The more Wei Yunlan thought about it, the more he felt something was fishy.
Could it be that the Northern Barbarians are deliberately creating unrest to draw the attention of the troops stationed in the north so that they can take the opportunity to launch a surprise attack on the border?
In any case, we have to guard against this.
The border was attacked and food was stolen, and it was not only the border soldiers who suffered, but also thousands or even tens of thousands of ordinary people.
There are famines in various places, and food is already in short supply this year. If the northern barbarians rob us again, who knows how many people will die of starvation...
Since Wei Yunlan possessed the "prophet" of his previous life, he did not want to sit and wait for death and let the situation become more serious.
After all, she is also a citizen of Dayong and has Dayong blood flowing in her veins.
"Zou Yun, could you help me arrange a meeting with An Jiu?"
Before leaving Beiguan, Yu Qi had introduced her to the person in charge of intelligence at Tianshu Pavilion in Beiguan, who was the An Jiu mentioned by Wei Yunlan at this time.
Seeing Wei Yunlan's serious expression, Zou Yun did not dare to slack off and immediately nodded and said, "An Jiu is in the city. Miss Wei, it's getting late today. I'll ask him to see you tomorrow morning."
"good."
After seeing Zou Yun off, Wei Yunlan's gaze returned to the flickering and burning candlelight.
Next to the candlestick, there were some burnt paper fragments scattered around.
With his eyes empty, Wei Yunlan quietly went over what happened today in his mind.
Finally, he suddenly stood up and walked towards the main house in the yard.
This matter cannot be done by relying on Tianshu Pavilion alone. After all, Tianshu Pavilion is not a government agency. Even if it can infiltrate the Military Intelligence Department, it will not be as convenient as the officials in Beiguan City when it comes to really doing things.
The night is getting darker.
In the Wei family courtyard in Jingping Lane, the lights in the main room were always on.
Wei Yunlan explained in detail what happened today and finally expressed his own speculation.
Wei Maolin listened carefully, stroked his beard, frowned for a moment, and asked, "Lan'er, do you think their goal, in addition to snatching this year's grain harvest, is mainly General Shi?"
"Yes." Wei Yunlan nodded.
Even if nothing happened in the previous life, judging from the current border situation, General Shi’s situation is extremely dangerous.
General Shi was a general promoted by the late emperor himself. He has served in the army for decades and is now nearly sixty years old.
Before the late emperor passed away, he was specially transferred back from the southwest and stationed on the border defense line of the north. He was trusted to have the ability to protect the border of Dayong.
In fact, General Shi did not let the late emperor down.
Even though his military strength was weakened and there were occasional shortages of food and fodder, he had still firmly guarded this border defense line for more than ten years and had not given the barbarian army a single step!
It can be said that General Shi is the backbone of the army stationed in the north.
With him here, the Northern Army is the rock guarding the northern part of Dayong.
Without him, the rock will no longer be strong.
If the Northern Barbarians want to invade Dayong, the first person they want to kill will undoubtedly be General Shi!
"You have been in Beiguan for so long, have you ever met General Shi?" Wei Yunlan asked.
"No." Wei Maolin shook his head.
The army stationed in the north is not in the city, but is stationed in a military camp north of Beiguan City.
Wei Maolin had arrived at Beiguan for many days, but he had never seen General Shi in person or even heard of him entering the city.
"He's not going back to the general's mansion?" Wei Yunlan asked.
"No." Wei Maolin said, "General Shi has no wife or children, only a widowed mother. The old lady of the Shi family originally lived in the general's mansion in Beiguan City. A few years ago, Emperor Xiaoming bestowed a title on the old lady and invited her to the capital to live in honor. Now the Shi Mansion in Beiguan City is empty, and General Shi has always lived in the military camp and will not easily enter the city."
“It’s actually like this…”
Wei Yunlan couldn't help but feel chilled when he heard this.
General Shi fought for Dayong for decades, and even though he was nearly sixty years old, he was still busy at the front line. However, Emperor Xiaoming took his only relative to the capital, forcing them to be separated.
Saying it is "honorary care" is just a way of saying it to make it sound better.
Who doesn’t know what’s really going on?
It was just to leave a hostage in Beijing to restrain General Shi.
As the saying goes, trust people when you employ them, and don't employ people if you don't trust them. Emperor Xiao Ming's move seems to be nothing wrong, but compared with the previous emperor, he is really narrow-sighted and full of petty calculations, and is not fit to be an emperor!
Glancing at Wei Yunlan's frown that seemed to be able to pinch a mosquito to death, Wei Maolin knew what she was thinking at the moment.
He shook his head gently, sighed, and returned to what he had just discussed.
He did not ask Wei Yunlan why he was so sure that the rumor that the Northern Barbarian spies had infiltrated the city in large numbers, which had been circulating in the city this evening, was a scam. Instead, he followed Wei Yunlan's concerns and thought of a solution.
"It's not difficult to remind General Shi."
"Are you going to use Lord Gong from the City Affairs Office?" Wei Yunlan guessed. She remembered that her father had been getting along very well with Lord Gong during this period.
She had met Lord Gong once from afar, and he always called her father "Brother Wei" in a very friendly manner.
Wei Maolin shook his head, "Why bother to go far away? If we want to establish contact with the Shi family, we don't need anyone else, our own family will do."
"Huh?" Wei Yunlan's eyes were full of confusion.
General Shi was born in a grassroots family. Before he joined the army, his family was just a poor peasant family. He was able to have his current status through hard work and military achievements.
For decades, he has been in the army and has almost never been to the capital.
The two generations of civil officials in the Wei family had no military generals among their contacts. The Xu family was a place of nobles who had been stationed in the capital for a long time, and no one had left the capital for decades.
Their Wei family is related to the Shi family, how come she has never heard of it?
"The near in the saying 'give up the near and seek the far' is not applicable to me as a father." Wei Maolin said, glancing at Gao who was sitting next to him.
Wei Yunlan was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized, "Is the Shi family related to my mother?"
"It's not really a friendship."
Gao said, "I have no friendship with the Shi family, but I have met Old Lady Shi a few times. The old lady believed in Taoism, and the statue of Taoist deity that was often worshipped in her home was your great-grandfather."
"The old lady was a follower of your great-grandfather. After arriving in Beijing, she learned that I was the only descendant left in the Tianshi Mansion. She invited me to her mansion to discuss Taoism twice, but after learning that I had not made any achievements in Taoism, she never invited me again. However, during festivals, the two mansions would exchange greetings."
Wei Yunlan never expected that his family and the Shi family had such a relationship.
"I'm afraid it won't be easy to start a conversation with the Tianshi Mansion and Old Lady Shi between us?"
"No way." Wei Maolin and Gao looked at each other and shook their heads at the same time. Gao then said, "This is easy."
"The old lady worshipped the gods every day, praying for her son's safety, and her sincerity moved the gods."
"So, your late great-grandfather sent a dream to his descendants to warn the general that danger was about to happen!"
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