After noon the next day, the Tibetan delegation arrived. There were about a hundred people in total, and more than twenty yak carts, pulling countless urns.
Historically, few people who died on the battlefield during the march could return to their roots and be buried in their hometown. Being able to dig a hole and bury it in the soil is a good ending. Therefore, although it is impossible to tell who is who in these urns, it is already a good ending for those martyrs.
The officers and soldiers of the Tang Army erected white sails and soul flags in the camp and built a large mourning hall to welcome their fellow martyrs "home". When the Tibetan envoys entered the camp with their yak carts, all the soldiers had mixed emotions. They didn't know whether to hate them or be grateful to them.
"I have been fighting for half my life, and this is the first time I have seen such a thing." Hou Junji said to Qin Mubai, "Don't say it was a battle between Han and Hu. Even when I followed His Majesty in the Northern and Southern Expeditions in the civil war in the early years, I did not see any The rebel king of the Central Plains did such a thing.”
Qin Mubai said nothing about this, but only told him and Xue Wanjun that although they were fighting to the death for their masters, these matters should be resolved on the battlefield. Since the other party is humane and generous, we cannot be petty and unreasonable. They slaughtered cattle and sheep to entertain these envoys, and then sent them back to ensure that no one was harmed.
The second general therefore complied, and Qin Mubai also sent several close confidants, Baiqi Guards, to take charge of the reception. One is to prevent soldiers in the army from getting angry and doing something extraordinary, and the other is to prevent the other party from taking the opportunity to steal military secrets.
After giving instructions, Qin Mubai stopped asking about such trivial matters.
Naturally, there is no reason for the two opposing armies to keep the other party's envoy overnight. After the dinner in the evening, these Tubo people should have said goodbye and left. Moreover, several of them suddenly fell ill, frothing at the mouth, fell to the ground, convulsed all over and were about to die!
The leading Tibetan envoys were furious and cursed the Han people for being dishonest, despicable, and shameless. They actually poisoned their food and plotted against themselves. The officers and soldiers of the Tang Army were already filled with anger. After their explanations failed, they started to argue with them tit for tat. If they had not stopped them in time, there would have been a fire and conflict on the spot.
Xue Wanjun immediately reported the incident to Qin Mubai and told him that the Tubo barbarians were clearly cheating. If we wanted to take his life, why would we need to plot against him? Just grab it as soon as it enters the tiger's mouth - I don't know what their intentions are!
Qin Mubai thought for a moment and said: "It seems that the other party has an ulterior motive. In this case, it is better to just wait and see what they want to do. Invite some experienced military doctors to come, and I will take them there myself. A sick Tubo sergeant came to see him.
Later, Qin Mubai took several military doctors to visit the Tubo people in their temporary barracks. They had indeed fallen ill and four of them had fallen into comas. After diagnosis, the military doctors determined that they were all poisoned but not fatal. It was not possible to determine what the poison was at the moment, so it would take some time to detoxify. Now, we can only induce vomiting and cleanse their abdomen to relieve the toxicity.
The Tubo people started making a fuss, cursing the Tang army for their lack of faith and so on. Qin Mubai asked people to suppress them, and told them that it was inconvenient for the two armies to keep guests when they were facing each other. Most of the people had to leave the camp and return to their own army, leaving only a few people to take care of the sick. The Tang army was responsible for treating these poisoned Tibetan sergeants and then escorted them back.
The Tubo people refused to give in and said things like "Why should I believe you?" Qin Mubai couldn't help but get a little angry, and said coldly: "I really want to harm you, why do I need to spend so much time? I have made my word, and I will keep my promise. Whoever dares to cause trouble here and violate our military regulations will be killed to serve as a warning to others! Anyway, You all blame us for your bad reputation!"
It's hard to be a good man, but it's easy to be a bad guy.
As soon as these words came out, the Tubo people did not dare to make a fuss, and drove the ox cart obediently away from the Tang army camp, leaving eight people behind to take care of the four sick sergeants.
