Xuzhou Pei County

After starting from Pingjiao, it took two or three days to arrive at Xindu, where he met the queen of Xianyang, Tuoba Shen did not stay long, and set off at dawn on the second day, and then turned south on the road. When passing through Qinghe County, he also went to Wucheng, the ancestral hometown of his mother Zhang Concubine, and visited his mother's maternal uncles and maternal aunts, Qinghe Zhang and Qinghe Cui also went once, stayed in Wucheng for two days before starting again, and then took the Jeju Qiangjin and crossed the river from the Yellow River pontoon bridge in Jiejin into Henan.

When I arrived in Peixian County, Xuzhou via Jeju via Yanju, it was already more than 20 days later.

Since crossing the river, the weather has become hotter and hotter, fortunately here is the north, and the weather has not yet reached the hottest time, barely able to rush normally, if it is the hottest time of the year in late July, the time of the day can be used to rush can be half a day, and the rest of the time you have to find a place to escape the heat.

Tuoba Shen's car has removed the baffles on three sides at this time, leaving only one-third of the height to the wind, adding bead curtains and gauze curtains on all sides of the carriage, and using cowhide to prop up a large shed roof on the roof of the car to shade, coupled with the occasional cool breeze, although it is still a little hot, but look at the cavalry on the horse, hot and constantly wiping sweat and drinking water, Tuoba Shen feels that he is already very happy.

Yu Zhong held the reins in one hand and raised the bamboo tube with the other to drink water. He wore a bamboo hat on his head to shade him, and after a long sunbath, his slightly dark face was dripping with sweat, and his soaked clothes were sticking to his body, which was very uncomfortable.

"How? Is there a village ahead? Yu Zhong wiped his sweat and asked.

It was the first time he had been to Henan, and he didn't expect that the climate here would be so hot than Pingcheng, and he had to drink all the water in the bamboo tube.

"I found it, just three miles ahead, it is a small village, it looks like there are only thirty or forty households, and it should be able to draw a lot of water. The soldiers had been on the road for two hours, and they were finally able to rest. Yu Lin said

"Such a small number of households? I'm afraid there aren't many wells there, but we have five or six hundred people here, and even if we draw their water clean, it won't be enough! ”

"Check it out! If the well water is insufficient, it can only be installed less. People don't talk about it, just say that these horses are hot and tired, and they sweat a lot along the way, so they must be fed with water first. ”

"You go to the front first, and I'll go and ask Your Highness." Yu Zhong covered the bamboo tube with a wooden stopper, turned the horse's head and hurried towards Tuoba Shen's carriage.

Tuoba Shen was reading the book assigned to him by the emperor at this time, and on such a hot day, he could only read the book, thinking that "the heart is calm and naturally cool".

After listening to Yu Zhong's report, Tuoba Shen agreed. Even he was sitting in the car, let alone exposed to the sun, and in order to escape the heat, he set off at light these days, and today he has been walking for two hours, and he can no longer walk under the scorching sun.

Yu Zhong received Tuobashen's reply, went back and gave the order, and went to the village.

。。。。。。。

At this time, in this village not far from the official road, by the well under an acacia tree estimated to be 100 years old, several shirtless men leaned on their grain carts, eating dried dates and fruits, holding clay pots in their hands, drinking a well water from time to time, and looking at the official road through the shade of the trees. These people were not the people of the village, but the servants who were sent by the government to Pengcheng to deliver grain.

Not far from the other side, there are seven or eight women and women who are forty years old, and more than ten women and ladies gather together to talk and laugh, but most of them are absent-minded, and from time to time they look at a car more than 20 steps away from them, the young lady's eyes reveal curiosity and admiration, and the older woman is a little disdainful and ignorant.

On the threshold car, which was watched by the village women and girls, there was a graceful and beautiful woman in her thirties, who was not from an ordinary family just by looking at her temperament, even if she was in the threshold car, she was neatly dressed, and her expression was calm, and there was no trace of sadness on her face, but there were some worries and expectations hidden in her eyes that were unknown to outsiders.

To her left and right, snuggled up to her two children, who were leaning against the railing. When it comes to appearance, it is the kind with a handsome guy and a beautiful girl. It's just that their expressions are obviously not as calm as their mothers, and their worries and fears are always on their faces, looking at their mothers from time to time, and their mothers comforting them from time to time.

