According to the oath of alliance between the original dynasty and the first generation of princes, this was also one of the reasons why, apart from the princes' open rebellion and self-reliance, there were only a handful of people who could intervene in the affairs of foreign vassals to a limited extent. But there is a certain risk to the envoys themselves, because this represents a potential game between the court and the princes.
During the Hundred Years of Great Expedition, there were cases where the Tang Dynasty court, together with other princes in the alliance, completely eliminated or pacified, cut off or forcibly separated the foreign vassals who were motivated by profit, or who were driven by ulterior motives. There were also more than ten envoys who died.
Even in the Yizhou Domain twenty or thirty years ago, the previous princess was killed violently in the capital, and the princes and concubines who stayed in the feudal residence competed for power; it even got so bad that they fought with each other in the territory. It also caused the condolence envoy sent by the imperial court to Yizhou to die at sea inexplicably;
Therefore, this unprecedented accident also caused shock to the imperial court and the common hatred of the vassal affairs and the vassal and vassal courts. Therefore, driven by the impeachment of the Empress Dowager Yao and Shun on her deathbed, the two chambers quickly passed the court's proposal and registered those who stayed in the capital. The contemporary princess sent troops to pacify Jianghuai.
Therefore, Guo Chongtao does not need to worry too much about his own safety; because the Jianghuai troops and horses only take two or three days by sea to Yizhou; since he can come here for the first time, he can naturally come more times. What's more, with the current celestial changes, the imperial court has gradually gained more advantages in the game with the princes and foreign vassals.
According to Master Zhou's words, the empire is vast, with billions of households and billions of households, and the output is huge and fertile. Even if there are frequent changes, it has not reached the level of breaking the bones or shaking the country's foundation. On the contrary, most of the foreign vassal princes were exhausted in dealing with the disturbances of barbarians, barbarians and the rampage of aliens.
It also relies on the input of manpower and material resources from the country and the DPRK, and even the support of maintaining overseas trade. Especially in Yushitai and other places, the internally published "Illustrated Book of Monsters" and "Collection of Strange Stories" were serialized; because of their analysis of monsters and countermeasures, they became hot commodities that were hard to find for princes and foreign vassals.
Of course, according to Master Zhou's private instructions; after returning from this mission to Yizhou. According to the agreement, he will make a marriage contract with Master Zhou's sister-in-law who has been raised at home since childhood; and gradually take over Master Zhou, who has no children, and his future connections and old friends; this can be regarded as the completion of the merits of the teacher-student relationship.
With this in mind, Guo Chongtao was introduced to the Futing Palace, which has many ceremonials and carved beams and painted buildings; all the way through the Dazheng Hall, Xuanwen Hall, and Tuisi Hall of the previous dynasty; the left and right bell and drum towers, Guzhu Pavilion, and Zhishi Hall attached to the vestibule. , Zhanghuatai, Mingluan Pavilion, Neizhanyuan; then we came to the Later Dynasty.
In the Gongchen Hall, which is specially used for the living of the master of the palace, Guo Chongtao also saw the contemporary Tonghai Gong; as one of the six major palaces in the world after Daxia in the Western Kingdom, he was also of the extremely prominent bloodline of Liang Gong, and Tonghai belonged to one family and three families. System; the leader of the vassal vassal who controlled the outer vassals of the East China Sea/Xinzhou.
Appearing in front of Guo Chongtao, there was only a thin old man wrapped in gorgeous curtains and mattresses, lingering and dying. Even the use of expensive incense and medicinal materials could not cover up the dull stench of death and incontinence that hit his face; although his complexion looked okay.
Facing Guo Chongtao's strict routines and greetings on behalf of the court's procedures, the princess with distracted eyes and drooling words could only move her limbs slightly under the call, introduction and help from left and right. The end; Quan Do is some kind of symbolic response.
During this process, the prince never showed up, or was personally accompanied/supervised; but no one jumped out to express doubts, or used the limited contact opportunities to reveal anything to him, the court's envoy; No other official or minister showed any abnormality.
It seems that everyone inside and outside Futing Palace has become accustomed to this; or perhaps Er Shen's aunt and nephew who is in power has completely taken control of the situation. Under such circumstances, Guo Chongtao would naturally not act rashly; after all, it was not uncommon for the vassals to take power in the back house.
As long as it can ensure that the bloodline of the princes continues, it will not be stolen by people of unknown origin; the court really lacks the reason to actively intervene and interfere. In history, it is not that there have not been examples of people who took advantage of this and tried to imitate Ban Dingyuan; but the basic outcome was not very good.
Therefore, the process of interrogating the princess and announcing the letter in person was completed without any surprises; and after the precious medicines, ingredients and utensils were given in the name of the imperial court. Guo Chongtao also took advantage of the situation and made a request to meet the prince who was practicing health care; he received an unexpected response.
There was not even any delay or pushback; Guo Chongtao, who had put on his clothes again and bathed in incense, was led to Zuoping Mountain, one of the two mountains in the back garden of Futing Palace, a man-made and modified natural Inside the cave; and passed through many barriers all the way.
