MTL - Harue Kagetsu-Chapter 142
This is a letter from Gao Qiao to Luoshen.
The first sentence he said was that he hoped that this letter could be sealed forever. Because once the seal is unsealed, it must be the scene he least wants to see in the court.
He then went on to say that he was the head of the Gao family before he was a weak crown, and he held a high position. He served the court for half his life. Beyond the limit, the constraints behind him are not just fetters.
Gao Qiao told his daughter that Aye did not have no complaints against the imperial court, nor did he have nothing to do, but what he could do was extremely limited. As the head of the Gao family, in the face of his innate status and the deep-rooted stakes between generations of the royal family and clansmen, he wants to be a capable official, but lacks the courage, wants to be a follower, and has responsibilities. The common people and the world. As an official for more than 20 years, he was troubled at home and abroad, and it was like suffering. In his self-assessment, he is arrogant and unable to accomplish anything. Looking at the Southern Dynasties, there were more famous people crossing the river than crucian carp, and there was no one who could make the world safe, but no one was seen until Li Mu was seen, like seeing a little fire under this micro world.
The ruler and his ministers are at peace, the country can be brought back to life, and the people can settle down and serve their businesses. This is his hope.
Therefore, even if he knew that the imperial court was in a difficult state, he still hoped that Li Mu, whom he valued, would take a step back from the imperial court that he had supported for half his life.
But how could he not know that it is rare in the world to have both? How elusive it is to have such hopes.
Gao Qiao said that in the future, if Li Mu did not make any efforts to move the cauldron, but Empress Gao obstructed the Northern Expedition out of selfishness and even tried to harm Li Mu, it would be something he would never tolerate. The confrontation between the two parties will inevitably involve her, and it will also be a difficulty for her.
So he gave the final decision to Luoshen.
Because he believed in his own daughter. She will not be biased because Li Mu is her husband or Gao Houguan has the same surname as her.
Gao Qiao told his daughter that he had left some preparations for her.
The first is Lu Jianzhi. There, in the name of the local county soldier, he kept a completely loyal army for himself. Except for some of Lu's old army, the rest of the soldiers were all soldiers and their children who had followed their Northern Expedition. Three years ago, at his own order, he gathered under Lu Jianzhi's men.
The reason why he secretly kept such an army that was completely separated from the Guangling Army was to prevent accidents. As long as she receives news from her, Lu Jianzhi will gather the army at any time for her use.
Another thing he left for Luoshen was the tiger talisman in the box.
Each generation of the Gao family owner has a tiger talisman, which is used to sign his identity and command the army. The sergeants are familiar with the tiger talisman. Seeing the tiger talisman is like seeing the owner.
The tiger talisman in the box is the seal representing Gao Qiao as the head of the Gao family.
Gao Qiao said that the Gao family had a mixed relationship with the royal family, and he left his tiger talisman to her just in case. In the past, before he left, he had privately summoned Gao Yin, saying that if he saw the tiger talisman in the future, if he saw himself, what the person holding the talisman said was his own order, and Gao Yin must obey. Gao Yin made a promise at that time, expecting that he would not break his promise.
At the end of the letter, my father said that the root cause of today's chaos has long been traced, and the fault lies entirely with him. I hope that what is left in the letter can help her, and it can be regarded as a little make up for her forcibly leaving Li Mu to support the Southern Dynasty.
In the end, he told his daughter that no matter what happened, she must take her own safety as the first consideration.
Luoshen's heart beat fast, his hands trembled violently, and he read the letter at a glance.
She finally understood why Lu Jianzhi made a statement to the court last year and asked for the post of the prefect of Xiling.
