There are no longer large-scale gangs and robberies on the road. There are only a few people like that big stall owner before. Now that Daqi is at its peak, the factory guards will not stretch their hips to the point of being everywhere. the point.
The wind is gentle and the sun is warm, and we are passing through Yesian Mountain Village. The road is straight and the sand is flat, and we stay overnight at the post office.
The third day of February in the seventh year of Tiansheng.
Jia Hui and his party, who were hurrying slowly, finally entered the scope of Duji Road.
Luoyang City is right in front of you.
Wonderful flowers bloom in the forest, and young willows dance with golden threads on the ground.
Spring is in the air and everyone is in a great mood.
"Mom, what is Luoyang like?"
The weather was no longer so cold, and it was a sunny day again, so the door curtains and curtains of the carriage were also tied there. Lin Daiyu, who was at an age full of curiosity about the world, also stuck her little head out of the window and saw nothing. Everyone who passed it felt strange and kept saying "wow".
Pedestrians on the road also looked at the little girl who kept looking around with kind faces.
"Well, Mom grew up in Peiping, and she has never been to Luoyang." Jia Min carefully thought about the memories of the past twenty years, but there was nothing related to Luoyang, and she felt a little disappointed for a while.
"Luoyang, that's different from the prosperity of Jiangnan." Jia Hui turned around and said to Daiyu with a smile.
"What's the difference?" Daiyu suddenly became interested.
"It can only be understood, not expressed in words. Once you enter the city, you will know it without me telling you."
Jia Hui didn't know how to explain to him for a while, so he acted like a master.
"Tch, if my brother doesn't know, just say he doesn't know. How can my sister laugh at you?" Daiyu rolled her eyes at Jia Hui.
Talking and laughing, we arrived outside Yongtong Gate in the east of Luoyang City.
In fact, except for Jia Hui and a few people who had to stay in Jiangnan due to a large number of affairs, the rest of the people related to the counter-rebellion had already come to Luoyang to receive rewards during the last dynasty in the twelfth lunar month last year, and hundreds of officials had already come to welcome them.
So no more people were sent to greet Jia Hui.
However, this kind of thing has been customized before, so Jia Hui didn't say anything.
In the final analysis, the rebellion was small in scale and affected several prefectures on the south bank of the Yangtze River and northern Zhejiang.
It is really not worthy of being greeted twice by hundreds of officials.
However, there is a precedent for this situation in Daqi, which is to send people from two yamen and a governor's house to greet him, so that both civil and military personnel can be present.
It not only gives the coach face, but also does not make a fuss and appear too grand and exceed the etiquette.
The military attache who came to greet him must be the Governor of the Zuo Army. When the Governor returned to the capital, he did not come to greet him. Was it because he thought life was too dull and wanted to offend the Governor and seek excitement?
Civil servants came from two departments - the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Household Affairs.
The Ministry of War is here to welcome the titular Sima of his family, and the Ministry of Husband is here to welcome everyone’s God of Wealth.
"Come on, bring out all the tooth flags for me!" Hu Jiu, a soldier, saw that there were still five miles away from Yongtong Gate and he quickly shouted towards the back.
Of course, the soldiers at the back also saw that they had been standing outside the Tongmen for a long time, and they all took out the "Jia" tooth flags they were carrying and the flapping-winged Suzaku war flag given by the emperor.
Six signs were also held high by several soldiers at the same time.
"Shangzhu Kingdom", "Imperial Envoy Governor of Jiangsu and Zhejiang", "General Governor of the Left Army",
"General Sima", "Doctor Guanglu", "Dunhuang Duke"!
The important thing is to have a great momentum!
The common people who had been crowding both sides of the road to watch the excitement and were whispering were immediately silenced by the murderous aura of the soldiers, and fell into silence for an instant.
Three teams of people rushed forward to greet him.
"Your Majesty, please pay homage to Da Sima!"
"The general will wait to see the Governor!"
The soldiers surrounded Jia Hui and formed two lines behind him.
"Hahaha, no need to be polite, please get up quickly!" Jia Hui also laughed boldly, dismounted and walked towards the team of civil servants, and helped Xia Tong, the Minister of the Ministry of Finance, who was bending to salute.
"Oh, why would Hui He De bother Da Si Nong to come and greet him in person?"
As for the other two groups of people, the Ministry of War is a nominal subordinate, and the Minister of the Ministry of War has not come over. The Zuojun Dudufu is his actual subordinate.
Neither the status nor age of the two groups of people were higher than that of Xia Shangshu, the minister of household affairs, who came to greet him in person. There was no need to think about whom Jia Hui wanted to help.
Xia Tong let Jia Hui help him up and looked at Jia Hui with a smile as if he were looking at a big golden pig.
