The sky is hot and dry, and yellow sand is rolling.
As the deputy envoy, Wei Shu followed the chief envoy and had already left the border of Wei for more than a hundred miles.
After leaving the pass and Longyou, the team of about 100 people replaced their horses with camels and other animals and began to adapt to the desert life. During this period, one person fell ill due to acclimatization. The delegation could not stop the team to wait for one person, so after settling the person down, the delegation continued on the road.
According to the map, they were originally going to visit a small country. It was said that the country was a branch of a tribe that founded a country here to escape the war. At the beginning of the year, the envoys visited Wei, and all parties testified that they had provided Wei with such a map.
However, now that Wei Shu and his team had followed the map, they found themselves standing in the vast desert, looking at the ruins of the ancient city buried underground by dust, feeling a little dazed.
The Hu people who were hired as guides were also shocked. They did not expect that the country had disappeared.
The climate was extremely dry, and Wei Shu stood high on a mountain in the desert. The people around him were all sitting on the ground in frustration, each holding up their hats to enjoy the breeze. Wei Shu was sweating less, and was not as unbearable as the others. He heard the guide helplessly say, "Sir, I was here three years ago as well. At that time, their country was still there. Looking at the situation, I don't know if it was due to war or water shortage. Anyway... Hey, it was a wasted trip. Sirs, can you return the money you hired me for?"
The Hu people outside the Great Wall did not understand the complicated titles of official titles in the Wei Dynasty and called everyone "Adult".
Wei Shu squatted on the sand, holding a pen and began to repair the map. He deleted the country's symbol on the original map and marked the guide's statement next to it. An ancient city disappeared silently, with no written records or inheritance. If they hadn't come, I'm afraid there would be no record of it in history.
Seeing that everyone was a little depressed, the envoy said, "Well, let's take a short break here before going to the next place..."
The guide was very nervous: "Sir, this place is not safe. If there are bandits..."
Before he finished speaking, everyone heard a strange sound and looked up. They were scattered in front of the ruins of the ancient city. Wei Shu was still kneeling on the hot sand. He looked up and saw dark clouds covering the sky. On the desert hills above, dozens of Hu people wearing sheepskin clothes and waving spears appeared.
Those people rode on horses, moving as fast as lightning on the desert. Black horses rushed down from above, and the Hu people shouted in words they could not understand, charging towards them below!
The envoy immediately said: "Prepare for battle!"
The guide said: "They must have seen our cargo team and came to steal our things. You might as well leave the goods behind and pray for safety..."
Wei Shu had already walked over, and when the envoy was hesitating, he said in a cold voice: "You can't leave it behind."
The guide was almost crying from the fighting: "Our lives will be at stake here! You Wei people don't know that these bandits in the desert are extremely powerful... Many countries have been destroyed by them!"
A country was destroyed! How fierce!
As his eyes flashed and he became a little nervous, he shouted to everyone to gather together and not to disperse to give the enemy a chance to attack. At the same time, Wei Shu looked at the guide and said in a slightly strange tone: "May I ask how many states and regions were destroyed in the country?"
The guide was confused: "What do you mean by several states and several roads?"
Wei Shu simply said something the other party could understand: "How many people are there in the country?"
Guide: "A few hundred people..."
After hearing this, even the originally nervous envoy was no longer so nervous: I was so scared, I thought it was a big country like Wei. He was a little nervous when he heard that the country was destroyed. Just a few hundred people, can you call it a country... Although the record of dozens of people against hundreds of people is still strong, at least it is not as invincible as they imagined.
Wei Shu explained: "We can't abandon the goods now. If we don't have enough goods when we start our mission, it will only make things more difficult in the future. We should not give up if we can save more at the beginning."
The envoy looked at Wei Shu with approval and thought that although the seventh son of the Wei family was a little young, he did not hold others back and was calm and smart, which was very good.
However, whether Wei Shu is smart or not has little to do with the battle in the desert.
Even if these bandits were not as powerful as everyone thought, they had been running rampant here for who knows how long. The Wei envoys, half of whom were scholars and half were warriors, were really no match for them. Seeing the other side riding horses and surrounding them in the middle, they shouted arrogantly and excitedly, staring at the truck protected by the envoys in the middle.
