The world begins with refining skills

Chapter 230 Let’s fight!

A few days later, in the Northern Qi Imperial Palace, Fengtian Hall.

When the sky was just getting light, the officials of the Northern Qi Dynasty had already lined up to enter the palace.

The civil servant is on the left and the military attache is on the right.

The ministers found their own positions and stood according to their ranks.

The atmosphere in the hall was somewhat solemn, not only because today was the day when the envoys from Southern Qing were to meet with the Emperor of Northern Qi.

Moreover, in the two days after the death of Jinyiwei commander Shen Zhong, the Empress Dowager's party oppressed Shen Zhong's party, resulting in fewer officials in the court now.

"His Majesty is here!"

As the sharp voice of the eunuch summoning the emperor rang out, all the court officials held their breath and waited for the arrival of the Emperor of Northern Qi.

Zhan Doudou, dressed in a black and gold dragon robe, walked out from the back hall and walked towards the dragon throne above the hall, greeted by the ministers.

And to the side and back of the dragon throne, on a soft couch behind an exquisite screen, sat a graceful woman with fair skin who looked to be only about thirty years old.

It was Zhan Doudou's biological mother, the Queen Mother of Northern Qi, and next to her was Mu Sheng, who was dressed in a black robe.

Zhan Doudou lifted the hem of his dragon robe and slowly sat on the dragon throne.

Then all the ministers shouted "Long live the emperor" together, and the morning court began. Soon, court officials came forward to report on all matters big and small in Northern Qi.

Mu Sheng and the Queen Mother of Northern Qi, who were behind the screen, were also whispering something.

"Imperial Master, what do you think of Nanqing's visit this time?" The Queen Mother of Northern Qi folded her hands in front of her, slightly turned sideways to look at Mu Sheng, and said in a gentle voice.

"Mother-in-law, you can call me Sheng Ge'er or Mu Sheng. It sounds strange to call me National Master or National Master!"

Brother Sheng?
The Queen Mother of Northern Qi couldn't help but tighten her folded hands. Ever since the death of her husband, the previous Emperor of Northern Qi, Zhan Qingfeng, no one dared to speak to her like this.

If someone else was so presumptuous, the Queen Mother of Northern Qi would have ordered someone to drag him away long ago.

However, for Mu Sheng, the cheap son-in-law and the newly crowned grandmaster, even Ku He is no match for him.

The Queen Mother of Northern Qi was helpless in dealing with the other party, and gradually got used to his usual speaking style. Sometimes she would even feel inexplicably emotional when she heard some words that crossed the line.

"Master, please stop joking. Emperor Qing Li Yunqian has always been eyeing our Northern Qi. If it weren't for Master Ku He's intimidation, the Qing army would have invaded our territory long ago."

The Queen Mother of Northern Qi said with a stern face: "Now that the Nanqing hostage has been assassinated in my capital, Li Yunqian will definitely not let go of this opportunity."

Although Nanqing, Beiqi and Dongyi maintained superficial peace because of the four great masters, it did not mean that war would not break out.

After all, there are two from Nanqing among the four great masters, and only Beiqi and Dongyi can resist them together.

Moreover, without considering the grandmaster-level combat power, Northern Qi and Dongyi combined are no match for Southern Qing.

If Nanqing attacked Beiqi without any reason, Ku He and Si Gu Jian would definitely not agree, but now that there is such a good excuse, the two can't say anything.

After all, they are the weaker party, and when they are not in the right, they can only accept defeat.

"Don't panic, mother-in-law." Mu Sheng patted the Queen Mother of Northern Qi's hand, but took it back when her face turned red and she was about to get angry.

"If Nanqing wants to seize the opportunity to occupy Northern Qi's territory, I will take action and take Cangzhou along the way, so that they will lose both their wife and their troops."

Not only did you lose the lady, but you also lost your army?
The Queen Mother of Northern Qi had never heard of this statement, but after a little connection, she understood what Mu Sheng meant.

He felt relieved and no longer cared about Mu Sheng's previous transgression: "The Grandmaster of Nanqing, Ye Liuyun, has been stationed at the border between the two countries. Even if you take action, you may not be able to defeat the Qing army, and it will also expose your strength."

The Queen Mother of Northern Qi was more worried about the Dongyi.

The Northern Qi and the Dongyi had tacitly united under the threat of the Southern Qing.

If the Dongyi knew that the Northern Qi also had two great masters, the tacit understanding between the Dongyi and the Northern Qi would inevitably collapse.

At the same time, the balance between the three parties will be broken.

Then, as the weakest Dongyi, if they want to survive, they must make a choice between Nanqing and Beiqi.

After all, before the war, both sides would definitely get rid of the Dongyi first to avoid being defeated and then being taken advantage of by the other party.

No matter which side the Dongyi chose, a war involving several countries was inevitable.

Thinking of this, the Queen Mother of Northern Qi frowned, as if all her sorrows were gathered here.

