Chapter 153 Doubts
Snowflakes fell, and the snow on the ground was ankle-deep, but the city of Youzhou was still bustling with activity. Or, in other words, rows of refugees, under the supervision of supervisors, were transporting soil and rocks like walking animals and working hard to dredge the moat...

The city's chief official had been changed, and hundreds of thousands of people knew about it. It was said that he was the emperor of the Zhu family in Bianliang who was touring the city on behalf of the emperor. Although he was also using work-for-relief and distributing relief grain, many of his measures were very different from those of General Xiao. For example, in this kind of weather, General Xiao would still be more concerned about the people's strength and would not rush the construction period. At least they could have a bowl of hot porridge to drink in the snow.

Some people said that because the new chief official was from Liang, he would not care about the lives of the Yan people. But Xiao Junshi was from Yan, so he would have a sense of gratitude towards his hometown elders.

Although no one knew where the rumor that Xiao Yan was from Yan first came about, everyone said so. If asked, he could not explain it clearly, but he dared to swear.

"If Envoy Xiao was not from Yan, how could he be so kind to us Yan people? Not to mention giving us a job in this cold winter, giving us food and wages. Even asking those soldiers to buy things and pay for them, which Envoy could do that? Didn't you see that those Bianliang soldiers who came like angels were robbing me for buying my winter vegetables!"

"They buy things from us, as if we are paying tribute to them. Bah! If the Liu family hadn't been so incompetent, if the Xiao army hadn't fought a few tough battles, would it be their turn to show off their power here? The angel from Bianliang didn't take us Yan people seriously. In my opinion, they should have..."

"Shhhhh! Do you want to die? Stop talking..."

The crowd was surging, some people had chilblains on their hands and their heels were numb from the cold, but they still had to drag the dirt and rocks towards the top of the city wall. Amid the noise, there were countless complaints.

If it was work-for-relief before, now, the task of renovating Youzhou City has become a hard labor. Because there are rumors that the Zhu Emperor may inspect Hebei after the spring, and the Lord Li who governs Youzhou must make the devastated Youzhou City look brand new before the spring to welcome the emperor.

Therefore, even if the weather was getting colder and even when it was approaching the Spring Festival, many people would be conscripted every day and gathered on the city walls, but many would also die of exhaustion or freezing under the city walls.

The snow is really heavy.

A few riders came down from the north in the snow and saw this scene. In the snowy sky, dense black figures clung to the four sides of the city, working like ants on tripods and in trenches.

The heat generated by labor was dissipated by the cold wind in such a snowy and icy environment.

"Shouldn't the work have been stopped long ago?"

The head of the guard, Fu An, was stunned and asked to himself. None of the bad guys beside him could respond. They just frowned and thought, then looked at the back of the man in front.

At the front of the group, Xiao Yan was wearing a cloak and a hat, looking like an ordinary person. So even if this military envoy Xiao, whom countless people were thinking about, appeared at the foot of Youzhou city, no one would be able to recognize him.

Xiao Yan glanced around, shook his head, and said calmly: "I am no longer the governor of Youzhou. Since Li Zhen is in charge of Youzhou, there is no reason for me to interfere. I asked him to stop the work, but he may not have the same intention."

"Bah, what a bunch of bastards! They don't even treat the common people as human beings." A bad guy said angrily.

Xiao Yan exhaled white air, pointed at some officials in charge of supervision on the top of the city, and said: "This man's target is not the people, but me. He is very cautious. In just a few days, he overturned my foundation in Youzhou. He appointed the officials he brought with him to assign tasks in order to reduce my influence in Youzhou. How could he obey the orders I left behind?"

“……”Everyone was speechless for a moment.

In fact, even they have already reacted. Li Zhen and Kang Huaiying came from Bianliang. These two people who are almost the most powerful ministers came to Hebei specially to show Zhu Wen's honor, and to guard against suppressing Xiao Yan.

It is true that Xiao Yan made great contributions and Zhu Wen valued him, but the mystery lies in that Xiao Yan was the only one who made contributions in this battle, while Ge Congzhou and Zhu Hanbin were almost the only two people who came to accompany him. The heavy rewards could only fall on Xiao Yan. It can be said that before the Bianliang court took over Hebei, Xiao Yan was the only one who dominated Yan.

After Zhu Wen was happy, he naturally worried that Xiao Yan would split Hebei, or cause hidden dangers that he could not get rid of. To put it bluntly, while Zhu Wen valued Xiao Yan, he also had more suspicion. This was Zhu Wen's characteristic, especially as he got older, this characteristic of suspicion became more obvious.

