stubborn thief

Cao Bianjiao opened his eyes with difficulty amid the bumpy ride.

He saw the blue sky shaking, large clouds of low pressure, and the sound of horses' hooves and the creaking of axles came into his ears.

The sharp pain all over his body, as if his bones and tendons were broken, also pierced into his mind, making him groan involuntarily.

Then someone nearby heard the noise and rode forward and said, "You're lucky to be able to wake up after being shot thirteen times!"

The person speaking has a northern Shaanxi accent.

Cao Bianjiao turned his head and saw a face with half an iron mask. There was something familiar between his eyebrows, but he couldn't remember who it was. He just felt like his throat was burning, and said in a hoarse voice: "Shui, this... where is this?"

The man waved his hand, and one of his cavalrymen handed the reins to the driver, climbed gracefully from the horse's back onto the carriage, and opened the water bag to fill it with water.

It was just that his actions were crude, and Cao Bianjiao, who had survived thirteen bullets, was nearly choked to death by the water used by this rough man.

Amid Cao Bianjiao's constant coughing, the officer wearing a visor said, "This is Ordos outside the border wall. In the Gobi Desert, further ahead is the Wushen tribe of Sanang Taiji."

However, Cao Bianjiao fell asleep again before he could finish his words.

Similar intermittent conversations happened several times every day. Sometimes I woke up in the bumpy car, and sometimes I opened my eyes to find myself in a yurt in the Gobi Desert. The things fed into my mouth were only the same.

Warm water, medicinal soup, add water and boiled fried noodle paste.

Cao Bianjiao knew that he was captured.

He held out for a few days like this, and his condition stabilized. He arrived at the Wushen tribe, where he lay in a felt tent every day to recuperate. Sanang Taiji also sent two strong Mongolian women from the tribe to take care of his food and daily life, and two Mongolian doctors to watch over him day and night.

While pretending to be asleep, Cao Bianjiao eavesdropped on the doctors' conversation. They said that the reason why Sanang Taiji treated him so well was because Taiji wanted to edit a book but lacked paper.

When the Han general sent Cao Bianjiao, he also received fifteen carts of Huangjin paper and Yanchuan ink. He also set up an official pen workshop in Wushenbu, which was managed by pen makers from the Gongya Bureau and specialized in producing rabbit and wolf hair brushes.

The doctor who took care of Cao Bianjiao said that they heard that the head craftsman in charge of the pen-making workshop used to make pens for the princes of the Ming Dynasty in the Su Kingdom. Because the Khan liked their lord Sanang Taiji, they would soon be able to use such precious treasures.

Huangjin paper is actually jute paper. As for Jin paper, it is the name given to paper regulations in Fengxiang Prefecture. The name comes from the fact that one portion is one jin.

The standard for white paper is one hundred sheets per jin. Since yellow paper is slightly thicker, the number of sheets in one set is slightly less.

The official papermaking in Fengxiang Prefecture has a long history, dating back to the Tang Dynasty. At that time, the court paper used to draft imperial edicts was white hemp paper and jute paper.

After Li Longji's coup, he only used white linen paper, because it represented purity of color and uprightness.

This is certainly not a precious paper. Compared with various high-quality and more expensive papers of this era, jute paper does not have much advantage. Its paper is slightly thicker, the back is rough, and it has a two-finger-wide curtain pattern due to the production process.

Its biggest advantage is its tough and durable texture. As long as it is not exposed to moisture, it will not deteriorate. Even if it is a book handed down from the Tang Dynasty, as long as it is well preserved, it will still be as complete as new.

Suitable for writing history books and preserving them.

The ease of preservation of jute paper is not entirely due to its tough texture; the production process to prevent it from being infested by insects is also important.

The reason is that they joined Wang Mang when making paper... no, they joined Huangbo.

Huangbo is a tall tree. Because of the ancient writing style, it is sometimes called Huangnie. Wang Mang was also called Huangnie because he changed the color of his clothes to yellow after usurping the throne.

