This time, the meritorious banquet was still held in the "Jiying Hall", but due to the large number of meritorious people attending the banquet today, the etiquette department and the internal chamberlain in charge of hosting the banquet were worried that there were not enough seats, so they did not adopt the "separate banquet" method in the past.
, but placed long tables and benches in the hall.
After all, there were so many guests invited here today, and they really fulfilled the metaphorical meaning of this palace as "a gathering of heroes."
As early as around Shenshi, Yongwang Hongyu came to Jiying Hall to inspect the preparations for the banquet. As the real and unnamed prince, he was also the host of the banquet and was responsible for coordinating the arrangements for the banquet.
Nearing the You hour, hundreds of officials from the court arrived at Jiying Hall one after another. After entering the hall, they all saluted and greeted King Yong Hongyu.
Shortly afterwards, Zhao Hongli, the former crown prince of the Eastern Palace, also arrived early with his close aides, which surprised Yong Wang Hongyu slightly.
After greeting each other, Yong Wang Hongyu said to Zhao Hongli with some surprise: "I thought Brother Changhuang would attend the banquet with Xiaojiu later."
Zhao Hongli smiled indifferently, shook his head and said, "Brother Yu has told the public many times that the leader of the First Army of the North is Xiao Jiu and has nothing to do with me."
Yong Wang Hongyu glanced at Zhao Hongli and smiled casually on the surface, but in his heart, he did not believe Zhao Hongli's words: The First Army of the North was now led by their youngest brother Huan Wang Zhao Hongxuan, and Zhao Hongli never interfered again.
Although these are true, everyone knows that Xiaojiu is a supporter of the deposed prince Zhao Hongli - although the former prince Zhao Hongli seems to be in decline, in fact he is just hiding his power and biding his time, waiting for the opportunity.
At least, Yong Wang Hongyu couldn't tell from Zhao Hongli's eyes that the other party had given up on fighting for the throne.
This is also the enemy!
But for the time being, they are a political alliance.
"There is only one enemy today."
Zhao Hongli and Yong Wang Hongyu looked at each other in unison, and smiled in tacit understanding.
By the time around the time of Youshi, all the officials in the court were already sitting at the long table on the west side of the palace. The long table on the east side of the palace was today's honorary seat, that is, only the meritorious men who had made meritorious deeds in this battle were seated.
Only those who can take the "meritorious seat" can sit.
I don’t know how long it took, but there was an announcement from outside the palace: “His Royal Highness King Qing has arrived!”
"Coming!"
Yong Wang Hongyu and Zhao Hongli secretly took a breath, and together with all the officials in the hall, they all looked towards the entrance of the hall.
Immediately, the visitors outside the hall quickly announced the guest who had come hand in hand with almost no pause.
"The King of Nanliang has arrived!"
"His Royal Highness Prince Xiang is here!"
"General Jiang Bi is here!"
"Wei Feng is here!"
"Huchou Hou is here!"
"Marquis Yuanling has arrived!"
"Marquis Bandung has arrived!"
"Marquis Gao Yang has arrived!"
"Marquis Pingcheng is here!"
"Marquis Quliang has arrived!"
"Marquis Kuangcheng has arrived!"
Following the almost non-stop announcements from the visitors outside the hall, a large number of people appeared outside Jiying Hall and walked into the hall together.
"It seems that I am the first."
Glancing at the seating arrangements in the hall, Qing Wang Hongxin said with a smile.
All the officials in the palace laughed in agreement, and then stared intently at the people behind Qing Wang Hongxin - the Qing Wang Party!
Looking at the Qingwang Party members who deliberately stopped at the entrance of the hall from a distance, the hall was completely silent. Even Yongwang Hongyu felt the pressure increase sharply.
It cannot be denied that King Qing Hongxin’s current power is very large. He has the support of officials from the DPRK and China, military commanders, and support from domestic aristocratic circles. It is even more powerful than the "Donggong Party" in its heyday. If it were not currently dominated by Yong
Wang Hongyu supervises the country, otherwise, even the Yongwang Party will be unable to withstand the persecution from the Qingwang Party.
