Chapter Twenty-Four: Catching the Thief

Taketori was a little surprised when he saw the cavalry of the Fenwei Battalion that surrounded the mountain col tightly. He was very surprised why the people of the King of Shu would come here at this time, he knew that Gao Youhong, the king of Shu, was a cautious person, and he would not easily mobilize the army without conclusive evidence, since the cavalry of the Fenwei battalion appeared here, it means that he already knew about the forest farm tonight, and as for how much he knew about other things, he didn't know the bottom of his heart.

Thinking of this, Taketori stared at An Yi and Jin Mingyin in the woods, as long as An Yi couldn't open his mouth, he asked Wang Jing's uncle to do something, and the war was now, then even the King of Shu couldn't do anything to him. He motioned to Liu Heng on the side, don't care about Zhao Qianhu, and quickly besiege An Yi and the others.

Liu Heng looked at the cavalry on the high slope and felt a little stunned. But he couldn't help but listen to Taketori's words, so he brandished his crotch knife and commanded the soldiers around him to quickly rush up to kill An Yi, but he didn't move at all as if he had taken root under his feet.

Zhao Lingfeng, who was on the hillside, saw the confrontation in front of the forest farm in his eyes, and was very annoyed by Taketori's indifference to his shouting, he stretched out his left arm and waved forward,

The cavalry on both sides received the order, pulled the reins of the horses, and rushed down the high slopes with thunderous momentum.

"Ahh

This torrent with shouts of killing, surrounded by a little firelight, looked like a golden stream of water rushing down the black hillside from a distance.

These people brought by Taketori were all the soldiers in the original county government and the soldiers of the county garrison, these people were simply peasants with weapons, suppressing the mob, and arresting the bandits could barely come in handy, and the real professional soldiers under Zhao Qianhu immediately became a group of rabble.

Originally, under Liu Heng's heavy reward, these people who were still looking at An Yi in the forest and Jin Mingyin's eyes were red, but they instantly lost their courage in the shouting and killing of the Fenwei Battalion, threw away their armor, and fled in all directions.

Seeing this, An Yi and Jin Mingyin in the forest rushed out, picked up the crossbow arrows they threw on the ground, and raised their hands in the direction of Taketori to see two arrows.

"Whoosh~"

At such a close distance, two arrows easily pierced the chests of the two guards. But unlike Jin Mingyin's short crossbow, although this kind of crossbow is powerful, it can't shoot continuously, and after the two of them shot an arrow that had been pressed on the string, they replaced it with a crotch knife on the ground, ready to step forward and take Taketori.

Taketori was shocked at this time, he didn't expect these soldiers to collapse so quickly under the momentum of the Fenwei battalion, and now he only had Liu Heng and a few guards by his side. He hurriedly commanded Liu Heng to block the two menacing killing gods, "Quick.. Fast! Block them for me. ”

The guards who have long been frightened are still the opponents of An Yi and Jin Mingyin. After the two confrontations, the bodies of the two guards were already lying on the ground, and the remaining guards were trembling with knives facing the two of them, not daring to step forward.

Liu Heng was already frightened beside him, and his hands holding the crotch knife trembled.

"Bang Dang~"

In the end, he couldn't stand it anymore, threw the steel knife on the ground, and stammered to Taketori: "Yes.... I'm sorry second uncle, I don't want to die. After saying that, he ran into the redwood forest without looking back.

When those guards saw that Liu Heng had run away, they hurriedly dropped their steel knives, ignored Taketori's drink, and ran towards the woods in the darkness.

An Yi saw Liu Heng who was crawling into the woods, and hurriedly said to Jin Mingyin: "Mingyin, you go after Liu Heng, don't let him run away, if you want to live, I still expect him to take Lin Muzhi and them down the mountain." ”

Jin Mingyin left in response. An Yi carried the steel knife that was still dripping with blood alone, and walked towards Taketori in front of him step by step.

