Food Fairy Lord

Chapter 481 Hong Xingping

Pei Ye picked up the sword and stood up: "Where is the prison guard station?"

"In the imperial city." Xie Chuantang also reacted, stood up with his knife in hand, and strode back.

The two men mounted their horses and galloped towards the northeast. It was already noon, and there was not a single speck of silver armor on the street.

Hong Xingping has been serving as General of the Central Army for nine years.

For some people, this is a turning point, but for Hong Xingping and many others, this is an upper limit that is impossible to break through.

Like Li Zhao, he was born in Duanzhou, Hebei Province. He was fourteen years older than Li Zhao and had come to Beijing more than ten years earlier than Li Zhao. He also came from a humble family and had nothing to rely on except his martial arts.

He also came to Beijing with great ambitions.

With his outstanding physique and talent, he was quickly selected into the Sixteen Guards, the imperial guards of the Tang Dynasty's Shenjing. They commanded troops from all over the world and were definitely enough to enable anyone to realize their ambitions.

Promotion was very hard and difficult at the beginning. For new recruits from other places with no roots, it was difficult for them to have a smooth progress even if they had extraordinary talents. After several failed promotions, Hong Xingping gradually came to his senses. He made friends with his comrades, spoke more and did more. After half a year, he was finally promoted to sergeant.

On the second day when he went to the parade ground, looking at the nine strong and tall guards in front of him, that was almost the most exciting day for Hong Xingping.

For several days he played with the small badge and couldn't let it go. He wrote three letters to his hometown in a row.

In the next few years, his promotions went more and more smoothly. Respected by new recruits, friendly by comrades, favored by superiors, and with his rapid cultivation, Hong Xingping was promoted step by step to team leader, an eighth-rank official, with 150 soldiers under his command.

He was only twenty-five years old that year.

On the first day of wearing the green robe and silver armor, Hong Xingping was reluctant to take them off for a long time when he returned home at night. That night he felt that his dream of being awarded a title of nobility seemed within reach, and he didn't realize that his head had reached an invisible limit.

It took him six years to figure out the sky above his head.

There were 750 men in the first battalion, with a total of five captains. Under this, he had been promoted under the old battalion commander, and his abilities and interests were all in the first battalion. But to achieve this position of leading 750 men, it was a whole other world.

Later, Hong Xingping thought that this was actually the real world.

When the old battalion commander left, he, as the most outstanding and most popular captain in the battalion, was not promoted. Every time he asked, he was told that the promotion required a sixth-rank military honor, which he had not yet achieved.

But most of the time, military honors were clearly awarded together with job ranks. Moreover, he had captured many thieves and criminals, and the areas under his jurisdiction were always the most orderly. The merits he had accumulated were enough for promotion.

It was not until he had stayed in the capital for a long time, when he was thirty years old, that he finally understood that things above this level could not be obtained through one's own efforts, but had to be given by others.

Three years later, a man named Wang Wujiao gave him this position.

The young man was only twenty-four years old, and he was feasting in the East Pond painted boat with his official uniform half-unbuttoned. He was only a ninth-rank Wenlinlang, but he was taken to meet his superior, the General of the Central Army, and three months later he was in charge of the battalion.

Of course something will be given.

From then on, he had almost smooth sailing, and felt an unreal high position and power. Every promotion made him proud and satisfied, and seeing more and more people obeying his orders made him happy and satisfied. But he never felt the heaviness of the badge again.

To be fair, most of the time his days were no different from the past, except that he suddenly had a camp and suddenly had enemies - there were many former generals in Shangyang that he had imagined when he was young, and now he had to guard against them strictly, attack and corrode them, and never let them get out of the Longwu Army.

He listened, watched, thought and pondered more, as if he had entered a whole new world, which replaced his practice of martial arts and military tactics. His ambitions of being awarded titles and titles gradually became rare. He used the power given to him to do what he was told to do, falsely accusing others of bullying, calling a horse a zebra, and helping those young masters and ladies to bully others with their power.
As the years passed, sometimes he stared at the figure in the mirror in a daze, and sometimes he touched his neck for no apparent reason. Although he was a powerful general, he could not find the feeling of holding his head high as a child. The older he got, the more this inexplicable vanity and depression made him unable to sleep at night.

