Destroy Jin and conquer Song, and carry the Northern Expedition through to the end

Chapter 948 Moisturizing things silently

On the day the Han army officially entered Daxing Prefecture of Dongjin, which was October 10th.

Jiangnan, Lin'an.

"I've lived here for several years, but I still haven't gotten used to this awful weather." Luo Huaiyan stood under the eaves, reaching out to catch the drizzling rain. "It's already October, and it's still raining. This must be what the Jiangnan region in the rain is like."

Cheng Tianpeng rubbed his hands together by the hearth in the center of the hall, saying, "This is not bad. It's better than the north. Nowadays, we can get through the winter wearing two layers of hemp clothing and stuffing some dry grass in our clothes. Where in Shandong or Hebei do we hear about this?"

“That’s true.” Luo Huaiyan withdrew his hand, shook it off, and said frankly, “The King of Han and my elder brother are probably still suffering in the cold wind of the north. What is my suffering from this little bit of wind and rain?”

Cheng Tianpeng used the fire tongs to lift a piece of charcoal, blew on it, and placed it in another stove to ignite the firewood. After doing all this, he hesitated before asking, "Young master, do you think the Prince of Han will be able to achieve complete success this time?"

Luo Huaiyan's gaze sharpened slightly: "Oh? Old Cheng, you don't trust the Prince of Han?"

Cheng Tianpeng waved his hand: "Of course it's not that I don't trust you. If I were in the army right now, I would definitely be confident. But I'm eating rice cakes in Jiangnan and can't participate in the battle, so I can't help but feel a little worried."

Luo Huaiyan shook his head with his hands clasped in his pocket: "Old Cheng, don't underestimate yourself. We are also fighting. In the words of the eldest son, he is fighting on the open battlefield, while the Embroidered Uniform Guard is fighting on the secret front. As long as you make meritorious contributions, there is never any distinction between high and low, noble and lowly."

To put it more bluntly, we are also helping the King of Han conquer the land, and in the future, half of the credit will go to us.

Cheng Tianpeng nodded repeatedly, feeling that the wisdom of cultured people was indeed profound, and it even made sense to him.

Just as the two were about to continue their conversation, they heard a whistle suddenly sound outside the house.

Then came loud shouts and the clanging of weapons, occasionally accompanied by a scream or two.

Luo Huaiyan narrowed his eyes and made a gesture to Cheng Tianpeng.

Cheng Tianpeng understood, and first picked up the stool beside him and smashed it against the several jars placed in the corner.

The jar shattered, and a large amount of oil flowed out, gradually covering half the room and slowly seeping into the hearth.

In a short while, flames rose up.

"The water is gone! The water is gone!"

In the misty drizzle, the neighbors around them gradually began to exclaim in surprise.

"Let's go." Luo Huaiyan threw his cloak into the fire pit, then, dressed only in hemp clothing, he arrived at the back gate under the protection of several martial artists.

However, instead of leaving through the side gate, the group followed the large cart beside the gate to the rooftop, and under the cover of the layers of eaves, headed west.

After running more than two hundred steps, Luo Huaiyan and the others jumped into an empty house.

This was a safe house that Luo Huaiyan had prepared long ago. After changing their clothes again, the group came out onto the street.

The streets were already packed with people. The area that Luo Huaiyan and the others had just left had been tightly sealed off by yamen runners, street guards, and thugs. Many civilians and merchants were blocked on both sides, and for a moment they were all terrified, with cries, shouts, and curses filling the air.

However, a moment later, when they saw the armored soldiers appear in formation, the people dared not cry out. They all stood by the roadside, not daring to breathe.

The main force has entered the city; something big is about to happen.

Luo Huaiyan watched this scene quietly from the outside of the encirclement, as if he were watching a show, until a moment later when he recognized an acquaintance among the constables.

"Chief Wang, is this a thief's den?"

Wang Bantou felt a tap on the shoulder, his whole body trembled, and he was about to get angry, but when he saw it was Luo Huaiyan, he instantly calmed down: "Isn't it a thief? And a big one at that. The Imperial City Guard thought we street-cleaning tigers were useless, so they brought in some soldiers. If you ask me... heh..."

Luo Huaiyan subtly slipped a silver coin into Wang Bantou's sleeve: "Wang Bantou, what's wrong with you? You only say half of what you mean. What's going on?"

Although Wang Bantou had the silver ingot in his hand, he looked the wealthy merchant with all the connections in Lin'an City up and down with some hesitation: "Brother Luo, why are you asking this?"

The main reason why Luo Huaiyan was able to thrive in Lin'an was that he not only cultivated connections with the upper echelons of society, but also became very familiar with all sorts of peddlers, street thugs, and outlaws. He even held a prominent position in the canal gang, making him a veritable water guzzler.

Take this Wang Ban Tou for example. Luo Huaiyan had treated him like a brother more than once, sharing meals and gifts with him. Therefore, even though Luo Huaiyan had far more connections, Wang Ban Tou didn't treat him like a stranger at all.

Luo Huaiyan adjusted his turban and said confidently, "With such a big fuss, whether the city gates are closed or the roads are checked, I have to be prepared. It's better to find out as soon as possible."

"Trying to cram at the last minute is a mistake. Losing some money is a small matter; delaying the important matters of our esteemed guests is a big deal! If Chief Wang is truly in trouble, I won't force him; just ask someone else to inquire."

