Chapter 830 Jingnan Prince… Receive the Decree

The pixiu steed he had ridden out of the capital had already collapsed halfway.

After changing horses several times at the relay stations, Eunuch Huang finally crossed the Wangjiang River, bypassing Yupan City, once known as a den of luxury and now gradually reviving with a semblance of its former glory. Instead, he stopped to rest in a village east of Yupan City.

Actually, he shouldn't have stopped.

As long as a person wasn't dead, he had to keep bumping along, because the imperial decree in his hands was a matter of true "national importance" and could not be delayed in the slightest.

The problem was that Eunuch Huang's lower abdomen was excruciatingly painful, as if someone were repeatedly stabbing him with needles. His face was also pale, with little blood visible.

Faced with the visible possibility of sudden death, Eunuch Huang had no choice but to heed his subordinates' advice and rest for the night near this village.

The imperial decree was important, but if the eunuch delivering it suddenly died, who would deliver it?

This would also affect the sanctity, even the validity, of the imperial decree.

After all, forging an imperial decree wasn't difficult; it could even be said to be quite simple. The difficult part was forging the person who delivered the decree.

This person had a rank, a publicly recognized status, and the qualifications to match the imperial decree. First, the person was recognized, and then the contents of the decree were recognized.

For example, even if an old farmer from the fields held a genuine imperial decree, would the officials and nobles recognize him?

Within the imperial court, a strict system of checks and balances had long been established.

Therefore, Eunuch Huang himself was part of the imperial decree.

It wasn't that he was afraid of death or cherishing his life, or that he was exhausted; it was actually to preserve his dog life for the sake of the imperial command before delivering the decree.

There was a small military fortress in the village where they stopped. Surrounding the fortress was a planned military reclamation area. The village was very strict about checking outsiders, but after verifying their identities, the head of the fortress took the initiative to vacate his small courtyard for Eunuch Huang and his entourage to stay.

Eunuch Huang was placed on the bed by his subordinates. He had left in a hurry, without an imperial physician or a complete set of medicinal materials. However, he had brought many qi-boosting pills for the long journey. The problem was that when Eunuch Huang had started feeling ill, he had taken two pills, but the pain had immediately intensified. His subordinates didn't dare to give him any more.

After learning about this, the head of the fortress found an old soldier, who took a look and then found some herbs to decoct.

Eunuch Huang, who had been resting in bed for an hour, was presented with a bowl of green medicinal juice. Before he even drank it, he smelled an extremely pungent fishy odor. But Eunuch Huang wasn't one to be fussy, so he pinched his nose and downed it in one gulp.

After lying down for another half an hour, hey, the pain was gone!

A servant went to inquire about the prescription from the old soldier, who explained that in this reclamation village, whenever someone had a headache or fever, or whether it was a nose, mouth, or ear problem, or even a broken leg, he would decoct medicine like this.

If it worked, it worked. If it didn't, they would go to a larger town nearby to find a doctor. The soldiers in the military reclamation area had registered households, and those who didn't could use the soldiers' registration to see a doctor and get medicine for free, paid for by the Prince's estate.

Hearing this, the servant momentarily forgot his purpose in asking and said in surprise,

"Isn't this impersonation cheating the Prince's estate?"

The old soldier smiled and said, "Of course, it's not like it's allowed for everyone to use as much as they want. If it's used too much, there will be problems, and the superiors will investigate. It's only allowed for close relationships."

"Then the medicine just now?" the servant asked again.

"I told you, I don't know what it's good for. In this world, most ailments can be endured after drinking medicine. Of the remaining few, the real doctors can only cure maybe half of them. If the King of Hell wants to take your life, nothing can save you.

"We commoners basically have this attitude towards illness. If we can endure it, we endure it. The younger ones will try to find a doctor if they really can't stand it, but the older ones, not to mention whether their families are willing to hire a doctor, the old people themselves will refuse treatment. When you get old, you don't want to bother, and when it's time to go, you go.

