Chapter Thirty-fifth of the Military Orders Abroad
After the college entrance examination, all the major restaurants in Bianliang were brightly lit, and even the always elegant Changle Building had red candles hung up.
Ning'er accompanied Yang Lin with a sweet smile, pouring wine and serving dishes for him as diligently as a little maid, without even the slightest hint of the cool courtesan who overcame Bianliang.
Liu Qingshui and others were stunned when they saw it, and then they were relieved and drank wine happily.
Suddenly, there were bursts of exclamations outside, and everyone crowded onto the street to look.
Yang Lin and others also stood up and ran to the railing. They saw a fire breaking out in the direction of the imperial city. The light of the fire was very clear in this dark night.
Liu Qingshui suddenly woke up, all the alcohol in his body was gone, and he said in a deep voice: "Damn it, I'm out of water. Look in the direction, that's the Taiyi Palace in Gongguan. Our Imperial City Department is responsible for the safety of the palace. This wine
You can’t eat it, brothers, let’s go!”
Yang Lin turned around and saw Ning'er's panicked face. He smiled and comforted her, "What are you afraid of? Just stay in the building and don't move around. I will take you out of here in a few days when I win the Jinshi award and be released."
After he was about to leave, Ning'er tugged on his sleeve and asked, "Where are you going, Da Lang?"
"I'll go put out the fire with them."
After Yang Lin finished speaking, he left and found that Ning'er didn't let go and was holding on to his sleeve.
Ning'er has rarely seen Yang Lin since she arrived in Bianliang. How could she let him go when she saw him today? But Yang Lin didn't have any consciousness at all, and still wanted to put out the fire. The beauty was so angry that she didn't dare to act coquettishly. Yang Linming
After I realized this, I suddenly felt a little emotional.
"That's all, I'll accompany you tonight and tell Yang San to go back home and pick me up tomorrow."
Only then did Ning'er laugh through her tears, her eyes shining with joy like stars, and she said softly: "I'm going to get Dalang's foot wash. I'll have a good rest after taking the exam for three days."
Outside Taiyi Palace, fires shot into the sky, thick smoke billowed, and heat waves hit our faces.
In the imperial city, Zhao Ji climbed up and looked up. The eunuch Yang Jian behind him said: "Guan family, it has been found out that the Taiyi Palace is on fire. There is already smoke and dust here. Guan family should go into the palace to rest."
Zhao Ji was wearing a red dragon robe, his long hair was tied up with a jade hairpin, and he frowned and said: "The fire fell from the sky and did not burn anywhere else. It only burned Taiyi Palace. Is this a warning from God to me?"
Yang Jian rolled his eyes, lowered his eyebrows and said nothing, squinting his eyes not knowing what he was thinking.
In the early morning of the next day, the fire had been put out, and Liu Qingshui and others were covered in black smoke and fell asleep on the grass outside the palace.
When Zhao Ji led all the officials to come, he happened to see this scene, and Liu Qingshui hurriedly got up to greet him.
Seeing his brother-in-law working so hard, and seeing that Concubine Liu was his beloved concubine, Zhao Ji was overjoyed and said: "The palace is on fire, and the Imperial City Secretary has no shirking responsibility. He removed the official who was involved in the Imperial City's business and demoted him to the Imperial City Secretary.
Liu Qingshui has made great achievements in putting out the fire and has been promoted to the Imperial City Secretary. You are allowed to go directly to hear the report!"
Originally, there were ten persons in charge of the Imperial City Division, who were called "conducting the affairs of the Imperial City Division". However, they were all demoted and his brother-in-law was promoted to the head of the Imperial City Division.
The officials behind him were very secretive, and no one came forward to question it. Zhao Ji succeeded to the throne from King Duan, and was not the first prince in the line. It was Empress Dowager Xiang who forced him to become emperor in order to deal with Prime Minister Zhang Dun and Concubine Zhu, but she was personally in charge.
After that, the conflict between Zhao Ji and Empress Dowager Xiang came out.
Zhao Ji intended to revive his father and brother's last wishes and continue to implement reforms, but Empress Dowager Xiang was a staunch conservative.
Now Zhao Ji took advantage of the situation and placed his brother-in-law in the Imperial City Department, which was the most important to the Ouchi Palace. It can be said that he had good intentions. If anyone jumped out to oppose it at this time, he would definitely leave a disloyal impression in the emperor's mind.
Liu Qingshui didn't know what was going on. When he heard that such a good thing was about to happen, he was so happy that he knelt down and said: "I have been through fire and water for the official family. I will do whatever it takes, and I will definitely live up to your majesty's expectations."
Zhao Ji saw that his face was covered with dust and said with a smile: "Get up quickly, go back and have a good rest for a few days, and then see me in the palace."
Liu Qingshui suppressed the ecstasy in his heart and walked out of the palace in three steps. Zhao Ji stood outside the ashes of Taiyi Palace, facing the officials with his hands behind his back, and asked: "There is a sudden fire in Taiyi Palace. What do you think?
