Chapter 416 The Great Zhou Kingdom Was Bound Together

Zhao Xingyu stood in front of the Wei Yang Palace in Pu Tian Palace.

An old man dressed in a big red python robe beside him led dozens of powerful figures in the Great Zhou court to kneel here.

It was early February and the sky was drizzling.

This group of people had apparently knelt here for a long time, and even this drizzle had soaked their clothes and hair. As if to show some determination, none of them opened this True Essence Barrier to block the rainwater.

Zhao Xingyu looked up helplessly at the sunset sky. He lowered his head and said to the old man in the lead, "Mr. Lu, it's getting late. His Majesty should rest now. How about…"

However, before he could finish his kind words of persuasion, he was interrupted by the old man's forceful voice.

"This is a matter of life and death. Commander Zhao, you don't have to persuade me. If His Majesty doesn't see me today, I will kneel in front of the Central Palace and tell the heroes of our ancestors!"

Hearing this, Zhao Xingyu was slightly stunned. In the end, he put away his intention to continue to persuade.

He stood on the spot and pondered for a while before instructing his guards to watch over this group of people. After all, there were some old antiques among them. If anything good was to be done in this rain, it would not be good for the reputation of the Great Zhou Imperial Court or His Majesty. Not far away, a group of imperial physicians had been waiting for orders.

After explaining everything, he straightened his clothes and walked into the tightly shut palace door behind him.

…

As he stepped into the hall, the candlelight in the hall leisurely illuminated the entire hall.

On the high platform of the hall, a yellow-robed woman was reading the memorial in her hand. On both sides of her desk, there was a thick stack of memorials about half a person tall. Zhao Xingyu knew very well that the stack on the left had not been corrected, while the stack on the right had already been annotated.

Although the woman's picture was not very beautiful, it had an indescribable smell that made Zhao Xingyu's heart race.

At this moment, the woman occasionally frowned and displayed her face, as if she was worried about the thick stacks of memorials in front of her, but every single smile and frown affected Zhao Xingyu's mind.

"What is it?" Suddenly, the woman's voice rang out in the hall.

Zhao Xingyu was stunned and regained his senses.

He quickly knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, Mr. Lu and the others have been kneeling outside the hall for two hours."

"Oh." The woman did not raise her head, and her attention was still focused on the memorial in front of her.

Zhao Xingyu hesitated slightly, but he couldn't help but say, "Mr. Lu, Prime Minister Zhang and the others are already old …"

"They like to kneel. Then let them kneel. Anyway, they don't lack this kung fu." The woman's voice was incomparably calm, as if she wasn't moved at all by Zhao Xingyu's words.

And it was indeed as he said, this was not the first time that Mr. Lu and the others had done such a thing.

Zhu Xian, who had reactivated the Longevity Division from the very beginning, to reduce the salaries allocated to the Jizhou Mu Clan Army, Now that the Linglong Pavilion was established as an Orthodox Church, there were too many interests and entanglements involved in a series of things. It was difficult to finish a single word. Game between monarchs and ministers also happened from time to time. Kneeling and inviting like forcing palaces were even more frequent. Although there were different concessions, the entire court knew that the Sacred Heart was no longer Tiance Prefecture.

Take the establishment of the Orthodox Church for example.

The Tian Ce Mansion was not an organization set up by the Imperial Court. Secondly, although every time the Manor Master was replaced, the new Manor Master was chosen by the current Manor Master. In a sense, the Imperial Court's mandate was far more symbolic than practical.

In the end, the Tian Ce Mansion was a matter between the Jianghu Sect and the Imperial Court Manor.

In other words, the Tian Ce Mansion could be considered the Orthodox Church of the Great Zhou Dynasty. However, such a status was not announced to the public like the Dragon Hidden Temple was to Great Xia, but was more like a tacit consensus.

As for the establishment of the Linglong Pavilion as an Orthodox Church, the meaning behind it was obvious, but it could only be used to suppress the overwhelming power of the Heavenly Policy Prefecture.

No emperor would like such a colossus to exist in the territory he controlled. Zhao Xingyu naturally understood the thoughts of this unprecedented Great Empress.

