Early the next morning, cabinet ministers Liu Jian, Li Dongyang and Xie Qian were ready to enter the palace to see Li Dong. However, as soon as they reached the entrance of the palace, they were stopped by the eunuchs. They were told that the emperor was not working today.
Two words suddenly flashed in the minds of Liu Jian and others, ¡®It¡¯s broken! ¡¯
Soon they got reliable news from the palace: Li Dong had run away last night!
Ran? !
Liu Jian and others' minds were completely confused. They stared at each other blankly, unable to say a word. In the past, this living ancestor would at least make up a lie to fool them, but now he didn't even bother to make up a lie and just ran away.
After a while, Liu Jian finally reacted, slapped the other two people who were also stunned, and shouted:
"What are you doing standing there in a daze! Quickly order your horses to be prepared and we will go after him immediately. We will chase this living ancestor back no matter what!"
Living ancestors! You must not have any surprises. As long as we can bring you back safely, we will never refute whatever you say in the future!
The three old men cursed and swore in their hearts and worshiped all the gods they knew. They were so anxious that they burst into tears. They called a few followers and hurried off to chase Li Dong.
Over there, he was so anxious that he almost jumped off the building, but here, Li Dong was in an unusually happy mood, riding fast and singing loudly. He finally felt the long-lost freedom.
On the way, Li Dong also paid a visit to his old acquaintance Yan Sihai. Yan Sihai's life in the past six months has been full of ups and downs, because his Qingfeng Village is close to the capital, and the Guards are carrying out a dragnet to suppress bandits nearby. One is to train troops, and the other is to improve public security near the capital.
As the biggest bandit leader in the area, Yan Sihai naturally bears the brunt of being severely punished. Facts have proved that no matter how ferocious the gangsters are, they can only stay at the level of gangsters. When they come into contact with the wolf-like and well-trained Guards, they are like Like ice and snow exposed to the sun, it evaporated completely in an instant.
Yan Sihai himself was also captured alive by the Guards. According to the rules, such a bandit leader would naturally have to show his head to the public. However, Zhang Desheng got the news in advance and came to the Guards, risking his old face in the hope of being spared. Naturally, this matter was not allowed. It would be too difficult to handle. The handsome father-in-law came to ask for help. No one would refute his old man's face. Besides, this is really a trivial matter and not worth mentioning. The solution is simple. Just find a substitute among the gangsters and kill him. .
Yan Sihai was released inexplicably. Zhang Desheng felt grateful that he had helped him a lot in the past, so he simply returned the favor this time. Not only did he give Yan Sihai a clean identity in the local area, but he also spent money to help him near Changping. Yan Sihai bought a village for retirement.
Li Dong only found out about this later. Because of Jibu Chuhe's incident, Li Dong also felt that he owed Yan Sihai a favor. Moreover, this man was quite benevolent and righteous. When he was a robber, he never did anything too harmful. , so he didn't plan to go into details. Li Dong also asked Zhang Desheng to send Yan Sihai a lot of money so that he could live comfortably for the rest of his life.
From a martial arts tycoon to a wealthy man in the countryside, Yan Sihai has always been confused by the monk Zhang Er. If it weren't for Zhang Desheng's help this time, he would probably die in prison. While being grateful to Zhang Desheng, he also gradually I am used to the current life, and I no longer have to lick blood with the tip of a knife. Although such a life is peaceful, it makes people feel at ease.
Li Dong's arrival made him very happy. He held a banquet and entertained Li Dong and his party warmly. He could vaguely feel that Zhang Desheng, the son-in-law, seemed to be very capable. Not to mention Li Dongyi's bossy look, Li Dong Why do the five hundred personal guards around him look so much more capable than the guards he has fought against?
They were all high-headed horses, all dressed in bright knight armor. Each of them had a saber on his left waist, a short-handled firecracker hanging from his right waist, and a long-steered firecracker on his back. There were two thick-stemmed firecrackers on the horse, which he could recognize. As for the two small cantaloupe-like things hanging on each person's back, he couldn't recognize them, but he had a feeling. Toys are definitely deadly things. These personal guards were like a mobile arsenal. Zhang Desheng could imagine that even on the battlefield, the enemy would not even be able to get close to Li Dong without thousands of lives.
