There were many more soldiers and horses galloping on the ground than before, and the atmosphere in the defense road was also much more tense. Most of the cities that had once been freely accessible were closed, and the guards stared at the city gates vigilantly.
"When did this happen!"
In the Jiangling Mansion Yamen, Magistrate Hu was pacing.
"When did this happen? The rebel Shi Chao has not yet been executed. The remnants of the rebels are running around everywhere. The imperial court has used troops and horses against Wei Dao. Wei Dao has rebelled..."
"Sir, you are wrong." Li Minghua corrected, "It was Yanhaidao who rebelled first, and then the imperial court used troops."
Magistrate Hu stopped and looked at her: "Miss Minghua, why did Yanhaidao rebel? It wasn't because of the imperial court, no, it was the empress who forced her."
Li Minghua shook his head: "That's even more wrong. Yanhaidao Changji killed someone, and it is reasonable for the court to investigate the crime."
"You..." Magistrate Hu said, then stopped, "I won't argue with you about this. Why is Yanhaidao Changji, and why is the empress? Everyone knows it well, and Miss Minghua, you are not one of those boudoirs.
Miss, you understand very well."
Li Minghua smiled: "Master Hu, I am still the boudoir lady."
Magistrate Hu snorted. He already had deep respect for this little girl who led troops to help her in times of crisis. After getting along with her over the years, she has become like an elder or a relative.
"I'm warning you." He lowered his voice, "I know that you have a close relationship with that queen, and have many contacts, but you have to remember that that woman is different from you, and she is different from other women. You
Stay away from her."
Li Minghua smiled and said, "Is it because she is like you men?"
Magistrate Hu stared: "What?"
Men are wary of women of the same type without realizing it. Li Minghua pursed his lips and smiled and did not continue the topic.
"Lord Hu," she said, "we are not talking about the imperial court's affairs, nor are we talking about the affairs of the Queen. It is now a matter within our own territory."
She stood up.
"The soldiers and horses from the Southeast Road passed through our border, refused to be inspected, and even arrested our people. How could I not ask?"
"It's not our soldiers who are captured, but the Chu army." Magistrate Hu also corrected her with a solemn expression, "Miss Minghua, this is a matter between Southeast Road and the Marquis. We should not interfere."
Li Minghua was silent for a moment, but still shook his head: "No, what happens in our territory is the Southeast Road's business with us."
After that, he stepped forward.
"Come here, gather the troops."
The maids who were waiting followed up, put a cloak on her, and ran out quickly, giving orders one after another.
The sound of horse hooves outside the Yamen was like a sudden falling rain.
Magistrate Hu stamped his feet "Minghua!" and chased after him.
When night falls, densely packed torches light up, surrounding a fort.
This fortress is located in the valley, solitary and independent, as if one man is blocking the way and no one can open it.
But at this moment, it is surrounded by countless torches, like a small boat in the sea, which can be overturned at any time.
"Open the door!"
"Open the door!"
The roar was like the waves constantly beating over me. Under the cover of the dark night, it was less ferocious and sounded a little cheerful.
The locust lay behind the earth and rocks and spat heavily outside.
"Boss." A guard crowded beside him and whispered, "They can pass even if we don't open the door, but now they have to force us to open the door before they can pass. Are all the guards so abiding by the rules?"
Tu Locust raised his hand and slapped him, knocking his hat off. "Follow some rubbish rules. There are rubbish rules. Are you stupid? They are besieging us and trying to kill us!"
As if in response to his words, Hai Hai roared again, "If you don't open the door, we will attack the city."
The guards looked at the torches around them. They didn't know how many soldiers and horses there were. They could be engulfed with just one order...
The locust stood up and spat even further.
The soldiers and horses who lit the torches and stood at attention were leisurely and a little impatient.
"Sir," a guard said to the general standing under the banner of the Southeast Road Guards, "the governor and the others have already passed, why don't we leave? There is no need to waste time on this small checkpoint."
The general was picking his nails out of boredom and said: "We have been walking all the way, and there is only this small checkpoint where we have to check our driver's box and cage. What does this mean?"
"Explain that they obey the rules?" the guard guessed.
The general sneered: "It means they want to die!" He looked forward, "This is the boundary of Jiangling Mansion, and the guards are also flying flags, but when the group of guards came out before, there were also large flags with the word Chu mixed in them."
The guard knew: "Those people from the Chu army are still there? Weren't they already driven away by Jiwei and other places before? Is there still room in Jiangnan Road to accommodate them?"
