Leaving Hangu, you will enter the famous Kunhan Road, which connects the Weihe Valley with the eastern Central Plains and is called "ghost sorrow", which shows how difficult and difficult it is. The path is cramped and narrow, and from time to time it leads to high mountains and cliffs, and in case of heavy snowfall, it is even more cut off from transportation, so you can only wait for the snow to melt before you can continue to move forward.

Zhao Bohu's convoy left Hangu at the end of winter and November and headed west, and stayed until the beginning of spring and February of the following year before returning to the outskirts of Hojing. In the Western Zhou Dynasty, people chiseled wood for wheels, and it was difficult to travel from afar, which can be seen.

The royal city of Hojing is in front of you, and the soldiers of Cheng Zhou are the first time to see the royal capital, and they see the city wall that stretches for dozens of miles bathed in the golden morning glow, which is majestic and magnificent. Imagining the wealth and prosperity of the royal city, everyone was eager to ride their horses into the city to enjoy it, and the speed of their march couldn't help but speed up.

But Ji Hu is completely different from everyone's state of mind. The so-called "hometown timidity", when I was thousands of miles away from home, I felt homesick, but when I really wanted to come back, I was drumming in my heart. After all, he ran away willfully, and his father is afraid that he will be severely punished, the queen mother? is also indispensable for a bitter reprimand, maybe you will have to be beaten and grounded in the East Palace for several months. When he thought of this, he was irritable and scared in his heart, like sitting on pins and needles.

Zhao Bohu's mood is similar to him, his father's illness makes him suspenseful, and the closer he gets to home, the more worried he becomes, for fear that there is some bad news waiting for him.

A large number of people stood outside the city gate, and a royal flag embroidered with the word "Zhou" was fiercely waved in the breeze, which was sent by the king of Zhou Yi to greet the prince and the royal envoy in triumph. Ji Hu breathed a sigh of relief, it seems that his father is not going to hit his board anymore.

Suddenly, a sturdy figure left the group of people, ran quickly to the tallest and gorgeous chariot, and shouted: "Your Royal Highness the Prince, the old minister has come to meet you!" ”

As soon as Ji Hu lifted the curtain of the car, it turned out to be the eldest father of Taifu Yu, Xu had not seen him for too long, and when he saw him, he immediately burst into tears: "Your Royal Highness the Prince, you are finally back!" The old minister is suspenseful for you day and night, now it's okay, and I'm back safely------"

Ji Hu's heart was hot, he jumped out of the car to help Elder Ji's father, lowered his head and said, "Taifu, it's my fault that the student made you worry!" ”

"It's good to be back, it's good to be back!" The eldest father shook his beard and said, "The old minister has just returned from the north, and I heard that the prince is returning today, so I came to greet him!" ”

"Okay, Duke Yu, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has returned triumphantly, what kind of system have you become like this?" Zhou Gongding walked over slowly and saluted Ji Hu Shen: "The king ordered me to come to greet the prince, first enter the Taimiao Temple to tell the ancestors the news of victory, and then enter the palace to meet him." ”

"Are my father and queen mother all right?" Ji Hu asked.

"It's all good. The king was supposed to come to greet the prince in person, but unfortunately the second prince was sick and had to come------ oh, it is the son of Ji Jiang Niangniang, and the prince has a younger brother! Zhou Gongding hurriedly replied.

Ji Hu's expression moved slightly, and he let out a subtle "um". Zhao Bohu slowly got down from the second carriage, bowed to Duke Yu and Duke Zhou, and asked, "Two uncles, do you know that my father is okay?" ”

Yu Gong's face was embarrassed: "This ------ I just returned to Hojing, and I didn't have time to visit." He glanced at Zhou Gong, who understood, and immediately answered: "Lord Zhaogong has been in trouble for a long time, and the king has sent several doctors from the palace to take a look, but there is still no improvement. I've also visited, and Lord Zhaogong can't even get out of bed, so Childe should go back and have a look as soon as possible------"

Zhao Bohu felt that his whole heart sank, and he hurriedly said goodbye to Ji Hu, urging the coachman to gallop towards the city quickly------

In the early spring, the city of Hokyo was a bustling scene, and some of the willow branches in the streets and alleys had begun to spit out new green teeth, and the Jews were swaying in the wind like maidens dancing in green veils. In the afternoon, the two sides of the hundred-foot-wide avenue were crowded with people watching the excitement, and the people gathered together to discuss the just-concluded ceremony of the great victory and sacrifice of prisoners. Since the time of King Mu of Zhou, the war with the state of Chu was the most fruitful.

