After daybreak, the sky in the wilderness became gloomy for a while, and then became clear again. The grassland that was green and vibrant yesterday has now turned into a chilly one, with the smell of death filling the air.
In the battle on the Tula River, more than 4,000 Khalkha Mongolian cavalry were killed. Since most of the people and horses fell within a thousand meters outside the Beihai Navy's position, at first glance, the scene could be described as a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood. The remnants of the Tushetu Khan tribe and the Chechen Khan tribe stationed in Zhaomodo were all frightened. They no longer dared to stay here, but immediately began to pack up their tents and prepare to head south to Sai, thousands of miles away. Erwusu station.
Among the green weeds and wild flowers swaying in the wind, you can see the bodies of fallen people and horses. The red blood flowing among the grass has turned dry and black-purple. The craters blasted by hundreds of artillery shells were densely packed, like silent mouths, but the mouths were surrounded by broken limbs.
I don’t know when a large number of dark-brown vultures appeared in the sky. They made sharp calls, seeming to be celebrating a feast. For these giant raptors, blood and corpses are the most delicious food; they never care about human life and death, nor do they care about why they die. Seeing the right moment, these vultures circled down from the sky in small groups, landed on the grassland strewn with human and war horse corpses, waited for an opportunity to take a bite, and then disappeared in droves by the soldiers of the Northern Navy searching for survivors. Disperse, then start again and again.
On July 22, representatives from the Kulen side came to the Kuyi Taipei Naval Frontline Command and conveyed the requests of Khenpo Nomen Khan Lobu Sundargyal and Shandrote Badam Charabgyal to Fan Tong and Liu Sheng. .
Liu Sheng showed up this time. He sat in the tent with a golden sword and looked at Zhangchibuldozi, wearing a Bassin hat and cassock, following a staff officer into the tent. The young staff officer introduced to Zhangqibul Doji: "This is Commander-in-Chief Liu of our Northern Navy's Eastern Front Force."
Zhangqibuldoji, who had been bowing, heard this and quickly saluted Liu and Fan with his palms together. However, when he got used to the light in the tent and saw Liu Sheng's appearance, he was startled. He thought to himself that this person's figure He was really different from ordinary people, sitting there was like a devil coming to the world; compared with him, the "Commissioner Fan" whom I had seen beside him looked like a fat boy.
"My name is Liu Sheng. Master, please sit down." Liu Sheng raised his hand and motioned for Zhang Qibul Doji to sit on the opposite side of the table.
"The poor monk was entrusted by Nomen Khenpo Khan to convey his old man's wishes to the two generals." Zhangchibul Doji then conveyed Lobu Sundargya's rhetoric.
"Master, I don't think it's necessary to go to the city to talk!" Liu Sheng listened calmly, shook his head slightly and said: "In the ten covenants we gave you before, we have fully considered your special situation and promised various commitments. This system remains as it is. The only requirement is that you must stand on our side, that is, fight against the Qing Dynasty. Before you agree and sign the agreement, I personally do not feel the need to continue talking."
Zhangchibul Doji nodded when he heard this and said calmly: "For what the general said, the poor monk expresses his gratitude on behalf of the tens of thousands of believers under the great lama. But so that the general knows that the great living Buddha is not currently in Khalkha, but Went to Rehe. Both Khenpo Nomen Khan and Shandrötepa are only acting on behalf of the management, and cannot and dare not make decisions for the Great Living Buddha."
"In this case, is it necessary for us to continue talking? Please go back and tell Khenpo Nomen Khan that the Beihai Navy will enter the city early tomorrow morning. But don't worry, we are not interested in the temple properties of various temples. As long as the monks Just stick to your duties and do what a monk should do, and we will not send troops into the temple."
Zhangchibuldoji was silent for a moment, and then said: "Okay. The poor monk will tell you when he gets back. There is one more thing, I hope your army can allow it."
"Speaking."
"Right now, there are many monks in various temples in Kulun City, and the food trade has been cut off. The big lama wants to disperse some of the monks and believers to Qingning Temple and the territory of Kusugur Lake."
Want to run? Liu Sheng shook his head and refused: "This can't be done. Now our army is attacking everywhere, and you can't guarantee whether there are Manchu spies among the monks and herdsmen. You can't afford this risk!"
Fan Tong suddenly changed the subject and asked Zhangqibuldoji: "Who did you buy your grain from before?"
Zhang Qibulduoji said: "For the Shanxi merchants in Kulun Trading City, Mr. Song, oh, he was the minister appointed by the imperial court. He asked all Shanxi merchants to evacuate Kulun without leaving any one behind. Now the trade routes are also cut off. Not to mention that food and cotton are not far away, even tea is out of stock. I have become a monk and have become accustomed to practicing hard, but it is nothing. I pity the nearly 10,000 people in the city. Alas!"
