Chapter 671 The two sides are once again at odds!
After the integration of Lan Hai's army and Daliang's 300,000-strong army, the two sides also went through some time of adjustment.
Fortunately, marching and fighting are inherently arduous, and everyone was heading to the Western Regions, which they had never been before. So, during the march and fighting, both sides put aside their past grievances and misunderstandings, not only supporting each other but also taking each other's swords and fighting for each other.
Most people thought they would never come back, but unexpectedly, not only did they return in triumph, but the two armies also forged a bond of friendship through life and death.
So when they first returned to Mantuo City together, the two armies drank and talked happily, envisioning a future of peace and friendship between the two countries.
However, joyous days are always short-lived.
Things turned out exactly as Madam Pei had predicted.
Before things had even settled down for a few days, the Great Chu and the Great Liang started arguing.
They not only argued, but they argued fiercely.
The cause of the matter was the kidnapping of people.
The Great Chu wanted to welcome their emperor back to the imperial city of Nan'an.
Meanwhile, the Great Liang also needed to welcome their Prince Su to the imperial city of Jinling.
Originally, the Great Chu and Great Liang had already reconciled after their joint campaign against the Western Regions.
After this incident, the two sides are once again at odds.
Wei Zhaolie and Pei Qinghong came to see Duan Rongshi together again today.
Because there's been another fight in the military...
Not only that, the civil officials also argued heatedly, their faces turning red.
When Wei Zhaolie and Pei Qinghong arrived at the front hall of the city lord's mansion, they heard the civil officials of Daliang shouting, "There is an order to things!"
“His Highness Prince Su’s surname is Duan, and it’s time for him to return to Jinling! Even if he inherited your Great Chu, it was only because he was coerced and indebted to your emperor that he had to take over the mess of your Great Chu.”
"Now we've taken back your cities as well."
"We also helped you drive away the people from the Western Regions."
"Shouldn't you return His Highness to us now?!"
The civil officials of Great Chu were not polite either, pointing at the civil officials of Great Liang and jumping up and down.
"Have you no shame?!"
"His Majesty is now the Emperor of our Great Chu. Would he rather become your Prince Su instead of the Emperor?"
"Back then, your Great Liang couldn't tolerate our Emperor, and even forced him to fake his death and hide in our Great Chu."
"You cannot see His Majesty's glory, but we can!"
"The Emperor you don't cherish, we will cherish!"
"If you are unwilling to give His Majesty power and honor, then our Great Chu is willing to give it all!"
"Now that His Majesty enjoys the respect and love of all the people of our Great Chu, you're thinking of taking him back. Why don't you go and take the Jade Emperor from Heaven?"
"Besides, what would I do back in your Great Liang? Go back to being an unloved Prince Su?"
"I have heard that our Emperor has made countless great contributions since he served as the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review in your Great Liang Dynasty. However, he is not allowed to enter the palace except for court sessions. The common people avoid him like the plague."
"What, are you going back to your Great Liang to put up with your bullying?"
The Liang civil official was so anxious that his face turned red, but the Chu civil official's words were all facts from the past, leaving the Liang civil official unable to refute a single word.
The civil officials of the Great Chu were even more smug.
Wei Zhaolie and Pei Qinghong saw that Duan Rongshi, seated at the head of the table, still had an expression that was as unreadable as ever.
The two men quickly stepped forward and said, "Greetings, Your Majesty!"
"Greetings, Your Highness!"
Wei Zhaolie said, "Your Majesty, the two men who caused trouble in the army have been punished by your subordinates."
"There is also a letter from Nan'an saying that Prince Ying and Minister Zhang have set off from Nan'an, leading civil and military officials, to personally come to Mantuo City to welcome His Majesty back to court."
Upon hearing this, all the people from Daliang present changed their expressions.
With such a huge commotion throughout the Chu court, how can the Liang Dynasty possibly reclaim Prince Su?
Pei Qinghong muttered under his breath, "You guys are pretty shameless too."
"Can't our Great Chu find a single outstanding prince?"
Wei Zhaolie said without changing his expression, "You do have outstanding princes, but didn't you all bring about their deaths and force them to flee to other countries?"
Pei Qinghong: "Does your Great Chu still want to fight and settle things with our Great Liang?"
Wei Zhaolie: "Let's fight! Whoever wins, His Majesty belongs to them!"
Seeing that the two of them were also becoming arrogant and domineering, Duan Rongshi finally spoke up: "Alright."
He rested his chin on his hand, casually glancing at the crowd arguing fiercely over their own interests, and said indifferently, "Wei Zhaolie, let Prince Ying and the others return to the capital first."
The people of Chu, led by Wei Zhaolie, felt as if the sky had fallen.
"His Majesty!!"
They knelt on the ground, anxiously watching Duan Rongshi.
Does His Majesty really not want them anymore?
The people of Daliang all wore expressions of wild joy.
However, before they could even rejoice, Duan Rongshi said, "I do indeed need to return to Jinling."
"Because there are still some grudges to be settled."
Wei Zhaolie: "When will Your Majesty return to court? Let me escort Your Majesty to Jinling!"
Duan Rongshi did not refuse, and nodded under the expectant gazes of Pei Qinghong and the others.
"Except for those who must remain in Mantuo City, all other officials of the Great Chu may accompany us."
Upon hearing this, the people of Da Chu were so excited that they almost jumped up on the spot.
If His Majesty allows them to accompany him, then His Majesty is still the Emperor of their Great Chu!
Your Majesty does not intend to return to Jinling and abandon the Great Chu, but rather to return to Jinling to settle past grievances!
As long as they don't abandon their Great Chu, they'll follow whatever His Majesty wants to do. How could His Majesty possibly abandon them all?
