novelAbuy Chapter 089: Rescue
Chapter 089: Rescue
No one in Ezhou knew what he was waiting for, but the person who delivered the tea knew.
"New tea from the Han River" was the secret code he agreed upon with the people in Xiangyang last December when he transferred crossbows from the Ezhou armory.
The tea is from Ezhou, but "new tea" means that the latest batch of crossbows has been put into storage in Xiangyang, and preparations are being made to transport the second batch of supplies via the Han River.
The person who delivered the tea did not leave his name, but Mr. Dong knew who he was.
Sun Yan, a tea merchant from Ezhou, was Yue Yinping's most important external contact in the Ezhou area.
He placed the tea leaves under the rice jar at the very back of the kitchen, covered them with rice, and then stood in front of the stove for a moment before taking out the blank list that Tian Ruyi had given him from his pocket.
He carried the list from Lin'an to Ezhou without writing a single word on it.
Qin Hui said, "Write down all the former subordinates of Yue Fei's army that you know," but if this list were actually submitted, writing down each name would be like putting a noose around that person's neck.
He couldn't write it, but he also couldn't not write it, because Tian Ruyi's people were in Ezhou, and they would come to collect the list once a month on the first day of the month.
He needs to write some names, but they can't be real.
Dong lit an oil lamp, spread out the list under the lamp, and began to write.
The first person he wrote about was named "Zhang Erlang," an infantryman who died in the Battle of Yancheng. The second person was named "Wang Dazhu," an old officer of Yue Fei's army who died of illness in Dali Temple prison in the eleventh year of Shaoxing.
The third person was named "Li Tieqiang". He died under the swords of the Jin army pursuers when he retreated south from Zhuxian Town in the tenth year of Shaoxing. The dead would not be implicated. The name of the dead could be used to fulfill his duty and would not harm the living.
After writing down the names of seven people, he stopped writing. All seven were deceased, and Tian Ruyi could see the flaw at a glance.
He needed a living person, someone he knew, someone Qin Hui knew he knew, but someone with whom he had no real contact.
Dong Xian sat under the lamp for a long time, thinking of a person who was a former subordinate of Yue Fei's army but was not exiled.
This person had been transferred from Yue Fei's army as early as the seventh year of the Shaoxing era, and had another powerful backer in the court. This person was Xin Qizong, the Deputy Commander of the Divine Martial Army.
Xin Qizong and Dong Xian were both old comrades from Xihe. They broke out of Xihe together in the second year of Shaoxing and fought side by side.
This matter is clearly recorded in the "Records of Imperial Clan Attendants' Favors" of the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs, and can be easily found by the Imperial City Guard.
Moreover, Xin Qizong is currently in Lin'an and is a person openly associated with the Prince of Pu'an's mansion. Qin Hui has long wanted to get rid of Xin Qizong, but he lacks a legitimate reason.
If he wrote Xin Qizong's name down, he could both complete his task and avoid betraying the former Yue Family Army troops who were still in hiding, because Xin Qizong had never been hiding; he was out in the open and there was no need for Dong Xianlai to "confess".
But this also means that once Qin Hui gets his hands on the name, he will use the old friendship between Xin Qizong and Dong Xian to remove Xin Qizong from the old camp in the southern suburbs.
Dong folded the list and placed it under his pillow, then blew out the oil lamp. He knew Yue Yinping was in Xiangyang, but he wouldn't write to Xiangyang because Qin Hui's statement, "Continue to do nothing," was itself a trap.
Qin Hui didn't want Dong Xian to do things; he wanted him to be unable to resist doing them. Once he did, those eyes that had been watching him would tighten.
But he could do something else: he reviewed the records of the arms shipment that Yue Yinping had sent through Sun Yan last year.
The records show that the batch of crossbows was listed as "old and in need of repair". They were transferred from the Ezhou Armory and were supposed to be sent to the Ezhou Prefectural Government's weapons workshop for repair, but they were transferred to Xiangyang en route.
This matter should have been exposed quickly, but the armory commander was transferred last December, and the new armory commander had not yet had time to conduct the year-end inventory.
Dong Xian planned to alter the "old and in need of repair" record to make it look more like normal wear and tear before the new arsenal envoy took over.
He couldn't alter the records, as that would be too easily discovered. He needed to find another way to distribute the wear and tear on these crossbows across the daily training records of the past two years.
