Chapter 694 The Last Late Autumn
The Western Expeditionary Army returned. The front army entered Yanjing, but the rear army was still in Xirong Grassland.
But right now, both inside and outside Yanjing, or the entire Yanzhou, are in an extremely lively atmosphere on this day.
The streets and alleys are full of people, the vendors selling food, looking at the food in the steamers and pots constantly decreasing, their faces are smiling so hard that they can hardly return to their original shape.
There are still many people crowding around the streets from other directions in the city. The already autumn weather is now even hotter.
There were densely packed figures, heads raised in anticipation, staring in the direction of the south city gate.
"When will we enter the city?"
"It should be soon. All the civil and military officials and the queen and prince are also outside the city. Your Majesty will definitely say a few words when he comes back."
“I heard that we also sacrificed many soldiers.”
“There are no undead people in a war... Alas, I just don’t know whose house is going to hang white flags.”
"However, if you can kill the emperor of the Western barbarians, your death is not in vain."
"That's what I think."
The northern capital is the military and political center, but it is not The limit has not been reached, and the vast land is still the basis for city expansion.
In the next ten years, it may exceed the giant cities of Luyang in the Central Plains and Shengkang in Wuzhou.
After the development of Zhuge Liang, Xun Yu, and now Di Renjie, the foundation of Yanzhou in the north has gradually surpassed the two giant cities in terms of business, trade and population in the nearly three years since Su Chen left.
The prosperous trade has driven merchants in the North, and a large number of shops, restaurants, wine shops, and workshops outside the city have expanded at an alarming rate.
The news of the triumphant victory of the Western Expedition spread three days in advance. Almost everyone in the city was in motion before dawn today.
The new Jingzhao Yin Zhao Sutang sent all 1,000 government officials and policemen to the streets to maintain order, and even transferred a group of people to the Ministry of Punishment to help.
The streets in the south of the city were barely in chaos.
However, one or two thousand government officials and police officers are still not enough in front of a sea of people.
In the capital of a country, there is always a shortage of wealthy families and dignitaries. The relatives of the family had already sent servants to book private rooms in restaurants and teahouses on both sides of the streets in the south of the city.
Then the host invites a few good friends to cook a pot of wine or make tea cakes, and then chat with friends about rare Western things they have heard about.
......
Compared with the noisy streets in the city, outside the southern city gate, armies were rising and rising, and they were gathering along the official road in Longyang County.
The soldiers and horses arriving at the city gate now gave way to the heroes who died in the battle, and let the comrades holding the urn in their hands go first. They entered the city first, then went out of the east gate to the Monument Forest to hand over to their families, and then handed them over to their families. His names are carved one by one and worshiped in the forest of steles.
The people in the city first made a noise: "Entering the city!!"
The noise then became quiet again, and countless figures and eyes fell on the urn in the arms of the soldiers whose armor was mottled with knife marks.
The last time the emperor conquered the Japanese pirates in the East China Sea and made a triumphant return, he also allowed the bones of the fallen soldiers to go first.
The queue carrying the urn was very long this time, coming in from the south gate in three columns. After several streets, we still didn’t see the end of the queue.
Amidst the silence, there was a sudden buzzing noise.
"How many soldiers have died?"
"At least 50,000 or 60,000?"
"Nonsense, your Majesty has five elite divisions with only over 100,000 people. If five are killed, Sixty thousand, how powerful must the Western bandits be?”
“Perhaps Your Majesty has included the Xirong people, the Shengnu people, the Qiang people from Xiliang, and the Vietnamese soldiers from the south. "
"There are some dead from each tribe, so we can make up this number, otherwise we will all have elite soldiers, and this battle will not be fought. "
After a while, the procession carrying the coffin ended in silence. Amidst the murmurs, the people on the street heard the sound of neat and heavy footsteps coming from the street beyond the city gate.
The sun pours down.
Countless sights intertwined, and the black tide poured into the city and swayed on the streets.
There were three long dragon-like teams, and with heavy footsteps, the armor leaves made a clanking sound under the leather jackets.
Bingzhou, Yizhou, Qingzhou, Youyan, Tang Army and Qin Army wore different armors, carried shields, and hung swords around their waists. The soldiers looked straight ahead with solemn expressions, walking straight away from the sight of the people. Imperial City.
After experiencing the non-stop fighting in the West, every soldier was filled with murderous aura, which made the people watching the excitement breathless.
There are also those who are not afraid. A girl in the crowd waved to the soldier who was about to walk in front of her: "Brother! I will take leave tomorrow and go home. Mom has cooked some delicious food for you!"
In the team , the young soldier who was looking intently could not help but squint his eyes, and when he saw the girl shouting to him, the corner of his mouth couldn't help but curl up.
The number of soldiers and horses entering the city was less than one battalion. The rest of the soldiers returned to the military camp to rest and recuperate. Some soldiers with special circumstances were even given quick leave, such as young couples who had not seen each other for a long time.
Others will gradually approve leave after the first ones return, allowing soldiers to go home in rotation to visit their relatives.
Soon, the carriage entered the imperial city. Su Chen suddenly called to the soldiers driving the carriage and stopped the carriage. Under the confused gaze of the queen next to him, Su Chen walked out and asked Wu Zixun to send a message to the soldiers following behind.
"There will be a court meeting in three days. Let's all go back and have a good rest."
