In the grotto, Li Rui rescued the two Qiang and the remaining Han people, and used the winch behind the Buddha to get off the ground.

Along the way, Li Rui kept asking about his uncle's news with the Qiang people, and the tokens carried by the Qiang people had been searched by the horse thieves, but fortunately, they were not stupid, and the horse thieves said that "they arrested a Han official and came to Liangzhou to ask for ransom", these horse thieves believed it and wanted to make a fortune by borrowing the hands of the Liang people, so they snatched the tokens and wanted to keep their lives to find the big official.

Li Mao's handwriting was hidden in the crack of the leather jacket, because the letter paper was thinner, it was not searched by the horse thieves, Li Rui listened to what the people said very carefully, and even knew that his uncle was wearing a velvet jacket and pants, so he confirmed that he was really fine, and then he was relieved.

As for the horse thieves, I'm afraid they are really going to ask for ransom with tokens.

The horses that Li Rui and the others captured from the horse thieves by the lake came in handy at this time, otherwise there would be so many more people, and it would still be a problem to get to Wuwei.

Most of these Han Chinese were businessmen who did business between Tongzhou and Liangzhou, and their families had money, and they promised to send a ransom, so they left a life. But while they left their lives, they also left behind the situation of their families, including where they lived and which trading house they belonged to, so although they ran away, they were worried in their hearts, for fear that the horse thieves would return and retaliate.

So though they escaped, none of them were happy.

Jiang Jingyi glanced at these rescued people a few times, and asked Li Rui softly: "You see those people who were rescued by us, why don't they look happy, but as if they were arrested by us?" ”

Li Rui glanced back and found that what Master Jiang said was indeed not wrong at all.

The two people were also in front, and after hearing this, they sneered disdainfully: "These Han people are not good. Soft eggs. ”

"What do you mean by that?"

"When we were caught, we sharpened the rope with the sharp corners of the stone wall, and killed the guard while there was no one in the cave, and as a result, these people screamed for their lives, and several horse thieves were brought in, and we almost didn't die inside." The sturdy young man pouted, "Later, we untied their ropes and wanted them to run away with us, but they refused to go, and were willing to pay a ransom and wait for them to be released." ”

"We were just about to run away on our own, and you came in, and you saw what was going on."

When Jiang Jingyi heard this, he understood why the two people said that these Han people were not good.

For these merchants had taken them as a gang of horse thieves, and not only did they not help, but they sold them. Thinking about it this way, he didn't have a good impression of the businessmen behind him.

"It's normal." Du Jin rode a horse and explained with an expression of "you don't understand", "Businessmen seek advantages and avoid disadvantages, and everything has to see whether the risks and benefits are worth their efforts. They can go home as long as they pay the ransom, and there is no danger to their lives, so naturally they will not fight hard. These horse thieves won't smash the signboard, and if they keep collecting money and not letting people go, no one will pay the ransom. ”

"Moreover, you are 'the wicked people who kidnapped the court officials for ransom', and you are not Han Chinese, you want this group of businessmen to trust you to go with you, who knows if Lu Dao just got out of the tiger's den and into the wolf's den? It's better to stay where you are. At least the horse thieves of the Han people only need a ransom. ”

As soon as Du Jin's words were spoken, Li Rui understood the thoughts of these businessmen. Although the two men understood and did not understand, they probably knew that it was their previous identity to the horse thief that made these merchants suspicious, so they stopped talking about soft eggs and the like.

Du Jin saw that everyone was enlightened, and he was also a little complacent in his heart.

"From your point of view, these businessmen are naturally afraid of death and ungrateful, that is, you think that letting them go is 'grace'. But for them, it's the same whether they let go or not, why do you say they are worried? Because I was afraid of the retaliation of the horse thief. ”

"Afraid of retaliation from horse thieves?" Li Rui looked at Du Jin incredulously, "These horse thieves are so arrogant? ”

"Horse thieves have been on this road since ancient times. When the trade routes were blocked, they would enter the grasslands to plunder some weaker nomadic tribes. They live by robbery and kidnapping, and they are numerous, and they collude with each other to support each other, and the government has nothing to do with them. Du Jin shook his head and said, "I often just killed this thief's den, and another place has risen again." And the more repression, the more brutal their methods become. ”

The two men were stunned when they heard this. "This Mr. Han, you know a lot."

