Chapter 158: Not My Match

Shen Yu brought Gui Xiong back to the base, but how to arrange it became a problem. While she was thinking, Xiao Chuan asked to see her outside the tent.

Shen Yu thought for a moment and said, "Come in."

Xiao Chuan lifted the curtain and entered the tent.

There was not only Shen Yu in the tent, but also two guards and Gui Xiong and his son.

Xiao Chuan's eyes only stayed on Gui Xiong and his son for a moment, and said to Shen Yu, "I am wrong."

"What's wrong?" Shen Yu sat behind the table and looked at Xiao Chuan.

Xiao Chuan knelt on one knee and said, "I disobeyed the order of the adults and was worried about the safety of the adults, so I followed them to the southwest of the Hezi Mountain ten miles away without authorization."

There was silence in the tent.

Shen Yu looked at Xiao Chuan, not because she was worried about her safety, but because she didn't trust her as a person, right?

Xiao Chuan lowered his head and said nothing. Shen Yu looked at him for a long time, and suddenly praised him: "You are very good at hiding."

The place was surrounded by flat plains, making it difficult to hide. She and the guards did not find him.

Xiao Chuan said: "I used to be a scout in the Xiao family army."

"No wonder." Shen Yu nodded slightly, "But you didn't go to the front line in Chihe, but took orders in Beijing. Why is that?"

Scouts have excellent eyesight and need to go deep behind enemy lines to collect intelligence. It is not a problem to have skills such as concealment, escape, and disguise. It is very rare to train an excellent scout.

Xiao Chuan was silent for a long time before he raised his head, "I... I committed a crime in the army in the early years."

"What?"

"I once let two southern Japanese go."

After Xiao Chuan finished speaking, he raised his head quickly, "They were two women and children, I really couldn't bear it."

Military discipline is military discipline. No matter who is released, they should be dealt with as they should be dealt with. The Xiao family has shown mercy. No wonder they have placed him in the capital for these years and only got the seventh-rank deputy commander of the Five Cities Army.

"Are you worried about how to arrange them?"

Shen Yu was not surprised. Since he chased and overheard, he should have roughly known what was going on.

Xiao Chuan continued: "I know that you don't trust me, which is normal, but I have something to say. My Xiao family army also worked hard with their heads tied to their belts. I hate the factional struggles in the court the most. Those civil servants fight each other, but treat us as sacrifices."

Xiao Chuan said indignantly, and didn't notice that he brought some of his daily colloquialisms at all.

Shen Yu had been in the army for so many years, and had long been accustomed to hearing this, "Get up, sit down and talk."

Xiao Chuan stood up and said, "I just thought about it, our trip is more dangerous than good."

"What do you mean?" Shen Yu's eyes fixed.

Xiao Chuan sat up, "Those who stole the grain certainly didn't expect the Western Jue people to suddenly attack. They did this because they had no grain. They framed the bandits and thought it was a good job after the bandits were wiped out. They thought it was a good job, but it was actually a quagmire."

He nodded slightly, and Shen Yu suddenly realized, "If the bandit suppression is successful, but nothing is recovered, they can accuse me of embezzlement."

With such a large batch of grain, who would believe that nothing was seized.

Shen Yu thought, it seems that the Minister of War may not be their man, but someone the other party wants to win over. Wen Lesheng succeeded in suppressing the bandits, and they have the handle in their hands. What a chain of tricks.

Xiao Chuan nodded and said, "In this case, their people may have mixed into the army."

"Not maybe, but definitely." Shen Yu said.

So this is what she is worried about, how to arrange the ghost family.

She will take back all the criminals involved in grain transportation in the mountain stronghold. Xie Tingzhou's trick of taking the criminals to Beijing to replace the pillars is no longer feasible. The other party has fallen so big, how can they be completely unprepared this time.

Then we can only follow the army.

"I have a way, I don't know if it will work." Xiao Chuan said, "According to reason, the suspects should be detained alone. They are all good at martial arts. I suggest that they be detained together or in two batches. If they stick together, even if someone comes to kill them, it may not be so easy for them to succeed. We just need to be careful about poisoning the food."

This is the only way out. Shen Yu thought about it and said, "Let's do this first. Once the rest of the people arrive, I will set off for Beijing tomorrow."

"Report--" the soldier outside the tent reported.

"Come in."

The soldier came into the tent and handed over a note, "The prefect of Qichang is here to visit in person."

"You came so quickly." Shen Yu sneered, "Since you are here, please come in."

The father and son of the Gui family avoided the prefect, and the soldier invited the prefect into the tent.

Shen Yu had someone serve tea and said straight to the point: "The prefect is a fifth-rank official, so it should be me who goes to visit him."

Liu Songlin smiled and said: "Mr. Shi was appointed by His Majesty. He has an important position and can't leave easily. It doesn't matter who comes."

Seeing that Shi Yu just smiled and didn't say anything, Liu Songlin asked: "I see that Mr. Shi has been staying here for four days, but he has not gone up the mountain to suppress the bandits, so I came to ask, is there any difficulty, and where we need help?"

It was said euphemistically, but it was just to urge her to kill her quickly.

Shen Yu said, "No, to be honest, I have already recruited the bandits on the Wuzi Mountain and will leave for Beijing tomorrow to report to the emperor."

Xiao Chuan, who was standing aside, glanced at Shen Yu and hesitated to speak.

"Why is that?" Liu Songlin was shocked. "Master Shi, you don't know how rampant the bandits on the Wuzi Mountain are. Not only do they burn, kill and rob in the territory, but they even don't let go of the food and grass allocated to the front line. Such a crazy bunch should be strangled on the spot. I heard that Master Shi came from General Shen's army, so he should understand my indignation."

Shen Yu said with a fake smile: "Master Liu is well-informed."

A trace of embarrassment flashed across Liu Songlin's face. He took a sip of tea and said: "I am just worried about the people's livelihood. What to do specifically depends on your opinion."

Shen Yu lowered her eyes and glanced at his waist. Instead of answering his words, she leaned forward and said, "Master Liu, this piece of white jade is very good. With my current salary, I don't know if I can save enough to retire and return home."

Liu Songlin's face changed, and he stretched out his hand to pull off the jade pendant, and said with a smile: "It's just a fake. If you like it, take it."

Shen Yu refused, "I can't afford it. We military officers wield swords and guns. It would be a pity if it was broken."

Liu Songlin's smile became even stronger. He clapped his hands. A servant came in. Liu Songlin took a wooden box and put it on the table, tapping it with his fingers.

"A specialty of Qichang. How can you not bring some specialties back to Beijing? This thing is not easy to fall."

Shen Yu opened the box and saw a thick stack of silver notes, all with a face value of one thousand taels. It looked like there should be more than ten thousand taels. She is now a sixth-rank general, and her annual salary is only sixty taels of silver.

Shen Yu gave Liu Songlin a knowing smile and closed the box.

After seeing Liu Songlin off, Xiao Chuan was still in the tent. He looked at Shen Yu with indignation.

"How can you..."

Shen Yu glanced at him, "Just say it."

Xiao Chuan suppressed his anger, "You told him about our itinerary and took his money. Are you ready to stand on their side?"

Shen Yu glanced at Xiao Chuan's hand on the knife. It seemed that as long as she said yes, he would be ready to kill her on the spot.

"I advise you not to do it. You are not my opponent." Shen Yu said carelessly.

Xiao Chuan pressed the knife and said in a deep voice: "If it's not, you have to try it."