Jun Huailang and Xue Yan rode their horses all the way, and arrived at Qin County when the sun was shining brightly.
Qin County was the last state and county outside Chang'an City. After Qin County, it was Chang'an. As the last pass outside of Chang'an, Qin County's defense has always been stricter than other states and counties, and it has always been much better informed.
They went all the way north, and when they passed other prefectures and counties, they could travel unimpeded by virtue of the identity of King Xue Yan Guangling.
But when he arrived in Qin County, Xue Yan was a minister sent to the south by the emperor. Without the edict, he could not return to Chang'an at will. Even if the defenders and officials of Qin County could not stop Xue Yan, the news of Xue Yan returning to Beijing would not be possible. It will be sent to Chang'an as soon as possible.
If they guessed correctly, Qinmenguan's army is now entrenched outside Chang'an City. When the news is sent to Chang'an, it will definitely pass through them as soon as possible. At that time, they were prepared. Whether they attacked well or not is another matter. If they were desperate and rushed into Chang'an, the consequences would be disastrous.
This is also what Jun Huailang is worried about.
The closer he was to Qin County, the heavier his worries became. However, Chang'an had to go back, and Qin County was a must.
Jun Huailang didn't mention it to Xue Yan, and only thought of a countermeasure in secret.
After arriving in Qin County, I first dealt with the officials in the county to see what kind of people the officials were and what their attitude towards the sudden changes in Beijing was.
If you can reach a consensus and move on, it will be the best. If this is not the case, you can also take the opportunity to see if you can persuade or lure. If the other party is an official of the Xu family, he can only take the opportunity to kill him. I think Jin Yiwei has such skills...
After thinking about it all the way, they arrived outside Qin County.
At this time, it was just dawn, and the gate of Qin County had already opened. Outside the city gate, people and businessmen come and go, and the front of the city gate is heavily guarded, with a large team of officers and soldiers guarding it.
The group stopped a few feet outside the city gate.
"Look, you didn't speak all the way today, what's on your mind?" Xue Yan pulled back and turned to ask him.
Jun Huailang shook his head and said with a smile, "I'm just thinking about how to get through this Qin County."
Along the way, he has already thought of all kinds of possibilities and coping methods in his mind, and now he can handle it.
However, Xue Yan raised his eyebrows suspiciously.
"What's there to think about?" he asked.
As he spoke, he lifted his whip and motioned Jin Yiwei, who was beside him, to step forward.
Immediately, a Jinyiwei rode his horse and trotted all the way to the front of the city gate.
He said a few words to one of the guards, and saw that the guard nodded quickly and trotted up the tower. After a while, a guard led the soldier all the way to Xue Yan's direction.
Xue Yan sat on the horse and quietly waited for him to approach.
"My lord!" When he walked to the horse, the guard clasped his fists at Xue Yan, and performed proper military etiquette. "I haven't seen the prince for a long time, but he is even more handsome than when he was in Yan County!"
Only then did Jun Huailang know why Xue Yan was calm and not worried at all.
This commander of Qin County is supposed to be his old army in Yan County.
Xue Yan casually hummed: "This king is going back to Chang'an, you can arrange it."
Emperor Qingping just had an accident last night. People in other prefectures and counties didn't know it, but high-level officials in Qin County didn't know about it. When the guard heard this, his face became solemn, and he asked, "Your Highness, do you know what happened in Chang'an last night?"
Jun Huailang was startled when he heard the words, and hurriedly looked sideways at Xue Yan.
I saw Xue Yan's brows slowly wrinkle.
"What happened to Chang'an?" He paused and asked.
The guard looked around, Xue Yan approached, and said in a low voice, "The news has just arrived. The emperor was poisoned, and now the poison has attacked, turning the emperor into a living dead who can only breathe... This morning, the ministers pushed the fourth prince to the throne, and the crown prince is about to be canonized."
Speaking of which, the guard also felt a little strange.
The incident only happened last night, and Qin County just got the news. Xue Yan was far away in the south of the Yangtze River, so why did he come to Chang'an a few days in advance
The guard looked at Xue Yan hesitantly: "Your Majesty, you won't be the one who was called back by His Majesty, right?"
However, Xue Yan did not answer immediately.
He raised his head and looked at the horse, and saw Xue Yan sitting on the horse's back, holding the reins in his hands, his face expressionless.
All you can see is his lips pursed and his jawbone stretched into a sharp blade.
The guard did not dare to speak any more.
Jun Huailang followed and was looking at Xue Yan.
He could see that Xue Yan was holding back, holding back a kind of anger and self-blame.
He and Xue Yan have been on the road for the past few days, and they also have some guesses. The Xu family tried every means to get Qinmenguan's army Chen Bing outside Chang'an City, and the only thing they could do was to rely on heavy troops to force the palace. However, it is easy for them to block Chang'an. If they want to rush into the imperial city, they also need to make arrangements, and it will not be that easy.
No matter how fast it is, it is impossible to complete the plan in a day or two.
Therefore, they have enough time to arrive, and they can also get ready at the Xu family. After tearing up their face with the Qing Ping Emperor, they will suppress the rebels when they attack Chang'an on a large scale.
However, they did not expect that the Xu family would be poisoned.
There is no absolute certainty about poisoning, and no one will do it in the palace, not to mention that the object of poisoning is the emperor.
