Chapter 231: Lord Zhao doesn’t remember who gave gifts, but he remembers clearly who didn’t.

Chapter 231: Lord Zhao doesn’t remember who gave gifts, but he remembers clearly who didn’t.

Chapter 231: Lord Zhao doesn’t remember who gave gifts, but he remembers clearly who didn’t.

"Your Excellency, the Privy Councilor!"

As the boots stopped, a deep, dull voice sounded:

"I am here, General Shi Meng, the commander of the Shenji Camp."

Xue Shence then raised his head, closed the document in his hand, and looked at the man calmly.

As his name suggests, Shi Meng is quite burly, wearing soft armor, with bulging muscles, protruding veins on his arms, and a dark complexion.

He looked to be about forty years old, with a beard as hard as steel needles and eyes as sharp as a tiger's.

At this moment, he clasped his hands together, looking puzzled:
"I wonder why you are summoning me so urgently?"

There are three major camps in the Beijing camp: Five Armies, Three Thousand, and Shenji... Each camp has a commander.

Shi Meng commands the Shenji Camp and is also a practicing martial artist.

He seemed like a reckless and brave general in the army, and had little connection with the "Shenjiying". However, Xue Shence, who had a close relationship with them, knew very well:

The person in front of me looks rough but it's just a disguise. In fact, he is kind and meticulous.

How can one who can climb to this position among military officers be a true reckless man?

"Take a look at this." Xue Shence said calmly and threw a document to him.

The commander of the Shenji Battalion, who looked like a brave general, opened the book and frowned:

"Your Majesty appointed Zhao Duan to the Shenjiying as a deputy commander? This..."

Xue Shence folded his hands in front of him and said calmly:
"The official appointment has not been issued yet. I want you to know this in advance so that you can prepare for it."

Shi Meng, who had a rough and deceptive appearance, was in doubt:

"Although Zhao Duan is a military officer, he is from the Imperial Court. Why did he suddenly come to the Beijing Camp? Could it be... for Prince Jing's Mansion..."

Xue Shence sighed and said:
"The firearms case is extremely important. His Majesty ordered me to investigate it myself, but it failed to satisfy His Majesty. Now this person is sent to take up the post, obviously to take over this matter. Just do your best to cooperate. He can do whatever he wants as long as it is not out of line, and..."

After a brief pause, the Dayu military officer, the first-rank "Military God", said solemnly:
"Tell your subordinates not to give him any leverage at this critical moment when he is out of office."

Shi Meng was stunned for a moment, his eyes turned slightly:

"Your Excellency is worried about His Majesty..."

Xue Shence waved his hand, but did not say anything more. He just told him to leave and experience it himself.

Shi Meng clasped his fists and said goodbye.

Walk out of the Privy Council.

His huge body, as big as a mountain, rode on the military horse and kept thinking on the way back to the military camp.

In my mind, I recalled the rumors that had been circulating in the military in recent days.

which is:
Now that the fighting among the civil officials in the court has come to an end, the sage is very likely to have time to reorganize the military generals.

So... what the Privy Councilor meant was... He was afraid that a group of arrogant and powerful generals would cause trouble for him and give Your Majesty an excuse to take action...

Well, that should be it.

only……

"What a trouble." The commander held the reins and suddenly felt a headache.

The generals in the army were brave and fierce, and they attached great importance to the friendship of their comrades. Not to mention Zhang Changji, the former captain of the Shenjiying Camp who was killed by Zhao Duan, after all, it involved Prince Jing's Mansion, so it was still a small matter.

The key point is that not long ago, masters of the Kuangfu Society assassinated officials one after another, whether intentionally or unintentionally, and quite a few of them were military officers.

Especially the first small flag officer who died. It is said that his brother, because he cursed a few words in excitement, was thrown into prison by Zhao Duan's men and tortured severely.

In addition, some people with ulterior motives spread rumors, causing some military officers in the camp to feel resentful. Now that the Shenji Battalion has been airdropped, how can they appease their subordinates...

