Winter has already entered, and the scenery of gauze skirts all over the streets is gone in Chang'an City. After entering the twelfth lunar month, the first snow fell not too late, covering the majestic Chang'an with a layer of silver armor. The snow scene of Tai Chi Palace has always been extremely beautiful, but unfortunately, few people are qualified to stand here on a high place and write poems and lyrics.
The grand scholars of Wenyuan Pavilion or Shuhua Pavilion are qualified for this. However, reciting poems is not very suitable for the occasion, and the war in the northwest has already begun. There was a battle first, after the soldiers left the Langrushan Canyon. The letter of war written jointly by several university scholars was finally sent out, and it is estimated that it will be handed over to the people of Mengyuan in half a month.
His Majesty's imperial edict to challenge Mongolia had been issued a month ago and announced to the whole country. As expected, the common people did not resist the imperial court's dispatch of troops. In particular, when they knew that nearly 3,000 people in Fangu City were brutally killed by the Mongols, their anger was hard to dispel.
There are even ignorant and reckless people who privately blame His Majesty for why this battle has been delayed for a year. From their point of view, it's like having a conflict with the neighbor next door. If you punch me, I will naturally punch you back. They don't spend their brains thinking about how much preparation they need to make for this war.
In the eyes of the common people, this battle was fought for granted. Not only to hit, but also to hit hard. The Mongolian barbarians killed 3,000 people in the Sui Dynasty, so at least 30,000 people have to be killed to come back.
Of course, no one doubted that this battle would be lost.
On the ninth day of the twelfth lunar month, people who had eaten Laba porridge the day before got up early and put on thick cotton-padded clothes to clear the snow. It snowed intermittently for a day and a night, and it was only when I went out that I realized that it was nearly a foot deep. According to the rules of Chang'an Mansion, after the snow falls, each household has to clean up the front of its own door, and then there will be a special person in the yamen to pull the snow away with a horse-drawn cart.
It wasn't long before the city gate was opened, and the people had already poured into the streets to clear the snow. They would rather sweep the street first than sweep their own yard first, because if other people's fronts have been cleaned and there is still snow in front of their own, they will definitely be laughed at as lazy people.
The excitement on the street was shattered by a rush of horseshoes, and a dusty soldier rushed into the gate of the city, beating the horse and shouting loudly, motioning for the people to get out of the way.
"Military emergency report!"
The soldier had obviously rushed here overnight, and he could still see remnants of falling snow on his body. A white horse had been smeared gray-black by mud and water, and the white breath from the horse's nose was exhausted. This is the soldier who came from the most northwest of the Sui Dynasty to report the news, and I don't know how much suffering he has suffered along the way.
The people immediately moved out of the way and watched the soldier leave.
"It seems that the military situation is very urgent?"
Someone speculated.
"It's not like a victory report. If you win the battle, you should directly call the border victory report, right?"
"You fucking know how to fart. Could it be that our Sui frontier army can still lose? Besides, General You Xiaowei Li Yuanshan is stationed in the northwest. When did you hear that our soldiers suffered losses?"
"Right!"
Amidst the people's discussions, the dirty man and the dirty horse disappeared from sight.
His Majesty the Emperor had already moved back to Taiji Palace from Changchun Garden, and lived in Dongnuan Pavilion behind Taiji Palace. It can be said that Emperor Tianyou Yang Yi was the most diligent and most unfeminine emperor in the Sui Dynasty. He seldom went back to the harem, and he rarely even summoned his concubines to sleep in Dongnuange. The censors who are iron-mouthed and steel-toothed, don't want to find an excuse to speak out about the emperor's private life.
After the morning court, the emperor walked quickly back to Dongnuang Pavilion. The soldiers sent by the Northwest to report the news stood outside the door and waited, before they had time to change their clothes. The soldier was carrying a package on his back. Like the clothes on his body, it was already so dirty that the original color could not be seen.
In the cold morning air, he was holding an oiled paper bag in his hands, swallowing the steaming steamed buns. This was specially given to him by the eunuch Su Buwei after he entered the palace. It seemed that he hadn't eaten anything last night, and he didn't care about the hotness of the steamed stuffed bun, so he devoured it hungrily.
