Long An Nine years later, Calais Yinghou died. His heir succeeded the throne and represented the 18 tribes to officially declare their surrender. The new Wolf King was conferred the title of Prince. He knelt three times and kowtowed nine times to receive the decree. The vast but sparsely populated prairie of the 18 tribes was incorporated into the northernmost Shuobei Province of Daliang. The surrendered nobles were all under the control of the Shuobei Governor.
At this point, the 18 tribes no longer paid tribute to the imperial court. They were all included in ordinary taxes. The boundless Purple Gold Fields were specially established by the imperial court to be responsible for mining and transporting them.
The entire nation of Daliang celebrated.
Shen Yi temporarily stayed behind to hand over the handover. Gu Yun had to return to the capital to report. Cao Niangzi went with him. Chen Qingxu had just copied the entire Goddess's Secret Technique. She didn't have time to digest it, so she also bid farewell and returned to the Chen family.
Before she left, Gu Yun called her to the side. At first, he wanted to ask Wu Ergu if he had the confidence to solve it. Later, he felt that it was useless to ask. A reliable person like Chen Qingxu definitely wouldn't promise everything. At most, she would say "I'll try my best." Thus, there was nothing much to say. He very solemnly thanked Chen Qingxu and said, "I'll rely on Miss Chen."
Chen Qingxu turned sideways and didn't dare to accept the bow. For the first time, she explained to Gu Yun, "These two days, Xiao Cao helped me translate a lot. In the Goddess's Secret Technique, witchcraft and poison are inseparable. Many of the unimaginable methods are ritualistic. I can't tell which ones have a deep meaning and which ones are nonsense at the moment. Marshal, please give me some time."
Gu Yun hurriedly said, "It's fine."
Chen Qingxu took out a sealed envelope and warned, "These are all recuperation prescriptions. It's useless to take them once or twice. You have to rely on time to slowly recuperate. Marshal, you've lost too much. It's better than nothing. You must control the medicine you use."
Gu Yun nodded and put it away. When she looked up, she happened to catch a glimpse of Shen Yi, who was staring at her.
Shen Yi glared at him. Gu Yun had known Shen Yi for so many years, but this was the first time he realized that Shen Jiping's eyes were so smart that he could scold people. Anyway, he clearly saw the resentment in Shen Yi's eyes: "Why do you two have so much to talk about?"
Gu Yun rolled her eyes at him and said in her heart, "You're just watching from the side. Don't tell me you're expecting a naturally reticent young lady to take the initiative to talk to you? It's true that there are trash every year, but there are a lot of them this year. "
The two of them glared at each other for a moment. Finally, Shen Yi couldn't help but walk over. He said to Gu Yun angrily, "Marshal, it's time to go. Don't miss the time."
Then, she turned to Chen Qingxu shyly.
Gu Yun couldn't be bothered to look at Shen Yi's pitiful appearance. She used the horsewhip to lightly hit Shen Yi's waist before she mounted the horse and left.
When Gu Yun returned to the capital to report on his mission, the commoners heard about it first and spread it by word of mouth. On the same day, the streets and alleys were filled with people, waiting to see the general of the Black Iron Battalion. Unexpectedly, after waiting for a long time, they didn't see anything. From the courier station and Beidaying, there were only a few civil officials representing the imperial court who had been surrendered. They brought along the former Beijiang garrison, the former Central Plains garrison, and an unknown general of the Black Iron Battalion. Gu Yun casually found a small, inconspicuous carriage to go home the night before. The next day, he went directly to the Palace to meet the Emperor.
He used to love the style of swaggering through the streets and throwing fruits to fill the carriages. Along the way, he would blink at the neatly dressed girls on the roadside until his eyelids hurt. However, he didn't love it anymore. First, he hadn't recovered Jiangnan and didn't have any face. Second, he gradually began to dislike that kind of ostentatious and lively atmosphere. He couldn't explain why. Perhaps he was tired, or perhaps he was old.
At this time, Chang Geng, who was dawdling on the road north, hadn't returned yet. Chang Geng wasn't home, so Gu Yun had nothing else to do in the manor other than listening to the birds cursing in the streets. He didn't dare to relax and eat and sleep for three to five days to recover his vitality. That was the method of a young man. He didn't really have this kind of condition. If he really did relax, he was afraid that what awaited him wouldn't be a burst of energy, but a serious illness.
Thus, he hurriedly made an appointment in front of Li Feng. After this, he still had to rush to Jiangbei.
Before Gu Yun left, Duke Han came to visit.
Duke Han sat down and didn't even have time to drink his tea before he impatiently pulled Gu Yun away. "Commander, His Royal Highness Yan Wang sent a letter and instructed me to bring you to see this before you leave."
Gu Yun smiled and said, "What, did Duke Han create a sea monster?"
Zhang Fenghan chuckled and kept him in suspense. A few years ago, he still looked like an old man who didn't have anyone to send him off. It turned out that he was idle. These past few years, he had been living in the Lingshu Temple from day to night. Instead, he was like an old tree that had bloomed. His face was rosy, as if he had met a beautiful old lady by chance.
