(Easter egg at the end of the chapter, Huang Rongrong’s video!)
It was December 11th, Yuanyang, and the heavy snow had just stopped.
After nearly a month of fighting, Zhao Yanxun returned to Yuanyang on horseback.
When he left, only Zhang Meng and other guards were accompanying him, and when he came back this time, only these people were around Zhao Yanxun.
Although he had decided to rotate the various units for repairs, in line with the principle of maximizing the use of troops, the first batch of soldiers to withdraw had to fight all the way back to Yuanyang from Zhenxiguan.
The zombies gathered along the way will be cleaned up again to minimize the zombie density in Longyou.
Zhao Yanxun made a rough calculation and found that the number of zombies killed in Longyou was close to 700,000 to 800,000.
According to official data, before the zombie outbreak, Longyou had a population of almost 2.5 million.
Today, there are 256,000 living people in Longyou, which means there are nearly 2.3 million zombies.
In other words, even though many zombies have been eliminated, the number of zombies in Longyou is still huge.
Especially the four prefectures of Ningyang, Liyan, Laixuan and Tianjin. These four prefectures were recently recovered, and the number of zombies is still huge.
Thinking of this, Zhao Yanxun also felt heavy-hearted, and the words "There is a long way to go" could not help but pop up in his mind.
Zhao Yanxun did not notify him in advance when he returned to Yuanyang this time, so he was able to quickly enter the city and return home.
Otherwise, as soon as the news comes out, the people in the city will come out, and it will take some time.
After staying on the front line for a month, Zhao Yanxun still had to read all the reports, even though the Chief Secretary and the Privy Council handled daily affairs, so that he could have an overall understanding of the situation in various places.
When Zhao Yanxun showed up at the gate of the palace with his horse on horseback, the news of his return spread to the Chief Secretary and the Privy Council.
After jumping off the horse, someone took the reins, and Zhao Yanxun walked straight towards the middle gate.
"See you, Your Majesty!" The guards guarding the door saluted and paid homage.
Now that the royal palace's armies have expanded, the Guards Division is no longer responsible for guarding the palace, and this task is entirely the responsibility of the palace guards.
After entering the gate, then to Yong'an Gate, then to Jinshen Gate... there were people paying homage along the way, to which Zhao Yanxun did not respond.
Walking to the steps in front of Jinshen Hall, Zhao Yanxun stopped and said, "I haven't been in the palace for a month. Find a time... and test whether the guards are neglectful in training!"
These words were spoken to Zhang Meng. Now that Lin Dagui is away, he is the biggest guard in the palace.
"I obey!"
"Go for it!"
"yes!"
At this moment, Huo An had arrived with several young eunuchs.
"Your Majesty..."
Walking up the steps, Zhao Yanxun took off the sword from his waist, threw it to Huo An aside and said: "Compile the official letters that have been handled recently, as well as the reports from various places. I want to read it right away!"
Opening his hands to take the report, Huo An hooked his waist and replied: "I will make arrangements right now!"
Then Zhao Yanxun said: "Also, find Lin Quan. If I have anything to ask him!"
Lin Quan is responsible for monitoring the situation in various places, and his intelligence can be used as evidence. After all, officials' articles may lie.
"yes!"
After entering the main hall and going around the passage to the bedroom, Zhao Yanxun ordered people to undress.
The so-called "undressing" actually means taking over the armor. Zhao Yanxun was also killed along the way, and the armor was stained with a lot of filth.
There were only eunuchs serving in Jinshen's palace. With the busy work of five or six eunuchs, his armor was quickly replaced.
At this time, Huo An came over and asked for instructions: "Your Majesty, the hot water is ready... Look!"
"Have you arranged all the things I just asked you to do?"
"Replying to the prince, the report and official letter have been submitted, and someone has been sent to inform Eunuch Lin!"
"Well, let's take a look first!"
The "air conditioner" was on in the hall at the moment, and Zhao Yanxun was in good health, so he walked out of the dormitory wearing only a single suit.
It was very inappropriate to do this, but since Jin was the biggest person in the palace, no one dared to say another word.
In fact, only the single clothes underneath were clean for Zhao Yanxun. He had no choice but to wear them without taking a shower at the moment.
When I walked into the west hall, my desk was already filled with documents.
After sitting down, Zhao Yanxun stretched out his hand and Huo An handed the official document to him.
This first document was sent from Yanfeng County, Tianjin Prefecture, mainly reporting on the construction results in November.
"Your Majesty, please have some tea..."
Taking the tea cup from Huo An, Zhao Yan looked at it with a calm expression.
I finished the first copy, followed by the second, then the third...
At this moment, the sound of footsteps outside Jinshen Hall attracted Zhao Yanxun's attention.
He originally thought it was the minister, but when his perception ability was turned on, he realized that it was Huang Rongrong.
Zhao Yanxun made no move, but continued to read the memorial, and then Huang Rongrong appeared at the door of the west wing with two maids.
When she comes to Jinshen Hall, she never goes through a report unless someone forcibly stops her.
Lifting up her skirt, Huang Rongrong crossed the threshold, came to Zhao Yanxun's desk and said, "Your Majesty, you are finally back..."
Zhao Yanxun raised his head and said with a smile: "My beloved concubine, long time no see... you have become more beautiful!"
"I'm afraid that in the prince's heart... the most beautiful thing is not his concubine!"
"Who should that be?" Zhao Yanxun asked.
Seeing Huang Rongrong approaching, Huo An quickly took a few steps away, leaving a position close to Zhao Yanxun.
"If it's not the princess, I'm afraid it's Sister Lin..."
After Huang Rongrong finished speaking, Zhao Yanxun immediately said: "Nonsense... In my opinion, my beloved concubine is the most beautiful!"
Huang Rongrong was happy to hear this, but when she approached Zhao Yanxun, she immediately took three steps back, and then covered her mouth and nose.
"My lord, did you... fall... into the latrine?"
The latrine is the dirtiest and smelliest place Huang Rongrong can think of.
"My beloved concubine...is it really that smelly?"
Hearing this, Huang Rongrong took two steps back and said in a soft and dissatisfied tone: "It stinks to death..."
Seeing her looking so cute, Zhao Yanxun smiled even more.
Then he asked Huo An beside him: "Is it really that smelly?"
In fact, during the month he went out, Zhao Yanxun only took three baths.
The last time he took a bath was three days ago, but in the three days after he took a bath, he spent the whole night in a sea of corpses and blood, so his body naturally had a very "complex" odor.
"Your Majesty, I think this slave is... not bad!"
Zhao Yanxun's question was really difficult for Huo An to answer, so he squeezed out this sentence.
"Your slave has a stuffy nose? Is this okay?" Huang Rongrong asked in surprise.
This sentence made Huo An even more embarrassed at the moment.
Zhao Yanxun didn't care about this, stood up and said: "Okay, dear concubine, I'm going to wash up now!"
"This is the right thing to do!" Huang Rongrong smiled.
Then she glanced at Huo An and said with a straight face: "You stupid slave, why don't you prepare hot water for the prince?"
In fact, with Zhao Yanxun's body, it's not a big deal to wash him in cold water.
Watching Huo An leave, Zhao Yanxun said to Huang Rongrong: "My dear concubine, you look so fierce... you scare the lonely king!"
Although she behaved fiercely, Zhao Yanxun knew that Huang Rongrong was innocent and kind. This contrast can be described in one word, that is, "tough but fierce".
I wanted to step forward to speak, but as soon as I smelled the strange smell, Huang Rongrong immediately stepped back.
"My lord, don't be afraid, I will not dare to harm you!"