Jinyang, Military Governor's Office.
Li Keyong hosted a family dinner to entertain Yuchi Jin.
Those present included his two women, Liu and Cao, his adopted son Li Sizhao, his brothers Li Kegong and Li Kening, his cousin Li Kexiu, and his trusted minister Wu Gong.
After three rounds of drinking, Li Keyong raised the cup to Yuchi Jin from a distance and said earnestly and gratefully: "Brother Han, I am very grateful for the matter of Shangyuan Posthouse. At the beginning, I promised you that as long as I survive, I will become your half-blood brother, and we will share life and death, wealth and honor together."
"Today's banquet is held to thank you for risking your life to save me. Secondly, it is also to fulfill our original promise. What do you think?"
Upon hearing this, Yuchi Jin frowned slightly. She pretended to be Han Zhi's younger brother Han Jin just to meet Zhu Li, that blockhead, but now she has done something wrong. Not only did she save Li Keyong, but she was also taken to Jinyang by him.
Although Jinyang and Shuozhou are not far apart, it is obviously not easy for the three of them to go back.
Now that she has saved Li Keyong, not only does Li Keyong regard her as his confidant, but the generals under Li Keyong also respect her even more. Especially those who have gone through life and death with her in Junyi County, such as Li Cunzhang, Li Cunxin and others, they regard her as a sister and comrade.
Not only did these people apologize for deceiving her, but each of them also gave her a generous gift, leaving her in a dilemma.
Even Li Keyong himself presented her with a courtyard that was no smaller than the Governor's Mansion the day after he returned. In addition, Li Keyong personally selected 500 elite soldiers from the Yaer Army and gave them to her as guards, which shows how profound the courtesy was.
You know, every Ya'er Guard was hired by Li Keyong with a lot of money. Not only are they loyal, but they are also extremely brave. Giving away 500 people as a gift is indeed a generous gift.
Li Keyong usually had no more than three hundred people with him, so five hundred Yaer Guards were extraordinary.
From Li Keyong's perspective, a brave and resourceful general like Han Jin cannot be compared with money and other things. Only poor people would be stingy with money. In the eyes of heroes and tyrants, money can never compare to friendship and talent.
But could Yuchi Jin be Li Keyong's brother? Of course not. Just as Yuchi Jin was racking his brains to find an excuse to shirk, a guard suddenly broke into the hall door. He was in a hurry, and there was a hint of panic in his anxiety, as if there was something extremely urgent that he had to report.
Li Keyong was looking at Yuchi Jin eagerly, waiting for her response, but he was interrupted by the visitor. He was about to yell in anger, but Liu, who was beside him, saw him and immediately tugged at his collar. Only then did he suppress his temper and said in a dull voice, "How can you be so flustered? What has happened to make you so flustered that you have forgotten even the most basic etiquette?"
The general seemed to not care about Li Keyong's anger. He knelt on one knee with a plop, clasped his hands and said anxiously: "General, something bad has happened. General He was defeated in Tong and needs help urgently. Please send troops quickly, otherwise Luzhou will be in danger."
"What?" Li Keyong stood up with an expression of disbelief upon hearing that.
The General He mentioned by the visitor was He Gongya, a general under Li Keyong. Before sending troops south to attack Huang Chao, Li Keyong appointed He Gongya as the general and led three troops to attack Meng Lifang. Now he was defeated. How could he not be surprised
Upon hearing this, the generals and important officials who knew the inside story immediately became serious.
Wu Gong, a trusted and important official of Li Keyong, immediately stepped out and bowed, saying, "Commander-in-chief, General He has been badly defeated. We must provide support immediately. Luzhou must not fall into the hands of Meng Fangli. Shangdang has always been a battleground for military strategists. It is too important for us. Please send troops to provide support as soon as possible."
"Please ask the general to send troops as soon as possible." Li Kexiu, Li Kening and others also came out and asked calmly, all of them looking very urgent.
This sudden scene made Yuchi Jin stunned. Her beautiful eyes turned and she came up with a plan. She stepped out of the line and bowed, saying, "Manager Li, what happened to make you so panicked?"
Before Li Keyong could answer, Liu, who was beside him, said helplessly, "When Alang was stationed in Hedong, Meng Fangli was causing chaos in the area and tried to move the seat of Zhaoyi Army from Luzhou to Longgang, causing great resentment and confusion among the people."
"My son Alang responded to the request of Zhaoyi Military Supervisor Qi Shenhui and decisively sent three troops, Generals He Gongya, Li Jun, and An Jinjun, to attack Meng Fangli. Unexpectedly, after a series of battles and a long period of time, he was still defeated."
"Taihang and Shangdang are the backbone of the world. Occupying Luzhou is equivalent to grasping the initiative of advancing. If we lose Luzhou, we will become very passive. That's why Alang and you are so nervous." Liu did not hide anything and told the truth directly. Li Keyong beside him did not stop him and seemed to acquiesce.
After hearing what the other party said, Yuchi Jin understood in his heart that it seemed that the situation in Hedong was not peaceful either. However, this was the best. He thought that the situation was at the end of his rope, but unexpectedly, there was light at the end of the tunnel.
Thinking of this, Yuchi Jin had an idea. This was an opportunity.
