It was dark at night, in the northern suburbs of Chang'an, at the Weidong Pier, a huge official ship slowly docked.
The accompanying sergeant immediately lowered the planks of the ship. Li Xuan, Yu Ze and Qiqiao got off the ship one after another. Li Zhu, Zhou Qian and Su Bao held swords to guard the surroundings and followed quickly.
On the deck, more sergeants were looking around vigilantly. Clear traces of swords and arrows could be seen on the hull of the ship.
Standing on the pier, Li Xuan raised his head and couldn't see. Chang'an City, a few miles away, was brightly lit, majestic, majestic and majestic, with a rainbow-like momentum and a majestic atmosphere.
The nine heavens closed the palace, and all the nations wore their hats and bowed their heads.
They are all full of joy, strong and full of joy, and want to go up to the blue sky to embrace the bright moon.
During the prosperous Tang Dynasty, it was the most powerful city.
Chang'an, Chang'an, is finally back.
Unfortunately, it was already curfew and the city gates were locked.
His eyes fell on the weeping willow not far away. Li Xuan retracted his thoughts, looked to the left and right sides, and whispered: "Let's go to Weicheng Station."
"Here!" Everyone bowed and agreed.
The morning rain and dust in Weicheng are light, and the guesthouses are green and willow-colored.
Now that early autumn has passed, the tops of the weeping willow trees outside the inn have turned a little yellow.
A postman stood at the door with a respectful look on his face. Seeing Li Xuan and others arriving, he quickly bowed his hands and said, "I have met all the superior officials. Do you have any official credentials?"
There are many nobles and high-ranking officials in Chang'an City. The postmen are used to seeing officials coming and going from north to south. They fixed their vicious eyes on Li Xuan at a glance and did not even look at Zhou Qian and Su Baotong who were wearing Qianniu uniforms.
Li Xuan didn't look at him and walked directly towards the interior of the station. Li Zhu, who was lagging behind, walked over and flashed the waistband in his hand.
The postman's expression suddenly changed slightly, and then he immediately handed over his hand and walked in front, leading Li Xuan forward.
"I will not be staying at the post tonight. You will prepare meals for a hundred people and send them to the official ship. The party will spend the money at Zuo Qianniu Guards tomorrow." Li Xuan looked sideways at the post guard on one side and whispered. Instructions.
"Mr. Sir, please sit down for a moment. I will go find the postman immediately." The postman hurriedly handed over to Li Xuan, and then ran quickly to the postman to find the postman. It was not a small matter to provide more than a hundred people with meals, and he couldn't afford it.
Although it was late at night, there were still many people walking around, including officials and temporary residents. We could even see some barbarians with tall noses and deep eyes.
Just a few days ago, the Saint and the Queen returned to Chang'an from Luoyang. Countless dignitaries from the court also returned to Chang'an, accompanied by a large number of entourages and servants. There are indeed many who are still staying in Weicheng Post.
When everything calms down after a while, there will be fewer people.
Soon, Yi Cheng ran out from inside. When he saw Li Xuan, who was the only one sitting there, Yi Cheng quickly raised his hands and bowed: "Xiaguan has met General Zhonglang. Xiaguan has prepared a separate courtyard. Please invite Zhonglang." Lang will rest for a while."
"You can talk." Li Xuan nodded with satisfaction, and then, under the guidance of Yi Cheng, walked towards the interior of the station.
A quiet manor appeared in front of Li Xuan and he pushed the door open. Li Xuan nodded with satisfaction and said, "It's indeed good. Please prepare meals for a hundred people and send them to the official ship. By the way, there will also be a vegetarian meal. "
Li Xuan gave a deliberate instruction, and Yi Cheng immediately raised his hands and responded, "I will obey the order."
After finishing speaking, Yi Cheng was about to retreat slowly. As soon as he reached the door, Yi Cheng suddenly stopped and turned to look at Li Xuan: "General Zhonglang, do you want to inform the city gate guards to help protect the ship?"
"Notice?" Li Xuan was stunned for a moment, glanced at Yi Cheng in surprise, then calmly turned to look at Zhou Qian, and asked in a deep voice: "Who is the captain of the city gate of Chang'an?"
"Reporting to General Zhonglang, this is Duan Guan, the second son of Duan Gong, Duke of Baoguo. Duan Huaichang, the eldest son of Duan Xiaowei, serves in the Zuo Qianniu Guards and is close to his subordinates." Su Baotong immediately stepped forward and said a series of words about the captain of the city gate. identity.
