Northwest, Taozhou.

The Tao River flows down from the southern plateau to Lanzhou in the north, where it joins the long stream of the Yellow River.

In the dark chamber, the candlelight on the east side lit up, and a black figure appeared behind the curtain.

Immediately, a hoarse voice sounded: "Accurate news, the King of Nanchang and His Royal Highness the King of England will arrive in Lintao in four days." ”

"Why is it so fast, it should take at least twenty days for a normal march." The candlelight on the west side lit up, and the dark shadows behind were visibly panicked.

The candlelight in the north followed suit, but the figure behind was obviously very calm: "The cavalry left behind the infantry, and the food was all along the way, and it was difficult to think about it quickly, Your Majesty is going to take everyone by surprise." ”

"Then what should I do, I haven't cleaned up yet, the original twenty days are left, there are only four days left, where can I get so much food." The figure in the west couldn't help but shudder.

"It's not four days, it's three days." The figure in the east spoke again: "The Yan Kingdom Guild led the army to Taozhou one day in advance, but only stopped in Taozhou for a while, and then led the troops to reach Hezhou, and then went west to the plateau along the Yellow River from Hezhou. ”

"Three days?" The figure in the west instantly even spoke sharply.

"Don't scare him." The figure in the north spoke again, and glanced at the east as if he was not angry, and then said calmly: "The food we have raised now is enough to cope with a period of time, and the rest can be taken slowly." ”

"It's okay, it's okay." Xi's voice obviously listened to the north's words, and his mood instantly calmed down a lot, and then he looked to the south: "How is the situation of the Zhang family?" ”

The candlelight in the south was lit, and a calm voice sounded: "The Zhang family does not participate much, and the seven-seven-eighty-eight that has been raised can be put on the top for a while." ”

"That's good." The figure from the north breathed a sigh of relief, then looked at the three of them and said: "In this war, although we did not have the opportunity to go to the battlefield, His Majesty sent His Royal Highness the King of England and the King of Nanchang to Taozhou, which shows the importance attached to this battle, and also shows the importance attached to us. ”

"When it is." The figure from the east clapped his hands and shouted, the figure from the south nodded slightly, and only the figure from the west smiled reluctantly.

"Okay, this is the end of tonight, I will check and fill in the gaps according to the previous deployment, if there is a problem with anyone's family in the future, then when the time comes, don't blame the others for being ruthless, and you will be wiped out alone." The figure in the north let down the last harsh words, and the candlelight behind the curtains on the east and south sides was extinguished.

There was a slight sound of footsteps, and the figure behind the curtain had vanished.

At this time, the figure in the west couldn't help but complain and said: "Brother Chen, you know, the Zhang family and the Li family have always worn a pair of pants, and the two families have been married to each other for I don't know how many years...... The Yang family is difficult! ”

"Of course, the Li family will not allow anything to happen to Xizheng, after all, the entire Lintao is the most knighted by his Li family; Not to mention, this world belongs to his Li family, and it's okay to do something secretly in private, if it really touches on a big matter, the Li family's family punishment is not a joke. The face of "Brother Chen" in the north turned cold for a while.

When nothing happens, everyone is naturally good friends, but once something happens, one race sells faster.

The figure surnamed Yang in the south didn't know what to say for a while, and his face was very ugly.

The Li family is now a clan, although Zongzheng Siqing fell into the hands of outsiders, but in Taozhou, there is still an elite army of 500 people, which is specially allowed by the emperor, and can even be pulled to the battlefield at critical moments.

On weekdays, punishing clansmen who violate clan rules is also a powerful deterrent.

It is precisely because of the presence of this clan that although the Di Dao Li family is a royal family, they are not messing around in the local area.

Only three or two people are unscrupulous, and they are pulled into a small group and do all kinds of unseemly things.

The "Brother Chen" in the north smiled lightly, and then continued: "You don't have to worry, your family's shortfall, my Chen family will help you make up for half of it, and take your time with the rest, although the King of England stays in Taozhou, but the King of Nanchang, he always has to go to Hezhou." ”

Taozhou and Hezhou are important grain and grass transshipment places for the army.

But Li Jinxing, the Duke of Yanguo, led the army westward, so the land of Hezhou must be watched by the king of Nanchang, and when the time comes, Taozhou will be much better.

The figure surnamed Yang in the west was completely relieved, and said to Brother Chen: "Thank you Brother Chen, let's have two more drinks when we take the time." ”

"Good!"

……

Seeing the figure surnamed Yang leave, "Brother Chen" turned sideways to look at the shadow to the west: "You heard what you said just now, what do you say?" ”

"The cavalry of the Tubo people has set off, and when the king of Nanchang and the king of Ying arrive in Taozhou, they will appear in the deep mountains and dense forests of Lintan, and after that, they will choose the opportunity to attack Taozhou City, and then, your opportunity will come." A slender figure stepped out of the dark shadows, this man was quite tall, but thin.

"What about coming, although Lintan belongs to Taozhou, but on the high mountain, there is a way that it is easy to go down the mountain and difficult, the Tubo people come more, they can't come down the mountain, they come less, they can't even come to the state city, Brother Ma, don't forget, at the foot of the mountain, there is also a team of 300 soldiers, and the 1,600 cavalry of the king of Nanchang arrived, and these soldiers converged, and the Tubo people ...... I'm afraid it can only be used for meritorious service. The corners of "Brother Chen's" mouth couldn't help but show a trace of disdain.

