Chapter 309 A Good Housekeeping Wife
On the main road east of Chang'an City, there has been an endless stream of cars and horses entering Beijing in the past few days, which seems to be even more lively than in the city.
Li Tai was wearing a brand-new brocade robe. The starched and straight lines of the robe made his figure more upright and majestic. He was leaning lazily beside a withered willow on the high hill on the left side of the road. The guards around him were dressed in just-dressed robes. The hakama pleated military uniforms received by the imperial guards attracted the people who came and went to look around frequently, and did not dare to approach and cause nuisance.
Looking at the crowds of people passing by at the foot of Gaogang, Li Tai calculated in his mind that in the more than an hour he had been here, there must have been at least four to five thousand people passing by. He did not expect that Chang'an, as the capital of a puppet regime, would still be there by the end of the year. can gather so much popularity.
If we set up a tea shop at the intersection and sell some buttermilk, wine, or even haggis noodle soup, how much would we earn in one day?
Not all of the people who came into the city were officials on official business; there were also people from the suburbs of Beijing who came to visit relatives and friends or who came into the city to buy and sell fashionable goods. This is naturally a good sign, which means that the people's livelihood in Guanzhong has been restored to a great extent.
However, seeing that most of the travelers were traveling in groups and carrying swords and canes, it was clear that the security situation was still worrying. It should be noted that in the early Sui Dynasty, there were still many bandits around Chang'an. Li Tai was a little strange about this. He just thought that these bandits were a bit too bold. Are you really not afraid of a big purge around Chang'an?
But just a few days after he became the general of the armed guards, he understood the truth inside. A large number of bandits active around Chang'an were related to the city guards and even the Forbidden Army stationed nearby. Some of the Forbidden Army disciples were not on duty. When he was a guard, he simply played a guest role as a bandit, quite similar to the Sui Dynasty general Mai Tiezhang who served as a chariot during the day and was a thief at night.
Li Tai knew that his position as General of the Military Guard was only a temporary arrangement and could not serve in the permanent guard system for a long time. Therefore, although he was a little dissatisfied with the military discipline of the Forbidden Army, he did not bother to pay more attention to it. What's more, the personnel relationships within the Forbidden Forces are complicated, and it's hard for a newcomer like him to sort them out in a short time.
So after taking office, he just signed in at the Forbidden Army camp, and arranged some junior ranks of the Forbidden Army commander positions for his subordinates, and received a free salary to earn some extra money for the New Year. He did not even have some slave soldiers assigned by the Forbidden Army. Accept it, fearing that the style of your own tribe will be ruined by the lax style of the Forbidden Army.
As the time gradually reached noon, a team of dozens of people left the city carrying felt tents and other items. The slaves walked around but found no free space where they could set up a tent. Only the high hill occupied by Li Tai and his party was somewhat conspicuous.
But after seeing those sergeants wearing imperial robes, several domestic slaves did not dare to come forward. Although there are many powerful people in Chang'an, the Liufang Imperial Army is the well-deserved overlord of Chang'an. If they are provoked, they will be punished by their masters. Bring endless trouble.
The slaves could only report to the master in the team. The master seemed to be an ordinary person and was not intimidated by the name of the Forbidden Army. Instead, he rode forward and planned to go to negotiate in person. However, when he went to the high hill and saw Li Taishi, who was standing above, suddenly changed his expression, turned his head and was about to leave.
Li Tai stood on a high hill and had a panoramic view of this. He raised his hand and motioned to his two followers to go down the slope to attract the people. Not long after, He Bawei, who had a sarcastic look on his face, was led up, and when he was still a few feet away, he hurriedly got off his horse and said to Li Tai, "Li Sanqi, no, Bo Shan, hello. I'm I planned to go there to celebrate my promotion on a certain day, but I didn’t expect to meet you outside the city today. Boshan, are you here to welcome your relatives and friends who are coming to Beijing?”
After hearing this, Li Tai shook his head, pointed to the surroundings and said, "I have just taken over the post of imperial guard, and I am taking a leisurely look outside the city. Mr. Qingshui, you are here to welcome relatives and friends, so you might as well set up a tent here." Wait."
His attitude was neither salty nor cool, and he was already a little unhappy with He Bawei. Today was obviously the big day for his wife to enter the capital, but He Bawei, his nominal cousin, delayed leaving the city until noon, almost leaving him without a tent to rest. . If it weren't for the inconvenience of exposing his relationship with Lady Miaoyin now, Li Tai wouldn't give this guy a good look.
He Bawei really didn't want to stay with Li Tai, but even the idle land nearby was rugged and bumpy, which was really not suitable for setting up a tent, so he could only bite the bullet and nodded and agreed: "In that case, then Thank you very much, Bo Shan. The person coming today is not a stranger to you. She is the filial daughter-in-law of the father-in-law of Hanoi. Bo Shan, if you have nothing else to do, can you stay here to welcome me?"
