Chapter 381

There's still……

He cupped his hands toward the North Territory King's Mansion and said, "In the North Territory, please address His Highness the North Territory King; please dismount and enter the city! Our North Territory's rule is that outsiders are not allowed to ride horses in the royal city!"

The Xiongnu people behind Wujihan angrily raised their whips and pointed at him, shouting, "You aren't you talking so much?!"

"This is our Xiongnu Left Valley Rong King!" "How dare you!"

Liang Bin lifted his eyelids and looked at him, "Long admired. But what does that matter? Or are you saying he's actually a Jin person?" Is it hard for outsiders to understand dismounting? Liang Er Gongzi was utterly bewildered.

He struggled to recall the Xiongnu system he had just learned: the Chanyu is supreme, then the Left and Right Wise Kings, and finally the Left and Right Valley Rong Kings.

So this Left Valley Rong King, left is honorable… well, not insignificant either; openly he's one of the Xiongnu's four top ministers.

You!

Liang Bin mimicked the Great King by raising his neck, "Behind me, aside from two weak-willed cowards, the rest are all Youzhou regular troops!"

The Great King said there are Xiaoqi cavalry in his rear ceremonial guard; he fears nothing!

Wujihan raised his hand to stop his subordinates from speaking further. Sitting on his horse, he asked in a deep voice, "It was my poor eyesight that mistook you. Who are you?"

Liang Bin was annoyingly craning his neck,

"Envoy's Order Liang Bin. My father is Marquis of the Eastern Capital Liang Jin, and this office of mine was personally selected by His Highness the Prince of the Northern Border!" We stand at the horse's feet, our momentum cannot be lacking.

Liang Er's forehead had three words written: Connection Household.

He, on the contrary, felt no shame, and immediately publicized it far and wide.

Wujihan nodded. "Good. May I ask, Envoy, why do the Xiongnu and the Western Regions envoy not open the city gate to welcome them? What is the reasoning behind this?"

"Youzhou is the capital of the Northern Border; the main gate opens only under the following circumstances, let me explain."

One, His Highness the Prince of the Northern Border himself passes through.

Two, the Northern Border's army.

Three, those who have rendered great merit to the Northern Border.

Besides these, if one insists on entering through the gate, it is regarded as—an attack on the city!

He raised his hand, and the sound of armor scraping came from the city wall; Wujihan looked up, and rows of black-armored archers appeared, drawing their bows with arrows pointed straight at them.

At this distance, … they would probably be shot into a hedgehog.

Wujihan furrowed his brow; the Wusun envoy Su Wan, hidden among the troops, knew it was his turn to step forward. All along they had simply followed Wujihan's lead, saving effort and worry, but this moment there was truly no escaping it.

"Just a misunderstanding, everyone, don't get excited. The envoy may enter through any gate, after all this is the Northern Border, and naturally it's up to His Highness the Prince of the Northern Border to decide."

"But we have come from the Western Regions, weary from crossing mountains and rivers, both people and horses exhausted. If we dismount here, are we supposed to walk all the way to the relay station? Youzhou looks quite sizable." Someone smoothed things over; Liang Bin finally lowered his hand, and the archers on the city wall lowered their bows, retreated two steps, and disappeared from the wall's extension.

But Liang Bin continued to be arrogant and stiff-necked,

"I'll say it one last time: in the Northern Border, the Prince's rules are the rules.

What His Highness has said cannot be changed.

If you don't come in, I'll go back to rest—look at this big sun, it's making people dizzy!

"You!" This arrogant attitude even made Su Wan hold his breath. Youzhou is so big; having them lead their horses on foot into the city might mean they won't finish until dark!

He gestured to ask Wujihan what to do, but the other party looked displeased.

Truly, they refuse a toast and only drink the penalty!

Wujihan turned his head and glanced at the man behind him to the right; that Xiongnu burly fellow had a leather armguard slung over his shoulder and was carrying a golden eagle.

Seeing Wujihan's glance, he shuddered his shoulder, let out a piercing whistle, and the golden eagle suddenly rose into the air, lunging toward Liang Bin.

Liang Bin trampled the Xiongnu's face on the ground over and over; the one caught wasn't even Wujihan's son, and he grew furious, thinking Liang Gongzi was just asking for trouble.

Liang Bin, still jumping about, returned—what face do they have left!

He thought, as long as it doesn't endanger their lives, what could Liang Jin do to them? Kill them? Ridiculous!

The golden eagle, having undergone multiple trainings, once released flew straight toward the opposite side of their own formation; the one in front was Liang Bin, and it unswervingly rushed toward him, extending its talons.

Liang Bin jumped in fright; before he could do anything embarrassing, he saw the first-rank soldier of the ceremonial guard on his right move.

