In the days when I was dressed as the king of a subjugated country

When Xiao Tan was called to Gu Li, he thought that Gu Li was going to settle accounts with him, but Gu Li gave him an inexplicable task, which made him puzzled by the second monk.

Xiao Tan came to the city and wanted to find a few households to collect green grass, but the people in the city avoided them.Firstly, the people were frequently taxed, and they were afraid of the government officials. Secondly, in the past few decades, there was no war in the country, and the status of soldiers plummeted.These city defense soldiers in the capital are always borrowed by the bureaucratic royal family to do coolies, and their status is lower and they are not welcomed. In addition, the bureaucratic system is necrotic, and the soldiers are out of control, and they do things that disturb the people from time to time. The relationship between the defenders of the capital and the common people is bad.

Xiao Tan is usually looked down upon by the people, and he has not yet married a wife in his early twenties, but now he is asked to go to the city to defend the people, how can he be willing?Even if you don't say it, there will inevitably be resentment in your heart.

Xiao Tan had no choice but to knock on the doors of several wealthy households in the city. He knocked on the door for a long time, until he kicked the door and cursed: "Old Yu! Come out quickly! I know you are inside!"

The door was finally opened, and a fat middle-aged man in common clothes said with a smile on his face, "So it's Tan Baihu! What advice does Tan Baihu have?"

This middle-aged man is a wealthy businessman in the city. In recent years, the imperial court has frequently used troops to suppress bandits, and the military expenditure is not enough. In addition to sending additional salaries and training salaries to the common people, it also puts the idea on these wealthy businessmen and charges them extra These business people are suffering so much that they can only wear rags and cry poor.

Xiao Tan scolded with a black face: "Are you deaf?! I knocked on the door for a long time, and now it opens!"

The wealthy businessman rubbed his hands and smiled, "Tan Baihu, I happen to be chanting sutras in the sutra hall, so I didn't hear you knocking on the door."

"The rebels are about to break in, what's the use of cramming!"

"Tan Baihu, didn't I hear people say that His Majesty went to the city to oversee the army, and I prayed for the Buddha and Bodhisattva to bless him."

"Come on, don't do this with me! Your Majesty asked me to collect green grass, do you have any at home?"

The rich merchant said: "My lord, what do you want this green grass for? This thing is not easy to use, it burns with black smoke, and you don't need it for cooking stoves."

Xiao Tan said: "Don't talk to Lao Tzu, just ask if you have any?"

The rich merchant said: "We don't have any at home, but I know where they are!"

The wealthy businessman brought Xiao Tan to knock on a chicken farm.Green grass is not worth much, so the chicken-raising mother-in-law used it to build a chicken coop. Seeing that the official wanted it, she searched around and piled it up in the courtyard, and Xiao Tan took it by herself.

Xiao Tan held his nose, and asked someone to bundle up this pile of green grass that smelled like chicken feces, and then go to another house to search for it.

The mother-in-law who raised chickens sent Xiao Tan and the others away with a smile on her face. Just as she was about to close the door, a young man came over from the alley and asked, "Mrs. Wang, what did those soldiers come for?"

Wang's mother-in-law spat and scolded: "None of your business! Go away! Don't pollute our courtyard!"

This young man has a handsome face and a three-pointed smile, which should be a pleasing appearance.His name is Shaofang, he came from the south as a refugee, and he is doing small singing outside Fuqu Hutong, that is, singing small songs and performing arts.It's just that in recent years, the world has been declining, and scholars like to dress up as women (there is a poem that goes: "When I went to the city yesterday, I came back full of tears, and those who were dressed in women's clothes are all scholars."), In addition, many literati and officials like to have sex. As a play boy, the south wind prevails. Everyone knows what these little singers from the north and the south are doing behind their backs.

The Wang family woman hated him and closed the door with a bang.Shaofang got a bad nose and was about to leave when a beggar came and said to Shaofang, "Just now that official family came to collect green grass."

Shaofang asked suspiciously: "The battle is imminent. If the official doesn't go to defend the city, what is the purpose of collecting green grass?"

The beggar shook his head, staring at Shaofang with a pair of eyes. Under the tattered cuff, a dirty hand slowly stretched out and took Shaofang's hand.

Shaofang was taken aback, looked at the beggar carefully, and saw short stubbles on his covered head, apparently not long-growth, and laughed dumbfoundedly: "You are a monk?"

The beggar was exposed by him, and he lost his words for a moment.

Shaofang pulled out her hand and said, "Since you are a monk, why are you thinking about such things?"

The beggar said: "The city is about to fall, and I'm going to die. Anyway, I have to have a good time and be a real man!"

Shaofang only thought it was absurd and didn't want to pay attention to it, but the beggar entangled him, chasing him and begging: "Brother Jun, brother Tian, ​​please help me!"

He knelt on the ground and begged again, saying how pitiful he was. He was only in his early twenties. He was oppressed by temple priests in the temple before.Shaofang was moved with compassion, and said in a low voice, "Get up. Even if the city is destroyed, we may not be safe."

