In addition, everyone on our side was injured, and they did not dare to gallop on their horses, so they could only move forward cautiously and slowly.
I had walked this road to the south many times before, and I knew the situation along the way very well. I knew there was a post station eighty miles ahead, so I decided to stay there.
It was getting late at this time, and the snowy night was cold. Until the second watch, everyone was still more than thirty miles away from the inn in front of them. When they saw a fire flickering in a broken house by the roadside, Datou suggested that everyone go there to rest.
Datou was seriously injured, so he did not ride on the Golden Eagle at this time, but rode with Shi Xuanming. His suggestion was the first to be approved by Shi Xuanming, and Yang Kai and Yu Yi later expressed their agreement.
Everyone was injured and urgently needed to rest. If it were normal times, they would have agreed, but at this time, it was not suitable to rest in the wild. Firstly, the outdoor environment was harsh and there was a lack of medical treatment. Secondly, it was obvious that Datou and others did not want to go to the inn to recuperate.
With an element of anger, they were also bitter about the fact that their group was ambushed by the Four Mountain Villas immediately after they left the capital. In their opinion, this ambush was inextricably related to the emperor's reward of lanterns forcing everyone to leave the capital early.
He rejected everyone's suggestion to rest in the wild and insisted on rushing to the inn ahead. Previously, the Gao Gao Wei led his people to inspect the situation. Datou and others ridiculed him and made many insinuations about the emperor. After the Gao Gao Wei returned, he would definitely bring Da Tou and others as well as
I informed the emperor of my attitude in detail. Knowing that Datou and others had misunderstood me, the emperor would probably send someone to express condolences, and the most likely place for everyone to rest would be the inn ahead. If they did not go to the inn but chose to live in the wild
, which is tantamount to deliberately drawing a clear line and keeping a distance from the emperor and the court. It feels good to everyone, but it will aggravate the misunderstandings and conflicts with the emperor.
Nearing the third watch, a group of people finally arrived at the post station ahead. Since there have been many wars in Jianghuai recently, the post station did not dare to slack off. There were always people in the side room on the shortcut paying close attention to the situation on the road, ready to receive the passing postmen at any time.
??
When the postman came out, he took the initiative to reveal his identity. Seeing that he had a distinguished identity and that several people accompanying him were stained with blood, the postman became very nervous. He cautiously welcomed everyone into the postman and arranged their accommodation. Then he woke up other sleeping postmen and started a fire.
, busy serving.
There are two types of accommodation in the post station, one is an independent courtyard for receiving passing officials, and the other is Datongpu where ordinary post messengers rest. As a prince, you should live in a separate courtyard, but you chose to live in Datongpu.
There was a room with a large fire bed big enough to sleep a dozen people. Even Yu Yi lived with everyone, but there was a curtain in the middle.
There are two reasons for this arrangement. One is that Datou and others are all injured, and he is proficient in medical skills and living with everyone can easily take care of them. The other is for safety reasons to prevent someone from plotting evil and taking advantage of the opportunity to assassinate.
Facts have proved that it is wise to walk dozens of miles and settle at the inn. The inn has a heated kang, the room is very warm, and there is also an inn.
Everyone can have a good rest after eating and drinking. In addition, everyone's mounts can also be properly arranged. The horses are parked in the stables on the west side of the room. The big-headed Miss Bai can also get meat. However, Miss Bai has been pampered since she was born.
Having seen the world, I was shocked by the raging mountain fires and billowing smoke during the day, so I didn't eat much of the meat sent by the postmen.
In order to facilitate the application of medicine and treatment of injuries, Datou and others could only take off their blood-stained clothes. Once the blood-stained clothes were removed, they were all covered with scars, especially Shi Xuanming, who had previously used his magical powers to transform into the Angry-Eye Vajra and the Silver-haired White Tiger. During the battle, there were dozens of scars all over his body, which was shocking.
