Volume 3 Chapter 8: I am ashamed to visit someone (Part 1)
"It's too early to say it's treason."
Yuwen Xuzhong sighed. "At least he knew to ask me, the deputy envoy of the Privy Council, for permission to kill a military governor. He was just suggesting that I, your husband, kill the military governor. And, as I expected, he wanted to kill Wang Shu this time just to annex Wang Shu's remnants and unify the military power... But he has a domineering personality, and this time Wanyan Loushi invaded northern Shaanxi, and Wang Shu returned in defeat, leaving him with no one to control him on the front line, so he gradually became rebellious."
This Prime Minister Yuwen is really too indecisive. No matter what, you are a subordinate military general, and you are thinking about killing your direct superior. Moreover, it is unheard of for a military general to kill a military governor. As long as he has this idea, this person is guilty of treason, if not rebellion.
Thinking of this, Wanqi Xie couldn't help but feel a little disdainful towards Yuwen Xuzhong, but he remained serious on the surface and immediately changed his words:
"Sir, it's very accurate. It's the words 'the rebellion is growing'... No one dares to rebel at the beginning, but the situation is like this, and no one can control it. This guy's rebellion will only grow stronger and stronger, and sooner or later there will be chaos!"
Yuwen Xuzhong nodded repeatedly: "So, what I mean is that no matter what, Qu Duan is no longer useful. In addition, Wang Xie is incompetent and Wang Shu's troops have all been lost. There is no need for you to investigate the affairs of these three people. It is better to return to Tokyo and let the emperor and the central government make a decision and formulate a new policy for Guanxi. As for Wang Shu, I will find a way to rescue him from Qu Duan's army in the name of the court..."
Hearing this, Wanqi Xie felt even more regretful in his heart. It was a pity that he had gone through so much hardship along the way, but in the end he returned empty-handed. It was really a pity, but he nodded repeatedly and said that his husband had made all the arrangements.
Then, the two of them looked at the chief envoy of this trip, Chief Censor Hu Yin, and waited for his nod before returning to Tokyo.
Unexpectedly, after a brief hesitation, Hu Mingzhong spoke of something else: "Sir, you are from Jingdong. Do you know that Liu Ni brazenly claimed to be a fake emperor?"
"How could I not know that?" Yuwen Xuzhong smiled bitterly. "What does Hu Zhongcheng want to say?"
"At the beginning of the year, when we were fighting, I had a conversation with Xiaolin, and he said something that has made me ponder to this day." Hu Yin glanced at Wanqi Xie, causing the latter's heart to move slightly. "I won't say the specific words, but the meaning is clear... That is, since the Jingkang period, the country has actually fallen into chaos again for many years. The emperor ascended the throne in Nanjing and has been tossing and turning, from nothing to something. Although the court was established, the country has improved a lot, but just like the restoration of Emperor Guangwu, the system of the former Han Dynasty could not cope with the later Han Dynasty..."
Yuwen Xu was stunned for a moment, but immediately nodded: "In fact, there is no need for Hu Zhongcheng to hide it. I also think so...Times have changed, and the family rules of our ancestors cannot be relied upon."
This time, it was Hu Yin's turn to be slightly stunned, but he quickly continued, "It's good that you know it clearly. What I mean is that in today's world, even a serious Jinshi can do such a rebellious thing, which can be said to be a complete corruption of morals. So why should we still treat military officers in the same way as in the past?"
Now that Qu Duan is about to rebel, what is the point of the past? !
Wanqi Xie was speechless, but his expression remained unchanged: "What Zhongcheng said actually makes sense."
"The emperor once said that if he could resist the Jin, he could endure anything." Hu Yinxian ignored Wanqi Xie and continued to speak earnestly to Yuwen Xuzhong. "Prime Minister Yuwen, the current situation is that no matter what, Qu Duan has stabilized the situation at the front line... Even if his ambition is unstoppable and he really has the intention of separatism and rebellion, he may not be useless!"
Yuwen Xuzhong twirled his beard and nodded: "Indeed."
