When Yan Liqiang and his accompanying palace guards left Wuting County and returned to their destination, the atmosphere in the temporary residence had become extremely tense.
Before he even reached the top of the mound, Yan Liqiang heard a huge noise coming from the garrison. The most piercing sound was the voice of the dead eunuch named Jiang.
"You are so bold that you even dare to arrest the guards in the palace. Who gave you this courage? Even Yan Liqiang doesn't have this courage. Well, do you really think that we can't do anything to you, a bunch of soldiers who eat soldiers' food? You must know that this is still the world of the Han Dynasty. We are about to reach the end of the land. We can make you a bunch of people pay for it with just one word. Quickly release them and let Yan Liqiang come back to apologize to the queen. You even dare to arrest people around the queen. It's really outrageous..."
"This man violated the order of the lord and left the garrison without permission to go to the county town. We naturally have the right to arrest him. We will talk about everything after the lord comes back!" This voice belonged to Liu Xitong. His tone was cold and hard, and he didn't give the dead eunuch any face at all.
"What's wrong with him going to the county? We asked him to go to the county to inquire about the situation. Do we need the consent of Yan to do things for the queen? Let him go quickly. Are the queen's words useless? Don't force us to turn against each other!"
When Yan Liqiang returned to the base, he saw that the soldiers belonging to Lu Yuan were in a standoff with a group of palace guards. The atmosphere between the two sides was tense and they had already drawn their weapons. The harmonious atmosphere from earlier was gone. The dead eunuch named Jiang was standing in front of a group of palace guards, pointing at Liu Xi and others in a rage, and shouting with spit flying everywhere.
Elder Liu stood far behind the palace guards and did not get involved. Similarly, Yan Qing and Yan Hong also stood not far away, watching the two sides of the dispute silently. However, their eyes were vaguely fixed on Elder Liu.
The sound of Caiyun Zhuiyue's horse hooves made everyone turn their heads at once. Before Caiyun Zhuiyue could stop, Yan Liqiang had already leaped up from Caiyun Zhuiyue and landed steadily in front of the Luyuan soldier.
"What are you doing? Put your weapons away!" Yan Liqiang cursed as he landed, glancing at both sides.
When the people on both sides saw Yan Liqiang coming back, the soldiers on Luyuan's side put away their swords first, and then the guards from the palace also put away their weapons.
"My lord, you are back!" Liu Xitong came over with a sullen face, and spoke directly without any strict questions, "My lord ordered that no one should leave the station without permission, but one of the guards of Eunuch Jiang left the station without permission and went to the county town. He was caught on the way back. I wanted to wait for my lord to come back before dealing with him, but Eunuch Jiang brought these guards to ask for the person. When we refused, they drew their weapons. Please make the decision, my lord!"
Yan Liqiang turned to look at the eunuch, "Eunuch Jiang, what do you mean? Don't you know the order I gave?"
The eunuch rolled his eyes, laughed, and said cunningly, "I am also worried about the safety of Lord Yan and his accompanying guards. Didn't Lord Yan say that the situation in Wuting County is unclear and there may be danger? It's not a bad thing to have one more person to check and find out the situation!"
When Yan Liqiang heard this, he knew that this damn eunuch was making up stories. He asked coldly, "So, that guard was sent by you, Eunuch Jiang?"
Eunuch Jiang's expression changed, but he still said with a stiff neck, "So what? As the chief steward of the Empress, it is my duty to consider the Empress's safety a little more!"
"Xitong, bring that guard here!" Yan Liqiang said to Liu Xitong.
"yes!"
In less than half a minute, Liu Xitong and two soldiers came to Yan Liqiang with a palace guard.
"How dare you to kidnap someone close to the Empress? Let him go..." Eunuch Jiang screamed again.
"Swish..." Yan Liqiang didn't even look at the dead eunuch. He stretched out his hand and pulled out the long sword at his waist, and put it on the guard's neck. His eyes flashed with cold light, and he said coldly, "I remember your name is Xu Zhen. Xu Zhen, listen carefully, I will only ask you a question once. If you tell the truth, I will spare your life today. If you dare to be lucky and tell a lie, and want to see if I can guess that what you said is a lie, I will chop off your head here with a sword, and then I will see who can save you!"
The guard had followed Yan Liqiang these past two days, and he knew Yan Liqiang's methods. He would definitely keep his word. Seeing Yan Liqiang's eyes and hearing Yan Liqiang calling out his name, the guard's legs went limp with fear, and he was shaking all over. "My lord... What do you want to ask?"
"Are you going to Wuting County today to deliver a letter?"
The guard was originally feeling guilty, and when he heard Yan Liqiang's question, he almost collapsed instantly. His face changed drastically, and he knelt on the ground, kowtowed desperately, and shouted, "Sir, please spare my life, sir, please spare my life. It was Eunuch Jiang who asked me to go. Eunuch Jiang asked me to go to the posthouse in the county, find the postmaster, and send a letter to Xu Taizhong, the governor of Hualan County, saying that the queen and Prince Min had left the capital and arrived in Wuting County, and asked Xu Taizhong to send troops to meet them..."
When the eunuch heard what the guard said, his face changed slightly, but when the guard finished speaking, he was no longer afraid. He looked at Yan Liqiang with a smug look, with a hint of provocation in his eyes, "Yes, I did ask him to send a letter to Xu Taizhong, the governor of Hualan County. Xu Taizhong, the governor of Hualan County, is loyal. If he knew that the queen and Prince Min had arrived in Hualan County, he would definitely send troops to escort them. By then, everyone will be safe. There is nothing wrong with me doing this. It's all for the queens and the princes. Lord Yan said before that Wuting County is dangerous and we'd better not take it. I agree, but there is no harm in sending someone to pass on the message. Doesn't Lord Yan want other lords to know the whereabouts of the queen and Prince Min?"
