His little lover’s lips are soft and cold, with a faint lotus fragrance.
At this moment, there is also a faint hint of alcohol mixed in.
The voice was also low and weak, even with a hint of coquettishness that he had never heard before. It’s like pleading.
Sui Heng’s mind went blank for a moment, he didn’t even hear what the soldier said. He stood frozen for a moment, then turned his head and looked at Jiang Yun, who was lying on his shoulder like a monster, trying to please him like a little fox.
He laughed heartily.
He thought to himself, If I hadn’t scared him so hard just now, I really wouldn’t have known that he still has such… a cute and witty side.
He deliberately said coldly, “This is your first offense, Gu will spare you once. Next time, not to mention just once, even if you give Gu ten times, Gu won’t be soft. Remember?”
“En.”
Still responding softly and obediently like a kitten.
Sui Heng quietly raised his lips and smiled, then placed the person on the bed gently and said, “Gu will go handle some things first. You stay in the palace and don’t wander around again, so as not to catch a cold.”
Jiang Yun nodded.
Sui Heng looked at him in this manner and couldn’t help but pinch that sharp white chin and gently nibble on it.
The Chen Kingdom’s Guozhu sought to see Sui Heng, naturally for the sake of Gongsun Yang.
The Chen Kingdom’s Guozhu was so eager because he received news that just an hour ago, the crucial kingdoms of Wei, Luo, Yun, and Jiang in the southwest of the Yellow River could not be sustained. As if they had agreed, they sent envoys to deliver a letter of surrender to Sui Heng, expressing their willingness to submit to the great Sui and become subordinate countries of the Sui.
He is an old fox who is good at observing words and expressions, as well as being wise and protective. He naturally knows that serving the Sui and Jiang is different. The Crown Prince Rongyu of the Jiang Empire took a gentle path, winning people’s hearts through his virtue and reputation. Even when dealing with a mediocre Guozhu like him, he would not resort to violent means. The Sui Empire’s Great God of Slaughter is different. He is a devil-may-care, no-eyes-on-the-ground kind of guy. He must quickly work hard to make great contributions so that the new master can see his value and role in order to maintain his prosperity and status.
He’s heard that in order to show loyalty, the Kingdom of Wei even offered to send the Crown Prince, Wei Yun, as a hostage to the Sui Empire to serve Sui Heng in the capacity of serving the king. How could he lag behind?
“You said you convinced Gongsun Yang to surrender to Gu?”
Sui Heng sat in the upper position, tapping his fingers on the sword case that was on the table, asking with great interest.
With every tap he made, the Chen Kingdom’s Guozhu’s heart followed and tightened.
The Chen Kingdom’s Guozhu kneeled down on the ground and nodded his head in promise. “This humble servant has been patiently persuading him to change his ways and seek refuge with a wise ruler like Your Highness. This humble servant does not seek anything else and only hopes to share some of Your Highness’s worries.”
Sui Heng smiled and waved his hand.
“Alright, Gu understands. Guozhu, please step down first.”
The Chen Kingdom’s Guozhu didn’t know what this meant and didn’t dare to ask more. He could only wipe his cold sweat and tremble as he stood up and retreated. Unexpectedly, as he turned around, his shoulders were draped from behind.
“Guozhu’s intentions, Gu has already understand.”
That person grinned and said coldly.
A handsome and intimidating face caught the Chen Kingdom’s Guozhu’s eyes, but it was as terrifying as the Shura. The Chen Kingdom’s Guozhu’s face turned pale, and he almost fainted on the spot. His laughing is even more unsightly than when he cried.
“It’s all—it’s all what this humble servant should do.”
The Chen Kingdom’s Guozhu fled in a panic.
After listening to the whole story, Xu Qiao frowned and said, “Gongsun Yang has a strong iron bone. Military Advisor Chen interrogated him twice with heavy torture, but he refused to confess. With just a few words from the Chen Kingdom’s Guozhu and he’s willing to surrender?”
Sui Heng didn’t answer the question and asked with a frown, “Who is responsible for guarding?”
Xu Qiao said several names.
Sui Heng said, “Each with a hundred batons, send them to the Green Slave Camp, never to be hired.”
Xu Qiao answered yes, not surprised by this disposition of Sui Heng. Gongsun Yang is a serious offender, but the guards secretly let someone in without His Highness’s permission. In case of any casualties or other incidents, who will be responsible?
If this were in wartime, he’s afraid that they may not even be able to keep their heads with His Highness’s strict military governance.
It’s just… Xu Qiao said, “These people seem to be the Seven Battalions managed by Fan Qi.”
Sui Heng sneered, “If it weren’t for the fact that he had just been beaten with the baton, Gu would have had to reward him with another two hundred batons.”
