Chapter 279 Running ahead
The King of the East Sea is always on call, trying to act indifferent, but he can't hide the gloom and resentment in his heart.
"The princess has taught you again?" Han Ruzi asked.
The King of the East Sea glanced at the two guards in the tent and Liu Jie, the supervisor of the Central Division, "Your Majesty is too... swift and resolute, no preparation time is given, there are ten members of the Tan family, and the oldest is seventy or eighty years old. The youngest is only three or four years old, and when he says he is on the road, he goes on the road without even eating breakfast, how miserable it is."
Han Ruzi turned his head and asked Liu Jie, "Is that so?"
Liu Jie bowed and said, "The Tan family has a total of forty-seven members, plus ten servants. The oldest is sixty-three years old and the youngest is eight years old. They are in good health and have no headaches. This morning, I passed the decree at every hour and every hour. After leaving the residence, an hour before and after, I brought a total of fifty gold ingots and silver ingots..."
Han Ruzi raised his hand to indicate that it was enough, "It is said that the Tan family practice martial arts, and what they said is true. With the Tan family's financial resources, it is not difficult to travel far away temporarily, right?"
Donghai King's face was blushing for a while, and he murmured: "It's all what the princess said... What is your majesty calling me?"
Han Ruzi winked, Liu Jie and the two guards bowed out.
Han Ruzi stood up, circled around the East Sea King, and said, "Aren't you convinced?"
Donghai King's expression was already bad, but his expression changed suddenly, "You, you... Your Majesty wants to get rid of me, and he clearly said that the king wants the subject to die, that...that...you don't need to fabricate charges, just give death and hang yourself. , suicide, suffocation... or give me a little poison, see the kind that seals the throat with blood, anyway... my mother died like this anyway, our mother and son..."
The East Sea King couldn't go on, Han Ruzi smiled and said, "Don't worry, I didn't start so quickly."
"Thank you, Your Majesty... eh? Are you still going to do it?"
"Tell me, what's going on with the Tan family, they won't just wait and see?" Han Ruzi corrected his color.
"I, I... Does Your Majesty want me to betray the Tan family?"
"I want you to save their lives, but I won't forgive the Tan family again." Han Ruzi said coldly. During the amnesty, the Tan family could not be singled out for punishment, but he kept paying attention to the "Common Tan". I'm sure they won't be honest about it.
"I-I really don't know, I just heard a word or two of small talk, and the Tan family seems to be writing a letter to someone for help."
"To whom?"
"I really don't know this, and they don't take me as the Tan family." King Donghai sighed. Since he failed in the fight for the throne, his status in the Tan family has plummeted.
Han Ruzi felt that he couldn't ask any more questions, so he retreated to the chair, sat silently for a while, and suddenly said, "Or—you should run away."
The King of the East Sea was so frightened that he almost jumped up, "You said just now that you wouldn't do it too quickly, why did you change your mind now?"
"This army is going too slowly. I want to leave the camp to join Chai Yue. There must be a suitable excuse so that I can bypass those 'habits' of sticking to the rules."
"You are the emperor, can't you just order it? Who dares not to listen?"
"Everyone listened, and afterwards, in the name of safety, I discounted my will. I don't want to waste time fighting them at this time, so..."
The King of the East Sea stared at the emperor, "How do I know that His Majesty has no ulterior motives, or that he is really doing a fake show, and really gave me a crime of escape?"
"If I really did that, you wouldn't have a choice." Han Ruzi said with a smile, it was impossible and unnecessary to gain the trust of the King of the East Sea.
"I-I'll go back and prepare."
"You can't always let the princess make up your mind for you. You have to avoid the Tan family. You stay here and we'll set off later."
The King of the East Sea felt dangerous no matter what he thought, but he didn't dare to object, "Since this is... well, I agree. Anyway, my life is in your hands, but there is something I have to say first."
"Say."
"Your Majesty left the camp without authorization. If someone—such as that person—takes the opportunity to make trouble, Your Majesty can't blame me, let alone say that I planned it, because the idea is yours."
Han Ruzi knew who "that who" was, "Cui Hong? Without you, he would have no banner. With his prudence, he would never make trouble at this time. On the contrary, he would immediately catch up to show his loyalty. "
"Your Majesty really believes in Cui Hong? He is my uncle, but I don't believe him at all."
"I have a way." Han Ruzi blinked.
The King of the East Sea was stunned for a moment, and he always felt that the person in front of him didn't quite resemble the emperor, so he couldn't help but say: "This is not a joke, Your Majesty's foundation is unstable, in case... if it happens, few people in the entire court think about His Majesty. "
"It's like fighting a war. The court has a large number of people and good armour, but there are no horses, so we move slowly. Our party is much smaller and our weapons are not so good, but we ride horses and move quickly. If it is a head-to-head confrontation, our side will There is no doubt of defeat, at this time you have to ride and fight and run, neither too close nor too far, let the court follow me, not me."
The King of the East Sea stayed for a while, "This is the way the Huns play."
"It doesn't matter who plays, the important thing is to win."
"Afterwards, will His Majesty clear my name?"
"Your escape is just a rumor. In the end, I won't pursue it. Who will mention it?"
King Donghai thought for a while and decided to find a reliable witness, "Call Cui Teng."
