"Brother Xian is from Hebei, and now he is working in Shandong. I am from Jeju, so we are a family."
Cheng Zhijie burst out laughing and patted Su Dingfang on the shoulder while talking. Needless to say, Cheng Dabeard was making new friends again. He deceived Su Dingfang into thinking that he was young and had no scruples in speaking, so his laughter became much louder.
Su Dingfang didn't know much about his origins, but he got close to him inexplicably when we met him in Tongguan, and he was so enthusiastic. What the hell, how come you, a Jeju native, are in the same family as me?
He was ordered by Yuwen Shiji, the governor of Donglai County, to escort the Silla envoys to the capital. This was an opportunity to increase his knowledge, so he happily accepted the task.
As for Cheng Dabeard, he just came back from the wet south and was in a good mood.
Last winter, I was sent to the ** to escort Li Xizhi to the ** to look for flowers and plants. So far, I have successfully completed the task.
They did not encounter many setbacks in Japan. Last autumn, Yuchi Gong, Huang Junhan and others led the army to attack, destroyed many barbarian strongholds, and captured many southern barbarians.
Some of them were sent to work in the mines in accordance with the imperial order, while some who were more obedient stayed and were given land to cultivate in designated places.
Some of the young men were recruited to join the army. After training, they would continue to exterminate the barbarian strongholds. In the eyes of the people of the world, the people living in the mountains were all barbarians, especially the southern barbarians. They were unruly and often went out of the mountains.
Attacking counties is similar to banditry in the Central Plains.
Then we need to get them all out and educate them. This kind of war has actually been going on for countless years. However, after the founding of the Tang Dynasty, the suppression of them gradually intensified.
Li Xizhi's ancestral home was in Longxi, and he later moved to Jinzhou. Later he became an official and took root in the local area, becoming one of the rich and powerful families in the country.
They first went to Jiangling in winter to meet with the Governor Li Jing, and they had a pleasant conversation during the dinner. This was not the first time they had met, they had met after Xiao Xian was pacified.
Li Jing admired Li Xizhi, but was surprised when he heard that they came to the south to look for flowers and plants.
Did his son-in-law and student become emperor just a few years ago and already he started to lose his mind by playing with things?
Li Jing asked and didn't hear anything useful from Li Xinzhi, but he did have the latest understanding of the situation in the DPRK and China.
I feel that my son-in-law has done a good job in the past few years and has taken control of the government. Even the people of the Li family in Longxi can safely drive and come out to find flowers and plants for him, which shows that the governance is very effective.
It was a bit unreliable to ask a talented person like Li Xinzhi to do something, so he later petitioned the court to leave him in the south when Li Xinzhi was about to return to the north.
** needed someone to take charge. Previously, Li Jing preferred Li Daliang and Huang Junhan. However, after Li Xinzhi came, Li Jing talked with him several times and felt that Li Xinzhi was obviously more suitable.
Of course, we need to think about this carefully.
After all, Li Xinzhi was a member of the Li family in Longxi, and he had been an official in the government for many years under Xiao Xian's rule. He was considered a local leader in the government. If he was allowed to take charge of the government, problems would easily arise.
So this person still needs to be kept in Jiangling for observation for a while...
After walking back and forth like this, Cheng Zhijie originally thought that the weather would be a problem during this trip, and that he would also have some contact with barbarians, and everyone would definitely speak with swords and guns.
But none of these appeared. The Southern Barbarians all ran into the deep mountains and forests, giving Cheng Dabeard no chance to show off his majesty.
Baidiezi is relatively common in Japan. Li Xizhi went home on a business trip and got the stuff. Because of the season, he only got some seeds. It would take some time for the mature plants to be sent to the capital.
On the way back, Li Xizhi stayed in Jiangling. Cheng Dabeard failed to please Li Jing, so he could only return north in dismay.
He had suffered a lot in Japan. As a pure-blooded northerner, it was okay to go to the northwest and suffer some wind and sand, but the horrible weather in Japan made Cheng Dabeard shiver just thinking about it.
From time to time, there will be a cold rain, no matter how much clothing you wear, it will be of no use, everything will be wet and sticky, and the cold will be everywhere, drilling into your bones hard.
In addition, there are nasty things like mosquitoes. Not to mention their size, many of them are poisonous. Mosquitoes are even more harmful. They can bite you all over your clothes.
Fortunately, the season was more suitable when I went there. If summer and autumn had passed, the bearded man might not be able to withstand it.
The other thing is eating. In the eyes of Cheng Dabeard, the food that Japanese people eat is extremely weird. It’s okay to eat food that is bland and has no taste. Snakes, insects, rats, and ants can be eaten. That’s when he was very hungry in Shandong.
I just tasted some of it.
But when he watched people stuffing centipedes and other insects into their mouths, he still couldn't bear it and had a strong desire to vomit.
Of course, Cheng Dabeard belongs to the type with extremely tenacious vitality. After a few months in the hospital, he actually enjoyed eating centipedes...
Especially the famous snake soup, it is said that after eating it, it can not only detoxify, but also prevent mosquito bites. Cheng became particularly happy to eat it after he became a bearded man.
As usual, he made friends wherever he went, and the nobles and local powerful people were also willing to make friends with him. Although they had some language difficulties and different living habits, for Cheng Dabeard
None of these will be an obstacle to his friendship.
Having made some friendly friends in the local area, Cheng Dabeard's life actually became more prosperous. If the local natural environment was not too harsh for him, this trip would actually be much better than going to Dunhuang.
At least there is no danger of life...
However, when Li Xizhi decided to return north, he quickly led his people and set off without any nostalgia for this hellish place.
He set off from Jiangling and did not go through Wuguan. In fact, he still wanted to delay. He felt that if he returned so quickly, there might be something wrong waiting for him.
Based on his current understanding of the emperor, this is very likely to happen. The emperor's mind is not much bigger than the tip of a needle. It is unreasonable to use old Cheng to force him. Isn't it just the old things from back then?
So after Li Xizhi was gone, he entered Henan via Nanyang and took the road to Tongguan in the hope that he could delay for a while and be free on the road.
By chance, they met Su Dingfang and his entourage outside Tongguan. Cheng Dabeard asked a few questions and became curious, "Envoy of Silla? Where the hell is Silla? If you come from overseas, you have to look at it very strangely."
When he saw that the leader turned out to be a beautiful young lady, Cheng Zhijie grinned, "Damn, she's here to get married, right?"
So he shrunk his head and gave up any thought of making acquaintance. If he had a happy conversation with the emperor's woman, he, Lao Cheng, might be in trouble forever.