Chapter 927
The Taoist Priest of Longhu Mountain
Chapter 927 The Taoist Priest of Longhu Mountain
In the thick, inky night, the mountains in the distance are like a dormant beast, with a chilling atmosphere in the silence.
In the central tent of the army heading south,
Not only were the lights on, but the atmosphere was also steaming hot. There was already a red-hot charcoal fire surrounding the stove, with a pot of hot wine on top. Then, the soldiers outside brought up the food that had been prepared and placed it on the table.
There were pots of rice and stewed meat, as well as the best lion head meatballs and fried crispy meat, etc., all filled up to ten portions. Being able to eat these in the army showed that the baggage officer Song Daji was very attentive.
I picked up the chopsticks and put a big piece of meat into my mouth. The hot aroma hit my nose. The meat almost melted in my mouth. It must have been cooked for quite a while.
"Okay, okay, it's thoughtful of Song Dalang to be able to eat these in the army,"
After a casual compliment, Song Da's back, which had just straightened up, bent down again, with a smile on his face.
"Thank you for your praise, Lord Marquis. It is a blessing for me to serve you and the Lord Marquis. I will just wait for you and the Lord Marquis to finish their meal and then take a simple rest. Tomorrow's food will naturally be delivered by someone. I need to go to the next camp early. I am afraid that I will not have the opportunity to serve you. I feel uneasy."
Zhang Jinyu felt annoyed when the flattering words came out, but her expression did not change. Jin Wang Zhou Ding did not like flatterers. Besides, it was very embarrassing to hear such words coming from a fat man. Besides, the food in front of her was boiled, stewed, and fried. It tasted okay, but it was no match for the food in the palace and the prince's mansion.
So after filling his stomach and taking a few bites, he put down his chopsticks and remembered what the Marquis had said, that he should do his job well. He could only speak against his will and said:
"Minister Song, business is the most important thing. Ensuring the army's food supply is the first priority. If everything goes as usual, the first merit of this battle will be the same as what the Marquis said. I agree."
He was very frugal with words, and didn't hear His Highness speak the whole night. He was extremely uneasy, not knowing what he had done wrong. Who knew that at the end, he would be praised by His Highness, which was a great honor. His fat body moved, and he quickly knelt down and kowtowed;
"Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness. I have no way to repay you. This time, I will personally escort the grain and grass transportation. There will be no mistakes. I will always be with the army. If Your Highness needs anything, just tell me and I will respond."
As Song Da spoke, he was so moved that tears began to flow. In the past, his filial piety was only for the sake of profit. Now he had the opportunity to curry favor with Marquis Luo Yun and His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin. His huge wealth could finally be put to good use. Thinking of his uneducated son, if he inherited his father's business, in the future, it would all depend on His Royal Highness' words.
Zhang Jinyu sat in the main seat, his chopsticks moving non-stop. He thought that he had left the mansion in a hurry today, so how could he have eaten a full meal? After a day's march, although there were snacks bought by His Highness, his appetite was far from enough to fill his stomach. Considering his face, he only moved his mouth slightly to fill his stomach.
Only now can I have a full meal, but this baggage handler is really good at flattering. None of those who can reach this position are mediocre.
As for King Zhou Ding of Jin, his face was slightly embarrassed. He did not expect that there would be such flatterers among the officers in the military camp. He nodded awkwardly.
"I know, you go and get busy."
Obviously, it was a word to chase someone away. Song Da's heart skipped a beat. Yes, His Highness had been sitting in a carriage for a whole day. He must be hungry. He quickly thanked him and stood up.
He greeted her;
"My Lord, Your Highness, I'm leaving now."
He glared at the soldiers around him, and in an instant, the servants in the tent left one after another, leaving only the personal guards around Prince Jin and Marquis Luo Yun.
As soon as people leave,
The tent suddenly became much quieter. Zhou Ding breathed a sigh of relief as he picked up the chopsticks. Zhang Jinyu smiled, swallowed a piece of meat in his mouth, and said with a smile;
"Your Highness, don't be nervous. Dawu has no shortage of people who can be officials. No one who can reach this position has an easy job. You will see more in the future. Don't worry about it."
"Well, what the Marquis said is very true. However, I always feel uncomfortable when I hear those flattering words. As the saints said, being close to virtuous ministers and staying away from villains is the right way in the world."
There is always an indescribable feeling of disgust. It would be great if all the ministers were wise and dared to speak frankly and give advice, like Wei Zheng in the prosperous Tang Dynasty.
Zhang Jinyu was not mistaken about what His Highness meant.
