Su Xian was in the Hou Mansion and also received good news from the capital city at the same time.
In addition, there is a personal letter from Princess Lanling.
Su Xian was slightly surprised. This seemed to be the first time he received a personal letter from Princess Lanling. He went to the study alone, took out the letter and read it.
After a while, the sound of banging on the table came from the study.
Su Xian was angry.
It turned out that Princess Lanling asked Su Xian in her letter, why didn't she tell her about "uniting Nanchen to fight against Liao"?
Such an important matter has become a "shared secret" between Su Xian and the Queen. As a grasshopper on a rope, as an ally, she has no idea!
The wording and sentiment in the letter are very extreme.
Su Xian could imagine her hysterical appearance.
"This crazy woman is really hard to take care of!" Su Xian was also furious. The content of the letter made him very unhappy, and he had to talk about even the most serious matters.
That night, Su Hyun got mad at her attitude.
This time too.
"Since you always find fault with me, I'll let you have a try."
Su Xian suddenly calmed down, smiled evilly, took the pen and paper, and began to splash ink.
When he was young, he put down the brush, picked up the letter paper and gently blew on the wet ink. Lan Ling's reaction after reading the letter seemed to have appeared in front of his eyes, and he smiled sadly.
After the ink was dry, he stuffed it into an envelope, sealed it with fire paint, handed it to Yang Zhilan, and ordered her to hand-deliver it to Princess Lanling through the channels of the internal guards.
…
In a blink of an eye, time came to the next day.
Su Xian and Tang Ju have already set off together.
They took an official ship and headed north along the Grand Canal, expecting to arrive in Youzhou on the afternoon of October 13th.
On the bow of the ship, Su Xian ordered a table of wine and food, and he sat opposite Tang Ju, drinking and eating while enjoying the scenery along the way, which was quite pleasant.
However, when the official ship sailed into the boundary of Youzhou, the scenery along the way gradually became desolate. There were almost no people, and there was no sound of chickens and dogs.
They were the only ship on the Grand Canal.
It turns out that the border state in the north, which borders the Liao Kingdom, has implemented the strategy of "strengthening the walls and clearing the wilderness". All the people and livestock have entered the city, and the outside of the city is naturally desolate.
In order to cut off the supplies of the Liao cavalry, when the people and livestock entered the city, they also destroyed crops, houses, etc. Once the Liao army invaded, they would not be able to obtain supplies from the land of Youzhou.
Naturally, this will result in heavy losses.
But there is no way, compared to the cruelty of war, this loss is really nothing.
Furthermore, the Queen has raised a large amount of military rations and transported them to various cities in the border states, which is enough to ensure that the people in the city do not starve and can stay in the city for several months or even half a year.
The Queen's "endurance and humiliation" were finally rewarded accordingly...
The official ship continued northward along the Grand Canal.
What I saw along the way became increasingly desolate.
The crops in the fields were either harvested early or burned by fire, while the houses in the villages were left in ruins, which was shocking, as if they had been looted by the Liao army.
They were really the only boat on the wide Grand Canal.
The setting sun was setting in the west, the waves were sparkling, and the official ship was also plated with a layer of gold, making it look increasingly deserted and desolate.
A sense of crisis that an unprecedented war is about to hit us!
The pressure makes it difficult to breathe.
Su Xian and Tang Ju felt a little heavy.
Fortunately, Su Xian already had a solution. Although this method seemed difficult, he believed that it would be successful and completely resolve the conflict between Liang and Liao.
In order to increase Tang Ju's confidence, Su Xian told him part of his arrangements.
After listening to this, Tang Ju felt that although he did not fully understand it, he seemed to have some understanding, and his heavy heart was indeed much better...
October thirteenth.
evening.
Su Xian and his party finally arrived in Youzhou City.
The current governor of Youzhou, as well as Youzhou guard Luo Gan, etc., all came to greet him after hearing the news.
When everyone entered the city, Su Xian found that the city was also very deserted. It was far less lively than the previous few times he came here. After Luo Gan explained, Su Xian finally understood——
It turns out that the people who entered the city and the aboriginal people in the city who "keep the walls clear" generally did not go out easily and stayed at home under the cloud of war.
"I see……"
Su Xian didn't think much and sent Tang Ju to Youzhou Prefecture Office first, asking him to quickly hand over to the governor of Youzhou.
The current governor of Youzhou has packed his bags long ago, waiting for the arrival of the next governor, and then returns to his hometown of Dingyou for three years.
Seeing that Tang Ju quickly took control of the situation and everything was in order, Su Xian left a few masters of internal defense to protect him secretly, and then went to the inn where he was staying.
Su Xian prefers to live in an inn compared to a simple inn.
In a certain wing.
Su Xian, Yan Dashan, Yang Zhilan, and Luo Gan were sitting opposite each other.
"General Luo, you must have guessed that when I returned to Hebei Province this time, I was actually following His Majesty's orders to secretly resist the Liao Dynasty."
Su Xian got straight to the point, took out an official seal from a wooden box, and showed it in front of Luo Gan.
Luo Gan looked shocked, stood up, held the seal in both hands, and after carefully identifying it, he looked sideways at Su Xian and said, "General Luo Gan, pay your respects to the 'Hebei Road Marching Chief'!"
That's right.
In addition to giving Su Xian the gold medal to have many privileges, the Queen also gave him the status of "Hebei Road Marching General Manager".
Based on this, Su Xian has the right to mobilize all the garrison troops in Hebei Province. Anyone who dares to disobey the order can be killed first and then reported.
Su Xian waved his hand and said:
"This identity will be kept secret for the time being and should not be spread outside. After all, I am secretly resisting the Liao..."
"The reason why I told General Luo is because Youzhou is in a dangerous position and I can trust General Luo."
Luo Gan's body trembled, and he cupped his hands excitedly and said: "Please rest assured, Chief Manager, the general will do his best to defend Youzhou City and prevent the Liao cavalry from invading!"
"Very good." Su Xian cast a praising look:
"It's getting late. General Luo, please go back to the garrison camp first. This is a critical period. Don't be careless. Send someone to report as soon as there is any situation."
"The last general takes command!"
After Luo Gan strode away, Su Xian looked at Yan Dashan and Yang Zhilan, straightened their sitting postures, and asked, "So, what's going on over there at Nalan Festival? Can you get there on time tomorrow?"
"No problem." Yang Zhilan cherished her words like gold, her face was expressionless, and she looked like she didn't care about the matter.
"Tomorrow's meeting is very important. Ping An City must ensure safety." Su Xian warned.
"Don't worry, sir, we are ready." Yan Dashan replied.
"Are the people sent to welcome the Nalan Festival prepared? Nowadays, Liang and Liao are very sensitive. There must be no accidents during the Nalan Festival in Daliang."
"Please don't worry, Master..."
"..."
Su Xian took the trouble to confirm every detail carefully. Tomorrow's meeting is related to the peace of the Central Plains region for the next hundred years, so we must not be careless.
After everything was confirmed to be OK, Su Xian was still uneasy and rushed to the meeting place in Ping'an City overnight to take a look around.
No problem was found, so he returned under the moonlight.
After walking out of the city gate of Ping'an City, Su Xian raised his head and looked at the full moon in the night sky.
The night is quiet.
The clear light of the moon spreads across the world, bringing peace and tranquility.
But what kind of rapids and turbulence are hidden under this peace and tranquility?
Su Xian couldn't help but shuddered and murmured to himself: "I hope everything goes well tomorrow!"
