Amidst the respectful farewells of the guards of the Qi Palace, Zhao Zhao, the left prime minister of Qi State, walked towards a carriage with the word "Zhao" emblazoned on it outside the palace.
Beside the carriage, stood an armored guard. After seeing Zhao Zhao, this man took the initiative to greet him and called him "Young Master".
Just looking at the fact that this guard used the title "Gongzi" to address Zhao Zhao, we can know that this guard must be from Wei. After all, in Qi State, Qi people would not call Zhao Zhao "Gongzi".
"How long have you been waiting, Cao Liang?" Zhao Zhao greeted the guard with a smile, not unfamiliar with him at all.
It's no wonder, after all, this guard named Cao Liang was originally one of the ten guards who accompanied Zhao Zhao into the Qi Kingdom, and now, these ten guards are all in the "Linzi Army" and the "Flying Bear Army"
To put it simply, these clan guards are now more like Zhao Zhao's retainers than mere guards.
In addition, it had been seven or eight years since Zhao Zhao came to Linzi of Qi State, and all the clan guards had families one after another. Some of them were married before going abroad. After Zhao Zhao became the son-in-law of King Lu Xi of Qi, they
They made a special trip to bring their wives from Wei to Linzi, and the Zongwei who had never been married before going abroad, with the help of Zhao Zhao's wife Kui Ji, married the daughter of a noble in Linzi City.
Therefore, all the clan guards moved out of Zhao Zhao's mansion one after another and built their own homes nearby. Sometimes when they were busy, Zhao Zhao rarely encountered these clan guards.
However, the Zongwei were still very concerned about the safety of their Highness. Therefore, the ten Zongwei discussed in private that no matter how busy the army was, one Zongwei must always be by Zhao Zhao's side.
No, Zhao Zhao was personally escorted out by Fei Wei, the Zongwei chief who now serves as a captain in the Qi Palace. When the latter saw Cao Liang standing outside the palace, Fei Wei said goodbye to Zhao Zhao and returned to the palace.
Continue patrolling.
"It didn't take long."
Cao Liang smiled slightly when he heard this, raised the curtain and asked His Highness to get on the carriage.
However, Zhao Zhao waved his hand, sat down in the driving seat, and said with a smile: "It's stuffy in the car, I'll just sit here while you talk to someone."
Cao Liang was stunned for a moment, then saw Zhao Zhao smiling, and asked curiously: "Master, could it be that something good happened today?"
After hearing this, the smile on Zhao Zhao's face became even wider.
After a while, he nodded and said with a bit of joy on his face: "Linzi has just received the credentials from Daliang..."
Hearing the long-lost word "Daliang", Cao Liang was also shocked and asked curiously: "I wonder what it is about?"
"What do you think?" Zhao Zhao asked with a smile.
Seeing this, Cao Liang smiled knowingly.
He knew that this letter of credence from Daliang must be good news. Otherwise, His Highness, who has become more and more stable since he became the left prime minister of Qi State, would never show such a petty attitude.
But unfortunately, although Cao Liang wanted to cooperate, he really couldn't guess it, so he shook his head honestly.
Seeing him like this, Zhao Zhao did not hide it anymore, and said with a nostalgic and gratified tone: "It's about Hongrun... He finally became the crown prince of the Eastern Palace of Wei Dynasty!"
"His Royal Highness King Su Zhao Run?" Cao Liang was surprised when he heard this and asked subconsciously: "What about King Yong?"
Zhao Zhao sighed and said melancholy: "Unfortunately, King Yong died of "civil strife"..."
Of course, the credential issued by the State of Wei to the State of Qi did not mention the "Three Kings' Rebellion". Regarding the civil strife in the State of Wei, it was the merchants of the State of Qi doing business in Bolangsha who brought the news back to the State of Qi.
From Linzi.
At this point, Zhao Zhao and his clan guards learned that the "Three Kings' Rebellion" had occurred in the Wei State. Fortunately, this turmoil was quickly suppressed and eliminated by Su Wang Zhao Run, and finally the Wei State did not suffer too many losses -
—In the eyes of Zhao Zhao and others, this is a great blessing among misfortunes.
"His Royal Highness Prince Su actually became the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace of Wei Dynasty. This is really..."
After a while, Cao Liang still couldn't let go of the shocking news.
After all, when they were still in Daliang, they heard a lot about the misdeeds of His Highness.
