Chapter 588: A Show of Power to the Imperial Court
Chapter 588: Give the Imperial Court a Head Start (6k)
The capital of Yu State welcomed another snowfall in winter.
The fluttering white snow fell quietly in the night, covering the huge capital with a layer of white fungus blanket. Every household stayed indoors, and the cold wind was more severe than in previous years.
early morning.
Zhao family, in Zhao Duan’s bedroom.
The body lying on the bed was cold and stiff, as if it was dead and without any sign of life.
But the next second, Zhao Duan's eyelashes trembled, and he opened his eyes. Light gathered in his dull eyes little by little. Then, he sat up with the support of the quilt, and his body gradually came to life.
"Huh..." Zhao Duan glanced at the extinguished brazier in the house and sighed:
"I have to tell Gongshu Tianyuan about my request later. This body is not keeping warm."
His soul had just floated back home from the palace and sank into this body.
This is the way Zhao Duan has been accustomed to recently. He has to control his body to go to the Martial Arts Hall every time, which is troublesome and easy to attract attention.
He simply threw his puppet body outside, let his soul leave his body, and traveled back and forth between the capital and the Huai River.
During this period, the fighting in various places gradually ceased as expected. Zhao Duan stayed in Huaishui and digested the recovered territory, while Zhao Shixiong went deep into Yunfu and received frequent news of victory.
As the Grand Commander, he had rare leisure time and practiced diligently every day.
In addition, he would occasionally ask about the progress of the empress in cracking the password of her mobile phone. Unfortunately, Xu Zhenguan had tried many times during this period but failed to find the password.
This made the king and his minister even more pessimistic, and they suspected that some conditions to trigger the hidden levels had not been met.
One of the suspicions was raised by the empress. She thought that maybe changes would occur only after Zhao Duan was promoted to a celestial being, because "The World" is a realm that can only be practiced by celestial beings, and Zhao Duan entered early due to a bug.
"I have a feeling that I will be able to be promoted to a high position in the world before the end of the year."
There was light flickering in Zhao Duan's eyes.
After the high level, it is perfection, and the next level is half-step to heavenly man. When you reach heavenly man, you can practice dual cultivation to your heart's content... Bah, it is to help Zhenbao unravel the secret buried by Old Xu in the painting...
Shaking his head and feeling his body gradually warming up, Zhao Duan lifted the quilt and walked out.
Put both hands on the door and push hard!
"Woo!"
The fine snow mixed with the north wind blew on his face, causing him to squint subconsciously.
It snowed all night and the Zhao residence was now covered in white. Fortunately, the snow was not heavy and not deep.
It was already bright outside, and there were few people to be seen in the inner house, except for a few trusted old servants sweeping the snow.
Seeing Zhao Duan coming out of the room, they all stopped what they were doing and saluted him: "Young Master."
Yes.
Although Zhao Duan was away, he still appeared as the "White Face Police Officer", but he would occasionally go home and stay for a night or two.
After so many times, it was impossible to conceal it completely, so Eugene Hua simply made a rule that ordinary servants were not allowed to enter the inner house.
As for the few old servants, they were also ordered to keep silent and not talk about the news of Dalang's quiet return home.
However, Zhao Duan knew that his identity could not be hidden for long. As he used it more and more times, more and more people knew or guessed it...
But at least for now, there are still only a handful of people who know that Zhao Duan is in the capital.
……
In the dining room.
When Zhao Duan opened the door, he was hit by a wave of heat in the house. The round table was already filled with dishes. Eugene Hua was sitting at the table, wearing a quilted printed long skirt.
At my feet was a red charcoal basin.
Zhao Pan, wrapped in a loose jacket as big as a ball, was playing with his pet Pekingese dog contentedly.
"It's time to eat." Seeing him come in, Eugene Hua hurriedly stood up, eagerly lifted the cover of the food, and urged her daughter to wash her hands.
Boss Zhao Pan was not happy: "I didn't even use my hands to play with the dog, it was very clean."
The beautiful aunt rolled her eyes and replied to her daughter in a familiar way: "Then go wash your feet."
Zhao Pan: “…”
Zhao Duan watched the two people bickering with a smile, lifted the hem of his robe, and sat down at the dining table.
