In November and the twelfth lunar month of this year, the Jishui Basin entered the coldest season of the year as promised, and it snowed three or four times intermittently.
According to information feedback, the downstream is not bad, maybe because it is close to the East China Sea, or it is covered by the Dongyi terrain, so although the snow falls, it melts quickly without delay, so that excessive snow accumulation is not formed. On the contrary, here in the upper reaches of Jishui River, all the way to Liangjun and Xingyang, there have been cold winds and heavy snowfall for days, so that there are obvious layers of snow.
This is of course a great thing, as it is beneficial to the farming season.
In this era, the foundation of the entire society is still agricultural production activities.
At the same time, in this era of accelerating turmoil, this snow and severe cold seem to have pressed a pause button for the times, allowing everyone to temporarily take a breath like a fish swimming in the ice and think about their future. and the direction of the times.
Of course, some of this thinking is conscious and some is unconscious. And some people seem to never be able to see their own destiny clearly.
On the fifth day of the twelfth lunar month, a huge team including a large number of internal servants, palace staff, a small number of Jinwu Guards, and three Jing'an Taiwan patrol teams crossed the Sishui River, passed the Weiguan Pass, and came to the territory of Xingyang.
As soon as he arrived here, Zhang Shizhao, the Xianggong who was in charge of Xingyang, and the local governor of Xingyang led local officials, plus 6,000 troops from the county, and thousands of civilians came to greet him.
As a result, a larger team of twenty to thirty thousand people was formed immediately.
Three days later, this huge team arrived at the county administrative city, where they drove the team to the completely frozen canal and the roads on both sides. Six days later, the team arrived at Putian. Ten days later, the team arrived at the border of Liang County. Cao Wang, the prefect of Liang County, led 6,000 troops and thousands of civilians to greet them. Line team.
On the night of the 16th day of the twelfth lunar month, the team arrived at Chenliu, the first important town in Liangjun.
Moreover, Cao Wang, the governor of Liang County, was from a remote clan, and Liang County was a large and wealthy county. When the queen and concubines came, Cao Wang naturally had to do his best, so that night he went to a place in Chenliu City that was said to be the property of a local wealthy family. A banquet was held in the large inner hall, and local ladies and talented folk were invited to accompany it. A group of local officials held a banquet in the outer hall.
However, Cao Wang is not only a remote clan, but also serves as the governor of a place like Liang County, which is considered Kinki. Moreover, it is now in troubled times. His so-called political capital is sufficient, and his political attitude is self-evident. He treats Zhang Shizhao, Gao Du Gong and other Beiya father-in-laws. , inevitably brought a bit of arrogance beyond the ordinary posture, and even some deliberate humiliation and manipulation.
The three Zhu Shou and the three Hei Shou who came out of Jingantai were left at the banquet, and they were the guests of honor. Zhang Shizhao, Gao Jiang Tangtang Nanya Xianggong and Beiya Governor were kicked out together with a group of father-in-law. The Cangcheng in the city was very cold, and there was only a small banquet in the corridor... There was only cold wine, and serious dishes were hard to find.
This caused many father-in-laws to scold their mothers, and some even swore that when Jiangdu came back to power, they would give Cao Wang a good look.
"Does Mr. Zhang regret accompanying him?"
Everyone was bored with the feast, so they drank a few more drinks to warm themselves up, and then dispersed after cursing each other. Gao Jiang, on the other hand, was keenly aware of the worry that could not be concealed in Zhang Shizhao's eyes, so he stayed there specially, and waited until there were fewer people, and then went back to the party. Ask at the table.
"What do you regret?" Although it had only been two or three years, Zhang Shizhao no longer had the same spirit as before, and even looked a little old. When he picked up the wine, he was also a little tired. "Time is also destiny, just like you and me, we all have wealth and power, all relying on the saint. Now the saint is in Jiangdu, and I am just like you. Staying where I am is just sitting on the wax every day... No matter what, whether it is life or not, I will explain it in the future. No matter what, it’s time to end it at the saint’s side.”
Gao Jiang nodded heavily... If not, why would the palace as a whole move southward?