Seeing that they were coming to kill him, Wei Shu grabbed the trembling guide beside him and asked, "Can you understand what they are saying? Can you translate my words?"
Guide: “…Yes!”
Wei Shu: "Okay, tell them for me that we are envoys sent by the Great Wei. The Great Wei is rich and fertile, not a small country! If they hurt our lives, the Great Wei will definitely send troops... If they only want to get their eyes on the goods, we can negotiate!"
His words were too long, and the guide had to stumble over them while the bandits laughed and didn't listen to what they said. The leader shouted, and dozens of them rushed towards them, staring at them with green eyes, full of greed!
At the moment of life and death, Wei Shu's scalp was numb, knowing that it was useless to reason with such a robber. He held a sword in his hand and could only fight with the other party first. Although he was not a military official, the noble families of this era all emphasized the cultivation of both civil and military skills. Even if Wei Shu was not as outstanding in martial arts as Yang Si, he could still fight normally...
However, Wei Shu is now worried. These bandits seem to be extremely powerful... Will their diplomatic mission be destroyed on the first leg?
Wei Shu tried desperately to think of a way to escape, but the opponent's powerful posture made it difficult for Wei Shu to resist. The opponent was burly, holding a long sword, and he didn't care about Wei Shu's thin body. He was about to kill Wei Shu with a casual swing, but suddenly a white sword flashed from the side and stabbed in from the side.
The thief was immediately alert!
At the same time, Wei Shu was grabbed by a hand and pulled back hard, the force almost threw him to the ground. After he staggered a few steps, he saw a young man coming to meet him. He had a narrow knife that was extremely sharp. He only fought with the enemy for a few moves before killing him.
The enemy's blood gushed out, and the man who saved Wei Shu turned around and looked at Wei Shu.
The voice was clear and bright: "If you want to negotiate with someone, you have to subdue them with force first. Who would negotiate with you if you can't even beat them?"
Wei Shu was dumbfounded, staring blankly at the young man. Although he was dressed in men's clothes, he had willow-shaped eyebrows, almond-shaped eyes, white cheeks and red lips... Clearly, clearly... He blurted out: "Zhao Wu Niang?"
How come Zhao Wuniang was in his diplomatic mission?
Concubine Zhao Ling made a face at him and before he could come to his senses, she turned around to fight again!
-----
That night, the diplomatic corps and the bandits reached a settlement and agreed to hold talks the next day.
The envoys were resting in the ancient city ruins. As the deputy envoy, Wei Shu went to comfort everyone and consulted with the chief envoy. Then he left the tent and sat in the moonlight for a while. Wei Shu looked up and saw a girl sitting cross-legged on the top of a sand dune under the moonlight.
Zhao Lingfei was sitting in the moonlight, cleaning her knife, when she felt someone approaching. She turned her head and saw that it was indeed Wei Shu.
In the desert, everyone looked a little disheveled, but Wei Shu was still shining brightly, like a beautiful jade tree.
Concubine Zhao Ling smiled and said, "You are different now. You couldn't say a word in a day before, but when I saw you in the diplomatic corps, you talked a lot with people from all walks of life every day."
Wei Shu: "Just official business."
Seeing that he had just sent her away with these few words again, Concubine Zhao Ling snorted and held up her chin like a little girl. She no longer had the heroic and dashing look she had when she killed people during the day.
She stopped talking, so Wei Shu looked at her and said, "Is this your first time killing someone? You're quite...skilled. Aren't you afraid?"
Concubine Zhao Ling: "When it's a life-and-death situation, why would you be afraid?"
Wei Shu looked at her quietly. She felt that he was different from the one in Chang'an, and he also felt that she was different from the one in Chang'an. In Chang'an, Zhao Lingfei was still the fifth lady in Zhao Jijiu's family. Although she practiced martial arts, she was cute and lively. However, Zhao Lingfei outside the Great Wall had a bright and firm gaze, and a cheerful face... Like an eagle in the sky, she rushed out of the cage.
Wei Shu: "So you have been following the envoys? But you were afraid that I would find out, so you never showed up in front of me?"
Concubine Zhao Lingfei: "I can't help it. I failed to disguise myself as a man once and was caught by Second Brother Yan. I'm afraid I'll be caught this time and sent back to Chang'an before I even leave Wei. So I have to be careful this time."
