It was late in the twelfth lunar month, and the huge team guarding the Zhonggong Palace had already passed through Liang County and Song City, and this caused some changes in the mentality of some people in the team.
However, these changes in mentality depend on the person.
People from Dongdu have one idea, and people from Liangjun have another idea.
The people in the Eastern Capital are also divided into those who came from Ziwei Palace and those who came from Jing'antai. The people in Liang County are also divided into officials who were parachuted from above and middle- and lower-level officials and military officials who were born locally. There is even a distinction between county soldiers and garrison troops.
Everyone has different thoughts.
If you think that this is all, you are too naive.
You must know that even in the same small group, the top, middle and bottom levels of the team have completely different thoughts, and individual people have different thoughts.
In this regard, you can get some clues by looking at the gang members of the Deposed Dragon Gang.
However, let alone the complicated thoughts of the middle and upper class elite officials, let’s just talk about the lowest class, whether they are from Dongdu or local Liangjun, whether they are palace servants or civilian soldiers, they actually left Songcheng. Later, he gradually unified his thoughts.
Without him, the road becomes increasingly difficult.
It was only slightly warmer for a day or two, and it was not too warm. It was still freezing cold in the morning and evening. However, from noon to before evening, with the accumulation of sunshine, the originally hard lower layer of snow began to soften. Then as the When such a huge team passes by, often just the first few dozen cars pass by, and the road is covered with some strange mixture of snow, mud, and ice slag.
In a team of twenty to thirty thousand people, not everyone has a carriage or horse to ride on, nor does everyone have moccasin boots. Even those who come from the palace mostly wear cloth shoes, and the civilian husbands who are temporarily recruited are even more so at the beginning. I came here carrying straw sandals...cloth shoes. Straw sandals get soaked easily and even get cut by the ice. Vehicles also start to slip, sink, and be damaged more frequently.
And at night, not everyone is qualified to enter the city or enter the market next to the road. To rest in the manor, most people can only try to drag out some cars, circle them in a circle to block the wind, and then light charcoal fires and firewood. They held livestock or leaned against each other to keep warm. Some people didn't even have a car to protect themselves from the wind... But anyway, they finally dried their shoes while filling a bowl of hot soup, only to find that the shoes had already formed with mud and water slabs. Got a piece.
So early the next morning, the shoes were quickly soaked with mud and water, and even directly destroyed. Some vehicles parked on the road were even frozen together with the mud and water, making it difficult to push or pull them.
At this time, he fell ill and tired, and it was difficult to withstand the severe cold, let alone walk.
The so-called non-combat attrition is mostly derived from this.
There are no weapons, no invasions, not even rain, snow, cold or heat. Walking forcefully will reduce the number of people, let alone this season and this road condition?
Therefore, when we arrived at Gushu City, the people below could no longer bear it, so they all requested to stop for a while and rest in Gushu for three to five days. It would be best to leave after the Chinese New Year... I just wanted to take a foot bath. The palace people helped wash the shoes and repair them to relieve the pain before setting off on the road.
Due to the hard work of traveling, almost all groups at the grassroots level have similar needs, and the pressure is transmitted to the middle and upper levels in almost all directions.
That night, even the Queen heard a similar sound and was obviously persuaded, so she invited Gao Du Gong over again.
"no."
The exhausted Gao Jiang stood at the threshold. After listening patiently, he almost blurted out the answer. However, after he said it, he realized that his tone was strong and immediately softened it slightly. "Your Highness, please do not be moved by the words of these people."
, so much so that I missed my trip..."
"But." The Queen hesitated for a moment and spoke sincerely. "The weather is getting warmer and the roads are completely different from when we first came out, right? I asked the female officer to get out of the car and walk for a while. Although only her calves were still wet, they were all wet.
It’s muddy…how can we walk on this kind of road?”
Gao Jiang, who was originally going to deal with it perfunctorily, paused for a moment, then took a breath and asked seriously: "I would like to take the liberty of asking Your Highness, why can't I take this road?"
