Luo Yuer let out a long sigh. This time, someone really pinched his weak spot. Although Cao Yanying remarried him as a widow and brought two oil bottles with her, in Luo Yuer's heart, the fourteenth mother of the Cao family still held an extremely important position.
This is his white moonlight! I remember that when he, Luo Yu'er, was still a poor boy, he had his sights set on this little girl from the Cao family.
And at that time, Luo Yu'er could feel that Cao Yanying also had feelings for him. But the status gap between the two was too great. He, Luo Yu'er, was just the son of an old Yabing soldier from Jiedu, while Cao Yanying was the apple of Cao Yuande's eye, the eldest son of King Linggong.
Luo Yu'er still remembers the sad look in Cao Yanying's eyes when she was about to get married. She went around to the west gate where Luo Yu'er was on duty.
Of course, Luo Yu'er also remembered the moment when she burst into tears while listening to the music of the wind and drums.
This was also an important reason why Luo Yu'er was a talented soldier in the Cao family's rebel army and decisively followed Zhang Xixi.
You can also imagine how happy Luo Yu'er would be when she found out that Cao Yanying had become a widow after returning from Khotan.
The fists clenched, and among the six children Cao Yanying brought to Chang'an, two were born to Cao Yanying and her ex-husband, one was born to Luo Yuer's late wife, two were born to concubines, and the youngest one was born to him by Cao Yanying. A thousand pieces of gold.
Luo Yuer's family is not very prosperous. He is the only one of his three brothers who has grown up. His father's generation also has only two brothers.
So after Luo Yu'er had six children at once, his father and uncle were extremely excited, thinking that this was a sign that the Luo family would prosper.
If something went wrong, Luo Yu'er couldn't imagine whether her father's body would be able to bear it after receiving the news.
"My lord, someone has come from Chang'an Mansion, and Cao Yuanli is waiting outside." Just when Luo Yu'er's thoughts were wandering a little far, the voice of his personal guardian, Marquis Yu, came from behind.
Cao Yuanli is Cao Renzun's eldest son, and he is also the contact person between the Cao family and him this time. After hearing this, the sad look on Luo Yuer's face disappeared, and the tenderness disappeared in an instant, replaced by a fierce and impatient look.
This is the protective look of my Grand Duke Luo. With this standard warrior temperament, I don’t know how many people have been deceived into taking him lightly.
"You call a hundred soldiers to follow me and choose our most trustworthy brothers without making any noise. Also, inform Guo Guangwei to guard Guancheng tightly and do not open or close the door without orders. Whoever dares to leave the camp in Jinchang Town will Kill!" Guo Guangwei is a member of the Guo family of the Donggui faction. He is currently serving as the patrol inspector of Dongguan City in Tongguan and the commander of the Zuoying in Changguo Town.
Although Luo Yu'er was not sure that there must be old generals from Meng Shu among the Cao family, he had realized that there might be problems with these thousands of old Shu troops.
After giving instructions, Luo Yu'er pretended to be bold and walked out of the door. She laughed and said to Cao Yuanli, "Uncle, there is already a letter from Uncle and Twenty-One Lang." Cao Yuanli had actually been notified by Cao Yancun long ago, but he Pretending not to know, she raised her eyebrows and asked in surprise: "Is it so fast? It only takes three days to get from Chang'an Mansion to Tongguan." Luo Yu'er pretended to be excited and laughed a few more times, but she couldn't help but feel contempt in her heart. .
As soon as he said he believed it, Cao Yuanli was sure that Cao Yancun had arrived. By acting this way, was he treating Luo Yu'er like a fool?
"Twenty-one Lang is a general! The Chang'an Three Guards in his hands are as good as the Jinchang Town Forbidden Army under a certain person. They went to Xiguan Post in the evening, and my uncle went with a certain person to greet them. "Until this moment, Cao Yuanli didn't feel that he had said the wrong thing. He pretended to be cautious and got closer to Luo Yu'er.
