The four treasures of the study, teacups, bowls and plates on the desk were all swept to the ground.
Countless broken porcelain pieces and tea splashed all over the ground, making a mess.
The square-faced Haoren who came to report did not dare to move, sweating profusely. He could clearly feel a huge pressure like a mountain pressing down on his head coming from Emperor Hao.
“Arrogant!” Wuhaduluo slammed the table and angrily said, with a sinister smile on his face, “Gu Jue thinks I’m afraid of him!”
"Your Majesty, please calm down." Uhadula's confidant was a bald middle-aged monk, wearing a right-exposed crimson cassock, with a graceful demeanor.
Gu Jue is a well-known war king, and both he and Emperor Hao know the reputation of the Black Armor Army under his command.
The Black Armor Army is composed of the elite of the Northern Army and is Gu Jue's personal army. It is said that each of them is capable of fighting ten enemies at once. Not only was they the main force that defeated the Red Di, but they also played a crucial role in the palace coup in the capital of Da Qi a few months ago.
The monk still remembered that the late emperor Wuhe Beizhen once sighed: It is a blessing for Da Qi and Da Hao that Da Qi has Prince Gu Jue.
This sentence is full of profound meaning. As the "Prince of Chen", Gu Jue's protection of Da Qi is a blessing for Da Qi. But for Da Hao, because Gu Jue is not the emperor of Da Qi and is even feared by the former emperor of Da Qi, Gu Lang, Da Hao faces less threat from the north.
But the situation is different now, Gu Jue has succeeded to the throne.
The monk clasped his hands together and said slowly: "The two countries cannot go to war now."
Uhadula's eyes were sinister and one of his hands was clenched into a fist.
He has always been conceited and believed that his personal army was not inferior to the Black Armor Army. However, the timing was not right. Gu Jue could start a war without any scruples, but he had many concerns.
Things have their priorities. The Hao Kingdom must not face any more foreign threats now. He must first stabilize the country, subdue all the vassal kings, and unify Hao. As for the rest, he can do it slowly.
He took a deep breath, calmed down a lot, and said to the square-faced Haoren in front of him: "Lawen, go tell the Qi people that ceding land is absolutely not an option. Ask them to make other conditions."
Laven was overwhelmed and had no choice but to obey the order.
So he left the palace and returned to the north city gate once again. There were more people around than an hour ago, and the place was bustling with noise.
Laven felt like he couldn't breathe, and he knew clearly in his heart that this peace talk would not be easy.
When he walked out of the city gate, he was surprised to find that Qin Yao had moved to a big tree.
Compared to Laven's sad face, Qin Yao smiled heartlessly.
He leaned leisurely on a thick branch, looking up and drinking wine from the jug, with one of his legs hanging casually, swaying in the air.
Originally, both parties were looking at each other at eye level, but now it was Laven who was under the tree, looking up at Qin Yao above.
Lavan was even more unhappy, and he conveyed Uhadula's intention in a gentle voice, and finally said: "Your Excellency the envoy has come a long way, and my emperor ordered me to invite you to the palace for a chat, so that I can show my hospitality."
As La Wen spoke, he looked in the direction of the carriage and said, "Your Excellency, the Third Prince has been away from home for several months, and the Emperor is particularly concerned about him. Why don't you go to the palace with His Excellency..."
"If you want to see your Third Prince, just say so." Qin Yao interrupted Lavan without giving him any face, then raised his hand and snapped his fingers, and ordered the mustache Jinwu Guard, "Xiao Mingzi!"
Xiao Mingzi's eyes twitched. He was too lazy to protest against Qin Yao's insistence on using this eunuch-like title. He walked to one of the carriages, opened the door, and said with a fake smile: "Third Prince Wuhe, please."
Then, Wu Helangnan got off the carriage. His handsome face looked haggard and dishevelled, like a dog that had lost its home, lacking his former high spirits.
Qin Yao smiled and said to La Wen: "Look, your third prince is still alive and well, neither missing an arm nor a leg. We Qi people are honest people, unlike you Hao people, who say one thing on the surface and another behind the scenes."
Laven: “…”
Lavon gave a dry laugh, his eyes becoming even darker.
Qin Yao wiped the wine from the corner of his mouth with his sleeve, and curled his lips with a smile: "It was your Third Prince who intended to assassinate the Emperor of Great Qi. How come the life of the Emperor of Great Qi is not worth a mere Shuzhou of your Hao Kingdom?"
Qin Yao turned hostile as soon as he said he would. He stopped smiling and slammed the empty wine jug in his hand off the tree.
