Chapter 385: Four Forces in a Desperate State

Chapter 385: Four Forces in a Desperate State

Chapter 385: Four Forces in a Desperate Situation

The military tent fell into a deathly silence, with the increasingly dim candlelight flickering.

The faces of the two silent people were illuminated by light that flickered.

I don't know how long it took, but with a whoosh,
The dim candlelight went out quietly, and the entire tent fell into darkness.
Only the moonlight that comes through the cracks can provide a glimmer of light.

With another "whoosh", the fire starter suddenly lit up, illuminating Liu Heying's dark and solemn face.

He took out brand new kerosene and candlelight and lit them gently.
The orange-red light began to spread rapidly, dispelling the darkness in the room, but it could not dispel the solemnity on the two men's faces.

Liu Heiying covered the tinderbox and put it away, his eyes looking somewhat empty.

He looked at Brother Yun'er, who also had a serious expression, and asked:

"Can your majesty win?"

Lu Yunyi came back to his senses, sighed heavily, and shook his head slowly.

"There will be no winner in this fight, only losses for both sides."

"It's like two carriages running at high speed collide, and there is no good ending.

As insignificant people in the carriage,

If you are lucky, you can survive, but if you are unlucky, you may die and all your efforts will be wasted."

Lu Yunyi's face darkened, and he let out a soft sigh.
"Your Majesty ascended the throne with the help of at least four forces behind him. Now these three forces have turned against the court. The situation is too serious."

"Which four strands?"

"Huaixi Group naturally doesn't need many.
There is also the Zhejiang scholar-official group represented by Liu Bowen, the Earl of Sincerity.

The Chaohu Navy, led by Liao Yongzhong, Yu Tonghai, and Zhao Yong,

There are also the old forces of the Yuan Dynasty who surrendered to the Ming Dynasty, led by Liu Yi, Zuo Junbi, and Zong Wang Zhamuchi. "

"Now, these four forces have broken with the emperor because of the various policies of the court."

Liu Heiying held his breath, his heart seemed to be about to jump out.

He seemed to know why Brother Yuner was so anxious.

The various forces in the court have analyzed it so clearly that they can definitely guess what will happen.

And this storm is what Brother Yuner has been worried about.

Suddenly, an unprecedented pressure came, almost breaking Liu Heiying's spine.

Years of struggle and preparation are all for the purpose of surviving the storm.

Even a smart person like Brother Yuner is so nervous.

And he, who considered himself not a smart man, became even more nervous.

"Brother Yun'er, what should we do?"

Lu Yunyi's eyes flickered as he noticed the change in Liu Heiying's expression.

She smiled softly and patted his shoulder:

"Don't worry, now you and I have a solid foundation.

With the protection of my father-in-law and the general, nothing will happen.

We just need to keep our tails hidden and guard against assassinations, and we will be able to get through this smoothly."

"After all, the external war is over.

The fighting in the court is not serious enough to require the use of the army, so you and I, as generals, are safe."

After hearing this, Liu Heiying finally felt relieved.

He let out a long sigh and laughed somewhat complainingly:

"Brother Yun'er, you really scared me to death."

Lu Yunyi laughed dryly twice.
Then he fell into deep thought, and his whole body was shrouded in gloom.

This made Liu Heiying look stunned. What happened?
"Brother Yun'er, these two methods are not safe? How about we resign and go home?"

Lu Yunyi looked up in astonishment.
Staring at Liu Heiying's chubby face, he felt a little disappointed.

"Whenever there is a dispute, the centrists and the surrenderists are the first to be killed as sacrifices.

If you want to die sooner, go home earlier. You might bleed to death tomorrow."

Liu Heiying scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly and laughed.

Seeing him like this, Lu Yunyi closed his eyes, stretched out his hand and gently pinched his eyebrows:

"I chose to assassinate him today because Jinglong and I are not among the army's guards. This is a rare opportunity.
If we go home, there will be opportunities like this every day, so there is no reason to be on guard against thieves every day."

"I understand, I understand." Liu Heiying nodded like pecking at rice:
"Brother Yun'er, what should we do next?
There is no reason to passively take a beating, you must fight back."

"You are right, the best defense is to take the initiative.

Before that, we need to figure out why the situation changed suddenly and what caused the enemy to suddenly attack us.

