Chapter 401 The thief comes to kill him

Chapter 401 The thief comes to kill him

As the army marched south, Jinyang City and its surroundings suddenly became deserted, and there was quite a sense of depression as if the city had been deserted.

Of course, Jinyang City will not be empty. People left behind in the Prime Minister's Mansion are coming in and out, and busy areas are no less generous than usual. The life in the mansions and gardens of the dignitaries in the south of the city was not greatly affected. There were many groups of powerful slaves traveling around with their masters.

The official slaves in Jinyang Palace worked day and night to turn materials into various weapons and equipment for the army to use. At the same time, various other handicrafts were continuously produced and then transported to Cangcheng or used for rewards. Or used for commerce.

Every autumn is the peak season for trade. Hu merchants traveled through the Gobi Desert and Monan Grassland and finally arrived in Jinyang before winter. They had no time to dust themselves off, so they had to busy cashing in the goods they brought. Or in exchange for other commodities.

However, due to the large-scale use of troops this year, the transactions of these Hu merchants were not smooth enough.

They traveled thousands of miles to Jinyang, and what they brought with them were naturally extremely profitable and rare goods that ordinary people could not afford. The people with the most purchasing power inside and outside Jinyang City were the generals and chiefs. These people had not returned from the expedition south with King Bohai, so Hu merchants could not see the largest customer group.

However, these Hu merchants were not idle. They prayed silently in their hearts that the army would return victoriously and that the King of Bohai would reward his ministers generously to increase their purchasing power. During this time, we can show it to the family members left behind to stimulate their desire to buy.

Among them, the most popular one is the newly promoted Princess Xixue of Bohai. The former status is already extremely noble, but the latter status is even more remarkable.

Monan is an important trade route that connects the east and west, and Rouran, as the overlord of the grassland, can be said to be the reborn parents of these Hu merchants. If Rouran is offended, these Hu merchants will be betrayed in an instant. Two losses!

Princess Xixue lives deep in the inner palace of Jinyang and cannot be seen by these Hu merchants. However, her uncle Tu Tujia still stays in Jinyang City. Naturally, she has become the target of these Hu merchants. The gates are like a city, and people are crowded in front and back when traveling. It is really a scene of endless scenery.

But no matter how active these personnel are, after all, only the hundreds of thousands of Jinyang soldiers under King Gao's command are the real protagonists of Jinyang. They are not in Jinyang, and no matter how hard the others work, they still lack souls.

On this day, Shedigan, who was stationed in the north city of Jinyang, led a group of soldiers and went straight into the Prime Minister's Mansion with a serious expression. On the way, someone greeted someone and called out, but Shedigan completely turned a blind eye, which showed that he was in a bad mood.

The person who stayed behind in the Prime Minister's Mansion was Gao Yue, who had recovered from his illness, and was responsible for maintaining the administrative affairs of the Ba Mansion, while Shedigian stayed behind as the governor of the military affairs.

The two had a clear division of labor and a tacit understanding of each other. When he learned that She Di Qian had entered the mansion from Beicheng, Gao Yue felt something bad in his heart. He immediately withdrew everyone who was talking in the hall and stood up and walked out of the hall to wait for She Di in the corridor. The dry arrival.

Soon She Di Qian walked up in broad strides. Their eyes met for a moment, and both of them became a little heavy. They walked back to the hall side by side without saying a word, and screened away the rest of the crowd, leaving only a few important staff members of the Ba Mansion present. Di Gan then spoke: "There were guards from Wutu City in front of us reporting that the city was attacked by thieves..."

"Wutu City? Could it be that the thieves in that area are making noise again?"

After hearing this, Gao Yue asked. He naturally knew what the situation in the west was like. When he heard the name, he subconsciously suspected Ji Hu.

Ji Hu's troubles were not news to begin with, and he had just suffered a tragic blow and his strength had been severely weakened. He was a little confused as to why She Di Gan looked so serious.

Shediqian sighed and shook his head: "I'm afraid it's not just thieves from the other side..."

As he spoke, he raised his hand and ordered two soldiers who had escaped from Wutu City to be brought into the hall, and ordered them to tell Gao Yue the specific situation.

After listening, Gao Yue frowned and quickly summarized two important messages from the two people's stories.

The first is that although the Jihu troops are not strong in combat effectiveness, they are large in number. Thousands of them have never been seen in the country before. They went straight to Wutu City without any warning. It's like coming from somewhere else.

The second thing is that in addition to these Jihu tribesmen, there is another group of people who cooperate with each other. This group of people is much more powerful than Jihu. They defeated them directly in a head-on battle and killed their leader Pi. Jinghe was captured alive.

