Chapter 475: The Arrogant Chang'an Jun
Three thousand light cavalry came from the north, passed Gaoque, crossed the Great Wall, and stopped outside the north gate of Jiuyuan City.
The formation of this team does not look like an army, but rather like a caravan. There are several carriages in the middle of the team, and cavalry are surrounding the outside.
But which caravan can afford three thousand cavalry?
Even if we really have the financial resources, we would not dare to spend the money. What else do we want to do by raising so many cavalrymen if not rebellion?
The team did not stop for long, the sun did not move noticeably, and the North City Gate, which had only been seen a few times in the past year, suddenly opened.
Meng Tian, Lord of Jiuyuan, rode out on his horse, jumped off when he was fifty steps away from the team, and trotted all the way to cover the last distance.
When he arrived in front of the rider with silver armor and silver horse, he raised his fist and lowered his head, his voice excited.
"Your servant Meng Tian! I greet Lord Chang'an!"
"Minister? Ha, General Meng's identity changes very quickly."
The man in silver armor was naturally Ying Chengjiao. He chuckled, jumped off his horse, and took Meng Tian's hand.
"Jiuyuan City, do my words count?"
Before the Taotie army set out, Meng Tian withdrew all the Mongolian generals and claimed that he was the lord of Jiuyuan and that no soldier from Jiuyuan City would join the Northern Expedition.
Being personally helped up, Meng Tian should have been happy to see Ying Chengjiao return, but at this moment he was even more nervous than when he didn't see Chang'an Jun.
He lowered his head and did not raise it.
"The whole of Jiuyuan County is decided by Lord Chang'an's words."
The wide-open north gate was deserted. There were no soldiers, let alone civilians, who were even fewer than the soldiers.
Ying Chengjiao knew that this was Meng Tian's way of comforting him.
I, Meng Tian, will come alone to welcome Lord Chang'an. If there is any unusual movement, you can kill me directly!
"Then are you, Meng Tian, considered a person from Jiuyuan County?"
"I will obey the orders of Lord Chang'an."
"Then raise your head."
Meng Tian then raised his head and looked at the face that was called a boy a year and a half ago.
When he accompanied the prince to the Chang'an Jun Mansion to bid farewell, he could never have imagined that the shame of Qin, whom he didn't even bother to look at, would one day become the emperor of Qin and the ruler of the world.
Ying Chengjiao raised his head and looked.
On the city wall, behind each battlement, there were Jiuyuan soldiers holding spears and with serious faces.
He chuckled, then lowered his head and pressed his palms on Meng Tian's shoulders, applying a little force.
"My first order is for you to kneel before me."
There was no etiquette of kneeling in the Qin Empire.
Meng Tian's lips moved, but no words came out.
The strength on the shoulders is not great, less than ten kilograms.
He closed his mouth and lowered his head.
"only."
The autumn sun is not warm, and the sandstorms outside the Great Wall are not pleasant.
The greatest warrior of the Qin Empire, who had guarded the northwestern gate of the Empire and repelled the Huns for 700 miles, knelt down in front of Ying Chengjiao.
The sound of his knee hitting the ground was like pushing a golden mountain or toppling a jade pillar!
Ying Chengjiao nodded with satisfaction and mounted his horse.
When he led the team past Meng Tian, he tapped Meng Tian's face twice on the side with the unsheathed Qin sword on his horse.
"It's 'No'."
On the city wall, the Jiuyuan soldiers who regarded Meng Tian as their faith were all filled with anger, and their seriousness turned into murderous aura.
This is a humiliation, a naked humiliation. The general is His Majesty's playmate and a national treasure, but His Majesty has never asked the general to kneel!
They were unaware of the First Emperor's death and were only waiting for a gesture or a look from the kneeling general to take action against the arrogant and domineering boy!
Meng Tian lowered his head even deeper, as if he wanted to bury it in his chest.
"promise."
The team entered the north city gate, stayed in Jiuyuan for two days, and then continued to move south.
Shangjun, the northwestern barrier of the Qin Empire.
Shangjun in the northwest is to the Qin State what Hangu Pass is to the east.
As long as the Qin Empire does not lose Shangjun, it will always have room to move forward and the northwest will not be in chaos.
On this day, Shangjun welcomed Chang'an Jun.
"Chang'an Jun was arrogant in Jiuyuan and forced General Meng to kneel outside the city gate. He knelt for an hour before getting up. This was clearly aimed at the prince. How could the prince go to greet him in person?"
Chunyu Yue stood in front of his most proud disciple and prevented him from leaving the city gate.
No one told Chunyu Yue that the First Emperor was dead, but he was actually a very smart person. Otherwise, the First Emperor would not have chosen Chunyu Yue as the teacher of his eldest son when there were so many Confucian scholars.
Through careful observation of the personnel movements and military movements in Shangjun, Chunyu Yue came to the conclusion that something big was happening in the Qin State.
And the news that Ying Chengjiao insulted Meng Tian came from Jiuyuan a day ago, which made him boldly guess: His Majesty may be seriously ill, Qin will face a transfer of power, and Chang'an Jun and the prince will compete for the throne!
