Thief Emperor

Chapter 922 Old man

Although Gongsun Hao was seriously injured, he managed to survive at the time and his recovery was not slow. In fact, he had already recovered a few months ago.

However, he has always used recuperation as an excuse and has not returned to Luoyang.

The main purpose, of course, is to avoid the limelight.

As the only general who was not of the emperor's direct lineage and was granted the title of Duke, he did not want to come back just a few months after being awarded the title, as that would have been too conspicuous.

Now that the excitement of the initial title had died down a little, he hurried back to Luoyang.

Therefore, the injury on his arm was no longer a big deal.

General Gongsun was also a very straightforward person. After discussing with Meng Qing for a long time, the two of them went to the palace together to meet the Emperor. On the third day, Gongsun Hao followed Meng Qing and left Luoyang and rushed to Qingzhou.

Gongsun He was originally going to follow his father, but Gongsun Hao did not take him with him. He just let him stay in the capital and wait for the court's arrangements.

After leaving the city, Meng Qing looked at Gongsun Hao and asked, "Old General, can you still ride a horse?"

Gongsun Hao smiled and said, "It's just a broken arm, not a lost leg, so why can't I ride a horse?"

Meng Qing hesitated for a moment and said, "We are not in a hurry to go to Qingzhou this time. Let me prepare a carriage and have someone escort the general to Qingzhou."

Gongsun Hao shook his head and said, "No, no, if we go by carriage, we will be at least halfway behind."

He looked at Meng Qing and said with a smile: "I haven't seen my old brothers from the Pinglu Army for many years. This time, I will go and meet them."

As he spoke, he sighed slightly: "Maybe this is the last time we meet in this life."

Upon hearing this, Meng Qing did not try to stop him. He just walked to Gongsun Hao's horse and helped him onto it.

However, this time when he went to Qingzhou, he did not rush there, but led the 10,000 troops that the court had prepared to rush to Qingzhou. The army was not marching fast, so Gongsun Hao did not have to ride a horse all the time.

Along the way, Gongsun Hao spent most of the time in a car, and only a small part of the time on horseback.

In this way, the army marched from late May to nearly July before finally arriving in Qingzhou.

Not long after arriving in Qingzhou, the Pinglu Army came to greet them from afar. When Meng Qing had entered Qingzhou for more than ten miles, Zhou Chang had already led his men to the official road and saluted Meng Qing with his fists: "Lord Meng."

Meng Qing dismounted and returned the greeting, calling him "Prince".

Zhou Chang waved his hand and said he dared not. Just as he was about to continue talking to Meng Qing, Meng Qing stepped aside and pointed at the one-armed general sitting on a horse behind him. He smiled and said, "This time when I came to Qingzhou, I brought someone you know. Do you recognize him?"

Zhou Chang looked up, rubbed his eyes, and suddenly said in surprise: "Uncle Hao!"

He ran forward and helped Gongsun Hao down. Seeing Gongsun Hao's empty right arm, Zhou Chang also sighed: "Uncle Hao is so seriously injured, why is he still walking around?"

Gongsun Hao bowed his head slightly, called him "Major General", and then said seriously: "I came here on my own initiative."

He looked at Zhou Chang and said with a smile: "At this age, if you don't come and walk around, I'm afraid it will be difficult to see the old brothers again in the future."

At this point, he lowered his head slightly and said, "At the beginning, I went to Jiangnan, and the Major General and the General did not kill my family."

“I feel very grateful.”

Zhou Chang shook his head and said, "Uncle Hao was captured because of me. If I were to attack Uncle Hao's family again, wouldn't that be worse than an animal?"

The two talked for a while. Zhou Chang turned his head to look at Meng Qing. Seeing that there was no one around, he looked at Gongsun Hao and smiled: "Your Majesty is still worried about us in Qingzhou, so he invited Uncle Hao to come."

Gongsun Hao said sternly: "Young General, I didn't lie to you. This matter has nothing to do with Your Majesty. I came here on my own initiative."

He said, "When you get older, you start to miss the past. This time I was injured and had a near-death experience, so I always wanted to go back to Qingzhou to take a look."

"Wait until this trip is over."

Gongsun Hao sighed: "I don't know when the next time will be."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Chang looked up at Gongsun Hao's hair, only to see that the former deputy general of the Pinglu Army now had gray hair.

The two of them talked about the past for a long time before Gongsun Hao asked, "General, how are you these days?"

Zhou Chang was silent for a while after hearing this, then shook his head slightly: "I wasn't as strong as before in the past few years. In the past few years, there hasn't been a woman in the family."

"A few months ago, after returning from Luoyang, he probably had something on his mind and was not very happy."

Gongsun Hao looked at Zhou Chang.

