As soon as Mrs. Cao returned home, Dou Jiande couldn't wait to ask: "Can you find out more about it?"

Cao nodded and said: "According to Changsun, it's just that a small group of Turkic cavalry appeared in Huairong County in the north to plunder the local people. It's nothing serious. Moreover, General Lu Sheng has already led his troops to check."

Dou Jiande's eyes flashed and he said suspiciously: "If it's just a small group of Turkic cavalry, how can they be so nervous? And even Lu Sheng, a young man, personally led his troops there, so there will definitely be many enemies coming."

"I also feel strange, but that's what the Changsun family said." Mrs. Cao replied: "By the way, the line lady also told me to remind the head of the family not to go out of the city in the near future to avoid accidents."

When Dou Jiande heard this, he looked happy and said: "It seems that the situation is much more serious than what Changsun said, otherwise the line mother would not have said that. Madam, maybe our opportunity has finally come."

Mrs. Cao opened her mouth but hesitated to speak. Dou Jiande frowned and said, "Ma'am, what can't you say directly? In the past, we husband and wife could share joys and sorrows together. Could it be that now we are at odds with each other?"

Cao said with a little worry: "Now that Gao Changqing has wiped out Li Mi and Wang Shichong, defeated Li Tang, captured the Central Plains, and successfully entered Luoyang, the eastern capital, he will surely conquer the world in the future, and it will be a matter of time for him to ascend to the Ninth Five-Year Plan. Mother Wireline

Due to the relationship, our Dou family is also a relative of the emperor, and we will surely enjoy endless wealth and glory. If..."

Dou Jiande interrupted disapprovingly: "It's true that Gao Changqing does occupy the Central Plains, but now Li Tang is still dormant in Guanlong, occupying Bahan and Minshu in the south, and his strength is not much weaker than Gao Qi, and Jingxiang

There is also Xiao Mian who dominates the Lingbiao area, and Yuzhang area

(Jiangxi) has Lin Shihong as the king, and Li Zitong, Shen Faxing, Du Fuwei and others in Jiangsu and Zhejiang are also not weak. What's more, there are Liu Wuzhou, Guo Zihe and Li Gui in Hedong and Hexi areas. Therefore, Mrs.

It would be too early to say that Gao Changqing has conquered the world!"

Cao sighed and said: "What the master said is not unreasonable, but now that Gao Qi's strength dominates the world, even Li Tang has to stay out of the way, hiding in the pass and not daring to come out. If the master takes action at this time, I'm afraid it will be difficult to succeed.

Once it fails, I am afraid that our lives will not be saved, and even the line mother will be harmed..."

Dou Jiande interrupted impatiently: "A true woman's opinion, if a certain family does not act as soon as possible, in a few years, who will remember me, Dou Jiande, the King of Changle? This kid Gao Changqing took advantage of others' danger, added insult to injury, and took the opportunity to rob a certain family.

The territory of the family, this bad breath,

A certain family can't swallow it no matter what. If the madam covets the easy and comfortable life here, she can just stay, and a certain family can escape on her own. Although Gao Changqing is unkind, he still has true feelings for the line mother. He must not

It will embarrass you two."

Mrs. Cao's face changed slightly when she heard this, and she knelt down on the ground, crying with red eyes: "Although I am not from a famous family, I know books and etiquette, and I know that the husband is the wife's guide. How can I abandon my husband?"

It’s time to seek glory. Since the master is going to do something big, I will sacrifice my life to accompany you. I hope the master will never say such hurtful words again.”

When Dou Jiande heard this, he was moved and ashamed. He helped Cao up and said, "Madam, please get up. My husband has wrongly blamed you. You should pack up and make preparations. If there is a chance in the next few days, we will immediately flee Zhuojun and return to our hometown to gather."

The old team will fight again vigorously. If they are defeated again this time, a certain family will accept their fate, even if they die, they will be safe!"

Ms. Cao nodded and said: "With your husband's reputation and popularity in the local area, all you need to do is climb up and make a call, and there will definitely be a crowd of people who will respond. Your comeback is just a snap."

When Dou Jiande heard this, he said happily: "According to Madam's auspicious words, in the next few days, a certain family will contact Ling Jing, Song Zhengben and Su Dingfang, and they will flee Zhuojun and go south when the time comes."

A hint of worry flashed through Cao's eyes. Now that Ling Jing, Song Zhengben, Su Dingfang, Wang Fubao and others have all taken official positions in Qi State, are they really willing to give up their rare stable life and follow their husbands to fight in the world again?

However, at this time, Mr. Cao did not want to undermine Dou Jiande's confidence and enthusiasm, so he could only nodded and said: "But it depends on the arrangement of the boss."

