Dawn of the Empire

456 Chapter 86

Li Ruoxu, who was supposed to bury the corpse, stayed there, his eyes full of disbelief, staring at the horse without blinking.The guards of the Imperial City Department noticed something different, Wang Chongyi said sharply: "Boy, what are you looking at!" Li Ruoxu didn't seem to notice, staring at her blankly, and said in a voiceless voice: "Huan,... , Your Majesty, Your Royal Highness."

Following this sleepy voice, everyone turned pale with shock, a cold light suddenly appeared in Zhou He's eyes, Wang Chongyi even put his hand on the saber, and looked at Li Ruoxu viciously.

On the contrary, Zhao Huan was calm. She looked at Li Ruoxu and asked, "Sir, do you recognize me?" The meaning was sad and vicissitudes. For the past three years, he was confined in the cold palace. Forgotten and abandoned her.

"The lower official is Li Ruoxu," Li Ruoxu hurriedly said loudly, "In the first month of the fifth year of Xuanhe, the lower official met His Highness."

Eight years ago, the night of Yuan Ye, when the flowers were full of flowers and the lanterns were like day, was one of Li Ruoxu's best memories, and it is still fresh in his memory.His eyes were full of surprise, and he looked at Zhao Huan full of expectation.Zhou He, Wang Chongyi and the others looked at each other with surprise on their faces, and then turned their attention to Zhao Huan.Li Ruoxu was the number one scholar in the new department, and he had been talked about for a long time in Bianliang City.Huangcheng Secretary is the eyes and ears of the emperor, so he naturally heard about it.As for Yuan Ye eight years ago, Huang Chengsi and others only thought that he had paid homage to the holy face under the Xuande gate tower. At that time, Zhao Huan was in favor and accompanied his father to watch the lanterns on the tower. Li Ruoxu saw it. Not surprisingly.

"It turned out to be Li Hanlin." Zhao Huan stared at Li Ruoxu, vaguely remembering the beginning, "I heard that you went to Hebei with Qin Xianggong to announce the decree, but there was no news after that." She showed concern on her face, "It's good that I'm safe and sound now." Seeing Li Ruoxu, Zhao Huan couldn't help but think of another person. He hadn't heard from him for ten years, and he didn't know where he is now.Thinking of this, a trace of worry can't help but appear in his eyes.

She admitted that she and Li Ruoxu were old acquaintances, and although the others didn't know the ins and outs, they were relieved.Some people thought: "How did Her Highness the Princess know him? Could it be that he is a man of talent?" Thinking this way in his heart, he looked at Li Ruoxu with a strange look.

Zhou Hejiu was on duty in the Imperial City Department, his eyes were so sharp, seeing that Li Ruoxu's hands were trembling slightly, he sighed inwardly, it seems that this Li Hanlin and Princess Huan didn't just know each other.He started to speak vaguely, that was because of His Highness's reputation.The princes and princesses were tired of staying in the palace, and when they played in Bianliang City in disguise, they were accompanied by the guards of the Imperial City Division.Zhou He glanced at Li Ruoxu, and felt that he was a good-looking talent, and that he could win the first prize, he would be very talented, and burying the bones of passers-by while fleeing was a sign of benevolence and righteousness, so he nodded secretly in his heart.

Zhao Huan grew up in the deep palace, first he was favored by his father, and later he was imprisoned in the cold palace by his brother, his heart was as pure as paper.When Li Ruoxu mentioned the past, she immediately admitted it.Li Ruoxuan was touched, he looked at Zhao Huan and felt his hands and feet were cold, but his blood was boiling hot. He stepped forward and asked, "Where are you going, Your Highness? I will fight to the death and serve as an escort."