That soldier held a bronze halberd, merely a standard model made by the Northern Border Armory—heavy and not sharp, prized only for its elaborate appearance, normally never used. Yet he hurled that heavy bronze halberd, producing a tearing-through-the-air sound.

The halberd shot out, accompanied by a sharp scream; the golden eagle was cleaved in two by a single strike, yet the halberd's momentum did not stop, directly smashing into Su Wan's horse behind him.

The air at the city gate seemed to freeze.

In an instant, the golden eagle was severed head from body, the horse collapsed without even a struggle, blood quickly spreading across the drive, and the halberd stood firmly planted in its body.

Su Wan rolled off the horse's back, got up, and the whole person startled, stepping back several steps, almost bumping into the troop behind.

He stood on the ground with a face smeared in warm horse blood, breaking out in a cold sweat despite the midsummer heat. Just a little more, just a little more and that halberd would have pierced him!

Liang Bin, at this moment, was no longer afraid—how cool!

He gratefully glanced at the brother who threw the halberd, "You kid must be from the Xiaoqi, right? Now I'm relieved."

The Great King is still quite reliable!

The soldier bowed his hands, asking if he could retrieve his weapon. Standing empty-handed in the front rank looks awful!

Liang Bin nodded, walked straight over, pulled the halberd from the horse's corpse, returned the same way, and quietly took his original position.

"Tsk tsk! Isn't this just getting off the horse? Different paths, same destination!"

Liang Bin smiled like a flower, "Everyone, please dismount!"

He stretched his hand toward the city gate, making a gesturing invitation.

Wujihan wore a grim face, glanced at the stone-faced spear‑holding soldiers in the front rank, the halberd still dripping blood. A perceptive subordinate hurried to smooth things over, advising him in two sentences.

Wujihan let out a cold snort, and finally dismounted.

Seeing this, Liang Bin clapped and laughed loudly, "Exactly! When in the village, follow local customs! I will now escort these guests who have come from afar to rest at the Honglu Lodge, please!"

Wujihan led the way on foot into the city; upon entering the gate, his pent‑up frustration only grew harder to dispel.

Youzhou's city walls, … are hard to attack.

As he walked, his face grew uglier, and Liang Bin felt the dark clouds over his head had become substantive.

Who knew that after going around the city gate and entering Youzhou City, Liang Bin came up with a new trick. He pointed to a carriage by the road and said, "I am just a weak civil official; I can't match you strong grassland youths. For the remaining journey I will travel by carriage. I feel ashamed! But rest assured, I will stay behind you all the way, not walking fast."

Wujihan was almost laughing from anger; he said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes, "The Northern Border truly lives up to being a land of courtesy, thank you, Envoy."

"It's fine, it's fine, please go ahead!"

Wujihan: ……

★

★

★

'Weak civil official' Liang Bin took the envoy squad to the Hongru Academy for settlement, then turned and ran vigorously to see the King.

This guy, as soon as he entered the hall, shouted for help, "Your Highness! Your Highness! You don't know what I just did; those northern barbarians surely really want to kill me this time!"

The King threw the book in his hand, the spirit of gossip burning fiercely, "Speak!"

Every move at the city gate would surely be reported to him, but unfortunately the Grand Tutor and Xie Yuan, busy with affairs over a period of time, used studying as an excuse to not have time, joining forces to block him here to study, not letting him get distracted or meddle.

Liang Bin recounted everything that happened outside the city gate: "……That Left Valley Li King's face turned green, that Wusun grandson's leg kept trembling; when they return they'll surely stew over this anger! At that point, they'll surely first think of killing me!"

Your Highness, I really am not speaking off the cuff; thinking this way by projecting myself onto others is truly reasonable, because I am exactly this kind of person!

If I can't let it go in my heart, I will surely take revenge!

The king, listening from the side, burst out laughing, and precisely interjected when Liang Bin paused: 'Wow~ you know so many idioms!'

Liang Bin was momentarily stuck there……

Your Highness!

Good, good, good! Have Ling Yin find two people to follow you until they leave Youzhou. Go ahead and do it with peace of mind; I, the king, will guarantee your safety!

That's about right. To have me take on such a dangerous job, you need to guarantee my safety. Speaking of which, Your Highness, I really have offended them badly this time; the key point isn't my fault, really! It's all because the Xiongnu are too arrogant—they actually dare to dream that Your Highness would personally go to the city gate to greet them!

The king gaped, 'You've lost your mind!'

Exactly! What nerve!

Zhao Bao beside them: ……

Tell the two gentlemen, don't let Lord Liang play with the king.

The king left the envoy waiting for a day, and the promised audience that Liang Bin had arranged never took place.

They waited in vain at the Hongru Hall for a day; the next day, just as dawn broke, a minor clerk from the Hongru Hall finally brought the king's order, summoning them to an audience in the Chengguang Hall.

