Lotus King?
Feng Yuheng looked at Ban Zou with a questioning look in his eyes.
Ban Zou shook his head to indicate that he didn't know, but after thinking about it, he told her, "The current king of Qianzhou ascended the throne through a battle for the throne. He has only one sister, the eldest princess Kangyi, and his other brothers are all half-sisters. To put it bluntly, they are former enemies. The battle for the throne in every country and every dynasty is inevitable. The war in Qianzhou that lasted for more than ten years was even more intense. More than a dozen children and grandchildren of the previous emperor died in the battle for the throne. Including the current king, there are less than five sons left, all of whom were crowned kings."
Feng Yuheng nodded, "So, this King Lian is a member of the Qianzhou royal family and the monarch's cousin."
"It should be."
While the two were talking, the girl standing on the carriage spoke again and asked the bearded man directly, "Why are you gathering so many people here to block the road instead of going to celebrate Lord Duanmu's birthday?" Her words were extremely rude, but the bearded man didn't mind at all.
He replied respectfully: "These are all Dashun officials who tried to escape. Lord Duanmu has ordered that they all be executed."
"Behead them?" The girl frowned. "So many people are going to be beheaded?"
Da Hushuo nodded and said, "Yes, Lord Duanmu said that it is better to kill those who are not determined than to persuade them." As he spoke, he looked at the officials and people who were watching, and said, "It's the same with these people. If they know the current situation, keep them. If they don't, kill them."
The girl shook her head, but she couldn't say anything, so she simply turned around and went back to the carriage. Not long after, she came out again and said to the bearded man, "His Royal Highness Prince Lian said that tomorrow is New Year's Eve, and the day after is New Year's Day. It's the end of the year, so it's not easy to kill so many people. What's more, His Royal Highness doesn't like to see blood, so you can just disperse. Just find a place to lock these people up. After the New Year, when our Royal Highness returns to Qianzhou, you can do whatever you want to him."
The bearded man nodded and agreed without hesitation, even though he had called him Lord Duanmu before. Now that the prince of Qianzhou had spoken, he forgot about Lord Duanmu without a second thought. If someone didn't know, they would really think that this man was a general of Qianzhou.
But it was better to accept it, at least there would not be a large-scale bloodbath, and people were thankful. Those who had escaped death watched the executioners flee one after another, and their tense nerves relaxed, and more than half of them fainted.
The bearded man quickly ordered everyone to be dragged away. After the square was cleared, he asked the lantern girl, "Is Your Highness satisfied?"
The girl nodded, "Just do as you are told. After all, this is your Dashun's business, Qian Zhou has no business with it."
The bearded man immediately said, "Now that the Northern Territory has surrendered to Qian Zhou, we are one family, and Dashun is an outsider."
The girl giggled and nodded, saying, "That's right. The three provinces in the northern border were originally the territory of Qian Zhou, but were snatched away by Da Shun. But don't worry, whoever owns it will own it. Sooner or later, Qian Zhou will take this place back."
Just as she said this, suddenly, a feminine voice came from inside the carriage, neither male nor female, but very pleasant to the ear. The voice said, "Zi'er, don't talk nonsense. When will it be your turn to make the decision on Qian Zhou's affairs?"
When the originally arrogant girl heard this, she immediately turned around and knelt down facing the carriage, saying, "Your Highness, please forgive me. It was my fault."
"Yes." The voice said indifferently: "After returning to Qianzhou, kneel on the ice for three days."
"Yes." The girl accepted the punishment without a word of complaint. She stood up and said to the bearded man, "We are going to Lord Duanmu's winter palace. Ask them to get out of the way."
When the bearded man heard this, he quickly cleared a path wide enough for the carriage to pass. The wolf horse stepped lightly on its hooves again and slowly walked through the crowd.
Feng Yuheng happened to be assigned to the first row, and the carriage passed right by her. She could immediately feel the chill emanating from the carriage.
I don't know if it was a mental effect, but I felt that the carriage seemed to pause when passing by her, and then it returned to normal in just a moment. Then, I heard the feminine voice inside say again: "The North Realm is still too hot. It's good to give such a place to Dashun. Why do you want to take it back?" Then there was an inaudible sigh.
However, there was not much emotion in that sigh, but a bit of joking. The North Realm was just a dispensable toy to him, and he didn't care.
clang!
The gong sounded again, resounding through the sky, and the same shocking feeling from before came over them again. People were stunned, just like the terracotta warriors.
This time, Feng Yuheng and Ban Zou were well prepared and were not confused by the sound of the gong, but the sound of the gong still sounded exciting.
She thought to herself, if a single gong could produce such an effect, what if many gongs were sounded at the same time? If such gong sounds appeared on the battlefield, would the soldiers of Dashun be able to resist them?
