The Emperor ordered Zhao Tang

Chapter 112: The Watcher

The battlefield moved eastward to between Mianchi and Xin'an, and the simple but highly anticipated Battle of Tongguan ended.

The result was not shocking but surprising. More than 100,000 Bian troops were unable to defeat the king's army, which was like a beehive and ant team. They entered Chang'an with great momentum but only managed to capture three villages. Most fence-sitters began to doubt that they might have been frightened by Zhu Wen's previous successive victories and overestimated the opponent's strength. The saint fought back tenaciously and killed nearly 10,000 arrogant Bian troops. He was not that weak. Could it be that the royal family still had luck? The world said that the Li family could not revive, but it seemed absurd.

Those who can see the aura say: "Tongguan has the aura of a king."

On the first day of December in the first year of Jingfu, Gao Hanhong, the leader of the Yangcheng gangsters, led 20,000 people across the Yellow River to surrender. The emperor ordered the selection of 6,000 brave and strong men as soldiers, and gave them red clothes and leather armor. They were combined with more than a thousand surrendered soldiers from Bian and Xu, and named the Huorui Army, and were assigned to the Tiance Army. The rest, including women, children, the elderly and the weak, were sent to the interior of the pass to cultivate the land.

On the third day of the first lunar month, the emperor ordered the removal of the posts of Du Hong, the military commander of Wuchang, Zhao Chang, the military commander of Zhongwu, and Hu Zhen, the military commander of Yicheng, and the military commander of Chen, Zheng, and Ze, for the crime of aiding and abetting Zhou. Since these people chose to believe in Zhu Wen, there was no need to restrain themselves.

The emperor ordered Li Keyong, the general of the cavalry, to command the four camps in Bianzhou. He led the troops of his own route and the troops of Jin, Pu, Yan, Yun, Qing, Xu, Lu, Jing, and Xiangyang to attack Quanzhong. How many people would obey the order and when they would be dispatched, no one knew. Anyway, he had to find a way to disgust Zhu Wen. No matter how many Jiedushi dared to stroke his beard in the end, the world heard that the ten towns were attacking Bianzhou. Would they be afraid? So for a while, the envoys of the towns kept coming and going. Alliance and refusal, overthrowing Bianzhou and killing the king became the theme of this midwinter.

Shao Guangchou, a salt bandit from Guangzhou, took the opportunity to start a rebellion, recruited 5,000 soldiers, entered the city, killed the governor of Bian, and called himself the General of Hengshan. Hu Hong, a general of the Wuchang army, also drove out the governor and replaced him, rebelling against Du Hong.

……

The footsteps rustled, mixed with the noise of armor leaves colliding. In the endless snow, a group of warriors wrapped their necks and walked with difficulty on the iron-like ground. The leaves of the sycamore trees fell, and the frost wet the maple forest. If you are not a distant visitor, how can you know what it feels like?

The saint's face was unshaven, covered with fine scratches and bloodstains and frostbite scars, and his once fair appearance was now rough. The bandage wrapped around Li Siyuan's arm was stained red with blood. Zhou Dewei was shot in the chest with an arrow and slashed three times, and he was panting as he walked; most of the other Shatuo officers were also injured.

"Your Majesty is currently fighting Zhu Wen in Xin'an, so I will take my leave now." Li Siyuan paused and bowed to the Saint: "Your Majesty and the Concubine have treated me very well these days, and the soldiers all remember it in their hearts. I am sorry to have bothered you a lot and eaten so much of the wine and meat you gave me."

Seeing this, the Shatuo officers also stopped with less than 3,000 soldiers. After spending so much time together and fighting side by side, the grudges they had against the saint in the past were nothing. The saint was a heroic man with feelings and righteousness.

"When the saint has time, please come to Hedong. We will take him to Chi Lechuan to hunt."

"If the Bian thieves come back, I will come back to receive the reward."

"Take care, Saint. I think those Xu soldiers are not good guys. Let's wait for an opportunity to trick them and kill them."

"If you can unify the world and build a prosperous China in the future, please don't forget our poor relatives in Daibei."

"..."

The saint pursed his lips that had turned into blood, his voice became a little hoarse, and he forced a smile and nodded. He gently touched the face of one and gave a few words of advice to another.

"Zhu Wen is fighting with the king, and we have to go to reinforce him. We will come to see you again next year when we are free." Zhou Dewei's impression of the saint has also changed a lot. Although he is not yet a great ruler, and the revival of the country is still too far away. But at least this young man is organized, can convince people, has a tough temperament, and is courageous. What is more valuable is that he still has a heart to pacify this evil world. In today's world, the princes are fighting each other, and how many people are willing to go through life and death for this illusory idea.

