Of course, Ang Lee was telling the truth. These two assassins were obviously uncouth people from the mountains. They were lowly errand boys. If he controlled them, they would not be able to threaten anyone. At most, he would get some small credit. However, this credit was not worth mentioning at all when compared to killing the Tufan Prince Lang Zhidu. If he cast a long line to catch a big fish or used them to achieve his own goals, it would be greatly beneficial.
"I always keep my word. As long as you can give a reasonable reason, I will let you go."
"Don't believe him. He is trying to trick us."
"No, I think we can take a gamble. We will die anyway. What are we afraid of?"
One of the assassins was persuaded by Ang Lee. He puffed out his chest and said, "To tell you the truth, we are from Deng Shizhao. We are here to assassinate Yu Chengjie, the second son of the dog thief Pi Luoge. We didn't expect you to be from the Tang Army."
"There is such a big 'Tang' character on our flag. Are you all blind?"
Li Kunxiong was furious.
"We are illiterate and have never seen Yu Chengjie. We only know that Yu Chengjie's team has many people and horses. They have a clear flag and are similar to your Tang Army."
"Big Brother, do you believe them?"
Ang Lee smiled and said, "I believe what they said is true. They are all from the mountains. It is normal for them to not be able to distinguish between the Tang Army and the Nanzhao Army. There is nothing strange about this."
"Hey, we have finished talking. Can you let us go now?"
Ang Lee smiled and said, "Kunxiong, untie them and serve tea."
"Big Brother, this …"
Li Kunxiong was puzzled. He paused and nodded gently. Then, he untied the two assassins.
The two assassins also felt a little incredulous. They asked in surprise, "Are you really going to let us go?"
"I have always been a man of my word. How can I go back on my words? You have been thirsty for a long time. Drink some water to moisten your throat."
The two assassins looked at the tea in front of them with a trace of doubt in their expressions.
"Why? Are you worried that there is poison in the tea?"
Ang Lee smiled faintly.
"No, since the general trusts us, then we also trust the general."
The two assassins were rather forthright and drank the entire cup in one gulp.
"Haha, how forthright."
Ang Lee praised. He then turned to the two assassins and said, "Both of you are brave warriors of Deng Shizhao. Bearing the hatred of the destruction of your country, it's not strange that you want to assassinate Yu Chengjie."
"The general also knows about our Deng Ming Edict."
Ang Lee smiled, "Of course. I know that in order to annex the other Wuzhaos, the King of Nanzhao, Piluo Ge invited the five Wuzhaos to worship their ancestors. In the end, they burned the five Wuzhaos to death in Songming Tower. Your Deng Zhao Lord also died in the fire. Oh, right, your Deng Zhao Lord's wife also bravely led the army to fight against Piluo Ge. Unfortunately, she was too weak and died in the moat.
Ang Lee tried his best to speak along the lines of the two assassins. This way, he would be able to move them and make them treat him as a friend.
"The Imperial Lord and Madam died unjustly. We swear to avenge them."
The two assassins were a little emotional and seemed to have forgotten that they were captives.
Ang Lee smiled, "Other than revenge, what else do you plan to do?"
"Restore the country. We want to restore Deng Ming Edict."
"Revenge, restore the country. Both of you are hot-blooded people. However, whether it is revenge or restoring Deng Ming Edict, you should look for Piluo Ge. He is the main culprit of the destruction of Deng Ming Edict. Yu Chengjie is his son, but Piluo Ge does not suffer much from Yu Chengjie's death. As long as Piluo Ge is alive, Deng Ming Edict will never be able to restore the country, and you will never be able to get your revenge."
"Who are you, general? Why are you helping Deng Ming Edict?"
"Did I help you? It's just that if Nanzhao grows stronger, it will be a big threat to the Tang Empire. I don't want Nanzhao to be too strong."
Li An casually gave a seemingly reasonable reason. Then, he waved his hand and said, "Alright, you guys can leave now. Don't do things that overestimate yourselves in the future."
The two assassins looked at each other, "Thank you for not killing us, general. If you need me, Luo Dahu, in the future, just let me know. Oh, this is my brother, Luo Xiaohu."
Ang Lee nodded, "Alright, you can go now."
"Take care, general."
Luo Dahu and Luo Xiaohu cupped their fists and bowed, then turned and left.
"Big Brother, they are the assassins who tried to assassinate Assistant Minister Xi. If you let them go just like that, how are you going to explain it to Assistant Minister Xi?"
