The first ten days of autumn were yellow.
After the second year of Xiangfu entered autumn, a shocking piece of news quickly spread throughout the Yangtze River. It was rumored that West Chu's Jiang Si was about to ascend the throne. This meant that this princess, who had been exiled for many years, would become the second female emperor after Beimang's Murong Empress. She would also be the first female emperor in the history of the Central Plains.
In response to this, almost all of the West Chu civil and military officials, other than Xu Yunxia, who guarded the Jiangbei stronghold, and Pei Sui, who was in charge of confronting Wu Zhongxuan's army in the south, including Cao Changqing and Xie Xibian, all of the West Chu civil and military officials gathered in the capital.
In comparison, the Liyang imperial court's edict to confer Wu Zhongxuan the title of Southern Conquering General and at the same time promoting General Heng Jiang Song Li to General Zhennan, one of the Deputy Jiedushi of Guangling Path, and returning to Guangling Path to assist the Guangling King Zhao Yi in leading the army, seemed much more lackluster. As for the two young officials who secretly followed Song Li and temporarily held the position of Guanzhang of the Ministry of Works, in this changing situation, they became more and more inconspicuous. In just two short years, Yuan Guo, who had been the Minister of Rites and Revenue, was the favorite student of the old Zhang Lu, who was jokingly called the Fire Relieving Minister. He was not like his colleague Han Lin, who the young Emperor had placed high hopes on and was not like Wang Xionggui, who had been demoted to the war-torn Guangling Path as expected by the Great An officialdom. He was not like Wang Xionggui, who had been demoted to the war-torn Guangling Path as a Deputy Jiedushi. Instead, he used the nondescript transitional identity of an Imperial Decree Minister. After meeting Lu Shengxiang, he split up with Song Li and the others. Yuan Guo went to see Wu Zhongxuan, while Song Li led the two minor seventh-level officials from the Ministry of Works to the manor of the vassal state Zhao Yi was in.
As Yuan Guo, the Son of Heaven's envoy, came closer, the atmosphere on the western front of Guangling, which was at a disadvantage in the battle situation, seemed to be unusual. Logically speaking, as the target of the conferment, Wu Zhongxuan should have been the most active. Not to mention bringing a few Nanjiang generals out of the city to welcome him, at the very least, he should have prepared a welcoming feast for Yuan Guo. Not to mention whether or not Yuan Guo had a chance to make a comeback and return to the center of power, even with the reputation Yuan Guo had accumulated in the Great An officialdom over the years, Wu Zhongxuan, who was about to formally step into the Liyang officialdom, could not be neglected. In the end, it was King of Jing An, Zhao Xun, who led the Qingzhou Navy General Wei Dong to welcome Yuan Guo. Wu Zhongxuan only attended a banquet held on a ship. Tang He and Li Chunyu, the two direct generals, did not appear. There was only an unfamiliar young man with the surname Jiang beside them. Before the banquet began, Yuan Guo expressionlessly announced the edict. The old general Wu Zhongxuan, who was wearing armor that did not suit the occasion, also expressionlessly received the edict. Among the large group of civil and military officials who had taken off their official robes, the clanging of armor on Wu Zhongxuan's body as he knelt and stood was particularly ear-piercing. This caused the table of delicacies and fine wine in the banquet that followed to taste like wax. It was extremely bland, and there was no joy to speak of.
In the night, on the surface of the river some distance away from the Yellow Dragon ship, a Qingzhou warship that was responsible for patrolling the river tonight was motionless. Looking from here, one could only see the lanterns and colored banners on the ship and blurry figures. A young man in casual clothing was lying quietly on the railing with a cold smile on his lips.
To the left of the young man stood Wang Xianzhi's second disciple, Gong Banque, third disciple, Lin Ya, and a tall woman with a hat on her head. The four people to the right were all in the prime of their lives. Without exception, they were all filled with a murderous aura. They were the Nanjiang infantry generals Zhang Dingyuan and Gu Ying, the Yuanzhou general Ye Xiufeng, and the Hezhou general Liang Yue. All of the generals that the King of Yan Chi Zhao Bing could rely on were present.
