The chaotic sound of horse hooves broke the tranquility of the wilderness.

Looking at the rising dust, there are at least a dozen horses galloping.

Gao Wu was from the Qi Family Army after all, so he was always on guard. He blew a whistle immediately, and a dozen strong men from Caijia Lane jumped off the carriage, pulled out iron bars from their waists, and surrounded Zhao Hao and his carriage.

"What's going on?" Zhao Hao stuck his head out and looked from a distance.

"There are more than a dozen people chasing someone on horseback." Gao Wu just organized his words.

"Could it be horse thieves?" Hua Shuyang asked worriedly.

"Where is this? Why are there horse thieves?" Wang Wuyang rolled his eyes at him.

"It's hard to say. The capital just lifted martial law last month." Wu Kangyuan looked at the approaching troops with concern and tightly grasped his sword. "There may be bandits pretending to be Tartars to cause chaos."

This is exactly why Gao Wu is so alert. The northern border of the Ming Dynasty has never been peaceful! The emperor guards the country's borders, and it is not just empty words...

A dozen men from Caijia Lane were repeatedly trained by Gao Wu along the way to guard against this kind of situation.

When Gao Wu led his men to form a battle formation using the carriages as a barrier, the knights had already approached.

Everyone held their breath and were on high alert. However, after the leading knight passed by the convoy, the rest of the riders followed closely and rushed away without even looking at Zhao Hao and the others.

It turned out to be a false alarm.

As for why those people fled and why they were chasing, it was not something Zhao Hao and the others needed to worry about.

The correct thing to do is to drive the carriage quickly and enter the city before dark.

~~

It was already past noon.

Tongzhou was forty miles away from the capital, and the carriages were slow in the snow and ice, so it would take more than two hours even if we hurried.

Everyone wanted to reach the capital before dark, otherwise once the city gates were closed, they would have to freeze outside all night, which would be fatal.

But the more anxious they were, the more things went against their wishes. They were stuck in a traffic jam halfway through their journey.

Looking at the endless traffic ahead, Zhao Hao was going crazy. Could it be that Beijing had been stuck in traffic jams since the Ming Dynasty?

"Go and see what's going on!"

As soon as he gave an order, a man from Caijia Lane ran forward and came back to report, panting, within a few minutes.

"Sir, there are officials from Shuntian Prefecture setting up a checkpoint ahead to check the vehicles."

"Do I need to apply for a Beijing Entry Permit?" Zhao Hao secretly complained in his heart, frowned and asked: "What are they checking? Are they collecting taxes?"

"No, he looks like he's looking for something." The man had been a scout when he was in the army, so he saw more things than the average person. "I think there are only a few real officials, most of them look like slaves of someone's family."

"I'm afraid it's related to what happened just now." Zhao Hao sighed lightly. It was not his turn to act tough in Beijing yet. He could only slowly queue up and move forward.

After waiting in the cold wind for more than half an hour, Zhao Hao and his companions finally saw clearly that more than a hundred steps ahead, four or five officials with bird feathers on their hats, led by an official wearing the uniform of a sixth-rank official, stopped the carriage heading to Beijing.

But those who came forward to search the vehicle were not the police officers, but some ferocious warriors dressed in colorful uniforms.

It seems that something really happened, something big.

Zhao Hao didn't have the mood to think about anything else. He just hoped to get through this part quickly, but he didn't expect to hear a quarrel ahead.

And we can’t just turn a blind eye to it.

Because one of them was a scholar from Yingtian.

When Zhao Hao and others got off the carriage, they saw Shi Jinchen, Tang Hezheng and others who were very emotional, blocking the warriors and preventing them from approaching the carriage.

"Are you blind? Don't you see that this is a bus with a yellow flag, and the authorities are not allowed to search it!"

"That's right, let us pass quickly. Are you going to freeze us to death by closing the city gate?!"

Those warriors in tight clothes also looked anxious, but who would dare to be rude to the emperor's followers under the emperor's feet?

They then turned their attention to the sixth-rank official.

