The Book of Troubled Times

Zhai Muzhi seemed to have picked the right time. The camp had just been set up and he arrived on time.

The soldiers started to light a fire to make food. Zhai Muyi wore a Confucian shirt and sat in the commander's tent drinking wine. There was a bonfire burning in the tent, and the guards were grilling meat. Two maids stood on the left and right, adding wine to Zhai Muzhi. The generals around were laughing and joking, enjoying themselves.

His chief historian, Xie Ruhai, was at his side, and there was an unknown scribe who occupied the position of host and guest.

Zhao Changhe stepped into the handsome tent and rolled his eyes, his face expressionless.

It's a war, are you going to have a bonfire party?

"What is the secret envoy of the Demon-Suppressing Division? It turns out to be Zhao Changhe." Zhai Muzhi laughed: "Sit, sit, sit down, you haven't eaten yet, can we have something together?"

Zhao Changhe sat in the guest seat at the bottom calmly: "Prefect Zhai knows Mr. Zhao?"

"Hey, Blood Shura Zhao Changhe is famous all over the world. Who doesn't know him? It's no secret that Shaoxia Zhao has a close relationship with the Chief Minister of the Tang Dynasty. Isn't it normal that the secret envoy is Shaoxia Zhao!" Zhai Muzhi pulled the guest to the seat enthusiastically. The scribe: "Introduce to Shaoxia Zhao that this is the imperial envoy Lu Shouyi, who was born in Fanyang!"

Lu Shouyi also knew that this guy's identity was a bit sensitive, so he stood up and handed over his hands with a smile on his face: "Mr. Zhao has a thunderous reputation. I'm glad to meet him."

"Nice to meet you." Zhao Changhe bowed his hand to Lu Shouyi perfunctorily, secretly thinking that it would be fine if he just recognized me as the Wang Daozhong before...

In the end, Zhai Muzhi actually said: "Do you know, Young Master Zhao, that Wang Daozhong came to my place a few days ago..."

Zhao Changhe was startled: "A few days ago?"

Wasn't it more than a month ago? And why did you mention Wang Daozhong for no reason...

But he heard what Zhai Mu said: "I don't know what kind of injury Wang Daozhong suffered. He was being hunted by the leader of the Blood God Sect Xue. He entered Bashu to seek help from Zhai. Zhai heard that during the battle of Xiangyang, the Blood God Sect had been recruited. Now, you are on the side of the imperial court, right? It should be the bridge built by Zhao Shaoxia?"

Zhao Changhe was even more surprised. Damn it, Lao Xue could one day chase the Dibang and be successful... By the way, how did Wang Daozhong get injured?

"The Blood God Sect has indeed been recruited, but what happened next?"

Zhai Mu said: "Since the Blood God Sect has been recruited, and the Wang family's rebellion has been revealed, and Wang Daozhong has even just escaped from prison, then the court is arresting the rebels... How can Zhai help Wang Daozhong? Of course, Zhao Shaoxia Mo Mo Strangely, Zhai would not offend the Wang family directly, but would just avoid seeing him. Wang Daozhong had no choice, and Xue Canghai was chasing behind him, so he had to seize the road and head south, fearing that he would hide in the Miao territory... Zhao Shaoxia went north and did not meet him. ?”

"There are so many roads, how can you say that you will meet them whenever you encounter them." Zhao Changhe responded casually, feeling quite strange in his heart.

I wonder if Zhai Muzhi guessed that it was him who was the king last time...but it doesn't seem to matter anymore.

Considering Shi Wuding's previous move to capture Wang Daozhong, it is very likely that it came from Zhai Mu's instruction. It can be seen that Zhai Mu's attitude was consistent before and after. He seemed to be really on the side of the imperial court in dealing with the king... Looking at it this way, this guy is actually the one who most sided with the imperial court among the princes who have their own thoughts in the past two years. Cui Wenjing and Yang Jingxiu I'm afraid they are not as "loyal" as him.