Each training session resulted in the loss of one or two crossbows, and over two years, the accumulated number was just enough to cover the gap of the fifteen "old and in need of repair".
This method takes time; the training records for two years need to be recalculated daily, and the monthly losses need to increase evenly to prevent anyone from spotting the flaws at a glance.
But he now has plenty of time. Qin Hui told him to "do nothing," so he has plenty of time to sit in the military governor's office and look through old files.
He brought home all the training records from the Ezhou Armory over the past two years, spread them out on the table, and began to recalculate them page by page.
Meanwhile, twenty miles upstream on the Qiantang River, at Baisha Ferry.
Outside an abandoned old blacksmith shop, withered grass grew, the door panels rattled in the wind, and several rusty anvils lay scattered on the ground.
Xin Qizong stood outside the blacksmith's shop, leaning on an old gun barrel, and kicked aside a pile of tattered felt covering the ground with the tip of his boot.
Underneath the felt was a wooden crate that had been pried open, with half a piece of scrap paper at the bottom, on which was drawn a tower.
This is not the fire alarm bell tower of the Observatory, but another one, the bell tower of the White Horse Temple in Xiangyang City.
The Bell Tower of Baima Temple is one of the highest buildings in Xiangyang City. Standing on the bell tower, one can overlook the entire city and the opposite bank of the Han River.
Below the tattered map was a line of very faint writing: "This tower's bell tolls twelve times a day, the first toll at dawn." Xin Qizong stuffed the tattered paper into his bosom.
"Tian Ruyi had already extended his reach to Xiangyang more than ten days ago," he said to Ma Zhong beside him, as if talking to himself.
"Go back and tell His Highness that the bell tower of Baima Temple in Xiangyang may be the next target of the Imperial City Guard. We must get ahead of Tian Ruyi and send Tonglingxian to explore northward along the waterway."
......
The twelfth day of the first lunar month.
In the study of the Prince's Mansion, Zhao Bozong examined the tattered piece of paper that Xin Qizong had brought back from Baisha Ferry several times over.
The bell tower of Baima Temple in Xiangyang is not any of the bronze bells in Lin'an City; it is the highest bell tower in Xiangyang City.
Before leaving, Tian Ruyi left behind a fragment of a map pointing to Baima Temple, indicating that he was already investigating intelligence exchange points within Xiangyang City and had at least found preliminary signs that Baima Temple was a possible exchange point.
"Our drop point in Xiangyang City is located in the back hall of Baima Temple. Tian Ruyi has found the bell tower, but he hasn't figured out the exact location of the handover point yet. Otherwise, what he left behind wouldn't be a fragment of a map, but an arrest warrant from the Imperial City Guard."
Zhao Bozong placed the tattered paper into the bronze box. "General Xin, how fast is your rapid reaction squad from the southern suburbs to Lin'an city?"
"Starting from the old camp in the southern suburbs, walking along the horse path to the outer perimeter of Beiwa takes about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. From Beiwa to the outside of the Cining Palace wall, it takes another half a cup of tea."
"Not enough." Zhao Bozong shook his head. "The Imperial City Guard has deployed hidden sentries throughout the city. If they want to make a move inside the city, they won't give Xin Qizong time to get from the southern suburbs into the city."
Miss Qin now has seven sets of Xiuzhou travel permits, which can be used within the city. However, these permits can only protect her, not many others. We need a mobile force that can withdraw from the city at any time.
He glanced at Xiao Bieli, who remained silent in the corner.
At this moment, Xiao Bieli leaned against the door frame of the study, a knife resting on his lap, and had not uttered a single word since the meeting began.
"Xiao Xianfeng, under what identity did you pass through the gates of Lin'an during your exile?"
"Porter," Xiao Bieli said. "Sometimes he sells firewood, sometimes he collects old clothes. He changes his identity all the time, as long as he can pass through the city gate and not stand out."
"If someone contacts you?"
"Agree on a place to meet, and if you don't meet, leave a mark. Leave a mark on the brick seam on the wall, on the stone pier at the bridgehead, or under the broken bowl at the tea stall. These marks don't need to be written, just something you can remember."
Zhao Bozong nodded and turned to Qin Keqing. "Miss Qin, if we set up four backup contact points at the city gate, each point only transmitting markers in one direction, without relaying messages or verbal information—how many people would we need to meet them at the gate?"