Zhurou

Chapter 199 Repayment
While speaking, Duan Da suddenly raised his left and right shoulders.

He seldom struggled before, and the guards were more or less relaxed. Now when he tried to resist, after all, he was the commander of the imperial guards, and he was so strong that he almost broke away from the restraint. stop.

Zhao Mingzhi turned his head to look, because he saw that the two parties were still entangled with each other outside the carriage, so he didn't wait any longer, he just looked back at Duan Da and said, "I just want to ask you one last question, who is your order to go out of the city this time?" , what kind of thing did you send?"

Duan Da was pinned to the ground half of his body, and said loudly: "I have been ordered by the palace, if you have the guts, go back and ask the princess about this!"

There was so much movement here, there were already countless people gathering together, but at this moment when Duan Da uttered the words "Her Royal Highness", everyone looked at him even more, and even some people who were not afraid of death came to see it.

The soldiers at the gate of the nearby city were facing each other, and there was no time for him to pay attention. Song Jingren wanted to send someone to stop him, but he didn't dare to make his own decision for a while, so he had to let it go.

But Zhao Mingzhi heard what Duan Da said and saw him resist vigorously, he stood still and said, "I'm right here, since you have the guts, why don't you ask yourself."

As she spoke, she took off the hood on her head with one hand, revealing a face.

At this time, there were torches on the left and right, and although the sky was dark, Zhao Mingzhi's face could still be clearly illuminated by the light of the fire.

She goes in and out every day, does not close the windows on the chariot, is even more generous in the fields, allowing people to look at her, and even goes up to the city wall and gate every now and then, and follows the servants and women to carry the earth and build bricks. It can be said that the people in the city, No one does not know.

As soon as the veil was taken off, she was already facing the city gate with her back facing the city, which made people see five or six times clearly. For a moment, not far away, Song Jingren led the city gate officials and soldiers to salute together, bluffing. After a hasty look at the people behind, they also subconsciously knelt down and saluted.

On the other side, when Duan Da saw the face under the hood, his face suddenly changed, no matter how hard he was to resist, he had nothing to say, nothing to ask.

He refused to say it, but Zhao Mingzhi couldn't let it go, and asked: "You pretended to go out of the city and falsely delivered the decree, are you trying to plot rebellion?"

How can Duan Da respond?

He might have suspected that the woman in front of him was the current princess' attendant or confidant, but no matter what, he neither wanted nor dared to guess that this person was the current princess herself.

The word "rebellion", just now he was so proud when he casually made up to threaten Song Jingren, now he is so terrified.

Most of the bystanders thought that the princess was a woman, and after she came to Beijing, she did so many acts of loving the people like a child, doing things with benevolence and kindness, and saying that she must be called Your Majesty, so she must be soft-hearted.

But as a guard, Duan Da went south to Caizhou with the imperial court, and later brought him back to the capital for Lu Xianzhang. He has a lot of experience and good contacts. He has heard of this princess before, and there are even private rumors about her in the guard Zeng went to Jingzhao Mansion alone to talk about Jiedu envoy Pei Yong's deeds.

How hard-hearted and merciless a person who can do such a thing would be, do we need to say anything?

Di Ren came to the city early, and the situation in the city was like this. I added fuel to the fire, and in her name, I was really labeled as a "rebel". , It would be strange not to be killed for the monkey to see.

Thinking of this, Duan Da knew that he must not be arrested immediately, because he was already half body on the ground, he simply fell down and kowtowed, taking advantage of his unpreparedness, he jumped up suddenly, knocked the person on the right to the ground, and snatched the opponent's spear. The city gate was not opened, and there was nowhere to escape, so he simply rushed towards Zhao Mingzhi on the opposite side.

He had only taken a few steps before he was separated by the guards on both sides holding a shield and a long knife at the same time.

On the one hand, he was fighting for a way out, but on the other hand, he was only defending, and he was tied up in a fight, so naturally he couldn't use it.

But in the end, the number of troops was multiplied. After a few rounds, Duan Da was finally defeated. Seeing that he was about to be bound, he refused to give up. Just about to fight to the death, he stretched out his hand to grab the blade of the person in front of him.

Zhao Mingzhi said suddenly: "Let him go."

All the soldiers were stunned for a moment, while looking at each other in blank dismay, although hesitant, they took half a step back in the end to make room for Duan Da.

Zhao Mingzhi took a few steps forward, and then asked: "How did you get the things in the car, and what do you intend to do when you leave the city this time?"

Duan Da bowed his head and said nothing, he grabbed his hand and made a fist.

Zhao Mingzhi asked again: "Don't you know what crime you should be guilty of going out of the city under false edict?"

"Although there are difficulties, the imperial court has never treated the soldiers badly, you..."

