A few days later, the army that went out to conquer Chen returned triumphantly, and King Wu personally went out of the city to greet him, and then set up a banquet in the palace to catch the wind for everyone.

King Wu sat on the main hall, the generals who returned from the battle sat on the right side, Huang Yun was in front, and Prince You, Zhang Xun, Yu Lan and others were behind; The important ministers of the court sat on the left side, Bo Yao was in front, and Gong Wanran, Cai Kuo and others were behind. Ji Zheng was arranged in the backmost side seat.

King Wu raised his glass to everyone and said, "All Aiqing, please drink this cup with this king!" ”

The ministers raised their glasses together and drank the wine in the cup with King Wu.

King Wu was in a very good mood, raised his glass again, and said, "General Huang! This time the victory returned, and the general's contribution was indispensable! Come! This king toasts you! ”

"Thank you, King!"

King Wu said with a smile: "On this expedition, the general seized the city and plundered the gold, killing countless enemies, it is expected that after this battle, the Chen State will definitely decline in national strength, and it can no longer become an obstacle for my country to go north to the Central Plains, haha, haha!" ”

"Thank you to the king Hongfu! We can only have this modest achievement. ”

"Haha! General Huang is humble! King Wu turned his gaze to the prince's friend again, and said with relief: "The prince's first battle, it is really gratifying to have such a record!" Come! Drink with you for the Father's sake. ”

The prince hurriedly raised his glass and stood up, saluted, "Thank you, father!" If the children can make some credit for this expedition, it will all rely on the teachings of their father and General Huang's words and deeds on the battlefield. ”

"Haha, good! In the future, I will have to ask General Huang for more advice! ”

"Follow the teachings of your father."

King Wu turned to Zhang Xun again and said, "General Zhang, this king heard that you sneaked into Wanqiu City with four hundred soldiers and almost captured King Chen?" ”

"The last general is not talented, and he failed to capture King Chen alive, otherwise this battle may destroy the Chen State."

"Eh, don't say that, it's really a blessing for this king to have a lone hero like General Zhang. Besides, it doesn't matter whether the Chen State is destroyed or not, as long as the Chen State is dependent on our country from now on, the purpose of this campaign has been achieved. General Zhang is brave and strategic, and has made great contributions! This king will reward you greatly! ”

"King Xie!"

King Wu raised his glass again and said to everyone: "Haha! Everyone, please drink this cup together! Congratulations on the victory! ”

Then they raised their glasses and drank the wine in their cups.

The banquet officially began, and several dancers danced, and the beautiful music was moving.

Zhang Xun looked back at Ji Zheng and saw him sitting in front of the desk with an expressionless face. Zhang Xun's heart was even more difficult to calm down, and secretly fought for Ji Zheng, if there was no Ji Zheng, this expedition would inevitably be hit hard, and it is very likely that these heroes here are still imprisoned in Chen Guoda's prison, even including themselves. However, in this feast, King Wu did not mention what Ji Zheng had done, and his efforts and merits were completely forgotten, and even deliberately buried. Although Ji Zheng said that he didn't care, Zhang Xun was clear, who could pay unconditionally forever?

After a long time, after a wistful celebration, the banquet was over, and everyone dispersed.

On the way back, Ji Zheng didn't say a word, and his mood was very heavy. Zhang Xun knew what Ji Zheng was thinking, so he had to pretend to be excited and try to make Ji Zheng happy. He browsed the stalls along the street and muttered, "What should I buy for Xiaoshuang?" It's been a long time since I've seen him, so I should always give some gifts. By the way, do you want to buy some gifts for Sister Hana? ”

Ji Zheng didn't bother to speak, but he had to answer, so he had to say perfunctorily: "I don't know what to buy, we have been on the battlefield for three months, and everything is fresh, but Hana and they are in the city every day, and these street things are not fresh for a long time, so there is nothing to buy." ”

"That being said, you still have to buy something, even if it's better to buy some snacks than empty-handed." After that, Zhang Xun went to a dim sum stall to bargain.

Gong Wanran patted Ji Zheng's shoulder and said, "You can buy some too, whatever you want, I know you have something on your mind, Xiao Xun and I will help you." ”

"Thoughts? Not...... No, I don't have any thoughts. ”

"Hana misses you immensely, for her, fame and fortune are never important, as long as you can come back safely, she will be satisfied. I think Hanna must be more important to you than anything else. So, don't think about it today, let's figure out the rest of the things together. ”

"Hmm...... I...... I see, thank you, Brother Gonghui. ”

"Let's go, I'll accompany you to see the gouache and jewelry over there."

"Good, good ......"

After buying the gifts, the three of them left the bazaar and walked to a no-man's land, Zhang Xun asked, "Brother Xiao Ran, do we want to visit the county governor's mansion?" When we return from the expedition, we should always say hello. ”

Gong Wanran shook his head and said, "At this time, the wind is tight, don't go first." ”

"The wind is tight? What do you mean? ”

Gong Wanran asked, "Have you noticed?" Today's celebration banquet was not attended by the county lieutenant. ”

Zhang Xun suddenly realized: "Yes, it is said that the county lieutenant should appear on this occasion." ”

"Not only the county lieutenant, but even Wu Zixu Xiangguo and General Sun Wu did not attend. You must know that the triumphant return of the army is a major national matter, and even the king personally went out of the city to greet him, and it is impossible to say that they do not attend the banquet anyway. ”

"Strange, aren't they doing this to clearly not give the king face?"

