Chapter 681 Meeting the Pearl on the Road

The Daming Palace Bath Hall is the bedroom of the Queen Mother Chen Zhenzhu. In the innermost part of the palace, there is a hidden small room. This is a place where Chen Zhenzhu never allowed anyone to enter, and it is her most secret place. Except for her and her personal maid Wen Niang, everyone else is not allowed to enter.

At this moment, the lights in the small room were dim. There were two spiritual cards on the table, and there were incense and candle offerings beside the spiritual cards. Chen Zhenzhu was wearing a Taoist robe, knelt in front of the small table, holding two incense sticks in his hand and prayed silently.

"My son and husband are above you, and the wicked will be punished by evil people. Those who harm you have been killed. You will rest in peace!"

She inserted two incense sticks into the incense burner, and two crystal tears flowed down from the corners of her eyes. She sighed and said to her husband Lingpai: "Dalang, although I am sorry for you, I hope you can understand the pain in my heart. I...."

Her voice became extremely low, "I had no choice."

"The Queen Mother!"

The maid Wen Niang beside her whispered: "It is common sense that you have died and choose your husband to remarry. How many widows are there in the Tang Dynasty? Even the princess can still be remarried, so why should the empress dowager blame herself again?"

"Men's daughter can remarry, and princess can also remarry, but the empress dowager cannot remarry. Since she has entered the palace, how can she have a day to leave the palace?"

"But the Empress Dowager also met the conditions for revenge that day."

"condition?"

Chen Zhenzhu smiled bitterly, "If I don't want to, why have the conditions to speak of?"

She sighed, stood up and said, "Let's go! My wish is over, I don't want to mention this anymore. Let the future happen naturally!"

She walked out of the room, the maid blew out the light and gently closed the door. The room became dark again, with only two incense flashing lightly and darkly.

． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ． ．

Xucheng County, Sizhou, is located west of Hongze Lake. The canal ships coming from the Bian River directly enter Hongze Lake without passing through Xucheng County. Therefore, Xucheng County is the most backward in both population and economy among the counties along the Cao River.

That morning, a broken carriage ran quickly on the official road south of Xucheng County. A woman poked her head out of the car window and looked around anxiously. She kept urging the driver, "Uncle, can you be faster?"

The coachman smiled bitterly and said, "Girl, my horse is too old and I can't run for a long distance. It's no longer possible."

"But if you don't get faster, the fleet will pass."

"Don't worry, girl! The water flows in Hongze Lake is smooth and the canal boats will definitely not catch up with the carriage, they must be still behind."

This woman is Mingzhu from the capital. She was on the excuse to visit her elder brother Changfeng, so she went out alone. Her elder brother Dugu Changfeng broke up with Li Qing'an in Chenliu County. However, she did not go to Chenliu County, but followed Li Qing'an's boat all the way to Sizhou along the Bian River. Yun Xiangyi's clothes and Hua Xiangrong, she is already twenty-one years old this year.

She followed Li Qing'an's fleet all the way, but unexpectedly she overslept in the inn in the morning, which made her anxious, fearing that Li Qing'an's fleet had passed.

The coachman was an old man in his sixties and drove her away from Zhengzhou. He saw Mingzhu as beautiful as a flower, like a lady from a wealthy family. He didn't dislike his carriage all the way and had a good impression of her. He smiled and said, "Girl, I want to ask all the way, you are from a big place!"

"Well! I came from the capital."

"No wonder! I have been driving the carriage for decades and have never seen a woman as handsome as a girl. When the girl goes on the road alone, you have to be careful!"

"It's okay! I felt the folk customs were honest along the way and hadn't met any bad guys yet."

"That's because the girl has been sitting in my carriage, not showing up, there are chaos outside! There are thieves everywhere, and Sizhou in front of us is not a good place. We must be careful."

Mingzhu was a little strange and asked with a smile: "Uncle, I think Sizhou is not bad! There are many people as kind as uncle."

"The villagers in Sizhou are good. I'm talking about officials, one is more greedy than the other, and one is worse than the other. The front is Linhuai County. There are the most officials there, and of course the most bad people. It is best for girls not to show up and just hide in the carriage. I'll take you to the Huai River on a boat, and you'll be safe."

