The farce in the auction house was finally over. Du Wei tried to figure out Prince Chen's intentions, but he didn't have a clue.
The most important thing is that it's been the second day since I returned to the imperial capital, but I haven't seen Prince Chen.
According to the rules of the Roland Empire, when a "foreign minister" like Du Wei returns to the imperial capital, he cannot just meet the emperor on demand. He has to go through formalities and submit official documents, and then wait for the summons of Prince Chen. He cannot just go to the palace casually.
Knock on the door and go in. You can see him if you want. Although Prince Chen has not officially ascended the throne as emperor, he is no different from the emperor now.
Of course, favored and popular figures like Du Wei are often not so complicated. As long as they send someone to the palace to deliver the news, they can be summoned immediately. But this time when Du Wei came back, he had already sent someone to the palace.
But there was no order from the palace to summon him.
The meaning here is worth savoring...Prince Chen seems to be putting off not wanting to see him right away?
Thinking about today's auction, he was treated as a trick by His Highness, and Du Wei felt a little unhappy. He wished he could see His Highness face to face immediately and questioned him. He thought that he didn't summon him before just to give him some trouble regarding the auction.
I guess I was caught off guard.
The auction ended and many guests dispersed. Du Wei had no time to feel heartbroken about the sixteen million gold coins. The first thing he did was to send people to the palace to inquire about the news and ask when the Regent summoned him.
.
I've spent money and done what you asked me to do. If you still don't see me, it would be too much! After all, I was called back to the imperial capital by you! It's a bit too unkind to leave me alone like this.
Before I could finish thinking about it, Zach had already come to report something: someone was coming from the temple.
Du Wei frowned when he heard this: "Why did the temple send people here? Isn't this a headache enough? What tricks do they want to play?"
Zach then explained that it turned out that the temple sent people here this time not for other reasons, but simply to ask for money.
After all, it was Du Wei who "bought" the Pope's decree, so the full amount of 16 million gold coins should be paid to the temple.
Du Wei's face was even more unhappy: "The auction was only completed at noon. Are you here to ask for money in the afternoon? How can it be so fast!" After saying that, he pondered for a while and said: "Go and tell the people in the temple, no matter who owns it, even if it's no longer
If I have money, more than 10 million gold coins, I won't just pile them up in the warehouse. It will take me a few days to collect them before I can send them to the temple together! Let them give me a few days to collect the cash, and then I will
Then send someone to deliver it in person."
Zach went down to reply to the people in the temple, and after a while he came back to tell Du Wei that the people in the temple had agreed to leave. Before leaving, he said that Du Wei would have three days to raise money. He also asked Duke Tulip to think of the south in his heart.
The people affected by the disaster should collect all the money as soon as possible. After all, the money is intended to be used by the Pope for disaster relief.
After hearing this, Du Wei felt even more useless.
If I come back by myself, I just got a flashy triumphal ceremony yesterday. Although the ceremony is very honorable, this kind of face-saving project cannot be exchanged for a single copper plate. And returning the Luo Lin family's house is nothing more than a formality.
He just returned the property that had been confiscated. Although the carrot looked big, he actually didn't gain much. But today, more than 10 million gold coins were stolen in one day... which was almost half of Du Wei's property.
It was a big loss. How could Du Wei not be angry?
After waiting in the shop for a long time, Du Wei sneered in his heart, if Prince Chen didn't summon him and give him an explanation, then he would get angry and he wouldn't be so easy to bully!
He was thinking fiercely in his heart, but finally the people sent to the palace came back in the afternoon, bringing good news: His Royal Highness the Regent sent an order to summon Duke Tulip.
Also coming back was an envoy from the palace, who was very polite to Du Wei. After all, outsiders didn't know about today's auction. They only knew that the young Duke was the number one popular figure at the moment, and he was particularly fond of Du Wei.
Respectfully.
When Du Wei heard the summons from Prince Chen, he immediately raised his eyebrows and stopped being polite to the palace envoy. He then ordered someone to prepare a carriage to go to the palace.
The palace envoy was shocked. He was an old man in the palace and knew the rules well. Logically speaking, even if a minister like Du Wei was favored and received a summons from the palace, especially such a foreign minister returning to the emperor.
When you are called to the palace for the first time to meet the prince, you must go back to bathe and change clothes, put on the full formal attire of the duke, wear the ceremonial staff and medals, and then enter the palace. This is also etiquette.
But this Tulip Duke is good, just wearing such a casual robe, and looking unhappy.