This made her already graceful and noble face even more majestic, and paired with a neat dress and phoenix coronet, there was quite a sense of uniform temptation.

"If Master Ku He and Mu Sheng attack together, I wonder if they can take down Ye Liuyun?"

The Queen Mother of Northern Qi suddenly thought of something and was about to ask Mu Sheng when she saw the other party's undisguised gaze.

Then he felt inexplicably annoyed, turned around and looked forward, focusing his attention on the court.

Mu Sheng didn't feel embarrassed when he saw this. He just looked at it openly. What was there to be embarrassed about?

It was probably because he was too indulgent in his previous life that he was now completely desensitized to ordinary beauties.

He has absolutely no interest in women who are not characters in the plot. However, women like the Queen Mother of Northern Qi, who are not stunningly beautiful but are both characters in the plot and have a special identity, do interest him somewhat.

Otherwise, let alone the Queen Mother of Northern Qi and Zhan Doudou, even beauties like Si Lili and Lin Wan'er would not rank among the women he had dealt with.

Not to mention the little tricks between Mu Sheng and the Queen Mother of Northern Qi, in the court ahead, after dealing with some important state affairs, Zhan Doudou finally summoned the envoy of Nanqing to the palace.

Soon, a middle-aged man with thin lips, deep eyes, and wearing Nanqing court robes, strode in from outside the hall.

"The envoys of Southern Qing pay their respects to His Majesty the Emperor of Qi. I, the foreign minister, have come here on the orders of His Majesty the Emperor of Qing. I wish His Majesty the Emperor of Qi good health."

"Get up," Zhan Doudou's voice fell from above: "Why did Emperor Qing send you here?"

"Thank you, His Majesty!" The envoy from Nanqing stood up and bowed:

"Your Majesty, since my emperor ascended the throne, our dynasty and your country have always been good neighbors and friendly."

The envoy of Nanqing spoke freely under the gaze of the officials of Northern Qi: "For many years, the two dynasties have traded with each other. The goods of our inner treasury are popular in Shangjing City. Before going to court, you all must have used the soap and other products produced by our Nanqing inner treasury to wash your face."

The Southern Qing envoy looked around with an arrogant look, and wherever his eyes fell, the Northern Qi officials either turned a blind eye or lowered their heads, unwilling to look at him.

It is really embarrassing to say that Northern Qi, one of the two major powers in the world, actually had to use products from other countries even for these common daily necessities. This shows the gap in production technology level between Northern Qi and Southern Qing.

More importantly, not only in daily necessities, but also in the forging technology of weapons and armor, the Northern Qi Dynasty was far behind the Southern Qing Dynasty.

"In order to maintain diplomatic relations between the two countries, Nanqing has repeatedly sent hostages to Qi over the years to ensure that the friendship between the two countries will last forever!"

“However!” The Nanqing envoy changed his tone and said sternly, “Last month, our Nanqing hostage Yan Bingyun was assassinated in the street by a villain in the heavily guarded and tightly secured Shangjing City, the capital of Northern Qi!”

"This incident is not only appalling, but also damages the diplomatic relations between the two countries. His Majesty the Emperor of our dynasty was furious when he heard about this." "I hope Qi can hand over the murderer who killed our hostage to avoid the two countries fighting and causing great suffering to the people."

The threat revealed in the tone of the Nanqing envoy displeased many Northern Qi officials.

Although Northern Qi is inferior to Qing in all aspects, as an envoy, you dare to speak to the emperor of Northern Qi like this. If they don't react, wouldn't they be allowing Northern Qi's face to be trampled upon?

"How dare you!" Jiang Hanzhong, the Minister of Rites, immediately stood up and said, "Envoy Qing's words are so rude and you dare to offend our emperor. Do you think we dare not kill you?"

"Hahaha," the Nanqing envoy laughed, "Of course you dare to kill me, but as soon as I die, the hundreds of thousands of Nanqing troops stationed in Cangzhou will immediately march north."

"By then, hundreds of thousands of Northern Qi soldiers and civilians will be buried with me!"

When the Nanqing envoy said this, many Northern Qi officials were still frightened, even though they knew he was bluffing.

Jiang Hanzhong sneered, "Haha! Does the Qing envoy think that we, Northern Qi, don't have a large army? If Southern Qing dares to have even one soldier step into our territory."

"My Northern Qi army will surely march south, defeat your soldiers, capture your territory, and occupy your cities!"

"Hahaha, Lord Jiang, is he still asleep? I have the advantage of Nanqing's military equipment."

"What a joke! So what if our weapons are good? Our Northern Qi soldiers are brave and good at fighting."

"."

Seeing that the two of them were arguing until their faces turned red and they were caught in a cycle of scolding like a shrew, the surrounding court officials stepped forward to persuade them.

"Envoy Qing, there is no need to be so aggressive. I, Northern Qi, will definitely give your country a satisfactory explanation for the assassination of your country's hostage."

