Chapter 271 Don't move like a mountain

Good things don't go out, and bad things spread thousands of miles.

The bad news of the Dengzhou mutiny instantly spread across the north and south of the Han River like a plague. The people, soldiers and people of Xiang and Deng Erzhou, which are only separated by a river, are like thunder on the ground, and the two sides are in an uproar and panic!

In the peaceful and prosperous times, the land of Jingxiang is not the border military. How can it make people not afraid to be afraid? Since the establishment of the state state in the Tang Dynasty, Jingxiang, located in Shannan Province, has been enjoying peace and infiltrated under the blessings of the prosperous times. The people live and work in peace and do not know how to fight.

It has been nearly 20 years.

Now there is a sudden mutiny overnight. There is going to be a war. The people who were not closed at night are almost ownerless, and the whole city of Xiangyang is full of soldiers and horses. The merchants in the port desperately rushed to grab the goods on the ship and took refuge in the city. The people in the city closed their doors and windows, and there was a scene of doomsday panic, and some people were preparing to move and escape with their families, such as the mosquitoes on the hot pot.

In fact, all this happened in just one day. Less than a few hours after Li Ke and Qin Mubai received the news, the whole situation in Xiangyang was shocked.

Qin Mubai no longer dares to doubt that in today's era without telecommunications and the Internet, people's ability to transmit messages is strong. Dengzhou and Xiangzhou were a hundred miles apart. I just learned about the fast horse flying newspaper, and the people soon knew the news.

If it is at the border of frequent wars, such things will not have much impact; but for the long-standing mainland of Xiangzhou, this sudden mess, the consequences are indeed very serious.

Li Ke and Qin Mubai returned to the Assassin's Mansion. They didn't have time to sit down and talk or negotiate for a moment, and immediately devoted themselves to a series of intense work.

The first task, of course, is to appease the people and strengthen vigilance.

Li Ke quickly called the county magistrates and county magistrates under the rule of Xiangzhou. The officials of the state government solemnly clarified the rumor and stated his position. He would rather die than be with the traitors of Dengzhou. And issued many decrees, ordering officials to appease the people and strengthen public security, enforce the ban on the ban on the river and the land, strictly investigate the population, arrest the rebel spies in Dengzhou against the river, and put an end to rumors and rumors. From now on, the Assassin's Office will show the order list every day to show the determination of the King of Wu, and issue a series of decrees to stabilize the situation in Xiangzhou during the special period. Implement "severe crackdown" and severely punish the villains who take the opportunity to commit a crazy case...

Political affairs have the right to assist Li Ke, but Qin Mubai doesn't have to worry about it. In fact, his burden is no lighter than that of Li Ke.

Dengzhou and Xiangzhou are only separated by one river, holding Hanshui together. Li You raised his army to plot a rebellion, and also framed Li Ke and Qin Mubai to conspire with him. His intentions can be regarded as evil. Qin Mubai knew that his intention was nothing more than two layers. One was to force him and Li Ke to rebel against him and Li Ke, and he was forced to rebel against them. The other was to confuse the audio-visual chaos and make the nearby states and counties panic. He took the opportunity to make profits.

Now it seems that his second goal is about to be achieved. There was thunder on the flat ground of Deng Xiang's two states, and the people fell into an unprecedented panic. These local states and counties in the remote inland usually do not have enough defense preparations for the war. Most of the cities are not strong, and the military government has been fighting for a long time and has little combat experience. If Li You and others take advantage of this chaos to attack some states and counties, it will not be difficult. Moreover, it is impossible to guarantee whether they will suddenly cross the river to Xiangzhou. If the Han River fails, Xiangyang, a port city that does not have a strong city and a thick pool, will face the spear of the rebels naked, which is in danger!

