For a time, those who collected autumn taxes became very cautious.
But no matter what, on August 14, an army of 500 to 600 cavalrymen entered Yangzhou first and took over the streets and the imperial palace. Then on August 15, in the morning, when the autumn heat had not yet disappeared, the army of 3,000 people appeared on time in the north of Yangzhou.
At this moment, everyone put away their messy thoughts. The literati and students of the provincial school brought their articles, the retired officials brought their suggestions and memorials, the wealthy businessmen brought their treasures, the monks and Taoists brought their mouths, the ladies and common people brought their eyes, and they all followed the honest gentleman Sun Xiantai to the north of the city to welcome him.
In a sense, almost all the people of Yangzhou came out to see what this Mr. Zhao looked like.
“Are you here?!”
"Here it comes! Dragon Banner has seen it..."
"Anyone with a little common sense knows that this is not an ordinary dragon banner, but a Jinwu banner... But why can't we see the carriage frame? The "Laws and Regulations" do not mention only Jinwu banners... Let me look through the book again..."
"Don't turn over, they are already here, Sun Xiantai has also gone up!"
“…”
In front of the north gate of Yangzhou City, a group of scholars, merchants, monks and Taoists were almost caught off guard. They saw the dragon flag coming towards them in the wind just a moment ago, and the next moment the dragon flag came directly in front of them under the escort of cavalry and stopped directly on the official road north of the city...only seventy or eighty steps away from them.
Sun Jin, the leader, did not dare to neglect and went forward with Wei Yan, the governor of Yangzhou, and Liu Yan, the imperial commander who arrived yesterday, to greet them. As for the rest of the officials, civilians, monks and laymen in Yangzhou, including the envoy Lu Yihao who crossed the river to greet them, none of them were qualified to go forward at this time. Instead, they held their breath and prepared to kowtow to the official in the red robe when he came out.
However, as Sun Jin approached, not only was there no one in the red robe, but there was only a knight in golden helmet and armor who rode out of the queue that had just stopped, and laughed from a distance:
"Is it Sun Qing and Wei Qing? It's been five or six years since Sun Qing left Nanyang? Wei Qing just transferred out of the capital province a year ago."
When Sun Jin and Wei Yan heard the voice, they did not hesitate and hurried forward to salute the man in golden armor.
The man in golden armor on the horse dismounted upon seeing this, and helped the two men up with one hand each, and then laughed: "It is the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the king and his subjects meet. Why should we be so polite to each other? Besides, I have already issued an order along the way, so there is no need to deliberately greet and pay homage... Just feel free to do as you please today."
Sun Jin was an honest man, so he stood up immediately. Wei Yan was also one of Zhao Ding's confidants, and he had a sincere temper, so he also stood up immediately. The two of them bowed slightly in front of Emperor Zhao and called him "Your Majesty".
Now, everyone knew for sure - the man in golden armor was Emperor Zhao. They also hurriedly saluted from a distance of several dozen steps, but some knelt down, some bowed, some cupped their hands in panic, and some were even stunned for a moment, just standing on tiptoe to look, it was completely chaotic.
After the two men paid their respects, Emperor Zhao laughed even louder and wanted to lead them into the city.
However, Sun Jin was dragged around and looked at the chaotic city gate. After hesitating for a moment, he turned around and said honestly, "Your Majesty, the people of Yangzhou have been waiting here for a long time, all wanting to see the emperor. Your Majesty is wearing armor, so they may not be able to see clearly..."
Zhao Jiu smiled and took off his helmet immediately, handing it to Liu Yan who was standing beside him, and then asked, "Is this feasible?"
Sun Jin wanted to say something else, but after hesitating for a moment, he finally nodded.
However, Zhao Jiu thought about it again, turned around and took the helmet back from Liu Yan, put it on again, then got on the horse, stroked the horse and smiled at the two local ministers: "The ancients said that with a hundred thousand strings of gold around his waist, he rode a crane to Yangzhou... This is the best description of the elegance of Huaizuo. Now that I have come to this famous capital, I should not lose morale... I will lead 3,000 troops and march into Yangzhou with armor on my back! Sun Qing, you lead the way!"
Sun Jin was an honest man after all. After hesitating for a moment and nodding repeatedly, he allowed the official to put on armor and hold a sharp weapon and enter this famous capital of Huaizuo.
At noon, Emperor Zhao rode his horse into the palace in Yangzhou, which was the former residence of Empress Dowager Yuanyou, and immediately issued an imperial decree, ordering all the monks and Taoists in Yangzhou to come and see him.
At this point, the scholars and people of Yangzhou, who had just come to their senses, began to talk again, wondering if the government was caring about ghosts and gods instead of the people?
But soon, the news reached all the officials, scholars, and elders in Yangzhou, and everyone suddenly realized what had happened - Emperor Zhao was actually going to offer sacrifices to the Yuetai Forest of Steles from afar, to comfort the soldiers and civilians who had died since the Jingkang period, and then have a cordial exchange with the local scholars and civilians.
This time, everyone was caught off guard again - the area to the left of the Huai River had not seen war for many years.
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