Pucha Ahute had previously served as the commander of the Jin Kingdom's front line, so his martial arts were naturally not weak. His final struggle was frightening, and many of the palace guards didn't even have time to react before he reached the Emperor.
Song Qingshu frowned. With his martial arts, dealing with Pucha Ahute wasn't difficult, but with so many people watching, he couldn't reveal his martial arts. After all, Wanyan Xue wasn't an expert in martial arts. However, he didn't panic, knowing that someone would step in to help.
As expected, Pucha Ahute grinned maliciously at the sight of the Emperor, but before he could rejoice, a white-robed old man appeared in front of him.
"Ouyang Feng!" Pucha Ahute immediately recognized him. This number one expert under Tang Kuo Bian was naturally one of his main targets of study. He had also heard of Western Poison's reputation in the jianghu, but he had always been famous for his martial arts and didn't think much of these jianghu heroes.
"If you're really that powerful, why would you need to lick blood on the edge of a blade? You're already a valiant general whose name shakes the country. " Pucha Ahute sneered inwardly. Instead of advancing or retreating, he sped up his sword and stabbed at Ouyang Feng. In his mind, it wouldn't be difficult for him to force Ouyang Feng back with his superior might. As long as he could force Ouyang Feng back, wouldn't it be easy to subdue the fake Emperor who wasn't skilled in martial arts?
Unexpectedly, Ouyang Feng's face was expressionless. He raised his hands and, like two soft snakes, pierced through Pucha Ahute's defenses from an unbelievable angle and grabbed at his chest.
Pucha Ahute's strength instantly drained away and his sword drooped lifelessly. In that moment, his mind was filled with shock. "How can his hands be longer than my sword?"
Song Qingshu glanced at him, as if reading his doubts. The Spirit Snake Fist was a trump card that Ouyang Feng had spent decades researching to deal with the other Five Uniques. Even the Five Uniques would be caught unprepared when facing it for the first time, much less a mere Pucha Ahute.
By this time, the palace guards had reacted, and several swords were pressed against Pucha Ahute's neck.
Seeing that the situation was settled, Song Qingshu said: "Pucha and Ahhu are guilty of treachery and have been thrown into prison. Tang Kuo Bian is ordered to investigate the rest of the gang."
He paused for a moment and looked at the soldiers around him. "As for the soldiers here, most of them were threatened by him. As long as you put down your weapons, I will let bygones be bygones." Pucha and Ahu had brought thousands of elite soldiers this time. Although their morale was low, if they were forced into a corner, they might do something desperate. Song QingShu did not want to have another internal strife at this critical juncture and lose their strength.
These soldiers had already lost their morale and had long wanted to surrender. However, they were worried that they would be implicated, so they held their weapons in order to feel more at ease. Hearing the Emperor's words, how could they still hesitate? They threw away their weapons and knelt on the ground, "Long live the Emperor!"
Only Pucha and Ah Hute's hundreds of bodyguards were left standing there, looking at each other in dismay. If their commander was still here, they might have fought to the death with him. But now that Ah Hute had been captured alive, what meaning was there for them to resist?
After hesitating for a long time, the group of soldiers finally put down their weapons. Qiu Qianren waved his hand, and the imperial guards went over to restrain these people. However, they had already lost all hope and were at Song Qingshu's mercy.
Very soon, Pucha and Ah Hute were thrown into prison, and the bodyguards under his command were also detained. Song Qingshu began to reward them according to their contributions. The first to be rewarded was naturally 'Tang Kuo Bian', followed by Ouyang Feng, Qiu Qianren, and the imperial guards under their command. Wanyan Ping and the secret agents of the Laundry Yard were also rewarded. Even the elders that Pucha and Ah Hute had found were rewarded. After all, to a certain extent, they had proven that Song Qingshu's identity was beyond doubt.
Next, Qiu Qianren led the troops to raid Pucha's family. After all, the family head had committed the crime of treason, how could their family escape punishment?
"I had wanted to use this opportunity of the Southern Song Dynasty's northern expedition to purge the Jin forces and replace the army with my own. Now that Pucha and Ah Hute have rebelled, it has saved me a lot of trouble." After settling the matters outside, Song Qingshu, Ge Bi, Wanyan Ping, and Taj-kis returned to his bedroom, deep in thought.
However, when he thought of Pucha and Qiu Cao, Song Qingshu could not help but frown. If they were involved in a case of treason, she would definitely be implicated. Although the two of them did not have any feelings for each other, they had a night of intimacy after all.
As if sensing his worry, Taj-kis smiled and said, "Don't worry, I will secretly ask someone to protect Pucha and Qiu Cao."
Ge Bi and Wanyan Ping looked at him strangely. Ge Bi was one thing, but Wanyan Ping could not hide her thoughts, "Brother-in-law, when did you and Qiu Cao have an affair?"
Song Qingshu's face darkened, "What do you mean by having an affair? It's just that we were comrades when we went to besiege Chongyang Palace together. Moreover, Pucha and Ah Hute are loyal subjects of the Jin Kingdom. It was only because of me that my family was thrown into the abyss of treason. I naturally feel somewhat guilty. "
"That's right, Ah Hute is still loyal to the royal family," Ge Bi nodded, "So I will do my best to protect them."
"Since you all agree to protect them, then so be it," Wanyan Ping curled her lips, "Oh right, the King of Zhao has an engagement with Pucha's family. I wonder if they are involved in this matter?"
At her reminder, Song Qingshu remembered that the King of Zhao and Pucha's family had been betrothed before they were born. It was a pity that Wanyan Xi had decreed that Yang Guo and Pucha Qiu Cao would be engaged. It was a pity that Wanyan Xi had decreed the marriage and Yang Guo had fled, causing the wedding to not take place.
