"Not to mention the East Palace, even the eunuchs in the Heavenly Palace have holidays every month, let alone us!" Murong Miao said with a smile: "Besides, if His Highness the Crown Prince knew that I asked for leave to entertain you, he would also agree!"
In this way, Sanqiu stayed in Chang'an for a while longer. As expected, Murong Miao came to accompany him on outings every day. As time went by, he felt a little regretful and firmly refused. Murong Mu then stopped going to the East Palace to ask for leave. Sanqiu informed the steward who came to Chang'an to transport tribute, and told him that he had finished his errand and informed him before returning to Chengdu, and then he continued to play without any worries.
Here Sancho was returning to the city and it was raining. He pulled up his hood and shouted to the entourage behind him: "Move quickly, the rain will get heavier and heavier!"
"Yes!" the attendant responded: "But the rain in Chang'an is much warmer than that in Baekje. If Baekje gets caught in the rain at this time and doesn't wipe it off immediately, he will get cold, cough, fever, and even die!"
Sancho did not answer, letting the talkative attendant continue to talk about him. Soon, he stopped talking, and everyone rode forward in silence. The streets of Chang'an were dark and deserted, and the heavy rain drove everyone indoors. The rain kept beating on Sancho's head, as warm as blood, lingering in his heart, and large drops of water flowed down his face.
"Be sure to check the girth of the horse on a rainy day!" A long time ago, on the evening of the first confrontation with the Mohe people, Wang Wenzuo said to him: "Otherwise you will fall off the horse and break your horse when the two armies are fighting. Neck!" Thinking of this, Sancho couldn't help but smile. How long ago was this! At that time, the master was just a small officer, and I was a herdsman who followed him to take care of his horses, carrying quivers and rations. But the master has not changed at all, he is still so nostalgic and caring. If he were here today, he would definitely nag himself to tighten the girdle of the horse and be careful about the horseshoes.
The rain fell harder and harder, stinging Sancho's eyes and beating on the ground. The black turbidity rushed down from the heights and poured in all directions.
"Master!" The hoarse voice of the attendant was full of alertness: "Be careful!"
Sancho reined in the reins and skillfully pulled his mount to the side of the road. When he was still a child, he had been grazing for the owner of Baekje. How to drive livestock has long been infiltrated into his bones. Almost instantly, the streets were filled with soldiers. Their leather coats were covered with iron armor, and they wore silver-inlaid iron pockets. Their rain-soaked cloaks clung to their backs. He had no time to count them, but there were at least a hundred people, rushing towards them in the rain, their spear tips shining palely in the heavy rain.
"Dismount, dismount quickly!" Sancho quickly jumped off his horse and led him to the side of the road to make way for the oncoming army. These are soldiers from Nanya. What happened? How could there be fully armed soldiers in Chang'an on a rainy day? Running on the streets? Could it be a palace change?
Thinking of this, Sancho felt cold all over. After following Wang Wenzuo for so long, he was no longer the ignorant Baekje herdsman he was before. He knew a lot of stories about the Tang Dynasty. Take the most famous one, the Xuanwu Gate Incident, for example. The battles that took place were not just at the Xuanwu Gate. The armies loyal to the prince and the King of Qi fought against the supporters of the King of Qin in many places. Did he get into a bloody battle this time?
"You, you, who are you? Why are you wandering around outside in the heavy rain!" The captain in charge of the soldiers pointed at Sancho and shouted: "Is it not a trick of the rebels?"
"I'm Xia Sanqiu. I'm a subordinate of Wang Wenzuo, the envoy of the Jiannan Zhidu camp who is responsible for the military affairs and horse management. I have been ordered to come to Chang'an to handle the errands!" Sanqiu quickly took out the talisman letter from his arms and handed it to the captain: "I will go to the outside of the city today to handle the errands." Something happened, it was raining heavily on the way back, please ask the captain to take a closer look!"
"So that's it!" The captain checked that the talisman letter was correct, and his dark face looked better: "Then go back quickly!"
"Thank you Captain!" Sanqiu received the letter and asked carefully: "May I ask, what is going on with these rebels? This is the imperial capital of Chang'an!"
"I'm not too sure about this. I just know that two thousand soldiers were transferred from Shannan Road to Longyou. When they passed through Chang'an, there was something wrong with the rewards, so they started a mutiny!" The captain bowed to Sanqiu. He handed over his hands and said: "Okay, I still have military orders. You should go back to the city as soon as possible. There is a curfew in Chang'an now. You are not allowed to leave the city without an order from the government. Otherwise, you will be charged with being a thief!"
"Thank you! Thank you very much!" Sancho quickly thanked the captain, got on his horse and headed towards Fangshi where he lived. Sure enough, he could often see heavily armed patrol sergeants along the way. Obviously, the mutiny that took place in the imperial capital had a great impact. It was so big that the whole of Chang'an was shaken.
