After three years of conquest, Zhu Li's power has grown to such an extent that it will surely cause headaches for the eunuchs.
"These eunuchs are always causing trouble instead of helping others. Thinking back to the Zhenguan period, our Tang Dynasty was so prosperous. But unexpectedly, disaster arose from within the country, with eunuchs abusing power and cliques fighting each other outside. At the local level, each military governorate did things its own way and brought disaster to the people. These long-standing problems have led to the current situation where the country is in jeopardy and the world is in chaos. It is simply hateful." Yue Pengju looked miserable and vented his anger.
"Since you have made a plan, you might as well bring Zaixing with you so that you can take care of him." Yue Pengju was powerless facing this situation. After all, he was just a soldier in a county and usually associated with thieves and gangsters. He was willing but unable to deal with the party struggles in the court.
Upon hearing this, Zhu Li thought for a moment and then nodded. It was indeed inconvenient to be alone. When being chased, he couldn't even fall asleep properly. It would definitely be much better if there was someone around to replace him.
"I will take the letter from the envoy and go to Shuozhou to serve." Seeing Zhu Li's agreement, Yue Pengju turned to look at Yang Zaixing and continued, "Zaixing, I will take Mr. Song's family and Erhu and the others to Shuozhou. You just stay by the envoy's side and protect him."
"Don't worry, big brother. I will protect you from any harm." Yang Zaixing responded seriously.
Zhu Li looked at the two of them, then at Tan Erhu's family, and Yue Pengju's family. After thinking for a moment, he said resolutely, "Okay, in that case, I will leave with Zaixing immediately after writing the letter. We must not let those assassins know about our relationship. Brother Pengju, you should not stay any longer. Zhu Wen is now the governor of Xuanwu. The entire Henan Prefecture will be under his control. His subordinates are of mixed quality. In order to avoid trouble, you should also leave early."
After giving some instructions, Zhu Li took the pen and ink handed to him by Tan Erhu, spread out the rough straw paper, and began to write the letter carefully. He had to explain many things to Guo Qizuo so that they would not continue to worry.
Zhu Li first told Guo Qizuo that he was safe now.
He then instructed Guo Qizuo to vigorously develop Shuozhou, Yunzhou, and the Hetao region, and not to easily provoke a war.
Because Zhu Li came from later times, he naturally knew that the fall of the Tang Dynasty would take at least ten years. Standing up to resist the Tang court now would make it even more difficult for the people in the areas under his rule to survive, which was something he did not want to see. He insisted on holding on, vigorously developing agriculture, commerce, etc., and doing his best to reserve the population.
At the same time, he also mentioned that he should let Guo Qizuo make use of Yue Pengju and, when necessary, assist Wu Dao to occupy the 24 states under the jurisdiction of Shanyu Protectorate as soon as possible. In the future, it might very likely become Shuozhou, the front line against the Khitans. Since it is impossible to escape the fact that they will have to face the Khitans in the future, it would be better to ignite the war in the opponent's territory. This is what Zhu Li thought.
After finishing the letter, Zhu Li did not delay and did not even have time to change his blood-stained clothes. He said goodbye to everyone without any delay, took Yang Zaixing and hurried away to the southeast.
Yue Pengju watched Zhu Li and the other person go away. Without any hesitation, he put away the letter and immediately told Tan Erhu and his family to pack their bags. He then returned to the county town and informed Song Yun and his family to pack their luggage and prepare for the long journey.
He spent
He spent a large sum of money to buy two good horses and hired three horse-drawn carriages. That afternoon, he set off for Shuozhou in the north with his family. The neighbors in Wangwu County thought that they were ashamed to live in their hometown because of Yang Zaixing's incident and moved to another place.
The ancients had a strong sense of hometown. Unless there was a better future or they were forced to do so, most people would prefer to stay in their hometown to develop. It is no wonder that their neighbors would have such speculations.
Yue Pengju was dressed in a green robe, holding the ancestral Liquan spear and wearing a long sword on his waist. He was riding a horse and walking in the front. Tan Erhu, with a hunting bow on his shoulder and a hunting knife on his waist, followed behind him at a leisurely pace.
Three horse-drawn carriages, carrying the elderly, women and children from three families, followed closely behind the two men under the control of the coachmen. The group traveled day and night, and in just three days, they were about to leave the control area of Henan Prefecture and enter the area of Jincheng, Zezhou.
On that day, more than ten riders came towards them from the direction of Qinshui. Leading them was a man with a face full of flesh and a rough appearance, but he was wearing a Confucian robe.
Yue Pengju naturally did not recognize the person who came. In order to avoid trouble, he deliberately asked Tan Erhu, the driver and others to politely give way to the side of the road.
This man is of no ordinary background. He is Zhu Cun, the second brother of Zhu Wen, the current Xuanwu Jiedushi. Zhu Wen defected to the court and was ordered to garrison Henan Prefecture. As Zhu Cun was a close friend of Zhu Wen, he was naturally valued and led his troops to garrison Qinshui.
Zhu Cun was also very unfamiliar with Yue Pengju, and because Yue Pengju and others were polite to him, he did not have any bad feelings towards them. If there were no other reasons, the two sides would have become strangers and gone their separate ways.
But there happened to be someone around Zhu Cun who knew Yue Pengju. This person was named Kou Yanqing, a native of Daliang. The Kou family was a family of generals. His father and grandfather were both secretaries of the Xuanwu Jiedushi. Now that Zhu Wen was the Xuanwu Jiedushi, the Kou family naturally defected to Zhu Wen.
