Dawn of the Empire

Chapter 135 Send Yu Yuqi Pavilion (2)

The mountains along the coast are covered with snow. It is said that the lakes in the north of the West Sea have already frozen, and only the lakes in the south are navigable.The north wind is blowing with ice and snow, and behind the pointed stern, the white east coast is getting farther and farther away, blending with the sky.Many soldiers of the Chengying Battalion lay behind the ship, waving and cheering to General Xu who was standing in the wind and snow.Because of the small size of the ship, centurion Zhao Xingde had to order everyone to get up in turn to prevent the ship from capsizing.

Looking out from the side of the ferry, Zhao Xingde felt a sense of melancholy in his heart, and whispered: "The inn Bingzhou has already experienced ten frosts, and I return to my heart to recall Xianyang day and night. There is no reason to cross the Sanggan River, but I hope that Bingzhou is my hometown." Du Blowing the horn and Jian Cheng didn't understand, so Sima Junfang said in a low voice: "This is the meaning of remembering the homeland." The more than a hundred soldiers on this ship were all facing the homeland at this time, greedily looking at the scenery for the last time.Traveling to the lake, the north wind is even tighter, and the long and narrow sailboat cuts through the waves and heads west.Zhao Xingde looked at the east, letting the salt-like snow accumulate on the black cloak.

Xu Wenhu watched the ten ferryboats full of soldiers from the Chengying Battalion gradually disappear into the wind and snow, and asked Shi Dao, the marching commander beside him, "How are you communicating with the tribes in the south and north of Taihe Ridge?"

This Taihe Ridge is a mountainous area between the Black Sea and the West Sea, among the high mountains and dense forests, inhabited by countless barbarian tribes.Hundreds of miles apart, the language and customs are very different, and some are even drinking blood.These tribes sometimes vendetta against each other, and sometimes form an alliance against the enemy.It seems that Shiwei, Jurchen tribes and Khitan were enemies in previous lives.The Taiheling barbarians also have a common enemy, which is the Russian army who intends to conquer them.Originally, the court of the Xia Kingdom believed that the barbarians in Taihe Mountains were difficult to be educated, so they didn't pay much attention to the war between them and the Rus, and only acquiesced in allowing the merchants to sell them some weapons and armor in exchange for rare birds and furs in the mountains.At this moment, in order to attract the attention of the country of Ross, the Marching Division is going to dispatch two old battalions of the Chengying Army who have experienced a lot of experience, so that the Ross army in the south will suffer a few big losses.

Shi Linghu, the commander of the army, said: "I have already connected with several tribes, and I mentioned the matter of helping them ambush the Ross army who entered the mountain to plunder. The arrangement is still under discussion." Xiaguo business traveler travels among these barbarian tribes all year round, and the business is fair.The Xia** team has always been an enemy of the Ross country, and has no attempt to conquer these mountain peoples, so that they have some trust and goodwill towards the Xia country.

Xu Wenhu nodded, and said in a deep voice, "Report to the General's Mansion, and transfer the Lu Army from the Hezhong Land to the West Sea to garrison, so as to be safe." He stood still in the snowstorm just now, and raised his hand and foot. Snowflakes fell from the iron armor one after another.In the northwest direction, I saw dark clouds hanging down, and a scene of desolation between the sky and the earth.

There were crackling firecrackers everywhere, and this was the second New Year's Eve that Li Ruoxue spent alone in Dunhuang.She has been busy the past few days.I tidied up the quilts at home, cleaned the courtyard, wiped away the dust on the doors and windows, changed the door god, hung up a portrait of Zhong Kui, nailed new peach charms, and pasted Spring Festival couplets.Offerings such as fragrant flowers to welcome the gods are also prepared to pray for a happy new year.

During the New Year, Zhao Xingde was not at home, and in the main hall there was a memorial tablet for the ancestors of the Zhao family.The three generations of the Zhao family were all single-handed, and Zhao Xingde often forgot the season when he was away from home.Although there are no elders alive, Li Ruoxue, as a concubine's daughter-in-law, must perform a filial piety on behalf of her husband whenever it is time to worship the ancestors.In her own bedroom, she also set up a longevity tablet for her parents, and she always chanted and prayed, asking the Bodhisattva to bless her family.It's just that, facing the New Year's Eve dinner alone, there is always no appetite.

On New Year's Eve, Mrs. Lu and Mrs. Sun came to visit with gifts, but they didn't feel lonely.Only on New Year's Eve, every family was reunited, but Li Ruoxue could only stay alone in the empty, clean and tidy house, the night wind was cold, and she felt a little sad.

