Zhou Ziru's army arrived at Rongcheng belatedly three days later.
What you see is no longer the devastated city it once was. There are piles of wood and boulders everywhere in the city, and it looks like everything is in ruins. Even the dead officers and soldiers of the two armies and civilians had been properly buried by Yi Xiaodao's army.
"Reporting to Prime Minister Zhou, the spies have found out that Duke Wu Ding and Duke Zhongyi, leading the Nanhuai Army and the rest of the troops, have gone north for three days." The small school reported what they had just collected. information.
Zhou Ziru took a deep breath, and then coughed violently: "Cough cough...cough cough cough, do you still need to say this? Can you tell me something I don't know?"
The principal lowered his head and was speechless. A lot of spies were sent out, but no useful information was collected. Whenever spies approach Yi Xiaodao's army, they are always knocked unconscious by someone for no apparent reason, and they don't even know who they were knocked unconscious by. When discovered by their companions, the army had already disappeared.
After a few days, Zhou Ziru's spies knew nothing about Yi Xiaodao's army.
"That's all, I also guessed that Yi Xiaodao would not just stay in Rongcheng and wait for me to collect him. But I didn't expect that he would move so quickly. Even the bones of Rongcheng and the building materials needed for the city's construction were already prepared. .”
"He is a talented person...cough cough cough" Zhou Ziru sighed.
The guard general on the side came over: "Prime Minister Zhou, your body..."
"It doesn't matter, I know it well." Zhou Ziru waved his hand and said: "Don't worry about Yi Xiaodao for now. I have also thought about his going north. The top priority is to solve the problem of Xigui first. Is there any news about Xigui?" Zhou Ziru said Ru's eyes swept over and looked at the primary school.
The principal stood up and ran away, and after a while he turned around and ran back: "Reporting to the Prime Minister, King Zou Huai of Xigui has already left Xigui with 100,000 soldiers and horses. He collected broken troops on the road and now leads 180,000 soldiers and horses to garrison. Bincheng, guard the Yangtze River."
"Only in Bincheng...when did you arrive?" Zhou Ziru asked.
"We have been in Bincheng for three days and have not continued our march."
Zhou Ziru nodded silently, turned around and asked the grain officer: "How much grain and grass are left in the army? When will the grain and grass from the court be delivered?"
The grain officer quickly replied: "I am reporting to the Prime Minister that there is still half a month's supply of grain and grass in the army. It will take ten days for the grain and grass in the court to be delivered."
"Well, there is no problem with food and grass, so don't be afraid. Although time is tight, if we leave Rongcheng, there will be no danger to defend the front. Send the order, and all the troops and horses will enter the city to rest and wait for the opportunity. Take advantage of these days to find the army The craftsmen are here to repair the houses and tiles in the city."
"When Xigui retreats, the Sichuan, Shu and Xigui areas will also be under the control of the imperial court. At this time, they will be repaired and the people will be relocated here." Zhou Ziru thought quite long-term.
The surrounding generals were ordered to leave and went about their own affairs.
Zhou Ziru led his bodyguards towards the Sichuan and Shu Palace in Rongcheng. Not far away, he saw a group of soldiers and horses coming out of the city and heading towards him.
The guards behind him hurriedly stepped forward to protect Zhou Ziru in the middle. At the same time, they looked around vigilantly to guard against dangers that might appear at any time.
"It's Jiahai and the others!" Zhou Ziru saw the huge dragon head on the chests of Chen Congwei from a distance, stretched out his hand to push aside the guards around him, and went towards it. The guards also breathed a sigh of relief, it was Chen Congwei who came. There is no place in the entire Chengdu that is safer than here.
"Prime Minister Zhou." When everyone saw Zhou Ziru approaching, they all greeted him. In addition to Chen Congwei, there was also a team of dozens of people and a man with his head lowered and silent.
Zhou Ziru noticed the man. Although he was dressed simply at this time, he exuded a sense of nobility. His movements were gentle and elegant, which could not be faked.
"Who is this?" Zhou Ziru vaguely guessed his identity, but still asked.
Jiahei took a step forward and said: "Prime Minister Zhou, this is Zou Wen, the eldest son of Xigui. When we were in Caoshan... we were captured because he conspired with the gangsters to frame Guan Chenzi. Before Wu Dinggong left, he ordered him to be captured. Stay here and leave it to the Prime Minister when he comes."
Zhou Ziru recalled the thick thunder that struck the sky above the capital city. He could not help but feel a little frightened in his heart. He asked coldly: "I heard in the capital that the eldest son has a long-standing reputation as a virtuous man. His benevolence is well known to everyone in the West. Why do you do it now?" Is this the case of helping Zhou to commit evil and frame Zhongliang?"
Zou Wen slowly raised his head, shook it slightly, and sighed: "I may have been a good person, but I'm not a smart person. If I had known there was an ambush on that mountain... I wouldn't be able to harm the Immortal... Now even Not even a good person."
"Detain them first. Once Xigui is defeated, we will escort them back to the capital together and hand them over to His Majesty." Zhou Ziru already understood Zhao Yizhi's feelings for Guan Chenzi. He gave Zou Wen a slightly pitiful look and sent him back to the capital. , Ten thousand lives may not be enough for him to die.
The sergeant Yulin behind him stepped forward to take Zou Wen and was about to escort him away. Zou Wen took a few steps, suddenly stopped, turned around and said, "Prime Minister Zhou, if I can be of use to you, I will die without mercy..."