Therefore, Qin Mubai and Li Ke divided their own affairs. Li Ke commanded and dispatched Fu Min and strong governance in the Assassin Mansion. Qin Mubai returned to the military office and let Pang Fei lead 800 Bailang water army to the surface of the Han River at the fastest speed. More than 20 divine fish spacecraft were between the Eight Ghosts Ferry and the military port. A word is arranged on the surface of the river, and the strong bow and hard crossbow are ready. In addition, more than ten cavalry patrolled along the river, strictly guarded day and night, strictly checked pedestrians and businessmen, and guarded against the spies in Dengzhou.

The rest of the government soldiers and horses, soldiers do not take off their armor and horses, wait for the day and night, ready to fight at any time!

Xiangyang has not smelled the smell of beacon fire for 20 years. Douran pulled out his swords and shouted hiss overnight. There was really a little atmosphere of troubled times, which made everyone's nerves tense.

The clear autumn air seems to be freezing.

After spending several hours rectifying and arranging the soldiers and horses, Qin Mubai didn't have time to rest. He took several bodyguards and rushed to the Assassin's Palace, and then discussed the next steps with Li Ke.

When he first received the news, Li Ke could be said to have decided without hesitation and without thinking. At present, he must make a clear position and draw a clear line with Li You. This decision coincided with Qin Mubai, so the two immediately split up. Now, the first step of appeasement and military deployment has been completed.

Next, the two finally have to conspire in detail how to deal with the big trouble across the river.

The four gates of Xiangyang City are under martial law, and the investigation is very strict. Countless people fled from the port into the city, huddled together. Looking around, I queued up directly from the city gate to the riverside, with a vast sea of people and horses. These are all merchants and travelers who come to the port to do business. The sudden change caught them off guard, like a natural disaster. The Assassin's Mansion sent all the government officials, and also recruited hundreds of soldiers from the Wuwang Mansion. They were responsible for the martial law of the city gates and struggled to maintain order. After all, there was no major chaos.

When it was getting dark, the four gates of Xiangyang were finally closed, and finally the people were not blocked out, and all of them were included in the city. However, in this way, the public security pressure in the city increased, and the Assassin's Office had to send many government servants and soldiers to patrol day and night.

When Qin Mubai entered the city, it was dark. After the ban, in addition to the more watchmen, there were only soldiers patrolling on the street. Beigang Flower Street, which sang night and night in the past, also fell into silence, and there was no light.

The horse's hoof of the fire cloud horse stepped on the hard bluestone slate road, making a sound from afar. Today's desolation and killing form a too sharp contrast with the prosperity and tranquility of the past, which makes Qin Mubai feel like a different world, and there is no need to mention the panic of those ordinary people.

Qin Mubai deliberately walked around the door of Wu Meiniang's house and knocked on the door.

"Who?" Inside, there was a cautious and panicked questioning sound.

"Don't be afraid, it's me, Qin Mubai."

"Ah, it's my uncle and the general!" The door shouted in surprise and quickly opened the door.

As soon as Qin Mubai walked in, he saw Wu Mei Niang and a large group of women coming. He asked, "Mu Bai, what's going on?"

Qin Mubai glanced at these people. They were all women who followed Wu Mei Niang from Chang'an to Xiangzhou to open a wine shop to do business. At this time, they were all panicked and anxious, all looking forward to protecting, looking at Qin Mubai eagerly. Only Su Lianqing still scratched the top of her hair indifferently, with a pair of charming eyes looking left and right as if she didn't care about anything.

"Li You rebelled and framed me and the king of Wu. Now that the whole city is under martial law, you can hide at home, but you don't have to be afraid of anything. Qin Mubai said concisely. Then he waved his hand, and several hundred cavalry guards came behind him. Qin Mubai ordered, "You guys, stay here to be on guard. If you take advantage of the chaos and break into the plunder, you will be killed!"

"Yes!" Without saying a word, the guards simply responded neatly.

This word was like giving a shot of stimulants to the women present, and many people immediately smiled and clapped their hands to celebrate.

In times of war, there is nothing more secure than soldiers. Especially a group of women.

