twin moon

Chapter 172 No.20 Act Three: Return of the Prince II

In the first year of Zhaoxi, October [-]th.In the Zichen Palace of Ye Kingdom, the lights were dimly lit, and all the officials gathered together.Before the court meeting began, the courtiers had already heard that the fleet commander who had been missing for several years had returned to the temple after the first battle in the Tiannu Strait.Right now, taking advantage of the fact that the lord has not yet arrived, they lowered their heads in small groups and began to discuss in low voices.

On the square outside the palace, a hurried figure appeared in the distance, it was Zhuo Xiukuo who rushed into the city under the stars and the moon.He stepped into the hall in fear and trepidation, knelt down in front of Qi Shouyu who had just sat down in the hall with a "plop", and knocked his head several times:

"The guilty minister is incompetent, he can only come back with a humble life, please punish the king!"

However, Qi Shouyu didn't care about this hypocritical cry, he just looked him up and down with squinted eyes, and asked coldly:

"You sent a sealed letter to the palace overnight, saying that you have something to say about the traitor Qi Ziyin?"

Zhuo Xiukuo also understood that the play should not be overdone, so he put away his tears immediately, and said:
"The lord of the country is holy. Three years ago, I went to the sea with the commander Xie Xun to surrender the bandits. Unexpectedly, when I arrived at the Tiannu Strait, I encountered a thick fog and got separated from the flagship. The guilty minister did not dare to act rashly, and led the remaining fleet to wait at sea for several days. I have never seen the flagship return, so I wrote an urgent report back to the court—"

"Pick up important things and talk about them!"

Hearing the other party talk about the old things again, Lord Ye became a little impatient - after all, the black ship led by Yu Li attacked Ye Kingdom's fleet at his behest.Although no one dared to ask what happened at that time afterwards, but in his heart, he hoped that no one would talk about the cause and effect and various details of that year.After all, recruiting Zhuo Xiukuo into the palace this time was not without risk for Qi Shouyu, and he would never allow this person to leak his words in front of the officials.

Zhuo Xiukuo was not a dull person either.The purpose of his trip is very clear, and he knows that he must not offend the other party, so even if he followed the words of the king, he went straight to the topic:
"...It wasn't until the fleet was attacked and the commander Xie Xun passed away that the guilty officials realized that Qi Ziyin had already secretly communicated with the pirates, and was able to set up an ambush at sea and ambushed us!"

As soon as these words came out, the officials in the hall immediately exclaimed one after another, and some even cursed loudly.As the only eyewitness to the naval battle that year, Zhuo Xiukuo's words carried undeniable weight.One stone stirred up a thousand waves, it seems that now all the charges are being pinned on Qi Ziyin's head, for many of them, this is a great opportunity to flatter the new owner.

Seeing that the other party understood, Qi Shouyu also sat up a little bit, pretending to be extremely surprised on his face:

"The widow is still wondering why the elites of the Ye Kingdom never returned back then, and there was another hidden secret! But why did you come back to tell the truth until today? Do you know that Qi Ziyin sneaked back after the Sky Wrath Strait? In Mulu City, and personally assassinated the former king!"

"My lord, I deserve death for my sins! Qi Ziyin has long had the intention of treason, and even planted many pirate gangsters on the ship early. After they seized the ship that day, they imprisoned the guilty minister. During these years, the minister has been I miss returning every day, but I was not able to break free from the cage until not long ago, so I rushed back immediately!"

Seeing that the king deliberately questioned himself, Zhuo Xiukuo immediately bowed down in cooperation, weeping, as if he was a virtuous and loyal man.

Finally, under the tacit agreement between the two, all the dirty water was successfully poured on Qi Ziyin's body, which saved Qi Shouyu a lot of trouble in justifying himself.And Zhuo Xiukuo's remarks also added a layer of legal protection for Qi Shouyu's succession.Now, a slight smile finally appeared on the face of the short and fat king, and he continued to ask loudly:
"The widow asks you, where is that rebellious Qi Ziyin now?"

"The sinner came to the palace to ask for an audience this time, just to explain this matter to the king! Qi Ziyin has been in exile overseas for many years, but he has never dared to act rashly. Now that he heard that Chengye was fighting and his national power was empty, he led a group of rebellious generals back. , intending to usurp the throne. Now their fleet is less than a hundred miles away from Mulu City!"

These words once again caused quite a commotion among the officials.You know, in order to protect the youngest son, the former kings Qi and Yin specially dispatched the elite of the Baisha camp to go to sea.Although the boat division still has ships in Hong Kong, if they fight against each other, the chances of winning are [-]%.

"Is this really true? Where is my Baisha Battalion defender? Why didn't I report it in time!"

