Feng Jincai asked: "Where are the people of Xuanjia Army now?"
"On the day they first arrived, they did a supply job at the Liangzhou camp, and then left for a drill," the captain answered cautiously: "Just last night, the brigade of soldiers and horses suddenly returned to the camp, saying that they had been there for the past two days. We will set off for the imperial capital within a few seconds."
An official from the Nilin Division frowned: "Is the timing such a coincidence? There is something really suspicious here. They must be detained immediately."
Captain Zhechong worriedly said: "Our soldiers from Zhechong Mansion in Liangzhou are undergoing winter training at this time. Although there are many people, they are almost all farmers with mud legs. I am afraid that they will not be able to stop the Xuanjia Army. Besides, Without the order of the imperial court, it is a taboo to gather troops for no reason and threaten friendly forces."
"I can't wait any longer!" Feng Jincai turned around and left: "I'm going to chase back the six thousand soldiers and horses! If you don't believe me, you can't control those black crows!"
Shen Lie suddenly felt in a dilemma. He originally wanted to rush back to the imperial capital as soon as possible and report everything that happened here to the emperor in person. But now, on Liangzhou's side, there is the furious Blade Army on one side and the arrogant and domineering Xuanjia Army on the other. Neither the Liangzhou Governor nor Zhe Chong Captain can control the whole situation.
If he does not come forward to mediate, there may be a big chaos between the two armies immediately.
After careful consideration, Shen Lie stopped Feng Jincai, who was about to leave, and told him not to tell the soldiers in too much detail for the time being. He only said that the Nilin Division needed to second 5,000 soldiers and horses to Liangzhou Mansion to assist in the investigation, so as to avoid unforeseen consequences. misunderstanding, causing mutiny.
Later, he found a pen and paper and wrote a few words: "Western Xinjiang is in urgent need of fear of internal changes. The top priority in Gyeonggi is to stabilize the morale of the military." After finishing writing, Shen Lie thought about it and felt something was wrong, so he took another piece of paper and changed the word "change" into the word "worry".
The reason for doing this is to prevent the letter from falling into the hands of the enemy and causing the enemy to be alert.
On the surface, this simple sentence tells the truth and what it reminds is reasonable. It does not refer to anyone or anything in particular. But after seeing this, Li Chengwu will definitely be more vigilant, take back the defense power as soon as possible, and suspend all recent military deployments in the imperial capital.
In this way, disasters can be avoided to the greatest extent.
Shen Lie selected a few capable men, asked them to disguise themselves, and quickly returned to the imperial capital with letters. He also specifically made an explanation. After entering the city, he should neither go back to Nilinsi Guard Station nor go directly to the palace to meet the Holy Emperor. Instead, he should go to the Princess Fenyang's Mansion to find His Majesty's old chess friend, Fenyang Prince Consort Duan. Changming asked him to bring this letter secretly to the palace.
After everything was arranged, Shen Lie patted Captain Zhechong on the shoulder and said, "Let's go to Liangzhou Mansion first to meet General Qianniu Zhonglang!"
-
Liangzhou, Zhechongfu camp.
In the tent of the vanguard general of the Xuanjia Army, the silver charcoal was burning brightly in the brazier, and plump deer legs were hanging on the grill. At this time, the fat was dripping and falling on the hot coals, making a sizzling sound.
Xu Youchang soaked his feet in the hot water bucket and stared blankly at the charcoal basin. Anya's beautiful face seemed to be reflected in the bright red firelight. At this time, he was thinking about his beloved girl and couldn't help but feel a little dissatisfied with Xie Guang.
A month ago, on the third day after the Xuanjia Legion surrounded Jingzhao Yin Mansion and forcibly took away the deserter Wang Ying, Xie Guang suddenly ordered Xu Youchang to lead the vanguard battalion to Liangzhou for annual military exercises.
After quickly completing all marching documents, Xu Youchang immediately led the team to set off.
Because various subjects were required to be practiced along the way, the whole camp stopped and went. It took nearly twenty days to finally arrive at the destination of the trip - Liangzhou in accordance with Xie Guang's request.
On the way, Murong Xue sent him a letter via Kuai Ma. The general content of the letter is that according to reliable information, the Turkic princess and her maid have left the imperial capital, but their specific whereabouts are unknown.
Xu Youchang looked anxious, but felt helpless.
If he was still in the imperial capital at this time and could receive the news in time, he might have a chance to meet Anya again. But what a coincidence, Xie Guang asked him to leave Beijing at this time, and he never had the chance to meet his sweetheart.
While he was stunned, the guard suddenly reported outside the tent that Liangzhou Zhechong had asked to see the captain.
When Xu Youchang heard this, he did not dare to neglect, quickly wiped his feet, and then dressed neatly and went out of the tent to greet him.
Keeping a soldier's appearance neat and tidy is a habit he has developed over many years in the military.
In particular, you should meet with local military officials and pay more attention to the external image of the Xuanjia Legion.
Xu Youchang strode out of the tent and was immediately chilled by the cold night wind. When he saw the visiting guests clearly, he couldn't help but be stunned on the spot.
Next to Captain Zhechong of Liangzhou Prefecture, there was an official standing, who turned out to be Shi Chenlie, the director of Nilin!
