Although the Queen Mother was escorting them on the way back, the probability of the team encountering an assassination was greatly reduced. His Highness the Crown Prince was still feeling uneasy. He asked someone to detain the messenger who was delivering the news to the capital, and decided to rush back before the news was delivered to the capital.
Speaking of which, since His Royal Highness the Prince returned to the camp with the head of Hulu Khan that day, the army had rested for several days, and it was a time when they were full of energy.
As a close confidant of His Highness the Crown Prince, Wen Zheng even announced the good news that His Highness the Crown Prince was about to reward the three armies. However, if you think about it, you will know that the food and grass before the team sets off is just enough. To reward the three armies and so on, they definitely cannot rely on the food and grass allocated by the court.
I'm afraid this money will still have to come from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's private treasury.
That night, a bonfire was lit in Jichao's camp. During the half month of chasing Hulu Khan, everyone in the three armies was nervous. Nowadays, there is a rare opportunity. The soldiers of the three armies are happily singing and dancing around the bonfire, enjoying wine and food, and His Royal Highness, who is responsible for the vigilance, brings out the guards of the East Palace.
In the dancing firelight, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was sitting in front of the tent, holding a glass of wine in his hand, but seemed to be lost in thought. A brave soldier came over and asked, "Your Highness, are you thinking about your relatives in the capital?"
His Royal Highness, who had been acting coldly and solemnly these days, actually showed a faint smile, "Yes, I miss someone very much." For a moment, the soldier felt that His Highness seemed to be showing a slight tenderness. It was completely opposite to the high-ranking Crown Prince who ordered the execution of Hulu Khan.
The soldier even felt in a daze that he had seen it wrong. It was unimaginable that His Royal Highness, who ran the army with iron-blooded tactics, would show such a side.
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince did not seem to pay much attention to the soldier's expression. After saying this, he silently looked in the direction of the capital and said, "Mother, sister, A Rui, are you okay?"
Thinking again of Wang Jian who had made great achievements in this mission, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's heart surged with jealousy, "A Rui, will you regret your marriage to me? Will you be attracted by Wang Jian's light?"
His Royal Highness, who fell into jealousy, never thought that he would achieve a great victory in this expedition. In terms of brilliance and achievements, he was far superior to Wang Jian.
The joyful atmosphere around him seemed to have been actively isolated by His Highness the Crown Prince. He didn't know what he was thinking about and drank in silence from beginning to end.
At this time, the Beidi Royal Court was also celebrating the defeat of Hulu Khan.
This ambitious Hulu Khan was also a serious problem in Beidi. Now that he was eliminated with the help of Ji Dynasty, the people of the Beidi royal family were naturally happy. What's more, which of the many tribes in the North doesn't know that the Ji Dynasty has countless gold and silver treasures, and there is never a shortage of iron tools and medicinal herbs.
During the negotiation, although the Beidi King, who was only thirteen years old, was taught to bargain quietly with the other party, he was also worried that the terms were too high and the peace talks would fail.
The Jin Dynasty is no longer the Jin Dynasty of the past. Today, the Jin Dynasty has strong soldiers and strong treasury. The usually arrogant nobles of the aristocratic families have begun to gradually lower their noble heads to the royal family. What's more, these northern people who have no fixed residence and rely on the sky for their livelihood What about the barbarians?
Having said that, the young King of Beidi still couldn't understand that his mother, as the regent and queen mother of Beidi, had to travel thousands of miles to accompany the procession of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of Ji Dynasty to the capital to meet the Emperor of Ji Dynasty.
With this thought in mind, he asked his doubts, "Didn't my mother once teach me that there is a saying among the Han people that 'a son of a thousand pieces of gold cannot sit down in court'? Now that my mother is the regent and queen mother of Beidi, why take the risk with that person?" The prince's team enters the capital together? If the emperor of Ji Dynasty has ill intentions and detains you, what should we do?"
Lu Yun, who was sitting opposite him, had a calm expression and was looking at the book in his hand casually. Beidi had no printing craftsmen or scholars to copy books, so books were very expensive. The book in her hand was brought to her by her nephew Lu Bingxi.
"Oh, really? My son really considered it that way. I thought that, like the nobles in the royal court, my son would like me, the Queen Mother Regent, to go to the capital of Jichao. It would be better to die in the capital of Jichao."
King Beidi's face turned red and he immediately defended, "Mother, my son never meant this. It's just that those nobles hold great power and have accumulated power for a long time, so I didn't argue with them."
Lu Yun's expression softened. She took her son's hand and patted it twice, "My son, I know what the nobles in the royal court think. They just think that I am a Han woman and don't care about Beidi. They think I am not me." The minds of different races must be different."
As he spoke, a sarcastic look appeared on Lu Yun's face, "But they don't want to think about it. The current Beidi King is my son, and I have to think about my son no matter what.
My son, the only person in this royal court who cannot usurp your position is me. None of those nobles are ambitious. Since the death of the old King Beidi, and you are still young, they have planned to usurp the throne countless times in their hearts.
