The Taoist priest who had been sitting there suddenly interrupted and said, "Manager Li, who is this Zhu Li, and why do we have to get rid of him?"
The Taoist priest's sudden words made Li Keyong's eyes turn, and then they brightened up. He quickly replied respectfully: "I dare not deceive the immortal. I have an irreconcilable hatred with Zhu Li. Not long ago, his subordinates broke through Daizhou and tortured my master to death. If I don't kill Zhu Li, I am unworthy of being a son."
Li Keyong's voice was shrill and full of resentment, which made the Taoist frown and wonder, "Why did his subordinates want to break through Daizhou and kill Lord Li?"
"You don't know." Li Keyong calmed down, sighed, and continued, "This Zhu Li was originally the governor of Shuozhou. He was ordered to go south to defend the king and recapture Chang'an. However, he was ambitious. The governor of Youzhou, Li Sigong, was also in the army to defend the king at that time. He took the opportunity to instigate his general Gao Su to secretly attack Hetao, provoking war for no reason and causing disasters to the local area, causing the people in the Hetao area to be displaced and devastated. He was so cruel and inhumane, shouldn't he die?"
"After the incident was exposed, Zhu Li plotted a rebellion, and the imperial court announced it to the world and issued a nationwide wanted order. Li was ordered to pursue him, and finally caught up with him at Wei Bridge and annihilated his army. However, he was not destined to die, as he was seriously injured and fell into the Wei River, thus escaping pursuit. However, his subordinates got the news and knew that it was Li who forced him into the Wei River, so they immediately attacked Daizhou and killed my lord. Tell me, sir, is Li innocent?" Li Keyong was in great sorrow. He would never have thought that Zhu Li would send more than 60,000 Cao army prisoners to Shuozhou so quickly. And these former captives, under the command of Meng Juehai, the former Cao army warrior, were not weaker in combat effectiveness, which made the more than 10,000 Shatuo army he left behind in Daizhou completely vulnerable.
His bitterness was genuine. Man proposes, God disposes. If he had known the result, he would never have chosen to deal with Zhu Li rashly. He complained to the Taoist priest because he knew the Taoist priest's identity. He was definitely an otherworldly master, Hai Chanzi, the founder of the Southern School of Taoism, who had been living in seclusion in Yanshan.
Haichanzi, whose secular name is Liu Haichan, is the founder of the Southern School of Taoism. Zhang Ziyang, the Taoist Master of Ziyang in the Song Dynasty, was his disciple, and the Southern School of Taoism was founded by his descendants.
Back then, Li Keyong's ancestors were rescued by Hai Chanzi's master. Under the influence and teachings of that old Taoist, they promised to guard the border towns for the Tang court for generations. At the same time, the Shatuo people to which Li Keyong belonged had also been secretly helped by the Taoist practitioners of Hai Chanzi's lineage.
Now that he has no one to send, and this old Taoist priest happened to be traveling here, how could he not make use of him? Those who have studied Li Keyong know that this man has a very complex character. He is cruel, rude, delicate, and cunning. He is simply a collection of contradictions.
In order to get the help of this hermit master, he pretended to be very pitiful and aggrieved.
Seeing his sincere feelings and inexplicable anger, Hai Chanzi sighed and said, "The world is difficult, and there are always treacherous people. Forget it, I will send someone to help you deal with Zhu Li. However, please do not forget your original promise. As long as the Central Plains Dynasty exists, the Shatuo clan will stick to their duties and guard the border for the people of the Central Plains."
Hai Chanzi thought about it and decided to help Li Keyong, and by the way, reminded the other party again to stick to their promise. Although Hai Chanzi's lineage was detached from the world, they had been living in seclusion in Yanshan, so they naturally understood the sufferings of the people in the north. However, the help they, the Taoists, could give to the people was very limited. If they could stabilize a group of Di people and defend the border for the Central Plains, it would be a great good.
The ancients had a deep understanding of the family, the country, and the people.
The clan attaches great importance to it, and the native Taoists are no exception, of course, with the exception of the scum.
Seeing that the other party was willing to help him deal with Zhu Li, Li Keyong hurriedly said: "Master, rest assured, I can promise now that I will be a dutiful Tang citizen for the rest of my life."
"Okay, I hope you will do what you say and do what is right, and don't make a big mistake like your father did." Hai Chanzi looked directly at Li Keyong and spoke earnestly. He came here by chance because he had just heard about the rebellion of Li Guochang and Li Keyong recently. Otherwise, he would not mind killing every Shatuo leader who appeared.
------Dividing line------
The Hetao region is supported by Shuofang in the west, overlooks the Yangzi River and the Huaihe River in the south, and is flanked by Hedong on the left.
Now Hedong is still under the control of Zheng Congdang, so there is no need to worry; Shuofang Jiedushi Li Xuanli and Zhu Li and others have no deep hatred. Although Lingzhou, the former capital of Shuofang, is now mostly controlled by Gao Su, this was not snatched by Gao Su from Li Xuanli, but was originally occupied by the Dangxiang people, so there is no direct conflict between the two sides.
The ones that need the most attention are the three towns in the south, namely Ning Jiedushi Wang Chongying, Yan Jiedushi Li Xiaochang, and Hezhong Wang Chongrong.
Wang Chongrong was granted the titles of Acting Taifu, Co-Prince of the Secretariat, and Prince of Langya, and he returned to Hezhong to garrison. He was originally a general in Hezhong, so being stationed in Hezhong was considered a great return home.
