Chapter 110: Secret Edict

“The Wuliji Tribe plundered the grain of Sanhe Fortress?”

At this time, Li Xiao had already returned to the main tent. Listening to the report from a Hexi youth in front of him, he frowned slightly.

“I know a thing or two about that Wuliji person. His character is arrogant, domineering, and reckless.”

“Plundering the grain of Sanhe Fortress does seem like something he would do.” Li Xiao sat on the folding stool, muttering softly.

The Wuliji Tribe was considered a large tribe in Jin Prefecture, with over a thousand people.

There was a rumor that when the Karluks rebelled back then, they had even invited Wuliji to join them.

But the reason Wuliji didn’t participate was actually that he looked down on the Karluks.

He wasn’t willing to be subordinate to the Karluks and wanted to be the boss himself.

The two sides didn’t reach an agreement, so Wuliji changed from an original swing voter to a firm royalist.

From this, one could see Wuliji’s character; he was truly arrogant.

“But arrogant as he is, he’s not stupid!”

Although he had become a Thousand-Man Commander and ostensibly had a thousand soldiers under him, Li Xiao held four Thousand-Man Commanders in his hands.

Unless necessary, he wouldn’t be so foolish as to make an enemy of Li Xiao, right?

But connecting it to the current situation in Jin Prefecture, a thought quickly formed in Li Xiao’s mind.

“Xiao Lintuo!”

Wuliji had defected to Xiao Lintuo.

That was why this guy thought he had the qualifications to arm-wrestle with Li Xiao.

Everything he did might also stem from Xiao Lintuo’s instructions.

Thinking about it this way, it barely made sense.

“Is this guy so impatient?” Li Xiao said shaking his head, his eyes containing a faint chill.

He really didn’t intend to tear off his face with Xiao Lintuo.

But alas, this guy actually started plotting against him.

Then he looked at the messenger and said, “Continue. What happened to the Wuliji Tribe afterward?”

The messenger was from Hexi Fortress, surnamed Wang, called Erhei.

He had participated fully in the battle with the Wuliji Tribe and narrated the process to Li Xiao.

In the end, while Dahu and the others were filled with righteous indignation upon hearing it, they were also slightly puzzled.

“Strange.”

“No one shot an arrow, so how did Wuliji get shot?” Dahu said in surprise.

Erhu asked immediately, “Did you see Wuliji get shot and fall to the ground with your own eyes?”

Erhei nodded gently: “Someone saw it with their own eyes; he was definitely hit.”

“Then who shot it?”

Erhu was puzzled and shook his head, unable to understand: “It couldn’t be their own people who shot him, right?”

Hearing this, Li Xiao smiled faintly and said, “Why couldn’t it be their own people?”

Internal power struggles, framing external enemies.

These were common tactics in political struggles.

So, it was entirely possible that people around Wuliji made the move.

And since this matter already had Xiao Lintuo’s shadow, Li Xiao had every reason to suspect that this old schemer was setting a trap for him behind the scenes.

Think about it.

Xiao Sima had just appointed a Thousand-Man Commander, and immediately after, he was shot dead by his own people.

What did this mean?

A challenge to Xiao Sima’s authority.

The next step would definitely be to file a complaint to Xiao Sima.

And that guy Wuliji was also a bit pathetic. He thought that by becoming a Thousand-Man Commander, he held great power and high status.

But in reality, he became a tool, a sacrificial lamb in the political struggle between Xiao Lintuo and Li Xiao.

“This guy Xiao Lintuo is really ruthless!”

“To cause trouble for me, he didn’t even hesitate to kill a Thousand-Man Commander.” Li Xiao shook his head gently and muttered to himself.

He felt somewhat depressed.

Compared to a guy like Xiao Lintuo who looked honest on the surface but was actually full of schemes, Li Xiao still preferred an honest person like Xiao Tuladuo who was straightforward.

Perhaps Xiao Sima was worried that Xiao Tuladuo’s character couldn’t suppress Li Xiao, so he let Xiao Lintuo serve as the Military Governor of Jin Prefecture.