Among those who are close, loyal or traitorous, who can be trusted? My son is about to get married, so he should make his own judgment. "
At the end, Lu Yun's tone became more serious and thoughtful.
The young King of Beidi, listening to his mother's words, felt that a layer of confusion had been lifted from his eyes. Yes, they all covet the throne beneath them, but there is absolutely no chance that my mother will take the position of King of Beidi.
What's more, my mother is now even willing to risk going to the capital of Jichao for the sake of Beidi and her own throne. It was now clear who to believe.
Seeing that his son finally turned a corner, Lu Yun secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and at the same time thought to himself, "These nobles are fomenting discord every day. I didn't know about it before, but I was just waiting to be exposed in one fell swoop today."
Because His Highness the Crown Prince withheld the news, there has been a lot of discussion in the capital these days about the fault of the Crown Prince's personal expedition. Everyone on the street, and even children, can have a word or two on this matter.
In the capital, people with a little knowledge can detect these trends from the newspapers, and then deduce His Majesty's intention of acquiescing to this matter being widely circulated in the capital.
Several Beijing officials with average official positions got together to drink together after retiring from the court. After three rounds of drinking, they actually had the audacity to talk about the government affairs of the DPRK and China.
One of the drunken officials said unconsciously, "What do you mean by your majesty? His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is not sure whether he is alive or dead, so your majesty is so indulging in rumors? Could it be that he really wants to treat His Highness the Prince of Yu as..."
Before he could finish his words, another person next to him, who was so frightened that he broke into a cold sweat and suddenly woke up, quickly covered his mouth. "Don't worry about your life. You only talk about government affairs. Now you actually dare to say this."
The little official who made a gaffe while drunk also suddenly sobered up.
His Majesty's dissatisfaction and suspicion towards His Royal Highness are becoming more and more obvious day by day. Even these petty officials who were far away from the center of power were aware of it. But what is even more difficult for them to understand is that although His Majesty condones His Highness Prince Yu and protects His Highness Prince Yu in every possible way, he has never given His Highness Prince Yu any substantial rights.
Your Majesty still dotes on His Royal Highness Prince Yu as if he were a child, rather than nurturing a prince to enrich his wings.
There are even rumors in the court that His Majesty is planning to grant a marriage to His Royal Highness Prince Yu, and the person to whom the marriage is being granted is none other than the empty-handed county monarch of Princess Ruyang's family, Chi Weiyan, the monarch of Rongde County.
This rumor left the court officials even more confused. His Majesty's favor made them all think that His Royal Highness Prince Yu was expected to replace His Highness the Crown Prince and become the Crown Prince of Ji Dynasty. But this rumor is clearly weakening the power of His Highness Prince Yu.
In Queen Wen's palace, Xiu Xin told the matter as a joke to Queen Wen, "Look, Your Majesty, Your Majesty doesn't pay much attention to His Royal Highness Prince Yu. When it comes to choosing a future daughter-in-law, our future crown princess is nothing compared to that." The prince in Rongde County is too powerful. It can be seen that His Majesty still likes His Highness the Crown Prince."
As Xiuxin spoke, she looked at the queen's face carefully. She heard that the queen had been practicing vegetarianism and praying for blessings these days, and her face looked very bad. So as soon as Xiuxin heard the news today, she quickly ran to tell the queen, hoping to make her master happy.
But what she didn't expect was that after hearing these words, Queen Wen's face became even more ugly.
"Your Majesty is really losing his mind and going crazy now. He is not asking His Royal Highness Prince Yu to replace His Highness the Crown Prince. Instead, he wants to destroy all his sons. In other words, all his adult sons may threaten his throne. Son, I am afraid he will dote on the Ninth Prince, Tenth Prince and Eleventh Prince."
As he said this, even Queen Wen herself felt a little ridiculous, and he suddenly felt sorry for Concubine Gu, that flamboyant yet childish woman. I'm afraid Concubine Gu would never have thought that just because her son has grown up, His Majesty can no longer tolerate him.
Queen Wen closed her eyes in pain. She couldn't understand or imagine why the man who was so high-spirited and worked hard to govern had now become such a puppet of power.
Fortunately, there is a special communication channel between Queen Wen and the prince. That is Lu Bingzhen.
Early this morning, Lu Bingzhen went to the palace again to pay his respects, and at the same time brought the good news that His Highness the Crown Prince had won a great victory and was about to return. Queen Wen, who had been haggard for several days, instantly became radiant, and she became more and more fond of Lu Bingzhen, who had brought good news.
After Lu Bingzhen said goodbye and left before dark in accordance with the palace rules, Queen Wen sighed to her confidant, "Your Majesty is not really a good father now, but the marriage he gave is indeed the best in the world." A marriage.”
Xiu Xin saw that the Queen was rarely happy, so naturally she would not be disappointed, so she agreed, "Yes, the young lady of the Lu family is indeed a very good lady."
