Chapter 384: Plug on the South
Soon, Li Shun was able to get into the connections between Gai Wu and Lu Shuihu through Zheng Zong's "efforts", and successfully "rebelled" against them with money.
As Zheng Zong described, these Lu Shuihu people are a group of "short-sighted" Hu Yi, who are not loyal to Mulan, but because they can't defeat the Tiger Ben Army, they have to reluctantly follow the protection mission, and Hua Mulan, who picks the door, is still "only making rice" (original words).
In comparison, Li Shun and Li Shun's money is much cuter, even if Gai Wu only agrees to help Li Shun when he needs it at first, under Li Shun's continuous money offensive, his attitude towards Li Shun is completely different from the original.
At this point, Lee Soon believes in the power of money.
"How much money does this Li Shun have, he can't afford to pay so much......" He Mulan and Yuan Fang and the others whispered in private, "If the Li family is so rich, why is it so low-key on weekdays?"
"I've only heard of the Li family." Yuan Fang was also very strange, "During the war in the Jin Dynasty, the Li family almost abandoned all their family wealth and only took refuge with the collection of books, I haven't heard that the Li family later had so much gold. There must be someone behind the scenes."
He Mulan suddenly froze, thinking of Wang Jin's large number of missing possessions. Although many of them have since been found in Kumoti's private estate, some of them are missing.
That's a huge fortune, could it be given to this Li Shun?
However, it only took a moment for Hermulan to overturn his idea.
What kind of important minister is Li Shun? It's just that Tuoba Tao's close ministers who are used as living dictionaries at any time because of their erudition and strong memory, how can it be worth such a big blood.
Instead of suspecting that it was Wang Jin's side, it was better to suspect that it was the funds provided by Liu Song or Beiliang. After all, the power of the whole country is bigger than the capital of a city, and you can think of it.
Due to the "rebellion" of the Lu Shuihu people, the relationship between the Tiger Ben Army and the Tiantai Army has now fallen to the freezing point, almost to the point that He Mulan cannot even command. In order to ensure that there were no mistakes between the two armies, Hemulan handed over almost all the patrols, garrison patrols and other work sent out to the Lu Shuihu people, so that the Tiger Ben army and the Lu Shuihu people were separated and their friction was reduced.
Naturally, in the eyes of Yuan Poqiang and other envoys of the Northern Wei Dynasty, they all came to persuade that it was really inappropriate for He Mulan to bury such an uneasy factor as Lu Shuihu people, and it was best to think of letting Lu Shuihu people leave, or use thunderous means to subdue them.
However, before Hemulan could use any means, the first large-scale clash between the Tiger Ben army and the Lu Shuihu people began.
The cause is naturally because of the "battle of routes".
Since He Mullan had always believed that it was dangerous to take the 6th route, the Tiger Army was in agreement with He Mullan on this point, and only the self-proclaimed experienced Lu Shuihu people believed that the waterway was more dangerous. After a long period of discussion between He Mulan and the envoys, in the end, He Mulan also succumbed to the opinions of many envoys and decided to embark on the 6th route from the city of Qin Khan and enter Guzang from the edge of the Tengger Desert, which is equivalent to fulfilling the previous statement of the Lu Shuihu people.
The smug Lu Shuihu laughed at the stupidity and short-sightedness of the Tiger Army, and the Tiger Army was fooled by Hemulan's previous insistence and the easy compromise that followed, so the two armies fought.
The most taboo in the army is to fight with the army, because the tense military life is likely to make a small thing become the fuse of the camp, and the mutiny is even more impermissible, because of the timely appearance of Hemulan, this fight did not cause casualties, nor did it cause mutiny, but the hidden dangers were all exposed.
He Mulan was almost immediately attacked, and was considered by Li Shun, the chief envoy of this time, and several envoys to have no control over the army, and Su zhì who lacked leadership, and even further questioned her ability to be a general, and her prestige was almost suppressed to the extreme.
He Mulan also expressed his "indignation" at the right time, and from then on, he completely ignored the affairs of Lu Shuihu and the people, and did not interfere with the decisions of Li Shun and other envoys, and only took the Tiger Ben army to take precautions.
