turmoil

The fact is exactly as Zhang Jingche expected, the old Huihe king's body and bones are not as bad as it appears, but three months ago, his health condition deteriorated sharply, and he had to retire to the deep palace, and since then he has rarely shown himself in front of the officials , all government affairs are conveyed by the second prince.

Until the old king died suddenly.

"... At the beginning, the second prince kept the news secret, and in the name of the king, he secretly imprisoned the son of Huihe on the charge of 'treason and treason'," the shopkeeper said in a deep voice, "Of course the officials of Huihe didn't believe it. You must meet the old lord and ask for clarification. The second prince will not stop doing anything, but simply charge the ministers who jumped up and stabbed as 'allies', and all of them will be arrested in prison."

Zhang Jingche was leaning on the soft couch, playing with the folding fan in his hand.Mei Ni Ya knelt aside, poured a bowl of milk tea, and respectfully brought it to Zhang Jingche's hand.

"King Huihe is also a hero of the generation. After so many years in charge of the government, he didn't even have a few confidantes left behind?" Zhang Jingche took a sip of milk tea, "The second prince said that the son was treasonous, and those old officials believed it? After all, the son is Prince, as long as you follow the steps, the power will always fall into his hands—the Huihe officials don’t understand such a simple truth, right?”

The shopkeeper smiled wryly: "Master, I don't know that Gaochang City has become the second prince's house of speech. The generals in charge of patrolling the city have long been recruited by Princess Beile. No matter how many Huihe ministers are under the eaves Even if you have doubts, you have to bow your head."

The room fell into silence, and there was a copper drain in the corner, and water droplets occasionally fell, making tiny ripples.Menia said nothing, added a spoonful of spices to the smoker, and separated the open flame with a piece of mica.After a while, the smoke spiraled up, and the huge room was immersed in the faint fragrance of Qingyuan.

"Gaochang City has become the possession of the second prince, but the military power of Huihe is in the hands of General Pei Luo," Zhang Jingche said in a deep voice after a long time, "General Pei Luo is not attached to any prince, but only loyal to the old king. Are you watching?"

The shopkeeper thought for a while: "Three months ago, Kucha suddenly sent troops to the frontier, and General Pei Luo was ordered to lead the army to the north. Right now... I'm afraid I don't know the news of the death of the king."

Zhang Jingche put his fingers together and tapped rhythmically on the table. Menia and the shopkeeper both shut their mouths at the same time, and no one dared to interrupt his thoughts.Seeing the shadow of the sun slanting to the west, Zhang Jingche suddenly raised his head and asked, "Are you ready?"

The shopkeeper couldn't help being stunned for a moment, and saw Mei Niya suddenly raised her head, her veil trembling slightly: "The master means..."

"If the second prince wants to win the military power, he must remove the stumbling block of General Pei Luo," Zhang Jingche said. "If it were me, I would send an assassin to kill him with one blow in the simplest way, and then send out the assassin in the name of the lord." Messenger, it is logical to take over the military power."

Meniya gasped through her teeth: "What does the master mean... Teller will attack General Perot?"

"Tele" is the name of the second prince, which means "bright and splendid" in Huihe language. It can be seen from this that the old lord really has great expectations for this second son who has Beile blood.

It's a pity that he has no eyes and no eyes, and entrusted the wrong person with all his attention.

"If Prince Teller wants to seize military power, this is the simplest and most effective way," Zhang Jingche said unhurriedly, drinking milk tea, "Of course, it's also your opportunity."

Mei Niya has followed Zhang Jingche for many years, and after a moment of contemplation, she has realized: "Master, you want me to come forward to save General Pei Luo and take him for my own use?"

"If you want to sit on the supreme seat, the support of the ministers is just embellished with flowers and brocades, and military power is the most important thing," Zhang Jingche said calmly, "The distinction between men and women in Huihe is not so strict, and it's not like there were no queens before. A precedent... If you can bring General Pei Luo under your command, no one will be able to stop you on your way to the top."

Meniya hesitated: "But this is just the master's guess, if Teller hadn't sent an assassin..."

Zhang Jingche put the tea bowl back on the desk, and said "Ding" with a deep aftertaste: "You can only fish in muddy water, even if Teller doesn't have the intention, can't you muddy the water yourself?"

Menia finally understood his overall plan, and said inwardly, "It's ruthless".

"Teller was aggressive and insane. In order to win the throne, he did not hesitate to kill his father and brother," Zhang Jingche said leisurely, "The only grown-up children of the old lord are the eldest son and the second prince. The other sons are still young...it doesn't matter if they are not young , Teller will naturally clean them up, besides you, is there any better candidate for Pero?"

Mei Niya felt a chill from the bottom of her heart, and looked at Zhang Jingche with more awe.

