Chapter 145: Raising the Bandits to Respect Oneself
A group of people wearing straw raincoats were walking slowly in the fields covered with snow. A middle-aged man with a square face and big ears and wearing simple clothes was bending down and rubbing the mud soaked by snow water under his feet with his hands.

An official from Yangqu County smiled and said, "As the Holy Lord has seen, this area of ​​Yangqu has been used as a pasture for the Shatuo tribe for decades. Even the dozens of families near the Yangxing River have only reclaimed a few hundred acres of farmland."

Li Siyuan rubbed the dirt on his fingertips and pointed at the broad and endless river valley. He narrowed his long and narrow triangular eyes and said, "Oh? Such a large piece of land is used for grazing? In my opinion, this should be a good farm."

After that, he continued, "In recent years, Zhu Wen has invaded the north year after year, and the war in Luzhou has been tense, causing the price of grain in Taiyuan to soar. As ministers of the State of Jin, we should set an example, share the joys and sorrows with the people, and lead the villagers to reclaim wasteland. This is not only to be loyal to the King of Jin, but also to benefit ourselves and the people. And this Yangxing River, I heard that in the second half of each year, the summer water rises violently and washes away farmland and houses. Is this true?"

The official nodded in agreement.

"In the spring of next year, I will allocate funds for repairing the river bank and dredging the water conservancy project at the same time. How can such a good land be used for grazing? If you really need livestock, you can get as many as you want north of Yanmen Pass."

"But it's Shatuo after all..."

Li Siyuan waved his hand and said, "I will deal with this matter and will not allow them to continue harassing the people here. Also, I intend to relocate a group of refugees from Hebei here. You are the parent official of Yangqu, so you should make arrangements."

"I obey your order."

Not only the official was moved, but also the village head and the village elders who followed behind and had no right to speak were very happy. After all, the population of Yangqu was a mixture of Han and Hu, and even more Han. But they usually took into account the Shatuo's natural superior status in Jin State, so they dared not speak out. Now that Li Siyuan was willing to take care of this matter and was willing to allocate funds to repair water conservancy projects, they were naturally very happy.

For a moment, the farmers waiting outside the fields were talking about it, but they all praised Li Siyuan. You must know that this master of Tongwenguan is also a Shatuo.

The great lord of justice is nothing more than this. With such a kind and righteous act, he deserves to be adopted as the son of the King of Jin and become a high official!

Li Siyuan didn't care. After the winter, he came all the way from Taiyuan to here to inspect and mark all the areas that could be reclaimed. In the whole Jin State, among the Thirteen Guardians, he was the only one who valued farming. Even the great King of Jin, Li Keyong, only cared about external wars and closed-door cultivation.

Warriors looked down on farming, but Li Siyuan often took a group of officials to the fields to harvest wheat and hoe the land. The people loved this, so he always had a good reputation among the people.

Surrounded by a group of officials and farmers, Li Siyuan continued to patrol the river wearing a rain hat.

At this time, a rider came from the south in the snow.

The disciples of Tongwenguan who were waiting in the distance wanted to stop them, but after seeing who was coming, they dispersed.

Although Lai Qi was a man, he was extremely handsome and as feminine as a woman. Some farmers on the roadside were stunned and thought he was a woman dressed as a man.

He wore a black gauze hat and had a faint smile on his face, appearing very friendly. He could even nod to the low-ranking officials who he had treated like ants in the past.

An official who was familiar with him also hurriedly saluted and said, "Greetings, Master Li."

"Why are you here?"

Li Siyuan didn't even turn his head, but walked slowly with his hands behind his back.

Li Cunli came closer, brushed up his wide sleeves, and whispered in his ear: "Brother, the prince has been defeated..."

The former's narrow triangular eyes narrowed almost instantly.

He paused, stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the frozen river, with a thoughtful look on his face, but he said nothing.

On the side, disciples of Tongwenguan immediately sent away all the officials and farmers.

At this moment, Li Siyuan continued to pace, and said indifferently: "He will lose too?"

“It was a great defeat.”

Li Cunli bowed slightly, followed closely behind, and said softly: "Almost none of the Yicong Army survived, they either died or surrendered. Even the Yaer Army lost most of its troops... The Flying Tiger Army under Lao Shi was completely wiped out."

"!?"

Li Siyuan paused while stroking his mustache, turned around and looked a little surprised.

Li Cunli still had a faint smile on his face and said, "It's true. Although I didn't see the prince when I came from Taiyuan, according to Lao Jiu, the prince was chased by the pursuers and had to cut his hair to escape. If it weren't for Lao Shi and the Ya'er Army fighting desperately to stop the enemy, he would have almost had no chance to escape back to Hedong."

Then, he paused and continued calmly: "Although the prince cannot be said to have escaped alone this time, it is almost the same. More than 10,000 Yicong troops were lost in Hebei, and nearly 80% of the Yaer army was also lost. And the most important thing is that he was defeated by an unknown person..."

