At the end of the Sui Dynasty

Chapter 706 Willing to go alone

As soon as Mrs. Cao returned home, Dou Jiande couldn't wait to ask: "Have you found out clearly?"

Mrs. Cao nodded and said, "According to what Mrs. Changsun said, it's just that a small group of Turkic cavalry appeared in Huairong County in the north to loot the local people. It's nothing serious, and the general Lu Sheng has already led his troops to check."

Dou Jiande's eyes flashed, and he said suspiciously: "If it's just a small group of Turkic cavalry, how can you be so nervous? And even Lu Sheng led the army to go there himself, so it can be seen that there must be many enemies coming."

"My concubine also finds it strange, but that's what Changsun said." Mrs. Cao replied, "By the way, Xianniang also told me to remind the head of the family not to go out of the city in the near future, so as not to cause accidents."

Dou Jiande said with joy when he heard the words: "It seems that the situation is much more serious than what Mrs. Changsun said, otherwise Xianniang wouldn't have said that. Ma'am, maybe our chance has finally come."

Mrs. Cao opened her mouth, hesitant to speak, Dou Jiande frowned and said, "Madam, is there anything you can't say directly? In the past, we husband and wife could share weal and woe, but now we are divided?"

Cao said a little worriedly: "Now Gao Changqing has wiped out Li Mi and Wang Shichong, and defeated Li Tang, captured the Central Plains, and successfully entered the eastern capital Luoyang. It must be a matter of time before the world will be pacified. It will be a matter of time before the Ninth Five-Year Plan. On the first level of relationship, our Dou family is also relatives of the emperor after all, and the wealth and glory must be inexhaustible, if..."

Dou Jiande interrupted disapprovingly: "It's true that Gao Changqing has the Central Plains, but now Li Tang is still dormant in Guanlong, occupying Bahan and Minshu in the south, and his strength is not much weaker than Gao Qi. Moreover, Jing Xiang In the area around Lingbiao, there is Xiao Mian who reigns supreme; in the area around Yuzhang (Jiangxi), Lin Shihong is king; Li Zitong, Shen Faxing, and Du Fuwei in Jiangsu and Zhejiang are equally strong; let alone Liu Wuzhou, Guo Zi, etc. He and Li Gui and the others, therefore, Madam said that Gao Changqing won the world, it is too early to say!"

Mrs. Cao sighed and said, "What the master said is not unreasonable, but now that Gao Qi's strength dominates the world, even Li Tang has to avoid three points, hiding in the pass and not daring to come out. I'm afraid it will be very difficult for the master to make trouble at this time Well, if it fails, I'm afraid you and I will lose our lives, and even implicate Xian Niang..."

Dou Jiande interrupted impatiently: "It's a real woman's opinion. If a certain family doesn't act as soon as possible, in a few years, who will remember me, Changle King Dou Jiande? This kid Gao Changqing took advantage of other people's dangers, and took the opportunity to murder a certain family. The family's territory, this bad breath, this family can't swallow it no matter what. If the wife is greedy for the comfortable and comfortable life here, she can stay, and the family can escape on her own. Mother is still sincere, and I think I won't embarrass you two."

Cao's complexion changed slightly when she heard the words, she fell to her knees on the ground with a plop, and wept with red eyes: "Although my concubine is not from a famous family, she is also knowledgeable in books and etiquette, and knows the principle of a husband as a wife, how can I abandon my husband?" For the matter of seeking glory, since the head of the family is going to do great things, the concubine will risk her life to accompany her, and I hope the head of the family will not say such hurtful words again."

Dou Jiande was moved and ashamed when he heard the words, he helped Cao Shi up and said: "Madam, please get up, it is because my husband blamed you, and you should pack up and prepare for it. If there is a chance in the next few days, we will immediately flee from Zhuojun and return to the old place to call for a meeting." The old department, do it again vigorously, if you lose again this time, a certain family will accept their fate, even if they die!"

Mrs. Cao nodded and said: "With your husband's reputation in the local area, you only need to climb up and call, and there will be a lot of people who respond. It is just a snap of the fingers to make a comeback."

Dou Jiande heard the words and said happily: "Mrs. Cheng said auspiciously, a certain family will contact Ling Jing, Song Zhengben, and Su Dingfang in the past few days. When the time comes, they will flee Zhuojun and go south."

A slight worry flashed in Cao's eyes. Now that Ling Jing, Song Zhengben, Su Dingfang, Wang Fubao and others have taken up official positions in Qi State, are they really willing to give up their rare stable life and follow their husbands to fight the world again?But at this time, it was not easy for Mrs. Cao to dampen Dou Jiande's self-confidence and enthusiasm, so he nodded and said, "But it's up to the master's arrangement."

A few days later, the news became clear. Chuluo Khan, the newly enthroned Turk, used the excuse of Gao Qi to put Empress Xiao under house arrest, and supported Yang Tong, the clan of the Sui Dynasty, as the puppet emperor to steal the Sui Dynasty, so he wanted to crusade Gao Qi sent troops to attack Yanmen County and Zhuo County at the same time.