Especially, the sons of military merit, headed by the "young master" of the Duke of Zhenguo... are indeed a difficult problem.

I just hope that my words as the "commander" can be of some use.

as well as……

The traitor who defected to Prince Jing's Mansion...

Shi Meng looked worried.

Before we knew it, the Beijing camp was in sight.

……

……

"Dangdang!"

Deep inside the imperial court, in a single female prison cell.

With the sound of a door opening in the corridor, Yunxi, who had been curled up on the straw bed, drowsy and unaware of the age, suddenly woke up.

In the darkness, a thin, well-proportioned girl was wearing prison uniform.

His hair was disheveled and his skin looked sickly pale from not seeing much sunlight for months.

She blinked and looked at the tall "品"-shaped air vent in the cell. She saw a beam of light shooting out from it and dust floating inside.

"daytime……"

Yunxi murmured, climbed up, greedily walked towards the beam of light, and walked to the wall.

Use a small stone to draw a line on the wall.

The grey and black walls of the cell were covered with marks to measure the time spent in prison.

As an "abandoned child" abandoned by Zhuang Xiaocheng, Yunxi suspected that she had been completely forgotten.

The last time he was "arraigned" was a few months ago.

Censor Lu Liang put her into a prison van and tried to take her to the Ministry of Justice.

But he was stopped by Yuan Li halfway.

Afterwards, Yun Xi became more and more angry as she thought about it, and the jailer passed the information she had about Lu Liang to the annoying Zhao Duan.

After that, there was no news of him anymore.

After many days, Yunxi was suddenly escorted from the government jail to the famous imperial prison, also known as purgatory.

Yunxi was extremely excited, thinking that she, a traitor, was finally going to face cruel torture.

come on!

Eighteen kinds of torture!
I'm ready.

She would rather sacrifice herself and be brutally killed by the false emperor's lackeys. She died for the ideal of supporting the country, but she was tired of the pain of being forgotten.

then……

She was disappointed again!

Even though she was imprisoned, she still couldn't escape the fate of being forgotten, and even... I don't know why...

The accommodation and food are better than when I was in the government office...

Yunxi returned from the wall and sat down on her little bed like a zombie.

He held up the chest of the prison uniform with a huge "Prisoner" written on it with both hands, feeling the heavy flesh.

I want to cry without tears.

It’s actually getting bigger... "When will days like this end?" Yun Xi sighed to the sky.

Suddenly, she was surprised to find that the footsteps in the corridor were getting closer.

But it’s clearly not the time to deliver food.

Until the jailer brought in a female prisoner who was a few years older than her and slightly less attractive than herself, threw her into his cell, and turned away.

Yunxi's slow brain finally realized that she seemed...

I have a "roommate".

She could hardly hide her excitement, but still approached cautiously, kicking with her toes, and the woman lying on the ground, seemed to have suffered a lot of punishment.

He spoke somewhat awkwardly:
"Are you... okay?"

The maid who went by the alias Bluebird slowly got up and looked at her in despair.

When their eyes met, both women were stunned, their eyes widened.

Then, they all spoke at the same time:
"Yun Xi?!"

"Bluebird?!"

……

A few moments.

The two women who met again in the imperial prison staged a scene of recognition.

They are old acquaintances.

They had studied together for a while at the headquarters of the Kuangfu Society, and later separated. Yunxi followed Zhuang Xiaocheng, and Qingniao followed the Thousand-Faced God.

It's been several years since we last met.

"How did you get arrested too? Has Qianmian entered the capital?"

Yunxi helped the weak Bluebird to her own bed and asked impatiently.

She was too eager for information from the outside world.

The "Blue Bird", who was no longer a maid and whose real name was unknown, looked dejected and said:

"Qianmian has been captured, yes, but I didn't see it with my own eyes. I heard it from the jailer. Before that, he had already abandoned me and treated me as a discarded child."

