Xiao Zhao got up early but arrived late. When he returned to Deyang Palace wearing a five-beam Jinxian crown and a black gauze robe, Yu Bozhi, Chen Chang and Quan Jingxuan had already arrived.

Xiao Zhao reluctantly confessed his guilt to them and then returned to his seat.

It was said to be a gift banquet, but Xiao Zhao acted like a young daughter-in-law.

He quietly observed Yu Bozhi and Chen Chang. Yu Bozhi was about fifteen or sixteen years old, with delicate features, a high nose bridge, and a bit of childishness in his speech.

Chen Chang was a little older, and was equally handsome, tall and slender, but he was a man of few words. He just picked up the wine cup and sipped it gently, with a look of worry between his brows.

Xiao Zhu forced himself to cheer up and toasted frequently to show his friendship.

Yu Zhi and Chen Chang gave him some face. As ministers, Cai Bao and Wang Yan took the responsibility of sharing the emperor's worries. Everyone toasted and chatted, but it was not lively.

After a moment, the old eunuch clapped his hands lightly, and more than a dozen graceful singing girls and dancers flew into the palace like two lines of autumn geese. At once, the sound of bells and flutes began, the mournful sound of horns, the sound of zithers, the interlaced playing of silk and pipes, and the melodious music of brocade harps were heard. The music came as if through the clouds and across the water, echoing in the ears, sweeping away the previous gloomy atmosphere.

The dancers in colorful gauze skirts are like fairies flying from heaven or clusters of blooming peonies, stacked up in the palace and blooming one after another, filling the palace with spring beauty.

Quan Jingxuan's face was flushed from drinking, and he was still talking to Yu Bozhi, who was staring at the dancing girls with interest.

Quan Jingxuan stroked his beard and said, "My Lord, during the Liang Dynasty, the Wu songs of Jiangnan and the Xiqu of Jingchu were the most popular. A large amount of Qingshang music was injected into the classical music, as well as secularized Buddhist music. The lyrics and music of these songs and dances are fresh, the sounds are elegant and graceful, and they sound different from those in the north."

Yu Zhi nodded happily and said, "Since the Jin Dynasty moved to Jiangzuo, its virtue has gradually faded, and its customs have changed. It has become increasingly distant from the saints, and its music has become more and more diverse. Erotic music flourished in the Southern Dynasty, and Hu music originated in the Northern customs."

"Sad, lascivious and frivolous words were repeated and arose simultaneously, flowing and forgetting, and finally declining. The reason for this is that they were unable to create elegant music to change it, and they were mostly immersed in the Zheng and Wei styles, so that new music became popular and elegant music was abandoned."

Quan Jingxuan laughed and said, "I didn't expect the Duke to have such an opinion on Gele. I really admire you very much!"

Yu 뀗 laughed and said, "General 꺶, you are joking. This is what my brother said. I am just repeating what he said."

Quan Jingxuan said: "Duke Lu is calm, wise, and far-sighted. Even the emperor said that 'what the lady says is always right'. You and Duke Lu are brothers from the same mother, and the only difference is age. You brothers are all the emperor's right-hand men. With you brothers supporting the emperor, our Zhou Dynasty will surely last for thousands of years and the country will be forever stable."

Yu Zhi waved his hands and said, "General, you are embarrassing me. If Qi and our dynasty confront each other, the emperor will be worried about this matter."

He paused, then suddenly remembered something and continued, "The other day when I was disguised to investigate the people's sentiments, I ran into a spy from Northern Qi. This spy was extremely cunning, and even the experienced officers were fooled by him. Fortunately, a scholar discovered the clues, but in the end, the spy's accomplices came to help, and he managed to escape."

Later, at the beginning of Wucheng, Yu Zhi went to Puzhou and was appointed as a general, promoted to Duke of Wei, and granted 10,000 households. However, he was a lazy person and found an excuse to ask for permission to return to Chang'an to visit his mother after not staying in Puzhou for long.

He and Chen Chang were quite close when they were in Chang'an. When he heard that Chen Chang had been sent back, he volunteered to see him off.