"It's only when you become a registered household that you have this guarantee, so you don't know how many young men are waiting for an opportunity, waiting for the Prince to give the order to recruit soldiers to fight."

The servant nodded, understanding that his godfather hadn't encountered some hidden master, but that his godfather was just lucky that the pain had subsided.

Seeing that the servant wasn't speaking,

The old soldier said, "There's going to be a war."

"Huh?" The servant had just been distracted.

The old soldier chuckled, his face filled with both disdain and pride, and said, "The fellows in the west are useless and lost the battle, so now they're counting on our Prince.

"I'm too old to go to the battlefield, but the young men in the village are all looking forward to it.

"These days, you're not the first messengers to stop here. I can see that the people over there are panicking, haha."

The old soldier obviously didn't know the identity of this messenger team, and only thought they were people sent by other prefects to deliver messages here.

The head of the fortress, after learning the identity of the imperial envoy, was also ordered not to tell anyone around him, and was only allowed to pass the news to the rear.

Therefore, in the old soldier's view, these people were wealthy and had unusual identities, but after all, they had nothing to do with him. Here in Jindo, under the Prince's rule, there was no need to fawn over outsiders, and he had no such awareness.

The servant returned to the house and reported truthfully.

Eunuch Huang smiled when he heard this and said, "It's the Emperor who's protecting this servant."

The surrounding people all agreed.

Actually, if Third Master were here, he might have pulled out his scissors. "Come on, acute appendicitis, right? Third Master will cut it out for you. It's a small operation, just like cutting a foreskin."

"What, you don't know what a foreskin is? Then Third Master will just help you cut off that annoying skin too. Huh, where's your skin?"

"When we left the capital, the atmosphere in the city was very oppressive. When we first entered Jin, the western part of Jin was in a state of panic, and there were even rumors that the Qian-Chu allied forces were about to invade Nanmen Pass.

"When we got to Jinzhong, Yindu was a little better. Prefect Xu is indeed a capable man, and everything is being prepared in an orderly manner, with auxiliary soldiers, provisions, and laborers already being organized.

"Tell me, they're both named Xu, so why is our Imperial Envoy Xu Qingshan so useless?"

Eunuch Huang was a senior figure in the palace, and his information was naturally well-informed. Even when chatting with his servants, he would never easily criticize anyone.

But Eunuch Huang knew that the Imperial Envoy had already been reprimanded by the Emperor for his poor performance. He should have been able to smoothly take over some of the local military power, but instead, he had caused such a commotion.

Anyone who could be sent out as an Imperial Envoy couldn't be a fool. The reason he had done this was simply because he was eager to show off.

Originally, Xu Qingshan should have been transferred back to the capital to be shelved. After being labeled as "inefficient," it would be difficult for him to achieve anything in the future.

But after this incident, his fate, heh…

Eunuch Huang was also somewhat gratified and said,

"Fortunately, after entering Jindong, the morale of the soldiers and civilians here in the Prince's territory is still high, and my heart has also settled down.

"It's nothing, really. When the late Emperor was around, our Great Yan had also lost battles. Losing a battle doesn't matter, we just have to win it back later. Then, we'll still have both face and substance in our hands.

"The late Emperor had Prince Jingnan and Prince Zhenbei, and our Emperor also has Prince Pingxi.

"In my opinion, the current situation is simply that the Qian and Chu countries are unwilling to accept the overall trend and are trying to struggle to the death. We'll just ask Prince Pingxi to come out and teach them a lesson."

Eunuch Huang knew that there were other voices in the capital, such as letting the First Prince, or even Qing Shuang or Li Liang Shen, lead the troops to stabilize the situation at Nanmen Pass, because the Marquis of Pingxi of that year was already the Prince of Pingxi. If they asked the Prince of Pingxi to come out again, then the Prince of Pingxi would truly be equivalent to the position of Prince Jingnan in those days.

