There are nearly 300,000 people in Xijing City, and it is not easy to find Yuwenshuang from the vast sea of people, but fortunately, the Ali brothers kept their promise and found someone to ask Xiao Jinyan for a portrait of Yuwenshuang, and dragged Li Desert to the city gate official for inspection.

This kind of registration system for entering the city is also a study in the Central Plains of Xijing. All those who enter and leave the city gate will leave a record at the city gate, including physical characteristics, road guides, customs declaration goods, and contact addresses, etc., to facilitate the management of the city's population, and to prevent spies from other countries from sneaking in.

With Yu Wenshuang's peerless appearance, as long as she enters Xijing, she will inevitably attract the attention of the city gate officials, and she may get some clues. What Xiao Jinyan is most afraid of is that Yu Wenshuang changes her mind halfway, in that case, there will be a vast sea of people, and it will be difficult to find her again.

Early the next morning, Buda accompanied Xiao Jinyan to go through the archives of entering the city, and he was busy all day, but he didn't have a clue, and in the evening, they agreed to participate in the night banquet in the palace of King Chengxian, and immediately returned to the hall.

Xiao Jinyan originally wanted to go to the palace to find Chu Bieli, but now Chu Bieli is no longer the second dog brother who sold wine in Suzhou City, but the rightful emperor of the Great Chu Dynasty.

"It is said that there are quite a few people attending the banquet tonight, after all, he is the son of Emperor Breguet, and he is the most likely person to inherit the throne in the future!"

Xiao Jinyanqi said, "King Chengxian is not your emperor's nephew, so isn't his father also the emperor's brother?"

Buda smiled and pretended to be mysterious, "Although Emperor Baoji is the son of the first emperor, he is an illegitimate child, and he doesn't even have a chance to be included in the Zongren Mansion. Last year, when the new emperor ascended the throne, he ascended to the sky in one step and had today's status. To be honest, in this capital, the emperor is just a title, and it is this Breguet prince who really holds the power. Now the Heart of the Sun is going to marry King Chengxian, and when he ascends the throne in the future, the entire Great Chu, who would dare to provoke our Kubang clan?"

Xiao Jinyan remembered the Western Chu leader he met in Suzhou City last year, when some people called him the prince, and the person who picked Chu away must have been the Breguet Emperor.

Over the years, the Emperor of Western Chu has been exchanged like a marquee, and the reason for this is because the emperor has no military power in his hands, or has been weakened. And the Ming Dynasty doesn't seem to have so much right and wrong, he uses the art of checks and balances in his hands to firmly control the civil and military officials, and he doesn't seem to have considered the matter of establishing a prince, not only that, but no one has ever mentioned this kind of thing above the court, does he really think that he is long live long live?

Suddenly, Xiao Jinyan thought of a possibility, and couldn't help but feel cold.

......

The night banquet is going to enter the palace, the image of the leper donkey is a little cold, Li Desert has already prepared a carriage and a few horses, which have the logo of the Kubang Guild Hall, and can enter the palace unimpeded.

Heart of the Sun, dressed in costume, came to the carriage and, with a light footsteps, jumped into the carriage. Xiao Jinyan felt strange, the heart of the sun has always been steady, how could he do this kind of action?

The guild hall is separated from the palace by three streets, and at night, the Xijing City is brightly lit, and there is a scene of prosperity and prosperity, and there is no appearance that Chu has just fought a defeated battle.

In the palace, someone had already recognized the hall vehicle, and even someone stepped forward to welcome everyone into the mansion, the heart of the sun and a few maidservants went to the backyard to rest and prepare for the night banquet later, and Li Desert took the Ali brothers and Xiao Jinyan to the banquet hall.

The palace is built extremely luxurious, pavilions, corridors, pavilions, carved dragons and phoenixes, rockeries and small lakes, all available. However, Breguet still retains some of the traditional customs of the grassland, such as the roofs of some buildings such as round felt.

The banquet hall was already crowded. Today's night banquet, the prince of Breguet will announce the marriage of King Chengxian and the heart of the sun, the entire Xijing City civil and military officials, some status of the nobles, who dare not give the prince face, the sky has arrived early before dark, three or five groups, gathered together to discuss.