Sadly, originally Pu, Jin, Jiang, Ci and Xi should have belonged to his control, but now except Xizhou, the other four states have fallen into the hands of Li Keyong. The only Xizhou is still under the attack of Fu Cunshen. Now he can only occupy Tongzhou and Danzhou as his solid territory. It is impossible to say that he has no ideas in his mind.
Wang Chongying controlled Qing, Ning and three other states. Among them, Qingzhou bordered Yanzhou in Hetao. Gao Su ordered Zhang Shen to garrison Yanzhou, with Cao Shixiong as his deputy general, to confront Wang Chongying.
Li Xiaochang controlled Yanzhou, Zhouzhou, and Fangzhou. Among them, Yanzhou bordered Hetao Suizhou. Gao Su ordered Zhang Jingda to garrison Suizhou and Li Chongba as his deputy general to confront Li Xiaochang.
Gao Su also sent Wang Zhongyin to garrison Lingzhou and Meng Juehai to garrison Youzhou. Wang stayed in Xiazhou and remotely commanded Sheng and Yin. He was also responsible for controlling other generals.
Gao Su personally stationed in Jiuyuan in the north to confront Fengzhou and the Di people in the north.
In the garrison tent of Jiuyuan, Gao Su was spitting and spitting at a big monk with a bad look on his face. The monk was wearing straw sandals, monk's robe, and carrying a big bag on his back. It was none other than the Budai monk.
"Monk, you still have the nerve to show up in front of me. Last time I asked you to secretly protect my envoy, but you ran away after saving the two adults, causing my envoy to almost die in the Wei River. How dare you, an unreliable monk, show up again? Don't talk to me about cause and effect in the future. I will never believe your nonsense again."
Facing Gao Su's spitting, Budai Monk remained calm and indifferent. He raised his hand to his chest and said leisurely, "Amitabha, I came here today to talk to the general about your envoy's affairs."
Gao Su was stunned when he heard this. He looked at Budai Monk suspiciously and said hesitantly, "What's wrong? Is the envoy in danger? Don't lie to me. There was news just from Shuozhou that the envoy is doing well in the south."
"Monks do not tell lies. Although Envoy Zhu is safe now, can you guarantee that he will always be safe in the future?"
Gao Su's face changed instantly when he heard this. Others might not know this, but he knew very well.
Judging from the monk's abilities, he had always suspected that this monk was an important figure in a mysterious organization. Not only was he an extremely skilled martial artist, but he was also extremely well-informed. The information he revealed was almost always correct.
"Monk, what did you hear?"
The monk Budai glanced at him calmly without keeping him in suspense. He said calmly, "The imperial court has sent out a master, and Yanshan has also sent out a master. In addition, the monk also heard that Li Sigong has contact with the Nanzhao people. I don't need to tell you what it is for."
Gao Su heard this, his eyes curved into a dangerous arc, and he tried to calm himself down, and said carefully: "With your skills, can he handle it?"
After hearing this, Budai Monk pondered for a while and then said, "If your envoy's martial arts are still at the level I saw in Guanzhong, most of them will not be able to cope with it."
"Can't you handle all three?" Gao Su was shocked.
"At least you, the envoy, cannot deal with the man sent by the imperial court and the man sent by Yanshan; as for who is sent by Nanzhao, I don't know either. The most troublesome thing about them is not how powerful their martial arts are, but some of their strange and bizarre methods." Budai Monk said seriously.
Gao Su was a little anxious when he heard this, but he suddenly caught a glimpse of the monk's calm expression, and his heart gradually calmed down. He asked seriously: "Master, do you have a way to solve this problem?"
Upon hearing this, Budai Monk nodded.
Gao Su saw that it was indeed the case, and said with a drooling face: "Then what are you waiting for, Master? I beg you to help me one more time."
Hearing this, Budai Monk nodded, then shook his head, stretched out a hand, raised five fingers, and waved it at Gao Su, which made Gao Su confused and puzzled. He asked, "What do you mean?"
"Five thousand taels." Budai Monk said calmly.
When Gao Su heard this, he was startled, as if he understood something. He suddenly stood up and angrily shouted at the monk, "You damn monk, why don't you just go and die? You can't even make up the five thousand taels even if you sell me."
The monk Budai ignored his anger and said calmly: "You can raise it. I'll tell you another piece of news for free. There is a mine in Yinzhou. If you send people to dig, five thousand taels is just a drop in the bucket. The monk wants money, only enough for us, never more."
Budai Monk had a solemn and serious face, so serious that Gao Su could not find any fault with him even if he wanted to doubt him. If what the monk said was true, then he would be rich in the future. This was simply a pie in the sky.
Thinking of this, his expression changed again, he smiled like a flower, and even said a little flatteringly: "Yinkuang, is what you said true?"
"Amitabha, monks do not tell lies. I can personally take you to the silver mine." The Budai monk looked determined, and his charlatan look was revealed even more thoroughly.
Gao Su was delighted when he heard this, and said cheerfully: "Master, if we can really find a silver mine, let alone five thousand taels, even ten thousand taels would be no problem. However, I hope that you can bring my envoy back safely this time."
Upon hearing this, Budai Monk did not agree directly, but thought about it carefully, and then said helplessly: "The monk can only guarantee to help him get rid of this disaster, and this time the monk is not going there in person, but asking an old friend for help, so I dare not agree."
Looking at the cautious monk, Gao Su was a little unwilling, but after hesitating for a moment, he said happily: "Deal."