bayedsolid Chapter 280: Common Enemy (Part )
Chapter 280: Common Enemy (Part )
Last time, we talked about how Li Yi helped Tuyuhun King Tuyuhun Ashiyin kill his brother Ashijin who had always wanted to usurp the throne, and won Ashiyin's trust and praise. So, what will Ashiyin do next? Let's read on.
Ah Shiyin no longer considered Li Yi an enemy, because he had figured it out. If Li Yi wanted to kill him, it would be easy. Now, not only did he not kill him, but he also helped him solve a big problem, which meant that Li Yi had something to ask of him. After all, he had won the throne through struggle, and he was not a fool, so he naturally guessed that Li Yi wanted his help in dealing with Xi Chu.
So at this time, A Shiyin regained his composure. He smiled and said, "Li Yuefu, you said that Xichu poisoned my subordinates for profit, for the sake of the Tea Horse Road? But I have already promised to help them open up a trade route, so why do they want to seize my territory?"
"Your Majesty, don't you know how much you have gained from the Tea Horse Road in the past two years? The Chu people naturally want to save this money and use it for themselves! The Western Chu Crown Prince Xiong Zhu is ambitious. His strategy is to annex Tuyuhun first, and then take over Dunhuang and the Western Regions. In this way, they will ensure their own financial resources. With money, they will naturally expand their army, attack, and conquer the world!"
"Humph, Xiong Zhu, you are just daydreaming! I won't give him an inch of my land! I will raise an army of 100,000 to attack Western Chu! Let him know how powerful I am! I, Tuyuhun Ashiyin, am not someone you can easily bully!"
Li Yi waved his hand and said, "Your Highness, this matter is not urgent. We should solve the internal problems first! Find out who is colluding with Xi Chu. Otherwise, if you send troops directly, you will surely fail."
"You mean those people will tell Xi Chu all my marching routes and intelligence, right? Yes! You are right! We should first find out who are the puppets, but how should I find out?"
Li Yi waved his hand and said, "No need to investigate! Let them jump out on their own."
"This, how is this possible?"
Li Yi smiled and said, "Nothing is impossible! Your Majesty, all you have to do is increase the tariffs on the Western Chu caravans. This will not only increase your income, but also dampen the arrogance of Western Chu. And before long, someone will persuade your Majesty to lower the tariffs, and the one who persuades your Majesty to lower the tariffs is someone from Western Chu!"
Without waiting for the ministers to speak, A Shiyin asked himself: "Li Yuefu, let's not talk about whether to increase tariffs or not. The grassland incident has disrupted the trade route. There are not many people using the Tea Horse Road without increasing taxes, let alone increasing taxes!"
Li Yi waved his hand and said, "I have been to Xingxing Gorge before. The disaster on the grassland has ended. The remaining trouble is the black magic wolf. Under the guidance of Guanyin Bodhisattva, I have eliminated the large group of black magic wolves south of Xingxing Gorge. The remaining scattered ones are enough for warriors above the sixth rank to deal with.
In other words, herders can return to the grasslands, and the trade route will naturally be restored soon. Your Majesty, you might as well take advantage of this period of time when trade is not open to build more passes on the Tea Horse Road, and you might as well build a few more passes to increase your income."
Ah Shiyin said excitedly, "Really? That's great! But what if more barriers are added and merchants don't leave?"
Li Yi smiled and said, "Adding more passes is not only to increase tax revenue, but also for your own protection! Why don't you think about how General Liu's 8,000 Tiger Guards entered your hinterland quietly? We have no ill will towards you, but what if it was the Chu army?"
Ah Shiyin nodded and said, "That's right! Previously, because the mountain roads were difficult to travel, it was inconvenient to transport stones and wood piles, and it was even more troublesome to open the mountains to transport grain and send troops to garrison, so the king did not set up a pass on the Tea Horse Road. Now it seems that the king was indeed inconvenient.
Shiliqiduo, Fanbu Jiangda, I order you two to lead a re-survey of the Tea Horse Road, build passes at dangerous places, arrange for the transportation of food and fodder, supplies, and select soldiers to garrison!"
"Yes!" The two took the order and left.
A Shiyin asked, "Okay, now that the problem with the pass has been solved, what should we do next to wait for the spy from Western Chu to show up?"
