Moqi Ta saw Zhao Gou's expression and a ferocious smile appeared at the corner of her mouth. She decided to add fuel to the fire. She turned her head and asked a white-bearded official behind her, "Master He, if you do not pay your respects to the Emperor, how should you be punished according to the laws of Song?"
That Master He was an assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites. Although the Ministry of Rites of the Song Dynasty only existed in name, and the title of assistant minister was just an empty title, he still knew a thing or two about etiquette.
The white-bearded official glanced at Jia Shidao and Han Xuan Zhou and complained in his heart. These immortals were fighting, and the mortals were suffering. However, all the officials in the court were looking at him, and even the emperor was looking at him. He had to bite the bullet and say, "This … has committed a crime of disrespect, and should be punished with 30 strokes of the cane."
In fact, Song Qingshu's behavior had involved disrespect for the emperor, and it was a crime of great disrespect. According to the law, he should be beheaded. However, Master He had been an official for decades, and he wasn't stupid. He wouldn't tell the truth.
If Song QingShu had been an ordinary citizen, he would have been killed. However, Song QingShu had 200,000 soldiers under his command, and he was the overlord of a region. Moreover, it seemed that he had a close relationship with Jia Shidao and Han Xuan Zhou. If Song QingShu said that Song QingShu should be executed according to the law, everyone would be embarrassed, and there would be no room for reconciliation.
Moqi Feng frowned and cursed in her heart, This old man is so cunning. He's playing with words. However, she also knew that the emperor wouldn't order Song Qingshu to be beheaded because of this, so she stopped while she was ahead. "Master He is a man of virtue and is familiar with all kinds of etiquette. If Master He says so, then there's no doubt about it. Guards, drag Song Qingshu out and give him 30 strokes of the cane!"
Zhao Gou still didn't say a word, as if he agreed with everything. After all, Moqi Feng was the Prime Minister, the head of the officials. The guards outside the palace saw that the emperor didn't object, so they ran in and surrounded Song Qingshu. Two of them reached out and tried to pull him out, but as soon as their hands touched his body, they were shaken away by an invisible force, and they fell to the ground with their legs in the air.
Upon seeing this, not only was Moqi Suo not angry, she was even elated. She thought to herself, I was waiting for you to act like this. "How dare you! How dare you resist! Men, take him down!"
Han Zhuanzhou groaned inwardly; hastily he stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, Song Qingshu is, after all, a foreign envoy. As the saying goes, when two countries are at war, the envoy is not beheaded. If we punish him with caning, it will be a disgrace to Your Majesty's sage."
Moqi Ta sneered at the side and said in a strange tone, "Ambassador of a foreign country, may I ask which country and which clan does the one surnamed Song come from?"
Han Chuan Zhou's breath caught in his throat, and he felt extremely angry in his heart. But he knew that his eloquence wasn't as good as Moqi Zhuo's, who specialized in crafty plots and schemes, so he didn't know how to refute.
"I really can't kneel." Song Qingshu, who had been silent all this time, finally spoke. His words were earth-shattering. "Not only should I not kneel, but your country's emperor should come and greet me."
"How dare you!"
"Arrogant!"
"Bastard!"
The Throne Room was instantly in an uproar, and a group of people started discussing. Zhao Gou's face was so dark that it looked like water was about to drip out of it. Han Chuan Zhou was even more anxious. He thought that it was just a kneel, and it would be over with a little perfunctory. Was there a need to make things so difficult for everyone?
Moqi Zhuo glanced at Zhao Gou, and said with a fake smile, "I wonder what wise opinion Prince Song has, why should the emperor come and greet you?" He decided to provoke Zhao Gou again. Having worked with Zhao Gou for so many years, he knew that Zhao Gou's patience was extraordinary. But once he exploded, his anger was unimaginable. Back in the day, he killed someone like Yue Fei just like that.
Song Qingshu saw through his sinister intentions with a single glance, but he still didn't care. He said calmly, "May I ask if your country is a vassal to the Jin Kingdom?