"Moreover, even if Qu Duan has rebellious intentions, his followers are all officers and soldiers of the imperial court. Judging from the fact that he asked the prime minister to kill Wang Jinglüe, he has not yet become so outstanding in the army that his words can be final. What's more, the situation in Guanxi is of great importance. Even if Qu Duan is completely useless, we should find someone who can hold up the situation..." Hu Mingzhong continued, but looked at Wanqi Xie earnestly.
"So, Central Minister Hu still wants to go to the army in person to see if he can do something?" Without waiting for Wanqi Xie's response, Yuwen Xu Zhong on the side understood what the other party meant and asked directly.
At this point, Hu Yin finally sighed:
"In fact, I will not hide it from you, sir. The country is in a difficult situation and lacks people to do things. I am just a scholar. In my early years, I used to write a ridiculous letter to the emperor with courage and asked him not to ascend the throne. Only then did I gain a little reputation and become an official. Later, the emperor did not abandon me and promoted me from a close attendant. At the age of 30, I became the Minister of Justice. If I count carefully, I got promoted mostly because of my seniority and advice. I have no real achievements in my life, and even made many ridiculous remarks on military affairs... So I really don't want to return empty-handed on this trip."
"Then Zhongcheng, go!" Yuwen Xuzhong nodded directly. He actually understood the other party's mentality very well, because before Jingkang, he was also a so-called upright person, but after Jingkang, he felt ashamed. He wanted to do something for the country with his life, but he always failed to do it well. "It's a good opportunity to rescue Wang Jinglüe in the name of the court envoy , and take the opportunity to find out Qu Duan's intentions and the general situation of his army. But no matter what, you must protect yourself first... You must know that you are the Zhongcheng of the Great Song Dynasty, and your own safety is of great importance."
Hu Mingzhong quickly stood up and bowed deeply.
Wanqi Xie, who was standing by, sighed inwardly and stood up and bowed.
By the way, Wanqi Xie's thoughts were a bit strange. With his ability to read people's expressions, he naturally understood what Hu Mingzhong meant from the beginning, and was not very willing to take risks with him at first.
But for some reason, when Hu Yin expressed his feelings to Yuwen Xuzhong, he just went with the flow and did not stop him. This was not only because he was of low status and had no say between the prime minister and the chancellor, but also because he went with the flow from the bottom of his heart, thinking that this trip might not be a bad thing.
As for the reason, before setting out the next day, Wanqi Xie had already figured it out - he still wanted to make achievements and become a high-ranking official!
You have to know that when he was first appointed as an official, he dared to take risks and go to places like Dongting Lake. It was for this reason that he caught the attention of officials and became one of the two most useful people among that wave of appointed officials, which led to his future fortunes.
And now, although he already has a solid foundation, it is also a fact that he is too old, has served the emperor for too short a time, and has very little experience... In the previous spring, when Tokyo City rewarded people for their merits, he could have been directly sent to another province, but he endured it because he knew that the Privy Council had more power and responsibilities and was closer to the emperor... But now he is obviously thinking of accumulating some great merits during his tenure, and then trying to transfer directly to a provincial official in the capital.
All I can say is that everyone has their own aspirations.
The next day, everyone set out again. Hu Yin, relying on the complete official documents and seals on him, declined Yuwen Xu's kindness to send former members of the Western Army to accompany him. He only asked the other party to provide two guides, and then set off immediately... However, Hu Mingzhong and his party soon discovered that there was no need to bring guides, because military supplies were still being sent from Chang'an to the northern front. The party only needed to follow the general flow of people and they could go all the way north to Fuzhou on the Yanfu Road, which was where the troops from Guanxi were gathered and confronting the Jin army in Yan'an Prefecture relying on the mountains.
It is said that the scenery in Guanxi is different from other places. Although the land is poor, the people there are all martial. Along the way, it seems that most women and teenagers are equipped with bows and arrows. Even adult men are seen in groups, which gives a strong military atmosphere... However, Hu Yin, Wanqi Xie and others only sighed secretly, but were in a hurry to get on with their journey and did not linger for long.