On the one hand, it is certainly the will of the saint, but on the other hand, it is also because the entire palace was built around the saint, and as the saint suddenly turned to Jiangdu and Dongdu, the authority from Beiya to the cost of the palace almost plummeted. .
The saint enjoys his own power and blessings, but without the saint, what are you palace servants?
This caused the group of people who had been trembling in front of the saint to miss the previous days, and the commotion intensified. Under such circumstances, if someone spreads a rumor that Uncle Cao wants to banish all his servants to the army and all the palace servants to be maids in coats, there will naturally be an uproar.
In fact, even the remaining thousands of Jinwu guards who were deeply influenced by Beiya were originally coming, but they were detained by Cao Lin and used as soldiers.
"Then what is Mr. Zhang worried about? Isn't it difficult to explain when he meets the saint?" After sighing with emotion, Gao Jiang couldn't help but ask.
This is also a worry of his. What if the tower collapses during repairs, twice? What if it is cut down after meeting?
"No." Zhang Shizhao just drank the wine in one gulp, which was quite magnanimous. "The saint wishes to see everyone abandon Dongdu and join him. As long as he doesn't mention those embarrassing things in the past, doesn't fight for power in Jiangdu, and stays in Jiangdu, there will be nothing difficult to explain? Those things before, If we really look into it carefully, we are not the only ones who have trouble explaining."
Gao Jiang sighed and did not answer. It was obvious that he understood what the other party meant.
However, Zhang Shizhao drank a few glasses of wine at this time, and gradually regained some of his previous attitude, but turned around and asked: "So, Lao Gao, do you think someone will chase you when you get to Jiangdu and cause the tower to fall twice?"
"good."
"If you are worried about this, why are you going to Jiangdu eagerly? Even if Old Man Cao doesn't allow you to touch the emperor's eldest grandson, why not stay in Xiyuan to grow vegetables and take care of yourself in silence? Is it because you are afraid that Old Cao won't let you go?"
"No." Gao Dugong responded in a deep voice. "The main thing is that I'm not afraid of death. I'm just afraid of being poor. I'm just afraid of having nothing to do... If a saint comes somewhere and wants to kill me, I'll admit it even if I die."
Zhang Shizhao, who started to pour himself a drink, was startled for a moment, drank the glass in a flash, and then suddenly looked at the two moons in the sky and burst into laughter.
After laughing, Fu felt that his mouth was full of bitterness, and then his body shook slightly, so that he became tipsy... Once some emotions broke out, he would be stronger than any other governor, but why should they break out?
He is Zhang Shizhao, and it is enough to be drunk with worry and anger.
"But if that's the case, why is Mr. Zhang still worried?" Gao Jiang on the other hand thought about it and felt surprised again.
"One is worried about the overall situation. I don't know how long this situation can last." Zhang Shizhao answered simply. "The other one is worried that the road will be difficult to walk... Dongjun and Jiyin nearby have fallen into the hands of thieves. Although the local rich are still supporting them below, the two people who make the decisions above are two acquaintances with vision and ability. .”
"Li Shu, Zhang Xing... I know." Gao Du Gong also became serious instantly. "It is true that we have to be on guard... However, I made sure to find out before coming here. Didn't their main force go to the east?"
"Indeed." Zhang Shizhao nodded. "But even though Li Shu has gone, Zhang Xing is still there, and there should be tens of thousands of people together..."
"What can thousands of bandits do to us?" Gao Jiang asked seriously. "Although I didn't bring the remaining Jinwu Guards here, there are still 6,000 troops and thousands of county soldiers after all. Regarding the experts, Uncle Cao is not stingy. The first eunuch is in the Dan Dan realm, and the second eunuch is also a master of elixir condensation. Shen Inspection is also the qualification of the veteran black ribbon. The two new black ribbons are simply the masters of Fulongwei before. The situation in Dongdu is so difficult, but the three of them brought the three most elite patrol teams here. What else can they do? It is the local , Although Grand Administrator Cao was rude, it was also said that he deployed county soldiers in Chuqiu and Yucheng, which are adjacent to Jiyin, to block the way of Jiyin bandits..."
