Leaving Gao Shao, Lin Haizheng, Feng Xuan and Du Qiniang behind, Han Qian chose the auspicious time of the eighth day of October to officially embark on his journey as an envoy to welcome his bride.
On behalf of the third prince, Xinchang Hou Li Pu took Chai Jian, Li Chong, Wen Ruilin and others to send Han Qian to the dock at the west foot of Yuelu Mountain to board the ship.
It was already winter, the sky was gloomy, the wind was howling, blowing yellow leaves all over the ground, and the vast Xiangjiang River was rushing across the land, much weaker than in spring and summer.
"When Mr. Han comes back to welcome the bride, can we say that the great work will be completed?" Xinchang Hou Li Pu looked at the ancient trees beside the road with their branches and leaves reduced, and asked with emotion.
"Does the Marquis have anything to tell Han Qian?" Han Qian asked bluntly.
Han Qian went to Shu on behalf of the third prince to welcome his bride, which was a heavy responsibility. It was natural for the third prince to send ministers to see him off. However, unless Xinchang Marquis Li Pu had something to tell him in private, there was no need to accept this purely superficial assignment.
"Zhang Ping sent someone to say that His Highness transferred a lot of treasures from the inner palace to you yesterday, worth millions of dollars. Is this true?" asked Li Pu, the Marquis of Xinchang.
As the Prime Minister of Prince Tan, Zhang Ping had all internal affairs under his jurisdiction. He could not prevent the third prince and Han Qian from transferring property from the internal government. However, as an official of the Shenling Division, he was bound to inform Xinchang Marquis Li Pu about this matter.
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It's just that Han Qian didn't expect that Xinchang Hou Li Pu would trust Wen Ruilin so much at this time, and he felt confident that Wen Ruilin would know about Zhang Ping's existence.
Jinling must prepare national gifts for peace talks and betrothal gifts for marriage.
Of course, as Han Qian's ambassador to welcome the bride, he will have to spend a lot of money on other aspects of management after arriving in Shu Kingdom, but it will definitely not cost as much as a million yuan. Two years ago, the county prince's palace secretly searched the Feng family's belongings, and that was the amount.
That's all.
In fact, the more than 2,000 Hepu beads, more than 200 pieces of Nanman ivory, more than 200 pieces of mutton-fat jade, gold and silver precious metals, and other rare playthings transferred from the inner palace last night were naturally used by Han Qian when he was on his mission.
Secretly bribed the ministers of Shu.
No matter how Chi Chun, the Marquis of Xinchang, Li Pu, even without Wen Ruilin's reminder, he knew that Han Qian secretly used such a huge amount of property, and the inside story was definitely not as simple as Han Qian's need to take care of it after arriving in Shu.
"I learned in Xuzhou that Your Majesty ordered me to go to Shu as an envoy to welcome the bride. I had some ideas in my mind, but the time was too hasty and I hadn't considered it yet, so I didn't discuss it with the Marquis and Master Shen. I just asked His Highness to hand over these belongings to
I took it to Shu for backup, but there is no need to use it..." Han Qian also knew that ordinary excuses could not send Li Pu away, so he said vaguely.
"Really?" Xinchang Hou Li Pu stared at Han Qian suspiciously. He didn't believe Han Qian's words.
He privately transferred millions of dollars of property at one time, but he also made a lot of money in this battle to reduce the feudal vassal.
Otherwise, the annual grain wealth of the eight states in Hunan, even if the portion retained by the states and counties is included, may not be one million yuan.
Han Qian just had an immature idea and persuaded His Highness to allocate so much property to him for his own use without even informing him, Shen Yang and others. This was definitely not a situation that Xinchang Marquis Li Pu wanted to see.
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Seeing that Marquis Xinchang refused to let him go until he made it clear, Han Qian pondered for a while and said:
"King Yong of Liang has been running Qiyong and other places in Guanzhong for two years. However, Guanzhong and Jingxiang are only connected by Wuguan Road, but with Liangzhou in Hanzhong, there are Chencang Road, Baoxie Road, Tangluo Road, Ziwu Road, and Yugu Road
The other roads are connected, so Liang Guo manages Guanzhong, and Jing and Xiang are intimidated.
