Although it is said that this group of people gathered here to eat and drink, eating and drinking is of course not the point.
"There is no news about Princess Xingping in the caravan. Everyone seems to have been silenced. When the princess is mentioned, the topic is changed." Yuan Fang was eating melons and fruits while analyzing, "This result makes I am more certain that there must be something wrong with this princess, and the Juqu family must make great efforts to seal it up."
"The news I got is even more shocking than Yuan Fang." Gai Wu showed a disdainful expression, "Peng Xuan, who married the second princess, is a very dissolute child. Before marrying the second princess, he was famous and had more than a dozen wives and concubines. There are more house tricks, no one wants to marry their daughter, but Juqu Mengxun married the second princess..."
"Does the second princess have a worse reputation than him?"
Chen Jie muttered, but found that Gai Wu raised his eyebrows, showing an unexpected look.
"Ah? Am I right?"
Chen Jie was stunned.
"This Peng Xuan is a son of the Peng clan of Guzang, and his grandfather is Peng Min, the general of Guangwu. There is an aunt who married Juqu Mengxun as his wife and gave birth to two children. His father and that wife are the same. My mother's brother and sister, so Peng Xuan was able to enter the palace often..."
Gai Wu explained the relationship.
"The Peng family is the largest clan of Lu Shuihu in Liangzhou. After Juqu Mengxun drove out Nanliang, they relied on marriage with the Peng family to maintain the stability of the aunt, so although this Peng Xuan has no ability, he still relies on The family has been given a false post, and since he was a child, he has often been in and out of the palace, and he is very familiar with several princesses, and there are quite a few romantic stories."
"These two princesses killed several maids in the palace for Peng Xuan's sake, and also stabbed a noble lady in the eyes. I heard that her actions were extremely absurd, and she used to run in the palace bare/breasted/exposed/breasted. In order not to cause serious trouble, Juqu Mengxun gave the second princess to Peng Xuan as his consort. As compensation, he turned a blind eye to the fact that Peng Xuan had many wives and concubines and often entered the palace. General Yuan said Peng Xuan and several princesses, and even the big Li family have heads and tails, I am afraid that comes from this."
Gai Wu looked at Na Luo Hun and Chen Jie, who had been stunned and speechless, with a mocking expression: "You lads, you are just jealous, so scared like this?"
"You're a jerk!"
The refutation of Chen's conditioning.
"Sorry, I'm not really a jerk."
After Gai Wu's habitual retort, he suddenly remembered that the master from home was a woman, his face flushed with a "swoosh", and he looked at He Mulan with redness.
He Mulan chewed the melon with great interest, and after seeing their bickering, they all came to see him, but he was able to laugh and lick the juice from the corner of his mouth with his tongue, and said indifferently, "You guys continue to talk, don't worry about me, I'm also very curious. Who is the one who made you not a jerk..."
"Master!"
This time, Gai Wu's neck turned red.
"According to this, what General Yuan said is probably true. At least most of it is true." Zheng Zong suddenly interjected, "Although it is not ruled out that he wants to make a complete break between Wei and Bei Liang and thus fight, but this is the case. It is conceivable what kind of princess the royal family can have, unless His Majesty is willing to swallow up for the sake of peace between the two countries, it would be a shame for us messengers to come to our country as a concubine."
"It's just a little bit of debauchery in private life, but it's not a big deal." He Mulan whispered, "At least it didn't kill the same sex like the second princess."
"What did you say, General?"
Zheng Zong looked at He Mulan who was talking to himself curiously.
"Don't say anything, just keep talking."
"The problem now is that there is no evidence for these. Whether it's the rumors of Princess Xingping, or the adultery/adultery between Da Li and Juqu Mengxun, these are all things that happened in Changming Palace, and we have no evidence at all. Unless someone convinces both parties to come forward to confirm the matter and prove that Princess Xingping's virtuous behavior is not worth it, even if we know that she has bad behavior, we can only welcome her back."
