The emperor smiled and explained the cause of the dispute between the two countries. With Li Qiang as a card, he felt much more at ease.
The dispute between Gu Song and Li Tang has a long history. In history, Gu Song has been encroaching on the territory of Li Tang since its establishment. Among the three countries in the Green Basin, Gu Song was the last to be established and the most ambitious country at that time. Through the efforts of successive emperors, the territory of Gu Song has been continuously expanded. Now, although Gu Song is not the most powerful country, the territory of the three countries has been basically stable, and the national strength is not much different, and a tripartite situation has been formed.
Li Tang has always hated Gu Song, and the monarchs of all dynasties have always regarded the recovery of their homeland as the top priority, so the dispute between the two countries has never stopped. This time, Li Tang sent troops to the border again, showing a posture of going to war with Gu Song, and at the same time joined forces with Qingfeng in the Red Rock Rock Mountains to harass Gu Song, while the Black Flag Army was a surprise force arranged by Li Tang behind Gu Song.
Due to Li Qiang's intervention, the plan of Li Tang was disrupted, and the Black Flag Army was forced to retreat, which gave Gu Song time to quickly gather its troops. Now they are evenly matched.
After all, Gu Song did not want to go to war because of the short time and insufficient preparation. Li Tang used this opportunity to put pressure on Gu Song to make territorial demands and sent Li Tang's cultivation masters to the country in the hope of getting results that could not be obtained on the battlefield.
The imperial envoy to Gu Song this time was a cultivation master from Li Tang, named An Lang, who was a celebrity in the cultivation world.
The emperor changed his tone and said solemnly: "Lord Li, this negotiation is related to the safety and survival of Gu Song!"
Li Qiang thought to himself: "What does this have to do with me? I don't understand anything. Hey, what does the emperor mean by telling me this?" He was confused.
The emperor and Hou Pijing smiled at each other, and the emperor said: "My dear Li, I appoint you as the special envoy of the former Song State to negotiate with the envoys of the Litang State."
"Oh my God, I was wondering why I was given an official title and a house. What kind of judgment do you want me to negotiate? You are kidding me. If the fate of a country is handed over to me, and it fails to negotiate and causes suffering to the people, it will be my fault. No, I can't do it!"
Thinking of this, Li Qiang hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, I am not very knowledgeable and don't know anything. If I go to negotiate, I am afraid I will..." He glanced at Hou Pijing and thought: "Speak up, if you don't help me... I..."
Hou Pijing turned his head away and pretended not to see it, and Li Qiang gritted his teeth in hatred.
The emperor smiled and said, "My dear minister, you don't have to refuse. I trust you. I'll give you three days to prepare. Grandpa, I still have some official business to deal with. You see..."
Hou Pijing said, "Oh, you go and do it. Don't accompany me. I also want to take my brothers to the palace first."
Without giving Li Qiang any more time to say anything, the emperor coughed and walked away.
Li Qiang was so anxious that he stamped his feet and cried, "Brother, why didn't you say anything to dissuade me? You...you...you have screwed me over. I don't know anything and I don't understand the situation. How can I negotiate?"
Hou Pijing smiled and said, "Don't worry, everything is up to you, what are you afraid of?"
Li Qiang hurriedly said, "Okay, you said it, everything is up to you." He thought, "When the time comes, I will talk nonsense and see what you will do. If the negotiation goes badly, it's just right for the emperor to dismiss me, hehe."
The two went out, and a row of guards stood outside the door. One of them, who looked like a foreman, knelt down and said, "Five-rank sword-carrying guard Chen Fengning, in accordance with the order, led sixteen guards to serve the Holy King."
The group left the palace and walked towards the palace. On the way, Li Qiang ordered a guard to go to the silver building to pick up Zhao Hao and others.
When he arrived at the Holy King's Palace, Li Qiang was amazed.
The Shengwang Mansion covers an area of nearly 1,000 acres, which is only slightly smaller than the imperial palace. It is a symbolic building of the ancient Song Dynasty, which was rebuilt from the original royal back garden. The palace wall stretches for 10,000 meters. The palace is divided into east, west, south, north and center. Five building complexes have been built. Every few years, the royal family will allocate huge funds for repairs. There are thousands of eunuchs, palace maids, servants and servants in the palace. The entire building complex is magnificent and not much different from the imperial palace.
Li Qiang now understands why the emperor was so surprised when Hou Pijing said he would give up the palace.
The return of the Shengwang Mansion not only caused chaos in the palace, but also shocked the court officials. The name of the Shengwang was too amazing. He was already revered as a god-like figure in the ancient Song Dynasty.