Yan Liqiang looked at the eunuch coldly without saying a word. He just raised his sword and slashed it. Before anyone could scream, he had already cut the rope on the guard's body with one sword, freeing the guard. Then he sheathed his sword and said nothing more. He just said to the palace guards standing on his side who looked a little embarrassed, "You can report to the queen what we saw in Wuting County today!"
After giving the instructions, Yan Liqiang said nothing more and turned around to return to his tent.
The soldiers from the Deer Park and the guards from the palace looked at each other and thought that the fight could no longer be fought, so they dispersed.
Eunuch Jiang was very proud, feeling like he had won a battle, and laughed loudly...
…
Back in the tent, Yan Liqiang looked calm, not showing any sign of anger. He sat cross-legged and ate the meat and milk pancakes that he had prepared.
Less than two minutes later, the soldier guarding outside the tent said that a maid wanted to see him, so Yan Liqiang let the maid in. After the maid entered the tent, she bowed to Yan Liqiang and said, "The Queen would like to invite you over to discuss something!"
"Report to Her Majesty and tell her that I am a little tired today and want to meditate and have a rest. If Her Majesty needs anything, please tell Eunuch Jiang!" Yan Liqiang said casually while chewing a milk biscuit.
The maid glanced at Yan Liqiang and left immediately, but she came back within two minutes and entered the tent again with a message, "The Queen said that she didn't know about today's event in advance. The Queen also said that Master Yan had worked hard these past two days and asked him to have a good rest!"
"Yeah, I got it!"
"Then, Master Yan, do you have anything for me to tell your Highness?"
"No, just let the queen have a good rest!"
"Yes, I'll take my leave..." The maid left immediately.
After the palace maid left, Yan Qing and Yan Hong entered Yan Liqiang's tent together.
Yan Liqiang asked the two to sit down, "Why, do you have something to do?"
"Sir, there is something I don't understand!" Yan Qing clasped his fists towards Yan Liqiang, "I don't know if I should ask or not?"
"Speak!"
"Before you left today, you already knew that Eunuch Jiang would definitely send someone to Wuting County to deliver the letter. You also told me to keep an eye on anyone who left the camp and to arrest that person after he returned from Wuting County and wait for you to come back and deal with him. Since you had already anticipated what happened today, why didn't you stop me from arresting that guard in advance?"
Yan Liqiang looked at Yan Qing with a calm face and said softly, "Eunuch Jiang sent someone to deliver the letter, why should I stop him?"
Yan Qing and Yan Hong looked at each other in surprise. "Didn't the master say that we are not allowed to reveal our whereabouts? By doing this, Eunuch Jiang has revealed our whereabouts, right?"
"Have you two heard of the principle of changing circumstances at different times?" Yan Liqiang's eyes flashed with wisdom, and he smiled gently, "If Eunuch Jiang's letter is really delivered, and Xu Taizhong really sends troops to support us, I will hand over Concubine Rong and others to Xu Taizhong, the governor of Hualan County, and then we will go directly back to the northwest. We have escorted Concubine Rong and others out of the capital, and we have fulfilled our responsibility. After all, this escort mission is not easy and is full of dangers. I would love to have other people willing to take over. Even if Eunuch Jiang doesn't do this, I might do it..."
"Perhaps?" Yan Qing frowned, and Yan Hong also looked thoughtful, "Does your Excellency think that this letter may not be delivered to Xu Taizhong?"
"Whether the letter can be delivered to Xu Taizhong after it is brought to the post station, only God knows!" Yan Liqiang shook his head. "This time is different from the past. The capital has experienced a major change. The situation inside and outside Wuting County is on the verge of breaking out. It is already very dangerous. We don't know what forces are in Wuting County, and we don't know who the post station chief is. We don't know whether the carrier pigeon carrying the letter out of the post station will encounter an accident or fall into the hands of someone other than Xu Taizhong. There are too many unexpected factors in the middle. Who can guarantee that the letter will be delivered to Xu Taizhong?"
"In this case, wouldn't it be easy for Concubine Rong and Prince Min to reveal their whereabouts?"
"Yes!" Yan Liqiang nodded.
"Aren't you worried, sir?"
"Hahaha, what should I worry about? If the letter doesn't reach Xu Taizhong and is leaked out in Wuting County, and there happens to be a riot in Wuting County, putting everyone in danger, then the head of the person who sent the letter should be moved. I'm worried about having no excuse. After all, he is also someone close to the queen and has an important position in the palace. If I kill him carelessly, it's really unacceptable and it will be difficult to lead this team!"
Yan Qing and Yan Hong thought about it for a long time before they finally realized that Yan Liqiang had been holding back and only leaked the news of Eunuch Jiang's letter to the garrison without pursuing the matter. It turned out that he had made a complete plan. No matter what the result of sending the letter was, there would always be a result that would satisfy Yan Liqiang...
It’s ridiculous that Eunuch Jiang was so complacent just now, not realizing that his head had been pressed under the guillotine by Yan Liqiang!
"Sir, if Wuting County really gets into chaos..."
"Wuting County is full of refugees, and I haven't heard of any masters. What are we afraid of? Even if chaos really breaks out, the people who can be temporarily organized are just a mob. We will camp outside the city. We can fight when we want and leave when we want. Who can stop us?" Yan Liqiang shook his head gently and frowned slightly. "I just went to Wuting County and found that the situation here is worse than I thought. You just need to be alert tonight..."
(End of this chapter)