The imperial doctors were busy gathering around a book and a jade pen. The most learned doctors in the Central Plains Dynasty wanted to find out what the poison was so that they could prescribe the right medicine.
People worked day and night, using various methods, such as soaking books and paper in water, using ants, saplings and kittens to test. But in the end, some people thought that there was no poison on it, and the faint smell on the handprint was sweat.
Yang Shiliang was summoned by the imperial doctors. He insisted: It must be poison. The murderer has already admitted it.
An old man said: I have smelled the scent of hundreds of herbs throughout my life, and although I am old, my nose is still useful. There is no medicine on this pen tube, unless the medicine is really colorless and tasteless, with no trace to be found.
Yang Shiliang was being questioned by a group of people, his mind was in a mess, and suddenly an idea came to him: Could it be that he was tortured into confessing
He broke out in a cold sweat on his palms. The matter had already been reported to the Queen, and all the civil and military officials of the court had set out. If it was false, he could get away with it. But when he thought about it carefully, the little palace maid's words sounded very convincing and did not seem to be fabricated.
Yang Shiliang was puzzled and said: "My fellow imperial doctors, please study this carefully. It should be correct."
He left the place and hurried to see the maid again. The maid was still tied to the chair. When she saw Yang Shiliang, her face turned pale and she struggled to move back. This time Yang Shiliang's expression was not so scary. He walked forward and pondered for a moment, then said kindly: Don't be afraid, I'm asking you, you did put poison on the pen tube
Unexpectedly, the palace maid shook her head.
Yang Shiliang immediately stood there in a daze.
At this time, the palace maid said again: I smeared it on that ivory comb. The official combs his hair every day, and the servants all use that expensive comb. The poison seeps into the official's body through the scalp.
Yang Shiliang almost lost consciousness when he heard this. He glared and asked: "I didn't find anything unusual about the comb. I just checked the pen barrel. How can you admit it?"
The palace maid's eyes were full of doubts: Didn't Eunuch Yang notice the clues from my fingernails
I swear to God, Yang Shiliang subconsciously looked at her hand at that time, but he didn't see anything and suspected this woman, mainly because he felt that her expression and behavior were different.
It was a complete accident. For a moment, Yang Shiliang felt that the world was full of absurdity. However, this was also because the opponent had a loophole and the person he found was not experienced enough.
At this moment, a group of elite Xu army cavalry in distinctive clothing and armor arrived in Xuzhou, and the armored and sharp-armored cavalry entered the city gate one after another.
It's time to go. A man wearing a futou stood at the intersection with a large group of people and watched for a while, then said to his followers.
The attendant asked: Let’s go now
The man said in a deep voice: Looking at the situation, the matter must have been exposed. If we hesitate for a moment, we will not be able to leave.
The two men led their horses and turned around to leave the city from another direction, then mounted their horses and galloped along the post road.
The attendant rode up to the scholar and asked: "Lord Fan, should we give a heads-up to the officials of the State of Xu so that they can prepare?"
The man called Fan Gong was Fan Zhongyi, a Han official of the Liao Dynasty. When Xiao Siwen was the King of the Southern Court, he respected him for his extraordinary strategy. Later, Xiao Siwen abandoned Youzhou and broke through the siege, and Fan Zhongyi followed Xiao Siwen to Shangjing. But by then, Fan Zhongyi had been in the Central Plains for quite some time.
Fan Zhongyi said calmly on horseback: Don't worry about the leak of this matter. What's the use of those people? They have to flee to Liao quickly. At that time, they will have to redeem treasures and official positions. If they are caught by the Xu people now, they can help us get rid of them and save a lot of money.
The attendant was shocked on his horse, mainly because Fan Zhongyi said it so easily. Apart from sighing that a man cannot be a hero without poison, he had no other feelings.
Li Chuyun's army was close to Guanzhong, and the march inland was much smoother, at least there was no shortage of food and grass. Every time they set up camp, the military camps stretched for miles, and the scene was very spectacular.
Everything seemed peaceful.
Li Chuyun was piecing together some scraps of paper in the tent and sticking them with glue.
His trusted aide Zhong Li watched with great interest as Li Chuyun concentrated on this trivial task, and thought: Mr. Li still has such a mindset at this time, he is indeed a man who can accomplish great things.
Li Chuyun raised his head and frowned, saying: The Liao people sent a lobbyist to deliver a letter, saying that the official was suffering from an incurable disease and would not live long, and they wanted to persuade me to collude with the enemy and plot a rebellion. At that time, I was angry, but also worried that the letter would be seen by others and arouse suspicion, so I tore up the letter on the spot to cover it up, and killed the messenger to show my attitude.
Zhong Li said nothing.
Li Chuyun said: I did some calculations afterwards. Even if the Liao people had a very powerful spy in Tokyo, how could they have done it in such a short time, from gathering information, sending it back to Liao, to sending people to deliver the letter over a long distance to the northwest
Zhong Li pondered and said: Mr. Li's words make sense. How did the Liao people know about this? Could it be that they hit the mark by accident
Li Chuyun shook his head: If there is no definite evidence, it would be in vain for the Liao people to send envoys to persuade me. I am already the Duke of Daxu, and my family and family are all in Daxu. What can the Liao people give me for this matter? The only explanation is that the official's illness is closely related to the Liao Kingdom.
Zhong Li and Li Chuyun looked at each other in bewilderment: Li Gong thought this was a conspiracy.
