The most prominent and luxurious in Yangzhou City is also among the day-to-day banquets full of friends.
"Come on, let us raise our glasses to celebrate the public... I hope Lingong will stay healthy forever..."
"Thank you for the envoy, so that we can enjoy the peace of my generation now..."
Such a clamor alternates between the cups.
And looking at the colorfully dressed advocates and actors in the loose parade on the street, who sang and laughed in the crowd, came to tell his orders and was invited to the banquet. The Chuzhou soldier and horse envoy Quan Shi Gao Yue, Also sighed secretly.
"Did we really win..."
"Why not..."
This was an abrupt voice sounded beside him, but it was Yu Gongchu, one of the Huainan generals who had been high for many years, and saw his face patted Gao Yue's shoulder with a slight sullen expression.
"Didn't the thief army be driven away and run away under the strong support of our generation's solidarity... Take it as a big congratulation..."
"It should be the second biggest congratulation to make the public body more and more dependent on the matter, and to deploy various regulations to recover."
Having said that, Yu Gongchu looked at him meaningfully.
"As for the third big congratulation, it is to celebrate that all of us have been able to enjoy the banquet here..."
"It's a big deal..."
The Huainan army generals Chen Gong, Feng Shou, Dong Jin, and Yao Guili also yelled with a toast. They have their own tacit understanding;
This is the reason why the thieves overcame Huainan. Whether it was the former thief army who made the public recruit for the court, or the native generals with close ties in Huainan, the losses were unavoidable, even the territory and the troops. It's gone.
On the contrary, they were the pro-followers who were arranged to be stationed in the vicinity of Yangzhou; except for the unlucky not to encounter the Taiping thief who was good at siege, most of them were fully protected because the envoy could not evade and fight the strategy. Strength down.
Gao Yue was initially accepted by their small circle because he was the nephew of Gao's envoy and he fought against the thieves in Chuzhou, and became a member of these so-called "Yuan Cong faction" generals.
Now, after the thieves, Huainan is full of waste and waiting for prosperity, and it is also the time for their grand masters who are from the old age.
. . . . . . .
Compared with the somewhat deformed singing and dancing in Yangzhou City, Luoyang City is already in a decadent atmosphere and a sense of crisis.
Although after sufferings, the imperial court claims that there are still more than half of the northern world, and the feudal towns on the 20th or 30th road can be controlled and dispatched; but among them, the imperial court can directly control and give orders, accounting for less than a half;.
And many of them were captured or separated by thieves; or they were beyond reach, and could not be close to thirst; the only things left to rely on were the northwest and southwest directions. But with the exception of Sanchuan, which is still known as rich and mature, the military towns in the northwestern frontier have long needed imperial support to maintain them.
Now that the imperial court has no money or food, and is seriously in arrears with the official salary, I am afraid that it is impossible to recruit and mobilize all soldiers.
And the ten towns in Guannei with Shence Army as the core, these years of wars and chaos have been frequently dispatched, and the damage and wastage have been so serious that it was impossible to even send reinforcements to Dongdu for a while.
Luoyang, the eastern capital, is known as the central hub of the country’s transshipment, but in these years of famine and warfare, there are not many collections that can be left behind; so that the formation of the army and horse recruiting camps actually relied on Zheng Tian, the prime minister. , Intercepted the things that Ouchi had sent from the feudal town.
As for the mansion and garrison of the Dongdu Liusi, their reputations have long been ruined.
Zheng Tian worked hard inside and outside, calling on the officials, honorable men, big clans, and wealthy businessmen to donate and serve the country; he tried to wear out his shoes to make up a million tons of variegated grains, five or six thousand pieces of silk and silk. Using this as a basis, they then borrowed loans from the households in Didian and Fanggui, and recruited nearly 10,000 young and strong children in the city to become the "Feng Tao Army".
It turned out that I had only eaten for a whole day, and suddenly I heard someone explain that it was going to go up to the city to guard the city and resist the thieves; the result was an uproar overnight, breaking through the guards and soldiers who had encumbered them, and then scattered and disappeared. go with.