The fruit of Phellodendron chinense can be used to make yellow dye, and the inner layer of the bark is a medicine with a very bitter taste. It has the effect of clearing away heat, detoxifying, and anti-inflammatory. It can cure dysentery and can also be used as an anthelmintic.

This is a technique that originated in the Tang Dynasty and is called "Ruhuang". When making hemp paper, the fruit and inner layer of the bark of Phellodendron are added to dye it yellow and give it a smell that insects hate, in order to achieve the purpose of preserving the paper for a long time.

However, due to the times, the jute paper brought by the Marshal's Army was of very average quality and did not look good.

The people's livelihood in Shaanxi was in decline under the rule of Liu Chengzong, and this was especially true in Fengxiang Prefecture, which had experienced many wars. The decline in papermaking quality was just a small microcosm of this.

Paper mills used old clothes and scraps of cloth to make paper. The world was in chaos and the workers did not carefully select the threads. The raw materials were littered with threads of various colors, resulting in impure color of the paper. There were many blue, red, gray and other strange colored threads and dots on the light yellow background.

But the Marshal's army was sincere in transporting the goods and sent the Huangjin paper as a gift to Ordos. The transportation cost exceeded the price of the paper.

At this time, Cao Bianjiao finally remembered who the military school student wearing the iron mask was.

The man was Lu Bin, a farmer from the village next to Liu Chengzong's hometown, who was skilled in archery and horse riding.

After Liu Chengzong started the uprising, he joined the army and entered Yan'an Wei. In many battles, he almost killed Liu Chengzong and earned the official position of a thousand households in Yan'an Wei.

Because there was a hole on his mouth caused by the bandits' arrows that had never healed, soup would leak out if he wasn't careful when drinking, so he usually wore an iron mask covering the lower half of his face.

Cao Bianjiao met Lu Bin when he was working with Yang Yanchang to suppress bandits.

When the Battle of Pingliang ended that year, the Guanning Army was defeated by Liu Chengzong. Cao Bianjiao felt that Lu Bin and others under Yang Yanchang were all unparalleled generals.

Now that I think about it, these bastards have been acting the whole time!
Cao Bianjiao underwent surgery by the military physician of the Marshal's Office. He suffered multiple fractures and skin injuries and was paralyzed on the couch, unable to move. Every day, he had to have a strong Mongolian woman carry the couch outside to bask in the sun.

One of Lu Bin's generals was stationed in the Wushen tribe.

When he had nothing to do, Cao Bianjiao would quietly observe these good-for-nothings.

What a glutton.

Every morning, the Wushen tribe would take out a dozen sheep and slaughter them specifically for these gluttons to eat at noon. Sometimes it was not enough, so they would slaughter a few more in the afternoon.

As for the troops that came from afar, apart from eating and drinking, they would herd horses for their falcons and running dogs every day, let the hunting dogs run all over the ground and the vultures fly all over the sky, shoot arrows and wrestle inside and outside the tribe, open shops to sell weapons and armor, and repair military equipment. In short, they did not do any real work.

There were even old soldiers with scars all over their faces who opened schools. They used a few large pieces of felt to make a tattered military tent and taught children to read and write by beating gongs and drums every day.

Cao Bianjiao looked at the old soldier with a fierce and burly look, and thought that judging from his appearance, his handwriting was probably not as good as Zuo Liangyu's. How dare he come out here with the audacity to mislead the young people? You should first figure out your own cultural level!
At this time, Cao Bianjiao was full of doubts and resentment.

First, he didn't understand why Lu Bin was stationed here; second, he didn't understand why Liu Chengzong put him here.

Thirdly, I’m greedy.

Those gluttons eat mutton soup and mutton offal soup in different ways every day. Some of them even squat near him while he is basking in the sun, eating. The aroma fills their noses and their stomachs rumble.

He just keeps water, fried noodles, and water and fried noodles all day long.

Although the Marshal Army’s fried noodles are really good, with plenty of oil and sugar, it tastes good and is very filling.

