Jinyang.
The straight road leads directly to the east gate of Jinyang.
At this moment, both sides of the road were filled with soldiers.
These soldiers were fully armed, holding spears, and lined up ten paces apart, extending from the road to the city gate.
Behind the soldiers, there were many common people standing. Most of them were old men with gray hair. They were probably used to it, and they all looked towards the middle of the road.
There were knights walking on the road, and behind them were carriages filled with heads.
Various heads were piled up in one place, forming moving hills. Many of the heads had their eyes open, just staring around, which was creepy.
After several chariots with human heads, there are flags, war drums, ordnance and other sundries.
A slave was tied up and staggered behind the carriage, walking numbly forward.
At the gate of the East City, Prime Minister Gao Yan was standing upright, looking straight ahead with a solemn face, and many important ministers and cronies were standing on both sides of him.
Emperor Gao Yin actually stood behind him, his face haggard and pale, his whole body trembling.
He looked around, trying to find someone, even a figure that could reassure him, but no matter how he looked, he couldn't find a friendly look.
Even Mr. Cui was standing behind Gao Yan at this moment, turning a blind eye to the emperor who was looking at him eagerly.
The group gradually approached the city gate, and the knights dismounted one after another.
Someone quickly walked up to Gao Yan and bowed to him.
"Prime Minister!!"
"Some Xi people made a rebellion and tried to attack Wuchuan. They were attacked by Liu Taozi, the leader of the garrison. They beheaded more than a thousand people and captured maybe three thousand. They also took banners, knives, shields, bows, war horses, etc."
The man read out loud the amount of loot.
In fact, Liu Taozi's memorial and trophies had arrived in Jinyang three days ago. However, Gao Yan needed them to come in again. Even the people responsible for escorting and shouting at the moment were all highly selected under Gao Yan.
selected.
Gao Yan nodded and stepped aside, allowing Gao Yin to face the group of people directly.
"Your Majesty, Wuchuan has made great contributions."
When Gao Yin looked up, he saw the piled heads.
At this moment, his face turned even paler, his teeth were stuck together, and he was trembling and unable to speak at all.
Gao Yan didn't wait for him too long, and returned to his original position again, "Your Majesty, you have merit!!"
The knight hurriedly shouted: "Thank you so much, Prime Minister!!"
The knights shouted.
Gao Yan's brows now showed some joy, but the faces of the nobles around him were extremely ugly at this moment.
Many people whispered something with fierce eyes.
Gao Yan asked them to enter the city and wander around Jinyang for several times.
As for himself, he led the rest of the people directly back to the Prime Minister's Mansion, and sent a few confidants to send the frightened emperor back.
Gao Yan is sitting in the bright lobby.
Many nobles and ministers were sitting on his left and right respectively. Although the ministers were fine, these nobles all had gloomy faces at this moment.
Before Gao Yan could speak, He Baren stood up first and saluted him, "Prime Minister!!"
"The people of Bianzhen will never engage in liaison with foreign enemies or attempt to rebel!!"
"Please Prime Minister give them justice!!"
After He Baren, the other nobles couldn't help shouting: "This is all framed by the Han people!!"
"How could the Chinese do such a thing!"
The whole hall suddenly became noisy, but the Han officials just stared ahead and said nothing.
Gao Yan listened to them solemnly, then slowly picked up a piece of paper and shook it a few times.
"These account books have been sent. All the evidence is conclusive. I have not punished you for the crimes that were detrimental to your discipline, but you want to be rehabilitated?"
Gao Yan suddenly looked at He Baren, who was the first to get up.
"He Ba Taibao. The rebel He Laiqian. I heard that he has some connection with you?"
The ferocious He Barendang was stunned, he hesitated, "Your Majesty, I, I don't know, I"
"Come here, He Baren is having an affair with a foreign enemy, take him out and lock him up!!"
He Baren was shocked and hurriedly knelt in front of him, "Your Majesty, I have never had an affair with a foreign traitor! Your Majesty! It's unfair!!"
Immediately, a large number of nobles stood up and began to plead for him.
