Chapter 299 Eight Days
When a fire broke out at Julu Terrace, Taoist disciples nearby quickly began to put out the fire.
But it was the middle of winter, and the ponds and clear water had frozen, and only a few wells still had groundwater. The Taoist disciples used this little water to put out the fire in Julutai in vain.
While these Taoist disciples were busy putting out the fire, some Taoist disciples who were loyal to the Great Xian Liangshi had already rushed into the fire scene, preparing to rescue the Great Xian Liangshi.
But they rushed into the fire scene, eager to find the great teacher, but they couldn't find him. In the end, these people missed the time to retreat and perished in the flames.
Just when everyone on the periphery desperately thought that the great virtuous master had been buried in the sea of fire, in the military mansion not far away, Zhang Jiao suddenly appeared in front of the crowd with an apricot-yellow flag, waving to everyone, and then returned to the military mansion. Appear again.
After knowing that the great master was safe and sound, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and then established an isolation zone near Lutai. But looking at the burning deer platform, everyone was asking, was the fire an accident or was it set deliberately?
Some people with more keen experience in the struggle have already guessed that no matter what the cause is, a big storm is bound to come.
The fire started in the morning, and all the commanders who had been resting in the city were awakened by the fire. These people frowned and went to the military mansion fearfully to pay their respects to the great virtuous master.
Zuo Zhuzhangba had just drank the night before, and was drunk by his wife. He was about to get angry when he suddenly heard his wife say:
"Something happened to the great virtuous teacher."
This sentence scared Zuo Beard Zhangba so much that he sobered up. After briefly listening to my wife's story, I hurried to the military mansion with my left beard wrapped in a big cloak.
Along the way, he saw many acquaintances walking with their heads lowered and worried. Seeing them like this, Zuo Beard Zhangba felt nervous and had no intention of saying hello to them.
Although Zuo Beard Zhangba is a military leader, his political sense is not bad. The fire in Lutai was already a big deal, but combined with the fact that it had only been a day since Wei, the leader of the state, sent out troops, it became even bigger.
Zuo Zhangba looked at the thick snow on the ground and dazzled his eyes until he thought it was blood snow.
Just when he was stunned, someone suddenly patted his left beard on the shoulder. Zuo Zhangba subconsciously grabbed the person behind him and knocked him away. His movement was caught by a pair of thick hands behind him.
Then a hearty laughter came:
"Xiaoba, why are you going to fight Nogong!"
Hearing this voice, his left beard loosened up, he turned around and hugged the man, saying excitedly:
"Guo Daqu, why are you back?"
The person being hugged by his left beard is Guo Daxian, the leader of Bingzhou.
Guo Daxian is not an ordinary person. His real name is Guo Tai. He is a descendant of the Guo family in Yangqu. He originally had a future, but the incident of stealing his sister-in-law did not allow him to be tolerated by the clan, so he had to go into exile in Bingzhou.
Later, he joined the Taiping Dao and soon became a powerful man in Bingzhou. He had more than ten thousand soldiers and horses under his command. He often raided the Baibo Valley of the Xihe River. He was also called the Baibo Bandit. He was another powerful channel under the Taiping Dao.
Guo Daxian's visit to Guangzong this time was ordered by Daxian's good master four months ago. He mainly wanted to ask why the Yellow Turbans in Bingzhou did not cause trouble.
The original plan was for the Bingzhou Yellow Turbans to start an uprising in April, and then directly attack Hedong and enter Luoyang. But Zhang Jiao waited for a long time and didn't see Guo Daxian and others making trouble, so he asked this question.
Originally, Guo Daxian didn't need to come in person. After all, the war in Hebei was in chaos, and there might be an accident when he came to Guangzong. But Guo Daxian felt that it was necessary to come in person and explain the situation of the Yellow Turbans in Bingzhou, so that Zhang Jiao could be reassured.
After settling everything on his side, he led a dozen or so soldiers to the Taihang Mountains and finally arrived at Guangzong with great hardships. Then on the first day, he encountered such a big event as the burning of Lutai.
Guo Daxian arrived at Guangzong for the first time, and he didn't understand the situation for a while. He happened to see his old friend Zuo Beard Zhangba from the training camp there in a daze.
He and Zuo Zhuzhangba were both recommended to listen to the scriptures under the great sage teacher because of their outstanding talents, so they had a fate.
So, after seeing Zuo Beard and Zhang Ba, Guo Daxian couldn't help but ask:
"How much do you know about this?"
Zuo Zhangba was startled and quickly covered Guo Daxian's mouth and whispered:
"My good brother, you must not talk nonsense. In short, I don't know more about this matter than you do. Let's listen more and talk less now. We will go to see the great sage later and we must stop talking nonsense."< br>
Speaking of this, Zuo Zhangba was afraid that Guo Daxian wouldn't understand, so he couldn't help but add:
"Guo Qushuai, our Taiping Road is different now. Our great teacher is also different from the past. You must remember what I said."
