Being an emperor is not something he can do, so he can only rely on his connections.

Zhang Jingwei and his companions arrived at the Yang residence. Xu prepared a scented tea, a tea she had personally brewed. It had a floral aroma and a hint of sweetness, and everyone drank it with gusto. The host, Yang Laoguan, warmly welcomed them and sat down with them, chatting. The conversation drifted to Tian Cai's recent visit.

Old Yang took a sip of his tea and said slowly, "The day before yesterday morning, Tian Cai came rushing to my door, insisting he wanted to return my money. I knew the bill wasn't a silver note at all! In desperation, I had to tell him that the money was actually given to me by Young Master Zhang from Yunzhou. I guess he came to look for you afterward."

Zhang Jingwei nodded slightly and replied, "Yes, he did come to see me. Have you heard anything about the unfortunate fall of Tian Shou and Tian Laowu's families?"

Mr. Yang put down his teacup, nodded solemnly, and replied, "This matter has spread throughout the villages. Everyone knows about it! It's really a pity."

Zhang Jingwei then asked, "Is it common to see people falling off cliffs like this here?"

After a moment's thought, Yang Laoguan replied, "There are one or two such incidents every year. Most of the time, it's because it's too late and the roads are too dark to see, and people accidentally fall off the cliff."

After a brief pause, Zhang Jingwei suddenly raised a seemingly insignificant question: "Let me ask one more question. It's okay if you don't know. For those families who fell off the cliff, were their lands subsequently bought out at low prices?"

Old Yang looked at Zhang Jingwei in surprise, as if he hadn't expected him to raise this issue, but he still told him the truth: "Oh, how come you even know this? Those lands are all top-quality farmland. If sold at a normal price, each acre would be worth at least dozens of strings of cash. However, in the end, they were all sold to Zuotun for a very low price by the village head and the clan leader."

Zhang Jingwei frowned and said, "This is no different from robbery?" He looked at Yang Laoguan in front of him with an expression of disbelief.

Old Man Yang sighed, shook his head helplessly, and replied, "How can we ordinary people say anything about government affairs? My family's land, although not the best farmland, is at least passed down from generation to generation. But a few days ago, we had to sell it to the military settlement at a very low price. Alas... If I didn't want to save more dowry for my daughter Xier, I wouldn't give the land away so cheaply no matter what."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Jingwei immediately asked, "Did these garrisoned troops steal your food?"

Old Man Yang quickly waved his hands and explained, "We haven't actually come to steal food directly. We have, however, borrowed it twice. Each time, they said it was urgently needed for wartime, and they haven't returned it yet. Luckily, each household only had one or two dou of grain borrowed, and the weather has been good these past few years, so the harvest has been pretty good, so no one has taken it too seriously."

Zhang Jingwei nodded thoughtfully after hearing this and said to himself, "Borrowing grain? I don't remember there being such a rule."

At this time, Wang Ergou, who was standing by, hurried over to remind him, "Young Master, you don't know this, but there is actually such a saying. The army does sometimes issue 'grain loan notes', and farmers can use these notes to offset their taxes next year!"

Zhang Jingwei suddenly realized what was going on and turned to ask Yang Laoguan again, "Did they lend you a grain allowance at that time?"

Yang Laoguan waved his hand and said with a nonchalant smile, "Hey, it's just twenty kilograms of corn, no big deal. We don't expect that grain loan to offset much tax!"

It was already noon, and Yang Laoguan wanted to invite them to dinner, but Zhang Jingwei refused because he had to go to Zuotun as well, and he was afraid of "falling off a cliff" if he was late.

After saying some brief goodbyes, Zhang Jingwei rode his donkey towards Zuotun.

After leaving Yuquan Township, Wang Ergou suddenly frowned and said, "This situation seems to be different from what Ji Bazong said!"

Zhang Jingwei, who was walking ahead, heard this and slowed down his pace slightly. He turned around and responded, "Actually, they're not that different. It's just that Ji Fubao is exaggerating!"

Mu Tou, who had been silent for a long time, asked, "Master, is our operation to capture that flag bearer named Tian Cai, or to reorganize the military camp?"

Zhang Jingwei shook his head slightly, sighed, and replied, "To be honest, at first, I simply couldn't stand Tian Cai's obvious provocation, so I impulsively decided to intervene. But as I got to know more, I found that the issues involved were far more complicated than I had imagined."

Wang Ergou then expressed his own opinion: "Right now, during this period of official system reform, officials and military officers everywhere have become extra cautious. If we act too ostentatiously, we might not only fail to achieve our intended goal, but might even backfire!"

Zhang Jingwei, however, remained unmoved. He righteously retorted, "But if we leave them alone and allow them to continue their rampage, how will the common people view the army commanded by our Huangfu family? Do we really want my father-in-law to be branded as a debtor who borrowed grain and refused to return it?"

Hearing Zhang Jingwei's impassioned words, Mu Tou couldn't help but nod in agreement: "Young Master, you're absolutely right! We absolutely can't let a mere stink bug spoil the whole pot of good porridge!"

Seeing Mu Tou's firm attitude, Wang Ergou, who was originally a little worried, said no more, but nodded silently to show his approval.

This Zuotun is right between Yuquan Township and Tianjia Village. It is not far from Youtun, but it is also twenty or thirty miles away. Zhang Jingwei couldn't figure out how the two military settlements clashed.

Zhang Jingwei took out the flower ticket and was organizing his words in his mind, but he was interrupted by a burst of shouting and cursing.

I saw those ruffians walking over with a swagger. The leader squinted his eyes and shouted arrogantly, "What are you doing?! Do you have no eyes or are you too brave? Can't you see such a big archway?" As he spoke, he pointed at the tall archway behind him.

Zhang Jingwei, who was standing in front, quickly put on a smile and said, "Oh, young man, I'm so sorry, I can't read, so I don't know what's written on this archway. Could you please be so kind as to tell us?"

Upon hearing this, the soldier sneered and said, "Humph, this is the Yunzhou Garrison's Hunyuan Right Base Left Garrison! Judging from the sneaky look on your faces, I think your behavior is very suspicious. I'm afraid you are spies from the north!"

Zhang Jingwei was furious when he heard this, but he pretended to be afraid and stammered, "Oh my God... General, please don't wrongly accuse a good person! How dare we be spies? General, you must be very discerning!"

However, the soldier remained unmoved, still sternly shouting, "Stop talking nonsense to me! You're obviously not locals. I suspect you're carrying contraband, so I have to search you!"