Yuan Qingshan frowned, but Hu Xiaotian came just in time. He pondered for a moment and said, "Where is the person?"
"Just entered the east gate now!"
Yuan Qingshan said: "Coming from outside the city?"
The soldier nodded and said, "He also said he wanted to see General Su!"
Yuan Qingshan said: "Invite him here!"
Hu Xiaotian was accompanied by Liang Yinghao and Xia Changming to the west gate. Along the way, he saw Yunyang soldiers lined up in two neat lines. The refugees from Xichuan passed through the lines. After Yuan Qingshan decisively gave the order to let them go, the two sides naturally stopped.
When the conflict broke out, all Yunyang had to do was to keep an eye on these refugees and prevent them from taking advantage of the chaos to escape into Yunyang City. In fact, this was a superfluous move. The biggest desire in the hearts of the refugees was to enter the territory of King Zhenhai through Yunyang. After all,
This prince has promised to accept all their refugees.
A black-nosed sparrow fluttered its wings and flew to Xia Changming's shoulder, chirping. After hearing this, Xia Changming relayed to Hu Xiaotian: "There are three fully armed troops dispatched to the west gate, and they should be heading for the lord.
"
Hu Xiaotian smiled disapprovingly.
Liang Yinghao reminded him: "Master, you need to be more careful."
Hu Xiaotian said: "Yuan Qingshan has violated the imperial court's order by letting the refugees enter the city. Don't worry, he is just bluffing at best."
During the conversation, they had already arrived in front of the west gate. Yuan Qingshan led eight warriors in bright armor and strode to Hu Xiaotian. He clasped his fists and said: "I have humble duty to see you, the prince, thousands of years old. I can't do the full ceremony with my armor on me. I hope you will forgive me."
.”
Hu Xiaotian nodded, turned over and dismounted, threw the reins to Liang Yinghao, glanced at Liang Yinghao's face, and saw that Liang Yinghao's handsome face was full of sorrow and resentment, Hu Xiaotian said: "Where is General Su?
"
Yuan Qingshan suppressed the grief in his heart and said: "General Su has already sacrificed his life for the country." He thought to himself, Hu Xiaotian, you are simply asking questions knowingly.
Hu Xiaotian sighed and said, "What a pity." After saying that, he walked up the steps on the left to the top of the city tower. The steps on the right had been blown up by Zong Tang's thunder, so the only thing left leading to the city tower was this one.
side steps.
The corpses on the stairs have been cleaned up, but the blood stains have not been cleaned in time, and there are blood stains everywhere as far as the eye can see.
Hu Xiaotian came to the tower, and Yuan Qingshan followed him up alone.
Standing on the tower, Hu Xiaotian looked into the distance and saw the refugees slowly crossing the suspension bridge. Most of them were covered in mud and dressed in ragged clothes, but for the first time, hope ignited in their eyes.
Hu Xiaotian said: "General Yuan is a great benefactor to these refugees!"
Yuan Qingshan said: "I dare not take credit for my humble position. Everything was planned by the prince." When he said this, his eyes were filled with cold light, like two sharp daggers piercing Hu Xiaotian's eyes.
Trying to see through the secrets deep inside his heart.
Hu Xiaotian said: "It is up to man to make things happen, and it is up to God. Now I truly understand the truth that destiny cannot be violated."
Yuan Qingshan heard something in his words and said coldly: "Someone just took the opportunity to stir up chaos. Does the prince know what's going on?"
Hu Xiaotian smiled calmly and said: "I am lazy by nature. As long as the ending is ideal, how can I have so much energy to investigate the process?"
Yuan Qingshan said: "Does the prince really intend to accept all these refugees?"
Hu Xiaotian said: "If I don't accept them, they will die. If General Yuan doesn't order the city gate to be opened, tens of thousands of lives will be trapped and die outside Yunyang City. How dare you disobey the imperial court's order to rescue them?"
These refugees are in dire straits, and all I have done is carve out some land and spend some money and food, which is nothing compared to what General Yuan has done." He paused and then said, "Actually, I'm a little worried about you."
"What are you worried about me for?"
Hu Xiaotian said: "General Su died at the hands of refugees, and you disobeyed the imperial court's order and opened the city gate to let the refugees in. I think the imperial court will definitely hold you accountable."
Yuan Qingshan sighed and said: "As long as I can save these tens of thousands of people, I, Yuan Qingshan, will die without regrets." He stared at Hu Xiaotian with a burning gaze and said: "Can't we break through the west gate with the strength of those refugees alone?"
Hu Xiaotian knew that Yuan Qingshan was doubting him, so he said softly: "The fundamental reason why the imperial court does not let the refugees enter the customs is to make the situation in Xichuan worse. If this continues, it will not take too long for it to collapse from within. You have
Haven’t you heard that the imperial court is gathering troops on the southern front?”
Yuan Qingshan nodded.
Hu Xiaotian said: "Although Yunyang has no geographical advantage to defend, its geographical location is extremely important. It is the only exit to the northwest of Xichuan. Blocking this hole will cut off the communication between Xichuan and the outside world." Hongmuchuan is now under his control.
Among them, Nishikawa's current predicament is that all exits are controlled by others and artificially blocked. Li Tianheng had previously attempted to break through from the north and the south, but in the end it ended in failure.
