In the city of Chang'an in spring, it is the time when a peach and plum are fragrant, willow buds are blooming, and poplar catkins are swaying;

It's just that the children of Jinwu and the bad people who frequently patrol the market, as well as the hungry and poor people who are still stubborn like weeds at night, no matter how much they are frozen to death or starved to death at night, and their unkempt skin is under the eaves in front of the house; How much makes the imperial atmosphere of this world's best place clouded with a layer of depression and gloom atmosphere and atmosphere.

And in the Great Ci'en Temple, Qujiang, Furong Garden, Longshouyuan, and other places where the routine spring parade was full of pedestrians in previous years, it is also a sparse and cold scene as the main keynote.

As for the originally picturesque garden villas scattered along the Weishui River on the outskirts of the city, they are full of many servants, slaves and maids with knives and sticks, and carrying gongs, drums, and castanets; Because just a little far away from Gyeonggi Province, there have already been murders and robberies in broad daylight.

Even if those Neizhou regimental training and thief arresting officers who patrol in the middle can cut down a group of people every once in a while to prove that "the thieves have been rocked", but in broad daylight, there are still corpses of travelers who have been killed and plundered and stripped naked, appearing in an endless stream near official roads and straight roads.

As the most powerful figure in the center of the Tang Dynasty, the palace residence of the eldest father Tian Lingzi, located in the garden that occupies almost half of the area in Guanghuafang, has not played the "Qingzhi Music" that the eldest father likes for many days. This kind of weather vane that is different from the usual inevitably makes all kinds of people up and down the mansion think about it, and they dare not show the atmosphere of their daily cautious behavior.

However, on the side of the Huanyue Pond in the hinterland of the Tianzhai Garden, there is a Chonghua Pavilion full of jewels.

Tian Lingzi, the privy envoy and lieutenant of Shence, who was short and somewhat fat and round, sat opposite each other with the burly-looking, elegant but somewhat sharp Prime Minister Dou Lu. It's just that their expressions and demeanors are reversed. The cautious Dou Lu Wei and the graceful and indifferent Tian Lingzi form a stark contrast.

As the prime ministers in the central political hall of the outer courts, they also represent different factions in the outer courts. is different from Zheng Zhen, who was born in the family of five surnames and seven wangs of the Shandong clan, or the old-school bureaucrat Yuan Shu, who was born in the Lu Xian-style imperial examination and did it;

The Doulu clan is another branch of the Murong clan of Yan after the Northern Dynasty, and is one of the last descendants of the Daibei Xungui system; Because of the struggle with the traditional Shandong scholars at the time of the founding of the country, he was able to become an official and become a minister, and was one of the prime ministers' lineage. As for Doulu himself, there are groups that represent the people in the court who are from the shadow of the door and those who are close to the court.

Therefore, the successive dynasties have been passed down, and they have formed a relationship with these eunuchs who are close to each other, which has both competition and natural alliance and affiliation; With the Qianyuan Dynasty and the Great Calendar, the eunuchs deposed the Son of Heaven in the authoritarian power, forced the prime minister and Sonaen formed a feudal town outside; These selected vassals and close ministers either became vassals and minions of the permanent attendants who controlled Ouchi, or were forced to go away or emigrate.

is like Yang Fuguang, one of the "two sheep in the inner world" who once fought against his father, but he is known as the existence of the eighteen fake towns in Kanto; As a minister, if there is no eunuch as an aid inside, and there is no feudal town to echo, then you basically don't want to complete your own resignation, or even a relatively decent old man.

Therefore, even in the court, Dou Lu is known for his strict manners and unsmiling, but in front of this Tian Sheweng-like Tian Father, he can't hold any arrogance and decency at all. Even if the other party looks undignified in front of him, he seems to be suffering like a spring breeze.

In the jade plate, which is as clear as frost and snow, there are several colored fruits from other places that have been cut and newly pickled with ingredients, such as citrus, tangerine, ringo, and sand fruits. And it wasn't until the sleeves of the food were full of juice that Tian Lingzi was a little satisfied and stopped, and said slowly to Dou Lu.

"Zhengcao can also be used for one or two, this is a rare season that Dongchuan 800 miles to send over. Now the southeast is only a thief and the outside of the ridge is cut off, and there is only this way left to Gongjing, which is comparable to the Lingnan Li, which was dedicated to Taizhen back then. ”

Tian Gong laughed.

Dou Lu smiled decently and without embarrassment.

