Young Master Hei had been wandering around the big tent, and when he saw Chang Sheng leaving the tent in a hurry, he thought he was in some danger or was in a hurry to leave, so he immediately ran over to greet him from a short distance away.
Unexpectedly, Changsheng was not in a hurry to leave. Instead, he gasped for air outside the tent and rubbed his face repeatedly.
Young Master Hei didn't know why, he tilted his head in confusion and looked up and down.
At this moment, Zhang Mo walked out of his own tent. She was eight years older than Changsheng. She was not as restrained as Changsheng. After looking around, she said casually, "It's not far from the city, so I won't ride a horse."
"Oh, okay." Changsheng nodded hurriedly.
The two left the camp on foot and headed towards the northern city. Chang Sheng rarely walked side by side with Zhang Mo. In order to cover up his nervousness and embarrassment, he kept holding the reins of Young Master Hei and never let go.
Neither of them spoke, so the atmosphere was inevitably a little awkward. Chang Sheng wanted to break the deadlock, but he didn't know what to say.
Changsheng hoped that Zhang Mo would take the initiative to speak to relieve the depression and embarrassment caused by silence, but Zhang Mo never spoke.
The longer the silence lasted, the more awkward the atmosphere became. In the end, Changsheng mustered up the courage to break the deadlock, "I went to Tingzhou some time ago and bought a few sweaty horses. I thought that you and my eldest brother both have cranes." For the sake of mounts, I distributed the sweat-blooded horses to Yang Kai and others, and one of the golden-furred sweat-blooded horses was given to the emperor by me."
Zhang Mo nodded and said, "Don't worry about me all the time. I will tell you if you need anything."
"When are you going to leave? Who are you going to fight?" Chang Sheng asked again.
"With so many troops stationed outside the city, things can easily change. We will have to leave after the review," Zhang Mo said. "As for who to fight, we don't know yet. It's not that we can fight whoever we want. It depends on the emperor." the meaning of."
Changsheng said again, "One hundred thousand soldiers and horses are not many. Any Jiedushi commander has more than one hundred thousand soldiers and horses. Fortunately, we have many purple energy masters."
Zhang Mo shook his head and said, "Most of the Sanqing comrades who participated in the competition that day have returned to their respective palaces. Most of the people traveling with us now are Shangqing comrades. Moreover, marching and fighting are different from wandering around the world. Even the masters of purple energy are not allowed to run rampant in front of the Ten Thousand Army Formation. Wuji, what’s more, those vassal towns that support their troops and respect themselves also have purple energy masters under their command.”
Changsheng said, "Fortunately, after the previous competitions between the children's list and the main list, most of the purple energy masters have been recruited by the imperial court, and there are not many masters wandering around."
"It's not what you think," Zhang Mo waved his hand and said, "Most of the sects that obey the imperial court are well-known and upright sects. In addition, there are many heretical sects. The Tang Dynasty is currently experiencing internal and external troubles and is in turmoil. Many people in the world are in danger. They are not optimistic about the imperial court, but choose to seek refuge in the major feudal towns. If one day these feudal towns rebel and steal the treasure, these people will be the heroes who raised the army and the founding fathers of the country."
Changsheng has not been walking in the Jianghu for a long time, and he knows very little about things in the Jianghu. Zhang Mo's words surprised him, "Are there many people in the Jianghu who have this idea?"
"Quite a few," Zhang Mo said, "and most of them are ruthless heretics. In fact, we don't have any advantage. The new troops recruited this time are mixed and have little training, and the major vassal towns have many soldiers and horses. We are veterans who have experienced actual combat, and besides, we have no numerical advantage.”
"The imperial court's decision to divide the new army into three was really a bad idea," Changsheng said. "He was worried that putting an army of 300,000 in one person's hands would overwhelm the army and threaten the imperial power. But he didn't know that dividing the army into three actually resulted in two more soldiers. variable.."
"You are right, but his behavior is understandable. With the lessons learned from being ignored by Yang Fugong, he can't believe anyone now," Zhang Mo said and turned to look at Changsheng, "Including us, too including you."
The two of them walked through the city gate while talking. Although Changsheng was not wearing official uniform, the soldiers guarding the city recognized him and all gathered their arms to salute. Changsheng raised his hands to everyone as a return salute.