But the beggar cried more and more sadly, his desire faded away, he just cried so hard that he couldn't breathe, and passed away for a while.

Outside the city, the enemy camp.

"General, a secret report came from the city just now, and the soldiers in the city went around to collect green grass, but I don't know what to do with it."

Zhang Ci'er was watching his subordinates adjust the machine crossbow, when he heard the words, he said impatiently: "Why should this kind of news be spread?"

The subordinates were scolded and retreated silently, secretly cursing the informants in the city for making a fuss.

But Xiao Tan found a few more chicken farmers and received a sufficient amount of green grass.Gu Li then explained to Xiao Tan that the arrangements had been made properly and he was about to take a rest when someone came to see him again. It was Cao Cunlin, the eunuch of the supervising army.

Gu Li tried his best not to look at these eunuchs with prejudice.Among the eunuchs in Chinese history, Wang Zhen and Wei Zhongxian entered the palace to seek wealth and wealth. Most of them were children from poor families. There were even poor families who could not afford to raise children, and their fathers castrated their children and sent them to the palace. inner.The eunuchs were physically handicapped. If they were not castrated properly, they would easily leak urine. Sometimes they had to change several pairs of trousers after walking around the palace for a day.In addition to the physical pain, the psychological pain is even more unspeakable.

In addition, the eunuchs always take on the negative image of treacherous and despicable, but in fact, in addition to Wang Zhen, Wei Zhongxian and other despicable villains who persecute Zhongliang, there is also Zhang Min, the eunuch who risked his life to raise Ming Xiaozong Zhu Youtang. Zheng He, the eunuch of the Three Treasures who traveled to the West.Therefore, Gu Li felt that one should not convict a person based on his identity, but on what he did.

It's just that when Cao Cunlin opened his mouth, Gu Li was disgusted.

As soon as Cao Jianjun came in, his face was full of joy, and he praised, "Your Majesty is really clever!"

Gu Li said lightly: "Where is Gao Ming?"

Cao Cunlin said with a smile: "Your Majesty must know that there has been a long history of grievances in the army, so today he deliberately took down the prince in front of the whole army. In this way, the anger of the army was calmed down. When the battle is over, it is just right to release the prince. Everyone's happy..."

Gu Li asked back: "Release Wang Gonggong?"

Cao Cunlin's flattering smile froze on his face, and he said slowly: "Your Majesty, do you really believe in the slander and slander in the court? The minister and the prince have taken care of His Majesty since they were young, and they are so devoted to His Majesty!"

Gu Li thought for a while, his expression calmed down, and he comforted him: "I know all these things, but the current situation forces me to do some things as a last resort. Eunuch Cao must be able to understand. Eunuch Cao only needs to supervise the army well, I will not treat you badly."

Cao Cunlin breathed a sigh of relief, wiped the sweat off his brow, and reported to Gu Li the preparations for the garrison. Looking at Gu Li's expression, he lowered his voice and said, "Your Majesty, Yang Shangshu is a cunning and wise man. There is no need to worry too much about winning, Your Majesty."

Gu Li thought about the words "cunning and wise", nodded, and asked Cao Cunlin to go down to rest.

It's just that Gu Li still couldn't get a rest, and after a while, someone came to see him again, and it was the Prime Minister Mu Hualing.

Unexpectedly, Hou Chu actually had a prime minister. Besides, Hou Chu did not have secret agencies such as Jinyiwei and Dongchangxichang.This is roughly the few differences between the post-Chu and Ming dynasties.

Gu Li originally had high hopes for the elderly Prime Minister Mu, hoping that he would come up with some strategies to defeat the enemy, but Prime Minister Mu babbled some nonsense, to the effect that he persuaded the emperor to return to the palace quickly, swords are short-sighted.Gu Li listened patiently, and told him to leave immediately. Just as he was about to rest, he heard that a Dominican missionary in the city asked to see him. Gu Li wanted to hear what this foreigner had to say, but the blond foreigner said nothing at first. Get him to believe in Christ.

"I was an active member of the party when I was in college. My belief is communism, communis, m." Gu Li smiled slightly and asked him to get out of here.

After that, wave after wave of people begged to see him. Prince Cheng came to complain, saying that the stupid soldiers had trampled on his yard. As soon as he left, Li Xiewen, the servant of the Ministry of War, came again, saying that the Jurchens from Jianzhou in the north had come to attack Liaodong again. They found a few Xiaoxiao who were spreading rumors in the capital, and suspected that someone was instigating these people, and then Li Xiewen, the right servant of the Ministry of War, came to say that the reinforcements from Xuanfu, Datong, and Juyongguan were going south, and Zhang Ci'er was going north to intercept them. five days.

Finally heard some useful news, Gu Li frowned, and asked: "Why are there only a few routes north of the capital, Zhending and Baoding?"

Li Xiewen said helplessly: "Your Majesty, you forgot that the bandit Zhang went up from the south to the north and broke through Zhending and Baoding. Zhou Wenshen, the general of Zhending, died in battle. The general of Baoding planned to kill the governor and open the city to meet the bandits."

