Chapter 385: Report to Your Majesty, Lord Zhao is dying!
Chapter 385: Report to Your Majesty, Lord Zhao is dying! (Two in One)
The meeting at Huting ended in a warm atmosphere.
Along with the "end of the show", the detailed terms of the market opening and the list of the first batch of people who officially obtained the status of imperial merchants were determined, and the relevant details quickly spread throughout Huting.
It is foreseeable that it will spread quickly throughout the territories of the nine provinces and eighteen prefectures of Dayu.
In contrast, Prince Jing's sad departure particularly attracted the attention of some people.
Everyone knows that the market opening is unstoppable.
Next, a huge amount of wealth will flow into the new city centered on the canal route, and the imperial court, which will dominate this feast, will quickly alleviate the financial crisis.
……
Humble Administrator's Garden.
After the meeting, waves of people began to flock to the Humble Administrator's Garden to visit Zhao Duan, the great man who truly represented His Majesty.
Among them, the majority are the merchants and gentry who announced today that they stand on the side of the court. They did not express their stance before, and they must do so now.
Zhao Duan took the trouble to meet everyone with a smile on his face. Finally, when everyone had left, he smiled at Feng Ju, who also had a happy face, and said:
"You have accomplished your mission, but you have only taken one step on the road of thousands of miles. From now on, Doctor Feng will have to work hard to maintain the Commerce Office. I will leave for the capital tomorrow, and I will personally ask for credit for Doctor Feng and my colleagues to Your Majesty."
Inside the hall, Zhao Duan finished speaking.
The officials sitting on both sides stood up one after another, saying: It's all thanks to you, sir. We dare not take any credit for it.
But the smile on Lao Feng's face, like a blooming chrysanthemum, revealed this guy's joy.
There is no doubt that this political achievement will greatly help the careers of everyone present.
"Since you guys said so, I will not ask for credit."
Zhao Duan said calmly, and when he saw the suddenly stiff faces of the officials, he laughed and joked:
"Just kidding."
Everyone then smiled again and the atmosphere became a little more relaxed. Zhao Duan gave some instructions on a few follow-up matters before letting them leave.
As soon as the officials left, a beautiful woman in a fox fur cape stepped into the hall with a smile, holding a gift box in her hand, pretending to be sad:
"Your Excellency is going back to Beijing so soon?"
Zhao Duan said with a smile: "Madam Xiao, please don't look at me like that, or else rumors about you and me will spread."
Xiao Dong'er, who wore a horse-faced skirt and treated different people's faces differently, sighed softly, with tears in her eyes:
"It's already spreading. My lord, you don't know how strangely those people looked at me when I announced my status as an imperial merchant today. I'm afraid they're already wondering how I pleased you to get on this ship."
You're talking as if you didn't please me in the first place. Sigh, you clearly didn't touch me, but you still have to bear this scandal and can't wash it off...
No, you sound aggrieved, but your eyes are like a thread... Madam, please respect yourself. You know I won't fall for it, so there's no need to show off your acting skills here...
Zhao Duan complained in his heart, teased a little, and said seriously:
"After the Xiao family's statement, once the news reaches Qingzhou, Prince Heng's Mansion will inevitably put pressure on us. Madam, you can stay here for the time being. If you want to go back, you can go to the Qingzhou Garrison Station first. I have already contacted the commander there. If Prince Heng's Mansion refuses to give in, you can act accordingly."
Upon hearing this, Madam Xiao also stopped performing and returned to her true appearance as the iron-blooded female head of a large family. She bowed to him gratefully:
"Thank you for your care, sir."
Zhao Duan smiled. He had discussed this with Zhenbao already.
The Xiao family is like "spending a fortune on a horse's bones", and the imperial court must give them adequate protection to reassure other imperial merchants.
After seeing Madam Xiao off, the female inspector Si Haitang came in from outside. She crossed her arms and said:
"The Huai'an Palace hasn't sent anyone yet, why don't you go there?"
Zhao Duan was silent for a moment, then shook his head and said, "That's not necessary."
He can represent the court when it comes to opening the market, but he is no longer able to represent the court when it comes to the deeper and fundamental issues of taking sides.
but……
"It's impolite not to reciprocate. Pack up and return to Beijing tomorrow. Ask someone to send a gift to you when you leave."
……
The next day, a cold wind blew in Huting City.
Xu Junling changed into a thicker skirt, led her maid and guards, and walked up the stairs alone to the sixth floor of Dafeng Tower.
Looking in the direction of the dock, the official ship slowly sailed away and turned north, silent.
