Chapter 69: Unsheathed

Takefu

Inner house

Although the courtyard of this bamboo Zongchen is not large, it has flowers, birds, fish and insects, and Lanting Water Pavilion in it.

The inner house of the bamboo mansion is next to the rockery behind the courtyard, and the bamboo forest is shaded, making this antique wooden building warm in winter and cool in summer.

The outside of the house doesn't look very big, but when you cross the threshold and enter the house, you have a special feeling.

On the cyan stone floor, several dancers dressed in bright red light gauze hufu costumes, standing on tiptoe with the sound of the huqin, spinning rapidly, and the naked small. The belly is as white and tender as mutton fat jade, and with the * that does not make a hand, the whole room is filled with this temptation from an exotic land. Confuse.

There were two people sitting at a pear wood Eight Immortal table in front of the hall, and the person at the top was wearing a Xuanwen sleeve robe, with white temples and an elder venerable appearance, who was Zhu Zongchen.

The next man, however, looked much younger than he was, with handsome features, smooth jaws, lips as pink as rose petals, and delicate skin that was less frightening than the dancing girls in the hall, all of which were not suitable words to describe a man, but they were more appropriate for him.

The man pinched his orchid fingers, stared at the fluttering skirt flowers in the hall, and shook his head with the beat of the huqin drum, looking very obsessed.

"Lord Zhu, your mansion is really a golden house."

The voice, much sharper than a woman's, floated out of the man's mouth.

Zhu Zongchen glanced at the man who was enjoying it, and said in a low voice: "These women, when I sent someone to buy them back from the Western Regions, they were already in tune. Those who have been taught well are all superb, and the skills in the boudoir are even more first-class. If Gonggong Xu likes it, how about enjoying it tonight at the old man's place? ”

The Zhu Zongchen in his mouth is the apprentice of the great eunuch Li Jin, the eunuch of the master of ceremonies, and the eunuch Xu Liang

That Gonggong Xu reluctantly took his eyes off the dancing girl, and said to Zhu Zongchen with a smile: "That is the case, but I have to thank the political envoy for his kindness, this exotic flavor is not common in the capital." ”

"Father-in-law Xu likes it, my brother-in-law has been promoted to the secretary of the Ministry of Shangshu Li Gonggong has contributed a lot to you, and there are some small thoughts here, please be sure to smile at my father-in-law."

As he spoke, he pushed a sandalwood box in front of Xu Liang.

Xu Liang slowly opened a crack in the sandalwood box with his hand, and saw that there was a certain huge gold ingot inside, and a thick pile of silver tickets was pressed under the ingot.

"Lord Zhu, what are you doing, our family has not been less favored by Lord Shangshu in the palace. Besides, this promotion is all due to the master and his old man, and I am just running errands. ”

Xu Liang pretended to be humble and said.

Zhu Zongchen pretended to be angry and said: "Father-in-law Xu, this is with me, if you don't accept it, I won't send this night's beauty to your room." ”

Xu Liang's eyes were about to narrow into a slit with a smile, and he waved his hand to the attendant beside him, signaling to put the box in his hand.

"Then I'd be respectful and obedient. I'm going back to Lanzhou in two days, what do you want me to say to the emperor? ”

Zhu Zongchen saw that Xu Liang had accepted the things, so he leaned over and said in a low voice: "When Gonggong Xu returns to Lanzhou in a few days, don't forget to help mention the transfer in front of the saint." ”

Xu Liang picked up the teacup in his hand, took a sip gently, and responded disapprovingly: "I said Lord Zhu, you should go to my master for this kind of thing, he is the eunuch of the palm print of the celebrant and the person at the top of the emperor's heart." ”

"Forgive the old man for saying something that shouldn't be said, Gonggong Li is very old, or it won't be long before the position of this palm seal eunuch is still that of his father-in-law, and when the time comes, the emperor will have to rely on you for all kinds of military and political affairs, you are a veritable nine thousand years old."

