57 Chapter 57
◎Two chapters in one◎
Yin Lifang, who was also in Jianye, was also worried about her mother and sister. Her cousin Lijun's marriage was imminent, and her mother happened to remember that there was a cousin in her mother's family in Yuzhou who was both talented and handsome. Her uncle's grandson was just one year old, so she took this opportunity to go back. How could she have known that such a thing would happen? Yuzhou actually went to war with Xuzhou.
As the saying goes, when war rages for three months, a letter from home is worth ten thousand pieces of gold. Yin Lifang was a concubine of the second rank, and it was not easy for Princess Wei to go back to her parents' home, let alone for her to deliver a letter to the front line.
Princess Wei comforted her: "I think your Yin family has a deep relationship with the young prince. Your sister married Mr. Xie, and he is also a close friend of the young prince. He will not stand by and watch you die."
In the eyes of Princess Wei, there is nothing to worry about. Prince Huaiyin is a subordinate of Prince Wei, and the Yin family is Prince Wei's in-law. Even if Prince Huaiyin has nothing to do with Concubine Yin, he should try his best for the sake of Prince Wei. Otherwise, if Concubine Yin's son becomes the crown prince in the future, Li Cheng will not be able to afford to offend him.
Perhaps there was some rift between Li Cheng and the King of Wei. The King of Wei's wife discovered it subtly and her attitude towards Li Cheng changed slightly.
Concubine Yin was currently worried and had no time to pay attention to the attitude of Princess Wei.
When she was little, Madam Yin treated her the best. She was not as pretty as her younger sister, and her personality was not as likable as her younger sister. When she was in Prince Wu's Mansion, everyone praised her for being honest and thoughtful, except her mother, who said that she was too sensible because she was forced to be so.
It was because of my good mother that she adopted my cousin as her own daughter and treated her completely as her own.
Of course, my mother's trip to Yuzhou was also to take Li Yi out for a walk. Her brother-in-law was just taking a concubine from a merchant family, but she was so confused that she didn't believe him even though he said in a letter that he had never touched Cao. Instead, she got angry. At first, Mrs. Xie was indifferent to Cao, but she knew how to behave. Cao's family was from a merchant family, and she had so much dowry, but she gave her some unique and elegant little things, which didn't offend her, or she would do some needlework to send.
At first, Madam Xie refused to give anything to Yin Liyi because she was a concubine, but she still sent things to Yin Liyi, and even copied Buddhist scriptures for her and made shoes for her. Last time, when Yin Liyi's eldest daughter fell into the water, she jumped in and saved her. Since then, Madam Xie could no longer be hard on her.
Yin Liyi saw these changes and was anxious, but she was powerless to change them. Frankly speaking, Cao did not do anything out of line to win favor. She called her a sister, was very respectful to Madam Xie, was polite to her, and even took good care of her son and daughter.
It's just so good.
Perhaps in Yin Liyi's eyes, a concubine only flirts with a man, that is the real fight for favor, but Cao Shi had never even consummated her marriage, and she did not go around flirting with Xie Jiuyi. Moreover, Xie Jiuyi was in the army, so even if she tried her best, Xie Jiuyi would not be able to see it.
But Madam Xie's transformation made Yin Liyi feel that one day Xie Jiuyi would be slowly taken away, and she became unhappy. Madam Yin went to Yuzhou to take her daughter out to relax.
Unexpectedly, they were so unlucky that when they arrived in Yuzhou, they didn't expect that the two sides would go to war.
Compared to Concubine Yin's worries, Old Lady Xie has also been nagging about it for a long time. She and Yin Liyi have been mother-in-law and daughter-in-law for several years. Yin Liyi is a person who doesn't have too many thoughts and is warm to others. Old Lady Xie's relatives from her mother's family like her very much. So Old Lady Xie was originally disrespectful to Cao, but gradually she felt that Cao was not easy either, but she did not change her face towards Yin Liyi. How could she know that Yin Liyi would encounter these things when she went out?
Even though she heard Madam Xie talking about Yin Liyi, Cao didn't show any dissatisfaction on her face. Instead, she said, "Madam, don't worry. I think my sister is blessed by heaven and will be fine."
Madam Xie said to her unhappily, "It's easy for you to say that."