Emperor Ming Yu Yu originally used Chen Chang as a thorn in his side, and sending his younger brother to see him off further showed how much the Northern Zhou Dynasty valued Chen Chang.

However, Chen Chang left first, and Yu Zhi followed behind, and it was not until they reached Jiangling that they saw each other.

Yu Dongzhi originally wanted to complain about Lou Shaokang and Lou's family to Quan Jingxuan, but he remembered the advice of his brother Yu Dongyong before he left, so he secretly held back his anger and did not tell Quan Jingxuan about it.

However, he had just drunk some wine, so he took advantage of the alcohol to tell the story of what he had encountered with Beiqi's spy in the small restaurant.

"Is this really true?" Quan Jingxuan frowned slightly. In fact, when he heard that Yu Bozhi was visiting incognito, he was frightened and broke out in a cold sweat. He hurriedly sent people to look for him. The person was found, but he didn't know what happened before and after.

When I heard Yu Zhi coming in person, I suddenly felt a little scared.

If anything happens to Yu Zhi in Jiangling, how will he explain to the Emperor?

Then, Quan Jingxuan did not wait for Yu Dongzhi to speak, and continued: "Duke, the Northern Qi spy appeared in Jiangling, which is my responsibility. I will order people to arrest the spy!"

The conversation between the two fell into the ears of Xiao Zhao, Cai Baobao and Wang Yan. There was no doubt that Northern Qi's spies were active in Jiangling to deal with Northern Zhou, but as Later Liang was a vassal of Northern Zhou, it was natural for it to pay attention to such matters.

They were still waiting to hear what Yu Zhi had to say, but he stopped talking. This made Xiao Zhao and the other two really itchy.

When the banquet ended, it was already midnight. Yu Zhi, Chen Chang, and Quan Jingxuan left one after another. Xiao Zhao led Cai Bao and Wang Yan to escort the three of them out of Deyang Hall. The palace maids and eunuchs also cleared the banquet and presented some fruits.

Only three people, Emperor Xiaozhao, Cai Youbao and Wang Yan, were left in the palace.

There were no outsiders here, and Xiao Zhao finally stopped forcing himself to smile in front of others. He quickly took off his disguise, and the smile on his face disappeared in an instant, looking extremely ugly.

Cai Yubao and Wang Yan looked at each other and lowered their heads, pretending not to see anything.

Xiao Zhao leaned back on the gold-thread dragon cushion and drank a cup of fermented tea, and his mood improved a little.

He raised his eyelids and looked at Cai Yubao and Wang Yan, who were sitting on his left and right, and said, "My two dear ministers, what do you think of what the Northern Qi Dynasty has done?"

Cai Yubao and Wang Yan looked at each other, and Wang Yan answered first: "Your Majesty, Northern Qi's spies are not uncommon in Jiangling. In my opinion, Your Majesty does not need to pay much attention to this matter. The Northern Zhou court summoned Quan Jingxuan as the Minister of Justice, and let him serve as the military affairs of the four states and five defenses of Ji, Yu, Xiao, and Dong, and the defense of Jiangling, and added the rank of general. In order to repay your kindness, Quan Jingxuan will definitely not ignore this matter."

"oh?"

Xiao Zhao knew that Wang Yan was very cautious and always believed that less trouble is worse than more, so he said, "So, you want me to sit back and watch the fire?"

Wang Yan asked, "Your Majesty, do you still remember the Huang Daoyu incident?"

Xiao Zhu nodded slightly, and said with emotion: "Oh, of course I remember. What does that have to do with this matter?"

At first, Xiao Zhao, who was still the Prince of Yueyang, surrendered to the Western Wei with Xiangyang, and sent troops to attack Emperor Xiao Yan of Liang in Jiangling.

Xiao Zhao's rebel general Du An took advantage of the situation and attacked Xiangyang. Quan Jingxuan led 3,000 cavalry to help Xiao Zhao defeat Du An. Together with Kaifu Yang Zhong, he defeated Liang army general Liu Zhongli and captured Anlu and Sui counties.