"Fortunately, Jin Wuwei didn't come." After hearing this, Zhang Shizhao shook his head repeatedly. "The Jinwu Guards are like that. Coming here will only cause chaos... On the contrary, right now, the local troops, county soldiers and three patrol teams you mentioned are indeed guaranteed in terms of force, but the weather is not good and the military strength is unstable. The truth.”
Gao Jiang became serious and asked seriously: "Please speak frankly, Mr. Zhang."
"The snow is too heavy and the road is too difficult to walk. If we go further south, the snow will melt quickly. It will be cold but the ground will not freeze. The road will be covered with snow and mud, and there will be ice on the river. You can’t walk or sail…”
"This is the right time. We really have no choice but to bite the bullet and leave as soon as possible."
"Of course there is no way... there is another thing, that is, this kind of military power cannot last long. The station army has to defend the east capital, and the county soldiers are even less likely to leave the county. The civilians have caused few things, and they dare not let them accompany them. Yes, so once you leave a county, you have to change people... But if you continue to change like this, what will happen to Qiaojun? Qiaojun only has three thousand garrison troops, which is very dangerous."
"really."
"In addition, starting from Qiao County, it is the core territory of the Huaiyou League. The Huaiyou League was created by the alliance of powerful Jianghuai and water bandits. They relied on water transportation from the north to the south to help the people. If it exceeds 10,000, it can easily gather more than 100,000 people... Now that the saints are in Jiangdu, they cannot see the spring livelihood, and they are afraid that grass has grown in their hearts, but the Xuzhou camp is right next to them... And when the time comes, once we When we entered Qiao County, the journey was difficult. Zhang Xing led his troops south through Dang County and urged the Huaiyou Alliance to rebel. We only have three thousand soldiers and can't even control the troops, so what should we do?"
"We have to guard against it." Gao Jiang became more serious, and then immediately woke up. "What do you think Mr. Zhang should do?"
"I would like to send you an imperial edict to Xuzhou Camp. Please come to Qiao County to pick me up as soon as possible." Zhang Shizhao spread his hands. "What else?"
"But, who in Xuzhou would obey Yi's order and send troops without authorization?" Gao Jiang frowned. "Isn't this what saints are most taboo about?"
"I can only give it a try." Zhang Shizhao remained magnanimous. "There are a lot of troubles, so we just have to do our best..."
"So, Mr. Zhang also thinks that Xuzhou may not send troops?"
"Half and half." Zhang Shizhao remained calm. "It depends on whether they can fight for power and end the internal fighting..."
Gao Jiang was at a loss for a moment.
This is not to say that he does not believe that there is internal fighting in the Xuzhou camp.
Are you kidding me? What has Dongdu been doing these past six months?
Of course they fight for power and gain, form cliques and engage in internal fighting.
You know what Jiang Du is doing without asking.
That group of people went to Jiangdu to reestablish half of the country's system. They would definitely have to compete for seats, territory, and military power. Moreover, there would also be a new conflict between local and external forces. Internal fighting would definitely be no worse than in Dongdu.
Is it even necessary to guess what Youzhou, Taiyuan, and Xuzhou are doing?
Everyone is from the imperial court, who doesn’t know who is who? If you fight internally, you will die, but you would rather die than engage in internal fighting! Even if the sky falls and we die together, we still have to fight among ourselves!
Of course, Duke Gao must not know that even the rebels in the neighboring county have been forming gangs and engaging in internal fighting in the past six months!
It is impossible not to engage in internal fighting, even in this life.
All in all, internal fighting is inevitable, but Gao Dugong was at a loss as to whether he would send troops to respond when the internal fighting was over, or whether he would send troops to respond when the internal fighting was still intense.
"It would be great if General Tuwan honestly suppressed the rebellion and took the Hanshui Avenue..." At this thought, Gao Dugong also became a little sad.