Yunxi was stunned for a moment, feeling the same way for some unknown reason.

But Master Zhuang definitely did not abandon her, he just was unable to take her away.

As Qingniao continued to speak, Yunxi was completely stunned.

The new helmsman was ambushed and killed... The new policy of the court... Zhao Duan and the imperial eunuchs teamed up to set up a scheme...

"and many more!"

Yun Xi grabbed her, her lips trembling, her eyes moved:

"You said that Zhao Duan captured Qianmian? He also killed Han Shuangjian? He is just a pretty boy in Baima Prison, how could he have such ability? What does he have to do with the imperial court?"

The bluebird looked at her strangely, and then suddenly realized:
"You have been locked up here for too long and don't know the changes in the outside world. Zhao Duan is no longer the same as before. Even Master Zhuang regards him as a formidable enemy. Listen to me..."

Russian qing.

After hearing from Bluebird about the many changes that had taken place in the outside world over the past few months, as well as Zhao Duan’s various tactics.

Yunxi sat on the cold, broken bed like a broken doll, unable to come back to her senses for a long time.

"Him? How could it be possible..."

……

……

In the next few days, the capital city entered a rare period of stability.

In the court, the struggles among the major parties have subsided, and the implementation of the new policy is proceeding in an orderly manner, but this is bound to be a long-term project.

It cannot be achieved overnight.

Zhao Duan did not forget that he was still tasked with arresting Zhuang Xiaocheng.

He tried to get information from the Thousand-Faced God, but the information he got was not of much value.

I don’t know whether he is just being stubborn or he really doesn’t know.

After being ambushed in South City, You Zhande's family was rescued and did not die.

However, because he was severely injured by the Thousand-Faced God, You Zhande would have to rest for half a year.

Zhao Duan was rarely merciful and did not pursue the matter any further.

Instead, You Zhande asked someone to deliver a letter to Lihuatang, expressing his gratitude profusely.

He said that if Zhao Du'an went to Xiping Road in the future and gave any instructions, the You family would do it even if it meant death.

The main point is to have a good attitude of admitting mistakes.

Then, he left the capital with his wife and children and returned to his hometown.

at the same time.

The imperial decree promoting Zhao Duan to the fourth rank finally arrived, along with an imperial order appointing him as a deputy commander.

For a moment, there was a small stir in the officialdom.

It is quite rare to jump from the sixth rank to the fourth rank, but considering his achievements, it is also rare and not many people say anything strange about it.

In the next few days, Zhao Duan held banquets at his home continuously. Officials, both known and unknown, came one after another, and he received numerous gifts.

Especially Yuan Li, Dong Xuan and other court giants, who sent gifts, showed great respect.

Even though many officials secretly feared and hated "Zhao Yanwang", it did not stop them from giving him gifts.

"King Zhao may not remember who gave gifts, but he remembers clearly in his little notebook who didn't."

Such a sentence came out of nowhere and spread like wildfire.

The number of gifts suddenly increased again.

And one night, the three members of the Zhao family closed the door, lit the lights and opened their gifts.

Zhao Pan curiously asked his elder brother who was slandering him.

Zhao Duan was slightly embarrassed. He used a box of 100-year-old ginseng to gently shave his stepsister's scalp and scolded her with a smile:
"Little girl, don't ask about adults' affairs."

Zhao Pan was very indignant, she was not a little girl.

……

Autumn has arrived in the capital.

This was confirmed by Zhao Duan when he got up this morning and saw the slightly cold dew on the window.

And when he yawned, got out of bed, put on a brand new indigo official robe of a fourth-rank military officer, and pushed open the door.

Squinting at the gorgeous chrysanthemums in the yard, my sight involuntarily passed through the courtyard wall and looked towards the south of the city.

He didn't forget.

Today is the day when the new official takes office.

Thanks to 2024……0917 for the -point reward support~
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(End of this chapter)