Otherwise, why would Chang'an Jun, who was always very sensible, take action against General Meng Tian, who had long been under the command of the prince?
"Teacher, that's my uncle."
The prince left these words, asking the soldiers around him to control Chunyu Yue's freedom.
He opened the city gate wide and rode out on horseback, also alone.
He did not see his uncle immediately.
The leader of the team was a man named Liu Bang, who looked like a scoundrel no matter how you looked at him.
Facing the distinguished prince of the Qin Empire, Liu Bang was arrogant. He clicked his ears on the horse and made a gesture of throwing a bullet to the prince.
Looking at the prince who was strictly observing etiquette and asking to see his uncle, he had an uncomfortable smile on his face.
"Hehe, you are such a tactless nephew. Chang'an Jun is giving birth to a brother or sister for you. Why are you asking to see him now?"
In the past, if Ying Fusu, as a gentleman, had heard such provocation with obscene words, he would have drawn his sword and killed the man without hesitation.
He, Ying Fusu, was a kind and righteous man, but he was not a stone man who would not spit on his own.
He was the eldest son of the First Emperor, and his face was the face of the Qin Empire.
After more than a year of experience...
Ying Fusu narrowed his eyes, and his expression made Liu Bang open his eyes wide.
[This expression is too similar to the monarch. Is this really the prince, not the monarch's offspring? Or is the prince the monarch's offspring?]
Ying Fusu drew the Qin sword and chopped Liu Bang on the head!
Liu Bang's forehead was covered with sweat. He drew his sword to meet the attack and blocked it.
[Bang Ke has done everything according to what the Lord has said. Lord, you must protect Bang Ke. You cannot sell him out!]
The two fought together, Ying Fusu only attacked and did not defend, while Liu Bang only defended and did not attack.
Cavalry immediately rushed out from Shangjun, led by Chunyu Yue.
"How dare you assassinate the prince! Kill!"
His face was as gloomy as water, but he was happy in his heart. The opportunity that Confucianism had been waiting for had finally come! All he had to do was wait for the crown prince to take the throne!
The cavalry behind Liu Bang rode slowly on their horses, with their swords drawn, as if they were ready to fight with the prince's army.
On top of the city wall, archers ran quickly to their positions. They were temporarily transferred and so were very slow.
If they had followed Chunyu Yue's advice and had drawn their bows and arrows long ago, and had a wide field of vision, thousands of arrows would have been fired at this moment.
Seeing that a war between the two sides was about to break out, the prince suddenly swung his sword to push Liu Bang away and escape from the battle circle.
He raised his right arm horizontally, the three-foot Qin sword extended his arm, and the five-foot arm was like a dam blocking the flood.
The troops who received the order to move stopped behind the prince's horse and stood still, refusing to attack no matter how Chunyu Yue instigated them.
The archers on the city wall also held bows without arrows.
In Shangjun, the prince has the final say.
"You are such a coward! How dare you insult me! You deserve to be killed!"
There was a strong murderous intent in Ying Fusu's eyes, staring at Liu Bang so hard that he trembled with fear .
Although Liu Bang was outspoken, dared to say anything, and often boasted, before today, Liu Bang never thought that one day he would humiliate the prince in front of him.
Even if he didn't want to live, he still had to consider whether his father, mother, two brothers, one younger brother, and Widow Cao wanted to live.
"Uncle, Fusu wants to see you!"
Ying Fusu shouted loudly, as if he did not want to kill Liu Bang for the sake of his uncle.
Not long after, a sturdy man carrying a huge butcher knife, who made people feel a bloody smell just by looking at him, patted his horse's head and lazily rode to the front of the team.
“Wait!”
Chunyu Yue was furious.
"How dare you! How can the Crown Prince and his subjects exist in this world? Are you planning a rebellion, Lord Chang'an?"
The prince frowned, squinted his eyes and looked into the depths of the team, silent for a moment.
"Teacher, you've talked too much today."
"Prince, this is a public insult."
"Someone! Send the teacher back to the city!"
The two soldiers responded in unison and dragged Chunyu Yue, who was struggling and shouting, "The Lord of Chang'an has evil ambitions and intends to rebel. The prince must not be merciful..." back to the city.
Ying Fusu looked coldly at the smirking Liu Bang and the leisurely Fan Kuai.
"Since it is my uncle's order, I will wait for you."
Anyone could hear the anger hidden in these words. With Ying Fusu as the center, silence began to spread to both sides.
Soon, everyone in the audience fell silent. Even the horses seemed to feel the tense atmosphere and their breathing became quieter.
As the horses' hooves kicked, the noisy sounds of people talking faded away, and the sounds that had been covered up by those sounds came to light.
"Ah... use more force... sir..."
The prince was stunned, and most of the soldiers behind him were also stunned.
They heard the gentle moans of women, and more than one!
The lascivious music came from the center of the team in front of them!
Soon, they heard the "dong dong dong" sound again.
The woman's screams became more and more shrill as the frequency of the "dong dong dong" sound increased, with obvious pleasure and satisfaction in the high notes.
