Chapter 41: Frontline Urgent, Rear Area Feasting

Outside Take Pingcheng, a nondescript small tent.

"The Magistrate of Ma Yi, Yuan Shen, has already met the disguised Rouran merchants and agreed to sell military supplies."

Liu Lingzhu rushed in; inside the tent, Li Shuang was playing with a jade stone imported from the Western Regions.

Dugu Ru and She Di Gan beside him were far less leisurely than he.

She Di Gan was quite anxious, while Dugu Ru was much calmer.

"I still do not understand your plan."

Li Shuang smiled, put down the jade in his hand, and replied to Dugu Ru.

"First, you agree to Yuan Shen's proposal of marriage. Once he announces this matter throughout the Northern Frontier, would those noble sons still dare to trouble you?"

Dugu Ru gritted his teeth, seemingly weighing the gains and losses involved.

Next, Li Shuang turned his gaze to Liu Lingzhu.

"In the gift list we gave Yuan Shen, we requested a large amount of Wu Zhu coins. Since Yuan Shen cannot gather them immediately, he will have to borrow from the wealthy households in the city. Seizing this opportunity, you should confess to the rich merchants who are lending money, asking them to transfer the debt they lend you onto Yuan Shen's name. In this way, their principal will at least be secured."

After speaking, Li Shuang turned his gaze again to She Di Gan.

"Bei Lie Buruo, the ringleader who raided your tribe, has now defected to Yuan Shen. Yuan Shen knows your relationship with me, so he turns a blind eye to this matter and has taken him and his troops under his command. When Bei Lie Buruo takes the betrothal gifts gathered by Yuan Shen to the Du Gu tribe, you will strike out from midway and seize the gifts back. In this way, your revenge will be served."

She Di Gan looked somewhat confused.

"Magistrate of Ma Yi, do not take this as me picking faults with you. Your plan, viewed separately, has no problems, but connected together, how can I not understand it?"

She Di Gan's words made the previously silent tent lively; everyone seemed to have opened their floodgates of speech.

Dugu Ru spoke first:

"Having people disguise themselves as Rouran merchants is no problem, but what will you use for trade? With so many supplies, using Wu Zhu coins is troublesome and laborious and will arouse suspicion; using gold, would the old goldsmiths in Take Pingcheng who produce the Rouran Mountain Gold not see through it immediately? There are too many flaws."

Liu Lingzhu also said:

"Which of those wealthy merchants does not value money above life? How could they only want to secure their principal?"

She Di Gan also asked:

"How do you know Yuan Shen will send Bei Lie Buruo to deliver the betrothal gifts?"

Facing the three men's doubts, Li Shuang chuckled.

"Look, you are anxious again!"

Li Shuang clapped his hands and said:

"Then let the fifth person in our plan answer!"

As soon as Li Shuang finished speaking, She Di Gan jumped up, hid behind Li Shuang, and became suspicious and wary.

"There are only four of us in this tent; where is the fifth person?"

The tent door opened, and Yu Jin walked in.

The moment the others in the tent saw Yu Jin, their expressions varied.

She Di Gan's gaze, filled with confusion, also carried a bit of wariness; Dugu Ru had a sudden realization; Liu Lingzhu, however, looked straight at Li Shuang in an instant, his expression inexplicable.

Yu Jin clasped his hands in a bow.

Although he was a Xianbei person, his appearance and conduct, from his attire to his speech and behavior, were like those of a Han scholar-official.

"The questions of everyone can be solved by me!"

Liu Lingzhu laughed heartily, breaking the slightly awkward atmosphere in the tent.

"In that case, the great matter is settled. There is only one thing: what should be done with the money for buying the military supplies?"

Everyone turned their gaze to Li Shuang in unison; this time, however, he did not make his usual excuses and was very decisive.

"I will provide it!"

Liu Lingzhu, with a smiling face, asked tentatively:

"Will you provide eight hundred gold?"