Xiling is located in Jiangbei, between Jiangxia and Jiangling. It is not a key place, but an ordinary medium-sized county. At that time, as soon as his filial piety expired, Feng Wei personally recommended him and wanted to reuse him. Unexpectedly, he asked himself to be the prefect of Xiling, which made the people of the whole dynasty confused. At that time, Feng Wei also persuaded him for a while, saying that because of his talent, going there to be a prefect is really overkill. However, Lu Jianzhi asked the imperial court for approval on the grounds that he traveled through the Xiling in his early years and liked the scenery there. Feng Wei saw that he was determined to leave, and he suspected that he had not yet come out of the shadow of being attacked by Li Mu at the beginning. It would be embarrassing to be an official of the same dynasty now, so he was bent on seeking an outside job. Although I feel sorry in my heart, it is also very understandable. So Lu Jianzhi went there to become an official and became an unknown prefect of Jiangbei.
Her previous thoughts were similar to Feng Wei's. She thought that he might have been discouraged because of too many twists and turns in the past few years, so he took up an idle job and expressed his love for the mountains and rivers.
It was not until this moment, after reading her father's letter, that she understood the deep meaning of Lu Jianzhi being the prefect of Xiling. It must have been his father's inspiration. In addition to being able to raise troops, more importantly, the location of Xiling is just in the middle of Jiangbei. Whether it is going to Jiankang or the Yicheng area where Li Mu's forces are located, it is very convenient.
She looked at the letter and tiger talisman left by her father, and remembered the scene when he called her to the study on the night he left home, and the last time the father and daughter met.
She closed her eyes, took a long breath, and after she had calmed down, she immediately took out the pen and ink, wrote a letter, called Fan Cheng, and gave some instructions.
She ordered him to go to Xiling in person immediately, and be sure to send his letter to Lu Jianzhi in person, asking him to send troops here to help Yicheng.
Fan Cheng knew that the situation was urgent and could not be delayed for a moment. Under the balance, he could only answer the order, only bring a few people with him, so that it would be convenient to do things on the road, leave all the rest to Luoshen, and explain the matter to his deputy Yang Ji, asking him to protect him. Good Luoshen, leave immediately.
From here to Xiling, if we travel together, it will take four to five days, and if it is slow, his group should be able to arrive within six or seven days.
After Fan Cheng left, Luoshen asked Yang Ji to select a few subordinates who were adaptable to the situation, pretending to be Badong soldiers, and asked a few people to wait for the opportunity to approach Yicheng, and try to send Li Xie and the others news of the arrival of reinforcements to inspire the military.
Luoshen knew that she had already done everything she could do before the rescuers arrived. Next, she continued to stay here and waited, and it was of no use.
She asked Aju and the maids who accompanied her from Jiankang to stay in this relatively safe place, leaving some soldiers to protect them, waiting for Lu Jianzhi's reinforcements to arrive, and she headed towards Chang'an early the next morning. And go.
No one can understand her anxiety and despair.
Yicheng was still surrounded by Rongkang's army, and her eldest brother, whom she had always respected, turned her husband into an enemy.
Even if he came with the imperial decree, the defenders who stayed in Chang'an would not be able to bow down and hand over Chang'an.
Regardless of whether this battle to seize the city has really broken out, Luoshen is most worried that even if Gao Yin is outside the city, even if he does not attack the city, Chang'an's food supply will be cut off.
And once the stable supply of food and grass is lost, Li Mu and his army, who are still far away from the customs, will be cut off as if their lifelines were cut off.
One of the fatal reasons for my father's failure in the second Northern Expedition was that there was no food and grass in the rear, and the army was unable to maintain it.
And this time, Luoshen knew that Li Mu's situation was far more dangerous than that of his father in the Northern Expedition.
Back then, when my father was on the Northern Expedition, as long as he failed and returned, they would be satisfied and willing to give up. No matter how much you slander in your heart, at least on the surface, you can still talk about peace and harmony.
But when it came to Li Mu's Northern Expedition, the situation was completely different.
Only in Li Mu's body, from the day the dynasty was born, could the natural hatred and confrontation between the nobility and the poor, like boils and tumors, be so vividly displayed.