"Your Highness's idea is good, but no one is perfect in this world. Some people flatter, some speak out, and some are stubborn. But the basic requirement for an official is to fulfill his duties. What does it mean to fulfill your duties?"
Let me ask you a question. These are actually some simple truths. Don't say they are greedy. Who in the world is not greedy and selfish?
"this,"
Jin Wang Zhou Ding pondered for a moment. Perhaps he was too persistent. There were all kinds of officials in the world. He remembered what his father said, that it was impossible for all the officials in the world to be capable and honest. If that happened, the court would not be much better than it is now.
"My Lord, I am obsessed with this. As long as you are an official, as long as you can complete your duties as an official without any omissions, you are first and foremost a diligent official. As for whether you are corrupt or not, it is a lack of moral character. When a disaster strikes, you will naturally be judged and punished. What you say on a daily basis is harmless."
Zhang Jinyu paused after hearing this. He put down his chopsticks and looked at Jin Wang Zhou Ding. He was indeed a royal child. He was really good at education. He nodded.
"Your Highness, it's good that you understand. This time, the march south is extremely important. An army of hundreds of thousands sounds good, but without food and grass, it is just a group of scattered sand. Therefore, I will keep the most elite cavalry to escort them, so that they can fight or flee. In the remaining battles, the enemy has very few cavalry, and the army will bully them and push them forward, leaving no one alive."
This was also Zhang Jinyu's helpless move. No matter how much food and grass he had, he could not feed all the disaster victims in southern Beijing. Moreover, the hungry disaster victims had killed many court officials and soldiers, and even killed each other. The refugees who were used to robbing food were more terrible than those bandits.
"Everything is up to the Marquis, and I will not interfere."
The King of Jin nodded slightly. His father had instructed him not to interfere with the military power. Being a military supervisor was just an excuse. The main thing was to learn and apply what he had learned. He wanted to see how Marquis Luo Yun used his troops. His father was not worried at all. Why would the two armies win when fighting each other?
"Good, Your Highness, eat more. I don't know when we can have dinner tomorrow."
The two of them were talking while eating in the tent. Zhang Jinyu asked Ning Bian and others around him to go outside to fetch the food, and they ate together in the tent.
But outside the camp,
Coming from the southwest, there was actually a group of people dressed as Taoist priests, riding horses hurriedly northward.
"Slow down, hide,"
"Master, what's going on?"
The middle-aged man in the lead wore a Hunyuan scarf on his head. The scarf had a square shape and strong lines, like a calm world, pressing firmly on the Taoist's head. He wore a green Taoist robe with wide sleeves swaying in the wind. There were cloud patterns embroidered on the robe with silver threads, which swayed in the wind when he walked, like waves, as if the mountains, rivers, clouds and mist were all included in his body. He had a black belt around his waist with the tail naturally drooping, which was very elegant.
There were flames shooting up to the sky and the noise of soldiers and horses ahead; it was the time when the army was setting up camp. As the 38th generation disciple of Mount Longhu, and the leader of the Mount Longhu, Zhang Tianyi, he had seen all kinds of underworld secrets. Now that the chaos in southern Beijing was disturbing the destiny of heaven, it was really not suitable to touch the bloody evil spirit. Looking at the head disciple Tan Liangcai who was traveling with him, he could not help but shook his head. If he had not known that he could not endure hardship, he would not have brought many juniors with him and served him in many ways before he got here. Even the agreed time had passed, and he didn't know how to explain it.
"Humph, I told you to hurry up and get going, but you refused to listen. You should have arrived in the capital earlier. Why would you have encountered these bloody and evil spirits?"
It seems like he is complaining, but in fact he is blaming himself. Why should he bring them along for such a good thing? If he had gone by himself, he would have been able to have a good meal and drink good wine in the inn in the capital. But when he thought of the instructions from the head senior brother, he had to come. His junior sister still needed a hundred years to take care of her body, and he didn't know how much money there was in the capital. He didn't have that much silver with him, but when he thought about the exchange with Prince Zhongshun's Palace, he thought the palace would not be short of it.
If it really doesn't work, he doesn't mind being a thief for once.
"Hmph, Master, that's not right. The civil unrest in southern Beijing has been going on for quite some time. Why don't you take a detour and go from Jingnan County to Wuhu County, passing through Qingchuan County to reach the border of Beijing? It's because Master Uncle wanted to see the suffering of the people. He took a detour through Lin Yue Mansion and took the route to southern Beijing. If he hadn't brought enough dry food, he would have died there."
