At three o'clock in the morning, the Dingding gate opened wide, and there was an endless stream of cars and horses.
Empress Zheshi is about to leave Luoyang for Beiping Mansion under the escort of more than 26,000 Tianxiong Army soldiers.
The soldiers were recuperating at home for more than half a year. During this period, they occasionally participated in military operations against Hedong, but they ended quickly, so the soldiers were full of energy and high in fighting spirit.
According to the latest division of defense zones by the Privy Council, among the ranks of the Forbidden Army:
The Tielin Army is based in Ruzhou.
The Wuwei Army is stationed in Zhengzhou.
The Tianxiong Army is stationed in Henan Prefecture.
The left wing of Yi Cong's army was stationed in Henan Prefecture, and the right wing was stationed in Ruzhou.
General Tu's left wing was stationed in Shaanzhou and his right wing was stationed in Guozhou.
The Tiande Army is stationed in Henan Prefecture.
The left wing of the Jinglue Army was stationed in Mengzhou, and the right wing was stationed in Huaizhou.
Long Xiang's army was stationed in Puzhou.
The crane-controlling army was stationed in Tangzhou.
It can be seen from the defense area that it is basically an area centered on Luoyang, controlling key areas and deterring foreign enemies.
There is not a single forbidden army in Luoyang City. It is mainly composed of nearly 10,000 palace guards and more than 4,200 Henan Prefecture soldiers stationed there to control the outer city, the imperial city, and the palace city.
Given the huge scale of Luoyang City, such a small number of troops is certainly not enough. However, the offensive and defensive battles surrounding Luoyang mainly occurred on the periphery. If the peripheral strongholds are lost, it means that the main force of the Forbidden Army has been destroyed, and there is no way to recover at this time.
It's important to run away early, don't think about defending the city.
The sky is still extremely dark.
A lot of people have gathered at the west entrance of Mingjiao Square.
Steaming food stalls were set up, and there was more than one. Some were selling steamed pork paste cakes, some were selling sesame pancakes, some were selling mutton cakes, and there were even some selling soup cakes.
From time to time, officials in green and purple robes would run over, but they didn't mind the sight and bought steaming pancakes to eat.
The hawker smiled happily, sprinkled some black charcoal powder into the stove, and turned up the fire. The water in the pot was about to boil. Nanya Privy Councilor Ke Chengzhi was old and couldn't stand the cold, so he couldn't help but urge him to cook quickly.
Let's eat a bowl of soup cakes - the charcoal powder is made by crushing rocks stolen from the coal mine, and it burns quite well.
There are also briquettes used. This is a new thing. I heard that it first appeared in Xiazhou in northern Guanxi. After the soldiers and civilians of Guanxi poured into Luoyang like a tide, they also brought this thing with them.
There are many such workshops in Ruzhou, and both the government and the people like to use briquettes. As the cost of iron pots has dropped, the more widely sold iron pots are, the more people use briquettes.
Luoyang's briquettes are mainly purchased from two places: Huaizhou and Ruzhou. There are also some local briquettes in Henan Prefecture, but the output is smaller.
Coal briquettes are fragile and difficult to transport. However, thanks to the construction of first-class national highways, the post roads are wide and gentle, and there will not be so much crushed coal after transport, so the coal briquettes are booming.
In Luoyang City, every evening, every household lights a pottery coal stove and cooks a rice steamer, which is simply delicious on earth.
Zhao Guanwen, a Hanlin scholar, even composed a song "Ode to Coal", which was widely sung. Coal stoves and briquettes gradually spread to other states. People called it "Xiawang stove", which was the old name when the emperor reigned as a vassal.
"Ke Chengzhi enjoys it very much." Beiya Privy Councilor Chengzhi Du Hong also sat down and said with a smile: "It's freezing in the sky, so a bowl of soup cakes is just right to drive away the cold. Shopkeeper, bring me a bowl too."
"Please wait a moment, sir, we'll cook it now," the store owner said with a cheerful smile.
