Chapter 3: Invited

Xie Chong sat firmly and closed his eyes slightly. He was mumbling words silently, with his hands on his knees, making seemingly rigorous plans.

After a long time, he showed no expression, opened his eyes and replied slowly: "It's neither good nor bad. Your Highness had a rough childhood, but he still managed to overcome difficulties. He is certainly an extraordinary person."

Everyone was stunned after hearing this, and Xie Chong continued: "The oath was broken at the beginning, but a new oath was established. The so-called cycle of the road, is it possible to have a peaceful future? If you look at it from below, there should be no danger for Your Highness to enter the city and the palace this time."

He spoke cautiously, and everyone felt a little relaxed.

But divination is a prediction after all, and it is by no means necessarily accurate. But King Xiao Nanchen only had one life, and everyone was still worried later.

"Okay, let's go and rest first. Maybe there is nothing extraneous, so we don't know." Zhou Shengchen said with a smile.

His demeanor was relaxed, but Hong Xiaoyu and others must still be worried.

Sleeping peacefully at night, with these disciples accompanying him in the tent, Zhou Shengchen slept very soundly.

Everyone's uneasy mood decreased a lot as the morning sun rose. They all hope that the sun will set in the west as soon as possible so that everyone can accompany King Xiao Nanchen to send the late emperor's coffin to the mausoleum as soon as possible and return to Xizhou safely as soon as possible.

Just when everyone was praying secretly, they suddenly saw a few horses running towards the city gate. They immediately felt disappointed and extremely nervous.

The leader, a eunuch, jumped off his horse. He claimed to be Zhao Teng, the general steward of the harem, and only said that with the wishes of the concubine and His Majesty, he must ask to see King Xiao Nanchen in person.

After receiving the notification, Zhou Shengchen ordered Zhao Teng to enter the camp and walked out of the tent himself.

When they met at the entrance of the tent, Zhao Teng immediately prostrated himself on the ground and said: "The concubine and your majesty invite your highness to enter the city and enter the palace. I sincerely request your highness to break an oath for your majesty and enter the palace to support the young master!"

After that, he cried and fell to the ground.

Seeing his performance, Zhou Shengchen just stood still, laughing to himself: You bastard slave, how can you, just a eunuch, make me break my oath and enter the palace?

Zhao Teng, who was lying on the ground, didn't care whether he really entered the palace because of what Miao Guang said.

But it didn't matter that he always knelt down and kept silent. He raised his head, looked up at Zhou Shengchen, and once again raised his hands and begged: "Please, for the sake of the new emperor's young age, please lend a helping hand!"

Zhao Teng said this several times in succession, but received no response from Zhou Shengchen. He only saw him standing majestically with an indifferent expression, and he couldn't help but feel more in awe of this young and promising vassal king.

Feeling uneasy in his heart, Zhao Teng broke into a cold sweat because he was worried that King Xiao Nanchen would rebel immediately and kill him first.

"When I swore an oath, I made my promise to the late Emperor in person in front of the civil and military officials of the court. Although the late Emperor has passed away now, how can I break my oath just because of your words?!" Zhou Shengchen used He said with a stern tone, "Or maybe your edict may not be accurate. Wouldn't this king be suspected and ridiculed by everyone in the world?!"

Zhao Teng was frightened when he heard his harsh words and bowed again: "I will never lie to Your Highness even if I die!"

"Perhaps you didn't understand. Just go back and report my words to the concubine and Your Majesty." Zhou Shengchen said indifferently.

Zhao Teng lay on the ground, rolling his eyes a few times, and he seemed to understand. He stood up quickly, saluted Zhou Shengchen again, and then rode back to the city with a few followers.

Hong Xiaoyu and others secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but Xie Chong whispered worriedly: "It's okay to send him away like this, but if the court blames him for this, how will King Xiao Nanchen explain it?"

"Only one chamberlain was ordered to deliver the message in the city. At this very moment, don't the military advisors have doubts? Let's not talk about whether I, the king, may have fallen into someone's trick. He was summoned in so easily. Not to mention, I, the king, How can Wang Jun’s magnanimity exist?!” Zhou Shengchen said calmly.

"Your Highness is right!" Hong Xiaoyu, Zhou Tianxing and others immediately echoed loudly.

Xie Chong thought for a while and nodded: "Then let's see the reaction of His Majesty and the officials in the court."

Zhou Shengchen said yes casually and led everyone back to the tent.

Seeing that it was almost noon, he calmly ordered the soldiers and generals to cook and eat.

He was leisurely outside the city, but everyone in the court was already arguing.

Some said that King Xiao Nanchen was disrespectful, while others said that King Xiao Nanchen's reply was quite reasonable.

During the argument, Princess Qi Zhenzhen looked at Jian Guang: "Master, you made this idea, how should you deal with it now?"

The people in Guangguang were knowledgeable and the city was very deep. When the government was in chaos, he found an excuse to go back to his hometown, Qinghe County, to escape the chaos. Now that he is invited out, he will naturally gain support.

The invitation for King Xiao Nanchen to enter the city was blocked, so he could understand the reply Zhao Teng brought back.

