There is a kind of scholar

Chapter 665
Nan Chen.

Jiangning.

Jiangning City is the capital of the Nanchen Empire.

Today, Emperor Chen summoned King Li, King Tian, ​​and the prime ministers to gather in the main hall to discuss matters. The content of the discussion was the proposal of "cooperation against Liao" brought by the Daliang envoy.

The envoy from Daliang, the troops sent by the Queen on the bright side, arrived in Jiangning an hour ago and entered the palace to meet Emperor Chen.

Poison Lady and others are actually one step faster.

But because Princess Chen Keyan of Wu State was not in Jiangning and went to "Haiyan County" under the jurisdiction of Suzhou to supervise the salt drying, Lady Poison rushed there immediately...

Emperor Chen believed that this matter was important. After all, it involved the battle between Daliang and Liao. Nanchen was located in the southeast. Did he stay out of the matter or was he involved?

This is a crisis, or it may be an opportunity, and it deserves discussion.

……

Chen Gong.

in the hall.

There were two teams of people on the left and right.

They were headed by King Li and King Tian respectively.

There was a clear distinction between the two sides, they neither talked nor spoke, and stood respectfully, waiting for the arrival of Emperor Chen.

King Li is on the left. He is tall and tall, full of energy, with thick beard and bright eyes. Behind him are several prime ministers... These people are his die-hard supporters.

King Tian is on the right. He is tall and tall, with a white face and no beard. He is staring blankly somewhere in the palace, as if he has been distracted for a long time. Behind him are a group of prime ministers, who are his supporters.

The elegant birds in the main hall are silent.

But there is always a faint smell of gunpowder.

Although Emperor Chen was old, he had not yet been crowned crown prince, and the position of crown prince was vacant. Among the many princes, the most vocal ones were King Li and King Tian.

King Li, the son of Queen Nanchen, was the legitimate son but not the eldest son. The Queen's family was very powerful in Nanchen.

Prince Tian, ​​the son of Emperor Chen's noble concubine, although he was the eldest son, was not the son of the queen.

As for Chen Keyan's mother-in-law, she was another noble concubine of Emperor Chen. She was a twin sister to King Tian's mother-in-law, so Chen Keyan was closer to King Tian.

The battle for the crown prince of Nanchen has been going on for more than ten years. Although King Li and King Tian are brothers, they are strangers. Their struggle fills every place in Nanchen.

The Xiaochaohui was not spared.

Although the hall was quiet, there was a strong smell of gunpowder.

……

Not far from the main hall.

Emperor Chen's palace.

A group of little palace maids were waiting for Emperor Chen to change his clothes.

This pilgrimage is not a formal occasion, just wear casual clothes.

Soon, the dressing was completed, and the little maids retired one by one.

Chen Di is more than 50 years old, his body is slightly fatter, and his slightly gray hair is combed meticulously.

The red-yellow round-neck dragon robe is embroidered with golden dragons, with the sun and the moon on its shoulders, plus nine-ring belts, Liuhe boots and other accessories, all of which reveal a kind of imperial majesty.

After all the little palace maids left the dormitory, there was still an old eunuch holding a fly whisk. His wrinkled old face smiled like a chrysanthemum and said:
"Your Majesty, King Li, King Tian and the prime ministers have been waiting in the hall for a long time."

"..."

Emperor Chen said "hmm".

Then his face changed slightly, he quickly took out a handkerchief, covered his mouth hastily, bent down and coughed loudly...cough cough cough, the bitter bile almost spilled out.

"His Majesty!"

The old eunuch threw down the fly whisk and hurriedly went up to beat his back to calm his breathing. Although his face was not good-looking, he was not too panicked. It could be seen that Emperor Chen had been coughing for a long time and he was used to it.

After more than ten breaths, Emperor Chen's cough gradually stopped, and the old eunuch persuaded him earnestly: "Your Majesty, why don't I ask the imperial doctor to take a look?"

Emperor Chen shook his head, moved the handkerchief covering his mouth, and said without any doubt: "No need to trouble the imperial doctor, my cough will be cured soon..."

