Zhang Youcai chuckled and said: "Since the Crown Prince is determined to pretend to be a pig and eat the tiger, he must act more realistically. Now that these two thousand people are not obeying the rules, I am afraid they just got some secret orders from some people."
"Well, you are right. Many of them were arranged by Zhao Zijin, and they are more or less related to Zhao Zijin."
Zhang Youcai nodded and said: "But it doesn't matter, soldiers are soldiers. Zhao Zijin is a civil servant, but he only has a little power in his hands. These soldiers listen to him because of his official rank, but... the soldiers must be convinced by their superiors.
The most direct way is to be stronger than them in terms of ability, in other words, to be stronger."
Zhang Youcai paused and continued: "I saw their fear of the Crown Prince from the faces of those people. I am afraid that the Crown Prince's true strength is very strong, but we are still in Heishui City. If the Crown Prince reveals it, I am afraid it will cause some
People are vigilant, so my suggestion is... wait until you are outside the boundaries of Blackwater City before closing the net."
"Well, your idea coincides with mine. It's just that we will maintain the status quo first. I don't want the army to be in chaos before setting off."
Zhang Youcai said: "If this is the case, I'm afraid I will have to trouble the prince and lose his wealth."
"Breaking money? Oh, you mean spending money?" Ma Xiaoquan smiled slightly, pulled the money bag from his waist, and threw it to Zhang Youcai.
Zhang Youcai caught the money bag, weighed it subconsciously, then widened his eyes and said: "Your Majesty, the weight of this money is probably dozens of gold beads, right?"
"Well, yes, this is the money I have. I will give it to you. You can go and settle this matter for me~"
Zhang Youcai smiled and said: "Your Majesty, aren't you afraid that I will be greedy for a few pills?"
Ma Xiaoquan shook his head: "Don't be suspicious of the people you employ. Since I gave you the money, how you use it is your business. I just want the results~" After saying that, Ma Xiaoquan left with a smile, leaving Zhang Youcai alone in a daze.
land.
After a long time, Zhang Youcai came to his senses. Ma Xiaoquan had already walked away, but he still said thank you softly in the direction he left.
...
The next day, Ma Xiaoquan went into the palace to meet the King of Heiqing.
Facing the Black and Green King, Ma Xiaoquan suddenly felt a very strange feeling, because recently he looked much better than in the past few days, and unlike before, the Black and Green King today was particularly kind to him.
"Shanhe, we are united in this trip. You have a great responsibility. I hope you will do your best."
Ma Xiaoquan cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, please rest assured. I will do my best to fulfill the King's entrustment. However... Hongzhou has a complicated terrain and a vast area. It may not be possible to complete it in one or two years. Furthermore, Weichen
If we go to unite and unify, we will probably have to fight among the officials and courtiers in the country for a while."
Lord Heiqing nodded: "This is why we give you an army of two thousand people."
Ma Xiaoquan smiled bitterly and said: "Your Majesty, those two thousand people are just doing nothing, it's better not to take them~"
The King of Heiqing chuckled and said meaningfully: "Don't look at those two thousand people who are not willing to obey. One day you will obey the supervision, and they will be comparable to 20,000 people."
"Okay, Your Majesty, if you only give me two thousand people, is it because the war in the south is tight?"
Lord Heiqing frowned: "The war in the south is not serious, but the prince has been living in the south for a long time and keeps asking me for soldiers and food. He may have a counter-plan. If the king of Yue is not under house arrest by me, I may not be able to suppress him.
Due to Prince Ling's ambition, and the unrest in Hongzhou in the north continues, if Prince Ling rebels in the south, he will be charged with rebelling... so he has been waiting..."
Ma Xiaoquan said: "Your Majesty sent the minister because he is not from the King of Yue or Prince Ling?"
"Well, this is on the one hand, and on the other hand, because you are half a royal family, when you attack Hongzhou, the King of Yue and Prince Ling will definitely send people to win you over. When the time comes, Shanhe, what will you do?"
Now that the King of Heiqing has asked this, Ma Xiaoquan no longer hides it. He asks the King of Heiqing: "If the King of Yue and the others offer me an extremely attractive offer, I can't even find a reason to refuse." , what does the king think I should do?”
Lord Heiqing smiled confidently: "No matter what the conditions are, you, Wan Shanhe, will never agree to them."
"Why is the king so confident?"
The King of Heiqing grinned: "Because you are the same as me, but different from them~"
Ma Xiaoquan didn't quite understand the meaning of Lord Heiqing's words, but he couldn't help but think about it at this time. In the palace, officials from the imperial court had begun to come in one after another.
After all the officials were in place, King Heiqing announced that Ma Xiaoquan was about to leave for the United Nations.
The officials in the court inevitably came forward and exchanged a few polite words with Ma Xiaoquan one by one. Although they knew that most of them were not sincere, everyone was just having fun, and there had to be a back-and-forth. Ma Xiaoquan naturally responded to their false enthusiasm one by one. Say thank you in return.
After a farewell banquet at noon, King Heiqing personally saw Ma Xiaoquan out of Heishui City.
Standing at the gate of Blackwater City, Ma Xiaoquan looked back for a long time.
