After the whole family was swept away, I lay down flat

Chapter 40 General Gu’s invitation

The large group of people escorting the third prince had already set off.

They were planning to set off early that morning, but Wang Baihu's robbery was a temporary accident. Although he himself was eventually left behind, the large army set off as usual.

Although he was personally responsible for Wang Baihu's robbery, it was not a big problem.The escort team will kick him out, not to punish him, but because he is a party to the spy robbery and murder incident and needs to stay to assist the guard station in its investigation.

Among the insiders present at the time, except for the scar-faced man who was a prisoner, Mrs. Wang was a female dependent, her son was still young, and the girl next door, Haitang, was only eight or nine years old, with a childish look on her face. .The guards felt that the only one who could tell clearly what happened was Wang Baihu.The task of escorting the third prince of the Hu family is very important, but it can also be done by others, not least Wang Baihu.He stayed to help interrogate the scar-faced man, which would be more useful.

As for whether there was a reason why someone from the guardhouse specifically asked Wang Baihu to stay in Suzhou City after seeing the miserable condition of the scar-faced man and considering the mood of Wang Baihu's wife, only the person involved knows.

The scar-faced man did not obediently reveal the information at the beginning of the interrogation.When he was finally willing to confess honestly, the large force escorting the third Hu prince had arrived in Ganzhou City. On the way, they encountered two waves of Hu sneak attacks, but the number was not large.The soldiers sent by Dusi were very skilled and did not allow the enemy to take advantage of them. They easily eliminated the two waves of Hu people. They also captured two or three leading small barbarians of the Hu people and escorted them to Ganzhou. go.After Du Si interrogates the prisoners, he may be able to get more information about the barbarians.

The general leading the team suspected that the two waves of Hu people who came were scouts and fast riders, who were dedicated to inquiring about news and delivering intelligence. They were not the main force of the Hu people's rescue. It was just because they had not waited for the scar-faced man to send back the information. The troops were never dispatched.

This can also prove that apart from the scar-faced man, there should be no other Hu spies alive in Suzhou City.Otherwise, the news of Wang Chengfu's disaster had already spread in the city. If the Hu people still had eyes and ears in the city, how could they just send a few kittens to die and then sit back and watch the army escorting the third prince arrive in Ganzhou safely?

General Gu told Hai Xiya, Xie Wenzai and others in a relaxed tone: "The third prince of the Hu people has been successfully imprisoned in the Ganzhou City jail. Dusi has begun to interrogate several prisoners. The case of Sun Yonglu and his gang members has also been handed over. The trial can begin. There is also news from the court. No matter how Sun Guifei and Mr. Sun Ge intercede, the Holy Emperor has no intention of easily forgiving Sun Yonglu this time. He should not have the opportunity to return to the border army to harm us. Now Once all the barbarian spies are removed from the city, everyone at the guard station can finally breathe a sigh of relief."

Hai Xiya smiled and said: "In the past, Suzhou City had a lot of people coming and going, and it was inevitable that spies and spies would sneak into the city and secretly pass on news. Now that the spies have been eliminated in the city, as long as we keep close to the door in the future and be wary of the movements of barbarians, we can There are peaceful days to live.”

General Gu sighed: "When all the people in Gua and Sha Prefectures have moved inward, the imperial court will issue an order to seal the city tightly and not allow people to leave Jiayuguan anymore. Although there will be fewer spies and spies by then, we can still be prepared. If the barbarians come to make a sneak attack, I'm afraid...even the caravans will disappear from now on. Although the city is still prosperous now, I'm afraid that this prosperity will not last long, and it will become desolate in a few years."

Everyone hurriedly offered words of comfort, and Lao Cao also said: "General, don't worry, there are so many soldiers in Suzhou Guards, and there are many people living in the city. If the caravan does not come, at most it will not be so lively, and it will be desolate. Where to go? Without the intrusion of barbarians and the intrusion of spies and spies, we can live a peaceful life without being in constant fear all day long."

