Qiao Mingtang changed color slightly and said, "Eighty-eight people? Don't...... From the capital to Hexi, on this way, it was carried by these two hundred people? ”

Xue Huai'an said softly: "It's not like that. Although the two hundred people are all strong and strong, but from Luo'an Capital to Wuping Mansion in Hexi, it is nearly a thousand miles away, that is, two hundred cattle, which are also exhausted. ”

"Exactly." Qiao Mingtang nodded slightly.

Xue Huai'an said: "So this time, the attendants, as well as the skilled craftsmen transferred from the Ministry of Industry, can be transferred to Tongtan Avenue, and they can load the wheels for the dragon chariot in the shortest possible time, and twenty horses can pull the dragon chariot forward together." ”

"I see." Qiao Mingtang suddenly realized.

Not far behind Qiao Mingtang, more than a dozen senior officials of Xishan Road had already looked at Long Yuan in the distance, all of them showing surprise, and some people were already whispering, and their expressions were also different.

Xue Huai'an led Qiao Mingtang and his party to the edge of a tent, but there was a wooden fence in front of it, guarded by soldiers, Xue Huai'an had already said: "Governor Qiao, let's wait here first, after the Holy Lord goes out of the customs, if he is summoned, he will pass it on!" ”

Qiao Mingtang said yes, and led more than a dozen officials to kneel on the ground, waiting for the emperor's summons.

I don't know how long it took, but when he heard a soft cry from behind, Qiao Mingtang turned around, but saw an official lying on the ground, and an official next to him had already held him.

"What's going on?" Qiao Mingtang frowned.

Wei Tianqing, the commander of the Praetorian Guard, who was kneeling not far behind him, had already whispered: "My lord, Master Wei is physically exhausted and has fainted!" ”

Director Wei's name is Wei Zheng, he is the chief of the Department of Rites of Xishan Dao, he is over half a hundred years old, his hair is white, his body is thin, his eyes are closed at this time, and his teeth are clenched.

Qiao Mingtang was a little surprised, and hurriedly ordered, "Feed him water!" ”

Wei Tianqing took off the water bag from his waist, and with the help of other officials, poured some water into Wei Zheng's mouth, and after a while, he saw Wei Zheng coughing and finally opened his eyes.

Seeing several officials surrounded by him, Wei Zheng was a little strange, and Wei Tianqing had already explained softly: "Master Wei, you passed out just now. ”

"Oh?" Wei Zheng supported himself to get up, "Rude and rude, please bear with me!" ”

Qiao Mingtang frowned and said, "Master Wei, you're fine, right?" ”

Wei Zheng shook his head, Wei Tianqing had already come closer, and said in a low voice: "My lord, when I went out in the morning, I didn't eat at noon, and then I rushed here all the way non-stop, everyone is hungry and hungry, and there will be no problem when the saint summons you later, right?" ”

Qiao Mingtang frowned and said, "It's too late to say anything now, the dry food brought is outside the camp, and it can't be sent in ......!" He sighed lightly and said, "Everyone is very up, Xue Butang said, the Holy Lord is sitting on the road, and the time to leave the customs is approaching, and after the Holy Lord summons him, he will make plans." ”

Everyone said yes.

I don't know how long it took, even Qiao Mingtang was a little prostration, and finally saw a eunuch come out of it, Qiao Mingtang and the officials barely cheered up, the eunuch shook off the dust, and said sharply: "The Holy Decree summons Qiao Mingtang, the governor of Xishan Dao, and the officials of the various ministries of Xishan to meet him." ”

Qiao Mingtang bowed to the officials and said yes, and at that moment, the eunuch was leading the way, and the officials were following behind Qiao Mingtang, and they all went to the dragon chariot.

At this time, the dragon chariot is gradually approaching, the officials are even more surprised, looking at the dragon chariot from a distance, it is already huge, after approaching at this time, the dragon chariot will appear more and more huge, it is no wonder that it takes eighty-eight people to lift it, it is to follow the dragon chariot around a circle, it is not a short time, the whole dragon chariot is completely a courtyard, all around are surrounded by white marble railings, the dragon chariot is around, carved beams and painted buildings, gorgeous and extravagant, under the light of the night pearl, it is even more dazzling, golden and brilliant.