After a few breaths of thought, people finally came to their senses and broke out in cold sweats. Some began to discuss who the Lotus King was, while others were worried about the officials who were taken away, wondering when the next execution would be. Of course, people were more concerned about themselves. In the Northern Frontier, life and death were just a matter of Duanmu Anguo's thoughts. It was too scary.
The bearded man was shouting proudly, "See? That's His Royal Highness the Lotus King of Qianzhou. Apart from the current emperor, the Lotus King is the most powerful prince in Qianzhou. He not only holds the military power, but also the ruling power of six provinces in Qianzhou. It is a blessing for us that His Royal Highness the Lotus King has come to the Northern Realm in person this year!"
People were frightened. This man had already regarded himself as a member of Qian Zhou in his words and deeds. He had already brought the northern border under the influence of Qian Zhou and had nothing to do with Da Shun anymore.
"Alright, all of you go back! His Royal Highness Prince Lian is right. It is indeed not appropriate to kill or shed blood at the end of the year. I will report this to Master Duanmu right away. I think Master Duanmu will agree with me. Let's go, let's go!"
After he finished speaking, he waved his hand and followed the carriage of King Lian with his servants. Feng Yuheng followed the crowd back and asked Ban Zou: "I know that many people in the three provinces of the Northern Boundary have Qianzhou bloodline, but what proportion is this? How many pure Dashun people are there?"
Ban Zou frowned and thought for a while, then shook his head, "It's hard to say, most likely not. Of course, except for the Duanmu family. It is said that when the three provinces in the northern border were conquered by the ancestor emperor, a troop of soldiers was left to be stationed there for a long time, and those soldiers also brought their families here and settled down. But after all, there were more civilians than soldiers, so it was okay for one or two generations, but from the third generation onwards, they began to intermarry with the Qianzhou people. As a result, even if their descendants had half Dashun blood, they were gradually assimilated. The same is true for the Duanmu family. The biological mother of the third prince has half Qianzhou blood, and she was the Qianzhou wife married by Duanmu Anguo."
Feng Yuheng looked quite helpless. In fact, if you really trace the root of this matter, it was the Dashun who invaded the three provinces of the Northern Boundary, so that the Qianzhou people of the same bloodline were divided into two. Qianzhou wanted to take back the heart of the Northern Boundary, just like the later generations wanted to recover the lost land. Who was right and who was wrong, and how to judge?
But Dashun is not the future after all. Before the Chinese nation has established its final territory, human society must coexist with stability and aggression. This is an era that advocates heroes. Peace is just an illusion. Troubled times are the ultimate root of peace.
Countless people walked back with difficulty in the heavy snow. One of Dashun's wives complained, "He even set up a winter palace. Is he afraid that people don't know his ambitions?"
The man next to her covered her mouth and shouted, "If you don't want to die, shut up!"
The lady also got angry and slapped his hand away, her voice getting louder: "What are you afraid of? Didn't the bearded man leave? Are you not going to let people talk? In this situation, we don't know when the beheading knife will be on our necks. I told you not to come, but you didn't listen. Now look what happened, if something goes wrong, you will drag me and my daughter to be buried with you."
The man had no way to refute it and sighed. Another official nearby heard what they were saying and couldn't help but interrupt, "Fortunately, it was a daughter that they brought. If they had brought a son, wouldn't that mean they would have no descendants?"
Someone else said, "So what if they didn't bring any? They will die sooner or later if they stay in Dashun. Although we were forced to come here, we came here on our own after all. What's more, do you know what Duanmu Anguo will say? What will he say about us?"
Just a few words made people feel chilled again.
Feng Yuheng wanted to ask what the "Winter Palace" people were talking about. At this time, he saw two Songzhou people standing in front of a bun shop on the north side of the street. One of them handed two large boxes of snacks to the other and said, "Your Meiyi will be sent to the palace after the New Year. If she is favored in the future, our family will also benefit from it. Brother Wang, don't forget us when the time comes."
"Oh! No problem!" The man who received the gift replied with a bright face, "Your daughter will be old enough in two years, and then we will share the happiness together!"
Feng Yuheng was puzzled, "Send her to the palace? The emperor is still selecting concubines now?"
Ban Zou snorted coldly, "Our emperor didn't make a choice, but the ones over here did."
"Here?" She was puzzled. "King Qian Zhou? He came to Songzhou to choose a concubine?"
Ban Zou shook his head. "What Qian Zhou King? It's Duanmu Anguo. The so-called Winter Palace is a small palace he built for himself in Songzhou. It is said that in the Winter Palace, he is called the Great King. All girls over thirteen years old in the three provinces of the Northern Border must be sent to the Winter Palace for him to select. Only those who are not selected can be released to marry on their own."
"What?" Feng Yuheng was shocked. "This is no different from the emperor choosing a concubine!" Duanmu Anguo has become so arrogant?
Just as she was surprised, suddenly, a girl rushed out of a shop on the street, shouting as she ran: "I don't want to enter the palace! I won't enter the palace even if you kill me! I don't know what you said, don't look for me!"
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