Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 828: South Gate Encountered an Obstacle
At the moment of application,
The sun was now setting in the west, and it would be a few hours before it set.

Not long after, the two armies met on the official road and stopped less than a hundred meters apart. Fu Yuancheng saw the soldiers on the opposite side, who were covered in dust and looked exhausted. They must have been in a hurry to travel and didn't even stay at the post station. It seemed that King Zhongshun's arrangement was useless.

He walked out of the team and bowed to the convoy in front of him.
"Your humble servant Fu Yuancheng, the co-governor of the Southern City Military Department, pays respects to the princes."

After waiting for a while,

No one came out, so he called out again, and raised his head slightly. He saw several princes in the front row of the team, but they didn't come out either. They wanted to make things difficult for him. Unfortunately, the face of the court was at stake, so how could he stand up?

In an instant, his face turned ugly. It was said that the princes in the interior were arrogant and domineering, but now, they were living up to their reputation.

I want to say it again,
Coincidentally, Zhang Jinyu rode a fast horse and rushed to the South City Gate. He saw this scene and looked over.
The two sides were in a standoff. Unfortunately, it was not very elegant for Lord Fu to stand in the front and salute the princes. Not only that, the court was inferior to them. Especially the people around were talking about it. Don't wait until tomorrow, when they return to the capital, the news will spread everywhere.

When the court officials held him accountable afterwards, it would be difficult for Lord Fu to escape the blame.

In addition, there is Lord He from the Military Affairs Department. There is always a sense of friendship between them. After all, the border troops at the beginning of the year were stopped by these people. Especially since I came here to watch the fun, I don't know where the spies from the Imperial City Department are looking.

"Let's go over and have a look."

"Yes, Lord Marquis,"

Zhang Jinyu did not waste any time and rode over with his personal soldiers. Before they reached the front of the two armies, a lazy voice came over;

"Tsk tsk, Master Fu, why are you bowing to the air? What does that mean? Don't you know that the princes in the inner city don't understand human language?"

This voice decisively saved Lord Fu. Fu Yuancheng stood up and looked in the direction where the voice came from. It turned out to be Luo Yunhou who came here. A trace of surprise and emotion flashed across his face, and he bowed;
"Your humble servant Fu Yuancheng pays respect to the Marquis."

"Well, we are officials in the same dynasty, so there is no need to bow or not. I am not that big of a person, but what is the purpose of this fuss?"

Zhang Jinyu was riding on his horse, pretending not to care, looking a little confused, pointing at the people on both sides and asked.

Although Fu Yuancheng, the co-director of the Southern City Military Department, was meticulous, this was the first time he had encountered such a situation. He was not only flustered, but also a little anxious. After all, they were all children of the royal family, so how could they be really tough? He quickly replied;

"My Lord, I led my troops to patrol the South City Gate today. As soon as I arrived, I saw a group of people coming from outside the city. To be on the safe side, I mobilized the soldiers from the Military Department to stop them. I wanted to find out who they were. Judging from the flags, they seemed to be troops from various royal palaces. However, no one answered my question. Just when I was in a dilemma, my Lord came."

"Oh, this actually happened."

Zhang Jinyu pretended to be surprised but in his heart he gave Tongzhi Fu a thumbs up. This old official was really able to take advantage of every opportunity and cooperate perfectly to deploy all 3,000 armored troops. Commander He must have issued a strict order, but because Commander He was not sure, he let Fu Yuancheng take the lead. What an arrogant prince!

"Since the people who came here are unknown and brought so many weapons, no matter who they are, they must be captured according to the law and arrested."

The two were talking in a loud voice. The princes standing at the front of the team heard it clearly and their faces turned pale. The princes of Zheng and Han were still not sure what was going on, but the princes of Wu and the other two were so angry that their mouths were trembling. They actually met that plague god here. Their eyes turned and they had a plan in mind.

Zhou Yewen rode his horse over and whispered;
"My two brothers, the man on the horse in front is the highly sought-after Marquis Luo Yun. He is extremely arrogant and a tough guy. If he comes, it will be difficult for us to lead our troops into the city."

Zhou Zhengbai and Zhou Xingshan were obviously surprised to hear that Prince Song spoke so cautiously. It was ridiculous that Prince Song was afraid of a small marquis. He just relied on good luck to get to the top overnight, or he was blessed by King Zhongshun.

"Then Brother Ye Wen, you can rest here. I will go meet him and see how arrogant this Luo Yunhou is."

