Help! I just woke up and was stabbed by a big kid

The other two were Zhang Hui, who had served as the Minister of the Imperial Court for many years, and Wei Wan, the Internal History of the Secretariat. If one had some understanding of the situation in the court, one would have seen that these three were the three forces of the Crown Prince in the three provinces.

Now it seems that Qin Zhaoyue is ready to take the throne. The emperor is seriously ill, and several princes who pose a threat have left Luoyang, and their respective maternal families are also under surveillance.

But unfortunately, Qin Zhaoyue couldn't take any action.

"Your Highness," said Wei Wan, the Internal History, "I received news the day before yesterday that the Minister of the Central Secretariat intends to resign and retire, and it seems that he has already written a petition."

Qin Zhaoyue was not surprised: "The general trend is irresistible, he is afraid. It's a pity that my father is in a coma and can't grant his request."

Zhou Yongsi said: "If Your Highness bypasses Your Majesty and signs this petition, the court will have something to say."

Qin Zhaoyue smiled and said, "How could I do such an unfilial thing? The Minister of the Central Secretariat is an important official. How can I make the decision alone?"

Then his face darkened. The Minister of the Central Secretariat was the family of the imperial concubine's mother. The reason why Qin Zhaoning was able to compete with him before was also because of his grandmother's family.

This relationship is complicated. The Zhongshuling family and Qin Zhaoning are only related through their grandmother, but the power in the court is complicated, and this family once wanted to tie Qin Zhaoning and their daughter together. Maybe because the Queen Mother warned them, the matter was left unresolved.

Is the Minister of the Central Secretariat resigning at this critical juncture to put pressure on him?

Zhou Yongsi said, "Your Highness, the Ministry of Rites reported that the envoys from the Daoxi Di tribe reported that their apology was ready and asked when they could pay tribute."

"Didn't I say that there's no need to apologize?" Qin Zhaoyue frowned. "What does Tuertan mean?"

"It is said that Tuertan reorganized the internal affairs of Xidi and separated the various tribes. The apology was proposed by the former subordinates of the Left King who were separated." Zhou Yongsi said, "I guess they are worried that the Right King will attack them, so they want to get close to Northern Qin."

Qin Zhaoyue frowned slightly.

Zhang Hui said: "I think that the current situation is complicated, so it is better not to let them come."

Qin Zhaoyue also had this idea and said, "Then I'll refuse it."

Internal historian Wei Wan said, "I'm afraid not."

Qin Zhaoyue looked at him.

Wei Wan took out a huge yellowish paper from his bosom. It was Hang Dou's newspaper. "The second reason I came here is for this."

Qin Zhaoyue took the newspaper and looked at it, then frowned immediately.

The title was written in bold regular script: The Western Di people are scared! The envoys are about to arrive in Beijing in a humble manner, with a car full of gifts of apology.

Qin Zhaoyue: ...

"Where did they get the information?" Qin Zhaoyue looked unhappy.

Wei Wan said, "That's right. According to my investigation, the Hangdou Bookstore is very sensitive. Wherever there is a major event, their informants will be stationed there and report the latest news back to the capital as soon as possible. The Hangdou Bookstore base in Ganzhou has not been withdrawn yet, and the fact that the Western Di people entered the city gate to apologize is not a secret."

Qin Zhaoyue said: "This newspaper..."

"Your Highness, the Hangdou newspaper is now the most popular publication in the capital. People on the streets are talking about the apology from the Western Di people." Wei Wan glanced at Zhou Yongsi meaningfully, "Our news is not as fast as that of a private bookstore."

Zhou Yongsi said nothing. He had just taken office, and he was in charge of the affairs of the Ministry of Personnel. He read all the news at a glance. Although he was promoted to the position of Pushe, he fell from the top to the second in command. It was not easy to regain the entire Shangshu Province, so it was normal to have some omissions.

But he did not defend himself. If you pay attention, you will know what is being said on the streets.

Zhou Yongsi immediately said: "I have failed in my duty. Your Highness, please punish me."

Qin Zhaoyue waved his hands, looking very generous and tolerant.

"Is there any movement from Xihu?" Qin Zhaoyue asked.

"No, they have always been well-behaved, as always." Wei Wan said.

"Let me think about it again." Qin Zhaoyue said.

……

The northernmost part of Northern Qin, the Yinshan Mountains.

Qin Zhaoning stood on the hill and looked south. There were some man-made wooden buildings scattered among the continuous green mountains. They all belonged to the mineral veins of the state city under his fiefdom.

Even the usually honest and peaceful Xihu were coveting the nearby mines. Therefore, there was chaos and friction here. Qin Zhaoning, an idle man, was so busy dealing with affairs for several days that his beard stubble appeared.

He never understood the emperor's intention. He knew there was iron ore here, which could be used to make weapons, but he still gave him this fiefdom. But now he really didn't dare to do anything weird. He checked the output of the iron ore every day, fearing that if there was a little bit less, someone would catch him.

He was at a very high place, with a nice view, and could also see the entire Gu Ri City behind him. The city was bustling with vendors, and the population was not small in places with rich mineral resources.

Qin Zhaoning suddenly saw a group of people gathering at the city gate. He leaned over the railing and looked down, and it seemed that there were several people dressed in Western Hu costumes surrounded by guards.

This was a serious matter. He quickly grabbed the cloak that was placed beside him and put it on, then rushed down the wooden stairs.

Soon they arrived at the city gate. The guard was talking to the Western Hu people. When he saw Qin Zhaoning coming, he immediately knelt down and saluted: "Your Majesty!"

"Your Highness!" The guards around knelt down one after another, but the Western Hu people did not kneel. Instead, they just stared at him.

Qin Zhaoning was a little angry: "Who are you?"

The tall Western Hu man behind walked forward.

Qin Zhaoning took a closer look and his eyes widened: "Shi San?!"

Shi San nodded to him: "Excuse me...let me talk."

Qin Zhaoning subconsciously looked behind him. The two Western Hu people looked strange to him. He had never seen them before. Where was Boss Gu? Where did Gu Dashi go? What happened?

He waved his hand and asked the guards to go back to their posts, and led the three people towards his palace.

"Where is Boss Gu? Why are you alone here? Who are these two people?" Qin Zhaoning couldn't help asking on the way.

Shi San remained silent. Qiqigehas and Meng'en, who were leading the horses, saw that he was silent, so even though they could understand Chinese, they pretended not to understand and kept silent.

Qin Zhaoning looked back repeatedly, why was no one paying attention to him?

However, he had been in this barbaric land for a while, so he didn't care about etiquette anymore. He just felt that it was difficult to talk on the road, so he quickened his pace and took his people back to his palace in Gu Ri City.

The so-called royal palace was just three courtyards, and there was no luxurious decoration in the palace. Even the small hall for entertaining guests was simple, and the tea served was even more ordinary. But even so, the life was better than that of ordinary people in the border town.

After everyone sat down, Qin Zhaoning glanced at the faces of the three people, feeling inexplicably uneasy.

"Can we tell you now? What are you here for?" he asked anxiously.

"He's dead." said Shi San.