Chapter 246

　In Jinoka City, Saionji Maehisa, who was preparing his troops and looking for an opportunity to counterattack, received a report from his subordinates: someone claimed to be a scout in Minggu City and had important military intelligence to report.

　　As the commander of the Western Army, Saionji Maehisa had deployed many secret sentries in addition to a large number of scouts in other cities. So he was not surprised to see someone coming from Minggu City. However, the middle-aged man in front of him was not one of the secret sentries he sent out. Moreover, this man was from the Central Plains instead of Japan, which made him very curious. So he asked, "Who are you and what important military information do you have?"

　　The middle-aged man An Xinming took out the letter from Zheng Yinglin from his pocket, handed it forward and said, "I am a servant from the Zheng family in Minggu City. This is a letter from my master that he asked me to bring to the general. He said that this is important military information, and the general will understand after reading it."

　　Saionji Maehisa took the letter doubtfully, but after opening it and reading it briefly, he couldn't help but burst out laughing: "Hahahahaha, this is really God helping me!"

　　Abe Hideaki, who was standing by, saw Saionji Maehisa acting like this and couldn't help but ask curiously, "What was written in the letter that made the general so happy?"

　　Saionji Maehisa passed the letter to Abe Hideaki and said, "Master Abe, please read it yourself."

　　Abe Hideaki looked at the letter which was written in Central Plains characters. It roughly stated that Pang Jun judged that his own troops and logistics were not enough to hold out in Minggu City for too long, so he decided to withdraw from Minggu City to Guijin City on the fifth day of the first lunar month, relying on the supplies and defense of Guijin City to resist his angry counterattack. But at the same time, he was reluctant to give up the wealth of the rich and powerful in Minggu City, so he planned to organize the evacuation of the rich first, and then lead his troops to retreat.

　　Saionji Maehisa said: "If he is organizing the wealthy to withdraw their gold, silver and treasures, and we suddenly attack him and catch him off guard, even if he is able to cut off his arm and immediately close the city gates to defend, the baggage and troops outside the city will be in our pockets. In addition, due to the transportation of supplies, he will not have many troops left in the city. At that time, we will be caught in a jar."

　　At this time, An Xinming said, "General Xiyuan Temple, my master said that my family has a secret passage that leads directly from the city to the east and west gates. When the time comes, we can send a small number of elite soldiers or spies to secretly enter through the secret passage, and cooperate with the outside to annihilate Liu Jun in one fell swoop."

　　Abe Hideaki raised his head, squinted his eyes and looked at An Xinming and said, "This is all your one-sided words. Why should we believe what you people from the Central Plains say?"

　　"Master Abe, please look here." Saionji Maehisa interrupted while pointing to a mark on the corner of the letter, "This mark is only for the secret line developed by Kujo Tokuaki. If it is not someone that Kujo Tokuaki trusts very much, there will be no such mark."

　　"But they are from the Central Plains after all. Besides, who knows if he has been controlled by Liu Jun and is spreading false information?"

　　An Xinming replied, "Your Excellency's words make sense, but my master and Liu Jun have an irreconcilable hatred. He was originally the Minister of Personnel of the Jin Dynasty, and was also an important right-hand man of the former crown prince. He had suppressed Liu Jun many times in the past, and Liu Jun had long hated my master. Now he just wants to use my master to persuade the gentry of Minggu City to relocate. After the success, it will be time for my master to put away his bow and arrows."

　　"Is your master Zheng Yinglin?" asked Xiyuanji Zenhisa.

　　"That's right."

　　Saionji Maehisa nodded and said to Abe Hideaki, "If it was Zheng Yinglin, he would have done so, because their former crown prince Yang Zhi was in turmoil, and he was a core member of the crown prince's party. No matter what, no force in the Central Plains can legally tolerate this person. He has only one way to go, not to mention that Lord Kujo also mentioned this person to me at the time."

　　Abe Hideaki nodded imperceptibly and asked, "Since you were able to escape from the city through the secret passage, why didn't you come with your master? Is your master still in Minggu City?"