Especially this time, the victory of the Southern Liang King Zhao Yuanzuo and General Jiang Bi made the Qingwang Party more powerful than before, so much so that just those people standing at the door of the hall made all the officials in the hall feel nervous and secretly.
Swallow saliva.
In fact, all the officials in the palace are well aware that this banquet, in addition to honoring meritorious officials, is actually the best opportunity for the princes to show their power - of course, the more important ones are King Yong Hongyu and King Qing
Hongxin’s confrontation.
Seeing everyone in the hall glance at him intentionally or unintentionally, Yongwang Hongyu did not flinch. He stood up and greeted him with a smile: "Third uncle, fifth brother, and everyone else, please hurry up and take your seats."
As soon as he finished speaking, an eunuch walked quickly from the side of the palace, seemingly ready to show King Qing Hongxin and others their seats, but King Yong Hongyu waved his hand and dismissed the eunuch, looking at King Qing Hongxin and others with a smile.
That expression seemed to say: Sit wherever you want, sit wherever you want.
But the question is, can I sit wherever I want?
You must know that some of the people sitting in the seats on the west side today are not very good-tempered. Even Qing Wang Hongxin does not want to offend.
At this time, Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Nanliang, also saw that Yong Wang Hongyu was deliberately making things difficult, so he said: "Jiang Bi, follow me. The rest of the people should follow Wei Feng."
After that, he led Jiang Bi to the first long table and sat down in the row of seats to the west. The other nobles of the Qing Wang Party who participated in the battle, under the leadership of Wei Feng, randomly selected
Several long tables were sat down.
Seeing this, all the officials in the court nodded secretly: This kind of seating arrangement will not anger a certain Prince Su who has a bad temper.
Seeing that Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Southern Liang, came forward to resolve the difficulties caused by Yong Wang Hongyu, Qing Wang Hongxin secretly breathed a sigh of relief. After glancing at Yong Wang Hongyu mockingly, he and Xiang Wang Hongjing took their seats at the first long table on the west side.
——Neither he nor King Xiang Hongjing had personally participated in this war, so they were actually here as accompanying guests.
It must be said that the tense scene at the beginning made the atmosphere in the hall even more awkward. At this time, the hall was completely silent, and no one dared to break the silence.
Not long after, Zongzheng Zhao Yuanyan of the Zongfu came to Jiying Hall with Zhao Sheng, the king of Yao who had now succeeded the late King Zhao Yuanzuo of Yi as the Zongfu Zongling. At this time, the atmosphere in the hall relaxed slightly.
This can be attributed to Zhao Sheng, the king of Yao. This king was good at observing people's words, good at speaking, and was a good communicator. When he saw that the atmosphere in the palace was not right, he made a few small jokes without leaving any trace, and gradually made the atmosphere in the palace gradually change.
Pick up.
After a while, following the announcement from the visitors outside the hall, King Huan Zhao Hongxuan and his party also arrived at Jiying Hall.
What surprised everyone in the palace was that King Yu Zhao Yuanke and his four generals Shao Hu, Long Ji, Yi Gu, and Zhao Bao actually came together with King Huan Zhao Hongxuan.
"What does this mean?"
All the officials in the palace couldn't help but wonder about this.
You must know that, like his brother Su Wang Zhao Hongrun, Huan Wang Zhao Hongxuan has also never expressed his desire to fight for the throne. Compared with the throne, His Royal Highness King Huan seems to be more obsessed with commanding an army to fight in the north and south like his brother.
, and achieved victory in each foreign war.
However, Yu Wang Zhao Yuanke and his four generals Shao Hu, Long Ji, Yi Gu and Zhao Bao appeared together with Huan Wang Zhao Hongrun. Is there any special reason for this?
Perhaps noticing the suspicious glances of everyone in the palace, King Yu Zhao Yuandai leaned on his crutch and said with a smile: "What? I came to the banquet with Hongxuan, does it bother you? My uncle and nephew are on par with each other in Yongqiu.
Fighting!"
After hearing this, everyone in the hall suddenly realized: That's right!
Compared to those who had just treated Qing Wang Hongxin, Yong Wang Hongyu's attitude at this time was much more enthusiastic. He took the initiative to come forward and salute and greet: "Uncle Wu Wang, Hongxuan, let me take you to the table."