After the matter was properly handled, Qin Mubai first called the military doctors to question him privately. They all agreed that the poison must have been poisoned by the Tibetan people themselves, and they were using a cruel trick. Because the poison in those Tibetan sergeants was extremely rare. How could it be something that the Tang army marching outside could have? It must be poison from outside the territory!
The conclusion was not beyond Qin Mubai's expectation. After receiving the confirmation, he thought in his mind: These Tubo people have tried their best to stay here because they just want to spy on our army's military situation. It stands to reason that with force being weak, the Galqin Ling invaders would not have to resort to such despicable and despicable methods. Could it be... coming for the Shenwu Cannon and Vulcan
possible!
Thinking of this, Qin Mubai summoned the camp guard Xue Wanjun and the fire god commander Zhang Tong, and told them to strictly keep the secret. In addition, the military tents and residences of these ten Tibetans were strictly controlled and monitored, and they were banned from entering.
A few days passed, and the sergeant responsible for surveillance reported to Qin Mubai every day. He found nothing unusual in the Tibetan people's every move. They only ate, drank, and defecated every day, never leaving the military tent, and not asking anyone for anything. The military doctors who visited the Tibetan people every day reported that the poison of the Tibetan people who were poisoned has not yet been found out, so it is naturally impossible to cure the poison on their bodies. But the strange thing is that their condition neither improves nor worsens, as if someone is secretly controlling them.
"Then what do they want to do by staying here for nothing?" Qin Mubai couldn't help but muttered. After pondering for a while, he ordered his men to continue to monitor closely and report immediately if there was any abnormal movement.
That afternoon, the food and salary materials sent by the imperial court finally arrived at the Dafeichuan military camp. The escorting officer was Chang Sun Huan, the current General Zuo Weiwei, who concurrently serves as the deputy director-general of the Lanzhou Metropolitan Governor's Army and the Saikaidou March. In terms of rank, he is second only to Xue Wanjun died.
Also coming with it was a caravan from Qin Xian Company, and the leader of it, the "little shopkeeper", was actually Su Lianqing.
When he left Lanzhou for the battle a few days ago, Qin Mubai made a list for Wu Meiniang and asked her to help purchase many things, including a large number of medicinal materials that would be used before the battle. But Wu Meiniang was pregnant and had difficulty moving, and Su Lianqing was an expert in "medicine and poisoning", so this matter fell on Su Lianqing.
Now it seems that she has completed this mission quite well and has transported a large amount of usable medicinal materials. After losing the first battle, the camp was full of wounded soldiers. These things just solved the urgent needs of the army.
Food, wages and medicine were well and promptly replenished. It was as if a shot of vitality had been injected into the Dafeichuan military camp. All the soldiers felt relieved and deeply encouraged.
After delivering the supplies, Chang Sun Huan went to the commander's tent to meet Qin Mubai.
"My eldest son, Sun Huan, pays homage to Marshal Qin!" He knelt down on one knee and saluted with his fists clasped, the eldest son Huan was meticulous.
"There is no need to be polite." Qin Mubai said, "Changsun Huan, fortunately you traveled thousands of miles and worked tirelessly to deliver this large amount of food and wages in time. It is like providing help in the snow. I, Commander, would like to thank you on behalf of all the soldiers."
"Young Marshal, why do you need to say thank you? This subordinate is just fulfilling his duties!" Changsun Huan lowered his eyebrows and was very polite, and answered even more cautiously, "Besides, my subordinate is now a member of the Kansai Army. Everything he does is for the sake of Brothers, it’s also for myself.”
Qin Mubai raised the corner of his mouth slightly, half-smiling.
Changsun Huan was confused. He didn't know what Qin Mubai's expression meant, and he didn't dare to speak nonsense.
"You have come a long way to work hard, so go and have a good rest first. I sent someone to arrange a place for you, and then sent a few quick fire-headed pawns for you to take care of your food and daily life. If you have any requests, you can directly ask them Just say it." Qin Mubai said.
