Chapter 349 The Variables of Returning North
Hu Fu encountered the main force of soldiers returning north within the territory of Tanzhou Prefecture.
On the day he arrived, according to news from the front, the soldiers returning north were crossing the river.
Khufu set off without stopping.
According to the introduction from the officials in charge of receiving guests in Tanzhou Prefecture, the river flowing northward in front of us is called the Xiang River.
Hu Fu looked around and saw a sandbar in the middle of the Xiang River, like a long ribbon floating on the river.
Upon seeing this, the Prefectural Chief Clerk of Tanzhou introduced the situation: "Lord Hu, this prefecture is known by the local people as Orange Isle."
"Um."
Khufu couldn't help but gaze into the distance, taking a few more glances.
Before me, the sky is clear and blue, the Xiang River flows northward, and Orange Isle lies at the head of the river.
Hu Fu felt a surge of boundless pride and exhilaration.
"Your Excellency, those garrison soldiers are just ahead; they have just crossed the river."
"Walk."
Suddenly, Khufu was all alone, and he spurred his horse forward.
"Your Excellency, wait for us! Be careful!"
The officials and garrison commanders of Tanzhou Prefecture hurriedly followed the bearded eunuch. This was the emperor's private envoy, representing the empress. If anything happened to him, they would also be in trouble.
Hu Fu ignored him and let his horse run wild.
Soon, the throng of soldiers appeared before him.
"Envoy, etc., I will send someone to negotiate..."
"No need, you can stop here."
Khufu gave the order, then went ahead alone without looking back.
Faced with the sudden appearance of the crowd ahead, the returning soldiers who had just crossed the river quickly assembled into ranks under the leadership of several men who appeared to be leaders.
Armed with weapons in hand, they watched the group, which appeared to be government troops from Tanzhou Prefecture, with wary expressions.
"Who are you? Please stop." The leading man stepped forward and called out.
"Hu Fu, a scholar of various schools, is the emperor's envoy, representing the sage, and has come to issue an imperial edict."
The soldiers returning north were stunned, seemingly not expecting a eunuch to have such a powerful and resonant voice, brimming with heroic spirit.
However, what they didn't expect was that when the bearded eunuch came close, he didn't rein in his horse, but continued to whip it forward, leaving the Tanzhou Prefecture soldiers far behind. Alone, he walked into the vigilant crowd of soldiers with their weapons.
The leading men remained silent, and the garrison soldiers instinctively parted to make way for Khufu to enter.
Khufu, alone, carrying a scroll of yellow silk in one hand, passed by the soldiers.
Along the way, he turned his head left and right, his gaze falling on the tired faces of the returning soldiers, their dusty armor, and the cooking utensils in pots and pans, carefully scanning each one.
The entire room was completely silent.
The leading man, the returning soldiers, and even the officials of Tanzhou Prefecture in the rear all witnessed this scene in silence.
Khufu remained calm, though he was actually a little nervous inside, but he forced himself to suppress it.
He reined in his horse in the middle of the crowd, removed his shawl, unfolded the imperial edict with both hands, and read it aloud with a proud and steady tone:
"Imperial Edict..."
Words of pardon uttered from Khufu's mouth, echoing throughout the silent arena.
Read it.
The entire room fell silent.
Khufu glanced at the leading men.
One of the tall, thin men, fully armored and wearing a red cloak, stood at the very front of the group of leaders, seemingly Cai Qin, the leader of the mutiny.
As for Ouyang Lianghan, the Prefect of Jiangzhou, and Su Qian, the Third Regiment Captain whom he mentioned in private, they should be one of these leading men, but Hu Fu doesn't recognize them and doesn't care much about them at the moment.
While Khufu was observing the expressions of the generals, the generals were also observing the expressions of the emperor's private envoy.
Khufu presented the imperial edict with both hands, gestured to the emperor, and then spoke in a deep, resonant voice:
"General Cai, please receive the imperial decree."
Cai Qin remained silent.
Khufu remained expressionless and did not urge him.
Time passed second by second.
