How much does it cost to raise an army? The question itself is a problem, because it is a question that cannot be taken aside.

"This is the question...... Can't you ask! After Bai Zhijun was stunned for a moment, he slowly spoke, he looked at the girl in front of him, frowning slightly, "You should understand." ”

She's not stupid.

Qiao Ran said: "I understand, it's just that I'm just curious." ”

"You can't ask if you're curious." Bai Zhijun paused as he spoke, and said, "And there are many kinds of armies, and if the rabble is defeated by the enemy, it is enough to feed them; And the cost of a truly elite division is immeasurable. ”

In fact, there is no need to say this, you can see it just by looking at it, as for the specific amount of money, it is difficult to calculate, the only thing that is certain is that it must be a figure that ordinary people can't afford.

The girl nodded and smiled suddenly: "I understand." ”

That's enough, in fact, she can guess the answer, but in the end, she still wants to get confirmation from Bai Zhijun's mouth.

Bai Zhijun looked at the children and suddenly asked her, "Is something wrong?" ”

"Nope." The girl shook her head, knowing that this answer could not convince Bai Zhijun, and said, "I'm just thinking about something." ”

Then wait until you understand it and ask again, Bai Zhijun smiled and walked back to his stone bed and sat down, picked up the rice bowl, and said, "It's not delicious when it's cold, today's meatballs are good." ”

"It's the chef's specialty in the canteen," Qiao Ran looked at the familiar dishes in his bowl and said, "Everyone eats the same." ”

Bai Zhijun laughed twice, continued to bow his head and eat, only ate two bites, but put down the bowl in his hand again, and said, "General Gu, they are out of the city now!" ”

Originally, he and the girl in front of him were out of the city today, but as soon as this incident came out, the person who went to Shanxi Road was changed.

"It should be!" Qiao Ran smiled, the smile on her face gradually retracted, and she said, "I didn't go to see it." ”

And the people of General Gu and his party who replaced them from the city were obviously not so interested.

Bai Zhijun snorted, put down the bowl he picked up again, paused, and suddenly said, "Shanxi Road is very important. ”

Qiao Ran nodded and said, "I heard that it is a battleground for soldiers." ”

Bai Zhijun snorted lightly: "Back then, Da Chu was almost attacked by Chen Shan and the Huns, and the most important thing was that Shanxi Road was not lost......

Qiao Ran sighed suddenly: she didn't know how to lead troops to fight, but Bai Zhijun's words were enough to show that Shanxi Road was a natural barrier to defend Chang'an City, and its importance was self-evident.

No wonder so many people are staring at this place!

……

At the moment when she stepped out of the yamen, it was already dark, and the lanterns on the canes on both sides of the road were also lit up at this time, and the night of Chang'an City began.

However, this has nothing to do with Qiao Ran, how far it is to get home from the Yamen, she walks on this familiar and familiar Chang'an Avenue, the lights of the street and the moonlight that appears at the right time illuminate the street so bright that there is almost no shadow to be seen. Such a bright night road is the most likely, Qiao Ran glanced at the lantern in his hand, and the lantern specially prepared to illuminate the night road seemed to be a little redundant at this time.

Just thinking about it, a huge shadow was cast on the clear street, Qiao Ran instinctively raised her eyes to look at the sky, but saw that the surface of the bright moon that was still bright a moment ago was instantly covered with a shadow, and the originally clear street suddenly became dim.

The shadow was also stretched in an instant, the lantern on the cane shook slightly, and the shadow of the person was enough, Qiao Ran looked at the shadow shaking under his feet, paused, and walked forward.

Ahead is Chang'an Avenue, many officials of Chang'an Mansion are paving the road together with the people and craftsmen who have been recruited, and the road of Chang'an Avenue that countless people have to pass through will naturally be repaired quickly, after all, so many eyes are staring at it, which day no one will repair the road, maybe there are good things to run to Chang'an Mansion to report to the official.

When passing by the officials of the Chang'an Mansion, Qiao Ran stopped and greeted them with a smile: "Isn't Lord He here?" ”

I watched on this road day and night, and I didn't know how many people I wanted to see every day, so naturally it was impossible for everyone to remember them. Although they may not remember the appearance of the girl in front of them, they remember the official robe of Dali Temple.

The female official of Dali Temple who came to find Lord He yesterday!

The official smiled and saluted her, then turned his head and glared at a few lazy people and craftsmen, and shouted: "Those who have taken the salary, don't be lazy!" ”

Lord He is not here, and they don't know this adult, so naturally just say hello.

Qiao Ran smiled, waved her hand disapprerovingly, and said, "Since Lord He is not here, I will leave first." ”

The officials said casually, "My lord, let's go," and went back to continue staring.

Qiao Ran turned around and walked forward, but when he turned around, he glanced at a few pedestrians behind him.

