In a great dynasty, the people of Wei country caused an uproar in Beiliang.
Juqu Mujian's breaking out of the group halfway, pretending to be sick all the way, and Li Shun, who was unfortunately attacked by a leopard and suffered from hydrophobia, have all become his targets of criticism.
With the help of people with a heart, Juqu Mujian once offended the noble children of Pingcheng in the plum garden of the Wei State just to stand up for himself. As a result, the affairs of the personnel who were humiliated and beaten by Hua Mulan and could not take care of themselves were also revealed. .
All of a sudden everyone realized.
It turned out that he was sick all the way because he was half paralyzed by the beating of Hua Mulan. I am afraid that the temporary departure from the group is also an excuse for Hua Mulan's fear and hatred.
"The First Cause of All Realms"
The "facts" in this world are originally that the more you cover up, the more mistakes you make. What's more, what Juqu Muqian said is completely untrue, so it's quite normal to have such a result.
Just as Juqu Muqian's good news was rumored, several things happened in Guzang, which caused people's discussion.
One is the drought this year from Zhangye to Dunhuang, so that no grains of grain were harvested, and the people rioted repeatedly.
On the second day after Wei's envoys arrived in Beiliang, the lord of Juqu Mengxun ordered relief, and sent grain and grass from the cities in the east to the west for disaster relief. In order to prevent the mob and horse thieves from looting the grain and grass, he sent a escort of 3,000 people. escort.
In this disaster relief, Princess Xingping in the palace mobilized many concubines in the harem to donate her own powder money, as well as some jewelry without royal emblem, and used the money to entrust the inner government to collect some other food and send it to Dunhuang to help the elderly and the weak. sick and disabled.
As soon as this move came out, there was a lot of discussion.
Because Princess Xingping was not a woman with political means before, and she rarely acted in a high-profile manner in the deep palace. Before she was named "Princess Xingping", people didn't even know which princess Juqushana was.
Some people thought it was a show for the envoys of Wei State, and some praised the princess for her kindness and kindness. Anyway, the good reputation among the people has spread, and now they praise her as "Princess Bodhisattva".
Wei Guo is also happy to see it happen. It is a good thing for Wei Guo to have a princess with a long-standing reputation as a concubine.
The second thing is that Li Jingai, the concubine of Juqu Mujian, was proclaimed to be in Beijing, as the maiden family of Princess Xingping to preside over the wedding.
It is reasonable to say that Princess Xingping's marriage will not be the turn of the third sister-in-law. Unfortunately, the two sisters-in-law above her are widows, and they are not lucky enough. After all, only Li Jingai, who was born in Princess Xiliang, can entrust this important task.
The royal family and nobles of Bei Liang have great respect for this woman, not only because of her beautiful beauty and beautiful literary talent, but also because she represents the belonging of the remnants of Xiliang. Juqu Mujian has just been appointed as the prefect of Jiuquan. It was because of the help of Li Jingai that Jiuquan stabilized and recovered.
Last year, when Dunhuang rebelled, Juqu Mengxun made Juqu Mujian and Dunhuang prefect. It was also Li Jingai who traveled between Jiuquan and Dunhuang several times to persuade the remnants of Xiliang to give up their resistance.
The second is because she came out of the mud and was not stained, and she was not swayed by the whole Beiliang royal family. Even Juqu Muqian only dared to come here in Guzang. After returning to Jiuquan, she has always been well-behaved and left behind from Dunhuang. All the survivors of Xiliang respected the princess very much. Anyone who made fun of or disrespected the princess often had no good end.
Combined with the fact that Juqu Mujian had returned to China but no one knew about it, many people in Bei Liang believed that Li Jingai should have been summoned as a reason to divert everyone's attention.
There was a lot of uproar in the outside world, and the Beiliang Palace was also in chaos.
When Juqu Mujian pulled out Li Shun, Juqu Mengxun had no way to salvage the situation, so he had to suddenly "fainted" on top of the main hall. The chaos covered up what happened next, and even the envoys of the Northern Wei Dynasty were arrested for the past few days. Please leave the palace and live in the embassy of Gu Zang, and no one can find the news in Changming Palace.
No one knew what was going on with Juqu Mengxun, Juqu Mujian stayed in the palace "to serve the disease", He Mulan's original purpose was not to really push Juqu Mujian, and at this time, he just accepted it as soon as he saw it. Stay at the embassy and wait for news.
Changming Palace.