One representative each from the Xiongnu, Wusun, and Kucha followed the clerk who delivered the order out of the Hongru Hall; at the South Hua Gate they were disarmed and searched, then the three followed the clerk into the Northern Territory King's mansion.

This journey was enough to open the eyes of all three.

Ujihuan admitted he had underestimated the splendor of the Great Jin; the Northern Territory King's mansion was so luxurious it seemed otherworldly. Compared to his proud Dragon City in his heart, it felt shabby, leaving him feeling…… extremely displeased.

When they reached the great square outside the Chengguang Hall, they finally saw an acquaintance; a passerby summoned Liang Bin.

Liang Bin went over and warmly greeted them: 'Envoys, you've worked hard. Soon the Highness will summon us and we can go in; please wait here a moment.... Is this the Kucha envoy? Can you understand what I'm saying?'

... Yes, of course, they definitely chose someone without communication barriers!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!! divider line!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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I don't know if this little skit has been posted before; let's try posting it again.

【The King's Childhood Mini-Theater:】

In the sixth year of Ningde.

Bai Li Jing learned to stick out his buttocks and rise up trembling and wobbly; whenever he performed this trick, it always drew gasps from everyone in the Weiyang Palace.

Although he was the adopted son of the empress and the only son of the central palace, at that time in the Weiyang Palace the third prince was still a special existence.

As the upper influenced the lower, at that time the third prince Bai Li Jing was still the treasure of the Weiyang Palace.

He stuck out his buttocks and rose up, drawing gasps from the whole hall; Bai Li Jing had seen this scene many times. He now also felt that being able to stand up like that was a remarkable feat, and he was immensely proud of it.

The palace attendants gasped, and Bai Li Jing revealed a proud smile.

Both lively and adorable.

Following his wet nurse, he was placed into a wooden walker; Bai Li Jing then zipped around, pushing the cart with his chubby short legs.

He was healthy, sturdier than other children his age. Able to push his little wooden cart around the empty ground outside the hall in circles, no one supervised him, yet he could play happily on his own; the palace attendants privately said the third prince had a good temperament.

That day was when the palace ladies came to pay respects to the empress; Lady Wang brought the crown prince early in the morning.

Originally, the palace ladies wouldn't bring children when paying respects, but since this stepmother had no biological children of her own, Lady Wang gladly looked for any excuse to cause trouble for Empress Cui.

Under the pretense of bringing the child to kowtow to the empress, it was actually just a show.

As the eldest son of Emperor Ningde, Bai Li Jin was then a clueless little brat, spoiled rotten by his parents, far from the pretentiousness he would later put on.

Making him kowtow to the stepmother was impossible; he wasn't willing. Every time this mother and son duo argued in front of everyone, it gave the empress a headache.

That day Bai Li Jing pushed his little cart to the front of the main hall, where the lively performance inside caught his attention.

At that moment Bai Li Jin pointed at Empress Cui and shouted, 'She's not my mother! My mother is right here; the mother I know is already dead—why should I kowtow to this woman?!'

Empress Cui shed tears above, holding a handkerchief and weeping with a face like rain-soaked pear blossoms.

Half of it was an act, half was genuine anger.

Bai Li Jing had already grown taller than the threshold; he suddenly saw Empress Cui seated above. This clueless one enthusiastically waved and shouted, 'Ah ah ah ah~ah!' in baby talk, but no one paid him attention, and he finally realized something was off—was Empress Cui crying?

What's going on?

Did that jumping kid snatch the tasty food?

The young king who couldn't even speak yet angrily knocked over the little cart, then lay on the threshold and struggled to flip himself over!

The wet nurse stood a bit farther away; who knew they'd unlocked the wall-climbing skill, and without giving her a chance to stop, they flipped inside. The wet nurse was terrified, pacing in the shadow outside the door, not daring to go in.

But Baili Jing was fearless; they flipped in and quickly crawled toward Baili Jin, and when the other tried to stretch out a hand to push him, he grabbed his older brother's hand and shoved it into his mouth.

Baili Jin let out a miserable cry!

The young king almost broke his newly emerged baby tooth, and he gnawed deep tooth marks into his older brother's delicate, pampered hand.

This took the strength of several bowls of milk, and from then on the eldest and third became sworn enemies.

This act of the young king could make Empress Cui fond of him; before, she merely tolerated him, and raising him was only following the family's advice to have a son nearby.

Before this day, Empress Cui didn't think Baili Jing was useful; after this day, she finally turned her gaze toward the adopted son, and the young king truly became the beloved treasure of the Endless Palace for half a year.

The six-year-old young king, the ten-year-old young king—if they had memories, who knows whether they'd regret this day's protection of the Cui clan.