Zheng Zong said with a sullen face, "Because this is the imperial edict."
For a time, the good atmosphere that was still nibbling on melons and fruits just now disappeared. Everyone understands that what Zheng Zong said is correct, whether it is the "wind" in the streets or the "truth" that Yuan Po Qiang told them, they are all "evidence" that cannot be put on the table.
"Where is the person from General Yuan who told him the truth? Can you come out and communicate with the mission?" Luo Hun knew that in order to save face for His Majesty, He Mulan would have to convince the entire mission to believe what she had investigated.
But most of the people in the embassy had little courage, and they all followed Li Shun and He Mulan's lead. Now that something happened to Li Shun, they had no choice but to make trouble.
"General Yuan said that the old man from the East Palace who told him the news was bumped into by Juqu Mujian. In order not to reveal his whereabouts of secretly returning to the palace, that man was killed by Juqu Mujian." He Mulan sighed. . "People from Beiliang don't want to fight, how could anyone say that?"
"Then the next thing is to find evidence." Gai Wu said naturally: "I will let my people watch Peng Xuan's every move, maybe they will find something."
"I have to make the general's net worth richer first. In this world, everything requires money." Yuan Fang stretched his back, "The general will take Zheng Zong with him wherever he goes. Zong and Gai Wu are equivalent to deaf and mute."
"I see."
He Mulan nodded.
After everyone exchanged information, there was suddenly a report outside that a general surnamed Meng had come to ask for a meeting. He Mulan had "discussed" with countless generals in the past few days. He washed his hands with water, tidied up his face, and went out to meet the guests.
When He Mulan went out, he was surprised to find that an envoy in the embassy was just outside the door. He Mulan knew him. He often dealt with Yuan Po Qiang. shock.
"Why is Liu Wenwen here?"
Yuan Po Qiang was often absent from the embassy the day he returned from the palace. He Mulan knew that he was in charge of contacting the old ministry, so he didn't care about him.
"I heard that Meng Yulong came to find you?"
Liu Zhen bowed slightly to He Mulan, "This person is the nephew of Queen Meng, the wife of Juqu Mengxun. I'm afraid the general won't know the identity of this person, so I'm here to let you know."
After Li Shun's accident, many envoys from the same regiment offered her goodwill and wanted to establish a relationship with her. Among them, many of them volunteered to be translators, and some envoys who knew about Liang's political arena or economic and people's livelihood matters. minister.
Liu Zhen was in charge of writing the documents in the mission, and every day who met whoever he met, he had to record it in detail. Although his official position was not large, he had a vague sense of supervising everyone. He Mulan even thought that he might be someone who did not reveal his identity. Egret official, because his style is very similar to Su Hejun.
Now that Liu Zhen has taken the initiative to appear, it shows that the identity of this "Meng Yulong" is extraordinary. He Mulan said "oh", not only did he not feel unhappy about being meddled in his personal affairs, but kept asking him to keep up, "You and Here I come, tell me about this man by the way."
The distance from the other courtyard to the main hall is not too far, this time is enough for Liu Zhen to explain Meng Yulong's identity in a short story.
Meng Yulong is the nephew of Queen Meng and the leader of the Meng family's generation of young people. Now, he is in charge of the Royal Guards in charge of the south city camp, and he rarely gets involved in politics.
The Meng family are all military generals who are only responsible for leading troops to fight. Juqu Mengxun is now in his sixties, and Queen Meng is over fifty this year, and has been out of favor for many years. It is only by the popularity of the past that she can secure the position of queen. .
But Queen Meng has a generous and outgoing personality. She has been kind to many people in the palace in the past, and the palace people respect her very much. Juqu Mengxun's eldest son and second son were both born to her, which shows that in addition to her strong martial arts and strong personality, she also has the means she should have.
"Is she strong in martial arts?"
He Mulan's footsteps paused.
"Queen Meng can do martial arts?"
"Yes, Queen Meng is the daughter of Meng Chao, the chief of the White Horse Qiang. She practiced swordsmanship and spear skills. In the past, Juqu Mengxun had an army that she led."