"Come in with me."
When the emperor came over, he paused, and waited for the soldier to swallow the last mouthful of the bun before walking over. He stopped the soldiers from saluting to him, and quickly walked into the East Nuan Pavilion.
"Give him a cup of hot water!"
The emperor took off his boots and sat down on the kang, and ordered the serving eunuch to pour a glass of water for the soldier. The soldier first kowtowed to thank him, and then poured water into his mouth in one breath. There was something in his stomach, and the warm feeling made him feel very comfortable. Galloping all the way from the northwest, except for changing horses at the post station, he hardly stopped to rest.
"How is the situation in the northwest?"
asked the emperor.
The soldier unwrapped the package on his back and opened layer after layer, revealing a very clean wooden box that was still sealed with wax. He handed over the wooden box with both hands, and Su Buwei stepped forward to take it, picked up the wax with a knife, and took out the urgent military report inside and handed it to the emperor.
"Returning to Your Majesty, one and a half months ago, General Li Xiaozong was ordered to lead 5,000 troops out of Langrushan Canyon to explore the way for the army, and fought fiercely with Mandu Wolf, the enemy general of Nirvana City in Mandu Banner. Mandu Wolf even ordered all the herdsmen to go to the battlefield , besieged Li Xiaozong. General Li fought a bloody battle and killed more than ten thousand enemies, but the five thousand troops were almost wiped out... But the canyon was held, and when the humble officer set off, General Li Yuanshan had already led his troops through Langru Mountain."
The emperor watched the military situation while listening to the soldier, and when he heard that Li Xiaozong's 5,000 elite soldiers were gone, his face couldn't help but change.
"Fighting Eastern Chu... Five thousand elite soldiers can enter Eastern Chu for thousands of miles in one go!"
He sighed slightly: "Fighting Meng Yuan, five thousand talents will be lost when they leave the canyon... You continue to say, has Li Yuanshan captured Nirvana City? Mandu Latu's troops, have they arrived yet?"
…
…
Early in the morning, the people from Ouchi's guard office began to clean the courtyard by themselves. There are many servants in the palace, but they are not allowed to walk around in the guards' office. Luo Weiran, who was wearing a mink velvet cloak, stepped on the snow and walked quickly into the back yard. At the door, Hou Wenji, the governor of Qingya, was already standing there waiting.
"Your Majesty's order has come down?"
Hou Wenji asked.
Luo Weiran nodded and said: "Early this morning, His Majesty sent someone to find me and inquired carefully about the things that have been traced in the past six months, because there is really no one or anything to prove that Fang Jie is related to the Buddhist sect, His Majesty ordered Let him go out temporarily, and this matter is finally over."
"Your Majesty is not in the mood to bother with this matter now, but... if there hadn't been a war with Meng Yuan, maybe Fang Jie would have been released long ago."
Hou Wenji smiled and said: "Your Majesty has been paying attention to the war in the Northwest all day long, how could he think that there is still a little guy in his hands. I don't know who blew in His Majesty's ear, and His Majesty remembered that there is another trouble." closed."
"It should be Dean Zhou."
Luo Weiran entered the room, took off his cloak and stood by the stove rubbing his hands together: "I heard that Dean Zhou entered the palace yesterday, or it was because the delay was long enough that if Fang Jie never appeared in the Martial Arts Academy, No kind of lies can stop others from guessing. The Chinese New Year will be celebrated in 20 days. According to the rules, Fang Jie, the head name of the Academy of Martial Arts, will represent the students of the Academy of Martial Arts to go to the hall and appear at His Majesty's Grand Hall. In the celebration of the banquet for the officials, it is obviously inappropriate to say that it is practiced in the back mountain."
"Just let it out like this?"
Hou Wenji poured a cup of hot tea and handed it to Luo Weiran: "Although it's something I expected a long time ago, why am I not reconciled to it?"
"Why?"
Luo Weiran asked.