After waiting through the city gate, Changsheng said, "I know, so I am always cautious and have little contact with other officials. Moreover, not long ago, I told the truth about the dragon veins and earthly branches, and revealed to them the rectification of the official administration. Once the treasury is filled, I will resign my official position and leave Chang'an, and he has already acquiesced."
Zhang Mo nodded lightly, "Retiring after you have succeeded is the smartest thing to do, but you must make proper arrangements for the household department before you leave. It is a taboo to not have enough food and grass during marches and wars. The money left by the Ni family can only be It is used for emergencies, and military supplies and wages have to be dispatched by the Ministry of Household Affairs."
"I know," Changsheng said, "I have already identified a candidate. His name is Wu Yusheng. He is very talented and worthy of a big responsibility. However, I did not talk to him heart-to-heart. On the surface, I let him sit on the bench. In fact, Secret support, because once I resign, the court will never choose an official with whom I have a close personal relationship, so I can't let outsiders find out that I am helping him. I have thought about it, and after a while I managed to remove one of the ministers from my left and right. , leaving a place for him, because his current official rank is too low, even if the court wants to promote him, he cannot directly take over as minister, and can only perform the affairs of minister as a minister."
"You have thought very carefully." Zhang Mochong gave Changsheng an approving look.
While the two were talking, several carriages came from behind. The curtains of the carriages were opened by the people inside, and several young women looked out from the carriages.
What these young women were looking at was not Zhang Mo and Chang Sheng, but the scene in Chang'an City.
Seeing Zhang Mo turn around and look at a few people, Changsheng said, "The emperor is currently selecting concubines to fill the harem. These young women must have been selected from various places to participate in the selection of concubines."
"That's it." Zhang Mo nodded.
Changsheng said again, "I don't know if it's just mediocre and unfounded worries. I'm very worried about this selection of concubine."
"What emperor doesn't have a lot of concubines? It's normal to choose concubines and take in concubines. Why are you so worried about it?" Zhang Mo said with a smile.
"I'm worried that someone sneaked into the harem," Chang Sheng said in a low voice, "The Japanese woman who impersonated you last time was very mysterious in her disguise skills, and she was able to confuse people with real people. If this person sneaks into the harem, wins the favor of the emperor, and blows the clothes on his pillow Wind, over time, can easily influence the will of the Holy Spirit."
"Your worries are not unreasonable," Zhang Mo nodded, "The Ministry of Rites should be responsible for the draft. You can inform the Ministry of Rites and ask them to strictly control it and conduct more inspections."
"Yes." Changsheng nodded, and at a glance he saw someone selling honey Shanlihong on the roadside, so he wanted to buy a bunch of them to eat with Zhang Mo, but then he thought that the person who liked this food was Ni Chenyi, and he felt entangled in himself and blamed himself. He didn't know. Who do you blame yourself for, just blame yourself.
Not long ago, Changsheng once led Ji Wang Li Bao to run down the street. This time he and Zhang Mo walked this road again, and everyone on both sides could not help but criticize and whisper. They all speculated that the reason why Changsheng beat Li Bao to a bruised nose and face was precisely because Next to me is this beautiful Taoist nun with peerless splendor and eerie appearance.
The two of them had clear ears and eyes, and could hear everyone's whispers clearly. Zhang Mo didn't take it seriously, but Changsheng was young and thin-skinned, so he could not avoid another embarrassment.
It was Shenshi in the afternoon. While walking, Changsheng was thinking about where to take Zhang Mo. It didn't seem good to take Zhang Mo to the Yushitai. Nothing happened there, so the two of them could only sit there. It seemed a bit early to go to Yanbinlou for dinner, and Zhang Mo had just eaten.
After thinking for a moment, he finally decided to take Zhang Mo to the post house to see the veterans who had returned from the Western Regions. By the way, he asked the Ministry of Etiquette to strictly review the women participating in the draft, and then took Zhang Mo to the Taiping Inn to pick out some things. Finally, he took Zhang Mo Go to Yanbinlou for a meal.
