After rebirth, I made the princes cry

On that day, when the Third Prince and Nan Ci entered the Donghua Gate and headed for the Baoguang Palace, although they were not questioned or stopped, they were glared at by the Northern Han palace guards.

None of them were believers of Kunlun God, but their mood became extremely heavy as the Spirit Tower burned down.

Yang Neichen, who was also not a believer, had no choice but to cry like many other palace maids with red eyes. He just saluted the two princes' envoys listlessly with his mouth drooping. He "escorted" the two to the gate of the small courtyard and stopped.

The maidservants stood guard at the door as if they were facing a great enemy.

In the pavilion, Dianjun and Yingshu were playing chess. When Dianjun saw the two princes, she simply gave up and admitted defeat. She was obviously absent-minded.

"Ashu and I don't believe that the Spirit Tower was self-immolated."

This statement was also recognized by the Third Prince and Nanci. In fact, it was common for buildings to burn without fire. For example, the Mingtang in Taicheng once caught fire on a rainy day, causing panic among the people. However, Shirakawa-kun immediately came out to calm people down - this was not a disaster warning, but a fire accident caused by a lightning strike on the Mingtang.

However, the timing of the fire in the Northern Han Dynasty's Tongling Pagoda was too coincidental, and the sky was clear today without any thunderstorms.

Seeing Yingshu picking up the chess pieces one by one, Nanci naturally reached out to help. The Third Prince frowned and sat upright for a while before asking, "Is Deputy Envoy Zuo not worried at all?"

Ying Shu raised her eyelids and said, "When rumors began to spread among the people of Chang'an that the Palace Lord was not the Palace Lord, I expected that a disaster would happen sooner or later, and that this disaster would definitely occur during a special ceremony. Sure enough, the Northern Han Dynasty's witch minister predicted an auspicious day for the annual prayer ceremony, and sure enough, on the third day of the annual prayer ceremony, this accident happened."

"Of course this is a conspiracy planned by the Northern Han!" The Third Prince clenched his fist and pounded it on the chess table. "They want to prove that Dayu violated the peace agreement first, and intend to use this as an excuse to detain the Prince in Chang'an!"

"What's the point of Jiang Tai leaving behind a 'fake' palace master?" Ying Shu lowered her eyes again, as if she was concentrating on picking up chess pieces. "He just succeeded to the throne, and he dared to burn the beliefs of the Qiang people. Isn't he afraid that his subjects will question his kingship and offend Kunlun God? Therefore, he must have won over Wu Chen of the Northern Han Dynasty, so that he can use Wu Chen's mouth to control public opinion.

The old state witch who has passed away had always been loyal to the Grand Master. Now this Wu Chen is the eldest disciple of the old state witch and can be said to have legally inherited the divine power. Logically, Wu Chen would definitely be valued by the Grand Master, but he was so easily won over by Jiang Tai that he actually did something that violated his faith. This is even more puzzling to me than Jiang Tai's tricks."

The Third Prince was also puzzled: "Didn't the murder case that Deputy Envoy Zuo solved reveal a wizard who was bribed by his accomplices? Why should we be surprised that there are such shameless people in the world who use the promise of God to deceive people?"

"Even among the wizards of Dayu, there are true believers who believe in the gods and ghosts of heaven and earth." Ying Shu had already put all the white pieces into the chess jar, and finally seemed to be concentrating on her business: "We don't need to discuss whether there are ghosts and gods in the world, and whether ghosts and gods can influence good and bad fortune, but there is no doubt that for true believers, they will never betray their faith.

The Wu tribe of the Northern Han Dynasty represents all the people in the tribe and prays to the gods of Changshengtian and Kunlun for blessings. Therefore, they are believed by the monarch and establish divine authority, which has an unignorable restriction on the monarchy. If the current Wu officials would rather violate their beliefs, do you think Jiang Tai will still indulge the divine authority above the monarchy? "

The Third Prince raised his eyebrows and said, "Can't we use things to their full potential and then discard them like a shoe?"

