In the third year of Hatsuhei, Ueya-gun, the last day of July.

The weather is still hot.

After returning from the Xiongnu and Xianbei, Gongsun Zhi was originally going to the court to reward the generals under his command, and learned in the mouth of the sour Confucian that the emperor was going to move to Luoyang, and he was still on the way.

Of course, if Han Long's assassination was successful, then there would not be such a situation again...... As for whether he wants to join in this excitement, obviously not, on the fourth watch, Gongsun Zhi will not be able to continue to sleep peacefully, after getting up, dressed and washed under the service of the maid, and then waved weapons in the courtyard to boil his body, before going to breakfast, and Li Ru and Dongfang Sheng who rushed to the study to discuss the appointment of officials, army transfers, and the deployment of Yanmen Juyong for the five counties on the northern border...... And so on, and so on, and the future situation will be determined in his hands in these months.

After that, the three of them went out, drove through the quiet streets in the early morning in a carriage, went out of the city gate, and turned to the workshop opened by the government, before they stopped, Gongsun stopped the car, and the rest of the people came over, and followed him across the gate of the independent courtyard, when a heat wave rushed towards him, the vision unfolded in front of him, the rows of furnaces were burning vigorously, and the temperature inside was even hotter, and the air could be vaguely seen distorted, and the figures with naked bodies around them came and went, or waved their arms on the anvil to hit the red and unformed knife embryos, and the ears were full of tinkling and clanging sounds.

"The carpenter Chen who was with me back then, I heard that he was also in this workshop?"

Gongsun stopped looking at the blackened furnace, and a blacksmith took it out with a long red-hot strip, and while his thick arm smashed and splashed sparks, he said a word, and continued to walk with the sour Ru.

The choking smell here made Dongfang Sheng cough several times in a row, wiped the corners of his mouth, and pointed forward: "Carpenter Chen was arranged to do the work order here, and the wooden stirrups that the leader wants to make are completed in his hands." ”

Carpenter Chen's name is Tian Wang, he was among the first people to be rescued by the white wolf, and with Gongsun Zhi from the grassland to Jizhou, he came to Shanggu County to settle down, and the first wolf throat was carved out in the hands of this person, strictly speaking, he is an old man under Gongsun Zhi.

As the footsteps advanced, a man in his forties in the distance showed his sturdy upper body and came over, and the surrounding wolf riders did not step forward to stop him, but someone greeted each other, the man was full of beard, shook the stirrup in his hand, and said hello, that is, he came to greet Gongsun Zhi.

Here, Gongsun Zhizheng took down a ring head knife that had not yet opened from the finished weapon rack, smashed it on the stone pillar, and shook his head: "Hard enough, but not tough enough, fight a few times on the battlefield, it must be broken, this batch of weapons is best to be checked again, but if you don't pass it, take it back and recast it, the weapons and armor are not good, you are harming the lives of the soldiers." ”

Chen Tianwang carefully took the knife, handed it to the blacksmith next to him, and kicked the other party's buttocks: "Last time, let you lazy people check it more, take a look, let the leader find out, shame on me!" Take all the weapons off the rack and take a good inventory. ”

"Alright, don't pretend." For the old people in the past, Gongsun Zhi was probably tolerant, beckoned him to follow, and said as he walked: "How are you doing now?" ”

"Good! Good! Chen Tianwang wiped the sweat on his head, and his face was full of smiles: "....... Thanks to the leader, the old people at the beginning were doing well, I accepted a door this year, gave birth to a son, I originally wanted to invite the leader to eat the full moon wine, but unfortunately there was an accident in the clouds......"

