The loyal minister was forced to marry the traitor

Three teams of troops left Beidi Camp one after another, and the generals who stayed behind in Guixi Mansion were inevitably worried.

Bai Yan knew what they were worried about, but they were afraid that Xiao Jiuqin, the only one who could repel Beidi, would die.

"Master Bai, it's impossible to go on like this!" Several people gathered around Bai Yan, Marquis Pingjin had lost contact with them for a long time, and none of the people sent out to investigate came back.

Waiting without any response is too tormenting, not to mention that there is less and less food and grass in Fucheng, the stability of the first two days is like a joke.

"How much food and grass is left in the city, and how long can it last?"

Bai Yan is not proficient in leading troops, but he just heard Xiao Jiuqin say a little about it two days ago.

"Less than three days."

Everyone was silent. It was unknown when Xiao Jiuqin would come back. It was the issue of food and grass that drove them to death first.

"Divide sixty-seven out of ten of the food and grass, and send people to give porridge in the city every day. Only the common people can receive it. The widows, widows, lonely, disabled and sick should be delivered to their hands. No one should be ignored."

"What about the soldiers?" Some people were dissatisfied at the bottom, "The life of the common people is life, so isn't the life of the soldiers not life?!"

"It's all life." Bai Yan looked up at the man, "but you are soldiers, and you are standing here today to save them."

It's not that Bai Yan doesn't care about the soldiers, as a civil servant, he knows how difficult it is for the soldiers, but at this time, the people can't be chaotic, and they can't add more burdens to the soldiers.

"It's enough for you to know how much food and grass is left. Don't tell the common people, and don't let the soldiers know."

"What about Marquis Pingjin?"

"Dial three times a day to inquire about the news, as well as the Beidi camp, which must be monitored all the time, and cannot be ignored."

After arranging everything, Bai Yan wrote a small note and tied it to Songhua's feet, fed it another piece of meat, and gently rubbed Falcon's head: "Songhua, we must find Xiao Jiuqin..."

For the next two days, everything went according to Bai Yan's instructions, but on the second night, when Bai Yan was still in the study, a group of soldiers broke in.

The servants in the mansion could not stop them, but they were kicked over by several kicks.

Bai Yan raised his hand and threw an inkstone at the leader's feet, "Stop!"

"Heh, Mr. Bai has such a great official authority." The man looked sullen, "I'm working hard, you hide here to enjoy the blessings, and those worthless people are also at your disposal. Why, Pingjin is not here, you borrow Shi became the king of the mountain?"

"Look at this house, it's warm and comfortable, but the brothers outside are so cold that they can't even open their bows."

Bai Yan watched the man touch the table and chair with both hands, and nodded, "Master Bai eats delicious food and drinks spicy food all day long, why don't you let the brothers enjoy it too..."

"You are bold!" The servants in the mansion wanted to say something, their faces were full of displeasure, but Bai Yan shook his head.

Bai Yan's "cowardice" undoubtedly fueled the arrogance of this group of soldiers and ruffians. They went to the house separately to find food, while planning to "by the way" search for some treasure.

From the beginning to the end, Bai Yan was sitting in the study, flipping through a stack of ledgers.

The servants in the mansion also listened to him and did not run around, and dealt with their own affairs, except for a young man who was instructed by Bai Yan to go out quietly through the back door.

Not long after, that group of soldiers and ruffians appeared in front of Bai Yan.

"How did you know we were coming, the one in the backyard..." The leader stopped for a while, and then said bravely, "Did you deliberately hide all the property in the mansion, including the treasures, and plan to hide it for yourself? Tibetan……"

"There have been disturbances in the mansion these past few days, don't you know all about it?" Bai Yan flipped through a page of the ledger and wrote a few words, "When the prefect of Guixi fled, he took all the valuables. , if you don’t believe me, you can turn this place upside down to see if I have hidden anything.”

"As for those people in the backyard," Bai Yan raised his head, "Some soldiers were seriously injured, and the military camp is not suitable for recuperating, so I took them into the mansion to recuperate. What's bothering you?"

The group of soldiers and ruffians were dumb, and they didn't know what to say for a moment.

They searched the mansion and found that the backyard was full of wounded soldiers. Besides, the kitchen did not have the delicacies they imagined, but it was the same as the porridge that the people in the city drank every day.

No, even thinner.

It was at this moment that they noticed Bai Yan's slender body. According to the wounded soldiers in the backyard, Bai Yan and the doctor took care of them these two days, and took out all the soft blankets and quilts in his room for them to use. No airs of being an official.

A group of soldiers and ruffians stared wide-eyed and finally didn't know what to say.

"What else is there?" Bai Yan put down the ledger and said lightly.

"Subordinates, subordinates..." Everyone faltered, not knowing where to start. They approached the door aggressively to provoke trouble, but in the end they wished they could run away in despair.

"You guys are fine, but I'm fine." Bai Yan got up, and glanced at the crowd, "Leaving one's post without permission, committing crimes with one's subordinates, forcibly breaking into the mansion, punishing multiple crimes, what do you have to justify?"

He was not domineering, and he looked very indifferent, and his words were not wrong. The group of soldiers and ruffians were stunned for a moment, and slowly lowered their heads, "Your subordinate will plead guilty."

"Okay, go out now and take ten blows with your staff."

"what?!"

"This……"

"What? Do you think the punishment is too heavy?"