?”
After hearing this, Shi Gongbi, the censor Zhongcheng, came out and said: "Your Majesty, I heard yesterday's report on the northwest battle. Tong Guan and Wang Hou are leading their troops to fight a decisive battle with Hehuang and Tubo. I think this is a warning from heaven, and I am afraid that the war will be unpredictable."
When Cai Jing heard this, he was stunned by his remarks. Could this guy be a fool?
Just as he was about to refute, he saw Zhao Ji's worried look on his face and said, "What you said makes sense and coincides with mine. No wonder I have been restless these past few days. It turns out it was a warning from God and my ancestors.
Cai Jing took a step forward, then stepped back quietly, pretending to be dead with a flick of his eyelids.
Tong Guan, Tong Guan, it’s not that Cai doesn’t want to help you, but it’s actually an official.
In this way, a fast horse set off from Bianliang and headed straight for the Hehuang front line.
The clear sky in the northwest is really high and the clouds are clear. The sky is so open and the land is so open. Even in spring, there is a chilling atmosphere. It is the place where military strategists conquer.
Dozens of knights were surrounding Tong Guan and others, preparing to participate in the grand military meeting before the decisive battle with all the generals. At this moment, Tong Guan was only feeling high-spirited.
Tong Guan is not an outstanding commander, but he is a eunuch with some military knowledge. As long as he does not make big mistakes, he will not meet the famous generals among the barbarians. Relying on the wealth of the Song Dynasty and the bravery of the border officers, he is such a dabbler.
The general is good enough to win the battle.
First of all, there are people in the court, enough money and food, and the combat effectiveness of the Song Dynasty's army is very strong.
Not surprisingly, this decisive battle was the beginning of Tong Guan's meteoric rise.
He had already begun to imagine that after returning to the court in victory, he would look proud and proud, and the officials, civil and military ministers would definitely look at him with admiration.
Seeing that he was smiling but silent, Wang Hou couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. He coughed lightly and said, "Tong Shuai, give the order!"
Tong Guan woke up from his sweet dream. He raised his robe and was about to give the order to go out. At this time, a stagecoach broke into the quiet military camp. The knight on the horse shouted loudly: "The Holy One has a decree, the Holy One has a decree!"
All the soldiers looked sideways, and the postman came to the general stand and fell down from his horse due to exhaustion.
Tong Guan stepped forward and took out the imperial edict from the bamboo tube behind his back. Wang Hou stood next to him, quietly looking sideways, his expression changed greatly.
No one else knew what was going on. Victory was just around the corner. At this time, the imperial court issued an imperial edict. Was it to reward the three armies?
Tong Guan's face was filled with uncertainty. Suddenly, he remembered Yang Lin's warning before setting off for the expedition.
"Since you go on an expedition, you must aim to win the battle. No matter what happens in the court, Commander Tong should put the war situation first. After all, you are on the front line, and none of the officials in the court understand the situation on the battlefield as well as you. Commander Tong just needs to remember one thing
, Winning a battle is the greatest achievement, and the officials will reward him and use him seriously. Even if he goes against the official's wishes slightly and makes him unhappy now, when a war needs to be fought in the future, the officials will still choose from among the generals who won the battle.
.”
"The depth of the water behind this matter is as great as the obstacles to Commander Tong's expedition. Those turbaned civil servants in the DPRK are not the gentlemen they claim to be. I don't think I need to tell Commander Tong what kind of people they are.
.”
I didn't pay attention to these words at the time, but now I think about this young man's eyesight being so vicious. The fire in Taiyi Palace has something to do with the war on the front line. These civil servants deserve to be killed!
Yang Wenyuan was right. Winning the battle was the biggest bargaining chip. Tong Guanxin felt confident, put the edict back into his sleeves, and said with a smile: "Your Majesty has issued a decree to encourage us to fight the enemy bravely. We will be rewarded for victory in the future."
The three armies cheered together. Only Wang Hou, who saw the imperial edict, slowly showed a hint of respect in his eyes.
"Generals, listen to your orders!"
With a shout, the three armies tensed up and raised their heads and chests.
Tong Guan was in high spirits, feeling that today was the happiest day after living for fifty years. He raised his voice and said in a rich voice:
"Gao Yongnian!"
"The end will be here."
"You lead 20,000 Han and Tibetan soldiers and horses, march from Jingyuguan, from Lanzhou and Minzhou, and fight directly to Huangzhou City."
"Wang Hou!"
"The end will be here."
"In front of the whole army! Except for me, no one else is controlling you. Just lead your troops and capture Bajin City. The remaining troops will guard the strategic cities along the way and go straight to Huangzhou to join Gao Yongnian in Huangzhou.
Outside the city!"
Tong Guan had completely abandoned the negative emotions caused by the emperor's edict, and cheered up: "I will lead the Chinese army, attack in three directions, and level the river, Huang, and Tubo with you."