The Bad Guys: Everyone, let’s revive the Tang Dynasty together!

Chapter 338: Tide (Part )

Hebei, Mozhou.

In April, the snow in Hebei Province had already begun to melt, but the weather was still not warm enough, and a white mist would be raised when people and horses exhaled.

Zhang Zifan came galloping with two Tongwenguan disciples, dismounted in front of the courtyard, rubbed his stiff face, and walked directly into the courtyard without paying attention to his mount, saying: "Foster father, I have indeed found out that there is indeed a troop of soldiers heading south from the north."

He frowned and said, "Although I haven't seen it with my own eyes, I can tell it's a big scale. According to Uncle Jiu's guess, there are at least 20,000 cavalry. Uncle Jiu is now stuck over there, so let the kid come back and report first."

In the room, the big-eared Li Siyuan stroked his mustache and hissed, "Strange, strange, where did this sudden army come from?"

As he said that, he walked out of the room, looked at Zhang Zifan who was rubbing his face and drinking hot tea, and asked with his hands behind his back: "Fan'er, you have been running around in Hebei for the past six months. What do you think of this army?"

Zhang Zifan put down his teacup and smiled bitterly, "To be honest with you, my foster father, my uncle and I are also confused. In the past six months, I have been traveling around with my uncle to investigate the military situation in Hebei. We have learned some information about the garrisons in various states, but this army seems to have appeared out of thin air..."

"That's all." Li Siyuan nodded and said with satisfaction: "Fan'er, you have helped me a lot. You must have worked hard on the way here. Go and rest first."

"Thank you, godfather." Zhang Zifan clasped his fists and retreated to the backyard.

After Zhang Zifan left, Li Siyuan's eyes suddenly turned cold. He threw out his folding fan, dismissed several disciples of Tongwenguan who were busy in the courtyard, and slowly paced back and forth in thought.

When he was assigned by Yuan Tiangang to Raojiang a few months ago, it was Zhang Zifan and the Ninth Guardian Li Cunzhong who were helping him to gather information on the military situation in Hebei. Later, after he seized the Bingshen Altar from Du Gong, he returned directly to Hebei to avoid revealing his connections to Li Keyong.

According to the established plan, Li Siyuan should have led his men back to the State of Jin. Unexpectedly, on the eve of his departure, his subordinates suddenly discovered that a troop of soldiers was heading south from the direction of Liaodong. They did not stop wherever they passed, and all counties and prefectures allowed this troop of soldiers to pass through their defenses.

I'm afraid no county would dare to stop them. If it's true as Li Cunzhong said, this army has at least 20,000 cavalry. I'm afraid any county that dares to stop them will be slaughtered if they leave the city.

Twenty thousand cavalrymen, too terrifying.

Can the entire Daliang gather 20,000 cavalry?
This is what makes Li Siyuan wonder: where did this army come from? Where is it going? What is the purpose of mobilizing so many troops?
At such a critical juncture, the war between Jin and Liang was about to break out. Why would such a force in Hebei, which was powerful enough to influence the outcome of the war, go south?

Could it be supporting the Liang army in Luzhou?
Or do you plan to cross the river to the Central Plains?
No matter what Li Siyuan thought, there was only that person in his mind, so he did not rush to pass the news to Taiyuan. Instead, he called someone and prepared to let him notify Yuan Tiangang first, the sooner the better.

Not long after the people he ordered left, another person came in a hurry to report: "Saint Lord, Shang under the command of the Thirteen Guardians has arrived with the king's order."

Li Siyuan was shocked, but he just said, "Bring someone here."

A moment later, a man named "Shang", dressed in all black and with an unclear face, walked in. Without any further ado, he showed a token and handed Li Siyuan a military report.

"The King of Jin has issued an order to summon Saint Li Siyuan to return to Taiyuan immediately."

Li Siyuan took the military report and narrowed his eyes slightly: "Qi State and Mobei have suddenly started a war with our Jin State?"

