The night wind in Beijing in February is still chilly, but this does not stop the bustle of the night market.
During the day, the restaurants and tea shops have been closed to welcome guests, but at night the restaurants are brightly lit. With the night lights, the whole street is filled with the aroma of wine balm powder, and the delicate smiles of women are faintly visible.
The streets are full of vendors, with hot fires and bright swaying lanterns, attracting many people even if it is approaching midnight.
The drunken people who had eaten in the restaurant sat under the mutton soup shed on the street, drinking hot mutton soup and letting the night breeze blow sober up, which was very pleasant.
"Brother Zhao, Brother Zhao." Someone passed by him, thought of something and stopped and asked, "How is the battle in the north going?"
After more than a month of the war in the North that started in the first month, it is no longer the top concern of people in the capital. Sometimes they even forget that the war is still going on.
The government official who was called Brother Zhao said, "Oh," and seemed to think carefully before remembering.
"It's nothing, we're just having a stalemate with the Jin people at the border." He said, with a hint of indifference as if he had seen through the world. "I think this is it for Da Jin and Da Zhou. No one can do anything to the other. Every year at the border
Just making a fuss."
There were diners nearby who came over with mutton soup and nodded.
"No," he said, "Although the Jin people once invaded the Central Plains back then, our Zhou Dynasty is different from Da Qi. The wild and small land of Da Qi is on par with the Jin Dynasty. It is not surprising that it was destroyed.
As big as our Zhou Dynasty is, even if we are caught off guard, we are not without the power to fight back."
"That's right, after raising soldiers for more than ten years, they don't eat for nothing." Many people also nodded with relaxed expressions, "When Duke Cheng Guo brought them to the capital, we saw with our own eyes that they were really good soldiers."
The mention of Duke Cheng Guo made the atmosphere freeze.
Duke Cheng Guo is said to have defected to the land of the Jin people, and may have led the Jin people to fight back.
So if you praise Cheng Guogong for his greatness, doesn't that mean you're praising the Jin people for their greatness?
This is really disturbing.
"A soldier is a soldier, and a general is a general." The little official named Zhao said slowly with a smile that seemed a bit like you don't understand anything, "The reason why Duke Cheng Guo is so famous is because of his brave soldiers. He ran away.
The soldiers didn't run away. Without them, he is nothing."
That's right, everyone nodded along.
"Besides, there is Uncle Qinghe." The owner of the mutton soup seller held a ladle and stirred the cauldron and said, "You are young and only know Duke Cheng. Don't forget that Uncle Qinghe was also very famous back then.
It’s just that we are stationed in the south, so no one is too concerned about it.”
This makes everyone feel more at ease.
"Don't worry about those things, we don't need to worry about it." Someone said with a smile, grabbing the mutton soup bowl drunkenly, "The adults are here, the emperor is not in a hurry, what should we be in, we are under the emperor's feet, this is the safest
place."
As for other places, they have no control over it.
Everyone laughed, and suddenly there was a noise next to them.
"Come and see, Sister Xiao is swimming in the river at night."
Sister Xiao is a newly promoted popular girl in the Jiaofang Division. She has attracted countless young men and young masters to spend a lot of money to gain beauty. It is difficult for ordinary people like them to meet her.
When I heard that she was taking a flower boat for a night cruise, the street suddenly started boiling like a pot of water, and people crowded to both sides of the river.
But I saw that there were many colorful boats in the river. During them, the women were surrounded by beads and jade piles, and the bamboo strings were singing and dancing like a fairy mountain. The river was crowded with people. From time to time, some people were squeezed and fell into the river, causing laughter. Some people even threw silk flowers and fragrant fruits onto the colorful boats.
.
In the end, a wealthy man from an unknown family simply threw a basket full of money into the river, causing countless people to jump into the river and fight for it, almost blocking the flower boat as it floated away. There were screams and screams on the flower boat, which was intoxicating.
What evening is this evening?
Compared with the night market in the outer city, the inner city where the palace is located has fallen into the silence of the night, like two worlds.
But at this time, the lights in Qinzheng Hall were still bright.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty."