"Pi's son is one of the bravest young men in the country. His Majesty praised him for his intelligence and bravery, so he became his confidant. The thieves were able to capture him in battle. He must be no ordinary thieves!"

Gao Yue said thoughtfully. After pondering for a moment, he raised his eyes to look at Shedigan opposite, and murmured: "Could it be the West..."

She Diqian nodded slightly at first, but then slowly shook his head and said: "Now that the Lord is attacking from the army, the bandits in Kansai must be nervously preparing for war. How can they have any spare time to operate elsewhere? Or maybe it's Is the general of the border town making his own plans to plot our way out of Jinyang? Li Mu, the governor of Dongxia Prefecture, is the chief of Gaoping Town, and he has a group of capable men under his command. If he crosses the river and enters the country, we must be careful!"

As he spoke, he glared hard at the two defeated soldiers who were kneeling down in the hall, and said angrily: "You fools, losing in battle is already a big crime, but you can't even wait and see the exact origins of the rebel army. You really deserve to die." !”

Leaving aside the two soldiers who kowtowed and begged for mercy, Gao Yue looked at She Di Qian and said solemnly: "How does the Grand Master plan to deal with this incident?"

"It's because I don't know where the plan will come from, so I went into the government to discuss it with the governor. I don't know what the strength of the thieves' army is or what their intentions are. It's really difficult to deal with it."

Shedigan sighed again, and said to Gao Yue with a helpless look on his face: "Your Majesty has ordered me and me to help each other and stay behind. In the face of such a dangerous incident, I dare not make the decision alone."

Gao Yue felt very unhappy after hearing this. Are you here to discuss it? It’s clear that I need someone to share the responsibility with!

If you don't know the thief's intentions, you can just investigate further, and no matter what the intention is, you always need to go out to suppress it. It was a matter that was not difficult at first, but in the end, She Diqian looked sad and didn't know what to do. Isn't this a lie?

However, he also understood She Diqian's helplessness. Although both of them were close confidants of King Gao, it was obvious to all that King Gao had become more liberal in recent years, and everything pushed his eldest son Gao Cheng to the throne. In front of the stage, there is less and less tolerance towards old friends.

For example, She Di Qian went to Yedu to ask for an audience with the crown prince, but was refused entry for three consecutive days. This was a way of establishing his own authority by trampling and humiliating the prestige accumulated by She Di Qian for many years and his status as an elder.

Therefore, if they, the old Yuan Cong, think that they can behave as before, they are totally wrong. The Gao family's father and son's prestige is growing and power is gathered into one body. It is normal for their confidants to lack responsibility when it comes to matters.

Now King Gao is leading an army to fight abroad. Their most important task is to stabilize the situation in Jinyang. Everything else is unimportant. But it's no good just being able to retreat like this. If the incoming rebel army really makes any big noise, destabilizing the rear and affecting the war at the front, it would also be a serious crime.

She Di Qian was very careful, and Gao Yue didn't want to be dragged into the water. This was not a matter within his responsibilities. Even if he discussed with She Di Qian to mobilize people to respond properly, he would be taught by the prince to abuse his power in the future, even if he was not punished. Even the heavy punishment can't be tolerated by one's self-esteem. It's really better to do less than to do more.

But She Di Qian was sitting in the straight hall. If he didn't come up with a countermeasure, it would obviously not work. If things really got serious, neither of them would have anything good to gain.

Therefore, after pondering for a while, Gao Yue clapped his legs and said quickly: "The thieves suddenly appeared in the wilderness, but the princess is still staying in Xishan. How can this be done? The princess should be invited back to the house immediately to avoid being disturbed by the thieves. !”

Shedigan's eyes suddenly lit up when he heard this. He was not known for his resourcefulness and was really helpless in facing this situation. Only after Gao Yue reminded him did he understand. He nodded repeatedly and said: "It's very, very true. I'll do it now." Lead the troops to Xishan to welcome the princess back, and then ask the princess for instructions on how to deal with it! "

"Let's go together!"

When the matter was not resolved, Gao Yue felt uneasy and simply got up and went with him.

Soon the two of them led their troops to Xishan Bieye and bowed before the princess. They said that the weather was getting colder as the autumn day deepened, so they invited the princess to return to the mansion to rest.

After Lou pondered for a moment, she shook her head and refused. No matter what her relationship with Prince Gao was, she needed to stay out of the house after Princess Weiwei entered the house. Nothing at all, returning to the mansion like this will undoubtedly attract people's ridicule.

The purpose of the marriage with Rouran was to relieve the pressure on the border and to unite with Rouran to deal with the Western bandits. As long as the Western bandits were surrendered, there would naturally be no need to be so humble and courteous to Rouran. Lou was still waiting for her husband's army to fulfill his promise and personally take her back after their triumphant return. She really didn't want to be invited back to the house by these two people.

