The snow on both sides is getting less and less. It seems that the snow in Yinli, Henan, is not very heavy, or maybe it is not at all. But this may not be a good thing, Brother Wenyuan told me. But he didn't say much, and I didn't ask much. If it snows heavily, our march will be difficult, and others' march will not be smooth; but if it doesn't snow, or it snows a lot, then the cavalry of others can easily wreak havoc in various places in Henan, including our military camp.
Shanghe has 5,115 households and a population of 33,100, so my father's army is only allowed to have 3,500 people, and this time almost all of them came out, leaving only a small number of people to continue to guard Shanghe. In Henan Yin, in addition to the 200,000 troops in the two passes, there are at least 100,000 defenders in various places, and these are all official troops of the court, much stronger than my father's private army holding bronze spears. Although it looks huge when looking back, it will inevitably appear sparse once it is pulled 500 feet away to fight against others, because I have seen the spear formation of Spartacus, so I know it very well. When I looked back casually, I accidentally saw Brother Wenyuan, and thought to myself that my father might have wronged Brother Wenyuan a little here.
Sister Qi's face was very solemn but also full of determination. She obviously knew that once we set foot on the shore, the future would be good or bad, and it would not be up to us; but Shen Gongyi's loyalty and righteousness were famous all over the world. For this honor, our whole family, including the newcomer, resolutely set foot on this road. Before leaving, my mother called me and gave me a lot of instructions and a lucky charm, but she also thought we had to go, so in the end, my mother cried helplessly.
When we reached Gaoling, we left one man and one horse behind and asked him to contact Cao Cao as soon as possible to tell him the direction we were going. We only had a thousand horses and had to cross the Longmen Mountain next to Gaoling into Henan. It was very difficult to transport all the food and supplies we brought with us.
If I'm not mistaken, Cao Cao's food supplies moved several days earlier than his troops.
The place where we disembarked was called Chenggao. There was no snow here, but the ground was a little muddy. This was a place with a dense water network that was rare in the north. At least we pushed the rafts into the Sishui River from the channel and then landed at a shallow beach. The first group of more than 2,000 people, 500 cavalry, led by me, Zhang Liao, and Shen Qi; my father's more than 1,000 people were still half an hour behind on the water.
It was evening, and Brother Wenyuan quickly sent out nearly a hundred scouts to investigate, while the soldiers set up camp on the shore and quickly made fires to cook. Some of them fell asleep directly. Many of them seemed to be unable to endure a day of marching on the water. Seeing them like this, we set up sentries and ordered the entire army to rest quickly, recuperate, and wait for news to come back before preparing to set off.
The nearest village to where we landed had only five or six households. The severe drought in the sixth year of Guanghe did not leave the village deserted, and although the Yellow Turban Rebellion did not reach here, it drained all the able-bodied men in the village. It seemed that natural disasters were not as severe as physical disasters.
Sister Qi was a little seasick. When Zhang Liao and I were arranging for my father's follow-up troops to go ashore and set up camp tonight, she sat alone in the tent that had just been set up, holding her sword and breathing heavily. There were also ladies in military uniforms outside the door, holding sharp blades, and they looked quite serious.
My father didn't arrive until nearly an hour later. When I asked me the reason, he tapped my head and pointed to the sky which had already darkened.
The scouts who went not far away brought back the situation in Chenggao. The city gates of Chenggao were closed as if facing a powerful enemy, and no one was allowed to enter or leave.
"That should be the case. All places are unclear about the current situation and don't know which side to lean towards. They won't move now. As long as nothing serious happens tonight, we'll take a rest first." Father smiled helplessly but relaxedly, then looked at us: "Qier, you don't look well, go and rest first. General Wenyuan, your second brother and I can stay here. We still have to march tomorrow morning."
At this moment, I suddenly had a feeling that they seemed to identify with me more than I did with this new family, as if I had always been a member of this family.
Sister Qi greeted each of us and left. She was indeed in a very bad mood.
"Wenyuan, have all the people been sent out?"
"My lord, they have all been sent out."
"Shh, let's stop talking. Qi'er is in the tent not far away." The father asked everyone to stop talking about the discussion, so he started by talking about his own voice.
"Father, we don't know the news from places farther away, especially those near Luoyang, so it's not appropriate to take action for the time being. We will know something in about two hours." I lowered my voice first, because Yinling used to think I was too noisy, so I was more used to speaking softly and slowly. I think this will be very useful for the rubbing on the bed in the future. Wenyuan's voice has always been as loud as his figure, but it's a pity for his elegant beard. He seemed to be trying to see if the sound of his next words could be heard clearly, so after hearing a few words from him, I rushed to him.
