Chapter 891 A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity
Not to mention Deputy General Ao, even Xiahou Ling was extremely shocked that Ming Ke had stolen the "Tiger Tally" of the Wei Dynasty.
He had been "dealing" with the Great Wei for many years, and Beiling had fought with Luoyan Pass several times. He had sent countless spies to the Great Wei, so he naturally knew about the Long Yuling, and he also knew about the fact that the Great Wei Taizu had created the Zhen'an Army and the Longting Guard.
Xiahou Ling held the object in his hand and asked in a deep voice, "Is this really the Dragon Jade Token?"
"Absolutely true!"
The man quickly said, "The Queen of Wei hid this item, and no one knew about it from the beginning. Even the noble families of Wei and Prince Hui believed that the Dragon Jade Token was in the hands of the Emperor of Wei."
"Outsiders only believe that the troops the Emperor of Wei left in the capital were dispatched by the Empress because of the Emperor's order. But in reality, without this Dragon Jade Order, anyone attempting to mobilize troops or cause changes in the capital would be considered a rebel."
"The Queen of Great Wei feigned defeat and was threatened by those people, but in reality, she used the Dragon Jade Order to set up a trap and nearly captured them all. If it weren't for Lord Ming Ke who had been patiently by her side, following the Queen of Great Wei out of prison and protecting her until the very end, she would have become part of her plan."
As the man spoke, his breathing became a little unstable, and he waited for a moment to calm down before continuing.
"Lord Mingke took advantage of the chaos to seize the Dragon Jade Token and capture the Queen of Wei. She originally intended to send them back to Beiling together, but was unexpectedly intercepted by people from the Princess's Mansion."
"For some reason, the people in the Princess's Mansion were determined to get the Queen of Wei. Lady Mingke had no choice but to use this as a threat and let her subordinates take the Dragon Jade Token and leave first. She and the Queen of Wei fell into their hands in an attempt to delay them."
"But who knew that the people in the Princess's Mansion would go back on their word? They sent people to hunt us down along the way. Almost all of us who stayed in the capital of the Great Wei were killed. Only I managed to escape to Fengcheng."
Xiahou Ling's expression changed constantly as he listened to the man's words. His eyes fell on the man's broken arm and he asked in a deep voice, "What's the current situation in the capital of Wei?"
The man said, "Before I left, the capital of the Wei Dynasty was in complete chaos. The aristocratic families and Prince Hui's attempt to force the emperor to abdicate were discovered, and the news that the Queen of Wei had escaped the palace but was taken away and disappeared was even more widespread."
"The Princess's Mansion sent a number of assassins to infiltrate the Wei capital. That night, they took advantage of the chaos and killed many people. As my subordinates fled, people from the Wei Dynasty were everywhere searching for the thieves. I heard that countless people were killed and wounded in the Wei capital that night, and both the aristocratic families and the royal family suffered heavy losses."
Deputy General Ao was surprised: "Is this true?"
The man said, "Really? The one in charge of the Wei side now is the former Prince Ji. Liang Guangyi and his noble families are fighting fiercely with Cao Dejiang's men."
"Prince Ji and his men are trying to suppress the news of the Queen of Great Wei's disappearance, but the road back to Beiling is full of roadblocks, and there are search and arrest personnel everywhere, both by land and by water. If they were just looking for bandits, there would be no need for such a big commotion."
"Grand Master, the Queen of Wei must still be in the hands of Lady Mingke. She is being held captive somewhere by the people in the Princess's residence. Please, Grand Master, please find a way to rescue Lady Mingke..."
Xiahou Ling's eyes changed when he heard this. He lowered his eyes and looked at the object in his hand, pondering for a moment. Then he looked up at the man and said, "I will find a way to save Ming Ke. You have made great contributions this time. Rest assured and recover from your injuries. I will reward you handsomely after the war is over."
"Yes, Master Imperial Master."
"That's right."
Xiahou Ling tried to soothe her a few words and was about to leave when he suddenly seemed to remember something and turned back. "The capital of the Great Wei has long been under martial law. The death of a royal elder has heightened security. With the Queen's methods, how did you manage to get her out alive?"
The man hurriedly said, "The city gates are naturally heavily guarded, but the Lu family has a secret passage leading directly out of the city."
"Lu family?" Xiahou Ling suddenly raised his eyes: "Which Lu family?"
"It was the Lu family, one of the eight great families of the Wei Dynasty. Later, they were confiscated and exterminated by the previous deposed emperor for treason."
The man didn't know the reason for the sudden fierce look in Xiahou Ling's eyes, he just subconsciously replied:
"After the Lu family died out, the old Lu family mansion became abandoned due to being haunted. There was a secret passage hidden in their backyard that led directly to the outside of the city. Lord Mingke led us out of the city through that passage, but we were blocked by people from the Princess's Mansion as soon as we left."
Xiahou Ling frowned.
"National Master?" The man was a little confused.
Xiahou Ling pursed his lips and said, "Nothing. You should stay in the tent and recuperate for the next few days. Don't reveal a single word about what's happening in the Wei Dynasty."
The man hurriedly said, "I understand."
…
Emerging from the tent, Lieutenant General Ao observed the expression on Xiahou Ling's face and couldn't help but ask, "Grandmaster, the disappearance of the Great Wei Queen and the chaos in the capital are good things for us, especially with the Dragon Jade Order. But why do you look unhappy to me?"
Xiahou Ling squeezed the item in his hand and said, "What's there to be happy about? Putting aside the question of whether what he said is true or not, those people in the Great Wei are good at putting on a show. Have you forgotten what happened with Song Jinxiu?"
At that time, the Song family was completely wiped out, and Song Jinxiu fled from Wei in a panic and was picked up by his people. He thought he had picked up an obedient dog, but who could have imagined that the guy was a trap set up by others from the beginning to the end.
Not only did he not gain any benefit, but he was bitten back by him, and the entire Imperial Master's Mansion was almost doomed.
If he hadn't had a bit of luck, if he hadn't kept some tricks up his sleeve, he would have probably become an unjustly killed ghost by now, and the grass on his grave would be so tall that no one would know how tall it would be.
Vice General Ao was from the Imperial Preceptor's Mansion, so he naturally knew about Song Jinxiu's affairs, but...
"This time is different."
Deputy General Ao said, "Ming Ke will definitely not betray the Imperial Master's Mansion. Even if the people of Great Wei wanted to set a trap, they would definitely not use their queen's life to plot against us, right? The Emperor of Wei regards his queen as his own life."
It is said that after Emperor Wei ascended the throne, the six palaces were left empty and he only favored one person.
Using the queen as bait to set up a trap, aren't you afraid that someone will really die?
"Besides, Imperial Master, the thing in your hand is the Dragon Jade Token. The people of the Wei Dynasty must be crazy to use such a thing to set up a trap."
Upon hearing this, Xiahou Ling stroked the object in his hand. He knew of course that the Emperor of Wei would not use the Queen's life to plot a conspiracy, but the incident with Song Jinxiu had left him with some hesitation.
Deputy General Ao said anxiously, "Master, I know you're worried it's a scam, but what if it's true? This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
"We've been fighting the Wei for about two months now. Although we seem to have the upper hand everywhere and have even captured two cities from the Wei, the people of the Wei are extremely cunning."
"They burned all the food and fodder in the city ahead of time, and secretly evacuated the civilians. Although we seized a lot of gold and silver treasures, they are of no use to us."
Under normal circumstances, the gold and silver could be exchanged for food and cloth, and the more the better. However, now that the two countries are at war, Wei has long cut off the trade routes to Beiling.
No amount of gold, silver, or money can buy back even a pound of grain!
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