Gao Yan frowned, stood up angrily, and walked quickly in front of them. At this moment, he was extremely irritable, "Unjustly accused?!"
"I regard you as my confidants and have high hopes for you!"
"What did you do?! Not to mention embezzlement and bribery, protecting relatives, withholding food and grass, and reselling it? This is what my henchmen did?!"
"You have always ignored the law and acted wantonly. This is all because I am too indulgent!!"
He Baren hurriedly shouted: "Your Majesty!! I know I was wrong!!"
"You know your mistake, you know your mistake, what mistake do you know?!"
Gao Yan took off his belt and hit him on the head several times. Gao Zhan rushed forward and stood in front of him, "Prime Minister, please forgive them. From now on, they will definitely not dare to act recklessly again!"
!”
The rest of the people also looked frightened, and they all bowed and apologized.
Seeing this scene in front of them, many Han ministers in the hall finally felt a little moved. They looked at each other, and their dead, stiff and dull faces also showed fluctuations again.
Gao Yan put away his belt and then said: "Anyone who relies on his status to act unscrupulously and ignores the law will be severely punished by me!!"
After saying that, he waved his hand and asked everyone to leave.
The nobles left dejectedly, with sad eyes and aggrieved expressions.
There was joy on the faces of the important ministers.
Cui Jishu, Wang Xi, Lu Yao, Gao Zhan and others stayed where they were.
After everyone left, the anger on Gao Yan's face disappeared a little. Cui Jishu walked forward with a smile, "Your Majesty, I just stared at the faces of the ministers, and they began to waver."
"Next, we can formally issue orders to restrict illegal behavior."
Gao Yan did not answer, but looked at Lu Yao aside, his eyes became gentler, "Mr. Lu recommended a talented person for me, very good, very good."
Lu Yao froze on the spot, only showing a helpless wry smile.
After Gao Yan became the Prime Minister, he immediately promoted Lu Yao from Cheng Anling to the Prime Minister's position as Zhonglang, and became Gao Yan's important deputy in managing the temple.
The surprise came so suddenly that Lu Yao himself was caught off guard.
He then looked at Cui Jishu and said, "Liu Taozi has all the merits expressed in the memorial. In addition, in the name of the Prime Minister's Palace, I will reward him with ten sets of armor so that he can make new achievements and be promoted again."
"only!!"
Gao Yan glanced at Gao Zhan and asked him to follow him, and then the two hurriedly left.
Several counselors sent them off respectfully.
Cui Jishu then raised his head and looked at Lu Yao with a smile, "Lu Jun, your ability to recognize people is getting better and better. Recommending such talented people to the temple will inevitably lead to meritorious service in the future."
Cui Jishu got along well with everyone in the temple, including Lu Yao, and their personal relationship was not bad, but Lu Yao couldn't laugh at all.
When he learned that Liu Taozi was killing everyone in Dingzhou, killing many heads of wealthy people, Lu Yao's eyes darkened and he fell ill.
This disease did not heal until Gao Yan promoted him to serve as a lieutenant in the Prime Minister's Office.
As Liu Taozi's recommender, he could think of the many troubles he would face in the future.
His intestines were filled with regret. If he had known it would be like this, it would have been better for him to go home after listening to Master Qian's abandonment of his official position than to send him up.
Such a gift was actually sending a murderous god, and people were killed everywhere. The name of Mandrill was resounding throughout the Central Plains, and no one was afraid of the power of cruel officials.
As the incident in Dingzhou spread, Liu Shanman's name was almost lost among the big families in the Central Plains. The literati and sages mentioned it and gnashed their teeth, wishing to eat his flesh and drink his blood.
As for the recommender, Lu Yao's originally good reputation also went down the drain.
At the moment, he doesn't have many friends left, so only the people around Gao Yan are willing to deal with him.
But now, this god of murder has begun to attack nobles again.
Thinking of the ferocious looks of these honorable nobles, and thinking of their faces after knowing that he had recommended Liu Taozi, Lu Yao slowly raised his head and sighed.
"Why did I recommend him in the first place?"
Huaishuo.
This place is completely different from Wuchuan. There are not many fortifications here.
