Chapter 384 The dust has settled
Chapter 384 The dust has settled (two-in-one)
"Xilulu."
Outside the main gate of the Jiangnan Garden with white walls and black tiles, Zhao Duan tightened the reins and did not dismount from his horse. He just sat on the horse and looked ahead.
Behind him, a group of Jinyi officers and imperial guards came ashore and rode on horses. They followed him murderously like wolves and tigers. They first drove the private soldiers of the palace guarding the gate in roughly to report.
Afterwards, the bodies of the assassins were fished out of the lake and thrown on the ground.
"Sir, are you really not going to wait for Hai Gongsheng and the others to come back? If we break in like this, will the other party..." Shen Juan was the most thoughtful person in Lihua Hall. He came over with a worried look on his face.
Zhao Duan glanced at him, smiled and shook his head:
"Relax, if Prince Jing had the guts to openly break up with me, he wouldn't have secretly arranged an assassination outside the city. Don't underestimate a hero's ability to endure humiliation. How could a man of great achievements not be able to withstand a provocation like ours?"
After he led his men back to the city, he first encountered Xu Qian, Xu Junling and the maids and servants who came out to greet them, and followed their brother away.
After Zhao Duan marched through the streets with great fanfare, he sent someone to inform Feng Ju, and he himself led everyone straight into the garden where Prince Jing was staying.
The purpose is simple, to vent one's anger and to expand the results of victory, so as to completely settle this game concerning the "opening of the market".
After pacifying his subordinates, Zhao Duan gathered his energy and let out a loud shout.
After that, he counted ten breaths silently, and then he saw a group of people walking out of the mansion, led by Prince Jing and his son.
"Zhao Duan!"
Prince Jing had a sullen look on his face, and he walked as if carrying thunder and lightning. Before anyone arrived, he shouted angrily:
"What do you mean?!"
Zhao Duan was on his horse, holding a whip in his hand, looking down at the powerful prince in gorgeous clothes with an indifferent and sarcastic expression:
"Your Majesty is finally here. I thought you would avoid me."
Prince Jing looked righteous and frowned when he saw the corpses on the ground.
"Zhao Duan! I am asking you! What do you intend to do by breaking into my residence?!"
This is pretending to be ignorant when one knows the truth... Just looking at his indignant and puzzled expression, Zhao Duan couldn't help but admire him and wanted to give him an Oscar trophy...
"Prince Jing, I was assassinated outside the city not long ago and almost lost my life. Did you know that?" Zhao Duan asked coldly.
Prince Jing frowned and said, "I just heard about it, but I don't know the details."
Zhao Duan laughed: "What a fool you are to not know the details, old marquis, tell the prince."
"Yes!"
Hou Renmeng was a complete troublemaker. He was not afraid of Xu Wen at all and immediately recounted the assassination experience in a loud voice.
Zhao Duan waited for him to finish speaking before his face darkened. He pointed at the father and son with his whip and said arrogantly:
"Your Majesty, don't you think you should give me an explanation?"
Prince Jing frowned and said:
"The traitor of Kuangfu Society was so bold to assassinate you in broad daylight. Why do you come to me for an explanation?"
Zhao Duan narrowed his eyes and said softly:
"Your Highness, do you think it was the work of the rebels? But the one who appeared with the rebels was Duan Shuiliu. As everyone knows, before I entered the city, this Jianghu man had troubled me. At that time, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was right beside me. If I remember correctly, he kept saying that they were friends."
Xu Jinglong's face changed and he said angrily:
"Zhao Duan, stop slandering me! This prince is acquainted with Duan Shuiliu, but there are many people who know him, and there are many of them in the capital. He was defeated by Hai Gongsheng that day and fled long ago. He has not appeared in the past few days. Who knows that he is related to the rebels?"
As he spoke, he suddenly realized:
"Are you deliberately framing me to take revenge on me?"
Zhao Duan overlooked the father and son's performance, and his smile became wider:
"Oh, so Duan Shuiliu acted on his own? Then were these assassins' bodies also arranged by the rebels?"
"Otherwise?" Prince Jing's face darkened. "If you are not a rebel, how can you be involved with me?"