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The threat is actually far less serious than that of Liangzhou in the Shu Kingdom. When the Marquis of Changxiang was in Tanzhou, he made several private appointments with me. He mentioned the situation in Hanzhong and was very worried about it. However, I, Jinyun Tower, sent people to sneak into Shu and also reported back
The news said that some generals in Shu advocated turning from defense to offense in order to resolve the threat to Hanzhong. I was thinking about whether I could persuade more Shu ministers to agree to join forces with the Longque Army to attack Liang during this mission.
The Longque Army can defeat the Liang Army in Caizhou, and when the time comes, your Majesty will change it. Even if Shouzhou and Chuzhou have any opinions, they won't express them, right?"
"..." Li Pu, the Marquis of Xinchang, was slightly startled. He didn't expect that Han Qian would send so much wealth to Shu this time for this purpose: to unite the Shu army to attack the Liang army in Guanzhong and Caizhou!
Xinchang Hou Li Pu had never thought about it before, but after hearing Han Qian mention it, he felt that it was not impossible. Who could have expected that the Dragon Bird Army could defend Xichuan and destroy the Ma family so quickly?
The most fundamental purpose of the Chu-Shu peace talks was that Chu and Shu were weak and Liang had strong soldiers and horses. Both countries felt the serious threat from Liang and intended to unite to suppress it.
Isn't it natural to start from empty peace talks and then go deeper into a more operational and practical joint attack?
Who said Liang Jun must be invincible?
During the Jingxiang War, didn't Liang Jun also abandon his helmet and armor at the gate of Xichuan City, and finally fled in embarrassment?
If the Dragon Bird Army can unite with the Shu Army to severely inflict heavy losses on the Liang Army, the reputation of the third prince will rise to a higher level. After the death of Emperor Tianyou, he will take advantage of the Dragon Bird Army's great military power to ascend the throne. Xu Mingzhen and King Xin will
Even if you are full of resentment, you will indeed be suppressed and dare not act rashly, right?
Xinchang Hou Li Pu was also frightened by Han Qian's excuse for a while, and he didn't know what to say next.
"Time is too short. I just had a whim in the past few days. I didn't consider many things mature, so I didn't bother Mr. Marquis and Mr. Shen. I just asked His Highness to secretly transfer this batch of property for me to use as a spare. It's also convenient.
After entering Shu, you can act according to the situation." Han Qian glanced at Wen Ruilin and continued, "If Lord Marquis and Mr. Wen have any ideas, remember to send someone to send a letter, and never write it in a letter, so as not to leak it to Liang Jian!
"
After hearing what Han Qian said, Li Pu, the Marquis of Xinchang, stopped pestering him and sent Han Qian on board the ship with his hands bowed.
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"Do you suspect that Marquis Xinchang and these remnants of the Shenling Division are not worthy of trust?"
Xi Rong stood next to Han Qian and saw him holding the parapet with a hypocritical face and waving to Li Pu, Chai Jian, Wen Ruilin, Li Chong and others on the shore. She asked in a low voice.
If it weren't for the fact that people like Xinchang Hou Li Pu couldn't be trusted in supporting the third prince to ascend the throne, Xi Rong couldn't imagine why Han Qian would hide some key information from them?
"The composition of the personnel around His Highness is too complex. No amount of caution can be too much," Han Qian said. "I don't know if they can be trusted, but if things are kept secret, they will fail. This is the result of thousands of years of accumulation of blood and tears of countless people."
What a bloody lesson. In addition, there are some things that His Highness may not be willing to let too many people know..."
"You talk about filial piety every day when you have nothing to do, but you think about the father killing the son and the son plotting against the father all day long. How dare you be afraid of being scolded by others?" Xi Rong said disdainfully.
