lady, please calm down

In mid-February, the Qizhou Peace Conference, which had been postponed for two months without any results, finally reached a preliminary intention through the mediation of Chen Bokang.

The State of Qi made a condition of withdrawing the naval forces in Qiantang Bay in exchange for the release of Miao Kui, a scholar from the Wailing Temple, merchants on strike, Lin'an businessman Miao Kui, and Mei Yao, a Qi music master who was imprisoned for no reason.

In addition, war criminals between Zhou and Qi will be dealt with by the latter; Qi and Zhou can publish newspapers in each other's territory
As for the issue of compensation, we can discuss it later.

You see, Shen Gai stayed in Anfeng for two months, but nothing was reached. Chen Bokang had just been away for more than ten days, and he solved the problem of Qiantang Bay. Although the Lin'an Dynasty had to rely on Chen Bokang at the moment, it couldn't help but become more convinced that Chen Bokang was indeed connected with Huaibei. Very deep'.

On February 13, Qin Huizhi received the news that the peace agreement had been concluded, and immediately went to the palace to discuss the matter with Emperor Zhou.

It's easy to talk about releasing the scholars, but the one about handing over war criminals. The masterminds of this northern invasion of Huaibei are Qin Huizhi and Emperor Zhou. Naturally, they will not hand over themselves.

"Prime Minister Qin still needs to worry about this matter. He must satisfy Qi State."

Emperor Zhou decisively kicked the ball back to Qin Hui. It was you who instigated me to do the Northern Expedition. Now that I have been disgraced and covered in feathers, you will naturally have to arrange for this war criminal.

Qin Huizhi already had a few targets in his mind to take the blame, such as the Quanzhou merchant Pu family and the Ministry of War minister Wang Shu. If the last resort came, even Wan Qixi could not be sacrificed.

However, the State of Qi did not ask the above-mentioned people by name to come to Qi to be punished. Qin Huizhi still wanted to try to fool them.

That night, after returning to the Prime Minister's Mansion, Qin Huizhi went to the side courtyard to visit Wu Weizheng. After the Zhou army withdrew from Huaibei, Wu Weizheng's personal freedom was restricted and he was locked up in this side courtyard for more than two months.

Wu Weizheng had been trapped in Lin'an for many days, and the sound of cannons that rang out from time to time in Qiantang Bay could not be concealed. He naturally felt some changes in the treatment of him by the Prime Minister's Mansion.

Therefore, when one of the Qin Hui people who had not seen him for more than a month appeared, he guessed the clues and couldn't help but sneered: "Prime Minister Qin, are you planning to take it in exchange for peace with Qi?"

"Hey~" Qin Huizhi sighed, which was like silently acquiescing to this matter.

It is one thing to be mentally prepared, but it is another thing to abandon oneself after confirming that the other party is really going to do it. The Wu family already has a big feud with the King of Chu. If it falls into the hands of the Qi people, there will definitely be no good consequences.

Wu Weizheng said angrily: "Prime Minister Qin needs to know that the situation in Qi is now such that only Jin and Zhou can join forces to have a chance of survival! If you send me to Qi, you will be cutting off your own arm! You will be divided and destroyed by Qi. Even if you use me to temporarily stop the war with Qi, your Zhou will also be destroyed by Qi in the future!"

Now that the words have been spoken, Qin Huizhi also got straight to the point: "Hey, what Mr. Wu said makes some sense. However, Huainan is now in the hands of the Qi State, and the Qi Army is stationed in the north of the Yangtze River. Qiantang Bay is blocked by the Qi Navy Navy. Rather than worrying about the long term, the immediate concern is our emperor’s heart. As for your country, Jin, let’s protect ourselves first. For the present, the only way is to give our country a chance to breathe with Mr. Wu.”

While they were talking, someone from the Prime Minister's Mansion had brought a bundle of hemp rope inside, and then skillfully hung the hemp rope on the beam and tied it with a beautiful noose.

Wu Weizheng could clearly see what this was going to do, and couldn't help but be shocked and angry.

Qin Huizhi looked at Wu Weizheng and said with regret: "Mr. Wu is responsible for liaising with Jin and Zhou. You know too many things. I can't let Qi receive Mr. Wu alive, lest he say something. It will make my emperor's face tarnished. Ahem, sir, please show your dignity."

Wu Weizheng stepped back a few steps and the servants of the Prime Minister's Mansion immediately pressed forward and shouted, "Sir, please show your dignity!"

This was also an ultimatum. Seeing that he didn't want to show dignity, the servants swarmed up and dragged him to the noose.

