Yan Qingfang and Dugu Shuo touched the hazy sky and showed up Yingzhou City, all the way south to the direction of Pingzhou, along the way the Khitan eight gathered Jin Ge Iron Horse, the army was mighty, and the autumn wind swept down like falling leaves.

Dugu Shuo searched for the marks left by Pei and Xu along the road, but it was between several of them, and they didn't use the general mark of the Internal Security Division, Dugu Shuo secretly said in his heart, Pei and Xu were also smart. Besides, Pei Ce and Xu Gao took advantage of the chaos to get out of Yingzhou City, all the way straight to the camp of the army, and finally took a step slower, and when the two went to the army station to ask for a meeting, the soldiers guarding the camp told the two that the army had received an order from Cao Renshi to transfer troops, and asked Zong Huaichang to immediately lead the army to Yingzhou to join it, and merge one to go straight to the nest of the Khitan tribe.

After hearing this, the two showed their internal guard waist cards and told the truth about the affairs of Yingzhou, and the soldiers guarding the camp immediately sent a sentry to Huangzhang Valley in Xikip Mountain to find out the news.

But said that the Khitan cavalry acted decisively and quickly, seeing that Zong Huaichang's army immediately entered the Huangzhang Valley, the old plan was repeated, swarmed, and killed directly, Zong Huaichang felt that he was ambushed, and then the whole army fought back, but unfortunately the infantry was far from enough to stop the cavalry, the army was defeated, and some soldiers who escaped alive also fled to Danzhou in a hurry.

The spies came to report half a day, Zong Huaichang's army was annihilated, only a few defeated soldiers came out alive, and the camp guards had no choice but to pull out the camp and retreat to Danzhou, Pei and Xu turned their horses and went back to Yingzhou, and when they reached the halfway point, they saw smoke and dust in the distance, and the Khitan forward army came with a flag.

The two had no choice but to turn back the same way, leaving marks between them along the way.

It is said that Pei and Xu retreated to Danzhou with the army, and after two days, there was still no trace of Dugushuo. I was anxious for a while, but I didn't dare to look for it rashly, one Khitan army would soon besiege Danzhou, and the other would be a toss in case of missing each other, and it was a toss, and in the evening, the Khitan army had besieged it, and the two had to say goodbye to a group of soldiers and go to Pingzhou in the starry night.

Dugushuo secretly followed the marks left by Pei Xu and the others along the way, and went straight to Danzhou. During this period, Yan Qingfang was also extremely cautious, but he never saw the mark of the internal guard, so he was suspicious, and asked Dugu Shuo: "Shuo'er, it's really strange, why didn't you see Pei Xu and the others all the way?" When Dugu Shuo heard this, he was happy in his heart, but he also pretended to be puzzled, and said thoughtfully: "They had to get out of the army and report to the army with great difficulty, and they were eager to go along the way, I was afraid that it was a mistake, so they didn't leave a mark!" ”

Yan Qingfang asked again: "Maybe what you said is reasonable, and you should leave a mark after reporting the news in the army, so that you can have traces to follow, but there is none, it doesn't make sense to be reasonable!" ”

Dugu Shuo listened, glanced at Yan Qingfang carefully, slowly frowned, and said thoughtfully: "On that day, the Khitan army ambushed Zong Huaichang's army in Huangzhang Valley, and then waved his troops south, Pei Ce and they should have retreated to Danzhou with the soldiers who stayed in the camp, and they should have left marks along the way, maybe they were destroyed by the Khitan army!" ”

Yan Qingfang listened, looked at Dugu Shuo, turned the horse and left, and said as he walked: "Shuo'er, regardless of whether the two of them have left marks or not, the most important thing now is to rush back to the divine capital, meet Your Majesty, and report everything truthfully, so that the court can be prepared!" ”

Dugu Shuo said: "What the master said, is also what the disciple thinks, it is indeed a top priority, we must bypass Danzhou, go straight to Pingzhou, wait for the exchange of horses, and go all the way to Shendu!" Yan Qingfang listened, nodded in agreement, and said nothing at the moment, the two of them quickly whipped up and went straight to Pingzhou. When he arrived at the Pingzhou Post House, Dugu Shuo found the marks left by Pei Xu and the others, for fear that Yan Qingfang would be suspicious, so he didn't say anything, secretly erased the traces, and after eating and drinking, he changed horses, and secretly left a mark, and the two went straight to the direction of Youzhou.