At this time, Feng Yi and Kong Xirong came over with Yang Qin. Xi Rong stopped talking and looked at the roaring river...
"Feng Yi, I am traveling to Shu this time to welcome His Highness to his wedding. Do you know why I brought you with me?" Han Qian looked at Feng Yi and asked.
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"I'm still wondering. I can't fight as well as Xirong. If I encounter river bandits and water bandits along the way, I can't help kill three or five bandits!" Feng Yi said with a confused face.
Feng Liao had served as a local official for several years and was very scheming. Although the Feng family's past glory was not mentioned, he still had the ability to stand alone.
Kong Xirong shined brightly in the Yuanling and Wuling battles, and he himself became calm and confident. He could not hold an official position, but no one would make irresponsible remarks when he led the army around Han Qian.
The lineup of the guard battalion on this mission to Shu was not very spectacular. It was mainly composed of Xuzhou Shuiying generals and family soldiers. There were less than 300 people and horses. They were headed by Yang Qin, Xi Fa, Kong Xirong, and Zhou Chu.
and others as deputy generals; in addition, the little crow Guoque and others set out first to scout for information along the way.
These people all performed their duties, but Feng Yi didn't know why Han Qian took him with him when he set off from Xuzhou.
"Follow me to the cabin!" Han Qian asked Feng Yi to follow them into the cabin and opened a cabin door guarded by two guards.
There were several boxes stacked inside. Han Qian opened one box to reveal the dazzling treasure inside, and said:
"When these things arrive in Shu, they are all given away, but these ivory, mutton-fat jade, Hepu beads and several other boxes of treasures are all confiscated and mixed together. The difference in appearance can only be distinguished by those in the palace.
Very little. After we arrive in Shu, we cannot give these things out without care. If we are not careful, let alone accomplishing anything, we may offend others..."
Although Han Qian was also a playboy in the past, he played relatively low-end games. When it comes to arty elegance, few people can match Feng Yi, who has grown up with jade since he was a child.
If he were in Da Chu and next to the third prince, Han Qian could ignore these things, even the Marquis of Changxiang Wang Yong, but this time he sent Shu to welcome his bride. The atmosphere in Shu was extravagant, and he also deliberately wanted to make friends with the ministers of Shu.
, there is no way to be as willful as before.
Although Feng Yi was not very hardworking and extremely playboy in his early years, he had a strong appreciation of music, chess, calligraphy and painting. He was also good at singing, singing and answering questions. In his early years, he was even able to compose a few elegant poems in a decent manner.
The Feng family has suffered a great disaster in the past two years, and Feng Yi's temperament is much calmer than before. However, he is not good at all kinds of things and does not know the worldly affairs. He cannot participate in the governance of Xuzhou like Feng Liao, let alone like Kong Xirong.
Ban followed Han Qian on his southern and northern campaigns, and therefore had more time to immerse himself in the field he was good at, study deeply, and read many poems and books assiduously.
In the words of later generations, Feng Yi had become a literary young man in the true sense at this time; and Feng Yi, with his straight figure and fair face, looked more like a literary young man than Han Qian and Kong Xirong, both in appearance and temperament.
Han Qian brought Feng Yi with him mainly because in this regard, except for Feng Yi, Yang Qin and others who were born with mud legs could not help him at all.
"We first go to Yueyang and meet up with the Marquis of Changxiang, Wang Yong. Princess Qingyang is actually with him, but no one can tell this. I don't have much energy to deal with the Marquis of Changxiang all day long, but I can't
I've left them out, and Guo Rong needs someone to keep an eye on them. I think it's best for you to do this." Han Qian handed over to Feng Yi how to deal with the Marquis of Changxiang, Guo Rong and others, and also specifically gave some instructions.
, said, "After the death of Wei Zhuang, Marquis Changxiang was known as Ci Zong in Shu. He seemed to be aloof by nature, but his mind was extremely deep. When you interact with him, you need to be extremely cautious about many things and cannot neglect..."