In the empty Horseshoe Lake and the huge Zhuangzi, there were not many people to be seen.
"Si Hu, this is where the lake ice was smashed."
Si Hu, who was standing by the Horseshoe Lake, heard Xu Mu's words and hurriedly picked up a stone. After roaring, he smashed a large hole in the ice.
Xu Mu frowned and asked someone to fetch a long pole. He hooked it in the cold lake water for a while before grabbing a rope.
Not long after, a wooden box wrapped in animal skins was pulled up.
"Brother Mu, what is this?"
"Treasure, and silver armor."
The origin of Hu Kui Silver Armor has not yet been studied clearly, but given the current situation, it can only be taken away first.
"Zhou Zun, take this box to the mountain hunting village, and remember to tell the people in the village that if it is a foreign matter, you must listen to the military advisor."
Xu Mu is not at ease after all if he is not in Zhuangzi.
"Master...if not, I will go with you."
"You can't go." Xu Mu shook his head, taking Si Hu to the limit. Under this situation, the outside of Changyang City was probably heavily guarded.
"Go to Mountain Hunting Village, I will arrive in a while."
Zhou Zun hesitated for a while, knowing his master's temperament. After sighing, he took the last twenty or so riders and galloped out of Horseshoe Lake with a long roar.
"Brother Mu, what are we waiting for?"
"Sharpen the knife."
Si Hu was startled, and he followed Xu Mu's words, took out the chopping knife from its sheath, and sharpened it seriously by the lake.
The clanging sound of sharpening the knife rang for most of the day.
It was not until dusk that dozens of figures stepped coldly into the empty Horseshoe Lake.
Stopping his horse in front of Horseshoe Lake, Li Rucheng raised his head and looked at it seriously for a long time before finally dismounting.
Behind him, a young general, with a flushed face and tears in his eyes, was walking with a wooden box in his arms.
"Brother Mu, your uncle is here to see you."
Xu Mu hurriedly walked out of the house and walked in front of Li Rucheng. He raised his head and saw that there were still bloody stab wounds on Li Rucheng's face.
"Sister-in-law." Li Rucheng sighed far away.
"Xu Mu pays homage to Yuezu."
"No, no, the little Marquis has told me about your matter. Are you really going to go this round?"
"Yue Zu is not afraid at this age, and I have no reason to back down. Don't worry, Yue Zu, Wanwan has already left the inner city."
Li Rucheng was silent for a long time, and then waved.
"Chai Zong, come over here."
Behind him, the young general held the wooden box and walked closer.
"His name is Chai Zong. He was brought out by me single-handedly. He is like a half-adopted son. In the desert of the northwest, he used eight hundred steps and bows to defeat four thousand horse bandits by taking advantage of the terrain."
"From now on, he will follow you."
"Chai Zong has met my lord." The young general said seriously. If he hadn't been holding the wooden box, he would have bowed down to worship him.
Xu Mu was startled. He never expected that Li Rucheng would give such a big gift.
"You can ask Chai Zong about the tiger talisman when the time comes."
Li Rucheng stretched out his hand and took the wooden box from Chai Zong's hand.
"Early this morning, General Yang drank three bowls of guillotine, then picked up his knife alone and went to an uninhabited corner of the camp..."
Li Rucheng couldn't speak anymore, his brows were filled with heaviness.
"Just go ahead, this time it will be up to you. No matter what happens, you must protect yourself."
"The master behind you is really good. I want you to achieve great justice this time. You may become a dragon one day in the future. It's a pity that I can't see it."
Xu Mu silently took the wooden box. It only weighed a human head, but it seemed to be of great weight.
"There are 300,000 yuan worth of treasure, and there are seven or eight cars in total. When the time comes, I will ask someone to help escort them to Changyang. If anyone dares to make any plans on the way, you can kill them with a knife."
"The explanation is over."
Li Rucheng hesitated, thought for a moment and then spoke, "You should have seen the new emperor. I think he is an overly expressive person."
After saying just one sentence, Li Rucheng stopped talking, leaving only a cloud of worry between his brows that never went away.
"Sister-in-law, do you have wine?"
"Si Hu, get some wine."
"Haha, very good!"