She turned her head and looked at Wei Shu with more pleading eyes. She gently pulled his sleeve and whispered: "Just pretend you haven't seen me, and don't send me back to Chang'an, okay? I can follow you and protect you all the time. You also saw today that it is so dangerous outside the Great Wei, you need me."
Wei Shu pursed his lips and whispered: "You are a girl after all."
Concubine Zhao Lingfei: "What's wrong with being a girl? Why do you look down on me? When you were almost killed today, wasn't it a girl who saved you?"
Wei Shu said helplessly: "I mean, it's always inconvenient for you to mix with a group of men like us. If Zhao Jijiu knew about it, he would definitely be furious."
Zhao Lingfei was stunned for a moment, not knowing what she was thinking about. She blushed and became shy. She hesitated for a long time, and finally lowered her head. However, she said softly: "...Anyway, I can't go back. I want to follow you."
Wei Shu: "Why don't you go find Yang Sanlang?"
Concubine Zhao Lingfei: "You mean my cousin? He started out as a soldier, not a general. How could he hide me? Besides, my father is very familiar with him. Maybe if a letter is sent to Longyou, my cousin will pack me up and send me back to Chang'an.
"But you are different. You have left the Wei Dynasty, and you have no way to contact the Wei Dynasty. The Wei Dynasty cannot control you. I will be safe only if I follow you and go further and further away."
Wei Shu: "Why? Is your father still forcing you to get married?"
Concubine Zhao Ling uttered a muffled “hmm”.
Wei Shu: "But we don't know when we can go back, maybe a year, maybe ten years... Are you really willing to do this?"
She was in low spirits, but she bent her eyes and whispered, "Didn't you say that we should not submit to fate but resist? My father even wants to exchange his birth certificate with someone else. If I don't run away now, I won't be able to escape. He said that I can't survive if I leave the Zhao family, and I rely on him for everything. But I don't believe it... So I want to leave Wei, I want to prove that I don't need to rely on them, I don't need a man to support me... I can support myself, my own life, and it is not controlled by my father.
"They gave birth to me, but should I be a puppet? If I don't want to be a puppet, should I die to atone for my sin? This world shouldn't be like this.
"Qilang, Brother Juyuan...just help me this time and let me go with you!"
The moon is dim and the stars are sparse, and the desert is dusty.
Concubine Zhao Ling looked up at the moon in the sky, and her expression gradually became firmer: "My cousin has always wanted to leave Chang'an, and now I understand that I also want to leave Chang'an. My cousin wants to be a free eagle in the sky, and now I understand that I also want to be, and I don't want to be bound by others!
"Does a girl only have one way to go, which is to get married? Do girls have no life of their own except for working for the family? I don't know... but I want to do it myself and figure out what I want."
Wei Shujing looked at her.
I think she glowed when she talked about her thoughts, but she probably didn't even notice it.
-----
In Chang'an City, Zhao Wuniang's escape from marriage made Lord Zhao very angry. He had to hold his nose and apologize to the aristocratic family that he had arranged the marriage with, and shamefully exchanged the engagement letter back.
Lord Zhao made a promise that he would break Wu Niang's legs the next time he saw Concubine Zhao Lingfei!
At this time, he only thought that his daughter had gone to hide in Chang'an as usual, and at most had the courage to go to the border to find Yang Sanlang. He didn't know that his daughter was so bold that she left Wei directly.
Mrs. Zhao cried every day, Mr. Zhao's business was unsuccessful, the Zhao family was shrouded in dark clouds, and even Princess Danyang heard gossip about the Zhao family from a minister.
When she heard that Zhao Lingfei had run away from her marriage, Mu Wanyao was secretly alert and quickly sent a letter to Shuzhong, fearing that Zhao Lingfei was going to look for Yan Shang. At the same time, she was glad that she had held on to Yan Shang tightly. Otherwise, with Zhao Lingfei's fearless temper... Yan Shang might really be moved by Zhao Lingfei.
Yan Shang left, especially for something like disaster relief, and it was so far away in Shuzhong. At least half a year had passed...Mu Wanyao felt quite annoyed.
She was just following the routine to win over her own political power in Chang'an. Without Yan Shang to accompany her and to tease her, this kind of life was too normal, so normal that it was boring. However, Mu Wanyao couldn't chase him to Shuzhong... He was busy with government affairs, so what was the point of her chasing him all day?
