after being kidnapped by the general

With the things Yuanli brought out, the generals felt that the burden on their shoulders had been lifted a lot, and they were no longer in such a hurry when they were on the road, and they were in the mood to chat and laugh.

On the way, Chu Hechao stared at Yuanli inexplicably from time to time.

Yuan Li was calm and relaxed, he rode his horse and swayed, quite a bit idle.

There was a smile on the corner of his mouth, with a hint of cunning.

Guo Lin came forward and reported to him the people who followed behind.

Liu Jixin's wife and children were in Luoyang, and they rushed over quickly, far behind the army.

Except for Liu Jixin's family members, other servants who wanted to take their families to Youzhou with them, Yuanli also allowed them to leave with the team after confirming that their families could withstand the long journey.

In addition to the three hundred pieces, Yuanli also took away the craftsmen from the soap shop and the finished soaps that had been dried, and most of these craftsmen chose to leave with their families.

If possible, Yuanli would also like to bring his parents with him.

However, this is not realistic.

Not to mention that Yuan Song is the magistrate of Ruyang County, and he is not allowed to leave without reason.Just saying that Yuan Song and Chen's bodies may not be able to withstand the long distance, and taking them to Youzhou will not be safer than in Ruyang.There are fields and food in Ruyang County, there are parts and city walls, and it is very close to Luoyang. It can be said that it is a place where you can protect yourself in troubled times.

Yuan Li nodded and made a note, asking Guo Lin to take good care of these family members.

After Guo Lin retreated, Wang Er came to Yuan Li's side hesitantly.

"My lord," Wang Er looked back at Wu Kai from time to time, with a hesitant look on his face, "Do you know that strong man?"

Yuan Li glanced back, Wu Kai was obediently straddling the horse, with straw mats and bedding on his body and on the horse's back, rattling as if he was fleeing.

He asked back, "Do you know him?"

Wang Er lowered his voice and said: "Young master, when I robbed the dog officer's goods, this strong man helped us."

Yuan Li turned to look at him, "Has he helped you?"

Wang Erying said, "That day we were lying in ambush in the mountains, but we were outnumbered and outnumbered. This strong man appeared in time with more than 20 brothers, and together with us killed the gang of Gouguan. We originally I thought they also took a fancy to this batch of property, but after killing people, this strong man led them away without saying a word, and today is the second time I see him."

Yuan Li called Wu Kai over after he finished speaking, and asked kindly, "Did you help him rob goods before?"

Wu Kai glanced at Wang Er, nodded in shame, and lowered his head.

Yuan Li said: "Did Chu Mingfeng send you there?"

Wu Kai nodded silently again.

Yuan Li asked him to retreat, and asked Wang Er a strange question: "The day I met you on Three Heads Mountain, who told you to let you enter Three Heads Mountain?"

It seems that someone has said this to Wang Er with certainty.

Wang Er thought for a while, and he really remembered such a person, "It was a hunter passing by. He told me that it was easy to hunt prey on Santou Mountain, and there were few wild animals in the mountain. After hearing this, I was moved and asked him where to go. After leaving the mountain road, I took my brothers into the mountain to hunt."

Yuan Li smiled knowingly and let him go.After meditating alone for a while, Yuan Li drove his horse forward and swayed to Chu Hechao's side, raised his eyes to look at the road ahead, and the sound of horseshoes was chaotic.After a while, he said: "General, your elder brother really has no plans."

Chu Hechao said flatly, "That's your husband too."

Yuan Li smiled lowly, and murmured, "Chu Mingfeng..."

He said how could Chu Mingfeng trust him so easily, and entrust the logistics and Chu Palace to him so easily.

It turned out that Yuan Li had already been tested by Chu Mingfeng once before the test of being in charge of the housekeeper of the Chu Palace—that is, he was asked to meet Wang Er's group of refugees and see how he would deal with them.

Test whether he is really benevolent and able to accommodate refugees, and then test whether he has real materials and can arrange refugees reasonably.