"Princess, the prince sent someone to deliver something, saying that it was a farewell gift from Lord Zhao that was specially given to you."
The maid Lushui came up holding a box.
Xu Junling was stunned for a moment, turned his head and took it curiously, opened the box with his slender hands, and found another tattered book inside.
Her expression became subtle, because she remembered that it was the same when she said goodbye in Taicang City last time.
She opened the book, and sure enough, she found a piece of paper tucked inside.
The maid Lushui said:
"The messenger said that Lord Zhao came to Yansuo Lake and was interrupted when he was boating with you. He followed the local customs and left a couplet. He asked you to show it to the students in Jiangnan. He said that if anyone could match it, he would reward you with 100 taels of silver."
A hundred ounces of gold... What a big tone... Xu Junling raised his eyebrows, unwilling to admit defeat, and looked at the five-character couplet on the paper:
"Smoke locks the willows in the pond."
……
……
The official ship sailed northward against the wind. In ancient times, when the sails were against the wind, they could make a side angle following the wind direction to gain thrust.
But the speed is naturally much lower than with a tailwind.
Out of a bad taste, Zhao Du'an, who left behind an unsolved couplet that has been passed down through the ages, returned to Beijing with his men, full of anticipation for a triumphant return.
However, as winter deepened, the situation was fine at first, but as we went deeper into the Linfeng area, the north wind on the canal became increasingly fierce and the climate became increasingly worse.
It was inevitable that the official ship had to stop frequently along the way. If it were not for the uncomfortable land travel in winter, Zhao Duan would have wanted to go ashore and take a carriage back.
This day.
The group stopped to rest in a town beside a canal in Linfeng Road, and the official ship slowly approached the shore.
Zhao Duan stood on the deck, and the land ahead looked desolate.
The old eunuch slowly walked out of the cabin, came to his side, and glanced at him:
"Are you impatient to return to the capital to ask His Majesty for your credit?"
Zhao Duan's face turned red due to the wind, but he was still stubborn:
"No way. I was thinking about Buddhism."
On that day, the search for the rebels in Huting City yielded no results, but Zhao Duan did not give up investigating the matter.
Before returning, he found the local imperial guard and ordered an investigation.
Not long ago, on the way back, I received the investigation results sent by Shadow Guard.
Among them, on the day of the assassination, Nagarjuna Bodhisattva and the "Little Heavenly Master" of the Heavenly Master's Mansion were suspected to appear nearby. Later, the news that the Little Heavenly Master was staring at the former's departure caught his attention.
"According to the Shadow Guards' investigation, it seems that Nagarjuna Bodhisattva was also involved in the assassination attempt on me that day, but was intercepted by Zhang Tianshi's eldest disciple... Well, although it is not confirmed, it is too coincidental that both parties appeared there."
Zhao Duan's face was serious, and he turned to look at the old priest:
"If the Shenlong Temple and the Eight Kings collude with each other, it will be a big deal."
Eunuch Hai said "Oh" and said calmly:
"Do you think it's reasonable?"
"It's unreasonable," Zhao Duan said distressedly.
"This is what confuses me. If the appearance of Nagarjuna Bodhisattva represents the attitude of Shenlong Temple, then there must have been a major change in the capital, but no news has been received. Moreover, there is no reason for Shenlong Temple to suddenly turn to the Eight Kings and get involved in such worldly affairs."
Eunuch Hai glanced at Zhao Duan, who rarely looked confused, and said softly:
"Just as you may not fully represent His Majesty, Nagarjuna may not fully represent the will of the Shenlong Temple."
"You mean... this is a private act?" Zhao Duan asked in surprise:
"Just because I defeated Tianhai in the ring? And caused the plan that Nagarjuna Bodhisattva had been planning for many years to fail? So he came to cause trouble for me? But..."
He wanted to ask, could a practitioner who could become a Bodhisattva be so irrational?
Even if it was revenge, wouldn't they find a suitable time and do it secretly? Why did they do it so loudly...
Zhao Du'an was suddenly stunned, and a flash of inspiration flashed through his mind. He thought of what the old Taoist priest Zhang Yanyi had once told him about the four forces within the Shenlong Temple and the complicated situation as the imperial court.
"Could it be that……
"The purpose of Nagarjuna Bodhisattva's move is to guide the court and cause trouble for Abbot Xuanyin? Isn't it... Has the struggle within Shenlong Temple become so intense? This is a way to hurt yourself a thousand times and hurt the enemy eight hundred times...