Ang Lee's expression was relaxed, "They are just two small fries. It doesn't matter if I let them go. Moreover, Big Brother has a long-term plan. You will know when the time comes. As for Assistant Minister Xi, he will not care about these things."
"Big Brother, what should we do next? Assistant Minister Xi is injured. I am afraid it is not convenient for him to move."
Ang Lee sighed, "What else can we do? Let's rest for a day and check on Assistant Minister Xi's body. Then we will make a plan."
"Yes, Big Brother."
Ang Lee originally planned to return to Chang 'an City at the fastest speed. However, based on the current situation, this plan was completely ruined. Xi Yu's body was weak and he had to rest for a while. Then he could only slow down to reduce the bumpiness of the journey.
"Cousin, why are you here?"
"Yurou, why are there so many soldiers in the village? What happened?"
"Nothing much. They encountered assassins and the highest official was injured. They are just resting here."
"Oh, so that's the case."
A middle-aged man in his forties looked suspiciously at the Tang Army soldiers in the village. Then he took out the pastries in his arms, "Yurou, I bought some pastries for you."
"Look at how down and out you still have the money to buy pastries for me."
"Yurou, these are all my heartfelt gifts. I may be down and out now, but I, Yang Zhao, will one day rise above others. When that time comes, I will buy you silks and satins and let you wear them beautifully."
Yang Yurou smiled, "I only have this mouth left. Give it to me."
"Yurou, take it."
Yang Zhao put the pastries in Yang Yurou's hands and followed her into the house.
"Take your hand away. It is broad daylight. Do you want to die?"
Yang Yurou glared at Yang Zhao. She was best at the art of seduction. She knew that it was best not to be able to eat a man's heart.
"Yurou, I have not been here for a month. I have to go back tomorrow morning."
"Hmph, then you have wasted your trip. I have not been feeling well these few days."
"Hello, I will leave now. I will leave now. Sigh."
Yang Zhao sighed and turned to run out of the door. However, he was suddenly bounced back into the house.
"You, who are you?"
Yang Zhao did not look where he was going and bumped into Ang Lee who was about to enter the house. He was bounced back by Ang Lee's burly body.
Seeing Ang Lee come in, Yang Yurou warmly welcomed him, "General, please come in."
"This is."
Ang Lee also noticed Yang Zhao in the house. At first, he thought he was Yang Yurou's husband. However, Yang Yurou clearly said that her husband died long ago. So this man should not be her husband.
"General, this is my cousin."
Yang Yurou enthusiastically introduced him and kicked Yang Zhao.
"This one is the new commandant, Yang Zhao. Greetings, General."
Yang Zhao. Wasn't Yang Guozhong's real name Yang Zhao? Also, what did this Yang Yurou have to do with Yang Yuhuan?
Ang Lee felt something. After a pause, he softly said, "I have already said that I, Ang Lee, am only a commandant of the Tang dynasty's Right Dragon Army. I am not a general. You can just call me Commandant Li."
"Commandant Li, so you are the famous Commandant Li. Nice to meet you."
Yang Zhao was very excited. He had been in the government and naturally knew about the major events that happened in the Tang dynasty. Especially when Ang Lee was in the limelight. As a new commandant, how could he not know?
"Cousin, is Commandant Li very famous?"
Hearing this, Yang Yurou looked at Ang Lee with a fiery gaze.
Yang Zhao grinned. "I've made a fool of myself in front of Commandant Li. My cousin is a country bumpkin and hasn't seen much of the world, so she hasn't heard of Commandant Li's achievements. However, this one has heard that Commandant Li defeated the Tibetan army in Yuzhou, causing them to be so angry that they didn't have the strength to retaliate. Furthermore, with the ambush of the Eastern Maiden Nation, you even annihilated the twenty thousand Tibetan border troops and personally beheaded the Tibetan Prince, Lang Zhidu. Commandant Li has made such a contribution. When you return to the capital, His Majesty will definitely confer you the title of General.
Congratulations to Commandant Li. "His face was full of flattery and his mouth was full of grease. One look and one could tell that he was not a righteous person.
"Wow, cousin, so Commandant Li is so amazing."
Yang Yurou's gaze became even more fiery.
"Oh, Commandant Yang is too kind. Ang Lee was just lucky. Commandant Yang is a talent, your future will be limitless."
"Haha, I hope so, I hope so."
