Da Wei Chun

Chapter 584
On the dark day of the first month (the end of the month), discard the rags and send off the poor son (poor god).

This is the Three Orders Festival (another March [-]rd and September [-]th), and the whole world celebrates it.Regardless of the north and the south, the emperor would give banquets to his ministers, and the gentlemen and women would go boating and have fun together.

Xiazhou is located in the north, and the weather is still cold.The Qingshui (Yanhe) river will still freeze sooner or later, so there is no such custom.

But such a big festival must be celebrated.As the sky was about to brighten, Gao Meng led the officials of the prefecture and the common people in the prefecture to worship the sky and worship the gods, praying for good weather and a good harvest.

After all the ceremonies, it is a routine banquet.This is true regardless of family or power.Even poor families have to make a few noodles to sacrifice to the gods, cut a knife of good meat, and sell two catties of bad wine to satisfy their hunger.

Therefore, the whole city is full of fragrance, laughter and laughter everywhere, and the excitement is not lost at the time of the New Year's Eve.

But only the state capital is lifeless, and all the officials are sad and cloudy.

Gao Meng was more than ordinary people, in just a few months, his temples turned white, as if he had aged a lot suddenly.

His face was even more gloomy, and there was a bit of hostility hidden between his brows and eyes.

After barely drinking a few cups, he excused himself from being unwell, and went back to the Houya by himself.When all the subordinate officials saw this, they naturally had no intention of having a banquet, so they dispersed one by one.

There is no need to go to the Yamen today. Except for the assistant officials on duty, the rest of the officials will rest for half a day.When leaving the Yamen and returning home, don't drive Wang Shen and Lu Fangzhi, the governor of Jinming County, boarded the same car.

Wang Shen is the son of Wang Xianzhi who is now a right servant (additional official, not a real job), and a hardcore member of the Gao clan.Lu Fangzhi, governor of Jinming County, is even Gao Meng's confidant.Therefore, these two can be called Gao Meng's right-hand men.It is also clearer why the government officials are frowning, and why Gao Meng is in a state of distress.

The carriage drove slowly, looked at the clan brother who was driving, Lu Fangzhi frowned, and asked in a low voice: "Why are you so worried?"

You come to ask me?

As if he heard a big joke, Wang Shen stared at Lu Fangzhi as if he had seen a ghost.

Seeing that he really didn't know, Wang Shen sighed sadly: "Xianyu and Wuyin's two clans sent envoys repeatedly to ask where the state government had recruited more than ten thousand young men from its second department in the middle of last year. .

At that time, the emperor said that he sent him to the six towns to help the Taiwei fight against the bandits, but he had already retreated in autumn, and now several months have passed, and the clan has not returned.Therefore, these two departments asked the envoy: When did the service end, and where did the people go...so the envoy is worried..."

An unremarkable sentence made Lu Fangzhi's heart skip a beat, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead: "These two...you know?"

"If you know, the leaders of these two ministries may have reported to the capital early, or raised troops on the spot, how can they send envoys to urge them?"

Hearing Wang Shen's words, Lu Fang felt a little relieved, but only a little.

It's just because the more than ten thousand strong men of these two tribes were handed over by Gao Meng to Lu Fangzhi to dig the oil lake in Gaonu County, and then they died completely.Where else is there half a living person?
But paper can't contain the fire, it is at this time that they are frightened by the prestige of the envoy and the Taiwei, and the leaders of these two Shule do not dare to make mistakes.But tens of thousands of strong men can't see people and dead bodies, so it's impossible to let it go.Therefore, if there is no response, the leaders of these two ministries will go to Beijing to report.

What should we do then?

Lu Fangzhi's anxious heart seemed to be on fire, his eyes were red like blood, and his teeth were clenched.It was more like the neighing of a wild animal, with a strange sound coming from the throat: "When...is the best opportunity?"

"Confused?"

