The night passed, and the next morning.
The golden sunlight shone on the forest, covering the ground with a layer of golden light.
In the forest in the early morning, the chirping of birds, beasts, and insects could be heard.
Ma Zhou, Xiang Shan, and the others continued their journey. It was fortunate that they had someone like Xiang Shan, or else it would be easy to get lost in the mountains. It was another day of traveling, but towards the end, Ma Zhou and the others were getting more and more tired. Because there was still no end in sight, and they couldn't see the way out, everyone was getting impatient.
Ma Zhou, on the other hand, was still fine. He was very clear that he could only trust Xiang Shan as they were rushing through the mountains.
Because there was no other choice.
After another half a day of traveling, the group finally left the mountains in the evening, leaving the mountains of Swords Gate Pass. In fact, this time was already considered short, it was just Xiang Shan familiarizing himself with the mountain path. If it was someone else, even the slightest mistake would cause problems, and they would be lost in the mountains without knowing it.
Xiang Shan looked at the setting sun, he said, "Mister, should we stop and rest for the night before continuing our journey, or should we continue our journey?"
Ma Zhou said in a deep voice, "We will continue our journey and head straight for the Pu An County of the Jian Province. When we arrive at Pu An County, we will understand the situation there, and then we will think about how to deal with Li Chengqian.
"Yes!"
Xiang Shan agreed immediately.
The group took a shortcut and left, and in just one night, they were already far away from Swords Gate Pass. During the day, the group of people arrived at the small town and settled down at an inn in the small town. They washed up and changed their clothes. Then, they bought new horses. The group of people rode their horses to the south and headed straight for Pu 'an County.
From Swords Gate Pass to Pu An County, because the group traveled at a fast speed, they arrived in less than three days. Even though the road was difficult to travel, they still arrived.
Pu An County was the administrative area of the Jian Province.
The town was bustling with activity.
The Jian Province was the northern strategic town of Shu, and Pu An County was the administrative area of the Jian Province, the city was tall and sturdy.
After Ma Zhou and his group arrived at Pu 'an County, they entered the city and found an inn to stay in. Then, Ma Zhou ordered his subordinates to arrange for his personal guards to go out and scout for information.
Ma Zhou, on the other hand, was waiting for news in the inn.
At night, the people sent out returned.
In the room, Ma Zhou, Xiang Shan, and the rest of the people gathered. Ma Zhou looked at Xiang Shan and the others and said, "According to my arrangement, tell me what you've found out."
The group of guards began to talk. However, the ten guards did not manage to gather much information. It was all superficial information that was of little use. These guards also explained the reason why they couldn't get any information. It was because their language was very different from the local language, so it was difficult to get any information.
Ma Zhou's gaze landed on Xiang Shan as he asked, "Xiang Shan, what did you discover?"
Xiang Shan said, "Mister, I did find out some information. According to your order, I found out that the biggest family in this county is the Yang Family, and the Patriarch is Yang Lu. Yang Lu is a great Confucian scholar in the Jian Province, but he has never been an official. "
"However, you can't underestimate Yang Lu and the Yang Family. The County Magistrate of Pu 'an County is a member of the Yang Family. Even the biggest businessman in the Jian Province is from the Yang Family. It can be said that the Yang Family is deeply involved in all aspects of the Jian Province and is the local tyrant of the Jian Province. Even the Provincial Governor of the Jian Province is related to Yang Lu and is his disciple. "
Xiang Shan said, "As for the other big families, there's nothing to say. They are all suppressed by the Yang Family. If Mister wants to instigate a rebellion, you can only start with the Yang Family. "
Ma Zhou asked, "What's Yang Lu's character like?"
Xiang Shan said, "Mister, according to the people of Pu 'an County, Yang Lu is a kind and charitable person and is quite virtuous. He even used the Yang Family's resources to set up an academy in the Yang Family's residence to preach and teach, so that those who have talent but can't study can read and write, and can become a carp leaping over the Dragon Gate. Yang Lu has a great influence in Pu 'an County. Even his words are more effective than the Governor of the Jian Province. "
Ma Zhou narrowed his eyes and asked, "Is there any bad news about Yang Lu?"
Xiang Shan shook his head and replied, "Yang Lu is in his early fifties. He's neither lustful nor greedy for power. He's just preaching and teaching, and annotating the classics. As for other aspects, I've never heard any bad news. As for bullying men and tyrannizing women, there's no such thing. The most important thing is that the Yang Family's family style is also very good. Whenever the Yang Family is mentioned, people in Pu 'an County will give them a thumbs up and praise them. No one has ever criticized the Yang Family. "
Ma Zhou immediately frowned. Yang Lu was a person who had no desire or desire. This was quite difficult to arrange. In such a situation, Ma Zhou was temporarily unable to determine Yang Lu's attitude toward the Tang dynasty and Xia Xia.
Seeing that Ma Zhou didn't speak, Xiang Shan also kept quiet and didn't speak.
After a long time, Ma Zhou heaved a long sigh of relief and nodded, "I already know the current situation. Next, I'll pay a visit to Yang Lu and persuade him to work for Xia Xia. "
Xiang Shan said, "Sir, what if Yang Lu's heart is on the Tang dynasty's side?"
Ma Zhou said in a deep voice, "The Tang dynasty has long been on the decline. So there's no need to worry about this. However, we still need to inquire more about Yang Lu's specific situation. We must investigate it thoroughly. Xiang Shan, you will continue to inquire about the news for me tomorrow. As for the information involved, these are the follow-ups … "
Ma Zhou immediately explained them one by one.
Ma Zhou wanted to know as much about Yang Lu's situation as possible. Only by understanding these information clearly, could Ma Zhou have a plan in mind.
So that he wouldn't be at a loss.
Xiang Shan wrote them down one by one. After the discussion, everyone went to rest.
The next day, early in the morning.
Ma Zhou and the others stayed, while Xiang Shan left the inn to inquire about the news again. In one day, he found out all the things that Ma Zhou had arranged. Ma Zhou came back in the evening and reported a lot of information to Ma Zhou so that Ma Zhou could know.
Ma Zhou wrote them down one by one after listening to them.
He also calculated in his heart.
Although these information could be found out, Ma Zhou could determine Yang Lu's attitude toward Xia Xia and the Tang dynasty through his understanding of many pieces of information. It was reasonable to say that the Yang family had great influence in Pu 'an County and even in Jianzhou.
But this time, when Li Chengqian retreated to Jianzhou, the Yang family didn't arrange anyone to welcome him, nor did they provide him with anything. Even when Li Chengqian publicly solicited food in Jianzhou, the Yang family didn't donate anything.
At least from this aspect, Ma Zhou could make a judgment.
After letting Xiang Shan leave, Ma Zhou sat alone in the room.
He needed to think about the plan to meet Yang Lu.
Tomorrow morning, he would go to see Yang Lu and persuade him to support Xia Xia. Once Yang Lu could stand on Xia Xia's side, it would be easy to deal with Li Chengqian at Sword Gate Pass.
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