Delong

Chapter 169 Floating Horse Walk (16)

"Are they all gone?"

After a few cases, Zhang Xing asked without raising his head.

"They all left... They heard that the third brother would at least continue to lead the team to Dengzhou Camp before taking up his post, so they all left... It's not that they really came to congratulate, they were afraid that the previous guarantee would suddenly disappear."

Qin Bao sat cross-legged in front of the table, and then glanced at the things on the table. It was a document, half a talisman... Maybe it was because Yuqian had half of the court accompanying him, so Eunuch Yu took these things that night delivered.

But there is no seal.

"Why is there no seal?" Qin Bao was probably a little embarrassed after sitting down, so he had nothing to ask.

"Because the Great Wei Dynasty was a strange dynasty." Zhang Xing, who had been in a daze, raised his head expressionlessly and said something. "Hundreds of years of division and separatism led to many institutional changes and evolutions. When it came to the Great Wei Dynasty, it suddenly seemed to be unified, and there were many changes, so you can often see different characteristics of the same thing..."

Qin Bao was at a loss. He didn't know why his third brother suddenly said this, but he remained patient: "For example, Yinshou?"

"Yes! Specific to the seal and ribbon, such as the public security system, the censor system, and the general system, because they are not permanent, or mainly patrolled, this makes the seal go with others, and the red ribbon, black ribbon, and white ribbon in Jing'antai That's how I got here, because it's Xiaoyin Changshou, and you can roughly understand the identity of the other party just by looking at the outside..."

Speaking, Zhang Xing first pointed to the objects in his waist.

"However, in permanent institutions such as prefectural, county, and temple supervisors, people often come and go, and things cannot stop. The corresponding seals and ribbons are often placed in the lobby, and they are usually large seals without ribbons, which serve as a signature..."

Then he pointed to the object on the table.

"So, right now, the thing that can really show me, the prefect of Wu'an, is this thin Nanya document issued in the name of the emperor. If you go to Wu'an County with half a talisman, you will be recognized by the county, and you will become the governor of a county in a grand manner."

Qin Bao nodded, but didn't say much, because if he didn't guess wrong, the other party hadn't touched it since the arrival of the document that would make his third elder brother a prefect of a county.

In other words, the third brother in front of me didn't do anything... From the time he received the oral reward in front of the imperial tent in the evening, until Eunuch Yu came to deliver the documents in person just now, and now Qin Bao stopped the people who came to congratulate him... Zhang Sanlang just sat in front of the case.

He didn't express his joy about his personal future, he didn't express his sorrow about the fate of the country, he didn't accept congratulations, he didn't accept condolences, he didn't discuss his future with his closest brother, and he didn't contact acquaintances to ask if anyone would go to Wu'an with him , Get promoted and get rich to do business.

In other words, the other party didn't really want to talk about talismans, documents, or seals.

"People's names can also tell a little bit."

Zhang Xing continued to speak seriously. "Whether it's the Guanlongmen faction, the Shandong aristocratic family, or the Jiangdong scholars... Among the adults, many people have Chinese characters such as 'Shi', 'Dai', and 'Chang' in their names... This is A mentality longing for the continuation of the family is not only afraid of turmoil, but also welcomes the arrival of the eternal world. It can be seen that the human heart is really interesting... the Great Wei Dynasty is also very interesting."

This is very much like the ordinary Zhang Sanlang, everything can be wrapped around people, people can accomplish anything, even conquering heaven and earth.But in fact, not to mention Supreme, there is God's will above Supreme.

Qin Bao breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the words, and then asked seriously: "So is the third brother ready to take office?"

"There's no reason not to go." Zhang Xing answered with certainty. "But no matter what, we must always fulfill our promise, first send people to Dengzhou Daying, and even if the situation changes, we may even send people to Dahekou, find Li Silang, and ask him to send people back to Dongdu ...the so-called beginning and end."

Qin Baozhong nodded emphatically, thought for a while, and continued: "Lai Gong sent two iron maces as a thank-you gift, and said that he had already dealt with them in the follow-up, but Xiao Zhou didn't want to stay with him, so let's talk more about it." look after..."

