Guazhou City, the army camp.
In this period of time, Hou Junji's appetite during the day had become much worse, and he found it difficult to sleep at night. The reason was very simple: he was constantly worried about the news from Wind Gulch Valley. Hou Junji was constantly concerned about the success or failure of Wind Gulch Valley. As long as Zhou Ziqing assassinated Du Qi and killed Xia Xia's backbone, Xia Xia would be defeated. Without Du Qi, Xia Xia would not be able to stop the Tang army.
Thus, Hou Junji was always absent-minded when doing anything.
On this day, after Hou Junji finished his morning exercise with the soldiers, the soldiers went to eat breakfast while Hou Junji returned to his tent. Just as he was about to return, a scout came in and said, "Hou Junji, Zhangsun Wuji has sent a letter of superstition."
Hou Junji said, "Bring it up."
The sentries handed over the letter, and Hou Junji quickly opened it to read. The news in this letter had clearly been sent by Zhangsun Wuji as quickly as possible. It said that the Imperial Court already had a countermeasure, that the Emperor would not interfere, and that he hoped that Hou Junji would succeed.
Hou Junji breathed a sigh of relief.
But after reading the entire letter, Hou Junji inwardly cursed Su Dingfang's craftiness. He had actually sent two people to deliver the letter, and he had even reported Hou Junji for the assassination of the messenger. Truly abominable. It was fortunate that the Emperor had not punished him, or else he would have had to bear the consequences of his actions.
Hou Junji turned to the scout and said, "I must trouble you to tell Duke of Qi that I thank him for his warning."
"Yes!"
The scout turned and left.
As the scout turned and left, Hou Junji's expression gradually darkened. He was not someone who would endure a beating. Now that Su Dingfang had reported him, Hou Junji found it difficult to suppress his anger. He had to ask Su Dingfang and get an answer from Su Dingfang. In any case, he had nothing to do right now.
Hou Junji immediately changed his clothes and led a group of around thirty-some of his personal guards to the Provincial Governor's Residence. Everyone was on horseback, and their speed was extremely fast. In a short time, they entered the city and approached the Provincial Governor's Manor.
He led his men down from their horses and walked straight inside. However, when the gatekeeper at the entrance of the Provincial Governor's Office saw that the visitor did not come with good intentions, he quickly went up to stop him and said, "General Hou, what are you doing?"
"Scram!"
Hou Junji waved his hand and shoved the gatekeeper to the ground. Following closely behind, the soldiers unsheathed their swords and placed them on the gatekeeper's neck. The gatekeeper didn't dare to say anything.
As Hou Junji walked in, he called out, "Su Dingfang, come out for this general!"
Su Dingfang was in the main hall dealing with government affairs, and his subordinates, Fu Junheng and the others, were all present. When he heard Hou Junji's voice and saw his furious expression, he immediately knew that he had come with ill intentions.
Su Dingfang asked Fu Junheng and the others to leave before he stood up and walked towards the door. When he arrived at the gate and saw the aggressive Hou Junji, he asked, "General Hou, what are you doing?"
Hou Junji replied, "Su Dingfang, aren't you going to give this general an explanation?"
Su Dingfang asked, "What explanation?"
Hou Junji replied, "What explanation? Naturally, I'm telling you how to go behind my back and report me to His Majesty."
Su Dingfang's expression was solemn as he firmly said, "General Hou, you are stationed in Guazhou City, but you are only responsible for external affairs. This official is responsible for the military affairs of Guazhou and Shazhou. "
Su Dingfang was extremely domineering at this moment, and he continued, "Moreover, this official is also responsible for the government affairs of Guazhou. Now that this matter involves Guazhou, how can I not report it to His Majesty? Moreover, you're just asking me why I should report it to His Majesty. Why don't you talk about the assassination of the messenger? "
In truth, Su Dingfang somewhat looked down on Hou Junji. Hou Junji had great ambitions but little talent, obstinate and self-opinionated. It was not a good thing for such a person to be in Guazhou, but the Emperor had sent Hou Junji. Su Dingfang was helpless.
