Changes in the sky
Volume 2: The Edge of Heaven
Chapter 171 Female Envoy
This guy stared at me for a long time, swallowed his saliva, and was speechless for a while.
During this time, the brothers behind him either stood in silence, or knelt or bowed; they also looked at each other, and then gave up their own movements and imitated each other, and so on, until they corrected their own movements.
If the soldiers behind were extremely unconfident, this Che'er was extremely confident, because when he started talking, he wanted to "expose" me.
"Don't lie to me. Although Marquis Ping'an Fengyun should be in this city, it definitely won't be you!" As he spoke, he even picked up two iron rods vigilantly, as if I was going to rush up to silence him at any time because of my defeat, and he could swing them to repel me at the right moment.
"Why is this?" I was really curious.
"Marquis Fengyun was seriously injured a few days ago, and he should still be unconscious now, but you act like nothing is wrong. This is the first point. Marquis Fengyun is a noble, but you are wearing Lao Yao's clothes. Although I am not familiar with Lao Yao, I recognize his clothes. This is the second point. No matter how good Marquis Fengyun is, he has the government to pay for his meals, so why does he need to come here to eat without even bringing any money? This is the fourth point."
"Brother Che, it's only three." A soldier at the back listened carefully.
The Hu child looked at the soldier who reminded him with some dissatisfaction: "Don't interrupt my forehead. I finally got the chance to be like a teacher. Let my forehead be finished. Don't make a fuss, you idiot."
"Where are we? You're the only one interrupting me. Oh, Fengyun Hou is ten feet tall, everyone is, you're less than nine feet tall, Old Yao is only about ten feet tall, you're much shorter than Old Yao, how... what's this?"
"Four."
"Who died again?" Che'er suddenly looked around nervously, and suddenly realized: "This is the fourth, or is it the third? The fourth one just passed, so this one is the third."
He pondered for a while, then suddenly blurted out another sentence, pointing the iron rod at me: "Anyway, based on these three points, you are definitely not the Marquis of Ping An Fengyun!"
The person behind him and I both wanted to correct a number, but we looked at each other, then at the guy in front of us who was gesticulating, and we both gave up the power, and in the end no one did so.
Strangely enough, he actually showed a very smug expression: "Haha, you've been exposed, right? Ahahaha! Hurry and surrender, or I'll stop you."
I can't imagine, if "I" is really not me, he still needs to act so crazy in front of me, and I also "cheated" them for forty coins. This guy is quite proud to sell out with his brothers. For example, I can tell at a glance that he can be a pavilion chief or county lieutenant.
Judging from his tone and words, he is older than he looks.
So I smiled and explained, "That's a little inappropriate. Although both the post of the head of a pavilion and the county lieutenant are positions for catching thieves, there is a big difference between them. In ancient times, 72 households made up a li, and later a li was made up of a width of 300 steps and a length of 300 steps. Ten li made up a pavilion, and ten pavilions made up a township. A county made up of 100 li, and the number of li increased or decreased according to the population density. However, the official rank and jurisdiction of the head of a pavilion and the county lieutenant were still very different. How can we compare them?"
Actually, there was nothing wrong with what he said, but if I didn't say it on purpose, he might really suspect that I was a vagrant bandit. This would let him know the truth and prevent them from really fighting me. Now is not the time for me to fight others, and this action is inexplicable.
It was over, and he coughed too. Without saying anything more, he gestured with his hand to follow me to where I lived so that I could return the money to him. Then he patted his head and gestured to follow him.
This kid was also very honest. After listening to my long speech, he really didn't suspect that I was a habitual bandit or something like that. At most, he was a clerk pretending to be the Marquis of Ping An Fengyun. He followed me with a stick in his hand, and asked me who I was and why I was wearing Lao Yao's clothes.
I asked him who Lao Yao was. He was a sergeant who used to guard the East City Gate, but was shot dead by Qiang people a few days ago.
But after we had taken two steps, we suddenly heard the sound of horse hooves getting louder and louder. When we turned around to look, we saw a horse catching up with us from behind.
The car boy knew this man, and he went straight up to him and laughed loudly: "Brother, what are you doing here? Are you looking for me? Is there something going on with my godfather?"
Hei was not shy, and before he had even stopped, he moved towards the mount and whistled at it, making some incomprehensible neighs. I don't understand horse language, but I think it was some frivolous words.
The man on the horse and I were familiar with each other, so I asked directly: General Zhang, are you looking for him or me
What I actually want to ask is: General Zhang, is the horse you are riding a mare
He and Che'er exchanged glances like playmates, a scene that often happens in our Jingzhou student gang. Then he walked over to me and whispered to me, "Master Zhong saw that it was lunchtime and you hadn't come back yet. Since you wore that outfit and went out on a special trip, you must have eaten at this tavern. You must not have brought any money, so I asked you to send some over quickly. I didn't see you at the tavern just now, but I saw you on this street. Uh... how did you pay?"
I pointed to the wooden eyes behind him: They were looking at me.
I heard two clangs, and the one called Che'er suddenly bowed down to me: Oh my god! It's really Lord Fengyun Hou, I, Che'er, kowtow to you, please don't mention this matter to my godfather, Che'er will apologize to you!
Hurry up and help this big guy up. I like this guy very much, or maybe I just prefer straightforward and rough men.
I consoled myself by saying: Thanks to Che'er for paying the bill for me, I won't do that. But I still have to pay you back.
Then I asked him what his last name was, and heard them all call themselves Che'er, which sounded like a name.