Wang Bantou nodded repeatedly, his slight doubts instantly dispelled. He pulled Luo Huaiyan into a small alley and whispered, "This time it's not the Lin'an Prefecture that's in charge, but the Imperial City Guard."

They said they were here to catch spies, but who knows what they're up to? They just kicked the door down and a fire broke out! Who knows if they're trying to silence us?! The Emperor is about to head to Jiankang; who cares about such trivial matters?

Luo Huaiyan sniffed: "So, this mess was caused by a small group of people, and it won't spread to the whole of Lin'an, nor will it lead to the city being closed and its gates locked?"

Wang Bantou immediately covered Luo Huaiyan's mouth: "This isn't what I said! You guessed it."

Luo Huaiyan adjusted his turban again: "Tsk... they're all the same. Chief Wang is so generous. If it weren't for your reminder, who knows how much gleaming gold would have been thrown into the Qiantang River to feed the fish. No doubt about it, after work tonight, I'll treat Chief Wang and his men to a hearty meal at Chunfeng Restaurant! However, I have to go out of town for a while, so I'll have Steward Liu from before take charge, how about that?"

Wang, the foreman, beamed with joy and nodded repeatedly.

Being able to enjoy a feast of delicacies in a high-end establishment is secondary; the key is that Master Luo is very generous, and after everyone has eaten and drunk their fill, he often presents them with a gift.

Although it won't be particularly valuable, it's still more than extorting small vendors in small amounts.

Wang Bantou rubbed the silver coin in his hand, and as he left, he turned back and said, "Young Master Luo, I still have to tell you something. I don't know if it's because the capital is about to be moved, but the rumors in Lin'an are not good. Be careful, and don't lose your money."

Luo Huaiyan said cheerfully, "Then thank you for your kind words, Commander Wang!"

Luo Huaiyan slowly left the alley, walking along the main street in the light drizzle, a smile still on his lips, but his eyes were slightly narrowed.

Something's not right. Something's not right.

The place that was just burned down was just Luo Huaiyan's temporary residence, not the headquarters at all. Luo Huaiyan and the high-ranking members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard had never appeared here before, so how could the Imperial City Guard have discovered it?
In addition, Luo Huaiyan's identity and whereabouts were top secret, and ordinary Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) had no way of knowing them. He only contacted high-ranking spies through single-line communication, and apart from a few trusted confidants, no one knew what Luo Huaiyan looked like or his name.

Why did the Imperial City Guard find his hideout so precisely today?

Could there be a traitor among the higher-ups?
wrong……

Once Luo Huaiyan's identity is revealed, the Imperial City Guard will have a good opportunity to eliminate him, whether before or after, without needing to resort to such crude methods as kicking down the door.

Luo Huaiyan, after all, needed to make a public appearance and engage in business. Under the pretext of a banquet, he could easily ambush a hundred axemen and capture them.
Moreover, those armored soldiers who entered the city...

This isn't a large army attacking, so why use armored soldiers?
Lin'an City was not short of manpower. The yamen runners, street guards, bad guys, imperial city guards, and palace guards, along with their henchmen, swarmed in with fishing nets, hooks, lime, and even ordinary cotton quilts. Even the most powerful martial arts masters could only surrender in the street fighting.

At one moment, Luo Huaiyan stopped in his tracks. A flash of inspiration struck him, and he seemed to realize something, but before he could grasp it, it vanished completely.

“No, something is very wrong.” Luo Huaiyan took out two tokens from his pocket and beckoned to the two warriors behind him.

"One was placed on the shopkeeper's table at the general store, and the other was thrown into the locust flower pavilion."

The accompanying warriors dared not ask or speak, and immediately turned to do so.

At night, the intelligence network in Lin'an sprang into action again, this time with all its might, even activating the spies left in the palace and government offices.

Now is the most crucial moment.

"Reporting to the young master, news has come from the palace that Zhao Gou and Zhao Shen have had several arguments in the past few days..."

"News has also come from Deshou Palace: Zhao Gou seems to be in a bad mood lately, and the servants keep finding many broken porcelain shards every time they sweep up..."

"Report! The commander who led the troops into the city is Hu Fen, who is said to be a former subordinate of Yang Yizhong."

"Report! Many people from the Imperial City Guard have gone to Jiankang..."

"...Long Dayuan is still in Lin'an..."

"We've just learned that the guards at the city gates will be rotated tomorrow..."

Luo Huaiyan didn't sit idle either. He dug out all the intelligence from the past three or four months and read it all carefully from beginning to end.

"Jiankang..."

"Lin'an..."

“Yu Yunwen…Chen Junqing…Mr. ​​Lu…”

"what exactly is it?"

Where exactly did things go wrong?

Luo Huaiyan was completely baffled, as confused and even panicked as a lost traveler who sensed a great danger approaching but still did not know where it came from.

Meanwhile, the atmosphere in Lin'an City was becoming increasingly tense. With the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) becoming more active, the Imperial City Guard also increased the intensity of its patrols, and the open and covert struggle between the two sides was approaching a fever pitch.

On the morning of October 15th, Luo Huaiyan finally received a message that connected all the events.

He looked at the blood-stained note in his hand, and his hands began to tremble slightly.

"Shi Hao disguised himself and entered Lin'an at midnight."

(End of this chapter)