Among a group of young Taoist priests, there was one who stood out from the crowd. He had a fair complexion and a graceful demeanor, and even had a sense of being a Taoist who was out of this world. The others were dressed like ordinary Taoist priests, but he was the only one who wore clothes embroidered with cloud patterns.
"Ahem, didn't Master Uncle also expect that the imperial army would be defeated in one day? Although the mountain path is difficult to walk on, it is safe. Otherwise, if we were found by those evil people from the Taiping Sect, we would probably have been killed by them."
Zhang Tianyi shook his head. It sounded nice to say that the Taiping Sect was saving the world, but it was just a move to deceive people. In the martial arts world, the most famous one was the White Lotus Sect. Many martial arts sects joined its ranks and became its minions, which were called the Holy Sect. Now, there was another Taiping Sect. Although it had not yet involved any martial arts sects, the comeback of the White Lotus Sect was not good news. After all, the famous and upright sects hated it.
"Okay, who would have thought that the land south of Beijing would be a thousand miles of barren land, uninhabited, with corpses everywhere like purgatory, the world is really in chaos,"
"So what? The imperial court has its own laws. The army ahead of us has at least 200,000 soldiers. The bandit army under Daliang City has done nothing, and so many people have died. The imperial court's reinforcements arrived first."
Tan Liangcai is an outstanding disciple of Mount Longhu. He was born into a family of officials and has been practicing Taoism with the headmaster since he was a child. He is not very good at etiquette. Now is not the time to discuss these things. We should meet at the agreed place.
"Stop talking nonsense, and hurry up and leave now. If you are spotted by the imperial scouts, you won't be able to leave. Don't take the official road."
The old Taoist priest rode his horse and took a small road from the official road, preparing to take a detour. After all, they were in the Central Plains, and there were no mountains blocking them. They were connected in all directions. The Taoist disciples behind him had no choice but to follow him.
As the saying goes, good things don't work, but bad things do. Not long after getting off the official road, Zhang Tianyi suddenly saw many figures around him, blocking the way ahead. His heart tightened, and he secretly said that it was not good. He tried to hide, but he didn't expect that he would still be bitten. He quickly tightened the horse and shouted to the front;
"Excuse me, are they from the imperial court?" The person in front of him said "Huh?" and took out a tinder to light a torch. It was just as he thought. They were not scouts from the rebel army, but a group of Taoist priests. However, at this critical moment, he still needed to interrogate them.
"Who are you?"
The leading scout captain had a look of doubt on his face. It was so late in the morning, and there were still Taoist priests on the road.
"Sir, we are disciples of the Longhu Mountain Taoist sect. Today, we are ordered by the sect leader to go to the capital to look for the noble. This is the certificate of ordination."
As he said this, he dismounted, took out the certificate and handed it over. This did not look like a Taoist master, and the disciples behind him were stunned and hurriedly dismounted.
The scouts of the Beijing camp who were blocking the road took it and looked at it in the light of the fire. It was indeed the certificate of ordination from Longhu Mountain. But now it was different from the past. The Beijing camp was led by Marquis Luo Yun. General Yang said that all those who went south or north at night must be arrested, and anyone who let them go privately would be executed.
They all knew that General Yang kept his word. Even if they were not afraid of General Yang, who would dare to touch the tiger whiskers of Marquis Luo Yun? So they returned the certificate of ordination and raised their hands. The surrounding officers and soldiers surrounded them.
"Someone, come here, tie him up and take him to the barracks."
"Yes, Captain."
Seeing the soldiers surrounding them with ropes, the disciples behind them were startled and held their swords, ready to attack, but the old Taoist calmed them down and said with a smile;
"My fellow soldiers, I am really going to the capital to look for a noble. You must not stop me. Besides, Longhu Mountain still has some reputation."
Listening to the voice, it doesn't sound like a lie, the nobleman from the capital, this hesitation, the old Taoist thought there was a chance, and was ready to pay for the passing money, but who knew, the sergeant behind him whispered;
"Sir, what noble person can be as noble as the Marquis of Luo Yun and the prince in the camp?"
The captain suddenly realized what was going on after this reminder, and without hesitation, he gave the order;
"Capture the man, and kill him on the spot if he dares to resist,"
"Yes, Captain."
A group of people came from nowhere, holding crossbows and arrows and aiming at this place. Suddenly, the old Taoist's face darkened. Although he was very skilled in martial arts, he could only run for his life when facing powerful crossbows and armored soldiers. He simply asked;
"May I ask, Captain, who is the commander of the main camp? If it is convenient, please introduce me to my junior brother Zhang Tianyi, the head of Longhu Mountain. I have something important to report to you. How about that?"
