"A bunch of dog slaves, all kneel down for us!" Lin Dengwan was among more than a dozen companions, squatting in fear in the Tan Temple. He heard from the eunuchs who left the palace in the temple that there were some people in the Twenty-Four Yamen.
They are not to be messed with. Among them are the royal guards. Most of them can enter the palace.
The acquaintances in the palace were familiar to these yamen. When they heard that they were from the Royal Horse Supervisor, no one dared to push the door. They were soon knocked open from the outside and all the people from the Xixin Division were arrested. A group of Royal Horse Supervisors were surrounding them.
The eunuch kept beating with a stick in his hand. The leader wore a cotton armor and a Tang Dynasty hat on his head. The green patch was visible on the collar, and a tooth tag hung on his waist. The red tassel followed his
roar
Swinging back and forth, his face turned red, and he was obviously very angry at the new handymen of the Salary Department.
"Tell me, who came to steal just now?" The leading eunuch waited for a moment. Seeing that no one spoke in the palace, he screamed again, "Don't tell me, drag one out and beat him to death for us. Drag him to death."
This guy dared to push against the door just now." Lin Dengwan tightened his grip and shouted a few times in panic. He was already dragged outside. Several eunuchs from the Royal Horse Guards came up and pulled off his pants, then turned him face down.
Pinned to the floor, Lin Dengwan cried in shock.
Shout.
Just listen to the leader's voice saying, "Take his ebony sign and give it to our family."
Someone tugged at his waist. When Lin Zhengwan looked up, his ebony sign had been handed to the leading eunuch. The ebony sign was round, about two inches in diameter, and had the words "Guard to prevent entry and exit" engraved with fire seals on it.
Four characters, with the number of the license holder on both sides. As a eunuch who has just entered the palace, if this brand is taken away, not only will he be in trouble
If you find it difficult to walk, you will most likely be kicked out of the palace.
"It depends on whether you say it or not. Give this to our family first. If you kill me, it will be our family's fault!"
The two sticks next to him hit the ground, and Lin Dengwan felt the stone slab beneath him shake.
Then the head of the stick left the ground, and Lin Dengwan knew it was lifted. He screamed in horror, and his whole body began to shake.
"I say! I say! It was Li Wu who stole it. I have only been clean for a few months and they stole it all. I have never stolen anything, well..."
The leading eunuch came over and stepped on Lin Dengwan's face, squatted down and looked at him, "Who is Li Wu?"
Li Wu yelled angrily from the squatting crowd, "You shameless person named Lin, you ate everything every time. If I hadn't gone out to get food, you would have been fucking starved to death. If anything happened, I would be blamed..."
…”
The leading eunuch shouted, "Catch him and beat him to death."
The people from the Royal Horse Prison over there dragged Li Wu out. In the hall, they rained down sticks and clubs, and Li Wu's screams were heartbreaking.
The dozen or so servants of the Xixin Department who were squatting on the ground were horrified. Lin Dengwan was whimpering on the ground, but no one came to protect Li Wu.
The leading eunuch still stepped on his head until the subordinate next to him whispered to him, "Dianbu, this man leaked urine. Be careful not to dirty your shoes."
Dian Bo looked down and saw a puddle of water under Lin Denwan's body. Then he stood up and stepped on his head again, "You are such a shameless thing, disgusting!"
He dared to resist but did not dare to get up, so he lay down in his own urine, his legs and feet were cold, and he cried amidst Li Wu's screams. After an unknown period of time, Li Wu's voice stopped screaming.
The horse supervisor also left
More than a dozen people were still squatting in the hall. Lin Dengwan carefully got up, left the puddle of urine that was about to freeze, rolled and crawled to the wall, barely pulled up his pants, and then huddled against the wall.
Tuan, bury your head in your knees
between.
While panting and wiping away tears, he secretly glanced at the other people in the palace. Li Wu was lying on the ground motionless, and the others were also secretly looking at him, with strange and unfamiliar eyes.
At this moment, the door suddenly creaked, and when everyone turned to look, they saw their husband, Wang, who had led them through the door that day. Everyone stood up one after another as if they had seen their savior.