"Don't worry, uncle! I'm not afraid."

Mingzhu touched a gold medal on her waist. It was Li Qing'an's imperial edict to the world's soldiers. But she didn't know that she stole it from Li Qing'an's study for self-defense. Whoever dared to bully her would take the gold medal to the local government. Fortunately, the journey went smoothly and it was useless.

At this moment, Mingzhu suddenly saw a town in front of her, and asked with a smile: "Uncle, what town is that town in front of her?"

"That is Nushan Town, it belongs to Linhuai County."

"What's fun in the town or what specialty?"

"I've been there a few times, but there are no specialties. It's very interesting! The Nushan shrimp cakes are very famous. Actually, I think they are average. Girls don't have to stay there. Let's go there and go to Linhuai County earlier."

"OK!"

The coachman shook the whip and quickly entered Nushan Town. This is a big town with more than 300 families. The town is very ragged. Every household in the town makes a living by fishing and shrimps. The whole town is filled with the fishy smell of fish and shrimps.

As soon as the carriage arrived at the streets of the town, it was discovered that something was abnormal. The streets of the town were full of people, with four or five hundred people surrounding a carriage and begging. There were more than a dozen yamen runners around the carriage, and there was probably an official sitting in the carriage.

Several old men knelt in front of the car with a piece of paper and shouted: "Mr. County Magistrate, the fish tax cannot be increased. If we add it, we will have no way to survive."

"I can't make the decision on this matter alone. I want to ask the prefect to let you go and don't gather people to cause trouble."

Mingzhu heard it very clearly. She was very surprised and asked the coachman: "Uncle, what is fish tax?"

"Fish tax is the tax you have to pay for fishing. It's twice a year. It was originally ten taxes, but I heard that it would be increased to ten taxes and three, and no one could stand it."

"You have to pay taxes when fishing? Isn't it enough to pay land tax and household tax?"

"The land tax is the land tax, and household tax is the household tax. Those must be paid, but the fish tax is another. It is calculated based on the ten cents of big fish and five cents of small fish. In the past, it was a big fish that would pay one cent, but now it would cost three cents to catch a big fish. In fact, a big fish can only be sold for up to six cents. It's really a sin!"

"There is still such a thing in the world!"

Mingzhu was a little angry, and she asked again: "Does that uncle have to pay the carriage tax to drive the carriage?"

"I don't pay the carriage tax, but there are tolls. I have to pay when I enter the city. I have to pay twenty cents for my carriage, regardless of whether there are guests or not."

"I'm going to sue these dog officials."

At this time, the county magistrate had left, and the villagers had no choice but to go home. Groups of people passed by Mingzhu's carriage, and Mingzhu called the old man holding the paper.

"Brother-in-law, give me your complaints and I'll complain for you."

Everyone was almost desperate. After hearing what Mingzhu said, they surrounded him, "Girl, do you know our prefect?"

The coachman next to him smiled and said, "You really have no knowledge. This girl comes from the capital. What is a small prefect?"

Mingzhu also whispered loudly: "Don't worry! I will tell my elder brother or brother-in-law that they are all high-ranking officials, and you can cut off the heads of these corrupt officials. Give me the paper."

Everyone talked. Although this girl looked very young, she was extraordinary. She was obviously not an ordinary person and had a Beijing accent. Instead of being helpless, she might as well give it a try!

The old man handed her a petition covered with red handprints, "Girl, please give me."

Mingzhu took the paper and folded it carefully, "Don't worry! There will be news soon."

The carriage started, and everyone looked at her and walked away, their hearts filled with worry, and they didn't know whether this girl was really reliable.

．

．

．

．

．

．

．

．

．

Li Qing'an's fleet left Chenliu County and walked for another seven or eight days before reaching Linhuai County, Sizhou. After crossing the Huai River from here, he entered the Jianghuai territory. At this time, the news of the demise of the Southern Tang Dynasty finally reached Li Qing'an's hands. Although as expected, the great joy brought by this news still made him extremely excited. He immediately spread the news all over the three thousand Tiger Ben Guards who were guarding him south. Suddenly, there was a jubilation inside and outside the Bian River, and the soldiers couldn't help throwing their helmets high into the sky.

