The closest they got to each other... was in Weishan, where he deployed troops to encircle and suppress them, forcing Li Xia to throw away the large pile of books he got from Kaifeng and narrowly escape.
But Zhang Rou happened to see the six words left by Li Xia in the book.
"Brother Meng dies and Mongolia falls apart."
A prophecy.
Is this a coincidence or a layout? Zhang Rou hasn't figured it out yet.
He only knew that the apple of his eye had an inexplicable relationship with Li Xia.
The news of the Great Khan's death came today, which made him feel completely confused.
He snatched the engagement paper from Zhang Hongyan's hand and walked to the tent alone...
"Father, this thing is strange, who can it be..."
"Get away!"
Zhang Rou yelled, went into the account, swept away all the objects on the desk, and put the engagement letter on the desk.
He sat down, squinted his eyes and saw that the album was sealed with wax.
It has never been opened, Zhang Hongyan is considered sensible.
How did Li Xia throw him into the camp?
Contacted Gundam? Yes, Gundam blocked water and land routes in Xiangyang, prohibited messengers from delivering messages, and rushed to aid Ezhou. He must have received information.
Or was it possible that some of the couriers were captured by Li Xia? It was just a random thing thrown away, and it may not mean that a soldier was coerced and induced by him.
Even...someone in the Jinlianchuan shogunate colluded with Li Xia? Since the death of the Jin Dynasty, many people have wanted to defect to the Song Dynasty. It is difficult to guarantee that none of these scholar-bureaucrats harbor evil intentions.
…
There is not enough evidence yet for Zhang Rou to deduce.
He stared at the invitation letter with vigilance in his eyes.
What would Li Xia say?
There are too many things that can be said, the majesty of the formation to kill the Great Khan, the strategy of provoking the Zhang family?
Or will he give the next prediction like the previous six-character prophecy?
In the current situation, Li Xia's every word can stir up an uproar.
Zhang Rou took a deep breath, her face solemn.
He took out his dagger and cut open the engagement letter in front of him.
Open slowly...
Pupils opened slightly, Zhang Rou looked attentively, and was stunned for a moment.
empty.
What does this mean?
Showing sincerity? Not forcing the Zhang family, just asking for employment?
Demonstration? After killing the Great Khan, why do we need to say more?
Before she even said a word, Zhang Rou's heart was tightly grasped by Li Xia's hand.
He couldn't help being furious and slammed the appointment letter on the desk.
The doubts in my heart remain unanswered, and I feel uneasy at the end.
Zhang Rou stood up and paced back and forth, then suddenly turned back as if she had thought of something.
He lit a candle and carefully put the engagement letter on it to bake.
"Shuzi, speak to me..."
After a long time, there was still only light smoke lingering under the red letter of appointment.
…
Zhang Hongyan stood outside the tent, waited for a long time, and finally saw Zhang Rou striding out.
"Father, Monan Wangzhao..."
Zhang Rou seemed not to have heard anything and strode towards the edge of the camp.
Zhang Hongyan looked around and saw his father's burly body squatting on the ground, seemingly... playing in the sand?
"Father?"
"Get away!"
"yes……"
"return!"
"Yes, father..."
"Go and get some fruits and carrion."
Zhang Rou threw the fine sand out of her hand, and when she saw ants crawling on the ground, she seemed to have a flash of inspiration.
He stretched out his hand that had killed countless people with great concentration, carefully picked up the ant, and gently placed it on the invitation card.
"Come on, little ones, let me see what he wrote..."
~~
The sky was cloudy and cloudy, and finally, Zhang Rou, whose legs and feet had begun to feel numb, stood up and sighed longly.
Frustrated, helpless, and a little scared.
In any case, let's talk about it when we get home. If Li Xia really wants to marry her, she will definitely send someone to come.
Before that, as she wished, this matter had been placed in Zhang Rou's heart and she could not let it go.
Like a lump in the throat.
Zhang Rou took the engagement card back into her arms, rubbed her face, at least looking calm on the surface, and walked towards Kublai Khan's tent.
He knew that he would definitely hear that person's name many times.
Li Xia.
Li Xia...
~~
"The reason why Li Xia was able to raise his troops at Jianmen Pass and Lizhou in time shows that this son had a premeditated plan. In other words, before the battle of Diaoyu City, he had already expected that... the Great Khan was summoned by the Changsheng Heaven."
When Zhang Wenqian said this, he felt ridiculous and stopped talking.
Hao Jing sighed: "Mr. Zhong Qian, do you really think this is possible?"
Zhang Wenqian took a few steps and looked around the tent. Only Hao Jing, Zhang Rou and a few other absolute confidants of the Monan King were here.
He then opened his mouth and spoke directly.
"You and I both know that the person in charge of food around the Great Khan is Lai Abachi."
Hao Jing took two steps forward and said in a low voice: "But we never let Aba Chi stay in Sichuan..."
Zhang Wenqian raised his hand to stop Hao Jing's words.
The reason is very simple. The Great Khan died suddenly in Sichuan and Shu, and it became undecided who would take charge of the army on the West Route.
How can it be compared to three armies gathering in Lin'an, and then...
