Chapter 148: Shadow of Yingzhou
In Shangxianfang, the new mansion bestowed upon Di Renjie by the emperor, Li Yuanfang was testing the martial arts of the eight military leaders.

Zhang Huan, Li Lang and eight other people each held a heavy stick tightly, ready to strike. Li Yuanfang, however, smiled and stood with his back to the crowd with his hands empty, waiting for them to strike.

"General Li, I'm sorry!"

Xiao Bao roared angrily and charged towards Li Yuanfang like a tiger rushing down the mountain. The other seven followed closely behind him with great momentum.

Li Yuanfang calmly turned around, jumped up, dodged the attacks of the crowd, and then steadily grabbed the wooden sticks in the hands of Shen Tao and Xiao Bao in mid-air.

Shen Tao and Xiao Bao tried together to take the stick back, but they couldn't even move Li Yuanfang.

Instead, Li Yuanfang exerted force and the two men stumbled and fell to the ground. The scene was shocking.

Seeing this, Yang Fang and Ren Kuo refused to be outdone and roared as they swept over, waving their sticks.

Li Yuanfang did a somersault and moved behind the two men, kicking them down.

Seeing this, Zhang Huan made a desperate move and rushed towards Li Yuanfang alone, but Li Yuanfang's body swayed and the wooden stick fell into his hand. At the same time, he kicked out, and Zhang Huan flew out involuntarily and fell heavily.

Li Lang was shocked when he saw this, but he quickly calmed down and shouted loudly: "Brothers, come on together!"

Suddenly, except Zhang Huan, the other six people raised their sticks again and rushed towards Li Yuanfang with a more ferocious attack.

Li Yuanfang played with a stick flower, not angry but happy: "Well done!"

He swung the wooden stick so tightly that Li Lang and his seven men didn't dare to get close to him. If they did, their sticks would be swept away.

Suddenly, Li Yuanfang showed a flaw. Seeing this, the seven people were delighted and swung their sticks together to form a stick net.

Li Yuanfang was calm and used the move of Su Qin carrying a sword on his back, with one stick holding up seven sticks. With a little force, the seven sticks were carried away.

A stick swept out, and with the sound of "ping pong" continuing, seven people's bodies flew out and fell heavily to the ground.

"Good, good, good!" Di Renjie clapped his hands and laughed.

Zhao Ji Ze covered his eyes and could not bear to watch the one-sided beating.

Li Yuanfang looked as if he had just stretched his muscles and said with a smile: "Well, the eight military leaders under Chengyuan are indeed worthy of their reputation. When these eight big sticks are used, they are really powerful!"

Zhao Ji felt very uncomfortable hearing this, and felt that Li Yuanfang was being sarcastic.

Zhang Huan, Li Lang and the others were very durable, and Li Yuanfang held back, so they all got up quickly.

"General, I am incompetent and have embarrassed you."

Zhao Ji shook his head: "You can follow General Li's moves, which has exceeded my expectations. From today on, you are General Li's subordinates. Follow General Li, learn and practice well! If you can learn a few moves, you will benefit from them for the rest of your life."

"Yes!" everyone responded.

"Greetings, General Li! I hope General Li will give me some advice." Zhang Huan, Li Lang and others bowed in front of Li Yuanfang in unison.

Li Yuanfang quickly helped everyone up: "Please stand up quickly. I will never hide anything from you, General Zhao."

"Thank you, General!" Zhang Huan, Li Lang and others expressed their gratitude, saluted Di Renjie, and then went downstairs to settle down.

Di Renjie was watching happily from the side: "I heard that these eight people are Chengyuan's confidants. Sending them to me, it's a bit heartbreaking, isn't it?"

Zhao Ji smiled and said, "It would be a lie to say that I don't feel bad, but this is a favor from His Majesty to you. How can I choose something inferior to give to you? These eight people are mediocre in martial arts, but they are all of good character and can be trusted. Please don't despise them."

Di Renjie nodded thoughtfully, "What are you talking about? Your Majesty is so gracious. I am very satisfied with these people."

As he was talking, Di Chun came running over with a letter in his hand and said, "Master, there is a letter from Jili Khan." Di Renjie was delighted when he heard it: "Quick, bring it to me."