Zhao Duan sighed softly and said:
"I have seen them. These people are very clean. They don't have anything on them that could reveal their identities. I wanted to capture a few of them alive, but they all bit themselves and committed suicide... What a group of brave men. Unfortunately, they didn't meet a wise leader. Instead, they served a group of ugly scumbags who were living in the gutter and worked for such treacherous and evil people. Do you think they deserved to die, Your Majesty?"
Prince Jing's hands, hanging in his sleeves, were clenched so hard that the knuckles turned white, and his face was as gloomy as water.
Zhao Duan refused to give in, looking serious:
"Why don't you say anything, Your Majesty? Could it be that you sympathize with these traitors?"
Prince Jing took a deep breath and smiled:
"Master Zhao is right. He deserves death. A mere rebel dared to assassinate an official of the imperial court. He deserves death."
"Your Majesty is a sensible person," Zhao Duan's smile faded.
"However, although I trust the prince, I should always be cautious when it comes to the rebels. After Duan Shuiliu fled, he seemed to be heading this way. Considering that he is acquainted with the prince, he might choose to hide here. Your Majesty, do you mind if I search for him?"
After saying this, without waiting for the other party to respond, Zhao Duan waved his hand:
"Someone, go search the house to see if there are any traitors hiding!"
"Yes!"
Hou Renmeng took the lead and rushed forward with his sword drawn.
"How dare you..." Xu Jinglong's eyes were red with anger. He tried to stop them, but suddenly Prince Jing grabbed his arm. Prince Jing said calmly, "Just let him search."
"But..." Xu Jinglong was anxious and wanted to remind the princess in the back house.
But when a group of officers and soldiers, like wolves and tigers, broke into the house, searched and smashed everything, and even chopped up the bed in the prince's bedroom with a knife, they returned and found nothing.
Not surprisingly, with Lu Yaner's level of cultivation, it was not difficult for her to hide.
"Are you satisfied, Lord Zhao? If you are still not reassured, would you like to take my son and I away for interrogation?" Prince Jing said with a smile.
Zhao Duan looked regretful:
"Your Highness, that's not right. I was just angry and said something inappropriate. Please forgive me. Don't take it seriously. I am following the law. According to the Dayu Law, I don't have the power to arrest the royal family for interrogation. Please don't force me to make a mistake."
Prince Jing was almost amused by his hypocrisy: "Okay, okay."
Zhao Duan changed the subject and said:
"I am unfamiliar with Hu Ting. To be honest, you are the one who is familiar with this place. I would like to trouble you to hang these corpses on the top of the city wall to deter the rebels in the city."
Still without waiting for his response, a group of royal guards from Lihua Hall came forward with grins on their faces. Each of them picked up one or two corpses and threw them carelessly into the courtyard of the house.
Every time a corpse fell in, there was a "bang" sound, splashing a pool of blood, and there were screams of surprise from the servants in the mansion.
The faces of the father and son outside the door became even uglier.
Finally, Xu Jinglong couldn't bear it anymore. He suddenly took a few steps forward, pointed at Zhao Duan and started to curse.
Zhao Duan suddenly swung the whip in his hand, and with lightning speed, the tip of the whip hit Xu Jinglong's face hard.
"Snapped!"
There was a loud whip sound, and all around was silent for a moment.
Xu Jinglong covered his swollen, bleeding facial wound in disbelief, seeming to be stunned. He didn't expect Zhao Duan to actually dare to attack him.
"Sorry," Zhao Duan took back the whip, looking apologetic:
"It was not long after the assassination. I was still in shock. When I saw someone approaching suddenly, I subconsciously fought back. I didn't expect to accidentally injure His Royal Highness. After I return to the capital, I will apologize to His Majesty. What do you think, His Royal Highness?"
Xu Jinglong was panting like a cow and could no longer maintain the demeanor of a graceful nobleman.
Prince Jing, who was also stunned by the whip, could hardly hold back the smile on his face and uttered a word in a low voice:
"roll!"
"Haha, let's go." Zhao Duan laughed, waved his hand, rode his horse and led a group of men away along the long street.