At the last moment when the noose was put around his neck, Wu Weizheng, with red eyes, roared loudly: "Qin Huizhi, I'm waiting for you down there! I'm waiting for your whole family and Emperor Zhou to come to the underworld to accompany me! I don't know how to plan!" The Zhou Dynasty and the entire dynasty were all stupid."

However, Qin Huiyi raised his hand, grabbed the two healthy servants at the other end of the hemp rope and dragged them back with all his strength.

Wu Weizheng, who was cursing and shouting, felt his throat tightening, and the rest of his words were choked back by the suddenly tightened noose.

Under the beam, Wu Weizheng had been pulled up three feet off the ground. His eyes were bulging, and his hands were tightly grasping the noose that had penetrated his flesh. However, the noose had already been tightened, so it was of course in vain.

It wasn't until more than a hundred breaths later that his legs, which were kicking in vain, quietly hung down.

Until death, those bloodshot eyes were full of unwillingness and anger. In the eleventh year of Qi Li's reign in Fuchang, his brother Wu Weiguang and nephew Wu Yifan died successively. Later, the family property was confiscated, and the men in the family were either beheaded or imprisoned.

And all this was just because the King of Chu fell in love with his nephew's fiancée. Wu Weizheng didn't know many details. However, one year after the incident, the King of Chu did marry Chen Jingyan's daughter. Wu Weizheng naturally guessed this.

Afterwards, only the second brother of the Wu family, Wu Weizheng, who stayed in the Kingdom of Jin and served as an official, was spared. At that time, the situation of the King of Chu had become so bad that Wu Weizheng was unable to take revenge.

After lying dormant for several years, he finally had this opportunity. In fact, until November last year, he still felt confident.

It wasn't until later that the situation took a turn for the worse.

Wu Weizheng thought that what he was doing was to unite vertical and horizontal forces to build the country, but unexpectedly, in the end, he died in the hands of his own people without even meeting the hated King of Chu.

Here, Qin Huizhi, who had been sitting quietly in his chair, let Wu Weizheng's body hang on the beam for a quarter of an hour. Only when he was completely sure that the latter could no longer be alive, did he order: "Go to the ice cellar to get some They suppressed the body with some ice cubes and sent it to Anfeng tomorrow. They said that the Jin man Wu Weizheng instigated Qi Zhou Bangyi and committed suicide out of fear of guilt after the failure."

On that day, Qin Huizhi had just prepared the scapegoat to take the blame, but he didn't expect that things would change again the next day.

On the 14th, newspapers published by Huaibei Caizhou Five-Day Talk and Huainan Huaibao on the 10th day of the lunar month were introduced to Lin'an.

Both newspapers published on their headlines the news that the Qizhou peace talks had initially reached an agreement and that the Qi navy in Qiantang Bay was about to lift the blockade.

Even before the Lin'an court issued an official announcement about this incident, the people of Lin'an, who had long been looking forward to a return to normal life order, were naturally delighted when they saw the news.

The two newspapers not only reported the matter, but also exposed the details of the peace agreement. For example, they once again highlighted the words "release the temple-crying scholars and strike the merchants."

But this put Lin'an Chao in an awkward position.

If Huaibao hadn't taken the initiative to expose the prerequisites for the peace talks to release the scholars during the Chinese New Year, these scholars would have come out long ago.

The reason why the Lin'an court stood firm was that it did not want the Zhou gentry to think that the court's release of the scholars was due to pressure from Qi.

It's good now that the Lin'an Dynasty is obviously ready to accept all conditions, but the Qi State has brought up the old matter again.

If you think about it with your toes, you will know that after the scholars and merchants were released, they would not think that it was the magnanimity of the imperial court that allowed them to be released, but that the Qi State cherished talents and kept exerting pressure on the Lin'an Dynasty, so that they could see the light of day again. .

Anyway, he gave in. Lin Anchao pinched his nose and endured it, feeling as sick as if he had swallowed a fly.

In the evening of that day, scholars, merchants, and Mei Yao were released one after another.

The Lin'an court originally wanted to handle the matter in a low-key manner, but for some reason the news leaked out.

At Youshi, the government office was filled with fellow scholars and family members of merchants. Mei Yao was not from Lin'an, and there were only three or four maids and servants who came to pick her up.

After being detained for two months, even though they were not punished, they all looked unkempt and emaciated with dirty clothes.

But even if their image is not good, the scholars, surrounded by their classmates, are like warriors returning from victory, holding their heads high and chest out.

When everyone saw Mei's family, they couldn't help but gather around her. The woman was weak, and after being imprisoned for two months, her frame became even more slender, making her look quite pitiful.