They didn't expect such a situation at all, and Jun Huailang also knew that Xue Yan blamed himself for this.
He reached out his hand carefully and tugged at Xue Yan's sleeve.
Xue Yan slowed down for half a beat before turning around.
Jun Huailang met his eyes, blinked comfortably, and looked at him quietly.
Xue Yan paused and nodded slightly at him.
The guard waiting in front of the horse didn't see Jun Huailang's subtle movements, but only saw Xue Yan turn around, as if he exchanged glances with the people behind him. Not quite the same.
As a rough general, the defender naturally couldn't see the difference. But he felt that the suffocating King Guangling just now had a dangerous aura that dissipated a lot at once.
The sense of oppression that was pressing him so hard to breathe also disappeared inexplicably.
The guard looked up and saw Xue Yan replied to his words.
"The king knows," he said. "This time back to Beijing, I had expected it, and I came here to deal with this matter. You just make arrangements, and this king will leave immediately."
The guard immediately understood what Xue Yan was going to do.
The emperor was suddenly poisoned, and the fourth prince, who had not even entered the courtroom, was suddenly enthroned on the throne. Even if he is not in Chang'an, he has known for more than a year that the most suitable person to sit in that position, besides the prince in front of him, who else is there
Now, when the prince rushed back to Chang'an, he naturally wanted to take back everything that belonged to him.
The guard's eyes lit up and he hurriedly said: "This subordinate will do it now, the prince just follows the subordinate!"
—
At noon, their group passed through Qin County and arrived outside Chang'an City. Sure enough, walking all the way from a distance, I saw a large number of troops stationed outside the gates of Chang'an.
If you just wait for the time to start, the troops of these armies will definitely gather in one place, not spread out like this.
They stood guard at various city gates, mighty and mighty. Each city gate is tightly closed, and only one corner gate is opened for people to enter and exit. But every person who enters or leaves this city gate will be strictly checked, and their clothes and luggage will also be checked back and forth several times.
Even if there is no problem at all, enough gold and silver will be required to be released.
The garrison seemed extremely arrogant. When they were stationed at Qinmen Pass, they were not very rich, and they didn't have much to fight, and they all lived on that little food and wages.
Now that they are in Chang'an, their general is the son of the illustrious Zuo Prime Minister in Beijing. After all, the fourth prince sitting on the dragon chair is still their general's nephew.
Now, as long as they are stationed outside the city, check the people who come and go, and guard the entire Chang'an into an airtight iron barrel, so that the fourth prince can successfully ascend the throne of the crown prince, then they will have the merit of following the dragon.
After that, aren't they all beckoning to them with the addition of officials and titles and rewards
It is precisely because of this that several camps outside Chang'an City are filled with a proud and proud atmosphere.
Xue Yan and Jun Huailang rode their horses calmly, heading north from the outskirts of Chang'an, and finally stopped near a hill.
Xue Yan reined in his horse, and the group slowed down.
"Arrived?" Jun Huailang asked.
Xue Yan looked forward.
Between the hills in the distance, there was nothing there, but he knew that the Yanyun Iron Cavalry that survived the three-year battle of Yanyun was waiting there.
From the time he can remember, he grew up in the barracks of Yanyun Iron Cavalry.
Yan Yuntie rode black armor and held a black and gold flag. In the vast white snow in Yandi's winter, the black and gold color of the mountains and plains is the scene that Xue Yan has engraved in his memories since he was a child.
He looked sideways at Jun Huailang.
He saw Jun Huailang walking beside him, looking forward, looking for the shadow of the army.
Xue Yan knew that the black-and-gold team that had been silent for three years was quietly dormant in the hills.
A very strange throbbing spread in Xue Yan's heart.
He has lived in no fixed place since he was a child, but now, he has the feeling that he has brought Jun Huailang back to his home.
This feeling made his heart beat wildly involuntarily.
"Stretch out your hand." He suddenly said to Jun Huailang.
Jun Huailang came in without knowing, released the reins with one hand, and passed a hand over.
Across the distance between the two horses, Xue Yan clasped his hand in the palm of his hand.
Jun Huailang was startled and tried to break free.
He struggled a few times, but he didn't break free. Instead, Xue Yan took his hand and rode with him for a while before letting him go with a smile.
Jun Huailang hurriedly retracted his hand, wanting to stare at him, but caught a smile on Xue Yan's face.
The kind of ease that has found belonging is not deceiving.
Jun Huailang took the rebuke to his mouth and took it back.
"... Stop messing around next time." After a while, he whispered.
Xue Yan responded with a smile.
"I'll show you in a moment what my Yanyun Iron Cavalry looks like," he said.
Jun Huailang nodded in agreement, and then spoke out the worries in his heart: "I just saw that only the few gates we passed by are very large in number. In total, their troops should be no less than 100,000."
Xue Yan heard the words and looked back outside Chang'an City.
In the distance, you can see the camp outside the nearest city gate. It was not yet noon, and the camp had already started to fire and cook.
Xue Yan sneered dismissively.
Even if there are three or five times more soldiers who have been reared in Qinmen Pass, what is there to fear
He turned his head and immediately reached out his hand, rubbing Jun Huailang's cheek with his knuckles.
"Not enough to be afraid of," he said.