"Mother! Will Father come back? I miss Father, big brother. Lang Jun on the left asked while pulling his mother's coat

The mother didn't know how to answer, because she didn't know if her husband would come back, or rather, she knew that her husband couldn't come back, but she didn't want to think about it.

"Yes, maybe before we get to Pingcheng, your father will come back." The mother touched the back of her son's neck and whispered, but her eyes were slightly moist, but she just held back her tears.

The daughter on the other side looked at her mother's expression, hugged her mother's arm, her eyes were red, and if it wasn't for her mother teaching her along the way, she would have cried a long time ago.

While the mother and son were relatively sad, Yu Zhong had already taken the lead and brought dozens of personal soldiers here to investigate and clear the scene.

After Yu Zhong entered the village, which was only a few dozen steps away from the official road, he saw a grain truck parked under the tree at the edge of the village, and after three shirtless men chatting beside the car, he nodded to Yu Lin. ”

A few shirtless men hurriedly jumped up, and dozens of people on the opposite side knew at a glance that they were the elite of the official army, they didn't dare to fight back, and hurriedly tied the wheels while currying favor, and ran away as if they were fleeing.

The women and ladies who were in Huanyi were frightened by Yu Zhong and others who suddenly appeared. For them, if nothing else, they will only walk around within a radius of dozens of miles in their hometown for the rest of their lives, and where have they seen such a battle, they are already very calm without panicking.

"Are you the people of this village? The lieutenant chief, the neighbor chief can be in the village? Yu Lin didn't mean that Zhong spoke, and stepped forward to ask

Several women looked at these men with long braids on their heads, and knew that this was a national person, a person who was afraid of even the neighbors and the chiefs, so they didn't dare to reply.

Yu Zhong looked at these women and ladies who were dressed in patches, and said, "Don't be afraid, we are officers and soldiers passing through here, just because the weather is hot, we come to you to beg for saliva and drink." ”

Yu Zhong's words slightly dispelled the fears and worries of the women and ladies. A bold woman replied, "Yes, the chief went down to the field early in the morning. We are the only women left in the village. Speaking of this, I was a little afraid that these people would be like the passers-by, who saw women and wantonly humiliated and slaughtered them, regardless of age, and if they really suffered such a bad fate, they women would have no other way but to wait for death.

Yu Zhong was about to continue to ask, when he saw several middle-aged people wearing long clothes and leather belts around their waists, who looked like they had official bodies, and walked over.

"How many people dare to ask, but Xuzhou military dependents?"

"We are the guards of the Son of Heaven, not the army under the Xuzhou system. Who are you passing through this place today? Yu Zhong said and looked at the sill car on the side.

The Son of Heaven Guard?

"But His Royal Highness the Prince of Qinghe got in front of him? In the lower Pengcheng County, Cao Peng Shao Kai, ancestral home Donghai County. is about to go to the capital to detain the traitor's wife. May I see Your Highness? ”

Qinghe Gong was about to go to the Southern Dynasty, and the matter of passing through Xuzhou had spread throughout Xuzhou only ten days after the arrival of the new assassin.

"Traitor!" Yu Zhong looked at the three people on the car, and felt that this woman was quite generous, and it was indeed not something that a small family could have.

Yu Zhong did not answer this Fa Cao Peng's words, but instructed Yu Lin and the others to disperse their vigilance, and then took two personal soldiers to get on the horse and leave the village.

A little county official, who wants to ask to see the prince, is it not a fool?

When Yu Zhong and the others, the wife of the "traitor" in the car, entered the village with a sword, they were also afraid that they would hurt their children, but then they heard the words of Yu Zhong and Shao Kai, and knew that it was the prince from the capital who came to Xuzhou, and a glimmer of hope suddenly rose in her heart, she wanted to try, if she could save Xiaolang from shameful punishment, she was willing to give everything.

