Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 120: An Unexpected Path: Forcing Yourself to Yanshan
So supportive...

Li Ming glanced at the table full of food, then secretly glanced at the empty seat next to him.

"Why hasn't Envoy Liu come back yet? It's been a quarter of an hour."

Murong Yan frowned.

On October nights in Liaodong, it was common for a drunkard to freeze to death.

"Someone come..." Murong Yan was about to send someone.

A dusty servant stepped into the hall first, ignored the guests, walked straight to Murong Yan's ear and whispered a few words.

Although the autumn night in the mountains was cold, the man was still wearing a loose and ill-fitting robe.

There was an inconspicuous hole on the back, the size of an eye, with faint candlelight reflected in the hole, as if it were a piece of metal.

From his grinning mouth, Li Ming could vaguely make out the word "bandit".

Murong Yan's eyes briefly flashed with a fierce light, but it quickly subsided and she nodded expressionlessly.

Then, he smiled gently and bowed to the visitors from Chang'an:

"Excuse me for leaving."

After the host left the table, Li Ming couldn't hold it in any longer and jumped up.

"I'm going to relieve myself!"

"I'll go too, I'll go too!"

Changsun Yan, Yuchi Xunyu and Fang Yize jumped up almost at the same time.

Boys have to go to the toilet in groups.

At this time, the guards who were resting outside the hall also stood up together.

Since they refused to lay down their weapons no matter what, they could only stand outside in the cold wind.

"You guys go to the bathroom too?"

"...Yes." The garrison commander's mouth twitched slightly, and he whispered in Li Ming's ear:
"It's dangerous at night, escort His Highness!"

It’s just a pee, why make such a fuss… Li Ming complained.

But he had no intention of committing suicide.

Accompanied by their guards, the four children marched towards the toilet in a mighty procession.

Then, as expected, I got lost in the maze-like house.

"Damn it, Murong Yan's house is so fucking big!"

Li Ming's stomach ached from holding it in so much.

"Why don't we just solve it right here?" Yuchi Xunyu suggested, but was glared at by everyone.

You're just staying under someone else's roof for now, so don't cause any trouble.

"Let's find someone to ask." Chang Sun Yan said.

However, what was strange was that in such a huge Murong Mansion, there was not even a single servant on the road.

There was only the street lamp lit there, and the atmosphere became weird.

"It's weird, where are the people?"

Chang Sunyan scratched his head in confusion.

There was a guard every ten steps just now, why is there no one outside now?

Li Ming had a bad feeling.

"Something's strange, let's go back to the main hall first!"

However, the street lamp had run out of oil and no one came to refill it, so it was pitch dark on the way back.

The group wandered around in circles, not knowing where they were.

Once people are in a dark place, their hearing is often more sensitive than usual.

"Did you hear any sound?" Yuchi Xunyu raised his head suspiciously.

Chang Sun Yan and Fang Yize looked at each other and shook their heads.

"Shh, listen!" Yuchi Xunyu signaled everyone to be quiet.

Li Ming pricked up his ears and faintly heard a tinkling sound in the distance.

It seems like he is forging iron.

"Metal collision... that's the sound of hacking!" The garrison commander's eyes became serious.

Yuchi Xunyu blurted out:

"Murong Yan finally rebelled. Did he meet Liu Xin's sword?"

He imagined several chapters of the plot.

Li Ming made a prompt decision:

"Meet up with Hou Junji and Wei Daijia first!"

After walking a few steps and turning the corner, they bumped into the servants of Murong Mansion.

The servant held a sharp blade in his hand, and he no longer needed to cover his armor with a robe. He just wore it on the outside, looking murderous.

The guards suddenly became nervous and protected the children behind them.

However, these armed servants simply nodded to the guests, said "It's all right", and ran up the hillside along the slope of the mansion with their knives in hand.

Behind them, the maids looked frightened and ran down the slope in the opposite direction.

What's happening here?
Li Ming caught a sister and asked:
"Sister, what happened?"

The maid didn't want to reveal anything to outsiders.

But this cute kid calls me sister!
She bent down and whispered:
"The mansion has been attacked by bandits. Go back to your house and hide!"

Li Ming’s first thought was, haha, you guys have come to this day too!

The second thought was to quickly pick up the bucket and run away!
Then, the third thought came to mind: No, I can’t carry the bucket!

The people of Liaodong are so simple and honest that even the local tyrants dare to rob them. Isn't it more dangerous to walk on the road at night?

"Which group of thieves is so bold as to rob Murong Mansion?" Fang Yize asked another question.

The maid uttered three unexpected words:

"Red Scarf Thief!"

what?
Aren’t the Red Turban Bandits a peripheral organization of your Murong family?
Everyone, Monk Zhang Er, was confused.

But now is not the time to dwell on these details.

Li Ming said decisively:
"Let's go back to the main hall and meet up with Hou Junji and the others."