An official trotted in.
In the palace, Huang Cheng and other five important cabinet ministers couldn't help but walked over a few steps, and the emperor on the throne also stood up.
"How's it going? Is there any news?" he asked eagerly.
The official was sweating profusely in this cold night. He didn't know whether he was running too fast or because he was impatient.
"Yes, yes." He gasped, "The five-way reinforcements have arrived in Puyin, with nearly 100,000 troops."
Huang Cheng and others breathed a sigh of relief.
"That's good."
“Very timely.”
"Enough to fight, enough to fight."
Everyone said this one after another, and the emperor sat back in his chair with a sigh of relief.
"Where's Uncle Qinghe?" he asked again as he thought of something.
The official hesitated.
"There is no new news from Uncle Qinghe for the time being," he said.
The previous old news was that there was no news, that is, no one knew whether to live or die.
There is no new news? Does that mean we still don’t know whether we will live or die?
Everyone present looked a little unhappy.
"But your Majesty, don't worry." The official said hurriedly, "When Qinghebo issued the order to mobilize troops, he also arranged how everyone would assist the attack. At this time, all the troops were already in place."
That's fine, that's fine. Even if we fail to rescue Uncle Qinghe by then, this battle is enough for the Jin people to cope with.
The Jin people and the Tatars were greedy for money and timid. They were frightened by beating them with one hand, and then they were dismissed by giving them some benefits with the other hand.
The emperor looked at Huang Cheng.
"Have you contacted the Jin man's envoy?" he asked.
Huang Cheng leaned over and answered yes.
"I've been contacted, and I'm waiting for a reply." He said without hesitation.
The emperor nodded.
"No matter what they say, we should come down first and then talk." He said.
Should we come down no matter what the conditions are? This would be too disrespectful to the country, and some officials on the side frowned.
"Your Majesty." He couldn't help but say.
The emperor interrupted him impatiently.
"It's not like everyone agrees. The Jin man will try to coax him first to save the people from suffering," he said.
Probably because he was frightened by the sudden war and became nervous and anxious, the emperor became more arbitrary than before and was very rude to officials who raised objections. He punished the officials who said they should punish them.
That's all, let's see how the siege of Qinghebo goes first. The official leaned over and responded.
The emperor looked at several important ministers in the palace.
"Also, everyone must keep the matter of Qinghe Bo's siege a secret." He said, "Only you know about it and don't spread it."
The officials looked at each other.
Do you want to hide such a big thing?
"This kind of news must not be spread now, so as not to affect morale and disturb people's hearts, causing riots and making it easier for the Jin people to take advantage of it," the emperor said.
What's more important is that Qinghe Bo was appointed by him. If such a waste was trapped in a battle, he would definitely be harmed and be called a waste.
"Yes." He sighed, "I feel guilty for causing the people to be so frightened during the first month of the new year."
There is some truth in saying this, but sometimes being frightened is also a kind of warning.
Several court officials had complicated expressions, but Huang Cheng had already bowed down respectfully.
"Your Majesty is wise." He said, and after finishing speaking, he subconsciously glanced at the young man standing beside him.
The person who shouldn't be present at such an important occasion was still there, but this time he didn't say His Majesty's message first, but just stood aside and listened and recorded it carefully and attentively.
However, the emperor was not in the mood to care whether he was saintly or not. It was not a glorious thing, and no one was stupid. Where could the saint be at this time?
He glared at Huang Cheng slightly angrily.
"There is no expedient solution," he said.
The other officials couldn't say anything else, so they leaned forward and answered.
Ning Yunzhao stopped writing and lowered his head slightly, hiding the sarcasm and sadness in his eyes.
……….
……….
The ground near the capital city is much warmer than in the north. There are small grasses on the ground tentatively emerging in the misty morning light, and they carefully spread out their green bodies.
The thick horse's hoof stepped over it, leaving a hole, dust rose up, and the green grass was trampled to pieces.
The man on the horse reined in his horse suddenly and stopped amidst the neighing sound. The armor on his body collided with each other and made a clattering sound.
