AWB Chapter 70: Prince’s daily confusion: Where’s the drink we agreed on?
Chapter 70: Prince’s daily confusion: Where’s the drink we agreed on?
Gu Jingzhi grabbed the token in his sleeve, not knowing what he was thinking.
After a while, he shook his head.
The time is almost up, so it would be better to see Emperor Xia first before the palace gate closes!
Gu Jingzhi called for a carriage and hurried to the palace.
As soon as he arrived at the palace gate, he saw the eunuch who usually summoned him waiting there. He couldn't help but ask, "Eunuch Huang, what are you doing here?"
"Master Gu! His Majesty heard that you requested an audience and asked me to wait here!"
"Your Majesty sent you here?"
Gu Jing was stunned and said quickly, "Then let's go quickly! Don't keep His Majesty waiting!"
The two hurried into the palace and soon arrived at the imperial study. Gu Jingzhi quickly stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I, Gu Jingzhi, pay my respects to you. I respectfully wish you the best of health!"
"Humph!"
"I'm uneasy!"
Emperor Xia snorted coldly and uttered a few words that made Gu Jingzhi extremely speechless!
Gu Jingzhi's mouth twitched, knowing that Emperor Xia was expressing his dissatisfaction with his blockade of Beili Posthouse. He hurriedly took out the letter of credence signed with Beili from his sleeve pocket.
"Your Majesty! After many rounds of negotiations, I have reached an agreement with the Beili delegation. All the negotiations are in the Beili Kingdom Letter. Beili Prime Minister Baili Gongshu has signed the alliance. I invite Your Majesty to review it!"
"???"
Emperor Xia was completely confused!
Not only Emperor Xia, but even Prince and Tianshu were confused. Didn't you put him under house arrest? How did you sign the agreement?
Did you really put a knife on someone's neck and force Beili to sign the treaty?
The young eunuch standing by didn't know whether he should take the call or not, as it seemed a bit awkward.
In the end, it was Emperor Xia who reacted first. He glanced at the eunuch, and the young eunuch hurriedly stepped forward respectfully, holding the letter of credence in both hands and presenting it to Emperor Xia.
After Emperor Xia took it, he glanced at Gu Jingzhi and then opened the letter.
After skipping over the previous bunch of nonsense, his eyes fell on the alliance between the two parties.
Beili returned the five states of Yunzhou, Lingzhou, Daizhou, Huangzhou, Xuanzhou... and donated 50,000 war horses to Daxia?
"Wow!"
Emperor Xia stood up with a whoosh. He looked at Gu Jingzhi, his lips trembling slightly: "Five..."
He suddenly paused, looked at the eunuch beside him, and suddenly waved his hand. The eunuch quickly led the palace servants away. Emperor Xia then said, "Is this true?"
The prince and Tianshu on the side also looked at Gu Jingzhi. They were curious about what was written on this letter that made Emperor Xia so disregard his etiquette.
Gu Jingzhi said, "Your Majesty, the contents of the covenant are clearly written on it, and it has been stamped with the seal of Beili and the seal of Baili Gongshu..."
"boom!"
Emperor Xia excitedly slammed his fist on the imperial desk and laughed heartily, "I never thought that in my lifetime, I would be able to reclaim the Five Provinces without a single soldier. Gu Qing... you have made great contributions to our Great Xia!"
"Five states?"
Prince and Tianshu looked at Gu Jingzhi in astonishment.
Gu Jingzhi smiled and said, "Your Majesty, this is a God-given opportunity! Of course...it's also thanks to Prince Li Yue!"
"Xiao Li?"
Emperor Xia smiled and pointed at him and said, "You, you..."
He finally understood that whether it was Chang Wei's murder or this so-called assassination, they were probably all arranged by Xiao Li. However, Gu Jingzhi took advantage of the situation and directly transferred the matter to Baili Gongshu, thus making Baili Gongshu give in.
However, this is obviously not enough!
He smiled and said, "I'm afraid it's not just Xiao Li who's helping you, Song Pu has also been a big help to you! Besides, there's also that confession, right?"