"How was the investigation? Where are they from?" After Juqu Mengxun went to announce the disappearance of the eunuchs who summoned Juqu Mujian, the master attendant in the palace has been busy for several days, checking the old exchanges of these eunuchs.
These eunuchs have followed Juqu Mengxun for many years. They have always been loyal, and everyone is articulate and has some martial arts skills. Juqu Mengxun is not a person who treats his subordinates harshly. The eunuchs in the palace are crowded. They all wanted to go to his side. After more than ten years of scouring the sand with such a big wave, all those who left behind were trustworthy candidates with both loyalty and ability.
Unexpectedly, these trustworthy candidates almost made Wei Guo and Liang Guo tear their faces today.
"I didn't find anything. They are all cautious people. They even have quarrels with each other on weekdays, and they have little contact with all parties." Several master attendants have been investigating for several days, and the palace servants do not know if they have been arrested. No matter how much, the news you get is not the same.
"Only Wang Liu has been in and out of the eldest lady of the East Palace a few times, but they were all delivered to the eldest lady by His Majesty's order, and none of them lasted more than a quarter of an hour."
"There is no need to doubt Da Li's, she is not at home at all."
Juqu Mengxun waved his hand irritably.
Da Li's dissolute nature and coquettish appearance have long been the ban of several men of the Juqu royal family. She herself knows that she has a bad reputation, and she is often ridiculed when she goes out. any political ambitions.
"Where's the queen? Is there any movement on the queen's side?"
Juqu Mengxun thought that Empress Meng's brain was even more painful, and he couldn't imagine how his life would be if the always open-minded or indifferent Meng Shi had an opinion on him.
The martial arts of many guards in Changming Palace were taught by the Meng family.
All princes were cared for by this queen when they were young.
Even if she designed Juqu Muqian, I am afraid that his son would not dare to bark.
"I don't think it should be Her Royal Highness." A guard lowered his head and said boldly; "The Queen has been hunting in the Royal Garden for the past few days, and she didn't care about the affairs of the previous court."
Beiliang's palace is too chaotic. In addition to protecting her son Bodhi, Queen Meng is trying to relax in the palace. She doesn't believe in Buddhism or religion, and she doesn't even care about the affairs of the harem. She is an outlier in Beiliang. .
If she hadn't rescued Juqu Mengxun over and over again, I'm afraid this queen would have been sacked long ago.
"Is it possible that it's from the Heavenly King's faction..." Prime Minister Song Xidao Juqu Muqian was not the "Heavenly King" candidate chosen by the "Heavenly Kings faction", and Juqu Mengxun was offended for his delay in fully implementing the "Heavenly King System" Many people think that it may be a demonstration and warning from Buddhism, so they ask this question.
"I'm afraid it's over there..."
Juqu Mengxun couldn't help but feel dizzy.
"If you can't hold it any longer, it will be really troublesome."
"Your Majesty, you should take care of your body." Seeing that Juqu Mengxun was suddenly shaky, Song Yao quickly stretched out his hand to support him. "With Princess Xingping's dealings, at least the kingdom of Liang will be safe for a few years. As long as the king and the third prince can be at peace, the Buddhists can appease the people, and the Han people rule the area, how can they be afraid of Wei's iron cavalry?"
"Don't comfort me, I have reached the point of life and death in Great Liang. If one does not go well, there will be no more than a few years." Juqu Mengxun shook his head. "It's useless to continue the investigation like this, that's all, I'll go to the Queen's place."
"Your Majesty..."
Song Yao hesitated, not knowing how to speak.
"Don't worry, although the queen has a strong temperament, but we have been married for decades, she will not really do anything."
Juqu Mengxun smiled, patted the prime minister on the shoulder, and drove to the Central Palace.
The three sons of Empress Meng were both civil and military, because Empress Meng was excellent in martial arts. Twenty years ago, the eunuch Wang Huaizu sneaked into Juqu Mengxun's palace in the middle of the night and suddenly attacked. The King of Beiliang was unprepared and was stabbed in the foot. After hearing the news, Queen Meng rushed to the palace alone and captured the assassin.
Empress Meng's father was the leader of the White Horse Qiang in the Western Regions, the master of swordsmanship, and Empress Meng's brothers all served in the army. However, when the Meng brothers talked about their family's martial arts, they all said that this sister was the real successor in the family who inherited her father's mantle. .
When Juqu Mengxun was still the son of the chief, he heard about Meng's bravery, so he went through the test and asked to marry Meng. It is all up to Meng Shi to rescue him with all his strength.
