Summer is not far away yet, but the endless wind in the Weiming Mountain in the south of the sky has already brought a chill to my body. {＋}..The shrill wind echoing in the mountains seems to be mocking me all the time. Without the familiar wall to protect us, we were swallowed up by the unknown night a few dozen steps away from the fire, leaving only the black shadow outline that can be endlessly imagined and changed at any time.
Sometimes, just a sudden gust of wind brings a disturbing mountain rain. The water drops hitting the face seem to be just tears falling on the face.
Sometimes the sky is cloudless and the stars are bright, as if they are the lights of my hometown. The wind in the mountains is gentle, like the hand of a young girl caressing me when I was a child, beckoning me back. When I fall asleep, I often return to Xiangyang or Guangxin, and the bells and pendants wave to me, as if I remember them when I was a child, or as if I remember them recently.
The feeling of leaving home this time is completely different from the last time I went to the north alone. Last time, although I was reluctant to leave home, I still had a sense of excitement that was hard to suppress; this time, I only felt reluctant and nostalgic; in the lonely nights, every time I felt a strong sense of boredom for this trip, I could only remind myself that I owed the people an explanation.
Ge Liang was a bit of a ghost, he could actually see what I was thinking. He asked me why I couldn't send one of my capable men to do this.
This is my trust in the people. If I let others go thousands of miles behind enemy lines to do such a dangerous task just because I can assign them, even if they succeed, I will not be honest with the people. But if I go there in person, even if this fails in the end, or even if I meet with an unexpected accident, at least I have not broken my promise to the people.
Ge Liang sighed and said: How do you two ladies agree
Ling knows my character best, so she knows that this journey cannot be stopped; Pei knows the purpose of my journey, so how could she stop me
Ge Liang indeed added in a cunning way: If that’s the case, why are you so sad
I seem to have figured it out.
So the next day, apart from some official arrangements, I enjoyed the beautiful scenery along the way, chatted with the people I was traveling with, and after camping, I took the initiative to find E Huan to discuss.
After a day I had to admit that the last one didn't seem like a particularly good idea.
Most or all of the women in this team were militant, plus the men were almost all militant to begin with. Once the fight got intense, it was troublesome. Especially those southern women, some of them almost took off their clothes to fight me.
I was exhausted, but Ge Liang still asked calmly and self-righteously: Why didn't you come to me
I took a deep breath and pointed at the relatively neat and polite queue: Go and line up.
The young master of the Shi family was also very interested. He even wanted to line up, but was dissuaded by his followers, who thought it was a bit too much. In order to comfort the young master's loss, even if he was exhausted, he would summon him at night and talk to him in the tent about the fight during the day, telling him the key points. Then they would each hold their weapons for a while. As long as they didn't tear down the tent. Naturally, I was even more tired and vomited blood.
I fought with at least 30 people every day, and I had to cook for them at night. I had no dreams when I slept. Even if I did, I couldn't see Ling Pei and her in my dreams, just endless fights. When I got up, I often saw that the quilt on my body had been kicked off at some point.
I finally suppressed all the distracting thoughts of going home and felt that it was more important to get through tomorrow.
There were a few days when I wanted to rest, but as soon as I set up camp, people started lining up. That damn Ge Liang even creatively started issuing orders. He told everyone not to line up, and just let the drummers who accompanied the army beat the drums and shout orders. Although it was helpful for popularizing Chinese characters, especially numbers, it left me no chance to rest.
It was so serious that in the morning, some people would line up outside the tent with drums. They thought I should have time before we could eat and leave the camp.
Life is so hard.
Because Ge Liang did so many things to help others and was well received, he was loved by the majority of southern men and women soldiers. During a routine schedule discussion, I handed over the military power to him. When I was not there, I let him command and let him be the commander of the troops. Everyone agreed with the reason. They took the initiative to curry favor with the new boss and expressed the idea of making it convenient for them to queue up and go through the back door.
Unfortunately, the new commander himself was never in line, and since he was not that enthusiastic about it, I had no chance to talk to him, or no time to talk to him. Although I really wanted to find a chance to talk to him.
Until one day when we rested in a southern village, things started to get better. This village was controlled by the owner of the Sumei family, and she helped us settle down. It happened to rain for three days, so I finally had a good rest. Although we were still in Yulin, the Han villages and settlements were mixed with the southern villages, but they were all peaceful. However, most of these settlements were built like cities, and it was obvious that there must have been many not-so-peaceful stories in the past.
After the rain, the weather got much cooler, so we waited two more days for the ground to dry up before we set out. There were no Han settlements after we left Yulin, and from then on we were like a kite with a broken string, with no further response.