Changsheng thought so and did the same thing. When he went to the post house, officials from the Ministry of Rites were explaining tomorrow's procedures to the group of veterans. Tomorrow the emperor would meet them before reviewing the armed forces. The relevant steps must be explained to them clearly in advance to avoid It was noisy at times.
It happened that the Minister of Rites was also there, so instead of talking about the emperor's talent show, Changsheng only said that the Yushitai had received news that there were martial artists and Japanese samurai who had sneaked into the show girl team and tried to enter the palace to assassinate the emperor.
The words directly frightened Lao Shang and made him look pale, which was exactly what Chang Sheng wanted. He didn't know if there were any snakes among the beautiful women, and he didn't want to catch the snakes. He just wanted to scare the snakes, just in case.
Also frightened and expressionless was Chen Miao, the post official who taught him Japanese language earlier. Not everyone has a good psychological quality like Chang Sheng. After Chen Miao got the one hundred taels of gold, he was worried day and night and had trouble sleeping and eating. , afraid of immortality.
The veterans of the Western Regions headed by Yao Liqin were very close to Chang Sheng. They did not know Zhang Mo, and Chang Sheng was not in a position to introduce him. Fortunately, the Minister of Rites knew about the emperor's marriage grant, so he spoke up and introduced him on his behalf.
Changsheng came to the post house not only to remind the Ministry of Rites to strictly control the selection of draft girls, but also to visit these veterans. He brought these veterans back from the Western Regions.
In addition, there is another purpose, which is to indirectly prove through everyone's conversations that he returned overnight after wiping out the bandits in Maka Mountain and has not been to any other place. Although Zhang Mo may not mind, he still has to Express his attitude, and his attitude is also very clear. He will not disturb the Ni family, but if the Ni family is in trouble, he will go all out.
For Zhang Mo, he not only liked but also had a little respect. It was Zhang Mo who killed those Beggar Gang disciples from the Chenghuang Temple that day and saved him. Zhang Mo also stood up for him in Ge Zaoshan and spoke uprightly to testify for him. In Yizhuang, Zhang Mo and others fully protected him. In order to protect him, everyone in the Zhang family did not hesitate to make enemies of other sects.
Although he risked his life by removing one of Dongfang Chen's arms to avenge Zhang Mo, he could fearlessly beat Li Bao, the Prince of Ji whom Zhang Mo hated, and even changed his name to call Zhang Shanwei his eldest brother, in fact, Zhang Mo is still in his heart to this day. Uncle, he also knew very well that the woman he liked was his uncle, and this was the reason why he was grateful to the emperor. If the emperor hadn't granted him the marriage, he would never have dared to cross the gap of generational ethics in his life.
After leaving the post house, the two went to the Taiping Inn again. Worried that Zhang Mo was too tired from walking, Changsheng asked her to get on the horse. However, Zhang Mo was a qi practitioner, so naturally he would not feel tired. Seeing that she was not riding, Changsheng did not let Hei get on the horse again. The young master followed him, but pointed in the direction of the Yushitai and let it return on its own.
The two then went to the Taiping Inn. Everyone in the Song family was a businessman, and they were as smart as Datou. They all called Zhang Mo his wife.
Everyone from Tingzhou Taiping Company had also arrived earlier. Changsheng came here just to take a look at them, and told Song Cai and others to arrange a good house for them in Chang'an and assign them an easy living.
The two of them were delayed for half an hour from the Taiping Inn. Zhang Mo was not interested in anything else and only selected a few volumes of military books.
It was already evening. Chang Sheng originally wanted to take Zhang Mo to the Banquet Building for dinner, but Zhang Mo pointed to the sunset and said, "The city gate is not closed at this time, and there is still time to leave the city. If we go to eat, I'm afraid tonight Can’t leave the city.”
Hearing Zhang Mo's words, Changsheng's heartbeat suddenly accelerated. The reason why he was nervous was because Zhang Mo's words were just calm words, and his attitude was not clear. He neither wanted to leave nor wanted to stay.
"Do you think we should go to the Yanbin Building or not?" Zhang Mo asked with a smile.
Changsheng heard the teasing meaning in Zhang Mo's words, so he stopped being nervous and said casually, "Go ahead."
"Okay, listen to you..."
