Chapter 44 Murder and Silence

"Of course it's the border guards!"

Ashina Fuwen glanced at Li Xuan, but his voice was softer than usual.

"That's not like the way you talk."

Li Xuan smiled and shook his head. He could tell that Ashina Fuwen was just trying to get him to give up.

"I want to become famous and powerful. I want to become a famous general like my ancestor and Qibi Heli. My ancestor once said: 'As long as the tribe is prosperous, I will be satisfied.' But our lineage has fallen."

Ashina Fuwen smiled embarrassedly. In the past few days, Li Xuan has been promoting the lofty ideals of national justice.

But the reason why Ashina Fuwen joined the army at the frontier was very realistic. He wanted to revive his family, revive the Ashina She'er family.

The person he admired most was his ancestor Ashina She'er.

So his every word, every action, every move, is imitating his ancestors.

Ashina She'er and Hou Junji worked together to pacify Gaochang. After the war, Hou Junji's men secretly robbed the spoils, but Ashina She'er refused to take anything, saying that he had obeyed the imperial order.

Ashina Fuwen also inherited this quality, so he always prevented the Gaolanzhou cavalry from seizing the herdsmen's cattle and sheep.

"It is human nature to pursue wealth and honor. As long as you have loyalty and righteousness in your heart, you will surely be remembered in history in the future."

There's nothing wrong with that.

Not to mention the Hu people, most Han people are like this.

"The descendants of She'er are loyal and righteous. I hope that one day I can be like my ancestors, shot by a stray arrow but still charge forward; I hope that I can put down a rebellion and become famous; I hope that I can be as powerful as my ancestors were when they destroyed the Kingdom of Qiuci and make the world famous."

Ashina Fuwen said this with a solemn vow and expressed his ambition.

Courage and ambition are also what men pursue.

"The saints are ambitious and have the intention to follow the footsteps of Emperor Wu of Han. This is our time to show our talents."

Li Xuan held Ashina Fuwen's hand.

"You will surely become a great general like Han Xin and Li Jing in the future. I will follow you till death."

In Ashina Fuwen's heart, Li Xuan was like a god.

"Let's encourage each other!"

As Li Xuan spoke, he took out Xu Jun's account book from his bosom and handed it to Ashina Fuwen: "Go to Huile City immediately and give it to Wang Shuai. Also, tell Wang Shuai that Lu Yu might kill Xu Jian and his brother to silence them!"

"As ordered!"

Ashina Fuwen took the account book solemnly and thanked Li Xuan for his trust in him.

He didn't ask any questions about this important matter and immediately turned and left.

Ashina Fuwen traveled alone on horseback and would definitely arrive at Lecheng before Lu Yu.

Li Xuan took some soldiers to open up more than ten acres of land on the other side of the Yellow River. After applying manure, they would plant "watermelon seeds".

To prevent acclimatization, Li Xuan kept half of the "watermelon seeds" for future use.

People in later generations heard that various fruits and vegetables in ancient times were not cultivated and were very unpalatable.

However, people in the Song Dynasty clearly recorded in their poems that watermelon "tastes as sweet as honey."

Li Xuan is looking forward to seeing the watermelon when it matures.

Luo Xing was arranged by Li Xuan to exchange coins again. This time he arranged for more than a dozen soldiers to escort him to avoid any further problems.

……

Lu Yu, along with his personal guards, escorted Xu Jian, Xu Jun, and a large amount of coins and treasures out of Feng'an City.

The families of Xu Jian and Xu Jun are detained in Feng'an County, awaiting further action.

The county magistrate was appointed by the imperial court, and his dismissal and punishment were all decided by the imperial court.

In Huile City, they could only review their crimes and then report them to Chang'an.

"General, Feng Anling has something to tell you."

Not long after leaving the city, the personal guard ran over to Lu Yu, who was riding in the front, and said.

Lu Yu hesitated for a moment and got into the car carrying Xu Jian's brothers.

He signaled his guards to stand guard at a distance.

"General Lu, I once gave you a pair of golden tigers, implying that you would become a commander-in-chief, and today it has come true."

After seeing Lu Yu, hope ignited in Xu Jun's heart.

"Have you told anyone else about this?"

Lu Yu frowned and asked them softly.

