Being an emperor is not something he can do, so he can only rely on his connections.

After driving into Yunzhou for about two quarters of an hour, the fog gradually dissipated, and the dots of light turned out to be a village called Jijia Village. The road was very flat, so the horses' speed increased a lot, but this speed was far from enough, because Taiyuan's garrison troops were riding military horses, and if the speed continued at this rate, they would definitely be caught up in less than half an hour.

Gao Fei didn't care about that and led his group through the village, causing some villagers to come out and curse.

……

North of Jijia Village.

A dusty, anxious messenger hurried up to the Marquis, knelt on one knee, clasped his fists, and saluted, "Marquis, Gao Fei and his men have just passed through Jijia Village! At their current speed, they'll be joining our forces in no time!"

Upon hearing this news, Huangfu Changshui frowned slightly and said in a deep voice, "Jijia Village? That's a place where horses are forbidden. Don't Gao Fei and the others know about this? I'm afraid they'll be stopped because of this! Pass on my order, everyone dismount immediately, speed up your pace, and we'll go to meet them!"

After saying that, he was the first to dismount, holding the reins, and strode forward.

Seeing this, the soldiers behind him quickly jumped off their horses and followed Huangfu Changshui closely. The group galloped towards Jijia Village like a gust of wind.

……

Sure enough, Gao Fei was stopped by an old man who looked like a withered skeleton. The old man was leaning on a crutch and was supported by someone beside him. He walked slowly to Gao Fei's carriage.

"You kid, don't you know that horses are prohibited here?" The old man's voice was extremely intimidating.

Gao Fei hurriedly explained: "I...I...I don't..." He hesitated for a long time and couldn't utter a word.

"What are you going to do?"

"How dare you disturb our ancestors so late at night!"

"Catch them and send them to the authorities!"

The villagers chatted in a flurry and surrounded Gao Fei and his group.

Huangfu Changshui came running from a distance, shouting as he ran: "Old Ancestor, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

The old man stood there, squinting his eyes slightly as he looked at a group of people approaching slowly from a distance. When he saw the person leading the group, a smile appeared on his face: "Oh~ It turns out to be Changshui boy, how come you have time to come to my place today?"

Huangfu Changshui quickly dismounted, walked quickly to the old man, bowed respectfully, and said, "Grandfather, I'm here to take my subordinates back. They've been a nuisance along the way, and I hope you won't blame me." He then turned and shouted at the crowd behind him, "You guys are really becoming more and more unruly. You didn't even dismount and greet us when you saw us!"

Hearing Huangfu Changshui's scolding, Gao Fei and several others quickly jumped off their horses, trotted all the way to the old man, and then knelt on the ground in unison, shouting in unison: "Men, greet the ancestor!" Even the prince who was originally sitting in the carriage did not dare to be negligent. He hurriedly got off the car and knelt down to pay his respects.

The old man looked at the respectful young men in front of him, nodded with satisfaction, and said with a smile: "Forget it, since they are all your men, Changshui boy, I will spare you this time. Get up!"

Just as Gao Fei and the others stood up, a villager came over and shouted, "Ancestor, there are more people riding horses into the village, and there are quite a few of them."

"What's going on tonight? Can't we even get some rest?"

When Taiyuan's troops arrived, the leading Lieutenant General Ma immediately waved his whip and angrily shouted, "You bastard, you just run away with your head in your hands. Hurry up and call them out. Master, I will leave you with an intact body."

Huangfu Changshui said solemnly, "General, this is Yunzhou territory. Bringing troops here rashly is against military regulations!"

Lieutenant General Ma responded with a look of disdain, "Humph! So it's the Northern Marquis who's here! The Commander-in-Chief is in the carriage at the rear. I'm leading my troops into the country today. What can you do to me?"

Upon hearing this, the old man's eyes widened in anger, and he shouted, "You are such an ignorant person! How dare you speak so arrogantly? I thought you were the emperor himself!"