Na Shang said, "King Jin's summons is for the Holy Lord to return and take charge of the western front to fight against the Qi Kingdom. I hope the Holy Lord will not delay and leave as soon as possible."

Li Siyuan was not anxious, but asked: "How should we deal with the various tribes in the Yinshan Mountains from Mobei?"

"Shang has not received any specific mission. Saint Lord just needs to know that the Yanmen front has nothing to do with him."

It seemed that Na Shang's mission was only to convey this order, and then he left immediately without giving Li Siyuan any face.

Zhang Zifan, who came over after hearing the noise, frowned and said, "These people under Aunt Thirteen are really too rude."

Li Siyuan didn't care. Li Cunren was Li Keyong's man. The Shang organization only obeyed the King of Jin. There was no need for them to be nice to the so-called holy leader. In layman's terms, the status of Shang in Jin was even higher than that of Tongwenguan.

He just sighed inexplicably: "It's really like turning one's hand to make clouds and turning one's hand to make rain."

Zhang Zifan was a little surprised: "Godfather, are you talking about Shang?"

Li Siyuan smiled. He certainly would not say that he envied the ability of Xiao Yan from Daliang. After he attached himself to Yuan Tiangang, he knew a lot of things. Of course, he could guess who was behind Qiguo and Mobei.

As for whose orders the troops heading straight south were following, he now had a clear idea.

"Fan'er." Thinking of this, Li Siyuan smiled coldly, and then made a prompt decision: "Father needs to send you to do one more thing."

Zhang Zifan was actually a little unhappy. He had been in Hebei for more than half a year. Of course he wanted to go back to Taiyuan immediately, but he didn't want to hang around outside anymore.

Li Siyuan didn't care about his mood, he just narrowed his eyes and ordered: "Go find your uncle immediately, tell him it's my order, and ask him to take you to Bianliang in the Central Plains and report the movement of this army."

Zhang Zifan was a little puzzled and frowned, "Why do we need to lead the Liang army's movements? Don't the people in Bianliang know about it themselves?"

Li Siyuan laughed and waved his folding fan, but his eyes were a little cold: "This, you can't say for sure..."

------

Yingzhou, the mountain villa where soldiers are hidden.

A bad guy walked into the room quickly and whispered to Feng Dao, "Commander Fu has sent back news that the people from the Jin State Tongwen Academy have made some moves. A group of them are following Ding Badu's movements, and a few others seem to be heading south to the Central Plains."

Feng Dao was calm and said, "Let Commander Fu make his own decision, whether to kill or capture them. Since the people of Jin want to interfere, don't think about fishing for big fish anymore."

"Yes." The bad man did not leave immediately, and said, "There is one more thing. The man who is suspected to be Li Siyuan from Tongwenguan seems to be leaving to return to Jin State."

"Is it really Li Siyuan?" Feng Dao stroked his beard, his eyes brightening.

"We have not had any secret contact with him. We can only presume that he is Li Siyuan, who suddenly came to Hebei a month ago."

Feng Dao laughed and said, "It's okay. Just a suspicion is enough. Your Excellency received the letter before. After knowing this matter, you can ask me to take care of this person in your reply."

After saying this, Feng Dao dismissed the bad guy and looked at the people in the room with a smile: "Three of you, my Lord asked me to invite you here. Now is the time for you three to take action. I hope you won't disappoint me."

Shili Qixiang, who was sitting next to the table, turned the teacup with one finger and said coldly, "The Queen Mother has already ordered that the affairs of Khan Xiao are the affairs of Mobei. However, the battle on the Yinshan front is about to start, so I hope you will not waste too much of our time."

Feng Dao stroked his beard and smiled, and just stretched out five fingers: "Not much, five days, five days, you just need to delay Li Siyuan for five days. Of course, what you mean is that if that person is really Li Siyuan, if you three can take that person's head, you will not hesitate to reward him handsomely."