"My lord, I think we should send letters to the counties and marquises in Henan. Most of the county magistrates in Henan are from the Liu family. We don't need to have any other affairs with them, and we don't mention helping any of the relatives or eunuchs. It's just that during this great chaos, the Lord may be in danger, and we need everyone to rush to protect him. We are all descendants of the emperor, and we can't refuse according to our feelings and courtesy. Moreover, after all, the Liu family ruled the country, and many county magistrates are indeed worried about Your Majesty at this time. In this way, as long as there are many people who respond, we don't have to be afraid of anything, and the army that goes straight to Luoyang to protect the Lord can be formed."
"Well, Wenyuan, this is a great idea. You go out and find some people who are knowledgeable and know etiquette. I will personally write the letter and work with the Liu family marquises."
Zhang Wenyuan is indeed amazing, but to be honest, I don’t know much about his situation. If it is really as expected, then this trip to Luoyang will be much more convenient.
However, after my father started writing, he fell into deep thought and frowned. After thinking about it, he continued writing helplessly.
"What is it, father?"
As my father was writing, he said to me with some embarrassment: "Although this is a good plan, those imperial descendants may not be willing to respond to the call of a foreign vassal."
"My father is a prince, doesn't he care about those people?" I pretended to be stupid. I knew it in my heart, but I was afraid to make my father sad.
"Zi Rui, are you pretending to be stupid? Forget it. Although you are smart, you are still a simple child. It is not easy to talk about such things. After all, they are descendants of the previous emperors of the Han Dynasty. I am just a minister. Although I am a prince, it is actually because of you. How can they accept my orders?"
"Father, it seems that you are still a marquis of 5,000 households?" As a county prince, the fiefdom is at least 10,000 households, and I am still a marquis of 10,000 households. According to current information, I am the only marquis of 10,000 households in the world, but I learned this by chance when others talked about the appearance of my tail.
"Yes, there are another 5,000 households near Xiangyang, Jingzhou. Didn't your teacher tell you? Otherwise, how could I have a villa in Xiangyang?"
"Oh." The teacher didn't tell me, but I know that the teacher often told us not to indulge in a comfortable life, and he himself, as a governor, still lived in a thatched cottage, so it was normal for him not to tell me. Besides, it belonged to my father. The teacher might have thought that I would naturally not have any good feelings towards Shanghe Shen Gong. Of course, it is difficult to explain it like this now, so I just said: "The teacher told me that I am young and should not be greedy for wealth and comfort. I will send the taxes collected by the Prince of Ping'an to him, and you should still eat your own salary. However, you have to fight a little bit at the Prince of Ping'an's mansion. That's what the teacher treated me."
"If you hadn't mentioned the four words Prince of Ping'an, I wouldn't have remembered that I am the Prince of Ping'an. After all, this title came without any reason or logic. This Wei Dingguo is really a strange man. When I sent someone to Xiangyang to visit Yin Ling, I asked about his situation. This man is really interesting. A governor of a state actually lives in a thatched cottage." My father smiled and nodded when he mentioned the teacher, then after a moment of silence, he said, "My son Zirui, don't mind what I say next, but generally speaking, those who do this are either great sages that are rare in the world, or heroes that are rare in the ages."
This sentence made me feel uncomfortable. My father patted my shoulder and continued to think about the wording. I stood by my side with a gun, guarding my father who was writing and stopping, and looked at the flickering lights in front of him, lost in thought.
Suddenly he took two steps forward, which frightened his father. "My son Zirui, what are you planning to do?"
"It was windy at night and the lights were flickering. I was trying to block the wind that was blowing in through the tent door for my father." I was facing the outer tent with my back to my father. I was looking out through the narrow gap while blowing the wind towards my father.
The wind calmed me down and forced me to think about what my father said to me. What kind of person was the teacher? What kind of village was the teacher lived in? When my uncle and I were there, I was a little drunk and didn't understand why. I had forgotten a little about it afterwards, but when I think about it now, that village really is something that makes people feel strange.
There is no need for a teacher or a master. Mr. Hua and his wife are the best doctors I have ever seen, and Uncle Gongye is the most knowledgeable and talented blacksmith. If they all learned from the same village, how great would this village be.
Perhaps if we uncover the picture the teacher gave us, we can get some clues. But the picture is really confusing. Obviously, from what Uncle San pointed out, the problem is near the car, but what is the problem with the car
God's will is always unpredictable. This time, it was another accidental event that made me guess some clues.
What I saw at that time was that the soldiers of the Ping'an County were tying the food and grass supplies on the ship to the carriage so that they would not be in a hurry when they set off tomorrow. However, when they tied it up and dragged the carriage, a stone hit the bottom of the carriage, and the heavy weight of the carriage broke the axle. While the group of people were making noise, I had a sudden feeling. But this sudden realization surprised me even more.
Then I turned around, but thought about it and turned back, but this action did not escape my father's attention.
"Zirui, is there something wrong? Why is it so loud outside? Let them make some noise." Fortunately, I was able to cover up the incident outside, so I hurried out and let them make some noise.