Gongsun Zhi patted him with a smile, and he didn't dislike the sweat stains on the other party's body, and said with a smile: "It doesn't matter if you eat or not, just get your mind, you can live well, so cherish it, you are now in charge of weapons and armor, you can't make mistakes, if you let the soldiers go to the battlefield with inferior weapons, I will kill your head." ”

The carpenter, who was two steps slower, nodded again and again, smiled flatteringly, and handed over the stirrup in his hand, stopped in the backyard, Chen Tianwang bowed down and went to the shelf over there to take the same stirrup, "Chief, this is what you ordered, all of them are made by Lao Chen himself, and then you only need to call the craftsmen to make them overnight according to the sample, and at least half of the cavalry under the leader's command can be loaded in a few months." ”

"There's no need to rush this, you have a few years to do it." Gongsun Zhi played with the wooden stirrup in his hand, not that he didn't want to use iron stirrups, but that the north was indeed barren and iron ore was scarce.

Chen Tianwang then took a few other things and showed them to Gongsun Zhi, a leather armor spread out on the desk, as if touching some treasure, rubbing it against the armor that looked thick, and turned around with a smile.

"Chief, this is something that Lao Chen's mother-in-law unexpectedly thought, look inside."

Gongsun Zhi looked at him with a smug smile, stepped forward to take a look, the other party opened the upper neckline, revealing a piece of plush, Chen Tianwang rubbed his hands: "How is the leader?" Our northland can freeze to death in the winter, and my mother-in-law is a person who is afraid of the cold, no matter how much she spreads, it is useless, and then she suddenly wants to sew wool into her dress...... Hey...... Lao Chen also patted his head and thought that if our soldiers put a layer of warm wool in their cold armor, shoes, and pants, they might be able to fight in winter. ”

"That's a good idea." Dongfang Sheng nodded.

Putting down the leather armor, Chen Tianwang patted his chest, as if offering a treasure, he cited many ideas, and when he was chattering, the sky was already slightly white, and the birds flew over the faint sky in the morning.

“.…… The horseshoe that the leader wanted has piled up a lot now......."

"Change one day, Lao Chen simply made winter clothes for the war horse...... Even if you travel far away in heavy snow, it's okay to say that you can't say it. ”

……

As he spoke, Gongsun Zhi raised his head, and there were white clouds in the sky, and it was a sunny and good weather.

**********************

"Hurry up! Speed up—"

The horse's hooves trampled on the earth, Xiahoudun led a thousand cavalry, running on the official road to Luoyang, early in the morning, he received the decision of the eldest brother Cao Cao's final consideration, and ordered the soldiers and horses as the vanguard to open the way in front.

At this time, the sky is already bright, there are still more than a hundred miles away from Luoyang, as for where His Majesty's imperial chariot goes, it is not yet known, he kept urging the soldiers and horses to speed up on horseback, and soon after, there was a scout sent first on the road ahead to come back and hand him the news, Xiahoudun's face changed suddenly.

Guo Yan and Li Dao repented and pursued Emperor Liu Xie again. Then, the Iron Rider ran wild again.

In the afternoon, the sun was skewed, and the shouts of killing faded away after Huayin passed.

The wheels undulated on the official road.

Bang –

Bang Bang –

On the official road, the wheels rotated wildly, crushed over the uneven potholes and stones, bumped and bumped, the carriage was also shaking, the wooden inlay position was creaking under the violent shaking, and the man named Dong Cheng drove the car and kept looking behind, holding the whip and whipping the horse's buttocks.

"This place is not far from Luoyang, Your Majesty must not worry, even if Weichen risks his life, he will ensure that His Majesty and the Queen are safe." He whipped another whip and yelled into the carriage.

Pedal Pedal –

There were hundreds of palace guards around the carriage, and Ren Hongchang was also among them, his fiery cloak had broken several openings, and his face was also stained with blood, which was quite embarrassing. In the past, after they crossed Huayin, they were pursued by the repentant Li Dao, Guo Yan and Zhang Ji, and several troops and horses that originally guarded Luan were defeated by the Xiliang army, Yang Ding was defeated and fled south to Jingzhou, Yang Feng, Li Le, Hu Cai and others of the Baibo Army were killed and scattered, and the east stream went to Shaanxi County, more than 40 miles, all the way was full of fighting, continuous, the corpses were spread out along the way, and most of the maids and eunuchs in the palace escaped or were killed and insulted by the Xiliang soldiers.

