The Child Emperor

The arrival of Du Chuanyun strengthened Han Ruzi's determination to return to Beijing immediately.

Du Chuanyun had already been ordered to return to Beijing, but now the road is not as safe as it used to be. He took some time to reach the capital, and hurriedly returned to Shenxiongguan, one day later than Zuocha Censor. Bring a sentence: "Madam said, after the frontier is stabilized, please return to Beijing as soon as possible."

Because of these words, Han Ruzi couldn't wait any longer.

When Xiao Sheng, the censor of Zuo Cha, returned to invite the generals of the Northern Army, Han Ruzi put on the armor of an ordinary soldier and left the city at dusk, with only two people by his side—Meng E and Du Chuanyun, very few people in the city knew. The soldiers guarding the city gate had no doubts about these three people at all, and they never thought that General Zhenbei would "hide" in them.

When Chai Yue approached Xiao Shengxu and Wei She, Han Ruzi and the other three had already arrived at the first post station in the customs. Du Chuanyun held an urgent official document, which was stamped by the post chief, and then set off again after changing horses, but only stopped for less than a quarter of an hour. .

Han Ruzi and Meng E were waiting on the official road outside. He noticed that the gate of the inn had obvious signs of damage. Don't ask, it was left when a group of thieves attacked Shenxiong Pass a few days ago. from less than five to more than 20.

"The continuation of the civil strife will bring down Da Chu." Han Ruzi said softly, since he reached peace talks with Da Shanyu, he has been a little uneasy, and occasionally feels that he has made a big mistake. It is impossible to solve foreign troubles at the same time. There are thousands of post stations in Da Chu. Even if only half of them are strengthened to guard, it will involve a large number of Chu troops, weakening the strength against foreign enemies, and vice versa. To completely defeat the Xiongnu, a large number of troops are needed. Makes the defense inside the gate empty.

Meng E glanced at him, "When others hear you speak in this tone, they will think you are the emperor's private visit."

Han Ruzi smiled slightly. Even when he just abdicated and had no foundation, he maintained the emperor's thinking habits and always felt that he had an inescapable responsibility to the world.

Du Chuanyun and two post soldiers led the horses out. The three of them mounted their horses and drove all night. After walking a short distance, Du Chuanyun asked, "Marquis Juan, can you bear it? You are running on horseback day and night like this. , even a martial arts master can't last long."

Du Chuanyun had just completed a long-distance letter delivery, and rested for less than two hours at Shenxiongguan, but he looked very energetic, and he was even more worried that Juanhou would not be able to stand it.

"When I can't hold on any longer, I'll stop and rest." Han Ruzi also slept for a while during the day and had no problem staying up all night.

Early the next morning, Xiao Sheng began to win over the generals in Shenxiong Pass, Chai Yue and others were also quietly advancing the plan, and Han Ruzi arrived at the second station.

There are more soldiers stationed here, there are more than 50, and they seem very nervous. The door is closed, and it can't be opened without knocking. I heard that the three Shenxiongguan soldiers only change horses but not people. Yicheng is very happy, he really can't make room Extra manpower, "As long as the nearby mob makes trouble, they will definitely attack the inn first. We have already been burned once here, but fortunately, it has not been burned..."

The postman was a bit long-winded, but he did things quickly. After a quarter of an hour, Han Ruzi and the others set off again, and breakfast and lunch were all done on horseback.

Shortly before noon, the three of them passed through the first county town on the official road. Although it was winter, the street seemed too deserted and there were almost no pedestrians. Most of the shops on both sides were hiding their doors. , only the door was left, and several police officers probed their heads and watched in panic as the three "post soldiers" galloped past. At this time, the faster the post soldiers ran, the less good news there was.

When they were still in Iron Broken City, all the soldiers of the Chu army wanted to return to a safe pass, but they didn't expect that the pass would no longer be the peaceful world it used to be.

Three days after leaving Shenxiongguan, when Xiao Sheng, the censor of Zuocha, was stunned outside Shenxiongguan Yamen, Du Chuanyun was also very surprised. They stopped by the road to eat some dry food, and they all seemed a little sluggish, especially Du Chuanyun. , I haven't had a good rest all the time, and my brain is a little dizzy, "Do you really need a rest?"

Han Ruzi was very tired, but he didn't want to rest, he just wanted to hurry and join the competition that had already started as soon as possible.

"The emperor's attraction is really big." Du Chuanyun could only come to this conclusion, and he didn't dare to say that he was tired.

On the fourth day, the three of them had to stop, and the Yicheng told them that a mob was attacking a military village not far ahead, and their physical strength had reached the limit, so they slept all night, and the next morning, they heard that the battle was going on. It's over, get on your horse immediately.

It was not a gang of robbers who attacked the military village, but a group of real "mobs". Most of the weapons in their hands were hoes and picks. At first, they were too frightened to fight. After several trials, they found that the enemy was actually weak and powerless, and they launched a massacre.

When Han Ruzi and others passed by on horseback, they saw the scene after the massacre. The mob had dispersed, leaving hundreds of corpses scattered on the official road and on the hillside. The soldiers were excitedly examining the corpses and harvesting the heads. A bearded officer waved With the smooth and clean waist knife in his hand, he shouted: "You have made a merit! You have made a merit! You don't want to leave a living hole, just a head! Whoever, take my knife and smear some blood, from now on this is a treasured sword. took my knife."

