Jiuxi

Chapter 340 Chapter 338 [Memories of Luling Station]

The road is long and will eventually come to an end.

After arriving in Guangling, Wang Jun and the Wang family guards escorted Wang Chulong to the west and crossed the Wangmei Ancient Road to Xunyang.

Wang Chulong will live in the Wang family for a period of time. If the situation does not change much, she will marry Lu Chen as Wang Shao's daughter.

The Wang family in Xunyang was originally just a side branch of the Wang family in the north. They parted ways with the Wang family more than ten years ago and lived peacefully in the small town of Xunyang, never attracting the attention of others.

As early as when Wang An decided to marry the Lu family, Wang Shao had already received his secret letter and began to prepare for Wang Chulong's identity. Although it is not perfect now, only if someone can bypass the layers of arrangements made by Lu Chen and the Sutra Weaving Department and dig out the Xunyang Wang family can they know the secrets.

Along the way, the two of them often chatted, either discussing the situation in the north or the spring scenery in the south of the Yangtze River, covering both family and country affairs and leisurely interests.

Wang Chulong picked up miscellaneous knowledge and did not have the pedantic spirit of a scholar. Although Lu Chen was quite lacking in knowledge, the chat between the two never ended.

I just sigh that time flies so fast and we are separated in a blink of an eye.

Lu Chen said goodbye to Wang Chulong, and then continued south, all the way to Linyuandu, the southernmost part of Guangling Mansion, on the bank of the Hengjiang River.

The vast Hengjiang River becomes extremely gentle and gentle here. Ships float by from time to time on the river. Standing on the north bank, you can vaguely see the flag of the Beijing army on the south bank.

Hundreds of carts and two thousand cavalry began to cross the river. Even though Zhan Hui, the prefect of Guangling, had been notified early to arrange boats and pontoons, the crossing was still very slow and would be completed from early morning until afternoon.

Lu Chen, Lu Tong, Pei Sui, Zhan Hui and others said goodbye one after another, and then boarded the last big ship with his soldiers.

Lu Tong stood on the shore and watched the ship sail to the south shore, and suddenly sighed softly.

In the carriage returning to the city, Lu Tong leaned against the carriage wall and said slowly, "I feel uneasy when Shen'er is gone."

There was also a man in his thirties in the carriage. This man's name was Nan Yi, who was Lu Tong's most powerful confidant. He frowned slightly and said: "Master, although the young master's trip is not peaceful, as long as the border troops are still there, The threat from Jing Chao still exists, so the central government does not dare to be too harsh to the young master."

Lu Tong shook his head and said, "I'm not worried about his safety. This kid is even better than me in terms of alertness and response. I'm just worried about the north."

"North?"

"To be precise, it's Li Jingda, the governor of Dingzhou."

Nan Yi thought about it carefully and couldn't help but nod his head and said: "This man is indeed a hidden danger because of his great ambition and lack of talent. But please be at ease, sir. The young master will definitely not ignore this man's problem. He must have discussed it with Governor Xiao before he went south." "

"You do not understand."

Lu Tong lowered his eyes slightly and said slowly: "The plan will not change quickly. If he is trapped in the capital, he will naturally be beyond the reach of the border military. Qing Yugong did not use force before, but it does not mean that his sword has been blunted. In short, I hope Li Jingda can be smarter and avoid making an irreversible mistake."

Nan Yi nodded and whispered: "Do you want to inform Governor Xiao?"

"Forget it, just go there yourself."

Lu Tong felt helpless. In fact, he had said these words to Xiao Wangzhi before. However, the court had its own rules and regulations. Xiao Wangzhi could not always rely on Dingzhou to interfere with Li Jingda's decision. Sooner or later, he would be watched by the censor. superior.

In the end, it is up to Li Jingda to control the overall situation.

Obviously Lu Chen returned to Beijing this time just to dispel the emperor's doubts. It didn't seem to be a difficult task, but there was always a looming worry in the old man's heart.

