"Splash..." A basin of cold water was poured over Sima Qingshan, who had just been knocked unconscious by Yan Qing, woke up slowly.
Sima Qingshan woke up and found himself lying on the ground. He looked around and realized that this was no other place but the Huwei Hall inside Luming Pass. Yan Liqiang was sitting in the main seat in the hall, squinting at him. However, there were no guards from Luming Pass in the hall at this moment. All of them were Yan Liqiang's men, several officers from Luyuan, and guards from the palace in military uniforms. They were all in the hall, holding the swords at their waists, staring at him hungrily.
Sima Qingshan turned his head again and saw the heads of Luquan County Magistrate Zhou Shouren and Master Zhou were placed on the table next to him. The two heads still had their eyes wide open, staring at Sima Qingshan who was so close to him, which frightened Sima Qingshan so much that he woke up completely in an instant.
"You... who are you?" Sima Qingshan looked at Yan Liqiang and asked in a trembling voice.
When Yan Liqiang introduced himself just now, Sima Qingshan had already fainted, so he did not hear what Yan Liqiang said. When he woke up at this moment, Sima Qingshan immediately understood that the young man in front of him, who was as murderous as thunder and could chop off the head of the Luquan County Magistrate with a single sword when he saw him, was definitely not an ordinary officer in the Imperial Cavalry and Infantry Division.
"I am Yan Liqiang!"
"Ah!" Sima Qingshan was shocked and stunned. "You are the Han Empire's Qi Yun Governor, the inventor of the four-wheeled carriage and woolen cloth, the Grand Master of the Imperial Household and the Prince's Archery Master Yan Liqiang..."
Yan Liqiang smiled and said, "Haha, so you've heard of my name!"
Sima Qingshan had more than just heard of this name. For ordinary people, this name might have just been heard of vaguely, but for someone like him who was involved in officialdom, this name was simply a household name.
Shocked, Sima Qingshan's mouth was dry. He swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and his mind quickly turned, thinking about his current situation and chances of survival. At this time, Yan Liqiang had even chopped off the heads of the county governor and his son, so chopping off his head was just a matter of words. The reason why Yan Liqiang let him live was that he would definitely be useful to him. Thinking of this, Sima Qingshan couldn't help but look back at the direction of the entrance of Huwei Hall, "Then at this moment... Luming Pass..."
"Luquan County Governor Zhou's father and son were cruel and merciless, and they plotted treason and have been executed. The ringleader is dead, and the accomplices are innocent. At this moment, all the soldiers in Luming Pass have laid down their weapons and completely obeyed my arrangements. They will no longer work for Zhou's father and son!" Yan Liqiang said calmly, "I didn't make it difficult for them. Apart from asking them to temporarily close Luming Pass, they can now move freely in Luming Pass!"
Listening to Yan Liqiang's words, Sima Qingshan slowly regained some composure from his panic, "Why did Lord Yan spare my life?"
Yan Liqiang smiled lightly, "We each serve our own master. You are Zhou Shouren's advisor, you receive his salary and are sent by him. It is your duty to plan and do things for Zhou Shouren. Even if you are planning and scheming against me, there is no personal grudge between you and me. I did not come to Luquan County to kill people. If it is not necessary, I really do not want to get involved in more bloodshed!"
Yan Liqiang's words made Sima Qingshan stunned for a long time, and then Sima Qingshan sighed, "Your Excellency's skills and generosity are beyond my reach. Thank you for sparing my life, what can I do for you?"
“Luming Pass is a strategic pass, but there are less than 2,000 defenders inside. Where are the others? And where is Xiong Siwu, the governor of Luquan County? Do I need to remind you?” Yan Liqiang pointed at the heads of Zhou Shouren and his son. “Take a few people with you and carry the two heads of Zhou’s father and son to see Xiong Siwu. Tell him that the family of the governor of Jinzhou is in my caravan. If Xiong Siwu wants to bury these two dead men with his whole family, he must be tired of living. Just go all the way and be a bandit in Gaoyi County. If he comes back, the matter of Zhou’s father and son has nothing to do with him. He was sent by someone and didn’t know who was in my caravan. This account will not be counted on him!”
Sima Qingshan's face turned completely pale, his lips trembling slightly, "So... So Lord Yan already... already knew..."
"Haha, as the saying goes, like father, like son. Young Master Zhou is such a virtuous man, how can Zhou Shouren be any better? I held his son hostage and cut off his son's ears. He would not be angry, but come to admit his mistake to me? If he is so reasonable, how could his son be lawless in Luquan County and even dare to touch the carriages and horses of the Imperial Mabu Division? I heard that the governor of Luquan County, Xiong Siwu, is a black man who is seven feet tall and like an iron tower. He is stationed in Luming Pass all year round. In the occasion just now, the people accompanying Zhou Shouren were not the governor of Luquan County. I knew there must be a trick. Our identities are those of the Imperial Mabu Division. In broad daylight, and at the gate of Luming Pass, Zhou Shouren dared not take action no matter what, so I guessed that he must want to wait for me. Let's release his son, leave Luming Pass and enter Gaoyi County to take action. Gaoyi County has high mountains and dense forests, and there are many canyons. If Xiong Siwu leads four or five thousand troops to ambush in a dangerous place, pretending to be bandits or even members of the White Lotus Sect, even if he kills us, others will not suspect Zhou Shouren. Do you think I am right? Yesterday, the official road was blocked just to buy a day for the Luquan County governor to take action. If Zhou Shouren was really willing to bow his head, we would have left Luming Pass yesterday. Do you really think that I will be fooled by his gesture of sending us some food? Haha, I think this plan should be yours. Zhou Shouren, a fat fool, probably can't think of such a tortuous and vicious plan..."