The officials of the Great Chu were all secretly chuckling to themselves.
The people of Daliang could only console themselves: as long as they could return to Jinling, that was enough. Once they were on Daliang soil, whether His Highness could stay or not would be up to them, wouldn't it?
As for the accompanying officials, whether they are detained or assassinated when they arrive in Nanjing is just a matter of a few words.
With everyone harboring their own ulterior motives, they thus decided on their journey.
Duan Rongshi saw everything and told Li Qingluo about it when he returned to the main courtyard. Li Qingluo found the scene amusing.
"These officials are arguing like children playing house."
Duan Rongshi changed into his nightgown and decided not to go out today.
When he was already sitting on the low couch by the window playing with Luban locks with Fangfang, Li Qingluo came over with a book in her hand.
"Ah Shi, I have something I want to ask you."
Duan Rongshi glanced at his daughter, who was sitting next to him playing with a small lock, and then reached out and pulled Li Qingluo over to sit on his lap.
"Go ahead and ask."
Li Qingluo: "That witch doctor in the palace... is he one of yours?"
Duan Rongshi knew which one she was asking about.
Xi Yue found the witch doctor from the Western Regions who had prolonged Emperor Yan's life for another two years.
Duan Rongshi neither denied nor nodded.
"It wasn't like that at the beginning."
"That is now."
Li Qingluo's eyes lit up with interest: "How so?"
Duan Rongshi: "I left Jinling in a hurry, so I didn't have time to make any arrangements."
Li Qingluo knew that he left in such a hurry because of her.
She was unconscious at the time, her soul had left her body.
Duan Rongshi resolutely abandoned everything that was within his grasp in Jinling and went to Miao territory with his grandmother and the others.
They stayed in Miao territory for several months.
The situation in Nanjing is changing rapidly.
Xi Yue found a witch doctor from the Western Regions who managed to pull Emperor Yan back from the brink of death, even though he was already suffering from hemiplegia.
After Emperor Yan recovered considerably, he appointed his son Duan Rongjue, who had never stood out but was very filial and obedient, as the crown prince.
But he also feared that once a crown prince was born, all the various factions would immediately wish for his death as emperor.
So, after seeing Xi Yue's ambition, he took advantage of Xi Yue's filial piety and simply inflated Xi Yue's appetite to an extreme degree.
He deliberately let the siblings fight for power.
He deliberately pitted the siblings against each other in order to maintain his own power and be able to decide their fate!
Therefore, they would not dare to easily kill themselves.
However, they still overlooked Duan Rongshi, the person who could truly stir up the storm in the entire Liang Dynasty.
"That witch doctor was someone my eldest sister met when she was in the Northwest."
"She must have been planning this for many years. She finally found an opportunity to try her luck, but unfortunately... Father only used her as a pawn."
The mention of Princess Li Qingluo immediately brings to mind Nanping.
Back then, the mother and daughter were so favored, so glorious and honored in the entire city of Nanjing.
However... as time passed, the three members of the imperial son-in-law's family all died under Duan Rongjue's sword.
The eldest princess has disappeared without a trace.
Nanping... also became a fool, losing her mind and memory, not even as good as an ordinary girl.
"If the eldest princess succeeds in seizing power... will you still return to Jinling?"
After all, their sibling relationship was the closest among all the princes and princesses.
Duan Rongshi replied with certainty, "No."
"But my eldest sister has changed."
“If she hadn’t given up on Nanping, I wouldn’t have made that last move.”
The final move was to turn the witch doctor into one of their own.
After Xi Yue gave up Nanping, Duan Rongshi knew that she had been blinded by power and turned into a ruthless person.
If she had originally intended to fight Duan Rongjue to the end, or even to expose the weakness that Duan Rongjue claimed to have against her, instead of giving up on Nanping so easily, she wouldn't have ended up like this.
It was Xi Yue's attitude that made Duan Rongshi realize that even if Xi Yue won, she would definitely not give him what he wanted.
Because she would no longer allow anyone to challenge the imperial power she could obtain.
What Duan Rongshi wanted was simply to end Emperor Yan's life himself and settle the score for his mother's tragic death.
The moment the news of the Emperor of Great Chu's return to Jinling was announced, the entire city of Mantuo became abuzz with excitement.
The people of the Great Chu were deeply worried about this.
Some people from Daliang were excited about this.
Inevitably, there were arguments and disturbances on the streets, but the city lord's men quickly intervened and dealt with the situation severely, deterring anyone from causing trouble again.
However, neither the people of Great Chu nor Great Liang were very happy about the conflict, and there was even a hint of mutual animosity between them.
However, after Duan Rongshi finalized his itinerary, he first summoned his three personal guards.
Wind-breaking, rain-chasing, and cold electricity.
Today, in the front courtyard of the city lord's mansion, everyone else withdrew.
Only Li Qingluo brought Fangfang, and Duan Rongshi and his family of three met with the three of them.
Fine wine and food have been prepared in the courtyard.
Chasing the rain, I carried it on my shoulder and ran all over the yard.
Po Feng and Leng Dian were watching Zhui Yu closely, even reaching out their hands, afraid that Zhui Yu might accidentally drop their little prince.
Be careful.
"Slow down the bumpy ride, don't make the little prince dizzy!"
"Zhuiyu, watch your step!"
However, Fangfang was amused by Zhuiyu and burst into laughter, happily pulling on Zhuiyu's hair and drooling with laughter.
"Oh dear, why is it raining?"
Zhuiyu wiped his forehead, feigning ignorance.
He didn't mind at all, and with a smile, he picked Fangfang up and held her in his arms.
Po Feng and Leng Dian quickly stepped forward to lend a hand.
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