Dressed in red clothes and black armor, Sergeant Cheng Zhou is the protagonist of the day, and when they escort the captives to parade through the streets, the common people all raise their arms and shout: "The Zhou army is mighty!" Zhou Gongding's Zhujie sugar cakes distributed along the street were passed by a pair of hands, and people excitedly took a bite of the cake and said: "This is also eating Chuzi meat!" ”

However, people did not know that the real backbone of this southern expedition did not appear in Xianjie's procession, but drove directly into a quiet mansion in a chariot to visit his terminally ill father.

When Zhao Bohu saw his father's first sight, he couldn't believe his eyes, and in less than a year, his father had changed from a slightly chubby middle-aged man to a thin and dry old man, with a scorched complexion and a gray beard that was as dry as unkempt dead grass. He "pounced" and knelt in front of his father's sickbed, tears raining down: "Father, the unfilial son Tiger is back." Why are you so sick? Father ------"

When Zhaogong saw his eldest son, a glimmer of surprise and relief flashed in his eyes, and he motioned for his son to sit in front of the couch with a trembling dry hand, and said with his strength: "Hu'er, you are victorious and still in court, and you can't help but rejoice for your father." Don't be sad, the destiny of heaven has its own fixed number, and the father knows it in his heart. The reason why I have worked hard until now is that I have something to entrust to you. ”

"The father must recuperate in peace and quiet, and leave everything to his son, and don't worry about it anymore."

Zhao Ming's second son leaned on the couch railing, closed his eyes and thought for a while, then tried to open his eyes and said, "Did the prince know about the 'Fengshui Sinking Baby' back then?" ”

"The son has not told it, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince should not know." Zhao Bohu didn't know why his father suddenly mentioned this matter.

"Alas-" Zhao Gong sighed: "After the prince decided to go south with you, after the queen consulted with the king, she decided to pretend to be disobedient to the outside world, which angered the king and was punished and grounded in the East Palace. didn't want this matter to get out, someone turned out the incident of 'Fengshui Sinking Baby' back then, saying that the prince argued with the king because he knew the truth of the year, and then angered the king. The more this matter spreads, the more evil it becomes, after Ji Jiang Niangniang gave birth to a child, many people said that the king would abolish the queen and the crown prince, and set up the second prince Shangfu as the heir. ”

Zhao Bohu was very surprised: "There is such a thing? He didn't expect that this year in the capital city of Pickaxe would also be so undercurrent.

"The queen secretly ordered me to find out the source of the rumor, which was very difficult in the first place, because the matter of that year was also known to the whole country. But by chance, I still found that the doorman in Zhou Gongding's mansion seemed to be intent on spreading rumors, so I kept my mind. This rumor spread so much that it finally angered the king, and he caught dozens of broken mouths in the city, and the queen disposed of some people in the palace, and then he barely suppressed it. ”

"Zhou Gong Ji Ding?" Although Zhao Bohu had a premonition, he still felt a little surprised when he heard this name: "He is the prince of the country, and he should spare no effort for the stability of the society, why do you want to do what you do here?" ”

"Hu'er, people are selfish. After all, he is deeply tied to the interests of King Xianxiao, and it is impossible to completely gain the credit of the king, do you understand? Zhao Gong continued: "After learning that you were assassinated in Tonglu Mountain, I also sent someone to Qi to contact the Gao family, and learned that Wang Zihui was not at peace in Yingqiu, and recruited dead soldiers everywhere. And just as you sent out the letter valley, you just sent a dozen people to the south, is this a coincidence? ”