The 23rd day of July in the eighth year of Hongwu was the day when Emperor Hongwu returned to his hometown.
On this day, the streets of Zhongdu City were deserted, and the people of Fengyang and Linhuai counties came out in full force. Not to mention the fellow villagers who crazily worshiped Zhu Yuanzhang, it was the immigrants from Shanxi and Jiangnan who were eager to catch a glimpse of this native.
The legendary emperor, does he look round or flat?
It is no exaggeration to say that on this day at least hundreds of thousands of people came out to welcome the Emperor Hongwu. From the gate of the Central Capital City to dozens of miles away, there were huge crowds of people supporting the elderly and the young on both sides of the official road.
The 20,000 officers and soldiers of the Fengyang Four Guards all put on brand-new military uniforms. They stood on both sides of the official road with bright armor and uniforms.
The officers wore phoenix-winged helmets with red tassels on their heads, gold or silver mountain armor according to their rank, shiny cowhide boots on their feet, and their hands rested on their waists with sharkskin scabbards and gold-hooped knife handles.
The sword was even more majestic and majestic, making the people dare not look at him.
At three o'clock in the morning, the Huben Guards cavalry who were leading the holy drive arrived. The cavalry in full armor, riding tall horses, lined up in a neat formation, and passed in front of the people one by one.
People were stunned to find that even the steps of the horses' hooves were neat and uniform. The official road, which was newly padded with loess and sprinkled with water, trembled and trembled, and people's hearts trembled involuntarily.
After the Huben cavalry, there were the officers and soldiers of Jinwu's four guards wearing the same exquisite armor. They did not drive straight past, but lined up inside the Fengyang Guard's cordon to set up a second cordon.
Then there is the majestic and gorgeous emperor's official ceremony guard. There are twelve dragon flags, arranged on the left and right; one is the Big Dipper flag, one is in the front, and one is in the back.
There are two tigers and leopards each, and six tame elephants, arranged on the left and right.
There are sixty-four flags such as door flags, sun flags, and moon flags; wood, fire, earth, gold, and water five-star flags, five mountain flags, bear flags, Luan flags, and twenty-eight constellation flags, each with six lines, totaling hundreds of flags...
…
Moreover, each flag has five soldiers, one to hold the flag and four to guard it with bows and crossbows.
Then came the emperor’s five kinds of chariots, the so-called five chariots, namely jade chariots, gold chariots, elephant chariots, leather chariots and wooden chariots.
The five chariots are running in parallel, and Zhu Yuanzhang is on the jade chariot in the middle, which is the so-called 'jade chariot'. Coupled with the yellow umbrella cover on the roof, it is the so-called 'jade chariot of the emperor, with a canopy cover'.
As for the countless round fans, golden melons, golden festivals, candle cages, green dragon and white tiger banners, ban swords, stirrups and other objects that are held by the captain, there is no need to go into details one by one.
How can the common people understand these colorful and thousand kinds of ceremonial guards? Every one of them is dazzled by the sight, but they are not willing to blink. This is probably their only chance to see the emperor's ceremonial guard in their life.
~~
Shen Liuniang was also in the crowd, but she didn't come to watch the fun. She came to complain.
Originally, she had some expectations for the Hong brothers. After all, her savior, Magistrate Han, said that they could help her.
But she followed the Hong family's class around Fengyang County for a month, and even played Pan Jinlian for them for a month. The Hong family's class didn't even dare to enter Zhongdu City.
Obviously, they were frightened by what happened to Hong Hao and Hong Ji.
Especially after knowing that it was Mingjiao who invited them, she could completely understand why the brothers didn't want to cause any more trouble, and she never blamed them.
But there was no news about the five goods after they returned to Linhuai. She even went to Jinqiaokan to look for them once, and found that they had moved without even saying hello. She was inevitably disappointed when Zhang Hu didn't tell her.
At this time, she happened to learn that Emperor Hongwu was returning to his hometown, so she decided to come by herself.