Kou Yanqing was more than eight feet tall, good at volley shooting, and brave. However, because he had no military achievements, Zhu Wen temporarily let him guard his second brother Zhu Cun.
Kou Yanqing was young and brave, and was well-known throughout the Henan Prefecture. He was arrogant and eager for quick success. Unfortunately, although Yue Pengju was only a county soldier, he was also slightly famous in the Henan Prefecture. The two had the opportunity to meet each other.
Seeing the demeanor of Yue Pengju and his party, Kou Yanqing looked suspicious. Without waiting for Zhu Cun's signal, he rode forward to block the way of Yue Pengju and his party and said, "General Yue, what a coincidence, are you moving?"
When Yue Pengju saw that the person blocking his way was an acquaintance, he quickly said politely, "Kou Dalang, something happened to my brother Yue in the county, and I am ashamed to face my relatives and neighbors in my hometown, so I had to move my family north and wait for a while before making any decisions."
"Hmm." Kou Yanqing was slightly thoughtful when he heard this, his eyes flickered, and he seemed to have good intentions. He stopped his horse and blocked the road, with no intention of leaving. He continued, "General Yue was troubled by his brothers and moved his family. This is a small matter, but now that General Zhu is in charge of Henan, it is a time to recruit people. Brother Yue has extraordinary martial arts, have you ever thought about joining the general and serving the country?"
The conversation between the two aroused the interest of Zhu Cun and others, and they came over; and Tan Erhu, who was behind Yue Pengju, also hurried behind Yue Pengju and looked at the group of people opposite vigilantly.
Yue Pengju narrowed his eyes slightly when he heard this. He didn't know why Kou Yanqing wanted to make things difficult for him, but from his observation, this person must have a purpose for his sudden appearance, so he didn't dare to be careless. He bowed his hands and said humbly: "Kou Dalang, you are too kind to me. Yue is just a mediocre person.
In the past, I was favored by the governor and served as a soldier. I did a lot of work to catch thieves and seize stolen goods, so I dare not boast of my extraordinary martial arts. Now that my brother has caused trouble and harmed the neighbors, I feel guilty and guilty. How can I dare to covet the high position and seek shelter under the general manager? "
"Hahaha." Hearing this, Kou Yanqing raised his head and laughed uncontrollably, his expression became even gloomier. He turned his head, bowed to Zhu Cun who came to his side, and said in a low voice: "General, Yue Pengju is a very brave man. With the Liquan spear in his hand, he once fought all over Wangwu and there was almost no one to resist him. Not only do my subordinates know this, but all the warriors in Wangwu know it. Now that the new general manager has been appointed, he does not want to join the army, but moved his family north. I am afraid he has evil intentions."
"Hmm, there is such a thing." Zhu Cun believed Kou Yanqing's words and looked at Yue Pengju with an unfriendly look.
In his eyes, Zhu Wen was eager to recruit talented people and was a first-class good leader. Yue Pengju, a native of Henan and a martial artist, did not join his brothers but moved his family north instead. This did seem like he had ulterior motives.
When his brother took office as a new official, this man immediately resigned from his military position. Wasn't this a slap in the face to his brother
"Since I can't use him, just get rid of him." Zhu Cun looked at Yue Pengju with a sinister look in his eyes, and whispered to Kou Yanqing indifferently and ruthlessly.
"Yes." Kou Yanqing was secretly delighted when he heard this. He had great ambitions. He had just joined Zhu Wen, but he had no outstanding military achievements and could only be a follower. How could he be willing to accept this
Yue Pengju was also well-known in Wangwu County, and he could use this as a means of advancement. So he could borrow his head and prove his ability to Zhu Cun. With this in mind, he sold out this fellow villager without hesitation. He harmed his fellow villagers for this presumptuous reason. This behavior was simply puzzling. With such a bad character, it was clear that Kou Yanqing was not a good person.
According to relevant records, Kou Yanqing once kicked an old man directly into the river and drowned him on the bridge, simply because the other party had unsteady legs and feet and blocked his way. It can be seen that this person was born to be a bad guy.
After getting Zhu Cun's promise, Kou Yanqing immediately turned to look at Yue Pengju and said viciously: "Yue Pengju, my general suspects that you and your family are moving north for other purposes. You'd better leave your life here today."
Just now, when Kou Yanqing turned his head, Yue Pengju saw the other party's expression and had been on guard since early morning. Now hearing these words, he thought to himself that as expected, this person had bad intentions since early morning.
However, it also confirmed one thing for Yue Pengju, that the fellow with a face full of flesh was actually a general. In this case, Yue Pengju's expression darkened and his eyes were slightly drunk, obviously he had his own plans.
At this time, Kou Yanqing could not wait to ride his horse and wield his spear. He raised the spear forward and stabbed Yue Pengju in the chest while he was sitting on the horse.
Kou Yanqing's sudden attack made Tan Erhu, as well as the three elderly, weak, women and children sitting in the carriage, extremely shocked and worried.
How could they have known that they would encounter such a misfortune just by traveling on an ordinary journey? One can imagine the grief and anger in their hearts.
Tan Erhu immediately took off his hunting bow, put on the arrow, and carefully guarded against the other people on the opposite side. However, his cautious demeanor made the other people sneer in their eyes. What a bumpkin, just a coward.