Isn’t this nonsense? If I hadn’t picked up my wife, why would I have left the city early in the morning to occupy space here?
Seeing that He Bawei was sensible and took the initiative to invite, Li Tai's expression improved a little, and he raised his hand to signal to his followers to help set up the tent on the slope. The place he chose has a good view, with a panoramic view of the east and west scenery. He only needs to block the cold wind coming from the Weishui River in the north, and the sunlight is not cold at all. If it hadn't been for the new Forbidden Army skin, the King of Land wouldn't have been able to occupy this piece of land.
The entourage of the two families started working together, and the tent was quickly set up. He Bawei first invited Li Taili to sit in the tent, and then he bowed to Li Taili and said without shame: "I have offended you before. Today I I would like to solemnly apologize to you, Boshan, and ask you to be tolerant and forgive me for the sake of my late uncle.”
The two brothers had offended him so many times. When He Bawei bowed his head and apologized, Li Tai didn't know which one he was talking about. But the energy of their brothers is just like this. At most, it will cause trouble for themselves, but the actual troubles and losses are nothing.
Li Tai thought for a while and then sighed: "Whether a human relationship is compatible or not, ultimately depends on fate. I have the courage to climb high, and have known each other for many years, thanks to the great master's care and concern, so I am able to gain a foothold in Kansai, so in my heart I have always been friendly to you two and hope to get along with each other, but after all, we are just incompatible with each other, so there is no need to force it since we have a shallow relationship.
I know that it is not easy for the two of them to maintain their family reputation and exert their willpower. They must rely on Zhongshan Gong and other local elders to keep their old love together. For this reason, they will inevitably make some choices that are against their will. Mr. Zhongshan and I have our own grudges that will never go away. As long as you two don't get involved in this matter, even if we don't have deep feelings for each other, we can live in peace. "
The status of these two brothers had unusual significance in the Western Wei Dynasty, but to put it bluntly, it was just that. It's not that they didn't mobilize their old friendship to embarrass themselves, but the actual results were so-so.
Li Tai may not dare to kill them directly, but it is easy to make them uncomfortable, but this is not necessary. There is really no enmity between them, just some unpleasant clashes of spirits, not to mention there are In He Basheng's face, keeping a respectful distance from each other and having little contact is a comfortable way of getting along with each other.
After hearing what Li Tai said, He Bawei was silent for a moment, and in the end he just sighed.
Li Tai happened to express the tangle in his heart. To be honest, their brothers really wanted to have a good relationship with Li Tai after seeing his current position, but Li Tai and Zhao Gui were incompatible with each other.
Although the gap in power between them can be completely smoothed by age, there is a series of Wuchuan Township Party members behind Zhao Gui, which the Heba brothers cannot bear to give up. This is also the most precious legacy left to them by their fathers.
Perhaps there is a way to calmly travel between the two of them, but it is not something their brothers are capable of doing. Therefore, they can really only get along with each other in a neutral way. They can't be called enemies, but they can't be called friendly either.
The atmosphere in the tent was a bit dull. Li Tai didn't want to ruin his joyful mood about meeting his wife, so he simply got up and walked out of the tent. He met a general who was already walking in a hurry. He looked at Li Tai and said: "Alang, come on, come on. Now! Hanoi Public Club..."
Li Tai waved his hand to stop his shouting, and then strode to a higher place. After standing still, he raised his hands to cover his eyebrows and looked eastward, and saw a mighty force of thousands of people approaching. Although he had known that his father-in-law's family was rich and powerful, he couldn't help but be surprised after seeing this battle: "Is it this team?"
After hearing this, the family general nodded repeatedly. At the same time, the front explorers of the team had also arrived and shouted loudly: "Can Mr. Langya and his family welcome you here?"
After hearing the report from his servant, He Bawei walked out in broad strides, said hello to Li Tai, then mounted his horse and rushed downhill. Li Tai was not willing to lag behind and rode down the high hill together, heading towards the mighty team.
When the team approached, he found that the team was mostly strong soldiers, and the ranks were full of military spirit. There must be at least two thousand people, and he couldn't help but feel suspicious in his heart. No matter how much my father-in-law loves ostentation, he always It would not be necessary to dispatch more than 2,000 soldiers just to see the lady off. But if it is to attack Chang'an City, two thousand troops are a bit small.
He was still doubting himself, but a general of the Dugu family in the opposite team had already recognized him. He quickly rode out of the team, crossed his hands and said hello to him from a distance: "Captain Li, I have been ordered to escort the eldest lady to the capital. Thank you for your help." The governor came from afar to greet him."