Cui Teng arrived as soon as he called. He encountered a small number of northern troops and a large number of flags led by Chai Yue in Baiqiao Town. He admired his brother-in-law to the ground. He never thought that it was just a coincidence. With this bluff, it coincides with Hou Juan.
Hearing that he was going to sneak out of the camp, Cui Teng agreed without a word, and wanted to set off immediately.
At the fourth watch of the night, the emperor suddenly led a thousand elite soldiers out of the camp. There were only thirty guards with him, not even the eunuchs who served him personally. There were a pile of unprocessed memorials and half-written letters in the sleeping tent...
By the time the entire barracks reacted, it was already half an hour later, and rumors spread that the King of the East Sea fled at night, and the emperor went after him himself, leaving a decree before leaving, and letting General Cui Hong take charge of the entire army.
Cui Hong was shocked, but he saw half a letter in the emperor's sleeping tent, which reassured him a lot. The letter vaguely indicated that the queen was pregnant.
Cui Hong immediately sent people to chase the emperor, and then rectified the entire army, leaving the rear army and a large number of nobles to set off normally, and he led the main army to set off immediately.
Han Ruzi was finally able to gallop without restraint.
It was early spring, the snow was melting, and the road surface softened a little, which was a good time for horses to gallop.
Not long after dawn, this thousand-strong army arrived in Shang County. A camp had been arranged outside the city. If the army marched normally, this would be where the emperor would be stationed the next day, only a few dozen miles away from the last camp.
The emperor suddenly arrived and shocked the officials in the camp. Han Ruzi didn't say much, only asked a few ambiguous words, making the other party mistakenly think that he was chasing someone, and then ordered the soldiers to take food on the spot and replace them. The weak horses went on the road again, and the county magistrates and other officials who rushed over only had time to hear the sound of the hooves.
This thousand-man army is still half the northern army and half the southern army.
The veteran Fang Daye did not follow. He was too old, and staying in the Central Army was also a supervision of Cui Hong.
The next camp is still at a location of thirty or fifty miles away. According to this arrangement, it will take ten days to reach Hangu Pass. Cui Hong is indeed extremely cautious.
Because it was the emperor's personal expedition, after taking orders from various places, he made preparations early, so this section of the road was very easy to walk, you could move quickly and lightly, and only rested for three hours at night, and the resident officials stayed outside all night. They are all confused about the emperor's behavior, but they are low ranking and lowly rank, and they are not qualified to face the saints, and they are not qualified to ask questions.
The King of the East Sea was exhausted, so he chose a tent at random, went in and fell asleep without even eating.
Cui Teng was more energetic, and chatted with the officials outside the camp for a while. He is the elder brother of the queen and a confidant brought by the emperor. Although he has no specific official position, he is very respected. After returning to the camp, he was very happy. Said to the emperor: "Yes, yes, this trip is too right."
Han Ruzi only slept for more than two hours. First, the messenger sent by Cui Hong caught up, not only one, but three in a row. The first one, in the name of the general, begged the emperor to stay in the same place and wait for the army, and the latter two signed the official. More and more, even the great real estate industry is among them.
Han Ruzi knew what would be written in the letter, so he just glanced at it and put it aside. On the contrary, he asked the messenger carefully about the situation and distance of the army, and he was more relieved to confirm that Cui Hong led the army behind him.
He's playing a dangerous game, but that's the only way to get a quick fix.
Before dawn, the messenger of the former general Chai Yue also arrived. After reading the letter, Han Ruzi ordered the whole army to set off.
As expected by the Queen Mother, Shangguan Sheng did not stick to Hangu Pass, set a fire, and led the army to escape.
Chai Yue had already led the army into the pass, extinguished the flames, summoned the remnants of General Han Xing, and waited for the emperor's will.
In the original plan, if Shangguan Sheng fled, Chai Yue should stay at Hangu Pass for a while until the number of soldiers gathered reached 10,000 before making plans.
It was another non-stop journey. In the afternoon, Han Ruzi arrived at Hangu Pass, faster than he planned.
Shangguan Sheng fled in a hurry, and the fire was not enough, and it was quickly extinguished. The remnants of Han Xing gathered by Chai Yue, plus the people he brought with him, were already close to 10,000. He planned to leave early the next day to catch up with the emperor When he arrived, he was also taken aback.
At Hangu Pass, Han Ruzi got bad news, and Shangguan Sheng really gathered a group of refugees, claiming that they would capture Luoyang, open warehouses and put food, and save the world.
"Shangguan Sheng has a high-level guidance." Han Ruzi can only come to this conclusion.
"It's definitely not Lin Kunshan, he doesn't have the ability." Donghai King said.
Chai Yue also found Han Xing's guard. The information they provided confirmed Han Ruzi's previous speculation. Someone did send a sword. After Han Xing saw it, he immediately summoned this person, but he was assassinated. Afterwards, both the assassin and the sword disappeared. .
"Luoyang City is so thick and deep that Shangguan Sheng can't attack him. He only needs to stay for three days before the army can encircle him." Chai Yue was confident in defeating Shangguan Sheng.
However, Han Ruzi was worried that Shangguansheng's plan was not that simple, and ordered Chai Yue not to wait any longer.
Chai Yue led 6,000 people to set off overnight.
King Donghai stayed by the emperor's side all the time, and when he was free, Ai said: "I said that I don't know, because I just remembered that the Tan family seemed to have mentioned Luoyang, and the target of their help might be there. ."