The words are divided into two parts. In the main hall of Prince Zheng's Mansion in the capital, Zhang Qingmeng is sitting in the main seat, flanked by Jingzhao Yin Guanlang and Long Yunbu Gao Chou in the left hall. Next to him, Zhao Hongyan was wearing silver armor and holding a sword, standing behind Zhang Qingmeng.
"Call the envoy to come in." Zhang Qingmeng took a sip of tea and scratched the rim of the cup.
An autumn leaf blew into the house. The envoy walked in softly and respectfully, kneeling in front of the four people: "The envoy of the Duke of Jin pays homage to His Highness Prince Zheng. I wish you good health."
Zhang Qingmeng raised his head slightly, stared at the envoy kneeling at the foot of the steps, and said in a low voice: "Sir, you have been working hard on the saddle and horse. I only hope that something great can be accomplished today to comfort you for your hard work."
The envoy thanked him and then said: "The Duke of Jin deeply understands the king's concern for the country and the people, so after careful consideration, he agreed to surrender in order to respect the imperial court."
Several pairs of eyes collided with each other on the steps. Zhang Qingmeng slowly stood up, holding the teacup in his hand, and his tone became slow and leisurely. It sounded very tiring: "But I don't know what Mr. Jin wants. Please tell me."
The envoy replied: "The Duke of Jin does have a request, but I don't know whether the king can agree to it."
"Come and listen!"
"First of all, the land of Bingzhou is still under the rule of the Duke of Jin, and the Duke of Jin can have the right to manage the army in the territory; secondly, Chaoyan must allocate food and military pay to appease the army and the people; then, it is also expected that Chaoyan will divide Yanmen, Taihang, Hedong, and Xiayang The whole territory belongs to Jin Gong, and Jin Gong will always guard the border and be loyal to Chaoyan."
As soon as he said this, Zhang Qingmeng waved his hand to him and said in a weird voice: "No, these places are not enough! Why don't you just remove Chang'an and let us make room!" Several people laughed, which made the people on the steps The messenger was extremely embarrassed.
Guan Lang smiled and pointed at the envoy: "Jin Gong is so capable of turning the issue of surrender into a demand, just like Chao Yan wants to surrender to him!"
After a burst of laughter, the envoy regained his composure and replied: "Chao Yan is so insincere, I am afraid that the heroes of the world will be disappointed."
"What is the merit of Duke Jin that he dares to bargain with Chao Yan?" Zhang Qingmeng asked.
The envoy's attitude became tougher: "I still have hundreds of thousands of cavalry in Bingzhou. One of the dead soldiers is worth ten. They live on the plateau and look down on the world. Chaoyan should also consider it early and give up the small to the big, so that both sides can have peace."
"Really?" Gao Chou, who was sitting firmly on the side, said: "There are 4.63 million households of men, women, old and children in Bingzhou, 30,000 cavalry, 10,000 horse-drawn carriages, 30,000 infantry, and 6,000 dead soldiers. Even with this number of men and horses, we can't even think of a mantis." Isn’t it ridiculous to block a car with your arm?”
The envoy broke out in a cold sweat. He did not expect that the other party knew everything about his own side. This made his defense self-defeating and made him even more ashamed and embarrassed.
Gao Chou smiled slightly: "Your Majesty, the people from the Long Yun Department even found out what the envoy had eaten last night - three steamed buns, a plate of pickles, and a bowl of dog meat. The dog meat may not have been steamed yet."
The messenger did not dare to say more, so he had to say the last sentence: "If the king refuses, then please prepare to fight..." After saying this, he seemed to have gained confidence and walked boldly, but he accidentally tripped over the threshold and climbed up. He got up and left angrily.
Several people couldn't help laughing when they saw this funny look. Zhang Qingmeng nodded to Gao Chou and said, "Since you took over, the Long Yun Department has been really efficient in doing things. The lonely king will reward you generously."
"Your Majesty, Mr. Gao Chou can't write or write, and he can't ride a horse to kill the enemy. He can only do these small things to assist the king." When Gao Chou said this, he put his mouth close to his ear again: "The secret agent of Nanjin reported, There is some trouble with the princess..."
