Chapter 338: Attending the Banquet

Ma Kuo came and went in haste, treating state affairs as his sole concern, which truly stirred a flicker of emotion in Zhao Jiu.

However, he ultimately did not stop the other from turning back, because feelings were feelings, but as a sovereign, one always had to get things done... If he had truly sunk into sentiment, back when the three major cases erupted in fury, His Majesty Zhao would not have stopped at slashing Zhao Ji's congratulatory memorial to shreds with a knife, let alone come out to inspect the troops and receive Ma Kuo.

Going further, five or six years of governing experience had indeed honed something in this ordinary engineering university graduate.

For example, Zhao Jiu actually rather disliked Li Guang and Ma Shen, but reason had always told him that Li Guang was qualified in the specific post of Censor-in-Chief—the man was supposed to play the role of fault-finder—and even if Ma Shen harbored sectarian bias, that was still his superior move, hiding his spearhead within the scope of his own duties... From the perspective of a Ministry of Justice chief, this man was undoubtedly qualified as well.

Moreover, this man had indeed rendered meritorious service in maintaining order in Hubei earlier.

Furthermore, there was the issue of Lu Benzhong and Ren Baozhong, two newly advanced close ministers. To be honest, Zhao Jiu knew their flaws: one was incompetent, fully fitting the identity of the eldest son of a family that had produced three generations of ministers; the other was immoral, also fully fitting the setting of a leader of a minority military clan from a remote small state.

Five years ago, Zhao Jiu definitely... definitely would not have been able to tell which of these two was incompetent and which was immoral. If it were three years ago, His Majesty Zhao would probably have denied both of them the chance to approach him from the start.

But now, this sovereign understood somewhat in his heart that being immoral and incompetent did not mean being useless.

At a time when nobles and imperial clansmen were facing widespread suppression, Lu Benzhong's identity naturally carried a certain political influence. Coupled with the Lu clan's special status in the study of the original classics and their relatively good reputation, propping him up and keeping him nearby as a helper in leisure was certainly harmless.

By similar reasoning, Ren Baozhong, that bald old man—not to mention his rich military and political experience—his status as an elder of a major Hengshan Dangxiang clan was enough to give him a chance to remain at the center of power.

Of course, everything had to have a scale... To speak of recent matters, the already dead Yang Zheng was also very useful, but he was still beheaded; Liu Guangshi was also quite useful, yet he was drained of blood like a chicken... Everything must have a measure, and even more so a line, and people were the same.

Returning to the present, although Ma Kuo had left, he had left behind an unmistakable message. This man, perhaps the most knowledgeable about the Jurchens and the most authoritative voice on the Northern Expedition, had put forward a clear concept—that once offense and defense were reversed, to defeat the Jurchens in the Two Rivers region, no fewer than three hundred thousand troops would be needed.

Zhao Jiu certainly acknowledged this serious reminder, or warning. However, what His Majesty Zhao acknowledged was the general principle—that after the reversal of offense and defense, the combat power of the Song army, which could barely maintain the standoff at the Yellow River, was insufficient and must be significantly improved, otherwise all efforts might be wasted.

And the most intuitive manifestation of this significant improvement in combat power was merely going from two hundred thousand to three hundred thousand.

But in reality, it could of course be quantity, but it could also be quality, or it could be something like favorable timing and terrain, or even a breakthrough in weapons technology.

From another perspective, Zhao Jiu had already begun making similar preparations. For example, as finances improved year by year, and when Qu Duan's Imperial Camp Cavalry could not recruit enough troops, around the end of the year before last and the beginning of last year, he had tacitly allowed Yue Fei's forces to expand slightly after pacifying Jingxiang. The establishment of the Imperial Camp Forward Army had already broken through the original thirty-five-thousand-man framework early last year, reaching the threshold of forty thousand.

As for Han Shizhong's forces, Wu Jie's forces, Qu Duan's forces, and Wang De's forces, after the campaign against the Western Xia, they were permitted to retain the more than ten thousand elite Dangxiang surrendered troops they had accumulated. Each unit had in fact broken through their original quotas. The overall establishment of the Imperial Camp Army had actually crossed the two-hundred-thousand threshold after the Western Xia campaign.

In a word, no matter what, a consensus had already been reached: the combat power of the field army must undergo a qualitative leap.