It seems like she is dependent on Yan Shang.
Besides, isn't she busy?
When Mu Wanyao was busy with the government affairs in Chang'an, nothing major happened in Chang'an. The only thing that was a little unusual for her was that the Princess of Jin was pregnant.
Princess Jin had been praying for who knows how many years, and had dragged Mu Wanyao to pray to Buddha countless times...and now that Princess Jin was finally pregnant, Mu Wanyao, who had witnessed how anxious the princess was along the way, breathed a sigh of relief and was a little happy for this princess who had had a hard time.
It turns out that someone would really go to such lengths to pray for a child. Princess Jin no longer has a child, and Mu Wanyao feels that Princess Jin is not far from going crazy... Mu Wanyao turns to think of herself, but quickly tells herself not to think too much. Yan Shang has already accepted her, so she shouldn't worry about it and torture herself.
However, while being happy, Mu Wanyao began to worry about Chunhua's treatment in Prince Jin's Mansion.
When Princess Jin was not pregnant, she held Chunhua tightly, because she was preparing for the worst - if she was still not pregnant, Princess Jin would definitely acknowledge Chunhua's son and raise him as her own.
But Princess Jin is now pregnant.
If a son is born, then the subtle competition between the legitimate son and the eldest son will inevitably lead to a change in Princess Jin's attitude towards Chunhua. Chunhua's life in the Jin Palace will probably not be so easy.
Mu Wan thought for a while, but there was nothing she could do. Chunhua was the one who lived her life, and she couldn't marry her fifth brother on behalf of Chunhua. At most, she could remind her fifth brother more and let him take care of the backyard... So, it would have been great if Chunhua didn't have to be a concubine.
As he thought about it, Mu Wanyao hated the King of Qin even more.
And recently the King of Qin has also been making frequent moves... Because the King of Qin has been in solitary confinement long enough, the troop mobilization in Chang'an City has made the King of Qin uneasy, and it is estimated that the King of Qin will be released soon.
Of course, Mu Wanyao tried every means to keep the King of Qin in prison for a longer period of time. However, in July, Mu Wanyao had to watch helplessly as the King of Qin was released. Fortunately, this half-year confinement had a great impact on the King of Qin, making him keep a low profile for a while and not dare to show off again.
The King of Qin even came to the Princess's residence to drink and chat with Mu Wanyao, saying that he wanted to temporarily reconcile with her: "Yaoyao, we were never enemies. I was sorry for what I did to you before, and I have come here to apologize to you. Please don't hold me against you in the court."
For this purpose, the King of Qin sent a large number of treasures.
Mu Wanyao really didn't have much to do with him now, so she half-heartedly accepted the King of Qin's reconciliation. At the same time, she felt slightly proud in her heart. When she was playing with the King of Qin's apology gift in her house, she thought that all this was due to her current status.
Power, power, all power.
This fascinated her.
She became more obsessed with participating in government affairs. Without a man, she became more enthusiastic than before. She was devoted to planning for herself. Behind the court, Princess Danyang's voice became very important. And it was at this time that Xia Rong suddenly reminded Mu Wanyao of something: "Your Highness, when will Yan Erlang come back?"
Mu Wanyao was reading a folded document, and when he heard this, he became alert: "Why do you care about this?"
Xia Rong: "Because my younger brother was born two days ago, I suddenly remembered that Erlang might be coming of age soon."
Mu Wan shook his head for a moment and said, "He will be born in mid-October, and he will be an adult by then."
Xia Rong: "Will Erlang be able to come back by then?"
Mu Wanyao was unhappy: "Of course he can come back! He is here to provide disaster relief, not to live in Shuzhong. No matter how difficult Shuzhong is, the drought season will be over after September. No matter how enthusiastic he is, there is no need for him to stay in Shuzhong any longer."
Xia Rong's reminder made Mu Wanyao thoughtful and excited at the same time. Mu Wanyao threw down the memorial, stood up and paced, muttering to himself: "How important is a man's coming-of-age ceremony. After the coming-of-age ceremony, he has truly grown up. His father cannot come to Chang'an, so as his... um, I should help him with it."
She tilted her head and thought for a moment: "I should go and discuss this with Mr. Liu."