"I have a girl here. What are you afraid of!" Su Lianqing said with a smile, "General Qin, you use your power for personal gain and send soldiers to protect your wife."

"What? If you can't even protect your own women, how can you protect others? Qin Mubai sneered and didn't bother to look at her. He only said to Wu Mei Niang, "Mei Niang, don't worry, it will be fine. The clear man is turbid and the turbid man is turbid. Li You just wants to fish in the muddy water. This kind of bad trick can't deceive others.

Wu Mei Niang nodded, and there was still a worried look on her face. She reprimanded the women and said to Qin Mubai in private, "Mubai, although rumors stop at the wise, but... often rumors are the most hurtful. In particular, it is quite unfavorable to come to the ears of suspicious people. You have to take precautions early.

Qin Mubai nodded, and he understood what Wu Mei Niang meant. These rumors must have spread to the capital and entered the emperor's ears sooner or later. The emperor is the most special kind of person in the world. Whether he is a wise man or a fool, whether it is rumors or facts about things like "rebellion", whether he says it or not - the doubts in his heart are difficult to remove.

In short, the emperor's attitude towards rebellion is better to believe in it than to believe it. To put it nicely, it is to prevent Wei Du Jian; to put it to the worse, but there is no king and no doubt!

It is still unknown how the emperor will react when he hears the news. It is also difficult to say how the political enemies in the court who are hostile to the King of Wu and Qin Mubai will fan the flames and add jealousy. In a word, the most troublesome person in the world now is not Li You, who is determined to gamble and die, but Li Ke and Qin Mubai, which are referred to by rumors.

"Oh, Li You plotted a rebellion. I don't know what Gao Yang will think!" Wu Mei Niang seemed to say this sentence inadvertently, but suddenly pierced the nerve in Qin Mubai's heart.

He couldn't help trembling in his heart and thought: At the beginning, Linger went to Beijing with Li You; now Li You has "escaped" and ran to Dengzhou to raise an army and rebel. So where will Linger be?

Although he didn't want that to happen, Qin Mubai estimated that nine out of ten Li You had kidnapped Ling'er to Dengzhou together. Otherwise, how could he get involved with the King of Wu and Qin Mubai in Xiangzhou for no reason? Obviously, there is a card in his hand!

"Mei Niang, take care of yourself. I'll go first." Thinking about this, Qin Mubai was so worried that he hurriedly said goodbye and left.

"Wait a minute--" Wu Mei Niang suddenly stopped him.

"What else?" Qin Mubaixuan asked.

Wu Meiniang came forward, stared up at him, and shook her head: "It's okay. I know that you must be very anxious and worried now. I have never seen such a solemn expression and hurried footsteps. I may not be able to help you at this time, but please remember. No matter what you do, Mei Niang knows you, and Mei Niang will always be with you.

"Uh-huh..." Qin Mubai stared at her and nodded gently. Suddenly, he picked up her face, kissed her red lips deeply, and turned around and strode away without looking back.

Wu Mei Niang gently looked at Qin Mubai's background and muttered: This is a torment between the fathers and brothers of the Li family, and also a test for Gao Yang and Mu Bai. Mu Bai is the most complex character among them. He is not only the emperor's favorite and crony, but also close to Li Ke as a brother. He also loves each other deeply with Gao Yang and has a complicated relationship with Li You. Among these few people, the most difficult to be a person and the most difficult to choose is Mu Bai... Loyalty and love, how can it be perfect?

When I came to the Assassin's House, I saw that there was a bright light here, and the pawns and horses were passing through the officials. In the main hall of the Assassin's Mansion, Li Ke was anxious and his tongue was dry, and he was discussing and arranging various government affairs with a large number of officials.

"General Qin is here! General Qin is coming!"

Seeing Qin Mubai coming, someone shouted in surprise.

Li Ke also raised his eyebrows excitedly: "Please!"

