Aoyama

Chapter 466 Imperial Power, Prime Minister's Power

The vermilion gates of the Jietang Hall slowly opened.

The armored soldiers raised their halberds and retreated to the sides, like a black tide parting to reveal the dark and gaping Xijing Daoshuai Mansion.

Zhang Xia strolled leisurely up the stone steps.

But instead of rushing to cross the threshold, she turned around and looked behind her.

The young woman stood like a sword under the lamplight of the general's mansion, silently watching the pursuing Marquis Wu, and said expressionlessly, "Is this how the Western Capital Circuit treats its envoys? How can an imperial envoy be treated with swords and axes?"

The scholar inside the gate pondered for a moment, then silently waved his hand.

Hundreds of warriors, carrying broadswords, retreated into the alley like the receding tide and disappeared without a trace. Only then did Zhang Xia turn around and walk into the hall.

The scholar smiled slightly: "It has been a long time since I have seen an envoy from the capital with such demeanor, and I never expected that he would be a woman. Please. The military commander is currently discussing important military matters in the White Tiger Hall. Please come with me to the side hall to rest for a while."

The scholar, with his hands tucked into his sleeves, led the way, guiding Zhang Xia through the long stretch of blue bricks and black tiles.

The halls and pavilions all had hipped roofs, with black copper bells hanging from the eaves that jingled in the wind. Creatures, dark and of unknown design, sat perched on the eaves.

Walking through the temple feels like walking through a vast, empty temple.

Simple, restrained, and aloof.

The young monk walked slower and slower through the hall, moving further away from the scholar.

Zhang Xia turned to look at him and asked in a low voice, "What's wrong?"

The scholar was already more than ten steps away from them, but the little monk hesitated several times, wanting to speak but then stopping himself.

Zhang Xia smiled and comforted him, "If you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to. Chen Ji told me that your master instructed you not to reveal what you saw in other people's eyes. Actually, you didn't have to come. There was no need to put yourself in danger or get involved in this karma."

The young monk suddenly whispered, "But Xiaoman also said that if one never gets involved in cause and effect, one is not considered to have entered the world, and therefore cannot overcome tribulations. If one cannot overcome tribulations, one cannot resolve cause and effect."

Zhang Xia smiled and said, "She was just fooling you."

The young monk shook his head: "I have thought about it for a long time and I think what Benefactor Xiaoman said is right. I have been away from Yunzhou for a long time and I always feel that I am still separated from this mortal world by a thin veil. I can touch it but I can't get in. I think it is because I never want to get involved in karma... Benefactor, Yuanxiang's envoy arrived before us."

This is what the young monk just saw through the scholar's eyes.

The young monk ultimately betrayed his master's instructions and used his telepathic abilities to enter the world.

Zhang Xia's heart sank upon hearing his words.

Yuan Xiang has been kept in check by Yuan Cheng for more than 20 years, and now he is the one who least wants Yuan Cheng to return to Jing Dynasty. The purpose of the other party sending an envoy to Baidadan City is self-evident, and it must be carrying conditions that Jiang Xianzong cannot refuse.

Zhang Xia asked the young monk in a low voice, "What conditions did Yuan Xiang offer Jiang Xianzong?"

The little monk shook his head: "I didn't see it."

Zhang Xia pondered inwardly, realizing there were two possibilities: one was that the scholar didn't have these thoughts when the little monk used his telepathy, and the other was that Jiang Xianzong and the Yuanxiang envoy's secret agents didn't involve him...

However, if she didn't know what conditions Yuan Xiang had set, she wouldn't be able to negotiate with Jiang Xianzong.

Zhang Xia suddenly asked, "Where is Envoy Yuanxiang?"

The young monk lowered his voice: "We were still in the Hall of Ceremonies. When this scholar came out to greet us, the messenger had just entered the White Tiger Hall of Ceremonies."

Zhang Xia suddenly looked up, surveying the layout of the hall from left to right, trying to determine the location of the White Tiger Hall.

The next moment, taking advantage of the scholar's inattention, she pulled the little monk straight to the brightest spot in the north.

