The messenger entered the city from Kaiyang Gate and headed north along Tongtuo Street.
Tongtuo Street is very busy, with a lot of people coming and going, blocking the street.
It stands to reason that someone should clean up the streets for something like Lubu Feijie. But the officials in Luoyang and Henan counties didn't know what they were doing. They were inactive and powerless, and they didn't move at all.
Of course, there is a reason for this, but it would be rude to go into it further. After all, there are not many people in the official offices of the two counties.
Why is there no one? You don’t even have enough to eat. You’re hungry for nine meals in three days. What’s the point if you don’t run away?
In the shopping malls on both sides of the street, young and strong men were crying and saying goodbye to their families.
The men of Heyang who stayed behind in Luoyang impatiently urged them to set off.
"Why are you lingering? It's not like you can't come back."
"Baichaowu is not as difficult to fight as Xin'an City. It's just that Wang Mi is reluctant to abandon Tie Ye and fight to the death. Don't worry, it will be over soon."
"Kill Baichaowu, and your family can do business with peace of mind."
Hearing the Heyang soldiers' urging, some violent city residents couldn't help it and said, "You said the same thing when we attacked Xinan City before. But after we defeated Xinan City, we still have Baichaowu. After we defeated Baichao, Wu, and Xia Shi Fort. Fight all the way, how many people will die? When will it be over?"
"Who was it that defeated hundreds of miles and lost all these dangerous places?"
"Already Latins are joining the army, and they say it's easy to fight! It's hard, my life is at stake."
…
Being retorted like this by the people in the city, the faces of the young people in Heyang also looked a little unnatural.
After all, they are not thick-skinned enough to tell lies with their eyes open.
The battle of Baichaowu has lasted for three months. At the beginning of the war, the two sides fought several field battles. The Imperial Army won less and lost more, and was pushed all the way to Xin'an City - it was the end of February and the beginning of March.
The General's Mansion took a look and realized that although the combat effectiveness of the Forbidden Army had improved a bit, Wang Mi's troops were also improving, so they recruited more than 3,000 Luonan Mansion soldiers who had finished their farm work and sent them to Xin'an together with their troops.
More than 3,000 heavily armored swordsmen defeated Wang Mi at the foot of Xin'an City, beheading more than 2,000 people and capturing 2,000 people. The battle line was stabilized again and pushed to the foot of Baichaowu.
Baichaowu built a fortress halfway up the mountain. The terrain is steep and difficult to attack.
There are actually two options at this time.
The first is to dig trenches and build walls at the foot of the mountain and leave them alone. If the enemy cannot hold on, they will abandon their baggage and retreat into the mountain.
But overall it was still very dangerous, because it was too close to the post road, and the trenches and walls would probably not be able to stop it, so I chose the second method: storming by force.
In the past three months, the Forbidden Army has basically done this.
Up to now, Wubao in Henan and Xingyang counties are no longer willing to send people out because too many people have died under Baichaowu City. The thousands of people sent out at the beginning of the year have basically been exhausted.
After well-established families such as Songshan Mishiwu Fort, Shiliangwu Caojiawu Fort, and Putianze Lishiwu Fort refused to send troops, the court was unable to raise additional troops for a while. In the end, it had to find a way inside Luoyang City. .
Business was hard to do, food prices were extremely high, and the people of Luoyang were really having a hard time. So they recruited more people from the city, more than 10,000 slaves, and after some rough arranging, they were sent to Baichaowu City to continue mincing meat.
The young people who were recruited from the Tongtuo Street Market were the last batch of people to set off.
"Liang Gong always wants to kill, but he is lenient to others. However, those who commit suicide cannot be tolerated, and those who are punished do not dare to pardon..." Lubu's swift knight waved his whip and struggled through the crowd, shouting loudly as he walked.
Shouting is not done once, but shouting repeatedly to ensure that more people hear it.
"...Jackals, wolves and ugly people dare to go against the rules of nature...When thunder strikes, the evil ones will be punished; when frost and snow fall, demons and thieves cover their holes..."