"Will the eldest son of Xigui help the court to attack Xigui?" Zhou Ziru was a little amused: "As far as I know, King Xigui had four sons, and the other three sons have died. Now the eldest son is the only one left. Is the eldest son willing to give up Xigui's inheritance?"
Zou Wen smiled sadly: "Oh, Xigui's foundation? It's gone in name only..." After saying that, he turned around and left with the Yulin army, voluntarily being detained.
Zhou Ziru looked at Zou Wen's back, feeling suddenly happy and laughing.
…
Bincheng, government office meeting hall.
"Mr. Wu, what do you think of sitting guarding Bincheng now?" Xigui King Zou Huaixin looked calmly and asked a middle-aged man with a broken arm.
Mr. Wu now only has one arm left and cannot raise his hand to salute. He has no choice but to stand up, bow and say: "Replying to the prince, although our Xigui army took advantage of the victory at the beginning and captured Rongcheng, our army has been defeated in these days. After several battles, Rongcheng was also recaptured by the imperial court..."
Mr. Wu paused for a moment, and King Xigui waved his hand and said, "Sir, it doesn't matter if you say it."
"Now that the morale of our army is low, we should march quickly and fight the imperial court. Only in this way can the morale of our army be improved and the morale of the army be maintained. If we just sit here and stay here, I'm afraid..."
King Xigui said with a smile: "What Mr. Wu said is also true, but... present it!"
Outside the door, a Xigui sergeant came up carrying a square plate covered with a piece of white cloth. There was still bright red blood on the corner of the white cloth. Combined with the bulging shape of the white cloth, it is not difficult to guess that the plate is holding a head.
"Lift it up and let Mr. Wu have a look." King Xigui ordered.
The sergeant turned around, lifted up the white cloth, and handed the square plate to Mr. Wu.
"Ah! This..." After Mr. Wu saw the face of the head clearly, he was so frightened that he took several steps back. Several tables and chairs were brought down.
In the square plate, it is Chen Jing's head!
"How...how could this happen..." Mr. Wu panicked, his legs weakened, and he fell to the ground.
King Xigui said with a smile: "What Mr. Wu said is true, but he only knows one thing and not the other. I can stay in this city thanks to this man." After saying that, he waved his hand, and the sergeant covered it with a white cloth and held it. He left with his head in his hand.
"This Lord Chen used to be the Minister of Criminal Affairs of the imperial court. He later fled here and reported all the imperial court intelligence to me. Only then did I dare to stay in Bincheng."
The head had been taken away. Mr. Wu supported the fallen table and chair and slowly got up: "The villain is stupid, please give me some advice."
"Master Chen has reported to me all the information about the officials in the court, the garrison in various places, and the topographic maps of the mountains and rivers. I have sent people to the Central Plains and secretly contacted many ministers. They are staying here to wait. The court is just in chaos. Hahahaha!"
Mr. Wu tapped his chest with his remaining hand to calm himself down. The moment he saw the head, he almost thought that the same would happen to him.
King Xigui then said: "Since he has been handed over to me, there is no use for him to keep, so he can be beheaded." This is an understatement, as if what died was not a living person, but a useless cat. Just cats and dogs.
"Your Majesty is a master of calculation. I am not as good as a villain. Please forgive me, Your Majesty." Mr. Wu bowed and replied.
"A useless person will naturally only die. Mr. Wu, what do you think?" King Xigui stared at Mr. Wu's eyes closely, and there was something in his words.
A cold sweat broke out on Mr. Wu's back: "Your Majesty, I...I have a treasure to give you!"
"Oh? Sir, please speak." King Xigui seemed to have known Mr. Wu's reaction, and asked with a smile.
"The villain...the villain's ancestors brought out a lot of treasures from the Nanshu Palace when they were unable to escape from Xigui. The villain is willing to give them to the prince to help him achieve his great cause!" Mr. Wu said hurriedly.
A trace of pride flashed in King Xigui's eyes, but he stood up pretending to be amazed: "Is this serious? There is no such thing as joking in the army!"
"It's absolutely true! I don't dare to tell lies!"
"Okay! Where is it? I will send someone to escort Mr. Wu there immediately. I hope Mr. Wu will find the secret treasure. If he finds it, Mr. Wu will make a great contribution!"
Mr. Wu agreed repeatedly and even forgot to say goodbye when he got up and left the hall as if he was running away.
Not long after Mr. Wu left, a general walked in from outside the hall: "Your Majesty, this Mr. Wu...if you let him go like this...you may get into trouble."
"Let him go? When did I say I would let him go? As long as he brings the secret treasure of Southern Shu back, if he wants to kill or scrape it, isn't it my king who has the final say?"
"Prince...Sheng Ming." The warrior Nuonuo retreated.
…
Time flies and nearly a month has passed quietly.
The Imperial Palace in Beijing.
"Your Majesty, no, something happened!" Wang Zhenliang came to the outside of the imperial study, looked at the closed door of the imperial study, and said loudly: "The grain and grass sent from Chao Zhong to Sichuan and Shu for Prime Minister Zhou are missing. Already…”
The door to the imperial study room creaked and slowly opened: "Come in and talk."
Wang Zhenliang rushed into the imperial study and told Zhao Yizhi all the news he knew.
Zhao Yizhi nodded: "I already know. I have sent two additional grain transport troops a long time ago. I hope it's too late."
"This... Your Majesty should investigate this matter thoroughly..." Wang Zhenliang said from the side.
Zhao Yizhi slowly closed his eyes, and his spiritual consciousness suddenly came out, lingering around Jinling City...