A few days later, the news became clear. Chuluo Khan, who was newly enthroned by the Turks, used Gao Qi to place Empress Xiao under house arrest and supported Yang Tong, the clan member of the Sui Dynasty, as the puppet emperor to steal the country of the Sui Dynasty. Therefore, he wanted to attack Gao Qi.

Qi, and at the same time sent troops to attack Yanmen County and Zhuo County.

At the same time, after being dealt with by Gao Bufan last time, the Xi people who had been honest for several years began to make moves and continued to harass the Xikou Great Wall. The Khitans outside the pass also sent troops to invade Yingzhou.

It was obvious that the Xi people and the Khitans had received instructions from the Turks and were cooperating to respond to the Turks' armies. Suddenly, the situation in the north of Qi became tense. Wei Zheng had to rush to report the news to Luoyang and request for mobilization.

More troops returned to the defense. After all, Youzhou was Gao Qi's basic base and could not be lost. However, this also greatly slowed down Gao Qi's pace of sweeping the south.

In other words, Li Tang's strategy of teaming up with the Turks to contain Gao Qi began to work, and Li Yuan could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

…………

Ling Jing and Song Zhengben were Dou Jiande's advisers, and both now hold official positions in Zhuo County. Ling Jing served as a doctor under the Imperial Academy, responsible for education, while Song Zhengben served as a censor, with a rank of only

Considered average.

In the evening of this day, Ling Jing walked out of the Imperial Academy, obviously a little distracted, when suddenly he heard someone calling him from behind: "Master Ling!"

Ling Jing turned around and saw that it was Song Zhengben. A trace of uneasiness flashed across his face quickly, and he cupped his hands and said, "It turns out to be Mr. Song."

The two of them used to be Dou Jiande's advisers, and they talked about almost everything before. But when they met now, they both felt that they were more familiar with each other. Song Zhengben pondered for a moment before saying, "Is it convenient for us to take a chance to talk?"

Ling Jing nodded and walked to a secluded place with Song Zhengben. The latter asked in a low voice: "Qinghe Convention is having a gathering tonight. I wonder if Brother Ling has received the invitation."

Ling Jing nodded slightly and said, "I did receive an invitation from Duke Qinghe, but I have something to do tonight and I'm afraid I won't be able to keep the appointment."

Song Zhengben glanced at Ling Jing with a complicated expression, nodded and said: "I understand." After saying that, he cupped his hands and turned around.

"Brother Song, stay here." Ling Jing blurted out.

Song Zhengben stopped and turned to look at Ling Jing. The latter hesitated for a moment before saying, "Brother Song, do you still remember why you surrendered to Lord Dou in the first place?"

Song Zhengben nodded and said: "Of course I remember that at the end of the Sui Dynasty, there was great chaos, the people were in dire straits, and all the heroes in the world came together. Dou Gong was benevolent, tolerant, and had the ambition to save the world. Song Zhengben was willing to follow his tail, calm the world, and relieve the people of the world.

Hanging upside down.”

Ling Jing nodded and asked, "How does Brother Song think the King of Qi compares to Duke Dou?"

Song Zhengben said bluntly: "The King of Qi is as good as Duke Dou in terms of benevolence, righteousness and tolerance, he is even better in terms of literature, Taoism and military strategy, and he is far superior to Duke Dou in terms of recognizing people and utilizing their talents."

Ling Jing looked at Song Zhengben intently and said: "Since the seventh year of the Daye year, Yang Guangdong conquered Goguryeo, and the people of the world have been displaced and miserable. In the last year of the Daye, all the heroes came together and wars continued, and six or seven out of ten people in the world died.

.Now the King of Qi has taken possession of Youying and taken over Hebei Province, sweeping

The group of lords in the Central Plains saw that the world was about to be settled and the whole world was at peace. Moreover, the King of Qi had the appearance of a Ming Lord, and the people under his rule were harmonious and harmonious, and the people lived and worked in peace and contentment. At this time, Brother Song did not assist the Ming Lord, but instead caused extraneous problems and disasters. Isn't it putting the cart before the horse? Yes.

It is not a good thing for both the people and Mr. Dou!"

Song Zhengben said bitterly: "What Brother Ling said is true, but Mr. Dou was kind to me, so he did it even though he knew it couldn't be done."

Ling Jing sighed softly, hesitated to speak, and finally uttered two words: "Take care!"

Song Zhengben nodded, turned around and walked away. Ling Jing looked at the former's determined back, with a look of regret mixed with a hint of admiration.