There are only three school grounds and one sentry tower outside the city. Other than that, there is nothing else. As far as the eye can see, it is all flat and flat.
Even the city doesn't look that tall and strong.
The cold wind blew, and the school grounds outside the city were particularly lively.
Both inside and outside the high platform were occupied by military households, most of them with their upper bodies exposed, rough and savage, and roaring loudly.
And in the middle, there are two slaves.
The two looked at each other, mostly with fear in their eyes. Both of them were wearing broken clothes, holding swords in their hands, and slowly approached each other.
"kill!!"
"kill!!!"
The crowd roared, and the two men advanced slowly amidst the roar, looking at each other's faces.
Just yesterday, they were good friends. Because they were the same age, they often did things together. After working hard, they occasionally recalled their hometown together and exchanged a few words, so that they were more like people and did not become corpses.
But today, the two of them were captured and forced to fight each other.
As He Bacheng said, there is really no fun in Bian Town. It is dull and boring. As far as the eye can see, it is just wasteland and weeds. You can't even catch any prey here.
Therefore, the noble people here never let go of any way to have fun.
Including letting the people under his command commit suicide.
Xianbei has always had this habit. For example, like Baibao Xianbei, they have to constantly catch and fight each other to choose the bravest person.
Of course, slaves like these are not qualified to join the army.
They kill each other just for fun.
The two people approached slowly. They were both only more than ten years old, perhaps not yet crowned, and they looked somewhat similar. They both seemed to be scared and were trembling all over.
The two of them were getting closer and closer, reaching a killing distance from each other.
The sound became more and more rapid, and everyone roared.
At this moment, neither of them could hear the sound. They looked at each other, but there was no murderous intent in their eyes.
One of them dropped his sword and looked at his friend.
The friend hesitated for a moment, then let go and dropped the sword.
"Farewell."
"Farewell."
As soon as the two of them finished speaking, they heard the angry roars of the Xianbei people. A man came charging forward on a horse, slashing his sword to the left and right very fast. After a moment, he held up two heads and showed the surrounding people.
When the people of Xianbei saw this, they cheered loudly.
At this moment, the sound of horse hooves suddenly sounded from a distance.
The crowd was in chaos, and horns sounded on the city wall.
Cui Gang took a deep breath, raised his head, and looked at the knights charging towards him.
Many knights surrounded them from three sides in front, leaving only the road behind.
A man slowly walked out from among the knights, looked at Cui Gang's clothes, and then looked at the knights behind him.
The man had an obvious black tattoo on his face, extending from the right side of his face to his body.
The tattoo is a series of horizontal bars. I can't see any meaning, but it is really scary.
There were more and more knights gathering behind him, and all of them had fierce expressions on their faces. Some of them had already pointed their crossbows at Cui Gang with a ferocious smile.
Cui Gang felt an indescribable fear.
He opened his mouth and said: "I am Cui Gang, the Secretary of Wuchuan. I have come here to summon the commander of the Huaishuo garrison to go to Wuchuan on the order of the general of the town."
His voice obviously had some vibrato.
Half a month ago, he was still a sage student who had never left home. Such a place of martial arts was really scary for him.
Hearing his words, many knights in front couldn't help laughing.
Several people even imitated his accent, "This is Wuchuan Shuzuo"
Cui Gang had a straight face and did not dare to say anything.
The tattooed knight came slowly and looked at Cui Gang in front of him with disdain, "What is General Zhen doing in Wuchuan?"
"The Xi people attacked Wuchuan and were defeated. The general summoned everyone to discuss the Xi people's affairs."
"Xi Ren? Xi Ren, what can we discuss?"
"I am the deputy garrison commander here. You go back and tell the general that if he wants to attack the Xi people, prepare money and food and send it to us. If Wuchuan soldiers cannot succeed, we will have to fight. As long as the money and food are enough, we can attack him at any time.
The Xi people were driven back thousands of miles and their Qi Jin was captured alive."
Cui Gang took a deep breath and said tremblingly: "The general said that this is a major military matter and cannot be delayed. If it fails to arrive in time, it must be carried out in accordance with military law."