The head of Jinyiwei planned to set off a storm in Huihe, and at the same time, Dingbian Hou hurried back to the Northwest Camp.On the way back, the group camped and rested near the water source, and the raging bonfire dispersed the night.Yang Fan was still immersed in the madness before parting, and from time to time he showed a smirk of unknown meaning, at this time, Zhuo Jiusi came up to him with the water bag, and poked him with his elbow: "Marshal, why are you being so silly by yourself? "

Yang Fan fiddled with the bonfire with a wooden stick, and sparks like fireflies danced wildly. He rested his chin and muttered, "I'm thinking, it's time to hand over the resignation form to the court."

Zhuo Jiusi was stupefied by Ding Bianhou's magic stroke, and it took him a long time to reach out his hand to touch his forehead in disbelief: "Marshal, you're drunk before you drink? You're so good, what are you talking about?"

Yang Fan knocked off his hand angrily, and said solemnly: "Who is talking crazy? I am serious! Although the sky in the Northwest camp is high and the emperor is far away, I know what those old antiques in the court have said about me these years. Since they don't want to see me, and this Marquis is too lazy to serve them, when the chaos in Huihe is settled and the Silk Road in the Western Regions is on the right track, I will return the seal to the imperial court and find a place far away from the emperor to have fun!"

Zhuo Jiusi looked at him with indescribable eyes: "Marshal, do you want to be happy alone, or live together with Mr. Zhang?"

Yang Fan: "..."

Dingbianhou was unprepared, choked to death by a mouthful of cold water.

Zhuo Jiusi stared at him bitterly: "Marshal, you, you... are you obsessed with sex? You know Mr. Zhang..."

Yang Fan was expressionless: "What happened to him?"

Zhuo Jiusi looked at Yang Fan's expression and dared not say anything.

Marquis Dingbian breathed a sigh of relief, and said in a low voice: "Jiusi, people like us are either shrouded in horse leather or imprisoned for wrongful punishment... Why don't you retreat now and wait for others to hide?"

Zhuo Jiusi restrained his smile, and his complexion gradually became serious.

"...Ming Huang's body is not good. He has been running around all these years, but he hasn't taken good care of him. This time we meet again, I think his complexion is not very good, probably because he hasn't recovered from his lost vitality," Yang Fan said three times a day. I ran out of serious words, and started talking again, "After I hand over the resignation form, I will come to the Western Regions to do a little business. I will be covered by bright bamboo, and I will never be hungry... Come to me when the time comes, and I will introduce you to a few people." A barbarian beauty, hugging left and right, enjoying the blessings of being equal to everyone."

Vice General Zhuo's vague worries were broken up by Yang Houye's incomprehensible stick, and he really didn't want to talk to him.

At this moment, the guards who went to get water hurriedly turned back, before Yang Fan could ask any questions, they knelt down on one knee and hurriedly said: "Commander, there is something wrong with this water, you must not drink it!"

Yang Fan had just filled himself with water, when he heard such a sound, he frowned immediately: "What happened?"

Qin Wei said: "The subordinate just went upstream to fetch water, and saw that the waterside was full of livestock carcasses, many of which were rotten and full of maggots..."

Yang Fan's throat was filled with sour water, and he leaned over to vomit out all the cold water he drank.

The Marquis of Dingbian has been guarding the border for many years, he is used to eating and sleeping in the open, relying on his physical strength, drinking raw water is a common practice.Unexpectedly, if he walked too much at night, he would eventually encounter ghosts. For a moment, he began to regret that he did not follow the instructions of the former commander of Jin Yiwei and pay more attention to his daily diet.

"Where are the dead animals?" Yang Fan stood up suddenly, "Take me to see!"

The livestock carcasses were only two or three miles away from the camp, and before they got close, they already smelled a pungent rancid smell.Yang Fan's stomach bag that had just been vomited out was convulsed again. He covered his nose, took the saber from the guard, turned the dead animal over and over, and inspected it carefully.

"This is not an ordinary livestock, but a war horse!" Yang Fan said in a deep voice, "There is still a distance from the territory of the Beile people, and the war horse will not cross the boundary for no reason, let alone die here for no reason... It can be concluded , someone did it on purpose!"

Zhuo Jiusi was puzzled: "But why did the Beile people do this? Could it be..."

The two looked at each other and thought of the word "plague" at the same time.

Although the Marquis of Dingbian was known as the "God of the Great Yin Army", he was of flesh and blood after all, able to withstand thousands of troops and hide from open and dark arrows, but he also stopped before the "epidemic".Thinking of a certain possibility, he couldn't help changing his face, and his fingers trembled uncontrollably: "My father, who has led the army for decades, also encountered a plague...According to him, no one knew how the epidemic broke out at the time." , By the time I regained my senses, the soldiers had already fallen ill."

It was the first time for Zhuo Jiusi to hear this anecdote, and he couldn't help but be fascinated: "What happened next?"

"...No way, even the military doctors are helpless, so they can only boil some medicinal soup that is better than nothing," Yang Fan said in a deep voice, "In that epidemic, more than ten thousand soldiers fell ill and over a thousand died! More The frightening thing is that the news leaked out somehow, the Beile army suddenly invaded in large numbers, Chen Bing and I headed towards the border..."