After returning to their residence, Sancho and his entourage finished dressing up and went to the gate of Fangshi to inquire about the news about the mutiny. However, the various rumors were chaotic and even contradictory; some said that these rebels were mixed with heavenly masters. Some people say that these rebels are not from Shannan Road, but from Hebei. They provoked the mutiny because the generals were tyrannical and withheld food. Others say that these soldiers are garrison soldiers sent to Longyou from other places. , the one-year period had expired, and when passing through Chang'an on the way home, they suddenly received an official document from the Ministry of War, asking them to return to Longyou and guard for another year, so a mutiny broke out; some people said that these were not soldiers who had been withdrawn from Longyou. False, but the reason why the mutiny broke out was because there were Tubo spies among them. At this time, the Tubo thieves had already broken through the Longyou Army, and the front had reached the west side of Longban!
Although these random rumors have no clue, they have two things in common, that is, the rebels are not ordinary people, but well-equipped and well-trained regular imperial troops; secondly, the rebels are not just a few, but dozens, A few hundred people, but an organized army with a complete system, not a ragtag group with no number.
"How could this happen! It's a great day, but why do a bunch of rebels appear near Chang'an!"
"Who said these are great days? A few months ago we were defeated by the Tibetans in Dafeichuan, and there were rebellions in the Turks and Liaodong. How can we call these great days?"
"But what the hell are those places? This is Guanzhong, next to Chang'an!"
"Yes! It's such a bad time to encounter this kind of thing!" A madam who ran a brothel lamented: "The incident in the West Market a few years ago caused me to lose a lot of money. It’s easy to get subsidies back, but if something like this happens again, it’s really hard to live!”
"The city of Chang'an is well defended and there are so many soldiers guarding the city. The rebels should not be able to attack the city. You don't have to worry, right?" Sancho asked in confusion.
The bystanders saw that Sancho was dressed as a warrior, so they explained carefully: "Mr. Lang doesn't know. The rebels cannot get in, but if you overdo it, everyone will be in trouble in the fields and houses outside the city. The firewood, rice, oil, salt and vegetables will also be lost." Prices will rise, and the government will also take the opportunity to increase taxes, won't all of this fall on us ordinary people in the end?"
"That's true!" Sancho nodded. He thought for a while and comforted others: "With the power of the imperial court, it will only take three or two days for the rebels to be destroyed, and then things will return to normal!"
"If this is the best, then thank you Langjun for your good words!"
Finding that he couldn't get any concrete news, Sancho had to return to his residence and wait peacefully. He secretly thought that these days, he only felt that Chang'an, with its endless palaces, squares and cities, and its city walls like mountains, seemed like a place where gods lived, but he didn't expect that it would look like this overnight. It was simply unbelievable. If you think about it carefully, the monks in the temple are right. The prosperity of this world is just a dream within a dream. What does wealth and honor mean? The human body is suffering and the Dharma is hard to find. It is better to read more Buddhist scriptures and pray for an early escape from the suffering of reincarnation. Thinking of this, he clasped his hands together, closed his eyes and chanted "Amitabha" endlessly.
At noon the next day, Sancho finally got more concrete news. The rebels were a group of garrison soldiers from Hebei who were transferred to Longyou. When they passed through Chang'an, they mutinied because they were dissatisfied with the rewards issued. The soldiers sent to suppress him were defeated miserably and fled back to Chang'an. Now the three assistants were shocked. The emperor had sternly reprimanded him and ordered elite troops to be sent from Chang'an to suppress him!
"This is strange!" Sanqiu asked his neighbors in Tongfang City: "According to the laws of the Tang Dynasty, shouldn't the people who came to Chang'an to guard the city be the elites from various military mansions? How could they be defeated by a group of rebels who traveled a long distance? "
"Hahaha!" The neighbor looked at Sanqiu and said with a smile, "You are not from Chang'an, right?"
"That's right!" Sanqiu nodded: "I did come to Chang'an from Chengdu. I just arrived not long ago!"
"Come from Chengdu to Chang'an? You can't hear the Shu accent!" The man smiled: "Do you know what the sergeants from all over the country do when they come to Chang'an?"
"Of course he is Emperor Suwei? What else can he do?"
"Hahaha!" The man said with a smile: "So I said you are not from Chang'an. The sergeants from all over the country who come to Chang'an include those who repair houses, some who work as errands, and some who work as porters. Anyway, there are all kinds of handymen, that is, If there is no Emperor Suwei, they are the errands of noble men! So you understand, right? Is it any wonder that a group of servants were defeated by the rebels? "
"Hundred workers and miscellaneous servants? How could this happen? Shouldn't the imperial soldiers be servants and guards of the emperor?" Sancho asked in confusion.