Zhou Xingshan had been holding back his anger, and finally found a place to vent it. How could he let it go? He had already arrived in the capital, so it would be good to find someone to vent his anger on. He rode his horse angrily and rushed over.
Zhou Yewen's face changed, and he wanted to say something, but the man had already ridden past on his horse. His heart skipped a beat, and he thought to himself, "Oh no!" He hadn't even finished his words.

"Haha, who am I? I'm just a small military commander. How dare you block my way? I'm committing a crime of insubordination. What's your crime?"

Zhou Xingshan laughed as he rode his horse, and immediately questioned the military commander, Mr. Fu, with an arrogant look on his face, looking down on everyone. However, his eyes were always on Luo Yunhou, watching his reaction.
Fu Yuancheng did not answer, but looked at Luo Yunhou. He thought about it and was afraid that he could not say anything.

Zhang Jinyu watched the excitement and saw that both of them were looking at him. The words were obviously directed at him. His smile disappeared and he glared at Fu Yuancheng. "You answer yours, and look at what I am doing."
"Master Fu, when I ask you this, you must not bring shame to the imperial court. There might be people from the Imperial City Bureau watching here."

Zhang Jinyu's reminder, like a warning, made Fu Yuancheng tremble, his heart tremble, and he knew what to do. He turned around and scolded;

"Who are you? Tell me your name. Have you reported the troops you are bringing into the capital?"

Under the intimidation of words,

The horse that let the Prince of Han sit down was a little uneasy, and its four hooves hit the ground, which was obviously frightened. Zhou Xingshan's face froze, he stretched out his hand to pull the reins, clamped his legs tightly around the horse's belly, comforted it, and replied with a sneer;

"I am Zhou Xingshan, the prince of the Han Palace. I have already reported to the Honglu Temple a month ago to escort the team to the capital to pay tribute. May I ask, Lord Fu, who ordered you to lead the troops to stop us? Are you not allowing our palaces to enter the palace to pay homage to the emperor and perform filial piety for the emperor?"

When Fu Yuancheng mentioned the emperor and the emperor emeritus in the palace, he broke out in a cold sweat. How could he dare to argue about these things? If he was right, it would be fine. But if he was wrong, it would be disrespectful. In a hurry, he turned around and looked at Luo Yunhou for help.
Zhang Jinyu also stopped smiling at this time and had to look this man in the face. He was worthy of being the prince of Han. With just one sentence, he blocked others from answering. No wonder, these princes of vassal kings have been indoctrinated with these things since childhood. Even if they are pigs, they should be able to follow suit. The royal family has always been the most important. No matter what he said, it was not right. He could not respond, so he would just leave him alone for a while.

"Let's not reply to his words. We should give him a taste of his own medicine. People can enter the city, but soldiers and horses cannot. If they really enter the city, Mr. Fu, your official hat will be in vain."

"Yes, Lord, I understand. I will always remember your kindness."

Fu Yuancheng secretly wiped the sweat off his face with his sleeve, knowing the interests involved. Who would dare to let 7,000 elite soldiers into the capital? He could only watch and stare ahead without saying a word.

Zhou Xingshan, the prince of Han, rode his horse in front of the two armies and showed off his might. He thought the two men were afraid, so he acted even more recklessly.
"Why, you are all cowards. I dare not respond to what this prince says. Since you are cowards, get out of the way and get out of the way."

After saying that, he took out a long sword from somewhere and pointed it at the three thousand soldiers in front of him. If you didn't know, you would think he was an ever-victorious general.

Zhang Jinyu found it a little funny and blinked his eyes. Who gave him the courage to use weapons in the capital, lead the troops to draw swords and line up in the capital? Even if he was a child of a royal family, it would not be allowed!
"Ningbyon, bring me a crossbow?"

"Yes, Lord Marquis."

Ning Bian quickly agreed, then took out a crossbow from the bag on his warhorse and handed it over. Zhang Jinyu took it, strung the bow, and prepared to shoot at the long sword in the hand of the Prince of Han.
Unexpectedly, just as he finished stringing the crossbow, Fu Yuancheng was so frightened that he hurriedly stopped him.

"My Lord, you can't do this. This is the prince of Han. How can you use this?"

"It's okay, teach him a lesson."

Zhang Jinyu didn't care about the King of Han or the Fat King. Seeing that the people in front of him didn't know the rules, wouldn't it be a nuisance if it got to the emperor?

