On the fourth day of the first lunar month of the second year of Yonglong, it was snowing again. The official road that used to be bustling with traffic was extremely deserted. Not to mention the traces of people, even wild dogs were not seen. What was left was thick white snow, which filled the sky and the earth.
If the vastness of the world falls in the eyes of a literati, he will have to write a few poems and poems, sing about the snow to clarify his ambitions, and have a few bottles of wine to enjoy himself. Of course, this is all for those who have money and leisure.
Only the sluts can afford it, but for warriors like Li Chong who are on their way in a hurry, the heavy snow in the sky is not only unattractive, but actually annoying.
Li Chong left Luoyang on the 29th of the Lunar New Year. He led nearly 2,000 horsemen to escort three carriages, and rushed to Tangzhou with extreme caution. He did not stay at any inns along the way, but only stayed in the camps set up by his troops. He traveled more than a hundred times a day.
Every time I went to a prefecture or county, I would pass through without stopping or socializing with local officials. Every time I came to a dangerous place, I would scout and ride out. I had to ensure safety before I could send my troops through, even if I was traveling all the way.
There were always no unexpected situations, and he definitely refused to slack off. At this time, it was time to cross the mountains again. As usual, Li Chong sent more than a hundred veteran riders to investigate the mountains twenty miles ahead, but he took the lead.
We stopped in front of the mountain in the snow.
The snow is heavy, the wind is strong, and the weather is freezing cold. It's fine when you're on the road. You can still exercise and keep warm to some extent, but when you stop, you'll suffer a lot, even if all the cavalry are carefully selected.
The strong men were still as pale as paper due to the cold snow, even the general Li Chong was no exception. If he hadn't been burdened with a heavy responsibility, I'm afraid he would have cursed his mother.
"Report, young prince, the mountains 20 miles ahead have been explored and there are no ambushes. Beyond this mountain, we will reach the border of Tangzhou."
Just when Li Chong was waiting impatiently, a sentry officer finally rushed out from the bend of the mountain, walked through the snow like a spark to the front, got off his horse with a rolling saddle, and loudly reported.
"Huh..., the whole army listens to the order and speeds up to rush through this mountain!"
Compared with the cold, Li Chong was obviously more worried about safety issues. Hearing this, he had found out along the way that he didn't want to stay here any longer. After feeling confident, he gave the order loudly.
As soon as they came out, the large group of men and horses started at high speed, escorting three identical carriages and rushed towards the mountain road, splashing snowflakes flying all over the sky...
"Master Pei, look at that flag, it should mean that someone from Prince Yue's Mansion has arrived?"
Outside the city of Biyang (today's Tanghe County), Pei Xuancheng, the outgoing governor of Tangzhou, led a large group of Tangzhou subordinates to wait quietly outside the city gate, waiting in the snow for the arrival of the Yue Prince's family.
In the past two hours, from noon until dark, we finally saw a large group of cavalry galloping on the official road in the distance. The officials were relieved and couldn't help but started talking.
, only Sima Yanxiao was still calm, he came to Pei Xuancheng's side and whispered something.
"Um……"
Pei Xuancheng came from a famous family, and he, Pei Xingjian, and Pei Yan were brothers of the same clan in the fifth service. However, he was able to assume the position of governor of Tangzhou not because of the strength of his two clan brothers, but because of his own ability.
, his term in Tangzhou was less than three years, and now he has received a transfer letter from the Ministry of Officials and will be transferred to the governor of Qizhou. Although the position is still the governor, Qizhou is Shangzhou and a prosperous place in Guanzhong. Speaking of which,
It was considered a high promotion, but Pei Xuancheng was not excited about it. He was even quite conflicted in his heart, for no other reason than that he had seen the evil intention of the Yue King and his family to take down Tangzhou, and he could not help but doubt the direction of the court.
Some people are worried, but as a local official, Pei Xuancheng has nothing to say about the fact of appointment and dismissal by the imperial court. Even if he is worried, he can only acquiesce to this fact. Of course, he will not welcome Li Wen's arrival.
, even though he knew that Yan Xiao's suggestion was well-intentioned, his face was still ugly and he just snorted with dissatisfaction from his nostrils.
"Your Majesty, can we start now?"
Pei Xuancheng came from a famous family, so he didn't care much about the arrival of the Yue King's family. He was now the one who was about to leave, but Yan Xiao still had to beg for food under the Yue King's family.
There should be no lapses in etiquette. Even though he knew that Pei Xuancheng was extremely unhappy, he could only ask for instructions with a forced smile.
"Um."
It is the court system for predecessors to welcome successors. Even though Pei Xuancheng looked down upon the vulgar and uncultured Li Wen, he had to follow the court rules. Faced with Yan Xiao's request, he could only be reluctant.
He waved his hand and signaled Yan Xiao to go ahead and do it on his own.
"play music!"
After receiving Pei Xuancheng's consent, Yan Xiao breathed a sigh of relief, hurriedly turned around, waved to the drumming team who had been waiting for a long time, and drank loudly. At the same time, his eyes were inadvertently watching.
He glanced at the tall city gate tower.
"Prepare!"
