Chapter 836

The 16th year of Emperor Jia Zhao, the first day of the New Year, Donggao Town.

A large number of carts loaded with military grain departed from the military granary and set off on the road heading north.

From the road heading south, from time to time, Mongolian cavalry units of a hundred men appeared, one after another, coming head-on and gathering toward Donggao Town.

Within two li of the road heading north, many cavalry scouts had already been dispersed, paying attention to all movements in the surroundings so as to respond at any time.

This place was already within the Nine Border Passes, and for a large force of Mongolian cavalry to move without being noticed by the eyes and ears of the Zhou army should have been a very difficult thing.

But it happened to be New Year's Eve, the border troops of the Great Zhou were lax in their patrols, and Donggao Town had been set up with a trap, using treacherous tactics to launch a surprise attack on the military granary.

Giving what was originally an impossible thing a great opportunity...

Sun Dali stood before the ruins of the Fuyun Restaurant, seeing the Mongolian elite cavalry continuously gathering, and the arrogant smile on his face became increasingly heavy.

He asked, "Since Chen Ruichang did not open the restaurant for the banquet, have you searched all parts of the town? Have you found any trace of him?"

The caravan leader said, "We have also searched all parts of the town, but we have not found any trace of him."

"However, at the time of the incident, someone reported that when the Fuyun Restaurant caught fire, someone took advantage of the chaos to escape on horseback from the west of the town."

"Our men, in their haste, shot and wounded that person with arrows."

"But the sky was too dark, the scene was chaotic, and the town was not surrounded in time, so that person still escaped; now that I think about it, it was most likely Chen Ruichang."

Sun Dali's expression gradually became solemn, and he said, "Our secret agents in the Love Shenjing only found out the secrets of the Great Zhou's grain routes by befriending this person."

"Although he himself did not know about this matter, if you want people not to know, you must not do it yourself."

"I accidentally saw Chen Ruichang in town, and I felt very lucky in my heart; at that time, I thought about keeping this person, but the matter had not yet been launched, and I did not want to cause extra trouble."

"I didn't expect that when the time came, he would just escape; his life is really big enough."

"Donggao Town is located on a branch of the official road and was never a prosperous town, and now it is the New Year festival, so there are even fewer outsiders entering the town."

"We launched the matter with a strange strategy and sealed off Donggao Town in time; originally, we estimated that before the fifth or sixth day, we would be able to block the news."

"Even if the news leaked out, the nearby official offices and military stations would send urgent horses, and the Love Shenjing would not receive the news until the tenth day."

"When two armies are pitted against each other, seizing the initiative is key; being able to have eight or nine days of redundancy is enough to influence the overall situation."

"But if Chen Ruichang is allowed to escape smoothly, although Donggao Town is far from the Love Shenjing, if he is determined to escape, he will definitely be able to return to the Love Shenjing in five or six days."

"The Love Shenjing will know the news by the fifth or sixth day, and the convenience gained by our Sun family's planning will be greatly discounted."

"Moreover, when the news is sent back to the Love Shenjing, the Great Zhou will definitely strictly investigate the leak of the grain route; the Court of Judicial Review, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and the Ministry of Justice all have many capable people."

"If someone pulls the silk from the cocoon and follows the vine to find the melon, it is not impossible to find Chen Ruichang."

"He is the grain-escorting officer of the Governor's Mansion and is familiar with the Great Zhou's grain routes; if the government investigates this matter, I'm afraid it will be very difficult for him to hide."

"Even if this person fails and loses his life, it doesn't count for much."

"But if he confesses everything and involves the secret files buried in the Love Shenjing, as well as our many years of connections, this will cause big trouble."

"You take a team of men, disguise yourselves, and immediately leave the town to search along the road heading south; you must kill this person!"

Sun Dali suddenly thought of one thing and continued, "In addition, Yuxiu took men to intercept that grain caravan from Liaodong, and they haven't returned all night."

"Although it takes some time to return along the road after seizing the grain carts, I always feel that something is wrong."

"Before you set off, mobilize extra manpower, explore along the road out of town, and see what happened..."

Just as Sun Dali was arranging his men, the sound of horse hooves suddenly came from the south of the town, and the commotion was not small, as if a large cavalry force was approaching the town.

Sun Dali knew that the entire town had been sealed off, and that those who could approach the town must be members of the mission returning north from the capital, and the time calculation was just right for their arrival.

He hurriedly mounted his horse to go and welcome them, and just as he walked halfway, he saw a cavalry escort of over a hundred men approaching, surrounding the two people in the lead.

Sun Dali had met the three leaders of the Mongolian mission outside the pass.

One of the visitors was Aleitang, the leader of the Tumut mission, and the other was Gaiertai, the leader of the Yongxielun mission, but the Noyan Taiji of the Ordos tribe was nowhere to be seen.

Aleitang saw Sun Dali coming toward him and laughed, "You did the matter of Donggao Town very well; the Sun family has made a great contribution, and I will definitely ask for credit for you from the Khan!"

Sun Dali felt inspired in his heart; the Sun family had moved out of the pass to rely on Anda Khan, and if they wanted to gain a firm foothold outside the pass, there was only one road, Mount Hua.

Once they could help Anda Khan ask for the tripod inside the pass, the Sun family would also rise to the heavens, and if the great cause were achieved, it would not be impossible to receive a fief from Anda Khan...

His uncle Sun Zhanying had racked his brains to plan, sending out Sun family disciples and mobilizing Sun family outlets everywhere, all for the sake of this great cause.

