"What about the middle road?"
"Don't chase."
Everyone didn't know how the Fourth Prince made his judgment, but seeing that he was so angry, even Wu Qimai didn't dare to ask any more questions, so he immediately divided his troops into two groups and chased after him.
Jin Wushu took the lead, taking the left path, and a stream of blood rushed straight to his forehead. King Qin could be said to kill two birds with one stone, extremely vicious. Not only did he get a large amount of silver, but he could also provoke disputes between Song and Jin. He was not Hua Rong. He is not afraid of rivers of blood, and does not care about the casualties on both sides. He is happy as long as he can draw chestnuts from the fire, regardless of whether the Song Dynasty or the Jin Dynasty is destroyed. Since the Song and Jin peace negotiations, the ideal attitude of the Jin Kingdom has been to sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight, and to ask the Song Dynasty Domestic fighting, rather than taking part in losses. Now, once the tribute silver is lost, it will inevitably be involved in the fight between the two countries. This is also a situation that Jin Wushu does not want to see.
He chased in a hurry, but after another twenty miles, he completely lost the traces of the mules and horses, because at this time, the sky suddenly started to rain, getting heavier and heavier, and everyone was soaked until they could not open their eyes. It was summer. The heavy rain came and went quickly. When the rain passed and the sky cleared, everyone discovered that the road ahead was muddy and except for their own footprints, King Qin and his party had disappeared out of thin air.
Jin Wushu suffered such a blow that even God was against him.
"Fourth Prince, how can we pursue him?"
"Keep going, King Qin, I don't believe you can escape with your wings."
dusk.
The fourth prince's residence was shrouded in a gloomy atmosphere. Even the sunset, which had always been beautiful, had lost its charm and looked like it was bleeding.
Hua Rong dismounted, and two guards immediately came up impatiently, holding up their sabers: "Quickly, no one else is allowed to come near."
"I'm looking for the Fourth Prince."
"Who are you? Why are you looking for the Fourth Prince?"
These guards looked at each other, and Hua Rong said calmly: "You said Hua Rong was looking for him."
"The Fourth Prince is not at home."
Hua Rong glanced around, wondering whether what the guard said was true or false. When the fuss was getting louder, the housekeeper came over after hearing the news. He was still the old housekeeper. When he saw it was Hua Rong, he was overjoyed: "Quick, please come in." "Then he rolled his eyes at the two guards and said, "Even the madam doesn't know how to greet such a blind thing..."
Madam, which madam
The guards looked at each other in confusion, and the housekeeper didn't know what to call him, so he just called her "Madam" ambiguously. Whether it was Mrs. Yue or Mrs. Jin, it was up to him. Although he did not go to the grassland for vacation, he could hear the family members who came back talking about how the fourth prince once gave him a gift. He got Princess Hua Rong's golden book and jade belt, and Hua Rong ran away with the little prince. He couldn't figure out the relationship, and he didn't know if it was the princess. Anyway, Hua Rong came to the door by himself. If the fourth prince knew, Wouldn’t it be extremely joyful
"Madam, please come in, please come in..."
"Is the Fourth Prince here?"
The housekeeper was puzzled: "The fourth prince has not returned from the military expedition."
Jin Wushu sent troops? Is there any big battle recently that he can take part in
"Oh? Since he's not at home, I won't go in."
"How can this be done? It's not easy to come here..."
Hua Rong turned around and left. The housekeeper hurriedly tried to save her and chased her out. However, he heard the sound of horse hooves. It was the fourth prince returning with a group of guards.
"The fourth prince is back..." The housekeeper was overjoyed and went to greet him. Hua Rong also stopped and looked at Jin Wushu in surprise as he returned from a long journey.
Jin Wushu reined in his horse and was very surprised when he saw Hua Rong. There was a hint of joy in his eyes: "Why are you here?"
Before Hua Rong could answer, after he finished speaking, he suddenly put his hand on his chest, frowned, and vomited out a mouthful of blood. Everyone was shocked, and Hua Rong was also startled. When he took a closer look, he found that Jin Wushu had a disgraced face. His face was very ugly, and he didn't look like he was injured. This mouthful of blood was obviously accumulated internally and externally, and the disease had already entered his bones.
Everyone immediately gathered around: "Fourth Prince, what's wrong with you?"
"Quickly tell the witch doctor..."
"Go in quickly..."
Jin Wushu waved his hand to stop the crowd, and only stared at Hua Rong. This was the first time Hua Rong came to the door, and there was a trace of worry in her eyes. This trace of worry was like a panacea, and he took a moment He cheered up and was very happy. He jumped off his horse and strode towards her.
"Fourth Prince, what are you doing?"
"I'm fine. Let's go. If you have anything to say, we can talk to you inside."
A group of servants followed immediately, and the old housekeeper was even more attentive. Soon, the hall was filled with all kinds of refreshments. This was Hua Rong's first time stepping into this place. It was not the full Chinese version he had when he first came to Yanjing Palace. It is not half Liao and half Chinese when Yelu Guanyin was in charge. Now, it is completely full of the characteristics of Jin Wushu. In order to avoid the summer heat, the marble floor is all used. It is so smooth that you can almost see the shadow of people. The layout of the room is reversed. Maintaining the style of the past, there are still various decorations from the Song Dynasty court.
Hua Rong took a casual look, and Jin Wushu sat down opposite her and said happily: "Hua Rong, eat something first..."
"Thank you, Fourth Prince, I'm not hungry."
The old housekeeper Hou was standing aside and asked cautiously: "Fourth Prince, do you want to invite a witch doctor?"