"I'm not joking, those people always say that I work hard and waste money to provide for myself, and I have repeatedly criticized me for being rude in front of the king."

Tian Lingzi waved his stubby fingers.

"But I never understand, this is a kindness that everyone thinks of me as old and unbearable, and I specially give it; I saw that the time left was short, and that there was nothing else to ask for, and that was all that was left for this little bit of fruit. As the saying goes, if you can eat for a day, it's a day. ”

Dou Lu smiled slightly and said nothing, but he said in his heart, but anyone who thought you were old and deceivable in the past was afraid that the bones would be rotten if they were buried in the soil.

"Back then, we were born in that broken family, and we had to eat the sour fruits in the mountains and fields。。。。。 It was only after being sold into the palace that I tasted meat for the first time... After so many years, everything has been used.,It's the problem of liking fruit food and not eating enough.。。 ”

"This is the secret letter and codex presented by Zhenhai Zhou (Bao) Zhengrong on the sea route."

After chattering a lot, Tian Lingzi pointed to the things on a silver plate next to him and got straight to the point.

"Accusing a man of having secret conspiration with a thief, and enriching himself by means of it? Seeing that Lu Zisheng is taking care of himself, I want to discuss it with you. ”

"Dare to ask, what does Tian Gong have to say."

Dou Luxuan's eyes flickered and his heart moved.

On the other side of the street, which was reserved for courtiers to rest after their visit, and the vocal music in the garden could be clearly heard, there were also a number of officials with vermilion crowns, who were also discussing and chatting in private. Because in a sense, this is also one of the most well-informed places in Chang'an City.

"You're also here to ask for justice."

"Ask for a letter, just peace of mind. Have you ever heard of it? ”

"The supply and supply of the southeast have been cut off for several months, and the Son of Heaven has traveled to the North Garden, but Gongtai Province can't even take out the routine rewards of the Inner Treasury, and in the end, the eldest father has paid his own pocket to deal with the past."

"Is this Gao Bohai really unbearable, and it is also known as a pillar of the South Sky and a wall city of the country; That's just the pattern. Not only did he fail to recover the southeast, but he was powerless and would only retreat to protect himself. He also said that he was sick and refused to send troops,"

"Do you know what his latest recital says, 'More than 600,000 people of the Yellow Nest Thieves have gathered in the sky, less than fifty miles away from our city.' It is also said that there are many damaged soldiers and horses in the lower battalion, which can be relied on. ”

"Now he is even more old and paralyzed, and he is unable to lead the army to fight the thief; Nowadays, they can only protect themselves and dare not be specialized; Other places also asked the imperial court to order all localities and soldiers to strengthen their vigilance and fight hard to resist... ”

"If you want to say that when he persuaded all the soldiers and horses of the imperial court to retire, why didn't he necessarily be so 'humble and courteous'?"

"Then what should we do with the support of the imperial court, the food and materials of the hundred officials, the clothing and food of the troops in the Guan, and the money for the clothing, and the routine allocation and rewards of the guards in various towns, how should they be settled?"

"It's nothing more than a means of opening up sources and reducing expenditure, and during the Dazhong and Xiantong years, it was not that the Holy Lord took the lead in reducing the amount of use, and hundreds of officials were reduced and prepared for thieves. As for open source. ”

"Could it be that Lu Daxiang plans to follow the example of Naizu and open "Southern Suburbs" again...

"What does "Southern Suburbs" count; After the handwriting of the eldest father, there are still many fish that can continue to be searched for in the mansions, quality shops, cash cabinets, and stacks, transfer houses, and merchants in the east and west markets in Beijing. ”

"I heard that it was intended to ask the Holy Lord to reopen the story of the oblique seal, to allow the military and civilians of the world to serve the country, and to grant the corresponding ranks, knighthoods, and ministries according to their size."

"He also ordered all those in Beijing to move to a new position, or to release officials from other positions, to repay with their rank and ministry to lose money."

"This, isn't this the wisdom of the Lord of the Eternal Spirit, the West Garden? Lu Zisheng is too unparticular, is this a rush to keep his position? ”

"Don't you know, that Dongdu...

At this time, there was an envoy who was running between the officials of the back and forth of the hall, who touched the door and leaned against the wall, and whispered a few words to one of them. Then he saw this courtier with a mountain beard and silkworm eyebrows, and couldn't help but announce loudly to the left and right:

"The eldest father has already said that the Holy Lord has been moved, and the Doulu Xianggong, who is on duty in the political affairs hall, has sent a note to the court, summoning Zheng Liushou and Cui Branch, in order to prepare for the military discussion and the thief's strategy."