"When replying to the concubine, King Xiao Nanchen's concerns are not wrong. In fact, the oath he made at the beginning was too heavy, so he gave the answer like this. He did not refuse to enter the city and the palace, so the old minister thought that he could let Zhao Chang I will take the imperial concubine's handwriting with me and invite him into the city."

Guang Guang said slowly.

The officials may say that there is no need, so they simply do not need King Xiao Nanchen to enter the city; some insist on doing so.

Prime Minister Liu Wei saw that Concubine Qi Zhenzhen was looking at her, and after much hesitation, he finally said: "What Tai Fu said is absolutely true."

Qi Zhenzhen had no choice but to write a handwritten edict and ordered Zhao Teng to go out of the city quickly to invite him.

Arriving at the camp outside the city, Zhao Teng's nose could smell the aroma of cooking rice and steamed cakes wafting throughout the camp, and he couldn't help but make a continuous "gurgling" sound in his stomach.

After this announcement, he was again asked to enter the camp on foot. Zhou Shengchen did not stand outside the tent waiting to greet him, but sat inside the tent.

After Zhao Teng entered the tent, he immediately took out a piece of jute paper from his arms, raised his hands above his head and said: "The concubine's handwriting."

Zhou Shengchen stood up and left his seat, and took it over to check.

Zhao Teng stood with his head lowered, put his hands on his abdomen, and pressed it hard to prevent it from screaming as much as possible.

His expression seemed extremely submissive, but Zhou Shengchen knew that this eunuch would definitely cause chaos in the future.

Evil people will be punished by evil people. Zhou Shengchen didn't want to worry too much about him.

"Thank you, Princess, for worrying about me." After he said this, Zhao Teng felt relieved.

Zhou Shengchen changed the subject again, handed the handwriting back to Zhao Teng and said: "I swore an oath to the emperor at that time; if I want to break the oath today, I must obey the emperor's order."

Zhao Teng immediately felt that his whole body was weak, his legs could not support him and he knelt down: "Please forgive me, your highness, and stop getting entangled in these unnecessary details. The concubine, your majesty, as well as all the civil and military officials, all looked up to your highness in the Taiji Hall. Looking forward to it!”

"I am not ruthless, but I do want to abide by my oath. If in this world, if I, Bei Chen, are as noble as me, and I don't keep my word, then wouldn't this world be completely chaotic? The slogan in the army is 'be a model for the world, and be righteous until death' , how can we inspire the soldiers to fight bloody battles for the country?"

After Zhou Shengchen said indifferently, Zhao Teng blinked a few times and was speechless.

After a long time, he bowed his hands and saluted again and said: "What Your Highness said is indeed true. But I also want to ask clearly, what kind of situation does Your Highness want to enter the city and the palace?"

"Your Majesty, please personally issue an edict and allow me to enter the city and the palace. In addition, Zhao Changshi has a hard time traveling back and forth. I also admire Tai Fu Tai Fu for his loyalty and righteousness, so I would like to ask him to go out of the city to deliver the edict on my behalf. I will definitely enter the city in compliance with the order!"

Zhou Shengchen replied with his hands behind his back.

Zhao Teng was stunned for a moment, but he could only salute and said: "Your Highness, wait a moment, please allow Weichen to return to the palace to report!"

After that, he hurriedly walked out of the tent and hurried back to the city with his entourage.

Zhou Shengchen watched his figure walk away, still standing motionless. Hong Xiaoyu and others looked at each other and nodded in unison, feeling that his answer was powerful.

Xie Chong came closer and whispered: "Your Highness still shouldn't enter the city."

"Things have reached this point and we are no longer allowed to make the decision ourselves, just like the people in the city." Zhou Shengchen said silently.

Sure enough. Zhao Teng returned to the city and immediately went to the court to inform the concubine and the new emperor. All the civil and military officials of the dynasty could hear clearly on the spot.

Some people immediately shouted, saying that King Xiao Nanchen's request was too much; some just said that there was no need to invite him into the city at all.

The little emperor was naturally confused, and the concubine was also upset when she heard this.

"Since he has already arrived outside the city, it means that he has no objection, why bother to force it like this?" She said depressedly.

Piao Guang had no choice but to take on his own ideas. Taking a few steps closer, he said to Qi Zhenzhen, the concubine next to the dragon chair: "I didn't say that he had any objections, but I said that I would use his power to let everyone in the world know that he supports the new emperor. In this way. , those restless vassal kings and generals will not have any strange thoughts."

Qi Zhenzhen sighed softly, looked at him and said, "Master, what should we do now?"

All the ministers stood exhausted in the palace, and they were already hungry. Some are already whispering: "It's better to discuss it after we have eaten."

The little emperor is sitting on the dragon chair, and has servants to serve him and eat, so he will naturally not be hungry. But because he felt bored, he fell asleep long ago.

After thinking about it, Cao Guang immediately held up his hands and begged: "The arrow is on the string, we have to shoot; the matter has come to this, we can only continue. Please ask your majesty and concubine to issue an edict to allow King Xiao Nanchen to enter the city and palace this time!"