Yang Zhao seemed to have no sense of shame and had no intention of being humble.
"Right, Commandant Li, I heard that Assistant Minister Xi of the Ministry of Rites is on a diplomatic mission to Dongnu Province. Is he here now?"
"Oh, he was ambushed by an assassin just now. Assistant Minister Xi was injured and is currently recuperating over there."
Ang Lee casually pointed.
Yang Zhao rolled his eyes and cupped his fists. "Commandant Li, please rest. This one will go and pay a visit to Assistant Minister Xi." After saying this, he walked out of the room and went straight to where Xi Yu was.
Since there was an even higher official present, why would Yang Zhao waste his breath on Ang Lee? If he wanted to flatter someone, he had to choose the highest official.
"Commandant Li, please don't mind him. My cousin has always been like this."
Ang Lee lightly waved his hand. "It's fine. Commandant Yang is also quite good like this. Oh, right, you should have a younger sister, right?"
Yang Yurou was stunned for a moment before lightly nodding. "I do have a younger sister. Furthermore, she is married to the current Prince Shou. I had hoped that she would be able to take care of us when she rose to prominence, but who would have thought that for some reason, she would be banished to a Daoist monastery and spend her days in prayer. Her life is truly bitter. Eh, how did Commandant Li know that I have a younger sister? Could it be that you have seen Yuhuan?"
Ang Lee confirmed his conjecture and came to a realization. However, for a moment, he didn't know how to answer Yang Yurou's question.
"I have never seen your sister with my own eyes. However, I have stayed in the capital for a period of time and know that your sister was banished to a Daoist monastery. Furthermore, I also know that she has a beautiful older sister in Central Sichuan. Thus, I was just casually asking. I just didn't expect …"
Ang Lee randomly gave an excuse.
"So it's like that."
Yang Yurou didn't doubt Ang Lee's words. After a pause, she asked, "Commandant Li, you have stayed in the capital for a period of time. Do you know why my sister was banished to a Daoist monastery? What crime did she commit?"
"This …"
Ang Lee didn't know how to answer. He couldn't possibly tell the truth and say that the current Emperor, Li Longji, had taken a liking to his daughter-in-law. After all, Li Longji had yet to officially confer Yang Yuhuan. If he said it in advance, it would be creating rumors. Creating rumors about the Emperor was no joke. No matter how bold Ang Lee was, he wouldn't dare to do such a thing.
"Commandant Li, is it very difficult to answer this question?"
Seeing Ang Lee hesitate, Yang Yurou frowned and asked.
"Actually, I'm also not very clear about this matter. Thus, I really can't answer."
Yang Yurou stared at Ang Lee. "Commandant Li, you don't want to say it, right? As far as I know, my sister was banished to a Daoist monastery because of a small mistake. However, she is Princess Shou after all. How could she be banished to a Daoist monastery because of such a small matter? This matter can be used to deceive others, but if you want to deceive me, Yang Yurou, it won't be so easy.
Seeing Yang Yurou frowning and deep in thought, Ang Lee pursed his lips and changed the topic. "Yurou, my wife, I came here to ask, how far is the nearest city from here?"
"The nearest city is the county town. It's about fifteen li away. If Commandant Li wants to go to the county town, Yurou can lead the way for you."
Yang Yurou's gaze was fiery as she enthusiastically took a step forward.
"Oh, there's no need. I'll go alone."
Ang Lee felt a little embarrassed. Yang Yurou in front of him was the famous Madam of Guo Country in history. This person was arrogant and wanton. She was not easy to deal with. In short, Ang Lee had a very bad impression of her. At this moment, although he could not see what was wrong with her, from her bold behavior, he could see the signs.
"Yurou is more familiar with the county town. It will be more convenient for Commandant Li to bring me along."
Yang Yurou boldly made another request.
"This is still not very convenient. My wife, you just need to tell me the location of the medicine shop in the county town."
"No, I must bring you there personally. There's no room for discussion."
"This …"
Ang Lee secretly sighed at Yang Yurou's shrewdness. They had just met and she was already so bold. No wonder she could do well in the future.
"Commandant Li, what are you afraid of? Yurou is only accompanying you to the county town. I'm not asking you to marry me."
Yang Yurou smiled: "I know, an outstanding man like Li Xiaowei must marry a young and beautiful woman. Yurou is the mother of two children, how could I dare to have such extravagant hopes?"
As she spoke, she leaned toward Ang Lee.
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