"Daliang is very lively now." Cao Liang said with a strange look on his face.
Zhao Zhao also felt happy when he heard this. After all, he also knew that his eighth brother was not a peaceful master. Now that his eighth brother has become the crown prince of Wei, I believe that the ministers of the imperial court will have a headache in the future.
While chatting and laughing, Zhao Zhao and Cao Liang took a carriage to the former's residence in Linzi - Zuo Xiang Zhao's Mansion.
After getting off the carriage in front of the mansion, the guards of the mansion came forward to greet them, took the reins from Cao Liang, and drove the carriage into the mansion from the side door. Zhao Zhao and Cao Liang stepped in
After arriving at the mansion, we went straight to the inner courtyard.
As soon as they arrived at the inner courtyard, Zhao Zhao and Cao Liang saw a six or seven-year-old boy leading a little girl who looked to be three or four years old. They were in the garden under the strict protection of a group of servants.
Flutter butterflies.
At the stone table not far away, two beautiful women were sitting there, looking at the two children with concerned eyes, and from time to time, they would tell them to be careful not to fall.
Seeing this, Zhao Zhao smiled knowingly, turned around the corridor, and walked over.
"Daddy."
As if she saw Zhao Zhao, the little girl who was watching her brother flapping butterflies immediately abandoned her brother and ran up to Zhao Zhao. Just as Zhao Zhao knelt down to cooperate, she threw him down.
In the latter's arms.
The little boy quickly walked over and bowed his hands respectfully: "Father."
"Hmm."
Caressing his daughter's head lovingly, Zhao Zhao nodded towards his son in front of him.
At this time, the two beautiful women also saw their husbands. They immediately got up and walked towards Zhao Zhao, saluting Yingying: "Husband, you are back."
Of these two beautiful women, the older one is Kui Ji, the daughter of the late King Lu Xi of Qi, while the younger one next to her is Tian Wan, the daughter of the "Linzi Tian Family", who is Zhao Zhaoqian.
A concubine whom I married several years ago.
At that time, King Lu Xi of Qi died during the campaign against Chu, and all the princes in the country rose up. At that time, Zhao Zhao and Tian Ba and Tian Dan, the two sons of the Linzi Tian family, followed the instructions of King Lu Xi of Qi on his deathbed and supported the final plan.
The young master Bai, in order to make the relationship between the two families closer and united, the Linzi Tian family married Tian Wan to Zhao Zhao as a concubine.
Later, Zhao Zhao married Tian Wan after consulting his wife and concubines for their opinions on this matter, thus gaining the full support of the Tian family in Linzi. After the death of King Lu Xi of Qi, Zhao Zhao, based on his background as the son of Wei Gongzi,
To still be able to be the left prime minister of Qi State, in addition to the trust of Prince Bai, Linzi Tian's contribution was indispensable.
Perhaps noticing that her husband had a thick smile on his face today, Kui Ji smiled and asked the same question as Cao Liang: "Husband, did you encounter something good in the palace today?"
Zhao Zhao smiled and nodded, saying: "It is indeed a great thing."
After hearing this, Mrs. Tian lowered her head and said: "Husband, sister, I will take "Liang'er" and "Mei'er" to the inner room first..."
The "Liang'er" and "Mei'er" in her mouth refer to Zhao Liang, the son of Zhao Zhao, and her own daughter. Both of them were Zhao Zhao's residence in memory of Daliang and his mother.
It was named after Mei Palace.
"You..."
Kui Ji glanced at Tian Wan with annoyance, then took the latter's hand, and said: "Liang'er, take your sister to freshen up, you are both dirty..."
"Yes, mother." Zhao Liang nodded and took his sister Mei'er, who reluctantly came down from his father's arms, to the house surrounded by servants and maids.
At this time, Kui Ji said teasingly to Tian Wan: "My daughter is so old, do she still think of herself as an outsider?"
"I don't..." Tian Wan shook his head repeatedly, looking at Kuanji with a hint of fear.
Seeing this, Kui Ji was also quite distressed.
She knew it was her fault because she thought that when Zhao Zhao married Tian Wan, Zhao Zhao, a gentleman, would certainly not hide anything from her, but she was also on guard against Tian at that time - after all, she
Her biggest backer is her father, King Lu Xi of Qi. God knows whether the Linzi Tian family will take her seriously after his father's death.
All in all, when Tian Wan came through the door, Kui Ji, as the hostess of the Zhao Mansion, gave her a blow.