Liu Xianggong was Yan Shang's teacher. If Yan Shang wanted to be crowned in Chang'an, he would definitely need an elder like Liu Xianggong, who was highly respected, to do it for him. Mu Wanyao was very excited and thought that he must have a good discussion with Liu Xianggong and give Yan Shang a surprise... He probably didn't think anyone would care about his coming of age.
Mu Wanyao was a man of great mobility, so he had this idea. Without even saying hello, he drove directly to the residence of Prime Minister Liu to discuss things with him.
The princess suddenly arrived, and the Liu family hurriedly received her. When Mu Wanyao got off the carriage and entered the Liu family, it was Liu Ruozhu who hurried to greet her. In the past few months, because of Liu Ruozhu's persistence, Mu Wanyao became much more familiar with this young lady and had a better impression of her.
So when she saw Liu Ruozhu, Mu Wanyao smiled and nodded to Liu Ruozhu. However, when she turned her eyes behind Liu Ruozhu, she saw a tall, gentle-looking man who looked vaguely familiar, and she was stunned for a moment.
The young man bowed to her and said, "I am Lin Dao, a scholar of the Hanlin Academy, and I pay my respects to Your Highness."
Mu Wanyao remembered that this person had brought a storyteller like her into the Hanlin Academy when she was presiding over the literary competition, and he challenged her and made her very angry.
Mu Wan shook her head in displeasure: "Why are you here?"
Liu Ruozhu smiled and said, "Some of the books I bought from the East Market are distorted, some are lost copies, and some are fabricated by later generations. I can't sort them out by myself, so Brother Lin came to help me. Brother Lin is well-educated, and with his help, we have sorted out many books in the past few months. After everything is sorted out, we want to excerpt them and send them to Hongwenguan so that scholars all over the world can read them."
Lin Dao nodded at the side: "The batch of books that Madam Liu saved are indeed extremely important. It's a pity that I originally wanted to donate them to the Hanlin Academy, but she wanted to send them to the Hongwen Academy."
Liu Ruozhu blushed and said embarrassedly: "Anyway, we want more people to see it. If Your Highness is interested, we can also send some to the Princess's Mansion?"
Mu Wanyao smiled and said, "How can I just let you copy the excerpts? I'll send some people to help you copy the book."
She walked past them and smelled the scent of ink on them. She thought they were busy in the bookstore. Liu Ruozhu followed Mu Wanyao and took her to see her grandfather. Mu Wanyao turned around and saw Lin Dao following behind Liu Ruozhu... Her eyes flashed and she suddenly realized that the handsome man and beautiful woman should be here.
Mu Wanyao asked Liu Ruozhu: "What are you going to do after you finish organizing these books?"
Liu Ruozhu said softly: "There are many books that have been lost in the world, and I want to restore them one by one. Unfortunately, I am a woman with humble power, so I don't know how to achieve this wish."
Mu Wanyao laughed casually: "That's easy. Just marry a husband who is willing to do this kind of thing with you. Collect and organize these with you; travel around with you, visit ancient and modern times, and protect these lost cultures with you..."
Liu Ruozhu's face suddenly turned red, especially since Mu Wanyao said this in front of Lin Dao, which made her stutter: "Your Highness, what are you talking about! How can you suddenly say such a thing!"
She looked at Lin Dao behind her in panic.
Lin Dao smiled at her, which made her face even redder and she looked away guiltily.
Liu Ruozhu: "I, I'll go and help His Highness see what book His Highness wants..."
Mu Wan waved her feather fan slowly and leisurely: "You can pick whatever you want. Anyway, I am just watching alone. I can't be like you, with someone to accompany you, a beautiful lady to add fragrance to your appearance, and similar aspirations... Our Yan Xiaoer is not interested in these things."
She affectionately called "Yan Xiaoer". Liu Ruozhu was already used to the princess's style of showing off from time to time and reminding her to stay away from Yan Shang. Hearing this, she just pursed her lips and smiled. However, Lin Dao seemed to be thinking about something, wondering who Yan Xiaoer was.
Could it be... Yan Suchen?
The gentle and refined Yan Suchen and this arrogant princess who was married to a foreign princess?
interesting.
