Looking out from a viewing window of Tokyo Shide Hall, two little boys were lying behind a peach tree, their clothes covered with dirt. Guo Zhang loved cleanliness, and lay there with a reluctant look on his face, but his brother Guo Hong held his shoulders and he did not move. Guo Hong, who usually could not sit still, was lying there staring at the front very attentively.
On a brick and stone vacant space, an upside-down basket was supported by a branch; under the basket was a bowl of rice. A hemp rope was tied to the branch, and the other end was held by Guo Hong.
Guo Hong stared at the bowls in the basket for a while, and from time to time looked up at the sparrows circling on the treetops.
Guo Shao watched what the two of them were doing, and he also looked up at the birds in the sky. After a long while, he saw nothing, so he left the viewing window.
This spotlessly clean room looked a bit messy because of the many notes on the wall and the random placement of many files. Guo Shao sat down on the couch and continued to look at the notes on the wall, all of which were people's names. Some of them were famous people, such as Yelu Xian, Xiao Siwen, and Yelu Xizhen, but there were also many very unfamiliar names that even Guo Shao was not familiar with.
Xiao Siwen didn't know whether he should feel honored that His Majesty was thinking about him all day. Fu Jinzhan's soothing voice came from behind.
Guo Shao turned his head and saw her smiling face. After such a long time, Guo Shao's health had improved a lot. He was just pretending to be sick when he didn't attend the court recently. Fu Jinzhan was most concerned about him now, not Xiao Siwen, so she looked very good.
Guo Shao touched the light hair on his head and said: Xiao Siwen used a treacherous scheme to harm me, and I was almost killed, and so many people died because of it. It would be fine if he was mean, but the treacherous scheme actually succeeded. This is a humiliation and a toy for me to repay him. I feel really aggrieved.
"Will Xiao Siwen be fooled?" Jinzhan asked softly, looking at the pieces of paper on the wall and the scribbled circles and lines on the picture with interest.
Guo Shao was speechless, even he himself was not completely sure.
The waiting time passed very slowly. The more he waited for the result to be revealed, the more anxious he became. Although he did not personally participate in the battle, he felt that it was even more difficult than those who carried out the conspiracy. Guo Shao could not help but stand up and paced around the small room.
Seeing Jinzhan looking at him silently, he said, "I have tried my best to deploy everything carefully and meticulously, but this matter ultimately depends on the opponent's reaction."
Guo Shao walked to the table and looked through it for a while, then said, "The Liao Kingdom learned from me and set up a special spy office; but now it seems that it is far from mature. The main reason is that the organization is too poor. The spies are acquainted with each other and can contact each other. So when the internal factory was investigating the poisoning case, they followed the clues and found almost all of them. I didn't order those people to move, and I came up with this plan at that time."
Fu Jinzhan listened with great interest. At the beginning, His Majesty required that the spies did not know each other and could only contact one person above them individually. He had made preparations for this from the very beginning of selecting people. This was really a far-sighted plan.
Guo Shao didn't think he was that smart, this was just basic knowledge. The elementary school textbooks taught the basics of espionage, in the article in memory of Li Dazhao, which described putting a pot of flowers on the windowsill as a secret signal.
The Liao people didn't expect this, and they had no experience. Guo Shaodao, he thought for a moment, and said, Jinzhan knows that the most feared thing for the spy office is not being caught, but being exposed without knowing it, and believing in false news.
Jinzhan looked up at the tall and strong Guo Shao. From the very beginning, every detail was part of His Majesty's plan.
Guo Shao nodded and said, "That's right." There were only a few spies left in the Liao Kingdom in Tokyo. When Yang Ye fled from Tokyo, the place where he rented horses, the route out of the city, and the escape luggage must have been noticed by the other party. Otherwise, how could Xiao Siwen be sure that Yang Ye was escaping
There was also Zhe Heige, a Tangut who was beside Zhe Dejian. He was a person that Zhe Dejian trusted. If he hadn't taken the initiative to give the Liao spy an opportunity, how could he have been easily bribed
Jinzhan nodded: Even so, it is just some circumstantial evidence. Your Majesty thinks this is feasible, mainly because Xiao Siwen is willing to believe it.
Guo Shao praised: Jinzhan hit the key point. Xiao Siwen is a man of great talent, but the root of the civil unrest in Liao is too deep. It was also the first time for him to preside over the entire Liao Dynasty. His position was not very stable and he seemed impatient. Otherwise, with his position, how could he resort to such a conspiracy as poisoning? When Li Chuyun led troops outside, Xiao Siwen also sent someone to send a letter to instigate Li Chuyun to rebel. I have seen what Xiao Siwen has done. As long as there is a little chance, he will try it and will not stop until he brings us down.
Jinzhan's smile disappeared, and she said softly, "People like this who harbor evil intentions must be eliminated as soon as possible."
Guo Shao nodded, lost his mind for a moment, and then pondered the various details of the deployment. His way of thinking was different from that of the world. At that time, people often thought from the big principles when planning things; but Guo Shao was different. He often combined each specific thing. It was probably because he had been brainwashed since childhood that everything was composed of particles.
Jinzhan couldn't help but say: Yang Ye and Zhe Dejian are completely trustworthy.