Although he didn't need to eat as a puppet, he enjoyed the feeling of eating with his family.
As the family of three were eating, they talked about recent events in the city as usual.
"Brother," Zhao Pan, whose hair was braided into a half-circle at the back of her head, raised her plump face and asked curiously:
"Is the peace delegation coming soon? Tell me about it."
Since the news of Xu Jingtang's defeat spread, the atmosphere in the capital has been noticeably boosted.
Starting from Qingzhou, the imperial court won several consecutive victories and even defeated the extremely powerful King Mu, which greatly surprised the originally uneasy people in the capital.
With Zhao Duan in charge, he ordered people to spread the theory that the enemies are all paper tigers.
For a time, regardless of what was happening outside, at least the atmosphere among the people in the capital was high and generally optimistic, believing that the rebellion could be quelled by next year.
Soon after, news spread that the two vassal kings, King of Hejian and King of Yanshan, had sent people to negotiate with the imperial court.
After winter, the people had nothing to do, so they gathered together to discuss state affairs. Zhao Pan was among the celebrities in the capital, so he could not avoid the relevant topics.
"Haha, if I remember correctly, it will arrive today."
While eating, Zhao Duan smiled and said casually, "I didn't ask about anything else."
"Is it true?" Zhao Pan looked doubtful. With his eldest brother's power, how could he not know the inside story?
"Eating can't stop you from eating. If you don't want to eat, go back to your room and do needlework!" Eugene Hua held the chopsticks, her fingers almost touching her daughter's forehead: "Today, I will test you on the tricks I taught you before."
Examination… Zhao Pan suddenly became depressed, put down the bowl, picked up the dog and left:
"Ah, I almost forgot. I have an appointment with Sister Ning next door. I have to leave first!"
Eugene stared angrily.
Zhao Duan laughed out loud.
……
After meal.
Zhao Duan put on a cloak and left the house through the back door like a ghost. He leaped up and controlled the puppet, leaping and running between the roofs of houses.
Although this puppet did not have the cultivation of the original body, it was also no ordinary person. Zhao Duan used his lightness skills, and his black cloak flashed in the white snow.
As he ran, the north wind stretched his cloak longer and it seemed as if snow waves were rolling up behind him.
When someone saw it, they only saw a flash before their eyes and then the figure disappeared.
Not long after, Zhao Duan stopped outside the courtyard wall behind the imperial yamen, near the Lihua Hall, and climbed over the high wall.
He strolled leisurely towards his own hall.
Those who saw him in his finery along the way all bowed solemnly. After the recent events, everyone understood that this "White-faced Police Chief" was a close confidant of Governor Zhao.
Although the Lihua Hall was not completely covered in snow, there was still white snow hanging on the branches of the trees.
When the wind blows, the treetops sway, blowing off a layer of snow foam.
Zhao Duan stepped into the hall and was surprised to find that there was a person sitting at the long table in the room.
The man wearing a bright red dragon robe and with slightly white temples was none other than Sun Lianying, the eunuch in charge of the seal and director of the White Horse Division.
At this time, Sun Lianying was sitting calmly in the room, with two young eunuchs beside him, while Qian Kerou and Zheng Laojiu were serving tea and water to the old eunuch.
"Why are you here?" Zhao Duan asked in surprise, "You're not in the palace?"
Sun Lianying had recognized him before. When the old eunuch saw him come in, he smiled and waved his hand, and the two followers behind him left tactfully.
"Sir." Seeing this, Zheng Laojiu also pulled the secretary out.
Qian Kerou was reluctant, and as she walked out, she whispered to Zhao Duan, "These people have been here for a short time, waiting for you."
Zhao Duan nodded, stomped his feet at the door, shook off the snow on his body and boots, stepped over the threshold, and hung his coat near the charcoal basin inside the house.
He closed the door to block out the cold wind, then took off his mask, walked up to Sun Lianying, took a sip of one of the two cups of hot tea that the other had poured for him, and acted like a formal person.
Sun Lianying clasped her hands and said calmly, "There is no morning court today, so I came over to sit for a while."
Zhao Duan rolled his eyes, pulled a chair and sat down:
"The delegation is entering the city today. Are you here to keep an eye on me? As if I will cause trouble."