"I don't know how the parents in Bianjing are. How is the younger brother's studies? Where is he now?" Li Ruoxue leaned against the window, thinking ecstatically. The day before yesterday, she received a letter from Zhao Xingde's family, describing to her many wonders of the Western Regions. , but the more interesting his narration is, the more memorable it will be.Thinking of the love and affection between the two, her pretty face was slightly hot, and she smoothed out the drooping locks of hair, even though there are thousands of styles, no one knows.There are several plum branches in the corner, and Ling Han blooms alone, just like Yi Ren.

In Li's Mansion in Bianjing, the cheerful atmosphere during the Chinese New Year has also faded a lot.Every day when Li Gefei returned from his lectures at the Imperial College, he would read and write, calmly, as if nothing had happened in his family.Only when it was the time of Qingming New Year's Eve, I told my wife to put three more pairs of bowls and chopsticks on the dinner table, just like a family reunion.

Mrs. Wang would always sigh when she thought of her son and daughter who were thousands of miles away.Li Ruobing was better, and there were letters from his family from time to time.Li Ruoxue, because of Zhao Xingde's crime of treason, dared not even write a family letter. "I really don't know how my miserable daughter is doing now." Thinking of this, Mrs. Wang couldn't help wiping her tears, and she still had to carry her master's back.

Li Ruobing and Li Ruoxue were forced to leave home, and the subsequent exposure of the big case made Li Ruoxu, who was still a little ignorant, mature a lot.He officially worshiped under Chao Buzhi's sect, he no longer only thinks about illusory things every day, he can study hard without the supervision of his elders, and at a young age, he has a calmness that others don't have.

On New Year's Eve, Chen Dong, who lives in seclusion in Wangguiya, Quanzhou, received a letter from far away.He has long been expelled from his father's genealogy, and no one disturbs him during the Chinese New Year.Wangguiya is remote here, which has an advantage, every day he receives many letters from all over the place, but it won't disturb the village.

The letter narrated a period of ups and downs, and mentioned various systems seen in the Xia Kingdom.Although there is no signature at the end of the letter, Chen Dong is very familiar with the thin, sharp, square and rigorous handwriting, and the words of mutual encouragement, and he has no doubts about the identity of the letterer.

"Yuan Zhi is still alive!" Chen Dong suppressed the excitement in his heart, and folded the letter carefully.He took out another secret box from the secret box in the corner of the room.Inside this secret box, several volumes of account books are laid flat. This is the private affairs of officials from all over the country collected by the people of the Lishe.In the past half a year, his name has spread far and wide, and in the southeastern states and counties, he has faintly surpassed his master Shao Wu.Even the Mingjiao believers who conspired to cause 'chaos', and Chen Shaoyang of Quanzhou, who pleaded for the people with compassion and pleading for the people, should respect "Mr. Chen".

Chen Dong took out these account books, and carefully opened the bottom plate of the secret box again. There was a hidden drawer inside. The account book in it recorded the actions of the gentry of the Lishe to coerce officials from all over the place.Chen Dong put the letter in the book and carefully put it back.

After collecting the secret boxes tied to the lives of more than ten thousand party members, Chen Dong began to examine the other letters one by one.

There is a letter written by a gentry named Fuchun in Guangming County. Chen Dong met him once. He is an old scholar who opened an academy in the local area. famous.Chen Dong put the paper knife aside and put the letter paper under the pine oil lamp. He planned to read it at a glance, but after reading a few sentences, his eyes became serious. , Because of a dispute with a nearby farm family, they beat and maimed many people, and the government let it go.And the family that bullies others and gets away with it is relying on their mentor Shao Wu.What Guo Chun said in the letter is very conclusive, as long as a little investigation can prove it.

Shao Wu is not only a mentor, but also a reliance and helping hand in the life and death deal between himself and the imperial court.Shao Wu has been the leader of Qingliu for more than ten years, and the officials who have made good friends with him are all over the central government and various states and counties.

The pine oil lamp gave off bursts of smoke, making Chen Dong's eyes seem to flicker, and Enshi Shaowu's face became more and more unclear.

After pondering for a long time, Chen Dong sighed: "Although I secretly noticed my teacher's secrets, I might be deceiving my teacher and destroying my ancestors. But if Zhang Minghuan and Zhao Yuanzhi are here, they will definitely agree with me." Taking out the secret box again, he brought up "Mao 'Pen, extract Fuchun's letter accusing the Shaowu family's statement on the account book.