"You.... You can't.... You can't kill me, I'm an official of the Qipin Imperial Court... Not.. You can't kill me without the will of the court! ”

Taketori was already as earthy at this time, and he didn't have to retreat involuntarily, and he didn't pay attention and didn't stand firm on his heels, and fell to the ground. He put his hands in front of his face in fear, as if to block out the cold glow released by An Yi's steel knife in the dark night.

An Yi smiled coldly at Taketori, who was sitting on the ground, and said, "I'm just afraid that this court won't be willing to let you have a seven-grade county master, so I'll send you on the road first!" As he spoke, he picked up his knife and swung it with all his might towards the bamboo on the ground.

"Poof!"

Leng Sensen's blade was accompanied by blood light, splitting Taketori's head and the hands in front of his face in half.

The cavalry whistling down the high slope had already galloped in front of the face, and they quickly surrounded the forest field. The soldiers and errands brought by Taketori in the forest farm also dropped their weapons when they saw that the cavalry had arrived, and they were scolded by the officers and soldiers of the Fenwei battalion, squatting in place with their heads in their hands.

An Yi threw the steel knife in his hand to the ground, and sat on the ground as if he wanted to lose his strength.

Zhao Lingfeng came down from the high slope all the way, with a white robe and a white horse like white jade, a majestic young man in white. He came to An Yi, turned over and dismounted, and arched his hand at An Yi on the ground and said: "I was ordered by the King of Shu to detain Zhutai, but I didn't expect to be a step too late, so I let you kill him with one sword." Are you a comfortable son? He looked at Taketori's body on the ground.

An Yi reluctantly stood up, bowed back to Zhao Lingfeng, and said, "It's right down there." If General Zhao hadn't come in time, I'm afraid I would have been dead on the spot. ”

Zhao Lingfeng waved his hand after hearing this, "Gongzi should thank your friend surnamed Jiang, if it wasn't for the military camp he rushed in time to face the King of Shu, the King of Shu would not have ordered Zhao to attack in the starry night." ”

As he was talking, two black shadows ran over from the mountains and forests in the distance. Zhao Lingfeng's personal soldiers immediately became nervous, and the spear in his hand pointed at the two black shadows, and shouted: "Stop!" Who is moving forward? ”

The two dark shadows stopped when they heard the sound,

"Brother Yi, I'm Ming Yin."

Hearing this, An Yi knew that it should be Jin Mingyin who could capture Liu Heng, and he said to Zhao Lingfeng: "General Zhao, it's your own person." ”

Zhao Lingfeng motioned for the two pro-soldiers to go and investigate, and brought Jin Mingyin and Liu Heng back.

"Childe... Childe is not.. Don't kill me, he did it, and it has nothing to do with me. This Liu Heng came to An Yi, and saw that Taketori on the side was already a horizontal corpse on the spot, and half of his head was cut off, so frightened that his legs were weak, and he knelt in front of An Yi with a plop.

An Yi looked at him and showed an intriguing smile, but Liu Heng didn't feel relaxed at all from his smiling face, but made the hairs on his body stand on end, "You help me do something, in exchange for your life." ”

Liu Heng listened and quickly kowtowed, and said with tears in his head: "Don't say one thing, even if it is 10,000 pieces, I will also promise my son, and I only ask my son to leave a small life." ”

"Do you know Li Huzi on Jiulong Mountain?"

