Traveling through troubled times, he fled with his stepson

The beginning of the 43rd year of Tianqi.

Wan Zongrong, who occupied Yongzhou and the northern part of the capital, proclaimed himself king, named his country Lu, and called himself the King of Lu.

Prince You, who was leading the Northern Expedition, failed and had to stay in the Central Plains due to food and fodder problems. He proclaimed himself king, named the country Yan, and called himself Prince You of Yan.

And it has been a month since the withdrawal of troops from Yizhou.

Lei Haozai also announced that the country's name was Yuan and called himself King Yuan Hao.

The forces in the world have been tentatively determined.

----

In Chenzhou city, someone hurried into Lei Hao's mansion. He entered and exited extremely quickly as if he was in an empty place.

After several journeys, the man arrived at the door of Lei Hao's study.

Only then did he stop and signal to the guard at the door, "Is the king inside?"

The guard nodded: "Yes, I'll help you pass the message."

After a while the guard came out and motioned for the man to go in.

The man straightened his clothes and adjusted his breathing before stepping into the house.

"Your Majesty."

Lei Hao looked up at the person who came. It was Zhao Zhilin, the brother of Zhao Zhiyou who had been castrated but survived.

"What's the matter?"

"I've found a clue to the matter that the king asked me to investigate!" said Zhao Zhilin. Ever since he lost his penis, he had become extremely skinny, with sunken eye sockets. He gained some weight later, but unlike before when he was plump, he was still very thin.

His eyes were full of viciousness, and one could tell at first glance that he was not a good person.

Lei Hao is very good at using such people.

"explain."

He put down the letter he was reading.

"My king, you will definitely be surprised when you hear this." Zhao Zhilin was so happy that his eyes narrowed, and an uncomfortable aura emanated from his whole body.

"The power behind Yizhou is led by a man called Li Yuan. It was he who entered Yizhou and met with the governor of Yizhou, Jiang Shiping, before we attacked Yizhou."

"Li Yuan? Who is he?"

Lei Hao knew about the various forces, but he had never heard of such a person.

It seemed to appear out of nowhere.

"Your Majesty, speaking of Li Yuan, my brother and I have a close relationship with him."

"Oh? What do you mean?" Lei Hao became interested.

"This man is Li Yuan, the son of Li Zhou from the former Chenzhou. My brother searched Chenzhou and other cities thoroughly, but he couldn't find this little bastard and his stepmother."

Zhao Zhilin sneered: "I didn't expect that we could find him and run right under our noses."

"It also disrupted your affairs, Your Majesty."

Lei Hao narrowed his eyes, "How old was he at the time?"

"My brother told me that he was only eight years old at the time."

Zhao Zhilin answered honestly.

"Nine years have passed, and I'm seventeen this year?" Lei Hao opened his eyes slightly, and was shocked between a few thoughts.

That is to say, the person who schemed to cause him to return in disgrace was actually a boy under seventeen?

Lei Hao's question also made Zhao Zhilin's slow brain react, and the two looked at each other in shock.

Does a boy under seventeen really have such a scheme or is there someone more skilled behind him?

"Didn't you find out who he was in contact with?"

"No, but I have been watching him for a long time, and he would occasionally leave Yizhou and go to a certain place." Zhao Zhilin replied.

"where?"

"Chicken Pass Mountain."

Yizhou.

In early spring, the weather gradually warmed up. Li Yuan planned to go to Jiguan Mountain to pick up Wei Qiqi in half a month.

Although Jiguanshan was cold in winter, it was warm enough. The house was filled with heating gadgets made by Qinniang. If he came to Yizhou, those heating gadgets would not be available for a while, so he agreed to spend the last bit of the winter in Jiguanshan.

Jiu Lan then opened the door curtain and rushed in. Cold wind rushed into the room, causing Li Yuan to pause while writing.

"Boss, I have done what you said." Jiu Lan said, sitting down on the left side of the table, picking up the Yizhou-specific fruits on the table and eating them.

Li Yuan previously asked Jiulan to collect detailed intelligence on all the people of status and position in Yizhou. Now that Jiulan appeared here, it must have been done.

"I'm so tired. I've been collecting for a month and have been dealing with these people since I came to Yizhou."

Speaking of this, Jiu Lan couldn't help but feel annoyed. Jiang Shiping, the governor of Yizhou, was okay, but the other officials were really corrupt, a bunch of hypocrites who were wearing official uniforms and pretending to be righteous.

"These people are so disgusting. Their children are about to get married, yet they are forcing a beast like them who is younger than their daughter!"

Jiu Lan took a big bite of the fruit in his hand, making a crisp sound. This fruit was not delicious, it was astringent, but it quenched thirst and was okay to kill time.

"Boss, what's the point of you asking me to collect these? Aren't we only staying in Yizhou for a year?"

Li Yuan waited until she finished talking before putting down the wolf hair brush and wiping the ink off his hands with a handkerchief beside him.

"You mean one year?"

He asked back, causing Jiu Lan to stop chewing.

"What does the boss mean?"

Li Yuan threw the handkerchief on the table.

"Qiniang has to stay in Yizhou. If she keeps someone like this, she will have to look around. She can't let go and can't do what she wants to do."

Li Yuan picked up the paper on the table and shook it slightly to let the ink on it dry.

"In Yizhou, only Jiang Shiping is feasible, the others are rotten to the core.

Qi Niang said that rotten roots cannot transport nutrients, so it is better to cut them all off so that the tree can survive."

When he said this, his sharp brows softened.

Jiu Lan couldn't help but shudder when he saw his dead look. Suddenly, an idea came to her mind. "Boss, you asked me to collect information about these people. Do you want to use their weaknesses to help us take Yizhou?"

Li Yuan didn't say anything, which meant he agreed.

"Chenzhou is still recuperating. They don't have enough food and grass. They won't attack us in the short term."

Li Yuan said, "To be on the safe side, we should send our own people up there and let them help us."

"Put someone in our army?"

His emotionless eyes fell lightly on Jiu Lan, and Jiu Lan quickly changed the subject: "Use our intelligence personnel, don't worry, try to find someone with a clean family background."

After saying this, Jiu Lan couldn't help but talk rudely, "People like you deserve to not be able to catch up with Madam Wei. You have a stern face every day." She complained.

As the two were talking, Jiu Lan had finished eating the fruit in her hand. She threw the fruit core away and then caught it.

"How are you and Dongda?"

pat.

The fruit core thrown up again fell to the ground with a crisp sound.

"What can I do? It's just like that."

Jiu Lan looked a little unnatural. She withdrew her hand awkwardly, thinking that the boss was taking revenge on her.

Revenge for what she just said.

"Boss, you haven't even solved your own problems yet, and you're still meddling in mine?"

"You and Dong Da love each other, and there is nothing wrong with Dong Da wanting to marry you."

It was rare for Li Yuan to show concern for his subordinates, and his concern put Jiu Lan under great pressure.

"He has nothing to blame, but I just don't want to do anything."