Li Desert introduced, "Today's night banquet seems to be a wind for the heart of the sun, but the entire Shangjing City knows that Prince Breguet is testing the hundred officials of the court and the tribal leaders. He pointed to several groups of people in the banquet hall, "Among these officials, some of them were personally promoted by His Majesty the Emperor, there are also people from Prince Breguet, and some people from the wall-riding faction, who also came to join in the fun today. ”

Xiao Jinyan said, "Then I don't know which faction Brother Li belongs to?"

Li Desert smiled bitterly, "Do we still have a choice?"

This is also true, once the Heart of the Sun marries King Chengxian and becomes the daughter-in-law of Prince Breguet, then their Gubang clan will naturally become Prince Breguet's people.

In the corner, in addition to officials and nobles, there are also some celebrities and gentry in Xijing. Although the state of Chu implemented the imperial examination system, whether or not to become an official mainly depended on the recommendation of the royal family or tribal forces, these scholars were invited, and took the opportunity to talk at the banquet.

One of them, surnamed Chang Mingjin, is a well-known talent in the capital, very respectful of the Han culture, but three times and twice in the imperial examination, did not succeed, so every day to the Breguet prince to deliver the manuscript, as well as sprinkled with ten thousand words, who expected to throw out several times in a row, all sunk into the sea, but found in a shop that collects waste paper, he was unwilling, took advantage of this opportunity, dragged the relationship mixed into the palace.

At this time, everyone in the banquet hall talked about the battle of Ming and Chu, and believed that the reason for this defeat was that the implementation of the Sinicization reform of the Great Chu court was unfavorable, and whether the national policy of the imperial court in the future was to restore the nomadic system or continue to change the Han Dynasty.

Chang Jin smelled the opportunity, after so many years in the capital, he had a reputation, but

Never getting an official position, he decided to seize the opportunity.

The words are not shocking, and they are endless.

He suddenly grabbed a wine glass, slammed it, and fell to the ground. The movement was too big, attracting everyone's attention, he stood up and said loudly, "Everyone, I think that although the Chu State is defeated, it is a big victory!"

This sentence successfully attracted everyone's attention, and they wondered, "Why did the public say this?"

Chang Jin said lightly, "Our Great Chu soldiers are strong and strong, and the cavalry is invincible in the world, why did we lose to the weak Ming army that can only cultivate the wasteland? Is it because the commander is not properly commanded? Is the soldiers not brave enough? Or is the supply of materials not timely?"

He asked three questions in a row, and everyone fell into thought. He said slowly, "No, our problem lies in the internal processes, mechanisms and systems. ”

Chang Jin sprinkled with enthusiasm, and slightly modified the ten thousand words that were voted for the prince back then, and talked about it. After a generous speech on how to crack the army, strengthen the generals, increase the endowment, and reduce the burden of the people, he said loudly, "As the so-called division is strong and skillful, we must face up to the gap in order to catch up!"

The words were righteous and awe-inspiring, Chang Jin thought that there would be applause here, but he didn't know who threw an egg and made him disgraced.

Li Desert sneered, "This guy, I've heard of him, he is very undesirable in the capital, and he somehow got here." ”

Xiao Jinyanqi said, "Brother Li seems to have a lot of opinions about him. ”

Li Desert said, "It's better to say than to sing, but it's all empty talk." Raise taxes on the rich and nobles, reduce the burden on the people, just rush this sentence, and he will die for the rest of his life. He didn't understand that it was these nobles who were in power after all. This kid only sees the surface of things, but ignores the internal conflicts of interest and involvement. You see, these officials and nobles here, when it comes to the country, they are all righteous and awe-inspiring, and they look loyal, but who is not in your Central Plains to buy land?"

Li Desert said again, "Brother Xiao, on the topic just now, do you know why the Chu army was defeated by your Ming Expedition to the Western Army?"

Xiao Jinyan shook his head.

Li Desert smiled and analyzed, "Maybe you don't know that the 50,000 Chu troops who attacked Hengduan Mountain were actually deliberately done by Prince Breguet. ”

Xiao Jinyan was puzzled, "Deliberately?"

