Changes in the sky
Volume 2: The Edge of Heaven
Chapter 162 Natural Disaster**
In fact, I should have thought of it, but when I thought of it, it was too late. But this doesn't seem to be a big mistake, because in those special moments - mostly emergency moments - I can think more, more detailed and more thoroughly, while I am really too mediocre at ordinary times.
For example, at this time of year, I was just an ordinary man. All I wanted was to pull my wife into the house, quickly shake off the snow on her body, and then tell her how much I missed her. But just as I pulled Yinling to the corridor, the wind and snow suddenly got stronger.
We all seemed to let out a cry of surprise, and stopped, unconsciously watching the light falling turn into a slow and scattered fall, and then a large flutter. Sometimes a strong wind would blow, immediately stirring up a wave, washing the entire Pingle Pavilion, the entire Shanglin Garden, and perhaps the entire Han Dynasty was swaying in this sky full of flying catkins.
They turned around, blew hot air on each other and smiled at each other.
I think God favors my Ling'er very much, but to be fair, God seems to favor me more.
I bolted the door to block the whistling sound of the wind and snow. I turned on the light, turned around and hugged Yinling in my arms. It might be that she rushed in first. If you ask me what happened, I can't remember. The result of such things is the same anyway. What's the difference between who came first and who came later? It's just like eating rice first and then vegetables, or eating vegetables first and then rice. In short, as long as you are full in the end, it's fine - in fact, it's the same if you are not full - who cares where the first chopstick goes.
I only remember holding her cold hands to warm them up; I praised her poem for a while, but I didn't understand the last sentence.
She explained that Yinshan was a mountain range that connected the territory of the Han Dynasty to the territory of the Xianbei people, and it was shaped like a bow. I understood it, but I felt that this poem seemed to be a prophecy, as if it had something in common with my nightmare. But I didn't want to think about it too much. With Yinling in my arms, what else could I think about
When asked what time it was, Yinling replied: four o'clock in the morning.
Yinling woke up at night and felt unusually cold. Seeing Jin'er, who was sleeping soundly beside her, curled up in a ball, she tucked her quilt into hers and got up. She wanted to read some books by the brazier, but she was worried about me - after all, I had just been ill - and was afraid that I would kick off the quilt, so she rode back to check on me while the wind and snow outside subsided. She got off her horse far away because she was afraid of waking me up. When she came back, she found that the door was bolted, and she couldn't bear to wake me up, so she walked around the yard by herself.
I asked her why she slept less when I was not around. Wasn't she sleepy? She had nightmares recently and couldn't fall asleep after waking up. However, she was not very sleepy the next day because she thought about seeing me.
I had asked almost all my questions, and when I started to worry about her sleep, I asked her if she wanted to rest for a while; but she was still not sleepy and started asking me questions.
She asked me how I knew she was back; I had also woken up from a nightmare.
Yinling was very surprised that I was dreaming, and I was a little surprised that she was so surprised that I was dreaming.
Relatively speaking, I was not surprised that she had nightmares. Yinling was a bit of a sleepyhead, so she seemed to have a lot of dreams, and most of them were not good dreams. She would often nag me by my bed when she woke me up in the morning. She dreamed that I was dead last night, and she came to check my breath at night to feel relieved; or that I was chased by many vicious dogs; or that the government was coming to arrest me. It is worth mentioning that in her nightmares, I was mostly unlucky.
Of course, I couldn't express my disdain for her surprise, and my "contempt" and "indignation" at the content of her dream story. I could only honestly tell my wife that I had been having nightmares recently when she was not around.
She thought I was trying to make her happy, so she covered her cheek with her hands - not sure whose hands they were - and just looked at me stupidly, smiling without saying a word.
I didn't mind and helped her undress and get into bed. I found that her hands and feet were cold, so I suggested a plan to help her keep warm.
As expected, she was punched a few times, and Yiren seemed a little shy. But the proposal was passed, and Yiren even blushed and challenged, "Can you do it?"
Afterwards, the wife concluded that her husband had been lonely, depressed and frustrated recently. Her husband believed that observing the principles of human relations was an effective way to keep warm. The two sides exchanged views intimately and reached a lot of consensus.
"Zirui is really a big warm stove." Yiren seemed to be lying beside me obediently, but one of her hands was wandering around my body dishonestly.
"What's Ling'er's bad hand doing?"
Yiren slyly pulled out her other hand from under her body, stretched it out and shook it, "No, I'm sleeping soundly. Why did you wake me up?"
"What about the other one?"
Yiren actually raised her legs from under the quilt, "Here, here."
"Okay, let me hold your hand."
Of course, that was not a hand, and this was not a cover. Yiren soon laughed and begged for mercy.
I asked her to repeat the flattering words she had used to beg me for mercy, but with a little more charm.
She thought I had a bad taste, but her hand was in mine, so she just did as she was told.
The sound was pleasant to the ears and pleasing to the body and mind. Since it was very cold outside, we "warmed ourselves up" again.
Since I kept getting it until dawn, I felt sleepy.
That day, I slept a little late.
After waking up, all the changes seemed to have happened a long time ago.
First, it was white outside, so bright that I had to turn my face away, and it took me a long time to get a rough idea of the situation outside.
Secondly, Yinling woke up early and was busying around, arranging what the maids were doing. I was still a little confused and didn't understand what Yinling was busy with. I didn't even know what I was busy with. I might as well warm up in the quilt for a while. At least my face could clearly feel that it was an extremely cold day.
Yinling once passed by the door and looked inside, and found that I was awake. She came over with a smile and sat beside the couch. During this time, she looked outside and suddenly leaned over and kissed me. I was sleeping very cutely.
I smiled, stretched lazily, then immediately retreated back into bed and asked them what they were doing.
Sweeping snow, repairing doors and windows, mending walls and so on.