Who is this Li Dong? How can his bodyguard possess so many firearms? You must know that according to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, fire blunderbuss are prohibited among the people. Wearing them casually can at least lead to a thousand-mile exile! Yan Sihai was puzzled.
Yan Sihai couldn't guess Li Dong's identity, and Li Dong was happy to have such a place to stay next to the capital, so naturally he wouldn't tell the truth. After he arrived at Yan Sihai's Zhuangzi, he didn't leave in a hurry. He stopped and announced gave an order. His order was issued to Zhang Qin, the censor of the Yanqing Guards, and it had only one meaning: to turn the switch on and release the old man.Go out. After all, Li Dong's business is too eye-catching. Even if he wants to pretend to be a merchant, it won't work. After all, the soldiers guarding the gate are not blind. No one dares to let such a group of people enter and exit the city wall at will.
Li Dong asked Du Shaohua to take his gold medal command arrow to the Yanqing Guards. He did not say that he was the emperor, but just lied that he was a member of the Guards who went out on business under the orders of the emperor. In Li Dong's mind, this was a small matter, and the patrol censor Zhang Qin had absolutely no reason to embarrass his team, but what he didn't expect was that people in this era were far smarter than he thought, especially his teacher Wang Shouren. Wang Shouren's wisdom was unmatched by anyone in that era, and Li Dong was playing tricks on him, which was not as good as it was.
At the same time, Wang Shouren also arrived in the capital. He came back much faster than he went because he also felt that there must be something wrong in the capital. Sure enough, he had just entered the city and before he could even breathe, Li Xiang found him. he.
"Sir, the commander has run away!" Li Xiang said anxiously with dark circles under his eyes. It was obvious that he had not slept well in the past two days.
When Wang Shouren heard the news, there was no panic on his face. He smiled slightly, "When did this happen?"
Li Xiang looked up at the sky and thought for a moment, "It's almost thirty hours! The Grand Scholar and the others had chased him out the day before yesterday, but how could their riding skills catch up with the Marshal? Calculated by foot distance, the Marshal at this time We should have passed the Yanqing Guard!" Li Xiang didn't notice Wang Shouren's expression. He was anxious in the past two days. This was the first time he wasn't by Li Dong's side. He regretted very much why he said he didn't support the commander. If he had He nodded, at least now he would be by his side to protect him. At least that would be better than being worried and thinking all day long. "Sir, this is a letter from the commander-in-chief to you!"
Wang Shouren took it and saw that the paint on it was still intact. He smiled bitterly and shook his head. Li Xiang really obeyed Li Dong and did not dare to disobey him in the slightest. If such a big thing happened, if he had acted in a hurry, he would have obeyed his authority and taken the letter. Open it later.
The content of the letter was not much, it just asked Wang Shouren to act according to the plan, and all military affairs of the Guards were decided by Wang Shouren. . .
Wang Shouren carefully folded the letter and put it in his arms, then patted Li Xiang on the shoulder and said firmly, "Don't worry, His Majesty can't leave Yanqing Guard!"
ah? Li Xiang stared at Wang Shouren in disbelief. Could it be that Mr. Wang has foresight?
Wang Shouren smiled slightly, stroked his beard, and looked confident, "Your Majesty has a strong character and will definitely do what he decides. Although I can't guess that Your Majesty will use this method, I know that Your Majesty will definitely do it when he goes to Xuanfu." Passing by the Yanqing Guard, Zhang Qin, the censor of the Yanqing Guard, is a good friend of mine. I have long written to tell him that if anyone wants to leave the border with your majesty's gold medal, he must be a long-lived person, and he must not let your majesty escape! As long as he If you delay His Majesty for two days, the bachelors will surely arrive!"
Li Xiang opened his mouth and looked at Wang Shouren blankly, thinking, could this gentleman be a monster? He actually made arrangements before the commander took action?
Wang Shouren patted the astonished Li Xiang, "Don't worry, and wait for His Majesty's return with peace of mind!"
As Wang Shouren expected, Du Shaohua took Li Dong's gold medal command arrow to see Zhang Qin. Zhang Qin guessed at a glance that the general waiting to be released must be the current emperor.