Guo Shao thought it was credible, but he also had a reason: Yang Ye knew that I was fine, so why would he rebel
However, there is a problem with all premeditated plans, that is, there are always uncontrollable accidents, and perhaps a small thing can change the whole plan. Guo Shao pondered for a long time, picked up a new note on the table, walked to the wall and pasted it on it. There were two words written on it: Yang Gun.
In the military headquarters of the front camp of Daizhou, Yang Gun, wearing a long robe and a fu hat, and the Han Chinese Fan Zhongyi, followed Yang Ye quietly.
At this time, a large group of officials came out of the hall, and there was a lot of noise. Someone said: General Yang is here. What the hell does that mean
Please be patient, everyone. Please be patient. Yang Ye raised his hands, and the guards around him put their hands on the hilt of the sword.
Yang Gun said nothing, observing the group of people in front of him intently. Most of them had clean fingers without any dirt on their nails. They were civil servants who had never done any work since they started studying for the imperial examinations. You could tell from their hands.
The skin on their faces was fair, not like those who had been exposed to the sun for a long time. Yang Gun even paid attention to the officials' belts, jade pendants, temperament and demeanor.
General Yang, have you ever thought about the consequences of keeping us under house arrest? A red-robed official said coldly, and then asked loudly with great momentum, "Which law gave you this power? Who gave you this power?"
Yang Ye said kindly: "Master Wang, you are too serious. This is not a house arrest. The Liao army is gathering in the north. There are Khitan spies in Hedong. I am just in case."
"Why does General Yang start to suspect us?" asked the red-robed official.
Someone else immediately cursed: Don't be polite, Yang Ye's intentions are obvious.
Yang Ye stared at the man and asked: What is your intention? Tell me.
The man said: You don't know your intention, yet you come to ask me
Yang Ye frowned and said: You guys should stay here and plan to deal with the Liao army's invasion from the south. Then he turned and left.
The crowd shouted: General Yang, please think about how to explain today's events to the court.
The group quickly retreated, and the group of people chased after them, but were stopped by the guards. After all, they were civil officials, and they were very good at writing and talking, but they could not use force.
They left the military mansion and returned to Yang Ye's courtyard. After dismissing the attendants, Yang Ye asked: "General Yang, do you think there is anything strange?"
Marshal, please forgive me. I don’t disbelieve you. Yang Ye bowed and said, “It’s just that the matter is of great importance. I will wait and see for a while before going back to explain.”
Yang Ye snorted: "I see you just don't believe it. In this kind of thing, everyone wants others to take the first step."
Yang Gun shook his head in denial and stopped arguing, since he had already seen it anyway.
"When will the Liao army set out?" Yang Ye whispered anxiously. "Things have come to this point, and you have seen it. I am afraid that if the night goes on, I will lose control of the situation."
Fan Zhongyi answered first: Xiao Gong has made preparations in Fengzhou and Hohhot, and General Xiao Duli is leading an army of 100,000 to wait for him.
Yang Ye frowned and asked: How many troops are there to help
Fan Zhongyi pondered for a moment and said: There should be more than 30,000 infantry and cavalry, including more than 10,000 Khitan elite cavalry and 20,000 Xi Jurchen infantry. Lord Xiao is in charge of Fengzhou in person. The general only needs to send a trusted messenger with our letter to Fengzhou, and Lord Xiao will meet him. As soon as Lord Xiao gets the news, he will dispatch troops to Yunzhou. The general can hand over Yunzhou to the Liao Dynasty in the name of defending Yanmen, so that the Liao army can get closer.
Yang Ye nodded slightly while thinking.
Fan Zhongyi added: “Let the two of us stay in Daizhou for a while so that we can communicate with Mr. Xiao about the situation in the north and the south.
The three of them then made a plan, and Yang Ye asked them to go back to their residence and write a letter.
Half an hour later, the secret letter signed by Yang Gun and Fan Zhongyi was brought to Yang Ye's upper room.
At this time, there were two more people in the room, one was Lu Duosun, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites and the regent of the cabinet, and the other was Yang Ye's second brother Yang Chongxun.
Yang Chongxun had been serving the Central Plains court since the founding of the Later Zhou Dynasty. He was also Yang Ye's brother and was considered a relatively trustworthy person. He was in charge of the defense of Yanmen Pass at this time.
Before the Northern Han Dynasty was destroyed, the two brothers of the Yang family each served their own master because the ancestors of the Yang family wanted to bet on both sides. The Yang family lived in Linzhou, a border area, and was originally a local tyrant. During the Zhou Dynasty, Yang Chongxun was ordered by his father to join the Great Zhou; Yang Ye was sent to the Northern Han emperor when he was a teenager. The outcome was obvious, it all depended on which side would win. Although the Northern Han Dynasty was in a remote corner, after all, the emperors of five dynasties had achieved success in Hedong, so it cannot be said that there was no chance at all.
Later, as the Central Plains dynasty grew increasingly powerful, Guo Shao conquered the Northern Han and was able to get Yang Ye to surrender, mainly thanks to Yang Chongxun's mediation.
Yang Ye first read the contents of the letter from the two envoys from the Liao Kingdom. It said that everything was as expected and there were no problems. It asked Xiao Siwen to take over Yunzhou and advance to Yanmen. After the two envoys had reached an agreement with Yang Ye, they would return to the Liao camp and enter Yanmen Pass.
There was nothing wrong with the letter, but Yang Ye couldn't help but say: Yang Gun might have seen something, I always felt that he was very suspicious of us.