Delong

Chapter 156 Floating Horse Walk (3)

On the morning of the middle ten days of the twelfth lunar month, Zhang Xing accompanied the respected and beloved King Qi to return to the Eastern Capital, where he had been away for half a year.The atmosphere in Dongdu was somewhat beyond the group's expectations.

Everyone seems to be very excited, from the officials to the common people... The big golden pillar that is about to be completed stands far outside the Duanmen Gate, covered in red and green, it is magnificent, and there is an endless stream of people and officials who come to watch. There is even a market on the periphery of the surrounding construction site. Even the group of people who just came back couldn’t help but stop and watch for a while; walking further in, there are crowds of knights and messengers coming and going in the middle of the sky street, and the street vendors on both sides are even more It goes on and on, and most of the people are shopping with baskets full; and when they arrive at the palace, they turn to Xiyuan and hand over their errands.

All of this made the group of Fulongwei who had just crossed the Jin land and encountered the war zone, military zone, no-man's land, and bandit chaos area a little bit astonished, almost thinking that they were in a dream.

But no matter how stunned, at this moment everyone is extremely exhausted and eager to return home. King Qi will naturally go to face the saint or something, and the rest of the people have their names on the roster. After bidding farewell to the same column, they turned back in a hurry.

Zhang Xing and Qin Bao were also among them.

"I thought you two weren't coming back." Yueniang opened the door, and the first sentence was crying.

Qin Bao was depressed for a while, and quickly lowered his head, wanting to explain.

Zhang Xing, on the other hand, rushed into the door, and then turned around in surprise: "Who are you? Where is our Yueniang?"

Yueniang had already held back, but when she heard the words, she couldn't bear it any longer, and she shed tears on the spot.

Only then did Zhang Xing suddenly realize: "Oh, Yueniang has grown taller and handsomer, and she is almost becoming an adult... After going there for half a year, I have really wronged you."

"It's not a matter of half a year." Yueniang wiped her tears, then went into the kitchen, and brought out a pot of deep-fried dough that was still warm. "Before you left, I knew that you were coming back before the Chinese New Year. The key is that you didn't go according to the original statement. Rumors have been spreading since autumn. It's scary..."

"How did you pass it on?" Zhang Xing didn't wash his hands, just sat down in the yard, and twisted it casually.

On the contrary, Qin Bao honestly led the horse to the back, probably hastily loaded the food first, and then came back to wash his hands before using it.And Yueniang also re-entered the kitchen, seeming to be preparing fried crispy meat.

But this doesn't stop her from being so precious:
"At the beginning, it was said that Mu Guogong was going to lead the five general managers of Kansai to conspire together. The saint was going on a patrol in name, but in fact he wanted to kill Kansai and wipe out the big households in Kansai.

"Then Ziwei Palace suffered from the evil dragon, and many people died, and it became the eldest princess Xiyuan's dormitory suffered from the evil dragon, who was cursed to death by the witches who borrowed the ability to sin against the dragon... Later, It is said that the whole family was cursed to death...

"When you go to the east of the river, it will be even more chaotic... There are seven or eight places where the saints are surrounded in the north, and there are also those who say that you have been killed, and that you were cut off by the sinful dragon to draw the sea of ​​bitterness. There are also those who drowned in one breath...

"There are also people who say that the sage is gone, Cao Zhongcheng wants to support the emperor's eldest grandson to ascend the throne, and some people say that he wants to help the king of Qi, because the king of Qi was not surrounded in Taiyuan, and some people even say that Uncle Cao wants to be the emperor himself..."

"A recent rumor is that the sage promised to cut off the north of Loufan Pass to the Wu tribe before he came back. Wei Shangshu quit and was given to death, and the soldiers of the fifth army quit. The palace man promises to be the wife of the soldiers of the fifth army, so that they can come back... And these rumors, none of them can do without dead people or something."

While talking, Qin Bao had already come back, picked up the fried dough, ate three or five while standing up, and then couldn't help reminding in the yard: "Yue Niang, don't say such things, there are many people in Jing'an in the workshop. Colleagues in Taiwan, in case it is not good to be heard..."

"Look." Zhang Xing sneered. "It's under control now, and no one is allowed to speak..."

Qin Bao was overwhelmed by it, and the kitchen was also quiet for a while.

"Did you hear these words from Dongdu Neighbors?" Zhang Xing smelled the smell of deep-fried crispy meat, and his mouth was full of saliva. He simply stopped frying the dough, but got up and went into the main room to pour a cup of tea before coming out, calmly Come and wait.

