bastard returns

Yanjing City is located in the south of Daxia, and it is not far from the border of Dazhou. Otherwise, with the vast land of Daxia, it would not take half a month to go there.

It stands to reason that if the capital is too close to the border, it will not be conducive to defending the city. The Xia people will have no choice but to build the capital here. It is true that although Daxia has a vast land, there are not many suitable places to live. Apart from the climate problem , and barren and desolate and lack of arable land, the most important thing is the lack of water resources. In addition to the unpredictable rainfall, the largest water source in Daxia, which has few rivers, is the slightly large-scale Wuya River in the country. Therefore, as long as Most of the large-scale cities are built along the Wuya River. As for the national capital Yanjing, it is close to a naturally formed water storage lake in the lower reaches of the Wuya River to ensure the living expenses of countless people in the city.

Even though the climate in the south of Daxia is much better than that in the north, the convoy has experienced a lot of hardships all the way. It is either the strong wind blowing by, or the rainstorm and hail without warning, which makes people who are used to good weather in Dazhou It took a long time for everyone to get used to it, and now that they are finally under the city walls of Yanjing, they are really relieved.

The city wall of Yanjing is broad and majestic, with a height of more than ten feet. It looks like a colossus lying on the unobstructed plain. When the convoy approached the city gate, the group of people were surprised to find that the Great Xia did not send anyone out to meet them. Not only that , Even the city gates are tightly closed.

It should be long before they arrived, there was a messenger who informed the Daxia royal family that it was the prince of Dazhou who came to the peace talks. Even out of the most basic etiquette, the Xia people should go out of the city to welcome them. When Chen came to Huajing as Prince Yongyi, the reception was all the way from the gate of the city to the gate of the palace. With such a differential treatment, even the guards outside Sikong Xuan's carriage didn't look good.

The defenders on the city wall apparently spotted them. After a commotion, the side gate next to the main city gate finally opened a crack, and a strong man with the appearance of an officer came out on horseback and loudly asked about the whereabouts of everyone.

"It's a matter of knowing!" Sikong Xuan sat in the carriage with a tense expression on his face, "I can't believe that these people dare to neglect us like this without their orders!"

Ning Yuan opened the curtains and looked at the strong man on horseback. He saw his eyebrows hanging. Although he was alone, his eyes were full of contempt when he looked at the people here. Obviously, he didn't care about Sikong Xuan at all. Zhou Lai's prince paid attention to it.

Seeing this, one of the clerical officials sitting in the carriage behind immediately got out of the carriage, surrounded by several guards and walked forward to negotiate with the officer.

Seeing that the official was smiling and holding papers, the Han officer nodded and said with a suddenly enlightened expression: "So that's how it is. Since he is a guest from Da Zhou, he can naturally let him into the city." After finishing speaking, With a flick of his whip, he let the horse out of the way, revealing the side door behind him.

The clerk was taken aback, "My lord, what do you mean, do you want us Prince Xi to enter the capital through this side door?"

"The current situation is unstable, and the whole city is under martial law. The higher-ups have ordered you to be careful. On weekdays, the main city gate is only open for one hour a day. Since you missed it now, you can only wrong the prince." The officer said politely, with a look on his face. But still domineering and unambiguous, he actually wanted Sikong Xuan and the others to enter the city through the side door.

After hearing what the man said, the civil official's face changed drastically, but he was not the person in charge, so he hurried back to the carriage, and after paying homage, he said all that the officer said to Sikong Xuan through the window of the car.

The big man stood there on horseback, looked at the mighty convoy in front of him with some sarcasm, and curled his lips.

In fact, there was indeed an order from above to let them welcome the prince who came from Dazhou, but this big man didn't buy it very much. Once Daxia's military power is supreme, the officer has a very high status. He thinks that he has neglected those who can only talk about it. The civil servants of the Ministry of Rites did not dare to do anything to him. Secondly, although he guarded the city gate here, several of his brothers in the army were killed during the battle between the two armies. He really did not like the people of Zhou. His army has been suppressed and beaten by Daxia, and the people of Zhou came here for peace talks. Even if the other party is a prince, it doesn’t matter. In this world, whoever has the biggest fist is the most powerful. He wants all these people in front of him to go to the city .

The curtains of the glittering golden carriage in the distance seemed to move, as if someone was talking inside, and then the civil servant who had sent the message turned back.

"My lord, please hurry up if you want to enter the city. Otherwise, if it's too late, maybe you won't even be able to enter the side door." The big man thought that the other party had compromised, waved his hand, and was about to signal to his subordinates on the tower to open the side door. Knowing that the civil servant said, "No need!"

