Ling Potian fixed his eyes on the stronghold and saw Yang Fan's appearance clearly. He laughed and said, "What the hell, what imperial envoy is this, laozi doesn't know him!"
"You don't know me, I'm also an imperial envoy!"
Since things had come to this, Yang Fan had to speak. He was someone who practiced internal martial arts, so when he inhaled and exhaled, his voice floated far and clear. Everyone in the stronghold could hear him clearly.
"This imperial envoy was ordered to inspect the people of the Dao, and also to supervise the previous imperial envoy Huang Jingrong. Huang Jingrong handled matters improperly and incited the Black and White Man tribes. This imperial envoy has investigated this matter clearly. All of you quickly retreat and stop fighting. This imperial envoy wants to meet the Black and White Man tribes' chieftains and settle this matter properly! "
Ling Potian's tone became weaker and said, "You... you say you're an imperial envoy, what proof do you have?"
Yang Fan said, "I have an imperial edict in my hands, do you have the guts to come up and take a look?"
Ling Potian was stunned and snorted, "Are you trying to scare me? Once this official goes up the stronghold wall, can I still come back? "
Yang Fan said, "I knew you wouldn't come up, but this imperial envoy's imperial edict is an important token and can't be thrown down the stronghold. I still have a 'Kanhe' here. Since you're an official of the imperial court, you should recognize it. Take it and take a look. "
Yang Fan turned his head and said to Xun Er, "My horse is in your hands and there's a seal in the saddle. Get someone to bring it over, otherwise they won't believe my identity."
Xun Er sent someone to lead Yang Fan's horse over. Yang Fan's' Kanhe 'was hidden at the armrest in front of the saddle. When the wooden part of the leather covering was lifted up, there was a small hidden box in the middle. When it was opened, there was a glistening yellow seal. Xun Er ordered someone to wrap up the piece of cloth with the seal that acted as the white flag and threw it far away at the foot of the stockade. Ling Potian ordered someone to retrieve the seal.
Ling Potian opened the white cloth and took out the bronze seal to take a closer look. He couldn't help but be secretly shocked. He worked in the Martial Governor's Office, so naturally he was familiar with this seal. This seal's specifications, patterns, and inscriptions were not something that could be easily forged, and it was even more impossible to forge in a hurry. The person in the stockade was most likely an official of the imperial court.
Yang Fan continued, "I have already met with Imperial Censor Huang in Pao Prefecture. Take this seal and see him, you can prove my identity. Tell Imperial Censor Huang to defend Yaozhou and not to start another war. Tell him to send people to discuss with me. "
Ling Potian's expression flickered indeterminately, and he hesitated for a short while. In the end, he didn't dare disregard Yang Fan's identity as an imperial envoy and brazenly give the order to attack the mountain. He gritted his teeth and said with a loud voice, "Alright! Since this is the case, this lowly official will hurry back to Yao Prefecture City. This lowly official still needs Imperial Censor Huang and the other officials to verify the authenticity of this ring. This lowly official needs to take it away. Farewell! "
Ling Potian cupped his hands towards the stronghold and roared, "Retreat!"
Xun Er saw that Yao Zhou's troops and horses had indeed retreated. She couldn't help but jump with joy and said, "Ha! This identity of yours is really useful! "
However, Yang Fan's expression was somewhat gloomy. After a moment of silence, he said to Miss Xun Er, "Is it possible to evacuate all the commoners in your stockade?"
Xun Er looked at him strangely, but didn't ask why he wanted to evacuate. Instead, she directly replied, "It's very difficult. This is their home. Perhaps their thatched huts and some simple and crude items won't enter your eyes, but that is all their property. They won't be willing to leave.
Furthermore, in this kind of situation, not only are there many old, weak, women, and children in the stockade, there are also many injured soldiers. It will be even more difficult to leave. Even though this White River Stockade is our territory, it is too far to the front. On the left and right are the Wen tribe. Now that the two tribes have already become enemies, if we leave, they will definitely take advantage of the situation. Your imperial edict can make the soldiers retreat, but it can't make those bloodthirsty tribal warriors retreat. "
Yang Fan asked her again, and only then did he find out the geographical location of this White River Stockade.
Most of the White Barbarians were barbarian Han people. They called themselves the Chinese. The Chinese were the people of China. In a poem written by the Tang Dynasty's Xu Hun, there was a saying, "Be grateful to the disabled, return home, do not let the Chinese become the dogs of war." At that time, there were still relatively few Han people who called themselves the people of the Central Plains, and the Han people called themselves the Chinese.
The White Barbarians of this White River Stockade were naturally no exception. However, they had only been part of the White Barbarians for a short period of time, a total of two hundred years. Their ancestors were Yang, Li, Zhao, Dong, Chen, and more than ten other surnames. They were all Chinese. Because of the chaos of war in the Central Plains, they fled to this place. At that time, there weren't many villages here, and it was a barren land that had never been developed.
They opened a mountain here, built a stockade, and tidied up the terraced fields. Later, they married the local barbarians, and gradually became a member of the White Barbarians. However, after two hundred years of development, many villages had been built in this barren land. The power of the White Barbarians did not expand in this direction. These villages all belonged to the Wen tribe, so the White River Stockade became the most prominent stockade of the White Barbarians. The villages on the left and right were not of the same tribe.
After Yang Fan understood the specific location, he knew that although this stockade was isolated and without help, it would be even more dangerous if they abandoned it. He couldn't persuade them to leave anymore. At the same time, he learned that the people in this stockade were originally of the same Chinese race, and that there were even people with the surname Yang, so he wanted to protect them even more.