In the following days, the mountain road became more and more rugged. Fortunately, the southerners don't mind this kind of mountain road. Even if the rope of the straw sandals broke, they could still walk barefoot. I had a little difficulty, not because my feet hurt, but mainly because my feet were big and the road was rugged. It was often difficult to put my entire sole on the ground. In addition, I was tall, so I always felt that I was shaking on the ridge. Fortunately, I had trained for many days before and had a few days of rest, so I was able to hold on. Ge Liang was very accustomed to it, and I didn't see him falling behind. E Huan was also very accustomed to it, and he also went sightseeing. Su Mei was more of the first. It was a little hard for the young master, but he was really good. Although the servants were always worried and asked about it from time to time, he never complained, nor did he ask for help. As for what to support, he always pushed it away quickly.
The mountains here are steeper than anything I have ever seen. Often, the distance between two mountain ridges is only a few dozen steps, but the cliffs below are thousands of feet deep, as if they were cut by a heavenly axe.
Sometimes we would see shepherds herding sheep passing by and we would just say hello. The people there were warm and friendly and would often sing in response. Sometimes wild animals would pass by, but they would just glance at us and then walk away indifferently.
Naturally, we will encounter situations where these two types of situations come together.
We first saw a group of seemingly ownerless goats grazing on a slightly flat part of the mountain road. Some of the goats were able to climb up the cliff to a higher place to graze. I thought it was fortunate that they were in such a narrow place, otherwise the shepherd would not know how to gather these goats. But I didn't know where the shepherd ran off to. Suddenly, I saw a beautiful leopard jumping down from a tree a little further away and walking along the mountain road.
The sheep immediately became agitated. Those that could climb up climbed up, leaving only the sheep at a loss, crying miserably in front of the cliff. A shepherd in tattered sheepskin jumped down from somewhere, holding a long whip, yelling non-stop. He also waved the whip in his hand to make a noise.
Su Mei suddenly turned around and asked us who could shoot the leopard.
I just remembered that I brought a bow and arrow. I was not like Lao Si who would use the bow and arrow first. If it weren't for this natural barrier, I would have used my iron pestle to hammer the leopard to death.
He quickly drew his bow and aimed at the leopard. He calculated the wind direction and shot an arrow.
The situation I really didn't want to happen happened.
Maybe he thought the wind was too strong. The arrow stuck in the soil one or two feet in front of the leopard's head, which frightened the leopard.
There was a feeling of regret in the team.
I tried hard not to blush. I said calmly, "Everything has its own laws, and the leopard has its own spirit. I have already deterred it. If it can leave, then I will stop the killing. Soldiers, stop making noise!"
It was quite quiet for a while.
The leopard over there was also a little confused, but it still bared its teeth at us.
E Huan realized that my words might not be understood by everyone, so he quickly shouted with an accent: "Everyone is calling me."
The southern warriors started shouting, making all kinds of strange noises, many of which I had never thought could come from a person's throat. However, the warhorses were very stable, and seemed to be used to it.
The leopard was really frightened and turned and ran away. I put away my bow and arrow, as if I was really just trying to scare it away.
Su Mei asked, what should we do if the leopard comes again.
I really wanted to reply to her: I’m not the fourth one, what can I do if I don’t hit the target
Of course, I can't be so embarrassed, nor can I let her think of the fourth brother again.
If we hadn't encountered that rain, we wouldn't have delayed our schedule for the past few days. We wouldn't have encountered this scene at this time, and we wouldn't have been able to save them. Leopards also have children. If they die, their children will also be extinct. God has the virtue of loving life, and all things should be in accordance with the laws of nature. When I live, I live, and when it dies, it dies.
She actually believed it, and seemed to be thinking about it more. The young master also believed it, and fell into deep thought, as if he was not as good as her. E Huan's facial expression kept changing between innocent viciousness, ordinary viciousness, and viciousness that deserved death, and it was hard to tell. Ge Liang sneered from time to time, and it was obvious that he had no good intentions.
After a while, when we were resting, Ge Liang took the initiative to help me feel my pulse. After he succeeded, Youyou asked me, "Did you want to shoot or not?"
"Yeah." I decided to admit honestly that there was something wrong with this guy and it was not easy to fool him.
"It's so well written, I've even sent a letter."
"How am I feeling?"
"Nothing, it's fine, I just wanted to see if you were lying."
"Can you tell if someone is lying by taking the pulse?"
"When you lie, your pulse will be abnormal."
"Oh, if I had to cover it up at that time, could you have told me?"
"Yeah." The thief walked away with his hands up. At that moment I really hoped that he would be allowed to cut in line in the future.
But after that, he never appeared in the queue to fight with me again. I always felt that he had a premonition that I was very likely to take revenge. He must have realized this, so he always put on a regretful but helpless expression, as if he was really sorry; I also realized that he realized this, so I always responded with a regretful but helpless expression, because I was really sorry.
