Chapter 553: Driving the tiger away from the mountain
At the end of the first lunar month (the end of the month), throw away your rags and give them to your poor children.
This is the Three Orders Festival (also March 3rd and September 9th), and everyone celebrates it. Regardless of the north or the south, the emperor will give banquets to the ministers, and the ladies will go boating to have fun together.
Xiazhou is located in the north, and the weather is still cold. The banks of Qingshui (Yanhe) River will still freeze in the morning and evening, so there is no such custom.
But such a big festival must be celebrated with joy. As the sky was getting brighter, Gao Meng led the state officials to worship the sky, worship the gods, and pray for good weather and good harvests.
After all the rituals, there is a regular banquet. This is true for all families, whether wealthy or powerful. Even poor families have to make a few faces to sacrifice to the gods, cut a good piece of meat, and buy two kilograms of bad wine to satisfy their cravings.<
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As a result, the whole city is filled with fragrance, laughter and laughter are everywhere, and the excitement is no less than during the New Year.
But only the state capital is lifeless, and all the officials have sad faces and dark clouds.
He is even taller than ordinary people. In just a few months, his temples have turned white, as if he has suddenly aged a lot.
His face was even more gloomy, and there was a hint of anger between his brows and eyes.
After reluctantly drinking a few drinks, he excused himself as feeling unwell and went back to the yamen alone. Seeing this, the subordinate officials naturally had no intention of having a banquet and dispersed one by one.
There is no need to go to the Yamen today. Except for the officials who are on duty, all the other officials have a half-day break. When they left the Yamen to return home, Wang Shen and Lu Fangzhi, the governor of Jinming County, boarded the same car.
Wang Shen is the son of Wang Xianzhi, who is now a right servant (increased official position, not actual position), and a die-hard member of the Gao family. Lv Fangzhi, the governor of Jinming County, is Gao Meng's confidant. Therefore, these two can be called Gao Meng.
Meng Zhi's right-hand man also understands better why the government officials are frowning and why Gao Meng is so worried.
The carriage drove slowly. Looking at the clan brother driving the car, Lu Fangzhi frowned and asked in a low voice: "Why are you worried?"
Are you here to ask me?
As if he had heard a big joke, Wang Shen stared at Lu Fangzhi as if he had seen a ghost.
Seeing that he really didn't know, Wang Shen sighed sadly: "The Xianyu and Wuyin clans sent envoys one after another to ask questions. In the middle of spring last year, the state government recruited more than 10,000 men from the two clans.
At that time, the envoy said that he would be sent to Liuzhenxiang to help the Taiwei fight against the bandits. However, Weiwei had already retreated in autumn. Now, several months later, no members of the tribe had returned. Therefore, the two tribes asked the envoy when to serve.
Man, where did the person go...making you worried..."
An ordinary sentence, but Lu Fangzhi was horrified, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead: "Do you know these two parts?"
"If it were known, the leaders of these two tribes would have gone to the capital to report or raise troops on the spot. How could they send envoys to urge them?"
Hearing Wang Shen's words, Lu Fangzhi felt a little relieved, but only a little.
Just because these two groups of more than 10,000 strong men were all handed over by Gao Meng to Lu Fangzhi to dig the oil lake in Gaonu County, and then they all died. How could there be half a living person?
But paper cannot cover the fire. Even at this time, they were frightened by the power of the envoy and the Taiwei. The two Shule leaders did not dare to make any mistakes. However, tens of thousands of people were alive and dead, and no corpses were found. It was impossible to let it go. .Therefore, if there is no response, the leaders of these two groups will most likely go to Beijing to complain.
What will happen then?
Lu Fangzhi's anxious heart seemed to be on fire, his eyes were as red as blood, his teeth were clenched, and he was neighing like a wild beast, with a strange sound coming from his throat: "When... will it be a good opportunity?"
"Confused?"