The official secretly cursed his bad luck, and took out his ticket with all his might, shaking it towards the candidates, saying, "I am the magistrate of Shuntian Prefecture, and I have been ordered by the emperor to inspect all vehicles entering the capital!"

"This yellow flag is a convenience granted to us by the emperor. No one has checked it all the way from south to north. You, Shuntian Prefecture, can't check it either!"

If Zhao Hao's idea was followed, Shuntian Prefecture could investigate if they wanted to, but the right thing to do was to finish the investigation quickly and then get on the road.

But the people attached great importance to the privileges brought by the yellow flag, as if it was related to their dignity and could not be discussed at all. They refused to give in, and accused Shuntian Prefecture of overstepping its authority in indignation. As a result, more and more people gathered, blocking the road out of the city.

Just when the two sides were in a stalemate, a group of people heading to Tongzhou approached.

Seeing that the official and the scholar were arguing endlessly and the entire road was blocked, the leading guard fired a street quiet cannon.

There was a loud bang, which startled everyone.

But the amazing thing is that both sides, who were so arrogant, actually lost their temper.

Because the only people qualified to fire the signal cannon, apart from the county officials, were officials of the fourth rank and above.

The magistrate quickly turned around and looked, and was shocked.

It turned out that the guard riding on the tall horse had an embroidered spring sword on his waist, and a corner of his flying fish uniform was visible under his robe.

It turned out to be an officer of the Jinyiwei.

Although the reputation of the Jinyiwei has declined greatly since Lu Bing's death, this Jinyiwei is just a bodyguard for the people behind him...

Apart from the Grand Secretaries and the Seven Ministers, the only people who could have the Embroidered Uniform Guards serve as their guards were members of the royal family.

~~

No matter which one it was, it was not something a small magistrate like him could afford to offend. He hurriedly ordered people to clear the road while stepping forward to explain with a smile.

That Jinyiwei was just a guard, and the real owner was a pair of siblings surrounded by a dozen strong-suited guards.

"It turns out to be the Young Lord and the County Lady from the Princess's Mansion." The prosecutor bowed hastily.

The so-called young lord and county lady were dressed in impressive hunting clothes, one riding a black horse and the other riding a red horse. Both were famous horses with pure color, strong bodies and long limbs.

Both of them had thick layers of beeswax on their faces to keep them warm, and they were wearing thick winter clothes that only exposed their mouths and noses, so their specific appearance and age could not be seen.

They listened patiently to the magistrate's explanation, and the officials cleared the way for them to leave.

The young master shook his whip and said, "We are leaving now. Go and do your work."

Judging from the voice, he seems to be about sixteen or seventeen years old.

The followers obeyed the order and surrounded the two men and headed east.

When passing by the candidates, the county lady suddenly saw the yellow flag on the carriage and said to the prosecutor coldly, "Even I know that the candidates' carriages cannot be searched. You Shuntian Prefecture are too overbearing."

"Sister, mind your own business." The young master looked at his sister helplessly and urged her, "If it's any later, we won't be able to reach the hunting ground."

"It won't take a moment." The county lady's voice sounded more childish, but she was a chivalrous person. She rolled her eyes at her brother and said, "The candidates have come a long way and finally arrived in the capital after going through so much hardship. How can we welcome them like this? It's embarrassing for my uncle, and you see it and don't care?"

"Okay, okay, I'll take care of it." The young master seemed to be afraid of his sister, so he turned around with a bitter smile, glared at the magistrate and said, "Why don't you let him go!"

"Yes..." The magistrate obviously did not dare to offend the brother and sister, so he waved his hand and ordered the officers to make way.

Those warriors were still unwilling to give in, but the prosecutor glared at them fiercely, telling them not to act rashly.

ps. Fourth update. This update thanks to the leader Xiao Shuke. Shuke has grown from a young Shuke to an old Shuke. We have known each other for ten years, right? I discussed this book with him and Grasshopper many times before writing it. Well, we must sit down and have a drink together in the future.