She was only halfway through when Duan Da suddenly raised her head and said, "I enlisted in the army. As soon as I was selected, I joined the imperial guards with imperial equipment. I became a Japanese soldier, guarding the emperor, practicing martial arts every day, training recruits, carrying belts, etc. Subordinates, after coming to Beijing, they patrol the streets and alleys every day, picking earth and bricks, and carrying wood and firewood. Not to mention that they have been reduced to this level, but their salary is only... All kinds of prices have soared, how can they support a family? !"

His tone was full of resentment: "The palace only knows how to issue orders, how do you know that the subordinates are working hard?!"

"The imperial court is far away in Caizhou, and they still can't sleep peacefully day and night. Those extravagant officials are anxious to move the capital to the south. I am waiting at the front line, and Di Bing is under the city. If you don't leave now, in the future Your Highness is naturally not afraid, there are many people fighting for your life, but who cares about our lives?"

"The imperial guards are not the Xiang army, let alone the city guards, nor are they servants. They are only there to guard the imperial palace and guard the royal family. There is no need to intervene in the others—everyone does their own thing, and a rough man like me knows that. The truth, doesn't Your Highness know?"

"When I was in Beijing, no one knew that the imperial guards should be used bravely, who dared to shout and drink, and how was he treated now? Even a craftsman dared to shout and shout for the tiles on the wall. Some people take it to the higher authorities to sue, and they must call it 'Your Highness', so that you can't take a breather if you are angry."

"If I were a craftsman, I wouldn't have anything to say, but I'm working hard. It doesn't count if I work hard, but I still have to work hard at this time. How much money did you pay for it?!"

"Besides, the situation has come to this point, His Highness still refuses to retreat, Beijing has no guards at all, I can't wait to leave, do I just stay here to die for His Highness's own selfishness?!"

The more he spoke, the more excited he became, and in the end, as soon as the word "sent to death" came out, snot and tears flowed out together.

Duan Da spoke eloquently, and he didn't know if he was really angry. The voice roared from his throat, and it spread far away, attracting more people behind to listen closely.

More and more people gathered around, Song Jingrentong's city gate officials were like thorns on their backs, especially the latter, after knowing that the current princess had come here in person, several times wanted to separate people and protect Jinshang.

But Zhao Mingzhi met the gaze of the two, but shook his head slightly, stopping them.

She took a few steps forward, facing the tearful man on the ground, and even facing the countless people watching behind her, and raised her voice, "I just ask you, what is the role of the imperial army?"

Duan Da struggled to sit up, but his face was blank.

Zhao Mingzhi didn't speak to him, and only said to a person not far away: "Bring your badge over here."

The other party was a guard who went out of the city with Duan Da. He was confronting the guarding soldiers at this time. Zhao Mingzhi nodded him on the head. , holding it in both hands and sending it over.

Zhao Mingzhi took it with his hand, held it in the air, pointed to the words on it, and said: "There are two characters on the badge of the Forbidden Army, one is 'Shou', which means 'Guarding the Capital', and the other is 'Preparation', which means 'Preparation for Conscripts'." garrison'."

"Let's ask General Duan, you have hung the token of the Forbidden Army on your waist for a long time, don't you never look at it?"

"When joining the army, the recruits listened to the instructions of the superiors. Don't they know the meaning of the word 'defense', let alone their own responsibilities?"

"You can't 'defend the capital', and you don't want to 'prepare for the army'. If so, how can you have the face to wear this token, ride high on the horse, and go in and out?"

When Duan Da heard this, his face was full of tears, but now the tears were forced back, and he was so angry that he yelled, "I'm guarding the emperor!"

Zhao Mingzhi said coldly: "The generals of the world, no matter the imperial army, the Xiang army, or the township army, the most important duty is to guard the people and the land!"

When she said this, her voice became louder and her power became more powerful: "If the Son of Heaven conducts a virtuous government and has all the people to support him, how can you be the leader?!"

This remark is just a big deal, but in fact there are many tricks. If you carefully distinguish it, there are still many loopholes in it.

But there were countless people around, all of whom were common people. Hearing what Zhao Mingzhi said, it was as if the words came out of his own heart. How much the monarch and the people get along, and how heartfelt it is, just like the opera sung, the Son of Heaven Love the people, the people are like the water that carries the boat.

But the one who said this today is the current princess, who has always been close to the people like a child, has never backed down, and shared the suffering of all people. How can it not be touching to say this.

I don't know where it started, suddenly there was a shout, followed by countless people shouting, some applauding, and some scolding Duan Da on the ground, spitting in the direction of his ground from far and near.

