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

After some bragging and chatting, each unit began to gather its soldiers.

It was finally decided that 500 people would leave the camp.

Captain Wang brought with him two captains, a cavalry captain, and three flag officers, and the rest of the officers and soldiers were used for rotation.

The flag officer was riding a horse in the camp, holding a gong and beating it non-stop. The captain was beating the drum on the platform in the parade ground. The captains and the captains were already standing by, waiting.

Zhang Jingwei looked at these spirited soldiers and felt full of confidence.

"Brothers, this is the general's son-in-law, a scholar from our Yunzhou. Mr. Zhang wants to investigate the smuggling case in Yaozhuang for the people!" Wang Caiwu said loudly.

"The general has ordered us to assist Master Zhang in his investigation!"

"We must act quickly to catch those smugglers and restore peace to Yunzhou!"

"Damn it, seeing those guards win a battle is more painful than losing a battle myself!"

The scene suddenly changed, and Wang Caiwu actually started cursing his mother, which made the soldiers below laugh.

"People laugh at us for being greenhorns who have never fought a war!"

"We are all the general's soldiers, and we are not lacking in some skills. Now is the opportunity to make achievements. Man, stand up!"

The soldiers responded in unison with high morale.

Zhang Jingwei led the team out of the military camp and headed towards the government office in a rented carriage.

……

At the gate of the government office, Lu Hui and Liu Yanzhi had been waiting for a long time.

"The Tongpan Mansion has taken the situation under control, and Wang Huang is nowhere to be found!" Without waiting for the carriage to stop, Lu Hui stepped forward to inform Zhang Jingwei and others.

Zhang Jingwei raised the corner of his mouth and said confidently, "I've already guessed it. The louder I make the noise, the faster he'll run. Wait until he reveals his true identity and catch him red-handed!"

"Captain Wang, send people to seal off the city gates first to prevent the tongue from escaping."

Then he turned and shouted to the officers behind him: "Men and women, we are going to split up now."

"Captain Wang, take half of your troops to investigate the village's hideout and hunt down Wang Huang. Anyone who resists will be killed without mercy!"

"The rest of the soldiers, follow me!"

Wang Caiwu was puzzled. "Where are you going, sir? I have to protect you!"

Zhang Jingwei explained, "Captain Wang, don't worry. I have so many elite soldiers here to protect me. I just want to go to the river to check it out and visit the water defense camp!"

When Liu Yanzhi heard this, he exchanged a brief glance with Lu Hui, and a hint of solemnity flashed in his eyes.

Lu Hui spoke first: "In that case, I and the Tongzhi should go together...How about this: Captain Wang and I go to Yaozhuang, while Tongzhi Liu and his students go to the river channel?"

After Wang Caiwu got Zhang Jingwei's affirmative nod, he threw out some bad words.

"Since it is my son-in-law's wish, I will not stop you. However, if you encounter a conflict, it would be best for you to stay away, lest your precious body be stained red. It would be embarrassing."

Military generals and civil officials always have conflicts, and the soldiers under their command are not very polite to them.

After a few words of instruction, the soldiers took orders and quickly took action.

……

As soon as Liu Yanzhi got on the carriage, the cavalry captain hurriedly rode his horse to pull open the curtains.

Zhang Jingwei was shocked by this action.

"What do you want? Is there a problem?"

The cavalry captain also realized that his behavior was a bit abrupt, and hurriedly explained: "No, no, I, I just... want to... think..."

Seeing him stuttering, Zhang Jingwei said impatiently: "What are you thinking about? If you can't express it, just write it down!"

The cavalry captain lowered his head shyly, took out a small notebook from his pocket, and wrote a few crooked words with a piece of charcoal.

"The road is long, dry food is needed"

"Oh, you really can't speak! Sorry." Looking at his silly look, Zhang Jingwei apologized awkwardly.

Liu Yanzhi stroked his beard and thought deeply, "Indeed, there is a garrison not far from Yaozhuang where we can get supplies."

"It will take about two days to get from Yunzhou to the Water Defense Camp, and there won't be any supplies along the way."

"Besides, the Water Defense Camp is located within the jurisdiction of Gaoyang County, and the Gaoyang County Magistrate is not easy to deal with."

The cavalry captain's neck swelled as he spat out word after word: "Urgent, urgent... a quick march... a day... a night."

After thinking for a moment, Zhang Jingwei decided to follow the cavalry captain's advice and return to the camp to get some dry food.

Zhang Jingwei simply assigned the task to a small flag officer, who brought a cart of dry food in less than half an hour.

After the distribution was completed, Zhang Jingwei sat in the carriage, waving his whip and shouting, "Okay, hurry up and march! There is no time to lose, let's set off immediately!"

The group galloped along at full speed.

Zhang Jingwei swung the carriage very fast, and it was more stable than he had imagined.

He used to ride a tricycle to pick up and drop off workers from village to village, and he traveled on the most bad roads.

He even felt that riding in this carriage was more comfortable than riding an electric tricycle.

Soon they left the infantry far behind.

……

As night fell, they chose to rest in a forest.

These infantrymen were so tired that they had no strength left and were stumbling around.

Although I was traveling light, running more than ten or twenty miles in one breath was really tiring.

Zhang Jingwei simply ate some dry food and then shouted that he wanted to hurry on.

The cavalry captain held a small notebook and argued with him for a long time before agreeing to rest for another half hour.

During the break and casual chat, I learned that the captain's name was Gao Fei. He had a stutter since he was a child, and people around him called him Gao Jieba.

Zhang Jingwei teased him, "Look at your name. It has so many words in it, but you still want to say 'no'. You must be very hard to speak!"

The soldiers around were all smiling, and Gao Fei was also scratching his head and laughing.

After the break, everyone lit torches and started on their journey again.

This time a cavalryman was driving the carriage, and the speed was reduced. It was impossible to drive fast at night.

The cavalryman chatted with Zhang Jingwei while driving, "I am Mr. Gao's flag officer. I have been with him for more than two years, and we have a tacit understanding. Basically, I help him say what he can't say."

Zhang Jingwei smiled and said, "Oh, then you are the legendary 'mouth replacement'."

The flag officer didn't understand what Zhang Jingwei was saying, but he still said respectfully, "Mr. Zhang is indeed a scholar. The words he said are words we don't understand."

"In fact, Lord Gao is quite pitiful. He is obviously an excellent martial artist, but he is not liked because of his stuttering problem." The small flag officer began to speak up for Gao Fei.

"A seventh-rank captain hasn't been promoted to captain for ten years. How many decades does a person get in his lifetime?"

"He often practices talking while walking alone. The weirder his behavior, the more withdrawn he is."

……

When Zhang Jingwei met this talkative young flag officer, he fell asleep while listening.

The next morning, the flag officer woke him up.

After a night's journey, they arrived at Gaoyang.

"Jia Village is just ahead. Lord Gao suggested we rest there for a while."

"Further ahead is the water defense camp. I think we'll get there before dinner."

"Mr. Zhang, you slept so soundly last night..."

This substitute is still so noisy.

Jiacun is located in Gaoyang County, the northernmost county in China, and the end of the river is here.