Hu Xiaotian said: "There was an earthquake in Xichuan. The imperial court acted very inhumanely in this matter. The roads in the northeast of Xichuan were interrupted and the Xichuan army was unable to rescue them in time. The people in the northeast had no choice but to make a living on their own, and their way of survival was to enter through Yunyang."
If you insist on seclusion and enter the mainland, tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people will be trapped alive in it."
Yuan Qingshan pursed his lips, and he had to admit that everything Hu Xiaotian said was true.
Hu Xiaotian said: "If General Su could take a longer view, there shouldn't have been so many sacrifices today." He reached out and patted Yuan Qingshan's shoulder and said: "You can't bear what happened in Yunyang!"
Yuan Qingshan had long known that he could not bear the burden, but now that the matter had come to this, he could only die. As he said before, if his death could bring the safety of these nearly 100,000 refugees, it would be worth it, and his blood surged up for a while.
: "The worst case scenario is death, so what's there to be afraid of?"
Hu Xiaotian said: "There is an old saying, it is better to die than to live. I admire General Yuan's integrity very much, but while maintaining his integrity, he must also know how to be flexible. If you can't bear it, it doesn't necessarily mean that I can't bear it. I will report to the court, Yun
There is civil unrest in Yang, and something unexpected happens to General Su. When I come, I will take control of the overall situation."
Yuan Qingshan took a breath of air-conditioning. He suddenly understood that Hu Xiaotian's real purpose was not to save these refugees who were struggling on the verge of death, but to capture Yunyang and capture Yunyang without spending a single soldier. He was not without sarcasm.
Said: "Your Majesty's wishful thinking! Although General Su died unfortunately, there are still tens of thousands of soldiers in Yunyang. Does Your Majesty really think that we will betray Dakang?"
Hu Xiaotian smiled and said: "Don't you remember who named me the King of Zhenhai? I am the prince of Dakang. When did I betray Dakang?"
Yuan Qingshan said: "Your Majesty, don't forget your situation." His meaning is very obvious. You, Hu Xiaotian, are now entering Yunyang alone. As long as I give the order, you will die without a burial place.
Hu Xiaotian said: "Before coming to Yunyang, my subordinates once advised me and reminded me that General Yuan might be detrimental to me, but I don't think so. General Yuan is a man who knows the general situation. A man who risks being held responsible and beheaded
How can a person who has given tens of thousands of victims a way out of danger be blinded by unwarranted hatred?"
Yuan Qingshan looked at Hu Xiaotian silently. Hu Xiaotian should have seen through his mind. He could almost conclude that today's turmoil was entirely caused by Hu Xiaotian. Su Yuchi must have died indirectly at the hands of Hu Xiaotian, if not directly, but so what?
Kill Hu Xiaotian to avenge Su Yuchi? If Hu Xiaotian dies, how can his soldiers let Yunyang go? Isn't he the same as pushing these refugees and the people on both sides of the Yongjiang River into the flames of war?
Su Yuchi's death is largely due to his stubbornness. If Su Yuchi had not died, nearly 100,000 refugees outside the city would have been trapped alive.
Hu Xiaotian saw the hesitation in Yuan Qingshan's heart and whispered: "Does General Yuan really want to start another war and let the people suffer from the flames of war? Let the hard-won peace in the Yongjiang River Basin be broken again?"
Yuan Qingshan's head slowly dropped.
Hu Xiaotian said: "A person will always face choices throughout his life. With a single thought, he may become a hero admired by everyone, or he may become a sinner accused by thousands of people. Only General Yuan can decide where he will go."
After Qiqi attended Hu Xiaotian's wedding, she went to inspect the western part of Dakang. Just seven days after returning to Kangdu, she received shocking news that refugees from Xichuan broke through the city gate and Su Yuchi was beaten to death by a group of refugees in the chaos.
In desperation, Yunyang asked Zhenhai King Hu Xiaotian for help. Hu Xiaotian led an army to quell the rebellion, and the rebellion was put down in one day.
After listening to Quan De'an's report on the latest situation, Qiqi actually didn't get angry. She frowned slightly and said, "Why did Su Yuchi die so cowardly?"
Quan De'an smiled bitterly and said: "The specific matter is still under investigation, but one thing can be concluded that Hu Xiaotian captured Yunyang without using a single soldier, and he also wrote a letter to take credit." He handed over the autographed letter written by Hu Xiaotian.
The letter was presented to Qiqi with both hands.
Qiqi took the letter, opened it and browsed it, sneered: "It's full of lies, this Hu Xiaotian is really shameless!"
Quan De'an said: "How does Her Royal Highness plan to deal with this matter?"
Qiqi said: "How to deal with it? It's a done deal. Now that his wings are hardened, I think I don't dare to take action against him easily."
Quan De'an whispered: "Is His Highness planning to take action against him?"
Qiqi glared at him and said, "Who will lead the army to fight him? You?"
Quan De'an laughed sarcastically.
Qiqi said: "During the Xichuan earthquake, those refugees did not go to Xizhou for help, but instead fled to Yunyang in droves. What was their purpose?"
Quan De'an said: "This servant knows very well about this. The northeastern part of Xichuan is a mountainous area. Because of the earthquake, many roads collapsed and blocked. It will take at least half a year or even longer to open all the roads. And Hu Xiaotian has to look out.
Spreading the word that he would accept all refugees gave those refugees hope."
