Martial Arts World Assassin

Chapter 372: Turkic Twin Dogs
Huang Sixi and Fan Qinghui traveled eastward along the Wei River until they reached the Yellow River and then parted ways.

Fan Qinghui was going to rush to the eastern capital Luoyang to convene a meeting of masters from all the righteous sects.

Since the middle reaches of the Yellow River flow from north to south, Huang Sixi planned to go north along the Yellow River to Mayi County to meet Zhai Jiao.

When Huang Sixi returned to Qianligang half a month ago, he ordered Zhai Jiao to leave the capital and lead his family generals Tu Shufang and Xuan Yong to continue running the Zhai family caravan.

This caravan was originally formed by Zhai Rang, specializing in the trafficking of rare goods such as furs, and mainly trading with foreign ethnic groups outside the Great Wall.

As Zhai Rang was murdered by Li Mi, the subordinates of Wagangzhai who were loyal to Zhai Rang followed Zhai Jiao to join the caravan, and now there are thousands of people.

Among them are many porters who travel outside the Great Wall all year round and are very familiar with the customs and topography of Mobei, the Western Regions and Liaodong.

Huang Sixi wanted to go to Zhai Jiao's caravan to collect information and find a guide so as to find out the whereabouts of Tianjun Xi Ying as quickly as possible.

However, before leaving, Huang Sixi first visited the Song clan's headquarters in Yongfeng Warehouse and met Li Jing and Hong Fu who were on duty there.

Huang Sixi once recommended Li Jing to Song Que to lead troops to fight against the Li clan.

Originally, Song Que attached great importance to Li Jing and was prepared to entrust him with important tasks. However, Song Que's behavior of supporting Yang You as emperor and respecting Yang Guang as the emperor emeritus was opposed by many officials in the capital.

At the invitation of officials in Beijing, Li Jing signed a memorial opposing Song Que's unauthorized establishment of a new emperor.

Song Que arrested all the officials involved in the incident and put them in jail. Due to Huang Sixi's favor, he let Li Jing off the hook, but he no longer used him. Later, he transferred Li Jing away from the capital to guard the granary.

Li Jing had originally planned to abandon Song Que's appointment and leave Guanzhong privately, but because of Huang Sixi, he did not leave rashly without saying goodbye.

After he learned that Huang Sixi had returned to the capital from Qianligang, he sent Hong Fu to Beijing to tell Huang Sixi in person that he wanted to resign and leave.

Huang Sixi asked Hong Funu to pass a message to Li Jing that he would come to Yongfeng Warehouse soon and it would not be too late to leave after the meeting.

After the two sides met, Li Jing invited Huang Sixi into his own house.

After sitting down, Li Jing apologized: "My dear, you recommended me to the Song clan leader, but I wrote a letter to oppose the Song clan leader's court decision, which offended my dear. I feel very sorry. Please forgive me."

Huang Sixi did not blame him: "I suggested that Song Que use you to lead the troops without discussing it with you in advance. It's natural that you refused Song Que!"

Huang Sixi took the tea handed over by Hong Funu and said, "At present, Song Que has already taken control of Guanzhong, and his family is very powerful in Jiangnan. As long as he can defeat the Li family, it is basically a foregone conclusion that he can seize the world!
Even if you don't want to lead troops for him, you don't have to oppose him. You can just resign and retire. Why bother to anger him and put yourself in danger of death? "

Li Jing smiled bitterly: "What the Song clan leader did is no different from the Li clan, they are both plotting rebellion. As a minister of the Sui Dynasty, I need to show my attitude to stop the rebellion, otherwise what is the point of me exposing Yang Wengan and Jingzhao Alliance?"

He exposed Yang Wengang in order to prevent the Jingzhao Alliance and the Li family from joining forces to seize the capital.

Now Song Que has seized the capital first and forced Dai Wang Yang You to control the government, which is exactly the same as the rebellion of the Li family.

If Li Jing had joined Song Que and followed him in rebelling against the Sui court, wouldn't his act of exposing the truth have been unnecessary?
Huang Sixi understood Li Jing's approach. After all, Yang Guang was still alive, and Yang Guang was still the nominal ruler of the world. Most of the Sui court officials still adhered to the principle of loyalty to the emperor and serving the country.

Unless Yang Guang died and none of his descendants could claim the title of emperor again, and the Sui Dynasty was essentially destroyed, the officials would change their allegiance and pledge allegiance to the new master.

Huang Sixi did not ask Li Jing to stay in the Song clan and fight against the Li clan.

He glanced at Hong Fu, who was standing next to him, and asked Li Jing, "Hong Fu said the other day that you were planning to resign and leave Guanzhong. Where are you going?"