The scholar took a few more steps forward when a sentry on the building gently plucked the copper bell on the eaves as a warning. Only then did he realize something was wrong and turned around abruptly to see that Zhang Xia and the little monk were no longer behind him.

The scholar looked up and saw that the sentry had already drawn his bow and aimed it at Zhang Xia's back. His expression changed, and he quickly clenched his fist and raised it above his head: Don't move rashly!
The envoys to the capital entered the Hall of Imperial Sacrifices in full view of everyone. If they did not leave alive, there would likely be another bloodbath in the court.

The scholar chased after Zhang Xia's retreating figure: "Envoy, please wait! The commander is discussing military matters with someone. You must not trespass into the White Tiger Hall!"

Zhang Xia ignored him and just ran wildly with the little monk in her arms, betting that the sentries in the hall wouldn't dare to openly kill her.

Upon arriving outside the courtyard of the White Tiger Hall, the scholar, seeing that Zhang Xia was about to force his way in, immediately gestured to the shadows on either side. More than ten armored soldiers emerged from the shadows, wielding halberds to block Zhang Xia's path.

Zhang Xia glanced at the crowd, unhurriedly: "The imperial envoy is like a saint himself, how come even the military governor can't see him?"

During the Jing Dynasty, the emperor was not often addressed as "Your Majesty," but rather as "Sage."

The scholar stepped in front of Zhang Xia and explained politely, "Please forgive me, Your Excellency, it's not that the Commander-in-Chief doesn't want to see you, it's just that you'll need to wait a moment..."

At this moment, the eight vermilion doors of the White Tiger Hall opened wide, and lights shone out from inside the hall.

Zhang Xia looked up and saw a middle-aged man in a red robe walk out of the White Tiger Hall, surrounded by several armored soldiers.

The young monk whispered, "This is Yuan Xiang's envoy."

A middle-aged man strode over, his expression arrogant. The scholar who had been leading Zhang Xia silently stepped aside, making way for him and bowing respectfully. The middle-aged man walked past him without seeming to find anything amiss, as if he were already accustomed to the respect shown to others.

But Zhang Xia stood firm in the middle of the road, showing no intention of backing down.

The middle-aged man approached Zhang Xia and said coldly, "Get out of the way."

Zhang Xia calmly replied, "I am an envoy from the capital, carrying an imperial insignia, and I will not yield."

The middle-aged man sneered: "I only know that the envoy is Jiang Xiansheng, and the imperial banner bestowed by the emperor was also given to him. Who are you?"

Zhang Xia took out his waist token and looked directly into the other person's eyes: "In the eleventh year of the Longzheng era, the Yarkand Khanate, a vassal state of the Western Regions, invaded the border. Su Yue accompanied the mission to Chagatai Khanate to mobilize troops to quell the rebellion. On the way, both the chief envoy and the deputy envoy died of plague. Su Yue arrived in Chagatai Khanate with his imperial credentials and borrowed five thousand cavalry in his capacity as envoy to destroy Yarkand Khanate."

The middle-aged man said in a deep voice, "That happened more than two hundred years ago, why bring it up?"

After saying that, he raised his hand to push Zhang Xia away.

But just as he raised his hand, Zhang Xia continued, "When Su Yue returned to the capital, the Censorate impeached him for acting on his own initiative and overstepping his authority. The Emperor replied, 'In urgent situations, expediency is necessary. If the chief envoy is not present, the deputy envoy will take his place. If neither the chief envoy nor the deputy envoy is present, then the one holding the imperial insignia will take his place. As long as the insignia is present, as long as the person is present, as long as the prestige of the nation is present, it is as if the Emperor himself is present. Anyone who violates the insignia will be punished the same as one who deceives the Emperor.'"

The middle-aged man's hand stopped on Zhang Xia's shoulder, but he didn't dare to push Zhang Xia away in the end.

Inside the White Tiger Hall, the lights were bright. Jiang Xianzong, clad in armor, sat behind a table, watching the scene from afar with a cold eye. Outside the White Tiger Hall, the Yuanxiang Envoy and Zhang Xia were locked in a stalemate. The Yuanxiang Envoy was clearly half a head taller than Zhang Xia, but his aura was somewhat weaker.