"Wait, I may have overlooked one thing, which is the influence of the Western Region Buddhist ancestral temple... Zhenbao told me last time that after the Buddhist-Taoist competition, the Western Region Buddhist sect was ready to make a move. Perhaps it was because of this external pressure that forced the incident in the Shenlong Temple...
"Last time, the fifty-year-old nun Prajna came to me for dual cultivation... Now Nagarjuna Bodhisattva has deliberately intervened in the attempt to assassinate me... These are all manifestations of the fierce struggle within the Shenlong Temple..."
For a moment, Zhao Duan seemed to have figured out a lot of things, but because of the lack of information, he fell into greater confusion.
"Boy, you shouldn't waste your energy like this. Just worry about your own little piece of land. The world is big, how can you worry about it?"
Eunuch Hai sighed earnestly, patted him on the shoulder, turned around and went back to the cabin.
Zhao Duan laughed at himself. Although he didn't have the emperor's life, he had to worry about the emperor all day long.
Just a thought flashed through my mind:
Now that Prajnaparamita and Nagarjuna have appeared, when will the remaining one, the Great Pure Master, show up?
……
Soon, the official ship came to the shore, and the people either stayed in the cabin or went ashore to get some fresh air.
The boatmen and soldiers talked with the officials at the dock to purchase supplies for the ship.
Zhao Duan felt the urge to urinate, so he went ashore to a hill covered with weeds to relieve himself. After pulling up his pants, he returned to the dock.
Suddenly, I was attracted by a black-sailed boat parked on the shore.
The small boat was inconspicuous, but a middle-aged monk slowly emerged from the low black sail.
He was about fifty years old, and in that freezing weather, he was only wearing a thin monk's robe, leaving half of his shoulders exposed to the cold winter air.
Over the monk's robe, he was wearing an old red cassock, which was quite eye-catching in the withered world.
Under the bald head, a dignified face looked at Zhao Duan calmly, with the corners of his mouth slowly rising, as if he uttered "Amitabha".
For no reason, Zhao Duan felt his hair stand on end and he had a strong sense of danger.
There are not many monks who are qualified to wear the robes, let alone in such weather, it is even more rare to see them wearing half-naked robes.
And the most important thing is that strange yet familiar face.
At this moment, Zhao Duan's brain was working rapidly, searching for the owner of this face from his past memories. Finally, he found the corresponding target from a portrait.
That was what he remembered when he was in the imperial yamen and looking through the information about the Shenlong Temple.
Zhao Duan's pupils suddenly narrowed, and he reached for the flying knife in his sleeve with his right hand, uttering a name:
“Mahajjurguru!”
At the same time, Master Dajing, one of the three Bodhisattvas of the Shenlong Temple in the black-sailed boat and a veteran and powerful master in the world, took a step and appeared in front of Zhao Duan.
"Please let Mr. Zhao go to heaven."
The middle-aged monk with a dignified face spoke slowly, pressing his gold-painted right hand towards his chest.
Behind the monk, the surging magical power condensed into a huge Buddha statue, overlooking the area below.
"puff!"
Zhao Duan had no power to resist at all. He vomited blood like a kite with a broken string, jumped high into the air, and smashed towards the barren grass hill in the distance like a sandbag.
He avoided Hu Ting's assassination, but on his way back, when everyone had let their guard down, he was hit with all his strength by a great master in the world.
unexpected.
decisive.
fierce.
No chance to fight back.
Zhao Duan only felt a sharp pain, and the shattered energy was running wildly in his body, instantly causing blood to gush out of his pores and cracking sounds from his chest ribs.
Everything was dark.
however.
Inside his thick cotton coat, the "Six Talisman Armor" he wore on his upper body suddenly sank into the heart-protecting mirror, and a purple waist jade was stressed and shattered with a "crack"!
It was the waist jade gifted to him by the empress a long time ago, named "the teleporting jade".
When you encounter danger, just crush it to start the teleportation and return to Dayu Palace.
As Zhao Duan was flying backwards, a layer of blurry light and shadow suddenly covered the surface of his body, like ripples in the water.
With a "bang", he fell into a patch of weeds, and the moment he fell into the grass, Zhao Duan's figure quickly faded and disappeared.
Teleport!
Master Dajing succeeded in his attack and was about to move forward to make the final move, but he suddenly sensed a surge of murderous intent coming from behind him.
The monk shoes on his feet turned around on the spot, and his gold-lacquered hands clasped together with a "bang".
Grab the Frost Sword that was whistling towards you and was covered with azure light!