General Gu Qinghong couldn't help but smile bitterly.How can things be so simple?There are so many cities in the northwest border, how many are as prosperous as Suzhou today?When the caravans disappear, the scene in the city will definitely be different.He was not afraid of anything else, but he was worried that without the caravans coming and going, Suzhou Guards and even other northwest frontier army guards would have less financial resources, and even the supply of food and grass supplies would not be guaranteed.

Their northwest frontier army can live such a prosperous life now, but it does not rely on the support of the imperial court.

Ever since Sun Gelao entered the cabinet, the military funds allocated by the imperial court to the northwest have been withheld for various reasons, and the Holy Father actually believed them all!If the Zhenguo government had not been prepared in advance, secretly alerted the various military stations, and took the lead in forming a caravan to conduct private transactions to purchase large quantities of grain, ensuring the supply of food and grass for the border army, the northwest frontier army would have been unable to support it.Not to mention their remote health centers, even the Ganzhou Guard where Dusi is located cannot guarantee that everyone will have enough to eat and not go hungry.But once Jiayuguan is completely closed and caravans are prohibited from leaving the customs, the private transactions of the border troops will definitely be greatly affected.How do they ensure that their own health centers have food and grass supplies?

Thinking of this, General Gu felt heavy.He said seriously to Hai Xiya: "Brother Hai, how have you considered the matter I mentioned to you last time? The Third General has prepared the appointment document. As long as you nod, it can be sent out at any time. Everyone, just Waiting for you to make up your mind!"

Hai Xiya sighed: "General Gu, our two families have been friends for many years. I understand what you mean. I have been in the army for 30 years, how can I be ignorant? In the past, I wasted years because of my personal relationship. I feel very sorry for the hardships that the brothers who sit in the guard post have endured over the past few years. Since the generals did not blame me for this, but instead placed high hopes on me, if I continue to be coy and pushy, wouldn’t I be letting myself down? Have you broken the expectations and trust of the general and brothers? Don’t worry, I will go back to the guard station tomorrow and see the commander..."

General Gu was overjoyed and held Hai Xiya's hand tightly: "That's great! Brother Hai, I knew you would agree!"

Hai Xiya looked back at his cousin Xie Wenzai who was sitting next to him: "It's just... this is the first time I have taken on such a responsibility. Not only am I the chief officer of a department, but I also have to be in charge of paperwork. I'm afraid something will happen." An omission. I want to bring cousin Xie with me to help the counselor. However, cousin Xie’s status is sensitive, so I’m afraid it won’t be convenient for him to be widely publicized..."

General Gu was even more happy: "No problem! It's our honor that Xie Tanhua is willing to come to our guardhouse! Don't worry, we will never talk too much..."

Haitang and Haijiao overheard this under the window and saw the butler Cui Bo winking at them again, suggesting that they leave quickly. They all smiled shyly, then bent down and ran away quietly.

They ran back to the east wing and peeked in to see that their grandmother Ma was still talking to Aunt Cui and her daughter-in-law in the main room, preparing to entertain General Gu for a meal at home today. They didn't have time to find a pair of grandchildren to scold. They all breathed a sigh of relief.

Haitang closed the door and sat down by the kang: "It seems that grandpa is going to be promoted. Since he is the chief officer of the first department, he should be at least a seventh-rank officer, right? The promises made by the generals before were not deceptive."

Hai Jiao slowly sat down across from the Kang table: "General Gu seems to be begging Grandpa. He... wants Grandpa to help solve the food and grass supply problem for the guard post after the caravan does not come to Suzhou City? This kind of How should grandpa solve the problem?!"

"Either find another way to do business, or start farming locally. Anyway, grandpa will agree to it, which shows that he knows it well and doesn't need us to worry about it." Haitang said, "What I am more worried about now is the Hu people. Although the spy was caught and the news about the third prince was not sent back, the Hu people clearly had scouts who discovered the escorting troops, but they did not send anyone to rescue them. Instead, they got caught themselves. Why do I feel that something is wrong..."

Did something happen to the Hu people?

(End of this chapter)