On April 27th, they arrived in Fuzhou, and then prepared to cross the Huachi River through Sanchuan Town and go to the heart of Fuzhou.
But at this moment, something unexpected happened.
It should be noted that Sanchuan Town is an important commercial town in northern Shaanxi, where land and water meet. Soldiers who take the shortcut along Huanqing Road in the west, military equipment transported along Luo River in the southeast, and money and grain transported from Sichuan and Shu via the southwest road basically gather here. It can be called the logistics base camp for the front line.
Therefore, there is a mixture of soldiers and horses here, and military control has already been implemented.
Hu Yin and his companions tried to cross the river, but found that the floating bridge was guarded by people, and no one was allowed to cross easily. Not only that, there was only one deputy commander and two captains in the small camp in front of the floating bridge, and no one knew what the Chief Censor was, and how high his rank was. In addition, Qu Duan was quite strict in managing the army, and there was a clear military order before that people who were not involved in military affairs were not allowed to cross the river without permission, so he did not dare to let them go.
However, the general knew that the Privy Council was a powerful place and could not be neglected, so he pointed upstream and suggested that they cross the river from Zhiluo City, 20 miles upstream. This was because there was a General Xue stationed in Zhiluo City who had retreated from Yan'an to rest. He should be familiar with the official documents and could facilitate escort.
Hu Yin and Wanqi Xie looked at each other, but had nothing to say. Instead, they felt that although Qu Duan was domineering, he was a man who strictly abided by military law. They immediately did as he was told, and the general also sent someone to notify the commander.
And as expected, that man was a commanding officer after all. How could he not know what the Chief Censor was?
In fact, when he heard that the Chief Censor was coming to inspect Guanxi on the emperor's orders, he immediately opened the city gates and personally led hundreds of soldiers out of the city to welcome him.
Up to this point, everything was going smoothly, but when the two sides met, things suddenly changed.
"Who are you and why dare you wear a purple robe?" When Commander Xue saw the person coming, he led hundreds of soldiers to greet him respectfully on the roadside. When he saw the man in purple robe coming from afar, he simply knelt down to salute. But when he heard the voice saying "no need to salute" and looked up, he saw Hu Yin's face, but suddenly stood up and pointed a finger at him to rebuke him on the spot.
"I am the Imperial Censor Hu Yin, so I wear a purple robe." Hu Mingzhong was puzzled, but still responded sincerely. "What does Commander Xue mean?"
"Judging from your appearance, you are no more than 30 years old. How can there be such a Censor ?" Xue Tong laughed coldly. "I was wondering, how could a Censor come here with only 20 or 30 attendants? Could it be that this idiot is taking advantage of the opportunity to cheat, and is a fake Censor?!"
When Hu Yin heard this, he instinctively felt ashamed and embarrassed for a moment, then he wanted to explain with a red face.
However, the commander had already lost his patience. Seeing the other party in such a state, he was even more convinced that this person was pretending. He glared at the riverside and gave a stern order: "Drag this fake chancellor who dared to fool me and trick me into kneeling down to him off his horse and give him twenty lashes first!"
As soon as he finished speaking, armored soldiers stepped forward, dragged Hu Mingzhong and others off their horses, and subdued Wanqi Xie and other people who were accompanying them with swords. Then, without thinking twice, they stripped Hu Yin of his purple robe on the side of the road and whipped him with twenty horsewhips!
The horse whip came down on his head, leaving blood marks. Wanqi Xie, who had a knife on his neck, gasped when he saw this. He immediately gave up the idea of forcing an explanation on the spot, because once he angered the other party, or confirmed his identity on the spot, he would be killed. Of course, he could not admit that his group was fake... It can only be said that this was really a case of the Zhongcheng meeting a soldier, and he couldn't explain himself.
Hu Mingzhong was whipped twenty times, but he didn't say a word the whole time, he just gritted his teeth and endured.
Besides, there was only one sentence echoing in his mind at this moment - this is truly a chaotic world!