The gossip spread quickly among the royal nobles and officials. After all, the Shengwang had not returned for more than 40 years. There were still a few people in the older generation who had seen the Shengwang, and the younger generation had only heard of his legend.
It is said that the Holy King brought a brother with him when he returned to the palace this time. The Emperor even appointed him as the first-class general of Huwei and gave him the palace. It is also said that the Holy King's brother is actually a young man, and it was this young man who rescued Hanlin City. What shocked these officials the most was that this young man was the younger brother of Fu Chongbi, the patron saint of the Han Kingdom...
All these news were deliberately spread by the Emperor, just to let the news reach the special envoy of the Litang Kingdom.
Soon, the originally deserted gate of the palace was filled with sedan chairs and horses of civil and military officials who came to visit. After receiving the visiting cards, the guards standing at the door blocked all the guests and said that the Holy King would not see guests now. These officials were unwilling to leave immediately because they could not see the Holy King. They gathered in groups of three or two and talked to each other.
The officials were chatting enthusiastically when a guard came to the door with three people.
"Hey, isn't this the old boss of Zhaojibao Silver Jewelry Building? How did he get here?"
"Old Qian, are you dazzled? Is that old guy so young?"
"Look at that big black guy, wow, the axe in his hand is too big."
"Hey! This little girl is really pretty."
The officials talked a lot and watched the three people swagger into the palace. Everyone unanimously elected an official to inquire about the situation. The official came to a familiar guard and asked: "Brother Xu, please, I don't know why the three people were allowed to enter the palace just now?"
Guard Xu smiled and said: "Oh, Brother Qin, to be honest - I don't know either."
The official was choked and smiled bitterly: "In this case, thank you Brother Xu."
After Hou Pijing entered the palace, he explained a few words to the housekeeper and ran off to nostalgia. Li Qiang was surrounded by a group of palace maids, eunuchs, maids and servants and entered the inner hall.
Before he could stand still, a group of maids came with their clothes and asked Li Qiang to take a bath and change clothes.
Entering the small room beside the inner hall, four eunuchs brought a large wooden basin with silver edges, added water and adjusted the temperature, and a maid with an oval face, thin eyebrows and big eyes said: "Please take a bath, my lord." The eunuchs and servants backed out of the room.
Li Qiang said: "Okay, take a bath, you can leave."
The eight maids who stayed behind bowed and said: "I will serve you to take a bath."
"Okay, ah..." Li Qiang was startled and said hurriedly: "Oh, no, no!"
"Plop", the eight maids knelt on the ground, saying: "I deserve to die."
Li Qiang scratched his head and said: "What are you talking about? Why do I deserve to die? Get up, all of you, I am just used to taking a bath by myself, there is no other meaning, otherwise I will not take a bath."
The maids just kowtowed and refused to get up. Li Qiang was at a loss, and he gritted his teeth and said, "Okay, okay, let's wash." He thought, "The royal nobles here really know how to enjoy themselves. They even need women to serve them when they take a bath. I'm willing to risk it. I'm not afraid of death, so why should I be afraid of taking a bath?" A maid stepped forward to unbutton his clothes and belt him. Li Qiang looked righteous and ready to die.
Inner hall of the palace.
Li Qiang sat on the armchair, feeling uncomfortable. He had just been scrubbed so carefully by eight young and beautiful maids that his Nascent Soul almost flew out. He was so frightened that his face was red and he still couldn't recover.
A eunuch reported that Zhao Hao and the other two had arrived. Li Qiang was overjoyed and shouted, "Please come in, please come in!"
Zhao Hao, Mei Jingjing, and Zheng Peng walked into the inner hall, looking around. Mei Jingjing was impatient and rushed in first. Seeing Li Qiang was slightly stunned, she chuckled and said, "Brother, you look so strange in this official uniform. Hey, how can you be an official?"
Seeing the three people coming in, Li Qiang felt better and said with a smile, "Niuniu, do I look handsome?"
The three people said in unison, "No! Haha!"
Zhao Hao said, "Master, the news of your official appointment has spread everywhere. Where is Master Uncle?" He told Li Qiang the rumors in detail.
Li Qiang pondered for a moment and said, "There is one more thing that has not been spread outside. The emperor appointed me as a special imperial envoy to negotiate with the envoys from Litang. By the way, Niuniu, you are from Litang, and brother will ask you some questions."
Mei Jingjing smiled and said, "As long as Niuniu knows, I will tell you everything."
Li Qiang said, "I want to know what role An Lang plays in Li Tang Kingdom?"
Mei Jingjing was shocked and said, "An Lang? An Lang from the Li Tang Kingdom Worship Hall?" She gritted her teeth and said, "He is the enemy of our Mei family!"