After looking around the palace, Mr. Wang scolded, "Get up, everyone. There are not enough people to burn the kangs in the palace. You are still hiding here for leisure. Go work for our family."
Everyone hurriedly followed him and walked out. Lin Dengwan hurriedly followed him at the end. When he was going out, he looked back and saw that Li Wu lying on the ground no longer paid attention to, not even Mr. Wang.
Finally leaving this charcoal temple, Lin Dengwan felt that the air must be fresh when he stepped out of the door. He only heard a handyman bravely ask, "Husband Wang, that slave has retired."
"The slaves have gone elsewhere, and the imperial city is no longer under martial law... Is this your business? They all go to Beichang to transport firewood."
…
On the night of the fourth day of November, at Cihui Temple outside Andingmen, horns were blaring in the surrounding camps and horses were neighing continuously. (Note 1) Lu Xiangsheng, with a white linen scarf tied on his head, walked slowly into the temple gate, his steps slow.
It was heavy. The Qing army joined forces in two directions. On the third day of the month, it moved westward from the northeast of the capital. The movement was very fast. The entire north direction of the capital was filled with Qing cavalry.
, Xuan Dajun's sentry cavalry failed to break through the Qing army's cavalry interception, and could not find out where the Qing army's camp was. They only knew that it was roughly in the Tucheng area. The Dubiao Battalion continued to conduct outpost battles with the Qing army on the third and fourth days of the lunar month. Each battalion
They all made small gains, but failed to stop the enemy's movement. On the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, the rear of the Jiannu army had passed Xizhimen. The Qing army's cavalry gradually withdrew. Today, the Dubiao camp
Then he moved the camp from Deshengmen to Andingmen.
At this time, among the five battalion heads of the Dubiao Battalion, three have been assigned to Chen Xinjia. Chen Xinjia will stay in Changping to protect the imperial mausoleum. Therefore, Lu Xiangsheng's pursuit of the Qing army tomorrow can only take away the middle camp and the left camp. On the contrary, the strength of the troops is greatly reduced.
.
Lu Xiangsheng first went to the main hall to meet the abbot of Cihui Temple, and assured the great monk that the army would not damage the temple, and thanked him for staying overnight. The abbot did not dare to be really dissatisfied, and also provided some food stored in the temple.
When he returned to the guest room where he stayed, Lu Xiangsheng already looked tired. The soldiers were still cleaning the room. There were two stone benches under the dead trees outside the room. Lu Xiangsheng sat down on the stone bench. The main hall he had just visited was still there.
During the evening class, amidst the shouting and neighing of the people around me, I could still hear the faint sound of gentle chanting. Lu Xiangsheng slowly leaned against the tree trunk and closed his eyes as if he was going to sleep. I don’t know how long it took before he heard
have
People are talking in low voices.
Lu Xiangsheng suddenly opened his eyes. At this time, the sky had darkened, and lanterns were hung around. In the dim light, he saw his secret friend Xu Deshi standing in front of him.
Xu Deshi was holding a submission paper in his hand. Seeing Lu Xiangsheng open his eyes, he immediately said, "Master, I just received the message from the Ministry of War." Lu Xiangsheng's eyes immediately focused and he stood up. The soldier next to him moved the lantern closer. Lu Xiangsheng hurriedly
After taking it and reading it, he looked up at Xu Deshi and said in surprise, "I ordered the two supervisors, one to lead the troops to pursue and intercept, and the other to guard Jingtong. This is
what for?"
Xu Deshi frowned and shook his head and said, "After the consultation, my subordinates took a quick look and realized that something was wrong. I asked the Ministry of War to send a messenger for a while, so I immediately came to report to your lord and ask for your instructions." "It was agreed upon when my soldiers came last time.
If the captives try to go south, the governor will go south and the governor will stay in the north. Now that the slaves have passed Xizhimen, there is no doubt that they will go south. How could this fateful time lead to more details? Who are these people in the ministry consultation?
Who is pursuing the south and who is staying in the north? Does the horse have any instructions?"