Hou Junji's face chilled at Su Dingfang's words, and he became even angrier.
It seemed that he would not let this matter go.
Hou Junji furiously said, "Su Dingfang, you've really grown your wings. You think that you're all that just because you're the Guazhou Provincial Governor? You've already reported to His Majesty about my ambush of Du Qi, but what can he do about it? There's already news from the court that His Majesty didn't deal with your memorial after receiving it. This means that he has tacitly approved of my actions. "
A smug look appeared on Hou Junji's face as he continued, "In His Majesty's heart, you, Su Dingfang, are incompetent and unable to share His Majesty's burdens. Otherwise, how could His Majesty deal with your memorial like this? Su Dingfang, this general is telling you, if you don't give me an explanation today, this matter won't be over. This general will tear down your Provincial Governor Residence. "
"You dare!"
Su Dingfang stepped forward, his eyes vicious as he stared at Hou Junji. "As long as you, Hou Junji, dare to make a scene in the Provincial Governor Residence, I'll leave this place alive. Today, I'll have you leave the Provincial Governor Residence lying on your back. "
Su Dingfang was also angry.
He was the Guazhou Provincial Governor.
Those who were not Hou Junji's subordinates would not allow Hou Junji to throw his temper around, and they certainly would not indulge Hou Junji.
Normally, Su Dingfang would let Hou Junji have his way, and at worst, the well water would mind its own business. But today, Hou Junji had come knocking on his door. If Su Dingfang still did nothing, how would the Provincial Governor Residence view Su Dingfang? And once this news got out, how would the people of Guazhou view Su Dingfang?
Logically and emotionally, Su Dingfang could not tolerate this.
Hou Junji was so angry that he laughed. "Good, good! Su Dingfang, you actually dare to speak such harsh words. This general would like to see how you'll make me leave lying on my back. Come, get him! Seize Su Dingfang! "
The personal guards he had brought with him were all brave men, and they were all Hou Junji's trusted subordinates. Thus, the moment Hou Junji gave the order, they charged forward.
Su Dingfang sneered as he unsheathed his sword. Although he was not using his own weapon, Su Dingfang had nothing to fear with his sword in hand. He strode forward, sword in hand. By now, the guards of the Provincial Governor Residence had arrived, and when they saw that Su Dingfang was going to attack, they followed suit.
The moment the two sides clashed, Su Dingfang and his sword appeared invincible. Wherever Su Dingfang went, screams could be heard as Su Dingfang cut down Hou Junji's personal guards.
Although Su Dingfang was not a martial arts expert like Mordor, Su Dingfang was no weakling. Although he presided over Guazhou and had many government affairs to attend to every day, he had never once neglected his martial arts.
In a few short moments, ten-some of Hou Junji's personal guards had been killed, and the rest of them had been suppressed by the Provincial Governor Residence's guards and were on the verge of defeat.
While his guards were suppressing Hou Junji's personal guards, Su Dingfang charged forward. In the blink of an eye, he was in front of Hou Junji.
He thrust out the sword in his hand.
His sword was like a streak of light, moving with incredible speed.
Hou Junji's heart thumped in fright at the sight of this sword. Even though Hou Junji was a general, his martial arts were only mediocre and not particularly formidable. Thus, he could only lean to the side to avoid Su Dingfang's sword. But as Hou Junji leaned to the side, Su Dingfang seemed to have predicted this and raised his foot to kick.
Clap!
The foot slammed into Hou Junji's abdomen.
The kick sent Hou Junji flying through the air in an arc before he crashed to the ground, his entire body grimacing in pain.
Hou Junji endured the pain and tried to stand up, but just as he was about to do so, Su Dingfang approached again. The tip of his sword rested on Hou Junji's chest, and his foot was stomping down on Hou Junji's chest.