Holding back the agitation in her heart, looking at Shao Kai, who was still standing still, the woman spoke: "Shao Jun, can you please drive this car, and allow my mother and son to worship His Royal Highness the Prince." ”

Shao Kai came back to his senses, turned to look at this beautiful woman who was quite famous in the county, and said: "Mrs. Liu, don't blame, Liu Qingzhi abandoned his official position and defected to the Southern Dynasty, and you are His Royal Highness the King of Rencheng who personally judged that there is no palace, and your identity is not ordinary people, so I can't be less careful." Please be considerate of this difficulty. ”

"Shao Jun's worries, I feel it. It's just that my family has suddenly suffered a catastrophe, and now that I am in a cage, my desire is like water, how can I get it? In the future, I will not talk about entering the palace with my little girl as slaves and maids, but only say that I, a little man, was thirteen in the last month, but now I am going to be tortured by the humiliating ancestors. Thinking of this, how can a mother not be like a boil? ”

"Today, since it happens to meet His Royal Highness the Prince, whether or not I can get my son out of this calamity, I must appeal before I can be willing. Shao Jun is also a parent, and he will be able to understand my thoughts. Shao Jun and his husband are old people, although they are ministers of the two countries today, would they rather have a little compassion? ”

Shao Kai thought for a while, looked at the pleading and firm look in Mrs. Jiang's eyes, and then looked at the pair of children leaning next to her, nodded slightly, raised his hand to stop the subordinates who wanted to open his mouth to dissuade, and ordered to open the car door. Mrs. Liu got out of the car, bowed and thanked Shao Kaisu before turning around and carrying her children out of the car.

About a quarter of an hour later, Yu Zhong entered the village again with a large number of guards, inspected the whole village from house to house, and found five wells.

Tuoba Shen and Li Biao and others followed in, this kind of village Tuoba Shen has entered a lot along the way, and it seems that they are all the same, and the poor are just as poor. They are all low earthen houses, some houses even use thatched roofs, bamboo fences as doors, and yards are also fenced walls made of bamboo and wood, and most of them are chickens, ducks, pigs and dogs. This kind of family was generally the mainstream in ancient times.

Tuoba Shen looked at this kind of farmhouse scene through the gauze curtain, and remembered that a group of people on the Internet in the past life were ancient and not modern, talking about the ancient prosperous times, and how the governance of the world was compared with the contemporary, which really made people laugh. Let them come to this ancient prosperous era to take a look, I'm afraid they can't help it for a day.

Retracting his gaze, Tuoba Shen saw Shao Kai and his wife and son standing under the tree. Just now, Yu Zhong only told him that he had encountered the Pengcheng County Officials escorting the wives and daughters of the prisoners into Beijing. And he kept his heart. Like this, the wives and daughters of traitors who were specially sent to Beijing were mostly families who committed the crime of "door punishment". Although the imperial court had abolished the "door punishment" many years ago, the criminal law of confiscating the wives and daughters of traitors and rebellious ministers into the court has not been abolished.

Mrs. Liu saw Tuoba Shen's main car enter the village under the protection of the escorts, and after Tuoba Shen, Li Biao, Zheng Daozhao and others got out of the car, she pulled the two children to follow behind Shao Kai and knelt down to salute.

After Tuoba Shen asked them to get up, he first asked Shao Kai about the situation in Xuzhou, and learned that King Ren Cheng had been in office for more than a month, and according to the time, it took him less than twenty days to arrive in Xuzhou on the road, which was faster than him.

Mrs. Liu saw that Tuoba Shen had finished asking Shao Kai, so she dragged a child forward with one hand, bowed down to the ground again, and said: "The sinner woman Liu Liu sees His Royal Highness, begging His Highness to give up his leisure for a while, and the sinner woman has lust to His Highness." ”

Tuoba Shen nodded and said, "Madame, say it!" ”

He had just guessed what Mrs. Liu was going to say when he saw a son and a daughter beside her. It's nothing more than pleading for his son. This dynasty stipulates that the men in the concierge who are over 15 years old shall be punished or exiled, and those under the age of 15 shall be enslaved in the palace, and their wives and daughters shall not be slaves. The Empress Dowager did not enter the palace after her father Feng Lang was killed, but the Empress Dowager was lucky, she still had an aunt in the palace who could take care of her. The mother and woman in front of them didn't look like they were so lucky.

