Before meeting with Su Fengling for detailed discussions, Su Qi'an and three elders, as well as people who had received help from the state envoy, learned about the situation.
In the end, whether it was the state envoy or the subordinates he sent out, everything pointed towards the Ninth Princess.
This made Su Qi'an and the others relax their guard. It was not until they talked with Su Fengling that the identity of the state envoy became more and more confusing.
Although we don't know this person's true identity and intentions, we can be sure that this person is not hostile to them at the moment and is on their side.
If the state envoy really wants to attack Su Qi'an, there will be many opportunities. Li Kang wants to drag them to death together. As long as the state envoy is willing, he can stand aside and watch.
But he didn't do this. Instead, he revealed the news to Su Qi'an, so that Su Qi'an could take action in advance and kill Li Kang's dead soldiers.
In this battle, the state envoys put in a lot of effort. Not only that, from beginning to end, even after the war ended, there was no trace of the state envoys' whereabouts.
The only thing that existed was that not long ago, during the siege of the state city, the burnt corpse of a man was found in the mansion where the state envoy lived.
Judging from his height and clothing, it was almost certain that the burnt male corpse was the state envoy.
Su Qian nodded at this news and signaled that the body should be buried alive without any further questioning.
Without even thinking about it, this corpse couldn't be the so-called state envoy. He could be trusted by Li Kang for more than ten years and then quietly betrayed him. It would be strange if such a person died so easily.
Not to mention anything else, just one thing, this envoy of Jiaozhou, from beginning to end, except Li Kang, they knew his name, all the officials, big and small, and the powerful people in Jiaozhou who dealt with him didn't know his name.
He has always been addressed as the state envoy, which seems very strange.
Now it seems that with the discovery of the burned body of the man, some of the puzzling things can be explained.
After Li Kang's death, Su Qi'an took over Jiaozhou. The state envoy had already arranged a way out for himself, so that he could escape from his shell. In this way, he would also have an explanation for his superiors.
For myself, the current state envoy probably left Jiaozhou and disappeared.
Su Qi'an had no intention of sending anyone to track down the state envoy's subsequent whereabouts. Once he had no clue, a large-scale search would probably result in nothing.
In Jiaozhou now, the civil strife has just been calmed down, the internal personnel are unstable, and the external barbarian Heilu have not yet been resolved.
There is no point in expending great efforts to hunt down the state envoys.
The envoy did not stay in Jiaozhou but fled from Jiaozhou. In a way, Jiaozhou was only his temporary foothold.
When I came here to Jiaozhou, I was mostly following the orders of other big shots. Now that the order has been completed, I can withdraw safely, and it is considered over.
In any case, the state envoy has been of great help to Su Qi'an for more than a year. As long as the two sides are not mortal enemies, it is best to be friends.
No matter what his intentions were, for now, it was beneficial to Su Qi'an.
After thinking about it, Su Qi'an put the whereabouts of the state envoy in the back of his mind, and then discussed business matters with the Ninth Princess.
Most of it was about how to rectify Jiaozhou next. Once Li Kang died, most of the rights in Jiaozhou fell into the hands of Su Qi'an.
It can be said that there is one emperor and one courtier. The next arrangements for the major forces in Jiaozhou, how to deal with the various county guards and soldiers, and the invading barbarian Heilu are all waiting for Su Qi'an to make a decision.
While Su Fengling is still here, some things still have to be negotiated by Su Fengling.
In the final analysis, these are easy to arrange. They are all personnel transfers or appeasement issues. The biggest problem at present is who will serve as the new Jiaozhou Shepherd.
According to past practice, whoever kills his predecessor will be the boss.
If Su Qi'an wants to be promoted to Jiaozhou Mu, all the major forces in Jiaozhou will basically agree, but Su Qi'an makes no difference to Yizhou Mu.
He came to Jiaozhou to develop his power, not to be a state shepherd, and he was not obsessed with the superiors.
Compared to serving as a state shepherd, a frontier official, Su Qi'an preferred to operate behind the scenes.
What kind of material is he? Su Qi Anqing
Chu, let him take charge of the Dongshan Army and come up with some plans. He can still do these things. If he really wants to be a state pastor and manage two to three million people, he will be too busy even if he has a clone.
When he came to Daliang, Su Qi'an always adhered to the principle of knowing people and making good use of them, discovering talents, and placing them in suitable positions. This is the foundation of Su Qi'an's management.
When looking for the role of Zhou Mu, Su Qi'an thought of a suitable candidate, and he discussed it with Su Fengling.
When Su Fengling heard this, she had no objection. Since this person could catch Su Qi'an's eyes, he must be something special.
The two stayed in the room for half an hour and basically reached a consensus.
Then the two of them walked out of the room one after another. After dealing with Jiaozhou, they now had one more thing to do, which was to welcome Lingdong Hou Xie Cang who was fighting against the barbarian Heilu.
Speaking of Xie Cang, Su Qi'an was filled with emotion. His relationship with Xie Cang could be said to be brothers.
If it weren't for Xie Cang's discerning eye and his ability to bring Su Qi'an to the battlefield in Ningzhou in the north, Su Qi'an would probably be just a minor leader now.
He has been living as his own happy landlord in a small county in Xizhou.