"Such a solemn decree will make his original oath completely useless!" Prime Minister Liu Wei said hesitantly.

Guang Guang stroked his gray beard and said with a serious face: "That's the truth. But King Xiao Nanchen is loyal after all, and he will definitely abide by the agreement as before."

The concubine Qi Zhenzhen really wanted to have power, but at this time she first experienced the troubles of anxiety and hunger.

She couldn't wait any longer, so she had to order: "Then make a decree quickly - King Xiao Nanchen will break his oath to the late emperor today. He is allowed to enter the city and palace to worship the spirit of the late emperor; the new emperor ascends the throne, and the order Its support..."

Officials from Zhongshu Province wrote the edict, and Prime Minister Liu Wei personally reviewed it. After General Liu Yuan and Taifu Tiaoguang agreed with it, they left a copy with the historian, and then stamped the emperor's seal on the official edict.

Prime Minister Liu Wei and General Liu Yuan looked at each other, worried that King Xiao Nanchen would have any ambiguities, and agreed to follow Piao Guang to announce the decree. If Zhou Shengchen was dissatisfied with anything, they could use their status as royal family members to comfort him with kind words.

After kneeling down, Guang Guang accepted the edict and, accompanied by Prime Minister Liu Wei, General Liu Yuan, and several other officials, rode out of the city in a carriage.

There were frequent exchanges between people from the court and the camp outside the city, and the scholars and common people in Zhongzhou City also roughly knew the details.

And because the reputation of Xiao Nanchen and Wang Zhongyong was so great, these scholars and common people spontaneously gathered on both sides of the main street to discuss the matter.

More people, following the convoy of Yang Guang and his entourage, swarmed out of the city to watch.

The people who announced the decree here left the city, and Zhou Shengchen over there was also notified through the guards.

He led a group of accompanying officers out of the camp. He waited quietly outside the camp gate and saw a carriage carrying Piao Guang slowly driving over.

On both sides of this black carriage, in addition to numerous guards, there were figures of Liu Wei and Liu Yuan riding on horses.

The motorcade stopped and Guang Guang came out of the carriage. The guards quickly set up the wooden steps and helped him down.

Other officers, such as Liu Wei and Liu Yuan, quickly dismounted and stood quietly beside him.

Zhou Shengchen stepped forward to greet him. Cao Guang first raised his hands in salute and said, "Old minister, I pay my respects to your highness."

"There's no need to be polite, Master." Zhou Shengchen quickly held his arm.

Yang Guang looked up and saw that King Xiao Nanchen, who was famous for his martial arts and talents, was still wearing his crown, his hair was tied up with a white scarf, and he was wearing a thin plain robe. His sword-shaped eyebrows are slanted into his temples, his eyes are shining with stars, the bridge of his nose is as clear as stone, and his lips are as clear-cut as a carving; his body is tall and strong, and contains infinite strength.

At one glance, Yang Guang couldn't help but praise: "I haven't seen him for several years. King Xiao Nanchen is even more handsome, full of heroic spirit, and also free and elegant. He is truly a genius that Beichen will never see again!"

"The Grand Tutor is overly praised." Zhou Shengchen replied politely, "If I were not busy with military affairs, I would definitely go to Qinghe County to pay a visit to the Grand Tutor."

Yang Guang returned to Qinghe County to avoid chaos and disaster. When he heard what he said, he suddenly felt the same way in his heart: Wasn't that why Zhou Shengchen swore to run away.

"Don't dare bother Prince Xiao Nanchen." After all, Yang Guang was dedicated to serving the country. Then he raised the imperial decree in his hand and said seriously, "King Xiao Nanchen accepts the decree!"

"Your Majesty, Zhou Shengchen, accepts the order." Zhou Shengchen straightened his robes and bowed to the ground.

Thousands of soldiers behind him fell down together with a "hurrah" sound, without making any sound.

Seeing this, Yang Guang couldn't help but sigh in his heart: Only King Xiao Nanchen can bring out such a royal army that strictly observes military discipline! Without this royal army in Beichen, and even in the world, I don’t know how many people would have been killed or injured in the war; I don’t know how many rural villages and towns would have been destroyed by the war.

He thought so in his heart, but he also knew that he could only treat the vassal kings and generals with heavy troops severely, even if he admired and sympathized with them in his heart.

Slowly unfolding the scroll in his hand, Yang Guang read slowly: "The emperor is destined to be carried by heaven, and the edict says: The late emperor suddenly died and returned to the Five Elements. I inherit the scroll of the emperor and the emperor, and the emperor Hongxiu, in accordance with the legacy of the emperor Daxing. The destiny is based on the order of ethics, and it is enshrined in the ancestral hall. I think deeply about the importance of the entrustment, and I am sincere and conscientious. I only keep my cool virtues, rely on my relatives and virtuous people, and work together to create a new governance. The emperor is loyal and righteous. I would like to personally send Emperor Daxing to the capital. I have specially ordered the accompanying soldiers to wait for the camp. I feel so moved and hope that we can work together to serve the country together..."

He recited this imperial edict and broke down in tears several times. After the last recitation, he and all the officers, soldiers and officers present were speechless in grief.