Chapter 792: Night Trial (Part )

"Meet the prince!"

"You are not one of my subordinates. You don't have to be polite. Sit down and talk."

"Thank you, Your Highness!" Su He was inevitably confused when he was summoned by Hu Lie in the middle of the night. "Your Highness, I don't know how..."

"In the hearts of the Khan and the king, you are a rare talent that only appears once in a century." Hu Lie's tone was relaxed and casual, as if he was chatting with Su He. "With your talent and martial arts, with a little experience, your achievements will definitely not be inferior to Wang Dechen."

"Your Majesty, you are too kind!" Su He said modestly, "I am just a warrior, how dare I be compared with General Wang. What's more, General Wang is born into a noble family, and his ancestors were meritorious generals with great military exploits. I am of humble origin, and my ancestors were just unknown people who pulled the stirrups for the Khan..."

"Hey! Since ancient times, heroes have been judged regardless of their origins. How can the Khan and I be ranked based on seniority? The Mongolians were able to dominate the world because the Khans appointed people based on their talents, not their personal connections. Looking at today, many of my civil and military officials are Han Chinese. Aren't they inferior to you in terms of their origins?" Hu Lie taught with dissatisfaction, "In terms of age, Wang Dechen is only a few years older than you. In terms of courage and insight, you are on par with him. In terms of martial arts, you are even better than him. In terms of reputation and prestige, the 'First Swift Sword of the Northern Desert' is well-known, not much worse than General Wang."

"Thank you for your love, my Lord. I cannot bear it."

"What a pity!" Hu Lie changed the subject and sighed, "You always pretend to be noble. You would rather stay in Chifengling and be a commoner than follow the arrangement of the Khan and the king to serve in the army. My Mongolian army has lost an outstanding and brave general. The Khan and the king have repeatedly persuaded you with emotion and reason, but you... Alas!"

"Your Highness, I am ashamed of what you said, and I am embarrassed!" Su He stood up hastily and said, "I am used to a free and unfettered life and I am lazy by nature. I am not capable of taking on a big responsibility, let alone the burden of commanding thousands of troops."

Seeing Su He was stubborn, Yin Zhan couldn't help but persuade him: "Master Su, the prince is eager to seek talents and loves talents as his life. His sincerity and virtue are obvious to all. There are countless people in the world who want to serve the prince, but have no way to do so. It's rare that the prince appreciates you, you must not miss this opportunity in vain..."

"Forget it!" Hu Lie interrupted, "Everyone has their own aspirations, and they cannot be forced. Although I love talents, I will never force anyone to do anything."

"Your Majesty, you are too kind! Although I am no longer serving in the army, I am still a minister of Mongolia and I swear to be loyal to the Khan and Your Majesty until death." Su He said firmly, "No matter what the Khan and Your Majesty ask me to do, I will fight to the death!"

"The Khan and I have never doubted your loyalty." At this point, Hu Lie paused and said meaningfully, "But in addition to your loyalty, you also have a sense of righteousness, right?"

"This..." Su He realized that there was something else behind Hu Lie's words, but he couldn't guess it for a while.

"You are loyal to the Khan and the King, but you are also loyal to your friends in the martial arts world." Hu Lie's deep eyes seemed to be able to see through Su He's heart, and he reminded him with a smile, "For example... Liu Xunyi."

Su He frowned and asked tentatively: "What the prince means is..."

"There is no such thing as a wall that is impenetrable. If you don't want others to know something, you better not do it yourself." Hu Lie's smile gradually faded, and his tone became more serious. "This king has always admired your openness, so I won't pretend with you. Let's be frank! Liu Xunyi and the princess had an ambiguous relationship. Do you know about this?"

"hiss!"

Just these words made Su He pale with fright. He was immediately confused and didn't know how to respond.

"You know!" Seeing Su He hesitated, Hu Lie simply answered for him, "Not only do you know, but you also go to great lengths to help them."

"No!" Su He's heart sank, and he quickly defended himself, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I do know that Brother Liu and the princess were childhood sweethearts, but they are not selfish people. They will never break the moral code because of their love, and they will not disregard the interests of the country for their own selfishness. Although I am bold, I dare not act recklessly, let alone risk the world's disapproval to help them."

