Became a feudal lord in the late Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 49 How big the ability is, how big the territory is

Smooth white hair, wide hips and thin legs.

Liu Ling looked at it for a while and couldn't help but reach out to touch and knead it. He even wanted to ride on it. Zhang Wu smiled beside him and said: "Guo Gong was extra generous this time. He gave him hundreds of military horses as soon as he asked for them."

"It's a good use of that white tiger." Liu Ling got on the horse, sat down and the white horse raised its head, shouted dissatisfied, then lowered its head again and continued to eat the feed.

Chen Liang walked over from a short distance away. When he came to the white horse, he couldn't help but take a few more glances. "Maybe someone over there at the Jin Man wants to take advantage of the opportunity to make a fortune. Such a good horse can actually be sold. General, my subordinates I have something important to report."

"Go ahead."

Liu Ling reached out and stroked the white horse's mane, looking at Chen Liang.

"That group of northern merchants is stationed in Hancheng Town, the southernmost part of Jizhou. They set out from Zhuozhou City and bypassed Yanshan Prefecture from the south. If they send out horse troops, it will only take a day or two at most to arrive. I heard that the Jin people attacked After going to Pingzhou, some generals in the army colluded with merchants. They secretly transported all kinds of goods in the city and sold them to those northern merchants, enriching their own pockets."

"How did we know this news?"

"You have a caravan that was doing this a while ago, but my subordinates were afraid that it was too unstable, so they let them leave midway. Only in the past few days have I learned more precise details. After my subordinates fully confirmed , I dare to tell you."

Hearing this, Liu Ling suddenly became interested. He got off his horse, told the groom to take good care of him, and signaled Chen Liang, Zhang Wu and others to follow him.

When he arrived at the government office lobby, Chen Liang raised his head and saw Cai Jing sitting inside. At the same time, his general Liu changed his expression and rushed over to greet him.

"What should I say in reply?"

Cai Jing took a sip from the tea cup, and a little anger flashed in his eyes, "In addition to the official documents, I personally wrote a letter to Xuan Fu Tan Zhen to request money and food supplies, but this guy not only refused, but actually gave me my The envoy cursed and rushed back!"

"Hai, you know what he is doing." Liu Ling picked up the teapot and poured a cup of new tea, and motioned to Zhang Wu and Chen Liang to come over and pay their respects.

"These two are."

Cai Jing put down the tea cup and looked at them, especially pausing for a moment on Zhang Wu's face.

Not to mention the other one, he was deeply impressed by Zhang Wu. After all, he brought some followers to block Liu Ling's house last time, but the latter immediately asked Zhang Wu to order hundreds of soldiers to block Cai Jing's house. the way to go.

The two sides are somewhat strangers to each other. As time goes by, although the grudges will not be resolved immediately, they can still exchange a few words when they meet, and they are no longer as shady as before.

"Zhang Wu is the general's arm in the army. This person's surname is Chen and his given name is Liang. He is the president of the Zhuozhou Chamber of Commerce."

"Zhuozhou Chamber of Commerce, is it yours?" Cai Jing immediately looked at Chen Liang, with a smile on his face. "President Chen is doing a lot of business. I heard that in Zhuozhou, your words have the most weight?"

With a plop, Chen Liang immediately knelt on the ground and said respectfully: "The villain can have a mouth to eat because of your kindness, Zhizhou, and the peaceful situation maintained by our Song Dynasty. The villain can just hang around and earn a lot. Living on a copper coin, if you know the state, the villain really can't afford it."

"Humph."

Cai Jing looked at him and said, "Don't talk about me, just remember the court's kindness."

"Yes, yes, I will definitely keep it in my heart."

"You begged General Liu to bring you to me. What do you want to say to me?" Cai Jing picked up the tea cup and took a sip, frowning slightly. The tea was already cold.

