Including a hint of regret.

People are just so weird. They don't take a breath, they try their best to do whatever they want, they don't care about anything, they don't care about anything, but after a breath passes, they worry about gains and losses.

Of course, Li Twelve Lang was not a weak-willed person. After resting for a while, he regained his energy and was determined to see this matter through to the end.

At the same time, Emperor Cao also began to make arrangements to return. He said it was a return, but it was just a notice.

The only person in the army who was qualified to refute Cao Lin was Duan Wei, the Minister of War. Although Duan Shangshu was surprised and mocked a few times, he did not stop him because as early as in Dongdu, this Duan Shangshu had said that they would attack together.

Hebei Gang's angry words. And judging from his consistent behavior, it seems that he just wants to prompt Cao Lin to send troops, without any specific direction.

Of course, since Uncle Cao Huang, who is already in a desperate situation, has made up his mind, how can he let Duan Wei continue to interfere? If Duan Wei insists on going his own way, he will only be a target for establishing his power.

Half a day later, the troops set off.

Let us also say that Cao Lin went westward this time. When he left the city, he only brought a few hundred riders with Duan Wei. He was originally scheduled to meet Hongnong Zheng Shanye and his 8,000 men along the way. Hedong Han Yingong's men, plus his own adopted son, were also many people.

Among the Taibao, the Seventh Taibao Ji Zeng, who was second only to the top two in cultivation, and Ji Zeng led the 3,000 Tongguan garrison, and then entered Kansai. Naturally, there were also the eldest Taibao Paul Fang, and the second Taibao Xue Liang led Feng Yi's troops.

As well as 20,000 troops stationed in the Western Capital.

Han Yingong has not yet arrived, but Luo Fang and Xue Liang have already led their troops to greet them from the west. So at this time, there are still 20,000 soldiers and horses under Cao Huangshu, including two Chengdan masters and seven Ningdan masters.

...Three of them are basically non-military personnel brought from Dongdu.

The troops are marching eastward, especially within the Dongdu area. There are countless warehouses along the way and the roads are wide. Especially when the troops take the initiative to drop their baggage, it travels seventy or eighty miles a day. The speed is scary. It is estimated that they can reach Luoyang in three or four days.

.

On the twelfth day of the first lunar month, when he arrived in Shaanxi County, Li Qingchen further proposed that in order to avoid alerting the enemy and being known to the spies, he should not enter the eastern capital but go straight to Luokou, where he would rely on warehouse supplies and then cross the river to go north. But he himself could go first.

Entering the Eastern Capital, take Song Changsheng and Qu Tuda out together in the name of a surprise attack by the defense forces. At the same time, they take out their weapons and wait at Luokou in advance.

Cao Lin did not hesitate and immediately wrote an order, asking Li Qingchen to find Su Wei, the Prime Minister of the Eastern Capital City, while doing this. On the one hand, he informed the nobles in the city that he was about to return to aid, in order to reassure the people and also to deal with the spies in the city.

To confuse; on the other hand, Su Wei was asked to assist Li Qingchen in the name of defending the river bank and Sishui Pass, trying to gather the experts in the city's bureaucracy to gather enough combat power.

After all, although the Grand Master is unparalleled in power, he must also consider the gang's growing strength, and going to Hebei will inevitably lead to a big battle.

Li Qingchen naturally accepted the order and left.

Cao Lin turned back in a big way and couldn't go anywhere else. However, Hedong Han Yingong noticed it immediately, and then thought about it for a while, but found nothing. He could only send a message to Taiyuan Pegasus while leaving the military camp in person, heading south near Chi Chi.

Coming uphill.

There is no other way. At this time, he can only feel at ease if he finds another great master.

Unexpectedly, this time Old Master Zhang actually summoned the other party.

"I should be going to Hebei." Mr. Zhang has been in good spirits recently and is very kind. "Previously, Li Twelfang, the ambassador of Yecheng Palace, escaped from Hebei and was going to Tongguan to find Cao Zhongcheng to deal with the gang in Hebei. He asked me specifically when passing by Nanpo.

Regarding the situation in Hebei, the Gang, Zhang Xing, and his attitude towards Cao Zhongcheng, he left after I told him... Didn't Li Twelve Lang go to find you?"

Han Yingong shook his head blankly.

Zhang Bofeng nodded, not taking it seriously: "It doesn't matter, it seems like he succeeded anyway... The gang didn't even know what earth-shattering thing they had done, and the whole world was swept up in Hebei."

Han Yingong hesitated for a moment and then asked seriously: "So, Zhang Shibo, have I escaped this fate?"