For this reason, Xiao Zhao also sent his wife Wang and son Xiao Zhao to the Western Wei as hostages, which he considered a deep shame.

Not long after, Sui County citizens including Wu Shiying killed the governor Huang Daoyu and gathered together to become bandits.

Quan Jingxuan believed that Wu Shiying and others were just petty thieves and should be eliminated by trickery. If his crimes were announced, more people would follow him.

So Quan Jingxuan wrote a letter to Wu Shiying, falsely claiming that Huang Daoyu was violent and that Wu Shiying had made a great contribution.

Wu Shiying really believed it, so he led his people to surrender. Quan Jingxuan arrested and killed Wu Shiying and disbanded his party.

Wang Yan said: "What I want to say is that although Quan Jingxuan must be the first to attack the enemy in battle, he is not a reckless man. He must have a plan for what Northern Qi did. We just need to wait and see."

He was on his knees, his calves on the ground, his buttocks on his heels, and his upper body straight. This posture was just like his personality, always meticulous.

Xiao Zhao nodded slightly and looked at Cai Bao again: "What do you think, Mr. Cai?"

Cai Baobao smiled and said, "Your Majesty, to be honest, we are old acquaintances of Quan Jingxuan. When Your Majesty was the Prince of Yueyang, you had dealings with him. Later, when Your Majesty ascended the throne, the Northern Zhou Dynasty appointed Quan Jingxuan to be in charge of the military affairs of the four states of Ji, Yu, Xiao, and Wu, as well as the defense of Jiangling, because of his great reputation in the southern border. Your words are very convincing to me."

He paused and continued, "Though Jiangling seems calm and peaceful, nothing has happened, but in fact, undercurrents are surging, and various forces have infiltrated, making this place a gathering place for storms. I think that since our dynasty is in a state of disrepair, we must eliminate all unfavorable factors. Although it is inconvenient for me to directly participate in the North Qi's actions, I can't help but pay attention to them."

Xiao Zhao nodded and said, "My dear minister, what you said is very true! However, there is no one in our court who is good at this. What should we do?"

Wang Yan said, "Your Majesty is very concerned! Mr. Cai, do you have a solution?"

Cai Baobao said: "Your Majesty, since the Northern Qi spies have appeared in Jiangling, your Majesty cannot ignore their existence. You should publicly order all government offices to conduct a thorough investigation of this matter. Once any suspects are found, they should be arrested and interrogated immediately."

"This is related to the safety of our dynasty, and also shows our attitude to the Northern Zhou. Of course, the candidates in Xicheng are much better than us in dealing with spies. We just need to send people to follow these candidates..."

Xiao Zhu suddenly realized, and thought to himself: "Openly showing an attitude of goodwill towards the Northern Zhou, while secretly stalking the cicada while the oriole is waiting behind, this is not a good idea!"

Cai Baobao changed the subject and said, "I think that whether the people live in peace or not is the foundation of the stability of the court. Whether the minds of the officials in the court are stable or not should not be ignored. The spies of Northern Qi cannot obtain detailed information by their own efforts. There are not a few people in Jiangling who are loyal to the court and your Majesty. There must be some officials and merchants who are secretly colluding with them. Your Majesty must be on guard!"

Xiao Zhao then realized that Cai Xiaobao had not yet finished talking about the topic he was about to talk about, so he quickly focused his attention and stared at Cai Xiaobao.

Cai Yubao said solemnly: "Your Majesty, we can take this opportunity to dig out those who are secretly connected with Northern Qi and Southern Chen. Even if we don't deal with them, it will be difficult in the future."

Xiao Zhao nodded and said, "Well, some court officials seem to be very obedient to me, but in fact, they are just pretending. A small Northern Qi spy will become a mirror for the court to see whether they are human or demon! Well..., this plan is very good, very good!"

Cai Yubao said happily: "Your Majesty is wise! I think it won't be long before the officials get to the bottom of this matter. We still need to make plans early."

This compliment made Xiao Zhao stroke his beard and smile: "Okay, we, the king and his subjects, will now discuss and come up with a specific set of rules..."