Now, after Ma Kuo left, Zhao Jiu, having obtained the answer he sought from this trip, also left Heyin. Yet he still did not return to the capital. Instead, under the extremely tense gaze of the capital's interior, he brushed past Dongjingcheng and continued inspecting along the river—Yuanwu, Yangwu, Suanzao, Zuocheng, Shaoxing... It could only be said that this His Majesty Zhao seemed truly single-mindedly focused on inspecting river defenses and reviewing the troops.

Moreover, compared to his earlier caution in Zhang Rong's army, and compared to his inspections in previous years that stopped at high-ranking officers and at issues of severe vacancies and embezzlement, this time, when inspecting Li Qiong's forces, Zhao Jiu adopted a noticeably harsher and more direct approach.

A large number of mid- and low-ranking officers were directly convicted and expelled for the bad habit of exploiting soldiers and for borderline acts of encroaching on soldiers' land. In a force of just over ten thousand men, several hundred people were punished across five locations, with more than thirty beheaded on the spot.

This caused countless officers below Li Qiong to panic momentarily, thinking that His Majesty was targeting them. It could only be said that fortunately, after five or six years, His Majesty Zhao had established the necessary authority, so no one dared to follow the old pattern of desperation and directly defect.

After inspecting Li Qiong's forces, His Majesty Zhao did not return to the capital as suggested by those inside Dongjingcheng. Instead, in the increasingly cold winter, he crossed directly past Shaoxing and continued eastward, entering the Henan section of Kaide Prefecture.

From here, he had actually stepped into the defense zone of Yue Fei's Imperial Camp Forward Army.

Yue Fei had only recently returned and was far away in Qizhou. Zhao Jiu had not specifically notified him, in fact harboring a somewhat cautious attitude. He also wanted to see with his own eyes just how good the universally acknowledged military discipline of Yue Fei's forces was, and how powerful the legendary Yue Family Army truly was... It must be known that this was Zhao Jiu's first time inspecting the Imperial Camp Forward Army, or the Yue Family Army.

But after actually going through it, to be honest, Zhao Jiu only had one four-character feeling: unremarkable.

By "unremarkable," he meant that he saw no completely eye-catching, era-breaking features... There were no specific military equipment or devices. From the perspective of equipping elite units, the Yue Family Army seemed less flashy than Han Shizhong's elite core forces. There was no impressive military bearing of orderly formations. Not to compare them with the parade-ground precision of later three-service honor guards, but even in terms of physical robustness, they were clearly inferior to the Imperial Guard and even Wang De's personal troops. By the same token, there was no simple, soldier-officer unity among the officers. The officers of the Yue Family Army enjoyed generous treatment, and it was common for them to acquire property in their garrison areas. In this respect, they were even somewhat less harmonious than the performance of Zhang Rong's grassroots officers and men.

But on the flip side, this sovereign could find no faults either... There was no phenomenon of exploiting soldiers; no obvious issue of padded payrolls. There were, of course, vacancies among the soldiers, but these were openly marked in the documents—who had taken leave, who had just withdrawn from the army due to injury or other reasons. Armor was, of course, not worn by every man, only about seventy or eighty percent. Some archers and logistics soldiers did not get armor, but that was because the court had only distributed that many sets.

The rest of the army drilled every three days, held exercises every ten days, and ate meat on a set schedule—all by the book.

Everything was so unremarkable, and everything was so clear. When the combat personnel were called out, it was obvious at a glance; when the logistics ledgers were pulled out, it was also obvious at a glance.

To be honest, Zhao Jiu was a bit disappointed.

But among the entourage, leaving aside Lu Benzhong and Fan Zongyin, Wang Yan, Liu Hongdao, and Ren Baozhong appeared extremely astonished. And as the imperial carriage progressed eastward, inspecting more and more garrison points of the Imperial Camp Forward Army, this astonishment grew stronger. In the end, these few high officials, who could be considered knowledgeable about military affairs, simply fell into a state of disbelief.

Even Zhao Jiu gradually began to savor the meaning of it.

Or rather, he had savored it from the start, but because he had initially harbored unrealistic expectations, he hadn't shown it—in the feudal era, an army of forty to fifty thousand men maintaining this kind of "unremarkable" across the board was itself a miracle.

It must be remembered, this was forty to fifty thousand men!

An increase in troop numbers inevitably brought management chaos and a decline in average combat power—this was common sense. At such times, maintaining a high floor for troop combat power was especially important.

