Xiao Mo glanced at Chen Ling and continued: "If it is only used as a pack horse, then the southwest horses from the southwest are enough, these southwest horses are not tall and cannot be used as war horses to gallop on the battlefield, but the weight and endurance are not bad, so they are natural pack horses." Due to the proximity of Shu and the low cost of transportation, a pack horse from Shu is only sold for about 1,000 yuan in Jiangling, and it is much more profitable to do this business than to do war horse business. ”

Chen Ling's eyes rolled and said: "But now I have 500,000 yuan in my hand after all, which is enough to buy hundreds of good war horses, besides, this has something to do with our future troubles, and it is impossible to rely only on infantry to fight against the ironclad war horses of the imperial court." Even for the sake of the future, we now have to stock up on a fleet of horses here. ”

Xiao Mo smiled: "Shen Liusheng is not my subordinate after all, I can't command him, you can discuss the matter of war horses in the future, this person just wants to make money, and wants to make his Shen family guild dominate in the entire Jingxiang area, so he is now trafficking pack horses from the southwest." If you really want to buy a war horse, I think you can talk to Wang Shichong. ”

Chen Ling was surprised: "Why did the virtuous nephew say this? This Wang Shichong is not our person, how can we cooperate with him? ”

Xiao Mo shook his head: "No, no, no, friends and enemies can be transformed at any time." Uncle Chen, Wang Shichong wants to spend the past few years of his tenure here, and make some achievements to return to the dynasty as soon as possible, so he also needs the help of you, Sima of Yingzhou, the Wang family has shops all over the world, and there must be some friends in the Turks, if they want to get war horses, it may not be difficult for them. ”

"Besides, it's business. Didn't the Ministry of War also send you money to buy a horse to Uncle Chen? You can mention this matter to Wang Shichong generously. See how he responds. If only he would help you get a horse. That is, he is willing to continue to cooperate with us and is our friend, on the contrary, if he doesn't want to help us get war horses, or he wants to control this place, we have to find a way to get rid of this person as soon as possible. ”

Chen Ling nodded: "Okay, since the virtuous nephew is willing to transfer Shen Liusheng's relationship to me, it can be regarded as a great favor to my uncle, and my uncle will not forget this." In the future, no matter where you are in this Jingxiang area, if you want your uncle to help, just pass the word through Shen Liusheng. ”

Xiao Mo nodded, looked at the night outside, and said, "It's almost time, Uncle Chen, go back early, tomorrow Wang Shichong will have to see you, and you will have to deal with it when the time comes." ”

Chen Ling smiled: "Don't worry too much about the virtuous nephew, uncle still has confidence in dealing with Wang Shichong's kid." Just look at it! ”

After Chen Ling finished speaking, he turned around and walked out of the room triumphantly. Xiao Mo looked at his back and shook his head helplessly.

The floor at Xiao Mo's feet suddenly lifted a piece, Hu Sizheng's head was exposed from it, and then his hands were propped up on the ground, and the whole person came out of the tunnel below, he patted the dust on his clothes, and sighed: "Mr. Xiao, Chen Ling is really muddy and can't be on the wall, I don't think you can count on him." ”

Xiao Mo suddenly showed a smile and turned to Hu Sizheng: "So I can only count on you." ”

Early the next morning, Wang Shichong took Wei Zheng and Zhang Jincheng out of the gate of the Baiyun Inn, Wei Zheng and Wang Ren were sent by him to explore the market in Yingzhou, and An Jiatuo officially went to Hu Sizheng to take office, and began to review the account books of the Yingzhou Prefecture in the past few years, Wang Shichong himself rode a good horse and went straight to the Hussar General's Mansion in the south of the city.

Chen Ling took a group of generals from Yingzhou City to guard outside the mansion early, all of them were fully dressed in military uniforms, and their armor was pierced, and after Chen Ling returned to the house last night, he specially ordered someone to oil the armor he often wore again, polished it shiny, and the large heart guards on his chest were illuminated by the sun in June, which could directly brighten the blind.

