Chapter 209: The Storm of Luojing

Qingniutun Dazhai, the side hall of the headquarters.

Jia Wudao said bluntly: "General, I am still the same thing. Even if I don't kill Meng Ke, I will never let him go back. As for the request he made, I don't even think about it. If we really want to hand over Qiu Fengjin to Meng Ke, the court's lies will become a fact, and we will be unable to argue at that time."

Qi Diaozi shook his head and said disapprovingly: "Even if we don't hand over the autumn wind, can we still explain this?"

"Lao Qi is right."

Meng Hu nodded and said, "The public opinion of the empire is always in the hands of the imperial court. Whether we hand over the Qiufengjin or not, the people of the empire will only believe in the imperial court, but not us. Therefore, it is completely impossible to expect Qiufengjin to cleanse us of grievances. However, we cannot afford the imperial court, and Qiufengjin must not be given to them for nothing."

"The general is right."

Jia Wudao agreed, "Anyway, we have already decided to do this traitor and have already broken up with the court. So I might as well just reject Meng Ke and then hold him on the mountain."

Qi Diaozi shook his head and said, "I feel that since the autumn wind can no longer wash away our grievances, it is meaningless to continue to suppress the mountain. It is better to hand him over to the court. Of course, there must be a prerequisite, that is, the court has to pay a considerable price."

Jia Wudao retorted: "Why have to be handed over to the court? Qiu Fengjin is the emperor of the Mingyue Empire. I think the ministers of the Mingyue Empire are more willing to redeem their emperor?"

Qi Diaozi smiled bitterly and said, "Old Jia, you are confused. Do you think Qiu Yutang will surrender? Do you think Mingyue Empire is really willing to offer sky-high prices for Qiufengjin? The Crown Prince of Mingyue Qiuye has ascended the throne, and the regime change of Mingyue Empire has been completed. Now even if we put Qiufengjinbai back, I am afraid that they are not happy."

"yes."

Jia Wudao slapped his forehead and said, "Why did I forget this?"

Qi Diaozi said: "So, if we refuse to trade with the court, then the autumn wind will have no value."

Meng Hu said in a deep voice: "Then hand over Qiu Fengjin to the court, but Lao Qi and Lao Jia, what conditions do you think we offer are more suitable?"

Qi Diaozi pondered: "We must not ask for the price too ruthlessly, otherwise Meng Ke would definitely refuse, but it should not be too low. Otherwise, we would have let down tens of thousands of western soldiers who died in a foreign country. We also pointed to Qiu Fengjin's ransom to pay pensions to the families of the fallen soldiers."

Jia Wudao added: "Also, the following list must be included in the exchange conditions, specifically 30,000 sets of heavy infantry equipment, 20,000 infantry longbows, 2 million feathered arrows, 20,000 northern war horses, and 200,000 stones of food. This is the most urgent strategic material our army needs at the moment."

Meng Hu nodded and said, "Lao Qi, Lao Jia, you can draw a list immediately according to the previous idea."

Luojing, Chu Prince's Mansion.

King Meng Xing of Chu was originally a powerful competitor to the throne, but unfortunately he was defeated by Meng Yan in the end.

Since Meng Yan ascended the throne, Meng Xing has been living in seclusion and basically never going out every day without any trouble. He also knows the cruelty of political struggles. The royal family has always had no family affection. Even if they are brothers of a mother and a compatriot, they will have no family affection when they are involved in disputes over the throne and interests. Since ancient times, there have been countless tragedies in the royal struggles.

What made Meng Xing feel particularly frightened was that three days ago, the Imperial Guard led by Cao Lin surrounded the entire King of Chu's mansion on the grounds of protecting the safety of the King of Chu. Even if the chefs and servants enter and exit, they must undergo strict inspections by the Imperial Guard. Although Meng Xing's ability is mediocre, he still has some political sense of smell since he was young. He has smelled a faint smell of blood from the air, but even so, he has no choice now.

The only thing Meng Xing can do now is wait, waiting for the new emperor Meng Yan and his uncle Meng Ke to return to Beijing.

At that time, there were only two fates waiting for Meng Xing. One was that Meng Yan was very compassionate and rewarded him with three melons and two dates as a prince of Anle, and the other was that Meng Yan eliminated future troubles and made all of them brothers who might threaten the safety of his throne. In order to survive, Meng Yuan finally acted very cautiously.

But deep down, Meng Xing was still a little dissatisfied. He felt that he was more qualified to become emperor than Meng Yan.

It was dark and Meng Xing was drinking in the palace to relieve his boredom. The eunuch outside the door suddenly screamed in a sharp voice: "Your Highness the Princess is here..."

