Chapter 789 Kidnapped

Linglong drank the bowl of bitter medicine, the aftertaste of the medicine still lingering in her mouth.

Xi Yu looked at Linglong, a complicated look flashed in his eyes.

After a moment of silence, he slowly said: "Now it's time to tell you. I am the Prime Minister."

As he spoke, he took out an exquisite token, and the Prime Minister's logo on the token flashed with majesty.

Linglong's face was full of shock.

She never expected that the person in front of her who had always been by her side would have such a noble status. "This...how is this possible?" Her voice trembled slightly, and her heart was filled with disbelief.

Xi Yu sighed slightly and said, "I didn't want to tell you my identity so early, but now the situation forces me to let you know."

Linglong's thoughts were in chaos, and she didn't know how to face this sudden truth.

Linglong looked at Xi Yu firmly and said eagerly: "Your Majesty, Prime Minister, I came to the Great Han Dynasty to seek help from the Prime Minister. I didn't expect to see you today. This must be God's arrangement. I beg the Prime Minister to help me. Send troops to attack Hesheli."

Xi Yu frowned slightly, his expression solemn.

After pondering for a moment, he said: "This matter is not a trivial matter. We need to consider the long term before sending troops to attack Hesheli. Hesheli's power cannot be underestimated, and it may be risky to send troops rashly."

Linglong's eyes showed disappointment, but she did not give up. "Master Prime Minister, Hesheli has done many evil things. If we don't attack him, more people will suffer. I believe that the Han Dynasty's military strength and wisdom will be able to defeat Hesheli."

Linglong made a "plop" and knelt down straight towards Xi Yu, with tears in her eyes and a hint of pleading in her voice: "Your Majesty, Prime Minister, I know that you have a distinguished status. Although I am a princess of a country, I am now desperate. Hesheli's evil deeds are like cancer, killing my people. I can't just watch and be helpless. I came here just to borrow troops. In order to achieve this goal, I can no longer care about my dignity. "

Seeing this, Xi Yu frowned, with a trace of unbearability flashing in his eyes, but his tone remained firm: "Princess, you don't have to be like this. This is not because I am unkind. It is actually a matter of great importance and involves the fate of the two countries. Send troops to attack He. If you are not careful, your whole body will be affected. As the prime minister, I have to be responsible for the people of the Han Dynasty, so I cannot agree to your request."

Hearing this, Linglong burst into tears and slid down her cheeks: "Prime Minister, can you bear to watch Hesheli continue to do evil? I can agree to any conditions you have, as long as you are willing to send troops."

Xi Yu turned his head away from Linglong's desperate eyes, feeling extremely painful in his heart.

He was well aware of Linglong's pain and helplessness, but as the prime minister, he could not act impulsively out of temporary compassion.

Xi Yu said solemnly: "Princess, that is a matter for your Parthian Kingdom and has nothing to do with the Han Dynasty. It is impossible for me to rashly send troops for a princess I have never met. You must know that once troops are sent to fight, there will be casualties. . In my eyes, every citizen and every soldier of the Han Dynasty is extremely precious. Even if only one of them is sacrificed, this is something I don’t want to see.”

Linglong raised her tear-stained face, a trace of anger flashed in her eyes: "Prime Minister, how can you be so indifferent? Hesheli's ambition will not be limited to the Parthian Kingdom. If his power grows, he will definitely attack neighboring countries, including the Han Dynasty. It poses a threat to the country. If you don’t take action now, you will regret it later.”

"Princess, this is just your guess. Without definite evidence, I cannot let the Han Dynasty fall into the quagmire of war and let the people suffer from the war."

Linglong knew that it was not easy to convince Xiyu, but she could not give up because this was her only hope to save the Parthian Kingdom.

Xi Yu looked sternly and continued: "Even if the Parthian Kingdom wants to deal with the big man in the future, I, the big man, are strong enough to deal with it. There is no need for you to persuade me with this possible threat."

