Yu Tang himself felt that his behavior these days was nothing special.
But Xiao Si could see him every day, so he could naturally sense the changes in his general after Xiao Lin left.
Her longing was written all over her face!
Xiao Si even started to complain in his heart about Xiao Lin, wondering why he hadn't written to the general for so long!
That's absolutely outrageous!
"Oh..." Yu Tang appeared indifferent, but quickly took the letter and reminded Xiao Si, "Next time, there's no need to shout about this kind of thing. It's giving me a headache."
With a bang, Yu Tang slammed the door shut, walked to the table, tore open the envelope, unfolded the paper, and saw the strong, sharp handwriting, realizing it was Xiao Lin's handwriting.
It is said that one's handwriting reflects one's character. Yu Tang's handwriting is generally neat and tidy, with a slight touch of freedom, but the brushstrokes are always well-controlled.
Xiao Lin's calligraphy style is similar to the "Slender Gold" style with a touch of cursive script, appearing sharp and even somewhat arrogant.
The opening line is: General, have you missed me?
This prompted Yu Tang to click his tongue in mockery, but the corners of his mouth involuntarily curled up in a smile.
The system, having taken in his expression, immediately saw through his act: [Your general doesn't just miss you, he's practically dying to see you!]
Chapter 32
He died for the villain for the fourth time (32)
Yu Tang gritted his teeth: Tongtong, if you don't speak, no one will think you're mute!
The system couldn't stop laughing: 【Oh, oh, oh, sorry about that!】
Yu Tang: Only a fool would be embarrassed.
As he spoke, he blocked the letter and said angrily, "Get out of here! I've been bound to your system and I have no privacy at all!"
[Tsk tsk tsk, you're a classic example of someone who says one thing but does another!]
The system shrugged, knowing that Yu Tang couldn't resist being teased.
You can tell by looking at the man's reddened ears.
So he obediently avoided the conversation and didn't say anything more.
But deep down, I felt gratified by the changes in Yutang.
He actually quite hoped that Yu Tang was the master of the main god.
That master, who, despite cultivating the path of ruthlessness, still died protecting the Lord God.
If, like Yu Tang, one truly gains a soul and comes back to life, then the 100,000 years that the Lord God has waited for will have been worthwhile.
But there are still too many unanswered questions.
Too many clues don't connect.
Therefore, it's really impossible to make a hasty judgment as to whether Yu Tang and the villain are indeed the master and the main god.
With the noisy system gone, Yu Tang continued reading the letter in his hand.
Xiao Lin first exchanged a few words of concern and shameless pleasantries with him before getting down to business.
He sent this letter in secret.
The purpose was to tell Yu Tang some important news.
First, after Xiao Lin arrived in the capital, he met with Liu An, the Minister of Revenue.
After testing each other, they confirmed that Liu An indeed intended to submit to them.
The two then discussed the current state of the national treasury's reserves, noting that the situation was far from optimistic.
Fortunately, the harvest in the south this year is decent, which can make up for some of the shortfall.
At this time, it was the annual day when the people were required to pay taxes and grain, and Liu An, who was in charge of this, had not yet reported the collected taxes and grain to the imperial court.
After meeting Xiao Lin and learning about the situation in the Northern Territory, the two discussed it and made a bold decision.
They falsely reported the situation of the confiscation and then secretly transported the grain to the soldiers in Beijiucheng to make up for the previously owed military rations and pay.
Both Xiao Lin and Liu An knew that once these supplies were reported to the imperial court, it would be extremely difficult to get them out of Emperor Xiao Sheng's mouth.
Rather than kneeling before the emperor and begging for grain, it's better to act first and report later, and then talk about it when it gets discovered.
However, this matter was of great importance and required a lot of follow-up work, so Xiao Lin stayed in the capital.
Secondly, Xiao Lin mentioned Emperor Xiao Sheng's birthday banquet, saying that Emperor Xiao Sheng wanted to bestow a marriage upon him.
The woman was the daughter of a minor official of the seventh rank, and she subtly implied that it was already good enough that any woman was willing to marry him given his appearance, and that he should know what was good for him.
Such blatant insults subjected Xiao Lin to endless ridicule at the banquet.
When Xiao Lin mentioned this part in his letter, he used lighthearted and humorous language, and even asked Yu Tang if Yu Tang would be angry if he really married that woman.
The person reading the letter unconsciously clenched the paper, their hatred for Emperor Xiao Sheng growing even stronger.
So what if Xiao Lin murdered his father? This man truly deserves to die.
After saying all this, Xiao Lin ended with some cloying remarks.
