The deputy governor took the wine glass, only touched a little on his lips, and slowly said to him: "Captain, don't be discouraged. There is still a slight improvement in this matter."
"What?" Shi Yiyi was still drinking heavily and had a negative attitude.
"There has been no harvest in Qibei in recent years, and the captives have nowhere to make money, so they just took the risk and came to plunder the border state. If the governor can make people pay heavy bribes and let him ask for them, then his soldiers will naturally return. This is a big crime on your head."
It’s unnecessary.”
Shi Yiyi immediately put down the wine bowl and said as if he was waking up from a dream: "Yes, this is a very clever plan! ... But it is not light to put the charge of military discipline on me. Mr. Liu is now eager to establish his authority.
, I’m afraid I won’t be merciful anymore.”
"Xuanhua still needs to be guarded by your soldiers. Even if the imperial court has unlimited energy, it will be difficult to complete the replacement of the border troops in a short period of time." The deputy governor reassured.
"No, I'm not worried about this." Shi Yiyi drank the remaining wine. "We must send a confidant to the capital to investigate the situation. Otherwise, Ye Yongjia will be deceived and we won't know it."
"Pieces tonight?"
"I will send it tonight. By the way, I told him to pay attention to the attitudes of all the adults... I don't believe that everyone in the imperial court is monolithic!"
Early the next morning, a scout named Shi Yiyi found out the direction of the Hu people, so he secretly sent two envoys out of the city, loaded a cart of gold and silver, and presented them to the captives. The captives did not want to start a big fight, so they happily accepted the offer.
Thanks for the gift, I took my tribe back north to the desert.
After Shi Yiyi learned the news, he was very happy, but he hid the matter first and did not tell anyone about it. He still urged the soldiers to drill in the school field and go to the city to set up defenses.
Ye Yongjia walked out of the military camp. Shi Yiyi acted as if nothing had happened. He stepped forward and bowed: "Master Ye, did you make any progress while observing the military drill today?"
Ye Yongjia glanced at him coldly: "Of course you know these things very well, why do you need to ask me?"
Shi Yiyi turned pale and was speechless.
"By the way, get me a military uniform. I want to go to the city and see the battle in person."
Shi Yiyi hurriedly advised: "As the pillar of the country, your Excellency, you should put safety as your first priority. Leave the fighting on the battlefield to us and other warriors."
Ye Yongjia seemed to disagree and insisted on putting on his military uniform, but was stopped by Cai Xianqing: "Sir, don't show off your scholarly ambition. If you want to boost the morale of the border troops, you can sit under the city gate and watch. It will also work."
"Okay, then I'd better listen to the public opinion." For some reason, Ye Yongjia always felt uneasy after saying this.
It was noon, and the sun was extremely scorching. After eating in the camp, the border troops hurriedly took their weapons and went to the city wall to guard. Shi Yiyi stood on the gate tower, holding his sword tightly, as if he was preparing for a bloody battle;
Ye Yongjia was sitting in front of the gate under the city wall, sitting on a horse with Cai Xianqing and two foreign ministers beside him, waiting for the moment when the battle started.
The sun was getting closer and closer to the center. The soldiers stood upright, the sword poles in their hands were very hot, their lips were chapped, and their eyes seemed to be open and closed, but there was still no sign of the barbarian.
Ye Yongjia rubbed his brows irritably, and Cai Xianqing finally couldn't sit still anymore. He called a clerk: "Go and tell Governor Shi to send a scout to find out where the bandits are going!"
"yes!"
Just when the little official was about to report to Governor Shi, he suddenly saw the city gate open and a soldier on horseback rushed into the city, shouting over and over: "Report! There is no Japanese army within a hundred miles! The Japanese have returned to their base.
The account! The captives have returned to the account!"
"What!" Ye Yongjia stood up and looked nervously at Cai Xianqing.
Before the two of them could react, the defenders on the city wall began to boil. The soldiers cheered as if they had truly won a great victory.
Shi Yiyi was relatively calm. He asked everyone to stop celebrating and walked down the city wall.
"Master Ye, Master Cai," Shi Yiyi leaned towards the two of them, raising a sly smile on his lips, "I made you wait in vain, hard work, hard work."
"How could the captives retreat so easily?" Ye Yongjia looked at him blankly, his mind going blank.
"This Hulu action was unexpected. Did they violate the anniversary of their death? Or were they fighting for the throne? There is no way of knowing." Now it was his turn to make a joke.
Ye Yongjia's face turned pale as he watched the officers and soldiers leaving the city wall one after another.
Seeing that he was in a trance, Cai Xianqing quickly replied: "This is God's blessing, which saved me from Xuanhua. Governor Shi must be diligent in training troops in the future and remember the words of Shi Lang Ye, so that this border patrol will be worthwhile."
!”
"What you are trying to teach me is..." Shi Yiyi raised his eyes and looked at Ye Yongjia again, "Then can you all go back to Suidi?"
"No," Ye Yongjia's attitude was resolute, "the problem of running the army has not been resolved yet, so I will stay here for a long time. The governor has cleaned a few barracks and come out, and we will start living here tonight."
"This guy is still holding on..." Shi Yiyi laughed lightly and said, "Don't worry. Shi will naturally take care of it for you, and I will never ask you to give in."
"Then let's go." Ye Yongjia sighed and returned with Cai Xianqing angrily.
The sun had set for a long time, and the clouds and mist in the dark night persisted, blocking the only bright moonlight. Ye Yongjia stood in front of the window, silent.
"I said at the beginning that this kind of reform is very difficult to succeed. When it went smoothly before, I knew there would be trouble." Cai Xianqing sighed.
"It's difficult, we have to go through it," Ye Yongjia held the window, "We still have a chance of winning."
"Well," Cai Xianqing nodded, "as long as our people clear up the affairs of the Ministry of Household Affairs and prove Shi Yiyi's corruption charges, will Wang Fa spare him?"
"In addition, we must also consider the intention of serving the prime minister." Ye Yongjia turned around.
"Count on him?" Cai Xianqing's tone was filled with questions.
"Before I set off, the Prime Minister told me in every possible way that I should devote myself to the reform and not take into account personal matters. Since I am admonishing you with great righteousness, I should..." Ye Yongjia's eyes suddenly looked hesitant, "I should... at least support it now.
Mine."
"This is completely different from what you said when you were traveling." Cai Xianqing said with a smile.
"Report! Minister Ye, someone gave me a letter and said that I want to forward it to you." A soldier knocked on the door.
"It's so late, there's a curfew in the city, how did that person get here?" He turned around and opened the door.
"This was sent here urgently from the capital. I heard it was written by the Prime Minister and is extremely confidential..."
Ye Yongjia suddenly broke out in a sweat, ordered the soldier to come over quickly, took the letter, bowed hastily, closed the door with his backhand, pulled out the chair, put the letter on the table, and opened it haphazardly.
Cai Xianqing also looked at it and saw it written: 'I hope that Minister Ye will return to the capital soon. Someone has something urgent to ask of me. Hurry! Hurry!'