However, the implications of this were too great, because no matter how much they opposed the Prince of Pingxi, whether out of concern that the fiefdoms would become too powerful and threaten the imperial power, they had to admit that the Prince of Pingxi was the most prestigious and capable person in Great Yan to handle this situation.

Moreover, if they were to advocate for other candidates to go to Nanmen Pass at this time, it would be fine if they handled it well, but if they didn't, those who were advocating for it now wouldn't be able to escape the consequences afterward.

It was a gamble with their own lives, and few officials were willing to take the risk.

And most officials still held the old view that it would be best to let the Prince of Pingxi come out to stabilize the situation first, and not cause any more trouble.

The matter on Liang's side was easy to handle, but if Jindong was thrown into chaos, or even the entire Sanjin region was destabilized, and the Sanjin region that the late Emperor had worked so hard to conquer was lost again, everyone would become sinners of Great Yan.

"I don't hurt anymore, let's continue on our way."

Eunuch Huang got up.

The servants below didn't dare to continue persuading him, and immediately packed up and notified the guards outside.

Leaving the fortress head's house and mounting his horse, Eunuch Huang shouted,

"Your Highness, this servant is coming again!"

…

"Your Highness… this… this servant… this servant… is coming…"

When he came, he had endured hardship all the way, but he was also full of spirit;

In his mind, he dreamed of the heroic spirit of personally charging and killing an enemy, just like during the Battle of Fancheng;

All the beautiful things,

Until he finally entered Fengxin City,

Finally came to the front of the Prince's Palace,

Looking at the Prince's Palace gates that were still tightly closed even after the announcement,

Looking at the two stone lions at the entrance that were wiped clean and gleaming,

Eunuch Huang almost cried out in resentment.

No,

No,

Don't treat me like this!

Your Highness, Your Highness, I don't want this, I don't want this!

Eunuch Huang knelt on the ground, holding the sealed box of the imperial decree in his hands.

At the gate of the Prince's Palace, Imperial Guards stood with their swords, and outside, a crowd of people had gathered, blocking the place.

When Blind Man was in Shengle City, he began to recruit storytellers. The performance style that appeared in the form of play had long been popular in Jindong, and even opened a branch in Yupan City;

Because Blind Man knew the essence of propaganda high ground: if you don't occupy it, someone else will;

During this time,

In Fengxin City, as well as Xuehai Pass and Zhennan Pass, and other areas where soldiers and civilians resided, on the stages of teahouses, community operas, etc., the propagandists had already publicized the "cause" of the matter according to Blind Man's instructions.

However, you can't say that Blind Man was stirring up trouble again, because Blind Man really just publicized the "truth".

The Imperial Envoy selected by the Emperor and the Earl of Yishan of Sushan Camp had a dispute over power;

After the chaos in Liang, the general promoted by the Emperor himself… Ran Min;

Here, Ran Min was also given character embellishments, such as how he had killed his wife in order to curry favor with his superiors;

And Blind Man artistically processed it and happened to process it correctly. Just like "How can a sparrow know the ambition of a swan?" As if Sima Gong was that hoe, Blind Man added a sentence to Ran Min: Prince Pingxi can do it, and so can Min!

This matter was really not wronging Ran Min, and this person's life and death were currently unknown. It was highly likely that he had already died in battle. Even if he hadn't died, his fault this time meant there was no possibility of him turning over again.

After all, he wasn't surnamed Ji, and others didn't have the good fortune of the First Prince.

Therefore, for this kind of person, just step on them hard and label them as villains!

The cause of the matter was that the Imperial Envoy personally selected by the Emperor had a conflict with the Earl of Yishan who could really fight. The Earl of Yishan had no choice but to close his doors at home, and the general promoted by the Emperor was a waste. He actually thought he could compare with their Prince, but he was greedy for merit and rushed forward, and was ambushed;

The loyal general Li Fusheng, in order to rescue him, was besieged by the Qian-Chu allied forces and, after fighting for many days, died for his country.

What will the imperial court do next?

It must be asking their great Prince to come out of the mountain!