"Da Lang's manpower is ready. Whether we can succeed depends on whether we can control the three guards. These Guanzhong people are not as sensible as our Hexi people. We who are from Hexi all know that Who is Pei Yuan? How can he allow a treacherous minister like him to control the government? These people in Guanzhong are ignorant and might make noise." Luo Yu'er waved her hand confidently.
"Uncle, don't worry. The 300 people chosen by a certain person this time have been raised with their heart and soul in daily life. They are absolutely reliable."
"That's good! That's good!" Cao Yuanli stroked his beard and said that's good twice.
"Da Lang understands the righteousness so well that when you get to the capital of the gods, someone will definitely guarantee you to be the military envoy of the three towns and give you the title of king." The so-called military envoy of the three towns was the price offered by Cao Renzun and others for Luo Yu'er.
These three towns are Hezhong, Heyang and Shaanzhou. They basically hand over everything from Tongguan to Luoyang in the hands of Luo Yu'er, and he will be named King of Wei.
Hearing what Cao Yuanli said, Luo Yu'er seemed even more happy. She took Cao Yuanli's hand affectionately and walked towards Guanxia.
Cao Yuanli had been paying attention to Luo Yu'er's demeanor, but no matter how he looked at it, the Qingyang County Duke looked so rough and arrogant, with nothing unusual at all.
. . Xiguanyi is a post station west of Tongguan. Generally, people from Chang'an to Tongguan will stop here to rest.
Luo Yu'er took more than a hundred soldiers with him, falsely claiming to be three hundred, and Cao Yuanli also had more than ten soldiers with him. Taking advantage of the dim sky in the evening, he rode from Tongguan to Xiguanyi.
As for why he only brought more than a hundred soldiers, Luo Yu'er also considered it. The current situation is that the emperor is out of the country and has not returned to the center of the country for ten months.
Rumors have spread all over the place in the past few months, but they are all not optimistic about the emperor's battle in the northern part of the country. They all feel that it is extremely risky for the emperor to rush out of the country with only 30,000 cavalry, and it is impossible to achieve any results.
Some people even began to compare the emperor's habit of leading tens of thousands of cavalry with him to Sun Ce of the Three Kingdoms.
The implication is obvious, how did Jiangdong's little bully die? Isn't it because the emperor likes to take risks everywhere, and finally someone takes the opportunity?
Of course, some people compare the emperor to the Emperor Zhuangzong of the Later Tang Dynasty in the past, but what Li Tianxia likes is that the actor himself will appear on the stage in person, while Zhang Wushangtian likes the young warrior who always likes to wander around without serious business.
With these two examples for comparison, it seems that overnight, the image of the emperor in people's minds is not so invincible, as if he suddenly changed from a god to a mortal.
That's why Luo Yu'er is so careful. After all, rumors are flying all over the sky, and his family records are being held hostage again. If he goes to tell the whole story to everyone in Changguo Town, the soldiers below will not know whether they will believe it or not. Cao Yanying of Chang'an Prefecture With six children, there must be danger.
Moreover, the sudden incident between Cao Yancun and Cao Renzun made Luo Yu'er extremely vigilant. Now he could not believe anyone except himself, the more than a hundred blood alliance brothers.
Even Cao Yancun would rebel. Who knows if there are any of their accomplices in Jinchang Town. In Xiguan Post, the 3,500 troops of Chang'an's three guards ran for 200 miles and finally arrived at a place only a few miles away from Tongguan.
Cao Yancun had a dark face, but still flatly refused the requests of the following commanders to lift their burdens and rest on the spot.
The reason given is naturally that the defense can be changed immediately, and the rest can be taken after the defense change. However, Cao Yancun was also afraid that the soldiers would make a fuss now, and promised to wait another half hour. If no one came from Tongguan, he could make repairs on the spot and make a fire for cooking.
