Mu Jiufeng was also very confused, but they were far apart, and he didn't know what Liyou's situation was in the past two days.
Liangcheng is close to the barren mountains. The terrain in the barren mountains is complicated. Bandits have occupied the mountains since ancient times. Even if they sent troops to suppress the bandits before, they all ended in failure.
Due to the remote location of Liangcheng, the difficult living conditions, and the perennial disturbances caused by bandits, most officials in the court were reluctant to take up posts. Over time, most officials in Liangcheng were recommended by locals.
Suddenly, Mu Jiufeng looked shocked, looked at Ye Sili with some fear and said:
"I thought of the worst possibility."
"In the past few years, the imperial court also sent officials to Liangcheng to suppress bandits, but before January, news came back to the capital that the gentleman had died of a sudden illness."
"After that, the bandits became even more rampant."
"But what is unreasonable is that Liangcheng is adjacent to barren mountains to the west and is troubled by mountain bandits all year round; it is adjacent to Xirong to the north, and is responsible for guarding the border. Therefore, there are many soldiers and horses stationed in Liangcheng. Although the conditions are a bit difficult, they are not
Not even the soldiers and horses sent by the imperial court can defeat the bandits."
"unless……"
"Unless there is a problem with the local officials." Ye Sili took over Mu Jiufeng's words, feeling even more worried.
"Yes." Mu Jiufeng guessed: "Unless there is something wrong with the local officials and they do not cooperate with the imperial court in suppressing the bandits. In this way, it can also explain how the bandits in the city came from."
"But if this is the case, I'm afraid Liyou will be in a disadvantageous situation." Mu Jiufeng said worriedly.
Ye Sili thought deeply for a while and finally made up his mind: "I'll go find him."
Mu Jiufeng was startled and quickly stopped him:
"Liangcheng is high in the mountains and far away, and the journey is dangerous and unpredictable. How can you go there? Furthermore, even if you get to Liangcheng, what can you do about the current situation in Liangcheng? It is better to stay in Kyoto and not let Liang worry.
Worry."
Ye Sili explained seriously:
"Jiu Feng, I am not impulsive."
"If Liangcheng officials have other ideas, then Liangcheng's tens of thousands of soldiers and horses will be variables that will endanger Ayou."
"A'you is going to Liangcheng this time. The Holy One has only sent three thousand elite soldiers. I originally thought it would be feasible with soldiers from Liangcheng. But now it seems that A'you is probably in a dragon's pond and a tiger's den."
"Once soldiers and bandits collude, the consequences will be disastrous."
Mu Jiufeng naturally knows the stakes, but...
"Do you have any idea?"
Ye Sili thought:
"When the ancestors of the Ye family were working with the late emperor to bring peace to the world, considering the special location of Liangcheng and fear of trouble, they deliberately left a team lurking in Liangcheng. Except for the Ministry of War, which still recorded their military status, I am afraid that others have long forgotten it.
their existence."
"If Ayou wants to quell the chaos this time, he will definitely need the help of soldiers and horses."
The Ye family army has always recognized people but not power. This is also an important reason why the current Emperor Zhou Yuan has always been wary of the Ye family. However, the ancestors of the Ye family followed the late emperor in founding the Zhou Dynasty and made great contributions and won the hearts of the people. Emperor Zhou Yuan did not dare to act rashly.
"The current plan is that only if I go there personally with the Ye family's military talisman can I mobilize the Ye family's army to help Ayou."
Ye Zhongyao is already old, and Ye Sili does not want him to suffer from the bumpy road.
Seeing that Ye Sili had made up his mind and couldn't find a better way to do this, Mu Jiufeng had no choice but to agree:
"I'm not worried if you go alone, I'll go with you."
Ye Sili nodded, "We will meet at the city gate tomorrow morning."
They both packed their luggage.
The next day, as soon as there was a glimmer of morning light, Ye Sili, Wuchun, Huanxia and Qingluo were waiting outside the city gate.
When Ye Zhongyao learned about Liangcheng, he did not object to Ye Sili's move, but he was worried about Qian Dingling and Wan's instructions to bring the three of them with him so that they could take care of each other.
"Princess, if Liangcheng officials really have a problem, why don't they report it directly to the Holy One and wait for the Holy One to send troops?"
Huan Xia asked softly.
Ye Sili observed that there was no one around, lowered his head and whispered back:
"Your Majesty is well-informed, how could he not know about the affairs of Liangcheng? He specially sent Ayou there this time, in order to frustrate Ayou's spirit."
On the battlefield, the children of the Ye family sacrificed their lives for the country. Now only the elderly Ye Zhongyao and Ye Sili, who is not good at martial arts, are left. Originally, the Ye family was not in danger, but Ye Zhongyao announced to the world that Gu Liyou would be included in the Ye family.
Home.
Gu Liyou is a master of Ye Zhongyao's true biography, has a majestic appearance on the battlefield, has outstanding military and chess skills, and has the prestige of a "young general". With his own efforts, he has supported most of the Ye family.
Emperor Zhou Yuan had always been suspicious, so how could he safely allow the Ye family to flourish?
Now if we want to suppress the Ye family, the only way to start is with Gu Liyou.
"Secondly..."
Ye Sili raised his head and faced the city gate, looking toward Kyoto with an uncertain expression.
"Secondly, he wants Ye Jiajun to have a fight with Liangcheng, and then reap the benefits."
The two fight against each other. If the former wins, Emperor Zhou Yuan will get a stable and peaceful city; if the latter wins, the Ye family army will lose its power in Liangcheng. At this time, they take the opportunity to send troops to pacify Liangcheng, killing two birds with one stone.
