Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 421 Fake Governor

Before the third watch, the rebel vanguard camp had begun to wake up from its slumber. The cooks stirred up the bonfire, set up the cauldron, and boiled water.

Someone walked into the camp in the light of the fire, carrying a bamboo basket and limping badly.

"who?!"

"The villain is Zhai Wande, the steward of Yuan Changshi's family in Changshan. He is here to deliver medicine to my family, Alang."

"Bring the backpack, let me take a look."

The soldier patrolling the camp brought the torch closer and saw a weather-beaten face with scars on both cheeks and a capable look in his eyes.

"In charge of the family? Are you afraid you have killed someone?"

"The villain used to be a ranger." Zhai Wande said, "Later he injured his foot, but fortunately Alang took him in."

"Yuan Changshi will stay in our camp tonight?"

"Yes." Zhai Wande said: "I was injured on the way to escort Xue Bai. It's time to stay in the camp to recuperate."

It was said that he was recuperating, but in fact Yuan Luqian was detained and temporarily lived in the tent of the dead Lu Ziqi.

Zhai Wande was brought there, lifted the curtain and called: "Alang?"

There was a fishy smell in the tent. Yuan Luqian was sleeping on the carpet. Hearing the words, he got up and lit a candle with the faint moonlight.

"Alang, I brought medicine."

"Okay, apply it on me after it's over." Yuan Luqian said, "I didn't expect Xue Bai to still have this hand, and it almost killed me."

As he spoke, he lifted up his sleeves, hissed in pain, and cursed in a low voice: "Damn it."

"You can become a prefect at a young age, and there are many evil ways. Alang, please bear with it."

"General Tian has sent people to kill that Zhuzi. I can also let out a bad breath."

As he spoke, Zhai Wande took out a small stove from his backpack, lit a fire, and started boiling the medicine. He laid out a small slate, dipped his fingers in the medicinal soup, and wrote on the slate.

First he wrote the word "Lingshou", and then he wrote the four words "Ling", "Ni", "Wei" and "Zhong" respectively.

Yuan Luqian squinted at the stone slab and nodded to show that he understood what it meant. The Lingshou County Magistrate had chosen to attach himself to Anlu Mountain, and the County Lieutenant Feng Qian was loyal to the court and was a candidate for alliance.

According to their plan, fast horses have been sent to remind Luoyang to take precautions. When the rebels continue to march to the Yellow River, their strength and supply lines will be stretched. After Yuan Luqian has contacted and consolidated his forces, he can then mobilize troops to call on all parts of Hebei to counter the rebellion and cut off the rebels' troops and supplies.

But the key to the plan is that Taiyuan must send troops and horses to support.

Zhending City, the headquarters of Changshan County, has no danger to rely on, its troops are weak, and even the people's hearts are divided. It is destined to be impossible to defend for too long under the siege of the rebels. If Yuan Luqian starts an attack and reinforcements do not arrive, the incident will be defeated.

They did not dare to put their hope in the newly appointed Hedong Jiedushi Wang Chengye. The former Yulin general had always been unknown and seemed to be a nominal general who served the emperor and sent salary to the Imperial Army. As for Li Guangbi, it is still unknown whether he has arrived in Taiyuan and whether he has military power.

Only Xue Bai went there in person and walked through Jingxing to ensure that he could lead his troops back.

Today there are three capitals in the world. Chang'an is located in the middle of Guanzhong, connected to the Western Regions, and attracts all nations to come to court; Luoyang is located in the middle reaches of the Yellow River, with thoroughfares in all directions, with water and land distribution; Taiyuan is the gateway, with mountains and rivers both inside and outside, overlooking the two capitals, and is the key to quelling the rebellion in its early stages. place.

What Yuan Luqian needs to do now is to gain Tian Chengsi's trust and wait for the opportunity, but there is one thing that he is worried about. That was the news he got from Lu Ziqi, and he learned that Tian Chengsi had sent troops to Tumen Pass.

He stretched out his hand to open a package of medicine, unfolded the cloth wrapping the medicine, took out pen and ink from his sleeve, and wrote a letter to Lingshou County Lieutenant Feng Qian by candlelight.

"Alang." Zhai Wande looked at the letter and said, "When Prince Dongping arrives, he will appoint you as the prefect, right?"

At the same time, his finger also wrote "danger" on the slate, reminding Yuan Luqian that the time had not come yet, and contacting Feng Qian now would only make Tian Chengsi suspicious.

Yuan Luqian watched the word "danger" written with potion gradually dry up and disappear, took a deep breath, and continued writing.