"...Today we have captured fifty-four puppet officials and generals under Cao Yi, and they are in Xiping, Qingzhou... Lubu Feijie has made announcements to China and foreign countries, and Xianling is aware of them."
After the repeater-like Lubu Feijie Knight left, everyone in the market fell silent.
Qingzhou is gone!
Liang Gong's elite troops came out together, and Qingzhou was pacified in a few months. Next, I am afraid that he will be stationed in Luoyang, Governor Hongnong, and the war in Hanoi will begin.
Is there any way for everyone to survive?
Some people couldn't bear it anymore and collapsed on the ground, crying loudly: "We have no food to eat, and we have to go to battle to die. Mr. Liang, please come to Luoyang to be the emperor as soon as possible. I can't live this life anymore."
Everyone was sympathetic.
Yes, if Liang Gong comes to Luoyang and becomes the emperor, food will continue to be transported here. Everyone will not have to go hungry and have a full meal, and maybe they will not have to die in battle - the emperor must be treated more favorably, right?
Some people sighed and didn't know what to say.
To this day, some people dare to shout such treasonous words on Tongtuo Street, where people come and go.
Jin Zuo is about to end, and the divine weapon is suitable, alas.
In the military camp near Tongtuo Street, a group of people stumbled out of the camp gate, preparing to rush to Baichaowu.
These are the descendants and tribes of the Chenliu Ruan family and the local wealthy families who depend on them.
After a long investigation into the theft incident on Tongtuo Street in Tianzi, we finally came to a conclusion.
The sergeants searched the Ruan family's residence in Beijing and found a large number of crossbows, armor, and weapons. They then tortured the captured servants to find out the truth.
Wang Yan sent people to Chenliuweishi County to investigate and captured several "assassins" who had escaped from Luoyang.
At this point, the confession, the murder weapon, and the prisoner were all present, and the chain of evidence was closed. Wang Yan issued an order as the military commander of the General's Office——
The first culprit should be punished with death.
After being beaten with a pain stick, he was sent to the Baichaowu Army to redeem himself.
Thousands of people including the Ruan family and the Zhuangke tribe of his implicated family were organized into the army and rushed to the gate of Baichaowu City to kill them.
In order to carry out this order, Liu Shan personally mobilized five thousand soldiers from Xuchang. The black army marched from Heyang at starry night to Bianliang and back to Weishi.
After being silent for a long time, the Chenliu families were forced to send troops and food, and they all went to Weishi County to uproot these families.
This is the third aristocratic family to be exterminated by Shao Xun in more than ten years, following the He family in Chen County and the He family in Runan.
Needless to say, the Henan nobles would definitely be saddened by the death of a rabbit and have a bad opinion of Shao Xun. But to be honest, he was already very tolerant. The people he killed were all those who fell into his hands and were not persecuted unprovoked.
This is very important.
That is to say, everyone knows that Liang Gong fights and pulls against the gentry, and has always consciously cultivated a political group that competes with the gentry. Occasionally, he will use cruel methods to destroy his family, but so far, he has not done anything randomly and has followed the rules.
As long as you don't violate his bottom line and don't commit suicide, it's basically fine.
Persisting in doing this actually calmed the panic of the aristocratic families to a certain extent, allowing them to deceive themselves and avoid taking desperate risks.
To speak human language is to draw a line and make it clear what is touchable and what is not.
Shao Xun even allowed various families to take back their women who married into the Ruan family, which further reduced the risk of rebellion.
At this moment, the Ruan family's children were incorporated into the army and went into battle to die, and few people could speak for them. After the sudden uproar, it slowly calmed down.
After the news of Qingzhou's victory came back, the risk of rebellion was infinitely close to zero.
People are always good at forgetting.
Ruan’s fault is his own, so what does it have to do with me? It’s better to continue working and see if we can consolidate the family business...
