Chapter 532: Just One Word "Barbaric"
"Sir, here is Liu Wu's confession. I have verified it. The details revealed in it are basically consistent with the White Lotus's style of behavior."
When Wu Shuigen saw a confession, he raised his hands above his head, behaved more respectfully, and became more at ease.
Originally, he surrendered to the court out of necessity, but because of Liu Wu's expression, he really felt some sincerity in his heart.
Sun Shaozong had received the report earlier and was not surprised by his change of heart. He reached out to take the confession and read it carefully from beginning to end.
It was discovered that Liu Wu, who had confessed, was not actually part of the team brought to the capital by Ge Zhan, but was transferred from the Lanzhou branch to Aunt Li's team last spring.
According to Liu Wu's confession, Aunt Li usually acted very cautiously. She personally controlled several secret agents in the capital and rarely allowed outsiders to interfere.
Therefore, Liu Wu has been in Beijing for a year and a half, and only recently has he had contact with Wu Shuigen and his wife a few times.
Because of this, most of what Liu Wu confessed were about what he had seen and heard at the Lanzhou branch, as well as how Aunt Li had stolen court secrets through the channel of "mutual support".
It cannot be said that this information is completely useless, but it is quite different from Sun Shaozong's expectations.
It seems that although the White Lotus Sect's search for the Holy Maiden was a bit rash this time, their internal confidentiality measures were quite good.
However, no matter how disappointed we are, we should still encourage Wu Shuigen for being able to extract a confession so quickly.
Placing the confession on the table, Sun Shaozong said with a smile: "Yes, such rapid progress is beyond my expectation - but you can't be complacent, you have to keep working hard."
"I...I will do my best!"
Wu Shuigen bowed deeply once more, and after he stood up a little, he saw that Sun Shaozong was smiling warmly, so he plucked up the courage to ask, "May I ask, sir, how should we deal with the thief Liu Wu?"
"Take him there first to identify those who were captured and killed last night, and those who are missing - especially the leaders!"
Sun Shaozong said this, glanced at Wu Shuigen with a half-smile, and then continued: "Then change him into a strong man's clothes and let him help you for a while."
The lowest-ranking lieutenant in the Dragon Guards is also a ninth-rank official. Although this highlights the special status of the Dragon Guards, it also leads to the dilemma of insufficient manpower.
In order to fill the staff shortage, temporary workers like Li Shi came into being without a regular position. Of course, even without a regular position, the treatment and authority of working in the Northern Pacification Office were far better than those of ordinary servants.
When Wu Shuigen heard that Liu Wu was just a strongman, which was a far cry from his own eighth-rank flag, he suddenly felt pleased.
So he bowed and went back to work with full enthusiasm.
As soon as he left, the smile on Sun Shaozong's face immediately fell. He covered his mouth and yawned loudly. He pressed the timeline and Liu Wu's confession that he had prepared on the table with a paperweight, then stood up and walked outside.
He has been so busy that he hasn't even had breakfast. He originally thought that he could use Liu Wu's confession to find out some useful clues, such as the authentication method of the reincarnated saint, or the hidden spies in the government, or who leaked the news in the inn.
That's why Sun Shaozong perked up and waited for Wu Shuigen to come and report.
Now that I am so disappointed, I naturally have to satisfy my internal organs first.
"grown ups."
As soon as he walked out of the guard room, Yang Licai came up to him.
Sun Shaozong casually threw a piece of silver over and ordered, "Tell the kitchen to prepare a table of good wine and food, and send it to the interrogation room, saying that it was a reward from me."
Yang Licai was just about to return the silver when Sun Shaozong had already strode out of the dungeon.
He hurried over and asked carefully, "Where are you going to eat, sir?"
"Just find a quiet place nearby..."
"Master Qianhu, Master Qianhu!"
At this moment, a small flag flew over and shouted from a distance, "The palace has issued an order, asking you to come to the palace to see the emperor immediately!"
Yes~
I'm afraid I'll have to eat it with dinner this time.
It seems that the imperial court takes the White Lotus Sect more seriously than he thought, otherwise they should at least wait until they find out something before summoning him to the palace.
I asked the eunuch who summoned him and found out that he was a third-rank imperial eunuch.
Sun Shaozong then took out a few golden beans from his purse, walked quickly outside, bowed, pulled the eunuch's sleeve, stuffed the golden beans in, and said with a smile: "Thank you for waiting for a long time, eunuch."
The young eunuch first secretly weighed it, and seeing that it was light and not too heavy, his smile suddenly felt a little unnatural. However, when he clasped his fist in return, he saw the orange-yellow color on his palm, and his smile as bright as a chrysanthemum bloomed again.
