Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 123 I am a prince, send me to Yingzhou and make you a general
Hou Junji and Wei Daijia stayed in the main hall and watched Liu Xin, Murong Yan, Li Ming and his party go out to pee and never come back.

Why is the toilet so attractive?
They immediately got up and looked for someone.

As soon as I arrived at the door, I saw the entire Murong Mansion on fire.

Surrounded by servants, Murong Yan came back somewhat embarrassedly and told the two distinguished guests what had happened.

"The Red Scarf bandits broke into your house, burned, killed, and looted, kidnapped Li Ming and his four sons, and fled to Yanshan?!"

Hou Junji and Wei Daijia felt like the sky was falling.

The first time I went on a long journey with the prince, I lost him right away!
There is no need to wait for His Majesty to speak, they are eager to impeach themselves!

But they had seen the world and quickly calmed down.

What Murong Yan said was mostly true.

It’s not that this local emperor is trustworthy.

Instead, if he really wanted to make things difficult for Li Ming and his group, he could just do it directly.

There is no need to set fire to the house and perform this self-torture tactic.

But this would only make things more troublesome.

Searching for four children in such a vast mountain is like looking for a needle in a haystack!
I never thought that Pingzhou would be in such a mess that even the local tyrant couldn't control the situation...

"Where is Envoy Liu Xin?" Wei Daijia asked.

Dead... Murong Yan had expected them to ask this question, and there was no flaw in her expression.

Instead, they adopted the normal attitude of a local tyrant against foreign merchants, showing an attitude of non-violent non-cooperation:

"Envoy Liu was drunk, and with the little unrest here, he has already returned home to rest.

“Although I am also anxious, this is not the government office after all, and I cannot control the bandits in the mountains.

"How about you two go to the government office to report the case early tomorrow morning?"

Hou Junji and Wei Daijia exchanged glances, nodded slightly, and made up their minds.

To fight against bandits in Pingzhou, a figmental governor is far from enough.

We must have the help of the local tyrant.

If the local tyrant refuses to cooperate, then use your power to force him to cooperate!
But they also knew that Murong Yan was dishonest, and if he rashly exposed his true identity, he might be killed.

The safe way was to leave Murong's residence and wait until the next day, asking the governor Liu Xin to use his reputation to persuade Murong Yan, and at the same time ask for help from the neighboring Yingzhou to suppress the bandits.

But, this will waste a precious night!

With every passing moment, the danger to His Highness Li Ming and the other three young masters increases!
Therefore, the two of them only have one way to go -

Bet Murong Yan doesn't dare to turn against me!

Hou Junji took a deep breath, his eyes suddenly became deep:
"Murong Yan, do you know the identity of the child kidnapped by the bandits?"

After being glanced at like this, Murong Yan couldn't help but take a step back.

It was as if my throat was being grabbed and I was unable to speak for a moment.

Immediately, he felt a strong sense of anger in his heart.

In Pingzhou, how many people dare to speak to him like this?
Then, he heard Hou Junji recite word by word a sentence that he could not understand.

"The fourteenth son of the emperor, the governor of Liaodong, Li Ming."

Murong Yan raised her head in surprise and even forgot to count her rosary beads.

Then he saw the official seals and documents of the two men.

Minister of Personnel, Governor of Pingzhou and Yingzhou...

As a local tyrant who had many dealings with the imperial court, these documents were genuine at first glance.

Combined with the notice issued by the court more than half a month ago to make preparations for the reception...

Are these "businessmen" real?
Famous or infamous, "that" prince is known to everyone from Nanzhao to Silla.

Was it really lost in Murong Yan's hands?
"Kill, kill them!"... This was Murong Yan's first reaction.

All the provincial governors have been killed, so why are these few more needed?
but……

"You two said that the missing person is... a prince?!"

Murong Yan quickly rolled up her rosary beads while thinking rapidly. Suddenly she realized that her attitude was inappropriate, so she immediately bent down and clasped her hands together respectfully:
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I didn't recognize Yanshan, please forgive me if I was rude!"

Hou Junji and Wei Daijia were obviously relieved.

Fortunately, although Murong Yan has his own troops and is very powerful, and although he exploits people, he is still a good comrade of the Tang Dynasty.

"Forget about etiquette, send people to search the mountain first!"

"Of course, of course. Of course, of course!"

Murong Yan lowered her head, her lips curled.

…………

Hou Junji and Wei Daijia, along with the servants of the "loyal ministers of the Tang Dynasty", hurried up the mountain.

Unfortunately, they didn't know that these servants had already received orders from their master and turned into blind people and people with poor sense of direction in the mountains.

The Yanshan Mountains are vast, go and look for it.