Of course, he knew that he had not yet fully gained Tian Chengsi's trust. Contacting Feng Qian rashly might expose him, but it was more important for Xue Bai to arrive in Taiyuan...

Suddenly, there was a noise of people and horses neighing outside the tent. The master and servant were startled, and they quickly put the letter they were writing into their sleeves, ready to throw it into the fire at any time.

The curtain was opened with a swish, and a messenger rushed in recklessly and shouted: "The general has an order, order the troops to follow him out of the camp immediately!"

After the military order was passed, the ordering soldier saw clearly that it was not Lu Ziqi in the tent. He was stunned for a moment, said nothing, and ran to another tent to continue shouting.

Yuan Luqian hurriedly rushed out of the tent and looked at the school grounds from a distance. He saw the majestic Tian Chengsi in full armor and leading a group of generals striding towards the war horses. At the same time, thousands of soldiers also mounted their horses.

This kind of hasty dispatch is obviously not to break camp.

"what happened?"

Yuan Luqian guessed that this battle was for Xue Bai, right? But Xue Bai only has that few manpower, so he shouldn't...

~~
Nanbai Village.

Tian Tinglin couldn't believe that there were only a few thirty horses charging towards him.

But no matter how many troops he brings, at the moment of the attack, he may only have less than thirty soldiers with the will to fight.

"Stop them!"

Tian Tinglin shouted hoarsely, trying to gather soldiers and horses to fight the oncoming cavalry.

But the explosion in the village had frightened his soldiers, and coupled with the sudden attack, he simply could not mobilize such a response in a hurry.

He has a very powerful elder brother Tian Chengsi. From childhood to adulthood, thanks to his elder brother's ability, everything he does always goes very smoothly. Therefore, when a truly difficult situation occurs, he will not be able to do so smoothly and will not be able to do so well.

"Quick!"

It was too late, the enemy had already rushed in front of Tian Tinglin.

The sharp Mo Dao rose and fell, killing the bodyguards and cavalry one by one. Blood splattered, giving off a sense of madness.

Tian Tinglin was extremely frightened, but she squinted her eyes in the bloody light and noticed a person on the opposite side of the battle formation.

More than twenty steps away, across the hellish fighting scene, there was a man standing there observing the battlefield. The first thing people noticed about this man was not his handsomeness, but his calm and powerful aura. .

Tian Tinglin recognized who this was at a glance. The soldiers surrounded Zhending City and searched for him for so long. Only then did he finally see him.

"Xue Bai!"

Hearing this, Xue Bai looked away from the distant fire and landed on Tian Tinglin without making any reaction.

Because he saw that Diao Bing had already penetrated the front line, he raised his Mo Dao high.

"Xue Bai, you're dead!" Tian Tinglin, frightened and furious, yelled at the top of her lungs and used all her strength to swing the same knife at Diao Bing.

He still has more troops, his brother has tens of thousands of troops, and his prince has more than 100,000 troops. As long as they arrive, they can trample Xue Bai into pulp. Just let him survive and bring troops here.

He had to block this knife.

"drink!"

Tian Tinglin's desperate efforts also made Diao Bing's blood surge. He roared and hit Tian Tinglin's hard helmet directly without changing the direction of the long-handled sword.

"Oh!"

In the heavy sound, Tian Tinglin's helmet was not broken, but his skull was broken, and blood continued to flow from his face.

Diao Bing also received a blow on his breastplate. With a "ding" sound, he was swept to the ground, but he rolled twice in a pool of blood and let out a roar, venting the excitement of the struggle for life.

"Are you okay?!"

Some of his companions rushed past him and went on a rampage, killing the remaining rebels until they retreated like water.

"Ahem...it's okay."

Diao Bing touched his breastplate and felt relieved when he saw that it was fine. He was used to being poor, but even though he is now rich, he still values ​​things very much. Just as he was about to sit up, someone came in front of him and extended his hand to him. It was Xue Bai.

He hesitated for a moment, wiped the blood on his hand, held Xue Bai's hand, and Xue Bai helped him sit up, saying, "Mr. Lang, I am fortunate to have lived up to my fate."

"Let's go, don't chase the poor bandits."

"Here!"

Diao Bing agreed, put his finger on his lips, and whistled hard, but there was a sharp pain in his chest and lungs, and his face turned pale.

"Injured?" Xue Bai asked.

"Yes." Diao Bing didn't dare to hide it and was a little worried.

"It doesn't matter." Xue Bai said, "We got rid of the pursuers for the time being and settled down temporarily in Neiqiu County. We recovered from our injuries and then went to Taiyuan."

Diao Bing joked: "I'm afraid that if I recuperate for too long, Lang Jun has already put down the rebellion and has not been able to make any achievements."

