After a night's rest, the miners were in high spirits. Under Song Xi's command, the convoy rearranged itself in a row and crossed the border of Tengzhou and entered Xingyuan Prefecture.

Xingyuan Prefecture is Hanzhong, also known as Liangzhou. It is adjacent to the Qinling Mountains in the north and Bashan in the south. It is the choke point for entering and exiting Sichuan and Shu. At the end of the Qin Dynasty, Liu Bang made a strange plan to counterattack Guanzhong, sent troops from Hanzhong to defeat the Chu Overlord Xiang Yu, and finally established the Han Dynasty

Dynasty. During the Three Kingdoms period, Liu Bei fought here with the army led by Cao Cao, killed Xiahou Yuan, and formally established the Shu Han regime, dividing the world into three parts. After Liu Bei's death, Zhuge Liang used Hanzhong as the basis for repeated Northern Expeditions, but unfortunately he failed to do so and eventually died of illness in Wuzhangyuan.

The geographical location of Xingyuan Prefecture is extremely important. It has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times. It is the bridgehead for the Song Dynasty to operate in the southwest. It is also known as Jingzhao Prefecture (Chang'an), Henan Prefecture (Luoyang), and Kaifeng Prefecture (Bianliang). It has an economic

It is developed, with a large number of business travelers and a large population. It is the most prosperous state capital south of the Qinling Mountains. The Han River flows from west to east through the Hanzhong Plain. The farmland on both sides of the river is fertile and rich in grain, melons and fruits, so it is known as the "Granary".

Tengzhou is mountainous, while Hanzhong is mostly flat. From the mountains to the plains, the terrain drops, the roads become wide and flat, and patches of paddy fields appear beside the roads. I can see green trees, egrets taking off and landing, rows of streets, and farmers in twos and threes.

Busy in the fields.

The miners could only see ores and mountains on weekdays, but now they came to a completely different environment. Everything was new and strange. They looked around and had heated discussions. When they happened to see a delicate and slender woman, all the rough men's eyes were straightened.

Suddenly, dust rose from the sky, the ground bounced and trembled, and the thunderous sound of horse hooves reached his ears. General Liu ordered the convoy to stop. At the end of the road, war flags were flying, soldiers were reflected, horses were rushing, and more than a hundred cavalry were galloping.

He rushed straight towards me.

The miners were secretly alarmed. Could it be that they were being robbed openly? It would not harm their own lives, right? Some people looked at the ditches and fields on the roadside, preparing to run away.

The cavalry quickly approached. They were all tough and elite soldiers. They had bows and knives on their backs and bright armor. When they moved, they looked like a giant dragon with teeth and claws, releasing an iron-blooded murderous aura without concealment.

General Liu marched out proudly, surrounded by his guards.

A short whistle sounded in the cavalry team. The entire team slowed down, changed to a canter, and finally stopped and stood still. It was really plundering like fire and motionless like a mountain, showing the demeanor of a strong army. Several people in the lead jumped off their horses and strode like stars.

They approached and marched together and said: "Greetings to the commander!"

General Liu said in a deep voice: "No courtesy! Return to the military camp quickly!"

"yes!"

At that moment, a soldier brought a full set of armor and combat boots and dressed General Liu neatly. After the dressing was completed, General Liu got on his horse, carrying a long spear in his hand, looking forward to showing his power. He was like a tiger general who roamed the battlefield and was not afraid of powerful enemies!

He waved his hand, and all the cavalrymen turned their horses' heads. Some of them ran back along the way they came, while the other part of them escorted the convoy and rode slowly. The division of labor was clear and well-trained.

Fu Jingtao saw this scene from a distance, his heart was shaken, and his palms were sweating. Even if he was not a court official and was not familiar with the regulations of the Song army, he knew that a general in command could never purchase ordnance privately. This was a taboo for the emperor. Who could

Anyone who offends will be beheaded.

With the current national strength of the Song Dynasty, as long as it is normal training and loss in the army and has a legitimate name, the court will definitely allocate it as needed. This Forbidden Army general risked his life to steal a large amount of ordnance, and he must have an ulterior motive. Of course.