Qi Shouyu also never expected that his nephew, who likes to wear white clothes and has a strange personality, would lead the army to suppress the situation so confidently. thrown out.Immediately stood up, and shouted at His Highness's equally trembling ministers:
"Although Zhuo Xiukuo lost the fleet, he brought back the key enemy information in time today. The merits and demerits are equal, so we will not pursue it for now. The most urgent task at the moment is to prevent the rebellion from attacking and seizing the city. I will let you be the vanguard and follow the lords to conquer. If it succeeds Defeat the enemy, and you will be rewarded!"

Qi Shouyu had already made a plan in his heart - to take Zhuo Xiukuo as the vanguard to go out to sea to meet the enemy, if he could repel Qi Ziyin's fleet, he would be able to successfully eliminate a serious trouble for himself.And if Zhuo Xiukuo is defeated, he can completely wipe out this key figure who knows too many secrets while consuming the strength of the enemy army.

Zhuo Xiukuo also knew that the other party seemed to entrust him with a heavy responsibility, but he actually threw a hot soldering iron to him.For a while, he didn't pick it up, and it didn't matter if he didn't pick it up. He knelt in the hall and didn't know what to do.However, before he could figure out how to deal with it, he suddenly heard an old and sonorous scolding from among the officials behind him:

"The old minister begs the lord to think twice, don't rush to send troops!"

All eyes were immediately attracted by the voice, and they no longer focused on Zhuo Xiukuo.I saw a trembling old figure walking forward slowly from the crowd, and no one dared to step forward to stop him.That man has white beard and hair, he is already over eighty years old, and he is Gou Qinghong, the Grand Tutor of the Three Dynasties of Ye Kingdom.

"Master, why are you here today? Hurry up and go home to rest."

Facing the teacher who once taught him, Qi Shouyu's tone could not help but soften.However, the old minister on the opposite side didn't appreciate it, and instead bowed to him uprightly and saluted:
"Now that the war has just ended, the country is in turmoil. The old man still has the strength to spare, so he should do his best, otherwise, wouldn't he be ashamed of his predecessors!"

The corners of Lord Ye's eyes couldn't help twitching a few times.He knew that the old man in front of him had a stubborn temper, but he was not good at contradicting his mentor in front of civil and military officials, so he could only continue to persuade him patiently:

"Master, why do you just want to justify and protect that rebellion? I understand that my nephew Yin was once your student. But now he is collaborating with the enemy and committing rebellion! If you don't send troops to wipe it out, do you still have to ask him for peace?" ?”

Unexpectedly, Gou Qinghong was not so easy to fool, instead he scolded the short and fat king in the hall, as if he was teaching his students in the bamboo ink pavilion:
"Isn't the lord even more stupid than the old man like me?! Since the founding of Ye Kingdom, blood relatives and clans have never faced sword-to-blade confrontations, let alone a single soldier. Now Commander Zhuo has left the country for several years and has not returned. Just based on the one-sided words of a fugitive general, how can we conclude that the young master is collaborating with bandits and intending to plot rebellion?"

Qi Shouyu continued to argue: "Master, then Qi Ziyin is no longer the young master of my country of Ye! Does it seem to you that his crime of plotting to murder the former king can be forgiven?"

"The old king's death in the palace is actually quite strange to the old man. The young master has followed the old man to study the sage classics and the principles of governing the country since he was a child. It is absolutely impossible to misunderstand his old character. That child is definitely not It is because of self-interest that he will commit the great injustice of the world, a person who kills his father and king! The current plan should be to send envoys out of the city first to thoroughly ask what is right and wrong!"

"Master, when you taught the widow to study, it was true that you emphasized loyalty, filial piety, etiquette and righteousness. But today's world has changed!"

"Why has the world changed? Now that Cheng Guo and Wei Liang have withdrawn their troops, the displaced people can finally return to their homes. It's still the same country, and it's still the same Ye country. It's only people's hearts that have changed! "

Facing the old man's admonition, the short and fat king finally couldn't bear it anymore and yelled loudly:

"Bold, isn't your mentor implying that the widow is the beast who would kill his nephew because of his own selfish interests? The widow respects you for your age and gives you three points of courtesy, but I also advise you not to forget Your own identity! If you dare to yell at the court again in this tone, I will order someone to drive you out!"

"He Guang, although I am not as young as you, I have seen too many changes in the world than you! What the Ye Kingdom needs at the moment is to recuperate, not to rejuvenate the armored soldiers! If the descendants of the Qi family will fight each other to the death , that will only be the great misfortune of Ye country, the great misfortune of the world!"