Even though Old Lady Xie said this, Cao did not get angry. She said calmly, "I have known my sister for a long time and I think she is a noble person. Don't worry, my brother has business in Yuzhou and can help me find out something."
"Are you really willing to help?" Mrs. Xie looked at her.
Cao smiled and said, "Why not help? I am a humble woman, a merchant. I should not say this, but I dare to marry you because you are so kind-hearted. If you were someone who is not easy to get along with, where would I have a place to stay?"
Old Madam Xie thought so too. Yin was a clean-cut person, and she didn't have such deep scheming. Otherwise, during all these years when she was in charge of the family, Yin didn't even have the thought of seizing power. If it was someone else, let alone Huaiyin Princess Zheng, she was born beautiful and affectionate, and had deep scheming. She coaxed the little prince into not recognizing her grandmother, and even abandoned her cousin, and drove out the old servants that Concubine Wu used to use, and Li Cheng's wet nurse.
If it were Zheng, Cao might not even be able to get in the door, and even if they did, they would probably be tortured to the point of fleeing in fear.
Therefore, Mrs. Xie had a better impression of Cao, but she did not show it.
It is also said that Li Cheng was arranging the troops. He always ate and lived with the soldiers and never sought special treatment. Although it was Yuzhou that took the initiative to stir up trouble now, Li Cheng had done in-depth research on Yuzhou.
Yuzhou is on the edge of Xuzhou, which is different from Qingzhou. Qingzhou is above Xuzhou, and next to Qingzhou is Yanzhou. Yuzhou is located between Xuzhou and Jingzhou. If Yuzhou is captured, Jingzhou and Xie Jiuyi will be in a pincer attack if they go south.
"Commander-in-chief, the spies reported that the Yuzhou army may have set up an ambush in Dongxia."
"No wonder they are trying to make a feint to the east and attack in the west. It turns out they have set up an ambush long ago. Don't panic. Let's have our artillery and catapults ready. I will fight them personally when the time comes." Li Cheng is not afraid of them.
Long before Li Cheng trained as a naval officer, he had been looking for craftsmen to make weapons. He knew that if you want to do your work well, you must first sharpen your tools. However, these weapons were very expensive and all came from his private treasury. After his wife came into the family, he saved a lot of money every year, and he invested almost all of it in this.
If he could conquer Yuzhou, he would occupy Xuzhou, Yuzhou and half of Qingzhou in the future. You should know that Yuzhou is also a grain-producing area, so his territory would be even bigger. He might not have to rely on others in the future, because all these were conquered by his men, without relying on anyone else for a single blow or a single kick.
In conclusion, Li Cheng put on his armor, mounted his horse and touched his breastplate. This breastplate was given to him by his wife. She really cared about him and treated him like a little kid.
It was inevitable to get injured in the battle, but Huiyin was worried about himself, so there was nothing he could do, so he had to wear it.
In fact, he originally had a heart-protection mirror, but it was rejected as too fancy and impractical, so he replaced it with a bronze one. This was also a sweet burden from his wife.
Zhang Song of Yuzhou was originally a subordinate of Lu Wei and served as the governor of Yuzhou. After Lu Wei's death, he started to set up his own family and chose Li Cheng in the first round. To him, Li Cheng was already his grandson. He probably relied on the subordinates of his father, King Wu, and thought Li Cheng was a child.
Furthermore, if he took Xuzhou, he would occupy an important stronghold. If the King of Wei and Zhao Hongweiduo were both defeated, he could go south to occupy Jiangnan. Jiangnan is a good place, a first-class prosperous place.
But he was wrong. Li Cheng was not only smart and capable, but also very good at deploying troops. After two rounds of fighting, Zhang Ruo was defeated.
Li Cheng didn't just want to defeat him, he also wanted to take the land of Yuzhou, so after Zhang Ruo ran away, people thought Li Cheng would be quiet, but unexpectedly he caught up with him.
"Oh no, this guy wants my Yuzhou." Zhang Yu reacted.
His subordinates said, "Governor, Li Cheng is young, but he is very cunning. We set up an ambush but he figured it out."
Zhang Yu stretched out his hand to stop him from speaking. "Fortunately, I was prepared. I didn't intend to threaten women. After all, I didn't expect to lose. Now I brought the mother and daughter of the Yin family here."