What I didn't expect was that Tian Wan was a very introverted and cowardly woman - maybe the Tian family in Linzi considered Kuan Ji at that time, so they specially selected a person from the clan who was not a threat to Kuan Ji.
woman.
In short, without understanding Tian Wan's character, Kui Ji frightened the latter, so that even now, Tian Wan is still afraid of Kui Ji when she sees him.
And for this, Kui Ji also secretly regretted: If she had known that this sister was so introverted and cowardly, why would she have done so much, causing everyone in the Linzi Tian family to laugh at her behind her back.
As for Zhao Zhao, he never expressed any opinions on this matter. After all, he could understand that Kui Ji was uneasy after the death of her father, King Lu Xi of Qi. Furthermore, he loved Kui Ji deeply and he believed that this woman was kind-hearted.
After understanding Tian Wan's character, his wife will no longer regard the latter as an enemy.
Sure enough, within a few months after Tian Wan came to the door, Zhuo Ji changed her attitude towards Tian Wan. Unfortunately, Tian Wan's character was so introverted that even after a few years, she still had no feelings for Zhuo Ji.
With all kinds of fear, and sometimes when she was in a panic, she would even call her "Her Royal Highness the Princess" out of her mouth.
After a while, Kui Ji pulled Tian Wan, who was squirming, and followed Zhao Zhao and Cao Liang to the study.
During this period, Tian Wan whispered to Ji Ji: "Princess... no, sister, you and your husband are discussing important matters, and I don't need to participate..."
"Why? You are also the mistress of this family...ah, Cao Liang is still watching, don't let that kid see the joke!" Kuan Ji said a little irritably.
When Cao Liang heard this from the sidelines, he felt funny in his heart.
After a while, the four of them came to the study. At this time, Zhao Zhao told the two girls about the good things he learned today.
When they heard that their husband's closest brother, Wei Gongzi Run, had now become the crown prince of the East Palace of the Wei Kingdom, Ji Ji and Tian Wan were very happy. After all, this was an extremely powerful foreign aid for their "Linzi Zhao Family".
Thinking of this, Ji Ji reminded: "Husband, for such a big thing, I thought I should prepare a generous gift and send it to Daliang."
Of course Zhao Zhao understands the meaning of his love for his wife. He just wants to consolidate the relationship with his younger brother Zhao Hongrun. After all, Wei is getting stronger and stronger now, and there is an alliance between Qi and Wei. Therefore, Wei's opinion
, it is still quite valued in Qi State.
After thinking about it, Zhao Zhao said with a smile: "It is appropriate to buy a congratulatory gift, but as for a large gift, it is not necessary."
Looking at the smiling husband in front of her, Li Ji hesitated to speak.
Of course, she knew that her husband was the kind of person who followed the principle of "the friendship between gentlemen is as light as water" and always only showed kindness and kindness to others, and never used bribes to induce them. However, she had watched her father, King Lu Xi of Qi, win over people's hearts since she was a child.
, it was always kindness and righteousness, both profit and inducement. In her opinion, her husband was certainly a respectable gentleman, but sometimes he was a little too noble.
Not sure if he had guessed what Yu Ji was thinking, Zhao Zhao shook his head and said: "I know Hongrun better than you do. If you give him a small gift, he will accept it happily, but if you give him a heavy gift, it will not be beautiful...
… He is now the crown prince of the Wei State, and in time he can ascend the throne and become the king, and he will not be lacking anything."
"..." Luo Ji was speechless.
Indeed, for a future king, giving a generous gift would seem worldly. It would be better to choose some exquisite Qi specialties, which would show more sincerity.
Zhui Ji and Tian Wan looked at each other and both felt that this issue was worthy of their careful consideration.
At this moment, a servant of the house came to the study and handed over a greeting card: "Master, Mistress, there is someone from outside the house who came to pay a visit."
Zhao Zhao was not surprised when he heard this. After all, many people came to visit him during his years in Qi, especially after he assisted Prince Bai to quell the rebellion of the princes in the country, and he was respectfully called "Brother Shang" by Prince Bai.
It can be said that the Qi State is very popular among both the government and the public. "Note: Shang means "respectable". Brother Shang means an elder brother who is worthy of respect."
However, after he casually took the greeting card and glanced at it, a trace of surprise flashed in his eyes, because the signature on the greeting card actually had the word "Song Yun" written on it.