Because of the Lu Shuihu people, the relationship between Gai Wu and the people around He Mulan has also begun to reach an impasse like never before, and a crisis hidden in the Tiger Ben army is about to explode at any time......
Half a month later.
"General, there is the city of Chin Khan ahead." Na Luo Hun looked at He Mulan, who seemed to have no problem, and asked with a worried expression, "Do you still have any discomfort in your body?"
"No, every time I burn, I feel my strength a little stronger." He Mullan clenched his fists and let go, shook his head and muttered very quietly.
"Probably a return to the light."
The group of people behind her were silent, including Zheng Zong, who didn't know anything, and they all sensed that something was wrong with Hemulan.
Just yesterday, Hermulan's "evil disease" was done again.
Although everyone covered it up and didn't let outsiders know that she had been in a coma all night, the hurried arrival of the Master of Compassion still made others sense that something was wrong.
Fortunately, Hermulan would be well every time she fell ill until the sun rose the next day, and her spirit and strength were not worse than before her illness, otherwise the Lord would suddenly become seriously ill, and no matter how much the envoys who came with her respected her, she would not be allowed to continue her work as a guardian.
After all, Compassion is only a monk, and although he can see that something is wrong with Hermulan, he has no way to save her. I only cautiously told her that if the yang energy continued to be so full, her life would not live for more than a year.
However, when He Mullan heard that he had about a year to live, he couldn't help but laugh: "So long? That's enough......"
As for what is enough, no one knows.
"Qin Khan City......" Yuan Fang showed a look of yearning. Gotcha.[,!] Your Majesty, we can camp in Liziyuan to rest, prepare supplies and people for the cool, since it is called the 'Pearl of the Prairie', it must be a very beautiful place, right?"
Qin Khan City is called "Yinchuan" by later generations as "plugging the south of the Yangtze River", a few decades ago, here for Helian Bobo's income, because the terrain is flat and open, the Yellow River runs through the north and south, so the land is fertile and suitable for living, so it has been valued by the Xia State and rebuilt the city here.
Helian Bo was fond of hunting, so he built a huge royal garden "Lizi Garden" here to recruit beautiful women and satisfy his extravagant life.
The predecessor of Qin Khan City was the "Diantao" of "more than 700,000 people in the west of the pass and south of the Chongshuo Fang" in the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. After the Northern Wei Dynasty conquered the Xia Kingdom, the Qin Khan City was also owned by the Wei State, and even Liziyuan became the palace of Tuoba Tao.
After Liziyuan was obtained, the ministers of the court and China intended to curry favor with Tuoba Tao, hoping that he could tour the city of Qin Khan in the west and live in Liziyuan, but he finally refused.
The reason for his rejection was very simple - "Helian Bo has spent a lot of money all his life and has a tyrannical personality, so he lost his summer. I don't want to repeat his mistakes, and I indulge in pleasure before the Central Plains is pacified."
But later, according to Kumoti, Tuoba Tao just thought it was not interesting to run to scare the people of various ethnic groups in the city of Chin Khan, and Liziyuan was said to be very gorgeous, and he was afraid that his palace would be dilapidated after staying, so he simply stopped going.
Hermulan believed that the latter was the real reason.
For this reason, the once beautiful and magnificent "Reiko Garden" has become a ominous place, and the court ladies and former concubines who tried to use their beauty to capture a king once again fell into a desperate situation when they learned that the young, handsome and heroic emperor had no intention of coming here to have fun.
What's even worse is that Tuoba Tao is unwilling to waste manpower, so a large number of hunting grounds in Lizi Garden have become pastures, and Helian Chang's concubines and palace maids in the palace also have to weave cloth and raise hemp.
This time, the last stop for the Northern Wei delegation to enter the Liang realm was Qin Khan City, and further on, it was the envoys of the Liang State to greet and arrange. Because there is no guarantee that the Liang Kingdom will be able to provide a steady stream of supplies, and anything can be born on the road, the last supply of Chin Khan City has become very important.
Before leaving Beijing, Tuoba Tao specially allowed them to enter Liziyuan and station, and the "Diannong Duwei" here would be responsible for providing all the food and grass for the mission and the Tiger Ben army before entering the Liangjing.
He Mulan and his party, who could be allowed to live in Lizi Garden, were the first people in Wei to come into contact with it, and even entered Lizi Garden before Tuoba Tao.