I turned around and saw that there seemed to be no movement in Sister Qi's account office, so I felt relieved to go back, but I thought of the sleepy lady in our family. I am afraid that she must have suffered from the travel these days. I must reward her well when I see her again. How to reward her is a problem. I thought to myself that I would do it later. At this time, I must have a lewd smile on my face.
I returned to the tent to guard and continued to think about the things in the capital.
"My son Zirui, do you know the situation in Luoyang?"
My father was still writing quickly, but by this time he had obviously found the wording he thought was appropriate, so he looked relaxed and just kept writing and asking me questions.
"Father, I have always been a little shy about the affairs of the imperial court. I find them troublesome, so I only know the superficial aspects."
"In fact, you are the prince, after all, you are the heir of my Shen Xie clan. Many of my clan's ancestors were related to the royal family by marriage. Since there is nepotism, it is better for you to know some of these things."
"Father, please go ahead. Zirui is waiting for your instruction."
"It's not a religion. There are many unpleasant things in it. If it were someone else, I would ask you to walk away and not ask. But now you know something, it's better than knowing nothing."
"Why is it difficult for me to write? It's because I don't know that the future emperor is the son of the Marquis surnamed Liu." My father suddenly laughed loudly, "Oh, the sound is too loud. Zirui, do you think your father is very speculative?"
"No, but the emperor has two princes now, why should he look for a crown prince from among the marquises?"
"In the past, it was because His Majesty was too young and died without appointing an heir, so for several generations, the heirs were chosen from the various marquises. This time, if we can successfully eliminate the eunuch party, these Liu imperial descendants will definitely use this achievement to renegotiate the issue of appointing a crown prince. After all, these two princes have been raised among eunuchs, especially the two princes who regard Zhang Rang, the leader of the Ten Eunuchs, as their second father. Those who responded to us will definitely worry that these two princes will come to cause trouble for them in the future because of the Ten Eunuchs. Therefore, appointing another one will also be beneficial to them, so they will definitely discuss this matter."
"Father, I don't agree with you."
"Zirui, you." Father was still smiling.
"You may be able to deceive the nobles, but if you explain it to me, no one in the world will agree." I said directly.
"Don't just keep talking nonsense, get to the bottom of it." The father became serious.
"The evil deeds of eunuchs have been going on for a long time, and the danger of foreign relatives has been hidden since the death of the fifth emperor of our dynasty. Since then, it has been out of control. Although the entire family of foreign relatives was often exterminated before the death of the emperor of each generation, the source of the evil has not been cut off. Since the previous emperor failed to kill the Dong family, the evil consequences have become more obvious. Therefore, Zi Rui was exiled to the northern border to redeem the mistake of ceding Yizhou to Dong Zhuo. This man can disregard the laws of heaven and slaughter the people at will because he has too many people in the court to rely on, and he is fearless. Although the He family is now in power, The Dong family still has some power and cannot be eliminated. In the past few dynasties, the youngest son was chosen from the marquis to inherit the throne. This was also the result of the struggle between the eunuchs and the maternal relatives. However, the two are derived from each other. When the emperor is young, the maternal relatives take advantage of the power of the mistress to monopolize power. When the emperor has no support, he relies on the power of the eunuchs. This is a dirty struggle. If the eunuchs win, they will usurp the power of the country. After the emperor dies, in order to be safe, they need to find a young child to ascend the throne so that they can control it. Since the mother is honored by her son, the mistress will bring up a new generation of maternal relatives.
If the foreign relatives win, they will again monopolize power, and the emperor will rely on the eunuchs, and this cycle will repeat itself. If this happens again, the fate of the Han Dynasty will eventually be defeated by these two types of people. Perhaps this is an opportunity, and we may be able to... "
"Zi Rui is so bold. At this time of national crisis, you, a marquis with a great title, actually openly criticize the government. Am I your father? If I were, I would punish you, a barbarian who does not know loyalty, to teach you how to respect your superiors." Perhaps I understand the stubbornness and temper of my father that others think of.
"Zi Rui is doing this for the sake of the Han Dynasty, otherwise he wouldn't have said it so clearly." I also have a bad temper. "The Han Dynasty has allowed these two kinds of people to make the people suffer, otherwise the Yellow Turban Army wouldn't have risen. Why does father want to protect these two cancers in the body of the Han Dynasty?"
"My Shen family is loyal and brave. We only want to serve our country and have never been involved in government affairs. This time we are just here to rescue the emperor, and we will go back immediately after rescuing him. When you say this, do you want to usurp the power of the country on behalf of He Jin?" My father was indeed too confused. How could he do this
"Father is confused. This is not saving the country, but ignoring the crisis within the country. It's like putting a piece of clothing on a seriously ill person. This is not loyalty, this is a mistake."
"You are ruining the country! You and I are ruining the country, you rebellious son..." My father was really angry and drew his sword. I don't know if I was crazy or not, I just stood there and looked at my father without dodging or blocking. If sister Qi hadn't come in and blocked the sword for me with her scabbard, I would have died on the spot, and there wouldn't be so many stories later.
