Chapter 200: Murderous Intentions

Xiao Xia won Xue Shixiong's approval with his actions. Xue Shixiong immediately signed the imperial letter of appointment, approving Xiao Xia's position as the military commander of Zhangye.

At this time, the weather was becoming more and more gloomy, and a snowstorm was approaching. If he went to Guzang County, he might not be able to go to Zhangye County. Xue Shixiong decisively ordered his nephew Xue Ju to bring his general manager's gold medal to accompany Xiao Xia to Zhangye County to take up his post.

Xue Ju was Xue Shixiong's flag officer, and all the generals in Zhangye knew him, so Xue Shixiong asked him to take Xiao Xia to take office.

Xue Shixiong also had an unspeakable worry. He was very worried that Xie Tongshi, the deputy envoy of Zhangye Army, would not hand over his military power.

Of course Xiao Xia knew who Xue Ju was. He was one of the heroes who rebelled at the end of the Sui Dynasty. The worst defeat Li Shimin suffered in history was at the hands of Xue Ju and his son, and he almost lost his life.

Although he knew who Xue Ju was in history, Xiao Xia didn't have too many thoughts. If he wanted to change history, he could just kill General Li Yuan with one knife.

Even another time traveler, Yang Yong, did not send anyone to assassinate Li Yuan. This is the awareness of all time travelers. If one Li Yuan is killed, another Zhang Yuan or Wang Yuan will appear. This is beyond their cognition. Only by keeping the ship on its original course can they always have the advantage of foresight.

By the same token, if Xue Ju was killed, the Longxi Li family, which had been suppressed by Xue Ju throughout history, would quickly become powerful, and that would be the real threat to the Guanzhong Dynasty.

Xue Ju is now about 30 years old. He is humble, self-disciplined and very principled. He never puts on airs just because he is Xue Shixiong's nephew.

"The former Zhangye military commander Liu Zhizhen has passed away. The army is currently led by the deputy military commander Xie Tongshi. I'm afraid General Xiao will have some troubles when he goes to Zhangye this time."

"What kind of trouble? Is it that Commander Xie is unwilling to hand over the military power?" Xiao Xia asked.

Xue Ju nodded. "It is possible. The chief steward had promised to recommend him to the court as the military commander of Zhangye, but the court did not approve the chief steward's recommendation, which made Xie Tongshi very disappointed."

"Does he know I'm coming?"

"The general manager had received an express letter from the court a few days ago. He knew that the general was coming, so he sent someone to inform Xie Tongshi, but Xie Tongshi refused to express his opinion. The general manager asked him to come to Liangzhou to report on his work, but he also refused to come to Liangzhou under the pretext of a snowstorm."

Xiao Xia looked up at the sky, only to see dark clouds hanging low and a cold wind blowing. He nodded and said, "The blizzard is coming."

Just when Xiao Xia and his party were still fifty miles away from Zhangye County, the snowstorm that swept across the Hexi Corridor finally came. The north wind was howling, and fist-sized snowballs were coming down on the ground. Snow and fog filled the air, and the sky and the earth were vast. Facing the strong north wind, people and horses struggled to move forward step by step.

Fortunately, they were not far from Zhangye. The next afternoon, the blizzard was still raging, but they finally arrived at the military camp.

A logistics officer led them to several large tents and said, "Stay here for now! When the snow stops, General Xie will meet you again."

The logistics officer left after he finished speaking. Xue Ju became anxious and grabbed him and asked, "What does Master Xie mean?"

The logistics officer had no choice but to soften his tone and said, "General Xie means that everyone should take a good rest for a few days and talk about other things after the snowstorm stops."

"Are these your words or Master Xie Tong's original words?"

"These are General Xie's exact words!"

Xiao Xia waved to Xue Ju, "General Xue, let him go!"

Xue Ju let him go, and the logistics officer ran away in a panic. Xue Ju said angrily: "You are the commander-in-chief. How dare a deputy commander speak to the commander-in-chief like this? What do you mean by wait until the snow stops before meeting him? You are the commander-in-chief. Can he use the word "meet"?"

Xiao Xia said calmly: "Since he dares to say that, he must have already thought of how to deal with me. Maybe in a few months he will report to the court and find out that our group was trapped and died in a blizzard a hundred miles away."

