Delong

Chapter 145: A Journey Through the Sea of ​​Bitterness (12)

The crow flew away, and everyone talked about it afterwards.

For example, there was a member of the Ministry of Justice from the North who was very serious at the Tianchi, explaining to everyone on the spot that crows like to flock in autumn and winter, and gatherings of tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands are too common. Tianchi is a large lake nearby. , then the crows are a little bigger, and then they run over to drink water and see more people running below.

Everyone agreed with this statement. Zhang Xing and Li Ding listened to it and thought it was true. They all thought that what this fellow from the Northland called Han Aobai said was very good. They went back to talk to Qin Bao, Zhou Xingfan and others, including People like Wang Zhen also said it, and they all agreed.

But... I'm afraid that other people will disagree.

The saint's disapproval is almost visible to the naked eye... Countless officials saw the saint throwing his hands and leaving from a distance on the hillside. The sacrifice was completed in a hurry by Prime Minister Su Wei, and the hairy saint stopped drinking from noon on this day The water in Tianchi and Fenshui is running out, so I want to drink honey water.

In addition, the ordinary soldiers and palace people below seemed not to believe it either.

Even though there was a rumor turmoil just a few months ago, dozens of people even died and more people were dismissed from office, but there were still absurd rumors-many people said that it was because the Hei Emperor detested the saint, the saint Only then was he furious, and the sacrificial ceremony was suspended.

This rumor is more direct and malicious than the egg-cutter.

But in this regard, Zhang Xing and Li Ding could only shrug their shoulders, and then honestly made material reserves, so as not to change.

"Su Xianggong, there are some things that need to be taken care of."

Outside Fenyang Palace, in a room on the mountainside, Wei Chi, Shangshu of the Ministry of Punishment, was speaking solemnly. He was speaking to two gentlemen. The palace envoy, the prefects of Yanmen, Loufan, and Mayi, the prefect of Taiyuan, and several accompanying generals and generals of Zhonglang all stood aside.

Obviously, this is a formal enlarged meeting within the tour team.

But not in front of the emperor.

And it wasn't the two magistrates who took the initiative to convene it. It was Wei Chi, Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, who connected three county sheriffs, one county magistrate, and four local governors with real power in series, and then forced Duan Wei and the two ministers out one by one. Several generals and Zhonglang generals, as well as everyone, although they don't want to see each other, have to admit that they are Wang Daiji, a serious official with both name and reality, which is rare at the moment.

"What do you care?" Su Wei looked at a loss. "Wei Shangshu has something to say..."

"I don't know what to do, it's my husband's business!" Wei Chi couldn't bear it, and his face flew into a rage on the spot. "I only know that as the Minister of the Ministry of Justice, I am responsible for monitoring the team and maintaining discipline, but now the morale of the accompanying officials and soldiers has dropped to the bottom... Before the rain on the road, many people escaped inexplicably. It has only been a few months since Mu Guogong spread rumors, yet there are rumors about crows in the army again... Please tell me, two gentlemen, should I appease the soldiers and officials now? Or should I suppress them?! I will do it immediately , there is no excuse!"

Wei Chi was over [-] years old, he was a senior official, and he was inevitably an upstart promoted by the Guanlongmen Clan after the establishment of the Great Wei Dynasty. Miao Honggen was upright.

In fact, long before the establishment of the accompanying capital system, Wei Chi served as Minister of the Ministry of Industry concurrently served as Weijun, the former governor of the capital of the Eastern Qi Dynasty named after the Great Wei. Ingratiating, plus the saint didn't want Nanya to have one more die-hard supporter of the emperor's uncle, otherwise he would have entered Nanya long ago.

Therefore, this person flew into a rage, feeling a little embarrassing from top to bottom.

Su Wei hesitated for a moment, glanced at Sima Changying, and tried his best to answer: "No matter what, we can't suppress it now..."

"Then appease!" Wei Chi couldn't help waving his palm.

"It's time to appease you." Su Wei responded and glanced at the officials at the scene, and finally stopped at Wang Daiji as a matter of course. "Fenyang Palace envoy, is there enough storage in the palace?"

Wang Daiji hesitated for a moment, but he stood up and responded properly, and replied properly: "It was a full amount for a few months before, because a lot was transferred from surrounding counties and Taiyuan, but just now, I used a lot..."

"Is there enough left to reward the accompanying team?" Su Wei couldn't wait. "Don't talk nonsense."

"It depends on the reward." Wang Daiji spread his hands helplessly. "Msanggong...the storage quota is those, and the amount spent is here. I can't just reduce it...but if I really want to reward the entire patrol team, how much can each person have?"

"I understand what you mean...don't be so wordy." Su Wei nodded, and then went to look at Duan Wei, Minister of the Ministry of War.

Wang Daiji had no choice but to shut up.