Zhang Bofeng was stunned for a moment, smiled, and then shook his head: "It's hard to say... because I'm planning to leave Nanpo and go out for a walk. You hope that you can avoid any great master by staying here, but you won't be able to do it soon."

Han Yingong was stunned for a moment and continued to ask: "When will Shibo leave?"

"Right away... tomorrow morning at the latest." Zhang Bofeng nodded, suddenly lost in thought. "It's been a long time since I went out. I hope this trip will be worthwhile."

Han Yingong was at a loss, but when he saw the other party looking at the sunshine outside the door, he did not dare to say anything more.

Another day later, Master Zhang left the south slope quietly. The day before, Han Yingong had just left the south slope, and without hesitation, he led his army directly to the north and headed for Taiyuan - two great masters

The activation made him completely afraid.

At this time, Taiyuan was already in an uproar, because the British Duke, who had always been sitting quietly, suddenly acted forcefully and his voice became loud.

On the 13th day of the first lunar month, the British Duke specially hosted a banquet for military officials, famous people, spiritual masters, literary and legal practitioners in Taiyuan. Everyone knew it well, or was uneasy, or eager to try, and swarmed over.

to.

Interestingly, until this day, the British Duke still did not invade the Taiyuan Palace near Chichi. Instead, he held a banquet in the slightly cramped lobby of the British Duke's palace.

There were dozens of dignitaries present, as well as close followers of the British prince. Nearly a hundred people arrived in advance in the afternoon, or even as early as noon, and gathered together. The hall also left early to provide banquet drinks... Of course, no one cared about the food and beverages.

, everyone was talking a lot, either about the situation in Guanxi, or about the situation in Hebei, or about local rumors, so-called whispering, haranguing, arguing and testing, and so on.

"The prince is here! All three princes are here!"

The people in the room were talking a lot. Suddenly, three people came straight from the door, but they arrived in a hurry. However, after everyone saw the person clearly, no one was surprised. Instead, everyone was solemn, and even stood up to greet them.

.

He is known as the "three princes", "Huai Du Gong, Huai Tong Gong and Huai Ji Gong".

It turned out that the visitor was none other than the current representative of the Wang family, the largest family in Taiyuan, namely the three Wang brothers, Wang Huaidu, Wang Huaitong and Wang Huaiji.

Among them, although Wang Huaidu is the eldest, he just escaped from the city after being captured by the army and abandoned his identity as the governor of Ji County, which makes people feel despised; while the third oldest Wang Huaiji disappeared for many years and returned, although it is said that he has been visualizing a precious mirror. , it is estimated that they are close to becoming a master, but it is only a rumor and cannot be confirmed, and their words and gestures are cringe-worthy and crazy, which makes people can’t help but laugh at them behind their backs... However, that is behind their backs and in their hearts. On the surface, no one dares to laugh at them. No one is rude, no matter whether he is a close confidant of the British public who holds financial and military power, or a high-ranking family member such as the Zhang family in Hedong, the Li family in Longxi, and the Bai family, or a famous scholar or master of spiritual practice. Any disrespect.

Because, among the three people, there is also Wang Huaitong, the second oldest.

That's right, this is Master Zhang's favorite disciple, the master of Wei Xuanding, and everyone in Taiyuan knows that he is a great master who entered the country the year before last.

Moreover, he imitated Master Nanpo early on. After serving as an official in the imperial court and handing in his certificate, he settled down to teach in Taiyuan. For decades, although he was not as good as Zhang Gong, he still had disciples all over Shanxi. , Hebei, and don’t forget that he was originally a student of Master Zhang, the kind who inherited his legacy in a serious manner, so Master Zhang’s students must also respect him.

In fact, even if you ask Wei Xuanding to come, no matter how cynical he is, he will still bow his hands and bow honestly.

After a brief exchange of greetings, the three of them sat directly in the front row seats as expected. Then Wang Huaidu smoothed things over: "What were you guys talking about just now? Just say it now."

Unexpectedly, the British duke had not yet come out. Once Wang Huaitong arrived, the others couldn't help but be curious. One person even said directly: "To be honest with you three, we have been discussing that the thief situation is serious at the moment. The morale of the Hebei thief army has risen sharply. The Western Wu tribe moved south in a large scale, and our Jin region was alone, while the British Duke... And if we want to use the power of Jin region to restore peace to the world, should we advance first... To stabilize Guanxi first, or to stabilize Hebei? In the past, everyone I thought we should go to Kansai first, but when the Hebei gang came in and their prestige increased, everyone was uneasy. May I ask what the three princes think?"

Wang Huaidu was a little embarrassed and didn't know what to say.

Wang Huaiji even hugged the mirror and cowered in silence.