Gu Yun had no choice but to get into the old man's carriage and automatically take on the role of serving tea and water to prevent Zhang Fenghan, whose saliva was flying everywhere, from dehydrating himself. "Duke Han, you're old but strong. It's really enviable."
Zhang Fenghan hurriedly said, "I don't dare." He took the teacup. His white beard curled up as he smiled and said, "The imperial court needs an old thing like me. I live with vigor. Everyone dislikes this fire machine steel armor, but I've loved this line of work since I was young. Not only do I love it, but I can also make a name for myself. Isn't that a wonderful thing?"
Gu Yun pondered for a moment and felt that it made sense. It was a pity that this logic couldn't be applied to him. It was normal for people to love fire machine steel armor. It was also normal for officials to love high positions and generous salaries. However, when it came to him, if he said that he loved fighting and killing … it really didn't seem like human words.
But at that time, he had chosen this path.
Why?
For a moment, Gu Yun couldn't remember. In any case, he remembered that he hated the words "going to the border" when he was young because it meant that he had to separate from his playmates. He had to see his terrifying father every day and couldn't eat or sleep well. When he was in his teens, he was brought to the battlefield by his father's old subordinates. Before his youthful hot-bloodedness could reach his head, there was a small accident in the first battle. Later, he gradually got used to the days of eating sand at the border. He was also young and frivolous for a few years. When he heard Jia Lai vaguely point out the truth behind the change in the Black Iron Battalion, his original desire to open up new territory was completely extinguished. Every day, it was as if he was just fulfilling his duty.
While the entire country was immersed in the joy of the great victory in the Northern Frontier and the recovery of Jiangnan might be just around the corner, the marshal of the Four Territories was sitting in a rickety carriage with an old man. He was questioning his own choice and couldn't figure it out no matter how hard he thought about it. He slightly recalled the years of his life and found that whether it was the swaggering pride of winning the hearts of beauties or the heroic spirit of wanting to move unhindered and look disdainfully at the world … they were all very faint.
The only times he could think of now were the times when he wanted to quit.
Just as he was lost in thought, Zhang Fenghan said, "Marshal, we're here."
Gu Yun had already tidied up his old affairs in an instant. He put on an expectant expression at the right time to coax the old man. "Still not telling me what the Lingshu Temple has made?"
Before he finished speaking, he suddenly felt the ground tremble subtly. It was as if a huge monster had passed by with a clatter. There were shouts and cries outside the carriage.
Gu Yun jumped down from the carriage and was stunned.
He saw a huge monster in front of him. Gu Yun asked, "Is this the steam railway car?"
It was as if the drawings that he had seen in the courier station on a cold night had come to life. The front of the car was engraved with a relief of hundreds of galloping horses. A horse head with angry hair was at the front. It raised its head and made a long neigh. Behind it, there were carriages that looked like they could hold things. The complicated devices on the wheels were exposed, dazzling the eyes. For a layman like Gu Yun, he couldn't tell which were useful and which were purely decorative.
"The railway is still under construction. This section is just for trial running. It's not long." Zhang Fenghan was so excited that the tip of his nose was sweating. "Ge Chen! Where's Ge Chen? "
A small round face popped out of the window behind the horse head. "Hey, Master! Marquis! "
Zhang Fenghan said, "Let the marshal see what our car looks like when it runs!"
Ge Chen stretched his neck and howled, "Okay!"
After that, he retreated into the front of the locomotive. A young monkey-like Ling Shu held two flags and waved them in front of the locomotive. The steam locomotive slowly started to move. A purple gold fragrance that only Gu Yun could smell drifted out from the steam on the roof of the locomotive. Then, with a long hum, a string of tails behind the locomotive did not affect the locomotive's movement at all. The locomotive steadily moved faster and faster, and faster and faster.
Finally, it disappeared from Gu Yun's sight.
The group of crazy Ling Shu around began to chatter again. Zhang Fenghan could only shout to maintain order, "Where are the rules? Where are the rules? Settle down in front of Marquis. Can you give me some face? "
No one listened to him.
Zhang Fenghan could only turn to Gu Yun embarrassedly. "Marshal, you must be joking. They've been like this for the past two days. Every time the carriage runs, they'll shout. No one can stop them. Alas, to tell you the truth, this thing was originally bought at a high price by Old Man Du through his connections overseas. However, that group of foreigners, regardless of whether they were involved in the invasion of our country or not, are very treacherous. They've been hiding a lot of things from us since they started to reclaim land along the canal until now. They've wasted a lot of refined iron and dark iron. If it weren't for Prince Yan's secret help, this project would have been scrapped by the higher-ups long ago … These kids have had it tough.
Gu Yun stood in the same place with his hands behind his back. He was still looking at the direction where the steam railway car disappeared. In fact, he also wanted to scream with the Ling Shu next to him. He was afraid of scaring others, so he had to force himself to look steady. However, his heart had already followed the long train driven by the purple gold.
An arterial-like steel track was laid down along the banks of the canal. The two rivers were no longer a place where the sky was high and the emperor was far away.
