Shaoxing Prefecture, formerly known as Yuezhou. At the beginning of the Southern Song Dynasty, Zhao Gou, Emperor Gaozong of the Song Dynasty, stayed here for a period of time. He changed the name to Shaoxing with the meaning of "Shao Yi's great rest and the prosperity of hundreds of years", and then promoted Yuezhou to Shaoxing. Mansion.
Later, because of the inconvenience of transporting grain, he went to Lin'an and regarded it as his hometown. Shaoxing became the "capital", the residence of the royal family and the mausoleums of emperors and empresses.
Shaoxing Fucheng is a city with two counties, with Kuaiji County in the east and Shanyin County in the west. In other words, there is one prefect and two county magistrates who can make the final decision on city defense matters.
Now that Zhao Mengqi is locked outside the city gate, if you think about it, you will know that it was intentional. I don't know which of the three chief officials was responsible.
King Zhong is going to Shaoxing today, and the local government must have known about it in advance. Even if they didn't know about it in advance, with more than a hundred cavalry guarding him, how could they not know about it as long as they were not deaf or blind.
Zhao Mengqi looked at the setting sun hanging above the city gate tower through the car window and thought for a moment, "Chang Geng, go call the door!"
Haha, the Ming Dynasty had people who called them emperors, but I didn’t expect that I would also call them princes.
Chang Geng was the commander of Banzhi, and he also had the rank of General Ningyuan of the fifth rank. If we put aside the difference between civil and military affairs, he was also a high-ranking official in the Song Dynasty. After all, the general Zhizhou was only of the sixth rank.
He rode towards the city gate, when suddenly an arrow was fired at him from the city head. He was so unprepared that he couldn't help being shocked. He reined his horse tightly in an instant, and his mount stood upright, waving its front hooves in the air.
The arrow was nailed five feet in front of the horse, the arrow feathers were shaking endlessly, and a loud shout came from the city, "The city gate is closed! If you dare to go forward, you will be killed without mercy!"
"Straight bitch! Are you blind!? Didn't you see the armor on my body? Didn't you see the honor guard of the loyal king behind me!? Come in, your mother, please open the city gate and welcome the loyal king!"
If Chang Geng hadn't reined in his horse in time just now, Chang Geng's heart would have gone cold, and he couldn't help but become furious.
The people on the top of the city did not show up and continued to shout, "No matter who you are, there is no reason to open the city gate without authorization after it is closed. Sajia advises you to wait until tomorrow before entering the city!"
Chang Geng was furious, "Is your mother deaf? This is the car of the current prince, His Highness Prince Zhong. Why don't you open the door quickly? Otherwise, you will be punished for neglecting the prince and despising the imperial power! This mother is like the sun." It’s not sunset, how could it close so early!?”
"This is a strict order from the prefect. These two days are the birthday of Princess Rong. There are many dignitaries in the city. In order to prevent Xiaoxiao from sneaking into the city and causing trouble, we naturally have to take more precautions. Anyway, it is impossible to open the city gate. Please leave quickly. In front of the gate Thirty feet is a forbidden area, anyone who comes near will die!"
Immediately, a row of archers emerged from the crenels at the top of the city, pointing their bows at each other, their arrows shining coldly on the strings. In addition, the eight-oxen crossbows on the enemy's platform could be fired at any time.
A hundred feet away, Zhao Mengqi had been paying attention to the situation. Seeing that the people in the city seemed determined, he knew that it was unlikely to enter the city today. However, he wanted to know if the person behind this was only the prefect of Shaoxing.
"Huang Gou, take good care of Chan Niang. I'll go up and take a look." Zhao Mengqi jumped out of the carriage.
Huang Gou shouted urgently, "Alang, you must not do it. A gentleman would not build a dangerous wall!"
"Don't make any noise!"
"Fourth brother, don't go!" Zhao Han was anxious, and jumped down and grabbed his brother's sleeves, "Those people are so vicious, it's too dangerous for you to go there..."
