After everyone left, Junze said: "The scouts have explored the road. We will reach the town less than ten kilometers ahead. When we get there, we will buy another carriage."
Gu Yu's legs were sore and weak, and she wanted to ride in the carriage, but she still said: "What's wrong? Can't you walk?"
Junze knew Gu Yu's competitive nature, so he chuckled and said, "Yes, yes, my legs are weak and I can't walk. Young Master Gu takes pity on me. Let's take a carriage for the rest of the way."
Gu Yu sighed and said, "Men are trouble."
Junze suddenly came closer, narrowed his eyes and said, "I can't help it, Young Master Gu is too powerful."
Gu Yu said seriously: "As long as you know."
Junze looked at Gu Yu's slender neck, his Adam's apple rolled, and said: "I don't know when I will be able to see the power of Young Master Gu again."
Gu Yu put the cooking cake in his hand into Junze's mouth and said: "Please wake up, we are here to suppress the bandits and check the account books, not to spend our honeymoon."
Junze didn't know what honeymoon was, but the name sounded very sweet, just like him and Gu Yu now.
Junze took a bite of Gu Yu's cooking cake and said, "There is no conflict."
Gu Yu stuffed the half-eaten cooking cake into Junze's mouth, and Junze gave his to Gu Yu.
No matter how intimate the two of them are, they have done everything, and neither one despises the other.
Everyone set off on the road again. Two days later, Junze received a letter and immediately frowned.
Junze said solemnly: "The batch of military pay that my second uncle robbed has been robbed again."
Gu Yu's heart rang with alarm bells, "Who is it? You can actually take away military pay from your second uncle."
Junze said: "The letter didn't say anything clearly. It just said that they are a group of extremely difficult bandits. We will discuss countermeasures when we get together."
It seems that the bandits in the northwest are much more difficult to deal with than they thought.
Gu Yudao: "How are the casualties on the second uncle's side?"
Junze said: "Second uncle was smart and abandoned the food in time to escape. There were no casualties and he did not expose himself."
Gu Yudao: "My second uncle brought a lot of people, and I have contacted old friends in the northwest. Under such circumstances, it is really extraordinary that I can get military pay from my second uncle."
Junze's face was not good-looking and he said: "The situation is unknown, we have to be careful."
After a long journey, everyone finally arrived at the Yongzhou Prefecture.
As his name suggests, Du Pang, the prefect of Yongzhou, had a frighteningly large belly, like a woman who was seven or eight months pregnant.
Before Gu Yu and Jun Ze got off the carriage, he came up with a group of attendants.
"Du Pang, the governor of Yongzhou, has met General Pingnan and envoy Gu Qin!"
In order to show off in front of outsiders, Junze and Gu Yu took two carriages, which were parked side by side outside the prefect's mansion.
The prefect of Yongzhou heard about their relationship, stood between the two carriages, and asked them to get off together.
Gu Yu opened the curtain, and the attendant behind Du Pang cleverly knelt under the carriage and served as a stool for Gu Yu.
Although Gu Yu's face remained calm, there was actually disgust in his heart.
Even in Kyoto, I didn't see any high-ranking nobles using the human stool. I came to the northwest and found it useful.
Before Gu Yu could go down, Junze had already opened the curtain, looked at the attendant kneeling on the ground and said lazily: "There are so many rules in Prefect Du's mansion."
When Du Pang heard this, he secretly thought that the overlord in Kyoto was indeed as rumored, very difficult to maintain, and would find fault with him whenever he came up.
Du Pang quickly asked the two attendants who were serving as human stools to move away, and then ordered people to put real stools in place, saying: "This is a disrespectful official."
After getting off the carriage, Gu Yu and Junze were led by Du Pang and walked side by side into the prefect's mansion.
"General and Gu Qin have been working hard on the journey. I have already prepared some good wine and food. You two need to fill your stomachs first."
When they arrived at the hall, Du Pang set up two chairs so as not to offend anyone among them.
Gu Yu and Junze sat down one on the left and the other on the right. Du Pang clapped his hands and ordered people to sing and dance.
It was indeed a hard journey for the two of them, and they were not polite when faced with a table full of good wine and good food.
Du Pang's words at the wine table were poured out like beans, and neither of them was negligent in the slightest.
Finally, Du Pang asked: "The bandits are rampant in the northwest, and they even dare to rob the army's pay. It's all because of the incompetence of the lower officials. They don't have the resources to mobilize troops and generals, so they have to go all the way to the two superior officials."
Junze leaned on his seat and asked casually: "Which bandit on the hilltop stole the military salary? Have you figured it out?"
Du Pang showed a bitter look on his face and said: "The place where the military pay was robbed is called Yin Yang Ridge. It is a continuous and steep mountain range. The terrain is complex and there are steep mountains everywhere. Bandits from all sides occupy the mountains and become kings. It is quite troublesome..."
Junze didn't want to listen to his excuses and interrupted directly: "It's been so long. Not to mention getting back the military pay, you haven't even found out which group of bandits stole the military pay. Governor Du, if your state soldiers
I’m so full that I can’t walk, why not give the rations to the soldiers guarding the border?”
Du Pang was blushing at Junze's words, saying that his poisonous tongue was well-deserved.
Du Pang repeatedly apologized and made self-deprecating remarks. Then he wiped his sweat and said: "Du Pang neglected his duty and did not dare to defend himself. But in the case of Yongzhou, Du Pang really has the will but is powerless."
Gu Yu drank a glass of wine and said in a cold tone: "You, the dignified governor, the highest-ranking official in Yongzhou, actually say that you are powerless. Isn't it ridiculous?"
Du Pang said: "Gu Qinchao is a little unaware. Although Xiaguan is the governor of Yongzhou, the soldiers of the state must obey the orders of Governor Zheng. He has asked Governor Zheng for troops many times, but Governor Zheng has not responded to him.
There are less than 3,000 state soldiers at my disposal, and it is simply not enough to send them to suppress the bandits."
Here Du Pang spared no effort to throw the pot into the hands of Governor Zheng, but over there Junze's hands began to be dishonest. He quietly approached Gu Yu under the dining table and scratched the palm of Gu Yu's hand.
With a "pop" sound, Gu Yu forcefully patted the back of Junze's hand, causing Du Pang, who was chattering endlessly, to look at her.
Gu Yu said without changing her expression: "Just swat a mosquito, Prefect Du will continue."
Du Pang said with a sad face: "Dudu Zheng is in charge of the soldiers and horses, armor and weapons, city gods, garrisons, and grain stores in various states. The lower officials are unable to interfere. However, the lower officials know that military pay is a very important matter. After asking Dudu Zheng twice for troops, he failed.
, the lower official had no choice but to send the post soldiers to his home eight hundred miles away to ask for support from the imperial court."
Under the table, Junze's little finger hooked Gu Yu's little finger, but Yu didn't hit him again this time.
The situation Du Pont said was the same as what they had guessed before.
The Northwest Army is controlled by Zheng Ye, and even the governors of various states cannot dispatch it at will. It can be said that he can cover the sky with one hand.
Presumably, throughout the northwest, there were many officials who took refuge with Zheng Ye, and there were also people like Du Pang who wanted to overthrow Zheng Ye, but not many.
This Du Pang looks naughty, but he is not a simple person.
He must have heard that Colonel Yuan had fled the northwest and that his military pay had been robbed, so he followed the trend and sent an urgent dispatch of 800 miles.
As soon as the people from the imperial court arrived, Zheng Ye, the "Tu Emperor" of the northwest, would definitely not be able to sit still.
I just don’t know what role Du Pang plays in the northwest.