Zhuo Jiusi broke out in a cold sweat: "Well, what then?"

Yang Fan's lips were pursed into a straight line, and there was a large shadow on his face. He didn't seem to want to mention this paragraph, but he couldn't help but say: "That time, thanks to Uncle Zhongyong leading the army and rushing for thousands of miles, the crisis in northern Xinjiang was solved. Encircle... Otherwise, once the Beile army breaks through the border defense and penetrates into the hinterland of the Central Plains, the consequences will be disastrous!"

Zhuo Jiusi finally understood why Yang Fan looked solemn. Duan Hongshi, the loyal and brave uncle, was once a pillar of the country, and even called the "Shuangbi in the Army" together with the old Marquis Ding Bian.But his fate is embarrassing - he was labeled as a "collaborator and treason", he was full of loyalty, and he ended in a dismal end.

If the crisis of the past happened again, would there be a second Zhongyong Bo to lead the army to rescue?

"This river originates from the Qilian Mountains, and its downstream happens to flow through Northwest Daying!" Zhuo Jiusi suddenly thought of something, and exclaimed, "If the soldiers drink unboiled water by mistake, won't the tragedy of the past be repeated?"

Yang Fan closed his eyes, then opened them quickly: "Go back to the camp immediately! I will go first with my bodyguards, and you will follow behind with the cavalry! Remember, you must block the news, if anyone leaks the news, you will be killed without mercy!"

This matter has a lot to do with it, Zhuo Jiusi didn't dare to joke, and quickly responded: "Yes, this subordinate takes orders!"

The Marquis of Dingbian acted resolutely, and set off overnight with his own soldiers. After traveling for a day and a night, he finally arrived at the Northwest Camp before the evening of the next day.Liang Yi hurried up to meet him, and before he could speak, he heard Marquis Dingbian say in a deep voice: "Order the whole army, from now on, it is strictly forbidden to drink raw water, and the drinking water must be boiled for drinking! Also, if the upstream river washes down the corpses of livestock , no one is allowed to touch it without authorization, come and report me immediately!"

Liang Yi responded subconsciously, and only after the answer was over did he realize: "Marshal, why?"

Yang Fan walked into the handsome tent, waved his hand to screen away the guards, and seeing no one around, he said in a low voice: "On our way back, we found that the riverside was full of corpses of livestock, which looked as if they had died of illness, and some of them had rotted and grown maggots... "

Liang Yi had followed Lao Ding Bianhou for many years, so he obviously knew the consequences of drinking such water, and he was startled: "How could it be... the commander suspected that someone deliberately framed the Northwest Garrison?"

"It's not doubt, it's certainty!" Yang Fan resolutely said, "Most of those livestock are Beile war horses. They have no wounds on their bodies, and they most likely died of illness... Pushing such corpses of livestock into the river, this person will be punished!"

Knowing the advantages and disadvantages, Liang Yi immediately said: "This subordinate understands... I will go and order the military doctor to prepare the medicinal materials and wormwood for the prevention and treatment of the epidemic, and I will never let the Beile people take advantage of it!"

"The Marquis will personally report this matter to the imperial court." Yang Fan thought for a while and added, "Don't say anything to the soldiers beforehand, so as not to cause panic!"

Liang Yi responded and walked away quickly.

Marquis Ding Bian's reaction was untimely, but it's a pity that the others had no intention of doing mental calculations, so they were finally passive.Two days later, the soldiers in the camp fell ill one after another. Yang Fan and Zhuo Jiusi looked at each other, knowing that the worst had happened.

"...Set up a separate camp and move the sick soldiers in. Except for the military doctors, no one is allowed to contact them in private!" Zhuo Jiusi said sharply, "In addition, the news is strictly sealed, and it is said that these soldiers have a cold. Those who pass on information privately will be dealt with by military law!"

The personal guard wiped his cold sweat and responded repeatedly.

Yang Fan pondered for a moment, then turned to look at the military doctor: "What are the symptoms of the sick soldiers?"

The military doctor is not young, and has suffered for many years in the bitter cold of the border, and his temples have faded.After listening to the question, he wiped his cold sweat and replied: "At first it was chills, cold hands and feet. It's already May, and I'm still wrapped in a quilt, but I can't stop crying. Later, I developed a high fever, and some even covered my body. convulsions, vomiting..."

Zhuo Jiusi lost his voice: "Isn't this malaria?"

"It looks like malaria, but I'm not sure yet!" said the military doctor. "Dozens of soldiers have collapsed, and I'm afraid there will be more in the future... Marshal, this disease will be severe. We don't have enough medicine on hand. Ask the court for help as soon as possible!"

Yang Fan did not hesitate: "Immediately send a letter to the Ganshan Chief Political and History Department, and ask the chief political envoy to help raise the medicine. Call all the good doctors in the nearby towns and start decocting the medicine immediately!"

As he spoke, he tightened the collar of his cloak, and breathed lightly into the palm of his hand.