When the palace envoy heard that Du Wei was about to leave, he quickly stopped him and hesitated: "Grand Duke Tulip... It seems that there is no need to be too anxious..."
As soon as he said this, Du Wei stared and thought, why don't you worry? I've lost all 16 million gold coins, how can I not be anxious!
"Well...according to the rules, should you put on your clothes first?" the palace messenger sighed.
Du Wei's eyes widened: "Do you think I'm not wearing any clothes?"
The palace envoy was startled and said quickly: "Of course not, it's just..." He saw Du Wei's impatience, and was about to find words to remind Du Wei of the etiquette issues, but Du Wei already said angrily: "That's it.
Let's go, I am a magician, and rules and the like have nothing to do with me."
After saying that, he went out directly. Seeing that Du Wei was very angry, the palace envoy thought that it was none of his own business, why bother to offend this famous man by talking too much, so he lowered his head and followed him out.
We rode a carriage all the way to the palace. We entered the palace under the order of the regent and were accompanied by the palace envoy. When we entered, the guardsmen recognized the carriage and horses belonging to Duke Tulip's family, so they casually inspected them and made a show of letting them go.
Du Wei went in.
After entering the palace, Du Wei got out of the car, and someone came up to deliver the order, saying that the regent was in the garden of the palace, and asked Duke Tulip to meet him immediately.
The garden of the Roland Empire Palace is a strange scene on the entire continent. For wealthy people, the gardens are naturally decorated with colorful flowers and trees, and there are all kinds of precious flowers, plants and trees. But as the emperor of the Roland Empire, the garden in the palace
The garden seems extremely shabby.
Not for anything else, just because there is only one kind of plant planted in the garden of this magnificent palace:
Thorn flower.
This thorn flower is the totem of the royal family of the Roland Empire, but in fact this flower is not very pretty. As the name suggests, it is naturally thorny, and the thorn flower is a thorn vine-like plant that grows in arid areas. It is full of inverted thorns.
There are only some small white flowers dotted on the thorny thorn branches. It is not really beautiful. The only thing worthy of praise is its tenacious vitality.
Poor Tangtang Palace, in order to comply with the tradition of the "Bramble Flower Family", according to tradition, only such a plant is planted in the palace garden. It is really depressing: a large piece of thorny thorn strips, what's so good about it?
When Du Wei came to the garden, he heard a string of clear and sweet children's laughter in the distance. From a distance, he saw a group of palace warriors wearing golden armor guarding the garden. After the notification, Du Wei
A man walked in.
It was winter at the moment, and there was really nothing to see in the garden. The withered thorns looked decayed. However, in the garden, I saw two children in rich clothes playing and chasing each other. Several children from the palace nearby
The maid watched nervously, fearing that the child would accidentally run into the flowers and be stabbed by thorns.
Du Wei finally saw Prince Chen, the young regent of the empire who had cost him more than 10 million today. He was dressed in a simple and elegant white robe and was looking at two children playing with a smile on his face.
Du Wei looked at Prince Chen's look...
After not seeing each other for a year and a half, Prince Chen seems to have become much more mature and stable. The two met a few days before the coup. Although Prince Chen was also unpredictable at that time, the youthful vigor was still obvious after all.
Unexpectedly, after not seeing each other for less than two years, this young regent already looked restrained and dignified, and he no longer looked like a young man under thirty years old.
Those eyes are still as bright as before, but the vigor inside them has completely turned into a calmness after settling. The only thing that has not changed is the smile on the lips, which is still as warm as before.
Make people feel close to each other.
Seeing Du Wei coming from a distance, Prince Chen smiled slightly and took the initiative to laugh loudly: "Du Wei, you're here. Come and let me see, well, I haven't seen you in the northwest for two years. You seem to have grown taller again."
Too little."
The tone of these words was extremely affectionate, like that of a good brother whom he hadn't seen for two years. He said hello in such an affectionate tone, which made Du Wei unable to express his anger immediately.
Helpless, Du Wei had no choice but to suppress his anger, strode over, then saluted and coughed: "Your Highness."
Prince Chen looked at Du Wei carefully, and suddenly sighed, his tone even gentler: "Du Wei... my friend, after two years of wind and frost in the northwest, you look darker than when you were in the imperial capital.
Some."
Du Wei smiled faintly and said with a pun: "It's always cold in the northwest and the environment is harsh. Of course I have to work harder."