"Qier, why are you here?" My father was a little surprised that someone blocked my sword for me, and then he looked at me and got angry again, "Get out of the way, let me chop this rebellious son."
"Father," Sister Qi stood in front of me and spoke up for me, "I woke up when I heard the noise outside. I was afraid something might happen, so I came out and happened to hear you talking. Second brother Zirui is right. Why do you always worry about the affairs of the court with us when you are in the upper house? But now is the best time to clarify the government, but you don't listen to Zirui's good advice."
"Others may be able to do this, but we cannot do it."
"Could it be that..." I remembered that my father also knew Huo Ran's secret, and then I figured it out: "Because of the reputation of our ancestors, they want me and my sister to do this and that. What is the intention of the Prince of Ping'an?"
"If I kill you, this rebellious thing, I won't need the name of peace." My father raised the sword again, but was stopped by my sister. I immediately pulled my sister aside, knelt on the ground, and looked at my angry father.
"Although I am not your Majesty's biological son, this is the first time in eighteen years that I have enjoyed the care of my parents. Although the time is short, Zirui is enough. Once a father, always a father. Zirui dare not bear the sword of his father. So I listened to Zirui's words and asked for a month's time. As long as the protection of the emperor is successful, Zirui will take the opportunity to restore discipline and kill all the villains. After that, if you mention stealing the country and misleading the emperor, and killing innocent people, it is the fault of Xie Zhi, the Marquis of Ping'an Fengyun. After a month's time, my father will take me down under the pretext of a banquet and tell the world that he has severed the father-son relationship with me and put me in prison. "I will be cut into pieces in the market, so that it can be shown that what I did had nothing to do with Shanghe County King Shen Gongwang. In this way, the wisdom and loyalty of the Shen Gong family can be known for all eternity." These words were mine. Afterwards, even I couldn't figure it out. I was a hero for once, and definitely a tragic hero. I must admit that I thought it was right to do so, but why did I let myself be cut into pieces? Did I think the word was more intimidating at the time, and then I felt scared for a long time afterwards.
"Who do you think you are? You think you can defeat those people in the court. You don't have the ability to win justice."
"Without this ability, how can I make the Yellow Turban army of hundreds of thousands disappear in half a month? I can force Dong Zhuo to go all out, and I can also prevent Ding Yuan from getting even an inch of Dong Zhuo's land. I can make Jin Fan surrender immediately, and I can win the hearts of 300,000 people in Yizhou. Who do you think I am? I am the Marquis of Ping An Feng Yun of the Han Dynasty." I admit that I am bragging, and many things are not done by me, but now I just want him to agree to let me go to Luoyang to fight him for a while. "I don't ask to live comfortably in the world alone, but I can't bear to see the people suffer; I only ask for peace and happiness for the Han Dynasty. I want to put an end to all this and restore the glory of my Han Dynasty. I will do it even if it means breaking the wind and splitting the clouds. I will never regret it even if I die without a place to be buried."
"My good brother, even if father doesn't recognize you, your sister will." My sister was really generous. She patted my shoulder hard and then pressed it hard, which meant she was cheering for me.
"Youth is hot-headed, youth is hot-headed! It is youth that causes the most trouble." Although his father was still stubborn, his tone was much softer. He probably knew that this might be the best opportunity to revive the Han Dynasty. However, the reputation and prestige of the Shen family for generations rested on his shoulders alone, which completely wore away his ambition and courage when he was young.
"Father was young once too, so why not indulge in some of that youthful madness a little more?" I still knelt and begged again.
"You go out first, let me think about it." My father seemed to be moved, he waved his hand and asked us to go out.
My sister helped me up from my kneeling position on the ground, patted my back and told me to go out. I wanted to say something else, but she gestured for me to leave.
After leaving the tent, writing those posts and having this verbal battle, it was already three o'clock in the morning. The military camp was also quiet, with only snoring and the footsteps of patrolmen in the camp. I asked my sister to go and rest first, but she didn't listen. She took a bag of water from the camp and pulled me to sit by the water.
She didn't say anything, just pulled out the cork, took a sip herself, and then handed it to me. I felt a little thirsty after taking a big sip, and choked. It turned out that the bag contained wine.
"Sister, this is a military camp, how can you bring this."
"This is the north, and it's common to carry alcohol in the army. It's cold on winter nights, and it's hard to endure the march without a few sips of wine." My sister is only a dozen days older than me, but she seems to be very experienced.
"Oh." I responded and took another sip. This wine is good. It should be the fine wine brought from the mansion.
"Brother." She patted me on the back, but I choked on the drink I was drinking and coughed it out.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I made you choke."
"It's okay." I tried to steady my breath and finally I felt better.