"When I say help them, I don't mean to bring them together, but to recommend Liu Xunyi as the 'Song Dynasty's envoy for marriage', so that he can escape the pursuit of the Central Plains martial arts world by escorting the bride." Hu Lie said in a deep voice, "You deceived An Chen and asked him to ask for someone from the Song Dynasty court. At that time, Liu Xunyi had been thrown into the Heavenly Prison by the Song Emperor, waiting to be executed. It was because of your secret obstruction that he was able to survive and save his life."

"Your Majesty, please understand that this was indeed done by Su. I am willing to bear all the responsibility..."

"Bastard!"

"boom!"

Hu Lie flew into a rage, slammed the table, stood up, pointed at Su He who looked guilty, and scolded him: "For a little Liu Xunyi, you have completely forgotten the rules of your ancestors. Not only did you not report it, but you deceived the King of Hexi and used his trust in you to save Liu Xunyi. How can this be disgraceful? Su He, you have disappointed this king so much!"

"Your Majesty, please calm down. I know that I have committed a heinous crime and am willing to die."

Seeing Hu Lie furious, Su He fell to his knees with a plop.

"Do you think I don't dare to kill you?"

"Your Majesty is a national treasure, and you follow the laws of heaven and kings, and your name is just and your words are reasonable. Su's crime is unforgivable, and his death is not a pity!"

"you……"

Faced with Su He's neither humble nor arrogant attitude, Hu Lie became more and more angry. In a moment of anxiety, he was so angry that he staggered and collapsed on the chair.

Yin Zhan hurried forward to comfort him, and at the same time complained to Su He: "Master Su, you knew that the prince was reluctant to kill you, so why did you make him angry again and again?"

"Your Majesty, calm down. It's all Su's fault. I..."

"Forget it! Forget it!" Hu Lie waved his hands weakly, "Although you are wrong, but... your crime is not punishable by death. I don't blame you for helping Liu Xunyi, but I blame you for concealing it and forgetting your loyalty because of your righteousness." "Su's loyalty to the Khan is witnessed by heaven and earth, and the sun and the moon!" Su He vowed, his tone unquestionable, "I helped Brother Liu because he and the princess had already parted ways, and saving his life will not affect the marriage between the two countries..."

"I have already investigated the whole story, and I don't intend to hold anyone accountable, including Liu Xunyi. Therefore, no one needs to mention this matter again." Hu Lie's tone gradually softened. "But I want you to always remember that you, Su He... are the pride of the grassland and a Mongolian man. You must always put the Khan first and never have any evil thoughts."

"I will remember every word of your teachings, my Lord! In the future..."

"No need to wait until later." Hu Lie's eyes moved, and he made a prompt decision, "Right now, there is something that requires both your 'loyalty' and your 'righteousness'."

"Your Highness, are you talking about... asking Brother Liu for the three prefectures?" Su He asked suspiciously.

"That's right!" Hu Lie couldn't deny it. "You and Liu Xunyi are friends, and you once saved his life. I want you to go and persuade him."

"This..." Su He was stunned and said in embarrassment, "It's not that Su doesn't want to, but this matter is serious, I'm afraid Brother Liu... can't make the decision at all. Since the prince is determined to get it, why don't you write a letter to Lin'an and ask the Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty directly..."

"The journey from Helin to Lin'an is long and arduous, and it will take a long time to go back and forth. Moreover, asking the Emperor of the Song Dynasty for the three prefectures will inevitably cause a stir in the court and the people of the Song Dynasty. The officials will advise and the ministers will discuss. The Emperor of the Song Dynasty will definitely send people to bargain with us. I don't know how much time it will take." Hu Lie's face was bitter, and his tone was helpless. "It may take a year or two at the fastest, or three to five years or even longer to get a result. It will take too long, and it will be too late. The only way is to let Liu Xunyi write a cession deed in the name of the 'Engager of the Song Dynasty', so that General Wang can lead his army south directly to take over the three prefectures of Xingyuan, Xiangyang and Jiankang. Only in this way can we make it in time."

"In time?" Su He was confused and asked, "What do you mean in time? Why is the prince so eager to take over the three prefectures of Xingyuan?"