"I hope so. Go ahead and take away all the wounded soldiers."

More than half of the more than thirty people in this battle were killed or injured. After Diao Bing took stock, he found that Xue Bai only had about ten people left. He was actually reluctant to leave, but he was injured and did not dare to drag Xue Bai down, so he had no choice but to lead people north.

Looking back, Xue Bai was already leading more than ten riders heading west along the Hutuo River.

~~
The night was still dark and it was difficult to see the road clearly. Xue Bai conserved his horse power and did not gallop. While driving the horse, he evaluated various aspects of the situation in his mind.

If he just wanted to escape, he could just run away, but escaping was not the goal, achieving various tactical goals was.

He attracted Tian Chengsi's attention and sent a messenger to Luoyang; he pretended that he was captured and helped Yuan Luqian gain the trust of the rebels; he sent several different troops to leave and sent Li Tengkong and Li Jilan away; He attacked Tian Tinglin secretly, hoping that the rebels heading to Tumen Pass would notice...

At the moment, Tian Chengsi needs to be temporarily restrained to ensure that these arrangements can be completed.

What's interesting is that in this night of blood and fire, this section of the road along the Hutuo River is very peaceful.

Until some subordinates came over on horseback.

"Mr. Lang, the arranged boatman and boat are gone."

There are often countless small details in a whole big plan. Xue Bai is very accustomed to details going wrong. He has two ways to deal with it. One is to be prepared for two or more things, and the other is to stay calm in times of crisis.

"Where are the other ships?"

"Three miles upstream."

"Just keep walking."

Xue Bai's tone was very calm. As he spoke, he raised his head and looked at the moon. It seems that I am not running for my life, but taking a walk under the moon, taking things as they come.

"Mr. Lang, it's the villain's fault for not choosing the right boatman."

"Receive the punishment later. Do things first and don't be distracted." Xue Bai said, "Oh, I can swim. You should also be prepared to swim across the river."

This sentence is a joke. Being able to swim is one thing. Without horses, food, weapons and other items, even if you swim to the other side of the river, it will be difficult to get to Taiyuan. But because of this tone, the subordinates felt at ease and continued on their way.

Not long after, there was an earthquake-like movement behind him.

Xue Bai looked back and saw that the road to the east was crowded with soldiers and horses, and the fire was bright, as if a rising sun was rising.

~~
A rising sun rises.

The boat swayed and was anchored in the reeds on the west bank of the Hutuo River.

Deng Siniang gritted her teeth and tied the cable to a dead tree, stepped on the water, dragged the young man off the boat, placed him on the shore, and pressed his abdomen hard, trying to drain the water out.

"Cough cough."

The man woke up after spitting out water, waved his hands and said, "It hurts... don't press it anymore."

"You drowned, I have to save you."

"I was hit by an arrow... I can swim, not drown."

Deng Siniang turned him over and saw that there was a wound on his back, but no arrow.

Looking closer, the rod was broken, and the arrowhead was buried in the bloody flesh, with blood spilling out of it.

"You are hurt?"

"Yes, thank you sister for saving your life." The young man spoke very politely. Although the wound was painful from being pressed, he still had a polite smile on his face.

When Deng Si Niang saw him, she immediately felt that he was a good person, so she was willing to say a few more words, and said, "Little brother, are you from the prefectural governor's mansion?"

Her accent was very thick, and it took the young man a while to understand her. Just as he was about to answer, there was another loud noise from the other side of the river.

Deng Siniang was now very used to such people making noises and neighing. She raised her head calmly, but not only were there cavalry rushing towards the shore, but there were also soldiers from upstream sitting on bamboo rafts paddling diagonally towards this side. "There are ships over there!"

"Chasing, don't leave Xue Bai!"

The injured young man heard the movement and whispered in a weak voice: "Sister, please run for your life."

"how about you?"

"I'll hide, you run away."

Deng Siniang was not afraid of death, so she had nothing to hide from. She picked him up and walked away, saying: "You are being chased by those thieves. You are a good person. I can't leave you behind."

This move was not fast, but left more traces on the ground. The young man smiled bitterly. He turned around and saw that the pursuer had almost reached the shore.

"Whoosh whoosh..."

Several bows and arrows landed in the reeds behind them.

The young man pushed Siniang Deng several times, trying to get her to let him down and find a way out, but Siniang Deng ignored her like a bull, and their conversation was not smooth.

He simply closed his eyes and thought about how to escape with his life if he was caught. Suddenly a golden sound came from the distance.

The pursuers who landed on the shore stopped and asked loudly toward the east bank: "What's going on?!"

