kingnovel Chapter 331 Confusing the real with the fake
Chapter 331 Confusing the real with the fake
Chapter 331: The Fake
Su Yanzhi knelt down slowly, and the Emperor Jingde frowned, unable to speak for a long time. It was only when the eunuch Shun gently reminded him that he reacted and said:
"Are you Su Yanzhi?"
"That's exactly what Caomin is."
Emperor Jingde said:
"I heard you can call the wind and rain? During the Battle of Wei River, you performed a ritual by the river, and the wind direction changed?"
Su Yanzhi crouched down even lower when he heard this.
"Your Majesty, I will not deceive you, nor will I manipulate the wind and rain."
"Won't??"
King Kang took a step forward and said coldly:
"The Northern Expedition Army has spread rumors of your prowess. So many people have witnessed it with their own eyes. How dare you say you can't do it?"
"Your Highness, I, a commoner, cannot call the wind and rain."
Su Yanzhi turned to King Kang,
"I simply suffer from rheumatism. Every time the east wind blows and the rainy season arrives, my knees ache. This has happened time and again over the years. I've already told His Royal Highness Prince Su the truth, but the army is full of gossip and misinformation, so they've spread the rumor that I can control the wind and rain."
After he finished speaking, he kowtowed to Emperor Jingde and said in a deep voice:
"I heard from His Royal Highness Prince Su that the Emperor listened to those unwise rumors and spread them all over me. I know I have made a grave mistake, and I dare not lie to the Emperor again when I meet him today."
It's rheumatism?
Emperor Jingde felt a little lost.
"What about the white-clothed crossing of the river?"
In that battle, Su Yanzhi led a special force to cross the Wei River and penetrate the enemy's rear wing. Together with Prince Su, they attacked the enemy from the front and back, forcing them to flee in panic.
This can't be fake!
Su Yanzhi smiled and said proudly, "That's true. I did follow the orders of His Royal Highness Prince Su and went to supervise the battle. However, a wave hit me and I lost my balance and fell into the Wei River, nearly drowning. By the time I finally reached the other side, the special forces had already attacked the enemy camp. I was just in time to catch up and took advantage of the situation."
As he spoke, he seemed to recall the danger of that day, and a look of panic appeared on his face.
"Your Majesty, you haven't seen the sharp bends and dangerous rapids. Just standing by the river and listening to the roaring sound of the water makes me dizzy and uncomfortable!"
Seeing his timid appearance, Emperor Jingde frowned and felt very displeased.
"Then what about those cannons and muskets? Didn't you help build them?"
King Kang pressed the matter anxiously.
Su Yanzhi gave an awkward laugh.
"Your Highness, I did want to create these cannons and muskets, but they weren't my idea. I just stumbled upon them one day in a cave by the Wei River. I don't even understand what they are, but Your Highness Prince Su has seen similar muskets before and suspects that these are an updated version of them."
"Your Majesty, I'm not bragging. I'm truly blessed with good fortune. From childhood to adulthood, I've always had some inexplicable luck. Your Majesty, I'd like to dedicate all this good fortune, along with the blueprints for the cannons and muskets, to Your Majesty and to Daqi. May our Emperor live long, long, long, long!"
Faced with Su Yanzhi's surrender, Emperor Jingde's heart sank to the bottom.
King Kang was even more furious.
How can it be?
How can it be?
Su Yanzhi, who was rumored to be so legendary, was actually a charlatan? How could it be possible?
Prince Su stepped forward and said:
"Your Majesty, I've long said that Mr. Su is merely an ordinary staff member under my command. I know his true capabilities perfectly well. However, morale was low during the Northern Expedition, and I thought having this so-called expert among the troops would boost morale, so I ignored the message. I never imagined the rumor would spread so wildly and even reach your ears."
"These misunderstandings are my fault. Please punish me, Father."
After a long while, Emperor Jingde finally chuckled.
"Alright, it was all a misunderstanding. I was saying, how could there be another talent like Pei Heng? I'm always eager to recruit talented people, and I always hope that my Daqi will produce more talents."
