From the capital city to Sichuan and Shu, it is a thousand miles away.
If we march quickly on horseback, traveling day and night, it will take more than half a month.
The King of Shu was on his way to the feudal vassal, and he had both women and children. He mainly traveled by horse-drawn carriage, so the speed was not fast. He only traveled thirty or forty miles a day.
After traveling like this for several days, Lu Chi, Zhao Qi and others became a little restless and did not want to ride in the carriage anymore. They followed Sheng Hong on their horses.
"At the current speed, it will take about two months to reach Shu." Lu Chi suggested in a low voice: "Your Highness, it would be better to send someone to explore the way first, and go to Shu County to arrange residence and general affairs. Then you can settle down.
More convenient."
Lu Chi's suggestions are quite pertinent and feasible.
Sheng Hong thought for a while and then said: "Stay until evening and discuss this matter together."
In the evening, everyone was called to Sheng Hong to discuss the matter of exploring the road and settling in.
Ye Jingzhi, as the vassal's chief official, could not do without him in terms of food, clothing, housing, transportation, and all the tedious general affairs along the way. In this case, he had to choose someone else to go to Shu County first.
Xie Yuanzhou volunteered: "Your Highness, I would like to be a pioneer!"
He has made up his mind to follow Sheng Hong, so he must seize the opportunity and perform his best so that he can have a place in the future.
Xie Yuanzhou also thought clearly. He only had the title of scholar and failed to even pass the examination. He was not comparable to Lu Chi and others, and he was far behind Xiao Yufan, who was born as a Jinshi.
When he arrived in Shu in the future, he would not be able to get any official positions such as county governor and county magistrate. It would be more suitable for him to work as an errand under the command of His Majesty the King of Shu.
Mei Zhen also said: "Your Highness, I am also willing to go."
Mei Zhen and Xie Yuanzhou were in a similar situation.
Xie Yuanzhou is Xie Mingxi's cousin, and Mei Zhen is the maternal cousin of Concubine Mei. In private, it is appropriate for Sheng Hong to call him cousin.
Mei Zhen is a little older, already in his twenties this year, and passed the scholar examination three years ago. Among a group of young and successful talents, he is really mediocre and cannot be mentioned. But among the descendants of the Mei family, he is considered "successful in reading"
. This also shows how mediocre the descendants of the Mei family are.
For the sake of Concubine Mei's reputation, Sheng Hong always wanted to support the Mei family. This time when he came to Sichuan to join the feudal vassal, he chose Mei Zhen and his other distant cousin Mei Qi to go with him.
Mei Zhen is more flexible than Mei Qi. As soon as he sees an opportunity, he immediately takes the initiative.
Sheng Hong thought for a while and nodded in agreement: "That's good. Starting from tomorrow, you two will lead fifty guards to go ahead. After arriving at Shu County, you will first take the name of the king and go to see Shu County.
Sheriff, prepare a place to live first, and we will discuss the rest when we arrive in Shu County."
Xie Yuanzhou and Mei Zhen solemnly accepted the order. They murmured in their hearts. They went together. If there were differences of opinion, who would listen to whom?
Sheng Hong seemed to have a glimpse of the two people's thoughts, and opened his mouth to add: "Cousin Mei is a little older and has more knowledge. If Yuan Zhou doesn't understand something, he might as well ask Cousin Mei for advice.
"
The two agreed again.
After traveling together for a few days, the two of them became familiar with each other. After accepting the order, they got together to discuss it until midnight, and then they went back to their houses to rest.
…
Young Master Sheng Hong had no choice but to tell Xie Mingxi about this: "...Yuanzhou is a lively person, but cousin Mei is better than him because he is older and more calm. This time, I will make cousin Mei the right person."
"When there is an opportunity in the future, I will ask Yuan Zhou to pick up other errands and practice hard."
One is a cousin from the wife's family, and the other is a cousin from the mother's family. It's not appropriate to prefer which one. However, there must be a leader in everything. It is appropriate to rank them in order of age.
Xie Mingxi smiled and said: "You are so solemn about this matter, I thought it was some big deal. You just make the decision on this matter, there is no need to discuss or explain it to me."
Xie Mingxi really doesn't mind.
She is quite indifferent to her natal family, but has a good impression of Xie Yuanzhou, her cousin. It is human nature for Xie Yuanzhou to want to follow Sheng Hong and seek a career. However, how big a bowl he can hold depends on his ability.
People who are capable will always stand out one day. If you don't have that ability, don't rush to the front and compete with others. It's better to be honest and content.
Seeing that Xie Mingxi was so open-minded and sensible, Sheng Hong was relieved. He smiled and put his arms around Xie Mingxi's waist, and rubbed her forehead affectionately: "I am lucky to have a good wife at home."
Wen's sour words made Xie Mingxi chuckle.
After a woman gets married, she cares deeply about her natal family and supports her natal family in every possible way. Therefore, it is not uncommon for her husband's family to be jealous and unhappy, which may lead to conflicts.
Fortunately, Xie Mingxi had no such intention, which saved Sheng Hong one layer of trouble.
"This time we left Beijing and suddenly left right and wrong, our ears were really quiet." Sheng Hong laughed softly: "In just a few days, when I think about the emperor and empress dowager in the palace, as well as King Lu Ning and others, it's like
It’s separated by one layer.”
Isn't it?
The ears are quiet, the eyes are quiet, and people are also quiet.
Xie Mingxi reminded with a smile: "Don't be too careless. The road is long and it will take us two months to reach Shu. Within these two months, we would rather go slower and put safety first."
"
The assassination was not unusual, it was also a common tactic used by King Ning. Before leaving, Sheng Hong even beat King Ning severely. With King Ning's narrow-minded and evil nature, he might secretly send an assassin.
Come.
Sheng Hong nodded: "Don't worry! I have already made arrangements!"
…
The journey is so long that there is no need to describe it in detail.
A month later, the journey was halfway through.
The weather also became extremely hot. When the sun was at its strongest, neither humans nor horses could stand it and had to choose a place to rest. In order not to delay the journey, we set off at five o'clock in the morning and rested for two hours at noon.
No matter when or where, the guards never let down their guard.
Therefore, when the assassin really showed up, everyone was not too panicked, but calmed down like "he's really here!"
At this time, everyone had been walking for a day, and the posthouse was in sight. When they were about to dismount their horses and take a rest, it was also the time when everyone relaxed their vigilance and were least alert. The assassin who was ambushing in the dense forest on the official road shot over with an arrow from a distance.
That arrow went straight towards Sheng Hong.
Sheng Hong reacted extremely quickly, turned over and dismounted, and dodged the hidden arrow.
Zhao Qilu was unable to react as quickly as Sheng Hong. They were both startled before they jumped off the horse. Each held the sword at their waist.
A group of personal guards immediately came forward and surrounded Sheng Hong and others. More personal guards gathered around the carriage of the female family members.
Sheng Hong had already issued strict orders, and if something unexpected happened, he must first protect his female relatives.
Arrows kept flying in the dense forest. Unfortunately, they were far away and the arrows were weak. They only injured a few horses and a few guards.
Zhou Lang led another team of guards and rushed into the forest like tigers and wolves to capture the assassins. The dozen or so assassins in the forest soon could not hide their figures and had no time to fire hidden arrows, so they were forced to flee in the forest.