Gong Wanran sighed and said with a melancholy face: "If there is still face between the two sides, then they will attend no matter what, but now, they are unwilling to give this face, and the king is not willing to ask for it, so the contradictions between the two sides may have reached the point of irreconcilability." ”

"The court seems to be calm, but in fact, there is an undercurrent. So what do we do? Will you stay away from the county lieutenant? ”

"Let's talk about it after a while, if we go to visit now, we may be divided into Wu Xiangguo's party. At the moment, the situation is uncertain, and it is better to stay in the middle ground for the time being. ”

After listening to the conversation between the two, Ji Zheng said with emotion: "The court is like a battlefield, thanks to Brother Gonghui's judgment of the situation, our three brothers can be safe and sound." ”

Zhang Xun continued: "But we always have to choose a side in the future, either Wu Xiangguo's party, or Bo Yao's party, I think it's better to follow Wu Xiangguo, I don't like the people over there, such as Huang Yun, hum!" This expedition is thanks to Xiao Ji, but he doesn't say a word about Xiao Ji's credit! ”

Gong Wanran suddenly stopped, and said to Zhang Xun seriously: "Xiao Xun, in the future, you must not judge by preference, you must know that the court is even more cruel than the battlefield, and the struggle for power and conspiracy is pervasive, you must be careful everywhere and be cautious in everything!" ”

Zhang Xun felt a little aggrieved when he saw that Gong Wanran criticized himself so harshly, "I just said that I don't like Bo Ya's party, and I didn't say anything else, why is Brother Xiao Ran so strict?" ”

Gong Wanran looked at Zhang Xun with a look of hatred for iron and steel, and said, "Do you know? I've burned all the letters you sent. ”

"Why? I'm just telling you what happened to this battle. ”

"It's a good thing you didn't forget to seal the letter with a wax seal, otherwise you might get into trouble."

Ji Zheng echoed the lesson Zhang Xundao: "Hmph, I told you a long time ago that I wouldn't let you write a letter, and I will come back in a few days, what can't I say in person?" ”

Zhang Xun defended: "Then didn't I seal it with a wax seal......

Gong Wanran asked, "Do you remember my reply to you?" ”

"Brother Xiao Ran only replied to me with eight words, 'Don't be quiet, don't talk nonsense'."

"Did you do it?"

"Yes, I didn't talk to anyone about anything. Brother Xiao Ran, why did you burn the letter, is there something in this that can't be said to the outside world? ”

"Yes, there's a lot I can't say."

"Brother Xiao Ran is talking about Xiao Ji's coercion of General Huang?"

Ji Zheng pouted and said, "Hmph, Huang Yun will definitely not let me go, but I have nothing to be afraid of, so what's the matter if outsiders know?" ”

Gong Wanran shook his head and said: "The capture of Prince Friend and Yu Lan is already a big scandal, if Huang Yun can rescue the prince, then it's okay, but I didn't think that Huang Yun himself became a prisoner, this is ugly on top of ugly, this kind of shameful thing naturally can't be publicized to the public." I guess Huang Yun's war report didn't mention their capture at all. ”

"What about Xiao Ji?"

Since the scandal of being captured cannot be publicized, Brother Ji's rescue of the prince and the attack on Wanqiu will not be mentioned, and Huang Yun will inevitably hold a grudge against Brother Ji, and he doesn't want to see Brother Ji have the slightest credit. I'm afraid that he will find a way to take revenge on Brother Ji in the future. ”

Ji Zheng looked excited, but said disdainfully: "Hmph, whatever he wants, if you want revenge, hurry up, I can take his life at that time, and I can do it in the future!" ”

"Don't be impulsive in anything."

Zhang Xun refused to give up and asked, "But...... However, if the war report didn't mention their capture, wouldn't Xiao Ji's great contribution be buried again? ”

Gong Wan nodded and said, "I'm afraid yes, but you must not make a noise about this matter, everything depends on the development of the situation." ”

"Damn! If it hadn't been for Xiao Ji to rescue them, we would have lost everything! Not to mention that the three of them were taken prisoner, even me! In this battle, Xiao Ji's credit is the greatest! Besides, Xiao Ji coerced Huang Yun to save me! ”

"Don't be excited, I'm just afraid that you will tell you all about it, maybe Huang Yun's ability on the battlefield is not as good as yours, but back in Gusu City, his energy is a hundred times better than yours, you must not make a noise, everything depends on the subsequent changes."

"No! I'm going to find the Prince! His Royal Highness the Crown Prince admires Xiao Ji very much! And I promised to come back and ask for credit for Xiao Ji! ”

Ji Zheng also said angrily: "Hmph! No! The prince is not a good thing, wait for him to ask me for credit? Hum! I'm not uncommon! ”

"Shh Gong Wanran hurriedly grabbed the two of them, put his hands on their backs, signaled the two to calm down, and after a while, Gong Wanran took a deep breath and said: "The coming day is long, we must think long-term, don't worry about it today." Let's go home, the family is waiting for you two. ”