The Marquis Is Innocent

The hemp-clothed elderly man walked away.

Wei Shao remembered.

This elderly man was probably the person he and Gong Sun Yang talked about when they met on the Tantai Terrace one night in Xindu. Gongsun Yang had mentioned White Stone Old Man, the heir of the current Mo family.

Wei Shao was surprised and not expecting to meet him here by chance.

But he did not care about what White Stone Old Man said before he left.

The fate of the heavens, he never believed those things.

Since he witnessed his father and brother die in battle, he believed that only strong self-preservation and power were the only way to make people submissive.

The rest are just illusions. Furthermore, from ancient times to the present, many people have borrowed the celestial theory to make a big noise for themselves and win people’s hearts.

Since the situation was like this, he did not intend to hide his ambition. He continued to take the position of the northern monarch while making some pretentious appearance in front of the world as a loyal subject of the Han family.

Wei Shao stood still, lost in thought for a moment, turned to his horse, and left.

The people behind him saw him leaving and chased after him, but they couldn’t catch up. They knelt behind him to pay their respects.

Wei Shao galloped in the direction of Jiu Li Pass.

After he delayed a round trip, the fastest he could get to Jiu Li Pass was tomorrow.

Xiao Qiao must have entered Lingbi long ago.

Lei Yan and other entourage saw their Lord did not intend to regain people’s hearts. Their power had not reached the Huai River, but they had made a name for themselves and felt happy.

Wei Shao felt anxious. He didn’t make any more stops in the middle.

The next day, they returned to the original road and passed Xiaodi.

He saw from afar an army and horses coming from the opposite side of the road, with flags and dust flying. When he got closer, he could tell that the banner waving in the wind had the word ‘Yang.’

They marched forward when they knew it was Yang Xin’s men and horses.

Yang Xin led the troops and saw from afar a line of more than a dozen horses on the opposite side. They were not avoiding the army but came straight. It was unusual. Out of caution, he ordered the troops to stop.

When the other side got closer, he saw the young man in the lead looking straight at him. He hesitated and was about to ask a question when he heard a man behind the other side shouting: ” Are you Mr. Yang Xin of Yangzhou? I am Lei Yan, deputy general under the Marquis of Yan in Youzhou. My Lord is here!”

Although Yang Xin once allied with Wei Shao and beat Xue Tai, he never saw Wei Shao’s face in person. He only heard that he was young, only in his 20s, with an outstanding appearance. Yang Xin looked at the young man and saw him smiling. Yang Xin happily turned off his horse and greeted him hurriedly.

Wei Shao also dismounted, and they greeted each other on the road. Yang Xin said he heard of the great name of the Marquis of Yan, and it was an honor to meet him today.

Wei Shao said: “Yesterday, I sent a letter to Lord Yang. Did Lord Yang receive it? Is the siege of Xiaodi solved?”

Yang Xin said. “Yesterday, I received a message from Marquis and found out Xue Tai had intended to flood the city. I was fortunate Marquis had gone to stop him, and I could recover from the situation. Marquis had come with his army as if the heavens were helping me. Why sit back and wait for death? I attacked Xue Tai, and they were defeated and returned to Lingbi. I recalled Marquis and came to welcome you. I wonder where your army is? What do you want to do in the south?” After saying that, he looked behind Wei Shao.

Wei Shao smiled faintly: “I’m not going to hide it from you, but I’m only going south for personal business. I’m not leading an army. Besides, this is your territory. Wouldn’t I be offending you if I bring my army?”

Yang Xin was stunned.

Xue Tai surrounded him in Xiao City. He couldn’t break out, and Xue Tai couldn’t come in for a while, so it had been a mutual stand for many days.

Yesterday, Xue Tai ordered his soldiers to continue laying banners and cooking outside the city for several miles to confuse Yang Xin.

Yang Xin did not suspect anything. Suddenly, an arrow shot up at the city with a letter on it. The letter was in Wei Shao’s handwriting and had the same fish symbol as in the previous communication. Yang Xin knew something big had happened.

As he said to Wei Shao earlier, if he did not attack, Xue Tai would get the city if he destroyed the Anle dam. He gathered his generals and sent the news down. When the soldiers knew, they were all frightened and cursed Xue Tai for his viciousness and asked for war. Yang Xin opened the city gate while Xue Tai was cooking and led his troops to kill them. Xue Tai was unprepared. His army was lax and shocked. Finally, seeing that he could not resist, he gave up Xiaodi and fled last night with the remnants of his troops to Lingbi.