in2ebook Chapter 146 Northwest War
Chapter 146 Northwest War
In front of the governor's office, the blue brick floor shone lightly in the afterglow of the setting sun. A group of people and horses suddenly arrived, and the sound of horse hooves broke the momentary tranquility, startling the birds perched on the old locust trees in front of the gate. When the guards saw this, they drew their swords and rushed forward with nervous expressions.
Li Wei, the county magistrate from Xishan Prefecture, was riding on his horse at the moment, his brows furrowed, his eyes showing a bit of anxiety. When he saw the guards blocking the road, he turned over and dismounted, saluted and said: "I am Li Wei, the county magistrate of Xishan Prefecture, and I have an important matter to ask to see the governor."
The guards looked at each other in bewilderment. One of them hesitated for a moment and said, "Magistrate Li? Didn't you just move 5,000 troops from Southwest Prefecture a few days ago? What are you doing..."
Li Wei took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "That's right. I came here this time because I have something important to tell you. Please inform the governor as soon as possible."
Seeing Li Wei's firm attitude, the guards did not dare to neglect it and quickly informed the governor. Soon, the governor Shi had them taken to the study. When he saw Li Wei, he showed a hint of surprise on his face, but then he regained his composure and asked, "Li County Magistrate, what are you doing here? Those five thousand troops..."
Li Wei waved his hand, interrupting Shi Xunfu's words, and said in a deep voice: "Sir, I came here this time to escape at the risk of my life. General Liu...he has evil intentions, he wants to gain power by himself, and he even deliberately let the rebel leader Zhang Shan go!"
Upon hearing this, Governor Shi's face changed and he asked in shock, "What did you say? General Liu let the rebel leader Zhang Shan go? This... How is this possible?"
Li Wei said anxiously, "It's absolutely true! I accidentally learned the news and rushed to report it to you overnight. General Liu has ulterior motives and wants to use the rebels to control the 5,000 troops to achieve his own ulterior motives!"
When Governor Shi heard this, he could not help but feel an indescribable emotion in his heart. He knew that General Liu had a high prestige in the army. If this was true, the consequences would be disastrous. He calmed down and said in a deep voice: "County Magistrate Li, this matter is very serious. Do you have any evidence?"
Li Wei nodded and said to the prefect, "These are General Liu's four personal soldiers. They came to report to me as soon as they got the news! These are good soldiers who are loyal to the emperor and love their country. Naturally, they don't want to follow General Liu and rebel."
Governor Shi, the most powerful official in the entire southwest, is very cautious about this matter. He knows about the 5000 people, but if something really happens to the only troop here, I'm afraid the entire southwest will be in danger!
Governor Shi carefully questioned the four soldiers. Fortunately, Li Wei had already explained many details to them. As the questioning deepened, his expression became more and more solemn. After a long time, he sighed and said, "County Magistrate Li, your coming here is a great blessing for Southwest Prefecture. If this General Liu really has ill intentions, the consequences will be disastrous."
Li Wei also sighed and said, "Yes, Governor. Although I am a county magistrate, I know that the safety of the country is more important than Mount Tai. This time I came here in the hope that the Governor can make preparations in advance, just in case."
The governor nodded and said, "Don't worry, Magistrate Li, I will handle this matter properly. You can stay in the government office for the time being, and I will make a decision after I find out the truth."
Li Wei bowed and said, "Thank you, sir."
"Oh!" Governor Shi suddenly sighed!
"Sir! Are you worried about General Liu?" Li Wei asked softly at this time.
"You guys go outside first, someone will arrange your destination!" Governor Shi sent away several soldiers and those who were standing nearby.
"There's nothing to do now! Look, this is a letter asking for help from the Northwest Prefecture!" Governor Shi handed a letter to Li Wei, then took out another one from the drawer and handed it to him.
Li Wei quickly took it with both hands, opened it and started reading.
"The three counties in the south of Northwest County have all been attacked by the rebels. And have been captured by the rebels!" Li Wei couldn't help but frowned when he read this. He didn't expect that the situation in Northwest County was more serious.
"Magister Li, the situation is very serious now! So now is not the time to deal with General Liu." Governor Shi said, "If we don't handle it well, we may end up in the same situation as the northwest!"
"Yes! Governor! This is the Northwest. Why is there such a serious situation! As far as I know, the military strength of the Northwest County has always been very strong!" Li Wei responded with a bow.
"The Dakun Dynasty has been peaceful for a long time! The military equipment in the northwest has been abandoned just like the southwest! Now there are many people who occupy the mountains and claim to be kings! Some have even started to attack the county town in order to seize food!" Governor Shi felt a little relieved when he said this. There are still differences between the Southwest County and the Northwest County. At least the wild vegetables and tree roots on the mountains can obviously feed many people. So it is not as bad as the Northwest County.
"Don't the imperial court care? As far as I know, the imperial court still has hundreds of thousands of troops in the Northeast, and they are all elite troops! And there are also many troops in the important area of Kyoto. Any one of them can wipe out these mobs!" Li Wei asked in disbelief.
"You are also a Marquis of Baili! Don't you know that if the truth is reported to the court, the court will first hold us local officials accountable! The situation in the northwest is the same. They now want to use their own strength to wipe out these rebels!" Governor Shi explained at this time.
"Wouldn't this be a waste of the opportunity to fight? With the drought, more and more people will not have enough food to eat! I'm afraid more and more people will join the rebellion!" Li Wei paused here.
The sun had completely set, and a bright light was on in the study. The two men discussed the current situation with solemn expressions. Governor Shi tapped his fingers lightly on the desk, as if calculating the urgency of time and the severity of the crisis.
"Magister Li, you are right." Governor Shi said in a deep voice, "But the problem now is that the situation in our Southwest County is not optimistic. If General Liu's incident breaks out, the consequences will be disastrous. And how can we support Northwest County's request for help? We are short of manpower and food."
Li Wei took a deep breath and said with a firm look: "Sir, perhaps we can start from the inside, stabilize General Liu first, and then recruit General Liu back. As long as he enters the city, he will not recognize your disposal at that time."
Governor Shi nodded and said, "This method is feasible. But we must act carefully and not let General Liu realize our intentions."
"Then I'll send someone to send a letter to call General Liu back first!" Governor Shi thought about it. He knew he couldn't just listen to one side of the story. So he was ready to talk to General Liu in person. After all, he had too few people who could lead the troops. The battle in Xishan County this time showed that General Liu was still capable.