His surname is Hu, but it is not his real surname, and he doesn't know what his surname is. His adoptive father originally wanted him to be named Zhang, but the Zhang clan didn't want a Hu person to be included in their family tree, so it turned out like this. But Che Er is open-minded. He is very happy to be able to accompany his adoptive father and brother. He is really a straightforward and open-minded man.
Che'er is a Hu person, but it is not clear which tribe he belongs to. His ancestors lived in Liangzhou, where Qiang people have been causing trouble for decades. The vassal states of the four counties in Hexi are all inhabited by nomadic tribes, so there is no peace. When Lord Zhang was still serving as a garrison commander in Guyan, he once received an order to go to the vassal state of Guyan in the south to mediate a dispute between two Hu tribes over water and grass.
By the time they arrived, the battle had already been fought. Under the setting sun that day, everything that could be taken from the battlefield was taken away except for the unclaimed corpses. The only thing left was a child crying loudly in the basket. That child was Che'er.
There were few women in Juyan, and some of them were men who came with their families. He couldn't leave his post and sneak back to marry, so he was a bachelor and naturally had no children. Seeing the child was pitiful, he felt pity for him and adopted him as his adopted son. He usually looked at the grassland and desert while driving the car.
After Lord Zhang was promoted, Che'er also grew up, and the relationship between the two became deeper. Lord Zhang was reluctant to let Che'er charge in front, so he made Che'er his personal guard and followed him. However, he pulled a nephew of his clan, Zhang Xiu, to join the army, and always led the vanguard. However, the two young men got along well and soon became like brothers. Che'er had amazing arm strength, and both of his iron rods weighed thirty pounds. He usually followed Lord Zhang in the battle. Lord Zhang was able to enter the city that day because of Che'er's desperate protection. After the death of Lao Yao, the sergeant on the east city, the original owner of the clothes on my body, he had been guarding the east city with his men, so he had never seen him. After the Qiang retreated, he returned to General Zhang. Today, Lord Zhong and Lord Zhang were supposed to have lunch together, but they ran into Hei Yuechao, so he volunteered to chase him.
On the way back, we did not follow the direction General Zhang came from, but returned along the same route I came from, or the route Hei came from. This was not a big deal, but the group of acquaintances who had eaten lunch and came out to bask in the sun saw it.
They looked at us without saying a word. That scene must be interesting. The big man in front, who looked like a pig butcher in the army, who we talked about before dinner, was accompanied by two officers, one of whom had a strange face. There were also several soldiers who followed silently behind. This time it was the woman's turn to speak: Did this big brother commit a serious military crime? He wanted the two officers to take him back
The man in her family quickly asked him to leave, dragged his wife, and pulled her into the house while confessing his crime in our direction.
Suddenly, someone reminded his child: "Xin, there's another car coming! It must be that family again, only they have this kind of car! Erdan, don't worry about your life, come back quickly!"
Compared with the one in the morning, this car was bigger and more luxurious, but its speed was much slower. Seeing this scene, everyone suddenly laughed again. Someone said that the one who called the police was exaggerating. The snow was being melted, and such a heavy car could not go fast on the muddy and snowy road.
But in my eyes, this is more like showing off. You have a way to get away with killing someone, and once the city siege is broken, you start to act arrogantly again. In such an isolated alley, you insist on riding such a magnificent car. If you do this, where is the law of the Han Dynasty? And after a closer look, I feel that I have enough confidence to convict this wealthy man of the crime. After all, I am a doctor in this area of etiquette.
I even rushed forward and stood in the middle of the road in a moment, which frightened the people behind me. Behind me was where the people lived. Considering all the possibilities of my actions, I tried my best not to affect the lives of ordinary people. It was like when you teach a lesson to a bad guy in the market, it was hard to guarantee that you would not destroy the vegetable stalls of other innocent people. They were just watching the excitement from a distance. I just needed to let them know that justice will be managed by someone, and then the righteousness of heaven and earth will return to people's hearts.
I raised my hand to stop the car, but in a very calm tone, I tried to suppress the urge to cough, and tried to get the following sentence out of my mind: "In Chencang, who dares to ride in the carriage of the three officials?"
Because it was cold, the driver wrapped his head with cloth and wore a thick fur hat, leaving only a pair of eyes exposed. No one in the car said anything. Perhaps because he saw that we were soldiers, the driver was polite. He saluted me first, then pulled open the cloth on his face, pursed his lips, and was about to say something respectful. Suddenly, someone knocked on the curtain in front of the car, and the guy immediately turned around and put his ear to the window. The neighing of the horses covered the whispers of the people in the car. After a moment, the driver seemed to have changed into a different person. He suddenly stood up arrogantly and asked me with a whip: "Do you know who this car belongs to?"
"I don't care who you are!" I was also very tough. Thinking of the child who was hit and killed in the rumor, I became more and more angry: "You have no right to do anything when I am here today!"
The sound was so loud that it hurt my own lungs.
"Aren't you afraid of anyone?" After hesitating for a while, he asked this question in a very puzzling way. Could it be that if I am afraid of someone, you can just show up in the car
"No one in the world is afraid of me, Marquis Ping'an Fengyun!" He said this even more harshly and couldn't help coughing violently. It was a little embarrassing, but he couldn't control it.
Someone in the car screamed, and suddenly the rear curtain rang and a person jumped out.
I looked up.
My reaction at that time, to use the words of Zhang Xiu and Che'er, was that I had suddenly become a foot shorter and my neck had become three inches shorter.
These two thieves would smile whenever they saw me in the following days, which made me want to kill them.