At this time, Qiao Mingtang had already seen that near Long Yuan, a military general in armor was looking at this side, the military general was carrying a longbow and silver armor, looking heroic.

The general's eyes were like cold stars, sweeping over the officials, but Qiao Mingtang had already turned around and bowed deeply to the general.

Others don't know it, but if he doesn't even know this general, Qiao Mingtang has been in the officialdom for so many years, and he can recognize it at a glance that the general is Xuanyuan Shao, the commander of the Royal Guards.

The absolute pearl of the first martial arts family of the Empire!

Xuanyuan Shao also arched his hand, saluted Qiao Mingtang, and then stood as if he was upright and relaxed.

Under the guidance of the eunuchs, a group of officials went to the dragon chariot, and at this time they found that the ground of the dragon chariot was paved with marble, and under the light of the night pearl, it was smooth and recognizable, and the texture was amazing.

As Xue Huai'an said, on this dragon chariot, there is really a very wide hall, decorated with golden splendor, which can accommodate forty or fifty people.

His Majesty the Emperor was dressed in a Taoist robe, sitting on the golden throne, when Qiao Mingtang and the others entered inside, there were already more than ten officials standing on both sides in the hall, except for Xue Huai'an, Qiao Mingtang found that many high-ranking officials of the court, such as Zhou Ting, the secretary of the Ministry of Ministers, Lin Yuanfang, the secretary of the Ministry of Households, Ma Hong, the secretary of the Ministry of Industry, and Zheng Jie, the secretary of the Ministry of Industry, were all in the hall.

Qiao Mingtang was a little surprised in his heart, the emperor was not able to go on a northern tour, but there were a lot of officials who accompanied him this time, and more importantly, most of the high-ranking officials of the Zhongshu and the six yamen followed.

Now that the empire is in a critical time, the war in the southeast is impossible to extinguish in a short time, and it is getting more and more intense, Hebei Qingtianwang is also advancing step by step, although the scale of the other provinces is far less than Tianmen Dao and Qingtianwang, but it is also raging in all provinces, in addition to banditry, the resulting famine is also threatening the foundation of the empire.

Although there is a good climate in the northwest this year, the climate in the Guannai this year is not good, and various droughts and floods have occurred in various places.

But at such a time, the important ministers of the empire did not stick to the capital, but accompanied the northern tour, Qiao Mingtang really didn't know what kind of scene Luo'an Capital City, as the center of the empire, was now.

These thoughts only flashed in his mind, and he didn't have much time to think about it, so he stepped forward quickly, knelt on the ground, and said respectfully: "Qiao Mingtang, the governor of Chenxi Mountain Road, long live my emperor, long live, long live!" ”

The officials behind him also fell to their knees and shouted in unison.

His Majesty the Emperor had white hair and long beard, dressed in Taoist robes, looked a little tired, his complexion was not very good, and he had a faint smile on his face, like an ordinary kind old man.

"Qiao Aiqing, I didn't make a decree to summon you, why did you come here?" Although the emperor's complexion was not good, he seemed to be in a good mood, and said with a smile: "If you delay your official business, I will punish you!" ”

Qiao Mingtang immediately said: "The saint is on a tour of the north, passing through the West Mountain, the minister misses the saint, and all the colleagues also want to see the face of the sky, and they also want to listen to the saint's training, so they dare to come to the audience." The affairs of Xishan Road have been arranged, and I dare not slack off in the slightest! ”

The emperor laughed, raised his hand and said, "Let's all be even!" When the officials got up, they smiled and said, "I know that many of you have never seen me, and you have always wanted to see what I am like...... Sit upright, leaning forward slightly, "I have run an errand for me, but I have never even seen my face in my life, and I must feel that I am panic......king in my heart!" ”

As soon as he said this, the originally very solemn atmosphere suddenly relaxed a lot, and many courtiers showed smiles on their faces, and Lin Yuanfang, the secretary of the ministry, had already taken the lead in saying: "Under the whole world, it is not the king's land, the shore of the land, the king's ministers, the hundreds of millions of people in the world, they are all the holy people, which one doesn't want to see the sky?" But the saint is the true dragon son of heaven, it is the heavenly Da Luo Jin Immortal who descended to save the Li people, how can ordinary ordinary people see the face of heaven? The ministers can be by the side of the saint in the future, and they can see the face of the sky, which is the blessing of the ancestors for several generations. ”

His words were explicit, but the officials of the court and the central government were accustomed to it and didn't care, but several Xishan Road officials were a little surprised, thinking that an important minister of the empire, in front of everyone, his words were so hypocritical and explicit, it really made people get goosebumps, but looking at the emperor's appearance, he seemed to be very useful to these words.