"Only my two brothers know about it. Even our family members are not aware of it." Xu Jian hastened to assure us that he knew the seriousness of the border general's bribery.

"Have you told Li Xuan?"

Lu Yu is more concerned about this.

"No, there is no way I would betray the general."

Xu Jun pointed to the sky and swore. In fact, he didn't know whether the account book hidden in the study had been searched.

Even his brother didn't know that he was keeping the account book.

"If I don't let you go, will you betray me?" Lu Yu said lightly.

"General, rest assured. We two brothers will never betray you even if we die."

Xu Jun, who has a high emotional intelligence, responded first. "Tonight, I will send the soldiers away, put some gold and silver in the car, and there will be two horses nearby. You can ride away overnight and fly away."

Lu Yu patted the car and said to the two brothers.

"Thank you, General. If we brothers can survive this disaster, we will repay you with a gift of grass and a ring."

The two brothers were overjoyed.

They originally thought that they would definitely die, and they would never tell anyone about Lu Yu's bribery.

Unexpectedly, the guilty Lu Yu took the initiative to escort them and gave them this opportunity.

Lu Yu nodded and got back on the horse.

At night, we traveled to Mingsha County.

Lu Yu deliberately slept outdoors.

When it was dark, Lu Yu asked his closest servant to secretly untie the ropes of the Xu Jian brothers, leaving behind a bag.

There were two skinny horses tied to the cart.

There were indeed no soldiers guarding around.

The two brothers looked at each other and felt the gold and silver in the bag.

They secretly got off the car, jumped on the horse, and galloped eastward.

"The prisoner escaped!"

The two brothers had barely run a hundred steps when a guard shouted.

In an instant, two servants and bodyguards mounted their horses and chased after Xu Jian and his brothers.

"what happened?"

The two brothers were confused. Didn’t they agree not to chase them?

Now that you're on the horse, there's no way you can turn back.

The two brothers spurred their horses and galloped as fast as they could.

But the horses they both rode were old and thin, usually used for carrying things.

In less than half a quarter of an hour, they were caught up.

"Whoa..."

When the servant guards were only a dozen steps away from Xu Jian and Xu Jun, they shot arrows.

The two men were pierced through the body in an instant and fell off their horses.

"Lu Yu..."

Xu Jian knew he had fallen into a trap, and before he died, he spat out these two words with blood in his mouth.

Before he died, Xu Jun was thinking about the account book he had hidden in the study. He hoped that Li Xuan had already got the account book.

"General, the escaped prisoner has been shot."

The servants and guards pretended to report to Lu Yu.

"Put their bodies in the car."

Lu Yu waved his hand.

Only the dead can keep secrets.

Lu Yu didn't believe that the Xu Jian brothers could keep their mouths shut.

Once he gives him away, he will be skinned alive if he doesn't die.

If the Xu Jian brothers escape from him, he will also be held responsible.

……

Lu Yu, who thought he could escape, soon arrived at Huile City.

After Wang Zhongsi learned the news, he summoned Lu Yu to the governor's mansion for questioning.

"As the commander, you're going back and forth to Lecheng just for this matter? If the Turks attack Feng'an Military City at this time, who can take responsibility?"

Wang Zhongsi scolded him harshly with an unhappy tone.

"General Wang, this involves the magistrate of a county, which I do not think is a trivial matter. Feng'an Military City is guarded by General Li, and it is as solid as a rock."

Lu Yu replied nervously.

Since this concerns his life and property, he must handle it personally.

"Since you knew Xu Jian was the county magistrate, why did you bring a corpse? The death of a county magistrate is a major event that would alert the saint."

Wang Zhongsi asked with a cold face.

There are very few things that can make him as furious as he is today.

"Feng'an Ling and Xu Jun took the horses and escaped while we were eating. Seeing that they could not be caught up, the guards had to shoot arrows to warn them, but they were accidentally shot dead in the dark." Lu Yu said to Wang Zhongsi. There is no evidence against them.

When this matter gets back to Chang'an, Li Linfu will definitely speak well of him and let the matter go.

Li Linfu still has to use him.

"Humph! You're trying to silence someone!"

Wang Zhongsi's tone suddenly changed and he threw a small notebook in Lu Yu's face.

(End of this chapter)