There must be something we haven't noticed.
Only when you understand these things will you have a clear picture of the situation and know the enemy's pain points.

Fighting randomly will only put yourself in danger."

"Yes, yes, Brother Yun'er is right."

Liu Heiying seemed to be lost in thought, thinking about the changes that had taken place in recent days.

Suddenly, he remembered something:

"Brother Yun'er, could it be because of the sweet potato? Is that why someone wants to kill you?"

Lu Yunyi had already considered this situation. He shook his head slightly:

"It shouldn't be. I'm just a little bit sure whether the sweet potato will be successful or not.

This is not something that will produce results in a short period of time, because it is unlikely to be implemented.”

Liu Heiying was a little disappointed. What was that?

Just as he was thinking about it, Liu Heiying's expression suddenly became sinister, and he moved a stool and came closer:

"How about we assassinate him as well? Send him to hell quietly."

Lu Yunyi shook his head:
“No, I’ve thought about it.

A method can only be used once; if it is used a second time, there will be clues.

In that case, the enemy would die and we would be exposed.

The situation that was originally 50-50 between life and death suddenly became one of death and no life."

Liu Heiying shook his head with some regret:

"What a pity! If I had known earlier, I would have used another method to kill Jiang Li."

Lu Yunyi thought for a moment and said in a deep voice:

"Kill them if you want. When you are in a low position and have no power, you have to do whatever it takes because there is no other way.

Now we are no longer small figures. We hold power and have made great achievements. We have many more means at our disposal.

If we assassinate people at will, we will lose our moral integrity, which is not good."

As he spoke, Lu Yunyi waved his hand:
"Forget it, at least we have figured out some clues and know who the enemy is.
Let’s think about the next thing after we return to Kunming, at least that’s our home ground, which gives us a big advantage.”

Liu Heiying nodded in agreement:

"Not only that, Brother Yun'er should not leave the camp. It will be much safer in the army."

As he spoke, Liu Heiying touched his chest with some lingering fear:

"Duke Cao said he wanted to go out and have some fun tonight. Luckily he didn't go, or he would have walked into a den of thieves."

Lu Yunyi's face darkened:
"When you are well fed and warm, you will think about sex. Take care of yourself, Black Hawk. There are women waiting for you at home."

"By the way, how is your friend taking Liuwei Dihuang Pills? I have other prescriptions."

Liu Heiying's face turned dark in an instant, as if black lines were crawling across his face.

Seeing this, Lu Yunyi burst into laughter!

The loud laughter seemed to dispel the solemn atmosphere in the military tent.

The next morning, just as the sky was getting light, the gates of Dali City opened.

The front-line scouts who had been waiting here for a long time rushed out.

Heading towards Kunming City, the loud sound of horse hooves woke up countless people in the city.

At the city gate, Dali prefect Geng Junchang stood there.
He watched with a look of fear as the cavalry figure gradually disappeared from his sight.

Next to him, Qiu Wenzhao was detained for a night.

His face was pale, with dark circles under his eyes, and he looked a little decadent and filled with anxiety.

As the sound of horse hooves faded away, Qiu Wenzhao looked at Geng Junchang with some concern:
"Sir Geng, I don't know what Duke Cao and General Lu mean. Why was I released?"

Qiu Wenzhao's voice was full of doubt.

He had already accepted his fate after being detained yesterday.

Regardless of whether this matter has anything to do with him, he cannot escape the charge of dereliction of duty.
He can only wait for punishment from the court. If the emperor in the capital is furious, he might chop off his head.

He had already prepared for this, and had originally intended to ask for mercy today so as not to implicate his family.

But I didn't expect that he would be released without any reason?

Geng Junchang was also frightened and sighed:
"Duke Cao and General Lu are capable of considering the overall situation.
No one can reveal what happened last night!

If the news of the assassination of the Duke gets out, both you and I will lose our official positions.

Now that the two adults are not pursuing the matter, we cannot take it lightly.

Loose outside and tight inside, check carefully,
Find out what the background of Shangshuilou is.
A bunch of bad people appeared in Dali Prefecture, and you and I didn't notice it. How ridiculous!"

Geng Junchang's face became increasingly colder, but Qiu Wenzhao was stunned. Not going to pursue the matter anymore?
Soon, he realized that he didn't want to pursue the matter, but wanted to minimize the impact.