Li Yi waved his hand and said, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. I have already helped Your Majesty solve some of the problems. Come on, go and bring those Western Chu Gu Masters over!"
Ah Shiyin was surprised and said, "What? Li Yuefu has helped me deal with the Western Chu Gu Master! This is really a great help!"
Li Yi waved his hands and said, "No, no, no, this is just a small problem!" The Huben soldiers placed the heads of the six Gu masters on trays under the Dragon Platform. The backs of their necks had been cut open by Zhang Biao, revealing the dead Gu worms.
Li Yi said, "These six people are the Gu Masters lurking in Fuqi City. Your Majesty, just send someone to check who is close to them. Combined with the advice these people give you, I think you should be able to make a conclusion."
"Okay! Thank you, Li Yuefu! I will remember your kindness."
Li Yi waved his hands and said, "No, no, no, Your Majesty, you misunderstood! Princess Longyun asked me to do all this for the sake of friendship between Wei and Tuyuhun!"
Upon hearing this, A Shiyin immediately knelt in front of Yuan Ziyi, and all the officials below the stage knelt down with him. A Shiyin said loudly: "Your Highness, A Shiyin is incompetent in governing the country and doing things incompetently, which led to the subjects being plotted against by the Western Chu Gu Master and bewitched by them, almost ruining the friendship with the Great Wei. This is all A Shiyin's fault!
"Thanks to Her Royal Highness, you have a keen eye and saw through the Chu people's trick! You saved our Tuyuhun Kingdom from danger. I will never forget this kindness. I promise you that our Tuyuhun Kingdom will definitely work together with the Wei Kingdom in the future to fight against the despicable villains of the Western Chu Kingdom!"
Yuan Ziyi stood up and helped A Shiyin up, saying with a smile: "Your Highness, what you said is too serious. Our Great Wei and Tuyuhun are of the same origin. We govern our own regions and should support each other. However, when it comes to Xi Chu, it is really hateful. They actually used some insidious means, which should be intolerable by heaven and earth! When I go back to report to my brother, I will definitely help Your Highness to ask for an explanation from Xi Chu!"
"Report! A delegation of more than fifty people from Western Chu, carrying the King of Chu's decree and rewards, has arrived outside Fushi City!"
When Ah Shiyin heard this, his face turned green! He shouted, "Nusu Shuyak, can you still hold the knife?"
"Your Majesty, I couldn't lift it at first, but if I were to deal with the Chu people, I would have to stick the knife into their throats even if I had to bite with my teeth!"
"Okay, okay! I like what you said! Then take your men and kill all those despicable villains from Xi Chu!"
"The last general takes command!"
Nusushuyak saluted and was about to leave, but Li Yi shouted, "Wait a minute! Your Majesty, it is often said that envoys should not be killed when two countries are at war. We are still not at odds with Western Chu, and it would not sound good if the news of our direct killing of the envoys spread out.
Of course, Li also knows that the prince and the ministers cannot swallow the evil they have poisoned, but the rules are the rules. People can be spared, and the treasures can be kept. After humiliating them, they can be sent back. I think it is also possible. "
Ah Shiyin asked in confusion, "You didn't kill the person, but just left the treasure behind? How can this be justified?"
Li Yi smiled and said, "That makes sense. Those treasures are used to pay the tolls for the Tea Horse Road! Your Majesty, we can't go against money!"
"Oh! Right, right! Li Yuefu's words make sense! So how does Li Yuefu think we should humiliate them?"
"This is easy to do! Why not set up a frying pan outside the temple, and then..."
After Li Yi finished telling Yuan Ziyi his plan, he saluted and said, "Your Highness, since the prince has to deal with government affairs, we'd better step aside to avoid alerting the enemy! General Liu, the soldiers of the Huben Army have worked hard, let them return to the camp to rest, and hand over the palace guards to the prince's troops." Liu Xun saluted and agreed.
Yuan Ziyi stood up and said, "Li Yuefu is right. I will not disturb the prince from doing government affairs. Let's go back and wait for good news."
A Shiyin bowed and said, "Your Highness, take care. I will come to see you after I finish my work here!"
