Chapter 378 Clearing the Place (please vote for a 6,000-word chapter)
There was nothing to say all night, and the next day came in the blink of an eye.
The news of Zhao Duan's meeting with the King of Huai'an yesterday spread everywhere as expected, attracting the attention of countless people.
Feng Ju, who nominally led the "opening of the market", came to the Humble Administrator's Garden early in the morning. When he learned that Zhao Duan was not up, he led a few people to stomp their feet, causing the Huaihe River to tremble. The official, sticking his buttocks out, waited patiently outside the bedroom.
“Be patient and don’t be impatient.”
After getting up, Zhao Duan looked at the group of eagerly anticipating officials outside the door, curled his lips, and said he had no comment.
In the next few days, Zhao Duan, as the focus of the entire Huting, was extremely high-profile.
The schedule was very full, and I began to invite one by one, or to meet in person those "neutralists" who were still in the "swinging" position in Huting City.
Looking like a fighting spirit.
In the eyes of everyone, Zhao Duan, the supervisor, has a clear purpose, which is to obtain as many "votes of support" as possible before the "Huting Meeting".
In contrast, the "Seven Kings" headed by Prince Jing were secretly exerting pressure all the time.
The city was in turmoil for a while. The two forces were fighting openly and secretly. It was dizzying and the results of the meeting in a few days became increasingly unclear.
……
……
Five days later.
In the courtyard where Prince Jing stayed, a secret meeting came to an end.
In the room with the door closed, Prince Jing Xu Wen, who was extremely noble, elegantly dressed and with slightly white temples, was holding a blue and white tea cup and listening to a group of people at the table reporting on the situation one after another.
"Your Majesty, the current situation is probably like this. Although Zhao Duan is running high-profile, he insists on not giving away the slightest benefit. How can those neutral noble families be willing to surrender to the imperial court? They often just pay lip service to it. They said they would cooperate, but when it was actually lifted, I still resisted."
A middle-aged man dressed like a steward said seriously.
Several other "agents" of similar ages and similarly dressed also agreed.
Each of them represents a prince and is also the main force in forming a network to obstruct the opening of the market.
Prince Jing took a sip of hot tea, put down the teacup, raised his steady and majestic eyes to scan the crowd, and said, "Where is the Prince's Palace in Huai'an?"
"This..."
< br>Everyone looked at each other and stopped talking.
“Humph!” Prince Jing snorted coldly, with a look of displeasure on his face, and said in a deep voice:
"You each have your own master, and this period of time can be considered as exerting your strength. This king should not have anything to do with you, but the matter of Huting is related to the honor and disgrace of our seven families. The master behind you has recommended me to be the king in Huting." Temporary Chief, some words should be made clear.
The neutral factions you are fighting for are naturally important, but they are not the most important. I have said more than once that the most important thing is Huai'an. The attitude of the royal family!"
One person hesitated and said:
"Your Majesty, as subordinates, we should not make arbitrary comments about the royal family, but after so many days, the King of Huai'an has not said a word. Lu, we all went to see him, but we didn’t see anyone, only Zhao Duan.”
Another person also sighed:
"Yes, I can't help but it seems that King Huai'an..."
"That's it," King Jing couldn't hide his annoyance between his brows, and suddenly waved his hand: "You should retreat first, I will think about it carefully. . "
"...Your Majesty, seeing that there are only three days left before the opening of the market set by the court..."
"I want you to retreat, you are deaf. Are you done?”
The agents were shocked, did not dare to say anything, stood up, saluted, and left one after another.
Prince Jing was left alone to sit at the head of the large table, with a gloomy expression on his face, as if he was weighing and hesitating.
The door of the room is open, and the sunlight comes in from the threshold, and the color is like gold.
There were footsteps approaching from outside. Xu Jinglong, dressed as a wealthy prince, walked in respectfully and bowed:
"Father, everyone has sent you away."
Prince Jing Not a word was spoken.
The young Crown Prince hesitated for a moment, took out a letter from his sleeve, handed it over and said:
"This is the news from the people over at the Humble Administrator's Garden. Zhao Duan has already made a schedule. , I will go to Yansuo Lake tomorrow to relax before the meeting the day after tomorrow."
Prince Jing murmured softly: "Tomorrow."
