With many worries on their mind, Zhang Xiaowu and others passed through Huizhou, where victims were everywhere, and finally arrived at Sizhou, the core area of the country.
Sizhou was the center of the empire, but it was not the geographical center of the empire, because as the territory of the Holy Han Dynasty expanded southward, the geographical center had become Muzhou to the south of Sizhou, and Muzhou and Sizhou were only separated by Long.
Facing each other across the river, Sizhou's location is equivalent to the Zhili Province of the Republic of China before Zhang Xiaowu crossed over. It has an extremely special status and role. The governor of Sizhou and the general of Sizhou must be important ministers and confidants of the emperor.
There is a checkpoint between Huizhou and Sizhou, called Tengguan, so named because it is located at the foot of Tengshan Mountain. After Tengguan, you will reach Sizhou.
When they came to Sizhou, everyone immediately felt the blockage here. There were no disaster victims in Sizhou. After asking, they learned that Shi Chong had arrested all the people who came to Sizhou and sent them to Lingnan to develop the territory, so that it seemed that Sizhou
It seems that there are no disaster victims in Sizhou. Therefore, not only are there no disaster victims in Sizhou, there are not even beggars. Zhang Xiaowu said with a smile: "In this case, doesn't Sizhou have no beggars?"
Everyone laughed.
Sizhou was more heavily guarded than other states. When they entered Tengguan in Sizhou, they were interrogated by the Sizhou Army. However, the Sizhou Army did not embarrass the Ghost Guards and his party. They inspected and released them one by one in accordance with regulations. The Sizhou Army behaved well.
They were reasonable and measured, neither flattering nor excluding Zhang Xiaowu. Everyone thought that they were used to seeing high-ranking officials, but in fact, the Sizhou army had strict discipline.
The Sizhou Army did not stop or charge any money for the goods carried by the Ghost Guards. They only told them that after they were delivered to Longdu, they must undergo a second inspection outside the city and send them to the destination after obtaining the token. If there is no destination,
You can only go to Liugongfang to register.
The so-called Liugongfang is not a workshop called Liugong, but six workshops dedicated to handicrafts. They belong to the outer 72 of the 108 workshops in Longdu City. Most of the handicrafts in Longdu City are
Coming from the Six Workshops, there may not be the most skilled craftsmen in the world, but the six workshops are connected together to form the simplest industrial regional chain.
Zhang Xiaowu said with emotion: "When I arrived in Sizhou, I finally saw normal soldiers. Holy Han soldiers should be like this. The Huizhou Army and Daizhou Army are simply bandits. No wonder people are dissatisfied with the imperial court. These people can really discredit them.
empire."
Ruan Qingwen said, "That's because the Sizhou garrison is none other than Du Shanbo's nephew Lou Chungui. This man leads the army with strict military discipline and is upright and honest. No one in the whole court disobeys and disrespects him."
Zhang Xiaowu said with a smile: "Another member of the Dushan Bo Party."
Ruan Qingwen said: "That's wrong."
"Why?"
Ruan Qingwen blinked and said: "Not only is General Lou not a member of Du Shanbo's party, on the contrary, he is very opposed to Du Shanbo. It can be said that if there is anyone in the world who can fight against Du Shanbo, Zhang Kuan ranks first
, then General Lou will be ranked second. It is a pity that General Lou has been excluded from the center and is just a state guard. Du Shanbo knew that General Lou was hostile to him, so he did everything possible to squeeze him out. As the saying goes
Out of sight, out of mind, two people can't see each other, but there is less arguing."
Wang Yijin said: "Uncle Dushan is so arrogant and domineering, why don't you think about eradicating General Lou?"
Ruan Qingwen said: "After all, the relationship between the two is uncle and nephew, and they will not eliminate each other. Uncle Dushan is more domineering, but he is not a cruel person, nor is he a mediocre person. General Lou has a good reputation in Sizhou
Extremely high, if Uncle Dushan dares to kill General Lou, the Sizhou Army will definitely avenge General Lou at all costs."
"Then why are they at odds?" Wang Yijin asked.
Ruan Qingwen laughed and said: "Speaking of which, there is still an old grudge between them."
Zhang Xiaowu suddenly became interested and hurriedly asked: "Is this feud due to business or personal reasons?"
"For personal reasons." Ruan Qingwen said, "I have only heard that when Du Shanbo was young, he and his brother-in-law Lou Shixiong went out to fight the enemy, but the two went out to fight and were trapped behind enemy lines. The two tried their best to break out of the siege, but it was a pity that
In order to protect Uncle Dushan, Lou Shixiong died in the battle. Uncle Dushan lived alone, and Lou Shixiong died in the battle. Therefore, the Lou family believed that Uncle Dushan sacrificed Lou Shixiong in order to survive. As the saying goes, the hatred of killing his father is irreconcilable, even his own uncle also
No, Lou Chungui has become a mortal enemy of his uncle Du Shanbo."
Zhang Xiaowu said: "How could Uncle Dushan kill his brother-in-law? He should not be such a villain."
Ruan Qingwen smiled and said: "That's not necessarily the case."
"oh?"
"Because no matter how Lou Chungui opposed Du Shanbo, Du Shanbo never punished Lou Chungui. Who could not say that it was because of guilt?"
Zhang Xiaowu thought about it and realized that it was indeed possible, but how could a man's actions be tied up in personal affairs? Maybe there was another reason.
After Tengguan is Tengshan County. Tengshan County is not well-known, but there is a leisure resort in its territory, the royal hunting ground of the Holy Han Empire, and a guard army is stationed. This guard army is also the only one stationed in
Of course, the Royal Forest Army outside Longdu City is considered by everyone to be a place of exile. Anyone who is assigned to the Royal Forest Army here must be someone who has made mistakes.
The Ghost Guards and others planned to rest in Tengshan County for a night before setting off the next day, so they checked into the Tengshan County Post Station. It was almost August, but the Central Plains was still hot, and there was no sign of rain. The postmaster of Tengshan County Post Station
He said that in the whole of July, Tengshan County only had three rains, which was much better than other places. Moreover, Tengshan County is close to the royal hunting ground, so people can secretly go hunting at the royal hunting ground.
"Common people go to the hunting ground to hunt? Do the officials not care?" Zhang Xiaowu asked curiously.
"The late Emperor has not come to the hunting ground for ten years, and the Great Virtue Emperor has not come to the hunting ground for two years since he came to the throne. There are too many animals in the hunting ground, so as long as they are not bumped by the imperial guards, they will not take care of them. However, if they are bumped by the imperial guards, they will have to pick them up.
A layer of skin." The postmaster smiled.
Xia Ming suddenly came to report that he found several horses that were sick and fell to the ground one after another. Everyone was shocked and ran over quickly. They saw only seven or eight horses lying on the ground, and a few more horses were staggering and teetering on the ground.
, Zhang Xiaowu shouted: "The war horse is seriously ill and must be treated. Is there a veterinarian in the city?"
The postman in the inn originally knew how to treat horse diseases, but after seeing it, he said he couldn't cure it. However, there was a veterinarian in the city nicknamed Cow Horse Sheep. He was a veterinarian who specialized in treating animal diseases at the royal hunting ground, because he earned income from guarding the hunting ground.
It was too low, so I started working as a part-time veterinarian in the city.
This cow, horse and sheep also served as a petty officer in the Royal Forest Army, because he was very good at treating animals. However, he was trapped in the royal hunting ground, so he could only concentrate on studying veterinary knowledge, but he improved his craft.
But if the emperor doesn't come to the hunting ground to hunt, his royal veterinarian will be of no use.