"Marquis Yu, this is the report from the spies ahead today." A military attache from the Criminal Procuratorate handed a report to Zhao Ping's desk.

Zhao Ping glanced at the report coming back from the front, and asked with some headache: "Is there still no news?" ”

The military attache who came to report to Zhao Ping shook his head and said, "There is no movement from the praying mantis. ”

"What about the lark?"

"We're moving people right now, and as you know, we're a little tight these days."

"In any case, be sure to keep an eye on it, especially for me to find out who they are in contact with on a day-to-day basis."

"Xia Guan knows."

Shortly after the military attaché left, an official hurried in.

Before Zhao Ping could ask, the official gasped and reported: "Marquis Yu, someone from the palace has come to ask us to take over the investigation of a homicide case that occurred in the west of the city today from the Gyeonggi Prefecture. ”

Zhao Ping smelled a trace of unusual breath, and hurriedly asked, "But which noble person is involved?" ”

"The royal envoy is carrying a secret edict, and the lower officials don't know the inside story."

Zhao Ping stood up, straightened his clothes, and said, "I'll go out." ”

……

Tonight's Ximo Palace is much more lively than before, the Zhuqing Palace, which is specially used to hold the state banquet, is brightly lit, and the people who participate in the dinner are divided into two columns and sit face to face, and the King of the Western Desert and the Lord of Yuanliu City sit at the top of their respective sides.

It was the first time that Han Qu had sat with a genuine grandmaster, the Yuanliu City Lord's body was not strong, and his demeanor was gentle and polite, but it still made everyone in the hall feel like they were on the edge of a mountain.

It was the first time that Han Qu felt this kind of sincere fear in his heart, which he had never experienced in the past when facing the governor of the Southern Wilderness, and he didn't like this feeling very much.

Although it was a dinner party held in the palace of the Western Desert King, the focus of the banquet had always been on the tall and thin, ordinary-looking guest.

After the guests and hosts toasted each other, the city lord of Yuanliu put down the wine glass in his hand, and said to Han Qu with a smile: "When the old man was in the West and Donglu, he heard of the prosperity of the Pearl of the Southern Wilderness. ”

After a chamberlain who followed the city lord of Yuanliu translated these words, Han Qu also responded with a smile: "Although Han Qu is the same leader of a country, he is still a junior in front of the city lord. ”

The praise of the Yuanliu City Lord Fang Cai just scratched the itch in Han Qu's heart, the title of the Pearl of the Southern Wilderness has always been his proudest achievement, and it is also the embodiment of his ability to govern.

"Ling Zun has won the award, the old man only did his best back then, and the destruction of the Lu clan depends on the joint efforts of all fellow Terran people." The Abyssal City Lord said as he gently twisted his beard.

"Since the battle of Tianguan Mountain, there has been peace in the world for more than 20 years." Han Qu glanced at the Yuanliu City Lord and continued, "It's a pity that there are always small disturbances in the world, for the sake of the enlightened spirit and the peace of the people in the world, the major righteous countries still need to work together. ”

"My Yuanliu Empire has been connected with the countries of the Cold Moon Continent since ancient times, and the people of the country are also the blood of the Cold Moon. In the Age of the Gods, the Linyuan Saint Venerable was also one of the friends of the Qingyun Saint Venerable. Everyone has always been a member of the enlightened world. The Lord of Abyssal City said with a smile, "Abyss City is willing to have more business and trade exchanges with our friends, and is also ready to mediate and solve problems for our friends." ”

After hearing the words of the Yuanliu City Lord, Han Qu first smiled, and then the corners of his mouth began to stiffen. After Han Qu laughed a few times, he said, "If you can get the city lord's words, the widow will be relieved in many things. ”

……

"Master, someone from outside has sent a letter." Li Doujin walked into Shi Cheng's study and put a letter on the desk, "It's a letter from the house of the Hu Yuanwai who was rescued by you before, and the payment is from Mrs. Hu, she said that Hu Yuanwai has woken up, and I hope to come to us to thank you." ”

"Awake?" Shi Cheng's face was overjoyed, and he hurriedly took the letter and read it carefully.

"In this way, you go and talk back to the family of Hu Mansion, saying that I will go to Hu Mansion tomorrow morning to revisit Hu Yuanwai, as for coming to me to thank you, you don't have to. Hu Yuanwai is now recovering from a serious illness, so it is not appropriate to move around too much, and it is the same if I go to visit him at his house. ”

"I see." Li Doujin nodded and replied, "Then Doujin will go out first." ”

After Li Doujin went out, Shi Cheng looked at the letter on the table again, and said softly: "Maybe I can learn more details related to the Xieyang Dao case this time, maybe I can solve the doubts in my heart." ”

……

As the moon gradually rose, the dinner in the Zhuqing Palace ended at the beginning of the day, and in a harmonious atmosphere, the lords of the two countries said goodbye to each other. Under the gift of the civil and military officials of the Western Desert Kingdom, the Yuanliu delegation left the Zhuqing Palace and walked to the place where the mission stayed.

After the civil and military officials of the two countries had almost left, only Han Qu and the head of the capital of the Western Desert Kingdom, He Xian, were left in the Zhuqing Palace.

He Xian was left behind by Han Qu on his own initiative, and after the other officials who participated in the dinner left, Han Qu looked at He Xian and said, "He Qing, let's go to Runfeng Pond with the widow."

"Obey." He Xian answered and stood up from his chair. This important minister of the Western Desert who is under one person and above 10,000 people is quite burly, and when he stands with Han Qu, who is a little sick, it is He Xian who looks more like the aura of the lord of a country.