The white porcelain wine jug fell right at Lavan's feet and shattered into pieces, as if hit by a heavy hammer.
"Bang!"
La Wen's heart suddenly tightened, realizing that although the envoy from Da Qi in front of him was young, he was a tough nut to crack.
"The envoy has something to say." La Wen said with an apologetic smile, "Of course, our emperor is sincere to your country. How about this, I will go back and ask our emperor to write a letter to your master personally, and I will definitely give you an explanation."
Now Laven just wants to use delaying tactics to deal with today's situation. Cessing land is of great importance, and Emperor Hao will not make a decision easily.
In the time it took for a few words to pass, the number of Hao people watching around continued to increase. Even though Laven had ordered people to drive away those Hao people, the people were willing to leave, but were forced to retreat again and again by the Hao soldiers.
The peace talks between the two countries concern the safety of the two countries and the future of these people. If the two countries really go to war, Jianye City is too close to the river, and they have to make plans as soon as possible.
There are so many people around, and it’s so busy that one more or one less person wouldn’t attract anyone’s attention at all.
A man of medium height, dressed in brown robes, quickly retreated from the crowd, rode his horse at full speed all the way to a restaurant across the street, and reported everything to his master.
When the old man in the private room on the second floor heard that the envoy of Da Qi wanted Emperor Hao to cede Shuzhou, his face changed instantly. His elbow accidentally hit the wine jug on the table, causing it to fall onto the table and the wine spilled everywhere, but no one cared.
"Your Majesty, the envoys from Daqi are still at the north city gate. Many people have heard it with their own ears." The attendant who came to report said dryly, his face not looking good, "Will the emperor..."
The attendant did not say anything more. The dark-skinned old man suddenly stood up and said in a cold voice: "The king wants to enter the palace! Shuzhou is the king's territory, and Wuhedu Luo has no right to make the decision!"
"Humph, they are the ones who made the mistake. Even if they have to cede land, it should be Uhaduro's own territory!"
The older man became more and more enraged as he thought about it. He hurriedly left the restaurant and went to the imperial palace in the center of Jianye City.
Everyone knew that the old man was Mursi, the prince of Shuzhou, and the palace servants hurried to report to Emperor Hao.
Murs rushed into Uhaduro's study in a rage, and the two had a big quarrel. The excited roar almost blew the roof off, and everyone in the palace was frightened and silent.
Originally, Wuheduluo had no intention of ceding Shuzhou to Da Qi, but Murs' unreasonable behavior was like a slap in the face to him, and Wuheduluo became furious.
So, when Lawen came to see Wuhedu Luo again, Wuhedu Luo, who was full of anger, simply gritted his teeth and said: "Lawen, go tell the envoy of Daqi that I agree to cede Shuzhou!"
Now that the words had been spoken, Uhadula would not take them back, and sneered, "You can see if I dare to do it!"
Wuhaduluo's eyes were cold. He had long been dissatisfied with Murs. He felt that this old man was greedy and was challenging his authority time and time again, relying on the fact that Jiao and Hao states had not been pacified.
In that case, he might as well give up Shuzhou to appease Gu Jue's anger.
Even if Shuzhou was ceded to Da Qi, Da Qi would not be able to govern Shuzhou properly because of the river between them. Once he had quelled the civil strife in the future, he would be able to take Shuzhou back from Da Qi sooner or later.
"Uhaduro, you coward, you are selling out your country!" Murs shouted, but it was in vain. He was soon taken away by the royal guards in the palace.
Laven was actually confused, but since Emperor Hao said so, he just obeyed the order and went to see Qin Yao again with a contract written by Uhaduro himself.
"Your Excellency, the Emperor is sincere. He hopes to use Shuzhou to resolve the conflict between the two countries, and he also hopes that the two countries will be friends forever!" Laven conveyed Uhaduro's meaning with a smile.
Qin Yao jumped down from the tree, took the contract handed over by the other party, looked at it, and smiled with satisfaction.
"That's right." Qin Yao personally put away the contract and said goodbye without any reluctance. "I still have to go back to report, so I'll take my leave first. As for your country's third prince and second princess, I will release them after I cross the river!"
"Don't worry, we Qi people keep our word and never say one thing and do another."
Qin Yao completely ignored the other party's words that indicated he hoped the two countries would form an alliance. He smiled happily and felt that he had done his job perfectly.
You're still acting cute after getting an advantage! Laven cursed inwardly, almost wanting to vomit blood, but he could only continue to smile.
Since Emperor Hao even gave Shuzhou to Da Qi, he couldn't let himself be ruined at this last step.
Qin Yao came in high spirits and returned in high spirits, staying in Jianye City for less than half a day.
