100 Settlement
Lu Jing's voice was slow and measured: "Didn't you say before that you missed me?"
This matter involves the safety of the monarch, and is of great importance.
Gu Ningxi assumed that Lu Jing had agreed, and reached out to grab her brocade robe beside the couch.
Fearing he might change his mind, Gu Ningxi hurried to change her clothes. However, when she had half untied the ties of her nightgown, she realized belatedly that he was still standing there.
There was a sudden silence in front of the couch. Gu Ningxi grabbed the straps and looked up at Lu Jing silently.
Although... but in broad daylight, she undressed in front of him like that. Gu Ningxi always felt indescribable weirdness.
Besides, every time they did it, he was the one who took off her clothes.
Gu Ningxi was in a dilemma. If he just put on the outer robe, it would be easy to see the clue because it was his pajamas and the cuffs were too long.
She didn't move for a long while. Seeing that the other party didn't react, Gu Ningxi said shamelessly, "Your Majesty, could you please... step aside for a moment?"
Lu Jing: “…”
This seems to be his bedroom.
Under Gu Ningxi's gaze, he temporarily stepped out from behind the screen.
Gu Ningxi breathed a sigh of relief and quickly changed his clothes.
After quickly tying her hair, Gu Ningxi came out of the inner room and found Lu Jing waiting for her outside the screen.
"Let's go. Where are all the captured people being held?"
Gu Ningxi was completely focused on this. Lu Jing didn't move, but lowered his head to straighten the two buttons that were messed up for her.
Gu Ningxi made a mistake in a hurry and fiddled with her knuckles embarrassedly, letting him do what he wanted.
"Your Majesty, Marquis Wu'an is interrogating—"
Sun Jing had originally gone in to deliver a message, but as soon as he stepped into the imperial tent he saw this scene and hurriedly retreated, his feet moving lightly.
Gu Ningxi was startled by the voice, but fortunately her vision was completely blocked by the person in front of her.
The curtains were still swaying slightly. After everything was tidied up, Lu Jing took Gu Ningxi out of the tent.
She looked straight ahead, not daring to meet Manager Sun's eyes.
Little did he know that Sun Jing was extremely happy in his heart. After more than half a month of trouble, the two ancestors finally recovered.
Because the assassination case turned out to be a real one, all the hunting activities originally scheduled for these three days were postponed.
Each government office stayed in its own tent, carefully listening to news from outside, for fear of being targeted by assassins.
A tent was set up in a secluded place in the northwest corner to interrogate the assassin, and the air was filled with a faint smell of blood.
The incident happened suddenly, and the three officials from the Ministry of Justice who accompanied the emperor on the hunting trip were all summoned here.
After a night of interrogation, some assassins, unable to endure the torture, revealed several of their accomplices. Since yesterday afternoon, the four exits of the camp have been sealed, like a turtle trapped in a jar. Imperial guards were dispatched to immediately apprehend the suspects.
All in all, there are seventeen people in the camp whose identities are questionable.
Fortunately, there were enough people to conduct the interrogation. Gu Ningxi was surprised and said, "I didn't expect that Marquis Wu'an and his men were so good at torture."
Lu Jing glanced sideways and explained to her in a low voice, "When we capture enemy spies and secret agents during the march, we often need to interrogate them on the spot."
Practice makes perfect; the military has its own set of torture techniques. Gu Ningxi flipped through the confession. It was truly shocking that so many spies could be planted in a camp without anyone noticing.
In the latest confession in the afternoon, a guard claimed to be under the orders of Prince Huai. He received a secret letter three months ago ordering him to remain in the camp and await orders.
Gu Ningxi tried to discern the truth from the lies. The Prince of Huai was plotting treason, his crimes already known to the world. Now, two years later, with the Prince imprisoned in Renzhi Palace, was anyone still contacting these spies?
Is this a fish that escaped from the Huaiwang Mansion, or is it that the Huaiwang is not crazy at all and has a backup plan?
Dark Satellite went to investigate the background of the spies at night, and according to the information sent back so far, these people have very clean backgrounds.
The more this is the case, the more suspicious it is.
As more and more people confessed, the case became increasingly confusing. Many of them were spies, who were accusing innocent people of lying and muddling the waters. Almost everyone in the camp who knew them was in danger, and it was difficult to distinguish truth from falsehood.
After reading more than a dozen confessions with Lu Jing, Gu Ningxi pressed his eyebrows.
She tried to piece together the scattered clues. Among the fifteen people who had been confirmed to be spies, their identities ranged from cooks, guards to maids.
Given the power of the Prince of Huai at the time, was he able to forge so many household registrations and even transfer them to the royal hunting grounds without anyone noticing? Or was the Eastern Palace also involved?
The Prince of Huai was half-crazed, and interrogating him would undoubtedly alert the Retired Emperor and Empress, and there was no guarantee of success. Could it be that the Prince of Shu, already a vassal, was being dragged back into the old case of the succession dispute?
All the clues point to Prince Huai, and the case seems to have been solved.