In this battle, the ministers of the DPRK and China also suffered a lot of casualties, just what Ren Hongchang saw, such as Guangluxun Deng Yuan, Tingwei Xuanfan, Shaofu Tianfen, and Dasi Nong Zhang Yi. Four high-ranking officials like Jiuqing died, and the others can be imagined, and the rest still don't know where they are.

In the carriage, two thin figures leaning on each other, Liu Xie shrunk under the wide imperial robe and trembled, although his immature face was afraid, his arms were still around the queen Fu Shou, who was one year younger than him, his lips trembled, but he gently patted comfortingly: "Don't be afraid...... Unafraid...... I'm not afraid, Dong Cheng said that he was going to Luoyang soon...... It is the former capital of the first emperor, and it will be good to come together. ”

"Your Majesty......"

Leaning on the thin shoulders, the phoenix was shaking, the girl's beautiful eyebrows frowned faintly, looking at herself being scared but still comforting her, Bei Yan bit her red lips lightly, her heart was horizontal, her slender hand gently pushed the other party away, got up and crawled out of the car.

"Queen...... Queen, what do you do, you will fall, come back! Liu Xie rushed forward, stretched out his hand to grab the girl who was already half of her body outside the car, and struggled to pull the other party back.

Fu Shoujuan sat on the ground, with tears in his eyes, and shook his head: "Your Majesty, don't stop Zitong...... Let Zitong get out of the car and reduce the weight, so that His Majesty can stay away from Guo and Li as soon as possible. ”

She was in a mood swing and spoke intermittently, and Liu Xie also cried and shook his head.

"I don't care, anyone in the world can die, but you can't leave me...... When I was in Chang'an, I was bullied by Guo and Li's two thieves, and you were all by my side......" He took a deep breath, wiped away his tears, and hugged his wife: "....... Only you are the one who is good to me. ”

Fu Shou also hugged him and cried.

**********************

In the afternoon, the sun is slanting in the west.

Gongsun Zhi inspected the completion workshop, and went to the white wolf cavalry camp with Li Ru and others, the soldiers were practicing horse control, galloping on the huge school field, and Zhao Yun came over from the high platform with a few personal soldiers.

"The last general has seen the lord!"

"Your cavalry has just been formed, how is the training?" Gongsun Zhi walked around the school field with his hands behind his back, turned his head, and looked at the recruits running on the school field.

Zhao Yun walked behind respectfully and bowed his hand: "It's all okay, led by hundreds of people drawn from the wolf horse, and most of the soldiers are still following." ”

"In a few more days, when the stirrups are ready, give priority to assembling your cavalry." Gongsun Zhi turned his head sideways, whispered, and then joked: "....... I am not allowed to tell other generals, lest they come to my house and make trouble. ”

"Yes!" Zhao Yun also laughed.

"It's good to know how to laugh, Brother Ling's matter is over." Gongsun Zhi patted him on the shoulder and waved his hand: "Okay, you continue to train the soldiers, and I will take Sour Ru and Wen You to look at the back of the camp." ”

Zhao Yun retreated and left, this side went around the path of the school field to the back, the barracks of the white wolf ride was probably not enough, the captured Roman auxiliaries were sweating and digging the foundation, or transporting wooden beams to carry up the wall to build, and the soldiers who supervised the work around him beat the figure who wanted to be lazy from time to time, "Don't rub it, hurry up and carry it over!" From time to time, I would scold a few times, but the other party didn't understand it.

"Dongfang, Wenyou, when do you think Han Long will make a move?" Gongsun Zhi's eyes swept over the large number of figures shuttling on the hot construction site, and the two of them looked at each other behind him, not knowing how to answer.

"That His Majesty has returned to the east, and all the princes have gone to join in the fun, all they want is a reward...... But if His Majesty suddenly dies in front of them...... I'd love to see what these people look like. ”

He looked at the twilight in the west with his hands, and his eyes narrowed: "....... Especially the two people who want to get rid of me by the emperor's hand...... What kind of hysteria will it be? ”

His lips opened slightly, and he licked his chapped lips, and the remnants of the sun were like blood.