The achievements of the Meng family were actually made by the king's companion. What's more respectable is that this family is not good for fame and fortune. After Juqu Mengxun became the king of Liang, the Meng family only continued to serve as a general in the army. He has no interest in the disputes and strife between the government and the opposition.
The two brothers Juqu Xingguo and Juqu Zhengde were able to lead the army to conquer the east and west, establish the reputation of both civil and military, and there is a big reason for their mother's strong support in the army.
Juqu Muqian was taught by famous Han Chinese since he was a child. He was a virtuous king of the Western Regions. However, for the Hu people who advocated heroes, this kind of virtuous name is really inferior to the reputation of martial arts.
Doesn't Juqu Mujian want to "complete both civil and military"? He is also a burly man. If he has no pursuit of martial arts, he will not take risks and cheat in Meiyuan.
However, it is impossible for him to achieve the goal he pursued in the Beiliang Army. The direct sons of the two queens Juqu Zhengde and Juqu Xingguo have already occupied all the reputations they deserve. There are two brothers who have an advantage.
He can only settle for the next best thing, and first achieve his reputation as "virtuous king".
After seeing Juqu Mengxun away, Song Yao also went out of the palace and returned to the palace under the escort of the palace servants.
Before leaving Changming Palace, he turned around and glanced at the courtyard wall in the palace.
He was the first to realize that Juqu Mengxun actually favored Juqu Mujian, so he recommended his clan brother to Juqu Mujian's side as a counselor.
But all of this is based on the fact that Queen Meng has no intention of fighting for the throne for her son.
Juqu Zhengde died, Juqu Xingguo died, and Juqu Bodhi was only seven years old. As long as the queen knew how to take care of the overall situation, no matter how much the foreign ministers planned for Bodhi, a single edict from Juqu Mengxun could change everything.
pity…
"Hey, if Empress Meng is someone who is easy to provoke, why would Juqu Muqian be pushed down by everyone..." Song Yao sighed.
"Today, it looks like it's going to change."
***
Beiliang embassy.
Juqu Mengxun, the lord of Liang Kingdom, on the grounds that he was "not feeling well enough to receive", let the Wei Kingdom envoys who were staying in the palace on the night of the banquet live in the embassy, which was not unexpected by the Wei people.
It was not suitable for the envoys to live in the palace. On the night of the banquet, it was probably to let everyone see Princess Xingping.
Beiliang is located in an important place in Hexi, and there are not many embassies and merchants in and out of the two places. The embassy is more magnificent than that in Pingcheng. Even in order to take into account the tastes and customs of the envoys from all over the country, the embassy has built many styles of courtyards. In each other courtyard, there are translators, clerks, cooks and other servants who belong to the style of other courtyards.
In terms of comfort, the people of Wei even thought that the embassy was stronger than the palace.
Moreover, the courtiers of Beiliang have realized that this group of Wei people may be an important target who can interfere with the candidate of the next king of Liang, especially the officials of the Jiuquan faction and Dunhuang faction behind Juqu Muqian, who are actively trying to restore The relationship between Wei State and Juqu Mujian, in the past few days, all kinds of gifts and rare melons and fruits have been continuously sent to the Beiliang embassy, so that every envoy has made a lot of money.
Even all the followers around the envoy got a lot of benefits, just because these officials wanted to inquire about the envoy's preferences and personality, and some got more than a dozen taels of gold, and some got at least a few taels.
These officials spend a lot of money for the future candidates and the masters they are currently loyal to.
Most of Juqu Bodhi's supporters were generals in the army. The way to deal with Wei's envoys was to "learn martial arts" and go directly to He Mulan.
He Mulan's body was full of yang energy. Master Cixin once advised her to use up her physical strength as much as possible every day. Many generals of Beiliang have real abilities. After the "instruction" of the master, the name of He Mulan's martial arts also spread.
She has fought more than 20 battles without a single defeat, and many of her generals have won more and lost less. Although there are reasons why people from Beiliang did not dare to kill people, but since ancient times, "Wu has no second", how can you really care about fighting? A lot, under this contest, the people of Beiliang were terrified day by day, and they were afraid that all the iron cavalry of the Wei state would be at this level, and the day of the country's subjugation would not be far away.
It is precisely because of these open and secret struggles that the envoys of the Wei state have been very successful one by one. Every day, some of the ministers choose to do what they like, sing poems and oppose each other, and occasionally the beautiful orchid comes to a pair;
Every day, there are people discussing and demonstrating the art of war, and there are even famous BMWs as gifts.