None of the four of them were pampered people. When they started to change the dressing, everyone seemed to be unaware. They were still chatting and laughing, and no one moaned or cried out in pain. As long as they didn't die, they would be completely victorious, and the scars would be a sign of their illustrious military exploits.
In order to make it easier for the postmen to carry food with them, the meals at the post station were mostly baked noodles and braised noodles. The postmen sent some fine selections, and then they wanted to go down to prepare the banquet. It was midnight and the weather was freezing, so naturally they would not let it go. They were tired and busy, so they ordered the postman to bring some firewood for them to go down and rest.
With injuries on his body, no one could eat much. He simply ate a few mouthfuls, drank hot water, and then wanted to turn on the lamp and rest.
At this moment, the sound of rapid horse hooves suddenly came from outside the inn.
After being promoted to Jushan Lizi, my ears and eyes were clearer than before. Not only did I judge that there were seven people coming based on the sound of horse hooves, I also heard that the sound of one horse's hooves was different from the other horses.
"The Emperor is here." He said in a deep voice.
Hearing the words, everyone lost all sleep in an instant. They stood up eagerly and wanted to get dressed. However, everyone's previous clothes were full of holes, and the changes of clothes were all in their bags and had not been taken out.
"Your Majesty, are you really the emperor?" Da Tou looked nervously as he unwrapped the baggage.
"I brought the sweat-blooded horse back from Tingzhou. I can't hear the sound of the horse's hooves wrong." Nodding, he brought back three sweat-blooded horses from Tingzhou, one of which was a golden retriever, which he presented as a gift. The emperor.
Seeing the certainty, everyone became more and more panicked. No one expected that the emperor would leave the palace for a long journey on a cold winter night. Moreover, when the emperor came to the inn, he was undoubtedly coming to them.
Seeing that everyone was injured and still struggling to put on clothes, for fear of disturbing the wounds and aggravating the injuries, he waved his hands and said, "Don't wear any more, just lie down and pretend you don't know."
After hearing this, everyone hurriedly stopped dressing and lay down crookedly.
Not long after, the door
The anxious voice of the postman came from outside, "Master, you can't break in. The brave prince lives here."
"Get out of the way." Someone scolded.
Hearing the strange noise, he stood up and opened the door. The first thing that caught his eye was the familiar yet unfamiliar face.
Seeing that there was snow on the emperor's cloak, and his face was pale due to the cold wind, his blood surged instantly, and he was very moved. He hurriedly stepped out, lifted his robe and knelt down, "I am here to see you, your Majesty."
"No courtesy, no courtesy." The emperor quickly stepped forward and helped him up before he fell to his knees. ??
The postman who had previously tried to stop everyone wanted to rush forward to explain, but when he heard the two men's words, he was instantly frightened to death and lost his mind, "Huanghuanghuang..."
"Silence. Get down!" the accompanying royal guards shouted in a low voice.
At this time, the emperor had already been let into the room. Although everyone already knew that it was the emperor, they were still shocked to see the emperor appear alive in front of them. They all stood up and tried to greet him.
"You don't have to get up," the emperor waved to everyone. Seeing that one person was missing, he went to the other side of the curtain. He must have noticed that Yu Yi's clothes were disheveled, so he hurriedly stepped back, "Generals, you are injured. There is no need to be polite. It's okay."
Lie down."
Everyone didn't know whether to forcefully get up, so they turned to look and said, "You haven't thanked the emperor yet?"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" the four of them said in unison.
Just when he was about to move the chair, the emperor waved his hand and said, "Don't be busy, I have to rush back and I won't stay long."
Although the emperor said so, the seats were moved, but the emperor did not sit down. Instead, he faced everyone and said harmoniously, "I was shocked to hear that you, my dear friends, were ambushed. I came here to visit you. My dear ladies, you are dedicated to serving the public and doing your best."