All that was left was the ruined Prince Jing's residence and the prying eyes nearby, near and far.
It is conceivable that it won’t be long before what happens here spreads throughout the city.
……
……
the other side.
Wu Ling, dressed as a gangster, quickly returned from the noisy street and quietly went into a secluded alley.
After knocking on the door, he entered the temporary residence of the small team of Kuangfu Society in the city.
"What's the situation? Is the thief Zhao dead?!"
As soon as Wu Ling entered the room, he was surrounded by the passionate young people in the room.
Kou Qichi, a young man as restless as a little tiger, had a particularly scorching gaze.
Wu Ling took off his bamboo hat, shook his head solemnly, and said:
"We failed. The thief Zhao has led his troops back to the city. He seems to have only been slightly injured. Our operation has failed!"
The light in the eyes of the group of young people dimmed and the atmosphere became dull.
"Bang!" Kou Qichi punched the wall angrily, not caring about the flesh on his hand. "Why don't good people live long, and why do these evil villains take over? Why can't they be killed?"
The others also cursed and were very disappointed.
Wu Ling glanced around the room and frowned, "Lin Yuebai is not back?"
One person said, "Senior Sister Lin went to the agreed place outside the city to meet Qi Yuchun. General Qi has not returned yet."
Just as he finished speaking, there was another regular knock on the door, followed by Lin Yuebai's voice:
"it's me."
Everyone rushed out to meet them. When the door opened, a female sorceress dressed as a man, Lin Yuebai, walked in with a solemn expression. She glanced at Wu Ling and sighed:
"It seems you already know."
Wu Ling said solemnly: "The Zhao thief is not dead, how is General Qi?"
Lin Yuebai shook his head:
"Commander Qi was seriously injured, but luckily he managed to escape. He was worried that the government in Huting City would conduct a large-scale manhunt, so he left first and asked me to come back and lead everyone to evacuate as quickly as possible according to the planned route!"
The atmosphere in the room was depressing.
Seeing that everyone was dejected, Lin Yuebai adjusted his mood and encouraged them:
"The Zhao thief is not immortal, but the time has not come yet. Although he failed this time, there will be opportunities in the future. Besides, it's not completely without good news."
Seeing Wu Ling and others looking up at me.
Lin Yuebai smiled and said:
“Commander Qi said that during this assassination attempt, a Bodhisattva from the Buddhist sect also appeared nearby, but he did not show up.
Moreover, the Buddhist ancestral temple in the Western Regions has sent people to the capital. In short, the situation will be very complicated. The pseudo-emperor will face a difficult problem next. If the Buddhist sect cannot handle it well, the situation may lead to a direction that is favorable to us. "A Bodhisattva also participated in this assassination?
Why didn't it show up?
Wu Ling was completely confused.
As for the Western Regions monks coming to Dayu, he knew about it in advance, and he also knew that the Buddhist Bodhisattva Nagarjuna and Master Dajing had already left their temples...
"Who is coming to Huting this time, Nagarjuna or Mahavira? It can't be the female Bodhisattva Prajna, right?" he asked curiously.
Lin Yuebai shook his head, indicating that he didn't know either.
Then he urged everyone to get up and evacuate immediately.
……
……
Humble Administrator's Garden.
When Zhao Du'an returned to the garden with a swagger, he found that Feng Ju was already leading a large group of officials, waiting anxiously in the hall.
"Master Zhao!"
"Your Majesty!"
"I heard that you were assassinated..."
A group of officials swarmed over and only breathed a sigh of relief when they were sure that he was okay.
What followed was a period of self-examination, as if he was asking for forgiveness.
"Haha, you don't have to do this, my lords. I am an official in the same court as you. My rank is lower than yours. I don't deserve this."
Zhao Duan smiled brightly and comforted everyone first. He also said that he would not blame them for this matter. Only then did the group of civil servants feel slightly relieved.
"Doctor Feng," Zhao Duan sat in the main seat, picked up the blue and white tea bowl, took a sip, and then said lightly:
"There are a few things for you to do next."
"You say!"