Du Jin chuckled lightly and said modestly: "Where is it, a certain hometown is in Tongzhou, and later he taught in Tongzhou, and he knows some businessmen, and he knows their difficulties. ”

Liangzhou Wuwei, Yangwu Duweifu.

"What do you say? Two people who claim to have big news want to see me? "Zhang Zhi just came back from training, and he laughed when he heard this." Lao Tzu is just a military attaché, one is not a general, and the other is not a magistrate, what are you looking for me? Tell them to go to the General's Palace! ”

"Lord Captain, these two people said that you can see this thing at a glance, and you will definitely see them." The general in Nafu was also puzzled, but he still handed out a small bag. "I think those two people are like horse thieves or robbers."

"It's even more ridiculous, what do the horse thieves want me to do? It can't be just to see that we have a lot of soldiers and pull officers and soldiers into the gang, right? Zhang Zhi shook his head as he took the small bag and opened it.

Inside was a palm-sized sign and a grayed little finger.

Zhang Zhi was shocked when he saw the sign, and hurriedly asked where the person who sent the things was.

The goalkeeper replied that he was still in the foyer, and Zhang Zhi breathed a sigh of relief.

He took out the sign and looked at it carefully.

This small sign is a talisman that can mobilize 10,000 border troops. The generals of each border army have half of such a talisman. The reason why this little brand is so small is also because it is only half a piece. The talisman in his hand was engraved with the seal inscription "The talisman of the armor soldier, the right is in the emperor", and their Liangzhou is "The left is in the Western Army, but listen to the order." ”

When mobilizing troops, it is necessary to make the ministers hold the talisman and the highest commander of the border army together before the troops can be dispatched.

Zhang Zhi was shocked. This kind of talisman has ten pieces, at most you can mobilize 100,000 troops to act cheaply, the emperor trusted Li Laoguogong, half of this talisman was in the hands of Li Laoguogong, and later handed over the military power to return to the current saint, now all should be in the saint of the Zichen Temple, how could it fall to Liangzhou?

Could it be that there was a rebellion in the capital, and the Holy Envoy sent an envoy to transfer troops to the king, but was intercepted by these bold horse thieves?

And whose finger does it belong to?

Zhang Zhi's head buzzed as if he had been hit by someone. He didn't care why the man didn't go to the general's mansion to come to his own mansion, so he hurriedly asked the general to call the person who sent the sign over.

After a while, two men in leather jackets and riding boots came over. These two people are burly, there is a fierce air on their bodies, and they walk with heavy steps, Zhang Zhi looked at it, and he understood what the family would say that these two people were horse thieves.

These people lick blood from their knife edges, and their whole body is a kind of banditry, what can it be if they are not horse thieves and robbers?

Because of the confidentiality, Zhang Zhi called left and right, and then asked, "Who are you?" Where did this token come from? ”

Most of the horse thieves were illiterate, and those who were literate did not know the seal, so they did not know that what they brought was a talisman. If they knew that this was a military talisman and not a token of the Faith Mansion, they would not dare to extort it even if they borrowed a few more dares.

"We're not afraid to tell adults honestly, and I believe adults can also see that we are horse thieves." One of them smiled with his mouth open, "We're here for ransom." ”

"Ransom? What ransom? Zhang Zhi glared and asked, "You captured the imperial envoy?" ”

The two horse thieves actually didn't know how big an official the Duke of Xin Guo was, but the prestige of the Duke of Li Lao Guo still knew the Tao of the Dao. When the people talked to them about Li Mao, they were talking about turning things upside down, one at one time they were in charge of horses, one time they were big officials, and one time they were all about the national princes, which made them dizzy.

Since this military general said that he was an envoy, he was an envoy.

"Yes, we captured the envoy. The finger is from the envoy's hand. One of the horse thieves smiled and said, "Prepare me three thousand taels of gold, and we will release them." ”

Zhang Zhi was amused by the two horse thieves.

