Taiping Inn

On the third day of the twelfth lunar month, the Imperial Capital.

A team of cavalry arrived at the gate of the Qizhou Guild Hall. These cavalry were certainly not here to arrest Li Xuandu, nor did they have the ability to do so. Instead, they were ceremonial guards, escorting a carriage to invite Li Xuandu to the palace for a banquet. The leader was still Lou Xinqing, an old acquaintance.

The Golden Tent had the Qiexue Army to guard the royal court, while the Wei court had three major camps, including the Five Army Camp, the Three Thousand Camp, and the Shenji Camp, with a total of about 170,000 people.

The Five Army Camps were divided into the Central Army, the Left and Right Wings, and the Left and Right Patrols. In addition to the soldiers from the Imperial Capital Guard, the Xijing Residents and the Qizhou, Zhongzhou, and Jinzhou three military guards took turns to guard and train in the Imperial Capital, which was called the Banjun. Affiliated to the Five Army Camps were the Twelve Camps of the Official Army of the Horse Guards, the Weizi Hand Camp of the Training of the Upper Straight Fork Knife Hands and the Official Army of the Beijing Guards, and the Young Officials and Sheren Camps of Danzhong and Xiaoyi.

The Three Thousand Camp was composed of three thousand cavalrymen, but the actual number of the cavalrymen was more than three thousand, all of whom were cavalrymen. The camp was divided into five divisions, each in charge of the emperor's flags, carriages, weapons, drums, and imperial treasures.

The Shenji Camp was named for its proficiency in firearms and its establishment of a camp for training. It was also divided into the Central Army, the Left and Right Wings, and the Left and Right Sentry. The Central Army was divided into four divisions, and the Wings and Sentry were divided into three divisions each, in charge of firearms such as guns and cannons. The camp also had the Five Thousand Camp, which was in charge of firearms training and the military guards of the cavalry.

Each of the three camps had a supervisor, a military official, and a head officer in charge of the trumpets. Each army and each division had a camp officer, a general officer, a sitting officer, a gun supervisor, a guard, and a badge officer. Later, a military official was ordered to be the prime minister of the three camps.

In normal times, the Five Army Camp practiced camp formations, the Three Thousand Camp practiced sentry patrols, and the Shenji Camp practiced firearms. When the emperor personally led an expedition, the three camps surrounded the emperor's camp, usually the Shenji Camp was outside, the cavalry was in the middle, and the infantry was inside.

During the reign of Emperor Sejong, the Sanqian Camp was renamed the Shenshu Camp, and the names of the three camps, such as Sishaoye, and the eunuchs were abolished. Instead, a general was appointed as the commander-in-chief, called the governor of the military affairs of the Beijing Camp, and a civil official was appointed as the assistant, called the assistant of the military affairs of the Beijing Camp. Under him were deputy counselors and other officials. Ordinary soldiers were all assigned to the Five Military Camps, while the treasure flags and flags were still in the Shenshu Camp. When Xie Zhi came to power, the three camps added eunuchs to monitor the camps, and all camp affairs were under the control of the eunuchs.

At this time, this team of cavalry came from the Shenshu Camp. Compared with the Liaodong Iron Cavalry, these Shenshu Camp, which were responsible for the emperor's reliance and personal guards on weekdays, had red feathers on their helmets and hats, wore gold-embroidered cloaks, and wore long swords on their waists, which made them more majestic and powerful, escorting the carriages to the palace.

The news that Mr. Qingping was going to enter the palace had already spread, and most of the Imperial Capital was paying attention to it. Many people were waiting on both sides of the street early, just to see the true face of the world-famous Mr. Qingping, and to see who he was, who could rise to the top in a few years and become a big man who stirred up the world.

Some people still remembered the Imperial Capital Change of the year, and the Purple Mansion Sword Immortal who had once been a flash in the pan in the Imperial Capital. They couldn't help but feel a lot of emotion, and replayed the old tune of making a comeback or not despising the poor young man.