"..."

Before he could finish his words, the old eunuch suddenly screamed: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty..."

Emperor Chen was slightly surprised. He lowered his head and realized instantly that the white handkerchief he had just removed from his mouth... actually had an extra patch of scarlet!
That's blood!
He coughed up blood!
The old eunuch was really frightened, his two sides were fighting, and he was confused. It took him a while to realize what he was doing, and he rushed out of the dormitory to find the imperial doctor.

Emperor Chen was not surprised. He seemed to have known that he would cough up blood. When he saw this, he frowned and scolded: "Stop, don't make this matter public, otherwise I will punish your nine tribes."

"The servant obeys the order..."

The old eunuch came back quickly and did not dare to move any more.

Remembering that Emperor Chen started to cough up blood but refused to allow the imperial doctor to diagnose and treat him, the old eunuch couldn't help but worry about the future and looked extremely frightened.

Everyone in Nanchen knew that King Li and King Tian had been competing for the crown prince for more than ten years, and the things involved behind it were really hard to estimate.

If the news of Emperor Chen coughing up blood spreads, the situation will surely affect the whole body!

The old eunuch knew the power and understood Emperor Chen's concerns. He gritted his teeth and did not dare to say a word, but... Emperor Chen really sacrificed too much for the stability of the court.

Emperor Chen glanced at him and seemed to understand what he was thinking. He walked up to the brazier, put the blood-stained white handkerchief into it, and said slowly:
"Actually, I have already visited famous doctors and made secret diagnosis and treatment..."

"This disease has been around for a long time, and there is no cure in the world. Even if Li Qingniu, the genius doctor of Butterfly Valley, appears, he can only postpone it, but cannot cure it."

"Your Majesty..." The old eunuch didn't know what to say.

"Once this matter spreads, our Nanchen Chaotang may be violently turbulent. Now that you know it, you should be careful what you say and don't let it out."

The old eunuch was frightened. He was really afraid that Emperor Chen would kill him and silence him. He quickly knelt on the ground and said that he would not spread the news everywhere, and kowtowing was like pounding garlic.

Emperor Chen waved his hand. This old eunuch had been with him for many years and still had feelings for him. After ordering him to stand up, he asked: "Are King Li, King Tian and the prime ministers all here?"

"Your Majesty, everyone is here." The old eunuch wiped his cold sweat.

"By the way, Yan'er is still drying salt in Suzhou? When will you come back?" The Yan'er in Chen Di's mouth refers to Chen Keyan, Princess of Wu State.

Mentioning this precious daughter, Emperor Chen seemed to have forgotten about coughing up blood just now, and said with a kind smile:

"I went to Daliang, and when I came back, I looked like a different person. I was still clamoring about some method of sunning the salt... I was just messing around. It's windy and the sun is poisonous at the beach. Don't cry when you get tanned."

"His Royal Highness is helping His Majesty relieve her worries!" The old eunuch laughed, joking aside.

"Relieving my worries? If she can live in peace, it will relieve my worries... By the way, when will she come back?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, the princess has already set off and will arrive this afternoon."

"Um……"

Emperor Chen nodded with satisfaction.

Then he ordered to drive to the "Qinzheng Hall".

The so-called "Qinzheng Hall" is where Emperor Chen and his ministers went to court to discuss matters. The two princes and prime ministers had been waiting for them for a long time.

……

Soon I came to the main hall.

All the ministers paid homage.

Emperor Chen ordered him to "flatten his body".

Regarding the issue of this Umrah meeting, everyone in the hall had the same opinion, which was to refuse.

Reject Daliang's proposal to "cooperate against Liao"!

One of the reasons: Daliang and Nan Chen have always been at odds with each other and have no reason to help. When Daliang encounters a crisis, they are all enjoying themselves secretly.

The second reason: That was the Liao Kingdom. The Liao Kingdom's cavalry had a great reputation. They were in the southeast of Nanchen, so there was really no need to offend the Liao Kingdom for the sake of Daliang.

