"Benevolence has to be driven, so it tends to return to Jinguancheng. However, Tian's filthy ditch was taken off, and Tian Fengen and Chen Congxun, the henchmen of the Yazhong, led the crowd to attack; The internal ban made Zhou Bao's soldiers unable to resist, but went out to the Xiling Gate. ”

"Benevolence and kindness were hindered in the city, and although the Lord was asked to tell him in person, the city did not hear it, and returned the crossbow arrows; The Ministry of Renhou only had a few days of food left, and there was no equipment, so it was taken by the Holy Driver to release the baggage and return it to Hanzhou to eat. ”

"Tian's ban on everyone, only the children of the Diet Bureau and Huang Erduo are exempted. He also had a list of swords and axes to order the ministers to go to the court, saying that the lord had an edict to order King Mu (Li) to temporarily take the court. ”

"There is a royal historian (willow) Wei, a dozen people who are scattered and riding (high) eunuchs, and Sheren (Lin) Jing refuse to accept it, but they undress and drag out the hammer to kill, and everyone is silent. Then he made a book to ask about the crime of benevolence, took back the position, and ordered Sanchuan to discuss it. ”

"The Lord is the table of benevolence and kindness for the Liang Guogong, the left servant of Shangshu shoots, the head of the Sanchuan Dujie Degree, and the internal envoy Liang Chuhou is the envoy of the army, so as to ask for it. Before the beginning of spring, the war between the two rivers was revived. ”

"Jianchuan Xing Chaos", Zheng Gu

- I'm the dividing line -

After escaping from Chang'an, Gao Yu, the plenipotentiary representative of the Taiping Metropolitan Governor's Office, and his party released the boat all the way south along the Bashui where the ice had begun to crumble and melt.

Although the ice and snow have begun to melt, the land of Guanzhong at the end of winter is still a barren and withered and lonely hue. The pedestrians on the road are almost extinct, and the occasional traffic is only the galloping messenger horses, or the escort team slowly trekking through the snow and concrete.

As for the towns, towns and villages along the way, they are mostly lifeless and have few people and traces, and they have no weather and pattern as the prosperous hinterland of the world and the left side of Gyeonggi; It is also like singing and singing at night in Chang'an City, as if there are two different worlds in the next world.

The only thing they all have in common is the chilling, starving corpses that are more or less piled up outside the city gates and feasted on by wild dogs and crows in the countryside.

It's just that Gao Yu still has a lot of regrets and sighs in his heart. It's not that he feels sorry for the valuables and money bills that are left in the hotel, nor is he worried about the reproach and accountability he may be faced when he returns; From the very beginning, the Metropolitan Governor made it clear that his own safety was the first priority in everything he did.

It's just that as a tea merchant in Huaiyang, it is rare for him to get such a good stage and opportunity to dance with long sleeves and give full play to his strengths in life; But he didn't do his job, and only completed most of the layout and matchmaking, and was forced to flee back.

Although he vaguely knew that the Taiping Army must have other dark lines and chess pieces in the city, they had nothing to do with him. His only task at the moment is to return safely to Shannan with the account books and rosters he has collected these days.

After all, although it has only been a little over a year and a half, it is enough for him to develop the corresponding channels and contacts in private. This is not like the in-depth contact activities with the high-level leaders of the goodwill faction led by Liu Tang on the surface, nor is it like the exchanges between other powerful factions of the rebel army that mainly exchange interests.

Rather, it is the secret channels and various sources of information that he opened among the families of the Taiping soldiers through his mastery of mid-to-high-end luxury goods such as jewelry, incense, fat powder and pigments, splendid silk, wine and honey.

After all, these high-level leaders of the Great Qi and the powerful factions of the righteous army, as soon as they entered Chang'an, they rushed to raid the homes of rich and noble eunuchs, and occupied the mansions and mansions; Next, in order to match these places and new identities, more concubines and maids were accepted, and more slaves and servants were raised to serve.

And the pomp and circumstance pursued and compared by these Qi nouveau riche, as well as the various daily utensils and makeup required by their dependents' clothing, food, housing and transportation, are all indispensable from the various products provided by Guangzhou, Jiangxi, and Huainan.

Therefore, these great Qi nobles and powerful generals will certainly be wary and wary of their colleagues and superiors; But there are few people who can hide their mouths from their close relatives and even the people next to them at all times.

The clues of many things are hidden in the countless bits and pieces of this single word; Then, through the slaves and maids who were running back and forth, they slowly gathered into several East Market strongholds controlled by Gao Yu.

After all, compared to those wealthy families who have raised children and old servants for generations, these people are obviously more likely to be impressed and bought by small favors. And those concubines who are willing or forced to "commit themselves to the thief" are also secretly motivated by benefits and utilitarian motives.

Therefore, in these times, although he has not been able to reach out to the level of the five phases of the political hall, he has also achieved a lot of results in the new dynasty of Great Qi; Among them, the highest-level existences include the personal servant of Zheng Hanzhang, the imperial historian, and the new favorite of Lin Yan, the new favorite of the Vipassana army. . .

