Xiaoqi

Chapter 256 Bloody Mountains and Rivers ([-])

The sunset and evening photos are gorgeous and dazzling.Outside the north gate of Luoyang, the sound of horses stepping away gradually faded away, tens of thousands of cavalry were sent away in the afterglow of the setting sun, and the banners fluttering in the wind and the gleaming weapons slowly moved northward, slowly disappearing from the sight of the passers-by.

The setting sun faded quietly, and a stalwart figure stood in the gazebo beside the road and looked into the distance, motionless for half an hour.Seeing that it was already getting late, Li Zhi walked gently to his side and said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, the army has gone far, let's go back to the city."

"Huh?" Li Li came back to his senses when he heard the voice, and then he noticed that the night was slowly falling, the pedestrians on the road were brisk and hurried, and there were fewer pedestrians at the gate of the city behind him, and the evening wind was blowing the leaves beside the pavilion, rustling rattle.

"Don't worry, just sit down for a while. It's rare to go out of the city. Wouldn't it be nice to take this opportunity to come out and get some fresh air?"

While speaking, Li Li turned around and sat down in the pavilion, waved his hand to signal Li Zhi to sit down as well, and said softly: "In the past few days, the army has been going out one after another. The day before yesterday sent Kong Ming away, and today he came to Feng Xiaozhuang again. Never before. Having experienced this kind of experience, others have always sent us off on expeditions, so it’s our turn this time. It’s really uncomfortable, and I’m really not used to it, it’s far less enjoyable than you and I going to the battlefield in person.”

Li Zhi sympathized and said: "The general also feels this way. Seeing the two military advisers leading troops to go out one after another, the general feels strange in his heart. I can't tell what it feels like. Anyway, I just feel uncomfortable."

"This is the feeling of being forgotten and lost." Li Li continued, then picked up the cooled teapot on the round table and poured two cups of herbal tea.Nodding his head to signal Li Zhi to drink tea together, he took a sip from a cup to moisten his throat.He sighed softly: "Now it's not the same as before. With the change of status and status, you and I have to stay away from the battlefield. We can never go back to the years when we were in the front line; no matter how urgent the battle is, it's not your turn to be with me." People go to the battlefield and command the army to fight. What we can do is sit here and wait for the battle report ahead, allocate food and supplies, and ensure the logistics supply of the army. In addition, we are immersed in the memorials and government affairs all day long. There are a group of people following everywhere, and there is no personal space at all, which is tantamount to losing freedom. But this kind of life is chosen by ourselves, and we can’t blame others. It’s like being in a cocoon, what can we do?”

While listening to Li Li's words, Li Zhi drank tea, and when Li Li finished speaking, the teacup in his hand also bottomed out.When there are no outsiders present, he and Li Li are no longer the main ministers, but brothers who talk about everything. They speak freely and can say whatever they want.Don't worry.This way of talking has been maintained for many years. They are both monarchs and ministers and brothers. It has been like this since the moment he followed Li Li, and it has remained unchanged for more than ten years.

"The general understands His Majesty's thoughts. To be honest, the general is not used to staying in the palace or the mansion all day long, and hopes to lead the army and gallop on the battlefield. To contribute to the pacification of the two vassal states in the Western Jin Dynasty, It would be great if I could lead an expedition and expand the territory. It is a pity that the duty of the last general is that I cannot leave His Majesty; compared with leading troops in battle, I would rather stay by His Majesty's side and never leave His side." Said At this point, Li Zhi's emotions were particularly agitated, and pearls flickered in his eye sockets.

After Li Li saw this, he smiled gratifiedly and said, "Zicheng must not behave like this woman. In fact, I know that you are admonishing me euphemistically. You are advising me not to take personal risks. Even if you lead the army, I will You can’t even go to the battlefield in person. Am I right?”