When the magnificent procession of the Shenshu Camp approached the palace, a young man dressed as a Confucian scholar suddenly rushed out from the side of the road, blocked the road in the street, and shouted loudly: "Liaodong traitor, great treason..."

But before the Confucian scholar could finish his words, the general of the Shenshu Camp who was responsible for the guard had already ridden out, pointed the iron spear in his hand forward, raised the reins, and began to charge slowly.

The horses' hooves stepped on the ground paved with bluestone, making a crisp sound. The cavalry was getting faster and faster, and it was really as powerful as thunder. The Confucian scholar did not dare to resist head-on. At the critical moment, he barely dodged it with a donkey rolling around, looking very embarrassed.

The cavalry commander with good cultivation pulled the reins to stop the horse, pointed the iron spear in his hand at the Confucian scholar, and shouted: "The Queen Mother ordered that the distinguished guest is here, and no one is allowed to obstruct or collide. Violators will be severely punished!"

As soon as these words came out, several Confucian scholars who were still eager to move did not dare to say a word, and could only pull up their companions and leave the crowd in disgrace.

They originally thought that this was the foot of the emperor, and even the famous Mr. Qingping would not dare to act too recklessly. They wanted to take this opportunity to win a reputation, just like an official cheating the court stick, whether he was beaten to death or not, he could "become famous in one battle".

The so-called "court caning" is to publicly beat the ministers' buttocks with a board, supervised by the eunuchs in the inner court. If the supervising officer's toes are spread out in an "outward eight-character" shape, it means "beating with heart", and the person being caned will only have flesh wounds, which looks scary. If the supervising officer stands with his toes closed and in an "inward eight-character" shape, it means "beating hard", and the person being caned will definitely die.

But even so, there are still people who want to cheat the court caning, because the literati and ministers value reputation and hope to be remembered forever, but there are too few people who can leave their names in the glorious history books, and the opportunity to make achievements and be remembered forever is also rare, and the court caning is a shortcut. Pay a little physical pain, be beaten by the emperor, and be recorded in history books, praised for thousands of years, and admired by the world. Not only will you accumulate good reputation and qualifications, but you will also add color to your descendants and bring glory to your ancestors. As long as you are not beaten to death, you will immediately become a celebrity. This business is only profitable, so many people will cheat the court caning.

Generally speaking, they would seize the emperor's faults and make direct remonstrations, or even oppose for the sake of opposing. This behavior is called "selling integrity", which means deliberately showing that they are upright and dare to oppose the emperor. It can also be called seeking fame and reputation.

These scholars also have a similar mentality. They are not instructed by the Confucian school from behind, but for their own selfish reasons, they want to make a fuss about Li Xuandu, and then get a reputation of not fearing power, pleading for the people, and caring about the world. That would be a big profit.

From beginning to end, the carriages heavily guarded by the iron cavalry were indifferent to this and did not move at all.

The horse team slowly entered the palace.

There was no other sound except the sound of horse hooves and axles.

Many onlookers held their breath involuntarily until the horse team went farther and farther away, and the sound of horse hooves gradually disappeared. Only then did everyone feel relieved and slowly dispersed.

Until then, two people, a man and a woman, slowly walked over.

The woman was wearing a palace dress, with a collarless and sleeveless half-length stone blue vest on the outside, and a plain white dress inside. Although there were patterns on it, they were not obvious. There was only lace embroidered on the hem of the skirt as a foot presser. The skirt had six panels, which meant "the skirt dragged six panels of Xiangjiang River water". There were dozens of fine pleats on the waist, and the movement was like water ripples. Each pleat was painted with a color, and the color was very elegant. The wind moved like moonlight, so it was named "Moonlight Skirt".

The man was wearing a black crane cloak, a wide robe with large sleeves, which was far less gorgeous than the woman's clothing.

The two walked slowly, and the woman asked, "Why didn't Miss Qin come to the banquet together?"

The man replied, "Miss Qin has other important matters to attend to and cannot get away."