After all, the person who dares to assassinate the Duke must not be a simple person.

Qiu Wenzhao breathed a sigh of relief, but suddenly felt worried for no reason:
"Sir, that group of people must be very powerful.
If we continue investigating like this, we might end up getting into trouble.”

Geng Junchang glanced at him, feeling somewhat disappointed:
"Master Qiu, I think you only care about food and not about punishment.

If our government gives in everywhere because of the other party's ability, where is our prestige?

If we don't investigate, how will Xiping Hou view you and me?
I would like to advise you that it is better for the county magistrate to take charge now.

As an official in the government, you have to fight to the death even if you are defeated.

Otherwise, how would Shangguan look at you? How would Xipinghou look at you?

Do you and I still have a place to stand in Dali?"

Qiu Wenzhao looked solemn and nodded vigorously:

"Thank you, Lord Geng, for your advice. I will check it out right away!"

"Be relaxed on the outside but tight on the inside, don't show any clues."

"Yes."

Near noon, the border town of Dali was still lazy.

People walked slowly on the street, looking tired.

The entire Dingbian City has begun to be rebuilt, repairing the burned houses and rebuilding the destroyed walls.

In addition, the clearing of the Oigawa battlefield and the construction of fortifications outside the city continued uninterrupted.
Almost all the people in the city worked in shifts day and night without stopping!
At this moment, the sound of horse hooves suddenly rang out from the busy North Gate construction site.

The civilians and soldiers quickly stood up to look, and covered their eyes with their hands.

They don’t care who comes, what they care about is this short break.

In the distance, three cavalrymen came galloping, waving their flags and shouting:

"Get out of the way, get out of the way, 800 miles in a hurry!!"

what!
The soldiers who were originally relaxed at the door quickly perked up.

He was evacuating the people and labourers by hurriedly moving the carts and barricades away.

"Get out of the way!!"

"Eight hundred miles in a hurry, no compensation if you are killed!"

Upon hearing this, the originally lazy people hurriedly took two quick steps and left the main road.

The three cavalrymen rushed into the city at a very fast speed without stopping!
Soon, the government office of Dingbian City was established.
Xiping Hou Mu Ying and Commander-in-Chief Ning Zheng were currently processing a pile of official documents in the government hall.

The city defender Ke Fang rushed in in a hurry, without waiting for any notification.

Holding the letter in his hand, his face was full of panic and fear:

"Lord Mu, something terrible has happened. Duke Cao and General Lu were assassinated in Dali City!"

Xiping Hou Mu Ying, who had not raised his head, stopped writing in an instant, frowned slightly, and raised his head slightly.
Her sharp eyes swept over and saw the letter in his hand.

Ning Zheng beside him was also like this.
He stood up quickly, took two steps forward, took the letter, and waved his hand:

"Go down."

"Yes!"

After he left, Ning Zheng quickly opened the letter, his eyes fixed, and he read it word by word, his expression becoming increasingly uglier.

“This is unreasonable!!!”

He looked at Mu Ying who was still sitting there, gritting his teeth:
"Wenying, someone is anxious!!"

As he said this, he quickly stepped forward and handed the letter over.

Then he paced quickly in the room, his cold eyes flashing constantly!
His rough and huge fists were clenched tightly, and the casual clothes on his body fluttered with his movements, and his whole body was shrouded in a layer of ice.

Soon, Mu Ying placed the document on the table.
Finally he straightened up and leaned back in his chair, his face calm and his eyes peaceful.

But for some reason, the originally violent atmosphere in the house gradually calmed down and became depressing and heavy!
"Did our plan get leaked, or did the appearance of the sweet potato strike a nerve among some people?"

Ning Zheng paused, walked to the long table and looked at Mu Ying in front of him.

Mu Ying said calmly: "This is just one thing."

Ning Zheng was silent, and Mu Ying continued:
"If the external situation is resolved, the internal situation will not kill the soldiers, only the civilians.

If Yunnan were to fall into chaos, the people would starve to death.

Sweet potatoes gave me confidence. Even if someone was using the name of the imperial court to bring disaster to the people, with sweet potatoes, people would no longer starve to death.

