Delong

Chapter 157 Floating Horse Walk (4)

On the way Zhang Xing came back, the Tianjie began to drizzle, then turned into light snow, and sometimes turned back to light rain.

But it doesn't matter anymore, none of this can change the obvious slack and chaos on Tianjie—the Jinwu Guards have also begun to walk out of the Ziwei Palace to patrol in line, but they seem lazy and casual, the queue is not neat, the number of people is not uniform, and the departure is slow; the entire Eastern Capital City The local officials seem to be beating gongs, but they appear disorganized; the vendors and pedestrians on the street are more casual, and some people even scolded God for being unbeautiful while walking slowly into the workshop with a basket on their shoulders.

Zhang Xing beat his horse slowly and walked in the light snow. After walking for a long time, he reached the gate of the workshop. At this time, the sound of gongs had already stopped, but Chengfufang had not closed the gate—this was unimaginable before.

At that time, although the powerful could directly penetrate the walls of the square from their homes, and some middle-level officials with real power could also privately build high-rise buildings to cross the walls of the square, and some gangs secretly punched holes and hung ladders on the walls of the square, but the most superficial gate of the square was always open. Maintain a little rigor, in order to demonstrate the order of the capital and the deterrent power of the state machine.

But now, the tower has collapsed.

Hitting the horse and walking into the workshop, it was already dark, and when he entered Dejia, Qin Bao came to meet him and told someone to wait.

Someone was waiting, Zhang Xing was not surprised, since he came back, there must be many people or things waiting; however, the first person to come was Sima Erlong, but it was unexpected.

"Zhang Sanlang."

Sima, who was dressed in casual clothes, got up proudly and bowed his hands in salute, as charming as ever. "I just chatted with Qin Erlang about the siege of Yunnei. Speaking of your behavior, it is really manly, and I feel ashamed."

As Zhang Xing returned the gift, he laughed in surprise: "What nonsense did General Sima say? In the siege of Yunnei, I'm just a messenger, and I don't have any special honors... Besides, if you, Sima Erlong, join hands with my family, you may not be able to leave the city." How can I, a person who has just mastered the strange meridian, compare to counterattack without losing the vigor of the army?"

"I didn't mean that." Sima Zheng smiled wryly. "What I admire is that whether Zhang Sanlang meets local women who have been looted, or confronts enemy troops who have lost their elders, and even deals with imperial reinforcements and local rebels, and on the way back, he can't tell whether it's an army or an army. A bandit is always able to act when the opportunity arises and make a quick decision... But looking back, the decision he made always makes people feel the most appropriate... This handling that is never sloppy but as leak-free as possible, That’s what I admire the most.”

Zhang Xing was stunned for a moment, didn't speak, but raised his hand to signal.

The two of them and Qin Bao also returned to the main room and sat down safely.

After drinking a sip of tea, Zhang Xing did not ask the other party why he came, but first asked some gossip: "General Sima is well informed in the Eastern Capital, dare to ask about three thousand honors, plus what two hundred or four hundred honors, the court will Already selected?"

"Two hundred honors...how could it be so fast?" Sima Zheng said seriously. "However, there shouldn't be any more problems, because Cao Zhongcheng took it over personally this time, and it is estimated that the results should come out around the New Year's Eve."

Zhang Xing nodded, he couldn’t care less about this matter, because it was related to the only important thing he had to do right now—Uncle Cao was capable and prestigious, but old and stubborn, and he was an old-style Guanlong military nobleman who had no civilians in his mind. Different ways do not conspire with each other; while Qi Wang is innocent and seems to be able to be manipulated, but the ambition hit by his father does not dare to rise up, as if he can't support him... Even so, it is just as discussed with Bai Yousi before, Find an opportunity to go to the place, and prepare to start tossing.

It's just a pity that my rank is not high or low, and my meritorious service is probably not high or low. If I can take advantage of the situation and become a real powerful county magistrate, county guard, and palace envoy, holding the military and political power of a place, that's called Reckless.

Of course, it is not impossible to take a step back.

Just this saint, this omen, what kind of bicycle do you want?

"Has the Tongtian Tower collapsed?" After thinking up to this point, Zhang Xing's face remained unchanged, and he asked again suddenly, causing everyone in the house, including Qin Bao, to stay on the spot.

"Yes..." Sima Zheng thought for a moment, and gave a frank answer that was not surprising. "But this is not something we should talk about as ministers."

"Did it collapse around Mid-Autumn Festival?" Zhang Xing didn't care about it at all, and continued to verify his thoughts.

"Yes..." Sima Zheng was silent for a long time before answering again. "Zhang Sanlang, this matter is very important, so don't ask any more questions. If you have the heart, go and investigate at home, and you will never be able to hide it from a smart person like you. When a minister discusses this matter, he is always mocking the king. above meaning."

"It's not bad as I expected. This matter is directly related to what you want to ask me when you come to see me this time." Zhang Xingyu was surprised. "So, I also want to ask you clearly."

"Do you know what I want to ask you?" Sima Zheng wondered for a moment.

"Did your grandfather encounter anything during this trip...why did he suddenly become such a flattering saint that many Guanlong clans felt disgusted by your grandfather's behavior?" Zhang Xing looked into the other's eyes and seriously asked for confirmation. "Besides this matter, I can't think of anything else that will make you lose ground and think hard... Coincidentally, I happen to be one of the two people you can ask about the origin of this matter... But you shouldn't think of it, so you should It was you who went to ask me for a regular checkup earlier, and my home checkup is not good enough to tell you straight up, asking you to wait for me to come back before asking me, is that right?"