"No, no, no." It's simply that this punishment is too light. Compared with Pingjin Hou's strict military discipline, Bai Yan's stick punishment is not a punishment at all.

The crowd left in despair, the servants in the mansion felt lingering fear, and glanced at Bai Yan, "My lord, these soldiers and ruffians usually look like this, why are you so tolerant, isn't that fueling their arrogance?" ?”

"Beidi soldiers are coming to the city, no matter what kind of people they used to be, at this time, they are all a help, and they may play an extremely important role at critical moments."

"So what if I punish them, I am not Marquis of Pingjin after all, so I am not qualified to deal with them."

"Don't forget that Daliang's military generals have always been incompatible with civil officials, so there is no need to add to the trouble at this time."

"My lord is indeed far-sighted."

Bai Yan waved his hand, "Go down, find a way to get rid of the things that can be distributed in the mansion."

"Yes."

After everyone had left, Bai Yan leaned back wearily and exhaled a foul breath. What made him feel more stressed was not the embarrassment of these people, nor Beidi's strange behavior, but Xiao Jiuqin's loss of contact.

The two of them were forced to separate five years ago, and now it's only a short time since they made up their minds that the two of them have become like this again.

Bai Yan sighed: Xiao Jiuqin, you must not have any accidents.

At night, Bai Yan went to the city wall as usual, but this time he was blocked.

"My lord, it's windy at night, and it's snowing again, you'd better go back first, don't hurt yourself." The two stood in front of Bai Yan, blocking the road tightly, Bai Yan glanced at them, " What happened up there?"

"My lord." The two frowned slightly, "Don't make things difficult for us."

"Call Zhang Yunlai." Bai Yan didn't force his way, but he couldn't turn around and go back. He didn't come here all afternoon, so he didn't know what happened here.

"General Zhang is not here, please come back, my lord."

Now it was Bai Yan's turn to frown, "Zhang Yun isn't on top, where did he go?" Leaving his post without authorization is a serious crime, and Bai Yan didn't believe that Zhang Yun was someone who couldn't figure it out.

"My lord, it is true that General Zhang is not up there..." Before he finished speaking, the sound of a gun exploding suddenly came from outside the city.

They were all stunned, but Bai Yan suddenly pushed the two of them away, and hurried up the city wall, he didn't care about anything else, he just stood on the crenel and looked down.

In the dark night, not far from the city, flames shot up into the sky, roars and screams pierced the sky, Bai Yan clenched his fists, "Who told them to leave the city?!"

As soon as Bai Yan opened his mouth, no one dared to respond.

Bai Yan was so angry that his face turned pale, he took a few steps to the side of the drum, took the drumsticks and beat it himself.

Three drum beats, a pause, three more drum beats, a pause...

Everyone saw that another group of troops rushed out from the Beidi barracks. This time, Zhang Yun and the others had no power to fight back. Bai Yan watched one after another fall...

He lowered his hand, and the drumstick in his hand hit the ground heavily, as if hitting everyone's hearts.

"My lord, do you want to save me?" Finally one person spoke.

Bai Yan shook his head, "It's too late..."

Beidi people are obviously a trap specially set for them, just waiting for them to get in and tighten their pockets.

"At dusk, someone spread the news that there was not much food and grass left in the city, and it wouldn't last a day, so some people started making noises... Afterwards, the commotion became bigger and bigger, and General Zhang knew..."

"At this time, some people saw that many Beidi people had withdrawn. After careful calculation, there were not many people left in the Beidi camp. It was the time when the defense was empty, so General Zhang led people out of the city."

"Idiot." Bai Yan gritted his teeth, "Even Beidi people don't have enough food and grass, you insist on going out to grab food, isn't that stupid? What is it?!"

Seeing Zhang Yun and the others being slaughtered, Bai Yan was filled with anger, but he could only be incompetent and furious.

"The people of Beidi are afraid that they were uneasy and kind from the very beginning. They finally reached Guixi Mansion, how could they withdraw all the soldiers and horses..." Bai Yan had told Zhang Yun countless times before that they should not be reckless and not leave the city rashly, but they did to no avail.

"Lord, look!"

Suddenly someone yelled, and Bai Yan walked over a few steps, and saw rows of torches lit by Beidi people, the firelight lit up half of the sky, and Bai Yan slammed his fists on the city wall, "Beast!"

Zhang Yun was still alive, but he was framed on a pile of firewood, surrounded by dying soldiers.

A Beidi man walked out of the crowd, holding a torch in his hand, and shouted in the direction of Bai Yan and the others, "Listen, Daliang people, don't you like to hide in the city, now some idiots have finally come out, so you should take a closer look." Watch how they are burned alive..."

"brute!"

The soldiers on the city wall were filled with righteous indignation, but there was nothing they could do. Watching the Beidi people ignite firewood, they seemed to smell the burning smell from such a long distance. The barbarian grabbed him and strangled him to death.

"Since we are from Daliang..." Zhang Yun, who was tied to the frame, tilted his head, hoarse, and shouted with all his strength, "Never regret it!"

"One day as a Liang soldier, one day will not back down!"

"Why are you afraid of death!"

"Wish to be a Daliang person, willing to be a Daliang soul!"

"Beidi barbarians, you can't even step into the land of Daliang!"

"Even if we die, we are still the souls of the land of Daliang, protect our mountains and rivers!"