Wei Zheng, the director of the Xishan Dao Rite Department, had already frowned.

The emperor smiled faintly and said, "What I saw along the way on my northern tour made me very happy...... Some people have ill intentions, saying that our Great Qin Empire is full of bandits, but it seems that the world has been in chaos, and even many people spread false rumors, and cholera people's hearts ...... Hearing is false, seeing is believing, when I went out of Beijing this time, all I saw was Guotai and Min'an, Qiao Aiqing, I asked you, is there really a lot of bandits in this world? ”

"Enlighten the saints, and rumors stop at the wise." Qiao Mingtang said respectfully: "It is said that there is the Tianmen Demon Dao to bewitch the people's hearts and cause chaos in the southeast, but the whole empire is still united, the Holy Saint, the power of the four seas, the Tianmen Demon Dao, is also just around the corner." ”

The Emperor smiled and asked, "Is that really the case?" ”

"General Lei is a world-famous general, I am a great Qin iron horseman, conquering the south and the north, invincible, how can it be compared to the Xiaoxiao Demon Dao?" Qiao Mingtang bowed his body and lowered his head: "Although the Tianmen Demon Dao is rampant, it is only a corner of the land, I am the territory of Qin Wanli, with a corner of the enemy of the whole country, the Tianmen Demon Dao, it is really not enough to be afraid!" ”

The emperor immediately laughed loudly and said: "Qiao Aiqing said it well, my soldiers of Daqin are all tempered into steel, invincible, I have General Lei to pacify the southeast, and the good news will be sent soon." ”

The ministers all said in unison: "Holy Wisdom! ”

At this moment, I heard a voice that was extremely harsh: "Playing the emperor, Weichen has a plan to play!" Everyone followed the sound and looked, but saw that the person who spoke was an official from Xishan Dao, with white hair and a thin body, Qiao Mingtang glanced back and frowned, "Master Wei, what are you going to do?" ”

The person who suddenly spoke was none other than Wei Zheng, the director of the Xishan Dao Rite Department.

Wei Zheng ignored Qiao Mingtang, stepped forward from the crowd, and knelt on the ground, "Weichen has a plan to play!" ”

The emperor glanced at Wei Zheng a few times, and Qiao Mingtang had already said: "Holy Lord, this is Wei Zheng, the head of the Xishan Dao Rites Department!" ”

"Oh?" The emperor stroked his white beard and said with a smile: "Wei Zheng, what do you have to do?" ”

"Wechen wants to impeach a few people!" Wei Zheng said loudly: "These ** countries and people, bullying the king, are big traitors!" As soon as these words came out, all the officials in the hall changed color slightly, the atmosphere was good, this Wei Zheng suddenly came out to impeach the minister, and suddenly the atmosphere became a little more solemn, and Lin Yuanfang, the secretary of the ministry, had already reprimanded: "Bold, Wei Zheng, the saint is the emperor of the ages, who can deceive the king?" ”

The emperor raised his hand, signaled Lin Yuanfang not to say much, leaned forward slightly, stared at Wei Zheng who was prostrating on the ground with a pair of eyes, and asked, "Who do you want to impeach?" ”

"The first person Weichen wants to impeach is Qiao Mingtang, the governor of Xishan Dao!" Wei Zheng raised his head and made eye contact with the emperor, "Qiao Mingtang bullied the monarch, flattered, disregarded the safety of the empire, and abandoned the people of Xishan Li, he is really a traitor!" ”

Everyone was shocked all of a sudden, Qiao Mingtang opened his mouth, and for a while he only felt incredible, he really couldn't imagine that this old guy who looked ordinary on weekdays was actually amazing at this moment.