Fire Captain

When Bai Ziyang was discussing with Yan Xun, Chu Qiao had many questions but did not interrupt. When the two came out, Chu Qiao asked, "How do you plan to subdue the Xiu Li Army?"

Bai Ziyang smiled slightly. Chu Qiao saw Bai Ziyang's smile and suddenly had a bad feeling. Sure enough, she heard Bai Ziyang say, "It's not about my plan, but about your plan."

Chu Qiao stared in surprise, "Me? Why me?"

Bai Ziyang thought for a moment and said, "That's a good question! ... You'll know when the time comes!"

Chu Qiao: “…………”

After returning to the villa, Bai Ziyang sent a pigeon to inform Zhen Ping who was nearby to come as soon as possible. After releasing the pigeon, he saw Chu Qiao coming up and asked, "What's wrong? Have you figured out what to do?"

Chu Qiao asked: "Who is the current leader of the Xiu Li Army?"

Bai Ziyang said: "I knew you were going to ask. The backbone of the Xiu Li Army is a man named He Xiao. The Xiu Li Army is now considered a surrendered army in the eyes of the Wei Army and a rebel army in the eyes of the Yanbei Army. They are in a bad situation on both sides, so they are in a very bad situation. They urgently need someone to rescue them..."

Chu Qiao asked: "So...what kind of person is He Xiao?"

"As a person... he should be loyal and brave, upright and strong... take a look for yourself!" Bai Ziyang said as he took out a piece of paper from a stack of papers and handed it to Chu Qiao.

Chu Qiao took it and saw that in addition to He Xiao, there was also information about several other generals of the Xiu Li Army, so she couldn't help but read it carefully.

Two days later, Zhen Ping arrived exhausted and said when he saw Bai Ziyang, "Young Master Bai!" He had received a notice from Mei Changsu early in the morning that everyone in the Jiangzuo League had to obey Bai Ziyang's orders.

Bai Ziyang immediately asked: "How many good fighters are there in the Jiangzuo League now?"

Zhen Ping said: "There are currently 200 first-class masters, and the rest are slightly inferior in skills..."

Bai Ziyang said: "Nothing, that's enough. Urgently dispatch these 200 people to the capital secretly within five days. Do not alert anyone!"

Zhen Ping accepted the order and said, "Yes!"

Chu Qiao went to the Cavalry Camp at night, found a big rock in the woods outside the camp, sat on it, took out a 筚篥, and started playing. While playing, she said to herself, this thing is really hard to play.

Chu Qiao has learned many things, but she has never had the time to concentrate on learning musical instruments, so she has been intensively learning how to play the 筚篠 in the past two days.

Chu Qiao had been playing the instrument attentively for a while when she heard footsteps behind her. She pretended not to notice anything and the footsteps stopped not far behind her.

After Chu Qiao finished playing a piece, she suddenly said while playing the 筚篯 in her hand: "It's so late, Commander He is still awake?"

The person who came was He Xiao, and he immediately asked, "May I know who you are?"

Chu Qiao did not answer him, but asked: "Do all the people in Yanbei like to play the 筚篯?"

He Xiao said with a slightly excited tone: "What are you talking about...?"

Chu Qiao said: "Prince Yan!"

He Xiao said: "No wonder... the bixiao is a military instrument! My father taught me how to play the bixiao..."

He Xiao walked up to Chu Qiao and saw the flute in her hand. He couldn't help but ask, "Is this the flute of Prince Yan?"

Chu Qiao looked down and saw that this bixiao was indeed taken from Yan Xun. That day, Chu Qiao wanted something that would allow the Xiu Li Army to know her identity at a glance, so Yan Xun gave her this and said that this bixiao bore the mark of the Yan family, and anyone from Yanbei would be able to tell at a glance.

Chu Qiao lowered her head and played with the flute in her hand. After a moment, she said, "Do you still recognize Commander He?"

He Xiao said: "Shouldn't I recognize it?"

Chu Qiao asked, "Your home is in Yanbei, so... you haven't been back for more than two years, right?"

He Xiao said without hesitation: "Two years, eight months and twenty-one days!"

Chu Qiao pursed her lips and nodded when she heard that.

He Xiao suddenly sighed and said, "I'm afraid even if I want to go back now, I don't know where to go..."

Chu Qiao said: "Of course I'm going back to Yanbei, back to your father!"

He Xiao was puzzled by Chu Qiao's words and said self-deprecatingly, "Go back? Where to go? Who would want a traitor?"

Chu Qiao asked with a smile: "Do you think traitors are shameful?"

He Xiao laughed at himself and said, "Unforgivable crimes!"

Chu Qiao chuckled, and although her smile was as beautiful as a flower, she asked, "Then why don't you just die? Your former subordinate had already crashed into a wall and died on Xiuli Mountain, but what about you? Why are you still alive?"

He Xiao looked troubled as if he had thought of something, and said, "Do you think I don't want to? But if I die, what will happen to the Xiu Li Army? They have been loyal to me and have been loyal to me. Now they are inexplicably labeled as traitors. If I die, who will protect them?"

Chu Qiao looked straight into He Xiao's eyes for a long time without moving, then sneered: "As a traitor, are you thinking too much?"

Chu Qiao's words seemed to have directly exposed He Xiao's disguise. He lowered his head when he heard it, then raised his head again and looked at Chu Qiao with hope and asked, "Do you believe me? I know you definitely didn't come here by accident today... Does this mean that His Royal Highness may also believe us?"

Chu Qiao said, "He?..." She couldn't help but think of Yan Xun's ugly face when he mentioned Xiu Lijun that day. She couldn't help but feel sorry for Xiu Lijun and said evasively, "He is in a tiger's den, his family is broken up, and he himself doesn't know how long he can live. Does it matter whether he believes in you or not?"