No matter whether Qi Shouyu was sophistrying or scolding, even if he was furious at this moment, Gou Fuqinghong was still just a teacher in Ruzhu Moxuan who debated with students, he would not back down and fight with reason.

However, the short and fat king still lost his last patience: "Stop talking! I have already gotten tired of hearing your rhetoric about governing the country with benevolence! A mere nephew, even if my biological parents stand in my way, I will get rid of them without hesitation! The dispatch of troops must not be delayed, and anyone who dares to speak out will be executed!"

Even though he understood that what Taifu Gou said was reasonable, none of the civil and military officials standing in the hall dared to stand up and support him.Not only that, some people in the crowd even loudly agreed with Qi Shouyu's decision:

"The lord of the country is holy! The matter of sending troops is seconded by the minister!"

"My minister agrees!"

"The minister also agrees!"

After all, people are driven by profit.Now they were asked to choose between Qi Shouyu, who held great power, and Qi Ziyin, who had long been without reputation in the court. Those who had experienced ups and downs in the officialdom would never risk choosing the latter.

"You sycophants who don't know right from wrong! Sooner or later, the country of Ye will be ruined in your hands!"

Looking at the scene in front of him, Gou Qinghong was stunned for a moment, then widened his eyes, pointed at the officials and began to curse.Immediately, he staggered forward a few more steps, pointed at Duke Ye on the throne and said loudly:
"He Guang, listen to what you said just now. Are the words that a king should say? The books of the sages and sages that the old man taught you before have all been fed to the dog's belly! Someone came here back then Tell me that when you killed the king, this old man still refused to believe it. Looking at it today, it is not groundless! This old man is really heartbroken, heartbroken!"

There was a sound of rustling in the hall again, and some elderly officials raised their sleeves to cover their faces and wept.

Although Qi Shouyu was also aware of his gaffe, he still waved his sleeve heavily, and ordered Mo Lingwei standing on the hall to surround the old man:

"I think you are old-fashioned and foolish, talking nonsense, talking nonsense! Come on, take him down for me, and put him in prison first. After you take down Qi Ziyin and the rebels, we will deal with them together!"

Gou Qinghong understood that the other party was determined to attack him and the young master.He tried his best to wave the long crutch in his hand, blocking the Moling guards from letting him get close, his old dim eyes were full of uncontrollable grief and indignation:
"The old man has devoted himself to assisting the three generations of the Qi family, but today he is unable to do so. It is difficult to protect the safety of the young master!"

Before he finished speaking, two Mo Ling guards had already supported the old man's arms, one left and one right, trying to escort him out of the hall.Unexpectedly, the old man's eyes suddenly brightened, and he shouted: "The former king! Old minister——I'm here to see you!"

Before Qi Shouyu could react, this iron-clad veteran of the three dynasties committed suicide by biting his tongue in public in Zichen Palace!With the last breath he held in his chest, his mouth was full of blood and he spurted out immediately, a bright red flower bloomed in the palace, and it also splashed the whole body of Lord Ye who was close at hand!
"Drag this ugly old thing out of the city for the widow, and hang it over the city gate for three months!"

Qi Shouyu angrily wiped the blood all over his face, and his appearance became more and more ferocious.Mo Lingwei got the order, and dragged the old man's withered body to leave the hall quickly. None of the officials dared to make another sound, they just exchanged glances calmly and retreated.

"You duplicitous people, why don't you see a widow sitting on the throne of the king? This throne belongs to the widow, it belongs to the widow!"

The chunky king turned his head up and laughed crazily, but he couldn't hide the endless disappointment in his eyes, "Even so, it doesn't matter. After the widow personally defeats the lingering white-clothed kid, I will turn around and tell you who are not convinced." Get rid of all the scumbags, leave no one behind!"

After a long time, Qi Shouyu got up from the blood-stained hall, and walked towards the sleeping hall feeling lost.It wasn't until this time that he noticed that a confidant of Liusha camp had been waiting for him outside the hall for a long time.

"Is everything arranged properly for what you are ordered to do?"

Duke Ye suddenly regained his usual sternness and asked coldly.

"My lord, Luqiu's lord has already received a reply, and the Wei Liang army will try their best to prevent Yin Qujian from continuing to retreat eastward. The people sent by the Liusha camp will probably catch up in a few days!"

"it is good!"

Hearing the other party's answer, a trace of smile climbed up Qi Shouyu's fleshy face again - these days after Cheng Guo withdrew his troops, he thought about it, but felt more and more that he couldn't just let the tiger go back to the mountain like this.A few days ago, he turned to Luqiu Borong and secretly formed an alliance, and now he is planning to send assassins to kill Yin Qujian on the way back to the country!

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(End of this chapter)