Ang Lee and Zhao Yefu walked out of the big tent together. Seeing Xi Yu and others standing outside the tent, they quickly walked over.
"Prince Guichang."
Xi Yu and others saluted together.
Zhao Yefu waved his hand to everyone, indicating that they could dispense with the formalities.
Ang Lee took two steps forward and looked at Li Feishou Yu and others. He stared at them and said, "What happened? Why did someone shout assassins? Even Assistant Minister Xi was alerted."
Li Feishou Yu quickly told Ang Lee that the two Tufan assassins were poisoned to death. He nodded slightly and hinted something to Ang Lee.
Seeing this, Ang Lee said angrily, "Kun Xiong, Fei Yu, what did you promise me? Why can't you even take care of the two captives? You've ruined my plan."
"It's our negligence. Big Brother, please punish us."
Li Feiyu knelt down on one knee and asked for forgiveness. Li Kunxiong also knelt down.
"Humph, how dare you! Men, take them away and give them 30 strokes of the military rod each as a warning to others."
Ang Lee ordered angrily.
"Wait."
Xi Yu hurriedly pleaded, "Lieutenant Li, the two of them are rare warriors of our Tang Empire. This trip to the East Woman Kingdom is fraught with danger. If we hurt the warriors first, wouldn't we be breaking our own arms? Why don't we forgive them this time and let them redeem themselves?"
Ang Lee frowned and said sadly, "Assistant Minister Xi, Kun Xiong and Fei Yu are my sworn brothers. They grew up with me. How can I be willing to punish them? It's just that these two Tufan assassins have already confessed that there are spies around Prince Guichang. As long as we wait for a few more hours, I can catch the spies. But because of their negligence, the spies took advantage of the loopholes and poisoned the Tufan assassins to death."
Xi Yu stroked his beard and comforted, "What's done is done. Officer Li, don't take it to heart. Moreover, these two Tufan assassins were captured by them."
Ang Lee nodded and looked at Kun Xiong and Fei Yu. He said seriously, "Merits are merits, and demerits are demerits. I shouldn't have forgiven you this time. However, since Assistant Minister Xi has pleaded for mercy, I'll record the 30 strokes of the rod for now. I'll carry out the punishment when I return to Chang 'an after this mission."
After saying that, he gave the two of them a look.
Kun Xiong and Fei Yu understood and kowtowed, "Thank you for Assistant Minister Xi's plea, we will not make the same mistake again."
"Brave warriors, please rise. We still need to rely on you for this journey."
Xi Yu's face was full of smiles as he turned to look at Ang Lee. "Lieutenant Li, there's no need to rush the matter of tracking down the spies. It's already late, everyone should rest first."
"Please, Assistant Minister Xi."
"Guichang Wang, this official will take his leave."
Xi Yu bowed slightly to Zhao Yefu and turned to walk back to his tent.
As the highest leader of the Tang dynasty's diplomatic mission, the reason why Xi Yu pleaded for mercy for Kun Xiong and Fei Yu was because he cherished talents. He had been an official all his life and could tell at a glance that Kun Xiong and Fei Yu were brave warriors. He couldn't bear to let warriors be humiliated.
Secondly, he could tell that Ang Lee didn't really want to punish them, but because these two people had made mistakes, he had to show his selflessness. As long as he pleaded for mercy, Ang Lee would definitely go with the flow and spare Kun Xiong and Fei Yu. In this way, not only did he solve Ang Lee's problem, but he also won the gratitude of Kun Xiong and Fei Yu. It could be said that he killed two birds with one stone. Although Xi Yu looked old, in some aspects of dealing with people, he was very shrewd.
Ang Lee sent Zhao Yefu back to his tent and then returned to his tent with Li Fei, Shouyu, and the others.
"Shouyu, what's the situation?"
As soon as he entered the tent, Ang Lee asked anxiously.
"It's fine. We did as you said and found three spies. Two of them are guards and one is a maid."
"Oh, only three people."
"It's not certain yet. At that time, it was a disguised guard who went to deliver the meal. Fei Yu and I quietly followed him and found that another guard and a maid met him in a dark corner. We can be sure that the three of them are spies. Then the three of them went back in two directions. We also followed them and didn't find anything unusual. So, at present, we can only be sure that the three of them are spies."
Li Fei Shouyu said seriously.
Ang Lee nodded gently. "Fei Yu, send a few reliable brothers to closely monitor the three spies. Find out who they usually contact, where they contact, and what they do. Remember, it must be done quietly and must not arouse their vigilance."
"Big Brother, don't worry. Leave it to me."
Ang Lee waved his hand and let the brothers go back to rest.
This time, using the two Tufan assassins to fish out the spies around King Gui Chang was carefully arranged by Ang Lee. He originally planned to capture the spies immediately after discovering them to eliminate the hidden dangers.
