Chapter 692 Evacuation Plan
Chapter 692 Evacuation Plan
In Chengdu, Pei Ju had just been appointed as prime minister by Yu Wenzhi. He was extremely depressed. The higher the official position others held, the happier they were, but he was more depressed. It was a great shame and humiliation for a traitor like Yu Wenzhi to serve as prime minister. However, Pei Ju did not have the courage to jump into the river and die for his country. He could only live in peace and take one day at a time.
Fortunately, although he was called the Prime Minister, the power of the entire court was in the hands of a group of aides led by Yu Wenzhi, headed by Grand Marshal Wang Shiqi. Wang Shiqi was the real prime minister, and Pei Ju was just a figurehead. He went to court to drink tea every day and came back in the afternoon. He did nothing. In fact, Yu Wenzhi did not want to give him power at all, but just used him as a signboard.
Pei Ju was free from work, but he was too embarrassed to keep this reputation, so he wrote letters to his son and Prince Jin, begging him to find a way to rescue him.
That night, Pei Ju was sitting in his study reading a book. Suddenly, there was a sound of "Crack!". A stone flew in from the window and hit his desk, which scared Pei Ju. He looked carefully and found that there was a piece of paper wrapped around the stone. Pei Ju quickly picked up the stone and took the paper off. There was a line of words written on it, "Meet Huang Yutang at Jinguan Restaurant at noon tomorrow. The signature is Jin Wangfu Intelligence Department."
Pei Ju was cheered up and quickly stood up and walked to the window, pushed it open, and opposite was the main hall of the courtyard, but no one could be seen under the moonlight.
Pei Ju turned around and threw the note into the incense burner, his heart full of anticipation.
At noon the next day, Pei Ju went directly from the temporary court to Jinguan Restaurant, one of the three largest restaurants in Chengdu. Pei Ju asked the guards to dine on the first floor, while he went up to the second floor and entered the elegant room Huang Yutang.
There was a man in his forties sitting in the hall. He was not tall and was quite plump. He looked like a businessman. Pei Ju hesitated and said, "Who are you?"
The man smiled and said, "I am Song Enping, the Chengdu Director of the Intelligence Department of the Prince of Jin's Palace, and I have been ordered to help Prime Minister Pei!"
Pei Ju was overjoyed, "It turned out to be Director Song. Did His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin receive my letter?"
"It should be. Prime Minister, please take a seat!"
The two of them sat down and ordered the food and drinks, but Pei Ju had no appetite. He asked quickly, "When can we leave?"
Song Enping smiled slightly and said, "It's easy to leave Chengdu, but it's hard to leave Bashu. We need troops to pick us up. The inner guards are on their way. I need to make some contact with Prime Minister Pei first. Prime Minister Pei needs to be very careful about many things!"
Pei Ju nodded, "Like what?"
Song Enping laughed, "Prime Minister Pei has someone watching him, wouldn't he not know that?"
Pei Ju smiled bitterly and said, "I know there is surveillance, but I don't know who is it?"
Song Enping smiled and said, "All servants and guards assigned by the government are monitors, but Prime Minister Pei, many important officials are the same, such as housekeepers and maids."
"what!"
Pei Ju was surprised. "Are the guards who are eating on the first floor also?"
Song Enping nodded, "All of them!"
After a while, Pei Ju said depressedly: "Then what should I do?"
"First, Prime Minister Pei, don't mention this to anyone. Secondly, if Prime Minister Pei has anything to take away, you can give it to us first. This restaurant is our property, and the shopkeeper is my subordinate. Prime Minister Pei had better come here for dinner every day. If there is anything, the shopkeeper will tell you."
Pei Ju nodded, "I understand. Besides, my wife, daughter and son-in-law are all in Luoyang. Can I ask His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin to rescue them as well?"
"This is a small problem, it's easy to do, don't worry, Prime Minister!"
Pei Ju was worried that if he stayed too long he would be suspected by the guards, so he got up and left. Song Enping sat for a while before leaving through the back door.
A few days later, six medium-sized warships sailed along the Yangtze River. At noon that day, the fleet arrived at Tongyi County, the northernmost county of Meishan County, turned into a small river, and stopped in front of a private dock of a manor. Liu Jing, a powerful man in Tongyi County, was already waiting in front of the dock.
Liu Jing's son Liu Tianzhu was a general of the Sui army in the south of the Yangtze River, so Liu Jing also became a temporary stronghold of the Sui army in Shuzhong.