At the same time, after being dealt with by Gao Bufan last time, Xi Ren, who had been honest for a few years, began to move around, constantly harassing the Great Wall of Xikou, and the Khitan people outside the pass also sent troops to harass Yingzhou.

Obviously, the Xi people and the Khitan people were instructed by the Turks to join forces to respond to the Turkic army. For a while, the situation in the north of Qi became tense in vain. Wei Zheng had to rush the news to Luoyang, requesting to be transferred More troops returned to the defense. After all, Youzhou was Gao Qi's base, and there was no room for loss. However, in this way, Gao Qi's pace of sweeping the south was greatly delayed.

In other words, Li Tang's strategy of teaming up with the Turks to contain Gao Qi began to work, and Li Yuan could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

…………

Ling Jing and Song Zhengben were Dou Jiande's counselors, and now they both hold official positions in Zhuo County. Ling Jing is a doctorate under the Imperial Academy and is in charge of education, while Song Zhengben is a supervisory censor. It's average.

In the evening of that day, Ling Jing walked out of the Imperial College, apparently a little out of his mind, when he suddenly heard someone calling him from behind: "Lord Ling!"

Ling Jing turned around and saw that it was Song Zhengben. A look of unnaturalness flashed across his face quickly, and he cupped his hands and said, "So it's Mr. Song."

The two were originally advisors under Dou Jiande's command, and they used to talk about everything, but when they met now, they both felt that the other party had more status, Song Zhengben pondered for a moment before saying: "Is it convenient to talk about it?"

Ling Jing nodded, and walked to a secluded place with Song Zhengben, who asked in a low voice, "Qinghe Convention, I have a gathering tonight, I wonder if Brother Ling has received the invitation."

Ling Jing nodded slightly and said: "I have indeed received an invitation from Lord Qinghe, but I have something to do tonight, so I'm afraid I won't be able to attend the appointment."

Song Zhengben gave Ling Jing a complicated look, nodded and said, "I understand." He cupped his hands before turning around and walking away.

"Brother Song stay a step." Ling Jing blurted out.

Song Zhengben stopped and turned to look at Ling Jing, who hesitated for a moment before saying, "Brother Song, do you still remember why you wanted to serve Duke Dou?"

Song Zhengben nodded and said: "Of course I remember that there was great chaos at the end of the Sui Dynasty, the people were in dire straits, and all the heroes in the world rose together. Duke Dou was always benevolent and tolerant, and had the ambition to help the world and save the people. Hang upside down."

Ling Jing nodded and asked, "Brother Song, what do you think King Qi is like compared to Duke Dou?"

Song Zhengben said bluntly: "The king of Qi is comparable to Duke Dou in terms of benevolence, justice and tolerance, he is even better than Duke Dou in terms of literary and military strategy, and he is far superior to Duke Dou in terms of knowing people and using talents."

Ling Jing looked at Song Zhengben intently and said: "Since the seventh year of Daye Year, when Yang Guangdong conquered Goguryeo, the people all over the world were displaced and suffered terribly. Now the king of Qi is taking over Hebei according to the Youying camp, sweeping away the owls in the Central Plains, seeing that the world will be settled and the world will be peaceful, and the king of Qi has the appearance of a wise master, governing the government and people, and the people live and work in peace and contentment. On the contrary, it is not a good thing for the common people and Dou Gong to cause troubles and calamities, isn't it putting the cart before the horse? "

Song Zhengben said bitterly: "Brother Ling's words are true, but Mr. Dou has the kindness to me, so he knows what he can't do and he does it."

Ling Jing sighed lightly, hesitated to speak, and finally uttered two words: "Take care!"

Song Zhengben nodded, turned around and walked away. Ling Jing looked at the former's resolute back, with regret mixed with a trace of admiration in his eyes.

Ling Jing, as Dou Jiande's former chief counselor, naturally knew very well that his former lord was not willing to fail, and to meet suddenly at such a sensitive moment, most likely he was seeking a comeback. However, with Gao Qi's current strength, Duke Dou's chances of success are very slim, but it's nothing more than tossing around. In addition to increasing the suffering of the people, it's just satisfying Duke Dou's selfish desire for hegemony.

Ling Jing saw this very clearly, so he resolutely rejected Dou Jiande's invitation, and chose to stand on the side of Fuzhi, the common people, and also chose to stand on the side of the current situation.In fact, Song Zhengben also saw it clearly, but he chose loyalty, personal loyalty to Dou Jiande.

It was night, and Dou Jiande was walking back and forth anxiously in front of the hall. When he was feeling uneasy, his servants came in and reported: "Supervision Censor Master Song came to visit."

Dou Jiande was overjoyed when he heard the words, and hurriedly said: "Please!"

Soon, Song Zhengben was brought in, and when they met, he saluted respectfully: "I have met King Changle."

Dou Jiande hurriedly helped Song Zhengben up, and said joyfully, "I already knew that Mr. Song would definitely attend the appointment, and now I will wait for Mr. Ling."

Song Zhengben shook his head and said, "King Changle doesn't have to wait any longer, Master Ling has something to do tonight, so he won't be here!"