"So they must not stay," the general said harshly, "and we must kill them in a reasonable manner."
This can not only eliminate hidden dangers, but also avoid alerting others.
The guard understood: "No wonder we have to pass through this checkpoint. They want to check us. The court allowed us to cross the border. Their insistence on not letting us through is an act of robbery and banditry. Killing them is to eliminate violence and bring peace to the people..."
As for how to explain the murder in Jiangnan Province, I guess no one in Jiangnan Province wants to explain it.
The general looked at the sky and said: "It's almost done. Let's send them on their way while the night is dark and the wind is high."
Following the order, the scattered firelight condensed, and the locust lying on the stone stopped and spat: "The grandsons are about to take action!"
The guards scattered everywhere stood up, making some commotion.
"Then let's fight." Someone came from not far away and ordered.
Under the illumination of the torch, the mason who was no longer green at that time was wearing armor and holding a sword. He was guarded by four soldiers and held the flag of the Chu army with the character "Zhou".
"You can't beat him," the locust muttered.
Zhou Yan glanced at him.
The locust hurriedly put his hands on his hips and said, "I can't even run away."
He pointed his hand at the dark night ahead, condensed the burning torch and cursed.
"These grandsons are going to kill us all! Even if we die, we still have to drag a few more people behind us!"
The guards started yelling curses along with him, and a fighting atmosphere arose.
Zhou Yan was just about to give the order when he saw the sentries waving flags: "The attack has stopped." "Another troops are coming."
Are there more soldiers and horses? Are there more troops from the Southeast Road? Zhou Yan is not afraid, the locusts have already rushed over to look outside, dancing and laughing.
"Miss Minghua is here!"
"I knew Miss Minghua would come!"
"This is Jiangling Mansion, Miss Minghua will definitely come!"
...
.......
The big flag with the Chinese character "Li" was fluttering amid the blazing torches, and a dozen women in armor stood out in the night.
The general saluted the young woman who came over with great respect: "Miss Minghua."
Li Minghua said: "You are from the Southeast Road, and you actually besieged our Jiangling Mansion guards. I, the Jiangling Mansion, are not afraid to fight you."
She took the guards from Jiangling Mansion and the soldiers and horses from Jiannan Road, standing in front of the military formation like a dam.
The general said hurriedly: "Miss Minghua misunderstood, we are not going to besiege Jiangling Mansion."
He pointed behind him.
"We have permission from the imperial court to pass by, but these people don't allow us to pass. They are the ones who made things difficult for us in the first place."
Li Minghua looked behind him. Behind him were layers of soldiers and horses, and behind them there were baggage vehicles shrouded in darkness.
"What the imperial court allows is that you leave Wei Dao. It does not mean that your crossing does not require verification." She said, raising her hand to the soldiers and horses behind her, "Someone, come and verify."
The guards behind him moved in unison.
The general took a step back and shouted to Miss Hua, please wait. The guards behind him also changed their formations to welcome her.
Magistrate Hu who came over hurriedly advised: "If you have anything to say, please speak up! We are all our own people!"
Li Minghua said: "What's so shameful about you that you can't verify?"
The general held his sword at his waist and said arrogantly: "This is our eldest lady's dowry. It is exquisite and luxurious. Take a look at it. If you lose it and it is ruined, what should you do?"
Li Minghua smiled and looked behind him: "Is there just a few cars? I really didn't see it as a dowry. When our Minglou married to Taiyuan Mansion, he brought the dowry..."
She looked at the generals and the military formation behind them.
"About the same number of you people."
"You have many people escorting the dowry, but the dowry is not large."
The general's face was stiff. Li Minghua didn't wait for him to speak and said again.
"Don't worry, take your list and check it. If anything is missing or damaged, I, Jiannan Dao, will pay double compensation."
If others say this, the general can hold his waist and laugh, "You can't afford to pay", but what he is facing is Jiannan Road, which has gold mines, copper mines, and salt...
"Miss Minghua."
Someone came quickly from behind.
"Please listen to what I have to say."
This is a scribe without armor, followed by two guards, looking like he has just arrived.
He saluted Li Minghua, then saluted Magistrate Hu, and said with a smile: "Miss Minghua, Master Hu, we meet again."
Li Minghua and Magistrate Hu used torches to identify him and recognized him as one of Xiang Yun's retainers. One of the retainers that Xiang Yun had brought with him when he used the name of Southeast Road to aid Jiangnan Road.