Until that day Li Zhao came to him.

He knew this fellow townsman. They had drank together many times and talked about the past. They had expressed many inner thoughts. In the past few days, he had also heard about the sensational Liguan case.

This young man, who was less than thirty years old and only held the sixth rank, walked into the room with his sword in hand. His tall and cold figure made him feel as if he saw himself many years ago.

The first thing the man said when he saw him was, "Hong Zhonglang, there is a chance to untie the reins, are you willing?"

At that moment, Hong Xingping really couldn't find any reason to refuse.

It's been too long.

Wearing armor given by others, holding a badge thrown by others, doing things for others. No matter how high his position is, he can't seem to straighten his neck. Twenty years ago, when he arrested evildoers, he always held out his gun and showed his badge, and shouted "Zuo Jianmen Wei Si Ge is here", but later when he performed his official duties, this upright voice was always swallowed by silence.

The troops under your command obey your orders, but do you really dare to give your own orders?

It doesn’t matter who Hong Xingping, Zhao Xingping, and Li Xingping are. Whoever is willing to bow down at their feet will be the [General of the Central Army].

So when Li Zhaoli looked at him with his eyes piercing, Hong Xingping felt his blood boiling, and asked in a trembling voice, "What opportunity?"

"."

It's indeed a good opportunity.

Li Zhao is not fighting alone. Dali Temple Di Shaoqing is the newcomer with the greatest potential in the court in the past two years. Although he is not in power now, after the case is handled, the person who was pulled down will definitely make room for him. There is also someone behind him supporting him. In the foreseeable future, he may not be a top figure in the Southern Court.

The Sixteen Guards are under the jurisdiction of the Southern Court, so why can't he join Di Gong's army?
As long as you dare to take this gamble.

The struggle in Shenjing is complicated and yet extremely simple. He becomes a spear that stabs the aristocratic family group, and he will definitely receive support from the scholar class.

And Hong Xingping, like Li Zhao, came from a humble family.

Do what you want to do and lead the troops you want to lead. At that time, the position of Zhonglang Jiang was not his final destination; he was his own Zhonglang Jiang.

After Li Zhao left, Hong Xingping leaned on the chair for a long time in a daze, thinking about his ambitions in his youth, thinking about the way out after the matter was completed, and thinking about how many years it had been since he had felt so eager to take the initiative to complete a task.

Hong Xingping agreed to this and turned it into the promise he made two days ago.

During the two days, he made countless preparations in secret. The Left Gate Guard was where he was promoted along the way, and he had many personal soldiers with him. As a Zhonglang, he had the [Law Guarding Order] in his possession. He also thought about the route from the garrison to Xichi many times.

It was not until yesterday noon that a confidant said that a procession of imperial carriages had arrived at Jingzhao Prefecture. He ordered him to monitor the news, but no reply came until the beginning of the afternoon.

"I have checked it out. Sir, you are Yu Sicheng's carriage."

Hong Xingping's heart stopped beating for a moment: "Who?"

"Yu Sicheng, sir."

".It's over."

The confidant hesitated for a moment and said, "No, sir, Lord Di did not seem to compromise. After the convoy left, Lord Di set up a table and chairs in front of the yamen, and wanted to judge the unjust case of the Taiping Cao Gang in Shenjing."

Hong Xingping looked at him in astonishment: ".No compromise?"

"No, sir. We can still run the Taiping Cao Gang."

"We still have to run the Taiping Cao Gang." Hong Xingping repeated, but suddenly he felt a little cold all over.

".grown ups?"

".It's nothing. Let's continue to organize the army." Hong Xingping was a little dazed for the whole day. At night, he stared at the beams of the house, and the three words "Yu Sicheng" were still lingering in his mind.