He directly raised his crossbow and aimed it at the Prince of Han. The Prince of Han, Zhou Xingshan, who was still somewhat arrogant, suddenly stopped shouting and his face was gloomy, but he did not retreat. Instead, he held the blade and confronted him.
"Lord Luo Yun, you are so brave that you dare to point a crossbow at me,"

Zhang Jinyu smiled and replied;
"Your Highness has misunderstood. This matter should not have been handled by me. The various royal palaces have offered tributes, which is commendable. However, you have led the army here, disregarding the law and insisting on bringing the soldiers into the city. I have seen it and cannot ignore it. If you want to enter the city, you can, but all the soldiers will stay and go back to the post station, or you can take off your armor and blades, and only 500 people are allowed to follow you. What do you think?"

Zhang Jinyu was not looking for trouble. Although a prince could lead 1,500 soldiers, which was not a lot per person, but with the several princes together, that would be more than 7,000 people. By then, if the Western King and the Southern King were included, there would be more than 10,000 elite troops. If things went wrong, there would be a big chaos in the capital. If he led his army south and the vassal kings in the city interfered, it would be hard to say what would happen. After all, who could know what the emperor was thinking.

To be on the safe side, all the soldiers were left behind. Thinking of this, Zhang Jinyu's eyes narrowed, watching how the Prince of Han would decide.

Zhou Xingshan was choked by Luo Yunhou's words, his face flushed and he couldn't speak. When could a little marquis set the rules in the capital? He had never heard of it before, so he immediately scolded him.
"You are a good man, Marquis Luo Yun, you are so flattering and full of nonsense. We are all children of the royal family. We are going to the capital to fulfill our filial duty for our father. According to the regulations, the Prince of Dawu can bring 1,500 personal guards. The Prince of Han's palace brought 1,200 personal guards this time, which is within the regulations. How can we not bring them in?"

That's right, Zhang Jinyu nodded in his heart. The regulations were correct, but who would really bring so many people in? It seemed that he only brought 500 personal soldiers, and those from the three princes' houses didn't count. It was the Queen's decree, and he had to obey it.
"Your Highness is right, it does not exceed the regulations, but you also know that you are only a prince, not a prince. According to the regulations, only princes can be brought. Now, the prince has not inherited the prince title, so it is not right, right? Besides, you are too anxious, isn't it not good?"

There was a lot of teasing in his words, which made the Prince of Han so angry that his face turned red. He could no longer bear it and shouted at him harshly;
"Lord Luo Yun, stop talking nonsense. Come on, let's go into the city. I'll see who dares to stop you, my prince."

At the command, thousands of soldiers and horses behind him marched forward together.
When Fu Yuancheng saw this, he was sweating profusely, but he did not dare to retreat. He walked to Luo Yunhou's side, gritted his teeth, and immediately shouted;
"Anyone who enters the city without permission will be killed!"

The three thousand soldiers behind him immediately shouted,

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

The long sword was drawn and stood there,
With this move, the troops on the opposite side also drew their swords and guns. Zhang Jinyu looked at Fu Yuancheng once more, wondering when Lord Fu had become a manly man.

The opponent is not weak either, but it is hard to say whether he has the courage.
But we can't just stand there and watch a real fight break out. The so-called provocation is just a way for them to back down. I think there should be someone in the opposing team who can have a say.

"Prince, how about a fight? Whoever dies first will retreat."

Zhang Jinyu did not try to persuade them, but instead added fuel to the fire. In front of the city gate, the atmosphere was obviously extremely tense. When the people watching around saw that something was wrong, they quickly fled in all directions, leaving only the two armies confronting each other in front of the city gate.

The two sides were less than a hundred meters apart, and both were armored soldiers, and a murderous atmosphere quickly spread.

In the Nantou team,
The remaining princes turned pale when they saw this. How could this be? It seemed that the imperial court was not trying to show off their power to them, but was being extremely strong. Since the other side was so strong, it must be the will of His Majesty. Why not tell them clearly?
Seeing this, Zhou Yewen said helplessly;

"Brother, Luo Yunhou is a tough guy. He has lived in the border for many years and has no idea about the etiquette of the Central Plains. He is like a stone in the toilet, smelly and hard. Moreover, he is very powerful. We can't confront him head-on. It's better to talk."

Zhou Zhengbai also frowned, looking at the things in front of him, his impression of the Prince of Han became even worse. Such a small matter had caused such a situation. He was really in a dilemma.