Wang Shen was startled, and reprimanded in a low voice, "How can you and I talk about such a secret?"

Not to mention the two of them, even Gao Meng didn't dare to ask, otherwise why would he be as anxious as he is now?

"The only solution now is to suffer!"

Wang Shen sighed leisurely, his voice was low and inaudible, "Only the day before yesterday, the secret envoy reported to the envoy, I heard that at the beginning of last month, there were only 30 monks in Heng and Yan prefectures. What's more The rebels in Ding and Sizhou have also become powerful.

Ren Cui Yanbo was a famous general in the world, but he was short of soldiers and food, so he could only retreat steadily.If another month passes, and the imperial court has no strong support, Dingzhou will collapse..."

The collapse of Dingzhou means that the lands of Yan and Jin are completely in chaos.Even the Taiwei still feels that the opportunity has not yet arrived, whether it is the imperial edict in the west or the imperial court, they are already in a state of desperation, how can they care about the whereabouts of more than ten thousand young men?
Wang Shen's persuasion to Lu Fangzhi seems to be justified, but only he himself knows that this is just taken for granted.

The situation is ever-changing, how can he deduce the general trend of the world while sitting in the dry well in Xiazhou?
It was just perfunctory Lu Fangzhi, fearing that he would mess up his own position.

Lu Fang made up his mind, and asked Ji again: "Then, should we still harvest this kerosene? Last autumn, when the Taiwei's squadron returned to the court, the townspeople who secretly transported from Beizhen had already lost their lives. Not much left..."

Wang Shen was so terrified that his heart came up in his throat: "So fast?"

That's more than [-] adults?

Lu Fangzhi made gestures in a deep voice: "It's a healthy cow, which can't last ten days under the pit, let alone a human? Now it's getting warmer and the poisonous gas is overweight, and the number of poisoned people is more than one day. If you continue to dig deep , I am afraid that more people will die..."

Every time he said a word, it was as if a stone was pressed in Wang Shen's heart.In the end, it was like being pressed into a mountain, and the heavy Wang Shen couldn't breathe.

Did Jie and Zhou commit such atrocities in ancient times?
Knowing that this action is harmful to nature and disregarding human life, but knowing that the oil lake is poisonous, and it is extremely poisonous, why can't I speak up?

Even if you rebel, you can't treat a living person as an animal. If you die, there will be tens of thousands...

Thinking of this, Wang Shen suddenly shuddered, and gritted his teeth: "Don't dig. If these young men die again, one day, I'm afraid that the people who transport the grain will not be able to recruit... that's all. , I’m going to ask the envoy…”

Lu Fangzhi also sighed: "I have intended this for a long time, but I was afraid of annoying the envoy, and even more afraid of missing the Taiwei's thousand-year plan. But doing things like this is really... I really can't bear it..."

"Then go together!"

Wang Shen waved his sleeves and ordered Lu Fangzhi's brothers to turn around.

But the carriage hadn't adjusted quickly, and there was a sound of gongs outside the carriage, accompanied by the sound of scolding the people to retreat.

The two were startled when they heard the words, and ran out of the carriage at the same time.

Looking along the prestige, a fast horse galloped from south to north, like a fast horse urgently reporting military information.Taking a closer look, Lu Fangzhi's face changed in horror.

The one hung on the treasure hook under the horse was clearly the county flag of his Jinming County.

Lu Fangzhi shouted sharply: "This official is here, why come to report?"

Hearing the sound, the knight slammed his horse and jumped off his horse: "My lord, something is wrong: at midnight last night, there was thunder on the plains of Gaonu County, and the resounding resounded through the sky. After two minutes of sound, there was a big fire again. The fire is raging, and no one can get close to it. When the most humble officer was ordered by the school lieutenant to report to the envoy, the fire was still not weak..."

Sudden fire?

Lu Fangzhi's face was as white as paper, and he asked in a hissed voice, "Are there any casualties?"

