Xuanyuan Po naturally did not doubt what Qi Ning said. Although he was extremely sad about Ximen Wuhen's death, he quickly thought in his heart that once Ximen Wuhen left, the Shenhou Mansion would be leaderless, and various factions in the world would probably be in turmoil because of this* *.
Now that the Chu army is marching north to attack the Han, the court's attention is all in the north, and it is difficult to take into account the forces of the rivers and lakes. The duty of the Shenhou Mansion is to keep an eye on the various factions in the rivers and lakes for the court. If at this time, due to the movements of the rivers and lakes factions* *The Shenhou Mansion must be blamed for the turmoil in the imperial court.
He knew very well that for many years, various factions in the world had been very respectful to the Shenhou Mansion, simply because of the existence of Ximen Wuhen.
Once the news of Ximen Wuhen's death spreads, it will easily cause trouble. He pondered for a moment and finally asked: "My lord, the Shenhou has passed away. How many people know about this?"
"The Lord Shen passed away on the Snow Mountain. I carried his body down the mountain and handed it over to Hongmendao." Qining said: "Hongmendao returned to Beijing with the body of the Lord Shen. He would definitely keep it a secret, but... at that time, every day Someone saw it in the temple, I’m afraid they will spread the word privately.”
"Fifth Junior Brother?" Xuanyuan Po was startled: "Fifth Junior Brother also went to the Snow Mountain?"
Qi Ning nodded slightly and said solemnly: "The Zhuri Temple was burned down by the leader, and the Zhuri Dharma King was also killed by the Black Lotus leader."
Xuanyuan Po lost his voice and said: "Dharma King Zhuri is dead?" He was greatly surprised.
Qi Ning said: "I am alive thanks to the leader. When Dharma King Zhuri killed Shenhou and wanted to attack me, it was fortunate that the leader appeared and I escaped from death."
"So that's it." Xuanyuan Po thought thoughtfully: "The Ancient Elephant Kingdom rarely communicates with our great Chu, and there is no news between them. Even if they know that the Shenhou has passed away, the news will not spread to the Central Plains quickly. And even if When the news comes, the martial arts community in the Central Plains may not really believe the news about those lamas. As long as the court conceals the news of the death of the Lord Shen, and the various factions in the world have no conclusive evidence, they cannot be sure that the Lord Shen is gone." He thought for a moment, Then he continued: "The top priority is that the Shenhou Mansion must prepare a good response. This matter cannot be kept hidden forever. If the Jianghu forces really know about the death of the Shenhou, the Shenhou Mansion must have a complete response method."
Qi Ning said: "That's exactly what it should be."
"My lord, it seems that I have to rush back to the capital as soon as possible." Xuanyuan Po said seriously.
Qi Ning said: "I have been away from the northwest for several months, and I don't know what the situation is now. I'll arrive in Chengdu first and ask Wei Shutong about the situation. We will split into two groups at that time. You should rush as soon as possible. Returning to the capital, I want to return to the northwest." After thinking for a moment, he said: "Yin Wuji and Anao are leaving, but Gang Leader Xiang needs careful diagnosis and treatment, so if it is convenient for you, secretly take Uncle Xiang back to the capital, and I will write a letter , just take the letter and Uncle Xiang and hand them over to my house when you arrive in the capital."
Xuanyuan Po said: "I must obey the Duke's instructions." He then asked: "My Lord, what about Miss Xiaodie...?"
"Xiaodie is willing to follow me to the northwest, then come with me." Qining said, "With me, nothing will happen."
Xuanyuan Po nodded, thinking about Ximen Wuhen's passing, and felt sad again, but he could not express his emotions and anger. Although he was sad in his heart, he did not show it too much in front of others.
Anao finally left with Yin Wuji that night. Xuanyuan Po paid a lot of money to hire a coachman in the town. Anao accompanied Yin Wuji and left in the car. Qining knew that if they said goodbye this time, they would not know when they would see each other again in the future. , I can only let the two of them go find themselves if they arrive in the capital.