Is this the only one? If he died, this chaotic world would probably continue like the Wei and Jin dynasties in ancient times, with no end in sight. More and more civilians would die, the army would become poorer and poorer, and discipline would become worse and worse.

"Take these goods with you, as a token of my appreciation. Do not plunder on the road, as the people are suffering." The sage pointed to the horse team behind him and said to the soldiers. The carts were filled with rice, vinegar cakes, dried meat, preserved fruits, tea leaves, salt, shoes, bowstrings, straw raincoats, fox fur coats and other supplies. There were eighty-three carts in total, no more, no less. The warriors smiled and tilted their heads, conveying the good news to each other through their eyes.

"This is for you." The saint took out two pairs of green jade bracelets, a silver saddle, and two golden daggers and gave them to Li Siyuan and Zhou Dewei, saying, "You two are warriors, and you probably won't be interested in anything else. Please don't despise the silver saddle, golden knife, and green jade bracelets."

"Your Majesty..." Li Siyuan was a young man, and he was a little sentimental. He was flattered, his eyes were red, and he was hoarse and couldn't speak: "Your Majesty..."

He was only ordered to come to serve the king, and he had no feelings for the saint before, but the saint... This was the first time in more than 20 years that someone gave him a gift, such a valuable gift.

"Don't do this to your family." The saint reached out and pulled up Li and Zhou who were about to bow down again, and straightened their messy hair and clothes: "Come on, I'll walk with you to relax."

"Yes, sir." Seeing the saint say this with a gloomy look on his face, Li Siyuan wiped his tears and nodded.

"Okay, okay." Without waiting for him and Zhou Dewei's orders, the Shatuo soldiers rushed forward, helped the saint onto the horse's back, and then they held the reins and the stirrups, and happily supported him forward.

After leaving Tongguan City, they walked two or three miles on the Huangjing Lane. The corpses of Shaanxi people who had been driven away by the Bian army covered the grass, and the road was difficult to walk on. Li Siyuan said goodbye, "Your Majesty, Madam, please return."

The sage pointed to an old gnarled pine tree at the bend ahead and said, "There's a tree over there. My boys, pass it and I'll go back."

The joy on the soldiers' faces disappeared.

I really want to kidnap the saint and take him to Taiyuan to be the emperor.

"I will leave now. There is a long time to come, and we will meet again." Li Siyuan shed tears. The saint sighed, looked at the snow-capped mountains behind Tuyuan, and whispered: "You still need to fight in Shanzhou. I have something to say. Siyuan, please listen if you want to. If not -"

"I am willing to listen!"

"My uncle has always relied on his courage to fight, which is a way to weaken himself. You are one of his most trusted adopted sons. When it's late at night, persuade him - Zhu Wen's main force is gathering in Heluo. If you can't win, just leave decisively and don't fight to the death. Our families can't beat him yet, so we should be patient. In addition, my uncle has a bad temper and often beats and scolds his subordinates. He often drinks and makes mistakes. These bad habits must be persuaded. If you don't say anything, no one will take care of him. I'll stop here and wait for good news."

"I've got it." Li Siyuan said sincerely.

"When you come to court again tomorrow, we will hold a banquet in the Linde Hall for you to drink." The saint laughed again.

"I am so terrified!" Li Siyuan was about to get on his horse when he suddenly whispered, "If there is trouble in Chang'an in the future and the warriors are causing chaos, the saint must find a place to hide as soon as possible. That Liu Zhijun is not a good person, so be careful of him. If he has any other intentions, please kill him."

"I save that." The saint nodded.

The wheels rumble, the horses neigh, and the brocade clothes rustle.

The saint stood by the road and saw the last soldier turning the corner of the old pine tree. Then he slowly turned around and walked towards the city gate on the blood-soaked grass.

The war had just ended, and the city of Tongguan was not in a good state. Laborers were carrying war equipment to the warehouse on the city wall. Strong women covered their faces with rags, cleaned up the dead bodies and arms on the streets, and burned them in batches. They dug out intestines, hair and other foreign objects that were blocking the canals and buried them. Lime and wood ash were scattered everywhere.

In the corner, a white-haired doctor was sawing the rotten left leg of the warrior in front of him. The warrior grabbed the snow with his fists, clenched his teeth, his forehead was covered with sweat, and tears flowed silently. His comrades sat beside him and watched him, feeling sympathetic - Wen Balang's second half of life was wasted. He didn't have a son by his knees, and I didn't know how long the saint would take care of him.