A moment later, the middle-aged man silently stepped aside, making way for him.

Zhang Xia walked past him without glancing to the side, leading the young monk straight to the White Tiger Hall. This time, the scholar also remained outside the White Tiger Hall, not taking another step forward.

Just as Zhang Xia was about to step into the White Tiger Hall, he looked up and saw a plaque hanging above the hall that read "Maintain stillness and attain gentleness".

The first line reads, "Observe the wind to know the state of the world, listen quietly to the copper bell and think of a good harvest," while the second line reads, "The sound of jade pendants embodies a benevolent heart, idly watch the array of halberds await a bountiful year."

Zhang Xia looked into the White Tiger Hall and asked the little monk calmly, "What conditions did Yuan Xiang offer?"

The young monk lowered his voice and said, "Prevent Yuan Cheng from returning to the capital, and transfer Jiang Xianzong to replace Yuan Cheng as the Privy Councilor, giving him control of the twelve imperial guards."

Knowing what was going on, Zhang Xia immediately stepped into the White Tiger Hall, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "Zhang Xiguang, a native of Liaoyang Prefecture and the capital, pays his respects to the Military Governor of Xijing Circuit."

Jiang Xianzong had sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, but there were wrinkles at the corners of his eyes.

This military commander of Xijing Circuit wore black armor and even in his own White Tiger Hall, he wore a sword at his waist.

Not angry.

Before he could speak, a rumbling sound came from behind Zhang Xia. Someone closed the eight vermilion doors of the White Tiger Hall, cutting off the sounds inside.

Jiang Xianzong sat behind the table, his expression revealing neither joy nor anger: "The envoy from the capital is so arrogant that he has even suppressed the candlelight in my White Tiger Hall."

Zhang Xia smiled, calmly found a chair and sat down: "As an imperial messenger, I cannot disrespect the imperial authority. Of course, I could have come to see the commander in a more low-key manner, but I did this to show the commander what I meant..."

Jiang Xianzong's expression shifted: "What are you looking at?"

Zhang Xia calmly said, "Let the commander see that a subject is still a subject after all."

Zhang Xia was not a real envoy, so he should have kept a low profile.

However, since entering the military governor's mansion, she has never given way to anyone, not even to Yuan Xiang's envoy.

At this moment, Jiang Xianzong was wavering between "imperial power" and Yuan Xiang's "prime ministerial power." She wanted to prove to him that imperial power was ultimately imperial power.

The imperial messenger must always be of a higher rank than the messenger of the Yuanxiang; this is in accordance with etiquette and righteousness.

Although Yuan Xiang wielded immense power, he was ultimately not the emperor.

Jiang Xianzong sat up straight behind the desk, finally displaying the demeanor and solemnity of a regional lord: "I haven't returned to the capital for twelve years, yet I was unaware that such a person as you had emerged from the capital. However, as far as I know, there is no one like you in the delegation. Do you know that impersonating an envoy is a capital offense?"

Zhang Xia changed the subject and smiled, "Commander, won't you ask why I've come?"

Jiang Xianzong placed his sword across his lap, lowered his head, and casually stroked the scabbard: "Tell me what you have to say. If you're wrong, I'll cut off your head and send it to the capital."

Zhang Xia said sincerely, "I have come here to save the General."

Jiang Xianzong burst into laughter: "Save me? How dare you talk such nonsense."

Zhang Xia stood up and pointed outside the Hall of Ceremonies: "I guess Yuan Xiang's envoy promised you, General, that as long as you prevent Yuan Cheng from returning to the capital, you can be transferred to replace Yuan Cheng as the Privy Councilor and take charge of the twelve imperial guards in the central government... General, am I right?"

Jiang Xianzong slowly suppressed his smile: "Continue."

Zhang Xia said sincerely again, "I can't sit in that position."

Jiang Xianzong said expressionlessly, "If Yuancheng can sit here, why can't I, the commander, sit here?"

Zhang Xia did not presume to be clever or make arbitrary guesses, but said meaningfully, "The commander actually knows why he cannot sit here, there is no need to ask me."

(End of this chapter)