At the third watch, the city of Yangzhou was as dark as ink. The biting monsoon wind blew across the city. The defenders huddled in shelter from the wind. Curses and violent coughs came from the dark corners from time to time.
Dozens of torches climbed up the city wall from the stone steps inside the west city gate tower. They went straight into the tower without disturbing any of the defenders. The city tower was the best place to take shelter from the wind, and there was even a bonfire inside. Several generals responsible for guarding the city gate were eating meat and drinking wine around a clattering iron pot next to the fire.
After dozens of figures entered the tower, a general frowned at the visitor and yelled: "Get out, don't you know you are not allowed to come in here? Stay outside and keep a vigil."
Dozens of soldiers who came in were surrounded by a man in black robes. The man gently opened the cloak on his head, revealing a brand new armor. The man laughed and said: "General Liu, you are so majestic." Ah, the Pontus envoys are all frightened by you."
Only then did the generals who were drinking see the face of the visitor clearly. They were so frightened that they got up and rolled over. In their panic, they knocked over the iron pot. The meat and vegetables in the pot overturned on the bonfire, and thick smoke suddenly appeared. A squeaking sound. After a while, a burning smell filled the air.
"It turns out to be the envoy from Zhoudu. I am so blind that I didn't know that the envoy from Zhoudu was here. Damn it, please forgive me." Several generals hurriedly stepped forward and held their hands, blaming themselves repeatedly.
"That's it, it's nothing. You guys have worked very hard. Is there any movement from the enemy?" Zhou Yi walked slowly to the outside of the city tower, opened the long window and looked down at the city.
"There is no abnormal movement. The generals and others are watching closely. Please rest assured, Commander Zhou." The guard general surnamed Liu said hurriedly.
"Very good, but be careful and don't make any mistakes. If there is any change, please report to His Highness Prince Huai in time!"
"I will finally understand!"
Zhou Yi nodded, looked under the city wall, and suddenly said: "The city gate is blocked, how can we get out of the city?"
General Liu asked in surprise: "What are you doing out of the city?"
Zhou Yi frowned and said: "I am the emperor's personally appointed commander of the cavalry army. I asked you how to get out of the city. I came here with orders from above. Why do you ask so much?"
General Liu said hurriedly: "Oh, if we leave the city, I'm afraid we will have to fall down with a rope."
Zhou Yidao: "Then bring a rope and send someone out of the city."
General Liu hurriedly said: "Zhou Du Envoy, I'm afraid this won't work. His Highness King Huai ordered that no one be allowed to sneak out of the city. If you disobey his order, the general will not be able to eat and walk away."
Zhou Yi shouted in a cold voice: "The envoy of this capital is here under the military order of King Huai! If you dare to disobey, the envoy of this capital will chop off your dog's head right now and send it to His Highness King Huai."
General Liu was startled and said hurriedly: "Don't dare. If it is the order of King Huai, I will naturally abide by it. I just ask the envoy of Zhou to wait for a while, and then I will send someone to Prince Huai's Mansion for verification. Now, This is a big event, don’t blame me for being disrespectful, please ask the envoy of the Zhou Dynasty to take care of it!"
"It's up to you, but I would like to remind you that His Highness Prince Huai doesn't want too many people to know about this matter, especially the palace. If it causes a fuss, you will know his temper."
"This..." Several generals were suddenly stunned, looking at each other and hesitating.
"That's all. If the matter is urgent, it's not impossible to let one person out." General Liu gritted his teeth and said.
"This matter is a bit strange. His Royal Highness King Huai has clearly prohibited entry and exit from the city gate..." Another general reminded in a low voice.
Zhou Yi blinked his eyes and said calmly: "The envoy here was ordered to wait here the whole time. If you are really worried, you can go to Prince Huai's Mansion at any time to confirm and see if His Highness Prince Huai's order is true." There is a discrepancy.”
