Chapter 384: Minister [Thanks! Thanks again! Owed 5000 words version]

The fourth day

Morning

The east was turning white like a fish belly,

Outside Ansu Gate

Carriage sounds rumbled,

Willows swayed.

The carriage team composed of carriages from the Xu, Zhang, Cao, Hai, Sun, and other families had already set off in advance, walking toward the north.

The place between the city gate and the Dragon-Protecting River,

Gu Tingye, Changbai, and Qi Heng, who had already finished speaking with Xu Zaijing, stood to the side, and Changfeng among them even yawned.

Madam Bai, supported by Mama Chang, stood behind, and Mama Chang wiped her tears with a handkerchief and whispered:

"Madam, you say how old is Jing Ge'er, this, how can Madam Sun have the heart to let such a child go to the battlefield!"

"In the future, in the future our Ye Ge'er, he..."

Madam Bai looked at the scene in front, sighed with full emotion.

Madam Wu to the side shook her head, as if saying, no matter what, she wouldn't send her youngest son Liang Han to the battlefield.

Madam Sun, wife of the Marquis of Yongyi, wearing a cloak, held Xu Zaijing's hand with her left hand and touched the face of her youngest son, who was much taller than her, with her right hand, speechless for a long time.

"Go."

After saying this, Madam Sun let go of Xu Zaijing's hand.

Xu Zaijing nodded,

Stepped back,

Bowed deeply to Madam Sun and said: "Mother, child is going."

After speaking, Xu Zaijing bowed slightly and turned, bowing to his elder sisters Pingmei, eldest sister-in-law Xie Shi, and second sister-in-law Hualan who were holding children on both sides of Madam Sun.

The three Madams, Pingmei, Xie Shi, and Hualan,

Pingmei and Xie Shi could be said to have watched Xu Zaijing grow up, and Hualan also had a sister's affection for her younger brother Xu Zaijing.

Seeing Madam Sun, the mother-in-law, parting with her youngest son, perhaps because they were all mothers, thinking that decades later, they would also have to face parting with their own sons like this.

All three had tears in their eyes, and seeing Xu Zaijing salute, they hurriedly wiped their tears with their sleeves and bowed with a smile.

Xu Xingdai and Gu Shixing, who were already sensible, shouted "Goodbye, Little Uncle/Little Maternal Uncle".

Finally, Lu Zezong, who was beside the crowd, looked at Xu Zaijing and said: "Sworn brother, when will you return?"

Xu Zaijing looked into Lu Zezong's eyes and said: "This, I really can't say for sure."

Lu Zezong nodded.

Xu Zaijing smiled at Zaizhang, who was in a bad mood, turned around and walked a few steps, and nimbly rode on the little Li horse.

Madam Sun looked at her youngest son, supported by the two daughters-in-law, and took another step forward: "Qingyun, take good care of your young master!"

Qingyun bowed on the horse: "Yes! Madam!"

After Qingyun finished speaking, he waved at Seeing Hua Qing, who was somewhat showing her pregnancy not far away.

Seeing Xu Zaijing on the horse, Fifth Da Niangzi of the Zhang family and Gu Tingyi, standing by the carriage on the side of the road, waved and shouted: "Brother Jing, have a safe journey!"

Xu Zaijing smiled at Fifth Da Niangzi and Gu Tingyi.

Looking at Chai Zhengzheng, who was looking at him generously, and Rong Feiyan, whose eyes didn't know where to put, standing beside Fifth Da Niangzi and Gu Tingyi while on horseback, Xu Zaijing nodded to show respect, then lightly tapped the horse's belly, and the little Li horse walked toward the large bridge over the Dragon-Protecting River.

After Xu Zaijing passed in front of the three noble ladies,

Rong Feiyan bit her lip lightly,

And boldly stared tightly at the receding figure,

And in her snow-white palm hidden under the cloak, a forehead band was tightly gripped by her.

Not yet on the large bridge over the Dragon-Protecting River,

There was another carriage to the side, Hai Chaojie was standing to the side with Hai Chaoyun,

Hai Chaoyun looked at Xu Zaijing, who had saved her life, with clear eyes, and said loudly: "Brother Xu, have a safe journey, return safely!"

Hai Chaojie also bowed and said: "Jing Ge'er, have a safe journey."

