Chapter 166 Orange: Daxia Dragon Bird (5k)
This convoy, which is longer than that of Su Ze and the other two combined, belongs to Cui Yanbo, the governor of Qizhou who is heading to Qizhou to take up his post.
Seeing that Cui Yanbo's convoy was much longer than his own, Li Shizhe, the newly appointed governor of Hezhou, who was also a governor, said enviously: "This is what a real man should do!"
Yu Jin had some understanding of his future father-in-law. He knew that Li Shizhe hated that he had not embezzled enough and his motorcade was not as impressive as Cui Yanbo's.
As expected, Li Shizhe said to Su Ze with an envious tone: "It is said that Cui Yanbo made a lot of money when he was the governor of Bingzhou before. I am afraid that he will make more money when he takes office in Qizhou this time."
"If Grandpa had found me an official position earlier and appointed me as the governor of a large province, my motorcade wouldn't be so shabby!"
Li Shizhe's tone was full of resentment towards Li Chong. Su Ze and Yu Jin looked at each other and saw the helplessness in each other's eyes.
His boss (father-in-law) really didn't know his position. If it weren't for Li Chong, he wouldn't have been able to become the governor of a large province, let alone the former Junior Secretary of the Ministry of Rites.
At this moment, Su Ze suddenly felt a resentful gaze. He turned around and saw a yellow-haired young man standing beside a gorgeous carriage, staring at him.
Su Ze recalled carefully. He had never seen this young man before. Why did he hate him so much?
The carriage door opened, and Xiao Baoyin, the Duke of Danyang, dressed in a Confucian robe, got off the carriage with the help of the young man.
It turned out that Xiao Baoyin was there to see Cui Yanbo off.
"Lord Cui, there have always been incidents in Guanzhong in recent years. The court hopes that you will take office in Qizhou and be able to subdue the locals and avoid any incidents."
Xiao Baoyin was implicitly advising Cui Yanbo not to go too far in corruption. In recent years, there have been frequent civil uprisings in Guanzhong. Although they were all suppressed quickly, civil uprisings in the area under his rule would always affect the governor's term of office.
The last time, Cui Yanbo was driven away by the officials and people of Bingzhou who wrote a ten-thousand-word petition together because of his serious corruption.
Xiao Baoyin paid a lot of price to push Cui Yanbo to the position of governor of Qizhou, so he was naturally afraid that Cui Yanbo would cause the same thing in Qizhou.
Although Cui Yanbo was arrogant, he knew that Xiao Baoyin had made great contributions to his work, and that he would need someone to speak for him in the court when he was appointed to a post outside the capital in the future. So he said, "Duke Danyang, don't worry! This time when I take office in Qizhou, I will definitely protect the country and the people!"
Of course, Cui Yanbo himself didn't believe what he said.
In fact, he had almost used up all the money he had embezzled while serving as the governor of Bingzhou over the years, and the rest was used to bribe court officials. For example, when he was reinstated this time, he gave Jiangyang King Yuan Yi a farm near Luoyang, basically emptied his family fortune.
However, after Cui Yanbo was appointed as the governor of Qizhou, a large number of businessmen came to him and voluntarily donated money to help him take office in Qizhou.
Cui Yanbo naturally accepted all the offers. In his team, apart from his family, personal soldiers and retainers, there were also the Luoyang merchants who had "invested" heavily in him. These Luoyang merchants naturally did not invest in vain, as they were still waiting to follow Cui Yanbo to Qizhou to get their money back.
Xiao Baoyin also knew that it was useless to say too much, but in his camp, except Cui Yanbo, there was really no one else qualified to be the provincial governor.
Soon it was time to say goodbye, and everyone said goodbye to their relatives and friends. Su Ze saw the familiar black carriage not far away.
Luzhu on the carriage lifted the pearl curtain, and Princess Chenliu in the carriage was wearing a white palace dress. She was holding a willow branch in her hand and gently waving it towards Su Ze, saying goodbye to Su Ze from afar.
Su Ze also gave Princess Chen Liu a comforting look. Yesterday, Su Ze had "comforted" her all night long. It was originally agreed that Princess Chen Liu would not come to see him off, but unexpectedly she still came.
Su Ze secretly made up his mind that he would wait until the Northern Wei Dynasty became chaotic and then take Princess Chenliu away from Luoyang to reunite with him.
In addition, those who came to see him off included Su Ze's mentor Li Daoyuan, his sworn brother Erzhu Rong, Guangyang King Yuan Shen also sent his son Yuan Fotu to see him off, and the Imperial College's chief academic officer Cui Guang also sent his sons and nephews to see him off.