"I also need to have a good rest for a few days." Su Chen turned around and said to Su Chen, who was about to follow him into the palace. : "There's no need for Chen'er to follow."
Su Chen glanced at his mother and politely handed over her hands. He originally wanted to tell his father about the capture of the rebels and get his father's praise. By the way, I still want to recommend General Yue to my father. It's a pity that my father must have been tired after nearly three years of fighting.
"Father, please leave first." Rao was a young man, but with figures like Yue Fei and Xun Yu teaching him, and considering the previous attacks, Su Chen was obviously much more mature, like a little adult.
The generals behind him naturally understood that Su Chen was also a human being and needed to rub elbows with the person next to him.
Everyone smiled, then said goodbye, and they dispersed together. Some simply went straight to the restaurant, while more returned to their respective mansions.
The Xiang Mansion in the city is quiet and pleasant. The hot sunlight passes through the window lattice and shines into the room through the gaps.
Amidst the annoying chirping of cicadas, Yu Ji hummed a southern tune and fanned a cattail leaf fan for a two-year-old child in the crib.
A maid's voice suddenly sounded outside: "Madam, the general is back."
The hand shaking the cattail leaf fan shook, and Yu Ji stood up slowly, and the fan unconsciously fell to her feet. She reacted, He slightly lifted his skirt and walked out of the bedroom quickly.
She stood under the eaves and looked ahead dreamily.
At the Crescent Moon Gate entering the backyard, a familiar figure wearing a bun, holding a broken city halberd, and leading a black horse was grinning at her.
Yu Ji raised the back of her hand to wipe the tears that slid down her cheeks, laughed with the man, and said softly in a slightly choked voice: "Your Majesty... you rode Wu Zhui into the backyard again."< br>
Still as gentle as before.
......
The atmosphere in Yanbo Tower was strange. Several women turned pale with fright, and were subsequently kicked out of the room.
“It’s better for women to stay at home and stay away from outsiders. Come on, let’s drink first!”
Zhang Fei pulled Guo Jia, called Li Bai and rushed into the nearest restaurant to catch up. The prostitute called by the two men left and asked the madam to bring ten jars of good wine.
The miserable Li Bai and Guo Jia could only be forced to drink wine by the black man in front of them.
“No one comes to a brothel just to drink!”
The madam complained in her heart, but she didn’t dare to say it out loud.
......
On the long street, Zhao Yun and Guan Yu returned to their mansions respectively. He was a clean and tidy man. He did not have many servants at home, and there were not many luxurious furnishings in the mansion. He only had his wife in the backyard. There, there is a dressing table made of fine wood.
Pushing open the door of the bedroom, a figure rushed towards him, wrapped his arms around Zhao Yun's neck, and hung on him.
Another good fight!
......
In the Lu Mansion, Lu Bu asked his wife to take off his armor. He happily picked up his son, called Lu Lingqi who was sitting on the guardrail dangling her feet, and then took him Yan's hand.
“Let’s go, my husband will take you for a walk on the street and watch the Western Expeditionary Army enter the city!”
Lu Lingqi made a face on the guardrail: "We have all seen with mother..." Before she could finish her words, she suddenly jumped to the ground, took her mother's arm, and pushed Yan to her father: "My daughter is taking care of her younger brother at home. Mom, go out for a walk with your father.”
“Ghost Clever!”
The battlefield killer smiled softly and tapped Lu Lingqi on the forehead. But then, the family neatly walked out of the house and took a carriage to go shopping in the most prosperous West Market in Yanjing. I heard that there would be a lantern festival there at night.
……
The back garden of the palace.
Li Wangqiu held her handkerchief and walked back and forth outside her junior sister's queen's palace countless times. When it came to how deep her relationship was with Su Chen, it wasn't necessarily true, but she wanted the man for sure.
The sound in the bedroom is a bit quiet, I don’t know what is going on.
So she was even more anxious.
A few wisps of cool breeze occasionally blew in the corridor and squeezed into the gap between the slightly closed window lattice, and the quiet candlelight swayed gently in the room.
Fang Xuejun, who took off her cumbersome phoenix robe, took the warm water from the hand of the palace maid, and gently placed the basin beside the bed. She blinked her eyelashes and looked at lying on the dragon bed with her eyes closed and meditating. man.
Then he wrung out the towel and wiped his face, neck, and hands, then gently took off his boots and washed Su Chen's feet.
The maids should have done this, but Fang Xuejun refused to let them come.
After doing all this, I took a pair of small scissors to trim the messy beard of my sleeping husband.
Occasionally, the weak and white hand stopped. Fang Xuejun looked at it blankly for a while, and then gently pulled out a few white hairs from his beard.
She trimmed her husband's beard and bun. There were already a lot of white hair and beard in her hands. For some reason, Fang Xuejun's nose felt a little sore.
"Your Majesty, do you have to do everything by yourself? Do you have to do it all by yourself? It must be hard to fight outside..."
Looking at the Emperor's Armor that was thrown on the ground, he touched it with his fingers. There were traces of the sword slashing, his lips trembled slightly, and tears fell on the nail leaves with a sound.
Su Chen was lying there on the dragon bed, already asleep from exhaustion.
I know...I know...
Outside the window, the withered cypress leaves are falling from the branches. This is the last late autumn.
(End of this chapter)