Northern Prefecture Rivers and Mountains

Chapter 121 Perfunctory
Sure enough, Dai Qizhi searched for three days but didn't find any clues.

But this man was also very capable. Since he couldn't find it in the government documents, he went to the port to inquire in person and paid a hundred coins at once.

"Our Langya is also suffering from banditry. Why hasn't the court sent anyone?" The porters at the port had yellow teeth and took the money but didn't say a word.

"You really haven't seen them before? Do you have any impression of tower ships, sea ships, and larger grain ships?" Dai Qizhi still did not give up.

"I haven't seen it, I haven't seen it. We are all small business owners. At most, we go fishing."

"There are countless bandits in the world. When we encounter them, the imperial court never sends troops to suppress them. Instead, when the bandits retreat, the imperial court sends people to collect the land rent..."

The laborers were talking at the same time, making it impossible for Dai Qizhi to ask any further questions.

Liu Daogui laughed in his heart. The imperial court ignored them, so of course they didn't have much good feelings towards the imperial court.

The Jin army on the border often plundered them, and their methods were no better than those of bandits.

Seeing that he couldn't get anything out of him, Dai Qizhi had no choice but to go home.

After a day of rest, he asked Liu Daogui to accompany him to Donghai County the next day.

Liu Daogui frowned, "East China Sea?"

"There is also a port in the East China Sea, connected to Lanling, and the waterway can reach Huan Gong Du."

Judging from his posture, it seems that he wants to search Lanling as well.

Donghai is connected to Lanling. After investigating Donghai, we must also investigate Lanling.

This man appears polite on the surface, but is actually very insidious. If you are not careful, you will fall into his trap. If you let him go to Lanling, he might really see some clues.

"Is General Liu having any difficulties? If so, just tell me." Dai Qizhi's eyes flickered.

"Commander Dai has given an order, how dare I disobey?" Liu Daogui instantly had a plan in mind, and his face was full of smiles.

"That's good, that's good. If we can find the trace of the thieves this time, this young and promising soldier will make great contributions. Lord Wang will definitely promote him." Dai Qizhi made a big promise in advance.

"This is my job, how dare I ask for promotion or reward?" Liu Daogui basically figured out this person's tricks.

He says one thing and thinks another.

It is better to believe that the sun rises in the west than to expect him to promote you.

Liu Daogui immediately called Xu Changming, Gou Zhong and other subordinates to prepare to strengthen Dai Qi.

That afternoon, more than 30 veteran soldiers from the rear took off all their clothes and stood in front of the government office, complaining, "Why are we going through all this trouble in such a hot sun?"

"We've used a chicken feather as a token of authority, but we haven't received any reward from the higher-ups."

"The military order clearly states Langya, how can we change it so easily?"

Everyone was cursing and almost pointing at Dai Qizhi's nose.

It was now the end of June, and the sun was scorching hot when the military government issued an order to investigate Langya.

Dai Qizhi took the initiative to go to Donghai, and these old soldiers certainly did not give him face.

My boss’s boss is not my boss.

Wang Gong had a lot of titles and could command the generals of the Northern Palace, but he had no control over these old soldiers of the Northern Palace.

Xi Jian gathered together the major refugee leaders who headed south to form the Northern Palace, which also dispersed the military power within the Northern Palace Army. Xie Xuan could mobilize them, but that didn't mean Wang Gong could.

Dai Qizhi was just a supervisor, and no one took him seriously.

"Come out and talk, isn't there even a breather?"

The soldiers were beating and knocking, attracting many Kaiyang residents to watch and laugh, and the noise became louder and louder.

As luck would have it, none of the Langya County soldiers saw them. Liu Daogui guessed that Liu Muzhi had given them a heads-up.

"What...what happened?" Dai Qizhi looked terrified.

Liu Daogui said, "Perhaps it's the soldiers complaining. These old soldiers have always been unruly. Dai Congshi can go with me to appease them, and everything will be fine."