But Duan Wei understood, and immediately answered: "Thousands of people were lost along the way, but the most important thing is that they stayed in Kansai... Now there are more than [-] soldiers, palace officials, and eunuchs together."

"How do you say it?" Su Wei immediately went to visit Wang Daiji, the envoy of Fenyang Palace.

Wang Daiji felt a little relieved, and immediately stood there and responded: "If you are willing to take out the gold and silver silk in stock, then everyone is still quite impressive..."

The scene suddenly became lively.

Especially those generals who didn't have the right to speak, they all smiled for a while... Food and errands, if there are extra rewards, how can the army's morale not be cheered up?
"However, this kind of reward that empties the treasury doesn't require an imperial decree?" Wang Daiji didn't hold back.

Everyone's heart skipped a beat, and they fell silent for almost an instant. In the end, everyone's eyes followed Wei Chi, Shangshu of the Ministry of Punishments, and focused on the two gentlemen.

Among the two ministers, Sima Changying has already broken the pot, so it's just unheard of, and Su Wei, as the Prime Minister, can't help feeling like a thorn in his back.

"Mr. Sima and I are going to see the saint." Su Wei replied helplessly.

There is no way, if you don't respond, Nanya, which was supported by the first emperor to fight against the Guanlongmen Clan and strengthen the power and prestige of the central government, will be discredited.

The husband is willing to stand out, and everyone is naturally relieved.

The instigator, Shangshu Wei Chi, was even more responsible, and immediately took the initiative to respond: "I will go with the two gentlemen... The others will go back separately, abide by their duties, and wait for the saint's summons, or orders. If they do not receive it, they must take the initiative to appease their subordinates." ... Old Duan, are you coming?"

Everyone was speechless.

Duan Wei, who had been sitting all this time, also stood up with a wry smile, and answered with a sigh: "Why don't you go?"

The atmosphere became more relaxed, as if turning the clouds to see the sun.

Now that the discussion is in order, the rest of the people will naturally disperse, and Su Wei and others are also going to go to the depths of the palace to meet the saint. No matter how upset the saint is, of course there is no reason to refuse to see his prime minister, and it is the two ministers and two ministers. join hands to see you.

"So you are going to give a reward to appease people's hearts?"

Unexpectedly, instead of getting angry after hearing this, the sage with more vigorous beards calmed down.

"Your Majesty does everything for himself." Su Wei was a little relieved and respectful. It seems that this saint still knows the pros and cons. "It's just that the weather has been unpredictable recently, and autumn and winter have alternated, and the temperature and temperature are inconsistent... The morale is indeed a little tired."

"Forget it." The emperor stroked his beard and sighed. "The foundation of the five armies and states, the palace servants, internal servants, and Jinwu Guards are also my close servants... I need rewards, and I am not stingy. Isn't it just some gold, silver, and silk? Take out the money and silk from Fenyang Palace That's right."

Several senior officials feel more and more at ease... at least they can explain to the following, can't they?

These days, it's them who are on fire.

"However, since it is a reward, can it be removed?" The saint continued to ask.

Su Wei's heart was greatly shaken, and he immediately raised his head: "Is the sage planning to return to the Eastern Capital? If so, why should he be rewarded? The entourage is all settling down in the Eastern Capital. If they hear the order, they will definitely cheer up!"

The saint suddenly changed his face: "Dongdu is so good? What about you, do you want to go back too?"

To hell if you don't want to go back.

But Su Wei didn't sound good, so he asked helplessly, "Isn't Your Majesty going back to the Eastern Capital?"

"How do you know that I'm going back to the Eastern Capital?" The emperor's face was gloomy and his breath was heavy.

Su Wei was baffled, so he could only seriously ask: "Your Majesty, if you don't go back to Dongdu, where else can you go? Besides, Dongdu is the capital of the country, where His Majesty's Ziwei Palace is located... But what happened to Dongdu? "

The emperor's complexion became more and more ugly, and he actually remained silent about his Prime Minister's inquiry.

At this moment, everyone came to their senses. Something must have happened to Dongdu. The saint was dissatisfied and didn't want to go back. It wasn't that something went wrong in the funeral of Princess Guanzhong...but anything could happen to Dongdu. Want to kill the messenger?Still want to kill the servant?

The Tianshu project went wrong and had to be postponed, so that's not the case, is it?But that's all there is to it, right?

Of course, in any case, everyone knew that something had gone wrong.

"Actually, it's only been four or five months since I came out this time, so why go back?" Sima Changying suddenly stepped forward and spoke sincerely. "If Your Majesty has something important to do, why not do it? But please let Your Majesty express it, and the ministers will do their best to fill in the gaps."

Su Wei looked at Sima Changying, then at the saint, hesitant to speak, but in the end he could only bow his head and remain silent.