There was nothing to say that day, and the two galloped all the way, until nightfall, and arrived at the Youzhou Post House.

Because of the previous robbery and killing, the two were worried all night, and they were afraid that those black-clothed killers would attack and disturb at night, but fortunately, the night was smooth and there was nothing to do at the moment, just waiting for dawn, after eating, they changed horses and ran all the way out of the border of Youzhou.

Dugu Shuo suddenly reined in the horse, turned the horse's head, and said to Yan Qingfang: "Master, the road ahead has passed the boundary of Youzhou, so it can be regarded as stable, and there are secret guards in the post houses along the way, and the road is smooth, and when you arrive in the divine capital, you can tell Your Majesty the affairs of Yingzhou!" Yan Qingfang listened, and it seemed that Dugu Shuo's words meant that she wanted her to go to Shendu alone, so she asked, "Why don't you go with your teacher?" ”

Dugu Shuo said: "Master Mingjian, although the matter of Yingzhou has been completed, but the life and death of Pei Xu and the others are unknown, and Li Zeng's body is still in the Youzhou Post House, no matter what, I can't leave them and go with you, when the master leaves first, I will turn around and find Pei Xu and the two, take the body of Li Zhangzhi, and hurry back!" Dugu Shuo said, took out the fold from his arms, handed it to Yan Qingfang, and said: "I wrote the fold last night about Yingzhou, and when the master reads it, if it is undoubtedly a holy drive!" Yan Qingfang took the fold and glanced at it, nodded slightly, and paused: "What Shuo'er said is also reasonable, this foreign matter, the internal guard has lost a hand, and the body of the deceased should be brought back to appease the family, Shuo'er thinks about it thoroughly, everything at the moment, can not be delayed, just do it according to your wishes, remember to be cautious at all times, and be careful in everything!" After that, the two of them couldn't help but sigh.

Don't say goodbye at the moment, Yan Qingfang urged the horse to go west, and Dugushuo dialed the horse to go east.

Dugushuo went straight to Youzhou, and along the mark, the three of them met at the moment.

Dugu Shuo said everything about meeting Yan Qingfang, and he didn't say anything about Liu Lingwei. Pei Xu and the two felt that what Dugu Shuo did was reasonable, it turned out that Pei Xu and the others also noticed that someone in the inner guard seemed to be involved in the Yingzhou rebellion, and they might have been stared at all the time in front of them, so they discarded the common mark of the internal guard, and instead used the mark between several of them.

In the middle of the night, the three of them changed into night clothes, went out of the inn at the same time, took off the luan bell, and ran in three directions, running straight for forty or fifty miles before hiding and hiding, waiting to get rid of the track.

At dawn, the three of them disguised themselves and converged outside Pingzhou City.

Dugu Shuo took the lead and said: "I went out of the inn last night, and there were really two men in black who chased all the way, but fortunately we got rid of it at dawn, it seems that we were indeed followed, and we should have been targeted as early as when we came out of Youzhou that day!" ”

Pei Ce said: "No one has followed the two of us, it should be that we are in a hurry and scattered, they did not expect this, due to the lack of manpower for a while!" ”

Xu Gao said: "Brother Pei is reasonable! Dugushuo listened, thoughtfully, and nodded in agreement.

Pei Ce said again: "Brother Dugu may deduce who they are? Why do you want to follow us secretly! ”

Asked by Pei Ce, Dugu Shuo's mind suddenly flashed through what Liu Lingwei and the others said that night, and at the moment he speculated that the person who was following was likely to be a person from the Spring and Autumn Dao, and should have been instructed by Liu Lingwei and others, which made him relax a little in his heart, but he also pretended not to know and shook his head.

The three of them turned their horses and went to Pingzhou City, and as they walked, Dugu Shuo suddenly said: "The two brothers entered the internal guard before me, have you ever heard of the Spring and Autumn Dao?" Pei Xu and the others were stunned by Dugu Shuo's question, and the two of them were only surprised and said in unison: "How does Brother Dugu know about the Spring and Autumn Dao?" ”

Dugu Shuo thought about it, but he didn't answer, and asked again: "Is it because Your Majesty set up the Divine Capital Guard because of the Spring and Autumn Dao?" Or is the establishment of the internal guard to destroy the Spring and Autumn Dao? It was this question, Pei Xu and the others suddenly turned their horses in front of Dugu Shuo, and stared straight around a few times.