"My subordinates asked the horse chariot, but he didn't have any instructions."
Lu Xiangsheng's chest heaved and he suddenly shouted angrily, "Let the horse go ask Yang Sichang how he became a soldier. How can military and national affairs be so ambiguous? It's just child's play!"
"Master Mingjian, I'm afraid that Ma Chai won't be able to talk to the Ministry of War. The most he can do when he returns to the Ministry is to hand over orders. It's best if he can write a document and bring it back." Lu Xiangsheng was very angry and walked back and forth under the tree, "Two days to build a slave."
From Shunyi to Tucheng, the tail of the team passed Xizhimen from Tucheng one day, and the vanguard's whereabouts is still unknown. Today, they marched for another day. If they really go south, the vanguard must have arrived.
In the Zhuozhou area, Yang Sichang sent a letter yesterday, asking me to make sure I copy the front line and not to chase the rear. Now instead, a ministry came here asking me how to copy the front line... Has there been any response to the food and salary that Yang Sichang promised?"
Xu Deshi shook his head, "Except for the internal funds given by the emperor on the day of Changping, he did not receive any money or food from the capital. He could not even make up for the debt he owed this year. The soldiers in the camp were quite complaining." Lu Xiangsheng stopped and turned to look.
Looking at him, his eyes were full of anger. Xu Deshi knew that this anger was directed at Yang Sichang, so he lowered his head and said, "Yang Guozhu, Hu Dawei, and Wang Pu sent people to ask questions today. They all only received two months of food when they set off.
Note 2), so far there is not much left. After arriving in Beijing, there have been excessive losses in the past few days, and there are only more than ten days of food left. Yang Guozhu is so powerful that he is polite, saying that he is afraid that the morale of the army will be unstable, especially that of Wang Pu.
He said he would only get one and a half months
We are almost running out of food. Yesterday, Wang Pu mobilized his sentries to explore Tucheng, but Wang Pu did not respond. Even..." He looked up at Lu Xiangsheng and said, "Even Li Chongzhen came in person and said that the food supply station
There is not much left, and there has been a commotion in the camp. Let's see if the capital can make up for it. They don't dare to ask the master now, and they are talking to the villain, because they want the villain to give the big man some advice.
I'll change the subject, but if the debt is owed for a few more days, and the army really runs out of food, something may happen." Lu Xiangsheng did not speak, and his walking pace became slower and slower. Li Chongzhen was the deputy general of the Supervisory Biao Zhongying. This person used to be
He was a general in Liao Town. He followed Lu Xiangsheng to suppress bandits in the Central Plains, participated in the Chuzhou War, and then followed him to Xuanda.
Lu Xiangsheng was the most confidant general, and even he came to ask, indicating that the food was indeed insufficient. After a while, he said to Xu Deshi, "Write this in your reply and ask Yang Sichang to make up for the month no matter what."
For military rations, ask him to send a letter in advance to the south of Beijing, especially Baoding, Hejian, and Tianjin, to the local prefectures and counties of Qin Wangbing.
The horses are prepared with provisions and grass." Xu Deshi waved a few soldiers carrying lanterns to stay away, and then whispered to Lu Xiangsheng, "I accept the order, but I don't have much hope for Yang Sichang. He was in the adult's tent that day.
, maybe he said that he must strengthen the army for this purpose
Guarantee enough money and food, but in the blink of an eye, there may be another rhetoric. I heard rumors in Beijing that he wanted to replace the capital with Chen Xinjia. I am afraid that he cannot count on him for the money and food, and he may not necessarily count on the local prefecture and county yamen."
"There are so many rumors in the capital." Lu Xiangsheng waved his hands and said, "At this time of war, don't let the rumors cause the ministers to be at odds and ruin King Qin's important affairs." "My subordinates are Du Ye's secret friends, so naturally they worry about the capital first.