"It's the same row, he will take care of it even if he doesn't say anything." Zhang Xing answered casually. "I'm not good at martial arts right now, you can keep it for yourself...I'm afraid people will have to work hard for you to keep an eye on."

"Okay." Qin Bao responded immediately.

But after responding, there was no sound.

In the next few days, probably because they realized the importance of the camps along the way, and because they didn't care about the rumored defeat, under the control of several veteran generals, the order of the team seemed to be a little better.

Of course, before sitting still, it was inevitable to flee and disperse. Now that the front line has been defeated and the old things are repeating, the so-called better order can only be said to be better than the expected total collapse.

Seizing the opportunity, civilian husbands and sergeants still desperately drilled into the mountainous area in the north. Every time they marched, the troops in front would pass the camp and fail to enter. …I don’t know whether to go to Yimeng Mountain or go home.

Looting, annihilation, and rape continued to happen in dark corners as the weather got hotter and hotter.

Moreover, the food supply has obviously begun to become tense. Fulongwei's cavalry team has already used the stored food and grass that they carry.

But in the end, in the first ten days of May, when the weather was probably the hottest, Yu Jia finally returned to Dengzhou camp in a hurry... Then, he stopped suddenly.

The soldiers and courtiers suddenly let go because they had received supplies and returned to familiar places. A considerable number of middle and low-level officials also took it for granted, because they wanted to gather defeated soldiers, because they wanted to rescue defeated troops, because they wanted to reward and punish them...but some thoughtful The officials, including Zhang Xing, obviously felt a little uneasy.

Because no one knows what this saint is going to do again.

At this time, Bai Yousi found Zhang Xing.

In other words, Bai Yousi and Niu Dugong, who are in charge of Fulongyin, have always been the biggest security and the most secret layer before the imperial court. This caused Bai Yousi to rarely interact with Zhang Xing during the Eastern Expedition...Of course, no Knowing whether it was an illusion, Zhang Xing always felt that since the incident of the two-horse trough last year, Bai Yousi had always maintained a strange posture.

It's as if he has been observing and protecting, but has been keeping a certain distance.

The personal relationship between the two parties has also been stuck in an ambiguous question and answer in the willow forest that day.

The agreement between the two parties on "official affairs" has always been on the place where Zhang Xing went, and the more conspicuous Bai Yousi waited for a while before leaving.

Other than that, everything seems a little wary.

Zhang Laosan doesn't understand this... First of all, there are nine out of ten reasons for the visualization factor of this alchemy stage. Visualization and visualization must be based on observation and understanding. Too much interaction will affect the visualization , so he didn't bother to care about it; secondly, the two adult men and women have long realized that the family background of both parties is a huge obstacle. It not only affects the personal feelings of both parties, but also affects the ideals and careers of both parties.

At this time, Zhang Xing suddenly fulfilled his long-cherished wish ahead of schedule, so of course Bai Yousi wanted to come and ask.

"Are you going to Wu'an?" Bai Yousi, who had entered the account, got straight to the point.

"I'm a little hesitant. I think it's absurd for the sheriff to come, but I can't find a reason not to go." Sitting behind the case, Zhang Xing replied earnestly. The rooms in Dengzhou Daying are all permanent. The house is also very spacious.

"This matches your awkward personality." Bai Yousi thought about it, then sat down holding the long sword. "I'm actually here to suggest that you make a decision early..."

"Do you realize that the sage is going to do something stupid again?" Zhang Xing cheered up and asked.

"There is no specific statement, but he must have caused trouble if he stopped." As he spoke, Bai Yousi pouted. "The sword behind you is the Shocking Dragon Sword, right? Was it given to you by King Qi? Although I don't know what the two of you said... But I can guess that it has something to do with the earthquake after the Second Expedition to Dongyi... He is now He is still in the army, and was summoned just this afternoon."