Zhang Qingmeng's face darkened and her brows furrowed: "Is it the princess herself who has any trouble?"
"Uh..." Gao Chou paused for a moment and then returned slowly: "According to the secret agent, the princess disappeared overnight and there is no news at all..."
Zhang Qingmeng's eyes widened. His chest seemed to have been hit. He almost sat down, but he still suppressed the anger in his heart: "Selling false information is not something worthy of praise..."
"If your Majesty doesn't believe it, please go and check it yourself." Gao Chou's answer was confident, which made Zhang Qingmeng even more panicked. He suddenly held Gao Chou's shoulders, his eyes were in a trance. Although he tried his best to restrain himself, his voice could not help but have murderous intent: "Do you know who did it?"
"I just received the information, I don't know yet..."
"Then go and find out!" Zhang Qingmeng twitched his beard and roared: "If the whereabouts of the princess are found, you Gao Chou will be the benefactor of the lonely king. If you don't do things well..."
Gao Chou's expression was calm, and he knelt down on one knee and saluted: "Your Majesty, Mr. Gao has some thoughts, and I hope you will forgive me."
"tell me the story?"
"The princess is missing. Why didn't the princess report such a big thing to the king? Secondly, the Wei family is also a famous family. Why is the supervision so lax? This is inevitably suspicious..."
Zhang Qingmeng was in a very complicated mood. Exhausted, he sighed and murmured to himself: "God is so ruthless. He took Jiang'er and then Xiaoxin. Is it really because of excessive sin?"
"Some things need to be understood in person. You know, we don't dare to investigate the princess," Gao Chou suggested.
The tea cup was slowly placed on the table. The water surface floated gently, but it threatened to overflow out of the cup. Zhang Qingmeng could not control the anger in his heart, so he ordered everyone: "Pass this order, during the period when the lonely king is away from the capital, all matters big and small will be decided by the military advisor and Gao Chou." Seeing that he had lost his mind, Guan Lang hurriedly spoke to dissuade him: " How can a king with a rich body leave the capital without permission? You can send a special person to investigate the matter of the princess, if..."
A crisp sound of breaking porcelain broke out, frightening the three of them to kneel down quickly. Zhang Qingmeng glared sideways: "Didn't you hear what the lonely king said?" Guan Lang wanted to say something more, but Gao Chou hurriedly stopped him: "Guan Lang The general is so ignorant of the general situation and has failed the king’s painstaking efforts in promotion!”
"I..." Guan Lang wanted to defend himself, but was speechless and unable to express his grievances.
Gao Chou's eloquent words and a few provocative words made Zhang Qingmeng even more manic. He was so angry that his upper and lower teeth chattered, and he threw away his long sleeves angrily. When Guan Lang saw his back walking away, he immediately stood up and asked angrily: "Master Gao has repeatedly provoked you with words. Don't you know the consequences of your king leaving the capital?"
"It seems..." Gao Chou seemed to be mocking and provoking: "General Guan doubts the ability of the military advisor?"
"I didn't..." Guan Lang stomped his feet angrily, pointed at his face and said, "I really don't know what you are thinking!" After saying these words, he left angrily. Only Gao Chou was as calm as a dragonfly touching water. Zhao Hongyan couldn't help but ask: "Aren't you angry at all?"
"Why the excitement?"
"If it were me, I would have to have a quarrel with the other party!"
Gao Chou smiled calmly and paced the room with his hands behind his back: "You don't know that when I was in Haibo City, I was provoked by Su Qing and led troops into battle without permission, resulting in a huge defeat. Since then, I have learned to be patient. , wait and see how everything will change, and never make a move if you are not sure."
On the other side, Guan Lang knew that he could not persuade Zhang Qingmeng, but he was worried, and the more he thought about it, the more annoyed he became. "It seems that the only way to persuade the king is to find the military advisor." Just do it! He mounted his horse and came to the military advisor's residence like the wind. I saw Jitao drinking wine and writing poems with a group of literati, and they were extremely happy. Seeing him coming, Yu Jitao greeted him with a smile, but he vaguely noticed that there was something wrong.
