Xiao Qu left Kaiyuanmen and headed towards Zhongwei Bridge.
Kaiyuan Gate is the first gate from the west to the north of the capital. There is Duting Posthouse nearby. Since the Chinese Dynasty, most of the people from far away garrison, traveling students, long-distance merchants, overseas officials, etc. have passed through this gate.
"The West Ji Road is nine thousand nine hundred miles away." Xiao Qu glanced at the writing on the city wall and smiled bitterly.
This sentence was given to the soldiers who were garrisoning far away, telling them that there is no way to go west for thousands of miles, so it was just a comfort.
The Zhongwei Bridge was twenty miles away, and Xiao Qun and his party, traveling in large and small vehicles, actually walked for half a day to get there.
There is a post at the head of Zhongwei Bridge, called Lingao Post, which is very large. Many people who are welcoming or seeing off are waiting or saying goodbye here, and there are also many banquets here for public and private greetings and farewells. However, Xiao Qun's trip was private. Although he talked
Not too much of a secret, but not too much known to too many people.
The inn was also open to the public. Xiao Qu and others had lunch here and planned to continue westward toward Xianyang County.
On the road, I met a lonely scholar riding a donkey, looking around as he walked. Xiao Qu looked familiar, as if he had seen him somewhere, so he got off the carriage and stepped forward to say hello.
"It turns out he is from Official Xiao." Wu Rong immediately dismounted his horse and saluted, saying: "Wu Rong, an apprentice from Yu Yuezhou, has met Official Xiao."
It is true that Xiao Qu resigned as the magistrate of Yongle County in Hezhong, but his brother also gave him the casual position of Xuande Lang, so it is not wrong to call him an official.
"But Wu Rong and Wu Zihua, who sang with Han Donglang (Han Xie)?" Xiao Yu asked.
"It made the officials laugh." Wu Rong cupped his hands and said.
He has a reputation for talent, and he has some talent in poetry. But what's the use? If he can't pass the Jinshi examination, everything will be lost.
Furthermore, after taking the exam for twenty years, he didn’t want to take the exam again. Now he just wanted to walk around and find a place to stay. The King of Lingwu County was thirsty for scholars and wanted to reverse the situation in the Dingnan Prefectures.
Hu Feng, you might as well go and see for yourself, if you agree, stay, if not, leave.
"Is Zihua going on a trip?"
"I plan to go to the Hewei land to have a look." Wu Rong didn't hide anything and said directly.
Xiao Qu nodded slightly.
In the past few years, Chang'an has had an overall atmosphere of depression and despair. First, the thieves entered the pass and broke into Chang'an, and the saint was lucky to be in Shu, which shocked the world. Then there was the town relocation incident, and the saint once again "went on patrol", but fortunately he was spirited away.
King Wujun "welcomed" him and returned to Chang'an quickly without causing any trouble.
But even so, everyone's morale was still involuntarily affected. If something happens later and the saint is forced to go on patrol again, the people's morale will be hit hard again, but the world will not be in despair, and the people will be completely lost.
The Emperor Chao has run away too many times, and everyone has become numb.
"Hewei is newly restored and the place is not peaceful. Are we going to leave now?" Xiao Yu asked.
"Didn't Mr. Xiao also go to Hewei?" Wu Rong said lightly.
Xiao Qun was the younger brother of Prime Minister Xiao Tao. He took hundreds of servants to guard the westward journey, and he also had so many carriages and horses. He couldn't be doing business, right? He was either going to Fengxiang to visit Zhu Mei, or he was going to Hewei to meet Shao Shude.
I heard that Zhu Mei had only 20,000 soldiers and Shao Shude had 50,000 soldiers. It is more likely that Xiao Zang would go to Hewei.
"Prince Lingwu may have returned to Xiazhou, and someone also went to visit the Hewei area." Xiao Zang was a little embarrassed and said insincerely.
The Xiao family of Lanling has been a noble family for generations, and their family name is as prosperous as those of the Five Surnames and Seven Hopes. Going to see a martial artist so eagerly is indeed a shameless thing.