Apparently, Cui Gang's threat made them laugh again.
The deputy garrison leader shook his head and looked at Cui Gang with a complicated look, "Then there is no one available for the general of the town? Send someone like you to read out the general order to us??"
His face suddenly became solemn and he made a move.
Cui Gang was so frightened that he almost fell off his horse.
The man was extremely angry, "Are you worthy of passing on the military letter?! Go back and tell the general, again, give him money and food, and we can go out to fight whoever he wants. If you don't have money or food, don't say anything."
Discussing big things makes people laugh!"
"But if you delay the military plane"
"We were just delayed, please ask him to come to military justice as soon as possible!!"
"roll!!"
Cui Gang lowered his head, his face filled with anger, but he led everyone around him and turned around to leave.
Watching them leave, those people laughed again, and someone came up and said, "Guardian, why not just arrest this person, maybe we can exchange for something."
"Fart! Just say it and let it go. That's the general's man. You really dare to arrest him. If that guy goes all out and goes to the temple and others are fine, we will be in trouble. Just let him go."
The man asked again: "Then we really don't want to go?"
The man with the tattoo was furious, "Fuck you! If it's anywhere else, it's Wuchuan! It's just a joke. It's ridiculous to talk about military affairs and military law!"
"If he wants to use us, let him show sincerity, otherwise, why listen to him?!"
Everyone nodded, and under the leadership of this man, they shouted and rushed back to the school grounds again.
Cui Gang was walking on the road, his eyes full of frustration and anger.
"It's too much to bully someone."
Wuchuan.
Official office.
Cui Gang was telling everyone about the humiliation he had suffered. When he got excited, his whole body turned red.
At this moment, even Tian Zili didn't have the slightest hint of joy on his face. On the contrary, he was even angrier than Cui Gang.
The expressions of Liu Taozi and He Bacheng were the calmest. He Bacheng looked at Liu Taozi with a wry smile.
"Brother Liu, I have already told you that it is impossible to come. It would be better if you sent someone else. This Lord Cui, he. Alas, there is no way he can convey the military message in this way."
"I know."
Liu Taozi said.
He Bacheng did not answer the call, but felt quite disappointed. He thought the other party could come up with some good solution, but he did not expect that his subordinates would suffer such injustice for nothing.
Tian Zili asked: "Brother, what about the other places?"
"There is no need to send people to other places."
"Just the biggest one is enough."
Hearing these words, everyone on the left and right suddenly remembered something, it was He Bacheng, and their expressions changed drastically at this moment.
"Brother Liu, are you thinking?"
Liu Taozi raised her head and looked outside through the window.
"Wait for two more days."
"If Huaishuo still disobeys military orders and is unwilling to obey orders, immediately declare his rebellion and summon a large army to attack him!"
"No!!"
He Bacheng jumped up first, his face turned pale with fright, "Brother Liu, it is Huaishuo and Wuchuan who lead the troops to attack and kill our own people. You can't do it! You can't do it!!"
Liu Taozi looked at him calmly, "The general is commanding the garrison towns. At present, there are garrison towns that refuse to obey orders. According to military law, this is no different from treason, and they should be quickly attacked and killed."
He Bacheng swallowed his saliva, "That's what you say, but how can you do this? Besides, it's a real fight. It's hard to say whether it can be defeated. The Huaishuo soldiers are known as the number one, because of their size.
It’s much more than Wuchuan. You can’t do this anyway, brother Liu, please calm down and let’s find a compromise.”
"No."
Liu Taozi interrupted him, "At the moment, if we want to regain the garrison towns, the best way is to let Huaishuo bow his head. If even this cannot be done, the Prime Minister will come here in person and ask you to summon an army to fight for him.
Pioneer, what are you going to do? Go ask the Prime Minister for money and food?!"
He Bacheng's face turned pale, and then he covered his head in pain.
"Then. Then just follow the general's words."
ps: The prime minister of Qi acted as Wang Rusu. The prime minister was engaged in the mission of Zhonglang Lu Yao, and shook hands with him to persuade him to advance. - "Zi Zhi Tong Jian"
Chapter completed!