However, he still couldn't help but say, "Your Majesty, Great Xia is still on horseback, and the spies ahead have brought information. It is very likely that the officials of Zhu Jiang will lead the army to suppress them in the autumn. The Mu Clan's army is deeply rooted in Jizhou to resist the strong enemies. Your Majesty may still need to rely on them."

These words were naturally tactful enough, but the meaning behind them could not be clearer. Without the support of the Mu Clan Army, Great Zhou would not be able to defend the Sword Dragon Pass.

Seemingly noticing that Zhao Xingyu was speaking more than usual, the Great Empress raised her head and looked at the young commander of the Imperial Army. She smiled and said, "There are some people in this world who are very strange."

"They care more about reputation than everything…"

"For example, that Beijiang King, even if my brother slaughtered his entire family, didn't he still clear all obstacles for my Great Zhou?"

"In this Great Zhou Empire, anyone can cause trouble. Only his Mu Clan will never do such a thing."

When the woman said this, her tone was extremely calm. However, there was an unquestionable certainty in her calm tone.

Zhao Xingyu had heard about the battle at the border, and his heart was filled with yearning for the Mu Clan Army. This iron-blooded army that had faced Great Xia for hundreds of years at the Sword Dragon Pass was probably even more powerful than the 100,000 halberd soldiers under his uncle Zhao Wang and Zhao Chu.

He couldn't help but ask, "Since His Majesty trusts the Mu Clan Army so much, why should he…"

At this point, Zhao Xingyu paused. He felt that it was a little inappropriate to ask such a question. After all, questioning an emperor was not something that ministers treated as. Therefore, he received the accusation and fell silent.

However, she had already spoken to such an extent, so how could the woman not recognize her words?

The usually gentle Great Empress's eyebrows sank, and a sinister expression appeared on her forehead, "Because… he was involved in something that he shouldn't be involved in…"

"Someone who has schemed against someone who shouldn't have schemed against…"

…

Zhao Xingyu's mind was heavy as he arrived at the entrance of a mansion called the Linglong Mansion.

As his name suggested, the immortal from the Exquisite Pavilion and his disciples resided in the manor.

There was a secret decree hidden in his embrace. Yuwen Nanjing did not tell him what the content of the decree was, but he could roughly guess one or two of them. Yuwen Nanjing seemed to have made up his mind to eradicate the Tian Ce Prefecture. As the most important ally of the Tian Ce Prefecture, the Jizhou Mu Clan Army, which had a deep enmity with Zhu Xian, was clearly regarded as a thorn in Yuwen Nanjing's side.

The contents of this decree can be seen from this.

Zhao Xingyu could not judge whether this was right or wrong, but he felt very uncomfortable.

It was as if his chest was being weighed down by a thousand jin of weight.

He admired Yuwen Nan Jing, and from the first day he saw that woman, he had already confirmed his intentions.

If Yuwen Nanjing's actions were only to consolidate his royal power, even though it was difficult for Zhao Xingyu to accept, he could still live in peace. After all, he had grown up in the margins of the Nether Continent, and he did not feel much about the disputes over royal power in the Central Plains.

However, he was very clear that the fundamental reason why Yuwen Nanjing did this was because…

Because of that man named Xu Han.

The dead Tian Ce Mansion 's Manor Master!

Zhao Xingyu had heard some gossip about what had happened in the Chang'an Rebellion. It seemed that this was also the reason why Yuwen Nanjing blamed Xu Han's death on a group of people represented by Tiance Prefecture.

In order for Xu Han and Yuwen Nanjing to reach this level, it wasn't hard for Zhao Xingyu to guess exactly what sort of status Xu Han held in Yuwen Nanjing's heart.

Thinking of this, not only did he become even more irritated.

However, he was unable to go against Yuwen Nanjing's intentions. At that time, he gritted his teeth and walked into the manor in front of him.

…

Rumor has it that the Linglong Pavilion is a place to heal the wounded and save the dead.

His medical skills were enough to surpass the rest of the world. Zhao Xingyu's senses towards the Linglong Pavilion had always been pretty good, but when he followed this disciple-like servant into the manor, he couldn't help but feel a little surprised.

Whether it was the decoration of the manor or the disciples of the Exquisite Pavilion that he had seen along the way, all of them were incompatible with the Exquisite Pavilion that Zhao Xingyu remembered. Their faces were silent, and their bodies were filled with an indescribable cold aura. Even the entire manor seemed to be enveloped in this thin brown aura, causing Zhao Xingyu to feel extremely uncomfortable.