As for what to do after the reunion, he hasn't figured it out yet.

Escape from Murong Mansion and head straight to Yingzhou under the cover of night?
court death.

Everyone had previously underestimated the severity of the banditry in Liaodong.

I thought that with the local emperor Murong Yan in charge, public security should be guaranteed.

Now it seems that this was extremely wrong. The local emperor is not the local political commissar, so how could he possibly eliminate the banditry outside the Great Wall?
Murong Yan's unsustainable policy of draining the pond to catch all the fish will only intensify the conflict!
According to the existing information, there are bandits who dare to rush straight to Murong Yan's lair.

Then the traditional track of robbing people on the road, killing people and robbing goods must have been turned into a red ocean market by all kinds of heroes.

We can't walk on the road at night, otherwise it would be like going to the countryside to help the poor.

Fortunately, they chose to play it safe and went to Murong Mansion to attend the Hongmen Banquet instead of rushing to Yingzhou and luckily missed the robbers.

The question is, what now?
Continue to stay in Murong Mansion, the most dangerous place is the safest?
Or should he risk returning to Lulong County, reveal his true identity to Liu Xin, and request to be escorted out of the country the next day?
"Damn it! My base is in a mess. This Jiedushi is too disgraceful!"

The depth of Pingzhou's accumulated problems and the complexity of its power structures are far beyond imagination.

This incognito visit, which was arranged on a whim, was a fruitful one.

If he just sits high up in the temple, crosses his legs and reads the memorials written by the bureaucrats below.

Li Ming really couldn't understand the degree of chaos in the feudal dynasty's ruling borders.

There are no imperial officials, and not even any local tyrants.

Only simple materialism is believed here.

If you have a gun, you are the king!
Damn it, I'll have to dig deep into the ground and fix this problem from the root when I get back!
…………

Murong Yan stood on the long corridor, looking at the artificial lake in the courtyard, feeling very upset.

In order to realize the Murong family's ambition to restore Dayan, he lay dormant for many years, enduring humiliation and working for the Tang Dynasty.

Finally, enough strength was accumulated, including soldiers, food and external aid.

Although compared with the powerful Yingzhou Military Governor's Office next door, these one thousand armored soldiers and tens of thousands of miscellaneous soldiers are not enough.

But don't forget that Pingzhou has geographical advantages.

Pingzhou lies between Hebei Road and Yingzhou, blocking all the vital routes between Yingzhou and the central dynasty!
As long as Pingzhou changes color, Yingzhou will become an enclave!

As long as we can withstand the counterattack of the Yingzhou garrison, Yingzhou will be slowly consumed when supplies and reinforcements are cut off!

In addition, Goguryeo was tethered to Yingzhou from the north, further depleting the Tang army's manpower.

The chances of winning are huge!

Now, there is only one last step left before we start to rise up.

Armor.

It was still a bit difficult for only one thousand soldiers to resist the first and strongest wave of attacks from the Yingzhou Governor's Office. Therefore, he turned his attention to these wealthy merchants from Chang'an.

The businessman knew that for the sake of a few Kong Fang brothers, he would not hesitate to sell the rope that strangled him.

So the raw materials for the armor have been found.

Just two minor problems occurred when entertaining suppliers.

"You beasts! I let the red-turbaned thieves in when I was entertaining guests. If they find out, I will lose face! What's the point of keeping you?"

Murong Yan scolded the captain in a stern voice, without showing any mercy at all.

Such a large house, backed by a mountain, cannot be defended even with a thousand men... The captain felt wronged, but he apologized respectfully:
"My subordinates are incompetent..."

"Oh, forget it. Let's first catch all the red-turbaned bandits roaming around the mansion!"

Murong Yan waved his hand to dismiss the captain, and under the protection of fully armed servants, he climbed over the corridor and walked into the courtyard along the exquisite stone path.

Liu Xin's body was lying beside the artificial lake, and the rope that strangled him left dark red marks on his neck.

"It's troublesome..." Murong Yan couldn't help but hold his forehead.

Although this governor will have to be killed as a sacrifice sooner or later.

But not now!
The rebel formation has not been set up yet and the rammed earth city walls have not been reinforced!

In addition to the harassment by the Red Turban bandits, the group of fortresses along Yanshan Mountain was not completed!
Goguryeo was not prepared to contain the Yingzhou army!

If we rashly kill an imperial official now, wouldn't that be courting death?

"How could those Turkic Asuras use stupid birds to send secret letters!" Murong Yan clutched the message cloth in her hand angrily.

When he discovered that the messenger hawk had delivered the secret letter of his rebellion to Liu Xin.

Murong Yan almost committed a murderous act and wished he could shoot the stupid bird to death with one arrow.

As a last resort, he had to ask his men to kill Liu Xin first.

