Chapter 219: Meet the Empress Again (I)

The whole city of Bianjing congratulated each other. At the Drum and Horn Gate of the Imperial City, the sound of drums and music rang out with Zhu Wen appearing with his full ceremonial guard. The victory ceremony was finally about to begin.

Gazing from the pavilion on the Anle Pavilion, one can first see teams of Jinwu Guards appearing on the Drum and Horn Gate, then extending to both sides, and finally standing still at their respective positions.

Afterwards, the Imperial Guards, the Infantry Division and the elite imperial guards from each camp came out one after another until they covered the entire Drum and Horn Gate.

After these important positions were guarded by soldiers or the imperial guards were already in place, an apricot-yellow umbrella finally appeared in front of the world. Under the umbrella was a sedan chair carried by eight Jinwu guards. The so-called emperor of the Zhu family, the first emperor of Daliang, Zhu Wen, was leaning casually on the sedan chair in a dragon robe. However, Zhu Wen today had trimmed his appearance, and although he still looked fat, he still had an air of majesty.

After the eight obviously carefully selected Jinwu Guards carried him to the Drum and Horn Gate without blushing or panting, Zhu Wen got off the sedan chair and sat on the throne that had been set up long ago. Behind him, a group of purple-robed and scarlet-robed officials, members of the royal family, and generals of the various armies stood in shifts.

The Ghost King and the Hades Emperor, who rarely showed up among the court officials, stood at the front of the crowd. Both of them wore python robes today instead of the weird costumes of the Xuanming Sect, so they looked much more pleasing to the eye. But it is worth mentioning that the Ghost King, contrary to the norm, did not stand beside Zhu Wen this time, but stood in a row with the Hades Emperor among the royal family members.

Similarly, Jun Wang Zhu Youzhen, who has never had a good reputation, also had a look of indulgence at this moment. He stood among the clan members with dark circles under his eyes, as if he could not stand the summer sun. There were few people close to him around him, and his aura was far less powerful than that of the Ghost King. It seemed as if he was reluctant to come to the Drum and Horn Gate to attend the ceremony.

After all, the Ghost King has been favored for decades. Even if he seems to be somewhat disliked by Zhu Wen recently, he still has many confidants in the court and has his own confidence.

The Underworld Emperor was much more low-key. He was as short as a child. Although the people around him did not dare to block his view, his shadow seemed to disappear in the crowd. He was also somewhat alienated by everyone. He was more out of place than Zhu Youzhen and began to doze off almost as soon as he got up the stairs.

But as soon as the Hades appeared here, the empress in Anle Pavilion no longer cast her gaze towards the Gujiao Gate. Although the two places were several miles apart, since she knew that the other party was a top-notch master in the world, there was no need for her to take risks for this, so she just looked at the scenery of Bianjing city.

After Zhu Wen took his seat with a sanctimonious look, a great eunuch made a sharp announcement, and then all the imperial guards standing on both sides of the Imperial Street under the Drum and Horn Gate knelt on one knee with their weapons in hand, bowed their heads and shouted: "Long live His Majesty, long live His Majesty, long, long live His Majesty!"

The shouts were unusually uniform, as if they had been rehearsed many times. Zhu Wen smiled and raised his hand to signal for no courtesy. He then looked at the crowd of people who were isolated outside the Imperial Street. The slight unpleasantness he had felt in recent days was naturally swept away. He immediately laughed with satisfaction and said, "Is it time to start?"

In the past, such matters should have been reported by the Ghost King to show his favor, but he had not been favored by Zhu Wen these days, so he was not qualified to take on such matters. So Han Jian, the minister and prime minister, who had the same rank as Jing Xiang, whispered, "Your Majesty, you have come in person, and the imperial guards are cheering long live the emperor. This is to inform the troops outside the Nanxun Gate that the victory ceremony has begun. Now, the troops from the northern expedition should have begun to enter the city..."

Zhu Wen stroked his beard and nodded, but suddenly he felt that at this critical moment, it would be better to have a beautiful woman by his side.

Being accompanied by a beautiful woman and the country is such a joy.

He glanced calmly at the Hades who was standing in the corner with a respectful look on his face, and sneered slightly in his heart.