"This is what I want to say, the trouble comes from within... In this world, people's hearts are growing grass. On the outside, everything looks fine. No one knows who can be trusted. God knows which powerful army will suddenly rush to the rescue." Let’s break up, no one will be ill-intentioned all of a sudden.” Zhang Shizhao poured himself the last half of a glass of wine and looked at the sky with emotion. "For example, regarding General Tuwan, I ask myself that I am a smart man, but I really don't know why he left... Was he instigated by those people in Kansai and deliberately caused trouble to Old Man Cao? Or was he inspired by the saint? Or was he just angry? Are you leaving? Or do you think Jiangdu can make a comeback? Or is it just that the war is unfavorable and we can't continue?"
Gao Dugong had previously firmly believed that the reason why Tu Wan Chang Lun left was because he was instigated by those in Guanlong, because the main line of internal fighting in the Eastern Capital was Uncle Cao's suppression and counter-suppression of those in Guanlong.
However, now that he heard Zhang Shizhao's words, he became confused.
Apart from anything else, the sage's hint to let the master Tuwan Changlun lead the troops was a possibility that was extremely consistent with the sage's character and was destined to be impossible to falsify.
"Just try your best!" After thinking for a long time, Gao Jiang could only sigh like this.
Zhang Xianggong naturally had nothing to say.
Just like that, the next day, the team set off south again.
We had just left Chenliucheng for only about ten miles. In the morning, a routine vehicle skid in the team caused the team to come to a halt. The most noble woman in the team, and possibly the woman with the highest theoretical status in this era, She was the queen. For some reason, she suddenly took the opportunity to summon Gao Jiang, the actual person in charge of the main team and the governor of Beiya, saying that she had something to ask.
"Your Highness." Gao Jiang, who was wearing a gorgeous python robe that represented the governor's status today, hurried over and bowed his head in front of the huge palace carriage. "What are your orders, Your Highness? I must do my best."
"Nothing else." A gentle female voice immediately sounded in the palace car. "It's just that when we were in Xingyang, we encountered livestock and vehicles skidding over and over again..."
"Your Highness, don't worry." Gao Jiang suddenly responded seriously. "But with my subordinates here, the journey will not be delayed...Besides, the local government will supplement the vehicles along the way, so it won't be a problem."
"I...that's not what I meant." The female voice obviously hesitated, and then explained further. "Last night, I heard from the local female guests that the snow was very deep on the way back, some even knee-deep, and I couldn't help but feel a little worried... The road was difficult, and the weather was cold, so I had to rush on. I am afraid that it will shake people's hearts and cause dissatisfaction, so that they will flee. Once people's hearts are dispersed, they will not be able to go on even if they are in a hurry."
Gao Jiang was silent for a moment.
He probably understood that after the queen heard the description of the difficulties, she was afraid that the team would be in a situation like the three expeditions against Dongyi... But to be honest, who is not afraid? I was discussing with Zhang Shizhao last night. Which difficulty does he not know about ahead?
If you are only afraid of returning, can you still not leave?
Even if he dies, he must die in Jiangdu.
After thinking about this, Duke Gao became magnanimous: "Your Highness, don't worry, we are different from the Three Zhengs...Those people in the Three Zhengs escaped because they were doing corvee work and were taken from their homes to fight in Dongyi. We are afraid that we will die if we go to Dongyi. But this time, it is natural for us, the palace servants and the chamberlains, to go to Jiangdu, but we stayed here in Dongdu. The treatment in the palace is getting worse day by day, and it is easy for everyone to panic. As for stationing troops, The soldiers and civilians of the county do not need to leave the county, so this journey is completely different from the three expeditions."
"What Mr. Gao Du said is absolutely true." The voice in the palace car softened slightly, and it seemed that he heard the answer he wanted to hear.
"As for the snow..." Gao Jiang thought for a moment and continued to be serious. "Your Majesty is overstepping your bounds. Please open the curtain and take a look with your own eyes."
There was a slight movement in the car, and then a side door of the palace car was opened, a heavy blanket stretched tightly up and down was lifted, and a silk curtain was rolled up.
However, looking out from inside the car, it is destined to be completely white, and I don’t know how to see it.