Hu Fu, being stared at by a group of warriors fighting and guarding the border, kept his eyes fixed on Cai Qin, but his eyes seemed to lose focus, as if his perception of time had become dulled.
He didn't know how much time had passed, whether it was a moment or an eternity.
Until...
Cai Qin suddenly dismounted, stepped forward to receive the imperial decree, knelt on one knee, and bowed his head in gratitude.
A wave of cheers immediately erupted throughout the venue.
It was cheers. Like the waves of the Xiang River beside them, it swept across the crowd on the riverbank.
The bearded eunuch on horseback secretly breathed a sigh of relief, only to realize that his shirt was already soaked with sweat.
At this moment of great anticipation, he couldn't help but turn his head and glance at the sandbar in the middle of the Xiangjiang River, which resembled a ribbon.
Generals such as Cai Qin stepped forward to exchange pleasantries.
The garrison soldiers surged forward in jubilation.
Officials from Tanzhou Prefecture also cautiously stepped forward to offer their congratulations.
A diverse array of people, creating a chaotic scene.
Later, Hu Fu also became distracted and forgot how he comforted and dealt with Cai Qin and the other soldiers.
The atmosphere of this pardon process on the banks of the Xiang River was vibrant and full of life, with everything flourishing.
That night, he and his soldiers got drunk at the temporary military camp outside Tanzhou City and returned home. Instead of going back to the well-maintained official residence arranged for them in the city, he stayed with the garrison soldiers.
The next day, after waking up, Hu Fu went out of his tent to the main tent to discuss matters with Cai Qin and others. He clearly felt the closeness and respect that the soldiers in the camp had for him...
For the next few days, while staying in Tanzhou Prefecture, Hu Fu stayed with the soldiers who had been granted amnesty.
Cai Qin and other generals trusted him more and more.
Even when Khufu expressed slight concern about weapons and armor, Cai Qin immediately removed his armor and ordered all the garrison soldiers to remove their weapons as well.
Therefore, these weapons and armor were left in Tanzhou Prefecture.
On this day, after resting, the group set off and left Tanzhou Prefecture.
Before they left, the Tanzhou government sent military rations and feed to replenish the soldiers' supplies.
Hu Fu decided to follow Cai Qin and the others back north.
This can be seen as setting an example, representing the court, and expressing their stance.
Before leaving Tanzhou Prefecture, Hu Fu, in his capacity as an imperial envoy, sent several letters to the prefectures along the way, explaining the situation and ordering officials not to obstruct the soldiers and to allow them to cross the border and return north...
In particular, the officials of Hongzhou and Jiangzhou, which were the final destinations for those returning north, were ordered to prepare to receive them.
After the official document was issued and arrangements were made, Hu Fu followed the main force and left Tanzhou Prefecture, continuing his journey north.
Now that the surrender has been successful, all the preparatory work is proceeding smoothly.
He felt that everything was going smoothly.
Perhaps it was admiration for his bold move of issuing the imperial decree single-handedly that day.
During the march back north, Hu Fu gradually became acquainted with Cai Qin and others.
Moreover, in order to blend into the atmosphere of the military camp, even the bearded eunuch envoy, who rarely drank, started to join in the drinking.
During this time, Hu Fu finally met with Captain Su Qian of the Third Regiment.
This was a round-faced man with a stoic build and wheat-colored skin, who drank silently at the dinner table and rarely spoke.
Although most of these 1,500 garrison soldiers were from Hongzhou's military command, with Su Qian leading a minority of the Jiangzhou garrison soldiers,
However, perhaps due to his quiet and honest personality, Su Qian got along well with Cai Qin and other generals in Hongzhou, at least without being ostracized or neglected.
Khufu observed this, but because the appeasement and pacification went smoothly without encountering any difficulties, Khufu did not take the initiative to seek out Su Qian.
Su Qian remained silent towards Hu Fu, who occasionally wore a waist knife, or rather, he spoke little to Cai Qin and the others, and never took the initiative to strike up a conversation with Hu Fu.
Khufu didn't care much about this.
