"My lord, the men and horses are all ready." Li Yong, the general outside the gate, said. Next to him was a man named Pi Xingyong. This Pi Xingyong is from Qingjian, Shaanxi Province, just across the village from the hometown of Linguo Duke Li Laiheng. After years of war, he had no parents, brothers or sisters, so he followed the hungry people fleeing famine and came to Dashun's army. A few years ago, he was accidentally discovered by Laiheng in the children's camp. He was extremely brave and courageous. He once killed more than ten Qing soldiers by himself.
"Master Guo, please take me with you?!" Pi Xingyong stepped forward, next to Leghorn, and whispered while handing over the riding crop. Next to him, Li Yong quickly took the reins of Tian Zhongshun and Li Laiheng's mounts handed over by his own soldiers.
"Okay, follow me!" As he walked, he took the heart-protecting cotton armor in the hands of the soldiers and put it on, put on the cowhide quiver, and attached the sword (Wang Zhi) [reading, four tones, the jade used to set the sword quality lock]
Zhongshun unconsciously looked at the calm and cold face of the Duke. For a moment, he quickly turned over and sat on his tall yellow war horse. He saw Laiheng speaking in a calm tone to the dozens of people standing in line. The mighty soldiers and generals said: "Let's go!"
At this time, there were several flashes of lightning on the distant western hills, followed by bursts of rumbling thunder. The sky is getting darker and darker.
Descending from Maolu Mountain requires passing through Jiulianping, Baiyangzhai and other large villages. The mountain road is rugged and difficult to walk. Along the way, there are towering ancient trees and shade. A not too wide mountain passage winds its way to Jiulianping Dazhai on the mountainside. Large gauze-shaded lanterns were hung in several places outside Dazhai. Eight soldiers still wearing "Dashun" costumes stood guard outside the gate of the village, their waists straight. Several more powerful men wearing red scarves and sabers came out of the hut sentry pavilion not far away. After hearing the sound of horse hooves, they quickly lit torches, stood by the roadside, and then greeted Leghorn and others with folded hands and a salute:
"I've seen the general!"
The Duke of Guo slowed down Wu Longju's pace with a natural expression, and came up to him together with Tian Zhongshun.
"Well, everyone, be careful!"
"Yes!" the sentry agreed.
Then he watched the Duke of Guo and his entourage walk through the mountain road outside Dazhai without haste.
"Yes, drive!" They whipped a few more times.
Laiheng knew that going down the mountain this time was different from usual. If Gao Shouyi was not dealt with this time, the consequences would be serious. One after another, the old rebel leaders surrendered to the Qing troops, which would continue to weaken the anti-Qing team of the Han Nanming Dynasty. Although not all of them were the generals of the Thirteen Kuidong families, it invisibly increased the pressure on him, not to mention Zhiren. Knowing the face but not the heart, who knows who will surrender to the enemy? He didn’t want to think about these annoying things anymore, so he turned back to look at Tian Zhongshun and said:
"Zhongshun," he raised his head and looked at the sky, "go to Baiyangzhai in front of you, have a drink of water, and then continue on your way, okay?"
"Okay, I'll listen to you!" Tian Zhongshun nodded, and there was no need to ask where he was going, he just followed Laiheng. These sixty-odd riders were all excellent horses from outside the country. In the blink of an eye, the only sound left was the sound of horse hooves "Go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go!"
The air in Ciqing Palace has been dull for days, but today the arrival of the Red Lady made the face of Mrs. Zhenyi, who had just celebrated her sixtieth birthday, filled with red light and joy. She held the red lady's hand and said with infinite guilt:
"I finally see you. I have been waiting for you for so many years, days and nights, and now I have finally arrived. If the late emperor had known better, he would have felt your loyalty! Brother Li Gongzi was wronged by the late emperor. In fact, he had long ago I deeply regret it.”
When the red lady heard this, she immediately burst into tears, causing Mrs. Gao to cry with her. Next to her, Princess Zhong and Mrs. Huang were also wiping away tears. The air seemed to condense again. Suddenly, Zhang Xiaobao's voice came from outside the door: "Grandma, are there any guests?"