It should be, as a marquis, I am really afraid of one person in the world. If I do, you can't blame me, it's the accumulated shadow in my heart. Although this person is kind, gentle, and amiable, in fact, he is very cute. But if this person really gets angry, I will feel very weak in my heart.
However, I really don't want to see her for the time being. The main reason is that the wound has not healed yet. If she feels distressed and sighs, my body used to be clean and spotless, but now it is covered with scars. She is sad and upset, but it is even harder for me.
I can't bear to see her cry. When she cries, I don't know what to do.
But she still shed tears. Although she tried hard to suppress her sobs, tears were still in her eyes. She just tried to purse her lips and looked at me with a smile.
I walked over quickly and was about to hug her in my arms, but she pushed my belly with her hands, and thoughtfully put a finger on both sides of my belly and asked me: This side or that side
I smiled and pointed to the right. If it was the left, I would be afraid...
She covered my mouth with her hand, which was unacceptable.
Yiren finally realized that there were some stunned people behind me. At first I only knew that there were some people behind me, but when I turned around I understood what stunned meant.
Yiren asked me who those people were, and I briefly introduced them. Yiren greeted them politely and virtuously, thanking them for taking care of me. They were so flustered that they returned the greetings, saying that the wife of Yuehou was too polite.
Finally I told them that I was getting in the car and they should go back first. We might have to take a detour as the car was too big.
They were not afraid of me at all. The two of them kept signaling to each other with their eyes, then gave me a wicked smile and retreated.
The driver also asked how to get out. I heard a group of people talking and pointing at the road below, and I held her hand and got into the car.
"Why are you here?" As soon as he finished speaking, he immediately added: "I'm not saying you can't come, I mean it might be dangerous in the wild now, why did you come anyway?"
Yiren giggled, and when the carriage started, she pursed her lips and deliberately looked me up and down with a sidelong glance, then she leaned into my left arms and said softly: Why are you like this, are you really afraid of me
"Of course. If you come up and start scolding or acting like a spoiled child, there's nothing I can do about it."
"When the news of victory arrived, naturally all the ministers were excited. So my father reported everything, including the victory news, to the emperor. The emperor was really shocked, but he was very relieved to know that the disaster had been quelled, and even very happy. He wrote a letter to reward you, and the car we are sitting in now was rewarded to you. That day, the emperor was always proud of the title he wrote for you in his own handwriting, but he almost made a fool of himself by the Xianbei envoy. Fortunately, Fengyun Houer was brave and invincible, and defeated the Qiang overnight, so it was easy to receive the Xianbei envoy."
"Is there anything else going on in Shanglinyuan?"
"Yes. He also asked me to bring you an imperial edict, asking you to return to Shanglin Garden as soon as possible. I didn't expect that not long after I set out, Chencang sent a second urgent letter. My father sent someone to report it to me. The letter said: The enemy attacked, and the arrows penetrated the palace. The Marquis of Yue is in great danger."
"How can it be penetrated? It was just stabbed. What kind of damn document wrote this notice?" I almost jumped up. My mother must be terrified and would probably cry.
But he was in a hurry and started coughing. He could only catch his breath and add with a smile, "It was just a puncture, and it hurt a little bit of my lung. It's not serious. I'm much better now, right? I have to write a letter right away and have someone send it back to reassure my parents."
I asked if there were any writing materials or books in the car, and when I learned there weren't any, I thought I had to go back and wait.
At that moment, without letting Yiren speak, he recounted everything that had happened in the past few days and also mentioned the origin of the clothes he was wearing.
Yiren was finally amused by me. Thinking that I might have no clothes left, she brought me a few pieces of clothing, including a piece of top-quality silk clothing given by the emperor, some parts of which were sewn with gold thread.
I immediately said I didn't want to wear it, and Yinling also nodded. She also felt that there were heroes I brought with me in the military camp, and they had no one to send them off, and they were waiting for me to take them back, so I couldn't wear it. I nodded. In this regard, I always had something in common with my wife, Yinling, who grew up with me. After all, she taught me these principles.
The car was moving very slowly, especially since Yinling specifically reminded people not to rush, and it went even slower.
It was so slow that I became a little anxious. I lifted the curtain next to me and found that we were outside the tavern again. With a sudden thought, I turned around and asked my wife: Ling'er, do you have money
Now, the car became a little crowded, and she could only sit in my arms.
I was afraid that she would worry about my wound, so I tried to smile and asked, "What is my Ling'er doing recently?"
"I stayed there for two days, and then I came out. It was sunny and warm for two days, and the ice on the Wei River was not stable, so it was difficult to walk on the post road, which delayed us for some time." Yiren tried hard to pull and tidy up her clothes, then put her arms around my neck and continued, "During those two days, my father took me and the other two regents to discuss a few things. Also, if it comes to emergency matters, my son may be okay, but if it comes to national affairs and people's livelihood, his daughter-in-law is better, not to mention that your teacher is here, so there is no need to wait for you. When talking about your possible response, my father also said: My son's past plans were all extremely wasteful of money and food. Although it is easy for people to believe and fall into the trap, it is very costly. The two swords given to him for this expedition will definitely not be safe, and I will burn incense and thank God if he can return 500 of the extra thousand war horses. I don't know if his idea this time will cost half of the national treasury, which made the princes laugh."
I laughed. My father seemed to be too modest, and he was modest on my behalf. But I really had nothing to say about the sword. I didn't know if anyone would help me get back the thousand war horses afterwards.
"Which things?" I tried hard to suppress the urge to look for the two curved-blade swords and the warhorse, and acted like a loyal minister who cared about the country's affairs.