A trace of anxiety appeared in Xu Jinglong's eyes:
"Father, just as the meeting is about to begin, the King of Huai'an has not expressed his position. You said this is..."
Prince Jing sneered, glanced at his son, and said coldly:
"Xu An is telling me that what we are doing is not enough. This old fox wants to see blood flowing into a river. "
Xu Jinglong was startled, pretending to be nervous: "Is he really going to turn to the court?"
Prince Jing was silent, as if he had made some kind of decision, and listened calmly. The emotionless voice said:
“Give me the order and let’s start tomorrow.”
A trace of well-hidden surprise flashed in Xu Jinglong's eyes. He raised his head suddenly, pretending to be worried:
"Father, have you made up your mind? Are you going to kill the person named Zhao in Huting? Is this...? Too... Once the news spreads, the capital will definitely not give up..."
Prince Jing smiled and said:
"If my niece wants to vent her anger, let her go to Kuangfu Society. Go to Emperor Wu's city to find... trouble. It's not our fault. What does it have to do with me?"
Xu Jinglong suppressed his excitement: "Yes! Let's do it now"
Watching the Crown Prince leave quickly, the sunlight spread onto the tables and chairs, seeming to light up Prince Jing's robes.
This powerful man who secretly cultivated a private army with far more power than he showed on the surface slowly rubbed the "Safety Card" in his hand and said softly:
"Go ahead and tell people to go to Yansuo Lake in advance, and remember to take care of the worries of the people below."
In the corner of the room, a shadow suddenly squirmed, and there was a person vaguely hidden:
"As commanded."
After responding, the shadow squirmed again, slowly penetrated into the wall and disappeared.
King Jing murmured:
"Jian Wen has spent many years raising so many dead soldiers, am I worse than him?"
He hesitated He stood up slowly, hummed a local folk song from Jiancheng Road, walked into the back house, and said to Princess Lu Yaner who was sitting in the courtyard bathing in the sun:
"It's your turn to take action tomorrow."
< br>
The gentle-looking sorceress held a strange silver mask in her hands and remained silent.
……
……
Xu Jinglong left the mansion and took a carriage to quietly arrive at another small courtyard in the city.
When I stepped in, I heard a woman's miserable scream coming from a distance in the house, accompanied by the sound of a squeaking bed.
Xu Jinglong did not dare to disturb him, so he withdrew his men and stopped quietly outside for a while until the screams in the house suddenly stopped.
In the room.
On a bed, Senior Brother Qingshan, who was short in stature, as solid as a rock, with a square face and a huge nose, lay on a beautiful woman who was a head taller than him and had fair skin, cheering up.
After a while, Duanshui Shui let out a deep breath and glanced at the unconscious woman.
The emotions in his gray eyes settled and he regained his composure.
He got out of bed, casually put on a robe, opened the double wooden doors, and looked down at Prince Jing, who had been standing in the courtyard listening to the wall for a long time, with a smile on his face:
"The palace entertains you Yes, I'm very satisfied. I promise your father's promise will remain unchanged."
Xu Jinglong smiled and said: "Then I'll rely on my seniors. Tomorrow, the smoke will lock the lake and hold back the sea."
"Delay?"
Dian Shuihui looked unhappy and stared at him:
"Do you think I can't beat that old eunuch?"
Xu Jinglong's smile faltered: "No...I dare not..."
Duan Shuihui struck out with a palm, and Xu Jinglong was pushed hard by the wind of the palm. He flew backwards and smashed out of the courtyard door with a bang. Although he was not injured, he was in a state of embarrassment and coughed one after another.
I heard from the courtyard the proud voice of Senior Brother Qingshan of this generation from Emperor Wu City:
"If Zhao Duan hadn't insulted Junior Brother Chai in the past, do you think that with your father, Can you ask me to be a thug for your palace? Oh, are you worthy?”
There was anger in Xu Jinglong's eyes, but he didn't dare to show it at all.
“Bang!”
The double courtyard doors slammed shut, and the last sound of breaking water came from the crack in the door:
“I will do what I promised. Get out. ”
……
……
Humble Administrator’s Garden.
In early winter, even the vegetation in the south turns yellow.
After Zhao Duan met with several neutral factions as usual in the morning, he ordered them to rest behind closed doors.