What happened to the wall
The houses here are a bit old, and the doors, windows and even walls were damaged by the snowstorm last night. **The most unfortunate thing is that a piece of the north wall of his house collapsed last night, and the wind blew in and broke the doors and windows on the south side. His house was full of snow, and it seemed that he could not live in it for a while. In the middle of the night, he woke up Song Yudong and slept for the night.
**Are you not sick from the cold
It seems not. Song Yudong just came out and he was still snoring.
Haha, this kid grew up in the deep mountains and forests, he can really stand the cold. It's so late, I have to get up. Oh, I have to go see my father first, I hope everything is fine with them. There is nothing to do today, the princes have almost paid all the money, if they freeze for a few more days, they should be released soon.
Yinling nodded, and immediately went to the back to wash up, and asked me to wait for her.
Naturally, I was prepared to wait and wanted to drink water, but the water in the kettle was frozen and I couldn't drink a single sip. Seeing that they were busy outside, I felt that it was inappropriate to disturb them and ask them to send me off, which would expose my laziness. It just so happened that I hadn't put on my clothes yet, so I might as well curl up in the quilt and continue to sleep soundly.
But I had nothing in my stomach, the doors and windows were being repaired, and although the brazier beside the couch had been newly heated, it couldn't resist the cold wind that blew from time to time. I felt the bed slowly getting colder, so I had no choice but to get up and quickly look for something to eat.
Suddenly I felt that this room was a little strange. The dressing room was at the back, but the sleeping room was separated from the door by a curtain. I wondered what this place was used for before.
I am not one to keep things to myself, and this time, I had just finished eating and returned to the room when I saw Yinling coming out, so I asked her why the position of the bed here was so strange.
"I felt strange about this when I first arrived. I asked the eldest princess a few days ago, but she didn't know either. Later, the princess asked the guards here and found out. It is said that Pingle Pavilion used to be a place for the concubines who accompanied the previous emperors to the Shanlin Garden. In the hope that the emperor would visit them when he passed by, those concubines set up couches at the door. If they heard that the emperor was about to pass by, they would quickly go to the back to dress up and put on makeup, and then lie down here without closing the door. Haha, Zirui should understand. I didn't expect Zirui to ask now. That's right, Zirui eats when there is food and sleeps when there is sleep."
Ignoring her mockery, I couldn't help but ask her again, why are you so fast today? She replied that she didn't need to put on such heavy makeup when meeting her parents, and that spring snow was a disaster, so heavy makeup would be inappropriate.
This sentence immediately made sense of everything I had seen in the nightmare of the past few days. In an instant, I understood what had happened and what would happen next.
So, I asked Yinling to help me put on formal clothes. I might have to meet a lot of people today. Yinling saw my expression, thought for a moment, and immediately realized it. While helping me put on clothes, she whispered: Yinshan Luoyue Bow, Yinshan Luoyue Bow...
I hummed and echoed: Yinshan Luoyue Bow.
When I arrived at my parents' residence, I learned that my father had gone to the emperor's place. I greeted my mother and left. My mother did not stop me. I guess my father's hasty departure made my mother realize the seriousness of the problem. Yinling stayed to accompany my mother. My mother did not say anything, but just held Yinling's hand tightly and said distressedly, "Why is it so cold?" Then she ordered someone to bring a hand warmer.
Yinling just smiled at me and told me to go quickly.
I came out naturally and rode as fast as I could, but Hei Jinri couldn't go any faster. I also think it's a good thing that he can't go any faster. The wind blowing feels like a knife cutting through me. The faster the horse, the sharper the knife.
However, the seriousness of the matter was beyond my imagination. In the side corridor in front of the palace, a group of princes and generals who were accompanying them and were puffing smoke told me: The emperor caught a cold and fell ill last night!
The emperor's illness was like a dark cloud hanging over the Sixian Palace, and the atmosphere was very solemn and depressing. The princes gathered in groups of three or five in front of the braziers in various places in the hall, drinking to keep warm while discussing something with worry, at least that's how it seemed.
I arrived relatively late, but at least at a glance, most of the princes had arrived. I saw my father and his men on the upper steps, and hurried forward to greet the princes. Along the way, except for a few casual greetings, I remained silent, and no one said anything either.
I greeted my father and the other three and sat down. Before I sat down, my father asked me why I came so late. He looked at my face and asked me: Have you just figured it out
I nodded in agreement, and seeing that the elders had also heated up their wine, I quickly poured myself some to drink, and at the same time warmed up my hands that were holding the reins and whip, and then they gradually warmed up.
There was no much talk, no one talked to me, everyone remained silent, each drinking and thinking about their own things.
Here, only the father could not sit still, pacing back and forth with a solemn face; the teacher had a calm face and often looked into the distance outside the hall, sometimes even with a barely perceptible smile; Brother Meng De had been sitting there, his hands on his knees, looking at the ground, frowning from time to time, lost in thought.
Zi yù is not seen anywhere, so he should be inside. On the contrary, although Zi Shi is not seen anywhere, he should be outside.
There was no news from the palace for a long time, and no eunuch came to tell anyone to come in. My father couldn't help but go in once, and when he came out, he just said that the emperor was in good spirits and asked the princes to go back and rest and wait for the emperor's order, but no one left this time.
At noon that day, my father arranged a meal for everyone, and they ate in the palace. Zishi came to see me at this time and reported the disaster situation in Shanglin Garden, his face remained serious.
Apart from that, it was surprisingly quiet. You could hear people chewing and swallowing, the whistling wind outside, and even the occasional rustling of falling snow.
After a quick meal, Zishi was about to leave again. I saw him off and asked what was going on. Zishi had a heavy snowstorm last night, and the palace was badly damaged. He was ordering repairs. Some princes came to complain. If I had known, I would have helped protect the Shanglinyuan magistrate. Or he and Brother Zhongdao pretended to be sick and went to Chang'an for refuge. This time, I was afraid that the emperor would be angry and punish him. Finally, he was worried that everything else was fine, but he was afraid that Yu'er would be implicated. If I had known, I would not have let her come. I don't know how the gossip would spread.
