Chapter 275 Salt Lake Mosang Town, Sun Qian caught a fish!
Soon, Song Daoxi was summoned by Zhou Ruan for a private meeting. It wasn't until almost noon the next day that Zhou Ruan sent someone to inform Shen Lanxi that he had agreed to Liang Shao's conditions: five hundred dan of grain, which she would escort over first!
Shen Lanxi's previous suggestion to Liang Shao was to demand grain and fodder. It's clear that Zhou Ru'an fell for it and agreed so quickly, which must have been largely due to the Guigu disciple.
Zhou Ruan wanted to get rid of her without giving anyone anything to say, so Shen Lanxi could take the opportunity to disappear from public view.
"Order someone to count five hundred dan of grain and send them to Liang Shao. After that, urge Zhou Ru'an to provide more grain the next day!"
Wei Dongzhu wrote it down.
When are you leaving?
Shen Lanxi looked at him and said, "Let's leave after the provisions are packed!"
Since he returned from Xiling, the total time they have spent alone together has been less than two hours.
"There's no need to rush things with Liang Shao," Wei Dongzhu said with a heavy heart.
Shen Lanxi: "I'm not going to Liang Shao's place."
Wei Dongzhu looked at her with a puzzled expression.
"I'm going to the salt lake. We'll have news from the capital soon." She had previously exposed Sun Qian's whereabouts at the salt lake, and judging by the time, the people hiding in the shadows should be making their move.
Wei Dongzhu frowned: "Is there any movement at the salt lake?"
The news was brought back by Liu Yan. She said, "There have been quite a few unfamiliar faces near the salt lake lately!"
The salt lake is located in a remote area, so even if people were fleeing famine, no one would hide there.
"Do you want me to come with you?"
Shen Lanxi: "I don't plan to bring too many people with me this time, so as not to alert them!"
Wei Dongzhu's eyes darkened as he stared straight at Shen Lanxi, a hint of longing in his gaze, but deep within his eyes lay an unfathomable greed.
"I'll wait for you to come back!"
Shen Lanxi looked at him and smiled, "Okay!"
The peace talks were delayed again due to Song Daoxi's appearance. After Liang Shao obtained the supplies, he tightly restrained the three Turkic tribes.
If the three tribes made any move, Liang Shao would also lead his troops to act. If the three tribes advanced one mile, Liang Shao would lead his army one mile to them. If the three tribes retreated one mile, Liang Shao would retreat one mile.
Seeing that Liang Shao was so compliant, Zhou Ru'an was pleased and had Shen Lanxi send another five hundred dan of grain back.
Immediately following this was the critical shortage of food supplies for the Zhenbei Army.
Song Daoxi immediately suggested to Zhou Ruan that he borrow grain from the cities of Xiling and Hailing.
Unable to request grain from the imperial court, Zhou Ru'an had no choice but to ask his two fathers-in-law for supplies. He was now responsible for the provisions of both the Zhenbei Army and Liang Shao's large army, and the supplies he had obtained were quickly depleted. Left with no other option, Zhou Ru'an once again had to beg from his fathers-in-law for alms.
The imperial court had no grain supplies and was trying to support two large armies with only two cities. After borrowing grain only a few times, the two fathers-in-law got angry.
After Zhou Ru'an borrowed grain for the fourth time, the garrison commanders of both cities simultaneously pleaded poverty and refused to lend any more. Following Song Daoxi's advice, Zhou Ru'an had no choice but to personally go to the more distant cities to beg for alms.
In short, after Shen Lanxi left, Zhou Ruan was either gathering supplies or on his way to gather supplies!
...
Mozambique, a town beside a salt lake.
"Since we took over the salt lake, the imperial court has not sent anyone over," Liu Yan reported to Shen Lanxi.
Looking at the vast salt fields and the people constantly making salt, Ban Sicao walked up to take a look out of curiosity.
Shen Lanxi said with a deep gaze, "The Northwest may seem peaceful, but in reality, the cities have long been governed by their own governments, and the government offices are now just for show!"
A carrier pigeon flew in, and Cheng Zheng untied the letter and handed it to Shen Lanxi.
It's a letter from Dongchuan.
After Shen Lanxi read it, she dictated it, and Cheng Zheng drafted it.
"Have Wang Songbai and Chang Daoyan bring their men over here!"
She handed the letter to Liu Yanhui.
"That useless Zhou Ruyuan lost ten miles of Baihe and three counties of Fuchun!"
Liu Yanhui's face was rather grim. That was a place they had once conquered. It was perfectly fine when they left, but it had only been in Zhou Ruyuan's hands for a short time before it was lost.
How could he be so useless!
Liu Yanhui's expression was grim as she said, "Once the two rebellious kings have tasted success, they will definitely continue to encroach on Dongchuan's territory."
Shen Lanxi: "Tell Che Mingyuan to use the pretext of taking in refugees to relocate those people to new households."
Liu Yanhui regrets the large tracts of land in Dongchuan and the plans he made there.
"Where is Sun Qian?" Shen Lanxi asked.
Liu Yan glanced at the guards behind her and then said, "One is in a dilapidated house near the Mosang Inn, another is herding sheep at the entrance of town, and the remaining two are, one is guarding the wine cellar of the winery, and the other is hiding in a house in Sanyang Lane."
They arranged for four fake Sun Qians in total, and the information they gathered was much more than that of a single Sun Qian.
"We're currently targeting the dilapidated houses near the station." The waiter brought over the dishes, and Liu Yan went back to open the door.
The two were on the second floor of the Mosang Inn, looking down and they could see the courtyard where the fake Sun Qian lived.
Several suspicious people appeared near the fake Sun Qian's house. They were dressed as vendors, farmers, or women.
After the meal was arranged, Ban Sicao tried each dish one by one, and her expression turned strange.
"These vegetables are a bit bitter."
Shen Lanxi said without changing her expression, "Deal with it!"
The guard quietly disposed of the food, and when he returned, he brought back another portion from outside!
Liu Yanhui pursed her lips tightly, not daring to say another word.
Ban Sicao pursed her lips and said, "It's a sleeping potion. The person who drugged it was quite clever, putting the drug in each of these dishes separately. If I hadn't tasted every single dish, I definitely wouldn't have been able to tell."
Liu Yanhui was worried and whispered, "General, we are in the open while the enemy is in the dark. Let's leave here first!"
The thought of them being drugged as soon as they arrived sent chills down Liu Yanhui's spine.
If those who wanted to harm Sun Qian were the ones who attacked them, then wouldn't those people know everything about their every move?
Liu Yanhui felt a chill run down his spine as he thought about it. This feeling of being held in someone's palm made him see everyone around him as a bad person.
Except for Shen Lanxi!
Ban Sicao rolled her eyes at Liu Yanhui: "Coward! Since someone drugged us, they must be nearby. We should find them now. Such a good opportunity, time waits for no one!"
Shen Lanxi sneered, then her expression suddenly changed, and her eyes swept towards the door.
"Someone's coming!"
Liu Yan said anxiously, "General, let's go quickly!"
Shen Lanxi: "Pretend to faint!" After saying that, she immediately lay down on the table.
Liu Yan glanced anxiously at the door, and seeing that she wasn't leaving, she gritted her teeth and also slumped onto the table.
Ban Sicao and the others found a comfortable position to lie down.
A moment later, there was a knock on the door.
"Sir, your soup is here!"
"Sir..."
After a few sounds, the door was pushed open. Two breaths later, the door slowly closed.
After a while, there was still no movement outside. Shen Lanxi opened her eyes, got up and looked towards the courtyard of the fake Sun Qian.
"Get up and take a look!"
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