phoenix knot

Before nightfall, in order to prevent the King of Liao from chasing after him by boat, Liang Guanjing took her men and horses to say goodbye to Princess Zheng Guo, abandoned the boat and changed horses, and prepared to go south and take refuge in Kaifeng Mansion before the city gate was locked.

But here comes another problem, Su Mingyue doesn't know how to ride a horse.

"After you return to Beijing, you have to learn how to ride a horse. If you want to travel around with me in the future, what can you do if you don't know how to ride a horse?" Liang Guanjing was riding a black war horse, but it was not her own. It was raised by Princess Zheng on weekdays. The horse she used to ride was better than the one she used to ride. It ate the best fodder and was tamed by a special groom. It was easy to travel eight hundred miles a day, and she was reluctant to take it out for a ride.The tall horse has a very strong temper, snorting and stomping on the spot. Liang Guanjing reined in the reins and patted the horse's neck to comfort him, and it finally calmed down a little.

Su Mingyue only thinks that although a horse is a beast that eats grass, it is wild and unruly. If you accidentally fall off the horse, you may be trampled on. It's really not a joke.However, Liang Guanjing asked her to learn how to ride a horse. It's not like a joke. If she can ride a horse and travel around the world, she will really live a chic life and enjoy the rivers and lakes.

"What are you waiting for, come up!" Liang Guanjing stretched out his hand to Su Mingyue, inviting her to ride together.

With the help of a guard, Su Mingyue barely climbed up on the stirrups, the bamboo hat on her head was knocked crooked and fell to the ground, Gululu rolled away.She was wearing a skirt and wrapped in palace gauze, she couldn't even move her feet, how could she ride a horse?Liang Guanjing shook his head, pulled her to him, put her in his arms, put her legs together, and sat sideways on the saddle.The sun was scorching, Liang Guanjing was wearing a bamboo hat, Su Mingyue could only bury his face in her chest, and let the empress dress her just right.

Princess Zheng tilted her head and looked at it for a long time, then snorted, "I shouldn't have learned how to ride a horse!"

Liang Guanjing complained: "What are you wearing? How can you ride a horse like this?!"

Su Mingyue felt wronged, "It's the clothes that Princess Zheng Guo prepared for me."

Liang Guanjing said: "Is she going to dress you up as a Jianghuai courtesan from Qinlou Chuguan?"

Princess Zheng was not convinced, "The empress should know that there was a Liang Hongyu in the Song Dynasty who was as famous as Mu Guiying, and she was born in a brothel. Why do you look down on her?"

Liang Guanjing replied angrily: "Then Liang Hongyu also dressed like this when she went into battle to kill the enemy?"

"My empress, do you let a weak girl like sister Mingyue go into battle to kill the enemy? She is best kept in a deep boudoir, well-clothed and well-fed. I don't know what kind of eyebrows she touched, but you pulled her out to do this brainless job .”

Su Mingyue said: "If you are raised in a deep boudoir, clothed in fine clothes and fine food, and become a bird in a cage, the little girl would rather live and die with the empress."

Seeing her flattering loudly, Princess Zheng couldn't stand it, she whipped the black horse, and the black horse stood up in pain, if it wasn't for Liang Guanjing's buckle, it would have almost knocked Su Mingyue off.

"It's getting late, let's stop talking nonsense with you, let's go."

The horse team traveled lightly and ran along the embankment of the Yellow River for a while. When they saw a fork in the road, they immediately headed south. Su Mingyue was so dizzy that she almost bit off her tongue. She began to wonder if she could learn how to ride a horse in this life. .

After walking for a while, Liang Guanjing ordered the guards to stop at an intersection, and she ordered Lianxiang to escort Emperor Huiwen away first, and then led the rest of the troops south into Kaifeng City.

Princess Zheng's men had already handed over a sign to the guards guarding the city gate in advance, ventilated, and the long-awaited Lord Zhizhou came to receive him in person. Seeing Liang Guanjing riding on horseback with Su Mingyue in his arms, he immediately cupped his hands and bowed, "Madam Liang and her family members, please feel wronged for a while, and come to the residence to rest for a while."

"Master Yang, the current empress is called Liang Guanjing, whose name is Zhongqing, do you know?"

"Is the empress's name so taboo that a lowly official can mention it? I have long heard that Liang Empress is a hero among women, who fought in the battlefield and swept across thousands of miles. There was a saying back then that King Yan was good at fighting and the princess was good at planning. If I can see Fengyi... "

"I'm here." Liang Guanjing hurriedly interrupted his flattery, "Don't bother me, just arrange me in the posthouse..."

"This...post house has never been allowed to have female relatives, it is an ominous omen..."

"Lord Yang, what are the names of the generals guarding the various places in Kaifeng, how many troops are in charge, and what are their deployments?"

"This...wait for General Shen Chenghao, the guard, to report the military situation later."