After Xu Zaijing thanked them with a smile, he led Qingyun, Alan, and He Guan to ride onto the bridge, followed by two knights, both with hooded falcons standing on their shoulders, which were sent by Huyan Jiong before.

After crossing the Dragon-Protecting River,

Just as Xu Zaijing was about to let the little Li horse speed up, the corner of his eye saw Qiao Jiulang standing with Liang Han by the river.

Seeing Xu Zaijing look over, Qiao Jiulang lowered his head somewhat shamefully and bowed with Liang Han.

When Qiao Jiulang raised his head, he saw Xu Zaijing waving the horse whip in his hand at him.

"Sixth Young Master, Jing Ge'er greeted me, when he returns, can I invite him to dinner?"

Liang Han nodded and said: "That's natural."

Watching the figures of Xu Zaijing and the others disappear into the distance, Pingmei held Gu Shixing and said to Madam Sun: "Mother, let's go back!"

Madam Sun nodded.

Soon, everyone outside the city gate dispersed.

Madams Bai and Wu accompanied Madam Sun back to Quyuan Street.

Zaizhang, Gu Tingye, Changbai, and others did not enter the city, but rode west and then south, rushing toward the Sheng family.

Several young ladies were pulled by Chai Zhengzheng and went with Rong Feiyan to collect dew in Yangzhong Garden.

When Xu Zaijing confirmed he was going to the northwest,

The news was already on the post road to the Marquis of Yongyi's army.

Unlike the last time Xu Zaijing took people to General Cao Lao, the Marquis of Tuoxi, this time there were many carriages in Xu Zaijing's group.

So the speed of this journey was much slower than the last time.

Set off at the Chen hour (early 7 AM)

The carriage team traveled for a day, rested for half an hour at noon,

And by the You hour (after 5 PM), everyone stayed at a post station on the bank of the Yellow River outside Xifu (Zhengzhou) city.

Relying on the post road and post stations leading to the northwest of Great Zhou,

On the afternoon of the sixth day,

In the misty autumn rain,

Xu Zaijing rode on a horse, wearing a rain hat and a coir raincoat, looking at the tall city wall in the distance,

The Hai family steward in the carriage to the side smiled and said: "Fifth Young Master, ahead is Taiyuan Prefecture!"

After walking for about another quarter of an hour,

Xu Zaijing rode on the horse,

Lifted the rain hat that was pressing somewhat on his forehead,

Looking at the three large characters "Kaiyuan Gate" on the city gate,

Xu Zaijing and Qingyun to the side looked at each other.

After entering the city,

The carriage team walked toward the mansion of the Regional Military Commissioner.

Although it was raining,

But Xu Zaijing's group of knights were all exceptionally fierce, and at the same time, Xu Zaijing's mount was too divine, attracting quite a lot of attention from passersby.

Among them were many merchants by the road, pointing and gesturing at Xu Zaijing's group.

He Guan rode his horse to Xu Zaijing's side, looked around at the eyes of the people around, and whispered: "Taiyuan Prefecture is a heavy town in the north of Great Zhou; among these people, there must be spies from Bai Gao, Northern Liao, and even the Jin Kingdom."

Looking at Xu Zaijing's somewhat surprised expression, He Guan nodded, confirming what he had said.

Afterward, He Guan continued: "Hope your identity won't be exposed, otherwise it will be uncomfortable on the road."

Taiyuan City,

Regional Military Commissioner's Mansion,

In the stable in the backyard,

The little Li horse and the dragon horse, having unloaded their saddles, stood under the slightly cramped stable, shaking their necks forcefully.

Instantly, the water droplets on their manes flew to the side.

Not far away,

On a large piece of charcoal burning red in a fire basin, a soft blanket was being held there by Alan and Qingyun.

After the blanket was slightly warm, the two draped the blanket over the dragon horse's back and began to wipe it.

After wiping, they took care of the little Li horse in the same way.

Finally, after putting extremely fine forage into the troughs of the two divine horses, they walked toward a courtyard under the guidance of the Hai family steward.

In the front hall for guests,

The frontier official sitting in the upper seat, the Hai family master, the Regional Military Commissioner of Taiyuan Prefecture, looked at the family letter in his hand with a smile.

Xu Zaijing sat in the lower seat with He Guan behind him, each holding a cup of tea soup to ward off the cold and drinking slowly.

