Chapter 547 Have you met him?
After dealing with Wuli's affairs, Arsalan turned his gaze to the area on the left side of the map, which was the territory of the Kipchaks to the west of the Erlunqin steppe...
A few decades ago, the Robe people were still the overlords spanning the eastern and western grasslands, and the Cumans were their servants who were at their disposal. However, more than ten years ago, a strong man, a great leader named Huodu, emerged from nowhere to unite the Cuman tribes around him and work hard to govern the country. After a decade of dormancy and waiting, they finally got the chance and drove the Robe people out of the western grassland in one fell swoop.

The reason why Arsalan became the Robe Khan was because his father, the previous Robe Khan Shuodejab, was tragically killed by the scimitars of the Cumans during the Western Expedition. Arsalan defended the most fertile Elunqin grassland for the Robe people when Robe was facing internal and external troubles. Therefore, he accumulated enough prestige and was elected as the Great Khan by the Robe tribes.

Although they still controlled the Erlunqin steppe, the Robe people were mostly at a disadvantage in several wars with the Kipchaks, and were invaded by the Kipchaks into the Erlunqin steppe several times. It was precisely because of the Kipchaks' covetous eyes that the Robe people did not dare to go south to plunder on a large scale for nearly ten years, for fear that they would be robbed by the Kipchaks when they went south.

This time, under the frequent suggestions of the internal war factions, Arsalan not only deployed more than 100,000 troops on the border between Luobi and Youyan, but also led the most elite Subutai cavalry to the border, looking ready to move forward on a large scale.

But despite his pretense, Arsalan was still hesitant to make the decision to move south. He wanted to take advantage of the critical period of Zhao Fuqu’s counterattack to extort some benefits from Ye Mingsheng so that the Robe people could survive the freezing winter on the grassland. However, he underestimated Ye Mingsheng’s determination. Ye Mingsheng didn’t buy it at all and acted as if “come if you dare”. This put Arsalan in a difficult position...
Faced with Ye Mingsheng's undisguised provocation, Arsalan certainly wanted to lead his troops south to attack Yijing City and teach Ye Mingsheng a severe lesson, but as the Khan of the Robe people, he could not do that. Every decision he made needed to be based on the interests of the entire tribe!
Looking at the map, Arsalan suddenly asked:
"What is the current situation of the Kipchaks?"

Listening to Arsalan's question, his attendant said without hesitation;
"Your Majesty, according to our spies' reports, the Cumans are very quiet now. The three Tiger Divisions and the five Eagle Divisions are all in their respective locations, without any unusual movements!"

After receiving such an answer, Arsalan smiled faintly and said:
"Huo Du, you old fellow are really as cunning as a fox on the grassland!"

After listening to Arsalan's words, his attendant seemed to understand something and asked Arsalan tentatively:

"Great Khan, are you saying that the Fengwu Army that killed Lord Batu was impersonated by the Kipchaks?"

Arsleng heard this and said directly:

“Batu died near Yijing. Regardless of whether Ye Mingsheng ordered it or not, it will be considered that he did it! If Ye Mingsheng really wanted to kill Batu to vent his anger, he didn’t have to do it within Yijing. He could wait until Batu arrived at the border…”

When Arsalan said this, without any warning, he suddenly punched the location of the Golden Horde on the map and said viciously:

"These Qipchaks are as greedy as hungry wolves. Do you know why they are keeping quiet? Their purpose is to wait for us to attack Youyan and see that we are trapped in Youyan's strong cities. Then they can take the opportunity to seize the Elunqin grassland!"

After listening to Arsalan's explanation, the attendant suddenly understood something and said to Arsalan with great admiration:

"The Khan is so wise and powerful that he saw through the evil scheme of the Kipchak dogs at a glance!"

Arsalan ignored the attendant's praise and just coldly ordered:

"Give an order to Temuha, and have his 50,000 troops launch an attack on Yuyang in three days. Tell him not to attack Yuyang City, but to destroy the villages outside the city. I will only give him two days, and he must withdraw from Yuyang within two days!"