"Most of them are sand lakes along the Yanshui River that were abandoned due to sand digging for city building, so there were no casualties..."

The messenger responded, touched his arms again, took out a sealed envelope, and handed it to Lu Fangzhi.

For some reason, when he heard the words "no casualties", Lu Fangzhi was displeased and startled, as if he was about to pass over.

With a dignified expression on his face, Wang Shen stretched out his hand to take the letter.

But after just a few glances, his expression changed, and he couldn't help shivering.

it's over...

Commander Jinming wrote in his letter: At the beginning of Zishi, the sky was full of stars and the sky was bright and clear, but there was a thunderstorm outside Gaonu City.After a full two minutes of ringing, the Juncheng and the Junwei wanted to send people out of the city to investigate, and a fire broke out on the banks of the Yanshui River.

And not just one place, but six places in total, all of which are full of fire, which can be clearly seen from several miles away.Just like what the messenger said, don't talk about putting out the fire, but if the living things are within a hundred paces, their beards and hairs will volumize without fire. How can this be rescued?
Thunder is not terrible, fire is not terrible, even if some people are burned to death, it is not terrible.

The frightening thing is that the oil sand dug out of the lake and then refined was piled up five miles north of the city by Lu Fangzhi under the pretext of repairing the city wall.At the bottom of the sand hills are buried the corpses of Ding Zhuang who were poisoned to death while digging the sand.

A total of more than [-] people were all blown out.

What's more, all the sand lakes where oil was extracted were all set on fire...

"God's will... Could it be God's will?"

Lu Fangzhi's eyes turned black, he leaned on the carriage and muttered to himself, with tears running down his face.

"Let's go see the envoy!"

Wang Shen was a little better than Lu Fangzhi, he gritted his teeth and dragged Lu Fangzhi to the car: "Be more sober... I've been blind for a long time, how could it be God's will? This is clearly a man-made disaster!"

Man-made disaster?

Lu Fangzhi calmed down a bit: "Why don't you say that?"

"I'll explain it to you when I see the envoy!"

Wang Shen dragged Lu Fangzhi into the car and shouted anxiously.Lu Fangzhi's younger brother ran towards the governor's mansion almost with all his might.

Gao Meng, with his hair draped over and his clothes half open, sat obliquely on the couch.He was only wearing a jacket, and even his feet were bare.

Further inside the gauze curtain, one can vaguely see a beauty lazily supporting her arms, staring at Gao Meng bewilderedly.

There was a commotion outside the hall, and I heard my confidant standing outside the door, saying in a low voice: "My lord, don't drive the king to ask to see Mr. Lu Jun, saying that it is urgent!"

One hundred thousand in a hurry?
Can there be a Western Shule who wants to see people when he is born, who wants to see a corpse when he dies, and who is about to go to Beijing to make a declaration?
Gao Meng let out a sigh of relief: "Please wait for the two of them to go to Zhongtang first, I will be there right away!"

"promise!"

Walking away from the door, the beauty stood up gracefully in a gauze dress, walked out of the gauze tent and asked in a charming voice: "Your Majesty, do you want slaves to help you change your clothes?"

Gao Meng raised his head, looked at the face that was [-]% similar to Gao Yingzu, feeling bored in his heart.

It's just a resemblance, but it's not real after all!
He waved his hands impatiently, and didn't take off his official uniform, just casually found a Confucian shirt and wrapped it up hastily, put on his boots barefoot and went to the middle hall...

Thunder fell from the sky, and tens of thousands of dead bodies were blown out?

Burn seven oil lakes in a row?

This undoubtedly means that the Dongchuang incident has occurred, and a catastrophe is approaching, and it is almost like breaking Gao's few reliance.But for some reason, Gao Meng felt relieved first, as if a heavy burden was suddenly lifted from his shoulders, and he felt a burst of relief.

