Jiang You had been living in fear these past few days. He had never thought that Luzhou City could be so terrifying.
Since he was promoted to the rank of Jinshi, he has been engaged in civil affairs for more than 20 years. He has never led troops, has never been to the frontier, and even left Tokyo only a few times.
It is just that I only know the depth of pen and ink, but I don't know the length of sword and gun.
Unexpectedly, he was assassinated on the first night he entered Luzhou City, which frightened him to the point where three souls left his body and seven souls ascended to heaven.
The one who came to assassinate him was a flying thief, wearing a scary mask that looked like he was crying and laughing at the same time. The sword in his hand was dazzling. He actually thought he was King Zhao Tong of Qi.
With one knife strike, his bun was torn. If he hadn't been rescued in time, his life would have been decided here.
It's strange that Zongze, a shameless person, actually placed him in the best mansion in Luzhou. Isn't that the most dangerous place? Any thief assassin would think of coming here to assassinate!
Jiang You suddenly understood why Zhao Tong lived in an ordinary house, because no one would have expected that a prince would live in such a simple place.
He immediately asked Zong Ze to change his residence, and then he felt at ease. Unexpectedly, within two days, he was assassinated again.
In fact, it was not an assassination, because the thieves who came were not thieves, but thieves who stole things. They swept away all the gold and silver in the house, and even took away the imperial edict. At the end, they used a knife to threaten them. , telling him not to call out to anyone, and feeling the chill of the cold blade rubbing against his skin, Jiang You felt like he was dead. After this fright, he immediately fell ill.
Zongze didn't know that Huang Gu was so ruthless, so he had no choice but to cooperate and mobilize troops to surround the house and guard it day and night to prevent anyone from approaching.
Jiang You was lying on the bed at this time. He had just finished drinking the bitter medicinal soup and stared blankly at the beams. It was no joke that he lost the imperial edict. He didn't dare to say the key thing yet.
Originally, I was going to scold Zongze for not protecting him well enough and allowing thieves to sneak into the house and steal the imperial edict. But then I realized that something was wrong. Zongze was not an official in Luzhou City, but a member of the army that conquered and suppressed him. Even if he failed to protect him well, this crime was not. It’s easy to ask questions. The holy edict is here at my home. No matter how I ask about sins, it’s my own sin that is the most serious.
It is impossible for the officials to ask Zongze, they can only ask themselves, as the official minister, how did you lose my imperial edict?
The official is a face-saving person. The matter of losing the imperial edict is different from other things. Other things may be symbolic punishment and then it will be over. The loss of the imperial edict has caused the official to lose face in front of the Central Army. He must be blamed. , saying that he should not be removed from office and investigated, or...immediately sent to prison?
When he thought of this, even though it was early autumn, Jiang You still broke out in a sweat.
There is only one way for now, and that is to discuss with the King of Qi and ask the King of Qi to help hide the matter.
Because the imperial edict was given to King Qi, as long as King Qi remained silent, no one would know that it was lost, and no one would bother to ask King Qi if he had received the imperial edict.
But will King Qi agree? If one had an insight into his true intention of coming to Luzhou this time, I'm afraid he would never agree to it. If he didn't see it, there would be a three-point chance, but it would only be a three-point chance. After all, concealing this matter would be a crime of deceiving the emperor.
He was lying in bed with a headache thinking about it. At this time, someone from outside came to report that Zongze wanted to see him.
Jiang You was about to recruit him, so he asked people to come in. He also got up from the bed, calmed down, managed to show his dignity, and sat down to wait.
Zongze came in to see him and said, "How is Shangshu's illness? Is it getting better?"
Jiang You said: "It's all right. I don't need to worry about you here. But what about the prince's side?"
Zongze said: "This official is here for this reason. The prince has been able to get out of bed and walk around. He is thinking of meeting the minister."
Jiang You was relieved when he heard this, said hello repeatedly, and then asked when it would be appropriate to go.
Zongze said: "The prince said that the minister can go at any time, and he will be waiting there to receive the order."