"Your Majesty has learned from you." Li Zhi nodded at the sound, and said frankly: "As Your Majesty said, today is different from the past. Now Your Majesty is the king of a country, with a body of ten thousand gold, who gathers the trust of tens of millions of Li people. He has great responsibilities and determination There must be no mistakes. What's more, Your Majesty has millions of soldiers and thousands of generals. It is our duty to conquer the battlefield and charge into the battle. It is our duty to do so. How can we let Your Majesty go to the battlefield in person? Therefore, Your Majesty should never lead an army to fight again. Otherwise, if there is even the slightest mistake, even if you die, you will not be able to atone for your sins, and you will not be able to redeem yourself!"

"Hehehe!" Li Li laughed loudly when he heard the words: "It's just a joke, there is no need to be so serious. Besides, I, Li Li, are not as expensive as you said. I have developed from the four counties of the Western Regions to occupy half of the country. I have fought in the battlefield for more than ten years. After experiencing hundreds of battles, big and small, being in a desperate situation several times, and hanging by a thread four times, didn't they all survive in the end?

Now, having ascended the throne and become the emperor, he ranks among the ninety-five supreme beings, and his status is extremely lofty, but he is becoming more and more timid and fearful.Looking forward and backward when things happen, worrying about gains and losses, and life and death at every turn, is this what a capable emperor should do?Therefore, both of you and I should reflect on it. Did we lose the courage and vigor to forge ahead after being in high positions? "

Speaking of this, Li Li sighed with deep emotion: "Nowadays, the world is uncertain, and the three kingdoms stand side by side in the world. The island countries such as Wusun in the west, Dingling in the north, and Goguryeo in Liaodong are all staring at each other. Facing such a complicated situation, how can I, Li Li, enter the world with a knife and a gun? Ku, Ma Fang Nanshan? Furthermore, I am not yet 30 years old this year, and I am at the age of making bold decisions and pioneering. How can I waste my time and wait for the white hair? Take ten thousand steps back and say, even if I encounter an accident, so what? I have More than 30 children, more than a dozen sons, the eldest son and the second son are now 12 years old, besides the two of them, there are six other sons who have reached the age of ten, and there are successors, why should you be afraid?"

Li Zhi was shocked when he heard the words, hesitantly said: "What does your majesty mean by this? Could it be that your majesty thinks"

"You guessed it right." Before Li Zhi could finish speaking, Li Li nodded and said, "Now is not the time to sit back and enjoy the benefits, it's time for us to make a move."

Maybe it was Li Li's bold words that moved the heavens, or it made his old man angry. Before Li Li finished speaking, Shi Ace, the deputy general of Jin Yiwei, galloped over, got off his horse and walked into the gazebo, kneeling on one knee He held up a stack of letters with both hands: "I just received a secret letter from Feiying from Zhuge Military Adviser, please read it, Your Majesty."

Li Li took the letter and waved his hand to signal Shi Awaili to get up, and immediately opened the letter and said, "Okay, great, the more the better! Hahaha" Before the letter was finished, Li Li couldn't help but patted the stone. table, laughing heartily.

In contrast, Li Zhi's expression changed upon hearing the sound, cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and beads of sweat trickled down his ears after a while.Even though he didn't know what the secret letter said, he already had a premonition that the last thing he wanted to see would happen after all. To be precise, it should happen soon.

This is really a good but not a bad spirit. Just a moment ago, he was racking his brains to dissuade Li Li from taking risks himself, and not to lead the army to go out, but he didn't expect that what he was worried about came the next moment.At this moment, Li Li was laughing heartily, without even thinking about it, Li Zhi knew that he must have found a reason to go out, or found a favorable opportunity from the secret letter, and then he was going to lead the army.

Sure enough, after reading the secret letter, Li Li immediately got up and walked out of the gazebo, and said as he walked, "Zicheng will go back to the city immediately to prepare. You don't need too many troops, just [-]. Prepare half a month's dry food. We will set off at three o'clock tomorrow morning." Before he finished speaking, he saw Li Li get on his horse and steer the Hualiu horse up the gallop, and by the time Li Zhi realized it, he had jumped over the city gate and returned to the city.