Li Zhen and Kang Huaiying are both at the forefront of civil and military affairs, and are old ministers trusted by Zhu Wen. They are fully capable of temporarily looking after Hebei on his behalf. The two of them also have sufficient status, ability and fame to disintegrate all of Xiao Yan's foundations in Hebei, and then they can control and weaken the surrendered troops in Yan, thereby completely reducing the hidden dangers in Hebei.

Fortunately, my captain had already made arrangements...

After figuring out the key point, all the bad guys, including Fu An, were no longer afraid, but also felt relieved.

On the top of the city wall, the officials finally noticed these riders. Especially when they saw one of them pointing at them on horseback and talking, they immediately became a little dissatisfied.

When they lived in Bianliang, an ant falling from their heads could kill them, and they almost lived at the mercy of others. Now that they were brought by Li Zhen to serve as officials in Hebei, although they were far away from the center, as victors, the power they obtained here was unimaginable in Bianliang, and they quickly got used to this kind of life of bossing hundreds of thousands of people around.

At this moment, seeing a few natives from Yan area gesticulating and acting casually, he immediately sent someone to interrogate these riders about their origins.

Even though Xiao Yan and his men were armed with swords, they were not afraid. How many children of the great families in Yandi had been respectful to them these days? As the victors, the officials of Bianliang naturally had a sense of superiority in Youzhou!

At the foot of the city, a minor official from Hebei was ordered over. He was naturally a little dissatisfied at having to run for someone else in such weather and doing such an offensive thing.

He shielded the cold wind with his hands, trotted over, and shouted with some dissatisfaction in his tone: "Hey, those horsemen, what are you doing sneaking around? There are nobles from Bianliang on the top of the city, why don't you lower your posture? Are you looking for death..."

But as soon as he shouted, the men in cloaks reined in their horses and turned around, as if preparing to gallop into the city.

This time, the official was forced to hold back his shout, because the figure of the rider in the lead, and the face revealed under the bamboo hat, all looked familiar to him.

Especially that casual glance, which almost made him kneel down subconsciously.

"Your humble servant pays respect to Envoy Xiao!"

Almost at the same time, the minor official saluted with his hands crossed and bowed down at the top of his lungs.

Fu An sneered, as if he found the man's arrogant but humble attitude ridiculous. This made the small official feel even more ashamed. He didn't dare to raise his head and broke out in a cold sweat in the cold weather.

Out of the corner of his eye, the official saw a mount suddenly stop when passing by him, and then when he was feeling regretful and afraid, a calm voice sounded.

"I have the impression that you are Han Yanhui's relative. If I remember correctly, you have communicated with me face to face."

The official was startled, then raised his head in joy: "To reply to Envoy Xiao, it is me! At the beginning of this month, I suggested to Envoy Han that we could rent oxen to the disaster victims. You met me at that time..."

Xiao Yan looked at him and asked, "Han Yanhui resigned and is no longer the governor of Youzhou. I haven't seen you for more than half a month. How did you fall into such a situation?"

The official was filled with shame and said, "General Xiao, you may not know that some of the officials you arranged for me to work in the shogunate have been assigned to other positions by Lord Li. Lord Li also arranged for the person who came from Bianliang to raise the oxen..."

Xiao Yan nodded indifferently. After understanding the situation, he stopped asking questions and rode towards the city gate.

A few bad guys followed closely behind and ran past the minor official.

The minor official was very discouraged.

On the top of the city wall, there was an official from Bianliang who saw the whole process and had already gone down the city in person. Seeing that the minor official from Hebei did not respond, the riders rode into the city arrogantly. Although he guessed that the riders might be some prominent people from Hebei, he still shouted, "Who are you?"

But seeing that they completely ignored him, he could not help but get angry. He had seen that they were sneaking around like spies, so he immediately ordered the soldiers on his left and right to stop them. His anger was not without reason. He already knew the well-known officials in the city, and no one would leave the city on such a heavy snowy day. In addition, for these Bianliang officials, if any Yan people dared to despise them, it would be truly disrespectful. They were destined to serve in Hebei, so of course they had to suppress some Yan officials first.

With Li Zhen as his backer, he has the confidence to stop anyone in Youzhou!
"How dare you! You Yan people, do you know that I am a disciple of Lord Li..."

His voice paused.

But the rider in front took out a large bow, without slowing down his horse, put an arrow on the bow and aimed it at him.

Is he a warrior?
The man was horrified and took a step back, shouting, "How dare you..."

"puff."

An arrow with great force suddenly pierced his throat and sent his body flying back a few feet into a pile of snow.

There was an instant of silence at the city gate. Several imperial guardsmen holding spears who came to stop the enemy and some Bianliang officials who chased down from the top of the city all stood there in disbelief.

An official finally reacted and pointed at the corpse and shouted, "How dare you! Do you know who he is?"

