going?" Song Qingshu wondered. There was no mobile phone in this world. What if they got separated? He was pressed for time and could not afford to waste any time.
The yellow-clothed woman blushed. "I'll be back soon."
Song Qingshu asked, "Go to the bathroom?"
"No!" The yellow-robed woman spat.
"Oh, then I'll go with you in case we get separated later." Song Qingshu followed her.
"I'm going to buy clothes!" The yellow-robed woman could not help but roll her eyes at him.
"Oh, then let's go together." Song QingShu said with a smile. When he saw her stuttering before, he thought it was something serious. As for his own clothes, he could just ask the waiter to buy them for him. He didn't need to choose them himself like a woman.
"How can we go together!" The yellow-robed woman was extremely embarrassed.
"Why can't we go together? Besides, I said I'll pay for you. " In his previous world, accompanying a woman to buy clothes was a normal thing. Not to mention accompanying such a beautiful woman to go shopping.
In the end, the yellow-robed woman could not change his mind. When they arrived at the clothing store, she could not help but complain, "If I didn't know that you don't care about etiquette, I would definitely think that you're a lecher."
"I'm not going in. I'm waiting for you at the door. What kind of lecher is that?" Song Qingshu naturally knew that in this era, the barriers between men and women were very obvious. A store that sold women's goods would not sell men's goods. Men would not set foot in such a place. In addition, clothing stores were different from the future. Most of the time, they only sold cloth or satin. Customers would buy them and make their own clothes. Of course, there were ready-made clothes, but they were relatively rare.
The yellow-robed woman could not be bothered with him. She began to choose in the store. Now, there was no time to buy cloth to make clothes. Naturally, she could only buy ready-made clothes. When the boss saw a fairy-like girl with an outstanding temperament, he knew that a big customer had come. He hurriedly greeted her warmly.
Song Qingshu leaned against the door and felt a bit bored. He asked, "Oh right, I finally know what the next line of the poem you told me last time means."
The yellow-robed woman who was choosing clothes paused. A trace of red flashed across her cheeks. "What poem?"
"The spring grass will be green next year. The next line is whether the prince's grandson returns or not." Song Qingshu had a faint smile on his face. "I didn't expect you to be so eager for me to return."
The room fell into silence. After a long time, the yellow-robed woman said, "I don't remember telling you any poems."
"How could that be? At that time, we were seeing each other off in the palace. You …"
Song Qingshu wanted to say more, but the yellow-robed woman had already quickly walked out with a bundle. "I said there's no such thing!" With that, she ran away without looking back.
He was about to chase after her when he was pulled back by the store's boss. "Hey, hey, hey. You haven't paid yet …"
Song Qingshu was speechless. He could only throw a piece of silver to him. "Keep the change." With that, he hurriedly chased after her.
The store's boss took out a small scale and weighed the silver. After confirming it again and again, he couldn't help but curl his lips. "Not much, not little. Just right. Don't even need the change. Pah, pretending to be rich. Serves that fairy-like girl right for running away."
Song QingShu naturally didn't know that the boss was ridiculing him behind his back. Right now, he was sitting in a restaurant, admiring the yellow-clothed girl's bright red cheeks up close. "Normally, your skin is too pale, without any color. You look healthier like this."
"It's none of your business." The yellow-robed woman picked up the teacup to hide the panic in her heart. She secretly regretted that she had been possessed to leave him a poem. It was really embarrassing.
Song Qingshu held his chin and quietly looked at her profile. Her face was as white as the first snow. The soft lines seemed to be outlined by a stroke of a pen. Usually, she was indifferent and cold. It was rare to see her reveal a bashful appearance. It was truly pleasing to the eye.
"Have you seen enough?" Feeling his gaze, the yellow-robed woman felt as if it was real. She suddenly felt uncomfortable.
"Of course not," Song Qingshu said confidently. "The ancients said that beauty is a feast for the eyes. I finally understand what kind of experience it is."
"You …" The yellow-robed woman suddenly sighed. "No wonder you have so many female friends around you. There really aren't many girls in the world who can resist your pestering."
Song Qingshu was startled. He smiled bitterly and said, "In all honesty, I was clearly only thinking of you."
"Then what about now?" The yellow-robed woman's clear as water eyes looked at him.
"Uh …" Song Qingshu suddenly fell into silence. He was aroused by her words. At this time, many people appeared in his mind. For example, he would pass by Yangzhou on his way north. He hesitated whether or not he should go see Zhou Zhiruo first. After all, the two of them had been separated for a long time.
The yellow-robed woman also gradually calmed down. "The poem I told you last time was only out of friendship. You don't need to think too much about it."
Song Qingshu knew that she was saying this to cut off the thread of love and deliberately alienate the relationship between the two of them. In fact, at this time, as long as he used some tricks and increased his favorability, it wasn't impossible to win her heart. But now he was entangled in love debts. There were many female friends that he couldn't see once or twice a year. Did he really have to go and harm new girls?
"I understand." Song Qingshu put away his teasing thoughts and drank the wine in his cup in one gulp.
Seeing his suddenly lonely appearance, the yellow-robed woman lightly bit her lips. For a moment, she couldn't bear to see him like this. Was she too heartless?
At this time, there was a sudden noise from not far away. A group of people dressed like merchants came in and drank and chatted. "Have you heard? There's a fight in Yangzhou soon."
"Yangzhou?" Song Qingshu suddenly turned his head. What was going on? Why didn't he receive any news?
The yellow-robed woman was also shocked. She also looked in the direction of the noise.
"Isn't Yangzhou the Prince of Qi's territory? Who dares to touch the Emperor's territory?"