"You two have the heavy responsibility of staying behind, so how can you spend your spare time on greeting and seeing off? I don't need your attention while I'm here. If I feel that I'm distracted by my caretakers while I'm here, I'll go to Yecheng Vote for my son Ah Hui!”

When the two of them heard this, they smiled bitterly in their hearts. There was no one in this family, men, women, old and young, who was easy to take care of!

In the end, She Digan forced himself to pay homage and said, "Princess, please leave the room and relax. I have something to report."

After listening to She Di Qian's report, Mrs. Lou's face became serious and she no longer worried about the issue of face. She immediately ordered the palace servants and maids to pack their luggage, and she looked at the two of them and asked: "Thieves How are you two going to punish me for being so rampant?"

"Your Majesty has led the troops outside, and the way back is safe. Since the matter is serious, the ministers have not dared to make a decision. They are planning to welcome the princess back to the palace, and then send the troops to report to the Lord!"

This time it was Gao Yue who answered.

"Nonsense! The Lord's army is out there and there is no time to look back. You will only disturb the Lord's mind by reporting the matter, and you will not be able to concentrate on supervising the battle. You will be distracted by looking forward and backward, which will hurt your mind!"

Lou directly rejected Gao Yue's words, then looked at the two of them and said angrily: "You two are distinguished ministers in the country and brothers and sisters at home, so the king has entrusted the family and the country. In such a treacherous situation, it's a shame." If you disturb me, you will lose your confidence. If a thief comes to kill you, what doubts are there? Even though I am an invincible woman, I understand this. Why do you have any doubts?"

The two of them did not dare to speak frankly and reveal their true feelings. After hearing the words, they nodded and admitted their mistake. After the palace people had packed up, they escorted Lou and his party back to the capital.

Just as the team was about to enter the mansion, a strange team came forward. Hu people in various bright and exaggerated clothes led the camel and swaggered through the street. The hump was also covered with colorful silk decorations. Men and women rode on it. One of them is Rouran Bald Tujia.

The whole team was blocked in front of the Prime Minister's Mansion. Seeing the troops approaching, Gao Yue hurriedly rushed forward. After some negotiation, he persuaded Tu Tujia to leave, allowing Lou to drive into the mansion. , and after Lou got out of the car, his face was so gloomy that he almost shed tears.

She Di Qian and Gao Yue looked at each other and couldn't help but sigh inwardly. They didn't dare to discuss the internal affairs of King Gao's curtain gate casually, but although Rouran was gradually declining and its power was dwindling, it was still The overlord of the north still has to wait and see in the face of the confrontation between east and west.

The two of them sent the Lou family to the other hall first, and then returned to the Zhitang to summon important members of the Ba family to discuss how to meet the enemy.

The Bafu cavalry Cao Shenjun Bai Jian and the foreign soldier Cao Shenjun Tang Yong successively went to war. At the moment when the army was going out, there were still more than 6,000 troops stationed in Jinyang City. Although the number sounds like a lot, the scale of Jinyang City is really too large. , there was some tension after the troops dispersed across the cities.

In the wider Si Bing Fen and other states, there are still more than 30,000 people in the prefectures, counties, townships, and Qu who are still staying behind and not participating in the war. However, these troops are distributed among the states, counties, cities and towns, and it will take a certain amount of time to mobilize them.

She Diqian and Gao Yue were both knowledgeable soldiers. With Lou's endorsement, they quickly formulated a plan, which was to first dispatch a part of the mobile force to investigate the specific strength of the thieves. If they could be found on the spot, Of course, the best solution is to solve it. If not, keep an eye on the main force of the thieves, and then mobilize the surrounding city defense forces to form an encirclement and eat them up in one bite!

After the plan was finalized, although Mr. Lou had said that he would not interfere with their decision, they still went to another hall to report it.

Mr. Lou is not a power-hungry person, so after listening to their report, he just nodded to show that he understood, but after a moment of pondering, he spoke again: "Women don't know the art of war, so they don't dare to speak rashly. But we know how many people there are. Of course, the more people and horses, the better.

The king's army is outside, and there are not many people in the country. It is inappropriate to transfer them anywhere. However, there are often various merchants detained in the company. If these merchants can be recruited into an army to attack, it can also save the country's sergeants. force. Even if these merchants are defeated in the battle, the thieves' arrogance has been exhausted, and it will be easier to defeat them again. What do you think? "

The two knew the elegant meaning after hearing the song. Of course they understood that the old sister-in-law wanted to take it out on the Hu merchants who were close to Rouran, and this was indeed a way to increase defensive strength. After thinking about it for a while, they both nodded in agreement.