Changsun Huan felt at odds. Hearing Qin Mubai's words, firstly, he had issued an eviction order and didn't want to talk nonsense with him. Secondly, he was obviously treating himself as a "guest" and even sent people to follow him to be careful. .
After thinking about it, Changsun Huan, who was new to the country, did not dare to say anything nonsense. He thanked Qin Mubai and said goodbye.
"Here comes a big thorn." Qin Mubai thought to himself with a sneer on his face, "Changsun Wuji made this move very cleverly. By sending a son to hang out in Dafeichuan, he can not only inquire about my every move, but also Being close to me shows his broad mind and sets the stage for the future. Changsun Huan, an embroidered pillow, is only good at dancing with guns and frightening people in the capital. How can he be a burden if he comes? I need to find an excuse to get him back to Lanzhou, and ask Li Daozong, King of Jiangxia, to help me keep him under guard..."
At this time, there was a commotion outside the tent, interrupting Qin Mubai's thoughts.
"Hey, Qin Mubai, I'm here! - Hey, you blind little pawns, don't you even know me? How dare you block me!"
"Bold bitch, don't make any noise in a military area! Otherwise, you will be severely punished by military law!"
Qin Mubai couldn't help but laugh, "Here comes another bigger thorn!"
"Let her in."
Su Lian rushed in enthusiastically, and when she saw Qin Mubai, she laughed so hard, "Haha! I haven't seen Qin Mubai for many days, and you're not dead yet! - Hey, your beautiful white face is covered with paint. Yeah!”
"You are so rude, but you still speak so freely." Qin Mubai said with a smile, "How come you are leading the caravan?"
"If it's not me, who else could it be?" Su Lianqing said, "My boss's belly is getting bigger, so he can only raise the baby at home. The remaining housekeepers can't do the medical work, nor can they fight in the army. Of course, I can only take the initiative and shoulder the heavy responsibility!"
"You came just in time." Qin Mubai's heart lit up and he remembered something, so he called her closer and whispered, "I have something else that I want to ask you, this poisonous lady, for help!"
"Easy to say! But I have conditions!" Su Lianqing said with a strange smile.
"Oh, you still dare to negotiate terms with me?" Qin Mubai couldn't help laughing, "Let's talk about it?"
"Whatever you want me to do for you is fine. But you also have to do me a favor." Su Lianqing crossed her arms in front of her chest and said unceremoniously, "My man actually said he didn't want me when he was about to leave for the war. , let me find another man to marry. You have to help me get him back."
"Your... man?" Qin Mubai couldn't help but laugh, "Who is it? Do I know him?"
"Hey! Don't pretend to be confused in front of me!" Su Lianqing rolled her eyes, "This is just a spoiler. Is there anything else you don't know?"
"Oh, you mean... Heizi!" Qin Mubai joked, "He listens to me. But I may not be able to take care of the affairs of men and women like you. As the saying goes, honest officials don't have housework. ,Is not it?"
"Bah! Stop being so glib with me, and don't put money on yourself, you are not an upright official!" Su Lianqing said angrily, "In a word, help or not help, just do it!"
"help!"
"make a deal!"
"Come here, bring one of those Tibetan people who have been poisoned and sick." Qin Mubai gave the order, and then said to Su Lianqing, "Please help me diagnose clearly what kind of poison he was poisoned. How to solve it?”
Su Lianqing curled her lips in disdain, "If I had known earlier, I wouldn't have made a deal with you. If you spread the word, it would really damage the reputation of my Lady Demon Scorpion!"
"What do you mean?" Qin Mubai asked confused.
"I thought you asked me to lurk in the Tubo camp to assassinate some general and marshal. It turned out to be such a trivial matter!" Su Lianqing smiled a little wildly and arrogantly, and said: "This is like, there is Two little urchins fought, and one of them lost, so he cried and asked you, the generalissimo, to lead an army of 100,000 to help - this is what it means! "
"..." Qin Mubai was speechless, dumbfounded.