Yan Dahonglu was very well behaved when he came here, and the journey was very smooth. According to the information he gave me, the gifts he brought to each family could make the whole village celebrate like the New Year, and they spared no effort to entertain us. In fact, what we brought to us was not valuable, which made me feel that we were taking advantage of them. For example, one family gave a hundred kilograms of iron, and the other party actually killed dozens of sheep. Some families gave some corals and pearls, and the village owner was very satisfied and set up a buffet to entertain all of us; there was even a family that gave a bag of shells directly, and the owner almost choked up. It is said that this is how they buy and sell things in their area. I think our characters for wealth often have shells, and our ancient Han people also used these. The young man was curious about everything and was very excited. Su Mei was used to it. Ge Liang had a similar expression but obviously asked for a beating. Just E Huan continued to maintain a thoughtful and vicious look.
In short, two months had passed, and the baggage had increased. When I passed my brother's territory, he came from his camp and drank with me. Knowing that I was going west, he asked me how many soldiers I needed to help. I declined, reminding him that his internal situation had not yet been completely calmed down, and I would go there to gather my Han refugees and train them, so he should not worry.
Brother is very grateful. Let's get drunk together. I know his difficulties, and the Grand Herald also reported it to me. He can borrow at most 3,000. I don't think even 1,000 is necessary. Because I roughly know that someone wants to ask me for help. Naturally, I can see his sincerity. It would be disadvantageous if I took the southern soldiers who had some grudges against him with me.
Autumn has arrived, and the childish weather has become milder, and the road has become flatter. Although there are still many mountains around, the mountain roads are not as rugged as before. There are still many open and boundless places. I didn't expect that there are such good grasslands in the south of the sky. The clouds are leisurely wandering over the sea of grass like our group, but they are more elegant. We are all very happy, but E Huan looks a little fierce.
The cave villages controlled by the brothers became sparse after we passed the jagged mountains, but they still entertained us warmly under the arrangement of the brothers.
From here on, it is the territory of the tribe that may need my help. We call them Jucheng, and I seem to have heard that it means a large tribe of the alliance of nine tribes. The Grand Master did not go there either. But the people he sent were treated friendly, but it was clear that if he only saw me, he would not have to go there himself.
So, here I am.
They spoke Chinese very well, claimed to be from Jucheng, and showed no hostility towards us. After the formalities were completed, I was completely relieved.
They clearly asked me to help the people of Jucheng get back the Jucheng King's seal, just like I helped the King of the South. It was the people under the Xinmang who lured and killed their king, and since my dynasty, although I have appeased them, I have not given them any more fiefs. They want this title back.
I know about this. When I was in Guangxin, after listening to the report, I didn't know what was going on. So I asked my Pei'er, and then I roughly understood. In the past, the people of Jucheng helped my Han Dynasty suppress many rebellions here, which made the court see their strength and made them kings and vassal states. But in the Xinmang Dynasty, they sent people to conquer them three times, which greatly reduced their strength. When my dynasty re-emerged in Luoyang, they did not give them much reward, so as to prevent other powerful people from asking for rewards on this basis. Today, Jucheng has risen again, and the worries of internal strife in my Han Dynasty have become more and more obvious. Naturally, we can help them ask for this reward and use their strength to do something.
Of course, I proposed the conditions of borrowing troops to suppress the rebellion. I also promised to give them the land of several surrounding tribes that had been attacking our Han towns. In the end, I won over 5,000 troops from them. They were indeed sincere enough. For some reason, I felt that I should treat them with more sincerity instead of just using them.
I led my men to smoothly take over several nearby Han cities. The names were all very strange. They didn't sound like my Han cities at all. They reminded me of Mingzi. I know that Yuehou alone doesn't have much strength, but the five thousand soldiers behind him are not fake. They are probably still surprised at how I can bring so many people. Looking at them again, they may feel familiar again. These Han cities are not big, but they all have several thousand people and hundreds of soldiers in total. Most of them are privately owned by local wealthy merchants, and the officials are also promoted by them. There is not much connection between these cities. At most, there are some caravans coming and going, which is completely like an isolated island in the water. There are also some settlements in dangerous places nearby, which are mostly the villas of these wealthy merchants. They took refuge with me just so that I can protect them. For me, it just helped me to have a foothold. Knowing this, I naturally did not just find officials to lecture, but gathered the wealthy merchants together. I think in such a place, they can only rely on me and must rely on me. I asked them whether the nearby southern tribes that had a grudge against my Han people affected them. This wealthy businessman really had a lot of complaints, but he just had no power. He often had to take the initiative to send gifts on special days in order to pray for peace.