"Give orders to Monsa. After Temuha launches the attack on Yuyang, he must lead 10,000 elite cavalry to rush to Yijing quickly and scare Ye Mingsheng. After shooting a few rounds of arrows, withdraw. Temuha will cover him in Yuyang! The rest of the tribes are not allowed to act without my order. Those who disobey my order will be killed without mercy!"

"Yes!" The attendant bowed and replied:

After giving the order to fight, a fleeting look of fatigue flashed across Arsalan's eyes. Although he had assembled heavy troops on the border of the Great Zhou, he had no intention of engaging in a large-scale battle with the Fengwu Army because of the threat from the Cumans. And now that he realized the Cumans' conspiracy, he didn't want to fight the Fengwu Army even more!

Unfortunately, although he is the Khan of Luobi, it does not mean that he can do whatever he wants.

In recent years, the products of the Great Zhou Dynasty have been circulated everywhere in Luobi. Both the lower-class herdsmen and the upper-class nobles like the products of the Great Zhou Dynasty very much. However, their products cannot be sold at a high price in the Great Zhou Dynasty's businesses. The only war horses that can be sold at a high price are forbidden to be sold to the Great Zhou Dynasty by Arsalan for the sake of his own strategic security.

This also means that the Robe people cannot buy enough of the goods they want. Since they cannot buy them, the greedy Robe people think of plundering their ancestral crafts!
As a result, the voices calling for the Luobi to march south to plunder the Great Zhou became increasingly louder. Now, these voices had grown to the point where even the Great Khan Arsalan could not ignore them. Coupled with the continuous defeats against the Cumans, there were many contradictions within the Luobi clan.

Therefore, this time the troops were sent south to Arsalan, on the one hand to respond to the growing calls from within the country to move south, and on the other hand to gain a victory to ease internal conflicts. The Robe people are a nation that believes in power. If Arsalan fails to meet internal demands, then this will be a fatal blow to his rule and may very well shake his position as Khan!

Because of this, even though he had already felt the prying eyes of the Cumans behind him, Arsalan had no choice but to continue working hard. If he led his troops to retreat at this time, his prestige within Robe would completely collapse and he would be abandoned by his subjects...
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Liaoyang, Dongning

Wang Fusheng, the housekeeper of the Murong Mansion, walked to Murong Qingwu under the guidance of Xiaohuan. Murong Qingwu, who was painting, put down the brush in her hand and nodded when she saw Wang Fusheng appear. She said:

"Butler Wang, you're here!"

Wang Fusheng bowed to Murong Qingwu and said apologetically;
"I didn't discipline my servants well enough and frightened the young lady. Please punish me!"

Murong Qingwu smiled and said:

"People make mistakes, horses stumble, and it's inevitable that you, Steward Wang, made a mistake. Besides, I'm fine now, right? We just need to get to the bottom of the matter!"

Wang Fusheng nodded gratefully and explained:

"I have basically found out what happened. Miss, you had a conflict with a grain merchant named Chen Song at the porridge distribution area at the East Gate some time ago. Later, the master found out all the crimes of this man, confiscated his property and put him in prison. He came out of prison a month ago and held a grudge against me, so he bribed Liu Dagui, the cook in the kitchen. They put arsenic in the sweet and sour fish, hoping to poison you for revenge!" Listening to the result given by Wang Fusheng, Murong Qingwu frowned slightly, seeming a little surprised. After thinking for a few seconds, she raised her head and said to Wang Fusheng:
"Where are Chen Song and Liu Dagui now?"

Wang Fusheng said without hesitation:
"After we investigated thoroughly, the master immediately sent people to arrest them. However, Chen Song openly resisted arrest with a weapon and was beheaded on the spot. Liu Dagui committed suicide by taking poison at home out of fear of punishment..."

Hearing that these two people were now dead, Murong Qingwu's eyes flashed with a strange color, and then she said to Wang Fusheng:
"In that case, let's just leave it at that. Sorry to bother you, Steward Wang!"

"Miss, you are too polite. I really want to thank you for your generosity!" Wang Fusheng said gratefully:
After thanking Murong Qingwu profusely, Wang Fusheng left slowly. After he left, Xiaohuan said indignantly:

"Miss, it turns out that you are that bad guy Chen Song. Not only did he sell the moldy rice himself, he also did everything he could to prevent you from distributing porridge. After being detained, he still refused to repent. It's really a relief for people like him to die!"

