Volume 3: The Land of Jingchu Chapter 329: Leave it to me!
In December of the fifth year of Jian'an, Jinling was peaceful and bustling with the unique liveliness of the New Year.
In the posthouse, Cao Pi and Sima Lang met Jian Yong who came to visit with a letter.
During these two months, the General's Mansion, Xuzhou Mansion and Liu Bei himself had interacted twice. Taking advantage of the New Year's holiday, Jian Yong came to Jinling from Xudu. Before that, Jian Yong was in Xudu with Liu Bei, helping Liu Bei make friends with the court officials in Xudu and the staff of the Prime Minister's Mansion.
Jian Yong was sent here specifically this time, apparently to bring a temporary result to the dispute between Donglai and Lai.
Unlike the last time he came to Jinling, this time when Jian Yong arrived in Jinling, instead of keeping a distance from Cao Pi and Sima Lang, he visited them openly.
Jian Yong had no intention of having any meaningful conversation with Cao Pi, the "hostage" of the Prime Minister's Mansion. He was just expressing his dissatisfaction with the General's Mansion through practical actions.
It was also secretly reminding Bai Tu that Xuzhou Prefecture and the Prime Minister's Mansion are now allied!
Cao Pi and Sima Lang also heard some news about Qingzhou...
Of course, they heard it from the People's Gazette version of the General's Mansion - Gan Ning led the navy to land in Qingzhou and attacked Yuan Tan's rear, which attracted the attention of Yuan's army in Qingzhou and greatly tied down Yuan's army, making an indelible contribution to the Xuzhou army's victory over the Qingzhou army.
It seemed that if it weren't for Gan Ning, Guan Yu would have been defeated by Yuan Tan, and even the entire Xuzhou would have been swept away!
There were actually some opera troupes that, when performing the "Qingzhou Victory Led by Gan Ning", even made artistic changes to the time of the Yanjin Victory.
Obviously, the victory at Yanjin came first, but in the play, it was Gan Ning who led the victory at Qingzhou, and then the main force of Yuan’s army in the Baima area was frightened out of their wits…
While Cao Pi was so angry that he cursed the General's Mansion for being shameless behind his back, Sima Lang also basically saw through the essence of the incident through artistic processing.
It was analyzed that the General’s Mansion was in Qingzhou, and it was very likely that there was some “unpleasantness” with Xuzhou Prefecture.
This is something that makes Sima Lang and Cao Pi very happy!
Of course, for "Cao Bang", what makes her even happier is that the "Yangzhou Wuchang" written by her has been officially released. Even from the current point of view, it has become very popular right after it was premiered, and various theaters have added rehearsals, and it seems that the play is going to be popular in Yangzhou!
This also makes her more willing to collect materials and write new plays. Recently, she has a new idea. In combination with the recent encouragement of the Ministry of Justice to use coroners, she wants to tell the story of a wise and brave boy who starts as a coroner, repeatedly solves strange cases, and step by step becomes the head of the Ministry of Justice, eliminating evildoers and punishing treacherous people...
While chatting with Sima Lang and Cao Pi, Jian Yong specifically asked, "Why don't I see Brother Anguo?"
Jian Yong had been to Jinling before. Although he did not have much contact with people in the Prime Minister's Mansion at that time, "diplomacy" was Jian Yong's strong point. He remembered all kinds of personnel relationships most clearly, and naturally remembered Cao Bang.
Of course, Jian Yong was just asking casually. After all, when he was in Xudu, Jian Yong had never heard of Cao Bang's fame, which showed that he was not an important person!
Cao Pi heard this and said awkwardly: "In the Ministry of Justice..."
Upon hearing that he was in the Ministry of Justice, Jian Yong immediately perked up, and asked with concern in his eyes: "Ministry of Justice? Did Brother Anguo commit a crime... but he shouldn't be sent to the Ministry of Justice just like that, right? What does the General's Mansion say?"
Jian Yong's concern and enthusiasm were, of course, fake, but his doubts were somewhat genuine - could it be that the General's Mansion and the Prime Minister's Mansion were going to "break up"?