Prince Chen patted Du Wei on the shoulder, and then cast a slightly apologetic look. With Du Wei's current status, I am afraid that in the entire continent, except for the elders of his own family, there is no one who is qualified to pat Du Wei like this.
The only one with a heavy shoulder was the regent.
"Thank you for your hard work... I will remember your sacrifice in my heart." Prince Chen smiled softly, and then without waiting for Du Wei to speak, he pointed at the two children playing and said with a smile: "Come, look.
Look, these are my son and daughter."
Most of the royal family and nobles get married early. It is said that Prince Chen got married at the age of sixteen and became a father at the age of eighteen. Du Wei also knew this. Prince Chen is twenty-six years old this year and already has a son and a daughter. The son is eight years old.
My daughter is six years old. But Du Wei has never seen her before, and I just saw her here today.
The pair of children saw Du Wei standing next to their father. They had lived in the palace for a long time and rarely saw outsiders. His Highness Chen rarely took them to meet noble ministers. Moreover, they saw such a handsome young man like Du Wei standing next to their father.
, both children stared at Du Wei curiously with their big eyes.
However, the boy on the left is a bit older after all, at eight years old. He has already begun to receive etiquette education from the palace. He was slightly startled, and remembered the instructions of the palace etiquette master, but he walked closer for two serious reasons.
He took a few steps, then bowed slightly to Prince Chen. Although his face still had a childlike innocence, it had already changed into a serious look. He called Prince Chen father. Then he turned around and looked at
Du Wei.
"This is Grand Duke Tulip." Prince Chen reminded him, and the eight-year-old prince immediately showed a typical smile trained by a palace etiquette teacher. He bowed to Du Wei, but his childish voice sounded
Trying to look serious: "Hello, His Excellency the Grand Duke of Tulip. I am Charles Augustine."
Du Wei watched the eight-year-old child acting like an adult, sighed inwardly, and bowed slightly: "Hello, Your Highness."
The six-year-old little princess next to her, on the other hand, seemed a little timid. She hid behind the little prince, exposed half of her body, looked at Du Wei, and suddenly spoke in a sweet voice, "
You...are you the magical Duke who built a city in three months?"
The child's speech was a little stammering, and his tone was soft and sweet, which made Du Wei couldn't help but think of the little wife in his own family. Looking at this beautiful little girl who looked like a doll, he couldn't help but reveal his emotions.
With a gentle smile, he laughed softly: "But that's the Duke, not some magical Duke."
But little Prince Charlie frowned, pulled his sister out from behind, then coughed and said: "Karina, have you forgotten your etiquette!"
The little girl stuck out her tongue, but stood up obediently and gave Du Wei a court salute. Although Du Wei didn't like these complicated etiquette, he had to return half a salute in front of the regent.
Prince Chen's children are both extremely beautiful. Little Prince Charlie has inherited half of Prince Chen's looks and is extremely handsome, especially his eyes, which capture the essence of Prince Chen. When we were playing just now
I didn't think that at this moment, he was quiet, and at such a young age, he already showed some royal manners that were strictly trained.
On the other hand, little Karina, probably because she is still young, still has some round baby fat on her face, is pink and cute, has light golden curly hair, and looks more like an elf angel, with a pair of big blue eyes and pure eyes.
It makes people feel a bit of love in their hearts.
"Grand Duke Tulip..." Karina looked at Du Wei timidly. Finally, under Du Wei's gentle smile, she put aside her timidity and tentatively whispered: "I, I heard that the northwest is very fun, you
Can you tell me a story about the northwest? You...you built a city in three months, is it true?"
Du Wei smiled and nodded, squatted down, couldn't help but stretched out his hand to gently scratch Karina's nose, and said with a smile: "It's true, if His Highness is interested, I will wait for you to grow up in the future.
You can go and see it with your own eyes.”
Little Karina's nose was scratched by Du Wei, and her pink face turned a little red. She took a step back and looked at Du Wei with a pair of big eyes, but she was a little disappointed and said: "It's going to happen again.
When I grow up..."
Prince Chen laughed, and then glanced at the attendant next to him: "Take them down, it's getting late, and today's classes should start. Duke Tulip and I still have time to talk."
Then, the attendants on both sides came up and were about to take the prince and princess down. Prince Charlie still followed the etiquette and bowed slightly to the two of them before leaving. But little Karina looked at it curiously.
Looking at Du Wei with a look of reluctance, he was hugged by the palace maid.
After the children left, Du Wei and Prince Chen were the only two people left in the garden. The guarding warriors were also standing far away. Prince Chen turned to look at Du Wei with a smile: "My children
How about it?"