Gu Yun could not help but think of the vision that Changgeng once told him, "Let the lighters running on the ground return to the fields. Let the kites flying in the sky be filled with ordinary travelers who bring their families back to their hometown to visit their relatives …"
Gu Yun turned to Zhang Fenghan and smiled sincerely, "Fortunately, I haven't quit all these years. Otherwise, how could I see this kind of magical object first?"
Old Man Feng Han did not understand at all, "Hahaha, Marshal, you are joking."
Gu Yun did not know what kind of name would be left for him in the history of a hundred years later. Anyway, he was there when the Western Regions rebelled twice. He was there when the capital city was about to be destroyed. He was there when the Northern Borderline surrendered. He was also there when the first steam railway car roared away. Thinking of this, the confusion in his heart on the way here was solved. He found a little fun of "I am everywhere" in the middle of it.
At the beginning of May, Gu Yun set off to the south. He found out that Yan Wang took the official road along the land route. He simply abandoned the eagle and rode along the official road with a team of light cavalry. Sure enough, not far from the capital city in Zhili, he had planned for a long time to "encounter" Yan Wang's carriage.
Changgeng did not mean to delay the journey. He said, "Sharpening the knife will not delay the work of cutting firewood". Along the way, he met the people he needed to meet one by one. He was ready to immediately set off a storm when he arrived in the capital city.
This was a road full of tricks. He did not expect to meet Gu Yun, who disappeared without a trace. When he heard the report from his subordinate, he almost jumped out of the carriage.
In front of others, he pretended to be well-mannered. As soon as they arrived at the inn where they temporarily rested, Changgeng closed the door and asked the servants to leave. He wished he could stick to Gu Yun and touch her from head to toe, "Why do you know how to ride a horse on the official road? Don't you find it tiring? Did you get injured in the Northern Borderline? Give me your wrist … How is your health and diet these days? Did Chen Qingxu say anything? "
Gu Yun leaned to the side and listened to him verbally ask the usual long-winded questions when he wrote a letter. She was not in a hurry and asked with a smile, "Who do you want me to report to first?"
Changgeng laughed for a while and realized that he was too excited, "It's such a long journey. Why don't you use the eagle?"
Gu Yun, "We'll change at the inn in front."
Changgeng was stunned and suddenly realized the meaning behind Gu Yun's words. He raised his head in shock, "You're doing this for …"
"Isn't it? I've been waiting for a long time on the way, especially to rob His Royal Highness Yan Wang. " Gu Yun stretched out her hands to support herself on both sides of Changgeng's body. She rested her chin on Changgeng's shoulder and said lazily, "If you want to pass by here, you have to pay the toll."
Changgeng's throat moved slightly. He inexplicably thought of the palm he sent from a thousand miles away, "Robbery or rape? There's a palace, a side courtyard, a shop that specializes in selling rare items, and … "
Gu Yun pretended to be surprised and said, "So rich? It's my first time robbing and I've already met such a fat sheep. My life is really good … Then I want to rape! "
Changgeng laughed and pulled him down without warning. He leaned over to Gu Yun's ear and said, "Godfather, you must have seen the steam car. What about the thing you promised me?"
Gu Yun made a prompt decision to go back on his word, "Look at my mouth. I was wrong just now. Let's do it again. Young man, you should pay for it."
Changgeng acted coquettishly in his ear, "I don't have cash. My cash has been taken by my man to indulge in wine and women. Can't I sell my body to pay for it?"
He had stayed in the Liangjiang Barracks for a few months, so his accent was almost taken over by others. He didn't know where it came from, but he had a soft voice. The words "my man" were dragged out and poured into Gu Yun's ear, making his back tingle. He had no way to deal with this kind of "sweetheart", so he could only give her whatever she wanted.
Unfortunately, it was only a hurried night of tenderness. The next day, they had to pack their luggage and pass by each other. One went north, and the other went south. It was like changing shifts.
Yan Wang officially returned to the court and regained control of the Grand Council.
Fang Qin silently prepared two memorials. If Yan Wang didn't handle the matter of the fire beacon tickets well, he would accuse Yan Wang of causing harm to the country and the people. Back then, he was short-sighted and pushed the fire beacon tickets, which led to the current chaos. He could use this as a pretext to make a fuss. Perhaps he could abolish several of Yan Wang's governmental reforms and restore the foul atmosphere of the imperial court to its original state.
If those tycoons who didn't buy into the Ministry of Revenue's account actually followed Yan Wang's order and successfully covered up the fire beacon tickets, then there would be a lot of things to do. Didn't Yan Wang always flaunt himself as neither party nor group, and was upright and outspoken? Fang Qin knew that he and Du Wanquan had been conspiring for a long time, but he couldn't find any evidence against him. This time, it was a good opportunity to find out. As a dignified Prince, he tried every means to transfer the country's financial power to this group of ambitious businessmen … who even went to the sea several times and had connections with westerners. What was his intention?
Fang Qin was fully prepared. He didn't intend to let Yan Wang make a comeback. When he passed by Yan Wang and nodded to each other at the Imperial Court Conference, Fang Qin felt that Yan Wang didn't intend to let him go.
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