Lieutenant General Ma showed no sign of restraining himself. Instead, he started cursing: "Where did this old bastard come from? How dare you talk nonsense here!"

Huangfu Changshui was shocked. This extremely stupid person is really hopeless!

At this time, the old man slowly said: "Don't worry, everyone. Tonight, I am here and nothing will happen to you. You can rest assured."

Lieutenant General Ma refused to give in and continued to shout, "What if I insist on letting you die?"

The old man smiled slightly and replied slowly, "I am already nearly a hundred years old. Even Heaven is unwilling to take my life. How dare you, a servant who speaks without thinking and knows no etiquette, take my life with your words?"

Lieutenant General Ma was so angry that he shouted, "How arrogant!"

Huangfu Changshui saw this and quickly shouted, "Shut up! Don't be so presumptuous, you ignorant boy! Please calm down, I will go and capture this man right away!"

Just as he finished speaking, he heard a majestic voice coming from the carriage behind him: "Oh? Who is Bei Hou going to capture?"

Upon hearing this, Huangfu Changshui quickly turned around, knelt, and saluted, saying respectfully, "I pay my respects to the Commander-in-Chief!"

The admiral's eyes widened in anger as he pointed at Huangfu Changshui and shouted, "You audacious lunatic, how dare you kidnap an important imperial criminal? This crime is punishable by death!"

Huangfu Changshui's face was pale, his lips trembling slightly, and he stammered, "General..."

At this time, the old man on the side sighed lightly and interrupted, "Alas, I am old and can't stand listening to your talk about life and death." Although his voice was not loud, it carried an unquestionable majesty.

Upon hearing this, the Admiral's heart trembled. He quickly bowed and said, "I am the Admiral of Hedong. I am here today to perform official duties. I wonder who you are?"

The old man smiled slightly, took out something from his bosom and handed it to the admiral, saying calmly, "Take it and see if this can save you from the death penalty you mentioned."

The admiral took the item with suspicion, took a closer look, and was instantly terrified, his face pale and his whole body trembling. It turned out to be a gleaming golden iron certificate! Inscribed with a flourish of dragon and phoenix calligraphy, the characters "Tianze Year 2, Guihai Year 3" were clearly visible.

A layer of fine beads of sweat instantly appeared on the admiral's forehead. He knelt on his knees, kowtowed like pounding garlic, and said in a trembling voice: "Old...old father-in-law! I have failed to recognize Mount Tai. I deserve to die!"

The old father-in-law waved his hand and said with a calm smile, "Admiral, please get up quickly. There's no need to panic. I'm just a dying man, living in this remote place to find some peace and quiet. It's just that horses are prohibited near my residence to avoid disturbing the neighbors, so I may have offended you. I hope Admiral will forgive me."

The Admiral dared not be negligent and nodded repeatedly in response, "Old Father-in-law, please don't say that. It's all our inconsiderateness that has caused you trouble. We will change our route and will not bother you again."

As he spoke, he waved his hand to signal his men to turn their horses around.

Just as he was about to leave, the old father-in-law raised his hand. Huangfu Changshui beside him nodded, drew his sword and cut off the head of Lieutenant General Ma!

The old father-in-law's face was gloomy, and he roared with his eyes wide open: "I have long told you that riding horses is prohibited here, but you guys turned a deaf ear to it. Are you saying that I am just a deaf ear?"

The admiral standing opposite seemed a little flustered, with a thin layer of sweat even on his forehead.

He quickly turned around and shouted to the soldiers behind him, "Quick! Everyone, get off your horses! Anyone who dares to disobey will be punished by military law!"

Following the admiral's order, the lieutenant generals and cavalrymen who were riding on their horses with such high spirits all dismounted. Although they moved quickly, they could not hide the panic on their faces.

For a moment, the whole scene became silent, with only the heavy breathing of the crowd and the dull thud of horses' hooves hitting the ground.