Soon, I heard the formation of horse hooves in the direction of Tongguan, and soon Cao Yuanli's entourage, who came to report to Cao Yancun, arrived.
Cao Yancun was overjoyed when he saw it. Seeing that everything was going well, he quickly ordered the soldiers to rest and prepare to light a fire for cooking.
Then he summoned all the generals above centurion in the three guards to the temporary coach's tent on the grounds of condolences.
Since it is called Xiguanyi, this place is not a desolate place. On the contrary, it is quite prosperous, so Cao Yancun quickly arranged a banquet.
Although it was just some stewed mutton, stewed chicken and some turbid rice wine, it was enough to satisfy the exhausted generals of the three guards.
Originally, in Zhang Zhou's army, it was strictly forbidden to drink alcohol when on a mission, but now the immediate superiors invite drinks, and if you don't eat, you won't eat for free. Most of the generals are chewing and drinking happily, but only a few people have basically left the table untouched. of drinks.
When everyone started to eat and drink, they had completely lost their vigilance. There was a noise outside, and the guards announced that the envoy of Tongguan Town, the general soldier of Changguo Town, the military supervisor of Weinan Prefecture, and Qingyang County Duke Luo Yu'er had arrived.
The generals of the three guards immediately fell silent, and everyone stood up to greet the powerful General Yuan Cong.
Only then did Cao Yancun feel that Luo Yu'er, who seemed to be unpopular and was sent back and forth between Tongguan and Chang'an by the emperor, was still very powerful.
But fortunately, he has now joined his side. Luo Yu'er was welcomed in. At the same time, more than ten soldiers led by Luo Yu'er and the confidants of Cao Yuanli and Cao Yancun also secretly put on their inner armor and held sharp blades in place.
Cao Yancun felt much more at ease. He adjusted his mentality and suddenly let out a long sigh as if he was feeling very uncomfortable.
The generals had just welcomed Wang Luo Yu'er, so they had not immediately returned to the atmosphere of eating and drinking. Cao Yancun made a lot of noise after doing this, so the generals all looked at him.
At that moment, a confidant who was responsible for following him came forward and asked: "We are here to gather together today, and Mr. Luo is here in person. Why are the supervisors sighing?" Cao Yancun tried his best to look concerned about the country and the people,
"It has been eight months since the saint went hunting in the north, and no news has come back yet. The Mobei grassland covers thousands of miles, and the grassland tribes come and go like the wind, so it is difficult to catch them. The elite of the imperial court went out of the fortress wearing only single clothes. It is now cold and windy in Guanzhong. Not to mention the Mobei grassland, if there is any damage, what will happen to the world!" The general below heard this and was puzzled. Is this something that you, a mere military inspector of Jingzhao Chang'an Prefecture, should be so worried about?
Of course, some keen ones have noticed something is wrong. Sure enough, Cao Yancun changed the topic and immediately talked about other aspects.
"I hate that Pei Yuan, who did not remember the saint's favor and promotion, but at this critical moment for the country, he went out of his way to bring chaos to the country, making the government and the public uneasy and the people uneasy. As soldiers, we have the principles to stabilize the country, how can we just sit back and do it? Look at it?"
"Yes! There are treacherous ministers in the court. We can't turn a blind eye. As a member of the Cao family, the supervisor should write to the queen for orders." As soon as Cao Yancun finished speaking, some of his arranged confidants immediately started shouting. Even the Cao family members All the kissing words were spoken, giving people the impression that this dynasty was owned by Zhang and Cao.
At this moment, everyone noticed something was wrong. Even a centurion who was generally not exposed to high-level political struggles also thought of the word chaos in his mind.
After all, this was the Five Dynasties, and it only took Emperor Zhang two or three years to change the world's trend. How could it compare to the two hundred years of Liudu's stubbornness.