Dai Qizhi's face was full of uncertainties. These people were good at intrigue, but when something happened and they were needed to take charge, they were more timid than each other.

"There's no need to appease them. Just say it's an order from the court."

"The order from the military headquarters is from Langya. If Dai Congshi wishes to transfer to Donghai, he must submit a written document to Envoy Huan. Otherwise, it will be difficult to reassure the soldiers..."

Liu Daogui had a businesslike attitude.

This is the rule of the Zhenglu Army Headquarters. They must act according to military orders. If Liu Daogui curries favor with Wang Gong's people and the news gets back, he might even be targeted by Huan Hong and Yuan He.

These days, if you do well, there will be no reward from the higher-ups, but if you sit on the wrong side of the fence, you will be in big trouble.

"It will take at least seven or eight days for this document to go back and forth. Won't it delay important matters?" Dai Qizhi was in the officialdom, so of course he knew all this, and there was nothing he could do about Liu Daogui.

"I will send someone to deliver it on horseback. Dai, please wait for a few days." Liu Daogui laughed in his heart. Let alone seven or eight days, with the efficiency of the Zhenglu Army, there might be no movement for four or five months.

Dai Qizhi stared at Liu Daogui, his smile and kindness completely gone. "General Liu, please think carefully about the consequences of disobeying Lord Wang's orders."

Liu Daogui was not easily frightened. "Please show me Lord Wang's order! Dai Congshi will forgive me."

They agreed to just do the superficial work and go through the motions, but he took it seriously. It's no wonder that Liu Daogui didn't give him face.

"You..." Dai Qizhi's face was filled with anger.

Liu Daogui acted according to military orders and did nothing wrong, so Wang Gong couldn't blame him. How could a big shot like him argue with him over such a trivial matter?

The noise outside was getting louder and louder, but Dai Qizhi still didn't dare to go out. Liu Daogui felt contempt for them and walked out of the government office to disperse the soldiers.

However, the document should still be submitted, and some superficial work should still be done.

After this incident, Dai Qizhi calmed down a lot.

Sure enough, after the document was sent out, there was no movement for half a month.

Liu Daogui also roughly understood Yuan He's thoughts. He was Sima Daozi's man, and Dai Qizhi was Wang Gong's man. They were naturally incompatible, so how could they cooperate?

In the past half month, Liu Daogui visited various counties in Langya, inspected the terrain, and discussed this year's autumn defense with Liu Muzhi.

Liu Laozhi's army retreated to Jingkou, and the defenders of Pengcheng were only 2,000, and they were no longer able to suppress the Xianbei and Dingling peoples.

Several powerful forces emerged in Mount Tai in the north. The leading one was Wang Shi, a native of Donglai. He gathered more than 10,000 people from Qingzhou and repelled the encirclement and suppression efforts of Bi Luhun, the governor of Qingzhou of Yan State, several times. He had become a powerful force.

In the southwest of Mount Meng, a man named Liu Li emerged. He used Zoroastrianism to seduce the people and gathered three to four thousand soldiers.

Of course, the state of Yan was also in turmoil, with rebellions breaking out one after another. Wu Zhu, a native of Beiping, gathered over a thousand people to revolt, proclaiming the monk Fachang as emperor. They destroyed Beiping County, turned their attack on Guangdu, and conquered Bailang City...

Zhu Xu defeated Murong Yong and Zhai Liao, but the world became increasingly chaotic...

A few days later, Dai Qizhi also realized that the task could not be accomplished, and took the initiative to ask to return to Guangling. Liu Daogui was more than happy to accept the request, and returned to Guangling with his men.

Liu Muzhi came to see him off specially, "Langya has me here, Dai Gongshi can rest assured."

Liu Daogui knew that he was saying this to himself. As long as he was in Langya, no one would be able to find out anything.

Dai Qizhi bowed with a serious face, said nothing, and turned to get on the boat.

Liu Daogui and Liu Muzhi smiled at each other and waved goodbye.

(End of this chapter)