"Song Yun? Isn't that the leader of Song County's Beibo Army? Why is he coming to Linzi?"
After frowning and thinking for a moment, Zhao Zhao ordered: "Bring this person to this study."
Next to them, Zhui Ji and Tian Wan saw that their husbands were going to meet guests in the study, so they excused themselves and left. They just went back to the boudoir to think carefully about the gifts they wanted to send to Daliang.
After a while, the servants of the house led a man with an imposing appearance to Zhao Zhao's study. It was Song Yun, the leader of the Bei Bo Army.
"Song Yun, a small citizen of Song Dynasty, has met Mr. Qi Xiang."
When he saw Zhao Zhao, Song Yun cupped his hands and called him.
Zhao Zhao secretly looked at this uninvited guest, and while inviting the former to sit down in the inner room, he ordered the servants to serve tea. After the two servants serving tea retreated, he finally said tentatively: "What's the matter with you?"
The name seems to have the same name as the leader of the Northern Bo Army in Song Dynasty..."
Song Yun smiled slightly when he heard this and did not hide it. He said truthfully: "Song, it is that Song Yun."
"Oh." Zhao Zhao nodded in relief, and then asked with a smile: "So, I wonder what the purpose of General Song's visit to Linzi is?"
After hearing this, Song Yun pondered for a while and asked seriously: "Master Zuo Xiang, may I ask what you think of Song Dynasty?"
Zhao Zhao frowned slightly, and after taking a deep look at Song Yun, asked: "What does the foot of the step mean?"
"Maybe Song didn't speak clearly enough." With a slight smile, Song Yun repeated: "Song wanted to ask Mr. Left Prime Minister, what do you think of the Song Dynasty that was attacked by Wei State troops a while ago."
"..." Zhao Zhao stared at Song Yun for a moment, took a sip from the tea cup, and said nonchalantly: "Isn't the land of Song the territory of Wei? Where is the idea of "sending troops to attack"?"
After hearing this, Song Yun smiled slightly and said with a smile: "It seems that the person in front of Song is 'Wei Gong Zizhao', not the left prime minister of Qi..."
"Hey!" Hearing Song Yun's hidden sarcasm, Cao Liang shouted angrily, pointed at Song Yun and scolded: "I don't care which Song Yun you are, you'd better speak politely!"
"Cao Liang." Zhao Zhao waved his hand to signal Cao Liang to calm down his anger. Then he turned to look at Song Yun, frowned and said: "General Song, if you have something to do, please tell me frankly. If nothing happens,
I’m sorry that Zhao can’t accompany me anymore.”
After hearing this, Song Yun clasped his fists and said in a neither arrogant nor humble tone: "Forgive me...Song Yun did come here on important matters this time, but what he wanted was to discuss with Qi's left prime minister, not Mr. Wei.
Zhao."
Zhao Zhao took a deep look at Song Yun, nodded and said, "Please speak."
Seeing this, Song Yun clasped his fists and said seriously: "Master Zuo Xiang, I, Song County, are willing to surrender to Qi State."
Zhao Zhao stared at Song Yun intently for a while, and then said calmly: "It seems that General Song came to entertain Zhao with nothing to do..." After saying that, he shook his head and still said politely: "Zhao wants more
I'm sorry that I can't accompany you on important matters."
As he spoke, he seemed to have thought of something, and added: "These words were not spoken by Wei Gong Zizhao, but by the Left Prime Minister of Da Qi...Cao Liang, see the guest off!"
After hearing this, Cao Liang took a step forward, glared at Song Yun fiercely, and said coldly: "Please."
"Wait a minute." Song Yun raised his hand, then looked at Zhao Zhao and asked seriously: "Is what I said just now really what the left prime minister of Qi said? I don't believe it!"
"You guy!" Cao Liang was furious when he saw this. He grabbed Song Yun's collar and pulled him up from his seat.
Seeing this, Zhao Zhao immediately stopped Cao Liang, and then said to Song Yun: "Since you don't believe it, Zhao will explain one or two. First of all, the Song Dynasty was destroyed more than 20 years ago. Since then, the Song Dynasty has
The counties are the counties of the Wei State. This is something everyone in the Central Plains knows. Secondly, although you are from the Song Dynasty and are the leader of the Beibo Army, you are not a descendant of the Song royal family. You are not qualified to talk about it.