Li Shizhe and Cui Yanbo were both superiors. After leaving Luoyang, they traveled together for a long distance, but their convoys were on opposite sides of the road, and Cui Yanbo had no intention of approaching Li Shizhe to say hello and travel together.
Su Ze saw the contradiction between the two and could only secretly sigh that the treacherous minister, Jiangyang Wang Yuanyi, really knew how to control his subordinates.
Although Li Chong and Xiao Baoyin are both in the Yuanyi Group, there is some hidden conflict between them.
Li Chong asked for his son to be appointed to Hezhou, but Xiao Baoyin always regarded Guanxi as his sphere of influence.
After Li Shizhe took office in Hezhou, once he had a conflict with the local powerful families, it would inevitably lead to a conflict between Xiao Baoyin and Li Chong, who were supported by the Guanxi powerful families.
In Yuan Yi's power group, the Grand Chamberlain Liu Teng, the Right Guard General Xi Kangsheng, the Prince of Guangyang Yuan Shen, the Duke of Danyang Xiao Baoyin, and the General of the Cavalry Li Chong, none of them had a close relationship with each other. In the entire Yuan Yi group, Yuan Yi's personal power occupied an absolute dominant position, and there was no possibility for the other small groups to unite.
This resulted in Yuan Yi having extremely strong control over the forces under his command, while the Hedong clans such as Prince Qinghe and Minister of Personnel Cui Liang were only in a cooperative relationship and did not have the same control over their subordinates as Yuan Yi.
As expected, not everyone can be a treacherous minister. Su Ze secretly took note that if one wants to be a qualified "treacherous minister", one needs to learn. At present, Yuan Yi is a good learning example.
It’s a pity that I have to leave Luoyang, and I don’t know when the struggle between Prince Qinghe and Prince Jiangyang will come to an end.
Two long teams began to leave. Xiao Baoyin mounted his horse and looked at Su Ze who turned and left. A gloomy look flashed in his eyes.
The young man who had just cast a resentful look at Su Ze said to Xiao Baoyin:
"Mingsir! Su Ze was only promoted by Li Chong's lies about his military achievements! How can he be the Protector of the Qiang!"
The young man who spoke was named Liang Lan, a new confidant of Xiao Baoyin.
Because Su Liang was unwilling to help Xiao Baoyin cast Buddhist coins, he was alienated by Xiao Baoyin in recent days. After Su Liang's younger brother Su Chao accepted the position of Chief Clerk of Su Ze's Huqiang General's Mansion, Xiao Baoyin became even more dissatisfied.
At that time, the reputations of the two Su brothers spread far and wide, and Xiao Baoyin wanted to recruit Su Chao to serve in his own military office to make him famous, but Su Liang always refused on the grounds that his younger brother had not yet been crowned.
Now Su Chao hasn't even been crowned yet, so why did he accept Su Ze's call?
Xiao Baoyin felt that Su Liang and his brothers looked down on him, so he distanced himself from Su Liang. Liang Lan found an opportunity and became his number one confidant.
Liang Lan's father, Liang Zhao, was the chieftain of the largest Qiang tribe in Hezhou and a famous general in Hezhou. He had resisted the attacks of Tuyuhun many times and made great contributions to the Wei Dynasty.
However, Liang Zhao had been in Hezhou for decades without being promoted. It was not until his son became a subordinate of Xiao Baoyin that Liang Zhao saw a way out.
This time, Xiao Baoyin also recommended Liang Zhao to be the General Protector of the Qiang. Originally, Liang Zhao's contributions and prestige in Hezhou were enough, but Su Ze intervened.
In the end, King Jiangyang supported Li Chong and awarded the position of General Protector of the Qiang to Su Ze, so Liang Zhao's son Liang Lan was very hostile to Su Ze.
Xiao Baoyin said to Liang Lan, "Write a letter to your grandfather and ask him to take good care of Su Ze in Hezhou and let him know that Guanxi is different from Luoyang."
Liang Lan was overjoyed after hearing this. Xiao Baoyin's words were equivalent to supporting his father and Su Ze to fight in Hezhou. As long as there were important officials in the court to speak for his father, maybe Su Ze could really be driven out of Hezhou!
By then, wouldn't the position of General Protector of the Qiang be in his pocket?
As Xiao Baoyin looked at the huge convoy, new ideas came to his mind.
Since your Yuan family won't let me go out to guard the city, the reason is that the world is at peace now and the court is unwilling to continue fighting with the Southern Dynasty.
Wouldn't it be enough to just let the local area become chaotic?
Both Qizhou, where Cui Yanbo was in office, and Hezhou, where Su Ze was in office, had actually experienced unrest in previous years. However, the Northern Wei was still strong at that time, and they were quickly suppressed by relying solely on the soldiers from the prefectures and counties.