"We're here." As he thought about this, the disciple leading the way in front of Zhao Xingyu suddenly stopped. His voice rang out at that time, just like the strange aura in the manor. It was cold and low, like a mountain ghost whispering in the forest, causing his hair to stand on end.

Zhao Xingyu was shocked and came to his senses. He looked up and saw that he had already arrived at a door at some unknown time.

"Master, wait here for your Excellency." The disciple's cold voice sounded again.

Zhao Xingyu glanced at the disciple. He saw that the other party had his head lowered and his face was pale. He did not look like a stranger. He did not want to stay for long. He hurriedly nodded to the person to thank him. Only then did he push open the door and walk into the room.

However, the scenery in this room was much better than that in the manor.

Inside the door, there was clearly a candle burning, but it was deep and quiet. Zhao Xingyu could only vaguely see the old man sitting on the high platform with white hair scattered. His eyes were glowing with a faint red light, like a wolf in the forest staring at his prey.

Under the gaze of that gaze, Zhao Xingyu secretly felt that his qi and blood were not flowing smoothly, and his expression was slightly unsightly.

"Commander of the Great Zhou Imperial Army, Zhao Xingyu, greets an immortal!" He hurriedly bowed to the old man. He was afraid that his courtesy would offend this immortal.

"Oh." The old man on the high platform replied in such a manner. He didn't know if he hadn't figured out Zhao Xingyu's origin, or if he looked down on him from the bottom of his heart. This behavior caused Zhao Xingyu's expression to change slightly, but he didn't know how to continue this topic.

"Haha, Commander Zhao has worked hard all this way. I wonder what brought him here?"

But at this moment, However, another voice suddenly sounded in his ears. Zhao Xingyu was stunned. He turned his head around and said, He saw a figure wearing a purple robe standing not far from him. Perhaps it was because the sky in this room was too dark, or perhaps the impact of this immortal was too strong. Zhao Xingyu did not notice the existence of the other party at the first possible moment. Although he could not see the other party's appearance clearly, Zhao Xingyu, who had already done his homework, quickly guessed the identity of the other party.

"This is Immortal Sikong's disciple, Hall Master Song." He hurriedly cupped his hands towards that person and said, "In the name of His Majesty, I have come to deliver a secret decree to Immortal Sikong."

"Put it there." However, before he could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by the old man on the platform.

Hearing this, Zhao Xingyu, who was already deeply imprisoned in his embrace, was stunned. A wisp of anger couldn't help but float into his heart.

He was a little dissatisfied, In a sense, he could be considered to be half a spokesperson for Yuwen Nanjing. Sikong Bai's attitude was so arrogant. This was something that Zhao Xingyu had never encountered since he took over as the commander of the Imperial Army. He frowned, but did not dare to contradict this immortal. He could only hand over the secret decree to Hall Master Song, who then resigned.

…

With a hint of anger, Zhao Xingyu rushed out of the gate of the Linglong Mansion angrily. Just as he was about to yell at Si Bankang for being arrogant and arrogant, a familiar voice suddenly came from behind him.

"Commander Zhao!"

Zhao Xingyu subconsciously turned his head to look, only to see that the person who came was Hall Master Song.

He was slightly stunned and asked, "Hall Master Song, who is this?"

"Haha, Commander Zhao has worked hard. I want to send Commander Zhao off." Song Yueming said with a smile.

This was probably the first smiling face Zhao Xingyu saw in the Linglong Mansion. He didn't have any bad feelings towards Song Yueming, but he couldn't figure out the other party's intentions. However, he still didn't refuse. At that time, he nodded and said, "Since the Hall Master was so kind, then please."

The two of them walked side by side in the quiet streets of Chang'an at that time.

"But Qing …" Suddenly, Song Yueming opened his mouth and asked. However, he felt that it was inappropriate to say something. He quickly changed his words and said, "I mean, how is His Majesty recently?"

Zhao Xingyu was probably familiar with Yuwen Nanjing's previous experiences. From Song Yuanming's words, he seemed to have been quite close to Yuwen Nanjing before. He didn't have any intention of pursuing him. He simply nodded and replied, "Your Majesty, that's a divine body. Naturally, there won't be any injuries. It's just that it's busy at noon and Great Xia isn't safe, so he's always worried."