Wang Shichong is wearing a second-grade purple official uniform today, riding a jujube red horse to the Hussar General's Mansion in Yingzhou, the combination of this official uniform and a horse looks quite nondescript, and it has also attracted the attention of the people of Yingzhou along the way.

Chen Ling saw Wang Shichong coming from a distance, and immediately came to his senses, his small eyes that were originally squinting suddenly opened round, and he shouted to the generals and colonels behind: "Be spiritual, Wang Tingshi is a famous general in the world, don't let him underestimate our soldiers in Yingzhou." ”

As soon as Chen Ling's voice fell, Wang Shichong smiled from afar: "General Chen really manages the army well, the generals and colonels of Yingzhou are all mighty and extraordinary, even if they are compared with the left and right military guards of the imperial court, they are not inferior." ”

Chen Ling was overjoyed in his heart, but he still had a calm expression on his face, and gave a military salute to Wang Shichong, saying: "Yingzhou Sima, leading Yingzhou hussar general Chen Ling, has seen Wang Thorn History." ”

While speaking, Wang Shichong had already ridden his horse to Chen Ling's side, jumped off the back of Zao Honglu at once, hugged his fist at Chen Ling, and said: "General Chen, Wang is in official uniform today, please forgive Wang for not being able to give you a military salute." ”

Chen Ling laughed: "Where is this, Chen Mou is in armor, and the military salute is due, and Wang Tingshi is a parent official in a state, so he can't be the same as us rough people." ”

Wang Shichong shook his head: "General Chen, being a soldier is not necessarily a rough man, as the commander of thousands of troops, if he is illiterate, does not understand the art of war, and only relies on the courage of blood and spirit, it will harm others, so I never think that soldiers, especially soldiers who have become generals, should be rough people." ”

Chen Ling's face changed slightly, and then he said with a smile: "Wang Thorn Shi is both civil and military, and his reputation is far and wide, Chen needs to ask you for more advice." ”

Wang Shichong smiled and said: "General Chen, you are the old-timer, and Wang still wants to learn more from General Chen in Yingzhou." Learn from General Chen's loyalty, righteousness, righteousness, and deep local feelings. ”

Chen Ling was terrified when he heard this, Wang Shiquan was clearly hinting that he had different ambitions, harbored Xiao Miao's father and son, a pair of fugitives, and now he wantonly pulled his Zhuangke tenants in Lujiang to settle down in Yingzhou and become his own personal soldiers. Thinking about it, Chen Ling's head began to sweat.

Chen Ling raised his head and met Wang Shichong's eyes, his heart was cold, he was already empty-hearted. This time, I saw Wang Shichong's gaze with great meaning. There seems to be something elusive behind the smiling expression.

Chen Ling smiled reluctantly. said: "Wang Tingshi, let me first introduce you to our generals in Yingzhou. ”

Wang Shichong waved his hand and said, "No need for the time being, General Chen, today I want to go outside the city to run a race, I wonder if General Chen is interested in going with Wang?" ”

Chen Ling didn't expect Wang Shichong to have such a trick, he was slightly stunned, and then said: "Wang Thorn History." Today is the first time that your new official has come to inspect our Hussar General's Mansion in Yingzhou. ”

Wang Shichong smiled: "General Chen, if you want to follow the procedure, then the predecessor Han Tingshi should also sit in the hall of the state government every day and deal with all kinds of affairs inside and outside Yingzhou, is this the case?" ”

Chen Ling was so choked that he couldn't refute it for a while, so he could only shake his head.