This converse change caused a panic in the southern and northern cities of Luoyang. Immediately someone shouted the rumors of "Thief Army Entering the City" and ran around, unaware of pushing each other in the dark. , How many people trampled to death.
It slowly calmed down at noon after dawn, and it turned out that even the officials, guards, and subordinates of the Dongdu Branch had escaped more than half, and they were basically in a state of paralysis that was difficult to implement.
At this point, Zheng Tian, who saw that things could not be done, could only sigh helplessly, and then got into the bullock cart specially found by Cui Anqian, and hurriedly and secretly crossed the Guangxun Gate to the south, and then "retired" toward Chang'an. went.
It was only when he arrived at Tongguan that he discovered that the thief who claimed to be decisively defending the Eastern Capital had all commanded Qi Kerang, and had already taken the lead to retreat here.
But I remembered Du Zimei’s "Tongguan Official" back then:
The big city is not as good as iron, but the small city is more than ten thousand feet away. Lianyun is a battlefield, and the birds cannot pass.
The father-in-law sees the important points, narrow and narrow bicycles. Hard work and long halberds, one man forever.
After he showed his seal and entered Guancheng, he inexplicably thought of the sentence: Please tell the guard, be careful not to learn Geshu.
At that time, the king of Xiping County, Shuhan, used more than 100,000 soldiers and horses in the northwest to resist the Anshi rebels in Tongguan Tianxian; but because of Yang Guozhong’s slander and Xuanzong’s credulity in the eunuch, he was forced to go to war and lost one move to the Taolin Segu Road. Then came the Anshi Rebellion that lasted for more than 20 years; and the country's troubles that have been poisoned to this day.
Now, this Qidu Tong has only less than ten thousand remnants, but he has to fight against the hundreds of thousands of thieves. Isn't it even more dangerous and in a bad situation than the brother Shuhan who was sitting on the heavy soldiers back then.
Therefore, when he saw the news come out to greet him again, and Zike, who was rather ashamed on his face, asked the group to wait; he put a lot of thoughts behind for the time being, and showed a pleasant expression, holding on to him. Zike, who was wearing his clothes, made his arm sincerely say:
"Ashamed of being in the position, and incapable of being in the camp, making it difficult for the soldiers and soldiers to be a thief because of the lack of support."
"Xiangong is really shameless. I'm waiting... ashamed not to be serious..."
Hearing the words that he took responsibility for himself, Zike let the others feel inexplicably relieved, and then bowed to the end with gratitude.
"Now, I can neither accompany the soldiers to fend off the enemy, nor do I have the power to govern the situation in the Kanto area. I can only go to the capital to ensure that the guards have adequate food, food and equipment..."
Then Zheng Tian continued.
"Xiangong great virtue, Qi only had to do his best and die..."
Zike let the others be touched again in unison to agree.
Zheng Tian, who set off again from the customs clearance, went to look at the towering Guancheng and sighed in his heart. Although this Taining military commander is suspected of escaping, he is at least a figure who knows the shame and is brave compared to the other feudal commanders who are not called or kept behind.
But it is also the only choice and hope to defend the natural dangers of Tongguan in the current crisis. Therefore, not only can he not let people blame the other party, but he has to find a way to spare no effort to help and support the other party, and thus encourage and reward him greatly, thinking that it will be a momentary inspiring and alleviate the crisis.
Then just after a long time.
"What, there is no money or food for RENAMO, and there is no support for all soldiers,"
Zheng Tian, who arrived in Huayin before dark, received such shocking and surprising news when he saw the party feathers and sects he had left there in Huayin City, Xiao Keshi, the defensive envoy of Tonghua. .
"Those people in Xijing are doing what they are eating. Seeing that the thief army in the east is not protecting the thieves, they are going to kill and break through the pass. Are they always ready to fight against the enemy... Is this planning to sit and wait?"