The corner of Liu Sheng's mouth curled up slightly, and he said in his heart, just pretend! You upper-class lamas live a small life comparable to that of Prince Taiji. No one will starve you if you are hungry.
You must know that only within the territory of the Tushetu Khan tribe, the nomadic lands with the best water and grass belong to Jebzundamba Hutuktu. In the Kusugur Lake area of Tangnu Ulianghai region, Jebzundamba even designated more than 270,000 square kilometers of grassland as his own. As for Qingning Temple in the north, there are hundreds of thousands of square kilometers of grassland.
The herdsmen who graze these upper-level lamas and monks are called "black disciples". The natural reproduction of all grazed livestock and most of the livestock products belong to Hutuktu, Living Buddha or the big lama of the temple, and the black disciples can only rely on It is very difficult to make a living by relying on the milk and down of livestock. In addition, the income from offerings from various strata of the Kharkha Mongolia accounts for the bulk of the temple's income. From princes and nobles to ordinary herdsmen, a large amount of livestock, people, food, land and gold and silver treasures flow into the pockets of the great lamas every year.
Palaces piled with gold and silver were erected one after another, but the upper-level lamas were still not satisfied. They also controlled the salt roads, and even used silver and tea bricks to privately make loan sharks. Living such a luxurious life, you still have the nerve to say you don't have enough food?
However, Zhangqibul Doji's calculation was obviously wrong. The most indispensable thing in Beihai Town right now was food; and as long as the post road remained open, any number of things could be transported from the north. The worst thing is that there is Zhao Xin.
Fan Tong deliberately frowned, then put on an indifferent expression and said: "It doesn't matter if the Shanxi merchants leave. As long as our Beihai Navy is here, business will continue as usual. Food, tea bricks, pots and pans, and even needles and threads, what do you want? What's the matter? The herdsmen have no food to eat, so we will give them porridge!"
Zhangchibuldoji smiled, clasped his hands and praised: "The two generals really have the heart of a Bodhisattva! In this case, the poor monk has thanked the tens of thousands of people in the city!"
At dusk, when the two great lamas in charge of Kulun City, Donil Lama Damchara Buggya and Lobu Sundargya, listened to Zhangchibul Doji's reply, the former smiled, while the latter remained silent. language.
At this time, a lama said sarcastically: "What do you want? Haha, you are so loud! I don't believe it, can they be more powerful than Shanxi merchants?"
"That's right! Now that the tea roads are cut off, I don't believe how many tea bricks they can have! What kind of place is Cullen City? I dare say that even thousands of boxes are just a splash!"
"Be careful! Everyone, the Northern Navy are all like wolves and tigers. If you really piss them off, I'm afraid it will lead to disaster!"
"Disaster? Didn't their previous 'Ten-Article Agreement' say that they must protect the temple and continue to perform duties as usual? I don't believe it. They dare to go back on their own words! When the time comes, the Great Living Buddha only needs to say a word, and there are many means."
"Why are you so anxious? The imperial court will definitely send out troops to encircle and suppress you. All we have to do is sit back and wait for the good show."
A group of upper-level monks were chattering away, their voices getting louder and louder, making the Buddhist hall so noisy that it almost turned into a vegetable market. Dornier Lama Damchara Bujia picked up the sandalwood stick placed on the table and knocked on the copper bowl.
“Buzz~~~~~”
Only then did everyone stop and look at the great lama, waiting for the other party to express his position.
Damchara Bujia coughed a few times and said in a deep voice: "Kulun City is a holy place. Don't mess around. Go and inform the Gesgui Lama everywhere that starting from tomorrow, all monks should not go out and watch quietly. Change."
In the early morning of July 23, it started to rain lightly. At 8 o'clock in the morning, under the guidance of a Northern Navy flag, 1,200 fully armed Northern Navy cavalry divided into several groups and walked into Cullen City along the narrow streets.
As mentioned before, Cullen City is said to be a city, but it is actually a large residential area on the river bank, divided everywhere by fences made of wooden boards. The streets between the palisades were narrow, with room for only four horses. Apart from the occasional prayer wheel, there was not a single pedestrian on the bumpy streets. The wooden fence walls that have experienced rain and wind have turned into gray-brown. The local herders are hiding in dirty yurts inside the fence walls, exploring the outside through the gaps.