But if there is chaos in Guanzhong, then important officials of the court must be sent to quell the rebellion, and then he can seek to lead troops out of Guanzhong.
Xiao Baoyin even had some more obscure thoughts. Once he left Luoyang and went to Guanzhong, with his influence among the aristocratic families in Guanxi, as long as he stayed in Guanzhong in the name of suppressing the rebellion for a long time, would he have the opportunity to split Guanzhong?
By that time, I won’t have to look at the face of the woman in the mansion anymore.
Xiao Baoyin thought of his wife Princess Nanyang again, and the love they had in the past gradually turned into resentment.
"Mingsong, are you going back home?"
"No, let's go to the other hall."
-
There is only one passage from Luoyang into Guanzhong. After going west into the world's most magnificent pass, Tongguan, you will reach the 800-li-long Qinchuan area with vast plains.
Tongguan was the most important barrier of Chang'an. After An Lushan conquered Tongguan and destroyed the imperial guards led by Geshu Han, Li Longji had no choice but to flee overnight.
However, the Northern Wei Dynasty had unified the north for many years, so there were not many defenders in Tongguan. Seeing that they were officials coming to take up their posts, the commander of Tongguan did not dare to neglect them and directly opened the gate to let them pass.
“It really is Tongguan with mountains and rivers inside and outside!”
Tongguan is located on the Qinling Mountains and has the Yellow River flowing beside it, so its location can be said to be extremely dangerous.
Su Cho also said: "My teacher once researched the origin of the name Tongguan. It was said in "Notes on the Classic of Waterways": 'The river flows southward inside the pass and hits the mountain, so it is called Tongguan.' Today I saw it and I really heard the sound of the river hitting the mountain." The location of Tongguan in the Northern Wei Dynasty was different from that of Tongguan after the Sui and Tang Dynasties. The current Tongguan is built on a loess plateau beside the Yellow River.
The so-called Yuan is a common landform on the Loess Plateau. It is a highland formed by the erosion of flowing water due to the loose soil. The four sides are steep and the top is flat. This kind of terrain is called Yuan.
For example, "White Deer Plain" should actually be written as Bailuyuan, because Bailu Village is built on the plain.
Wuzhangyuan, where Zhuge Liang died, is actually a plateau. It is a strategic location fought over by Shu Han and Cao Wei.
In addition, there is Longshouyuan, on which the Han Chang'an City was built.
The special topography of the plateau makes these areas natural fortresses.
The plateau is flat in the middle but steep on all sides, which puts the army attacking the plateau at an absolute disadvantage. They need to climb up the plateau first before they can fight the enemy on it.
The Yellow River is located on the edge of the plateau in Tongguan, and it is also the place where the Yellow River bends. The river is turbulent and it is impossible to stop ships, which makes Tongguan even more difficult to attack.
But if Tongguan is ignored, the defenders on the plateau can attack the transport ships on the river at any time and cut off the supply line.
The most disgusting thing is that in addition to military buildings, there are often wells, farmlands, granaries, and workshops on the plateau. Even if you surround the plateau, the people there can continue to farm and consume you.
Therefore, Tongguan is not just a fortress, but a super fortress that can grow crops and a floating battleship floating above the Yellow River.
This is also the reason why Guanzhong can attack or defend as long as it controls Tongguan.
Su Ze observed Tongguan for a long time, and finally he could only come to the conclusion that Tongguan could not be captured unless it was conquered from the inside and the defenders were forced to surrender.
If we want to attack by force, as long as the morale of the defenders does not collapse, we will not be able to take them down even if we spend ten or a hundred times the number of troops.
Guanzhong is indeed the foundation of kingship and hegemony!
Su Ze drooled as he watched. Hou Jing and Murong Shaozong had never seen such a pass before. Hou Jing murmured, "Even if you give me 100,000 men, I still can't capture Tongguan!"
However, Hou Jing was soon slapped in the face. He saw with his own eyes a group of Western merchants leading camels walked into Tongguan in such a dignified manner.
Hou Jing couldn't help but say, "In our six towns, merchants are not allowed to enter the town, and they are not even allowed to spend the night by the city wall. How could the commander of Tongguan allow the caravan to enter the city?"
Su Ze had seen the elephants in Baidao City, so he was not surprised by this. He said:
"Where else did the commander get his brocade clothes? Not only did they allow merchants to rest in the city, they also vacated the military camp for them to live in. The commander of Tongguan is a good job."
Hou Jing and Murong Shaozong looked at each other and saw the surprise in each other's eyes. This was Tongguan, the first pass in the capital, and the guards were so lax. This showed how lax the military preparations of the entire Central Plains were.