After thinking for a long time, he finally made a decision.

……

To the west of Yongjia City, there is an official road that traverses the territory of the Qi Dynasty. Along the way, it passes through the land of Gyeonggi, the junction of Xinzhou and Jiangzhou, Hezhou, Huzhou and Luzhou, and goes straight to Chengzhou on the western border.

A section of the official road more than sixty miles away from Yongjia City has another name. The locals call it Luling Road.

This place belongs to the westernmost part of Gyeonggi Province, surrounded by mountains and rivers, and the terrain is relatively dangerous. A relatively smooth road was opened hundreds of years ago, which is the ancient Luling Road.

After the founding of the Qi Dynasty, Taizu Li Zhongjing aimed to build an east-west official road in the south of the Yangtze River. One section of the road was expanded on the basis of Luling Road, but the locals still habitually called it Luling Road.

The total length of Luling Road is more than thirty miles, and there is a posthouse in the middle section called Luling Posthouse.

At dusk, a team of more than thirty people arrived at the post house. The postmaster saw the official note from the other party and immediately invited them in respectfully.

The leader of this team is Hou Yu, the Marquis of Nan'an and the former governor of Chengzhou.

When he set out from Qingjiang City in Chengzhou, he was accompanied by a guard camp of a thousand people. When he left Chengzhou and entered Luzhou, he sent 500 of them back.

Before entering the capital, he asked the remaining 500 people to return the same way, and continued forward with only more than 30 personal soldiers.

Entering Beijing to take charge of Nanya this time was a rare opportunity for him. Naturally, he was unwilling to make a mistake. If the imperial censor found out about leading troops to Beijing, he would definitely have to return to Chengzhou in despair. .

As for leading troops across various states before, Hou Yu did not do it just to show off.

He had served as the governor of Chengzhou for many years, and he had been ruthless in killing the Seven Tribes of Shazhou. No fewer than a hundred soldiers from the Seven Tribes died in his own hands. Now that he left the military camp and lost the protection of the army, who knew whether those ferocious barbarians would sneak attack on the road, he had to be careful enough.

Hou Yu ignored Yi Cheng's flattery and went straight to the best upper room. There were several sharp-eyed masters following him, and other soldiers and generals were on guard inside and outside the post house. After about a stick of incense, Yi Cheng knocked on the door carefully, and then came in with two servants carrying food boxes. He smiled and said, "I asked the kitchen to prepare some special dishes according to the instructions of the Marquis. I hope the Marquis will not dislike the roughness of the mountains and fields."

The two soldiers took the food box and took out plates of dishes and placed them on the table.

Hou Yu looked at the dishes on the table, turned to the handyman behind Yi Cheng, and said indifferently: "Come here, take two more bites of each dish."

Yi Cheng was slightly startled, and couldn't help complaining that this person was so arrogant. Naturally, he didn't dare to refute, and quickly said to the servant: "Why don't you thank the Marquis for the reward?"

"Thank you, Lord Marquis, for the reward!"

The handyman kowtowed nervously, then stood up and walked to the table, took the chopsticks handed to him by the eyeing soldier, and picked up the food with a slight trembling.

There was an eerie silence in the room.

Hou Yu didn't say anything, so the Yi Cheng and the servants naturally didn't dare to move without permission.

Time passed bit by bit, and Yi Cheng felt that the days were like years. Just when he couldn't bear it and wanted to please him, the handyman suddenly made some movement.

I saw this man's arms suddenly straightening, and the next moment his body was pushed upwards, and then he fell straight on his back.

Yi Cheng and another servant were shocked and looked around with panic on their faces, only to see that the servant was bleeding from all his orifices and was dying with his eyes open.

"This this……"

Yi Cheng was so frightened that his face turned pale and trembled like chaff. He knelt on his knees with a plop and said with a cry: "Master Hou, I really don't know what is going on. Master Hou, please spare my life!"