And the emperor finally sighed slightly: "I was thinking that this tour would not return in vain...otherwise I would make a joke for the people of the world... Didn't the leaders of the Wu clan meet in Longxi before, and came with me again? So? They just volunteered, saying that they are willing to go back from the Sea of ​​​​Bitterness, and summon a few leaders of the border Wu tribe to come to see them... I feel that if they can go to Mayi in person, gather some tribes of the Wu tribe, and place them on the front line of the Sea of ​​​​Bitterness. It has weakened the most dishonest eastern region and strengthened the northern frontier defense, which is considered a feat."

Everyone was silent... Now everything is clear.

Although I don't know what's wrong with Dongdu, but it must be a big bad thing. Dongdu and Princess Kansai's family matter, the saint must be very upset, because this time the crow can only drink honey. The matter of water, I'm afraid it's all involved... And this saint has always been concerned about face, and he likes Weifu to make himself, so he must want to find a place elsewhere... So who dares to stop it?
But go to Mayi, north of Yanmen Pass, and join the sea of ​​bitterness... why don't you accompany your cousin to Beihuang Tingtao City for a walk?Afraid of the cold?
"Speak." The emperor was a little annoyed.

"Your Majesty, I take the liberty to ask." Duan Wei, Shangshu of the Ministry of War, gritted his teeth and stepped forward to salute. "Does Your Majesty want to imitate the story of the surrendered city?"

"That's right." The emperor answered proudly, his face flushed for a moment.

In addition, about a few years after the saint came to the throne, the move of the capital was completed, the veterans were cleaned up, and the situation was stable, so he devoted all his efforts to solve the border troubles of the Wu tribe.

At that time, the emperor's uncle Cao Lin personally led the main force of the Eastern Route Army with tens of thousands of people. He pretended to sail out of the sea of ​​bitterness, but in fact suddenly came out from the road between the poisonous desert and the sea of ​​bitterness, that is, the Baidao natural danger, and won a big victory.

He even came up with an idiom that imitated the Baidi Ye who built the plank road in the open and kept the warehouse in the dark, calling it to build a ferry in the open and walk in the white road in secret.

However, it was Zhang Shizhao from West Road, the handsome old Zhang, who really had a miraculous effect that time.

Zhang Shizhao came up with an ingenious strategy as a scholar, and then asked for orders on his own, hung his camel across the desert, and persuaded the western witches to surrender, and then took advantage of the central witch Khan Abo's bewilderment about the situation in the west, and went straight to Abo Khan's army. Abo Khan in the central part blatantly violated the contract, and watched as his ally Sabolo Khan in the eastern part was hanged and beaten by Cao Huangshu, who had stepped half a foot into the realm of the great master.

And it triggered a long-term confrontation and war between the central and eastern parts of the Wu nationality.

This is also the beginning of the faint rivalry between Cao Huangshu and Zhang Zuocheng... Everyone said that Zhang Zuocheng alone can be a hundred thousand soldiers!This is of course beyond doubt, but no one can tell whether the [-] army is the [-] Wu clan army, or the [-] elite Wei soldiers led by Uncle Cao.

In any case, the alliance of the three tribes of the Wu tribe collapsed, and the great Wei left Wenyouwu, and the prosperity of the country after the destruction of Chen was vividly displayed, forcing the three tribes of the Wu tribe to make a fake show and surrender together.

That day in the surrendered city in Longxi, the sage did not use Uncle Cao's soldiers from Baidao's side. He obtained 26 troops from the 20 prefectures in Guanzhong and Northwest, and formed a square formation on the edge of the poisonous desert outside the surrendered city. It's a big "military city", and I personally go to the Fengxing Hall to wait with wine.

Some of the leaders of the Wu clan thought that Wei Jun's victory was unarmed, but in this grand occasion, they were all trembling and dared not talk about military affairs.

Since then, the three tribes of the Wu tribe have fully surrendered, and the western Wu tribe has been divided, garrisoned, and actually surrendered. The central and eastern regions have also been under the diplomatic control of the Great Wei, and they have never been able to reunite.

Now that Abo is dead, the heir, Tuli Khan, asked to marry the eldest daughter of the Great Wei, and continued to maintain a sufficient posture of submission. This is why the leaders of the Wu clan I met in Longxi were so honest... but Du Lanke in the east Khan, although he continued to accept the canonization of Wei on the surface, but there have been rumors that his father, Sha Bolue, had broken an arrow to show his hatred before his death. If you want Lan Khan, don't forget the shame that Wei added to him.

Back to the present, the saint has been very unhappy in the past few years, especially the failure of the second expedition to Dongyi and Yang Shen's rebellion, plus the death of his sister's family just now, and encountering crows shitting, it seems that he wants to feel emotional again. excusable.

