(Thank you to all the friends who voted, collected, and made suggestions for this book.)
Early the next morning, Su Jin went to the academy to say goodbye. The news that Su Jin was leaving the academy for Beijing had already spread in the academy. However, the reason given by Su Jin and all the teachers in the academy was that the emperor summoned Su Jin because of Taizu's dream.
This reason is quite appropriate, since after all, such a big thing happened, it is impossible for the emperor not to express anything.
The academy suspended classes for half a day to bid farewell to Su Jin. Qi Shunbin and Fang Zimo took all the students to the pavilion ten miles outside the west gate.
Bao Zheng also brought a group of people from the government office to see off Yan Shu, Fu Bi and others. Comparing the two, it turned out that there were many times more people on Su Jin's side than there were to see the Third Secretary, and he smiled. This guy was really popular.
Yes, I seem to be quite comfortable in the academy.
After three glasses of farewell wine, Fang Zimo came forward and handed Su Jin a small cloth parcel, patted Su Jin on the shoulder and said: "I have been a professor for thirty years, and I have met as many students as crucian carp crossing the river.
People like you are rare. Today, I will give you my decades of hard work. You are going to high mountains and deep waters, and you will gradually understand the difficult and profound aspects of the world. I have nothing to help you. I can only spend my free time.
The manuscript is delivered to you and may be of help to you."
Su Jin turned over and bowed down, taking the package with both hands. When he touched it, it turned out to be a stack of manuscripts.
"I have something else to say, I hope you can learn from it."
"Teacher, please give me some advice."
"There is no harm in being smooth and elegant in your conduct, but if you are an official or a scholar, you must be honest and do not be impetuous and jumpy. It is like copying "Xueer" five hundred times on the same day. Do you think I can't tell that it is not your handwriting?
Huh? Be careful."
Su Jin's face turned red with embarrassment, and he kept saying truthfully: "Remember the teacher's teachings. Students will always keep them in mind."
Fang Zimo nodded and said: "I don't ask you to keep it in mind all the time, but self-cultivation is everywhere, so you can do it yourself."
Fang Zimo patted Su Jin on the shoulder, sighed and turned around to go back. Su Jin looked at his thin back, walking alone, and sighed in his heart. This Fang Zimo seemed to be a mystery. He had been with him for several months and had not touched it.
Get through him.
While he was in a daze, his arm was pulled by someone. When he turned around, he turned out to be Wu Hengxin. The guy's eyes were red and he was sniffing like a woman. He said: "Sixth, if you leave, who will I follow from now on?"
Damn it." When the sky comes back, we will play Cuju together and pass the Qiuwei examination together. Besides, several brothers and virtuous brothers are here. Speaking of which, I envy you. I am alone here.
But I'm bored. "Are you coming back? That would be great."
Su Jin raised his head and counted his time and said: "In March or April next year, I should be able to come back by then. Unless the emperor leaves me in the capital to be a prime minister, I will definitely come back."
Yan Shu, Bao Zheng and others rolled their eyes. This guy had a very good idea. He was the prime minister when he opened his mouth. These people have not been able to get into the two houses until they were in their fifties or sixties. Are they like jelly beans when they are prime ministers? Just give one to whomever you want.
One.
Su Jin turned to Wang Anshi, Wei Songhe, Lu Dakui, Cheng Liangmu and others and said goodbye one by one. The guard who opened the way shouted, and the motorcade moved slowly westward, heading straight for Bianliang along the mud and stone official road.
Su Jin turned around and looked back on the horse, waving repeatedly, and heard Wang Anshi's voice coming from the autumn wind, chanting:
When I go home and sleep, I feel unsatisfied, and when I go out, I have nothing to invest in.
Looking for the water in the corner of the city alone, sending my son off for a long journey.
The sad wind is lingering in the desolate forest, and the camel's fur is blown miserably.
Holding hands and laughing together, looking at the boat on the river.
Everyone is enjoying themselves, but I am sad.
The intestines and stomach circle Zhongshan, and the body remains empty.
Isn’t it true that when I read poems and books, I also have aspirations?
Once you are wrapped in a green shirt, you will regret it when you get into trouble.
It's not enough to help with immediate treatment, but it's embarrassing for old friends.
On my way to Kyoto today, my car will stop at Bianzhou.
This is a message to all the guests from Beijing, and don’t forget your old friends.
…
The straight-line distance from Yingtian Mansion to the capital is actually not that far. Calculated using the distances of later generations, the straight-line distance from the sky is only four hundred miles. However, this was in the Song Dynasty. It would be more convenient to go from Ningling via Minquan through Qixian to Bianliang City.
The road and the journey are not much different.
It’s a pity that this generation of mountains has crisscrossed mountain roads, as well as salt-alkali and sandy areas. The road has to pass through a large area where the Hui people gather. Since the founding of the Song Dynasty, although these areas have long been included in the jurisdiction, they have not changed in terms of living habits and psychological perceptions.
It turns out that the Han people always have a sense of contempt and awe towards these Huihui.
In order to avoid unnecessary trouble, the construction of the official road deliberately avoided the above-mentioned areas. The limitations of manpower and material resources determined that the official road could not move in a straight line through the mountains. The sense of psychological rejection also avoided returning to the gathering place.
As a result, the official road could have been connected in a straight line, but now it went west to south and then north, forming a winding Beidou shape. The distance between the two places suddenly doubled and expanded to nearly a thousand miles.
far away.