Yuan Ziyi nodded and walked out of the hall. Li Yi, Liu Xun and the Tiger Guards all left the hall. A Shiyin looked at the Western Chu Gu Master under the Dragon Platform and said coldly, "Did you all hear what Li Yi said? Light the fire and set up the pot, and let those damn Chu people wait outside the city for a while! After confiscating all the shops of Western Chu in the capital, let them in!"
……
Let's switch the camera and look at Li Yi. The Huben soldiers have withdrawn from Fuqi City from the north gate and returned to the camp to rest, while Li Yi and Yuan Ziyi returned to the side hall they were in before, and Zhang Biao, Yu Jiu and Lang Ya followed them.
Langya was entering the palace for the first time, so everything was new to him. Yuan Ziyi asked Zhang Biao to take him and Yu Jiu around, but not to break the rules. Zhang Biao was the commander of the imperial guards, so he knew what to do. He also knew that Yuan Ziyi had something to discuss with Li Yi, so he took Langya and Yu Jiu to the side.
After sending them away, Yuan Ziyi said, "This Ah Shiyin is unreliable!"
Li Yi laughed and said, "Oh, how do you know he is unreliable?"
Yuan Ziyi said sternly, "He has clearly pledged his loyalty to the emperor and accepted the title and rewards, but his throne, platform, sedan chair, and even palace are all of imperial specifications. This is beyond the rules and regulations, which shows that he has a rebellious heart! You are an official of the Ministry of Rites, can't you see this?"
Li Yi sat aside, waved his hands and said with a smile: "Forget it, it's just a small matter, it's nothing! A child is playing house, making a straw hat on his head and saying that he is the emperor, what do you think? Is this also a sign of disloyalty? He just likes to enjoy himself! People who are greedy for money and lustful are easy to control. If they are not greedy and only want to govern the country, then they are a threat to our Wei Dynasty!"
Yuan Ziyi glared at Li Yi and said seriously, "I'm not kidding you! Father also sent troops to attack Tuyuhun and conquered the capital, but finally retreated. That's why Asiyin refused to obey! You can't take it lightly! I tell you, women's intuition is very accurate! I just think this man is unreliable!"
Li Yi gestured for Yuan Ziyi to sit down, drank a sip of tea, and then said, "I know what you mean! This A Shiyin is indeed not a good guy. I will give him a lesson later and keep a backup plan. Will Your Highness be satisfied?"
Yuan Ziyi asked: "What's the back-up plan?"
Li Yi stretched out his hand to signal Yuan Ziyi to come closer to his ear. The latter came forward and after listening to Li Yi's words, she was surprised and said: "How can this work? You said he is greedy for money, how could he agree to it!"
Li Yi smiled and said, "If he disagrees, I have ten thousand ways to kill him. It depends on your choice, Princess."
Yuan Ziyi smiled and said, "You are the only one who has a lot of bad ideas. Fine, I will wait here for him to come and see how you beat him."
Li Yi waved his hand and said, "It's so boring just waiting like this. We have to join in the fun! How about changing clothes and letting the prince and princess make a grand appearance?"
Yuan Ziyi looked at Li Yi with a smirk on her face and immediately shook her head and said, "I don't want it! I am the princess of Wei now! I don't care about your identity as a Persian princess!"
Li Yi smiled and said, "Okay, you are just too lazy to change your clothes! It's okay, you don't want to join in the fun, but I have to let them have a good time. However, it is not convenient for me to show up, so why not... Guard Zhang, Yu Jiu, and Langya!"
The three men stepped forward, bowed and asked, "What's the matter, sir?"
"You two are going to the main hall to join in the fun, mainly to add fuel to the fire, sow discord, and exaggerate! In this matter, neither of you is as good as Langya, so you two are responsible for helping Langya smooth things over and protecting him. If there is an unstable person in the Western Chu delegation who directly takes action, that would be bad. Do you understand? You are doing this! Going in this capacity..."
After listening to Li Yi's instructions, the three of them smiled evilly, bowed and left. After they left, Yuan Ziyi twisted Li Yi's arm and said, "You are so mean! No wonder you have a good relationship with Tao Zhongwen! You are both mean and bad! You have the same bad smell!"
"Hey, you're wrong! I can't stand Old Silver Coin's style of doing things! He always uses women to settle things! If it weren't for his age, I would definitely teach him a lesson!"