Zhao Mengqi was afraid of throwing his sister, so he stopped and stretched out his hand to rub Zhao Jian's withered and yellow hair, "Don't worry, the fourth brother is the loyal king of the Song Dynasty and the only prince. They don't dare, Jian Niang, be good, fourth brother go Come back as soon as you go. Huang Gou, take good care of the little lady!"
Carrying Zhao Han back to the carriage, Zhao Mengqi continued to walk towards the city gate. A group of banzhi guards hesitated, and finally a few gritted their teeth and followed.
"You don't have to come! You can be alone!"
When Zhao Mengqi heard the noise, he didn't look back. He just waved his hands, but shook his head in his heart. It seemed that these soldiers were not very reliable.
As he walked forward unhurriedly, the setting sun cast a long shadow on Zhao Mengqi's thin body, pointing it at the group of Ban Zhi like a sharp sword.
Originally, many people in the class were still secretly laughing at King Zhong for being stupid and stunned, and were very disapproving of his behavior of rushing into the city alone, but at this moment, their hearts trembled inexplicably.
Chang Geng was originally very anxious. Under the threat of strong bows and crossbows, he could not advance or retreat. His mount was shaking its hooves uneasily and digging holes in the ground. Suddenly he noticed a thin body passing over him, ignoring the rows of cold lights at the top of the city. , continue walking towards the city gate!
Loyal to the king? This is not the time to be foolish! After Chang Geng saw that it was Zhao Mengqi, he was shocked and anxious, "Your Highness! It's dangerous..."
Zhao Mengqi had already walked thirty feet away, without stopping, he raised his head and shouted, "I am the loyal king of the Song Dynasty, Zhao Mengqi!"
Thirty feet into the journey, his steps were still solid, but Zhao Mengqi also murmured a little in his heart, if there really was that stupid young man who loosened his grip, his journey through time would have ended here.
He walked calmly, but the cold light at the top of the city began to tremble. Without waiting for the general's order, they all raised their bows one after another...
At Ban Zhi's place, watching this scene, a young man couldn't help but said, "I will die for humiliating you! Damn it, I can't be such a coward!"
Then he clamped his horse's belly and galloped out.
Then, other guards followed out one after another. Finally, all the guards moved and quickly came to Zhao Mengqi on horseback. They surrounded him to protect him and stared at the city in silence!
Huang Gou also wanted to step forward, but thinking of Zhao Mengqi's strict order, he had to guard Zhao Han in the carriage, looking at the city head eagerly, praying that those arrows would never be shot.
The city began to panic.
"This stupid king is really stupid. How can any noble person dare to be so unafraid of death!?"
"What are the intentions of the higher-ups? Prince Zhong is still a prince no matter what. If we are asked to do this, are we trying to rebel?"
"Yes, yes, we big-headed soldiers don't have the guts. Even if we don't rebel, if something happens, we won't be the ones to take the blame. But don't rip off the whole family..."
"Put away your bow, put it away, we won't do anything like this to cause trouble!"
The soldiers all put back their bows and arrows and continued to make noisy noises. Each one of them was wondering whether there was a spy above, and whether it was time to open the city gate and support the loyal king to catch the traitorous officials and rebels.
Seeing that his men were out of control, the leading commander was paralyzed and panicked. He was really afraid of triggering a mutiny. After all, this kind of thing happened all the time in the Song Dynasty, so he didn't dare to scold his men.
As for the people under the city, he dared to shoot that arrow just now because he had the support of civil servants and was not afraid of offending a Banzhi commander who was much higher than him. However, he still did not have the confidence to confront the prince directly, so He didn't dare to say anything.
Zhao Mengqi stopped five feet from the city gate and naturally sensed the changes in the city. He looked at the dark city gate with some curiosity and said, "Chang Geng, tell me, at this time, do we have a chance to break the city?"
Chang Geng was stunned for a moment, "Your Highness! This is our own city... Uh, well, most of the soldiers on the city have lost their morale now. If we quickly break open the city gate, we should be fine after we attack it. You As soon as the flag is raised, and the treacherous ministers are used as an excuse, the garrison inside is likely to surrender."