Qin Mubai stepped into the main hall in military uniform. Kong Wu vigorously hugged his fist and bowed: "The last general Qin Mubai, I have seen His Royal Highness the King of Wu!"

There were more than 20 officials present, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief, as if they had eaten reassurance.

"Mu Bai, you are here just in time. There are many things that we can't decide, and you have to make a decision. Li Ke hurriedly waved to Qin Mubai, called him to the assassin's table and gave him several folded books.

Qin Mubai's view is all about how to collect and call grain and grass, open the treasury to call weapons, state and county to arrange armed defense, and urgently recruit government soldiers to prepare for war.

Qin Mubai then expressed his opinion on some proposals for the deployment of food and fodder, decided how to deal with it, and then said, "Your Highness, do you want to rise up at this time?"

Li Ke blinked a few eyes in surprise: "It's time to wait. When can't afford to be a soldier?"

"Ring up against the King of Qi?" Qin Mubai asked with a deep face.

"Of course..." Li Ke took it for granted and looked at Qin Mubai suspiciously, "Don't you agree with me doing this?"

Qin Mubai did not answer directly, but said, "Take a step to talk."

"Okay..." Li Ke entrusted the matter at hand to Quan Wanji and came to the secret room of the study with Qin Mubai.

"What's the matter, Mu Bai? Shouldn't I raise the flag to defy the rebellion now to make a clear confession? As soon as Li Ke sat down, he asked anxiously.

"It is necessary to raise the flag to fight against rebellion, but it is by no means now." Qin Mubai said firmly.

"Why?" Li Ke asked in surprise, "I will live up to Li You, Li You will live up to me. He didn't care about family affection, raised his army to plot a rebellion and framed me of complicity. Shouldn't I fight back and smash rumors with facts to prove my innocence?

"Your Highness, you are too anxious and not calm enough. Just wait for you to calm down, and you will understand that now any state or county can rise up against rebellion, but Xiangzhou can't take the lead. Qin Mubai said.

Li Ke raised his eyebrows in surprise, took a deep breath, and fell into meditation for a long time.

Qin Mubai didn't bother him and let him think about it. He knew that Li Ke's wisdom, especially for politics and mind, was not inferior to himself. It was only because this time, what Li You did was too exciting for him, which made him lose some calm in a moment of anger.

After a long time, Li Ke finally opened his words and said, "So, should I write to my father first, first to clarify the facts, and second, to ask for an expedition?"

"Yes." Qin Mubai nods decisively, "Your Highness is wise. Li You is obsessed with his own way to die, and the ephemer shakes the tree over his ability. His defeat will be sooner or later, and it will be easy for anyone to deal with him. But who will clean it up and how to clean it up is exquisite. First of all, we must take the initiative to dispel the emperor's doubts; secondly, no matter how unbearable Li You is, he is your brother after all. If you don't make your own opinions without asking for help, you will rise up and destroy Li You first. Even if you succeed in the end, you can't escape the scolding of a 'brother wall'. Especially the emperor, he must think that you are eager to attack your brother in order to get rid of yourself. What does this make him think? For example, when you two brothers were a child, you two quarreled. No matter how wrong Li You is, you, as a brother, can beat him to death and tell your father again?

"It makes sense!" Li Ke nodded heavily, but he was a little worried and said, "What if my father doesn't want to listen to me and still won't let me rise up against rebellion?"

"Extectedly, His Majesty will definitely not let you send troops. Li You's rebellion was originally a family misfortune. As a father, how could his Majesty let another son deal with this unworthy son? Even if he wants to clean the door, he will definitely act under the help of others. Qin Mubai said.

"That's right. According to my father's character, he really won't let me raise the flag to fight against Li You and watch our brothers kill each other. This is the last thing he wants to see. How can he take the initiative to arrange it? Li Ke frowned sadly, sighed and said, "Actually, why do I want my brother and Li You to fight against each other? But this time, he made me so cold and disappointed. And if I don't do this, I will be wronged and implicated by him. In addition, it is difficult to guarantee that there are many people in the court who take this opportunity to spread rumors that say that Li Ke also has different intentions. At that time, even if I am innocent, it will be difficult to get rid of it.

