The fertile land in Guanzhong is thousands of miles away, and the surrounding terrain is dangerous, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack. It can be called the foundation of the emperor.
The closer you get to Chang'an, the more checkpoints there are.
Yu Dong is in charge of one of the checkpoints and is responsible for detecting the goods and identities of passing travelers.
This is a fat job. Occasionally, he encounters travelers with contraband. If the amount is not large, he can extort a sum of money.
Therefore, thirty-five-year-old Yu Dong looks a little fat.
"Stand still!"
Yu Dong pressed the handle of the knife with one hand and pointed at the dozen or so travelers with the other hand, "Whoever dares to move, I will chop him alive with one knife. If he dies, he is also a traitor!"
More than ten travelers were trembling, and one of them was a child, standing behind his father and choking.
"Baby, get out of here!"
Yu Dong felt a little moved when he saw that the child was well dressed.
The child did not dare to come out. The father smiled and said: "The child is timid..."
This was what Yu Dong was waiting for. Hearing this, he smiled ferociously and said, "It's true that he is cheating on you. Let's search him!"
The sergeant under his command understood the situation and rushed forward, holding down the man and grabbing the child.
A sergeant reached into the child's arms and groped around. When he came out, he held an oil paper bag, opened it and smelled it.
“It’s beef jerky!”
According to the laws of the Tang Dynasty, cattle were not allowed to be slaughtered privately.
Beef jerky is a contraband.
The man's expression changed drastically, "Dalang doesn't have any beef jerky..."
Yu Dong snorted coldly, "Where did the beef jerky come from?"
The man knew that he was being blackmailed. He lowered his head and said, "It's really not...I am willing to fine you."
This attitude is not bad.
Yu Dong sneered, "Five hundred dollars!"
The man raised his head and said desperately: "I only have three hundred dollars on me!"
"Who brings so many copper coins when traveling?"
Yu Dong pulled out a horizontal sword.
The man cried, "That's the money I spent to buy a house and settle down!"
"Gold or silver?" Yu Dong asked casually.
"silver."
"Keep half of it as a fine." Yu Dong said compassionately, "You can refuse."
This is a dangerous place, remote, and difficult to guard. If he doesn't make some extra money, he would rather farm.
The two sergeants found two ingots of silver from the man's body and threw one back with a smile.
"Thieves also have their ways."
The unlearned Yu Dong compared himself to a thief without knowing it.
Ta-ta-ta!
Several horses came from the north.
"Stop!"
Yu Dong turned around and shouted.
Several of the knights were wearing armor. The leader glanced at Yu Dong, then at the dozen or so sergeants behind him, and said, "Look over and look at both sides."
He galloped over.
Yu Dong shouted: "Stop!"
Here, he is the master, and if he says to stop, he must stop.
These must be country bumpkins from the north who don't know the rules... Yu Dong cursed: "Ji Ma, get up!"
A horseman in front passed by easily and swung his sword horizontally.
Yu Dong stood on his head with hair on his head, his legs softened, and he knelt down.
The horizontal knife passed over his head.
Several riders rushed over to the cliff behind and looked left and right.
"You wait here and keep an eye on it. If you notice something unusual, it will give you a warning."
The leading knight rode back.
Then he waited by the roadside.
Yu Dong got up panting and shouted: "Warning! Warning!"
Woohoo!
Someone blew the horn.
Then, the sound of horse hooves rumbled.
A mass of cavalry was suppressed by the crowd.
The armor is black.
Then came more than a hundred riders, surrounding a man.
The rumble of horse hooves stopped before the checkpoint.
Yu Dong was dumbfounded, "What are you waiting for..."
"Mr. Lang, take a rest!"
Yang Xuan dismounted and said, "Have a rest for a quarter of an hour."
"yes."
Zhang Du shouted: "Dismount and rest."
Among the five hundred cavalry, one hundred were on alert and the others were resting.
There was a small stall by the roadside, which sold some cakes and prepared a large vat of water for travelers to use for free.