Who would have thought that Lai Abachi, the son of Mongolia's founding general Shushuuli and in charge of the Great Khan's meals, was a member of the Monan King?
"But what if something unexpected happens?"
Zhang Wenqian means... we haven't asked Lai Abachi to take action, where is King Monan?
Hao Jing whispered: "Gong Zhongqian and Duke Zhonghui have been planning for many years and finally transferred nearly 200,000 troops to the south. How can we abandon more than 100,000 troops?"
Zhang Wenqian was silent for a moment.
If it weren't for King Monan, if it wasn't for the Jinlianchuan shogunate, it would be hard for him to believe that Li Xia could be so capable.
After pacing back and forth for two steps, he said, "Shi Tianze sent someone to say that there were rumors in the army that night... that the Great Khan died of poisoning. What's the explanation for this?"
"There are too many possibilities." Hao Jing said, "We are thousands of miles away and we are seeing flowers in the mist. How can we tell the difference?"
Zhang Wenqian said: "Let me talk about several possibilities."
He twirled his beard and said slowly: "Here, Abachi showed his weakness and really took action; or someone deliberately spread rumors..."
Hao Jing asked: "Li Xia?"
Zhang Wenqian said: "If it's this guy again, why does he have such a clear understanding of the situation? Does he even know such secrets?"
Hao Jing was silent.
If nothing is said clearly, they will always feel uneasy.
Zhang Wenqian turned back suddenly, glanced at Hao Jing and Zhang Rou, and said word by word: "Do you think anyone among us has contact with Li Xia?"
Hao Jing was stunned.
Zhang Rou slowly raised her head, her expression as calm as a stone sculpture.
"In any case, someone in the North must have leaked information to Li Xia, more or less, but there must be."
Zhang Wenqian said, raising his hand and pointing at Zhang Rou.
"De Gang, you."
Zhang Rou took a breath.
Zhang Wenqian pointed at Hao Jing again.
"Bo Chang, you."
Then, he raised his finger and pointed at himself.
"I, Zhang Zhongqian."
Zhang Rou secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Then, Zhang Wenqian was heard naming everyone in the Jinlianchuan shogunate.
Liu Bingzhong, Yao Shu, Yang Weizhong, Shang Ting, Lian Xixian, Xu Heng, Zhao Bi...
"Wang Wentong..."
Zhang Rou's heart tightened.
In fact, he knew where Li Xia's information came from... it was Wang Wentong who instigated Yang Guo to do what he did. Even Wang Wentong's son, Wang Xun, once wanted to drag Zhang Hongdao into the water.
At this time, Zhang Wenqian dragged out the words "Wang Wentong" for a long time.
It seems that he has noticed something.
Zhang Rou had to speak.
He considered it carefully and said slowly: "I just mentioned the Henan Economic Envoy... Zhao Bi and Zhao Baochen. I remembered something."
"oh?"
"When Li Xia first came to Kaifeng, Quanzi chased him, but unfortunately he failed. After Yang Guo moved to Shouzhou last year, his whole family defected... I wonder who is shielding and conniving?"
Zhang Wenqian was silent.
He actually knew about Zhao Bi.
When Wu Liang joined forces to conquer Shu, he was a coward from Xue Suwei and a prodigal sweater.
Is there any reason why King Monan could not destroy the Song Dynasty after more than ten years of management, but allowed Wu Liang to unite and succeed?
Therefore, after Yao Shu reported it to Kublai Khan, he revealed the news about Wu Liang's alliance, but it was only this piece of news, and there was absolutely no more.
Someone took the opportunity to collect other information and sent it out?
Yang Guo?
Who is behind Yang Guo?
Wang Wentong?
Li Fen?
But even these people would never be able to help Li Xia achieve this step, absolutely impossible.
Zhang Wenqian seems to be able to grasp all the clues, but he still feels that the most important part cannot be guessed.
"Mr. Zhongqian." Zhang Rou spoke again, "Is there another possibility? The whole thing...or is the Great Khan testing King Monan?"
Zhang Wenqian nodded and said: "It's unlikely...but if it's true, all it takes is one wrong step and the whole game will be lost."
He finally stopped saying the word "Li Xia", took a few steps, and then said: "Therefore, King Monan is still waiting for the news to come later. Before that, Ezhou must be conquered to boost morale."
After several people discussed this, Kublai Khan finally arrived at the big tent.
Zhang Rou stood up quickly, clasped her fists and said, "Report to King Mo Nan that I have ordered my subordinate He Boxiang to build a goose cart and dig holes for a few days. We can break the city tonight!"
Kublai Khan's eyes fell on Zhang Rou's face, and after staring at it for a long time, he suddenly patted Zhang Rou on the shoulder.
"Destroy Ezhou as soon as possible, and we need to support Ah Shu immediately."
Just hearing this sentence, Zhang Wenqian's face lit up with joy.
He knew that King Monan had just met the envoy sent by A Shu. Obviously, A Shu was not as rigid as Wu Liang He Tai...
Regardless of whether the news from the west is true or false, wooing Ah Shu first can destroy the Song Dynasty if we advance, and strengthen our strength if we retreat. This is the safest strategy at the moment.
Understand people's hearts, know how to advance and retreat, persevere, and have a magnificent atmosphere...