The capital city of Western Shu, the palace city, and the Chengqing Hall.
After two rounds of singing and dancing, and a round of drinking, all the officials, lords, and relatives of the emperor who came to the banquet were already there. The pretty maids passed by carrying delicious dishes, and the high dragon chairs were still empty.
The Emperor of Shu has not yet arrived.
The sound of silk and bamboo was so beautiful that everyone shook their heads and closed their eyes to feel it carefully.
In the land of Western Shu, peace will last for a long time, the world will be at peace, and the people will live and work in peace and contentment.
A banquet like this is held every half month.
However, today's banquet was very different from usual. The officials sitting behind the columns in the palace were whispering and discussing something in a low voice:
"What is the Zhou envoy doing here at this time?"
"How did I know? I didn't reveal anything about it beforehand. I heard that it came suddenly a few days ago."
"The ride is still a nine-striped chariot, pulled by eight unicorn horses, across the sky, traveling thousands of miles in a day."
"You're here in such a hurry, has something big happened?"
"Who knows..."
"I have heard some gossip." A young official came forward to share his gossip. He lowered his voice and said: "The new emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty has only been on the throne for half a year. He has reorganized the palace internally and dismissed the strict ministers externally. His tactics are very...
With such toughness, the Zhou Dynasty took on a new look, fearing that it might have the ambition to unify the Nine Provinces."
"ah?"
Everyone was a little surprised when they heard this.
After being surprised, they looked at the dozens of people from the Zhou Dynasty envoy who were sitting quietly in the guest seats, closing their eyes and recuperating.
There were two people at the head, one of them was lean and dark-skinned, and his face had a scar that went deep into his bones.
This person is the commander of the Imperial Army of the Great Zhou Dynasty, Wei Wushuang!
Born as a big-headed soldier, he was a confidant of the Little Emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
This person is strict in running the army and is invincible in bravery, but his shortcomings are also obvious. He is greedy for money, has no strategy, and is prone to acting on impulse.
The other person is slightly thin, over a year old, wearing a Confucian shirt and a Confucian crown. He is Lu Ximing, a bachelor of the Wenyuan Pavilion of the Great Zhou Dynasty, known as the "blood Confucian".
He is tough and tough, not like a scholar at all.
"With both civil and military skills, it seems that Zhou Dynasty is well prepared." The young official touched the fluffy beard on his chin, shook his head and sighed.
"Why hasn't Your Majesty arrived yet? You should have arrived by this hour normally?"
Someone left the table, stood up and stuck his head out from behind the column, looking towards the dragon chair.
The Emperor of Shu likes to drink, loves silk and bamboo, and is a real feaster.
At every banquet, he sat down from the beginning. Although he was very old, he had never seen Emperor Shu leave early, and it was common for him to stay up all night.
Why are you late this time? It's been over an hour.
"You don't understand this, don't you? This is called showing off one's power." An old man stroked his long beard under his chin to explain.
"The Zhou Dynasty envoy arrived in Beijing in time for the New Year. They must have had nothing to hold back."
"Your Majesty's move is to dry out these envoys of the Zhou Dynasty and temper their tempers."
"Although we in Western Shu are small and don't have much say in the Nine Kingdoms, we can't be manipulated by others."
"Master Xu's words are reasonable, and we have learned from him."
On the other side, the guests of the Zhou Envoy were seated.
Wei Wushuang and Lu Ximing both closed their eyes and rested their minds. The sound of silk and bamboo did not affect them at all, and the two of them only felt that it was very noisy.
At a certain moment, Wei Wudou, who was just in his weak years, opened his eyelids through a small slit and glanced at the people in the hall, with a trace of contempt flashing in his eyes. Suddenly he heard the great scholar next to him speaking, his voice hoarse, saying: "In a moment,
You represent me in negotiating with Nanshu."
Wei Wushuang staggered, the muscles on his face twitched a bit, he turned his head to look at the old man next to him, and said: "This time, sir, you are the official envoy of the mission. Before leaving the capital, your majesty also specifically told Wei that you should listen to sir in everything."
Sent, what..."
Wei Wushuang was just a little strange. He was a martial artist and didn't know a single Chinese character.
It is strange enough that he is included in the list of the mission this time. Usually, the missions are composed of civilian officials, and there is no precedent for military attachés.
What's more, he also serves as the deputy envoy of this mission.
Now, Wei Wushuang seriously suspected that His Majesty sent him here just to show off his power.
Lu Ximing's face had many wrinkles, almost covering his eyes.
He snorted softly, glanced at Wei Wushuang, and said: "Just do what you are told. Do it according to your usual temperament. Don't worry about anything. It's best to be less disciplined and show your warrior temper."
Wei Wushuang raised his eyebrows and glanced at the old guy next to him suspiciously:
"Is this what you said, sir? If I cause any trouble because of this, your Majesty will punish me when I get back. Sir, you have to beg for mercy for me..."
Lu Ximing sighed and nodded helplessly: "This is exactly your Majesty's will!"
After hearing this, Wei Wushuang's eyes shone brightly, and he looked at a group of wine bags and rice bags in Xishu, gearing up, as if he saw a group of lambs waiting to be slaughtered.
————
"Your Majesty is here!"
As the rich drake voice spread throughout the hall, all the officials stood up hurriedly, then walked to the aisle in the center of the hall, lifted up their front skirts, knelt down, and shouted:
"Long live your Majesty! Long live! Long live your Majesty!"
The Emperor of Shu holds one hand in front and the other behind his back. He wears a crown high and has pearls and jade in front of him.
He slowly walked out of the side hall, but before he reached the dragon chair, he paused and caught a glimpse of something that made him unhappy.