He had seen that face many times, and had welcomed that noble and luxurious carriage many times. In the cold winter night, as if the enthusiasm faded, a sense of fear suddenly rose from the bottom of his heart.

Hong Xingping tried hard to overcome it. He knew it was just a name, and that he would arrest the Taiping Cao Gang the next morning in accordance with the transfer of the Three Divisions to the Southern Yamen, which would not violate any military regulations.

But it was still useless. He was no longer the low-ranking officer who held his head high and said "it's my job" in front of his superiors. If he had bowed and knelt before the carriage hundreds or thousands of times, how could he suddenly straighten his body?

He didn't sleep a wink all night, and the next day he dressed stiffly and went out. As the departure time approached, he became more and more uneasy.

Sishi was the agreed time for the official documents to be delivered to the Southern Court, and he would ride out on time at that time. The five hundred guards had been checked, and the two Xuanmen adjutants were also ready, and the atmosphere in the garrison was still the same as usual, and no one noticed that a garrison was ready to go.

No one would have thought that this was a unique move that was bound to succeed on Hong Xingping's part.

Hong Xingping tried to calm down. He knew that victory or defeat depended on this one move. As long as he could get through it, he would be reborn. Of course, he also wanted to be as upright as Li Zhao, and of course he was also angry about why those people could treat power and position as dog food today.

Hong Xingping leaned on his seat in a daze. The sky was just beginning to brighten outside the window. At this moment, footsteps were heard outside the house. The confidant who was monitoring Jingzhao Prefecture sent back a message: "Sir, the Southern Court has issued an order to deprive Sir Di of his position."

Hong Xingping trembled.

"But Lord Di is still making the judgment and ignored it."

"Okay, I understand." Hong Xingping maintained his dignity, "Go down."

After the confidants left, Hong Xingping closed his eyes in the room, took a deep breath, mobilized his internal energy to calm his body, looked at the sky, pursed his lips, and stood up with his sword in hand.

The time was almost up, and five hundred people were already waiting outside. As long as the search was completed, Hong Xingping stepped out of the door with his sword pressed, but was suddenly stopped by a voice from the side corridor: "Where are you going, Xingping?"

Hong Xingping turned his head stiffly. It was General Qi Wen in casual clothes - his direct superior and the closest retainer of the Wang family. This general was gentle and not easily angered. His tone was also very casual at this time, as if he asked this question because he saw that he was dressed so neatly.

Hong Xingping could have answered with any excuse, but his brain froze at that moment. He only felt that Qi Wen's eyes were cold and meaningful. Before he could open his mouth, Qi Wen continued, "If there is nothing else, you can guard the east gates today. Next time it's your turn, let Nian Xiu take over. How about that?"

"." Hong Xingping stiffly took the temporary warrant from the man's hand and pursed his dry lips.

Looking down, it was clearly written: "Xing Ping is temporarily dispatched with 300 people to guard the east of the city, Qi Wen."

This piece of paper was like a warrant that nailed him to the ground. Hong Xingping began to tremble as he looked at the casually written warrant.

He actually had countless excuses to refuse. It was normal to change shifts, and there were others without him. And even if he took over the duty, it would be nothing. He could send the general and other guards to go, and he would still lead his men out.

Yet he had to think. This was a warning.

General Qi's handwriting is usually casual, why is it so clear this time?

Lian Nianxiu never misses classes, why does he suddenly have something to do today?

The Taiping Cao Gang was in Xichi, so why was he transferred to the East Gate?
Is this the last chance Mr. Shangguan Wang gives him?
When Xie Chuantang and Pei Ye rode their horses with all their might into the prison guard station and rushed into Hong Xingping's public housing panting, they heard such a ridiculous reason as they looked at the pale-faced man sitting in a daze on the chair.

Xie Chuantang almost wanted to pick up the inkstone and smash it on his face, especially since she knew that Lord Di was already in danger of life or death in order to create this opportunity.