Or did Cao Bang really do something that angered God and the people?
Otherwise, even if one wanted to kill a chicken to scare the monkeys, one would not directly use the hostage from the Prime Minister's Mansion!
But for Jian Yong, this was just fanning the flames... no, it was a good opportunity to express concern.
This is also Jian Yong's strength. Jian Yong, who has a free and friendly temperament, couldn't be more genuine when "acting" to express emotions. Even from a rational point of view, even Cao Pi could analyze that this guy has bad intentions, but... watching his performance, one can't help but cooperate and believe it a little, and it is difficult to ignore it.
However, this time, Jian Yong's provocation was to throw a seductive glance at the blind man.
Hearing this, Sima Lang said awkwardly, "Ahem, Xianhe misunderstood. An Guo...went to the Ministry of Justice to collect materials for a new play."
Jian Yong: ???
Even Jian Yong, who was always able to respond calmly, couldn't help but look surprised.
Cao Bang? Writing a new play? Going to the Ministry of Justice to collect materials?
How are these words connected together?
New drama...
Are you referring to those stage plays that subtly support the ideals of the General's Mansion from various angles, or even charge into battle?
This kind of thing was actually done by the enemy proton?
The Ministry of Justice was collecting materials... The Ministry of Justice was so supportive? In Jian Yong's impression, Wang Lang was obviously not easygoing, even a little stubborn, and had a strong fighting spirit!
Sima Lang looked at Jian Yong's expression and felt helpless.
To be honest, Sima Lang is also to blame for this matter!
Before, after Sima Lang knew that the wicked "Yangzhou Sergeant" was actually written by Cao Bang, he had already lost hope in him. However, after learning the outline of Cao Bang's script this time, he pretended to make suggestions for his own good - adding some scenes of fighting against the powerful, or even letting the protagonist die by being framed by the powerful in the end, would be able to mobilize the emotions of the people even more!
After listening to it, Cao Bang also felt that it made sense, but... he made up his mind that "justice will prevail". After all, the Chinese people have always liked a happy ending.
As a hostage in the Prime Minister's Mansion, Cao Bang had some face. He used his identity to go to the Ministry of Justice to collect materials. He learned that it was Cao Bang who wrote "Yangzhou Wuchang" and was preparing to write a new play with coroner as the starting point, which would include a plot to lash out at the powerful. Wang Lang even met him in person and gave him the green light in the Ministry of Justice!
After all, Wang Lang had long been disgusted with those powerful people who abused their power to violate the law.
If it were an ordinary person, even with Wang Lang's support, he would not dare to write it. However, Cao Bang... he is a hostage, even if it is just a bonus, his safety is absolutely guaranteed!
These days, Wang Lang smiled more to Cao Bang than to his son Wang Su.
Cao Pi and Sima Lang also immediately changed the awkward topic in front of Jian Yong. After all, if Jian Yong knew that Cao Bang was going to write a story about "a man from the sea rushing thousands of miles to help his ally, but was stabbed in the back and had to fight back", he would probably look unhappy...
Sima Lang now naturally wants Jian Yong to "turn the fake play into reality" and actually win over Xuzhou Prefecture for the Prime Minister's Office.
Although the Prime Minister's Office and Xuzhou Prefecture are now allies, that is with Yuan Shao in Hebei. If it is against the General's Office, whether the two are allies is another matter.
However, Jian Yong came to see them only to express his dissatisfaction to Bai Tu. He did not really want to join forces with the Prime Minister's Office to target the General's Office, so he just played Tai Chi with Sima Lang.
How to deal with the relationship with the Prime Minister's Office and the General's Office depends on how Bai Tu reacts later.
After all, Jian Yong also knew that Liu Bei, or Xu Du, had been planning a big event recently. Jian Yong couldn't tell where the overall situation would go in the future, so this was not the time to rashly offend either of them.
…
However, Bai Tu's life has not been easy these days either, as he always gets Lv Lingqi's cold stares for no reason...