Xu Youchang never had a good impression of this important figure in front of the emperor. What he admires and admires are upright and upright heroes, but what he hates the most is Shen Lie's conspiracy, secret interrogation and assassination. Coupled with Anya's incident, Xu Youchang has a deep prejudice against Master Shen. .
While secretly guessing why Shen Lie came all the way to Liangzhou, he gave a military salute to Captain Zhe Chong.
Upon seeing this, the captain hurriedly returned the courtesy: "I'm sorry for disturbing General Xu late at night."
Xu Youchang: "It doesn't matter. What advice do you have, Lord Commander?"
When the captain heard this, he quickly looked at Shen Lie, meaning: You should keep talking.
Shen Lie nodded slightly and said calmly to Xu Youchang: "General Xu, there has been a shocking case in Liangzhou recently, and I have come to ask you for help."
As he spoke, he carefully paid attention to the changes in Xu Youchang's expression, hoping to find some clues in it.
Xu Youchang misunderstood that Shen Lie needed military support from him to handle the case, so he acted in a business-like manner: "Master Shen, our department was ordered to come here for exercises and is not subject to the local jurisdiction of Liangzhou. According to Shengtang law, unless there is a foreign enemy, In the event of invasion or rebellion, the governor of the state has the right to recruit all the troops and horses in the area under his jurisdiction. Otherwise, if you want to dispatch us, you must have an order from the Ministry of War or an imperial edict from His Majesty."
Shen Lie smiled lightly: "You misunderstood, I'm not here to borrow troops."
"Don't lend troops? Then why did you come to me?" Xu Youchang was confused: "Could that case be related to me?"
"Maybe, maybe not," Shen Lie said lightly, "I would like to ask the general a few questions first, and then I can make a judgment."
All the cases that Ni Lin Chang Shi was eyeing were very revealing. When Xu Youchang heard what the other party said, he immediately realized that something was unusual. Even though he was extremely unhappy with Shen Lie, he did not dare to take it lightly.
He turned around and raised his hand, making a gesture to Shen Lie and Captain Zhe Chong to invite them into the tent. Shen Lie nodded, then Shi Shiran walked into the tent. Lieutenant Zhe Chong hesitated for a moment, and finally followed him inside.
The three of them sat down in the tent, respectively. The expression on the Captain's face was extremely unnatural, and he kept looking around, trying to see if there were five hundred swordsmen ambushing them on the left and right. His nervous behavior naturally fell in Xu Youchang's eyes, making Xu Youchang feel uneasy.
"Master Shen, please tell the truth about what happened."
Shen Lie also glanced at the camp casually, and immediately responded: "General Xu, what is the relationship between you and the little maid of the Turkic Princess?"
This unexpected move stood out and frightened Xu Youchang, who had a secret in his heart.
"Ah? Anya? We have nothing to do with each other, we just know each other."
Shen Lie gave him a meaningful look: "It seems that you still don't know that Anya is the real Turkic Yingyang Princess Hesijia."
"What did you say?!" Xu Youchang jumped up in shock and almost kicked over the basin for washing his feet: "You are not mistaken, are you?"
Shen Lie looked very restless: "I heard and saw with my own eyes, how could I be wrong?"
Xu Youchang asked in surprise: "Who was that princess before? Where is Anya now?"
Shen Lie: "The fake princess's name is Inas. She has run away, but the real princess is still in my hands. How about it? Do you want to see her?"
Xu Youchang was stunned for a moment and did not answer Shen Lie's question.
Shen Lie smiled and continued: "That day in front of the Jingzhao Yin Mansion, the general who led the team to rob people was your Excellency. May I ask, why did you forcefully rescue Qi Ying?"
"It's not a rescue, it's a capture... because Qi Ying is a deserter from the Xuanjia Legion." Xu Youchang replied subconsciously.
Shen Lie snorted coldly: "Desert? Then may I ask, General, which banner and battalion of the Xuanjia Legion does he belong to? Who is his superior officer?"
Faced with these problems, Xu Youchang didn't know where to start. But as an important officer of the Xuanjia Legion, he didn't know anything and it was really unreasonable, so he hesitated for a while and was very embarrassed.
"I can put these things aside for the time being." Seeing that the mind-attack tactics had almost disturbed Xu Youchang, Shen Lie's eyes suddenly turned cold: "Let me ask you, who instigated you to ambush and kill Commander He?"
Hearing these words, Xu Youchang was stunned for a moment. Then, as if his butt was burned by fire, he jumped three feet high: "Who did you just say? Who did you kill?"
"Master He Jingming, the second-grade military lord, the commander of the Fierce Blade Legion and the governor of the Zhenjiang Protectorate." Shen Lie said one word at a time: "This matter involves important officials of the imperial court. It is my duty to investigate the case. Anyone can Everyone must cooperate unconditionally. I hope you will think carefully about the question I asked you just now and make an explanation before dawn."
After that, he said no more, stood up immediately and walked away. Captain Zhe Chong secretly wiped his hands with cold sweat and hurriedly followed behind and left the tent.
As soon as the two of them left, the middle officer of the Pioneer Battalion ran in and reported in a panic: "General, a large number of troops suddenly appeared outside the camp and surrounded our camp. Among them were soldiers from the Liangzhou Prefecture. What should we do as well as the people of the Blade Legion...General, general, what's wrong with you?"
Xu Youchang stared straight ahead with his eyes, as if he was hysterical, muttering one sentence over and over in his mouth: "Master He is dead? Master He is dead?..."