Yue Pengju was unquestionably a talent for managing and commanding large formations, and very likely the unique one of his era.

To say nothing else, if His Majesty Zhao could achieve this level, making all two hundred thousand Imperial Camp troops as unremarkable as this, then he would dare to cross the river right now and give it a try.

But in reality, Zhao Jiu could not achieve this, otherwise he wouldn't have been forced to come out and inspect the river in the dead of winter.

And so, having witnessed the unremarkable nature of the Yue Family Army, His Majesty Zhao continued eastward without stopping, from Kaide to Puzhou, then to Dongping Prefecture. Along the way, he even made a special trip to look at the frozen-over Liangshan Marsh, consoled the local fishermen, and displayed the posture of the Zhao Song sovereign being one family with his people.

Approaching the first ten days of the twelfth month, as the weather grew even colder, Zhao Jiu sent Liu Hongdao back to Dongjing to make arrangements, and finally entered Qizhou, arriving at the famous Jinan Prefecture.

Yue Fei and Mo Qixie came out fifty li to welcome him. When sovereign and minister met, as always, there was little superfluous conversation. Even Wang Yan, having served a term as Grand Coordinator and having been somewhat shaken by this journey, kept a straight face and caused no trouble either in the imperial presence or in private.

The inspection of Jinan Prefecture was equally unremarkable, except that there were a few more elite units of the Imperial Camp Forward Army stationed here. Zhao Jiu was somewhat more familiar with these elite units, so he didn't pay them excessive attention. The only thing worth mentioning was that this sovereign finally met the legendary Mother Yue and exchanged some insights on raising children with her.

After staying in Jinan for perhaps four or five days, His Majesty Zhao continued his inspection eastward. Yue Fei, leading Zhang Xian's Beiwei Army, accompanied and escorted His Majesty Zhao eastward. They followed the Jishui River downstream and arrived at Zizhou. Zizhou was still within Yue Fei's garrison area, but further east, in Qingzhou, was the garrison of Zhang Jun's Imperial Camp Right Army.

However, it was only after entering Zizhou, before reaching Qingzhou, that an unexpected incident finally occurred—several hundred armored soldiers suddenly approached from the opposite direction, stopping the imperial procession outside a garrison point of the Imperial Camp Forward Army at Gaoyuan, and requesting an audience.

The incident was sudden, and everyone was cautious. But fortunately, this was right outside a military camp, and the entourage was large enough. Several hundred men requesting an audience in this manner was unlikely to be a mutiny or the like. So, unlike the tension of others, Zhao Jiu remained composed. He entered the Gaoyuan camp together with Wang Yan, Yue Fei, and others, and then summoned the leader of these soldiers.

But unexpectedly, the visitor had not come to see Zhao Jiu, but claimed to be looking for Yue Fei. Moreover, when this man arrived in the hall and learned that he was facing His Majesty, he became completely flustered, prostrating himself in fear and unable to speak.

This time, the accompanying civil and military officials grew tense again, and Zhao Jiu finally turned a probing gaze toward Yue Pengju.

"Your Majesty."

Yue Fei naturally knew the root of the matter, but it was somewhat awkward. However, things having come to this point, he dared not fail to rise and explain promptly. "Your subject does indeed recognize this man. He was a surrendered general your subject recruited when pacifying Zhong Xiang and Yang Yao in Jingxiang, named Guo Tai. Later, your subject stationed him here as a deputy commander, leading three hundred regular soldiers. But about a few months ago, when your subject was still in Guanxi, this man had already requested to resign, so he is no longer your subject's subordinate..."

"I know the name Guo Tai; he surrendered together with Huang Zuo... But what is this talk of resignation?"

Zhao Jiu immediately frowned, instantly sensing something amiss. "A deputy commander with three hundred hometown soldiers under him resigns while his commander is away—for what reason? And judging by today's appearance, those three hundred men resigned along with him, and they still have armor and weapons... Wang Gui was in charge in Jinan at the time, right? Three hundred surrendered troops, and you just let them resign directly?"

Yue Fei was momentarily embarrassed. Even Wang Yan, Ren Baozhong, and the others remained silent, because these men, rich in military experience, had already guessed what was going on.

"What is going on?" Amid the silence, Zhao Jiu blurted out, but almost at the same time, his heart stirred, and he seemed to have some realization.