Murong Yan himself stayed in the mansion, responsible for reporting the matter to the drunk Liu Xin and mobilizing the power of the local government.

There was nothing wrong with this arrangement. We should focus all our efforts on finding people first.

"Unfortunately, this news can only be burned to Envoy Liu."

Murong Yan sat leisurely at the table, squinting her eyes, reading a suicide note carefully.

The "suicide note" was signed by Liu Xin, and the handwriting was very similar to that of the governor, except that the ink had not yet dried.

"I have failed in my duty, and bandits are rampant in my jurisdiction... The prince was kidnapped right before my eyes... I have failed the emperor's grace, and I am ashamed. I have no choice but to die..."

He put away the fake suicide note and nodded to the accountant who imitated the handwriting:
"It's well written. This matter must not be leaked."

"I'm very tight-lipped..." The accountant hadn't finished his words when he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks.

Then he collapsed, with a bloody hole in his vest.

A servant in helmet and armor put away the bloody knife and dragged the body away with familiarity.

"No matter how tight-lipped you are, can it be tighter than a dead person..."

Murong Yan had no expression on her face.

Clerks? Common people? Slaves?

He trusted no one.

The only thing Murong believed in was his army.

"Hang Liu Xin's body at the gate of the prefecture at night, and attach a suicide note next to it."

"Yes!"

Everything was arranged properly. Murong Yan breathed a sigh of relief, feeling as if things had finally turned dark and hopeless.

The prince disappeared and the governor committed suicide out of fear of punishment.

Well, that makes sense.

This way, he wouldn't have to defect in advance.

He can continue to play the role of a loyal minister of the Tang Dynasty for a few months, lie dormant for a while, continue to accumulate strength, clear out the mountain bandits, and complete the construction of the Yanshan fortress defense line.

By next year, we will be able to cooperate with Goguryeo and rise up in rebellion!
"The only problem is that prince..."

It was also bad luck for the little guy that he accidentally discovered that he had killed Liu Xin.

Prince Ming must die.

Together with the red-turbaned bandit who rescued him, he will die!

In Pingzhou, even Li Shimin can’t protect anyone Murong Yan wants to kill!

Murong Yan clenched her fists, with fire flickering in her eyes.

That was his house burning outside the window. "Bandits must be eliminated at all times! No way!"

…………

"But the prince Ming rode alone into Jiucheng Palace and engaged in close combat with 200 Turkic rebels. He went in and out seven times, killing them until blood flowed like a river and heads rolled like a river..."

Deep in the Yanshan Mountains, in the "stronghold" of the bandit gang Red Turban Army - actually Zhangjia Village where Chief Wu had begged for temporary refuge - the bandits surrounded Aunt Wu and listened to her storytelling.

With the court bulletins, Chang'an Weekly and word of mouth, the Jiucheng Palace incident has become the hottest topic in the entire Tang Dynasty in recent months.

The unworthy prince angrily rescued his father, the emperor, which can be said to have gathered all the elements of feudal social etiquette and morality. The onlookers said frankly that if a bastard of the royal family could be so arrogant, I am afraid that the face of the Tang Dynasty is getting more and more.

"No! Why do I remember it was 500 rebels?" an audience member questioned.

Someone immediately retorted:
"Bullshit, there are obviously 1,000 rebels!"

"You're talking nonsense! If we fight against the Turks, we can easily capture tens of thousands of prisoners. What can a thousand rebels do? Is it worth the court to write a big fuss about it? The princes have killed at least five thousand people!"

The bandits quarreled fiercely.

Even the bandits who were forced to Yanshan Mountain with their families destroyed and their loved ones killed would involuntarily straighten their chests when they thought of the abundant martial virtues of the Tang Dynasty.

Aunt Wu was angry:

"Don't listen if you don't want to! I said five hundred rebels, that's five hundred!"

"Didn't you just say two hundred..."

"Eeeeeee!" Aunt Wu grabbed her hair.

"It's all your fault for butting in and messing up my train of thought!"

Some people proposed:

"Let's ask the miracle doctor! He comes from Chang'an and has better information."

Everyone turned their attention to Li Ming who was eating melon nearby.

The miraculous doctor Li, who had brought the dead back to life, waved his hand modestly:

"How can a little kid possibly withstand thousands of soldiers?"

He pointed to his head:

"It was a trick. The prince used it to defeat the 50,000 Turkic rebels."

Oh oh oh ~ What do you think of Li Jufu? Let’s continue to listen to Aunt Wu’s story about the magical version of the Jiucheng Palace Changes.

Chang Sun Yan, Fang Yize and Yuchi Xunyu just wanted to cover their faces.

When it comes to artistic processing, it has to be Brother Ming who pioneered journalism.

In the past few days, these four little socialites have completely integrated into the Red Turban Army.