"It's not in the way, it's not in the way. It's hard work for Da Sima to fight for the country. I have to come to welcome Da Sima personally both in public and private affairs."
Public or private?
Ah, yes, four hundred million taels of silver!
Although part of the 400 million taels was to be divided among the two saints, looking at Lao Xia's smiling face, one knew that the Hubu Department must have taken the lion's share this time.
He apologized to Xia Tong, and briefly exchanged greetings with the officials from the Ministry of War and his own governor's office. Then he was ready to end the process. Those who should be sent to work, those who should be sent to see the Second Saint.
Naturally, the civil servants from the two yamen got on the large carriages they had found early and went back to the yamen together. The military attachés from the Governor's Palace also left Yongtongmen on horseback.
"Haha, Da Sima, I have something to tell you. Can you please give me a favor and come and sit in my carriage?"
"It's what you wish for."
Naturally, Jia Hui did not refuse.
However, he didn't get on the carriage first. Jia Hui walked to the carriage of Jia Min and his group, and after a few words with Jia Min, he asked them to go home first, and then got on Xia Tong's carriage.
"Haha, Da Sima drinks tea."
The book boy on the carriage had already prepared hot tea. When he saw his master and a heroic man getting on the carriage, he immediately poured two cups of tea calmly, handed them to the two of them, and then got out of the carriage and sat with the coachman.
"I have nothing to do with Da Sima. I just want to thank Da Sima for collecting so much money." Xia Tong, who had known Jia Hui in advance, decided to speak quickly and directly.
"What do you mean by plundering? It's all money that was taken over as state-owned money when there was no one to inherit it."
Jia Hui and Xia Tong smiled in understanding.
"However, I really want to thank Da Sima. The Toungoo Kingdom in the southwest has been getting stronger and stronger in recent years. It conquered Siam in the east and conquered Banggela (Bangladesh) in the west. It expanded greatly. In the past two years, I started to keep an eye on the Eight Hundred Dadian Xuanwei Division of our dynasty again.
As the Grand Governor and Grand Sima, you also know that Mr. Yun Yuyun has been going to Yunnan to prepare for war since last year. There are also signs of army mobilization in Taungoo, but they just stop there. After all, it is Taungoo. Our country cannot say anything about the boundaries of the country."
Jia Hui nodded.
Today's Holy Emperor's foreign policy is to regain the international credibility and prestige that the Emperor has lost. This will indeed prevent him from starting a war.
If the emperor were in power, would he still have to stand in Yunnan and wait for Taungu to take action first? When the Donggu army broke out and rushed to the border, the Daqi army crossed the border first!
"The Governor of Yun Da commanded the Guangxi soldiers, mountain guards from Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan and other places, as well as many chieftain soldiers and horses, a total of 160,000 troops gathered in Yunnan to confront Taungu.
It has indeed shocked them, but you also know the consumption of the 160,000-strong army, Sima, and it is also a troublesome thing to adjust the food there. The local Han people in Yunnan also moved there nearly a hundred years ago, and most of them were military households. The young and strong people were summoned to the front line and had no intention of farming.
There is no problem in allocating food from surrounding provinces for four to five months, but now that the confrontation has been going on for nearly two years, we still don’t know how long the confrontation will last! In addition, the constant deployment of weapons and equipment there is a huge expense.
All armies in the country and the Nine Borders must also be provided with food and salary. The Chidao that runs through the five capitals and the chief auxiliaries of the provinces, which has been built since the time of Emperor Taizong, is almost completed. This is also where money must be spent.
Defending the country is important, but we can’t abandon the livelihood of the people at home just because of a war? Natural disasters such as floods and droughts occur almost every year. The Yellow River has also experienced a lot more flooding in the past two years. It is estimated that river construction will begin again.
Even though my income is high, I can't afford such expenses."
Xia Tong looked bitter.
"So, the 400 million taels of silver you brought, Da Sima, is like a rain after a long drought." Xia Tong himself said a series of bad things that made him lose interest and didn't want to talk anymore.
"That's really troublesome." Jia Hui had nothing to say.
The methods used during the Emperor's era were indeed cost-effective and effective, but after all, this is no longer the era of the Emperor. Today's Holy Emperor has clearly issued an edict to regain Da Qi's international reputation and prestige, which is indeed a lot more timid in comparison.
"One more thing, has Da Sima also heard that our household department is raising money to cast a statue for you?" Xia Tong suddenly straightened up and looked at Jia Hui with a narrow look on his face.
"Of course I've heard about it, and I'm a little scared." This person had his statue made into a statue while he was still alive. The thought of someone kneeling in front of his statue with a fanatical look on his face and saying something like "bless me to get rich" The strange words made Jia Hui's skin crawl.
"Well, I stopped you. Da Sima won't be unhappy, right?"
