The ceremony of offering sacrifice to heaven begins.
A large number of people wearing black robes and holding bells rushed into the hall. They looked like wizards. They walked around the hall, ringing bells and muttering something.
All the barbarians in the hall clenched their fists on their left chests, closed their eyes and lowered their heads, with a pious look on their faces.
The few people from China also followed the local customs and started to do things the same way they did.
Pei Zheng did not close his eyes, and his gaze met that of Amul who also had his eyes open not far away. Both of them had a changed look in their eyes.
Suddenly, a dozen people holding daggers came in quietly from outside the palace door. The wizards also changed their expressions at this time, revealing the swords they were hiding.
In a flash, blood splattered all over the hall.
The blade was extremely sharp. He cut the person's throat and then threw him aside, while he was busy cutting another person's.
Everyone in the hall might have been covered in blood before they could react.
Screams, the sound of weapons clashing, the sound of cups breaking, the sound of blood flowing...
The golden hall was dyed blood red, and almost all of the people who were not in Amul's camp fell in a pool of blood.
Except for one person, the one standing at the highest point in the hall.
Amul walked up to the hall step by step, came to Asuran who was pointing at him with shock on his face, smiled at his nominal uncle, and stabbed a dagger into his heart.
"Uncle, you've been sitting in this position for so many years, it's time to return it to your nephew."
Asuran slowly fell down holding his chest, and on this day that should have been a happy occasion for him, he stopped breathing.
Those who were still alive were all tribal chiefs who had long been bribed by Amul, and they fully supported Amul to take the position of the barbarian leader.
Outside the palace gate, the army from the Celestial Empire and Amul's subordinates worked together to block Asuran's personal troops to ensure the success of the rebellion inside the palace.
In fact, this marriage was just a cover. From the moment Pei Zheng proposed the marriage, his goal was to make the barbarians completely submit to the Celestial Empire.
Who would have thought that those clueless officials in the Celestial Empire only knew how to keep making suggestions and writing memorials to impeach him.
He never bothered to explain anything, and the matter had to be kept strictly confidential. The fewer people who knew about it, the better. He didn't even tell Zhao Litang who was traveling with him. As long as the emperor could understand his thoughts, it would be enough.
The spread of spies brought news that the barbarians were showing signs of civil unrest, so Pei Zheng sent someone to deliver a message to Amul, asking him to serve as an envoy to visit the Celestial Empire.
In this way, the two of them worked together to plot this barbarian civil strife. Pei Zheng represented the position of the Heavenly Dynasty and helped Amul become the leader. Amul had to completely submit to the Heavenly Dynasty, cede the city, and pay tribute every year without any mistakes.
Otherwise, the Celestial Empire's cavalry would still ruthlessly crush this barbaric land.
Amul sat on the high chair where the leader sat, and the people below bowed their heads to him and saluted respectfully.
The palace door opened, the fighting outside was over, and Asuran's personal soldiers had been completely wiped out.
A large number of servants and soldiers rushed in and began to deal with the corpses, wiping the bloodstains on the floor and the table. In a short while, the whole hall was cleaned up.
Yet a new one.
—Clusters of incense were lit, and the hall was immediately filled with a faint fragrance, and the strong smell of blood was completely dispelled.
It is so clean and tidy here, and there is no trace of the hell on earth that it looked like just now.
Amul smiled and raised his wine glass to Pei Zheng, saying, "Master Pei, this success is also thanks to your help. We will always remember the kindness of the Celestial Empire to our barbarians."
Pei Zheng stood up gracefully, neither humble nor arrogant, raised his glass to Amul, and drank it all in one gulp.
The atmosphere suddenly eased a bit, and the people sitting below began to congratulate Amul one by one, as if they were not the ones who had just killed someone without blinking an eye.
Pei Zheng looked around the hall and frowned slightly, wondering why he couldn't see the bright little figure.
At this time, Amul got down from his seat and stood beside him.
"What is Lord Pei looking for?"
The people around were all immersed in the joy of success, laughing and playing, and no one noticed them.
"Looking for someone."
"who?"
"What do you think?"
Amul smiled and said, "The person Lord Pei is looking for could not be my wife or concubine."
"What did you say?" Pei Zheng secretly exerted force on the hand holding the wine glass, and cracks suddenly appeared on it.
"How come Lord Pei hasn't heard of it? We barbarians have a custom that when the previous leader dies, his wives and concubines will automatically belong to the next leader."
Amul's smile carried a hint of triumph, "So, the prince of your dynasty is now mine."
Pei Zheng's eyes dimmed and he immediately tried his best to stand up, but he suddenly felt dizzy and almost fell down.
I tried my luck again, and felt dizzy again.
This fragrance is a kind of incense.
I don’t feel anything when I’m just sitting there normally, but once I try to gather my energy and practice martial arts, I’ll feel dizzy.
As expected, when the Celestial Empire people in the audience saw Pei Zheng stand up, they also took a deep breath, and then swayed a few times and fell from side to side, while the barbarians were still conscious.
Amul shrugged his shoulders and said, "Master Pei, please don't get angry, otherwise I can't afford anything that happens. The envoys of the Celestial Empire are visiting my barbarian tribe, so they shouldn't start a war in my palace. I will help you calm down your anger, and I believe Master Pei can understand. You should go back and have a good rest and leave as soon as possible."
