The Red Mansions Across the Four Seas

Chapter 575

Niangziguan at the junction of Shanxi and Hebei got its name because Princess Pingyang, the sister of Emperor Taizong Li Shimin of Tang Dynasty, once led the Niangziguan to station here.

This is known as the Ninth Pass of the Great Wall.Outside the pass, the winding and undulating Yanzhao Ancient Road meanders past.

Now, the troops of the former dynasty from Shaanxi are confronting the troops of the Tianshun court led by Han Qi.

Han Qi has already launched three attacks, all of which were repelled.Previously, his overwhelming offensive along the way was stopped before Niangzi Pass.

Those who blocked Han Qi's offensive were He Jialin, Zhou Tong, and Ma Qingshan.

He Jialin is the magistrate of Yulin. After Wang Ziteng was murdered, he was transferred to this post, changing from a military officer to a civil servant.

Raising troops now is a return to the old profession.

Zhou Tong was originally the first-class bodyguard of Emperor Yuanheng, and later became the commander of the Jinyi Army. Finally, he was demoted from the imperial capital by Emperor Tianyou and served as the inspector of Shaanxi.It is also basically included in the list of civil servants.

According to the Dade system, there are four main officials in a province: the governor, the chief political envoy, the procurator, and the academician.

The governor is the head of a province, the chief envoy is mainly in charge of taxation, money and food, and the procurator is in charge of judicial law and order.Xuezheng is in charge of imperial examination education.

Therefore, Zhou Tong can be regarded as a provincial official.

After Ma Qingshan became a Jinshi in the martial arts examination, he served as a garrison in the Fengxiang Mansion. After several years, he was promoted to a garrison.

When other officials wanted to join the Tianshun court, he resolutely opposed it. Finally, he pulled up his subordinates and recruited some forces from the surrounding counties to raise the flag against the Tianshun dynasty.

Because of the common goal, Zhou Tong, He Jialin and Ma Qingshan came together.

Niangziguan belongs to Zhili, but it is on the edge of Zhili.

Now that they occupy Niangziguan, it proves that external forces have reached the edge of Zhili, and the next step can threaten Zhili and the imperial capital.

At this time, Zhou Tong, He Jialin, and Ma Qingshan were standing outside the south gate of Niangziguan.

The two who were talking to each other were He Jialin and Zhou Tong, and the person next to him who was also waving a fan in winter was Ma Qingshan.

The three of them are here to send someone off.The person who just saw him off was Jia Qiao, the envoy sent by Wei Ruolan.

Jia Qiao was the one who had mixed with Niu Jizong and others, and later, during Jia Min's martial arts examination, he was called in the Golden Hall, that is, when he was passed on, he intercepted and killed Jia Min on the road, but was defeated by Jia Min.

Later, Jia Qiao was exiled to Bukui because of this incident, and joined Jia Min's army regiment, and then went to Beihai.Now he is the battalion commander of the Beihai Volunteer Army.

This time, Jia Qiao was entrusted by Wei Ruolan to contact Zhou Tong and the others to coordinate a joint attack on Zhili.

Now, the three of Zhou Tong looked very excited.

"Unexpectedly, when Huaiyuan made a move, it was so generous that Feng Ziying and Chen Yejun occupied Jiangnan in one fell swoop. I really don't know how they did it."

Zhou Tong's excitement was beyond words.

"I have dealt with Huaiyuan's government corps before, and I don't find it strange. The combat power of Huaiyuan's corps is amazing. Coupled with sophisticated firearms, it is enough to sweep the opponent. At the time, the government If the Corps does not disband and the Beijing Camp does not disband, the San Francisco will not dare to act rashly just relying on our two teams. There is no hatred for subjugation."

Until now, He Jialin is still full of regret when recalling the days in Bukui.

"When I participated in the martial arts, I thought Huaiyuan was a great talent. At that time, Huaiyuan, Sun Yuanfei and I were the best friends. I thought that we would never see each other again in this life. I met Huaiyuan in the imperial capital."

Ma Qingshan shook his fan as usual, showing fascination and anticipation.

"We are destined to meet from thousands of miles away. This time, let's meet in the imperial capital. I haven't seen Huaiyuan in a few years, but I really look forward to meeting him."

"Master He, don't worry, this day will come soon."

While Zhou Tong was speaking, a group of people came out from the pass.

"Okay, you two hang around here, I'll go to Jinji Ridge, see what's going on with those bandits, and wipe them out by the way."

As Ma Qingshan said, he steered his horse into the team, and then followed the team.

Jinji Ridge is an important passage from Shanxi to the northwest.Because of the change of dynasty, the situation is unstable. Recently, a group of thieves appeared there, gathering in the mountains and forests, and robbing pedestrians and merchants.

It is also because of the change of dynasty that the local government has been paralyzed, and this group of thieves has been left alone.

After the team of Ma Qingshan and others arrived here, in order to stabilize the local situation and ensure the safety of the rear, this threat must be eliminated.

This time Ma Qingshan led 300 people, who came to suppress the bandits.

After walking for about sixty miles, we arrived at the foot of Jinji Ridge.

Two spies dispatched in advance emerged from the side of the road.

"How is it, is there any movement?"

Ma Qingshan asked.

"Master Guard, the lair of that group of thieves has been found out. It's at Brother Mountain. However, it is estimated that they are all dispatched at this time, and they should all be on the top of the mountain."

"They're all on the top of the mountain? Why is that so?"

"A caravan passed by just now, with a total of 60 people. It is estimated that the gang of thieves will not let them go."

"A caravan of 60 people and [-] people? It's this time, how can there be such a big caravan? What kind of goods are they carrying?"