Seeing this, Gao Jiang continued to give instructions: "Your Highness, please send a personal female officer out..."
After a while of rustling, a female official dressed in men's clothing jumped out of the car shivering.
"You." As the governor, Gao Jiang naturally pointed his finger at the female officer without being polite. "Go over there into the untrampled snow. Don't look back without my order...but be careful not to fall."
The female officer dressed in men's clothing did not dare to hesitate. Her body was trembling, but her feet were nimble. She directly followed the order and walked forward step by step into the snow.
"Okay, come back." Seeing that the female officer had gone far enough, Gao Jiangfu called again. "No need to dust yourself with snow powder, just go up and show His Highness where the snow is..."
The female officer hurriedly turned back and boarded the warm palace carriage. The traces of snow on her body melted away almost immediately, but it only wet her calves.
"Has your Highness seen it?" Gao Dugong was too late to ask.
"I see it." The queen was obviously relieved again.
"Actually, if we really want to talk about difficulties, the biggest difficulty is probably to reach Qiaojun. There are not many troops stationed there. I would like to take the liberty of asking Your Highness to write an edict and send it directly to the Xuzhou camp, and ask for a reinforcement to be sent to Qiaojun. Bian...this is the right way."
The queen became nervous again: "The saint doesn't like the harem being so good at issuing orders."
"It doesn't matter." Gao Dugong seemed to have already thought about it. "If His Highness is interested in this matter, he only needs to write a decree, first praising Prefect Cao and Liang County for the good reception here, and then ask Xianggong Zhang, Prefect Cao, and the two regular inspectors Luo and Xue about the situation in Qiao County ahead of them. What is the strength of the garrison army? Is it as appropriate as Liang County? In this way, they will discuss it in front of the team, and then go to Xuzhou to invite troops with His Highness's decree. In this way, it will not be regarded as His Highness's intervention in the military."
There was silence in the palace car for a while.
Gao Jiang was impatient and could only urge: "Your Highness, just now your Highness was pitying the tens of thousands of Dongdu palace servants who had to travel in the snow. Now that you can protect the team, why are you hesitant? If you really continue to hesitate, wait until the snow melts in spring. If you can't leave Qiao County, then your future is hopeless."
"Gao Dugong is right, I put the cart before the horse and got confused." The palace car immediately responded. "I will write the decree right now."
After a while, a decree stamped with the Queen's seal was written. The female officer held it out, and the Queen opened the car door and gave instructions to the outside:
"In this case, the only one left is Governor Lao Gao."
"Your Highness, please just sit in the car and let your ministers decide what to do when traveling." Gao Jiang saluted sincerely. "This time, I will never let down the saint's trust."
When the queen heard the word saint, she was speechless. She just nodded and ordered the car door to be closed.
After a while, the team continued to move forward, but plunged into the vast white land of the Central Plains.
That is to say, on the same day, as their respective sentry horses returned, here in Jiyin County, in the lobby of the county government, Zhang Xing gathered many left-behind leaders to prepare for the final discussion and decision.
At this time, in addition to Zhang Xing, there were also the chief Wei Xuanding, the big leader Xiong Bonan, the purple-faced king who had just returned after receiving the news, the big leader Xu Shiying, the leaders Niu Da, Zhou Xingfan, Jia Yue, the Lu brothers, Guo Jingke , Du Caiqian, Chai Xiaohe, Huang Junhan, Zhang Jinshu, as well as a group of new leaders led by Guan Xu, Zhou Weishi, etc., plus Shang Huaizhi's younger brother Shang Huaien, Yan Qing and other new leaders.
There was even a leader of Dangshan who was sent by Wang Zhen and was uneasy no matter how he sat. He was a fat leader named Fan who was said to be very famous in Dangshan.
Large and small, the county mansion was actually packed to the brim.
Obviously, the news that the front line is still attacking cities and opening maps these days has seriously irritated everyone in the rear. From top to bottom, from civil to military, no one can sit still.
"Report the information!" Zhang Xing, who had dismissed the case and was sitting in the first place, looked away from Chef Fan and pointed at Yan Qing, who was appearing publicly on such an occasion for the first time.