Xu Qiao dared not say anything more.
In the evening, as soon as it got dark, Gongsun Yang took the initiative to meet with Sui Heng according to the plan, stating that he was willing to surrender and providing important information. Sui Heng refused to leave and directly asked the guards to lead him to the side hall. Gongsun Yang mixed the truth with falsehood and finally said, “The Crown Prince of Jiang is a great benefactor to me. It is impossible for me to turn my back on my old master, the most I can do is provide you with some marginal information.”
Sui Heng refused to accept his approach: “Gu doesn’t need you to get marginal information, and your surrender seems meaningless to Gu.”
Gongsun Yang followed Jiang Yun’s instructions and offered his killer mace, “I can tell you a piece of news.”
“What news?”
“The Crown Prince of Jiang is not dead.”
Sui Heng frowned, his eyes narrowed very lightly, and then sneered, “Do you think that without any evidence, Gu would believe your nonsense?”
Gongsun Yang was choked by the neck.
“Do you believe it or not? In short, our Highness has safely returned to Muyun Pass and is currently recuperating in the pass. Sending King Chu to Muyun Pass is just a cover-up to confuse you.”
Sui Heng squinted his eyes lightly.
King Chu had no experience leading troops, and this move by Emperor Jiang was indeed confusing.
If there is a deliberate deception set up to lure the enemy deeper, it can be explained.
It’s just…
Jiang Rongyu, a person who doesn’t even know martial arts, fell from such a high cliff. How could he survive and flee back to the Jiang Empire?
Sui Heng was half convinced and half doubted, so he asked someone to take Gongsun Yang away first. Not long after, there was a riot outside, and his soldier hurriedly came in to report, “It’s not good, Your Highness. That Gongsun Yang injured the guards and escaped!”
The Chen Kingdom’s Guozhu was still full of joy waiting for the reward, but the reward did not arrive; instead, he was first kicked in the heart by Sui Heng.
“Stupid.”
“You gave him Qian Jin Wan?”
The Chen Kingdom’s Guozhu was bewildered and said, “He said that as long as this humble servant treats his injuries, he will surrender to His Highness…”
Immediately, he realized something, and his face suddenly paled.
This damn thing—how could he deceive him?
His precious Qian Jin Wan pill!
For a moment, the Chen Kingdom’s Guozhu did not know whether his heart or liver should ache.
Regarding the matter of Gongsun Yang’s escape, Sui Heng actually didn’t care too much.
His whole body is a hard bone to gnaw on, it’s a pity to kill him, but there’s no point in keeping him either, if he ran away, then be it. What Sui Heng truly cared about was Jiang Yun’s news.
Jiang Rongyu, this hypocrite, even if he was no longer disgusted and disliked, had to recognize his reputation and status among the Jiangnan countries. After returning to the palace, he immediately ordered Xu Qiao and Chen Qi to investigate.
Chen Qi’s fighting spirit was once again ignited, and he said, “Your Highness, now that all five countries have submitted to Your Highness, even if Jiang Rongyu is alive, he can’t do anything about it. This servant has a way to help Your Highness win people’s hearts from Jiang Rongyu’s hands without spending a single soldier.”
Sui Heng was intrigued and let him speak.
Chen Qi said, “The reason why Jiang Rongyu was able to win people’s hearts was simply because of his so-called ‘virtue reputation’. If there is evidence to prove that those deeds were deliberately fabricated by this person for the sake of a good reputation, how will the people of the Jiangnan countries view this person? In the old days, King Zhao of Yan built the Golden Platform to seek talent and honor the wise. This subordinate think that Your Highness can also build a recruitment platform. As long as there are people who are willing to come forward and expose the incriminating evidence of Jiang Rongyu and the fabrication of the name of virtue, they can receive a heavy reward and be highly valued by His Highness. When Jiang Rongyu’s wrongdoing is exposed to the world and his reputation is ruined, who among the people of Jiangnan will still submit to him?”
This method is indeed quite ruthless.
Sui Heng looked at Chen Qi in a meaningful way, “The Military Advisor is truly worthy of the name of the Four Princes of the Southern Kingdom. To deal with such hypocrites as Jiang Rongyu, it is indeed more effective for literati like the Military Advisor. However, the people of this Jiangnan region are all like they have been intoxicated by Jiang Rongyu. Who will be willing to come forward to reveal the evidence of this person’s crimes?”
Chen Qi said, “This subordinate believes that there will be warriors under the weight of money, and this subordinate knows of one person who will be willing to step forward to serve Your Highness.”
“Oh, who?”
“The current Guozhu of the Jiang Kingdom1They aren’t the same Jiang btw, Jiang Yun’s country is like an empire while this Jiang is only a subordinate country., Jiang Yuping.”