Wang Shichong continued: "Han Tingshi has been hunting in Yingzhou for several years, and General Chen has never said that he is ridiculous in government affairs. If I don't follow this formal procedure, why did I Wang Shichong take office on the first day? If you want to run out of the city, you don't give face like this? ”

Chen Ling gritted his teeth, put on a smiling face, and said to Wang Shichong: "Since Wang Tingshi has such a Yaxing, Chen should accompany him." ”

He turned his head to look at the generals and colonels who were standing in place with confused faces, and said in a deep voice: "What are you doing in a daze, Wang Tingshi is going to go out of the city to run a horse, why don't you go and prepare quickly?" ”

Wang Shichong said suddenly: "General Chen, you misunderstood, Wang just wants to go out with General Chen today and get to know the generals of Yingzhou another day." General Chen, I'm still bothering you to let everyone go back today. ”

Chen Ling was at a loss for a moment, he really couldn't figure out what medicine was sold in Wang Shichong's gourd, he cleared his throat and waved his hand at the generals: "Everyone has heard Wang Tingshi's order, go back first, and then order normally tomorrow." ”

The generals in Yingzhou all showed disappointment, but they did not dare to disobey Wang Shichong's intentions, and saluted Wang Shichong in unison and retreated.

One of Chen Ling's personal soldiers led a yellow-maned horse over, Chen Ling deliberately played it off in front of Wang Shichong, walked to the horse, patted the horse's back with both hands, and the whole person rose into the air and sat firmly on the saddle.

Wang Shichong smiled: "General Chen is very skilled. Without much to say, his legs clamped the belly of the jujube red horse, and the jujube red horse rushed out like a sharp arrow from the string, heading towards the west gate.

Chen Ling had heard that Wang Shichong's jujube red horse was a famous horse in the world, but he had not seen it with his own eyes, just now he saw the size of the jujube red horse, and knew that it was not extraordinary, but he didn't expect this horse to be like a horse, and he jumped ten steps, and in a flash, he almost rushed through the long street in front of the hussar general's mansion, and turned to the lively street outside.

Chen Ling came back to his senses all of a sudden, and he couldn't care about the generals under him anymore, and shouted loudly: "Wang Tingshi, don't ride your horse in the city, it's troublesome if you bump into someone!" As he spoke, he whipped the yellow-maned horse so hard that the horse neighed in pain and followed closely.

Wei Zheng smiled, glanced at the stunned Yingzhou generals, and said slowly: "Let's disperse today, and remember to come early tomorrow." After speaking, he clamped his legs between the horse's belly, followed Chen Ling unhurriedly, and walked into the distance.

An hour later, ten miles south of Yingzhou City, Wang Shichong rode on the back of Zao Honglu and slowly walked along the stream where he met Li Jing the day before.

More than a hundred steps behind him, Chen Ling was sweating profusely, riding the yellow-maned horse that was foaming at the mouth, panting and following behind, and his voice that was out of breath floated far away along the wind: "Wang Tingshi, please wait for me, don't run so fast!" ”

Wang Shichong's mouth showed a hint of a smile, today in the city, after he left the hussar general's mansion, he grabbed the jujube red horse, walked slowly, and as soon as he got out of the city gate, he consciously rode his horse and galloped.

Zao Honglu has not run away like this for a long time, and today it was able to run at full speed, which was exactly what it wanted, and this way down, it threw Chen Ling far behind, so that Wang Shichong had to forcibly strangle Zao Honglu several times, so as not to let Chen Ling lose his goal.

Running down the way, Wang Shichong found that this was the place where he met Li Jing the day before yesterday, and there was only the sound of gurgling water in his ears, occasionally mixed with a few birds in the forest.

Wang Shichong stopped the jujube red horse. I looked at the sun, which was almost climbing to the middle of the day. I thought to myself. Han Shige and Li Jing were only afraid that they were already on the road at this time, and Xiao Mo would follow their car all the way back to the Eastern Capital.

Around midnight last night, Wei Zheng's spies reported that Chen Ling took his own soldiers to the small courtyard where Xiao Mo lived at night, and chatted with him until he was close to Zi before leaving.

A sneer flashed at the corner of Wang Shichong's mouth. What he wants is for Xiao Mo and Chen Ling to clash head-on.

Yesterday, Wang Shichong deliberately only met with the civil officials in Yingzhou, and after subduing the hearts of these officials, he made it clear to Xiao Mo that he had already known that he had entered the official mansion, and the purpose was to knock on the mountain and shock the tiger and force Xiao Mo to withdraw all the forces that he had been operating in Yingzhou City for several years.