The red lady raised her eyes and saw that a young general in white robes was already approaching.
"My son, come quickly and see your aunt."
"My nephew has met his aunt!" Zhang Xiaobao kowtowed.
"Uh, what is this?" the red lady asked in surprise.
"He is the child of Huiying and Zhang Nai. He is nineteen years old and currently guards Xingshan Dazhai." Mrs. Gao said while looking at Xiaobao with extremely kind eyes.
"No wonder it's so similar." He stared at Xiaobao for a while, then wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes with his sleeves, opened the bag next to him, took out a long sword inlaid with rubies and a pair of armor and handed them to Zhang Xiaobao, saying: " Xiaobao, please keep it in mind, you will need these." Xiaobao hurriedly stretched out his hands to receive them respectfully.
"The Queen Mother, here is a book. Please give it to Laiheng. Maybe it will come in handy in the future." The red lady turned around, took the heavy wooden box wrapped in yellow silk and handed it to the maid in palace clothes behind the Queen Mother. The maid hurriedly caught it. At this time, I heard the red lady choked and said to Mrs. Gao:
"Empress Dowager, I have fulfilled my wish. From now on, I will no longer have any ties or worries. However, Hongxia is still waiting at the mouth of Xiling Gorge. I hope the Queen Mother will take pity on her and recruit her to Laiheng's command, so that she can serve her with her own life. I will have no regrets in serving the late Emperor again in Jiuquan. !" Before the sound could even be heard, he kowtowed three times to Mrs. Gao, then gave everyone a fist in the air and said, "Take care, I'm going to be a matchmaker!" After saying that, he turned around and left.
At this time, the Queen Mother had not come back to her senses, but the red lady had already disappeared. I thought in my heart that Fengying was in need of female generals and commanders, so I quickly ordered the palace maids and guards to keep the red lady. The palace guards and soldiers searched for it for a long time, but found nothing, so they had to return to Ciqing Palace. The Queen Mother, Huiying and Mrs. Huang were so sad that they had to give up. It was already the second watch at that time. The palace maid brought out longan and lotus seed soup, a few dishes of side dishes and some delicious snacks, and waited on the queen mother and ladies to finish their meal. The two ladies went back to their homes.
The Queen Mother suddenly remembered Xiaobao and asked around her. The palace maid replied: "Just now, the young master took a few soldiers back to Xingshan Dazhai and did not have time to report back to the Queen Mother."
"Where's Leghorn? Send Leghorn over," added the Queen Mother, for Lady Degao had been uneasy about the Red Lady.
"The Duke has gone down the mountain a long time ago, and he hasn't even had dinner yet," the maid said.
"Did you say where you went?" asked the Queen Mother.
"No," said the maid.
"Where did that go?" the Queen Mother said to herself.
"Qiao'er, Qiao'er accompany me to the Duke's Mansion."
"Hey, yes, Queen Mother!" Chen Qiaoer, the manager of Ciqing Palace, agreed and walked quickly from outside the palace gate to Mrs. Gao.
"Go to the Duke's Mansion!"
"Yes, I obey, Queen Mother." Chen Qiaoer agreed while communicating with the other two maids in the room with her eyes - "Hurry up and hold the lamp!"
"Oh! It's really useless!" The Queen Mother walked slowly and spoke alone. Chen Qiao'er didn't dare to express her anger. She took the Queen Mother's hand and slowly walked towards the Duke's Mansion. Ciqing Palace is not far from the Duke's Mansion, because the mountain is a palace and a large village. Therefore, it is said that it is a palace or a mansion, but it is not spacious.
At this time, the Duke's Mansion was brightly lit, and outside the gate stood a large stone tablet four to five meters high, engraved with the "Holy Land Palace Stele". In front of and behind the monument stood two rows of at least a hundred guardsmen with swords. From time to time, there are pond horses galloping from the bottom of the mountain outside the gate of the mansion, and then galloping away. It seems the military situation is urgent!
This situation naturally cannot escape Mrs. Gao's eyes. Although the Red Lady disturbed some of her moods, her years of military service had cultivated her habit of always being vigilant. Is there going to be another war?
…