When Linglong heard this, she felt like she was struck by lightning. She never expected that Xiyu would be so heartless.

At this moment, she felt that the whole world had collapsed and she was completely in despair.

She smiled bitterly, her laughter full of bitterness and self-deprecation: "When you revealed your identity as Prime Minister, I was filled with joy, thinking that God took pity on me and gave me a gift to solve the crisis in Parthia. But I was so naive, That's not the case at all. It turns out that in your eyes, the sufferings of my country and my people have nothing to do with you, and my pleading is just boring lobbying in your eyes."

Linglong slowly stood up from the ground, the tears in her eyes had dried up, replaced by a look of determination.

"Since the Prime Minister is so determined, I will no longer force it. I just hope that if there is a day when the Parthian Kingdom threatens the Han Dynasty, the Prime Minister will not regret today's decision."

"Princess, since you have come to the Han Kingdom, I can protect you and let you live permanently to ensure that you will not be threatened by the Parthian Kingdom. And I can write a reply to tell the King of Parthia to stop looking for the princess. . This is the limit of what I can do. If you have other extravagant wishes, that is not allowed.

Linglong was silent for a long time, and finally nodded helplessly.

"That's all, let's talk about the rest later."

Xi Yu nodded slightly, "In that case, it's time for me to leave. I will send an announcement across the country to inform everyone that you are under protection in the Han Dynasty. This will also avoid unnecessary trouble."

Linglong shook her head quickly and said hurriedly: "Prime Minister, you must not do it. If you want to protect me, just protect me secretly. If it makes a big fuss and let everyone know my identity, I'm afraid it will cause more trouble. "

Xiyu thought for a while and felt that Linglong's words made sense, "Well, the princess is right, this is okay. Then I will arrange for people to protect your safety secretly, and you can feel free to settle down here."

Linglong bowed slightly.

"Thank you, Prime Minister."

She didn't know whether this decision was right or wrong, but there seemed to be no better way at the moment.

Xi Yu said he was leaving.

After Xi Yu left, he was also thinking about this series of changes and the potential impact that the Parthian Kingdom might have on the Han Dynasty.

After learning that Xi Yu had left, Xu Dabao trotted all the way to Linglong's room.

As soon as he entered the door, he started to cry and complain: "Madam, you don't know, I have really suffered a lot in the past two days."

He looked at Linglong expectantly, eager to get some comfort from her.

However, at this moment, Linglong was sitting in a chair and was stunned, as if she had not heard Xu Dabao's cries.

Seeing this, Xu Dabao stopped crying, walked up to Linglong with a puzzled face, pulled her sleeves, and asked: "Madam, what's wrong with you? Why do you look like you've lost your soul?"

Linglong slowly came back to her senses and said with a somewhat hollow look in her eyes: "Did you know? The person who came today is Prime Minister Xiyu."

When Xu Dabao heard this, his eyes widened and his face was full of shock: "What? Prime Minister? Madam, are you kidding me? He is actually the Prime Minister? This... this is really unexpected."

As he spoke, he paced back and forth in the room, the expression on his face constantly changing, obviously shocked by the news.

Xu Dabao suddenly understood and nodded repeatedly: "No wonder, no wonder the people around him are so powerful, it turns out that his identity is so extraordinary." However, he quickly frowned again, looked at Linglong, and asked curiously : "Madam, what on earth is this Prime Minister here for?"

Linglong changed her mind and decided to lie.

She didn't want her princess's identity to be known to Xu Dabao, so she said: "The Prime Minister...he took a fancy to me and wanted to force me to be with him. But who am I? Although I am a prostitute, I am also a chaste and fierce woman. , firmly disagreed, and when he saw my tough attitude, he stopped forcing me.”

When Xu Dabao heard this, he was filled with indignation: "This is too much! How could the Prime Minister do this! Madam, you are right, we cannot obey him."

Linglong looked at Xu Dabao's reaction and felt slightly guilty, but felt that this lie was the best solution at the moment.