Of course, he knew that the Dark Emperor had come out of retreat ahead of time. He must know that within the Xuanming Sect, he, the emperor, was not without hidden men. For example, the Water and Fire Judge, who was relied upon by this rebellious son as his right-hand man, was directly under his command. Not to mention Meng Po, who had always been regarded as the Dark Emperor's confidant. This confidant among confidants, hum, was also his man.

This rebellious son must have thought that the Xuanming Sect was an ironclad entity in his hands, but was the Emperor of Daliang a fool? Not mentioning his early exit now was nothing more than keeping it for later use when he wanted to deal with this son.

He was in a good mood right now, so he might as well do this as a favor to this bastard.

Thinking of this, Zhu Wen was in great joy and waved his hand, as if to let Han Jian leave.

In the crowd, the Ghost King narrowed his eyes and looked at Zhu Wen, then quietly retreated into the crowd, found Han Jian, and whispered, "Minister Han, there shouldn't be any mistakes, right?"

Han Jian's expression remained unchanged. He brushed his sleeves, but he also looked towards the south. After a moment's silence, he said in a low voice without moving his lips: "Since the Ghost King has already given the order, I will do it. Kang Taibao will lead the Imperial Guards in front, and the Guide Army will enter the city later. The Imperial Guards will report their victory first..."

The Ghost King was naturally delighted, so he also quietly thanked him and said, "Minister Han is a great talent. Now that Lord Li has passed away, the Emperor of Hell has promised that the position of Minister Han will be held in the Chongzheng Yuan..."

Han Jian did not answer, but just sighed in his heart.

He was extremely favored by Zhu Wen, and he shouldn't have done these things for the Ghost King. However, this year was already old. He was a vassal in the past, and now he has surrendered to Daliang. He just wanted to ensure a safe and secure afterlife. He didn't want to get involved in the party struggles in the court, and he couldn't get involved. He had no intention of taking Jing Xiang's position as the Chongzhengyuan Envoy, but Zhu Wen was already old...

The Ghost King already has many followers in the court, and the Underworld Emperor seems to be manipulating him from behind. Naturally, he has no intention of competing with them, so he just does some harmless things to keep his family safe.

As for the Ghost King himself, he certainly didn't care what Han Jian thought. He only knew that no matter how capable Xiao Yan was, he could not afford to make any trouble at the moment.

Zhu Wen's character was well understood by him. Although he was fond of ostentation, he was also easily bored with the old and liked the new. He had no patience with those close to him. The so-called "offering victory" had always been like that. He had already secretly sent someone to inform Kang Taibao Kang Huaiying, and then dressed up the imperial army that was rushing to Hebei to help, in order to make the imperial army more powerful.

Under this sun, Zhu Wen already had a different opinion of Xiao Yan because of his advice. After the imperial guards had achieved victory, all their enthusiasm would have been exhausted. If they delayed for a while longer without making any noise, Xiao Yan would no longer have a chance to show off his military prowess.

Zhu Wen was a veteran in the army and he had personally performed many such victory ceremonies in the past. It was just that his mentality was different now that he was the emperor. What he valued were the two major events of reporting to the Taimiao and offering sacrifices in the suburbs after the victory ceremony. Not to mention that the imperial guards of Kang Huaiying's army had equipment to improve their military power, while most of the equipment of the Guide Army under Xiao Yan was lost in Youzhou. When they were compared later, the difference would be obvious.

At that time, he would let his men delay for half an hour, put pressure on Xiao Yan, and consume Zhu Wen's patience first. If Zhu Wen asked about it, he could just let one of his confidants take the blame.

Thinking of this, the Ghost King just sneered in his heart.

No matter how Xiao Yan calls the shots in Hebei, he is determined to make this boy understand who is the real boss in Bian Jing.

He went on to instruct his men without saying anything. In fact, all actions were kept secret, and he just wanted to make sure nothing went wrong. But at one point, he looked back and saw Jing Xiang in the crowd, seemingly looking at him from a distance.

The Ghost King narrowed his eyes subconsciously, and looked again, only to see that Jing Xiang seemed to have just stood solemnly on Zhu Wen's left side from beginning to end, without any movement. Seeing this, he was too lazy to guess, but turned his head vaguely and nodded slowly to the Hades who had been dozing like a wooden man.

The latter had no expression on his face, but he understood everything in his heart. He shook his head in his heart, as if he felt a little melancholy as if he had no rivals in the world.

In this Bian Jing, there is really nothing that Emperor Ming cannot do. If there is nothing that cannot be done, it means that the knife of Xuanming Sect has not yet been placed on the neck of this person.

