Except for Changsheng, everyone on our side was injured, and they did not dare to gallop on their horses, so they could only move forward cautiously and slowly.
Changsheng had walked this road to the south many times before, and he knew the situation along the way very well. He knew that there was a post station eighty miles ahead, so he decided to stay there.
It was getting late at this time, and the snowy night was cold. Until the second watch, everyone was still more than thirty miles away from the inn in front of them. When they saw a fire flashing in a broken house by the roadside, Datou suggested that everyone go there to rest.
Datou was seriously injured, so he did not ride on the Golden Eagle at this time, but rode with Shi Xuanming. His suggestion was the first to be approved by Shi Xuanming, and Yang Kai and Yu Yi later expressed their agreement.
Everyone was injured and in urgent need of rest. If they were Changsheng, they would agree to it, but at this time, it is not suitable to rest in the wild. The environment in the wild is harsh and there is a lack of medical treatment. Secondly, the reluctance of Datou and others to go to the inn to recuperate was obviously out of spite. They were also worried about the fact that their group was ambushed by the Four Mountain Villas immediately after they left the capital. In their view, this ambush was related to the emperor's reward of lanterns to force everyone to do so. Leaving Beijing early is inextricably linked.
Changsheng rejected everyone's suggestion to rest in the wild and insisted on rushing to the inn ahead. Previously, the Gao Gao Wei led his people to inspect the situation. Datou and others ridiculed him and had many insinuations about the emperor. After the Gao Gao Wei returned, Da Tou and the others would definitely be killed. And inform the emperor in detail about his attitude. Knowing that Datou and others have misunderstood him, the emperor is likely to send someone to express condolences, and the most likely place for everyone to rest is the inn ahead. If everyone does not go to the inn but chooses to stay. Being in the wild is equivalent to deliberately drawing a clear line and keeping a distance from the emperor and the court. Everyone felt relieved, but it would aggravate the misunderstandings and conflicts with the emperor.
Nearing the third watch, a group of people finally arrived at the post station ahead. Since there have been many wars in Jianghuai recently, the post station did not dare to slack off. There were always people in the short-term wing paying close attention to the situation on the road, ready to receive the passing postmen at any time.
When the postman came out, Chang Sheng took the initiative to reveal his identity. Seeing Changsheng's distinguished status and the bloodstains on the bodies of several people accompanying him, the postman became very nervous. He cautiously welcomed everyone into the postman and arranged their accommodation. Then he woke up the other postmen who were sleeping and got up. The stove is lit and busy serving.
There are two types of accommodation in the post station, one is an independent courtyard for receiving passing officials, and the other is Datongpu where ordinary post messengers rest. Changsheng is a prince and should live in a separate courtyard, but Changsheng chose to live in Datongpu. The room was so big that it could sleep more than a dozen people on a large fire bed. Even Yu Yi lived with everyone, but there was a curtain in the middle.
There are two reasons why Changsheng arranged this. First, Datou and others were all injured, and he was proficient in medical skills and lived with everyone for easy care. The second reason is for safety reasons, to prevent someone from plotting evil and taking advantage of the opportunity to assassinate.
Facts have proved that it is wise to walk dozens of miles and settle at the post station. The post station has a heated kang, the room is very warm, and the post staff provides food and drink, so everyone can have a good rest. In addition, everyone's mounts can also be properly arranged. The horses are parked in the stables on the west side of the room. The big-headed Miss Bai can also get meat. However, Miss Bai has been pampered since she was born and has never seen the world. She is beaten by Xiong Xiong Mountain during the day. Shocked by the fire and billowing smoke, he didn't eat much of the meat sent by the postman.
In order to facilitate the application of medicine and treatment of injuries, Datou and others could only take off their blood-stained clothes. Once the blood-stained clothes were removed, they were all covered with scars, especially Shi Xuanming, who had previously used his magical powers to transform into the Angry-Eye Vajra and the Silver-haired White Tiger. During the battle, there were no less than dozens of large and small wounds all over his body, which was shocking.
