The guard respectfully addressed the person above, "General, Young Master Su has arrived."
Li Rui's gaze finally left the two beautiful women.
Bai Chuxiao and Xia Fan also concealed their expressions, cupped their hands, and said, "Greetings, General."
Li Rui sized them up for a moment before waving his hand dismissively. After the dancers had left, he asked in a deep voice, "Do you know the consequences of deceiving this general?"
He captured a former member of the merchant guild, but that person was powerless to do anything. Yunzhou had been only receiving goods and not sending them out for so long, all business had come to a standstill, and the original grain reserves were long gone.
Bai Chuxiao smiled faintly, "I am genuinely trying to help the general procure provisions."
Li Rui raised an eyebrow, "What's your name?"
Bai Chuxiao tossed over a token, "My name is Su Zuian."
Li Rui raised an eyebrow. "This general has never heard of such a person as the Su family."
Bai Chuxiao smiled slightly, "The Su family has deep roots. My branch mainly managed the business in Jiangnan in the early years. Now that Jiangnan has been restored, I myself have dozens of grain stores under my control."
Li Rui said coldly, "Then why did you help this general?"
Bai Chuxiao smiled and said, "Firstly, I admire the General's righteous act, and secondly, I am a merchant, so naturally I am also in it for the money."
Li Rui narrowed his eyes, clearly already making some moves; he was no longer short of money...
Seeing this, Bai Chuxiao added, "Of course, if the general succeeds in his uprising, I hope that the general will entrust me with the trade routes in the Yunzhou area."
Li Rui sneered, "Young Master Su certainly knows how to do business, but right now it's all just empty talk."
Bai Chuxiao smiled and said, "As long as the money is not a problem, I will definitely raise 500,000 dan of grain for the General within a month."
Li Rui scoffed, "This general certainly doesn't lack that little bit of silver. Do you really think you can raise it?"
Bai Chuxiao said calmly, "General, just wait and see."
Li Rui said in a deep voice, "Then this general will await Young Master Su's good news."
Without saying anything more, he simply sent someone to see them out.
After leaving the government office for a distance, Xia Fan noticed the people secretly following them and whispered, "Your Highness, should we shake them off?"
Bai Chuxiao sneered, "No need, if you want to come, then come along. Send someone to get the supplies."
Xia Fan frowned slightly. "Your Highness, are we really going to give this damned, mighty general food?"
Bai Chuxiao said in a deep voice, "Do you think he'll live to see the arrival of the grain? Chu Wenzheng and his men's blockade of Yunzhou clearly shows they don't intend to care about the lives of the people of Yunzhou. The people of Yunzhou need this batch of grain to get through the winter."
Xia Fan said in a low voice, "But where are we going to get so much food?"
Bai Chuxiao slowly spoke, "Naturally, I'll be transferred to nearby Changzhou. I'll just inform His Majesty later."
Although the golden token and the imperial sword cannot mobilize the garrison, it can certainly get the provincial governor of Changzhou to procure and transport some grain.
After following them for two days and finding nothing unusual, the people hiding behind them slowly withdrew.
Inside a fine room at the Lanxian Inn, a man in black bowed and said, "Your Highness, we've found Wei Changkong and the others."
Bai Chuxiao smiled slightly, "It's good that you found it first."
However, the situation of this Yunzhou commander was not good. Although a small portion of the Yunzhou Guard had not rebelled, given the enemy's superior numbers, it would obviously not be easy for him to lead his men to evade Chu Wenzheng's search.
Fortunately, this mighty general suddenly rallied the people to cause trouble, and there were many other ambitious individuals who wanted to establish themselves as mountain kings. He then took advantage of the situation, pretending to be a rebel, and occupied a remote and impoverished town in the west. For a time, he was not found by Chu Wenzheng's men.
When Bai Chuxiao and Xia Fan arrived outside the small town, all they saw were a few listless soldiers guarding the city.