Perhaps the bad thing is that people who really regard themselves as Daxia officials are like this.

While he was talking, a maid came over to refill the wine. Zhao Changhe lowered his eyes to watch the maid refilling the wine, and said calmly: "Don't blame Zhao for speaking bluntly, the prefect's behavior... is quite against military regulations."

"The general will not accept the order of the emperor. I am the commander-in-chief, so I am not the one to decide the military discipline and rules myself?" Zhai Muzhi smiled generously: "Master Lu has no objection."

Lu Shouyi stroked his beard and said with a smile: "Soldiers are working hard on the battlefield, and it's time to relax when it's time to relax."

Zhao Changhe twitched his cheeks. After hearing what you said, the thin and skinny soldiers who were eating rancid dry food would want to quarrel with you. He asked expressionlessly: "Strict military discipline is not just for good looks...Has the prefect ever thought about what if he can't be defeated?"

Zhai Muzhi and Lu Shouyi looked at each other and asked, "Young Master Zhao is here with a jade sign, but he has something to say about the Miao army?"

Zhao Changhe said: "Lei Zhentang has completed the alliance of various ethnic groups. Around the Erhai Lake alone, the total strength of each ethnic group is fifty to sixty thousand, which is uncountable in the entire Miao territory. Moreover, the terrain is complex, poisonous miasma is everywhere, and witchcraft is strange. . This deep into the enemy's territory, he can't even keep up with supplies... Zhao thinks that he can't fight if he leads the troops. I don't know where Governor Zhai got his confidence."

Zhai Muzhi lowered his voice: "According to what Zhao Shaoxia saw, will they fight out?"

Zhao Changhe shook his head: "The possibility of fighting it out is not high. It is difficult for us to get in, and it is equally difficult for them to get out. What's more, after they get out, they also lose their geographical advantage."

Zhai Muzhi said, stroking his hands: "That's right. According to the news reported by the Miao Jiang Zhenmo Division, they didn't even work together and formed some kind of joint alliance among the five races. They probably had hidden dangers of competing for hegemony... In this way, the fight would It’s even less likely to come out.”

Zhao Changhe secretly thought that this should be the situation reported by Li Si'an. No matter how much this guy helps Taoyuan Town manage affairs, he is the general of the Demon Suppression Department in his job, so there is nothing wrong with it. At least it didn’t say that it was Zhao Changhe who prompted it...

Zhai Muzhi moved forward a little and lowered his voice: "Since they can't fight out, why do we have to fight in? This is not something that our Shu County troops can do in the first place. We only need to secure the territory. It is a great achievement. In order to quell the Miao rebellion in the future, a general from the imperial court will come..."

Zhao Changhe's heart skipped a beat, and he finally understood this guy's logic.

It is obvious that Miao Jiang was exploited and forced to rebel by him, but Lan Tiankuo and other Xuanwei envoys have long since died without any evidence. What is the use of the slogans of the rebels Lei Zhentang and others? It can be regarded as just an excuse for rebellion and cannot be shaken at all. Zhai Muzhi. It was mentioned in Li Si'an's report that everyone in the court had to deal with it. After all, the so-called exploitation, Lei Zhentang and other leaders themselves were no more exploited than Zhai Muzhi, so it was difficult to define the factors.

It's not like there's no one in his court, so Fan Yanglu is just sitting there drinking, and he's an imperial envoy. Most of them are responsible for investigating the whole story, but this investigation has clearly led to collusion.

If Xia Longyuan was in charge, he would definitely not be able to fool him, but Xia Longyuan really didn't care. It is almost foreseeable that Zhai Muzhi will not face much criticism in the court, and if he does, it will be easy to deal with it. Even Tang Wanzhuang's impeachment was of no use. The Supervisory Power of the Demon Suppressing Division was hard to tell, and apparently the Demon Suppressing Division did not have this power.