I haven't dealt with merchants much. Zishe is a second-generation businessman and a first-generation official. It's hard to compare. I think at least according to the rules of the market, bargaining is necessary. So I proposed a deal and asked them to estimate the price. I will kill them, and what can you provide me
In addition to handing over the city to me, they were also willing to pay all the rent and taxes in the city according to Han law.
It seems good, but it's actually fake. These are my Han lands, and they should have been handed over to the court. They have been isolated in Tiannan for so long, and the taxes have all gone into their own pockets. It's impossible for them to not spit them out now. They are businessmen. They should understand that I will not give them back after I restore the governance here. My arrival can only bring them a peaceful environment. As the lord of the city, they have to maintain the operation of this place, and they also have to take into account defense and war, which is also very expensive.
I reduced taxes for merchants based on Han laws. But they had to pay last year's taxes first, which would be used as military funds, and then the troops would be under my command. Then I asked them to re-register the people. They were classified into craftsmen, scholars, etc. After some hard work, Ge Liang and E Huan were asked to supervise. The neatly dressed E Huan was responsible for scaring people, and the seemingly lazy Ge Liang was the real supervisor. If there was really a problem, Ge Liang would instruct E Huan to bluff people more vigorously. Of course, they also had their own other tasks.
There was a problem with the female soldiers during this period. It was hard all the way, and it seemed that the days were delayed. Once everything settled down, after a full month, all the female soldiers in the camp suddenly came, including Su Mei. I asked them to rest for a while and not to do anything else.
I asked him to follow me all the time, and he would ask me why I did this or that. I would tell him almost everything. I could feel that he admired me a little, and it actually worked for him.
But I have been bringing him along all the time, not because I want to shamelessly enjoy being admired, but mainly for the safety of this young master.
The people of Jucheng are quite nice. The scattered tribes also have grievances with them. In the past, they have been fighting for territory. Only now that Jucheng has risen again, they have become a little more honest. Now they are mainly robbing our Han caravans. They are entrenched in several mountains and occupy shortcuts. They force several Han cities to go around and do business with the surrounding people, mainly the Tiannan people and Jucheng people, as well as the Han people in the westernmost part, and the Dian people who have lost their country. Recently, my brother seems to be targeting the Dian people and intends to recruit them as his subordinates.
Da Honglu told me a lot about the Dian people. It is said that several decades ago, one day, the Dian people's country was swallowed by a big lake nearby. Since then, the Dian people have never formed a country, and they live separately according to their original tribes. They think that their country is cursed by God. Brother is planning to win them over and expand his power to Yizhou County, but he is currently unable to spare the energy to act here due to the civil strife.
Yinling and I plan to support Jucheng and annex the nearby independent tribes to form a barrier, which will not only prevent my brother's power from further expanding westward, but also provide me with backup, while I gather the people of Yunnan, rectify the Han people's power and take root in the south of Yizhou. At least in the first step, the people of Jucheng are still very simple and reliable. They actually ask for a very simple name. Relatively speaking, once my brother integrates Tiannan and then moves westward, it may not be a good thing for the stability of my Han Dynasty. Once my Han Dynasty has chaos again, and the King of the South changes his master and respects greedy and warlike people, there will be no peace in the southwest of my dynasty.
In contrast, I feel that our court is quite sorry for these sincere people in Jucheng, especially when I know that the caravans of these wealthy merchants are protected near Jucheng.
They were able to lend five thousand soldiers to a regent minister with only three hundred men, and also provided them with supplies. I originally thought that having a thousand was quite good.
The rest was very simple. After listening to various stories about robbers in these tribes, I chose one that sounded particularly impulsive. I let the caravan pass by on a road a little further away from his home, and brought more than a hundred guards, in a grand manner.
These people really didn't have the brains to leave the mountain. In fact, my fighting method is very simple. I can use cavalry to cut off their retreat and wipe out their rushing team by pulling away from them for more than ten miles. Then I attacked the mountain and took down the first one without much effort. I gave the place and prisoners to Jucheng. I knew they would need slaves and there was no property in the mountain. I just told the people of Jucheng to continue to protect these caravans in the future. These tribes seemed helpless. The poor mountains and bad waters really meant that they had no way to survive if they didn't rob.
Following the same method, I don't know how these tribes survived to this day, and how they all fell into the trap. When they saw the large caravan, they got excited and rushed out in full force. In a dozen days, they flattened several surrounding mountain strongholds. But they were really poor, and even the caves where people lived were full of human and animal feces. I originally thought that there should be some families with things to give to these big merchants as souvenirs or compensation, because I always used their private army as the front line. I didn't have much fun going up myself, mainly because I had too much fun along the way and felt nauseous. This way, it would be convenient to settle down the young master and tell him. To lead troops in battle, you must have a calm mind and determination. Although in fact, I have never had these two qualities before. But I was very successful in making people clear with my own confusion, and he didn't stop after listening to me.