But there is no other way! In today's world, warriors are unreasonable. Even the emperor dares to rob them, let alone respect the big families. In the peaceful and prosperous times, the Lanling Xiao family could crush warriors like Shao Shude to death at will, but
At this time, the end of the dynasty is clearly revealed. Who dares to be disrespectful to a warrior? Zhu Quanzhong, who has a poor reputation, and the Xiao family have sent people to climb up, not to mention Shao Shude, who does not harm the people and does not despise scholars?
"Since we are going to the river and the Wei River together, why not go together together?" Xiao Yu is also a scholar, so he naturally has the hobby of a scholar. He admires Wu Rong's poems very much and plans to study them more along the way. Those few poems he wrote in private
It’s your first proud work, and you can put it out there for others to comment on.
"That's fine." Wu Rong was disappointed in the examination room. He didn't have much favorable impressions of these aristocratic families at first, but he was short of money. Following the Xiao family's motorcade along the way would save a lot of money, so he nodded and agreed.
Rich family, alas!
The motorcade traveled all the way without staying in any prefecture or county. It walked along the post road and rested at the post station at night.
The post road system in Guanzhong, even now, is still well maintained due to military needs. After they left Lingao Post, they passed through Wangxian Post and Taohua Post and left the boundary of Xianyang. These two posts both belong to Xianyang, basically 23
Ten miles to one post, whether it is public or private travel, messengers or military troops, it can be convenient.
Then we passed through Wenquan Station (between Xianyang and Xingping County), Huaili Station (Guoxia, Xingping County), Mawei Station, Wangyuan Station (in Wugong County), Fufeng Station (Fufeng County), Longwei Station, Shizhu
Post (Qishan County), Hengshui Post arrived at Tianxing County, Fengxiang Prefecture on July 24.
Fengxiang Prefecture is an important town in Guanzhong, protected by city walls in the east and west. There is a post road in the south leading to Hanzhong and Shuzhong, and in the west there is a post road leading to Qinzhou, Liangzhou, and Anxi. It also has a rich household registration, produces grain and silk, and is connected to towns in the northwest of Beijing.
First.
This is a very powerful town with a very good foundation. Without the rapid rise of the Difficult Army, whoever controls the Fengxiang Prefectures will be able to overlook Guanzhong.
Xiao Qu and his party stayed in a place called Qifangting. He had no intention of going to the city to see Zhu Mei, and Zhu Mei might not live in the city. I heard that he was setting up gardens and recruiting beauties, so most of them lived in the city.
outside the city.
These are all warrior leaders, Xiao Qu sighed.
Fengxiang and Zhumei carried out extensive construction projects, built mansions, and collected beauties for their own entertainment, without caring about the lives of the people.
Gao Pian of Huainan was obsessed with cultivating immortals and placed great emphasis on those who pretended to be gods and ghosts. His trusted alchemist Lu Yongzhi was covetous of General Bi Shiduo's concubine and asked for it repeatedly, but Bi Shiduo refused. So Lu Yongzhi broke into Bi Shiduo's mansion while he was leading his troops.
He "met" the concubine in private. Bi Shiduo was so angry that he divorced the concubine directly. Gao Pian had no reaction to this.
Therefore, King Gaojun was imprisoned by Bi Shiduo. Now Huainan's careerists from all walks of life have appeared one after another, and everything is in chaos.
Zhou Bao, who was in charge of the navy, spent all day banqueting in the back building and "indulged in sensuality". Now he has been rebelled and run away.
There are too many generals like this, and the spiritual world of the warriors is so empty. In comparison, Lingwu County King seems so unusual. He fights all year round and is determined to make progress. At the same time, he also restrains his troops and does not kill the people.
Local construction has also been carried out in an impressive manner.
It’s not that Prince Lingwu is so good, it’s that the others are so bad! When he goes into battle, he has a strong spirit of bravery and is quite capable of fighting, but in his spare time, there’s nothing he can do!
