Volume Four, The Year of the Curtain, Chapter 188: The Return (Part 2)
The city gate was very lively. Thousands of Tang soldiers walked into the city gate hole one by one. They returned from a hard battle, dressed in rags, looked tired, and had heavy or light injuries on their bodies.
Countless people from Chang'an City greeted each other in the streets, and welcomed the soldiers who returned from the front line. There were still no noisy drums, but enthusiastic smiles and waves.
This was the first rotation of the Tang army since the beginning of the war. Most of the troops withdrawn from the front were resettled by various prefectures and counties, and only a part of them returned to Chang'an City.
The Tang Dynasty court showed nearly perfect administrative capabilities and shocking efficiency in the war. The self-recruitment order was issued, hundreds of thousands of former veterans were either spontaneously or organized to replenish the front line, and various sources of material resources were continuously transported to various
Being on the front line finally gave Tang Guo a chance to breathe.
The fierce war continued on the territory. The ceremony of welcoming the return of soldiers from all over the country was solemn but simple, and the ceremony in Chang'an City was no exception. However, the Empress's personal attendance still attracted many people.
An ordinary carriage was parked next to the official road outside the city. The bustle at the city gate became quiet as people left, but the carriage seemed to have no intention of leaving and was always parked in place.
It was the time of war, and Chang'an people were extremely vigilant. Not long after, someone noticed the abnormality of the carriage and reported it to the soldiers of the City Inspection Division. They went to interrogate and waited for a clear look.
After someone was sitting in the car, he quickly apologized and retreated, but it attracted a lot of curious eyes.
With one hand lifted up the blue curtains, Ning Que looked at the distance of the official road that was frozen in the cold winter through the window. When he finally saw dust rising up, he stood up with a stick and got out of the car to greet him.
Dozens of cavalry Tang army returned to Chang'an City. From the weapons and mounts, it can be seen that they should be the cavalry of the Xiaoqi Camp. The Xiaoqi Camp is directly under the imperial palace command, and is a real noble soldier. In terms of status alone, it is even in the Yulin Army.
But now these cavalrymen in the cavalry camp are even more embarrassed than the ordinary Tang army who entered the city before.
Ning Que looked at the man immediately and said, "I'm really not used to it when I see you wearing leather armor."
The man was covered in dust, but he was still heroic. He listened to Ning Que's words and said with a smile: "Since he was in the army and not collecting rent in Chang'an City, he naturally could not wear that old clothes."
He naturally led the cavalry camp to help Chao Xiaoshu, who was rushing thousands of miles to help the Eastern Xinjiang.
He jumped off the horse at the little tree, but he coughed before he could speak.
Ning Que said: "Since you are injured, don't ride a horse."
After saying this, he turned around and got on the carriage first.
He smiled at Xiaoshu, turned around and said a few words to Liu Wu, and got into the carriage, saying, "Since I am here to welcome me, how can I make the reason to advance into the carriage?"
Ning Que pointed to the bandage on his body and said, "I was poked seven holes by the audience, and my blood was basically flowing. I dare not stand by the road and blow the cold wind for too long."
Looking at Xiaoshu on his face, he found that he could no longer find the Qingzhi from that year. Thinking about the news that was circulating in Chang'an City, he said, "I thought you were dead."
Ning Que said, "I thought you were dead, too."
The two looked at each other and smiled.
Ning Que said: "Why do you think I will die?"
He said to Xiaoshu: "I heard that before killing Xiahou, you said in front of all the civil and military officials of the court that your story is not the story in the book. Since that is the case, then you should die when you meet the audience."
Ning Que said: "You put down your wife and children and take hundreds of riders to be a big hero. I thought such a hero would die in the end to show his tragic emotions perfectly, so I thought you were dead."
After a moment of silence towards Xiaoshu, he said, "Many people are dead."
Ning Que lifted up the blue window and looked back, looking at the heavy carriages behind him.
In the carriage was the remains of the soldiers of the Knight Camp, covered with horse skins. After so many days of being blown by the cold winter wind on the road, the edges of the horse skins had been raised and faintly turned blue.
"You brought hundreds of cavalry out of Chang'an, and when you came back, there were only dozens of cavalry left. Too many people died."
Ning Que said: "The battle in Dongjiang is so bad."
Chao Xiaoshu said: "The Zhenbei Army independently fought against the Jin Treasure Royal Court, and against them, we who are in the East Xinjiang have no right to complain about bitterness, but the border is empty, and the cavalry in the East Wilderness is raging lightly, and those counties
The volunteers recruited did suffer a lot."
Ning Que said: "I thought you would come back earlier."
Chao Xiaoshu said, "I chased Longqing a few days ago and chased until Chentang County but hadn't caught up. Then I found that this problem was solved by you for no reason. I would go back to Dongjiang first. If it weren't for the academy that guarded Chang'an City
, and blocked the Xiling Temple coalition forces in Qingxia for seven days. Gushan County and the Northeast Frontier Army that had withdrawn into the territory could not be reorganized. Then I should be there now."
Ning Que said: "The changes in the situation always need to take it slowly."
He looked at the bandage on his body at Xiaoshu and said, "When will your injury heal?"
