"Where's Xing'an?"
Zheng Quchi suddenly asked.
It wasn't "suddenly", he accounted for most of the reasons for her coming to the dungeon.
Wang Zebang's heart skipped a beat. He quickly glanced at Wei Yao, who happened to be looking towards him as well. After the two exchanged dark looks, Wei Yao finally came forward to respond.
"Back to Madam... Xing'an, he is dead."
Zheng Quchi was startled and slowly responded to the words "He is dead". His brows suddenly tightened. He never expected to hear this answer: "Dead? How did he die? Didn't I say that we should try our best to survive as a whole?" Capture, don’t you want any casualties?”
No, why did he die suddenly?
He doesn't look like the kind of walk-on guy in TV dramas who appears in one episode and gets a box lunch.
Wang Zebang could only explain: "This was an accident. When we arrested the road bandit in Putan, the others were imprisoned together, but he snatched a horse and tried to escape alone. We warned him from behind While chasing, his horse unexpectedly stumbled, he was thrown off the horse, his head hit a rock... and he died on the spot."
After Zheng Quchi listened, he was silent for a long time, but in the end it was still hard to believe: "But it doesn't sound like an accident. He was willing to risk himself to save the eldest prince, but in the face of danger, he left everyone behind and ran away alone? Yes, his martial arts is not weak, how could he die in an accident so easily?"
Not to mention that Zheng Quchi didn't believe it, Wang Zebang and Wei Yao also didn't believe it at the time. They thought the other party was planning to cheat his death.
So afterwards they carefully investigated everything suspicious.
But upon inspection, there was nothing wrong, except that his death was just as planned, full of strangeness and strangeness.
"He is really dead, that's true." Wei Yao was also confused and could only reply like this.
Zheng Quchi looked at the imprisoned bandits. When they heard Xing'an's name, they were really angry and sad. Her eyes passed over the unfamiliar faces, and finally they were destined to meet the faces of Ah San and Ah Qi. superior.
They were also looking at her, and after a few days, she actually saw a completely different attitude in their eyes.
She had so many puzzles and questions that she wanted to ask Xing'an, and about the ingot of silver he specially left behind. But now that he is dead, the answers to all the questions have become with his death. Unsolvable mystery.
"This assassin is the eldest prince of Ye Kingdom, Yuan Xingzhou, right?" she asked bluntly.
They pursed their lips, and although they tried hard to maintain a calm expression, the flickering and avoidance in their eyes was well captured by her.
She asked again: "You have gone to great lengths to conceal his identity and do not want him to be found by King Ye. Is this the wish of the former queen or his own wish?"
The road bandits replied sternly: "If you want to kill or cut into pieces, come here, we will not reveal any information to you!"
Zheng Quchi did not feel offended. She said calmly: "I will not kill you, and I will tell them not to torture you anymore, because your punishment will have nothing to do with us, and you will be handed over soon." It’s in the hands of King Ye’s people.”
The expressions of the road bandits suddenly changed: "You want to hand over the crown prince to King Ye?!"
"The grudge between father and son has nothing to do with us, so of course we have to hand it over." Zheng Quchi acted as if he had no interest in their affairs.
But the road bandits were anxious, and they loudly refused: "No, you can't send the prince back to Shengjing!"
Zheng Quchi laughed and thought to himself, who cares about you.
"Okay, tell me, why not?" she asked.
Still stubborn: "..."
"If you don't tell me, don't tell me. I don't want to know anymore."
Zheng Quchi asked Wei Yao and the others to take the eldest prince Yuan Xingzhou to the military doctor for treatment first. He must be cured without leaving any hidden dangers. As for the matter of offending people so severely... As the saying goes, he who doesn't know has nothing to do with it. It's a sin, let's make up for it later.
——
Before Zheng Quchi could report the news of the discovery of the eldest prince Yuan Xingzhou to the Shengjing Palace, they received the edict from Ye Palace the next day.
"What?! Let us personally escort Princess Sheng'an and escort the road bandits and others back to the capital? They won't send anyone here?"
Zheng Quchi became irritable after receiving the imperial edict.
Wei Yao hurriedly smoothed her hair and said, "That's right. It's not like the chief internal officer and the second-rank official who were sent were all killed on the way. King Ye was afraid that Princess Sheng'an would also be in danger on her way back. , In addition, these road bandits are related to the disappearance of the eldest prince. King Ye requested that they be escorted back to the capital for review. The matter is very important, so he requested that our Xuanjia Army personally escort them."