Jin Wushu was a little impatient and waved his hand: "You all can go down. I will naturally call you when necessary."
Everyone retreated and the room immediately became quiet.
There were only two people left, and the atmosphere was strange. Jin Wushu took a long breath and leaned on the large chair, looking very tired. He only stared at the woman opposite. She was dressed in ordinary clothes, but her complexion was much better. The malaise and haggardness after the war that day. Of course Hua Rong came to the door for no reason. However, at this moment, he had no intention of speculating on any of her motives. He just wanted to just come and show up.
It seemed like a huge improvement between the two of them, even if they didn't speak, they were just sitting together like this.
Hua Rong avoided his burning and joyful gaze, but saw a layer of gray on his face and his brows were slightly wrinkled. She couldn't help but ask, "Are you sick? Why don't you seek medical treatment?"
"It's okay, it's just a minor problem," he said lightly, obviously this was not the first time. "Besides, the witch doctor can't see anything wrong with it."
"Fourth Prince, you don't have to hide your illness and avoid medical treatment. I heard that in the past two years, there has been a very outstanding doctor in the Kingdom of Jin. He practices Han medicine..."
"Hua Rong, you see, you are like this. Are you Hans good at everything?"
"I don't dare to say anything else. At least my medical skills are better than those of you."
Jin Wushu was speechless, but suddenly felt the concern in her words, became happy again, and looked at her suspiciously: "Why didn't Wenlong come back?"
Hua Rong avoided answering, but asked: "Fourth Prince, I heard that you went on an expedition?"
Jin Wushu's face turned from gray to angry: "Hua Rong, I won't hide it from you. In this life, I will kill King Qin. It's not that I refuse to let him go, it's that this pirate is too bullying and hateful. …”
So he went to fight King Qin again? Hua Rong was shocked and wanted to ask King Qin how he was doing, but looking at the look on the fourth prince's face, it was obvious that he had suffered a big loss.
"This thief stole a large amount of our silver..."
The fourth prince's family fortune is huge, and he can say the word "large amount" in his mouth. How huge a quantity must it be? Hua Rong's thoughts changed: "A large amount? Is it 250,000 taels?"
Jin Wushu snorted from his nose. Every year, the Song Dynasty's tribute was sent at the turn of spring and summer. She was familiar with this practice. This year was a little late. Otherwise, why did the Jin Kingdom lose a large amount of silver inexplicably? How could Jin Wushu easily dispatch an army to pursue him
She asked in surprise: "Did King Qin really take away that batch of tribute silver?"
"It's not taking, it's robbing. A robber is more despicable than a bandit."
Hua Rong laughed, as if a gold ingot suddenly fell from the sky and hit him on the foot. When Jin Wushu saw her eyes shining, he did not hide his joy at all, and couldn't help but said angrily: "Are you gloating? "
"The fourth prince is obviously from the Song Dynasty. The only difference is that you are the first-hand robbers, and the King of Qin is the second-hand robber. How can I take pleasure in others' misfortune?"
"Hua Rong, you, you actually turned towards that fellow, that pirate who did all kinds of evil..."
Hua Rong said sternly: "I am not facing him, even if it is not the King of Qin, no matter who it is, I will be very happy to hijack this batch of silver. Oh, fourth prince, no wonder you are so angry that you are vomiting blood, that's what it is. It's a pity, it's a pity, Will the nobles of Dajin have to save money on food, drink and entertainment this year? I guess the palace in Hexi will not be so magnificent."
She laughed while talking, her expression sweet and pure, as if she was an old friend chatting rather than hostile. Jin Wushu was filled with anger, but he couldn't refute it. However, this anger was not a real depression that had accumulated in his heart, but a kind of anger. I felt inexplicably relaxed, even if I received such cynicism, it was a great comfort.
It was the first time that Hua Rong saw that he could bear the sarcasm and keep his composure. He was also surprised. When he wanted to sarcastically say a few more words, he stopped. He just felt that he had never been so happy in the past few months. He thought Think about it, what a big figure. 250,000 taels of silk is almost equivalent to the GDP of the Jin Kingdom for the whole year (hehe, I don’t know how to express it, let’s borrow modern terminology). No wonder the fourth prince is so angry. King Qin, he can How much more troops to expand? Regarding this batch of tribute silver, it was not that she had not made up her mind since last year, but since she was single and weak, it was simply unrealistic. She did not expect that King Qin would actually succeed in hijacking it.
There was a smile in his eyes, and he couldn't even hide it. Of course Jin Wushu couldn't miss it, but he sneered, "This guy, King Qin, can't escape. I have sent a large army to pursue him. I don't believe he can fly into the sky." .”
Hua Rong thought of the mysterious land across the grasslands and mountains. In these border areas, there were too many places to hide, and countless small tribes appeared, even maintaining their original form for hundreds of thousands of years. She still If you don’t believe it, you can’t hide a King of Qin.
Such a smile made Jin Wushu jealous and hateful. After these days of pursuit, he gradually discovered that King Qin was by no means an ordinary person. Moreover, judging from the specifications and conduct of the troops dispatched, it was not at all that Yelu was used. It was his private action. Therefore, after his pursuit failed, he adopted a new strategy. What kind of medicine did King Qin sell in his gourd? Jin Wushu seemed to be talking to himself: "The King of Qin worked hard for his father-in-law. He really spared no effort."
So what
"Hua Rong, don't be too happy. Once the silver is in the hands of Yelu Da, it's just to resist the wolf and welcome the tiger. What good will it do to your Song Dynasty?"
"That's better than being in the hands of Dai Jin."