-----
While Mu Wanyao was discussing Yan Shang's coming-of-age ceremony with Prime Minister Liu in Chang'an, Yan Shang's disaster relief work in Shu was going exceptionally smoothly.
So smooth...almost weird.
After he arrived in Shuzhong, he first went to Yizhou, also known as Shu County. Yizhou was a very rich prefecture in Jiannan, but a severe drought occurred in Jiannan. The officials in Yizhou were very cooperative with Yan Shang. Whatever Yan Shang asked, the officials here would arrange it.
Nothing serious happened to the victims in Yizhou. There was no riot or rebellion. The court distributed food, and they lined up every day to collect it. Yan Shang was afraid that these officials would do something, so he personally supervised and nothing went wrong. The governors and county magistrates in Yizhou all claimed that they loved the people like their own children and would never dare to disobey the court or pretend to obey but actually disobey.
Yan Shang believed them for the time being.
After that, they left Yizhou and went to several other key counties. This time, the disaster was not under control like in Yizhou. In these small counties, Yan Shang, as an official sent from Chang'an, was naturally warmly received by these local officials. And Yan Shang also supervised their disaster relief as he did in Yizhou.
But this time, when the people lined up to receive food, Yan Shang discovered that the food was mixed with sand and stones.
The porridge given out daily was mixed with a lot of foreign matter, with more water and less rice.
The officials also cried out about their difficulties: "My dear, you came from Chang'an and have never seen the victims. You don't know how difficult it is for us. There are too many people suffering. If we mix in more miscellaneous items, we can save more people. As long as no one starves to death, it will be fine. It has become so difficult, saving more people is more important."
The other party obviously portrayed Yan Shang as a superior official who was ignorant of the suffering of the people and did not understand the difficulties of local officials.
Even if the other party's rank is actually higher than Yan Shang...however, there are differences between officials. The Chang'an officials have a higher status than the local officials.
Yan Shang accepted their explanation on the surface, and when he turned around, he said to his servant Yun Shu: "Behind the adulteration of grain, there may be two numbers that are wrong.
"One possibility is that there is a problem with the amount of food in the warehouse. Another possibility is that the number of people... does not match the actual situation."
Yun Shu was puzzled: "We have the household registration records of the people here, and the number of people who come to collect food every day is recorded... How can it not match?"
Yan Shang whispered, "I don't know either. I just said there is such a possibility... This matter went too smoothly, and the clues behind it may be very long. But maybe I am overthinking... In any case, let's check it out first."
Yun Shu: "If they really deceive their superiors and subordinates..."
Yan Shang sighed and said nothing more.
-----
Most of the people became victims of the disaster, but some did not.
For example, the wealthy and powerful, and the aristocratic families.
There are no big aristocratic families in Shuzhong. If there are any, they are just those who have just escaped from the wealthy and powerful. It is much easier to investigate such families than to investigate aristocratic families. Yan Shang and his people visited the people privately and easily found that there were people who provided food for these families, so they were not short of food.
Yunshu took the data they found out and said, "These families buy their own grain from merchants outside. The grain price is a bit higher than the market price... but this is not to be blamed. We can't stop the merchants from making money, right?"
Yan Shang sighed: "Businessman."
In the study at night, Yunshu saw Yanshang was silent, so he looked up and asked, "What's wrong, my dear?"
Yan Shang put his hand on his forehead and said softly, "Yun Shu, do you know why we have been suppressing the merchants from becoming powerful? They are just making money, so why do we keep belittling their status? Merchants value profit, and officials value profit too. Once officials and merchants collude... it will be really troublesome."
Yun Shu was shocked: "My dear, are you suspicious that they are using the disaster relief grain to make trouble?"
Leaning against the desk, looking at the papers spread out on the desk, thinking about the people he had interviewed during the day... Yan Shang said calmly: "If it's just this, I can still handle it. What I'm afraid of is more... I'm afraid that the whole Shuzhong is doing this. I'm even more afraid that everyone from top to bottom knows it and condones this.
"If too many officials are involved... the law cannot hold everyone accountable, what should I do?"
Yunshu remained silent.
Ting Yanshang's tone was calm, but after following Langjun for so long, he could already hear a hint of anger in his tone. Yunshu secretly smacked his lips, thinking that they could actually make someone as good-tempered as Langjun angry... These officials were really powerful.
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