Even if it weren't for Zhang Zhang's efforts to suppress the trend, it would just be the most 'normal' rebellion process of the Ya soldiers in this era. No one would be surprised that these Ya soldiers would not cause a few such incidents in any year.
Cao Yancun knew that he couldn't give the people below him time to react to this kind of thing, so just when his confidant's words had just finished, he suddenly swept all the dishes and cups on the table in front of him to the ground.
Then he jumped onto the footrest, pulled out a piece of ocher yellow silk cloth from his arms with his right hand, and shouted loudly.
"There is an edict. Pei Yuan, the Duke of Zhao, committed an unethical crime, disrupted the imperial court, and threatened the concubine. He committed a heinous crime. The Queen secretly ordered the abbot of the state, Cao Yuanzhong, the Duke of Qiao, to raise troops in Guanzhong, leave Tongguan and enter the capital of God, to protect the country and set the imperial palace. Duke Qiao has already Ordered me to lead the three guardsmen to join the elite of Jinchang Town and march eastward immediately." The generals were immediately dumbfounded. They did not expect that they would dare to do such a big thing when they came to Tongguan this time.
After Cao Yancun finished yelling, the confidants around the tent immediately drew their swords and shouted.
"Three guards generals haven't accepted the teaching order yet?"
"If you all follow the supervisor, you will all be heroes protecting the country in the future!"
"Yes, we should have our share of glory and wealth." At this time, the commander of the Chang'an Central Guard, who was controlled by Cao Yancun, also imitated Cao Yancun, swept the tableware on the table to the ground, and brought several generals of the Central Guard with him He stood on Cao Yancun's side.
"A certain family listens to the supervisor. Please ask the supervisor to take us to the Divine Protectorate." The other generals of the three guards looked at them in surprise and did not express their opinions. However, Qingyang County Duke Luo Yu'er, who was obviously on Cao Yancun's side, was also surprised. .
Even General Yuancong like Luo Yu'er did not object. Cao Yancun also claimed to have the Queen's decree and the general decree of Cao Yuanzhong, the Pingzhang and Defense Envoy of Guanzhong Province. Could it be that something really happened in Tokyo?
Although many people still feel that something is wrong, it sounds like there is nothing wrong with it. It is true that the emperor has not been in the court for a long time, and it seems that Zhao Guogong Pei Yuan was often criticized as a traitor. People's hearts were shaken for a while, and he was about to respond to Cao Yancun.
Cao Yancun squinted his eyes, and a strong liquor called ambition burned him all over. This was about to happen!
"The Superintendent said that there is a decree, please let me wait for a look. And where is Duke Qiao now? Why didn't he come out to summon us to the capital of God instead of the Supervisor?" At the most critical moment, the atmosphere became tense. It suddenly turned cold. Cao Yancun squinted his eyes and saw a short and stocky man on the left side of the room, leaning against the wall with five or six generals around him, as if he was ready to resist at any time.
Cao Yancun was furious, squinting his eyes, pointing his halberd in his left hand,
"Chen Wu, you are so brave. How can a mere Zuowei commander be qualified to receive teaching orders? Qiao Guogong is in charge of Jingzhao and has a heavy responsibility. How can he personally come to give you an order as a commander?" Chen Wu gritted his teeth. With one bite, he suddenly retreated to the escort of several close generals, and then shouted loudly.
"Boss, according to the military regulations of the guard station, the deployment of troops requires the joint seal of the Privy Council and the provincial defense envoy's office, plus the defense envoy's warrant. The supervisor only has an order in his hand that I don't know whether it is true or not, so he has to take us to the capital of God. In the end Is it Duke Zhao who is causing trouble for the imperial court, or is it you, Supervisor Cao, who is going to cause trouble?" When Chen Wu said this, the already hesitant soldiers of the three guards became even more hesitant. They all looked at each other questioningly, and whispers began. sounded.
As soon as Chen Wu saw something was going on, he immediately took the opportunity to jump on the armrest in front of him.
