The Great Wei Music Bureau

Chapter 234: Thunderclouds (Part )

Last time, we talked about how Xiao Yonghong was bewitched by Zhang Hongchen again and set off for Jiankang. So how will the story develop next? Let's read on.

After Li Yi settled the wages with Zhang Hongchen, he held his waist and leaned against the wall and left the courtyard. He walked slowly and the sword case behind him felt too heavy. One could imagine how much hard work he had put in.

Let's let Mr. Li slowly hurry along in the progress bar. We switch the camera to Jiankang City. A continuous black cloud is floating from the north, and it feels like the black cloud is pressing down on the city and is about to destroy people. One after another, the urgent military reports were delivered to Xiao Yongming's desk, and he was so anxious that he hadn't slept well for two days.

"Report! Urgent news from Jingzhou within 800 miles!"

The chief eunuch, Eunuch Xu, opened the military report and handed it to Xiao Yongming. After the latter opened it, he threw the report to the ground and shouted, "What does this kid Tuoba Jun want to do! It's not enough that the 60,000 Dingnan troops are gathering at the border. He has also mobilized 200 fast ships and 10,000 elite naval forces in Xiangfan. Is he planning to launch a surprise attack on Jiankang? With just these 10,000 people? Do you think my Jingzhou navy is just for show?!"

Go, tell the King of Xiangyang to block the waterway and keep a close eye on this navy. If they dare to sail out of the water fort, they must be intercepted in Jiangxia and never allowed to reach the lower reaches of the Yangtze River!

Also tell King Shouyang that if the Wei army invades, don't care about the gain or loss of a city or a place, block them between the Huai River and the Yangtze River, and then annihilate them completely!

Go and call the Crown Prince, Shen Yue, Zong Ji, and Zong Gang!"

"Report! King Shouyang's urgent military report!"

"What's wrong? Xu Ming, read!"

Eunuch Xu opened the military report and said in surprise, "Your Majesty, the King of Shouyang said that Dugu Long of the Northern Wei Dynasty led the Black Armor Battalion to Fuyang. They were all heavily armored soldiers equipped with new armor, and there were about 5,000 of them!"

"What? Why is Dugu Long here? And he's bringing heavily armored soldiers with him?" Xiao Yongming pondered for a moment, then said sternly, "Go call Liu Hong back and tell those clans that the Wei army is approaching. If they dare to cause trouble again, I will not let them off easily!"

Xu Ming took the order and left. After delivering the emperor's instructions, he saw three guards coming. After whispering, Eunuch Xu stretched out his hand to signal the guards to wait for a moment while he went to report.

Back in the imperial study, Eunuch Xu walked over to Xiao Yongming and whispered, "Your Majesty, two of the guards sent to the Northern Wei have escaped and returned. They also intercepted a secret letter from the Northern Wei Emperor Tuoba Jun to the Dingnan Army's commander Nangong Guan, saying that they would present it to Your Majesty in person."

Xiao Yongming showed a hint of surprise in his eyes, and then waved his hand. Eunuch Xu dismissed the maids and eunuchs on duty, and summoned three guards to meet him. After the ceremony, Xiao Yongming asked them directly what happened in the Northern Wei Dynasty. These two people were both anti-Liang factions, so they naturally set up a trap with Tao Zhongwen to frame Shen Yue.

The two men reported that they had initially acted according to their original plan, but just before the action, Li Yi's family suddenly said they wanted to go for a trip to the southern suburbs of Shangjing, but in fact they had already packed their luggage and planned to escape.

Xiao Yongming asked: "Since Li Yi's family was planning to escape, why did you take action without authorization to kill them? Shouldn't you protect them secretly and escort them all the way to Jiankang?" The two looked at each other and said nothing.

The commander of the Guards beside him said sternly: "The first priority of the Guards is to be loyal to the emperor! In front of His Majesty, is there anything you can't say directly?"

Xiao Yongming glanced at the leader of the guards and asked, "Why, do the two of them have something to hide? Humph, well, now my guards won't tell me the truth! Fine! Since they don't dare to say it, then drag them out and chop them off! Bring it all to the underworld, and you two can talk slowly! Someone, come on!"

"Your Majesty! We speak, we speak!"

