The next morning, Jiang Wan and others arrived at the door of His Majesty's palace early.
Huang Hao saw that everyone had arrived and hurried in to report to His Majesty.
Not long after, Huang Hao came out of the palace and brought several people to His Majesty's palace.
As soon as they entered the door, Li Shimin waved his hand to indicate that they did not need to salute.
"Yesterday I returned from Qingcheng Mountain and met the Wu envoy in Chengdu. But I felt that Wu's visit at this time was not just to express condolences to my prime minister.
Before going to court this morning, we will discuss the matter here and then meet with the Wu envoy in the court hall. "
He Zong heard this and said first:
"Your Majesty, yesterday I performed my duties at Honglu Temple and went to receive the Wu envoy.
According to what I see, Your Majesty's concerns are very reasonable.
The visiting official this time was Sun Quan’s minister, Pushe Xue Zong, who was deeply trusted by Sun Quan.
Xue Zong was diligent in studying when he was young, well versed in classics and history, and had outstanding literary talents.
Later, he became the prefect of Hepu and Jiaozhi. At any time, he was appointed as the governor of Jiaozhou, Lu Dai, and together he put down the Shanyue rebellion in various places in Jiaozhou.
Such a man who is well-equipped in both civil and military affairs, elegant and steady, was very anxious and suspicious yesterday.
The minister just informed him that His Majesty was not in the palace and that he needed to stay for a few days. Xue Zong hurriedly asked about His Majesty's return date, fearing that His Majesty would not see him intentionally.
He even came up with the excuse of "reporting truthfully" to excuse me. Before parting, he even used words such as "I just happened to have a good rest in the post house" to tease me.
These words and deeds are completely inconsistent with Xue Zong's temperament as I know it.
I believe that Xue Zongying has urgent matters, and this matter should only be observed and speculated, not stated explicitly. "
As soon as He Zong said these words, everyone present fell silent.
Everyone knows that He Zong is a powerful hermit in the world. He believes in the way of inaction and is quite talented in literature.
It is impossible for a person of such status to belittle or be suspicious of someone easily.
Even with the relationship between He Zong and Du Qiong, He Zong never said anything bad, he just wanted to compete with Du Qiong based on his strength.
While everyone was thinking, Jiang Wan felt a little restless. He wanted to speak several times, but couldn't make up his mind to speak.
Although Li Shimin was also thinking about He Zongzhi's words, Li Shimin's eyes never left the audience.
Seeing that something seemed wrong with Jiang Wan, Li Shimin suddenly asked:
"Gong Yan, are you feeling ill? Or is there something urgent at home?"
Jiang Wan was startled by His Majesty's sudden question. After a slight hesitation, he quickly calmed down.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, I am in good health and my family is well. Thank you for your concern."
"If that's the case, why do you look anxious? There seems to be something pressing in your heart."
"This...I am savoring Yan Ying's words. I think that Xue Zong, such a refined man, is so restless. I am worried that the Wu Kingdom has hidden evil intentions."
Li Shimin felt a little unhappy when he saw that Jiang Wan was unwilling to reveal his true feelings, but the explanation Jiang Wan gave made sense.
"If that's the case, then I'm worrying too much."
At this time, Fei Yi seemed to have thought of something and hurriedly bowed his head and said:
"Your Majesty, I do have some ideas, but this idea is not yet mature. I don't know..."
"Hey, Wen Wei, it doesn't matter, this is my palace, and you are all the pillars of the country, so there is no need to worry so much."
Fei Yi sighed softly when he heard this, and then reported back:
"I hope I'm overthinking it. Now that Wu Guo has come to express his condolences to the Prime Minister, he is indeed harboring evil intentions secretly.
I am worried that the Wu Kingdom has seen the death of its prime minister, and Shuhan has lost the mainstay of the country. I want to explore the reality of Shu, and I have even set my abacus on Xinggu, Zangdao and other Nanzhong counties. "
"What do Wen Wei say?"
"Since Your Majesty has appointed me to be the captain of the Honglu Guards, I will always pay attention to the movements of various countries for Your Majesty.
A few days ago, I received news that Sun Quan was using troops against the Wuxi barbarians in Wuling County.
At the time of Yiling in the past, the Wuxi Barbarian King Samoko led more than ten thousand Wuxi Barbarians to respond to the late emperor. The Barbarian King Samoko also died in the battle.
If the Wuxi barbarians are defeated by Wu and then surrendered, then our eastern line of Shu will lose this barrier.
Wu Guo's troops can be directed at Xinggu, Zanggao and other counties at any time.
At that time, if Sun Quan uses the pretext of "pacifying the barbarians" to secretly station troops in Wuyang and Tan to form a line, and then suddenly march westward, we will have no time to react..."
Everyone was shocked when they heard this and looked at Fei Yi in disbelief.
Although what Fei Yi said was a bit far-fetched, Xue Zong from the state of Wu had indeed arrived, and Xue Zong only said that he expressed condolences and did not reveal anything else.
Moreover, the incident of Guan Yunchang's defeat in Maicheng in the past is still vivid in his mind, and Sun Quan does have this record.
Wu Yi was the first to figure out the joints and quickly bowed:
"Your Majesty, I agree that for the present plan, we can only use coercion and inducement in the court to make Xue Zong reveal the truth.
Even if Xue Zong does not reveal the truth, at least we must find clues in his words to infer Wu Guo’s intentions.”
When the other princes saw what Wu Yi said, they all nodded in agreement.
