Fu Shifeng

Chapter 160
"Just, what happened just now?"

The lingering sound of the thunder faded away, and the strong wind was blowing inside and outside the courtyard. Mu Yuan hurriedly stabilized her posture. He just barely saw the white thunder strike. The next moment, Master Wen knocked the deer-crowned witch into the air with a punch. It was too late to figure it out. situation.

Master Wen lightly clapped his hands and dusted off the dust, as if he had completed a trivial matter: "It's nothing, just knock that guy into the air, so that he won't offend Empress Silkworm."

Mu Yuan said helplessly: "Is there any relationship between these two things? And you made a sudden move, could it be that guy is the culprit who drove the locusts?"

"Probably not." Master Wen shook his head and looked at his palm: "I guess this guy is not a mortal. I punched him but it didn't feel strong at all and I couldn't kill him."

"Looking at his ghostly appearance with hair and horns, could it be that some great demon has transformed into a human form?" Mu Yuan asked.

"Plausible." Master Wen twirled his beard.

"If these demons and ghosts can't be killed, they will hold grudges very much." Mu Yuan reminded: "Do you want to cut the weeds and get rid of the roots?"

"Let's have a look first, don't worry." Master Wen returned to the Silkworm Temple, looked up at the statue, raised his hand to signal Mu Yuan to avoid, and then said: "The next few, come out when you have heard enough."

The cloaked man understood that he had been exposed and there was no point in hiding any longer. He was greatly encouraged by the thought that the other party could defeat the deer-crown shaman in one fell swoop. He immediately showed up. When he saw Master Wen who looked like a poor scholar in civilian clothes opposite him, he immediately bowed deeply. A gift:
"Thank you sir for saving your life!"

"Is that person wearing an antler crown here to hunt you down?" Master Wen saw the wide-sleeved gown on the other party's body: "Your clothes don't seem to provoke that kind of foreign expert. Could it be that you are in Donghu?" The land boundaries of the various ministries have offended the spirit land of Shenchi?"

The cloaked man no longer concealed it, and replied: "I'm Xia Damen Yi, the current King of Bohai County is my half-brother."

"Oh? You're still a big shot!" Master Wen was slightly surprised, and then asked: "But this is Dingzhou, and it's not too close to Bohai County, so why did you appear here?"

Damen Yi thought over and over again, thinking that in front of him was an expert who could repel the great witch with the deer crown, why not confess to him as soon as possible in order to ask for protection.

"Sir, I don't know. Not long ago, my brother forced me to lead troops to attack Heishui Mohe." Damen Yi explained: "Heishui Mohe has been canonized by the Celestial Dynasty. If we raise troops like this, it is like a betrayal. When I was young, I went to Chang'an as an envoy. , served as a palace guard for a long time, deeply admired the prosperity of the Celestial Dynasty, and had also seen the might of the Great Xia army. He knew very well that attacking Heishui Mohe would surely bring disaster to the Bohai County, so he made repeated admonitions, but it's a pity... Alas!"

"It's a pity that your elder brother didn't listen, and even wanted to kill you to stand up." Master Wen helped him finish the next story by the way: "And you learned the news in advance, so you fled overnight with your cronies. A great witch was sent after you, didn't you?"

Damen Yi nodded helplessly: "Mr. has a clever plan, that's exactly the case."

"Then it seems that your status is quite high, and you can attract such an expert to do it yourself." Master Wen said.

"The person who is chasing and killing me is named Wu Luohu, and he is a highly respected great witch from all tribes of the Eastern Hu." Damen Yiyan said: "In order to win over this person, my brother gifted him a large area of ​​rich mountains and forests. The tribesmen who depended on fishing, hunting and woodcutters lost their livelihoods. Just because I opposed sending troops to the Heishui tribe, I was regarded as a stumbling block by Wu Luohu. I lost many benefits, and he would kill me both publicly and privately."

Ignoring the embellishments in Damen's art talk, Master Wen said: "Then you escaped from Bohai to inform the Great Xia court?"

"Bohai Commandery dispatches troops, how can we hide it from the scouts in Youyan's various towns?" Damen Yi said with a wry smile: "Even if I hadn't tipped off the news, the soldiers and horses of Youzhou Jiedushi are probably already ready to go. If the Bohai State behaves disobediently, it will send troops to attack immediately."

"That's true." Master Wen chuckled twice.

"There's not much I can do. Since Bohai has rebelled, I have no choice but to go to Chang'an to apologize to the saint."

Of course, Damen Yi's words were not entirely sincere, but he just tried his best to get rid of that ignorant elder brother. When he was liquidated in the future, he might be able to escape from the crime by escaping early, and even replace his elder brother as the king of Bohai County. Ting guards one side.

Master Wen nodded and said, "That's fine."