The queen was slightly startled, but she still lowered her voice and said: "Gong Du Gong, if you rush on like this, I'm afraid you will force people away, or even force them to death."
Gao Jiang nodded, his face as usual: "That's what I meant when I reported back to Your Highness."
The queen was stunned for a moment and did not understand.
"With all due respect, since I entered the palace, I have seen no projects, inspections, or ceremonies that employ more than 10,000 people, and there has never been one without a death." Gao Jiang stood there talking to the queen, but tilted his head slightly,
This is not to underestimate the queen, but to be a little tired and unable to hold on. "The lives of the people below have never been lives. I didn't know it in the past, but it is indeed the case today... It means that I was favored by the saint that day and was slightly promoted.
Once, I almost froze to death because I was shirtless in winter... Your Highness, saints have always only cared about whether things are successful or not, not about human lives."
"A saint is a saint." The queen glanced at the muddy spots on the other person's body and the hem of the python robe that had almost changed color. Her tone couldn't help but become weaker, but her stance remained unchanged. "We are us... can we die less or less?"
.”
"Then I will tell you a few more truths." Gao Jiang stood there and continued to speak with force. "If we delay the journey due to benevolent thoughts, I am afraid more people will die... Moreover, it is our Ziwei Palace.
Those who come out want to take a break and take a break, but they are afraid that they will also attract resentment, and their efforts will be in vain and cause disaster."
The queen seemed to have some realization immediately.
Gao Jiang also explained further:
"The people in Jing'antai are all cultivated and have horses. They came to escort us, just like sending off the plague god... It's not that they have no good intentions. I just heard from the people below that Fu who lived in Xiyuan before
Long Wei Bai Shou, the current black-shou man with the surname Qin, couldn't stand it, so he asked an old man Zhu Shou to discuss it together. However, the chief eunuch scolded him directly, saying that he was a dog and a mouse... Of course
, I also think that he has good intentions, but he is just a dog trying to get rid of the mouse.
"There are also local officials, let alone the local officials. The earlier we left Liangjun, they would have got rid of the relationship earlier. There are also those civilians who are stationed in the army. To put it bluntly, we left Liangjun.
, so that they can celebrate the New Year, but if we delay it, they will become resentful, angry, and may even mutiny and rebel.
"Besides, I have never dared to tell His Highness that Xianggong Zhang and I are worried that the bandits of the Dragon Dragon Gang in Jiyin, who are entrenched in Dongjun, will collude with the Huaiyou League in the Jianghuai area. These two families are related.
It is related to the fact that the leader of the bandit surnamed Zhang was the one who came out to establish the Huaiyou Alliance on behalf of Jing'antai... In other words, a military disaster is still a possibility. At this time, if you can take a step quickly, you can welcome Xuzhou as soon as possible to support it.
If you have more troops, you will be less likely to have casualties all over the ground.
"As for why we can't wait for the people from Xuzhou Camp to come to Liang County to meet them, I think His Highness also understands that once they come, Prefect Cao will dare to swallow them up... so they don't dare to come.
"Finally, to put it more ridiculously, if we really delay it, the road will turn into mud, which may not make it easier to walk. Not to mention that the ice on the Huanshui River has become thinner, making it impossible to sail boats and use mules and horses to drag luggage along the side. On the contrary,
more tired.
"Your Highness, I have said this. Please trust me and let me continue to pull the team forward... Speaking of this, I don't know if your Highness has thought about it. Once His Highness openly disagrees with me, what follows?
People will no longer listen to their subordinates, and it will only become more chaotic."
After saying that, Gao Jiang bowed his head heavily and leaned down.
After a while, the queen couldn't bear it anymore and spoke first: "Master Gao, please get up... I have been in the palace for a long time, and I take everything for granted, but if I don't say it, there seems to be resentment from everyone up and down, which will make it difficult for you.
Already."
"How dare I say something difficult?"
Gao Jiang sighed and tried to straighten up. "It is my great fault as a minister that your Highness should suffer this injustice."