The expression on the civil servant's face not only lost the initial flinching, but also became a little sarcasm at the moment, and said loudly: "My lord said that since Daxia blocked the door, so there is no sincerity for the two countries to discuss, then let's not talk about it. Please also ask this sergeant to return a message to your empress dowager, let's see the truth on the battlefield!"

The civil servant got the order and opened his voice loudly until the sound reached the city wall, where many soldiers began to probe their brains, then he snorted coldly, turned around and left, and at this time the convoy not far away also began to hiss and turn around. He really planned to go back without even entering the city.

The big man was suddenly petrified.

He never imagined that the prince who came from the Great Zhou Dynasty would be so straightforward and leave as soon as he said it. Could it be that they are really planning to give up the peace talks and continue the war! ?The big man was convinced that Sikong Xuan and his party were here to seek peace, so he could show his face so arrogantly, but now seeing that the convoy had turned around, he immediately broke out in a cold sweat.

If the people in front of him were really let go, and the higher ups blamed him, how would he explain it!

The big man almost didn't even think about it, and immediately rushed forward with his horse's belly, hurriedly rushed to the carriage Sikong Xuan was riding in, and shouted: "Wait a minute, my lord, wait a moment!"

The people in the carriage didn't seem to hear it, as if they didn't want to talk to him at all.

The big man gritted his teeth, and could only say: "The little one is not good at handling things, so I ask the lord to ignore the villain, and the little one will open the city gate and welcome the lord into the city."

"Really." Although the carriage still didn't stop, the curtains moved and were lifted, revealing half of Sikong Xuan's face.

He had already changed back into the gorgeous princely attire, and said with a sneer on his face: "But this king has already seen that Yanjing doesn't seem to welcome me very much. Even if this king enters the city gate, so what? Everyone in Yanjing City is as brave as Jun Ye, this king can't afford it, so it's better to go back here and save trouble."

The big man's face froze, and he naturally understood that Sikong Xuan had something else to say, his eyes changed, and he said with a smile: "Where is the prince, the villain is too presumptuous, and the villain is willing to lead the way for the prince himself, and send the prince to a good life." At the post house, the prince is our distinguished guest in Yanjing, so what..."

Sikong Xuan snorted softly, and put down the curtains, as if he no longer wanted to talk nonsense with the big man. The big man panicked and wanted to speak again, but there was a bland "turn around" from the carriage, which immediately made him beam with joy.

The guards got the order and escorted the carriage to turn slowly. The big man didn't dare to neglect, rode his horse to the front of the team, all the way to the city gate, waved his hand at the top of the city, and shouted vigorously: " open the door!"

The soldiers on the top of the city immediately began to operate the mechanism, and the huge city gate several feet high finally opened slowly, revealing the straight streets of Yanjing inside.

Only then did the big man pull the reins of the horse, lead the convoy into the city, and slowly head towards the posthouse.

It was just not long before they ran into several teams of Daxia soldiers who ran out from nowhere. They seemed to want to stop the convoy from going forward to search, but they were all dismissed by the big man in the lead. Those soldiers obviously recognized the big man. Standing on Zhou Ren's side, all of them had very strange expressions on their faces, but after a salute, they retreated obediently. Seeing this scene, Sikong Xuan in the carriage turned his head to look at Ning Yuan and said, "Master, it is true. That's right, it seems that there are quite a few people in Yanjing who want to trouble us."

"It's just human nature." Ning Yuan sneered, "Since this person has the guts to neglect me at the gate of the city, it is enough to show that there is more than one person in Yanjing who thinks like this, and these people are probably in collusion. Together, even if we hold back our breath and enter the city through the side gate, we will encounter troubles one after another. Look at the soldiers who are going to come up to check, if we hadn't beaten the officer guarding the city first and asked him to help us Avoid these troubles, once those soldiers really come up to investigate, we are afraid that we will not be able to reach the post house until dark.

"But just now when you suggested that we turn around and leave, I really thought we were going to go back home." Sikong Xuan laughed.

"I just want to take a gamble. These people are so rude. They are sure that Daxia is strong and strong. They think that we are here to ask for peace. They dare not leave easily and can only swallow their anger. I am not as good as them." I mean, as expected, these people are just stern and mean-spirited, they neglected us, they are just pretending to be self-assertive." As soon as Ning Yuan's words fell, the carriage stopped with a bang, and then the voice of the big man came from outside, "My lord, the posthouse It's here."

Sikong Xuan and Ning Yuan got out of the car one after another. The streets of Yanjing City were built very broadly, giving people a sense of roughness. The hall, apart from occupying a larger area, can't see how gorgeous it is.

There were several people dressed as civil servants standing at the main entrance of the post house. Seeing the appearance of Sikong Xuan in a fine attire, the leader immediately stepped forward and bowed: "The lower officials have ordered Min Xian to wait for Xi here by the order of my emperor." His Royal Highness, I don't know if His Highness has encountered any troubles during his journey."

