Chapter 681: Delay for a while

The townspeople had a lot of debts owed them, and when they heard what Li Jin said, they were moved and could no longer move their feet, as if their buttocks were glued to the stool.

Li Jin raised his chin slightly and motioned for the clerk to sit down as well.

His personal guards were scattered across the tables, forming a semi-encirclement.

"Boss, serve good wine and food to my brothers."

It was a rare occasion for such a wealthy customer to come, and the desire to make money dispelled the shopkeeper's fear of the soldiers.

The shopkeeper was so happy that his eyebrows curved: "Okay."

A plate of roast pork, a pickled salted fish, a bowl of fish maw soup, water dragon kidneys, and three-color reunion rice noodles.

The fragrant aroma made the townspeople and petty officials swallow their saliva.

They had come to the tavern so many times, but they didn't know the chef had this skill!

Since Li Jin didn't pick up the chopsticks, they didn't dare to start eating first.

Li Jin: "Tell me about Xuanzhen County."

The townspeople's eyes were almost falling into the plate. God knows how frugal he had been during this period!

"Xuan...Xuanzhen County. I heard that there's going to be a war there."

Li Jin's eyes flickered, and he said calmly, "Who are you fighting with?"

"Who else could it be except Duke Yun?"

Li Jin lowered his eyes, hiding his expression: "Do you know where Duke Yun is?"

The clerk suddenly looked up and wanted to say something, but was glared back by Li Jin.

The townspeople's minds and eyes were filled with delicious food. They answered Li Jin's questions, "How would we know? How can a commoner like me know the whereabouts of Duke Yun?"

Li Jin continued to ask patiently, "Then how did you know that there was going to be a war in Xuanzhen County?"

The townspeople laughed and said, "My uncle is a Taoist priest in Xuanzhen County. He wrote a letter to my father, asking us not to go to Xuanzhen County recently. They are going to do something big."

Li Jin raised his eyebrows: "Taoist?"

The townspeople nodded and said, "There are many Taoist temples in Xuanzhen County. Those who want to become Taoist priests in Guangde Prefecture like to go there."

Li Jin turned his gaze to the clerk: "How many Taoists are there in Xuanzhen County?"

The petty official had a sad face. He didn't even know how many Taoists there were in Qingshui Town, let alone Xuanzhen County!

"Maybe about a thousand?"

The townspeople curled their lips, wanting to show off in front of Li Jin, and said, "It's impossible that there are only a thousand! There are three hundred Taoists in Jiucheng Palace alone!"

Li Jin's heart skipped a beat: "So many? But the Great Zhou court only issues 3,000 certificates of ordination every year!"

These certificates do not mean that they can be used for life once they are issued. They need to be re-evaluated every two years.

The clerk wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and hesitantly said, "Xuanzhen County has many mountains and rivers, so it's easy to hide a few people."

Taoism is all about following the laws of nature and governing by doing nothing.

The villagers and elders all love to practice Taoism and do not take certain things so seriously.

For example, when counting the population, it doesn’t matter if there is one more or one less.

For example, if it is taxed a little more or a little less, it doesn’t matter.

The atmosphere in the entire Xuanzhen County has led to extremely distorted data statistics at the grassroots level in rural areas, and when it comes to the county level, the data error is further widened.

Even though Li Shaoyan knew that there were many Taoists in the county, the number registered was less than half of the actual number. This led him to underestimate the power of the Taoists and he was not sufficiently vigilant about it.

Li Jin frowned, and for some reason, he felt very nervous.

General Longwu speculated that Gu Nanxi only needed a few hundred people. Unless these few hundred people were heavenly soldiers and generals, it would be impossible for them to take over Xuanzhen County quietly!

Li Jin thought so rationally, but as an eyewitness of the academy competition, the image of Duke Yun as a wise and cunning man was deeply imprinted in his mind.

Li Jin took out ten taels of silver and gave it to the shopkeeper. Before leaving, he turned around and asked, as if possessed by a ghost, "Have you had much contact with Taoist Li in Xuanzhen County?"

The townspeople and the clerk looked at each other and said hesitantly, "It shouldn't be much."

Li Jin pursed his lips and glanced at the tavern before leaving. He found that the guests at the two tables had left at some point.

"General, are you worried that the Taoist priests in Xuanzhen County will be used by Duke Yun?"

The guard asked softly.

Having just come out of the pub, Li Jin coughed a few times as he was choked by the cold wind: "Hmm."

"Your Excellency is worrying too much. Even if there are many Taoists, so what? They are scattered on various hills in Xuanzhen County. Not to mention how Duke Yun can convince them, how long will it take to run from hill to hill? By the time Duke Yun has connected them, we will have already arrived in Xuanzhen County!"

"Yes, Major General Li is still in Xuanzhen County! Didn't you say that the Major General has made great progress and has the style of a general in deploying troops, especially good at defending cities?"

Apart from anything else, during the years when the Zhou army was being attacked by the Tartars, the ability of the Zhou generals in defending the city was far greater than their ability in attacking.

The generals even gained experience from their fights and compiled a book called "City Defense Record".

Li Jin thought of Li Shaoyan, and his heart finally settled down a little.

Ever since he was beaten up by Duke Yun and had Yun bring people to his house to cause trouble, and Li Shaoyan was whipped in public, he has worked hard to become stronger, and eventually mastered the art of archery!

After Duke Yun went to Yunzhou to rise and made military achievements, Li Shaoyan worked even harder to learn the art of war.

Thinking of this, Li Jin took a deep breath, feeling more confident and less anxious.

Li Jin gathered his robes and asked casually, "When did the guests at those two tables leave?"

"I didn't notice. They left not long after you sat down."

Li Jin just asked casually and didn't take it seriously. As long as they waited until tomorrow morning and crossed the river, Xuanzhen County would be safe.

Li Jin didn't believe that with so many people guarding Xuanzhen County, they would not be able to defend it!

That night, the moon was bright and the stars were sparse, and several figures whizzed across the chain bridge.

"Don't be so sullen, it's too creepy under the moonlight."

"Do your job!"

"Fortunately, the Lord had the foresight to send us to Qingshui Town to guard it. Sure enough, reinforcements arrived. I don't know which fellow Taoist is so rude! I clearly told everyone that this matter is of great importance and must be kept secret!"

An old female voice: "We are debuting, not becoming monks. Why should we care about the purity of the six senses? Who doesn't have family? I think Duke Yun also anticipated this, so he sent us here."

"Well, it's better to delay it for a while."

The two men didn't say anything else and just worked hard.

The Qingshui River roars and rushes like a waterfall hanging in the air, splashing for thousands of miles.

The low temperatures over the past few days have not been able to freeze the river surface.

Standing on both sides of the river and looking at the rushing water, I can't help but feel awe for nature.

However, rather than awe, Li Jin felt more angry and frustrated.

"Fuck you, who did this?! Who broke the chain bridge?!"

The roar, like a lion's roar, seemed so pale and powerless amid the waves.

Li Jin regretted it so much that his intestines turned green!

He knew, he knew! There must be a reason for his sixth sense these days!

This chain bridge existed perfectly fine for so many years, but suddenly it broke. It must have been man-made.

As for the reason, it is definitely because he doesn't want to lead his troops to Xuanzhen County himself!

Li Jin's eyes went dark, Xuanzhen County was in danger!