Sir, these rumors may not be true, but it must be true that the slaves are trying to conquer the south. Since Yang Sichang took office, he has written about "cultivation and reserve" in various places, but not one of the ten local governments has complied with it. Now soldiers and horses are gathered in the capital, Jinan
The governments were completely defenseless, so how could they block the front of the Jiannu soldiers? When the time came to investigate, it would all be the responsibility of those who pursued Nan Chui. Since the Ministry of War speech did not confirm that it was the Du Ye who pursued Nan Chui, why not take advantage of the situation and suggest that it would be better to ask the Superintendent to pursue Nan Chui?
, the Jiannu on the left and right are all from Liao Town, he should be responsible for this, at least the Governor and the Superintendent should go south together to share the responsibility of victory and defeat. The 30,000 Jiannu mentioned in Liao Town must be
It's just a containment,
If we had to wait for that road, the two roads entering the border would not go south now, and staying north would only be a waste of troops." Lu Xiangsheng did not rebuke or respond, but just walked two heavy steps, "Xue Cheng, you mean well.
, I all understand, but there are dozens of prefectures and counties in Jinan, and millions of living beings are here. The situation is like this, and some things can’t be taken care of.
Well, most of the infantry and fire soldiers here in Liao Town are not suitable for chasing south. I would like to reply to my soldiers and ask them to make a decision as soon as possible." Xu Deshi was silent for a long time and said in a low voice, "That day, my subordinates proposed that I ask you to recommend someone to take over and let Chen Xinjia.
When this Lao Shizi came to the aid of the governor, the governor left the land of trouble. Your Excellency was also concerned about the people of the capital, but after all, it seems that when the soldiers asked the governor for money and food, no one cared about the governor. The soldiers would not sit back and wait for death if they were short of food.
It's nothing more than obeying the instructions and failing to suppress the bandits, and then looting places. This is Beizhili, but it is nothing like the suppression of bandits in Huguang and Henan. When the time comes, local impeachment will be
Directly to the imperial court, on the occasion of using troops, they did not dare to do anything to the generals, and the burden was still on the master."
Lu Xiangsheng smiled bitterly and said, "Stop saying these things in Xuecheng. Go and write a reply to the Ministry of War earlier."
Xu Des took a long breath, saluted Lu Xiangsheng and left. Lu Xiangsheng turned back to the incense room, cleaned his hands in the copper basin on the table, carefully wiped away the water stains, and then removed the white linen on his head.
As soon as he put down the linen towel, a soldier came to the door. He hesitated and said, "Report to Lord Du"
I know, the veterinarian said that Wu Mingji suddenly lay down on the ground and was no longer breathing, Mr. Du..."
Lu Xiangsheng stopped what he was doing. His mount was named Wumingji. It had been following him for a long time. It was strong and fast and rarely fell ill. However, he suddenly fell ill before leaving camp today. I am afraid that his life may have ended on this journey to the King of Qin.
"I'll go check it out later."
The soldier agreed and disappeared in front of the door. Lu Xiangsheng looked at the linen towel on the table in a daze. After a while, he slowly walked out of the door and stood silently under the tree with only dead branches in front of the door.
At this time, the soldiers and horses camped around have quieted down, a dim halo is revealed in the direction of the main hall, and the sound of evening classes is still heard. Snowflakes are falling in the night sky. Wherever the light of the lantern can be reached, the snowflakes are accompanied by gentle and melodious chanting.
The sound flies softly
.
The faint snowflakes appeared and disappeared in front of his eyes. Lu Xiangsheng was fascinated by it. After a long time, he said softly, "This... maybe it's good."
…
Note 1: On the evening of the fourth day of November, Xuanda Dubiao Camp was stationed at Cihui Temple outside Andingmen, and Lu Xiangsheng was also stationed here.
Note 2: Yang Guozhu and Hu Dawei both received only two months of rations when they set off. They may have made the same empiricist error as Pang Yu, and estimated the combat duration to be two months. Note 3: Lu Xiangsheng's mount Wuming
Ji died on his way to King Qin. Xu Deshi recorded that he died suddenly when leaving camp near the capital and was unable to participate in the final battle of Jiazhuang. Xu Deshi in this chapter was Lu Xiangsheng's secret comrade. Most of Lu Xiangsheng's records in his final stage come from his "