Shili Qixiang smiled coldly, held the knife on his waist and stood up: "Let someone lead the way."

Beside her, Yao Nian's younger brother and Da He Feng also stood up. The former grinned fiercely, while the latter just touched his staff and laughed hoarsely: "I have only one wish. If I can get the head of that Li Siyuan, I hope that Khan Xiao will show mercy in the future and allow me to take a peek at the sorcery of the Twelve Caves that are said to be so legendary."

"Okay, okay." Feng Dao smiled slightly.

------

Taiyuan, Gaya Temple.

Yuan Tiangang walked among the bamboo forests in the back mountain with one hand behind his back, holding a few letters in the other. There was not much emotion in his eyes behind the mask.

"Commander..."

Jing Xin Mo followed carefully behind, whispering: "Qiguo and Mobei have suddenly raised troops. I really can't figure out what Xiao Yan is thinking. I hope the commander can give me some advice."

"Found in the east and attack in the west."

Yuan Tiangang did not remain silent, but said in a hoarse voice: "It's just a plan to sneak into Chencang."

Jing Xin Mo asked in bewilderment, "Could it be that Xiao Yan is not plotting against the State of Jin?"

Yuan Tiangang walked in front with his hands behind his back, without answering, and was lost in thought.

His control over the world has indeed reached a terrifying level, but there is also a prerequisite, that is, he cannot have a complete picture of Xiao Yan.

Yuan Tiangang knew all of Xiao Yan's basic plans, but Xiao Yan always revealed half and hid the other half, so even he would be confused unconsciously sometimes. Therefore, Yuan Tiangang always planned on several fronts for Xiao Yan.

He could see that Xiao Yan wanted to gather the forces of half the world to encircle Jin, the birthplace of the Tang Dynasty with "mountains and rivers inside and outside", and then slowly plan and find the right time to first destroy Jin and then take over the southern towns.

Therefore, he would first lead Li Maozhen to break through the western line of Qi State, and then use Li Xingyun to force Jin Liang to rise up aggressively and disrupt Xiao Yan's slow pace.

Even now, even if Qi State was out of control, Yuan Tiangang still had a way to encourage Shu State to use Hanzhong to attack Qi State, forcing the empress who was inclined towards Xiao Yan to run around in a hurry.

But Xiao Yan used a move that took people by surprise. Even though the Qi State's rear was about to be in danger, it continued to put pressure on Li Keyong on the western front of the Jin State, with the momentum of fighting to the death.

Did Qiguo no longer want Fengxiang? Or did the Empress and Xiao Yan suddenly go crazy?

Yuan Tiangang couldn't predict what Xiao Yan's intention was for the time being, but he could see that Xiao Yan wanted to force the State of Jin to be unable to use its military force against the Central Plains and Hebei within a period of time, and he was willing to let the empress take a huge risk to buy him time.

As for Mobei, it is easier to say. The Queen Mother Shulido on the grassland relied on Xiao Yan's support to temporarily suppress the various tribes and come to power. In a short period of time, she herself did not have the absolute power to suppress the various tribes on the grassland. The troops she could use had already been defeated by Yelu Abaoji.

The various tribes on the grassland submitted to Shuliduo because of Xiao Yan's military power. Otherwise, Shuliduo would not have been enough to make them obey.

That's why Shuliduo would definitely cooperate with Xiao Yan willingly. The stronger Xiao Yan's power in the Central Plains, the more stable Shuliduo's position in the grasslands would be. It might not be Shuliduo's original intention to risk the wrath of the State of Jin at this critical moment, but she still had to follow Xiao Yan's assignment.

Shuliduo and Xiao Yan have become one. At least in the past few years, they have prospered and suffered together.

So, what kind of temptation would make Xiao Yan go to such great lengths to suppress the State of Jin and prevent Li Keyong from raising his head?

Only the Zhu Liang Dynasty.