"No, I will provide one thousand eight hundred gold."

While everyone was surprised, they only heard Li Shuang say leisurely:

"The more we spend, the more we earn!"

In the pavilion, Yuan Shen, who was anxiously waiting for news, saw Liu Lingzhu and asked anxiously:

"Mr., how is the matter proceeding?"

"The goods have been delivered, and the payment of three thousand gold has been brought back."

After hearing this, Yuan Shen spoke with excitement.

"Excellent! I will immediately send people to buy betrothal gifts in the city. This King will announce to Heng and Shuozhou and all other prefectures that this King is to take a concubine!"

"Congratulations, Your Majesty!"

Liu Lingzhu clasped his hands in a bow to offer congratulations, and Yuan Shen laughed loudly.

"At that time, you must come early; this King will arrange a good seat for you."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Liu Lingzhu withdrew, but the smile on Yuan Shen's face still could not be stopped.

"Once this matter is accomplished, not only will I obtain a beautiful concubine, but I can also bring the entire Du Gu tribe under my command. Once the front-line war turns unfavorable, Yuan Yu will be unable to escape blame, and Heng and Shuozhou will be mine."

Shuozhou.

"Damn it, wedding invitations have been sent to me?"

Yuan Yu, the Grand Administrator of the Eastern Circuit organizing armies in Yunzhong to resist the Liuzhen armies, received a letter from Hengzhou and was furious.

Although Yuan Yu had a good reputation and a mild temper, hearing this matter, he still could not help cursing.

"I am here resisting the Liuzhen rebels, while he hides in Take Pingcheng enjoying leisure, and still has the damn time to take a Wang Fei. Do you believe I will open a breach here and let Wei Kegu go to Hengzhou to wreak havoc?"

Li Shuren, a great general under Yuan Yu, heard these words and found it hard to keep a straight face.

"Your Highness, do not let your emotions rule you."

Even though he knew Yuan Yu was merely speaking in anger, Li Shuren still felt a chill of fear.

Yuan Yu was not a man who spoke recklessly; he was a high-ranking imperial clansman who had campaigned north and south and was accustomed to great storms.

The reason he looked like this now could only be one:

The pressure brought by Puluohan Baling was too great!

Since Puluohan Baling rose in rebellion, his main force had never appeared; the armies facing the Northern Wei official troops had always been the great forces led by his two top generals, Wei Kegu and Puluohan Kong Que.

Yet even so, Yuan Yu found himself unable to cope.

Pingcheng was the old capital of the Northern Wei, the land of the ancestors' graves; it could absolutely not be allowed to come near the rebels.

The Northern Wei official troops guarded strictly and died defending, refusing to let the rebels approach, yet the tribes on the Pingcheng side kept running over to the rebels every other day.

No matter how many people ran over from Pingcheng, Yuan Shen would not be punished; on the contrary, Yuan Yu could not escape blame.

"How many people ran over from Pingcheng? Especially Helu Jin, who was even enfeoffed as a king! If I let a single army slip through here, the court will punish me severely. Where can I go to reason this out!"

Li Shuren also felt helpless, but could only offer comfort:

"News from the steppe says negotiations between Puluohan Baling and Yujiulu Aranai have broken down. As a result, Puluohan Baling must still station his main force at Woye Town to guard against the Rouran. We should seize this opportunity, launch a proactive attack, and recover the two towns of Wu Chuan and Huaishuo."

Yuan Yu had no objection to Li Shuren's proposal. In fact, he was thinking the same thing.

"The court in Luoyang is pressing harder and harder. Taking advantage of this good opportunity, you and I shall advance along separate routes and first cut off Puluohan Baling's left and right arms."

"Yes!"

Li Shuren withdrew. Yuan Yu sat down, saw that wedding invitation again, and his anger boiled up; he could not help but curse:

"What nonsense! Getting married? He'll run off with someone sooner or later!"