"Long live! Long live the general!"

Cheers spread throughout the fields, and Li Qing'an immediately ordered the three armies to enter Linhuai County, and all the wine shops in Xia County were to celebrate the victory.

News spread like wildfire, and Linhuai County was also booming. The demise of the Southern Tang Dynasty meant the unification of the Tang Dynasty and meant that there would be no more wars. The people rushed to the streets, beating gongs, drums, iron pots, singing and dancing, celebrating the end of the war, and welcomed Li Qing'an's army into the city.

In Linhuai City, tens of thousands of people welcomed the Tang army into the city, as if they were a triumphant army, and most people didn't even know that the highest decision-makers of the Southern Tang Battle were in the team, but this was no longer important. They needed a ritual to express the joy and excitement in their hearts. The entry of the army was undoubtedly the best ritual.

"Long live! Long live the Tang army!" Cheers resounded throughout the city.

The crowd supported the elderly and the young, the women held the children, the girls wore gorgeous long skirts, and groups of children ran with the cavalry. Many cavalry carried the children on war horses, which attracted applause.

Li Qing'an sat in the carriage, looking at the warm and excited faces, and he felt a sincere touch. He knew that this was the people's expectation for peace, and that was their expectation for the revival of the Tang Dynasty.

At this time, the team stopped. The prefect of Sizhou and the magistrate of Linhuai came up. Li Qing'an inspected Jianghuai very secretly. The court did not issue any documents. The governments along the way received Li Qing'an's instructions and did not disclose the news of his going south. Therefore, the prefect of Sizhou and the magistrate of Sizhou did not know where this army came from and why did they come to Sizhou?

The prefect Zhou Bingyi was a little nervous. He had already discovered that this army was different. Although the number of troops was not large, the army was of extraordinary appearance. All cavalry and war horses were not of the Central Plains breed. They were tall and majestic, with four hooves and strong physiques. All the soldiers were burly, with bright armor, long swords, round shields, bows and crossbows, and spears. They were all the most advanced weapons of the Tang Dynasty. They were majestic. Although there were only three thousand people, this momentum was like tens of thousands.

Moreover, there was a carriage pulled by twenty-four horses in the team. This high specification made Zhou Bingyi very nervous. He stepped forward and bowed, "When Zhou Bingyi, the prefect of Xia Sizhou, I wonder who the general of the army was? What happened to come to Sizhou?"

A personal soldier turned over and dismounted and whispered to him. Zhou Bingyi was so scared that his face turned pale. He hurriedly wanted to kneel down, but the personal soldier grabbed him, "Didn't I tell you? The general doesn't want to reveal his whereabouts."

"Yes! Yes!"

Zhou Bingyi quickly agreed and said a few words to the county magistrate and other officials. Everyone followed him to the carriage tremblingly. Zhou Bingyi bowed and bowed, "I am humble to serve the prefect of Sizhou Zhou Bingyi, who is the chief of Sizhou, and will meet His Highness!"

"I am humble to serve Wang Jiaju, the magistrate of Linhuai County, and see Your Highness!"

There was no response in the carriage, and Li Qingan seemed a little absent-minded. He just saw a familiar figure in the crowd, as if it was Mingzhu, but he couldn't believe it. This is Sizhou, how could Mingzhu come here?

The woman had left the crowd and headed to a tavern. Li Qing'an kept watching her enter the tavern. He came to his senses and laughed and said, "I'll disturb you all."

"I dare not! Please go to the prefecture office to rest."

Li Qing'an declined, "I just passed by Sizhou and had no plan to inspect Sizhou. You guys are all busy with official duties! We will leave after lunch in the restaurant."

Li Qing'an was about to leave, and Zhou Bingyi and other officials all breathed a sigh of relief, but he still said sincerely: "Your Highness rarely comes to Sizhou, so let the lowly officials put some water and wine to do their best."

"Haha! I have three thousand troops, you can't afford it. Forget it, I will take care of it. We will solve it ourselves. You can do it!"

Zhou Bingyi looked at the county magistrate and was secretly happy. He stopped insisting, "That humble position is retired!"
To be continued...