At this point, Zhao Xingyu frowned slightly, as if he was also worried about this matter.

At the side, Song Yueming looked at Zhao Xingyu and suddenly laughed, "Looks like Commander Zhao is worried about His Majesty."

Zhao Xingyu's heart tightened for some reason. He hurriedly said, "Your Majesty has countless opportunities every day. Your servants should naturally share the worries for Your Majesty. This is their duty as well as their duty." He didn't know if it was because Song Yueming was stabbed into his mind or because the smile in his eyes was too meaningful.

However, as soon as he said this, he felt like he wanted to cover it up, and his face immediately turned red.

"I understand." Song Yueming nodded repeatedly, but did not pursue the matter. Instead, he changed the topic and said in a low tone, "Commander Zhao should know about His Majesty's intention to establish the Exquisite Pavilion as an Orthodox Church, right?"

"Huh?" Hearing this, Zhao Xingyu was stunned again. Naturally, he knew about this matter. However, Song Yueming suddenly mentioned this matter. Could it be that he wanted to bribe him to add fuel to the fire? After all, once he was established as an Orthodox Church, the Linglong Pavilion's status would naturally rise. As the only disciple of Immortal Sikong Bai, the biggest beneficiary would naturally be Song Yueming. Thinking of this, Zhao Xingyu's expression darkened as he was about to refuse.

"Then how did Emperor Taiyuan die and how did His Majesty inherit the great lineage? Commander Zhao should also know, right?" But at that time, Song Yueming's voice sounded again.

Zhao Xingyu frowned slightly, not sure what Song Yueming was thinking. He said in a deep voice, "It is said that Immortal Sikong held the Heavenly Punishment Sword in his hand for the sake of the world. Apart from this unconscious monarch, only then did the peaceful and prosperous era come under His Majesty's control."

"Does Commander Zhao know what this Heavenly Punishment Sword is?" Song Yueming asked again.

"The ancient vicious sword was originally a guardian of the Sword Mausoleum, but it was stolen by the Vast Ocean Stream. Rumor has it that this sword is extremely vicious and evil. If you hold this sword, you can kill your father, and I can kill you …" The last word of Monarch swirled in Zhao Xingyu's mouth, but he could not spit out. His face was filled with shock. At that time, he turned to look at the purple-robed youth beside him, not knowing how to continue.

At that time, Song Yueming's eyes narrowed, and a cold light flashed in his eyes. "Then, does the Commander know where the sword is now?"

"Naturally, it's in Immortal Sikong's hands …" Zhao Xingyu seemed to have gained some enlightenment.

"What kind of status does the Orthodoxy have? It can satisfy the appetite of ordinary people, but it may not satisfy the appetite of an immortal." Song Yueming said calmly.

Zhao Xingyu's expression instantly became complicated. He understood how big a threat this matter posed to the imperial power, but he didn't understand why Song Yueming, as the successor of Lord Linglong's sect, would do such a thing.

"Commander, don't think too much." He seemed to have seen through the other party's doubts. Song Yueming smiled and patted Zhao Xingyu's shoulder. "Your Majesty and I are brothers and sisters who have experienced life and death. My concern for Your Majesty is by no means lighter than that of the Commander. However, one side is a grateful sect and the other side is my respected Your Majesty. I cannot bear to see the sword and sword facing each other. That is why I found the Commander and discussed a two-pronged plan with him."

"Huh?" At this time, Zhao Xingyu had probably completely put down his guard against Song Yueming. He took a step forward and looked straight at the youth in front of him, waiting for his words.

However, Song Yueming did not say anything else. Instead, she smiled and took out something from her bosom and handed it to Zhao Xingyu.

Zhao Xingyu took a closer look and saw that it seemed to be a waxed letter. He was puzzled and was about to ask a question.

He retreated and straightened his clothes with a serious expression. Then, he bowed towards Zhao Xingyu from afar and said.

"This letter contains an omnipotent technique. I hope that the commander will hand it over to His Majesty."

"State of Great Zhou, His Majesty's safety is tied to the commander. I hope that the commander will not let His Majesty down."

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