I can only say that it was the Bodhisattva's blessing in this misfortune.

If the Red Turban bandits had not made a fuss and lured him outside, Liu Xin would have really run away with the secret.

The question is, how to end it next?

"Fortunately, he was strangled to death. If we report it to the county magistrate and the county lieutenant, we can say that he committed suicide out of fear of punishment?

"What crime should be charged against this incompetent person..."

Murong Yan was just thinking about it when she heard hurried footsteps coming from the corridor behind her.

He looked back and almost stopped breathing.

They were the group of little brats from Chang'an, and their followers and guards.

…………

Li Ming and his group finally found a street light that was still on and stepped onto the long corridor.

Turning the corner, they came to an empty courtyard, and the group almost stopped breathing.

The local emperor Murong Yan, surrounded by armed guards, stood guard beside a corpse.

If there are bandits at home, it wouldn't be a big deal if a few people died.

The problem is that the dead man was wearing the official uniform of the Tang Dynasty.

It’s the governor Liu Xin!
What's going on? Why did Murong Yan want to kill Liu Xin? Is Murong Yan finally going to rebel...

Countless questions flashed through Li Ming's mind.

But his life-saving instinct worked faster, and he deliberately said loudly in a childish voice:
"I was wondering where Envoy Liu had gone. It turns out he was passed out drunk in the courtyard."

At the same time, he quietly kicked the three little ones' legs to stop them from yelling and exposing themselves.

Murong Yan showed a clear expression of relief, and then naturally changed into a wry smile:
"Yes, I will help you sober up."

"Do you need help?"

"Need not."

"It's getting late, so we'll leave now."

"Do you need me to take you there?"

"We have guards, please stay."

"Then it's better to be respectful than to obey."

OK, it’s done. Let’s go back to our homes and say goodbye to our moms!
Li Ming gave a look, and the group prepared to run away with their belongings.

At this moment, the captain came back excitedly and shouted at the top of his voice:
"My Lord! I have an idea! We can put the blame of Liu Xin's death on the Red Scarf Bandits!

"Just say they were the ones who killed the people, not us!"

The roar was so clear and loud, with every word being loud and clear.

When he realized that his master did not praise his "good idea", when his eyes finally adjusted to the darkness.

Finally, I discovered that there were four strange children and five strange guards standing at the scene in the corridor.

Murong Yan's eyes twitched.

Li Ming was sweating profusely and said with a wry smile:

"Oh, so it turns out that Envoy Liu is drunk to death?

"Well, he was so careless. Everyone has their own destiny. Man proposes, God disposes.

"that……"

He couldn't make up any more stories and quickly scanned the scene.

It was impossible to behead Murong Yan as he was under the protection of armored servants.

In this case, there is only one plan -

"run!"

At the command, Li Ming, Yuchi Xunyu, Fang Yize and Changsun Yan fled in four directions like a group of cockroaches in tacit understanding.

"Chase!" Murong Yan could no longer remain calm and shouted anxiously.

The armed servants came out in full force but were stopped by Li Ming's five guards.

"Do you want to die?" Murong Yan's eyes were red with anger.

The five men did not answer, but silently drew their swords.

…………

"Ha ha……"

Li Ming ran up the mountain for his life.

There are servants everywhere at the foot of the mountain, and there is no way to escape the trap.

The maid ran down the mountain just now, which means the bandits came from the mountain.

Take advantage of the chaos and climb over the wall to sneak out!
In the darkness of the night, he ran into three dark figures.

"Yuchi Xunyu? Changsun Yan? Fang Yize?"

"Brother Ming?"

The four children all thought of this at the same time:

Smart enough to go to chaotic places!
"They're there! Chase!"

At the foot of the hill, several servants were approaching with torches in their hands.

"Damn it, run!"

Unexpectedly, several servants appeared in front of him.

Surrounded!

"If you want to blame someone, blame your bad luck for discovering the master's secret!"

The servant grinned grimly and raised the butcher knife high.

There was a flash of cold light, and blood was all over the ground.

The man holding the knife fell to the ground with his eyes wide open in disbelief.

His neck was pierced through by a wooden dart and blood was all over the ground.

Out of the darkness, a group of farmers armed with sharpened sticks, hoes and rakes came out and chased and killed the servants who were caught off guard.

The leader of that group of "farmers" was a woman wearing a faded red headscarf and holding a javelin in her hand, looking very heroic.

"The four sons of the Zhang family?"

Sister, you got the wrong person...

Li Ming didn't say anything and looked down the hillside.

Murong Yan personally led the team and attacked.

Compared to the petty thieves who harassed him from time to time, the little brat who knew he had killed the governor was obviously a bigger threat.

The four little ones quickly exchanged glances and said in unison:
"Yeah!"

"If you want to live, follow us to Yanshan!"

"Sister, you are..."

"Red Turban Army!"

(End of this chapter)