"Servant? Guard of the emperor?" The man shook his head and smiled: "Do you know that in Chang'an and Luoyang, the servant is a curse word? Calling someone a servant is the same as calling someone a slave! Think about it, How many high-ranking officials are there in Chang'an City? These people want to build mansions, gardens, and do various errands, and they need people to run and do things for them. They are not willing to spend money to hire people to do it, so aren't the guards who come from all over the place the best? Is it useful? Just say hello to the Ministry of War or their generals, and hundreds and thousands of people will come to work for you for nothing. Who wouldn’t want such a good thing? "
"This, these people are too bold, aren't they?" Sancho was startled: "The soldiers in the palace are to protect the emperor. If they all go to work as handymen, who will protect the emperor if something happens?"
"What you said is right! But Chang'an is located in Guanzhong, a country with four fortresses. Who would have thought that there would be enemies here that need to be conquered?" The man smiled and said: "Besides, the first one to do this was the emperor and the empress. Otherwise, so many palaces and gardens wouldn’t have fallen from the sky, right? Both your majesties use their guards as handymen, and others will naturally follow suit!”
Hearing what the man said about the Emperor and Queen, Sancho was so frightened that he was speechless: "You, how could you say that to your Majesty?"
"Haha! You, a foreigner, are really having fun!" The man said with a smile: "This is something that everyone has witnessed, so I can't say what they did? I have neither an official position nor any wealth. I don't even have parents or a wife. I am completely naked. What's there to be afraid of if you're alone? If you want to report to the government, I'll go quickly, don't behave like this!"
Sancho also admired this man quite a bit and asked him his name. His surname was Bai Mingmin. He was a scoundrel in the village who lived as a servant. He took out a handful of copper coins and stuffed them into the man's hand: "Of course I won't report you, but it's better to be careful about things like this, so as not to cause trouble! Just accept the money for now!"
"Thank you very much!" The man didn't refuse: "I work as a daily worker, and I can't leave the shop for these two days. Without your money, I'm afraid I'll starve!"
Sanqiu sent Bai Min away and fell into deep thought. He had followed Wang Wenzuo for many years. As his status became higher and higher, and he took a wife like Acheng, his knowledge and intelligence became much higher. He originally thought that if his master's country could emerge, the Tang Dynasty must be a kingdom in heaven, and the emperor of the Tang Dynasty and the ministers of the imperial court must be saints and gentlemen. Even if they were not as good as Wang Wenzuo, they would not be too far behind. Liu Rengui, Liu Renyuan, Li Ji and others added to his confidence in Datang. But Bai Min's words just now were like a giant hand tearing open the glossy paper covering the Tang Dynasty, revealing the unbearable truth underneath.
"Hey, treating the soldiers as slaves and handymen, isn't this a long-term solution?" Sancho sighed: "I originally thought that the emperor was the lord of saints, but I didn't expect that he would do such a thing. It's really unimaginable. His Royal Highness is kind and loving, and he is a monarch worth looking forward to. No wonder he loves his master so much, it is indeed extraordinary!"
It took another two days for Sancho to hear the news of the rebels. The emperor sent the elite soldiers of Beiya guarding Xuanwu Gate as reinforcements. The leading general took the lead and lured the rebels to the plains by the Weishui River, and then used cavalry to flank them. Defeated, beheaded more than a thousand people, and left their corpses floating for dozens of miles.
But according to the intelligence Bai Min brought later, the imperial army did defeat the rebels, but it was not the elite soldiers of Beiya who played a decisive role in this battle. These warriors who served as the vanguard guards in the emperor's honor guard simply did not When participating in the war, from the beginning to the end, they just stood under the banner behind the formation as a deterrent. The one who really played a decisive role was a Uighur prince who made a pilgrimage to the emperor and his more than 200 guards. These brave men fought fiercely between the two armies. At that time, he cut into the ranks of the rebels from the flank and split them in two, thus defeating the rebels.
Yesterday I saw a book friend in the discussion forum saying that the book was well written, but he didn’t know if he could finish it, so he couldn’t make up his mind to read it.
I have answered this kind of question before, and now the answer is the same: What Internet writers should do is to write books well, and what Internet readers should do is pay to subscribe, reward, vote, and support with practical actions. Whether the author can continue writing depends to a large extent on the number of paying readers. It is certainly a smart approach to wait for others to pay to support the author to complete the book, and then read it for yourself. Whether to pay or not depends on your mood, but this kind of Smart people generally cannot find books to read, because few authors would write books for such smart people, and they would have died of hunger long ago!
By the way, I don't like making promises. I will definitely finish the book, I will do this or that, because I don’t know what will happen in the future. You have all seen how I wrote it. This is more useful than any language. What I want to see is how many subscriptions and how many hits. Reward, how many votes. I don’t have time to manage readers or do marketing. It would be nice to have some time to write books after work.
(End of chapter)