Damen Yi found that the other party didn't seem to have other intentions, so he quickly knelt down: "Sir, it's a long way to go to Chang'an. If the villain goes on the road alone, I'm afraid that Wu Luohu will come back and find him, and then the villain will die without a place to bury him. Mister is a man of high morals, he probably doesn’t want to see turmoil in the border area, so please lend a helping hand to save the villain from danger.”

Master Wen thought for a while, then nodded and said: "That's fine, but I still have some trivial matters to be busy at the moment, and I guess I will stay in Dingzhou for a while."

Damen Yi knew that such people acted inscrutablely, and only by staying by his side could he avoid Wu Luohu's pursuit and killing.

And as long as there are major changes in the Bohai War, my elder brother will definitely summon Wu Luohu to return, and I will be safe by then.

"The villain is willing to do his best for the gentleman." Damen Yi asked again: "By the way, I was rude just now, and I haven't asked the gentleman's name?"

"My name is...Chu Yufu."

"Disrespect, disrespect." Damen Yi had never heard of this name, but thinking that this person has the ability to repel Wu Luohu, he must look at the Central Plains and he is not a mediocre person. A good relationship will also be of great benefit.

"You retreat to the side room first, I have something to do." Master Wen warned: "No matter what you hear later, don't open the doors and windows to peek. If something happens, I can't save you."

"Yes, yes, I must remember this." Da DaYi had seen the scene where shamans and witches drove spirits, and that scene was terrifying enough.When it comes to communicating with ghosts and gods, it is best for ordinary people not to look at it.

Damen Yi led four followers to hide in a side room, and closed the doors and windows tightly.In a short while, there seemed to be a strong wind blowing outside, and the tightly closed doors and windows shook slightly, and then there was a fluttering sound like a flock of birds flapping their wings, revealing a strange atmosphere, even if hiding indoors, the gate art was a little bit People are not feeling well.

Then the voice of "Chu Yufu" came from the direction of the main hall, but unfortunately he couldn't hear it clearly, and no one else answered.

Damen Yi suddenly remembered that there should be two people in the hall earlier, why did he only see Chu Yufu just now?Who made that indistinguishable voice?Why is there no one?
Thinking of the ghosts and gods here, Da Yi felt cold all over.He shook his head quickly and warned himself not to ask any more questions.

……

There was a sharp bird song from the sky, Cheng Sanwu raised his eyes and saw a crow-colored owl hovering in mid-air.

When Afu saw this, she whistled with her finger. The owl heard the sound and descended, flapping its wings and landing on Afu's arm, very well-behaved.

Afu took the note from the iron ring between the letter owl's legs, fed it a piece of meat, then flipped through it, and read in a low voice:
"Thousands of villagers attacked the government office, going crazy and unable to control it. The governor of Dingzhou was killed, Sima fled, and begged to mobilize the Peking army to return..."

"The governor of Dingzhou was killed? How is it possible?" Changqing was shocked when he heard this.

After Cheng Sanwu and his party left Weizhou, they sent letters to contact the secret agents of the Ministry of Internal Affairs stationed in various states at the same time when they went north. They already knew that the locust plague first appeared suddenly from the Dingzhou area.

Dingzhou belongs to the defense area under the jurisdiction of Youzhou Jiedushi. The northwest area is the endless Taihang Mountains.

"Those villagers must have gone mad because of the char moth parasite." Afu put away the note.

"I remember... there seem to be thousands of soldiers stationed in Dingzhou all year round, right?" Cheng Sanwu was slightly puzzled.

Afu glanced at it. She knew that Cheng Sanwu had served in Youyanbian Town, and it was not unusual to know the towns of Youzhou.

"The letter mentioned that Dingzhou's Sima had fled and asked to transfer the Beiping Army back." Afu explained: "Perhaps the Jiedushi of Youzhou has made some moves recently to transfer troops and horses from various military towns, leaving Dingzhou city defense empty. Thousands of people suddenly rioted in the city, and it was difficult to deal with it in a hurry with just a few yamen servants and city guards."

"Thousands of people riot together, this battle is not small." Cheng Sanwu muttered.

Changqing's face darkened slightly: "It's not too late, we set off for Dingzhou immediately, lest something might change."

The three immediately drove their horses northward, and within two days they arrived outside the city of Dingzhou.A majestic city stands on the plains, with high walls and deep ditches, wide official roads and all sides. There are also fortresses and towns in the surrounding fields, which are convenient for stationing troops and horses. support each other.

Northwest of Dingzhou is the Taihang Mountains. Through various passes in the mountains, you can lead to Yunzhong, Monan and other places.

At the beginning of the founding of the Great Xia, the land of Hebei rebelled several times. The leader Liu Xuantong was extremely brave, his martial arts were congenital, and he was proficient in military strategy. sack.

Moreover, Liu Xuantong also captured Dingzhou, from which he sent envoys to communicate with Tule in the north, and led Hu Qi into the borders of Hebei and Shandong, and plundered people and wealth.