His private dock was on a tributary of the Minjiang River and could accommodate dozens of warships. The warships of the inner guards were parked here, and Shi Xiaozhen's three hundred elite soldiers also hid in the manor.
In fact, Yu Wenzhi's control over the local government of Bashu was extremely weak. He stationed his troops in some key places, but he had no control over the local government at all. More than half of the county governors had not yet met the new emperor of Shu.
Shi Xiaozhen placed the boat and soldiers in Liu Jing's manor, and he led several of his men to Chengdu by boat.
The next afternoon, Shi Xiaozhen found Song Enping in Jiangnan Commercial Bank. When Song Enping saw Shi Xiaozhen, he smiled and said, "So it's General Shi. That makes us more confident."
The two came to the inner hall and sat down. Shi Xiaozhen asked with a smile: "Is saltpeter good luck now?"
Song Enping shook his head. "Salt is not easy to transport now. It is too risky to transport it from the north. It will be intercepted. Yu Wenzhi's men will not care what it is. They will detain the goods. If Li Yuan's army destroys Yu Wenzhi, I think it can be transported."
"Was I lucky at that time?" Shi Xiaozhen was puzzled.
Song Enping explained with a smile: "Because Chengdu was the capital of Yu Wenzhi, he conducted strict inspections. On the contrary, for Li Yuan, Chengdu was just an ordinary county, which was managed by the governor, so it was much easier."
"I see. I heard that all the royal family members of the Western Sui Dynasty were killed?"
"Almost. Only the Western Sui Emperor Yang Yong is still alive. I heard he has gone mad and is locked up in a Taoist temple. He mumbles incomprehensible language all day long. It is said that he claims to be from Suzhou, but he is actually a storyteller. Isn't that funny!"
"It seems like he is really crazy!"
Shi Xiaozhen turned the topic to business and asked, "How many people are going together this time?"
"Originally there were 24 people, but now there are only 19 left."
Shi Xiaozhen was stunned, "Why is it decreasing? Are you afraid of being killed by Yu Wenzhi?"
Song Enping shook his head and said, "Most officials were afraid of failure and did not dare to move. Only 24 of them dared to move because of the news that Li Xiaogong led an army of 100,000 to the south and had already captured Hanzhong. Five officials changed their minds and wanted to pledge allegiance to Li Yuan and not leave."
"Where's Pei Ju?"
"He wanted to leave, but Pei Yun refused to leave because his son was in Chang'an."
Shi Xiaozhen nodded, "How do we go? Do you have a plan?"
Song Enping smiled slightly and said, "Before, Yu Wenhuaji had extremely strict control over Chengdu. Anyone entering or leaving the city had to be strictly checked, and suspicious outsiders would also be monitored and arrested. Now that Li Xiaogong's army has captured Hanzhong, Yu Wenhuaji's mind is on the north, and the control over Chengdu has been relaxed. The general was not checked when he entered the city, right?"
Shi Xiaozhen shook her head, "No wonder I was able to enter the city so smoothly without being checked at all."
"If the general had brought three of his men, four tall and sturdy young men, into the city a few days ago, they would have been questioned or even arrested. It's just luck now. Three days ago, the government suddenly stopped caring about it. There were no more patrols or checks, and entering and leaving the city was even more casual."
"Then escaping should be easy!"
Song Enping still shook his head. "General Shi has misunderstood. The so-called leniency is only for the people. Officials are still very strict and under close surveillance. Once an official disappears, the army will immediately search for him. I am still very worried. Even if I leave Chengdu, I can't leave Bashu."
Shi Xiaozhen smiled slightly and said, "I am leading the navy, six warships. Does the other side have navy?"
"We have navy. The Western Sui Dynasty had navy in the past, with hundreds of warships. Some are in Chengdu and some are in Meishan. If the enemy only blocks the land route, it won't be a big problem."
Not afraid of the waterway blockade, Shi Xiaozhen nodded and asked, "When will we act?"
Song Enping smiled and said, "I have considered several plans. Since the general is here, we can use the plan for the day after tomorrow. The day after tomorrow, Yu Wenhuaji will go outside the city to offer sacrifices. After the sacrifices, all officials will return to the city on their own. We can take the opportunity to board the ship. This is a good opportunity."
"But my ships and men are at Liu Jing Manor in Tongyi County."
"That doesn't matter. I have a cargo ship. I will use it to send them to Yitong County first, and then transfer them to the general's ship."
The two discussed the details for a while before finalizing the plan.
(End of this chapter)