By daybreak, there was still no sign of the heavy snow stopping. Two days of heavy snowfall had left two feet of snow buried in the streets of Chang'an, enough to bury an average person's knees. Even though Liang Jun ordered the refugees to clean it repeatedly, within an hour, the road would be covered with a layer of snow velvet again.
The refugees had worked for two days and received only one wheat cake per day. They had no cotton clothes on their bodies. They were hungry, cold, and exhausted. So since last night, people have fainted in the wind and snow one after another, but no one is watching them. Until this morning, when Liang Ren patrolled the streets again, all he saw on the road were piles of dead people.
Li Li, who was guarding the city gate, saw such a scene and felt guilty in his heart. While he asked the refugees to drag the smiling corpses outside the city, he also ordered people to dig holes and soil on the outskirts of the city, and then invited Yuan Jue. The monks in the temple prayed for the souls of the dead and finally buried all the corpses. The sound of the wooden shovel hitting the hard soil was like the sound of a drum, and the sound of Dongcha was tinkling incessantly. The people waiting to pass the gate at the city gate all showed sad expressions when they heard this.
At this time, there was a sudden noise in the city. Looking over, it turned out that several envoys in brocade clothes were riding horses out of the city. Their horse hooves wrapped in cowhide were walking slowly in the snow. The envoys were also shouting. The people crowding in front of the city gate dispersed. When they got closer, they discovered that one of them still had a rope hanging on his saddle, dragging something long in the snow. It was just wrapped in a sack and couldn't be seen clearly.
They walked until they were about a few feet outside the city gate. When Li Li personally came to greet them, these men in fine clothes untied the ropes from their saddles and turned over to dismount. They lowered their heads and talked for a while, nodded to each other, then untied the sack and dragged out a person. However, this person was thin, with messy hair, and his face was covered in blood. His appearance could not be clearly seen, and he was even more unconscious. , only the vague moans showed that he was still alive.
One of the envoys came forward and said: "This person is a special agent of the Sili Mansion, Kong Rong. The general wanted to punish only the Chen Chong clan, regardless of the faults of others. Who would have expected that this person not only interceded for the thieves, but failed, and became a minister." You are rude and you are scolding your father! Now that the whipping is over, according to the general's order, you should hang it at the city gate for public display."
After that, he grabbed Kong Rong's hair and asked people to drag him to the city wall. About two moments later, people saw the world-famous Kong Wenju hanging from the wall, swaying slightly in the wind like a dead fish. At first, blood dripped from the corners of his legs drop by drop, melting in the snow, but it soon stopped again. No one knew whether his blood was frozen or whether it was drained.
But he must be dead.
In the panic, a person somehow rushed out of the crowd and rushed to the city gate. The man ignored the nervousness of the soldiers and cried loudly towards Kong Rong on his head. Then he knelt down and shouted to the sky with his hands: "If I die in civil examination, why should I live?"
After that, he took out the short knife from his waist and stabbed it straight in the heart. Before he died, he said to the Liang people: "How can you live in Beijing for a long time while wearing a crown of monkeys? If I die in front, you will die in the back!"
As blood spurted out, the man collapsed to the ground. This caused a commotion in the crowd, and some cold soldiers drew their swords to demonstrate, and then their voices gradually fell silent. The envoys went up to see and recognized the identity of the deceased: it turned out to be Kong Rong's aide Zhi Xi. Liang Ren was disgusted by his dying words, so he stepped forward with a knife, cut him into several pieces, and threw him into the big pit he had just dug.
As the time approached noon, the city gate began to review the conditions, and the refugees who had been driven to dig pits had also finished their work and were sitting dazedly next to the big pit. Some people fainted from the cold. At this time, a man from Liang came over with a bucket, scooped out a bucket of hot water for every group of refugees, and put it down for them to drink, one scoop per person, without any competition. Everyone had chewed too much ice and snow, and when they encountered hot water, they were like falling rain. They rushed forward and drank it all in an instant.
At noon, everyone received a wheat cake, and the order became chaotic, so Li Li had to hold down the battle himself. Only halfway through, a soldier suddenly came over and whispered to him for a while. Li Li was a little surprised and asked the soldier again: "There is a man and a woman who say they are my acquaintances? Do you want me to let them go?" He thought for a while and did not remember any familiar women in Chang'an, but he also aroused some suspicion. Taking it seriously, he gave a few instructions to his entourage and said to the soldier: "Then I'll let you go."
When he walked over, Li Li saw a black carriage at a glance. Black curtains were hung on the door and the windows on both sides were covered. It looked very deliberate. In front of the carriage, there was a Cangtou and a young man sitting. , he didn’t recognize them, so he couldn’t help but be a little confused. He came closer and opened the curtain. He saw that most of the carriage was filled with silk cloth and lacquer boxes, and he couldn’t see clearly. There was a veiled woman sitting in front of the car. When they met, she said to him: "Brother Li, long time no see."
Li Li's eyes were immediately attracted to this woman. Seeing Li Li's puzzled expression, she took off a gold bracelet from her wrist, handed it to Li Li, then half removed her veil, revealing half of her delicate face, and said with a smile: "Brother Li, it's me, Weiyang!"