The third reason: the divine thunder is the foundation of Nanchen's founding of the country and cannot be borrowed easily. The kings and ministers of Daliang are so lucky to want to get the divine thunder from them to respond to the enemy. Are they thinking nonsense?

The fourth reason: Once war breaks out between Liang and Liao, they can take the opportunity to expand their territory, sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight, wouldn't it be nice to reap the benefits?

In short, this issue only took a cup of tea to come to fruition.

It was rare that the two major forces, King Li and King Tian, ​​did not interfere with each other.

Chen Di was very satisfied with this point. After nodding his head, he changed the subject and said:

"I received a secret report from the secret guard that Princess Lanling of Daliang has invented a kind of sugar called 'white sugar'. It is said that it is as white as snow and as sweet as honey. The sugar produced by me in Dachen is far incomparable."

"They brought sugar to Dachen, and people in Dachen rushed to buy it. It is said that the streets were empty, and what they brought back was cart after cart of real money..."

"Everyone, the products produced in Daliang are so popular in Dachen, and the speed at which gold and silver is earned is tantamount to robbing... This is the first time this has happened!"

"It's worthy of vigilance!"

"..."

Emperor Chen glanced at the two princes and prime ministers with a meaningful look on his face.

The expressions of the ministers changed slightly, and they did not dare to look up to see Emperor Chen's face, because they had a ulterior motive in their minds. Sugar was selling well in Nanchen, and they were the biggest vested interests.

Emperor Chen snorted coldly and said nothing more in the end.

This move was intended to frustrate the ministers. They had just agreed to reject Daliang's proposal to "cooperate in the fight against the Liao Dynasty". However, these ministers were secretly engaged in "subsidizing Daliang".

Don't go too far!
"Retreat!"

Seeing that the beating effect had been achieved, Emperor Chen stood up and left.

Just at this moment, a young eunuch hurriedly broke into the hall and delivered a black envelope to Emperor Chen in his hands.

That's a secret message from the "Secret Guard"!

The ministers understood clearly in their hearts.

Because only "secret guards" have such privileges, they can submit secret messages to Emperor Chen at any time and at any place...

At this point, Nanchen's secret guards are not as mysterious as Daliang Meihua's inner guards.

Emperor Chen casually took the secret letter and opened it. His face immediately darkened a bit, and the hand holding the letter trembled slightly.

That was pissed off!

What exactly was said in the secret letter?To make Emperor Chen angry like this.

The ministers secretly looked at Emperor Chen's face, trying to get some clues.

"presumptuous!"

After all, Emperor Chen couldn't hold back and tore the secret letter into pieces. Long Yan said angrily: "Daliang bullied people too much! What did you think of me, Da Chen?!"

"Your Majesty, calm down!" All the ministers bowed in unison.

King Li jumped over the crowd and went out to worship: "Father, please calm down. What did Daliang do that made people angry? He made my father so angry. He deserves to die!"

Emperor Chen was still angry and said in a deep voice:
"Two days ago, the secret guards heard the conversation between two merchants selling sugar. They said... I, Da Chen, is their 'gold mine' in Daliang. With sugar, I can obtain a steady stream of wealth!"

"..."

After hearing this, the ministers who shared the same hatred instantly became silent.

I didn’t expect that the secret letter was actually related to Baitang’s business...

The merchants of Daliang were so rude and likened Nanchen to a "gold mine" that they could mine as they pleased... No wonder Emperor Chen was so angry.

But...the profits from white sugar are really huge, and those with vested interests behind the scenes really don't want to give up this delicious cake.

So he had to lower his head and remain silent.

King Li, who came out of the crowd, suddenly looked a little embarrassed. If he had known this, he should not have come out to share the same hatred with the enemy just now.

King Tian never expressed anything, staring blankly at somewhere in the hall, as if he was still wandering. In fact, he had not been "awake" since entering the hall...

Emperor Chen ignored the reactions of the ministers and said angrily:
"They also said that in their eyes, I, Da Chen, was a 'lamb to be slaughtered.' Whenever I was short of money, they would send me a batch of sugar. Anyway, people in Nanchen are rushing to get it..."