Following the guidance of the guide, the two companies of cavalry entered Kulun, the city where the Manchu government was located, and the trading city, which was originally full of merchants. As for the temple, Kulun, the door was closed. In the open space in front of the Danba Darji Temple, several old herdsmen muttered words and kowtowed to the temple gate. Even the sound of horse hooves behind them could not interrupt their devotion.
At 9 o'clock in the morning, Liu Sheng and Fan Tong, who came from Kuyitai, were escorted by a group of cavalry and rode their horses to the door of the Kulun Minister's office. The two walked into the yard where the mortgage room was located and looked around at the colorful buildings. Even Liu Sheng couldn't help but feel nostalgic.
Fan Tong murmured: "I can't lose anything this time."
At the same time, Zhao Xin, who had disappeared for seven or eight days, also quietly returned to Beihai Town.
As soon as he came back, he first went to the hospital to find Liu Siting and told her about Lao You's condition. Director Liu Da felt relieved and then told Zhao Xin about Doctor Hong.
"I said, when do you plan to let our man come back? Yaya screams that she misses her dad every day. If this continues, I might as well take the child to the south."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Xin hurriedly said: "Don't mention it! Your doctor Hong is now famous throughout Southeast Asia, and is known as 'Bian Que's Reincarnation'."
"Zhao Xin, I heard that the king of Annan sent many beauties to the three of them in order to thank Deng Fei and the others for helping him restore his country!"
Zhao Xin blinked and said with a confused expression: "Huh? Is there still this thing? Why didn't I know about it? I'll send a telegram tomorrow to ask."
"Hey~~ Are you pretending to be stupid with me?" Liu Siting had a look of resentment on her face. She and Hong Tao had been separated for more than half a year, and she was really afraid that the other day would bring someone back, and then she would not be able to survive this life.
Seeing that Liu Siting was really angry, Zhao Xin said hurriedly: "Don't worry, don't worry, I will send a telegram tomorrow to ask about the situation. If nothing happens, I will bring Doctor Hong back in a few days."
"This is what you said!"
Zhao Xin left the hospital with tears streaming down his face under Director Liu's gaze that was like a knife cutting flesh. When he walked to the door of his house, greeting him, A Miao, who had already heard about his return, was waiting for him at the door. It's been a while since I last saw A Miao. It seems that A Miao has grown taller, and her head can already reach Zhao Xin's chin.
"Yo? Did you braid your hair?"
"Does it look good?" A Miao turned around in front of Zhao Xin, smiling like a flower. All the annoyance he had accumulated from running back and forth these days was instantly wiped away.
"nice."
"Is the matter done?"
"It's done."
"Miss Wang has been here before, and I dealt with it."
The two spoke tacitly, knowing what the other meant.
The procedure after that was as usual, coaxing my wife, coaxing A Miao, coaxing my son, handling official duties, finding someone to talk to, and petting the cat at the same time. Over the past year, Zhao Xin has been coming back basically every two weeks. After the family had dinner, Shen Xuan handed her son to A Miao and said unusually that she wanted to discuss something with Zhao Xin. So after A Miao carried Momo to another room, the couple had the following conversation.
"I said, what are your plans for those people?"
"Which ones?"
"Stop pretending, do you want me to help you count? A Miao, that Miss Wang, Tang"
"Why are you talking about this properly?"
"Over the years, I've figured it out. If you protect yourself like a jade, you have to give me an explanation."
In fact, Shen Xuan thought about what she said today for a long time before she had the courage to say it. Shen Jingdan and Wu had talked to her several times about this matter, mainly because of Zhao Xin's son. For the ancients, a child with Zhao Xin's status was not enough. Giving birth to more than ten or twenty people and having a full house of descendants was the way to go.
After all these years of getting married, the couple finally sat down to face this problem head-on today.
"Well, the key is that I made the law against concubinage."
"You are different from others. And you are the only one of your generation in the Zhao family, so you must spread your wings."
Although Shen Xuan was determined, she still felt a little uncomfortable sharing her man with other women. So she added: "I only have one condition,"
"Say." Zhao Xin hugged his wife's slender waist, feeling weak in his heart.
"Except for A Miao, no one else can live with me. Beihai Town is such a big place. If you arrange them to go elsewhere, I will be out of sight and out of mind."
Zhao Xin nodded after listening, so the conversation stopped there. After Shen Xuan finished speaking, she snuggled next to her husband and didn't speak for a long time, her eyes sparkling.
Seeing this, Zhao Xin whispered a few words into his wife's ear, which made Shen Xuan's face turn red. Finally, she laughed, turned to look at Zhao Xin and said softly: "You."
After that, it was better for the couple to be separated for a long time than to be newly married, and the boudoir affairs were of course their proper meaning.
(End of chapter)