The official who governed the city of Qin Khan was a Xiongnu named Liu Yuanzong, who claimed to be a descendant of the Han Dynasty and Princess Qin, so he changed his surname to "Liu".
The Diannong Duwei who is in charge of agriculture here is a very capable black and thin middle-aged Han man, surnamed Feng Mingheng, who has been in charge of reclamation here for 20 years, and has experienced several dynastic changes.
The process of entering the city of Qin Khan was very smooth, Liu Yuanzong and Feng Heng were able to stay in the Helian Dynasty and the Northern Wei Dynasty to continue to govern the city of Qin Khan, that must have been recognized by everyone in terms of qualifications, emotional intelligence, IQ and ability, it was because the mission had not yet arrived at the city of Qin Khan, and there were already officials of the city of Qin Khan along the way to greet the dots, plus there was a flat river near Yinchuan, which was the most suitable for marching, and it was very easy to enter the city.
Liziyuan is located in the north of the city of Chin Khan, covering a vast area, because it is a garden, so except for a few palaces, it is full of large hunting grounds and forests, which is the most suitable for stationing.
As a deputy envoy and the commander of the Tiger Army, a famous general of Wei who has recently been in the limelight, of course he was warmly received by Liu Yuanzong and others, but these people are not stupid, and from the clues of the mission, it can be seen that He Mulan's attitude towards other people in the mission is a little weird, but he is unwilling to say it.
"Our Qin Khan City is not as good as Pingcheng, nor is it as good as Tongwan, it is just an ordinary town in the west, but because the west is desolate, it has been called the 'pearl'......"
Liu Yuanzong led the envoys into the city, and the envoys of Beiliang and Li Shun and others had turned around here when they traveled between Wei and Liang, so they were no strangers to this place, while the others were all coming for the first time, and they looked at them with curious eyes one by one.
The so-called "plugging the south of the Yangtze River" is just that the vegetation here is more lush than other places, and this city is indeed not as tall and vast as other cities, but because of Helian's violent personality, his city is built stronger than other cities, and it does not look dilapidated after war.
Compared with the Wei envoys, the people of Qin Khan City were really curious about this group of envoys who entered the city, and they all pointed at it from a distance, and He Mulan also saw that many people climbed on such a tall place as the eaves and big trees to look this way.
Such boldness is something that He Mulan has never seen before, and the people along the road are of any nationality, at least He Mulan traveled all the way, and saw the Han people, Qiang people, Huns, Xianbei people and Hu people in the Western Regions shuttling like weaving, there are many girls who are holding the arms of foreign lovers and swaggering through the market, including many Han girls.
He Mulan liked the atmosphere of this place very much, and his eyebrows and eyes became much gentler: "Liu Zhenshou and Feng Diannong have meritorious governance!" The people here have a serene expression and do not shy away from outsiders, which shows that the simplicity of the folk customs and the satisfaction of the people are far better than many towns in the summer realm."
Liu Yuanzong and Feng Heng have been friends for many years, and they have supported each other to get to this day, and the biggest pride in this life is to turn this place into a town that everyone in the west yearns for. [,! He laughed contentedly, and his heart was as happy as if he had poured a pot of honey, and he was more enthusiastic with Hermulan than the other envoys.
The Xia State and the Wei State originally valued military merits, and the talents with military power were the emperor's greatest believers, and these two people knew that it was not all because of her praise.
But in the eyes of the rest of the mission, they couldn't help but have some opinions about Hemulan, thinking that she was interested in befriending the two chief officials of the Chin Khan City, so as to add some benefits to herself.
I don't know if it was intentional or unintentional, but after entering Lizi Garden, He Mulan really got the greatest preferential treatment. The Tiger Army was stationed in a hunting ground with abundant water and grass and a lot of prey, and He Mulan was able to live in the palace next to this hunting ground.
It's summer now, this palace is very shady, and there is a living spring flowing through, whether it is washing or drinking, it is extremely convenient.
There are a lot of palace maids from the previous dynasty in the palace, these palace maids are collected by Helian Chang in many ways, all of them are beautiful and affectionate, and they are in their most beautiful twenties, they can't touch the concubines in the palace, but these palace maids don't matter, as long as they don't make any unbeautiful farce, no one will care if you love me and I want Yan Hao.