Li Tai said hello to the other party first, and then raised his finger to point to the size of the team: "Isn't this battle a bit exaggerated? There are so many strong men left in the household?"
"The Governor has misunderstood. Most of the strong men in the household followed the lord west to Longbian, and only a hundred or so people stayed at home. These people are from the tribe of Wu Pinghou. They were called to the court and passed through Huazhou. It happened that the eldest lady was also here. As we are about to set off, we will go to Beijing together.”
After hearing the general's explanation with a smile, Li Tai finally understood, but he quickly looked towards the team and asked expectantly: "Wu Pinghou is also in the team?"
Before he finished speaking, a middle-aged man with good martial arts in the team was already riding his horse, followed by several guards. He looked at Li Tai from a distance and said with a smile: "A certain Shi Ning, I have heard of it many times before. Li Zhengshi's reputation is really handsome when I see him today, no wonder..."
"Junior is the one who has admired you for a long time. You have been tired from traveling. Thank you very much..."
Li Tai didn't dare to ask for help, so he hurriedly got off his horse and stood on the side of the road to bow to Shi Ning.
Shi Ning was not arrogant either. He dismounted when he got closer. He couldn't help but look Li Tai up and down, and he couldn't help but click his tongue. He obviously knew about the relationship between Li Tai and Dugu Xin, so he wanted to We need to carefully observe how this kid can enter Dugu Xin's Dharma Eyes.
Although this kind of inspection was a bit rash, Li Tai was not dissatisfied. Shi Ning was also one of He Basheng's old subordinates and had a close friendship with Dugu Xin. He previously served as the governor of Dongyi Prefecture and was at the forefront of the confrontation between the Eastern and Western Wei Dynasties. Because he did not dare to leave the town without permission, He Basheng was not there before when he died. Unable to return to mourn, Li Tai also met Shi Ning for the first time.
When He Bawei rushed over, Shi Ning stopped looking at Li Tai, exchanged brief greetings with each other, and then led them to the car where Lady Miaoyin was riding in the team.
In the carriage at this time, although Lady Miaoyin in plain clothes was sitting upright on the brocade felt, the belt twisted between her fingers was already tight. The little maid next to her clenched the other end of the belt pitifully and said in a shy voice: " Madam, it’s almost torn off... Otherwise, why don’t you just lift the curtain and take a look? "
When Mrs. Miaoyin heard this, she was very moved on her pretty face, but when she heard more than one person saying hello outside the car, she shook her head and sighed: "Li Lang's family is not a military household with simple rules. From now on, I have to control the rules when I go to his house, how can I break my own rules by being rude in front of others!"
At this time, Li Tai, who was outside the car, was speechless looking at the more than 2,000 large light bulbs brought by Shi Ning. A young couple who had been separated for a long time finally met in Chang'an, but they were blocked by a curtain. They were not allowed to meet each other, so they could only sit next to the car while Shi Ning and He Bawei arranged for the team to stay overnight, and handed over the hand-made facial cream and other things they had prepared in advance to the car.
Shi Ning's visit to Beijing this time was not just for Yuan Yue Chao Shen. He had already resigned as the governor of Dongui Province, so he also brought back his subordinates. Because they have been out of state for a long time, there is no suitable place for the troops to arrange for a while. It's obviously not possible to go straight to Chang'an like this. No matter how the Liufang Forbidden Army's military discipline is corrupted, it is still a shame. How can they just let someone armed to petition.
He Bawei didn't expect that there would be so many people in this group. He didn't even prepare a place to set up the tent in advance, let alone accommodate Shi Ning's more than two thousand tribesmen.
Before the change, Li Tai would have been helpless. Chang'an was not Shang Yuan, and his energy here was limited.
But now the newly-appointed General of the Armed Guards was put to use. He took out his command talisman and ordered his generals to go to the nearby Forbidden Army camp and quickly pack up a camp. He wanted to ensure that these people were arranged in before dark and sent people Return to Longshou Yuanzhuang to pick up a batch of wine and meat ingredients to send to the soldiers who are sending their wives to the capital.
Shi Ning was originally prepared for this, but seeing Li Tai's enthusiastic arrangement and indeed his ability, he glanced at Lady Miaoyin's car and smiled down his enthusiasm. Based on his relationship with Dugu Xin, he deserves it.
When Mrs. Miaoyin in the car learned that Li Tai actually wanted to entertain so many people, she was a little touched that Li Tai took care of her face, but she soon frowned again: "Uncle Shi Jia just accepted it. It's a bit excessive. Even if he doesn't go with me, he still wants to go to Beijing.
Li Lang doesn't have savings like older officials like them. Every bit of expenditure beyond his duties will be a famine in the coming year. He will have to make up for it when Aye comes to Beijing in a few days! It's fine in the past, but now that I'm taking care of it, things in the house can't be ignored without knowing where they're going! "