But Yuan Tiangang was still confused. He naturally realized that now was not a good time for Xiao Yan to usurp the throne of Zhu Liang. A smart man like Xiao Yan would not be so impatient.

Moreover, Zhu Liang was threatened by Jin State, so why did Xiao Yan rush to take the throne at this critical moment? With the internal and external troubles, Zhu Liang would be torn apart and exist in name only if it was not careful. Yuan Tiangang provoked the war between Jin and Liang to cause this result. Xiao Yan should have tried his best to avoid it, so why did he mess up?

Yuan Tiangang could see that Xiao Yan was trying to sneak into Chencang, but he couldn't see through Xiao Yan's specific thoughts. This move was very risky, and Yuan Tiangang didn't think Xiao Yan had much chance of success.

Mirror Heart Demon followed behind and guessed all kinds of possibilities, but Yuan Tiangang was thinking secretly, and it was even more difficult for him to figure it out. He just felt that the situation was a mess, as if everything was related to that one person, but it also seemed as if everything had nothing to do with him.

"Send a message to Shi Yao..."

Yuan Tiangang thought, "I need to know Xiao Yan's recent actions, and ask her to pay attention and remember to keep Zhu Wen alive for the time being."

"I obey your order." Mirror Heart Demon responded with his hands crossed.

"In addition," Yuan Tiangang continued, "give the fake Li a message that I can forgive his mistakes. And since he has found Li Maozhen, he can give Li Maozhen a message for me."

"Please give me your orders, Commander-in-Chief."

"Since Li Maozhen wants to take over the grassland, tell him that I can help him succeed. Yelu Lage is just a stray dog ​​and can't help him at all."

Yuan Tiangang said: "Give the complete Longquan Sword Art to the fake Li. Li Maozhen is in a bad situation now and will definitely rely on the fake Li. Since the two of them check and balance each other, I don't want to see the fake Li fail again."

"Order!"

The Mirror Heart Demon then quietly left.

Yuan Tiangang walked through the dense forest alone without saying a word.

A shadow appeared out of nowhere, pointing at him and laughing: "Brother Yuan, Brother Yuan, you have come to this day? In my opinion, in less than five years, the chaos in the world will finally end in the hands of the Nine-Nine."

As he spoke, the shadow took advantage of the situation to hug Yuan Tiangang's back and squinted his eyes and said, "Well, don't be stubborn. Just support Shujiu. Li'erhua, Li'erhua, which one is not a flower? Just think of it as you owe me a favor, how about it?"

Yuan Tiangang snorted coldly, and his whole body of energy surged, shattering the phantom that was arm in arm with him.

Deep in the dense forest, a monk with a rather fierce look saluted to Yuan Tiangang with his palms clasped together: "Huiming greets Donor Yuan."

Yuan Tiangang did not look at him, but put his hands behind his back, quietly watching Yang Shuzi who was sitting at the chess table silently playing the chess game. He did not even stand up, as if he did not see him coming.

------

Bian Jing, Anle Pavilion.

Xiao Yan held the menu and looked at the dishes carefully. He was not distracted by other things. It was just that Ji Ruxue and Qian Wu had already left for Qi Country the day before, and Miao Chengtian and Xuan Jingtian were busy with the football market, so it was inevitable that he had some difficulty in making a choice.

Yu Youshu walked over to him, leaned over, and recommended a few dishes with a smile. Xiao Yan was too lazy to choose, so he leaned back on the cushion with his fingers crossed, thinking about trivial things.

There was a shadow outside the door, so Yu Youshu walked out and said a few words, then said to Xiao Yan, "My dear, the person has arrived."

"Oh, let them in. We can have a quick meal together."

As the words fell, a moment later, an old woman and a petite girl walked in.

Xiao Yan was still leaning on the cushion, his posture unchanged, and pointed to the seat across from his table with his chin: "If you two don't mind, I'd like to invite you to have dinner together."