Ying Fusu clenched the Qin sword in his hand, and the soldiers behind him looked at each other with subtle expressions.
Is this Changan Jun? What a playful flower...
An hour later , a carriage drove to the front.
The curtain of the carriage was lifted up by a heroic lady wearing a two-foot sword, whose heroic spirit was greater than her beauty.
Chang'an Jun came out of the carriage.
Her hair was disheveled, her clothes were messy, she reeked of powder, and she walked unsteadily, as if her legs were very weak.
The girl held her hand gently, Ying Chengjiao put one hand on her hand, pinched her face with the other hand, and said with a lewd smile:
"The road back to Xianyang is still long. Next time, I'll have sex with you in the car and taste what it's like to be a female warrior."
The girl blushed and whispered:
"Sir, the prince has been waiting for a long time."
Ying Chengjiao looked impatient and looked up at his nephew who had a very bad complexion.
"What is it?"
The prince swung his sword suddenly, the sound of it breaking through the air was very clear, and the tip of the sword pointed directly at Liu Bang.
"Who is this person? Does uncle recognize him?"
Ying Chengjiao took a glance.
"I am a retainer of mine, my name is Liu Bang, what's wrong with that?"
"I asked to see my uncle, but he spoke filthy words and insulted Fusu here, so he should be beheaded!"
Ying Chengjiao's face darkened.
" Nephew, don't say that. If you say that, three families of others will die."
"Uncle, do you mean that Fusu is talking nonsense?"
"That's right, Liu Bang is just a commoner, how dare he insult you, the prince?"
"This prince has no grudge against him in the past, nor in the present. This is the first time I have seen him. Why would you frame him?"
"Perhaps, it is to give my uncle a warning? To defend Meng Tian?"
Ying Chengjiao sneered.
"Stop talking nonsense. Our Great Qin governs the country according to the law. Everything requires evidence. You said he insulted you. Do you have any evidence?"
When Liu Bang was talking to the prince, the prince came alone and had no soldiers behind him.
The soldiers standing on the six-meter-high city wall had no way of hearing what Liu Bang said unless they had super hearing.
The prince glanced behind Liu Bang and saw the cavalry standing in the front row of Ying Chengjiao's team.
Liu Bang did not deliberately lower his voice when he spoke, and the cavalry in the front row could hear it.
Ying Fusu swung his arm slightly, and the tip of the sword shifted from pointing at Liu Bang to a cavalryman.
"Liu Bang insulted this prince, did you hear it?"
The cavalryman glanced at Ying Chengjiao and saw that Ying Chengjiao shook his head slightly. He smiled and said crisply:
"No."
Ying Fusu's voice was freezing cold.
"Think it over carefully before you speak. According to Qin law, those who harbor others are guilty of crimes. If you lie, I will also exterminate your entire clan!"
The cavalryman shuddered and looked at Ying Chengjiao again. Seeing that his master did not show any reaction, he gritted his teeth.
"What the villain said is the truth."
Ying Fusu looked around the front row of cavalry twice, then his gaze fell back on his uncle.
"Why are you looking at my uncle with such a fierce look? What? Do you want to kill my uncle?"
Ying Chengjiao yawned and waved his arm around the front row of cavalry.
"There are so many people here, keep asking, maybe someone will hear it. Don't give up after asking just one."
The prince sheathed his sword, pulled the reins of his horse, and stood straight.
After being tempered in the Northwest, he completely shed his immaturity and became mature, calm, heroic and courageous.
"Uncle, is this necessary? You and I are both of the Ying surname, and we share the same blood. To insult me is to insult you. Kill this man, and Fusu will welcome you to Shangjun."
Ying Chengjiao's face turned cold.
"Don't talk like I'm bullying you. You are the eldest nephew and you are using your power as the crown prince to pressure your uncle. You didn't find any witnesses and you still want to execute my retainers without any evidence. You are not beheading Liu Bang, you are beheading my face."
Ying Chengjiao turned around and tried to go back to the carriage, but on the way he turned his back and said:
"Send some fine wine and beautiful women, and I'll show that your nephew still has some filial piety. I won't go into the city."
Chang'an Jun's troops passed through Shangjun but did not enter, and continued to move south.
Yongdi, the ancestral land of Qin State, a palace.
Queen Mother Zhao Ji was lying on a thick white tiger skin with her eyes closed, as if she was resting. There were ten floor dragons in the room.
There was charcoal that was always burning, and the underground dragons had become warm dragons. The temperature in the entire palace was not much different from that in summer, and the severe cold outside had nothing to do with the cold inside.
"Chang'an Jun passed Jiuyuan and asked General Meng Tian to kneel outside the city for an hour. Then he arrived outside Shangjun City. The prince personally went to meet Chang'an Jun, but was insulted by his retainers. He drew his sword and killed him in anger. He also fought with Liu Bang, a retainer of Chang'an Jun, on horseback outside Shangjun City..."
A maid was reading softly the news from the northwest.
Before the people from Chang'an arrived in Guanzhong, the news had already spread.