Before this, Zhang Ruo knew that Yin's mother and daughter were coming to Yuzhou, so he asked someone to invite them to the governor's house to play, just in case.
Upon hearing this, the conspirator clapped his hands and laughed, "This is a good move, Governor. You really plan carefully before you act. Madam Yin's daughter gave birth to the King of Wei's eldest son, and she also has another daughter who is the wife of Xie Jiuyi. With them in hand, I'm sure Li Cheng will definitely not dare to come over."
Zhang Ruo also felt that he had foresight.
However, it is said that after Madam Yin and the sisters Yin Liyi and Yin Lijun were placed under house arrest by Zhang Ruo, Madam Yin cried every day: "It is all my fault that you have been harmed."
"Mom, please don't say that. Who knew this man Zhang would be so capable?" Yin Liyi was better than her mother. After all, she was the sister-in-law of King Wei and the wife of Xie Jiuyi. If Zhang Ruo really wanted to do something, he would have done it long ago. It would be impossible for him to support them with good food and drink.
The youngest, Yin Lijun, grew up under the influence of her uncle and father. This was her first time encountering such a situation, but she was calmer than her aunt and cousin.
"Auntie, my second sister is right. That common man is fighting with the young prince. No matter what, the young prince will not ignore us." Yin Lijun thought more deeply.
After hearing this, Yin Liyi secretly thought that this was true.
When Madam Yin heard her two daughters say this, she sighed and said, "If I hadn't come to Yuzhou, everything would be fine now."
"Auntie, if you hadn't come, they would have threatened my grandparents. How would we know if they wanted to do something evil?" Yin Lijun was very calm.
Seeing her cousin like this, Yin Liyi couldn't help but sigh: "I usually think you are quiet, gentle, and thin, but I never thought you are so knowledgeable."
Yin Lijun smiled shyly again.
殷麗儀想起小時候殷麗君就愛和姐姐麗芳一起玩，二人越來越像，麗君小時候喜歡穿紅戴綠在，長大了和姐姐一樣，不愛胭脂也不愛打扮，現在明明正青春，卻一身寡青色比甲，只絆扣上的一顆珍珠方顯幾分貴氣。
幾人正想着，外頭說刺史大人回府，幾人面面相觑。
卻說李澄就是想着要取豫州，他糧草早已準備充足，可不是只擺着看的。