Zhong Xiaokui, who had dark red thick short eyebrows, did not move, but first glanced at the window next to Xiao Yan that overlooked the Bianhe Street scene, then crossed his arms and bowed, saying, "Xiaokui would like to thank you for your rescue half a year ago."

At the end of last year, Zhu Youzhen secretly bribed Zhu Jin of Huainan, hoping to take the opportunity to murder Xiao Yan on the Huai River, so that he could control Xiao Yan and search for the Longquan treasure for him.

Unexpectedly, Xiao Yan and Zhu Jin later made peace, and the news spread back to Bian Jing. Zhu Youzhen was afraid of being involved in the Huaihe case, so he threw Zhong Xiaokui out to take the blame. According to the charge of colluding with the enemy country to murder the generals in the court, Zhong Xiaokui was obviously unable to escape the death penalty.

It was Xiao Yan who asked Meng Po to rescue Zhong Xiaokui, and found an opportunity to replace Zhong Xiaokui's body with another one, making Zhong Xiaokui a person who was dead but not dead.

As for why Meng Po Shi Yao had to obey Xiao Yan's orders, it was because after Meng Po was captured by Xiao Yan in Anle Pavilion at that time, one of the conditions for her freedom was to do three things for Xiao Yan, otherwise Xiao Yan would reveal her true identity.

Xiao Yan nodded indifferently to Zhong Xiaokui without saying anything. To him, Zhong Xiaokui was still useful at that time, so he was willing to save her life. But now Zhong Xiaokui is obviously not that important anymore.

However, he invited Meng Po and Zhong Xiaokui here at the same time, so he had a place to use Zhong Xiaokui.

Meng Po stood at the door with crutches and said in a hoarse voice, "Thank you for the kindness of Marquis Guanjun, but I'm sorry I can't accept the invitation. Now everyone knows that Marquis Guanjun is a member of King Jun's party, and he and the Ghost King are incompatible, both openly and secretly. I dare not stay here for too long. As for the Xuanming Sect, I and Zhong Xiaokui had concealed our tracks before coming here."

"That's a pity indeed."

Xiao Yan waved his hand at Yu Youshu with regret: "Then don't add more dishes. Let the two of you watch me eat."

Yu Youshu smiled and left the room, but just closed the door and stood guard at the door without going far away.

Zhong Xiaokui frowned, somewhat confused about what Xiao Yan meant.

Meng Po narrowed her eyes and stared at Xiao Yan, asking in a hoarse voice, "What does Champion Marquis mean by this?"

Xiao Yan ignored her and looked at Zhong Xiaokui indifferently: "I promised Judge Zhong something before, I wonder if Judge Zhong still remembers it?"

Meng Po glanced at Zhong Xiaokui suspiciously, but there was a hint of vigilance in her eyes.

Zhong Xiaokui was stunned for a moment, then he bowed his hands solemnly: "Could it be that the Champion Marquis has other clues about the Ghost King?"

Meng Po felt a chill down her spine instantly, and almost subconsciously looked at Xiao Yan, who was indeed staring at her with a forced smile.

"Judge Zhong, there is really no way to bring out the Ghost King in Jiaolan Palace. But the person next to you may know the passage to the dungeon of Jiaolan Palace."

As he spoke, Xiao Yan stroked his chin and asked, "Am I right, Tianyouxing Shiyao?"

The room suddenly became quiet, with the noise of the market outside the window coming in. Zhong Xiaokui looked at Meng Po blankly. She was very curious why Xiao Yan called this old woman Shi Yao.

But she knew clearly what 'Tianyouxing' was. Among the thirty-six captains of the Tang Dynasty's bad people, there was one position of Tianyouxing.

If this is the case, doesn't it mean that Meng Po, the most powerful figure in Xuanming Sect after the Underworld Emperor, and this old woman who is most valued by the Underworld Emperor, is actually a bad person of the Tang Dynasty?