"I have only heard about these important things in the imperial court, most of the people in the court who know about this matter are either dead or disabled, and those who know that this matter is still alive are also secretive and secretive, why did you suddenly mention this, is it not Yingzhou who is implicated but the people of the Spring and Autumn Dao?" Xu Gao stared at Dugu Shuo and asked in more and more surprise.

"Impossible, the Spring and Autumn Dao was destroyed fifteen years ago, at that time Your Majesty was still the queen, the Guan Longshi clan of the eldest grandson controlled the government, secretly cultivated the Spring and Autumn Dao forces, vainly tried to oppose the Empress Wu's interference in politics, and wantonly slaughtered the supporters and supporters of the Empress Wu, in order to clear all obstacles, the Empress Wu secretly ordered Shangguan Wan'er to establish a secret guard, that is, the predecessor of the Shendu Internal Guard, in order to fight against the Spring and Autumn Dao, by the time the Emperor Wu ascended the throne, the Spring and Autumn Dao had long ceased to exist, how could it still be involved in the rebellion in Yingzhou, it was impossible!" Pei Ce said categorically.

"In case it's true!" Dugu Shuo looked at the two and said, the two only looked at each other, so shocked that they couldn't speak.

Dugu Shuo said: "What else is impossible to happen in the whole world, the struggle between father and son, brother cannibalism, and son usurpation are all witnessed by history, why is it not easy for a small Spring and Autumn Dao to survive?" The two of them listened to what Dugu Shuo said, and their hearts became flustered. Pei Ce said first. "Brother Dugu must not be trustworthy, Your Majesty is thoughtful, and the past must not be mentioned again!"

Dugu Shuo looked at the two of them and said with a smile: "That's it, don't mention the past, the two brothers just think I'm talking nonsense!" Pei Xu listened, looked at each other, and was silent for a while, thinking that Dugu Shuo had heard this section from somewhere, just talking nonsense.

Dugu Shuo no matter how the two of them behaved, they straightened their horses forward, and the two hurriedly followed, and they had to interrogate, Dugu Shuo deliberately sold a pass and did not speak.

"It stands to reason that the secret guard of Yingzhou was killed, the secret guard and pigeon house of Pingzhou and Danzhou should still be there, we want to find out who is involved in the rebellion among the internal guards, we must start from the secret guard of Yingzhou, and now we must find the two secret guards of Pingtan!" Dugu Shuo said, Pei Xu and the others heard that it was reasonable, and the three of them went to Pingzhou City to find it.

The place where the internal guard was set up was to supervise the hundred officials, supervise the people, and collect the voices of the people, so the secret guards were also set up in various provinces and states, and the secret guards were not subject to the jurisdiction of the provinces, and were directly ordered by the internal security department of the left division of the outer guard division, and the left division led Wu Gengji was in full charge, and the imperial front and the general commander Yan Qingfang were directly ordered.

The secret guard is often covered by business, set up in the lively market of Daozhou, with a dark room, a secret passage and a pigeon house, which is used to store and transmit news, and there are flags with special textures outside.

The three of them groped around the city for several days, but unexpectedly found a similar flag across the street of the Yamen of the Assassin History, which was a porcelain shop.

"We all know that the secret guard directly obeys Wu Gengji's orders, of course the secret guard also knows, if we rush in, even if we reveal our identity, we have no way to ask the east and west, if the secret guard here is also linked to the affairs of Yingzhou, wouldn't we be in the mouth of a tiger!" When Xu Gao said this, the three of them stopped and turned back.

The three of them deliberated and decided to sneak in the night.

The three of them returned to the inn and ate for a while, until midnight, when they were disguised, they sneaked in from the porcelain shop by the night, searched around, found nothing, and were about to leave, but saw that the lights suddenly turned on in the house, and a burly figure gradually appeared. Then a majestic voice said: "Friends from all walks of life, since you come, you don't say hello and leave, it's too unkind!" The three of them were startled and hurriedly put their hands on the hilt of their swords, and the man walked in slowly, and sat down in his chair, the light of the oil lamp slowly expanding to enclose them.

The man then said: "It's just a porcelain shop, it's not worth a few silver dollars, the three of them are really heroes, you can go to the Assassin Shi Yamen on the opposite side, my small family is not worth being a pastime for the three!" After speaking, he waved his hand left and right, and five or six men with long knives came out of all directions, surrounding the three of them.