Seeing that I was fine, Sister Qi was relieved. She looked up at the sky and said, "There has never been a male heir in my family, but I didn't expect that the emperor would give you a brother to come to my family. I thought you were just a lucky person, but I didn't expect you to have such a heart and knowledge. That sentence made my blood boil. From now on, you are my second brother and I am your sister. Originally, you took my throne, and I still had some grudges against you, but now I only have a brother-sister relationship with you." I just lost a sister, but another one was given to me. It's just that these two sisters feel completely different. Yinling is like water, although sometimes it is a bit choking, but it is mostly gentle and soft; Shenqi is like fire, although it always feels a bit scorching, but it also makes people feel warm. I must be a favorite of God, so I always have such relatives around me, but I must be a joke of God. Why do I like to pretend to be the boss so much? My closest people are older than me. Fortunately, there are two people who will become my wives in the future, and then I will have my children. So I fell into reverie about the future.
"Hey, Erzi, what's wrong with you, Sister Yinling, ah, it's your sister-in-law's turn, she is right, you are often distracted, but she thinks that you often expand one thing to other things." She laughed when she talked about Yinling, which made me a little worried. Will Yinling deliberately blame me for causing her to be troubled by seniority in the future? I really can't find a reason.
Oh, no wonder Yinling always has something to say about my distraction but never punishes me for it.
"I'm thinking about the prince's problem." I had to lie. I couldn't be thinking about my own unknown children who lived in an unknown place, right
"What do you think?"
"Very upset. I had a fierce argument with my father just now, and I am still upset now."
"Don't worry about it. In fact, my father has his reasons for being cautious."
"Forget it, let's not talk about this. Sister, do you have someone you love?" This sentence is very clever. Most girls at this age would have something in mind. With just this sentence, I passed over the previous part and didn't expect her to mention it again, because any young woman would be too shy to mention it, and would be confused in her heart. From then on, the initiative fell into my hands.
"Don't be afraid of being laughed at by your second brother. I have always been indecisive about this kind of thing. Please help me make a decision."
"I am not the one who takes the initiative in this matter." I didn't expect this sentence to make me feel helpless. My two future wives were not chosen by me, so I really have no say. So I immediately decided to change the way to make my sister shy: "So what kind of person does my sister like?"
"I used to like those talented men from the outside world, but after this, I want to marry a virtuous man like Zirui who serves the country and the people. But you, such a capable man, will you marry a woman like me who is a soldier and carries a sword?"
A sister is a sister, it is indeed a gift from God. Even though I am such an eloquent person, I was left speechless by her frank words.
But I immediately got a name, and in my mind, this person was definitely such a person, so I slowly said the name of this person with some uncertainty.
My sister was also a little surprised, "He, this is not good."
"Originally he was going to..."
I heard the sound of rapid horse hooves in the distance, and I quickly stopped talking and stood up, ignoring the stars in my eyes, and just went towards the sound of the horse hooves. The sound of the scales of my sister's armor behind me also followed me.
A big man with an arrow on his shoulder, leaning on an iron rod, dismounted and ran towards his father's tent.
When he saw us running towards him at the door of the tent, he wanted to salute, but I held him back. I quickly asked, "General Cheng Yuanzhi, did you come back with any inquiries?"
He gasped and shook his head.
"Don't talk too much, go in quickly." Then he helped him into his father's tent.
My father seemed to be asleep, sleeping at his desk. I didn't wake him up, but helped General Cheng out again.
"Come with me first." I exchanged a big tent with him and sat down. I asked the guards to find a military doctor first, and then I told General Cheng that Sister Qi didn't blame me for overstepping my duty by coming with her. She might also want to help me do that, and she is obviously full of confidence in my ability to make decisions.
"General Zhang sent me and a few brothers to inquire about the vicinity of Luoyang. They may still be around Luoyang now. I was a palace maid and minister who escaped from the city and got some news and rushed back. It's too late to go to the city." He took a few deep breaths and pulled his collar. Seeing this, I handed him a cup of water. He drank it all in one gulp. Obviously, he didn't feel satisfied enough. My sister handed me the wine bag, and I handed it to him. I didn't expect that Cheng Yuanzhi was a good drinker. He took a sip and said it was good wine. He drank half of the bag in one gulp. After drinking it, he said it was good wine again, wiped his mouth, and returned the wine bag. He took a steady breath and told me the situation in Luoyang.
On the morning of the tenth day of the first lunar month in the third year of Zhongping, the eunuchs threatened Empress Dowager He to summon He Jin to see her. When He Jin saw that his sister's handwriting was correct, he had no doubts and went into the palace alone, but was ambushed and killed by the eunuchs. At that moment, the eunuchs forged an imperial edict, saying that He Jin intended to kill the emperor and establish himself, and he had now been executed. Because the Tong and Hulao joints were sealed, they had no scruples and ordered the whole city to be closed. The army guarding the city copied and executed He Jin's family, including Empress He. When the army was in chaos, the emperor's edict was useless. Fortunately, there were still many loyal and righteous people in the palace guards, who tried their best to protect Empress He from the palace and fought to the death to get out of a city gate in the south of Luoyang. Now they are nowhere to be found. There were many dead soldiers in He Jin's mansion, and they repelled many attacks. The defenders in the city also had confidants promoted by He Jin. Seeing an opportunity, they started a civil war again. The dead soldiers of He's mansion even counterattacked. Luoyang was already in chaos at this time.