Eunuch Xu waved away the soldiers of the Imperial Guard and said to the two guards: "If you have anything to say, just speak up. His Majesty will never embarrass you. But if you don't say it, or lie, think about your family!"

The two men kowtowed repeatedly, and one of them said, "Your Majesty, before we went to Northern Wei, Lord Shen specifically told us that Li Yi's family must not leave Northern Wei under any circumstances."

Xiao Yongming was surprised and asked, "Did Shen Yue say that?"

The two nodded repeatedly, and the other said, "Lord Shen said that we must make Li Yi hate the Northern Wei, so that he can work for us Daliang with peace of mind, so we must not let his family live no matter what. Let us kill them at all costs, and then find a way to put the blame on the Wei people."

"That's right, but because it happened suddenly, we were not prepared enough, and the Wei people seemed to be on guard. As soon as we took action, we were surrounded by the guards. Except for the two of us, the rest of the brothers were either killed in the battle or captured."

"We fled all the way south until we encountered the Northern Wei Dingnan Army gathering and passing through the border at the bank of the Huai River. Only then did we escape pursuit."

Xiao Yongming asked, "You said before that you intercepted a secret letter? Why didn't you present it?"

Youwei immediately took out the secret letter tube, with the seal and stamp on it still there. Eunuch Xu took the secret letter tube, checked it, opened it in front of everyone, took out the secret letter and handed it to Xiao Yongming.

After reading the letter, Xiao Yongming put it aside and waved his hand, saying: "Remember, you guards are my minions and spies, not Shen Yue's private army! I just let him be in charge of the guards. Your first priority is to be loyal to the emperor, understand!" The three guards saluted in unison.

Xiao Yongming waved his hand and said, "You two are both still injured. Go back and recover first."

When the three guards left, the landlord's sons and Shen Yue were already waiting outside the door. Xiao Yongming sighed and asked Eunuch Xu: "Why do you think Shen Yue gave such an order? I clearly told him that if Li Yi's family wanted to escape from the Northern Wei, they must be protected."

Xu Ming glanced outside the door and said with a smile, "Lord Shen has always been loyal to Your Majesty. He must have had his reasons for issuing such an order. Your Majesty may ask him in person later to avoid any resentment."

Xiao Yongming said unhappily: "I am asking you, but you let me ask him, then why should I ask you!"

Xu Ming shook his head and smiled, "How can I figure out this kind of thing if you ask me? Your Majesty should ask someone who knows better."

"A wise man? Who is a wise man?"

"Well, except for this servant, they all seem to be knowledgeable people. Your Majesty might as well ask them."

"It's useless to ask you! Go away! Let them in."

The three princes and Shen Yue entered. After they saluted, Xiao Yongming asked directly: "The Wei army has made many movements on the border. I'm sure you have heard about it. Tell me, what does Tuoba Jun want to do? And how should we deal with it?"

The second prince Xiao Zongji bowed and said, "Father, I think that the Northern Wei's move is nothing more than bluffing to create pressure. It is at most a test, and it will never start a war."

Xiao Yongming held up several military reports and gestured, "A test? They have assembled elite fast boats in Jingzhou. This is the military report sent by your uncle! Now 60,000 Dingnan troops are stationed on the north bank of the Huai River and drill day and night. According to the latest military report, even Dugu Long has appeared in Fuyang with the Black Armor Battalion, and it is a new type of heavy armored army! Is this also a test?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Zongji said excitedly, "Dugu Long is here! Er Chen has long wanted to meet Dugu Long of the Northern Wei Dynasty. I beg you to send me to lead the troops north. I also want to see whether the Northern Wei Dynasty's Mohist Heavy Armored Army is stronger or our Daliang Yanjia Army is stronger!"

Xiao Yongming said unhappily: "You must lead the troops this time, but you have to wait for Liu Hong to join you! Dugu Long is known to be invincible in the extraordinary realm. Er Chen couldn't even stop Li Yi, so how could he stop Dugu Long!"

Xiao Zongji bowed and said, "Father, Li Yi became a third-level cultivator only after he came to Daliang. His strength has greatly increased. Even the current Dugu Long may not be his opponent."

Xiao Yongming chuckled and said, "Otherwise, why do you say you are ignorant of the immensity of the world? The purpose of martial arts practice is to create your own world. When you reach the extreme, you will not be disturbed by external factors. No matter whether you practice dual cultivation or triple cultivation, you will only have more means of attack. I heard from Liu Hong that what Dugu Long lacked in the extraordinary realm was opportunity, not strength."

