Chapter 297 296 Pretending to be sick

Chapter 297 296 Pretending to be sick

In the Yanshan Mountains north of the capital, a Ming army unit wearing red uniforms was marching hard along a path built along the winding mountains, defying the mountains.

Before Wei Guangde left the capital with Tang Shunzhi, just like his last trip, he selected a group of cavalry from the Beijing camp for protection. When they arrived at Shunyi, they had already joined the cavalry guard sent by Jizhen.

The escort sent by Jizhen was led by Dong Yiyuan, an old acquaintance of Wei Guangde who had become a guerrilla. However, the number of men and horses on hand did not increase much. There were still only more than 400 cavalry. This shows that the Ming army was fighting against Ma Qi. Without them, it would be difficult to expand the cavalry force.

From Shunyi to Huairou, and then to Miyun, according to Tang Shunzhi's plan, he would go all the way from west to east, and finally go all the way to Shanhaiguan.

This time, instead of walking along the Great Wall, we walked along the official road and inspected the guard station at the foot of the Great Wall. It was just that the mountain road in Yanshan could be repaired well.

Anyway, within half a month of setting off, Wei Guangde had suffered a lot.

However, Wei Guangde still remembered the note sent by Chen Ju the day before leaving. Emperor Jiajing asked him to find a way to leave the team and go to Xuan Mansion for a secret visit to learn the real situation there, especially to explore the truth about Shen Lian's murder.

Now they are coming out of the Miyun Mountains, turning towards Pinggu, and then starting to head west.

Wei Guangde was a little worried about how to leave the brigade and go to Xuanfu.

Malingering?

You have to pretend to be there. If Tang Shunzhi discovers it, you will be in trouble if you read it yourself.

Falling off a horse?

It would be very troublesome if there was an accident and was trampled by a horse.

He never expected that he would receive such an errand from the emperor before leaving, to go to the Xuan Mansion, and to conduct a secret investigation.

When he reached the boundary of Pinggu, he would have to turn eastward, which would make him farther and farther away from Xuanfu, making it even more difficult for him to take action. Therefore, he had to find an excuse to stay near Pinggu, and the only reason for staying was to pretend to be sick.

Wei Guangde was riding a horse and saw a small open space at the bend of the mountain road ahead. He simply rode over and stood there, watching the Ming army cavalry passing by.

Zhang Ji rode beside him, and four guards surrounded him.

"Zhang Ji, you can run forward in a moment and find me a doctor in the town where you plan to stay."

There was no one else around, so Wei Guangde whispered to Zhang Ji.

When Zhang Ji heard that Wei Guangde wanted to see the doctor at first, he thought he was sick. His face immediately showed concern. After hearing Wei Guangde's plan, he stared at him in shock for a long time.

However, Zhang Ji would not ask why on Wei Guangde's orders, he would just execute them.

By the time Wei Guangde returned to the team, Zhang Ji had already raced ahead on horseback.

In the evening, the border patrol team stayed in a small town dozens of miles away from Pinggu County. The guard team could only find an open space to camp outside the town. Officials and entourage such as Tang Shunzhi and Wei Guangde could follow and live in the only small town. In an inn.

On a very ordinary night, in the middle of the night, Tang Shunzhi, who had already fallen asleep, was awakened by the sound of footsteps running outside.

Tang Shunzhi was very tired in the past few days and did not get up to check what happened. Wei Guangde, the deputy envoy, should be responsible for this. Just let him know in the morning.

But when he got up early the next morning, Tang Shunzhi found that most of his entourage were already sitting in the dining hall eating, but Wei Guangde and the people around him did not come out, not one of them.

This is strange.

"what happened?"

Tang Shunzhi pointed to the attic where Wei Guangde lived and asked the people around him.

"Mr. Wei was ill last night, with vomiting and diarrhea. I'm afraid he will still be lying in bed and unable to get up."

The man whispered to Tang Shunzhi.

"I'm sick. Have you gone to see the doctor?"

Tang Shunzhi and Wei Guangde didn't have any friendship. In the past, when they met, they just gave each other a hand and bowed their hands, so when they heard that Wei Guangde was ill, the first thing they thought of was whether to invite a doctor to come over for treatment. Would it delay their next trip?

You know, this trip lasted at least two months, and I fell ill before half of it was done. What should I do next?

"I invited a doctor from the town last night. He said that he caught wind-heat from traveling for days and ate unclean food, which caused disharmony between the spleen and stomach. That's why he suffered from vomiting and diarrhea due to heat-dampness, and now he needs to rest."

The man continued to reply.

"Wind heat."

After dinner, Tang Shunzhi went to Wei Guangde's guest room to have a look. The doctor was still there, decoction for Wei Guangde. Tang Shunzhi looked at Wei Guangde who was sleeping and heard Zhang Ji say that Wei Guangde didn't sleep well last night. It wasn't because of vomiting. Just diarrhea.

Seeing that Wei Guangde's face was a little pale and completely different from before, he asked the doctor a few more questions and knew that Wei Guangde would not recover in a short time.