"That's natural." Yueniang responded in the kitchen. "If it wasn't like this, how dare I say it directly? The saint is not in the city, and he has taken away so many Jinwu guards, eunuchs, court ladies, and so many Shangwu armies. On the one hand, the city is very comfortable, but on the other hand, it is nervous. It's amazing..."

"How to say?" Zhang Xing was surprised for a moment, but soon came to his senses. "Is it about repairing the big golden pillar?"

"Yes." Yueniang simply responded. "There are not many folks who use the big golden pillar, but first they searched for gold and silver, and then they searched for iron, causing a mess in the city. First, the big merchants hanged themselves, then the small merchants hanged themselves, and then every household had to sell iron... many The poor in Nancheng can't afford the expensive money to buy iron, and they don't have spare iron, so they can only throw pots, and those outside the city can only unload hoes."

"Cao Zhongcheng didn't care?" Qin Bao didn't hold back.

"It's okay, so it gradually calmed down in the next two months, but it is said that it is because the iron was distributed to the outside like the gold and silver before." Yueniang finally brought out a bowl of fried crispy meat. "Eat first, and then switch to the big stove to cook...Brother Bao helped me get down the firewood."

"I know." Qin Bao responded immediately. "So, why is the market so lively?"

"No..." Yueniang thought for a while and answered seriously. "The bustle of the market is what happened after the sage came back. In just a few days... a lot of rewards, as well as purchases in the palace, all of a sudden made the business a lot easier... but it is indeed a bit strange."

"What's so strange?" Zhang Xing sat there, put down his teacup and started to eat meat seriously.Just a casual question.

After all, a large number of government procurement and concentrated consumption of public servants will indeed cause extreme abnormal prosperity in the market for a while.

"Those neighbors, hawkers, and poor people obviously lost all the money they were blackmailed before, but this time they made money, but they didn't want to save it at all. Instead, they took advantage of the twelfth lunar month to use it out." Yueniang answered seriously. "It's less than Chinese New Year in previous years, where is it so lively?"

"After all, the New Year's Day is not far away." Qin Bao felt a little uneasy, but he didn't know what was going on, so he could only explain it vaguely, but after saying this, he himself felt a little strange, so he went to see Zhang Xing again.

"What can there be?" Zhang Xing said with a faint smile. "Didn't Yueniang already answer the question? If it were you, the money you worked so hard to save was suddenly taken away easily by the court. Who would save money? This is called drinking today and getting drunk tomorrow, and dying without wine tomorrow!" And now that the sage is back, naturally I don’t dare to save money anymore.”

Qin Bao was stunned, but he could only be silent.

But in fact, with Qin Erlang's inner show, how can we not draw inferences from one instance... Those sergeants, palace people, and officials, with their vengeful ostentation, consumption, and enthusiasm, probably have a similar mentality.

To put it bluntly, with this sage on top, who isn't drunk today?Who doesn't pretend to be an official for a day?Why do you have to fight to the death?If you haven't found a way out, just stay here.

Just like that, Zhang Xing didn't bother to cover up after eating, so he wanted to speak up, and made it clear that he was going to leave for a foreign job, and asked her what she thought, whether she wanted to stay here and follow Qin Bao, or what?
Even Qin Bao, it seems that he should ask for his opinion, whether he should pick up his old mother or send him to Youzhou.

And just when Zhang Xing raised his words and was about to speak, in the middle of the afternoon, there was a knocking sound on the door outside, and the knocking sound was a bit shrill.

Qin Bao was surprised, and immediately got up to open the door, but unexpectedly, there was a servant who opened the door, and behind the servant was a half-acquainted person, so he hurriedly turned around while saying hello:
"Third brother, Eunuch Yu is here and asked if you are at home."

Zhang Xing also stood up in surprise... Although this Eunuch Yu had been in contact with him for more than half a year, after all, he was the one who directly faced the saint in charge of documents in the Beiya. How did the powerful father-in-law of the Grand Governor come out of the palace and come to me in person?

"Eunuch Yu." Zhang Xingxing came out, hurriedly confronted each other in the courtyard, and asked seriously. "Why did you come to see me?"

"Zhang Changjian is really poor." Eunuch Yu looked around the courtyard, sighed, and immediately got down to business. "It's not that I have something to do, it's that the saint has a call... Let's go quickly."

