Traveling through time and space and becoming a deposed prince, he just wants to survive!

Chapter 499 Welcoming the Imperial Envoy

Wang Shixiong, accompanied by a group of officials, rode forward with solemn expressions, their horses' hooves raising clouds of dust, as they prepared to go two miles away to meet the imperial envoy Hong Kui.

At this time, the sun was shining on the earth, warming everyone, but it did not relieve the heaviness in their hearts at all.

At this moment, a fast horse came galloping like an arrow.

Seeing Wang Shixiong, the soldier quickly dismounted, his movements quick but somewhat flustered, and knelt on one knee, his voice loud but unable to conceal his urgency:

"Your Excellency, the imperial envoy has gone along the city wall towards the east gate."

When everyone heard this, they were all stunned and looked at each other with confusion in their eyes.

For a moment, discussions arose among the crowd, and everyone was wondering what Hong Kui's intention was.

Wang Shixiong's face darkened, and his face, which usually looked intimidating without anger, became even more serious.

He slowly turned to the newcomer, his eyes as sharp as a torch, as if he could see through everything, and asked seriously:

"Did you see it clearly? Are you sure it's the imperial envoy's carriage?"

The soldier was intimidated by Wang Shixiong's majesty and lowered his head even deeper, not daring to look him in the face. His voice trembled slightly, yet he answered with great certainty:

"I dare not speak nonsense. I saw it clearly. It was the imperial envoy's carriage, with guards in front and behind, about a hundred people. The flag on the carriage fluttered in the wind. That unique marking was unmistakable."

"You go down."

Wang Shixiong waved his hand. After the soldiers retreated, he did not look back. He still looked ahead and asked the people around him:

"Everyone, what do you think about this?"

Cao Youde hurriedly stepped forward, clasped his fists and saluted, his posture upright, and said respectfully:

"County Magistrate, the Imperial Envoy should have arrived by now. Since the soldier who inquired about the situation said so, it seems possible. Perhaps the Imperial Envoy wanted to inspect the city defenses along the way, which is why he changed his route."

Wang Shixiong nodded slightly, and after a moment's thought, he said with some resentment:

"Well, let's ride after him on horseback. Perhaps we can catch up with him before the imperial envoy enters the city."

After saying that, he swung the whip violently, and the whip drew an arc in the air, making a crisp sound, and spurred the horse to gallop towards the east gate.

Seeing this, the others also whipped their horses and followed closely.

The sounds of horse hooves intertwined, like rapid drumbeats.

Some accompanying officials without horses looked at the people going away with anxious expressions on their faces and hurriedly started to catch up.

One of them suddenly had an idea, slapped his head and said:

"Why don't we go through the city? That way we can cut the distance in half."

When everyone heard this, they all thought it was a brilliant plan, so they hurriedly turned back and quickly ran out of the city through a shortcut.

Wang Shixiong rode his horse very fast, and soon he could vaguely see Hong Kui's team.

At this time, Hong Kui was about to enter the city when he heard a shout from behind him:

"Master Hong, I am here to greet you."

Hong Kui's guards saw a group of people riding horses coming from the north gate. The leader was dressed in official attire. They came to the carriage window, bowed slightly, and asked softly:

"Master Hong, do you want to stop?"

Hong Kui guessed that it might be Wang Shixiong and others, so he ordered the coachman to stop the car.

Although he was a military officer and quite old, his movements were quite agile. He quickly stuck his head out of the carriage and looked back.

I saw Wang Shixiong and others riding their horses at full speed, raising a cloud of dust.

He did not put on airs, but got off the carriage.

As soon as his feet touched the ground, he saw Wang Shixiong riding his horse towards him.

Before Wang Shixiong's horse had completely stopped, he swiftly dismounted and hurried towards Hong Kui. He stopped about five steps away, saluted with his fists clasped, and showed respect.

