Plan to cut off the nine states

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It took half a month to go back and forth, and Lou Chu could not go far. He first went east to Hulao Pass and met various armies ordered to go to Luoyang. Then he turned west along the river and caught up with a large number of ships transporting grain to Tongguan. On both sides of the river, countless river workers and civilians were repairing the dike.

Qinzhou, west of Tongguan, was in a period of chaos. Only those with military tokens could not pass through the pass. Lou Chu then turned south and then east, returning to Beijing along the Luo River. On the way, he passed many villages and towns. It happened that the officials were collecting autumn grain, and civilians who went to serve in various places also set off one after another. Lou Chu walked and stopped, and felt that this trip was worthwhile.

The money was indeed insufficient. In the last few days, the two had to stay in the official post with the official letter from the Censorate.

That night, less than three days away from Luoyang, Lou Chu stayed in an official post outside the city.

It was past the second watch, and the postman who opened the door was not very happy. He held a lantern and carefully checked the official letter and the two guests.

The servant of Guangling Palace was named Duan Siyong. He often went out and was used to the scene. He said impatiently: "Do you know how to read?"

The postman was not angry, but smiled and said: "I can't compare with you, sir. I can recognize the seal on it. That's right, please, there is just one room left."

"We want two rooms."

"I'm sorry, there are too many business trips these days, and there is really only one room left. You are lucky. At this time yesterday, there would not be even this room left..."

The postman kept nagging, saying how tight the room was, how tiring his work was, and how he delayed the family's affairs.

The room was very small, with nothing else except a bed.

The upper floor slept on the bed, and Duan Siyong slept on the floor. The two walked all day and were extremely tired. After washing, they fell asleep and even skipped dinner.

The next morning, Duan Siyong brought food, coarse millet with a few pickles and boiled vegetable leaves. The two had been used to eating such food these days, and they didn't care and ate it up quickly.

"I'll go get a pot of tea." Duan Siyong took away the bowls and chopsticks.

Lou Chu went out to watch. The real errand boys were busy setting off, some were going to and from Beijing, some were walking, some were riding horses.

Suddenly, there was a burst of hurried horse hoof sounds outside the gate. Before the hoof sounds stopped, five or six soldiers rushed into the courtyard one after another, shouting: "Change horses, urgent military business!"

The postmaster came out to receive them personally, checked the military token, and after checking it was correct, he immediately arranged for the postman to prepare horses, food and water. Other messengers made way. Someone familiar with each other asked loudly: "Lao Liu, what's so urgent?"

Lao Liu was wolfing down a bowl of corn rice, humming twice, and had no time to answer. After a few bites, he finished eating and was ready to set off again. Then he said to his acquaintance: "The thief assassinated the emperor. We have been ordered to notify all checkpoints to strictly guard and not allow idle people to enter or leave. The whole Luozhou may have to be searched."

Several soldiers set off again, but the news they left behind caused a stir in the post station. People were talking about it. One was to denounce the daring traitor, and the other was to speculate whether they would be trapped in Luozhou if the checkpoints were closed.

Luozhou is located in the center of the world, surrounding the eastern capital Luoyang. There are several checkpoints and ports around it. As long as they are all sealed, people and animals within a radius of hundreds of miles cannot fly away.

The messengers all have official business to do. After discussing for a while, they each went on their way, and the people in the post station continued to speculate.

"It must be the Wu people who are causing trouble again. They feel uncomfortable all over if they don't cause trouble for three years. I really wonder why the court doesn't kill all the Wu people?"

"It may also be the rebels in Guanzhong. I heard that there is a Maitreya King with boundless magic power there. Maybe he sent an assassin..."

"Boundless magic power - why don't you go and surrender?"

"No matter how powerful the magic power is, he is still a demon. How can he be the opponent of the true dragon emperor? Once the general takes action, it will be wiped out in three months. Do you believe it?"

...

Duan Siyong came back and asked in surprise: "Is Mr. Lou not feeling well? Your face is not very Good. "

"Have you heard the news?"

"Well, it's another guy who doesn't know how to live or die. Fortunately, the emperor is fine, and the assassin and his accomplices will definitely not escape. I really don't understand. It's so hard to have this peaceful and prosperous era, why do people hope for chaos in the world? My father and my grandfather both said that when the countries coexisted in the early years, life was really hard. There was no tomorrow, and people were so hungry that they really cannibalized people..."

Lou Chu was eager to return to Beijing to find out the situation, and urged Duan Siyong to get on the road. The two had no horses, Lou Chu rode a donkey, and Duan Siyong walked. They couldn't speed up even if they wanted to.

Before dark, the two stayed in another post station. There were more errands coming and going, so they had to share a room with two other people. There was no bed. There was a layer of hay on the low kang, which was just enough to squeeze four people.

The other three snored like thunder, one louder than the other, but Lou Chu couldn't sleep. He tossed and turned, and finally felt a little sleepy, but was awakened by the shouting outside.

"Everyone stay in the house, no one is allowed to come out, no lights are allowed, and those who disobey the order will be punished by military law!"

The people outside shouted several times, waking up everyone in the post station.

"What's going on?" Duan Siyong asked in a daze.

"It's probably the soldiers who are arresting people." Lou Chu said.

"I know what's going on. Luozhou is searching. Those who enter Beijing will be let go for the time being. Those who leave Beijing will be strictly checked. Those with unknown origins will be arrested and escorted back to Beijing." A constable on the kang said.

"That's right, I've been checked twice, this is the third time, and I can't even sleep well." Another constable yawned and said.

The four people sat up, put on their clothes, and waited for the soldiers to come to check.

