On the land of Guanzhong, a group of people who rose up with the horse's hooves trampling on the dust broke the silence and tranquility in winter.

However, Zheng Jin, who had already announced his decree to dismiss the prime minister, was on his way to Luoyang, the eastern capital, by the left move; The ox cart ran over the land with traces of locust plague and the red land after the great drought, and the snow on the dry and crunchy ground easily crushed deep rut marks under the spokes.

However, for Zheng Jin, it is only after the place where Bashang has not left Gyeonggi Province, and the scene of densely populated, longitudinal and horizontal, and business travel in the past is no longer there, and only the desolation and withering after the disaster remain. It's just that all this is temporarily hidden under a thick layer of snow.

is like the best portrayal of the Tang Dynasty court, which is now strong and capable of doing things outside and letting him work hard to fill the seams, but he can no longer fill the seams. Now, the turbidity currents in the court should be jumping in a trance, and the last stumbling block that gets in the way has been removed.

Although the words from Lu and his party are alarmist and condemning; But there is no direct evidence to attack any of his involvement as prime minister himself.

But in the end, the blow to his downfall came from the defection and leadership of his henchmen. Cardinal Feng Yun, who is the official and doorman of the court, raised his hand to raise evidence that he still had close contacts with Wang Duo, the former prime minister who was deposed; This successfully aroused the hatred of the emperor for Wang Duo, who had lost his teacher and humiliated the country, and even brought him to be complicit.

Then he was removed from the military department and the same Zhongshu, and was demoted to the prince's guest, and the branch of the Eastern Capital was selected as an envoy, and he went to Luoyang to think about it.

It's just that before leaving, he wrote for the last time: "The thief army is million, rampant in the world, Gao Yu fights passively, and has no intention of eliminating the thieves." The safety of the country depends on us, you rely on the Huainan army, I don't know what the outcome will be. But it made Lu Xiang angry, so I don't know what kind of means the other party is waiting for him.

Regardless, he felt a sense of relief and relief at this moment, even if it wasn't what he wanted. He still couldn't help but chant aloud:

"Rui Palace's edict and nightbreak, although in Qingyun remembers the white clouds.

When the gentleman returns, he is in a hurry to move the text. ”

However, before he could finish tasting the artistic conception of this new work, the ox cart stopped exploring, and then there were leaders of the defense pavilion and the servants who rode the horse to clear the road and protect the wings, and came over and whispered:

"Xianggong, there is a large group of homeless people passing in ahead, and the sons and daughters are driving away, please wait for a while."

Immediately, Zheng Zhen picked up the corner of the curtain of the car window, and caught a glimpse of the crowd of people who were staggering in the thick snow on the barren field stalks; Among them, all kinds of skinny and ugly shapes highlight the abdomen, which only reminds people of the painting of the six reincarnations of the hungry ghosts in the Pure Land Transformation mural of the Great Guangjiao Temple;

Now it seems to have come alive in the world. For a while, he only felt that his heart was not very good, but there was nowhere to dissipate it; This is the people of the Tang Dynasty, this is the first good place in Guanzhong, I have been in Chang'an City for too long, so that I have forgotten the vast world outside the prosperous and vague capital, and what kind of sober and appearance it should be.

Driven away by the attendants on horseback, these starvations, who had become so shriveled that they could not see the difference between men, women, and children, slowly dispersed like wriggling ants into the distance. From time to time someone falls on the snow and never gets up again.

They seemed to be clothed all over their bodies and equipped with swords and bows, but they were not worried about the resistance and persistence of these homeless people, but they were only concerned about not letting these filthy and ugly turbidities get too close to them, and pollute the eyes of the nobles and their families, slaves, and doormen they escorted.

Looking at these, the red-faced and sweaty Fang Ge and the servants who were working hard to drive away, Zheng Ji suddenly became a little distracted; As the elder brother of the Zheng family in Xingyang, one of the seven major clans in Shandong, he is not unfamiliar with the scene of continuous disasters and exile;

In a sense, this is also a great opportunity for them to expand their family business and buy land, and to store and shelter tenants and tribes. It not only has the reputation and reputation of doing good deeds, but also strengthens and consolidates the family business of passing on to the descendants.

But none of them were as shocking as what they witnessed this time after the resignation; In the vaguely sluggish and blank expressions of the hungry ghosts on these grounds, they didn't know what terrible things were brewing. Maybe it's the next Huang Chao or Wang Xianzhi's comrade.

He couldn't help but think of the half of the Xu's demon book that was brought out of Guangzhou by Wang Huan and sent to him all the way as a view - "On the Root of Social Contradictions and the Periodic Law of the Dynasty"; I just felt that there was a kind of powerlessness over the predestined outcome, and I became more and more upset.

After all, he is no longer the "prime minister who saves the time" who strives to revitalize the world. But he was born in the imperial examination and the family, step by step from the pavilion, provincial Taiwan, foreign envoys, and cabinet to complete the successful resume, and finally "ascended to immortal" to become the prime minister.

