When he first heard Liu Bei's words, Hu Chuquan's expression remained normal, but he couldn't help tightening his grip on the horse's belly, causing the horses under him to neigh. After all the Xianbei people left, he did not answer Liu Bei's words, but looked back and said: "Today Xianbei came and... Go, it seems to be in vain, but in fact, all three of my troops have been lost. General, the situation is difficult! It is time to report to Shanyu and discuss the follow-up."
At this point, he kept silent and rode his horse back to the city with the army. His subordinate Qie Qu also said nothing, which made Liu Bei quite surprised. However, the hint in his words was obvious enough, so he decided to wait a little longer. Let’s see how Huchuquan reacts.
That night, Liu Bei was reading "Dongguan Han Ji" in his house, and debating history with Jian Yong. Suddenly a guard came forward and said that a stranger was visiting in front of the door. This man was wearing a black robe and a broad hat, with a black gauze covering his head. His movements were particularly suspicious. This person did not clarify his identity, but only said that he had important matters to discuss with Liu Bei.
Liu Bei understood clearly, so he put down his scriptures and went out to greet him in person. The man came in and took off his gauze hat, but he was a young man of sixteen or seventeen years old. He saluted Liu Bei, and then introduced himself: "I am the second son of King Youxian. My father sent me late at night." It’s really scary to bother the general.”
Liu Bei did not expect that Huchuquan would send his own son to contact him. He and Jian Yong looked at each other for a moment, then he took out a piece of silk brocade from the house, smiled at Zai Siqi and said: "I walked in a hurry when I came out, and I didn't expect to be in the army." I can meet my good nephew. For a moment, I have nothing to give to you, so I take this piece of silk as my heartfelt gift."
Zai Xi declined sternly, put the silk brocade rong on the ground, looked up at Liu Bei, and said sternly: "The general and my father have known each other on the battlefield, and have never been in contact with each other. To put it bluntly, my nephew can only survive today, not only because the general is far away today." To come to the rescue was because the general had been magnanimous and did not care about the misfortune of Longshan.
When we have great righteousness, why do we need mere silk cloth? The general's discussion today is also related to the peace of the country. Since my nephew came here late at night, he must be entrusted by his father. General, don't worry too much. My nephew will do what he says! What's more, it's just a piece of silk brocade. If my nephew accepts it, it will attract people's attention. Or will the general's affairs tonight be heard by everyone? "
These words Zai Xi spoke in an orderly manner, which made Liu Bei look at him with admiration. Liu Bei took back the silk brocade, straightened his clothes, and returned the courtesy to Zai Xi, saying, "What my nephew said is very true, but I am arrogant. But Liu Bei really doesn't know why King Youxian said this today. What are his concerns?"
Zai Shi couldn't help but smile bitterly when he heard the words. He rubbed the Guangli in his hand and sighed: "My father made a big mistake when he joined Xubu Shanyu's army at the beginning of the year. But now that my uncle has succeeded to the throne, he is very ambitious and treats his father in every possible way." Be careful, my father has put himself in danger, but he still can't worry about it. He planted his eyes and ears in the army, even my subordinate Qiqu was appointed by my uncle. It's a matter of life and death, how can I stop being so careful?"
Hearing this, Liu Bei could only breathe a sigh of relief and said with emotion: "Brothers are like this, let alone others?".
Liu Bei therefore invited Zai Si to the table and revealed his plan to him: "I only have one thing to do to find the right king. Since Shanyu succeeded to the throne, Grand Administrator Chen and I thought that the border troubles would be calmed down and peace would be restored to the Bingzhou, prefectures and vassal states. Unexpectedly, Yufuluo's administration was frivolous, he was evil to the princes at the top, and abused the people at the bottom. Yesterday's defeat was actually due to Shanyu recalling the border troops, and withholding grain and grass to exact tribute."
"The Xiongnu are a vassal of the Han Dynasty. As the general who protects the Xiongnu, Liu Bei should also seek the welfare of the Xiongnu people. Chen Chong, the prefect of Xihe, is a sworn brother. He has repeatedly advised the Shanyu but with little effect. Before he resigned, He once told me that King Youxian has guarded the country's borders for many years, and he is the legitimate son of Qiangqu Chanyu. He has won the hearts of the Xiongnu people. If he can conspire with him to quell the chaos, great things can be accomplished."
Liu Bei asked Zai Xi Zhuozhuo, "I wonder if King Youxian is interested?"
Zai Si had discussed it repeatedly with Hu Chuquan before he came. He had been preparing for this conversation for a long time, but he still couldn't hide his excitement. He grabbed his robe tightly and almost pulled out a scratch with his fingernails, but his tone was calm as usual: "Uncle The rebellion was suppressed because Datong inherited the position of Shan Yu. Although the administration is now lacking, there are more than 30 subordinates under his command. Bai Boyin is in the south for support. Although the general has great righteousness, he still needs to cut his sword to kill the enemy. This is why In matters of life and death, we must be extremely cautious. I wonder what good advice the general has?"
Liu Bei shook his head and refused: "Why cut off the knife?" He drew out the sword from his waist, stood up and said: "Now Yufuluo has copied the clan into slavery, exterminated the family to get wealth, and his governance is worse than Jie and Zhou, and he is far more cruel to the people than the tyrannical Qin. Even if I How many more years can he remain a Chanyu while waiting? Now all he relies on is money and food, how can he convince the public? We only need to send a dead soldier to assassinate him in the royal court, and then King Youxian will take over. If you have good crops, great things can happen!”
At this point, he couldn't help but waved his sword angrily: "If Yu Fuluo hadn't been jealous of us, I would have killed this thief with this sword!"