But she is obviously a weak woman, but she dares to take the initiative to come to the government office and "share this crime with the scholars". She is strong and strong, which is admirable!
At that time, Mei Yao's actions supported the scholars with actions. Now, once the gloom cleared and she regained her freedom, the scholars naturally felt a bit of sympathy and admiration for her, as if she was "a member of our generation."

"Mei's righteous deeds can be passed down in exile!"

"Everyone Mei, with your delicate body, advances and retreats with me equally, we will bear this in mind!"

"Everyone Mei, please accept my respect!"

Now, everyone knows that he was released precisely because Qi State has always been concerned about and continued to put pressure on the court.

They had just come out of prison, and although they no longer dared to criticize the imperial court openly, they still had the courage to disgust the imperial court by saluting the Mei family.

Mei Yao was supported by a maid, and when she saw this, she quickly bowed her knees and returned the greeting, and suddenly said: "I can't repay you for your love! If you don't dislike it, why don't you go to stay in the villa temporarily, and I will play the piano for you to express my gratitude. how?"

"it is good!"

There was nowhere to vent the excitement, and the scholar immediately had someone to respond. Miao Kui, the largest Huai goods agent in Lin'an City, heard this and said hurriedly: "If you are lucky enough, I, Miao, will be able to supply the wine, meat and dishes tonight!"

Scholars, to some extent, looked down upon merchants, but this Miao Kui was the first merchant to respond to the 'strike' after the scholars were imprisoned!

Everyone is silently supporting us, how can we give them some face?

Thinking of this, someone immediately laughed and said, "That's fine! Shopkeeper Miao is very wealthy, so we can take advantage of it."

Seeing that Shizi was giving him face, other merchants on strike who had just been released quickly said, "Count me in too!"

"My family is willing to produce Huaibei fairy peach wine"

"Zhang cannot be left out of this matter!"

While they were enjoying themselves, Gu Yuntang, who was the leader of the Weeping Temple Scholars, took a step forward, looked around at the crowd and said, "I appreciate your kindness. However, Mei and everyone have just been released from prison. If you entertain me again, your body may not be able to bear it. How about, Let’s wait another day.”

A bucket of cold water was thrown on everyone, and everyone was a little regretful. I had just been in prison for two months, and how much I could show off to my classmates and family. The atmosphere was so warm, and it would be a pity if I couldn't find a place to talk about it.

But what Gu Yuntang said makes sense. A delicate girl is not as good as a man, so she needs to rest.

Just when everyone was reluctant to leave, Mei Yao first bowed to Gu Yuntang, and then said: "Master Gu pities the slave family, and the slave family understands it. But at the end of last year, I, the son of the Huaxia, defeated Jinxia's 300,000-strong army outside Tokyo. Let go of the haze that has been cast upon us by foreigners for more than ten years! I still think about it, and my heart is still raging. Chinese men are not afraid of life and death. Although I am a woman, I am not that fragile. Tonight, I am willing to be my Chinese man! Congratulations, congratulations to me, a Chinese man, and have a drink with you all!"

"it is good!"

"We are all sons and daughters of the Chinese nation, and congratulations to our Chinese nation!"

After Mei Yao's words, the place below seemed to explode.

Since the founding of the Zhou Dynasty, the country has been weak for two hundred years. Even though the country is now divided into Zhou Qi, the news of Qi's victory over the aliens years ago came. How many people were secretly happy in their hearts, and how many people secretly sacrificed their lives at night, Ding Wei, or Until death, I still miss my father and brother who returned to their hometown!

But this joy cannot be expressed in person. Once he congratulates Qi Sheng in the Zhou Kingdom, he will inevitably be framed by someone with evil intentions.

Secondly, I am also worried that others will ridicule, "What does Qi Sheng have to do with you, a Zhou person?"

But Mei Yao's words stood at the level of 'Chinese sons and daughters', almost saying clearly that 'this victory is the victory of my Chinese sons and daughters'. As long as they consider themselves as Chinese people, everyone is honored and can congratulate them!
On the side, the head of the government office, who was only three or four feet away from Mei Yao, twisted his body uneasily. This little girl is really capable of looking for trouble. She said such bold words at the gate of the government office just after she was released.

Although they are both from China, Zhou and Qi are different after all. What is your intention when you say this?

Normally, just by saying these words, this squad leader would have taken Mei Yao back to prison and punished her for the crime of demagoguery.

But at this time, there were many scholars and businessmen from outside, plus thousands of people watching the excitement. If there was a dispute over capturing Mei Yao again, the gain would outweigh the loss.

The squad leader was not sure, so he hurriedly went to the back office to report to the prefect Chai Su in person: "Ding Wei's troubles were caused by our great Zhou Dynasty, but now it is Qi State who has taken revenge. What she said was overt and covert."