Li Shimin saw that everyone thought Fei Yi's words were reasonable, but he murmured in his heart:
"According to historical data, from the time Deng Zhi went to Wu as an envoy in the first year of Jianxing until the fall of the Shu Han Dynasty, there was no record of any antagonism between Shu and Wu.
Zhuge Liang made several Northern Expeditions. Whenever he invited Wu to raise troops together, Sun Quan readily agreed and raised troops as promised.
Now that Xue Zong had arrived so suddenly, he had not found the answer in the history books.
Could it be that history has quietly changed with his intervention? "
Li Shimin thought about it over and over, but he still couldn't figure out the key point, so he simply didn't think about it so much.
"Since all the gentlemen think so, then we will follow what Wu Yi wants and fight Xue Zong in the court."
After making up their mind, everyone briefly discussed some details, and then dispersed, waiting for the morning court meeting.
Before everyone left, Li Shimin stopped He Zong.
"Yan Ying, no matter what conflicts you and the Yizhou princes have with the imperial court now.
When encountering foreign affairs, I still hope that the gentlemen of Yizhou will not lose their integrity and let others see the joke. "
He Zong patted his chest and said seriously:
"Your Majesty, please relax. We all the princes of Yizhou can see clearly that we will definitely be of the same mind as the imperial court on these matters!"
Li Shimin patted He Zong on the shoulder and said with a smile:
"In that case, I will focus all my attention on how to deal with Xue Zong."
Soon after, it was morning time.
After going to court as usual, Huang Hao saw that all the princes had finished kneeling and worshiped. He stood under the dragon couch and said loudly:
"The envoy from the Kingdom of Xuan Wu is here to see you!"
At this time, Xue Zong had already made preparations and was only waiting for the Lord of Shu to summon him.
Several Huangmen passed by in the main hall, until the last Huangmen on the square outside the hall shouted the word "Meet you".
Xue Zong then dressed up, held his head high, and walked steadily towards the main hall with square steps.
Not long after, Xue Zong went up to the main hall, bowed his head and said:
"Foreign minister, Pu She, Minister of the State of Wu, Xue Zong pays homage to Your Majesty!"
Li Shimin couldn't help but be awed when he saw that Xue Zong was steady and elegant, yet not lacking in awe-inspiring aura, and his conversation and behavior were very decent.
He thought to himself: "I'm afraid this person will be difficult to deal with. It seems that today there will be a lot of overt ridicule and insinuation, as well as verbal and verbal quarrels."
"Xue Shangshu, please be patient. I, the Han Dynasty, are allies with your country, Soochow. We often have envoys coming and going. Now that the envoys from Wu are here, I should treat you warmly."
After saying this, Li Shimin waved to Huang Hao and said solemnly:
"Huang Hao, I see that there are no seats in the court train, so I am afraid that I have neglected the Wu envoy.
You quickly go and get a marching bed, and let Xue Shangshu sit under me. "
Xue Zong was quite unhappy when he heard this, but it was hard to get angry at this moment, so he could only curse secretly in his heart:
"How disrespectful Liu Chan! You actually asked me to sit on the bed used for hunting and marching in the wild in this palace!"
He was scolding in his heart, but Xue Zong managed to squeeze out a smile on his face.
"Foreign Minister, I would like to thank Your Majesty for your kindness. However, all the princes in the court are standing on both sides of the table. How can I sit alone?
Besides, I know that my official position is low, how can I put myself in front of His Majesty and put myself above Jiang Gongyan and other important ministers of your country? "
Just as Li Shimin was about to speak, He Zong had already stepped out of the train and said jokingly:
"Your Majesty, I believe that what Xue Shangshu said is absolutely correct.
Since Xue Shangshu knows that he is of low status, why not let us squeeze in.
Make room for Xue Shangshu at the last seat in the palace so that Xue Shangshu can take his seat accordingly. "
All the princes in the court laughed loudly when they heard this.
Xue Zong couldn't help but get angry when he saw everyone making fun of him, but at this time he had not yet achieved his goal, so he could only hold back and not get angry.
Li Shimin saw that although Xue Zong's face was calm, but his ears were already red with anger, he pretended to be confused and said:
"Xue Shangshu, it's the middle of winter now, why do I see you feeling a little hot?"
Xue Zong subconsciously touched his angry ears, suppressed his anger, and said in a deep voice:
"Since I came to the palace, Your Majesty seems to have never asked me why I was sent here as an envoy. Could it be that Your Majesty doesn't care at all about my purpose?"
Xue Zong knew that everything would not go well if he was sent on a mission. After all, the reason for expressing condolences was not very appropriate.
Now that the Holy Emperor of my country has entrusted me with important matters, I need to work tirelessly to confirm something secretly for the country.
In order not to be led by the princes of Shu and waste time on "wrangling," Xue Zong immediately changed the topic and directed the discussion to condolences.
Li Shimin saw that Xue Zong was quite determined and did not show any dissatisfaction despite being so humiliated. He couldn't help but look up at Xue Zong.
"Don't you come here just to express your condolences? If you have any other matters, you can explain it to the court so that I can give you an answer so that you can report truthfully as soon as possible."
When Xue Zong heard the words "report truthfully", he couldn't help but think of his meeting with He Zong yesterday, and felt regretful in his heart.
I only blame myself for being too anxious yesterday and showing my cowardice in a hurry.
Now that the Lord of Shu emphasizes "reporting truthfully", he must have discussed something with He Zong in advance!
