The emperor asked Mu Xiaoyao many questions carefully, and he was especially concerned about the news Mu Xiaoyao found along the way. Mu Xiaoyao marked the farmlands he passed through on the map, and there were no less than four or five of them. Even if Li Yuanshan hides 10,000 people in each farmland, this is not a small number.
The emperor looked at the places marked on the map, and sighed slightly: "It is the duty of the Qing government to monitor the garrisons in various places... In order to hide it from me, Li Yuanshan naturally wanted to bribe Hou Wenji. From this point of view, Hou Wenji has a dislike for me. Not for a while."
Fang Jie said: "Perhaps it is because at the beginning Li Yuanshan only said something about the important place in the northwest, and the Youxiao guards were few and difficult to appease, so he privately expanded his troops. Although this is also a serious crime, it is indeed excusable So Hou Wenji took advantage of it and hid it for him. But later on, even if Hou Wenji found out Li Yuanshan's real purpose, he didn't dare to tell His Majesty again, because it would be tantamount to cooperating in conspiracy. "
The emperor nodded.
"You guys stay overnight in Taiji Palace tonight, and I will leave the palace directly with me tomorrow morning."
Under Su Buwei's reminder, the emperor realized that the night was already very deep. He waved his hand and gave instructions, indicating to Fang Jie that they could leave. Fang Jie retreated, and stopped when he reached the door: "Your Majesty... the minister is not at ease."
The emperor glanced at him and asked, "What about tomorrow?"
Fang Jie nodded.
The emperor said: "Tomorrow, you can just follow me, but I won't need you to do anything. If you can, I will explain why you go with me."
Fang Jie responded and exited the East Nuan Pavilion, wondering what the emperor was relying on? Why does it look like you don't worry about tomorrow's affairs at all
Mu San led them to the arranged room, chatted for a few words and then left. Fang Jie stuffed a bank note with a large denomination into his hand, but Mu San just refused to accept it. Fang Jie said with a smile that there is no money in the palace and it is difficult to handle it, so just treat it as a loan from me. Only then did Mu San put it away, and left with a thousand thanks.
Although Fang Jie shared the same room with Shen Qing, Shan Mu and Xiaoyao, it was not easy to do anything in the palace. The three of them chatted for a long time, and it was only after a while that they each lay down to rest. After tidying up the bedding, Fang Jie slept alone in the outer room. Spread the mattress on the ground, and lay down for a long time without falling asleep.
All he could think about was tomorrow's affairs, constantly speculating on what kind of tricks Prince Yi had. He knew that Prince Yi must have controlled part of the army, but the most worrying thing was that he didn't know which guard's troops were bought by him. It is precisely because I don't know that it is hard to guard against.
He planned to persuade the emperor to bring the eight hundred elites who were rumored to be the best in the world when he left the palace tomorrow morning. As long as there are these 800 people supporting the emperor, nothing will happen to the emperor.
There must be many masters on Prince Yi's side, Fang Jie was most worried about why those people from Wudang Mountain came here. If those Taoists were Prince Yi's people, plus the great practitioners raised by Prince Yi, tomorrow's situation will definitely be very difficult. Fortunately, there is also Zhou Banchuan, who is recognized as the number one master of the Sui Dynasty in Yanwuyuan, and Xiao Zhenren, the leader of Daozong in Qingfeng Temple. In the palace, there must be many people with advanced cultivation bases.
Thinking of this, Fang Xie finally understood why Master Xiao and the people of Yiqi Concept never left Chang'an City. The emperor must have been worried about Prince Yi's rebellion, so he left Zhenren Xiao and the others in Chang'an for emergencies. Master Xiao had known him well before His Majesty ascended the throne, so His Majesty must have told him something long ago.
Fang Jie's worry was precisely because of his ignorance of Prince Yi. He couldn't guess how powerful Prince Yi was, especially his control over the military. Moreover, he was also worried about the empress dowager in the harem. It is said that the old lady loves Prince Yi the most. If the emperor loses, the old lady will definitely stand by Prince Yi. The emperor is a filial person, so it's hard to say how to face the queen mother.
He couldn't sleep, and he didn't know how many people couldn't sleep this night.
Prince Yi's Mansion.
Qin Liuqi looked at the hundreds of men in black standing neatly in the yard in front of him with a solemn expression. These people are the Snake Guards that Prince Yi formed not too long ago, but they are all good at killing people. Many of them are soldiers who have been confused by their unsatisfactory life, and the rest are quacks. These people, all of them are murderous without batting an eye.
"Have you remembered all your missions?"
Qin Liuqi said in a cold voice: "Tomorrow, when the lord launches a campaign, you will form a team of ten and assassinate those who target the lord in Chang'an City. I have already given you the list. Remember, the first few people on the list You must die. If this thing is done, you will all have meritorious service. Regardless of your previous background, after tomorrow, you will all become nobles!"
"Understood!"
The snake guards responded.
"There is only one chance. If you seize it, you will reach the sky in one step. If you don't grasp it, you will be lost forever."
Qin Liuqi said: "Destiny is never static. Others can be well-clothed, and so can you. Aren't you all envious of the children of those aristocratic families? Then, go and start a family that belongs to you. The prince has given the opportunity I gave it to you, and then it’s up to you!”
Ouchi Guard Office.
Luo Weiran put the two lists on the table and said: "These people must be watched closely, and one of them is not allowed to escape."
He pointed to another one: "Although these people do not serve in the imperial court, they are all honorable persons. If Prince Yi wants to succeed, he must either recruit these people to help him, or get rid of these people... Tomorrow will be strictly protected, and no one will be allowed to come out." Accident!"