"The emperor ascended the throne with the change of seizing the palace, and the domestic power of my Dachu is complicated, and there are not a few people who miss the old emperor, so the prince of Breguet sent the army of those dissenting political enemies to Hengduan Mountain, and eliminated it with the power of the Ming Dynasty, so that the prince of Breguet can firmly control the government. It is precisely because of this that the imperial court will expel the 30,000 prisoners of war. ”

Xiao Jinyan didn't expect that Li Desert had seen the affairs of the government so thoroughly, and praised, "Brother Li is a person with great ambitions. ”

Li Desert said, "Don't dare to be ambitious, seek its own politics in its position, follow the trend, set up ambitions, and Xu Tuzhi." ”

These words made Xiao Jinyan can't help but look at him with admiration, Li Desert is a person who is pragmatic and knows how to measure, low-key when he should be low-key, high-profile when he should be high-profile, and in time, he will definitely become the number one person in Chu State.

A few more guests came to the banquet, Xiao Jin became alert, he went over there, only to see a man with a long knife in his hand and wearing a robe, came to the banquet, this person exuded a stunning majesty, as soon as he arrived, the whole banquet hall was silent.

When Xiao Jinyan looked at him, the man had a sense and also looked at him, first stunned, and then showed a fiery expression.

Master!

This is Xiao Jinyan's first reaction, it seems that he is about thirty years old, and he can send and receive Xuangong at will, he can't imagine that after the death of Chu Maddao, there are still such sword masters in Chu State.

Buda said in a low voice, "This person's name is Lu Fanren, he is the number one master in the capital, and he is also a fierce general in the Breguet Palace.

Xiao Jinyan smacked his tongue and said, "So powerful!"

"He is also the son of Prince Breguet, and before that, he had served two masters, and we all called him the third slave behind our backs. ”

"Humph!"

A cold snort came over, Buda screamed, spit blood in his mouth, and suffered internal injuries, Xiao Jinyan used string force to discharge the true qi in Buda's body, which allowed him to escape.

At this time, someone sang, "King Breguet, King Chengxian have arrived!"

Since the prince Chu Xian was canonized as King Chengxian by Chu Bieli, there are two princes in this palace, according to the Chu system, King Chengxian should establish a palace in another mansion, but at the insistence of King Breguet, they still live in the same mansion.

Under the service of everyone, an old man and a young man, walked out from behind the screen in the main hall. King Breguet has thick eyebrows and big eyes, a high forehead, high cheekbones, and walks with the wind, like a fierce tiger. In contrast, the young man Chengxian Wang, with a delicate appearance, a pale face, walked like a weak willow supporting the wind, and was a little less domineering.

Before he could sit down, King Chengxian coughed violently, and his whole face was flushed, and King Breguet saw this, held his hand, and crossed into a trace of true qi, and King Chengxian calmed down.

But Xiao Jinyan noticed that King Chengxian wiped the square handkerchief at the corner of his mouth, with a trace of blood. He asked Li Desert, "Is this King Chengxian sick?"

Li Desert said, "It is said that he went crazy in his practice and got tuberculosis, and I heard that he would not live to be thirty years old." ”

Knowing that this prince was not in good health, and the clansmen wanted to marry her to him, Xiao Jinyan felt that it was not worth it for the heart of the sun. Li Desert seemed to see Xiao Jinyan's thoughts, and sighed, "This is also something that can't be helped, our Gubang clan is in decline, if we don't have such a family affair, I'm afraid we will be swallowed alive by Huo Le's life!"

"Then why did your emperor make him the throne?

Heir?"

Li Desert pointed to King Breguet, "Now that the capital is in charge, what can the emperor do? If the two get married and use these years to have a son, then the throne will still be inherited, and King Breguet can be justifiably regent." ”

Xiao Jinyan's face was not good-looking.

Li Desert said, "Brother Xiao thinks we are too ruthless?"

Xiao Jinyan didn't speak, but obviously acquiesced.

"Our steppe tribe, different from your Central Plains city-state, the law of the jungle is the only law in this land, if there is no protection of power, our cattle and sheep will be snatched away, our children will be taken as slaves, the lives of nearly 30,000 people in the entire Kubang tribe, compared with the happiness of a woman, which is more important?

