The anxious guards quickly moved forward at full speed, but they had to stop after a short time.
At some point, a large gap of about four feet wide was dug into the post road in front of me, leaving only a patch of stagnant water mixed with silt in front of me.
The guards probed the depth and quickly frowned.
Hold!
They cursed bitterly.
The swamp in front of me is not too deep, but it can definitely cover the mount.
While hesitating, the rebel army caught up.
Seeing this situation, the leading general had no choice but to let the soldiers build the road.
Fortunately, we have encountered such a situation of being dug out of the road before, and the quelling army was well prepared.
Things get easier when there are more people, and the gap is repaired quickly.
However, within a few dozen miles, we stopped again ahead.
When I went over and took a look, it turned out that someone had dug a big hole in the post road again.
Just like this, practice and walk, walk and practice.
Mist County is eggplant-shaped, long from north to south and narrow from east to west. Under normal circumstances, it would take less than three days for a light chariot and a simple horse to cross.
Therefore, because of the road construction, the team was delayed forever.
And the closer to Laigu County, the slower the progress.
Because this is already the western half of Misty County, there is almost no real land around it except for the post road, and there are no large plants to cut down.
The only way to refill the post road is to mine soil and wood from the counties east of the mist and transport it there. The journey is long and very troublesome.
But no matter how troublesome it is, it must be repaired, otherwise Emperor Changxing's butcher's knife may cut it off at any time.
The news spread back to Star City.
Luo Ken, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, immediately entered the palace excitedly to see Emperor Changxing.
"Your Majesty," he mentioned the old story again, "since we want to build the east-west post road in Misty County, we might as well build the north-south one as well."
Otherwise, the iron ore in Qingshi County can only be seen but not used. Moreover, it is not a problem to leave the built crane alone forever.
Emperor Changxing did not comment, but first summoned Qian Liang from the household department.
"Qian Aiqing, what do you think?" he asked his money bag.
"Your Majesty, it has been Emperor Yunchui's long-cherished wish to build the north-south post road in Misty County. The merits of this work will be beneficial to the future. I will work hard to raise money to ensure the smooth start of the project."
If it was about fighting a war or building imperial mausoleums or palaces, Qian Liang might not be willing to pay for it; but when it came to building water conservancy, roads and other infrastructure, he would usually raise his hands in favor.
Moreover, autumn has just passed, and taxes have been collected in all places except a few counties in the west. At this time, the Ministry of Household Affairs still has some money left.
Finally, Emperor Changxing said with a stroke of his pen, "Yes!"
Although it was approved, the construction was not started immediately. Firstly, it needed to be tested, and secondly, the fog had to be settled first.
Otherwise, it will be in vain if you practice it.
After much delay, the Pingluan South Route Army finally crossed the swamp of Mist County and entered Laigu County.
It can be said that more soldiers died in the swamp than at the hands of the rebels.
The "Lai" in Laigu is also called Laishui.
This is a medium-sized river.
As long as you follow it upstream, you can go straight to the Luoxia Mountains, or turn north along the tributaries and go straight to Yingling County in the north.
In this way, there is no need to worry about being unable to move due to rioters cutting off the post road.
As soon as they entered Laigu County, Zhen Guogong's escort left the team early and left alone.
They were small in number and had strict water training, so they took the water route.
The counter-rebellion army did not have enough ships, so they still had to crawl forward slowly like a turtle on the post road.
The guards headed west without any obstruction. They almost stopped and went ashore when they reached the small county town where Lord Lingshu of the old town was located.
When they were about to enter the city, they were stopped outside the city gate by the mob as if they were facing an enemy.
Fortunately, the Zhenguogong Mansion has been guarding the Yankuo Fortress, and every year there are tribesmen coming in and out of the western counties. Here, the prestige of the Huo clan is almost equal to that of the famous Starfall Legion.
The guards reported their background and paid some money and food.
The sallow-looking mobsters breathed a sigh of relief and directly sent out the coffin team trapped in the city.
The crystal coffin was extremely precious, and what was inside was the old prince. The guards quickly came over to inspect it, and soon all of them had solemn expressions on their faces.
The car carrying the coffin was covered with numerous injuries, and it was unknown how many times it was attacked along the way.
"Thank you for your hard work, brothers."
"It's not hard work. It's just that I couldn't send the general back in time. It's really embarrassing..."
After some pleasantries, the guards split into two.
Two hundred people assisted the original team in escorting the old Duke back to Beijing, while more than a hundred people continued westward along the waterway.
Target: Luoxia Mountains.
More than half a month later, under the falling snow, General Huo Zheng's coffin finally returned to Star City smoothly.
Princess Yiguang did not greet her with much fanfare, but only set up a mourning hall in the Duke's mansion. After sorting out her husband's remains, relatives and friends were invited to come to express their condolences.
Yingpan from next door also went.
Even in the mourning hall, she saw the red-eyed Concubine Qing kneeling there in mourning with the female family members of the Zhenguo Duke's Mansion.
The mourning hall was set up for seven days.
Seven days later, the old Duke's coffin quietly left the Zhenguo Palace and was sent back to his hometown in Xingluo for burial.
In the imperial study, Emperor Changxing raised his head with mixed feelings.
"Has the old man returned to Xingluo?"
Although a few decades ago, without General Huo Zheng and Princess Yiguang, it would have been almost impossible for Emperor Changxing to sit on the throne. But he was the monarch at this time, and the old prince died of an epidemic, so he did not go to pay his respects.
"Back to Your Majesty," Changlu nodded, "The coffin quietly left the city in the morning."
He opened his mouth but said no more.
Just like when he came back, the old man left quietly.
It was so quiet that almost no people in Xingji City knew that the coffin contained a world-famous prince, and they thought it was just a random person named Huo.
Emperor Changxing was silent for a while, then looked up to the west.
To the west, there were two routes, one from the south and one from the north, to quell the rebel army.
Taking Chen Xiujian's announcement as the vanguard, the Southern Route Army advanced westward albeit slowly.
After the death of the eighth prince Chen Xiuyi, the Northern Route Army also began to attack the city like crazy, but they were stuck in Tianshui County and stood still.
snort!
Emperor Changxing snorted coldly.
Changlu was familiar with his temperament and couldn't help but shrink his neck slightly.
When the emperor is angry, someone may lose his head.
Zhenguogongfu.
The whole house was filled with sad and pale eyes.
Three more Huo family members who died in the battle will be sent back later, so the mourning hall in the mansion will not be evacuated.
In the study, Princess Yiguang was writing a letter, while the prince Huo Qing was sharpening ink for his grandmother.
Although she had just given away her lifelong husband, there was not much sadness on Princess Yiguang's face.
After a while, she finished writing the letter and checked it again, nodding slightly.
"Brother Huo, send someone to deliver the letter to Guangxin County in the south."
"Okay, grandma." Huo Qing waited for the ink to dry, quickly put the letter away, and turned to leave.
"Everything is safe and sound under the Emperor's feet. We don't need so many guards in the mansion, so we'll find a way to send them to the Luoxia Mountains."
Huo Qing hesitated, but looking at his grandmother with firm eyes, he had no choice but to nod in agreement.
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