A powerful official of his generation

Chapter 45: 045 It feels so good to be home

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The author said: Yesterday, I suddenly found out that I had retired from the new book list. Except for the two people who brushed up the votes, I am the third...

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After everyone received their respective tasks, they went to various places to run errands.

Qiu Yizhi's review of cult classics is extremely confidential. No matter which level of government office is used to handle the matter, it will easily leak out and cause complications. Therefore, according to Zhongli Kuang's suggestion, it is better to transport the collection of books to Qiu Yizhi's residence in Guangyang City. It’s better to review it calmly.

So Qiu Yi hired a coachman in Bozhou to cover up the public's eyes, packed the entire collection of books into more than a dozen large vehicles, and then led Zhao Chengxiao and others to escort them, pretending to be a bodyguard to transport ordinary property, and headed all the way to Guangyang City .

Zhao Chengxiao had been a thief for several years. At first, he was worried that the dozens of large trucks would attract too much attention. The escorts were only about thirty people, so they might not have traveled many miles. He was robbed by bandits and water bandits.

Qiu Yizhi said nonchalantly: "Brother Zhao, don't worry, this Youyan Road is different from other places. Just walk along the official road. It's not easy to find a few people who are on the robbery road."

Zhao Chengxiao thought that in the past two or three years in the green forest, although he was known as "not robbing money to save lives, not killing people asking for mercy, and not disturbing people when farming is busy", so he was respectfully called "three not too old" by his brothers on the road. He has a reputation of benevolence and righteousness, but I don’t know how many wealthy merchants’ cavalry were robbed. Therefore, seeing Qiu Yizhi being so negligent, she couldn't help but secretly feel a cold sweat for him.

This land of Youyan is a natural barrier for the Central Plains to resist the nomads in the north. The Taihang Mountains, which span five thousand miles, traverse Youyan. A carefully built official road undulates through these mountains like a jade belt.

Zhao Chengxiao has already memorized "I built this mountain and planted this tree. If you want to get over this, you can leave money to buy the road." Now in a different place, walking on this wide and flat official road, the more and more The more he walked, the more frightened he became, constantly reminding Qiu Yizhi:

"If a group of bandits ambush here, we don't need too many people, just a hundred or so will be enough. They can kill us all."

"If a few huge rocks fall down here, our team will be cut off in two. Then we won't be able to see each other, which will be troublesome."

"If the river is dug here, the official road will be flooded, and we will be trapped here. This is called 'catching a turtle in a urn', as the storyteller once said."

Every time Zhao Chengxiao mentioned it, Qiu Yizhi always smiled at him and said, "I didn't expect Brother Zhao to be well versed in the art of war. It's just that Youyan Road is very peaceful. I'm afraid Brother Zhao's knowledge will not be used here - "

Although Yi Zhi said this, he understood in his heart: When Zheng Rong first came to Youyan Road, he gathered all the strength of the Tao and spent five years to split rocks and build bridges when encountering mountains and rivers. He did not know how much sweat and life he expended. , finally built this official road, and made great efforts to exterminate and recruit a large number of bandits and thieves. From then on, merchants from the Central Plains could pass freely in Youyan Road, and armies from all walks of life could also rely on official roads to quickly move and assemble, which was the foundation for the prosperity of the people of Youyan Road and the strength of the army.

Zheng Rong was also afraid that the Youyan bloodline would be used by the northern Tatars, so on Zhongli Kuang's suggestion, rolling stones were set up in advance at several key pass canyons, so that as long as the war was unfavorable, the main road could be cut off immediately. But by that time, Youyan's army may have been completely wiped out. Within ten months, half of the Central Plains, from Tongguan in the west, to the sea in the east, and to the Yangtze River in the south, would have been ravaged by iron hoofs.

Zhao Chengxiao walked for a few days under the leadership of Qiu Yi, and as expected, there was no movement at all. He also saw that there were teahouses, inns, wine shops, tea stalls and pavilions along the way in just a few miles. . Although Zhao Chengxiao was honest and honest, he was not stupid. He knew that if there was any unevenness on the road, the people who relied on officialdom to make a living would have been wiped out. It would be too late to save his life, and there would be no time to do business. So he felt relieved.