Xiao Zongji bowed and said, "I see. I have learned your lesson. This means that if the two Chens practice diligently, they may be able to defeat Li Yi."

Xiao Yongming nodded and said, "That's right. Tell them to intensify their practice in the future and not let the world think that there is no successor to Daliang. When Liu Hong comes back, you will go to the northern border together and communicate more along the way." Xiao Zongji bowed and agreed.

Xiao Zonggang smiled and said, "Brother, you are really encouraged by what our father said. I think you should intensify your training this time."

Xiao Zongji nodded and said, "Of course. Father was a martial arts master in his time. If you two don't want to learn martial arts, I will be laughed at if I don't help." As a martial artist, Xiao Zongji's words did not have too many profound meanings, but there were always people who could hear some hidden meanings.

Crown Prince Xiao Zongqing waved his hand and said, "Second brother, you sound as if we are afraid of hardship and fatigue and don't want to practice martial arts. Father has said that your talent in martial arts is stronger than the two of us put together. No matter how hard we practice, we can't catch up with you. If we don't practice other ways, how can we brothers get along?"

Xiao Yongming looked at his eldest son and asked, "Zong Qing, as the crown prince, what do you think of the current situation?"

Xiao Zongqing saluted and said, "Father, I think the Northern Wei is doing this to build momentum for Li Yi. I think Tuoba Jun of the Northern Wei also knows about Li Yi's assassination outside the imperial city, so he ordered the border troops to press forward and threaten Daliang. If we retreat now, how will Daliang save our reputation? I think it's time to gather the army and confront them..."

While Xiao Zongqing was speaking righteously, Xiao Zonggang was shaking his head and laughing bitterly. Xiao Yongming looked at his third son and asked, "Zonggang, the prince said that we should confront him, but you were laughing secretly. What does that mean?"

Xiao Zonggang bowed and said, "I was not laughing secretly, your Majesty must have seen it wrongly."

"Nonsense!" Xiao Yongming looked at Eunuch Xu and asked, "Did you see it too?"

Xu Ming said nervously, "I was just thinking about what to eat for dinner after Your Majesty finishes his work, so I didn't see or hear anything. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."

Xiao Yongming flicked his sleeves, snorted coldly, pointed at Xiao Zonggang and said, "I clearly saw you laughing. If you can't explain why, I will punish you for being disrespectful in front of the emperor!"

Xiao Zonggang immediately knelt down and saluted, saying, "I know my fault. Although what you said makes sense, it is easy to say that we should mobilize troops to confront each other, but the key is how to solve the problem of food and military pay. When I heard that the Northern Wei Dynasty had deployed troops, I immediately went to the Ministry of Revenue to check the balance of the treasury."

As he spoke, Xiao Zonggang took out a memorial and said, "This is the account that I have checked and counted. The silver that can be transferred now is only a mere 100,000 taels. Just now, your father said that the Northern Wei Dynasty has mobilized elite troops and fast ships in Jingzhou. I think they are going to attack Jiankang by surprise. Then the Jingzhou navy must block the river and set up checkpoints. The military funds used for this item alone are more than 50,000 taels.

Father also said that he would mobilize the Yanjia Army. This new army going north would cost another 30,000 taels. How could we have the money to mobilize a large army to confront them?"

Eunuch Xu took the memorial from Xiao Zonggang and handed it to Xiao Yongming. After reading it, Xiao Yongming let out a long sigh, stretched out his hand to signal Xiao Zonggang to stand up, and then said: "The silver is not enough, find a way to make up for it. We can't let the Northern Wei army put their guns to my nose!"

"Father is right. If we don't have enough money, we have to find another way. We can't lose the face of Daliang. But it's too difficult right now. If there is a way to save the face of Daliang and spend less money, that would be great."

"Hmph, that's easier said than done! How can there be a way to have the best of both worlds? In order to save money, I haven't built a new palace in ten years. I've been wearing this dragon robe for five years, patching it up, but I still haven't saved any money! Oh! It's difficult!"

Xiao Yongming looked at Shen Yue and said unhappily, "Hey, you are dumb! I am worried, why don't you say anything? Don't you know how to share my worries? Do you want you to be here for show?"