Lord: Start with a book of Water Margin

Chapter 616 Inquiry
Right Prime Minister Zu Shiyuan also said: "That's right. Huzhou, Dusongguan and Deqing are the most strategic places. The garrison commander Gong Wen has sent many letters asking for help. Now Gong Wen is relying on the strong city for defense. Now is the right time to send troops to Huzhou and take advantage of Tong Guan's chaos to defeat Tong Guan's army."

Fang La listened and nodded, "Where is Suzhou?"

Zu Shiyuan said, "In Suzhou, there are three great kings and eight cavalrymen under their command. All of them are tall and strong, and skilled in martial arts. In addition, they have the help of Lu Shinang, the Privy Councilor of the East Hall, and they have 70,000 soldiers and horses under their command. It is more than enough to deal with Tan Zhen's army."

"Who can lead the troops to Huzhou to defeat Tong Guan?" Fang La asked.

In front of the palace, the Jinwu General and all the troops inside and outside the palace were ordered to attack the emperor's nephew Fang Jie and the cavalry general Du Wei, who came out at the news. Fang La saw them and nodded and said, "Appoint the emperor's nephew Fang Jie as the commander and the cavalry general Du Wei as the vanguard, with 50,000 troops, to sneak into Huzhou secretly. The left prime minister Lou Minzhong will go to Huzhou and the right prime minister Zu Shiyuan will go to Suzhou, to go ahead and spread the news to confuse the court army."

At that moment, everyone obeyed the order and prepared themselves.

As for Li Jun outside Hangzhou, everything was fine in the first few days. Li Jun, together with [Water-Dividing Rhino] Zhu Xiaoba, [Diving Kun] Yu Gui, [Golden Carp] Shi Quan and others, drank on the boat every day, waiting for Fang La to deliver the promised goods.

For several days, there was no movement at all. Li Jun and his three companions had been drinking on the boat every day, and they were already getting impatient.

That day, [Golden Carp] Shi Quan said while drinking: "Everyone says Hangzhou is rich, but we have been here for a while and have never even set foot on the shore."

[Dividing the Waters] Zhu Xiaoba said: "Brother, logically speaking, since my husband is marrying Fang La, this fellow should treat us with courtesy. Although he has provided us with wine and food, it seems as if he has confined us to the river."

Li Jun listened, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Before we came, the military advisor told us that when we came to Jiangnan, we should focus on protecting ourselves. This afternoon, when Hangzhou City sends wine and food, Shi Quan and I will sneak into the city to find out a little. If the city is preparing money and goods, we will wait for them."

After making a plan, Li Jun and Shi Quan each changed their clothes, took advantage of the chaos, dived into the water, came ashore from a distance, and mixed with the crowd into Hangzhou city.

The two of them went to the clothing store first, changed into some clothes, asked around, and then headed straight to the tile shop. This place was crowded with people from all walks of life, so getting information was naturally the first choice.

They picked the busiest restaurant and walked in leisurely. When the waiter saw them, he hurried forward to talk to them. Shi Quan said, "Find a seat facing the street."

After hearing this, the waiter led the two of them upstairs.

After they sat down, Li Jun said, "Brother Xiaoer, we are new to Hangzhou. I wonder what special dishes your restaurant has? Just bring them up."

The waiter was delighted when he heard this and said, "You have come to the right place, sir. My family is one of the most famous in Hangzhou. If it weren't for the war, it would be much more lively. This elegant seat by the window is very hard to get if you don't book it in advance."

"Speaking of Hangzhou's famous dishes, the West Lake Vinegar Fish is a must-try, and the Dongpo Pork and Longjing Shrimp are also must-try dishes. Apart from other dishes, these three are the best made in my family. Other dim sum and snacks, such as the Beggar's Chicken, the Washing Hands Crab, and the Shrimp and Eel Noodles, all have their own flavors. If you stay in Hangzhou for a few days, you must try them all."

Shi Quan curled his lips and said, "Little Second Brother, don't brag. Is your chef comparable to the private chef of the eldest prince, Prince Nan'an?"