Yang Xuan came over and saw Yu Dong looking at him dumbfounded and asked, "How far is it from Chang'an?"
"Sixty miles!" Yu Dong looked at the black armor cavalry, his heart trembled, and a guess came to his mind, "I dare to ask the noble..."
"Northern Xinjiang Yang Xuan!"
Yang Xuan walked to the edge of the stall. Behind him, Yu Dong, who had just stood up, knelt down again, "I've seen Deputy Ambassador Yang!"
"The cakes look good, so I bought them all."
Yang Xuan took a piece of cake, and naturally Ouda came to buy it with money.
He took a bite and said, "I haven't eaten bread from Chang'an for a long time. By the way, what are these people doing kneeling down?"
The man looked at Yang Xuan, hope surged in his heart, and shouted: "Deputy Envoy Yang, this villain is being blackmailed by these people..."
Yu Dong's heart skipped a beat, "Deputy Envoy Yang..."
"I didn't expect that I could try a case when I came to Chang'an?" Yang Xuan smiled.
"Master, sit down!" A guard walked up to Mazar.
Yang Xuan sat down and said, "Comfortable."
He glanced at Yu Dong, his eyes calm, but Yu Dong was sweating profusely, "You deserve to die, you villain!", and then threw the silver ingot to the man.
Han Ji whispered: "Chang'an can't even control places like this?"
The old thief said: "The noble people only care about making money, and they will do more and more."
There are traces of the downfall of a dynasty, and official governance is the final bottom line. Once the bottom line is broken, unless you show the determination of a strong man to cut off his wrist, it will be difficult to stop the decline.
Yang Xuan was sitting under a big tree, enjoying the breeze and feeling very comfortable.
He waved, and Yu Dong got up and approached cautiously, "Deputy Ambassador Yang."
"When you serve in the military, no one will control you?"
He seemed to be asking casually, but he was also inquiring about the current situation of the guards in Chang'an.
If it were in the past, Yu Dong would definitely prevaricate, but today he was caught by Yang Xuan. If Yang Xuan was serious, he would be beyond redemption.
Therefore, he said honestly: "The villain has received the benefits, and will share the profits with the superiors later."
Han Ji shook his head slightly and glanced at Ning Yayun.
This time Yang Xuan came to Chang'an. Although there were safety guarantees from all parties, in order to prevent accidents, he still invited the old commander out.
Ning Yayun shook her head and said, "Chang'an! I almost forgot about this place."
Yu Dong glanced at Yang Xuan anxiously, "This is not the work of a villain."
"Oh! Tell me." Yang Xuan took a sip of water.
Yu Dong said: "This kind of thing happened a few years ago, but it stopped for a while."
Yang Xuan was a little curious, "It stopped for a while? When?"
Yu Dong didn't know why he asked this, "I heard from my seniors that during the reign of Emperor Xuande, he paid filial piety to the emperor and inspected the army, but he stopped for a while."
Honor the emperor?
Patrolling the army?
Yang Xuan's heart moved, "Have you investigated these matters by honoring the emperor?"
Yu Dong said: "I don't know, little people. They say that you should be filial to the emperor, and your eyes are like lightning, so you discovered these things at once."
He said it in an understatement, but Yang Xuan's heart seemed to have stirred up a storm.
Was there ever such a period of filial piety to the emperor?
The most important thing for the emperor is the army. The prince supervises the army. This is a reflection of the emperor's trust.
At that time, there were many senior generals in the army... As soon as Filial Piety went to the emperor, he discovered the evil deeds of the people below, and immediately reported it, so it was suspended for a while.
But those are the guards of Chang'an!
You bought a big gift bag as soon as you went there, so you're not afraid of backlash?
If I go and discover these problems, what can I do? Should I tell the leading general quietly and ask him to supervise and correct it, or should I report it to Emperor Xuande and let him make a decision?
Talking to the leading general is the easiest way, and it won't offend anyone.