Then he said in a shrill voice: "Your Excellency is too kind. For a hero like you, it doesn't matter if I wait a little longer."
"Haha, even if you don't mind, I dare not keep your Majesty waiting for too long." Sun Shaozong said, and let go of his hand: "Shall we go now?"
"Walk, walk!"
When they left the Northern Pacification Office side by side, a lieutenant on duty came and brought Sun Shaozong's black horse. Then the two of them mounted their horses and galloped towards the palace.
However, this time he did not go through the Donghua Gate, where external officials were usually summoned, but the Xuanwu Gate, which was closest to the inner courtyard of the imperial palace.
According to Eunuch Li, Emperor Guangde was playing chess in Jingren Palace at that time. After hearing the report from Eunuch Dai, he immediately sent someone to summon Sun Shaozong to the palace to see him.
The Jingren Palace was originally the residence of high-ranking concubines in the palace, but now it has been converted into a sowing base.
Those concubines whose breasts and buttocks were not big enough had been moved elsewhere, leaving only Jia Yuanchun and three other fertile concubines for Emperor Guangde to work hard for.
No conversation along the way.
After undergoing a thorough investigation outside the Xuanwu Gate, Sun Shaozong followed the eunuch Li and traveled through the palace walls for five or six miles before stopping in front of a palace complex.
"Lord Sun."
Then the eunuch Li turned around and whispered, "You should have heard what this place is like. When you enter, don't look at or listen to anything you shouldn't."
It's broad daylight, what shouldn't you see?
Could it be that those four ladies are running naked in there?
Sun Shaozong was joking in his heart, but he forced a look of gratitude on his face, and said, "Thank you for your advice, eunuch."
Eunuch Li then led him into the Jingren Palace through a side door. After walking around a red figure about ten feet tall, the view in front of him suddenly opened up. In the middle was a rippling green pool, surrounded by corridors on both sides and a small pavilion in the northwest corner.
Further away, there are several ordinary small courtyards.
This scenery is far inferior to the Grand View Garden in Rongguo Mansion.
Sun Shaozong was quite disappointed. He had originally thought that the place where the concubines "nested" would be more distinctive.
"Eunuch Li, you are finally back!"
Sun Shaozong had just taken a few glances when a sturdy woman flashed out from the corridor, holding up her skirt and running up to him. She looked Sun Shaozong up and down and praised him, "Sir Sun is indeed a man of great bearing!"
Sun Shaozong was just wondering how to respond, so she urged him again, "Sir, please come with me. His Majesty has asked twice."
Having said that, he went back into the corridor.
Seeing that Eunuch Li was standing there without moving, but signaling with his eyes for him to follow, Sun Shaozong bowed to him and hurried into the corridor.
Following the burly palace maid as they walked along the winding path, they got closer to the small courtyards, and the number of palace servants coming and going became more and more dense.
But they were all plain-looking, with nothing eye-catching about them, which made the palace maid who led the way stand out like a crane among chickens.
Is there something wrong with Emperor Guangde's aesthetic sense?
But then he thought it was not right. He didn't know about the other concubines, but Jia Yuanchun was a top-notch beauty - his sister-in-law had praised her for her beauty several times when they were chatting in bed.
As he was daydreaming like this, Sun Shaozong followed the palace maid into the second courtyard on the left.
After passing through a corridor lined with flowers, they arrived outside the main house, where the maid stopped and said in a sweet voice under the eaves, "Your Majesty, Sun Shaozong, the governor of Shuntian Prefecture, has arrived."
There was silence for five or six seconds before a rhythmic voice came out from inside: "Xuan~~!"
Sun Shaozong walked to the door and saw Emperor Guangde leaning on a bed. He lowered his head and walked into the room. He turned over and knelt on the ground, kowtowed and said, "Your Majesty, I, Sun Shaozong, pay my respects to you."
"Stand up."
Unlike the solemnity of the last meeting, this time Emperor Guangde raised his hand warmly, and when Sun Shaozong stood up with a bow, he waved his hand and ordered, "Give me a feast."
Before he finished speaking, two palace maids brought in a low table and placed it in front of Sun Shaozong. Then all kinds of delicacies were brought up like flowing water. In the blink of an eye, the table was filled to the brim.
Before the maid who brought the food left the door, Emperor Guangde picked up a bright yellow cushion from the Luohan bed and ordered, "Send this cushion to Sun Qing."
Dai Quan, who was standing beside him, immediately held it in both hands and placed it in front of the table himself, saying with a smile, "Quickly sit down. If you really count, you are the first person to be given a banquet in Jingren Palace."
“Your Majesty… ...”
After hearing his reminder, Sun Shaozong clearly understood that it was time to show off his acting skills again?