Jiang You was anxious, and after hearing this he said: "Go now, go now!"
Zongze was puzzled when he saw how urgent he was. He certainly didn't know about the imperial edict, so he hurriedly responded. Afterwards, Jiang You called for him, changed his official uniform, and went out.
The sunshine outside is very dazzling. Jiang You has not gone out for several days. At this moment, he feels like he is separated from the world. He just wants to meet with King Qi to discuss the imperial edict and return to the capital immediately. He does not want to stay in this shitty Luzhou City for a moment. .
When he arrived at the door of the house where Zhao Tong lived, he asked the soldiers to go in and report. After a while, Huang Gu came out and greeted him politely: "The prince is waiting in the hall. The minister will go with you."
Jiang You looked at Huang Gu, and couldn't help but think of the word "promising" in his heart, and then followed him into the house until he reached the central hall.
I saw that the central hall was being smoked with incense at the moment. Zhao Tong was sitting at the table drinking tea. His face was a little pale and he looked listless.
Jiang You thought to himself that he was afraid that his injuries were not completely healed, and then thought about the assassination of his family. He secretly thought that Luzhou City was full of dangers, so it was strange to be energetic.
When he came forward to greet him, Zhao Tong smiled and said, "I have kept Jiang Shangshu waiting for a long time. Please sit down and talk."
Jiang You sat down and thought about his words in his heart, but heard Zhao Yu say again: "The king of Japan has been anxious these days. He only hopes to get out of bed and walk. He will return to the capital immediately after receiving the order."
Jiang You was stunned when he heard this and said, "Your Highness is in a hurry to return to Beijing?"
Zhao Tong nodded and said, "I'm naturally anxious. We've been out here for a long time. The battle has left men and horses exhausted, and the soldiers are impatient. Now that Huaixi has been recovered, the overall situation has been decided. We will set off after receiving the order."
Jiang You didn't expect that Zhao Tan was in a hurry to leave. He opened his mouth and didn't know what to say, so he heard Zhao Tan say: "I am no better than Jiang Shangshu. There is no chief official in Huaixi at the moment. The original comfort made Zhang Julu realize that he was guilty. , is waiting to return to Beijing to accept the crime, Jiang Shangshu will stay in Luzhou for a longer time to preside over the handover of the Huaixi states."
"Ah?" Jiang You was startled when he heard this. He didn't want to stay in Luzhou for a moment. If Zhao Yu led the army away, he would not dare to stay any longer. He hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, the officials who came to take office have already As long as the delegation continues, it is better for the prince to make the decision to preside over the matter."
Zhao Tong glanced at him and said: "What is Jiang Shangshu talking about? This king has promoted military affairs, led troops to fight against thieves, and is in charge of military affairs. How can I intervene in such local affairs? How can I do that? It's not an overstep of the rules, not to mention that it is the duty of Shangshu Jiang to be in charge of the Ministry of Personnel, so I, the king, are presiding over what is going on!"
When Jiang You heard this, he immediately felt sweat on his forehead. He couldn't let Zhao Tao leave his family and lead the army away. This Luzhou City was extremely dangerous. Tens of thousands of troops were suppressing it and the public order was in chaos. If the army left, he would be alone. I'm afraid I'll die here if I stay.
"Your Majesty, there is actually nothing to preside over in Huaixi. The officials have been assigned. As for money, taxes, military supplies, etc., the subordinate officials cannot take charge. They have to go back to Beijing to ask for instructions from the officials, and wait for the central government to send the chief officials. , everything can get back up and running.”
Zhao Tong wondered: "Then what Jiang Shangshu means..."
"Whenever the prince leaves, I can just follow him back to the capital." Jiang You said with a smile.
After hearing this, Zhao Tong thought for a while and said: "In that case, it is better not to delay the matter. Jiang Shangshu should hurry up and read out the imperial edict. After receiving the edict, I will immediately arrange the arrangements for returning to Beijing!"
(End of chapter)