When Du Chengji said this, he glanced at the big man with meaning in his eyes, but the big man looked up at the sky, obviously not wanting to respond.

"Your Majesty Min is very polite. There was a little trouble before, but it has been resolved now." Sikong Xuan was very skillful in socializing.

"Originally, the subordinate officials should go to the gate of the city to meet His Highness, but it was only because someone obstructed them that they could only stay here and wait. I hope that Your Highness is Haihan, and it is not convenient for the Emperor to leave the palace today. There is a banquet in the posthouse, so the subordinate officials A few people first come to clean up the dust for the lord, please, lord." Min Xian respectfully led Sikong Xuan into the post house, and the big man immediately said goodbye when he saw this, as if he didn't want to stay with these civil servants.

Looking at this scene, Ning Yuan already had some calculations in his heart. Long before he came, Zhao Mo vaguely revealed to him through letters that it seemed that the Great Xia court was not peaceful, and the young emperor wanted to seize power from the Empress Dowager Xia. The Empress Dowager did not let go, so the officials in the court were divided into two factions, most of the civil servants were pro-emperor, and most of the military commanders were pro-empress, so this kind of civil and military mismatch situation was created, and Da Xia Hui suddenly had a big reaction to the Great Zhou Movement. Soldiers are more or less related to factional struggles in the court.

This Lord Min is obviously the person behind the emperor, and he treats Sikong Xuanji with respect, and the reception banquet is well arranged, presumably he put a lot of thought into it, and said that Sikong Xuan and the others can rest for a few days, and wait for the emperor to leave. When you are free, you will invite a few people into the palace to meet and discuss affairs.

Ning Yuan also inquired about "Prince Yongyi" by the way, but the answer he got surprised him greatly.

According to what Master Min said, not long after Huyan Yuanchen returned to the court, he seemed to be involved in a conspiracy. The emperor was furious, and decreed that Huyan Yuanchen's title should be abolished, and he should be taken down for questioning. However, Huyan Yuanchen seemed to have gotten the news first, and the whole person, including his subordinates, disappeared from the palace overnight without a trace. Although the emperor sent someone to track him down, his whereabouts have not been found so far.

This matter happened very quickly, and it was very secretive. Even in Yanjing official circles, not many people knew about it. Moreover, Huyan Yuanchen had been staying in Dazhou for a long time many years ago, and he had little or no involvement with Yanjing dignitaries. I personally went back to pay attention to his movements, and Ning Yuan was far away in Dazhou, so naturally there would be no relevant news.

Ning Yuan listened to Master Min's words, just nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

After the meal, several civil servants took their leave and left, saying that they were going back to the palace to report to the emperor, and everyone was led to rest in the backyard by the servants in the post. bedroom.

But he didn't rest right away, but quietly asked Zhou Shi, who came with him, to release Xuelihong. Although he had wanted to use Xuelihong to contact Huyan Yuanchen before, Da Zhou was far away, so Xuelihong could not be avoided. What happened to Li Hong? After returning in vain, he did not send the birds out again, but now it is different. Since they have arrived in Daxia, if Huyan Yuanchen is really still in Yanjing, then Xue Lihong should be able to find each other.

Ning Yuan waited all night with hope in this way, but the results on the second day made him rather disappointed. After a night of searching, Xue Lihong returned without success.

It seems that Huyan Yuanchen is really not in Yanjing City.

After confirming this point, Ning Yuan was not in a hurry. He only believed a third of what Master Min said about Huyan Yuanchen being involved in treason and being hunted down.

In his opinion, even if something like this happened to Huyan Yuanchen, he could come to Dazhou to find him. He didn't believe that something happened to Huyan Yuanchen. Perhaps, Huyan Yuanchen hid on purpose for some reason.

So Ning Yuan is not in a hurry at all, as long as there is nothing wrong with Huyan Yuanchen and he has come to Yanjing now, if the other party wants to contact him, he will naturally be able to contact him soon.

Before that, the only thing Ning Yuan needs to do is to wait patiently.

A few days later, an imperial decree finally came from Yanjing Palace, summoning King Xi of the Great Zhou to the palace for an audience.

The Yanjing Palace is not located in the north of the city like Huajing, but in the east, where the sun rises in the east to imply imperial power. It is surrounded by three palace walls no less than the city wall. The entire palace was guarded like an iron bucket, and the imperial guards who came and went to patrol were all tall and mighty, strong men in iron armor. What is amazing is that in addition to the weapons they wore, each of these strong men also had a belt tied around their waists. A thin iron chain, on the other side of the iron chain is an animal that looks like a wolf but not a wolf, or a dog that is not a dog.