Among them, Wang Tongshan had once been the strongest general under the King of Yan Chi's command. But many years ago, he had entered the northern border of Nanjiang. This time, Wu Zhongxuan had been "recruited" by the court. Wang Tongshan, who was supposed to keep Wu Zhongxuan in check, showed signs of wanting to make a move.
Zhao Zhu did not raise his head. He said with a slight smile, "Sister Lin, that person is Jiang Fuding of your Martial Emperor City?"
The fist grandmaster Lin Ya had a complicated expression as he nodded.
Zhao Zhu rubbed his chin. "I'm puzzled. How did this person help Wu Zhongxuan get in touch with Great Peace City? This matchmaker is not something that any normal person can be."
Lin Ya wanted to speak but stopped.
Zhao Zhu turned to look at the female martial grandmaster who had made a comment. He said with a smile, "Sister Lin, do not worry. Even if Wu Zhongxuan does not have Jiang Fuding as a matchmaker, he will still make eye contact with Great Peace City. It is just a matter of time. Even if I don't look at the monk, I will still look at the Buddha. I will not compete with the Jiang person. Haha, to be honest, this time, our Old General Wu really can't bring himself to be happy. Didn't we agree on being conferred the title of Marquis and General? He did become the Southern Expedition Grand General, but he wasn't conferred the title of Marquis. Don't even mention being conferred the title of the first King of a dynasty with a different surname during the Auspicious Talisman Era. How is this different from being the number one Great General in our southern border? One hundred thousand elite soldiers of Nanjiang, just to get a general of one of the Four Conquerors, it is a great loss. His Majesty the Emperor is not very generous in his actions this time. "
The tall female of mysterious identity said coldly, "It is not that the court is unwilling to make Wu Zhongxuan a marquis. The reason that they did not keep their promise is that the Guangling Road War is not going well. If they start to make generals now, when the dust settles, what will they be rewarded? I believe that Yuan Daren from Jing will meet with Wu Zhongxuan in private and make things clear. "
Zhao Zhu made a sound of acknowledgement. "Those who are not in charge do not know the cost of daily necessities. Maybe if it was me sitting on the Dragon Throne, I would do the same. I would first trick Wu Zhongxuan onto the pirate ship before anything else. "
Zhang Dingyuan reminded softly, "His Royal Highness, Tang He and Li Chunyu are coming over on a small boat."
Zhao Zhu joked, "Fortunately, Wang Tongshan isn't here for the time being. Otherwise, we would have been destroyed."
Gu Ying, who was as beautiful as a woman, said in a gloomy voice, "Let's not talk about that crazy Wang Tongshan. How dare Tang He and Li Chunyu come to see His Highness? Do they really think we don't dare to kill these two ingrates? "
Zhao Zhu shook his head and said, "I really don't dare. I'm already an official of the imperial court. Besides, if we really kill someone, we'll only be letting that person from Western Shu reap the benefits. I'm not willing to do a business that hurts those close to me and benefits the enemy."
A small boat didn't get too close to the battleship filled with experts. After stopping, Tang He and Li Chunyu bowed deeply, and the boat turned around and left.
The fierce general of Nanjiang, Liang Yue, snorted coldly, his five fingers gripping the railing of the boat.
Zhao Zhu said indifferently, "A woman leaves her home when she is of age. Let them be."
The atmosphere was heavy. Only the sound of the river could be heard.
Water flows downwards, people walk upwards.
Zhao Zhu suddenly turned his head and asked, "Miss Zhang, that Yuan Guo is your father's student. If you want to meet him, I can help arrange it."
The tall female said indifferently, "No need."
Zhao Zhu unconsciously reached out to touch the old money pouch at his waist. He smiled and sighed, "Even if you have a knife, you can't kill a heartless dog."
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