Suddenly, a voice came from the carriage. It was Fan Wenhai's voice.

"Sir, now that the court's attitude is known, we must both take a step back."

Then, another voice came out.

"Ahem, I heard that Marquis Luo Yun is a greedy and lustful man. Now that he doesn't have a stunningly beautiful woman, perhaps we can discuss the money. After all, it's bitter and cold outside the Great Wall. As for Fu Yuancheng, he's a villain."

Xu Liangcai burped in the car. On his knees, he was sitting cross-legged with a piece of oil paper filled with food. His mouth was dripping with oil.

The princes outside the car were shocked, and they understood the intentions of the two military advisors. Zhou Shengbai stretched out his hand and said,

"Take out the silver!"

The three princes of Song behind them looked unhappy. They hadn't done anything yet, so why were they asked to pay money again? Especially Chen prince Zhou Yunfu, his face was livid. He hadn't done anything serious in the capital yet, but he was already spending money like water. He was the one with the weakest financial resources, so how could he be willing to do this? He asked;
"May I ask, Brother Shi, how much do you need?"

Zhou Shengbai glanced at Prince Chen, asking unnecessary questions. Since he had come to the capital, he must be well prepared. It was inevitable to take money to travel. He replied straightforwardly;

"Ten thousand taels of silver."

When the three heard that it was 10,000 taels of silver, they secretly breathed a sigh of relief. The prince of Wu, Zhou Lianghao, was the quickest. He quickly took out the silver note and put it in Zhou Zhengbai's hand, then hurried away, hiding from something. The remaining two also put their own silver notes over with reluctance on their faces.
Zhou Shengbai took the banknote and put it in his arms.
"If you want to take, you must give first. This silver is not easy to take. Go!"

After saying this, he rode out on his horse.

When he arrived in front of the enemy, Zhou Zhengbai held up his folding fan and bowed to Luo Yunhou, the military commander, the city gate guards and others in front of the battle array. He said:
"Zhou Zhengbai, the prince of Zheng Palace, greets Marquis Luo Yun,"

He went straight to the main person to discuss the matter. This literary move also made Zhang Jinyu look at him with new eyes. It was really not simple. One played the good cop and the other played the bad cop. If it were an ordinary person, he would definitely not be able to stand it. So he put away his crossbow.

"So you are the Prince of Zheng. I have heard of your name for a long time."

Zhang Jinyu clasped his fists and said politely, but it wasn't really polite. Everyone knew the name of King Zheng. After the crown prince was deposed, he had the greatest chance of becoming the crown prince. Unfortunately, fate played tricks on him and he missed the opportunity. After that, he had no power to turn the tide and could only leave the capital in disgrace.

But even if he goes to his fiefdom, he is the most powerful among all the princes. Nanyang County is close to the Central Plains, with fertile land, a large population, many merchants, and the advantage of weapons. It is unknown whether they are the instigators behind the chaos in the south of Beijing for so long.

"Please forgive me, my Lord. I have been in a hurry and I am tired. I am bound to be angry. Please put down your weapons. How dare you use swords and guns in this important place?"

With Zhou Zhengbai mediating, both sides put away their weapons. Zhang Jinyu squinted his eyes to take a look. He was wearing a fine Shu brocade Confucian robe, with a wooden hairpin on his head and a folding fan in his hand. The frame was made of the finest golden nanmu wood. It was unknown what was painted or written on it. This demeanor was indeed that of the prince of the vassal king. Amazing.
"The prince of Zheng's mansion is more sensible. Rules are rules, and we have to talk about it. I don't know how the prince plans to talk, but let me make it clear that the soldiers can't enter."

Zhang Jinyu had set the tone for the conversation in advance. If he wanted to enter in armor, it would not work. Zhou Zhengbai smiled slightly and bowed to the others.
"My Lord, it's easy to say. If you don't want to bring them, then don't bring them. It is indeed inappropriate to bring troops into the capital."

Just as he was about to say something else, the Han King Zhou Xingshan beside him became anxious.

"Zhou Zhengbai, what do you want to do?"

"I don't need to tell you what to do."

Zhou Zhengbai's face turned cold, a good thing has been turned out like this, more trouble than success, I have overestimated you in the past, but now, the most important thing is to enter the capital, if you want to show enough momentum, you need enough people, but without the advantage of weapons, how can you show momentum.

"you."

Zhou Xingshan's face turned red, he snorted angrily, retracted his sword, and rode his horse back to the camp!
(End of this chapter)