After several battles, their private army suffered considerable casualties. However, these rich people didn't bother me much, but only knew how to flatter me. In fact, I didn't have any sense of accomplishment. I just felt that these tribes survived to this day because you guys are too incompetent and the people of Jucheng are more honest. I felt bad about it, so I often visited the wounded and taught them some ways to save their lives on the battlefield.
As for the wealthy businessmen, I told them righteously, though I felt guilty. It would be safe to do business in the future, and these troops would be useful.
They were so happy that they collected a lot of money and contributed it to me. I gave it to those who showed their bravery this time. I sent some more to the soldiers who had made contributions in the war to the current King of Jucheng, and the rest was used as military supplies. While I was busy with the army, Ge Liang and E Huan also completed my mission. I recruited many craftsmen and scholars from various cities who were looking for work.
It was time to govern and rectify this place. I temporarily set up the central army camp in Louwo (now Luoping). Although the name sounds unlucky, it is a major transportation route and convenient for water transportation. After a few strongholds were attacked, some of the more civilized strongholds around came to express their submission. I assigned the craftsmen originally needed by each city to each city according to their needs, gave a little guidance to the scholars, and then sent them to serve as the director of the Equalization Department. This is an official position I thought of myself, mainly to report to me the shortage and surplus in the city. Official schools were set up in each city, and young people were required to attend school. The poor were funded by me. Of course, the money was paid by the rich merchants, but it had to go through my hands.
Finally, I still felt that the name Louwo was too unlucky. I renamed it. I wanted to call it Pingnan at first, but I felt that it sounded a bit arrogant and disrespectful to southerners. I was going to call it Nanqing. (Note: Later, this place was never called this name, but there is a Nanqing village in Guangxi.) The name was taken from "Qing", which means the people celebrate what they rely on. This is a southern place, and I hope the people celebrate my coming. But I felt that it was a bit self-righteous and self-proclaimed. Later, I found that this place was called Louruoluo, and "wo" means lying flat. So I changed the name to Luoping. (Note: Although the name is the same as it is now, the reason is made up by someone and there is no basis for it. Please don't take it seriously.)
After doing this, those wealthy businessmen also felt that I was strengthening my control over their original homes.
But my work is not yet finished. I set up a market town where the main road was originally wide and could be used as a settlement. I sent half of the troops from Han and Qu to garrison there to facilitate the caravans. I promoted the county magistrates and below from the original cities to officials here and stationed them here. I asked Qu to allocate some of the arable land nearby to the garrison here for reclamation, exempting them from land rent and tax. Later, I also provided the supplies for the troops in each city. Originally, these private armies were mostly private armies of wealthy merchants. Because there were not many wars, they were not taken seriously. When there was nothing to do, they often served as laborers for the rich merchants. At this time, I severed their relationship with these wealthy merchants and used them for my own use. The scholars here could only rely on the wealthy merchants, but now most of them eat official food. I also engraved official seals, issued policies, and gave them power and support. Naturally, they would be more willing to obey me.
At this point, these merchants have no strength or support to deal with me. I certainly don't want to kill them all, so I let them do business with peace of mind. The merchants are protected by the government. Their income will increase greatly, but their burden will not increase much. Merchants are profit-seeking. If I can make them gain more profits and enjoy them comfortably, they will enjoy the profits and will not think about pursuing profits with me. Especially since their helpless opponent was pacified by me in half a month, and was also respected by the people of Jucheng and sworn brothers with the King of the South, they should be able to calculate the gains and losses of being my enemy.
The stability of the surrounding area allows me to let the people reclaim the wasteland without worry. Luoping's terrain is mostly plains with a few suddenly protruding hills. It rains for half a year and less rain for the other half, but the climate is still mild. When it rains less, the river water in the upper reaches is still abundant. If we manage the water affairs a little, we can have thousands of hectares of fertile fields. In a few years, the granaries here will be full, and we can teach them etiquette, and everything will eventually go on the right track.
In order to bring order out of chaos here, I summoned all the wealthy businessmen and the so-called city chiefs (in a county with less than 10,000 people, the chief official is called a chief, and in a county with more than 10,000 people, he is called a ling), and invited the leaders of Jucheng to celebrate together in a newly built town on the border between Han and Jucheng. After these three months, this land west of Zangke will gradually become prosperous, and it is time to celebrate.