"Recognize! Recognize! He's with Take-sama... Bah! I have always been in contact with Taketori, and it was our eyeliner in Jiulongshan before. ”

An Yi nodded with a smile when he heard this, turned his head to Zhao Lingfeng and said, "General Zhao, can you borrow our three horses, and we will go up this Jiulong Mountain for a while." ”

Zhao Lingfeng looked at An Yi and said: "Jiulong Mountain is sinister, does the son still need the help of the general?" ”

An Yi thanked him, "Lin Muzhi, the leader of the bandits in Jiulong Mountain, still has some friendship with me, please return to the prince, early tomorrow morning, I will take the bandits on Jiulong Mountain down the mountain." There were a few militiamen we had brought with us in the woodyard and on the hillside behind them, and after a fierce fight, I don't know what the injuries were, and I might have to bother the general to take care of them. ”

Zhao Lingfeng smiled, and motioned to his soldiers to bring three jujube red horses to An Yi, Jin Mingyin and Liu Heng, "It's okay, the general will go back to the camp, and the son himself is careful." ”

After thanking Zhao Lingfeng comfortably, he disappeared into the night with the two of them....

-----------------------------

late at night

Wangjing Imperial City

The Imperial Study

It was already late at night, and there was already silence in the Great Xia Imperial City, only the lights in the imperial study were still bright.

In front of the luxurious yellow rosewood bookcase, there is an old man sitting in a long clock. The bright yellow robe was embroidered with the pattern of the dragon of the sea, and the turbulent golden waves at the corners of the robe carried the majesty of the gods and the innate nobility of the body, and the cloudy eyes stared at the folds in his hands, and his brows were tightly locked.

"Alas~"

Behind her, a woman with a beautiful face, dressed in a large peony emerald green smoke veil Bixialuo, mopping the floor pink narcissus scattered flowers and green leaf skirt. A pair of jade hands full of all kinds of jewels gently kneaded the shoulders of the person with a sad face.

This is the emperor of the current Great Xia Dynasty, the Chongzheng Emperor Gao Youxiao and his favorite concubine Liu.

"Why is the emperor sighing?"

The charming voice sounded in Gao Youxiao's ears, and the breathing snort quietly pushed to the root of his ear, tugging at his heartstrings.

Gao Youxiao grabbed the pair of soft wattles on his shoulders with his backhand, sighed again, slowly threw down the fold, and said to Liu: "The Liao State launched a sudden attack on our border town without declaring war, killing and wounding countless people, and the town of Gansu was captured by the Liao State. ”

Liu gently leaned down, letting the pair in front of him stick softly to Gao Youxiao's back, "Your Majesty, it is a common thing for the Liao people to raid the border every year, and it is a common thing to place a strict order to disperse the general army on the border." ”

Gao Youxiao turned around, hugged Liu's family, hugged his lap, picked up the recital on the table and shook it in front of Liu's, "Heh! General soldiers? The army of Wang Chengguang, the chief soldier of Gansu Town, was defeated, and he himself was beheaded by Yelu Xiuke, and his head was hung on the city tower for ten days. ”

"Jeruxiuke? But that Yelu Huke, who was called the little prince by the Liao people? ”

"You, a woman in the deep palace, still know the little prince? Then you might as well tell me who to send against this little prince. Gao Yuxiao teased Liu, and his hand slowly reached into her neckline, which was only covered by a thin veil of smoke.

The eunuch who had been waiting by the side walked to the front of the case, gently removed the enamel teacup that had been cold on the case, and replaced it with a cup of steaming tea. was about to leave with this jade tray, and was stopped by Gao Youxiao,

"Li Jin, why are you serving by your side today, Xiao Chenzi?"

Li Jin unhurriedly put the jade tray gently at his feet, walked to the desk and knelt down and said: "If you go back to the emperor, the slave is afraid that this night will be heavy, and Xiao Chenzi will not take good care of it, so the slave will come to serve in person, so he can rest assured." ”

Gao Youxiao smiled with satisfaction, and the wrinkles on his face were all squeezed together, "It's just that you have filial piety, which is much stronger than those loyal courtiers who only know what kings and ministers are all day long." Li Jin, let me ask you, you have also heard it on the side just now, what do you think of the matter in this border town in Gansu? ”

"The slave doesn't dare, the slave only knows how to wait for the emperor, and doesn't know about these major military events, if the scholars know, they will have to give the emperor a twist, and the slave can't bear to make trouble for the emperor." Li Jin still leaned over in front of the desk.