Dugu Shuo sneered and said: "The flag outside the store is so annoying, I'll wait to find a friend!" As soon as the man heard Dugu Shuo say the word flag, he stood up from his chair, squinted and asked, "Who are the three?" How do I know to ask for a flag outside the store? Dugu Shuo listened, and he was already seven or eight points sure in his heart, so he smiled, took a step forward, pulled off the scarf, held the waist card in his hand, and wanted to show that he would come out, but the man saw Dugu Shuo take off the scarf, but he hurriedly waved his hand and said: "Humble Chen Wuji, I have seen Dugu Commander!" This move made the three of them a little puzzled, and after listening to the words of the big man, the group put down their long knives and retreated.

Dugu Shuo tried his best to stabilize himself, and said with a slightly surprised smile: "Lord Chen knows me?" Dugu Shuo said, Pei Xu and the two of them pulled off their scarves together and stood behind them.

Chen Wuji said: "I have had a relationship with adults! Chen Wuji said, rolled up the books and paper lamps on the table, and sent them to the back room, Dugu Shuo glanced at them, and there seemed to be several portraits of human faces. Chen Wuji continued: "A few years ago, I saw it in the mansion of the Martial Lord, and at that time, the housekeeper of the Mansion, the Martial Lord, pointed you out to me from afar. Dugu Shuo listened, smiled, pointed to Pei and Xu behind him and said, "This is Pei Ce, the deputy commander of the right division, and this is Xu Stomach, the left division!" When Chen Wuji saw it, he hurriedly waved his hands and said: "I have heard of Lord Pei's prestige, and I can see it today, it is really worthy of the name!" Pei Ce said: "Lord Chen is too famous! ”

Chen Wuji hurriedly packed up the table and invited everyone to sit down, Dugu Shuo looked at the enthusiastic Chen Wuji, and said a few words of greeting before getting to the point: "It is not easy for Lord Chen to lead the secret guards to guard in the bitter cold land, recently His Majesty has always thought of the secret guards in Danzhou and Pingzhou, and asked us to come here with the commander of Yan Qingfang to see, we were delayed by the matter of coming to Junchen, Yan Tong took me one step ahead of me to Yingzhou, and now the Khitan rebellion, we have cut off the news for a while, thinking about finding the secret guards here, and asking for some news!" ”

Chen Wuji listened, paused slightly, and stammered slightly: "You should be clear about the rules and regulations of the Secret Guards in the Internal Guard Division, although our Secret Guards are of low rank, they are facing the Commander of the Martial Arts and the Commander of Yan, and I really can't talk to you, so please forgive me!" As he spoke, he took two steps back and bowed for a long time.

"Lord Chen misunderstood, what Shicai said is not to ask Lord Chen to give us anything back, we have broken off the message with Commander Yan, and I want to ask if Commander Yan has been here? Where will she stay? Dugu Shuo asked as he stared at Chen Wuji with straight eyes. Chen Wuji unconsciously dodged his eyes, hurriedly put on a smiling face, and waved his hands and said: "Commander Yan has never been here, I knew that her old man came to Pingzhou, and the lowly position should have been greeted at the city gate early, but the lowly rank is low......"

Pei Ce listened to Chen Wuji's words, smiled frankly, and said: "Lord Chen's loyalty to the internal guard, to His Majesty's loyalty, Your Majesty naturally knows, Commander Yan also has an account in his heart, now His Majesty is worried about Yingzhou, Commander Yan arrived in Yingzhou a few days ago, I and a few other people have been to Yingzhou, there is no news from Commander Yan, we have gone all the way, only found the secret guard of Pingzhou, we suspect that Commander Yan may have encountered an accident, I want to ask Lord Chen to guide me and wait, it is best to go directly to the secret guard pigeon house in Yingzhou to see!" ”

Chen Wuji listened, and said with a long sigh of relief: "What Master Pei said is reasonable, even if Commander Yan loses the news, he should do his best and do his best, the three adults will rest here tonight, and I will lead the three adults to Yingzhou early in the morning!" ”

Dugu Shuo listened to the deep meaning between Pei Ce's words, and knew that Chen Wuji had fallen into the trap, and secretly rejoiced that Chen Wuji was a simple-minded rough man, so he pretended to be worried and said: "I can't hide it, the three of us came here in the starry night, because I was worried about the safety of Commander Yan, and I was afraid that it would be more dangerous a moment later. When Chen Wuji heard this, he thought that he could be greedy for more credit, and he thought that he would see Yan Qingfang early.

At that moment, the four of them picked up and stopped, prepared a pair of items, went out of Pingzhou, passed through Danzhou, and went all the way to Yingzhou.