When Zhao Muyun and Wang Tiezhu hurried to a secluded place on the hillside, Fan Tong and his party were already waiting anxiously.
Their faces were dusty and their eyes were full of sorrow.
As soon as he saw Zhao Muyun appear, Fan Tong hurried to greet him.
"Has Lord Fan already made all the arrangements? However, there's no need to trouble Guard Fan to come here in person!" Zhao Muyun said with a smile.
"Brother Zhao, the master...he!"
Fan Tong's face was filled with grief and indignation. He shouted angrily, "He was impeached, and the emperor issued an imperial decree to remove me from my position as commander-in-chief and bring me to the capital for questioning and investigation!"
What!
Zhao Muyun was shocked when he heard this, and felt like the sky had fallen.
I thought that by establishing a connection with Fan Nan, I could have someone in the court to help me get things done.
But the good times did not last long. Before he could enjoy the benefits brought to him by Fan Nan, the Minister of War, his career died abruptly.
This is comparable to the abortion slogan of Putian Hospital in the previous life: It’s over before it even begins!
Needless to say, Fan Nan was dismissed and investigated this time because he was definitely responsible for the previous disastrous defeat outside the Wu Zhou city.
However, the timing of his impeachment and taking him back to Beijing was just too coincidental.
Once Fan Nan left, there was no doubt that the plan to counterattack the Tartars tomorrow would be ruined.
"Then why did you come to me? Does Master Fan have something to tell you?"
Zhao Muyun looked solemn.
Fan Tong nodded. "The master doesn't agree with us following him to the capital. He ordered us to stay with you and told me to tell you everything that happened in Shuozhou City!"
"Let you stay with me?"
Zhao Muyun was shocked when he heard this.
It seems that Fan Nan knows that he will have no chance of escaping this trip back to the capital, and it will be difficult for him to be employed in the future.
Entrusting Fan Tong and others to Zhao Muyun felt like he was making some arrangements for his final affairs.
"Yes! This is what the master told us himself!"
Fan Tong said sadly, "Sergeant Zhao, will something happen to the master this time?"
“That’s hard to say!”
Zhao Muyun shook his head. "I'm just a small sergeant in the frontier army. How can I have the qualifications to influence the imperial court?"
"What should we do? Are we just going to watch the master being arrested and thrown into prison?" Fan Tong's face was full of sadness.
"The Emperor has issued an imperial decree for a thorough investigation, and Lord Fan indeed lost many troops due to command errors."
Zhao Muyun frowned and said bitterly, "If the imperial envoy had arrived a few days later, we could have defeated the Tartars together tomorrow, and Lord Fan could have made up for his mistakes. It's a pity that he was dismissed at this time."
Suddenly, Zhao Muyun's eyes lit up: "Master Fan has been dismissed. Who is the commander-in-chief of the Shuozhou headquarters now?"
"It's Jiedushi Pei!" Fan Tong said hurriedly.
"That's right!"
Zhao Muyun clapped his hands. "Lord Fan's sudden arrival in Hedong Province displeased Pei Lun, the governor-general who was in charge of Hedong Province's military affairs. When Lord Fan was defeated outside Wuzhou City, Pei Lun seized the opportunity to impeach him and have him removed."
Fan Tong nodded and said, "That's right. It was Master Pei who brought the eunuchs from the palace to take you away last night."
Zhao Muyun seemed to be thinking:
"Even if Lord Pei takes over the military affairs of Shuozhou, he still has to face the dilemma of the Tartar army at the gates of the city."
"I have the merit of contacting the Wuhuan people and launching a surprise attack on the Tartar royal court. I also have four to five hundred Tartar family members as hostages, and I am blocking the Tartars' retreat route here in the Purple Water Valley."
"Lord Pei wants to defeat the Tartars, and now he has to beg us for help!"
"It sounds like he really wants something from you!" Fan Tong looked confused. "But what does this have to do with the master being dismissed and investigated?"
"You really are some people who live up to their names!"
Zhao Muyun gave a bitter laugh. "Lord Fan was dismissed and investigated because of Pei Lun's impeachment. Now that Pei Lun has a request from me, we can mediate with Lord Fan."
"Lord Fan will definitely be held accountable this time. As for how serious his charge will be, it depends on how we negotiate with Pei Lun and how much credit he gives up!"
Seeing Fan Tong's confused look, Zhao Muyun didn't say much to him. He patted his shoulder and said:
"Since Lord Fan has ordered you to stay with me, then make the best of it."
"However, if I'm not mistaken, Lord Pei will immediately send someone to find me!"
Sure enough, not long after Zhao Muyun asked Wang Tiezhu to settle Fan Tong and others, more than ten riders came galloping from the south of the valley.
On one side of the valley, the Tatars from Timur's tribe came out to stop them, but after a negotiation, the more than ten riders actually headed straight towards Zhao Muyun.
When they got closer, they found that they were people wearing the uniforms of the Dayin Army.
They didn't notice the rugged rocks in the valley, and several horses had their hooves scratched by the sharp rocks.
The warhorses threw several knights off their horses.
When they cursed and led their horses carefully through the valley and reached the hillside, the winding trench in front of them suddenly made them despair.
At this moment, Han Zhong, Wu Shangzhi and other 300 men guarding in the trench were staring at them with a fierce look.
"You are the men of Zhao Muyun, the captain of the Zhao family. My name is Huang Chang. I work for the governor Pei and I came from Shuozhou!"
"Please tell Sergeant Zhao right away that I have something important to discuss with you."
When you live under someone's roof, you have to bow your head.
The trench in front of us was spread across a slope about two miles long, and it was impossible to pass through it on horseback.
Even if the warhorse could walk, it would not have the speed and impact advantages of the cavalry and would only become a sitting duck.
No wonder Zhao Muyun dared to block the Tartars' retreat here. It turned out that he took advantage of the dangerous terrain here, which was like the mouth of a gourd, and built defensive fortifications specifically to deal with the Tartar cavalry.
The Tatars on the other side of the valley would probably not dare to attack rashly after seeing this situation.
When Han Zhong heard the other party's background, he did not dare to neglect it. He immediately asked Xiao Wu to take people to guard the place, while he personally ran to inform Zhao Muyun.
Seeing Han Zhong running away in a hurry, Zhao Muyun smiled slightly: "People around Jiedushi Pei? They came so quickly, they must have come along the official road through the Tartar-controlled area."
"It seems that they have reached some kind of preliminary agreement with the Tartars!"
Han Zhong was surprised and asked, "Does that mean Shuozhou has stopped fighting with the Tartars and started negotiations?"
"That's right, and I can be sure that their bargaining chip must be the family of King Zhelan in our hands!" Zhao Muyun sneered.
Han Zhong wondered, "Why do you think so?"
"No need to analyze too much. We'll know once we have a talk with that person!" Zhao Muyun raised his eyebrows and laughed, "Old Han, just wait and see!"
Han Zhong turned and walked out.
After a while, Huang Chang was brought in.
"Sergeant Zhao traveled hundreds of miles into the grasslands, not only contacting the Wuhuan people but also rescuing so many Dayin civilians. He even raided the Tartar royal court and captured hundreds of their families!"
"Such achievements have shaken the three sides and are dazzling. You must have a promising future. I am here to congratulate you!"
"What's there to be happy about?" Zhao Muyun said calmly.
"Congratulations to Sergeant Zhao on his upcoming promotion to captain, becoming a key official in the prefecture!"
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