Amul continued, "I know that the people of the Celestial Empire think that we barbarians are not trustworthy, but I, Amul, am not a mean person who goes back on my word. I will definitely do what I say. I will offer the city and tributes. The Celestial Empire will certainly do the same. There is no reason for the people sent to marry to go back."
—What he said was reasonable and anyone who heard it would find nothing wrong with it.
But if the person on the other side is Pei Zheng, it’s not certain.
Pei Zheng was furious. It turned out that Amul had this idea!
He added some strength in his hand and the cup shattered. The fragments pierced into Pei Zheng's palm and blood gushed out immediately. The pain also brought back some of Pei Zheng's rationality. He closed his eyes, broke through the ban, and forced himself to use his internal energy.
The powerful shock force that slowly emanated from his body surprised Amul for a moment, and then he laughed, "Master Pei is really amazing. He can even withstand this incense."
Blood dripped from Pei Zheng's palm. He looked at Amul and said, "What if I insist on taking him away? Also, you dare to treat the envoy of the Celestial Empire like this. Aren't you afraid that the Celestial Empire will send troops to pacify the barbarians?"
It was impossible for Amul to say that he was not afraid of Pei Zheng. After all, he had heard of Pei Zheng's methods. However, he could not give up that little guy decisively.
It was rare to meet such an interesting and cute little person. The first time he saw him in the imperial capital, he wanted to bring him back to the barbarians and keep him by his side.
After thinking it over again and again, Amul said, "Okay, in that case, why don't you come and compete with me, Master Pei? If you win, I will send you away without saying a word, and also give you the strongest horse in the barbarian tribe to help you return to the Celestial Empire as soon as possible. If you lose..."
"No." Pei Zheng interrupted him bluntly, "I won't lose."
Everyone in the hall quieted down and made room for the two people who were preparing to compete.
"No matter what happens later, no one is allowed to help." Amul ordered.
If Pei Zheng didn't have the knockout incense, Amul would never be his opponent, but now Pei Zheng even trembled when he gripped the sword.
Amul's proposal was to ensure that Pei Zheng would not be able to survive three moves from him. Unexpectedly, Pei Zheng, who picked up the sword, seemed like a different person.
His steps were difficult to discern and his body was so fast that there was no time to see clearly. Amul was forced to be defeated repeatedly by the sharp sword light.
All the tables, chairs and benches in the hall were broken, and all that could be seen were the flashing of swords and sabers flying by quickly, circling above everyone's heads.
Finally, Pei Zheng knocked Amul to the ground with a palm, pointed the sword at his throat, and said, "You lose."
The chill in his tone was about to overwhelm everyone.
Amul spat out blood and grinned.
He accepted the fact that he was not as skilled as his opponent and was defeated by Pei Zheng.
After making a gesture, several people appeared in the hall, carrying Qi Changyi and Chengfeng.
Chengfeng was obviously also addicted to that high-level incense, and was held down by someone, unable to resist.
On the contrary, Qi Changyi's eyes were bright and he looked unharmed. When he saw Pei Zheng standing in the hall, he broke free from his restraints and ran towards him.
A red ball ran towards Pei Zheng who was holding a sword, threw herself into his arms, hugged his neck, and rubbed her face against his shoulder.
"Phis ...
Qi Changyi didn't know what was happening outside, but the chaos and noise scared him a lot. It was not until a few drops of warm liquid suddenly dripped onto his face that he reached out and wiped them away.
The bright red thing is blood.
Blood was still dripping from the corners of Pei Zheng's mouth, one drop at a time. He rolled his throat twice and swallowed the rest of the blood that was overflowing from his chest.
He just used his internal Qi to break through the restriction of the incense, but this was very harmful to his body. In addition, he had consumed a lot of energy in the fight with Amul.
A lot of energy, now the blood and qi are surging and clamoring to surge up.
Pei Zheng's body swayed, and then he could not stand and fell into the arms of the little guy.
He put his lips next to his ear and said in a hoarse and light voice, "I will take you home." Then he fainted.
Qi Changyi tilted his head back, struggling to support Pei Zheng's heavy body, tears welling up in his eyes.
“Brother Pei!”
The barbarian horses were much taller and stronger than those from the Celestial Empire, and the return journey was also much faster.
Zhao Litang had a sullen face all the way and never looked at Pei Zheng once. He still resented Pei Zheng for not telling him such a big thing.
Pei Zheng improved his condition very quickly. He stayed in the carriage with Qi Changyi all day long. No one knew what they did. However, the guards accompanying the carriage would sometimes hear some noises that they shouldn't hear and their ears would turn red.
Soon, the group returned to the imperial capital of the Celestial Empire.
Qi Changyi did not return to the palace, but was taken back to the Prime Minister's Mansion by Pei Zheng.
Pei Zheng went to the palace to meet the emperor and brought back the news that the barbarians had surrendered to the Celestial Empire. They also ceded three cities and offered a large number of carriages, horses, cattle and sheep to the Celestial Empire every year.
All the military officials present were so shocked that they were speechless, but although they congratulated the emperor on regaining control of the border barbarians, they were secretly complaining in their hearts, wondering what sinister means Pei Zheng had secretly used, and perhaps he had made some shameful deal with the barbarians.
The emperor was overjoyed and decided to reward Pei Zheng handsomely for his great contribution, but Pei Zheng refused to accept any reward.
After all the officials left, the emperor and Pei Zheng were the only ones left in the court.
"Lord Pei, you really don't want my reward?"
"Your Majesty, I just want to ask for one person."