On the river, an imperial ship was sailing slowly. Soldiers had been escorted along the way. It was very safe. According to estimates, it would only take four or five days to return to Beijing by water.
Xie Cang's army returned from the land route, ranging from ten days to half a month. Although the journey was far away, it was very safe. After all, with a force of 20,000, it was a terrifying force anywhere.
Su Qi'an was not worried about Xie Cang's safety at all, so he just returned to Beijing early and waited for him in Kyoto City for a while.
Su Qi'an stood on the deck, looking far into the distance, feeling the river breeze blowing, and feeling relaxed and happy.
At this moment, a voice sounded from behind, "I hope the supervisor can return to the cabin. It is somewhat unsafe here. If the supervisor is injured, it will be difficult for me to explain."
The person who spoke was none other than Han Qing, the commander of the imperial army who was responsible for escorting Su Qi'an this time.
Compared with Han Qing, Su Qi'an was more familiar with the deputy commander Liu Xin. He only met Han Qing a few times and did not have a deep impression of him.
In that battle to defend Kyoto, the commander honestly did not contribute much, and he was rarely seen.
Although he had orders at that time to protect the safety of Su Zhe and Su Tai, Su Qi'an did not have a good impression of this person.
Su Qi'an, who was standing on the deck, did not look back, but said coldly, "I understand Commander Han's kindness. I know it well, so I won't bother Commander Han."
Han Qing stood behind him, his face unchanged, he was still respectful, but he was a little unhappy in his heart.
He is the dignified commander of the imperial army. His rank is not high, but his position is very important. He is responsible for all public security inside and outside the imperial city, as well as protecting the safety of His Majesty and other royal members.
With such a status, even the ministers in the court would not dare to be so indifferent when seeing him, and they would even have to be polite.
But this Su Qian, not to mention polite, doesn't even show basic respect. Even if the celebrity around His Majesty has outstanding military exploits, he can't be so arrogant.
Han Qing's eyes flashed. He seemed to have thought of something, nodded slightly, and then said softly.
"Since there are many supervisors, I can't force myself to do anything, but I still have to warn the supervisors."
"The battle of Dongzhou was a complete victory, and the inspector's hard work has made great achievements. Your Majesty sent me to escort you back to Beijing. This is your majesty's trust in the inspector. Please also ask the inspector to know some sense of propriety, especially for the sake of local officials in Dongzhou."
"Your Majesty gives the Supervisory Envoy two months to administer the government. This is your Majesty's trust. Do not think that this is your right. It is not good for some people to get too close. They will inevitably hurt themselves in the future."
"Oh, are you threatening me?"
How could Su Qi'an not know that there was something in Han Qing's words? He just wanted to take advantage of Su Qi'an's closeness to Dongzhou officials to blow something in Su Xuanyong's ear.
Or let other officials in the court deliberately cause trouble and casually fabricate Su Qi'an's suspicion of colluding with cronies. This is enough for Su Qi'an to drink.
The reason why Su Qi'an didn't have a good impression of Han Qing was not because of the battle to defend Kyoto. Su Qi'an was not such a narrow-minded person.
Mainly because this person came to Dongzhou to meet Su Qi'an, which gave people a very uncomfortable feeling.
Except for Chu Xiong who became an official and some people who gave Su Qi'an some face, as for others, they didn't pay attention at all and were very domineering.
Not to mention anything else, just for this escort, Su Qi'an was so eager to be urged. When he came to Dongzhou, he wanted to urge Su Qi'an to leave for Beijing immediately.
It seems that something big happened in Beijing, so forget it. What Su Qi'an can't tolerate the most is that Han Qing restricts Su Qi'an's freedom in the name of protection.
This violated his taboo. What was the difference between this kind of restriction and the so-called house arrest? Moreover, you had to report to him wherever you went.
He is the commander of the Forbidden Army and a popular figure around the emperor, but he is too self-righteous. Who do you think he is? He dared to order Su Qi'an. If Su Qi'an hadn't restrained himself, Han Qing would not have been able to leave Dongzhou if Chu Xiong, Xie Cang and Wu Dingguo knew about it.
Su Qi'an restrained not because he was afraid of Han Qing, nor because he was afraid of causing trouble, but because he didn't want to affect Dongzhou.
Not getting close to Dongzhou officials, these words reminded Su Qi'an that if something happened to Han Qing in Dongzhou, it would be easy for someone to take advantage of him.
Now they are all on the same boat. Whatever happens on the boat has nothing to do with Dongzhou officials. Since Han Qing is so ungrateful, Su Qi'an will naturally help him.
Su Qian turned around and looked at Han Qing with an indifferent expression, then took a few steps forward. Looking at this scene, Han Qing was secretly happy.
No matter how powerful this inspector was in Dongzhou, he did not fall under his threat in the end.
"Hmph, the Dongzhou Inspector is nothing more than that."
Just as Han Qing was thinking to himself, Su Qian suddenly walked up to him, and without saying a word, he slapped him with a dazed look.