"What should I do?" Li Zhi muttered to Shi A in a low voice as he got on his horse and walked forward: "Before leaving, Xiangguo, Wenhe military adviser, and more than a dozen noble concubines in the inner palace have repeatedly warned that we must not let Shi A Your Majesty led the army to go out, but who can persuade His Majesty to decide now?"

Li Zhi, who was absent-minded, never expected that the moment after he finished speaking, Shi A took out a kit from his sleeve, handed it to him, and said in a low voice: "Don't worry, Commander, this is Kong Ming. When the military division led the army to the south, there were two kits handed to the general. The military division told the general that if His Majesty decides to lead the army in person, he should open the first kit, and wait until His Majesty leads the army to set off before sending the second kit. Hand over the kit to Your Majesty." After speaking, Shi A took out another kit and handed it to Li Zhi.

While unpacking the kit, Li Zhi said in surprise, "Military Master Kong Ming is really good, he can predict the foresight, and he expected His Majesty to lead the army three days ago!"

While talking, the kit has been opened, and there is a small cloth strip inside.Seeing that there were only two words on the cloth strip, Li Zhi was shocked again, this time he was really shocked, his eyes stared straight at the writing on the cloth strip, and he was stunned for a while, but the horse under him was still standing there. walk.

Seeing Li Zhi's expression was different, Shi Ada looked at him inexplicably, and even waved his hand in front of his eyes, but Li Zhi didn't respond at all.Immediately, Shi A was greatly surprised, so he stretched out his hand to take the cloth strip from Li Zhi's hand, and he was stunned when he glanced at it, but he saw the word "Zhen Mi" written on the cloth strip, and there were no beginnings and no endings. words, nothing else.

"What do you mean?" Unlike Li Zhi, Shi A quickly came to his senses and said to himself: "What does your majesty lead the army in person and Miss Zhen Mi has anything to do with it? She was stalking your majesty before." Come to Luoyang, can His Majesty take her with you this time?"

"Eh?" Li Zhi was startled suddenly, turned around and grabbed Shi A's shoulder, and asked anxiously: "What did you just say? Say it again!"

Shi A, who was suffering from shoulder pain, suddenly turned pale with shock, shook his head again and again and said: "No, no, nothing. The general made a slip of the tongue, please forgive me, Commander."

Shi A was really frightened. Although he was also a titan before the top [-] in the army, and his martial arts were already top-notch, he was not even a star behind Li Zhi, and he was not at the same level at all.Therefore, he respected and feared Li Zhi, this kind of awe had penetrated into his bones, so that he didn't dare to dodge when Li Zhi suddenly grabbed his shoulder, let alone fight back.

Chapter 257 Bloody Mountains and Rivers ([-])

Seeing that Shi A was trembling with fright, Li Zhi just realized that he had struck too hard in a hurry, Shi A grinned his teeth in pain, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

Immediately, Li Zhi let go of Shi A's shoulders, and grinned apologetically: "Don't be afraid, I didn't mean to blame you, I just want you to repeat what you just said, it's very important. That's all, nothing else. "

Shi A breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the words: "Oh! The general said just now, 'Could it be possible for your Majesty to take Zhen Mi with you this time?' Commander, think about it, Miss Zhen Mi is a weak woman, although she is good at singing and dancing, She is proficient in playing piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, but she has no strength to restrain a chicken, can she go to the battlefield? Besides, going to war is not a tour of mountains and rivers, what is she going to do with a woman?"

"Slap!" Before Shi A finished speaking, Li Zhi slapped his hands and said excitedly: "Yes, that's the sentence! Army Master Kong Ming is really a man of genius, to come up with such a clever plan!"