Even He Mulan's group, who had always been accustomed to diaosi, had their eyes reddened by this prosperous life, and they had no idea how to turn back from being frugal to luxury.
"General, there are good things again!" Chen Jie, who was elated, pulled the Hu Ben army guards and carried a few huge round melons in, and placed them in the center of the hall.
"General, it was sent from the palace. It is said that it was brought by a merchant from Persia in the west. It is called Bogua. It has been hot and bad all the way. There is only so much to eat, except for General Yuan and a few envoys, King Liang. All delivered to you."
He Mulan had just sent off a military general, which made her sweat profusely. When she saw a basket of emerald green watermelons with patterns brought in, she was shocked and her tears were about to fall.
Who can understand her tragedy! Back in time, the fruits eaten all day long were dates, plums, apricots, etc. Once, when His Majesty gave a "cucumber", she thought it was a watermelon or a cantaloupe, but she got it.
I rub the class! Isn't it just a few stunted cucumbers
There are only a few kinds of vegetables, and the staple food is mostly tasteless pancakes and all kinds of bean rice.
Wei Guo can cook a total of seven kinds of beans, seven kinds of beans! No one except the cook knows the difference, a meal of bean meal can put a night's fart.
Rice is a rarity. It can be boiled together without shelling. Coarse wheat flour can choke people. If you eat too much corn, you will not be able to digest it. The He Mulan was almost indifferent.
Since arriving in Beiliang, there have been countless kinds of vegetables and fruits every day. It is said that most of the rare goods brought back by Zhang Qian through the Western Regions are now in the Southern Dynasties. Because the Hu people in the north are not good at breeding and cultivation, He Mulan did not really see it until he arrived in Beiliang. Various fruits common to later generations.
"General, why are you bursting into tears?" Man Gu was startled, "Is there something wrong with these Poguas?"
"No problem, no problem, great!"
He Mulan fished out a watermelon from the basket and patted it skillfully.
Well, it's empty and floating, and it feels good.
Bang bang, it's a ripe melon.
"Bring the knife!"
He Mulan reached out for a knife.
"Eat this as soon as possible, it's going to go bad."
"Ah? King Liang also gave us the melon that was about to go bad?" Chen Jie muttered and took out a knife in preparation. They have opened many different kinds of melons these days, and the pocket knife is almost always with them.
He Mulan waved his arm to cut the watermelon in half, cut it again, cut it again, evenly divided it into eight equal parts, and took the first piece out and gnawed it.
The familiar sweetness entered his mouth, although some overripe taste affected the taste, and the flesh of the melon was also sandy and not crisp, but He Mulan was still satisfied and quick to eat.
Seeing that He Mulan was so happy to eat, everyone took a slice and gnawed them like ginseng fruit, wishing they could even lick the skin of the melon.
"Delicious, so sweet!"
Gai Wu actually likes sweets, and he eats the most these days.
"What are these black ones?" Yuan Fang noticed something else and spat one out of his mouth and put it in his palm, "Is it melon seeds?"
Chen Jie, Mangu and the others didn't even bother to vomit the seeds. Luo Hun even ate the skin of the melon. He Mulan was the first to eat it. Tsukuru nodded in uncertainty.
"It should be melon seeds."
They had eaten many kinds of melons before, and He Mulan would open the melons and pick the melons without dazzling them, but it would be weird to eat them more often.
Yuan Fang is a businessman. After hearing it, he shouted: "Don't swallow it for me! Spit out all the seeds!"
Mangu was in a hurry to eat when he was choked by Yuan Fang's roar.
"Cough cough... What are you doing! Scared people to death!"
"Having melon seeds means it can be grown! This melon came from Persia, and even King Liang sent melons that were about to go bad. It's not very common. If you keep these melon seeds and bring them back, you might be able to grow melons and sell them!"
Yuan Fang picked up the seeds that were spit on the ground one by one.
"The general is so poor now, it's good to buy some land to run a business. It's rare to come to the cold land. Is it possible to get some gold and silver like those envoys and go back?"
Yuan Fang clenched his fists.
"The cool country is full of treasures! As long as we find treasures... Ouch! Who is plotting against me!"
Zheng Zong ate half of the melon and spat out on Yuan Fang's face.
"Hey, it's not that I'm plotting against you, I'm persuading you to take a few more bites..."
He smirked and pointed to the others.
Hearing Yuan Fang's "expanding his ambitions", the rest of the people took the opportunity to quickly nibble on the watermelon, without any intention of leaving a piece for Yuan Fang. Fortunately, they all listened to Yuan Fang's words and ate the watermelon while nibbling. Seeds spit on the ground, not swallowing the dates whole.