That's all for nothing, Zhang Xing didn't expect that he and Cao Ming would hide the shitty matter between him and Cao Ming, and it wasn't worth it to hide it from Bai Yousi, who had been thinking about him all this time. A bucket of ice water came over like a spirit: "In this situation, we need to use the Sword of Shocking the Dragon? Dongyi people are useless! If the dragon moves, at least it will be a natural disaster."

Bai Yousi didn't say a word.

And Zhang Xing immediately came to his senses: "So, just in case, I should take the Dragon-Starling Sword away first? There is no great master here, and it is too late to sacrifice a new one quickly, and then he can't do it if it is only delayed for a while. Right?"

Bai Yousi nodded slightly: "It's like forcing you to take up the post...but I really want you to go first, just in case."

"I'll leave overnight." Zhang Xing nodded. "With this matter, it saves me from being awkward here."

Bai Yousi nodded and said nothing more.

Zhang Xing is also... the ambition of the family and the country and the love of his children, the long road and the choice at the moment... Both parties seem to want to say something, but they don't know where to start. They just stare at the candle on the case in a daze. I fell into silence for a moment.

"I wanted to say take care, but your ability is there, so I don't need to worry about it. Wu'an is not a place of great diversity, and Mr. Yu even took care of it in private. It would be hypocritical to say too much." Zhang Xing thought After thinking about it, he finally spoke first. "And I'm just taking a step ahead, hiding with the startling dragon sword... I can't tell if I can join Li Silang at Dahekou and wait and see, and wait until there is a large army."

Bai Yousi was thoughtful again, but still didn't say anything, just nodded, and then stood up.

Zhang Xing then got up and sent the other party out.

Walking out the door, I saw two curved moons, hanging high on both sides, dotted with stars, reflecting the sky and the earth, and then there were heat waves bubbling around, and there was constant noise, mixed with shouts, cries, wailing, and whispering, which made people feel like they were coming. To another world in general.

And it is almost conceivable that every day in the future, with the arrival of defeated soldiers and more feedback on defeats, the chaotic situation in the camp will worsen day by day.

Qin Bao, Qian Tang, Wang Zhen, Xiao Zhou and other Fu Longwei also got up when they saw Bai and Zhang coming out.

In this case, it is even more difficult to say what you want to say.

The two walked a few steps, and Bai Yousi turned to face each other: "Come on, let's do things, just have a clear conscience, there is no need to think too much."

Zhang Xing nodded, then stopped and watched the other party go back.

After Bai Yousi left, Zhang Sanlang, who knew the possible huge risk, could not delay any longer, so he quickly called Qin Bao, made a brief explanation, and then hurriedly rolled up the startling dragon sword, hid the golden cone and compass, and put them away Documents, talismans, and a machete, a small crown, and walked out... At this time, Qin Erlang had already brought the yellow puma and the mule together. The horse was for people to ride, and the mule was carrying some coils, Flint, dry food, etc... Zhang Xing directly brought them over and walked out.

Qian Tang, Wang Zhen and other Fu Longwei had known for a long time that Vice Changjian Zhang had appointed the sheriff, and they thought it was because they had brought the big guy back to the Dengzhou camp and had nothing to worry about, so they were about to take office as the sheriff in a hurry, although there were some other things. Thoughts, but when I saw Bai Yousi coming over with my own eyes before, I just took it as an order, so I couldn't say much, I could only sigh.

But more people, like Xiao Zhou, are full of worries and anxiety about the situation, and don't pay much attention to others.

Under the escort of Qin Bao, Zhang Xing went to Sima Zheng's defense area, took a serious transfer document, and went out of the camp calmly, and then explained to Qin Bao that if he couldn't meet at Dahekou, he would wait until he returned to Dongdu to communicate. Yunyun, and then hurriedly rode out of the camp.

After running all night, he fled the Dengzhou camp in a hurry, but he had nothing to say.

However, in the next two or three days, Zhang Xing walked more and more slowly, and the more he walked, the more boring he became. On the night of the third day after he left Dengzhou camp, he slept in a small village by the road, tossing and turning, and it was still difficult to fall asleep.