"I won't be in a position to do anything else for now. Let's talk to Zirui about how to deal with the Xianbei in the future. Although the northern princes have come together to severely damage the Xianbei this time, the Xianbei have suffered a disaster and need to ask for peace and borrow grain from us. Although we have already decided to borrow grain this time, this is not a long-term strategy. In a few years, these people will come to cause trouble again. Since the Zhou Dynasty conquered the Xianyun, the Xianbei came after the Xiongnu. The northern nomadic tribes have never stopped causing harm to our Central Plains. Therefore, we know that we will eventually be disturbed by them in the future. We need to plan a better response strategy and even summon the princes from all sides to discuss this matter together."
"What's wrong with the princes?"
"Of course, there were all kinds of things. Some wanted to rebuild the Great Wall; some wanted to take advantage of this disaster to mobilize the entire country's army to destroy the Xianbei and eradicate them completely; some wanted to appease them and make them a vassal state, and so on."
"What do father, teacher, and Brother Meng De mean?"
"It's interesting, they all ask me what I think."
"So what do you think?"
"I want to ask you what you mean."
After a round, she came back to me. Yiren had a point: "It was originally the meeting of the Regents. If it wasn't for my father's insistence, I would not have wanted to go. I proposed this before I went, so my father proposed that all the princes participate in the discussion, and he also paved the way for me to participate in the discussion because I had led troops to pacify Wu. Besides, it's already a bit inappropriate for me to participate. If I give my opinions, whether they are adopted or not, it's not good to spread them. So, I almost said nothing, and only at the end I had to ask your opinion."
"So what do you think?"
"Actually..." Yiren seemed to have encountered an unsolvable problem for the first time: "I can't figure it out either."
"What is so difficult about it?" I thought that this time the northern princes had all gone to war against the Xianbei, and most of the progress was very smooth. So I talked about all the successes of this military campaign, and I was particularly proud of the establishment of Shuowei County.
Unexpectedly, Yiren deliberately sighed and shook her head, smiling and said, "In normal times, your brain is really useless."
I compared the size of my head quite sincerely, and then checked hers: "It's still much bigger than Ling'er's."
"Okay." Yiren was completely amused by me and pointed at my big head: "You big head."
"Don't keep your husband in suspense, let's hurry up." I also became serious.
"Shuowei is bordered by Shuofang in the north and Liangzhou in the south. There is only one mouth in the west. If the Xianbei attack from here, they will have to cross the river. (Note: Yellow River, in ancient times, only the Yellow River was called a river, and the Yangtze River was called a river. Others were all called rivers, such as Han River, Baishui River, Lishui River, etc.) The threat from the Xianbei is not serious here. If the Xianbei gather here, it will be easy for us to take advantage of it."
"I understand that, but after all, their land is close to our Han Dynasty. If we don't chase them away, it will be unsettling. After Tan Shihuai's death, no one can succeed him. Now our Han Dynasty has chased them for hundreds of miles with its fierce army. After this disaster, we can help them with kindness and righteousness. Then the Xianbei may not be able to cause trouble to us in the next ten years."
"Although this is true, the hunters in the north are different from our Han people. Their tribes spend their whole lives with cattle, sheep and horses, and spend their days with bows, strings, birds and beasts. Those who can ride horses all pull bows, and only one in two or three of them can fight. However, the people of our Han people are mostly farmers, and they join the army because they are forced to serve. The 400,000 Xianbei people can have 200,000 bows, and with the Wuhuan, another branch of the Donghu, there are hundreds of thousands of skilled cavalrymen stationed in our northern border. Although our Han people have tens of millions of people, it is difficult to have a million-strong army, and most of them are infantrymen. They live in the fields every day, hoeing and plowing, and holding spears when they serve. How can they fight against the Hu people who ride horses and shoot arrows and chop wild beasts with swords all day? If we fight the Xianbei with this, there will be no good generals, and the consequences are self-evident. Since the Party Banishment, the world's famous ministers and good generals have declined, and it is difficult to fight against these Donghu Di."
Yiren suddenly remembered something: "When you were eight years old (note: the sixth year of Xiping, 177 AD), Tan Shihuai divided his army into three groups to burn, kill and plunder You, Bing and Liang. Our Han army divided their army into three groups to resist and was defeated. Only one or two out of ten survived. I didn't tell you about this incident. I don't know who told you about it outside. You came back to ask me about it. You were so determined to follow the example of Guanjun Hou (Huo Qubing) in defeating the Xiongnu and drive out the Xianbei. Later, didn't you start moving stones in the yard at home to train your strength? You also studied the art of war for a while, but in the end you could only carry leather bags, and you just told me what it meant."
I have some memory of this incident. There was no one in Xiangyang who could teach us martial arts, so we had to act like good boys in front of Yinling and the neighbors. We could only practice by fighting with other naughty kids from a distance. We didn’t know how to pick fights without reason at that time. Fortunately, some older naughty kids liked to divide their own territories, so we had to fight when we entered. Moreover, Zishe’s foul mouth would offend these people, so we often fought. At first, we always lost, but later, as we became stronger, we won more and more, and we could fight one against two or three, and then six or seven. In the end, no one dared to mess with our gang of three or four. Although I later learned that Uncle Jiang knew martial arts through the skill of climbing over the wall, I didn’t dare to learn it because of my “bad deeds” at that time, and my second brother talked about Uncle Jiang’s teachings: “Don’t play with Yongzhi” and so on. My second brother was a calm and quiet person, and maybe because of Uncle Jiang’s instructions, I never saw him fighting with others with martial arts outside, so it was impossible for him to learn secretly. If Uncle Jiang hadn't been afraid of keeping the child at home and making him sick, he might not have played with us. I thought about climbing over the wall to learn secretly, but I was afraid that Uncle Jiang would find out and chase me out. Besides, it was dangerous to stick my butt against the wall. Especially when Yin Ling "accidentally" passed by - I "unfortunately" encountered her - I could only lower my head and be dragged back by the collar. As for why I didn't learn from my second brother, I really couldn't bear to worship him as my master. Besides, he was an apprentice after all, so I had to learn from the master.