In other words, the troubles caused by Zhai Muzhi were all covered up, and he could not fight against the opponent. Instead, he had the "effort of defending the territory" and was promoted to a high official.

The Miao people have not been defeated, so where does the power come from? Just put a few Miao hairstyles on the heads of the Xia villagers who were killed outside... Isn't this proof that the Miao people fought out and were repelled?

Zhai Muzhi really did not want to rebel. He was really a "loyal" Daxia bureaucrat.

It's just that this kind of bureaucracy... can create countless rebels.

The puzzle that Zhao Changhe came to see Zhai Muzhi wanted to solve was solved in just a few words. There really was no conspiracy, nor was it some kind of cooperation with Lei Zhentang... Zhai Muzhi was even quite open-minded, as if he felt that this It is something that everyone takes for granted.

I have helped you deal with Wang Daozhong. I am a loyal minister and my position is stable.

But Zhao Changhe was even more angry, and there were some blue veins in the hand holding the wine glass.

I worked hard in the Miao border, promoted the alliance of the five ethnic groups, and took in countless Xia people. Is this just to let you do this kind of thing?

What if there is no me? Do you care if the Miao Xia people are slaughtered?

Zhai Muzhi observed his words and saw that something was wrong with his expression, so he whispered: "This merit should naturally be attributed to Zhao Shaoxia... In addition, I heard that Zhao Shaoxia has been troubled by meridians. We have some supplements here that may be beneficial..."

We can't fall out now, there is still one last problem that needs to be solved.

Zhao Changhe suppressed his anger and spoke slowly: "Thank you, prefect, for your guidance. But Zhao still has something to ask."

Zhai Muzhi seemed to be relieved and said with a smile: "Young Master Zhao, please tell me."

"How much does Prefect Zhai know about the Bashan Jianlu incident?"

Zhai Muzhi shook his head: "Jianlu has always been a famous family in Bashu and has a lot of contacts with various families. Zhai doesn't know why they insisted on moving to Miao territory. Speaking of this, Zhai is a little curious about how the master of the time offended the young master. Xia, was killed by the young Xia and Yue Nu Xia together? Logically speaking, Jianlu should be on the right path..."

Zhao Changhe observed his eyes and said slowly: "Actually, it was not us who killed Shi Wuding, or we just missed and killed the seriously injured Shi Wuding. Otherwise, how could Hong Ling and I kill the sixth person on the Earth Ranking? ?”

Zhai Muzhi smiled and said: "It's already very powerful... I wonder who seriously injured Sect Master Shi first?"

Zhao Changhe said word by word: "No. 6 on the Heavenly Ranking, Xue Xiao, the master of Tingxue Tower, does the prefect know anything about it?"

Zhai Muzhi was stunned for a moment, as if a little incredible, and then waved his hands and smiled: "Who in the world knows the master of Tingxue Tower, the sixth in the sky list? But Zhai does not have the opportunity to meet such a person..."

Zhao Changhe had a clear understanding in his heart. Zhai Muzhi must have seen Snow Owl, and even knew that Snow Owl could not be killed by Shi Wuding!

He was about to say something when he suddenly felt an earthquake-like illusion coming from a distance.

Zhai Muzhi obviously noticed it, and stood up suddenly, showing that his cultivation was on par with Zhao Changhe, or even slightly better.

Sure enough, it is already a double secret.

Someone immediately entered the account and reported: "Prefect, it's bad, thousands of soldiers and horses are rushing towards our camp!"

"Thousands? There are more than 40,000 of us here. Are you here to die?" Zhai Muzhi said in surprise: "Could it be an attack by the Miao people? How come they are coming from the east?"

"They are not Miao people!" Another soldier hurriedly rushed in: "I saw their handsome flag, and the word 'Strong' was written on it."

Zhai Muzhi's expression changed drastically: "Li Shen Tong!"