Three thousand taels of gold is equivalent to more than 30,000 taels of silver, and Wuwei's annual tax is only so much, not to mention that the role of this talisman is heavier than that of the imperial envoy, where did they get the courage to pay three thousand taels of gold in one mouth?

Even if he wants to give, he is not the governor of Liangzhou who manages taxes, what to give?

"Three thousand taels of gold? Our border in Liangzhou is bitterly cold, and the population is small, so we can't come up with so much money. Zhang Zhi shook his head and said, "What's more, you only show me a finger, who knows if Lu Dao is the envoy?" What if the envoy is dead? How do you tell me to believe you? ”

The two horse thieves were a little weak-hearted. This finger was indeed not the one who believed in the country, but they listened to the words of the Qianren people, and in order to win the trust of the officials, they randomly cut it off from the hand of a middle-aged rich businessman.

What kind of character Zhang Zhi is, when he saw these two horse thieves, he was a little stunned, and he knew that there was a void in the road. He rolled his eyes and decided to scam him again, to see what was in it.

He took out the talisman and pretended to give it back to them.

"Take this token away, the official you tied up is a very small official, and it is not worth so much money. If you love to kill, you can kill if you like, and the most we can do is to take care of his family. ”

"How is that possible! That person claimed to be Li Mao, the Duke of Xinguo! Aren't there only two princes of Da Chu? is in charge of horses and soldiers, how can he be a petty official? "A horse thief is not happy to go and take the talisman," that Li Mao is still called Karma...... We must send the token to you, saying that you are a relative of his family, and it seems that you are also a dead person who wants money, and even your relatives are no longer official. ”

"Wait, who do you say?" Zhang Zhi withdrew the talisman. He felt that the stimulation was too great.

Li Mao's house didn't stay in Beijing well, what did he do in Liangzhou? Or is his guess right, there is chaos in the capital, so he sent Li Mao as an imperial envoy to transfer troops?

"Isn't it just the letter of the country? The son of the old Duke Li who is famous for his martial arts. Tsk, the prestige of Li Laoguo Gong is admired even by us horse thieves, how can he give birth to a son so weak, and he will be ...... all of a sudden. We've got it! ”

Zhang Zhi noticed that they made the 'jie' sound twice, but couldn't guess what it was. He was already careful, and after a lot of grinding and cheating, he finally got a rough idea of the situation.

This Li Mao didn't know what Lu Dao was going out of Beijing to inspect, and was intercepted by these horse thieves on the way. Li Mao said that he could ask Da Chu for ransom, he was a big official, so they took the token on his body and came to Wuwei to ask for money.

It's just that Li Mao, as an officer of the military department, how can he not bring elite soldiers on patrol? How capable do these horse thieves have to be to capture Da Chu's elite troops alive?

"Then what does Li Mao look like? What are you wearing? ”

The two horse thieves glanced at each other, and one of them had the courage to say nonsense: "Slender face, white skin, wearing a red official robe......"

The big officials in Beijing shouldn't be as dark as their officials in Liangzhou, right? I heard others say that high-ranking officials and masters all wear red clothes, and only junior officials wear green clothes and blue clothes, what they said should be right......

Zhang Zhi snorted coldly in his heart.

Li Mao and Lao Guogong look similar, both have a square face with Chinese characters, and their skin is slightly dark. Of course, the third-rank senior officer wears a red robe, but Li Mao is a first-rank duke, wears a purple coat, and has a regular position in the military department, so the collar and cuffs of the purple coat are gilded to show that he has a knighthood.

These people didn't know where Lu Dao got this talisman, and they didn't even see Li Mao's face, so they dared to come and ask for money.

It's just that I don't know whether Li Mao is alive or dead now, and it is impossible for the soldier talisman to be taken away at will, either it is really dangerous to send someone to hand the talisman to rescue, or the soldier talisman has been obtained halfway through.

However, no matter which one it is, he is not ready to save it.

The title of Duke of Xinguo should have been given to his nephew. His brother-in-law and sister died in vain, one was a hero, the other was a martyr, and the title had not yet fallen to his poor nephew. This Li Mao was blessed and refused to treat his nephew well, and his nephew was almost raised......

