After leaving the inn, the carriage slowly headed south. Long Chen was beside the carriage and Yingfeng was in front of the carriage.
The empress said in the car: "I know people, I know faces, but I don't know hearts. I didn't expect that this Huangfu Zhao would be so lawless."
"The Ministry of Personnel conducts assessments every year. Why hasn't Huangfu Zhao's problem been discovered?"
The empress's intention was very clear: the officials should bear responsibility for their negligence.
Long Chen said: "There is a problem with the annual assessment of the Ministry of Personnel, and there is also a problem with the Metropolitan Procuratorate. They are responsible for supervision, but they cannot find the problem."
"This incident also exposed a problem: the grievances of the people at the bottom cannot be heard in heaven."
Huangfu Yao has been doing evil for more than 20 years, so someone must report him to the official.
But none of these cases reached the capital, which shows that these cases were suppressed by lower-level officials.
Such a bad thing can actually be suppressed. The problem of official protection is very serious.
The empress said: "I thought the government of the Great Zhou Dynasty was clean and honest, but it seems that it is not the case. I need to put things in order when I get back."
The sky is still covered with dark clouds, and a cold wind blows from the north, bringing with it a slight drizzle.
The carriage traveled dozens of miles and arrived at an inn.
This is a site specially used by the imperial court to deliver messages.
Yingfeng glanced at the post station, where the postmaster was receiving a messenger.
Da da da...
"Step aside!"
A horse rushed over through the mud and water, and on the horse stood a soldier in military uniform, waving a whip in his hand and yelling to get out of the way.
Long Chen took one look and recognized this person as a soldier from Linjiang City.
When the soldier arrived at the post station, he immediately dismounted and shouted to the postmaster: "Change the horse! Change the horse!"
The horse on which the soldier was riding was so tired that it fell to the ground. White steam was sprayed from its nose. The horse was almost exhausted.
Seeing that the soldiers were so anxious, Yi Cheng knew that something serious had happened and immediately shouted: "Prepare your horses, prepare your horses!"
Immediately, a man came out with a strong war horse. The soldier did not care about rest, so he rode the horse and continued north.
Long Chen stopped the soldier and asked, "Did something happen in Linjiang City?"
There is no other possibility for such an anxious letter except a battle report.
The soldier didn't recognize Long Chen and said angrily: "800, hurry up, get out of the way!"
Houmi Pass has been lost, and the Nanliang army may attack at any time. At this time, there can be no delay.
The empress heard the sound, opened the curtains, and looked at the messenger outside.
Seeing Long Chen's obstruction, Yi Cheng immediately came out with a few people, raised his knife and scolded: "Imperial Military Reporter, get out of the way quickly, I delayed the military plane, I will hold you accountable!"
In addition to providing horses, food, and accommodation for the messengers, this postmaster is also responsible for the safety of the surrounding messengers.
Long Chen blocked the messenger, so Yi Cheng naturally wanted to speak out.
Yi Cheng scolded him, but Long Chen was not angry. Yi Cheng fulfilled his duties faithfully and did a good job.
Long Chen took out a gold seal from his sleeve and said, "I am Long Chen. Is there an emergency military situation in Linjiang City?"
When the soldiers and Yi Cheng saw the golden seal, they immediately worshiped: "Meet the regent!"
Long Chen put away the golden seal and asked again: "What happened to Linjiang City?"
The empress did not come out of the carriage and listened quietly.
The soldier immediately handed over the urgent report in his arms and said: "Two days ago, Nanliang Navy General Cheng Li raided Houmi Pass. The guard Zeng Shuang died in the battle, and Houmi Pass was captured!"
Yingfeng was shocked, she knew the importance of Monkey Pass.
Losing the Monkey Pass is equivalent to losing the entire river. Nanliang completely controls the advantages of the river.
Long Chen opened the battle report, quickly browsed it, and then put it into the carriage through the car window.
The empress accepted it, looked at it carefully, stepped out of the carriage, and said, "Ride to Linjiang City."