"Your Majesty, no matter how muddled your subjects might be, we would never truly allow three hundred regular soldiers from Jingxiang to leave the army in Jingdong directly, carrying armor and weapons." Yue Fei, cornered, finally told the truth. "According to Wang Gui, at the time, there was a transfer document from Military Governor Zhang of the Imperial Camp Right Army, considered a lateral transfer."

Zhao Jiu finally let out a scornful laugh, sat up straight, and asked Guo Tai, who was kneeling below, not daring to raise his head: "Guo Tai, I'm asking you: what did Zhang Jun promise you? A house, or a beautiful concubine, or a promotion of two ranks?"

"He promised nothing!" Guo Tai still did not dare to raise his head, only kowtowing. "In Your Majesty's presence, I dare not speak a single word of falsehood!"

"Then why did you go over?!" Zhao Jiu finally frowned.

"Because the Yue Family Army's restrictions were too strict!" Guo Tai quickly explained. "Not allowed this, not allowed that, drill every three days, exercise every ten days—it was too hard... And Zizhou here borders the Zhang Family Army. I got familiar with people in the Zhang Family Army and knew it was looser over there, so I wanted to go!"

Zhao Jiu's face was expressionless, but he already believed it. Looking at the few men around him with military experience, they all wore an expression of "just as expected"... In fact, this kind of thing was very common in feudal-era armies, and even after the Imperial Camp system was established, it was still frequent as recently as two years ago, and on a much larger scale at that.

But over the past two years, as the situation improved and the central authority gradually grew, such matters became rarer. More often, it was like the present case—a few hundred men switching allegiance, which, given that each army had fixed payroll quotas, didn't involve real gains or losses in troop strength, and the commanders on both sides, for the sake of face, didn't want to report it upward.

Of course, believing it and having doubts were two different things—just as knowing something and still feeling uncomfortable when seeing it were the same principle.

"Then why did you come back today?" Ren Baozhong, seeing that the Emperor's expression hadn't changed for a long time, realized the situation and stepped forward to question first.

And whether it was because the southerner couldn't understand the northwestern accent or for some other reason, after being questioned, the man simply bowed his head and remained silent.

On the other side, Yue Fei was also gradually showing signs of anger—encountering such a thing was only human nature, and it would naturally provoke some anger, especially since this fellow didn't know propriety, going on and on about the Yue Family Army and the Zhang Family Army in front of the Emperor, causing him unnecessary trouble.

"Is it because you learned that Grand Commandant Yue had rendered great service, becoming a three-town Military Governor, second only to one among the commanders, while the Zhang Family Army had suffered a defeat, and you realized that the Yue Family Army had a brighter future?" Seeing the Emperor reach for his tea to drink, Wang Yan knew the Emperor was also angry and couldn't help but take the chance to jab at his former subordinate Yue Fei.

Yue Fei was completely furious, but facing Wang Yan, especially in the Emperor's presence, he truly felt constrained. So he simply stood up and harshly shouted at Guo Tai: "Guo Tai, in the presence of His Majesty, the Imperial Guard Commander-in-Chief, Military Governor Wang, is asking you a question—what is there for you to hide?!"

Guo Tai finally looked up at this, but his expression was pained: "Let me inform the Military Governor, it's not that I don't want to say, but it's shameful to speak of... If it were only a few Military Governors present, that would be one thing, but how could I lose face before His Majesty?"

"If you don't speak now, it won't just be a matter of losing face!" Yue Fei narrowed his eyes directly. "Aren't you afraid of military law?!"

"Let me inform His Majesty and all the Grand Commandants, this has nothing to do with prospects or victory or defeat."

Under the gaze of all those eyes, Guo Tai finally couldn't hold out and bowed his head to tell the truth. "I went to the Zhang Family Army, and life there was indeed relaxed, but at our level, weapons were still sufficient, yet the pay was only issued at eighty percent..."

Zhao Jiu, who had been lowering his head to drink tea, suddenly looked up, startling everyone into solemn attention.