The queen nodded, but still couldn't help but ask: "If the road is difficult, can you walk in the morning and evening, rest at noon, and avoid the mud?"
"Reporting to your highness, that will only make people freeze." Gao Jiang smiled bitterly. "It is still winter, the first thing is to protect yourself from the cold. Even if your shoes are broken or you fall down from exhaustion, most people will get sick from the cold in the end."
The queen could only give up.
Gao Jiang also saluted again and turned out.
As soon as the people left, a female official dressed in men's clothing and wearing a sword turned around and said angrily: "Your Highness, what Gao Dugong said seems to be reasonable, but if it were a saint here, just one word would make him suffer no matter how hard it is.
Even if you can change it, how can you push and hold back like this, half-softly and half-hardly forcing His Highness?"
The queen sitting there touched the crow's feet at the corners of her eyes, smiled bitterly, and simply said: "Do you also know that he only listens to the saints?"
The female officer was speechless immediately.
The queen could only remain silent.
To put it bluntly, the queen has been a queen for more than ten years, and before that she was a princess and a princess for more than ten years. How come she doesn’t understand political rules?
These people in the officialdom have always been responsible only for their own source of power.
When the queen meets such a husband, he doesn't have any power. Everyone in the palace knows that in the position of Duke Gao, only a saint can decide his life, death, honor and disgrace, so how can he really care about the queen's thoughts?
Therefore, what Gao Du Gong wants is to pull the team over as soon as possible and give the saint an explanation. Since the lives of the people below are nothing to the saint, naturally they are nothing to Gao Du Gong.
The two sides have different standards for measuring issues.
By the same token, now that the emperor's uncle is in charge of the Eastern Capital, Huang Huangran says otherwise. Naturally, the people in Jing'antai don't need to talk about bullshit Beiya Governor and Nanya Xianggong, and they are also too lazy to go to Bird Queen. They just want to go quickly.
He returned home and settled the matter, and then he got promoted and made a fortune with Uncle Cao.
But at this time, there is still one person who can say something, and that is Cao Wang, the prefect of Liang County.
Cao Wang's political stance is self-evident, and he must support Uncle Cao. However, as a traditional and powerful official in the border areas, with a surname from the Yuanzhi country, and as a half-master, he undoubtedly has enough energy to support the team.
The itinerary was changed... In addition, although it sounds very subtle, the fact is that it is difficult to imagine that such a traditional feudal official would make any unnecessary refutation of the queen's suggestions outside of military and political affairs.
After all, among the real foreign ministers, their power comes largely from political tradition and ethics, and the identity of the queen is part of this political tradition and ethics.
In other words, the queen has a way to make the team listen to her words. She only needs to gather everyone together, the red belts and black belts of Jing'antai, the governor of Beiya, the husband-in-law of Nanya, and the local civil and military officials.
If you ask her seriously, someone will naturally fall in line with her statement and achieve her goal easily.
Even if Gao Jiang really did what he said, he would lose his authority because of this. To put it bluntly, wouldn’t there be Zhang Shizhao? Without Gao Jiang, the butcher would not be able to eat pigs with hair on them?
But it is a pity that the queen seems to have no idea of having direct contact with foreign ministers. I don't know if it is because of her husband's domestication for more than ten years.
And on the other hand, when you are almost exhausted or about to freeze, how can you give all your hope to a queen who has never obtained power?
How did you know that I was in the deep palace?
In this way, the petition that had been brewing for two or three days was easily put back at the highest level. Early the next morning, that is, the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, the team continued to set off. There was a commotion in the middle and someone tried to delay it. Gao Dugong showed no mercy and struck a blow.
After killing seven or eight people, he threw hundreds of unmistakable sick cases together with these seven or eight corpses in Gushu City, and then continued to escort the Zhonggong Brigade along the frozen Huan River.