But if you can't eat any meat, anyone would blame the heaven and the earth.

The key point is that no one cares about him, no one talks to him, and there is no explanation for what happened after the defeat.

He even suspected at one point that Lu Bin and his gang came here just to be his jailers.

This group of soldiers, together with the Wushen tribe, were his jailers.

Until one ordinary noon, the doctor covered Cao Bianjiao with a smelly and ugly herbal ointment, and as usual asked the healthy woman to move outside the yurt to bask in the sun. Then he heard the sound of horse hooves and saw the familiar iron mask on Lu Bin's face.

"Don't move, just lie still. You can't get up because of your injuries."

As soon as Cao Bianjiao saw him, he wanted to struggle, but he ended up pulling his wound. He gritted his teeth in pain and refused to make a sound.

Lu Bin was covered in dust, and the fur collar of his coat was covered with sand. It looked like he had just returned from a long trip and had no time to clean up.

The woman in the tent brought out a chair, and Lu Bin sat next to Cao Bianjiao's couch, looking down at him with a smile as if he were looking at a prisoner: "You've recovered pretty quickly, how do you feel?"

Cao Bianjiao looked up at the sky with lifeless eyes: "It's still a little shaky."

"It's normal. You've been lying in the carriage for three days and three nights, so you're bound to be shaken for a few days."

Lu Bin smiled and said, "It's not easy to survive."

There was a long silence.

Cao Bianjiao asked: "My uncle..."

Lu Bin shook his head expressionlessly.

They are old acquaintances.

In his early years, Lu Bin was placed by Liu Shizi in Yan'an as a guard officer. Due to his personal experience, in addition to following Yang Yanchang and almost getting Liu Chengzong's head on a daily basis, he was also particularly keen on real bandit suppression.

His hometown, Lao Miao Village on Heilongwang Temple Mountain, was slaughtered by bandits led by a local leader from a nearby village with which he had a grudge.

The hole on Lu Bin's face was also caused by an arrow shot by the bandits when he was escaping.

Therefore, after returning from the service of the king, he joined Yang Yanchang and Cao Wenzhao, uncle and nephew, in suppressing bandits in Shanxi and Shaanxi. He quite agreed with the Cao uncle and nephew's brutal style of suppressing bandits, and his relationship with them was better than that with other guards.

Seeing Cao Bianjiao frustrated and downcast, Lu Bin sighed and said, "The Marshal has done his best for you. I heard that he wrote to you to persuade you to leave before the war. You have brought this upon yourselves."

Seeing Lu Bin's expression and hearing these words, Cao Bianjiao's face turned pale and he closed his eyes in pain. He had expected this in his heart.

Lu Bin said that it was all their own fault, as if they, the uncle and nephew, had made an incredibly stupid mistake.

But in Cao Bianjiao's view, it was more like his uncle, who had been tired of the king's orders for years, finally got what he wanted.

There are so many military generals in the world, how many of them can have a good end?

Serving one's country loyally and dying on the battlefield is the best way to die in the world.

So when this moment came, Cao Bianjiao was not struck by the great sorrow he had imagined, but was just confused.

When he asked Lu Bin for a result, it was just a fantasy.

After a while, Lu Bin was thinking about what to say to comfort her when he heard Cao Bianjiao ask, "What was he like in the end?"

"General Cao Wenzhao is not as lucky as you."

Cao Bianjiao took the initiative to ask the question, which just dispelled Lu Bin's embarrassment and made him feel more relaxed: "You were shot thirteen times, and there were a lot of small lead cakes on your armor, but they were all three-cent small bullets fired by heavy guns. That's how you saved your life."

"He was only shot once, and he died instantly. The horse fell dead instantly after being hit, and it was very fast, so he died without any pain."

After talking about Cao Wenzhao, Lu Bin talked about other people he knew: "I heard that General Ping An was very strong-willed. His right arm was broken by the Yongzhu cannon. He fell off his horse and stood up to charge into the battle line, but he stepped on a mine of the Yanqing Brigade."