It's just right to be dead now.

Li Rui is fourteen this year, and he will be the master of the house in two years. That Li Mao's youngest son is only ten years old now, and the saint was able to let Li Mao take the title because of Li Rui's young age, and now he can set up it as soon as possible for the Xinguo Mansion and let Li Rui inherit his uncle's title.

God has eyes, and the position of the Duke of Xinguo went around in a circle, and finally fell into the hands of his nephew.

When Zhang Zhi thought about it, he didn't want to care about it anymore.

It's just that how to deal with these two people is still a problem.

"How to trade? How to return us? "It's impossible for Zhang Zhi to return the talisman to them. There is such a thing as a talisman, and it is of great use to keep it. Few people know that they are here, as long as they are killed, they will not know the ghosts, and they will not know when the time comes.

Anyway, they are also here to blackmail, who knows where Li Mao died.

It was also Li Mao's uncle who trusted Li Rui too much, and felt that the in-laws of the two mansions, and the matter of Fenzhou Racecourse involved rebellion, so why should he help spread the word.

Lu Yuan, the general of Liangzhou, was stationed in the camp, and he couldn't wait for idlers to enter, let alone get close to deliver the letter. Only Zhang Zhi, the commander of Yangwudu, was stationed in the city, responsible for military training and other military affairs, and he could directly meet General Lu, who had a wide range of contacts and was easy to do, so as not to leak the rebellion of this horse farm from the first level.

Li Mao didn't expect that the people were not familiar with Liangzhou, not only did they not bring the letter safely, but they were also tied up by horse thieves, and even the talismans were searched.

If it weren't for Li Rui saving these two people halfway, I'm afraid that no one would know what happened in Liangzhou, and the matter would have to be delayed for a long time.

And Zhang Zhi guessed that Li Mao had an accident when he was on the mission, and he hated Li Mao's intention to abolish his nephew, and he wanted both the military talisman and the nephew to inherit the position of the prince. is even more ill-intentioned towards Li Mao.

When the two horse thieves heard that the general looked like they were going to pay, their hearts were happy. The officials who dared to blackmail Da Chu had already risked their lives, and this time it went so smoothly thanks to their wit.

Look at their brilliant predictions! That Li Mao really has a slender face and white skin, if they weren't right, this military general wouldn't have let his guard down so easily!

"You are a big official who knows the times, let me tell you, don't look at our two brothers, we have a lot of people, and the hiding place is hidden, if we don't hand it over ourselves, even if you have the ability, you won't be able to find this Li Guogong." The horse thief smiled happily, "You give us half of the gold as a deposit, and tomorrow we will ......."

As soon as Zhang Zhi heard that he wanted to give a deposit first, he knew that Li Mao was really not in their hands, and he just came to cheat a sum of money and ran away. He drew his sword and stabbed the thief in the heart.

The other horse thief saw that the momentum was not right, and the general didn't seem to care about the danger of the country's security at all, so he hurriedly turned around and ran.

Where is this? In the mansion of Captain Yangwudu, most of the whole mansion are soldiers, where can a horse thief escape. In a few moments they caught the thief.

Zhang Zhi twisted the horse thief's face with a sneer.

"Didn't you eat the bear's heart and leopard gall, and dare to go to the Liangzhou Governor's Mansion to blackmail? I can't even tell what the person looks like, and I want a ransom with a finger that I don't know who the road is? You are still suitable to be horse thieves, this kind of liar work, your brain is not good, it is better to rest. ”

"Kill!"

"Yes!"

Because the horse thieves had just made trouble in the morning, Li Rui and his party arrived in Wuwei, lit the sign of the Xinguo Mansion and handed over the name post, and when they came to the Duwei's Mansion to ask to see Zhang Zhi, these goalkeepers thought that those horse thieves couldn't make a plan and did a trick, not only did they dare not let them in, but they didn't even have a good face.