Xue Ju was shocked. "He dares to do this?"

Xiao Xia shook his head. "Living in Chang'an, one would be trembling with fear and caution. One would not dare to speak or act rashly. But it's different if one lives in the frontier for a long time. Basically, one can do whatever one wants and there is nothing to be afraid of. The mountains are high and the emperor is far away. Master Xie said that we were engulfed by a blizzard and our bodies were eaten by wolves. This was a natural disaster. Master Xue had no way to deal with it, otherwise he would also be responsible. He could only report this to the court. Would the court severely punish Master Xue for the death of a small military commander?" Xiao Xia had previously experienced the audacity of Wang Long, the military commander of Jiaohe County, and this Master Xie should be the same.

Xue Ju became a little worried, "What should I do?"

Xiao Xia thought for a moment and said, "I remember you told me on the way that the attitude of the largest noble family in Zhangye, An Jia, is crucial."

"That's right. The head of the An family, An Luo, was an official in the Northern Zhou and Sui dynasties. He is now retired and at home. An Luo's eldest son, An Xinggui, is the military commander of Zhangye. His son-in-law, Cao Zhen, is the chief clerk in the army. His second son, An Xiuren, is also a general in the army. Another important general, Guan Jin, also has a deep connection with the An family."

"Is Master Xie related to the An family?"

"It shouldn't be a big deal. Xie Tongshi used to be a general under our general manager. Two years ago, he was appointed as the deputy military commander of Zhangye Military Office. However, the deceased Liu Zhizhen had a close relationship with the An family."

Xiao Xia asked again: "Where can I find An Luo?"

"The An Mansion is in the county town, so we can only go to the county town to find the An family!"

Xiao Xia immediately said, "Please ask General Xue to go find Master Xie and tell him that you are not used to living in the barracks and want to move to the county posthouse."

Xue Ju hesitated, "Will Master Xie let me leave?"

Xiao Xia sneered and said, "If you are willing to leave, he will definitely be happy for you!"

Xue Ju nodded, "Okay! I'll send someone to tell him."

Xiao Xia then said to Cao Taiyue: "You pretend to be me, I will go into the city with General Xue, and I will be back in the evening!"

Master Xie had never expected that the new commander of the army would come to take office in the midst of a strong wind and snowstorm. This news really made him furious.

The Zhangye Military Commander controlled 5,000 troops and was actually the local emperor of Zhangye County. At that time, the Military Commander Liu Zhizhen was in poor health, so the general manager Xue Shixiong sent him to be the Deputy Military Commander in order to let him take over the power of the Military Commander.

After finally getting Liu Zhizhen to death, Xie Tongshi was hoping to take up the post of military commander. Unexpectedly, the court appointed a southerner named Xiao to be the military commander of Zhangye, which filled Xie Tongshi with resentment and despair.

Now that Xiao Xia and his group have arrived, Master Xie Tong is filled with murderous intent. No matter who it is, as long as they dare to deprive him of his vital interests, he will have to fight to the death!

"General Wang, how big of a risk do you think it would be for me if I let them die in the blizzard?"

Wang Xiu, his staff member, is currently Xie Tongshi's secretary. Wang Xiu smiled and said, "Generally, the court will not blame the general for this kind of thing, but will hold Xue Zongguan accountable. If Xue Zongguan is willing to protect the general, he will agree with the general's statement that it was due to the weather. The key lies in Xue Zongguan. As long as he is willing to protect the general, this matter will not be left unresolved. He is just a small military commander. The court will never turn against Xue Zongguan for this."

Master Xie nodded, "So if we want to kill these people, we can't offend Xue Ju!"

"That's right, General, you have to find a way to separate Xue Ju from them."

At this time, the soldier reported at the door, "Military Commander, Xue Ju sent someone to say that he doesn't want to live in the barracks, he wants to move to the post station in the city!"

Master Xie was very happy, as this request was made at a very timely moment.

Wang Xiu hurriedly said, "General, you should treat Xiao's group to good food and drink. Keep them calm first and tell them that you welcome them, but you have to go back to the county town temporarily because of an emergency at home. Invite them to the county government office tomorrow morning to handle the handover of military power, and then we will start halfway!"

Master Xie nodded, "Let's arrange it this way!"

(End of this chapter)

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