Li Jing looked frustrated, he didn't have a clear itinerary plan.

He casually said to Huang Sixi: "Maybe he will go to Luoyang. The King of Yue still controls the government of the Eastern Capital. These days, many colleagues in the capital have secretly rushed to the Eastern Capital to join the King of Yue."

These officials did not necessarily intend to go to Luoyang to seek any job; they simply felt that the orthodox rule of the world was in the Eastern Capital.

If it weren't for the chaos in the world and the rampant bandits that blocked the road to the south, they would have brought their families to Jiangdu to find Yang Guang.

Huang Sixi couldn't help but chuckle after hearing Li Jing's idea: "If the Li Clan can't take Guanzhong, they will most likely turn around and march eastward to attack Luoyang. After Li Yuan takes control of the Eastern Capital, they will still support King Yang Tong of Yue as the emperor and worship Yang Guang as the Supreme Emperor!

These aristocratic families have experienced two hundred years of bloody storms during the Northern and Southern Dynasties. Rebellion is commonplace for them. They are best at using the emperor to control the disobedient. From now on, as long as you are in the officialdom, you will inevitably have to serve them!"

"This……"

Li Jing was stunned for a moment. He had never thought of joining the Li clan. After all, he had offended the Li clan by exposing Yang Wengang and the Jingzhao Alliance. If he were to be an official for the Li clan in Luoyang, it would be better for him to stay in Guanzhong and work for the Song clan.

In fact, before the Song clan came to Beijing, Li Jing had already made an appointment with Huang Sixi to settle down together in Jianglong Academy in Bieshan. However, a few days ago, the Song clan held a ceremony in Beijing to allow the children of the Song clan to enroll in Jianglong Academy, and also let Song Yuzhi serve as the acting dean.

If Li Jing went to the academy again, it would be equivalent to becoming a colleague of the Song clan. Instead of going back and forth, it would be better for him to be honest and continue to stay in the capital.

Seeing that Li Jing was silent, Hong Fu Nu knew that he was obviously confused about his future and didn't know what to do.

She reminded Li Jing: "Since staying in the Central Plains is a dilemma, then we should not contribute to the government, nor help the aristocratic families to rebel. We should just leave! Isn't my husband going to the frontier? If we follow him, won't we be freer?"

When Li Jing heard about the expedition, he was a little excited, but he sighed immediately: "My lord is a martial arts master, he can go deep into the Turkic court alone. If we follow him, we will only be a burden and will hinder his important plan!"

Although he didn't know what Huang Sixi was going to do outside the Great Wall, he could see that Huang Sixi was traveling light in order to save trouble.

Huang Sixi had such a close relationship with Kankan, but he never took Kankan with him when he traveled, let alone anyone else.

In order not to embarrass Huang Sixi, Li Jing rejected Hong Fu's proposal.

Hong Fu Nu did not give up and continued to persuade Li Jing: "You have no place to use your skills in the Central Plains. You can only go to the border to try your luck. The Turks are strong now and invade our borders all year round. If you can defeat the Turks and recover the lost territory in the north, you can also make great achievements!"

Li Jing showed helplessness and spread his hands to Hong Fu Nu: "Without soldiers and horses, how can I fight against the Turks? I am a good cook but I can't cook without rice!"

Hong Funu turned her eyes slightly and looked at the little dragon lying at Huang Sixi's feet.

Since the chaos in the world, a large number of Han people have fled to the outside world. If we use the little magic dragon to recruit soldiers, we can easily raise an army. This real dragon is more effective than the emperor's edict.

However, Hong Fu Nu could not guess Huang Sixi's intention of going to the Turks, so she did not dare to make any suggestions to Huang Sixi rashly.

She only made a joke to Li Jing: "Back then, Changsun Sheng single-handedly divided the Turks and provoked a fight between the eastern and western Turkic tribes without spending a single soldier. Can't your husband follow the example of the ancient sages?"

Li Jing's face turned red. "Lord Changsun Sheng has the full support of the late emperor and the troops of the Great Sui Dynasty behind him. That's why he can easily implement the strategy of differentiation in the Turkic territory. What do I, Li Jing, have? Not even an envoy!"

After listening to the couple's thoughts, Huang Sixi said, "In fact, there is a troop on the border. If you are determined to leave Middle-earth, you can lead that troop."

After Huang Sixi entered the Turkic region, killing was inevitable. However, the Turkic region was full of scattered tribes. Once a war broke out, there would definitely be defeated soldiers who would go south to take advantage of the situation and rob.

Fan Qinghui has already gone to gather the righteous masters, and they will rush to the border soon, but the number of martial arts figures is small, and they fight on their own. They can deal with scattered soldiers, but it is difficult for them to snipe the large coalition forces.

