Chapter 133

  Cheng Jin had a bad impression of You Xia, but Tang Yin was different. Apart from the fact that Yan Lie used to be an assassin and was not counted as one of his previous identities after he died, he was also a romantic and had some connections with You Xia.

  Drinking with Lu Fang and others, Tang Yin felt very pleased. They were not like Qiu Zhen and the others who, no matter how close their relationship was to him, still had a hint of subordinates' reverence for their superior. Lu Fang and the others were different, saying whatever they wanted without restraint, carefree and uninhibited.

  Everyone sat together and drank a lot of wine, each with a red face. Tang Yin looked around at Lu Fang and the others and asked: "Brother Lu, do you have a place to stay now?"

  He burst out laughing and said: "We just arrived in Pingyuan County and haven't found a place to settle down yet."

  "If so, why don't you just move into my mansion."

  "...able to receive an invitation from Tang Yin, Lu Fang and others were naturally very happy. As wandering knights, money came quickly and was spent even faster. Only they could afford to spend 50 taels to listen to music. If they could move into the county governor's mansion, they wouldn't have to worry about food or lodging, not to mention saving a sum of money. More importantly, their own prestige would be greatly enhanced."

  It's not just Cheng Jin who dislikes the You Xia class, those high-ranking officials also despise them, looking down on them and unwilling to come into contact with them. As the County Guardian and the King's appointed General of the Northern Garrison, Tang Yin's status is not low, and recently he has led troops against the Manchu rebels several times, earning great fame. Being able to gain Tang Yin's favor, Lu Fang and the others all feel a sense of pride.

  "We are newly acquainted with you, sir, how can we possibly trouble you at your residence? It's even more impolite to be staying at your esteemed estate!" Lu Fang said with courtesy.

  Tang Yin smiled and said, "You heroes are all straightforward and generous, why are you so hesitant, Brother Lu? In my mansion, all of you brothers can stay as long as you want, just like it's your own home!"

  At this time, Tang Yin deliberately pulled in Lu Fang and others. Now he has soldiers under his command, generals have generals, the only thing missing is a guest. If you can bring Lu Fang and other wandering heroes into your door, it will naturally be of great help to yourself.

  Lu Fang looked up and laughed loudly, raising his wine cup and saying: "Your magnanimity is admirable, sir. I was too narrow-minded. Please don't mind me, I'll punish myself with a drink!" With that, he gulped down the wine in one swallow.

  Seven people lived in Tang Yin's county government office, and this stay became a long-term one. Life in the county government office was leisurely, with Tang Yin's support, they had no worries about food and drink, wore comfortable silk clothes, rode horses when going out, and their living quarters were also comfortable. With such good conditions, who would be willing to leave?

  Wanderers and wanderers are not the same, some people like to travel around the world, broaden their horizons, while some wanderers wander for a period of time and then want to settle down, but it's hard to find the right opportunity, so these people's wandering becomes wandering in search of opportunities, Lu Fangqi is one of them.

  Jinpingyuan County is developing rapidly, and Lu Fang and others come here in a group to see if they can find opportunities. Unexpectedly, they met Tang Yan, and even received Tang Yan's courtesy. Lu Fang and others are just going to settle down in Tang Yan's place.

  After several days, seeing that Lu Fang and others did not intend to leave, Tang Yin took the initiative to propose taking Lu Fang and seven others as his retainers. Lu Fang and others also had this intention, and they immediately agreed with Tang Yin, so it was reasonable and proper for them to stay at the county governor's mansion.

  His social circle was very wide, and he settled down in Tang Yin's place. Soon, a large group of friends came, all of whom were also wandering knights who relied on Tang Yin's house for food and drink, which greatly increased the county government's expenses. However, Tang Yin didn't mind either, and was very polite to Lu Fang and these wandering knight friends.

  News spread quickly in the Jianghu, and Tang Yin's courtesy to the wanderers was passed on from one person to another. His reputation was first lifted by the wanderers, and many discontented wanderers flocked to him. Before long, more than 50 wanderers gathered around Tang Yin, forming their own faction and becoming a force that could not be ignored.

  That day, early in the morning, Fan Min went to find Tang Yin.

  After meeting, Tang Yin hadn't spoken yet, but Fan Min had already discontentedly shouted: "Tang Yin, you must take good care of your guests and not let them run into my courtyard for no reason!" Now the relationship between Fan Min and Tang Yin is much closer, but still in an ambiguous period, a step further than ordinary friends, but still a little short of being boyfriend and girlfriend.

  Upon hearing this, Tang Yin immediately raised an eyebrow and asked in doubt: "Have they gone to harass you? Who is it?"

  "Don't come to disturb me, but rather to disturb the maid beside me!"

  "Haha!" Tang Yin's eyebrows relaxed, and he laughed with his face upturned, saying: "A gentle and virtuous girl, a gentleman's delight, this matter I can't control."

  Those personal maids of Fan Min were both young and beautiful, while the wandering knights were all bachelors without a family. Now that they have settled down beside Tang Yin, it's understandable that they would go after Fan Min's maids, being so close to the water tower.

  She glared at Tang Yin with a bad temper, her eyes rolled around and asked: "Then do you think I'm a lady?"

  Tang Yin was taken aback and didn't understand why he asked that, so he carefully replied: "It should be counted!"

  "So are you a gentleman?" Fan Min asked again in a seemingly casual tone.