This alone is enough to make many people envious and crazy.
Of course, Li Shun and the other envoys also lived in another palace, but considering that most of them were Han Chinese and did not need to be responsible for military drills, Liu Yuanzong arranged for these officials to live in a carved garden palace in the east that resembled the south of the Yangtze River.
Beauty is beauty, but it's a pity that Li Shun and others are used to seeing all kinds of gardens, where can they look at the copycats imitated by the Huns?
In contrast, the shady hunting ground courtyard made them even more red-eyed.
He Mullan and his party did not know that even these things could cause conflicts, and each of them was about to go crazy with joy.
This is the hunting ground!
And now it's July when the prey is the fattest!
The garrison of the army made the birds and beasts on the periphery of the hunting ground flee, and all ran into the depths of the hunting ground, where the number of prey has increased since the Xia Kingdom was destroyed and Tuoba Tao did not come for a long time, but no one else was allowed to enter the place where the Son of Heaven hunted, and the number of these birds and beasts was even more, which made Liu Yuanzong miserable.
He knew that Tuoba Tao arranged for the delegation to enter Liziyuan with the intention of letting them use it, so he specially arranged a hunting ground with the largest number of birds and beasts for them to station, hoping that they could use the Xianbei people's ability to "hunt" and solve the beast problem a little.
When Liu Yuanzong revealed this meaning to He Mulan, all the generals of the Tiger Ben Army were excited. The long march process is extremely boring, this is not a war, and the long-term depression and no explosion make everyone hold a fire in their hearts, and hunting is the best way to vent.
When they were in Montenegro, these men would invite each other to go out hunting when they were not in sight, and digging rabbit nests, luring foxes and deer was almost everyone's specialty.
"Look at your breath!"
He Mulan looked at Na Luohun and the others with eager expressions, laughed and scolded: "Don't delay the business!" First stationed and washed, set up the horses and luggage, and when we have leisure tomorrow, we will go to the hunting ground to hunt and fight tooth sacrifices! "
She winked mischievously.
"Don't talk about you, I gnaw on cakes and eat jerky every day, and a bird fades out of my mouth!"
When the crowd heard this, they laughed and whistled and cheered, almost shaking the entire hunting ground in the north, and the birds and birds flew wildly, and the crows and birds made a loud noise.
Liu Wenji, the son of Liu Yuanzong who was sent to accompany He Mulan, was also a cheerful man, and when he heard that He Mulan intended to hunt, he showed a grateful look: "Fortunately, you are here, if you don't come again, I am afraid that even the grass in this Lizi Garden will be gnawed up. A few days ago, I heard from the people guarding the forest that there was a leopard! "
"Leopard?" He Mulan was stunned for a moment, "Didn't you say that Hu Xia's royal hunting ground was not allowed to have fierce beasts?"
"It really wasn't before." Liu Wenji showed a bitter face, "There have always been people who have properly controlled it before, where will this kind of beast enter, if it weren't for the fact that no one has come to hunt for many years and the number of prey here has increased dramatically, how can there be leopards attracted to it. Not only leopards, but also golden eagles and falcons are now infested in large numbers, and some bold herdsmen often sneak into Liziyuan to hunt in order to sell some money.
"Why not?" Na Luo Hun was curious, "This kind of thing, to say that it is a crime of bullying the king, but it is a serious crime to go to the palace privately."
Liu Wenji seemed to be very arrogant, and then he realized that he said something that he shouldn't have said, and he couldn't say that his father was going to fall into the charge of "bending the law for personal gain", and his crying face suddenly turned into a crying face.
"This ...... This ......"
He Mulan saw that this young man's name was "Wen Ji", but the person with a rough personality was also peculiar, but he didn't know why his father was so strict that he sent this heartless son to accompany him, and immediately sympathetically comforted him.
"Don't worry, my left guard rate just asked casually, and I didn't mean to blame."
Liu Wenji breathed a sigh of relief, "I'm scared to death, my grandfather often says that I'm an elm brain, I thought I was in trouble again."
"You haven't said why......"
Na Luo Hun continued to ask.