Zhong Xiaokui was stunned for only a moment, then he immediately stepped back a few steps alertly, reaching out to hold the dark water silk behind his waist.
Shi Yao didn't care about her at all, and coldly grasped the wooden crutch in her hand, "What does this mean, Champion Hou? Do you want to fight to the death?"

"No, no."

Xiao Yan continued to cross his fingers, propped his chin on the table with his elbows, looked at Shi Yao with a faint smile, and then looked at Zhong Xiaokui. After comparing the two, he suddenly laughed and said, "I just think that Judge Zhong seems to be suitable for this Meng Po's appearance and identity."

Before Zhong Xiaokui understood what was happening, Shi Yao was already on high alert. Her face darkened and she was about to retreat and flee.

And at this moment, the sound of a sword being unsheathed was suddenly heard.

A long sword hanging on the wall was suddenly unsheathed, as if it was going to pierce Shi Yao's back with one sword. It was like a long rainbow that penetrated the screen between the two, instantly crossed the distance of half the room, passed by Shi Yao, and then turned around at the door by itself, pointing the tip of the sword at Shi Yao's face, hanging at the door, and the sword energy around it was like frost.

Shi Yao stopped suddenly, his withered hands tightly grasping the wooden stick, feeling a chill in his heart.

She had no doubt that if she took one more step, the ordinary sword hanging in front of the door would pierce straight through her. She also had no doubt that the outer room had already been heavily decorated and would not allow her the opportunity to step out of Anle Pavilion.

Zhong Xiaokui's face was already tense, and she looked at Xiao Yan in astonishment, but she saw that the latter was still just holding his chin, his eyes narrowed, and he said indifferently: "Xiao still remembers that Tianyouxing owes me something."

Shi Yao sneered, turned around and looked over, sneering: "At this point, do I still have the leeway to refuse the Champion Marquis? But I hope the Champion Marquis can understand that the Marshal will not allow the Xuanming Sect to fall into your hands so easily. What will be the consequences, I am afraid..."

"It's okay." Xiao Yan interrupted her rudely: "Three to five days is enough."

Then, without even looking at Shi Yao, whose expression suddenly turned ugly, he said to Zhong Xiaokui: "Judge Zhong, I will give you a chance. In the next three to five days, as long as you can make Xuanming Sect act according to my arrangement, I can really hand over Zhu Youwen to you intact."

Although Zhong Xiaokui didn't understand the twists and turns in this matter, and was at a loss about what was happening, she calmly asked back, "How can I trust you?"

"It's very simple."

Xiao Yan clapped his hands. Yu Youshu outside pushed open the door. Several waiters began to serve the dishes. They just walked between Shi Yao and Zhong Xiaokui with a few plates of dishes as usual and placed them one by one on the table in front of Xiao Yan.

After several dishes were served, Xiao Yan told Zhong Xiaokui or Shi Yao about it.

"The Black and White Impermanence of the Xuanming Sect chased and killed a young boy and girl at Qingcheng Mountain in Yuzhou during the Mid-Autumn Festival last year. After that, the two disappeared. Do you know why?"

Shi Yao's face suddenly changed.

Zhong Xiaokui asked cautiously: "Why?"

"These two people are dead. They died at the hands of Li Xingyun, the descendant of Li Tang in Qingcheng Mountain. My people took care of their bodies, so you can't find them."

Xiao Yan picked up the teacup and said calmly, "But the two of them came back to life later, and they knew everything clearly. They could even tell where the real Zhu Youwen was imprisoned."

He placed the cup of tea across the table, ignored the surprised and delighted Zhong Xiaokui, raised his hand and gestured to Shi Yao: "Now, Tianyouxing, would you like to take a seat?"

Shi Yao stood there with a cold face, but Zhong Xiaokui knelt down on one knee.

"Meng Po of Xuanming Sect, from now on, I will follow your lead!"

(End of this chapter)