Lahu took a few people and led Qining and others out of the mountain. Before leaving, Qining asked the Damiao King to arrange for someone to send the bodies of the two dead guards to the Governor's Mansion. The two guards died in Xichuan. Qining naturally wanted to send their bodies back to their hometown for a proper burial.
The injuries suffered by Qi Feng and the other two guards were not life-threatening, but one of them had an injury on his leg and could not ride a horse. Qining asked Lahu to find a carriage in Cangxi and asked the guards to take the carriage to Chengdu.
Cangxi Miao Village is quite far away from Chengdu. The road to Shu is difficult and it takes three or four days for the carriage to travel. Qi Ning naturally will not waste time on the road and arranges for another guard to accompany him to take care of him. Feng rode back to Chengdu first.
Xiang Baiying fell into the hands of Ksitigarbha, and Qining naturally hoped to rescue him from Ksitigarbha's hands as soon as possible, but Ksitigarbha was really cunning. So far, Qining was not sure who Ksitigarbha was, regardless of where he was hiding. That's even more of a mystery.
However, Qi Ning also knew that Ksitigarbha's plan at Riyue Peak failed, but he also ensured that Ksitigarbha would not attack Xiang Baiying. Xiang Baiying had Xiang Baiying in his hands, so naturally he had other value, and Xiang Baiying's The value is nothing but in the beggar gang.
The failure of Riyue Peak made Ksitigarbha's efforts on the Miao family's 72nd hole go to waste. With the great witch and the Miao king sitting in charge, the possibility of Ksitigarbha's attempt to provoke the Miao family's 72nd hole is extremely slim, so Qi Ning concluded Ksitigarbha will most likely target the Beggar Gang next time. He does not have to go out of his way to find Ksitigarbha. He knows that as long as he keeps an eye on the Beggar Gang, Ksitigarbha's traces will be revealed sooner or later.
It's just that after the incident in Xiangyang Gulongzhong, the Beggar Clan is also wary of foreign enemies who intend to seize the power of the Beggar Clan. Moreover, the Beggar Clan is divided into north and south, and has twenty-eight rudders in all directions. To be fair, its cohesion is definitely not there. The seventy-two holes in the family are so strong. Even if Ksitigarbha carries Xiang Baiying and wants all the 28th branch of the Beggar Clan to obey his orders, it will be extremely difficult, not to mention that he is currently the acting leader of the Beggar Clan. If the Beggar Clan really wants to make some big move, someone will definitely report it secretly. When the time comes, they will have no choice but to use the troops to cover up the situation.
But the imperial court's grand plan cannot be delayed.
When the Chu army went north, its goal was not directly at Luoyang, but it adopted a slow and cautious strategy towards the Northern Han Dynasty.
Before Jin Daohou Tantaihuang passed away, he had already informed the young emperor of the current situation. Although the Northern Han Dynasty was in civil strife, the Chu State was not in its heyday, and the young emperor got rid of Ma Lan, the Zhenguo Company. , although it did not bring much turmoil to the Chu State, it is undeniable that it weakened the power of the Chu State to a certain extent. Under this situation, it was too difficult for the Chu State to swallow up the Northern Han Dynasty. , so Tantaihuang’s final plan was to gradually weaken the strength of the Han State. He was not eager to swallow up the Han State, but first took advantage of the civil strife in the north to devour the surrounding territories and capture the Eastern Qi and even the northwest. In terms of geography, The army formed a siege on Han Dynasty.
If this military strategy is successfully implemented, even if the Han State cannot be swallowed this time, the advantage over the Han State has been formed. From then on, the stalemate between the north and the south will quickly change, and the Chu State will have military power over the Han State. absolute initiative.
Qi Ning estimated that the Chu army should have begun to move north. As long as Chu sent troops, Beitang Feng stationed at Tongguan would rush towards Luoyang impatiently. In this way, the emptiness in the northwest would be a great opportunity for him to make a quick sneak attack. Such an opportunity is fleeting, and there must be no delay. Uncovering Ksitigarbha is important, but capturing the northwest and seizing Xianyang is even more related to Chu's national policy.
The horse galloped along the way, and they arrived in Chengdu in just two days. After entering the city, Qining went straight to the Governor's Mansion. Wei Shutong hurriedly came to see him. After seeing the ceremony, Wei Shutong said: "Yao Siyuan sent someone to send an urgent report. Jue I have caught several murderers and handed them over to Heiyan Cave for punishment. This is really satisfying. Your Majesty's action is extraordinary."
Qi Ning said: "We only caught a few gangsters, the real murderer has not yet been caught."
"Oh?" Wei Shutong frowned and said, "Sir, what should we do next? Have we found out who the real culprit is behind the scenes?"
Qi Ning said: "We still don't know for sure who the real culprit is behind this. We just know that this person calls himself Ksitigarbha and has been plotting in Xichuan for many years and has always wanted to rebel."
Wei Shutong said with shame: "This is a dereliction of duty on the part of the official. This person has been planning in Xichuan for many years. The official... The official has never even heard of this person's name." Another cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
Qi Ning smiled and said: "Master Wei, you don't have to blame yourself too much. In fact, this group of people behaves very low-key, and it was only recently that the leaks became apparent. Master Wei didn't know about it before, and it's not surprising."
"Thank you for your understanding, Sir." Wei Shutong said: "I will immediately ask people to inquire about the news about Ksitigarbha. Once...!" Before he could finish speaking, Qining had already raised his hand and said: "Master Wei, I know the details of Ksitigarbha. I have almost figured out where they are hiding, and I have also confirmed that the power of this group is not weak. As far as I know, thousands of people have been gathered...!"