At the same time, he glanced at Zhu Wen, who was sitting on the throne with a smug look on his face, and sneered in his heart.

Sooner or later, this old dog will know who the owner of this beam is.

------

The sound of cheering "Long live the emperor" was heard far outside the Nanxun Gate. The officials of the Ministry of Rites who were waiting in front of the imperial guards hurried to the central army and bowed to Kang Huaiying, who was wearing helmets and armor, and his subordinates Xie Yanzhang, Zhu Hanbin and other generals: "Kang Taibao, your majesty has ascended the Drum and Horn Gate. Let's start the tribute..."

Kang Huaiying had a stern face. He knew that this action had stolen Xiao Yan's limelight, and he felt even more ashamed because he was supposed to be a defeated general, but he wanted to show off his military might by leading this army to offer sacrifices to the victory. It was really shameful.

But the Ghost King had explained this to him long ago, and he was also somewhat suspicious that Xiao Yan's actions in Hebei were not like those of a loyal minister, so he just agreed. He had no selfish motives in doing this today, he just wanted to suppress the Guide Army for the sake of the stability of the court, so that it would not cause any major disasters in the future.

As for any offense, the worst that can happen is that I will apologize to Xiao Yan personally in the future.

So as soon as the official from the Ministry of Rites came to make the announcement, he raised his hand with a stern face, and Xie Yanzhang and the son-in-law Zhao Yan, who had been waiting for a long time, jumped on their horses and immediately ordered the carefully selected men from each camp to raise their flags and move forward.

But just at this moment, several riders suddenly came galloping over from a distance, all shouting: "All the Imperial Army camps, stop!"

Kang Huaiying's eyes twitched, and he subconsciously glanced at the officials of the Ministry of Rites arranged by the two Ghost Kings.

The latter was also confused and didn't know what to do. He raised his foot and was about to rush over to meet the riders: "How dare you! The victory ceremony is just around the corner, who dares to delay the time?!"

However, the riders who came were all military officers. They did not dismount, and ignored the officials of the Ministry of Rites. They just displayed an imperial edict in front of Kang Huaiying and shouted, "The envoys of the Chongzheng Court respectfully follow the order of His Majesty and specially order us to come and convey the imperial edict.

In terms of military merit in Hebei, the Guide Army is the leader among all the armies! In terms of reporting the victory, the Guide Army should be the first, and the other armies should follow! The imperial edict has been issued, and there must be no mistakes! "

Kang Huaiying didn't mention it. He stroked his short beard and realized that Jing Xiang was protecting Xiao Yan behind the scenes. He didn't want to refute it and immediately accepted the order. The son-in-law of the emperor, Zhao Yan, had suffered a lot of grievances in Hebei in the past six months. Now he saw that he could suppress Xiao Yan. Of course, he was extremely shocked when he heard the order. He was about to blush and shout: "Nonsense! The matter of offering victory has been arranged long ago..."

But before he finished his words, someone suddenly pressed down on his shoulders, and his knees fell to his knees uncontrollably. When he glanced out of the corner of his eye in shock, he saw that it was Zhu Hanbin, who had always been low-key.

The latter pressed him down with one hand, and at the same time he knelt on one knee, and then shouted loudly: "Ministers, receive the order!"

Fuck...

Zhao Yan looked at the riders rushing towards the Guide Army, and then looked at the several officials from the Ministry of Rites who were also in a panic, and was stunned for a moment.

……

The sound of drums and music came from afar, and the Ghost King stood with his hands behind his back, looking very happy.

What he heard was not just drums and music, but the sound of trumpets that would destroy all of Xiao Yan's reputation. Everything was going well and he had already achieved most of the success. From now on, he only needed to use a little trick on Xiao Yan and deprive him of his control over the Guide Army, and such a powerful army would naturally fall into his hands.

Of course, the appointment and dismissal of the chief general of the Guide Army would depend on the opinion of the Dark Emperor, but that would not prevent him from secretly winning over some of the generals. If he turned against the Dark Emperor in the future, he would have the confidence to compete with him.

Thinking of this, he looked at Zhu Wen who was sitting on the throne again. His eyes rolled and he was about to step forward and show off his best tricks to appease this old man, so that he could also appease Xiao Yan later.