"But why is my name still on it?" Zheng Quchi complained.
"This..." Wei Yao said that he didn't know. It couldn't be that King Ye was curious about her and wanted to see her. This possibility is not small.
Wang Zebang had just received an urgent report from Beijing. After reading it, he went to find the general's wife. However, when he was entering the account, he heard the wife's question. He said: "Madam, I'm afraid this matter is not simple. You check it out."
He handed Zheng Quchi a letter.
Zheng Quchi stretched out his hand to take it and take a look.
In the spring search, the five countries came to Ye to stir up trouble, and they will conduct a military exercise showdown with the Ye army in Shengjing. This exercise showdown is related to the future national destiny of the Ye country, and there will be no way to save the country if it loses.
The content of the letter is shocking.
Zheng Quchi raised his head: "I have to say that King Ye is really brave when he encounters trouble. Chunsou will hold a military showdown among the Six Nations in Shengjing. Which five countries will our Ye Kingdom face?"
Wang Zebang said with a serious face: "Except for Qiuca, the remaining five countries are all aggressive. Speaking of military competition, it is actually a form of intimidation before the invasion."
Military exercises are actually an eloquent contest between generals. It is also a contest of military technology. In this era of cold weapons, which country has a complete set of advanced siege weapons, military equipment, and armed forces? Weapons can easily win the war.
And having complete city defense technology to block the opponent's aggressive offensive can also win a war.
And it just so happens that Ye country has none of these, and is a properly backward country that needs to be beaten.
So this time the five countries came here, it was said that the countries would discuss each other and hold a friendly military exercise, but in fact they were using their own country's technology and hard work to crush Ye State, destroying Ye State's prestige and losing all face. In front of the country, raise your hands and surrender.
"But what does this have to do with me? King Ye wouldn't have asked me, the general's wife, to sit in charge of the entire army just because he was going to hold a military exercise, and he was unsure, right?" Zheng Quchi even laughed after saying this.
When Wei Yao learned that the six countries would hold a military exercise duel, he was also extremely dignified.
If King Ye was not stupid, he wouldn't be able to agree to this, but he agreed. He really didn't know what the civil and military ministers in the court were doing!
"Madam, have you forgotten that in addition to being the general's wife, you are also Zheng Qing of Ye State, the leader of the Jichun Craftsmen Guild?" Wang Zebang reminded.
"But this matter is only circulated in a small area, how did King Ye know..."
Halfway through his words, Zheng Quchi realized it.
Oh, I almost forgot that there was King Ye's undercover agent in their camp. Otherwise, they would have secretly delivered her information.
However, she didn't go out of her way to keep this matter secret. Firstly, it was unnecessary, and secondly, she couldn't hide it.
Zheng Quchi changed her voice and said: "The military craftsmen of Ye State are all top-notch, so the King of Ye will not take my idea seriously."
Although the army of craftsmen in the Changxunpo Camp are truly among the best among the craftsmen of the Ye Kingdom, the military craftsmen in Shengjing are top talents recruited from other countries with high salaries. Their strength and construction level are naturally even more impressive. "*" was valued by King Ye.
"The situation of this matter is currently unknown, but if we report the finding of the eldest prince, this trip to Shengjing will be unavoidable no matter what." Wei Yao said truthfully.
As the saying goes, the first level of officialdom is overwhelming, not to mention that King Ye is their immediate boss. He can easily control their life and death with just one word.
If he ordered her to go, she could not disobey him.
It seems that this trip is really necessary.
Zheng Quchi was only troubled for a short while and then regained his composure.
After doing it, since the matter could not be undone, she could only deal with it actively.
Thinking that not long after, she would meet the King Ye who had been described by others, and she had to find out more about him so that she could deal with emergencies in the future.
"In addition to the eldest son and the princess, does King Ye have other children?" Zheng Quchi asked them both.
Wang Zebang said: "King Ye and his queen have a young son, who is six years old under the eyes. However, the young prince was born weak and sickly. He will be raised in the greenhouse and rarely seen."
And there is such a small child?
The eldest son is probably in his late twenties, and the younger son is only six years old. There has been no movement for more than ten or twenty years.
Is it because of poor health or because of age?
"How old is King Ye?"
"It must be the year of full destiny."
What is the year of destiny? She thought about it, the ancients seemed to say that at twenty they would be crowned, at thirty they would stand, and they would have fifty destiny.
King Ye is fifty years old, not that old.
"How is he feeling?"
