The anxious guards quickly moved forward at full speed, but they had to stop after a short time.
At some point, a large gap about four feet wide was dug into the post road in front of me, leaving only a patch of stagnant water mixed with mud lying in front of me.
The guards explored the depth and quickly frowned.
Hold!
They cursed bitterly.
The swamp in front of you is not too deep, but it can definitely be submerged in your mount.
While he was hesitating, the rebel army caught up.
Seeing this situation, the general leading the army had no choice but to let the soldiers build the road.
Fortunately, we had encountered such a situation where the road was cut off before, and the quelling army was well prepared.
It's easier to get things done when there are more people, and the gap is repaired quickly.
However, within a few dozen miles, we stopped again ahead.
When I went over and took a look, it turned out that someone had dug a big hole in the post road again.
Just like this, practice and walk, walk and practice.
Mist County is eggplant-shaped, long from north to south and narrow from east to west. Under normal circumstances, it takes less than three days for light vehicles and simple horses to cross it.
Therefore, because of the road construction, the team was delayed forever.
And the closer to Laigu County, the slower the progress.
Because this is already the western half of Misty County, there is almost no real land around it except for the post road, and there are no large plants to cut down.
The only way to refill the post road is to mine soil and wood from the counties east of the mist and transport it there. The journey is long and very troublesome.
But no matter how troublesome it is, it must be repaired, otherwise Emperor Changxing's butcher knife may cut it off at any time.
The news spread back to Star City.
Luo Ken, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, immediately entered the palace excitedly to see Emperor Changxing.
"Your Majesty," he mentioned the old story again, "since we want to build the east-west post road in Misty County, we might as well build the north-south one as well."
Otherwise, the iron ore mines in Qingshi County can only be looked at but not used. Moreover, it is not a problem to leave the built cranes all the time.
Emperor Changxing did not comment, but first summoned Qian Liang from the Ministry of Household Affairs.
"Qian Aiqing, what do you think?" he asked his money bag.
"Your Majesty, it has been Emperor Yunchui's long-cherished wish to build the north-south post road in Misty County. The merits of this work will be beneficial to the future. I must work hard to raise money to ensure the smooth start of the project."
If it was about fighting a war or building imperial mausoleums or palaces, Qian Liang might not be willing to pay for it; but when it came to building water conservancy, roads and other infrastructure, he would usually raise his hands in favor.
Moreover, autumn has just passed, and taxes have been collected in all places except a few counties in the west. At this time, the Ministry of Household Affairs still has some money left.
Finally, Emperor Changxing said with a stroke of his pen, "Yes!"
Although it was approved, the construction was not started immediately. Firstly, it needed to be tested, and secondly, the fog had to be settled first.
Otherwise, it will be in vain if you practice it.
After much delay, the Pingluan South Route Army finally crossed the swamp of Mist County and entered Laigu County.
It can be said that more soldiers died in the swamp than at the hands of the rebels.
The "Lai" in Laigu is also called Laishui.
This is a medium-sized river.
As long as you follow it upstream, you can go directly to the Luoxia Mountains, or turn north along the tributaries and go straight to Yingling County in the north.
In this way, there is no need to worry about being unable to move due to rioters cutting off the post road.
Just after entering Laigu County, Zhen Guogong's escort left the team early and left alone.
There are few of them and they have received strict water training, so they take the water route.
The counter-rebellion army did not have enough ships, so they still had to crawl forward slowly like a turtle on the post road.
The guards went all the way to the west without any obstruction. They almost stopped at the small county town where the Duke Lingshu of the old town was located and came ashore.
When they were about to enter the city, they were stopped outside the city gate by the mob as if they were facing an enemy.
Fortunately, the Zhenguo Duke's Mansion has been guarding the Yanjie Fortress, and every year there are clan members coming in and out of the western counties. Here, the prestige of the Huo clan is almost as high as that of the famous Xingluo Legion.
The guards reported their identity and paid some money and food.
The sallow-faced and skinny rebels breathed a sigh of relief and directly sent out the coffin team trapped in the city.
The crystal coffin was extremely precious, and what was inside was the old prince. The guards quickly came over to inspect it, and soon all of them had solemn expressions on their faces.
The car carrying the coffin was covered with numerous injuries, and it was unknown how many times it was attacked along the way.
"Thank you for your hard work, brothers."
"It's not hard work. It's just that I couldn't send the general back in time. It's really embarrassing..."
After some pleasantries, the guards split into two.
Two hundred people assisted the original team in escorting the old Duke back to Beijing, while more than a hundred people continued westward along the waterway.
Target: Luoxia Mountains.
More than half a month later, under the falling snow, General Huo Zheng's coffin finally returned to Star City smoothly.
Princess Yiguang did not greet her with much fanfare, but only set up a mourning hall in the Duke's Mansion. After sorting out her husband's remains, she invited relatives and friends to come to express their condolences.
Yingpan from next door also went.
Even in the mourning hall, she saw the red-eyed Concubine Qing and the female family members of the Zhenguo Duke's Mansion, wearing linen belts and kneeling there in filial piety.
The mourning hall was held for seven days.
Seven days later, the old Duke's coffin quietly left the Zhenguo Palace and was sent back to his hometown in Xingluo for burial.
In the imperial study, Emperor Changxing raised his head with mixed feelings.
"Has the old man returned to Xingluo?"
Although it was almost impossible for Emperor Changxing to sit on the dragon throne without General Huo Zheng and Princess Yiguang a few decades ago. But at this time, he was the monarch, and the old Duke died of an epidemic, so he did not go to pay his respects.
"Back to Your Majesty," Changlu nodded, "The coffin quietly left the city in the morning."
He opened his mouth but said no more.
Just like when he came back, the old man left quietly.
It was so quiet that almost no people in Xingji City knew that the coffin contained a world-famous Duke, and they thought it was just a random person named Huo.
Emperor Changxing was silent for a while, then looked up to the west.
To the west, there are two roads, one south and one north, to quell the rebel army.
Taking Chen Xiujian's announcement as the vanguard, the Southern Route Army advanced westward albeit slowly.
After the death of the Eighth Prince Chen Xiuyi, the Northern Route Army also began to attack the city like crazy, but they were stuck in Tianshui County and stood still.
snort!
Emperor Changxing snorted coldly.
Changlu was familiar with his temperament and couldn't help but shrink his neck slightly.
When the emperor is angry, some people may lose their heads.
Zhen Guo Gongfu.
The whole house was filled with sad and pale eyes.
Three more Huo family members who died in the battle will be sent back later, so the mourning hall in the mansion will not be evacuated.
In the study, Princess Yiguang was writing a letter, while the prince Huo Qing was sharpening ink for his grandmother.
Although she had just given away her lifelong husband, there was not much sadness on Princess Yiguang's face.
After a while, she finished writing the letter and checked it again, nodding slightly.
"Brother Huo, send someone to deliver the letter to Guangxin County in the south."
"Okay, grandma." Huo Qing waited for the ink to dry, quickly put the letter away, and turned to leave.
"Everything is safe and sound under the emperor's feet. The palace does not need so many guards, so we will find a way to send them to the Luoxia Mountains."
Huo Qing hesitated, but looked at his grandmother with firm eyes and nodded in agreement.