Zishi still smiled before he left, and seemed to want to comfort me that it was okay and that everything should be determined by fate.
When he walked away, he thought to himself: If I dare to protect the three people of Shanglinyuan, I will definitely do my best to keep my brothers safe.
Shortly after the hour of Chen, everyone in the hall heard the sound of horse hooves becoming clearer and clearer, followed by a series of hurried footsteps, and then the sound of armor plates colliding getting closer and closer. So, everyone looked outside the hall door at the same time.
I saw a messenger from my Han Dynasty wearing full armor holding a box wrapped in a brocade bag, and he came to my father, throwing snow all the way. He knelt down to report, and handed it to my father with both hands. He said, "The Xianbei sent an envoy to ask for peace, and the envoy has arrived in Chang'an."
Although the sound was not loud, it was clearly audible in the originally quiet hall, and people below suddenly started talking.
I immediately thought of Yin Ling's poem, especially the line "Yin Shan Luo Yue Gong", which made me feel like I was thinking about everything.
After reading the letter of peace written by the Xianbei people, my father suddenly smiled. He first raised the wine cup, then handed the letter to the teacher and drank it all in one gulp. The teacher glanced at it casually, also laughed, and handed it to Brother Meng De. Then he raised the wine cup and invited my father to drink again. Brother Meng De first raised the cup with the teacher and father, drank one cup, then just glanced at the front and back of the letter and handed it to me with a smile.
I looked at it for a long time before slowly closing it.
My father ordered the messenger to go down and rest, and asked me to send the letter to the princes for circulation. As time went by, the discussion became louder and louder, and even gradually became a debate.
However, my father did not suppress the comments of the people below. Instead, he took advantage of the noise to discuss the matter with us.
My father didn’t lend it, but my teacher did, and so did Brother Meng De.
So my father turned his attention to me and asked me to share my opinion.
I have a sworn brother from the Xianbei, and a great minister of the Yue State who was rescued from the Wuhuan, so we are indeed more familiar with each other. But to talk about my opinion, I have to start from the beginning.
"My father, teacher, and elder brother said that I was young and ignorant, and I acted recklessly. After the battle of Hanzhong, I wandered to the north. I traveled a thousand miles outside the Han territory, but because I was alone, I did not alarm any tribes. Before the Xianbei defeated the Liuhan tribe, no one was seen along the way. The Liuhan tribe treated people well, perhaps because they were weak, and there were Han people among them, most of whom were people who had fled from disaster in the past."
"Zi Rui's words are a bit off topic."
"Father, please wait until I finish speaking." I know that my father will feel a little uncomfortable here, but I am not afraid: "Their tribe has been bullied by the Xianbei tribe and Wuhuan people for many years. If I had gone there a few years later, I am afraid that the Po Liu Han tribe would have been destroyed. On that day, they were attacked by the Wuhuan people. That night, the whole tribe migrated and were chased by the Wuhuan along the way. I helped them resist them, and then their tribe followed me back to Han. Soon after, they rescued a Han boy in the battle with the Wuhuan, so they have some understanding of the Xianbei and Wuhuan. A few days ago, my father told me the story of Tan Shihuai, so now, my son suddenly understands a lot of things."
After finishing the cause, let's start with the consequence: "Although the Xianbei and Wuhuan all came from the Donghu, they had feuds for generations; there were even attacks between the Xianbei and Wuhuan. Since Tan Shihuai convened a meeting with the Xianbei tribes, the government was unified, and more than 100,000 soldiers were under his control, sweeping thousands of miles from east to west. The Wuhuan were weak. Although there were also some scattered and unruly Wuhuan, most of them either surrendered to the Han Dynasty or sent hostages to surrender. Among them, several tribes were used by the Han people to attack the Xianbei. This is because the Xianbei and Wuhuan rely on herdsmen. Herdsmen live by following water and grass, moving south in winter and moving south in summer. In the north, drought, flood, insect pests and diseases all require other pastures, and the traffic is unpredictable, which is far from the stability of farmland reclamation. If the land with water and grass is not enough for all tribes, disputes will arise. The weak have no support, and the strong will bully the weak. Weak tribes like the six Han tribes are good because they are weak and cannot compete with others. They do not need many vast pastures and have no intention of plundering others. Strong tribes are not like this. They bully the weak at home and harass our Han Dynasty abroad because the land cannot meet their needs. Therefore, if there is no unified government order, there will be disputes within a few years. The border states have never been defeated in their attacks on the Xianbei. The Xianbei have not been able to launch a comprehensive counterattack against us from the beginning to the end, which shows that they are already divided. Since the death of Tan Shihuai, the Xianbei have no longer been able to cause us any great harm. Helian is far inferior to his father and is not a concern. Now the spring snow has come unexpectedly, which will not cause much damage to crops, but will cause great harm to livestock. Therefore, this disaster may make the Xianbei stop fighting among themselves and work together. In this letter, Tan Shihuai's son Helian claims to be the Chanyu of the Xianbei, which seems to indicate that the internal fighting among the Xianbei has stopped. However, it is because of the Xiongnu. , want to borrow food to pass this spring, and also want to marry a princess, showing his greed. At this time, this Helian can still be so shameless to ask for it. As I said before, there are also Han people mixed in the Xianbei, most of whom are criminals from the Central Plains. The words of this letter are obviously written by Han people, and I am afraid that Han people may have given them advice. But this letter does not show any intention of showing weakness and submitting to the emperor, but is a complete scoundrel. It can be seen that Helian will soon die, and the day when our great Han will defeat the Xianbei in one fell swoop is not far away. "
My father laughed, and he must have thought that my opinion was not to lend it either.
I paused, then spoke slowly to make sure I was right: "The only solution now is two words: borrow food!"
My father looked at me in surprise and disbelief, while the teacher and Brother Meng De looked at me with satisfaction.