If Li Jing also led the troops and stationed at the border, we could ensure that nothing could go wrong.

Li Jing seemed very excited about commanding the troops: "Have you deployed troops at the border long ago?"

Huang Sixi shook his head: "They are Zhai Rang's subordinates. Because they did not want to be loyal to Li Mi, they collectively went north and became refugees outside the Great Wall, trying to make a living on the border!" "Ah? Wagang Army!"

Li Jing hesitated: "The fighting power of the Wagang Army is very strong, second to none among the rebel armies, but how can they listen to my command?"

Huang Sixi said, "They have traveled thousands of miles to the border to follow Zhai Rang's daughter Zhai Jiao. Zhai Jiao is my first student. I will tell her to listen to your plans, and you will be able to control this army behind the scenes!"

Li Jing and Hong Fu Nu looked at each other and said in unison: "I am willing to listen to your arrangements!"

On that day, Huang Sixi led the couple on the road. Li Jing was just an insignificant official in Yongfeng Warehouse, and his resignation had no impact at all.

In a few days, they traveled thousands of miles north.

By the time they arrived in Mayi County, the weather was already very cold and snowflakes were floating in the air.

Due to the freezing cold, they had not seen many people in half a day since they had been traveling since early morning.

Until they climbed over a hill and came to an ice-covered river. This was the Cangtou River in northern Shanxi, not far from the place where Huang Sixi and Zhai Jiao had an appointment.

I saw a group of warriors in tight clothes standing at the edge of the woods on the opposite bank, craning their necks and looking around.

When the warriors saw Huang Sixi appearing by the river, they immediately became alert and shouted from afar, "Is this Master Jianglong? I am Tu Shufang. I have visited Master Jianglong in the capital. Do you still remember him?"

Huang Sixi remembered that he was the steward of the Zhai Mansion and also an old servant in Zhai Jiao's family, so he replied: "So it's Steward Tu, where is Wuxia?"

Tu Shufang raised his fist and said, "Young Master is at the ferry in the west. She received a message from Master Jianglong heading north, and has been waiting on the river bank for the past few days. She doesn't know where you will pass by, so she dispersed the brothers. We have people within a dozen miles."

The ice on the river was very thick now. Huang Sixi signaled Li Jing and Hong Funu to follow him across the river, while he chatted with Tu Shufang: "Your village is on the Moyun Peak on the bank of the Cangtou River. I can find your residence as soon as I find the river. Why bother waiting for you!"

Tu Shufang said with a smile: "As long as we can welcome Master Jianglong, it would be worth waiting for several days, even several years!"

After saying that, he waved to the warriors beside him: "Quick, go and inform the young master that Master Jianglong is here!"

All these warriors were staring at the little dragon under Huang Sixi's feet. No one was willing to move for a while, until Tu Shufang kicked a half-grown boy away.

Seeing that Tu Shufang was angry, the young man whipped his horse and galloped along the river bank.

When Huang Sixi led Li Jing and Hong Funu across the river and met Tu Shufang, they chatted for a few words when Zhai Jiao arrived on horseback.

Before she jumped off her horse, Zhai Jiao eagerly revealed to Huang Sixi: "Brother Haohan, I have news about Shi Shigu!"

Huang Sixi's eyebrows moved: "Have you seen Qingxuan in the North?"

Zhai Jiao said hurriedly, "I didn't see it with my own eyes. When Senior Brother Xuan led his brothers to go out of the border to buy sheepskins, he saw a group of masters fighting. Senior Aunt Shi was among them. These masters included foreigners from outside the border and people from our Middle-earth. Before Senior Brother Xuan could say hello to Senior Aunt Shi, she had already chased after the group of masters and ran away!"

Huang Sixi asked again: "Where did she run to?"

Huang Sixi guessed that these masters must have sensed Shi Zhixuan's evil emperor's relics, which led to the scramble for them.

Zhai Jiao landed beside Huang Sixi, stared at the little dragon with wide eyes, and suddenly exclaimed: "Ah, Uncle Long'er has grown up!"

She smiled and greeted the little dragon, then said to Huang Sixi, "Senior Brother Xuan is still outside the Great Wall. He sent a message saying that he would go to inquire about the whereabouts of Sister Shi. He will come back in person to tell you in person, brother Haohan!"

Senior Brother Xuan is Xuan Yong, a disciple of her father Zhai Rang. He once accompanied Tu Shufang to the capital and met Shi Qingxuan once in an inn, so they got to know each other.

Huang Sixi heard this and waved his hand towards Zhai Jiao: "Let's go back to the village first!"