Liu Zhen's expression was calm.
"It has been many years. Her Royal Highness has not appeared in front of people again, but she is still very famous when she captured the assassins in the palace alone."
"Since this queen has not been a director for many years, why did Meng Yulong come to me?" He Mulan looked at Liu Zhen with interest.
"You can't come here to learn martial arts with me on purpose, right?"
"I don't know about that." Liu Zhen said with a smile, "Isn't it that Juqu Bodhi's position as the third prince is very loud? Maybe Meng Yulong came for this."
He Mulan took Zheng Zong, Gai Wu, and Liu Zhen into the main hall, and found a tall young man standing in the main hall, admiring the calligraphy and paintings on the wall.
It is normal for the Hu people in the northwest to be tall and tall. He Mulan is not surprised, but it is very rare for people to appreciate Chinese calligraphy and painting. He Mulan was about to speak, but heard Zheng Zong, who was beside him, have already spoken loudly:
"Hu Ben Zuo Sima of the State of Wei, marry the general Hua Mulan - here!"
Zheng Zong once said that he was a admirer of Honglu Temple, similar to the position of a ritual official.
Meng Yulong had actually heard the footsteps of Hua Mulan and the others, but he deliberately did not turn his back. Now that he heard Zhenger's praise from the other party, he immediately turned around and bowed to him as an envoy of the kingdom. He Mulan.
Zheng Zong and Liu Zhen stood behind He Mulan on the left and right, with his apprentice Gai Wu standing beside him.
Meng Yulong is about twenty-four or five years old, and he has a solemn look that is unique to a soldier in the army. He Mulan likes this kind of man the most, and he is very familiar with him when dealing with him: "I have never met your Excellency, and Your Excellency came to me. , is something wrong?"
Meng Yulong looked at Zheng Zong, then looked at the other people beside her, and nodded.
"There is an important matter to discuss with General Hua, so I take the liberty to come to the door and please reject everyone."
As soon as Zheng Zong heard the man's arrogance, he was about to scold him, but Liu Zhen, who was beside him, suddenly grabbed his sleeve and yanked him.
Zheng Zong looked at him inexplicably, and saw that he took out a token from his arms and shook it secretly at Zheng Zong. As soon as Zheng Zong saw the familiar pattern of egrets, he was shocked and didn't say any more.
He Mulan looked back at Zheng Zong and Liu Zhen, but saw that Liu Zhen nodded slightly to him, so she asked the three to wait outside, facing Meng Yulong alone.
The Meng family army had sent many generals to compete with her before. She believed that they were secretly testing the strength of the Hu Ben army. This descendant of the Meng family came to look for her, I am afraid there was something wrong.
He didn't even shy away from avoiding taboos, which showed that he was not afraid that others would attack him because of this.
"General Hua, I came to you this time on behalf of my aunt, the Queen Meng in the palace, who came to ask you for help." Meng Yulong suddenly knelt down on one knee to He Mulan, bowed his head and pleaded. . "Queen Meng hopes that you can continue to challenge the king and investigate the fault of Juqu Mujian, so as to force the king to establish His Highness Bodhi as the heir."
"... This is your country's internal affairs, and I cannot interfere." He Mulan was shocked by this astonishing request, and could only answer his words instinctively.
Meng Yulong didn't listen to her excuses at all, and raised his head with a clear expression.
"If Da Wei thinks Juqu Mujian is a suitable candidate for King Liang, why would he have to tear up his face with the king in the court? A young and obedient prince is easier to control than an older prince who is good at forbearance, right? I heard that your country has already started a war with Beiyan. In this case, stabilizing the situation in Beiliang is the most important thing, isn't it?"
He Mulan looked at Meng Yulong silently, "I can't promise you anything on behalf of Wei. As for myself, I have no interest in this kind of 'alliance'. I'm really sorry."