"The general has given the order to withdraw the troops!"

"Why? We all found the ship!"

"General Wu received a letter from Tumen Pass..."

Deng Siniang used her strength to plow the fields, gritted her teeth, and forcefully carried the tall man on her shoulders for two miles.

She finally got tired, and when she heard that there were no pursuers behind her, she stopped and sat in the mud, panting.

"Little brother, have you fainted?"

"Soon." The young man responded weakly.

He was in a very bad state, and he was probably trying to maintain his will.

Deng Siniang glanced back again and said, "Don't worry, the thieves didn't catch up. Tell me, I didn't save the wrong person, right? Are you from the Prefect's Mansion?"

"I am Xue Bai, the governor of Changshan. If you send me to Neiqiu County, there will be severe retribution."

"Little brother, you are coaxing me." Deng Siniang said, "I know you are not Governor Xue."

"Isn't it me?" The young man closed his eyes and responded incoherently.

"Of course you are not. I have met Governor Xue and he is much more handsome than you."

"Better looking than me?"

"Isn't that right? You can't pretend to be Governor Xue in front of me."

Only then did Siniang Deng take a closer look at the man in front of her, and realized that his blood-stained face was actually very handsome.

But she thought about it again and realized that the Prefect Xue she saw on the official road yesterday morning was indeed fairer and more handsome than the man in front of her.

She, a village woman, is not stupid. She knows that this is a fake governor, used to attract pursuers.

"I just heard what those thieves said. It's true that Governor Xue has arrived at Tumen."

"is it?"

The young man murmured, finally closed his eyes and fainted.

~~
"General, we..."

"Eating dog intestines!"

Tian Chengsi didn't wait for his subordinates to report a word, and already whipped him hard in the face.

He had just received the news that Xue Bai and Tumen County Wei Jia Shen had arrived at Tumen Pass.

There is no doubt about this matter. Xue Bai has ordered the Tumen soldiers to stay at the pass based on the letter from the governor of Changshan, and promised that Hebei soldiers and horses will soon support him.

It was a dangerous pass in Jingxing Mountain in Taihang Mountain. It was incomparable with the vast plains of Zhending City. Even Tian Chengsi could not guarantee that he could capture Tumen Pass within half a month. This would be equivalent to leaving a nail behind him that could hit him in the back.

"General, do you want to attack Tumen Pass?"

Tian Chengsi was not a stubborn person. After the moment of anger passed, he shook his head and said, "Go back to the camp first."

He rebelled with An Lushan for the sake of glory and wealth rather than to prove his ability. Attacking Luoyang was the top priority, and there was no need to bite a hard nut.

Qianqi quickly swept away and rushed back to the camp outside Zhending City.

"Is Yuan Luqian still in the camp?!"

"Back to General, here."

"bring!"

Tian Chengsi seemed to have endless energy. Although he had not slept all night, he was still energetic. When Yuan Luqian entered the tent, he looked at him with eyes like arrows.

Yuan Luqian had an injury on his leg, so he walked forward with difficulty and asked, "General Tian, ​​I wonder what happened?"

"You conspired with Xue Bai to harm my general and play tricks on me?"

"What?" After a moment of astonishment, Yuan Luqian said, "Why does the general think so?"

Tian Chengsi did not answer, murderous intent gradually brewing in his eyes.

Yuan Luqian felt uneasy and said: "If I have such a good relationship with Xue Bai, I will not capture him and hand him over to the general."

"I didn't see him!"

"The prince of the mansion was ordered to put down the rebellion, but the general is struggling with a problem here, but... How did the subordinate offend the general?"

Yuan Luqian lowered his posture, feeling a deep sense of crisis in his heart.

At the moment, the only thing he relies on is that he is here to ensure the stability of Changshan County and supply the logistics and food for the army. But if Tian Chengsi didn't care about this, he might kill him in anger.

Tian Chengsi was indeed considering whether to kill someone.

Although he was decisive in killing him, Sheriff Shi was actually a very important official. Once he was killed at this time, there would be a lot of chaos in the future.

Before he could think about it, Xin Ma arrived and announced, "General Gao Miao has arrived."

~~
Tian Chengsi had indeed stayed in Changshan for too long, which surprised Gao Miao who arrived later. After asking for details, Gao Miao quickly shook his head when Tian Chengsi said he planned to kill Yuan Luqian.

"Why is General Tian like this?"

"I suspect that Yuan Luqian is in tandem with Xue Bai." Tian Chengsi said firmly: "You are not really loyal to the prince at all."

