After ten years of accompanying me in my studies, the entire court begged me to shut up.

Chapter 120 The Allure of That Arrow

Shimen Village.

The wind and snow were so strong that it was impossible to open one's eyes.

Zhu Houzhao and his entourage struggled against the wind as they marched forward.

Li Chun reined in the horses, raised his hand to shield his face from the oncoming snowflakes, squinted at his surroundings, and turned back to say, "Your Highness, it's getting dark. We need to find a place to rest."

Zhu Houzhao lifted the curtain of the carriage and asked, "Where is this?"

Li Chun said, "Your Highness, this is Shimen Village. There used to be a Shimen Post Station, but it was later abandoned."

"Is it abandoned?"

Zhu Houzhao peered around and could vaguely see several dilapidated houses.

"As long as it can shelter us from the wind and rain, let's rest here!"

'

Li Chun clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Yes!"

The group began to walk towards the post station.

Wang Zongli followed behind, his face turning green as he looked at the dilapidated houses.

What's this station called?

Half of the roof tiles were missing, and there were cracks in the walls big enough to fit a fist. The yard was covered in snow, and there wasn't even a place to put your feet.

He spurred his horse forward, approached Zhu Houzhao's carriage, and said with a fawning smile, "Your Highness, according to the map, we are only thirty li away from Shanhaiguan. Why don't we skip the rest and travel through the night?"

Before Zhu Houzhao could speak, Yang Shen poked his head out of the carriage.

"Imperial Censor Wang, marching at night is different from marching during the day. It's easy to march thirty li during the day, but at night with such heavy wind and snow, we can't see the road. If we take the wrong turn, it will only delay our progress."

Wang Zongli said anxiously, "Yang, you're overthinking it! There's only one road from here to Shanhaiguan. Just follow it, how could you go the wrong way?"

Yang Shen shook his head: "The road is right, but you can't see clearly in the snow. There's snow everywhere. How can you find the road? Besides, with such a heavy snowstorm, what if the carriage overturns? What if people freeze to death?"

Wang Zongli wanted to say more, but Zhu Houzhao spoke up: "Listen to Yang, rest here. We'll get to Shanhaiguan by noon tomorrow, no delay."

Wang Zongli opened his mouth, but swallowed his words back.

The group had already started heading towards the post station. Some people were unloading the carts, some were sweeping the yard, and some were gathering firewood.

Wang Zongli, riding on his horse, looked at the dilapidated house and felt extremely unwilling.

When in his life has he ever lived in a place like this?

Even when traveling to take the imperial examinations, I would always choose clean and tidy inns along the way.

This dilapidated inn doesn't even have a door, how can we stay here?

He really didn't want to spend the night there, so he said, "Your Highness, I'll go ahead and take a look. If the snow stops, we can still continue our journey."

Upon hearing this, Li Chun said, "Imperial Censor Wang, with this weather, how can the wind and snow stop? You should stop working and rest."

Wang Zongli waved his hand: "It won't hurt to take a look. What if something happens?"

Li Chun didn't bother to talk to him anymore and continued with her own business.

Zhu Houzhao casually said, "Go ahead, just be careful!"

Wang Zongli agreed, mounted his horse, and rode forward.

The wind and snow were hitting his face. He kept his head down and his neck hunched, still pondering in his mind.

What if the snow lessens up ahead?

What if we can get there quickly?

That dilapidated inn is for whoever wants to stay; he has no intention of staying there.

Just then, I suddenly heard a sound like muffled thunder.

Wang Zongli was taken aback and looked up.

In the wind and snow, a dark shadow could be vaguely seen moving in the distance.

He rubbed his eyes and looked closely.

The dark figure drew closer and became clearer.

They're cavalry!

A dark mass was rushing towards us!

He initially thought they were the garrison troops from Shanhaiguan who had come to greet him.

Whoosh!

An arrow flew past his ear and landed in the snow.

Wang Zongli then realized something was wrong, abruptly turned his horse around, and ran back as fast as he could.

Another arrow flew by, hitting him squarely in the buttocks!

Despite the excruciating pain, Wang Zongli clung tightly to the horse's neck and galloped back the way he had come.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

At the entrance of the post station, the Imperial Guards had already begun their operation.

Li Chun shouted sternly, "Enemy attack! Prepare for battle!"

The Imperial Guards were well-trained and quickly formed a battle formation.

The shield bearer steps forward, kneels on one knee, and raises the shield diagonally to protect his back.

The archer nocked an arrow and aimed ahead.

The spearman stood at the back, the tip of his spear pointing diagonally.

Wang Zongli tumbled and crawled into the formation, fell off his horse, and lay on the ground panting.

Li Chun pulled him behind the shield: "Imperial Censor Wang, where are you injured?"

Wang Zongli clutched his buttocks, his face pale with pain: "Arrow—I've been hit by an arrow—!"

Li Chun looked down and saw a bright arrow sticking out of his buttocks, still trembling.

He couldn't help it; his lips twitched, but he quickly suppressed it and ordered, "Someone, help Imperial Censor Wang inside!"

Two Imperial Guards came over, grabbed Wang Zongli, and dragged him into the house.

Wang Zongli cried out in pain, "Be gentle! Be gentle!"

Outside, the cavalry had already charged close.