"The deceased old national witch was still very capable. If the Grand Master had not had the assistance of the old national witch, he would not have had the courage to disobey the order of Northern Zhao, occupy Chang'an, and openly establish a country called Han. If the Qiang tribe had abandoned Chang'an, there would probably be only five countries instead of six barbarians to the north of the Yangtze River. I think that no matter whether the national witch tribe of the Qiang tribe believes that a country's society depends on the protection of gods, at least one thing can be confirmed. Although the existence of the national witch tribe can suppress the monarchy with divine power, at least the old national witch has no selfish desires. He is indeed loyal to the monarchy of Northern Han.

In the past, the Guowu tribe only intermarried with saint girls, and the so-called saint girl was actually the legitimate princess born from the marriage of the Khan of the Qiang tribe to the Yi'ao tribe. In addition to the Guowu tribe, the Yi'ao tribe also shared a certain amount of divine power. However, with the entry of the Qiang tribe into the pass, the old system must be broken and new nobles must be promoted to strengthen the monarchy. The old Guowu did not appoint his own heir as a senior disciple, so how could the heir he valued ignore the faith and only pursue his own desires? "

Faith may sound mysterious, but it is not.

Just like Dayu's only astrologer, Shirakawa-kun, although he did not believe in ghosts and gods, there were times when he used the protection of heaven and gods to calm people's hearts and boost military morale, but Shirakawa-kun's words and deeds never violated the heaven he claimed to worship. He would not, for personal gain, recommend treacherous people to gain the emperor's trust, and he would not agree with the emperor using disaster prediction to cause panic among his subjects and achieve some ulterior motives.

Offering sacrifices to the gods of heaven and earth and praying for blessings and protection is the simplest and most common concept among people all over the world, regardless of ethnicity.

If you believe in the Way of Heaven, then the Way of Heaven will restrain the emperor from doing evil things. In fact, it is people who have endowed the heaven, earth, ghosts and gods with an irresistible power to maintain good and evil, right and wrong.

Heaven and earth are the masters of the monarch, and the monarch is the master of his subjects. When it comes to subjects, there is a moral concept of not letting down Heaven, Earth, the monarch, parents, and teachers, just as no monarch would admit to patricide and regicide, which goes against the harmony of Heaven.

Therefore, the Taoist belief in following the laws of nature and the belief that heaven and earth are unkind would not be adopted as the guiding principles by the ruling class. Even the Han Empire, which once made the word "Han" the name of the Chinese nation, once used the Huang-Lao philosophy of inaction as its governing principle and led the dynasty into its heyday, but in fact it did not deny that "kings are granted by God". Inaction was only reflected in the reduction of penalties, but it did not emphasize the idea that "Heaven and earth are unkind and treat all things as straw dogs, just as sages are unkind and treat the people as straw dogs."

What cannot be eliminated in this world are still the distinctions between high and low, good and evil, and right and wrong.

But respect and inferiority, good and evil, right and wrong actually reflect human thoughts, not the laws of nature.

"Theocracy is actually the rule of a certain group of people over the majority. It is a divinity bestowed by humans, which defines good and evil and the rules of punishment. It is understandable that the Third Prince disagrees with the way of heaven, because in fact, the Prince is the ruling class and understands the so-called cause and effect of good and evil." Ying Shu said: "But doesn't the Prince have faith? The Prince will not kill innocent people for the sake of fulfilling his own desires. If it were the Prince, would he rely on disasters to make the people who obey the royal family panic in order to make his betrayal seem natural?"

The third prince only felt that he had gained new knowledge.

"Back to the incident itself, Jiang Tai would not let it be proven that the Palace Master was an imposter. His purpose was to delay time so that the Palace Master would voluntarily agree to stay in Northern Han in order to prove his identity."