"A twenty percent cut in pay—for a regular soldier, one or two months doesn't show it, but over a year, it's nearly ten strings of cash." Guo Tai, head still lowered, didn't notice the change above and continued explaining. "The young ones sent money home, and after a few months, their mothers back home had their uncles write letters scolding them, asking if they'd gone bad. The older ones brought their wives to the local area, and when they sent money back, their wives also made a fuss at home, asking if they were keeping someone outside. Out of three hundred brothers, at least two hundred had trouble at home. When there's trouble, they come to me for an explanation. The brothers around me are all from the same clan and village, and I simply couldn't hold out. Then yesterday, I heard from old brothers in this army that today Marshal Yue's four-character banner was coming, so I came early this morning to wait, only begging the Marshal's forgiveness to let us return... How was I to know that without any fanfare, His Majesty would also suddenly arrive? If I had known this, I would rather have died in Qingzhou than come here to lose face."

After this speech, the hall remained silent. This time, even Guo Tai sensed something was wrong and grew even more terrified.

"Let them stay!" After a long pause, Zhao Jiu suddenly raised his porcelain cup again to break the silence, effectively issuing an oral decree to settle this somewhat absurd matter. "Consider it proof of Pengju's strict military discipline and his own integrity... Let them stay!"

Yue Fei quickly stood up to acknowledge, while Guo Tai, overjoyed, kowtowed repeatedly.

Moments later, Guo Tai left the military camp hall, and this minor matter was considered settled. But the hall felt somewhat oppressive, with almost everyone trying to guess the Zhao Emperor's thoughts.

However, they didn't have to guess for long. Zhao Jiu sat for a while in the somewhat stifling hall, then smiled and stood up to give orders:

"Pengju, don't go back to Jinan, and don't follow me to Qingzhou. Just wait here. Understood?"

Yue Fei was slightly startled, then quickly bowed in acknowledgment.

After that, the Emperor, without even inspecting the local troops in Gaoyuan, directly rose and left the camp, startling the hastily reassembled retinue to follow as he continued southeast... It seemed the Emperor had only made a brief stop at Gaoyuan and was heading straight for Qingzhou.

The accompanying civil and military officials each remained silent.

It wasn't until evening that day, just as they were about to cross the Shishui River, that Wang Yan, the highest-ranking official present, finally couldn't hold back... Or perhaps, urged by the accompanying close ministers... stepped forward to advise: "Your Majesty, why not wait until dawn tomorrow to cross the river!"

"What difference does crossing now or tomorrow morning make?" Zhao Jiu, mounted on his horse, smiled in response.

"Why not first send a messenger ahead to inform Grand Commandant Zhang?" Fan Zongyin, the accompanying Hanlin Academician, also immediately stepped forward to plead.

"It's not like we're going into enemy territory!" Zhao Jiu still smiled in response. "Am I to announce my movements when traveling on my own country's soil?"

"Your Majesty, we have few troops." Even the usually taciturn Liu Yan couldn't help but step forward. "Why not have Marshal Yue behind us send the Gaoyuan troops to escort Your Majesty part of the way..."

"That's even more ridiculous. On my own soil, in a densely garrisoned area of the Imperial Army, am I supposed to be on guard against someone?" Zhao Jiu still smiled amiably.

At this point, even the awkwardly positioned Ren Baozhong and the somewhat muddled Lu Benzhong could wait no longer and stepped forward to advise.

But Zhao Jiu had clearly made up his mind. He waved his hand and directly pierced the veil: "You're overthinking things... The relationship between me and Grand Commandant Zhang is not as tense as you imagine. After he held firm in such dire straits on the Huai River back then, I regarded him as a trusted confidant. Now that I'm going to see him, I have heartfelt words to exchange. This is not something you can meddle in."

The crowd then dared not offer further advice.

And Zhao Jiu, without hesitation, took the lead, mounted the bridge to cross the river, and lodged on the opposite bank that night.

The next day, the Zhao Emperor left behind the infantry and most of the civil officials, assembled seven hundred cavalry, and galloped southeast. Arriving in Linzi by mid-morning, he rested briefly, causing quite a stir in Linzi city, then left Wang Yan, Ren Baozhong, and some of the Imperial Guard in the camp there, and departed with only his most trusted Liu Yan and five hundred cavalry.

By evening, they finally reached Yidu, the capital of Qingzhou. This was where Zhang Jun and his Imperial Guard Right Army headquarters were stationed. Only then did Zhao Jiu order the ceremonial banners to be raised, unfurling the Dragon Banner and the Black-and-White Ox Banner that had been stored away.

Now, the troops stationed in Qingzhou were, of course, the old core of Zhang Jun's Imperial Guard Right Army, the so-called Imperial Guard veterans. They were familiar with the Zhao Emperor and the Dragon Banner, and the matter of the Black-and-White Banner had been widely publicized through official gazettes.

