One hundred and twentieth chapters white-headed guard
Li Siye was sewing quilts at home, and the messenger from the Duhufu knocked on the door outside the yard. Tian Zhen was waving a stick in the yard and sparring with Fujimu's wooden sword.
"Someone is coming, open the door quickly."
Tian Zhen slashed at him with a stick, and Fujimu hurriedly lowered his head to avoid it. The guy swung it on the head again and shouted: "Fart! Whoever loses gets to kick!"
The fighting inside the door was so intense that the ordering soldiers could not leave outside. They could only shout through the wall: "Li Suzheng, is there something going on at home? Do you want me to go to the Governor's Mansion to move troops?"
Li Siye walked around the place where the two were fighting, crossed the courtyard, and opened the door to the ordering soldier.
The messenger crossed his hands and said, "Li Shuzheng, the Protector-General invites you to come to the mansion to discuss matters."
Li Siye knew in his heart that the days when he could make money easily were over, and the Protector would immediately arrange a job for him.
"Just wait a moment, I'll be there right away."
He avoided and ignored the two men who continued to fight, took out the horse from the stable, turned over and mounted it, and ran towards the Governor's Mansion.
…
Li Siye walked out of the palace of the Protectorate, his head still buzzing. He was actually assigned to Congling to guard and capture him? Wasn't this just to manage a border guard post? Sure enough, the influence of the prince's close ministers was still at work.
It's not a big deal to guard the envoy. You still have hundreds of people under your control, and a bigger advantage is that Emperor Shan Gao has no one to restrain you. Even if you don't act like a monster, almost no one will be able to remember you.
He walked out of the government office, held the horse and was about to go back. He happened to meet Cao Zhenqing, the legal officer of the Duhu Mansion. This man was very close to Li Siye. Every time Li Siye came to the Duhu Mansion to order some mao, he liked to go to Lao Cao's duty room to have a drink.
catechu.
Cao Zhenqing saw him from afar, waved to him and rushed over. The two of them walked side by side on the streets of Qiuci City.
Lao Cao was very sensitive to the affairs in the Governor's Mansion and asked him proactively: "Why did the Governor ask you to come to the Mansion? But when there is a real shortage, he asked you to take up the post?"
"Thanks to Lao Cao, his guess was indeed right. I was assigned to guard Congling."
Upon hearing this, Cao Zhenqing raised his eyebrows involuntarily and said with a forced smile: "You have been idle in Qiuci Town for a few months. It would be nice to have a place to go. Congratulations."
Cao Zhenqing's words were already cryptic, and it sounded as if he had been sentenced to death.
Li Siye quickly asked: "What? Lao Cao, isn't this place good?"
"It's really not that good." Cao Zhenqing felt that it was necessary to spread knowledge to him: "Do you know where the former Congling Shou was caught?"
Li Siye's heart skipped a beat and he quickly said, "Did he return to Jiuquan? Is this Congling so dangerous?"
"No, no, although Congling is bitterly cold, it is not dangerous. The purpose of setting up Congling to guard the city is just to maintain the safety of the Congling trade route, protect the two or three post stations in Congling, and also monitor the big and small Bolu Kingdom.
Hu Er. This place is very important, but few people are willing to take the initiative to go there, just because it is too remote and bitterly cold..."
"Most of the guards who guard the city have died in office. Therefore, if you go to this place, you may have no hope of promotion in your life."
Cao Zhenqing's words were very tactful, probably because he was afraid of hurting Li Siye's fragile mind. Border fortresses such as Shouchu City are said to be important, but in fact they are not important. Because it is not a battleground for military strategists, nor is it geographical.
The key point is the key point, so the Tang army's placement of guards and captures is just a way to compensate for the blind spots in the military town.
Just like the Anxi Tang Army also set up Bohe Prefecture in the depth of Congling and built Sole City, which blocked the Tanju Ridge, the main road in and out of the big and small Bolu Kingdom. Compared with Sole City, the defense of Congling was nothing more.
An insignificant point, its insignificance is enough to turn it into a forgotten corner.
Li Siye opened his mouth and asked Cao Zhenqing: "You mean, as long as I become the guard of Congling, I will have to stay here until I die of old age and illness?"
Now that Li Siye has understood the situation, Cao Zhenqing might as well put it more bluntly: "Not to mention Congling Shouchuo, even the rest of Anxi's Shouchuo City are all white-haired Shouchuo envoys."
There was no need for Cao Zhenqing to explain it to him. A scene like this could appear in Li Siye's mind. A white-haired old man wearing iron armor stood on top of a stone city, looking desolately at the land he had spent his whole life guarding.
I used to think Laiyao was good, but now I feel it's too unreasonable. You let people work until they retire, but you insist on letting them die in the line of duty and die in office.
Then again, most of the feudal bureaucrats either died in office or were killed in office. Those who could retire and return home were basically rare animals. As for feudal emperors, dying in office was their normal destination and they could not die.
Those who are in office are miserable.
"Are you saying that if I become a guard, I will have no hope of promotion in this life?"
Cao Zhenqing smiled in a comforting tone and said: "There is no certainty about this matter. Maybe you are a lucky person and can make great achievements in the post of guarding and envoy, and you will definitely be promoted."
Although Cao Zhenqing said so, judging from his expression, it was almost extremely difficult for the Shouchuushi to get promoted.
The two said goodbye to each other at the street intersection. Li Siye invited Cao Zhenqing to have hot pot at home. Cao Zhenqing didn't know what hot pot was, so he just declined politely: "It's getting late today. I'll wait for you before leaving."
Receive the wind."
When Li Siye led the horse back home, Tian Zhen and Teng Mu had already thrown away their swords and guns. They were sitting in the yard, circling in front of the hot pot, cooking meat.
"Stop eating, leave some for me." He led Hei Pang into the stable and said casually, "You two get ready and I will take office with me in a few days."
Tian Zhen jumped up from the ground excitedly and asked: "Have you really taken office? What position has the governor arranged for you?"
"Cong Ling guards the envoy."
Tian Zhen immediately asked: "Does this official have real power? Can he lead troops? How many people can he lead?"
"Yes, he is in charge of a small city and has about two to three hundred people under his command."
Fujimu frowned slightly: "Congling, this place is a bit remote and bitterly cold. I heard that there are only two or three months of spring and summer in a year, and the rest of the year is full of cold winter."
Tian Zhen didn't care about suffering: "When you come to Anxi as a soldier, you have to suffer, right? It doesn't matter if you suffer a little, as long as you can make achievements, I don't care."
Fujimaki then changed his tune: "I can bear it, as long as I can go into battle and learn something."
Li Siye didn't have the nerve to tell them that Congling was a little out of the way and war would never happen under normal circumstances. He should keep it a secret for now and wait until they get to Congling and let them experience it slowly.