He put it down with a meaningful smile on his face, as if he had seen through everything. He had heard of Chen Liang's name and was deeply impressed. Most of the business in Zhuozhou seemed to be handled by this person now, and he was expanding very fast. Therefore, he did not think that Chen Liang was related to Liu Ling from the beginning.

Between the two of them, Chen Liang bribed Liu Ling at most to get some official help. The latter was just a common man who could lead troops in battles. If Liu Ling had money and food in his hands, why would he have to sacrifice his face all day long to ask for help from the rear for money, food and supplies.

So, is this Chen Liang trying to find a way to get some benefits?

That's right. He is a bold businessman and follows the army to make war fortune. This idea is considered normal.

Thinking of this, Cai Jing showed a somewhat intimate smile on his face, wondering if he could win over Chen Liang to help him.

"The villain has been bold recently and traded with a group of merchants from the Liao Kingdom. The latter are merchants in the city and bandits outside the city. It is said that they have hundreds or thousands of followers;" Chen Liang gave a brief introduction and then changed the subject.

"They were constantly purchasing grain from various places and raising the price of grain before, but now for some unknown reason, they are eager to sell this batch of grain, so they keep driving down the price."

"What do you mean?" Cai Jing thought for a moment and replied, "You want to persuade me to buy it?"

He thought Chen Liang wanted to be a middleman who would take the final cut of the matchmaking process.

"Zhizhou, you really like to joke."

Chen Liang laughed and patted his shriveled chest: "I am a citizen of the Song Dynasty. Those are not only fake Liao merchants, but also a group of horse thieves. How can I persuade you, Zhizhou, to trade grain with a group of thieves?"

"Of course it's a robbery!"

"This is absolutely impossible!" Cai Jing stood up immediately, looking at Liu Ling who had been sitting next to him silently, and warned: "Although Jizhou is now the territory of the Song Dynasty, the Jin soldiers and horses can Stationed in Pingzhou, east of Jizhou, if one accidentally provokes them, it will cause big trouble!
  The court will also blame you and me when the time comes. It's just a little food and it's not worth the risk. "

Although it was Chen Liang who was making the suggestion, Cai Jing immediately knew whose idea it was. But soon, Chen Liang continued: "The villain has already sent Xi Zuo and looked through their account books. These Liao Kingdom In the merchant's warehouse, there are at least 80,000 shi of various grains and 1,500 shi of salt. As for items such as war horses and baggage, they did not dare to keep too much, and most of them were sold to the Song Dynasty's border troops."

"Eighty thousand stones of grain!" Cai Jing said in astonishment: "It's just a group of merchants, how can they have the courage to buy so much?"

Shocked, and starting to get excited.

Eighty thousand shi of grain was actually not much for the Song Dynasty, but Zhuozhou's current garrison and civilians totaled only more than 30,000 people. It was true that the Jin people had plundered the land so harshly that if they could get these 80,000 shi of grain, In hand, it can even supply the entire Zhuozhou military and civilians for several months.

By then, Cai Jing will be more confident, and even the suppression of the thieves can be considered a credit. When reported back to the Privy Council, it can be modified as the defeat of "tens of thousands of remnants of the Liao Kingdom", which is a great achievement!
  "There are also soldiers and generals from the Liao Kingdom among them, but there are not many of them."

Seeing that Cai Jing was silent, Chen Liang added another sentence. Cai Jing was immediately overjoyed.

They are really remnants of the Liao Kingdom!
  Thinking of this, Cai Jing looked at Liu Ling, and his smile became friendly this time.

"General Liu, do you think what he said makes sense? I think so."

"Presumptuous, Chen Liang, don't talk nonsense!"

Liu Ling slapped the table and said in a deep voice: "This general is stationed in Zhuozhou and has few soldiers and horses. He can only protect Zhuozhou. How can he lead his army to Jizhou secretly to suppress the bandits? This is too reckless. , if you offend the Jin people, you are arrogant and provocative, and the court will definitely blame you, Cai Zhizhou, stop talking, I will never agree!"

(End of this chapter)