Li Siyuan stroked his mustache and squinted his eyes, asking, "Who is it?"

"Bianliang, Xiaoyan."

"Zhu Wen's people?" Li Siyuan was stunned for a moment, then thought about it, and answered himself: "Only Zhu Wen could intervene in Hebei before us. We should have thought of it earlier... But as far as I know, the main battlefield of the Liang army should be in Cangzhou, right? Could this person have obtained a heavenly soldier? Who is this Xiao Yan?"

Li Cunli took out a piece of paper from his sleeve and handed it over. "As soon as I got the news, I found out for you. This man is a bad man of Li Tang. Some say he once served in Luoyang, and some say he once served in Caozhou, but neither can be verified. After the emperor was killed last year, this man secretly felt that there was no hope for the revival of Li Tang, so he surrendered to Zhu Wen."

"Bad people?" Li Siyuan flipped through the notes and said thoughtfully, "I heard from my father that there was a bad leader in the Tang Dynasty. He was very treacherous, but his whereabouts have been unknown for many years... Go on."

Li Cunli continued, "Speaking of which, there is an interesting story about Xiao Yan. According to news from Bianliang, this person looks 70% like the emperor. Rumor has it that he is the emperor's Deadpool stand-in..."

"If this is the case, will Zhu Wen still be willing to employ him?"

"I think Zhu Wen is thinking of buying bones with a huge sum of money. And it is said that Xiao Yan does have some skills, which made Zhu Wen trust him very much. This time Zhu Wen planned to take Hebei, and he listened to this person's advice..."

"..." Li Siyuan narrowed his triangular eyes and suddenly sneered: "The emperor was killed in Luoyang in the past. It is possible that this Xiao Yan was related. Zhu Wen was willing to use him, perhaps because he took the emperor's head as a token of his loyalty. I finally figured out the matter of Bal."

Li Cunli did not question it. He just thought about it and then cupped his hands in admiration: "Big brother, you are so clear-sighted. I admire you."

Li Siyuan pointed at a row of tiny words on the note: "According to Lao Jiu, he asked for help from Mobei, and our Jin army was defeated..."

He stroked his beard and narrowed his eyes.

Li Cunli observed the expression of the person and took over the conversation and said softly: "But according to the letter from my eldest brother's beloved son-in-law, the Mobei royal court is in turmoil and unable to interfere in Hebei's affairs. It is also said that the Mobei king wants to make friends with the Jin State. Lao Jiu escaped from death, and there are also hundreds of Yaer soldiers who escaped back. They will not lie... But the Mobei army appeared in Hebei..."

"Shi Jingtang, there is a problem." Li Siyuan said indifferently.

"Brother, don't rush to draw conclusions on this matter. My disciple, Bal, is still in Mobei. There are too many clues in the battle of Hebei. Maybe we should wait until they come back before we make any decisions."

"Xiao Yan, Xiao Yan..."

Li Siyuan read the name, frowned and thought for a while, then suddenly said, "I heard that the mother's family of the Queen of Mobei also has a Han surname of Xiao?"

Li Cunli was stunned.

The former smiled with narrowed eyes, as if he had grasped the key clue, but he did not continue the topic. Instead, he handed the note back: "Forget it, recall Bal first. Shi Jingtang is a waste and will only mess things up." Li Cunli put away the note and smiled: "Brother, you should indeed recall Bal now. Now that the prince has been defeated, it is a good time for you to show your skills. You don't need to associate with these mud legs anymore."

Li Siyuan laughed, but immediately shook his head and said, "Sixth brother, although we are in a high position, our position is not the highest after all, so we can't look down on everyone. Although my foster father doesn't like being your brother, everyone in Jin has eyes and can judge right from wrong. Who they think is good and who is bad is not up to my foster father to decide."

Li Cunli crossed his arms and saluted, praising him: "Brother, you are very wise. I am far from being as wise as you."

"You should go back to Taiyuan. I still need to do my part."

Li Siyuan waved in the distance, and the waiting officials continued to move closer.

Seeing how calm his elder brother was, without a trace of impatience at all, Lao Liu admired him more and more and immediately turned around and went back.

Just at this moment, a few more riders suddenly came from the south.

Li Cunli then stood with his sleeves folded.

The riders were leading the way. There was a person with a graceful figure who was surrounded by a crowd and rode over on horseback. When he met Li Cunli and Li Siyuan, he refused to dismount.

She wore a pitch-black mask on her face and had her hair tied in a high ponytail, looking very cool.

She reined in her horse and first glanced at Li Cunli expressionlessly, and then looked at Li Siyuan in the crowd. Snow was on her shoulders, and her demeanor was as old-fashioned and cold as the snow.

The officials were still confused, but Li Siyuan came forward with a smile and clasped his fists: "Thirteenth sister came from afar, but she didn't even tell me in advance? It's snowing so heavily, and Thirteenth sister came all the way from Taiyuan. I'm sorry that I didn't make good arrangements for you."