, ordinary generals do not have the confidence to rebel, nor can they afford large sums of gold and silver to purchase ordnance. As expected, this general of the Forbidden Army is just a pawn, sitting in command, and the person behind the scenes should be the Jie stationed in Xingyuan Mansion.

Envoy!

The title of "Jiedushi" originated from the Tang Dynasty. At first, it was only given to border generals in order to effectively and quickly organize troops to fight against foreign cavalry. As time went by, the powers of Jiedushi expanded and gradually controlled a state or

The civil affairs and financial power of several states have developed to the point where they appoint officials by themselves. In the late Tang Dynasty, various military governors separated their respective regions and attacked each other, causing chaos in the world. For more than a hundred years, various military governors took turns to compete for hegemony in the world, and wars raged

It went on and on, with countless battles. The founding emperors of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms were all military generals. They relied on their iron armies to sweep away their opponents and achieve dominance. Once they lost control of their armies, the emperors of today would be dead tomorrow.

In troubled times, the phenomenon of gathering troops to claim the throne is too common. After Zhao Kuangyin came to the throne, in order to prevent the military leaders and tails in various places from being overwhelmed, he tried to reduce the military power of the military governors and prohibited the military governors from intervening in local administrative power and financial power. States.

, the local chief officials of the government were all appointed by the emperor, and government orders came from the central government. Finance and taxation, salt and iron, ordnance manufacturing, etc. were gradually transferred to the central government. There was no longer the power to withhold local finance and taxation, and no power to arbitrarily allocate ordnance and food. Jiedu

The status of the envoys was far inferior to that of the previous dynasty, and they could no longer make waves.

Zhao Kuangyin's move was beneficial to the Song Dynasty in strengthening its national power, but not everyone was happy to accept it.

When a person is used to doing whatever he wants, calling the shots, and suddenly one day the power is removed and he becomes a tiger in a cage, subject to all kinds of restrictions, how can he not feel resentful in his heart?

Fu Jingtao guessed that the Jiedushi of Xingyuan Prefecture was unwilling to hand over his power, so he secretly expanded his army and planned to occupy the Hanzhong granary. As long as he sent troops to block the plank road in the Qinling Mountains, he could rely on the natural dangers of the Qinling Mountains to prevent the imperial army from going south to quell the rebellion. If

If he is more clever, he hooks up with the Shu Kingdom and the Southern Tang Dynasty, and leverages their power, he might really be able to establish himself as king and stir up the world.

If you think about it further, Fan Yundou may have a secret conspiracy with this Jiedushi. Otherwise, how could tens of thousands of armor-piercing iron arrows be transported to the border smoothly? And how could they be successfully delivered to foreign races? Because they have the support of important people, so

No one dared to investigate closely along the way.

Fan Yundou suddenly died, and another shocking tragedy occurred in Qijue Villa. Frequent accidents made the Jiedu envoys secretly vigilant. They were afraid of showing their flaws and falling into Zhao Kuangyin's eyes, which would trigger a crusade from the imperial army, so they hurriedly escorted the weapons back to Xingxing.

Yuan Mansion.

I wonder how far along they are in their rebellion plan? When do they plan to start the uprising? Is it still too late to prevent this disaster from happening?

Jiedushi is a highly respected minister and holds a large number of troops. He is a real prince. He has countless talented people and strangers under his command. Compared with them, he is as insignificant as an ant. If he traces further and touches the opponent's counter scale, it is inevitable.

There will be fatal consequences.

Fu Jingtao shook his head. Is this a mantis trying to use its arms as a cart, or a cricket shaking a tree?

The key is that so far, there is still no evidence to prove that the Jiedushi has treasonous intentions. Even if Fu Jingtao finds the general judge of Xingyuan Mansion, how can he convince the other party to believe it? Does the general judge of a mere state dare to follow him?

Is Jiedu making a challenge?

Fu Jingtao unexpectedly thought of Gu Tianqiong, Peony, and Falcon. It was they who sacrificed their lives that gradually unearthed the hidden truth. No matter how dangerous the road ahead was, he would overcome all difficulties and continue moving forward. Otherwise, he would continue to move forward.

, I have a guilty conscience!

Since there were no trees on the roadside to cover his tracks, he and Yin Lianlian simply pretended to be husband and wife and continued to follow the convoy, determined to find out the final flow of this batch of ordnance.
Chapter completed!