Yiren returned to the main topic again: "Although the newly opened lands are mostly fertile, they are flat and easy to attack but difficult to defend. Even if we win, we will have to change hands and it will be difficult to maintain it. Moreover, although our farmers can hide, it is difficult to move crops. The Northern Di people drive cattle and sheep to migrate, and their livelihoods are all living things. Our farming plan for the year is spring, busy in summer, harvest in autumn, and store in winter, and it is difficult to rest in all four seasons; the Donghu people's fear of the year is only in winter, and they have no worries in the other three seasons. When wheat and millet are ripe, it is usually when the Xianbei arrive. What should we do?" Yiren suddenly frowned and sighed: "This time, the days of mobilization are mostly in late autumn, when the autumn harvest in the north has passed. Most of the troops are cavalry, but it is very difficult to travel on horseback due to continuous wind and snow. When the new territory is conquered next year, even if it is turned into fields, there will be no strategic locations to defend when the autumn harvest comes. How can the Great Wall be built in one year? If we can do it, what else can we do?"
It was cold outside, but I was sweating all over. Yiren continued to explain: "The purpose of the Great Wall is not to block the Northern Di forever, but to prevent them from entering at any time and anywhere. But the autumn harvest is only a few days! And building the Great Wall is not something that can be done easily. It will take more than ten years to rebuild the Great Wall with the efforts of the whole country, and the huge cost of people's manpower is hard to measure. If we open up new land in the future, will we build the Great Wall again?" Yiren smiled and said: "This is the worst option! The plan to kill all the Xianbei is against the will of heaven and inhumane. It is not a human strategy and cannot be discussed! If we talk about the issue of appeasement, we can still discuss it, but we know from past events that this is not a long-term solution. It can only ensure peace for a few years."
Yiren paused for a moment, but leaned close to my ear and whispered, "What's more, this time the princes are fighting in the north, and each one is for his own benefit, so he can devote all his heart and soul, but this will definitely cause troubles. The princes' armies are mostly powerful and brave. Since before the Yellow Turban Rebellion, they have been dedicated to the powerful and have their own troops. They are indeed good at fighting, but they only know the princes and don't know the court. This time, except for Yuan Shao, Gongsun Zan and others who are powerful in their local areas and difficult to suppress, they are all led by people from other states. This is to force the local powerful to force the local powerful, and drive the tiger to eat the wolf. Now the local powerful in the past is gradually declining, which is unprecedented since the revival. (Note: The story of the powerful in the Eastern Han Dynasty is true, but the solution in this book is not seen in the official history. The author smiled and said, don't take family words as official history) and the power of the princes in various places is growing day by day, isn't it driving away the wolves and raising the tigers as new troubles?"
Yin Ling asked me to lean forward again so that she would not get tired, and then she said, "Although the political orders in various places are now well communicated, and the troops are strong and powerful, unlike in the past. However, the affairs of the princes have disadvantages. If this continues for a long time, the people of the world will only know the favors of the princes, but resent your majesty's gifts. This is thinking about the princes and forgetting your majesty. The armies of various countries are even more like this. The world is easy to divide when it is united, but it is difficult to unite when it is divided."
I scratched my head uncomfortably: "So, this is really hard to understand." Then I muttered: "We must eliminate them while they are still unstable. But if we don't eliminate the external threat, our Han Dynasty will be in chaos first. This disaster is caused by internal factors. I don't listen to my wife's words, and I don't know how difficult the national affairs are. What should I do?"
Suddenly my face relaxed.
"What idea does Zirui have?" Yin Ling's eyes lit up.
"Don't think about it for now. Let's go back and ask Song and discuss it together. Give these to the heroes who came with me first." I sighed and patted the things next to me.
I admit that the Yuehou was almost beaten. Fortunately, the Yue State Historian was not there, and it seems that I had not appointed this official. Before I left, I only built a framework, and the military officer's place was barely completed. For the civil officer's place, there were only a few beams and pillars. The rest were left for them to continue to build by themselves. I don't know what the Yue State is like now.
Pei'er is really busy these days, and Uncle Zhang can't help much. The situation in Yue is far more special than other places. This may be the only place in the Han Dynasty where many female officials can be appointed, because many local tribes here respect women. Even in those who respect men, women usually have a very high status. This is a place that is more open-minded than our Han people.
But this would naturally come at the cost of Pearl's presence.
Pei'er was pregnant and it was inconvenient for her to travel far, but there was one convenience: the people of the southern barbarians were simple and honest, and they all came to visit her without asking Pei'er to go to them.
Of course, Pei Er would also send people to them, and the one who went there the most was Sister Zhu. But usually she also had to bring someone with her, but that person had a higher official rank than Sister Zhu, and that person was called Hua Rong.
The story was spread through a round-headed military officer named Deng Mao, and was polished by military officers and civil officials at all levels of the Yue State. When I came back, it was just a matter of editing it into a story, with Sun Yu Hai playing both roles for a public performance.