On the deck of the official ship in the water, Eunuch Hai thrust out a sword and stepped heavily on the deck. The entire official ship was almost tilted by the huge force.
The almost legendary old priest in the imperial palace lost his hair crown, and his gray hair fluttered in the biting cold wind. Eunuch Hai had a ferocious face as he pounced towards the Great Master.
It was blocked by the almost god-like Buddha Dharma behind it. During the collision, a strong wind blew violently, and the air waves it created knocked down all the people on the dock.
Along with the screams, Lang Shiba and Ji Yue, who were recuperating in the cabin, flew out like cannonballs.
They bypassed the two sides fighting at the dock and rushed towards the barren hill, but they were at a loss as to what they could see was only a pool of human-shaped blood on the ground.
"Master Zhao...was beaten into a bloody mist?!"
Lang Shiba and Ji Yue's heads buzzed at the same time, as if they had been hit hard.
……
……
Beijing.
Early this morning, dark clouds gathered over the capital, and the biting north wind was as sharp as a knife, making the streets and alleys of the huge capital seem much thinner.
In Xiuwenguan, north of the capital.
After listening to the reports of the scholars, Xu Zhenguan nodded:
"That's it for today."
Han Zhou and other scholars stood up and bowed: "Farewell, Your Majesty."
Grand Tutor Dong is not here today. After all, he is old, and his body is obviously not as energetic as in summer after the winter, especially after Zhao Duan tinkered with the "Xinxue" last time.
Grand Tutor Dong has been a little crazy these days and has been caught up in academic debates. Fortunately, the Xiuwenguan has long been familiar with court affairs and no longer relies on Dong Xuan's management.
Xu Zhenguan stood up, left Xiuwenguan, and returned to the imperial study in the royal carriage.
Mochou was waiting here. After winter came, her official robe became thicker, making her look fatter. However, Xu Zhenguan was no longer afraid of cold or heat, so his clothes did not change much.
"Your Majesty, this is the memorial handed in by Lord Yuan, about preventing cold and snow disasters..."
Mochou followed the empress into the house, feeling the warmth from the charcoal fire in the brazier. Her voice, which had a slight tremor, became calmer.
"Well, put it down." Xu Zhen nodded, looked at the coldness on the female official, and joked with a smile:
"In the past, I asked you to work hard and practice, but you refused. Now you know how difficult it is every winter, right?"
Mo Chou looked aggrieved:
"I also want to do that, but I don't have enough talent. How can I cultivate to be immune to cold and heat?"
Xu Zhenguan smiled and said teasingly:
"When Zhao Duan comes back, you can go ask him. He has a lot of ideas and often comes up with new things. Maybe he can come up with a way to keep out the cold.
For example, I heard that he gave Gongshu Tianyuan a diagram when he came back from Taicang last time. It was a device he designed to pump water from the mine, and he has made some progress with it now. "
Mo Chou curled her lips and said:
"I haven't paid attention to this. I'll go to the Tianshi Mansion to ask about it later."
She glanced at the White-robed Empress and said sourly:
"Your Majesty is talking about him again."
Xu Zhenguan did not hear the resentment in the maid's tone. Her fair and delicate face looked towards the south-facing windows and doors, moved an incense burner beside her, and said softly:
"According to the date, it's time to return. I'm not nagging him, I'm just concerned about the opening of the market."
Mo Chou said nothing, but puffed up her cheeks, not quite believing it.
She has served the Empress for many years, and her words to His Majesty are somewhat true and somewhat false. She can be said to be the most familiar person in the world.
The market opening results? Of course she was concerned, but she would never believe that there was no thought of him.
I couldn't help but compare them secretly, wondering if His Majesty would miss me if I were sent on a business trip abroad?
……
Meridian Gate Square.
A group of palace maids carried the newly distributed coal, talking and laughing in low voices, and walked towards their residence.
Suddenly, when one of the palace maids turned her head to look at the big square, she was stunned to see mysterious ripples in the air, as if a hole had been torn open.
She let out a low cry, attracting the attention of a group of palace maids. Then, they saw a blood-soaked figure suddenly appear from the air and fall on the winter square.
"what!"
The palace maids were horrified. Some immediately ran to look for the palace guards, while a few brave ones walked over carefully.
One of the older female officials took a closer look, her expression suddenly changed, and she said in a lost voice:
"Master Zhao?!"
"Quick, go and report to His Majesty!"
-
I have already thought of the title for the next chapter. It is called [The Emperor's Wrath]
(End of this chapter)