Therefore, as soon as the banners appeared, Tian Shizhong's unit stationed outside Qingzhou city, in panic, ordered all troops not to leave camp without orders, while gathering several commanders to hastily chase after the banners.

When Tian Shizhong approached and confirmed it was the Imperial Guard and the Zhao Emperor, his heart was filled with panic, but he could only kowtow by the roadside to pay his respects.

"Where is Boying?"

At this point, Zhao Jiu still looked relaxed. "Tian Qing, lead the way. Don't disturb the common people."

Tian Shizhong grew even more at a loss, but at this moment, he dared not utter any superfluous words. He simply followed the imperial order and led the way toward Zhang Jun's residence. On the way, they first encountered Zhang Zigai, a commander of the Imperial Guard Forward Army who was on leave visiting his uncle and had himself served in the Imperial Guard, and then Zhang Jun himself, who came out hurriedly to greet them. But when sovereign and subject met, they merely exchanged casual bows by the roadside, and the Zhao Emperor repeated the same words, asking them to lead the way to Zhang's residence.

The Zhang residence occupied a vast area, clearly an old mansion of a local dignitary that Zhang Jun had acquired during the chaos of war... Such matters were hardly worth mentioning... Zhao Jiu entered grandly and sat directly in the main hall. Zhang Boying, along with Tian Shizhong, Zhang Zigai, and other military officials, all knelt down again to perform the formal greeting in the hall.

This time, the Zhao Emperor didn't rush to have them rise. Instead, he smiled and said from the hall: "How is it, Boying? Did I scare you this time? Was it as startling as that time in Xiacaicheng?"

Zhang Jun raised his head from the ground and gave a bitter smile: "Your Majesty came by night that time and even entered your servant's bedchamber—it was different after all."

"Was it?" Zhao Jiu gave a half-smile.

"But your servant was still frightened." Zhang Jun then lowered his head again. "Your Majesty... is it over the matter of Zhang Zongyan that your servant has incurred your Majesty's displeasure?"

"I'm not angry." Zhao Jiu thought for a moment and replied seriously. "Truly not angry, or at least not angry enough to matter... Think about it, Boying, if I were truly angry, I would have had your son-in-law and your nephew, one holding your left hand and the other your right, right there by the roadside. Why would I have come all the way to your home and still be smiling, telling you about the old days in Xiacaicheng?"

The hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

"Prepare a feast!" Zhao Jiu thought for another moment and suddenly issued an order. "Last time I didn't get to eat at your place, and today, in the dead of winter, I've traveled over a hundred li and am truly hungry. I want to taste the fresh New Year's dishes of the Qilu region... Don't call anyone else—not even the local officials. Just the four or five of us. Set the feast in the hall, and let's have a good chat."

"Your servant obeys the decree!" Zhang Jun was greatly relieved.

Though it was called a feast, everyone knew that hastily putting together the kind of flowing banquet Zhang Jun had held in the capital was impossible, especially in the winter month of La, when even green vegetables were scarce.

However, this was Zhang Jun's residence after all. There were preserved meats like ginger and fermented bean sauce, cellar-stored greens, fresh seafood, and local beef, mutton, pork, chicken, duck, and goose—so it was still quite abundant.

And leaving aside the accompanying cavalrymen, who rarely got to feast so well outside, in the main hall there was only one table for five. Zhang Jun carefully arranged everything and personally offered several rounds of toasts. Seeing that the Emperor refused nothing, he finally tentatively reopened the conversation:

"Your Majesty didn't bring any attendants?"

Zhao Jiu hastily swallowed a meatball, raised his hand, and said: "I brought a few, but since I'm meeting with Zhang Qing here, bringing them would be useless, so I left them behind."

Zhang Jun gave a bitter smile: "Your Majesty is considerate of your servants; your servant is deeply grateful."

"Regarding Zhang Zongyan's matter, tell me the truth—did you know about it beforehand?" Zhao Jiu suddenly turned his head and asked.

PS: Thanks to the big shot Yexu Weilai for the eighth Meng, thanks to Zaiyuan Qihai classmate for the Shang Meng, this is the book's 151st Meng!

And then continue to offer up a new book, big shot Nibaifo's new book, "I Really Only Have One Wife," a single-female-lead harem novel, going on the shelves on the 1st!