"Here!"
At the guard's office in Ouchi, the deputy commander Meng Wudi and the four thousand households responded in unison. Because of Hou Wenji's incident, three of the eight thousand households in the Ouchi Guard Office were removed and executed in secret.
"If we can't do well tomorrow."
Luo Weiran stood up straight and breathed a long sigh of relief: "The Ouchi Guard Office may be killed by you and me."
…
…
northwest.
Wolf Milk Mountain.
In a dense forest, the Sui army team of about a thousand people sat listlessly on the ground, and there was no trace of the mighty and powerful army of the Sui Dynasty. This place is very hidden, under the cliff, there is a large forest. Although the Wolf Milk Mountain doesn't look very tall and majestic, the mountain range is huge. It is not too difficult to hide a team of more than a thousand people in the mountains from being found.
On a stone next to a small stream, Yang Kai, the king of Xujun with a gloomy face, looked at the soldiers sitting on the ground resting in a mess and couldn't help sighing. Just a few months ago, these soldiers were still the proud elite of the Sui Dynasty, but now, there is no fighting spirit in them.
After hiding in the mountains for several months, it was difficult for Meng Yuan's cavalry to go up the mountain to search, and Li Yuanshan's rebels were anxious to control the cities in the northwest, leaving only 20,000 horses to guard the foot of the mountain. Fortunately, there was water and a lot of prey in this mountain. If it was the same as Banyue Mountain to the north of Chang'an City, they would all starve to death without the rebels chasing them down.
A young man wearing dental armor next to him also had a very ugly face, he squatted by the stream and took some water and handed it to Yang Kai: "My lord, drink some water."
Yang Kai took the kettle over and said in silence for a while: "Li Xiaozong... why don't you rebel with Li Yuanshan?"
Li Xiaozong was stunned for a moment, and said with a wry smile: "My lord still doesn't believe in humble positions?"
Yang Kai shook his head.
Li Xiaozong was silent for a while and said: "The humility was indeed very painful at the time. If Li Yuanshan hadn't colluded with the Mengyuan people, maybe the humility would have followed him on the wrong path. But...he shouldn't stand with the Mengyuan people and slaughter me People from Tai Sui, he has already forgotten what kind of blood is flowing in his body."
Yang Kai hummed: "It's not that I don't trust you, I'm just curious... In the past few months, if you hadn't brought people to hide in the Wolf Milk Mountain, these people would not be able to keep them."
Li Xiaozong said: "Xiaozhi firmly believes that there are still many people who survived. Although the 700,000 army was defeated, it is not so easy for the Mengyuan people to kill all of our troops. The humble officials have been looking for them in the wolf milk mountain range. , we can definitely find other people. As long as we gather some more people, we can take advantage of the emptiness behind Li Yuanshan and fight out... If we can wipe out the 20,000 rebels at the foot of the mountain and snatch some supplies from Fangu City, we can recruit Minyong. The common people must have a heart of resistance to the rebels. When the time comes, the prince only needs to climb up and shout, and there will be a large number of people accompanying him."
Yang Kai nodded: "I also believe that there are still many people alive, but they have been scattered and don't know where to hide. Zuo Xiaowei General Jin Shixiong has never heard of his death. At that time, he should have led the people to break out He has more than ten thousand cavalry under his command, so it should not be difficult to kill them."
Just as he was talking, a man dressed as a school captain walked over quickly.
"My lord, I found it!"
The man was tall and thin, with a determined face. The originally fair skin had only been fighting for half a year, and it had already turned into the color of wheat.
It was Cui Lueshang.
"What did you find?"
Yang Kai stood up and asked.
Cui Lueshang's face was filled with joy: "Your Majesty, I took my scouts and searched northward for a hundred and fifty miles, and found traces of human activity. After chasing them all the way, I was actually found by the humble officer, who was led by General Zuo Xiaowei Jin Shixiong's men. No fewer than five thousand people are planning to take a detour to the north, enter the Hundred Thousand Mountains from the north, go to the territory of the Beiliao people and return to the Sui Dynasty."
"Beiliao people?"
Yang Kai's face changed, and he suddenly smiled and said: "Why did I forget them. Cui Lueshang, can you see General Jin Shixiong?"
"seen!"
Cui Lue said: "The humble officer rushed back with a few people, and the other scouts stayed with General Jin to lead the way, and they are rushing here to meet up."
"Five thousand troops, Jin Shixiong unexpectedly kept so many soldiers."
Yang Kai couldn't help but sigh with emotion.
"They were all collected along the way. If it weren't for Meng Yuan's cavalry searching back and forth on the grassland, there might be more gathered."
Cui Lueshang replied.
Yang Kai handed the water bottle to Cui Lue and said, "Take a break, let's set off to meet Jin Shixiong. In addition, I have a plan... If it succeeds, maybe I can catch Meng Yuanren by surprise!"
"Beiliao people?"
Li Xiaozong asked subconsciously.
Yang Kai nodded: "The people of Northern Liao have long wanted to take refuge in the Sui Dynasty. As long as we persuade them to send troops, we can take back some places. As long as we stand firm, we can wait until the reinforcements mobilized by His Majesty arrive. When the time comes, the two sides will attack, and the rebels will Defeat."
Li Xiaozong didn't speak, but what he thought in his heart was... Your Majesty... Are you thinking about dealing with the Northwest affairs at this time? It's time for Prince Yi to do it too.