And as Zhao Mingzhi's words spread all the way to the back, the voice of the mountain became louder. Although it was in the dark night, it was like overwhelming mountains and seas, and the atmosphere could be imagined.

I don't know how many people in the night city woke up from their dreams, they were so frightened that they couldn't sleep anymore, or they went out to visit, and after hearing the news, they gathered around here, or they stayed in the room, and heard the story of the night before, and they couldn't help but sigh After a while, it is more emotional.

But at this moment, here, amidst the howling waves, a sharp voice came out and shouted loudly: "Your Highness, he refuses to defend, so I will defend the city with you!"

Zhao Mingzhi raised his eyes to look, but saw a person stumbled out of the crowd, with a thin body, it was a woman.

She is in her fifties, her head is covered with a cloth, and her face cannot be seen clearly in the dark.

This person did not expect that he would be squeezed out of the crowd, fell down for a while, but fortunately got up immediately, he didn't know how to stand up, he just blessed his body indiscriminately, and continued to scream: "He doesn't want to guard, I wish, I will carry the bricks and earth, and I will defend the city!"

Since someone started, it was like a spark that started a prairie fire. Countless voices erupted from the crowd, echoing one after another, one after another, with no intention of stopping.

Zhao Mingzhi waited for a few breaths, but slowly stepped forward, stood beside Duan Da, first threw the token in his hand in front of him, and then turned towards the people in front, bowed half of his body solemnly, and made a big salute .

When she moved forward, soldiers on the left and right also followed the guards, there were left and right, and there were many torches behind, reflecting Zhao Mingzhi's face in this dark night, and even reflecting her movements.

Seeing this, the woman hurriedly knelt down, before she had time to kowtow, she was helped up by a palace servant who came from nowhere.

Seeing that the current princess is saluting, everyone has already quieted down a little.

At this time, it was difficult for the people present to distinguish the emotions in their hearts, only the people behind couldn't help moving forward, but the people in front were quiet one by one.

Zhao Mingzhi turned to look at Duan Da.

This person was blocked by the woman's words, and seeing the voices of others, his expression was indescribable.

No one in the arena separated them deliberately, this distance was enough for him to hear the people's swearing, and he was so angry that he said in a loud voice: "Since there are people who are willing to guard the city, you should ask them to guard it. Take the title together!"

He cursed again: "A body full of dirty and smelly leather, whoever wants to wear it will wear it, and whoever can't say good things, how many dare to go if you really work hard?"

After he finished cursing, he really took off the token at his waist, dropped it on the ground with a clang, then stretched out his hand to untie his robe, threw it off on the ground, took it off for a while, and said with a snort, "I won't be this job any more from now on! There is a road, everyone goes their own way..."

But Duan Da hadn't finished speaking, boos were already everywhere.

Zhao Mingzhi said: "What do you mean by being an imperial guard? Come and leave whenever you want?"

"If there is no coercion, you will get rid of this outfit as soon as possible, and follow the rules, and no one will make things difficult for you."

"Farming and earning a living is hard work. Enlisting in the army means working hard to guard the world. How many soldiers on the front line will die to defend the territory and protect the people. You are in the center, and you have already taken advantage of it. How can you still speak so brazenly? Shameless."

"Since you can't do your duty, why did you come to guard that day?"

Zhao Mingzhi had just reached this point, but Duan Da on the opposite side said: "I was caught at the gate of the city today, I consider myself unlucky, but among the many people standing here, who would dare to admit that they are not afraid of death? Of those many people in the army, are they all willing to die??"

As he said in his mouth, he grinned his teeth and showed a smile, nodded his head and chin to the soldiers who were holding him down, and said to Zhao Mingzhi, "Ask them, are they willing to die?"

"You said a lot of great truths, after all, you didn't do it for others to see, because I was afraid that if I left today, other people would see me, and all the smart people would follow, and no one would guard the Zhao family's city-you have such an identity. , don't you know where Di Ren is now? Don't you know that if you don't leave, you will die?"

"When will people be stopped in the city?" Zhao Mingzhi said.

Her words were a little louder than just now: "You are in such a position, since you know that the Di people are very close to each other, once they come to attack the capital, ordinary people rely on two legs, and the thieves are fast, how can they catch up? Human flesh meets iron cavalry , how to resist, is it possible to live?"

"You don't want to bear the responsibility of the imperial army, but you want to occupy the imperial army's horse, and you want to seize the imperial army's badge, and use the name of the imperial army to forge your orders. If you are greedy for life and fear of death, you dare to act recklessly. If you fail at this time, you still have to turn black and white. If you really coax people out of the city without even a single bit of defense, you will be called to the sky, you will lose your life, and the order in the city will be disrupted, and you will not be able to pay back even if you die a million times!"

(End of this chapter)