"My lords, even if the Holy Emperor is in power, even if he has the power to do evil, you should wait for the Holy Emperor to return to the court to make a decision. How can you send troops without authorization and become such a disloyal minister!" As soon as these words came out, the emperor's prestige was still high after all, and most of the three people at the moment General Wei actually stood directly over Chen Wu.
Some even picked up meat-cutting daggers or tables and stools in their hands in an attempt to resist, and a few looked outside, ready to run out without anyone noticing.
Cao Yancun was furious,
"Commander Chen Wu of the Left Guard disobeys military orders. He must be an accomplice of the traitor Pei Yuan. Someone will capture him."
"Hahaha!" Seeing that Chen Wu and others were about to be splashed with blood on the spot, after all, Cao Yancun had already prepared. All his subordinates were wearing armor and armed with weapons. Chen Wu and others only had meat-cutting daggers. Luo Yu'er suddenly laughed loudly.
"Since Commander Chen wants to see the teaching order, a certain family happened to have received one. You can tell the authenticity at a glance." Luo Yu'er said, reaching for the clothes on her chest.
Cao Yancun was stunned for a moment. After all, Cao Renzun did not discuss everything with him. Cao Renzun was also responsible for the coordination in Shendu, so he was not sure whether Luo Yuer really had any teachings on her.
Involuntarily, everyone noticed Luo Yuer's hand. At this moment, in the flash of lightning, Luo Yuer reached out her right hand into her clothes, suddenly grabbed something, and swung it out violently.
A burst of choking smoke spewed out. This thing seemed to be loaded into a pear gun, mixed with various poison powders, charcoal powder, gunpowder and other gunpowder.
Cao Yancun was the closest, and Luo Yu'er mainly threw it at him, and was immediately sprayed all over his head and eyes.
He only felt a burst of bitterness in his mouth, and his eyes were so hot and uncomfortable that he couldn't open them at all. As soon as the blow was successful, Luo Yu'er stepped forward directly, pulled Cao Yancun into his arms with a big hand, then pinched Cao Yancun's neck from behind with his right hand, and conjured a long dagger with cold light in his left hand like an illusion.
'Poof! Phew! Phew! The long dagger was quickly and violently inserted between Cao Yancun's neck and collarbone. It came in and out three times, and Lao Gao was bleeding.
Cao Yancun wanted to break free, but found that Luo Yuer's hand was like an iron pliers, preventing him from getting rid of it. The life energy quickly sprayed out from the wound on his neck along with the blood.
In an instant, his great ambition turned into a wave of weakness all over his body, and he could no longer exert any energy. Things developed so fast that Cao Yancun didn't even open his eyes until his consciousness began to blur.
The other soldiers were stunned and did not react at all.
"Generals, listen to the order and kill the traitors!" Just as he was stabbing Cao Yancun to death, Luo Yu'er suddenly shouted loudly, and in an instant the soldiers he brought also started to take action.
The prestige of General Yuan Cong is quite high. Cao Yancun wanted to take people to the capital of the gods, but even the three generals in the guards were still hesitant after exhausting their calculations.
But as soon as Luo Yuer's words came out, the generals in the room dared to swarm the Cao clan soldiers in full armor, even with their bare hands.
Several generals standing next to the commander of the Chang'an Central Guard looked at each other. They rushed in front of Soldier Luo Yu'er and threw the commander in front of them to the ground. They had been shaken just now, and now they had to make amends quickly. .
"Boy, who do you think you are? You dare to threaten me!" Seeing that the situation was reversed in an instant, Luo Yu'er laughed ferociously, let go of Cao Yancun's limp body, and then looked at the frightened Cao Yuanli next to him.
"Luo...you...how dare you?" Cao Yuanli leaned against the wall and looked at Luo Yu'er in disbelief. Does that mean that your wife and children's lives and a bright future are all at stake?