Soon after Li Rui and the others came out of the Liangzhou Grottoes, they met the officers and soldiers brought by the child named Xiao Jiu, because these officers and soldiers did not know the path of the road, Li Rui left Master Du and the two generals to show them the way, and ambushed around the big Buddha, waiting to catch turtles in the urn. The leader of the horse thieves may have his uncle's talisman on him, so he can't be careless.

And he took Master Jiang and his entourage, and finally arrived at Wuwei in the afternoon of the next day.

They went all the way from the capital to Liangzhou, not to mention a lot of hardships, and suffered several robberies, and even met a horse thief, and finally found out the news of Li Mao, and brought the people to his uncle's mansion, but they didn't go in the door, and they were ridiculed and ridiculed, treated like a liar, even a saint can't stand it, not to mention that Li Rui is still a serious prince of the Guogong Mansion.

It's just that Li Rui hasn't had a seizure yet, and Jiang Jingyi jumped up first.

"Lao Tzu has been away from this governor's mansion for two years, and he doesn't even know the goalkeeper! Damn, the original two brothers Li Jiang and Li Hong! Jiang Jingyi looked inside, "What about Zhang Xu'er!" ”

These two goalkeepers have indeed only been transferred in the past few years, and the original goalkeepers have already gone to the camp at the border gate. As soon as they heard that this man could say the name of the original goalkeeper and the name of the leader of the family, they quickly stood up straight in shock, not daring to slack off.

"The two Li Lang officials have already gone to the camp, and Zhang Zhiguan has gone to the general's mansion to do business, dare to ask Your Excellency?"

Li Rui laughed at himself. "I didn't expect that in this Wuwei, Master Jiang's name is better than our Xinguo Mansion."

"They have eyes and don't know Tarzan. Lao Tzu doesn't understand anymore, there was no such problem before, the Governor's Mansion is in charge of military affairs, if you don't give it in, what kind of military affairs are you in charge of! Jiang Jingyi was furious, and shouted at the two goalkeepers: "Zhang Xu'er is not here, call Hu Dahu, Lu Muxin came to see me." Let's just say that their head is here! ”

"Jiang Jingyi, I haven't seen you for so long, you still haven't changed your temper, it's rare that the Xinguo Mansion didn't resign you." Zhang Zhi's voice came from the main courtyard, untying the two goalkeepers.

"Uncle!"

"Captain Zhang!"

"Lord Captain!"

Zhang Zhi was surprised when he saw that he was indeed a nephew, and that he only had a dozen or twenty people with him.

However, he was surprised, but his face did not show it, but patted him on the shoulder enthusiastically, and said with a smile: "Li Rui, you have grown a lot taller, quite your grandfather's style." ”

This child has not been seen for two years, and even if the fat on his former body is gone, and he has such a tall figure, it seems that he will be a sturdy man like his grandfather in the future.

He loved to practice martial arts since he was a child, and later joined the army, but he admired a strong and brave person like Li Shuo, rather than a handsome son like Li Meng. When he saw that this nephew combined the advantages of his grandfather and father, and there was the shadow of his sister between his eyebrows, he had mixed feelings for a while, staring at his nephew left and right, and suddenly felt that everything was good, worthy of his sister's child.

Li Rui finally saw his uncle, and he was also excited, his eyes were red, his throat was choked, and he had a thousand words in his heart that he wanted to talk to this uncle, but he only turned into a "little uncle" in the end, and he couldn't take it anymore......

Zhang Zhi saw that the child seemed to have suffered a lot, and sighed, patted him on the shoulder again, and called "good nephew".

Zhang Zhi looked at the generals brought by Li Rui, and then at Jiang Jingyi, and saw that they were all covered in dust, so he hurriedly led them into the house.

"This is not the place to talk, and you are tired, so let's sit down and talk in the mansion first."

Zhang Zhi walked inside with his nephew, while thinking about what happened to the Xinguo Mansion, the old one even lost the talisman, and the little one came all the way to Liangzhou to find him.

Li Rui is already tired, no matter how strong he is, he is only fourteen years old this year, although his body can still support it, his head is swollen and painful, and his energy is not much to keep up.