I saw that hundreds of officials from Western Shu knelt down to greet them, but everyone in the Zhou Dynasty envoy just stood in unison without kneeling down. Most of them just held their hands in greeting, and their knees were very stiff.
The old eunuch had served Emperor Shu for decades, and he knew what he should and should not do with just one look from Emperor Shu.
The old eunuch held the fly whisk in his hand, put it on his arm, walked a few steps quickly, came to the front of the Dazhou envoy, and reminded in a sharp voice:
"Your Majesty has arrived. Even though all of you distinguished guests have come from afar, you still need to kneel down..." After saying this, he did not forget to glance at the Zhou envoys.
All the officials turned their heads and looked at the bustling place. Wei Wushuang took a step forward and rudely pushed the old eunuch in front of him away. His voice was like a bell: "Wei is a warrior. He kneels to heaven and earth, to his parents and to the king. He never kneels."
A precedent for others!”
The old eunuch was a little angry. He glared and said in a sharp voice: "Your Majesty, I am the emperor and the king! How can I not kneel down!"
Wei Wushuang remained calm, straightened his chest, and asked fiercely: "I wonder if this father-in-law has heard of this sentence."
"Um?"
"Loyalty to the Emperor and Patriotism. Wei is a warrior and has long engraved the four words "loyalty to the Emperor and patriotism" in his heart. Although His Majesty is the emperor and the king, he is not the king of Wei. If Wei kneels down, wouldn't he be sorry for my Majesty?
Your Majesty will not force Wei to kneel..."
As soon as these words came out, the huge palace fell silent.
The old eunuch was trembling with anger: "How presumptuous!"
Wei Wushuang was not afraid at all: "You are so presumptuous! Your Majesty has not spoken yet, but you are a rootless thing roaring here. Have you ever taken His Majesty seriously?"
The old eunuch was poked in the painful area, staggered, and almost lost his balance: "You are spitting blood!"
Wei Wushuang snorted coldly and raised his eyebrows coldly: "What a joke that I am slandering others? I am an envoy of the Great Zhou Dynasty. I have traveled thousands of miles to come here. I am a guest. How can I be late for an hour to my host's house? What's the reason?
Now you are just a eunuch, but you are shouting in front of Wei, what's the point?"
"Since your court did not treat Wei as a guest, it is reasonable for Wei to not comply with this courtesy, and others can't tell the difference..."
All the officials were dumbfounded.
What's going on?
Didn't it mean that Wei Wushuang was just a martial artist with a weak brain?
Why is it that these words are so perfect, but they are my own?
All the officials raised their eyes to look at the Shu Emperor who was waiting for the Zhou envoy to kneel down.
Emperor Shu's face turned pale with anger, but in the end he reluctantly waved his sleeves, suppressed his anger, and said something formal: "Forget it, there is no need to bow to the guests at today's banquet, please get up..."
The old eunuch went back angrily, but when he went back, he did not forget to give Wei Wushuang a vicious look.
Emperor Shu sat down and said:
"We are hosting a banquet today. As the new year is approaching, we, Western Shu, will have another year of peace and prosperity. The people will live and work in peace and contentment. This is inseparable from the efforts of all the officials to perform their duties..."
The courtiers nodded and flattery spread.
I wish I could hold the Emperor of Shu so high that the three emperors are more powerful than the five emperors.
The Emperor of Shu was very pleased with him. He accepted all comers without rejecting them, and the emperor and his ministers raised their glasses to celebrate.
Wei Wushuang and Lu Ximing looked at each other at the same time and clinked their wine glasses. The meaning was self-evident.
"Secondly, the envoys of the Great Zhou Dynasty have come from thousands of miles away. We should fulfill the friendship of the landlord and entertain the distinguished guests who have come from afar. We hereby have a banquet in the palace..."
The envoys of the Great Zhou Dynasty raised their glasses, which meant thanking Emperor Shu for the reception.
After a few words, the atmosphere in the palace quickly became lively.
As for the incident that Wei Wushuang made earlier, everyone quickly forgot about it.
After three rounds of drinking, everyone was a little drunk. Even Wei Wushuang and Lu Ximing drank a lot of wine. Wei Wushuang raised his glass and smacked his lips and said: "The wine in Xishu is different from the wine in Dazhou..."
Lu Ximing raised his eyes: "What's the difference?"
Wei Wushuang took another sip, closed his eyes and savored it carefully: "The taste is long and the aftertaste is endless..."
"like?"
"It's okay. Let's go back and take a few cars back and let the brothers have a taste." Wei Wushuang said again: "By the way, sir, this time we are traveling day and night as an envoy to Xishu. What are we going to do?"
Lu Ximing took a bite of the food, put down his chopsticks, and said casually: "Just wait, it will start soon."
"Sigh - I just don't like working with scholars like you. Your words are confusing and confusing."
Lu Ximing didn't speak, just smiled.
"My dear brother, see you, your majesty. May your majesty be blessed!" Not long after, a young man in gorgeous clothes walked into the hall in a hurry, bringing in a lot of wind and snow outside.
The official who was sitting close to the door inevitably shuddered and rubbed his arms vigorously.
"Get up quickly and take a seat."
With a smile on his face, Emperor Shu looked at Prince Jing and joked: "Our Prince Jing is a rare visitor. He usually doesn't like to come to banquets. I didn't expect the sun to come out in the west today..."
The ministers laughed, stood up and bowed to Prince Jing, showing the courtesy.
Regardless of anything else, Prince Jing is the only younger brother of Emperor Shu.
The Emperor of Shu has no heirs so far, but in the future Prince Jing will be crowned the great treasure.
"Everyone, get up, it's time to eat, it's time to drink..."
Prince Jing had a smile on his face and waved his hands casually. However, when he passed by the Zhou envoy, he took a second look out of curiosity, but did not say anything. This chapter has been completed!