These were two soldiers dressed as sentinels, looking ahead in surprise.
This is a country road. At this time, there is a man lying on the ground in the morning mist, carrying a basket on his back.
They were very familiar with this place. Not far away was Luojia Village. Although the faces of the people on the ground were crouched and could not be seen, they had already recognized the basket and the broken fork that fell aside.
"Isn't this Luo Laizi?" said a sentry, with a bit of joking, "Why is he lying on the ground? Could it be that what he picked up this time was not cow dung, but gold?"
He raised his voice when he said this, but the people on the ground remained motionless and seemed to be asleep.
Something was wrong, so the two sentries rushed forward.
"Luo Laizi, are you sick?" they asked, reining in their horses again and letting out a low cry as they approached.
The person lying on the ground is not curled up, but has no head at all.
What's going on?
The two sentries jumped off their horses, looking horrified.
"Head." A sentry shouted, pointing to the big tree nearby.
There was a head stuck on a dry branch, and it looked like it had been thrown up casually.
This method is too cruel.
Who would have such a big hatred against a crippled villager who collects cow dung?
"Sickle incision." A sentry half-knelt on the ground and looked at Luo Laizi's neck and whispered. He swallowed again and raised his head. "Cut it with one knife. It is not common to see such a sharp sickle with such strength..."
Yes, even their army doesn't use this kind of sickle, but they have seen it.
The faces of the two sentries turned pale.
Golden Cavalry.
……..
……..
The village ahead was sleeping in the mist, extremely quiet.
The sound of Dede's horse's hooves was particularly loud.
"Slow down." A sentry stopped his horse, "The situation is not right."
He jumped off the horse, took off various weapons from the horse and hung them on his body.
Yes, villages are different from towns. Villagers get up early to work and cannot sleep until midnight. What's more, there are not even roosters crowing or dogs barking.
The two sentries swallowed, dismounted their horses, gripped the spears in their hands, and walked slowly towards the village.
There was deathly silence in the village.
The door of the nearest house was wide open, and two sentries walked in.
"Luo Laoqi." They shouted, subconsciously lowering their voices.
Even if you lower your voice, you can still hear it in the house.
But no one responded. The two sentries winked and went to the door. One stood by the door and the other kicked it towards the door.
The door opened as soon as he touched it. The sentry almost fell down, but luckily he steadied himself immediately. Standing in the room, he saw the person lying on the ground at a glance.
Blood stains.
Not only on the floor but also on the bed, a woman was holding two children stacked on top of each other, and the mattress was stained with blood.
Something happened!
Footsteps sounded in the village, doors were opened one after another, and all they saw were dead people.
Some are in the yard, some are in the house, and they are everywhere.
The entire village was massacred overnight.
Two sentries stood in the village, their legs shaking slightly and their faces bloodless.
It's not like they've seen dead people before, but this is the first time they've seen such a horrific scene.
What's going on?
"A bandit or horse bandit?" a sentry murmured.
The other one turned around.
"No matter what, go and report it to your lord," he said.
This kind of massacre of an entire village can no longer just be reported to the government, the local garrison must also be involved.
As soon as he turned around, a person appeared in his sight.
The sentry couldn't help but scream.
Anyone who has just seen half a village of dead people will be frightened by the sudden appearance of living people.
This is a person walking out of an alley.
Are there any survivors?
The sentry breathed another sigh of relief.
"Fellow, what happened..." he shouted hurriedly.
As soon as he finished speaking, the sentry next to him grabbed his arm, and the sound of his companion's teeth chattering could be heard in his ears.
"Gold...gold..."
Gold what?
The sentry also saw clearly the person standing in front of him.
This man was short and stocky, wearing copper-tacked cotton armor, holding a refined iron sickle in his hand, and a strange smile appeared on his iron-covered face.
Golden soldiers!
Is he dreaming?
Why did Jin Bing appear here?
The sentry's eyes widened, and he subconsciously tried to pull out the bow and arrow behind him, but he was still a step too late. A cold light flashed before his eyes, and the golden soldier had already rushed towards him, slashing straight at him with his long sickle.