Hou Wenji smiled and said: "Nothing was found. There is no proof that he is not connected with the Buddhist sect, and there is no proof that he is connected with the Buddhist sect. Letting it out like this... I always feel a little inappropriate."
Luo Weiran rolled his eyes at him and said, "Then you won't let him go."
Hou Wenji said: "What you said is somewhat mixed with personal feelings, but it is also true, no matter what, he is also your nephew."
"Just let it go."
He rubbed his brows and said: "Because of the war in the Northwest, the University scholar Niu Huilun suggested to His Majesty that on the first day of the Lunar New Year, let the students of the Academy of Martial Arts parade in red and colorful to inspire the morale of the people. This idea is very bad, but I guess It will have some effect, at least let the common people see that there are still so many available talents in the Martial Arts Academy."
Luo Weiran nodded, for some reason, a trace of worry flashed in his eyes.
"I heard... an urgent report from the northwest has arrived."
He muttered softly.
"yes… "
Hou Wenji was silent for a while, then patted Luo Weiran on the shoulder and said: "After the new year, I will go to the northwest. I will leave all the affairs in the capital to you, and the burden on your shoulders will be much heavier."
He looked at the steam rising from the cup, and there was no sadness or joy in his eyes.
…
…
This was the first time that Fang Jie had seen a mirror since he was in the prison of the Ouchi guards for so long, so when he saw the person in the bronze mirror, he was taken aback.
"this is me?"
He raised his hand to stroke the beard on his chin, and then turned around to look at the long hair that reached his waist behind him. The figure in the mirror is a little strange, and it is very different from the self in memory. Fang Jie got used to it for a while, and then he couldn't help but sighed, "Time really is a butcher's knife."
Zhuo Buyi, who was watching him with a smile, picked up the scissors and handed them to Fang Xie: "The hair is too long, cut it."
Fang Jie didn't go to pick it up, but smiled and said: "Keep it, it's pretty pleasing to the eye. But you can't keep the beard, or I'll be sorry for my title of handsome man."
He picked up the razor, dipped it in some water and began to shave in front of the bronze mirror. This was Fang Xie's first shave after arriving in this world, so his movements were a bit jerky. The angle and strength are not well grasped, and the shaving is a bit hard. Qiu Yu, who was sitting on the side, stood up, walked to him and took the razor, held Fang Jie's jaw up with one hand, and gently scraped the side of his cheek with the knife in the other.
"This pose..."
Fang Jie turned his head to look at himself in the bronze mirror, and couldn't help but sigh, "It looks like I've been molested."
Qiu Yu ignored his teasing, but asked: "Have you thought about it? How can you explain the disappearance for more than half a year when you appear in front of the students of the Academy of Martial Arts again?"
"Excuse me ass."
Fang Jie raised his chin and spoke cautiously, lest Qiu Yu's knife scratch his face: "I am the head of the Yanwu Academy, can I explain it to them? Besides... the old guy you smashed the table, he will Think of how to say it."
"The old guy is right here."
A voice came from the door, startling Fang Xie.
He looked back, and then saw Luo Weiran and Dean Zhou whom he had hated for a long time.
"Although you call me an old guy, I'm a little angry."
Dean Zhou walked over slowly, looked at Fang Jie and said, "But there is a sentence I like very much... You are the head of the Academy of Martial Arts, you have been missing for half a year and need to explain to them?"
"You mean, keeping me locked up for so long is like a fart, you can let it out if you want to?"
Fang Jie still raised his jaw and asked with provocative eyes.
Dean Zhou was not angry, but said seriously after a moment of silence: "What's wrong with the fart? You can let it out freely, can you take it back freely?"
Fang Jie was startled, then nodded, "It seems to make sense."
Dean Zhou hummed and said, "It makes sense."
He threw the package in his hand on the stone bed, pointed and said, "A new suit."
"Do you want me to forget about a new suit?"
Fang asked.
"What else do you want?"
Dean Zhou asked.
Fang Jie thought for a while, and then said solemnly: "At the very least, you have to treat me to a meal at Keshengju, and then go to Hongxiu Zhao to invite everyone to dance Liuhuashuixiu."