After saying that, Zuo Beard took Guo Daxian and walked all the way to the military mansion.
Along the way, the two of them saw many robes, and those robes were also surprised when they saw Guo Daxian. There is joy, there is ridicule, and there is pity.
These expressions made Guo Daxian feel uncomfortable, so he lowered his head and followed Zuo Zhangba all the way into the military mansion. When they arrived, the military mansion was already crowded with young marshals from all walks of life. The two of them did not say anything and hid in a corner.
At this time, Zhu Xiaoshuai was obviously in a depressed mood. Some of the impatient ones were pacing back and forth anxiously, and even shouted directly at the young courtiers on the steps, wondering why the great sage master hadn't appeared yet.
There are four young courtiers on the steps, all with good looks. Two people were fanning each other, one was holding a whip, and the other was holding a case. They were all pretenders recruited by famous generals in the army.
The general of the Hebei Yellow Turban Army loves to recruit impostors. The reason is not complicated, because in the long-term war, their clan descendants are often slaughtered by the Han army. In order to inherit the family name, it is understandable for these generals to recruit fake sons.
But there is another unexplainable reason, that is, many young coaches in Hebei have a tendency to retain their strength. With these fake men around, these handsome men can also greatly enhance their control over the army.
Although the four young envoys on the throne also had backgrounds, how could they withstand the clamor of these battle-hardened warriors below? Two of them were shaken like chaff.
However, there was a man with fine features, holding a long whip, and said calmly:
"Everyone is at ease, everything is arranged by a great and wise teacher."
After hearing this, the handsome men below could not say anything more and could only pace anxiously.
In the crowd, Heishan, the commander of Zhao State, was talking to Zhang Niujiao, the commander of Changshan State:
"You are a good adopted son, you are brave."
Zhang Niujiao looked at Zhang Ji on the stage with a look of relief. The little envoy with the whip was the one he accepted during the battle in Yecheng.
At that time, he saw that he was brave and filial, so he adopted him as his adopted son, and named him Ji, which means taking Jizhou. Looking at it now, it turns out that the tiger father has no dog son. Zhang Niujiao expressed his relief.
Heishan then discussed with Zhang Niujiao in a low voice:
"Niujiao, do you think the person who showed up at the military mansion before was a great virtuous master?"
Zhang Niujiao hesitated and asked:
"Heishan, do you think something happened to the Great Master? Or do you think someone is causing trouble and has taken the Great Master hostage?"
Heishan shook his head, and then pointed at the curtain beside the hall, meaning that there was someone behind it.
Therefore, Zhang Niujiao stopped talking and became more and more worried.
It was not easy until the Taishan Army joined forces and was about to wipe out the Han Army in Hebei in one go. Why did this happen?
At this moment, Zhang Niujiao was full of uneasiness about the future.
Suddenly, all the noise disappeared, and everyone was shocked as they watched the guard of honor escort the two people from behind the scenes to the steps of the Majesty. They all knew these two people, and one of them was naturally Zhang Bao, the local general who was now fully in charge of military affairs. But the other person never expected it.
This person is Ma Yuanyi, the envoy of God who has not been seen for a long time.
At this time, everyone could no longer bear it and whispered among themselves.
Why is this Ma Yuanyi here? Their news about Ma Yuanyi was that he failed in the Luoyang uprising and was defeated in Ruying. After that, they joined forces with the Taishan Army, and then they never heard from him again.
Could it be that this person came with the Taishan Army? So what is he here to do?
Everyone was confused and had a premonition that something big was going to happen. The atmosphere was solemn and depressing.
"Pah~pah~pah."
At this moment, Zhang Ji, the young envoy holding the whip, suddenly waved his long whip and whipped it three times on the stage to signal for silence.
Then Zhang Bao, who was sitting in the upper position, signaled to Ma Yuanyi who was standing aside that it was okay.
Then, Ma Yuanyi, who was wearing a ceremonial crown and a robe, took a step forward. His sharp eyes suddenly scanned the young commanders, and then he suddenly shouted:
"Where is Wei Tong?"
The young commanders who were pacing back and forth froze when they heard this, and they all focused on one of them, who was obviously Wei Tong.
Wei Tong knew that he was a member of Wei Shou's tribe just by looking at his name. At this time, when Ma Yuanyi called him by name, Wei Tong's heart beat wildly, and he stepped forward respectfully:
"The end will be here."
Ma Yuanyi smiled cruelly at Wei Tong and asked:
"Do you know your sin?"
Amid the uproar, Wei Tongye trembled, but he still stood firm and replied:
"The general will never know what his crime is."