Zhou Chang hesitated for a moment, but still didn't say it.

After all, the current Gongsun Hao is no longer someone he can tell everything he knows.

Gongsun Hao looked back at the army behind him and said, "Major General, the royal army will probably stay outside Qingzhou City tonight. You stay here and get close to General Meng."

"I want to go into the city and see the general."

"it is good."

Zhou Chang quickly nodded and agreed. He walked to Meng Qing, said a few words to Meng Qing, and then said a few words to several subordinates around him. Soon someone came forward and escorted Gongsun Hao to Qingzhou City.

Zhou Chang clasped his fists towards Meng Qing and said with a smile, "Lord Meng, you have worked hard on your journey."

Meng Qing waved his hand and shook his head, saying, "I don't deserve it. I don't deserve it."

Zhou Chang smiled and said: "Everyone in the court and the country knows that General Meng is the most dazzling general in our Tang Dynasty."

"General, you are a guest from afar. I will be your host today. Let's have a good drink." Meng Qing thought for a moment and shook his head, saying, "I am leading the troops and cannot drink."

"Please forgive me, Prince."

Zhou Chang was not angry either, he just smiled and said: "That's fine, that's fine."

"Let's have tea instead of wine."

"Walk."

He pulled Meng Qing and said with a smile, "I'll treat you, Lord Hou, to a meal."

…………

Qingzhou City, Zhou Palace.

The plaque of this former governor's mansion has been removed and replaced with the simple words "Zhou Mansion".

In fact, some time ago, it was still the Linzi Prince's Palace, but the court changed the title to King of Jiangdu, and the plaque of Linzi Prince's Palace was also taken down.

But the mansion is still this mansion after all.

The one-armed Gongsun Hao was led all the way into the backyard of Zhou's house. After it was completely dark, he was brought to the door of Zhou Chang's room.

After the servants reported, the door slowly opened after a long while.

Gongsun Hao, the one-armed man standing at the door, looked up at the old man with mostly white hair standing in the room with his back to the light, and stood there in a daze, unable to utter a word.

The King of Jiangdu in the room stared blankly at the one-armed general standing outside the door, and was speechless for a long time.

After a long while, the gray-haired King of Jiangdu finally let out a long sigh, reached out and pulled Gongsun Hao's sleeve, and sighed: "Old friend, I never thought that we would meet again one day."

Gongsun Hao wiped his tears with his left arm, bowed his head and saluted Zhou Xu, saying, "General."

Before he lowered his head, Zhou Xu helped him up. The King of Jiangdu smiled and said, "Now you and I are both ministers in the same court. I am no longer a great general."

"We are brothers, brothers are friends."

As he said this, he pulled Gongsun Hao into his study and closed the door. Looking at Gongsun Hao's right arm, the calculating Prince Zhou was also a little sad: "Just work hard for Emperor Li. Why do you have to work so hard?"

He pulled Gongsun Hao's sleeve, and there was another silence. After a while, he spoke again.

"It hurts so much."

Gongsun Hao felt sad at this. He looked up at Zhou Xu's hair and sighed, "It's been less than ten years. How come the general has become so... so old?"

"I do not know either."

Prince Zhou was a carefree person. He shook his head slightly with a smile on his face. “Maybe there was something wrong with my fighting method. The romantic debts from my youth have come knocking on my door.”

"It could also be..."

He lowered his head and drank a sip of tea, then sighed, "Maybe I just lost my spirit."

"If you lose your spirit, you will naturally grow old."

Gongsun Hao was silent for a while after hearing this, and then he said: "General, the current..."

"He is an excellent emperor."

He looked at Zhou Xu, thought for a moment, and then said, "At least it's much better than the old Zhou."

"I know."

Zhou Xu glanced at Gongsun Hao and said with a smile: "Otherwise, I would not be convinced by him."

"I have already surrendered, are you still trying to persuade me to surrender?"

"It's not about persuading someone to surrender."

Gongsun Hao shook his head and said, "It's just a matter of fact."

"Your Majesty has made the best choice in the past ten years."

Zhou Xu hummed, and said with a wry smile: "It's just that he is too suspicious. I have already surrendered, but he still wants me to move to Yangzhou. What's the point of being the King of Jiangdu?"

"I'm going to move soon, and I feel very sad."

Having said that, he pointed to his hair.

"I am already this old, and now I just want to die in Qingzhou. I have no other thoughts."

Gongsun Hao did not respond, but looked at Zhou Xu and said, "General, after General Meng arrives in Qingzhou, he will go to Hebei Road."

"Qingzhou must contribute to Youyan's affairs."

He looked at Zhou Xu with a serious expression.

"Only if you work hard can you gain a place in the new dynasty..."

“Stand firm on your feet.”

(End of this chapter)