Murong Qingwu said leisurely after hearing this;
"You also think he wants to harm me?"

Listening to Murong Qingwu, Xiaohuan's eyes showed a hint of confusion:

"Miss, didn't Butler Wang say that he did it? Could it be that Butler Wang lied to us?"

Murong Qingwu shook her head and said:

“Butler Wang’s ancestors have served my Murong family for three generations, so he is naturally trustworthy. However, this is Liaoyang and some people may be able to cover the sky with one hand…”

When Murong Qingwu finished speaking, Xiao Huan's eyes became even more puzzled. Seeing this, Murong Qingwu smiled faintly and said:
"We can find out what's going on if we ask someone who knows the situation!"

As soon as these words came out, Xiao Huan immediately became alert and asked Murong Qingwu:
"Miss, you are not going to abandon me and sneak out by yourself like last time, are you? This is absolutely not allowed. If the master knows that I didn't keep an eye on you, he will definitely punish me by making me practice martial arts!"

Seeing this, Murong Qingwu shook her head and said:

"If we act together, we'll be too conspicuous! We'll be easily discovered!"

Xiao Huan said firmly:
"No, I must follow you, young lady! I can protect you, young lady!"

Seeing Xiaohuan's resolute attitude, Murong Qingwu nodded helplessly. An hour later, a red-toothed young man and his little servant boy came to the outside of Changshan Clinic. Looking at the crowd outside the clinic, Murong Qingwu, who had disguised himself as a young man, instructed Xiaohuan:
"You keep watch outside for me, I'll be back soon!"

Xiao Huan, who was dressed as a servant, nodded seriously. Seeing her cute appearance, Murong Qingwu couldn't help but touch Xiao Huan's face and said:

"I didn't expect that you look so good in men's clothes, Xiaohuan. I'll have to give you more clothes in the future!"

Murong Qingwu's words made the little girl blush with shame, and she muttered in a low voice:

'I do not want it!'

After teasing Xiaohuan, Murong Qingwu straightened her clothes, then waved her folding fan and strode into Changshan Medical Clinic...
After a cup of tea, as the last patient walked out of Pei Zhixiu's clinic, Murong Qingwu, who was dressed as a young man, walked in immediately. Seeing her, Pei Zhixiu frowned slightly and said to Murong Qingwu very seriously;
“This is where I heal and save lives!”

After closing the door tightly, Murong Qingwu nodded as a matter of course and said to Pei Zhixiu:
"I am your patient!"

After the words fell, Murong Qingwu continued:

"If no one had warned me before, I would have been poisoned to death in my home two days ago. I came here just to ask you a question, why did she keep chasing me and want to kill me?"

Although Murong Qingwu did not say who "she" was, Murong Qingwu believed that Pei Zhixiu understood what she meant. Under Murong Qingwu's gaze, Pei Zhixiu was silent for a while and then slowly said:
"What makes you think I know the answer?"

In response to Pei Zhixiu's question, Murong Qingwu said very frankly:
"Since I came to find you, I have checked your background. I know that you are the woman who has been with Ye Mingsheng the longest. Ye Mingsheng brought you with him in his famous battle, the surprise attack on Liu Jingdu, which is enough to show his love for you. And there is another very important point, your relationship with her does not seem to be very good!"

At the end, Murong Qingwu secretly emphasized her tone and gave Pei Zhixiu a meaningful look, as if she had something else to say...

Listening to Murong Qingwu's words, Pei Zhixiu fell silent again. There seemed to be a trace of reminiscence in her eyes, as if she was missing the sweet and beautiful days when Ye Mingsheng, who was just a commander, took her from Gongdu to Luo'an across the Great Zhou. After a full cup of tea, Pei Zhixiu ended the meeting and returned to the present. Then she met Murong Qingwu's gaze and said:
"Murong Qingwu, I can tell you the answer to your question, but before that, Murong Qingwu, you have to answer a question for me too!"

"Before Ye Mingsheng's surprise attack on Liujing, when he was still the commander of the Great Zhou Imperial Army, did you meet him in Luoan?"

(End of this chapter)