The slow and heavy sound of drums rang out outside the Lingzhou government office.
A row of soldiers in brightly-clad armor puffed out their cheeks, held their heads high and blew the horns vigorously towards the east. The red sun was rising over the green and yellow grassland outside the city, as if it was rising in response to the sound of the horn, and the wind was galloping in the sky. The sun was rising, and everything was full of energy, as if praising a new beginning.
People wearing all kinds of clothes lined up in two rows and walked inside. There were civil officials wearing round-necked robes and black gauze hats, military generals wearing military uniforms and armor, and people of various ethnic groups with strange hair and clothes. This place was like a hodgepodge of civilizations, and people could accept each other. After seeing it many times, you get used to it.
Following the process of those who had entered before them, people consciously took off their weapons first, stood there with their arms outstretched, waited for the eunuchs to search their bodies from head to toe, and then turned around and crossed the threshold.
Inside the government hall, there was a lot of chattering, and many people were unable to understand what they were saying. On the front wall hung a plaque with four large Chinese characters: A Clear Mirror Hangs High. The two official chairs below were placed there steadily, empty.
On the main cross street in the city, a huge group of people and horses were coming, and many cavalrymen were guarding a large carriage decorated with yellow silk.
Li Yueji was in this four-horse carriage, and Guo Shao was sitting opposite her. Li Yueji didn't say a word along the way, and she ignored Guo Shao. She was still wearing the clothes she brought from home, a tight lapel dress with colorful colors, a fur hat with a round top, and very few jewelry on her hair, but there were gold and silver ornaments on her ears, neck, arms, etc.
The dress, which was tighter than Hanfu, made Li Yueji's curvy figure more prominent. Guo Shao's eyes inadvertently swept over her hips and legs as she sat. Li Yueji saw it, curled her lips, and stared at him with wide eyes.
Guo Shao sighed calmly and said earnestly: Concubine Li, don't be so willful.
What is willful? Li Yueji finally spoke.
Guo Shaodao: What you did when you first arrived in Lingzhou, which resulted in two deaths, is a small matter. What you did was almost starting a war and causing tens of millions of deaths. That is just being willful.
Li Yueji pursed her lips and was speechless. Her expression was a little gloomy. She really regretted that thing. She didn't expect the consequences to be so serious.
But she still refused to admit defeat and said: You just want to put the blame on me.
Guo Shao pondered for a moment, and then said: When there were no outsiders around, I would have never argued with you, but in front of the world, all our words and deeds are state actions. Don't just let yourself go and treat it as a show.
At this time, the carriage stopped and a man outside said: Your Majesty, we have arrived. Your Majesty and Concubine Li, please move in.
Guo Shao got off the carriage first, then turned around and stretched out his hand to Li Yueji. Li Yueji thought of what she had just said, and reluctantly put her hand in his palm, and helped her get off the carriage. Guo Shao's hands were really rough, but they were very steady and strong.
She thought of her brother Lu who was killed by Guo Shao himself, and Uncle Mo Zang who died in a foreign land. She felt an inexplicable sadness in her heart. Uncle Mo Zang watched her grow up, and Lu was as familiar as a family member. But what Guo Shao said was not without reason. She just thought it was a play with no other choice. She couldn't harm Mo Zang and make Xia Zhou's father embarrassed.
The two walked into the hall surrounded by eunuchs and attendants, and the people behind them stopped immediately. Guo Shao walked in front, and Li Yueji followed behind. She kept a proper distance from Guo Shao and walked slowly to the front amid the sound of drums and music.
The leaders of the tribes on both sides bent down and focused their eyes. Li Yueji was a little nervous. She was also a noble person in Xiazhou, but as the daughter of King Xiping, she was a junior and could not legitimately receive people's etiquette in public; her identity as the emperor's wife was different. At this time, Li Yueji could not help but feel a little restrained.
The two of them climbed onto the official seat one after the other. Guo Shao held Li Yueji's arm and helped her sit down, with a look of doting and concern. Li Yueji did not dare to resist and let him do as he pleased.
At this time, a group of people knelt on the ground and shouted: "Long live the emperor!" Others also bowed and wished Guo Shao a long life. The hall was very noisy for a while.
Everyone, please stand up. Guo Shaodao.
Everyone thanked him and got up from the ground.
At this time, the eunuch came forward and sang some set words. Guo Shao turned his head and whispered to Li Yueji with a smile: Come closer to my ear, it seems like we are having a loving conversation.
Li Yueji frowned and turned her head.
Smile. Guo Shao, we are the noble emperor and his concubine, but now we can regard ourselves as actors. The happier you smile, the better.
Li Yueji had no choice but to smile. Then she found something so funny that she really burst out laughing. Her face felt hot and she covered her mouth with her hand.