At noon, the old problem came again. The servants, palace servants, sergeants, and civilians were complaining. But this time, Gao Dugong, who had been prepared for a long time, showed his strength to build the Tongtian Tower and asked a man named Wang from Beiya
The father-in-law gathered seven or eight hundred young chamberlains, each of them was given a bunch of sticks, and then they were released in unison. They did not care about anything else, but only the chamberlains and palace people in the core team. If there was a pause, those who cried, regardless of gender, would use the sticks.
Heading down.
Later, even those who were whispering to each other were beaten up.
The palace servants and chamberlains were trembling with fear and did not dare to say anything more, so they could only hurry on their way.
Seeing this scene, even the officials and soldiers of the surrounding Liang County looked at each other and became more cautious. At the same time, they couldn't help but whisper to each other, complaining about the cruelty of these father-in-laws and saying that they were not human beings.
However, such a road is so hard, and it has been hard work for several days. Even if there are sticks to supervise the battle, how can we endure it? We walked for another afternoon, only seventeen or eight miles out of Gushu County, and we saw that gradually
As the sun set, a large vehicle on the West Bank Road of Huanshui got stuck in the snow and mud. However, the people in charge of the vehicle completely collapsed beside the vehicle, unwilling to move any more.
The team behind also stopped to take a rest.
And sure enough, in a moment, a group of seven or eight young chamberlains called all the way. Finally, they found the culprit, and they rushed directly and beat them. The beatings left these companions with bloody heads, and they actually got under the car together, but the car was unlucky.
The head was tilted, and few people could get under the car. Many people's buttocks and bodies were outside, and they were beaten with sticks. There were even fierce waiters who tied the sticks and just tried their best to smash the sticks under the car.
For a moment, the waiter out of the car could only cry for his father and mother, begging endlessly.
At this time, a team of 12 or 3 people on the Jingantai patrol passed by. The leader was a man with a black ribbon, called Qin Bao. He had always been a decent man, but he really couldn't stand it anymore, so he rode forward and yelled:
"Are you beating people like this to encourage them to go on their way or just to vent their anger? Is it of any use?!"
The chamberlains carrying sticks looked back and saw that they were all in black, and they didn't dare to say anything. They just stood there and sneered, and secretly sent people to call their superiors.
On the contrary, for those who were being beaten, several of the chamberlains under the car couldn't bear it any longer and shouted loudly.
First, someone shouted to Qin Baolai:
"The men in Jing'antai over there, you don't know, they are not supervising the battle team. They clearly want to use their power once they gain power. If they don't kill us, how can they show that they are working hard with the top?"
As soon as Qin Bao finished speaking, Qin Bao still didn't know how to respond, and someone else directly said harsh words:
"You guys are too much of a bully. You are all ordinary chamberlains, but you are assigned the job of supervising the war team. We are assigned to drive the carriages, and you are going to bully us to death. If you wait until the men arrive in Jiangdu, you will not be punished. Even if he is killed, he deserves to be in the palace for seven or eight years."
As soon as he finished saying this, another burst of sticks came down, and then he started crying again.
Seeing this scene, Qin Bao was finally furious, but he took off the iron gun behind him, roared, and threw it out.
The iron spear was like thunder and lightning, and it landed directly behind the group of people only three to five steps away. The back half was almost completely submerged in the snow and mud, and there was still a strange crackling sound, which shocked the servants holding the stick and immediately gave up. Sticks tied together, each one is more honest than the other.
But soon, their reinforcements arrived.
A father-in-law from Beiya, who was obviously of some rank, came over and looked around. After figuring out the whole story, he was not angry. He just came to ask Qin Bao seriously: "Deputy Inspector Qin, you are not from Fulongwei now, you are from Jing." Do the deputy inspectors of Antai still want to interfere in palace affairs? Besides, do your own regular inspectors think it is okay to delay the trip like this? Should we go to the superiors for comment? "
"Eunuch Wang, don't use anyone to pressure me. I have seen with my own eyes that these people want to beat people to death just to vent their anger." Qin Bao was not polite. "Don't say anything about the judgment from above. It is the saint and the emperor." Even to my uncle’s face, I would also say that you are so wrong!”