After thinking for a moment, Li Xuan said, "Write a letter and have it delivered to the captain of the city gate, and ask him to deliver it to the Prince of Peiping. Tell him that I will enter the city tomorrow and ask him about our next move."
Li Xuan turned to look at Yi Cheng and said in a deep voice: "This letter must be handed over to the captain of the city gate in person, and no one else is allowed to read it in the middle. But
Anyone who reads it will be immediately deprived of all official positions and sent to prison. You can understand. "
"Xiaguan understands." Yi Cheng's face was already unconsciously embarrassed. He cupped his hands towards Li Xuan and said, "Xiaguan will make arrangements now."
After Yi Cheng left, Yu Ze walked up behind Li Xuan and said in a low voice: "A little clever person, once this little cleverness is not used in the right way, he will be in bad luck immediately."
"Not necessarily. The person in this position may be someone's spy. Qianniu Guard, Jinwu Guard, Dali Temple, Chang'an Wannian County, Baiqisi, Neiwei, and Secret Guard may all be standing there. Place people here." Li Xuan calmly waved her hand and said, "Don't worry about him, we are at the gate of Chang'an City now, let's see if anyone is stupid enough to snatch the coffin at this time."
Their group traveled from Wuzhou through Hangzhou, Suzhou, Yangzhou, then back to Luoyang, and then to Shendu. However, in the middle of the journey, they encountered several consecutive attacks, aiming directly at the body of the Queen on the ship.
Fortunately, their group was all on the canal and the river. With their sharp crossbows, they had an absolute advantage. I don't know how many fanatics died under their arrows.
However, the strange thing is that among them, there are not many Tianyin believers, but there are many people in the world.
And after these people were captured, they immediately drank poison and committed suicide without hesitation. They were so fast that it was impossible to figure out their origins.
Li Xuan originally wanted to visit Yuan Jiazuo, the governor of Hangzhou, and Duan Baoxuan, the governor of Yuezhou. He even wanted to visit Suzhou and Runzhou, but in the end he failed to go and quickly left the country under the protection of soldiers from various states.
Even in Yangzhou and Luoyang, he didn't stay long. He just stayed outside the city for one night and asked the post station to provide meals and arrow supplies, and then rushed to Chang'an quickly.
However, since passing Luoyang, they have not encountered any attacks.
After all, the Changluo area was the core of the Tang Dynasty's rule.
Even if someone could gather enough manpower, it would be very difficult to prepare enough crossbows for attack.
Even if someone has this ability, they don't dare to move easily.
Li Xuan didn't know what the value of the Empress's body was, but she believed that no one would be stupid enough to risk being suspected by the Empress. If that time came, it wouldn't just be as simple as confiscating the family and exterminating the clan.
Not to mention anything else, just being a Weicheng Yi Cheng is terrifyingly vigilant, and he doesn't even know who is behind him.
Li Xuan really hopes those people will take action tonight.
Weichengyi is close to Chang'an, and it not only delivers Chang'an delicacies, but also some specialties from the Western Regions.
Li Xuan's identity as a lieutenant general of the Qianniu Guards is an official position under the fourth rank. In terms of official positions, except for the chief and deputy officials of the three provinces, six ministries and nine temples, the governor of each state, the senior staff of the East Palace, the captain of Zhechong Prefecture, and the general of the Sixteenth Guards, , there are really few who are taller than Li Xuan.
At this moment, a burst of footsteps suddenly came from outside.
Just after dinner and putting down his chopsticks, Li Xuan saw a team leader wearing a Qianniu uniform walking in from the outside. When he saw Li Xuan, he immediately handed over his hand: "My subordinate Duan Huaichang has seen... …I have met General Zhonglang.”
Su Baotong couldn't help but stood up: "Brother Duan, why are you here suddenly? The city gate is closed. How did you get out of the city?"
"The warrant of the Prince of Peiping was hung from the city wall." Duan Huaichang explained with a wry smile.
Even he couldn't open the city gate after nightfall, and even Li Xuan didn't dare to act wantonly without the emperor's decree.
This is Chang'an. A city gate captain has an official rank from the fifth rank.
Although his official rank is not high, there are many high-ranking officials and dignitaries involved behind him, and this position even requires the emperor's order.