Li Qiang ordered the housekeeper, "Go find my brother." He said, "Niuniu, tell your brother what's going on." Li Qiang really treated Mei Jingjing as his little sister, and his brother couldn't ignore his sister's affairs.
Mei Jingjing's father is Mei Ao, a third-rank worshiper of the Li Tang Kingdom Worship Hall. The Mei family's cultivation method is extremely unique. It is to cultivate the way of herbal pills. Therefore, it is unique among the cultivators in the Worship Hall.
Especially famous is Mei Ao's medicinal pills. The Mei family's medicinal pills are the elixir that cultivators dream of. There are five most famous ones, and the first one is "Yuan Yang Pill", which can greatly increase the true essence of the cultivator. If this pill is taken when the Yuanying is just formed, it can quickly increase the growth rate of the Yuanying and avoid the danger of going crazy.
The second is "Peking Yuan Pill", which is a treasure for first-time cultivators. Taking it can quickly build a foundation.
The third is "Jiexu Pill". If a cultivator breaks his hands and feet in a fight, this pill can be reconnected without leaving any traces. Its effect is extremely effective.
The fourth is "Liyun Pill", which is the most famous. As long as a seriously injured cultivator has a breath left, taking this pill can save his life, so some people call it "Duming Pill", meaning that life can be snatched back.
The fifth is "Qingyun Pill", which is specially used to dissolve various strange and poisonous curses.
It was these elixirs of Mei Ao that caused the trouble. An Lang is a first-class worshiper of the Worship Hall, a first-class duke, and the uncle of the emperor of Li Tang. In order to cultivate several children and grandchildren, he forcibly demanded Yuanyang Pill and Peiyuandan. Because the refining of these two elixirs is extremely difficult, Mei Ao only has a few pills left, and An Lang actually asked for six pills each. Mei Ao could not hand over so many, so he had a grudge.
An Lang is a vicious person. Because Mei Ao cannot meet his demands, he holds a grudge and secretly plots to frame him, forcing Mei Ao to flee with his wife and daughter. An Lang also arranges people to chase and kill along the way. At the border between Litang and Gusong, the family of three fights with the killers. In the melee, Mei Jingjing is separated from her parents and drifts to Qichaling.
"Where are your parents now? No news?" Li Qiang asked with concern, thinking: "No wonder she ran to Qichaling to become a robber. The little girl is really not simple."
Mei Jingjing said sadly: "No, but my parents are likely to go to Hanbingyuan to seek help from the master."
Zhao Hao was surprised and said: "Are you going to Hanbing Continent?"
Mei Jingjing said: "It is Hanbing Continent."
Zheng Peng shouted: "Let me chop this old bastard with an axe, sister, my black axe is not vegetarian."
Li Qiang comforted "Don't be sad, Niuniu, we are here to help you. When things are arranged, I will accompany you to the Iceland." He asked Zhao Hao again, "What kind of place is the Iceland? Have you been there?"
"Who dares to go to the Iceland if you are not a cultivator? The place is extremely cold, the climate is strange, and there is a monster called 'Cha Cha Bing'. If you encounter it, you will never be spared. I have passed by the edge of the Iceland. If I hadn't learned martial arts, I would have been finished. Only seven of the eleven people who went with me survived by chance." Zhao Hao said with lingering fear.
Li Qiang said, "We have to go there. I must find Niuniu's parents before I can feel at ease."
Mei Jingjing's eyes were red with emotion, and she said, "Brother, you have to be careful of An Lang. He is sinister and evil. If you are not careful, you will fall into his trap."
Li Qiang originally planned to deal with this negotiation casually, but when it came to Niuniu's enemies, his mind changed. No matter what, this An Lang must not have a good life. With his determination made, Li Qiang began to consider how to proceed.
The housekeeper of the palace reported that the Holy King was in the abode of the West Palace, and they dared not disturb him.
Li Qiang smiled and said, "We went to disturb him, but he disappeared as soon as he returned to the palace, and he didn't care about us. Go find him."
The four people were led by the housekeeper, followed by a large group of servants, and walked towards the West Palace.
Entering the building complex of the West Palace, the housekeeper pointed upwards, and the four people looked up and couldn't help laughing. I saw Hou Pijing squatting on the roof alone, and I don't know what he was thinking.
Li Qiang walked slowly up to the roof and smiled, "Brother, how is the view?"
Hou Pijing sighed, "Do you know? Cultivators have no home, and are destined to endure all loneliness. Watching your relatives and friends leave you one by one, I am most afraid of returning to this palace now. Alas... my heart is old!" Li Qiang was speechless.
