The next morning, the weather seemed to be extremely cold. Hu Ze, the governor of Hezhou, led his generals to the camp hall early to wait for the meeting. Today they all put on the prepared black leather robes and wrapped furry scarves around their necks. His body was bulging and he was wearing armor under his robes, making him look cumbersome when he walked.
Yesterday, Li Yuan originally set a time to go to the camp to discuss the army, but at this time, not only Li Yuan and Yan King Li Hongji, not even a general of the imperial army could be seen. Hu Ze and his men gathered in the hall, puzzled, and hurriedly ordered people to search in the camp. It turned out that the soldiers who took over the defense here yesterday also left cleanly for no apparent reason.
Hu Ze's face became extremely dark. He sat down at the main seat in the hall and asked angrily: "Where is Li Yuan? Where is Li Hongji? Why don't you see even a single forbidden soldier?"
The deputy general was panting and said: "President Hu, the last general went to their house just now. They are not here, so he must have left."
Hu Ze frowned and said, "How is that possible? I clearly received a secret report last night. Li Yuan and Li Hongji were both asleep in the house. How could they have disappeared without a trace now? What's more, Hezhou City is only connected from the north to the south. Ten thousand of our brothers are guarding the gate but we haven’t received any news. Could it be that they have already led their troops out of the south gate to defend against the enemy?”
"This..." the deputy general scratched his head and said, "I'll have to take a look at it later."
Hu Ze stood up and said, "I'll go and see for myself."
After saying that, he left his seat and walked towards the courtyard of Li Yuan's residence. All the generals also hurriedly followed him towards the courtyard. Standing on the porch outside Li Yuan's house, Hu Ze suppressed his concentration and shouted loudly: "Generalissimo, are you in the house?"
No one answered in the house, and Hu Ze called several times but still got no response, so he pushed open the door and entered the house. The quilt on the bed was neatly folded, and there was no trace of the person.
Hu Ze quickly stepped forward and reached into the quilt, pulled out his hand and said solemnly: "The quilt is cold, it doesn't look like you have slept on it. What's going on?"
No one could give Hu Ze an answer. Hu Ze quickly rushed to the residence of King Yan Li Hongji and looked around. The bedding on Li Hongji's bed was messy, but the bed was still cold. Hu Ze said in annoyance. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he patted his thighs and gritted his teeth and said, "Li Yuan is gone, and Li Hongji is also missing. What's going on? Did they really escape in the middle of the night? Alas! Could it be that they really discovered something? They shouldn't... ...."
Hu Ze blinked his eyes and turned a little pale. He glanced at the generals around him and found that they were also looking at him uneasily. Their eyes were averted and they were thinking in their hearts, but they generally understood Hu Governor's plan in their hearts. Eighty percent of it is a failure.
"Damn, we have been tricked! They must have discovered something when they went out in the middle of the night! If all 200,000 imperial troops leave the city, then not only will we fail, but we may also drag 10,000 brothers down here in vain." Hu Ze was stamping his feet and pacing back and forth.
The deputy general said in a deep voice: "Chief Hu, if the 200,000 troops intend to leave the city, how much noise will there be? Our death camp in the south of the city has already taken action, and it should have been ablaze by now. But now It's obviously calm in the city! In short, the general thinks that we should go and see for ourselves. Even if, even if they can really get out of the city without anyone noticing, it doesn't matter. Let's first enter the south gate and close the city gate tightly..."...
"That's all we can do." Hu Ze's eyes lit up, he gritted his teeth, and then he bowed his hands to the sky and said, "Hey, I hope Emperor Rui has spirit in heaven to protect us and other loyal ministers! Please remember first, If Li Yuan and Li Hongji really lead their army out of the city, we will have to defend Hezhou City Pass, and if we have no choice but to cooperate with the Zhennan Army of the old thief Song Qiqiu."
All the generals raised their hands and said yes, and then the deputy general said in a deep voice: "What the governor said is reasonable, but the general still concluded that the army has not left the city, otherwise how could the south of the city be so peaceful at this moment? If traces of the death camp were discovered, Li Yuan would Li Hongji and the others should come to the governor at night to question him, but there is no movement at the moment, so it shouldn't be like that."
Hu Ze sighed and said, "I hope so! If Li Yuan and Li Hongji are still in the city after a while, it will be Emperor Rui who appears. Everyone should always pay attention to their words and expressions to see if there is anything strange. If If nothing happens, act according to the original plan. Don't reveal your intention to take action before the time comes.
But we need to call some brothers just in case. We were supposed to have a meeting this morning, but the Imperial Guards disappeared without a trace without telling us. Even if they didn't leave the city, they must have discovered something was wrong. We have to take precautions. ..."
A general said in astonishment: "Prince, they have an army of 200,000 people. Even if we bring 10,000 brothers with us, what will it do if we really fight them?"
Hu Ze spat fiercely and said: "If the time comes, let the death camp take action, and we will die together with them! In exchange for his 10,000 humble lives, he will have the eldest son of the emperor and the first general. Add to this the 200,000 imperial troops, and this pseudo-Tang Dynasty will be exhausted!"
The generals nodded in agreement, and Hu Ze led everyone back to the hall. Without stopping for a moment, he immediately gave orders to the soldiers stationed at the north gate, and 10,000 soldiers were immediately armed and ready to march towards the south of the city.
At this time, Hu Ze led 10,000 soldiers under his command and rushed to the south of the city. They found that the vast Forbidden Army camps were still in place, and the soldiers were still walking around as bustling as yesterday. He couldn't help but feel ecstatic, and what made Hu Ze even more surprised was that, From a distance, he saw Li Yuan and King Yan Li Hongji standing on the south city wall with their hands behind their backs and chests raised, watching the scenery.
Hu Ze led the generals to the city wall in a hurry. After exchanging pleasantries, he didn't notice anything unnatural in Li Yuan and Li Hongji's expressions and words.
Hu Ze especially observed Li Yuan. It was rumored that this famous general in the world was thinking deeply. If something really happened last night, he would definitely make a few remarks intentionally or unintentionally. As a result, Li Yuan was talking and laughing all about counter-insurgency matters and explained Due to the sudden movement of the rebels last night and the urgency of the war, Hu Ze had no choice but to arrive at Yunyun in the south of the city first. This made Hu Ze feel a little relieved.
Suddenly, there was a commotion under the city, and the South City Gate opened wide. The large army of soldiers and horses left the city from the South City Gate and entered the valley in front. This was the first vanguard army ordered by Li Yuan to be sent out. Li Hongji also headed towards Hu Zesha. He talked about the combat mission of the Pioneer Army.
As he witnessed the soldiers and horses whizzing past the city gate, Hu Ze subconsciously glanced at the sixteen warehouses. There were still many arrow towers there, and now they were heavily guarded by no less than five thousand forbidden troops. Not allowing anyone to enter, he secretly laughed in his heart and said that Li Yuan and Li Hongji were really stupid. He wished that there were as many forbidden troops around the warehouse as possible...
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Qingli layman