An inexplicable irritability filled his chest. He wanted to yell, yell, and do something, but he was bound by logic and reason. He wanted to suppress it, return to reason, and do things according to logic and interests. But it was always difficult to extinguish the smoldering fire.

This kind of situation didn't just happen tonight, and it didn't just happen after the prefect of a county was acquired in an absurd way. When he was in this world, he already had such a strange mentality... However, at that time, he would think that this mentality was wrong and shouldn't be there, and every time he tried to think, try to reason, and then After taking action, I often find that I will enter a more reasonable and safe route, and nourish this restlessness even more.

In a sense, there was a fire in his heart, and he wanted to burn the whole world, but what was released was the coldest icy true energy.

The cold ice true energy was really released, it was the hottest time of the year, it was impossible to sleep without releasing some true energy, and there was no reason not to let it go... In the summer night, Zhang Xing turned over and sat up. Looking at the starry sky outside the window in a daze on the bed, but my heart is in a mess.

This is a small camp on the supply line, it can be regarded as a supply station, and the person who manages it is a local low-rank official in Dengzhou, who can't escape the errand... But the same reason, facing countless routs, deserters, The civilian husbands in the cluster, as well as the messengers and officials who come and go, they are also helpless, they can only pretend to be ignorant.

This makes this small military depot full of people of all kinds, including a lot of people who you can't tell whether they are rout soldiers or rebels. They fight and yell at each other all night long.

The movement of these people made Zhang Xing instinctively think of what happened to him and Du Meng two years ago. At that time, no one thought that the man on the side of the road was actually His Royal Highness King Qi, a giant baby who had been squeezed dry by his father.

And no one thought that, just a few days later, Du Meng died suddenly because of the internal strife caused by the rout.

The shock and impact of this incident on me has continued to this day, and I am unwilling to let go of the killing ring, and wantonly use killing to steal my true energy reserves, which is largely because of this.

The noise was getting louder and Zhang Xing was getting more and more irritable. He wanted to reprimand and stop him, but he felt that such things could happen thousands of miles from Luokou Cang, let alone Yimeng Mountain and Juye in the southwest of Dengzhou. Ze, there are countless definite rebels, and there are as many as more than 20 abandoned and defeated troops on the Luolongtan side... Counting the South Route Army who is destined to be trapped because of going deep into the rear, there may be more than [-]. Everything is there.

More than 20 troops were thrown on the front line again.

With so many people and so many things, how can I manage so much by myself, and I don't have my own team, so it's better to go to the post as soon as possible and focus on the local area.

With this thought in mind, Zhang Xing simply got up, packed up his things, got on his horse and led his mule on the road overnight.

Using a little zhenqi to frighten the broken soldiers who blocked the road, I walked for a while, the stars reflected the moon in the first half of the night, and it was safe to follow the main road, but in the second half of the night, it was almost visible to the naked eye, as if there was a little mist, and It's still thickening... From the middle of the night to the early morning in summer, it's normal for the sun to come out and disperse. The big deal is to stop for a while, but in fact it's not enough. The wide east-west road is still in front of you. It's okay to continue on with the torch.

But just after lighting the spare torch, Zhang Sanlang's heart moved slightly, but holding the fire with one hand, he took out his compass from behind his waist with the other hand.

He hasn't touched this thing for a long time.

Considering the blessings of this thing, the blessings and the blessings, and the misfortunes and blessings, it seems that there is no reason to use this thing at this time, but for some reason, Zhang Xing, who was on the way immediately, hesitated for a moment, almost with a smile on his face. An anticipation whispered the words:
"Tai Shang Lao Jun is in a hurry like a law."

Even though it was in the dark night, even though it started to fog up, Zhang Xing could still clearly see through the torch in his hand that the pointer of the compass in his hand bounced almost instantly, and then firmly pointed in one direction.

The road is due east and west, and the pointer points to the west and north, and an obvious fact is that Wu'an County, an important town located in the Taiyuan area where the Hebei area is connected, is there.

