In ancient times, people with good relationships would even sleep together, but Guo Shao did not have this hobby. Except for his relatives and brothers who he was particularly familiar with in his previous life, he was not used to sleeping with men, especially people like Cao Yuanzhong who he had just met.
Cao Yuanzhong was sent away late at night. Guo Shao was ready to go to bed. Although it was the turn of summer and autumn, the climate in the northwest was dry and cold, especially after nightfall, the temperature was very low, so there was no need to take a bath every day.
The room was low and old, and under the dim candlelight, the gray and black walls and furniture made people feel that they were not cleaned properly. Guo Shao was now of a respected status, but he was originally from the lower class, and he had been marching and fighting for many years, sleeping in the open air, so now he was considered good to have a house to live in, and he was quite used to it.
The quiet environment and the heavily guarded palace made Guo Shao feel relaxed.
What affected Guo Shao's mood was not the living environment, but the mental strain. He could not help but weigh the pros and cons and consider the consequences of many things, fearing that he would make a wrong move and not be able to deal with it, which would invisibly increase his psychological pressure.
At this time, Wang Zhong came in with a basin of hot water with white steam coming out of it, placed it in front of Guo Shao, then squatted down to take off Guo Shao's boots, saying: Your Majesty, warming your feet can help you relieve your fatigue.
Guo Shao let Wang Zhong wash his feet. He was used to being served by people around him, because they thought it was an honor to be close to and serve the emperor. In this way, Guo Shao gradually felt at ease to enjoy the service.
Wang Zhong whispered: Your Majesty, Consort Li Yueji is already your concubine, how about I summon her to sleep with you
Guo Shao said nothing.
Wang Zhong paused, as if thinking that Li Yueji might not be willing, and then said: Although the Dangxiang woman is a bit wild and doesn't know what's good for her, she already has a status, so she will probably accept her fate.
Guo Shao shook his head at this time. Why should I force it
He holds great power and has many ways to force her to submit, without causing a huge commotion.
Wang Zhong said hurriedly: That's true.
Because last time in Bingzhou, the local commander had sent a woman to sleep with him, but Guo Shao refused. Wang Zhong did not bring it up again. After washing his feet, he took the basin and went out, gently closing the door.
Guo Shao lay on the bed, thinking about the reasons why he had threatened Li Yueji before.
Suddenly he realized that this was not right. If Li Yueji agreed and gave in to save Lu Ge, wouldn't it prove that she had deep feelings for Lu Ge? Li Yueji was Guo Shao's concubine, wouldn't this be a pain in the ass? On the contrary, if Li Yueji didn't agree, which was less likely, it would mean that she looked down on him completely.
Guo Shao suddenly felt that being a villain was not so satisfying.
For a moment, he decided not to ask about Li Yueji's attitude or know the result, so as to avoid trouble.
The next day, Guo Shao went to the main hall as usual to meet with ministers and important generals of the imperial guards.
Guo Shao had been on a tour to Lingzhou for quite some time, but he had not yet held a meeting with the leaders of the tribes. The final ceremony was only a result, and the process was a private effort.
Wei Renpu, Lu Duosun and others often hosted banquets to entertain the leaders of various tribes and envoys, and often made friends with them to discuss matters of alliance and trade.
Lu Duosun reported: "After discussing with the various tribes, most of them agreed with the two things the court wanted to do: First, the tribes sent people to set up residences in Lingzhou, and the court also set up a Ministry of Rites residence directly under the central Ministry of Rites. In the future, if there are any issues of the various tribes, they can directly report to the emperor through the Ministry of Rites residence in Lingzhou to avoid misunderstandings."
Second, a tea-horse trade was opened in Lingzhou to discuss large-scale transactions.
Lu Duosun glanced at Wei Renpu and continued, "Two things are hindering the progress of the great cause. The first is that the Hexi Dangxiang Yeci clan did not send anyone here. According to investigation, this tribe was the same group that had previously looted the tribute horses of the Guiyi Army and killed my followers and guards. This was really too much. I guess they were afraid of being punished by the court, so they pretended to be deaf and dumb."
The second thing is that the marriage between the Dangxiang Li Dingnan Army and the royal family was originally going smoothly, but due to an accident that happened two days ago, there is a fear that something unexpected may happen.
After hearing this, everyone started talking about it.
The relationships among the various tribes in the northwest were very complicated. The internal situation among the Dangxiang people alone was very chaotic. The Dangxiang people from different places neither stuck together nor intermarried with each other.
When Shi Yanchao heard all the different opinions, his brows almost knitted together, and he looked very impatient. He shouted directly: The Yeci clan robbed the tribute and killed people. Their crimes are unforgivable. What is there to say? We have the right to destroy the Yeci clan. If other tribes dare to act rashly,
And the man from the Mo Zang clan, who encouraged the imperial concubine to escape, was beheaded along with Mo Zang clan.
Wei Renpu said: The purpose of the government's western tour is to promote harmony among ethnic groups and reduce future troubles, and to open up trade routes to obtain war horses; the court's strategy is not in the northwest, and the western tribes are unlikely to invade in large numbers. If hatred is created, what good will the government's western tour do
However, the court of the Great Zhou Dynasty does not need to be too lenient. Brother Lu deserves the punishment and can be executed; we are right, and the Li family should not cancel the marriage just for Brother Lu, which would be difficult to deal with.