"Back to the garrison, this caravan is a bit suspicious."

"Tell me, what's so suspicious about it?"

"One is that the vehicles and horses are very gorgeous, and they look like rich and powerful people. The other is that there does not seem to be a large amount of cargo on the vehicle. If there is cargo, it is yellow and white."

"Yellow and white things? How do you see them?"

"There doesn't seem to be a lot of goods on the car, but the ruts are deep, and the goods are supposed to be heavy. The guard dismounts and looks at the ruts."

Ma Qingshan got off his horse to check the ruts, and sure enough, he sank deep into the ground, obviously the things on the car were heavy.

"Since it's not a caravan, it's just dignitaries and corrupt officials who escaped from the imperial capital. These people are not good things. It's good to let bandits rob them."

"Master Garrison means that we don't care about them?"

"We still have to manage it. After all, we are here to suppress the bandits. If the bandits have any stolen goods, we will also confiscate them."

"Master Garrison means that after the bandits snatch the property from those people and kill them, we will collect the property from the bandits and kill the bandits?"

"When did I say that? How can we do nothing? Let's go, go and suppress the bandits. However, the brothers are tired from walking, so there is no need to go so fast. Send the order, and stop when you are tired. Come down and rest before you go."

"Oh, I see, Lord Guard."

The team of chariots that the spies mentioned was indeed not a caravan, but the family of Prince Zhongshun and Prince Consort Yongchang who had escaped from the imperial capital.

That day they lied to Emperor Tianyou that they wanted to go to Chang'an to set up another foundation for future affairs, but it was just an excuse, in fact it was just to get a sum of money.

As for where they really want to go, in fact, they don't have a clear goal in mind.

After leaving the imperial capital, he walked all the way, thinking about where to go along the way.So stop and go along the way.

It wasn't until later that San Francisco conquered the imperial capital that I became anxious.

However, it was not easy for them to leave now.

The Niangziguan area belongs to the boundary of Weize County.

When they arrived in Weize County, the local officials received the edict of surrender from the Tianshun court.

Although the officials have not yet decided whether to join or not, they have detained the two of them.

Later, when they heard that Han Qi was about to arrive here with his troops, the local officials decided to completely surrender to the imperial court.

Because he had hesitated before, he decided at this time to hand over Prince Zhongshun and Yongchang's son-in-law to Han Qi as a meeting gift.

In addition to the prominent identities of the two families, the large amount of belongings they carried with them also made this meeting gift seem more important.

Originally, the abacus was well planned, but the situation changed so quickly that Han Qi was stopped at Niangziguan.

At this time, it was heard that Tianshun's situation was not good, and the local officials let the two families go after receiving a large amount of bribes.

The two families originally planned to flee to Niangziguan, but when they heard that He Jialin was here, they gave up the idea.

Because Prince Zhongshun was involved in the murder of Prince Teng.Going to Niangziguan now, isn't it a self-inflicted trap?
In desperation, I had no choice but to continue walking west, hoping to feel the Taiyuan Mansion.

Liu Shoushan, the magistrate of Taiyuan Prefecture, was brought up by Yongchang's son-in-law at the beginning, and now he plans to go there to avoid it for a while, and wait until the world is peaceful before making plans.

Walking along the way, we arrived at the top of Jinjiling Mountain.

Just about to rest for a while before leaving, suddenly there was a whistle, and more than 100 bandits came out from both sides.

The thieves couldn't help but kill them as soon as they came up.

Although the two families have brought a lot of servants, compared with these bandits, they are not rivals.

After fighting for two cups of tea, some of the servants died, some were injured, and even seeing that the situation was not going well, they robbed their belongings and ran away.

In the end, Prince Zhongshun and Yongchang's son-in-law, together with a group of female relatives and maidservants, were surrounded.

"Who are you guys, who are clear about the universe, dare to block the way, rob, murder and steal goods, aren't you afraid of the king's law?"

Although Prince Zhongshun knew that he was doomed today, he still threatened him harshly, trying to intimidate him.

"Hahaha……."

The bandit leader laughed wildly.

"Zhao Qiancheng, at this moment, you are still acting like a prince with us. The great virtue is dead, and now Tianshun is the world."

"How do you know who I am?"

Zhao Qiancheng, Prince Zhongshun's name, saw that the other party said his name all of a sudden, and felt that something was wrong.

"Zhao Qiancheng, you are going to die anyway, so I will show mercy and tell you the truth, lest you be a fool. The news of your whereabouts was given to me by Haozhi County. Brothers, leave the women alone, and the men will not be alone Stay, let's do it."

The bandit leader waved his hand, and the bandits rushed forward.

Although Prince Zhongshun and Prince Yongchang tried their best to resist, they were not opponents after all.After a while, all the men were killed, leaving only a group of women, huddled together and howling.

At this moment, Ma Qingshan led people to appear, a burst of bows and arrows, most of the bandits were shot to death, a few bandits saw that the situation was not good, they fled to the mountains, and the soldiers chased after them.

A young woman rushed to Ma Qingshan.

"Why did you come here at this time?"

Although she said it in tears, her tone was still arrogant.

"Who are you?"

"Princess Yongning."

This person is the Princess Yongning.

"Princess Yongning? I haven't heard of it."

Ma Qingshan didn't bother to talk to her, so he wanted to walk away.

"Have you never heard of Prince Zhongshun and Prince Yongchang?"

Ma Qingshan stopped.

"I've heard, I've heard, they are all bastards, did they die here? Okay, okay, I really deserve to die. Someone, take them all back and hand them over to Mr. Zhou for disposal."

(End of this chapter)