"Your Majesty is in danger, and the Han Dynasty is in danger." I took a big gulp of wine and made a decision immediately. "I will lead 500 light cavalry to rush to Luoyang, and General Zhang will lead 2,500 infantry. The escort of food and grass will follow closely behind. My sister will accompany father and lead 500 cavalry to set off in an hour to provide support."
He immediately asked General Cheng to go down and treat his arrow wound, and then he quickly put on his armor and prepared to set off.
"The city is in a stalemate right now, I need to get up quickly. Sister, please take care of father." I bowed and gave orders. The horses removed their bells, the men held their tongues, and set off immediately.
"Why not just stop holding the needle in your mouth?" the elder sister added. "Now there are no leaves, you won't make everyone hold pine needles in their mouths, will you? Just tell everyone not to talk. If anyone talks, the princess will cut off their tongues."
After the messenger went down to pass on the message, my sister adjusted my armor for me. When she felt it was ready, she came to me, patted my shoulder, and said something I was very familiar with: "Zi Rui, I am proud of you."
But I didn't do what I did before, I just smiled and made my sister happy. Last time, I held the girl in my arms.
Zirui went to his father's tent and picked up the iron spear. Seeing his father still sleeping soundly, he felt a little sad, but he didn't know why. He took off his cloak, gently covered his father with it, and went out with the spear.
He prostrated himself at the entrance of the tent, bowed deeply, and then turned and walked away.
As soon as the young man left, the middle-aged man suddenly stood up and murmured with a slight breath: "Let you go this time. Father doesn't care about you. You are indeed a good child. Zirui's personality is very similar to mine when I was young, but he is too timid. No wonder Yinling always tiptoes to wake her up."
At that moment, he put on his son's cloak and continued to write documents under the lamp, muttering, "I will exchange words with you this time."
Speed is of the essence in war. I was free from any worries and just urged my horse on, thinking that I should be able to reach Luoyang in two hours. My sister's words really worked. No one said a word along the way.
Under the almost full moon, there was no one along the way, and the feeling of endless desolation was depressing.
There are two large banners on the left and right, with five flags. These flags are probably unique to Ping'an County. Each cavalry team of 100 people has a flag of its own color leading it. One of the two large flags is the emblem of Lord Shen, embroidered with gold thread, with a golden Suanni (not an ancient mythical beast, but a lion, author Bai Boredom's note) on the top, and a golden... on the bottom. It seems to be me, no, it's Xiezhi. As the old saying goes, three people make a tiger. It's true. There are so many others that even I almost forgot that my original name is Xie Zhi, not Xiezhi.
Between these two spirit beasts, there is a huge character "申". This character is easy to write and looks good. Under this nice moonlight, the character "申" is very clear, while the "平安风云侯" here is much harder to recognize. Compared with my dim and blurred name, the emblems around it are clearer. Maybe I am not meant to be rich and noble, that's fine, this is not clean, it's better to talk about beautiful girls with my brothers in the thatched cottage.
In Caotang, when the teacher was not around, the first thing we would usually say in a sanctimonious manner when chatting would be something the teacher had said. The second thing we would say would be the situation in Xiangyang. Then, someone would randomly turn the conversation to a pretty girl, and we wouldn't be able to listen to anything else.
Thinking of the happy times in the past, I couldn't help but laugh, and found some fun in this vast and lonely world.
Suddenly, a soldier next to me told me to look to the left. I saw a horseman charging from the left ridge. I waved my hand and shouted for everyone to stop. Just as I was about to speak to the man over there, the man on horseback called out, "Is that Lord Shen?"
"No, I am Xie Zhi, the Marquis of Ping'an Fengyun, the son of Lord Shen. Who are you?"
"I am a member of the Imperial Guards of Luoyang. May I ask you to lead the troops and follow me?" He reined in his horse and stopped in front of me. In the moonlight, I only saw a brave warrior wearing the uniform of the Imperial Guards. Looking at his face, he looked like an upright man, but I couldn't be sure of his identity just by looking at his appearance. Looking around, there were fields and a forest to the west.
"How do you know we are Lord Shen's army?"
"My master recognized this banner and knew it was the army of Prince Ping'an."
If I'm not mistaken, his owner should be Empress He. Empress He was extremely intelligent and had a photographic memory. And according to the information we have received, Empress He should have been kidnapped by the Yulin Army.
He made up his mind and ordered, "You hold the banner and follow me first with ten of you. The three blue, black and purple teams will be a hundred steps behind us. The two red and white teams will meet us on the roadside. Then send someone to the back to deliver a message and get the message that the people from Luoyang are coming quickly.