To be fair, King Huan Zhao Hongxuan had a very bad impression of King Yong Hongyu, but considering that his eldest brother Zhao Hongli was currently in a political alliance with the latter, he still reluctantly said hello.
"Don't bother." King Yu Zhao Yuan'ai saw Zhao Yuanzuo, King of Nanliang, sitting at the first table on the east side from a distance, and said with a smile: "Hongxuan and I can go alone."
After saying that, he leaned on crutches and slowly walked to the first table on the east side and sat down opposite Zhao Yuanzuo, King of Nanliang.
To be honest, Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Nanliang, didn't take it to heart at all about Yong Wang Hongyu making things difficult for Qing Wang Hongxin, because in his opinion, this kind of thing was just a child's trick. But now that Yu Wang Zhao Yuanke came to the scene, his mood suddenly changed.
Become excited.
"I beat you, Yuan Ke."
After King Yu Zhao Yuanqi took his seat, King Zhao Yuanzuo of Nanliang spoke first.
"Haha." King Yu Zhao Yuanqi laughed twice, and calmly stopped Zhao Hongxuan, King Huan, who wanted to refute or even sarcastically, and looked directly at Zhao Yuanzuo, King of Nanliang.
"Why are you laughing?" Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Nanliang, asked with a frown. His behavior made the general Jiang Bi sitting next to him feel a little surprised.
In Jiang Bi's opinion, Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Nanliang, could definitely be regarded as a tycoon, but for some reason, this tycoon often lost his usual calmness when facing the king of Yu, Zhao Yuanzuo.
Just like right now, although Yu Wang Zhao Yuan'ai just laughed twice casually, Nan Liang Wang Zhao Yuanzuo seemed to feel a strong sense of ridicule.
However, Jiang Bi did not interfere. After all, he had heard about the dispute between Zhao Yuanzuo and Zhao Yuanji.
"Did you really win?" Faced with the question of Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Nanliang, Yu Wang Zhao Yuan'ai said calmly: "In one battle, we wiped out the millions of troops of Chu without leaving any future troubles, and what about you?"
After hearing this, Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Southern Liang, snorted coldly: "If Daliang hadn't made peace with South Korea, do you think I would have easily withdrawn my troops from South Korea?"
"I'm not referring to this, I'm referring to Weiguo." Yu Wang Zhao Yuanke shook his head and interrupted.
"Weiguo?" Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Nanliang, frowned.
Seeing this, King Yu Zhao Yuande said: "You really don't understand why the Han army asked Sima Shang to attack Wei before the Han army withdrew?...Why didn't you save? If Wei and Wei are at odds, there will be endless troubles."
"..."
Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Nanliang, frowned. With his intelligence and strategy, he could certainly understand the pros and cons, but he didn't take it seriously - even though Wei Guo guessed that he was "directing trouble to the east".
So what about the strategy? Does Wei Guo really dare to abandon his Wei State and switch to South Korea?
Can’t King Wei see the current situation in the world? The rise of his Wei State is unstoppable!
If King Wei really made such an unwise decision, the Wei army would be able to attack Puyang City within one day.
"Are you trying to cheat?" Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Nanliang, said displeasedly.
"I'm just discussing the matter." King Yu Zhao Yuan'ai replied with a smile.
At this moment, another visitor's announcement came from outside Jiying Hall, attracting the attention of everyone in the hall: "His Royal Highness King Yan is here! His Royal Highness King Su is here! Qin Shaojun is here!"
Following this announcement, King Yan Zhao Hongjiang and King Su Zhao Hongrun both stepped into the hall.
Compared with Yan King Zhao Hongjiang who was only followed by several Shanyang Army generals from Zongwei origin such as Yan Princess Sun Shi and Cao Yan, Su King Zhao Hongrun was followed by a gathering of generals.
"General Wu Ji of the Shang Shui Army has arrived!"
"General Qu Cheng of the Yanling Army has arrived!"
"Lintao Lord Wei Ji has arrived!"
"Lieutenant Puban, I heard that General Xu has arrived!"
"King Chengling has arrived!"