Zhu Zongchen has been in officialdom for most of his life, and his skills in observing words and emotions have long been at ease, and he is clear in his heart when to move the flag to which mountain, so his words can be regarded as speaking to Xu Liang's heart.

Nine thousand years old? The emperor is long live, and if he makes himself a 9,000-year-old, isn't it just under one person and above ten thousand.

Xu Liang said on the surface: "Lord Zhu can't say this, our good or bad is not just a sentence from the emperor, our family will help you tell the saint, everything depends on the meaning of the saint." ”

"I just hope that the saint will nod his head, and when the time comes, when he goes to the capital, he can often invite his father-in-law to come down to watch the dance and taste tea." Zhu Zongchen pointed out.

"Lord Zhu, Zeng Ziren asks to see you outside the door."

Outside the door came the voice of the guard,

"Father-in-law is here and sit down for a while, I have some official business to deal with."

"Lord Zhu doesn't have to be polite, official business is important, please."

With that, Zhu Zongchen walked out of the door of the inner house and saw Zeng Ziren wandering at the door waiting for him.

"Take-sama!"

Zeng Ziren saw Zhu Zongchen come out, hurriedly greeted him, and was about to speak, but Zhu Zongchen waved his hand to stop him, he pointed to the bamboo forest and said: "There are guests in the house, go over there and say." ”

The two walked to the side of the forest in a few steps, and Zhu Zongchen asked first, "Have you got the thing?" ”

Zeng Ziren nodded, and took out a palm-sized copper square wrapped in silk cloth from his arms, and a crouching tiger was vividly carved on the top of the square, which was the token of the local magistrate's mobilization of the green battalion, and the tiger talisman of the commander.

Zhu Zongchen looked at the "copper block" in his hand, but he didn't pick it up with his hands, but said to Zeng Ziren: "Okay, tonight, I will ask the chief of the guard to meet you at the east gate of the city, you take the tiger talisman, transfer the soldiers and horses of the two battalions of the guard camp and the middle military camp to the battlefield first, and then you hand over the tiger talisman to my housekeeper, and he will mobilize the regiment to train An Yi to follow you closely." ”

As soon as Zeng Ziren heard this name, he frowned tightly, and asked Zhu Zongchen: "Lord Zhu, there are more than 3,000 horses in the guard battalion and the middle military camp, why do you want to bring that comfort to share the credit with me?" ”

Every time Zhu Zongchen talked to this unenlightened young master, he felt very tired, and he had to explain everything to him from beginning to end, without any spirituality, and he didn't know how the old man Zeng, who was strategizing and crisscrossing the battlefield when he was young, could have such a son in his old age.

But there was no choice but to have this Zeng Ziren come out, so he patiently explained: "I let this comfort go with you, didn't I let him share the credit with you, haven't you always had a holiday with him?" Moreover, you should know that Wu'er Taketori, that is, the original county order of Huayang County, died in his hands, right? ”

Zeng Ziren suddenly realized, made a downward cutting gesture, and said in a negative voice: "Lord Zhu means to ....... Looking for a chance to do him? ”

Zhu Zongchen stared at him, his eyes quietly wiped a trace of fierceness, and then pointed to the tiger talisman in Zeng Ziren's hand,

"Use it well, and don't let that comfort come back!"

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When the herald handed over the order letter to An Yi, he and Jiang Ruyue happened to be sitting in the room.

An Yi opened the order letter and looked at it carefully, and then handed it to Jiang Ruyue,

"Brother Jiang, look."

"The commander sent us to suppress the Wugu Sect, this is a military operation, not an ordinary defense, so someone should come with a tiger talisman, right?"

Jiang Ruyue looked at it and asked An Yi,

"As I said later, let's prepare first, and someone will take the tiger talisman to dispatch us."

After Jiang Ruyue read it, she threw the letter aside and said with a wry smile: "This is really just a few people who have just been expanded, and the requisition order is coming." ”

"I finally have some family foundation, and some people will immediately think about it. But since it's to cooperate with the army, then we don't have to go out with the whole army, although I am also extremely disgusted with the Five Grains Sect, but I can't rashly eat the eggs of my recruits on the front teeth. ”

An Yi touched his chin and said with a deep groan.