It was early summer, and the weather was already very hot. The group of people had not walked a few miles and were already quite hot. It happened that there was a melon farmer selling watermelons on the roadside. Qiu Yizhi couldn't stand the crowd's shouting, so he bought a dozen watermelons that had been soaked in cold water. He took one and cut it in half with a knife, and then it split open, revealing the bright red flesh. Everyone had a great meal. Still feeling it wasn't satisfying enough, I simply bought dozens more and put them in the car to eat while walking. At this time, God rewarded a strong wind, and a few white clouds blew over to block the scorching sun behind us. Then there was a cool breeze on my body and honey water overflowed in my mouth. It was really unpleasant!

After walking for a few days, they bypassed a mountain range and saw a huge city spread out on the vast land - this is Guangyang City, the capital of Youyan Road. In Guangyang City, rich merchants wearing silks and satins, barbarians leading camels, and soldiers holding swords were wandering around without stopping for a moment; martial artists, clowns talking cross talk, and gentlemen telling stories were noisy all the time, and there was never a moment of peace. .

Zhao Chengxiao had never seen this scene before even in a dream. He was already dumbfounded. He just regretted why he didn't let his mother and Mr. Zhao come with them so that they could open their eyes and see the world.

Qiu Yizhi became nervous at this moment and whispered in Zhao Chengxiao's ear: "Brother Zhao also knows what we are escorting this time. We are supposed to guard against gentlemen but not villains. There are so many good and bad people in Guangyang City. I hope Brother Zhao will give in." Brothers, please pay more attention and don’t fall short.”

After hearing this, Zhao Chengxiao nodded quickly, greeted the few warriors he had brought down from the mountain, and whispered: "I told you that the brothers are about to enter the city now. Everyone has their hearts in their throats. Don't worry. After finishing this errand, it’s not too late to come back to Guangyang City to have some fun after getting the reward. If we mess up, we will have no shame in wandering around in the world, right?” After a pause, he raised his voice slightly and said, "Brothers, cheer up and hurry up!"

After everyone heard this, they quickly dispersed, each person guarding a large car, and there were two or three people in front and behind the team. The entire team was already well prepared, waiting for Qiu Yi's order. Get off and enter the city.

Seeing this, Qiu Yizhi thought to himself: "Zhao Heizi has finally worked as a bandit in recent years. He has some skills in hiring troops for the march, which is rare." So he led the team and walked slowly and slowly. Walk slowly towards the inner city.

There are hundreds of patrolling households in Guangyang City who know Qiu Yizhi, His Royal Highness, the adopted son. They have long heard that they will return in triumph after going south to Henan to quell the rebellion. They feel a little strange when they see him entering the city in such simple clothes. , I wanted to come forward to say hello but didn't dare, and stood there helplessly.

So Qiu Yizhi waved to the officer, took out his name card from his arms, and whispered: "General Fengyou Yanwang wants to send these carts of things into the city. Take my name card and notify the city gate. Leader, this large group of vehicles will be released without inspection. This matter must be kept confidential."

Although the officials of these hundred households were small, they were still very cautious. They took the name card, glanced at it, and whispered: "As ordered!" and walked quickly to the city gate. As expected, these hundreds of households were reliable in handling affairs. When the city gate saw Qiu Yizhi leading a group of people in, he respectfully returned the name card, and with a wave of his hand, the dozen or so carts were allowed to pass through the city gate smoothly.

This Guangyang City is different from other cities. It was originally expanded from a military fortress. The city is full of government barracks, which is far less lively than the outer city. When Zhao Chengxiao entered the city gate, he seemed to feel like he was in another world. He followed Qiu Yizhi blankly to the door of a not luxurious mansion.