"I heard that it's Xia Quan of the Red Coat Army. This Xia Quan is incredible. Ever since Yang An 'er was killed, he suddenly rose to power and swallowed up most of Yang An' er's forces. Now, he is the strongest branch of the Red Coat Army."
"Aren't the Golden Snake Army and the Red Coat Army on good terms? Why did they suddenly start fighting?"
"I don't know about that. But isn't it normal for them to fight over territory? Yangzhou is a famous affluent place in the world. Who wouldn't be envious?"
"I don't know if our Great Song can take advantage of this situation to return north and recover Yangzhou."
"Forget it. Don't you know what's going on in the Imperial Court?"
"Shh, be careful with your words."
… …
Hearing the discussions of those people, the yellow-robed woman looked worriedly at Song Qingshu. "Brother Song, should we ask them about the specifics?"
Song Qingshu shook his head. "No need. They are only passing merchants. Their knowledge is limited. Even if we ask them, we won't be able to get any concrete information."
"Then what should we do now?" The yellow-robed woman asked.
"Let's go." Song Qingshu stood up and walked out.
The yellow-robed woman hurriedly followed. "Where are we going?"
"The largest brothel in the city."
“？ … … "
The yellow-robed woman stayed outside the brothel. Who knew how many young masters had come to strike up a conversation with her? They all thought that she was a girl from the brothel. One after another, they all ran over and expressed that they would redeem her regardless of the price.
"This scoundrel. If I had known earlier, I would have gone in with him." The yellow-robed woman's face was frighteningly dark. Just now, Song Qingshu had walked straight in. She hesitated for a long time but still decided to wait for him outside. As a lady, how could she go to this kind of place?
However, she quickly regretted it. Standing in front of the brothel like this was even more eye-catching. After chasing away another lecher, she could only run to the opposite side and find a shady place to wait. She was extremely angry. "This scoundrel, why did he come to this kind of place at this time?"
She wasn't an idiot. She didn't think that after hearing the news of Yangzhou being attacked, Song Qingshu would still have the mood to come to this kind of place to seek pleasure. Of course, even if he didn't hear the news of Yangzhou being attacked, with so many women by his side, he shouldn't have come to this kind of place. Moreover, he had her accompanying him. She didn't think that there was anyone in this brothel who had more charm than her.
"Bah, bah, bah, what are you all thinking about?" The yellow-robed woman angrily stomped her feet. She continued to look towards the door of the brothel. Finally, she saw Song Qingshu come out.
"How is it? Is there any news?" The yellow-robed woman walked forward and asked with some concern. Although she didn't know that Song Qingshu had specially built an information network of brothels in the Southern Song Dynasty, with her intelligence, she could more or less guess that he went in to inquire about information. This kind of place was the place where the flow of information was the fastest.
Song Qingshu nodded and explained, "Xia Quan has annexed Yang You's branch of the Red Coat Army. His power has greatly increased. This morning, he suddenly began to mobilize his troops to attack Yangzhou."
"Is there anything happening in Yangzhou?" The yellow-robed woman asked anxiously. Suddenly, her heart was startled. Why was she so nervous? Yangzhou had nothing to do with her. Could it be that she was nervous for him? Thinking of this, her heart madly jumped a few times.
"Yangzhou is a large city. How could it fall so easily?" Song Qingshu's face revealed a worried expression. "However, compared to Xia Quan, I am more worried about Liu Gu's thirty thousand troops in Chuzhou."
The yellow-robed woman didn't understand. She said, "Liu Gu dealing with the Red Coat Army is one thing, but right now, you are the Prince of Qi conferred by the imperial court. Could it be that he dares to risk universal condemnation and openly attack your territory? Wouldn't that be lightly starting a war? How could he bear this responsibility? "
"Naturally, he wouldn't dare to openly attack Yangzhou. However …" Song Qingshu snorted coldly. "He can help Xia Quan in secret. I have received information that not only did he secretly provide Xia Quan with money, rations, and armor, he also had his troops station near Yangzhou. Nominally, it is to help Yangzhou. However, in reality, it is to obstruct Yangzhou's mobilization of troops. Moreover, because his troops are covetously watching from the side, Yangzhou's originally few troops will have to be divided to guard against him. This will cause the pressure of resisting Xia Quan to increase."
Previously, when they recovered Li Kexiu's territory and influence, they obtained about 38000 elite troops. Afterwards, Zhou Zhiruo slowly expanded the recruitment. Their number was about fifty to sixty thousand. Because they followed Song Qingshu's policy of quality over quantity, the number of troops in Yangzhou was maintained at this number. A large portion of the troops had to be divided to defend the other prefectures. Currently, in Yangzhou, the field troops that Zhou Zhiruo could mobilize were at most about twenty to thirty thousand.
According to intelligence, Xia Quan had about forty to fifty thousand troops under his command, while Liu Gu had thirty thousand. Although they might not be as elite as the troops under Yang Zhou's command, the advantage in numbers was still quite obvious.
"But who gave him the courage?" The yellow-shirted woman was very confused. "Even if Liu Gu helped Xia Quan conquer Yangzhou, what good would it do him? When will he face the imperial court's interrogation and the Golden Snake Camp's revenge? "
"Of course it's our Pingzhang Military Minister, Master Jia." Song Qingshu had been confused before. With Jia Shidao's shrewdness, why would he think of using a few women to tie him down? Now that he thought about it, it was just a way for him to numb himself. The main event was still in Yangzhou. That way, he could naturally lead him here. Naturally, he had no time to worry about Wudang's affairs.
-----
He always felt that two thousand words per chapter was too little. In the future, he would gather the daily updates into one chapter. As for the word count … it was really hard to say. Let's leave it to fate.
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