"I wonder where Yang Guo is now." Song Qingshu sighed inwardly. He would never let go of Xiao Long Nu, but his fiancée Pucha Qiu Cao had accidentally gotten involved with him. What a mess.
"It doesn't matter if the King of Zhao's faction is involved or not. Now that the Southern Song Dynasty is about to invade, it is not advisable to expand their influence. Of course, it is necessary to beat them up in secret," Ge Bi said.
Following that, they began discussing how to clean up the Pucha's officials. After a while, someone from the Laundry Brothel suddenly rushed in to report.
"What is it that makes you so flustered? Can't you wait for me to return?" Wanyan Ping glared at her subordinate in dissatisfaction at the interruption of her conversation with her brother-in-law.
The man braced himself and said: "There is urgent news. It is a matter of great importance. This subordinate does not dare to delay."
"What news? Speak," Wanyan Ping said lightly.
The secret agent looked awkwardly at Ge Bi and Taj-kis. One must know that the Laundry Brothel was a secret intelligence agency of the Jin Kingdom. It only answered to the Emperor. Now that there were outsiders present, he was worried that the news would be leaked.
Song Qingshu looked at his expression and knew what he was worried about. He said: "No matter, we are all on the same side here. Speak."
"Yes, Your Majesty," the secret agent replied. "We have just received a secret report from the Liao branch. The Southern Song Dynasty's envoy is about to arrive at Shangjing."
Now that Liao's territory was being forced to shrink by the Jin and Qing Kingdoms, it only had territory in Shanxi and Inner Mongolia. Naturally, Shangjing was not the capital of the Khitan Kingdom in his previous life. Instead, the Liao nobles renamed Taiyuan as Shangjing to commemorate their former glory.
"Isn't this to be expected? Why are you making such a fuss?" Wanyan Ping said with dissatisfaction.
Song Qingshu also felt that the secret agent was a little impatient. However, the secret agent's next piece of news shocked everyone. "There is news from Liao. It is said that Liao has formed an alliance with Western Xia."
Song Qingshu, Ge Bi, and the others looked at each other and saw the seriousness in each other's eyes. In the early years, Western Xia was a vassal of Liao. However, there were occasional battles between them and Liao. When Liao was at its peak, its army of hundreds of thousands was defeated by Western Xia by relying on the right timing (sandstorms), geographical advantage (the Gobi Desert), and the unity of its people. Liao suffered heavy losses and their relationship was not good. Later on, when the Jin Kingdom rose, Western Xia immediately changed sides and became the Jin's most loyal ally. Now that they heard that Western Xia and Liao had formed an alliance, how could they not be shocked?
The Southern Song Dynasty's northern expedition was imminent. The Jin Kingdom was already struggling to deal with the Southern Song Dynasty, the Red Coat Army, the Mongolians, and Liao. If Western Xia were to attack from the west, the Jin Kingdom would be surrounded by enemies from all sides.
"Western Xia has always been on good terms with our country. Do you have any proof that they have formed an alliance with Liao?" Ge Bi couldn't help but ask.
"According to reliable information, Liao is preparing to marry a princess to the Crown Prince of Western Xia. They will set off in a few days. Once the marriage is completed, the strongest alliance will be formed." The secret agent replied.
"Only a princess? That's not the worst case. " Taj-tish couldn't help but say. She had been by Changsheng King's side before and naturally knew some of the rules of the imperial family. Although the title of a princess was a big deal to ordinary people in Jianghu, there were thousands of members of the imperial family. It was rare to find a princess like Zhao Min, whose father was one of the Mongolian tycoons and held great power.
Now that the Western Xia had chosen a princess instead of a princess, it proved that there was still room for change.
The secret agent had been in the Washing Clothes Yard for many years and was astute in his work. He could easily guess her thoughts. He couldn't help but smile bitterly. "But this princess is not an ordinary princess. Not only is she unparalleled in beauty, but more importantly, she is the daughter of the current King of Wei and the Privy Secretary of the Northern Courtyard, Yelu Yixin!"
Xiao Feng's title as the King of the Southern Courtyard was different from ordinary people's impression. Although the title of King of the Southern Courtyard sounded great, he might not even be in the top five of Liao in terms of official position and power. The highest authority of the Liao Kingdom was the North Privy Council, followed by the South Privy Council, the North Prime Minister's Mansion, the South Prime Minister's Mansion, and then the North and South King's Mansions. Liao Kingdom had always been more powerful in the north than in the south. The King of the North Yard was even more powerful than the King of the South Yard.
Of course, because of Xiao Feng's ability and the fact that it was a time of great battles, Xiao Feng's position was much higher than the previous Kings of the Southern Courtyard.
However, the first person in the imperial court was the Privy Secretary of the Northern Courtyard, Yelu Renxian, who was highly respected.
The Great Yue of Liao was similar to the Grand Preceptor of the Southern Dynasty. He was the head of all the officials and had the same status as the emperor. In the 210 years of Liao, only three people were awarded the title of Great Yue: Yelu Horu who helped Taizu build the country, Yelu Wuzhi who prevented the civil war of Liao after Taizong's death, and the last one was Yelu Renxian.
But now he was old. In addition, there were many rebellions in the northwest of Liao, so he had to lead the army to guard the northwest. As a result, the first person in the imperial court was the Privy Secretary of the Northern Courtyard, Yelu Yixin. His daughter, as a candidate for marriage, was no less important than the Princess!
"Princess Cheng 'an, why does this name sound familiar?" Song Qingshu was puzzled.
The secret agent replied, "Your Majesty, Princess Cheng 'an's maiden name is Nan Xian."
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