Then he led a dozen people without torches and followed me into the woods beside the field. After a dozen steps, they entered an open space in the woods. Then I ordered the people behind to wait fifty steps outside the woods.
"It is indeed Marquis Ping'an Fengyun. I am relieved." The voice was very unfamiliar. I had never heard what Empress He said, so I was not very sure, but the tone was somewhat similar.
"Please forgive me for not being able to perform the formal ceremony while I am wearing armor. I wonder if the person on the other end is the Queen?" In fact, this statement was tantamount to acknowledging that the person was Queen He.
"My lord, you are sincere. However, you may not have seen me. That's not your fault." A woman in gorgeous clothes came out of the dark forest, but there was only the light of the moon in the sky here. I couldn't see the appearance of this woman who was the mother of the country, so I had to bow again.
"Okay, Lord Shen is indeed a wise minister of the country, and Marquis Ping'an Fengyun is just as his name suggests. Now please escort me back to the capital to protect the emperor. At this moment, the palace inside and outside is probably in the midst of war." If she was not the queen, she must be a rare and extraordinary woman in the world. It was really surprising that she could still remain so calm at this time.
"Yes." I thought I might be overthinking it, so it couldn't be fake.
"However, Marquis Ping An Feng Yun, since you suspect that I am deceiving you, why do you want to take the risk alone? Why don't you send someone to investigate first?"
I don’t know, I seem to have always been like this. I don’t have such a grand reason to lead by example, it just happens naturally. Maybe I’m too conceited.
Of course, it was a bit strange when such inexplicable words came out of my mouth: "The so-called general leading the troops, if I am not in the front, but in the back, then wouldn't that be a supervisor of the troops?"
"You are really the Marquis of Ping'an Fengyun. I have heard that Xie Zirui of Jingzhou is a genius, but I didn't know where your King Maodun's Tianlang is?" I really admire her. She spoke slowly and calmly, as if nothing had happened. You know, her husband and children are in Luoyang, their lives or deaths are uncertain. I thought to myself: Is it a bit disrespectful for me to think like this
"I went to see my father in the New Year, so I didn't bring that ominous thing. If that thing were used in battle, thousands of people would die and tens of thousands of people would bleed. Zirui really doesn't dare to act rashly." I pushed myself one step further in the direction of mystery.
"Okay, let's get ready to go, but Ping'an Fengyun Hou, you stay here first and let the others wait outside the forest." The important part is here, and you can tell what the situation is here by looking at me.
I decided to believe that she was Empress He, so she couldn't threaten me, and even if we fought, she would not be a match for a strong man like me.
I dismissed everyone, and Empress He also asked the captain to leave with my subordinates.
"Empress Dowager, what urgent matter is there that requires this?" To be honest, I was very nervous. I felt like something was happening and my eyes unconsciously searched for someone behind the dim figure of the woman.
"You killed the schoolmaster who informed you of the incident."
"Ah?" I couldn't believe my ears. Various possibilities immediately popped up in my mind. Could it be that the man took advantage of the queen? That would be a sin. "Why? Didn't he save you?"
"He's not the only one. Many people died in battle for their loyalty. Now we just want him to go and meet his brothers."
"Why is that?" Empress Dowager He's reason was incomprehensible.
"After rescuing me from the city, only he and his horse were left alive. He did not know etiquette and actually rode on the same horse with me. If this matter gets out, Your Majesty and I will lose face. Now that you are the descendant of Shen Gong, you should know what to do." If I hadn't done this, you would have died long ago. I cursed in my heart, but didn't dare to say it out loud.
"I obey your orders." He immediately made up his mind and led the way for the woman. When they got out of the forest, he asked someone to give the horse to Queen He and asked her to rest by the roadside and wait for the large group behind. He suddenly pretended to ask Queen He if she had lost anything during her journey. I clearly saw a smile of approval on Queen He's face. Then she naturally searched for a while and said that she had lost her night pearl. She told the Yulin soldier to go with me to find it.
In the forest, I stopped the tall soldier and asked him quietly, "Do you have a name? Why didn't the queen call you by your name from beginning to end?"
Then waved to let him speak.
"My name is Nayan. The Queen may dislike that I am a descendant of the Xiongnu people, so she doesn't want to call me by my name. When she asked me to find you, she didn't let me tell her my name."
She was dissatisfied with his bloodline and the trouble he would bring her in the future. I didn't know what happened to this person, but he was still looking for the night pearl in the bushes seriously, which made me feel pity for him. < /p>
"Go quickly!" He led the horse to him, "the farther the better."
Then I briefly told him what happened, and his faithful face immediately became extremely sad in the moonlight, which made me feel even more sorry.
"I originally thought that I could redeem my sister with this reward. But what should I do now?"