Guan Lang did not step into the palace, but tied the horse and secretly told Zhang Qingmeng's story outside the door. After hearing this, Yu Jitao just smiled and asked: "The king loves his daughter so much, why does the general insist on stopping her?"
"If the king leaves the capital at this time, Wei Hua leads his troops to attack, and we are leaderless, how can we deal with it? Moreover, Gao Chou has had evil intentions for a long time, and Guan X feels it is inappropriate for him to manage it." Guan Lang answered seriously.
Yu Jitao shook off the osmanthus folding fan and patted his shoulder: "The general is right, but the king is angry at the moment. If he disobeys his advice, disaster will inevitably come."
"If you don't make it clear at this time, it will be too late! I hope the military adviser can convince the king to calm the people of the world."
"In that case, Jitao is willing to take on this important task!" Yu Jitao dismissed the literati with great regret, then got on Guan Lang's horse and went straight to Prince Zheng's Mansion.
At this time in the palace, Zhang Qingmeng was sitting alone by the window lattice, his arms resting leisurely on the table, looking out the window at the red leaves returning to the ground, without saying a word. The slaves did not dare to say a word, no one knew what the king was thinking - the calm after the rage was even more frightening.
"Your Majesty, please ask for an audience with Military Advisor Jitao!"
Zhang Qingmeng breathed a long sigh of relief and stood up slowly to receive him. His tall figure blocked the beam of light that rushed into the room, and his whole person became blurry and shining. I saw Yu Jitao walking in gracefully with an osmanthus folding fan in hand, bowing to him and saluting him, and asking him all kinds of greetings.
Zhang Qingmeng personally delivered the tea: "The military advisor has worked so hard, why do you have time to come to my palace today?" Yu Jitao said quickly that he didn't dare to accept it. He couldn't bear the king's kindness.
"If the military advisor comes, he must have some major military affairs?" Zhang Qingmeng stirred the tea and asked tentatively.
Yu Jitao waved his hand and replied with a smile: "Nothing else, I'm just very interested today, so I dare to ask the king to compete with Jitao on chess skills."
This is a rare thing, military advisors have never been like this. Although Zhang Qingmeng didn't know his purpose, he still called his slaves to fetch the chess pieces and set up the battle array.
On the "battlefield" between the Chu River and the Han Dynasty, a sound like a roar echoed, and the two of them came and went, no matter how good they were. Zhang Qingmeng's chess skills were a little anxious because he was thinking about his daughter, but his face was always calm.
Yu Jitao looked at his face, thinking for a while, and finally deliberately made the commander step out of the Nine Palaces, and shouted loudly: "Commander, come out of the camp, help him! Help him!"
All the slaves present who knew something about chess didn't hold back. They just laughed out loud like a pig. Zhang Qingmeng shook his head helplessly: "Commander, please don't make fun of me. How can there be any reason for a commander to act arbitrarily in this world? It's about the whole matter." The principles behind determining the outcome of a round..."
Unexpectedly, Yu Jitao shook his sweet-scented osmanthus folding fan and said with a smile: "If your Majesty understands this, why does he insist on going to Nanjin in person?"
Zhang Qingmeng understood instantly. His face was angry at first, and then turned calm.
Yu Jitao further advised: "The princess is missing, and the king is certainly anxious. However, now we are unstable in the capital, and Wei Hua in the north and Hua Hao in the east of the Yangtze River are watching. The king must not miss the world's important events because of his temporary anger..."
"Xiao Xin's life and death are unknown now. How can the lonely king feel at ease?"
Yu Jitao put away the sweet-scented osmanthus folding fan and persuaded: "If your Majesty is convinced, Jitao will personally lead his people to investigate, but your Majesty cannot come forward."
Seeing that Zhang Qingmeng was still hesitant, he swore: "If the princess cannot be found within three months, Jitao is willing to apologize to the king with his life."
Zhang Qingmeng kept tapping his fingers on the table, and finally gave in: "In that case, I'd like to bother the military advisor. What are your requirements?"