Before that, Chu Mingfeng had been secretly observing Yuanli for many years, probably longer and earlier, so he came to test Yuanli because of this.

That's why Chu Mingfeng knew that Yuanli would train military generals, and that's why he knew that Yuanli had great ambitions, so the cronies from the Prince Chu's mansion would be delivered the day after the refugees were resettled in Yuanli, so it was given in the letter The conditions will directly poke the itches in Yuanli.

It turned out that the batch of goods was also robbed by Wang Er and others with the help of Chu Mingfeng, and finally fell into Yuanli's name.In other words, Chu Mingfeng also knew that he had taken away the goods of the corrupt officials in Hanzhong, so the false rumor that Zhang Siban took bribes from the sheriff of Hanzhong in Luoyang to conceal the disaster and failed to report the disaster may also be related to Chu Mingfeng.

Yuan Li asked leisurely: "General, what else do you think your brother can do?"

Chu Hechao turned his head to look at him, and smiled, "Sister-in-law thinks so."

Yuan Li blinked: "Perhaps Qian Zhongsheng, the governor of Hanzhong County, sent the goods to Luoyang for Zhang Siban under his guidance."

This idea is more thought-provoking.

in case.

What if Zhang Siwan didn't know that the governor of Hanzhong sent a batch of gold and silver treasures to bribe him?

If the governor of Hanzhong finds that the disaster is serious, when he is frightened and frightened, someone will show him a clear way and ask him to bribe the admiral eunuch Zhang Siban with his family property.The Hanzhong County Sheriff followed suit as if grasping at straws, but halfway through, the stolen money was tricked by this man and diverted into Yuanli's hands in many ways, and was indirectly reserved for Youzhou in northern Xinjiang.

Later, this person used the reason of "Hanzhong county guards bribed eunuchs" to stir up rumors, pointing directly at eunuchs and corrupt officials, giving the common people's uprising promoted by scholars a perfect excuse for rebellion.

Inside is the ambition of the scholars to suppress the emperor's eunuchs to seize power, but on the surface, it is just an uprising of the common people because of the disaster victims in Hanzhong, dissatisfied with the eunuchs in power and the corruption of court officials.

Thinking about it this way, how logical is it?

Chu Hechao moved his fingers, turned his head back, and said lazily, "Who knows?"

Yeah, who knows.Chu Mingfeng is dead, no one can pull Chu Mingfeng out to ask him the answer.

Yuan Li closed his eyes, feeling the breeze on his face.

But if this is the case, Chu Mingfeng... is really scary.

"General," Yuan Li said, his voice so soft that it would be blown away by the wind, "How many peaceful days do you think will be there?"

Chu Hechao grabbed the reins tightly and spoke calmly.

"Half a month."

Within half a month, folk rumors intensified, and the people were outraged.Such a situation should have been noticed by the court quickly, but the court seemed to be blindfolded and did not respond to it.

Finally, on May 39th in the [-]th year of Jianyuan, Hanzhong soldiers Du Nie, Liang Zhou, and Wang Jian couldn't bear to bully the people for the governor of Hanzhong, and killed Qian Zhongsheng, the governor of Hanzhong. The eunuchs colluded, and the imperial court ignored the cause of the disaster in Hanzhong and led the people to revolt angrily.

Because of the corruption of the imperial court, the absurdity of the eunuchs, and the severe drought in many parts of the country, and the fact that the grain was not collected and the tax was not reduced, the desperate people responded to the call and rose up one after another, causing riots. *

The insurgents spread all over the country and came fiercely.Urgent reports from all over the world came one after another and handed them to Emperor Jianyuan's desk.

Emperor Jianyuan turned pale with shock.

He was terrified in his heart, and he was devastated by the rebel army.Under the suggestion of his courtiers, he reluctantly began to reuse scholars, and allowed all localities to mobilize troops to attack the rebel army. In order to calm the anger of the people, he decreed to behead Zhang Siban and hang his head in front of the Luoyang city gate to vent the anger of the people. angry.