"You don't know, we are different from other places, because of the long-term cultivation of land, the land is vast, but the population is not large, as long as it is not a lack of hands and feet, life can go on. The hunt outside the city of Chin Khan is even more abundant, and in the spring and summer, the hunters in the city can obtain a lot of furs to sell."
"Those who will take the risk to poach in Liziyuan are either local elders who can't go out of the city to hunt, or lonely children who have lost their parents at home and have to leave. [,! Insurance. Because there are many prey here, you can get a harvest by setting a trap, and you don't have to risk your life to hunt, and many children and old people have little strength, but as long as someone guides them to make traps, they can fill their stomachs......"
He scratched his head.
"Uncle Feng said that it was his fault that he couldn't let them live an upright life, and they had to do this because they were hungry, and if they wanted to punish him, they would punish him first. My grandpa felt that he was also at fault, so in the end, this kind of thing was just locked up for a few days, and he was released after a few days in prison. And the local people are afraid of causing trouble to my grandfather and Uncle Feng, so they don't do too much, they won't come after catching a prey to eat for a while, and they won't come to poach every day."
When He Mulan heard that there was such an inside story, he couldn't help but sigh with emotion, and Na Luohun and Yuan Fang and the others didn't expect that the two chief officials here were such officials who loved the people like sons, and they were a little surprised.
Although maybe this Liu Wenji may be making a show, he just deliberately said this in order to put gold on the faces of the two chief officials, but with an old and spicy businessman like Yuan Fang, looking at Liu Wenji's honest expression, he can't see anything false, unless he is a real treacherous person, the possibility of acting is very small.
Then, when Hermulan entered the city, he saw everyone's curious and satisfied expressions, and the people here had no fear or sorrow in their hearts, so they could have a simple smile on their faces.
Perhaps it is precisely because of this position in the west that we can maintain this paradise. If you change Chang'an and Luoyang, I'm afraid that the battle for fame and fortune will have become a mess long ago.
And there are many ethnic groups here, but they can get along harmoniously, from this point of view, Liu Yuanzong and Feng Heng are worthy of the name of "capable officials".
He Mulan listened to Liu Wenji's words and couldn't help but pat him on the shoulder.
"Your father and Feng Diannong are both good officials. Don't worry, we will do our best tomorrow to help you lighten your burden......"
She thought for a moment and continued: "We have relied on various states and counties to provide grain and grass along the way, which has caused a lot of trouble to the locality, but we have never thought of giving back to the locality, and we should set an example this time."
Liu Wenji grinned when he heard this.
"That's great!"
"We can't eat all the prey, it's easy to spoil in this season, and tomorrow's surplus prey will be given to the people here, especially the old and weak women and children."
He Mulan smiled and asked the tiger beners behind him.
"I have to let you eat less meat, do you want to!"
"Listen to the general's orders!"
"What's the point of eating meat every day, this season, I always eat meat and smoke comes out of my throat!"
"I can't beat it anymore and make it into jerky, oh my God, I'm going to get sick when I eat jerky!"
A group of people burst into laughter, all gearing up, waiting for tomorrow's hunt.
Liu Wenji obviously likes hunting too, and there are very few men who don't like this, and even Zheng Zong has expressed a certain interest.
That night, everyone was talking about tomorrow's hunting, and there was a lot of dissatisfaction with not emptying the hunting ground, and even every fire had already made a private bet on which side would catch more prey.
Many of the Wei envoys sent this time were martial Han Chinese, and some were Hu people, and when they heard that they were going to hunt the next day, they couldn't help but secretly send their retinue or guards to discuss with He Mulan, and they also wanted to participate in it. Although He Mulan was in the play, he had no opinion on them, he was just wary of Li Shun, of course, he agreed one by one and made an appointment.
He Mulan, Yuan Fang and the others were busy all afternoon, and only rushed back to the residence of the palace when it began to get dark. It's just that as soon as you enter the courtyard, everyone feels that something is wrong.
"Do you think that these women look at us like they look at a piece of meat...... Chen Jie carefully pushed the man Gu beside him.
"Why is it so weird?"
Chen Jie and Na Luo Hun belong to the more neat looks, so they get more of this kind of "gaze".