"This..." Hu Lie hesitated for a moment, then made up his mind and said in a serious tone, "Su He, I treat you as my own family, so there is no need to hide some things from you. What I am going to tell you next are all military secrets, and you must not leak a single word to the outside world after you leave."

"Su is following the prince's orders."

"A man's word is as good as gold. I believe you." Hu Lie sorted out his thoughts and spoke quietly, "In fact, when I said too late... I was referring to this year's autumn harvest."

"autumn harvest?"

"That's right!" Hu Lie nodded slowly. "Right now, the Western Expedition Army is divided into several routes, the farthest of which is thousands of miles away, and it is very difficult to supply food and grass. In addition, the king led the army to capture Dali not long ago, and the losses were huge. After the war and chaos, the people's livelihood in Yunnan is now in decline, and all industries are waiting to be revived. If we want to recover as before, it will take at least two or three years to ease. In addition, there are 50,000 troops in the Beijing North Camp and various troops stationed in the Qinhuai front line. The daily losses are incalculable. With our current inventory alone, it is simply not enough. The food and grass of the various armies have long been stretched to the limit and are in danger. Two days ago, the Khan summoned me to the palace to meet with me and told me that the various armies were urging for food and grass again. In order to ensure the smooth progress of the Western Expedition, the Khan has sent all the military rations originally sent to Hexi and Dali to the west. Now there is no food to be distributed in Helin, and our southern army... can only think of a way ourselves."

"Your Highness is eager to take over the three prefectures of Xingyuan in order to replenish military rations for this year's autumn harvest?" Su He suddenly realized.

"Xingyuan, Xiangyang, and Jiankang are rich and fertile, with vast arable land. The annual harvest is several times that of Hexi. If we can collect the grain from the three prefectures of Xingyuan, it will be enough to solve our urgent needs. In fact, even if there is no Yunya Town incident this time, this king will find an excuse to ask for the three prefectures of Xingyuan. Now that Yunya Town has an incident, it will give Mongolia and Song a reasonable step to avoid a quarrel." After saying this, Hu Lie's eyes moved, pretending to be profound, "Su He, do you know why the Khan left Chen in the Jingbei camp?"

"Because the King of Hexi is ill..."

"Wrong! Illness is just an excuse to deceive the world." Hu Lie whispered, "The real reason is... to let An Chen help raise military rations for the Jingbei camp. Sui Zuo is a reckless man, he can lead troops to fight, but asking him to prepare military supplies is useless. An Chen is naturally cautious and thorough, so the Khan and the king can rest assured if he is in charge of raising military rations."

"This……"

"As the saying goes, 'A good cook cannot cook without rice.' Although An Chen is a safe way to do things, it is helpless if there is no grain to collect." Hu Lie said, "The best way is to persuade Liu Xunyi to sign the cession deed on his own initiative, so that An Chen can go south to collect grain. If he insists on not doing it, one day the 50,000 soldiers in the Jingbei camp will be without food. God knows what they will do?"

"Your Highness, what you mean is...the King of Hexi will allow his troops to seize food?"

"There is no need to indulge people who are about to die of starvation. Not to mention that I cannot control them, even if I come... I am afraid it will be difficult to control them. If 50,000 troops get out of control, the Central Plains will be devastated and blood will flow like a river."

"I understand!" Su He agreed worriedly, "Although I am not sure, I will do my best to persuade Liu Xunyi to agree to the prince's conditions."

"After daybreak, go find Liu Xunyi and explain the pros and cons to him. Remember, say what you should say and don't say a single word that you shouldn't say." Hu Lie warned, "Then I will ask another person to come out and help you."

"Who?"

"Don't ask any more questions. You will know when the time comes."

Although Su He was very curious, he saw that Hu Lie had no intention of explaining, so he did not ask any more questions. He bowed and accepted the order, then turned around and left the central army tent.

"Your Highness, you should rest!" Yin Zhan looked at the exhausted Hu Lie and advised him again, "Your Highness, you have hardly had a good night's sleep since returning to Helin. How can your body bear this in the long run? If you don't rest now, it will be dawn soon."

"In the past, when we were on the march, it was common to stay up for days and nights. Why does a grown man need to sleep so much?" Hu Lie said calmly and laughed off Yin Zhan's worries.

"Can……"

"Don't dither! Go and invite Commander Wang over."

……

(End of this chapter)