Under the high autumn sun outside Songzhou City, several officials wiped the sweat from their heads and looked at the soldiers who came to report at full speed with angry expressions.
"Have you stopped to rest again?"
"So that means we won't be able to arrive tomorrow or the day after tomorrow?"
Xin Bing said: "Mrs. Chu is undecided. She said she would rest for one day, but it could be two days... so we won't know how many days we will arrive until we set off."
The ill-tempered officials immediately tossed their sleeves angrily and said, "No more waiting." "She can come whenever she wants!" "No more calls!"
Losing your temper is just losing your temper. There are also officials with good tempers who urge you to "Come anyway" and "We are not doing this to give her face, this is for Your Majesty"
Ever since the emperor learned that Mrs. Chu was coming, he had expressed concern over and over again and wanted to personally greet Mrs. Chu. "Mrs. Chu recovered the capital and killed Ankang Mountain. She was the greatest contributor to Daxia."
As ministers, they must of course relieve His Majesty's worries and build momentum for His Majesty.
"That's all, let's wait."
What can all the officials do? Who can make the lady of Chu become so powerful!
"Originally, I refused to leave the capital because I was afraid of weakening my power. Now that I have accomplished the feat of killing Ankang Mountain, no one can compare with me."
"Listen to the formation of her journey! A new carriage is replaced every ten days, with a thousand people holding flags, thousands of soldiers and horses in front to clear the road, thousands of soldiers and horses behind to surround them, and a hundred civil servants accompanying them...
…”
"Forget about the soldiers and horse guards, what are you going to do with the civil servants?"
"It's said to be dealing with moral affairs."
"Look at how busy she is. Your Majesty is not like her when traveling!"
Although Mrs. Chu's arrival was delayed, as the soldiers were running around frequently, Mrs. Chu's movements seemed to be in front of her.
Her journey is luxurious, her troops and horses do not have to eat or sleep in the open, they have to rest for three to five days, and they must enter a city when they see it...
"The city officials are respectful. It's not enough for so many people to eat and drink, but they still ask for gifts."
"So some people say that where she passed there was no grass growing?"
Everyone was discussing and angrily, and sat in the tent to rest... There was nothing to do when we went back, so we could spend time here.
While they were talking and laughing, they saw a group of soldiers and horses galloping, with dusty faces and solemn expressions. An official recognized the leader as Zhang An and hurriedly raised his hand to stop them.
"Captain Zhang!"
"How is it? Are they really rebels?"
A few days ago, rebels appeared near the border of Henan Province. Several villages and towns were attacked, causing heavy casualties.
Zhang Anlema said: "The survivors also described a Northern accent..."
"It must have come from Hedong Road!" the officials concluded in unison.
Ankangshan was killed, and the rebels were scattered and fled everywhere. It's not surprising that they came to them!
"There aren't many people, right?"
"Caught?"
they asked nervously.
Zhang An said: "I don't know how many people there are...these people ran so fast that no trace could be found."
That's because we didn't catch it. Everyone knows that Zhang An doesn't expect...
"Captain Li went to investigate in person." Zhang An didn't count on himself, so he gave up to everyone else, "I will report to His Majesty right away and discuss how to deal with the victims."
The officials raised their hands and said, "please go quickly." They watched Zhang An gallop away with his troops and horses...
"Why did the rebels get to us?"
"Is it because you know His Majesty is here?"
"I think it's because of Mrs. Chu!"
Everyone looked at this person when they heard this sentence.
"Am I wrong?" the man said solemnly, "When Hedong Road was chasing the rebels, Mrs. Chu brought so many soldiers and horses with great momentum. I think those rebels were attracted by Mrs. Chu
of!"
………
………
Soldiers and horses were stationed in the wilderness shrouded in darkness. From the distant hillside, they looked like scattered sparks.
"Sir," a pair of eyes stared at the distant stars in the dark night, holding a crossbow, "let them set fire to scare them?"
The adult next to him yelled at him: "Are you crazy or stupid? Burning down several towns will make you confused, right?"
He grabbed the man's head and shook it forward.
"Look clearly! Those are the soldiers and horses of Mrs. Chu! They are Mrs. Chu! Mrs. Chu!"
The man's scalp was about to fall off when he was pulled, and he begged for mercy in a low voice.
"I know Mrs. Chu Guo is powerful. I didn't want to hit her. I just shot rockets from a distance to scare her away..." he explained.
The adult scolded him again: "Just set off a rocket? Do you believe they can burn us all to death?"
This person did not dare to speak.
"Don't forget our purpose!" The adult let go of him and warned in a low voice. He looked around and saw figures floating in the night. "If we fall into the hands of Mrs. Chu, we will die!"
After that, I listened carefully to some strange bird calls in the night...
"Let's go!" The adult stopped scolding and waved his hand, "Let's go quickly."