To others, the emperor and his beloved concubine were whispering regardless of the occasion, and Concubine Li's every frown and smile was very vivid.
After Li Yueji finished laughing, her expression darkened again and she whispered: It turns out that people in high positions are just putting on an act.
Guo Shaodao: Who doesn't play a trick
At this time, the eunuch's long speech was finally finished. Even Guo Shao did not fully understand the meaning of the words. Those tribal leaders probably had no idea what they meant but they thought it was very powerful.
Wei Renpu stepped out and said loudly: Bring it up
Soon a Tangut came in first, and two people behind him were escorting a man who was tied up and had a cloth gagged in his mouth. The Tangut in front put his hands on his chest and bowed.
Everyone looked sideways.
Wei Renpu asked: "Leader of the Yeci clan, you sent the culprit who looted the tribute.
The Tangut said: Yes.
Wei Renpu's eyes moved to the face of the tied man, and he said angrily: Do you know your crime
The man's mouth was blocked and he made meaningless sounds.
Guo Shao also felt that the scene was a little less serious. What was the point of gag- ing the man and asking him? However, it was indeed the leader of the Yeci clan who sent the criminal, so the attitude of the Dangxiang Yeci clan was enough.
Wei Renpu did not want to be told any more. He turned to Guo Shao and said, "Your Majesty, this man is so audacious and reckless that he deserves death. I request your order to execute him immediately."
Guo Shaodao: Just do as the Deputy Envoy of Wei requested.
Wei Renpu shouted: Come on, take him down and chop him up
The tied Dangxiang man was able to speak only after he was dragged out. There was a lot of shouting coming from outside which Guo Shao could not understand. It should be words like "it's unfair" or cursing the emperor. He was going to die anyway and there was no point in shouting.
Then there were screams. The execution was not done with one blow, as if the wound had been cut for a long time but the person could not die. The screams came one after another, like the screams of a pig being slaughtered, which sounded very scary. The expressions of the people in the hall changed.
After a long time, several soldiers came up with wooden plates with bloodstained bowls on them. There was wine in the bowls, which were also dripping with blood. They distributed the wine bowls one by one.
Guo Shao also took a bowl with blood on the edge. He stood up, looked around, and said: Today, I will sacrifice the blood of the bandits and make a blood oath with the leaders of all tribes. From now on, all tribes will turn hostility into friendship, ensure smooth trade routes, communicate and discuss in time to resolve disputes, not attack each other, and live in harmony. If you violate the rules, your fate will be like this.
Everyone raised their wine bowls and said in unison: Don't attack each other, live in harmony.
The various tribes had already negotiated with the ministers accompanying the western tour many days in advance, so there was nothing wrong at this time, and it was just a formality.
Dry
When Guo Shao brought the wine bowl to his face, he saw blood on the edge of the bowl and blood stains in the wine, and smelled a fishy odor. His stomach churned and he swallowed silently.
He thought of a line of poetry that jokingly talked about his thirst for the blood of the Huns, and immediately he made up his mind, put the bowl to his mouth, gulped it down, then laughed out loud and smashed the bowl to the ground.
Everyone below also followed Guo Shao's example, and soon the hall was filled with the sound of shattering things.
Just then, Guo Shaocai noticed that Li Yueji was looking at him with complicated eyes, and he came back to his senses. Her performance just now did seem a bit bloodthirsty and cruel.
But in fact, Guo Shao drank the bloody and dirty stuff and was nauseous. But at this time, he couldn't explain it clearly to Li Yueji.
There was a burst of laughter in the lobby, and after the order and etiquette, the atmosphere of barbarism still lingered.
Guo Shao sat down. Not long after, the sound of orchestral music began, and a group of Western Hu girls who did not look like East Asians filed into the lobby. They walked briskly and deliberately made seductive looks at the men around them.
The atmosphere changed and everyone became relaxed and happy. As expected, no matter which tribe the men were from, they all had at least one thing in common: women.
The beautiful Hu girls were shaking their glittering hand and foot bells. They covered their eyes with their hands, and then moved their hands away as the singing progressed, revealing their charming and smiling eyes, looking at the men.
The singing was so touching and melodious that it refreshed the ears of the civil and military officials who were used to listening to songs from the Central Plains.
Haha, the men from all the tribes were grinning from ear to ear.
Guo Shao also smiled and looked down.
His smile was not because of these Hu Ji beauties or the wonderful singing and dancing. He was indeed happy, happy for this success. But if someone dared to stare at him, they might have noticed that there was something chilling in his smile. Ambition and desire ruled the country with benevolence, but the establishment of any great civilization or any great achievement was not built on a pile of thousands of dead bones.
The completion of a goal and the successful preparation is not an end, but a new beginning.
With a smile on his face, Guo Shao turned to look at the sunlight outside the window. The east is where the sun rises, which is also the direction of his hometown Youzhou.