When the time came, he, Sun Dali, would no longer need to hide his name and could live a life of power and decency.

Thinking of this, he felt hot in his heart, and naturally, he would not tell Aleitang about the hidden danger of Chen Ruichang.

He took Aleitang and the others to visit the military granary, and seeing the grain piled up like mountains and the endless stream of grain carts, Aleitang laughed and praised.

He praised Sun Dali very much, and both of them were inspired and joyful, and they discussed the subsequent grain transport matter carefully and properly.

Aleitang also sent out several messengers, rushing to send letters outside the pass, accelerating the mobilization of troops to steal the pass, and letting Sun Dali coordinate the Sun family's manpower to guide and assist along the way.

Both of them were busy with their own plans, and the time was just approaching noon.

Suddenly, there was a fast horse galloping outside the granary, and a young man ran to the front of the granary, immediately rolling off his horse, not even having time to tie up the horse.

His face was terrified as he ran to Sun Dali; this person was also a disciple of the Sun family branch, and seeing this expression, Sun Dali felt a bad premonition in his heart.

The man said, "Dali, Xiuyu has had a big accident; he led two hundred cavalry to intercept the Liaodong grain caravan."

"They all died in a mountain hollow five li away; not a single one of the two hundred men was left alive, and Xiuyu's head was cut off and hung on a tree at the mouth of the valley..."

Sun Dali was so scared that his face turned pale, his face was full of disbelief, his expression was shocked and angry, and he grabbed the man's lapel.

He said, "Those grain transporters were just scattered soldiers, how could they kill two hundred elite cavalry, and even harm Xiuyu? What exactly happened? Speak quickly!"

The man said tremblingly, "I can't explain clearly what happened; only a small part of them died from swords and guns."

"Most of them were bloody and mangled, their wounds were very strange, and many of them bled to death or were frozen to death alive."

"Many broken porcelain pieces were also found in the mountain hollow; I have never seen this way of dying, the Liaodong army is really too terrifying..."

"I led men to chase for several li along the official road to Liaodong, but I didn't find any trace of the grain carts."

"These grain carts were loaded with thousands of dan of grain, which would leave very deep ruts in the snow; even if covered by heavy snow, they could be easily distinguished."

"But I just couldn't find any trace, as if they hadn't returned to Liaodong at all, and had disappeared into thin air; it was too weird..."

Sun Dali saw his cousin's face turn pale, as if he had been scared out of his wits, and thought that the miserable state of the mountain hollow must have been very shocking.

Sun Yu Xiu was an outstanding disciple of the Sun family, not only literate but also quick-witted, sharp-minded, and capable in handling affairs.

Sun Dali had been able to accomplish the great event of Donggao Town largely thanks to his help, and he did not expect him to die so miserably.

He said angrily, "How could such a large grain caravan disappear into thin air? They must have changed their route and taken another path."

"Immediately mobilize troops, we must find them, I cannot let Xiuyu die in vain!"

Aleitang heard the commotion and came over to ask the reason, and Sun Dali told him the cause of the matter.

Aleitang's expression was solemn, and he said, "It is already too late to chase that grain caravan now."

"Sun Yu Xiu led two hundred elite cavalry to pursue them last night; they were all Mongolian warriors, sharp in swords and horses, yet they were all wiped out."

"The combat power of this Liaodong grain caravan is truly extraordinary, and the officers leading the team are definitely not ordinary people."

"The whole night has passed, and I don't know where they have run to; how can you still catch up?"

"This Liaodong grain caravan has the ability to kill all the pursuers, and it must also be able to find out about the fall of the military granary; the news here cannot be hidden."

"Liaodong Regional Commander Liang Chengzong is a formidable person; once he receives the news, he will definitely report it to the Love Shenjing by fast horse; in at most five or six days, the Great Zhou Emperor will receive the news."

"This Liaodong grain caravan is no longer important; the time left for us is much less, and hurrying to respond is the big thing."

"Fortunately, the mobilization outside the pass has already started, and the matters inside the pass must also be accelerated..."

Aleitang immediately wrote an urgent letter and sent it to the outside of the pass by fast horse, because the matter had an accident, and the operation of relevant troops needed to be launched in advance.

At this time, the sound of horse hooves sounded again from the south of the town, and a team of men passed through the layers of defense outside the town and rode into the town, and the leader was none other than Noyan Taiji.

Initially, he had parted ways with Jia Cong outside the city, which had delayed quite a bit of time, and according to the path determined by Aleitang, he had been heading north along the path.

On the way, because he was full of doubts and somewhat restless, he only wanted to solve the mystery quickly, so he traveled day and night, not daring to have the slightest delay, and only arrived at Donggao Town a little late.

Just as he approached the town, he saw a large number of Mongolian scouts patrolling, and the town was heavily guarded, so he felt something was wrong.

After entering the town, as far as the eye could see, everything was in shambles, corpses were everywhere, and blood was stained, the situation was very miserable, and he could not help but change his face greatly.

He hurriedly asked his escort leader Hu'ergan to inquire about the cause, and not long after, Hu'ergan returned with a solemn expression and reported the matter of Donggao Town one by one.

Noyan Taiji's face turned pale, his whole body trembled slightly, his expression was angry, and he said, "Where is Aleitang? I want to find him and talk!"

Hu'ergan said, "He is currently at the military granary, in the direction of the valley north of the town."