After putting the letter paper back into the envelope and setting it aside.

Seeing the Hai family master's action, Xu Zaijing and He Guan hurriedly wanted to put down their tea cups.

The Hai family master, a frontier official, smiled and said: "Jing Ge'er, you two are not old, but you have quite a lot on your minds! Don't be so restrained here, drink more to ward off the cold!"

Xu Zaijing and He Guan stopped their actions, looked at each other and smiled, and hurriedly responded.

After a while, after Xu Zaijing and the other finished drinking the tea soup, the Hai family master said: "Fifth Young Master, the things from the Duke of Ying and the Marquis of Ningyuan's families, just leave them here. When the weather is good, I will send someone to send them to Zhending Prefecture and the Guangrui Army."

Xu Zaijing smiled and said: "Thank you, my lord!"

The Hai family master shook his head and said: "Fifth Young Master, these words are too formal! Call me Uncle from now on!"

Xu Zaijing bowed and responded.

At this moment, a Hai family steward walked to the door and bowed: "Master, the meal is ready!"

The Hai family master got up and said: "Let's go! Taste the famous food of Taiyuan."

When Xu Zaijing finished dinner and was soaking in a wooden tub to relieve fatigue.

At the back door of the mansion, some distance from the stable,

Someone dressed as a mansion servant walked out of the back door,

After walking familiarly for a while, he entered a dark alley a street away.

In a small courtyard in the alley,

There was a faint conversation coming from inside the room.

"My master really just wants to know who that extravagant person is."

"You know my master loves horses."

"Ten guan of money just to know a piece of news, so it's convenient for my master to ask for the price."

"With these ten guan, you might be able to turn things around in the gambling house!"

Another somewhat hesitant voice came: "Fine... heard from the drunk carriage driver, that person is the son of the Marquis of Yongyi's mansion in Bianjing."

Before long, the person dressed as a servant walked out of the alley again.

He first looked toward the mansion, then looked toward the gambling house,

After hesitating for a while,

He weighed the somewhat heavy money bag in his hand and walked toward the gambling house.

The second day

Early morning,

The sky was slightly bright,

After a light rain,

A pigeon flapped its wings from a small courtyard and flew into the sky, circled for a while, and flew toward the west.

When Xu Zaijing left Taiyuan City,

And stayed at a post station before dark,

That pigeon that flew out of Taiyuan City landed in the "home" in its memory.

A hand caught the pigeon, took the thin bamboo tube off its leg, and walked hurriedly toward a solemn hall.

In the hall lit with several candles, the light was quite bright.

This person stopped beside the table and whispered:

"Minister, urgent report by pigeon within Great Zhou territory."

Saying this, the thin bamboo tube was placed on the desktop.

The shadow cast by the candle showed someone waving their hand.

The person who delivered the bamboo tube hurriedly left the table.

The light of the candle shone on the desktop, and one could see another thin strip of paper spread out and pressed by a paperweight, with "Eighty-two Xu Marquis's youngest son passed Longde Prefecture" (Changzhi) written on it in Bai Gao language.

A little further from the thin strip of paper, there was another piece of paper with some bloodstains.

On it was written in Great Zhou characters: "Xu family's Fifth Young Master has set off, will arrive under the Marquis of Yongyi's command in a few days, all departments along the way of the Imperial City Division must protect his safety, if there is any mistake, execute immediately without pardon."

Further away,

Was a piece of paper with Northern Liao language, with a note in Bai Gao language beside the Northern Liao language: "Great Zhou's Shengzhou and Yunneizhou, both are urgently preparing fine horse feed, suspected that a Great Zhou noble is about to arrive." (Today's Ordos, Baotou)

A pair of hands above these pieces of information and paper was pulling the paper strip out of the thin bamboo tube.

Looking at the information on it, the owner of the hands said in Bai Gao language: "Hmm, already arrived in Taiyuan Prefecture."

Saying this, he placed the paper strip on the table.

The hands then placed the other three pieces of paper, together with this latest news, on a tray and pressed them with a paperweight,

Afterward, the tray was carried away from this place.

Bai Gao Kingdom

In the palace with the map hanging,

Bai Gao Kingdom Crown Prince, Chuihuan Division Head Liang Yiren stood beside Bai Gao Kingdom Emperor Liang Yifu,

And nodded toward the capable general under his command who walked in—the Minister of the Chuihuan Division.