Zhao Ji was quite surprised and asked Li Yuanfang quietly, "Yuanfang, does Jili Khan often write to you?"

Li Yuanfang smiled and shook his head, saying, "Luoyang and Shiguo are thousands of miles apart, so how can we exchange letters often? There are only one or two letters every year or half a year."

Zhao Ji frowned, feeling a little worried.

This matter could be big or small. On the small level, it was a matter of personal friendship. If Wu Zetian trusted Di Renjie, nothing would happen. On the contrary, it might be considered treason.

Di Renjie took the letter with joy, but after he opened it and read it, his expression gradually became serious.

Zhao Ji and Li Yuanfang both noticed something was wrong and asked quickly, "Sir, what did Jili Khan say in the letter?"

Di Renjie pondered for a moment, put away the letter, and said slowly: "The Khan said that the domestic political situation in the Turkic region has been somewhat unstable recently, and some people are still planning to go to war with the Great Zhou."

"What is the Khan's attitude?" Li Yuanfang asked.

Di Renjie smiled and said, "The Khan did not break his oath. He said that as long as he was alive, he would not watch the Great Zhou and the Turks go to war. Otherwise, he would not have written this letter to me."

Li Yuanfang couldn't help but exclaimed: "Khan is truly a trustworthy gentleman!"

When Zhao Ji heard the news, he fell into deep thought. The pro-war faction within the Turks made him alert.

"I noticed that your Excellency didn't look very well just now. Did Jili Khan say anything else?" Zhao Ji turned around and asked.

Di Renjie nodded and said, "Yes, the Khan said that he heard some rumors recently that the Khitan tribe in Songmo Commandery has been a little restless recently. They have been buying weapons, arrows and food from the Turks."

Zhao Ji's eyes suddenly became sharp, which meant that the snake spirit was coming again, and this time it would be a real large-scale war.

Di Renjie hadn't finished speaking yet: "As far as I know, the Khitan tribe has indeed suffered a famine recently. Yingzhou has reported that the Khitan are showing signs of instability. Please ask the court to try to appease them and strengthen vigilance."

"It is said that the governor of Yingzhou, Zhao Wenhui, is stubborn and self-righteous. He regards the Khitans, Xi people and other barbarians as slaves. He has had several conflicts with the Khitans. I am worried that something bad will happen."

Di Renjie still held back. Zhao Wenhui was only about thirty years old this year. He was the Protector General of Dongyi and the Governor of Yingzhou. He was a genuine general. His promotion speed was even faster than Zhao Ji's. One could imagine how arrogant and conceited he was.

Zhao Ji deeply admired Di Renjie's premonition, which was the nose of a top politician.

"If the Khitans are suffering from a famine, it is reasonable for them to buy food. Why are they purchasing weapons?" Zhao Ji said coldly.

Di Renjie stroked his beard and sighed, "This is exactly what I'm worried about."

Zhao Ji could not help but say, "Our Emperor Taizong established the Songmo Military Governor's Office to control the Khitans, and appointed Daha Kuge of the Daha clan as the Songmo Military Governor, and gave him the surname Li."

"The current governor of Songmo is Li Jinzhong, the grandson of Dahe Kuge. Another large tribe of Khitan, the Sun Aocao tribe in Guicheng Prefecture, has a leader named Sun Wanrong, who is the brother-in-law of Li Jinzhong."

"Forty years ago, the Khitan leader Abgu rebelled and was suppressed by Master Xue Pingyang. After that, the Khitan tribes have been peaceful and recuperating, and now they have accumulated considerable strength. Li and Sun have a high reputation among the Khitan tribes. If they rebel now, it will be difficult to deal with them."

Upon hearing this, Di Renjie looked at Zhao Ji in surprise and asked, "Chengyuan also knows about the Khitan?"

Zhao Ji bowed his head and said, "My Lord, you forgot that I served in the army in Youzhou, which is not far from Yingzhou and Songmo Commandery, so I know a little bit."

This was of course a lie. He had made careful preparations after becoming familiar with the plot.

Li Yuanfang listened to the conversation between Zhao Ji and Di Renjie and said, "Why don't you advise His Majesty to instruct Zhao Wenhui to be more vigilant and appease him to prevent any changes?"

Di Renjie nodded and said, "It's the only way. I hope it's not too late."

(End of this chapter)