Officials in the Northern Wei Dynasty all had a term of office. If they failed to do so, they would easily be attacked by political enemies in the court. Qizhou, where Cui Yanbo took office, was not far from Tongguan, so Cui Yanbo took his troops into Tongguan to rest.
However, Su Ze's departure had already delayed time, and Hezhou was far from Luoyang, so even Li Shizhe did not let the team rest, but continued to leave Tongguan and head west.
The two teams parted ways.
After entering Guanzhong, it was finally time for Su Ze to hand in the task. He called his sister Su Yuyao and answered her questions about the Buddha's money. Sure enough, the system popped up a prompt that the task was completed:
[Complete the mission "Sister's Doubts", the merchandise column +1, the inventory reaches 9, and get the reward: Sister's Admiration. ]
Your system is really stingy!
The so-called mission reward is just adding a store grid, and then that’s it?
Su Ze had never seen such a stingy system!
But after completing the task, I should be able to get good stuff in today’s store refresh, right?
Previously, Su Ze got orange and purple items thanks to Princess Nanyang's luck. In order to prevent waste, Su Ze saved the tasks until he left Luoyang to exchange them, just for today.
After sending his sister back to the tent, Su Ze went to inspect the team's camping. He was busy until dark before returning to the tent. The system finally refreshed.
When he saw the two oranges, Su Ze couldn't help but burst into tears. The wait was indeed worth it.
Two orange, two purple, one blue and four green!
But when he saw these two orange products, Su Ze couldn't help but greet the system again.
This time the two orange items are a follower and an item.
【Daxia Dragon Bird Preparation】
Grade: Orange;
Effect 1: Indestructible. When this follower fights with [Daxia Dragon Bird], he can cut off all weapons and break all armor.
Effect 2: The follower will be loyal to the master and will swear to protect the master until his death before he dies in battle.
Comments: "Helian Bobo forged a sword. If the sword cuts through armor, the armor maker will be killed. If the sword breaks, the sword maker will be killed. The person holding this sword is the best in the world."
Price: 2000 Wen Tai and Wu Zhu coins, and a maintenance fee of one piece of silk is required every month.
【Daxia Dragon Bird】
Grade: Orange;
Effect: Destroy objects, can break enemy weapons and armor.
Comments: "The sharp weapons of ancient times are the Zhanlu of Wu and Chu. The Longque of Daxia is famous in the capital of gods. It can be used to comfort the distant and to comfort the near. It is like the wind blowing the grass, and its power conquers the nine regions."
Price: ten pieces of silk.
Seeing these two orange products, Su Ze was so angry that he laughed.
Instead of learning the good things about this system, everyone has learned how to sell "special weapons"?
Disassembling followers and weapons and selling them, what a business genius!
This is even more shameless than not giving horses to cavalry followers!
Fortunately, Su Ze completed the task this time and drew the whole set at once. Wouldn’t it be disgusting if he only drew one?
But when he saw the cartoon icon of [Daxia Dragon Bird], Su Ze sucked in his saliva.
This Great Xia Dragon Bird is a magical weapon forged by Helian Bobo, the monarch of the Hu Xia Dynasty during the Sixteen Kingdoms period!
This magical weapon is forged with tempered steel, and has a large dragon-bird ring on the blade, making it indestructible!
Su Ze quickly gritted his teeth and bought the [Daxia Dragon Bird] from the store. When he saw this peerless sword, Su Ze's complaints about the system disappeared. This sword was really worth it!
Su Ze summoned the follower [Daxia Dragon Bird] again, only to see that this follower had an ordinary appearance and was only wearing light leather armor. Su Ze asked:
"Why are you only wearing light leather armor?"
The follower said, "With the Great Xia Dragon Bird here, the enemies in front of me are all unarmored. If the enemies are unarmored, why should I wear armor to slow down?"
Su Ze thought this guy was quibbling, but he continued:
"To protect the lord, what is this worthless life? If the armor affects my actions and I fail to save the lord, wouldn't it be too late to regret it?"
"I am your shield, and I will be a good shield if I kill all the enemies!"
Wow, it really is a follower with the [Loyal Guardian] effect!
Although at present, the followers summoned by Su Ze will not betray him, but these followers also have feelings. They will collapse and flee if they fail in the battlefield. They also have their own advantages and disadvantages.
[Daxia Dragon Bird Guard] This is the first time that Su Ze has encountered a follower who is willing to die to protect his master.
"From now on, you will be called Su Zhong. I will give you this [Daxia Dragon Bird]. From now on, you will be my close warrior."
"Thank you for the name, Lord!"
Su Ze became confused again. How did he enter Guanzhong and encounter followers and weapons related to Helian Bobo?
Today I will continue to update 10,000 chapters, thank you all for your support, this is the latest transition chapter.
(End of this chapter)