Wang Shen was startled and scolded in a low voice, "How can you and I comment on such a secret?"
Not to mention the two of them, even if they were tall and fierce, they would not dare to ask, otherwise why would they be as anxious as they are now?
"The only solution now is to suffer!"
Wang Shen sighed, his voice so low that he couldn't hear it, "There was a secret emissary to report to you the day before yesterday. I heard that at the beginning of last month, there were 300,000 monks in Hengyan and Yanzhou. What's more? Heng, the rebels in the two states have also become powerful.
Cui Yanbo was appointed as a famous general in the world, but he was short of troops and food, so he could only retreat steadily. If another month passes, and there is no strong reinforcement from the court, Dingzhou will be defeated..."
Once Dingzhou was defeated, the land of Yan and Jin was completely in chaos. Even the Taiwei still felt that the good opportunity had not yet come. The imperial edict to the west, and the imperial court, were already in dire straits. How could they care about the whereabouts of more than 10,000 young men? ?
Wang Shen's persuasion to Lu Fangzhi seemed reasonable, but only he knew that this was just a matter of course.
The situation is ever-changing, how could he deduce it while sitting in a dry well in Xiazhou?
It's just to deal with Lu Fangzhi, fearing that he will mess up his position.
Lu Fangzhi made up his mind and asked for advice: "Should we still collect the kerosene? Last autumn, when the Taiwei squadron returned to the court, the townspeople who secretly transported it from Beizhen had already There’s not much left…”
Wang Shen was so frightened that his heart was in his throat: "So fast?"
That’s more than 20,000 strong men?
Lu Fangzhi gestured in a deep voice: "Even a cow can't survive ten days in a pit, let alone a human being? Now it's getting warmer and the poisonous gas is too heavy, and more and more people will be killed every day. If we still dig deep , I’m afraid more people will die..."
Every word he said seemed to weigh a stone on Wang Shen's heart. At the end of the sentence, it was as if a mountain had been pressed into his heart, and Wang Shen was so heavy that he couldn't breathe.
Did Jie and Zhou in ancient times commit such atrocities?
I knew that this move was harmful to nature and disregarded human life, but when I knew that the oil lake was poisonous and extremely poisonous, why couldn't I speak out from the bottom of my heart?
Even if you rebel, you can't treat living people like beasts. Tens of thousands of them will die...
Thinking of this, Wang Shen suddenly trembled and gritted his teeth: "Don't dig it. If these young men die again, one day, I'm afraid that the civilians who transport food will not be able to recruit them all... That's all. , I will go and ask the envoy..."
Lu Fangzhi also sighed: "I have had this intention for a long time, but I was afraid of annoying the envoy, and even more afraid of missing the Taiwei's thousand-year plan. But acting like this is honest... I can't bear to be honest..." "Then let's go together!"
Wang Shen waved his sleeves and ordered Lu Fangzhi's clan brothers to turn around.
But before the carriage could be adjusted smoothly, another gong was heard outside the carriage, accompanied by the sound of scolding the people to stay away.
The two were shocked when they heard this and ran out of the carriage in unison.
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Following the sound, a fast horse galloped from south to north. It seemed to be a fast horse rushing to report the military situation. Looking at it again, Lu Fangzhi's expression changed in shock.
Hanging on the treasure hook under the horse is clearly the county flag of Jinming County.
Lu Fangzhi shouted loudly: "I am here, why do you come to report?"
When the knight heard the sound, he jerked his horse and jumped off his horse: "Your Majesty, something bad happened: at midnight last night, thunder broke out on the ground in Gaonu County, resounding through the clouds and night. After two full moments of sound, another sudden sound occurred.
When a fire breaks out, the fire burns into the sky, and no one can get close to it. When I was ordered by the school captain to report to you urgently, the fire was still not weak..."
A sudden fire?
Lu Fangzhi's face was as white as paper and he asked in a hissing voice: "Are there any casualties?"