This Mrs. Liu's son knew by looking at it that he was under the age of fifteen, which belonged to the age of being a slave in the palace. When a man enters the palace, of course, he must be punished by corruption. How can such a punishment be insulting to a man? Of course, if Tai Shi Gong hadn't done it for the completion of the "Historical Records", how would he have been willing to accept such a punishment.

After listening to Mrs. Liu's self-presentation, Tuoba Shen understood that this Mrs. Liu was from the Liu family in Pengcheng, and Tuoba Shen guessed that she might still be Liu Chang's distant ancestor.

Mrs. Liu's husband was born in the Liu clan in Hedong and was called Liu Qingzhi. When his great-grandfather, because of his marriage with Cui Hao, the Liu clan was punished, Liu Qingzhi's grandfather had the honor to flee to the mountains, and then the amnesty came out, and later returned to Hedong to settle, and then Liu Qingzhi's father enlisted in the army, and accumulated merit to become the team leader, more than 20 years ago when the imperial court seized Qingqi, Liu Qingzhi's father lost news after the war, Liu Qingzhi always thought that his father had died in battle, but he did not expect that two months ago, his father sent someone to inform him that he was seriously ill and wanted to see him before he died.

Liu Qingzhi served as a subordinate in Pengcheng at this time, and had a wife, two sons and daughters, so he couldn't go to the Southern Dynasty for a while, and later when he contacted the Southern Dynasty several times, he was known by his colleagues, so he could only take his eldest son out of the city and abscond in an emergency. And Mrs. Liu, who went to the Baita Temple with her second son and daughter to pray, was arrested by the county soldiers in the Baita Temple.

After a few days of searching, Liu Qingzhi has not been found, and a border general reported that he had found him when patrolling the border, and after getting the exact news, Mrs. Liu's mother and son were punished by the king of Rencheng according to the law.

"The husband of the sinner defected to the Southern Dynasty, and the sinner woman had nothing to say, and was willing to be punished, but what is the crime of my two sons, but I have to suffer such a final punishment, every time I think of this, don't my heart be like a knife? I beg Your Highness to show a glimmer of heaven's grace to save this child from the punishment of the knife and saw. After saying that, he kowtowed, and his eyes were filled with tears.

Tuoba Shen fell silent after hearing this, that Liu Qingzhi may have been forced by the situation and had to abscond, but defection is defection, and it is not forgiven for a reason. He is the prince of this dynasty, not the prince of the Southern Dynasty, how can he do this kind of merciful thing for the son of a traitor?

Even if he is willing to help, but this matter was personally judged by King Ren Cheng, maybe it is still the first major case after he took office, and he can't catch the defector, if he doesn't even pursue his son, how can he govern Xuzhou?

I'm afraid that after the emperor knows about this, he will reprimand him in the following words, at this time, how dare Tuoba Shen intercede. What he did in Zhao County last time has already caused a storm in the imperial court, if he does it again this time to protect the son of a traitor, I am afraid that Yu Zhong will receive an order to send him back to Beijing, and what punishment will be thereafter can only be guessed by himself.

"What Madame said, sincere people's feelings. However, the national law is not set up for one family and one surname. Liu Qingzhi's treason is true, even if Lone is willing to lose and ask for help, what reason is there? Uncle Wang personally decided to make this decision, and there was no grievance during the process, how can I ask for it? If Mrs. wants to be a messenger to send a letter to the Southern Dynasty, Lone is still competent, but let me violate the law of the country and bend my personal feelings, but it is difficult for me. ”

Mrs. Liu saw that Tuoba Shen refused so simply, the last glimmer of hope in her heart was disappointed, and under the ups and downs, the despair in her heart rose, and she had the heart to throw herself into the well, but the two children were still indispensable to her, so she could only hold her children and cry.

Tuoba Shen watched the mother and son hug and cry, and felt a little uncomfortable in his heart, but he really couldn't help Mrs. Liu's request.

"Liu Qing, take ten horses of silk and give them to Shao Peng."

"Mrs. Liu's mother and son are not official people, but they are also my slaves, and I ask Shao Peng to do a lot of dedication. Liu Jialangjun's wife is young and can't stand it, Shao Peng can add thick grass to cover them, and use linen cloth to shade them. ”

After saying these trivial words, Tuoba Shen felt a little weird, this kind of thing didn't seem to be what he should say, he hadn't reached the age of trivial things.