In the northern part of Huaizhou, from west to east, there are Baoying Prefecture, Lai'an Prefecture and Donghai Prefecture. The three prefectures are roughly in the shape of "pin".
To the northwest of Baoying Mansion is Panlong Pass. This majestic pass controls the only way to the northern Yanjing area.
Lai'an Mansion, located in the middle, protrudes to the north and faces Beiyan directly. Therefore, the Huaizhou Governor's Mansion is located here to facilitate the command of the northern defense line.
The Metropolitan Governor's Mansion is not as magnificent as some people imagined. Instead, the layout is quite compact, especially the duty rooms of various officials in the front yard are crowded together, which often leads to noisy and bustling scenes.
Li Chengen walked through the hall under the guidance of a recorder. From time to time, a few words related to military affairs came to his ears, and he became increasingly nervous and apprehensive that his face turned pale.
To his great surprise, he was successfully summoned by the Grand Governor.
He was in a trance all the way, but when he walked into the slightly narrow atrium and saw the man sitting at the stone table, Li Chengen suddenly woke up and suddenly woke up.
This man is Huaizhou Governor Xiao Wangzhi. He is forty-seven years old this year. He commands a hundred thousand troops and is stationed in the north of the Yangtze River. He is as famous as Li Tianrun, the Jingzhou Governor who is stationed in the south of the Yangtze River. He is a famous general who gives Beiyan and even the Jing Dynasty a headache.
At this moment, the Grand Governor was dressed in ordinary clothes. Even though he was sitting, he looked as imposing as a dragon crouching and a tiger perched on top of his head. Especially, the peak of his eyebrows above his tiger eyes were like steel knives, which was intimidating.
There was also a young man standing next to him, about twenty-four or five years old, with a tall and tall figure. At first glance, he could tell that he was an elite member of the army, but standing next to Xiao Wangzhi, all his glory was obscured.
Li Chengen swallowed his saliva unconsciously and even forgot that he should step forward to greet him.
Xiao Wangzhi raised his head slightly and asked bluntly: "Do you have any urgent information related to the safety of the border troops to submit?"
Li Chengen was startled by his loud voice, and finally came to his senses. He quickly saluted and said, "Li Chengen, a common man, is the nursing home of the Lu family in Guangling Prefecture. See you as the Grand Governor!"
Xiao Wangzhi waved his hand and said, "Let's get down to business."
Li Chengen did not dare to hesitate and replied: "The grassroots were entrusted by Lu Chen, the young master of the Lu family, to report to the Grand Governor that Ning Li, the captain of the Panlong Army, was suspected of colluding with the fake Yan Xizuo."
The young man standing next to him frowned.
Xiao Wangzhi was noncommittal and asked, "Is there any evidence?"
Li Chengen then gave a brief account of what happened to the Lu family caravan from the time it entered Panlong Pass to the time it arrived at the outskirts of Guangling City, mixed with Lu Tong's analysis of the matter before departure.
After saying this, his mouth felt dry.
Xiao Wangzhi turned to look at the recorder who brought Li Chengen in, and said, "Did the Sutra Weaving Department send a secret report some time ago?"
The recorder said respectfully: "Back to the Governor, it is indeed true. Su Buqing, the inspector of Huaizhou, captured the puppet Yan Xizuo in Taixing Mansion in mid-February. He also found out that Zhang Xi, the captain of the Taixing Army, had collaborated with the enemy and treason. He was in Lin Before he died, he revealed that there was a traitor with a high status in Huaizhou, and the Sutra Weaving Department was investigating."
He glanced at Li Chengen and then said: "Su Inspector also said that Zhang Xi confessed that the Guangling Lu family was responsible for helping the fake Yan Xi make a message."
A strange look flashed in Xiao Wangzhi's eyes, and he said to the anxious Li Chengen: "That young master of your family thinks that Zhang Xi's confession is to frame the Lu family in order to protect the other traitor Ning Li? He also Is there any other explanation?"
Li Chengen had never experienced such a strong sense of oppression. He couldn't help but bite the tip of his tongue, forcing himself to calm down. He lowered his head and replied: "Back to the Governor, Lu Chen mentioned that Zhang Xi is using death techniques to try to separate you and Zhi. The Jingsi's attention is drawn to the Lu family in Guangling. The Puppet Yan's move is intended to be at the border pass. Panlong Pass may be in danger, and there may also be Puppet Yan's eyes and ears in the Jingwei Department."
Xiao Wangzhi was silent for a moment and said calmly: "Xiao Hong."
The young man standing next to him immediately bowed and said: "The general will be here."
Xiao Wangzhi said: "You lead a hundred horses to follow this person south to Guangling Mansion and supervise Su Buqing to investigate this matter thoroughly."
Li Chengen was stunned. This seemed to be very different from Lu Chen's expectation. Shouldn't Governor Xiao immediately send someone to Panlong Pass to investigate the situation?
Xiao Wangzhi's eyes flashed with light, and he said without a smile: "Go back and tell your young master that I understand his kindness."
Li Chengen felt awe-inspiring and did not dare to say anything.
Xiao Wangzhi noticed that the young man next to him fell silent, turned to look at him and said, "You don't want to go to Guangling?"
Xiao Hong lowered his head and said: "The last general will not dare."
Xiao Wangzhi did not reprimand, but said calmly: "Go ahead. When you get to Guangling, look more and talk less."
Xiao Hong said: "I will obey your orders."