After Xun Er explained the situation to him, she asked, "Why do you want to move? Didn't you already withdraw your troops? "
Yang Fan said, "That's right! These soldiers are Yao Zhou's soldiers. They don't dare to rashly attack the mountain, so they can only retreat. But I don't know what Huang Jingrong will decide. "
Xun Er's big black and white eyes stared at Yang Fan, and she asked curiously, "What do you mean?"
Yang Fan said in a deep voice, "Maybe, he will do as I said and withdraw his troops and send people to negotiate. Maybe, the next time, there will be more troops. "
Xun Er bit her thin red lips and said, "Are you trying to scare me? Isn't he afraid that I will kill you in anger? "
Yang Fan said with a bitter smile, "I have never been on good terms with him. He can't wait to get rid of me. If you want to kill me, I'm afraid it will be to his liking."
Xun Er said in surprise, "He dares to do this? Isn't he afraid of angering your Emperor? "
Yang Fan shook his head and said, "Miss Xun Er, the land that the Emperor manages is ten thousand times larger than the land that your father manages. Your father may have more than ten leaders under him, and they can see the chieftains at any time. But the Emperor has tens of thousands of officials under him, and most of them can only guard the land that the Emperor has designated for them to manage for their entire lives. Without an imperial edict, they cannot go anywhere else, let alone see the Emperor.
As for the Emperor, she will always live in a palace as big as a city. Everything she knows is told to her by her officials, not what she saw or heard with her own eyes. If I die here, the Emperor will definitely hear what Huang Jingrong wants to tell her. At that time, not only will Huang Jingrong not be punished, she might even be promoted. "
Xun Er stared at him with wide eyes, finding it hard to understand what he was saying. After a long time, she shook her head and said, "I don't understand. Among the leaders under my father, there were some who were not very obedient and were punished by my father after he found out. But even such a person wouldn't have the guts to do such a thing. "
Yang Fan said, "Of course you don't understand this matter, and there is no time for you to slowly understand it. Since you are here representing your father, there are only two things that you need to do immediately! "
Xun Er was flabbergasted and asked, "What do I need to do?"
Yang Fan said, "The first thing is that you need to immediately send someone to find your father and tell him about the situation here. Tell him to split his troops to save us. At the same time, tell him that I am here. Tell him that if he really angers the court, it will not benefit him at all. Tell him to immediately negotiate peace with me. Ai! In fact, the best method is for you to send me over, but I'm afraid you won't agree. Furthermore, if you really let me go now, I won't feel at ease. If I go to see your father and you and the people in this stronghold are all captured in one fell swoop, I'm afraid your father and I won't have anything to talk about. "
Xun Er pretended not to hear the second half of his words and asked, "Then what is the second thing?"
Yang Fan glared at her unhappily and said, "Did I say all that in vain? Prepare for war! Of course it is to prepare for war! The walls of the stronghold need to be higher, and the places that are prone to collapse need to be reinforced. Your stronghold doesn't have a water source, so you need to take advantage of the fact that they are retreating to quickly carry more water in preparation for defending. Also, you need to make some equipment to defend the city! If Huang Jingyuan is determined to have me die here, he won't dare to send reinforcements from the court. He can only use Wen Hao and Yun Xuan's soldiers, but if there are too many of them, your low stronghold walls won't be able to hold them off. "
Yang Fan was tied up there with his hands tied behind his back. He was clearly a prisoner, but he seemed to have become her strategist as he spoke. Xun Er was not angry. Hearing that what he said was reasonable, she immediately followed his advice and began to make arrangements according to his instructions.
Xun Er sent a few of the stronghold men who were skilled horsemen to leave the stronghold and take a small path to find Chieftain Xunqi. They were to quickly report the situation here and the news that an imperial envoy wanted to negotiate peace with him. She then had the old, young, women, and children carry bamboo baskets down the mountain to fetch water, while the young and strong men were responsible for reinforcing the walls of the stronghold.
Yang Fan followed beside Xun Er with his hands tied behind his back. This stronghold had never fought any intense battles before, so the people in the stronghold had no knowledge in this area. Under the direction of Xun Er and Gao Qingshan, the people in the stronghold worked very seriously. However, they were so busy that their foreheads were covered in sweat, but they just couldn't get to the point.
Yang Fan really couldn't take it anymore and couldn't help but follow beside Xun Er. Wherever she went, Yang Fan would complain. As long as Xun Er heard that his complaints were reasonable, she would immediately correct them. Yang Fan's knowledge of setting up a camp and defending the city was only half-baked, but for this stronghold with extremely primitive battle techniques, it was already extremely brilliant.
Yang Fan continued to complain, and the more he talked, the smoother he became, until his spittle flew everywhere.
Xun Er suddenly turned around and glared at him, saying, "You do it!"
Yang Fan was startled and said, "What do you mean, I do it?"
Xun Er angrily said, "Since you are so capable, of course you should be in charge of how to reinforce the city and how to strengthen the defenses."
Yang Fan twisted his body toward her and said, "If you want me to advise you on military matters, shouldn't you at least untie me first?"
Xun Er stuck out her tongue and cried out, "Ah! I forgot. Someone come, untie him. "
Yang Fan stared at her and said in disbelief, "You … haven't untied me, not because you don't trust me, but because … have you forgotten?"
Xun Er said confidently, "Can't I?"
… …
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