Huan Xia was puzzled: "Since the princess knows the emperor's intention, why..."
Ye Sili touched the jade flute on her waist and said firmly:
"The Ye family's army lurking in Liangcheng was originally an act of our ancestors to serve the people and the country, but now it has aroused the suspicion of the Holy Emperor. If this can relieve the suffering of the people in Liangcheng, it will not be in vain for my ancestors of the Ye family to sacrifice their lives for the country."
"What's more, if Ayou is in trouble, I will do my best."
"This is also what my grandfather told me."
The sun rises in the east and gradually rises above the mountains outside the city.
In late spring, he looked towards the city and said strangely:
"Why hasn't Mr. Jiufeng come yet?"
"Jiu Feng has always been lazy. Maybe he got up late. Let's wait."
The sun has crossed the top of the mountain, and people are already coming and going at the city gate, mostly ordinary people going to the early market.
Late spring couldn't help but ask: "Princess, it's past midnight, why don't I go to Ning'an Marquis Mansion to have a look?"
An hour had passed, and Ye Sili couldn't help but feel a little worried when he saw that there was still no figure of Mu Jiufeng in the city.
"Uncle Wang?" Huan Xia's sharp eyes saw Uncle Wang, the old housekeeper of Ning'an Hou Mansion, coming from the inheritance.
"Princess." Uncle Wang rushed to Ye Sili and saluted:
"My Marquis asked this old slave to come and tell the princess that there is no need to wait for my young master."
Inside the Ning'an Hou Mansion.
With a "pop" sound, the flower bed in the courtyard shattered, and Mu Jiufeng angrily scolded the guards in the mansion:
"Get out of my way!"
"Look at your virtue!" Mu Xiang walked out, looked around at the guards, and said coldly to Mu Jiufeng: "They were all under my orders, who are you trying to do with this angry look?"
look!"
When Mu Jiufeng saw his father coming out, he had to restrain his temper, but insisted:
"Dad, now there is no news about Liyou in Liangcheng, and a girl from Sili's family went to Liangcheng alone. I can't just sit back and watch."
Mu Xiang snorted, "General Ye specially asked Munchun Huanxia to accompany Sili. Their skills are not necessarily worse than yours."
Mu Jiufeng still insisted: "Dad, they are all girls. The journey to Liangcheng is dangerous and unpredictable. I must take care of them. What's more, Liyou is also my brother. I can't just die without saving them."
"There is a slave named Qingluo accompanying Sili. I think that man is much smarter than you, so why should I use you?"
"Qingluo is already gone?" Mu Jiufeng said unconvinced: "What can he do?"
"I'm more capable than you anyway. Just stay in the house and don't get involved in these things."
After saying that, Mu Xiang ignored Mu Jiufeng's struggle and had people forcibly lock him back into the house.
Ye Sili and the other four men worked hard to get to Liangcheng.
In order to shorten the distance and save time, they did not take the official road, but took the small road on horseback.
That night, it rained heavily, so they had to find a nearby ruined temple to rest.
Huanxia and late spring inspected the temple, and Qingluo picked up some dry wood to light a fire.
In late spring, I baked wet clothes for Ye Sili.
"Princess, we have been driving for three consecutive days, and the horses have lost weight. Can you still bear the pain?"
Ye Sili had lived in Kyoto since he was a child. Although he often went up mountains and rivers with Gu Liyou and Mu Jiufeng, how could he compare with the current situation?
Ye Sili just said worriedly:
"We have been traveling day and night these past few days, and it is difficult to receive any news from Ayou. We don't know how he is doing."
"That's all. We have to go on the road tomorrow morning. Let's rest early tonight."
Since there was only one room in the ruined temple, Qingluo collected her clothes and went to rest outside the house.
The rain in the summer months was majestic and powerful, and it was raining and windy outside the house.
Ye Sili took out the only thin quilt and gave it to Qingluo.
"Princess, how can this be done?" Qingluo quickly refused.
"It's been a bumpy road and it's hard work. It's windy outside, so you must take good care of yourself." Ye Sili insisted on covering Qingluo with a thin quilt.
It was late but not quiet at night, and she could hear the howling wind blowing across the roof, making the temple look crumbling. Even though the late spring and summer had repeatedly promised that it would not collapse, Ye Sili still felt frightened by the sound.
The wind roared, the rain pattered, and from time to time there was lightning and thunder, as if it was going to hit the temple at the next moment.
Ye Sili couldn't fall asleep for a long time. After struggling for a long time, he finally asked:
"Today is July 15th?"
Late spring and Huan Xia opened their eyes at the same time, understanding what their princess was afraid of.
The princess usually looks bold, but she is actually very afraid of ghosts.
Late spring joked:
"It's July 15th, but the princess is a little scared?"
"Since... of course not, I just thought that today is also Ayu's birthday, so I forgot to prepare a birthday gift for him." Ye Sili said harshly.
Late spring deliberately lowered her voice and said long and slowly:
"Isn't the princess afraid because tonight is the Ghost Festival?"
"Ah!" Lightning happened to flash across, and a flash of white light passed by in the middle of the night. Ye Sili was so frightened that she hugged her head tightly.
When Late Spring and Huanxia saw that their princess was really frightened, they quickly stood up to comfort her.
This night, no one had a good sleep.
After the rain, the sky is sunny and the air is fresh, but the sun after the summer rain is very scorching.
Ye Sili continued on her way with big dark circles under her eyes.
At Youshi, the four of them stared blankly at the surrounding mountains. Late spring and Huanxia had no choice but to take out the map again and study it.