Xiao Jinyan didn't answer, and he wasn't qualified to answer.

Wang Banxian and Li Chuntie let him wander the rivers and lakes for many years, traveled all over the world, experienced wars, plagues, and parting, and let his heart contact with human affairs, cultivate the right path, and realize great wisdom, but as soon as he entered Xichu, he found that the previous universal values were subverted one by one.

There are too many injustices in this world, there is anger, there is helplessness, there are choices, there are trade-offs, where there is perfection, this is the real world.

It is precisely because of this that life has become rich and colorful.

He somewhat understood the good intentions of Wang Banxian and Li Chuntie.

King Breguet sat on the upper seat, and King Chengxian sat down on his lower seat, and the whole person was submissive, staring at his father cautiously, and he did not dare to take a breath of air, obviously very afraid of him.

The people stood up and saluted.

"See Prince Breguet, I've seen King Chengxian!"

King Breguet laughed, his voice shook the roof, and he said loudly, "Today is my son's wedding banquet, and I am very glad that you can come." Those who did not come, this king does not care. ”

The clerk next to him wrote down that he had followed the prince for many years, and since the prince said that he didn't care, then he was naturally very calculating, and even ordered him to transcribe a copy of the absentees on the invitation list, ready to show it to the prince.

"This king is late today because he just got a rare thing today, and he took advantage of today's celebration to show it to everyone. Come on, bring it up!"

As soon as the words fell, the neighing of horses was heard, and someone led a horse to the lobby, which was the fire unicorn that Xiao Jinyan caught that day. When he set off, the fire qilin accompanied him, and after arriving, Li Desert handed it over to the Breguet Palace.

King Breguet said, "Tell me how about my green horse?"

When everyone here heard this, they muttered in their hearts, this is obviously a red horse, but King Breguet asked how this green horse is, is he also going to learn from Zhao Gao's "pointing to the deer as a horse" and "pointing to red as green?"

King Breguet is powerful in Shangjing, if he offends him, there are few who have a good end, he plays this today, and the ambition of the wolf is obvious.

Everyone bowed their heads one after another, not daring to speak.

The scholar named Chang Jin, seeing this situation, thought in his heart, this is the prince deliberately testing the civil and military officials, these officials, all day long know flattery, find problems and pass the buck to each other, abide by the principle that inaction is better than doing wrong, such an obvious mistake, will King Breguet not know?

If I can stand up at this time and point out the prince's mistakes, then the prince will definitely remember me, and I will rely on this fight in the future.

Thinking of this, he stood up and said, "Lord Wang, this is not a green horse, but a red horse!"

King Breguet frowned, "Hmm, you mean, this king is wrong?"

Chang Jin said, "Knowing mistakes can improve greatly!"

King Breguet looked at King Chengxian and said, "My son, tell me what color this horse is?"

"Ahem!" King Chengxian coughed twice before speaking, and said softly, "Back to my father, this horse is purebred green." ”

King Breguet said, "I said this is green, and my son also said that it is green, you say I am wrong, am I also wrong?"

Chang Jin said, "I'm afraid so." ”

King Breguet, with a displeased face, asked the people, "Tell me, what color is this?"

A military general came out and said: "Lord Wang, I have fought all my life, ridden a horse all my life, I have never seen such a green horse, this horse is green, greener than the grass on the Lingdinghai prairie!

The prince laughed, "Well said!"

Everyone scolded one after another, sycophants.

A painter came out and said: "Lord Wang, Xia Guan has read books all his life, painted horses all his life, and has never seen such a green horse, the green of this horse is greener than the hat on my head, it is a fine product in green, grandfather green!"

Wang Ye said, "Well said!"

Seeing this, the others also echoed it, some quoted poems, some used couplets, and in short, praised the fire unicorn as a unique green horse in the world.

Chang Jin saw everyone's shameful faces, and said with grief and indignation in his heart, "You group of villains, obviously red horses, you are happy for Prince Bo, duplicitous, shameless!

Thinking of all the injustices he had encountered over the years, Chang Jin became more and more angry, and a mouthful of blood spurted out, staining the banquet red, and fainting.

Breguet said, "I'm just telling the truth, I'm afraid you have some misunderstanding about green, right?