Han Qu and He Xian walked one after the other on the bluestone road leading to Runfeng Pond, that is, the imperial garden in the Western Desert Palace, and the attendants were all carefully carrying lamps, separating them from the two monarchs and ministers, after all, what Han Qu and He Xian were going to say next was not something they were qualified to listen to.

Han Qu was silent for a while, and then said with some resentment in his tone: "I thought that the Yuanliu City Lord's previous visit to Great Wei had already made his attitude clear, but now it seems that he still has the intention of swinging left and right, and taking advantage on both sides. ”

He Xian comforted: "The king doesn't need to feel indignant, the matter of diplomatic relations between the countries should be slowly planned, and then moved. Even though the Yuanliu people are bearing the blood of the Cold Moon, they are just barbarians in their bones, and it is impossible for them to really be of the same heart as the enlightened world, what we need to do now is not to make them fall to us. As long as the people of the abyss are biased towards us, it is enough, and they can come in handy in the future. ”

Han Qu glanced at his prime minister, it is rare for a prime minister like He Xian to advocate being down-to-earth and steady in foreign affairs since the founding of the Western Desert, Han Qu felt a little unhappy in his heart, after all, the word steadfast and steady is sometimes not necessarily a compliment in officialdom.

"That's it." Han Qu planned to change the subject, "The official meeting is scheduled for tomorrow, what is in the heart of the Abyssal City Lord, we will naturally know tomorrow." He Qing, how is the arrangement of the relief, the number of displaced people reported by the Gyeonggi Prefecture is now increasing. ”

"Please rest assured that the first batch of relief food will be distributed as planned in the near future, and the displaced people who will receive relief will be the displaced people in the north of the city, especially in the area of Dengnan Port, which is one of the lifeblood of the royal city, and there must be no chaos there."

"Okay, He Qing's words are relieved, during this time, the Yushitai and the Academy are really annoying." Speaking of this, Han Qu suddenly thought of another thing, "He Qing, the Great Wei Dynasty's use of currency to help the people has also been discussed for a while in the Imperial History Observatory and the Academy. You see, do we have to follow suit? ”

He Xian's face changed, "Your Majesty, the ministers think it's impossible." ”

"But half of the people in the capital hall and the privy mansion said that they could give it a try, and Xu Qing even said that by replacing food with currency, only half of the past energy can be used to help the people."

"Your Majesty, although my Western Desert and Great Wei are from the same lineage, but the national conditions are not the same, oranges are born in the south for oranges, and oranges are born in the north, Great Wei is rich in products, and there are few people in the world who can match, and my Western Desert is far inferior, and the decrees that can be implemented in Great Wei may not be effective in our country. What's more, this year's harvest is poor, money and food are tight, and it is probably not conducive to state affairs to change the law in vain at this time. ”

"How can you be in tune with those Chita officials?" Although he thought so in his heart, Han Qu, who couldn't think of a rebuttal for a while, still nodded, "He Qing is reasonable, but I heard that the grain merchants in Wangcheng are unwilling to continue to cooperate with the government to provide relief to the displaced people on the grounds that the year is not good and the surplus grain in their hands has already been donated, so what can I do?" ”

This matter also gave He Xian a headache, the Lin Chamber of Commerce, the head of the grain merchants in Wangcheng, can be said to have a deep foundation, and even has a relationship in the Wei State, how can such a consortium be called by the government? But in front of Han Qu, he didn't want to show his timidity, "What the king is worried about is indeed an important matter, and the minister has ordered Wang Cheng Yi Yamen to coordinate in the center, and asked the Southern Wilderness Governor's Mansion to speak on his behalf, I believe that Lin Heng will still understand the overall situation." ”

Han Qu didn't believe the prevarication of the merchants in his heart, but he himself was helpless, so he finally nodded and didn't ask anymore.

The moon was about to rise to the branches, and the mission of Abyssal City returned to the Welcome Pavilion where the mission was staying.

The Lord of the Abyss sat quietly on a wide chair, and two of the Mission's highest-ranking entourage, Yu Mibahaus and Wei Muetz, stood respectfully in front of him.

"Bahaus, Otz, sit down."

The two thanked the Abyss City Lord, and then sat down on the wooden chair beside them.

"The two of you are also present at today's banquet, and you have also heard what the King of the Western Desert said, do you have any ideas?"

Wei Muertz thought for a moment and said, "The Wei people's willingness to win us over has never been so explicit before. ”

Yu Mibahaus nodded, "The Wei people have always looked at people with their nostrils, but when the Holy Lord arrived in the Wei Kingdom before, the courtesy he received was unprecedented. ”

Wei Muertz snorted disdainfully, "Although Wei is still the number one power in the world on the surface, since the fiasco of the coalition forces in the Battle of Nanyang Island, anyone with a discerning eye can see that the former country of the co-lord of the world is now more and more powerless. If a person can't support the stage, then the best way is naturally to bring more people on stage together. But in fact, long before the Battle of Nanyang Island, the Wei people were already doing this. ”

Wei Muertz looked at the Yuanliu City Lord and said, "But the Holy Lord, although the Wei State is no longer as strong as it used to be, it is not in a state of decline at present, and the countries of the Cold Moon Continent have not yet departed from Germany. The hand of the Chita is not yet to reach us, but the Lucernes are close at hand, and the void covenant between them and the Chita that they do not openly acknowledge each other is still strong. Although our country is a big country, it is sandwiched between the two major forces, and it is still necessary to uphold neutrality at the moment, make friends on both sides, and wait for the situation to change, and then make plans. ”

There was no expression on the face of the Abyssal City Lord, he looked at Wei Muertz and asked a very strange question, "Ertz, let me ask you, is the Union Khanate a country?" ”