"But the Lord has the Zhigui, which is enough to prove his identity." The Third Prince just spoke and frowned again: "But the Zhigui is just a jade pendant after all. If the Zhigui is real, the Northern Han court can still question the Lord's identity."

"No." Ying Shu raised her eyebrows slightly: "The reason why Zhigui became the token of the legitimate princess of Emperor Shenzong is because of the legend that Zhigui can choose a master by luck. Sometimes the world is so mysterious. The princesses of Emperor Shenzong who have Zhigui are all people with luck. Therefore, after the prince returns to the country, he can show Zhigui to silence the Northern Zhao court that claims to have the support of Queen Xuan.

The Zhigui must have been carried by the Lord, otherwise even we cannot prove that the Lord is the Lord. Therefore, Jiang Tai's trick must have made the whole incident confusing. To be precise, he wanted the Lord to stay in Northern Han voluntarily, and Dayu had no choice but to compromise. On the other hand, he would make the Northern Zhao believe that it was him who tricked the world. There is always a question. If the true whereabouts of the Lord of the Divine Yuan Palace is a mystery, it is as if the Lord no longer exists in the world. "

"The prince will be in danger and can no longer stay in Weiyang Palace!" said the third prince.

Nan Cicai said, "If the prince was not in Weiyang Palace, the Northern Zhao would immediately assassinate him if the Northern Han envoy used such means. Jiang Tai did not hesitate to cause such a big accident in order to force the prince not to show up easily."

"Your Highness will not be in danger if he stays in Weiyang Palace." Ying Shu said, "After all, Northern Han needs you, but because they are afraid of Northern Zhao, they have to resort to such a tortuous trick. Jiang Tai's plan must be to defeat Northern Zhao first. Even if he cannot completely wipe out the two Xiongnu tribes of Northern Zhao and Northern Jin, Northern Han must replace Northern Zhao and become the overlord of the six tribes first. He also needs the support of Dayu. If you kill your Highness, Jiang Tai will have no need to negotiate peace and establish diplomatic relations with our court and lure you to go to Han first."

"Then, Madam Wei is really kind to remind us." The Palace Master said, "I can hand the Zhigui over to the two princes first to prevent any accidents from happening in Baoguang Palace and prevent the Zhigui from falling into Jiang Tai's hands."

"I don't agree." Ying Shu also said firmly: "Please, Your Majesty, the Third Prince must believe me. I will definitely stop Jiang Tai's scheme and force him to personally admit that Your Majesty is Your Majesty."

Only in this way would Northern Zhao launch an attack on Northern Han, and Dayu's plan to launch a surprise attack on Hanzhong would be possible to succeed. Only in this way would they be able to escape smoothly, returning to where they came from, in an orderly manner, without any casualties.

On this day, Yingshu also received a notification from Nanci—Xuanying succeeded.

There were no surprises.

In her previous life, no matter how difficult the task Yingshu gave to Xuanying, as long as Bai Meng cooperated with her, she could complete it successfully. She failed only once, and that was because she, as the decision maker, trusted Sikong Yuehu too much, which led to Tian Shishe's successful sneak attack. The decision maker's failure led to a complete loss. If she had to do it again, she would be more cautious.

This time, she was not forced to enter, but took the initiative to stand in the power field.

The Third Prince had a frown on his face when he came, and he was also worried when he left. Fortunately, although there were many eyes and ears in the post station, he would not be eavesdropped all the time when talking to his brothers. Although the Third Prince did not change his heavy expression when he stepped into the post station, and almost pulled Nan Ci directly into the small hall, the many clerks who were trying to please him all knew what the envoys were worried about recently, and did not follow them and bother them.

Only An Yu followed in.

An Yu is the eyebrowless slave who was rescued by the Third Prince in West Market a few days ago. The eyebrowless slaves in Northern Han did not have their own names. An Yu was the name given to her by the Prince of the Palace, which was a good omen for a peaceful life for the rest of her life.