"Where are you going?" Zhao Huan's eyes showed confusion.She originally wanted to go to Xijing to seek refuge with Zhao Qi, the third brother from her first mother, but there was a dense army between Luoyang and Bianliang, and the roads were blocked, so she had to go south instead.Where to go, she didn't know in her heart.Before she could answer, Zhou He took the lead and said, "The next official, Zhou He, the Imperial City Secretary, is escorting His Highness the Sixteenth. I don't know where Lord Li is going?" The envoys are all vainly led by civilian officials, and the military officers who actually handle affairs have very low ranks.Li Ruoxu was the number one scholar, and he surpassed Zhou He as soon as he was awarded an official. If it was a peaceful time, the speed of promotion would be far faster than that of ordinary officials.So even though Zhou He had been working in the Imperial City Department for more than ten years, he still called himself a subordinate official in front of Li Ruoxu.

Li Ruoxu hesitated for a moment, then compromised and said: "I want to go southeast."

Zhou He and Wang Chongyi looked at each other, Zhao Huan nodded and said: "Then Master Li can go with us for a while." She grew up in the deep palace and knew very few people, even though she didn't recognize Li Ruoxu at first Come, but at this moment also treat him as an old friend whom I haven't seen for a long time.

Li Ruoxu was overjoyed and agreed immediately.After all the members of the Imperial City Department met each other, Zhou He thought it over and said: "We are deeply favored by the late emperor. In today's world, the identity and whereabouts of His Highness the Sixteenth, I hope Lord Li will cover it up for you. Don't tell others." He intentionally brought Li Ruoxu to the side before telling him on the ground.Li Ruoxu was stunned for a moment, then recalled the rumors that the crown prince and the third prince competed for the throne when the first emperor was there, he nodded and said, "Thank you General Zhou for reminding me, I understand." Li Ruoxu looked at Zhao Huan in the distance, Secretly said, everyone said that the Tian family has no family ties, Princess Huan and King Jing were born of the same mother, the official family must have suffered a lot in the past three years since they took the throne, and a sense of pity suddenly emerged in their hearts.

Everyone in the Imperial City Department knew Li Ruoxu's identity, so they couldn't order him to do things, so they helped him bury the corpses together.Everyone rested in the woods for a while, Zhou He and others took out dried meat, noodles, cakes and water and divided them equally. Although Zhao Huan had golden branches and jade leaves, his diet was the same as everyone in the Imperial City Division.Li Ruoxu was sitting not far away, stealing glances at her from time to time, his modest and timid look fell on the eyes of everyone in the Imperial City Department, it was a bit funny, but everyone knew that he was thin-skinned and didn't point it out.Someone secretly said: "When the No. [-] Scholar was parading through the streets on horseback, people all over Bianliang said that Master Hanlin was the lower realm of the Wenqu star. Now it seems that he is also an ordinary person."

During the break, Zhou He discussed with Wang Chongyi and others that they must speed up their pace so as not to fall behind the Liao army.The army of the Liao Kingdom claimed to have 20 cavalry and [-] pawns signed. It set out from Bianliang in a mighty way. The forward has arrived in Dengzhou, and the rear team is still in Yingchangfu.Now they are between the Xiangyang camp of the Song army and the main force of the Liao army. Although they will encounter scouts from the Liao army from time to time, there is always a gap to exploit.If it falls behind the Liao army, it will be troublesome.This group of seven people used to have a horse for each of them, but now Li Ruoxu gave a horse to travel, and the other two thin cavalry rode on the same horse.Anyway, because Zhao Huan was weak, the rush would not drag down his horsepower.

Traveling this way day and night, when encountering a large group of soldiers and horses, whether it is the Liao army or the Song army, they all make a detour.Zhou He saw that Li Ruoxu was skilled in riding, and that although he was a civil servant, his demeanor was not messy, he secretly praised him.Little did he know that Li Ruoxu was also secretly surprised.Those in the Imperial City Division are obviously very familiar with the art of hiding and hiding. Zhou Chong can estimate the time when the cavalry in front passed by just looking at the dung of the horse, and he can know the distance of the enemy army by listening to the sound. Safe and secure place.

"If our soldiers and horses in the Great Song Dynasty were so elite, why would the situation be like this?" Li Ruoxu secretly said.