"Commander, what did you say? What kind of trick?" Shi A asked blankly.

Li Zhi was surprised and said, "Are you really ignorant or just pretending to be stupid? If you really don't understand, why did Military Master Kong Ming give you the kit?"

"Hey hey!" Seeing Li Zhi's aggressive scrutiny, Shi A smiled honestly: "The general is stupid, I really didn't understand it just now, but now, after hearing what the commander said, I seem to understand a little bit. Hehe"

Li Zhi shook his head helplessly, but felt very relieved in his heart. Then he patted Shi A's shoulder lightly, and said in a gentle voice: "Let's go, we still have a lot of things to do tonight. We must make thorough preparations and make up our minds." There can be no mistakes." The shoulder was patted twice again.Old wounds add new pains, but Shi Ah smiled happily.Because he knew that Li Zhi patted him on the shoulder this time to apologize, and he really regarded him as his brother.

Immediately, the two quickly entered the city with a hundred personal guards, followed Li Li and went straight to the Sheriff's Mansion.When approaching the gate of the mansion, Shi A got off his horse and whispered to Li Zhi: "The general thought about it again on the way back, and felt that the soldiers are good but not many. We must choose good soldiers and strong generals for this expedition, especially The strong generals in the army should bring more. In this way, even if we were trapped in Ye City a few years ago, we can escort His Majesty out of the siege and ensure His Majesty's safety. What do you think, Commander?"

"Well, it coincides with what I think." Li Zhi nodded happily, and said as he walked: "After entering the mansion, the two of us will go to a few generals to discuss in detail, and then we will act separately." Shi A nodded in agreement, Following Li Zhi step by step, he strode into the gate of the mansion.

*****************

As the sun that bakes the earth gradually becomes milder, the day's work is drawing to a close.On the field outside the west gate of Yangdi City, many farmers walked out of the field with their waists bowed.Looking down at the crops in the field, he walked carefully to the ridge of the field, holding a hoe in his hand, looking back at the results of his day's farming, with a simple and honest smile of satisfaction on his face.

immediately.The peasant households in groups of three or five carried hoes, chatted about homework as they walked, and slowly walked up the official road along the ridge of the field.Not far ahead is the city gate.Along the way, they rarely looked up at the sky.Feeling the heat of the sun on their bodies, they knew it would be dark in half an hour, chatting about homework but not forgetting to look down at the road.For fear of accidentally stepping on the crops.Although the crops on the side of the road are not my own, but the crops are like the children of the farmers, I don’t feel sorry for stepping on someone’s crops!

The afterglow of the setting sun sent them into the city gate, gradually drifting away, and slowly disappeared among the crowd of people coming and going in the city.These peasant households are all residents of Yangzhai City. The current residents living in the city do not mean that they are all "office workers with iron rice bowls". Nearly [-]% of the people in the city are farmers. Although they live in the city , but the livelihood of the whole family is outside the city.For them, the city is a barrier to protect their own safety. It is safe and lively, and it also has all the items needed for life, which is very convenient.

The difference from previous years is that in the past, farmers used to farm or rent land for big families, most of whom were tenants of official families or wealthy families; Retire, or transfer to the government, and then the government will distribute the land to the tenants.Since then, the tenants have turned into farmers who own the land. In addition to paying [-]% of the tax revenue every year, they no longer have to pay rent to the owner. They are really the masters of the house. But when they walk out of the ground, they can straighten their waists, full of confidence.

Where does this confidence come from?Naturally dug out of the ground.I used to farm land for my boss, and I was exhausted all year round and still couldn’t fill my stomach, but now they have their own land, and the tax is not much, so they are naturally full of energy. After drinking enough, as long as you are not lazy, you can live comfortably.Over the past few years, the lives of the people in Yangdi City can be described as thriving, and life is prosperous and enjoyable.This can be seen from the sincere smiles on their backs and backs after a day of hard work.