This Minister of the Chuihuan Division, when Emperor Liang Yifu wanted to urge the Keyi Gate defender to send troops for a decisive battle, firmly stood on the side of Liang Yiren who opposed this matter!

The two also jointly broke the plan of the Great Zhou Marquis of Yongyi and persuaded Liang Yifu to dispel this idea.

And together with him, Liang Yiren, they advised the Emperor and formulated the "oriole behind" brilliant plan of using a counter-strategy to mobilize the army from the southeast front to defeat one route of Great Zhou first.

This Minister carried the tray, bowed, and said: "Your Majesty, Your Highness, intelligence from the Chuihuan Division within Great Zhou!"

Liang Yifu, with a sorrowful face, nodded and said: "What news is there?"

"Your Majesty, Your Highness, Heaven blesses our Great Bai Gao Kingdom! Intelligence from within Great Zhou reports that the youngest son of the Marquis of Yongyi in the north has left Bianjing and is already on his way to his father, the Marquis of Yongyi, and will arrive in a few days."

Liang Yifu said: "How can this be called Heaven blessing our Great Bai Gao Kingdom?"

The Minister of the Chuihuan Division said: "Your Majesty, according to the intelligence, I believe this youngest son of the Marquis of Yongyi will take the route from Shengzhou to Yunneizhou in the north, and after arriving at Yunneizhou in the Houqu area, he will go west to Fengzhou in the Houqu area, and then south to arrive at the Marquis of Yongyi's station..."

Liang Yiren, who was looking at the various paper messages on the tray, nodded continuously while listening to the Minister's analysis.

After the Minister finished speaking,

Liang Yiren said: "Minister, is it to wait until that little beast of the Xu family arrives in the Houqu area, before he arrives under his father's command, and we take the opportunity to send someone to slaughter him?"

Bai Gao Emperor Liang Yifu said: "Those experts of our Liang Yi family, were they ambushed by the Imperial City Division in this little beast's home?"

The Minister of the Chuihuan Division looked at Liang Yiren in approval, then lowered his head and said with full hatred: "Replying to Your Majesty, yes! Great Zhou's Imperial City Division set a vicious trap in this person's home! Making those experts hit by countless crossbow arrows! Otherwise..."

Hearing the Minister's words, painful expressions appeared on the faces of the Liang Yi family father and son.

The Minister continued: "Just as Your Highness said, we set an ambush on the way, slaughter this little beast, and when the day of the great battle comes, throw this little beast's head in front of the formation, it will definitely make that Marquis of Yongyi lose his mind!"

"The great battle outside Keyi Gate in the north, the chance of winning can also increase by another ten percent!"

"But..."

Liang Yiren looked at the Minister's expression of wanting to speak but stopping, and said: "Minister, if you have anything to say, just say it!"

The Minister bowed and said: "I feel that acting between Houqu and the Marquis of Yongyi's station as Your Highness said is somewhat inappropriate, because the army is gathered there, and as long as there is a little movement, it is easy to be surrounded by the Great Zhou army."

Liang Yiren: "Hiss! Minister is right, it was my lack of consideration! Then where do you think is good?"

The Minister bowed and walked to the map, pointing to a place: "Send someone to cross the Yellow River tonight, together with the spies of the Chuihuan Division, set an ambush here!"

Saying this, the Minister pointed to a place on the map: "This is within Great Zhou territory, not in the newly occupied Houqu area. The Xu family will definitely lower their guard!"

Listening to the Minister's words, Liang Yiren nodded continuously.

"Since you all say it's so good, then do as you think!"

Liang Yifu said.

"Yes! Father/Your Majesty!"

Afterward, Liang Yiren and the Minister walked out of the palace together.

On the way, the Minister of the Chuihuan Division whispered: "Your Highness, Lord Zhaojue, he sincerely thanks you for your recognition and help to their family's descendant Zhaojue Zhongding! Letting this child lead a unit of Iron Kites to wash away the stains on his body in the great battle."

Liang Yiren waved his hand: "Just a small matter!"

After speaking, the two parted.

Looking at Liang Yiren's receding back, the Bai Gao Kingdom Chuihuan Division Minister, Great Zhou Imperial City Division top spy Zhao Taifeng, still had no ripples on his face.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 385 =====