Hou Yu ignored him, and just looked at the soldier next to him inquiringly. The soldier walked to the side of the servant who had died suddenly, observed him carefully for a moment, stood up and said, "Master Hou, it should be short-inch." The Zhehuang tribe among the seven tribes in Shazhou is good at making this poison that has a very fast onset and is extremely toxic."

Hou Yu nodded slightly, then looked at Yi Cheng, who was frightened and speechless, and said: "Don't be afraid, I will not vent my anger on you. You can tell my soldiers clearly who has been to the post house today." , who else has touched the ingredients in the kitchen."

"Yes, yes, the villain must report truthfully."

Yi Cheng swallowed his saliva and responded.

The soldiers took out the corpses on the ground and the two living people.

Half an hour later, several soldiers returned to the house, and one of them said respectfully: "Going back to the Marquis, it has been found out that among all the people who stayed in the post house today, only one person has entered the kitchen. He probably He is about thirty years old, slightly over six feet tall, with thick eyebrows, broad ears, a flat nose, thick lips, and a muscular build. His identity is that of Yuanzhou Xiang Military Academy Lieutenant, and his name is Su Qicai. His subordinates inferred this name and identity It’s all fake information.”

Hou Yu picked up the water bag he carried with him and took a sip, and sneered: "How many times has this happened?"

The soldier replied: "Tonight is the fifth time since we left the border of Chengzhou."

Hou Yu was silent for a moment, and raised his eyebrows slightly: "These barbarians will definitely not give up. After entering the capital, you go to the Sutra Weaver to promote Qin Zheng, inform them of the information we have about these assassins, and ask them to keep an eye on them in the capital. . It would be best to send some people who are good at tracking to follow me. If any suspicious characters are found, follow the clues and arrest them all."

"Attributes follow orders!"

The soldiers bowed in response.

Hou Yu stood up and walked to the window, opened the bay window a crack, and looked coldly at the dark night outside the window.

Late night comes quietly.

In the barren mountains about five or six miles away from Lulingyi, a figure moved forward quickly in the night, and after a while he arrived near a gentle slope on the leeward side.

There are more than ten people waiting here, and the leader is a woman in red.

The person who came was about thirty years old, with a strong build. He was the poisoner who entered Lulingyi under the guise of Su Qicai today.

He came to the woman in red, lowered his head and said: "Young Master, the post is very peaceful. I dare not get too close, but I can confirm that the poison was not successful."

The woman in red said calmly: "Hou Yu, this beast, is very afraid of death. In addition, we have poisoned several times before. The first time it was not successful, it will be difficult to have any effect in the future. You have already exposed your appearance, you cannot go with us. Qi Capital, please go back first. See my father and tell him everything is fine here and I will be able to go home soon."

"Yes!"

Without any hesitation, the visitor raised his left hand and pressed it on his right chest, then turned back and disappeared into the vast night.

At this time, the middle-aged man standing next to the woman in red asked in confusion: "Young Master, I don't understand why you keep poisoning. You said that Hou Yu is extremely cunning. Since he is on guard, let's continue to poison him." Poison is useless. In the words of Qi people, this seems to be to scare the grass and scare the snake."

The woman in red looked around at everyone and saw that they all had the same doubts, so she explained softly: "Hou Yu is cunning and arrogant, and he looks down on our people from the bottom of his heart. I asked them to poison us repeatedly just to make Hou Yu firmly believe in us. Very stupid, not only stupid, but also don't have the courage to ambush him head-on. Only by constantly paralyzing him can we make him relax his vigilance, and then we will find an opportunity to kill him by force."

Everyone suddenly realized, the middle-aged man nodded and said: "So that's it, I understand, the young master is really smart."

The woman in red smiled indifferently, and then said without any doubt: "Uncle Twelve, you and your brothers should rest first. I will keep vigil tonight."

She turned around and looked in the direction of Lulingyi, her eyes cold and determined.

(End of this chapter)