"Zirui, you did nothing wrong?" I'm afraid that when my father heard the word "but", he was still thinking that I would not lend it to him.
"No, please allow me to report. First, we don't need to borrow their help to eliminate the internal strife. Moreover, they are determined to come to plunder, which is to fight for their lives. They must be determined to die and come with all their strength. They are too sharp to be resisted. Second, borrowing can arouse their internal strife. This means not only borrowing, but also borrowing just the right amount, that is, we have to consider their level of dividing the spoils. If they divide fairly, there will be almost no surplus. If someone is greedy, others will not have enough. With such a greedy Xianbei leader, I don't believe that there will be no partiality when distributing grain. We should even negotiate in advance and deliver it to the Xianbei people at the border, saying that we will never compete again. Third, the Xianbei were hit by a natural disaster after all, and our Han Dynasty is... We must be magnanimous. We must at least tell everyone that we do not intend to let the civilians starve to death. If there is rebellion among them, the weak ones may surrender to the Han Dynasty again, just like the Southern Xiongnu did in the past; so, this letter must be written beautifully. "I paused, and then continued, "What I am most worried about is that they have a Han counselor who knows that if we do not lend them food, the Xianbei will unite and become enemies of the Han Dynasty; he deliberately wrote such a greedy letter in the hope that we will not lend him food, so we must not be fooled. I think He Lian may not understand the mystery, and just think that this person is helping him to make a profit, and he thinks it is good."
Now the situation was reversed. My father looked at me with surprise and satisfaction, and even showed a hint of pride. But it was the teacher and Brother Meng De who looked at me with a hint of surprise. Soon, their eyes were filled with surprise.
My father's mood improved. This time he would have a solution when he saw the emperor. If the emperor knew about it and how to deal with it, he would be very happy.
After everyone had finished reading the letter, he took it back. My father and he went in with us, straightened his clothes, and then left.
Meng De seemed very happy, looking at me with a smile without saying anything. Having nothing to do for the moment, he walked towards Yuan Shao. Yuan Shao seemed to have been paying attention to us, but it seemed that he only saw him when Meng De came closer. Like good friends, we walked out hand in hand and talked about the Xianbei's request for peace and borrowing grain.
The teacher asked softly in my ear, do you know why Mengde and Benchu are similar
When the teacher asked me questions, I usually already had the answers in my mind, so I had to think about it carefully, which was no different from taking an exam. The only difference was that I could drink some hot wine first and then answer the questions slowly.
The Yuan family has had people who have been among the three highest officials for generations. Their disciples and old friends are all over the country, and their in-laws are all famous families. Is this the reason
What Zirui said is true, but there is actually another layer to it.
What does the teacher mean
Among Meng De's people, only Yuan Benchu was extremely powerful. The others either faced enemies in the north and were constrained by the surrounding areas, or were too weak to be worth mentioning.
Is it that simple
Alas, this is not easy, Zirui! Especially if you make the Xianbei rebel because of your plan, Meng De will soon face more pressure in the north, and he must get closer to Benchu as soon as possible. Zirui, don't be idle, go down, I think it's better for you to find some time to interact with that person.
The teacher looked at the three people beside the brazier on the right side of the hall. There were Yuan Shu, Liu Yao and Sun Jian. I knew who the teacher was.
What about the teacher? I asked
As a teacher? You can sit back and relax, just wait for others to come, sit on top and pretend to be noble, even if they have to guess. But you need to find someone to talk to, I am afraid that the matter of Wu State is just a formality.
The teacher is always like this, as if he knows everything in the world. Fortunately, he is my teacher. My initial rapid rise in official career was almost entirely due to the teacher, and I was just a pawn to follow his instructions. The teacher must have calculated that Huangfu Song had secretly made up his mind to prepare to go north, so he sent me to help push the situation; the teacher knew that I would let Brother Chen take full command of the Battle of Hanzhong, so he asked me to be a cover. I even suspected that the teacher knew that there would be a snowstorm that year, so he asked me to take over the governor of the state in advance and asked me to anger the people of Xiliang. Even this time, I suspected that the teacher had guessed it, so we came all the way to Shanglinyuan to wait for the Xianbei messenger who was nearby.
The more I thought about it, the more scared I became, but luckily he was my beloved teacher; as long as the teacher didn't stand opposite me, I would have no worries in Yueguo.
Whatever the teacher taught me was right, whatever the teacher taught me to do, I would do. I summarized this as "two whatevers". Suddenly, I broke out in a cold sweat, and I felt as if this phrase might have been used by someone else, maybe in the distant future, maybe a long time ago.
I walked along the way, bowing and returning the greetings. When I came here, I didn't expect Yuan Shu and Liu Yao to still be arguing about the six-game game that day. This is something I didn't expect, how did they go from discussing the Xianbei's request for peace to the six-game game that day. What I didn't expect was that Sun Jian was still listening beside them, and even had to mediate at the critical moment. However, in his words, he obviously favored his children and relatives.
I stepped forward and said: "It's okay, it's okay, let the two friends fight slowly, this is also a pleasure." I thought, it's good for you two to fight into a pool of mud. But unfortunately, since Sun Jian was trying to stop the fight, I could only stop the fight instead of pulling Sun Jian out to talk slowly.
In fact, when I approached them, I gave up the idea of chatting with Sun Jian.
During these few steps, I began to wonder which one the teacher was referring to.
At first I thought the teacher was referring to Sun Jian, but when I walked up to them I realized that was not the case.
I am really familiar with this person, in a very special way.
To put it bluntly, what Sun Jian wanted to do was to usurp power. It seemed that with the tacit approval of some power, it was a foregone conclusion that he would inherit the title and take all the land. However, in front of so many princes, he had to be humble and be kind to them, especially to stick closely to his patron.