In a team that makes a living on the edge of death, doctors are highly respected.

After Li Ming saved the young man who was almost doomed to die and demonstrated his ability to bring the dead back to life, the four of them automatically gained the respect of all the members.

Even the silk and satin they were wearing were preserved.

But in the poor Zhangjia Village, this set of precious silk was too out of place, so the four of them took the initiative to change into coarse linen clothes.

Just put some dirt on your face and you'll look no different from an ordinary villager.

Of course, they didn't intend to really play the role of villagers here for the rest of their lives.

But how to go back?
It is not possible to go directly to Yingzhou. This group of impoverished Red Turban Army was beaten back by the Khitans near Yingzhou.

Infiltrating the government, revealing one's true identity, and seeking support... the risks are also very great.

Murong Yan rebelled, Liu Xin was dead, and the whereabouts of Hou Junji and Wei Daijia were unknown.

Pingzhou might have already changed its flag.

Going to the government for help now is suspected of delivering the goods to their doorstep.

His only support was actually this unreliable group of so-called "Red Turban Volunteers"...

"Alas... Once upon a time, the reputation of the Red Scarf Army in Pingzhou was no less than that of 'His Royal Highness Li Ming'."

Chief Wu sighed sourly.

"Speaking of which..." Li Ming asked curiously:
"I always thought that the Red Scarf Army was Murong Yan's thugs."

Just one hour after Li Ming and his party refused to pay the mountain and sea donation, a group of robbers wearing red scarves and armor found their residence accurately. They said that they had nothing to do with Murong Yan, but they were fooling fools.

Now, except for the eldest brother and his daughter who still have faded red cloth on their heads, the clothes and weapons of the other members of this "Red Scarf Army" are all varied.

Just like a group of farmers who specifically opposed Murong Yan, they were neither "red" nor "turbaned", nor were they "soldiers".

Leader Wu's face twitched:
"It's Murong Yan. The old thief Murong Yan couldn't wipe us out, so he threw dirty water on us!

"That old thief organized a group of people, also under the name of the 'Red Scarf Army', and committed crimes everywhere.

"As he wished, our reputation was ruined and we became so weak that even the Hu people could kick us!"

It's another tragic story of pirated products killing the genuine products... Li Ming couldn't help but hold his forehead.

Murong Yan also has some tricks up her sleeve. The story of Mr. Huang pretending to be a bandit was staged more than a thousand years in advance.

Chang Sunyan asked:
"How did you become a bandit?"

"Why else?" Chief Wu became angry again:
"Most of them are landless peasants whose families were destroyed by Murong Yan."

It would be strange if there was no resistance given Murong Yan's exploitative methods that were as close to squeezing oil out of stones.

No wonder the Red Turban Army attacked Murong Mansion head-on, they had a deep hatred for each other.

"Of course, in addition to farmers, there are also some fugitives wanted by the government."

Chief Wu pointed at a bandit nearby who was listening attentively to Aunt Wu's storytelling.

"Lao Zhang, how did you get here?"

The bandit named Lao Zhang smiled awkwardly:

"I supported His Highness Li Ming and took charge of Pingzhou to eradicate the local tyrants. As a result, I was accused of 'disrespecting local sages', so I fled into the mountains."

Chief Wu kicked another bandit who covered his ears and refused to listen to the storyteller.

"What about you, Lao Wang? Why did you join the Red Scarf Army?"

The old king looked indignant:
"I am against Li Ming. How can a little brat manage a place? He was accused of 'disrespecting the royal family', so he fled into the mountains."

Chief Wu shrugged:

"This is roughly the situation of our Red Scarf Army.

"What about you? Why did Murong Yan want to hunt down the four of you kids?"

Li Ming answered sincerely:
"I am Li Ming."

"Almost got it."

"Really? I am the governor of Liaodong. Take me to Yingzhou and I will make you the General of the Left."

"I'm still Li Shimin! Help me kill Murong Yan, and I'll make you the crown prince!"

As the two were arguing, Zhang Lizheng came over with heavy steps, leaning on a crutch.

"You are so impressive when you are made marquises and prime ministers!" Zhang Lizheng's voice was still so shrill, and there was no hiding the sarcasm in his words:

"You guys have eaten all the food in the village. Which general can give us some rewards?"

Chief Wu picked up the javelin and waved to his men:

"Let's go and rob the Murong family!"

"Okay!" Aunt Wu rolled up her sleeves.

"No, they must be on guard now. Going there now would be suicide." Li Ming stopped them.

Chief Wu glared at him:
"If we don't rob, what will we do?"

Li Ming pointed to his head:
"Use your brain. You can take the food, why risk your life to grab it?"

(End of this chapter)