The prince is more stable

Chapter 269 A distinguished guest
The guest coming is a distinguished one, and his father has gone to Yin'an Hall to meet the guest, so Zhao Xiaoqian has to go.

Zhang Dun and Zeng Bu were fine, as they were all acquaintances, especially Zhang Dun. Zhao Xiaoqian was on good terms with him on the surface, but they had fought against each other several times in secret. It was a weird relationship where neither of them could kill the other.

Zhao Xiaoqian was willing to meet the guest because he was interested in General Xu.

This guy is a great guy.

There are many celebrities in the history of the Song Dynasty. It is very strange that such a cowardly country could produce so many celebrities. It is as if the swords of powerful foreign enemies have overturned the nest of celebrities in the Song Dynasty, and the awesome people have jumped out one after another.

Unfortunately, no matter how many celebrities there are, the country is in such a state that it will eventually be destroyed.

General Xu was undoubtedly one of the famous ministers of the Song Dynasty.

He was the top scorer in the imperial examination in the eighth year of Jiayou. Don't think that he was only good at writing. In fact, he was a man of both civil and military talents. He was good at governing the local area and leading the army.

Strictly speaking, General Xu seemed to have more talent in military affairs. He once went to the Liao Kingdom for negotiations. With a single word, he drove back the Liao Kingdom's 200,000 troops and saved the territory of the Song Dynasty's border city Daizhou. After returning, he was appointed as the Minister of War by Emperor Shenzong.

What is more worth mentioning is that Xu Jiang’s ancestral home is Huzhou, Hujian, and he is the first number one scholar in Huzhou’s history.

Also, during the Song-Xia War, the border general Zhang Yu, who had fought alongside Zhao Xiaoqian, was recommended by General Xu to be the commander in chief in the northwest.

It didn't matter whether Zhang Dun and Zeng Bu met him or not, but General Xu was a man he had to meet. Although Zhao Xiaoqian's ancestral home wasn't Guangdong, he also wanted to see if Hu Jianren was good-looking and tasty...

After tidying up his clothes, Zhao Xiaoqian hurried to Yin'an Hall.

As Zhao Xiaoqian entered the Yin'an Palace, he was immediately stopped in his tracks by the strange atmosphere in the palace.

Zhao Hao and Zhang Dun sat closest to each other. They were silent and stared at each other.

Zeng Bu and Xu Jiang sat farther away, but they were chatting quietly among themselves.

Zhao Hao looked a little embarrassed. He occasionally picked up the tea in front of him and laughed dryly at Zhang Dun: "Come, have some tea."

Zhang Dun hummed, picked up the cup and drank tea with a wooden expression.

The tea was fried tea invented by Zhao Xiaoqian. The tea business had not yet been launched, and this thing was still a novelty to Zhang Dun and others.

Zhang Dun took a sip, his eyes lit up, and he turned around to ask Zhao Hao what it was, but for some reason his expression froze. He suppressed his curiosity, lowered his head and continued to sip, still without saying a word.

Since no one asked, Zhao Hao was too embarrassed to speak up, so he chuckled dryly and offered Zhang Dun another cup: "Come, have some tea."

Zhang Dun held up the cup and continued drinking woodenly.

The awkward atmosphere between the two was so awkward that Zhao Xiaoqian almost wanted to dig out a new Yin'an Palace with his toes.

Zeng Bu and General Xu, on the other hand, were quite friendly. They seemed oblivious to the awkward atmosphere between Zhao Hao and Zhang Dun, and were just whispering to each other.

In this strange atmosphere, Zhao Xiaoqian stepped over the threshold of Yin'an Hall.

The four people in the hall turned their eyes to him.

Zhao Xiaoqian smiled at everyone, then bowed as a junior.

Zeng Bu and General Xu stood up and returned the greeting with a smile.

Zhang Dun also stood up and returned the greeting with a rather awkward expression.

Zhao Xiaoqian smiled at Zhao Hao and Zhang Dun and said, "You two continue chatting. I see you two are getting along quite well, but I dare not spoil the harmonious atmosphere. I will chat with the two envoys Zeng and Xu for a while."

Zeng Bu and General Xu chuckled, then cooperated very well to pull Zhao Xiaoqian to sit next to them, and the three of them really started chatting harmoniously.

At the other end of Yin'an Hall, Zhao Hao and Zhang Dun exchanged a glance. Zhao Hao picked up his cup again and said dryly, "Come, have some tea."

Zhang Dun had a blank expression and drank tea from his cup.

Zeng Bu couldn't stop laughing: "Hahahaha..."

Seeing this, General Xu also laughed out loud: "Fafafafafa..."

Zhao Hao and Zhang Dun's expressions became even more embarrassed.