When he came to Jiaozhou this time, as Su Qi'an's power expanded, he learned the news about Xie Cang when he occupied Qingcheng County.
After all, the name of Lingdong Marquis is well-known in Nanzhou, especially his reorganized Shanshan Army, which swept away all the bandits and natives in Nanzhou.
He is the first fierce general in the hands of Nanzhou Mu Guhua.
Su Qi'an knew very well how strong Xie Cang was. Back then in the small Lingdong County, there were Kyoto dignitaries suppressing him, which kept Xie Cang's strength from being displayed.
Now that I have left Kyoto and come to Nanzhou, I feel like Xie Cang can fly like a fish in the sea and let a bird fly in the sky.
A year before the declaration of war with Li Kang, Su Qi'an had been in contact with Xie Cang, but in order to prevent the news from leaking, the two of them had been communicating through letters for more than a year.
Even though Xie Cang took 50,000 Nanzhou soldiers and sneaked into Jiaozhou in batches and disguises, Su Qi'an did not show up.
Normal communication relies on the communication company. It can be said that both parties have always maintained absolute meticulousness.
It was this kind of caution that finally came into play at the critical moment a year later.
According to the latest news from the front line, the 50,000 Nanzhou soldiers led by Xie Cang have repulsed the invading barbarian Heilu.
Although they did not achieve annihilation, they at least saved the two counties of Xiacang and Chencang. The two sides are currently in a confrontation.
Xie Cang left 20,000 soldiers and horses in Xiacang and 5,000 soldiers and horses in Chencang. As for the state soldiers from the two counties, they became Xie Cang's prisoners on the way back.
Xie Cang is heading towards Jiaozhou City with more than 10,000 of his men. According to estimates, they should be able to arrive in about two-quarters of an hour.
While Su Qi'an and Su Fengling were waiting patiently at the city wall for Xie Cang's army to return, at the same time, they were more than two hundred miles away to the east.
In a forest, there were three men in black, riding fast on horses.
After walking for more than ten miles, these people reined in their horses and stopped. At some point, three or four people appeared in front of them.
Although these people were dressed in ordinary clothes and looked like civilians, they exuded a ferocious aura that made it obvious at a glance that they were military personnel.
If Elder Er Er, Tong Zhan and the others were here, they would definitely recognize the people in front of them at a glance.
They were the ones who escorted Tong Zhan out of the city, fought in Jiaojun City, and sent messages to the two elders.
The fact that they appeared here is enough to show that the men in black in front of them are probably the state envoys who have escaped from the golden cicada.
They did not hesitate, immediately knelt down and said quickly, "Reporting to your lord, the mission assigned to us by your lord has been completed. According to the latest information, Li Kang is dead and Su Qi'an has occupied Jiaozhou City."
"Looking at their movements, it seems that they are convinced that the adult is dead and have not sent anyone to search for him."
The state envoy, after hearing the news, nodded with great satisfaction and motioned to several people to get up, "Well, you have done a good job. Our mission in Jiaozhou has been completed. Follow the envoy and leave Jiaozhou quickly. His Highness will send someone to meet us."
Kneel in front of several people, stand up and turn over
Horses, seven people shared four horses, and they galloped wildly along the way.
Just when they had traveled forty or fifty miles, suddenly, the sound of breaking wind suddenly sounded all around.
More than a dozen arrows whizzed past, hitting both men and horses, and seven people fell down.
Several subordinates got up and wanted to find a bunker to hide and resist at any time, but they overestimated themselves.
After walking a few steps, an arrow shot from behind hit them directly in the back.
These people had almost no room for resistance. They were all shot into sieves and died on the spot. Strangely, among the seven people, except for the state envoy, all the other six died.
Seeing his men die, the governor slowly stood up, patted the dust on his body, and sighed, as if he was feeling regretful.
He looked towards the forest in the distance and said softly, "Okay, everyone is dead, you can come out."
After the state envoy said these words, a dozen people rushed out from both sides of the forest.
These people were dressed in black, and they looked like they were no ordinary people. Except for the big man at the head who did not salute, the dozen or so people behind them all saluted respectfully.
"I'll pay my respects to Mr. Zhou."
The state envoy waved his hand casually, and the leading man stepped forward, glanced at the six people who had completely expired, patted the state envoy on the shoulder, and sighed.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, you are worthy of being respected by His Highness. No wonder Brother Zhou, you can achieve the position of Dai Zhou Mu and kill your own confidants at will. You are so ruthless. I admire you, Old Liu."
The state envoy didn't care about the compliments of the big man in black, and said softly, "Everything is for Your Highness. Although these people are my confidants, some people have seen them. Bringing them back to Yuezhou will inevitably cause unnecessary trouble. Kill them Only the dead can keep their promises without doubting His Highness."
"Well, I agree with what Brother Zhou said, Lao Liu."
"Let's go, Brother Zhou, His Highness has been waiting for you for too long. He has been hiding in Jiaozhou for more than ten years, and now he has finally returned. With your contribution in Jiaozhou, brother, the code on your head will be removed sooner or later."
"When the time comes, don't forget me, brother."
After a burst of laughter, the corpses of the six dead people were cleaned up. The state envoy and others quickly left the forest. If they walked further, they would almost be able to leave the boundary of Jiaozhou. After taking the road to Nanzhou, they could reach Yuezhou.