Wuqiuxing, the King of Jucheng (fictional), attached great importance to my invitation. He brought his general and two people equivalent to the prime minister to drink and chat with us. The atmosphere was really good. Fortunately, he was old, and he also felt that it was inappropriate to become sworn brothers with me. His daughter had married and had children long ago, and his grandson was not much better than me. So after all, he didn't bring me any trouble, and I naturally wouldn't ask for anything. We should all be relieved about this matter. They brought a lot of dancers to dance to entertain us. In the end, they were all given to us. Knowing that they were all slaves, I accepted them. And handed them over to Ge Liang and Su Mei to discuss their placement. It seems that they have matched a lot of pairs with local Han bachelors. The number of men and women here is similar, but many women are either maids or concubines in rich families, so there are more bachelors on the market, especially scholars. In such a wild place, reading is indeed not as good as being strong and powerful to exchange money. They should be the most satisfied with my arrival.
Ge Liang also asked me why I trusted the people of Jucheng so much. I have endured hardships for two hundred years just for a name. He is a sincere man. Besides, there is the King of Tiannan in the east and me in the west. We have our own ties. We made arrangements before. We did not hurt his soldiers and spared their strength. This is putting ourselves in their shoes. He wants the seal of the King of Jucheng, and I want the rule of the Han family here. We each have our own needs. Why don't you trust me
In the blink of an eye, winter has arrived here. However, it is not as harsh as my hometown or Luoyang, and it is quite comfortable. My hometown is often damp and cold, and there is often heavy snow; Luoyang has long cold days, and although there is heavy snow, it is quite dry. Ling'er is originally from the Dongyi people, and she is very uncomfortable. I can only ask the house to boil more hot water. During this period of pacifying Zangke, I have also sent people to contact the Dian people, and they responded politely as expected. The various experiences brought by peddlers in the past few months made them at least quite respectful of me. In addition, I brought a letter to the local official named Yong Kai, who seemed to be a student of Mr. Shi. After reading Mr. Shi's letter, he respected me very much, and there were many praises in his words. In addition, he had a great influence on the surrounding Han prefectures and counties. Many other counties also sent letters to express that they were still maintaining the local orthodoxy for the Han Dynasty. The loyalty that had been buried was now flooding out.
In response, I only expressed my strong appreciation and trust in my reply. Mr. Shi hoped that he could go there with the letter and do the work, but I hesitated again and again and did not agree. He was a little disappointed. I could only comfort him that the thief Dong might have infiltrated and that I was going to entrust him with a big task, and then he cheered up again.
Zangke has established its prestige, and Yizhou and Yongchang can follow suit. The key is the first battle against Dong Zhuo's forces.
Before that, I had to go to Qianwei, where there were several mountain strongholds built by people from Yizhou who had retreated south. Dong Zhuo was in the north of the Chongshan Mountain where they were stationed.
I am not afraid of Dong Zhuo, but I am a little afraid of the people of Yizhou. Perhaps I am not afraid of them themselves, but I am afraid of seeing them.
Compared to them, Dong Zei is not a big trouble at all.
So I let Shi Gongzi take my place, let Ge Liang assist him, and told him that he had handled all the previous matters with me, so he should have experience. If he is undecided, he should ask Ge Liang more, and consult with the King of Jucheng. In the east, he will make peace with Jucheng, in the west, he will unite with Yongkai, and he will comfort the Han people at home and the Annan people abroad. There should be no worries.
The young master finally understood what I had said before. He was very excited and showed me great courtesy, indicating that he would live up to my trust.
Ge Liang asked why they didn't take him away. Aren't you afraid of scaring people if you take E Huan with you
I replied slowly: I have already given the military power to you. If I take you away, should I give the military power here to Master Shi or E Huan
Don't you believe him
I trust you more.
No other reason
No one is issuing numbers, so I can have a good rest.
I took E Huan and his former followers as guards and set out again. The Dian tribesmen entertained us along the way and helped me as much as possible. Everything else was fine, but the food was a little uncomfortable. It wasn't that the taste was bad, but there was more meat and less fruits and vegetables, and the spices were quite strong. There were several burns in my mouth, and it hurt to drink water.
That day, after crossing a large lake, the Dian guide pointed to the pass, which was the territory of the Han people. The Han people who retreated south were in the mountains. They suggested that I should not bring too many soldiers, or even too obvious weapons, and it would be fine. They were quite kind and I could get along with the Dian people. I would often trade herbs, salt, and cloth with them. Weapons were still necessary, as there were still some snakes, insects, and wild animals in the mountains.
I decided to visit alone, without any long weapons, but with the two short sticks. E Huan insisted on coming with me, but I refused, because he looked like someone who wanted to fight. E Huan's tribe members agreed with my opinion. E Huan felt betrayed by his family and was very angry.
Following the directions, I nervously passed the pass and went up a mountain road. Soon, the mountain road became inconvenient for riding a horse, so I could only lead the horse forward.
I don't know how to start. I feel like I have to go somewhere, but I don't know how to start.