"However, Your Majesty, we won the battle that day and made great achievements in diplomacy. The Wu tribe had no choice but to leave the surrendered city. Moreover, most of these Wu tribe leaders are from the central region. How can we transfer the leaders from the east?" Shangshu Duan Wei was a little hard to understand.

"Of course I know this moment and that moment." Cao Che replied calmly. "It's also different between the central part and the western part, including some things you didn't say, and I understand. I only brought 5 people, and there were more than 2 soldiers... How can it be compared with when the city was surrendered? But, I didn't expect everyone When Lan Khan came out, he just asked them to tell the eastern border tribes that the emperor of Wei came to Mayi and asked them to come to see me. I can give them generous treatment, isn't it okay? Could it be that all the eastern tribes who volunteered to vote these years Is it fake, did your military department fool me?"

"It's not like I said no." Duan Wei was sweating profusely. "Your Majesty is saying... why does His Majesty have to bring tens of thousands of exhausted palace servants and troops to do such a thing?"

"You mean, the Wu Clan people have recovered after only a few years?" Cao Che sneered. "The subordinates of Tuli in the central region dare to go directly to Dulan in the east? How dare the Dulan in the east listen to a few words from the leader of the central region, leave Tuli in the middle behind, and come to find me all over the country? From the Wu clan to Mayi, there is no exception. It's like Baidao's natural dangers and sea of ​​suffering. There, three thousand soldiers guarding the gate in Baidao is enough to hold back tens of thousands of soldiers. Here in the sea of ​​bitterness... Unless Dulan Khan started building ships as soon as he succeeded to the throne, how many soldiers can he send to attack me? How many? Grandmaster? Is my Fulong seal waiting?"

Duan Wei thought for a while, but he had nothing to say, but looked at Sima Changying again.

Without him, Sima Changying is the one who represents the military among the two ministers at this time, and has been in charge of the investigation of Dulan Khan's subordinates in Nanya all the year round... He is the one who has the most say in this matter, but he just ignores it This word forced the Minister of the Ministry of War to negotiate and persuade the saint from the perspective of his own management.

And just when Sima Changying was thinking, the old and vigorous Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, Wei Chi, suddenly stepped forward and bowed his hands: "Your Majesty, I have something to say."

The emperor was a little impatient: "Speak."

"Your Majesty." Wei Chi answered seriously. "Your Majesty's reasoning is all right, but there is a huge risk...that is, these leaders of the Wu clan were brought here by His Majesty from Longxi, traveled thousands of miles, and wanted to go home, isn't it? Did you deliberately say something to please His Majesty in order to get away? If they cross the Baidao and never return, and His Majesty leads tens of thousands of people to wait in Mayi, wouldn't it be even more laughable by the world?"

The emperor hesitated to speak, but this time it was his turn that he could not refute.

In the end, the saint looked at Sima Changying as a matter of course.

Sima Changying sighed inwardly, but bowed his hands sternly on the face: "I think, first of all, it is very common for the tribes on the border to admire the saint Enwei and come to join him, and the leaders of the Wu clan in the middle may not dare to bully you There is still a great possibility that this matter can be accomplished.”

The saint nodded slightly.

"Secondly." Sima Changying continued to speak seriously. "Your Majesty, I take the liberty... Has Your Majesty ever made this matter public?"

The emperor was slightly startled, and then laughed: "I didn't tell anyone other than you!"

"In that case." Sima Changying saluted more sincerely in the strange eyes of Duan Wei, Wei Chi and Su Wei. "Your Majesty, I would like to ask your Majesty to go to Baishan, which is a little farther away from Baidao, and it is safer to go to the east. By the way, I will climb the mountain again and look at the Sea of ​​​​Bitterness to sacrifice to the Northern Sovereign... If the sacrifice is completed, and when you are about to turn back, suddenly there is a Wu tribe who volunteers, isn't it Your Majesty Is it because of his prestige and virtue that he can be called the Supreme Being on land?"

The emperor stood up against the case and was very excited: "Good!"

I don't know what other people think, but Duan Wei, who had been waiting for Sima Changying for a long time, only had four words pop out of his mind - deceit yourself!
However, although he didn't know what Sima Changying had experienced, Duan Wei, who had eaten with this gentleman before, didn't speak again.

He just wanted to end this farce and go home early. His son got married after the appointed year.

At the beginning of October, winter had already begun, and Zhang Xing, a middle-level bureaucrat who knew nothing about everything, received the second notice immediately after receiving the reward and passing it on to Wang Zhen and other subordinates—Sheng Jia will leave Yanmen Pass to hunt Bai Dengshan , everyone should leave immediately without delay, and those who violate the order and procrastinate will be executed.

It can only be said that fortunately, Zhang Xing's subordinates have packed their luggage.

PS: Good night everyone.

(End of this chapter)