The sun is scorching high in the sky.
What was hotter than the scorching sun was the human heart. The people present rushed to leave, and thus, the news that Uhaduluo agreed to cede Shuzhou to Da Qi spread throughout the Hao Kingdom at an incredible speed.
Especially those princes who had been paying attention to Jianye City all learned the news at the first time.
Even Wuhejialou who was in Haozhou received a letter via carrier pigeon early the next morning.
Looking at the rising sun outside the window, Wuhejialou smiled slightly and placed the letter sent by carrier pigeon on the candle flame. The letter burned up in the blink of an eye.
It was a quiet and deserted early morning, and the sound of hurried horse hooves could be faintly heard on the street outside, getting closer and closer.
Wuhejialou said to a middle-aged man with ordinary appearance beside him: "An Tan, please go and welcome Pu Mixi for me."
An Qin, the leader of the Yingyang Guard, narrowed his eyes and praised: "Crown Prince, you are really a man of great foresight." After arriving in Haozhou, Wuhejialou said that Pumixi would definitely come to see him within three days.
Uhajialou just smiled and said nothing.
He had been preparing for this day for a long time.
Lunsuli, the prince of Jiaozhou, was a close confidant of his father, so the first thing he did when he returned to Hao State was to look for Lunsuli. He didn't want the person in charge of Jiaozhou to become Lunsuli's eldest son, who poisoned Lunsuli. Wuhejialou secretly cured Lunsuli, and it took Lunsuli several months to regain the power of Jiaozhou.
Pumixi has always been a shrewd and cautious person. Only if Lunsuli expresses his position and the private property left by his father is used as a foundation, will Pumixi be likely to surrender.
Originally, he would have to spend some more time to conquer Pu Mixi, but he did not expect that Gu Jue would help him in this way, prompting Pu Mixi to make a decision in advance.
After a while, An Qin came in with a short and fat old man in fancy clothes. The old man's face was full of smiles. His round face looked kind and friendly, and his thin eyes flashed with shrewdness.
This old man in gorgeous clothes is none other than Prince Pumixi, the vassal king who is in charge of Haozhou.
"It's been a long time since we last met. The eldest prince is still as elegant as ever." Pumixi politely saluted Wuhejialou, just as he did when Wuhe Beizhen was still in power, as if there had never been any rift between them.
Before today, Wuhejialou came to see him several times, but he always made excuses to avoid them.
He felt that with Uhajaro's current strength, it was not enough to be the enemy of Uhadura, and it was not worth the risk.
But when he heard last night that Uhaduluo had ceded Shuzhou to Da Qi, he wavered.
Last night, he did not sleep all night, thinking that Wuhedu Luo was too absurd. Isn't ceding land to Daqi an announcement to the world? Is he afraid of Daqi? Even if Wuhedu Luo was dissatisfied with Murs, he should not have responded in this way.
That is why Pumixi came here to see Uhakalou.
"Prince Pumixi, please take a seat." Uhakala smiled faintly and stretched out his hand as a gesture of invitation.
Pumixi thanked him with a smile and looked at Uhaga Tower inconspicuously.
Wuhejialou is dressed in a spotless white monk's robe, like a snow lotus on the top of the Tianshan Mountains, sacred and inviolable.
Pu Mixi's smile was friendly and respectful, but he was actually not as calm as he appeared. He was surprised and shocked.
In the past short year, Wuhejialou experienced a dramatic change in his life. He went from being the eldest prince of the Hao Kingdom, who was second only to the emperor, to a traitor who could not stand the light of day. This kind of earth-shaking gap is something that most people cannot bear.
But Uhagara Tower did not change.
His eyes and demeanor were as wise and clear as before, as if the catastrophe he had experienced had not left any trace on him.
There is an old saying: When God is about to confer a great responsibility on a man, he must first make his heart and mind suffer, his muscles and bones tired, his body hungry and empty, and his plans frustrated. This is to stimulate his heart and harden his nature, and increase his ability to do what he could not do before.
Wuhejialou's character is far superior to that of ordinary people. He has the style of the late emperor Wuhebeizhen, but he is wiser and more far-sighted than the late emperor.
Thinking of this, Pu Mixi's heart calmed down. He stared into Wu Hejialou's eyes and said seriously, "Prince, what are your plans?"
Uhagaru answered the question irrelevantly: "Tomorrow Lunsuli, Hanu, Langbola... will all come."
Hearing these familiar names, Pu Mixi was even more shocked. Wuhejialou actually persuaded all these people?! Then why worry about not accomplishing the great cause?! (End of this chapter)