“Uncle Erhei, you came very timely. This news is very important to us. Thank you for your hard work,” Li Xiao said to Wang Erhei.

“It’s nothing, nothing.” Actually, he didn’t feel it was anything special.

Even Li Dashan and Luo Ping didn’t take the Wuliji Tribe seriously, simply thinking they just fought a battle.

They hadn’t planned to disturb Li Xiao with this trivial matter.

It was the Old Master who felt something was wrong and asked Wang Erhei to come to Wuya Village to inform Li Xiao.

Otherwise, Li Xiao would have been kept in the dark, and when Xiao Lintuo acted up, he would really be passive.

“Uncle Liu and Uncle Luo, these two… hehe.” Li Xiao shook his head gently and gave a helpless smile.

These two were really just pure generals with average political acumen.

Just didn’t know if they would improve a bit after being Thousand-Man Commanders for a long time.

But now, Li Xiao still had to resolve the matter of the Wuliji Tribe.

So he said in a deep voice, “Pass down the order…”

Pausing for a moment, Li Xiao then shook his head gently.

He had planned to mobilize the remaining Han cavalry in Wuya Village, but thinking that Xiao Lintuo might be watching him…

So, he asked instead, “When did the two Hundred-Man units from Feiying Fortress leave?”

As the autumn harvest approached, after asking Xiao Sima for instructions, Li Xiao successively let the troops from fortresses that had completed reorganization go home.

Feiying Fortress was the last batch of soldiers to leave before this.

And in Wuya Village, only less than a thousand people remained, who would return successively in the next day or two.

“Just set off about two hours ago,” Dahu thought for a moment and said.

Li Xiao said directly, “Dahu, take my command token, set off immediately, catch up with the people from Feiying Fortress, and order them to stop immediately and go to Jinque Mountain to await orders.”

Li Xiao handed his Vice Military Governor command token to Dahu. This thing was equivalent to Li Xiao being there in person.

Not long ago, Xiao Sima had just bestowed it upon him, representing the identity of the Vice Military Governor.

It was the first time using it.

“Yes—”

Dahu took the command token and said with a solemn face.

Just as he was about to leave, Li Xiao stopped him again: “Let’s go out together. Midway, you sneak away secretly.”

Mainly to prevent Xiao Lintuo’s surveillance.

If Xiao Lintuo suspected Li Xiao’s intention and sent people to block him, it would be a bit troublesome.

Subsequently, Li Xiao led his personal guard team towards Xiao Sima’s military camp.

No other purpose, just wanted to go learn the Khitan language with Xiao Yanyan.

On the way, Dahu took two people and sneaked away secretly to chase the cavalry of Feiying Fortress.

Li Xiao, leading his personal guard team, entered Xiao Sima’s military camp and walked into Xiao Yanyan’s tent with familiarity.

Seeing her arranging her hair in front of a bronze mirror, the corners of his mouth unconsciously raised into a smile.

“My beauty Xiao, staying in this tent all day fiddling with these is letting down the good scenery outside.” Li Xiao crossed his arms, leaned against the tent pole, and looked at her with burning eyes.

“You told me that Xiao Yanyan is a tough girl who loves military attire more than red makeup.”

“Why not go out for a ride with me?”

Saying this, Li Xiao walked behind Xiao Yanyan, slowly squatted down, and hugged her. His hands passed through her shoulders and familiarly prepared to burrow inside.

Looking for their harbor between the mountains.

“Go away.”

“Your hands are so cold!”

Feeling the strange sensation on her chest, Xiao Yanyan turned her head, glanced at him, and pretended to be angry: “What bad ideas are you having again?”

Although she said so, the faint smile at the corner of her mouth still betrayed the joy in her heart.

She didn’t continue to stop Li Xiao’s movements on her chest; instead, she found a comfortable position and leaned into his arms.

“What do you mean bad ideas?”

“I clearly want to improve, okay?”

“Aman, it’s time for us to learn Khitan again.”

“It’s too noisy inside the military camp; why don’t we go outside?” Li Xiao said in a tone of coaxing a girlfriend.

The movements of his hands became increasingly forceful.