People who can be friends with Wang Shouren are naturally not ordinary people. Zhang Qin is also extremely smart and does things flawlessly. After he receives the order, he can ignore it, but if Li Dong finds Sun Xi, the general guarding the gate, he will He couldn't get out of the customs there, so he had to persuade Sun Xi. Zhang Qin asked Du Shaohua to wait, but he turned around and found Sun Xi, and told without any secret that the real owner of the order was Li Dong.
"General Sun, what do you think of this matter?"
After hearing the news, Sun Xi felt like five thunderbolts struck his head. His mouth was stuck for a long time but he couldn't make a sound. The emperor wants to run away? Where are you going and what are you running for?
"General Sun" Zhang Qin called Sun Xi softly twice, and Sun Xi came back to his senses.
"Since the emperor has spoken, we have to turn on the switch and let him out. After all, as human ministers, how can we resist and disobey the decree?"
Zhang Qin was silent after hearing this, and Sun Xi breathed a sigh of relief. Just as he was planning to go down and prepare for the ceremony to welcome the emperor, a faint question suddenly came to his ears.
"Are General Sun's parents safe? Do you have wives and concubines? Do you have a family? Do you have any clansmen?"
This was a strange question, and Sun Xi was a little confused. No one jumped out of the cracks in the rocks. How could he not have these relatives and friends? He was about to ask a question when he saw Zhang Qin changed his weak image of a scholar and suddenly changed his face to a fierce one. He grabbed Sun Xi's lapel and said the usual swear words used by warriors: "Brother Sun, don't you understand? Their lives are almost at risk! If you don't turn it on and off, you are disobeying the emperor's order.But if the switch is turned on, if we encounter Mongolian soldiers and cause another incident of civil fortress, you and I will be infamy for eternity, and even you and my tribe will be cut to pieces with thousands of swords, and our families will be confiscated and exterminated! "
Hearing this, Sun Xi sweated immediately.
"Thenwhat do you think we should do?"
Zhang Qin replied firmly, "Never turn it off! If you die, you will die. If you die, you will be immortal and your name will go down in history!"
Sun Xi lowered her head and started cursing in her heart. Who the hell did I provoke? How could I be so unlucky and let me get into this mess? "Now that it has happened, I will do as you say."
Li Dong, who was in Changping, waited until the flowers withered and didn't wait for the switch's reply. He sent someone to find Sun Xi again. Sun Xi pretended to be confused and replied that the censor was the head here. Without his nod, I couldn't say anything. Don't dare. Li Dong was helpless and sent someone to find Zhang Qin again. Zhang Qin was better this time and didn't give him any reply.
Li Dong had no choice but to ask Du Shaohua to find the guarding eunuch Liu Song. He thought that the eunuch should listen to me. Yes, Liu Song was very obedient. He planned to take advantage of someone's unpreparedness and secretly go to Li Dong. After being escorted out of the customs, he successfully reached the checkpoint without anyone stopping him. Just when he was secretly rejoicing, he saw a man sitting at the door with a shining sword in his hand.
Liu Song sweatdropped and smiled carefully.
"Brother Zhang Qin, haven't you rested yet?"
Zhang Qin smiled, shook the sword in his hand, and said only one sentence: "Anyone who leaves the confinement without permission will be shot without mercy!"
In desperation, Li Dong decided not to hide it anymore. Seeing that he had been exposed, he simply conveyed the decree to Zhang Qin in the name of the emperor: turn the switch immediately and let me out!
Zhang Qin was also very direct. He pulled out his sword, pointed at the envoy and shouted, "This is false! I will not obey the imperial edict! Unless you step on my body to get out of confinement!"
Hearing the messenger's cry, Li Dong could only smile bitterly and sigh. He really didn't expect that the gatekeeper would risk his life in order to prevent him from leaving the confinement.
At this moment, Liu Jian and others who were out of breath finally arrived. They looked Li Dong up and down to see that there were no missing parts on this man, and then he put his heart back in his stomach, thinking that he would definitely go back. Burn incense and kowtow to the Buddha. So the three of them took turns kneeling, kowtowing, and crying, saying that we three old guys couldn't afford it anymore, so please come back with us, eldest brother.
With the siege in front and the pursuers behind, Li Dong sighed, feeling so frustrated that he glumly agreed to return to Beijing.
Everyone was completely relieved, returned to guarding the customs, returned to the office, and escaped and ran back to continue being an emperor. Li Dong's first escape was so dramatic.