Lu Duoxun could not help but say: "I wonder if the Deputy Envoy of Wei knows something. Although Lu Ge is a guard accompanying the bride, he is the son of Mo Zang. Regardless of whether it is reasonable or not, if Lu Ge is beheaded, and Mo Zang is forced to send off his son, hatred will definitely be formed. How can he be close to the Great Zhou court in the future?"
Shi Yanchao said: It turned out that the old man's son was a bad parent, so he chopped them all off.
Lu Duoxun frowned and said: "There are many people in the Mo Zang clan. If we kill the leader, there will be a new leader. Moreover, the Mo Zang clan was killed on trumped-up charges as the envoy to escort the bride. Does the court have any sincerity in winning over the Dangxiang clan?"
There were many things involved in this matter, so it was controversial and a quarrel broke out.
Guo Shao said nothing. He could decide everything, but because of this, he had greater responsibility and had to face all the consequences.
This was Guo Shao’s first time doing the job of emperor, so he didn’t understand the true mentality of being an emperor. But he knew that a person in a high position must have both kindness and power, and neither could be lacking.
In comparison, he felt that killing Brother Lu would have the least side effects. In addition, Guo Shao was also very unhappy with Brother Lu in his heart. This thought was very subtle, and he wanted to kill Brother Lu not because Brother Lu was guilty or because he felt sorry for Guo Shao.
On the contrary, Li Yueji's position in Guo Shao's heart is limited. Maybe Brother Ling feels that Guo Shao has let him down the most; because Guo Shao has robbed his childhood sweetheart, a woman he loved deeply and was willing to do anything for. In Guo Shao's value system, the most deserving person to be killed is not the one who has hurt him, owes him, or let him down. Killing them is just venting one's anger and is of no benefit; the most deserving person to be killed is the one who hates him, because it will more or less create a sense of threat.
That is, in Guo Shao's view, the more you hurt others, the more you want to beat them to death; when others hurt you, you can be generous and forgiving. This is a very strange idea, but he thinks it is quite reasonable.
At this time, Mo Zang was so anxious that he didn't sleep for two nights.
Perhaps compared to the major issues that affected the overall situation, people felt that losing a son was not a big deal, and it was obvious which was more important. But the key point was that Mei Zang only had one son.
The two sides had already discussed it at the beginning. The marriage and in-laws were supposed to be a safe and good thing. He really didn't expect there would be such a big danger.
If Lingge died, he would have no descendants. Of course, the Meizang clan had many members, and cousins and brothers could all take over his position, but it would be more practical to pass the position of leader to the son he raised himself.
The wrinkles on Mei Zang's face became more and more, and his hair seemed to have turned a little greyer, making him look even older. Time is ruthless, and everyone will be buried in the earth, but there will not even be descendants to see him off. Mei Zang felt very sad.
The subordinates advised: Maybe Brother Ling will be released in two days.
"I requested for an audience several times, but the Emperor of Zhou refused to even see me," Mei Zang said weakly.
He stood at the door, looked up at the direction of the palace, and murmured: It's all my fault for not letting Brother Ling know the dangers of power. The people of Zhou are outsiders, how can they be like the king, who would talk about friendship and let him off the hook
What should he do? Mei Zang couldn't think of any solution. He wanted to beg for mercy several times, but he was not allowed to meet. It was useless to use force. Not to mention whether the King of Xiping would agree to him using troops, even if he used troops to take revenge, the people would be dead. Could they be resurrected
Brother Lu suddenly became a very popular person in Lingzhou. People from all over the place who gathered here always wanted to find some topics to talk about. In the tavern, several people in strange costumes drank and made bets at the same time: the limit was ten days, and they bet on whether Brother Lu would live or not.
One of the men, who was thick-waisted and big-headed, threw his dense braids behind his head and said: The princess of the Li family wanted to run away on her own, why did the emperor kill Brother Ling
Another man said with a smile in Tibetan: "Don't bet on the wrong thing. On the surface, it is said that he is a loyal servant of Concubine Li Xian, and he followed her to escape; but I heard that it is not so. It is said that Brother Jing is Concubine Li Xian's lover, and they were separated for the sake of marriage."
Someone interrupted and said: I think the rumors are credible. Why would Concubine Li run away for no reason? She would only do anything for that kind of thing. Hey, it's hard to say what happens between men and women. There is a woman in our tribe who is in love with her enemy.
The man with a thick waist said: I'd rather not kill Brother Ling. It's just that the woman ran away with someone else. Why kill her
Brothers, you may not know that the Han people’s customs are different from ours. Their women belong to whoever they belong to.
The thick-waisted man frowned and said: Even if you get it, it still belongs to someone else.
It seems so, the man just now said seriously.
The man hesitated after hearing this, and slammed the table and said: I'd rather not let Brother Lu die. If you all bet on him to die, I'll earn more if I win.
Haha. Everyone at the table burst into laughter after hearing this.
Someone shouted: Let's wait and see
The tavern was very lively, and no one paid attention to what was being said, and many people could not understand it. The simple teahouses and taverns in Lingzhou were doing very good business recently, with people coming in speaking all kinds of incomprehensible dialects.
I'm sorry everyone, I encountered some troubles these two days and have not updated for two days.