Under the strange looks of many people below Chief Wei Xuanding, Yan Qing stood up calmly, holding a piece of paper in both hands, and began to announce the intelligence:
“When the team heading south left Xingyang, there were a total of 14,000 to 5,000 people, most of whom were palace servants and chamberlains. They brought with them more than a hundred carriages, hundreds of uncovered carts pulled by donkeys and horses, and countless boxes and cages. Among them, The queen and most of the high-ranking concubines, including the family members of King Qi, and a small number of family members of officials..."
Just after hearing this, many bumpkins in the hall started to sigh. The initiator of the idea, Taoist Wei, was even more excited and just wanted to call him a good guy.
Of course, the good guy didn't shout out, but Zhang Xing couldn't help but frown: "Why do you just ignore people and things like this? Is it really like running away?"
As soon as he said this, the whole hall fell into silence, and he honestly shut his mouth.
"We can only guess that Cao Zhongcheng wanted to retain manpower and material resources, and at the same time control the families of Jiangdu officials as hostages." Yan Qing explained quickly. "So the scale of this southward journey was artificially limited, and the utensils and belongings in the palace were controlled."
"It should be so." Zhang Xing sighed for a moment. "Go on!"
"Yes." Yan Qing made a full gesture, as careful and conscientious as a subordinate. "Besides, maybe there was something wrong with Nanyang. Cao Zhongcheng wanted to keep people, or maybe he felt that the team was not large, so he did not have the Jinwu guards accompanying him as he thought before. He mainly relied on local troops and county soldiers to alternately escort him. …
"The person in charge should be Gao Jiang, who I have said many times before. He is the actual core of the team, while Zhang Shizhao is not doing anything...
"As for Liangjun and Qiaojun, everyone knows the top and bottom, the characters, and the strength of the troops. I won't say more. Who really doesn't know, but let me ask again...
"It is worth mentioning that the first, second, and third patrol teams of Jing'an Station were all escorted. The three Zhu Shou were Luo Fang, Xue Liang, and Shen Ding. Luo Fang was the elixir, and Xue Liang should have just condensed the elixir. , are both the adopted sons of Cao Zhongcheng. Shen Ding was the old deputy inspector with black ribbons. Now he is promoted, but I don’t know whether it is because he has achieved a breakthrough in his realm or because he has reached the level of seniority that he needs to employ people. The three black ribbons are Qin Bao, Li Qingchen and Lu Chang Heng..."
Hearing this, Zhang Xing's eyelids finally twitched as everyone stared at him strangely.
"Zhang Longtou." Wei Xuanding saw the other party's eyelids twitching with his own eyes, but he just pinched his beard and smiled. "How many of these six people do you know?"
When Zhang Xing heard this, he just said it expressionlessly: "Luo Fang is brave but has no strategy, but he relies on his versatility, so he can just let King Xiongtian win; Xue Liang has neither courage nor strategy, and Shen Ding is a bureaucrat. These two people are Ningdan." He is also a waste, Xu Dalang and I can both win... On the other hand, Qin Bao and Lu Changheng are both my former trusted subordinates, and they are also rare heroes. The former is brave and violent, while the latter is calm and steady. These two are Although they are far behind in cultivation, we must also be careful about their ability to lead troops... As for Li Qingchen, I really can't think of what to say about him. I can only say that in the end of his life, he was as famous as me in Jing'an Taichung."
Xiao Zhou Benn nodded.
At this moment, the atmosphere in the hall suddenly became a little tense and strange. Only Xu Shiying, for some unknown reason, actually took a charcoal pen and smeared something on the paper in a hurry.
Niu Da next to him had sharp eyes. He hesitated for a moment when he saw that this guy had written these six names, and then drew a circle on each of Xue Liang, Qin Bao, and Lu Changheng, and then drew two circles on Luo Fang's name. After that, he drew three circles on the words Li Qingchen.
The treatment is the same as Gao Jiang, Zhang Shizhao and County Governor Cao Wang introduced before.
ps: Good afternoon everyone.
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