They reined in their horses at a distance and circled the post station, firing arrows as they went.

Arrows flew in, clattering and striking the shield.

The Imperial Guards remained unmoved.

The cavalry circled around a few times and fired several volleys of arrows. Seeing that they couldn't break through, they let out a whistle and turned their horses to leave.

A moment later, it disappeared into the wind and snow.

Li Chun stared in the direction they had left, waiting for a while before finally ordering, "Someone, go out and check!"

Two imperial guards mounted their horses and gave chase.

Li Chun turned and entered the post station, clasping his hands in greeting, "Your Highness, the enemy has retreated."

Zhu Houzhao showed no fear, but rather some disappointment: "They've already left? So quickly?"

Yang Shen asked, "Commander Li, have you seen who they are?"

Li Chun shook his head: "The wind and snow are too strong, and it's hard to see clearly. But judging from their clothes, they should be Mongolians."

Yang Shen frowned slightly: "Mongolian? How did you figure that out?"

Li Chundao said, "They were wearing fur robes and fur hats, just like the Tartars on the grasslands."

Yang Shen was silent for a moment, then asked, "How come there are Mongols here?"

Li Chun thought for a moment, then ordered someone to bring a map and spread it out on the table.

He pointed to a line on the map: "Your Highness, look, there's a small path heading north from here. This path can bypass our outpost, but it's narrow, only allowing a small number of troops to pass. Large groups can't get through. It must be a small cavalry unit coming to raid."

Zhu Houzhao leaned closer to look, and after a while, he suddenly looked up, his face grim: "This place is only thirty li from Shanhaiguan. How did they manage to guard it? They let people in so easily?"

Li Chun did not respond.

Just then, there was a noise at the door.

Xue Xinfu helped Wang Zongli in, and they walked in with a limp.

Wang Zongli's face was sallow, and he trembled unsteadily, grimacing with every step he took.

Xue Xinfu helped him sit down and said to Zhu Houzhao, "Your Highness, Imperial Censor Wang was shot by an arrow. Fortunately, it was in his buttocks, where the flesh is thick, and it didn't damage the tendons or bones. I have already applied wound medicine, and he will be fine after a few days of rest."

Zhu Houzhao nodded and looked at Wang Zongli: "Imperial Censor Wang, is your injury serious?"

Wang Zongli gasped in pain, but still forced himself to say, "Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. I—I am fine."

Yang Shen suddenly spoke up: "Imperial Physician Xue, where is that arrow?"

Xue Xinfu was taken aback, then turned around and ordered, "Bring me the arrows."

A member of the Imperial Guard entered carrying an arrow and handed it to Yang Shen.

Yang Shen took it and examined it over and over for a long time, his brows furrowing more and more deeply.

Then he handed the arrow to Li Chun: "Commander Li, come and take a look."

Li Chun took it and examined it carefully.

As he watched, his expression changed.

Zhu Houzhao sensed something was wrong and asked, "What's wrong?"

Li Chun raised his head and said in a deep voice, "Your Highness, this is not a Mongol arrow."

Zhu Houzhao was taken aback: "What do you mean?"

Li Chun pointed to the arrow shaft and explained, "Mongolian arrows mostly have birch shafts, and the blades are light and brittle. The arrowheads are made of iron, but the iron is of poor quality and easily dulls. The fletching is mostly made of eagle or hawk feathers because these two birds are abundant on the grasslands."

Zhu Houzhao stared intently at it and asked, "What about this one?"

Li Chun replied, "Look at this arrow. The shaft is made of hardwood, the arrowhead is forged from refined iron, not the coarse iron found on the grasslands, and the fletching is goose feathers. It was clearly made by the Ordnance Bureau!"

Zhu Houzhao asked, "You mean, this is an arrow from our Great Ming Dynasty?"

After these words were spoken, the room fell silent.

Yang Shen suddenly asked, "Commander Li, do you still remember when we left Juyong Pass?"

Li Chun was taken aback, then suddenly realized: "Yang, the study companion, means—"

He turned his head sharply to look at the arrow, his eyes becoming piercing: "I know, they were just wearing Mongolian clothes! No wonder they shot a few arrows from afar and then ran away, not daring to charge at all."

Listening from the side, Xue Xinfu couldn't help but ask, "But why did they attack His Highness?"

Yang Shen said, "Fortunately, no one was injured. This matter—"

"Why is no one injured!"

Wang Zongli shouted at the top of his lungs, "I'm injured! Very seriously injured!"

Everyone in the room looked over.

Yang Shen looked at him and asked, "Could it be that they are targeting Imperial Censor Wang?"

Wang Zongli was taken aback at first, but then he realized what was going on.

He's a seasoned veteran, having navigated the treacherous waters of officialdom for so many years, what kind of shady dealings hasn't he seen?

He gritted his teeth and said, word by word, "I know! It must be those people from Shanhaiguan who are behind this! If I'm not mistaken, there's something wrong with their accounts. They were afraid Your Highness would investigate, so they impersonated Mongols to scare Your Highness and make you back down!"

He grew angrier and angrier, his face turning red: "I want to see just how many false accounts they've made! When we get to Shanhaiguan, I'll get to the bottom of this!"

Zhu Houzhao blinked and looked at Yang Shen.

Yang Shen remained expressionless, only nodding slightly.