As Lu Bin spoke, he pointed upwards and shook his head, meaning that it was blown away.

"General Pingding was the most ferocious. He rode his cavalry to break through the defenses of Xu Yong's camp in the left army and attacked the artillery position. He was surrounded, but in order not to be captured, he set fire to the barrels of medicine, which also ignited the gunpowder barrels, killing two generals."

"General Feng Ju had a bad start. He was not good at choosing his opponents. He attacked the Second Brigade's position and was knocked down by the cavalry of the Ranger Battalion during the cavalry battle. He was captured alive."

After talking about Cao Wenzhao's trusted generals, Lu Bin talked about someone he was not familiar with: "The lieutenant general of the governor's camp was called Ding Zizhen, right? He also died a little later than General Cao. When the Marshal launched a general attack, he wanted to escort the governor to break out, but he abandoned his position and led his troops to charge into the battle, and was killed by a cannon."

"After Ding Zizhen died, a captain named Zhang Tianlu led the defeated soldiers to surrender with Hong Chengchou and three soldiers. Ding Qirui was also tied up. He looked very embarrassed."

Lu Bin said a lot, then took a deep breath, spread his hands and said: "Anyway, except for Zuo Liangyu's former subordinates, all the remaining generals above the rank of captain were taken as prisoners to Xi'an Prefecture."

"As for the fallen soldiers, except for your uncle, the commander-in-chief ordered the surrendered soldiers to collect their bodies. He also asked people to look at the graves and repair them to prevent them from being exposed in the wilderness and being eaten by vultures. They are in Ningxia. If you have the chance in the future, you can go back and pay your respects."

In fact, Cao Bianjiao didn't hear much of his words. He just felt his head buzzing. The voices and smiles of Cao Wenzhao, Ping'an, Pingding and others were still echoing in his mind.

Only after hearing this did Cao Bianjiao ask, "What about my uncle?"

"The coffin has been sent to Shanxi. The commander-in-chief also wrote a memorial to General Cao, suggesting that the court should provide generous compensation to generals who fought bravely and died in battle."

This is naturally a nice thing for Lu Bin to say.

In fact, Liu Chengzong's memorial and sending the coffin to Shanxi were entirely intended to show off his military power and intimidate others. This was the general who died in battle, the highest-ranking military commander in the Ming court.

Cao Bianjiao also understood what this meant, so he felt complicated and didn't say anything.

But Lu Bin couldn't stand the embarrassment of having nothing to say.

After thinking for a while, he suddenly laughed and clapped his hands, "By the way, do you know someone called Zhou Yijing?"

Cao Bianjiao nodded woodenly: "I am from Xi'an, a Jinshi in the fifth year of Chongzhen, the governor of Ningxia, and the lieutenant general of the Right Town."

"Yes, it was him. The Marshal ignored the others after the battle and only sent him back to Xi'an. However, after looking at the list, he met with him alone and issued a letter of appointment on the spot, making him the lieutenant of Huaiyuan and sending him to Taimeng Guard as a lieutenant general."

Cao Bianjiao knew every word of Lu Bin's words, but when they were put together, he couldn't understand anything.

As a native of Shanxi, he was quite familiar with the name of the Ordos tribe, at least he had heard of it.

But things like Tianshan and Taimengwei are things I have never heard of.

With his eyes completely dark, he could only guess and ask, "Is this, being exiled to... U-Tsang?"

"What is U-Tsang? To the north, past Yarkand, there is a mountain called Tianshan. The territory of the Wala at the northern foot of Tianshan was called Beiting Protectorate in ancient times, right? Now it's called Tianshan Governorate. That place is our territory now."

Cao Bianjiao lay on the couch, staring at the low-hanging clouds over the Mongolian Plateau that seemed within reach.

Dazed, dazed, and incomprehensible.

Like it's frozen.

I have followed my uncle in suppressing bandits and rebellions for so many years, and I have never taken off my armor or my horse. I have fought through life and death, won many times, and also lost a few times. I have killed many people, and many of my close relatives and friends have also died.