After bidding farewell to Yin Wuji and Anao, Qi Ning and others did not delay and took advantage of the train to go to Chengdu overnight.
Along the way, Xuanyuan Po and Qi Ning took turns driving, driving day and night. In less than three days, they arrived at Chengdu Fucheng. Before entering the city, Xiang Baiying told Xiang Baiying not to take him to the government palace.
Qining knew that Xiang Baiying, who was walking around the world, actually didn't have much favorable impressions of the government. It was natural not to interact with the government. Therefore, after entering the city, he did not go directly to the governor's mansion, but first found an inn and made arrangements. After Xiang Baiying and Xiaodie, he and Xuanyuan Po went to the Governor's Mansion.
He was already very familiar with the Governor's Mansion. When Wei Shutong learned of Qi Ning's arrival, he hurried out to greet him. He was quite surprised to see Qi Ning and Xuanyuan Po together. He led the two of them into the hall, and then he felt relieved and said: "God May the Duke of Guo be safe and sound, this is really great." He took out a secret letter from his sleeve and whispered: "The Duke of Guo has been missing for a long time, and the Emperor sent a secret order a month ago to order his subordinates to station troops. Accumulate food in Hanzhong, and if there are changes in the northwest, we will respond at any time." After presenting the secret letter, Qi Ning took it and glanced at it, it was indeed the emperor's secret order.
The content of the secret edict was just as Wei Shutong said. Wei Shutong secretly ordered Wei Shutong to mobilize troops and horses to gather in Hanzhong, and even hoard grain in Hanzhong. Naturally, he was worried that something would happen in the northwest after Qining's disappearance, so he was prepared. If there is an unrest in the northwest, the soldiers and horses gathered in Hanzhong can pass through the Qinling Mountains and head to the northwest to provide assistance at any time.
"The lower official has stocked up enough grain in Hanzhong, and has received orders from the Ministry of War to mobilize troops and horses to garrison in Hanzhong." Tong Wei Shu asked: "Where has the Duke been these days? This really makes the emperor anxious to death."
Qi Ning knew that Duan Canghai was able to hide Qi Ning's disappearance for ten and a half days after he disappeared in the northwest. But as time went by, even Duan Canghai did not dare to hide it any longer. He must have urgently reported it to the court. After the little emperor learned about it, he would definitely Arrangements will be made quickly.
"What is the current situation in the northwest?" Qi Ning is currently only worried about serious consequences in the northwest due to his disappearance, and is extremely concerned about the current situation in the northwest.
Wei Shutong said: "My lord, don't be anxious. General Duan Canghai is guarding the northwest now. To ensure a complete plan, the imperial court directly transferred Ban Yun, the prefect of Hanzhong, to the northwest to assist General Duan. In addition, dozens of officials were quickly dispatched from the imperial court to the northwest." I took office, but fortunately the arrangements were made properly, and there was no big trouble in the northwest."
Qi Ning felt relieved. He knew that Ban Yun, the prefect of Hanzhong, was a capable man who could fight on horseback and govern the people. With Ban Yun assisting Duan Canghai and the officials appointed by the imperial court, he could at least control the situation in the northwest.
"Master Wei, how is the battle on the front line?" Xuanyuan Po asked from the side: "Where did the Qinhuai Army attack?"
Wei Shutong said: "The Qinhuai Army has conquered the three counties of the Northern Han Dynasty and stationed troops in Dingtao. A large area of land north of the Huai River is already under the control of our great Chu, but...!" After a slight pause, he continued: "But The Huai River has been cut off, and the logistics can no longer keep up. General Yue can only fight to support war."
Qi Ning's heart trembled and he asked urgently: "What is the situation?"
Wei Shutong said: "Your Majesty does not fully understand the specific situation, and the information he received is also quite strange. Duke, I originally went north to attack the Han Dynasty and allied with the Qi State, but for some reason, I got the news that the Qi State was in Linzi. It was actually broken by our army, but the Prince of Dong Qi led his men to escape. They tried to escape from the sea, but were intercepted by our Donghai Navy. However, Shentu Luo's Dongqi Navy defeated our Donghai Navy, and the Donghai Navy lost its warships. There were more than ten ships, and the entire army was almost annihilated... After the Dong Qi people took control of the waters, they immediately launched an attack on our grain ships in the Huaihe River and took away a lot of grain and grass."