"First, immediately search the entire city for the rebels, especially the clinic and other places. If there are any suspicious injured people, do not alert them and report immediately."
"Second, summon the imperial merchants to the Humble Administrator's Garden. I will meet them in person to reassure them."
"Third, I just went to the place where Prince Jing was staying. You go ask Hou Renmeng and the others what I did specifically, and then announce this to me. I want the whole city to know about this before tonight."
Zhao Duan stared at him again: "One last thing. Tomorrow's Lake Pavilion meeting will start as usual. I will wait for the result in the Humble Administrator's Garden."
The officials looked at each other in bewilderment. They all understood something, stood up and said yes, then left in a hurry to do their work.
After the others left, Haitang, who was left alone to look for Madam Xiao, came over quietly and said:
"Did you leave me in the city on purpose?"
Zhao Duan smiled and said to his female colleague: "How come?"
Haitang was indignant: "It's obvious! I'm not weak! If I were there, maybe I could keep Qi Yuchun!"
You are the descendant of Lao Hai... If I take you to such a dangerous place and it doesn't affect the overall situation, wouldn't that mean I am ignorant? Jianghu is not just about fighting and killing, but also about the ways of the world...
Zhao Duan was secretly complaining in his heart.
Haitang frowned and took out a bottle of medicine and a bandage. Just as she was about to speak, she heard a noise outside the courtyard. It turned out to be the old eunuch in a dragon robe, who came back with Jiyue and Lang Shiba.
The three of them had obviously learned that Zhao Duan was safe, so they were quite surprised when he walked in.
"We are scared to death by you."
Eunuch Hai was wearing a low-key cotton robe, with beads of sweat oozing from his graying temples.
After he came in, he looked at him for a moment, threw the Frost Sword to him, sat down unhappily, and summoned his granddaughter to massage his shoulders.
"Hehe, who would have thought there was a killer."
Zhao Duan smiled playfully and briefly explained the matter, saying only that he had a backup plan. Eunuch Hai was an old and experienced man, so he did not ask any further questions.
Ji Yue and Lang Shiba were relieved to see that he was fine and went to recuperate in silence.
Several people talked in the hall for a while, and Zhao Duan also told about what happened after he returned to the city and went to Prince Jing to cause a scene.
"Today's incident is a blessing in disguise. It will force Prince Jing to swallow my beating, and those neutral factions will be further shaken."
Zhao Duan sighed.
What I was thinking about in my heart was still the change in Prince Huai'an's position, but what specific choice Prince Huai'an would make would become clear tomorrow.
After hearing what happened, Haitang looked unhappy and indignant:
"Your Majesty should kill these princes. On the battlefield, you always have to capture the leader first. If you kill them directly, what are you afraid of?"
I didn’t realize that, Xiaohai, you are quite extreme... Zhao Duan glanced at her.
Eunuch Hai felt his granddaughter's shoulder massage service, but he drooped his eyelids and said unhappily:
"Don't think too much. Your Majesty is now being slandered by the rebels and charged with killing his brother and father, but at least he didn't do it. After all, Prince Jing is your uncle. As long as he doesn't do anything out of the ordinary in public, no matter how evil he is in private, will they find a reason to kill him? Do you really want your Majesty to bear the infamy for all eternity?"
After scolding his great-great-granddaughter, Eunuch Hai sighed again: "Besides, can you kill her just because you want to?"
"Your Majesty is not in the Heaven Realm?" Haitang said stubbornly, "Is there anything that cannot be killed?"
Eunuch Hai shook his head and sighed:
"Your Majesty is in the capital, blessed by the emperor's dragon energy, so he is naturally a celestial being. Outside the capital, it is a completely different scene."
Zhao Duan didn't say anything, knowing that Lao Hai was referring to the word "fake" in "fake celestial being".
Since it is fake, there must be drawbacks.
The empress traveled too far away from the capital, and her realm declined, which was a disadvantage.
Haitang was surprised and asked, "Now that Your Majesty has left the capital, will the dragon energy weaken?"
