Chapter 111: Back to Zhuxian Town

  Although the September sky is still clear, after dusk, there are always gusts of cold wind blowing from the north, and the cicadas' cries have also weakened a lot, making people feel a hint of autumn's arrival.

  Yue Yun looked back at the long grain transport team behind him, and then looked at the dense military camp in front of him. His tightly strung heart finally fell.

  The 800,000 dan of grain finally arrived safely in Zhuxian Town from Xiangyang. It's enough for over a million soldiers and civilians to eat for two months.

  In two months' time, they should have been able to run back from Zhuxian Town to Lin'an.

  Yue Yun walked to the entrance of the military camp. The guard at the gate saw that it was the young master returning, and he was overjoyed. He hastily sent someone in to report.

  Before long, Zhang Xian hastily rushed to the door and saw the large grain cart team behind Yue Yun. He was overjoyed and exclaimed: "Ying Xiang, you've managed to retrieve the grain from Xiangyang! A few days ago, Niu Gao returned and said that Tian Shizhong had detained our grain and horses and even imprisoned General Tang... Damn it, does he think that just because he's directly appointed by the Imperial Secretariat, we can't do anything to him? The Commander-in-Chief has already come up with a plan with Li Canzhi to completely neutralize him and prevent him from holding us back..."

  Yue Yun listened and felt a wave of awkwardness. He spoke carefully: "Xun Li, I think you've already...ah...made him unable to hold us back any longer..."

  "Really? You've managed to persuade him to cooperate with us? That's unlikely. I've heard that this guy is one of Zhang Jun's most trusted generals, and he has a lot of influence in the Imperial Secretariat, and he's also very close to Qin Hui. Is he really going to listen to us so obediently? Your eloquence is impressive, if you were born in the Warring States period, you'd be comparable to Su Qin and Zhang Yi!"

  Zhang Xian's words made Yue Yun's face flush with embarrassment. He said in a low voice, "Brother Lun Li, Tian Shi Zhong has already become a headless corpse... We had to find a few professionals who specialize in funerals to sew him back together. I reckon there's no need to frame him now!"

  "What? You killed him?" Zhang Xian exclaimed in surprise.

  He wasn't stupid either. Listening to Yue Yun's words and looking at his expression, he immediately guessed that it was Yue Yun and the others who had killed Tian Shizhong. He was stunned on the spot.

  "Yes! This was also an unavoidable matter, at that time he held Tang Shu hostage and attempted to escape, but Tang Shu in order not to let us throw out the baby with the bathwater, let him run away, and sacrificed himself by beheading..." Yuke Yang recounted what had happened at the time.

  Zhang Xian furrowed his brow into a "川" shape upon hearing the news, and when he heard that Tang Huai had already passed away, tears welled up in his eyes, overcome with grief.

  After a long while, he finally suppressed his grief and sighed: "No wonder it's like this. If I were in the same situation as Niu Tong, I'm afraid I would have done the same thing too. But Tian Shizhong is a fifth-grade official of Xiangyang, directly appointed by the Imperial Secretariat. To kill him like this, I'm afraid the imperial court will investigate the murderer..."

  At this time, the grain officer also came to greet him. Zhang Xian immediately stopped talking and ordered the grain officer to check the grain that had been transported and put it into bundles in the warehouse.

  Yue Yun also ordered Guan Ling and Niu Tong to handle the grain and fodder handover, then turned around and said to Yu Yunwen: "Yunwen, come with me to see Commander Yue!"

  Yu Yunwen hesitated and said: "Young Master, is this okay? The Marshal summoned you, perhaps there's something important to discuss, I've just arrived..."

  "Hey, Yunwen, what are you still worried about? With your abilities, you're qualified to attend the highest level of combat meetings!" Yue Yun said, pulling up Yu Yunwen's hand and following Zhang Xian towards the commander's tent.

  Zhang Xian walked and listened to Yue Yun's words, also a surprise, couldn't help but carefully examine Yu Yunwen. But saw his appearance was ordinary, one set of attire looked like an ordinary scholar. Could not help but ask: "Yingxiang, who is this..."

  Yue Yun then remembered that he had not introduced Yu Yunwen, so he hastily walked and said: "Xun Li brother, this is my younger brother who newly recruited a staff member Yu Yunwen on the way. This time, although the trip to Chu State and Xiangyang was satisfactory, there were actually many dangers along the way. Thanks to Yunwen's strategy, we were able to turn danger into safety."

  Yu Yunwen also saluted Zhang Xian with respect and said, "General Zhang is great! I have long admired General Zhang's reputation!"

  "Mr. Yu, do you know me?" Zhang Xian asked in surprise, he hadn't seen Yue Yun introduce himself after all.