At this moment, deep in the Jiangnan style garden, Zhao Duan was half-lying on a bamboo chair, sitting in the corridor, looking up at the corner of the blue sky quietly.
The pure blue sky is like a pure lake. When birds fly by, the sky seems to make ripples.
"You have something to do with our family?"
At the other end of the corridor supported by red lacquered wooden pillars, Eunuch Hai slowly walked over with his hands behind his back.
The sun shone unbridled on his wrinkled face.
Without the bright red python robe, the old priest is no different from the ordinary old man who likes to squat on the wall in the afternoon to bask in the sun and recall the past.
Zhao Duan was still looking at the two birds circling and chasing in the distant sky, and said softly:
"Qi Yuchun, is this person powerful?"
Eunuch Hai was startled and looked deeply. He glanced at it and said:
“There are many people with this name in the world.”
Zhao Duan said calmly: “But as a member of Kuangfu Society, Tiangang ranks third, second only to Zhuang. Xiaocheng’s only traitor is this one.”
Eunuch Hai looked like he was reminiscing and said slowly:
"That boy... he's not bad. Our family taught him some kung fu back then, but he didn't cultivate the martial arts lineage of Emperor Taizu. , the Qi family... is also a martial arts family. The family's spear skills are extremely domineering and have the reputation of being the king's spear. Xiaowei was extremely talented in spearmanship. Later, he entered the world smoothly and was appointed by the late emperor as the commander of the imperial army.
Everything from the Jinwu Guards to the Royal Forest Army must obey him. The orders are directly obeyed by the late emperor, and Xue Shence can't even control him..."
"Haha, speaking of it, if the Qi family hadn't supported the second prince Jian Wen, how would the Xuanmen coup have been effective?
< br>
Without the commander's order to mobilize the city defense, how could Jian Wen break through the imperial city's defense? Is it because of the followers he has? It’s not enough...”
Zhao Du listened quietly.
Of course he had read the information on Kuang Fu She’s rebellion against the party. Although he didn’t know the specifics, there were several leaders-level figures in it. I still know.
The Tiangang ranking is the ranking of members within the Kuangfu Society. In addition to the nominal "number one", Zhuang Xiaocheng, who ranks second, is occupied by Xu Jianwen's young son. The real big boss of Kuang Fu She.
And Qi Yuchun is the number two figure in Kuangfu Society.
Zhao Duan was surprised when Wu Ling secretly sent the news that Qi Yuchun would arrive at Huting and assassinate him.
But then I thought that if Prince Jing really wanted to take action against him, then Kuang Fu She would undoubtedly be the most suitable and the most worthy candidate to bear the crime.
No surprise again.
"So, this Qi Yuchun is very powerful? Can you beat him?" Zhao Duan asked softly.
Eunuch Hai glanced at him angrily:
"Our family is just old, not dead yet, Qi Yuchun... His best skill with the Overlord Spear is in the army, if he leads a team of elite cavalry , Our family will indeed have a headache, but if it’s just him, it’s nothing to worry about.”
Really or not... Zhao Duan didn’t dare to completely believe it. As we all know, the old man’s bragging should be discounted.
He turned back and asked tentatively: "What about Ji Yue and Lang Shiba?"
Eunuch Hai said with a straight face: "We can't beat them, but they won't lose too badly. .”
Seeing Zhao Duan nodding, the old priest's eyes became solemn:
"Why, could it be that..."
Zhao Duan interrupted him and said with a smile:
"Tomorrow I made an appointment with the princess and a large group of talented people from Huting to go to Yansuo Lake to enjoy the scenery. Prince Jing has not given me any trouble for so many days, I'm afraid he's just holding it back."
Eunuch Hai frowned and said worriedly: "Do you have to go?"
Zhao Duan sighed and said helplessly:
“I don’t want to either, but there is nothing I can do. If the King of Huai’an doesn’t see the rabbit, the market will open the day after tomorrow. If I hide, it will mean that I lose. "
Eunuch Hai was silent for a moment, then turned and walked away:
"Let's go and inform them."
Zhao Du'an. He laughed, smiled, and lost his expression again. He still looked up at the blue sky, but saw that the two entangled birds had flown away at some point.
......
......