Listening to Yan Liqiang's words, Sima Qingshan prostrated himself on the ground, not daring to raise his head, his body trembling. This vicious plan was originally proposed by him. He thought that this plan was perfect and there would be no mistakes. Zhou Shouren was also very satisfied. Unexpectedly, in the eyes of Yan Liqiang, his plan was full of flaws and was completely useless. For Sima Qingshan, who claimed to be very smart, this blow was tantamount to being stripped naked and paraded through the streets.
"Please... forgive me, sir!" Sima Qingshan's voice began to tremble.
"I've already said that we each serve our own masters, and I don't blame you!" Yan Liqiang waved his hand, "We are in a hurry to get on with our journey, so just go and come back quickly..."
"Sir, Sima Qingshan has a favor to ask!"
"Oh, what's the matter? Tell me!" Yan Liqiang already knew what Sima Qingshan was thinking about, but he still pretended not to know on the surface.
Sima Qingshan, who had been lowering his head, suddenly raised his head and looked at Yan Liqiang. The deep affection on his face seemed to have burst out with great courage, and he suddenly became firm, "If you don't mind, I, Sima Qingshan, am willing to follow you and serve you wholeheartedly for the rest of my life!"
"You want to follow me, so how can I trust you not to betray me?"
Sima Qingshan gritted his teeth and said, "If you agree, I will tell everyone after I go out that I was the one who leaked the county governor's plan to you. This way, everyone will know that I sold out my master for fame and fortune. Apart from being with you, there will be no place for me, Sima Qingshan, in this vast world!"
Yan Liqiang couldn't help but look at Sima Qingshan twice more, "You are quite cruel to yourself!"
"A wise bird chooses the right tree to roost in. Your Excellency's mind and means are beyond Sima Qingshan's reach. As a scholar, Sima Qingshan is willing to follow in your footsteps. I hope Your Excellency will grant me your approval!"
"Bring Xiong Siwu and his men here first!"
"Yes!" Sima Qingshan stood up, bowed to Yan Li, and left Huweitang with the heads of Zhou's father and son.
Looking at Sima Qingshan's leaving figure, Yan Liqiang stroked his chin and thought that this Sima Qingshan was quite interesting!
A few minutes later, Sima Qingshan, with a flag of soldiers selected from the soldiers in Luming Pass, rode on rhinoceros horses, carried the heads of Zhou's father and son, and went straight out of Luming Pass and rushed towards Gaoyi County.
When the soldiers in Luming Pass saw that even the counselor of the county magistrate was fine and could leave Luming Pass freely with several soldiers in Luming Pass, everyone felt relieved at once and dared not have any more thoughts.
It was not until Sima Qingshan left that Liu Xitong came to report that Zhou Shouren had brought a few of his retainers to Luming Pass. Those retainers had just been inside Luming Pass and saw Zhou Shouren being killed. They knew that the situation inside Luming Pass was not right, so they fled in the direction of Gaoyi County in the chaos...
"Oh, how many of the Zhou family's followers escaped?"
“Three!”
"Who are they?"
"That is to say, Zhou Shouren has recruited a few martial arts people in the past two years. Their cultivation is not low, but they are also not high. They do have some martial arts skills..."
"It doesn't matter, just run away!" Yan Liqiang smiled and waved his hand, "Tell the brothers under my command that we may spend the night in Luming Pass tonight, so everyone should be alert!"
"yes!"
As soon as Liu Xitong left, the maidservant named Yingluo beside Concubine Rong came again and said that Concubine Rong and several ladies invited Yan Liqiang to the back hall to talk...
"Excuse me, are Concubine Duan, Concubine Rui, and Concubine Yi here too?"
"The ladies are all here. What happened just now frightened them a little. They don't know what happened yet, so they would like to ask Master Yan to go and ask about it!"
Hearing that Concubine Duan and the others were all there and wanted to see him together, not Concubine Rong, Yan Liqiang secretly breathed a sigh of relief and said to the palace maid, "Then please lead the way, sister!"
"I am just a maidservant of the Empress. I am not worthy of being called sister by Lord Yan. If Lord Yan does not mind, you can just call me Yingluo from now on!" The pretty palace maid smiled sweetly at Yan Liqiang and took the initiative to speak.
"Well, I'll call you Yingluo from now on!" Yan Liqiang laughed. The maid named Yingluo beside Concubine Rong was so smart. No wonder Concubine Rong valued her and regarded her as her confidant...
(End of this chapter)