Lord Heiqing joked: "Are you reluctant to part with your newly bought house?"
Ma Xiaoquan smashed the bar and said: "Don't say it, I really can't bear it."
"Haha, don't worry, I will leave that house for you. I will send someone to clean it regularly, waiting for you to come back~"
"Well~Thank you, Your Majesty~"
"Okay, get on your horse~Be careful on this trip."
"Yes~" Ma Xiaoquan bowed his hands, mounted his horse, waved to the army behind him, and the large army left in a mighty manner.
On the way, Zhang Youcai drove his horse to Ma Xiaoshen and whispered: "Your Majesty, it's done~"
Ma Xiaoquan nodded and said humbly: "I have already guessed the posture of the large army following behind. You did a good job~"
"There's still some money left..."
Ma Xiaoquan smiled and said: "You take it, I don't like to manage money. There are still places to spend money along the way. By the way, did the betrothal gift go to United First?"
"Well, the King thinks that the Crown Prince's trip is too large and inconvenient, so the betrothal gift has already been left. The King's personal bodyguards and several of the most famous escort agencies in the capital will jointly escort him. It's very safe."
"That's good~~This way I can show off my skills~" Ma Xiaoquan moved his joints and turned to look at the two thousand troops behind him.
"How long does it take to get out of Blackwater City?"
Zhang Youcai took out the time, took a look at it, and said, "At least we have to wait until tonight."
"Okay, tell me to go down, don't let me go too hastily~"
"Yes~~"
...
Behind Ma Xiao's body, several leading soldiers who were closest to him felt very strange when they heard the tone of his conversation with Zhang Youcai. In their impression, this prince of mountains and rivers should be the kind of person who doesn't care about anything. , why do you feel something is different as soon as you leave Blackwater City?
During the break, several leading soldiers gathered together and chatted about the changes in Prince Shanhe.
"Do you think he (Wan Shanhe) will pretend to be a pig and eat the tiger?"
"Pretend to be a pig and eat the tiger? How do you say that?"
"Now that we are no longer in Blackwater City, our patron is gone. What if he suddenly gets angry and treats us harshly? We can't be deserters, right? Deserters will kill the nine tribes."
"What are you afraid of? Even if he gets angry, it's just a silver pewter tip. We are not deserters. But if he asks us to do something, we don't have to do it. Deserting is one thing. If he can't control it, it's his own fault.
inability."
"Yes, yes, why didn't I think of that~"
"Remember, Mr. Zhao has arranged for a few of us to be settled. We have to put small shoes on him to make him a stumbling block, so that it is best for him to retreat when the time comes. When the time comes for the prince to come, we will all be heroes."
"Okay, okay~~"
...
Elsewhere, Ma Xiaoquan and Zhang Youcai were sitting and eating together.
Zhang Youcai noticed the few leading soldiers not far away who were quietly discussing matters, and whispered to Ma Xiaoquan: "Your Majesty, the show is about to come~"
Ma Xiaoquan smiled slightly and said while eating: "Among the two thousand people you asked to investigate, which of them are direct descendants of Zhao Zijin? How is the investigation going?"
"Not even close~"
Ma Xiaoquan put down his bowl and chopsticks, his eyes focused: "Give it to me tonight~"
Zhang Youcai was stunned and looked at Ma Xiaoquan, seeing him expressionlessly picking up a wooden stick and throwing it into the fire.
Zhang Youcai felt an invisible pressure and nodded quickly: "Yes~ Then I will do it now~"
...
The sky gradually darkened, and the soldiers were tired after walking for most of the day.
Although this group of soldiers were disobedient, they set up the tents very quickly. Ma Xiao did not give any orders, so they set up the tents by themselves. Not to mention the speed at which they set up the tents, they were arranged neatly.
Watching the soldiers setting up tents, Ma Xiaoquan suddenly understood what Lord Heiqing was saying. Although these soldiers looked carefree, they were probably just showing off. These people needed someone stronger than them.
Only then can they obey orders obediently.
However... after these soldiers finished setting up the tent, none of them came forward to help Ma Xiaoquan set it up. Even Zhang Youcai had someone to help him set up the tent, but he did not.
"Damn~" Ma Xiaoquan cursed secretly. In desperation, he could only build a simple one-person tent by himself.
Setting up a tent is not difficult for Ma Xiaoquan. He often used it when performing tasks in the past. Besides, Ma Xiaoquan is the only one to rest, so it is easier to set up.
After a while, the simple tent for one person to live in was completed. Ma Xiaoquan clapped his hands, looked at his "masterpiece", and nodded with satisfaction.
Zhang Youcai's tent hadn't been set up yet. When he saw Ma Xiaoquan's, he said with envy: "Your Majesty, your skills are really skillful."
Ma Xiaoquan chuckled: "Of course, okay, I'll rest for a while~" After that, he got into the tent.
...
The soldiers in the front row became more suspicious when they saw the tent set up by Ma Xiaoquan, but they couldn't explain the reason. Anyway, the more they looked at it, the more they felt that something was wrong with Wanshanhe.
At night, when the soldiers had rested, Zhang Youcai got into Ma Xiaoquan's tent. As soon as he raised his head, he covered his mouth with one hand.