After a night of silence, it was the last day of the Huting meeting in the blink of an eye.
The atmosphere in the entire city is already like a raging fire, and all it takes is a fire tomorrow to set it ablaze.
However, at this critical moment, when Feng Ju and others were too busy to sleep or eat, the news came that Mr. Zhao was traveling with Mei.
...
The name Yansuo Lake is said to have a long history.
It is said in ancient legends that a Taoist came here in a small boat. When he arrived here, he saw the vast smoke and the wonderful scenery, so he happily cut down the wood to build a house. At that time, the desolate place Lived by the lake.
Not only to live in, but also to gather the beautiful landscapes to feel the charm of heaven and earth. I chose a flat and sharp cliff by the lake. I jingled and used tools for ten years to carve out a cliff on the mountain. Huge statue of the earth god.
According to legend, during the ten years when the Taoist was carving the statue, people from the nearby villages often came over and watched helplessly as the statue grew in size and the Taoist grew older.
A few days before the completion of the Earth God Statue, it rained continuously for seven days, and the water almost overflowed, and the entire lake was shrouded in heavy fog.
The nearby villagers vaguely heard the roar of dragons and tigers, and braved the drizzle to come to the shore to look at it. They saw that with a strange roar, the sky and the earth cleared up, and the bright sun tore through the clouds and the barrier that locked the lakeside. misty rain.
The statue of the earth god is lifelike, but the Taoist man has disappeared.
“Therefore, this name was given to commemorate this legendary day of smoke lock.”
Xu Junling stood on the second deck of the building ship, pointing to the lush mountains in front, Act as a tour guide.
Zhao Duan, dressed in splendid clothes, was standing next to her. Behind him were three masters, Eunuch Hai, Ji Yue and Lang Shiba.
And the maid Lv Shui, but the other guards were not brought along.
On the next deck, there were officers and soldiers such as Hou Renmeng and Shen Juan. They all pressed their sword handles and scanned the surroundings vigilantly.
Haitang did not come today because Zhao Duan deliberately arranged to do other things.
In addition to this boat, there are also several large boats floating on the Yansuo Lake in front of you.
There are many tourists on the shore. At this moment, the sound of silk and bamboo orchestras and the sound of women playing can be heard, and there are vaguely sighted literati in several buildings reciting poems and composing poems, competing against each other.
“This story is quite interesting.”
After hearing this, Zhao Duan smiled and looked at the distance of the lake. The sunken piece between the cliffs was indeed carved into a huge earth. idol.
The God of Earth is extremely tall and tall, with a ferocious appearance. He holds the stele in one hand and covers the ground with the other. He looks at the mouth of the Grand Canal in the distance, and he has the spirit of swallowing up mountains and rivers.
"The last time I saw the Earth God Statue was in the bamboo forest in the southern suburbs of the capital." Zhao Duan said softly.
Xu Junling's eyes suddenly flashed: "Oh?"
Zhao Duan looked back and smiled at her:
"That time, I led people to arrest Zhuang Xiaocheng, but was met by a warlock instead. Casting a spell thousands of miles away, I almost lost my life. Later, I found out that Zhuang Xiaocheng deliberately led me there and set up an ambush."
Xu Junling was wearing an elegant long dress today, wrapped in a bright red coat. A women's style cloak with white fluffy edges.
The cloak wraps her delicate body tightly to resist the cold wind on the lake in early winter.
A smile appeared on her beautiful oval face, and she joked:
"The princess should pray that there will be no trouble today, otherwise I will lead you here."
"Haha. ," Zhao Du'an laughed loudly, "No, I invited the princess here."
The wind was not strong today, and the hair on his forehead was flying:
" I heard that the literati on the Huai River Road like to write poems with the title of Yansuo Lake. Are the ones mentioned above? ”
Xu Junling smiled and said:
“It’s not necessarily all poems, but more games, such as poetry solitaire, or pairs. It’s early winter, and there are fewer people here to play. It's only lively in summer. This year is special because of the opening of the market. There are so many people on the lake in this winter."
"That's it."
Zhao Duan said slowly. He suppressed his smile and squinted his eyes as he looked ahead at the building ship that was gradually approaching.
At this distance, the talented people and beauties on the boat can already see each other clearly.
At a glance, many of them are indeed playing games.