Holding the torch in one hand, Zhang Xing was a little puzzled... He seemed a little dissatisfied and uneasy about the result, but the compass had not deceived him so far, at least never in terms of efficacy.

Could it be the Great Estuary?It's also to the north of the west.

So, the place I want to go at this time, what I long for at this time is to seek the opinion of the most reliable Li Ding?

This answer made Zhang Xing calm down a little.

But since he wanted something in his heart, he simply got up instead, and Zhang Xing began to gallop forward along the road... However, after galloping for a while, Zhang Xing picked up the compass to look again, but unexpectedly discovered that the compass The pointer seems to be deflected slightly.

This is not right, because Wu'an County is too far away, there should be no obvious deflection on this trip, even the Dahekou where Li Ding is located, it is at least hundreds of miles away, not so... But at this time , The compass has been activated, but Zhang Xing has no scruples. He wants to see where the place he wants in his heart is.

In this way, he drove forward for a while, and the fog became more obvious. Following the clear guidance of the compass, Zhang Xing first turned to a fork road next to the northeast of Dengzhou, that is, the mountainous area northwest of Luolongtan, and then in the early morning, Suddenly entered the mountain road.

From the first time he changed lanes, Zhang Sanlang seemed to realize something, but like countless times before, he only suppressed the waves in his heart, but increased his speed.

After entering the mountain for the second time, I didn't think about anything at all, but just walked hard along the mountain road.

This unexpected trip lasted from night to morning, Huang Puma was already struggling, and at this time, even the fog in the mountains had already dispersed.

And Zhang Xing also stopped suddenly after turning around a mountain depression.

Because, he saw his destination - it was a dilapidated village with no movement and silence.

Although there are weeds everywhere, Zhang Sanlang still recognized this mountain village at a glance. This is the place where he stepped into civilized society for the first time. The place where they died was a place where there were so many widows that one person could marry two at will, or even more.

Zhang Xing rode his horse and walked slowly through the mountain village. Although there were weeds and vines everywhere, he still found the open space where Han and Wang's rout soldiers were buried. The extraordinary earthen house even has traces of repairs on it.

I walked through the entire mountain village, and there was no one there.

There were a few corpses, but they had been gnawed to the bone by insects and ants, and there was no trauma on the bones, which meant nothing.

The only thing that can be included in the logic is the weeds and vines all over the village, and the crops that are faintly visible in the valley behind the village, which means that they probably chose to escape or abandon this village after spring plowing this year.

This almost certainly has something to do with the Third Eastern Expedition.

Zhang Xing wanted to express a little bit of emotion, but he didn't know how to express it.

He got off his horse and chopped up the weeds around the crop field with a machete. This kind of work didn't take any effort for him who was already a master of strange scriptures and had ample reserves of true energy... In the afternoon, he had already cut down the weeds. The outskirts of a small crop field were cleared, and then an attempt was made to clean up the abandoned village itself.

We worked until night, when it was completely dark, and the bonfire was lit.

At noon on the second day, after clearing the entire road in the middle, Zhang Xing gave up on this futile work, and then got on his horse and turned back without even looking at the compass.

It was not unexpected, a few days later, before returning to Dengzhou camp, he heard a series of news on the road.

The Dongyi people returned Sima Changying's head, and took advantage of the situation to ask for surrender.

This time, the saint voluntarily agreed, claiming that the battle had been won, and asked the king of Dongyi to return with the South Army... Dongyi's envoy returned noncommittally, noncommittal... Many people guessed that Dongyi was impossible Let go of this army, and only by eating the South Route Army can the Dongyi people sleep peacefully, and they now have this strength and strategic space.

Then, the generals in the east of Luolongtan gradually got news, except that Xue Changxiong and the Hebei front army successfully assembled, and then left directly to Hejian by boat. It was so tragic that many generals fled back in embarrassment with only their own soldiers.

Among them, Yu Shuwen returned and was surrounded by Lai Zhan'er, Niu Dugong, Jinwu Guards, and Fulong Guards before he entered the Dengzhou camp. execute.

