Chapter 424

Two days later, some information from the Sky Eye and the Ground Network was finally transmitted back, but the specific situation of the enemy was still unclear. It was not that the spies did not want to find out, but that they could not find out at all.

The Peng army on the other side of the Panshui River was extremely well-prepared, and the patrolling guards even extended dozens of miles away, especially in the dense forest opposite Lishan City, where there was a guard every three steps and a sentry every five steps. The spies from the Sky Eye and the Ground Network would be discovered if they approached a little, and the spies sent out before were all killed by the enemy because of this.

This time, the spies did not dare to get too close, and the information they found was very general. They only found out that the strength of the Peng army was between 10,000 and 20,000. Judging from the open space in the forest observed from a distance, there should be more than 20 catapults hidden in it.

This little information was almost useless to Tang Yin, but Letian and Ai Jia brought back a villager, which surprised Tang Yin.

The villager looked about 30 years old, dark and thin, not tall, not very old, but his skin was as rough as a dried orange peel, and his clothes were not bad, not new, but not patched. After he was brought in by Letian and Aijia, he looked around, his eyes were not enough, and everything he saw was new.

Tang Yin looked at this man for a few times, shrugged and smiled, then looked at Le and Ai and asked, "Who is he?"

"His name is Zhao An, a villager from the east of Lishan City." Letian answered.

Aijia glanced back at the villager, frowned and scolded, "You see the adults, why don't you pay your respects quickly?!"

"Adult? What adults?" Zhao An looked at Tang Yin without hesitation. Tang Yin was only wearing an outer coat, with bare chest. In Zhao An's eyes, he was naturally not as majestic as Letian and Aijia, who were wearing helmets and armor, and naturally thought that his official position should not be as high as Letian and Aijia.

Ai Jia glared at him fiercely and whispered, "This is Master Tang Yin."

Hearing this, Zhao An exclaimed in surprise. Obviously, he didn't expect that the sickly young man in front of him was Tang Yin. He was stunned at first, then he fell to his knees with a plop, kowtowed repeatedly, and said in a trembling voice, "Little...little man...Zhao An, meet... meet Master Tang!"

Tang Yin didn't have the heart to waste on the villagers now. He just waved his hand casually and said, "Get up!" After saying that, he looked at Le Tian and Ai Jia in confusion.

Ai Jia stepped forward and said seriously, "Master, Zhao An said he knows a shallow beach in Panshui, and he can cross the river even without a boat or a raft."

"Oh?" After hearing this, Tang Yin's eyes suddenly brightened and turned to look at Zhao An.

Zhao An had never seen eyes so bright, almost emitting light. He had stood up, but under Tang Yin's gaze, his legs weakened, his body lowered, and he knelt down again. He didn't dare to raise his head, let alone look at Tang Yin.

Seeing this, Tang Yin smiled and said softly: "Zhao An, don't be afraid, I'm not a tiger, I won't eat you."

He was just joking, but Zhao An didn't dare to raise his head while kneeling on the ground, but responded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, yes! The master... the master is not a tiger, he won't eat me..."

Puff! Ai Jia couldn't help laughing beside him, and Tang Yin was also happy, signaling the guards on the left and right to move a chair over for Zhao An to sit down.

Zhao An had never faced an official as high as Tang Yin in his life, and he had never seen much of the world. At this time, he was nervous and scared, and his body was shaking into a ball. Even if he sat on the chair, his buttocks were only sticking to the edge, and his body was stiff, as if he would slide off the chair at any time.

Tang Yin asked with a smile: "Zhao An, do you know that there is a shallow beach in Panshui, and you can cross it even without a boat?"

"Yes... yes!" Zhao An stuttered.

"Where is it?" Tang Yin, who was originally lying on the soft couch, sat up subconsciously.

"Answer... tell them, it's... it's ten miles east of Lishan City."

"Oh?" Tang Yin stared at Zhao An without blinking, and his sharp eyes seemed to see directly into his heart. After a long pause, he rolled his eyes, grabbed the map beside the couch, threw it to Zhao An, and said: "Show it to me!"

Zhao An always kept his head down, and was hit by the thrown map. He was so scared that he fell off the chair and stayed for a while. He came to his senses, unfolded the map with trembling hands, looked at it right side up, and then looked at it upside down. Finally, he bravely raised his head, looked at Tang Yin embarrassedly, and whispered: "My lord... I don't understand... I can't read..."

Alas! Tang Yin sighed helplessly. There was really nothing he could do to such a villager. He laughed and said, "Then tell me, how did you know about that shoal? How many people know about that place? Why have I never heard of it?"

"My Lord, not many people know about that shoal. I discovered it by accident. And it is only when the tide of the Panshui River recedes in July and August that it is a shoal. In normal months, the river water there is still very deep..."

After hearing this, Tang Yin was so angry that he wanted to curse. It was the beginning of April, and it was still a long way from July and August. By July and August, the main force of his army would have arrived long ago, and tens of thousands of rafts could be built. What shoal would he still need to find to cross the river?