Du Wei nodded: "You are smart and beautiful, Your Highness, you are very lucky."
Prince Chen's eyes narrowed, and he suddenly sighed: "Being born into a royal family... may not be a blessing."
After saying that, he shook his head and smiled self-deprecatingly: "Looking at how close they are now, it reminds me of when I was young... Well, at that time, my eldest brother once took me riding a horse... Hehe.
"
Speaking of the eldest prince who died on the day of the coup, Du Wei closed his mouth and said nothing.
Prince Chen suddenly changed his tone, stared at Du Wei, and said in a very serious tone: "Du Wei... can you promise me something? In the future... you have to help me teach me well.
How are these two children?"
Du Wei was stunned: "Your Highness, what you mean is..."
A trace of complexity flashed in Prince Chen's eyes, and then he smiled with a relaxed smile: "My son Charlie is eight years old, and I have already hired a palace teacher to teach him. But, Du Wei, after all, you also hold the title of palace scholar.
, and I know that you are knowledgeable and talented, and you are not very old. You are only seven or eight years behind him. If you are willing to teach this child, you will be much better than those old scholars with white beards. After all,
Children are always a little resistant to those old guys."
Du Wei's heart moved, and he was carefully considering what His Highness meant when he said this. Prince Chen had already continued: "My son is pretty smart. I have high expectations for him... Well, from now on I
I want to ask you to be his teacher."
This sentence contains several layers of meaning.
The expectations are great...Does Prince Chen want to make this little Charlie the heir to the throne?
If you allow yourself to be the prince's teacher, you will become the emperor's teacher in the future. This position is very noble.
Du Wei smiled: "If His Highness is at ease with me, of course I dare not refuse... However, I am in the northwest all year round, and I am afraid that I may not have time to teach His Highness the Prince in the imperial capital..."
Prince Chen shook his head and looked at Du Wei with a faint smile: "Hey, my Duke Tulip...have you decided to live in the northwest all your life? In that bitter cold place in the northwest, any lord would have chosen one by himself.
The governor-general is in charge, and he has an excuse to return to the imperial capital to enjoy his blessings. But you, as if you enjoyed your stay in the northwest, have not come back even once in the past two years."
Du Wei looked at Prince Chen and smiled lightly: "Your Highness, you are joking... With the current situation in the northwest, even if I want to come back, will you allow it? Of course, some people are probably eager for me to come back."
The two looked at each other and smiled. Neither of them spoke.
Then Prince Chen and Du Wei walked side by side in the garden. Prince Chen was silent for a while, then slowly said: "When the situation stabilizes in the future, you will always come back. Du Wei, I have high expectations for you.
, in my heart, you are far more than just a person who supervises a province."
High expectations? Du Wei smiled bitterly in his heart, I wish you had lower expectations of me! When I was in the northwest, when the mountains were high and the emperor was far away, I was the biggest. How could I be so carefree? Instead, I returned to the imperial capital and let myself go in just one day.
I suffered a big loss.
Looking at Du Wei's face, Prince Chen guessed what he was thinking, so he stopped and whispered: "Well... okay, actually you don't need to say it, I know what you want to say. What happened today, I
I sent someone to do this without telling you in advance. You are probably very dissatisfied with me now."
Even if Du Wei was dissatisfied in his heart, how could he express it with his mouth? He curled his lips and said calmly: "I don't dare. You are the regent, and as a minister, I should share your worries for His Highness."
Prince Chen laughed, then looked at Du Wei and said, "Okay, I won't let you pay for the 16 million gold coins yourself, so don't worry. So don't be so miserable now.
Face it. I told you to do everything, and I will pay for it."
Oh? Spending public funds? Du Wei looked a little better now, but he was still wary. Based on his understanding of His Highness Chen, it was not a good sign that the other party took the initiative to give him a benefit!
Sure enough, after the two of them walked a few more steps, Prince Chen changed the topic to the situation in the northwest.
"The last time we had a conflict with the prairie people, I heard that you defeated the prairie people's cavalry under the city of Gilliat. The golden wolf leader led 20,000 elites, plus a great shaman, and they were all defeated by you. You
How you can win such a big victory with less and more. It really surprises me... Du Wei, I discovered another advantage of yours. People from the Luo Lin family are indeed talented in military affairs. Although I reported the battle
I have read it, but after all, the things on paper are not detailed enough. Please tell me about the battle site under Gilliat City."
Du Wei couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed when he mentioned the "Luo Lin Family". After all, he had now nominally converted to the Tulip Family.
