Chapter 788: Troubles in the Armpits (Part )

On the vast prairie, the hotter the sun is during the day, the cooler the wind is at night.

The wind blew the grass from far away, just like the waves on the ocean rising and falling, layer by layer, blowing away all the clouds between heaven and earth.

The moon and stars in the sky, which lost their "support", suddenly fell and silently sank above people's heads. Looking up, you can see the bright stars and the warm and smooth moon halo is within reach. The sky and the earth seem to attract each other, and the twinkling galaxy and the swaying grassland seem to have souls, echoing each other from afar and pitying each other.

In the dim light, a thin figure limped towards the central military tent.

"who……"

"I am Long Yu, and I want to see the prince."

Before the guards outside the tent could open their mouths to question him, Long Yu's urgent voice suddenly rang out.

"No one is allowed to disturb you without the prince's summons." Yin Zhan frowned, stopped Long Yu who was still walking, and advised, "You should know the prince's rules. No one can be an exception. Come back tomorrow if you have something to say!"

Long Yu looked up and down at the serious Yin Zhan with malicious eyes, and sneered: "Who do you think you are? When will it be your turn to make decisions here? If you don't want to suffer, you'd better get out of the way."

"you……"

"Go away!"

Suddenly, the moody Long Yu waved his hand and pushed the unsuspecting Yin Zhan aside, then ignored the surprise of the other guards and walked towards the big tent.

"Stop him quickly!"

"Boom blah blah..."

At Yin Zhan's command, the guards quickly drew their swords and surrounded Long Yu as if they were facing a formidable enemy.

"This is not the Twenty-Four Cities, you can't act recklessly!" Yin Zhan said in a deep voice, "If you disregard military discipline and force your way in alone again, don't blame me for being merciless."

"Ruthless?" Long Yu smiled instead of getting angry, looking at Yin Zhan with a look of contempt, "You are just a 'Song dog', and you dare to shout at me? Don't take chicken feathers as an order, the prince keeps you doesn't mean you are really capable. 'Song dog' is always 'Song dog', a treacherous and cunning person in his bones, and he will never change his habit of relying on power and favors to deceive others."

Long Yu has always been prejudiced against the Han people. Although Yin Zhan has followed Hu Lie for many years, through thick and thin, and is loyal to him, in Long Yu's eyes he is a despicable villain who curries favor with the powerful and is not worthy of trust at all.

"Long Yu, don't go too far!" Yin Zhan's face was as gloomy as water, and his tone was as cold as ice.

Long Yu scoffed at Yin Zhan's threat. Instead of restraining himself, he became more provocative: "What? You can't help but get angry because I exposed your true identity..."

"If Yin Zhan is a villain who deceives his superiors and deceives his subordinates, then am I a weak and incompetent ruler?"

Suddenly, an unhappy question came from the tent, immediately interrupting the argument between Long Yu and Yin Zhan.

"You don't have to show off in front of Yin Zhan. If General Long has any 'instructions', why don't you come in and teach me in person?"

Hearing Hu Lie's sarcasm, Long Yu's face changed in fear, a trace of panic flashed in his eyes, and he hurriedly said: "Prince, actually I..."

"Why don't you come in? Are you waiting for me to clean the ground for you and pave the road with yellow earth?"

“Long Yu doesn’t dare!”

Long Yu agreed timidly and said no more. He carefully lifted the curtain and tiptoed into the tent.

Inside the tent, the candlelight was dim. Hu Lie sat alone behind the commander's desk, with a map left by Wang Dechen spread out on the desk. He looked thoughtful, as if he was thinking about something.

"Greetings, Your Majesty!" Long Yu knelt on the ground and saluted with a very respectful attitude.

"Boy, you are becoming more and more unruly!" Hu Lie looked back and forth on the map, occasionally making a few strokes with his pen, and scolded without raising his head, "Back then, you served in my army and were punished for not following the rules. Have you forgotten?"

"I have always kept the prince's teachings in mind." Long Yu pressed his forehead tightly against the ground and said humbly, "If it weren't for a reason, I would never dare to disturb the prince's rest."

"Stand up!" Hu Lie threw the pen on the table, slowly stood up and stretched his limbs lazily. He glanced at Long Yu's slightly stiff body with a meaningful look and smiled lightly, "I know you have been wronged, and I know you are not lying. In fact, it was the Khan's intention to humiliate the Song envoy, not your own decision, right?"

"Your Majesty, please understand! Today, the Khan sent someone to tell me that the Song envoys are not allowed to enter Wan'an Palace. He also told me... to find an opportunity to humiliate them to relieve my anger."

"I know the Khan's temper, and I also know your character. Although you are unruly and have a high opinion of yourself, you dare not tamper with a single word of the Khan's decree." Hu Lie asked with a smile, "I know you have done nothing wrong, but I still severely punished you with a hundred military sticks. Do you know why?"

"I know! To give an explanation to those 'Song dogs'." "Not bad." Hu Lie nodded with approval, "The Khan has to vent his anger, but my strategic layout for the Song Dynasty cannot be complicated. Therefore, in order to fulfill the Khan's wish without destroying my plan, you can only suffer a little."

"For the Khan and the prince, let alone a hundred military sticks, even if they want my head, I will be willing to do it without hesitation."