Magistrate Hu said in surprise: "You are here too."
Li Minghua was not surprised at all, and said with a calm expression: "It's just the right time for you to come. When your family escorted our eldest daughter to Taiyuan Mansion, did our family ever have guards from one place to another?"
Your family is alienated from our family. You are not polite. The marriage of the Qi family and the Xiang family will make the Li family unhappy. The retainer did not take up the topic. He was not here to calm the relationship between the two families. He said straight to the point: "
Miss Minghua, the Governor has something to say to you, please come with me."
Avoiding the crowd, Li Minghua personally held a torch to shine. Li Minghua read the letter written by Xiang Yun. His expression went from shocked to nervous to slightly panicked, and he held the letter for a long time without speaking.
The retainer observed the words and took out the token given by the old manager of Jiannan Road: "Miss Minghua, the eldest lady has already set off, and the second master and your father are also accompanying you."
Li Minghua raised his head and looked at him: "Uncle Xiang wants me to go too?"
The retainer smiled and said: "The Governor didn't mean that. He just wanted to say hello to the young lady. The Fourth Master probably wanted to tell the young lady about you, but the trip is in a hurry and the young lady considered that it was a family matter and it was inconvenient to take you with me."
"
Li Mingqi, this girl is still like this, Li Minghua smiled.
"The Governor is just saying hello to you to let you know what Governor Qi and the others are doing, so as to avoid any conflicts." The retainer said, "The Governor said that Miss Minghua is a smart and astute person, and she has a thorough understanding of the world. Regarding
What he said..."
He pointed to the letter in Li Minghua's hand.
The letter stated very straightforwardly that Han Xu colluded with the queen to murder the late emperor Cui Zheng and the third prince, and blackmailed the empress dowager and the young emperor to steal the country. The defense had been suffering for a long time. Now he and Qi Shan were going to use their marriage as an excuse to go to the Qing Dynasty in the capital to kill the traitors.
.
"The Governor Mingming said that Miss Hua has already had her thoughts in mind, so we don't need to say more."
Li Minghua was silent. The news about the assassination of the late emperor at the Songzhou Night Banquet came. Even as a teenage girl, she did not believe that such a thing existed in the world. The death of the late emperor must have something to do with the queen.
However, she is only a teenage girl, and she does not dare to say that she has seen the world clearly. She will not speak or act rashly until she sees clearly.
"Miss Minghua, time is pressing, so we'll leave first." The doorman said, "I'd also like to ask Miss Minghua for a favor."
Li Minghua looked at him: "What?"
The retainer pointed to the fortress over there: "The Chu army is the army of the Marquis. In order to avoid disturbing the enemy, I asked Miss Minghua to help me."
Li Minghua looked at Baozhai and said nothing.
The guest said nothing more, handed the torch to Li Minghua, bowed and left, walked a few steps and then turned back.
"Miss Minghua, although the governor didn't say much, I still want to take the liberty to say a few words." He said, "Now is the time when the world is undergoing great changes. The situation is changing. An insect can become a dragon, and a dragon can become an insect. Miss Minghua, because of the sword,
Now that South Road is here today, Jiannan Road can also be made more powerful because of Miss Minghua."
After saying this, he strode away and disappeared into the night without waiting for Li Minghua's answer.
Li Minghua held the torch in one hand and Xiang Yun's letter in the other. He was stunned for a moment, then lit the letter on the torch and flicked his hand, and a ball of fire rose up and turned into ashes.
"Miss Minghua." Magistrate Hu asked from a distance.
Li Minghua held the torch and turned around: "Master Hu, let them pass."
...
...
The locust let out a strange cry, turned around and sprayed the companion next to him with saliva in his face.
"Haha, they retreated!" he shouted, "These grandsons really don't dare to cause trouble!"
After shouting, he spat again and called his companions.
"Come on, catch up! We haven't checked yet. Don't even think about passing by us!"
His companions did not join in the noise as before, and no one responded. Instead, someone pulled him.
"Boss," the man said, "some people retreated, but there are still many people surrounding us."
Tu Locust was stunned for a moment, looked outside, and cheered: "Those are Miss Minghua's people, one of our own! They are here to protect us."
Zhou Yan did not speak, but gave a signal to the sentry. A moment later, he heard a sharp sound breaking through the air, followed by a shout.
"The Jiangling Prefecture soldiers are here, you are not allowed to move without permission! Otherwise, we will kill you without mercy!"