There were even a few lewd remarks mixed in, which made Yu Tang blush. He slammed the letter shut, poured himself a cup of tea, and drank it down before calming down.
He took the letter outside, lit it with a tinderbox, and burned it clean.
Yu Tang personally handled the matter of receiving the grain.
He led Li Wen and two hundred elite soldiers on horseback to Wuze Valley and waited behind the giant rock.
Around noon, as expected, more than a hundred carts emerged from the other end of the valley. The drivers and guards were all dressed in black, with a deep red flame-like pattern embroidered on their chests.
Yu Tang knew that these people were the group of loyal assassins that Xiao Lin had mentioned in his letter.
They had been working for Xiao Lin in the capital before, and Xiao Lin sent them here this time because he trusted them.
Secondly, he wanted to transfer all his troops to the northern border in preparation for a future rebellion.
He also instructed these people to protect Yutang while he was away.
“General, I feel like something’s not right.” Li Wen leaned closer, his expression serious. “At this time of year, there would usually be birds chirping in Wuze Valley, but now there’s not a sound at all.”
Yu Tang fixed his gaze on the grain delivery team and frowned: "Don't make any rash moves yet, wait a bit longer."
Xiao Lin's letter mentioned meeting at Wuze Valley. So, after the grain delivery team had walked a short distance, they began to frequently check their surroundings. The leader called out, "General Yu, are you there?"
Receiving no response, he turned up the volume.
Yu Tang and his men remained inactive.
After a stalemate lasting about fifteen minutes, a mastiff's bark suddenly echoed from the valley.
Immediately following was the thunderous sound of galloping hooves and the fierce barking of dogs about to break through the valley.
"General! They're Kashmir people!" Li Wen's expression changed drastically: "How did they get here?!"
The Kashgar people were one of the three foreign tribes that would later besiege the northern nine cities.
He was wild and tall, skilled at riding horses and wielding a curved sword, and kept mastiffs.
The fact that they were able to appear in Wuze Valley just when Yu Tang and the others were about to hand over the grain suggests that someone had secretly tipped them off!
"There's a traitor on His Highness's side!" Quickly analyzing the situation, Yu Tang instructed Li Wen, "I'll lead the brothers to hold this position first. You go back to the city immediately to report the news and bring more men. We absolutely cannot lose this batch of grain!"
"No!" Li Wen refused. "General, you go and report the news. I'll hold the fort here!"
Having fought for many years, Li Wen and Yu Tang could tell from the sound of the enemy's horses' hooves that the enemy's numbers were three to four times theirs this time.
In addition, each member of the Kashgar tribe is very strong, so those who stay behind are likely to meet a grim fate.
Li Wen absolutely cannot let Yu Tang take any risks.
"Get out of here! Don't delay!" Yu Tang shoved him hard and said coldly, "This is a military order!"
"General!" Li Wen was about to speak again.
Yu Tang interrupted him, scolding, "If you keep delaying, no one can be saved!"
Seeing that he had made up his mind, Li Wen knew that there was no point in saying anything more.
His knees slammed heavily to the ground, and he gritted his teeth as he said to Yu Tang, "This subordinate obeys!"
"Take care, General!"
Having said that, he didn't dare delay for a moment and rode away.
The grain transport team had already drawn their weapons and, under the leader's orders, quickly unloaded the heavy loads from the horses, gathered the grain in one place, and a man mounted his horse, standing around the grain, looking solemnly at the Kashi people who had already emerged.
My heart was filled with despair.
It seems they're likely to meet their end here.
The task His Highness assigned them is also going to go unfinished.
Just as they were losing heart, another battle cry rang out from the other side of the valley. Two hundred soldiers in soft armor rode up on horseback, led by a young general who shouted at them, "Protect the supplies! Wait for us to get through!"
Upon hearing this, everyone was deeply shaken.
Having seen the portrait, they knew that it was Yu Tang, the commander of the garrison of Beijiu City, and the highest-ranking general guarding the northern border!
He immediately perked up, gripped his knife tightly, and slashed at the Kashi people who had charged at him!
They must hold on!
We can't lose!
As Yu Tang watched the grain transport team being submerged, his gaze fell upon the Kashi people and dozens of mastiffs, who outnumbered them by three times. His heart tightened, and his expression was solemn yet resolute.
He shouted only one word, "Kill!" and charged in first.
Chapter 33
He died for the villain for the fourth time (33)
Even though they were already familiar with the battlefield, this time the enemy was the Kesh people.
The nation with the strongest individual combat capabilities.