………

The dilapidated city of Luoyang looked bleak in the afterglow of the setting sun.

The residual red light sprinkled on the broken palace wall, the black marks of the fire were still climbing on it, the palace road made of white bricks was full of wild grass, Liu Xie held Fu Shou's little hand and stood at the palace gate, the field of vision was barren, he sat down with the stone steps, tears fell again, and some people looked at the resting figures around.

"All the generals came to meet me, but none of them really cared about me, and they were all thinking about what benefits they could get from me." Liu Xie clenched his fists and slammed them on his knees, and the attendants and queens around him grabbed him, and said in a voice: "When I regain the imperial power, I must restore the majesty of my Han family...... Certain! ”

……

Outside the city.

Playing the banner of the word Xiahou, the iron hooves have entered the scope of Luoyang City, and can already see the outline of the city, under the four fields, the people are withered, except for the remnants of the house, there is no human figure for a long time, but the general on horseback, his heart suddenly panicked, knowing that the emperor has entered the city, he is still uneasy in his heart, a moment later, to the city, I saw that the ministers of the court and the central government were all ragged looking for firewood outside the door, or looking for some grass roots and wild vegetables in the field.

Hearing the sound of horses' hooves, they raised their unkempt heads, and when they saw Cao Zi's soldiers and horses coming, their eyes were wet marks, and they ran towards the city. Yanzhou Cao Cao's reinforcements are coming—"

Tears fell.

Xiahoudun stopped the cavalry, blocked the streets first, guarded the city gate, and the 50,000 Yanzhou soldiers and horses in the rear were also arriving one after another, Cao Cao rode in front of the team, looked at the city gate in front of him, and was silent for a while, and soon after, he entered the city with thousands of people.

The entrance is overgrown with weeds, and the lively and peaceful streets where pedestrians come and go, are gone.

This is Luoyang......

Not far away, there is still a majestic palace wall, still standing there.

……

Under the palace wall, Ren Hongchang looked for clear water to wash away the filth on his face, and took two female guards to the side of His Majesty who was crying, the red light leaned on the figure on the stone steps, and was obliquely reflected on the ground, and the surroundings seemed quiet, only Liu Xie's words sounded in the wind. The woman also stood there quietly, listening to the other party's grand wish.

Then, closing her eyes, in the process of closing her eyes, among the people who were resting in the afterglow, a figure was slowly standing up in the light, she felt that she might want to move, and she didn't pay too much attention to it, after all, she was also very tired.

Over there, the figure walked lightly past the crowd of squatting or sitting, approaching the back of the stone steps step by step, and inserting his hand into the cuff.

……

Outside the palace gate, the horse's hooves galloped down the street like raindrops, and among the down-and-out courtiers, someone followed the side of the war horse and shouted: "Your Majesty, reinforcements are coming!" The soldiers and horses of Yanzhou have come to meet them—"

……

The gentle pace was quickening, and the dagger pulled out its cuffs, and the edge was bloodthirsty.

……

Heard the sound of help coming.

Liu Xie turned his head and looked behind him. Ren Hongchang, who was resting on the stone pillar, also opened his eyes, and the people around him looked towards the palace gate.

……

When the woman saw the figure approaching behind Liu Xie, her entire hair stood up, and she opened her mouth and took a step. The young emperor looked at the shadow in front of him and stood at a distance, and his voice hesitated: "You ......"

……

Far north.

Gongsun Zhi put down his hand and watched the last touch of afterglow set, he turned his head and said with a smile to the two people behind him: "Let's go......"

……

A sharp edge pierced into the young body, pulling out the ...... Thorn ...... again Pull...... Blood splattered all over the ground. Ren Hongchang opened his mouth wide, his extremely beautiful face twisted, and he held his head with both hands, looking at the fallen figure.

"Ahh

To the west, the sun has also set.