  Yu Yunwen smiled slightly and said, "The courtesy name is Lian Li, apart from General Zhang Xian, there is no one else. Although I have not met the general before, I have long heard of his exploits in battles against the Jin people, with numerous military achievements!"

  As the saying goes: a thousand holes and ten thousand holes, but flattery doesn't pierce. Although Zhang Xian knew that Yu Yunwen's words were mostly flattering, he still felt comfortable after hearing them. He thought this person was eloquent and composed, and although he had just arrived at the military camp, he didn't seem surprised or nervous at all, with a calm and collected expression, it seemed that he really did have some real skills.

  He nodded immediately and said, "Mr. Yu, since you are a staff member of Ying Xiang, we are all one family now. At present, we have indeed encountered a very tricky matter, it's just right for Mr. to discuss together and see if there is a way to resolve it."

  At this moment, Yue Yun, Zhang Xian and Yu Yunwen walked into the commander's tent together, only to see Yue Fei, Li Ruoxu and Wang Gui sitting at a square table, discussing matters in a tense atmosphere.

  "Father Commander!" Yuen Yun saw Yue Fei and hastily went forward to pay his respects.

  "Yun'er, you've done a great job this time!" Yue Fei had obviously received the report and knew that Yue Yun had escorted the grain back. He walked over with big strides, beaming with joy, and helped Yue Yun up.

  Then he said with joy: "A few days ago, the food and grass in our army were almost exhausted. Fortunately, you let Cheng Min and Niu Gao send 1.5 million stones of grain, which barely supported us... Ah, I heard from the soldiers' report that the grain in Xiangyang has been transported up, how did it come back? How did Tian Shimu surrender?" Yue Fei asked with great curiosity.

  "Alas, this is a long story...". Yue Yun then recounted his experience in Xiangyang. He was quite eloquent and brought out the skills he had used to deceive clients in his past life, making the already thrilling process even more sensational. Everyone listened with bated breath. Of course, he still concealed the fact that he and Yu Yunwen had designed a trap for Tian Shizhong, instead saying that he, Liu Xi, the prefect of Xiangyang, and Cheng Yuan, the vice-prefect, had discovered it together.

  Yue Fei listened very carefully, and when he learned of Tang Huai's death, he couldn't help but burst into flames with anger. He slammed his palm on the table and roared: "This Tian Shiming is also too detestable! If our great Song Dynasty hadn't been betrayed by these Han traitors who surrendered to the Jin bandits, how could we have fallen to such a state!"

  Tears streamed down his eyes, Tang Huai was his sworn brother, followed him through thick and thin for many years, made great contributions, never thought he would not die on the battlefield against the Jin thieves, but died at the hands of his own people.

  Yue Yun's eyes also welled up with tears, he wiped his eyes with his sleeve and continued to speak in a choked voice.

  Yue Fei suppressed his own sorrow and listened intently to Yue Yun's words.

  When he heard from the letter of Jin Guo's Ninth King, Wanyan Zongmin, that Liao had not yet been destroyed, he couldn't help but exclaim: "If Liao is indeed not destroyed, our Great Song can make contact with it and join forces to attack Jin Guo, recovering our lost territory will be half the effort!"

  Yue Yun thought that although Yue Fei was not very good at politics, his military strategic vision was quite sharp and he could see things extremely accurately.

  Then, he took out the memorial written by Yu Yunwen from his bosom and said: "Father Commander, I also thought of this point. Let Yunwen take up his pen to write a memorial about Tian Shiming's crime of secretly communicating with the Jin people, as well as the suggestion to join forces with the Liao State to attack the Jin State together..."

  Yue Fei took the memorial and read it for a while, nodding his head as he read, praising the wording and language used in the memorial. Then, glancing at Yu Yunwen standing beside Yue Yun, he asked: "Yu Wen? Is this gentleman...?"

  "Exactly!" Yue Yun hastily introduced Yu Yunwen to Yue Fei, Li Ruoxu and Wang Gui. And especially when mentioning that the strategy of the Chu State War and the Xiangyang campaign were all planned by Yu Yunwen, it made the three of them look at Yu Yunwen with new eyes.

  "Haha! Yun'er, you've really found a great help for our Yue family army! This memorial is well-written, let's submit it to the imperial court in your name! Our Yue family army has many brave generals, but not many strategists. Otherwise, we wouldn't have had to rely on your humble self and now you've even found two advisors at once!"

  "Two? Commander, are you saying...?" Yue Yun was about to ask him how he knew that Wang Tong had already been recruited as his aide when a young scholar emerged from behind the screen in the commander's tent. He wore a green scholar's headscarf and a long robe made of green fabric, holding an account book in his hand, but his expression was quite worried.

  As soon as he saw Yue Yun, his spirits lifted greatly and he rushed over to stand in front of Yue Yun, excitedly saying: "Young Master, you've finally returned...... I've been waiting for so long!"