偏偏這個時候，有前鋒來報，說張誦派人往門樓這裏射了一箭，箭上說殷夫人和殷麗儀等人都在張誦手上，若是他識趣的話，自行退去，否則，就別怪他不客氣。
李澄拿着這張紙條，氣的一拍桌子：“她們在建業待的好好地，怎麽跑豫州去了？”
他連徽音都三番五次叮囑不讓她随意走動，徽音是不去遠處的，即便在徐州都不胡亂出去，去的那幾家都是有數的。即便如此，他都派人保護妻子，生怕被人裹挾，沒想到他在家沒栽，反倒是在殷家身上栽了。
副将宇文當道：“小王爺，豫州之地唾手可得，若是離去，将來恐怕沒這麽好的機會了。”
凡事講究一個師出有名，好容易盼着張誦出昏招，怎麽不能一舉拿下。說實在的，他們都是李澄的部下，如今李澄和魏王沒有以前那麽親密，若是能自立門戶也未嘗不可。
李澄心中很清楚，可有些話不能從他嘴裏說出來，他若大喇喇的說不救殷氏，日後他的屬下反而會說他為人薄情寡辛，誰會真心誠服他？
所以，聽宇文當如此說，李澄故作愠怒：“這固然是一個好機會，可是殷夫人到底是王叔的岳家，還有謝夫人是謝大将軍之妻，我不能置之不理啊。”
卻見謀士簡覃捏着山羊須笑道：“小王爺，殷家人要救，這戰也要打，不如先讓他交人就是，他若不肯提前交人，您就打過去。”
“好，軍師說的有道理。”李澄眼睛一亮。
那張誦自以為有人質在手，不肯輕易放人，如此李澄可以借故打過去了。但若他放了人，李澄更可以借故打過去，反正總是要打的。
很快張誦就收到李澄那邊的消息，說讓他先放人，張誦冷哼一聲：“他當我傻啊，我肯定不會放，你告訴李澄，若是他打過來，我殺了殷家全家。”
殷家母女幾人急的不行，她們幾人現在還被張誦好吃好喝的供着，畢竟張誦也怕鬧出事情來，人質若是沒了，他手裏更沒有威脅李澄的把柄了。
“娘，這可怎麽辦啊？這姓張的老匹夫就是不肯放人啊。”殷麗儀急的團團轉。
殷夫人也六神無主：“是啊，小王爺讓他交人，他也不交。”
母女二人暗自着急。
徽音這邊見薛歡歡再次上門，只道：“小王爺沒有派人回來，我也沒法子。”
其實這事兒和她有什麽關系，但她不能做出來，若直接閉門不見，就是等于直接和謝家撕破臉，現在還不到時候。
薛歡歡只懷疑徽音不盡心，又道：“這事兒若早些告訴小王爺，也早做安排，那邊謝大将軍也是這麽說的。”
“其實還不如讓謝将軍請八百裏加急送去，這烽火連三月的日子，我的信怎麽可能送出去呢？你試想想。”徽音也不說阻攔別人去說。
薛歡歡則道：“你說的是，我也這般想。”
其實謝九儀現在在外打仗，連魏王都親自上陣，他怎麽可能會想到殷麗儀去了豫州，還要委托李澄幫忙，李澄正和豫州打仗，豫州也是魏王曾經想要的地盤。若因為一個女子，就放棄地盤，薛歡歡覺得謝九儀做不到，但李澄可以，他畢竟和魏王是叔侄關系，不像謝九儀是外臣。
但李澄和謝九儀關系好，他肯定會幫忙的。
徽音見她沒說下去，又說自己乏了，那薛歡歡告辭之後，南媽媽和福桂都進來說話，兩人把殷家母女罵了好一頓，說她們是禍頭子，麻煩精。
“罷了，不說他了，我聽說荊州的戰事膠着，連魏王都上場了。”徽音想着前世她做太後的時候，魏王仿佛都去世了，但到底是何時死的她不清楚。
南媽媽點頭：“是啊，這不是江姑娘前幾日來說的麽？她也真是，寧可抱養一個孩子，也不肯再成婚了。”
徽音卻了解：“招贅能招到什麽有骨氣的男人？江姑娘是個有本事的女子，自然盼望找到一個才貌雙全的男子，可有這樣的男子，怎麽可能做上門女婿？”
既然如此，還不如不嫁。
但說實在的過繼別人的孩子也并非長久之計，過繼來的孩子不過十年就長大了，江姑娘也不過二十多歲的年紀，人家掌了家，哪裏還有她的份兒，這便是世上一等不公平的事情。有的男兒蠢笨癡呆，只要是個男的，他們都覺得比女人強。
福桂卻道：“王妃，她的事情咱們放在一邊。那江姑娘往前線送了一次鹽，說小王爺把張誦打的屁股尿流，若是小王爺能占據豫州，要奴婢說管她殷家人死活，又不是咱們讓她去的。”
“這個道理你都懂，難道小王爺不懂嗎？他救與不救都有他的理由。”在徽音看來，薛歡歡還上門在說沒殷家的下落，那殷麗儀母女幾人恐怕真的落在張誦的手裏，李澄救人恐怕是為了魏王，現在并不是翻臉的時候，時機不到，若是不救，那他就準備自立門戶。
但是不管李澄選擇哪一種，徽音都不覺得不對。
她卻沒想到李澄一邊讓張誦交出人來，一邊步步逼近，殷家母女之前還有指望，但現在三人被捆的跟粽子似的，捂着嘴，連相互說個話都不行。
外面還聽張誦罵罵咧咧的：“狗日的，那李澄真是油鹽不進，只追老子，連殷家這幾個娘們兒都不顧了。”
這話殷夫人和殷麗君聽了已經是搖搖欲墜了，殷麗儀卻怔愣住了，她曾經記得李澄為了救李敬，可是下井了的，這次表面讓張誦交人，但對張誦威脅殺她們置之不理，她都懷疑李澄根本就不想救人。
可她總覺得李澄不會的，就像當年她們一起讀書胡鬧的時候，李澄雖然說她爛泥扶不上牆，但也不會讓吳王妃趕她們出去，反而經常送她們上好的點心。
終于李澄把張誦逼到和豫州最邊上，只要過了此處，李澄便全境占領豫州了。
兩軍在陣前，張誦把殷家母女三人提溜出來，其實他已經知道李澄肯定是不在乎殷家人的，若是真的在意，怎麽會逼自己這麽急？壓根就不怕他撕票。
“別過來，你若再過來，我就殺了她們。”張誦道。
李澄輕笑：“我看你弄來的這三人都不知道是誰，就想糊弄我，張誦，你的死期到了。”