In the Southern Dynasty, as many people loved their Great Sima, as many people hated him to the bone.
For every point of love he received, the swords with fear and hatred that stabbed him in the back were also sharper.
Gao Yin may be different from others. But as the head of the Gao family, if he doesn't explain all this to him as soon as possible, just from the way he left Jiankang, he really has no reason not to treat Li Mu as a traitor, let alone let him Li Mu, and betrayed the Southern Dynasty with the entire Gao family.
Luoshen was so anxious that he could not wait to put his wings on, and immediately flew to Chang'an.
When the eldest brother found out about the secret deal between the empress dowager and Murong, and the news that Yicheng was still under siege at the same time he was ordered to take over Chang'an, she didn't believe it, and he would still follow Gao Yongrong's order indifferently. To come to take over Chang'an, to cut off Li Mu's food supply!
Under the leadership of the new leader Yang Ji, she bypassed the road that might encounter Rongkang's army nearby, took a wild path and made a detour to the north. After three days of walking, she finally walked over a hundred miles and left the camp of the Badong people. behind.
Just when Luoshen thought that he could breathe a sigh of relief and consider changing to the faster old road, on the evening of the third day, a group of people turned over a hill, and suddenly saw a group of soldiers transporting rations on the opposite side. Patong soldiers.
The encounter came so unexpectedly.
The group immediately avoided. But it was still a step too late, and the other party saw them, called out, and caught up.
These guards protecting Luoshen, that is, according to the pre-determined response, quickly divided into two groups, one way attracted the attention of the chasing soldiers behind, and the other road took advantage of the terrain to cover Luoshen and went in the opposite direction, finally getting rid of the chasing soldiers. That night, the two sides met again with the secret notes left on the road. After the meeting, in the early morning of the next day, before dawn, they continued to rush north.
But once bad luck starts, it doesn't seem to be easy to stop.
At noon, just behind them, a group of chasing soldiers suddenly appeared, and the number seemed to be far more than the group of soldiers yesterday.
Obviously, the pursuers who caught up this time were not by chance, but on purpose.
The chasing soldiers not only pursued closely, but also used animal soldiers, and the roar of tigers and leopards got closer and closer.
When she decided to go to Chang'an a few days ago, she changed to riding a horse like the guards around her.
Her riding skills are not very delicate, but she is more than enough to control the horse under her.
But today, the mount was obviously startled by the roars of the tigers and leopards behind him, running and running, the speed getting slower and slower. Seeing the tigers and leopards chasing after him, Yang Ji made a decisive decision and led the crowd to protect Luoshen and turned to the side. next to the forest.
This group of chasing soldiers was chased by Rong Kang himself.
After getting the news from the bottom yesterday, he suspected that the person who went to Chang'an was Luoshen. The city could not be attacked for a while, so he ordered a temporary siege to stop the attack, and ordered the orc tamers from Qiuchi to drive away the tigers and leopards, and chased after him overnight. As he approached, he recognized it at a glance, and sure enough, there was Luoshen among them, ecstatic, urging the crowd, and chasing him more and more frantically.
Under the siege and attack of the beasts, they finally forced the group to a cliff.
The exorcists drove the tigers and leopards and surrounded the mountain.
Yang Ji led the guards and fought and retreated until the end of the cliff.
The two cliffs are facing each other, with a distance of several feet in the middle, and the cliff behind them. Between the cliffs, there is a stream. For a while, there is no turning back.
Yang Ji used the rock as cover, organized the guards, and blocked the rapid approach of the pursuers with an arrow formation.
The mountain wind was blowing, causing Luoshen's robe to dance wildly, and he could hardly stand still.