"Marquis Anping has arrived!"
"Marquis Gao Xian has arrived!"
"Marquis Lutan has arrived!"
"Liu Guang will be here soon!"
As the sound of announcements came one after another, the generals of the Su Wang Party stepped into the palace one after another.
Even though there are not many generals of King Su's army who are qualified to be notified by the audience, and there are not as many nobles as the nobles who defected to King Su Zhao Hongrun last year, but everyone knows that the generals who are following King Su Zhao Hongrun into the Jiying Hall at this moment are the generals of King Su's army.
The core general of the king's army.
Yan Mo, Sun Shuke, Zhai Huang, Nanmen Chi, Ma You, these generals of the Yanling Army, the Shang Shui Army, and the Youma Army, who among the people in the palace dares to look down upon them at this moment?
This is currently the largest military force in Wei State. Even the kings of Southern Liang, Zhao Yuanzuo and Jiang Bi, the kings of Yu, Zhao Yuandai, and the kings of Huan, Zhao Hongxuan, cannot compare with each other.
What's more important is that this time, together with King Su Zhao Hongrun, there are also Qin Shaojun and the generals of the Qin State.
"Master Wu Xinhou Gongsun Qi has arrived!"
"The Lord Changxinhou Wangjian has arrived!"
"Master Yangquan Yingbo is here!"
"Lord Wang Lu..."
"Lord Wang Ling..."
Seeing the generals of King Su's army and the generals of Qin coming hand in hand, there seemed to be an aura that was more compelling than any of the previous forces, faintly shrouding the Jiying Hall, making everyone in the hall breathless.
Some people may be wondering: Why did the people of Qin appear with His Highness King Su? As if to cheer for His Highness King Su of Wei?
Immediately, an insider privately revealed: Stupid, His Highness King Su is getting married to a princess of Qin State, and the generals of Qin State will naturally attend with His Highness King Su.
After greeting Yan Wang Zhao Hongjiang and Su Wang Zhao Hongrun, Yong Wang Hongyu saluted Qin Shaojun without losing etiquette.
"Brother Yong Wang, there is no need to greet us." Zhao Hongrun smiled and greeted Yong Wang Hongyu, and then led Yan Wang Zhao Hongjiang and his wife, as well as Qin Shaojun, Mi Jiang, Ying'er and a few others, straight to the east side.
Long table.
The rest of the people, under the guidance of Lintao Lord Wei Ji, sat casually at the long table on the east side.
It has to be said that when Wei Ji, Qu Cheng, Wu Ji, Zhai Huang, Yan Mo, Nanmen Chi, Ma You, and other generals from the Qin State took their seats, Sun Mou, the Marquis of Hu Miao, who had been a bit arrogant before, and Yuan
Ling Hou Feng Shu and other nobles of the Qing King's party suddenly felt an invisible pressure, which made them feel on pins and needles.
Especially when Qu Cheng, Wu Ji, Wei Ji, Gongsun Qi, and Wang Jian were sitting at the same table, Sun Mou, the Marquis of Huzhou, and Uncle Feng, the Marquis of Yuanling, looked at these fierce generals of King Su's and Qin's armies and sat across from each other with their arms crossed, subconsciously
The ground didn't even dare to breathe.
No wonder, after all, they only led private soldiers to wander around the country for a while. How could they compare to the Shang Shui Army, Yanling Army, and Youma Army, who fought with real swords and spears to achieve military success?
Although the Su-Royal Party has a relatively shallow foundation in the government, with only the Ministry of Industry, the General Administration of Metallurgy, and the Ordnance Casting Bureau being peripheral government offices that have no influence on government orders, there is no force in the military that can compete with the Su-Royal Party.
Compete.
When King Yan Zhao Hongjiang and King Su Zhao Hongjiang took their seats, everyone clearly felt that the atmosphere in the palace became increasingly weird - especially King Zhao Hongjiang of Yan, who looked at Zhao Yuanzuo, King of Nanliang, as if he wanted to eat him alive.
"Is something going to happen?"
Some timid officials couldn't help but tremble and were filled with uneasiness.
There are so many generals from all sides present today, and it would be terrible if a fight broke out.