The ancients regarded heaven as the ruler of all things and treated it with awe. They called unpredictable things "God's will" and the emperor called himself the Son of Heaven.
Zhang Shixun should be proud of being called the Heavenly Master, but he is not proud at all.
After singing a song, he subconsciously looked up at the sky. Seeing that it was still early, he said, "Let's go. This time we will go straight to Weishi and set up camp outside the city."
The entire army set out, marching towards Weishi in a mighty force.
Diao Wu was still tied to the rack. This guy seemed to have given up and kept singing obscene clichés along the way.
The soldiers escorting him scolded him at first, but later they stopped and listened with great interest. When they heard something exciting, they even shouted and cheered.
He Ji and Gao Yanei didn't bother to care. The march was very tiring, so as long as the formation didn't get in disarray, they could just let them do what they wanted.
Zhang Shixun was busy watching the surveillance in the smart system.
The three people who came to spy on the military camp last night figured it out.
One of them was sent by Liang Fangping. He was captured by Han Shizhong last night. After being interrogated, he was beaten up and then let go.
After all, Liang Fangping is the governor, so we have to give him face.
The man who came on horseback was sent by the Imperial City Bureau, and the envoy of the Imperial City Bureau was Zhao Kai, who was equivalent to gathering intelligence for Emperor Zhao Ji.
The first person who came to the military camp to spy was sent by King Yang. This is normal. The army was clearing out the one who was responsible, so it would be strange if they didn't send someone to spy.
Now, this spy is reporting to King Yang.
"After leaving the capital, Zhang Tianshi left the official road and did not go directly to Weishi. He headed southwest, then northwest. It was unclear what he was going to do."
Yang Tianwang, dressed like a farmer, sat on the earthen kang. After hearing the spy's report, he rolled his eyes and asked, "Have you seen Diao Wu?"
"I saw it. Diao Wu was tied high up on a rack and was being pulled by an ox cart in the middle of the procession."
"This is for me to see, haha! Interesting." Yang Tianwang looked around and asked his accomplice beside him: "Erdan, tell me what you think."
"Brother Yang, do you even need to ask? This crooked official is using Diao Wu as bait. He wants us to rescue Diao Wu and then take the opportunity to kill us all."
"Erdan is right. The government troops are digging a big hole and want us to jump into it." Yang Tianwang scratched his head and said worriedly: "But Diao Wu is our brother, we can't just ignore him."
"Heavenly King, now is not the time to save people. Let's wait and see."
The accomplices in the room responded:
"Yeah, if you know it's a trap, don't jump in."
"Humph! Zhang Shixun, this dog official, is taking us for fools."
"Let's not fall for his trick."
…
Yang Tianwang frowned and thought for a long time before he finally said, "Since the brothers all think so, let's not take action for now and wait for the right opportunity."
Everyone nodded.
Yang Tianwang jumped off the earthen kang and waved his hand, saying, "Everyone, go home and do what you need to do."
Everyone dispersed.
"Erdan, don't leave yet." Yang Tianwang held Erdan and instructed him, "Send more people to keep an eye on the Zhang family army and keep me informed of their whereabouts."
"Don't worry, my king. In our territory, there are people watching them at all times."
"Also, send two people to keep a close eye on Liang Fangping. I heard that this eunuch is very sinister, and many people in Shandong have been killed by him."
"That damned eunuch just arrived in Weishi the day before yesterday, and he's been hiding in the government office since he arrived... Your Majesty, isn't he in Shandong or Hebei? What's he doing in Weishi?"
"It's just dog-eat-dog. The court is worried about Zhang Shixun, so they sent Liang Fangping to keep an eye on him."
"What a mess."
Zhang Shixun heard every word they said.
When the spy reported to Yang Tianwang, Zhang Shixun had already transferred the fly monitor to Yang Tianwang. With this thing, he could lead his troops to capture Yang Tianwang at any time.
However, Zhang Shixun had no intention of being a lackey of the imperial court, and would never do anything to aid the evildoer.
Many so-called bandits and "rebels" were poor people. They rebelled because of land, population, corvee labor, and taxes.
If you can't survive, the only option is to rebel.
There is a characteristic of peasant uprisings in the Song Dynasty: there were not many large uprisings, but there were countless small ones. Some were so small that they can hardly be found in history books, or they are mentioned in passing with only a "rebellion" or a "chaos" written as such.
A group of the size of Yang Tianwang is relatively small.
Zhang Shixun planned to observe for a while to see what Yang Tianwang would do. If they only robbed local tyrants and evil gentry, then it would be fine. But if they even robbed ordinary people, then there would be no need to be polite to them.
There have been bandits who kill and rob in every dynasty. They do all kinds of evil and do all kinds of bad things. We must never be merciful to such people.
He Ji pointed to the southeast, "General, Weishi is five miles ahead."
Zhang Shixun squinted his eyes and looked in that direction. "We'll go another three miles and find a place to set up camp."
The team walked for more than a mile and passed a market town.
Zhang Shixun said to the messenger, "Inform the commanders of each battalion to restrain their troops and not harass the civilians."
He Ji took the map in his hand, looked at it and said, "This is Zhengzhuang, which is considered a relatively large market town in Weishi."
Zhang Shixun looked at the map and ordered, "Go to the front and tell the team to move slower."
"Why is this?" He Ji was puzzled.
Zhang Shixun pointed to the wooden rack where Diao Wu was hanging.
"Haha! I understand." He Ji urged his horse to gallop to the front of the team.
When the people in the town saw the government troops passing by, they stood on the roadside to watch, and some even pointed at Diao Wu.
"Oh! I recognized him. The person tied to the prison van is Diao Wu." A young boy blurted out.
Someone immediately covered his mouth and said, "Stop yelling! Or you'll get caught by the government troops."
The young man pushed his hand away and said, "Dad, Diao Wu is from the neighboring village. You know him too."
"Shut up! Diao Wu is a traitor. You don't know him, I don't know him, none of us know him."
"What's wrong with knowing him? It's not illegal, so why should I be afraid?"
Zhang Shixun happened to be passing by on horseback and heard what the boy said.
He reined in his horse and said to the man with a smile, "Your son is right. There's nothing wrong with knowing Diao Wu. Don't be afraid."
When the man saw that it was an officer, he bowed hurriedly and pulled his son to hide behind the crowd.
He Ji was afraid that Diao Wu's accomplices would rob the prison van, so he ordered the soldiers to step up vigilance before entering the town just in case.
He Ji didn't feel relieved until the team passed Zhengzhuang smoothly.
Zhang Shixun glanced at him and said with a smile, "Old He, don't be so nervous. Even if Heavenly King Yang is bold, he wouldn't dare to snatch people directly from the Imperial Guards."
"Military Commander, don't be careless. Don't forget that Heavenly King Yang has two thousand followers under his command."
"Haha! Those are just figures reported by local officials. Don't take them seriously."
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