If I make friends with him, I will be regarded as a rebel. I have also sold the wrong favor. If he wants to cause trouble, he must rely on Yuan Shu, so I have to obey Yuan Shu. Yuan Shu is a person that I have dealt with before, and I can't say he is a good person. He is mean and cunning - he will fart when I help the musicians hang a clock; he is also narrow-minded - he can still argue about the game of Liubo for a few days. He has a grudge against me in the past, so my kindness to him is superficial at best and doesn't count.
Therefore, the person I need to win over is Liu Yao, Yuan Shu’s northern neighbor, or the threat from his elbow.
If they become my enemy and march their troops southward, then the rich lands to the north will be laid bare before Liu Yao's eyes.
Therefore, the only one who can help me "manage" my two neighbors is Liu Yao. And Liu Yao has teachers around him, Huangfu Song and Tao Qian. No one will stand on the side of Yuan Shu and Sun Jian. I doubt that Huangfu Song will send troops to help.
Moreover, Liu Yao is a person I can use.
How could a man who wants to kill all his stepmothers stand firmly behind a "friend" with whom he would quarrel even over a game of chess
Moreover, the princes would definitely be afraid of this kind of thing happening in Wu State. Once it happens, they will definitely try to "deal with" Sun Jian. Just imagine that one of their ministers has found a way to collude with some powerful forces in the court, and then they can openly usurp the throne. The princes will definitely not do it, and will not condone this. I believe Liu Yao will do the same. Of course, this is all in the future. But first, we should build a good relationship so that we can talk nicely when we contact each other in the future.
Just like Sun Jian did, I also helped to mediate the fight. However, I would intentionally or unintentionally favor Liu Yao in my words - this is the disgusting part of politics - I helped purely for the sake of helping - because I knew almost nothing about Liubo chess.
The only reason to use almost is that I also know that the final victory or loss of Liubo chess is for six chips - fortunately, some chips were apparently picked up by me unknowingly during the quarrel between the two people.
I had to get them to stop arguing as soon as possible, especially since Liu Yao had clearly sensed my "good intentions" and kept nodding his head at me.
Then the opportunity came. A man dressed as a military officer hurriedly brushed off the snow on his body, took off his sword, helmet, and shoes, and did everything in a flash, as if he was looking for someone urgently. Although he was well-mannered, the guards at the door would not let him in because he did not have any special tokens. Although he looked anxious, he had no choice but to look inside the door, hoping that someone would let him in.
I brought up the topic and asked them if anyone knew the man outside. The quarrel stopped immediately. They didn't know him, but they seemed interested. After all, everything was of great interest at this time.
However, Yuan Shu gave a more clever answer. This person must be a subordinate of one of the four regents, otherwise he would only ask someone outside to notify him instead of waiting at the door of the hall to come in.
I noticed Liu Yao's look and suddenly remembered that I was also a regent. I quickly said: I don't recognize this general, and I haven't seen him at my father's place. I turned around and looked at the teacher, who didn't react, just looked at me, as if waiting for the next thing. So, I added that it seemed to be from Brother Mengde, Duke of Wei.
However, I feel that this general looks familiar, as if he is someone I have seen in Jingzhou but not very often.
More and more people in the hall noticed the person outside the hall, and finally Brother Meng De confirmed my guess.
"General Li, what brings you here?"
This is the pass order, and the guards at the door are not stupid. Although it is not in accordance with etiquette, the etiquette recorded in the history books is different from what we see in daily life, and some of the differences are very large. In fact, even if the entire history book is said by someone, it is a lie to deceive future generations of scholars. Although it is a bit biased, it can be considered to have some truth now. The story process is generally correct, but what the parties think and what they do in their daily lives are not recorded in history books.
When this general came in, I remembered who he looked like. First, they both had the last name Li; second, their figures, eyebrows, and eyes were very similar, but this one seemed younger.
But this is not a person I see often, especially after I was "running rampant" in Xiangyang's naughty world with Zishe and others. Uncle Li had a son in his old age, so he must have paid great attention to Zishi's education. I believe Zishi must have been taught more than once by his father when he was growing up, such as not to play with Zhi and especially Yong. But Zishi is too tall. Although he is not as out of shape as me, he still doesn't look very much like Uncle Li. It may also be because Uncle Li is old.
This General Li only whispered a few words to Brother Meng De, then stood respectfully by the side, and said nothing more to Brother Meng De. Indeed, the more I look at him, the more he looks alike. I really hope that Zi Shi can meet this general once, to see how he looks when he is surprised.
I didn't expect it to be such a coincidence. Zishi, Zishi is here. He felt much more relaxed when he came in, and someone helped him hold his cloak. However, his facial expression was not relaxed, and he kept going forward, and even invited me and Brother Mengde to go up with him. He wanted to tell us something even more shocking, and also told us to stay calm no matter what we heard, and not let the people below know to avoid any trouble.
But he obviously didn't notice the elder General Li, because General Li was surrounded by a group of princes including Yuan Shao, and he obviously didn't stand out like Zi Shi, so he could only be buried in the crowd. Yuan Shao seemed to recognize this general, and seemed to be very familiar with him, as if he was a relative. According to my guess, this general was brought by Brother Meng De specifically to deal with Yuan Shao. The older princes around him also seemed to recognize this general and were very polite. This made me even more curious about the identity of this general.
The general finally left, and it seemed that Zishi did not see him this time.
Although it's a bit of a pity, I'm more curious about what Zishi wants to report to us.
There was a thief named Wang Guo in Xiliang, who had gathered the Qiang people to rebel in Sili and Liangzhou! There were tens of thousands of people, all the way east, burning, killing and looting, and they had already surrounded Chencang to the west of this place.
Immediately, the previous curiosity disappeared, and this curiosity turned into surprise.
"Father and son-in-law are inside." I whispered, "We need to discuss this with them."
Everyone else just shook their heads and said nothing.
“Who’s going in?… Why are you all looking at me?”
What surprised me was that most of these eunuchs seemed to have a good impression of me. They hurried to inform me without any hindrance, and then hurried back, inviting me in softly and even with a smile.