This didn't stop, Emperor Jianyuan ordered the beheading of Jing Zhaoyin and Zhan Qibo's family.

According to Emperor Jianyuan, he once ordered the cabinet to allocate funds to Jing Zhaoyin, and ordered Jing Zhaoyin to resettle refugees outside the city.Unexpectedly, Jing Zhaoyin took the disaster relief money for himself, not only failed to settle the refugees, but also discredited the emperor's reputation.

Several days had passed since this news reached Yuan Li's ears. Together with this news, there was also the news that Jing Zhaoyin's son Zhan Shaoning had defected from Beijing with his old troops.

Yuan Li stood up abruptly, "Zhan Shaoning escaped?!"

Zhao Ying said: "Yes. Zhan Shaoning led two hundred old troops to break out of the encirclement on the day of beheading, and fled Luoyang all the way."

Yuan Li was shaken by these two pieces of news, and he didn't recover for a long time.

He didn't get along with Zhan Qibo very much, and only met him once in the residence of the Taiwei Lord Zhang Liangdong.But Ouyang Ting and Zhan Qibo had a good relationship. Even before leaving Luoyang, Ouyang Ting told Yuanli that he could go to Zhan Qibo if he needed help.

People trusted by Ouyang Ting shouldn't be like this, just looking at Zhan Qibo's style, he doesn't look like someone who would embezzle disaster relief funds without authorization.

And Yuanli regards Zhan Shaoning as a friend...

Thinking of Zhan Shaoning protecting him in Guozixue, Yuan Li felt a pain in his heart.

Chu Hechao sneered, and said sadly, "The Son of Heaven really has the face to say such things."

Yuan Li quickly turned his head to look, "What does the general mean?"

"The cabinet allocated a batch of funds for disaster relief," Chu Hechao pulled his lips, "but the funds were passed by the Prison House, and one-half of them went to the emperor's private treasury, and the remaining No one knows how many are in the hands of Zhan Qibo. Since Zhan Qibo closed the gate of Luoyang and ignored the victims of the disaster in Hanzhong, the orders he received were not necessarily disaster relief."

For example, on the surface it was disaster relief, but actually received an order from the Prison Empress Mansion.In order to prevent the emperor from discovering that he had embezzled the remaining silver taels, Zhan Qibo ordered Zhan Qibo to drive the refugees out of Luoyang and not to stay outside Luoyang city, creating the illusion that the refugees had been resettled.

Chu Hechao didn't say the rest clearly, but Yuan Li understood it instantly.For a moment, his anger seemed to go straight to his heart, he opened his mouth, but he didn't know what to say, and finally laughed out of anger, "Dignified Son of Heaven, unexpectedly——"

Chu Hechao laughed together with him.

Outside the station window, the sky slowly sank.

The darkness is like a huge piece of cloth, moving inch by inch from top to bottom, the darkness covers the people in the room, and the faint candlelight casts a circle of dim yellow light.

Yuan Li looked at the flame, and there was also the reflection of the flame beating in his eyes.

A wind blew in from between the doors, making the flames sway and sway.

But after the wind blew, the flames suddenly grew taller.

Beside the mountain river.

Zhan Shaoning knelt beside the water, tightly holding the baby in his arms, tears streaming down his face covered with dust and blood.

He gritted his teeth, bent his back, and made intermittent cracking sounds in pain, suppressing choking and crying in his throat.

The body kept shaking.

Counselor Xiao Ce walked up to him and knelt down, handed him a piece of cake, and when he saw the baby in Zhan Shaoning's arms, he showed a bit of sadness on his tired face, "...Young master, the young master has passed away. Just bury him. We only have a moment to recuperate, and after recuperating, we have to continue on our way, and we cannot be overtaken by the imperial court.”

