After leaving the palace and returning to Prince Qi's Mansion, Yingyun asked the maid to open the curtain of the carriage and looked melancholy at the dim night outside the carriage window. She did not come back to her senses even when the carriage stopped in front of the red gate of Prince Qi's Mansion.
"What is your Highness thinking about?"
Qiao Jien got off the carriage at the back and walked over to see Qi Wangyin sleeping in Princess Yingyun's arms, and asked softly.
"Oh, I didn't think about anything!"
Yingyun came back to her senses and handed Qi Wangyin to the nanny waiting in front of the carriage to hold her. She walked out of the carriage holding her skirt and walked to the palace.
The glazed lamp held in the palace attendant's hand shone with green light, making the corridor between the palace walls look somewhat strange.
"Has Ge Boyi secretly met with the Chihu people in Chuzhou where he went first?" Seeing her grandma holding Qi Wangyin in her arms and walking in front, while other palace attendants and maids were lagging behind, Yingyun couldn't help but
Ask Qiao Jien in a low voice.
"Whether Ge Boyi secretly met with the Red Husbands or not, it is no longer important. Apart from the conditions for withdrawal, the more important thing is His Majesty's attitude. People in the world cannot blame His Majesty for secretly colluding with the bandits, right?" Qiao Jien said lightly.
.
"..." Yingyun asked again, "Do you think Marquis Xu will agree to this?"
"If the Red Guardsmen really want to give in without any conditions, and if Marquis Xu doesn't hold back for a while, it will probably be even more disadvantageous, right? It has indeed taken a long time this time, and people feel at ease. If it continues to be delayed, it will be even worse.
The most likely thing is to temporarily force the soldiers to retreat to the north of the Huaihe River, so what is the point of delaying it? How can Xuhou convince the people of the world? Can he stand up and say that your majesty has made peace with the Chihu people? There is no real evidence for this.
You can never put it on the table and say,"
Qiao Jien sighed,
"However, what is really worrying is the turmoil after His Majesty and the others found out that the Chihu people really wanted to give in and make peace - Your Highness must really be careful about the safety of His Highness."
"Marquis Xu will not do anything bad to Yin'er." Yingyun stared at Qiao Jien with dissatisfaction and said.
"Xu Hou is an upright man, and he has great talents and great plans. Whatever he wants, he can get it at his fingertips. Of course he disdains such tactics, but the Chihu people are determined to stir up civil strife in Dai Viet, so there is no guarantee that they will not make a fuss about His Highness.
"Qiao Jien said.
Yingyun thought silently for a while and then asked:
"Qian Zerui talked to you for a while when he left the palace. Did he think so too?"
Qiao Jien did not deny it and said: "I can't see the faces of people three to five feet away now. It's hard to take care of everything. I can only ask Your Highness to pay more attention..."
…………
…………
"Gongjun Ge, this time he shouldn't be speaking in general terms, but should be more targeted, right?"
Ning Ci's residence was separated from Zhou He's Prime Minister's Mansion by two alleys. After the banquet, they walked together when they left the palace. But when they took a car to say goodbye to Zhou He in front of the Prime Minister's Mansion, Ning Ci couldn't help but ask.
"..." Zhou He put his hands behind his hands and looked at the vast sky of night, and said lightly, "Maybe so. Duke Ge must be two or three points sure, otherwise there is no need to bring it up in the main hall."
"I guess so. If it's just an idea that suddenly comes out, Lord Ge can just mention it in private when he meets His Majesty. Why would he want to make it known to the whole world?" Ning Ci sighed, "But look at the palace
Everyone seemed to think that this would be a good outcome - I didn't expect that this situation would be so complicated.
Change.”
"Maybe." Zhou He said.
"The Prime Minister's previous support for Marquis Jingsheng to take charge of King Qin's troops was also for the sake of the overall situation. Marquis Jingsheng was able to successfully relieve the siege of Lujiang and other cities, which proves that the Prime Minister's vision is accurate enough. I believe Your Majesty can also see this."
Ning Ci said tentatively.
"It doesn't matter whether your Majesty can see it or not," Zhou He said leisurely, "I am old and do not have much left in my life. It is time for me to return to my homeland long ago."
Ning Ci was slightly startled. He thought that Zhou He's attitude would change subtly after tonight, but he didn't expect that a person who was so attached to power would be involved in the matter of becoming an official?
For a moment, he couldn't figure out what Zhou He was planning, so he said goodbye and left.
"Father, I think what Lord Ning said makes some sense,"
Although Zhou Lianggong, the eldest son of Zhou He, failed to gain fame or occupy a prominent position, after Zhou He became the prime minister and was granted the title of Duke, Zhou Lianggong was also granted the title of Marquis. Naturally, he would accompany Zhou He to and from the palace for such a big banquet as today.
At this time, he watched Ning Ci get on the carriage and drive away, and couldn't help but persuade his father,
"In addition to having no choice but to stay in Huainan and not leaving this time, the Red Husbands probably also don't want to see Jingxiang's rampant success. Your Majesty will be able to do so in the future.
I have freed up my hands to do something. Father still has to go to His Majesty as soon as possible to express his intention..."
"..."
Zhou He remained silent and walked towards the mansion. After walking for a while, he saw his eldest son Zhou Lianggong following closely behind him. He sighed deeply and scolded in a low voice,
"You idiot, if Ge Boyi went to Chuzhou, it was indeed a secret conspiracy with the Chihu people. What do you think this means? This means that the Chihu people have realized that they need to join forces with Ge Boyi and the others.
