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 before leaving, he would receive such an errand from the emperor to go to the Xuan Mansion and 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 less conducive 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 on his 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 cavalry passing by.

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

"Zhang Ji, you can go ahead and look for a doctor for me in the town where you plan to stay overnight."

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 much of a friendship. In the past, when they met, they just bowed their hands and bowed their hands, so when they heard that Wei Guangde was ill, the first thing they thought of was whether or not to invite a doctor to come over for treatment. Would it delay their next trip?

You know, this trip took 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 from Zhang Ji 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 Jizhen soldiers to live.

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

"That's good. You are Mr. Wei's family. Be smart. If the doctor from Pinggu doesn't work, immediately send someone to Jizhou and Huairou to look for him. 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 sleep half an hour after taking the medicine. What he suffered was that the vomiting and diarrhea that night really hurt his body. He felt groggy afterwards, had no strength, 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 that the doctors these days were so powerful, and the medicine they prepared could really make people like this.

In Wei Guangde's opinion, vomiting and diarrhea were important signs that he was sick. It was best to fall asleep after that, otherwise if he pretended not to be the best, all his previous 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 directed the anti-Japanese war. He was regarded as an anti-Japanese hero.

During the war against Japanese invaders, Governor Hu Zongxian compiled the "Caohai Tubian", which was a coastal military atlas compiled by collecting and sorting out relevant materials on coastal defense for the purpose of defending against Japanese pirates. Tang Shunzhi also participated in this book.

Tang Shunzhi wrote in "Ding Miao Mo", "Strengthening the Army", "Excellent Coaching", "Sufficient Soldier Pay", "Qingtun Planting", "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 until Hu Zongxian and Zhao Wenhua jointly recommended him. 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.

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

Zhang Ji whispered.

He didn't know what medicine the doctor gave Wei Guangde, but the reaction after taking the medicine really scared him. Wei Guangde still looked a little weak, after all, he had been lying in bed for two days, so when he heard that Wei Guangde was leaving tomorrow, he was trembling in his heart, worried that he would not be well and get sick again on the way.

At that time, he didn't know what medicine the doctor gave Wei Guangde here, and the new doctor might not dare to give medicine casually, wouldn't it delay him?

Just in case, Zhang Ji also sent a team of people to watch the servants left by Dong Yiyuan, for fear that Wei Guangde would have physical problems.

After all, it was the first time to do such a thing, and he had no experience. Zhang Ji was worried that if there was a mistake, the consequences would not be something he could bear, and he was afraid that his family would be unlucky.

Now Wei Guangde is the hope of the old Wei family, and even the entire Bengshanbao.

As the basic base of the Wei family, Bengshanbao is now enjoying benefits because of the promotion of Wei's father.

In Jiujiang Guard, the Wei family was originally a conscientious centurion official. The deduction of military pay was not too harsh, and everyone could still eat. Wei Meng was promoted and took away many people from the fort. Most of these people were given small official positions and the military pay also increased.

When people left, there were naturally people to replace them. Some of the surplus soldiers without food and pay were also replaced as regular soldiers. In short, everyone's life was much better than before.

One person's success may be the same as the success of his family.

Zhang Ji's father was Wei Meng's confidant. Now he followed Wei Meng to the rear army thousand households to become a centurion official, which was also considered to be an independent team.

For a military household like them, if they did not make great military achievements, it would be useless even if they occupied a centurion official position. In the end, their brother could not take over, so they still had to rely on the Wei family to make a living.

However, when I went back to Jiujiang to see my eldest brother last year, my eldest brother actually envied me. Following Wei Guangde to see the world in the capital, his future was far better than those who stayed in the guard.

Wei Guangde must not be in any danger.

The team of people that Dong Yiyuan left for him was secretly ordered by Wei Guangde before. As a deputy envoy, he 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 of servants who were familiar with Xuanfu to guard him.

Such an order was a bit abrupt, but Dong Yiyuan knew what to do and did not ask more.

Wei Guangde had his reasons for ordering so. If he needed to know, he would know. There was no point in saying more.

Later, Wei Guangde suddenly fell ill. Dong Yiyuan only pretended to be very worried, but he had already guessed in his heart that Lord Wei might have other confidential matters to do, so he had to leave the border patrol team.

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

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

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

The next morning, Zhang Ji bought a carriage and left the town on the pretext of sending Wei Guangde to Pinggu County for recuperation. He walked south of the town for a short distance and then headed west, heading straight for Bohai Station.