Upstairs of the tall city gate, a middle-aged officer in official uniform obviously received Yan Xiao's hint. After nodding silently, he reached out and lifted his helmet, revealing a beardless face. Surprisingly, it was Zeng.
Sun San, the master of Qixia Temple who had assassinated Li Xian, gritted his teeth, looked gloomy, waved his hand towards the more than 20 sergeants behind him, and drank in a low voice. With this order, all the sergeants started to move.
, worked together to carry several large boxes, and nervously began preparations for war.
"All troops stop!"
With so many people gathered at the city gate, it was impossible for Li Chong to miss Li Chong while he was galloping. Although he did not want to cause trouble, this was the rule of the court. Even if he did not want to, he could only order the entire army to be there.
He stopped more than thirty steps away from the welcoming crowd, but did not dismount, but stared indifferently at the Tangzhou officials opposite.
"Um."
Pei Xuancheng originally looked down on the people in Prince Yue's Mansion. When he saw that Li Chong and others had stopped their horses but had no intention of coming forward to say hello, he immediately felt even more dissatisfied. He thought that his official title was lower than that of Li Chong and others.
He didn't want to descend to the steps to chat with Li Chong and others. The problem was that it was not an option to remain in a stalemate like this. In desperation, he could only frown impatiently and said softly.
He made a sound and glanced at Yan Xiao.
"May I ask who is General Li Wen? Your subordinate, Sima Yanxiao of Tangzhou, is waiting for you here."
It is a common practice in the officialdom to crush people to death at the highest official level. It is nothing unusual. Pei Xuancheng has already given a hint. Even if Yan Xiao is reluctant, he can only smile helplessly and stride up.
He went forward, bowed respectfully, and greeted him very politely.
"I, General Li Chong, do not dare to bother the officials. I occasionally feel the wind and cold on the way to my brother's house. It is inconvenient to meet guests in the snow. Please ask Yan Sima and other gentlemen to forgive me. If anything happens, can we discuss it at the government office?"
Tangzhou is too important to the King of Yue and his family to tolerate any mistakes. Because of this, even though he has reached the end of the world, Li Chong still does not dare to be careless in the slightest. He does not want to be there at all.
In this open space, he had many contacts with Tangzhou officials, so he immediately took a few steps forward, cupped his hands, and responded politely and without doubt.
"This..., my young prince, please wait a moment. Please let me go and report to Governor Pei right now."
Upon hearing what Li Chong said, Yan Xiao couldn't help but be dumbfounded. He knew that this move was against the imperial system, but he couldn't refuse it face to face. So he had no choice but to ask for permission with a smile on his face.
"Please, Yan Sima."
At this moment, Li Chong didn't care about the court rules at all. As long as he could successfully complete the handover of the governor's seal, for him, it would be regarded as fulfilling his father's important trust. As for whether he would be involved because of this, he did not consider it. Within the scope, it is not for anything else, just because the Yue King's line is about to raise troops. If everything succeeds, it is the Yue King's line that has the final say. If it fails, it will be a dead end without a burial place. Impeachment or not, what difference does it make? It can be said.
"snort!"
Li and Yan were replying in a loud voice, and Pei Xuancheng, who was not far away, could hear clearly. Seeing the arrogance of the people from the Yue Prince's Mansion, how could Pei Xuancheng be able to bear this tone? Without waiting for Yan Xiao to come back and report the matter, he snorted angrily, flicked his sleeves, and led his entourage back to the city on his own without looking back. When the officials saw this, they either followed him or not. No, everyone was stunned on the spot.
"Er..."
Yan Xiao just turned his head, but before he could take a step, he saw that Pei Xuancheng had left without saying goodbye. He couldn't help being stunned, but he didn't dare to say anything to stop Pei Xuancheng from leaving, so he could only turn back with a wry smile. He came forward, cupped his hands towards Li Chong and said: "General Li, please!"
"Well, thank you!"
Li Chong originally didn't want to chat with the Tangzhou officials outside the city, so he didn't mind Pei Xuancheng leaving in anger. He laughed evilly, waved his hand, and led his troops towards the city gate. He rushed towards the city gate with great speed. Immediately, many officials who were busy making way were in a panic, and some even fell into the snow. The panic caused all the guards of the Yue Prince's Mansion to burst into laughter.
"ignition!"
The embarrassment of the Tangzhou officials was indeed very funny, but Sun San did not laugh. Instead, he raised his hand coldly and issued the general order. The sergeants who had been prepared immediately used match ropes to light the kerosene one by one. bomb, making final preparations before the attack.
"Target, carriage, throw!"
Li Chong and his entourage galloped on horseback at extremely fast speeds. In an instant, they were near the city gate. When he saw this, Sun San did not dare to neglect. He roared and gave the order to attack.
"Boom, boom, boom..."
Sun San did not bring many kerosene bombs this time, only six in total, but the people responsible for throwing them were all masters of the martial arts, and their power and accuracy were frightening. Although Li rushed to the three carriages in the formation, They were not too close to each other, but they still couldn't escape being hit by kerosene bombs. In just an instant, all three carriages were burned into blazing torches. No one in the carriages was spared, and everyone was covered in fire. The entire team It became a mess in an instant...