This question sounds very simple, maybe it's just concern, but Ning Que knew that Chao Xiaoshu's mention of his injury at this time would definitely not be so simple.
"I don't know." He knew what Chao Xiaoshu wanted to ask, and continued: "I don't know when the injuries of senior brothers and sisters will be healed. You don't need to think about this for the time being."
He frowned slightly at Xiaoshu and asked, "Why are you so slow?"
Ning Que said: "It is not easy to get injured, and it is not easy to get healed after being injured."
He thought about the senior brothers who were still seriously injured in the back mountain, and the third senior sister who was still sitting in a wheelchair, and his expression became increasingly serious. If the Taoist strong man sneaked into Tang Guo’s confidant, it would cause great trouble.
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Entering from the East City Gate, you will naturally have to pass through the East City.
When the carriage passed by Lao Bizhai, Ning Que lifted up the curtains, looked at the old house that was still intact, and thought about the stories that happened here over the years, and couldn't help but feel moved.
"In the spring of the thirteenth year of the Apocalypse, you and Sangsang came to Chang'an City. It is now the late winter of eighteen years. In fact, only five years have passed, but it seems that decades have passed."
Looking at Xiaoshu, he looked at Lao Bizhai and the shops next to him, thinking about the spring rain in the thirteenth year of the Apocalypse, thinking about the killing that night and the bowl of fried egg noodles without eggs, and smiled slightly.
Ning Que looked at him and suddenly said, "Actually, when we think about it now, we are not very familiar with each other."
He said to Xiaoshu: "Yes, we don't meet too many times."
Ning Que said: "Don't you think it's a bit strange?"
"Turn forward twenty years later, the late emperor was the crown prince at that time. I met him for the first time at *Zhao, had a fight, and then had a drink. From then on, I became the second brother of the court."
"A glass of wine is a life, and a bowl of noodles is a life."
He said to Xiaoshu: "Chang'an is a very interesting city. Things like this have happened many times. People living here still enjoy it, so there is nothing strange about it."
Ning Que thought about it and said, "It's true."
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Chao Xiaoshu did not return to Chunfeng Pavilion's home, but went directly into the palace.
After entering the palace, a eunuch responded and followed Xiaoshu into the hall. Ning Que did not go with him, but waved his hand to let the eunuch who followed him leave and went to the imperial study room.
His life was displaced and there were many key turns, and many places had important significance, but the imperial study room of the Tang Dynasty Palace was undoubtedly a very special place.
Here he wrote a picture of flowers blooming on the other side of the sky, so he met the late emperor. Here he had a long chat with Li Yu for a night before he cut off Li Huiyuan's head with a knife in front of the hall the next day.
He put the crutch in front of the bookshelf, slowly moved it to the desk, grind ink and spread paper, and began to write.
He kept writing, writing a lot of pictures.
The late emperor liked his calligraphy back then, but he was unwilling to write it. Even if he gave a few pictures occasionally, he felt as distressed as if he had cut his flesh. Now, it was better to write a few more pictures at that time to make His Majesty happy.
Now he is willing to write, but His Majesty can't see it.
The imperial study room was very quiet, and only the sound of purple hair sliding across the paper was heard. Suddenly, a few extremely majestic reprimanding sounds came from somewhere.
Ning Que was slightly lost in his mind.
The imperial study room and the front hall were very close, and the sound must have been heard from there.
At that moment, he even thought he had heard His Majesty cursing the idiot.
Just as he said in the car, he and Chao Xiaoshu are not familiar with each other, but they can share life and death.
He is actually not familiar with His Majesty, but His Majesty dares to hand over Chang'an City and the future of the Li royal family to his hands, and he dares to use his own life to complete the entrustment.
Because this is Chang'an City, this kind of thing is very common.
The trust between him and His Majesty did not start with the flower opening post, but at that time he heard His Majesty scolding idiots in the imperial study. He liked to scold idiots, so he felt so happy.
Ning Que woke up and said that His Majesty was dead, and no one scolded the idiot in the palace again.
He shook his head and continued to write and write.
Suddenly, his hand holding the pen became a little stiff.
Because he heard the sound coming from the front of the hall again.
This time he listened to it very seriously.
That majestic voice was indeed calling an idiot.
The Queen is cursing.
Ning Que laughed and felt so happy.
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Deep in the palace, there is a huge map marked with complex lines and notes. It is illuminated by dozens of candles as thick as arms to see all the details clearly.
A middle-aged staff officer in the military headquarters, holding a thin wooden stick, pointed to the map, and was explaining to everyone in the hall, but it was obvious that not many people could listen to it at this time.
The Empress was a little tired, and sat behind the desk and took a cup of tea and drank it slowly.
When the general and the ministers looked at the empress's gentle appearance at this time, they could not recall the scene when the empress scolded more than a dozen idiots because of the problem of the food and grass transport to the Western Army.
Chao Xiaoshu stood quietly in the corner, watching the queen not speaking, but like someone in the imperial study at this time, he remembered the Majesty who once scolded himself for being idiots in the hall.
Some people are still alive, they return to their hometown, some are dead, and they have also returned to their hometown, maybe they have never left at all, which is great.
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(Two chapters tomorrow) (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to subscribe to (this site) and give me rewards. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
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