Yingfeng left the carriage at the inn, and Long Chenhe and the Empress immediately headed for Linjiang City with Yingfeng and Shadow Guard.
The messenger was stunned and asked: "The person around King Wu... is she..."
Yi Cheng probably guessed it and said in surprise: "Your Majesty..."
The Empress and King Wu rushed to Linjiang City, and the messenger was wondering if it was necessary to go to the capital.
"This matter still needs to be reported to the Ministry of War. You must continue to the capital."
Yi Cheng saw the confusion of the messenger, although both the empress and Long Chen knew it.
But as a military report, from a procedural point of view, it still needs to be reported to the Ministry of War, and then the Ministry of War will allocate troops and horses.
The messenger nodded, took a sip of water, and had another meal at the inn.
The Empress and Long Chen already knew, and the matter was no longer so urgent.
After dinner, the messenger continued on his way to the capital.
...
Barbarian grassland.
When the cold wind of late autumn reached the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, it was already a sea of snow.
Covered by thick ice and snow, there was no fodder for cattle and sheep, and the barbarians slowly moved south.
Usually at this time, barbarians would invade the Eastern Zhou Dynasty and survive the cold winter by looting.
Now the Shanyu Tu branch was supported by Long Chen, the barbarians did not dare to invade the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, and Xixia was also the territory of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty.
But the winter was so cold that the barbarians couldn't bear it.
After discussion, Long Chen allowed them to go south to the Yanmen Pass area to spend the winter.
Although there is still ice and snow, it is not that severe.
A team of several hundred people walked slowly south, driving sheep and cattle. A man in the leader looked worried and looked back from time to time.
After a while, a young man came running over on horseback. The man quickly asked: "Have you found it?"
The young man shook his head and said: "Looking at the horse's hoof prints, they seem to have lost their way into the Bone Mountain."
When the man heard the words "White Bone Mountain", a look of despair appeared on his face.
A middle-aged woman rode over and asked, "Did they enter the Bone Mountain?"
The young man nodded helplessly, and the middle-aged woman cried sadly: "How could we enter the Bone Mountain?"
The man looked up to the sky and sighed: "Let's go."
With cries, the team continued to move south.
More than fifty miles to the west, a mountain shaped like a skeleton lies on the snowfield.
These mountains are undulating and gathered together in a circle, looking like a pile of skeletons.
Especially after it snows, it looks very similar.
The scary thing is not the appearance, but that everyone who comes within ten miles will turn into bones.
For the barbarians, this place is a terrifying existence, which they call White Bone Mountain.
A figure, wearing a black cloak, stepped on the thick snow and walked into the Bone Mountain step by step.
After the ice and snow cover, the surroundings looked peaceful and peaceful.
The man entered the mountains step by step and arrived in front of a cave.
This cave is at the foot of the mountain. There is water vapor pouring out from inside. When the white water vapor reaches the outside, it immediately turns into frost particles.
Entering the cave, a handsome young man came out and said, "I pay my respects to the Holy Son."
The man who walked into the mountains was a ghost fetus.
The ghost fetus slowly took off his cloak, grabbed the man's hair with one hand, opened his mouth and bit open the carotid artery, and sucked the warm blood into his mouth. The ghost fetus let out a low growl like a cat protecting its food.
The young man didn't dare to resist at all, and his blood was just sucked dry.
After sucking it, the ghost child walked into the cave. Inside was a huge space with luminous pearls on the walls. In the middle was a huge hot spring. Hot water spewed out from the ground, and hot and humid air flowed out of the hot spring.
There is a strange shrub growing around it, with bone-white leaves. Herds of deer and sheep stand in the bush and eat.
The layout of the cave is very similar to the meat and vegetable garden of Shengxue Peak.
The difference is that there are more than a hundred people working in the cave, some are sorting the bushes, and some are feeding the deer.
There are also some who are practicing meditation.
When Gui Fei walked into the cave, a man in his 40s came over and said, "Slave Long Yuan, pay your respects to the Holy Son."
