The official road from Haiyan County to Pinghu County, a total of more than 40 kilometers, according to the speed of the army's march, that is, about a day, then move Pinghu to Jiaxing Fucheng, that is, more than 30 kilometers, most of the time can be reached.

Therefore, Liu Zeqing's preparation time was about two days, because the time was urgent, he personally urged the sergeants to transport grain and grass from the barracks to Jiaxing Fucheng day and night, and at the same time sent multiple scouts to investigate the movements of the Jiangning battalion, as for the personnel who said that the secret negotiators, they would have already set off for Pinghu County, if they did not see the Jiangning camp in Pinghu County, then they would go directly to the official road and go to the direction of Haiyan County, in short, they should see Su Tiancheng as soon as possible.

Because of the needs of operational deployment, Su Tiancheng and Qu Qingze, Liu Tiehan, Qin Rui and others, led 10,000 Jiangning battalion soldiers to Pinghu County, the marching speed along the way was not very fast, the main task of the army is to surround Jiaxing Fucheng, not direct combat, the real time of the battle, is after the return of the army led by He Renlong and Liu Wenxiu, the general offensive will officially begin, but it is not that in the past few days, the Jiangning battalion and Liu Zeqing's army have not fought each other, the battle has begun, and anything may happen. Therefore, Liu Tiehan still personally led the scouts and investigated the news along the road.

Before dark, the army arrived at the county seat of Pinghu without any resistance along the way.

The door of the county seat is open, the vanguard led by Qin Rui has long occupied the county seat, Su Tiancheng got the news, many officials in Pinghu County, including the sergeants of the inspection department, have long abandoned the city and fled, and ran to Jiaxing Fucheng, and some people in the city also left and hid in other places.

Pinghu County used to be part of Haiyan County, and it took Xuande five years to establish Pinghu County. That is, in 1430 A.D., about two hundred years ago, compared with the rest of the states and counties to which Jiaxing Mansion belongs, it is considered a little brother, but Pinghu County has its own advantages, close to the sea. And the speed of economic development is good, there are a lot of businessmen in the county, agricultural production is also okay, and it is not far from Jiaxing Fucheng, so the speed of development is very fast.

After entering the county seat, Su Tiancheng felt that the atmosphere was very depressing, and it seemed that the feelings of the people here were similar to those of the people of Haiyan County. It is estimated that they all hate the army, no matter whose army they belong to, as long as they wear the military uniform of the Ming army.

Su Tiancheng, Fan Jingwen and others were arranged to rest in the backyard of the county government.

After a long day's work, Su Tiancheng also wanted to rest early, these days are always very busy, and he can finally relax a little bit, the first phase of the expedition task. He Renlong, Liu Wenxiu and others took it on.

However, Su Tiancheng could not have a time to relax.

Just as he was looking at the sand table placed in the middle of the room, Liu Tiehan was brought in by Wu Rong.

"His Royal Highness King Qide. The subordinates caught a spy, saying that he was representing Liu Zeqing, and he must see the adult, and the subordinates found a badge from his body, which was indeed the badge of the Governor's Mansion of the Five Armies. ”

Su Tiancheng took the badge. I took a look at it casually, this is a badge that only the left and right governors of the Governor's Mansion of the Five Armies are qualified to equip it, it is specially made by the imperial court, and it is impossible for ordinary people to have such a badge, which also explains. The person who came was indeed on behalf of Liu Zeqing.

"Have you asked what the purpose is?"

"After asking, this kid refused to say, his subordinates originally wanted to use the strong, but when they saw the badge, they felt that the matter was very important, so they came directly to report to His Highness."

Su Tiancheng didn't speak immediately, holding the badge in his hand, and fell into deep thought, since the person who came was on behalf of Liu Zeqing, and asked to meet with him, then there must be something important to not talk about, the two armies are already in the process of fighting, at this time, Liu Zeqing sent out a secret envoy to meet with him, it is said that for what purpose, it is very easy to analyze.

A quarter of an hour later, Su Tiancheng finally spoke.

"Invite Master Fan to me, and bring someone to me in a quarter of an hour."

When Fan Jingwen entered the house, he was a little confused, he was a little old, he was still a little tired from following the army, and he also wanted to rest early, the things he had seen these days had an impact on his heart, there were many things, he also needed to think about it, to put it bluntly, he also needed to make a choice, Su Tian became a man who would do this, some matters that obviously did not require him to participate, and he did not object to his knowledge, the meaning of this is very clear.

Seeing Fan Jingwen enter the house, Su Tiancheng smiled and spoke.

"Lord Fan has been tired all the way, and he should have rested, but I encountered something special today, and I would like to ask Lord Fan to witness it, but I have to state in advance that today's incident is very confidential, and I hope that your Excellency will not leak it."

"Oh, what's the matter, it's so secret, the old man still doesn't know what to do."

"Lord Fan doesn't have to say that, there are some words, I have long wanted to make it clear with the adults, after the matter of Jiaxing Mansion is over, I will send someone to let the adults go to Shandong to see, hearing is false, seeing is believing, the choices of adults are many, you can return to the court, continue to serve the emperor and the court, or you can stay in Shandong, I will never be reluctant, but before this, there are some things, I need adults to know, so as not to say that I am a strong word, and today adults can see a very interesting scene."