As time went by, things progressed steadily and positively until the group entered the heart of Jiangnan Road.
Hu Fu and Cai Qin, along with other garrison soldiers, arrived in Raozhou, which was not far from Hongzhou.
After passing through a city checkpoint, I suddenly noticed something was different.
"Envoy Hu, what is the purpose of deploying guards at these checkpoints?"
At the front of the column, Cai Qin turned his head and asked the question that was on the minds of the generals and soldiers.
Khufu glanced at the heavily guarded checkpoint behind him.
He comforted her in a broad voice: "It's probably because there are many local bandits, and the government has stationed troops there for defense."
One of the captains said sullenly, "This area in the heart of Jiangnan used to be peaceful and quiet. How could there be such rampant bandits? We need to strengthen the guard."
The marching column fell silent.
Khufu frowned slightly.
In the following days, after passing through several checkpoints, we still encountered situations where key points were heavily guarded. It seemed quite obvious who they were guarding against.
Although they allowed the garrison troops to pass, Cai Qin and the others began glancing sideways at Hu Fu more and more frequently.
Hu Fu's expression remained unchanged, but inwardly he cursed the officials in Raozhou and other places.
As the procession approached Raozhou City, Khufu immediately entered the city, went into the main hall of Raozhou, and summoned the chief official of Raozhou to question him about the matter.
The Prefect of Raozhou is currently on sick leave and is not present; only a Prefectural Clerk surnamed Zhao from Raozhou is acting on his behalf.
The explanation is that Raozhou is located in the heart of Jiangnan Circuit and is in a crucial position. For security reasons, officers and soldiers were sent to guard the checkpoints to prevent trouble. This is the duty and responsibility of local officials and should not be done in this way.
However, Chief Secretary Zhao emphasized that it was merely a routine precaution and that he would never obstruct the envoy and the soldiers' journey back north.
Hu Fu could easily see through this old fox mentality and the irresponsible dereliction of duty, so he was naturally very dissatisfied and gave him a good scolding. Zhao Changshi bowed and scraped, apologizing profusely, but still kept laughing it off.
However, under pressure from the emperor's private envoy, Raozhou finally yielded, withdrawing some of the checkpoint troops and leaving only a few scattered soldiers to guard the pass as a mere formality...
Finally, the officials of Raozhou respectfully escorted the sullen-faced Hu Fu and the silent soldiers returning north to their garrison out of the country.
Leaving the "unreasonable" Raozhou, Hu Fu breathed a slight sigh of relief.
At the dinner table that night, he comforted Cai Qin and the other generals, and they all nodded in agreement. Cai Qin took the initiative to liven up the atmosphere.
However, Khufu and his generals soon discovered that Raozhou was not an isolated case.
It may be that Raozhou served as a substitute model, or it may be that they knew the heartland of Jiangnan Circuit was too important, and local officials were afraid that if the garrison soldiers got into trouble while passing through, they would be blamed.
As they passed through several states, they saw that at each checkpoint, there were fully armed and disciplined soldiers patrolling and guarding the area, coldly watching Cai Qin and his unarmed garrison soldiers pass through.
Khufu, as the envoy, wielded great power, yet he was unable to condemn all such acts across the land.
Not to mention the cunning and opportunistic petty officials who shirk responsibility and outwardly comply while inwardly resisting.
Hu Fu had no choice but to try his best to negotiate, while also making promises to appease Cai Qin and other generals and soldiers.
At first, when faced with such heavily guarded situations, Cai Qin and his men would look at Hu Fu with confusion or complain a bit. But later, after experiencing it more often, Cai Qin and the other generals became taciturn.
Khufu accompanied them every day, and Ziruo noticed that the atmosphere among the surrounding soldiers had become quiet. Although they still respected him, their attitude towards him was no longer as warm and friendly as it had been at the beginning.
This sign and atmosphere made Khufu slightly uneasy.
This day, at night.
The soldiers returning north camped out for the night on the outskirts of a county town.
Hu Fu funded the purchase of wine and food in the county town and invited Cai Qin and other garrison commanders to dine in the main tent.