Finally, we saw a large and steamy hot spring pool, as well as many servants, slaves and scarlet-shirted guards holding utensils, surrounded by breathless sounds like stars over the moon; shirtless people sat on the slightly rolling milky white In the soup pool, a young man is relaxing with his eyes closed;
However, the moment he saw the other party, the reserve and calmness that Guo Chongtao had worked so hard to maintain along the way was instantly overwhelmed by the emotions rushing out of his heart, and like fire and lava, it broke through the last bit of reason and calmness. , blurted out: "Is it you?"
Because, how could he not know the other person? When they first met, Guo Chongtao was still the censor who patrolled the city in Yuanye, and he was the one who committed more than ten murders, was suspected of abducting the daughter of the Daxia envoy, and uttered rebellious words on the street. Prisoners imprisoned in Taiwan Prison awaiting execution.
But then things were turned upside down; he became the savior of Ambassador Liang's daughter in an instant, and became famous for a while because of his farewell poem when accompanying him in the market; under the secret attention and game of all parties , became a well-known figure in Tailao,
In fact, the subsequent pursuit and interrogation were almost all handled by Guo Chongtao. I thought that this would be the end of the story, but I didn't expect that during Ambassador Liang's personal visit, he would bring up the past events of the "Zhenzhuji" case that had implicated countless people and made Empress Dowager Yao and Shun regretful until her death.
Then all things suddenly went beyond the control of Guo Chongtao, a mere censor of the city. As the person who caused this huge commotion, he also quietly disappeared into the prison; when he appeared again, he was already in Youtufang, which was under secret observation and surveillance.
According to the original arrangement, this man was used as bait to see if he could lure out the fugitive Sanseifang, Qinghei Langjun and their accomplices behind them; but as a result, the situation got out of control and turned into multiple unknown forces. The conflict inside the house turned into a riot that spread throughout the place.
In this riot, it was also implicated that someone in Youtufang secretly set up a stronghold in the underground waterway, using prisoners as bait and materials; breeding and preparing alien/ferocious beasts. Therefore, when Guo Chongtao saw each other again, he had become one of the Yushi Cha Yuan's own?
Then, in order to pursue more clues and whereabouts, Jinwu Lingwei Mansion and Yushitai specially arranged for him to sneak into the ghost market underground in Chang'an for many years; as a result, he continued to exist for many years under the crackdown and pursuit of the government, hiding too many crimes in secret The filthy Chang'an ghost market was destroyed overnight.
Only then did someone notice a certain dangerous probability surrounding him; a certain talent and astonishing luck that could almost turn the darkness and darkness in his path upside down. When Pei, who had a background in the vassal academy, came forward, the last reason to restrict him was gone.
Then, Guo Chongtao, who had successfully retired from this series of events and was arranged to avoid the limelight, and the other party who was deliberately won over and befriended by Pei, gradually faded out of each other's sight. Only when he was patrolling the border areas, Guo Chongtao could occasionally get a few pieces of news.
From the internal details routinely transmitted by Yushitai; I know a little bit about this old friend who I had a brief contact with, but left a deep impression; continue to use his "disaster star" and "living Tai Sui" abilities to activate Gyeonggi and Luodu In the meantime, rumors of high-ranking officials, nobles, and nobles were overthrown.
Therefore, at this moment, Guo Chongtao suddenly understood the intention and painstaking efforts of the princes in the imperial court to name him specifically as an envoy to inquire; obviously someone had already obtained the suspected information; he was needed, as an old friend who had been in contact with him for the first time, to Further face-to-face confirmation and judgment.
However, he was also in disbelief. How could Gao Yuanming/Jiang Tian, who had been living and hanging out in Chang'an Market for many years and had numerous witnesses and bystanders, become the heir apparent of Tonghai Palace in one fell swoop? This was so absurd and bizarre that he was speechless.
However, the next moment, the other person in the soup pool slowly opened his eyes, and said in a low and slow voice that could not hide his arrogance: "Inquiring envoy, have you seen Yu? Why are you so rude?" Hearing this In just one sentence, Guo Chongtao calmed down immediately and remembered his responsibilities.
"I won't hide it from you, but your honor reminds me of an old friend from Beijing." Guo Chongtao then said, true and false, "I have been in trouble together with my foreign minister and solved many key problems." case". The next moment, the "Prince" also chuckled.
However, this laughter seemed ordinary, but it made Guo Chongtao feel a numb scalp and an uncomfortable feeling all over his body; it also made his next probing words suddenly stuck... So after half an hour, Guo Chongtao When I exited again, a certain coldness still lingered on my body.
Guo Chongtao couldn't help but shudder a few times, even the direct sunlight on his body couldn't alleviate it much. Until this moment, he was basically convinced that the prince seemed to resemble that person, but he was not the real him. Because he was so different from the person he knew back then.
The one in the capital was extremely indifferent and indifferent to all others. Even if you are in jail or in an extremely dangerous place, you can still talk to each other calmly. Only when you encounter injustice occasionally will you show your cruelty and calmness that despises all human ethics and laws.
But the words and deeds of the Crown Prince Tonghai in front of him. But it made his scalp feel numb, and his whole body was emitting danger signals that made him instinctively stay away. It's like an abyss or chaos; beneath the reasonably elegant and decent skin, there is something indescribable and indescribable hidden.
