books44 Chapter 291: Hongmen Banquet
Chapter 291: Hongmen Banquet
Xia Bitu pulled an invitation from his sleeve and handed it to Qin Zheng, saying in a panic, "It's from Liang Heng. Half a month from now, it will be his sixtieth birthday. He invites you and me, from the Western Border Camp, to attend the banquet!"
Qin Zheng frowned, it was indeed unexpected: "Hongmen Banquet?"
Xia Bitu nodded. "Is there any doubt about that? If we go, we won't be able to come back, and he can avenge the Qi family. If we don't go, not only will we show weakness, making the world laugh at us, but it will also boost his prestige and erase the impact of the Qi family's disappearance. Moreover, it will also weaken the Empress's reputation and bring shame to the court. After all, we are both imperial envoys, representing the Empress and the court. The reputation of the court and the Empress cannot be destroyed in our hands. If so, when I return to the imperial capital, who knows how I will be dealt with."
Qin Zheng looked at Xia Bitu and asked, "Are you sure we can return to the imperial capital safely if we don't go to the banquet?"
Xia Bitu: “…”
"What the hell are we going to do? If we don't go, will Liang Heng let us go?"
Qin Zheng nodded: "Since going forward is also a sword, and going back is also a sword, why don't we go?"
Xia Bitu looked at Qin Zheng like he was a fool: "What the hell? You want to go to the banquet?"
Qin Zheng said calmly: "Go!"
Xia Bitu was horrified: "Go? Aren't you afraid of death?"
Qin Zheng smiled: "Have you ever been to the Western Border Military Camp and seen the Western Border?"
Xia Bitu nodded, then shook his head: "I have been to the Western Border, but since Liang Heng took control of the Western Border Army, I haven't been to the Western Border military camp."
Qin Zheng said, "Knowing yourself and your enemy will ensure victory in a hundred battles. You don't even know the situation of the Western Border Army, so how can you defeat them?"
Xia Bitu was almost crying with anxiety: "Little Ancestor, what time is it now? If you want to spy on the Western Border military camp, you should choose another time, right? Going there will be like a sheep walking into a tiger's mouth, like throwing meat buns at a dog. There will be no return!"
Qin Zheng patted Xia Bitu's shoulder and said nonchalantly, "I have no regrets in dying with my uncle!"
Xia Bitu looked at Qin Zheng in astonishment: "Have you decided?"
Qin Zheng nodded: "I must go!"
Xia Bitu tried to calm down and stared at Qin Zheng: "Do you have a good idea?"
Qin Zheng shook his head: "There is no good plan, but two lives are at stake."
Xia Bitu's expression changed drastically: "You're not going... just the two of us, right?"
Qin Zheng squinted at Xia Bitu and said, "Will it be any use bringing more people? Do you have the strength to fight against a million-strong army?"
Xia Bitu shook his head: "No!"
Suddenly, he looked at Qin Zheng eagerly: "But, you have it! As long as the Five Elements Sect takes action, a million Western Border troops will be nothing."
Qin Zheng shook his head: "If it doesn't involve the safety of the Daqian Kingdom, the Five Elements Sect will not take action!"
Xia Bitu was anxious: "Then go ahead. I won't go even if you kill me."
Suddenly he chuckled, "You little monkey, Liang Heng's target is you, not me. Just go by yourself. Just say that the food crisis in Guanxi is imminent and we have to leave an imperial envoy to deal with it! I'll stay, and you go and die!"
Qin Zheng: “…”
He said angrily: "Do you look like an uncle?"
The old fox Xia Bitu's face remained calm, and he said, "As long as you don't let me go, I'll call you uncle now."
groove!
Qin Zheng was defeated by the old fox's shamelessness.
Suddenly he asked, "Uncle, I'm confused. You said we've been away from the capital for so long, why hasn't Xia Jinzhong been assassinated by righteous men?"
Xia Bitu's expression changed drastically. He stared at Qin Zheng's eyes nervously and asked, "What do you mean?"