The scene in the dream flashed by like lightning, and Gu Ningxi remembered that one of the assassins had a tattoo on his arm.
She hurriedly looked through the confessions, and sure enough, all seven of them entered the Jiuyun Mountain camp in the autumn of the eleventh year of Mingde.
"Your Majesty, do you remember that in the eleventh year of Mingde, the Turkic envoys came to Beijing to exchange the treaty, and the Supreme Emperor ordered Prince Huai to contact them?"
The delegation stayed in Beijing for several months. Prince Huai negotiated with the Turkic envoys and reduced the annual tribute to the Turks by 30%. The retired emperor also issued an edict to praise them.
Lu Jing almost never participated in the peace treaty with the Turks. Now that Gu Ningxi mentioned it, he gradually had some impression of it.
Xie Qian also remembered that during that period he had been on an inspection tour with His Majesty and was not in the capital.
Zhen Yuan asked, "Master Gu, are you suggesting that the Turks are behind this?"
The Turks in the north had long coveted the Central Plains. However, their nomadic existence and insufficient population made occupying large swathes of the Central Plains both useless and beyond their reach. As the Central Plains fragmented, they supported several regimes to contain each other, frequently borrowing troops in exchange for vast sums of gold and silver. When the Jin Dynasty first emerged, it was forced to submit to the Turks and pay tribute annually in the hope of securing stability in the north.
The Turks even hoped that the Central Plains would be divided for a long time. In the later period, the strength of the Jin Dynasty gradually grew stronger. Even though the tributes did not decrease, the Turks still broke their promise and sometimes sent cavalry south to support the Zheng, Xia and Xu Lang regimes, and become enemies of the Jin Dynasty.
Case after case, wherever the Turkic cavalry passed, they burned, killed, looted and committed all kinds of atrocities. The people of the Central Plains hated the Turks deeply, and the emperor's submission to the Turks was a disgrace to the entire Jin Dynasty.
Xie Qian was incredulous: "How dare the Prince of Huai, a direct descendant of the royal family, collude with the Turks?"
Even though Lu Chen had been stripped of his princely title, they still addressed him by his old custom when they mentioned him after a long time.
Lu Jing understood in an instant. If it was Lu Chengyu, everything would make sense.
His younger brother did such a thing in order to fight for power and profit.
Gu Ningxi pondered, if the Prince of Huai could take advantage of the opportunity of several months of negotiations with the Turkic delegation, he could openly exchange information with the Turkic Khan and reach an agreement.
The unification of the Central Plains did not curb the Turkic people's evil ambitions.
…
The bright moon hangs in the sky and the night deepens.
Lu Jing ordered his personal guards to take Gu Ningxi back to rest. Xie Qian was about to go on an inspection and change of guard, so he went with Gu Ningxi.
The camp was in a turbulent time, and with Huaicheng by his side, Lu Jing felt more at ease.
He still stayed here with Qin Yu and Zhen Yuan, pried open the assassin's mouth, and followed the clues to find out that there was still a lot to investigate.
Gu Ningxi wanted to say something but stopped herself. She was useless here, so she stopped disturbing them.
He didn't know how long he would be busy tonight, and he probably didn't sleep last night.
Xie Qian escorted Gu Ningxi back to the camp first. Seeing the worry on his face, Gu Ningxi could see through his worries: "Nothing went wrong, why blame yourself?"
She soothed him gently, and Xie Qian forced a smile. "I was in charge of the camp, and I had already arranged the defenses beforehand. I never expected that there were more than ten spies hiding right under my nose, and I was completely unaware of it."
If they started a rebellion, it would definitely be directed at Your Majesty. Even if no major disaster occurred, Xie Qian would feel that he had been extremely derelict in his duty and could not escape blame.
Gu Ningxi said, "This chess piece was planted three years ago, and it hasn't been used yet. This matter cannot be blamed on you in any way. We will investigate thoroughly."
There was sincerity in her eyes, and every word she said was thoughtful of her friends. Xie Qian's burden subtly dissipated a little. He still felt a chill when he thought of the dozen or so spies with ill intentions.
"But where did Lord Gu go yesterday?"
Fortunately, His Majesty sealed off all exits in order to locate Lord Gu, allowing them to stumble upon this case. Otherwise, these spies would have continued to threaten the camp for a long time, making it impossible to capture them all.
Gu Ningxi paused and said, "I have something to do. I went to the mountains to look for His Majesty. My family... I don't know yet."
Xie Qian understood that the relationship between His Majesty and Lord Gu was still unclear. His Majesty's delay in granting Lord Gu a formal status was indeed inappropriate.
Gu Ningxi avoided the topic. They had already walked quite a distance and could still vaguely see the candlelight in the northwest corner of the tent.
She whispered, "When you were in the army, did you often work day and night like this?"
The country was in a state of disrepair, and she had witnessed with her own eyes how people in the imperial study worked day and night.