At that time, Tule was very powerful, and the people of Hebei had not yet attached themselves. The powerful people from all over the country responded to the situation. For a while, most of the prefectures and counties held high the anti-flag, which caused the rule of Daxia in Hebei to fall into a state of collapse.

For this reason, Taizu of Great Xia decided to lead his troops to conquer personally, despite the dissuasion of his ministers.On the one hand, Taizu slowed down the advance of his troops and lured Liu Xuantong to personally lead his troops to attack; on the other hand, he sent counselors, lobbyists, and gifts of gold and silk to alienate the enemy troops and make them suspicious of each other. Then he dispatched troops and generals to defeat them one by one. , leaving Liu Xuantong in an isolated and helpless situation.

Taizu often used troops to defend first and then attack. After defeating the enemy's vigor, he forced them to show their flaws, and then destroyed them with a strong force.

But Liu Xuantong's strength is beyond imagination. If anyone commented on the ranking of the world's masters back then, he must be qualified to compete for the world's No.1.

In the end, Taizu of Great Xia used all his military strategies and almost all the elites at his disposal, and then he was able to overwhelm Liu Xuantong on the battlefield. He also paid huge casualties for this, so that the enemy commander successfully escaped.

Liu Xuantong finally led his soldiers to flee to Dingzhou. His officers and soldiers persuaded him to join Tule, but he was hesitant because he was afraid that Tule would not be able to accommodate him.

Perhaps because of this hesitation, his cronies poisoned his food and drink in order to find another way to make a living.Liu Xuantong was poisoned by the poison and still survived, he massacred his trusted officers and soldiers, completely betraying their relatives.

Therefore, someone secretly reported to Taizu of Great Xia and opened the gate of Dingzhou City. After a brutal siege, Liu Xuantong was finally beheaded by Taizu with a single sword.

Knowing the importance of Dingzhou's location, Taizu ordered people to focus on repairing the city forts, and widen the Feihu Road and Lingqiu Road leading to Pingcheng to the north.

"Wow, this Liu Xuantong is so powerful!"

Standing in the five-mile pavilion next to the official road, looking at Dingzhou City from a distance, Cheng Sanwu listened to Changqing's talk about the founding of the country, and listened with great interest: "If you can't get along someday, you can write a storybook as well." earn money."

Changqing smiled helplessly: "If that day really comes, you should come and give me a reward."

Afu next to her had a calm look that was used to seeing all kinds of things in the world: "Unfortunately, no matter how high and thick the city wall is built, it can't stop the madness from the inside."

Changqing looked towards Dingzhou City, and could see black smoke rising, presumably there was a fire somewhere in the city, making people afraid to imagine the chaos inside.

At this time, several riders rushed out of the closed city gate and galloped towards Wuliting. Seeing Afu, they got off their horses and saluted immediately: "I pay my respects to Shang Zhangjun!"

The person who came was the spy sent by the Ministry of Internal Affairs to Dingzhou. Afu waved her hand and said, "Tell me, how is the situation in the city now?"

"Right now, the four Lifangs in the east of the city have fallen into complete chaos. The governor of Dingzhou ordered the only remaining soldiers in the city to block the streets, and kill all the criminals who took the opportunity to cause chaos." The spy replied, "But some soldiers joined the rioters and took the opportunity to set fire. To this day, there are still a large number of houses burning in the city."

"Governor Shi of Ding ordered the closure of the city gate, is he planning to wait for reinforcements?" Afu asked.

The spy said cautiously: "Dingzhou Sima did say that before he left, but he hasn't returned yet, and there is no news of him."

Afu frowned slightly, and Cheng Sanwu sneered: "So you ran away?"

Changqing said: "Although the Sima of the state is the assistant of the governor, but according to the practice of this dynasty, most of the Sima have no specific duties, but are used to arrange idle officials, or are led by the prince. He may not stick to the end when he sees the chaos in the state and the city." courage."

In fact, this kind of responsibilities will also be rectified and dealt with in the New Deal. This time the civil uprising broke out in Dingzhou, once the news is spread back to the DPRK, it will surely become the basis for Prime Minister Lu to vigorously implement the New Deal, and take this opportunity to severely abolish a certain number of people. Criticize incompetent officials and replace them with Prime Minister Lu's cronies.

"Do you have something to say?" Afu saw that the spy was hesitant to speak.

"Maybe Dingzhou Sima didn't run away." The spy explained: "I learned a few days ago that when I went to Wangdu and Beiping counties, there were also villagers making riots on the road. If Dingzhou Sima wants to ask Youzhou Jiedushi, some of them will be transferred back to Beiping. The soldiers and horses will definitely pass through these places. When he left, he had few entourages, so if he is attacked by thieves, he may not be able to protect himself."

(End of this chapter)