Qin Zheng patted Xia Bitu's shoulder again and said, "I guess it's not that the righteous people don't want to help, but they saw Xia Jinzhong's adoptive father solving the food crisis for the people in Guanxi, so they didn't feel comfortable doing it. Think about it, if they took action now, wouldn't it mess up your mind and make it difficult for you to do your job well? Moreover, because you can't do your job well, the people in Guanxi will hate those righteous people to death!"
Xia Bitu's face turned pale, then red, and then blue.
Gazing at Qin Zheng, he asked, "If, for the sake of the people of Guanxi, I were to go deep into the tiger's den, regardless of life or death, those righteous men of the people, and even the Empress, would never attack Jinzhong again, because he is my only adopted son!"
Qin Zheng nodded: "Old fox, what do you think, do I want to die? Will I go and die?"
Bang!
Xia Bitu slapped the desk with his hand. At this moment, he was full of vigor and courage. "In order to fulfill my loyalty, I will accompany you. Even if it is a dangerous place, what does it matter?"
Qin Zheng was very satisfied: "I will only take Xiaoyou, and you take Uncle Nan. The four of us are enough!"
Xia Bitu's domineering aura suddenly disappeared, and he said with a mournful look on his face, "Monkey boy, are you really sure that Liang Heng won't kill us?"
Qin Zheng shook his head: "I'm not familiar with him, so I'm not sure."
Xia Bitu immediately lost his temper. "If I had known, I would have brought my rosewood coffin with me!"
Qin Zheng: “…”
He comforted her, "Don't worry, uncle! If Liang Heng dares to attack, I will destroy him!"
Qin Zheng was exuding domineering aura at this moment.
It gave Xia Bitu endless confidence.
He felt that Qin Zheng must have a backup plan and a trump card!
So what are you afraid of?
"When do we set off?" asked Xia Bitu.
Qin Zheng: "Put your people in charge of Qinghe. When we return from the border, the food crisis in Guanxi will be resolved."
Xia Bitu frowned. "To resolve the food crisis in Guanxi so quickly, we have to give the order personally from the Western Territory King Liang Heng. Or, if he dies..."
Suddenly, he looked at Qin Zheng in horror: "You want to kill Liang Heng in the Western Border Camp? You want to die together with him?"
Although he believed that Qin Zheng was no weak scholar and might be an invisible master capable of killing Liang Heng, if he killed Liang Heng in the Western Frontier military camp, without Qin Zheng's Five Elements Sect, they would both die.
Even with a million soldiers and horse hooves, they can crush the two of them to death. Even with Wu Xiaoyou and Uncle Nan, it would be useless.
Qin Zheng's eyes were deep and his tone was calm: "Old fox, tell me, when we go there, will Liang Heng come to greet us and show us hospitality?"
"Ah?" Xia Bitu reached out and touched Qin Zheng's forehead: "Monkey boy, you have a fever, a high fever of 97 degrees!"
Qin Zheng: “…”
I'm boiling water!
Seven days later, the heavy rain in the imperial capital continued, but it turned from heavy rain to continuous drizzle.
Guo Pingxi gave the order and set off back to the countryside.
Guo Pingxi took with him only a carriage, his family, guards, servants, gold and silver.
This shows that he was not running away, but was going back to the countryside for a walk.
Before leaving, he asked the empress for instructions.
He left only after the Empress approved it.
Therefore, at this moment, Guo Pingxi was not worried at all that the empress would rob and kill him.
However, along the way, bandits were rampant, so he had to be on guard. However, he had also hired many martial arts masters with generous salaries over the years. Moreover, he was not dismissed from office, and the government soldiers were still there.
He is not worried about safety issues during this trip.
At the city gate, Guo Pingxi met Zhu Fengchi who was also about to leave.
Zhu Fengchi has quite a few carriages, so he must be relieved. He has been dismissed and will never be able to return to the imperial capital in this lifetime.
When the two met, they both felt a sense of vicissitudes of life.
Without saying anything, they said take care to each other and then parted ways!
But, seven days later...