Yu Jitao replied, "Your Majesty only needs to prepare some silver, and secondly send out well-known generals to protect you - and the Long Yun Department. I hope your Majesty can take over the jurisdiction..."
Zhang Qingmeng coughed lightly, stopped him, and then said with a smile: "You can let Gao Chou go with the military advisor. This person is smart and calm, good at collecting intelligence, and can assist the military advisor."
He seemed to want to say something else, but it lingered on his lips and it was difficult to say it out. Until Yu Jitao bowed and left, planning to prepare various matters. He called back slightly nervously, and when he turned around, he asked a little shyly: "If possible...please ask the military advisor to ask more about the whereabouts of Jiang'er - Zhang Junsheng's son."
"Your Majesty, please feel at ease." Yu Jitao only left these words and left the palace. Zhang Qingmeng, on the other hand, just prayed silently in his heart.
King Zheng sent an envoy to Nanjin to question him! The county magistrate Mr. Jiang and the county magistrate who were in charge of Nanjin County were jumping up and down in their hearts. Mr. Wei has just experienced the embarrassment of his daughter-in-law running away, and now he has lost the princess in his own yard... Oh my God, Oh my God. He cried and wanted to hang himself, but Wei Hanlin tried his best to dissuade him, and he finally got down from the wooden bench.
He sat on the ground, kicking his thighs like a baby and crying: "That bastard Wei Guizhuang! In order to prevent me from chasing that girl, he even shouted in public that he was a 'good guy from Longyang' and tore up my old face. It's so rubbish... Oh my God... Now the princess is missing and Prince Zheng comes to ask for guilt again, what should I do?"
Wei Hanlin had no choice but to plead for mercy: "Expulsion from the clan or something like that would be too severe a punishment for my cousin..."
"Ah...just kill me..."
Yao Qiu called the guards and maids accompanying the princess to one place and inquired carefully. The three girls had never experienced anything like this before. They were so frightened that they couldn't even speak. Their tears were like water that couldn't be contained, splashing on the floor. The guard also blamed himself very much and told the whole story.
"Prince Zheng wants you to be prudent in your work, so he specially sent you to protect the princess. I really don't want something like this to happen..." Yao Qiu's gentle tone was mixed with a hint of disappointment, his eyes were very dim, and the tips of his eyes were still red and swollen. The guard kowtowed and clapped his hands, his voice trembling: "I deserve to die! I deserve to die! I deserve to die -"
Yao Qiu turned his head and looked at the untouched red maple outside the window. His heart was so sad that tears could not help but fill his eyelashes. But she quickly wiped it away. As a princess, she could never show her weak side. She just let tears roll in her heart, feeling that every breath was extremely painful.
The next day, Yu Jitao and Gao Chou came here. Convey Zhang Qingmeng's order to suspend the county magistrate and county magistrate and detain him for investigation. Mr. Wei was only verbally punished, which made his whole family grateful. He vowed to use all his resources and connections to find the princess. As for Jiang Qingyue, because she escaped from marriage and her "groom" Wei Guizhuang was expelled from her family, no one cared about her life or death.
Ni Hao couldn't escape the blame. He was the bodyguard appointed by Zhang Qingmeng, but something went wrong. Fortunately, Zhang Qingmeng did not investigate the responsibility in detail, but asked Yu Jitao to find the whereabouts of the princess.
But his heart still couldn't calm down! He Nihao was by no means the kind of person who kept silent after doing something wrong. He wrote many times asking for punishment. Zhang Qingmeng understood his nature best, so he fined him a symbolic salary.
Gao Chou gathered all the people involved in the matter together and learned about the bride's escape on the wedding night. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Yu Jitao looked particularly excited: "There must be a reason why the bride ran away privately. The princess must have been taken away by this girl named Jiang Qingyue."
Mr. Wei thought it was a family shame, so he delayed telling the story for a long time. But Gao Chou comforted him with a smile and said: "You don't have to be ashamed of this. If you can provide this clue, your Majesty will definitely live up to you if you find the princess in the future!"