The animals here are afraid of people, which makes me realize that I might encounter people at any time.
I struggled like this for a few hours, and just when I felt I was no longer afraid and wanted to get along well with the people of Yizhou, I thought I might have fallen asleep.
It must be a dream. A heroic woman wearing a sackcloth cape covered with leaves, a beautiful woman whose face was covered in dirt but still looked exactly like her. A noble woman with an indelible temperament from her eyebrows to the corners of her mouth, standing in front of me with a spear.
She asked me what I did
The sounds are all the same.
I don’t know what’s wrong with me
I must have fainted. I pinched myself and it hurt, but it seemed I wasn't completely unconscious yet.
I suddenly seemed to realize who she was!
But I probably don't know her, and she certainly doesn't know me.
Then I will no longer have anything to do with her, and she will never know that I had a relationship with her.
At least her presence made me realize that I was at least in the right place.
After tying the horse to calm my mood, I calmly said, "Han minister Xie Zhi, the Marquis of Yue, has come here to suppress the rebellion. I hope to discuss the matter of Dong with the righteous men of Yizhou."
"How do you prove it?" She showed no intention of putting down her gun: "You look a lot like someone from Xiliang. Your weapons are similar, too."
“But my accent doesn’t sound like it.”
"There are many people from Xiliang who can speak Mandarin. Last time, Qingyun Mountain led a man pretending to be Yue Hou to the mountain. Later, he brought some imperial soldiers to the mountain. In the end, the Dong bandit massacred the mountain stronghold. We were lucky enough to escape." It can be seen that she is still a little nervous. I guess she feels that if she starts fighting, she will definitely not be the opponent.
I didn't bring the official seal, so there is really no proof. This time I failed in my calculation. I didn't expect that the Xiliang people had used such a vicious strategy. It seems that they also knew that I was coming. Using this strategy can not only destroy the Yizhou people's mountain stronghold, but also prevent the Yizhou people from joining forces with me. It is very vicious.
"Didn't you listen to me?" Since Dong Ze knew, they in the middle should also know.
"The Dian people who traded with us. However, the people who escaped from Qingyun Mountain, the Dong thief, also sent someone to pretend to be like this." I think she seems to trust me a little, so she showed up. But she also seems to have doubts.
But I noticed that she was making a vague gesture with her hands. I guessed that there were companions on both sides, and I felt a little relieved. This was okay. If such a delicate girl was really allowed to stand guard here, then this mountain would be dangerous. Judging from her gestures, she might be a leader.
I really can't prove my identity. The more powerful I am, the more suspicious others will be of me. And the people of Yizhou probably haven't heard of the rumors about Yue Hou.
Do you know what happened to Yue Hou
We heard that he was coming to attack Dong, but we guessed that he was not very sincere. We heard that he did not bring many people with him. He just used the people of Jucheng to sweep a few southern strongholds.
How can the army get all the supplies and baggage into Nanzhong? I can only come here to recruit soldiers.
Was it the emperor’s order
no.
How dare you come? You lied to us, didn't you
no.
That's your reason.
I promised the people of Yizhou who fled to Jingzhou that I would come, and I am here to fulfill my promise.
Why would you agree to this? It's unreasonable. You are so young and you must be a noble. How can you care about the lives of us common people? You must understand this, otherwise
Yiren clenched the gun tightly, and although she was nervous, she still moved the tip of the gun a few inches in front of me.
What is coming will eventually come, so it doesn’t matter.
"Because I was the one who let the thief Dong into Shu, after I learned from the imperial report that Jiange was massacred, I thought it was my fault. How can I pay for it if I don't attack Dong?"
The word "Jiang Ge" really made her lose her mind, and her words were suddenly filled with resentment.
"Why did you let the thief Dong enter Shu?"
"Because it is difficult for us in Jingzhou to resist Dong's army, we are using deceptive troops to lure them into Sichuan and block their way."
"Hmph, hmph, hahaha, you conceited fellow, you really thought that you were the one who drove the Dong thief in. The Dong thief was determined to occupy Yizhou. Attacking Jingzhou was just a feint to the east and attacking in the west. You are so conceited, otherwise they would have sent tens of thousands of troops in, and if they found something wrong, they should have withdrawn. Why did hundreds of thousands of troops cross the plank road at night and abandon all the baggage? We, the officials of Yizhou, thought we could just watch the fun and were completely unprepared. Hmph, pathetic, ridiculous. You are also putting the blame on yourself, you are too conceited!" This is not something she can get out of, but perhaps only if she gets out, I can be free. (Note: I have been holding this burden for so many years, it is not easy for me, author Qingsong Note)
I sat on the ground dejectedly, but the feeling of relief was not easy.
