gnovel Chapter 50 Mutual Praise
Chapter 50 Mutual Praise
The sun was setting in the west.
Shen Ce looked at Wen Wuyin, whose arm was wrapped up like a rice dumpling.
He whispered, "You could be a little braver. If you were wounded in the chest, I would dare to order them wiped out on the spot."
Wen Wuyin said irritably, "I am an imperial censor, not some damned assassin."
Then, changing the subject, she quietly asked, "You must write this in the secret letter, otherwise all my injuries will have been for nothing."
"You must also write a great deal about how I bravely and fearlessly captured all the escorting officials and rescued Li Sixing."
"No problem, no problem."
Shen Ce inadvertently discovered Wen Wuyin's secret letter on the desk, while Wen Wuyin happened to pick up Shen Ce's secret letter from the ground. The two turned around and then put the letters back in their original places.
..........
With Li Sixing joining the team, the work of the other former officials of the King of Qi became much easier. They also lowered their guard and gradually joined in.
Seeing that the dozen or so people had lost the will to continue their escape, Shen Ce ordered the postmaster to prepare food and treat them well.
Actually, there wasn't much good food. Two bowls of millet, two plates of autumn cabbage and bean curd, a dozen or so sesame flatbreads without any sesame seeds, and some pickles whose names I didn't know—that was all the food the postmaster could offer to his distinguished guests.
Shen Ce looked at the food on the table and shook his head repeatedly. There was really nothing good to eat. The flatbread without sesame seeds was just like the spicy soup without meatballs—it had no flavor.
He wasn't interested, but his subordinates' eyes lit up. After a month of living in the wild, these people had even ground up tree bark to eat. If it weren't for their official status, they would have already started eating it by now.
Shen Ce glanced at the fingers moving around the table, and without saying a word, simply said "Eat," and everyone started to eat.
Yan Liben, who was sitting to the side, also felt a surge of emotion. Seeing that there was nothing important to do, he found a place to sit down. Just as he reached out his hand, he was lifted up and put aside.
"I brought you here to draw, not to eat. If you don't draw at such a crucial moment, when will you?" Shen Ce quietly walked up to Yan Liben and whispered in his ear.
Unfortunately, there were no cameras in this era, so it was a real pity that we couldn't record the crucial work scenes. Fortunately, before leaving, we brought Yan Liben, who had a talent for painting, along, so he could serve as a substitute for a camera.
Anyone who works in an organization knows the importance of keeping records of their work: the more you do, the more mistakes you make; the less you do, the fewer mistakes you make; if you do nothing, you make no mistakes.
Since we've done it, we need evidence. Although there's a result, the process is also very important. This is called leaving a record of our work. Yan Liben, who's new to officialdom, has no idea about these things. I have to teach him a lesson!
Yan Liben threw his chopsticks on the table, glanced at the things on the table again, sighed, and then went upstairs to prepare his painting tools. Shen Ce then sat down and greeted everyone.
When Wei Zheng returned to the post station, he was furious. They had suffered a lot of humiliation at the hands of the governor of Cizhou and others, and when they returned, they saw them eating and drinking heartily, which fueled his anger.
The perceptive Shen Ce, seeing that Wei Zheng's eyes were practically spitting fire, quickly stepped forward to explain, "This humble official has already persuaded all the officials under the Qi Prince's command to surrender. They have suffered a lot on their journey, so they still need to eat something. If something goes wrong on the way back, we won't be able to explain it to them."
Upon hearing this, Wei Zheng's breathing gradually evened out, but he still asked with a bitter face, "What about Li Jiancheng's subordinates? Did you try to persuade them to surrender?"
You're asking me about the surrender of the former Crown Prince's officials? Aren't you one of the former Crown Prince's officials?
Shen Ce was quite indignant, but he couldn't argue with him, so he patiently explained, "They're all waiting for Lord Wei and the food on the second floor. I reckon if Lord Wei just shouts now, they'll all surrender."
Wei Zheng did not answer, but merely glanced at Shen Ce sideways before flicking his sleeves and going upstairs.
Just as Shen Ce had predicted, within fifteen minutes, Li Jiancheng's subordinates, including Li Zhian, came downstairs and sat down at the dining table with Li Sixing.
Seeing that the crowd was no longer as tense as when they first entered the post station, Wei Zheng and Shen Ce, though their faces were not smiling, were relaxed and had no intention of further reassuring them. They simply instructed the guards not to let these people leave.
Evening, inside the guesthouse.
Wei Zheng and Shen Ce sat facing each other, without the lavish food available outside, each holding a flatbread to make do.
By this time, Shen Ce had fully understood Wei Zheng's intentions. Now, without his previous wariness, he casually said, "Lord Wei, our mission has already yielded initial results. With Li Sixing's surrender, dealing with Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji's former subordinates will be much easier."
Wei Zheng nodded and replied, "As long as we hold onto this piece, we can stabilize the remaining factions of these two men, and the remaining powerful clans in Shandong and Dou Jiande's remaining factions can also be kept at peace."
Although the various departments in Shandong had seen the imperial edict a few days ago, no one was sure if it was real or fake, and they were all watching and waiting. Those with strong tempers had already begun to incite rebellion and wanted to defend the city. With real cases in front of them, people were no longer in danger of losing their lives, so naturally they would not have any thoughts of rebellion. Everyone just wanted to live a good life.
Shen Ce straightened up and said in a deep voice, "Lord Wei, Wen Wuyin and I now fully believe in your loyalty to the court, and we ask for your understanding of our past wariness."
"No problem, no problem," Wei Zheng waved his hand repeatedly and laughed, "We are each doing our duty, this is what we should do, what's wrong with that?"
However, the two disagreed on where Li Sixing and the others should go. Wei Zheng thought that since Li Sixing and the others had been intercepted here, they should be sent to Chang'an by fast horse to reassure the court. But Shen Ce had a different opinion.
Wei Zheng hurriedly said, "At this time, the Crown Prince is most worried about the situation in Hebei. We just need to appease the local people and don't need to worry about the court. The Crown Prince will naturally handle it."
"You are a minister in the Crown Prince's former residence, so you naturally have no such concerns. But I am different. The Crown Prince has sent me on this mission, which has already caused dissatisfaction among many people. If we do not send back some achievements as soon as possible, the Crown Prince will become wary of us if he loses control of the court."
Upon hearing this, Shen Ce's face lit up with joy. It turned out that Wei Zheng wanted to follow in Wang Jian's footsteps. He immediately got up, took out the letter written by Li Sixing and the painting by Yan Liben from his room, placed them in front of Wei Zheng, and said with a smile:
"Lord Wei, do you think these things can appease those people in the court and suppress the voices against you?"
Wei Zheng let out a soft exclamation, his face lighting up with delight, and hurriedly asked, "When did Li Sixing write this?"
"Just now when you went to the Cizhou government office..."
"Should we send these paintings back along with your and Wen Wuyin's memorials as well?" Wei Zheng said with a malicious smile.
Shen Ce scratched his head: "My memorial to Wen Wuyin was sent to Chang'an by express messenger before you returned."
Wei Zheng: .....