Wei Shutong was shocked: "Thousands of people?" He thought that there were thousands of people on the ground in Xichuan ready to gather to rebel, but he didn't know anything about it. If someone participated in this, it would really be enough for him to eat a pot. of.
"Master Wei, no one in the court knows about this matter yet." Qi Ning seemed to see through Wei Shutong's worries: "So you don't have to worry about someone using this matter to impeach you, but if this matter cannot be resolved as soon as possible, , it will be a big trouble after all.”
Wei Shutong immediately said: "Whatever your lord wants to do, just ask."
"If we quickly wipe out this group of bandits before the court knows about it, Master Wei will not be guilty of negligence, but will actually be responsible for suppressing the bandits." Qi Ning said with a smile: "This is for Master Wei's meritorious service. We must not miss this opportunity.”
"Yes, yes, yes!" Wei Shutong said repeatedly, suddenly thinking of something, he hurriedly said: "Sir, I received an urgent report last night. The Qinhuai Army officially launched the Northern Expedition a few days ago. General Yue Huanshan led the Qinhuai Army. Ye Qiang crossed the Huai River, it is not clear what the current situation of the battle is, but there should be military reports coming soon."
Wei Shutong is a frontier official. Although the progress of the empire's war will not be announced to the world, these frontier officials will be informed.
Qi Ning's expression calmed down, thinking that Chu State had been planning for a long time, and finally showed his sword.
He knew that once the war started, there would be no turning back. Yue Huanshan's army was heading north. In order to take advantage of the situation, the Eastern Qi people would definitely send troops to launch an offensive against the Han State. The Eastern Qi people would never have imagined that the Chu State's ultimate goal would be Dong Qi.
Of course, Yue Huanshan will try his best to penetrate into the hinterland of the Han Kingdom. Only in this way can the Eastern Qi people stay away from the mainland and enter the territory of the Han Kingdom. If the two countries' coalition forces win, then whoever captures the land will naturally return it. Who owns it? The people in Dong Qi are small and dense. The biggest purpose of sending troops this time is to try their best to devour more Han land, so there will not be too many troops retained in the country.
Qi Ning believed that the Donghai Navy had probably secretly set out to advance to the north, and would then join forces with Chu's extraordinary troops to launch a simultaneous land and sea offensive against Dong Qi.
Once Dong Qi entered Han territory, it would be extremely difficult to withdraw from Dong Qi.
Qi Ning knew that since Yue Huanshan had launched an offensive, various plans must have been carefully arranged. He was in Xichuan, so he did not have to worry about the war in the east.
Now that the Chu army is out, Beitang Huan will definitely send troops from Tongguan after getting the news, so he must also seize the time.
Qi Ning claimed to know the location of Ksitigarbha's lair, and even falsely claimed that thousands of rebels were preparing to rebel. He was just gathering troops in this name. He knew that a surprise attack on Xianyang was a dangerous move, and the fewer people who knew about it, the better, even if it was Wei Shutong, the governor of Xichuan, did not want him to know about this military plan prematurely.
In fact, Qining is somewhat grateful to Ksitigarbha now.
Ksitigarbha made a lot of noise in Xichuan with his continuous attacks, and he took advantage of this opportunity to gather his troops. They only thought they were going to deal with Ksitigarbha's gang of rebels, so naturally they couldn't see through Qining's true purpose.
"I hope God will bless the great Chu, and our army will be invincible." Qin Ning sighed: "If we can conquer the Northern Han Dynasty and unify the world, the people will no longer suffer from the disasters of successive years of war."
Wei Shutong said: "What your lordship said is absolutely true. I am also raising food and grass in Xichuan and doing my best to supply the soldiers at the front."
"Master Wei, now that our army has sent troops, there can be no unrest here in Xichuan." Qi Ning said sternly: "That group of rebels, you and I must cooperate sincerely and eradicate them as soon as possible, so as not to cause trouble for me because of them Da Chu’s Northern Expedition brought trouble.”
Wei Shutong also said solemnly: "What your lordship said is true, but... there are thousands of rebels in this group, and the troops that I can mobilize are only 2,000 elite soldiers under the direct command of the governor's office. A mere 2,000 people. If I don’t have an advantage, I’m afraid…!”
Qi Ning took out a piece of paper from his arms and handed it to Wei Shutong. Wei Shutong took it respectfully, opened it carefully, glanced at it, and said in surprise: "Sir, is this... the Holy Emperor's special order?"
"Exactly." Qi Ning took back the special order and said sternly: "Your Majesty knew that Xichuan must not be in chaos when my army went on the Northern Expedition, so he sent me to take charge of Xichuan and cooperate with Mr. Wei to stabilize the situation in Xichuan. If there are special circumstances, With this decree, we can mobilize all the soldiers and horses in Xichuan. Mr. Wei, this is stamped with a jade seal and was given by the Holy One himself, so you shouldn’t have any doubts, right?"
"Your Majesty's words are serious." Wei Shutong said with a smile: "I am worried that once I have to mobilize troops, I will have to send someone to report to the court. When the Ministry of War sends someone to verify, it will take a lot of time to go back and forth. Now I I have this special edict, which is the best. With this special edict, I can immediately mobilize the elite soldiers and generals of Xichuan to catch all the rebels." With a look of awe on his face, he said: " Your Majesty really thinks highly of Sir Alex!"
Qi Ning knew what Wei Shutong meant.
This special edict was of no small importance. It gave Qi Ning the right to mobilize troops and horses in Xichuan. Now that Da Chu is marching to the north, the court's attention is naturally focused on the north. If Qining has other intentions and has military power, once he is in Xichuan Having any unreasonable ideas would undoubtedly be a disaster for the court. Therefore, in Wei Shutong's eyes, Longtai was able to grant such a special order to Qining, which of course meant that he had no doubts and trust in Qining.