Ma Yuanyi roared:
"You are so bold. You dare to speak harshly now. Where is the Yellow Turban Warrior? Take this disobedience from me."
As soon as Ma Yuanyi finished speaking, dozens of armored warriors appeared from behind the curtains on both sides. As soon as they came out, they held Wei Tong down and put the hand and foot shackles on Wei Tong.
The sudden appearance of these dozens of warriors made all the young commanders present extremely nervous. Because they had taken off their sabers and swords before entering the hall, they were left with no soldiers at this time. If these warriors tried to trick them, they would be It's really dangerous.
The young commanders looked at the silent leader Zhang Bao in confusion. One of them, who was on good terms with Wei, loudly questioned Ma Yuanyi:
"Ma Yuanyi, you couldn't have rebelled against the Han army. Otherwise, how did you get to Guangzong, and why did you seize my Hebei Yellow Turban general without any reason?"
Good guy, this man knows how to frame someone for trouble, and he backhandedly convicted Ma Yuanyi.
But as soon as this person finished speaking, someone stood up from the corner and responded:
"Shuai Yan Qu, don't be impatient. I know you are impatient, but can you step back first?"
Then everyone saw an unfamiliar fat black man being discharged from the crowd, and then Shi Ranran stood in front of Qu Shuai who had just spoken.
This person's name is Yan Zheng, a wealthy man from Julu, and a general of the Wei Shou line.
Yan Zheng stared at the fat black man and became furious:
"Who are you? Why do you appear in the military center? You must be a spy. Come and arrest this person."
The fat black man smiled and said:
"Yan Qushuai, I told you not to be anxious. I am Dingtao Dongzhao, the envoy of the Taishan Army this time. I am not a spy. Or does Yan Qushuai know that there are spies in the city?"
Yan Zheng's forehead was sweating due to the last sentence, so he changed the subject and said:
"You are the envoy of the Taishan Army, so what role do you have to speak here. It is not your turn as an outsider to say anything about our Hebei Yellow Turbans."
Yan Zheng wanted to stop Dong Zhao, but Dong Zhao smiled and said:
"Didn't you just ask how the Divine Envoy came? I'll tell you now, Guangzong came with our delegation. However, Yan Qushuai, you are so courageous. You dare to slander the Divine Envoy as apostate in public. He is a good man, and Dong Zhao is convinced.”
Yan Zheng's face turned red. He saw several Qu Shuais who were usually friendly with him retreating silently. He felt panicked and couldn't help but said to Ma Yuanyi:
"Sir, you know me, my strict administration is not what I mean."
Ma Yuanyi ignored Yan Zheng, but said to Comrade Wei who was lying on the ground struggling:
"Don't you know what your crime is? Let me tell you. Your first crime is deception and failure to retaliate. Your brother Wei Qian defected to the enemy a few days ago, why didn't you retaliate to the local general? Your second crime is neglect of duty. You As the chief guard of Lutai, you cannot escape the blame for the fire in Lutai.”
After Wei Tong heard this, he was so angry that he trembled all over.
His younger brother Wei Qian went to Julu to visit relatives, so he surrendered to the enemy? Also, he is only the head of the Shikadai Warden in name only. What does the fire have to do with him?
So this is clearly persecution. So Wei Tong said loudly:
"Where is the great virtuous teacher? I want to see the great virtuous teacher."
Then he said to Ma Yuanyi in a fierce voice:
"What qualifications do you have to treat me? You are just the second generation of my Taiping Dao. When the Wei family and the Zhang family created this Taiping Dao, you didn't know where to eat. How dare you treat me like this."
So Ma Yuanyi fell silent.
But just when Wei Tong thought he had captured Ma Yuanyi, a word came from above:
"Take it."
As soon as this statement came out, no one in the audience objected. Just because the one who said this was not the local general Zhang Bao who was sitting on the throne of Yong.
It came from behind Zhang Bao's screen. Although the voice was weak, no one dared to ignore it because they knew it was the voice of the great sage.
It turns out that the Great Master has always been there and has been watching them.
As the only spiritual leader of Taiping Dao and Huang Tian's only will in the world, Zhang Jiao's authority has not declined at all. On the contrary, because he is lying on the ninth floor, he does not worry about the trivial matters of the world, and he is more like a god than a human being.
Therefore, Zhang Jiao's authority was deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.
Zhang Jiao's words also determined Wei Tong's ending.
Subsequently, a major purge quickly began under the auspices of Zhang Bao. The targets of the purge were Wei Rong's remnant party in Guangzong. Except for a few of these people who were leading soldiers, most of the others were Taoist envoys. Captured by the wolf-like and tiger-like Yellow Turban warriors, they had no choice but to surrender.
But one person happened to escape from Guangzong and ran straight to the Wei Shou camp dozens of miles away.
Will Wei Shou be captured without hesitation?
(End of chapter)