"Your accent doesn't sound like someone from Luoyang." Du Hong asked.
"The official is wrong. My family is from Luoyang. When Sun Ru, Li Hanzhi, and Zhang Quanyi faced each other in Luoyang, my family was there." The shopkeeper said while he was busy: "When Zhang Quanyi was the governor, my family was there.
I have already moved into Luoyang City and lived under the city wall. Now that I have taken control of Luoyang, I have organized all the people into households. My family has settled in Jiaqingfang in the southeast of the city. Now I do some small business to make a living."
"Then your accent..." Du Hong said puzzled.
"The officials don't know. This is the accent of the old Luoyang people. After entering Luoyang today, groups of Guanxi people came in one after another. Now more than 90% of the people in the city are people who moved in later. Our old Luoyang accent
On the contrary, they have become a minority." The store owner replied.
Du Hong suddenly realized this and laughed so hard that he almost burst into tears.
The Huangchao Rebellion severely damaged Luoyang.
Sun Ru, Li Hanzhi, and Zhang Quanyi built forts in Luoyang City and attacked each other.
Then came the tug-of-war between Xia and Liang that lasted for several years around Luoyang.
After all this hard work, not to mention Luoyang, there are not many people left in the entire Henan Prefecture. The people in Henan Prefecture now are indeed all immigrants from later generations.
Every dynasty revolution will bring about earth-shaking changes. The changes in the origin of the people of Luoyang explain everything.
"Sir, the soup cakes are here." The store owner brought the steaming food up.
When Du Hong saw it, his mouth was filled with excitement, and he immediately started to move without any thought of chatting.
"When I was in Chang'an in the past, every time I went to court, officials would buy Hu cakes on the road. Hu cakes were so fragrant that even the purple-robed prime minister couldn't resist the temptation. He bought them on the street and ate them. Even the emperor
I can't even care about Shi Chuan." Ke Chong finished eating first, his rickety body had completely stretched out, and he said with a smile.
Ke Chong is a famous person on the Five Old List, and his life experience is too rich. What he said is like Du Hongxin.
"Based on Ke Chengzhi's perspective, can Luoyang now have the grand scene of Dazhong in the former Tang Dynasty and Chang'an during the Xiantong period?" Du Hong asked while eating.
"It's especially bad." Ke Chong said: "I was running around in Chang'an. There was nothing important. I just camped around and made friends with others on my way to study. I was fortunate enough to witness the grand occasion of going to court several times from a distance. Let's put it this way, today I am here
In Luoyang, on the first day of every month, at the Great Court Meeting, all civil and military officials gathered together, and there were carriages and horses from the north and south of the Tianjin Bridge. It was very lively. Also at the time of the Great Court Meeting, envoys from other states gathered in the capital, and there were scholars accompanying them to greet friends.
Calling friends, the spirit is high, it’s so lively.”
After he finished speaking, his eyes looked a little nostalgic, perhaps thinking of his past youth.
Du Hong also sighed and said: "Why does Ke Chengzhi need to be sentimental? There are so many children in the house that no one else can envy him."
Du Hong knew that Ke Chong had climbed the ranks of the Queen and his position was very stable.
The eldest son Ke Yu was previously the chief registrar of the ninth rank in Liangu County, Linzhou. This time he directly skipped the rank and became the magistrate of Tongding County in Yingzhou, the seventh rank.
The second son, Ke Man, was transferred to Liangxiang County Lieutenant in Beiping Prefecture. This is Ji County, and the county lieutenant is under the ninth rank, and his starting point is also very good.
"It's all thanks to the emperor and empress." Ke Chong sighed with emotion, with a hint of joy on his brows.
Yingzhou and Beiping Prefecture are both hotspots both inside and outside the court - who allows the saint to live in Beidu?
Nowadays, all mid-level and lower-level officials who have some ideas are trying to transfer to Beiping Mansion, hoping to make meritorious service under the nose of the saint and then reach the sky.
The two Ke brothers didn't have any connections, but Jian was in the emperor's heart and was immediately transferred there. I don't know how many people envied her.
