The official sent by the imperial court to Qingcheng was a Yuanwailang from the Ministry of Rites.
In addition to a few Jinyi guards, there was also a group of officers and soldiers sent to them by the Xuanfu general soldiers.
Such a group of twenty or thirty people left Xuanfu and headed straight for Qingcheng.
Although winter has not yet entered, the grassland has already begun to feel cold. At night, you need to wrap yourself in a fur coat, otherwise you will easily wake up from the cold when sleeping at night.
"Sir, would you like to come out and warm yourself by the fire? It will keep you warmer." A member of the Jinyiwei Baihu came to ask the leader of the team, Yuanwailang, to come out and warm himself by the fire.
In the tent, Yuanwailang wrapped his coat and said, "You guys go ahead and bake it, I have to rest."
There was only a fire outside the tent, surrounded by Jin Yiwei and officers and soldiers sent by the Xuanfu. It was really shameful for him, a member of the Ministry of Rites, to sit with these soldiers and warm themselves by the fire.
So even though the tent is not too warm, I still prefer to stay in the tent.
After a while, the aroma of barbecue wafted in from the outside, and at the same time, there was the aroma of wine inside.
The outside of the tent was already bustling. The Jin Yiwei and the officers and soldiers were sitting around eating and drinking, playing guessing games, laughing and cursing, and the noisy sounds continued to enter the tent.
Yuan Wailang closed his eyes and wanted to sleep, but the noise that reached his ears could not be quieted down. At the same time, the smell of wine outside also aroused his greed.
On such a cold night, a few sips of wine can warm your body a lot.
After enduring it for a while, he finally couldn't hold it back any longer and walked out of the tent wearing a leather jacket.
"Sir, would you like to take a sip of wine? This is sorghum wine from the Tiger Character Flag. When the weather is cold, take a sip and warm your head to the soles of your feet." Someone with a keen eye saw Yuanwailang coming out and hurriedly handed over the wine in his hand. flagon.
Yuan Wailang licked his lower lip with his tongue and said with a calm face: "Who told you to drink? You are all drunk. How can you meet the enemy if you are attacked?"
"What the adults taught you is that it was the villain's fault. Seeing that the weather was too cold, the villain couldn't help but take out the wine and give everyone a few sips. However, the villain promised that he would only take a few sips and never dare to drink more. "The man who handed over the wine bottle admitted his mistake and assured him.
Yuan Wailang nodded and said: "It's just this once. You are not allowed to do it again. Otherwise, when you return to the Xuan Mansion, I will let General Wang punish you for your crimes."
The person who handed over the wine flask was a general of Xuan Mansion, who was just ordered to escort the Yuan Wai Lang to Qingcheng.
Yuanwailang looked at the wine flask in the other person's hand and asked, "Are you sure the wine in your hand is the sorghum brewed by Tiger Character Flag?"
There is more than one kind of sorghum brew. In addition to the sorghum brew from Tiger Character Banner, there is another kind of sorghum brew. However, the latter kind of sorghum brew is bitter and unpleasant. One bowl of it will give you a headache for a long time, and you can’t afford to drink good wine. Only a few coolies are willing to spend one or two cents to drink a bowl.
"Don't worry, sir. This wine was specially bought from the shop in Hu Zi Banner before I left Xuan Mansion. It is definitely real sorghum wine." Naduo Zong assured, patting his chest.
Because the sorghum brew from Tiger Character Banner is delicious, strong enough, and not easy to get addictive, it has become an authentic sorghum brew. On the contrary, the earliest sorghum brew has become an unauthentic sorghum brew.
"Bring it over to me for a taste." Yuanwailang reached out to take the wine bottle.
He had heard the name of sorghum wine in the capital, but he thought that the delicious sorghum wine was just a bitter and unpleasant wine, so he had never bought it, let alone drank it.
If it hadn't been a bit cold tonight, he wouldn't have drank it.
The boss handed the wine bottle over with both hands.
Yuanwailang took the flask and smelled it, and found that it was indeed not like the kind of sorghum wine sold to coolies on the street.
He wiped the spout with his sleeve, put it to his mouth and took a sip.
After taking a sip of wine, I felt a line of fire burning from my throat to my stomach, and the chill in my body seemed to be driven away a lot.
"Good wine." Yuanwailang couldn't help but praise.
It was his first time to drink this strong sorghum brew, and it was so fragrant and mellow, without the burning sensation of ordinary sorghum brew.
"Adults are used to drinking. I have a pot here." General Manager took off a wine bag from his waist.
Yuanwailang waved his hand and said: "No need, this pot is enough. I am not a drunkard. I drink just to keep warm. Don't drink too much. It will delay the business. Be careful of me punishing you." sin."
"Don't worry, adults. You guys will never delay business." Mr. Bao knew that he no longer objected to their drinking.
The scene became lively again, and wine bottles were taken out one after another. In addition to sorghum wine, there were some other drinks in them.
Please help, you can steal book stamps like food. Come and steal your friends' book stamps to vote for my books.
The foreign minister did not rush into the tent, but stood outside the tent, slowly drinking the wine from the flask.
A clever person handed him a piece of barbecue to drink with.
After drinking for a while, Yuanwailang asked the guard on the side: "How long does it take to get to Qingcheng from here?"
"With horses to travel, we can arrive in about ten days." Mr. Ba said.
Although Yuan Wai Lang is a civil official, after gaining fame, in order to better win the election, scholars need to publicize their reputation. They usually visit book friends or participate in various gatherings, so many scholars ride or ride horses. donkey.
"It will take so long!" Yuanwailang frowned.
He had only been on the grassland for a few nights, and he could hardly stand it any longer. The nights on the grassland were actually much colder than those in the capital.
The general manager said with an apologetic smile: "My lord, please bear with me for a while. When you get to Qingcheng, you can buy some leather goods from King Shunyi and wear them on your body, and you won't feel cold anymore."
"Hmph, I am not a person who is greedy for pleasure." Yuanwailang flicked his sleeves.
He slapped Zong Jian's flattery on the horse's leg, raised his right hand and lightly slapped his right cheek, and said, "Young man made a mistake, and adults will naturally not covet that little thing."
"Okay, okay, don't pretend to be in front of me. You Qiuba are all cheap." Yuanwailang said impatiently.
Civil servants even looked down on military generals, let alone these ordinary soldiers.
The high-ranking official from the capital, who always knew that his status was not up to the mark in front of him, stepped aside with an apologetic smile.
"That's right." Yuanwailang stopped the guard and asked, "I saw a fort in the distance during the day. Why don't you spend the night in the fort tonight?"
"This!" Mr. Ba looked hesitant.
Yuan Wailang's face sank and he said coldly: "What? I have the emperor's mandate. Could it be that I can't even enter a fort under your Xuanfu's rule?"
"It's not that I didn't go there with the adults. In fact, the fort I saw during the day was not under the rule of the Xuanfu, and that place belonged to the Mongols." Mr. Ba said with a grimace.
Yuan Wai Lang frowned and asked, "So that fortress was built by the Mongols?"
During the day, he saw an extra fort on the grassland. He also doubted the origin of the fort. He also saw that the Xuanfu officers and soldiers leading the way avoided the fort and rushed on their way. He did not propose to rest in the fort, but stayed behind. Ask in the evening.