But, this is buying people's hearts.
In order to show filial piety to the emperor and the empress, he would naturally not choose this method.
So he reported it.
The prince inspected the army and found shortcomings and reported it to the emperor. Emperor Xuande was furious and immediately scolded the generals who commanded the army and immediately rectified the situation.
The army was in awe.
This is a good thing.
A group of people will praise His Majesty for his wisdom and the Prince's wisdom.
But what will the military think?
Yang Xuan said, "Zhang Du."
"exist!"
Zhang Du, who was drinking water, stood up. Yang Xuan pressed his hand and said, "Sit."
Zhang Du sat down and Yang Xuan asked, "What would you think if the second son went to Xuanjia Cavalry and found out the flaws and reported it to me directly?"
Wang Laoer was eating cakes nearby. Hearing this, he glanced at Yang Xuan and asked, "Mr. Lang, when are you going?"
I don't want to answer you... Yang Xuan looked at Zhang Du.
Zhang Du thought for a while and said, "I will be dissatisfied."
"Why?" Yang Xuan squeezed the cake in his hand.
Zhang Du chose to be honest, "I think he should talk to his subordinates first."
"Feeling embarrassed?" Yang Xuan was trying to find out whether the general's mentality was consistent with his own speculation.
"Yes. But it's not just because I feel embarrassed." Zhang Du took a bite of the pancake, then felt disrespectful and quickly swallowed it, choking and rolling his eyes.
Ning Yayun slapped him on the back, "Commander Xuanjia Cavalry choked to death on a pancake. It would be a joke if word spread."
After the pancake was swallowed, Zhang Du quickly took a sip of water and said, "Your Majesty will want to hide this matter within Xuanjia Cavalry."
After saying that, Zhang Du felt a little uneasy.
Han Ji gave him a smile, indicating that the boss would like the answer.
Ning Yayun glanced at Han Ji and shook her head slightly.
When he first entered metaphysics, his master once said: Smart people are mostly killed by their own cleverness.
Sure enough, it was just as I thought. After Emperor Xiaojing discovered the problem, he was in a dilemma... Yang Xuan was silent for a long time, raised his head, and saw Zhang Du was uneasy, so he smiled and said: "Nothing."
Those travelers didn't dare to leave there. Yang Xuan stood up and asked, "Why don't you leave?"
A traveler said: "I dare not."
Yang Xuan waved his hand. Everyone felt like they were being pardoned. The man and his son stayed behind. The man knelt down and said, "Thank you, deputy envoy."
Yang Xuan asked: "Why didn't you resist before?"
Previously, he only had to retort loudly. There were many travelers traveling with him. Could it be that the sergeant dared to kill people and silence them?
The man smiled bitterly, "The villain is afraid of being remembered by them."
You escaped this time, what about next time?
These sergeants... Yang Xuan took a look, but he didn't see a strong aura, but he saw a lot of slickness and domineering.
Unless he never passes this way in the future, the man will not dare to resist.
If their father and son don't leave, they are obviously in trouble.
Yu Dong knew exactly what their father and son were worried about. He glanced at Yang Xuan and raised his hand to swear, "I swear, if I take revenge on this man and his son, I will definitely die without a burial place."
The man knelt down again, "Da Lang, kneel down quickly."
The child also knelt down, and the man said, "Thank you so much for the deputy envoy. When I get home, I will burn incense and pray for the deputy envoy morning and night."
Yang Xuan got on his horse and said, "Let's go."
Hundreds of horsemen followed him away.
In the afternoon of the second day, he appeared outside Chang'an City.
"Yang Xuan is here."
Yang Songcheng received the news.
"I understand, I understand."
In the palace, the emperor also received the news.
"Ling Luocai to go and greet you."
He glanced at the imperial concubine.
The imperial concubine was a little confused.
The young man lying in front of him back then has now become an important border minister and frontier official that the emperor is afraid of.
Chang Mu rushed into Zhou Zun's duty room like a whirlwind.