"These animals are called wolf dogs. They are a special kind of dogs that guard the palace. They have very sensitive five senses. Even if someone wants to sneak into the palace with a very good light kung fu, they can't hide it from the guards who are patrolling. "In the carriage, an old man with the appearance of a eunuch explained to Sikong Xuan flatteringly, "In terms of the sensitivity of the five senses, the wolf should be the best, and there are also wolves in the grassland not far to the north of Yanjing, but Even if purebred wolves are raised from cubs, they are still wild and difficult to train and cannot be used by us, so we crossbreed wolves and dogs to give birth to this kind of wolf dog. Although they are not as brave as real wolves, they are loyal to people. Second, it is perfect for defending the palace, but the only disadvantage is that wolf dogs cannot reproduce once they are born, so they cannot be widely used, otherwise if they are used in war, a large group of wolf dogs will also become a good army."

I don't know if the old eunuch was demonstrating. When he talked about the army of wolf dogs, there was a smug look on his face.

This old eunuch, surnamed Fan, was the one who led Sikong Xuan into the palace for an audience this time, and also acted as a guide by the way. On the way into the palace, he kept talking about many customs and customs.

"It's really a wonderful thing." Seeing the old eunuch speak enthusiastically, Sikong Xuan followed suit with admiration.

"The Chonghua Gate is about to pass through the Chonghua Gate. After passing through the Chonghua Gate, it is the real forbidden inner garden. The inner garden is divided into the vestibule and the rear palace. It is the same as the one in your country. At this time, the emperor is leading the palace. Civil and military officials are waiting for His Royal Highness, and specifically instructed this old slave to lead His Highness King Xi directly to the hall."

"Xiadi is bothering you." Sikong Xuanbin nodded politely.

Eunuch Fan said a few times that he didn't dare, and then stopped talking, while Ning Yuan kept looking at the scenery outside the carriage window, and unexpectedly admired how tight the palace is, there is a path less than three feet wide connecting the three palace walls , and three steps, one post, five steps and one sentry, outsiders may not be able to sneak in even if they have great abilities.

After passing the Chonghua Gate, the eyes suddenly opened up. A very large square appeared in front of the carriage. Above the hundreds of steps of the ladder, there was a spacious palace. In front of the palace, there were also two rows of iron-clad guards standing solemnly. There.

"This is the Zhengyang Palace, the main palace where the emperor goes to court. His Highness Prince Xi, come with this old slave." Eunuch Fan got off the car neatly, led Sikong Xuan up the ladder, and walked for a long time. It took half a stick of incense to reach the front of the main hall. After arranging Sikong Xuan to wait at the door, Eunuch Fan quickly entered the hall from the side door. It was slowly opened from the inside by two palace servants.

In this Zhengyang Hall, civil and military officials have gathered together. The floor of the hall is obviously polished with high-quality stones, and it is as bright as a mirror. There are twelve huge black pillars in the hall, supporting the roof of the hall. A horned dragon was engraved on each of the giant pillars. It was frightening with its teeth and claws baring. Ning Yuan followed Sikong Xuan into the palace gate, and his eyes fell on these dragon pillars. After a while, he showed surprise.

He actually saw that these dragon pillars were all made of refined iron.

This fine iron is a rare item in the Great Zhou Dynasty. Only officers above the commander-in-chief can receive a sword made of fine iron as an accessory, and generals above the general level can have an armor made of fine iron. To use so much fine iron as the pillars supporting the main hall, even knowing that Daxia is rich in minerals, Ning Yuan couldn't help but secretly said something extravagant.

Sikong Xuan naturally noticed this too, but he held his own and did not show any excessive expressions. He walked to the center of the hall under the eyes of many officials in the two rows, saluted Emperor Xia who was sitting high on the dragon chair, and said, Voice: "See Your Majesty."

Ning Yuan knelt down, and at the same time carefully glanced at the emperor who controlled the entire Great Xia Dynasty.

Emperor Xia looked handsome, but he was very young, his face was still full of childishness, from the appearance, he was actually a year or two younger than Sikong Xuan.

But Ning Yuan was not surprised by this, Huyan Yuanchen had told him long ago that the current Emperor Daxia was the only son of his eldest brother, the crown prince, and also his nephew, and he was not much older anyway.

"It's been hard work for Prince Xi from afar." Emperor Xia said in a clear tone, "There's no need to be too polite, Ping..."

"Pingshen!" Before Emperor Xia finished speaking, behind a screen beside him, there was a slightly sharp female voice who rushed ahead of him and said the word "Pingshen".

Emperor Xia's face turned pale for a moment, but he recovered quickly, making it hard to see the abnormality. After Ning Yuan stood up in response, he immediately looked at the screen with deep meaning.

The screen is embroidered with light gauze, and there is a picture of a phoenix soaring in the nine heavens on it, but it cannot block a figure sitting behind the screen.