Just as they were about to turn around, they heard the rumbling sound of horse hooves. Huang Sixi stopped where he was and asked Zhai Jiao, "Are those your troops?"

Without waiting for Zhai Jiao to reply, Tu Shufang immediately denied: "Absolutely not! This mountain stronghold is just a stronghold built in Hedong. There are very few brothers stationed here on a daily basis, and our caravan hasn't come back yet! Judging from the sound of horse hooves, there are probably more than a thousand of them. It sounds like soldiers and horses are marching. They can't be ours!"

Zhai Jiao muttered, "Is it Liu Wuzhou's army passing through again?"

Tu Shufang replied: "It is most likely Liu Wuzhou's troops. This area of several hundred miles is all his territory!"

When Huang Sixi heard that it was Liu Wuzhou's army, he was not in a hurry to return to the mountain stronghold. Instead, he led everyone to hide in the woods and watch the army pass by.

After a while, a group of fully armed cavalrymen, escorting more than a hundred young women, appeared on the other side of the river.

These women were all well-mannered, none of them were older than 20 years old, and the clothes they wore did not look like those of ordinary people. It seemed as if they had been kept in large mansions for many years and had been captured.

They didn't know where they were being escorted, and their faces were filled with fear of the upheavals of their fate, but they didn't dare to run away. There were thousands of cavalrymen standing guard around them, with several cavalrymen guarding one woman on average to ensure that none of them could escape.

The cavalry at the front held a large banner with the word "Liu" on it, and the armor they wore looked like those of Middle-earth soldiers.

Tu Shufang only took a glance and confirmed to Huang Sixi: "They must be Liu Wuzhou's cavalry!"

At the beginning of this year, Liu Wuzhou murdered Wang Rengong, the prefect of Mayi, recruited more than 10,000 young and strong men, captured Mayi County, proclaimed himself emperor in Shanyang County, changed the era name to Tianxing, and seized the border land of Hedong!

Since the Turkic Shibi Khan broke off diplomatic relations with the Sui court and began to invade the south year after year, Mayi County had become the de facto northern border between the Sui court and the Turks.

The area where Huang Sixi is currently located is almost out of Mayi County. If he walks north for a few dozen miles, he will see the Turks.

Hong Fu Nu was always keeping an eye on the hundred or so young women.

She asked Tu Shufang for advice: "It is rumored that Liu Wuzhou rebelled because he had an affair with the maid of Wang Rengong, the governor of Mayi, and Wang Rengong found out. He is a well-known lecher. Since he has captured so many beautiful women, he should be taken back to his lair in Shanyang County. Why are his subordinates heading north?"

Tu Shufang explained: "Mayi County is adjacent to the Turkic territory. Liu Wuzhou was afraid that the Turkic would send troops to attack him, so he surrendered to Shibi Khan. In March, he went south to attack Loufan and broke through the Fenyang Palace. He took all the hundreds of palace maids to the Turkic and presented them to Shibi in exchange for a batch of fine war horses. He must be using the same old trick again and sending those women as tribute to the Turkic!"

Hong Fu Nu and Li Jing were both furious and shouted, "You bastard! You are so shameless!"

She already understood the origins of those hundred or so women. They must have been collected by Liu Wuzhou from all over the place to please Shibi Khan in exchange for Turkic war horses and supplies.

Huang Sixi still remembered that Song Yuzhi once mentioned to him Liu Wuzhou, one of the two dogs of the Turkic race.

When he heard Tu Shufang talking about Liu Wuzhou's situation, he asked, "Is this Liu Wuzhou from the Yingyang faction?"

Tu Shufang said, "It is indeed true! Liu Wuzhou of Mayi and Liang Shidu of Shuofang are from the same school. They were both officials in the court before. They rebelled together at the beginning of the year. After Liu Wuzhou became emperor, Liang Shidu followed closely and established the Liang Kingdom in Shuofang. Both of them became vassals of the Turks!"

The approximate scope of Shuofang is in northern Shaanxi, and Mayi is located in northern Shanxi.

Both of these territories were bordered by the Turks to the north. Liu Wuzhou and Liang Shi were both afraid of the Turkish army, so they spared no expense to collect treasures and women, and presented them as tribute to Shibi Khan. They also obeyed Shibi's orders. This is why Song Yuzhi called them the two dogs of the Turks.

In fact, all the rebellious forces in Middle-earth would become dependent on the Turks as long as they bordered them. If they suffered a defeat in the fight for the world, they would ask for help from the Turks, form an alliance with the Turkish troops and march south in an attempt to eliminate their competitors in Middle-earth.

Huang Sixi's trip to the northern border was to undermine the prestige of the Turkic royal court and make them forever lose the ability to provide military support to the Middle-earth warlords.

(End of this chapter)