"Warrant!" Li Xuan looked at Duan Huaichang, who took out a warrant from his arms and handed it directly to Li Xuan.
Li Xuan opened it and took a look, then said to everyone: "The Prince of Peiping County has ordered us to enter the city from Chunming Gate tomorrow and arrive at the Zuo Qianniu Guards Office. If there is any movement tonight, we can use the order to dispatch two elite teams of city gate guards." "
Qianniuwei itself has the authority to mobilize the Nanya Sixteenth Guards, but there are very few people who can be mobilized.
But with General Qian Niuwei's order, they could mobilize more soldiers.
Looking at Duan Huaichang standing in front of him, Li Xuan still couldn't help but be a little amazed.
The former Yi Cheng said just now that he was mobilizing city gate guards to protect Li Xuan and the others, which was actually an obvious temptation.
As soon as the city gate guard arrived, he immediately wanted to check Li Xuan's official diploma.
He was suspecting that Li Xuan, the Qianniu Guard Zhonglang, was a fake. This vigilance was really amazing, but at the same time, it was also a little weird.
Keeping this weird thing in mind, Li Xuan immediately stood up after taking a short rest: "Let's go back to the ship."
Li Xuan took the lead to walk outside, and the others quickly followed.
When she walked to the door of the post station, Li Xuan saw the postmaster again, nodded to him gently, and then walked out quickly.
Duan Huaichang, who was walking at the end, was just about to leave when he was grabbed by Yi Cheng and couldn't help but asked: "Duan Lang, that man just now was really Zuo Qianniu Wei Zhonglang. How do I remember Zuo Qianniu Wei Zhonglang?" Where are the generals, one named Ren and the other Cui?"
"You remember correctly, Weng Hu. The man just now was not the General of the Zuo Qianniu Guard, but the Prince of Nanchang who inspected the General of the Zuo Qianniu Guard. He came to the capital with the order. Don't ask any more questions." Duan Huaichang said. After saying a few words, he quickly left.
"Prince Nanchang, no wonder you look so young?" Hu Yicheng suddenly came to his senses.
No wonder there was such a misunderstanding, but then again, when did the Prince of Nanchang inspect Qianniu Wei Zhonglang?
The people of Chang'an don't care about the affairs of the world.
In a courtyard not far away, a pair of eyes quickly retracted from the darkness and then turned back.
A middle-aged man with a big beard and a tall nose and deep eyes wearing a gray robe quickly walked into the inner courtyard.
In the inner courtyard, a young woman wearing a red chest-length skirt with an obvious exotic aura fell on the middle-aged man at a glance.
The middle-aged man immediately held up his hands and said, "Your Highness, Qianniuwei is not here for us. The one just now is Nanchang County Prince Li Xuan, who has just returned to the capital from Wuzhou. The inspection commander Zuo Qianniuwei Zhonglang is here."
"Is this the Prince of Nanchang who was hailed by the saint as a role model for the clan?" The woman had a small white bead curtain hanging on her nose, making it difficult to see her true face, but her face was long and slender.
The guards standing around were all Turkic guards with scimitars hanging from their waists.
The same goes for the young woman, with a high nose and deep eyes. Judging by her appearance, she turned out to be a Turkic noblewoman.
This Turkic noblewoman seemed to have heard of Li Xuan's name. She couldn't help but frown slightly and said, "When I was in the capital of the gods, I heard that he was the one who single-handedly defeated the Tianyin Sect's conspiracy and was awarded the Wuzhou Farewell. He went to the southeast, why did he come back?"
"Your Highness, the ninth day of this month is the wedding day of the King of Nanchang. He is marrying the granddaughter of the Duke of Lecheng County, Zuopushe, the Minister of Finance." The bearded man immediately mentioned to the young lady.
"On the ninth day of the lunar month, that is the day we take action... what we want to take advantage of is his marriage?" The young Turkic noblewoman immediately couldn't help but stand up and walked to the door. She looked into the distance with solemn eyes. Li Xuan under the light of the big ship.
"Go and sort out all the intelligence information about the King of Nanchang. I want to see it." The Turkic noblewoman looked extremely serious. She looked at her subordinates and said, "I don't want a chess piece that can be used casually to become a chess piece." We are wolves of man, we cannot make mistakes in our affairs."
"Here!" All the Turkic soldiers present immediately responded respectfully.
However, no one saw it. At this moment, Li Xuan suddenly looked back.
