A strong wind blew, and Zhao Qinmin opened the car curtain, and snowflakes poured directly into the car, causing pain on his face.
A group of people came over from the other end of the embankment. They were dressed in ragged clothes. They looked like a group of beggars on the embankment in the wind and snow. Naturally, there would not be a large group of beggars showing up to defend the embankment at this time. Zhao Qinmin just regarded them as hard workers repairing the embankment and didn't care.
He closed the car curtain, thinking that he would have to rush to Yandu County to see Lin Fu at night, and thinking about what kind of words he could use to persuade Lin Fu to give up his anxious thoughts of taking the post of Hailing magistrate.
"Mr. Zhao is in the car?"
The carriage advanced along the inner road of the embankment for a while, and was stopped by someone. Zhao Qinmin heard someone standing on the embankment asking loudly. The voice seemed familiar to him, so he lifted the curtain and looked through the carriage.
The leader of that group of beggars was none other than Sun Jingtang, the commander of the Huaidong Army's labor camp.
Judging from his appearance at this time, there is no way to connect him with a big shot holding tens of thousands of troops.
"Ah, it turns out to be Jingtang, who I thought it was," Zhao Qinmin asked in surprise, "Why do you look like this?"
Sun Jingtang looked at himself. His cotton robe was as black as rolling through the mud. He had a straw rope tied around his waist and his hair was loose. He looked like a beggar. He smiled and said to Zhao Qinmin: "I fell down and got out of here."
When I got off the embankment, I was covered in mud and water. I rushed over to see you, Mr. Zhao, but I didn’t have time to go back and change into clean clothes, which made Mr. Zhao laugh!”
Sun Jingtang was from the He Gang. He had been practicing martial arts since he was a child. He was strong and strong, and he was accompanied by guards. Although the road on the top of the embankment was not smooth, it was more than three steps wide. Sun Jingtang actually fell from the embankment. It can be seen that
How careless he is...
Zhao Qinmin stopped asking further questions and watched Sun Jingtang half-walking and half-sliding down the embankment. He also hurriedly got off the carriage and asked, "Is the Zhizhi envoy in Yandu County?"
"What a coincidence. Chongzhou sent someone to report that your Excellency has already left for Shanyang. I sent someone to chase him, but I don't know if I can catch him," Sun Jingtang said. "I was afraid that Mr. Zhao would take the wrong path, so I came here first."
.How about we rest for a night in Yanqing first? We should know the exact news tomorrow morning."
In such a heavy snowstorm, except for the large rivers such as the Yangtze River and the Huai River that did not freeze, most of the small and medium-sized rivers in Huaidong were frozen, making it impossible for boats to pass, so messengers had to rely on fast horses. Fortunately, they were built along the sea wall.
A highway can go directly north from Hecheng, otherwise you will have to take more wrong roads.
"Then let's rest in Yanqing for the night." Zhao Qinmin also followed suit. At this time, it was too hard to catch up to Shanyang County. He sat in the carriage and felt that his legs and feet were cold and stiff. It was very hard work. He asked Sun Jingtang again, "
Why didn't we stop building the embankment during the heavy snow? It was a cold day, the soil was frozen solid, and it was hard for our eyes to look at it. Wouldn't there be any complaints from the labor unions on the embankment?"
"It's okay, it's not a serious problem!" Sun Jingtang said lightly.
The actual situation is not like this. Chongzhou is experiencing a rare severe cold this year. Such windy and snowy weather is hard on his body, which has been suffering for many years, so he accidentally slipped and fell down the embankment.
The Northern Line is in danger, and who knows when the building will suddenly collapse. The sooner the sea wall is built, the tens of thousands of troops can escape. In the current situation, it is hard to say anything. No matter how hard it is, we must try our best.
This way you can prepare everything in advance.
For ordinary soldiers, as long as officials and generals can share the joys and sorrows, as long as the material supply can be guaranteed, they can have enough food to eat, and can wear enough warm clothes, there is nothing that they cannot bear if they work harder.
The soil is frozen solid, and there is a lot of hay in winter. It can be poured with hot water, and it is easy to get soil. Besides, no matter how cold it is in Chongzhou, it is much better than in the north. As long as you wear enough warm clothes and have enough food, there will be no large-scale frostbite.
.
It’s not just the hard work here, how many people in Huaidong can take a break at this time? They are all competing with God for time!
Zhao Qinmin braved the wind and snow and followed Sun Jingtang up the embankment.