It was already late at night when Chu Qiao returned to the villa. When she returned to her room, she saw Bai Ziyang sitting at the table, lying on the table with a bored look on his face. She couldn't help but ask, "Are you still awake?"

Bai Ziyang sat up and asked, "I can't sleep!"

Chu Qiao said helplessly: "Then next time you can't sleep, can you stay in your own room..."

Bai Ziyang chuckled and changed the subject, asking, "Did you meet He Xiao? How was it?"

Chu Qiao said: "It's stupid... They were labeled as traitors for nothing... Although I sympathize with their plight, I don't approve of their behavior. In the final analysis, are they enduring the burden or living in disgrace? The line is very blurred..."

In the next few days, Chu Qiao planned to get close to He Xiao again, and asked Yan Xun to cooperate and meet He Xiao together, as a token of acceptance of his surrender. Although Yan Xun was very reluctant, he finally agreed.

In the past few days, Bai Ziyang has relied on his superb skills to appear and disappear mysteriously in and outside the capital to investigate the deployment of military camps and drew a detailed deployment map.

On this day, when Bai Ziyang and Chu Qiao were studying the defense situation in the city, Zhen Ping came to report: "Master Bai, 200 good soldiers from the Jiangzuo League have gathered and are ready to obey your orders at any time."

Bai Ziyang said happily, "Okay!" He looked at Chu Qiao and they both agreed. Bai Ziyang then said, "If Yan Xun starts a rebellion, Chang'an will be in chaos. Although there are few people on the streets during the time we chose, there may be people who take advantage of the situation to rob. Zhen Ping, you divide the 100 brothers into two teams. One team will ambush in various places in the capital. Anyone who takes the opportunity to cause chaos will be killed without mercy. The other team will be mainly responsible for intercepting the pursuing soldiers in the city. At that time, everything will be under the command of Miss Chu Qiao... The others will occupy the four city gates, and the rest will follow me out of the city to disrupt and prevent the people who set up camps outside the city from entering the city! Let all the brothers have a good rest and follow my orders in five days!"

Zhen Ping said: "Yes! Sir!"

Bai Ziyang asked, "Is there any news from Daliang?"

Zhen Ping said, "I just received a pigeon message from Li Gang. The sect master and his men will soon arrive at the Dayu battlefield, with less than a day's journey left. As for Princess Nihuang, as soon as she returns to the southern border battlefield, the Nanchu side will immediately withdraw 30 miles and keep their troops still!"

Bai Ziyang laughed and said, "Nan Chu is just so brave... Look at Sister Nihuang, she is so powerful that she can defeat 100,000 soldiers by herself!"

After Zhen Ping went down to make the arrangements, Bai Ziyang said to Chu Qiao, "You will be the only one left in the city, is that okay?"

Chu Qiao smiled and said, "Why not? Don't worry! It's just a small test."

Bai Ziyang thought it was okay and laughed. Then he went to Yingge Courtyard and told Yan Xun that five days later would be an auspicious day for rebellion.

Yan Xun: …………

After Bai Ziyang left, Zhong Yu came to Yan Xun and said, "Prince, can this man be trusted? Wouldn't it be too hasty to start the rebellion in five days? Besides, our manpower has not been deployed yet..."

Yan Xun looked towards the Imperial City and said, "Now the arrow is on the string. Even if the timing is not right, we don't have time to make arrangements... Fortunately, we still have some manpower in the capital in the past two years. Even without them, we should still be able to fight... Don't worry!"

Five days later in the morning, the people of Chang'an seemed to have just woken up, and the soldiers guarding the city had just opened the city gates. Everything was the same as usual... Only the gate of the usually quiet Yingge Courtyard suddenly opened wide today, and Yan Xun, dressed in shiny armor and holding a sword, walked out of the gate. His expression was no longer as calm as before, and he looked like a wolf that had been hungry for a long time and was eager for blood.

The guards outside the courtyard immediately surrounded him, holding their weapons and shouting, "Yan Xun, what are you doing? You are not allowed to leave the palace without the emperor's order!"

Yan Xun looked at the Wei soldiers in front of him with a stern face and said, "The Wei Emperor is incompetent and cannot distinguish between loyalty and treachery. He has forgotten the piles of bones outside Beishuo City and the oaths he made with my Yanbei Dingbei Marquis Mansion for many years. He has betrayed his faith and killed loyal people. The entire Dingbei Marquis Mansion has been wronged, and the people of Yanbei have suffered. This hatred and hatred are irreconcilable with me. Today, I, Yan Xun, swear here that I will avenge this even if the mountains and rivers collapse and blood splatters into ashes. Go tell your emperor that today, I, Yan Xun, will rebel!" After saying that, he suddenly drew his sword and swung it at the Wei soldiers beside him. The Wei soldiers beside Yan Xun fell to the ground and died with blood splattered three feet. At the same time, many soldiers rushed out from all sides, and the leader was He Xiao of the Xiuli Army.

"He Xiao! As a member of the Cavalry Battalion of the Great Wei, are you going to rebel?"

He Xiao raised his sword and said, "Yanbei! Xiuli Army! Here!" After that, he swung his sword, and the Xiuli Army behind him immediately rushed towards the guards of Yingge Courtyard. Upon seeing this, some of the guards immediately escaped and reported the news to the defenders in the city.

At this time, a voice came from the morning court of the Great Wei: "Report! There is a fire in the emperor's palace, the fire is huge..."

"Report! Your Majesty, a large number of assassins suddenly appeared in the palace..."

"Report! ... Your Majesty... Yan Xun! Rebellion!"