Li Junxian frowned and said, "Well... Duke Yue won't be so disregardful of the overall situation, right?"
In fact, even if the Anxi Army could successfully reach Chang'an, it would still be at an absolute disadvantage in terms of strength compared to the troops of the elite who rushed to Guanzhong to support Guanlong. No matter how powerful the Anxi Army was, they would suffer heavy casualties in a fierce battle.
When the two tigers were fighting, Li Ji led hundreds of thousands of troops to watch the fire from across the bank. Who knows what he was thinking and which side he would take?
The safest way is of course to hold peace talks. As long as the peace talks are successful, Donggong and Guanlong will retain their strength and rely on each other. The biggest threat, Li Ji, can only surrender and no longer dare to play any tricks.
Otherwise, it is a blatant conspiracy and will be punished by the world...
It is said that Fang Jun is a stick, but Li Junxian knew that not only was he not a stick, but he always made plans and acted later. How could he blatantly destroy the peace talks and put the East Palace in danger of overthrowing?
Xiao Yu frowned and said worriedly: "Why not? That guy now thinks that he is a big boss in the military. He has made great achievements that few people in the world can match. Apart from Li Jing and Li Ji, who else will he put in his eyes? Overconfidence means that
He is conceited. He has not lost a single battle all the way, and he does not take the rabble in Guanlong to heart at all. He thinks that the peace talks are forcibly promoted by me in order to gain benefits, so he is extremely resistant and will never see the peace talks succeed!"
Li Junxian remained silent.
He didn't think Fang Jun would be that reckless, but Xiao Yu obviously had a deep prejudice against Fang Jun, so there was no need for him to argue with him.
He is just a military commander, and the purpose of this trip is only to protect Xiao Yuzhi's safety. As for how to persuade Li Ji, and even when to return to Chang'an, he only needs to obey orders...
"Don't worry, my lord, the general will order you to pack your bags and return immediately tomorrow morning."
"Thank you, General Lee."
…
Under Guancheng.
Cheng Yaojin leaned over his desk, frowning and reviewing military reports. After finally finishing an official document, he turned around and saw a tall pile beside him. He suddenly became frustrated, threw away the brush and rubbed his wrist.
, picked up the teapot on the side, held the spout and drained half of the warm tea water in one breath.
Hundreds of thousands of troops gathered at the foot of Tongguan City, eating horses and chewing horses, arranging equipment, fighting, and causing trouble. All kinds of things happened one after another all day long. Official documents and reports flew into this valuable room like snowflakes, making people impatient to deal with official duties.
Cheng Yaojin was extremely depressed.
After letting the soldiers fill the teapot with hot water, they saw a captain walking in quickly from outside, came to Cheng Yaojin and whispered: "Commander, Song Guogong and his party have set off to return to Chang'an... But before that,
, it seems a little inappropriate for the personal soldiers under the British Duke to contact Song Guogong’s entourage one after another and ask about their route of arrival.”
Cheng Yaojin raised his eyebrows and looked at the captain in surprise: "You read that right?"
The captain said: "There is absolutely no mistake. The general is afraid that there will be a mistake, so he keeps a close eye on it."
Cheng Yaojin was silent.
Li Ji sent people to test Xiao Yu's path when he came.
After sending the captain away, he stood up and walked twice around the house with his hands behind his back. An idea suddenly came to his mind, which shocked him.
Immediately, he opened the door and strode towards the small courtyard where Li Ji was.
When they arrived outside the courtyard, the soldiers guarding the entrance did not stop them and allowed Cheng Yaojin to drive straight in. Entering the house, he saw Li Jizhen at his desk reviewing documents. Cheng Yaojin was not polite and took two steps forward to get straight to the point: "The commander-in-chief wants to bring Duke Guo of Song and his party to justice."
Can you tell Guan Long about the route?"
Li Ji was stunned, put down his brush, and looked at Cheng Yaojin calmly.
Not speaking is equivalent to acquiescing...
Cheng Yaojin took a breath, widened his eyes and said in surprise: "There are people in the East Palace who don't want to form an alliance with Guanlong, and there are still people in Guanlong who don't want to form an alliance with the East Palace! If the commander leaks the whereabouts of Song Guogong, those people will definitely be attacked.
The interception!"
He simply couldn't understand what Li Ji was thinking. Who was Xiao Yu? A veteran of the two dynasties, one of the prime ministers and assistants, with an identity, status, qualifications, and power that few people in the court could match. If he was killed halfway by Guan Long's army,
Interception and killing will not only completely break down the peace talks, but will also set off a huge storm in Guanzhong!
In the final analysis, although Guan Long conspired to rebel, his banner was "military remonstrance" rather than "rebellion". At least in name, he still recognized his status as a courtier, so no matter how much troops he invested, his behavior would be restrained.
, so as not to be neither broken nor established, without any scruples.