  Tang Yin was so clever that he immediately understood her meaning as soon as he heard the words. He shook his head and said, "I am still far from being a gentleman!"

  Not getting the ideal answer, Fan Min hummed and muttered: "Sly!"

  As he gazed at her pouting crimson lips, Tang Yin's heart skipped a beat, and a surge of impulse ran through his body, making him wonder if her lips were as sweet and spicy as she was.

  Tang Yin's gaze suddenly turned profound, and Fan Min, who had not experienced the world, seemed to understand but not quite. Her heart skipped a beat, and her body unconsciously leaned forward slightly, her head also raised slightly. At this moment, the defensive line deep in Tang Yin's heart was also declared broken.

  Time breeds affection. Living with Fan Min, a woman who combines beauty and cleverness, willfulness and naivety, it's absolutely impossible not to be moved.

  At this moment, a sudden knock on the door sounded, and also awakened the two people in Fangzhong.

  "Come in!" Tang Yin said with a slightly hoarse voice.

  As soon as he finished speaking, Tang Zhong hurriedly walked in and said: "Sir, General Yue has sent back an urgent military report. The person is waiting in the main hall!"

  Tang Zong was interrupted, and Tang Yin felt dissatisfied, but after hearing this, his mind suddenly cleared up. He immediately said to Fan Min: "The matter is urgent, I'll go take a look at what's going on."

  "Oh!"

  Fan Min's face turned red and her ears were burning, she stood still and absent-mindedly responded with a "yes", without even hearing what Tang Yin was saying to her.

  Tang Yin came out of his bedroom and walked quickly towards the main hall.

  At this time, a young man in his early twenties, wearing animal skin clothes and dressed as a barbarian, was sitting on a chair drinking water. When he saw Tang Yin arrive, the young man hastily put down his cup, stood up, knelt on one knee, and saluted: "Sir, I have been ordered by General Yue to return with urgent military information."

  "Are you a subordinate of General Yue?" The young man was dressed in barbarian attire, his face dusty and unclear, with black and white streaks, making it impossible to discern his features or determine whether he was a barbarian. However, his words were spoken in standard Mandarin.

  "This is a token of surrender!" The young man took out a cool military token from his bosom and handed it to Tang Yin.

  One of the military plaques is the normal Wind Army plaque, while the other one has a special quality to it, looking much more exquisite than ordinary plaques, with unique carvings and the words "Tian Yan" engraved on the back.

  This is Le Tian's own name, and the military emblem of Tianyan was also made by him alone. Firstly, it can serve as a unique certificate for his personnel, and secondly, it can distinguish between his subordinates and A Jia's side. A Jia naturally did not want to fall behind, so he imitated Le Tian, gave his own name corresponding to the other party, and also made a unique military emblem.

  The names of Tiān Yǎn and Dì Wǎng originated from this, these two major intelligence organizations are like Tang Yin's thousand-mile eyes and wind ears, detecting enemy information thousands of miles away, Tang Yin is feared on the battlefield, Tian Yan and Di Wang's contributions cannot be ignored.

  After checking the military ID card and confirming the identity of the visitor, Tang Yin's worries were alleviated. He asked: "What's the situation with the Miao tribe?"

  "The barbarians have assembled an army of 200,000 strong and are marching towards our county, sir! Make preparations at once!"

  An army of 200,000? Tang Yin was so calm and composed, but upon hearing this, his body also shook.

  Besa and Fengguo have been at odds for so long, although they often invade each other, the army is basically less than 100,000, and it's the first time to mobilize an army of 200,000. From this, it's not hard to see that Besa was really anxious and forced to use such a large army, just to show a posture of fighting to the death.

  After a while, Tang Yin came back to his senses and asked: "Is the news accurate?"

  Young man solemnly said: "Sir, military situation is critical, absolutely true."

  "Alright, I know, you go rest first!"

  "Yes! Sir, I take my leave!" The young man responded with a single word and turned to depart.

  After the young man left, Tang Yin walked back and forth in the hall with his hands behind his back, thinking about how to defend against the barbarian army. After some thought, he still couldn't come up with a reliable plan, so he called for his servant to summon Qiu Zhen and others to the county government office to discuss military affairs.

  Everything was normal, and then they were discussing military affairs. Without asking, it's clear that something urgent had happened. After receiving Tang Yin's order, everyone didn't dare to delay and immediately came to the county government office to report.

  When everyone arrived, Tang Yin said: "General Yue has just sent someone to report that the Miao people have dispatched an army of 200,000 men and are marching towards our county."

  "What?!" As soon as the words came out, everyone present was shocked. A full 200,000 troops, this is an astronomical figure for Pingyuan County. In people's impression, only a national war would have such a large army, and how could one county defend against it?

  Zhang Zhou's first reaction was to seek help immediately. He said solemnly, "Your Excellency, with 200,000 barbarian soldiers, we can't win no matter what. Your Excellency should quickly send for reinforcements from Wang Ting and also send a distress call to the prefecture, asking the prefectural governor to dispatch troops to reinforce us."

  "En!" Tang Yin nodded in agreement with Zhang Zhou's words and turned to Qiu Zhen to ask for his opinion.

  In terms of strategic warfare, Qiu Zhen is much more formidable than himself, and it can even be said that all the people present here combined are no match for him alone.

  Qiu Zhen's face was expressionless, he lowered his head and pondered for a moment before shaking his head and saying: "Asking the county for help is necessary, but asking Wang Ting for help, I don't think it's necessary!"