"It's too much to bully! It's too much to bully! Not only did Daliang use sugar to steal money from my Dachen, but he also despised me, Dachen. Who do you think I am Dachen?!"

"..."

Emperor Chen was really angry this time.

There are two reasons.

First, in the past, the products produced by Da Chen were popular throughout Da Liang, in exchange for a steady stream of wealth. This was the pride and confidence of everyone in Nan Chen.

But now, Daliang actually tinkered with such strange things as sugar, and turned the situation around in one fell swoop. Not only did he make a lot of money in Nanchen, but he also made rude remarks and mocked the entire Nanchen.

Emperor Chen really couldn't accept this kind of psychological gap.

Secondly, Emperor Chen was so angry that he was trying to test the officials. As a result, he was even more angry because the officials were all mute and bowed their heads without saying a word...

This is not only a friction between Daliang and Nanchen, but also a contest between imperial power and local powerful families.

In other words, the "inaction" of the officials was the root cause of his anger.

"Retreat!"

Emperor Chen shook his sleeves vigorously, turned around and left the hall.

……

In a blink of an eye, it was afternoon.

Chen Keyan finally arrived in Jiangning.

Tens of days ago, Chen Keyan returned to Nanchen from Daliang and began to arrange the salt drying. This method of making salt was taught by Su Xian and was the basis for their cooperation. She believed that it would be successful.

During this time, she spent almost all of her time in Haiyan County, under the jurisdiction of Suzhou. Sea salt has been produced there since ancient times, but it is not very pure, so it was used to test this method.

It wasn't until the day before yesterday that Lady Poison arrived and conveyed Su Xian's original words before she set off and rushed back to Jiangning.

She agreed to Su Xian's small favor without thinking.

It was just a step too late that Nanchen Junchen had already declined the proposal of the Daliang envoy to "cooperate in the fight against the Liao Dynasty". The matter was almost a foregone conclusion and could not be changed under normal circumstances.

In Prince Tian's mansion.

Chen Keyan listened to King Tian's narration with her own ears, and after learning about the situation at the Xiaochao meeting today, she couldn't help but slightly frowned.

King Tian didn't notice the change in her expression, and he was still teasing the kings and ministers of Daliang. The divine thunder was the divine weapon of Nan Chen Liguo. How could he lend it to Daliang to fight against Liao?
It can be seen from this that all the kings and ministers of Daliang have no brains!
"I agree to cooperate in the fight against the Liao Dynasty!" Chen Keyan suddenly spoke to express her attitude.

"The Empress of Liang seems to be a vulgar person... huh? Sanniang, what did you... just say?" Prince Tian was talking eloquently. When he heard Chen Keyan's words, he almost choked, and his handsome face was full of Shocked.

Sanniang is the nickname given to Chen Keyan by those close to her.

Among Emperor Chen's many children, she ranked third, hence her name.

Chen Keyan said calmly:
"I agree to cooperate in the fight against Liao!"

"This..." King Tian was extremely surprised and said suspiciously: "I remember that Sanniang, you dislike Daliang the most. How could you agree to the proposal to cooperate in the fight against Liao?"

"I have my own considerations... By the way, is my father in the palace?"

"Yes..." King Tian couldn't understand, so he didn't think much about it. Seeing this, he advised: "Father has made up his mind and will not change his mind. I'm afraid it will be useless for Sanniang to go."

Chen Keyan took out a small porcelain bottle, shook the tiny snow-white particles in the bottle, and said confidently: "I am [-]% sure that my father will change his mind."

King Tian noticed the small porcelain vase and asked curiously: "What is this?"

Chen Keyan carefully put away the small porcelain vase, keeping it tight and not letting Prince Tian look at it too much. She pursed her lips and said with a smile:
"This product can benefit the people of Dachen, and can also be sold to Daliang, Nanchu, Shu, Liao and other countries, earning countless gold and silver wealth. It will make Dachen richer!"

　Thanks to "mirrorbe" for the tip, and everyone for your vote!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)