Seeing the Holy Driver approaching, Shen Liuniang suddenly rushed out of the crowd and quickly broke through the first line of defense before the Fengyang Central Guard soldiers could react.
However, when she wanted to take advantage of the situation and rush through the second cordon, she was suddenly pushed to the ground with lightning speed. Then she was covered with a large quilt and tied with a rope, so that she could not move.
He couldn't make a sound and was dragged away without making a sound...
The whole set of actions was so smooth that from the time Shen Liu Niang rushed out to the time she was rolled up and taken away, it took no more than five breaths.
The crowd was completely unfazed by this. Even the people who were close at hand didn't see clearly what she was doing and thought she was a madman...
Where Shen Liu Niang disappeared, a piece of white cloth with the blood-red word "Injustice" written on it fell down.
The Kingo left guard officers and soldiers handling the scene quickly picked it up and handed it to their commander.
The commander of Jinwu's left guard is called Li Qi, and he is Li Shanchang's eldest son...
As the eldest son of a Korean prince, he naturally cherished feathers, so he handed the white cloth to Ding Bin aside without even looking at it. He chuckled softly and said: "It seems that you are too comfortable in Fengyang, so your reaction is a lot slower."
"Hmph, it's the same if we change positions." Ding Bin took the white cloth with blood writing on it, unfolded it, and then stuffed it back to Li Qi and said:
"He's a runaway slave from your cousin's family. It's up to you two to figure it out."
"It's as if we are not brothers." Li Qi had no choice but to take it and stuff it into his sleeve as if nothing had happened.
"I am with you, but he is not." Ding Bin snorted again, seeming to look down on the Korean father's eldest nephew.
~~
Zhu Yuanzhang, surrounded by thousands of people, could not see this little episode at all.
Wearing a dragon robe, he stood on the royal chariot, with a spring breeze on his face, and frequently waved to his father and fellow villagers.
The villagers also responded with shouts of long live the mountains, one after another. Amidst the continuous shouts of long live, the people looked up and danced, kneeling devoutly to worship the founder of the Ming Dynasty.
Li Shanchang, dressed in solemn court uniform, was allowed to board the royal chariot. He restrained all his arrogance and domineering, and stood beside Zhu Yuanzhang respectfully, carefully complimenting the emperor.
Just like he has done for the past twenty years.
"Every time I go back to my hometown, my hometown has changed a lot. This time I came back, it was very different from the time I came back in the fourth year of Hongwu. It really looked like the capital of a country." Zhu Yuanzhang waved to the villagers and said with emotion: "Old Li
You have done a great job."
"Your Majesty is so complimentary. Fengyang's rapid progress is all due to the Majesty's grace, which has benefited the common people." Li Shanchang said with a modest smile:
"In the years since I took office, I have returned to my hometown three times. The first time was in April of the twelfth year of Longfeng, on the eve of the founding of the People's Republic of China, when the late emperor and his queen were buried in the imperial mausoleum. The second time was in February of the fourth year of Hongwu, for the purpose of appraising the central capital.
Regulate the layout plan. Even if the veteran has worked a little hard, it will only be after the second time, and he will never dare to be greedy for God's merit."
"Oh, hahahaha!" Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help laughing, holding Li Shanchang's shoulders and saying: "You old Li, why are you still so good at talking? No wonder we like you the most!"
"Old minister also likes to be in a high position the most." Li Shanchang said with a simple and honest smile, "I haven't been able to see a superior in these years. I really can't eat well and sleep well, and I feel like I'm lovesick."
"Hahaha! If you can speak, just say more." Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the circle on his right, suddenly remembered something, and laughed again: "If Mr. Liu could speak half as well as you, we wouldn't look at him
He is annoyed."
"Haha, Mr. Liu is a god, and the old minister is a mortal." Li Shanchang's heart shrank.
ps. Fourth update, additional update for 20,500 orders.