Sun Lianying smiled bitterly:
"You are a good scapegoat. Who in the entire Yu Dynasty dares to keep an eye on you, a great contributor? Besides, do you dare to say that His Majesty didn't arrange for you to keep an eye on the peace talks?
Haha, His Majesty said last night that he wanted me to come and see if you've returned this morning. I thought it had something to do with the peace talks, so maybe His Majesty was hinting that I should come and help you."
Zhao Duan smiled and waved his hand:
"Don't say that. The one who went to the city gate to welcome the delegation today was not me, but the Minister of the Ministry of Rites."
After a pause, he became more serious: "Your Majesty didn't say anything else?"
Sun Lianying took out a memorial from her wide sleeves, pressed it on the table and pushed it to him:
"His Majesty asked me to bring you this. The information you requested, about the people who are coming for this peace negotiation."
Zhao Duan and the empress discussed the peace talks privately several times.
The basic policy has been established: without crossing the bottom line, one can appropriately appease the other party in order to gain the strategic initiative.
But the premise is that it depends on how big the other party's appetite is. If they are greedy...
According to what the empress said at the time, "My sword is not bad either!"
Of course, this is the worst outcome, and no one wants to see the talks fail.
Since it is a peace talk, it is bound to involve testing each other's bottom line and pulling the trigger step by step.
As an emperor, the empress would not personally take part in the negotiation, either in terms of etiquette or negotiation strategy.
Otherwise, if the empress were to talk to the subordinates of some princes in the delegation in person...how would the court still have the face to do so?
Therefore, the negotiation was handed over to the imperial party ministers headed by Grand Tutor Dong, and the person in charge of the reception was the Minister of the Ministry of Rites.
However, this is only the team in the open. There is also a group of people who are secretly controlling the peace talks, and that group is Zhao Duan.
One light and one dark, complementing each other.
At this moment, Zhao Duan opened the letter and saw the names and information written on it. Sun Lianying said slowly: "The one who came on behalf of the King of Hejian in Xiping is the Hejian prince, Xu Wenyan. However, it is said that this prince has been stupid since childhood, so he is not liked by the King of Hejian. This time he came here just as a memorial archway.
The person who was actually in charge of the peace talks was Mr. Feng, a guest official of the Prince of Hejian's palace. He was a nameless man with no surname. He was a figure who was almost like a military advisor and was quite trusted by the Prince of Hejian. "
Xu Wenyan?
This name is quite elegant... Zhao Duan was amazed, and then he saw the words on the folded paper and raised his eyebrows: "This person..."
Sun Lianying nodded and said:
"But according to the Shadow Guards' investigation, Xu Wenyan is very wise and appears to be playing dumb. He should not be underestimated. As for Mr. Feng, he is suspected to have already worked for the Crown Prince."
Zhao Duan smiled and said, "Interesting, interesting. I wonder if the King of Hejian knows it himself."
Sun Lianying continued:
"The one who came on behalf of the Iron Pass King Yanshan is a princess named Xu Xuelian. This princess is quite famous in the North. She is domineering and eccentric. She often beats and scolds her servants. She is a savage person."
Zhao Duan was not convinced: "More domineering than me?"
"..." Sun Lianying said unhappily, "When you see her, it's like a mayfly seeing the sky."
Good fellow, you know how to use words... Zhao Duan was amazed, and he looked at the letter carefully and said:
"It seems that this Xu Xuelian is also a fake. The one who is really in charge is an old retainer of the Yanshan Palace who follows her?"
Sun Lianying nodded:
"Not surprising. For peace talks, we have to send someone of importance. But we can't send someone who is really important, lest he be detained as a hostage by the imperial court."
Zhao Duan folded the letter and casually threw it into the charcoal basin on the ground, letting the flames lick it. The letter quickly turned into gray and black carbonization.
He rolled up his sleeves and uttered, "Huh":
"Information on paper is meaningless. If you want to know the details, you have to meet the real person."
Sun Lianying said: "Why don't you go and take a look?"