After hearing this, the waiter patted his chest and said, "Master, you are very knowledgeable. The chef in my house and the chef in the eldest prince's house are brothers. They both have inherited the skills from our family."

Shi Quan laughed twice as if he didn't believe it.

The waiter heard this and said, "If you don't believe me, you can go outside and ask around to see if I am bragging."

Li Jun said, "Let's have the six dishes recommended by Xiaoer brother, and a pot of good wine. We two have to go back to our hometown, so we can't stay any longer. If you want to verify, you don't have to go outside to ask. If your chef is related to the eldest prince's family, then Xiaoer brother must know what big things are happening in the city now." Xiaoer laughed and said, "You underestimate me, everyone knows the big things happening in the city now. Isn't it the marriage between Liangshan [Little Mengchang] Zhao Daguan and the king? Now outside the city, you can still see many ships in the Qiantang River, they are all Liangshan warships, escorting armor. I heard that the city is buying tea, silk embroidery, lacquerware, bronze mirrors and other items everywhere. From the accents of the two husbands, is it Jiangzhou?"

Li Jun said, "Little Second Brother, you are really good. You can recognize the Jiangzhou accent even though it is thousands of miles away. It seems that what you said is true. Little Second Brother, please hurry up and serve the dishes. The two of us will also try the famous Hangzhou dishes. Please also prepare some delicious snacks."

After a while, Li Jun and Shi Quan went to the city to take a look at the official treasury. As expected, they saw people coming and going, and large quantities of tea, cloth and other items coming in and out.

After seeing this, the two men knew what was going on, changed their clothes, and quietly left the city. They found a secluded place and planned to go into the water along the river bank and sneak back to the fleet in the river.

Just as the two were about to go into the water, they heard a whistle and more than twenty small fishing boats rushed out from a small branch of the water. Seeing them, the two hurriedly tried to hide, but it was too late.

I saw a small boat separated from the fleet and rushed to the two of them like flying.

I saw a man on the bow, with red beard and yellow hair, wearing a green silk patchwork jacket with a collar, and he asked, "Would you like some of the newly caught big carp?"

Li Jun shook his head and said, "My brother and I are fishermen too. If we want to eat fish, we can just catch them ourselves. Why do we need yours? I heard that there are dozens of large ships from the north parked in the river. I was thinking of diving over to ask the people on the ships if they want any big fish."

The man laughed and said, "Are you a fool? Although it is difficult to sell fish due to the war, how can you imagine selling fish on a boat?"

Li Jun said: "Haven't you heard that these people are all soldiers, how can they fish?"

After hearing this, the man stopped laughing and said, "Brother, you are right. I heard that the fleet on the river also has three to two thousand people, and the daily consumption is not small. It's a pity that the government doesn't allow us to contact them."

Li Jun said, "We two saw that there were few people buying fish in the city, so we thought of taking a risk to get some money. The fleet there is huge, would you like to join us, brother?"

The big man heard this and said, "Brother, please wait a little longer."

After saying that, he drove the boat back to the fleet. Li Jun saw the big man calling out, and two more boats gathered around. Several people pointed out something to Li Jun, and the big man drove the boat back again.

The big man said to Li Jun and the other two, "We are not from Hangzhou either. We are new here and are still trying to make a living. It is fate that we met you today. This matter is just to take advantage of you."

Li Jun waved his hand and said, "No way. The fleet is right there. How to bypass the patrolling navy is also a problem. The two of us are planning to sneak over to ask, but it is still unclear whether it will succeed or not. If you have made up your mind, you can follow us to sneak over."

The big man said, "This is not difficult. We will follow behind the boat, and when the navy drives us away, we will take advantage of the chaos to dive over. If it fails, there will be no loss. If it succeeds, we can earn a lot of money from the fish we catch every day. It's a pity that this won't last long."

After some discussion, the big man called another man with a black face and long beard, and the two of them, Li Jun and Shi Quan, all went into the water. The fleet headed straight for the Liangshan fleet in the middle of the river.

Before they could get close, a patrol on a speedboat shouted and drove the fleet away.

The four men sneaked into the fleet from the bottom of the water, and with the cover of the hull, they climbed up along the ropes thrown from the ship.

(End of this chapter)