The ownership of Song County, unless you want to follow Nangong Yao. Third, Wei is an important ally of Da Qi. In the past ten years, the two sides have been harmonious and united, resisting South Korea in the north and reaching Chu in the south. As the left prime minister of Da Qi, I will not
Because of your baseless and one-sided remarks, you caused trouble with the State of Wei and destroyed the friendship between the two countries so far... Are you satisfied with this explanation?"
"..."
Song Yun remained silent.
He had to admit that everything Zhao Zhao said was conclusive, especially the sentence "You are not a descendant of the Song royal family, so you are not qualified to talk about the ownership of Song County." It was even more to the point.
Yes, although the Beibo Army was a local rebel army in Song County and once enjoyed high prestige among the Song people, unfortunately, the Beibo Army did not have the status of "righteousness" - those who have survived to this day
The descendants of the Song royal family are all weak cowards. They would rather live a stable life as rich men in Qi and Lu than risk their lives to lead the people of Song and the Northern Bo army to restore the country.
In this case, neither the Beibo Army nor its leader Song Yun is qualified to dictate the ownership of Song County. After all, in this era, the land and subjects can be regarded as the private property of the king. For example, Song County was previously owned by
The King of Song now belongs to the King of Wei and has nothing to do with the subjects of Song County.
Although this theory sounds ridiculous, it is true.
If Song Yun decides on the ownership of Song County without authorization and uses this matter as a bargaining chip in negotiations with Qi, this behavior is considered treason. In the Central Plains, it is impossible for any king of any country to approve this ridiculous behavior.
The agreement - are you kidding? The king’s game, how can the subjects be allowed to interfere?!
It's okay to support it secretly, but it's absolutely not okay to admit it publicly and support it openly, so there is absolutely no problem for Zhao Zhao to use these words to block Song Yun's mouth.
After being silent for a while, Song Yun stood up and said goodbye: "Song will come to visit again in two days."
Seeing Song Yun leaving under the guidance of the servants, Cao Liang snorted coldly and said to Zhao Zhao: "This guy seems to have some support."
"I can probably guess what he will do." Zhao Zhao took a breath and said in a deep voice: "Looking at his attitude just now, it's not difficult to know that he didn't think I would agree to this, so he didn't say too much.
Care... you know I won't agree, but you are the first to visit me, huh
, he wants to drag me into the water. Just watch, today and tomorrow, the Beibo Army's detailed operations will definitely spread rumors in the city, saying that I, the Young Master of Wei, am using power for personal gain and harming the interests of Daqi for the sake of Wei... By then I will
In order to prove innocence, we can only avoid suspicion. Until then..."
After hearing this, Cao Liang's expression changed drastically, and he said in shock: "This..." After saying that, a trace of cruelty flashed in his eyes, and he said angrily: "I'll kill him!"
"It's meaningless." Zhao Zhao stopped Cao Liang in time, shook his head and said: "Since he dares to come, it means that he has arranged everything. Even if you kill him, rumors will still spread in the city today and tomorrow. By then,
, because you killed him, but I can’t explain it. Then everyone will think that we have bad intentions..."
"Then...then you just watch helplessly?"
Zhao Zhao thought for a moment and said calmly: "Those who are clean will be clean by themselves. We will just wait and see what happens."
Having said this, he raised his head and glanced at the dusk sky, feeling vaguely inexplicable melancholy in his heart.
When Wei was weak, he was worried and anxious. But now, Wei is getting stronger and stronger, so powerful that it has replaced Qi as the hegemon of the Central Plains. In fact, Zhao Zhao is also quite worried about this.
The reason is that many people in Qi still think about the "era of King Xi of Qi" and the time when Qi was the most powerful. However, in fact, due to the civil war of "civil war among the princes" in the past few years, Qi's state has
His vitality was severely damaged; on the other hand, because Zhao Run, who was still King Su at the time, suppressed the "Three Kings' Rebellion" in a short period of time, the Wei State was insignificant compared to the Qi State due to the same civil strife.
One is the old overlord who is on the decline, and the other is the new overlord of the Central Plains who has risen faster after Prince Zhao Run came to power. Zhao Zhao is very worried that the people of Qi will not easily recognize the hegemony of Wei, which will affect Qi and Wei.
relations between the two countries.
If something like that really happened, how should he deal with himself as the son of Wei and the son-in-law of King Qi?
Song Yun's arrival forced Zhao Zhao to face up to this problem.