None of the four of them were pampered people. When Chang Chang took action to change the dressing, everyone seemed to be unaware. They were still chatting and laughing, and no one moaned or cried out in pain. As long as they did not die, they would be completely victorious, and the numerous scars would be their outstanding military achievements.
In order to make it easier for the postmen who passed by to eat and carry it, the meals at the post station were mostly baked noodles and braised noodles. The postmen picked some fine ones and sent them to them. Then they wanted to go down to prepare the banquet. It was midnight and the weather was freezing. Naturally, longevity would not be possible. Let them be tired and busy, and order the postman to bring some firewood for them to go down and rest.
Being injured, no one could eat much. After eating a few mouthfuls and drinking hot water, I wanted to blow out the lamp and rest.
At this moment, the sound of rapid horse hooves suddenly came from outside the inn.
After being promoted to Jushan Lizi, Changsheng's ears and eyes became clearer than before. Not only did he judge that there were seven people coming based on the sound of horse hooves, but he also heard that the sound of one horse's hooves was different from the other horses.
"The emperor is here." Changsheng said in a deep voice.
After hearing Chang Sheng's words, everyone lost all sleep in an instant. They stood up eagerly and wanted to get dressed. However, everyone's previous clothes were full of holes, and the change of clothes was still in their bags and had not been taken out.
"Your Majesty, are you really the emperor?" Da Tou looked at Changsheng nervously while unpacking the baggage.
"I brought the sweat-blooded horse back from Tingzhou. I can't hear the sound of the horse's hooves wrong." Changsheng nodded. He had brought back three sweat-blooded horses from Tingzhou, and one of them was a golden retriever, which he presented as a sacrifice. Gave it to the emperor.
Seeing Changsheng's confidence, everyone became more and more panicked. No one expected that the emperor would leave the palace for a long journey on a cold winter night. Moreover, when the emperor came to the inn, he was undoubtedly coming to them.
Seeing that everyone was injured and still struggling to put on clothes, for fear of disturbing the wound and aggravating the injury, Changsheng waved his hand and said, "Don't wear any more, lie down, just pretend you don't know."
After hearing this, everyone hurriedly stopped dressing and lay down crookedly.
Not long after, the anxious voice of the postman came from outside the door, "Master, you can't break in. The brave prince lives here."
"Get out of the way." Someone scolded.
Hearing the strange noise, Changsheng stood up and opened the door. The first thing that caught his eye was the familiar yet unfamiliar face.
Seeing the snow falling on the emperor's cloak, and his face turning pale due to the cold wind, Changsheng's blood surged instantly and he was very moved. He hurriedly stepped out, lifted his robe and knelt down, "I am here to see you, your Majesty."
"No courtesy, no courtesy." The emperor quickly stepped forward and helped Changsheng up before he fell to his knees.
The postman who had previously tried to stop everyone wanted to go forward and explain to Changsheng, but when he heard the two men's words, he was instantly frightened to death and lost his mind, "Emperor, emperor, emperor..."
"Silence. Get down!" the accompanying imperial guard shouted in a low voice.
At this time, Changsheng had already let the emperor into the room. Although everyone already knew that it was the emperor, they were still shocked to see the emperor appear alive in front of their eyes. They all stood up and tried to greet him.
"No need to get up," the emperor waved to everyone. Seeing that one person was missing, he went to the other side of the curtain. He must have noticed that Yu Yi's clothes were disheveled, so he hurriedly stepped back, "generals are injured, so there is no need to be polite. It's a surprise. Lie down."
Everyone didn't know whether to forcefully get up, so they turned to look at Changsheng. Seeing this, Changsheng said, "You haven't thanked the emperor yet?"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" the four of them said in unison.
Just when Chang Sheng was about to move the chair, the emperor waved his hand and said, "Don't be busy, I have to rush back, I won't stay long."