Dou Jiande's complexion changed slightly, and he said angrily, "Could it be that Ling Jing betrayed this king, a damned traitor!"

Song Zhengben persuaded: "Everyone has his own aspirations, why should King Changle force him!"

Dou Jiande nodded and sighed: "Forget it, people have their own ambitions, and it's true that you can't force them."

Immediately, Dou Jiande and Song Zhengben secretly discussed.

Three days later, Dou Jiande and his wife Cao secretly escaped from Jixian City with the gold and silver, and several days of dry food, and came to a forest on the outskirts of the city.Song Zhengben and Wang Fubao had been waiting here for a long time, but Su Dingfang was missing.

Dou Jiande couldn't help but his heart sank, he frowned and asked: "The prescription hasn't arrived yet?"

Wang Fubao shook his head, while Song Zhengben said indifferently: "Maybe something is delayed, let's wait for a while."

As soon as Song Zhengben finished speaking, there was a sound of horseshoes on the official road outside the forest. Everyone hurriedly fell down and looked out through the bushes. They saw a young man riding a horse and holding a horse in his hand. , When he came to the edge of the woods, he stopped, turned his head and looked around, and it was Su Dingfang.

Seeing this, Dou Jiande was overjoyed, and quickly called out: "Dingfang, my king is here!"

Su Dingfang hurriedly led his horse into the woods, saluted and said: "Su Dingfang has seen Changle King and Princess."

Dou Jiande smiled and said: "There is no need to be too polite, where did Dingfang get the horse?"

"They were brought here in the army, please mount the king and princess of Changle!" Su Dingfang is currently serving as a school lieutenant in the Qi army, so it is not surprising that he has access to war horses.

"Great, let's go. Thanks to everyone for not giving up. If I, Dou Jiande, can make a comeback in the future, I will definitely not wait for you." Dou Jiande solemnly promised, and bowed deeply to everyone.

Song Zhengben and the others hurriedly returned the salute, saying: "It's getting late, King Changle hasten to get on his horse!"

Dou Jiande and Cao Shi hurriedly got on their horses and walked out of the woods as soon as they clamped their horses. Song Zhengben and Wang Fubao hurriedly followed, but Su Dingfang stood still and watched them go out of the woods.

Dou Jiande was about to walk out of the woods before he realized something was wrong, Le Dingma turned his head and asked, "Why did Ding Fang not move forward?"

Su Dingfang fell to his knees with a plop, respectfully kowtowed three times to Dou Jiande and said, "Dingfang thanked King Changle for his kindness in the past, please forgive Dingfang for not being able to follow King Changle to fight in the world, and wish King Changle this trip smoothly."

Dou Jiande's complexion suddenly sank, and he said sharply: "Su Dingfang, dare you betray this king?"

Su Dingfang shook his head and said: "Dingfang didn't reveal half of what happened today, so King Changle can leave with peace of mind!"

Dou Jiande's heart sank quickly, and he frowned and said, "Dingfang, why don't you want to leave with me, is it because you don't like me?"

Su Dingfang hesitated and said: "The general situation of the world is clear now, Dingfang thinks it is more appropriate to stay in Gaoqi."

Dou Jiande was stunned for a moment, then he laughed loudly and said, "That means you don't think highly of me, Dou Jiande. Forget it, a good bird chooses a tree to live in, and this king will not force you. If I, Dou Jiande, can stir up a little trouble in the future, welcome It is decided that you will come back!" After speaking, he galloped out.

The crowd quickly followed!

Dou Jiande was on the official road, the smile on his face disappeared in an instant, and he rode his horse and galloped south. Although he was extremely angry at this time, he had to show his due generosity. If he killed Su Dingfang, he would only I'm afraid that the only two remaining old minions around me will be chilled because of this, the gain outweighs the loss!

Su Dingfang watched Dou Jiande and others go away, and stayed in the woods for a long time before returning to the city and knelt down in front of Prince Qi's mansion.

"Su Dingfang, what are you doing?" Gao Da and Gao Er, who were in charge of guarding the gate of the mansion, stepped forward and asked strangely.

Su Dingfang said in a deep voice: "Su Dingfang has committed a crime, and he is here to plead guilty to Wei Changshi!"

Gao Da and Gao Er looked at each other, and quickly reported in. Wei Zheng didn't seem surprised when he heard the report, and said lightly, "Bring it in!"

Soon, Su Ding was brought in conveniently, and Wei Zheng asked coldly, "Su Dingfang, what crime did you commit?"

"Mr. Qinghe fled back to Gaojibo, and his subordinates brought two horses from the army and gave them to him." Su Dingfang said truthfully.

Wei Zheng asked curiously: "Then why didn't you leave with Dou Jiande!"

Su Dingfang said bluntly: "Today's general situation has become clear, and staying in Gaoqi has a better future. Sending the horse is just a friendship from the past."

Wei Zheng nodded with a sneer and said, "Dou Jiande is obsessed with ghosts, but you, Su Dingfang, can't see clearly. Someone, come and take Su Dingfang into custody temporarily, and make a decision after Dou Jiande and others are arrested."

(End of this chapter)