Before the class leader finished speaking, Chai Su looked over with a frown and said, "What do you want to say?"

The squad leader paused and whispered: "Master Fu Zun, do you want to arrest that Mei Yao again?"

"Catch your mother! If I could catch her, would I let her go today? Idiot!"

As a member of the royal family, Chai Su knew the current situation. Mei Yao was the one named by the Qi State in the peace negotiation to request her release. At present, everything is focused on the peace negotiation. In order to avoid unnecessary complications, in case of Xing's proposal to expel this girl from the country, the emperor You don’t even dare to agree, you fucking want to catch me again?

Looking at the class leader who was shrinking his head after being scolded, Chai Su scolded: "You're being ignored, aren't you? Do your own thing well and stop worrying so much!"

Outside the government office.

Scholars and merchants gathered around Mei Yao to go to the annex, talking loudly and loudly all the way, as if they were afraid that passers-by would not know that they had just "sent prison for the country and the people."

The team of nearly a hundred people, plus the classmates and family members who picked them up, totaled more than 300 people.

Moreover, the imprisoned scholars and merchants did not have time to shower and change clothes. They were all dirty and smelling strangely, but no one disliked each other.

Is this a bad taste?
Wrong, this is the body fragrance of being loyal to the people!
Xu Shi.

The annex where Mei Yao stayed temporarily was not large enough to accommodate the more than 300 people who poured in, so everyone sat casually on the grass in the courtyard.

Quite a bit of the unrestrained demeanor of celebrities in the Wei and Jin Dynasties.

Not long after, the wine and food ordered by Miao Kui and other merchants arrived. He had been in prison for two months, but now he saw wine and meat, and he was very friendly.

For a moment, the only sound left in the hospital was the sound of chewing and swallowing.

However, what surprised everyone was that since mid-morning, some merchants who did not participate in the strike also took the initiative to send some food and wine to express their condolences.

At the end of the Xu period, several famous Confucian scholars from Lin'an sent their nephews to express their condolences. At the beginning of the Hai period, Hu Quan, the minister of the Ministry of War, came to the scene in person with several officials who had been suppressed and dismissed by the Prime Minister of Qin.

Some simple-thinking scholars, seeing this grand occasion, suddenly felt a sense of pride that "the Taoism will help many people".

However, some people who are thorough have noticed from this that after Huainan changed its owner and the Supreme Emperor established another dynasty in Anfeng, the Prime Minister of Qin, who had controlled the government for more than ten years and dominated Lin'an, was already unstable.

Otherwise, these people would not dare to take the initiative to contact them and show their kindness.

At the eleventh hour, Mei Yao appeared in the venue after freshening up.

It immediately attracted some good news.

After this incident, Mei Yao was no longer a world-famous actress in the hearts of the scholars, but a comrade who shared the joys and sorrows, and even a goddess who could only be watched from a distance but not played with.

While everyone was looking forward to it, Mei Yao gently stroked the strings and stood still, then suddenly raised his head, smiled, and said, "If you are interested, you can sing this song with me."

After the words were finished, there was a soothing sound of the piano.

All the scholars originally thought that she would start tonight with the new work "Man Jiang Hong" by King Jin that had just been circulated to Lin'an at the end of last year.

Unexpectedly, it was the prelude to "The Fortune Teller"
"The wind and rain send spring back, and the flying snow welcomes spring. The cliff is already covered with hundreds of feet of ice, but there are still beautiful flowers and branches. She doesn't fight for spring, she just reports that spring has come. When the mountain flowers are in full bloom, she laughs in the bushes."

Everyone naturally knows this poem. This song can be said to be the song that made Mei Yao rise from a famous prostitute in Tokyo to one of the most famous people in the world.

Not only is the lyrics beautiful, but it is also related to the King of Jin who gave her the lyrics.
However, in the past, everyone only thought that this word was the King of Jin using plum blossoms to praise the plum blossoms. But now they heard it again and had a different experience.

The fragrance of plum blossoms comes from the bitter cold. Even the harsh north wind and the hundreds of feet of ice on the cliffs cannot stop the plum blossoms from blooming.

Our country, China, is so dim and weak for two hundred years in the Zhou Dynasty and humiliated in the fourteenth year of Ding Wei, just like that harsh winter.

Now, it's finally over. It's just that the master of ZTE is here but not Zhou.

The spring night is melting and moistening everything silently.

After all the scholars joined in the harmony, the singing gradually became louder.

The brightly lit annex and the sound of music make the deep and lonely Lin'an Imperial City six miles away feel even more lonely.

That night, the sound of artillery fire that had continued for two months in Qiantang Bay finally stopped that night. (End of chapter)