"There is another point I need to remind Lord Fan, after returning to the capital, I am afraid that waiting for the adult is not a reward, my lord's position as a cabinet scholar may not be kept, and it is good to be able to avoid entering the prison."

Fan Jingwen spoke with a calm face.

"Your kindness, the old man understands it, as for how the old man chooses, it has long been clear."

Su Tiancheng smiled and stopped talking, he already felt that Fan Jingwen had already hesitated.

Fan Jingwen walked behind the screen and sat down quietly.

Soon, Liu Tiehan brought Liu Zeqing's secret envoy in, the secret envoy is not very old, he looks like he is in his thirties to his forties, white and clean, and he can't see the wind and frost, Su Tiancheng can be sure that this person is a scholar, maybe a talent who has not passed the township test.

The secret envoy opened his mouth and claimed to be below, which confirmed Su Tiancheng's judgment.

The attitude of the secret envoy seems a little arrogant, or arrogant, in normal times, Su Tiancheng would have lost his temper a long time ago, but at this time, Fan Jingwen was sitting behind the screen, he still had to pay attention to his temperament.

Soon, the secret envoy began to get down to business, exactly the same as Su Tiancheng's judgment, Liu Zeqing didn't want to fight with him, and hoped that the two sides could sit down and talk, the well water would not interfere with the river water, Liu Zeqing could guarantee that he would not encircle and suppress the Jiangning camp, but asked the Jiangning camp to give up attacking Jiaxing Mansion and Huzhou Mansion, these two places were occupied by Liu Zeqing's army, and the rest of Zhejiang was left to Su Tiancheng's disposal, and Liu Zeqing would never interfere.

Su Tiancheng's face is like water, although he is very angry in his heart, Liu Zeqing's image in his heart is basically gone, if there is no previous looting of people's wealth, Su Tiancheng can still understand, after all, the situation of supporting the army and self-respect is very common at this time, especially Liu Zeqing, an officer with old qualifications, understands the importance of strength, but Liu Zeqing accepted the holy decree on the one hand, and looted the people's wealth in the name of the holy decree, and on the other hand, he had to negotiate with himself, thinking about controlling Jiaxing and Huzhou, becoming the overlord of the soil, and he could also ask the court for credit, It is said that it resisted the Jiangning camp and kept Jiaxing Mansion and Huzhou Mansion.

Such a good thing, Liu Zeqing also thought of it, it was too arrogant.

Su Tiancheng spoke very unceremoniously to Liu Zeqing's secret envoy.

"Liu Zeqing's requirements are very high, he has thought of everything for himself, he has reached an agreement with Jiang Ningying, preserved his strength, scavenged money, and can make a difference to the imperial court, maybe he can also get a reward from the imperial court, such a calculation, it doesn't look like a soldier, but like a businessman, but such a deal, why should I agree."

The envoy's face turned a little red, but he spoke quickly.

"My commander commands an army of 100,000 and has been stationed in Zhejiang for many years, if the adults must attack, the outcome is unpredictable, my commander just doesn't want to meet each other, and he has no intention of opposing the lord's command of other parts of Zhejiang, this kind of agreement is very beneficial to the adults......"

Su Tiancheng smiled, waited until the secret envoy finished speaking, and then spoke.

"It's amazing, 100,000 troops, rushed over and pressed by the black, wouldn't the Jiangning battalion be crushed, wouldn't it be captured with their hands tied, but it's a pity that I'm a person with a strange temper, I just don't believe in these things, by the way, now the sergeants stationed in Jiaxing Mansion City, there are about 60,000 people, the rest of the 40,000 people, 30,000 people rushed from the direction of Huzhou, 10,000 people rushed from the direction of Hangzhou, is this the case."

The secret envoy looked at Su Tiancheng and did not speak.

"I can tell you that these 40,000 people should never think of being able to return to Jiaxing Mansion City, in this way, the sergeants guarding Jiaxing Mansion City, that is, 60,000 people, in the face of the 40,000 soldiers of my Jiangning battalion, say an arrogant word, after the attack begins, I am afraid you will not have a chance to fight back."

The envoy's body trembled slightly, and he struggled to speak.

"Aren't you too arrogant, my army is not vegetarian."

"Hehe, you don't believe it, anyway, if you come to talk secretly on behalf of Liu Zeqing, there will be no result, just stay here for a few days, three days at most, you can get clear news, the 40,000 soldiers distributed in Huzhou and Hangzhou, I'm afraid it doesn't exist, at that time, you go back to Jiaxing Fucheng, help Liu Zeqing continue to make suggestions, and see how to resist the attack."

After Su Tiancheng said these words, he waved his hand and motioned for Liu Tiehan to take the secret envoy away.

When Fan Jingwen came out from behind the screen, his face was white and there was no trace of blood.

Seeing Fan Jingwen's appearance, Su Tiancheng was a little surprised, he wondered what Fan Jingwen could hold back for, and did not rush out to reprimand Liu Zeqing's secret envoy.

Su Tiancheng said a word.

"Lord Fan, this is the army of the imperial court, such an army, how to protect the family and defend the country, how to ensure the safety of the people, I don't want to say much, please think twice." (To be continued......)