"The Donghai Navy was defeated?" Qi Ning said in surprise.
Comrade Wei Shu said: "When the Qinhuai Army went north, a surprise force took advantage of the Qi troops to attack Puyang in the Northern Han Dynasty and entered the Qi State. The Donghai Navy cooperated to block the waterway. The Qi State was empty and was caught off guard. Linzi fell. Before our army entered the Dong Qi Palace, the Dong Qi people burned down the palace with a fire. Later, they found the body of the Dong Qi monarch, but the Dong Qi Crown Prince took advantage of the chaos to escape." He sighed: "Dong Qi tens of thousands of soldiers The horses were unable to come back in time, and Maling Mountain was also under our control. They captured Puyang and are now holding on to Puyang. It is said that the Prime Minister of Eastern Qi, Ling Huxu, is now leading his troops to hold on in Puyang. After Shentu Luo defeated our Donghai Navy, he has been Controlling the waters, the imperial court is trying to figure out how to deal with Shen Tulu’s navy.”
Qi Ning knew that he had made a clever plan to attack Dong Qi and the northwest. The northwest journey was successful, but there was obviously a problem with the plan for Dong Qi.
Although the Chu army captured the capital of Eastern Qi, it did not completely defeat the Eastern Qi people. The main force of Qi captured Puyang, and Shen Tuluo's navy actually defeated the Donghai navy. In other words, the Eastern Qi people's The land and sea armies were still not defeated. More importantly, the Eastern Qi crown prince Duan Shao did not die, which gave the Eastern Qi people hope of restoring their country. Back then, the Northern Han Dynasty sent out a large army to attack the Eastern Qi Dynasty, but finally returned defeated. Is it possible that this time Will Chu State also suffer the consequences of defeat
"If Duan Shao doesn't die, the people of Eastern Qi will not give in so easily." Xuanyuan Po frowned and said: "Qi State has two states, Qingxu and Qingxu. It only captured Linzi, but it can't completely control the people of Eastern Qi. As long as Duan Shao doesn't die, Qi will The Chinese will definitely bring us trouble."
"However, the imperial court has ordered the people on both sides of the Huaihe River to evacuate." Wei Shutong sighed: "It is a repeat of the Qinhuai War. The purpose is to strengthen the wall and clear the country and prevent Shentuluo from replenishing supplies. Shentuluo only has a navy cruising on the sea, and no Logistics supply and food need to be plundered ashore. As long as he has no food to seize, he will naturally be defeated by the time." He hesitated and then said softly: "According to the battle report, Wuxiang Hou... seems to have died in Amidst the fire in the Dongqi Palace!”
Qi Ning's heart trembled and he lost his voice: "Su Zhen... is dead?"
When Su Zixuan was given the opportunity to marry the crown prince of Dong Qi, Su Zhen personally sent her daughter to Dong Qi. After that, she stayed in Dong Qi and never returned. The news she got was that Dong Qi treated the Marquis of Wuxiang attentively, and Su Zhen was not a good person in Chu. Not many people cared much about the capable ministers and officials who stayed in Dong Qi. Unexpectedly, they died in Dong Qi this time.
Although Qi Ning had a bad impression of Su Zhen, he felt quite sad when he thought that this person died in a foreign country.
He suddenly thought that Su Zhen had not returned for a long time. Could it be that the Dong Qi people were taking him as a hostage? When the Chu army attacked Linzi, they naturally did not care about Su Zhen's life and death. When Linzi was captured, the people of Eastern Qi naturally hated the Chu state and burned Su Zhen to death in the palace fire. To the people of Eastern Qi, it was natural that they A kind of revenge, but I don't know whether Su Zixuan is alive or dead now