Although the emperor said this, Changsheng still moved the seats, but the emperor did not sit down. Instead, he faced everyone and said harmoniously, "I was shocked to hear that you, my dear friends, were ambushed. I came here to visit you. My dear sires are devoted to the public. Everything you do is to share my worries, and everything you do is to eliminate harm for the people. Only in this way can you become enemies with villains and be resented by traitors. Fortunately, the heroic prince commanded him well, and all of you who love me are invincible. Only by being brave can you turn danger into good fortune and kill all thieves and bandits, which is truly a blessing to the court and a blessing to the people."
Hearing the emperor's words, Datou and others were very moved, but they were clumsy with words and did not know how to answer the words, so they could only look at Changsheng again.
Seeing this, Changsheng hurriedly bowed and replied, "The emperor's holy words are false, and the humble ministers and others are ashamed. The emperor is the most respected person in the world and the common ruler of the world. How can we and all of us be so virtuous and capable as to trouble the emperor on a cold snowy night? After traveling a long distance, I came here to encourage and visit..."
Before Changsheng could finish speaking, the emperor waved his hand to interrupt him, and then waved to the imperial guards guarding the door. The latter had been waiting for a while, and upon seeing this, he hurriedly carried in a three-foot-square red box.
After the imperial guard put down the wooden box and opened it, the emperor reached out and took out a red cloak from the wooden box. The cloak was embroidered with a green dragon and trimmed with gold silk. It was made of exquisite materials and was very luxurious.
The emperor handed the cloak to Changsheng with both hands and said, "Dear ladies, please share my worries and serve the country. I know that you will leave the capital soon to go on an expedition. I have already ordered the manufacturing office to rush to make the cloak as a gift. I never thought that you would leave." The urgency is sudden and I cannot give it to you personally, so I will bring these five cloaks together and give them to you, but the last one is not yet completed and has some flaws."
Upon hearing this, Chang Sheng hurriedly took it with both hands and solemnly thanked him.
The emperor then took the cloaks handed by the imperial guards one by one and rewarded them with his own hands. Different from the immortal red green dragon cloak, the cloaks of the big head and others were purple, embroidered with tigers, and trimmed with silver threads.
After being rewarded with the cloak, another royal guard brought two wooden boxes. The emperor took one of the wooden boxes. After opening it, there were four gold seals inside. Those who have made great contributions to the country must be highly rewarded, and all four of you will be promoted to generals and awarded the third rank."
Seeing that Datou and the others were overly shocked, staring in astonishment, and not thanking them in time, Chang Sheng hurriedly winked at them. Datou was the first to come to his senses, knelt down and thanked them, followed closely by Yang Kai and the others.
The emperor then took another wooden box from the imperial guard and handed it to Changsheng with one hand. At the same time, he patted his shoulder lightly and said, "The road ahead is dangerous, so take care. I'm waiting for you to come back."
Changsheng took the wooden box with both hands, looked directly at the emperor, nodded heavily, "I swear to live up to my command!"
"Okay, you guys have a good rest, I'm going back to the palace." After the emperor said this, he turned around to go.
"Wait." Datou suddenly said.
The emperor turned around after hearing the sound.
"Your Majesty," Datou said, lying on the ground, "I have heard the private discussions of the rebels before, and I only know that there are female Japanese who are good at bed curtains lurking in the harem. Your Majesty, you must be more careful and take extra care of yourself."
After finishing speaking, the emperor did not answer, nodded and turned around to go out.
Changsheng saw this and hurriedly followed him to see him off.
The emperor left the inn under the protection of a group of imperial guards and left in the snow under the watchful eyes of Chang Sheng.
Watching the emperor go away, Changsheng returned to the inn.
At this time, Datou and others looked at him with a look of shame. No one expected that the emperor would come in person. Fortunately, Chang Sheng had resisted everyone's advice and stayed at the inn. Otherwise, everyone on his side would have seemed too stingy.
After a brief moment of embarrassment, Datou poked his head curiously, "Your Majesty, what's in the wooden box?"
Only then did Changsheng remember that he was holding a wooden box in his hand, and he opened it casually. Inside he saw a gold medal with a dragon pattern that was three inches long and two inches wide. There were four inscriptions in block letters engraved in the middle, "As if I were here in person..."