But the Third Prince still has communication barriers with An Yu, and he has no intention of letting An Yu serve him. But the Third Prince does not treat people as slaves, and An Yu becomes uneasy, always worried that the peaceful days will not last long. Therefore, the Third Prince sometimes lets her pour tea, serve water, and clean up. At this time, the Third Prince raised his hand, ready to wave it to express his intention of "dismissing" the idlers, but when he met An Yu's always panicked eyes, he took his hand back.

An Yu can't understand Chinese, so it doesn't matter if she stays aside.

Nan Ci glanced at the maid standing behind the Third Prince with her hands hanging and her head lowered. He originally wanted to take off his outer crotch to make himself more relaxed and cool, but because of An Yu's presence, he held back for the time being.

It was normal to dress casually in front of servants, but An Yu was the maid of his third brother, not his own. He couldn't really say that he was very familiar with his third brother now, because for the past ten years, they had been strangers and had nothing in common.

"Are you really relieved, Fifth Brother?" asked the Third Prince.

As for what kind of people he was relieved about, Nanci knew it very well: "Of course I am relieved. What's the matter? Did Third Brother just say one thing and mean another?"

When they were in Baoguang Palace, his third brother nodded to show his trust under Yingshu's gaze.

"It's not that I don't trust Deputy Envoy Zuo's ability, but this is a matter of great importance."

"It's because it's a serious matter that I don't have so many concerns." Nanci smiled and said, "Let me tell you this, brother. When we were little, Wang Silang and I were naughty and played tricks on Wang Rong and Wang Ji. Every time, Yingshu would 'clean up' for us. None of the bad things we did were ever exposed."

The Third Prince looked at his Fifth Brother's innocent and clear eyes, and his eyebrows almost fell off in worry: "How can you compare such a small matter?"

"People who are resourceful and cautious in their childhood will never become unreliable when they grow up. I still remember that my second and third brothers would always play tricks on the crown prince, but they would be blamed by our father. As soon as they did something bad, the news would be immediately reported to Qianyang Palace." What he meant was that you, third brother, are the unreliable one.

"Fifth brother, do you have to tease me at this critical moment?" The third prince pulled a long face.

He saw a lively smile in his brother's clear eyes, and then his brother stood up and said, "The weather is too hot, I have to take a bath first. Third brother, you'd better take a bath to cool off, which will help dispel your restlessness."

After walking two steps away, he turned back and raised his mouth: "Today, Yingshu only asked Dianjun and Third Brother to trust her judgment. She thought I would definitely believe her, so Third Brother's question just now was unnecessary. Third Brother, when have you ever seen me frowning during this journey? Where does my confidence come from? Of course, it's because Yingshu is the Left Deputy Envoy. With her always by Dianjun's side, I have the confidence to fulfill my mission."

He strode away with his sword in hand.

Nanci really took a nice bath and changed into comfortable clothes. Actually the small garden in the post house didn't have much scenery and the pavilion was barely big enough for sitting. And the few Hu girls in the post house always took the opportunity to approach and show their courtesy, so just now he specially called Zhang Chongzhun - the eyebrowless slave rescued by the Lord of Shenyuan Palace - Zhang Chongzhun originally had a name, but it had not been used for twenty years.

"Yesterday I saw you seemed to be persuading Wei Anyu." Nanci asked.

"An Yuyin can't speak Chinese, and she doesn't know how to serve His Highness. She is worried that she will be sold out if she angers His Highness, so she begged me to teach her to speak Chinese yesterday." Zhang Chongzhun replied respectfully, "An Yuyin is actually very smart, and she should be able to speak and understand Chinese very quickly."

The word "soon" was a bit strong.

Nan Ci looked at the two Hu women, wondering what kind of drinks they wanted to send over here. Then, in the blink of an eye, he saw his third brother - who didn't look like he had listened to the advice and taken a bath - coming over here again in a restless mood.