They were led in all the way, but the guides kept changing.
Since they were very polite, I was more polite too. The wind was howling in the corridor all the way, and I asked them if they were cold wearing these clothes, and they were still very polite, saying no, no, no.
I don’t know if this series of “not cold” is really not cold or if they are just shivering from the cold.
I think I have never treated them well. And according to rumors, I was the one who ordered the massacre of all the eunuchs. Frankly, I don't have a good impression of them. Especially considering the situation in the year I was born, I have always been willing to assume the worst of these guys who are missing the key parts of men.
So, maybe they were shivering with fear. I imagined a story in my mind: they said: "It's cold"; I added coldly: "It won't be cold on the road to the underworld." Although I was worried, I still wanted to laugh when I thought of this, but I felt that it was not appropriate to laugh at this time.
When the eunuch stopped outside a door, I shook off my clothes, smoothed them out, and straightened my hat before going in.
The stove inside was very hot, and the feeling of coldness disappeared in an instant, and then I felt stuffy and hot. Looking at Ziyu on the left and the father on the right, there were traces of sweat on their faces.
I had to go through all the formalities, and by the time everything was done, I was already sweating. If I had known, I would have worn less when I was outside and come back again.
"What do you want to report, Zirui?" The emperor seemed to be in good spirits. Although he was lying on the couch, his speech was still clear.
"I am worried about the emperor's health. I can't help but come to see him. The ministers outside are also very worried."
“It’s a pity that you still have such filial piety… You were the last one to arrive this morning. Are you all thinking of bad ideas? But Zirui’s idea is not bad.” The emperor’s tone was a little more relaxed when he came to the back.
"I woke up from the cold once at night, and then I fell asleep after I lit a fire. As a result, I woke up late... I came up with this idea after being taught by several elders."
"Zi Rui is quite honest." I thought to myself, I am not really honest. At most, I am good at pretending to be honest. I always pretend to be honest after getting into trouble outside. Naturally, I am quite skilled in this. Of course, Yin Ling can indulge me like this because I know how to care about others: "Has the imperial physician come to see you? What's the situation?"
Unexpectedly, no one answered me. The emperor just sighed and said nothing. I stole a glance at Empress He next to me and saw that she was also looking at me, but she just frowned, but didn't give any other hints. I quickly looked away and looked at my father, who shook his head slightly to indicate that he should not ask any more questions.
But there was also a benefit to asking this question. The emperor waved his hand and asked us to go down and continue discussing the peace talks. He wanted to take a nap.
When we walked out to a distance, my father did not talk to me first, but loosened his collar, wiped the sweat off his face, and led us out of the bedroom. When we reached the corridor outside the Sixian Palace, he walked slowly and softly under the sound of wind and snow, saying: "This matter cannot be told to the emperor for the time being, but it cannot be concealed for long. It would be best if the emperor could hear the victory news at the same time when he knows it. But this is too difficult. Now I am thinking about where to transfer troops to pacify it. The Eight Outer Armies are scattered and stationed in the three auxiliary areas. It is already a bit troublesome to summon them, and the tiger talisman is still in the hands of the emperor; although the Eight Inner Armies are easy to gather, although the tiger talisman is in my hand, they are all stationed in Henan. How to quickly mobilize the army is really a headache for me. Originally, in order to prevent the military power of the Eight Outer Armies from falling into the hands of others, I have always been right and wrong, but I have never thought of such a thing. It would be better to release one or two armies earlier. But at this moment, it seems that I have to transfer people from Zhao State, and I have to mobilize some troops."
My father made up his mind and walked away quickly. But I had an idea. Since this morning, I knew that I was facing a "critical moment", which was proved by the various "bold" ideas in my mind: "In fact, we have the most elite troops in our hands."
"Where is it? The Yulin Army can't move around easily."
Ziyu seemed to be lost in thought. Just then, the three of us entered the main hall from the back. He said to me softly, "Your image is right in front of us, right?"
My head.
He added: "I think I should go back to Qin, maybe it will be better!"
Facing this army, I felt more confident, "You don't have to go back, that's enough."
"I think I have to go back. There are other things to do."
As Ziyu raised his head to signal, his father and teacher were already talking to each other. According to the discussion, Meng Dezheng and his friends thought that this group of people had no strategy or strict military discipline, so they were not worth worrying about, but they should be pacified as soon as possible. Chencang was indeed a granary, but in order to protect the largest granary in Guanzhong, its city defense must be extremely strong. Even if the government troops seized it, it would take a lot of effort. They only knew the grain in it, but could not see the city wall. It was not that simple to just attack blindly. Moreover, these people burned, killed and looted along the way, which was completely the work of robbers. Such thieves will be destroyed soon.
However, of course, problems also arose: how to raise troops and how to fight.
My father obviously thought of something, and turned around and looked at me: "Zi Rui, my son, which army are you in?" He also reminded me, "Without an imperial decree, the Yulin Army cannot be mobilized."
"Right in front of us." I smiled and slowly waved my hand downwards: "This is the most elite force in the world."
The people at the top all laughed, drawing the attention of all the princes. The people at the top understood that the people below were still confused; at the same time, the people at the top also understood that they had to quickly understand.
Of course, when they understood and realized the seriousness of the matter, they assembled the army for me. For a while, the sound of issuing orders and responding to orders came one after another, and my father had to remind them to speak only once, so as not to alarm the emperor.
But seeing that we were all confident, my father pulled me aside and asked me: "Now the road is blocked by heavy snow, how are you going to get through? Don't expect anyone to clear the post road for you."
There is definitely one road that is not closed, but my son still needs luck.
luck
Well, don't worry, all my son needs is some luck.
The following needs to be whispered.
But it took some time to figure out who would be in charge of the overall command. Specifically, there were three and a half people: me, Brother Mengde, Brother Zishi, and the other half: my teacher.