But at this moment, a sound of Huang Zhong and Da Lu suddenly came from the south, coming from afar and covering the surroundings.

The Ghost King paused, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, and he looked back. He didn't know that Kang Huaiying and the others had such a trick.

The next moment, there was a faint singing voice. Even though it was a little weak when it reached here, the soul-stirring spirit in it was still undiminished.

so-called—

"Wearing iron armor and carrying a long sword.

The road to battle with you is long.

We share the same enemy and live and die together.

I will fight with you without any slackness in my heart.

I walked on Yanran and chased away the Hu people.

I will fight with you and sing without fear. "

……

In the corner, the Hades suddenly opened his eyes.

The Ghost King also suddenly reacted at this moment. The Imperial Guards were a bunch of rough guys. How could they have such a tone?

He was very anxious, grabbed an official from the Ministry of Rites, and asked with glaring eyes: "What is this!?"

The official was also at a loss, and obviously couldn't give a clear answer.

But at this moment, everyone at the Drum and Horn Gate had changed their expressions. Even Zhu Wen himself squinted his eyes, raised his head slightly and looked to the south.

But at the end of my sight, a hint of white appeared.

White robe, white banner...

Countless white snow is rolling in.

……

Outside the Suzaku Gate, the people of Bianjing, who had been waiting for a long time, were already feeling dizzy from the summer sun, and the already excited atmosphere had died down a little. After all, it was August, and no matter how passionate they were, it would inevitably be defeated by the weather.

In the scorching heat, any cooling soup was of no use. In addition, everyone had been busy for half a day, which made the heat even more depressing, making many people unbearable.

Under such circumstances, there were indeed many people who were somewhat impatient with the victory ceremony. After all, the so-called victory army, no matter how magnificent its military appearance and how shining its armor, was actually just that. Whenever a war broke out, they would just see it when the Bianliang Imperial Guards went to war. It was nothing big and it would not bring them any benefits. But the suffering of being exposed to the sun was real.

After all, for the common people, watching the excitement is their nature. As for the mighty army, it actually has little to do with them. No matter how complicated the war outside is, it will never fall on Bianliang. The families of the soldiers who died in the battle can receive a pension, but ordinary people have to work hard to supply these armies.

Therefore, under the hot weather, many people left the roadside group. They did not really leave, but mostly went to find cool places. Moreover, after half a day, the hawkers carrying loads on the street had almost sold out their goods. Once they left, the place became less lively. The dignitaries were sitting in taverns and small boats, and it was fine. Why should the common people suffer here?

So the crowd began to disperse a little, vying for the shady places. The scene was noisy for a while, and those imperial guards who were originally showing off their might were too lazy to care about it. They just stood guard at the side of the street listlessly.

But at this moment, when everyone was discouraged, suddenly several trumpets sounded, followed by the sound of Huangzhong and Dalu, mixed with the heavy singing of countless men, but suddenly there was a heroic and sad momentum that came over.

All the people stopped at the same time and looked back in surprise.

At the same time, at the top of Anle Pavilion, the empress who was frowning and thinking hard on the pavilion was startled suddenly. She first raised her cup, then put it down, stood up from behind the table, closed her eyes, and looked towards the long street to the south.

Then, a white flag appeared in the sight, and under the flag were white-robed knights. None of these white-robed knights wore armor, but all of them were clean. They did not hold the reins, and their hands were placed in front of their abdomens, holding spiritual tablets in their hands.

A "Guide" military flag was proudly displayed among the white banners, and under the white banners, the spirit tablets, although quiet, were stacked up layer by layer with no end in sight.

There are words written in ink on each spirit tablet.

"Former generals and soldiers of the Daliang Guide Army..."

The scene fell into silence, and even the young ladies who were fighting on the Bian River were stunned for a moment.

However, these countless spirit tablets were silently held in the hands of the white-robed cavalrymen. At this moment, they seemed to be looking at everyone, looking at this prosperous city in the world, looking at the capital of Daliang where countless generals and soldiers fought for it.

Everyone suddenly felt a chill down their spines. They no longer felt the heat. Instead, after a moment of complete silence, many people began to subconsciously straighten their clothes and stand at attention.

Besides the heavy singing, there was only the uniform sound of horse hooves and footsteps. Behind the endless cavalry, several commanders dressed in purple or scarlet suddenly came out.

When among them.

The champion marquis, Xiao Yan.

(End of this chapter)