This result made the savvy prime minister who has always been gentle and decent, unavoidable that he lost his attitude on the spot and uttered a swear word.
After all, this also means that all the time and buffer he has gained for his exhaustive handling and planning in the Kanto area, as well as the sacrifices of the soldiers who fought against the thieves, were wasted, and there was no more time and buffer. Makes sense.
"It is true that all the xianggongs of the DPRK and China couldn't settle for this, and they couldn't get a suitable charter for a while, but as long as you come back, you will be fine..."
However, Xiao Keshi, the Tonghua defensive envoy, didn't seem to understand his mood, but he was half complaining and half explaining.
"By the way, you know that Lu Zisheng has already been imprisoned for guilt; I heard that Dae Eun Tian recommended him to serve as the governor of Gyeonggi Province to specialize in internal defense. As a result, he could not shirk because of wind disease. Then it caused the Holy Lord to be furious in the court and let it go. He was re-appointed as Hanlin scholars Wang Hui and Pei Che."
"So the right ministers in the DPRK took the opportunity to make a statement, enumerating 53 crimes of the Lu family in the past for harming the country, and copied them from the correspondence issued by the Gao family's private secretary. Therefore, they were sent to Lantai for trial in court. Well..."
"My generation took advantage of the victories to report more than a hundred evils, and dozens of others including Wen Jixiu, the remaining party feathers, were all sent down at the same time; but it is really fast for my generation..."
"Then the most of the branches, transshipment, and salt and iron governmental offices in the hands of Lu are now gone..."
Hearing this, Zheng Tian couldn't help becoming more pessimistic and disappointed and shouted; he also understood why the court could not raise follow-ups. Although Lu Xie as a political enemy is contemptible and has a lot of grudges, he still has some ability in organizing financial plans and the methods used by Luo Kuoguo.
If in the usual times in the past, he would certainly celebrate this with his colleagues, but now the country is in danger, and it will be overturned soon; when all parties need to abandon their previous suspicions and work together in the same boat, he is busy intensifying the usual party struggles. Isn’t this a way of turning the cart before the horse
Take another ten thousand steps and say, even if Lu Shi has ten thousand damn reasons; but after he has been liquidated, he should be a little bit considerate of the overall situation. At least the siyamen and their corresponding officials responsible for the financial affairs of the imperial court should be stabilized for a while to ensure the cost of the front army.
Rather than the fanciful humiliation and liquidation, everyone is in danger, so that the government's corresponding financial revenue and expenditure and transfer departments are caught in the paralysis and powerlessness of existence in name only. Thinking of this, Zheng Tian just wanted to face these former allies and party members, severely cursing, "It's not enough to do a good job" and "The country's major events are going to be bad for their generation."
Thinking of this, he only felt a gloom attacking his heart and he was about to vomit blood; however, he was held back by his own sense of responsibility. The thief also ignored the soreness and exhaustion that he was rushing along the road, and shouted eagerly.
"Quickly I change to a fast horse, I will go to Beijing overnight and go straight to the Central Palace to present the Holy Lord,"
However, as the sky gradually turned white, the moment Zheng Tian rushed into the Tonghua Gate of the capital, he received the news that the former prime minister, Lu, took medicine in prison and killed himself.
At the western end of Chang'an City, because of the involvement of Lu Xie, he was taken from the court as a lieutenant and privy envoy of the left and right Shence army; but he was appointed to the command system of the eight towns inside and outside the left and right Shence army and all the soldiers and horses. Waiting for the envoy; Tian Lingzi, who asked to go to Sanchuan to prepare for the driving matters, also hurried out of Kaiyuan with his adopted sons.
. . . . . .
And it was far outside the Jingguang Gate of Luoyang, the eastern capital; Huang Chao, who had arrived outside the city, was also standing on top of the huge car and looking at the wide open door with excitement and ambition. The left-behind and Sannomiya selection envoy Liu Yunzhang led the crowd, and the crowd came out to kneel down and invite the crowd. (End of this chapter)