Eunuch Hai nodded, pondered for a moment, and added:
"It was like this before, so I couldn't leave the capital, but as long as I can sit on the throne for a while longer, maybe next year, I can go out a little bit. If the whole world is completely united and the throne is completely secure, there will be no difference within the territory of the Great Yu Dynasty."
Zhao Duan suddenly had an idea:
If the empress could go out of the capital for a while next year, does that mean that the world situation will undergo further changes?
Eunuch Hai gently patted his great-granddaughter's young hand with his wrinkled hand and sighed:
“Without the Heavenly Man Realm, why would the prince kill anyone? Even if he really kills one, killing one will force the others to immediately start a riot… The imperial court can no longer stand this group of people making trouble together. There are too many bandit problems to suppress, let alone the vassal kings…”
Zhao Duan smiled and said, "After the market opens, the court's fiscal deficit will be greatly alleviated next year, and we will have the confidence to suppress the rebels."
Eunuch Hai glanced at him and asked, "Do you think it's possible to open the market?"
"Seven or eight out of ten."
Zhao Duan gave an answer, looked up at the winter day outside, and said softly:
"We'll just have to wait and see."
……
On that day, officers and soldiers in Huting City went through the streets and alleys, searching for the rebels everywhere, and the city was filled with a murderous atmosphere.
At the same time, the news that Zhao Duan had been assassinated but returned safely, and that he had whipped and thrown the body at Prince Jing's residence, spread like wildfire. It took only one night for the news to spread throughout the entire Huting.
That night, countless people were completely unable to sleep.
……
The next day, Huting opened for business.
Zhao Du'an got up at dawn and did not leave. He just ate quietly in the Humble Administrator's Garden. Then he moved a chair and sat in the courtyard to bask in the sun, waiting for the result.
He has done everything he could.
There is really no need to attend this meeting.
Time passed little by little.
There is only the sound of birds singing in the Humble Administrator's Garden. Today, Huting City is exceptionally quiet, as if something is brewing that could change this corrupt dynasty.
I do not know how long it has been.
Zhao Duan, lying in a chair with his face covered by an open book, heard the sound of chaotic footsteps coming from a distance.
That was Feng Ju who had hurried back. This lowly but powerful doctor was wearing an official robe and had a rosy face. He almost trotted to the Humble Administrator's Garden.
Perhaps he ran too fast, and fell flat on his face when he got close, but he didn't care at all. He just almost knelt on the ground, looking up at Zhao Duan excitedly:
"Sir...sir..."
Zhao Duan raised his hand and slowly took the book off his face. He looked at the rows of birds flying across the azure sky and the dazzling winter sun, and said, "How is it?"
Feng Ju said excitedly:
"Qingzhou's Xiao family leader took the lead, and the rest of the neutral merchants and wealthy families with close ties to the Huai'an Palace also changed their stance... The market was opened, and it worked! A huge success!"
Zhao Duan's mouth curled up slightly, and he turned over lazily, listening to Feng Ju's uncontrollable laughter, and muttered contemptuously:
"Look at you, you bear."
……
Dafeng Tower.
roof.
Prince Huai'an listened to the reports from his son and daughter behind him. The pot-bellied and gluttonous prince stood with his hands behind his back, looking towards the direction of the city gate, where a convoy was leaving the city and returning towards Jiancheng Road.
That was Prince Jing who had already left.
"Father, according to your instructions, our people should have taken the lead today, but we didn't expect that the widow of the Xiao family in Qingzhou took the first prize. I don't know when she became the royal merchant."
Xu Junling said with some regret.
King Huai'an smiled and sighed:
"Talented people emerge in every generation. It seems that your father has underestimated Zhao Duan."
"Father, then, we and His Majesty..."
"Everything remains the same. Business is business, and positions are positions. Anyway... let's wait and see. There will definitely be changes next year."
"Yes... By the way, father, something seems to be wrong with the Buddhist sect. Not only are the monks of the Western Region Tantric Buddhism coming to Dayu, but our people have also reported that they saw the Buddhist Bodhisattva Nagarjuna and Master Dajing in Huaishui and Linfeng."
……
Layout is updated first and then modified
(End of this chapter)