Bai Chuxiao didn't waste any words and directly presented her golden token, ordering, "Open the city gates!"
The soldiers were startled. As regular soldiers of the imperial army, they understood the significance of the imperial warrant. One of them immediately turned and went inside to report.
The other young generals didn't waste any time and immediately opened the city gates.
As soon as she entered the city, a man in his early thirties dressed in a gray-white long robe came up to her. "Who are you, young lady? And why do you possess His Majesty's golden token?"
At this critical juncture, he couldn't even send a message; why would His Majesty send a delicate young lady?
Bai Chuxiao smiled faintly and announced her name.
The man paused, then slowly said, "So you are the Princess Consort of Yan."
Could it be that the Prince of Yan has brought his troops? But the war in the Northwest couldn't possibly end so quickly. However, he hadn't forgotten that this woman had been granted the title of Princess for her meritorious service in fighting the enemy in the North; she wasn't some weak woman. For a moment, he felt somewhat relieved.
Bai Chuxiao said in a deep voice, "You are Wei Changkong?"
Wei Changkong smiled wryly, "Since the Princess Consort was able to find this place, she must have known. It is my incompetence that has led me here."
Bai Chuxiao smiled faintly, "How many troops did the general bring?"
Wei Changkong sighed softly, "Less than 20,000."
He then added, "Prince An harbors wolfish ambitions. Has the Princess brought any men with her?"
Bai Chuxiao shook her head. "I came with the Crown Prince to deal with the plague and public grievances, only to find out upon arrival that the Yunzhou Guard had already rebelled. The Crown Prince is still unaware of this and is currently dealing with Jiang Ming in Yunzhou City."
Wei Changkong's face turned ashen. "That's terrible. The ones blocking the roads in and out of Yunzhou are Prince An's personal guards, plus the traitorous Yunzhou garrison. Prince An now openly commands an army of 100,000."
This army of 100,000 was naturally far superior to the rabble of the Mighty General. Of the troops the Mighty General had assembled, only about 30,000 were truly capable of fighting.
Bai Chuxiao said in a deep voice, "I have already sent someone to His Majesty with a message. I hope it is still in time."
Wei Changkong asked in a deep voice, "However, what I find strange is that most of the people gathered outside by the mighty general are ordinary civilians. If Prince An wanted to eliminate them, he could have done so long ago. Why keep them alive?"
Bai Chuxiao pondered for a moment, "Chu Wenzheng will never trust the Yunzhou Guard. Right now, the Yunzhou Guard is mainly guarding the Huaxian area. Leaving Li Rui and his group here is just to confuse me and the Crown Prince. I'm afraid he doesn't rely on these troops in Yunzhou for anything, but has other plans."
A bad feeling crept into Bai Chuxiao's heart, and she asked in a low voice, "If Deputy Commander Sun Xiang dies, do you think you can take back that batch of Yunzhou Guards?"
The imperial troops are still nowhere in sight, and they could easily lose their lives in Yunzhou City. It's best to regroup and gather more people.
Wei Changkong pondered for a moment, "If the Princess can save their lives, it should be worth a try."
Xia Fan whispered, "Killing Sun Xiang is easy, but once Sun Xiang is dead, Chu Wenzheng will know we've discovered his plot, and the Princess and the Crown Prince will be in danger."
Bai Chuxiao raised an eyebrow. "You're right. So we'll kill Li Rui first. Chu Wenzheng and Jiang Ming will only think that I'm here to persuade them to disperse, so naturally we'll do it to show them. Besides, I now strongly suspect that Chu Wenzheng sent someone to bewitch Li Rui. If we take over Yunzhou Guard first, I'm afraid Li Rui will immediately use that as a pretext to attack us."
Xia Fan frowned and asked, "What is Chu Wenzheng after?"
Bai Chuxiao sneered, "He's determined to hold us back and prevent us from leaving Yunzhou."
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