At least there is no need to kill or injure people anymore, and burn oil... It is better to raise troops immediately, even if you are defeated and killed, or even punished by the nine tribes, it will be a hundred times better than before, being unfaithful and suffering every day.

Lian Shu took a few breaths before Gao Meng suddenly realized.Immediately, he flew into a rage, and even felt heart palpitations.

In the whole world, who else can have such a method as flat ground and thunder?

If it wasn't for Li Chengzhi's doing, he would dare to be surnamed Li.

But the question is, why did Li Chengzhi know so clearly, as if he had seen it with his own eyes, that there were dead bodies buried under the sandy mountain, and the specific locations of the seven oil lakes?
You know, Yuan Hui almost dispatched thousands of secret envoys in embroidered clothes, and tried his best to investigate and make unannounced visits, but only one was found?

Almost subconsciously, Gao Meng remembered Gao Zhao's secret conversation with him: Li Chengzhi, God-given!

Is it possible that he can really live in the capital, thousands of miles away?

Otherwise, it really wouldn't make any sense.

Furthermore, where did Li Chengzhi come from to be such a good player, able to escape the defenders who are as close as iron barrels?
There must be spies in Jinming County, and the number will definitely not be small. It is more likely that some of the county government, military camp, or even Lu Fangzhi's cronies have been bought by him...

Gao Meng was taken aback in horror, before giving an order, he sighed dejectedly.

At this point, where is the time to take care of these minutiae?
It is time to stabilize the overall situation, prevent news from leaking, and guard against changes in the state.What's more, I should immediately report to Beijing and ask my uncle to make a decision.

As for spies, it won't be too late to screen them out after the army arrives in Jinming County.

Gao Meng made a decision in an instant, and shouted in a cold voice: "Let it go, you take the first step and leave immediately. After reaching Jinming, immediately call the county soldiers to seal the county and the county, and strictly order the officials and the people not to spread rumors and make troubles, spread rumors... …

I followed closely behind with the army, Zhoucheng is only three hundred miles away from Jinming, if we march overnight, we can arrive at noon tomorrow at the latest.So don't panic, let alone get confused...don't worry, everything is up to me..."

"Gongzheng!"

Wang Shen bowed down: "Your envoy can tell you!"

"After I leave, you need to close the gates of the city tightly and strictly guard them to prevent thieves from taking the opportunity to create chaos. Besides, you need to send your confidantes to cut off the main roads to the six towns to the north, to the west, and to the ministries of Chijin. Don't let the wind leak!"

"Remember, lower officials, so you can rest assured!"

"it is good!"

Gao Meng nodded heavily, "Here's an order to order the generals of each battalion to discuss matters!"

……

Since Yuanke was assassinated in Bintian in the winter of the previous year, Gao Meng gave Gao Zhao the will to recruit troops in Xiazhou, and now there are [-] infantry and cavalry.He has been training for nearly a year and a half, and has become quite effective.And always be on the alert, just waiting for a good opportunity.So with Gao Meng's order, within two hours, [-] soldiers were ready to leave the camp.

There are another [-], each going from Lingzhou (formerly Bogulu Town, now Lingwu County, Ningxia) in the east to the Qin Great Wall in Hengzhou (Pingcheng, the former capital of the Yuan and Wei Dynasties, now Datong, Shanxi) in the west. , It is equivalent to sealing off all the main roads to the west, north and east of Xiazhou.

Therefore, there were still [-] soldiers in the city. Wang Shen divided them into two and rotated them day and night.Then it is divided into two parts, one for defending the city and one for patrolling the city, just in case.

Gao Meng did not expect to be wrong, indeed someone took the opportunity to create chaos.

No matter the tens of thousands of corpses or the seven oil lakes, they are all just a trick to lure Gao Meng out of Tongwan City.

Li Chengzhi's real purpose is the hundreds of thousands of stone grains hidden in the Xiazhou camp...

(End of this chapter)