"And how many people are you going to take with you?" Jiang Ruyue asked him,

An Yi thought for a while, then stood up and said to Jiang Ruyue: "I only bring the firearms battalion and the 500 middle military camp, you stay in the camp, it is indispensable to guard against people, we can't speculate about this military operation, but we also have to guard against villains like Xia Ang." I leave Meng Qi's cavalry to you, as long as someone dares to trespass into the barracks, even if the Imperial City Guards come, they will explain to him back and forth first! ”

Jiang Ruyue nodded and agreed, "There are more than 2,000 people left on my side, even if they really have a small calculation, they can't do anything to us." I'm mainly worried about your side, will the officials and soldiers let you stand in front of you and face the bandits of the Wugu Sect? ”

"That's why I took Ming Yin there." An Yi replied, for what Jiang Ruyue said, he had already taken this into account first,

"When the time comes, the commander really lets us fight the vanguard, and I have nothing to say, after all, the crime of disobedience on the battlefield will be deducted, but we will be punished on the spot. Then, Kim Myung-yin's firearms are the best thing we can rely on while minimizing casualties. ”

After An Yi finished speaking, he paced to the window, looked out the window and asked Jiang Ruyue with a frown: "But I don't know something, although this Wugu Sect has been reined in a lot after what happened to Xia Ang last time, but it will definitely not gather the sect members, and the eggs will touch the stones, right?" ”

"Whether the Wugu Sect intends to plunder the villages or even attack the county seat, for the imperial court, it is tantamount to forming an association and rebelling, and it will inevitably lead to the encirclement and suppression of the officials and soldiers, and I also think that they are not exhausted enough to have to make a desperate bet."

Jiang Ruyue's views on this matter are consistent with An Yi, the Five Grain Sect's approach is indeed a little puzzling, but Zhou Shibiao, who has been in contact with the Five Grain Sect on their side, has already died in that fire, and the spy Sun Hu sent by the Five Grain Sect before has long been chased and killed by the sect members, and now he doesn't even dare to go out of the camp.

So for a while, the two of them couldn't come to any effective conclusions, so they could only take one step at a time.

"The soldiers are coming, the water is coming to cover the earth, let's see the move! The commanders are with us, and they have the tiger talisman in their hands to mobilize the soldiers and horses of the whole territory of Sichuan, even if they want to push me into the fire pit, it is impossible for the Sanpin master to bury me. ”

An Yi can only comfort himself like this,

Jiang Ruyue felt that this matter was like a ball of twine, and she couldn't find a clue for a while, so she could only nod her head with a frown, and responded: "It's just like this, if something really happens, you send someone to bring a letter out, and I will drive over with Lin Muzhi with a large army, like the chaos of the Wugu Sect, three or five thousand people should not be our opponents." ”

An Yi turned around and patted Jiang Ruyue on the shoulder with a smile. His words made An Yi's hanging heart fall slightly, and there was a trace of emotion for no reason,

"Good!"

He nodded emphatically and replied,

It's just that what kind of medicine is sold in this gourd of the Five Grains Sect can only be known by pouring it out and tasting it himself.

Hai time

When Zhu Zongchen's chief guard arrived holding the tiger talisman Pegasus high, An Yi, Jin Mingyin, and Jiang Shang were already waiting at the camp gate.

"The regimental training makes it easy to listen to the order, the whole army is marched, and immediately go to the Fox Ridge Fortress, join the army, and attack the enemy together!"

The chief of the guard sat on his horse, raised the tiger talisman high, and said loudly to An Yi in front of him.

"Ease of life!"

After speaking, he waved his hand to Jin Mingyin and Jiang Shang behind him: "The whole army is leaving!" ”

Jin Mingyin and Jiang Shang walked behind in military uniforms, but An Yi still walked in front of him in the iconic plain brocade robe, but there was an extra saber at his waist, and more than 1,500 people behind him were in a long snake formation, holding torches, and the long dragon was like a long dragon winding in the dark night.