Li Chuyun nodded seriously: The so-called serious illness might be that the Liao people were plotting to murder the emperor.
Zhong Li looked at the letter paper that Li Chuyun had spent a lot of time putting together and said in a deep voice: Lord Li wants to send this letter back to Tokyo first to remind the court officials.
Li Chuyun frowned: "That's right. If there is no such letter, I would just remind you without words, which would just arouse suspicion. Otherwise, I am far away in the northwest, how can I guess that the official was harmed by someone?"
Zhong Li said calmly: Even if Lord Li sent this letter, people will still be suspicious of him.
Li Chuyun was speechless for a long time after hearing this, and fell into deep thought. After a long time, he silently continued to piece together the unfinished letter paper.
Zhong Li said earnestly: My lord, you must think long-term at this time. We must first show our loyalty to the country and avoid being blamed by others. We are not fully grown yet and dare not act rashly. We must endure it, there is a long way to go.
Li Chuyun did not comment, his thoughts were no less shallow than that of the aide. Li Chuyun's thoughts were not only derived from books, but also from countless experiences in stormy seas.
In the northeast, Xiao Siwen had personally come to the Liaoxi region from Shangjing.
He stood on the hillside on horseback, facing the sea breeze, and could overlook the Bohai Sea. On the flat ground by the sea, there lay an earthen fort of a strange shape. It looked really strange, but according to Yang Gun's description, this thing was very difficult to attack.
Xiao Siwen believed in Yang Gun's knowledge of battle formations.
The fortress seemed to be unfinished, like a temporary camp made of only adobe bricks; the most bizarre thing was the location. There was Longshan Mountain on the west and a mountain on the east, but the fortress was not built on the mountain, but on a flat area between the two mountains.
Yang Gun explained that the mountains on both sides were far from the sea; Xu Jun completely gave up the terrain advantage in order to get close to the sea. Previously, when Xu Jun built Iwami Castle in Japan, it was built on a hillside and there was an attempt to open up a sea route but failed.
This fortress is not a big city, and it controls a small area, but it is a choke point. If the Liao army enters the pass from the northeast, Xu's army is here, which will threaten our food supply route and retreat route in the near future, and harass our old territory in Bohai in the far future. Yang Gun pointed to the foot of the mountain and talked eloquently. Judging from the war in Japan, I think it is easier to abandon this route, send troops from Shangjing, and try to go south from Beikou Wuzhou and other places.
Xiao Siwen whispered: As long as the blacksmith Guo dies, there will be civil strife in the State of Xu, and that will be the time to change the situation between offense and defense.
Yang Gun showed a look of relief: I heard that the blacksmith Guo was seriously poisoned. As long as the poison enters his five internal organs, no one can save him.
What relieved him was that he was aware of the matter because it was extremely confidential.
Xiao Siwen said calmly: "We must keep calm and not rush south rashly. Northeast Liao Army, first attack and try to take this fort, and wait for the opportunity to fight."
After he finished speaking, he turned his horse around and looked back to the southwest. Xiao Siwen also felt that the conspiracy was extremely despicable. Moreover, when Fan Zhongyi was planning the strategy, he felt that it was not very reliable and difficult to work. Unexpectedly, it was successful in one go. Even Xiao Siwen himself was a little surprised.
Xiao Siwen was forced to do this. The Liao Dynasty was forced into such a situation, and could only resort to any means possible, even if it meant doing anything for the sake of the country's survival.
He had studied the history of the Southern Dynasties and concluded that if there was no blacksmith Guo, the threat to the Liao Kingdom would not be that great. As long as the blacksmith Guo died, everything would turn around, but Guo was only in his thirties, and Xiao Siwen felt that he could not afford to wait for him to die of old age; this was the best way, the sudden death of the Lord of Xu not only eliminated a huge threat, but Xiao Siwen also estimated that the Xu Kingdom would be in civil strife.
The shaman priests of Shangjing cursed the blacksmith Guo to death in the secret ancient tomb all day long, but the curse did not seem to work after several years. In the end, the poison took effect and sent him to heaven.
After riding for an hour, they saw cavalrymen everywhere in Yingzhou, tents like clouds, and a large number of Liao troops gathered. Not long after, General Yelu Xizhen rode up to see them.
The two groups of people stood facing each other, put their hands on their chests, and saluted silently before approaching. Xiao Siwen said: The Xu army's fortress is not yet completed. The commander-in-chief should send troops to harass them as soon as possible and don't let them reinforce the fortifications.
Yelu Xizhen said: There are only about 2,000 to 3,000 infantrymen in that fort, why not just raze it to the ground
Xiao Siwen glanced at Yang Gun and said, "The last time the Japanese army of 30,000 attacked Shijianbao with 500 men, it took several months to defeat them. The commander-in-chief should not underestimate the enemy. When he sends out troops, let Yang Gun accompany him."
Yang Gun rode on his horse and bowed to Yelu Xizhen with a serious expression.
Yelu Xizhen was also a fierce general of the Liao Kingdom, but his temperament was not as fierce as the once famous Yelu Xiu'ge. He just said: Very good!
Xiao Siwen rode his horse towards Yingzhou City. Along the way, the fertile plains of Yingzhou were lush and green, and the crops were growing well. Although the main force of the Liao Dynasty had never been in the old land of Bohai Kingdom, they regarded this vast land as their heart's flesh.