Hou Junji couldn't even stand up if he wanted to.
Hou Junji clenched his teeth and said, "Su Dingfang, you dare to treat me like this? I am Duke Lu, a Great General of the Imperial Court. By treating me like this, you've offended your superior! You deserve to die! "
Su Dingfang indifferently said, "In the army, my rank truly is lower than yours. But I'm a local official, not under your jurisdiction. Moreover, I've never liked you, Hou Junji. Back then, you stubbornly insisted on going to war with Du Qi, resulting in you becoming Du Qi's prisoner and the loss of tens of thousands of lives.
"And now, you want to deal with Du Qi.
"Do you know what will happen if you provoke Du Qi? You only think about how wonderful it will be if you succeed, but have you ever considered the consequences of failure?
"Hou Junji, you have great ambition but little talent, obstinate and self-opinionated, and yet you act like you're number one in the world.
"I loathe you the most."
His words came out in a torrent, stabbing into Hou Junji's heart like a knife. Hou Junji grimaced, his face twisting into an unsightly grimace.
"Damn!"
"Su Dingfang, you deserve to die!"
Hou Junji roared, his voice hysterical and enraged.
Hou Junji continued, "Su Dingfang, you've angered me. Let me tell you, you're dead. I'll make sure you die a very embarrassing death. I, Hou Junji, have suffered such humiliation in my life. The first was Du Qi, and the second was you. A trifling provincial governor like you dares to treat me like this? You truly deserve to die! "
Su Dingfang suddenly laughed and said, "Hou Junji, you've truly lost your mind for saying such words. You're the Duke of Lu of the Tang dynasty, but you're so shallow and obstinate. His Majesty made a mistake in using you! "
He looked down on Hou Junji even more.
He had just happened to make some contributions and become Duke of Lu through his service as the Emperor. That was all.
Su Dingfang's resentment had all exploded today, and he could no longer suppress his anger. He looked around and saw that his soldiers had already suppressed Hou Junji's guards and had even taken down a portion of them.
Su Dingfang put away his sword and raised his leg to kick.
Bang!
This kick struck Hou Junji's buttocks once more.
Hou Junji's body flew through the air once more. In the blink of an eye, he was at the gates of the Provincial Governor's Residence. The gates were wide, and Hou Junji's body just so happened to be flying through the gates. Bang! Hou Junji's body crashed to the ground. Hou Junji's entire body was in discomfort.
His personal guards retreated and quickly surrounded Hou Junji.
Su Dingfang followed them out. He walked up to Hou Junji and indifferently said, "I told you to come out lying down, so you came out lying down. Hou Junji, this official is the Provincial Governor of Guazhou. I'd like to see what you can do to me. "
In any case, they had already shed all pretense of cordiality, so Su Dingfang didn't care about anything else.
Hou Junji stood up and said, "Su Dingfang, let's wait and see."
He turned and prepared to leave.
"Reporting!"
At this moment, a scout rushed over to Hou Junji's side and shouted, "General Hou, it's bad! We were ambushing Du Qi's men, but we were ambushed. Zhou Ziqing was captured, and the majority of our men were captured. Only a few dozen people managed to escape. Our ambush failed. "
Hou Junji's face instantly paled.
It's over!
His plan had failed once more.
In his heart, Hou Junji was looking forward to victory. If the assassination succeeded, the Great Xia would be without Du Qi, and the Great Xia would be a toothless tiger, nothing to fear.
Hou Junji suddenly thought of another problem. The Emperor was aware of this matter. Even the Emperor was waiting for his good news. Once the news reached the Imperial Court …
Hou Junji couldn't help but shiver.
The situation was bad!
Right now, he had provoked Du Qi, but his scheme had failed. If the matter had been resolved, that would have been fine. The problem was that not only had Du Qi not been resolved, he had also provoked trouble. The Emperor would not be in a good mood.