She sighed secretly, hoping that this lie would not be exposed, otherwise she didn't know how much trouble it would cause.

At this moment, a thrilling drama is taking place in Youzhou.

In a dark and damp cave, many frightened people gathered, and they were all plundered here.

Standing in front of them was a woman in strange clothes. She had a cold expression, but there was a strange light in her eyes.

She said loudly to these trembling people: "You don't have to be afraid. I brought you here without any harm to you, but the prerequisite is that you must be obedient."

Among the crowd, there was a burly man. He boldly stood up and asked with a trembling voice: "What on earth do you want us to do? We are all ordinary people, and we have children and young people at home who need to be taken care of. How can you take care of us?" What’s the purpose of being kidnapped?”

The woman showed an unpredictable smile: "Humph, you don't need to know too much, as long as you follow my instructions, I will keep you safe. If anyone dares to disobey..." She did not continue, but The fierce light flashing in his eyes made everyone present shudder.

There was an atmosphere of tension and fear in the cave. The people looked at each other, not knowing what fate was waiting for them.

After a while, the woman walked to the stone table in the cave, picked up the brush, quickly wrote something on the letter paper, and then carefully folded the letter paper.

She looked around and her eyes fell on a young man, with unquestionable majesty in his eyes.

"Come here." The woman waved to the young man. Although the young man was full of fear, he did not dare to disobey and walked to the woman tremblingly.

The woman handed him the letter and said, "Send this letter to the Prime Minister's Mansion without any mistakes."

The young man looked embarrassed and said in a trembling voice: "I...why should I help you deliver this letter?"

The woman sneered and glanced at the group of people tied up in the corner. They were the young man's parents and children. "Huh, because your family is here. If you don't come back, they will all die."

Desperation flashed in the young man's eyes, but there was nothing he could do.

He gritted his teeth and asked again: "Why do you want to send it to the Prime Minister's Mansion?"

A cold light flashed in the woman's eyes, and her tone became even colder: "Don't ask what you shouldn't ask. You just need to do what you are told, otherwise, you will bear the consequences."

Seeing this, the young man did not dare to say anything more, so he turned around and left the cave with the letter.

He ran all the way, filled with worries about his family and fear of the unknown. He didn't know what this letter would bring to the Prime Minister's Mansion, and he didn't know what the fate of himself and his family would be.

The young man ran all the way and arrived in front of the Prime Minister's Mansion out of breath.

As soon as he was about to enter, he was stopped by the majestic guard at the door. The guard looked at him warily and asked loudly: "Who are you? What do you want to do?"

The young man quickly replied: "I...I'm here to deliver a letter. Many people in our village have been caught in a cave, and the situation is very critical."

When the soldiers heard this, they couldn't help but look at each other with surprise in their eyes.

Seeing this, the young man hurriedly said: "I guess the woman who kidnapped the villagers has something to do with the Prime Minister, so she asked me to send this letter to the Prime Minister."

One of the soldiers frowned and said: "The Prime Minister is not at home, and even if the Prime Minister is here, not just anyone can enter the Prime Minister's Mansion. It is difficult to tell whether what you said is true or false, and we cannot let you in."

When the young man heard this, he suddenly became anxious. His face turned red and he explained eagerly: "What I said is true. You must believe me! Those villagers are now uncertain about their life and death. If the letter cannot be handed over to the prime minister in time, Sir, I'm afraid there will be big trouble."

The soldiers were unmoved and still stood guard at the door, showing no intention of letting the young man in.

The young man was anxious, but had no idea what to do. He paced back and forth at the door of the Prime Minister's Mansion, not knowing what to do.

The soldier frowned slightly and asked, "Where is the cave you mentioned?"

The young man quickly told the location of the cave in detail.

After hearing this, the soldier said to the young man: "You should go back first. We will handle this matter and find a way to deliver the letter to the prime minister."

The young man looked hesitant. He still felt that it would be safer to hand the letter to the Prime Minister himself, but he could not enter the dense Prime Minister's Mansion in front of him, so he had no choice but to give up the idea.