At this time, Li Keyong finally made a decision. He looked grim and said solemnly, "Kexiu, I order you to lead 10,000 guards and 3,000 Yue cavalry to Shangdang immediately to help He Gongya. There must be no mistakes."
"Yes." Li Kexiu also had a solemn expression and responded loudly.
Just as Li Kexiu turned around and was about to leave, Yuchi Jin suddenly shouted, "Wait a minute."
The sudden "Wait a minute" completely aroused the suspicion of others. Suddenly, everyone's eyes turned to Yuchi Jin, with expressions of surprise and confusion.
You have to know that Li Keyong is famous for his strict discipline. Who would dare to shout "stop" when he gives the order? Would he be so bold as to do that
However, when everyone followed the sound and saw Yuchi Jin, although there was still a look of surprise on their faces, they were relieved.
Han Jin, this name popped up in these people's minds almost at the same time. During this period, this name was very popular in Jinyang. The reason was that the owner of this name risked his life to stop the Bianzhou general Wang Yanzhang and saved Li Keyong. This alone was better than other people's lifelong struggle.
Since it was him, Li Keyong would not do anything to him, everyone thought so.
Sure enough, when Li Keyong heard someone interrupting his order, he was furious and almost exploded. But when he saw that it was Yuchi Jin pretending to be Han Jin, his expression instantly eased up. He was just a little excited, as if he hadn't come to his senses yet. He asked curiously, "Brother, do you have any objection to my decision?"
Yuchi Jin did not respond immediately, but bowed and said solemnly: "I know a thing or two about Meng Fangli. At the beginning, Gao Xun, the former governor of Zhaoyi, was defeated in the battle against Huang Chao and was killed by his general Cheng Lin. This allowed Meng Fangli to take advantage of the situation and take the position of governor of Zhaoyi. It can be seen that he is an opportunist."
"Although I am not very talented, I have some experience in dealing with this kind of people. If you don't mind, brother Li, I am willing to help you pacify this villain and drive Meng Fangli's forces out of Luzhou completely. Do you think this is okay?" Yuchi Jin pretended to be confident and asked very frankly.
Upon hearing this, Li Keyong was shocked and his joy was beyond words. Han Jin was a brave general who was the best among the three armies. After spending such a long time together and chatting with him, he also knew that this man was quite intelligent, had a long-term vision, was good at both civil and military affairs, and was truly a rare military talent.
Li Kexiu was equally good, but he had some grudges against him in his heart. If the situation was not really critical, he would never want to appoint Li Kexiu as a general immediately.
He held a banquet today to thank Han Jin, partly to fulfill his original promise; in fact, his biggest purpose was to tie this man to his chariot and make Han Jin serve him.
Now that the other party has volunteered, does it mean something
Thinking of this, Li Keyong would be a fool not to agree. He had already agreed in his heart, but he still pretended to be considerate and said, "My dear brother, you and I have just returned from Bianzhou. If you have to worry about such a small matter, I will feel..."
Yuchi Jin naturally saw through Li Keyong's pretentiousness, and before Li Keyong could finish his polite words, he said earnestly: "Brother Li, don't be embarrassed. I just want to go out for a walk, and I hope you can help me."
Hearing this, Li Keyong's eyes were filled with joy, but he still frowned. After a moment, he pretended to be reluctant and said, "Okay, then I'll have to trouble you to go there."
If he kept insisting on being so stubborn when such a talented general asked to fight, it would be counterproductive and the result would be counterproductive, so after pretending to be coy, he agreed.
Since he had agreed, Li Keyong did not hesitate and said immediately: "Then please ask my brother to be the main general, Kexiu and Cunzhang to be the deputy generals, lead 10,000 guards and 3,000 Yue cavalry, and attack Shangdang immediately."
"Yes!" Everyone responded loudly.
As the saying goes, reinforcements are needed to put out a fire. That night, Yuchi Jin mobilized a large army and headed south to Shangdang.
On the way, while no one was paying attention, Xie Tian and Xie Di could no longer hold back. Xie Tian rode his horse to Yuchi Jin's side and whispered with a worried look on his face, "Madam, why should we help that one-eyed dragon? If the envoy knew about this, he would be furious."
Yuchi Jin was still dressed the same way, in a bright silver robe with a high collar covering her neck, and an odd little mustache that ruined her beauty by three or four points. She was holding a phoenix-feather broadsword and was riding on a horse listlessly.
Hearing Xie Tian's concerns, he said unhappily, "It's all because of you two idiots. If you hadn't stepped forward, I wouldn't have ended up like this. Hey, I know that if that blockhead knew what I'm doing now, he would probably want to kill me."
"But what can I do?" Yuchi Jin said bitterly, "Should I agree to Li Keyong and become sworn brothers with him? Or should I ignore the consequences and fight my way back to Shuozhou?"
"Uh" Thank God and the earth, although they are more impulsive and reckless, it does not mean that they do not understand this logic. After all, it is because of the two of them that their wives are now in a dilemma.
The master and his two servants always had bitter faces when no one was paying attention, but they had no choice but to follow the army all the way to Luzhou.
Luzhou was also a place that was fiercely fought over by Liang and Jin during the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties. As Wu Dao said, Taihang and Shangdang are the backbone of the world. Whoever occupied it would have the convenience of riding a horse to You and Ji and wielding a sword to Qi and Lu.