Li Li immediately remembered it and looked down at the bracelet he took in his hand. He saw two small seal characters of Weiyang engraved on the inside of the gold bracelet. He raised his eyes again and looked at the woman in front of him, and finally felt convinced in his heart. He was Dong Bai, the Grand Master's most beloved granddaughter, who had played in the military formation many times for fun! This was really beyond Li Li's expectation. He was stunned for a long time, not knowing what to say.
Ever since Lu Bu led his army into Yinwu, everyone thought that the Grand Master's entire family had been destroyed. Unexpectedly, Dong Bai not only did not die, but lived in seclusion in Chang'an City. It is really difficult to guess.
Seeing that Li Li was silent, Dong Bai spoke first. She put on her veil again and asked in Liangzhou accent: "Brother Li, why did you come with Lu Bu? Are there any other relatives alive?"
Li Li suddenly felt ashamed when he heard this. To him, Dong Bai's question was actually an accusation: when Lu Bu assassinated Dong Zhuo, his old troops should have been at odds with each other and wanted to avenge him. But being driven by it today is really unjustifiable. He also replied slowly in a Liangzhou accent: "We can't help it. Among the people who followed the imperial master to Luo, only about one-tenth of them are alive. Uncle Wen He said that if you don't live like this, you can't survive. We’ll discuss it later.”
When Dong Bai heard this, he lowered his head and said nothing. He paused for a while and then said: "I don't blame you, just let me go first!"
Li Li wanted to keep Dong Bai, so he held her hand and said with concern: "We will lead everyone to Beijing later, why should we leave Weiyang? Can't I keep you safe?"
Dong Bai sneered and said, "Lü Bu destroyed my entire clan. If he knew that Ah She and I were here, could we really be safe?"
Ashe is Dong Yao's nickname. When Li Li heard this, he immediately looked at the young man in front of the car, and his heart was filled with turmoil. He knew in his heart that if Dong Bai was alone, he might still be able to take care of him, but if Dong Yao was still alive, there would be nothing he could do. He fell into despair and said to Dong Bai: "Then where are you going? Tell me, maybe I can take care of you."
Dong Bai looked at him with bright eyes and said softly: "Ah She and I are going back to Longshang and Lintao."
She hesitated a little and then said: "Brother Li, please don't mention my stay in Chang'an to others."
Seeing Dong Bai begging like this, Li Li's heart almost melted. He wanted nothing more. He nodded and promised, "Even if I die, I won't reveal anything." After that, he pulled out the quiver again. An arrow broke the arrow shaft in two, and he swore with emotion: "If I break my promise, it will be like this arrow!"
So he got off the carriage, took out two gold cakes from the saddle he carried with him, handed them to the timid Dong Yao, stuffed a large bag of dry food into the carriage, and let the guards let him go. Before leaving, he rode up to the carriage window and whispered, "I hope we have a chance to meet again." Then he said goodbye to Dong Bai.
After walking for a long time, Chang'an City gradually disappeared from the field of vision, leaving only the white sky between the sky and the earth. Dong Bai then opened the pile of silk cloth, revealing Chen Chong's pale face. Dong Bai touched his face and said softly: "Ting Jian, are you okay?"
Chen Chong smiled faintly and said, "Of course it's a little cold."
When Dong Bai heard this, he took out a pot of warm wine wrapped in cotton cloth and wiped Chen Chong's hands and feet carefully until the skin became red and hot before she stopped. Chen Chong coughed slightly, sat up with force, then opened the curtain and looked outside the car. Some snowflakes floated in, making Chen Chong feel dizzy.
Dong Bai quickly helped him down and asked, "What do you want to see? I'll see it for you."
Chen Chong slowly shook his head and sighed: "I just look at Chang'an from afar." After finishing his breath, he added: "Life is short, but the sun sets and the journey is far away. In the past, I thought that my great cause would be accomplished, and I already thought about returning home. Until today, I realized that it was just a dream. The journey along the great road is as clear as day and as long as it lasts. I don’t know what the scene will be like when I return."
After saying that, he showed a tired look. It was obvious that he had been holding his breath and was very troubled during the critical moment of passing the test.
Dong Bai put two layers of cold quilt on him, and couldn't help but worry about Cai Yong in his city. Now she and Dong Yao left the city together, but only left her adoptive father in the city, and she didn't know whether he could be saved.
Dong Yao outside the car felt very strange. In several years of seclusion, he had never left Chang'an. Going out of the city today made him feel as free as a bird out of its cage. He couldn't help but stand by the carriage, completely unaware of the sorrow of the war. Instead, he raised his eyes to the sky and the earth and shouted loudly with his arms. After feeling refreshed, he entered the carriage, lit the candle, opened the map, and asked Chen Chong, "Brother-in-law, where are we going? To Jinyang?"
Seeing that Dong Bai's delicate face was slightly red, Chen Chong gently squeezed her hand, opened his eyes and then closed them, obviously thinking about Dong Yao's problem in his heart. This time, thanks to Dong Bai, he actually escaped from a lifeless situation. He could still make a difference in that situation, but he would definitely not sit in Jinyang.
Bingzhou is poor. Although Chen Chong worked hard for more than ten years to control it, it only has a population of nearly three million, which is comparable to that of Guanzhong. If Lu Bu is allowed to hold Guanlong and dominate the emperor, then the Han army will be forced by the Liang army and the Cao army from both sides. The best situation is to be trapped. If he wants to regain the world, he may never be able to do so.
Chen Chong decided to organize his troops and fight again, and replied: "Go to Puban, but not Jinyang."