"What if Prince Bodhi can be sent to Pingcheng as a proton? What if Prince Bodhi is willing to abandon the country as a lord after the death of the great king, no longer lead the king of Liang, and change Northern Liang to Liangzhou of Great Wei?"
Meng Yulong's expression was still firm and calm.
"Can Da Wei form an alliance with us?"
"You always talk like this..."
He Mulan frowned, "Is it so direct?"
She has seen a lot of old and hot politicians, trying to test each other in circles and wishing to find out all the bottom lines of the other party.
"To be honest, I'm not used to negotiating with people like this..." Meng Yulong smiled wryly as he looked at his half-kneeling posture. "After I sent out a lot of confidants to compete with the generals, I also brought back a lot of comments about the generals, so my aunt suggested that I get straight to the point with you and don't go around in circles, because we have no conditions that are worthy of a deal."
"Don't salute, sit down and say."
Because of these words, He Mulan became curious about Queen Meng, and she pointed to the seat beside her and asked Meng Yulong to sit there.
"I don't understand, isn't the fight for the throne of the prince for the sake of ascending the throne? Why do Her Royal Highness Bodhi and the Queen prefer not to be the king of Liang, but also to fight for the position of the prince who may exist in name in the future?"
He Mulan sighed.
"If I don't understand why you are doing this, I will not offer any advice or help."
Meng Yulong immediately showed a relaxed expression when he saw that this Tiger Mighty General was not a deep-minded person as his aunt said.
"General Hua, I said when I came here that I came to help on behalf of my aunt..." Meng Yulong sighed, "If you want to save my cousin's life, you must send him to Pingcheng. My aunt In order to protect this youngest son, he has not been out of the palace for more than a year, and he is almost inseparable. Even so, this year, he has encountered three assassinations, two poisonings, and one time he was almost killed in the imperial garden. A mad dog bites…”
He looked at He Mulan with a surprised expression, and said with a heavy expression, "My aunt is already fifty-three this year, and the first two sons died inexplicably, only one son and one daughter remain, His Royal Highness Bodhi is an old man, aunt I'm worried that I'm getting old, I can't protect them for a few years, I don't want him to be rich and rich, I just want them to be safe."
He Mulan didn't say anything. She knew that what she heard now was probably the real secret of the Beiliang royal family.
"When the eldest prince had an accident, the fleeing soldiers who fled back said that there was a group of people they had never seen other than the Rouran people at that time. Unfortunately, the prince did not continue to investigate in order to stabilize the people's hearts, but only established the second highness as the prince. The prince of Xingguo went to Western Qin. At that time, there was sufficient food and logistics, the lord of Western Qin was dazed, and his subordinates were incapable of recruiting good warriors. Originally, he was in a position to be sure, but who would have expected the food route to be intercepted halfway, but his Highness rescued him and was ambushed and captured."
"That road was determined by the logistics officials two days ago, but the enemy has already ambushed on the road, and General Hua also knows what happened next. It can be said that the death of the prince was wrong."
When the Western Qin Kingdom was destroyed, Helianding slaughtered the Western Qin royal family. No one knew why the captured Juqu Xingguo was inexplicably mixed into the Western Qin royal family, and was cut down by Helianding.
Meng Yulong probably had a good relationship with Juqu Xingguo. When he talked about the ambush, his eyes were red, his teeth were gritted, and his words were full of hatred.
"My aunt didn't have the ambition to fight for power. The king loves young concubines, and my aunt can treat the king's other children well, but it's a pity that after Master Tan Wushen brought monks from the poisonous country into the palace a few years ago, the palace It has become more and more absurd. My aunt has argued several times with the king until she has the reputation of being a 'shrew'. She can only grit her teeth and endure it, thinking that when the prince inherits the throne, she will be able to sweep away the evil spirits, who would have guessed..."
"Please grief."
Seeing that his whole body was shaking, He Mulan could only comfort him warmly.
"I'm fine, I just pity my aunt who was hit three times in a row." Meng Yulong shook his head and let out a sigh of relief.