It's not that I don't respect my teacher, I just think it's a bit strange for my teacher to lead troops to the front line of the war. Although I think my teacher is omnipotent, it is limited to the court classroom. It's really not reassuring to fight on the battlefield. I think most of my classmates would think I'm overestimating the teacher. Therefore, his proposal caused unanimous opposition from all the other regents, including his other two disciples.
I have always believed that when the teacher proposed this, he must not be alone at that moment, but that the ghosts of many desperate heroes such as Jing Ke, Yao Li, Nie Zheng, etc., possessed him at that moment. He was definitely not alone!
The teacher thought about it, and as usual, he smiled calmly and no longer asked to lead the troops to the battle. So he began to support me; just when I thought I was sure to go this time, my father began to support Brother Mengde, who had more experience in long-distance raids than me. Brother Zishi successfully won the friendship support of Ziyu. However, our four regents have temporarily united to face the outside world, believing that without our status as regents, it is not easy to point fingers at these princes' guards.
Brother Zishi finally stood on my side, and Brother Mengde seemed to feel that something was wrong, especially after I called him "Second Brother" and said that I had thought of a way to get to Qin the fastest. Only then did my second brother immediately stand on my side with a sly smile on his face.
Meng De laughed and said that this was too unfair. But he shrugged his shoulders and said that since I thought of it first, I should go. He also discussed with his father how to keep it secret from the emperor. His father thought that it would be safer if Meng De went to discuss the confidentiality with the eunuchs, and everyone laughed knowingly. His father also asked Zi Shi to keep everything in Shanglin Garden as usual.
The emperor's son-in-law told everyone why he needed to go back, because he felt that if the bandits had tens of thousands of people - the number of Qiang people who migrated into Qin was definitely not that large - there might be or would be a special force involved - the rice bandits, the so-called Five Pecks of Rice Sect. Although he had already pacified Zhang Lu, some people in the sect thought that their leader was not given enough status and might take the opportunity to commit crimes. He was not in the country now, and everything was not going well, so he had to go back.
Everyone agreed, and the three elders discussed it and asked Ziyu and I to go to Taiyi Mountain to make arrangements and prepare for the final sacrifice there.
Ziyu asked me which was the shortest way. I said I would go to Taiyi Mountain and go around the back of the mountain. The back was the road we took to rescue him and take him to Xiliang. What if the mountain was blocked by snow? I said, let's do it the same way we did when we fought at Mufu Mountain. He was not very satisfied, but he still did it. I deceived him into trusting me.
I just told him not to worry, Taiyi Mountain is the sacred mountain for the Han people to worship, and this time when the emperor comes, there must be someone to clear the way for him, so he won't be blocked. He suddenly realized it and nodded repeatedly.
But I shook my head. How come when it comes to a critical moment, your brains are not as good as mine
I went to prepare. When I returned, the snow was very heavy. Although the road was clearly cleared, it was still a bit difficult. I had to get on and off the horse frequently. On the way back to Pingle Pavilion, I saw a car carrying a person who looked like a commoner leaving with difficulty from a distance. I was curious. When I approached, it seemed to have sunk into a snow pit. I could only see the wheels turning, but I couldn't see the car moving.
The driver and passengers had to get off the car to see how to solve the problem. I happened to be there, so I got off the horse and helped. This kind of rough work is actually very suitable for me, so I helped them push out of the snow pit.
The two of them only noticed the clothes under my cloak at this time, and hurriedly bowed down. The driver knelt on the snow and could not get up. The passenger called my title and greeted me. Generally, the language structure is like this: I don’t know which title I added to my visit, please forgive me for my impoliteness or how can I do this. Usually my title is a bit strange, but it depends on who calls me. So, the person who calls me the Regent Yuehou is naturally not an ordinary commoner.
It's a pity, if there wasn't something going on in the west, I think I could help him, but now, I can only let him go first.
However, I still asked him to be ready to go out at any time, and now he is on vacation, because not everyone can be a good historian.
The crime for which he was demoted was that he added extra days last year, which resulted in snow in February this year.
This charge is a bit strange, as this kind of natural disaster cannot be changed by human power. However, Lord Zhu admitted that he did make up for it, but in fact he just wanted to avoid making up for the leap year for a few more years. I guess I would have the same lazy idea if I were in his place, but now it seems that I will be unlucky.
But I think the reason why he lost his job was to find a scapegoat to call back the Imperial Physician. According to him, when he was on the road, Lord Zhongjing had repeatedly suggested that the emperor should do this or that, but not this or that. The emperor was finally a little angry. He wanted Zhongchun, how could he be cold? In the end, he was demoted from the position of the Imperial Physician and sent back to his hometown. This time, he was punished for violating the four seasons and framing the Imperial Physician. The emperor ordered Zhang Ji to be reinstated as the Imperial Physician, but dismissed Zhu Jianping from the position of the Imperial Historian.
Of course the emperor cannot be wrong, so someone has to be wrong. I comforted him and let him take a break. Everything will eventually pass.
I remembered that he had predicted for me that I would have a great disaster at the age of twenty. He was an honest man, and that was what seemed to be the case to me this year.
I would just wait until the imperial physician came back and cured the emperor's illness, and then try to get the imperial historian back. This was what I thought at the time. Unfortunately, some things were just so unfortunate, and many things that happened later were beyond our expectations.
Yinling is the most beautiful scenery in my eyes wherever she goes. I have believed this since she helped me drive away the vicious dog. Even if I were to bring a bowl of fragrant meat one day, I would never doubt it. Although the reasons kept changing, this one thing never changed. For example, on this day, she was standing on the roadside in a white dress under the white sky, almost blending in with the surrounding scenery. Only the flower umbrella she was holding was a little eye-catching, but my eyes were still on her, although a little dazzling.
"Why are you back?" But I didn't let her answer. The umbrella was thrown in the corridor and I pulled her away.