****
The emperor has not held a court meeting for a long time. He stays in the harem all day long and doesn't want to go anywhere. He just lies there lying down.
On the tenth day of the sixth lunar month, Wang Yan and others went to the palace to see him.
The emperor was drinking heavily in the Zhaoyang Palace and did not want to meet them, but was finally persuaded by the chamberlain to invite them over.
Queen Liang Lanbi was reading a letter in the bedroom next door.
Her current appearance is really incomparable to her previous appearance, her face is dull, her eyes are sad, and her whole body is lifeless. Seeing this, Sima Chi only became more disgusted. Insults were minor, and beatings were commonplace.
Liang Lanbi often sat blankly in the courtyard, looking at the shadows hanging from the tree crowns, motionless, like a sculpture.
Anyone who knows her well knows that when she first entered the palace, she had a carefree laughter like a silver bell, was kind to others, and looked like the emperor and husband to her.
As for now, maybe I only feel a little angry when reading letters.
"We have just sealed ten counties, and we have to expand the territory. Is Shao Xun so impatient to wait?" The emperor's angry voice came from next door.
"It's just the land of the three counties of Jiyang, Yangping and Xingyang." Wang Yan's voice also sounded: "Recapture Qingzhou, make a forced landing at Cao Yi, and consolidate the momentum of your Majesty's ZTE. How can you not reward us for such great achievements?"
"Then we can't reward these three counties."
"What does your majesty want to reward? Give nine tins? Go to the palace with swords and shoes? Praise without name?"
"No way!"
Liang Lanbi seemed to turn a deaf ear and only stared at the letter with her endless eyes.
After looking at it for a while, her empty eyes gradually took on a hint of thirst and sucking, as if she could draw something from the paper to fill her extremely empty and lacking inner emotions.
"Your Majesty, there are still doubts about the robbery on Tongtuo Street. I believe that there may be a thief hidden in the forbidden palace..."
"shut up!"
"The famine in the capital is getting worse day by day. If you don't reward those who have merit, it will only make the knowledgeable people feel frustrated and the loyal ministers feel chilly. If things go on like this, the lack of food for the eunuchs may happen again."
"Shut up!"
There was a loud sound next door, but Liang Lanbi's attention was not there at all.
She was not interested and didn't care about anything. She was satisfied to be able to wander freely throughout the day.
She had a dream last night.
She dreamed that she and Yu Wenjun met Liang Gong Shaoxun during the Qilijian entertainment tour more than ten years ago and had a pleasant conversation.
After returning home, her father watched the sky at night and concluded that Mr. Liang was very lucky, so he overcame everyone's opinions and married her to Mr. Liang, who was penniless at the time.
After getting married, the couple loved each other very much. She took care of the family business for Duke Liang, and when she summoned her wives to entertain, everyone gathered around her, like stars over the moon.
The only thing that made her sad in the dream was probably that Yu Wenjun went to Jiangdong in despair. When they parted, the two hugged each other and cried bitterly.
Dreams are nice, but dreams are not real.
After waking up, Liang Lanbi recalled the remaining dreams, covered her face with the quilt again, and shed tears.
She didn't know why she was sad, until the words from the palace attendant sounded like thunder: Dreams arise because of wishes.
So today she took out the letters one by one and reviewed them, searching for her deepest wishes.
"Since Your Majesty has given permission, I will supervise the handling of this matter." Wang Yan's voice continued: "The thirteen counties of the Liang Kingdom are Luojing and Bangping. If the Liang Kingdom becomes more prosperous, Luoyang will be more peaceful."
"One day, Luoyang will also be granted to Shao Xun."
"Why would your Majesty say such angry words? I will leave."
"Crack!" That was the sound of porcelain shattering all over the floor.
Liang Lanbi put away the letter and looked outside.
The weather wasn't too hot, it was even cool under the shade of the trees, and she could sit still for half a day.
This half day is a beautiful moment that belongs to her alone.
No one can stop her thoughts from flying, she can think about everything to her heart's content.
Chapter completed!