Sui Heng was slightly surprised. “Does this person also have a grudge against Jiang Rongyu?”
Chen Qi said, “When Gongsun Yang committed a crime in the Jiang Kingdom, Jiang Rongyu, in order to gain fame, overturned the old case and re-tried it, beheading three of the nobles and offending a large number of the Jiang’s family nobles. A few months ago, the old Guozhu of the Jiang Kingdom died of illness, and the new Guozhu, Jiang Yuping, happened to be from the old lineage that was at odds with Jiang Rongyu. Jiang Yuping had long had the intention of abandoning the darkness and surrendering to His Highness, but due to Jiang Yun’s influence, he dared not reveal it. This subordinate happened to have some friendship with him when this subordinate was a student in the Jiang Kingdom, so this subordinate sent a letter to him stating the pros and cons. Early this morning, he sent a letter back to this subordinate overnight, saying that he would be willing to follow Your Highness’s orders.”
Sui Heng found it interesting.
“According to the Military Advisor, Jiang Rongyu overturned Gongsun Yang’s case in the Jiang Kingdom that year was not an act out of righteousness but deliberately to create a good reputation?”
Chen Qi said cautiously, “Without evidence, this subordinate dare not speak recklessly. But according to Jiang Yuping, those three nobles didn’t deserve to die. It’s just that they offended Jiang Rongyu with a few sentences in the courtroom, and were convicted of capital offenses by this man, who took revenge by publicizing their personal affairs.”
“So it was like this.”
It seems that this hypocrite has really offended many people in order to build a reputation for himself.
Sui Heng nodded. “Then Gu will let the Military Advisor take full responsibility for this matter.”
Chen Qi responded with great joy.
Because he knew that this was not only a heavy responsibility entrusted to him but also a further test for him. As long as he could beautifully complete this task, his future career in the Sui Empire would rise straight and unobstructed!
The news of Sui Heng’s plan to build a recruitment platform in the capital city of Chen quickly spread throughout Jiangnan. Chen Qi only spent two days transforming an old platform in the capital city of Chen into a recruitment platform. Jiang Yuping, the head of the Kingdom of Jiang, was the first envoy to come and rebuke Jiang Yun on stage for his “abuse of power for personal gain and lack of moral integrity” as evidence. Subsequently, several famous figures climbed onto the high platform and presented similar “evidence,” calling on the people not to be deceived by Jiang Yun’s false virtue reputation. One of them was also a former minister under Jiang Yun.
For a while, the debate about the character of the Crown Prince of Jiang was spreading in all directions.
Jiang Yun has been quietly reading in the palace for the past two days, and he is not surprised by this matter. Chen Qi is a deep and profound man and has a high reputation among scholars. It’s only natural that he would come up with a scheme to inflame people’s minds and bring him into disrepute.
Jiang Yun had only had a chance encounter with the Chen Kingdom’s Guozhu when he was taking a boring walk in the evening.
The Chen Kingdom’s Guozhu had a worried expression on his face, as if he had passed the funeral. When he saw Jiang Yun, he barely managed to raise his spirits and greet him at the same time, his heart ached for the fifty thousand taels of gold that he had lost for nothing.
It is impossible to retrieve something that has been sent away.
Jiang Yun said, “It seems that Guozhu’s sleep is getting worse.”
The Chen Kingdom’s Guozhu sighed and said, “To be honest with the Young Master, Guaren may really be at the end of the rope this time.”
Jiang Yun exclaimed in surprise, “I see that your kingdom’s Second Prince is highly valued by His Highness. Why did Guozhu say such a thing? The escape of the advisor from the Jiang Empire is entirely due to his cunning, and Guozhu cannot be blamed for this.”
It was fine when Jiang Yun didn’t mention Chen Qi, but when he mentioned him, the Chen Kingdom’s Guozhu immediately became furious and said, “The Young Master, don’t mention that rebellious son. That rebellious son is just a cold-blooded and ruthless snake. He… doesn’t even take Guaren seriously now. He points the sword at Guaren’s neck, forcing Guaren to depose the Crown Prince. Guaren was afraid that his next step would be to kill the king and seize the throne!”
Jiang Yun said, “In my opinion, Guozhu doesn’t need to worry too much.”
After all, this young man is the pillow holder of the Great Evil Star. The Chen Kingdom’s Guozhu immediately asked, “What does the Young Master mean by this?”
Jiang Yun said, “His Highness has always seen Guozhu’s heart. His Highness prefers loyal subordinates, not necessarily a ruthless ones. As long as Guozhu shows His Highness your loyal side, why worry about your position?”
The Chen Kingdom’s Guozhu’s eyebrows twitched.
Suddenly thinking of something, he said joyfully, “Guaren thanks the Young Master for his guidance!”