Zhao Duan was not in a hurry at all. He took out a chessboard and two chess boxes from the drawer under the table and said with a smile:
"I am not interested in waiting for the prince or princess in such a cold weather. Let's play chess to relieve our boredom. I have arranged people to keep an eye on them. Once they enter the city gate, it won't be too late for the two of us to join in the fun."
……
……
A few miles outside the capital, there is a pavilion named "Shili".
Yesterday, the peace delegation led by the Prince of Hejian could have entered the capital, but they turned outside the city and went from the west to the north, and waited here today.
The huge convoy of carriages stopped near Shili Pavilion, and the fat prince Xu Wenyan and Mr. Feng were sitting in the spacious carriage.
The servants lit the charcoal brazier, placed a rack on top, boiled water and warmed wine for the prince to drink.
"It's freezing cold, warm words are worse than warm wine."
Xu Wenyan, who was obese and looked a little silly, looked up at a team marching in the distance and said with a smile, "Here they come."
Under the watchful eyes, the Yanshan King's delegation came from far away. Compared with the Hejian soldiers, they had the unique fierceness of Xiping but still liked to gather in groups.
The soldiers under King Yanshan's command were all exceptionally tall and powerful, but their numbers were a little too few.
The most eye-catching thing in the team was not the carriage carrying the princess, but a wolf half a man's height following beside the carriage.
The huge northern wolf's hair was almost transparent, reflecting white in the snow, but its eyes were dark green. There was a huge collar around its neck, and the other end of the chain was tied to the shaft of the cart.
When the two convoys approached and stopped, Xu Wenyan took the initiative to get out of the car, holding a pot of warm wine that had just been scooped out, and ran over with an enthusiastic and silly smile, and said from a distance:
"Sister Xuelian, I have been waiting for you for a long time."
Then, Xu Wenyan was frightened by the giant wolf that bared its teeth and prepared to pounce on him, and he almost fell down, causing the people in Yanshan Palace to frown.
The car curtain opens.
The princess, who was beautiful but had very thin lips and a domineering and arrogant temperament, held an iron chain in one hand, a whip stuck in her waist, a coat on her body, and a jewel headdress on her forehead. She stood in the car, glanced at him with disdain, and sneered:
"I haven't seen you for several years, Xu Wenyan, you are still so stupid. No wonder your father asked you to come to negotiate, it's just a waste of time."
As soon as these words were spoken, the soldiers on King Hejian's side all showed anger on their faces.
Xu Wenyan steadied himself but had a simple smile on his face, as if he didn't understand the sarcasm at all. He held up a pot of wine with both hands and handed it over like offering a treasure:
"I'm studying at home and don't have much to do. I'm not as busy as my other brothers. I'm the only one who came this time. I was feeling lonely at first, but when I found out that Sister Xuelian had nothing to do like me and also came, I was very happy."
Xu Xuelian's expression froze, and she suspected that she had been manipulated, but she had no evidence.
"Ahem," at this time, Mr. Feng, wearing loose clothes and big sleeves, hurried over, grabbed the prince, and said to the princess in a neither humble nor arrogant manner:
"My prince is kind-hearted and knows the weather is cold, so he has warmed up some wine for you, Princess. You may sit down and rest for a while before entering the capital."
Xu Xuelian was stunned for a moment, her eyes rolled, and she turned her head to look at an old retainer in the team who was wearing a thick cotton robe and had a white beard. The latter smiled and said:
"Your Highness might as well go and take a rest."
Xu Wenyan suddenly said:
"That's not good. Didn't we agree on a time to enter the city? It's getting a little late now. I'm afraid the people in the court are getting anxious waiting for us."
Mr. Feng said with a smile:
"I just want them to wait."
The old retainer also stroked his beard and smiled:
"Exactly that."
Princess Xu Xuelian's eyes lit up, she understood and said with a smile:
"Are you trying to test the bottom line of the emperor's sister in the court?"
The delegation's entry into the city seemed simple, but in fact it was the first confrontation between the vassal kings and the imperial court.
Both sides need to test each other's weight and attitude in this first confrontation and seize the initiative.
The purpose of being late on purpose was to show off and make the people in the court wait. This method was simple and easy to use as it would not offend the empress too much and could suppress the court.
Xu Xuelian understood and guessed that Xu Wenyan was waiting for her here, which must be Mr. Feng's request.