"Most of them are sand lakes abandoned near Yanshui due to insufficient digging for city construction, so there are no casualties..."
The messenger responded, reached into his arms again, took out a hot-lacquered envelope, and handed it to Lu Fangzhi.
For some reason, when he heard the words "no casualties", Lu Fangzhi was not happy but was frightened, as if he was about to pass away.
Wang Shen looked solemn and reached out to take the letter.
But after just a few glances, his expression changed and he couldn't help trembling.
It’s over...
Lieutenant Jin Ming wrote in the school: At the beginning of this period, the sky was full of stars and the sky was bright and clear, but thunder suddenly broke out outside Gaonu City. The sound lasted for two seconds, and the magistrate and the lieutenant wanted to send people out to investigate.
On this occasion, another fire broke out on the Yanshui River bank.
And there was not just one place, but six places, all with raging fire, which could be seen clearly from miles away. Just as the messenger said, not to mention putting out fires, as long as any living creature came within a hundred steps, they would lose their hair.
The fire has rolled itself, how to save it?
Thunder is not terrible, fire is not terrible, even burning some people to death is not terrible.
The terrible thing is that the oil sand that was dug out from the lake and refined was piled up five miles north of the city by Lu Fangzhi under the pretext of repairing the city wall. And under the sand mountain, there were people who died of poisoning during the sand digging.
Ding Zhuang’s corpse.
More than 40,000 people were all blown out.
What's more, all the sand lakes where oil is extracted have been set on fire...
"God's will...could it be God's will?"
Lu Fangzhi's eyes went dark. He held on to the carriage and murmured to himself, with tears streaming down his face.
"Let's go see the envoy!"
Wang Shen was slightly better than Lu Fangzhi, but he was still so frightened that he dragged Lu Fangzhi to the car with gritted teeth: "You wake up... This God has been blind for a long time, how can there be God's will?"
?This is obviously a man-made disaster!"
Man-made disaster?
Lu Fangzhi calmed down a little: "Why did you say this?"
"I will explain it to you when I see the envoy!"
Wang Shen dragged Lu Fangzhi into the car and shouted several times. Lu Fangzhi's clan brother almost tried his best to rush to the governor's mansion.
Gao Meng, with his hair disheveled and his clothes half open, sat slanted on the couch. He was only wearing a middle coat and even his feet were bare.
Further inside the gauze curtain, a beauty could be vaguely seen lazily holding her arms and looking at Gao Meng dreamily.
There was a commotion outside the hall, and then I heard a confidant standing outside the door, saying in a low voice: "Your Majesty, the king has gone to see Lord Lu separately, saying that he is extremely urgent!"
Extremely urgent?
Is it possible that there are people in Shule in western China who want to see people when they are alive, people who want to see corpses when they die, and people who want to go to Beijing to complain when they see them? Is there any urgency?
Gao Meng let out a breath: "Please wait in the middle hall for a while. I will be there immediately!"
"No!"
As she walked away from the door, the beauty stood up wearing a gauze dress, walked out of the gauze tent and asked in a charming voice: "Mr. Sir, do you want a slave to help you change?"
Gao Meng raised his head and looked at the face that was 70% similar to Gao Ying's, feeling bored in his heart.
It’s just a resemblance, but it’s not the real person after all!
He waved his hand impatiently, and without wearing official uniform, he just randomly found a Confucian shirt and wrapped it hastily, put on his boots barefoot and went to the central hall...
Thunder fell from the sky, exploding tens of thousands of dead bodies...
After burning seven oil lakes in a row, we no longer have to kill or injure people to boil kerosene...
This was undoubtedly the result of the Dongchuang Incident, which was about to cause a catastrophe, and it was almost like cutting off the Gao family's few sources of support. But for some reason, Gao Meng felt relieved at first, as if a heavy burden had suddenly been lifted off his shoulders, and he felt relieved. There is no need to suffer anymore, it is best to start the army immediately. Even if the army is defeated and killed, or even the nine tribes are killed, it will be a hundred times better than before, having to blame yourself every day for being unfaithful.
