As soon as Yang Tianwang left, Zhang Shixun led the First Army to Kaocheng.
"Sir, that Yang Tianwang is too cruel. He looted all my valuables, distributed the grain to the poor, and burned all my land deeds... Woohoo! You have to help me."
Zhang Shixun, riding on his horse, looked down at the rich man whose property Yang Tianwang had confiscated and asked expressionlessly, "Did he kill anyone in your family?"
"Not really."
"As long as the person is fine, it's fine. Money is something outside of the body. You can earn it if you don't have it. But if the person is gone, what's the use of money?"
After Zhang Shixun finished speaking, he was too lazy to pay attention to him anymore. He lightly tapped the horse's belly and continued to move forward.
He had received information from the lazy monkey in advance. This rich man was greedy and would do anything to make money. Many people were forced to leave their wives and children and their families were destroyed by him.
If he hadn't killed anyone directly, Zhang Shixun would never have let him off.
The First Army did not stay in Kaocheng for long. Instead, it bypassed the county town and headed straight in the direction where Yang Tianwang escaped.
In the next few days, Yang Tianwang ran in front and Zhang Shixun chased behind, and the two teams were always less than a day's distance apart.
Yang Tianwang defeated the local tyrants several times in Caozhou and his troops increased a lot. Just when the First Army was about to be forced into a corner, he suddenly ran to the Yellow River, robbed several ferry boats, and fled to the north bank of the Yellow River.
Zhang Shixun led the First Army to chase to the Yellow River and refused to move forward.
The court issued an order urging him to cross the river, but he said there was no ferry and he could not cross the river.
In fact, there were no boats. The few ferries that were available were seized by Yang Tianwang and sunk after reaching the north bank.
It was not until more than ten days later that the ferry allocated by the court arrived.
Zhang Shixun hesitated for a whole day before all his troops crossed the Yellow River.
In just over ten days, Yang Tianwang fought against local tyrants and burned land deeds in Hebei, having a great time. During this period, he also killed several local tyrants and bullies. After killing them, he posted notices everywhere, listing these crimes.
The meaning is very clear, these people have committed heinous crimes and have caused great public outrage, they deserve to be killed!
For a while, wealthy families in several counties in Hebei felt insecure and fled to nearby counties for refuge.
The government also treated it as a major enemy. Local officials submitted memorials to the emperor, impeaching Zhang Shixun for his failure to suppress the bandits, which allowed the Yang bandits to roam everywhere, harming the local area and harming the people.
The Privy Council issued several military orders in succession, urging Zhang Shixun to speed up the process of suppressing bandits.
Emperor Zhao Ji also personally issued an edict to reprimand him.
Zhang Shixun remained unmoved and continued to follow Yang Tianwang slowly, refusing to attack.
After chasing for a while, they finally caught up with him in Tangyin.
One day, after breakfast, Zhang Shixun called Han Shizhong, and the two changed into casual clothes and rode out of the military camp.
Han Shizhong asked, "Shixun, where are we going?"
"Go visit someone."
"who?"
"Yue Fei, Yue Pengju."
Anyone who could be visited by Zhang Shixun must be no ordinary person. Han Shizhong thought for a long time, but could not think of any remarkable person in Tangyin, so he asked: "Is this Yue Fei very famous?"
“Not very famous.”
"How do you know him?"
"Well, this... When I woke up this morning, a thought suddenly struck me, and I did some calculations. It turns out that there's a remarkable person living in Tangyin. He may not be well-known now, but in the future, his achievements will be no less than yours, and may even surpass yours."
Zhang Shixun was talking nonsense, but Han Shizhong believed it. His nephew was an imperial teacher appointed by the emperor himself. He knew a lot about astronomy and geography and was very capable.
If not him, who else can I trust?
"You mean to say that my future achievements will not be small?"
"Um!"
"What achievements will I have?"
Zhang Shixun pointed toward the sky and said, "The secret of heaven cannot be revealed."
Han Shizhong shut up immediately.
After wiping out the rebels, Zhang Shixun began to think about Yue Fei, because the day of the Jin army's invasion was not far away, and he had to get Yue Fei under his command as soon as possible.
Now that we have traveled to the Song Dynasty, we cannot let the tragedy of history repeat itself.
On the way, Zhang Shixun bought some gifts in a market town, including a stack of pancakes, a basket of eggs, and two pounds of candied fruits.
Yue Fei was a frugal person, so if you bought him expensive gifts, it might disgust him.
Near noon, the two arrived at Chenggang Village.
This is a small village with barren land, dilapidated and low huts, and not a single brick house in the entire village.
Han Shizhong looked at the villagers in tattered clothes and muttered, "This village is really poor."
Zhang Shixun sighed and did not respond.
In the Song Dynasty, villages like this were everywhere.
When Zhang Shixun found Yue Fei's home, his heart beat faster and he was even a little nervous.
Yue Fei's home was no different from other homes in the village. There was no courtyard wall, only a half-person-high fence made of branches. You could see the yard clearly from outside the fence.
There was an old woman in the yard sweeping the floor with a broom, and a child about two or three years old was squatting on the ground playing with mud.
Zhang Shixun jumped off his horse, walked to the gate, cleared his throat, and asked, "Excuse me, is this Yue Fei's home?"
The old woman in the courtyard stopped and looked towards the door. Seeing two people standing at the door with horses, she hurriedly replied, "This is Yue Fei's house. Who are you two...?"
Zhang Shixun bowed to the old woman and said, "We came from the capital and passed by here. We heard of Yue Fei's great name, so we stopped by to pay us a visit."
Upon hearing this, the old woman hurriedly dropped the broom in her hand and came over to say, "I am Yao, Fei'er's mother."
After hearing this, Zhang Shixun hurriedly bowed in disrespect.
"Please come in, my dear gentlemen." Yao led them into the courtyard. "Fei'er went hunting early this morning and should be back soon. Please go inside and take a seat, my dear guests."
Before he could finish his words, a young man walked in from outside the yard, carrying a bow and arrow on his back and a hare in his hand.
This man is tall and strong, with a square face, big ears, and broad eyebrows. Although he is not very handsome, his eyes reveal a heroic spirit.
Needless to say, this person should be Yue Fei.
Yao said to the man, "Fei'er, don't just stand there. Come and meet these two distinguished guests."
Yue Fei dropped the hare in his hand and bowed, saying, "I'm sorry for not welcoming you, distinguished guests. I wonder if you two...?"
Han Shizhong lost no time in introducing, "This is Zhang Shixun, the commander-in-chief of the Tianwu Army. I am his subordinate commander."
Yue Fei opened his eyes wide and asked in a choked voice, "Is it Zhang Tianshi?"
Zhang Shixun was a little surprised. Is his reputation so big?
Han Shizhong laughed heartily, "He is the real Zhang Tianshi, the one who was named the Imperial Master by the government."
Yue Fei clasped his fists and said, "I have long admired the name of Master Zhang, and it is a great honor to meet you now."
He spoke politely, but his face was calm.
Zhang Shixun clasped his fists and replied, "The term 'Heavenly Master' is nothing but flattery. I am just like any ordinary person, eating grains and farting and burping."
Yue Fei and his mother-in-law laughed because he said it was so interesting.
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