"Brother Ma" said softly: "Brother Chen, anyway, what you and I want is just a rise in the price of food in Lintao, and make up for the loss of this incident, it has little to do with you and me whether the Tubo people come or not." ”

"Brother Chen" narrowed his eyes slightly, and said softly: "Ma Zhi, your Ma family has always been in the horse business between the Tang Dynasty and Tubo, but it is best not to get too close to Tubo, although we have our plans, but we definitely don't want the Tubo people to really break through Taozhou and take the British king away, otherwise, even if I don't wait for you to speak, Your Majesty will take us to kill in Taozhou." ”

The corners of Ma Zhi's mouth smiled a little stiffly, and then he hurriedly waved his hand and said: "Brother Chen said where did he go, this kind of thing, Ma naturally knows it, if Longxi really becomes a scorched wasteland, my Ma family is afraid that I won't be able to escape." ”

"Brother Chen" nodded, and then said: "I don't care about the affairs of Tubo, and the king of Nanchang is not easy to mess with......

"But he is young after all, even if Huo Qu is reborn from illness, I am afraid that he will inevitably die." Ma Zhi's words were full of contempt, and finally he even said disdainfully: "As for those things he did in Wuzhou, who knows, who helped him do it." ”

"Brother Chen" waved his hand and said: "You and I don't know about Wuzhou, but it is a fact that the Chang'an Demon Gate has been damaged several times under the hands of the King of Nanchang, which shows his difficulty. ”

"Then use the means well." Ma Zhi bowed slightly, then took a step back, and directly exited the secret room.

"Brother Chen" stayed alone in the secret room, and only after half an hour did he slowly stand up and said softly: "If the king of Nanchang is Huo Quai, this time I am afraid that he will not be able to kill Luo and directly destroy the country." ”

……

Under the bright moonlight, the earth was illuminated.

Behind a restaurant in the southeast of Taozhou City, after Ma Zhi left for half an hour, "Brother Chen" finally appeared, and the last carriage came, carrying Brother Chen and heading north.

After another half an hour, no one in the restaurant appeared.

In the shadows of the street corner, a figure walked out and laughed softly: "It's rare, I caught a big fish, five people!" ”

As the words fell, the figure retreated into the dark shadows again.

……

On March 23, at the east gate of Taozhou Prefecture, only sixty years old, with white temples and a burly figure of Taozhou Thorn History, Zhang Yungong, the public of Anlu County, took a group of officials from the state government, the officials and the arresters, as well as the county orders and subordinate officials of the two counties of Lintao and Lintan around him waited respectfully.

It's just that the waiting time is a little longer, so they can't help but be impetuous, and look to the east from time to time.

They have been at the city gate since noon, and now it is getting dark, but the king of England and the king of Nanchang still have no trace.

Shi Qinian, the governor of Tao, couldn't help but step forward and said in a low voice: "Envoy, His Royal Highness the King and the King of Nanchang will not miss the hour." ”

"No, it won't." Zhang Yungong shook his head slightly, and said: "The military orders of the Ministry of War are very strict, requiring His Royal Highness the King of England and the King of Nanchang to arrive in Taozhou today, and it is even said that they arrived in Taozhou yesterday...... Maybe it's because I'm tired from being in a hurry for days, so I slow down,...... The official document of the Ministry of War only said that it was today, but it did not say when it was, even if it was ......"

At that moment, a rapid sound of horses' hooves came from the north.

Subsequently, a Taozhou soldier Captain Cao arrived quickly with three or five horsemen, came to Zhang Yungong, and turned over and dismounted like lightning.

The lieutenant said in a hurried tone: "Back to the envoy, the king of Nanchang sent a message: His Royal Highness the King of England has been ordered to go to Huaili to worship and sweep the ancestral tomb, and Qianniu Wei Qiulang will lead 1,400 cavalry to arrive in the state city in half an hour, and please settle the envoy." ”

"Oh, it turned out that I went to Huaili." Zhang Yungong suddenly came over.

Lintao Huaili is the origin of the Li family in Longxi, and the family has thousands of children scattered throughout Taozhou.

In the Huaili cemetery, there is the tomb of Li Wei, the king of Wuzhao, the Taizu of the Tang Dynasty.

After the king of Nanchang and the king of Ying came to Taozhou, they went to worship their ancestors first, and there was no problem at all.

After all, the surname Li is a clan, and family affairs are state affairs, not to mention, there is also the emperor's holy decree, I can't say it, this is still a sacrifice for the emperor.

"Okay, everyone, you have all heard it, it is ready to be arranged, and the army is about to arrive." Zhang Yungong's expression became solemn, and he was just about to continue to say something, when he suddenly paused slightly and asked, "You just said that it was General Qiu Lang of Qianniu Wei, not General Qiu Zhonglang?" ”

Captain Bing Cao immediately bowed his hand and said: "Hui Yu envoy, not General Qiu Zhonglang, it is said to be the nephew of Qiu Shenxuan, the general of Jinwu Wei Zhonglang, and now Qiu Zhenmu, the general of Qianniu Weilang." ”

"That's the same." Zhang Yungong took a breath lightly, and said with a solemn face: "Tianshui Qiu Clan, their people are also here, this one has just gone down, and that one has come up again, and the family inheritance is orderly...... Okay, make good arrangements, and the official will entertain this Qiu Lang general in a while,"

"Obey!" Many officials present gave up their hands at the same time, but there were also a few people whose faces changed slightly, Tianshui Qiu Clan, it's not easy to mess with!

(End of chapter)