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!
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