Zhang Xing was more and more surprised, but at this moment he had no choice but to put on the dusty dark brocade clothes again in a hurry, put on the small warrior crown, straddle the scimitar... he dared not bring the startling dragon sword... and hurriedly followed travel.

When we came outside, we got on the horse together, and before Zhang Xing came to ask, Eunuch Yu suddenly turned his head: "Our family just happened to encounter this matter, so we took the initiative to ask you to come... Zhang Changjian, the saint lost his temper when he was meeting His Royal Highness King Qi, and asked Only when you meet your entourage and so on can you speak your words... When you arrive at the place, you must have a score in your heart."

Zhang Xing nodded immediately, and replied again: "Thank you, Eunuch Yu, for your reminder, first go to face the saint, and return to Xiyuan in two days to have an appointment, and there will be rewards."

"Not at all." Eunuch Yu quickly waved his hands with a smile. "Everyone is doing things in front of the imperial court, and we have to help each other in the future... The siege of Yunnei is not just being taken care of by Fulongwei... Let's talk slowly in the future."

Zhang Xing suddenly realized that Ganqing was also a patient with the sequelae of the siege of Yunnei, no different from the ordinary people in the city who frantically used money.

Just like that, the few people stopped talking, and galloped into Xiyuan in a short while, and came to a separate hall. Zhang Xing bowed his head and entered with Eunuch Yu. Originally, he thought that he would break the precept of kowtowing...Although it didn't matter, But after all, I was unhappy... But as soon as I walked in, I saw Niu Dugong waving from afar, signaling himself to go directly from the side corridor, but after turning around, he found that the saint beside the dragon chair in the hall was wiping his tears on the ground. temper.

Up to now, Zhang Fuchangjian didn't know how he, a mere sixth-rank martial artist, could get into the eyes of this saint?It should have been just when he was scolding King Qi, he brought up an entourage, and was "prepared" by the fathers-in-law of Beiya, but at this moment, with this posture, this hairy sage may not think of himself again.

As soon as he thought of this, he bowed his head beside Niu Dugong and acted like a small boy, honestly being an invisible person.

However, the other hall is large, and the outer corridor is a little far away from the inside of the hall, so Zhang Xing couldn't hear the specific conversation between the father and son at all, so he lost some fun.

"Father, if you can't trust your son, then you can kill him!"

While thinking this way, King Qi suddenly became angry, and his voice was very loud, causing all the palace people in the outer corridor to bow their heads in shock.

Only Zhang Xing, a jovial person, cheered up, his ears twitched, and he quickly bowed his head beside Niu Dugong.

"Do you think I don't want to?" The saint was also furious, and his voice shook the roof tiles. "If your elder brother hadn't died early, and your nephews are still young, you would have died too!"

"My son is not afraid of death!" Qi Wang's voice became more and more angry, even a little desolate. "In the early spring of last year, I already wanted to die in the past. The reason why this life has been kept until now is nothing more than waiting for my father to take it!"

The saint suddenly lost his voice, and the hall was silent.

"Besides, I have absolutely no lies. Jin land is divided into three parts. Now the north has been emptied by the Wu Clan. Father just came back. Don't you believe it? The surrounding area of ​​Taiyuan is also full of bandits, and there are rumors from top to bottom that it is because I was in Taiyuan before. The king of organization Qin just now attracted the envy of his father and emperor for them, otherwise why would there be such an important position vacant in Taiyuan? That is, the east side is better, but it is only because the great master Zhang Master is on the way, blocking the chaos!" King Qi finally yelled out. "Dare to ask my father, my son is a useless person, if he has a treacherous heart, he was alarmist when he was in Taiyuan before. Today, when he returns to Dongdu, his father, his nephew, and his uncle are all there, and his son is still alarmist. What's the use? Taiyuan is full of bandits!"

King Qi finished his roar in one breath, but was unable to lay down on the ground without saying a word, so that the hall continued to be silent for a while.

"Get off!"

Unexpectedly, the emperor didn't have an extra attack, but just let out a low shout.

King Qi also kowtowed immediately, then got up and staggered away in a hurry.

Dugong Niu waved his hands, Eunuch Yu pulled off Zhang Xing's clothes, and the group hurried out from the side corridor with their heads bowed.

After leaving the door, no one dared to speak, so he turned two or three miles away and came to the middle of Xiyuan. Eunuch Yu just stopped, and then came to see Zhang Xing: "I let Zhang Sanlang come here for nothing."