"No, if the Ministry of Finance really casts a statue of me, I will also knock on the door and smash the statue."
. . . . . .
While talking and laughing, the carriage drove outside Xiyuan.
The emperor must have handed in his homework in Xiyuan at this time, and there was no need to make an extra trip to the palace.
After eight months, Jia Hui couldn't help but feel emotional as he stood in front of Xiyuan Gate again.
"Hey, my great general, you are here!"
A high-pitched voice came from the palace door, and Jia Hui looked intently.
Dai Quan.
"Haha, Mr. Dai, I haven't seen you for eight months, but you still look good!" Jia Hui also laughed and walked up, as if what happened at the Dongchang stall never happened.
"Hehehehe. General, the two emperors are waiting for you at Yanguang Courtyard, please?" Dai Quan walked over with a smile and took Jia Hui's arm. Jia Hui understood and did not say any more greetings. He took off his sword and followed Dai Quan into the palace gate.
"General, what happened a few days ago was because the monkey boy under my command was ignorant and greedy. Please forgive me!" Dai Quan didn't talk nonsense. He had grown up with a stick from Jia Hui. Don’t you know Jia Hui’s temperament? Sometimes he really can't hear polite words.
Without waiting for a reply, Jia Hui waved to a few young eunuchs waiting aside.
The little eunuchs held up their hands, picked up a few boxes on the side and walked over.
"General, they have already accepted the family law, you see."
Several little eunuchs following the little eunuch helped open the lid of the wooden box, and Jia Hui looked over.
Three heads that had rotted and were infested with maggots were kicking the sky with their eyes fixed on them.
A putrid stench instantly surged out, causing Jia Hui to cover her mouth and almost vomit.
"Ouch! Mr. Dai, why don't you put some lime on it to make it antiseptic?" Jia Hui, who was smelled by the rotting stench, looked at Dai Quan with some resentment.
"Ugh! I thought it was a cool day so I didn't let the little ones wipe it...Besides, I didn't want you to take a closer look, General." Dai Quan didn't expect that this weather could make his brain rot to this extent. , he was also so sick that he died.
"Get it down quickly and clean it up!" Dai Quan waved his hand towards the little eunuchs who were so smoked that they wanted to vomit but did not dare to vomit. Then the few little eunuchs covered the box as if they were granted amnesty and ran away. Don't know where it went.
"Hu Xun killed me." Jia Hui and Dai Quan breathed a sigh of relief at the same time, suddenly looked at each other, and laughed at the same time.
"Master Dai, I went to Jiangnan this time to bring you a gift."
"Oh, the general actually brought a gift to our family. It's amazing. I'm really flattered."
The two of them started walking towards Yanguangyuan again.
"Looking at what you said, you have been watching me since you were a kid. Oh no, you are the elder who has been playing board games since you were a kid."
"Hey, the general doesn't dare to treat you as an elder."
"Hey! What are you talking about? I remember clearly. Back then, I had a fight with the fourth son of Prince Zhongshen's family. The fourth son was accidentally hit on the back of the head with a stick by the sixth grandson of Prince Zhongjin's family. Beaten to death...
Those dogs and bastards are still pushing this matter on me in front of the Emperor. If you hadn't come out to testify for me, I would have been dead long ago. How could I, Jia Hui, be as good as I am now? All the good things you did to me will be kept in my heart! "
Jia Hui looked at Dai Quan sincerely, and kept tapping his right hand towards his heart.
"This great general."
Dai Quan was so moved that he couldn't help but wipe his eyes with his sleeve.
"Does Mr. Dai still remember the white jade Guanyin that suddenly appeared on the rivers and lakes nine years ago?"
"White Jade Guanyin? I seem to have heard the children mentioned it, saying that it was carved by Bodhidharma himself."
"Exactly. Who would have thought that this white jade Guanyin would be in the hands of an unknown small grain merchant? It's a pity that the small salt merchant was wiped out by his own deceitful slaves. It must be a blessing, right? , this treasure really needs to be held by a virtuous person."
"Yes, this baby is also blessed with luck. How can a person with less luck hold it down?"
"Exactly! I feel that you, Mr. Dai, are one of the most virtuous people in the world. The white jade Guanyin is now with my soldiers. How can my soldiers be so poor that they can suppress this Bodhidharma?" Where is the white jade Guanyin carved and consecrated by the monk himself? It is precisely in need of a virtuous person like you to save him from the fire and water!"
"No, no, in terms of virtue, who can compare to the two emperors? Compared to the two emperors, what does my life as a mere prisoner mean?"
"Hey, Mr. Dai, just take care of yourself and please go home. I have also prepared a lot of good things and great luck items with the two saints, waiting for the two emperors to suppress them!"
(End of chapter)