King Su's way:
"Father, during this Northern Expedition, our men of Daqi fought bravely, and indeed, many talented leaders have emerged. For example, Captain Song Ci of the Zhenbei Marquisate. Although a woman, she is well-versed in military tactics and fights with extraordinary bravery, earning the admiration of all the soldiers. For example, Lin Wanfu, the fourth son of the Lin family, and Su Zhe of the Yong'an Marquisate are all rising stars."
Pei Heng bowed and congratulated him, "Your Majesty, I am deeply pleased to see that Daqi is so full of talented people. Now that the army has successors, I can rest assured and enjoy my family at home. Now that Your Majesty has obtained powerful weapons such as cannons and muskets, Daqi will be as solid as a rock and will last for thousands of years!"
Emperor Jingde laughed, waved his hand, and said:
"well said!"
"Father! We can't just let this matter go!" Prince Kang chased after Emperor Jingde, but was interrupted by Emperor Jingde.
"Alright, I'm tired, everyone please leave. Pei Heng, it's a rare opportunity to visit the palace today. Come, follow me to Concubine Jiang's place for lunch."
Then he turned to Shun Dajian and said:
"Xiao Shunzi, you personally escort Mr. Su back to the camp."
"Yes!"
Emperor Jingde left with Pei Heng, Prince Su, and Concubine Lu. He then walked over to Su Yanzhi and said, "Shun Dajian, please come to me."
"Mr. Su, the emperor not only doesn't blame you, but he also thinks highly of you. You are indeed blessed. Let's go, I will personally escort you back to the camp."
Su Yanzhi bowed hurriedly.
"Then it's my father-in-law."
After leaving the palace and getting on the carriage, Shun Dajian casually started talking about Su Yanzhi's family affairs. Su Yanzhi responded fluently without any flaws.
When Su Yanzhi arrived at the military camp and got off the carriage, the soldiers greeted him in astonishment:
"Huh? Mr. Su, didn't you stay in the Northern Territory? When did you come back?"
"Just arrived, just arrived."
Along the way, from the camp gate to the parade ground, and then to the tent gate, all the soldiers he met greeted him enthusiastically, and Su Yanzhi waved to them one by one.
Standing at the door of the tent, Su Yanzhi bowed and asked the eunuch:
"Your Excellency, you've had a long journey. Why don't you come into the tent and have a cup of tea and rest?"
Shun Dajian smiled,
"No, the emperor cannot leave us alone. Mr. Su, I'll say goodbye now."
Having said that, he turned and left.
Inside the tent, Su Yanzhi's smiling face instantly fell. His back was already wet and sticky with cold liquid.
With a "rustle", Lin Wanfu opened the curtain and walked in.
"How can you walk without making any sound? It's so scary!"
When "Su Yanzhi" saw Lin Wanfu coming in, he patted his chest, which was beating fast with fear.
Lin Wanfu looked at him in a circle, amazed:
"Don't tell me, after putting on Mr.'s clothes and holding his fan, I really look like him. Xiao Huang, where did the lady find such a wonderful person like you?"
The "Su Yanzhi" in front of him was Huang Yiwen.
Huang Yiben originally had the temperament of a graceful scholar, which was very similar to Su Yanzhi's temperament. In addition, when he put on Su Yanzhi's clothes, he looked even more like him.
The Northern Expedition Army was composed of rough and tumble guys, and from afar, no one else dressed like this could be seen except Su Yanzhi, not to mention that Huang Yiwen did look a lot like Su Yanzhi.
"The Emperor is truly insidious. On the surface, he sent his trusted aides to escort me back, but he was actually trying to insinuate things along the way. He even investigated my entire family. Once we entered the camp, he kept an eye on everything, watching the soldiers' words and actions."
Huang Yiwen guzzled a pot of water.
He was risking his life to perform this act today, it was so scary.
"Brother Huang, oh, no, from now on you are Mr. Su. Mr. Su, awesome!"
Lin Wanfu gave him a thumbs up.