Prince of Song Dynasty

Chapter 52

Ye Chen nodded very politely to everyone, as a return gift, then dismounted, came to Li Junhao, and said, "Leader Li! Don't come here without any problems."

Hearing this, Li Junhao couldn't help being startled, and looked at Ye Chen with a puzzled expression. He vaguely felt that Ye Chen looked familiar, but he couldn't remember it for a while.

Li Junhao, with a height of seven feet, has a dark complexion with sharp edges and corners. Although he is not handsome, his eyes are extremely energetic. Coupled with the fierce temperament he has cultivated over the years of fighting in the rivers and lakes, he can tell at a glance that he is not an ordinary person.And this is one of the reasons why he was regarded as a spy.

"You are... Ye Chen! It turns out that you, like Liu Nan, are also a secret agent of the Song Army." After thinking for a while, Li Junhao suddenly shook his body, looked at Ye Chen, his eyes lit up, and said in a low voice.

Ye Chen smiled slightly, and said directly to the captain: "This is my friend, not a spy. I will explain to Marshal Cao personally later, you go to work!"

Although the lieutenant was a little reluctant in his heart, no matter how he caught a spy, it was more or less a credit, but although Ye Chen was not his boss, he dared not listen to what he said. I have to give it.What's more, he also knew that even if they took Li Junhao back, with Ye Chen around, Li Junhao couldn't be regarded as a spy, and they couldn't take credit for it.

"Thank you, Brother Ye, for saving me. Otherwise, if I don't see Liu Nan, I will definitely be treated as a spy. Eighty-nine out of ten, my head will be beheaded for military exploits." From the attitude of the team of roaming whistle towards Ye Chen, it can be judged that Ye Chen's status is not low now, and at least he is already an officer.What's more, Ye Chen was almost a life-saving favor to him just now.After the captain bowed and led the people away, Li Junhao paid a deep respect to Ye Chen and said gratefully.

"Leader Li is being polite, it's just a small effort, so don't worry about it. Hmm...how did Leader Li appear here and be treated as a spy?" Ye Chen asked.

Li Junhao sighed with emotion, and explained the cause and effect.During this period, Ye Chen had already told about Liu Nan's death, but he didn't mention the specific process.

Ye Chen looked at Li Junhao's hesitating expression, hesitated for a moment, and said, "If Brother Li and those two brothers really did what Brother Li said, and the crime they committed was not a felony, then I will hand this matter over to my subordinates. I dare to guarantee that the two can be rescued, but I will do my best. However, now that I am in the army, it is inconvenient to leave. After I return to Kaifeng, my official status will be improved, and it will be more profitable to deal with this matter. So this matter can only be discussed after returning to Kaifeng. Well...Brother Li can wait for me in Xiaoye Lane in the south of Kaifeng. I will go to you when I return to Kaifeng and deal with some matters. We will meet in detail then Say."

Seeing Ye Chen's offer of help, Li Junhao was already very grateful, and after thanking Ye Chen sincerely again, he left on his own.

The army marched another sixty miles in the afternoon, and the next morning, the army set off to continue marching.For the remaining 100 miles, I walked for a whole day.

At dinner time, in Bajiao Town outside Kaifeng City, Kaifeng Prefecture Governor Zhao Guangyi led the Deputy Privy Council Deputy Envoy Shen Congyi, Third Division Deputy Envoy Luo Gongming and other civil and military ministers who had been waiting for a long time to welcome Zhao Kuangyin's triumphant return with the army.

However, Ye Chen followed Cao Bin in the rear army and did not witness the process. He only learned about it from the news from the front army.

When the sun was setting, the city wall of Kaifeng in Tokyo appeared in the sight of the rear army led by Cao Bin.

Before the rear army entered the city, there were already crowds of people on both sides of the road, which was extremely lively and connected to the city gate.

Although he could see the city wall from a distance, Ye Chen knew from Wang Chao that it was still a long distance from Tokyo City, but Ye Chen couldn't tell whether it was inside the city or outside the city, the bustling streets, and the rows of houses. Home, no matter how you look at it, it is the scenery that can only be found in the thoroughfare of a big city.Ye Chen was wondering if he had crossed the city wall of Kaifeng inadvertently.

But in fact, Kaifeng's outer city wall is still far ahead. The reason why Ye Chen can't distinguish between the inside and outside of the city is because a mere three-foot-thick city wall can't divide the bustling scenery of Kaifeng City in Tokyo.

Ye Chen was riding on the horse, looking around.The wide city hall is thirty steps wide, and beside the river is a row of willow trees with thousands of branches, and the green willows are like brocade, which is very charming.

The blue-black wall on the other side of the city river twists and turns like waves, and you can't see the end at a glance.The fifty-mile-long Kaifeng City Wall protects the largest city in the world.The five-foot-high wall is far more than any other city Ye Chen has seen along the way, including Jinyang City.

This is Kaifeng, the capital of the Great Song Dynasty!
The admiration in Ye Chen's eyes was undisguised.However, Cao Bin turned his head and glanced at Ye Chen, and found that Ye Chen was much calmer than he imagined. Although there was admiration in his expression, he didn't have the slightest reaction that a normal person should have when he first came to Kaifeng.