Zhan Shaoning's tears dripped onto the swaddle, and he lifted the swaddle with trembling hands, revealing a five- to six-month-old boy in the swaddle, his face livid and breathless.

The whole family was sentenced to beheading. At the moment of death, his father and brother gave Zhan Shaoning the only chance to live.Zhan Shaoning desperately took away his eldest brother's five-month-old son. He ran all the way and kept his little nephew tight to his chest, but just after he got off the horse to rest up, he realized that he had smothered his little nephew to death.

Suffocated the only blood of the eldest brother.

Zhan Shaoning moaned from his throat, "Uncle Xiao..."

Xiao Ce's eyes were moist, "Master, you are the only one left in the Zhan family. No matter what, you have to cheer up. Only in this way can we have a chance of revenge."

Zhan Shaoning's fingers pinched into the flesh of his palm, and his mouth was full of blood, but the pain was less than a ten-thousandth of the pain in his heart.

"You're right," he said word by word, raised his hand to wipe away his tears, and stood up with his swaddling clothes in his arms. "Uncle Xiao, I must avenge my family!"

In the end, he gritted his teeth, wishing he could swallow the flesh of the dog emperor alive.

Xiao Ce sighed, "My lord, let's send the little lord on his way."

Zhan Shaoning touched his little nephew's cheek with muddy and bloody hands, his eyes were hot again, he buried his little nephew in the ground beside the water, returned to sit on the stone beside the horse.Xiao Ce gave him the pancake again, and Zhan Shaoning forced himself to eat it.

Xiao Ce whispered about the current situation in the world, these are the words that Zhan Qibo said to Zhan Shaoning countless times.Zhan Shaoning shed tears while eating, and all the tears dripped on the pancakes, the more they ate, the saltier they became.

After he finished eating, Xiao Ce asked, "My lord, where do you think we should go now?"

Zhan Shaoning clenched his fists, gritted his teeth and thought for a while, then suddenly said, "Go to Youzhou."

Xiao Ce: "Youzhou?"

Zhan Shaoning's expression turned into resolute, he nodded and said, "Go to Youzhou and find my friend Yuanli."

Zhan Shaoning also knew that Chu Hechao took Yuanli away from Luoyang, and now that the world was in chaos, he felt panicked wherever he went.It didn't take a few days for the accident to happen, but Zhan Shaoning had tasted the warmth and coldness of human relationships and all kinds of things in the world.

The former friends avoided him and cast aside him like an ant.None of his father's friends dared to speak up for him, and the only Taiwei who spoke a few words for his father was dismissed from office because of this.

The world is so big, the road ahead is uncertain, and the officers and soldiers in the rear are chasing after him, Zhan Shaoning suddenly felt that there was no place to stay.

At this moment, he thought of Yuanli.

Zhan Shaoning and Yuanli haven't known each other for a long time, and it's only been a month since they've done their best.But for some reason, when he thought of Yuan Li, Zhan Shaoning felt that Yuan Li would not despise him, and would help him.

Yuanli is not those hypocritical scholars, his character is as honest and loyal as the rumors, and he always gives people a feeling of trustworthiness and peace of mind.Zhan Shaoning felt that Yuan Li was someone he could rely on. This was Zhan Shaoning's intuition, but he was willing to trust his intuition.

What's more, the world is already in chaos, Youzhou is located in the most northeast, remote and desolate, far away from the chaos of the Central Plains, fleeing there is undoubtedly a good choice.

Xiao Ce pondered, "My lord, is Yuan Li trustworthy?"

Zhan Shaoning was silent for a long time, and said with a wry smile: "I don't think there is anyone else who will help me except him."

After all, no matter in the eyes of the common people or other scholars, Zhan Shaoning is the son of corrupt officials and criminal officials.

A person whose reputation is stained.

Befriending him or taking him in will only do more harm than good.

Zhan Shaoning has no value for people to take advantage of.

Seeing his unwavering expression, Xiao Ce smiled helplessly, "Then listen to what Young Master said, let's go to Youzhou."