Zhang Tianyi was also gambling. If it was the prince's man, many things would be easier to handle. If not, it would not cause any misunderstanding and he would end up here for nothing.
"That's fine. Follow me back to the camp and I'll report to the general."
The captain did not hesitate. Although he did not answer, he nodded in agreement. It was precisely because of his status that everyone knew that the emperor was practicing Taoism, and he might get into trouble.
Fortunately, the man agreed. The old Taoist turned around and gave a few consoling looks, and was escorted into the camp by soldiers. He happened to meet General Duan who was patrolling at night. In order not to cause trouble for his own general, he hurried up to report.
"Report, General, I intercepted a group of Taoists on the west side of the path. They said they were going to visit an important person in the capital. I didn't dare to release them without permission, so I brought them back."
The general on patrol at this time was none other than General Duan Hong, who was leading the cavalry to patrol the area around the camp.
Duan Hong had just finished his meal, so he took his soldiers out for a walk to help digest the food. He didn't expect to see these things. When he saw those people, they were all dressed in expensive clothes, Taoist priests and monks, sneaking around at night. They must be spies. He glanced at the Taoist priest in the crowd and saw that he was not a good person. He replied,
"What kind of Taoist priest or monk is it? How can they travel at night? They are sneaking around like spies and should be killed."
"what!"
The scout captain was stunned. How could this be possible? Fearing that the general didn't hear clearly, he quickly explained.
"General, he is a Taoist disciple from Mount Longhu,"
"What dragon mountain and tiger's lair? I killed the Jurchens as easily as cutting melons and vegetables. Why should I be afraid of these evil people? I will just chop them all off with a knife."
Duan Hong didn't care at all. Now that the war was imminent, he had no time to care about these things. He was just waiting to assign manpower tomorrow to protect the safety of the Marquis.
Seeing that the situation had come to this, the old Taoist Zhang Tianshi behind him also became anxious. It turned out to be a general from outside the Great Wall. In this case, the commander of the army used by the court must be Luo Yunhou from outside the Great Wall. Thinking of this, he quickly shouted,
"General, don't leave. I am the elder of Longhu Mountain. I have something important to report to you, Lord Marquis."
He bowed and performed all the etiquette, which was obviously not the first time. Duan Hong wanted to ride away, but when he heard that he was going to see the Marquis, he could not leave. He looked back with cold eyes.
"Okay, in that case, I will take you there. If not, don't blame me for not having a sharp sword."
"General, rest assured, we will not act rashly."
"That's good, let's go."
With a wave,
A team of cavalry was detached from behind and surrounded the group of people. They asked the people who had just escorted the scouts to leave, and also led out the horses and packages. They then walked deeper into the camp. Seeing that the people were walking away, the scout captain waved his hand quickly, led his people out of the camp, and turned back to be on guard.
However, after this group of people entered the camp, they couldn't help swallowing their saliva when they saw the scale of the camp. It seemed that the imperial court was going to mobilize the entire Beijing camp. It was a battle of life and death that would affect the situation in the world. When would the imperial court dare to make a desperate bet?
Zhang Tianyi was a little puzzled. He couldn't understand.
After a while,
When they reached the center of the camp, there was a heavily guarded tent standing there. Duan Hong dismounted and gave the order;
"Come here, search them. I will go in and report."
"Yes, General."
The guards around them were not so cunning. They separated the Taoists and touched them from head to toe. They even checked the things in their crotches to make sure there was nothing hidden. They stopped only after making sure that there was nothing hidden. They were so ashamed that they were extremely angry. How could the disciples of Mount Longhu endure such humiliation? They wanted to speak, but were suppressed by the cold eyes of Zhang Tianshi, the leader.
"General Duan is here,"
Duan Hong just lifted the curtain and wanted to go in, but he didn't know that several personal soldiers came out from inside, carrying basins of water. He stopped immediately. It seemed that the Marquis was probably asleep. How could he disturb him after a tiring day? So he stopped the personal soldiers who were going out and asked quietly,
"Well, you two, is the Marquis asleep in there?"
"General Duan, the Marquis has not rested yet. He and His Highness have just finished washing and are preparing to change clothes."
Several guards shook their heads, replied and went out. It was not their turn to worry about changing clothes. After all, the master had someone to serve him. Madam Lan was inside. After delivering the water, they could only wait outside. The same was true for the King of Jin, who lived in a big tent with the Marquis.
Duan Hong also knew what was going on. If Miss Lan Yue was inside, how could he dare to go in? While he was still hesitating, the voice of the Marquis came from inside.
"What are you doing? Why don't you come in?"
(End of this chapter)