Not far away, a young girl, holding a needle and thread, her hands swollen with hot blood, lowered her head to sew up the cut stomach of Liexiao. Liexiao leaned his head against the wall, looking up at the sky, and muttered a name in his mouth.

Under the watchtower, there was a pot of boiling water, and two brave soldiers were killing and skinning sheep. Other warriors sat by the pot with bowls in their hands, adding firewood to the fire while chewing vinegar cakes and other food.

"Hurry up, I'm hungry."

"I eat the sheep's heart."

"Pepper, pepper, is there any pepper?"

"What the hell! Is that something expensive that we can afford to eat?"

A large group of soldiers were shouting and pushing the captured Bian army scouts. They were stripped naked and walked in the snow, suffering abuse. If they slowed down a little, the warriors would whip them on the head.

"It was you who cut off my poor elder brother's head, I will kill you!" He chopped off the head with his sword, and the head rolled in the snow. "In the future, let me kill my way into Bianzhou and leave no one alive."

"Snapped!"

The hurried clerk held the servant down, lowered his head, and trotted away from them with the files in his arms.

In the doorless room, the numb woman slapped the man's rough face. Her eyes were extremely dull and wooden, her movements were crazy, but the corpse did not respond.

By the well, a group of boys and girls, half-dressed and with pale faces due to malnutrition, were fighting with wild dogs for food - a leftover pig leg.

……

The saint staggered back to the Prajna Temple, with a huge pressure looming in his heart. Just as he sat quietly with his eyes closed for a while, Luo Fu walked into the room and sighed, "Jingyuan Zhang Gong's eldest son Lian..."

"Walk."

When they hurried to Zhang Lian's house, Zhang Ke, Zhang Lian, Ashina Nero and others were already there. Zhang Lian, whose body was like a funnel, was wrapped in blood, motionless, and barely breathing. Zhang Lian followed Wang Congxun to guard Sanguanzhai. That night, Wang Congxun led his troops to sneak into the camp, and Zhang Lian accompanied him. During the battle, he was stabbed five times by an iron spear. He didn't expect that the first battle after entering the court would be the last one.

"Mr. Zhang." The saint walked up, sat beside the bed and held his right hand.

“…I…” Zhang Lian’s five fingers tightly grasped the back of his hand.

"You can speak frankly, I am listening."

"Second brother Ke... is weak... don't..." These were Zhang Lian's first difficult words.

"Don't let them step into the sword, and don't let the Zhang family be extinct." The saint understood and nodded slightly.

"My father Jun... a slave... how could he not..."

“You may concurrently be appointed Prime Minister, promoted to one of the Three Dukes, and granted the title of founding marquis.” The sage nodded again.

"I..." Zhang Lian's voice lowered: "Your Majesty..."

He loosened his grip on the saint's hand, and began to spit blood again. His body twitched violently, making the bed board creak. Several streams of warm blood sprayed onto the saint's face. His mouth, which was exposed outside the white cloth, was slightly curved, as if he was smiling.

The voice suddenly disappeared.

He just kept his eyes open as he looked at his sister Zhang Lian.

The saint knew what he was going to say, but he still nodded. Then he stretched out his hand and slowly closed his eyes.

White water flows eastward at dusk, green mountains still cry. This is the unpredictable war. When it finds you, no matter how high your martial arts skills are or how high your official rank is, you may die suddenly.

The Zhang family is so kind, we have to return the favor.

Hearing that Zhang Lian could write, he presided over the government for his sick father in Jingyuan, and many internal and external documents were written by him. He was also skilled in archery and horse riding. He could first go to the Ye Ting Bureau to make a decree, guard the Xuanhui Court, and assist Rou Nu. Zhang Ke was indeed not a warrior, with a thin body and a soft temper, so he followed Zhang Jun's wish and went to the National History Museum to be an important official.

After a day full of negative energy, the way back was lonely and empty. Except for the light footsteps of Luo Fu stepping on the snow, there was only the whistling wind. The saint said nothing, his lips tightly glued together. Luo Ji's throat surged, and he wanted to say something several times - his white hair... became more visible to the naked eye. He was only twenty-five or twenty-six years old...