It was this story that was the theme,

Teahouses, restaurants, theaters, and even the sisters in the red tents were repeatedly publicizing this "process" to the people.

It was guaranteed that the story had all the major elements of excitement,

The villain in the traditional sense, well, in Yan territory, the Yan people had deep feelings for the Ji family emperor, but it could also be changed into the emperor being good, but a few prime ministers or ministers had blinded the Holy One, but in Jin territory, the Jin people didn't have much reverence or affection for the Ji family emperor.

In short, the Emperor was the behind-the-scenes villain, the Imperial Envoy and General Ran were the real villains, and General Li Fusheng was the sacrifice used to earn tears and sympathy and deepen the story's grief and anger.

The conflicts were prominent, and the emotional rendering was strong;

The most important thing was the satisfying point,

That was that the people of Jin territory liked to watch the stories and community operas, and their own Prince would appear at the crucial moment to defeat all opponents. The people looked forward to this ending every time and then shouted with great cheers.

The end of this story was:

You just wait, you just watch,

That bunch of good-for-nothings in the imperial court will eventually have to come and beg our Prince to come out of the mountain!

Therefore,

When Eunuch Huang changed into his eunuch clothes before entering the city, and the entourage entered the city, he suddenly found that the people immediately gathered towards him, all the way until he arrived in front of the Pingxi Prince's Palace.

If Eunuch Huang hadn't come to Fengxin City before, he might have thought that the people here were extremely eager to feel the might of the heavens.

Of course,

Eunuch Huang was in no mood to think about these things now.

He was very aggrieved,

He was very uncomfortable,

He wanted to cry,

And he was already crying with tears and snot running down his face.

I wasn't mentally prepared, I never expected this;

Many of my colleagues from the same year envied that I received the imperial decree from Prince Jingnan last time and didn't die, but instead rose through the ranks;

But who knew, what was owed still had to be repaid!

Oh heavens,

It would have been better to die of illness on the road, it would really hurt to hit my head on the stone lion.

"Your Highness… Your Highness…"

…

Behind the gate of the Prince's Palace,

Chen Daole and He Chunlai stood there, while Blind Man sat on the steps, peeling oranges, and educating the two children:

"This move is not to follow Prince Jingnan's example, nor is it that our Lord wants to show off his power, well, our Lord may have this need, but Prince Jingnan would not have done such a boring thing back then.

"And the reason why he had two imperial envoys crash to death on the stone lions was itself a kind of venting, to help those soldiers who had their comrades die in Wangjiang vent their anger.

"The late Emperor deliberately did not let Prince Jingnan lead the troops, but chose the First Prince to lead the troops, and finally lost the battle;

"This breath must be released, otherwise the next troops will not be easy to lead.

"It's the same as now. The taking back local governance rights from warlords that began last year has intensified this year. The Imperial Envoy and Earl Yishan had that incident.

"Earl Yishan himself is also wrong, even more wrong, but when the real fighting starts, it's the soldiers who are used. You have to make them feel that you are on their side, and you have to help them vent this anger.

"The imperial envoy is the Emperor's face, and this is called slapping the Emperor's face for the soldiers to see.

"In this way, everyone will feel comfortable, and at the same time, you can take this opportunity to establish your authority, indicating that you don't even pay attention to the Emperor's orders. The local warlords and local officials below will be like rabbits when they see you. No matter who they turn to, it won't work, so they will naturally serve you wholeheartedly."

He Chunlai and Chen Daole listened and nodded like chicks pecking at rice, deeply feeling educated.

At this time, Chen Daole asked, "Is Your Highness going to let that eunuch just…"

Hearing this, Blind Man threw the orange at Chen Daole. Seeing this, He Chunlai breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.

"It would be great if that were really the case."

If he could really be as ruthless in everything as Prince Jingnan, Blind Man's long-cherished wish would probably be achieved very early.

Unfortunately, His Lordship wasn't that kind of person.

If a red-robed eunuch with an unfamiliar face came, then crashing to death would be crashing to death. His Lordship wouldn't care.