After leaving Wei Guangde's guest room, Tang Shunzhi asked someone to polish the ink. He wanted to write a document immediately and send someone back to the capital.

Since the deputy envoy was so ill, he naturally could not accompany him, and the errands could not be delayed. Wei Guangde could only be arranged to recuperate in the town first, and when he got better, he would be sent to Pinggu County to continue his training or return to Beijing for recuperation.

At this point, the test has been passed. However, in order to deceive Tang Shunzhi, Wei Guangde gritted his teeth and took the medicine, let alone the suffering he suffered.

There was no official document waiting for the return from the capital, and errands were waiting for no one. Tang Shunzhi discussed with others and arranged for Dong Yiyuan to leave a team of cavalry to protect Wei Guangde. After they left, some guest rooms were vacant for the soldiers of Jizhen to live.

Because Wei Guangde was ill, he did not set off as planned that morning. If he had set out in the afternoon, he would definitely not be able to get to the next village or town to rest, and would have to sleep in the countryside.

In fact, most of the entire border patrol team was very tired after more than half a month of marching. Some people were also sick, but not as serious as Wei Guangde. They could just take the medicine that the army always had.

Seeing this situation, Tang Shunzhi simply asked everyone to rest in the town for a day, and then set off early the next morning to check the situation at the next military residence.

That night, Tang Shunzhi went to Wei Guangde's guest room to check on his condition, but he didn't see any improvement at all. This was very serious.

In fact, getting sick is a terrible thing, whether in this life or in future generations. It is not uncommon for merchants and even officials to die of illness on the road.

Thinking that Wei Guangde had only been married for more than half a year, Tang Shunzhi just sighed slightly.

"Have you sent anyone to the surrounding areas to look for famous doctors for your master?"

Tang Shunzhi asked Zhang Ji.

"We have sent people to Pinggu to find the doctor."

Zhang Ji lowered his hand and replied respectfully.

"That's good. You are Mr. Wei's family. Be smart. If the doctor in Pinggu doesn't work, send someone to Jizhou and Huairou immediately to look for it. If it doesn't work, send a letter to the capital and ask the famous doctors from the capital to come and send the letter to the Hanlin Academy. You can send it to the Ministry of War, they will help arrange it."

After Tang Shunzhi finished speaking, he sighed and left the room, muttering something in a low voice: "The health of today's young people is really not good enough."

But after finishing speaking, I remembered that Wei Guangde seemed to be less than twenty years old.

At dawn the next day, Tang Shunzhi took the others on the road. They had already been delayed here for a day and could not wait any longer.

After the man left, the doctor took out a packet of medicine from his arms, ground it into powder and gave it to Wei Guangde. Zhang Ji has been by his side for the past two days and has never left.

He didn't know anything about medical science. He just followed Wei Guangde's instructions and told the doctor about the effect to be achieved. The doctor must have been unwilling to accept the job at first, but when he saw the reward of fifty taels of silver.

Wei Guangde woke up from his drowsiness half an hour after taking the medicine. What he suffered was that the vomiting and diarrhea that night were really harmful to his body. He felt groggy afterward, with no strength in his body and couldn't even open his eyes.

Now it seems that all the strength in my body is coming back, and my energy is much better.

He didn't expect the doctors these days to be so powerful, and the medicine they dispensed could actually make people do this.

In Wei Guangde's opinion, vomiting and diarrhea were important signs that he was sick. It was best to fall asleep afterwards, otherwise if he pretended not to be the best, all his efforts would have been wasted. He might as well just fall asleep.

As for what kind of disease you have, isn’t there a doctor?

They naturally knew how to talk about this matter. This was within their business scope, and there were many reasons to fool Tang Shunzhi.

Tang Shunzhi was a Confucian master, military strategist, essayist, and mathematician of this era. He lived in his hometown in Zhejiang and also guided the anti-Japanese war. He was regarded as an anti-Japanese hero.

During the war against Japanese invaders, Governor Hu Zongxian compiled "Caohai Tubian", a coastal military atlas that collected and compiled relevant materials on coastal defense to defend against Japanese pirates, in which Tang Shunzhi also participated.

Tang Shunzhi wrote in "Ding Miao Mo", "Strengthening the Army", "Excellent Coaching", "Sufficient Soldier Pay", "Qingtun Seed", "Careful Recruitment", "Collecting Pictures and Books", "Encouraging Military Spirit", and "Public Rewards and Punishments". ”, “at the head level”, “control the sea”, “solidify the coast”, “scattered thieves party”, “strict city guard”, “surrender decree”, “use spies”, “tong tribute road”, “open an account city” He had unique insights in many aspects such as "The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression" and was used to guide the Anti-Japanese War. He played an important role and was appreciated by the anti-Japanese commander-in-chief Hu Zongxian.

Tang Shunzhi's revival was also due to his participation in the compilation of "Cao Haitu Bian". Although his mentor and the Emperor Jiajing in the same year continued to recommend Tang Shunzhi, the Emperor Jiajing never approved it. It was not until Hu Zongxian and Zhao Wenhua jointly recommended him that he be promoted. Enabled by Emperor Jiajing.