Although he was too lazy to chat with this silly guy, he still got off the car patiently and had a drink in the Shili Pavilion to warm himself up.
During this time, Xu Wenyan happily kept chatting with her about family matters and asked her if the snow in Yanshan Palace was beautiful.
Mr. Feng and a retainer from the Prince of Yanshan's palace were walking on the other side, whispering to each other and discussing the peace talks.
There is no doubt that in this peace talk, the King of Hejian and the King of Yanshan will be allies and will advance and retreat together to negotiate with the empress and gain benefits.
After wasting an hour like this, just when Xu Xuelian could no longer bear it and wanted to beat the annoying Xu Wenyan to the ground with a whip, everyone finally set off.
……
By the time the peace negotiation team arrived at the north gate of the capital, the pale sun had risen high behind the clouds.
The officials headed by the Minister of the Ministry of Rites had been waiting at the city gate since dawn, their faces turning purple from the cold, their legs were stiff, and their eyebrows were covered with frost.
Seeing the two teams finally arriving, the Minister of the Honglu Temple, holding back his anger, stepped out to greet them and asked:
"The time was originally set, why are you all here now?"
As the Minister of the Ministry of Rites, he had to ask for an answer, because after the arrival of the delegation, they would need to go to Beijing to meet the emperor.
Therefore, it was not just them who were waiting foolishly for the delegation, but also His Majesty and all the civil and military officials in the court who did not even attend the morning court.
"Haha, you're talking about this,"
The fat prince got out of the car panting and said with a smile:
"Sister Xuelian and I were drinking and reminiscing about the past."
Upon hearing this, the faces of officials such as the Minister of Honglu Temple changed.
Whenever the other party says that the road is slippery due to snow and it is difficult to travel, thus wasting time, it can be considered as a way for both parties to save face.
But the Prince of Hejian was so frank that saying he went out for a drink was tantamount to a direct mockery.
Xu Xuelian was also a troublemaker, so she got out of the car, climbed onto the huge white wolf, and looked down at them with an air of command:
"You knew it was getting late, but why didn't you open the city gates? Let us in? If you delay us, I will sue the emperor sister and punish you."
It was as if the delay was the court's fault.
The tone of issuing orders was as if he was ordering slaves, which made the court blush and furious.
The Minister of the Ministry of Rites suppressed his anger, swallowed his anger, turned around and ordered the door to be opened, and personally led the team into the palace.
Although he seemed to have a high status as a "Qing", he would never dare to do anything rash and disrupt the peace talks.
Just think about enduring it.
However, after the delegation entered the rear city, the Minister of Rites found that he was still too optimistic.
After entering the city, Xu Wenyan came out of the carriage, wearing a bright robe and sitting on a tall horse.
Xu Xuelian even rode a huge white wolf through the city.
They looked so arrogant, which would have been fine if it were just that, but as they walked along, they found reasons to stop from time to time, either to buy things from street shops or to admire the scenery.
It seemed as if they were not here for a negotiation but for an outing.
Fortunately, for the sake of peace talks, an order was issued in advance that no outsiders were allowed to go out on the street leading to the palace, so there were not many people, otherwise it would have been very embarrassing.
The Minister of the Ministry of Rites and his companions grew angrier as they walked. They felt that the gazes of the common people shining through the cracks in the houses facing the street were like sharp arrows, making them feel like they were pierced in the back.
"If Lord Zhao were in the capital, he would never tolerate these people being so arrogant!"
This idea actually occurred to the minds of civil officials such as the Minister of the Honglu Temple.
Zhao Duan was not at home, and in the huge capital city, no one dared to speak without the emperor's order.
……
And just as the delegation was slowly marching through the city.
On a distant watchtower covered with light snow, Zhao Duan, wearing a white mask, and Sun Lianying, dressed in bright red, looked down at the direction of the delegation.
Sun Lianying turned his head and looked at him with anger: "These people are trying to intimidate the court."
Zhao Duan said "hmm".
"Can you bear it?" Sun Lianying asked.
Zhao Duan looked straight ahead, gazing into the distance, and said softly, "What does it have to do with me?"
(End of this chapter)