"Easy to say, I'm afraid it's not so easy to plant." He Mulan muttered while eating: "The seeds of the melons are probably dry after I go back, I don't know if they can germinate. I don't know how these melons are planted. I'm afraid those Persian businessmen I also bought it on the road, I don’t know how to plant it.”
"Zhang Qian brought back so many seeds from the Western Regions, does he know how to plant them?" Yuan Fang hurriedly grabbed a piece of melon and copied it in his hand, "One of the envoys who came with him was from a peasant cadre. I'll go back and ask."
"Hey, from today onwards, don't swallow all the seeds of melons and fruits for me, you know!" Seeing that he was ignored, Yuan Fang hurriedly shouted: "Now that it's gone after eating, it's only available when I go back and plant it. Eat it! I can't say that we will be famous in history because of these melons and fruits!"
"Come on!"
"You really want money like crazy!"
"I'll leave it to you later, you can eat it quickly!"
A group of people were eating melons together, and after a while, a businessman from the Western Regions or an official from Beiliang sent something novel.
The merchants from the Western Regions came to protect some merchants when they heard that the embassy was coming, and wanted to make connections and go with the embassy when they returned. The officials from Beiliang were trying to improve their friendship for their masters.
He Mulan had spoken to the envoy before, and he would not refuse anyone who came. All the envoys felt comfortable with He Mulan. They were eating, holding and using, and none of them fell.
The things that were brought in were a basket of walnuts, a few melons, and some fruits and vegetables that even He Mulan could not name.
"I know this." Gai Wu picked out a few walnuts from the basket and smashed them with the handle of a knife. "There is also a seed in Qinzhong, which is Qiang peach."
Walnuts were passed down to the generation of Gansu and Shaanxi during the period of Zhang Qiantong’s Western Regions, but not many people planted them. They are called Qiang peaches because they came from the generation of Gansu. Gai Wu seems to have eaten them, and even knows how to eat them.
If it wasn't for Gai Wu's demonstration, everyone wouldn't know how to eat this ugly thing. Seeing that Gai Wu was going to knock it open with the handle of a knife, he held the walnuts one by one and looked at He Mulan eagerly.
Seeing this, He Mulan smiled, reached into the basket, and pulled out a handful with a little force. The stunt of "Smashing Walnuts with Plain Hands" was activated. Yuan Fang was prepared long ago, and took out a clean square from his bosom. The walnuts were wrapped in it, and a group of people knelt down and started to eat the walnuts.
"It's such a beautiful day, no wonder Your Majesty wants to fight Beiliang..." Na Luohun was eating sweet and crisp walnuts, watching He Mulan skillfully throw away the kernels of the walnuts, pick out the kernels of the brains, and endure it. He kept widening his eyes.
"The general looks very skilled?! Have you eaten it before?"
"Speaking of which, yesterday's udan bowl was the same, the general was easy to eat."
Chen Jie shouted.
What a yumbo, it's a fig!
He Mulan really wanted to roll his eyes.
"And grapes! The general will spit out grape skins when he eats grapes!"
He Mulan almost choked to death.
"Eat the melon when you open it!"
"It is also a general who says that purple melon is a vegetable that cannot be eaten directly!"
Hey, hey, that's eggplant, okay
Have you ever seen a raw eggplant
A group of people stared at He Mulan eagerly, staring at He Mulan until he was sweating, and the whole person was stiff and didn't know how to explain.
It's over, won't they find out that they are wearing it!
No doubt about her coming!
"My lord, in fact, are you the illegitimate child (daughter) of some nobleman? Don't hide it!"
Yuan Fang always felt that He Mulan's bearing was not like a rude military family.
"General, did you eat a lot of food alone in Changming Palace without telling us!"
Chen Jie burst into tears.
Woohoo, our general doesn't love us anymore, so he secretly eats by himself!
"General Hua, Your Majesty is really kind to you. I have only heard of many things, but I have never seen them before. Could it be that you have already been gifted in the palace?"
Zheng Zong thought it was normal, but the adoration in his eyes made He Mulan almost blind.
He Mulan, who had raised her throat in one breath, breathed a sigh of relief. She slowly picked up a pomegranate and broke it open with a dagger, grabbed a handful and stuffed it in her mouth.
"I really didn't eat alone, the world can learn..."
He Mulan chewed inarticulately.
"You think it's easy for me to eat, probably because I have a special ability to eat."
Crowd: …
Believe you have a ghost!