On the way back to the house, Yiren didn't say anything, and neither did I. We just laughed together to avoid the wind and snow. I knew I shouldn't waste this time, but I wanted to tell Yinling that it was okay, and maybe I could get some good advice. But I was wrong, because first of all, she is my wife who loves me deeply.
"When I heard the hurried sound of horse hooves outside, I knew something had happened. My mother seemed to have sensed it too, so she asked me to come back to see you, fearing that something might have happened. What happened?" Yinling asked as she helped me brush the snow off my body and regained her composure.
"Well, come in." He pulled her into the house, bolted the door, and took her to the inner room: "The Xiliang Qiang people are causing chaos. The emperor must not know about it. The regents have discussed and decided to let me lead the princes' personal soldiers to quell the rebellion."
"There are quite a lot of thieves, right?" Yiren pinched my collar and asked me calmly.
"There are tens of thousands. It is estimated that the county magistrates and county magistrates who were driven away falsely reported the number for fear of taking responsibility. I guess a few thousand would be a serious number." I already felt something was wrong.
"Where are they now?" Yiren tried her best to suppress something.
"Chen Cang." I said casually, trying my best to stay relaxed and not wanting her to worry too much.
"Then there may be even more than tens of thousands of them, because Chencang is an important town in the Three Ancestral Temples, with many soldiers and high walls, and the Eight Outer Armies are all stationed there. If the bandits can get here, they will definitely..." Yiren tried her best to stay calm, but seemed to be unable to hold on any longer.
"I am bringing an army of the most elite guards from various vassal states, and I will go through a special road." I supported my wife who was already sobbing in my arms, and found it difficult to stay calm: "It's okay, your husband has not fought as many battles as you, but most of them were fierce battles, and he has been through hundreds of battles."
"But this time, you are going to use a few hundred, or at most a thousand people, to fight against tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands." Yinling began to lose control of herself. Yiren was crying and looked at a loss.
"It's okay. This critical moment is exactly where Ling'er's husband comes in handy." I held her in my arms and tried to comfort her: "Listen, the whistling wind outside is here to help me."
"Can I take command?" When Yin Ling seemed to have finally calmed down, she gave me an idea that was definitely not a calm one.
"No." Although I smiled, I was not sure if my smile could comfort Yiren: "After all, my husband is the regent. And I have to take a special route, running nearly 300 miles."
"Weishui?"
My god, this kind of thing can never be hidden from Yinling.
"The snow on the ice is usually not very thick, but you have to make sure it is frozen thick enough. If it is not thick enough, don't go in the middle, as the sides usually freeze faster... Be careful not to slip on your horse's hooves... Also, be careful that some people will break the ice from time to time at the ferry ports... And you have to calculate the time to get there. The two places are about 230 miles apart. Although this section of the Weishui waterway is not very curved, it is still about 250 miles round trip. If you rush, it is best to arrive at the time of Chou and Yin."
I said goodbye to my wife who kept reminding me, took **, and told him that I would take him to quell the rebellion today. He was very excited, but I said to him coldly, you are going to kill someone this time, when the time comes, you can't be afraid, can't panic. He nodded, full of confidence, but I still felt a little uneasy. ** said goodbye to his new sister, Qiu Luan made him feel relieved and asked him to protect me, he naturally. I listened to their words and went to say goodbye to Lord Xu and Song, which was actually a way to make arrangements for my funeral. After explaining what happened today, I also need to make it clear what will happen to the country of Yue if I unfortunately pass away.
In short, it is better to tell than not to tell. After all, Lord Xu respectfully bowed to me to show that he obeyed my orders and wished me a successful start; what made me even happier was that Song sent me out, which made me feel at ease.
I was actually afraid that he would blame me, so I didn't let him know first so that he could help me make some plans. But I felt that he was just a guest in Shanglinyuan, and there were many things that he could not know, or should not know.
I left with my master and a few skilled archers and horsemen. I couldn't calm down at all. It was the first time that I had to use such a small number of people to attack such a large army. It was also the first time that I almost led the strongest cavalry in the world to fight. These were the reasons why my heart was beating so fast that my body was shaking unconsciously.
All the excitement disappeared when I returned to Sixian Palace. I was very calm, and my mood was as relaxed as if I was attending a banquet where I was not the guest of honor. I even felt a little excited and happy.
When I told the map that I would leave tomorrow evening, Brother Mengde and the others thought I was late. But when I pointed to the Weishui River and explained the time we would arrive, Mengde clapped his hands in praise; when I told them everything Yinling had told me, the teacher was surprised; my father knew my plan long ago, so he was always happy and proud. He only told me at last: Don't go to see your mother in the next two days, because she is afraid that she will worry and you will be distracted. But you have to be careful, because you are my only son, don't rush to the front. I said yes, but I thought in my heart that when the time comes, I may not be able to control myself.
When I saw Ziyu again, I quickly and secretly told him not to go through Taiyi Mountain, but to go back through Jingshui. Set out with us tomorrow evening. As long as we can go through Weishui, he can go through Jingshui. He asked me why I didn't do this with him the first time. I said he would definitely tell his sister-in-law - a man who can tell his biggest secrets to his wife, there is no reason why he would not be honest about going home. Ziyu, that's because your sister-in-law is good at talking. I don't think so. This princess has leaked everything except the most important thing about Ziyu's identity. It is based on this that I am afraid that this plan will spread soon.
He asked me why I only told him now. My Yinling already knew about it and she might tell the princess. However, Yinling would explain the interests involved and the princess would keep the secret. And you were afraid that my sister-in-law the princess would worry and you would definitely not tell her about the dangerous situation. Then my sister-in-law might just talk about it with others.
The first month of the second year of Chuping was February. I didn't know when this day would come. Zishi once told me that since the sixth year of Guanghe, there had always been natural disasters one year after another. I only knew that from the beginning of this year, my Han Dynasty encountered natural disasters and violence.
But at that time, I hoped that the snow would not stop.
That year, I was twenty years old, Jiang Wei was twenty years old, and Li Zhen was twenty years old.