Seeing a smile on his lips and a happy face, Zhou Zun asked, "What's the matter?"
"Mr. Lang, I'm so happy! My uncle has arrived outside Chang'an City."
"Oh!" Zhou Zun slowly put down his pen and said, "Send someone to inform Aye."
He suddenly asked: "How many troops did Zitai bring?"
"They say they brought five hundred mysterious knights and more than a hundred guards."
"Xuan Jiaqi...does he want to demonstrate?"
…
Luo Cai accepted the order and muttered: "The young man who saw me smiling at first, now wants me to go and greet him personally. What's going on!"
The attendant smiled and said: "Then you still laugh?"
Luo Cai walked out of the duty room, looked at the sunshine, and said, "I am happy that he can suppress Bei Liao and bring peace to Bei Xinjiang gradually!"
There were too many internal problems in the Tang Dynasty, which took time to resolve. After Northern Xinjiang suppressed the Northern Liao Dynasty, it gave the Tang Dynasty a chance to breathe.
"I've been worried that he won't come. If the stalemate between Northern Xinjiang and Chang'an continues, it will be of no benefit to anyone. If you don't come when Your Majesty summons you, aren't you just a traitor?"
The attendant glanced at Luo Cai and saw a smile in his eyes and a happy face.
When the group arrived outside the city, they saw hundreds of cavalry waiting in formation.
There was no shouting, he just stood so quietly on horseback, and a chilling aura rushed towards him.
Seeing Luo Cai leaving the city, Yang Xuan dismounted.
"Zitai!"
Luo Cai handed over.
Ling Luo came to greet him. This is a soft knife.
If you, Yang Xuan, are angry, then take it out on Luo Cai!
Yang Xuan cupped his hands and said, "Long time no see, how are you doing, Mr. Luo?"
"Okay, okay!" Luo Cai came closer and whispered: "It's good that you're here!"
Yang Xuan felt warm in his heart, "This is Chang'an of the Tang Dynasty, so naturally I want to come."
Luo Cai smiled and said: "No. By the way, has the journey been smooth?"
"not bad."
"Let's go to the city first!"
"good!"
The two walked side by side, and the sergeants in the city gate lined up in two rows, trying hard to hold their heads high, not wanting to be outdone by the Northern Xinjiang Army.
A general who accompanied Luo Cai to meet him asked: "Deputy Envoy Yang, what do you think of these men?"
Yang Xuan smiled, "Not bad!"
He patted a sergeant on the shoulder and said, "Steady!"
The sergeant's face flushed with excitement, "Thank you, Deputy Ambassador Yang, for the compliment!"
Yang Xuan looked at these soldiers and said, "It's hard work guarding Chang'an every day."
"It's not hard work!"
Yang Xuan nodded and immediately entered the city.
The general sneered. Inadvertently, he saw the eyes of the soldiers following Yang Xuan, with reverence in their eyes, and he couldn't help but be startled.
Damn it!
Just a few words!
The hearts of these soldiers were drawn astray.
The armies of Chang'an had been watchdogs for many years and had long since become sluggish. The generals only knew how to suppress their subordinates, and none of them showed such a kind gesture as Yang Xuan.
The key is that Yang Xuan also holds the title of a famous general of the Tang Dynasty, and his kindness is even more touching.
This is the mentality.
Yang Xuanmen is clear!
After entering the city, a chamberlain was waiting with two guards, "Deputy Envoy Yang, come into the palace!"
Luo Cai glanced at Yang Xuan.
Logically speaking, Yang Xuan should have bathed and changed clothes first to show his respect before returning from such a busy life, and then enter the palace to seek an audience with the emperor.
But the emperor sent someone to stay here and wanted to see him immediately.
Many people around were looking at Yang Xuan.
Yang Xuan spoke.
"I'm tired."
What?
The emperor summoned you and said you were tired.
The chamberlain's cheeks trembled, "Deputy Envoy Yang, your Majesty has summoned you!"