When he went down with Li Chengen, who still couldn't calm down, Xiao Wangzhi stared at the ancient tree in the corner and said slowly: "When did Pei Sui start to doubt that Ning Li?"
Lu Shi, who was in his thirties, was obviously the governor's confidant. Hearing this, he replied softly: "Forty-seven days ago, that is, nine days before Zhang Xi's identity was exposed."
Xiao Wangzhi said with a smile but not a smile: "If Pei Sui knew that a young guy could see through the conspiracy of those in the north at a glance, which was not much worse than him, a veteran who had been on the battlefield, do you think he would be able to do it in the middle of the night? Wake up and slap yourself a few times?"
The recorder smiled and said: "It's very possible."
Xiao Wangzhi said: "This little guy is very thoughtful. It's okay to not trust Su Buqing, but he actually thought of selling me a good deal. Although his father is only a slightly famous businessman, he is quite capable in teaching his son."
The recorder nodded and said: "Grand Governor, please allow me to be bold. This young master of the Lu family coincides with you in his attitude towards the Sutra Weaving Department. There is no problem with Su Jianxiao's loyalty, but he only treats his subordinates." You’re a little too trusting, do you want to remind him?”
Xiao Wangzhi muttered: "There is no need to interfere in the internal affairs of the Warp Weaving Department. I don't want to see Qin Zheng's stinky face. As for the arrangements for Panlong Pass, we will keep them secret from the Warp Weaving Department for the time being to avoid leaking the news."
The record should be posted.
Xiao Wangzhi suppressed the faint smile on his face and said calmly: "Go to Panlong Pass in person to cheer up Pei Sui. Since the north side wants to fake surrender, he must do his best to be a landlord." Friendship. If he can't even invite you to the urn, I will let him go to Donghai Mansion to groom horses for another half a year."
The recorder said sternly: "I will accept my order."
…
To the northwest of Panlong Pass, at the border between Qi and Yan, there is an uninhabited land of more than thirty miles long and more than seventy miles wide, which can be regarded as a buffer zone between the two countries.
This was once the main battlefield of the war between the two countries. After seven or eight years, it is difficult to find traces of the iron and blood of those years. Only the lush green mountains and the spring breeze passing through the forest can be seen.
In a quiet mountain valley, two groups of people came from the north and south, approaching each other cautiously.
There were more than thirty cavalry in the south, led by Ning Li, the captain of the Panlong Army, who was ordered by the capital commander Pei Sui to go north to contact them.
"But Captain Ning is in person?" one of the twenty riders from the north said.
Ning Li cupped his hands and said, "Exactly."
The man also saluted on his horse and said, "I'm Li Gu, I'm here to meet you on the order of the master of the family."
The two left the subordinates they brought with them and rode their horses slowly eastward. The remaining dozens of riders looked at each other with curiosity and wariness.
They already knew the mission of this trip, which was mainly to make preliminary preparations for Nantou, the head of the family mentioned by Li Gu, but no one could imagine what the two leaders were talking about at the moment.
Li Guzhuangruo glanced at the crowd behind him unintentionally, and said in a low voice: "Master Wang thought about it again and again, and finally decided to let more than 300 people follow the head of the family to Nantou."
Ning Li frowned and said: "There are no more than fifty people around me that I can trust. It would be too difficult to win the level with just these few people."
Li Gu sighed: "No more. This matter is of great importance. Lord Wang has to coordinate the military and the Jingchao cavalry, and also be on guard against the eyes and ears of the Warp Weaving Department in the south. You also know the tricks of Qin Zheng in the south. The Warp Weaving Department is here His rule is growing stronger day by day, and I don’t know how many nails have been scattered to the north. To ensure that everything is safe, Mr. Wang selected these hundreds of people after half a year of screening."
Ning Li was silent for a long time and said slowly: "There must be a top master. If you can't kill Pei Sui, it won't matter."
Li Gu nodded in agreement.
While the two were secretly discussing the details and dozens of riders were waiting quietly in place, on a mountain several hundred feet to the east, there were more than ten people in the forest like crouching tigers, patiently and calmly staring at the movements in the valley.
This group of people exudes a fierce and wild aura. They are all tall and muscular, with bright and refined eyes that inadvertently reveal their advanced martial arts skills.
What is strange is that the core of such a group of strong and powerful men is a slightly thin figure.
It can be judged from the body shape that this is a woman. A mask with green face and fangs covers her face, revealing a pair of cold eyes.
A middle-aged man next to him whispered: "Miss, it seems that the gang leader is right. Li Xuanan probably defected to the Southern Dynasty without good intentions. Now it seems that nothing unusual is found in the Southern Dynasty. Should we issue a warning to them?"
The woman's tone was indifferent and there was no trace of waves: "The monarchs and ministers of the Southern Dynasty are in a corner and are obsessed with power struggle. They cannot see that the people of the North are living in dire straits. Why remind them? If you really do this, they will be suspicious of them, and they will be suspicious in the future. An unexpected incident will only delay dad's grand plan."
The middle-aged man hesitated and said: "Young lady, what do you mean, I just sit back and do nothing?"
The woman stared and said: "Li Xuan'an killed a good man and took credit for his crime, and his hands are stained with the blood of countless innocent people. If he hadn't been hiding in the military city in the past few years, I don't know how many people would have wanted to take his head. Now, whether he sincerely defected to the Southern Dynasty, He still has other motives. As long as he approaches this wilderness, there is only one choice for us——"
She paused and said coldly: "Kill him quickly."