A man and a woman holding hands, chuckling and saying something from time to time, a merchant carrying a cargo box with a rattle on his back making a crisp sound as he walked, and a drunken scholar with a drooping face and a drunken scholar.

She smiled and walked on.

……

At three o'clock, there is still a quarter of an hour before the gate of Chang'an is closed, but this does not prevent the people in line from waiting anxiously, until the last moment, always hoping to rush into the city at the last moment.

However, a few galloping fast horses appeared in everyone's field of vision at this time,

Someone recognized the official robes on this group of people, and said excitedly: "It's the Heavenly Masters of the Yin and Yang Division...... "Where else in the world can you see so many Heavenly Masters of the Yin and Yang Division except Chang'an City?"

The Heavenly Masters of the Yin and Yang Division grabbed the reins one after another when they were about to arrive at the city gate, and one of them turned over and dismounted and walked to the chief of the guard guarding the city gate, and everyone saw him say a few words to the chief of the guard, and the chief of the guard guarding the city gate instantly changed his face, and then waved his hand and shouted: "Close the city gate!" ”

"Why did you close the gates?" Someone was upset and complained, "Obviously there is still a moment, I am still waiting to go into the city to see my daughter!" ”

As soon as these words came out, many people complained one after another.

Seeing that the people were about to make a commotion, the chief of the guard guarding the city gate shouted: "When the time came to the time of the Emperor, there were murderers with human lives on their backs and murderous methods mixed into the city gates. ”

A murderer with human life on his back? The people, who had been complaining just now, were immediately silenced, and the people behind looked at each other, and at last except for the two who were in a hurry to enter the city with a ruthless stamping of their feet, the rest dispersed.

It is better not to go in when there are murderers with human lives wandering inside, after all, the city can enter every day, but there is only one life.

"I don't know where to go." One of the Heavenly Masters of the Yin and Yang Division snorted hatefully, "I didn't expect these people to really dare to kill!" ”

"It's me who doesn't notice." Zhang Xie beside him sighed, and there was a bit of remorse in his words, "Let people take advantage of the loophole." ”

"It's none of your business!" The woman holding the reins in the middle frowned slightly, her face solemn, "They have been preparing in secret, otherwise how could they be so clean?" I'm afraid that they didn't expect that after all, people are not as good as heaven. ”

A madman is gone, and most people are more interested in getting lost, and it stands to reason that it will be ten and a half months before the actual report to the official for an accident. The other party just didn't expect a robe to reveal his whereabouts, and he didn't expect that there was also a female official of Dali Temple who came to Shanyuan Village to help at that time.

Therefore, the matter was discovered too quickly, so that it could not be finished as they agreed now, and they also made preparations in advance, and asked the two battalions of Yunlu and Guide to transfer troops to prepare to capture these people, but what they didn't expect was that the men and horses of the two battalions arrived a moment late, and the last direction to Chang'an City had not yet been deployed, and these people were put into the city.

"Great Heavenly Master, these people are all outlaws who lick blood with knives, if they try to enter the imperial city to assassinate Your Majesty, it will be bad!" One of the Yin and Yang Heavenly Masters said worriedly, "If it affects Your Majesty, we will really be to blame." ”

"The strength of the forbidden army in the imperial city should not be underestimated, and even outlaws must consider whether they can succeed." In this regard, the woman who was called the Great Heavenly Master just snorted, and the corners of her mouth showed a bit of sarcasm, "If I were they, they would never look for Your Majesty, and it would be easier to find an important minister of the court and take him out of the city." ”

"But the important ministers are not so easy to get," after a pause, the Great Heavenly Master said again, "The secret guards of each family are enough for them to eat a pot, pass on the news first, and they must not let people go!" ”

At the sound of an order, officers and soldiers appeared on Huangtian Road, and pedestrians who were wandering on the street avoided one after another.

"Someone you want again!" Someone pointed to the wanted poster in the hands of the group of officers and soldiers and said, "Look, it looks like a big disaster!" ”

When someone heard this, they laughed: "Which wanted person didn't cause a big disaster?" "How can an ordinary misfortune be wanted?

"I always thought that our Chang'an City was peaceful enough, but the wicked people always couldn't be caught." The pedestrians who were teased didn't care, and sighed, "Didn't anyone want to steal a female official's money before?" Fortunately, the people of the Five Cities Terracotta Division patrolled and helped......"

"I also saw it, it seems to be a female official of Dali Temple. It seems that later he called the official messenger of Dali Temple to bring people into Dali Temple. ”

……

There was a lot of discussion, but Qiao Ran, who was the center of the discussion, had returned home.

Because he came back too late, the food was cold, and Hongdou went to the kitchen to reheat the hot meal before bringing it over.

