At this moment, in the Jinwang Mansion.
A young man in his twenties, sitting at the head of the table, listened to the reports from the people below him with a frown. His expression was somewhat irritable, and he seemed to exude a bit of hostility.
His bloodshot eyes and dark circles under his eyes made him look even more tired.
The faces of the people below them also looked rather grim.
"Your Highness, what should we do? Those Xiliang people are guarding outside the city gates, completely blocking Weizhou City's transport routes. Once the merchants from nearby cities hear about the situation here, they dare not come over."
If things continue like this in the city, I'm afraid they'll starve to death before they even have a chance to fight the Xiliang people.
"Yes, and those river bandits are becoming increasingly rampant lately, frantically probing the small fishing villages near Weizhou. Many of these villages have already suffered. If this continues, those river bandits will eventually come to Weizhou City."
"With these people all launching attacks at this time, what are the people in the city going to do?!"
"Your Highness, we can't wait any longer. If we wait like this, we'll only suffer in the end. Those people from Xiliang are well-prepared and are deliberately wasting our time."
The more they talked, the angrier they became, wishing they could rush out right now and fight those Xiliang people to the death.
Xie Yi gripped the cup tightly in his hand, a hint of ruthlessness showing between his brows.
Having lived in Weizhou for so many years, this was the first time he felt the situation was so serious, even more so than when he left the capital.
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
"Your Highness, something terrible has happened! Someone has broken in through the tunnel. Those people are claiming to be a princess or a prince. They must be crazy."
Xie Yi merely frowned.
The others inside were also terrified.
"How did others come to know about that tunnel? Could it be that people from Xiliang infiltrated it?"
"That won't do. If they really are from Xiliang, we have to block that place completely. Otherwise, if they catch us off guard, Weizhou City will be truly doomed."
Xie Yi glanced at the group with displeasure, and they immediately shut their mouths.
"Bring him in; I will interrogate him personally," Xie Yi said with displeasure.
He remembered that the tunnel was built to solve the problem of flooding in Weizhou City back then.
However, now that the dikes are sturdy and there haven't been such heavy rains since, the tunnel has been abandoned.
Because it was done so secretly, no one else knew its exact location except for them, let alone how to enter or leave Weizhou City through that tunnel, so he didn't have anyone fill it in.
It's really strange that others would find out about this now.
A moment later, someone pushed open the door to the hall.
The leader respectfully addressed the people inside the room: "Your Highness, the people have been brought here. These are the individuals; their behavior is suspicious, and they are impersonating royalty."
Jiang Yimian felt helpless. These people were far too unreasonable. They didn't even give them a chance to show their official seals to prove their identities, and directly escorted them to the Prince's Mansion.
Well, at least it saves them the trouble of finding out where the Prince's Mansion is.
Xie Yi frowned as he looked at the three men and two women below him, and rebuked them, "Who are you people, and why do you know about that tunnel?"
Upon seeing this, Wang San quickly took out the seals of several people from his bosom and respectfully said, "Your Highness, this is Lord Lu of the Censorate, this is Princess Ning'an, personally appointed by His Majesty, and this is the Second Prince of Tuyuhun."
We are here on His Majesty's orders to escort the Second Prince back to Tuyuhun.
Xie Yi paused, thinking about the news that had come from the capital a few days ago. It was indeed true. Looking at the extraordinary demeanor of the people in front of him, they did not seem like vicious villains. He was already seven or eight parts convinced.
He took the seal handed to him by the servant and examined it carefully before letting out a sigh of relief. He stood up from his seat and said, "So it was Princess Ning'an and Lord Lu. I was negligent. The city has been busy lately, and the guards are like frightened birds. It was a misunderstanding."
"You lot, why aren't you going down there? Are you waiting to be punished?"
The group of people were so frightened that they bowed to Jiang Yimian and her companions and quickly retreated, fearing that they would really be punished.
Lu Cijian didn't pay any attention to them. He bowed to the person in the main seat and said, "Your Highness is too kind. We came in a hurry this time."
Xie Yi simply waved his hand, hesitated for a moment, and then asked, "How did you all know the entrance to that tunnel?"
The people in front of him all looked very young. They must have been children during the flood. They couldn't possibly know the location of the tunnel. Even he had only recently found out.
Lu Cijian simply said, "I stayed in Weizhou City for a period of time back then and accidentally discovered that tunnel."
Xie Yi merely raised an eyebrow, clearly not believing the explanation. It was impossible for someone who had only lived there for a few years to be so familiar with Weizhou City.
That tunnel is not something that everyone knows about.
However, as long as these people aren't spies sent by those Xiliang people, it's fine if they know; it's not a big deal.
He then said, "Weizhou City is currently under blockade, and there are also bandits eyeing the waterways. It will be difficult for you to travel from here to Tuyuhun."
Jiang Yimian asked curiously, "Have the river bandits become so rampant in Weizhou City lately? They even dare to rob government ships?"
Upon hearing this, everyone in the room sighed.
A middle-aged man with a large belly stroked his beard and said, "Your Highness, you may not know this, but there have always been many river bandits in Weizhou, but they were all separate groups and did not amount to much."
It wasn't until the last two years that those pirates were subdued and gathered together, establishing a base at sea. They routinely robbed passing merchant ships.
They've been particularly rampant in recent days, practically monopolizing the sea transport routes to and from Weizhou Island; it's truly despicable.
Lu Cijian frowned. "Didn't the nearby cities join forces with the Weizhou City guards to besiege them?"
He had heard of the river bandits in the Weizhou area, but he didn't expect it to become so serious in the last two years.
Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man slammed his hand on the table in anger and said, "Why didn't we go and wipe them out? Those pirates are too cunning and hide too well. They are adept at concealing their tracks at sea."
Every time the city garrison arrived, these people would behave themselves and hide in their hideouts. Once the garrison left, they would continue to intercept passing merchant ships.
We haven't even reached their base, how can we fight them?
Previously, these people were not so rampant, and they would turn a blind eye to the government's ships, so we gave up the idea of encircling and suppressing them.
Who knew these river pirates would be so rampant lately? It's infuriating!
The thought of those river bandits filled him with rage; he wished he could tear them to pieces. If given the chance, he would destroy their hideout.
Upon hearing this, Aguzan said with understanding, "It seems that Weizhou City is in some trouble. No wonder you dare not fight against the Xiliang people outside."
There are river bandits on the waterways, and the Xiliang army is outside the city.
No matter which one Weizhou City deals with first, the other will definitely take advantage of the situation. For now, the only option is to seal off the city.
This, however, suited the wishes of the Xiliang people perfectly, putting Weizhou City in a dilemma.
The room fell silent for a moment, but the silence didn't last long before several noises came from outside.
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