Civil officials can advise the emperor, this is the ancestral system left by the Great Xia Dynasty in order to open up the way of speech. This means that when the emperor does something that violates the ancestral system and the etiquette law, he can cite the scriptures to accuse the emperor of impunity. Even during the period of Emperor Gaozong, who created the prosperous era of the Great Xia Dynasty, there was an endless stream of persuasions from the ministers, not to mention the Chongzheng Emperor Gao Youxiao, who was so happy, trusted the ministers, and favored the harem.

As soon as I heard Li Jin mention these civil and official imperial histories, this Gao Youxiao was angry, three days and two ends, this ancestor and that etiquette, he is already a person who is not confused, he has been an emperor for more than 20 years, and he still needs them to point fingers?

"You, the eunuch who holds the seal of the celebrant and the eunuch, can't even give me these things, what do I want you to do?"

"Then the minion will be emboldened."

Gao Youxiao waved his robe, "But it doesn't hurt to say it!" ”

Li Jin stood up when he heard the sound, bowed his waist and took two steps in front of the case, and said to Zhu Youxiao: "Your Majesty, the servants thought that in the past, the Liao people came to my Great Xia to fight the autumn wind, bypassing the important border towns and plundering the official warehouses of the nearby prefectures and counties with relatively weak troops. And this time, they actually directly attacked the border town, which shows that they came prepared, and the minions thought that it was not for His Majesty's personal expedition to lead the army from heaven to repel the invading enemy with the power of thunder. ”

Gao Youxiao smiled and said to Li Jin: "Li Jin, I am no longer young, I can't ride a horse anymore, and I can't pull a bow." ”

Li Jin replied: "Your Majesty, you only need to dispatch in the Chinese army and let your subordinate soldiers use their lives." The Liao people came from afar, they will not be able to last long, when the time comes, you Tianwei caused, repelled the Liao people, who dares to accuse you of the civil official imperial history of the Manchu Dynasty, Kyushu is not allowed to sing the praises of your Shenwu, the annals of the Great Xia Dynasty, you will be recorded to have created this generation of prosperous emperors. ”

His sycophant made Gao Youxiao a little fluttery. Li Jin has followed the emperor for many years, and knows that Gao Youxiao likes to talk about pomp and circumstance, and he wants to do great things to go down in history, and he has always wanted to reproduce the glory of the Great Xia Dynasty during the Gaozong period.

However, since the Chongzheng Dynasty, China has been in a period of relative peace, and Jiangnan, which suffered from rebellion and war soon after ascending the throne, has not fully recovered, and what the country needs most is to cultivate people's livelihood. Therefore, Gao Youxiao, who had not been confused, originally had no chance to reproduce the glory of Gaozong.

As long as he properly arranges for Gao Youxiao to happily win a big battle, then he will be satisfied and ready to spend his old age in peace, and he will inevitably hand over the government to himself. At that time, even if you want to be 9,000 years old, you may not have to.

"Good! Good! ”

Gao Youxiao stood up "ho~", as if a raging flame was burning in his already old heart, and the scene of all the people worshipping seemed to be right in front of him.

"Li Jin, you can draw up the purpose! I want to drive the expedition and sweep the northwest! ”

Li Jin hurriedly prostrate on the ground, kowtowed and said loudly: "The slave obeys the order, the emperor is mighty, long live long live!" ”

The Liu family on the side twisted the thin waist like a water snake, pressed his face tightly against Gao Youxiao's chest, and said in a bewitching voice: "Your Majesty, it's late at night, if you want to drive the expedition in person, why don't you come to the concubine's room and practice horsemanship first?" ”

Gao Youxiao put Liu's brute waist around with his left hand, and stroked the soft place in front of her with his right hand, which made Liu's delicate panting, and said to Liu's with a lewd smile: "Then tonight, I'll try your rouge horse first." ”