It seemed that Changsun Wuji's behavior of sending people to Fangfu had broken through this constraint, so even Guanlong was very dissatisfied, and the Yuwen family almost quit because of this.
The troops below are fighting life and death, but the senior officials above must maintain a certain degree of restraint.
However, once Xiao Yu is killed, the situation will completely get out of control...
Li Ji stood up and went to the table in front of the window, took off the boiling kettle from the small red clay stove, poured the boiling water into the teapot, then looked at the courtyard outside the window with his hands behind his hands, and said calmly: "In this disaster, a certain person
It doesn't matter whether a person dies or not. As long as the peace talks fall apart from now on and it doesn't affect the big plan in my heart, what's the point of just Xiao Yu? Not to mention Xiao Yu, it's me. If necessary, I will die calmly.
."
Cheng Yaojin was so shocked that he almost went crazy.
He took a step forward, glared angrily, and shouted loudly: "What on earth are you going to do? If you don't explain it again, don't blame me for disobeying the general's order and immediately lead the army to Chang'an!"
He felt that Li Ji was simply a lunatic.
You are chattering all day long, and every move is unbelievable. If you ask him, "No need to ask more, just follow the order." But you control hundreds of thousands of troops and sit back and watch the chaos in Chang'an, regardless of the decline of the country and the dire straits of the people.
Nowadays, even big shots like Xiao Yu can be sent to Guan Long's butcher's knife. What on earth do you want to do?!
It’s simply incomprehensible!
Li Ji was unmoved and slowly drank tea and said: "Don't be impatient. It's not because I don't want to tell you my plan. It's really important and I don't dare to leak it in the slightest. But I promise you.
, everything is about to end, and by then, you will be convinced."
"Mother!"
Cheng Yaojin cursed angrily and walked away.
What can he do?
He could only endure it.
This is not because he is afraid of Li Ji or is suppressed by Li Ji, nor is it because he has no independent opinions, but based on his understanding of Li Ji, he feels that the reason why Li Ji is so inexplicable and unreasonable is that His Majesty's shadow is deeply behind him.
Or what did His Majesty say to him?
Even... His Majesty has left a posthumous edict?!
Therefore, even if he was feeling aggrieved and dissatisfied, he could only endure it.
He did not dare to act arbitrarily. If it turned out that what Li Ji did was His Majesty's will, then Cheng Yaojin would be in a state of eternal disaster...
*****
Xiao Yu and his party set out early in the morning, from Tongguan down to the bank of the Yellow River, intending to ferry to Fenglingdu on the other side. However, the temperature dropped in the past two days, and the melted ice on the river surface began to freeze again. Boats were often traveling on it.
There is a risk of overturning.
It wasn't until the afternoon that they arrived at the other side by boat. Xiao Yu was already exhausted. After all the hard work, his condition became more serious. He had a high fever that wouldn't go away. The accompanying imperial doctor suggested that he stop traveling and take a rest, otherwise he might not be able to endure it...
…
Li Junxian had no choice but to stop at Fenglingdu Station and rested for two days. Xiao Yu's condition just recovered a little and he refused to stay for any reason, so the team started on the road again.
All the way along the official road heading north, we had to take care of Xiao Yu, who was still ill, so we didn't drive very fast. We didn't arrive at Pujin Ferry until dark.
This is the throat where Hebei and other places enter Guanzhong, and the power of Guanlong is slightly weaker here, so Li Junxian had already planned a route to cross the Yellow River and return to Chang'an when he left Tongguan.
Pujin Ferry is not like Fengling Ferry, which relies solely on boats. Instead, there are iron oxen standing on the shore, with iron cables across the river. The boats and boats are lined up below, and wooden boards are fixed on the iron cables for pedestrians, carriages and horses to pass through. It is very stable.
.This made Xiao Yu, who was about to fall apart after being tortured by Zhou Chuan, let out a long sigh...
That night, I stayed at the Pujin Ferry Station and planned to cross the river the next morning.
In the middle of the night, a faint cry suddenly woke Li Junxian up. He stood up, took the knife lying beside his pillow in his hand, put on his shoes and walked out of the house.
Under the sparse starlight, all the "Hundred Horsemen" had already rushed out of their respective houses, put on their armor and led out their horses, busy and not in a hurry.
In the distance, scouts ran quickly, and when Li Junxian approached, he reported: "General Qi, there is a cavalry galloping from the other side of the Yellow River. The purpose is unknown, but it is probably coming towards us."
Li Junxian did not panic and calmly ordered: "Wake up the Duke of Song, and the rest will form an array to defend against the enemy."
The troops he led on this trip were all cavalry. Although the enemy was coming fiercely, he was not afraid of it. If he couldn't fight, he could still escape. Going north along the Yellow River, there were countless ferries that could cross the Yellow River and return to Guanzhong. The enemy couldn't block the entire Hetao, right?