Xie Qian nodded. "Sometimes, when the military situation is urgent, we don't take off our armor for three days and three nights. You know His Majesty's temperament. The more difficult the battle, the more he will face it head-on. This was the case during the siege of Wang Xingman, and even more so during the battle against Zhao Jianan at Sishui Pass." Speaking of his time in the army, Xie Qian's voice was tinged with nostalgia. "Following His Majesty over the years, I've fought many tough battles."
Defeating Zhou Tong and then pursuing the rest of his troops for two days and one night without stopping were all piece of cake.
But as they watched the war-torn Central Plains being put together again and watched the people who were eager to end the war line the streets to welcome the Jin army, they never regretted it.
Your Majesty is strict in military discipline. Wherever the army passes, no one is harmed. Many states and counties surrender at the sight of your army.
A lot of things were said without them realizing it, and Gu Ningxi's tent was already in sight.
Xie Qian watched her enter the tent safely before continuing his inspection with peace of mind so that he could report to the emperor after returning.
Gu Ningxi had reported to the Marquis' Mansion that he was safe during the day. Gu Ting didn't see anyone, so he waited in the main tent until this moment. He breathed a sigh of relief after being sure that the person was fine.
Ning Xi was following His Majesty in interrogating the assassin, so he had no time to get away, and Gu Ting had nothing to say.
"You've been tired all day, go to bed early."
"Yes, thank you for your concern, uncle."
The uncle and nephew parted politely, and Gu Ningxi returned to his tent.
After a quick wash, Gu Ningxi lay down on her couch. Her mind was a mess, a variety of images interwoven, yet all converged into one person.
She counted on her fingers: he went to the battlefield at the age of fifteen, and pacified the country at the age of twenty-four. In nine years, he achieved results that others might not have achieved in decades, unifying the fragmented land of China into its present state.
Marquis Wu'an did not shy away from the difficulties of the war. As the commander-in-chief, he probably had to worry about even more.
Especially in the battle of Sishui Pass, she had no idea what kind of mentality he had when he led only 3,500 cavalrymen to fight against an army of 100,000.
If we retreat, the siege of Luoyang will fail, and the world will probably be divided for a long time.
Even though he had already ascended the throne, Gu Ningxi knew that he had never slacked off.
Only three months after the retired emperor proclaimed himself emperor, the Turkic cavalry marched south and were less than 300 miles north of the capital.
The Jin Dynasty was powerless to fight, so the retired emperor had to endure the humiliation and send envoys to seek peace and sign a new treaty with the Turks to maintain temporary peace.
He was only twelve years old at that time, and Empress Yiwen had just passed away. He had never forgotten that alliance under duress.
Later, he went to the battlefield, recovered lost territories one after another, expanded the territory for the Jin Dynasty, and made outstanding military achievements.
The Turks were alarmed, fearing the Jin dynasty would become the sole hegemon. The ruling Turkic Khan sent an envoy to question him, threatening to publicly humiliate him for disrespect.
In order to protect his safety, the retired emperor expelled him from the capital first, finally giving an explanation to the Turks.
All the right and wrong, grudges and grievances, decades of humiliation in the Central Plains, sooner or later there will be a war between the Jin Dynasty and the Turks.
Since he ascended the throne, he has worked day and night to reorganize the government and restore production, with the aim of one day completely eradicating the Turkic threat on the border.
But - Gu Ningxi looked at the green curtain above his head. After all, human energy is limited.
When he was young, he had a good physical condition, so he didn't care about maintenance and spent money recklessly.
Considering how hard he works, if he could live to a ripe old age, it would be a blessing from heaven for the Lu family's ancestors.
Gu Ningxi let out a long sigh.
…
It took a full five days to eliminate all the spies in the Jiuyun Mountain camp, leaving no future trouble.
The imperial court only announced to the outside world that it was Zhao Jianan's remnants who had sneaked into the hunting ground, a total of seven people, and it did not cause any waves.
The hearts of the civil and military officials were at peace, and with His Majesty's presence, they naturally felt there was nothing to worry about. The camp was quickly restored to its original state, and the hunt would resume the next day.
The noble families discussed the false alarm assassination attempt with a sense of relief.
The sky was clear and the air was fresh. At the same time, Gu Ningxi was "invited" into the imperial tent by Sun Jing.
"Master Gu, please go in quickly. His Majesty is waiting for you."
Knowing that His Majesty had something to say to Lord Gu, Sun Jing sent his servants away and stepped back himself.
The door of the tent was heavily closed, blocking out the bright autumn scenery outside.
Behind the screen, Gu Ningxi was thrown onto the couch, beneath him was a soft quilt. He restrained his strength, and it didn't hurt at all.
She couldn't help but stand up and hide backwards.
Feeling Lu Jing's gaze, Gu Ningxi felt that something was wrong.
He really couldn't do anything to her for the time being, but, but——
The calmness she had shown a few days ago was gone.
Before he could speak, Gu Ningxi instinctively moved a little further towards the couch, putting some distance between them.
Lu Jing lowered his eyes to look at her, and said slowly: "Didn't you say before that you missed me?"
【Author’s words】
Sooner or later, you will have to pay for what you have done [sunglasses]
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