There are also many eyes cast towards this direction, and there are many discussions, guessing who this person is who has an extraordinary appearance.
Zhao Duan frowned and said displeasedly:
"I came to visit the lake today, didn't I notify you to leave? Why are there so many people disturbing me?"
< br>On this ship, an official in charge of reception at the lakeside pier was stunned for a moment, sweat suddenly appeared on his forehead, and he stammered and explained:
"My lord, I don't know that you don't like to be disturbed. This..."
Zhao Duan sneered:
"Such a beautiful scenery is completely ruined by so many people making noise. Lao Hou ?Hang up the flag and tell these people to get lost! I don’t want to see any other boats on the lake within a quarter of an hour!”
Hou Renmeng on the first deck responded:
“Yes. ! ”
Then, under the astonished gaze of the dock official, an officer in gilded clothes took out a black flag from the imperial court and hung it. He became angry and loudly drove away the ships on the river.
The talented scholars and beauties who were traveling together were stunned, and some of them did not react.
The Hou people suddenly saw that this group of people were disobedient and shouted:
"My lord has an order, within a quarter of an hour, drive away the idle people!"
Then, this Lihuatang Thornhead's knees sank, and he jumped suddenly onto the ship next door.
He waved the scabbard, hit him with bang bang, and even kicked a scholar who came forward to argue into the lake.
With him setting an example, other officials also followed suit and jumped one after another. Those who were far away even put down their boats and chased after him directly.
Order the boatman to leave immediately and not to disturb Mr. Zhao's viewing.
Those who resisted were punched and kicked. Suddenly, many elegant and talented people fell into the cold river like dumplings and flopped towards the shore.
There was even more chaos on several ships, with women screaming and crying.
"Ah... I'm beating someone!"
"Sir, spare your life... let's leave now... ah... Poof!"
"How dare you be so domineering in broad daylight? Act? Is there a king... Ouch!"
"My father is..."
Hou Ren whipped out the scabbard and beat a powerful young man to the ground, and he laughed ferociously. The ground sighed:
"No matter who your father is, if we dare to beat him up, get out of here!"
......
On the boat.
The face of the little princess who witnessed this scene was wrong. Her sweet and elegant smile froze on her face, her brows furrowed, and she looked at the indifferent Zhao Duan beside her:
"Zhao Your Majesty, if you act like this, I’m afraid it will damage the reputation of the imperial court.”
She spoke tactfully, but the maid Lv Shui's eyes were filled with anger, feeling that Zhao Duan was too domineering.
They already understood Zhao Duan's behavior, but they still felt uncomfortable.
Zhao Duan only smiled and said faintly:
"Don't you think these people are an eyesore, Princess? What a beautiful scenery, it will become vulgar if there are too many people to see it. The good scenery in the world, like beauties and treasures, are all hidden away and only a few people can play with them."
Xu Junling frowned deeper, and she took a deep breath to resist Zhao who suddenly became hateful. Someone argued, but turned around and said:
"In that case, it's fine for you to enjoy the scenery alone on the river. I'm feeling a little uncomfortable. Please put down a small boat and take me ashore."
Zhao Duan gave her a meaningful look and said :
"The princess is disappointed now. Why should the host leave first if the guests haven't enjoyed themselves to the fullest?"
Xu Junling turned around, her eyebrows furrowed deeper as she was wrapped in a bright red cloak. , with ghostly eyes:
“What on earth do you want to do?”
The corners of Zhao Duan's mouth curved upward, and there was a chilling feeling in his eyes.
He raised his hand, and under Xu Junling's surprised gaze, he put it on her shoulder, moved closer, smelled the aroma of the woman's purse, and said softly:
"The princess really can't guess. Are you there? If there are really outsiders coming to the lake later, wouldn’t the fewer people stay here to enjoy the scenery, the better?”
Xu Junling’s face became solemn: “Do you think there will be danger today?”
Zhao Duan smiled and said:
"I don't want it either. But to be prepared, I have to leave the princess with me. Only in this way can your father be exempted from the suspicion of assassinating me."
Xu Junling's expression changed.
Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly saw Zhao Duan put a finger to his lips:
“Shh, listen, someone is coming.”
… …
The typesetting is changed first and then changed
(End of this chapter)