If there are psychologists from later generations to diagnose, in the late Tang Dynasty, more than a hundred years after the separation of vassal towns, the warriors should have more or less mental illnesses. They were in a state of extreme tension all day long, with rebellions from time to time, and wars were frequent.
, and there is no strong restraint from above, so no one can really control this "outbreak".
"What do Zihua think of Fengxiang Mansion?" After dinner, with nothing to do, Xiao Yu took Wu Rong to chat again.
"It was originally a place where things were abundant and the people were prosperous. However, the commander-in-chief did not manage it well and the people were hungry," Wu Rong said.
"How does it compare to the Dingnan Army?"
"One million Han people and 50,000 warriors will not be much better."
"That's not polite." Xiao Yu laughed loudly and said, "But you still want to go to Hewei."
"Prince Lingwu can still be saved, but the other commanders in Guanzhong are in despair."
Xiao Qu laughed so hard that he was out of breath and said again: "The Prince of Lingwu County is also a beautiful woman."
"As long as you still have benevolence towards the people and can see the suffering of the people, so what if you are a beautiful woman? It's just a concubine, even her whole family has been raised by the people. As long as you don't kill the people to get their own way, levy and expropriate thousands of concubines.
I can even afford to keep a concubine."
Xiao Qu laughed again. However, he smiled and suddenly thought of his daughter. It would be great if he could persuade the king of Lingwu County to divorce his wife. Unfortunately, Zhe Zong was originally a righteous man, and the governor of Linzhou in Guanbei was also Zhe Zong.
Si Lun, I would never dare to say these words.
Alas, Prince Lingwu is quite talented, so why did he marry a Xianbei woman?
"Zihua's words are in my opinion." Xiao Yu said with a smile.
Xiao Qu didn't find it strange at all that Wu Rong had this idea. Scholars nowadays have very low requirements for martial arts.
In the world, there are some who are rebels, some who are bandits, some who are bandits, some who are generals, and of course some who are high-ranking officials. But the strange thing is that even if you come from a famous family, you have been a martial artist for a long time.
, and in the end, they gradually became similar to the martial artist who was born as a thieves. Could this "martial arts disease" still be contagious?
Shao Shude seems to be relatively normal. Will he also contract "Warrior Disease" in the future and be slowly assimilated by millions of warriors in the world?
It’s hard to find someone who can be rescued, but don’t do it!
We continued our journey early in the morning on July 25th.
Passing through Qianyang County, Qianyuanyi, Anrongguan, Dazhenguan, Fenshuiyi, Gongchuanzhai, Suirongzha, Qingshui County, to Qinzhou Lisuo Shanggui County, it was already early August
six.
We passed several checkpoints along the way, and people from Fengxiang Town were imposing taxes, which were very heavy. Some small businessmen were forced to bypass the main roads and take small roads over mountains and ridges to avoid tax cards.
Wu Rong suddenly remembered the "forbidden pit" next to Tongguan. Because there were tax collectors in Tongguan and the taxes were very heavy, many businessmen chose to walk through a deep valley and dense forest next to it. Over time, a road came out, called the "forbidden pit". Qinzhou and other places
The merchants who traveled over the mountains and ridges also felt a bit like Tongguan.
Going southwest from Shanggui is Weizhou. Are these merchants going to Weizhou to do business? Weizhou is newly restored and the people are very poor. What business is there to do?
Businessmen are probably the most responsive people in the world.
"The tip of a hundred-foot pole is tilted five liang, there is no place in this life that I don't call home." Wu Rong shook his head. There should be no difference between himself and those merchants. They are all people living in other places. The merchants still have a head to go after all.
And why?
Cen Shen went to Anxi, Wang Wei went to Zhangye, Gao Shi went to Wuwei, and Du Fu went to Qinzhou. They all followed this path. Today I am also following this path, hoping to have a different future.
After leaving Qinzhou, we walked along the Weishui Avenue, passed through Fuqiang County and Luomen River, and arrived at Longxi County on August 12th.
There was something strange along the way. There were many Tianxiong soldiers from Fengxiang Town, who were cutting down trees and building fences. Are they worried that the Dingnan Army would attack Qinzhou from the east?