I stood up again. It really scared her, and she could even feel the surrounding bushes moving. "Dong the thief is the enemy of all the people in the world. Zhi is a minister who assists the country in governing. Even if there are a thousand setbacks and a thousand excuses, it is Zhi's duty to attack Dong. This is a duty that he cannot refuse, and it is not a matter of reason."
She stared into my eyes as if she wanted to see everything in them.
I hope she can't see the strange look in my eyes and everything hidden behind it.
I closed my eyes and took out a piece of cloth from my waist that was originally used to wipe sweat. Usually I wipe sweat with my sleeves, so Yinling was helpless. Although she gave me this, it was basically just a waist padding, but it was useful now.
I covered my eyes. I stretched out my hand. I grabbed the tip of the gun. "Lead me forward. You can send your men to check. I didn't bring anyone with me. Of course, if you are really worried, you can send your general down to talk to me."
I heard a whistle coming from very close to me, and it sounded as skillful as the whistle of Xiangyang's bad boy Ru Zishe.
I smiled in my heart: Xiner, you have learned bad things.
After a while, as the footsteps approached, another deliberately low but still audible female voice said between breaths: "Sister Yi, what should I do?"
I couldn't help but sigh in my heart; you two sisters are really a mess.
"Go up and report this to General Wu, and let him make the decision. My sisters and I will watch him."
I kept in mind the surrounding rocks, and after hearing this, I dragged my gun a few steps to the left, and the end of the gun shook a bit. I sat down with the help of a rock, put the tip of the gun against my heart, and moved the two iron rods at my waist to the side. Then I sat quietly with my eyes closed to rest my mind.
The tip of the gun moved away by itself, but the voice also became slightly farther away: "It's okay, I trust you."
You're hiding away, but you still call it trust. It's really insincere, but it's okay.
"Is there anything you want to know about the outside world?" I felt that I should help the other self and let her know that she was safe.
"Uh, no..." She hesitated. There was a commotion in the woods nearby, and the leaves rustled, but it stopped immediately. It seemed that she didn't intend to let her people get close.
After a while, she couldn't hold it back any longer: "You are the Marquis of Yue, but I want to test you. You should know the affairs of the palaces of those county marquises."
Sure enough. You're still testing me. Do you want to know about your sisters
"Well, what do you want to ask? I am a crude warrior who has been engaged in battles since I entered the government. I have nothing to do with such things, but I have heard a lot about them during banquets. Although I am annoyed, I still know something. Ask whatever you want to ask, but what's the point of asking? You don't know whether it is true or not."
"I have a sister who married the Prince of Hefei. Have you heard of this?"
"Oh, the Prince of Hefei died a long time ago, and his concubines seem to have retired to Qianshan. Only a Yizhou woman named Huang seems to have remarried to a doctoral student at the Imperial Academy."
"Yeah." His tone suddenly seemed excited, but then returned to normal. "How did you know?"
"He is a disciple of the Minister of Rites Cai Bojie, and Minister of Rites Cai is an old friend of my father, so he knows."
"Your father seems to be an important official in the court."
"Oh, he is a nobleman. As a son, I dare not mention his name."
"After generations of lords, your words and deeds are quite acceptable. What you said just now was sincere, and your coming here also shows your sincerity. Ah..."
"Miss Huang? What's wrong with you?"
"Snake, snake..."
I quickly pulled off the blindfold and saw two deep tooth marks on her ankle, which looked quite similar to the ones Yuan got on the way back south.
She quickly stood up and called for the people above, then put her mouth to the wound and sucked it hard, her mouth was mixed with dirt, blood and a kind of sour and numb feeling that seemed to be caused by poison, which she sucked out mouthful by mouthful. Seeing a few women coming down the mountain, she handed her to them to hold her, and she quickly began to look around. That afternoon, she had nothing to do at Lord Xu's house, so she learned a lot about the appearance of detoxifying herbs, and soon found some after searching around.
When I ran back, a group of women had already come down, all in military uniforms and covered with leaves. Most of them looked like women, and the knowledgeable ones were also looking for herbs nearby. When they saw what I was holding, they took it and stuffed it into their mouths to chew.
I looked outside for a while, then turned around quietly and sat down by myself a little further away.
Trying to calm myself down, I said to her pale face, "I won't let you die."
She didn't know how much time had passed, she was still sleeping surrounded by her sisters; suddenly, footsteps were heard on the mountain road, and when she turned around, she saw a group of men with their armor in disarray coming down.
The leader, who was wearing a fur headband, quickened his pace when he saw the situation. "What's going on?"
Then he should turn to me and say: "You did it?"
Just as I was about to speak, I felt my tongue go numb and my vision went dark. I couldn't speak. I tried to stand up, but suddenly everything went dark and I fell forward. My body went limp, and then I knew nothing. (To be continued...)