I couldn't wait too long, or the woman would doubt me, so I made a quick decision. I tore open the handkerchief on my left hand, peeled off the scab that had just formed, dipped my right hand in blood, tore off his outer armor, and wrote a dozen words on his inner clothes. I ordered, "Go to Lelong in the north. Here's the money. Go there to find Liu Bei and Liu Xuande. He will make arrangements for you. Go quickly and don't make any noise. What's your sister's name? Where is she? I'll find a way to redeem her."
"I am a maid in the house of Prime Minister Wang Yun, my name is Nalan. Thank you so much, sir. I will definitely repay you for your kindness." These were his last words as he walked away with tears in his eyes, leading the horse.
As soon as he left, I felt relieved. Isn't this simple? I have a brother who is a son-in-law there, and there are quite a lot of beautiful maids in that place.
But I didn't have a good impression of Empress He. She wanted to secretly execute her lifesaver. This woman was really vicious. It was really troublesome to think that I had to go out and lie to her. In fact, I was very dissatisfied with her, but I still pulled out the thorn in my flute, wiped the blood on my hand, and then went back.
Of course, when I came out, I had already found a job to quit. To be honest, I am the most talented person in the world in this respect.
"The grass is thick and my hands were cut by thorns, so I left the Yulin Army to continue searching. We'll go first. Luoyang is in chaos now. This place is not far from Luoyang. It's almost dawn. If we stay here for too long, something bad will happen. He will chase us if he finds us. I left all the horses to him. It's okay, he will catch up. Long live the Queen, let's move on."
"You are really a child, my Lord. You still can't do these etiquette and clichés. Okay, let's go." I was still pouting. I was already 18 years old. Why did you still think I was a child? It seemed that she was no older than 30 years old. Your Majesty was only 30 years old. It was normal for the queen to be one year older, but how old could she be? Suddenly, I thought that I had been angry for such a long time. It was indeed childish, and I couldn't help but feel frustrated.
The sky gradually brightened, and we arrived at an uninhabited village. It seemed that no one had been in the village for several years, and the nobleman could only frown. I left the red, purple and blue flags to guard the queen, whom I did not like, and let her rest for a while and wait for Zhang Liao to arrive. I don't know if she can stay in such a place. But before leaving, she stopped me and asked me how I was. Of course I knew what was going on. I pulled out half of the thorn and let her see the blood that had already coagulated on it. Unexpectedly, she became interested in the thorn in my flute, and then she pulled it out. She wanted something like this, and asked if I could lend it to her for self-defense and return it to me after returning to the palace.
I was so angry at this greedy woman that I wanted to use the iron spear in my hand to knock her unconscious on the spot and then sell her to a brothel.
I am a bit bold, but it is only limited to my mind. Doing so will bring trouble to my father, so I just sent Nayan to my own territory and handed her over to someone I trust, so as not to cause trouble to the teacher. If it were just me and no one else would be implicated, I think I would do some of the things mentioned above. At least I should have felt obliged to shoot her unconscious with that shot.
But in the end, all I did was to smile hypocritically and present it with both hands, like a sensible child who handed over my personal weapon to a very bad elder.
After saying goodbye to this burden, I quickly led my troops to Luoyang. I only took the black and white flags with me because this way I could still think about my future life with Yinling along the way.
Maybe I don't have a future life anymore, I suddenly felt a little scared. Although I boasted, what if I was really executed? Not to mention the thousands of cuts that would make my skin crawl, the fact that I only have one month to live made my back cold.
However, I remembered a poem, which was an untimely work by Brother Meng De, but looking around at this moment, I felt that I had become stronger.
Alas for my people, they walk weeping; the rain is falling, the fog is thick; Alas for my people, they are homeless; bones are scattered in the fields, muddy rivers. Alas for my people, the thought of them breaks my heart.
"If I die, I die." I actually laughed and continued to urge the horse.
Right in front of me is Luoyang, the capital of the Han Dynasty, but at this moment, this feeling seems familiar. I have a bad feeling in my heart, thinking: It can't be Hanzhong. But after thinking about it, only Hanzhong makes me feel this way.
The south gate of Luoyang was wide open without any defenses, which made me feel nervous as I ran towards it. Half of a soldier's body could be clearly seen hanging on the city wall, and the gate was a mess with all kinds of things, including dead bodies.
The sun shines on the city wall, indicating that it will be a good day, but it does not mean that today is a good day.
On the morning of the twelfth day of the first lunar month in the third year of Zhongping, I stopped my horse at the gate, and everyone stopped behind me. The horses were uneasy and many people were carried around by the horses. I looked back at the way I came, but there was no sign of reinforcements coming from behind.
"This is our capital. Let's go in now. Remember, we are here to protect the emperor. We are carrying weapons. Once we are inside, we cannot stop. If we stop, we will be in front of the emperor. Brothers, follow me and don't stop!"
I pointed my gun and was the first to rush in. I rushed into a city whose current situation I had no idea about, but this city was the capital of our Han Dynasty.
That year, I was eighteen years old, Zhang Liao was twenty-six years old, and Cao Cao was thirty-two years old.