The reason why Deng Mao, who is respectfully or jokingly called Brother Mao in the army, is needed in this team is because southerners prefer guys like Brother Mao who are chubby, have round heads and strong bodies.
There were only a few people in the army who didn't call him Mao Ge, and one of them was Gong Yi Nu. But Gong Yi Nu also called him Mao Ge in front of outsiders, but behind his back and with outsiders she called him: "My Han, call him Ah Mao at home."
This A-Mao was informed by his neighbors Nan and Gaosheng.
I regretted not being able to attend their wedding banquet, although I knew there would be such a day. But Gong Yi Nu was quite bold and used the method of raw rice cooked to deal with Deng Mao, which was said to be quite barbaric and brutal. Gong Yi Nu was not a Han Chinese, so it was inconvenient to deal with her according to Han law. Moreover, there was no crime of women being cooked with raw rice in Han law, but it was a common thing among southerners. Therefore, with the helpless report of General Bō and Uncle Zhang, Pei Er presided over their wedding, and then Gong Yi Nu lived with Deng Mao.
The record must be concise because he is not the main person involved in this matter, but he must be recorded because he is involved in this matter.
The reason why I want to record their experiences along the way is because I later found out that many things originated from this.
Gong Yi Nu's original courtyard was given to Sister Zhu. Gong Yi Nu's neighbors were called Hua Rong and Nei Cheng Qiang.
Guangxin was originally the capital of the state of Nanyue, the capital of Zhao Tuo's brother. The palace was very large. After the fall of Nanyue, the palace was used as the government office. Before my predecessor died, he expanded many palaces. There were only a few people in my family, and I didn't want to covet them. So I moved everyone's residence in here, and also arranged many government offices in here. There was still some vacancy. Uncle Zhang, I live in a simple way. I don't want to finish my government affairs, walk for half a minute to eat, and walk for another half a minute to go to bed. I sleep in one place at two o'clock in the morning, and walk for another minute to another place when I wake up at three o'clock. Uncle Zhang smiled, with joy and appreciation in his eyes.
In fact, when I reflected on myself, I thought of the real reason: laziness. My office was less than a hundred steps away from my bed, but I still wanted to set up a desk and work there. It was inconvenient for my ministers to watch over my bed, after all, Yinling Pei'er would also sleep there. I could only go to my office reluctantly, and when I was tired, I was too lazy to go back. I rested there for a while at noon, and they had to bring me food. I couldn't muster the desire to go back until I went to bed at night.
Of course, sometimes, as a young, strong, ordinary, normal man, there are always times when he wants to do great justice for the world. When one person or the other person goes out, he will find the one who stays behind, sneak back like a thief, quickly follow the great principles of human relations, and then go back to do things like a thief. But unless there is a result, it cannot be recorded in a letter or left as a history.
Nalan and Huolan both lived in the left and right wing rooms in the front. Gong Yinu was originally the only female official who lived outside the Yuehou Palace. In order to show respect or avoid taboos, it was difficult to decide her neighbors. In fact, most of those rough men didn't want to live next to a barbarian woman. Deng Mao had thought about it for a long time, but was too embarrassed to propose it. In the end, it was Brother Bō who decided to live in the corner and Huarong lived next to her. Anyway, although Huarong was the Imperial Physician, he was still a doctor, just like the Imperial Official was the number one chef in the palace and the chief of the servants. Anyway, as a doctor, Huarong treated everyone from newborn babies to the octogenarians, regardless of gender. Well, with a slight modification, it can be treated by everyone. So, in their words: What has Huarong not seen? Living next to her is naturally no problem.
In the first month of the year, the southern barbarians such as Luoyue and Xiou came to the court, and the court discussed returning the visit, bringing some rewards, and some of our pacification instructions. This was a problem in terms of selecting people. Yan Rou had a lot of dealings with others, because after all, he was in the north before, and he was not familiar with the southern barbarians. He sent people to inquire around, and when they came back, they reported that women here had a high status, and many tribes regarded women as elders. Pei'er also knew a lot of rules and stories, and in the past, the court used people from the Central Plains who were good at arguing to appease with classic etiquette, but there were often things that were not redressed.
Zhang Hua and Tian Jian also advised separately that the people here valued ghosts and gods and sacrifices more than ethics and rituals, and that it would be difficult to implement southern governance using Han Chinese laws, so it would be better to use a gentle approach and not impose harsh controls.
The military generals participating in the discussion are General Bō and several other generals, but most of them are not very important. As for the fourth one, how about sending General Gong as an envoy to pacify the southerners in various places
Pei'er thought it was not possible. There were also hatreds among the southerners. General Gong was a native of the village, so it might be okay among the natives, but he would be in trouble if he went to other tribes. Those tribes would also think that we were secretly supporting the natives.
But after listening to everyone's discussion, Grand Marshal Bō discussed it with Zhang Shusheng, who said, "The emphasis on gods and witches is the reason why medicine is not popular. It would be better to send a royal doctor to cure the diseases of the sick in their tribe. The southerners will respect them. Then send a Han woman who is eloquent as an envoy. When meeting a female chief, treat her as the legitimate one. When meeting a male commander, treat the royal doctor as the respected one. Prepare two sets of flags and go around to comfort them. General Gong is familiar with all kinds of southerners. Send her as a guard. I wonder if it's a good idea?"
Everyone says it is good, so let’s do this.