Hong Kui smiled, took three steps forward, raised his hand and patted Wang Shixiong's hand affectionately, his eyes showing some warmth:

"Oh, it's County Magistrate Wang. I originally intended not to disturb you, but I didn't expect to meet you here. On this way here, I saw the city defense arrangements and couldn't help but stay a little longer."

"When I heard the Imperial Envoy was coming, I went to the North Gate to greet him. I didn't expect him to arrive at the East Gate, so I hurried here. Please forgive me."

"Don't be so reserved. I've come here to bring His Majesty's imperial edict, and also to meet the officials back home. I'm very pleased to hear that Dai County is thriving under the governance of County Magistrate Wang."

When Wang Shixiong heard Hong Kui mention that he was carrying an imperial edict, he immediately realized that something big must be going on. He did not dare to be negligent in the slightest and knelt down to receive the edict.

"No hurry, no hurry. It's not a particularly urgent matter. We can read it out after we enter the city. It's not appropriate to be here at the city gate right now with so many people coming and going."

Hong Kui hurriedly tried to stop him, and his words contained a hint of flattery, which made Wang Shixiong feel that there seemed to be a hidden meaning in his words.

So, Wang Shixiong led the way, Hong Kui's carriage followed slowly behind, and the group swayed into the city gate.

The wheels of the carriage rolled slowly, making a "gurgling" sound, which intertwined with the sound of horse hooves.

At this time, the group of officials, both big and small, who had accompanied him arrived one after another, all of them panting. Seeing that Hong Kui had already started to enter the city, they had no choice but to hurry to catch up.

Along the way, Hong Kui noticed that the firepower configuration of the East Gate was almost the same as that of the North Gate.

Cannons were neatly arranged on the city walls, with their muzzles pointing majestically outside the city, as if ready to deliver a fatal blow to the invading enemy at any time.

Tiger barrel cannons of different calibers were neatly mounted at the city gate. The cannon bodies were polished to a shine, reflecting a dazzling light in the sun.

All this is thanks to the Wang family's heavy investment here. All the weapons used for defense were purchased with their own money, which enabled them to build such a huge and solid defense system.

If an external enemy were to invade and see such a strong defense, I'm afraid even the thought of attacking would disappear in an instant.

Hong Kui saw all this and secretly thought about how to persuade the Wang family to send troops to help.

Soon, everyone arrived at the government office.

The gate of the government office is solemn and majestic. The golden door nails on the vermilion gate sparkle in the sunlight.

Hong Kui did not rush to take out the imperial edict, but said: "The imperial edict is not urgent for now. I want to talk to the county governor in the back hall first."

Seeing that Hong Kui deliberately avoided others and wanted to talk to him in private, Wang Shixiong did not ask much, but led Hong Kui to the back hall.

When they arrived at a quiet and secluded place, Hong Kui was the first to speak:

"Lord Wang, there's no need to worry. The imperial edict actually ordered you to send troops. I didn't read it out on the spot because I was worried that Lord Wang might have concerns, so I wanted to discuss it with you first."

When Wang Shixiong heard that the imperial edict was about sending troops, he calmed down and asked calmly:

"Since it's an imperial decree ordering us to leave the city to meet the enemy, we should obey it. Why make it so secretive?"

"Lord Wang! The Emperor wants to hear your thoughts first. If you don't want to send troops, then I won't issue this imperial edict. I will then go to Jinyang to convey His Majesty's instructions. This also shows that the Emperor understands the Wang family's difficulties and considers them in every way."

Hong Kui said this deliberately in order to make Wang Shixiong feel grateful to Zhao Hui and create a more relaxed atmosphere for the subsequent conversation.

"Oh, I see. We shall obey the Emperor's decree. Lord Hong, there is no need to worry so much."

Wang Shixiong really couldn't figure out Hong Kui's intention at this moment. He could only suppress his doubts and still respond in an official tone.

Hong Kui knew that it would be difficult to make Wang Shixiong trust him completely with just these few simple words.

He said no more, but took out the imperial edict and handed it to Wang Shixiong without reading it out, indicating that he should check it himself.