After a heavy rain, the drought in the north of Jingzhou was finally relieved.
Yuan Rujiang walked in the backyard garden, bathing in the sun without feeling hot, and walked to the study in a good mood. The news that Prince Qian's team had encountered a bandit disaster was placed on his desk.
When he saw the number of casualties in the letter, the good mood of the previous moment could no longer be sustained.
In his impression, Prince Qian's Mansion has always been weak. When did their guard camp become so strong?
Or is it that the royal family is still the royal family after all, no matter how ruined it is, the evidence is there, a broken ship still has three pounds of nails, and a skinny camel is bigger than a horse?
Yuan Rujiang called his staff to discuss, "Sir, do you think there are any hidden forces in Prince Qian's palace?"
The staff thought for a while and analyzed: "The royal family has a large population, and there are many sons, dragons, and grandsons. It is inevitable that there will be interests involved. The struggle for power and profit in the royal family is more dangerous. Not counting collateral clans, but taking the direct lineage as an example, there are a lot of people. It can be
Growing up in the royal family, no one is a coward. If they want to survive, they must have their own plans, and it seems reasonable for King Qian to secretly develop some power."
"Then what should we do now?" Yuan Rujiang paused for a while and then said: "I believe that King Qian still doesn't know who the bandits were ordered to do last night. He may only think that they are simple bandits. In your opinion,
, should we continue to send people to harass or make friends?"
The staff member looked at Yuan Rujiang with a smile: "Whether it is a dragon or a snake, sir, you will know if you test it again."
When Yuan Rujiang heard this, he suddenly became enlightened and raised his head and laughed: "Haha, sir, you are right. I was confused and went into a dead end. Even if King Qian is not low in strength, I am not a vegetarian. He left
Even if there is a dragon in Gyeonggi Province, I have to take care of it!"
He sent bandits to harass him. To say the least, if the bandits confessed, he would not be afraid of being implicated, because the person who contacted the bandits was not his. Even the bandits did not know who was behind it, and even King Qian could not find him.
.
Moreover, since King Qian entered the territory of Jingzhou, he, Yuan Rujiang, has not treated him harshly. Not only has he opened a wide range of conveniences for him, but he has also borrowed food when he was short of food.
Looking around the world, no one can say anything wrong with Yuan Rujiang, and no one can say that Yuan Rujiang is a loyal minister of the imperial court!
The staff agreed, "Your Majesty is absolutely right!"
Dragon stranded on the beach can only be played by shrimps, of course adults are not shrimps!
After Yuan Rujiang laughed, he talked about business again, "In your opinion, where should we ambush King Qian's team next time?"
"The location of the ambush is simply due to factors such as high mountains, dense forests, and difficult terrain. I guess you already have the answer in your mind."
The staff member smiled and spoke. He only gave hints and left the final decision to the adults themselves. Otherwise, how could the lord feel that he was a wise, wise and mighty lord?
When Yuan Rujiang heard this, he felt that this staff member was very interested in him. It was true as he said, and he already had the answer in his heart.
"Haha, sir, you know me, I think there is no place more suitable for an ambush than the Nanling Mountains."
There are two reasons why the ambush location was chosen in the Nanling Mountains. First, the Nanling Mountains have high mountains and steep roads. The mountain roads are rugged and difficult to navigate, and the terrain is dangerous, making it the most suitable for an ambush.
Furthermore, the Nanling Mountains already belong to the border of Jingzhou. If something happened to King Qian and others there, he can shirk the responsibility afterwards. After all, it is not under his jurisdiction and it is none of his business!
No one can put the responsibility on him!
King Qian and others, who were rushing forward with all their strength, didn't know that someone thousands of miles away dared to plot against them.
At noon that day, they stopped in a mountain forest to rest.
"Your Majesty, the city of Laiyang is just ahead. The people you sent may have already entered the county, but I don't know if the magistrate of Laiyang will agree to lend you grain. The amount you borrowed is five hundred dan more than usual."
Mr. Zhang is really worried about whether a little-known county can produce so much grain.
King Qian lay comfortably on the recliner and said nonchalantly: "You won't lose a piece of meat if you try it. Yuan Rujiang, the governor of Jingzhou, is an old fox. He will not let go of the hawk when he sees the rabbit. We always have to test his bottom line, just in case.
Now that this is done, can't we let the guards and young men have enough to eat on the road?"
"Haha, the prince is right, you can't go wrong without giving it a try!" Mr. Zhang laughed while stroking his beard.
King Qian glanced at Xia Jing, who was lying on the lounge chair not far away, and said with a smile: "People in the south really know how to enjoy it. This kind of sleeping stool is well designed. It can be folded up when not in use, and it is easy to carry. You can open it when you need to use it."
It can be used and is very convenient to take with you at home or when walking outside.”
Mr. Zhang lay back and could enjoy the scenery in front of him. “The climate in the south is hot and humid, so this kind of sleeping stool is very convenient for cooling off. However, it’s a good thing that our princess discovered such a useful sleeping stool.
Otherwise, if we miss it, we will suffer a lot more on the road."
Xia Jing was lying on the recliner, covering her face with a round fan. Some people thought she was asleep, but in fact, she could hear every word of what King Qian and Mr. Zhang said.
In fact, when we get here, we have walked more than half the distance, and further south is Guiyang County.
Guiyang County is past the Nanling Mountains. The mountains in this mountain range are not too high, but they are steep and rugged. To be honest, Xia Jing does not want to climb over this mountain to go to Lingnan. She would rather occupy Guiyang County directly.
But it is clear that the time is not yet ripe.
Of course, the Nanling Mountains are also a natural barrier, lying between Guiyang County and Lingnan. If there is chaos in Jingzhou in the future, at least they can avoid harassment in Lingnan.
Just as Xia Jing's thoughts were wandering, the sound of horse hooves was heard in the distance. The sound was crisp and clear. It was obvious that only one horse was coming.
The sound of horse hoofbeats attracted the attention of everyone resting in the forest. They didn't wait long, and a horse ran up to them. When the chief guard saw that he was a messenger from the royal palace, he personally stepped forward and helped the messenger off his horse.
"Brother, thank you for your hard work. I'll help you go to see the prince."
"Thanks."
The messenger was not polite and allowed the captain of the guard to help him move forward. It was really tiring to rush here non-stop.
His legs seemed to be out of control. He had to walk on his own and might fall to the ground.
Xia Jing took off the fan and stood up.
"Princess, aren't you going to sleep anymore?" Hongmei also stood up.
Xia Jing pointed to King Qian and said, "Move the sleeping stool over."
"Oh, okay."
Hongmei and Baimei helped move the deck chair and the bamboo basket with the teapot over.
King Qian took the letter from the messenger and waved people to leave.
The messenger retired to rest and there were people to entertain him.
"Your Majesty, what's written in the letter?" Mr. Zhang asked impatiently.
King Qian quickly scanned the letter and wanted to hand the letter to Mr. Zhang, but when he was about to hand it over, he made an unexpected turn and handed it to Xia Jing.
Xia Jing was not polite, she took it and read it ten lines at a time, and consciously gave the letter to Mr. Zhang.