Pei Ye grabbed her arm in time, leaned forward and said solemnly: "Master Hong, if they really know your movements, even if you stop now, how can you pretend that nothing happened? Once the arrow is shot, there is no turning back. It is not too late now. Let's crush the Taiping Cao Gang together, and the matter will be settled! I will definitely keep you safe!"

Hong Xingping looked at him stiffly. These words seemed to help him sort out his thoughts. He wanted to stand up, but couldn't help looking at the warrant. Xie Chuantang picked it up and tore it up. The two of them almost carried him out of the public housing.

"Hong Zhonglang, where are the five hundred soldiers?"

"."

"Hong Xingping!"

".I was afraid someone would see us, so I asked them to go back to their tent and take off their armor a moment ago. I want to think about it first."

Xie Chuantang gritted his teeth in anger, and Pei Ye immediately pulled his token to call the adjutant. The quality of the Southern Court's imperial guards was indeed excellent. Within a quarter of an hour, five hundred people were ready to march in front. There was no time to get them to line up neatly. The two of them only forced Hong Xingping onto the horse. Pei Ye handed the gun to him, pulled his arm and said in a deep voice: "Hong Zhonglang, don't worry about the token. If this is successful, you will be a general in the future!"

Hong Xingping seemed to have finally mustered up his courage and grabbed the gun.

"You will immediately ride to Taiping Wharf, and we will follow you—"

However, this is only half the story.

Pei Ye looked back at the camp gate and silently let go of his hand.

A handsome and well-maintained middle-aged man got off the carriage with a sigh and looked over here indifferently.

He was wearing a light red official uniform that was slightly lighter than Di Jiu's, the color of the fifth rank. He was holding a scroll of poetry in his hand, and it was unknown what official position he was serving.

The moment he saw this figure, the General's body stiffened.

Those who didn't know about it before have now learned about it because it has been delayed for too long.

"I was writing a good poem, but suddenly I was notified by Yu Dajian that my family members were restless." The middle-aged man sighed and looked at Hong Xingping coldly, "What do you want to do?"

Xie Chuantang understood who this person was in an instant, and turned around and gritted his teeth in anger: "Hong Xingping! He is a fifth-rank civilian, how can he care about your Zhonglang Jiang who is in charge of the gate guards?! Let's leave the camp!"

However, the middle-aged man just stood there. Hong Xingping looked at the face that brought him into this real world. He seemed to suddenly realize what he was doing.

The mansion in the east of the city, the beautiful wives and concubines, the smart children, the official uniform, the badge, the power. Everything was stripped away, leaving only a self with nothing. The gate behind this face, the shadows connected together, and even the whole world in which he lived. Hong Xingping thought coldly, and the word "treason" began to appear in his mind.

He trembled slightly, his knees weakened and he fell off his horse, kowtowed to the ground, took off the token from his waist, held it up high and said in a trembling voice: "My Lord, Xingping has lost his mind."

Pei Ye didn't listen to the rest of the conversation. He pulled the distraught Xie Chuantang out of the camp gate. He held up the "雁" sign and no one stopped him.

Until he led the horses back to the street, Xie Chuantang leaned against the willow tree in silence, as if his bones had been pulled out. Pei Ye led the two horses and also looked at the camp quietly.

The Si hour was almost over, and Lord Di collapsed in Jingzhao Prefecture, but not a single gate guard came out.

After a long while, Pei Ye said softly, "He is Xuanmen."

".What?"

"It's nothing. Shenjing is really a place that makes people not human anymore." Pei Ye said softly. He turned his head and said, "Don't be discouraged. Go back and see Lord Di."

Xie Chuantang leaned against the tree without moving, his head lowered: "I was not transferred to the army, the case was ruined, how can I face Lord Di."

"It's only the sixth day." Pei Ye looked at the woman quietly, "Wait for me for three days, okay?"

".What do you mean?" Xie Chuantang was stunned.

"If there are no soldiers, there will be no soldiers. We said we would solve the case within ten days, and we must solve it." Pei Ye said, "You are right. We all have our own duties, don't we?"

(End of this chapter)