A fast horse ran out of the heavy rain and stopped in front of the gate of Guihe Jian'an Palace.
Someone came to the door immediately and held the horse for the soldiers on horseback.
The soldier wore a hat and a cape, dismounted from his horse and walked quickly into the wide open gate of Jian'an Prince's Mansion.
He did not go to Li Xiao immediately, but first went to Mr. Cai He.
Cai He looked solemn after reading the book he presented. After putting it down, he was speechless for a long time.
There were footsteps outside the door, and Cai He looked up. Liu Meng raised his hand to close his umbrella, leaned against the eaves of the corridor, and came in and asked, "How is the situation?"
Cai He said solemnly: "The wind was too strong and the thunderstorm was severe. Several major cities in Guihe were severely damaged. Thousands of people have died in three towns in the southwest. Hundreds of houses collapsed, and countless cattle and horses were killed and injured."
Liu Meng frowned, looked at the wet and panting soldier, and said warmly: "You go down first, remember to drink a few cups of hot tea to ward off the cold."
"Thank you sir," the soldier said, and left.
The heavy rain became more and more severe. Liu Meng walked to the desk, looked at the books on the desk, and said: "It is hard to be hurt in spring, but it is rare for autumn and winter and the beginning of spring next year. This year's cold winter, Guihe is in danger. However, the little prince is still sharpening his sword and making iron.
, trying to recruit more troops. Mr. Cai He, our treasury has already been depleted, and now we have no money and materials to support this huge military pay."
"With the temper of the little prince, he will not give up, even..." Cai He did not continue.
"Even what?"
After a pause, Cai He looked at him: "Unless you and I can think of a better way, he can even cede the land and sell it."
Just as a thunder struck, Liu Meng opened his eyes wide.
He understands Cai He's temperament, and he won't make things up out of thin air. The fact that he can say such things must be because Li Xiao mentioned it in front of him.
And according to Li Xiao's character, he can do it.
Li Xiao is self-willed and arrogant. Li Xiao thinks that the land he is selling now will definitely be able to buy it back or fight it back in the future.
But, but this won’t work!
Liu Meng murmured: "Since ancient times, selling land has always been an addiction, and getting money quickly is definitely a temptation that the little prince cannot resist. If we set a precedent, you and I will both
It's dangerous! And Guihe, how many times can a fiefdom as big as sesame seeds be able to withstand the sale? Not to mention that people in the know laugh at me for building the Prince's Mansion, and even the people of Guihe will lose their hearts."
Cai He said nothing and raised his hand to touch his beard.
"What about Mr. Zhi?" Liu Meng asked again, "Mr. Cai He, is there any profit from the business at Mr. Zhi's house?"
Cai He was helpless: "After months of hard work, I only managed two transactions, and the money I earned was a drop in the bucket."
Liu Meng sighed: "It's difficult!"
There was sudden movement outside the door, and several people came quickly.
Ye Jun trotted and held an umbrella to cover Li Xiao's head.
When Liu Meng and Cai He saw this, they immediately stepped forward and said, "I have seen the little prince."
"There is a big fish!" Li Xiao said as soon as he came in, "This prince is going to Lingde!"
So sudden!
Liu Meng and Cai He looked at each other.
"Do you still remember Qian Fengrong," Li Xiao continued, "Tian Dayao mentioned a reward of thirty thousand taels for him! And that little bitch, she also offered a reward for this person! She also offered a reward for that person.
You are a shameless woman!"
"Indeed, there is such a thing." Cai He said.
"So it sounds like Qian Fengrong appeared in Lingde?" Liu Meng said.
"If this king captures him alive and sells him at a high price, what do you think he will do?"
Looking at Li Xiao's bright eyes, Liu Meng became worried. Qian Fengrong was good at martial arts and had excellent skills, so Li Xiao might not be his opponent.
Cai He on the side was in a good mood: "Wonderful! Little Prince, if we can really capture him, we will have a lot of money!"
It's better than actually breaking pots and selling iron and cutting off land in exchange for food.
"Okay!" Li Xiao grinned, with white teeth, "I, the Prince, will prepare now. As soon as the rain clears, we will leave for Lingde immediately!"
·
Lingde is under the jurisdiction of Guide, located in Jinghe, at the junction of two prefectures of Guide. Although it is a town under the jurisdiction, its territory is as vast as three Hengxiangs.
The rain clouds coming from the east have not affected Lingde yet. When we entered the village of Lingde, we saw green grass and groups of laborers carrying poles and pushing carts and horses.
The bamboo baskets carried by the workers were empty. A few people had "goods", but they were also filled with black and scorched soil.
There were occasional ores being pushed on the carts, but the color was terrible and not worth much.
Ye Zheng dismounted and went to inquire. After a long time, he came back and said, "They are not miners, they are going to rob graves."
"It seems there is no gain." Shen Lie said.
"Well, they dug for half a month and found nothing. The people who hired them called themselves the Zhongxin Army. Because they didn't dig out anything, they refused to give them a single copper coin. Now, the Zhongxin Army has gone north."
Shen Lie had never heard of this army, but the only army that had appeared in Lingde was Xie Zhong's.
Shen Lie narrowed his eyes and looked at the crowd in the distance, then looked up to the north.
"If I remember correctly, if Lingde goes north, he can go all the way to Longyuan."
"Well, Li Qian has a Shuangjiang Palace in Longdan Mountain."
After Ye Zheng finished speaking, he suddenly remembered that Du Xuan had mentioned before that the place where Shen Xu "died" was under Longyuan.
"There are many emperors' tombs in this area, and the loyal army will still rush to rob the tombs." Shen Lie pulled the reins, "Let's go, let's go find him."
At night, at the downhill post of Heziguan on the Pingpiguan Road that passes through Lingde, a fire suddenly broke out.
The residence and post office at the post station, as well as the inns and teahouses near the post station, and the surrounding private houses were all engulfed by fire.
Because the fire was in the sky, when Shen Lie and the secret guards arrived, there was only a continuous sea of fire, which spread outward at an extremely fast speed.
Ye Zheng, Wu Shaoning and others didn't want Shen Lie to get too far forward, so they had to stop Shen Lie when they were two hundred steps away.
The night wind howled, but apart from the withering sound of all things burning in it, there was not a single human cry.
"It's surprisingly quiet," Ye Zheng looked at Shen Lie, "It shouldn't be an accident. It's most likely that he killed everyone first and then burned them all."
The rolling tongues of fire caused the heaven and earth to glow with orange light, and Shen Lie's handsome and profound face gained a warm and soft luster under the firelight.
He remained motionless, staring at the fire with his dark eyes, and added: "Before it is burned out, all the things that can be won will be taken away."
"Could it be the loyal army? Master, should we chase them? They shouldn't be far away!"
"You shouldn't pursue them," Wu Shaoning said. "Don't pursue them except for the desperate enemy, and you can't pursue them even if they have just finished killing people and setting fire to them. At this time, their troops are determined to be united, the whole army is excited, and they will definitely pay more attention to what's behind them."
Ye Zheng nodded: "Yes, we are here to assassinate and assassinate. No matter how few troops the opponent has, there are still thousands of them."
Shen Lie glanced at the official road on his right, then turned to his left and said: "This fire can attract us, and it can also attract others, let's go."
He pulled the reins and turned the horse's head toward the northeast, and his men immediately followed.