After that, he shouted to the imperial guards, "What are you guys still standing there for? Why don't you capture this guy quickly!"

At the city gate, Xiao Yan stopped his horse, took off his hat, and with a cold face, gently brushed off the snow on it.

Just as a few soldiers stepped forward, Fu An had already mounted his horse, pointed at them with a sullen face, and shouted, "Let's see who dares! In front of the Eastern Camp Vanguard Cavalry Commander, Songzhou Guide Army Jiedushi, the Imperial Guard Cavalry Commander, and Imperial Censor Xiao, who dares to be presumptuous!?"

His voice was so loud that everyone inside and outside the city gate suddenly fell silent. Even the official who was jumping up and down suddenly felt a chill on his back and stood there with a pale face.

Fu An sneered, pointed at the corpse in the snow again, and glared at everyone around him: "This birdman is so arrogant in front of General Xiao. He didn't show any respect and slandered General Xiao. How can he not die?!"

The cold wind was howling, and no one among the nearly one hundred people inside and outside the city gate dared to speak. Even the imperial guards from Bianliang were silent, giving way and bowing, not to mention those literati officials who were relying on the power of others to bully others.

Jiedushi was already one of the symbols of a high-ranking military commander in Daliang, a position that countless warriors dreamed of. Not to mention that Xiao Yan was also the Du Yuhou of the imperial guards and cavalry, a powerful figure among the imperial guards.

In this era when warriors are domineering and scholars are worthless, Xiao Yan really wants to crush a bunch of scholars like them, which is easier than stepping on an ant. Not to mention that they are just Li Zhen's confidants, even if Li Zhen is in person, they need to be polite to Xiao Yan.

The scene was silent for a few breaths, and several officials took the lead in approaching with dry smiles, crossing their arms and saluting: "Your servants, greet Envoy Xiao..."

Xiao Yan pinched the horse's belly, without any greeting, and rode past them.

"This man has ulterior motives. Hebei has been under the banner of Daliang, so why should we distinguish between people from Yan and Liang? Go back and tell Lord Li that I suspect this man intends to disturb the people of Hebei. I will deal with him today. No need to thank me."

"Hahaha..." The official who was originally jumping up and down crossed his hands and laughed dryly, "General Xiao is wise."

Fu An snorted coldly, and led a few bad guys, without getting off the horse, and followed arrogantly. Warriors of this era should be so arrogant. In their opinion, Xiao Yan was too polite to scholars in the past.

In the distance, the small official from Hebei was stunned, looking at the cold blood in the snow, and was deeply moved.

------

"Mr. Li, that's it..."

In the Jiedushi's mansion, an aide spoke in a low voice and stood by with his head bowed.

"Humph."

Li Zhen was busy dealing with paperwork. He just sneered and said indifferently after a moment, "They deserve to die. They have been using my name to be too arrogant these days. Let them die so as not to ruin my reputation."

The aide whispered, "But this official is loyal to Lord Li after all. If Lord Li does nothing, wouldn't it help boost Xiao Yan's prestige and make the people below you... In addition, this official doesn't know the identity of that person..."

Li Zhen couldn't help but sneer: "Do nothing? Then what do you want me to do? Who do you think Xiao Yan is? This guy has been arrogant these days, and I didn't care. He just ran into Xiao Yan and wanted to die. Why complain about heaven and others? Everyone knows that this guy is in the emperor's favor now? He is the only 18-year-old Jiedushi in the world! Even if this guy cuts off my head in a fit of rage, His Majesty will have no explanation!"

The staff remained silent and looked somewhat sullen.

"Humph, this isn't the right time to deal with him. Let those idiots behave themselves and not cause me any trouble." Li Zhen sneered, threw aside a document, and said, "Has Xiao Yan returned home?"

"That's right. He must have some resentment towards you when he came back from Tanzhou..."

"Pack up and go invite Kang Taibao. I want to treat him to a banquet." Li Zhen said lightly.

The staff dared not to respond and immediately started to prepare.

Just at this time, a minor official came to report that Xiao Yan was here to pay a visit.

The aide was a little surprised and subconsciously looked at Li Zhen. The latter stroked his beard, smiled faintly, stood up, and a warm smile appeared on his face.

"Let's go, let's go and welcome our Guide Jiedushi."

The two of them walked out and happened to meet a clerk who was also leading a young man in.

Li Zhen laughed heartily: "I have heard of the reputation of Envoy Xiao for a long time. I have long yearned to meet him. Today I finally get to meet him..."

Suddenly, his smile froze.

Why do this young man's eyes look so familiar?

Just like a year ago, when Luoyang was in turmoil, just like the deposed emperor who held him hostage, his eyes were bright and sharp.

He will never forget it for the rest of his life.

(End of this chapter)