This Zhu Mei is not as unruly as the legend says. She is very careful about her own territory. Qinzhou is to the west of Longshan, separated by mountains from Fengxiang Mansion, and has many registered residences. It used to be Longyou.
The first state has been stable for almost forty years after it was recovered during the Dazhong period. It is not impossible for the Dingnan Army to covet it.
The countryside in Longxi County is somewhat desolate.
Wu Rong strolled to the ruins of a post station and looked carefully at the moss-covered rubble.
The Tubo people who ruled the Longyou states were incompetent.
In the Hexi states, they kept a large number of post stations to provide convenience for themselves. The cities in the Gua and Sha states were also intact for their own convenience. Perhaps, those on the Hexi side are real Tubo people, and those on the Longyou side are fake
Probably the Tubo people.
There is an extremely small village next to the ruins of the inn, with less than ten households. Wu Rong, Xiao Qu and others came forward to find someone to buy water. As a result, after walking around for a long time, no one could speak Mandarin.
A child came over, and it seemed that he had some paint on his face. When he saw an outsider, his mother pulled the child back and wiped the paint off his face. He looked very uneasy and seemed to be saying something.
, but no one understands it.
"Where are the guests coming from?" An old voice suddenly sounded from behind.
Xiao Yu and Wu Rong both turned around and looked at an old man on crutches, who just spoke in Mandarin.
"My father-in-law (a personal name for an old man in the Tang Dynasty, it can also be called an old man, the latter means respect) can still speak Mandarin?" Xiao Qu said happily: "I was just thinking of buying some water."
"The old man (a self-proclaimed person in the Tang Dynasty) originally came from Qinzhou and was plundered by Tibet. Of course he can speak Mandarin." Zhang Lao shook his head, looked at the mother and son with a slightly sentimental look, and said: "They are both Tianbao. The remaining people can no longer speak Mandarin. Living in the Hu area, over time, they don’t know what Hu customs are and what Chinese customs are. It is a custom of the Tibetan people to hide their faces. Although General Yang has ordered all changes to Hu customs, with just one sentence, What kind of thing can you do? Someone has to do it! People in the countryside are even worse than the people in that city. How can they learn the graceful style without anyone to teach them? A certain old man has no family and no one listens to his words. That’s all. If the imperial court doesn't care, it's useless to talk too much."
"General Yang is the Commander Yang who regained Weizhou?"
"Not only have Weizhou been recovered, but Minzhou has also been recovered. In the past few days, sergeants have been withdrawing from the south one after another. If you are lucky, you can see them. A lot of Tibetan prisoners have been captured, and the army is in great shape."
"Even Minzhou was recovered?" Xiao Qu was a little surprised.
There are three counties in Minzhou, four counties in Weizhou, three counties in Hezhou, two counties in Linzhou, and only two counties in Lanzhou. Recently, the court approved the establishment of two new counties, Gaolan and Yuzhong. This means that Hewei Town has sixteen counties from five states. Yes. There are too few registered residences and empty prefectures and counties. We need to think of more solutions.
"Of course we have recovered. General Yang is really a divine general. If there had been such a general back then, the old man would not have been able to chop wood, and he would have been robbed." The old man said in a sentimental tone, but his expression was quite calm. , more than thirty years have passed, and it is obvious that we have already looked away.
"Where is General Yang at this time?" Wu Rong asked.
"She should still be in Minzhou, but she will be back sooner or later. The sergeant who heard the news said that the commander-in-chief has ordered the troops to regroup, and all the troops will return one by one."
"Why not continue the fight? Recover all the lost ground?" Wu Rong asked anxiously.
Xiao Qu glanced at him. How could fighting be so easy? If the lost territory could be easily regained, even Prince Lingwu would be happy to see it happen. This Wu Rong is quite impatient.
Suddenly the sound of horse hooves sounded in the distance, and a large group of cavalry appeared at the end of the River Valley Avenue.
The banner is fluttering and the army is in full bloom. This is the victorious army.
Wu Rong and Xiao Yu looked at each other in ecstasy.