Sima was staring at the other party in a daze, without saying a word, but then looked at Qin Bao who was a little dazed.

Qin Bao was taken aback for a moment, then got up and left knowingly.

Only then did Sima Zheng face each other solemnly: "You can't hide anything from Zhang Sanlang, and you shouldn't have hidden it."

"How did the tower collapse?" Zhang Xing continued to ask curiously.

"It just collapsed suddenly. It collapsed out of thin air. The pagoda, which had been built to the seventh floor, was completely gone. Even the craftsmen and servants crushed hundreds of people to death." Sima Zheng answered with difficulty. "Then it was rebuilt in late August."

Zhang Xing nodded, and it matched his impression. He walked to the fifth floor and came back to the third floor.

At this time, the snowflakes outside had gradually grown larger, and the two sides were silent for a while, while Zhang Xing waited for a while, and after finding that the other party still didn't have the courage to take the initiative to ask, he continued with his own question.

"Has the sage dealt with Duke Gao? Who is going to build the Tongtian Pagoda now?" Zhang Xing asked seriously.

"It's not dealt with, it's still him."

"why?"

"Because even a little knowledgeable practitioners know that Tongtian Pagoda is a tower for the cultivation of saint masters or great masters." Sima Zheng sighed. "Everyone knows that whether the pagoda can be completed or not has nothing to do with the person who built the pagoda... It was the saint who forced to build the most magnificent nine-story pagoda that day, and it had to be completed years ago, so he replaced the obedient high governor. Gong came to repair... Now that something has happened, it is not impossible to blame Gao Dugong, but it will make people laugh, so it is better to do it than to do it."

"There's also a reason why ordinary people will also wake up because they are afraid of dealing with Duke Gao?" Zhang Xing replied with a smile. "The sage knew the news that day. He killed more than a dozen messengers, and he was unwilling to bring back the palace servants and servants. It seemed that he wanted to deceive people and let Gao Dugong rebuild the pagoda, so as to confuse the matter."

"Maybe there is some truth to it..." Sima was getting more and more difficult, and it was hard to persuade the other party not to mock the king.

"Has the saint's cultivation really reached the level of a great master?"

"It's hard to say, I guess when I decided to build the Tongtian Pagoda, I should have reached the level of a great master, but it may not be so, maybe I feel that I am almost there..."

"I know that a few years ago, after the sage conquered the Wu clan and before conquering Dongyi, he often boasted that he was voting for 'democracy' with all the people in the world. With his intelligence and ability, he must be He will be the emperor." Zhang Xing said with a smile. "This seems to be something he can do... Besides, the success of the tower depends on the success of the Tao... His way of being a king is inherently unstable, and if he does something like that suddenly, it will naturally collapse."

"What happened around August [-]th?" Sima Zheng had nowhere to hide, not to mention that he came here for this matter. "I only know that the eldest princess is at the beginning of August... my grandfather?"

"The matter couldn't be simpler, and it has something to do with the eldest princess's family." Zhang Xing didn't panic at all, and just casually told the other party what he saw with his own eyes that night. "At that time, your grandfather was driven to a dead end and had no choice but to frame the Ma family and his son, and it became even worse. From then on, he only focused on catering to the emperor...but the emperor was so harsh that the tower collapsed in response to the situation. I think it is reasonable should."

After the words were spoken, Sima covered his face and sighed, and remained silent for a long time.

Zhang Xing also didn't say a word, he was actually quite sorry for the other party.

I don't know how long it took before Sima Erlong smiled wryly and said, "Zhang Sanlang, you said...why is it so difficult to be considerate?"

Zhang Xing responded immediately: "It's natural, all the way back to the same way, sometimes, when these things are put together, it's simply taking care of one thing and losing sight of another, or even opposing, how can everything be considered?"

"But if that's the case..." Sima Zheng was extremely puzzled. "How can I try my best not to disappoint people?"

As for the chicken soup, although it’s been a long time since I’ve boiled it, Zhang Xing still blurted out: “If you want to live up to others, you must first live up to your own heart... I don’t think you need to be too demanding. When you encounter a dilemma or even more difficult, try to be worthy of your conscience.” And patience is enough."

"But how can you live up to your heart?" Sima Zheng was a little confused.

"It's just self-esteem." Zhang Xing still did not hesitate. "On weekdays, self-respect and self-love, act frankly, and do things naturally without restraint."

Sima Zheng nodded vigorously: "Thank you Zhang Sanlang, you are a really smart person, I will definitely try my best to think according to this."

Saying that, this Sima Erlong directly raised his hands and got up to leave, and then left the main room, he was about to jump away.

Zhang Xing, on the other hand, seemed to have thought of something suddenly, so he asked in the room: "General Sima...you must be the Empress of Cheng Danqi?"

"That's right." Sima Zheng reluctantly turned around to answer. "What's wrong?"

"There are two more questions..." Zhang Xing smiled slightly. "Let me ask first... have you noticed the changes in the vitality of the heavens and the earth?"

Sima Zheng was silent for a while, then nodded lightly: "It's just Wei Wei...the practice is obviously a little easier."

Zhang Xing nodded, and continued to ask: "One more question... I have always been curious, what did General Sima visualize after he condensed his alchemy?"

Sima Zheng felt relieved instead: "It's just a family heirloom armor!"

Zhang Xing nodded again and again and didn't ask any more questions.

And Sima Zheng waited for a while, and when he saw that the other party stopped talking, he jumped up and disappeared into the twilight of the slight snow.

PS: I’m sorry everyone, it’s my own Calvin, and then I stayed up all night and got stuck. This update is only [-] words... half leave and half apology... Say hello to everyone.

(End of this chapter)