But unfortunately, His Lordship had dealt with Eunuch Huang in Yanjing City several times, and also in Jin territory, and this Eunuch Huang was also very cooperative. Although he couldn't be promoted, he knew how to lick.

Most likely, His Lordship wouldn't do it.

It just didn't seem beautiful to force His Lordship to become like Prince Jingnan. At least for his own Demon Kings, life would lose its flavor.

Sometimes,

Blind Man himself would fall into this kind of confusion and contradiction. Perhaps this was the collision of a career heart and a life heart.

But thinking about it another way, it's like in a home, there must be one person who understands the taste of life, and at the same time, there must be another person who is concerned about the trivialities of daily life, so that life can be peaceful and stable.

If it was all the former, then life could not last long. If it was all the latter, then life would be too boring.

It was like His Lordship could be true to his nature, and he could be a pair of white gloves, which was also good, anyway, he had no interest in being a good person.

Immediately,

Blind Man smiled, got up, and bowed slightly.

…

Eunuch Huang was no longer crying, his tears were dry;

Eunuch Huang was no longer shouting, his throat was hoarse;

He began to take off his hat, while observing the two stone lions, to see which one looked more pleasing, perhaps to give himself a little gentleness in his imminent death.

The imperial decree box was placed aside.

The eunuch's uniform was also taken off, and even the boots were placed on the side.

The guards brought by Eunuch Huang did not stop him, while Eunuch Huang's servants were all prostrate on the ground, crying their hearts out.

As a slave of the Son of Heaven, this was what you should suffer, and this was what you should do.

The imperial decree could not be delivered, and you had no reason to live and return.

The people who were watching from the outside also held their breaths at this time, waiting for the next moment;

Eunuch Huang, dressed in a white shirt, first kowtowed three times towards the west, towards Yanjing City, and then, kowtowed twice towards the Prince's Palace;

Finally,

Eunuch Huang, who had already accepted his fate, took a few steps backward,

Dian dian ma you you cai kai hua (a children's rhyme to decide which choice to pick),

He chose the right one.

I don't know which unlucky person will replace me and hit the left one, hehe.

Eunuch Huang pulled his hair, began to gather strength, and then, charged!

"Squeak…"

The door of the Prince's Palace opened.

At this moment,

Fortunately, Eunuch Huang had cultivated the method of refining qi, and was more sensitive than ordinary people. Immediately, he changed the angle of his toes, and his whole body changed position, and he didn't hit the stone lion, but fell to the steps with a "plop", and rolled back.

His forehead and arms were swollen and bruised in several places.

All around,

The Imperial Guards knelt down,

The people gathered here also knelt down.

Eunuch Huang, who had been knocked dizzy, was now like he had been injected with chicken blood,

His feet were crossed, but he forcibly raised his neck and stood up his head;

The Prince of Pingxi, in black armor, walked out of his Prince's Palace,

On the shoulders of the black armor hung decorative white tassels, symbolizing the supreme and sacredness of kingship;

But in Eunuch Huang's eyes,

The picture that seemed to be sealed for several years but had been imprinted in his mind was reappearing;

It was still the two stone lions, still the same steps, still the guards who were inhumane and would not kneel in the face of the imperial decree,

It was still the gate of the Prince's Palace that was opened at this time,

It was still the man who walked out of it with supreme majesty;

Even the white tassels of the armor that swayed gently with the wind were also seen as the flowing white hair of that person.

Even,

Looking at it on a larger scale,

It was still the country in trouble,

It was still the Emperor's hope,

It was still the national expectation,

The wheel of years, for Eunuch Huang at this time, was like a naughty child, turning forward a few times, and then turning back to the origin;

All the way through hardship, experiencing the torment of illness, and also coinciding with great sorrow and joy, Eunuch Huang's mind fell into a trance,

But he had to be stimulated to complete his duties,

The next moment,

He actually shouted:

"Prince Jingnan… receive the decree!"