If we talk about exchanging intelligence, the centurion was obviously the one who suffered the most. He didn't get any serious information, but instead revealed some of his own information. After listening to these things, Zhang Jiuli knew that he could not continue the conversation. The centurion should be alert.
He immediately arranged some of his men, cooked some food for them, and then went to rest in the tent. After the meal, the centurion asked his men to set up camp here as well. After all, it was already the late night. If they continued to go back, they might suffer some losses on the way. Traveling at night was also a challenge for them.
At daybreak, the centurion got up first and asked his men to go up the mountain to deliver the letter.
Zhang Jiuli did not stop him. There were many traps and mechanisms of various kinds on the mountain. If we went up the mountain without informing anyone, or if we did not have someone to lead us, we would just be prepared to get hurt along the way.
The first time Zhang Jiuli went up the mountain, more than a dozen of his men lost their lives. At that time, even if the two sides had already married, it did not make Zhang Jiuli feel that they were equal. Zhang Jiuli did not care at that time. After all, the lives of his men were not important. But this time, the people in the team were different, especially people like Qian Ping.
If Qian Ping got injured on the mountain, no matter what you said, you probably wouldn't be able to get away with it.
Qian Pingba had no choice but to take this dangerous risk, so they took a short rest in the morning and waited until people came down from the mountain at noon before they went into the mountain.
When passing the Tang Dynasty checkpoint, all the procedures were relatively complete. Although the soldiers here didn't understand what was going on, they let them all pass. They also explained to Zhang Jiuli that something was wrong on the mountain recently. Zhang Jiuli also did not forget some of the wine and food that Li Xiang had given them, and handed them all over to them, making these people very grateful.
These people have been in the mountains all year round, and their military pay has been withheld by Zhang Jiuli and others. This time they brought all their military pay up, so these people are very happy. If it weren't for Li Xiang, they don't know when this military pay will come.
When distributing military pay to these people, Zhang Jiuli also felt a chill on his back. Fortunately, it was still useful to Li Xiang. If it was useless, you would probably die countless times just for the fact that you withheld military pay.
Li Xiang has always told his subordinates that being a soldier and fighting in a war is like tying your head to your belt. If you even think about this money, then you really don’t deserve to be a human being. Including your family members, there is no need for them to continue living in this world. As long as someone in your family spends this money, then he is not innocent.
When Zhang Jiuli thought of this, he immediately thought of his own children. He had initially thought Li Xiang's punishment was too harsh, but then he thought about the soldiers before him. Don't they have children at home? How are their families supposed to survive if they haven't been paid a penny for months? If they starve to death, can you still say your children are innocent?
After passing the Tang Dynasty checkpoint, the road on the mountain gradually became steeper, and both those riding in sedan chairs and those riding in carriages had to change horses. Qian Ping didn't mind riding a horse. When he was in Chang'an earlier, he was not very good at riding a horse. However, when following Li Xiang, you have to be fast to do things. If you don't know how to ride a horse, then I'm afraid your job will have to be taken over by others.
At this time, Qian Ping changed into the clothes of an ordinary servant, which made him different from others. He was considered a steward beside Zhang Jiuli. If he were an ordinary servant, he probably wouldn't even have the chance to ride a horse. He could only walk behind like everyone else.
The chieftain's people didn't care. Every time Zhang Jiuli appeared, he was surrounded by dozens of slaves. This time, there were fewer people going up the mountain. It was said that it was because the situation was not right and many people below were arrested. This time, they had to go up the mountain quickly and come back quickly. If it was not for the purpose of explaining the misunderstanding, they would probably have used letters directly.
The chieftains on the mountain also received this news. They were a little anxious about what was happening down the mountain. They didn't know what had happened there. They had sent several letters to their people, but unfortunately all of them fell into the sea. They had been thinking of sending people into the city, but they just received this news that Zhang Jiuli was going to go up the mountain in person to discuss things with them.
In the past, when the imperial army came, Zhang Jiuli just wrote a letter, but this time it seemed like a really big deal.
In fact, before Zhang Jiuli went up the mountain, they also knew that this time was different from the previous times. After all, they had received a letter from Zhang Jiuli before, and learned that Li Xiang would pass by here on his way to Nanzhao, so these people had also made some preparations, such as organizing the army and preparing for war. After all, Li Xiang was a notorious guy.
It was said that this guy would fight in Chang'an City if he disagreed with you. No matter which minister you were or which noble family you belonged to, as long as you offended him, you would definitely not get a good result. How did Tuyuhun go to war with the Tang Dynasty? It was because the Tuyuhun prince found him. The relationship between the two countries was so bad, let alone these chieftains.
Although these chieftains usually boast of their strong fighting capabilities and various strengths, only they themselves know the specific situation. On the surface, they can gather so many troops, but they cannot hold on for too long. After all, the productivity in the mountains is limited, and these people usually have to have their own work to do. If they just gather to fight, the entire mountain village will be empty in a few days.
So when Zhang Jiuli wanted to cooperate with them, these people went along with it. They lived a comfortable life these years. They had a steady stream of money without having to fight outside. Anyway, they were exploiting the Han people living down the mountain.
In order to meet Zhang Jiuli as soon as possible, these people did not let Zhang Jiuli go to their official village. If he had to walk there, it would take at least three or four days, so the four chieftains collectively came out of their own key points and met Zhang Jiuli in a small town on the mountain.
Zhang Jiuli and Qian Ping also understood that this was because these people were not clear about the situation down the mountain. They were eager to know the situation down the mountain, so they condescended to run so far.