殷麗儀睜圓了雙眼，正想說話，發現自己嘴被塞住了，她是殷麗儀啊，這張誦匹夫把她搞的灰頭土臉都讓人認不出來了。
張誦這個時候道：“豎子，你簡直就是豺狼心性，連自己親戚都不認得了，枉你叔父待你恩重如山。”他讓人拿殷麗儀嘴裏的布團拿掉，有心讓殷家人說話，即便是日後李澄得了豫州也會得到魏王的猜忌。
他把布團一拿，殷麗儀就嚷嚷了出來，“小王爺，我是謝九儀之妻殷麗儀啊，我們自小一起長大的，是張誦這厮捉了我來。”
她滿臉期盼，卻見李澄冷笑：“好個張誦，你窮途末路，竟然想到這樣的法子哄騙我。”
“真的是我？”殷麗儀急的直跺腳。
李澄并不為所動，反而是旁邊的宇文當道：“小王爺，看着仿佛有三分像謝夫人。”
“準是他故意找的，人哪裏看的清楚啊。別聽這老匹夫廢話，大家別啰嗦。”李澄似乎并不相信，徑直要打。
張誦見李澄動真章的，一下急了，李澄是真的不在乎這群人啊，也是，後院女眷他指不定都沒見過幾面。
“等等，我把她們送上前你看仔細了。”張誦讓兩個骁勇之人，用刀子架在殷麗儀幾個頭上，逼迫她們向前。
就在此時，兩根羽箭正中挾持殷家母女三人的軍士額頭，張誦自知自己狗急跳牆中了李澄之計，但現在已經遲了，只想拼死逃脫。
李澄讓派了幾個人送殷家母女回最近的徐州，自己則帶人去追趕張誦。
殷夫人和殷麗儀還有殷麗君三人一起趕路，殷麗儀這才反應過來：“原來小王爺早有準備，吓死我了。”
“二姐，你沒看出來麽？若是張誦把我們殺了，小王爺也不在意，他雖然最後故作姿态救了我們，但沒有真的把我們放在心上。”殷麗君看的很清楚，張誦原本準備殺一個人的腦袋去吓唬李澄的，那可是來真的，李澄也沒派細作保護她們。
殷麗儀卻不願意把人往壞裏想：“麗君，你這是怎麽了？總是這麽多的心思。”
Seeing Yin Liyi like this, Yin Lijun thought to herself, she is really dull, no wonder she is so cheerful all the time and has no worries, yet her only concubine who comes from a merchant family can make her uneasy.
But it was said that when Huiyin met the mother and daughter of the Yin family, she asked Mother Nan to take them to the guest room, prepared a banquet to welcome them, and told them that a boat would be arranged to take them to Jianye in a few days, and each item had a clear time.
Yin Liyi originally had some opinions about Huiyin, but now that Li Cheng saved her, she just let it go for Li Cheng's sake. But she thought that this time Li Cheng occupied Yuzhou, and she didn't know whether the King of Wei would let him become more powerful. She had to go back and tell Xie Jiuyi about this matter. Otherwise, seeing Li Cheng's arrogant attitude, Xuzhou, Qingzhou, and Yuzhou were completely out of the hands of the King of Wei's people, and she was afraid that he really had some intentions.
Just as she was thinking of this, she saw Zheng in front of her raising her glass to drink, and Yin Liyi also raised her glass quickly.
But a soldier came in hurriedly and said, "Little Princess, it's bad. The King of Wei was killed on the way to attack Jingzhou."
Huiyin was shocked and asked, "What did you say?"
Yin Liyi was also stunned. The King of Wei had passed away, and her nephew was going to inherit the throne?