Xiao Yanyan was made weak all over by him, lying limply in his arms, and said coquettishly, “Still saying you don’t want to do bad things? When were you ever serious when learning Khitan?”

“Didn’t you always start… halfway through?”

Saying this, Xiao Yanyan rolled her eyes at him, then stood up and pushed Li Xiao out.

“What are you doing?”

“Get out; I want to change clothes. Didn’t you want to go out to learn Khitan?”

“You don’t need to make me leave to change clothes; I’ll stay right here, promise not to peek.”

In the end, Li Xiao held Xiao Yanyan’s hand lightly and pulled her, whose face was flushed red and body limp, out of the tent.

First helping Xiao Yanyan onto the horse, he then flipped onto the horse nimbly, sat behind Xiao Yanyan, and hugged her tightly.

“Let’s go—”

Meanwhile, in Xiao Sima’s large tent, the captain of the personal guards reported to him about Li Xiao taking Xiao Yanyan out.

At the end, he hesitated and said, “My Lord, are you really going to marry the Princess to a Han person?”

Xiao Sima walked slowly out of the tent, feeling the comfort of the hot sun shining on his face, and said in a faint voice, “So what if he’s Han? So what if he’s Khitan? Why distinguish so clearly?”

“Having a Khitan identity, would they be loyal to me forever?”

“If he’s a Han person, would he not be of one heart with me?”

“The human heart… who can truly master it?”

Xiao Sima looked emotional. Having experienced failure and betrayal, his prejudice against identity was not so deep anymore.

What he valued more was the value of utilization to himself.

“And most importantly, Aman likes him,” Xiao Sima said in a leisurely voice.

His grandfather treated Aman as a tool for political marriage and betrothed her to the Dahe clan.

Facts proved that the Dahe clan was unreliable.

And after his grandfather passed away, it was Xiao Sima who raised Xiao Yanyan single-handedly, acting as both big brother and father.

Their feelings were deep, and he really didn’t want to let Xiao Yanyan suffer any more grievances.

Whether it was a Khitan or a Han.

Nothing compared to Xiao Yanyan saying “I do.”

So, regarding Xiao Yanyan’s marriage, Xiao Sima didn’t intend to interfere excessively; it was enough as long as she liked it herself.

And Li Xiao was indeed quite suitable.

First, his origin wasn’t high. With Xiao Sima pressing down on him, Li Xiao wouldn’t dare treat Xiao Yanyan badly.

Second, because he was a Han person, he had no ties with the Royal Court and could only follow Xiao Sima wholeheartedly.

This was also what Xiao Sima valued most.

So, he had no dissatisfaction with Li Xiao and never stopped his interactions with Xiao Yanyan.

If there was anything, it was probably just the reluctance of his sister leaving him soon, which made him look at the culprit Li Xiao somewhat unpleasantly.

Thinking like this, a long-brewing idea surfaced in Xiao Sima’s mind.

At this moment, he finally made up his mind. He walked back into the tent, wrote a letter on the table, stamped it with his official seal and private seal, and marked it with his special symbol.

Put it in an envelope and sealed it with wax.

Then put it into a box, covered it with a seal strip, and handed it to the captain of the personal guards.

He instructed in a low voice, “Keep it safe and proper.”

“Once an accident happens to me, take it out.”

Hearing this, the captain of the personal guards was instantly stunned.

Looking at Xiao Sima with a face full of disbelief: “My Lord…”

“You… you…”

Looking at the appearance of his trusted aide, Xiao Sima smiled gently, patted his shoulder, and said, “It’s nothing, just being prepared for any eventuality.”

“Before this Prince completes the great undertaking, the Buddha won’t take me.”

What Xiao Sima worried about was that Yelü Zhilugu would jump over the wall in desperation, and there was still a nail beside him with high status, making it impossible for him to guard against effectively.

His son was still young and unable to shoulder heavy responsibilities.

So, Xiao Sima doing this was really just to be prepared for any eventuality.

Of course, this secret edict also had a time limit.

Once his son grew up and was enough to take over his power, this secret edict would naturally lose its effect.

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