The woman was chosen to be Zhu Jie. Nalan heard that he was not qualified, but Huo Lan was. Huo Lan said that his throat had not recovered yet, and he was well-read in the classics of sages, so he could not help but look down on the barbaric behavior of the southerners. He was afraid that if he got angry, he would make mistakes. Zhu Jie immediately recommended herself, saying that she had received a favor from me but had never repaid me, and that she was born in Yue, where the Yue people believed in ghosts and gods, which was somewhat similar to the southerners, so she should be able to take on this position.
When Yinling left, she left behind a plan for handling major events. When I was away, I needed a talent, and Uncle Zhang and Uncle Zhang agreed that Pei'er could use the Yuehou seal to seal the deal.
So this was already happening without my knowledge.
There are many stories along the way. Hua Rong and Zhu Jie walked together, while Deng Mao and Gong Yi Nu walked behind. Deng Mao fought for the chance to go there. He had just gotten married, and his wife was following a white-faced man around the country of Yue. It was unlucky, and he was worried.
After hearing this, I looked at Huarong for a while. Indeed, he had a thin and very fair face, and it was worthy of Deng Mao's calling him a white-faced man.
The story of Hua and Zhu along the way is very interesting, and the key is that they also brought Deng Mao. To use this person’s words: It’s so fucking interesting!
I found it interesting at first, but it was only after a long time that I realized that this trip brought me so many good and bad things, and I also found that when I knew this story, I had never thought of one of the problems. Even our entire Yue court did not pay attention to the problem of this delegation at that time.
An extremely interesting question, or you could call it a loophole.
What happened in Chencang in the next few days was also very interesting.
I usually trust others very much, and I am a bit credulous to use Yinling's words. Of course, there are exceptions, especially people I am familiar with. So, as for the affairs of Yue State, I thought that I would be relieved if I didn't hand it over to Lao Si. In that way, he would probably tell me when he returned that the rebellion had been quelled, and all the rebels taller than the wheel had been killed...
It would be better to leave this kind of pacification alone for now and wait until I get back.
For example, I brought a car full of rewards and thought about how to make the heroes happy. Until I arrived at the door of everyone's residence, a group of people were chatting happily. When they saw me jump out of the car first, they informed each other and gathered around to ask about my arrow wound. I was about to ask them to move the things in the car down, but I saw jars with the three characters "Fufengchun" written on them neatly stacked in the house, which looked very similar to the ones in the car, or were exactly the same shape.
Then, Brother Yide generously told me that there was a wine shop in the city, and that dozens of them had gone there yesterday to drink, and the wine was very good, but it was a pity that they could not go to the wine shop. So today, everyone pooled their money and bought a lot of wine early in the morning, and brought it here on horseback, and left it there for me to come so that we could drink together.
So I opened the car curtain, and inside, besides my wife, there was only Fu Fengchun.
On the same day, at about the same time, Hua Rong went to visit Deng Mao. As he had been suffering from indigestion in the past few days, Hua Rong prescribed some medicine for him. The medicine seemed to be working, and Deng Mao was about to go to the bathroom, so Hua Rong left without any problem.
After Deng Mao relieved himself, he went to look for Hua Rong. Hua Rong was discussing something with Zhu Jie when Deng Mao came over and asked what was going on. He said: It would be rude if I didn't go to see the wife of Yue Hou. Since you are here, I have to go and I can't "molest" you.
Then he looked at Huarong: I'm here, is there anything wrong with you being "targeted" by me
Hua Rong was really at a loss for words, so he had to pull Deng Mao away and asked, "Brother Mao, I just went to see if your indigestion has healed. When I saw you go to the bathroom, I knew the medicine had worked."
Deng Mao suddenly said mysteriously: Of course I know. Brother, I want to find you because the girl is good. You can consider her, although she may be older than you. Older is better! Which wife of our Yue Hou is not a few years older than him? Since you have the opportunity to bring her out, don't throw her to others when you go back. I don't know about the others, but the one who went to Luoyang with Yue Hou is the first sex wolf in the palace of Yue State, and she has been roaming the streets of Guangxin for many years.
Everyone has been with me through thick and thin, and they are very close to me, but they are very respectful to Yin Ling. Most of them saluted Yin Ling, and Yin Ling returned the salute in turn. Some people took the initiative to move the jars, leaving me aside. Except for the one who moved the jars, the others did so, probably because they learned my military tactics from her, and also because there were rumors that I had defeated dozens of bandits in Wu in a few months, and pacified dozens of rebellious towns in Jiaozhou and Nanhai in a month. Therefore, the heroes responded respectfully and did not dare to be disrespectful. Of course, there were exceptions, and it was obvious that Fufeng Chun's importance was self-evident.
Even the heroes were ready to go, and even felt that the servants were too slow, so they condescended to clean up a room and have a drink with my wife and me. Yinling hurriedly declined, but she couldn't refuse, and she specifically reminded me that my lungs were injured and I couldn't drink.
But generally speaking, the greetings are always fake, and are usually used as an excuse to hold the cup. This can be deeply understood by looking at Brother Yide's eyes that have been shining since he moved the jar.
I smiled helplessly, picked up the wine cup, and invited the heroes to drink, and then drank it reluctantly. Yinling also drank some, she drank it reluctantly, and smiled helplessly at me: "Are you proud? After all, I let you drink, and I didn't even have time to help you push it away."
**Suddenly he sneezed several times in succession, and I took the opportunity to change the subject and asked him how he caught a cold.
He didn't, but he muttered something: "Don't let Brother Mao talk about my shortcomings again."
Deng Mao sneezed suddenly, pinched his nose with his hand and said to Hua Rong, whose face was red, "Also, brother, the medicine you gave me not only gave me diarrhea, but also caused me to catch a cold?"