But his loyalty and bravery in serving the court never wavered.

Until I heard Lu Bin say that Liu Chengzong re-established the Tianshan Governor's Office in the ancient Beiting Protectorate.

His heart was not shaken, but his world view was greatly shaken.

Some people even wondered what the imperial court had been doing over the years. They were losing more and more territory, so how come Liu Chengzong was able to expand the territory?

He suddenly had an inexplicable feeling in his heart. He thought that if Zhou Yijing could be sent to Taimengwei, would he also be sent to Taimengwei after his injury healed? Away from the chaos in the Central Plains, it would be a good place to make achievements.

But in fact, Zhou Yijing was sent to Taimengwei for no other reason than Liu Shizi felt that his name matched Zhou Riqiang's.

Zhou Yijing went to negotiate on Monday, but the negotiations failed. Six days later, Zhou Yiqiang attacked on Sunday.

Of course, this is a joke that only Liu Chengzong could understand. To others, these two people have no connection except for their same surname.

Cao Bianjiao realized something was wrong and asked in confusion with a frown, "Others were sent to Xi'an alive and buried in Ningxia after they died. I was the only one who was taken to Ordos? I was also sent to Taimengwei after I recovered from my injuries?"

"Where are Zuo Shuai and the others? Were they taken to other remote places outside the Great Wall?"

"Hey, I think you shouldn't think about this for now. You can't go anywhere now. You can only stay in Wushen tribe. This is not house arrest or exile."

When Lu Bin heard Zuo Liangyu's name, he couldn't help but laugh. Then he looked at Cao Bianjiao and said seriously, "You should have gone to Xi'an Prefecture. The bumpy ride on the escort road would have killed you. You were saved because you had many friends."

"Friend, friend?"

How come Cao Bianjiao didn’t know that he had friends in the Marshal’s Mansion?

"King Han, the head of the Marshal's Office, pleads for mercy and saves your life. The Second Brigade, my general Ren, will hand you over to me and take good care of you."

Lu Bin spread his hands and said, "Because of this, while others are now conquering cities and fighting for merit, my two divisions of troops are staying in the Wushen and Besuxi divisions of Sanang Taiji, transporting food back and forth."

After that, he pointed at Cao Bianjiao and said, "General Cao, you are causing trouble for my brothers!"

Cao Bianjiao understood.

Forget about the King of Han, but that prince has ill intentions.

How could Cao Bianjiao, a man of great stature, stay in the Han Kingdom to bear seeds for him?
It turned out that it was the annoying guy Ren Quaner who saved him.

Just as he was still thinking about how Ren Quaner had saved him, he heard Lu Bin laugh again: "As for Zuo Liang, Marshal Zuo, hey."

Cao Bianjiao was puzzled to find that whenever Lu Bin mentioned Zuo Liangyu, he could not help laughing out loud, as if he had been drugged.

Is Zuo Liangyu so funny?

"His subordinates Xu Yong and Wang Yuncheng surrendered, and even joined the battle with you after they switched sides. The General Pingding attacked Xu Yong's camp, and Marshal Zuo is right beside the Grand Marshal right now."

There is nothing difficult to understand, it is very normal, and Cao Bianjiao does not think it is that funny.

Then Lu Bin whispered, "I heard from my friends in the Tiger Guards that the Grand Marshal saw that Zuo Liangyu's handwriting was good and planned to let him join the cabinet as a Grand Secretary."

"Ok?"

Cao Bianjiao was confused and hummed in confusion. After a pause, he reacted and said, "Ah?"

Zuo Liangyu?
Good handwriting?

Prime Minister?

Cao Bianjiao thought about these three words and felt that no matter how he arranged and combined them, it would be difficult to put them together to form a sentence.

However, although Lu Bin was trying to hold back his laughter, he did not look like he was joking. Instead, he looked more like he was amused by the incident itself.

He nodded and said, "Yes, Zuo Liangyu will probably become the Prime Minister." (End of this chapter)