It can suppress the rise of Jingxiang. Even the Chihu people are not sure about things. They need to provoke internal strife in Dai Viet first. Do you think it can be suppressed? If my family jumps over now, will there be a chance to jump back in the future? A moment
If you are careless, you will be the disaster of killing the dead. Do you think these are all child's play? Tomorrow I will be sick in the house. Until this matter comes to an end, you can stop me and no one will see you. You must also wait at my bedside.
, don’t go out and walk around!”
……………
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Xu Huai, accompanied by Xu Wujiang, Han Gui, Liu Shiwang, Zhang Xiongshan and others, climbed up to Longting Mountain in the northwest corner of Shucheng before noon to see the deployment of the camp in the north. He heard that Zhu Tong arrived from Jianye overnight to tell him about the palace banquet last night.
Looking at the clouds and mists floating in the foothills, I couldn't help but sigh:
"'Conquering the enemy's army without fighting', what a 'conquering the enemy's army without fighting'! But I don't know who this old man would like to come over and tell me about 'conquering the enemy's army without fighting'!
Do you think this old man has the guts to come and see me in person?"
"I'm afraid Ge Boyi won't come over. He really doesn't have to go to the envoy to find trouble. He's not so hard on himself, and Wei Chujun won't take the initiative to mention it. In my opinion, Qian Zerui is a sensible person.
They will not be fooled by them, and Zhu Gong cannot be trusted by them, but it is hard to say for Zhang Xin, Liu Zhiyuan, Ma Sijing, and Zhong Yingqiu. They may really think that this is a good way to give Vietnam a breather. If I were Ge Boyi, I would
Encourage one of them to come over and let everyone in the government and the public know that the former emperor and his old officials also support the army of subjugating the enemy without fighting. This will also make us more at ease!"
Han Gui smiled and said,
"Previously, Chi Hu gathered hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses at the Nanfei River.
On the Li Lingshan front line, we were still a little confused - now we have an explanation, they really think highly of Jingxiang!"
"Aren't you worried?"
Zhu Tong rushed to the Shucheng camp and learned that Xu Huai had ascended the city, so he rushed over on a mountain road on a fast horse. He couldn't even catch his breath. He thought Xu Huai and the others would be furious when they heard about it, but he didn't want them to hear it.
There was no particularly big reaction to the news.
"Worry, why not worry, but what's the use of worrying?"
Han Gui was happy because he felt that Beijing and Xiang finally had no other choice. Xu Huai was still depressed, but at this time he was too lazy to say anything and just stared into the distance.
Deep down in his heart, Zhu Tong still didn't want Jingxiang and the imperial court to break apart in a tragic way, so he said:
"I believe that Liu Hou and Yang Qiye are all sensible people. They would never want to see Ge Boyi and his like secretly colluding with the Hulu. I think Ge Boyi is seeking peace in the name of 'a soldier who subjugates others without fighting'."
Things can still be stopped."
"What good will it do to prevent them from seeking peace with the Chihu people at this time, except to make all the soldiers on the road excited?"
Liu Shiwang sighed and said,
"There is no need for the imperial court to send envoys there. The Chihu troops will withdraw on their own in two days. It is enough for Ge Boyi and others to understand that the Chihu troops are sincere in calling for peace with Shouchun! Wait for the troops to withdraw.
After that, it is natural that King Qin’s soldiers and horses will return to their respective places, and the commander will also need to return to Beijing and Xiang to take charge. After that, Ge Boyi and the others will have plenty of time to slowly negotiate peace with the Chihu people!"
"In other words, if we really want to stop it, it will be even more disadvantageous?" Zhu Tongchi asked.
Han Gui said: "Chi Hu had assembled 300,000 soldiers and horses in the middle to attack Rucai. In fact, at that time Jingxiang was worried that the Chi Hu people would secretly make peace with Ge Boyi and his ilk and target Jing Xiang together. If Chi Hu had been there at that time,
People with such decisiveness can really create big trouble for Jingxiang and Jingxiang. Although it has only been a year now, I cannot say that there is no trouble, but it is better than a year ago when they made peace, which is still difficult to accept!"
"Really, you have considered this possibility a long time ago?" Zhu Tong relaxed a little after hearing Han Gui say that Jingxiang had considered the issue of peace between the Chihu people and Qiandi more than a year ago and jointly suppressed Jingxiang.
It is true that over the past year or so, the internal and external environment of Beijing and Xiangzhou has changed greatly.
You must know that the Yilu Mountain Road was not opened more than a year ago, but at this time, the wool and cashmere collected by the remaining Khitan tribes had been transported smoothly to Jingzhou via the Yangtze River.
The more critical change actually happened after the Japanese troops landed in Jianye.
Not only the Suwei Forbidden Army, the Niushoushan Rebels, and the families of the Forbidden Army generals who were resettled in Jianye, Jiangdong and other places, but also the ordinary people's attitude towards Jingxiang has undergone great changes. Many people actually understood the seemingly diligent nature of Emperor Shaolong.
, but in reality there is no essential difference from Emperor Tianxuan who caused the fall of Bianliang and most of the Central Plains.
What is the real difference between Qian Di, a general and a minister, and Wang Qi Yong and his like back then?
In other words, if Jingxiang chooses to be patient at this time and sit back and watch them make peace, the Qiandi faction and Emperor Shaolong behind it will actually become even more unpopular, which is completely different from a year ago.
Of course, Zhu Tong would not be relieved.
He knew in his heart that if the situation changed again, how could Jingxiang feel better when faced with the Qiandi clique and the Red Husbands negotiating peace? The pressure they would bear might be so great that it might interrupt the process of Jingxiang's rise...