In the backyard of Prajna Temple, the rain and snow were cold, and everyone was breathing out white air, but their hearts were hot. A large tripod was placed under the eaves, and the aroma was floating. He Yuqing was leading the palace servants to make dinner. Zhu Xiewusi stood by and watched and learned. Zhao Ruxin, Yuwenrou, Chen Chen, Pei Zhenyi, Li Jianrong, Wei Yi, Liu Qi, Chen Cailian and other concubines sat by the warm campfire with the princes and princesses; they chatted with different expressions. Zhao covered her mouth and smiled. Chen Chen teased Li Fei with a bright look in his eyes.

Wei Yi, Liu Qi, Li Jianrong and Chen Cailian were not able to talk to each other and didn't know what to say. The saint had been so busy over the past year that he had no time to visit them. How could he integrate into the circle of women like Zhao, He, Zhuxie and others?

"The saint is back!" Suddenly, a woman started to clamor.

He turned her head, looking for someone in the rain and snow, and accidentally cut her finger with a kitchen knife.

Zhao slowly stood up with her big belly, her charming eyes seemed to speak. You are indeed a man I value, and you beat Zhu Wen, the most powerful vassal, so badly that he ran away. If our child is a boy, I hope he can inherit your wisdom.

Rounu felt very distressed. The saint's face was frozen and rotten, covered with hard scars and dense blood-red lines, and there was a scary dimple on his left cheek. His upper jaw and chin were dirty and untidy. His body was covered with armor and he held the hilt of a knife, looking like a warrior... But with his tall and strong body, he gave people an inexplicable sense of tranquility. Seeing him would make people feel at ease.

saint.

He is now the true head of the family.

"Everyone..." Zhao stroked the saint's long hair that was filled with blood and filth, and couldn't help being speechless.

The saint smiled gently, as if the shooting of the enemy a while ago was nothing: "I rolled a few times in the mud outside the Jingou Village, and shot and killed thirteen Bian thieves with a bow. It's a bit dirty..."

Zhao let her tears fall, and reached out to hold her husband's hand to feel it - the base of her hand was worn and covered with blood scabs. The palm was crowded with blisters and hard inner calluses that had peeled off... She let go of her hand, hugged the saint's waist, leaned on his shoulder, and sniffed slowly. Very good, it was so smelly that it made me want to vomit.

"I'll wash you up after dinner."

"it is good."

"Shouldn't we be happy about having defeated Zhu Wen? Why do you look so depressed?"

"do not know."

"Everyone has been looking so depressed since we came to Tongguan. When will we be able to express our happiness?"

"Then when will you be happy..." The sage looked into Zhao's worried eyes, remained silent for a moment, and held her face: "It must be said that you should worry about the world before you worry about yourself, and be happy after the world is happy."

History had completely changed since the moment he defeated Zhu Wen. He could no longer rely on his identity as a time traveler to predict the next step. From now on, every record in history books by future generations would be created by their own wits and courage.

The court officials are afraid of death and afraid of war, so he will fight to the death. The warriors lead beasts to eat people, and they don't see the living men, women, old and weak, or pretend not to see. He comes to save. The princes of the world sit and watch the hell on earth, and he takes on this important task. If all he wants for the rest of his life is to sleep with a beautiful woman and wake up to control the world, what kind of time traveler is he, what kind of man is he?

"The saint has changed." Zhao smiled.

Has it changed? Maybe.

What remains unchanged is the loyalty and loyalty of the heart.

　I read the comments. Many people say that it starts strong but ends weak. Let me say here that the war at this time was a very long process. Zhu Wen always left when he couldn't fight and waited for the next time. Except for Shi Pu, he never used force on anyone. Secondly, this confrontation with Zhu Wen was just a beginning. It was probably equivalent to the two sides measuring each other's bottom line and having a clear and accurate understanding of each other's strength. Some people also said that Zhu Wen was written so stupidly. Well, we have to admit that no matter who it is, mistakes will be made. There is no one in the world who will not make mistakes. No matter noble or humble. Politics, war, and economy are a dynamic process, and many details are difficult to notice. In history, Zhu Wen made a lot of stupid things. Some mistakes made me feel very confused. Some people also said that Zhu Wen would not rebel so easily. Wrong, it only takes a moment for him to turn his face. It was the same with Li Keyong, Zhu Xuan, Zhu Jin, Shi Pu, Zhang Xiao, Yang Xingmi, Luo Hongxin, Wang Shifan, Wang Ke, and Zhao Kuangning. To put it bluntly, if it is beneficial for you to use your troops, or if your actions threaten him, he will fight you without hesitation. For other issues, I will open a separate chapter another day.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)