The wind and snow are heavier on the levee, but the field of view is farther. You can see the troops on and off the levee from a distance, and countless workers are working hard under the wind and snow. This kind of weather makes everyone feel proud when they see it. Zhao Qinmin felt proud.
Feeling: Probably only Huaidong can have such a scene.
At this time, a number of fast horses came from the north. They saw that they were the mounted guards around Lin Fu. Sun Jingtang and Zhao Qinmin went forward to greet them. The leader was Zhang Gou, a member of the army commanded by the Military Intelligence Department.
"Your Excellency has learned that the people from Jiangning are coming to the north to meet up. He will come soon. Your Excellency wants me to go first. I hope Lord Sun will send someone to intercept the people from Jiangning so as not to miss him!" Zhang Gou dismounted and used his hands and feet.
Climb up the embankment and report to Sun Jingtang.
"This is Mr. Zhao who came from Jiangning..." Sun Jingtang introduced Zhao Qinmin and Zhang Gou to each other.
Zhao Qinmin saw Zhang Gou wearing thick armor and climbing the ice-covered embankment. His hands and feet were very agile, so he knew that he was a general. After hearing the introduction, he found out that he was a surrendered general who had surrendered during the Huaisi War. He thought to himself: Why is Lin Fu not careful about employing people?
Some, Huaiyang is fighting hard, are you not afraid that these surrendered generals will secretly hook up with the red-coated girl?
Seeing Zhao Qinmin's somewhat cold attitude toward Zhang Gou, Sun Jingtang just smiled.
The situation that Huaidong is in is mostly due to Lin Fu's eclectic use of talents. Don't talk about other things, according to the officialdom, even if the Xihe Club does not commit any crimes, Sun Jingtang, a gangster background, will have great power.
With your talents, you can at least have a chance to get ahead!
The wind and snow were blowing in the carriage, and Lin Fu could only take some time to rest on the road.
The carriages were used too frequently and the road conditions were not good. There were three carriages when they came out. After patrolling north for more than half a month, only one carriage was left intact.
Lin Fu and Song Jia were crowded in a carriage, and more than a hundred mounted guards braved the wind and snow to escort the carriage south, rushing to meet Zhao Qinmin.
Lin Fu lay wantonly, looking out the car window with the curtains raised. The wind and snow were crazy, just like the current situation, it was hard to see through!
Song Jia sat restrainedly in the corner. If she was fast asleep, she might be more unrestrained. At this time, she was afraid of getting close to Lin Fu's body - looking at Lin Fu's face, which looked like a gloomy cloud.
Why did Zhao Qinmin come? It's not difficult to guess - Gu Wuchen did not support Lin Fu's attempt to seize the position of Hailing prefect at this time, so he sent Zhao Qinmin to persuade him. Otherwise, they could just send people to exchange letters between them.
However, Lin Fu was very eager to get the official position of Hailing magistrate at this time. The sooner he got it, the better the situation in Huaidong would be!
But if Lin Fu wants to obtain the official position of Hailing magistrate at this time, he must get Gu Wuchen's support; if he takes it by force, things will probably get worse.
Obviously, Gu Wuchen still had some luck with the situation on the northern front, so he did not want Lin Fu to test the court's bottom line again and again at this time.
Song Jia secretly thought: Maybe the best way is not to give Zhao Qinmin a chance to speak, but it will inevitably create a gap between Huaidong and Gu Wuchen.
Song Jia was thinking wildly, and soon the cavalry guards reported back. Sun Jingtang accompanied Zhao Qinmin and waited at the work shed in front. In just one stick of incense, the cavalry team whipped their horses and arrived at the work shed in the south of Yanqing with the carriage.
, Zhao Qinmin gathered.
"Mr. Zhao, thank you for your hard work along the way." Lin Fu straightened his clothes and got out of the carriage. He greeted Zhao Qinmin and asked before Zhao Qinmin could speak, "What's the news in Jiangning about the great victory in Liaoxi?"
Song Jia didn't want outsiders to see her riding in a carriage with Lin Fu, especially since Zhao Qinmin was the wife's natal family, so she stayed in the car and didn't get out; maybe Zhao Qinmin didn't care at all that there was a woman disguised as a man next to Lin Fu.
The woman accompanies him.
Zhao Qinmin saw that Lin Fu had a rough face and a short mustache on his lips. Maybe he didn't have time to take care of it, but he had a strong and vigorous spirit. When he saw Lin Fu rushing to speak, he knew that Lin Fu must have guessed his purpose and rushed to talk.