The force was so strong that everyone on the ship could hear the loud slap. Han Qing's body became unsteady and he sat down on the deck.
There were obvious fingerprints on his face, and a burning pain mixed with extreme anger rushed straight from his heart to Han Qing's cheek.
There was anger in his eyes. He never imagined that Su Qian would dare to slap him in public.
Scholars can be killed, but not humiliated. This is a naked insult!
At this time, Han Qing was like a volcano that was about to erupt at any time. He finally couldn't bear it anymore and erupted in an instant, yelling angrily.
"Su, you are so brave. You dare to attack this commander. Even if you are a member of the royal family and the inspector of Dongzhou, this is not the place for you to run wild!"
"Hitting this commander is a slap in His Majesty's face. I think you are seeking death. Come here! Capture Su Qi'an for my commander! He is so lawless, capture him quickly!"
Han Qing's voice resounded loudly, and Su Qian stood motionless in front of him, while the Imperial Army soldiers around the deck were indifferent at this time.
This scene stunned Han Qing, and he was about to yell at his men. After a while, he saw figures slowly walking out from behind many forbidden soldiers.
These people were not wearing armor, and were wearing black clothes and masks. They looked very ordinary, but they gave people a sense of inexplicable fear. At this time, in their hands, there was a dagger at some point, and it was already placed on the throats of many forbidden soldiers.
As long as they move rashly, their throats will be slit immediately and unceremoniously.
Han Qing's face was startled. The forbidden troops brought out this time were still very strong. In single combat, they could even fight against the dragon guards beside His Majesty.
But now they were taken down quietly. These men in black were definitely extraordinary.
Han Qing didn't care about guessing who the man in black was at the moment. He looked at Su Qi'an blankly and scolded him coldly.
"Su Qian, what do you want to do? Do you want to rebel?"
"Snapped!"
As the voice fell, there was another crisp slap. This time it was not Su Qi'an who struck, but Tong Zhan.
"You can also call me sir by his given name. According to the laws of the Great Liang, when addressing members of the royal family, those who call them by their first names will be slapped!"
Not long after Tong Zhan's voice fell, behind Han Qing, Su Yong and about ten people directly under the team also appeared. They all knelt on the ground and said respectfully to Su Qi'an.
"Sir, all the forbidden troops on this ship are under our control. As long as you give an order, sir, my subordinates promise that these people can be dealt with quietly."
Hearing this, Han Qing's face turned pale. He was not as arrogant and angry as before. He looked at Su Qi'an with flashing eyes and said in a daze.
"Su...Inspector, what do you want to do? I am the commander of the imperial army. If you really dare to kill us, you will not be able to live without me."
"Hmph, at this point, you still want to threaten Mr. He is looking for death."
Su Yong's face turned cold, he stood up, lifted Han Qing up, and tried to pull him towards the deck.
Han Qing kept struggling, but Su Yong's strength was surprisingly strong, and his body kept approaching the deck.
Seeing that he was about to be thrown into the river, Han Qing finally gave in and begged Su Qi'an in the distance for mercy.
"Have mercy on me, Inspector, I was wrong. It's not that I wanted to target you. I was also entrusted by others. I really can't help it. Please give me a chance, Inspector..."
Han Qing begged for mercy repeatedly, but Su Qian's expression was indifferent. He glanced at Su Yong, and Su Yong understood, and then he threw Han Qing back.
At this time, Han Qing was no longer as arrogant as before. His body was trembling and his face was filled with fear, for fear that Su Qi'an would really throw him into the river to feed the fishes.
Seeing Han Qing's surrender, Su Qian's face was calm, but the guess in his heart was a little more certain.
Although Han Qing is the commander of the Forbidden Army and has a bottom line of being arrogant and domineering, it does not mean that anyone can be offended without thinking. To be able to sit in the position of commander of the Forbidden Army, it is indispensable to be observant.
There wasn't much conflict between Su Qi'an and him, but this person deliberately made things difficult for him again and again, and his courage was extraordinary.
After all, Su Qi'an is no longer the little earl before. Now, after pacifying the war in Dongzhou, he has enough capital to compete with many officials in the court.
In this case, who would be stupid enough to threaten him!
But there are people who dare to take this risk. You don't need to guess, you can think that they are under the instructions of others.
The people behind Han Qing, the commander of the imperial army who was guarding the imperial city, were probably the only two princes to come forward.
Although there are speculations, they still need to be confirmed. Su Qian looked at Han Qingdao expressionlessly.
"Tell me everything you know, word for word. If there are any lies or forgeries, don't blame me for being ruthless. You know what the consequences will be. What others dare not do, I dare to do."
As he spoke, Su Qi'an looked at the deck in the distance, and the meaning was self-evident.
Han Qing's face froze, and he felt unspeakable bitterness in his heart. He thought that this errand was a good one, but who knew it would end like this.
You can't blame anyone else for this. If you want to blame it, it's Han Qing who looked down on Su Qian.
I thought he was a military prince who seemed easy to talk to and easy to deal with, but he turned out to be a ruthless master. I can only admit that I am unlucky in this matter.