"Shen Chenghao served as the capital of Zhili in the second year of Hongxi, in charge of 36 guards and [-] households. Now one guard of the former army was taken by Chen Chunhe to quell the chaos. He never returned. The twenty guards of the Chinese army guarded the states. One guard stays in Kaifeng. Kaifeng has six city gates, five of which are dry roads, and one is water roads. Pu Zhiyong guards thousands of households at Renhe Gate in the east, Hua Wenxiang guards Daliang Gate in the west, Zheng Jinian guards Anyuan Gate in the north, and Zhang Guangmao guards Nanxun Gate , Lijing Gate is guarded by Jiang Jianbo, and the waterway is guarded by Fu Boying, is there any change now?"

Mr. Zhizhou was already sweating, he didn't know if he was hot or anxious, but the empress's sudden visit caught him off guard, and he hadn't had time to endorse the exam.

"Tell Master Shen Chenghao to come to the posthouse to report the military situation." After speaking, he clamped his horse's belly and quickened his pace.

Su Mingyue was no less dumbfounded than Master Nazhizhou, "You know all of this?"

"Leading soldiers to fight, the officers and soldiers guarding various places, their surnames, their ages, their parents, brothers and other people in the family, you must find out. If you can call the name of the gatekeeper, he will be willing to open the gate for you. Lock."

Su Mingyue secretly wrote it down.

"Do you remember?"

"You can give it a try."

"What a big tone! Emperor Hong Xi can't even remember."

When they arrived at the inn, Su Mingyue was helped off the horse, not to mention the buttocks, her entire lower body was numb, she said weakly, "If you drive eight hundred miles a day, will your butt be okay?"

"You're a woman, what are you afraid of?" Liang Guanjing raised her eyebrows, while patting her beloved horse, she signaled Su Mingyue to look at the guards with her eyes.

Su Mingyue suddenly realized that it was indeed more inconvenient for a man's family to ride a horse. The cavalry of the Vanguard Battalion traveled thousands of miles every day, and their balls might be smashed to pieces.

"I heard that you trained an army, all female soldiers? Just because women are more convenient to ride horses?"

"Sometimes I have to admit that when going into battle to kill the enemy, especially when the Vanguard Battalion rushed into the enemy's line for the first time, it must be Kong Wu's strong men who have a chance of winning. The armor weighs dozens of catties, and women don't have the strength to wear it. It is not easy for a man to lift a mace, let alone a woman. However, most of the spies I raise, especially those who ride horses to send military affairs, are women." Liang Guanjing threw the whip to the horseman, and supported Su Mingyue Go upstairs and enter the house.

"Queen Zhesha, little girl, I'll just go by myself."

"Don't be brave." Liang Guanjing said, "I am the queen in the palace, call me A Yuan when you are out of the palace."

"Is this the queen's boudoir name?"

"At home, my father, brother and mother called me that."

"When I'm at home, my parents and sisters call me Yu'er."

"Okay, I'll call you Yu'er from now on."

Su Mingyue thought, did Emperor Hongxi ever call her A Yuan in private?In the end, these words are too abrupt, it is inconvenient to ask each other, and it is impossible to ask.

After settling down in the posthouse, just as Su Mingyue took a rest, there was movement next door. The guard said outside the door: Shen Chenghao, the guard of Kaifeng Mansion, is coming to report the military situation. It may be inconvenient, so he is waiting in the meeting hall.

"It's no inconvenience, let him come here to answer." Liang Guanjing said calmly in the room.

To tell the truth, she was exhausted to the extreme this day, and her voice was a little hoarse, but her tone of voice was very calm, without any impatience, and she didn't feel that the guard of the Kaifeng mansion just neglected her, and wanted the dignified empress to Run over to discuss the matter.Su Mingyue heard her get out of bed, put on her clothes, get up, light the lamp herself, order the guard outside the door to make tea, and then sit at the table and wait for others.

After a while, a young general in his thirties rushed over with several lieutenants and guards. Su Mingyue heard him report his family name and beg to see the queen.

"The door is open, come in."

Liang Guanjing let them all go in, these people had heard of the empress's name for a long time, and they were surprised to see that there were only two guards on duty outside the house, and there were no maids and eunuchs in the house to serve the empress to clean up.

Liang Guanjing was dressed in simple clothes, with her hair tucked up and without any jewellery. Although her face was tired, she still couldn't hide her beautiful appearance.After patiently listening to the military newspaper, she nodded, "I have already met the King of Liao today. He detained Empress Dowager Xu, and the so-called Emperor Huiwen is a fake. I guess the King of Liao will retreat to Dingzhou. Tomorrow... ...No, tonight you will cross the Yellow River with troops from the middle route, and march by night for nearly a hundred miles. The left wing will outflank Dingzhou. Starting today, mobilize food and grass, and prepare to capture Dingzhou in the near future. The right wing will be behind and stay in Kaifeng government, just in case."

The guards looked at each other, not knowing how to respond.

Liang Guanjing expected that they would not obey his command, "General Shen, do you need me to ask for an imperial edict?"