Fortunately, he knew that Prince Chen was not using this incident to ridicule him. He pondered for a moment, and then told the story of the grassland people's infiltration and the battle under Gilliat City one by one.
He talked about how the Northwest Army colluded with the prairie people and besieged Roland, the capital of Desa Province. The prairie people took the opportunity to sneak in. They forced the Northwest Army to retreat ten miles and how they disguised themselves. The soldiers led the troops out of the city in several directions and defeated a small group of prairie troops on the way.
The cavalry learned that Gilliat City was besieged, and then how to fight decisively under the city...
When Du Wei talked about these experiences one by one, he was very eloquent and spoke very brilliantly. Prince Chen listened with rapt attention and did not interrupt.
After finishing speaking, Du Wei added: "Your Highness, this victory actually had a lot of luck involved. If I hadn't accidentally defeated a small group of prairie cavalry on the way and got the news, I might not have had time to rescue Gilliat City.
, then the city may have been captured. Moreover... Governor Bohan of Nulin Province also sent reinforcements in time. In that battle, the reinforcements sent by Governor Bohan also served the empire and shed blood..."
"I know these." Prince Chen waved his hand, interrupted Du Wei, and suddenly asked: "But I have always been a little confused... The grassland people are fine. Why do they want to sneak in? Why is their target Gilliat City?
?”
Du Wei was stunned. He knew very well that the people on the grassland were ordered by the Witch King of the Snow Mountain to find the monster. But he did not intend to tell Prince Chen truthfully about this matter. After thinking about it, he looked for it casually.
He made an excuse to fool us: "I don't know about this. It must be related to collusion with the Northwest Army. They want to take advantage of the Northwest Army's siege of Loulan City to sneak attack and plunder us."
"If it's just a robbery, they won't send their main force, General Jin Langtou, and 20,000 elite cavalry." Prince Chen shook his head, thought for a while, and said, "This matter is a bit fishy, and we must investigate."
Du Wei didn't answer the question and stood quietly aside.
After being silent for a while, Prince Chen suddenly smiled and looked at Du Wei: "Also, I heard that when you defeated the prairie cavalry under Gilliat City, you used some very powerful new weapons. Hmm.
...It is a kind of can that can explode, right? I heard that when it explodes, it will burst into flames and be powerful. And ordinary people can use it. Such a weapon is also an important reason for the defeat of the prairie people, right?"
As he said this, Prince Chen narrowed his eyes and looked at Du Wei with a smile.
Du Wei's heart sank, secretly thinking that it was not good. But that kind of gunpowder jar was watched by tens of thousands of people on both sides of the enemy and us during the battle at Gilliat City. He couldn't hide it, so he had to smile bitterly and said: "Not bad... then...
It is indeed a new gadget, but its power is not as powerful as the legend says. It was just used once suddenly, and the fire and noise were a bit scary, frightening the prairie people's horses."
"I'm afraid... it's not that simple." Prince Chen smiled faintly and glanced at Du Wei with a half-smile.
Du Wei's heart moved, and he heard Prince Chen continue: "I heard that if you throw the thing you made into the crowd, the power of the explosion can kill the surrounding enemies. That day, the people on the grassland ate a lot.
What a loss! And...you also got a team of magicians riding broomsticks to throw such weapons from the sky, and the effect is surprisingly good, right?"
The more Du Wei listened, the more he frowned secretly. He vaguely understood what Prince Chen meant. He felt a little dissatisfied and simply closed his mouth and stopped talking.
"well……"
Prince Chen suddenly sighed quietly, then looked into Du Wei's eyes and said in a sincere voice: "Du Wei, I know, I'm talking like you are begging for this new weapon, which is a bit excessive. But you
You are a smart person. You should understand the current situation... The situation in the northwest is about to break out. Within three to five years, there will definitely be a war! When the time comes, facing the northwest army and grassland people, not just your Tulip family can do it.
You can withstand it! I have been secretly reorganizing our armaments since last year. If your new weapon can be equipped by the empire's army, it will definitely have the greatest effect in future wars! Moreover, it is so sharp
Weapons can also reduce the casualties of our empire’s soldiers a lot.”
How come Du Wei doesn’t know these truths?
It's not that he refuses to give gunpowder to Prince Chen to equip the army. After all, in the northwest, he has already given a batch of gunpowder to Governor Bohan. Since he can give it to Bohan, it doesn't mean that he can't give it to Prince Chen... It's just that he