Aspiring to the Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 733
Cao Yanlu held the hand of Chief Shi Yanxu, repeatedly exhorting him, saying: "Be sure to report the situation in Shazhou to Your Majesty, and to show His Majesty my loyalty to Guiyi Army. Let Your Majesty know that Guiyi Army Cao's family will always be loyal to you. Your Majesty. Also, when you go to the Central Plains, don’t be stingy with money. Where you need to manage, you must manage it well.”

When it comes to the emotional part, tears can't help but come out of my eyes.

As the saying goes, people are in the rivers and lakes, and they can't help themselves.

As a superior person of a small power, this is often the case.

Although Cao Yanlu feels aggrieved by letting his elder brother stand in the way, at least his life will be safe.

But now that he is the envoy of the Guiyi Army and the leader of the Guiyi Army, Cao Yanlu does not feel the pleasure of being in power, but instead feels like he is facing an abyss.

Khotan's method of supporting him was too domineering, and even those with vested interests could not accept it.

After taking the seat, Cao Yanlu thought that he would face a wave of difficulties, after all, his brother's death was too strange.

As a result, no one cared about his brother's sudden death at all, and everyone was using his brother's death to protect their own interests.

Cao Yanlu realized that these tyrants in Shazhou didn't care who was sitting in the seat, as long as it was in their interests, even a dog didn't matter.

Due to the deterrence of the Central Plains, the Guiyi Army has lived a peaceful life ahead of schedule. Without external threats, internal strife has become more serious.

The two prefectures of Gua and Sha, occupied by the Guiyi Army, were also located in the necessary section of the Silk Road, and were infiltrated by the Gaochang Uighurs, Ganzhou Uighurs, and even Khotan.

Before Cao Yuanzhong died, he could still be intimidated.

Once he died of illness, neither Cao Yanlu nor Cao Yanjing, who died suddenly, had no prestige and ability to hold the scene.

Only after Cao Yanlu took office did he understand why the people of Khotan were so bold.

Facing the arrogant soldiers of the Guiyi Army, facing the tyrants of Shazhou and Guazhou, if the people sitting in the seats did not have the slightest reliance, there would be no bones left for them. Cao Yanjing relied on the strength of the Murong family and his strength. Uighur support took control of the situation.

However, if Cao Yanlu wanted not to be swallowed, he could only rely on the external force of Khotan.

Neither the left nor the right can be independent, and no matter how you choose, you are just a puppet, and you can't help yourself.Not to mention that there is still a Great Yu court eyeing him.

This gloomy prospect made Cao Yanlu unable to hold back his tear glands, and tears fell like rain.

Yan Xu looked at the tearful and snotty boss, unaware of the misery in his heart, only thought that he was pretending to express his innocence, and secretly sneered.

The yellow mud falling on the crotch is either shit or shit.

The fact that no one pursued Cao Yanjing's death doesn't mean they didn't know who was behind the scenes, it's just that no one exposed it.

After all, Shazhou relies on Khotan, and its economic source largely depends on Khotan. Cao Yanjing belongs to the Guazhou faction, and he is close to the Uighurs in Ganzhou, so he does not have the support of Shazhou tyrants.

The interest group behind him also liked Cao Yanlu more, Yan Xu said with a bit of caution: "Don't worry, Marshal Jie, I will go to Bianjing this time, and my subordinates will definitely explain all the reasons to His Majesty."

What he said came from the heart.

Shazhou tyrants are no longer the heroes of Zhang Yichao’s period. They only have their own interests in their eyes, and they only want to maintain the current situation. They don’t want the Dayu court to extend their hands to their Shazhou and seize the power they should have now. .

Even if you know it's impossible to do, you have to wait until the last moment to reap the benefits before submitting.

After all, the court questioned the crime in the end, and it was Cao Yanlu who rebelled against the court, and the Cao family who did all the crimes, so what does it have to do with them?
They are forced.

Cao Yanlu returned to the backyard numbly, and Shengtian Princesses Li Shi and Ge Zhuoxi immediately came up to him and asked about the situation.

Cao Yanlu forced a smile on his face and said, "Fortunately, Master Yuezhang's majesty is still there, and he temporarily suppressed them."

Both Li Shi and Ge Zhuoxi showed knowing smiles, it's good that Cao Yanlu can realize this.

They just want Cao Yanlu to depend on them, and only in this way can they obey their orders.

Cao Yanlu said helplessly: "Shazhou is easy to talk about. The problem is the Murong family in Guazhou. They will not surrender easily. I sent a letter to Murong Rujie the day before yesterday, but there is no news."

Ge Zhuoxi frowned and said, "It is indeed a problem."

Murong's crisis is not eliminated, and the Guiyi Army does not dare to support them with peace of mind.

Cao Yanlu said with a bit of panic on his face: "Murong Rujie is as domineering as his father Murong Guiying, so he won't suffer from it."

Ge Zhuoxi was silent for a moment, his eyes lingered on Cao Yanlu for a while with some scrutiny, and said: "It's not necessarily true, now there is the imperial court of Dayu on top. Ganzhou Uighurs dare not help openly, as long as Shazhou is united, Murong It is also difficult for the other powerful families in Guazhou to join forces. The Murong family alone is not something to be afraid of. Let me mediate this matter..."

Khotan has business contacts with most wealthy families in Shazhou. At this time, they can only make a wave of blood in exchange for the stability of Cao Yanlu's seat.