"I met a few thieves, and let people help catch the thieves." Qiao Ran scooped up a spoonful of soup and took a sip as she spoke, warming the soup into her stomach, and her appetite was immediately great.

Pei Qingqing sat on the chair next to her and dangled her legs, and snorted: "It seems that I still have to pick you up every day!" After a pause, he glanced at her with some anxiety, and snorted, "How can you not worry about such a big person?" ”

This little adult-like look of breaking her heart made Hongdou can't help but roll her eyes, and can't help but defend: "My young lady is worry-free, but her luck is not very good." "I always encounter all kinds of thieves, but fortunately, Miss is smart and knows that she has arrested the thieves.

"I have discussed with the people of the Five Cities Terracotta Division, and I have already sent the people back to Dali Temple." Qiao Ran drank the soup and smiled, "I'll ask them tomorrow morning why their hands and feet are so unclean." ”

Pei Qingqing yawned, hmmmmmm "Miss Qiao is really like a child, it's weird and uneasy.

It's just that this effort to close your eyes and open your eyes again, the entire Chang'an City has quietly changed the world, and a team of officers and soldiers in the city can be seen everywhere, this is no longer the official errand of the yamen in the city in the past, but the official errand from the military camp.

Such an atmosphere made even the people who had not made any mistakes a little frightened and trembling, and even when they spoke, few people were as loud as before.

In the end, it was because the city was said to have been infiltrated by outlaws.

"I heard that he is a killer who specializes in buying and selling human lives, and it is very tight." Qiao Ran, who was sent to the door of the yamen by Pei Qingqing, stepped into the main hall of Dali Temple, and several colleagues who came early talked about it.

"I don't know how many lives I have on my back, but it's strange that I don't know who died this time, it stands to reason that Your Majesty attaches so much importance to it, and the identity of the dead person should not be simple, but I haven't heard of any important adult accident until now." The young official who said while nibbling on the cake was puzzled.

"Yes! I've never heard of it yet! The colleague who was listening on the sidelines also expressed doubts, "Could it be that there is an important adult who has been missed by us?" ”

"Maybe it's not the identity of the dead that matters, it's the identity of the people who sent these killers to kill them." A female voice suddenly interjected.

In the entire Dali Temple, including the cook in the canteen, there is only one woman: Qiao Ran.

Several young officials who were talking greeted her when they saw her coming, and then chewed her words aside, and said, "You seem to have some truth in saying that." ”

When the girl heard this, she smiled, and did not say anything that made people's eyes shine, but said with a smile: "You continue to talk, I will go to meet the thieves who tried to steal my money yesterday." ”

As soon as these words came out, when several well-informed officials laughed, and hurriedly waved her to urge her to "go quickly", she asked with some curiosity, and couldn't help but feel a little sympathetic after learning that it was poor Lord Qiao who was almost stolen by someone, and then talked about the previous incident.

The thieves who had been temporarily sent in last night had not yet changed into prison uniforms, and were still in the same clothes as when they were caught: a man and a woman with intimate manners, a man dressed as a merchant, and a scholar, except that they were now heavily shackled on their hands and feet, but they did not react to this.

The girl did not appear outside the cell door to look at the thieves, but after looking at the indifferent expressions of those people from a distance, she walked outside the cell next door, let the jailer unlock it, and then stepped in and walked to Bai Zhijun and sat down.

Bai Zhijun watched her come in, shook his head and chuckled twice, lifted the teapot beside him, poured a cup of tea, and wrote on the table with his fingers dipped in tea.

"These people are not as interesting as the literati who are against the poetry." He looked up at her with a smile as he wrote this, and continued, "But yesterday these people said a few interesting things. They say that the most dangerous place is also the safest place, our purpose is not to be discovered, and where else is there safer than a prison at the moment? ”

Qiao Ran smiled when she saw this, dipped her fingers in the tea, and wrote on the table: "These people should be the few outlaws that Your Majesty is looking for in the whole city now." ”

Bai Zhijun, who was in prison, had also received the news, and seemed a little surprised when he heard it, and then wrote with tea: "Why don't you hand over the people?" ”

The girl lowered her eyes, dipped her hand in tea, and wrote: "They tried to hold me hostage yesterday. ”

The outlaw who finally escaped into the city, if she really wants to get out of the city, should she hold a high-ranking and powerful person hostage, and what should she do with an ordinary female official of Dali Temple?

This is not right. She thought that when someone told these people that she could be exchanged for a way to live, not to mention whether it was feasible or not, but to talk about the matter itself, whether or not there was a way to survive in the end, there was no possibility of survival for the hostages who fell into the hands of the outlaws.

Someone wanted to borrow the hands of these people to get rid of her.

Qiao Ran pursed her lips and looked at the dried water stains on the table: Don't bully a weak woman like her, she has a bad temper and will be unhappy.