But the news that surprised Sancho even more was that after defeating the rebels, the imperial army did not pursue them one after another and kill all the bold Hebei rebels. Instead, they began to fight for the gold and silver property left by the rebels on the battlefield. This was even more terrifying. Unfortunately, after the great victory, the Uighurs even burned, killed, and looted nearby villages. Their corpses floated into the Wei River and could be seen dozens of miles downstream.
"How, how is this possible?" Sanqiu was stunned when he heard: "This is Guanzhong! The Wei River is only dozens of miles away from Chang'an City. It can be said that it is at the feet of the emperor. Are those Huihe people so bold? Dare to rob here? They just Aren’t you afraid of punishment from the court?”
"Punishment?" Bai Min laughed loudly after hearing this: "Langjun, you are also an official, how could you say such things? In the eyes of the court, these Uighurs are meritorious officials and distinguished guests! Without them, this group of rebels would Is the army not so easy to deal with? If they lose again, the imperial court may have to defend the city. So many manors and palaces outside the city have become the pockets of the rebels, and the nobles in Chang'an City will lose their money. But it’s so big! Compared to these, thousands of people died and dozens or twenty villages were plundered, what does it mean?”
"You can't say that. Credit belongs to merit, fault belongs to fault. Merits and faults cannot offset each other. These Uighurs have merit, but they cannot ignore the faults that follow!"
"Hey, you really don't understand!" Bai Min shook his head and said with a smile: "Let me use an analogy! Your home was attacked by bandits. When the situation was critical, several guests who happened to come to visit your home drew their swords. Before, we drove away the bandits, but afterwards, without telling you, these guests took a dozen sheep and two cows from your livestock pen to kill and eat them, would you blame them for this?"
"Of course I won't blame you!" Sancho said with a bitter smile: "But it can't be compared like this, right? The Uighurs killed people, not cattle and sheep. How can it be the same thing?"
"In your eyes, those villagers are human beings, but in the eyes of the imperial court, that may not be the case!" Bai Min sneered: "I'm afraid in the eyes of the imperial court, those common people work hard, pay taxes, and don't plow the land with oxen and grow wool with sheep. Is it the same as eating meat?”
When Sancho heard this, he suddenly became speechless. He remembered that when he was a herdsman in Baekje, he had been abused and beaten by his master. In the eyes of his original master, he was afraid that he might not be as good as the grazing animals. Unexpectedly, the emperor of the Tang Dynasty was also like this. Is the world really dark?
"That's it!" Bai Min saw that Sanqiu didn't speak, and thought he had offended him: "I just said it, please forgive me!"
"Nothing!" Sancho waved his hand: "You didn't say anything wrong. I just remembered some past events. Forget it, let's not mention these things. I see that your clothes are thin and winter is about to come. I have You can take the two old clothes and wear them first!"
"I am poor, so I would like to thank my husband!" Bai Min bowed his hands and bowed. Sancho asked his subordinates to take out two old clothes and gave them to Bai Min. He said, "Although what you said makes some sense, if you let me If a troublesome person listens to this, he may cause trouble, so it’s better to be more cautious in the future!”
Bai Min knew that Sanqiu had good intentions, so he bowed his thanks, took the old clothes and left. Sanqiu returned to the house, feeling depressed. When he first arrived in Chang'an, he was shocked by this great city. The palaces, streets, culture, markets, weeping willows next to Ba Bridge, the Shinto in front of Maoling and a statue Zunshi Wengzhong is something he has never seen before: too many emperors have established their capitals here, and there will be more emperors here in the future. He gradually understood why the people of Chang'an always raised their chins proudly in front of outsiders. If he were born here and lived in the center of the world, he would be as proud as them.
But as he knew more and more, that greatness was like a wax figure dropped into the fire, gradually softening, deforming, and melting. Although those dignitaries wearing silks and satins and riding horses on the streets of Chang'an were more elegant, richer, and more powerful than their old Baekje masters, there was no difference in essence. They all treated others as livestock. Viewed guy.
"These bitches!" Sancho angrily kicked several cases aside: "One day, we will let them feel what it is like to be treated as livestock!"
"Mr. Lang, Colonel Murong is outside. He said he has something important to do!" the subordinate said standing at the door. He curiously looked at the few cases he found, but didn't say much.