As loyal courtiers, they cannot discuss the king's privacy so boldly in private, but their loyalty is limited, so there is no psychological burden in discussing it.
"King Ye has not walked in the fields for several years." Wei Yao's tone could not be described as mocking or sarcastic.
Zheng Quchi was surprised: "He is paralyzed?"
Seeing that his wife had misunderstood, Wang Zebang took over and explained: "No, the king had an excessive appetite in his early years and suffered from obesity, which has worsened year after year. Now he is no longer able to stand up and walk on his own strength."
Obesity?
All his people were so hungry that they looked sallow and skinny, but he alone was as fat as a pig...
It's over. With such a last king, the Ye Kingdom will be over sooner or later.
However, given his physical condition, he is afraid that cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases have already come to him, and he may have passed away due to some stimulation. If he is gone, then the eldest prince will most likely be the new king of Ye Kingdom. …
Zheng Quchi immediately forgot about King Ye and asked with concern: "Where is Yuan Xingzhou?"
"The eldest prince returned to Dr. Liao's medicine house. Doctor Liao said that the eldest prince's injuries were not serious, just superficial wounds, and he will wake up soon."
"Come on, let's go there together to show our love."
"Show love?"
Zheng Quchi looked at them seriously: "No matter what method we use, we must reverse his bad impression of us."
When this matter was mentioned, both Wang Zebang and Wei Yao were speechless.
How else can this matter be reversed?
They must have offended people to death.
"If he really doesn't want to forgive... then ask Dr. Liao to drug him to death." Zheng Quchi said half truthfully.
Wang Zebang and Wei Yao: "..."
——
Since he had to go to Shengjing to "deliver goods", Zheng Quchi should make good arrangements for what happened after she left.
The letter she sent to the "Four Surnames Chaebol" not long ago has been settled. They have expressed their willingness to help her overcome this difficulty, but they have reserved the "Black Bear" freight truck first, and the next batch of goods will be supplied to them for sale.
The contract signed at the time clearly stated that they would have priority in licensing newly developed cars, but there was a blind spot here, that is, she was the starter and they were the exclusive agent.
If she has enough supply, she will act as an agent for them. If not, she will sell it herself.
This is different from the contract between her and Zhang Qinan. There is no money involved between the two of them, so he and she are one family, which is equivalent to a direct sales store for her to sell goods. This naturally does not count as a breach of contract against the other four companies.
The workshop is currently working hard and the first batch of ready goods will be available soon.
After the first batch of rush work is completed, sales will begin. Zhang Qinan will naturally be responsible for this. Regarding considerations such as pricing, sales methods, and precise sales groups, he will also conduct market research and discuss them together.
With funds,
The second batch of goods was increased in volume and sold to four chaebols respectively for them to open up foreign markets.
Since she was going to Shengjing, she planned to move one over for her own use first, for external publicity, and secondly for the convenience of the journey. The carriages on the market had insufficient cargo capacity, heavy bodies, and slow wheel speeds, which delayed the journey. .
Later in the evening, Wei Yao came to find her.
"Madam, this is a letter sent by Gong Loser's disciple."
Previously, she found Gongshu's disciples and asked them to send her a message to Gongshu Jiruo, but now she received a reply from there.
She unfolded it and took a look: "I'm kindly inviting you to invite me. Even if you can't help but be overjoyed, it's an eventful autumn and I'm afraid I won't be able to go to Fu County. The six military drills and duels are about to take place. Qu Chi should be invited by King Ye to go there. By then, in Sheng Beijing, if we make a reservation, we will keep the appointment as scheduled and we will not see you or leave."
This letter was received personally by Gongshu Jiruo. It has his seal on it and cannot be forged.
Zheng Quchi murmured: "He will go too?"
Zheng Quchi did not hide this letter from Wei Yao. He read it out in detail. After hearing this, he clenched his cheeks and said with a smile: "He should be among the envoys of Beiyuan Kingdom this time."
"The Five Kingdoms are so determined to destroy Ye." She suddenly felt a chill running down her spine.
"Yes, we are raising troops in the fields with the intention of destroying the major grain counties of Ye State and shaking its foundation. Although we have obtained the opponent's military blueprint and are on guard and vigilance, if the army presses the border, once it reaches a large scale, the defense army will also The defeat is like a pile of loose sand."
Zheng Quchi could only understand half of the military matters. She clutched the letter tightly: "In the six-day military exercise showdown, does Ye State really have a chance of winning?"
"My subordinates don't know."
It's not that he doesn't know, it's that he doesn't dare to think about the worst outcome.