He stuttered twice in excitement, his face flushed red, and then he said in fear: "I am absolutely unworthy of your majesty's kindness!"
"Whether it is worthy or not, I know it in my heart."
Emperor Guangde shook his head and laughed, "As the saying goes, 'The Emperor has no hungry soldiers.' You should fill your stomach first before you speak. If you don't sit down, you will be disobeying my order."
"I...I...I obey your order!"
Sun Shaozong sobbed twice more before kneeling on the bright yellow cushion.
Firstly, he did not dare to keep the emperor waiting for too long, and secondly, he was really hungry, so he stretched out his cheeks and lifted his back teeth, and ate heartily.
There were roasted pigs, roasted geese, deer tendons, bear paws, and a total of seven or eight kilograms of food. Sun Shaozong wiped his face with a piece of silk beside him, stood up and saluted respectfully: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for the banquet."
Emperor Guangde was obviously stunned. It took him a long time to utter, "My dear, have you eaten enough?"
"Eighty percent full."
Sun Shaozong answered honestly: "I ate too much for lunch, which can easily lead to delays."
Someone in the next room burst out laughing, but quickly stopped laughing.
Emperor Guangde was speechless for a long while, then he sighed, "Every time I read about the ancient warriors who could eat a dou of rice and ten jin of meat, I thought it was an exaggeration made up by later generations. Today, after seeing your appetite, I know it is true."
As he was speaking, Dai Quan had already ordered the palace servants to remove the remaining banquet food.
"Lord Sun."
At this time, Emperor Guangde's face gradually became solemn, and he said seriously: "Do you know why I summoned you to the palace?"
Sun Shaozong thought he knew it before, but after hearing this, he became uncertain again.
If it's about the White Lotus Sect, there's no need to test yourself at all, right?
Could it be...
Is it because of the rebellion of the Huguang and Wuxi barbarians?
After hearing about this from Xue Pan a few days ago, Sun Shaozong asked around through his connections and found out that someone in the court had indeed recommended him to go to Huguang to quell the rebellion of the Wuxi barbarians.
However, considering Sun Shaozong's age and qualifications, the person who recommended him only listed him as one of the candidates for deputy.
In view of the current chaotic situation in the capital, Sun Shaozong originally thought that being sent to Huguang as a deputy would be a good choice.
But Emperor Guangde summoned me personally today. It couldn't be just for a deputy position, right?
Could it be that...
Do I have the chance to go to Huguang alone? !
Sun Shaozong has no shortage of merits and reputation at the moment, what he lacks is the word "qualifications". Going to Huguang alone to quell the rebellion and even preside over the subsequent appeasement work is definitely a great opportunity to brush up his qualifications!
As long as I can do this job well, who can use the "youth and lack of knowledge" to suppress me in the future?
Thinking of this, Sun Shaozong couldn't help but get a little excited, but he said loudly: "I dare not judge the emperor's will rashly."
Emperor Guangde waved his hand and said, "Since I asked you to guess, there is no need to make any rash judgments - just say whatever comes to your mind."
"this……"
Sun Shaozong hesitated for a moment, then said loudly: "I dare to speculate wildly. Your Majesty summoned me because of the matter in the southwest?"
"What happened in the southwest?"
Unexpectedly, Emperor Guangde was slightly stunned when he heard this.
Oops!
I guessed wrong!
Sun Shaozong saw this expression and knew that he had made a mistake. He was thinking about how to make up for it when he heard Emperor Guangde ask: "If I send you to Huguang to quell the rebellion, how will you act? How much money, food, and troops will you need from the court?"
In fact, Emperor Guangde asked Sun Shaozong to come today to talk about the "Crown Prince".
However, he did intend to make Sun Shaozong his deputy to assist the senior officials in quelling the rebellion in Huguang. Therefore, when he heard Sun Shaozong bring up this matter, he asked this question casually.
However, Emperor Guangde's question aroused Sun Shaozong's ambition again. He thought to himself that this opportunity was fleeting. If he didn't try his best to seize it, wouldn't it be too late to regret?
So he gritted his teeth and said solemnly: "If Your Majesty sends me to Huguang, there is no need for the court to allocate money, food, troops and horses. Just allow me to use the word 'barbarian'."
Emperor Guangde was really surprised to hear this. Among the ministers he had originally favored, some advocated direct appeasement, some advocated suppression first and then appeasement, and some advocated appeasement first and then division and suppression.
But no matter which strategy is used, money, food, soldiers and horses are required as bargaining chips. It is rare for someone like Sun Shaozong to explicitly say that he does not want money, food, soldiers and horses, but only wants the word "barbarian".
So he hurriedly asked, "I wonder what the word 'barbarian' means, my dear?"