You know, when normal people see Kaifeng City in Tokyo for the first time, their eyeballs almost fall out.

Although Chang'an and Luoyang are well-known, they are far inferior to today's Kaifeng in Tokyo in terms of scale.

Cao Bin knew that although the Kaifeng city in Tokyo in front of him was indeed majestic, it was still much inferior to the city walls of Xi'an and Nanjing in later generations, let alone the Great Wall rebuilt in the Ming Dynasty, so the scale of the city wall of Kaifeng was almost impossible to overwhelm Stay with Ye Chen.

If it is the natural wildness of the small bridge and flowing water, or the exquisite beauty of the garden pavilions, Ye Chen will be full of praise.No way, these two kinds of scenery will become less and less in later generations.But in terms of architecture alone, the current world can be compared with the later generations.

However, the Kaifeng City Wall in front of you is not the kind of cement antique city wall that was demolished and then rebuilt or repaired in later generations. It is full of ancient flavors.Although it lacks the desolation and toughness of Jinyang City, it has the thickness of the Central Plains and the grace of the capital.Although Ye Chen wasn't overwhelmed with admiration, his admiring eyes were indispensable.

Just inside the moat, at the base of the city wall, there is a five-foot-high low wall—this kind of wall blocking the front of the city wall is called the sheep and horse wall.In the narrow space between the sheep and horse wall and the city wall, groups of sheep, horses, pigs and other livestock are crowded, which is the origin of the name of the sheep and horse wall.The owners of these livestock all drive the livestock from the prefectures and counties one to two hundred miles away from the capital, and sell and deliver them under the city.

On weekdays, the sheep and horse wall is only used as a market for livestock to be sold.If it comes to wartime, the role of the sheep and horse wall will be even greater.With the assistance of the sheep and horse wall, the city wall is no longer thin, but is combined with the moat and the sheep and horse wall to form a complete defense system.The soldiers in the city can go down behind the sheep and horse wall, and form a three-dimensional attack with the guards on the top of the city.

It took them nearly half an hour to walk the five miles in front of the city gate.When Ye Chen and the others finally arrived at the city gate, they were already sweating profusely.

Before stepping on the city gate, the wide stone bridge across the Hao River, the north main gate of Tokyo City is in front of you.On the top of the city gate, there are four large characters of Shuntian Gate.Flying eaves and bucket arches, and the resplendent and resplendent triple-layer city tower are pressed against the door, without the chill that military buildings should have, but with a lot of wealth and nobility.Even if the corner flags are densely covered on the top of the city, and the guards are lined up, it still lacks the majestic feeling of Jinyang City.

At this time, although it was already evening and the sky was getting dark, the streets of Kaifeng were still crowded with people, which was a bit more lively than outside the city.

The people watching the excitement, looking forward to the family members of their loved ones, on both sides of the street, I don't know how many people surrounded them.

However, on this day, I am afraid that some families are happy and some are sad. People will die in the war. After the family members of the soldiers who died in battle confirm the news, I am afraid it will not be so easy. Dig a hole and bury the body.If it is too late to collect the corpse after the defeat, it is normal for the corpse to be exposed to the wilderness for many days.

Ye Chen thought of Liu Nan, sighed in his heart, and thought about going to Liu Nan's house after he settled down.

From morning to dusk, Shui'er was held by his mother and waited inside the north gate.Early in the morning, the couple heard that many people had gone to the court, and they went to Triangle Town to meet the imperial army led by the emperor who had returned to the court.

The dog days of the sun for a whole day, the streets of Kaifeng as hot as a steamer.Shui'er was tightly held by her mother, and inside the city gate, under a willow tree on one side for a whole day, her cute little face was flushed red from the sun, and beads of sweat were already dripping on the tip of her nose. Tired and full of sweat.

But they didn't dare to leave for half a step. They didn't even eat lunch. They were so thirsty that they drank a bowl of herbal tea on the side of the street.The mother and daughter hardly felt the heat, because there was a stronger feeling in their hearts --- worry.

Although Shui'er is only twelve or thirteen years old, she already understands many things. She knows that if what she waits for is the news of her father's death, it will be a catastrophe for her family.

These mother and daughter are Liu Nan's wife and daughter. Liu Nan once wrote to them and said that if the army returned triumphantly from the Northern Han Dynasty, he would definitely come back with the army.

Li Junhao had already entered the city early this morning, and he had already arrived at Xiaoye Lane in Nancheng, but Ye Chen didn't tell him that Liu Nan's family was also here.

Li Junhao just settled temporarily in a small restaurant in Xiaoye Lane, waiting for Ye Chen to arrive.

Therefore, the Liu mother and daughter did not know that Liu Nan had already passed away.

At dusk, a large number of troops finally marched into the city, and the people who were silently waiting by the road suddenly burst into an uproar.Some people have already found their own men in the ranks, jumping up and down, waving and shouting, completely disregarding military discipline, and many civilians put tea and porridge in bowls for the soldiers to drink.

The military generals didn't care about such chaos, after all, they have already arrived in the capital, and the law and order under the emperor's feet is still good, but the current situation is also human.

An old woman was recognized by a sergeant and told him that so-and-so died in the siege of Jinyang. The old woman immediately knelt on the side of the road and screamed, crying: "My son..."

(End of this chapter)