He bowed deeply to the soldiers and said gratefully: "Thank you all, brothers. I will go back first. I hope the villagers can be rescued as soon as possible."

After saying that, the young man turned around and left the Prime Minister's Mansion.

As he walked, he looked back from time to time, his heart full of worry, hoping that the prime minister would receive the letter as soon as possible and rescue the abducted villagers.

The young man's footsteps were hurried and he soon returned to the cave. The atmosphere in the cave was still oppressive, and the people looked at him with expectant eyes.

The young man walked up to the woman and said, "I have given the letter to the soldiers in the Prime Minister's Mansion. The Prime Minister's Mansion is heavily guarded and I really can't get in."

The woman nodded slightly, showing a look of satisfaction: "You did a good job."

Then, she faced everyone and said loudly: "The fate of everyone depends on what the prime minister does. I hope he can make the right choice, otherwise..."

She didn't finish her words, but the threat in her eyes was self-evident.

After speaking, the woman winked at several of her subordinates.

The men understood, took out some food from the corner of the cave, and began to distribute it to everyone.

The people rushed forward, their eyes shining with desire.

However, the food was so meager that it could barely fill everyone's stomachs.

Everyone ate in silence, with mixed emotions in their hearts, not knowing what was waiting for them.

The soldiers did not dare to delay at all, and rushed to deliver the letter to Gan Mei. At the same time, they detailed the emergency situation in which a large number of people were kidnapped.

Ganmei's face changed suddenly when she heard this, and she couldn't help being surprised. She frowned and said with a look of embarrassment: "The Prime Minister is not at home now. As a woman, I can only do so much. I'm afraid I can't control such a big thing. In my opinion, it's better to give the letter to Zhuge Liang." , he is resourceful and may have a way to deal with it.”

The soldier thought it was reasonable, so he hurried to Zhuge Mansion with the letter.

Along the way, he was anxious, hoping that Zhuge Liang could find a way to rescue the abducted people, but he was also worried about where the unknown variables brought about by this letter would lead the situation.

Zhuge Liang was concentrating on teaching his nephew Zhuge Qiao how to use war. He held the military book in his hand and patiently explained its subtleties.

Zhuge Qiao stood aside and listened carefully, but there was a trace of hesitation in his eyes from time to time, as if he was hesitant to speak.

Zhuge Liang soon noticed something strange about his nephew. He stopped explaining, looked at Zhuge Qiao gently, and said softly: "Qiaoer, you seem to have something to say? But it doesn't matter, don't worry."

Zhuge Qiao raised his head, looked at Zhuge Liang, and moved his lips, as if he was considering his words.

He knew that his uncle Zhuge Liang was usually very intelligent and decisive, but he didn't know whether to say what he was thinking, for fear of disturbing his uncle's thoughts.

But under Zhuge Liang's encouraging gaze, he finally plucked up the courage.

Zhuge Qiao lowered his head slightly, and said respectfully but seriously: "Uncle, what you taught your nephew are indeed good words, and my nephew has benefited a lot. However, you have a habit, which may be said to be a problem. You are used to doing everything yourself, Everything is arranged well in advance, so my nephew has no room to think much of the time.”

Zhuge Liang was startled for a moment, then nodded, with a hint of approval in his eyes: "Qiaoer, it's good that you raised this question. My uncle has written it down and will definitely pay attention to it in the future."

After saying that, he waved his hand gently, signaling Zhuge Qiao to step back.

Zhuge Qiao saluted and turned around to leave, leaving Zhuge Liang alone in the room.

Zhuge Liang sat down slowly, stroked his beard, and fell into deep thought. He realized that when dealing with many affairs, he had unconsciously planned all the paths for them, but he never thought that this might really be detrimental to their growth.

Just like a bird, if it is always locked in a cage and carefully cared for, without experiencing wind and rain, how can it learn to fly freely? (End of this chapter)