Jia Lian originally wanted to live in the military tent with the generals, but Wu Shiwei and others did not know whether to respect him or regard him as a wealthy young man, so they placed him in the front yard of the princess's palace with all the civil servants.
It is said to be a military camp, but it is actually just a more complex and sturdy military camp.
Jia Lian guessed that it was Wu Shiwei who vacated his military headquarters and gave it to Princess Zhaoyang for temporary use. After all, it was impossible for Wu Shiwei to build another carriage in such a short period of time.
Realizing that the courtyard was still relatively spacious and the house was large enough for a personal guard, Jia Lian just followed the guests as he pleased without raising any objection.
Called Xiang He and other subordinates together to discuss the future travel strategy and the supply of needed materials.
After leaving Ganning Pass, there are no local officials responsible for reception. Everything has to be done by yourself. Naturally, you must be properly prepared and sufficient.
In the evening, Wu Shiwei sent someone to prepare a small banquet and invite Jia Lian to the banquet.
Jia Lian thought to himself that although in terms of rank, he was not inferior to Wu Shiwei at all, let alone his status as an imperial envoy.
But the identity of the other party, Gan Ning, the gatekeeper, cannot be underestimated.
Let's not talk about the energy of such a high-ranking and distant official in the border area. Let's talk about the tens of thousands of officers and soldiers under his command, which Jia Lian had to treat with caution.
His trip can be described as going deep into the tiger's den alone, so long as everything goes well. If there is any difficulty, Ganning Pass is the only place that can provide him with help.
A person who acts prudently should try his best to turn the things around him into beneficial tools instead of enemies.
So Jia Lian put down what he was doing and came to the banquet in advance.
There were not many people at the table. Except for Xiang He, who was invited as well, they were all deputy generals and generals under Wu Shiwei. None of the lower-level generals were missing.
When these people were around Wu Shiwei earlier, each of them barely gave him a smile.
At this moment, when he was seated at the table, he basically didn't bother to look straight, and just sat and watched those handsome soldiers pretending to be actors, performing lifeless juggling that they didn't know how many times they had watched.
Some people who are impatient secretly pick up a bottle of wine and take a sip while others are not paying attention...
Jia Lian frowned at first, feeling he had been slighted, but then he understood.
He also imitated their appearance, sitting comfortably where the waiter led him, looking at this unique and interesting military acrobatic that was rare in Beijing.
Thinking about it, if he were one of these generals living in the wild Gobi, blowing sand and drinking snow, living in difficult conditions, and with no hope of promotion.
Suddenly I saw a person from a powerful family in the capital. At a young age, he had a higher status than I had worked hard for decades. I guess I didn't like this pretty boy in my heart.
"Hahaha, I was late. I kept the imperial envoy waiting for a long time. I'm rude, I'm rude..."
After about two cups of tea, Wu Shiwei strode in with heavy steps.
At this time, all the generals stood up to greet him.
Jia Lian was no exception. He smiled and said, "General Wu is serious. I have just arrived."
Seemingly seeing Jia Lian sitting in the lower seat, Wu Shiwei's face darkened, and he turned around and asked the attendants: "You are so brave, you dare to let the imperial envoy sit in the second seat. It seems that this general is too tolerant to you!"
Come here, drag these bastards out and beat them with eighty sticks each. "
As he spoke, he grabbed Jia Lian's wrist and walked up high.
Following Wu Shiwei's words, several sergeants came in from outside the house and wanted to take the attendants who were kneeling begging for mercy out.
Jia Lian watched coldly. Although he could tell at a glance that this was Wu Shiwei's deliberate act, he still cooperated with his performance.
He broke away from Wu Shiwei's strong hand and interceded for several attendants: "Please calm down General Wu. I believe that the arrangements of the attendants are completely reasonable and should not be punished."
"Um?"
Wu Shiwei looked at Jia Lian in surprise.
Jia Lian said: "First, although I and General Wu are of the same rank, they are far inferior to General Wu in terms of age, seniority, and contribution to the court in terms of fighting against the enemy.
Second, I am a guest from afar, and as General Wu is the host, I will treat you warmly. It is natural that General Wu should be the host.
Therefore, please ask the general to spare them. "
Of course Jia Lian knew that this man surnamed Wu did not really want him to take the lead.
The reason why I came out like this was just to take care of his face. Maybe there is an intention to suppress and test him, so that he can be more honest in his territory for the past two days.
Wu Shiwei thought for a while, waved his hand to the sergeants, and said: "Since the imperial envoy has interceded for you, the military stick will be spared. Go down and reflect on yourself. If you do it again, you will be severely punished."
After saying that, he smiled at Jia Lian and said, "That being said, respect and inferiority cannot be ignored. After all, you are an imperial envoy, and you represent the face of the princess. It is only in line with the rules that you take the seat."
Seeing that Wu Shiwei was trying to pull him away, Jia Lian avoided it and said jokingly: "It's true that he is an imperial envoy, but I only go deep into other countries and am responsible for negotiating with them.
This matter has nothing to do with General Wu. This warm welcome to us is a sign of colleagues.