As soon as he said this, the previously noisy Throne Room instantly fell silent. The civil and military officials didn't care about their faces. Some looked ashamed, while others looked angry.
Song Qingshu looked at Moqi Zhuo. "Lord Moqi is the head of the officials. Can you answer Song Mou's doubts?"
"There is such a thing." Moqi Zhuo was with Qin Hui in the past, and could be said to be a firm supporter of surrendering. Their political capital in the Imperial Court was the peace talks with the Jin Kingdom. Thus, he didn't dare to slap his own face and could only admit it. But he immediately changed the topic. "But this has nothing to do with today's matter. Don't change the topic."
"Who said it has nothing to do with today's matter?" Song Qingshu said calmly. "As far as I know, your country is not only a vassal to the Jin Kingdom, but also a country of uncle and nephew. In official letters, your Emperor has to call the Jin Emperor uncle. When the Jin Kingdom's envoy comes to visit, your Emperor has to personally greet and receive the edict?"
Moqi Zhuo peeked at Zhao Gou's expression and knew that he was on the verge of exploding. She immediately gloated, thinking, Song, you're going to die this time?
"Hmph, why are you rambling on about so much?" Moqi Zhuo had been an official for many years, and she knew the principle of expressing her loyalty and helping her master. Zhao Gou's expression became much better.
Song Qingshu smiled. "I'm sorry, I have another identity. The Minister of the Jin Kingdom, Tang Kuo Bian, is my sworn brother. Coincidentally, Tang Kuo Bian is the brother-in-law of the Jin Kingdom's Emperor. According to seniority, I am also the brother of the Jin Kingdom's Emperor. Lord Moqi Zhuo, I'm not very good at etiquette. May I ask how your Emperor should address me in this situation? "
As soon as Song Qingshu said this, the officials were in an uproar. Even Jia Shidao and Han Xingzhou looked at him in shock. Han Xingzhou wondered why he hadn't mentioned this relationship before. He was planning to conquer the Jin Kingdom in the north. Would Song Qingshu be a hindrance when the time came?
Moqi Zhuo looked like she had eaten sh * t. How was she supposed to answer such a question? Was she supposed to say that Zhao Gou should call him uncle? If that happened, not just Zhao Gou, but even the officials would drown him in their saliva.
Fortunately, he reacted quickly enough. He immediately said, "Hmph, who knows if it's true or not. You want us to believe you with a lie? Lord Tang Kuo Bian is second only to the Emperor of the Jin Kingdom. Why would he call a Jianghu person like you his brother? " Because he was a peacemaker, he had to maintain a good relationship with the Jin Kingdom. When he mentioned Tang Kuo Bian, the number one person in the Jin Kingdom, his tone was respectful.
"I knew you wouldn't admit it." Song Qingshu took out a jade seal and showed it to everyone. "Look carefully. This is Tang Kuo Bian's personal seal. He gave it to me as a gift to become my sworn brother."
Moqi Zhuo sneered and said, "You just randomly took out a seal and said it was Tang Kuo Bian's seal?" At the same time, she was shocked. She wondered if Song Qingshu had really become sworn brothers with Tang Kuo Bian. However, there was no turning back now. Even if it was true, she could only deny it.
"After Tang Kuo Bian was appointed as the Minister and Marshal, he sent a letter of credence to your kingdom. You should have his seal here. Why don't you compare it?" Song Qingshu said slowly. He was not in a hurry.
Zhao Gou signaled with his eyes, and a eunuch went to retrieve the letter of credence.
Seeing Song Qingshu's confidence, Moqi Zhuo felt a little weak. She hurriedly said, "Even if this is Tang Kuo Bian's seal, it doesn't mean anything. After all, everyone in the Jianghu knows that the Golden Snake King's martial arts are unparalleled. If he wanted to steal a seal, it wouldn't be difficult. Moreover, Tang Kuo Bian was a powerful person. His personal seal was very important.