Of course, although Zhao Wenhua recommended him, he really has no relationship with the Yan family.

When Tang Shunzhi participated in the Jiajing examination, the examiner was Zhang Cong, the minister of the Ministry of Rites and a bachelor of Wenyuan Pavilion. He was very happy to see that he could recruit talents like Tang Shunzhi, so he wanted to use his power to promote Tang Shunzhi. He became an official in the Hanlin Academy.

Unexpectedly, Tang Shunzhi, who had just entered the official career, politely declined Zhang Cong's support and cultivation, and took up the post of head of the Ministry of War step by step, which made Zhang Cong very disappointed.

In fact, this was also related to Zhang Cong's blind pandering to Emperor Jiajing. At that time, most civil servants were not ashamed of Zhang Cong's actions and were naturally unwilling to obey him.

However, this also affected Tang Shunzhi's career, which was bumpy and bumpy.

The reason why I say so much is because Tang Shunzhi does not know medical skills and is easy to deceive.

Wei Guangde happened to be there that day, so naturally he couldn't leave overnight.

After Zhang Ji sent the doctor away, Wei Guangde leaned on the bedside and asked, "Has Xin sent someone to send him away?"

"Master, it was delivered yesterday."

"That's good, let's rest today and we'll set off tomorrow."

Wei Guangde gave an order.

"Sir, you've suffered a lot these past two days. Why don't you rest here for two more days? I'll arrange for someone to keep an eye on you at the doctor's place."

Zhang Ji whispered.

He didn't know what kind of medicine the doctor gave Wei Guangde, but the reaction after taking the medicine really frightened him. Wei Guangde still looked a little weak now. After all, he had been lying in bed for two days, so after hearing Wei Guangde was leaving tomorrow, and his heart was trembling, worried that he might get sick on the road if he didn't take good care of himself.

At that time, I don’t know what kind of medicine the doctor here gave Wei Guangde. The new doctor might not dare to give the medicine casually, wouldn’t it be delayed?

Just in case, Zhang Ji sent a team of people to keep an eye on the servants Dong Yiyuan left behind, fearing that something might happen to Wei Guangde's health.

After all, this was the first time he had done something like this and he had little experience. Zhang Ji was worried that if something went wrong, he would not be able to bear the consequences, fearing that his whole family would be in trouble as well.

Now Wei Guangde is the hope of the old Wei family and even the entire Bengshan Fort.

Bengshan Fort, as the basic base of the Wei family, is now enjoying benefits because of Father Wei's promotion.

In Jiujiang Wei, the Wei family was originally considered a conscientious official of hundreds of households. The deduction of military pay was not harsh, and everyone could still eat. Wei Meng Gaosheng took away many people from the fort, and most of these people got As a minor official, military pay also increased.

When people left, people naturally came in as substitutes, and some of the remaining soldiers who had no food and salary also filled in as regular soldiers. In short, everyone's life was much better than before.

Perhaps this is what happens when a person achieves the Tao and a chicken or a dog ascends to heaven.

Zhang Ji's father was a confidant of Wei Meng. Now he followed Wei Meng to the post of Qianhu of the Hou Army and became an official of hundreds of households, which can be regarded as an independent team.

For a military family like them, if they have not made great military achievements, even if they occupy hundreds of official positions, it will be of no use. In the end, their brother will not be able to succeed them, so they still have to rely on the Wei family to make a living.

However, when I returned to Jiujiang last year to see my eldest brother, he was actually quite envious of me. Following Wei Guangde in the capital and seeing the world, their future was far better than that of them staying in the guardhouse.

Wei Guangde must not let anything happen to him.

The team of men Dong Yiyuan left for himself was what Wei Guangde had quietly ordered before. One of his lieutenants was ill and it was impossible for the guerrilla general who led the team to guard him. He had to follow Tang Shunzhi, so Wei Guangde asked him to leave a team. Just be familiar with the guards of Xuanfu.

Such an order was a bit abrupt, but Dong Yiyuan knew what was going on and didn't ask any more questions, so he just obeyed.

Wei Guangde naturally had his reasons for giving such an order. He would know what he needed to know, and it would be useless to say more.

Later, Wei Guangde suddenly fell ill. Dong Yiyuan only pretended to be worried on his face, but he already had a suspicion in his heart that Mr. Wei was afraid that he had other confidential things to do, so he wanted to leave the patrol team.

In the afternoon, Wei Guangde felt much better and got out of bed and started walking around the house. After dinner, he ordered, "We will set off early tomorrow morning."

"Master, don't you want to rest for another day?"

Zhang Ji still wanted Wei Guangde to recover, but Wei Guangde still firmly shook his head and refused.

Early on the next morning, Zhang Ji bought a carriage and left the town saying that he was sending Wei Guangde to Pinggu County for recuperation. After leaving the town, he walked a short distance south and then headed west, heading straight for Bohai Station.