Zhao Guang and others who came back with him were pardoned, and even their treatment and appointment remained the same.

But for some reason, the sage still had no intention of withdrawing his troops.

Under such circumstances, the kind-hearted Deputy Changjian Zhang returned to the Dengzhou camp.

Many people were surprised for a moment, but Zhang Fuchang checked his words with certainty... The army has not been disbanded for a day, and the Eastern Expedition has not ended for a day. He should continue to share weal and woe with everyone, and there is absolutely no reason to leave his brothers and go to Hebei alone to enjoy the blessings... Definitely You have to start well and end well.

This statement has been recognized and appreciated by many people.

Interestingly, Bai Yousi who sent Zhang Xing away did not come to ask alone.

After staying in the Dengzhou camp for about two or three days, something really came—the sage suddenly summoned all the ministers of the fifth grade and above, and asked all the palace officials and soldiers in the camp to turn south on the spot and go south along Gushui. Turn to Langya and go to Jiangdu for inspection.

As soon as this remark came out, many civil and military ministers turned pale with fright, and offered advice one after another.

Among them, the most important one is actually the leader of the opposition, and it is impressive that Jiangdu stayed behind to fight Er Laigong.

It is said that Lai Zhan'er's own advice was very appropriate. He clearly pointed out that the current people's strength is exhausted, and because of the three expeditions to Dongyi, there are bandits everywhere. Shengjia's going to Jiangdu will easily make the situation unmanageable, so he asked the saint to return to the East Du, risk your life, and lead the troops to wipe out all the bandits, and if the saint is still interested, it will not be too late to go to Jiangdu.

This remonstrance basically said everything that could be said, and in the entire Dengzhou camp, except for the saints, there were only two ministers who were considered to be slightly higher in status than Lai Gong, and Lai Zhan'er himself was a member of the previous army. The actual commander, he himself can control the situation.

So for a while, everyone from top to bottom kept great hopes for this admonition.

In fact, after hearing the remonstrance, although the sage was so angry that he walked away, the royal driver was still unable to leave.

The situation became stalemate. At this time, there was a lot of commotion in the camp, and the news leaked out. On the one hand, many people began to try a new round of escape, including many officials. On the other hand, everyone hoped that the two gentlemen would also say something... ...But the two ministers finally spoke, and it was on this day in late May that they publicly wrote a letter, asking the saint to move to Jiangdu for inspection.

And taking advantage of this opportunity, the emperor summoned Lai Zhan'er again, and asked in public, but only asked one sentence: "Even if you want to do this, what hope do I have?"

Lai Zhan'er has a strong body, like a giant, and is in the realm of a grand master, and actually controls the military affairs of the camp, but he can only cry when he hears the words, and finally kowtows in the lobby, and personally invites the holy driver to tour Jiangdu in the south.

On May [-]th, Shengjia officially toured the south.

And on this day, in the eastern capital city, in the Nanya meeting hall, Grandmaster Cao Lin suddenly stopped speaking, turned his head and looked towards the east in surprise.

The so-called eight nobles in the eastern capital, the other seven people were surprised and puzzled.

But soon, they seemed to wake up, because the ground suddenly began to shake, and then they heard a huge vibration and cries for help from the north of the meeting hall.

"Is it an earthquake?" Prime Minister Su Wei asked in surprise, but he just stared at Uncle Cao... After all, with this person around, even an earthquake would not put them in danger.

"No." The other prime minister, Niu Hong, was stunned for a moment. He seemed to have some experience, but his face turned pale. "The tower has collapsed again!"

There was a moment of silence in the hall.

"Don't worry about it." Cao Lin took a few deep breaths, the real energy around him was surging, and the wind was blowing on the ground, but he finally calmed down. "Let's continue the discussion."

The people around were either hesitant or trembling, but they had nothing to say.

PS: Thanks to the new leader, Junzi Jiang, and Qiefang Bailuba... The two bosses are generous, and thank the bosses for their planes.

(End of this chapter)