"Your Majesty is wise. Speaking of that confession, I must thank the Internal Guards for their assistance. Not only did they greatly assist me during the interrogation, but they also provided me with a great deal of convenience by blocking the news from the north!"
"Well!"
Emperor Xia nodded and said, "So, you placed the Beili delegation under house arrest this time because you were afraid that Xiao Li and the others would notice something, right?"
"Indeed!"
Gu Jingzhi said: "Wu Tianyao can rebel, but he cannot rebel until the Five States are taken back, otherwise all our plans will fail!"
Emperor Xia nodded upon hearing this, and suddenly turned around: "Tianshu, you inner guards continue to block any news of Li Yue's whereabouts. We must not let any of you down!"
Tianshu immediately accepted the order.
Wu Tianyao really couldn't resist at this time, otherwise Beili's thousand-mile defense line would be collapsed in one blow, and Li Yue would be able to break through Beili's defense line without a single soldier, and Beili might be lost if things went wrong.
By then, this contract will become worthless.
Although Daxia can take the opportunity to move north to recover some territory, it is still unknown how much it can recover.
Moreover, if the recovered territory cannot be managed peacefully for a period of time, the powerful Li Yue will move south and Daxia will be unable to defend it. In that case, not only will Daxia gain nothing, but it will also suffer losses in terms of troops and wasted money and food.
Now Gu Jingzhi not only got back the five states through negotiations, but also got 50,000 war horses. With these war horses, Daxia can immediately train tens of thousands of cavalry.
In this way, the northern defense line will be more stable.
Originally, Emperor Xia had a simple idea. He would be satisfied even if he could just take back one state.
After all, Daxia hasn't waged a large-scale foreign war for more than ten years, especially in the north, which has been peaceful for too long!
Beili's 300,000-strong army blocked Daxia's passage to the north. Although Beili has suffered repeated defeats on the battlefield with Li Yue in recent years, this does not mean that Beili is a soft persimmon.
The person who blocked Daxia was the Beili general Nangong Shouyi, who was one of the three most famous generals in the world. Even if Li Sheng, who was also a famous general in the world, was transferred there, it might not be possible to break through Nangong Shouyi's defense line.
Whether the alliance with Li Yue can destroy Beili is unknown. If it can be destroyed, it would be fine, but if it cannot, Daxia may not be able to gain any substantial benefits from it.
Although Emperor Xia was the founding monarch, so many years have passed, and with age... his ambition has gradually faded.
He could not be more satisfied than to be able to resolve the territorial issue peacefully.
As for the remaining five states, he glanced at the prince and Gu Jingzhi, and was afraid that the remaining territory would have to be taken back by the young people.
This is a good thing, at least it will allow the new king to quickly establish prestige.
"Ha ha!"
"I am in high spirits today, Crown Prince... and Gu Qing, please stay and have a few drinks with me!"
Upon hearing this, the prince readily agreed. However, Gu Jingzhi whispered, "Your Majesty, I'm currently attending a funeral at home, and I dare not disturb your Majesty's leisure!"
"Funeral?"
Upon hearing this, Emperor Xia frowned, "Your old servant?"
"His Majesty!"
Gu Jingzhi's eyes were red: "Who is this servant, yet he is so loyal to me? He is the only one who has accompanied me for the past twenty years..."
"He was a loyal servant indeed. Your presence at home to attend to his funeral is truly a gesture of deep affection and loyalty. Well...just go back and take care of your business!"
Emperor Xia saw his expression and did not force him to stay.
Gu Jingzhi immediately thanked him and said, "Your Majesty, regarding Baili Gongshu, I'm worried that Prince Xiao might become desperate and do something desperate. I beg Your Majesty to send more people to ensure Baili Gongshu's life!"
"Let Tianshu's internal guards handle this matter!"
"In that case, I will take my leave!"
Emperor Xia waved his hand, and Gu Jingzhi slowly left the imperial study.
Looking at his back, Emperor Xia suddenly sighed. Tianshu stood aside, thought for a moment, and suddenly said, "Your Majesty! The old servant in Lord Gu's family died in a very strange way."
"Ok?"
Emperor Xia turned around and looked at him.