Everything you do is to share my worries, and everything you do is to eliminate harm for the people. Only in this way can you become enemies with villains and be resented by traitors. Fortunately, the heroic prince has commanded well, and you have the courage to be invincible.
, only then can we turn danger into good fortune and punish all thieves and bandits, which is really a blessing to the court and a blessing to the people."
Hearing the emperor's words, Datou and others were very moved, but they were clumsy with words and did not know how to answer the words, so they could only look again.
Seeing this, he hurriedly bowed and replied, "Your Majesty's holy words are false. I am ashamed that I and others cannot live up to them. Your Majesty is the most respected person in the world and the ruler of the world. How could we and all of us be so virtuous as to bother Your Majesty on a cold snowy night and travel a long distance?"
Trek, come to encourage and visit..."
Before he could finish speaking, the emperor waved his hand to interrupt him, and then waved to the imperial guards guarding the door. The latter had been waiting for a while, and upon seeing this, he hurriedly carried in a three-foot-square red box.
After the imperial guard put down the wooden box and opened it, the emperor reached out and took out a red item from the wooden box.
The cloak is embroidered with green dragons and trimmed with gold thread. It is made of exquisite materials and is very luxurious.
The emperor handed the cloak to him with both hands and said, "Dear ladies, please share my worries and serve the country. I know that you will leave the capital soon to go on an expedition. I have already ordered the manufacturing office to rush to make the cloak as a gift. I never thought that you would leave."
I am so urgent that I cannot give it to you with my own hands, so I will bring these five cloaks together and give them to you, but the last one is not yet finished and has some flaws."
Hearing this, he hurriedly accepted it with both hands and solemnly thanked him.
The emperor then took the cloaks handed by the imperial guards one by one and gave them to everyone with his own hands. Different from the red green dragon cloak, the cloaks of the big head and others were purple, embroidered with tigers, and trimmed with silver threads.
After being rewarded with the cloak, another imperial guard brought two square wooden boxes. The emperor took one of the wooden boxes and opened it. There were four square gold seals inside, "I will not accept the resignation submitted by you dear sirs. I will use my sincerity."
Those who have made great contributions to the country must be highly rewarded, and all four of you will be promoted to generals and awarded the third rank."
Seeing that Datou and others were overly shocked and stared in astonishment, they did not thank them in time and winked at them hastily. Datou was the first to come to his senses and knelt down to thank them, followed closely by Yang Kai and others.
The emperor then took another wooden box from the imperial guard and handed it to him with one hand. At the same time, he patted his shoulder lightly and said, "The road ahead is dangerous, so take care. I'm waiting for you to come back."
He took the wooden box with both hands, looked directly at the emperor, and nodded heavily, "I swear to live up to my command!"
"Okay, you guys have a good rest, I'm going back to the palace." After the emperor said this, he turned around and started to go.
"Wait." Datou suddenly said.
The emperor turned around after hearing the sound.
"Your Majesty," Datou said, lying on the ground, "I have heard the private discussions of the rebels before, and I only know that there are female Japanese who are good at bed curtains lurking in the harem. Your Majesty, you must be more careful and take extra care of yourself."
After finishing his words, the emperor did not answer the question. He nodded and turned around to go out.
Seeing this, he hurriedly followed him to see him off.
The emperor came out of the inn under the protection of a group of imperial guards and left in the snow under the watchful eyes of the emperor.
Watch the emperor go away and return to the inn.
At this time, most of the others looked at him with a look of shame. None of them expected that the emperor would come in person. Fortunately, they had resisted everyone's advice and checked into the inn. Otherwise, everyone on our side would have seemed too stingy.
After a brief moment of embarrassment, Datou poked his head curiously, "Your Majesty, what's in the wooden box?"
Only then did he remember that he was holding a wooden box in his hand, and he opened it casually. Inside he saw a gold medal with a dragon pattern that was three inches long and two inches wide. There were four inscriptions in block letters engraved in the middle, "As if I were here in person..."