A look of pain appeared on Luo Yuer's face, and he looked at Cao Yuanli with red eyes.
"A man lives only by loyalty and filial piety! You underestimate General Yuancong. Do you think he is still the ignorant and vulgar man who guards the door of your Cao family? You also underestimate Ying Niang too much. If she were here, She will definitely think that a certain Luo Yu'er did the right thing." As he spoke, Luo Yu'er grabbed Cao Yuanli like a chicken, and then used the dagger that had just stabbed Cao Yancun to death to directly nail the palm of Cao Yuanli's right hand to the wrist. superior.
Cao Yuanli couldn't bear this crime. He screamed miserably, tears and snot rolling down his nose.
"Tell me, uncle, what is your specific plan?" At this time, the shouts of killing gradually alerted the three soldiers who were eating, and countless people were panicked and didn't know what was happening.
Luo Yu'er took out the golden seal of the Inspector of Soldiers and Horses of Chang'an Prefecture from Cao Yancun's body and held it in her hand.
"Every general listens to the order and restrains the soldiers. They are not allowed to run around, shout or move around. Officers above the rank of the team immediately put on their armor and patrol. Anyone who disobeys the military order will be killed without mercy!" A quarter of an hour later, more than 70 of Cao Yancun's confidants People, more than ten people led by Cao Yuanli were all killed, and the smell of blood floated in this temporary military camp.
"Your name is Chen Wu, right? Can you still move now?" Luo Yu'er asked, looking at the young general who had been resolutely unwilling to obey Cao Yancun.
Chen Wu was covered in blood. The place where he was just now was the corner where Cao Yancun had the most confidants. He jumped off the wall in a hurry. Chen Wu was almost stabbed to death by these people.
But he was in good spirits, and it was much better to be almost stabbed to death than to be kidnapped and used as a rebel.
"Gong Luo, I will be fine in the end."
"Then you immediately select 300 loyal warriors among the three guards, and fly back to Jingzhao Chang'an Mansion with a certain personal guard." Chen Wu crossed his hands and accepted the order, Luo Yu'er's personal guard General Yuhou He also raised his hand,
"Don't worry, Mr. Lang, I will definitely rescue the Fourteenth Lady and the others." Luo Yuer's face sank, without any hesitation.
"What nonsense are you talking about! When you go to Chang'an, you must first rescue Duke Qiao, and then protect him and catch all the rebels to ensure that Chang'an is not in chaos." The guardian's nose was sore, he crossed his hands and turned around to mobilize the troops. Chen Wu also looked at General Yuan Cong, who stood like a mountain, and bowed respectfully.
Luo Yu'er took a deep breath and walked to the temporary general ordering platform. All the officers from the Chang'an Third Guard and above were already wearing armor.
Not all were present. A dozen people who were confirmed to be Cao Yancun's accomplices had been pulled out and stabbed to death, and their bodies were placed not far away.
"A certain family doesn't care whether any of you have participated in the rebellion, but as long as you obey the general's orders from now on, a certain family will guarantee that you will be fine. When the saint asks in the future, a certain Luo Yu'er will definitely say that the men here are all loyal and brave to the saint. Erlang." When others say this about the shadow of a famous tree, not many people believe it, but General Yuancong like Luo Yu'er still wants to believe it.
"I am willing to listen to Duke Luo's orders!" all the generals shouted.
"Okay! Go down and select the warriors immediately. The thieves have already gone to the canal to encourage the surrender of Shu. We are going to suppress it immediately. Remember, neither the surrender of Shu nor the forbidden troops of Jinchang Town in Tongguan are in the barracks. All will be killed without mercy!" Luo Yu'er has no choice. He is not sure that there are no accomplices such as Cao Renzun in Jinchang Town, but the Shu army that is about to be instigated must also be wiped out, so he can only abandon Xiao Xiao. To get the upper hand, first capture the three guards of Chang'an and use them to kill the thieves.
