After walking for more than ten miles, the sky was gloomy and windy, and snow actually fell in the sky. Chang Yuzhi looked up at the gray sky, stretched out his palms, and saw a few snowflakes falling. He suddenly felt strange, turned around and saw,
Zhou Yuji was staring at him. The two looked at each other for a moment without saying a word.
"The second snowfall in Shanxi since the beginning of winter" Zhou Yuji said calmly after a while, looking up at the sky.
"I hope the snow will fall heavily." Chang Yu took a long breath.
"The heavy snow can only temporarily prevent the rebel army from moving north, but it can also buy us more time to prepare." Zhou Yuji also sighed secretly.
Chang Yu smiled slightly: "There have been years of drought and no rain for a long time. The heavy snow can at least alleviate the drought. As for the rebel army who has decided to go north and wants to use the sky to stop it, it is undoubtedly a dream, but in the end it will require humans!"
Zhou Yuji nodded silently.
It's almost noon, the snow is already falling, and the ground is already white. At this time, we are only ten miles away from Taiyuan City, and the majestic city is vaguely visible, looming in the sky full of snow, which makes it even more meaningful.
Several fast horses came galloping towards them, but when they got closer, they saw five or six guards in imperial robes. They had been ordered by Wu Mengming to be the prime minister. At this time, they finally waited for Chang Yu. One group led the way and the other returned to the city to report.
The closer he got, the clearer the walls of Taiyuan City were, and the faster Chang Yu's heart beat. In the past few months, he had gone from working as a handyman in the palace to becoming famous and favored by the royal family to handle secret matters. Now he left the capital and came here.
Finally on the front line!
Taiyuan is also called Dragon City. It is said that it was because there were many emperors. It has two cities, one is Taiyuan County and the other is Taiyuan Prefecture. The two places are thirty or forty miles apart.
Taiyuan City was moved several times during the Tang and Song Dynasties, and was expanded to its current layout in the Ming Dynasty. Rumor has it that the Jin Dynasty King Zhu Fan, the third oldest member of the Zhu Yuanzhang family, asked Yongping Marquis Xie Cheng to expand the city. The city has a circumference of 12 kilometers and a height of 12 meters.
It has eight gates, two on each side, four turrets, eight gate towers, and ninety-two watch towers. It is the largest city north of the Yangtze River after Beijing, and the first of the nine important towns.
"Taiyuan Fucheng has two gates in the east, west and south, a total of eight gates. In the east is Yichuang Gate, Yinghui Gate is also known as Dadongmen and Xiaodongmen, in the south is Yingze and Chengen, also known as Dayanmen and Xinnanmen.
To the west is Fucheng (Hanxi Gate), Zhenwu Gate (Shuixi Gate), to the north is Zhenyuan (Big North Gate), Gongji Gate (Little North Gate), and in front is the Great North Gate." Zhou Yuji was familiar with Taiyuan, and at this time he was willing to extend his hand as a tour guide.
Pointing out, in the sky filled with snowflakes, I saw a towering tower in the distance, more than twenty meters high.
Chang Yu looked at the three-story tower on the city with a somewhat excited expression. In later generations, he took photos of the Yingze Gate of the South Gate of Taiyuan Prefecture in old photos from the Republic of China. It was tall and majestic. He also saw the Yingze Gate that was bombarded by artillery fire in 1949.
Photos of the devastated Taiyuan Drum Tower are not as shocking as seeing them in person.
It is so tall and majestic. If a hundred thousand elite soldiers defend each other to the death, how can the bandit army break through?
As far as the eye can see, even though the sky is full of snow, a large number of soldiers can still be seen patrolling the city. After all, it is the front line. The rebel army is hundreds of miles away in Pingyang Mansion. Despite the roar of the wind, the basic city defense is still in place.
Perhaps because of the approaching war, only the Yingze Gate of the two gates in the north of Taiyuan City was open, and there were few pedestrians, but it was not known whether the other gates were open.
The team arrived in front of Yingze Gate. When Zheng Xingguo went to contact the guards, he saw a group of people galloping from the city gate. They looked like they were guards in royal robes. Wu Mengming came.
"I have seen the factory governor in my humble position." Wu Mengming came to Chang Yu's horse, turned over and dismounted, and then kneeled down. Although the two were theoretically equal, there is an old saying that when Jin Yiwei and Dongchang meet, one of them will always kneel down!
As for whoever kneels down, it depends on who is popular. Mao Xiang, Ji Gang, Wantong and those from Dongchang have to kneel to them, but when it comes to Wang Zhen, Liu Jin, and Wei Zhongxian, Jin Yiwei not only kneels down and hugs his thigh, but also calls him daddy!
Obviously Chang Yu is popular now.