His face was still pleasant, but his fists were slowly clenched. His eyes drifted towards Le Tian and Ai Jia from time to time, and his dissatisfaction was revealed.

Le Tian and Ai Jia also grinned secretly. When he found this villager, he didn't say that he would wait until July or August. Isn't this just looking for trouble and causing trouble for the Lord?

After Zhao An came to an end, Tang Yin sat up and lay back down, closed his eyes, waved his hand and said, "Give him some silver and send him away."

"Sir, I..." Letian wanted to explain, but really didn't know what to say. In the end, he could only shake his head helplessly and said to Zhao An: "Brother, let's go!"

Letian was about to pull Zhao An out, but the latter said anxiously: "Sir...sir, I haven't finished speaking yet!"

Tang Yin was too lazy to look at him any longer, so he closed his eyes and asked, "What else do you have to say?"

"Yes, that's the case! If you want to cross the river without a boat, there is still a way."

Tang Yin sneered: "Continue to walk to the ford you mentioned?"

"Yes, sir." Zhao An swallowed and explained in detail: "The humidity in Jiangbei is heavy, and the forest is also humid. Mushrooms grow almost all year round. The villain often goes to Jiangbei to pick, which can not only support his family, but also I could take it to the city in exchange for some household expenses, but I had to pay for crossing the river every time. How could the villain have so much money to pay every day? So the villain waited until the tide was low in August and pulled a rope from the south bank to the shoal. After reaching the north bank, no matter whether the tide is high or low, as long as you hold on to this rope, the little person can easily swim from the south bank to the north bank. Over the years, there has never been an accident, and this rope is hidden in the river, except for the little boy. People, almost no one knows.”

"Oh? Is there such a thing?" Tang Yin sat up again, his eyes were shining again, his mind was spinning, and he carefully analyzed Zhao An's words. After thinking about it carefully, he felt that it was reasonable. He didn't He nodded animatedly and asked with a smile: "Is what you said true?"

"No matter how brave you are, you wouldn't dare to deceive an adult!"

Tang Yin tilted his head, rolled his eyes, and said with a smile: "Okay! Take me there. If what you say is true, I will reward you with a hundred taels of gold. If what you say is false, I will take your necklace." Head!"

After hearing this, Zhao An, instead of being afraid, was so excited that he almost jumped up on the spot. You must know that a hundred taels of gold is enough for an ordinary villager to live for a lifetime. How can he not be happy and excited when this windfall comes from nowhere? He nodded repeatedly and said urgently: "Yes, yes, yes! I will take the adults to check it out now!"

Tang Yin was very satisfied with his reaction. From this, it can be seen that this person does not seem to be pretending to be a deceiver. If he is really a meticulous work of Peng Jun, his acting skills will be too superb.

This matter was of great importance. Tang Yin did not care about being injured and decided to go in person. However, he was also worried about Peng Jun's spy in Lishan City, so he did not dare to go out in a big way. Instead, he changed into casual clothes and only brought Lotte and Ai with him. Jia, Cheng Jin and Zhao An quietly came out from the back door of the county capital, got on the carriage, and headed straight to the east of the city.

After leaving the city and confirming that there were no spies behind him, Tang Yin asked Zhao An to lead the way to the ford he mentioned.

The shoal Zhao An mentioned is located ten miles east of Lishan City. This is the foot of Lishan Mountain. There are no roads and the ground is full of stones and weeds. The carriage cannot pass. When it comes here, the carriage can only stop, and Tang Yin also starts from He came from the car, supported by Cheng Jin and others, and walked to the shoal.

While walking, Tang Yin asked curiously: "Zhao An, did you say the rope is hidden in the river?"

"Yes, sir!" Zhao An replied respectfully.

"How long has it been?"

"Almost five years."

Tang Yin smiled and asked casually: "Five years? After such a long time, won't the rope rot in the river?"

Yo! Lotte and Ai Jia had never thought about this, and they both looked at Zhao An in unison.

Zhao An replied cheerfully: "No, no, the villain uses oil rope. It will be fine even if he soaks in the river for ten or twenty years, let alone five years."

Tang Yin, Letian, Ai Jia, and Cheng Jin were all familiar with the oil rope he was talking about. Oil rope is made of special rattan that is repeatedly soaked in oil. It is strong and water-resistant. It is usually used in the military as a rope for binding armor. Tang Yin smiled and said, "Can you make oil rope?"

"Yes, the little one learned it from the big brother."

"Brother Ling is..."

"My eldest brother is in the Central Army, and he used to be..."

"oh?"

"But two years ago, my eldest brother went to Ningguo and died in Hedong County." When he said this, Zhao An's expression became lonely, and his eyes also showed sadness. The Hedong area is the focus of the struggle between Feng and Ning. The Feng Kingdom has always regarded the Hedong area as its own territory, so the Hedong area is generally called Hedong County in the Feng Kingdom.