"Your Majesty was able to establish Beiliang, thanks to my aunt's great help in helping the family back then, but now our Meng family has become disheartened, and we only want to protect the lives of Prince Bodhi and the little princess. Resistance can only be the suffering of the people, we are willing to pay tribute to Shangliang, and only ask Wei to avenge the two dead sons..."
He choked with red eyes.
"Beiliang can do such a thing, and the only one who designed to frame the two princes is Juqu Mujian. The one in charge of logistical supplies is Prime Minister Song Yao, who started to support Juqu Mujian last year, and I'm afraid he has already fallen to him. Master Tan Wushen and the demon monk in the country of poison were welcomed back from Jiuquan by Juqu Mujian. Juqu Mujian's territory borders Rouran. When the eldest prince had an accident, if he had any covenant with the Rouran people, it would be fine. Unknown…”
He Mulan took every word he said in his heart, but did not dare to express any opinion.
Maybe it was a bitter trick by Queen Meng, or maybe it was a trick of the Meng family to make Juqu Bodhi ascend to the throne, but there is one thing Meng Yulong said is right, Wei Guo really hopes that the one who can become the prince is younger Juqu Bodhi, not the ambitious Juqu Muqian.
Northern Liang probably knew that Wei Guo did not want the more capable and famous Juqu Mujian to succeed him. For the sake of Bei Liang's survival, he had to turn to support that his status was not precious and only took up one "eldest" son. the three princes.
If only Cui Hao was here.
Meng Yulong's words quickly filtered through He Mulan's mind.
Whether it is Cui Hao or Gu Bi, I am afraid they will give her useful guidance. Even a few people are very sensitive politically, and they often have good words.
Even if Li Shun was sitting here, after listening to such a long passage, he probably had a decision he should have made.
But He Mulan could only sort through Meng Yulong's words over and over again, carefully and cautiously analyzing the pros and cons.
Fortunately, Meng Yulong's attitude was sincere enough, and he did not continue to beg her or force her to express his position, but just waited there quietly.
If Juqu Bodhi became the prince, would it be beneficial to Wei
Apart from the "retreat to Liangzhou", which is not true or false, Juqu Bodhi's willingness to go to Pingcheng as a "proton" is probably the best outcome for Wei.
As long as Juqu Bodhi is in hand, even if Juqu Muqian launches a coup and rises to power, His Majesty may at any time hold high Juqu Bodhi, the "Prince Prince", and send troops to attack Northern Liang.
Because Juqu Bodhi is the rightful son of the Prince of Liang. The three princes of Beiyan could ask Wei State to send troops to save their lives because of "abolishing the elders and establishing the young", and Wei State could send troops to Beiliang again because of "justifiable reason".
In addition, behind Juqu Mujian stood the strength of Jiuquan Sect, Dunhuang Sect and the remnants of Xiliang, and behind Juqu Boti was the support of the Beiliang army and the ministers of the "successor". Infighting must begin, and infighting will consume Beiliang's national strength, thus giving Wei a greater chance of winning in the future.
And what is the risk
He Mulan pondered.
If Queen Meng fails and fails to have Juqu Mengxun establish Bodhi as the heir, but instead allows Juqu Mujian to be established as the heir, then the domestic power will be quickly unified. He would not be obediently loyal to Wei, and he would probably accumulate the strength to fight back in private.
The "benefit" of this matter really outweighed the "disadvantage", and He Mulan couldn't help but be moved.
But the prudence in her nature still made her speak with reservation: "I want to know your strength first."
She said soberly: "Only by our persecution, it is impossible for King Liang to establish a heir. From our point of view, King Liang's intention to keep the third prince is very obvious, maybe the third prince is the candidate for the throne that King Liang prefers. Our rash persecution might make King Liang even more believe that the third prince is the heir to the throne that Wei is most afraid of."
"Whether what you said is true, and which step you can make, prove it to me first."
He Mulan straightened up and stared at Meng Yulong.
"If what you do can impress us, we will help Prince Bodhi!"