Between the two cliffs, it was impossible for manpower to cross. Dozens of beasts surrounded the three doughs. Rong Kang was getting closer and closer. He was directing the soldiers to come up, and there was no way to go behind her. She had no fear. He only took out the bag with the tiger talisman hidden on his body, handed it to Yang Ji, who was protecting him, and said, "General Yang, you don't have to worry about me. If you can rush out, you must leave and get to Chang'an as soon as possible. , send this thing to my eldest brother. Tell him about Yicheng and me, say it was my father's order, and tell him to retreat immediately!"
Yang Ji looked at the chasing soldiers who were getting closer and closer and the group of beasts lingering on the nearby hillside. If they weren't suppressed by the orc drive, they couldn't wait to rush up and start biting at any time, and said solemnly: "Madam, please The things are put away! None of us brothers are afraid of death. Just now I deliberately led people into the forest. I told the brothers to set fire to the mountain, and when the beasts were driven back, the smoke rose, and they took cover. I will definitely Get out of here with Madam!"
Luoshen looked at the faces in front of him who looked at death as if at home, and was moved in his heart. He fastened the pocket with the tiger talisman back to his body, and nodded: "Okay! I believe in you! You have to be careful yourself!"
Rong Kang could see clearly that the daughter of the Gao family that he liked was on the top of the mountain not far away, and he couldn't help shaking his heart when he thought of the scene after he succeeded.
How could he fail to see Yang Ji's intentions, but dare not let the soldiers shoot arrows to stop him, for fear of accidentally hurting Luoshen, fearing that the fire would really burn, and because of the crowd, he immediately ordered the soldiers to forcibly attack, and shouted: "All of them. Rush up for me! Don't hurt that woman, I want to live! Whoever catches her, I will give him first-class military merit, give him an official title, and a bounty of 10,000!"
Under the heavy reward, the soldiers rushed up the hill regardless of everything. The sound of shouting and killing, mixed with bursts of roars from the group of beasts, was thrilling.
Yang Ji roared: "Set fire!"
The guard received the order and was about to act when suddenly, a sound of tiger roaring came from the forest on the opposite cliff.
The sound of the tiger's roar was deep and thick, full of awe-inspiring majesty. The sound echoed in the hills and mountains, like shaking the earth and shaking the sky. It lasted for a long time.
The group of beasts who were still roaring at the demonstration just now suddenly became quiet. The soldiers who were rushing up the mountain frantically were also shocked by the sudden sound of tiger roars, and they stopped one after another and looked at the mountain forest opposite.
A gust of wind blew, and the surrounding trees rustled.
The sound of the tiger's roar seemed to come from not far behind him, and it shook Luoshen's chest for a burst of blood.
With the lingering whistling in her ears, she turned back suddenly and saw a huge white figure jumping out of the forest on the opposite cliff.
It was an adult white tiger with a huge body and an unusually vigorous posture. I saw it move along the steep and rugged mountain wall several times, looking at this head, and jumping violently, the figure was like a white lightning, and it came from the opposite side. The head of the cliff jumped straight across the mountain stream several feet wide, and with a "slap" sound, it landed steadily on this side, standing on a huge rock that protruded high on the cliff.
The white tiger is condescending, majestic and majestic, facing the mountain wind and the beasts under his feet, and issued a long roar, the howling wild, full of anger.
The echo bursts, resounding between Gangyue again.
Everyone was stunned.
The tigers and leopards, which were just waiting to be bitten, slowly lowered their bodies under the deterrence of this white tiger full of kingly aura that descended from the sky. A faint whimper sounded.
The distance is too close.
Luoshen was also terrified at first, and was blocked by the guards who were like an enemy, and slowly stepped back.
She opened her eyes wide and looked at the white tiger standing high on the huge rock. When her eyes fell on the circle of black hair on its neck, she stopped, and suddenly, her heart jumped.
She recognized that the mighty tiger in front of her was the little white tiger with whom she had an old relationship.
She would not admit it wrong. I just don't know, after so many years, the adult male tiger in front of him, who is in his prime, still recognizes himself.
"good boy!"
Luoshen blurted out the name that had been called before.