The father-in-law was silent for a moment, then stood there with his hands tied, and asked seriously: "Then what should I do if they are wrong? Deputy Inspector Qin, you tell me, and I will do it, how about that?"
Qin Bao reined in the spotted leopard beast and took a long breath: "Old Wang, do you think I really care about the palace in Taichung?"
The prince remained silent.
"Okay, just follow my orders." After saying that, Qin Bao immediately turned over and dismounted. "Pull out the injured person, put him aside to rest, clean the wound and then bandage it. You, me, and these beating people Yes, let’s push the car out together, and then escort the car together, no one should be lazy, push it until it gets dark and we camp.”
The most fearful thing is to be serious in everything.
When Eunuch Wang heard this, his face twitched, but he actually said frankly: "As expected, Deputy Inspector Qin got mixed up with that Mr. Zhang. I admit defeat... Just help us carry the car out and go on your own." , I heard that there is something inappropriate in the front garden where we are going to camp, just do your homework, I will push this car over with these bastards."
When Qin Bao heard this, he also took a long breath and stopped talking. Instead, he stepped forward to help lift the cart, and then arranged the servants with bloody heads and blood on the snow beside the road. Then he came back and started running. Lei Zhenqi, under the watchful eyes of Wang Gonggong and others, slowly lifted up the big iron gun with a little flash of electric light, and then led the crowd to leave.
After walking no more than four or five hundred steps, they encountered a group of knights, led by none other than Li Qingchen.
The two sides handed over horses, and Li Qingchen really told a serious message: "Today's journey is not awkward. There is a corner of the rabbit garden left by the previous dynasty ahead, so I cleaned the palace as a place to stay. As a result, our people actually caught a thief...
...I thought he was a spy at first, but it turned out that he claimed to be a Dangshan bandit and had confidential military information to report! When asked about the specific situation, he refused to tell. He insisted on meeting the queen or the governor of Beiya or the Xianggong of Nanya. Luo Zhushou directly used torture.
But he accidentally killed him directly. After hearing the news, Beiya went to ask for it again, and there was a fuss... But no matter what, be careful of the Dangshan bandits intercepting him in front. Luo Zhushou meant that the escort team would settle around the Rabbit Garden tonight.
After that, our two teams went south overnight to explore the situation ahead."
Qin Bao was silent for a while, but his heart had already stirred up a storm.
"I know that Luo Fang is sending us out for no reason, but after all, he is escorting the middle palace, and it is not groundless." Li Qingchen also had a misunderstanding when he saw this. "Let's just bear with it."
"That's not what I mean." Qin Bao struggled for a moment, and then finally responded with difficulty. "The main reason is that I don't believe that the Dangshan bandits have nothing to do with Zhang Sange... The Dangshan bandits come from the south, so I'm afraid they are not bait, or at least they are from the north and south.
The pincer attack pattern...should we also guard the northeast?"
Li Qingchen was about to speak but stopped.
After a moment, he lowered his voice and responded: "Qin Er, since you are in such a difficult situation, you just accepted this job honestly and took the opportunity to hide out in the south. Why do you have to say it?"
"A real man should take his responsibility..." Qin Bao couldn't finish half of what he said. "But to be honest, if it was really Brother Zhang who set up the trap, even if the news leaked out, I'm afraid it would be too late by now. It's already dark.
It’s dark, and we don’t know where to break the situation.”
"How can it be as mysterious as you say?" Li Qingchen looked at him solemnly. "Zhang Ni also has one nose and two eyes, and he also leads a group of rabble... In all likelihood, he will still join forces with the Dangshan bandits to stop Qiaojun.
...In the end, the news leaked out too quickly, and he deserved to have to return without success."
"I hope so!" Qin Bao also cheered up. "However, I'd better go to the northeast first. Don't go to Luo Fang, just go to Xue Liang, Grand Administrator Cao, Governor Gao, and Mr. Zhang."
