The north wind was howling, the sun was setting, and Lou Yunchun, dressed in ceremonial clothes, stood high on the altar, looking imposing.
The captain guarding Tingzhou and all the soldiers knelt on the ground, not daring to speak.
"Tingzhou Guards, receive the order."
"I dare not..." the lieutenant said, sweating profusely. "Please wait a moment, Your Excellency. The Grand Protector will be here shortly."
"Not accepting it will be considered as refusing the order." Lou Yunchun glanced at the city guards at his feet and asked in a low voice, "To accept it or not?"
The captain had no choice but to bite the bullet and said in a trembling voice, "I, your humble general... will take your place, the Grand Protector General, to receive your order."
Lou Yunchun read out the imperial edict.
"I have received the order from the Emperor: Beiting Jiedushi Guo Yuanzhen has been detained in Beiting for four years, despite repeated summons. I now personally summon you and order you to return to the capital to report on your duties before the holiday. Failure to do so will be considered a treasonous act. This is my special decree."
After reading the order, Lou Yunchun ordered, "Tingzhou Guards, come forward to receive the order."
The captain knelt forward and raised his hands to receive the imperial edict.
Lou Yunchun then turned around and ordered the honor guard, "Closing the ceremony."
After receiving the order, the musicians played music to end the ceremony, and the ceremonial guard collected all the ritual instruments and loaded them onto the vehicle in an orderly manner.
Lou Yunchun stepped down from the altar and returned to the carriage. After the ceremonial guard had assembled, he instructed Old Duan, "Send the order, turn around, and head for Kucha."
Old Duan turned around and shouted, "Turn around and head for Kucha."
The captain was shocked when he heard this. He quickly stood up and stopped Lou Yunchun's carriage, asking, "The envoy hasn't seen the Grand Protector yet. It's not appropriate for him to leave like this."
If he were really allowed to leave, Beiting would be charged with the crime of disrespecting the emperor and attempting rebellion. Although the Grand Protector did have this intention, he had to consider the moral principles of heaven and earth on the surface.
Moreover, Lou Yunchun said that he wanted to go to Qiuci, which was Wei Chifei's old nest. The Anxi Army led by Wei Chifei and their Beiting shared the jurisdiction of the Western Regions. Although they were peaceful on the surface, they were fighting constantly in private.
They had just reported this crime. If they let him go to Qiuci now, Wei Chifei would probably come to their house the next day to question them.
Furthermore, there was Xiao Gu in the Hexi Fortress, a self-proclaimed loyalist. How could he remain silent after hearing this news? If the two of them joined forces at this moment, even if Beiting was as strong as an iron barrel, they would still be crushed by the two of them even if they were trapped and attacked.
Old Duan stepped forward and refuted Lou Yunchun on his behalf, saying, "Isn't it appropriate? You heard that the king was enjoying himself but didn't come out or bow, and you even blocked the emperor's envoy from the city gates. Is that appropriate? The Grand Protector knew the envoy was coming but didn't come to greet him personally. Is that appropriate? The emperor announced the decree, but I didn't come. Is that appropriate?" He sneered, "You, Tingzhou, disrespect the emperor and despise the court, and now you come to criticize our envoy. What a powerful person!"
The lieutenant was speechless after being scolded, and could only take the blame himself. "Tingzhou did not mean to be negligent, but I was ignorant and short-sighted. I didn't realize that you were an envoy to the capital. In addition, there has been a sudden outbreak of plague in the eastern towns recently, so the traffic is strictly controlled and I dare not open the city gates at will."
He then brought up the excuse Guo Yuanzhen had used earlier to delay, saying, "I have already sent someone to inform the Grand Protector-General. However, the Protector-General was recently injured while leading his troops to drive out the Turks who were invading the border towns. This has delayed the welcoming of the Emperor. I hope the Envoy will forgive me."
Does this Tingzhou guard think they are fools?
Old Duan didn't bother playing coy and said bluntly, "None of us should pretend to be ignorant. Plague and injuries are all just excuses. If it weren't for our envoy setting up the altar and performing the ceremony, apologizing to heaven and earth and proclaiming the decree in violation of etiquette, would you still be pretending to be deaf and blind on the city wall?"
The captain opened his mouth, not knowing how to respond.
"We, the Lord, have come here by order of the Emperor. Now that the decree has been proclaimed and His Majesty's will has been conveyed, we must return to the capital to report. You, Tingzhou, have refused to receive our envoys and have shown disrespect to His Majesty. Even for the sake of His Majesty's dignity, we dare not set foot on your lowly grounds." Old Duan shouted, "Make way!"
How could the captain dare to give in? He kowtowed and apologized, saying, "It was my fault for being blind and neglecting the envoy. This was all my negligence, and I accept the blame."
At this time, the team behind the guard of honor had retreated. Seeing this, the chariot driver cleverly pulled his horse back a few steps, then turned his horse around and drove the chariot away from the captain.
"Walk!"
Following Si Yu's loud shout, the carriages in front of the team turned around one after another. The captain wanted to step forward to stop them, but almost bumped into Lao Duan's horse.
Seeing that the entire team had turned around, the captain, without caring about hierarchy, immediately stood up and ordered the soldiers behind him, "Stop them!"
I have already offended the people around me, so this time won’t make any difference.
The city guards obeyed the order and stepped forward to stop them, but the guards of the Hexi Army were not idle either, and immediately turned around to intercept them.
Seeing some soldiers about to draw their swords, Old Duan shouted, "Tingzhou Guards, are you planning to follow that traitor's example and kill the envoy?"
The captain was shocked when he saw this and quickly ordered, "No weapons allowed!"
This stopped the guard of honor, and they galloped away for eight feet. Old Duan said to the guards, "Let's go too!"
Then he rode his horse and followed.
As soon as they left, the deputy led the way and came with Guo Yuanzhen.
Guo Yuanzhen had his arm in a sling and originally wanted to meet the guard of honor and pretend to get away with it, but he didn't expect that after leaving the city, he didn't see anyone and was first caught in the dust raised by the carriages and horses.
"Ahem, where are the people?"
The captain held the imperial edict in his hand and knelt tremblingly in front of his horse, "Let's go, let's go. I can't stop you."
Guo Yuanzhen exclaimed in surprise, "Gone?" Then, seeing the captain holding a bright yellow silk scroll, he raised his horsewhip and asked, "What is this?"
"Holy, holy decree."
"You answered it?"
"I dare not refuse to accept it." The captain told Lou Yunchun in detail how he forced him to accept the imperial edict.
Guo Yuanzhen held out his hand and said, "Let me see it."
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