At the same time that Huang Zhiting and Gao Jingshi arrived at Yao Village, the team of Gao family servants led by Gao Zhang also found the mountain wall where Gao Jingshi carved a poem.
He came a little late, but there was nothing he could do about it. The night-time training Gao Zhang received was mainly aimed at the geographical features of the north, so he knew very little about the complex karst landforms in Guangxi, so he was following Gao Pragmatic. When searching for Huang Zhiting, we inevitably took some detours and wasted time.
Now, standing at the foot of the mountain wall where Gao pragmatically left his poem, Gao Zhang looked at the poem with a frown on his face.
A squadron leader couldn't help but asked: "Barracks, what does the master mean by leaving this poem? You have to make an idea quickly. We don't have much dry food. If we can't find the master again, we will be in trouble." Big.”
Because the Gao family's servants were dispatched temporarily, each of them only brought five days of dry food. It has been two and a half days now. If they can't find anyone again, they will be hungry when they return. Of course, they, Gao Pragmatic and Huang Zhiting It is different for people to have empty hands. These guards all carry muskets, wild goose feather knives, and even a dozen bows, so they can definitely consider hunting some game.
However, this is a temporary measure after all. If three hundred people eat all game, how much hunting will be enough? Moreover, although the Longqing Type 2 is currently the best musket in the Ming Dynasty, it is only a front-loading musket after all, and its accuracy is limited. It can barely do it for hunting large prey. It is basically a dream to hunt birds.
However, nature has its own "rules". There is usually only one large prey in a large mountain forest, and those herbivores are highly alert. How can they not run away in advance when they find a large group of humans?
Therefore, as the "leader" of the Gao family's servants this time, Gao Zhang had to consider what to do next.
Gao Zhang frowned deeply and asked, "Do you understand the master's order?"
The squadron leader shook his head and said with a wry smile: "It's a joke in the camp. Although we people know a few words, it's just what the master ordered us to learn so that we can understand the general orders, so we have to read poetry... It would be too embarrassing for us.”
Gao Zhang sighed and said, "Master asked us to go back."
The squadron leader was obviously stunned for a moment, looked at the poem Gao Pingshi left, and said in surprise: "How did you see the camp seat?"
Gao Zhang pointed to the mountain wall and said, "Read the eight characters at the beginning of each sentence."
The squadron leader looked at the poem and wrote:
Qie Cao Cao read the Five Classics,
Don't let Fu Jiu mess up my mind.
A lifelong wish to chase the wind and waves,
Hit the water, light up the lamp and drink wine.
The standing peak looks really stunning in the distance.
It is difficult to write the wonderful fairy sounds on the wall.
Looking back eight thousand miles across the Central Plains,
I remember Di Qing as a follower of the previous sages.
He followed Gao Zhang's instructions and thought of the first eight words: "Do not pursue, return to the army immediately..."
Then he suddenly opened his eyes wide and said in surprise: "Master is really amazing! The camp is also amazing, you can see it all."
Gao Zhang shook his head and said: "This is just an acrostic poem. I can easily find out who the master is, but... this order is not easy to implement. If we go back, what will happen to the master's safety? And, that The woman traveling with the master, judging from the previous situation, should be a chieftain - or the chieftain's daughter. Where is she going to take the master? Why did the master agree? "
He did not consider that Huang Zhiting could force Gao to be pragmatic. This was a typical empiricist mistake, because in his opinion, how could a woman threaten a tall man like his father? There is no justice!
Of course, judging from the results, he guessed correctly by mistake. Gao Pragmatic did take the initiative to agree to go with Huang Zhiting.
The squadron leader's attitude was simpler than Gao Zhang's. He said straightforwardly: "I have no plans. Since we are asked to go back, everything must be under control. My subordinates think that we only need to follow the instructions."
Well, it seems that Gao Pragmatic's brainwashing is quite successful. At least these low-level "officers" have been cultivated by him into thinking that "regardless of whether it is reasonable or not, executing orders is the law of nature." By the way, there may be some personality cult involved.
Gao Zhang thought for a while, shook his head and said: "Of course the master's order must be implemented, but this time the situation is a bit special. I decided to leave a small team to continue searching for the master with me. You will take the others back to Liuzhou and notify the various officials in Liuzhou. The army withdraws its troops and returns to the city...just say it's the master's order."
The squadron leader felt that Gao Zhang's concerns were justified. Although there was nothing wrong with executing the order, it was really unsettling to not care about the master's life or death at all, so he immediately accepted the order.
So Gao Zhang picked a small team and continued to track the whereabouts of Gao Jingshi and Huang Zhiting, while the large army of Gao's servants withdrew to Liuzhou first.
It had only been about half an hour since Gao Zhang and others left here, and another two to three hundred wolf soldiers found this place.
This time it was Mr. Cen Qi who came.
Master Cen Qi had already changed his clothes at this time, but he still wore the white clothes that a child chieftain was accustomed to, but the shape was changed to a drag that was more convenient for movement.
"Cen Zhao, how about it? You may recognize the meaning of this poem?" Mr. Cen Qi looked at the poems on the mountain wall with a smile, with a look of "Sure enough," on his face, and he was quite proud.