As a result, he could have more room and opportunities to play on the ground on a number of assigned tasks and collaborative matters. For example, to provide some kind of cooperation for the deserted scholars, or to appropriately adjust some kind of reciprocal project; It's a pity that all this is going to be interrupted temporarily.

Gao Yu, whose face was sallow and bearded, was thinking about this, when suddenly the boat stopped in a series of vibrations; Then a young attendant walked in and said, "Proprietor, the water in front of you is blocked by silted ice edges, I'm afraid I can't go over and go ashore instead." ”

"It's okay, we're afraid that things have already reached the boundary of Lantian County, and it's not bad for this land route."

Gao Yu immediately decided.

Then they were in a shallow that was still frozen, stepping on the crunching ice and slowly pushing the plough loaded with objects, slowly rewarding the slopes of the shore.

At least as one of the prime ministers of the Great Qi, the energy is enough for them to prepare enough dry food, wine and warm items on the ship. So here they become a line of dusty foot merchants.

However, just as they were bypassing Lantian County, they heard an unexpected news in the crowd stranded and backlogged in the nearby Lanxi Station, that Lantian Pass had been blocked; Many merchants tried to negotiate and settle in the past, but they were detained and never returned.

Gao Yu couldn't help but be shocked in his heart, could it be that those people in Chang'an City had already pursued here; Then I continued to inquire, but it was already five days ago. At that time, he hadn't yet had time to decide to have a banquet with Liu Tang.

And at the other end of Lantian Valley, Shangluo County in the spacious valley.

Wang Xingkong, the commander of the Taiping army, was also on the only remaining city gate tower, fighting with the waves of enemies; Who would have thought that the disputes and conflicts that occurred in Shangluo City, which was a transit trade point, were actually ambushes and traps against themselves.

Not long ago, a team of horses bypassed the county seat and headed straight for Wuguan in the valley road to the south. This couldn't help but make him more and more anxious. However, at this moment, he could only maintain his composure on the surface, and try to maintain his position and front.

Then he comforted him in turn, and took a group of relatives and subordinates to fight side by side with Zhou Mengnan, the general of the city's righteous army. The other party was born with a Angkang figure and a thick beard, and his appearance obviously had the blood of the Saiwaihu people; It's just that he couldn't hide his sad face and danced his double knives and muttered:

"I'm a big loss now, maybe I have nowhere to go in the future, and I have to rely on you to take care of you in the future."

"Brother Zhou, although you can rest assured, my Taiping Army will never treat anyone who has meritorious service."

Wang Xingkong said sincerely while swinging his knife to fly a stray arrow, and knocking down the enemy soldiers who were climbing up in front of him.

These enemies were so bold and reckless that they dared to openly break the world's condemnation, and the Taiping army controlled the local rebels overnight and made such sneak attacks and ambushes with the good atmosphere of tacit understanding and trust that the rebels had always maintained in Guannai.

If it weren't for Zhou Mengnan, an old acquaintance who had been in contact with the Taiping Army for the first time and participated in escorting and transporting for a long time; Suddenly, he escorted Zhang Guihou, a local representative, and broke through the obstacles and blockades to report and warn.

In addition, in the hands of the people he brought, there was a reinforced regiment equipped with firearms to deter and suppress the situation, and immediately dropped bombs and set fire to open the way; I'm afraid I'm really going to get caught up in it and out of control. Despite this, Wang Xingkong was still trapped in this city tower in disguise.

The original rebel army in Shangzhou also had serious divisions and confrontations, and only a small part followed Zhou Mengnan to stand on the side of the Taiping army; Most of the others were forcibly annexed by foreign enemies, and were driven to attack and kill them.

And on the opposite tower, a somewhat familiar figure of Wang Xingkong was also commanding in an orderly manner:

"If you still can't attack, then drive the local soldiers to step up the attack, and if there is any hesitation, there will be no mercy on the spot. Just consume the opponent's firearms.,It's easy to clean up.。。 ”

"Also, don't intercept the messengers who flee for help, I also hope to be able to transfer more people out of the Wuguan, so that my generation will have to build equipment and harden the walls of the city."

In Chang'an City, General Zuo Weiwei, who was in charge of the Shangzhou Defense Zone, attacked Ji Kui in the south; also took Hu Cong from the camp of the bandits who surrounded and suppressed Taibai Mountain, and returned to Chang'an City angrily, and rammed through Zhuque Street non-stop.

All the way to the front of Danfeng Gate, he was stopped by the Gong Huanjun who was wearing a purple robe. Immediately, there were imperial city inspectors who came in a hurry. Zuo Jin Wuwei General Bai Risheng stood on the gatehouse and scolded loudly:

"Snake Eyes, what kind of madness did you have, did you want to rush into the palace ban?"

"You don't want to stop me, I just want to ask the emperor for an explanation. Why should I be robbed of my defenses for no reason? ”

Not to be outdone, Ji Kui shouted.