"Your life is very precious in the Khan's heart. Even if you don't value your head, the Khan and I will never let it move." Hu Lie was very pleased with Long Yu's loyalty, and his attitude became much kinder. "Don't worry! I won't let you suffer a hundred military sticks in vain. Tell me! What do you want as compensation? Gold, silver, sheep and horses, or grasslands..."

"No, no, no! Your Highness misunderstood me." Long Yu explained hurriedly, "I am not disturbing you tonight to ask for compensation, but... I have another important matter."

"Important?" Hu Lie frowned and asked suspiciously, "What important matter?"

"It's a little hard to talk about this, but I feel uneasy if I don't say it..."

"Since you dared to break into my tent at night, you must have made up your mind to speak frankly. Why are you being so cautious now?" Hu Lie said impatiently, "Your thoughts cannot be hidden from me. There is no need to pretend. Just speak frankly! No matter what you say, I will forgive you."

"As ordered!"

Hu Lie's words were like a reassurance to Long Yu, so he stopped being pretentious, looked around, and after confirming that there was no one else in the tent, he lowered his voice and told him every secret that Ding Qinghong had told him.

During the time it took to burn an incense stick, Hu Lie's expression changed again and again as Long Yu continued to talk. He was curious, surprised, angry, suspicious, and solemn...

When Long Yu finished speaking, Hu Lie's face was already filled with gloom and confusion. The complex and deep eyes were surging with light, sometimes bright and sometimes dim. Although he didn't say a word, the anger emanating from his body was chilling.

"No wonder Lord Liu reacted so strangely today. His words and actions seemed respectful, but in fact, he was full of dissatisfaction." Hu Lie frowned and muttered to himself, "I originally thought that he was upset because of your humiliation of the Song Dynasty. Now it seems... his tit-for-tat has another reason."

"That's right." Long Yu's eyes were filled with murderous intent, waiting for an opportunity to instigate, "But I think the most hateful person is not Liu Xunyi, but the Emperor of Song. He clearly knew that Liu Xunyi and Zhao Xin... were having an ambiguous relationship, but he still shamelessly sent Zhao Xin to marry the prince. His intentions were sinister, and he deserves death. If this matter is publicized, how will the prince save his face? How will the Mongolian royal family save their face?"

"Don't be impatient!" Hu Lie waved his hands slowly and said thoughtfully, "The truth of this matter and the reasons behind it still need to be investigated, especially Ding Qinghong... Is he the eunuch appointed by the Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty to escort the bride?"

"good."

"What a strange thing! Since he was sent by the Song Dynasty, why did he destroy his own plan?" Hu Lie was concentrating his mind and said the key point, "What admiration for my heroism, what guilty conscience... all these are his excuses, which can't even fool a three-year-old child."

"Your Highness means that... what Ding Qinghong said is false?"

"This matter is of great importance. I don't think he has the guts to use the 'Song Dynasty's envoy' to make rumors and cause trouble with my beloved concubine. What's more, what he said is very convincing, and he dared to confront Liu Xunyi face to face, so this matter is not groundless. Therefore, false... may not be false. What puzzles me is that if Ding Qinghong knew about this matter long ago, why didn't he say it earlier or later, but waited until he saw me to tell me, what is his intention?"

"Ding Qinghong's explanation was that Su He and Liu Xunyi had threatened him..."

"If he was really threatened, how could he dare to tell you today?" Hu Lie said firmly, "I assert that Ding Qinghong deliberately kept silent and told me the secret of Liu Xunyi and Zhao Xin after seeing me."

"Why?" Under Hu Lie's guidance, Long Yu gradually realized the strangeness of this matter.

"Why would an eunuch close to the Emperor of the Song Dynasty tell this story at this critical moment? Ding Qinghong knew very well that if he told the whole story, it would surely cause a great disturbance, and even cause the Mongols and Song to become enemies, and cause a bigger mess... Even so, he still told you the secret, which shows that this person has bad intentions and definitely has other plans. This prince guessed... he might want to use this matter to anger me, so as to achieve his goal of killing someone with a borrowed knife."

"Killing with a borrowed knife?" Long Yu was horrified.

"He used me to kill Liu Xunyi and Zhao Xin, and even destroyed the friendship between Mongolia and Song, causing a war between the two countries." Hu Lie said in a veiled manner, "I don't know why he did this, but I will never let him do it, and I will never be deceived and used by his evil tricks."

"What the prince means is..."

"Send someone to keep an eye on Ding Qinghong and prevent him from contacting other people. Don't even mention this to anyone else. As for the relationship between Liu Xunyi and Zhao Xin... don't spread it to the public for now. I'll make a decision after I've investigated the situation."

"How does the prince intend to track down..."

"Don't ask questions that you shouldn't ask." Hu Lie interrupted abruptly, "Long Yu, you must forget everything you heard tonight. This king has never seen you. Whether this matter is true or false, it has nothing to do with you."

"But this matter concerns the reputation of the prince and Mongolia..."

"Go back and keep an eye on Ding Qinghong. If the news leaks out, I will hold you accountable." Before Long Yu could argue, Hu Lie waved his hand impatiently and strode out of the tent.

However, when Hu Lie reached the tent door, he suddenly stopped, and under Long Yu's angry and unwilling eyes, he said without turning his head: "The 100 military sticks you received today are really not unjust at all."

……

(End of this chapter)