The door of the mansion was closed tightly. Qiu Yishang stepped forward and knocked on the door several times. No one responded yet, but a dog barked "woof, woof, woof". After hearing this, Yi Zhi knew that it was the dog named "Lulu" that he had not seen for a long time, so he smiled and yelled at the door: "What is it called? It's me."

After hearing this, the dog stopped barking.

After a while, the door slowly opened, and the person who opened the door was the lame old Wang who was guarding the door of Qiu Yi's house. Before Lao Wang could say anything, "Lulu" eagerly jumped on his master. This dog was brought by Qiu Yizhi from Henan. After raising it for five years, it was already very large. The whole body stood up, with its front paws hanging on Qiu Yizhi's chest, and its nose kept squirming to smell the owner's scent. Qiu Yizhi also missed this companion who had been dependent on him since childhood. He placed his hands on its forehead, chest and neck for a long time before calming down "Lulu", but it still kept spinning at its owner's feet.

When Qiu Yizhi saw that only Lao Wang opened the door, she asked, "Why are you alone? Where is Rui Shou? Didn't I send someone to inform you that I would be returning home in the next two days?"

This old Wang was originally an old soldier in the army. After a battle, half of the instep of his right foot was cut off by a knife. According to the rules of Youyan's army, he could have been assigned to the military ration department, military hospital and other places to do some leisure work. But this old Wang couldn't read and was old, so he was assigned to be a doorman at Qiu Yi's house, but he was very honest and reliable. Just listen to his answer: "This kid Rui Shou, ever since the young master sent out troops to release horses, he has been hanging out with the girl selling flowers on the street... named Lan Cao'er. Now he has gone to nowhere."

If this matter is placed in the eldest brother Zheng Xin's house, Rui Shou will inevitably receive a beating. However, Qiu Yi is a casual person, so she didn't take it seriously and said with a smile: "I didn't expect this kid Rui Shou. His other abilities haven’t improved, so it’s no wonder that he started to think about this little thing... "

While they were talking, a person jumped up to Yi Zhi from nowhere, bowed and said, "Master, don't listen to Lao Wang trying to make trouble for me. I know that the master is going back to his house and said he is bringing a large group of guests. Yesterday I went to a restaurant in the outer city to book a few tables, but it was hard to buy wine. I just bought eighteen jars of good wine at the horse market. No, the wine seller delivered it to my door. "Qiu Yizhishun. Looking in the direction of his finger, I saw an oxcart filled with wine.

Yi Zhi nodded and asked Rui Shou softly: "Let me ask you, has Princess Yiran been to the house in the past few days?"

This Rui Shou was a starving corpse that Qiu Yizhi picked up from the street a few years ago. When asked, he turned out to be a fellow from Henan Province, so he kept him in the house to do some chores. Because he had been with Qiu Yizhi for a long time, he also learned a lot. Somewhat clever, when he heard this question, he raised a smile on his eyebrows and replied: "The princess came here the day before yesterday, saying she came to feed 'Lulu', but actually, I think she came to see the young master."

"Well, okay. There are a lot of people here, so don't act here. Go to the princess immediately and say it's my treat. Please invite the princess and Yelu to my house for dinner." Yizhi nodded when he saw Rui Shou. , and urged, "Go right now and run!"

Yiran was living in Prince Youyan's Mansion with his female family members. Rui Shou couldn't come in, so he called the disciples of the Prince's Mansion and even though the news had arrived, he went to call Yelu again.

Yelu was ordered by Bohai Dali Khan to assist Yiran in restraining Bohai merchants, so he bought a house to live not far from Ma City.

When Rui Shou ran to Yelu's residence, he happened to see Yi Ran talking to several Hu people there, so he told them what Qiu Yizhi said.

Yiran was very happy to hear the invitation, and said to Rui Shou: "How can you, a stingy young master, treat guests? I know. After talking to them, I will go and have a meal with him." After that, he casually grabbed a handful of broken silver from the table and rewarded Rui Shou.

Rui Shou saw that the house was full of barbarians and it was inconvenient to stay for a long time. After thanking him for the reward, he hurriedly went out to resume his duties. (To be continued)