And Chen Ling naturally hoped to take over the people left by Xiao Miao, coupled with the death of Aunt Liu, Wang Shichong calculated that Chen Ling would use the death of Aunt Liu as an excuse to blackmail Xiao Mo to give up the forces under his hands, which would inevitably cause a dispute between the two, and make the two who were just face and heart completely tear their faces apart.

Wang Shichong calculated that Chen Ling and Xiao Mo were unwilling to give up the territory of Yingzhou. Yesterday's conversation was unlikely to reach a satisfactory outcome for both of them, so that the two would continue to fight openly and secretly in Yingzhou for the next few years. Even in order to gain an advantage, he will seek support from himself, and this is what Wang Shichong really wants.

Wang Shichong was thinking about it, Chen Ling finally ran to his side, his round face was swollen red, the sweat on his face was like a stream in the forest, he panted and said: "Wang, Wang Tingshi, you, this horse of yours, this jujube red horse, too, too powerful, the end, the end of this horse is fundamental, fundamentally and yours, no, there is no comparison." ”

Wang Shichong smiled slightly, arched his hand on the horse, put on an embarrassed expression on his face, and said: "General Chen, I'm really sorry, I'm not familiar with the geography near Yingzhou, and I haven't run a horse for a long time, so I saw that there were not many people on the official road, so I rode my horse and galloped wildly." Today, Zao Honglu is also happy, and he came to this place while running, hehe, in fact, I have already lost my way! ”

He glanced at Chen Ling, who was still trying to adjust his breathing, and smiled slightly: "In this world, those who can keep up with the pace of the jujube red horse are considered horses, and General Chen's yellow-maned horse can always follow the jujube red horse without being left behind, which is already a good horse." Look at my brother Wei Zheng, I don't know where he is now! ”

Chen Ling finally adjusted his breathing, picked up the water bladder hanging on the saddle and drank a few sips, calmed down a little, and said: "The last general only cares about the history of the king and doesn't pay attention to Mr. Wei, why don't we go back and find him now?" ”

Wang Shichong smiled and waved his hand: "I don't think it's necessary, Xuan Cheng is not a child, he should follow the horseshoe prints of the two of us, even if he can't find it, Xuan Cheng is thoughtful, and he will definitely be able to go back along the way." I believe that under the rule of General Chen in the past few years, Yingzhou should be peaceful, and there will be no thieves who occupy the mountain as kings, so Xuancheng's safety does not have to worry. ”

Chen Ling also smiled and said: "That's right, except for those thieves in Dahong Mountain last time, I haven't heard of any robbers in Yingzhou in the past few years, and even those barbarians in the mountains are already in peace, and they haven't caused much trouble." Mr. Wei's safety is naturally guaranteed. ”

When he said this, he paused slightly, looked at Wang Shichong, and said: "It's just that the last general thinks that with the noble body of Wang Tingshi, he should also be accompanied by the guards stipulated by the imperial court when he travels!" Of course, the last general knows that the heroes of the king's assassination are invincible, and no one will be able to hurt you, but as the assassin of the imperial court, he also represents the majesty of the Son of Heaven when he goes on patrol, and the grass people should be allowed to see the majesty of heaven. ”

Wang Shichong laughed: "Wang Mou is here today just to run a race, not an official patrol, so there is no need for that kind of pomp." Wang Mou is used to being at ease, and he doesn't like the feeling of hugging each other, and being able to talk to General Chen here is a great joy in life. ”

Chen Ling's face changed slightly, and he could more or less guess that Wang Shichong led him all the way to this remote place, thinking that he wanted to talk to him about key things here.

