Yang Sheng was very familiar with the name Cui Daoning, so much so that he paused for a moment before realizing who the name belonged to.
Cui Laodao's real name is Cui Daoning.
Yang Sheng has been calling him Old Master Cui for so long that he's almost forgotten what his real name is.
Not to mention Yang Sheng, most people in the entire cycle of reincarnation who knew Old Taoist Cui did not know his real name.
Could this Cui Daoning be the same person as Master Cui?
Yang Sheng picked up the teapot, walked to the table of merchants, and asked, "May I ask what you all meant by the Red Turban Army?"
The merchants all looked at Yang Sheng with wary eyes.
When out and about, people can't help but be wary of those who suddenly strike up conversations with them.
Yang Sheng poured a cup of tea for each of them and asked the tea stall owner to add some snacks for everyone. He smiled and said, "I am a ghostwriter from out of town, so I don't know much about the situation in Liang Kingdom."
Once they hear about something they don't know, they want to inquire about it and familiarize themselves with the situation as soon as possible.
If this matter involves any taboos or secrets, please pretend I didn't ask.
Hearing Yang Sheng say this, the merchants all breathed a sigh of relief.
It's unclear whether it was because of the snacks or because of Yang Sheng's role as the ghostwriter.
Among the many cultivators in the Nine Provinces world, apart from those in the imperial court, only the swordsmen are relatively down-to-earth.
Besides eliminating evil spirits, some low-level ghostwriters do all sorts of things, including bodyguarding, so many of them have dealt with these merchants.
One of the traveling merchants picked up a pastry and put it in his mouth, saying, "It's not exactly confidential information. Since this great hero wants to hear it, we'll just say a few things, though most of it is hearsay."
Then the merchant told Yang Sheng about the origins of the Red Turban Army.
The Red Turban Army is a rebel force that has emerged in Liang in the last three to five years.
In fact, under the turmoil caused by Jin Ding Zhenren, the Liang Kingdom was beset by countless internal and external troubles. There were too many rebels and uprisings to count on two hands.
The Red Turban Army got its name from the red turbans worn by its members. However, the Red Turban Army claimed that the Golden Cauldron Immortal had committed all sorts of evil deeds, and that they wanted to make the Golden Cauldron Immortal and the Emperor pay for their crimes in blood, which is why they wore red turbans.
In just three to five years, the Red Turban Army swept through more than ten prefectures of Liang Kingdom, becoming one of the largest rebel forces in the entire country. The imperial court's several campaigns against them all ended in defeat, and the enemy even grew stronger with each battle, leading the people to mock the court for simply sending them equipment.
Until recently, the imperial court prepared to deal with the Red Turban Army with all its might, assembling 300,000 elite troops to surround and block the Red Turban Army. Finally, they killed the Red Turban Army leader, "Red-Faced Heavenly King" Zu Xiongtu, and captured his strategist Cui Daoning, who was being prepared to be escorted to the capital for trial.
In reality, they didn't even need a trial; they just wanted to kill someone in public to intimidate other rebel forces.
Moreover, although the Red Turban Army was scattered and even its leader was killed, it was not completely wiped out.
Chu Yingfei, the second-in-command of the Red Turban Army, known as "Autumn Mountain Flying Sword," led a large force of elite troops in a breakout and escape. Although the Red Turban Army was severely weakened, it still had the strength to fight.
The escorting team is now almost at Qiulingdu, and there are quite a few of them.
These merchants had just encountered the army a couple of days ago. Fearing that the imperial army would come to plunder again, they traveled overnight to Qiulingdu.
The escort team should be right behind us now, and they should reach Qiulingdu tomorrow.
Yang Sheng thanked him and instead of continuing to Qiuling Ferry to catch a boat, he walked back.
Although he wasn't sure if the Red Turban Army's strategist was Cui Laodao, it seemed there was at least a 90% chance.
But even if it's only 10%, let alone 90%, Yang Sheng will still step in to save the person.
At dusk, on the mountain road outside Qiulingdu, hundreds of elite soldiers were escorting prison carts along the rugged and difficult mountain road.
One soldier complained, "Commander, it's getting dark. Can't we find a post station to rest for a while?"
The leader, a commander dressed in black armor, angrily shouted, "Why are there so many demands?"
We must reach Qiulingdu tomorrow, and behead this Red Turban Army criminal the day after tomorrow.
This is an auspicious time personally calculated by the Imperial Advisor; it cannot be delayed.
In the Liang Kingdom today, everyone agrees that offending the emperor might not necessarily lead to death, but offending the Grand Preceptor will certainly result in a terrible fate.
Normally, escorting prisoners could be left to subordinates; this black-armored commander was the commander of Liang Kingdom's elite White Tiger Battalion, so he shouldn't need to do such a small matter personally.
But he wanted to take advantage of this trip to the capital to curry favor with the Imperial Advisor, so he found a pretext to personally escort the prisoners to the capital.
"Hey, hey, hey, I'm saying prisoners have human rights too, okay?"
"I've been starving all day, could you at least give me a steamed bun?"
Inside the prison cart, Old Taoist Cui had his hair disheveled, wore a white prison uniform, and had several major acupoints on his body pierced with gold needles to isolate spiritual energy, making him look exceptionally miserable.
The White Tiger Camp commander sneered, "What are you yelling about? Who has time to serve you now? When you get to the capital prison, you'll be given your last meal before you're beheaded."
Now shut this guy up, so we don't have to listen to his babbling!
A soldier took off his socks and stuffed the wet, sticky, smelly socks directly into Cui Laodao's mouth, almost making him vomit, but he managed to hold it back in his stomach, and then he wanted to vomit again.
"stop!"
The leader of the White Tiger Camp suddenly raised his hand, his eyes warily fixed on the front.
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