Several people pushed the door open, one holding a lantern, one checking the appearance and official letters, and the other two guarding the door, all with knives, looking very serious.

The two runners on the kang had experience, so they dumped the items in the letter bag and arranged them neatly for inspection.

"We will go downstairs to collect the autumn grain, there will be no problem..."

"Shut up." The officer scolded coldly, checked the samples, and then threw them back.

There was only an official letter in front of Lou Chu and Duan Siyong. The soldiers and civilians carefully looked at the appearance of the two, and looked at Lou Chu for a longer time. They picked up the official letter and glanced at it, "The Censorate's Observation Envoy... Is it you?"

Lou Chu nodded, "It's me."

The officer looked at him twice more, "Leaving Beijing or returning to Beijing?"

"Returning to Beijing."

Hearing this answer, the officer's expression eased a little, "Returning to Beijing is fine, but leaving Beijing requires a detailed inspection. What kind of official is the Observation Envoy?"

"Visiting the people's sentiments and observing the people's customs is the Observation Envoy. There is no rank, not an official."

"Oh." The officer seemed to understand, put down the official letter, turned around and walked two steps, and suddenly turned around and asked, "What's your name?"

"Duan Siyong."

"Not you." The officer pointed at the Observation Envoy.

"My last name is Lou, and my given name is Chu."

"Lou as in Gaolou?"

"Yes."

"Who is General Lou to you?"

"My family." Lou Chu was unwilling to admit that he was Lou Wen's son, but he couldn't say that he had no relationship with him, after all, the surname Lou was not common.

"Sorry, you have to come with us then."

Lou Chu was stunned. He had heard a lot of rumors along the way, but no one said that the assassination was related to the Lou family. "Why?"

"Don't ask me, I'm just following orders. Please, Lou...Guanfengshi." The officer's tone was kind, but firm.

Lou Chu had no other choice but to get off the kang, but Duan Siyong disagreed. He was ordered to accompany him, and one of his duties was to protect Master Lou, so he got off the kang first and bowed to the officer, saying, "Please excuse me for a moment."

The officer looked at him coldly, "I have military orders."

Duan Siyong smiled and said, "I will never delay your military orders."

The two walked out of the room, and the other three soldiers remained in the room. The soldier holding the lantern suddenly said, "If we must go to Qinzhou to suppress the bandits, I hope it will be General Lou who leads the troops."

"He was the general, right?" Lou Chu said. When he left Luoyang, his father had been appointed as the commander of the Western Expedition.

"That was true half a month ago, but it's hard to say now."

Just as Lou Chu was about to ask, Duan Siyong and the officer came back, and the soldier hurriedly shut up and looked away.

Duan Siyong bowed to Lou Chu with a dark face, saying: "Sorry, Mr. Lou, this military officer must take you away. The title of King Guangling is not easy to use."

The officer said indifferently: "They are all superiors, I can't afford to offend any of them. It would be a waste to use the title of the old prince of Guangling on me. Please come with me, Mr. Lou. It's nothing serious. Just make it clear. Maybe it's a good thing."

Lou Chu got up and put on his shoes, and said to Duan Siyong: "It's okay. Please go back to Beijing alone and tell your master on my behalf that I will visit you if I have the chance."

"Please rest assured, Mr. Lou. Although King Guangling is not in the capital, there is no one he can't protect." Duan Siyong raised his voice, and this was mainly for the officer to hear.

The officer refused to answer and urged Lou Chu to get on the road.

The inspection of the post station has ended. In addition to Lou Chu, there are three more people to be taken away. They are all servants of officials in the capital. They stay in the official post station. Usually there is no problem, but today they are in trouble because they are leaving the capital.

Louchu was treated better, and was given a horse. The three men not only walked, but also had ropes tied around their arms, just like prisoners.

The three were extremely dissatisfied, and frequently mentioned how anxious their master was and how heavy their tasks were. Soon after, they finally shut up. It turned out that the people arrested by the officers and soldiers were not only the three of them, but also more than a dozen people, tied together by ropes, and some of them had masters of higher status.

Hundreds of soldiers escorted nearly twenty "prisoners" on the road. In the early morning, they met up with another team of soldiers and rested on the spot. In less than a quarter of an hour, they were on the road again. They were not far from Dongdu, but these people enjoyed a field march.

After a continuous journey, the group finally entered a military camp that night. Louchu was better off riding a horse, but the others had worn out their shoes and scratched their feet, and they screamed one after another.

The military camp was established not long ago. There were no houses, but rows of tents, which were in order. No one was seen running around or shouting.

Lou Chu was sent to a small tent alone. He waited for an hour and felt tired and sleepy. However, he had too many doubts in his mind and couldn't sleep.

The officer came and was more polite. He clasped his fists and said, "Please follow me, Mr. Lou."

"How far is it from Luoyang?"

The officer hesitated for a while before replying, "Not far. You can see the city wall at dawn."

"Why aren't the imperial guards arresting people?" Lou Chu saw that these people were soldiers transferred from various places. They were originally going to Qinzhou under the leadership of the general, but they were inexplicably participating in the arrest of the assassin's accomplices.

Either unaware or unwilling, the officer refused to answer this question, "Let's go. Someone is waiting for Mr. Lou."

Sure enough, someone was waiting for Lou Chu, and it was his family.

A large tent was filled with the children and grandchildren of the Lou family. As soon as Lou Chu came in, his seventh brother Lou Shuo came up to him and said loudly: "The Lou family is in danger, you can't stay out of it!"

(Starting today, we will resume updating twice a day, one update from 8-9 am, two updates from 18-19 pm, and one update on Sundays, please be informed.)