"I wish I could come here for nothing." Zhang Xing shook his head again and again.

Eunuch Yu nodded heavily, then sighed: "Our family will give you a gift."

After Zhang Xing knew that the other party was under the siege of Yunnei, he realized the value of these warriors, especially the fact that he had the actual control over Fulongwei's periphery, which was even more valuable to their fathers-in-law who had no force... But there was no reason to reject the other party's kindness .

The two continued to walk eastward along the Xiyuan Road. After walking for a while, Eunuch Yu looked back at the side hall that was no longer visible behind him, and lowered his head to inform a piece of information:
"Actually, ever since the sage came back, he didn't think about tea or food, and he often drank alcohol, so that it was difficult for him to fall asleep every day. He had to lie on the cradle and let the palace servants push him to fall asleep..."

Zhang Xing nodded, this is why the sage encountered troubles after he came back, coupled with being frightened, he became more emotionally unstable, and even had a nervous breakdown. No wonder these father-in-laws are so careful.

"We are also very distressed as servants." It took four or five breaths for Eunuch Yu to realize that his words were too direct, so he quickly covered them up.

And since Zhang Xing knew that the other party was a breakthrough, he simply took advantage of the situation and continued to ask: "Since returning to the Eastern Capital, it is reasonable to say that the saint should relax, why should he suffer like this...? Oh, as a guard, I also feel distressed. .”

Eunuch Yu smiled wryly for a while: "If others come to ask, our family will naturally have nothing to say, but Zhang Sanlang is a smart man, and he is still a decent person. If you think about it, you can't hide it from you. It's better to be a favor... They are all saints with love!"

"It's natural." Zhang Xing nodded too late.

"It's mainly the two pagodas." Eunuch Yu suddenly cherished words like gold.

Zhang Xing was startled, and immediately realized half of it: "One is the black tower?"

Eunuch Yu nodded heavily: "As soon as Zhang Sanlang inquired about this matter, the whole court knew that after the saint came back, he suffered many losses from the emperor's uncle, and the emperor's uncle was much more tyrannical this time..."

No wonder the sage stopped abruptly just now. I'm afraid it wasn't that what King Qi said was reasonable, but that he mentioned Uncle Cao, which made the sage fearful.

However, this matter belongs to the proper meaning of the question, but it is really hard to say how much power this uncle can organize to control and reverse the government because he is a martial artist.

Because the interior of Nanya is already in chaos, it is not the previous Nanya.

Uncle Cao is a bit of a lonely fighter, and after all, he is subject to the distinction between monarch and minister.

"Where's the other tower?" Zhang Xing thought for a while, but couldn't figure it out for a while. "Is it the Taibai Peak in Kansai or the southern slope of the River East? It can't be from Nanling or Dongyi, right?"

"None." Eunuch Yu stopped suddenly. "Actually, as long as Zhang Sanlang is still in Da Nei, he will know the whole story sooner or later... But our family just can't talk about it."

Zhang Xing was even more surprised.

"It's getting late, let Zhang Sanlang take a trip for nothing, go back quickly." After speaking, Eunuch Yu pointed to the fork in front of him.

Zhang Xing looked at the fork in the road, nodded, no longer asked any more questions, but said goodbye with his hands up, and left calmly.

However, instead of going south, he took the south gate of Xiyuan, but took another path that crossed the road, which was the path he took when he first took office that day—that is, he walked through the interior of Ziwei Palace.

Entering Xuanwu City, Zhang Xing did not leave directly, but inquired a little, and then found Ding Quan of the Jinwu Guard all the way, said hello, and boarded Xuanwu City under the slightly strange but not surprised eyes of the other party. tower.

Then Zhang Sanlang saw the beautiful, majestic and tall Mingtang at a glance under the bright sunset, and saw the golden Tongtian Tower under construction on the high ground on its west side.

The interesting point is that Zhang Xing clearly remembered that the tower had five floors before he left, but why is it only three and a half floors at this time?

It's no wonder that the rumor about the eldest princess was started by some kind of dragon evil in Ziwei Palace?No wonder the sage suddenly killed a group of messengers on the road, and has been resisting going back to Dongdu?
The big golden pillar didn't collapse, so what else collapsed?

PS: Thank you for my bad writing, you still joined the master, what a unique name, thank the master of Linghu No. [-] Middle School, such a kind name, and send greetings to the two masters.

(End of this chapter)