"Ji Shi Xianggong and Cui Bodhisattva (Killing) are coming back?"

Everyone couldn't help but covet each other, but they saw on their faces such as schadenfreude, abrupt loss, and panic; Or it is still looking forward to, there is some excitement and even a complex expression.

。。。。。。。。。。

"The Yellow King hopes to hold the marriage as soon as possible, in order to lift the people and strengthen the vows."

In Jiangning City, Zhou Huai'an, who was receiving and reorganizing a group of defeated rebel troops, was suddenly surprised and stunned when he received similar news; Then he commanded

"Contact the competent people and the inside line, don't be stingy with the gold and benefits, and find a way to try to find out as much as possible on the side of the Xuanzhou Military Mansion."

Then, in the midst of accidents and speculation, he suddenly had an idea that was not groundless.

"Maybe it's time to think about going back."

Because he suddenly had some reminiscence and reflection, and all the things he had done during this time. His original intention was just to promote and facilitate the Northern Expedition of the main force of the rebel army, and to carry out the layout and planning of the corresponding situation. But being in this mountain is inevitably blinded, and it is difficult to extricate yourself from it, and you have been here for a long time.

Although there is also the support of convenient water and land transportation from Jiangling, it is a little far away from the Linghai territory where Guangzhou is located; Even if the news is conveyed through the nearest line of Shaozhou, Qianzhou, Fuzhou, Raozhou, and Xuanzhou, I am afraid that there is no distance of seven or eight hundred miles.

Moreover, there are quite a few areas in the danger area occupied by the remnants of the Tu Tu or the official army, which cannot provide a stable transportation channel at all. As for the Yangtze River waterway through Jiangling, turn to Yue, Tan, Heng, Chen, and Lian, and finally cross one of the five ridges, Qitianling, and reach the outside of the ridge to go around a large circle of thousands of miles.

The corresponding consumption of people, material resources and other resources can be said to be increasing day by day, while the direct or indirect gains are gradually decreasing; After all, the stock of purchasing power and loot from the rebel armies is capped rather than endless.

Although the Pearl River basin and the Chaoshan Plain, where Lingdong is located, can still continue to be maintained and supplied by the book figures, and continue to meet the operational needs for several years; However, it is necessary to take into account the emergency measures in the event of famine and other accidents in the future, and it is absolutely impossible to put the reserves below the dangerous waterline of the depletion road.

In the meantime, the Lingxi prefectures that are carrying out follow-up transformation work have intensified because of the intensification of contradictions accumulated with local barbarians and heroes, and several riots have occurred again; There was even a newly established cantonment that was destroyed and burned, but it was suppressed by the support from Guangzhou.

In Hunan, in addition to the key points and large and small cities controlled along the land and water routes, there are still many local Tutuan and Shanyi that have not yet been cleaned up, and even the remnants of bandits and rogues are maintaining sporadic activities or temporarily hiding. Further additional investment is needed, as well as the establishment of additional cantonment and colonies, to divide and seal off their areas of activity and hiding places.

Although the officials and troops from the north were overwhelmed by the harassment within the country, once they received the support of the imperial court, they still had to face and face up to the threat.

The local forces that occupy several prefectures in western Hunan, although they are currently seeking foreign things because of mutual containment, are openly showing favor and exchange with Jiangling, but once the situation changes or if they see sufficient benefits, it is uncertain what kind of actions and actions they will take.

Therefore, Jiangling, the bridgehead to the north and the core area of the forward base, is not necessarily safe and foolproof; But even if you want to use the teacher, you can't just leave.

The bad reputation and reputation of the people who betrayed the alliance are still secondary, and the key is that the advantages and advantages accumulated by the rebel army in various parts of the south of the Yangtze River in the previous stage cannot be given up in vain. In other words, to promote and catalyze the situation to this extent, the Taiping army is no longer so easy to pull out of the matter.

Even if they want to return in the future, at least they need the living forces of the official army and local armed forces, and only after they are defeated or hurt can they obtain a window period for calmly arranging for transfer, and sufficient deterrence from reputation.

This requires giving up the original plan and plan to move with the tide of the righteous army, only occasionally play a role at key points, and make a fortune at other times; Adopt a more proactive strategic plan in the short term, and a breakthrough at the tactical level.

(End of chapter)