In response to this, Ke Chong almost slept with his mouth grinning.
The first half of my life was full of wanderings. Who would have thought that when I was about to die, my time would turn around. The situation in my life could not be more bizarre than this.
"The Chongzhai car is here." Someone whispered.
Du Hong stepped up his movements, finished pulling in two or two, wiped the corners of his mouth with the sleeve of his official uniform, and trotted to the front.
Ke Chong was old and frail. Although he had prepared for a long time, he was not as quick as Du Hong, a martial artist, and was blocked by the dark crowd.
At the west gate of Mingjiao Square, Song Le, the minister of Zhongshu, had been waiting for a long time. When he saw the Chongzhai carriage the Queen was riding in, he immediately checked his appearance, then stood up and stood at the roadside. After waiting for a while, he bowed
He saluted and said, "Meet the Queen."
"Meet the queen." All civil and military officials saluted together.
"Excuse me, sir." The queen got out of the car with the help of the palace servants and returned the greeting.
"Secretary of the Song Dynasty, General Murong, Pei Fuyin, and General He, the affairs of the Eastern Capital will be entrusted to you." Zhe Fang Ai bowed to the two of them individually and said.
"The queen can leave with peace of mind. As soon as the affairs are dealt with, I will definitely take care of them in an orderly manner." Song Le said.
"Don't worry, Queen, we will do our best not to let Xiao Xiao succeed." Wei Weiqing Murong Fu and Henan Prefecture General He Piao said together.
Murong Fu is responsible for the security of Ziwei City, Taiwei City, Shangyang City and other gates.
He Piao was originally a general of the Forbidden Army. He retired after being injured and was transferred to the commander of the Henan Fuzhou Army, responsible for street patrols in Luoyang and Henan counties.
"I dare you not to dedicate yourself to me!" Henan Yin Pei Tingyu said loudly: "I will definitely live up to the queen's trust."
"Live up to the great trust of the saint." Zhe Fang Ai corrected.
"Yes. Live up to the saint and the queen's trust." Pei Tingyu didn't realize that the flattery was not in place, so he immediately corrected himself.
Zhe Fang Ai then looked at the other officials and said: "The saint is lucky to be in Peiping, and he has cut off the front of the rebel bandits. This is a major event in the world, and we can't be distracted for a moment. When we return victorious in the future, our troops will return to the court, and all the ministers will be there."
reward."
"This is the duty of ministers." The officials responded one after another.
The queen nodded, bowed to everyone again, turned around, got in the car and left.
Song Le and others watched the motorcade leave the Dingding Gate, exchanged greetings, and then dispersed.
The business of selling restaurants suddenly became deserted.
He didn't take it seriously and sat down with a smile to rest for a while.
Today, I saw the true appearance of the Queen from a distance. She was truly a fairy-like person, enough to be praised by others for half a lifetime.
After the saint came back from Peiping, he wondered if he could see his true appearance. This was a fierce man who conquered half of the world. How wise and mighty he must be?
Only in the hands of such people can Luoyang prosper and the people live and work in peace and contentment.
Like Zhang Quanyi, he really worked hard enough, but he lacked ability and strength. In the end, the people suffered from it. Not only were every household overwhelmed by heavy taxes, but they also had to die on the battlefield.
No wonder he lost, even his wife lost to Jin.
On the other side, the Queen's motorcade, escorted by more than a thousand palace guards, merged with the Tianxiong Army officers gathered outside the city.
Zang Du, the envoy of the Tianxiong Army, protected his face and served Yuyin, and took over the command of the entire convoy. With Du Yuhou Niu Li leading 2,500 cavalry as the vanguard, they headed east along Luoshui towards Yanshi County.
On the first-class national highway, all business vehicles and horses moved to the reserved road.
Everyone looked at the majestic motorcade with awe: Tianjia is so majestic that even Si.
The dispatch of the Tianxiong Army also made everyone realize that a new round of conquest had begun again.