"Murong Miao? It's already dark. What else does he have to do so late?" Sancho looked at the sky outside, but he didn't think much about it: "Invite him in. I just wanted to say goodbye to him, and here he is. I don’t have to make an extra trip!”
"Farewell? Are we leaving Chang'an? Are we waiting for the troops to return to Chengdu?" the subordinate asked curiously.
"Well, no wait!" Sancho shook his head: "To be honest, this place is not suitable for us. The sooner we leave, the better!"
The subordinate's eyes flickered, but he didn't say much. He saluted Sancho and walked out quickly. Sancho can feel the other party's disappointment, yes! Who doesn’t want to stay in Chang’an for a few more days and gain more knowledge? But after all, this is not a place for us to stay for a long time. For people like us, mountains, forests, wilderness, meadows, swamps, deserts, and seas are more suitable for us. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but touch the handle of the knife at his waist.
"Hurry up and change your clothes, His Highness the Crown Prince has summoned you!" Murong Miao said in a deep voice as soon as he entered the door.
"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince wants to see me?" Sancho was surprised. He didn't expect that he would have the opportunity to see the Crown Prince again. Is there anything important?
"That's right, hurry up, don't keep His Highness the Crown Prince waiting!" Murong Nao was breathing rapidly, his face was a little pale, and he was obviously quite nervous.
Sancho didn't dare to ask any more questions, so he hurriedly asked someone to fetch a brocade robe and put it on. Then he followed Murong Miao out of the door, all the way north, entered the palace gate through the Yanxi Gate, and then went straight to the East Palace. Along the way, Sancho saw no one on the road, except for the occasional patrol guard. He couldn't help but think to himself: "Why does the East Palace want to see me at this juncture?"
The palace was dark and silent. When Murong Parrot and Sancho passed through the gate of the East Palace, the moon, which had turned from waning to full, was already hanging low on the high wall. On the barrier, a guard in a black and red cloak was patrolling back and forth.
Entering the inner hall, Sancho saw two lines of guards standing in the corridor. At the door of the hall was a majestic man wearing iron armor with a majestic look. He nodded to Murong Miao: "Just stay here, he Is this Sancho? Follow me!"
Sancho nodded. He felt as if his throat was stuck by an invisible hand and he couldn't breathe. The majestic man led Sancho into the main hall, stopped at the door of the inner hall, and said loudly: "Your Highness, Sancho is here!"
"Let him in!" The prince's voice came from the palace, sounding a little muddy.
The temperature in the inner hall was much higher than outside. The brazier next to the big pillar was burning hot, filling the room with a gloomy red light. The prince was lying on a bed with a silk curtain, and next to him was a doctor who was taking his pulse. The palace maids came and went in a hurry. But when Sancho entered, the prince's eyes were fixed on him, as if he were a man in a dream.
"Sancho!" The prince's voice was not loud, and his face was as pale as rancid milk: "Get closer!"
Sancho opened his mouth, but did not make a sound. He knelt down, said a few words on his knees, and stopped five or six steps away from the bed. The prince shook his head: "Closer!"
"Yes!" Sancho moved a few steps forward and was already in front of the bed. The prince nodded with satisfaction: "Everyone else, get out!"
The doctor and the palace maids were like tame birds, silently exiting the palace. Sancho realized that what the prince was about to say to him could not be heard by a third party, and he suddenly felt panic in his heart. Obviously, he wanted to convey these words to himself. It belongs to the master, but can I bring the words to you? he asked himself.
"The reason why I called you here today is to ask you to bring a message to Wang Qing!" The prince's speech was not fast, but his breathing was a little rapid: "You can only say the next words to Wang Qing alone, and you are not allowed to let the fourth person know! Understand! ?"
"Young man understands!" Sancho kowtowed: "Slave's life is given by the Lord. If the situation changes, it's just death. I will never reveal it!"
"Okay!" Li Hong nodded with satisfaction: "The mutiny of the Hebei garrison a few days ago was due to insufficient cloth and silk given by the imperial court, which angered the soldiers and triggered the mutiny..."
Sancho knelt in front of the bed, and the more he listened, the more frightened he became. It turns out that the mutiny that shocked the world a few days ago had a reason: according to the custom at that time, the court would give some property to the soldiers who went to guard distant places, and usually such rewards would be silk. Soldiers can either sell them in the market to exchange for coins to buy the items they need, or they can ask people to use them to sew their own clothes. This time was no exception, but what was surprising was that after the Hebei soldiers received the silk, they found that the quality was very poor. It was not so much silk as it was fine linen. So these Hebei soldiers thought that they were being deducted from the officials who issued silks, so they started to make a noise, which finally triggered this amazing mutiny.