Zhao Xiaoqian smiled and said, "How about you two have a fight? Win or lose, and we'll let bygones be bygones." Zhang Dun finally glanced at Zhao Hao and said calmly, "Your Highness, Prince of Chu, what do you say about the revenge for the time you urinated on me at the door of my residence?"

Zhao Hao slapped his thigh and said, "That's easy! Lord Zhang, just pee in front of my door. If you have a lot to pee, you can pee twice, and the matter will be over. If Lord Zhang can't bring himself to do that, then pee in my yard..."

General Xu laughed so hard: "Farewell! Spread! Mr. Zhang, the opportunity for revenge has come, don't miss it. If I were you, I would definitely spread it."

Zhang Dun snorted coldly: "I have no dignity left, so I can't do such a thing!"

Zhao Hao spread his hands indifferently: "If you have any shame, you can sneak in here in the middle of the night. Anyway, I don't mind."

Zhang Dun was silent for a long while, and finally sighed: "Forget it, let's put this matter behind us. I hope that Your Highness will be more careful with his words and actions in the future, and be more considerate of the reputation of the royal family. Don't do such shameless things again... Well, don't do it again."

Zhao Hao chuckled, his expression becoming much more natural. He raised his cup and said to Zhang Dun again, "Come, have some tea."

Zhang Dun glanced at him, then took a sip from the cup with a blank expression.

At the other end of the Yin'an Palace, Zhao Xiaoqian bowed to General Xu and said, "I have long heard of your great name, the number one scholar, and have long admired you. It is a great honor for me to meet you today."

After saying this, Zhao Xiaoqian grabbed General Xu's hand and kept rubbing it...

Xu Jiang's scalp tingled, and he pulled his hand back with all his strength. He said in shock, "Sir, please stop making trouble. I am not one to do this!"

Zhao Xiaoqian laughed heartily: "Far, far, far! Master Zhuangyuan, please don't misunderstand me. I just want to get some of your Wenqu spirit. When I have a son in the future, maybe he can also become the top scholar."

General Xu breathed a sigh of relief and said with a wry smile, "Number one scholar, that's something that happened many years ago. Besides, the Crown Prince is the world-renowned Zhao Banque, whose writings and poems are world-class. Why would he need the air of an old man like Wenqu? The Crown Prince's son will surely be a peerless talent in the future."

The three of them came to visit today for no other purpose.

At the court meeting, Zhao Xu's reward to Zhao Xiaoqian was finalized and there was no possibility of changing it.

Since the official position he was awarded had been confirmed, Zhao Xiaoqian would definitely be the third most important person in the Privy Council and would be in charge of signing the documents of the Privy Council.

Zeng Bu was in charge of the Privy Council, and Xu Jiang was the deputy envoy of the Privy Council, and they were the number one and number two figures in the Privy Council.

In the future, Zhao Xiaoqian and I will be the first, second, and third in command of the same unit. We will all be colleagues, so it is natural for us to visit each other and get to know each other.

According to official rules, it should actually be Zhao Xiaoqian who took the initiative to visit Zeng Bu and General Xu.

However, rules are very flexible. Zhao Xiaoqian's background, title, military achievements, and Zhao Xu's favor for him all contribute to his qualifications.

With such experience, he has a bright future. He has reached this level at the age of only nineteen. Will he reach new heights in a few years?

So, as the first and second in command of the Privy Council, is there anything wrong with Zeng Bu and General Xu taking the initiative to visit the third in command?

Nothing wrong with it at all.

If you want to retire peacefully and return home, make sure that you have no enemies in officialdom and will not bring harm to your descendants, it is best to be low-key, humble and polite when you are in the limelight.

As for Zhang Dun...

Zhao Xiaoqian turned his head and looked at him.

What is this old guy doing here?
Strictly speaking, his relationship with Zhang Dun was that of a political enemy. Today's court meeting was so heated; Xing Shu and Zhou Zhi were both members of the New Party, yet they were dealt with by Zhao Xiaoqian. As a leader of the New Party, wouldn't Zhang Dun bear a grudge?

If political enemies come to your door for no reason, they are either traitors or thieves.

Facing Zhao Xiaoqian's puzzled gaze, Zhang Dun calmly took a sip of tea and smiled at Zhao Hao.

"Your Highness, this is an excellent item. I wonder what it is?"

Zhao Hao smiled proudly: "This is the tea my son created himself. It is completely different from the common tea in our Song Dynasty. If you like it, Mr. Zhang, I will send a pound of it to your house to try."

Zhang Dun stroked his beard and smiled: "In that case, thank you very much, Your Highness, and thank you, Crown Prince."

A simple thank you would have been normal, but the person who said it was the prime minister of the dynasty, and he was notoriously bad-tempered and stubborn. Since he became prime minister, he would kill anyone who stood in his way.

Zhao Xiaoqian was a little shocked to hear these words of thanks from him.

What on earth is this old man doing here? Is he after the eggs in my basket?
(End of this chapter)