Wang Huaitong, on the other hand, sat still, twirling his beard and raising his voice to respond:

"The place is definitely Kansai which is more important. We must take Kansai first, but before taking Kansai we must attack Hebei, otherwise the gang will be in serious trouble."

"Take Guanxi and attack Hebei?" the person who asked the question repeated.

"That's exactly what I mean." Wang Huaitong explained without hesitation. "There is no need to say more about taking Guanxi, but the gang is indeed a close friend. I originally thought that Zhang San was just a puppet from the North, a so-called villain who knows how to take advantage of the situation. , they are not really heroes, but these days, I gradually realize that they know grammar first, know the system secondly, know the advantages and disadvantages thirdly, have courageous strategies fourthly, and travel as soon as they have established their words, even though they are stumbling and incomplete. It’s not complete, but in the end, he is taking every step and gradually getting the climate... He behaves like this, and he is already a serious hero."

"What about serious heroes?" Some people couldn't hold it back.

"It is ordinary for a serious hero to obtain the land of Hebei in the east and reestablish the regulations of the Eastern Qi." Wang Huaitong's words were still simple. "But to obtain the regulations of the Eastern Qi is to become the life-or-death enemy of Guanlong, that's all!"

Regardless of whether they agreed or not, everyone nodded in agreement... However, there were still many opponents, and most of them felt that Wang Huaitong was covering up for his brother's escape.

"However, this is just the opinion of my family." Wang Huaitong continued to twist his beard. "Where the power of Jin is used depends on the British Duke's original intention."

Everyone nodded again.

At this point, Wang Huaitong stopped talking and just closed his eyes to rest.

Seeing this, the others continued to make noise.

However, the Wang brothers came almost at the scheduled time, so after Wang Laoer shut up, within half a stick of incense, he suddenly heard the sound of a gong in the corridor behind the hall, and the whole hall fell silent, and everyone

Grandmaster Wang Huaitong and others stood up and stood in awe.

Since attending this banquet, I have already made my attitude clear.

And sure enough, within a moment, two Cheng Dan, two Dan Dan generals in full armor and stomach, leading seventy or eighty soldiers who were both masters of the Qijing, came in with their swords in hand, and quickly took control of the already very crowded lobby.

And everyone could see clearly that the four people were the Bai family's in-laws, Dou Qi, the former first-guard general who had been dismissed for crimes in his early years, and Dou Shangzhi, the head of the Dou family; they were also the Bai family's in-laws, and the former secretary left the team after being defeated in three campaigns.

The former Forbidden Army general Ying Yanglang, the "fugitive" Sun Shunde; and Liu Yangji, who went into hiding after the Second Expedition, but moved to Taiyuan when Bai Hengqiu later surrendered; plus Bai Liben, a descendant of the Bai family.

Regarding these four people, those who don't know the nature of the lake, but those who know some inside information, know that these four are the commanders of Bai Hengqiu who recruited soldiers in Taiyuan on his own to "prevent thieves", and also recruited soldiers from various counties and elected them as field soldiers.

He is a direct subordinate of the British Duke who is making military preparations in Taiyuan.

In comparison, many of the captains in various counties and generals in various prefectures were actually quite skilled in martial arts, but they failed to gain such trust.

The four of them stood still with the monks. After a moment, they saw the British Duke entering in a broad robe with long sleeves, wearing an ordinary warrior crown and a long sword. Behind him was his "friend", the nephew of the great master Zhang Bofeng.

Fenyang Palace Ambassador Zhang Shijing.

When they came to the hall, Zhang Shijing Mingzhi stopped at the side, while the British Gongbai Hengqiu went straight to the middle, turned around and stood upright.

Everyone raised their hands together and said: "British police."

When Bai Hengqiu heard this, he just raised his voice and replied: "I also wish you all well."

After hearing this, everyone withdrew their hands one after another and prepared to sit down. However, they were surprised to find that the British Duke himself was still standing still. He just looked around at everyone. Everyone was helpless. Even those who had already sat down jumped up and stood up again.

.

When everyone stood still, there was silence in the hall. At this time, Bai Hengqiu spoke boldly: "Everyone, I read a monstrous talk a few years ago, and some people actually said that he wanted to 'depose' him to make the best use of the world.

Isn’t it ridiculous?!”

A person like Wang Huaitong, who was able to stand upright, just kept silent, but other people in the hall naturally responded one after another, saying that it was ridiculous.

Bai Hengqiu finally laughed: "Why is it ridiculous?"

It was difficult to answer this. Wang Huaitong might have been able to answer, but he didn't. Therefore, the hall was quiet for a while.
To be continued...