If they all say it, we can be considered as fulfilling our duties."
"That's okay." Li Qingchen nodded, no longer hesitated, and turned around and left.
Qin Bao also gritted his teeth and led his troops across the ice surface of Huanshui, which had gradually solidified again, and headed for the snowy field in the northeast.
That is to say, when Qin Bao was galloping into the snow, the car he had helped up before, maybe there was something wrong with it when it slid last time, but soon after getting on the road, it became crooked again. The poor prince and his wife were driving.
The previous group of servants who had tied the sticks tried for a long time, but they couldn't push it. Instead, their faces were covered with cold mud, and they had to slump by the roadside.
This scene soon attracted another group of young chamberlains who were wearing sticks.
"Get up quickly, push the cart, and don't delay camping out front tonight!" the servants scolded from a distance. "Tonight's camping place is at the Rabbit Garden five miles ahead. No matter how tired you are, you have to walk there.
!Look how many trains you have delayed? Everyone is still waiting for hot soup in the evening!"
"I really don't have the strength."
Perhaps they didn't realize the reversal of status, or they felt that they had the support of Wang Gonggong, a big leader with a stick, or they were simply tired. Several of the chamberlains lay there motionless, just shouting.
"Even if you beat us into a puddle of mud, we will only end up here."
Some of the servants who were wearing sticks laughed when they heard this, some were angry, but they didn't say anything. When they came up to them, they suddenly changed their faces and swung their sticks, hitting them all over the face. The original servants and princes were stunned. It can temporarily hold its head and run away, causing chaos.
"We are the same as you!"
"What's the same? We are supervising the battle team and following the prince, and you are just pushing the cart!"
"The prince is right here!"
"You still dare to arrange the title of Eunuch Wang? Are you worthy of the surname Wang?!"
"Don't fight...the one next to you is the prince!"
"Then let's fight together! Neither of you deserves the surname Wang!"
After beating back and forth, the poor prince's face was covered with mud and water, and all his clothes were covered with ice. He was helpless, so he could only hold back without saying anything and crawled under the car into the mud and water, preparing to get in and take a breather. Let’s talk again.
However, at this moment, another kind-hearted person passing by could not stand it anymore: "Are you beating people like this to encourage them to go on the road or just to vent their anger? Is it of any use?!"
Several of the chamberlains who were playing sticks immediately stopped.
The prince, whose forehead was already bleeding, took the opportunity to look up and saw a familiar black man wearing dark brocade clothes, wearing a standard scimitar, riding a yellow gelding, standing next to the team, heading this way. He stopped drinking, but behind him there were dozens of similarly dressed knights, who were also poking their heads curiously.
"Deputy Chang Inspector Zhang, I'm sorry for you, I'm sorry for you." Although Wang Gonggong, who was always known for his alertness and calmness, was knocked unconscious, he actually called out the visitor's last name accurately and thanked him.
Zhang Xing was surprised for a moment, raised his head and squinted his eyes, and then he realized: "Is it actually Lao Wang? With your qualifications, you are probably second only to a few governors and Lao Yu in Beiya, so how can you push a cart?" Is Beiya so particular about sharing joys and sorrows now?"
Eunuch Wang gave a bitter smile: "Deputy Changjian Zhang is still here to ridicule? If that guy Qin Er hadn't imitated you and taken me..."
Halfway through the words, the prince, whose face and body were about to freeze over, felt ice-cold for a moment. He felt as if his whole body had really fallen into the ice hole, and then he stood there silently and motionless.
After a while, a chamberlain carrying a blood-stained cudgel came over cautiously, glanced at the prince's face, then dropped the cudgel, knelt down with a cry, and broke the silence with sincere words:
"Eunuch Wang, we men really didn't know it was you! Otherwise, you can call me back!"
The prince turned to look at the man, and for a moment he wanted to kneel down and cry with him, but he felt that his face had already become stiff in the north wind, and he couldn't squeeze out a single tear.