Su Dingfang indifferently said, "General Hou, the plan to ambush Du Qi has failed. Right now, you should think carefully about how to explain this to His Majesty and how to deal with Du Qi's fury. Du Qi is not someone to be provoked. "
Hou Junji was already nervous, and now, he was even more nervous.
Su Dingfang continued, "General Hou, I'm afraid that you don't have the time to deal with me. Besides the matter I just asked you to think about, think about how to protect yourself. "
Hou Junji snorted and left with a flick of his sleeve.
Su Dingfang shook his head as he watched Hou Junji leave. He returned to the reception hall and immediately called over Fu Junheng. "Advisor Fu, immediately send an order to have all my soldiers on guard. In addition, the Guazhou border should also be on guard. If Du Qi's army launches a surprise attack, we should immediately respond. "
"Yes!"
Fu Junheng immediately replied.
After a pause, Fu Junheng said, "Governor Su, if I may say, your conflict with Hou Junji today was actually very unwise. You shouldn't have gotten into a conflict with him. "
Su Dingfang said, "When I can't tolerate it, I naturally can't. Moreover, Hou Junji came to provoke me, wanting to slap me in the face and make me lose all face. I naturally had to throw caution to the wind. "
Fu Junheng said, "Governor Su, even if you're angry, you shouldn't have done this. Not only did you kill his men, you also publicly humiliated him. This is very inappropriate! "
Su Dingfang said, "Advisor Fu, there's no need for you to worry. Besides, Hou Junji can't even protect himself right now. He probably can't even handle his own situation well, so he doesn't have the time to make trouble for us. "
"Yes!"
Fu Junheng nodded.
After careful consideration, he realized that Su Dingfang's words made sense. But after some thought, Fu Junheng continued, "But Governor Su, I still insist on my view. Hou Junji is no ordinary person. His status in the court is different, and offending him is very inappropriate. "
Su Dingfang stared at Fu Junheng for a while, and then he smiled. "Advisor Fu, although my teacher Li Jing no longer cares about court affairs, he doesn't necessarily fear Hou Junji. Hou Junji has a background, and so do I. Aren't you worrying too much? Or perhaps I might as well have you work for Hou Junji. "
Fu Junheng gave an embarrassed smile and then took his leave to attend to his own affairs.
After Hou Junji returned to his camp, he immediately summoned his generals and ordered them to be on guard. At the same time, he ordered his scouts to keep an eye on the border to prevent Du Qi from making any strange movements.
Only after issuing these orders did Hou Junji breathe a sigh of relief.
What he needed to consider now was how to prevent an attack.
How to prevent Du Qi from attacking?
After making all these arrangements, Hou Junji began to wonder if he should submit a memorial to Li Shimin and ask for forgiveness. After all, he had failed to assassinate Du Qi, and if he didn't submit a memorial, he feared that Li Shimin would punish him. But after some thought, Hou Junji realized that if he submitted a memorial to Li Shimin and asked for forgiveness, what if Du Qi didn't attack?
Thus, after some thought, Hou Junji decided to suppress the idea of submitting a memorial.
For now, he chose to wait and see.
The days passed, and in the blink of an eye, it was the beginning of the sixth month. The weather was only getting hotter and hotter. Hou Junji had been waiting for Du Qi to attack this entire time, and he had even placed soldiers on high alert along the way. From start to finish, there had been no movement in the Southern Xia. Not even Chen Youde, the spy he had stationed in Yizhou, had sent back any news.
With this, Hou Junji gradually began to relax, as he felt that Du Qi would not attack.
Hou Junji relaxed, his mind calming down.
Du Qi would not attack.
This was a good thing.
If Du Qi attacked, Hou Junji would find it difficult to deal with him, and he would even find it difficult to stop him. Moreover, all the blame would be placed on Hou Junji's shoulders. But after this incident, if Du Qi attacked in the future, Hou Junji would not be blamed, and he would no longer need to worry.
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