He felt dissatisfied with the words to block his tongue, so he could only answer Lin Fu's question first and said: "Jiang Ning Feng's discussion is a bit frivolous and not prudent, so just listen..."
"Well," Lin Fu responded, lowering his voice and said sadly, "It would be fine if it was just the opinions of the scholars. It's a pity that the princes in the court are so stubborn that even when they are about to die, they can't listen to a word from others.
Now, it seems that the situation on the northern front is irreversible!"
"Perhaps there is no need to be so pessimistic..." Zhao Qinmin said.
"Mr. Zhao, do you think I am pessimistic?" Lin Fu asked rhetorically, and without waiting for Zhao Qinmin's reply, he added, "The best result is that Li's military department can hold on in Songshan City until next spring, and the Huaidong Navy will go north to receive reinforcements;
Even with the bad results, Yanjing may not be able to survive this time!"
"Ah..." Although Zhao Qinmin felt that Lin Fu was somewhat alarmist, he did not expect Lin Fu to say such serious words when he came over. His words to persuade him to give up his pursuit of the post of Hailing magistrate were blocked and he could not speak.
The atmosphere was a bit tense. At this time, a group of cavalry came over with a carriage from the north. The horse team was moving very fast.
Regardless of whether it is in Huaidong territory or not, if a strange cavalry approaches so quickly, Lin Fu's mounted guards will react, and Zhou Pu and his men will quickly gallop over to intercept them.
Song Jia also curiously got out of the car and walked to Lin Fu. She stood in front of the work shed with Lin Fu, Sun Jingtang, Zhao Qinmin and others, watching the direction of the horse team. After a while, she saw Zhou Pu and Cao Ziang coming on horseback first.
The horse team came slowly behind the carriage.
Cao Zi'ang's face looked haggard, and one could tell at a glance that he had traveled a long way over a snowy and windy journey without taking any rest along the way.
Zhao Qinmin was shocked. In Huaidong, Cao Ziang, Fu Qinghe, Qin Chengzu, and Lin Mengde stood side by side. They were Lin Fu's right-hand men. At this time, they should be in Shanyang to take charge of the military affairs on the northern front for Lin Fu. He rushed in such a panic.
When I came to see Lin Fu, could it be that something big happened in the north?
Cao Zi'ang and Zhao Qinmin cupped their hands and said, "Mr. Zhao is here as a guest in Huaidong..." Regardless of Zhao Qinmin's presence, he leaned next to Lin Fu and whispered.
Zhao Qinmin was even more surprised when he saw Lin Fu's expression changed drastically. It was definitely not a small matter to make Lin Fu's expression change.
Lin Fu didn't bother to explain anything to Zhao Qinmin, and only told Sun Jingtang: "Jingtang will accompany Mr. Zhao to Yanqing first, and I will come over later."
Zhao Qinmin really wanted to know what happened, but Lin Fu was so clear that he wanted to send him away, so he couldn't stay in shame. He got into the carriage, accompanied by Sun Jingtang, and headed north to Yanqing Fort to meet the cavalry.
When the carriage passed by, Zhao Qinmin opened the curtain, glanced at the carriage surrounded by horse teams, and thought to himself: It's so blocked, who is sitting inside?
Lin Fu never expected that Gao Zongting would come from western Liaoning to see him. The news that Gao Zongting came to Huaidong at this time must not be leaked. Otherwise, Li Zhuo could not tell the difference even if he had a hundred mouths. Could it be that Cao Ziang would personally escort him here.
Zhou Pu led the cavalry guards to disperse their vigilance and drive away all the irrelevant people from the work sheds - Gao Zongting, who had suffered all the way south and was already very weak, was dressed in ragged clothes and was no better than a refugee or a beggar, just for others to see.
, and most likely did not recognize him as Gao Zongting.
When Gao Zongting saw Lin Fu's first words, he said: "Li Shuai asked me to send you a letter." He took out a neatly folded white silk letter from his arms.
Song Jia stood aside and was full of suspicion. No matter how clever she was, she could not guess Gao Zongting's intention of coming to Huaidong at this time. But judging from Gao Zongting's expression, it seems that there has not been a big change in western Liaoning. Even if there were any big changes, Gao Zongting sneaked in alone.
It was impossible to deliver the message faster than Yiqi, but Lin Fu opened the white silk cloth and threw it away as if he had been bitten by a snake.
Song Jia saw the white silk cloth that fell on the ground. There were only two dazzling characters written in blood on it: "No food!"