During the meal, he offered some words of comfort and made some promises.
Cai Qin and the other generals nodded and forced a smile; the atmosphere remained relatively warm.
Hu Fu was not a strong drinker, and as he drank more, he became so drunk that he slumped onto the table. In his blurred vision, he vaguely saw a captain walk in from outside the tent, lean close to Cai Qin at the next table, and whisper something in his ear.
Hu Fu didn't hear clearly, but he saw Cai Qin suddenly stand up.
Then he sat down again and continued drinking.
Hu Fu looked up and asked with a lisp, "What is it?" Cai Qin shook his head and said that there had been a fight among the garrison soldiers, but it had already been dealt with.
After saying this, the leader of the returning northern soldiers raised his wine cup and continued to toast Khufu.
After the banquet, Khufu became drunk.
He was awakened by the urge to urinate, and when he opened his eyes, it was already late at night.
It was pitch black all around.
Khufu got up somewhat warily, looked around, and found himself lying on the mat in his own tent. He immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
He thought to himself, "Why are you so easily startled?"
Recent events have indeed made him somewhat easily frightened.
Hu Fu frowned, recalling for a moment, and realized that he had been brought back by Cai Qin and others after getting drunk.
He left the tent and found a patch of grass in the wild to urinate. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he saw that the main tent of the camp was still brightly lit, as if a banquet was being held.
After relieving himself, Khufu approached discreetly.
Who is it?
A garrison soldier, who appeared out of nowhere, blocked their way.
"He is a polymath."
Just as Hu Fu opened his mouth, the curtain of the main tent was lifted, and Cai Qin stepped out, looking reserved.
"Has Ambassador Hu woken up?"
"General Cai, aren't you asleep yet?"
Khufu glanced at the main tent, where there were a few scattered figures.
Cai Qin shook his head and said:
“I’ve been having some troubles lately, and some of the brothers wanted to have a few more drinks, so I drank with them for a while. But Hu Zhongshi can’t hold his liquor; he got drunk too early. We just took you back.”
"Thank you, General Cai. By the way, who among you is drinking..."
Before Hu Fu could finish speaking, Cai Qin stepped forward, put his arm around him, and invited him to go for a walk and chat, so he could sober up.
Khufu nodded.
So the two left the entrance to the main tent.
Just as they reached a short distance, Khufu suddenly turned around.
He noticed figures lifting the curtains and leaving the main tent. With his sharp eyes, he spotted a burly young man in a felt hat, though he couldn't make out his face, in addition to some familiar generals.
"My lord?" Cai Qin called out to him from behind.
"Hmm." Khufu pointed over there: "Who's that? I don't recognize him."
Cai Qin turned his head and glanced at it, then replied:
“They are brothers from Guizhou. They got separated after leaving Guizhou and just came back…”
"Oh, what's your name? What's your position?"
"Commander Du." Cai Qin hesitated for a moment before giving his name, then changed the subject:
"Your Excellency, regarding the extension of the oppressive policies in Guizhou, will the Emperor and the other officials not hold anyone accountable? Are Lan Changhao, as well as the officials in charge of Hongzhou and Jiangzhou, all safe and sound?"
Khufu fell silent for a moment, then shook his head and said:
"Some people in the court are calling for a thorough investigation. His Majesty has not ignored this matter. General Cai, rest assured, when you return, I will speak on your behalf again. His Majesty... will uphold justice."
Cai Qin turned his head: "Who in the court made this appeal?"
“Ouyang Lianghan, the Prefect of Jiangzhou, had the toughest attitude.”
"Only a fifth-rank chief clerk position..." Cai Qin said in a low voice, then raised his head and smiled: "This man is a good man."
Khufu nodded.
The atmosphere was slightly awkward. The two chatted for a few more minutes before saying goodbye.
They all went back to their tents to sleep.
Back in his tent, Khufu tossed and turned, murmuring to himself:
"Why are you asking these questions out of the blue..."
Soon, the sky outside the tent began to lighten.
There is morning glow today.
(End of this chapter)
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