Because Yuan Fang looked kind, some of the palace maids who served back and forth were older, and they all threw a few flattering glances at him intentionally or unintentionally.
In contrast, the black, thin and tall He Mulan doesn't seem to be very popular, and the palace maids here probably don't "choose mates" based on their status.
The barbarian was majestic, so he was sweating profusely when he was seen, and he almost avoided these ubiquitous palace maids and followed He Mullan forward.
"You still say this, I wonder why so many women suddenly appeared!"
"Envoy Liu treats us generously...... Yuan Fang touched his chin with interest, "I deliberately transferred all the beautiful palace maids over."
He Mulan was about to forget, but then he suddenly remembered Yuan Fang's special hobby.
He's a good "orchid".
And here it is almost all "orchids".
"If you like it, you can do it with me." He Mulan glanced at him with slanted eyes, and said with some warning: "But be careful not to play too hard, you have to hunt tomorrow morning. You don't want to be called a 'soft-footed shrimp', do you?"
Yuan Fang didn't understand what it meant to "don't play too hard", but when he came to consciousness, he couldn't help jumping to his feet, and shouted angrily: "What and what!" I just love beauty, everyone has a heart, just look! "
"I know, I know......," He Mulan waved his hand indifferently, "I am very reasonable, not the kind of person who makes his subordinates become ascetics if he can't do it himself. They love the beautiful Lang Jun, you like beautiful beauties, as long as both of you are willing, this is a good thing, I won't stop you."
Before they knew that Hermulan was a woman, if these people heard such words, they would probably be very happy. Chen Jie, Na Luo Hun, Yuan Fangdu. [,! It's a man who doesn't have a marriage match, except for Gai Wu, who settled down on the side of Lu Shuihu, everyone present is flesh and blood, and when I encounter this kind of good thing, I'm afraid that as soon as I take off my pants, I'm going to talk to find an "erotic encounter".
But because He Mulan was a woman, and his words were so "open", they showed embarrassed and awkward expressions one by one, and Na Luo Hun even had his neck red.
He Mulan looked at the appearance of these "first brothers", and then remembered the youthful and curious time when he organized a group to go to the "Youzhai" with the same fire, and couldn't help laughing with a nostalgic expression: "We even went to Youzhai back then, and now we are still so twisted. Am I not feeling comfortable? Then I'll go to Gai Wu's side for a walk......"
She glanced at Zheng Zong, who was shaking his body uncomfortably, and then remembered his special temperament, and beckoned to him with some sympathy.
"Come, you come with me."
"Why is this kid following the general!"
"What uncomfortable! General, don't think crooked! "
"What's that...... What's going on with Youzhai?"
A group of people looked at Hermulan with wide eyes, either shocked or angry or curious.
Only Zheng Zong was overjoyed and ran over with a very fast frequency on his little short legs.
"The general is going out?!"
"Don't talk!"
"Don't interrupt us!"
Zheng Zong has been scolded habitually, and his personality is not a strong self-esteem type, he just pouted, in addition to being happy that Mulan really disdains women, he is also a little worried about what the Master of Compassion said.
The general just said that I can't do it and won't stop you, probably because he likes men and can't touch women. But it's about the body, is it really good to stick to it like this?'
Zheng Zong didn't know that He Mulan's yang qi was to the point of death, so he just thought that it would burn inexplicably. Rao was so worried, too.
Thinking of this, the joy he had just felt suddenly fell, and his expression became hesitant.
Just when He Mulan laughed evilly and ridiculed a group of innocent men, Zheng Zongyi gritted his teeth and opened his mouth:
"Isn't the general too yang? I'm afraid it won't be easy to find a woman after Qin Khan City, otherwise, I'll help the general find a beautiful palace maid to relieve me?"
As soon as Zheng Zong spoke, everyone showed the expression of stepping on dog poop, and Chen Jie even jumped over and strangled Zheng Zong's neck with his arm from behind, dragging him away.
"Don't make your own decisions!"
"Nonsense, this is!"
"You're sick!"
A group of people glared at Zheng Zong, eager to drag him out and flatten him again, and looked at Zheng Zong's back in a cold sweat.
Huh, people are struggling so hard to put forward the proposal, do you want to oppose it so thoroughly!
I know you also want to rob the general with me!