Li Cunli also had a warm smile on his face and saluted Thirteenth Sister with his arms crossed.

Thirteenth Sister glanced at the officials and farmers in Yangqu, and did not return the greeting to the two men, but spoke coldly without any emotion.

"The King of Jin has ordered that the Holy Master of the Tongwen Academy, Li Siyuan, be summoned back to Taiyuan immediately."

Li Siyuan smiled and was about to accept the order, but Thirteenth Sister continued, "Also, Shi Jingtang, the Guoyi Commandant of Yanmen, and Baer, ​​the Commandant of Lizimen, must all return to Taiyuan to meet the King of Jin. Since Sixth Brother is here, the Holy Lord probably knows what happened. I hope you can arrange it quickly and don't let the King of Jin down!"

Li Cunli still had a warm and calm smile on his face, with no mixed feelings.

Li Siyuan took the token thrown by Thirteenth Sister, then bowed slightly and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Thirteenth Sister."

After delivering the order, Thirteenth Sister dismounted and bowed to the two men. Without saying anything more, she mounted her horse and rode away, surrounded by several other riders.

"Thirteenth sister, it's really..." Li Cunli smiled bitterly and stopped talking.

The smile on Li Siyuan's face slowly faded, he took off his rain hat, and said nonchalantly: "It's okay, let's see what happens in the future."

With a simple sweep of his hand, he swept away the snow on his rain hat.

It was as if all the obstacles pressing on his head had been swept away, and it was extremely clean.

------

Hebei, Youzhou.

As night fell, candles were lit in the Jiedushi's mansion, and the faint candlelight reflected on Liu Rengong's pale face.

"Jie Shuai..."

Xiao Yan held a candle in his hand and slowly lit it while saying calmly, "After tonight, I can no longer call you Marshal Jie. Now, before dawn, I will speak to Marshal Jie about my true feelings."

Liu Rengong's lips trembled. He just looked at the two bad guys wearing helmets and armor outside the door and said with a sad face, "General Xiao, please speak."

"Mr. Xiao's achievements today are largely due to the contribution of the General. At that time, the reward for Dingbadu and the control of Youzhou was given. Without the General, Mr. Xiao would have been in trouble. The General has been kind to me, but now Mr. Xiao wants to hand you over to Bianliang. Does the General hate Mr. Xiao?"

"General Xiao, your words are too polite. How dare I... How dare I hate General Xiao?" Liu Rengong looked around but didn't see anyone familiar. He was extremely panicked. When he thought that all the Youzhou generals had been surrendered by Daliang, and Zhu Hanbin in the south would enter the city tomorrow to accept the surrender, he sighed with a gloomy face.

Xiao Yan held up a candle and placed it on the lampstand, illuminating Liu Rengong's face. He said, "Marshal Jie is going to Bianliang. Only Zhu Wen knows whether he lives or dies. How can he not resent me, Xiao?"

"Of course..." Liu Rengong's old face trembled, and he suddenly looked at Xiao Yan in surprise.

Zhu Wen? Why did he call the Daliang emperor by his name?

Xiao Yan's eyes were sharp, shining brightly in the candlelight: "Zhu Wen may be able to make the general a rich man, or give him a small official position, but does the general dare to gamble?"

Liu Rengong hesitated and said, "Of course I dare not gamble on this."

"Mr. Xiao can give Marshal Ji a new life." Xiao Yan said calmly.

The former was startled and looked at the two bad guys outside. An idea came to his mind, and then he subconsciously lowered his voice: "General Xiao wants to secede from Hebei? I can help you. Hebei's foundation is enough to become an emperor! General Xiao is so young and a great man of his generation. How can he be manipulated by that old man Zhu Wen? Although I am incompetent, I still have some influence in Hebei..."

Xiao Yan laughed for the first time, and moved the lampstand to the side a little, saying casually: "Since the commander-in-chief has great ambitions, why doesn't he stay in Hebei? With the commander-in-chief's reputation, he can quickly raise an army in Hebei, right?"

Liu Rengong was confused.

"Mobei has ambitions, and the general has great aspirations. Why don't they join forces to drive the Liang army out of Hebei and rebuild the foundation?" Xiao Yan stared at him with a smile on his face, but it made people feel quite cold.

"General Xiao wants to..."

Liu Rengong was dumbfounded for a moment, then he reacted and said in horror: "General Xiao wants to put me to death? You want to support the enemy, why do you have to involve me? Hebei is already yours, you..."

After saying that, his eyes suddenly widened: "You want to take over Dingbadu privately!"

"Good, since General Jie doesn't blame me, how about helping Xiao again?"

Xiao Yan smiled and clapped his hands, then went out holding the candle.

Two bad guys wearing helmets and armor immediately walked into the hall, picked up the limp Liu Rengong, and mounted their mounts in the snow outside.

That night, the Mobei Army rebelled, kidnapped the former Youzhou Jiedushi Liu Rengong, and fled into the grassland.

(End of this chapter)