Gu Li asked: "Then there are Hunan soldiers and Zhejiang soldiers in the south?!"

Li Xiewen said slowly: "Your Majesty, the rebels have rebelled in the south for several years, and they have already caused chaos everywhere..."

There are still unfinished words, Li Xiewen didn't say it, but Gu Li understood it after a little thought.At the end of a dynasty, in addition to financial collapse and bloated bureaucracy, there are also administrative inefficiencies.Even if the local government intends to organize the army to come to the rescue, it is afraid that it will be powerless, not to mention that some local officials have their own little ninety-nine-supporting soldiers with self-respect and fishing in troubled waters.

Hou Chu, an old machine, has long since failed to command.

Gu Li had no choice but to cheer up and deal with them one by one.This temporary residence also became his temporary office. When he could finally take a breather from the busy government affairs, it was already late at night when he suddenly heard an alarm from the outpost standing on a high place, and the rebels sent a sentry to attack the city. up!

Gu Li rushed outside, opened his eyes and looked around, but within a short while, he saw the rebel army rushing in black, crashing into the city gate, setting up ladders, and the defenders scattered among the battlements, setting up their guns to fight back.

There was a panic all around, when the artillery was fired, the city wall under his feet seemed to be shaking, sand and stones were constantly falling down, the soldiers came to rescue, and carried off the wounded soldiers, Gu Li was hit several times, so he had to take a step back.Back inside the outpost, Gu Youzhen was awakened by the noise, sobbing in fright, Yu Guangle was hugging him and coaxing him.Seeing that Gu Li had returned, Gu Youzhen immediately opened her arms to hug her.

Gu Li hugged him, seeing his big eyes with tears in his eyes, looking aggrieved, he couldn't help laughing: "If you want to be my son, you can't be so timid and weak, otherwise in the future..."

Gu Li was about to talk about how to inherit the great power and lead the officials in the future, when he suddenly thought that there are too many people in this place, and the establishment of a reserve is related to the foundation of the country, so it is not appropriate to talk about it here.

Gu Li patted his son and coaxed him, "Don't cry, come and let Father give you a hug."

Gu Li hugged Gu Youzhen and coaxed him, while carefully observing the actions outside, a stream of arrows flew towards him, Gu Li avoided carefully, and the stream of arrows would wipe his face and fall down.Gu Li thought it was a risk, it was a risk, my heroic and extraordinary face was almost disfigured.

There was a lot of noise outside, and someone cursed out of nowhere: "Damn it! The news is wrong! The rebels are attacking from the south! Hurry up and report to Shangshu Yang!"

Gu Li groaned, thinking that it would be useless to attack with fire from the south, and said that the north wind would blow tonight.As soon as he showed his face from the door, Xiao Tan appeared at the right time, stopped him, and said something, but the gunfire was too loud, and Gu Li only saw his mouth moving.

Gu Li couldn't help but raised his voice and shouted: "What are you talking about? Louder!"

Xiao Tan roared: "It's a mess outside! Shooting arrows and arrows don't have eyes, Your Majesty don't go out for now!"

Gu Li was so shocked by his roar that his eardrums became sore, he refused to admit defeat, and shouted back: "Yang Shangshu asked you to come?"

Xiao Tan shouted again: "Yang Shangshu ordered the villain to come and protect His Majesty!"

This is true, it is true that the emperor's visit to the city to oversee the army can boost morale, but in case something goes wrong and the boss falls, the subordinates will inevitably scatter and run away with packs, then this battle will not be able to be fought . "Okay, then I just don't go out. You come in too, what are you doing at the door."

Xiao Tan didn't move, maybe he didn't hear him.Gu Li pulled him and shouted, "I let you in!"

Xiao Tan followed in and stood by the door like a black god.Gu Li looked at the little fire outside, heard the sound of rumbling artillery fire, and asked, "Is the rebel army starting to attack?"

Xiao Tan gritted his teeth and said worryingly: "The news is wrong. Apart from the Temple of Heaven and the Altar of Mountains and Rivers in the south, there are residential buildings and squares. If there is a fire, the whole area will be burned..."

Before he finished speaking, Gu Li laughed.

Seeing him laughing out loud, Xiao Tan got angry, and cursed: "Thanks to what you said before, it turns out that you don't care about everyone's life and death at all! Dog—"

Before he could speak, Gu Li raised an index finger, pressed it against his lips, and said in a warm voice: "There are a lot of people here, so you can't talk nonsense if you have something to say."

Then Gu Li said seriously: "Who said I didn't worry about it. What I'm laughing at is that the rebels are attacking from the south, and I'm afraid they want to lift a rock to shoot themselves in the foot!"

He stretched out his hand out of the window, and smiled mysteriously at Xiao Tan: "After all, the north wind is coming!"

"It's already spring, how can there be a north wind—" Xiao Tan suddenly stopped talking, because standing by the door, he felt a cool wind blowing on his face.

——It’s really the north wind!