"No?" Hua Rong tried to recall, then answered affirmatively: "No, except for laxatives, there are only some drugs that can reduce appetite. At most, I will have diarrhea for two more days and starve for a few days."
"I feel it." Deng Mao frowned and said, "Let my wife heat up some food for me, and I'll go first."
After saying this, he immediately rushed into the bushes by the roadside.
Sister Zhu smiled and asked Huarong a question, which was a problem that the entire Yue court had ignored.
Huarong usually had good articulation, but today he spoke incoherently in answer to this question. Finally, he imitated Pei'er and said: You will know when you see him later.
Sister Zhu was a little uneasy and was about to ask. Suddenly, someone reported that a group of southerners were coming from afar. They were the people who welcomed the first stop of our Yue Kingdom delegation.
Huarong immediately asked his troops to prepare to welcome them. Soon the other party came closer. On the leading green ox sat a woman in linen clothes. She had her hair loose, her forehead painted with a left lapel, and was barefoot. She had rings on her ears and bracelets on her wrists and ankles.
Without waiting for General Gong to explain, Sister Zhu said directly: witch.
With the help of Hua Rong, General Gong finally understood the general meaning of the two words and nodded in surprise.
Sister Zhu just smiled and said: Most witches in the world are like this.
Hua Rong also laughed, looking at Deng Mao who had just come out of the bushes holding his belly, and said to Sister Zhu as if jokingly: This time it is you who will go out to respond, from now on I will respond to the male servants from the other side, and Sister Zhu will take care of the female servants... If it is the cow that comes, then Brother Mao, you will go
Deng Mao said nothing, his face turned pale, and suddenly the corner of his mouth twitched. He bent his back, turned around and went back into the bushes.
"The prescription I prescribed only needs to be boiled once, and drinking one bowl is enough." Hua Rong suddenly felt that the problem was serious: "Brother Mao, how much did you drink
A voice came from a distance, slowly changing: "I thought the medicine soup was rare and not bitter, but sour and sweet, so I asked my wife to cook more for me to drink."
Sister Zhu pursed her lips and looked at Hua Rong, lowering her head and sighing: "Licorice is to reduce internal heat and make you not feel the spiciness of croton (i.e. croton), and hawthorn is to make you eat less, but these two flavors together are really sour and sweet..."
"What is this sour and sweet thing?" Yuan also wanted to sit at the main seat like an adult, but I pushed him away. In the end, he could only sit behind me and drink with Yinling the special supply I brought for them: Chencang Lao, which is the same kind of light wine that I drink in the tavern.
"How does it taste?" I asked knowingly.
"Not bad." Yuan still felt it was a little unfair: "But Mengqi, Hande and the others also drank Fufengchun."
"I'm your uncle. I can't control them, but I can control you. This place is not spacious. You should just sit upright. Also, why are you drinking at your age?" I admit that I like the feeling of being an elder. Yinling turned around and looked at the heroic young man with interest: "Are you the rescuer?"
Yuan was flattered to hear Yinling ask him. He quickly greeted him with the courtesy of an aunt, which drew a burst of praise from Yinling. I thought it was bad. I bought the wine for Yingxiong, and I didn't plan to drink it. But when I drink, I can't accept others' toasts. Yinling is resentful of me. This time, she will probably use my past bad deeds as a pretext to comfort Yuan and punish me at the same time.
Seeing that Yinling was about to speak, and the matter was urgent, he immediately had an idea in his mind.
"Help! Please come sit down in front of me." I shouted loudly, and the heroes around me quieted down. While everyone was still quiet, I quickly cleared my throat and coughed with my hand. Yinling insisted that this was caused by the wine and asked me not to drink, but I was preparing to talk.
Yuan was very nervous. He looked at me and Yinling whispering with a strange look on his face. He didn't know what I was going to do, but he still did what I said.
"I promised to give you a courtesy name after this battle. This time you fought with other heroes in Chencang to protect the safety of the Han Dynasty. Your brother's courtesy name is Wen Gu, and you can call yourself Wen Xiong (this person is indeed given this courtesy name in the official history). How about all the heroes bear witness to this?"
For some reason, my eyes became wet and I thanked you.
All the heroes cheered and praised Wen Xiong's virtues.
I handed him my cup filled with Fufengchun and said with a smile: You can drink now.
A stone suddenly came to my mind, as the explanation to my father and the danger of Yinling leaking the secret were resolved.
Then I expressed the hope of all heroes: Your Majesty has sent my wife here as an envoy to record our victory in the Chencang Campaign as a great achievement for the country. Although Zhi did not come here in response to the imperial edict, she is fortunate to return with all the heroes! Your Majesty is wise!
The last sentence was somewhat appropriate, and I felt a little ashamed. So I added sincerely: But before we go, we must first pay tribute to the heroes who cannot return. Tomorrow I will offer sacrifices, and you will join me in the sacrifice.
The first southerner we visited arrived before Dengmao had even struggled out of the bushes. It turned out to be a female priestess, commonly known as a witch by the common people, who brought a ritual that we could hardly understand and a welcome from their female leader.
So, Sister Zhu began to fulfill her first duty as an envoy.
In fact, it might be much better if the first family went to was the village of Nanqushuai, so that she could follow Huarong's example. But after all, there is no if in everything. When you say if afterwards, it must be that "not if" happened.
That's the only problem. Maybe it wasn't the only problem, but compared to this problem, the others are not problems at all.
There is only one person in the entire Yue Palace who knows nothing about me, and yet she is representing me on a diplomatic mission.
God knows how many "interesting" things will happen in all the stories I don't know yet.