The reason was very simple. In the first half of the year, he had wanted to get married in Jinling after withdrawing troops from the front line in winter, and bring Sun Ce and Zhou Yu along. As Bai Tu was the elder brother, he had even sent the betrothal gifts to Wancheng!
However, plans are not as good as changes. In the second half of the year, Sun Ce and Zhou Yu were beaten by Liu Qi in Jiangxia...
Bai Tu naturally understood what Zhou Yu meant and knew that this was a strategy, but... before this strategy was completed, Sun Ce and Zhou Yu were not even planning to return to Nanjing!
Firstly, it is a matter of face, and not everyone can understand that this is a strategic retreat, otherwise... everyone knows it, and it cannot be called a strategy; secondly, after the consecutive defeats in Jiangxia, even the soldiers from Jiangdong are inevitably demoralized, and there is still a gap between them and the "toughness" of the navy under Gan Ning. Under such circumstances, it is not easy for them to leave the barracks.
Moreover, Bai Tu also understood that no matter what, they couldn't get married at this time, otherwise they would be ashamed to accept everyone's blessings, and it would not be conducive to the stability of the army's morale - after losing the battle, you still have the nerve to get married? I'm afraid that even if Ni Heng's mouth was sewn shut, he would stretch his neck and shake it in front of the two of them...
Similarly, Bai Tu didn't want to get married at this time.
Regardless of whether he will have a concubine in the future, Bai Tu must marry a wife now. It is impossible to do it quietly and just move in. A grand ceremony is inevitable!
Now that the front line is so stalemate, even the generals can't come back, it's not good for Bai Tu to get married...
Even if Ni Heng enjoys licking it, I'm afraid it won't look good in public opinion!
It’s just that although Lu Lingqi understood, and she didn’t just decide to cancel the plan recently, but... as soon as the twelfth lunar month began, Lu Lingqi still felt resentful.
"Lingqi, please help me go to Jinlingji to see if there is any new information." Bai Tu looked at the time and said to Lu Lingqi.
"Oh." Lu Lingqi responded and left.
At the same time, Lu Bu came to the door soon - Bai Tu had secretly asked someone to find him before.
That’s right, although they can’t get married for the time being, but... Bai Tu is going to settle the matter first!
It's just that Lu Lingqi has always been following him, and Bai Tu was embarrassed to tell his adoptive father about this. Today, Bai Tu was ready and even specifically instructed Yu Ji, and then detained Lu Lingqi in Cheng Ji's mansion.
"Hard Drive, what's the matter with you looking for me?" Lu Bu asked casually after coming in.
Because they notified someone privately, and Bai Tu was the only one who came in, Lu Bu also knew that it was a private matter.
As Lu Bu spoke, he looked around and then frowned and said, "What's wrong with Lingqi? Why is she not here again!" He seemed to be dissatisfied that Lu Lingqi had left her post again.
"Ahem, godfather... Actually, I asked you to come here because I have something important to tell you, and it's also related to Lingqi." Bai Tu said a little shyly.
It’s a pity that Bai Tu has no parents around, so he can only talk about this himself.
"What's wrong?" Lu Bu looked at Bai Tu's expression and asked curiously.
"It's... my child's marriage." Bai Tu said with a hot face.
"Marriage...good boy! You finally thought about marriage ! Do you want your father to help you propose to the Zhang family? Don't worry, leave it to your father!" Lu Bu showed surprise when he heard this.
White picture: ???
"What Zhang family?" Bai Tu interrupted in confusion.
Lu Bu said as a matter of course: "Well? I heard that you, Hard Drive, have taken a fancy to the daughter of the Zhang family. When you were in the Naxian Hall before, didn't you ask her if she wanted to marry you? Don't worry, what is the relationship between Uncle Ya and me? Besides, being able to marry you, Hard Drive, they..."
At this moment, for some reason, Lu Lingqi was not dragged into Chengji Mansion, but had returned to the central hall.
Just heard these words outside the door - Lu Bu did hear the footsteps, but he also recognized it was Lu Lingqi, so he didn't care.
Bai Tu interrupted immediately without noticing anything: "Wait! Godfather... please recall, I just said that it was related to Lingqi..."