The three "post soldiers" were almost stopped by the soldiers who were too excited. Du Chuanyun was so angry that he almost rushed forward with his sword drawn. Meng E stepped forward and declared his identities in a rough voice. Only then did the soldiers let them go. The smug laughter of the officers could also be heard.

"We shouldn't have slept last night, we should...should..." Du Chuanyun didn't know what to do, he turned to look at Hou Wan, "You must become emperor and save the people of the world, they just can't stand it. When they are hungry, it is the officers and soldiers who take the food, and it is the officers and soldiers who kill them.”

Han Ruzi nodded and said nothing.

The next itinerary is day and night. Except for changing horses, the three of them rarely stop. Even if it snows, they only slow down a little. As they get closer to the capital, there are fewer and fewer signs of riots. The towns passing by began to have a somewhat lively atmosphere.

Finally, in a place called Baiqiao Town, they were about to enter the boundary of Gyeonggi, and they also encountered an insurmountable obstacle. This obstacle was not a moat, not a robber, not a mob, but a Chu army.

Baiqiao Town has an arch bridge made of white stones. Crossing the bridge is the territory of the capital. When the weather is clear, you can even see the towering city wall from a high place. However, Baiqiao Town belongs to Huailing County.

A group of soldiers of the Southern Army occupied Baiqiao Town. There is a post at ten steps and a post at five steps on the main street. Several deer fences are set up at the bridge head. Hundreds of soldiers guard here, and they do not strictly control the direction of departure from Beijing. However, it is like a big enemy in the direction of entering Beijing, and all pedestrians must be personally inspected by at least ten officers.

Han Ruzi went non-stop all the way, and the news of leaving Shenxiongguan must not have reached here, but the Southern Army was ready, and he guessed that it was related to the East Sea King.

Han Ruzi did not dare to enter the town. Nine times out of ten, the Southern Army specifically intercepted him. There must be someone among the soldiers who knew him, and Meng E was not allowed to enter. Her dress and voice were flawless, but once she was searched, she would still be exposed.

Du Chuanyun took off his armor, put on ordinary clothes, entered the town alone, and returned shortly after, shaking his head and said, "No, I saw a few servants from the Cui Mansion mixed with the soldiers at the bridgehead, they must recognize Marquis Tien."

They stopped behind a detour outside the town, with snow-covered woods on both sides, neither entering nor retreating, and it was a bit dazzling to stay here, so Han Ruzi had to go back first, hoping to find a place to rest. Try to cross the river at night.

He and Meng E took off their helmets and put on robes over the armor. Although it was a little weird, they would not be regarded as soldiers.

Not far from the town, there was an abandoned earth temple, where Han Ruzi and Meng E rested, while Du Chuanyun went to the woods to survey the terrain and find a way to cross the river.

The temple was very small, and the air leaked from all sides. Han Ruzi was sitting on the dumped stone incense table, with his back to the half-remaining statue of the god. For the first time, he was nervous about returning to Beijing.

At Shenxiongguan, he had a troupe camp, followed pigs like Chai Yue, and a group of loyal soldiers who could easily defeat even high-ranking officials in the DPRK. Here, he was stopped by a group of soldiers from the Southern Army. , unable to move.

Meng E stood at the door, looked at the official road, and asked without looking back, "Do you regret it?"

"I don't regret it. Although Shenxiongguan is safe, it is not a long-term solution. Chai Yue and others want to embrace me as emperor, but they have not thought about one thing. In the previous dynasty, will the Northern Army still support me? Right now is an extraordinary period, people's minds change, anything is possible, and when the time passes, even if Emperor Wu is reborn, there will be little support. I must go back to Beijing, the support of the Northern Army It will provide me with some help, and my success in Beijing will in turn make the Northern Army support me even more."

Meng E couldn't think about so many things, she just chatted with Han Ruzi, her eyes were still looking into the distance, but she could feel that he needed to talk.

"But in the capital, what do you rely on to win the throne?"

"Well, the champion Hou came back the earliest, with the support of the minister, and the King of the East Sea has the Southern Army as his backing, what can I rely on? I believe Xiaojun, she must have a reason for letting me return to Beijing, and she will never let me take unnecessary risks, and I Mother, and... Yang Feng."

Han Ruzi was a little reluctant to say the word "Yang Feng". In the most trustworthy list, this eunuch has been ranked in dozens of places. Apart from recommending Fang Daye, Yang Feng has not passed a single word for so long. He himself said that he would only support those most likely to be emperors.

"The most important thing is that I believe in the Queen Mother."

"The Queen Mother?" Meng E turned her head and glanced at Han Ruzi. She knew the Queen Mother, so she was even more surprised.

"The Empress Dowager occasionally goes to the Qinzheng Palace to listen to politics, which shows that she is still alive." Han Ruzi paused, "When the Empress Dowager makes a move, how much of an advantage will the Champion Marquis and Donghai King have left?"

Only when the strong compete, there is a chance for the weak.

Han Ruzi was only worried about one thing, he couldn't enter the capital at all.

No matter what way to cross the river tonight, Han Ruzi was about to speak when Meng E whispered, "Someone is here."

Han Ruzi got up and walked to the door, and saw a group of cavalry coming from the direction of Baiqiao Town.