"Brother, third brother!"

As the eunuch finished speaking, a clear and pleasant voice suddenly sounded outside the door. Then a graceful pretty shadow broke in and walked straight to Mengxing, and said anxiously, "Brother Three Emperors, do you still have the heart to drink here? Do you know that there was a huge change in the empire and someone was going to create a shocking unjust case!"

After saying that, Meng Yan snatched the wine pot from Meng Xing's hand.

Meng Xing raised his eyes and glanced at Meng Yan, frowned and said, "Give me the wine pot back."

"Three Emperors Brother!" Meng Yan paused her feet and said coquettishly, "Someone created an unjust case to frame the heroes of the Empire."

Meng Xing frowned and said, "What does that have to do with me? If you want to complain, you should go to the Prime Minister, or wait for His Majesty and the Uncle to return to the capital to find them and find me. What's the use of finding me?"

Meng Yan said coldly: "What if the person who created an unjust case to frame the hero of the Empire is the second emperor?"

"The second brother?" Meng Xing's face changed slightly, and he shook his head and said, "Nonsense, with the emperor's uncle here, what unfair case can the second brother create?"

Meng Yan said again: "What if even the emperor's uncle was deceived by his conspiracy? Third emperor brother, don't you want to expose the second emperor's conspiracy? Maybe even the father's will was forged by him."

Meng Xing's face changed drastically when he heard this, and he shouted loudly: "What are you talking about by the emperor sister?"

Meng Yan sneered: "Third Prince, my sister knows what you are concerned about. Are you just afraid that the second prince will not let you go after you come back? But have you ever thought about it? Even if you are cautious and not leaving the house, will the second prince let you go after you come back? Don't be stupid. Since ancient times, royal brothers who have no mercy in the royal struggle have not been merciless. After all, royal brothers who are as harmonious as father and uncle are only a few."

"Enough." Meng Xing said angrily, "It's not your turn to teach you a lesson as a brother, you can leave."

Meng Yan glanced at Meng Xing coldly, turned around and left, but when she left, she turned back and said, "The third prince, the reason why my younger sister came to you but did not go to the eldest prince is because you are the brother of my sister and her compatriots. If you change your mind, you can send someone to the younger sister's house. My younger sister can help you secretly contact the noble elders who support you."

Luojing, the residence of Prime Minister Cao Mo.

Cao Lin, the commander of the Imperial Army, hurried into Cao Mo's study and whispered: "Father, the child just got the news. Princess Mengyan had just been to the King of Chu's Mansion."

"King of Chu?"

Cao Mo was stunned when he heard this, then nodded, "Yes, King Chu is the biological brother of Princess Yan and her mother, and the relationship between the brother and sister has always been very good."

Cao Lin whispered: "Father, the child also received news that Princess Yan spreads rumors that were not conducive to the empire and the court in the Sihai Teahouse east of the city, and was extremely excited. The child suspected that she had other intentions to go to the Chu Palace this time."

"knew."

Cao Mo waved his hand and said in a narrow voice, "But Princess Yan's identity is special. Even if she finds that she is spreading rumors, don't take any measures rashly. After all, the public opinion of the empire is completely under the control of the court. No one will believe Princess Yan's words, and we must understand her."

"yes."

Cao Lin responded respectfully, "The child knows what to do."

"Go."

Cao Mo waved his hand and said with a serious expression, "The prince has handed over the important task of serving Luojing to his father. If you are a father, you must not disappoint the prince. Before the prince and the emperor return to the capital, nothing can happen to Luojing, and the empire must not make any mistakes. You should worry more during this period."

Qingniutun Dazhai, the headquarters of the central army.

Seeing that it was already early in the morning and Meng Ke was impatiently waiting, Meng Hu and the other two finally left and returned.

Meng Hu smiled and handed the roll of paper in his hand to Meng Ke, saying, "This is the exchange conditions that the ministers and others have issued after repeated review and discussion. Please check it out."

Meng Ke nodded gently and took the paper roll from Meng Hu.

Originally, Meng Ke's expression was quite relaxed, but after reading the list on the scroll, Meng Yan's face became very embarrassed. He looked up and glanced at Meng Hu in a strange way, and said one by one: "Five hundred thousand imperial gold coins, 30,000 sets of heavy infantry equipment, 20,000 infantry longbows, 2 million feather arrows, 20,000 northern war horses, and 200,000 stones of food! Meng Hu, do you really dare to speak?"

Jia Wudao said in a silence: "This is already our bottom line."

Qi Diaozi also said: "Of course, the prince can refuse at all, and we can't force others to do anything, right?"