"Your Highness, let's attack in then!" The one who answered was the young man who chased out first. He was gearing up and looking eager to give it a try.
With the intimidation of hundreds of arrows and a dozen eight-oxen crossbows, he finally scared them all back, which made his blood boil. In addition, many other guards were also aroused in their hearts. It seemed that they were really brave. As soon as Zhao Mengqi gives the order, they will rush into the city.
"Zeng Ba! Why are you getting involved? You don't even understand that we are joking with His Highness? If we are serious, can you break open this city gate?"
Chang Geng glared at his subordinates, but he still liked this bloody Zeng Ba very much.
Zhao Mengqi smiled and said nothing more. In fact, the city gate was just closed at this moment. It was not in a state of war, so it would not be blocked. It is estimated that if you get dozens of kilograms of gunpowder, it should be able to explode.
Thinking of this, he raised his head again, "I ask again, is the city gate open or not!?"
Immediately, more than a hundred guards shouted in unison, "His Royal Highness King Zhong's order, I ask again, is this city gate open or not!?"
The sound shook Yuxiao, and the momentum was huge!
And after the reverberation effect of the city gate cave, it became even more murderous!
The city fell silent, and the soldiers all looked at the commander Cai An. Cai An's feet were weak and he no longer had the initial determination and arrogance.
At this time, a green-robed official hurriedly came to the city, rushed to the female wall, pulled away a soldier, panting, leaned out from the crenel, and saluted the city, "Prince Sheren, Zhishanyin County, Zhang Nanming, see Your Highness, King Zhong, is a subordinate who has neglected his duty, so I will ask someone to open the city gate and ask Your Highness to wait a moment."
"Yes!" Zhao Mengqi nodded. He couldn't figure out the details of this Nanming, so he just waited.
Zhang Nanming turned around and walked up to Cai An angrily. He shouted angrily with his halberd finger, "Ignorant martial artist! Who gave you the courage to block His Highness outside the city!? Is there any respect for superiors and inferiors and legal principles? Open the city gate for me!" , welcome King Zhong in!"
Zhang Nanming was from the seventh rank, and Cai An, the commander, was from the sixth rank. However, under the system of the Song Dynasty, military attachés were not qualified to compete with civil servants. Therefore, Cai An could only consider himself a lower official in front of Zhang Nanming, and he did not hesitate to be pointed at and scolded. Dare to have any temper.
"Sacrifice others and calm down your anger. Even if you are humble, you are following orders. I really don't dare to open this city gate."
"By order!? Who gave the order? Why didn't I know about it!?"
"This..." Cai An hesitated, glancing at the arrow tower frequently.
"It's an order from someone!" The door of the archery tower opened, and a scarlet-robed official came out. It turned out to be Qian Guozhong, who was in charge of Shaoxing Prefecture.
"Your Majesty pays homage to the Prefect." Zhang Nanming saluted with neither humility nor arrogance, and then asked loudly, "I don't know why the Prefect wants to place His Royal Highness outside the city!? Do you have a disobedient heart!?"
Some of the civil servants in the Song Dynasty were really tough. If they thought they were right, they would dare to contradict them regardless of whether they were Shangguan or not.
"You!" Qian Guozhong's face darkened and he felt his chest tightening, "Do I need to explain to you what I do!? You also said that others have no respect for superiors and inferiors. Is this how you, a subordinate, talk to your superiors!?"
"Haha, what you said, Magistrate Qian Quan, makes no sense. You and I are ministers in the same palace. It is true that we have higher and lower positions, but where does the superiority and inferiority come from!? What's more, the lower official is a serious Jinshi. What do you think, Magistrate Qian? Where is Zun?!"
There was not a single curse word in Zhang Nanming's words, but it was outright humiliation when he said it. Not only did he specifically point out the word "power" and said that Qian Guozhong was just a temporary prefect, he also secretly said that you are a Yin official. What sense of superiority do you have in front of me, a Jinshi?
Qian Guozhong suddenly felt humiliated and shouted angrily, "Shuzi! You've bullied me too much! Pull him aside!"