"This one……"

"From Kaifeng to Nanjing, Ma Cheng came and went, and the spies ran for at least three days. I am afraid that after three days, the Kaifeng mansion will already be in the pocket of the king of Liao. At that time, General Shen will kill himself by the Yellow River to thank the emperor, or he will learn from Chen. Chunhe simply surrendered, rebelled?"

When Shen Chenghao heard this, he quickly knelt down, "The last general dare not! It's just that King Liao has been standing north of the Yellow River for more than a month, and there is no sign of mobilization of troops. He has no intention of invading south, so he rashly took the initiative to attack..."

"What do you mean, let the emperor rule the river with him and divide the world together?"

Shen Chenghao was terrified, "I didn't mean that."

"As a guard, the emperor has issued an edict to put down the chaos, how can you be negligent?"

"I have to order, this subordinate will do it now."

"I'm tired. If the King of Liao doesn't cross the Yellow River tonight, there's no need to wake me up. You guys retreat."

"Yes!"

Shen Chenghao was about to step back when he saw that the empress was as beautiful as peaches and plums and as cold as ice, so he couldn't help flattering him, "The final general dares to say that there are no female relatives in this posthouse, so it's inconvenient, do you need to find a maid to serve the empress?" ?”

Liang Guanjing said coldly: "I heard that if there are female relatives in the posthouse, it is an ominous omen. It is bound to be a bad omen if you send troops to fight. If you are defeated for thousands of miles, will General Shen drive me out?"

"How dare? How dare?"

"Go down."

Everyone went out, Liang Guanjing closed the door from the inside, then undressed, blew out the lantern, slept for a while, and heard her slapping mosquitoes inside, "Yu'er, are you asleep?"

Su Mingyue said: "No."

"I haven't come here yet, I changed my mind and decided to enjoy the blessing of the empress. Hurry up and fan me and beat the mosquitoes, what a broken place, it's so hot in this palace!"

Su Mingyue hurriedly trotted all the way to the next door. She lit the lamp, first slapped the mosquitoes, and then blew out the candles.Although the upper room of the post house was not gorgeous, the bed was spacious. She put down the gauze curtain and leaned against the head of the bed, fanning Liang Guanjing beside her.

Liang Guanjing leaned back and asked her to lie down side by side. Both of them were wearing tulle bellybands, and the tent was full of spring scenery.

"When I was young, my mother fanned me like this, and she also chanted a nursery rhyme. The fan fanned the cool wind, fanning summer but not winter."

Liang Guanjing closed her eyes and moaned, "You don't want me to call you mother, do you?"

"Ah Yuan is really good at joking, you can call me if you want, I don't mind."

"Fuck you!" Liang Guanjing said and pinched her.

Su Mingyue giggled and hid back, almost falling out of bed. For some reason, she remembered the scene when Princess Zheng kissed Liang Guanjing when she was on the boat during the day.

"In June, the buns are spread out, it's too hot to stand together." Su Mingyue was serious.

Liang Guanjing suddenly bullied her and pressed her down, "Why are you peeking on the boat today?!"

"I...I didn't mean to..."

"If it wasn't intentional, was it accidentally seen?"

"Yes……"

"Since I saw it by accident, it's time to avoid it. Did I see you watching it with enthusiasm?"

Su Mingyue was so frightened that she didn't dare to vent her anger. She didn't know whether Liang Guanjing's tone of voice was true or not, and she didn't even know if she would kill someone to silence her next step.

"Ayuan...does she have an affair?"

"She likes me, but I don't care about her. Women are mostly sisters to women, and I don't know why she thinks that way about me." Liang Guanjing's face could not be seen in the dark, and she seemed to be thinking , let go of Su Mingyue, and slowly lay back down. "Do you like women?"

"Yu'er doesn't know. Yu'er has read a lot of stories about talented men and beautiful women. The relationship between this woman and a woman is really unheard of."

"Do you think that Ehuang and Nvying will fall in love with each other? There is also a story in Shan Hai Jing. It is said that sisters-in-law had a blind date and married each other's brothers. It was also said that Mudan and Shaoyao cousin fell in love and married a Poor scholar. I think the person who wrote this kind of story, Yue Mo himself, is a wretched person who delusional to enjoy the blessings of all people, so he can't take it seriously."

Su Mingyue laughed "chichi".

"why are you laughing?"

"You still watch such infamous things?"

"curious."

Su Mingyue waved her fan, boldly probing, "Either you follow the example of Princess Zheng Guo and kiss me, and see if I will have feelings for you."

"you do not mind?"

"Why do you mind?"

Liang Guanjing slowly moved over, with warm breath on his face.

After a while, she lay back and said: "Okay, if you tell others about Princess Zheng's kissing me, then I will know to tell others about my kissing you."

Red threat.

"Why don't you talk? Does kissing make any difference?"

"Isn't it just the feeling of lips touching lips? What do you think?" Su Mingyue turned her back, only feeling distracted, but her mouth seemed indifferent.

After a long while, there was no movement behind him, but it was Liang Guanjing who was breathing steadily and fell asleep.