"Here, what happened to this silk? Was it really withheld by the official who distributed it? This is a heinous crime!" Sancho thought to himself.
"The imperial court has sent people to conduct a strict investigation!" Li Hong sighed: "The results were reported and it was found that the official who handled the matter did not do anything at all. The silk that was handed out was taken from the treasury by him!"
"Then, is that a case of self-inflicted theft?"
"No, this batch of Shu brocade has just been delivered to the treasury. The previous inventory has been used up. The people who went to check checked the Shu brocade that had not been distributed in the treasury. They were the same as those distributed to soldiers. It is a blend of linen and raw silk, the only difference is whether there is more raw silk or more fine linen!"
"Sichuan Brocade? Just arrived?" A flash of light flashed in Sanqiu's mind, and beads of sweat immediately flowed from his forehead: "This, this, is this shipped from Chengdu?"
"That's right! It was shipped from Chengdu!" Li Hong sighed: "Wang Qing said that an additional 300,000 pieces of Shu brocade were collected to meet the urgent needs of the imperial court. This is the batch that has been shipped! The imperial court has sent people to find the escort. , see if there are any flaws in it!"
When Sancho heard this, he was trembling with fear. Of course he knew how powerful it was. This matter is big and small, but if you look at it in a big way, this batch of stuff with the name of Shu brocade set off a mutiny near Chang'an. If this is investigated, there is no problem if Wang Wenzuo goes home to eat himself.
Li Hong glanced at Sanqiu, who was shaking like chaff, and sighed: "Go back and tell Wang Qing that I will try my best to deal with this matter in front of His Majesty for him, so that he doesn't have to worry and can focus on serving the court. Guard the Jiannan Road! Of course, such a big thing will eventually have an outcome. If you ask him to give the court a similar explanation, then everything will be fine, and there is no need to worry too much!"
"Thank you, Your Highness, Your Highness!" When Sancho heard this, he didn't know that it was the Prince who had taken over this matter. He felt ecstatic in his heart and kowtowed repeatedly: "I will definitely understand your words verbatim. I would like to tell my master, please rest assured and take good care of your dragon body! My master will be careful and will not waste your love..."
"Haha!" Li Hong looked at Sanqiu who was speechless and laughed: "That's all, Wang Qing once made great contributions to the court, and I will never forget it. Go back quickly! Remember, you must be in the court Tell Wang Qing what I said before the envoy to Chengdu arrives!"
"Your Highness, please rest assured. I will pack my bags as soon as I return and set off early tomorrow morning!" Sancho said hurriedly.
"That's good, step back!" Li Hong said with a smile.
"I obey the decree!" Sancho kowtowed twice, walked backwards on his knees and walked out of the palace, then stood up and left. Looking at the figure gradually receding on the window, Li Hong suddenly coughed violently. The doctor outside heard the sound and hurried in. After checking his pulse for a while, he said: "Your Highness, your body needs to be rested. If possible, you should not see outsiders." Thank you for your trouble!"
"Don't worry, sir, I don't want to see anyone else!" Li Hong smiled.
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As soon as he walked out of the palace gate, Murong Miao came up to him and whispered: "What did His Highness the Crown Prince say?"
"Captain Murong, please forgive me. It's a matter of confidentiality. I'm afraid I can't tell you!" Sancho looked apologetic.
"Then don't say it!" Murong Miao said, "What's the plan?"
"I have to leave the city tomorrow morning and rush back to Chengdu!" Sanqiu said.
"I understand, then let's go through Yanpingmen! The official road leading to Chengdu is the way out of the city!" Murong Mu said solemnly.
"Okay, it's getting late, I'll go back and rest first!"
"Yes!" Murong Mu nodded. The group of people left the Yanxi Gate and just mounted their horses. Murong Mu suddenly said: "Do you know why His Highness the Crown Prince looked like that just now?"
"Why?" asked Sancho.
"I don't know the specific reason!" Murong Miao lowered his voice: "I only heard from people who are familiar with the Taiji Palace. At that time, the prince scolded the prime minister in front of the two majesties. His words were fierce and the commotion was out of control. In the end, he even Both Your Majesty are annoyed, saying that this position will be yours sooner or later, so why bother!"