When he arrived at the main hall of the Governor's Mansion, he took the towel handed over by the servant of the Governor's Mansion, wiped his face casually, and pushed the two people behind him to the front.

"Uncle, my nephew came to Liangzhou this time to ask for help. There was a rebellion in the Fenzhou Racecourse, and my uncle was ordered to go out of Beijing to inspect the racecourse, but was attacked by unknown troops and annihilated, and only my uncle escaped alive and was rescued by the Qiangren. These men brought my uncle's handwriting and talismans to transfer troops, but they were intercepted by the gang of horse thieves, and the talismans were lost, leaving only the handwritten ......"

Li Rui was extremely tired, and it was rare for him to be able to tell the ins and outs in an orderly manner. "Two friends of the Qiangren, this is Zhang Zhi, the commander of Yangwu, please give him my uncle's letter."

The two men nodded, one of them uncovered the leather coat, asked Li Rui for a weapon, cut open the inside of the leather coat, and dug out the handwriting hidden inside.

These pieces of paper are yellowed in color, and they look a little brittle, and they are by no means a good piece of paper, if it is a letter from ten years ago, people believe it.

Zhang Zhi was suspicious in his heart, worried that these precarious people were like the gang of horse thieves, and they didn't know where to get something to cheat, but when he took the letter and looked at it, he couldn't help but believe it.

This handwriting is the same as the handwriting on the gift slip of the Xinguo Mansion received every year. Moreover, the most rearly is still printed with the imprint of the Xinguo Mansion and the Great Seal of the Ministry of War, which cannot be faked.

Then he hesitated. It involves rebellion, and if he delays it, it will not be a little culpable. It's just that he really wants to help his nephew get the position of the prince of the country......

"Li Rui, I can still understand these people here, why did you come to Liangzhou and be with these two people? When you leave the house, do your grandmother and family know about it? Zhang Zhi put away the letter and asked his nephew.

Li Rui's face turned pale. He took twenty generals out of Beijing, not only did he not tell his family, but even beat his family to rush out of the house. Not to mention all the hardships along the way, when I get home, I don't know how I will be scolded by my grandmother.

The thought of his grandmother's fears at home made him feel guilty.

Li Rui said with a pale face the reason why he left the palace, how he asked the imperial envoy in Tongzhou for help, how he wanted to come to Liangzhou to borrow people to go to the grassland to investigate, and as a result, he rescued the two people halfway, as well as various assassinations encountered on the way, and so on. He is in the period of voice change, his voice is hoarse, and his speech is concise and to the point, without adding oil and vinegar, this time, not only makes people feel very real, but even has a sense of murder.

Rao is Zhang Zhi had already guessed that Li Rui must have gone through hardships all the way, and he didn't imagine that these twenty people would be so difficult. I can only secretly thank God for opening his eyes and always bless his nephew so that he can reach Liangzhou smoothly.

Zhang Zhi pondered for a while, first let the two men and the generals go down to rest, and then promised Li Rui that he would definitely find a way to send troops to Fenzhou and find a way to meet his uncle.

Li Rui was happy when he heard this, and hurriedly threw himself to the ground and thanked his uncle for his help.

"It's just that the talisman is not there, but I can't send troops." Zhang Zhi had other plans, so naturally he wouldn't tell Li Rui that there was already a horse thief who had sent the talisman.

He hadn't received the letter before, and he hadn't seen his nephew, so of course he didn't care about it. But now that the imperial history knows, and it involves rebellion, I'm afraid I have to think about it.

It's just that he just wants to meddle in this matter, and he will delay and delay, and it is best to delay it until Li Mao has a case, and then he will pull out of Liangzhou.

"I'll send someone to the horse thief's lair to find the talisman, don't worry." He lifted his nephew up and sat him down. He had something on his mind, and paced in the hall for a long time, before he turned around and said to his nephew: "I think it's better not to let the people interfere in this matter......

His words paused suddenly.

Li Rui was already slumped in his chair and fell into a deep sleep.

The author has something to say: Little Theater:

The leader of the horse thieves and his party were on the street corner......

Idiot, etc., idiot, etc.

Damn, have you been asking for a ransom for so long? It's another wave of people going in!