But Chen Ling's face pretended to be puzzled again, blinked his eyes, and asked, "Wang Tingshi, didn't you just say it and run a horse?" If you have something to discuss with Chen, why don't you talk about it in the Hussar General's Mansion? Originally, Chen also specially prepared a luncheon, just to have a good time with Wang Tingshi, so as to make up for the regret that he didn't have a good meal last time. ”

Wang Shichong smiled and shook his head: "Wang only wants to negotiate with General Chen alone, because what we are going to discuss today will determine the future of Yingzhou and even the entire Jingxiang region in the next few years." ”

Chen Ling let out an "oh" and said with a smile: "What the hell is going on, Chen is just responsible for the recruitment of government soldiers in Yingzhou and maintaining law and order in Yingzhou, as if he doesn't have the ability that Wang Tingshi said, and he can have such a big impact." If Wang Tingshi has any orders, but it doesn't matter, Chen will definitely do it. ”

Wang Shichong looked at Chen Ling with a smile and said meaningfully: "General Chen, what conditions did Empress Xiao give you?" You might as well talk to Wang to listen, Wang dares to say, what you can get from me will only be more. ”

Chen Ling didn't expect Wang Shichong to go straight to the point so single-handedly, and he didn't even cover it up a little, he was stunned for a moment, squeezed out a smile, and said, "Wang Tingshi, what are you talking about?" Chen didn't understand. ”

Wang Shichong laughed, full of energy, and the birds in the forest were startled. After laughing, he looked directly into Chen Ling's eyes and said, "General Chen, Wang brought you to this quiet place today because he didn't want our conversation to be heard by other idle people. The reason why I don't want people to hear our conversation is because what Wang told you is that you want to lose your head, just like the kind of head-losing things that General Chen has been doing in the past few years. ”

Chen Ling feigned anger and said sharply: "Chen has been in office as a hussar general in Sima of Yingzhou for several years, although he does not dare to say that he has outstanding political achievements, he is also dedicated to his duties and never dares to slack off. If Wang Tingshi thinks that the last general is incompetent, he can report it to the imperial court, and they will decide whether I Chen Ling should lose my head! ”

Wang Shichong shook his head, sighed, and a trace of disappointment flashed in his eyes: "General Chen, I always thought that you were a smart person, you don't need to pick your words so clearly, it seems that you disappointed me, you still pretend to be confused." Okay, let me ask you, you went to Xiao Miao's courtyard last night and stayed until you came out, this is also a sign of your dedication? ”

The corners of Chen Ling's mouth moved, and he protested: "There was a murder in Xiao Miao's house, and Li Jing pointed out his problem during the day, although I didn't speak at the time, but I also had questions in my heart, so I returned to the small courtyard at night and interrogated Xiao Mi again." Because he's leaving today, I won't have a chance to ask him again after last night. ”

Wang Shichong looked at Chen Ling's eyes and smiled slightly: "Then when General Chen hid Xiao Miao's father and son in Chenjiazhuang in Lujiang for more than ten years, was he also dutiful?" ”

Although Chen Ling had been reminded by Xiao Mian yesterday that Wang Shichong had found out his details, he was still taken aback when he heard this, his mouth opened wide and he couldn't close it, he turned to shout: "Wang Tingshi, this joke is too big!" What evidence do you have to prove this? ”

Wang Shichong said with a straight face: "That's good, I'll start this matter with the saint, and ask him to send someone to your Lujiang Chenjiazhuang, and then send someone to this Yingzhou Sima Mansion to ask your personal guards to see if they know that Xiao Xuan, and what is going on with Xiao Xuan's grave, the father of Xiao Mian in your village." ”

Chen Ling's face turned pale, Wang Shichong even mastered these situations, it seems that what Xiao Mo said last night was true, Wang Shifu was too terrible, Chen Ling's heart suddenly gave birth to a burst of fear.

Chen Ling's expression was in Wang Shichong's eyes, and he sneered in his heart, compared with the high-IQ opponents such as Li Jing, Xiao Miao, and Hu Sizheng that he had been facing in the past few days, Chen Ling was really too weak, and his joys, angers, sorrows, and joys were all in shape, and he couldn't hold his breath at all. Wang Shichong thought about it, and a sense of superiority in IQ arose.

Chen Ling said in a deep voice: "Wang Tingshi, since you know these things about me, but you don't report me to the court, but ask me to discuss here, what is the purpose of this?" Could it be that you want to figure out my Chen Ling and get to know Empress Xiao? (To be continued......)