Meng Hu Shiran walked to his tiger-skin chair and sat down, then said lazily: "In addition, you have made a mistake. You really shouldn't go up the mountain yourself. Even if you want to make a transaction, you should send someone to come, not to come in person. Hehe, please don't forget that we are traitors now."

"hehe."

Meng Ke said calmly, "Since I dare to go up the mountain myself, I naturally have a complete arrangement."

Meng Hu smiled and said, "Prince, we don't have to hide things anymore. You and I should just open the skylight and say something. As long as you can transport the materials listed on the list to Qingniu Tun as much as possible, I will definitely send the prince down the mountain and hand over Qiufengjin to the court. In addition, Xiao Chengliang, the prime minister of the Mingyue Empire, will also be given to Xiao Chengliang?"

"impossible."

Meng Ke flatly refused, "You want too many supplies. I can only give you at most five thousand sets of heavy infantry equipment and five thousand war horses. As for gold coins, food, and infantry longbows, there is absolutely nothing!"

"Then there is nothing to do."

Meng Hu shrugged and said, "Let's do this, one day the prince changes his mind, let's continue talking, okay?"

After saying that, Meng Ke couldn't help but say something. Meng Hu immediately grew up and shouted sternly: "Come here, take the prince down to rest!"

With a loud response, Zhang Xingba had already entered the headquarters with a high spirit, came to Meng Ke and shouted with a stern hand: "Please, please!"

North of Luojing City, Meng Yan’s mansion.

Early in the morning, more than a dozen noble elders with prominent status were invited to Meng Yan's residence. When they received Meng Yan's invitation, the dozen noble elders were also nervous. But after thinking about it, they decided to go to the appointment because they were all hard-core confidants who secretly supported the third prince Meng Xing, and they knew that Meng Yan was the sister of a mother of Meng Xing.

In the past, Meng Yan did not interfere with several princes in the fight for the crown prince because she didn't have the intention, but now the situation is different. When Meng Hu entered Beijing before the Western Expedition, the little thing between Meng Yan and Meng Hu was known to everyone. Now Meng Hu suddenly became a traitor who everyone was punished. Of course, Meng Yan couldn't accept this fact.

Although the court had already told the world the fabricated truth, this did not prevent the upper-class nobles from knowing the truth from other channels. They knew that Meng Hu was wronged, and the real imperial hero was Meng Hu, not Meng Yan. Therefore, while these nobles were sympathetic to Meng Hu and Meng Yan, they also rekindled the hope of fighting for power and profit.

For them, this is an opportunity, an opportunity to support Mengxing to take office!

At present, King Meng Ke of Yan is not in Luojing, Meng Yan has just ascended the throne, and he is not in Luojing. If he can take advantage of this time to control public opinion in Luojing and make the truth of the Western Expedition public, the situation in Luojing will change suddenly. As long as Meng Xing can gain the support of the people of the imperial capital, it is entirely possible to replace Meng Yan as the imperial emperor.

This starts with the political system of the Glorious Empire.

Unlike the princely feudal system of Mingyue Empire, the Guanghui Empire implemented a strict centralized system. Adult princes could only stay in the imperial capital for the rest of their lives and live by receiving salary. Moreover, the prince's titles cannot be hereditary, so there are only a few princes in each generation, and it is impossible to pose any threat to the emperor.

However, everything has advantages and disadvantages. While avoiding the crisis of internal disasters among the royal family, this system also gives local tyrants in different surnames the opportunity to replace them. When the Guanghui Empire was passed to the third generation of emperors, a large-scale local rebellion broke out, and the royal family of the Meng surname was almost replaced by the different surnames.

After that, the fourth emperor of the Glorious Empire carried out unprecedented reforms, established aristocratic senate in the imperial capital, and gave the noble senate strong voice to the Senate.

Under the temptation of the right to speak, local tyrants from the eight major provinces rushed to Luojing. From then on, local tyrants from the eight major provinces gradually evolved into nobles and veterans of Luojing. While they took root in Luojing, they did not relax their control over the original, thus preventing the rise of new tyrants in local provinces.

In this way, there will be no more local tyrants that can threaten the central government of the empire in the eight major local provinces, but in the imperial capital Luojing, there are too many nobles and powerful people. Because of the entanglement of interest, they will stabilize the absolute dominance of the Meng family in the empire.

Therefore, almost the entire empire was under the control of the nobles and elders. If Meng Xing could make the truth of the Western Expedition public and gain the recognition of the people of the imperial capital, and then gain the recognition of the vast majority of the nobles and elders of the Senate, then it would be natural to replace Meng Yan as the imperial emperor, and even if there was the will of the ancestor emperor, it would not work.
Chapter completed!