This phenomenon is not limited to Yangdi City, it is the same in the entire Yingchuan County and even Yuzhou. The common people have their own fields and pay [-]% of the tax, and the rest of the harvest is their own.This is not only the case in Yuzhou, but also the counties and counties in Xuzhou adjacent to Yuzhou and Yangzhou in the north of the Yangtze River. All states and counties under the Jin State are normal.

In the Western Jin Dynasty, the privileges once enjoyed by the official clan and powerful gentry were compressed to the extreme, and the land and wealth they once owned shrank sharply.The land, houses, and properties that originally belonged to them, as well as the servants, maids, and handymen in the mansion, were all registered and recorded, and those exceeding the regulations were all cleared, enforced, and the law was strict.In short: Those who follow will prosper, and those who go against will perish.

It is precisely because of the strict laws of the Western Jin Dynasty that the process of the Xiliang Army's capture of the states and counties in the Central Plains was extremely long and almost difficult. The process of occupying Yuzhou, Xuzhou, and Yangzhou and other states and counties was completely paved with blood.But after going through the labor pains, when the people felt the benefits of the law and benefited one after another, the initial bloody killing was nothing more than labor pains. on track.

Compared with the tens of millions of Li people, the so-called officials, gentry and powerful gentry are at best a small group of people, like a wave in the vast ocean, unable to turn a big wave or stop the great trend.In the face of the general trend, all they can do is to go with the current, or go against the current, and be wiped out.

As night fell, the four gates of Yangdi City had been closed, and thousands of lights adorned this ancient city.

It is said to be a famous city through the ages because it is the first ancient capital of the Xia Dynasty in Chinese history.After Dayu's death, his son Qi ascended the throne. Qi held a grand banquet in the capital Yangdi Juntai to entertain many clan and tribal leaders. Since then, the Xia Dynasty, the first dynasty in Chinese history, has been officially established.The history of Huaxia unfolded from this, and the "Xia" in the word "Huaxia" is the Xia Dynasty.Yu passed on his son, and his family was in the world.

Yingchuan County is named after Yingshui. Since King Qin Yingzheng established the county in 17 years, it has always been the most populous and most prosperous place except the capital.There are many talents in Yingchuan, not to mention Shaodian, Xu You, Dayu, Xia Qi, Taikang, Zhongkang, Shaokang and others in ancient times, as well as Lu Buwei, Zhang Liang and Chao Cuo in modern times. , Xu Shu, Sima Hui, Xun Yu, Xun You and many other famous officials in the world.

It is precisely because Yingchuan County has a large population and is very prosperous, and because this place is in the hinterland of the Central Plains, guarding the traffic arteries that go north to Sili, south to Yuzhou, west to Nanyang, and east to Yanzhou. Sichuan.

At present, the governor of Yuzhou is Xun You, and the governor of Yuzhou is Zhou Yu. There are more than [-] troops in Yuzhou.Among them, there are two main battle battalions, namely: Shuofeng Camp under Zhou Yu's account and Wuwei Camp led by Zhang Liao; in addition to the main battle camp, the county soldiers stationed in Yuzhou are the soldiers and horses under Yuan Shu's tent in the past.

Judging from the current situation, neither Liu Biao of the Southern Han Dynasty nor Cao Cao of the Northern Wei Dynasty dared to openly attack Yuzhou, and the target of their joint attack was limited to Sili.Therefore, despite the raging wars in the counties of Sili, Yuzhou is a peaceful scene. The people live and work in peace and contentment.

However, no one would expect that the peaceful and peaceful Yangzhai City is surrounded by powerful enemies, the cloud of war has already shrouded this famous city through the ages, and an unprecedented storm is quietly brewing.No one knows when it will come, maybe the day after tomorrow, or tomorrow, or tonight.

Under the night, in the fields where the farmers were working half an hour ago, there was a black shadow moving fast at this moment, approaching the city gate at a speed visible to the naked eye.