Even when he was on the way to the Eastern Capital with his family's debasement and exile, he still had many followers and a whole team of Jinwu's children escorting him. There was no shortage of people available among them, and in fact if he didn't want to disturb the place too much, many officials from the places along the way would have come out to greet and settle the knot.

Subsequently, some of these followers were ordered to report to him that most of these hungry people had fled from Hezhongfu/Puzhou (now Yuncheng, Shanxi), and Zheng Jin's tangled mind was somewhat calmed down.

That is, under the rule of Li Du, the Hezhong Jiedu, who was a feudal town, there was such a large-scale starvation of people fleeing into the pass, and it was not the direct responsibility and involvement of the princes of the imperial court for a while.

However, when his family passed through the Tongguan Pass that had risen through the ages, and arrived at the official post house where Taoyuan Sai was located, that is, the location where Du Fu had written "Tongguan Officials", he began to use the post house to serve meals as much as he could; But I couldn't help but hear the ghost cry of a night owl singing the slang words of the countryside:

"Ascension...... Twilight Goes to Bed...... Thieves and corrupt officials steal silver and grain......"

"Eat your mother, eat your mother...... The rich family recruits concubines to please your mother......"

"Eat no meat, cry without tears...... The poor people in the world are all hanging beams..."

Then the strange voice paused, and then sang:

"Welcome the Yellow King, look forward to the Yellow King, the Yellow King is coming and does not pay for food, and the poor and poor in the world sing happily."

In an instant, the silver bowl of soup in Zheng Jin's hand was connected to the lotus spoon, and it was knocked over on the table like this, and his luxurious and exquisite eight-table mountains and rivers Qing silk robe was splashed with a large piece of greasy filth.

And there was a deafening roar and shouting outside, but it was in the midst of unofficial movements that began to arrest and qualified the rebellious people who dared to "bewitch the public".

Then at this moment, Zheng Zheng was already unable to say any words; According to an inside story that he suddenly remembered, this was the confusing words made by the virtual demon monk for the thief leader Huang Rei, and now they are actually singing outside the Tongguan of the Gyeonggi gateway.

This couldn't help but cast a heavy shadow on his heart, which was already worried about the situation of thieves in the south. You must know that according to Huainan's report, the yellow thief should have been at the end of his rope a long time ago, how could someone sing music for him between the two capitals in the north?

At this moment, he was really a little annoyed, even if he was no longer the head of the subordinate who led the people of the world.

At this time, the outside of the post house remembered the mournful shouts again.

"Kanto summons, 100,000 urgent, quickly change my horse."

I saw a person carrying a package of communication clips, sweating profusely, holding a sister's general in his hand, and in the sound of chickens flying and dogs jumping, he rode away again on a newly changed fast horse.

And this scene once again made Zheng Jin's mind a little gloomy; Since it's not a good news that can be sung and publicized all the way or a lubu that plays a victory, is there something wrong with Heshuo or Hedong?

。。。。。。

Outside Jingmen,

In the relatively thin snow, the Taiping Former Commander Zhao Yin bowed, feeling the biting pain of the cold wave on his face, and the snowflakes falling all over his clothes and armor after a short pause, and being blown away or soaked into the cold taste of the robe and robe, I only felt a slight sense of nostalgia.

The snow was a long time ago for him, when he was still a child of a military family in Longxi but dreamed of making meritorious contributions, and braved the snow to go to the Shence camp outside Chang'an City to join the army.

His real name is from Lu Lun's "Plugged Song" in praise of the ancient Shifei general Li Guang: Lin Dark Grass is frightened, and the general draws the bow at night. It's just that over the years, the tossing and turning of the world from south to north, especially in the hot miasma and rain of Guiguan, Huguan and Annan, has made him almost forget what the snow looks like.

After joining and experiencing these changes in the Taiping Army, he, like those Long March athletes from all walks of life, couldn't help but have a strange and persistent extravagance; Maybe he will have the opportunity to return to his hometown in this life; Even if it is as a rebel in the turbulent world or a hero of the new dynasty;

The beautiful scenery of the Tianshui grassland, the salty brine Daze outside the Yanguan City, the rivers under the Xiaoqinling Mountains are running vertically and horizontally, and the luscious and clear streets of the Spring Pavilion. His mind flashed and pondered like lightning, but the reaction of his body and the horse lance in his hand did not pause at all, and the leading officers in the small group of officers and soldiers who could not avoid it flew away.

Then he reined in and lifted the horse's hooves in an instant, turned sideways and trampled and kicked on the several officers and soldiers who were struggling to surround him, and saw their crumbling bones and flesh falling to the ground with screams and screams, and the remaining officers and soldiers who were especially brave suddenly scattered and fled.

Zhao Yinggong did not rush to chase and kill, but reflexively interpenetrated the horse lances of at least two people, and pulled them out of the ground that was dyed red and frozen. After shaking it lightly a few times, he found that it could still be used, so he continued to beat his horse and galloped towards the nearest fight.

There was no way, the attack launched in the wind and snow was certainly a surprise to these officers and soldiers; It was completely herded and scattered like a sheep.