When Si Hu fetched the wine jar and bowl, the three of them, including Chai Zong, touched one firmly and drank it all.
"That's awesome!" Li Rucheng raised his hand and hit Xu Mu on the shoulder, then turned around and walked forward with a big smile.
"Boy, remember what you promised me!"
"Don't worry, Yuezu." Xu Mu cupped his hands and watched Li Rucheng and his men disappear on the snowy road.
Xu Mu silently withdrew his gaze. After saying goodbye, it was time to go to their respective places.
"My lord, the carriage with 300,000 taels is in the forest ahead. If my lord wants to leave now, I will prepare it right away."
Chai Zong, who was nearby, suddenly spoke.
Xu Mu turned his head and looked seriously at the young general in front of him, "Chai Zong, let me say it first. If you stay with me, if you fail to gain momentum, it is very likely that-"
"My Lord defeated Di Gou, and the two cities were blocked by hundreds of thousands of people." Chai Zong interrupted calmly.
"This alone is enough. From now on I will follow my lord."
Xu Mu smiled and said, "Very good, Xujiazhuang has another good general."
"Please don't worry, my lord. Chai Zong is willing to follow my lord."
Xu Mu nodded with satisfaction, then suddenly remembered something.
"By the way, Chai Zong, there's no problem with the Eight Thousand Tiger Talisman, right?"
Chai Zong thought for a while, "It's no problem. My lord has the half-faced tiger talisman of the old marquis, so he can mobilize his troops. But it's best to do it after the beginning of spring. During this period, the ground is covered with heavy snow, and the road to the northwest will be even more difficult."
"I understand." Xu Mu breathed out a sigh of relief, took a few steps forward, and called Si Hu over.
"Yue Zu calculated the time and set off now. It is estimated that he will be able to reach Changyang City in the early morning of tomorrow."
The figures of the three cavalrymen rushed forward quickly. Not long after, seven or eight heavy carriages and hundreds of cross-dressing soldiers in the forest began to move immediately under Chai Zong's order.
While galloping, Xu Mu lowered his head from time to time and looked at the wooden box hanging under the sash, feeling mixed emotions for a while.
…
"By God's blessing, the emperor issued an edict. In the eighteenth year of the founding of the Wu Dynasty in the Great Ji Dynasty, the weather was favorable and all the people rejoiced. Outside, Zhao Qingyun, the general who conquered the north, defeated Beidi. Inside, there was Xiao Yuanlu, the prime minister and auxiliary of the state of Lu, who stabilized the country and rejuvenated the country."
"It's the end of the year. I should drink with all my ministers to celebrate our great year."
"Everyone with a noble title and a fifth-rank official is invited to attend the court banquet and enjoy the pleasure of drinking silk and bamboo."
"Appreciate this."
Countless civil and military officials and nobles of all ranks entered the city one after another, and then entered the palace. The additional troops outside Changyang City probably only thought they were there to protect the safety of the palace.
On the royal road outside the Jinluan Palace, Xiao Yuanlu, wrapped in a mink fur robe, raised his head coldly and walked forward. Behind him, there were more than a dozen generals following step by step.
"It's time to sit back and relax in the spring next year."
The dozen or so generals behind him all had smiles on their faces.
There was a young eunuch who was accompanying him, carrying a delicate hand stove, and accidentally slipped. Although he stood up quickly, he was still trembling and bowing, panting.
"Did you fall?" Xiao Yuanlu turned his head and asked with a smile.
"Return, return to Prime Minister, I know my mistake. Please, please forgive me, Prime Minister." The young eunuch suddenly knelt down and kowtowed, and was so shocked that tears flowed down his face.
"In the next life, you should watch more when you walk."
There was a flash of axe, and the little eunuch's head fell to the ground.
…
Outside Changyang City, Xu Mu stopped his horse, raised his head silently, and looked at the exquisite carriages in front of him, one after another, filing in.
There was another official with a fat head and big ears, laughing and holding the gift box, and walked forward together.
"I heard that a few days ago, in order to drive away the beggars in Changyang City, many people were hanged by killing chickens to scare monkeys." Chai Zong said in a deep voice.
No one saw, and no one would raise their head to take a look at the ragged corpses hanging on the tower.