　　"That's right. My master thinks that if he leaves Minggu City, it will alert Liu Jun. According to Liu Jun's behavior, he will abandon the gentry in Minggu City and leave Minggu and return to Guijin. Once he returns to Guijin, it will not be easy to take revenge on him. So my master will stay in Minggu City to paralyze Liu Jun. If you adults don't believe it, you can send some elite players to follow me back to Minggu City and reach the city through the secret passage. We will know the answer once we ask." An Xinming looked at Abe Hideaki and said.

　　Since An Xinming had said so much, and with Saionji Maehisa's assurance, Abe Hideaki didn't feel comfortable asking any more questions, so he stopped asking questions, and Saionji Maehisa also had someone take An Xinming away to rest.

　　After An Xinming left, Xiyuanji Maehisa said to Abe Hideaki, "Master Abe, if what Zheng Yinglin said is true, Liu Jun will leave Minggu on the fifth day of the first lunar month, and the baggage of those rich families will be almost all sent away from Minggu on the fourth day of the first lunar month, exposed in the wilderness. That is the best time to attack. Whether it is Liu Jun's Liaodong troops or the assets of those rich families, or even Liu Jun's head, we can capture them all. As for the authenticity of this matter itself, as long as we combine it with the news sent back by other spies and verify each other, we can make a judgment."

　　Abe Hideaki agreed and said, "General, you are right. However, it is not difficult to defeat Liu Jun, but to kill him, a master must be present. Today, I have sent a letter to invite Master, Yagyu-kun, Wakayama-sama, and Date-kun to come. In addition to Date-kun who can come to Jingang tomorrow, Master and his team will need some time to get here. It is just right for us to attack on the fourth day of the first lunar month and delay Liu Jun here until Master and his team arrive, and then kill him in one fell swoop!"

　　When Saionji Maehisa heard this, he asked in surprise, "Master Wushen, he is actually going to fight in person this time?"

　　"Both in public and in private, Master will come." Abe Hideaki answered affirmatively, "In public, Master is from Daying. Liu Jun disrupted the wedding of our Crown Prince, snatched our Crown Prince's princess, and slaughtered our Daying soldiers. No matter which one, it is a naked insult to Daying, and it is a crime that cannot be redeemed even if he dies. In private, he even killed people from Jianlu, Sanada-kun, Yoshikawa-kun, and Saito-kun, etc. Although he is devoted to pursuing the pinnacle of martial arts, Master, as the master of Jianlu, cannot watch the tragic death of Jianlu disciples. New and old grudges, family grudges and national grudges, are all settled together!"

　　"Okay, okay," Xiyuanji Zenji couldn't help but be delighted, "If it's the Lord Martial God who takes action personally, then it's a sure win. This kid Liu Jun is definitely doomed! Hahahahahahaha..."

　　That night, Saionji Maehisa and Abe Hideaki finally received a secret report from the Japanese spies still hiding in Minggu Castle: Liu Jun did indeed order Zheng Yinglin to mobilize the wealthy families in Minggu City to migrate to Guijin. Although most of the people in the city were unwilling, they had to succumb to his tyranny under the gleaming swords of the Liaodong Army. As for why Zheng Yinglin was so devoted to Japan, it was because his wife was left by Liu Jun in the city lord's mansion to serve him together with his two daughters. Legend has it that Liu Jun spared Zheng Yinglin's life because of the plea of ​​the mother and her two daughters.

　　After knowing the news, the two of them finally calmed down.

　　On the other hand, after seeing off An Xinming and A Xiu, Zheng Yinglin returned to his study. The butler Zheng Zhong came to him and reported, "Master, A Xiu and the little girl have been sent out of the city to Xinzhou. There is one thing I don't understand. Why does the master value this girl so much? Is there anything special about her?" Zheng Zhong is not only Zheng Yinglin's butler, but his mother is also Zheng Yinglin's wet nurse. The two have been playmates since childhood and have a deep relationship. He is the person Zheng Yinglin trusts the most.

　　Zheng Yinglin did not answer directly, but asked: "Zheng Zhong, do you know the identity of that girl?"

