In the backyard of the yamen, Master Zhou and Master Ma were very confused and asked, "Niece-in-law, what are you doing? Didn't we agree that after trapping the people from the Xuanjing Division, we would use their token to pass the card and send the little prince to Jiangling Mansion?"
"Three months later, at the Tianqian Corridor, armored soldiers ambushed the Yanyang Nation's negotiating envoys."
Shen Xu frowned and said, "The note I found on Pei Zhiyuan was written in the ancient language of the North Sea Kingdom."
"What?" the four of them said in unison.
"Three months from now, Beihai, Yanyang, and Haoyue will send envoys to negotiate over the ownership of the Tianxin Lake gold mine. The Beihai people intend to ambush the Yanyang envoys on the natural corridor between Jiangling and Xiling, thereby provoking a conflict between Yanyang and Haoyue."
"If an envoy dies or disappears in Haoyue, it will inevitably become an excuse for war between the other two countries. Jiangling Prefecture, Qingzhou Prefecture, and Dongning Prefecture will all need to have garrisons to defend. Jiangling Prefecture, in particular, must not only defend against the Yanyang people, but also the Beihai people."
"If we hand over the Thirteenth Prince to Jiangling Prefecture now, firstly, Imperial Master Hua will definitely send troops to suppress him. No matter which side wins, it will be a drain on the national strength. Secondly, if Jiangling Prefecture uses the Thirteenth Prince as a pretext to force the imperial palace, the defense of Jiangling will be extremely weak. If Yanyang Kingdom and Beihai Kingdom seize the opportunity to attack, Jiangling will be lost."
Song Lin frowned and nodded in understanding, "If this secret letter is true, then we must find a way to stop it."
The Haoyue Kingdom is currently in a turbulent time. The military strength of Dongning Prefecture has been depleted, and riots have broken out in the north. The court's military strength has been focused on suppressing the rebellion.
Once Jiangling Prefecture falls, the southwestern part of Haoyue Kingdom will lose the defense of its natural barrier and will be difficult to recapture from other countries.
If the defense line is breached by Yanyang Kingdom and Beihai Kingdom, then the entire southern territory will most likely be lost.
At that time, Qingzhou Prefecture, Yazhou Prefecture, Jiangling Prefecture, and Dongning Prefecture will be divided up by Yanyang and Beihai, and the people will all become slaves.
Master Zhou and Master Ma exchanged a glance and hurriedly asked, "Is this news reliable?"
Chen Xu pulled the note out of his pocket, stroking it gently with his fingertips, and analyzed, "This is a special mulberry paper made by the North Sea Kingdom. Only a small number of North Sea nobles use it. The text written on it is the ancient dialect of the Five Barbarians. It is extremely difficult for people who don't know the history of the North Sea Kingdom to decipher it."
"I guess there are two possibilities. The first is that Pei Zhiyuan intercepted the message, but couldn't decipher the text on it, so he came to talk to me. The second possibility is that Pei Zhiyuan is one of the participants in this secret letter. They plan to ambush the envoy of Yanyang Kingdom together. This is very troublesome."
She said seriously, "So, the contents of this secret letter are absolutely true, but we have no idea what their intentions are, who is responsible for deploying the soldiers in the Tianqian Corridor, which country's soldiers they are deploying, and when and how they will ambush the Yanyang Nation's envoys."
Song Lin nodded in understanding and said, "We don't have much time left. We can't enter Jiangling City now. The fastest way is to go to the capital and put things right before the negotiations."
"How are you going to set things right?"
Shen Xu explained her plan to the people present. She pinched her chin and thought deeply, "Cooperating with Pei Zhiyuan is still quite risky, but this is undoubtedly the most direct and convenient method. My husband, Cheng'er, uncles, are you willing to trust me for once?"
"Xiu Xiu, no matter what you want to do, your husband will always support you." Song Lin immediately expressed his opinion.
Xiao Mingcheng looked at her determined eyes and nodded after a slight hesitation, "I believe in Sister Shen too."
Mr. Zhou and Mr. Ma's scalps tingled when they heard this. "This is too dangerous, it's simply a fairy tale!"
"We have to split our forces into two groups. You, my uncle, and Master Zhou will go to Jiangling Mansion with a pass. If there is any change, you can quickly pass on the news to us. My husband and I will escort Cheng'er to the capital. If we fail, you will send my drawings to the Yang family of Jiangling Mansion and fight to the death." Shen Xu took out a set of atlases, which recorded several weapons and formations.
Xiao Mingcheng also took out the jade pendant he had hidden, caressed it for a moment with great reluctance, and solemnly handed it to Master Ma. "Cheng'er also wants to live, but Cheng'er knows that if he doesn't go to the capital, millions of people in Haoyue Kingdom will not be able to survive. This is a relic of my mother. When you arrive in Jiangling Mansion, my uncle will understand."
Master Ma flipped through the atlas and carefully put the jade pendant and the atlas into his arms. "You must stay alive."
"You too." Song Lin held Chen Xu's hand tightly. Going to the capital, there is no chance of survival.
"Husband, we need to talk to Pei Zhiyuan about this and see how he views it."
Several people reached a consensus and walked towards the central hall.
Pei Zhiyuan was still sitting leisurely on the chair. Seeing them coming in one after another, he said lazily, "Have you discussed it?"
Shen Xu directly took out the piece of mulberry paper, held it in his hand and asked, "Well, Master Pei, where did you get this piece of paper?"
"You really do understand."
Shen Xu said bluntly: “Well, I can understand it. This is the ancient dialect of the Five Barbarians of the North Sea Kingdom. I have some understanding of it.”
"Miss Shen, you are not an ordinary person," Pei Zhiyuan looked at Shen Xu inquiringly, and said carefully: "You don't look like you are from Beihai. Where did you learn these things?"
"To be honest, I have lost my memory."
Shen Xu sighed slightly and said, "I only remember reading books like this. As for people—I only remember that I had an older brother named Yan. I can't remember anything else."
Pei Zhiyuan's expression changed slightly, and he said sullenly, "Do you remember where you used to live?"
Shen Xu shook his head and said, "I just remember that I read a lot of books. By the way, have you seen me, or this kind of crossbow?"
"No," Pei Zhiyuan replied, "but I've seen something similar. A few years ago, a young man demonstrated it to us. He also taught us how to make canine-toothed hawk hook arrows. That man was an envoy from the Yanyang Kingdom. I think his name was Jiang something... Oh, Jiang Yu! Do you remember him?"
"Jiang Yu?" Shen Xu tried hard to think of the name Jiang Yu, and suddenly she felt a slight headache. She covered her head and tried hard to think, but she could not remember anything except various muscle lines.
"Xiu Xiu, are you feeling uncomfortable? If you can't remember it, don't think about it." Song Lin hurried forward and supported her.
She covered her head, beads of sweat streaming down her forehead. She endured the pain and said with all her might, "Jiang Yu, this feels very familiar... Can you draw what he looks like?"
"After so many years, I have no impression of what he looks like."
Seeing her leaning in Song Lin's arms in great pain, Pei Zhiyuan simply changed the subject and asked, "That note was intercepted from the two Beihai people. What was written on it?"
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