The team of Yan Shu and others strolled slowly. Su Jin was drowsy on the horse. Seeing that at this speed, it was already a miracle that he could cover seventy or eighty miles in one day. The journey of nearly a thousand miles would probably take more than ten days.
to arrive.
The servants of the Su family were very excited. Xiaosui'er and Huanniang were women. According to common sense, it was not surprising that they would live in Luzhou for the rest of their lives. Not only did they come with their young master to accompany Yingtian Mansion, but they were also about to leave.
The excitement of the bustling Bianliang City made them ecstatic; they opened the curtains and pointed out the scenery along the way, whispering without ever closing their mouths.
The four great foodies of the Dynasty, Zhao Hu, and Zhang Long, have seen a bit of the world, but this is the first time they have returned to the capital, and they have been assigned a horse to ride on for the first time in their lives. Not to mention this feeling of pride, they can just sit on the horse and look around.
,High spirits.
The most miserable person was Xiao Zhu, who was still driving the mule cart pulled by Xiao Qing, sparsely following the team to eat ashes, and casting jealous glances at the four big foodies from time to time.
Su Jin was dizzy and listless. Fu Bi, who was riding beside him, noticed his boredom and said with a smile: "Brother Xian, are you feeling depressed?"
Su Jin opened his mouth and said, "Fortunately, the autumn sun is warm and the mountains and rivers are magnificent. It's quite interesting."
Seeing that he didn't mean what he said, Fu Bi smiled and said, "You will get used to it over time. When we are servants of the court, we spend most of our time on the road. We can't stand such loneliness, so don't mention anything."
Su Jin looked at the bumpy and rutted stone road that was as deep as a person's knees and said: This is a fucking official road. Fortunately, these days, instead of two legs, there are four legs, or two wheels. Even if you can cross it by yourself,
I brought a Rolls-Royce, but I'm afraid it can only be used as a decoration, and it will be difficult to move on such a road. No wonder Fu Bi said that most of his time is spent on the road, and it is strange that such a road can go faster.
Fu Bi saw that Su Jin was silent and teased him: "What's wrong? Are you thinking about something? Tell me and listen."
When Su Jin was stimulated by him, he suddenly remembered something and asked softly: "On that day, I heard Master Yan say that Fu Yin Tang Jie was killed by a strongman on the road? Is this possible?"
Fu Bi looked around and whispered: "Indeed, at Niutou Station, which is thirty miles away, all the dozen or so soldiers escorted were killed."
Su Jin frowned and said: "Then how many people must be involved to kill more than a dozen people in one fell swoop? Who did it? Are there any clues to follow?"
Fu Bi said: "All the horses and property were taken away, leaving only a dozen naked corpses. It looks like they were robbed, and it must have been done by strongmen nearby."
Su Jin was surprised and asked: "Is there a strongman near the official road?"
Fu Bi said: "This is the crux of the problem. This area is very peaceful. There are soldiers guarding the official roads near the state capital. I don't know where these strong men came from. This is very suspicious."
Su Jin rolled his eyes and said, "Do you even need to ask? Of course someone took the name of a bandit and the purpose was to kill Tang Jie and silence him."
Fu Bi smiled and said: "I know I can't hide it from you, but don't make this matter public. If my lord has told me, just say it's a strongman who robbed money and killed people conveniently."
Su Jinlue thought about it and understood that pretending to be confused might be able to confuse Zhao Zongdan. Needless to say, it was to cooperate with Bao Zheng's next move. As for what move, it was unknown; Su Jin figured out that it was nothing more than controlling Yingtian Mansion first.
situation, trap King Teng, then explore the location of the bandits' nest, destroy these bandits, and then go back to deal with Zhao Zongdan.
Now it is easy to arrest Zhao Zongdan, but if you arrest him without direct evidence, the Holy Emperor will definitely be dissatisfied. The Emperor's intention is probably to kill him without letting the world talk about it, so there must be ironclad evidence to destroy the bandit nest.
The confessions of the bandit leaders captured later will be the noose around Zhao Zongdan's neck. After Tang Jie died, these evidences became even more important.
Su Jin once thought that if he killed Zhao Zongdan with one knife, he would also try to blame the bandits, but he quickly rejected his idea. It was the stupidest way; not to mention that the dignified Prince Teng Zhao Zongdan was killed by the bandits.
Whether it is credible or not, everyone believes it. Once Zhao Zongdan dies, the private soldiers and bandits he raised will have no one to suppress them, and they will definitely cause chaos everywhere. By then, there will be a confrontation in the northwest, and there will be a rebellion in the family, and the situation will be a mess.
How could so many soldiers be mobilized to quell the rebellion, and quelling the rebellion would inevitably bring disaster to all parties, which was obviously a bad move.
"Brother, cheer up and rush to the inn before sunset. Someone is waiting for you." Fu Bi chuckled.
Su Jin was surprised and said: "Who?"
"Who else could it be? Did you see her come to see her off today? She left early and is waiting for us at the inn ahead."
Su Jin was horrified and said: "This... this is the road where bandits appear. Isn't this a danger? This is terrible." After saying this, he whipped his horse and ran forward.
Upon seeing this, Fu Bi hurriedly waved and shouted: "Don't be anxious, don't be anxious, listen to me, I haven't finished speaking yet."
(Note: I have modified Wang Anshi’s poem, which is quite different from the original, but it is just for the plot, based on the textual research of Emperor Wu Spray.) dd