"No. In the end, the facts will prove everything. Qin Mubai said with a silent expression.

"How to prove it?" Li Ke said angrily, "I want to start an army, which is not appropriate; if I write a letter and ask for orders, my father will definitely not agree!" Do you want me to sit in Xiangzhou and wait for the gods and Buddhas to come down to wash my grievances for Li Ke?

"You don't need the gods and Buddhas to go down to earth, I, Qin Mubai, can do it." Qin Mubai said calmly.

"You?" Li Ke's eyes widened in surprise, "What can you... do?"

"Retend against the order to rise up!" Qin Mubai said firmly.

"What?" Li Ke was shocked, "You are crazy! You know that your father will not allow me to rise up against the army, but you want to resist the order to rise up. Isn't this a way to die?

"I will be outside, and your life will not be accepted. You are the master of the article, and I am the master of the martial arts. I have the final say about the battle. Qin Mubai said, "The emperor doesn't want to see your brother's wall, but he must be willing to see you prove your innocence. But this kind of thing is useless no matter how you defend it. You can only speak with facts. Therefore, I, Qin, had to resist the order and fight against Li You to kill him, so that we can do it.

"Well..." After listening to Qin Mubai's words, Li Ke's mouth was wide open and his eyes were wide open. He didn't return to the original for a long time. He muttered, "Then if you don't comply with the order, isn't it also a capital crime?"

"Let's talk about it then." Qin Mubai smiled and said calmly.

At this time, he was thinking in his heart: I am against the imperial edict, but I secretly match the emperor's heart. At that time, the achievements and demerits will be worth nothing. Li Shimin will definitely not issue an order. He should really let Li Ke and I fight against Li You. In this way, it shows that he is suspicious and shows that he is short-sighted. And I might as well act "stingy and impatient" and resist this imperial edict and defeat Li You independently. On the contrary, it will set off Li Shimin's heart and keep Junyan for him. Of course, these words can't be said to Li Ke, otherwise it's not a good thing for him to let him know that I am so arrogant.

"Have you really decided?" Li Ke was very worried and asked.

"Yes. There has never been a firmness." Qin Mubai said decisively, "Unsurprisingly, Linger must also be in Li You's hands, so he is so unscrupulous, so blatantly slandered and stolen by us. The most urgent thing we need to do is not how to exterminate Li You and how to clear the charges. Instead, it is not moving to stabilize the situation in Xiangzhou, and then like other neighboring state and county officials, write a letter to ask for orders, and don't be too anxious and special. At present, no one has said that we are anti-thieves and against the party. Our duty is still to protect the people.

"Okay, that's great. It really makes me open up!" Li You patted his forehead several times and said gladly, "That's right. We are not anti-thieves. Rumors are just rumors and will not become facts. We just need to do our own job - to protect the people, that's all! At this time, my father emphasized these two words to us princes more than once. Unexpectedly, when it was really the critical time, I forgot them. On the contrary, you are more thoroughly understood, calmer and wiser than me. Qin Mubai, Uncle Jiangxia is right. You are indeed a rare general of Wang Zuo!"

"It's overreputed." Qin Mubai smiled faintly and said, "Your Highness, Li Jing said in my military book that a good general whotongs the army is as quiet as Mount Tai and moves like a fierce wind and fire. It's not easy to get a blow, and it's the way to use soldiers. Now, there must be many people who are looking forward to us as soon as possible to fight with Li You. They are good-looking and lively, or make other rumors. We are going to start an army. Who knows whether we are going to fight against the rebellion or the rebellion? At the junction of Deng Xiang's two states, there are government soldiers. These generals of the military government, who doesn't want to make a profit by taking advantage of the chaos? Originally, they only aimed at Dengzhou for meritorious service, reward and promotion. Seeing us move, maybe someone will aim at us. At that time, he didn't ask whether we were here to put out the fire or to rob. He first put out the fire and robbed us. What should we do? Explain to them with just a meat mouth, or raise an army to fight back? Explain, since we are the people who take advantage of the fire, they will definitely not listen; counterattack... Well, we will really become traitors!"

