Chapter 280 A strange combination of circumstances

Chapter 280 A strange combination of circumstances

The Liao delegation gradually disappeared from sight. It wouldn't be long before they would meet up with the people sent by the Honglu Temple to contact them. After checking the number of people and gifts, they would be accommodated in Tongchangting (State Guesthouse). Therefore, the five people who left the team now must not be on the list. In other words, they would either leave Chang'an or sneak into Chang'an under other identities.

All in all, this group of people has no good intentions.

It was not until the sun was at its highest point that two horses finally turned around the fork in the road. Zhao Yushu was alerted and quickly peeked out from between the leaves.

The people on the horses were all wearing cloaks, with their faces hidden underneath. However, as a cultivator, Zhao Yushu had amazing eyesight, and he quickly identified the body shape and figure of one of them as the person in his memory.

Yelu Yan, ambassador of Liao Dynasty.

Yelu Yan should not be here at this time, because the Liao Kingdom's delegation of gift-giving envoys has arrived, and as a special envoy stationed in Chang'an, he should go to greet and accompany them.

The absence of the special envoy is a serious diplomatic incident.

So what could make Yelu Yan take such a big risk to meet these people who came here as part of the diplomatic envoy?

The mausoleum of Emperor Taizu suddenly lost its appeal, and Zhao Yushu decided to follow these people and investigate thoroughly.

No matter how much he disliked the crown prince and this dynasty that was rotten to the core, Zhao Yushu still did not want the Liao army to march south, because innocent people would die.

If civil unrest in the Tang Dynasty is unavoidable, he doesn't mind helping someone who can end the chaos as quickly as possible.

Seven fast horses galloped in one direction, and Zhao Yushu followed closely behind them, launching the Floating Light Shadow in the woods. The two groups turned all the way to the northwest, and ran almost non-stop for two or three hours. When they saw the sun setting, they found a sheltered place to rest.

Zhao Yushu became more and more confused, as this direction seemed to be consistent with one of his goals.

But it’s still a bit early now, and I don’t know if they will turn.

The seven people started a fire in a secret place, and then gathered together to talk in Khitan. Zhao Yushu was suddenly overwhelmed and realized how important it was to know a foreign language. If he had known this earlier, he would have asked the wolf girl to come along.

However, after everyone took off their cloaks, Zhao Yushu was surprised to find that he had also seen the person who came with Yelu Yan. However, because he had only met him once and the other person seemed to be an unimportant person, he did not pay any attention to him.

Yelu Yan was the little eunuch who stayed with Li Jian.

What happened today is also related to Li Jian.

Unfortunately, this young eunuch also spoke fluent Khitan. They chatted until dark. After leaving two people on duty, they fell asleep on the ground with their clothes on. This made Zhao Yushu a little wary of Yelu Yan. As an ambassador of a country, he had a noble status, but he didn't care about his daily life and diet at all. As an opponent, this person must be an extremely difficult opponent.

Zhao Yushu sat on the ground a hundred steps away, regulating his breathing. Although he didn't use his spiritual power to see if there were any cultivators among the seven people, as a relatively powerful cultivator, especially with Madam Xu by his side, the other party never gave him a sense of crisis, which meant that they were not powerful people.

This group of people are definitely not capable of assassination-level work. The greater probability is that they are looking for someone or a place to arrange something in advance.

And this direction...

The next morning, just after daybreak, the seven people set out again, running all the way towards the location Zhao Yushu had expected. It was almost noon, and after running all day, they finally stopped.

We can't go any further.

Because there were thousands of soldiers stationed there, and hundreds of palace servants doing the daily cleaning, the periphery was like a small town.

Mausoleum of Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty.

As luck would have it, my second goal became my first goal.

Zhao Yushu became even more curious about the purpose of Yelu Yan and his companions.

When the Tang Dynasty was founded, the most elite troops were guarding the imperial mausoleums. As the dynasty became increasingly corrupt, the pay of these troops, which never had to participate in combat, began to be withheld. There was no way around it, since you were not going to fight, and yet you still wanted so much money and food. The masters felt heartbroken to see the money just disappear.

As a result, equipment was no longer updated, training became perfunctory, livelihoods became difficult to maintain, people began to desert, and generals began to happily draw salaries without doing anything.

So Zhao Yushu saw a real small town.

The town was transformed from a military camp. It is located on a mountain, so there is not much flat ground. However, the working people's desire for survival made them plant vegetables and crops on all the flat land.

Now is the time to weed and kill insects, but the new emperor is coming to worship the ancestors soon, so these people have to put down their work temporarily, take out their uniforms that have been at the bottom of the box for who knows how many years, and start doing some basic cleaning work.

Although the royal family has little face left, it is still necessary.

The young eunuch walked toward the town gate alone and said something to the soldier guarding the gate. It was difficult to hear clearly due to the distance and strong wind, but one could see that the soldier obviously hesitated for a while. Then the young eunuch stuffed a small package into his hand. The soldier weighed it and stepped aside to make way.

Seven people entered one after another.

Now it was Zhao Yushu's turn to be in trouble. Yelu Yan and his men entered the town directly by bribing, but he could not do that. If he followed right after they entered, he would be exposed.

It's not possible to sneak in directly. It looks like a small town, but the people here have known each other for who knows how long. It's not difficult for an outsider to sneak in in broad daylight, but it's impossible not to be discovered.

It looks like this opportunity will end in vain.

But Lao Zhao didn't think so. What was his original purpose? To explore the imperial tomb.

In this case, what does it matter whether these Liao people are there or not? I just need to wait until dark and then conduct a thorough investigation according to the original plan.

Having made up his mind, Zhao Yushu did not waste any time. He spent the entire afternoon circling the outskirts of the town. He carefully memorized several rivers and woods that were convenient for entering the mountains and hiding on the sheepskin he carried with him. Then he waited until nightfall and gently climbed over the simple outer wall.

There were no pedestrians on the street. This was not Xijing, so there could not be any open entertainment venues. Only occasionally two haggard soldiers carrying lanterns would do their routine patrols.

They reached the entrance of the imperial mausoleum safely. Right in front of them was a hall used for sacrifices, which was the destination of Zhao Yushu's trip.

When the day of ancestor worship comes, the prince will bring enough important officials and relatives here to worship. If nothing goes wrong, he will also be in this hall.

The door to the hall was closed. Zhao Yushu did not push it open, but walked through it with his Shadow Steps. Just as he entered, he heard the sound of the heavy wooden door behind him opening.

Zhao Yushu shuddered and quickly hid in the shadows. The door opened and several figures walked in.

"I can only take you so far. If you go further in, there is a royal formation. Once it is triggered, the entire military town will lose its heads."

"Thank you, General. That's all."

A shrill voice sounded. It was that of the little eunuch.

"Whatever you do, don't make any noise. I'll be right outside the door." The door closed again. Zhao Yushu leaned over to look. Seven people took off their cloaks, and the little eunuch carefully took out a porcelain bottle from his arms.