"Master Jiang, please don't be too radical. Envoy Qing is just a little agitated due to his worry and anger. He has no intention of offending Your Majesty. Don't you think so, Envoy Qing?"

"It is indeed so. I am a foreign minister who spoke out of turn. I hope Your Majesty the Emperor of Qi will forgive me!" The envoy of Nanqing took advantage of the situation to go down the slope and saluted to the Emperor Zhan Doudou of Northern Qi in the hall.

After all, his goal has been achieved.

Because of the collapse of Nanqing's intelligence department in Northern Qi, the Nanqing envoys did not know that Jinyiwei commander Shen Zhong was dead before they arrived in Shangjing City.

This made him realize in an instant that the situation in Northern Qi had undergone tremendous changes. After contacting various parties and collecting information over the past few days, a force called Siming Sect came into his sight.

However, this force is too mysterious. All we know is that Bishop Mu Sheng was appointed as the Imperial Master of Northern Qi, and it was he who killed Shen Zhong.

The envoy from Nanqing acted so arrogantly in order to test whether Beiqi would change its strategy towards Nanqing because of the changes in the court.

For now, everything seems to be the same as before.

"The death of Nanqing's hostage has been concluded. It was done by Jinyiwei Commander Shen Zhong, who has been killed by our imperial master."

"Envoy Qing, take your heavy head with you and go back to report!"

Zhan Doudou did not care about the rudeness of the Nanqing envoy, but pushed Shen Zhong out. With his status, he was enough to shut up the world.

And Shen Zhong himself did not object.

Shen Zhong: ???
If Nan Qing continues to use this matter to make trouble, then Ku He and others will have a reason to intervene.

"Your Majesty, as far as I know, the person who attacked and killed Yan Bingyun that day looked like a demon. I'm afraid it wasn't Lord Shen, right?"

"That man is just an assassin. Shen Zhong is the mastermind behind this." A court official answered the question of the Nanqing envoy.

"Oh? Then I wonder where this person is. Please let the foreign minister take him away."

"That person has been silenced by Shen Zhong, and his bones have been crushed to dust."

"Really? Then why did I hear that this person is related to the Siming Divine Religion?" The Nanqing envoy's expression changed and said, "This person killed my Nanqing hostage, and your country's national teacher killed Jinyiwei Commander Shen Zhong."

"Now you tell me that it was Shen Zhong who ordered this assassin."

The envoy from Nanqing thought of the contents of the letter raft that was thrown into his yard last night, and his expression became firm.

"Your Majesty, I came here with the goodwill of your Majesty. All I want is to seek justice for the innocent and tragic death of Master Yan."

"But your country has mocked and deceived me time and again!"

"Is it really going to end up in war between our two countries? Your Majesty, please be clear and hand over the murderer who murdered our hostage!"

The envoy from Southern Qing bowed and waited for Northern Qi's reply.

"This Siming Divine Cult was able to destroy our Supervisory Council's organization in Northern Qi in a short period of time. Its strength should not be underestimated."

'The letter said that this Siming Divine Cult is probably not a native force of Northern Qi, although it is unknown why the two sides united.'

"But if this incident can alienate the relationship between the two sides, this mission will be considered a success."

As for the Queen Mother of Northern Qi's worry that Nan Qing would take the opportunity to attack Northern Qi, it can only be said that she was worrying too much. It's not that Nan Qing didn't have this idea, but she was not ready for it yet.

When Zhan Doudou heard the words of the Nanqing envoy, he instantly realized the other party's purpose.

But he didn't know how to decide, so he could only glance at the screen behind him out of habit.

The Queen Mother of Northern Qi, who was behind the screen, would sideways glance at Mu Sheng, waiting for his decision.

"Why are you looking at me?" Mu Sheng said, blinking his big innocent eyes.

"He's your man, why should I look at you?" The Queen Mother of Northern Qi looked at Mu Sheng angrily. If she could beat him, she really wanted to give him a few blows.

"Yeah, let's fight. I won't hand over anyone anyway." Mu Sheng said indifferently.

"But...", the Queen Mother of Northern Qi expressed her concerns.

On the one hand, there is the Dongyi tribe. On the other hand, Northern Qi’s overall national strength is far inferior to that of Southern Qing. She originally wanted to fully understand the technology brought by Mu Sheng and strengthen Northern Qi’s strength before making any plans.

"Mother-in-law, listen to me and beat me! I, as a man, will bear the consequences!"

Mu Sheng said this with full confidence, and his statement of taking on so much responsibility instantly dispelled much of the worries of the Queen Mother of Northern Qi.

All along, the mother and daughter have been walking on a tightrope, carefully dealing with every trouble.

It feels so good to suddenly have a man in front of me!

Then she adjusted her mood and said loudly: "All of this was done by Shen Zhong. If Envoy Qing insists on finding a non-existent murderer, then go ahead and fight!"

"What?" The Nanqing envoy suddenly raised his head.

　I took four days off in total, and I’m trying hard to see if I can make it up!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)