"Zhou Du is joking, how dare we! Since it is an order from His Highness King Huai, we will obey it!" Seeing that Zhou Yi looked at ease and was willing to wait here, several generals immediately made up their mind to take action and ordered people to fetch a long The rope came and one end was wrapped around the stone fence and tied tightly.
Zhou Yi turned back to a man with a cloak covering his head and said, "Be careful, I'll be waiting here."
The man with the cloak covering his face nodded repeatedly, and the rope was tied around the waist of the man in the cloak. The other soldiers who were ordered to follow also tied the rope. Everyone pulled the rope together and slowly pulled the three people from the top of the city. Fall. Zhou Yi once again ordered the guard general to lower the suspension bridge, and watched the three people walk across the moat from the suspension bridge into the darkness ahead. Then he turned around and ordered several generals to pay attention to the movement at all times and pull them up before dawn.
The three people who left the city walked towards the Chu army's camp. Before they had gone a hundred steps, there were footsteps and the sound of horse hooves in the darkness beside them. Soon, more than a dozen black figures surrounded them. The weapons in his hands flashed, and the three of them were surrounded.
"Don't do anything. I am a messenger from Yangzhou City. I want to see your Majesty the Emperor. Please give me a briefing." The man in the cloak handed over the nameplate. After receiving the nameplate, a Chu army scout rushed towards the camp. After leaving, the others held weapons and escorted a few people slowly towards the direction of the camp.
The lights in Li Yuan's tent were brightly lit. Although it was the middle of the night, more than a dozen generals and Li Yuan were warming themselves over the fire to discuss the siege. The personal guard came in to report that a messenger was coming from the city. Li Yuan was stunned after taking the nameplate, and then burst into laughter.
"Your Majesty, who is here?" Liu Jiangsheng asked.
Li Yuan smiled and said, "See for yourself."
Liu Jiangsheng took the nameplate and took a look at it, frowning and said: "It's true that enemies don't get together, Zhang Ji! Now he is the official of the Ministry of Personnel. Why is he here? It's just a messenger, there is no need for him to come. Li Congjia is not afraid that we will take Zhang Ji Was he chopped alive?"
"Zhang Jie, okay, I've been waiting to cut him into pieces for a long time!" Luo Erhu said with a cruel smile.
Li Yuan chuckled and said: "Things are getting interesting. Li Congjia sent his number one adviser to see me so late. I'm afraid he is not a messenger, but has another hidden agenda. I originally just wanted to muddy the water, but now it seems that If there is an unexpected harvest, maybe a big fish will take the bait."
The generals were puzzled and asked one after another. Li Yuan waved his hand and said: "You all go back and have a rest. It's not good if there are too many people. Jiang Sheng, just stay here. Let's see how this big fish takes the bait."
"I obey!" The generals, including the aggressive Luo Erhu, had to leave reluctantly. Of course they also wanted to see what happened. Unfortunately, His Majesty has been making some mysterious moves in the past few days. It seems that he is What plans were implemented were not made public.
Eighty-nine percent of the people coming tonight are related to the plan. His Majesty will definitely not let others watch, because no one can ask about things that His Majesty does not want to talk about.
The messenger in black was Zhang Jie. Because this matter was so extraordinary that it was impossible to do it by others, he had to take the risk himself. He also firmly believed that Li Yuan would not hurt him easily now. Li Yuan was already the emperor and would never embarrass himself too much.
Zhang Jie entered the camp uneasily, got on a carriage and was driven to Li Yuan's tent in the middle camp. After getting off the car, looking at Li Yuan's brightly lit tent and the guards in front of the tent with their chests and belly raised and their eyes fierce, Zhang Hao felt a little frightened, but he had no choice but to bite the bullet and fight under the eyes of several guards. Accompanied by him, he walked towards the brightly lit tent.
Zhang Jie originally thought that there must be a group of Chu generals with daggers drawn and angry eyebrows inside the big tent. However, after entering the big tent, he found that the entire big tent was empty. Under the giant candle, a small table was placed sideways, and two figures in large fur robes sat opposite each other beside the small table, concentrating on playing a game of Go.