The night suddenly became noisy and fell into silence. Not long after, the night was lit up with firelight, and a group of soldiers and horses appeared here with the trampling of horse hooves. Various guard flags fluttered under the firelight...
"Not here!"
"I've checked everything, and there are no thieves!"
Waves of shouts also rang out, and reports were reported to the leading general.
"It shouldn't be." The general frowned and looked around, "You did come this way, why did you disappear again?"
"Did you make a mistake?" the deputy general speculated. "There are too many soldiers and horses coming out to search. Generals Zhang An, Wang Lin, and Xiao Qi are also competing with Governor Li. His Majesty is also worried and has sent the Imperial Guard..."
There were soldiers and horses running around everywhere, mistaking the guards for rebels.
The general frowned: "It's possible, but shouldn't he be mistaken several times?" He shook his head and said to himself, "It's as if these rebels have eyes on us and can always see us in advance...
…”
"This is even more impossible!" the deputy general laughed and lowered his voice, "Sir, forget it, the purpose above is not to capture these rebels, just scare them away."
This is true. The general threw the officer away and waved his hand: "Keep chasing! Don't let anyone go!"
The soldiers and horses responded loudly and galloped away in the night with noisy hooves.
As the sun rose and set, the officials outside Songzhou City finally waited for Mrs. Chu's soldiers and horse officials to arrive.
Teams of soldiers and horses galloped outside the city of Songzhou, handing over seals, verifying identities, and then spreading guard outside the city.
Then came the group of officials, who also submitted letters and seals to verify their identities. They were subordinate officials with different positions from the capital of Xuanwu Road, Huainan Road and Taiyuan Prefecture appointed by Mrs. Chu. They entered the government office and handed over the documents brought by Mrs. Chu to govern
A manual on military and civilian affairs.
Then groups of merchants poured into Songzhou City carrying various goods. Some asked where Mrs. Chu would stay and what kind of decorations she needed. Some put out Mrs. Chu's favorite goods for sale.
Groups of people gathered day by day, and even before Mrs. Chu arrived, there were already banners bearing her name everywhere inside and outside the Songzhou city.
The entire city of Songzhou was as hot as a stove, and it was just a matter of a few seconds before it would boil down.
Mrs. Chu is that fire.
On the eighth day of the ninth lunar month in the eighth year of the Chengyuan Dynasty, after a month, the carriage of Mrs. Chu finally appeared in the sight of the officials and people of Songzhou.
The soldiers and horses outside Songzhou City were like embankments, blocking the sea of people around them.
A canopy-covered carriage slowly approached, with gauze hanging on all sides, pearls as curtains, and a wind dome made of bamboo hanging from it, making the figures in the black clouds inside it even more dazzling.
Mrs. Chu's carriage stopped briefly in front of the welcoming officials. She did not get out of the car, but only saluted and greeted her in the carriage, and then immediately went into the city to meet the saint.
"Did you see that?"
“What a beautiful car!”
"Where are the people? Did you see clearly?"
"See clearly!"
"Wearing a black dress!"
"With a black power fence!"
Mrs. Chu's car drove away amidst the noise, leaving behind satisfied onlookers.
I finally met Mrs. Chu. Just like in the legend, she was mysterious, fairy-like, extravagant, scary, majestic, terrifying... Everyone's feelings can match their imagination.
The emperor was waiting in the main hall.
Mrs. Chu's car drove slowly towards the entrance of the palace.
"The civil officials in the palace have conducted an inventory. No one has been to Jiannan Road, and no one has seen the eldest lady."
"The generals in the palace have been checked, and none of them are from Jiannan Dao Guard."
"The eunuchs in the palace have checked..."
During this period, people kept coming forward to report to Yuan Ji, Jiang An and others who had transformed into ordinary guards and officials.
When it was confirmed at the last moment that there was no problem with the inventory and the carriage stopped at the entrance of the palace, Yuanji walked to the carriage and lifted the curtain.
"Madam, we're here."
Li Minglou took off the power fence in the car, took off his outer robe, and walked out of the car holding Yuan Ji's hand.
The dismounted officials around wanted to say a word, but when they saw the true appearance of Mrs. Chu in her official uniform, they fell silent instantly.
Their eyebrows were trembling, they were amazed, stunned, and lost their minds... They stared blankly at this woman walking towards the palace.
Yuanji held the Sheng Festival, and Baobao held the letter and seal followed closely.
"Mrs. Chu Guo has an audience!"
The palace door opened wide, and the civil and military officials turned around in two rows. The emperor sat on the dragon chair, and the prince stood at the foot of the steps. All eyes were focused on the woman who walked in.
She is petite, graceful and beautiful.
Her face is like jade and her eyes are like stars.
She bent down and knelt down.
"My wife, I bow to Your Majesty, long live, long live, long live."