"How do you say that?" Gao Miao said: "Since the rebellion of Fujun has begun, all the places in Hebei have surrendered, but how can everyone sincerely surrender? Before this march, Fujun also specifically said that Luoyang should be taken quickly. , Chang'an is the most important, why bother with these details. "

Tian Chengsi said: "Xue Bai first defended Taiyuan, then went to Changshan, and then occupied Tumen. His intention to threaten our army's front and back is obvious. This son is like a thorn in the throat."

"Xue Bai is difficult to deal with. The Lord has always known it and will not blame General Tian. But if Luoyang cannot be taken quickly, the Lord's attitude will be different." Gao Miao said: "In any case, Yuan Luqian did not let Xue Bai go in advance. The person was lost in Lu Ziqi’s hands.”

Tian Chengsi's eyes showed a hint of anger.

Gao Miao had no choice but to laugh twice and remind him: "The Lord Fu will be arriving soon, so Yuan Luqian will be handed over to the Lord Fu. How about that?"

"Ok."

This time in Changshan, Tian Chengsi suffered a loss after all. He lost two generals, but he didn't even see Xue Bai's shadow. In the end, he couldn't even kill Yuan Luqian to relieve his anger.

But considering the overall situation as priority, he could only dismiss these trivial matters.

The next day, at five o'clock, Tian Chengsi finally wanted to leave this unlucky place. With a sullen face, he came out of the tent, drew his sword and shouted: "Send the order! Break camp immediately!"

"Here!"

Soon, the generals got on their horses one by one and shouted to boost morale.

"Brothers, capture the Eastern Capital and enjoy the wine and beauties for your enjoyment!"

The morale of the army was greatly boosted.

……

Gao Miao watched the vanguard army leave and looked westward. At the end of his sight, Taihang Mountain stood tall.

"Damn, what a waste."

He cursed and decided to sue Tian Chengsi in front of An Lushan.

"Tian Chengsi was incompetent and let Xue Bai arrive at Tumen Pass."

~~
A few days later, Yuan Luqian stood in front of Anlu Mountain with his body bowed, and reported with sincerity and fear: "Returning to the mansion, I think that if I hadn't done my best, Xue Bai would not only have occupied Tumen Pass... he should have been It’s better to occupy Changshan County.”

"Hahaha." An Lushan sat on the main seat with his belly full of laughter, surrounded by civil and military officials on both sides, and laughed and said, "Yuan Qing thinks he has merit?"

Hearing this title, Yuan Luqian was stunned for a moment, lowered his head, covered the strange color in his eyes, and responded: "Yes."

"Good! Good!"

I don't know whether it's because of obesity or other reasons, but An Lushan seems to be much easier to talk to than Tian Chengsi, and he often has a silly smile on his face.

He raised his fat hand, beckoned Li Zhuer, and said, "I want to reward Yuan Qing. Bring me something."

"Here."

Yuan Luqian waited for a while and saw Li Zhuer's boots in front of him. He moved his eyes upward and saw a pile of clothes on the tray.

"Prefect Yuan, Prefect Yuan, go on."

Li Zhuer called out twice before Yuan Luqian reacted and took the tray.

"Thank you Mr. Fu."

Looking up, he saw a gentle smile in An Lushan's eyes, encouraging him: "Put it on and give it a try."

"Here."

It was a brand new official uniform, but it was not the official robe of the Tang Dynasty.

It is said that they were ordered to fight against thieves, but they had just raised troops, and the ambitions of the puppet government were already unconcealed.

Yuan Luqian hesitated for a moment, then in full view of everyone, he untied his belt, took off his official robe of the Tang Dynasty, and accepted the reward.

An Lushan laughed again, like the God of Wealth. He was not Tian Chengsi. If he had to test whether these local officials were sincere, all he had to do was let them wade into dirty water.

"Yuan Qing, please go back to Zhending City and manage Changshan well."

"Here." Yuan Luqian bowed and bowed.

An Lushan looked at his back, and the smile on his face gradually solidified.

He no longer wanted to restrain his anger and desperately wanted to vent it.

"My little uncle, he is not dead yet, he is right where I can see him, in the Taihang Mountains! You are all trash!"

"Master Fu, please calm down. I will take Tumen Pass immediately..."

~~
The new Changshan prefect Yuan Luqian finally left the rebel camp.

He looked down and saw a brand-new official robe of the puppet court, and he felt a strong sense of humiliation in his heart.

After that, the rebellion was put down, and he was already an official in the puppet government. He could not be cleared without great merit.

Fortunately, he has the opportunity to make great achievements.

Yuan Luqian turned to look at the majestic Taihang Mountains and told himself that he had to endure the humiliation and wait patiently until the moment when the humiliation was eliminated...

(End of this chapter)