Ge Zhuoxi suspected that Cao Yanlu would use them to secure his position as the commander of the Guiyi Army, but at this point, he had no other choice.

The Kara Khanate's offensive has slowed down recently, but the dispatch is frequent, and it is obvious that there is a big move.If Khotan does not receive strong support, it is very likely that soldiers will come to the city, and Khotan will be in danger at that time.

The situation of the Guiyi Army must be stabilized before the Kara Khanate takes action.

Ge Zhuoxi thought about this, but he didn't care about it anymore, so he took his leave and left.

This is the way things are in the world, nothing is perfect.Especially in the political field, if you want to get some, you must give up others.

Cao Yanlu and his wife, Mrs. Li, chatted with each other for a while before leaving the courtyard.

As soon as he walked out of the courtyard, Cao Yanlu's friendly and kind face became gloomy.

Even a puppet has the idea of ​​turning over.

"Son!"

Cao Yanlu hadn't walked more than a hundred steps, and a person greeted him mysteriously.

Seeing the person coming, Cao Yanlu carefully glanced left and right, and seeing no one around, hurriedly asked in a low voice: "How is the matter going?"

He still looked out, not looking at the person coming, but observing the situation.

The person who came was Qiu Daoheng, one of his few cronies...

His father cultivated a lot of political legacy for him back then, but Cao Yanjing broke up and collected them all.There are only a handful of people around him who he can trust, and this Qiu Daoheng is one of the few people he can trust right now.

Qiu Daoheng also deliberately lowered his voice and said: "Everything is settled, and arrangements have been made for the eldest lady and young master to leave the city."

"Okay, okay!" Cao Yanlu said three good times in a row, kept nodding, and waved his arms excitedly, sending troops to support Khotan?
It doesn't do him any good.

But as long as the infighting between the Cao family in Shazhou and the Murong family in Guazhou is provoked, there will be enough reasons not to send troops, and he can take advantage of the situation to take back power little by little...

As for returning to Dayu, Cao Yanlu never thought that how could the century-old foundation of the Cao family of the Guiyi army be destroyed in his own hands?
What's more, even if he wanted to, the big clan in Shazhou would not agree.
-
Night, Mingsha Mountain.

These more than ten people escorted a special carriage slowly in the desert.

The leader is over [-] years old, Miao Zong is the leader of this group, responsible for escorting Cao Yanjing's wife Murong and her ten-year-old son Cao Zongshou back to Guazhou.

In history, Cao Zongshou was the seventh envoy of the Guiyi Army Jiedu of the Cao family. He personally led the Murong family to beat Cao Yanlu to death, and became the Jieshuai of the Guiyi Army.

"Miaodu, the Crescent Lake is just ahead." A person beside him reminded him.

There is a large desert between Shazhou and Guazhou. There are tens of thousands of roads to walk in the desert, but there are only a few fixed water replenishment points.

Mingsha Mountain Crescent Spring is a scenic spot in later generations, but it was the source of life in ancient times.

No matter how you detour, you will get water at the water source at the end.

Miao Zong nodded and said: "You take a few brothers to find out the situation. You don't need to go to the post station, just get some water at the edge of the spring."

Seeing the black shadow gallop away, Miao Zong glanced at the carriage behind him, thinking about what reward he would get for completing the mission this time.

After a long time, Miao Zong was a little impatient, suddenly his horse neighed restlessly for no reason, and moved restlessly from side to side.

Miao Zong pulled the reins vigorously, stroked his neck gently, and calmed down his mount. Just when he felt strange, he found a few dark shadows approaching him in the dark, and his hairs stood on end, and he was about to shout out loud , but I heard the sound of "swish, swish" arrows piercing the air in my ears.

Before Miao Zong could react, there was a sharp pain in his chest and he fell off his horse.

Miao Zong's mind was blank, only one thought, it's over, my life will be explained here.

Hearing the exclamation and wailing from the surroundings, Miao Zong realized that he was still alive. When he touched his chest, it was a slender crossbow arrow, and a feeling of horror welled up in his heart.

Is this a chain crossbow?
Dayu Wu Desi!
Crossbows are controlled weapons and private ownership is prohibited.

They Guiyi Army also had crossbows, but that kind of crossbow was used on the battlefield. It was bulky and not flexible enough, but it was so powerful that it would surely hit one hit. Not to mention that I didn't wear armor now, even if I did wear armor, I would die on the spot.

There is also a kind of dexterous hand crossbow, which is used for short-distance confrontation. It is far less powerful than the military crossbow, but it is more flexible and light.

This kind of hand crossbow is exquisite in structure, extremely expensive and impractical. Only Dayu Wu Desi has a large number of equipment, which has miraculous effects under special circumstances.

Miao Zong wanted to get up, but the crossbow wound on his chest made him feel cramped and hard to breathe. Just as he got up, two thin crossbow arrows shot him down...

Before Miao Zong could react, the nimble black figure had already approached, and his throat was slit open with the short black blade.

Murong was holding her child tightly in the carriage, covering his mouth with one hand, her face was pale, and her body trembled slightly. She didn't dare to look outside, but heard a series of whizzing sounds mixed with screams , and then silence returned.

What followed was a bloody smell that choked the nose.

All was silent.

Suddenly the carriage moved.

Murong was silent for a while, and said: "Where is the strong man taking his concubine? As long as the strong man can send my son back to Guazhou, I am willing to be a hostage in exchange for a thousand gold for the strong man."

The tempting words were ignored outside the car, but the two words "Liangzhou!"

(End of this chapter)