Hearing this, Li Ke almost broke out in a cold sweat and muttered, "Yes! Far away, as close as Jingzhou and Anzhou, there are land, soldiers and horses. There is chaos near the state, and it is barely reasonable for them to go to calm down. If we also raise an army, it is really possible for them to treat us as a rebellion according to rumors, so as to ask for merit and reward. This may be the intention of Li You's treachery. He wants to create chaos and force us to take action. Then he confused the chaos of right and wrong, so that he could take the trouble in the chaos.

Yes. The rumor itself is ridiculous. Few people will really believe it, but when it reaches the ears of people with ulterior motives, it will become a weapon that is very threatening to us. Qin Mubai said, "So, people all over the world can now raise troops to fight against rebellion, but Xiangzhou must not move like a mountain!" Your Highness, it's not too late. Take a break immediately and rush to send Chang'an for 600 miles!"

"Okay, please help me grind the ink!"

Without saying a word, Li Ke personally took out the four treasures of the study and wrote a table above. The pen and ink were still fresh, so I handed it to Qin Mubai to have a look.

"Is it appropriate to write it like this?" Li Ke asked.

"Yes." Qin Mubai nodded and said, "If nothing unexpected happens, tomorrow, the emperor of Chang'an will know the news of the Dengzhou rebellion. Your Highness's watch will not arrive in Chang'an until the day after tomorrow at this time at the earliest. That is to say, there is a time difference of one day. At this time, with your majesty's wise and decisive character, he must have reacted and sent the general to raise troops to fight against rebellion. When the imperial edict returns to Xiangzhou, Dengzhou should already have a fight. Therefore, although we are not conscripted or prepared for war, we should also secretly prepare for battle! As soon as the imperial edict arrives, I will immediately lead the people of my house and cross the river to fight against the rebellion!"

"Mu Bai, it's going to be difficult for you again." Li Ke's thick eyebrows tightened, patted Qin Mubai's shoulder, and stared at him and said, "I didn't expect Li You to be so stubborn and make such an extreme move; I didn't expect that Yin Yang was so incompetent that I had dismissed him as a pawn."

Qin Mubai smiled and nodded: "It's quite tricky, but I believe that there will always be a day when it will calm down. Don't blame too much for the Yin Yang thing. Unsurprisingly, Li You was intercepted by Yin Hongzhi. Yin Yang escorted him all the way to the Xuanwu Gate of Daming Palace and was still safe. Who would have expected that Yin Hongzhi was so deliberate and intercepted Li You and Gao Yang in front of Xuanwu Gate? In addition, it must be Yin Hongzhi's plan to spread rumors to us. Although Li You is unbearable, he is not so vicious and sinister, and he is not so old and smart.

"Yes, it's the same as I thought." Li Ke snorted depressedly and said, "This old thief, the hundred-legged insect is dead but not stiff. Only he can enchant Li You like this. At the beginning, Xiangzhou had been busy with the sacrificial ceremony. It was too noisy and chaotic, and we could only act secretly. As a result, it made him a fish that missed the net. Next time... No, there will never be another time! This time, Mu Bai, you must kill this old thief!"

"Uh-huh..." Qin Mubai nodded gently and said secretly: Is the hand blade Yin Hongzhi? I really want to take him off eight pieces. Now, only by cutting the old thief can we clear the suspicions of me and Li Ke.

But the question is, should I kill in front of Ling'er or behind Ling's back? Did you cut off his dog's head with your own hands, or did you kill others to use knives?

......

After that, how should I deal with Linger?