Hou Pijing looked down at the house and said, "Your friends are all here, let's go down." He laughed and said, "This palace is your residence now, why don't you take everyone to visit and show your hospitality."
Seeing him put his mind at ease and laugh, Li Qiang also relaxed and laughed, "Brother, no way, the palace is so big, I can't even tell the east, south, west and north, you want me to get lost."
The two of them floated down hand in hand, and the servants knelt on the ground and said in unison: "Greetings to the Holy King!"
Li Qiang said, "Brother, how can you bear it, people greet you and kneel every day."
Hou Pijing laughed and said, "That's why I asked the emperor to give you the palace, so that I can have a taste of it, how is it, is it good?"
Li Qiang thought of being tortured by eight beautiful palace maids in the inner hall just now, and said repeatedly, "It's uncomfortable, not fun." Of course it's not comfortable, being washed and rubbed by eight young and beautiful women, and he didn't want to mess around, so he couldn't hold it back as much as he could.
Zhao Hao knelt down and said respectfully: "I didn't know that my uncle was the Holy King. Please forgive me." He felt proud. The Holy King was my uncle. Power and wealth were within his reach.
Hou Pijing looked at Zhao Hao deeply, put away his smile, and said seriously: "Boy, I will only say this once, remember it clearly. If you really want to step into the door of cultivation, everything in the world is meaningless to you. You can play games, you can care, but you must not be greedy. If you can't pass this level, you will never be able to step into a higher realm of cultivation. Don't blame me for not reminding you then."
These words hit Zhao Hao's heart like a huge hammer, like a morning bell, waking him up. Zhao Hao sweated and kowtowed repeatedly, saying: "Disciple thanks my uncle for his guidance. Disciple understands."
Zhao Hao has lived in the world for more than 70 years. He really started to cultivate after meeting Li Qiang. Before that, he had been rolling in the business world. It was not surprising that he had worldly ideas. However, Hou Pijing's instruction this time will be of great help to Zhao Hao's future cultivation.
Hou Pijing said again: "Learn from your master, his realm is much higher than yours."
The study room in the palace, to be precise, should be the library, a three-story library.
Led by Hou Pijing, several people walked into the library. Li Qiang was full of joy as soon as he entered. From the first floor to the third floor, there were shelves full of ancient books. He thought: "I must take a good look when I have time."
After sitting down, Li Qiang told Hou Pijing about Mei Jingjing's family background and asked: "What is An Lang's status in the world of cultivation? What is the background of his master? Brother, you are familiar with the situation, introduce it to us."
Hou Pijing first asked Mei Jingjing: "Niuniu, is there a person named Mei Youbing in your Mei family?"
Mei Jingjing said with surprise: "Yes, it's Niuniu's great-grandfather. Does the old senior know him?"
Hou Pijing nodded and said: "The master of the Mei family must be in Han Isn't the Rejuvenation Valley in the Icefield called 'Lingpanmen'?"
Mei Jingjing jumped up happily, grabbed Hou Pijing's arm and shook it, saying: "Great, Niuniu can find her parents!"
Hou Pijing laughed and said: "Don't shake it, my old bones are all broken." Hou Pijing said to Li Qiang: "Anlang has no status in the cultivation world. He is a villain who is greedy for power and keen on conspiracy. Judging from this, he will not have a high level of cultivation."
He glanced at Zhao Hao and said: "However, I heard that this person has many strange magic weapons, some of which are extremely vicious. His master is very mysterious. I understand that An Lang is related to the 'Old Man Bai Huang' of 'Qianjie Star'."
Mei Jingjing was puzzled and asked, "What is Qianjie Star?"
Hou Pijing said, "It is a place where cultivators are exiled. It is a very scary planet. If a cultivator is there without strength, the end is unimaginable." He added, "Old Man Bai Huang is the leader of the bully organization of Qianjie Star. He has many powerful cultivators under his command. Because of the suppression of Fengyuan Star, they dare not come out to do evil."
Zheng Peng really couldn't listen anymore and shouted, "Brother, I don't understand what you are saying. You are suffocating me to death. "
Li Qiang waved to the housekeeper and whispered: "Take him to the guest room, get him some meat and wine, go quickly."
After a moment of silence, Li Qiang said: "I don't know much about the situation of Litang and Gusong. Brother, go ask the emperor for someone. I need a military advisor. Well, I need Cheng Zizhong, and someone who knows the entire Green Basin country. "
Hou Pijing smiled and said: "No problem, even if you want the Privy Councilor or the Minister of each department, I can do it."
At this time, a guard came to report that the special envoy of the Han Kingdom stationed in Gusong asked to see General Huwei.