If I am here under the emperor's order to investigate whether General Wu is running the army strictly and whether he has lost an inch of our Wei Dynasty, then there is no need for General Wu to be polite. I will hold the sword of Shang Fang and sit down to interrogate General Wu. of. "
With that said, Jia Lian glanced at Wu Shiwei meaningfully and stretched out his hand to make a gesture of invitation.
Wu Shiwei was stunned for a moment, and then burst into laughter.
"Well said! But if this general is not strict in his military management, he will betray the emperor's favor and dare to lose any inch of our Wei Dynasty's territory.
There is no need for His Majesty to hold him accountable. I will tie my own hands and kill him at the point of his neck!
Not only me, but also every general under my command. "
Wu Shiwei said, taking a deep look at Jia Lian, admiration appeared in his eyes, his tone changed, and he said with a smile: "Sure enough, there are no good people in the reputation. I finally know why Your Majesty let your nephew take on this important task.
Unexpectedly, that old boy Zhang Leng has such a nephew, which makes me deeply envious. "
Wu Shiwei also raised his hand to signal, then turned around and sat on the main seat.
In his words, he actually regarded himself as Jia Lian's elder.
Jia Lian's guess was correct. The play just now was indeed deliberately directed by Wu Shiwei.
He just wanted to take the opportunity to see Jia Lian's character.
Even if Jia Lian didn't plead for those people, he wouldn't really beat those people to death with eighty army sticks. Those people are his confidants.
As for Jia Lian, if he didn't know what he was doing, he would have taken the throne as if he were worth 258,000 yuan.
Haha, then he will let Jia Lian know what it means to be on pins and needles while riding a tiger.
The generals below could make Jia Lian unable to step down with just a sarcastic comment.
Even if Jia Lian is so arrogant and stupid that he offends everyone, well, he dares to only give half of the supplies that the imperial court ordered them to help mobilize, and he can guarantee that Jia Lian will never be able to raise supplies on time again.
As for the accountability of the princess or the court, the question is that the conditions are difficult, which has always been the case. Otherwise, improve the conditions for our border troops and allocate more money and food...
Speaking of which, he was deliberately making things difficult for Jia Lian.
As long as Jia Lian makes a mistake, he may fall into a disadvantageous situation.
At worst, he will lose his face and prestige; at worst, he will fail in his errand and be held accountable by the court.
Not only were his generals jealous, but he also felt unhappy when he saw such an old imperial envoy.
However, he immediately changed his attitude when he saw Jia Lian reacting sharply and even hitting him with sharp words.
The meaning of Jia Lian's words is that although you are high in the sky and the emperor is far away, if you offend others casually, it is not difficult for the court to punish you.
Although everyone can see that Jia Lian's words are a joke, and the examples are big and empty charges, rather than the more likely charges of embezzlement, taking money, and causing trouble to the local area.
But precisely in this way, while being powerful, it would not make him angry.
This kind of intelligence and dexterous reactions cannot but make Wu Shiwei admire him a few times.
After knowing that Jia Lian was not a fool, Wu Shiwei immediately put away his contempt and showed the bond between him and Jia Lian, eliminating the barriers to show their closeness.
He and Jia Lian's uncle were both the commander-in-chief of the Wei Dynasty, and they were familiar with each other.
At this time, he called Jia Lian his nephew, which was worthy of his name and not offensive.
The rapid change of attitude towards Wu Shiwei made Jia Lian amused and at the same time he was also willing to chat with him.
"I'm late, please forgive me."
Prince Wala walked over in a broken Chinese language.
The scene that had become somewhat lively due to Wu Shiwei's deliberate influence suddenly became much colder.
The generals at Ganning Pass looked at the enemy prince who had belatedly arrived with an expression that was ten times more indifferent to Jia Lian.
Unlike the officials in the capital, those present here basically have comrades, sons and nephews. At least the soldiers under his command died in the battle with Wala.
It is impossible for them to have any good impression of the royal family of Wala.
Even they were very dissatisfied with the imperial government's political affairs. It's just that people speak softly and can't take the initiative.
Even the smile on Wu Shiwei's face faded a lot. After gesturing for Prince Wala to take a seat, he said a few words with a smile, and then asked: "I heard that the third prince took his entourage for a walk in the afternoon. By accident, he came to my place. We went to the highest point of Ganning Pass.
I dare to ask the prince, what is the scenery like at Ganning Pass? "
As if he could not hear the sarcasm in Wu Shiwei's tone, Prince Wala smiled and cupped his hands: "Guiguan is majestic and magnificent, with pleasant scenery. We, Wala, cannot build such a place."
Everyone likes to hear good things. Wu Shiwei smiled and had no intention of making things difficult for Prince Wala.
But unexpectedly, the general under his command sneered when he heard this: "Of course a group of barbarians who only drink water from raw materials cannot build such a magnificent pass.
Humph, I went up to survey the terrain pretending, so what if you guys saw me.
As long as this confinement lasts for a day and you are in trouble, don't even think about taking a step south! "