　　Zheng Zhong shook his head.

　　"Her last name is Yang!"

　　"Surname Yang?" Zheng Zhong's face changed drastically after hearing this, and he said in a lost voice, "I saw a jade pendant with the word '寕' written on it. Could it be that her name is Yang Ning? Is she the little princess of the Prince of Wei's mansion who disappeared in the Tianjing Rebellion?!"

　　Zheng Yinglin nodded and said, "That's right. Half a month before the Tianjing Rebellion, I had already noticed the plot of the Crown Prince and the Grand Tutor. I immediately judged that with Your Majesty around, they would definitely not succeed. At most, both sides would suffer losses, and the fisherman would gain the advantage. So we had to find a way to escape and stay away from that vortex. I was thinking, if the Crown Prince fails, who can save my family? If the Crown Prince and Your Majesty both suffer losses, who can save us? After thinking about it, I finally thought of only one person."

　　"Your Highness the Prince of Wei."

　　"That's right. The Prince of Wei has always been very low-key in the court, but he controls the Goshawk Legion, his words carry a lot of weight, and he is kind to others. He attaches great importance to the princess and children at home. If the Prince of Wei owed me a favor at that time, especially to the little princess whom he doted on, he would definitely mediate for me no matter what the result was. So on the day of the Tianjing Rebellion, I asked An Xinming to sneak into the Prince of Wei's mansion and steal the little princess out. After the matter was settled, I would return her to the Prince of Wei in the name of rescuing the princess. As for whether it is true or not, who will go into it?" Zheng Yinglin said.

　　Seeing Zheng Zhong's expression of "I see", Zheng Yinglin said, "But who would have thought that Zhao Wuji, that old man, whom I originally thought was just a warrior, actually harbored evil intentions and dared to collude with the King of Qi and kill the King of Wei, making my plan fail. If Ling Buxu hadn't been still in the court of the Great Jin Dynasty, I'm afraid that old man would have ruled the world long ago."

　　Zheng Zhong asked in confusion, "How do you know it was Zhao Wuji who killed the King of Wei? Isn't he a member of Tianyi Dao?"

　　"Hehe," Zheng Yinglin sneered, "Tianyi Sect? It's nothing more than a scapegoat. In the eyes of discerning people, it's all monkey tricks. Who is Zhao Wuji? He was one of your majesty's most loyal dogs back then. Many private matters were not convenient to be handled by Zhao Wuji, the old dog of Huangji Sect. How could Yang Man have the ability to secretly accept Zhao Wuji for use when your majesty was in his prime? So it can only be that Zhao Wuji chose Yang Man. What do you think is more beneficial, to support a puppet to become a powerful minister and even have the possibility of ascending to the throne, or to continue to be a loyal dog? What's more, I heard that Zhao Wuji was the one who killed Pang Yun's family more than 20 years ago. Don't forget that Pang Yun's wife was the most beloved princess of King Wei."

　　"So Zhao Wuji took action, first killing the King of Wei who was under the protection of the inner guards, and then supporting the ambitious but incompetent Yang Man to take the throne. This not only eliminated the threat posed by the King of Wei, but also enabled him to use the emperor to control the princes. He also did not have to worry about revenge from the King of Wei's wife who would learn the truth of that year. He achieved three goals in one stroke." Zheng Zhong couldn't help but gasp when he said this.

　　"That's right. Princess Yang Ning is the apple of the eye of King Wei and Tang Yuxian's eye. Now Tang Yuxian is married to Liu Jun. Once this plan succeeds, Liaodong will surely be in civil strife. Tang Yuxian is the wife of the Governor-General of Liaodong. If I use the princess to threaten her and ask her to be our insider in Liaodong, then do you think this chess piece is important? Even if Liu Jun doesn't die, he will be severely hurt. When the time comes, we can hide in Liaodong and learn a lot of inside information about Liaodong through Tang Yuxian. Why not?" Zheng Yinglin stroked his beard and smiled.

　　"Master is very thoughtful."

　　"Hahahahahahahaha…"