The two were Li Xuandu and Lou Xinqing.

In theory, the two should have taken a carriage together to enter the palace under the protection of the Shenshu Camp, but Li Xuandu refused, and as a result, Lou Xinqing accompanied Li Xuandu to walk to the palace.

Li Xuandu looked at the distant Wei Gate and asked, "Is there a formation to protect the palace?"

Lou Xinqing was startled and immediately replied, "This... I am not a member of the royal family, so I don't know very well."

Li Xuandu did not ask further and continued to move forward.

After the imperial capital abolished the market system, it was divided into the imperial city, inner city, and outer city, with the central axis as the boundary, in a symmetrical trend.

The main gate of the imperial city is Chengtian Gate, which means "to receive the mandate from heaven". After Chengtian Gate, there is a huge white jade square surrounded by three walls. There is another gate at the southern end of the square. This gate is also called "the first gate of the imperial city". It is a symbol of the national gate. It is just on this central axis. This gate is not allowed to be passed by ordinary people. Only during the national ceremony, the emperor's carriage will pass through this gate. As for the queen, she can only enter the imperial city from this gate during her wedding.

As the "national gate", Dawei Gate is magnificent. There are three pavilions in the middle of the five thresholds facing south, single-eaved hip roof, flying eaves and heavy ridges with black tiles. There are stone lions and dismounting monuments on both sides of the gate. In front of the gate is the imperial road, and on the left of the imperial road is the "Heavenly Street", which looks like a chessboard.

Normally, the main gate is not open, and you can only enter from the side doors on both sides.

The two stopped in front of the gate. Li Xuandu looked up and saw a couplet written by a Confucian master. The upper couplet was: "The sun and the moon shine on the virtue of heaven", and the lower couplet was "The mountains and rivers make the emperor's residence magnificent", which was very appropriate.

"The reason why I didn't take a carriage but walked into the palace on foot was that I wanted to revisit the old place." Li Xuandu suddenly said, "We attacked the imperial city from this gate that year. The former left commander of the Qingluan Guard died outside Chengtian Gate. First, one of his arms was cut off by Tianliang, and then he was besieged to death by more than a dozen Xiantian masters. His bones were shattered and almost like mud. I still remember it vividly."

Lou Xinqing said: "This is why Ding Ce, the 'Great Thunder Hand', came to power later, but even Ding Ce died at the hands of Mr. Qingping."

Li Xuandu laughed and quoted a poem by Emperor Taizu: "Killing millions of soldiers in the south of the Yangtze River, the sword on his waist is still bloody."

Lou Xinqing felt a chill on his back and didn't say anything.

As long as they passed through the side door of the Great Wei Gate, they would officially enter the palace.

At this time, there were many imperial guards in front of the gate. If the two of them took a carriage to enter the palace under the protection of the Shenshu Camp, they would naturally have a smooth journey. But if the two of them walked into the palace, it would be different. They were directly stopped by the imperial guards.

Lou Xinqing frowned slightly, and just as he was about to speak, he saw a eunuch in red walking quickly.

The imperial guards recognized this eunuch. He was the eunuch Gao, the seal holder of the Imperial Horse Administration. In terms of power and status, he was second only to the eunuch Yang, the seal holder of the Imperial Household Department, and the chief eunuch Liu of the Imperial Household Department. If the first two eunuchs corresponded to civil officials, then this eunuch Gao corresponded to military officials and held military power.

All the imperial guards were shocked.

Then they heard this eunuch Gao say in a deep voice: "Welcome Mr. Qingping."

Mr. Qingping?

These imperial guards were both shocked and frightened. Without the need for Eunuch Gao to order them, they had already retreated to the sides with a tactful look, lowering their eyebrows and eyes.

Li Xuandu said "hmm" and continued to move forward, passing through the slightly dim doorway and entering the imperial city.

Chengtian Gate appeared in Li Xuandu's sight.

Li Xuandu whispered to himself: "Finally I'm back again."