Zai Chi didn't know that he could do such a thing. After thinking about it carefully, it made sense. He lowered his head and thought for a while before replying: "This is indeed a good plan. It's just that for the assassination, you need a reason to approach your uncle." . Except for my uncle, no one in the royal court can carry a sword, and when my uncle goes out, he must be guarded by dozens of fine cavalry, which is really difficult to succeed."
Liu Bei remembered what Chen Chong said, Yu Fuluo liked treasures and property, and he could use the name of offering treasures to order assassins to assassinate Yu Fuluo with sharp blades. But what treasures does he have now? The most valuable thing is the Zhongxing Sword given by the emperor years ago. However, this is a royal sword, and Liu Bei would not dare to give it to him.
Zai Si felt helpless after hearing this. Huchuquan had not collected swords before. Soldiers are fighting on the battlefield all year round. Who doesn’t want to have more sharp weapons to defend themselves? It's just that in order to please his brother, Hu Chuquan spent everything he had before, but now he is powerless.
Liu Bei thought of the county magistrates under his command, all of whom were descendants of famous clans, and there must be no shortage of collections. Then he planned to return to Taiyuan first and make long-term plans.
But at this time, Zai Si came up with another plan and told Liu Bei in detail: Every year at the end of October and the beginning of November, Yu Fuluo will lead his people to Wuyuan County for hunting. There is a desert between Xihe and Wuyuan. There are only two ways to go north to Wuyuan.
One line goes north to Xianyang via Manbaicheng. However, there has been a severe drought this year, and the water and grass on this road have dried up, making it difficult to pass. Moreover, deer, rabbits, tigers and other prey are also rare because of this, so Yufuluo will never go north from this point.
The other route is to go west for more than thirty miles, passing through Huze and arriving at Linwo. The Huze Land is as its name suggests. Because it is the only swamp in the north and south of the desert, there are many tigers roaring in the wind and yellow spots coming and going. In recent years, the Xiongnu and Xianbei have hunted here less, and other wild animals such as foxes and martens have become more numerous. It's really a good place for hunting.
Therefore, Yufuluo must pass by this place on his way north, and there are many reeds on the edge of the river. All he needs to do is send an assassin with a bow and crossbow hidden among the reeds. When he passes by the river, he can be killed with one arrow, and a big deal can be done. become.
Liu Bei hesitated and said: "This plan is feasible, but to ambush in the swamp, you need to be as determined as an old turtle; to kill the king with one arrow, your eyesight is as sharp as an eagle; if it fails, it will inevitably cause disaster, so you must behave like this Iron will. Where can we find such a wonderful person? Prince Yan used a beautiful woman to win over Jing Ke, a rare scholar, and he still allowed the King of Qin to escape. Difficult! Difficult!"
Thinking of this, he sighed in the room. But Zai Si said firmly: "General, don't worry. We have our own talented men. When father is ready, I will inform the general. When the matter is accomplished, the general must not forget the promise tonight."
Seeing that Zai Shi's words were conclusive, Liu Bei also admired Zai Shi's courage to explore alone late at night, so he promised: "If you wait until you decide on a candidate, you will send an envoy to Jinyang to inform me. Liu will make corresponding preparations in advance after consulting the details. Even if If things don’t work out, there won’t be any fatal disaster.”
Zai Shi happily agreed upon hearing this, and immediately took Guangli with him, covered himself with a black gauze, and hurried away from the night by touching the wall.
The next day, Liu Bei and his men visited Huchuquan again. The two looked at each other and understood each other, and discussed post-war matters as usual.
After the disastrous defeat, the Xiongnu troops were no longer enough to defend the four cities, but Mayi Guangwu could not give up, so Liu Bei placed 10,000 troops in Qixian, while Wuzhou temporarily relaxed. It is ridiculous to say that there were over 10,000 casualties in the battle on the south bank of Yuledu. As a result, there were so many fewer places to eat, and there was no need to worry about food problems. What is even more worrying is that the next time Xianbei invades south, the Yanmen defense line will really Can you still hold on?
There is a clear answer in everyone's mind.
After Yufro learned the news about Yanmen, he neither punished nor encouraged him. He just sent a message asking: Is King Youxian willing to return to Meiji?
Hu Chuquan naturally didn't dare. He could only ask Zai Xi to quickly find the person to implement the plan. Zai Shi had already suspected something, so he persuaded Hu Chuquan to take out the remaining hundred gold in his ministry and head west to Zhongling.
Zhongling is only forty or fifty miles away from Mayi, and it is located in Dingxiang County. Most of Dingxiang County was originally the pasture land of the Xubu tribe. However, after Che You was granted the title of leader, the entire Xubu tribe moved to Wuzhou. Zhongling was also under the direct jurisdiction of the new Shanyu and became the largest slave market in Dingxiang County.
It's just that Zai Si didn't come here to buy and sell slaves. He quietly came to a deserted village on the outskirts of the city, looked around and saw that no one was following him, then entered a small house and jumped into the dry well in the house.
There was a wooden board on the side wall at the bottom of the well. Zaishi moved the wooden board away, revealing a small path that only allowed people to bend down and enter. He got into the path, closed the board again, and walked along the path to the end.
The trail was filled with the smell of earth and dust, which made him cover his nose with his hands, but he still couldn't help but sneeze. The echo of the sneeze instantly filled the tunnel and spread straight to the deepest part.
With a "creak" sound, there was the sound of the wooden door opening at the end, and a little light from the oil fire and the figure of a man were revealed at the end. His shadow extended from the end to the front of Zai Si.
"Who is it?" The man's voice was full of the sound of gold and iron.
"It's me." Zai Shi let go of his hand covering his mouth and confidently said to the man in front of the door: "Oganchi, your chance for revenge has come."