After several breaths of relief, Gao Meng suddenly woke up. Then he became furious and even suffered from heart palpitations.
Who else in the world can have such a method as to make the earth shake like a thunder?
If Li Chengzhi hadn't done this, he would have dared to take the surname Li.
But the question is, why does Li Chengzhi know so clearly, as if he saw with his own eyes, that there are dead bodies buried under the sand mountain, and he also knows the specific locations of the seven oil lakes?
You know, Yuan Hui almost sent thousands of embroidered emissaries and tried his best to conduct overt and covert investigations, but only one was found?
Almost subconsciously, Gao Meng remembered what Gao Zhao had said secretly to him: Li Chengzhi was given by heaven!
Is it possible that one can really live in the capital city but not thousands of miles away?
Otherwise, it won’t really make sense.
Furthermore, where did Li Chengzhi get such a good hand, able to evade the defenders who were as close as an iron barrel?
There are definitely many spies in Jinming County. It is more likely that some of them have been bribed by him in the county offices, military camps, or among Lu Fangzhi's cronies...
Gao Meng was horrified, and before he was about to give the order, he sighed in despair.
At this point, where do you have the time to take care of these details?
It is time to stabilize the overall situation, prevent the news from leaking out, and be on guard against changes in the state. What is more, we must immediately report to Beijing and ask my uncle to make a decision.
As for the spies, it won’t be too late to wait until the army arrives at Jinming County to slowly identify them.
Gao Meng made a decision in an instant and shouted coldly: "Let it go, you go first and leave immediately. After Jin Ming Dynasty, he immediately ordered the county soldiers to seal the county, seal the county, and strictly ordered the officials and the people not to spread rumors to cause trouble, or spread rumors...
…
I will follow closely behind the army. It is only three hundred miles from Yuzhou City to Jinming. If we march all night, we can arrive at noon tomorrow at the latest. So don't be anxious, let alone lose your bearings... Don't worry, I will take care of everything...
…”
"Sincerely!"
Wang Shen bowed down and said, "Just give me your order!"
"After I leave, you need to close the city gates tightly and conduct strict inspections to prevent thieves from taking the opportunity to cause trouble. In addition, you need to send your confidants to cut off the main roads leading to the six towns in the north and to the various tribes in Chijin in the west.
Don’t let the news leak out!”
"Please keep this in mind, so that you can rest assured!"
"Okay!"
Gao Meng nodded solemnly, "Send the order and order the generals of each battalion to discuss matters in the middle hall!"
……
Since Yuan Ke was assassinated in Bintian in the winter of the year before last, Gao Meng gave Gao Zhao the power to recruit troops in Xiazhou. Now there are 50,000 infantry and cavalry. They have been training for nearly a year and a half, and they are already quite capable of fighting. They are always waiting for good opportunities. This is
After Gao Meng gave the order, in less than two hours, 10,000 soldiers were ready and leaving the camp.
There are another ten thousand, each from Lingzhou (formerly Bogulu Town, now Lingwu County, Ningxia) in the east to Hengzhou (Pingcheng, the old capital of the Yuan and Wei Dynasties, now Datong, Shanxi) in the west, which is equivalent to sealing off the Xia Dynasty.
All arterial roads to the north of the state.
Therefore, there were still 10,000 soldiers in the city. Wang Shen divided them into two and rotated them day and night. Then they were divided into two groups, one to defend the city and the other to patrol the city, just in case.
Gao Meng was indeed not wrong, someone did take the opportunity to cause chaos.
The tens of thousands of corpses and the seven oil lakes were nothing more than a trick to lure Gao Meng out of Tongwan City.
Li Chengzhi's real purpose is the hundreds of thousands of grains hidden in the Xiazhou camp...