Many of the soldiers in Bianliang City, and even in the imperial city, did such chores as guarding the gate, sweeping, guarding of honor, and even cleaning the toilets.However, Yuqianbanzhi and Huangchengsi have the Sandutou system, and among the tens of thousands of elites, there are only a few hundred warriors.Every one taken to the front of the palace is enough to be a general of a hundred people.The headquarters of the Imperial City Division mainly monitors the capital, and there is no Jinyan Mansion in charge of the outside of the capital.The people Shen Yun chose to escort Zhao Huan, except for Zhou He who was the commander of the inner courtyard, the others were all Sandu heads of Jinyan Mansion.

Along the way, they entered the boundary of Tangzhou.Because Tangzhou is still in the hands of the Song army, the further south you go, the more people will flee.The vanguards of the Liao army kept appearing, but they were not yet a large group. Every time these Khitan cavalry appeared, the fleeing people would flee like frightened birds, fearing that they would be intercepted by the northern captives a little later.On those north-south roads, the fleeing people were hungry and exhausted, and they still traveled southward day and night. When they arrived at Xiangyang, where the army of the Song Dynasty was stationed, it was much more peaceful.

Although Zhao Huan and the others were disguised, there were eight of them and seven horses, all of which were Hexi horses. Zhou He and the others were burly, carrying bows, crossbows and weapons. Li Ruoxu was not an ordinary person at first glance.During the break in the midway, the people in the vicinity were all timid and timid. Not only did they sit far away, they dared not even speak loudly.Zhao Huan heard a baby crying loudly next to him, and walked over following the sound, only to see a woman holding the baby in her arms, the baby was sucking the mother's milk vigorously, her little face was flushed, but she couldn't suck anything. not come out.It turned out that the mother was very hungry and had no milk.Without hesitation, she asked Wang Chongyi for a few pancakes and handed them to the woman, and said softly, "Sister melted the pancakes and water, let's feed this child some."

The Taoist woman is actually not much different in age from Zhao Huan. Hearing Zhao Huan's gentle tone, which is the local accent of Bianliang, tears can't help falling down. She took the pancake and thanked her repeatedly: "Thank you very much." Sister." Four or five members of that family also came over to express their thanks.Zhao Huan's face was gloomy, he sighed, bowed his head without saying a word, and returned to Zhou He and the others, but his heart was as uncomfortable as a knife.

On this side, Li Ruoxu and Zhou He are discussing where to go next.Between Luoyang and Ezhou, in all fairness, Li Ruoxu prefers Ezhou, but he can't speak out because of Zhao Huan's feelings.During this period of traveling together, he had a general understanding of Zhao Huan and the others' considerations.Compared with Zhao Ke, Zhao Huan felt that the third brother Zhao Qi was the real elder brother, but he had to flee south because of the road block.Zhou He, Wang Chongyi and other generals of the Imperial City Department not only received the royal family's kindness, but also Shen Yun's confidantes.Although these people have rich experience, they don't have many opinions of their own.According to the orders of Shen Yun, the official of the Imperial City Division, their duty is to protect Zhao Huan, and their whereabouts can be determined by her will.

"I'm afraid Xiangyang is not a good place for the army of northern captives." Li Ruoxu said to Zhou He, "In my opinion, it's better to bypass Xiangyang and go to Ezhou." Seeing that Zhao Huan was also listening, he said emphatically, "Ezhou is to the south of Xiangyang. , itself has the danger of a great river, and the water and land extend in all directions. Yue Fei is known as a brave general in the world. The northern captives invaded the south, and the army was invincible. It was too late to avoid it. Only the town leader went north from Guangnan all the way, and the speed of his march was rare in the world. Chen Shaoyang We have been operating in Guangnan for many years, and we have received the help of the gentry from the society and have sufficient backup. From this point of view, even if the Liao army conquered Xiangyang, it has become a blunt army after traveling thousands of miles, and Ezhou is still invincible. If we go to Ezhou If so, you can settle down for a while, and then move on with the camera.”

Zhou He hesitated for a moment, then asked Zhao Huan, "Mr. Li advocates going to Ezhou to take refuge first. What does the Young Master mean?"