As Dou Jiande's former chief adviser, Ling Jing naturally understood that his former lord was not willing to fail, and the sudden appointment at such a sensitive moment was most likely to seek a comeback. However, with Gao Qi's current strength,

The possibility of Duke Dou succeeding is very slim, but it is just a fool's errand. In addition to increasing the suffering of the people, it is just to satisfy Duke Dou's selfish desire for hegemony.

Ling Jing saw this very clearly, so he decisively rejected Dou Jiande's invitation and chose to stand on the side of the people's welfare and the current situation. In fact, Song Zhengben also saw it very clearly, but he chose

Loyalty, personal loyalty to Dou Jiande.

That night, Dou Jiande was anxiously walking back and forth in front of the hall. When he was feeling uneasy, a servant came in and reported: "Master Song, the Supervisory Censor, came to visit."

Dou Jiande was overjoyed when he heard this and said hurriedly: "Please come quickly!"

Soon, Song Zhengben was brought in. As soon as he met him, he saluted respectfully and said, "I have met King Changle."

Dou Jiande quickly helped Song Zhengben up and said happily: "I know that Lord Song will definitely keep the appointment. Now I am waiting for Lord Ling."

Song Zhengben shook his head and said: "King Changle, there's no need to wait. Lord Ling has something to do tonight and can't get away, so he won't come!"

Dou Jiande's expression changed slightly and he said angrily: "Could it be that Ling Jing betrayed me, you damn traitor!"

Song Zhengben advised: "Everyone has his own ambitions, so why should King Changle insist on it?"

Dou Jiande nodded and sighed: "It doesn't matter, everyone has their own ambitions, and it's true that you can't force yourself."

At that moment, Dou Jiande started a secret discussion with Song Zhengben.

Three days later, Dou Jiande and his wife Cao secretly escaped from Ji County with gold and silver, as well as several days of dry food, and came to a forest on the outskirts of the city. Song Zhengben and Wang Fubao had been waiting here for a long time, but Su Dingfang was nowhere to be seen.

.

Dou Jiande couldn't help but his heart sank, and he frowned and asked, "Dingfang hasn't arrived yet?"

Wang Fubao shook his head, and Song Zhengben said calmly: "There may be something delayed, let's wait for a while."

As soon as Song Zhengben finished speaking, there was a sound of horse hooves on the official road outside the woods. Everyone hurriedly knelt down and looked out through the trees. They saw a young man riding a horse and holding a horse in his hand.

, he stopped when he came to the edge of the woods, turned around and looked around, and surprisingly it was Su Dingfang.

Dou Jiande was overjoyed when he saw this, and quickly called out: "Dingfang, I am here!"

Su Dingfang quickly led the horse into the woods and saluted, "Su Dingfang has met King Changle and Princess Changle."

Dou Jiande smiled and said: "No need to be polite, where did Dingfang get the horse?"

"It was brought from the army, please mount the horses, King Changle and Princess!" Su Dingfang is currently serving as a captain in the Qi army, so it is not surprising to have access to war horses.

"Great, let's set off. Thanks to you all for not giving up, if I, Dou Jiande, can make a comeback in the future, I will definitely not wait for you." Dou Jiande solemnly promised and bowed deeply to everyone.

Song Zhengben and others quickly returned the gift and said: "It's getting late, King Changle, hurry up and mount your horse!"

Dou Jiande and Mr. Cao quickly mounted their horses, and walked out of the woods as soon as they were under the horses. Song Zhengben and Wang Fubao quickly followed, but Su Dingfang stood still and watched everyone walking out of the woods.

Dou Jiande was about to walk out of the woods before he realized something was wrong. He turned around and asked, "Why did Dingfang stop moving forward?"

Su Dingfang fell to his knees on the ground, kowtowed three times to Dou Jiande respectfully and said: "Dingfang thanks King Changle for his kindness in the past. Please forgive Dingfang for not being able to follow King Changle to conquer the world anymore. I wish King Changle this trip."

smoothly."

Dou Jiande's face suddenly darkened and he said sternly: "Su Dingfang, how dare you betray me?"

Su Dingfang shook his head and said: "Dingfang has not disclosed anything about today's matter to the outside world. King Changle can leave with peace of mind!"

Dou Jiande's heart sank rapidly, and he frowned and said: "Dingfang, why don't you want to leave with me? Are you not optimistic about me?"

Su Dingfang hesitated and said: "Now that the general trend of the world has become clear, Dingfang feels that it is more appropriate to stay in Gaoqi."

Dou Jiande was stunned for a moment, then laughed loudly and said: "That means you don't think highly of me, Dou Jiande. It doesn't matter. Good birds choose trees to roost in. I won't force you. If I, Dou Jiande, can stir up some trouble in the future, I will welcome you at any time."
To be continued...