Cen Zhao seemed to know the theory of poetry quite well. He looked at it and said: "The first two lines of this poem say that he studied hard, even when it was as hot as three volts and as cold as three nine, he never slacked off; the third and fourth lines express his ambition, but from then on he never slacked off. The literal meaning is a bit strange. I don’t know what it means to chase the wind and waves. To hit the water and carry the lamp probably refers to the military. Haha, a scholar, what military is mentioned?
As for the five or six sentences, the fifth sentence should be about climbing high and looking into the distance, admiring the beautiful scenery of the mountains, but the sixth sentence is a bit strange..."
Mr. Cen Qi smiled faintly: "There is nothing surprising. I think Huang Zhiting is a famous beauty in Guangxi. Our patrol manager is not blind, maybe... hmph." At the end of his sentence, there was a trace of ridicule on his face. .
Cen Zhao coughed lightly and continued: "As for the last two sentences..."
"The key is the last sentence." Young Master Cen Qi interrupted: "Learning from the predecessors like Di Qing, this poem has a meaning. I don't know if this stupid girl Huang Zhiting can see it."
Cen Zhao was stunned for a moment: "This... I'm sorry for my stupidity, but I didn't see any meaning."
Master Cen Qi smiled coldly and said, "Who is Di Qing and what is his relationship with Guangxi? You should know, right?"
Everyone in the Guangxi chieftain family knows who Di Qing is. Cen Zhao naturally nodded and said: "Most of my Guangxi native officials were granted titles in the Northern Song Dynasty. Most of the ancestors of the major chieftains in Guangxi now followed Di Qing to conquer Nong Zhigao. The Han people who came here, such as chieftains with eleven surnames such as Cen, Huang, Zhao, Feng, Xu, Wang, Yang, Liang, Li, Zhang and Guan, can clearly trace their family pedigrees."
Cen Qi Gongzi nodded coldly and asked: "Then, Gao Xunjian said in this poem that he wanted to learn from the predecessors - that is, to learn from Di Qing. What do you think it means?"
Cen Zhao thought for a while, then his expression suddenly changed, and he said in shock: "Is he going to conquer Guangxi and re-enfranchise the chieftains?"
Master Cen Qi took the gold-painted black bone fan, walked around a few times, and said in a deep voice: "It's not sure yet, but we can't rule out this possibility. After all, this matter is related to the life and death of our Cen family. We must not take it lightly. Look at it!"
Cen Zhao nodded and agreed with Master Cen Qi's judgment, but after thinking about it for a while, he became a little confused and said, "But even though he is a patrol officer, I'm afraid he doesn't have such great power, right? Even though there are many factions among the chieftains in Guangxi, each one has The families of the clan may not all be united, but if he wants to rely on a large army to conquer and then re-enfranchise, there is no guarantee that he will not force all the chieftains to join forces. By then, the entire situation in Guangxi may be corrupted... Is the court really willing to take such a big risk? Are we? Now no chieftain has the intention to rebel, so why would the court do this?"
Mr. Cen Qi nodded and said: "Your analysis makes sense, and this is exactly what I am confused about. We don't know much about Gao Pragmatic, but judging from his identity and experience, this person has made great progress in the past ten years. But it went very smoothly. He had an uncle who was the chief assistant, a mentor who was the chief assistant, and maybe he would have an uncle who was the chief assistant soon. Not to mention, he was a classmate of the emperor, and he was the only six-headed scholar recognized by the Ming Dynasty. …
The emperor's favor for him is also obvious. Even I, the chieftain of Guangxi, have heard of the saying, "I have been the true leader for two hundred years, and I have written songs and elixirs for him." In addition, although he was inexplicably demoted to the third level before, he was appointed as the inspector of a province as a new Jinshi. Such an unprecedented thing could happen. Who can guarantee how high his status in the emperor's mind is? Maybe the hundreds of words sent to the palace by other officials would not be as useful as his light words! "
When Master Cen Qi said this, Cen Zhao also became nervous and said, "Then should we find a way to get rid of him first?"
"This..." Mr. Cen Qi hesitated. Since he knew Gao Pangshi's background, he also knew the serious consequences of attacking such a person.
Can Mr. Cen afford such consequences? I'm afraid it just depends on how much inside information the court can know. If the court can confirm that it was the Cen family who did it, once the emperor becomes angry, the Cen family will be doomed.
It's too dangerous. Mr. Cen Qi frowned, thought carefully, and then said cautiously: "You can make some preparations first, but remember not to do anything casually. Wait until I find a way to understand his true thoughts. Remember, remember, in I can’t let anyone notice it before I personally give the order.”
"Yes, Master Qi, don't worry, my subordinates know the pros and cons!" Cen Zhao nodded vigorously.
Cen Qi Gongzi looked at the poem again and said: "Since he ordered the officers and soldiers to withdraw their troops, it means that he will be in a state of defenselessness until he returns to Liuzhou. During this period, if something happens to him, , the first one to be unlucky must be the Huang family, but... first, it’s best not to take action if we can; second, if we want to take action, we must make sure not to leave any clues, and the Huang family will be able to stand up when the time comes. Go ahead, help us get rid of this disaster."
Cen Zhao nodded and said: "I will arrange the most reliable manpower to go to Siming Mansion to be on standby."
Mr. Cen Qi said "Hmm", let out a long breath, and said softly: "It seems that I have to pay a visit to Siming Mansion."