But now, I didn’t expect them to react so quickly…”

As he spoke, Mu Ying showed a bitter smile:
"It seems that this Dusi and the Provincial Administration are full of enemies."

Ning Zheng's dark face was covered with wrinkles.
His gray beard fluttered in the wind, and his mood was extremely uneasy.

“It was expected that the enemies were everywhere, but I was a little surprised by such a big reaction.

Are sweet potatoes really so magical? "

Mu Ying smiled and nodded helplessly:
"The Agricultural Administration has found many experienced farmers to look at it, but it is still unknown how many dan per mu can be produced.

But after a few days of research, I know that it is definitely a good seed.

And it can be used as staple food, which is enough.

There are so many valleys in Yunnan. If we only use half of the land to plant sweet potatoes,

Even if the yield per mu is only one dan, the people in Yunnan Province will not starve. "

"What?" Ning Zheng's eyes widened suddenly: "Why don't I know?"

“Only a handful of people know about the top secrets of the Agricultural Administration Institute. I wanted to tell you when there were some results.

But now it seems that the enemy knows everything, so there is no need to hide it from you."

Ning Zheng slammed his hand on the table:
"Damn it, there is such a good thing in Luchuan? Have we been here for nothing all these years?"

Mu Ying smiled and nodded:

“Now, it is true.
The people from the Agricultural Administration have decided to send people to Luchuan.
Bring back all the strange and bizarre things over there, and study them carefully, who knows, there might be some treasures there.”

Ning Zheng's eyes widened, with a flash of surprise:
"Still let them go?"

Mu Ying sighed and said:

“It doesn’t matter, now you and I both know that the news has been leaked, and the person who leaked it can’t get away.

We should check carefully to see how many spies there are in Yunnan Province.
There are hundreds of spies right under our noses.

How did Geng Junchang become the prefect? ​​He didn't even notice it! "

As he spoke, Mu Ying's eyes flashed sharply and he clenched his fist at his side.

"Geng Junchang is good at his job, but he is not tough enough internally.
We can replace them with some tougher people to thoroughly clean up Dali Prefecture.

A few days ago, news about the war in Dali Prefecture also leaked out, which also planted a nail."

Ning Zheng pulled his beard, feeling a little embarrassed:
"However, you still need to discuss this matter with Feng Cheng. He and Geng Junchang are good friends."

"Don't worry, he knows the importance of this. He treats his nephew Yun Yi as his own son."

Ning Zheng nodded:

"That's fine, I'll arrange for an investigation right away.

The enemy has already taken over, we cannot give in.

Start surveying the fields immediately and find out those hidden fields and lands first!
We are still using the land registers from the Yuan Dynasty, which are all a mess, and I don’t think any of them are accurate.”

"We can't retreat anymore, so let's start the investigation."

"it is good!"

Outside the city of Kunming, on the official road that winds and connects to the distance, dust is gently lifted by the early spring breeze and slowly falls.

After the war, everything in the world seemed to become gentler.

The sun shines like molten gold, pouring down without reservation.

Every particle of dust is coated with a layer of dazzling golden glow.

In the distance, a team of black-armored cavalry marched from west to east, like a sharp sword, cutting through the sky.

The pitch-black armor shone with a cold luster in the sun, and the horse's hooves hit the ground with bursts of sound!

The sound of horse hooves, the clash of armor, and the occasional low voice of commands intertwined.

This attracted the attention of pedestrians on the official road.

Lu Yunyi walked in the middle of the team, squinting his eyes, quietly watching the flags waving on the city wall in front of him, connecting with the blue sky and white clouds.

Soon, Liu Heiying beside him widened his eyes and looked at Lu Yunyi.

"Brother Yun'er, look at the city gate, who is that?"

Hearing the voice, Li Jinglong also looked over and narrowed his eyes.

When he saw that tall and straight figure, his face instantly became serious and his body became a little stiff!
Lu Yunyi looked over there, his expression calm without any change.

But the hand holding the reins was held tightly!

At the city gate, a tall figure stood tall.
Like an old pine tree that has gone through wind and rain but still stands tall.

He was dressed in an exquisite suit, his sleeves swaying gently in the wind.

His eyes showed both anticipation for visitors from afar and calmness and majesty.

Duke of Shen, Deng Zhen!
(End of this chapter)