But then the wind and snow, which were sometimes large and sometimes small, not only obscured the sight and visibility, but also cut off and weakened the transmission of horns and whistles; It also made these Taiping cavalry, who were constantly chasing and impacting the enemy, gradually lose their specific sense of direction and reference, and became loose and fought separately.

So after fighting all the way, Zhao Yinggong was suddenly left alone and walked alone; Fortunately, most of the equipment and equipment he prepared in advance were still in good condition, and the northland yellow horse under his crotch was quite powerful, but there was no decent opponent who could be his enemy.

At this time, the biting wind and snow eased a little, and a rapid kicking sound sounded near him; Zhao Yingong couldn't help but put down the winter special drink made of spicy soju and ginger candy in his leather bag that was not frozen because of the horse's body temperature, and hurriedly drove the horse closer.

I saw a sparse burst of snow powder wrapped in the wind and swept across the ground, and more than a dozen cavalrymen who were almost similar to Zhao Yinggong's dress and outfit vaguely staggered by more than a dozen steps away in this misty battlefield. It's just that Zhao Yinggong saw clearly between occasional glances, and the word "Taining" was embroidered on the small flag they were based on, and he couldn't help but slap his horse and turn around and chase after him.

In the re-agitated wind and snow, Zhao Yingong spent a lot of effort and strength to adjust his position and steps to keep up with them; Then he took off the iron crossbow that hung from the saddle, rubbed the buckle on the saddle and wound the arrow, and then buckled it down against the nearest figure in front of him between the undulating steps.

Suddenly, the figure in the wind and snow suddenly slashed outward, and then did not go far and stumbled to the ground again, and fell behind him; This result greatly encouraged Zhao to lead the bow, and he slowed down the reins again and began to rewind them.

After half a ring, the remaining enemy horsemen in front of him seemed to be aware of it, and suddenly someone turned around from his horse, drew his bow and arrows, and shouted something at his position, and then saw a large lance with a sharp blade still frozen red, piercing the misty curtain of wind and snow, and stabbing him in the shoulder and shoulder armor, and fiercely picking him off the horse's back and throwing him to the ground.

At this moment, the enemy horsemen who were galloping suddenly seemed to be all surprised, and they drew their weapons and bows and arrows from their horses; At this time, Zhao Yinggong had already lowered his horse lance and leaned sideways against the horse's back, and in an instant it looked like an empty mount that had lost its driver.

However, just when the other party hesitated and hesitated, Zhao Yingong had already shot the last crossbow he was carrying without hesitation, and another enemy rider turned sideways on the horse and screamed in pain, instantly losing control of the reins, and deflecting out of the small colonel's cavalry.

At this time, Zhao Yingong had already rushed into the midst of these enemy horses that began to slow down, swung his knife at the close enemy horse, slashed his calf, and cut the strap that fixed the saddle on the horse's belly; I saw that the opponent who dragged out a thin line of blood and made his hands dance immediately overturned and fell to the other side of the mount.

This time, the remaining enemy cavalry finally discovered the existence of Zhao Yinggong, and without hesitation, they waved their guns and swords with their bows and arrows, and went straight to the place where he was still to kill; However, when there was almost no way to dodge, Zhao Yingong released the reins, and jumped into the air on horseback, avoiding most of the attacks.

But the yellow huss that sat down was not so lucky, and in the midst of the blood splashes, he screamed miserably and rolled on the ground, splashing a piece of blood from the boss; However, at this time, Zhao Yinggong, who jumped into the air, had already tried his best to pounce on another enemy rider who was shooting with a bow, and tightly clamped his feet on the horse's back and fought with him, and after a few breaths, he rolled to the ground with the overwhelmed and overturned mount.

Wait until Zhao Yingong uses the tip of the dropped helmet to hit the opponent's façade until he passes out; Only then did he lean back against the mount that was still struggling and moving, pulled out the opponent's saber and blocked it horizontally in front of his chest, and with the thigh that was shot by an arrow, he squinted at the corners of his cracked blood-red eyes, and looked at the enemy soldiers who were chasing after him reflexively, and couldn't help but secretly say in his heart: Could it be that your own path can only go this far.

Then, the misty wind and snow suddenly stopped without warning, and the sun re-emerged to paint the plain white mottled snow into gold; And the several enemy riders who rushed over could clearly see the moment when the other party's vicious face and sudden change of expression suddenly twisted the head and body of the mount desperately, and accelerated to beat the horse and fled away.

Zhao Yinggong couldn't help but turn around, and then saw that the place where he was was was already very close to the riverbank. And not far from the riverbank, there is a large ship with the Taiping military flag and full of swords, guns, bows and crossbows, which is slowly sailing up the river with no end in sight.

Only then did Zhao Yingong have the heart to check on the capture who was knocked down and knocked unconscious by himself. And under the other party's torn and torn robe and cloak, he actually wore a black armor with a tiger head pattern to find his past memories and impressions, this is a high-ranking officer and army general.

(End of chapter)