Although Wu Mengming had a good personal relationship with Chang Yu, at that time Chang Yu was just an unemployed confidant eunuch, but now it is very different. In addition, it is official and the etiquette needs to be sufficient. Although he also knows that Chang Yu will not let him kneel, but
It has to be done
Sure enough, just when he was about to kneel down, Chang Yu burst out laughing: "Old Wu, please save it. In our relationship, who do you think is disgusting?"
Wu Mengming stood up with a smile, feeling very happy in his heart. This boy really hadn't changed, he was still as good at being a good person. Then after Zhou Yuji and others saw the advantage, he got on his horse and entered the city side by side with Chang Yu.
"How did things go?" Chang Yu turned his head and asked in a low voice.
"As soon as I arrived in Taiyuan at noon yesterday, I immediately sent someone to investigate. I just sent news not long ago. There is information!"
"That's good." Chang Yu nodded slightly.
"Sir, when are you going to take action? The rebel army has already sent troops. If it's too late, I might be too late!" Wu Mengming looked a little anxious.
"There are some things that need to be dealt with right now..." He said and thought for a moment: "I'll try my best to do it tonight."
"That's great." Wu Mengming was overjoyed. He waved his fist and wanted to say something, but Chang Yu stopped him with a look: "I'll talk about it later." Wu Mengming shut up immediately.
Suddenly, Chang Yu reined in his horse and turned to look at Zhou Yuji: "Commander Zhou, is this place far from Yongning Prefecture (Lüliang)?"
"About three hundred miles," Zhou Yuji replied casually after a moment of thought, but he didn't know why Chang Yu asked this.
Three hundred miles away, Chang Yu muttered, then waved, and Qin Xing behind him immediately rode forward: "Mr. Factory Supervisor"
"Come here," Chang Yu said, approaching Qin Xing and whispering in his ear.
"Have you remembered the address clearly?" Chang Yu asked after a while.
"Remember, Mr. Factory Supervisor, Laibao Village is thirty miles away from Shizhou in Fangshan County," Qin Xing responded in a low voice.
"Remember, don't be rude, don't threaten, and treat them with great courtesy." Chang Yu said and then gestured to Fang San to take a hundred taels of silver from the car and handed it to Qin Xing, "It would be best if he is willing to bring his family with him. If not,
One hundred taels of silver will be left to settle the aftermath and take care of the family, and you are not allowed to deduct it from it."
"You don't dare," Qin Xing said quickly.
"Go and come back quickly." He said and handed another ten taels of silver to Qin Xing: "Don't treat your brothers badly on the way, everyone will be rewarded when you come back."
Thank you, Mr. Factory Supervisor, Qin Xing said, took the silver, clasped his fists and saluted, and then led a few people to gallop westward.
"Sir, what are you doing..." Looking at Qin Xing's back, Wu Mengming asked curiously.
"Invite God into the world." Chang Yu smiled slightly and rode into the city without saying a word.
The army entered the city, causing the people in the city to stop and watch. Those who were smart looked at the battle and frowned, knowing that the battle was not far away.
The snow was still moderate, but the wind was strong. A layer of white hair had fallen on Chang Yu's body, and his face was red from the cold, but he knew that this was not the time to get into the car to keep warm.
"Where did you rest last night?" Chang Yu asked Wu Mengming beside him.
"Governor's Yamen" Wu Mengming curled his lips: "Is it possible to go to the inn or the barracks? There is no general military mansion here."
Yes, Chang Yu smiled faintly: "It seems that our two brothers are at odds with the governor's Yamen."
"Are you going now?" Wu Mengming asked.
Chang Yu didn't answer in a hurry. He looked up at the sky and then at the tall city wall. He was silent for a moment and turned to look at Zhou Yuji: "General Zhou, please lead the team to the barracks to settle down first, and then lead the generals in the city with guerrilla or above military rank to welcome Zemen."
Gather on the tower"
Zhou Yuji didn't ask any questions after hearing this, he just nodded, clasped his fists at Chang Yu and left.
"Zheng Xingguo, you can take people to the governor's yamen and gather the governor, prefect and other yamen stewards at the south gate in an hour and inform our family to discuss city defense matters with them."
Zheng Xingguo took the order and left.
Immediately, only Wu Mengming and Chang Yu were left on the street, as well as nearly a hundred followers.
"Eunuch Chang, don't you want to blow the wind and watch the snow here? There's still an hour left, why don't we find a restaurant to eat and drink something warm?" Wu Mengming suggested.
Chang Yu smiled slightly: "I really want to blow the wind and see the snow, but I have to go up to see it." He pointed to the city wall: "Only when you climb high and look far can you feel relaxed and happy."
"Ahem, you are really in a good mood." Wu Mengming had a bitter look on his face, despite the cold weather, but he couldn't say no.
"Jiang Quan, go find a restaurant and order some hot food to send to the Nancheng Tower." Chang Yu said and asked Fang San to take some broken silver and hand it to Jiang Quan, and then led everyone towards the city gate.
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