The Long Yun Department was extremely efficient in handling matters. Through Zeng, they learned that the group of people who claimed to be the woman's "brother's family" had also disappeared inexplicably. In order to atone for his crime, Zeng made a one-sided statement about the appearance of several people. Yu Jitao felt as if he had found a treasure, and asked Wei Hanlin, who was a little lazy at the side: "I have heard that Mr. Zeng is versatile and has painted many famous paintings. I asked Mr. Zeng to trace it on rice paper and post it outside according to Zeng's instructions. "
"Thanks to the military advisor for not giving up and serving the king, how can Hanlin not obey?" He thought for a while and then said: "I met that group of people that day when I was preparing for my cousin's wedding. There was a young man among them who impressed me deeply. He looks very similar to the king. But another person said he was his son, so I didn't go into details... I just kept thinking about his appearance in my mind. The military advisor only needed to give me three days, and I could roughly draw it. One day is all it takes.”
After the request was granted, Wei Hanlin began to prepare the painting. His imagination was very full, and he had also had a relationship with that group of people, so the painting took no effort. His painting method has a charm, as if he has carved a person's face on it. Zeng was extremely surprised when she saw it: "It's them! The paintings are so similar, it makes people wonder if they are the people in the paintings."
As he said, everything except the boy's appearance changed in one day.
As for the young man who resembled Zhang Qingmeng, Wei Hanlin was troubled when he started painting. If he painted according to his own impression, he would always inadvertently draw the appearance of King Zheng. So only by constantly using Zeng's descriptions, was it possible to roughly draw the impression of his appearance.
"Are you kidding..." Yu Jitao carefully examined the rice paper with the boy drawn on it. No matter how he looked at it, it looked like Zhang Qingmeng. Wei Hanlin swore that he really looked like this, which really troubled him. Gao Chou also felt something strange, so he pointed at the person in the portrait and asked, "What's the name of this child? Where does he come from?"
Wei Hanlin clearly had the answer, but he still lacked the confidence. He answered in a weak voice: "It seems to be An Xiaosong..."
"No!" Zeng rushed in carelessly and snatched the drawing: "His name is not 'An Xiaosong'! I once heard that damn girl call him 'Jun Sheng' in private."
The originally casual atmosphere suddenly became quiet, and shocked eyes collided and struck each other. Yu Jitao didn't know whether he was excited or panicked, his whole body couldn't stop trembling. Confirm again and again: "Is everything you said true?"
"Is this still false? It is indeed called 'Zhang Junsheng!'" Zeng didn't know how much contribution she had made, but seeing the unusual expressions of the three people, she understood some of the importance in her heart.
Based on the clues they knew, the Long Yun Department finally locked onto an organization called the "Lao Ma Caravan", but they have now left the county and there is no way of knowing where they will go next.
Zeng continued: "That damn girl has no place to go. She will definitely go to Wang Jingui's friend's house in Su'an County first, and then transfer to Xiaobei's parents' house."
This will make things easier! Based on this clue, not only can the princess be rescued in Xi'an County, but the young master Zhang Junsheng who has been searching for her can even be found. Several people were very excited thinking about this, and Yu Jitao was even more happy. Once the young master returns to Beijing and settles Zhang Qingmeng's worries, he can start preparing to unify the world.
"Inform Fu'an County and all the counties and stations along the way. Anyone who sees the portrait will be arrested and reported to the Nanjin County Yamen. Several copies of the portrait will be posted along the streets and distributed to counties and stations." Gao Chou took the lead and moved upward. Requesting for authority, Zhang Qingmeng issued this notice.
Zhang Qingmeng was overjoyed when he learned that Zhang Junsheng might be found. Another article was added at the end: "Anyone who captures the caravan and finds the princess will have the officials moved to the right and the people will be granted a title. If the young master is found, in addition to being granted a title of marquis, the officials will recommend him to the court as an official, and the people will take care of the whole family under the supervision of King Zheng." Take shelter and you will have no worries in your life.”
On this day, he actually felt that the withered maple leaves also became pleasant and lovely. Autumn was no longer a silent desolation, but reflected the beauty of colors.
Mood is really a strange thing...