However, after thinking about it carefully, if there were a large number of spies and only a few of them entered the trap, it would be impossible to eliminate all of them. In this way, there would still be a great hidden danger. Last time in Yuzhou, the battle with the Tufan army spies allowed Ang Lee to gain a lot of knowledge. Therefore, he decided to use the strategy of loosening the reins only to catch them better. He let Li Fei Shouyu and Li Feiyu secretly follow them but didn't capture them. At the same time, he also put on a show of beating his brothers to confuse the spies.
In addition, what Ang Lee was most worried about was not the spies around King Gui Chang. After all, these spies were definitely small fries. Behind them, there must be a royal family that colluded with Tufan. How to dig out this royal family of Dongnu Province was more of a headache for Ang Lee. This time, he let these three spies go because he wanted to cast a long line to catch a big fish.
Ang Lee believed that as long as they entered Dongnu Province, these spies would definitely get in touch with the royal family of Dongnu Province who ordered them. In this way, Ang Lee could follow the clues and find the royal family that colluded with Tufan. Then, he could use thunderous means to eliminate them.
As for the two Tufan spies, since they were useless, they would only be burdens if they were left alive. Letting them die in the hands of the spies could be considered as retribution.
The night passed uneventfully. The next morning, a few soldiers of the Dragon Martial Army threw the two Tufan spies to the side of the road as a public display.
This was Ang Lee's arrangement. It was mainly to let the spies in the team see that their poisoning was successful. They could rest easy and relax, not suspecting that they had been exposed.
After breakfast, Ang Lee led the team out of camp and continued their journey to Dongnu Province.
The death of the two Tufan assassins made everyone believe that there were spies in King Gui Chang's team. This created a lot of pressure for the spies, so they behaved themselves and kept a low profile.
Li An's subordinates had been secretly observing them for a few days, but they didn't find anything of value. Aside from eating, drinking, and working, the three of them spent almost all of their time in their tents. They didn't seem to have much contact with others either.
However, Ang Lee had plenty of patience. Now that he had determined that the three of them were spies, there was no need to be afraid that they would be able to escape from his grasp.
A few days later, the team arrived at Mount Qi and set up camp at the foot of Mount Qi. In another two days, they would arrive at Chencang City. After that, they would enter Liang Province through the narrow Chencang Trail, then Yi Province, and finally Dongnu Province's capital, Queen's City.
In at most a month, Ang Lee would arrive at Dongnu Province. After entering Dongnu Province, what would be waiting for him? Ang Lee did not dare to think too deeply. He had a premonition that this trip to Dongnu Province was destined to be filled with bloodshed, and he had to harden his heart and face this challenge.
After dinner, Ang Lee went to King Gui Chang's tent as usual and seriously learned the Tufan language. At first, Xi Yu was very dissatisfied when he heard about this. However, after thinking about it carefully, Dongnu Province was a barbarian state after all. It was far from the Tang Dynasty that had etiquette and honor. The etiquette and customs of a small foreign state were naturally different from the Tang Dynasty. As long as King Gui Chang himself was willing, why would he, as the assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites of the Tang Dynasty, object?
"Chirp chirp chirp chirp"
In King Gui Chang's tent, Ang Lee suddenly heard a very familiar bird chirp. This kind of bird was very common in Yingzhou. However, this was a migratory bird. In this season, it should be in the south for winter. How could it appear in the cold Guanzhong Plain?
Ang Lee had a slight feeling in his heart. He looked at Zhao Yefu and said, "Yefu, it's getting late. Rest early. I'm going back."
"Okay, take care."
Zhao Yefu was really sleepy and did not have the slightest urge to stay.
Ang Lee nodded and strode out of King Gui Chang's tent. He looked in the direction of the bird chirp and quietly went there.
"Big Brother, why are you here?"
Li Feiyu took a brother and hid behind a big tree.
Ang Lee was immediately more certain of his judgment and whispered, "You are following the spy."
"It's the maid. She's not far ahead."
Ang Lee grinned and said, "As expected, there are assassins. You go back first. Fei Yu, follow me quietly."
Li Feiyu's brother was ordered to leave. Ang Lee took Li Feiyu and followed quietly.
In order not to be discovered, the two separated for a distance and moved quietly. They tried to keep a safe distance as far as possible.
In a dark corner, the maid stopped and also chirped chirp chirp chirp chirp.
Not long after, a tall and sturdy man emerged from behind a large tree.
"Ayi, you're here."
The man said and looked around vigilantly.
"Ha Mi Guo, why are you here? Shouldn't you be with Master?"
"After the news of the failed assassination in the suburbs of Chang 'an City reached Master's ears, he was furious. Master doesn't trust you and the Tufan people very much. He is worried that you still can't complete the mission. So, he sent me here personally. How is the mission going?"
The man named Ha Mi Guo said with a proud face.
"The mission is not going well. The imperial court of the Tang dynasty sent a very powerful captain to lead 600 elite soldiers to guard the guest. Just a few days ago, all the Tufan people were wiped out by him. In addition, we were almost caught by him."
Ayi said with lingering fear.
"What? How could this be? What's going on?"
Ayi did not hide anything. She told Ha Mi Guo about Ang Lee's plan to wipe out the Tufan assassins and the thrilling scene afterward.
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