How could he just casually give it away? "Although they knew that Moqi Zhuo was quibbling, everyone present felt that his words made sense. After all, the seal was a very important thing. It was a symbol of power. Which one of them didn't protect their seal very carefully? Why would they give it away?
Song Qingshu was not angry at all. He calmly said, "The princesses of your kingdom also know that I have become sworn brothers with Tang Kuo Bian. For example, Princess Maode, Princess Chengde, Princess Shunde, Princess Roufu … You can ask any one of them to prove it."
All of the civil and military officials in the court were speechless. Everyone knew that these Empress Concubines were previously in the Jin Kingdom's laundry yard and were only saved by Song Qingshu's help. Since he dared to say this, it clearly couldn't be wrong.
After all, what happened in the Laundry Brothel wasn't something to be proud of. Moqi Zhuo wasn't stupid enough to ask the princesses for proof and reopen their scars. If that happened, he wouldn't be able to bear the anger of those women in the harem.
"Your Majesty, we have finished comparing it with the document on file. It is indeed Tang Kuo Bian's personal seal." By this time, the eunuch who had gone to fetch the document had returned. A few officials who were good at appraising had finished comparing the document and gave Moqi Zhuo another stab.
Song Qingshu looked at Moqi Zhuo with a faint smile and asked, "Lord Moqi, do you still have any doubts now?"
Moqi Zhuo almost fainted from anger. She could only say hatefully, "So what? You are a Han, yet you call yourself a brother of the Jin. You even came to our Han kingdom to show off your strength. You have truly forgotten your ancestors. You deserve to be punished!"
Song Qingshu had to admit that she was an expert at manipulating people's emotions. His words quickly aroused the hatred of the officials in the palace. After all, the Jin Kingdom and the Southern Song Dynasty had a blood feud. Many of them looked at him with disdain.
However, he had already expected that revealing Tang Kuo Bian's identity would have such an effect. He continued calmly, "You are wrong. Song Mou has never forgotten that he is a Han. Otherwise, he wouldn't have taken such a huge risk to rescue your princess from the Jin Kingdom. For this matter, Immortal Zhang of Wudang personally paid a visit and even sent a few of his disciples to assist me. Even he praised me. What right does Lord Moqi have to say that I have forgotten my ancestors? Could it be that Lord Moqi thinks that you have better foresight than Immortal Zhang? "
Moqi Cheng was momentarily at a loss for words. One must know that Zhang SanFeng's reputation among the people was so high that he was like an immortal. Moreover, the Kingdom of Song had always revered Taoism. Several of the previous emperors had conferred various honorific titles on Zhang SanFeng, such as "Enlightened Enlightened Immortal", "Concealed Light and Ambition True Immortal", "Pure Emptiness and Yuan Miao Immortal", and so on. If she dared to question Zhang SanFeng, wouldn't she be disrespecting the previous emperors?
"As for becoming sworn brothers with Tang Kuo Bian, you don't need to read too much into it, Lord Moqi." Song Qingshu sneered and said, "Unlike Lord Moqi, who is hated by everyone, Song Mou has always been very popular. Not only is he Tang Kuo Bian's sworn brother, but he also has a good relationship with the Ruyang Mansion of Mongolia. He also has a good relationship with Songgotu and Prince Kang of the Qing Kingdom. He also has a good relationship with the First Class Hall of Xixia, the Grand Master of Tubo, and the Duan Family of Dali. Of course, there are many of my friends in the Kingdom of Song, such as the princesses, Minister Han, and Jia Shumi … Of course, Lord Moqi is an exception."
Jia Shidao was stunned. He thought, What kind of friendship could I possibly have with you? But then he remembered that he had spoken up for Song Qingshu before, and he was afraid that Song Qingshu was returning the favor, so he smiled and acquiesced.
Hearing Song Qingshu's description of his connections, all the officials in the court were shocked. Even Zhao Gou looked at him in surprise, thinking that even if Song Qingshu was an ordinary citizen, he wouldn't dare to offend him, let alone the fact that Song Qingshu was an overlord with 200,000 troops.
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