inspire-indiana Chapter 187 How Should Your Excellency Respond?
Chapter 187 How Should Your Excellency Respond?
Elder Huang was completely bewildered. An Lushan was like a character with a split personality, hating the people who plotted against him one minute and having friends the next.
It seems this kind of mental work really isn't suitable for a cultivator like him. Elder Huang said no more and rode the flying spirit beast towards the Great Yuan Imperial City...
At this time, inside the Great Yuan Imperial City, Crown Prince Temujin, under the instruction of the Yuan Emperor, personally led many officials three miles outside the city to welcome the Ming envoy, in order to show the importance attached to this meeting.
As An Lushan's flying spirit beast slowly landed, the smile on Temujincheng's face gradually froze.
After a brief moment of surprise, Temujin quickly composed himself, strode forward, and said with a forced smile, "So it is Prince An who has graced us with his presence. It is an honor for our Great Yuan. I, the Crown Prince, have prepared a grand banquet in the palace to welcome Prince An and wash away the dust of his journey."
An Lushan smiled faintly, giving Temujin a meaningful look, and returned the greeting with a cupped hand: "Your Highness is too kind. I have troubled you greatly with this visit."
snort!
Temujin snorted coldly. Back then, the person in front of him had instigated that fool Temugeda to poison him, causing him to be tortured like a living dead for several years. If it weren't for his good fortune, he would have died long ago.
Although Temugu had been dealt with, he would settle this score with An Lushan sooner or later.
But the situation is complicated now. Who could have predicted that An Lushan would suddenly become an envoy of the Ming Dynasty? He could only suppress the hatred in his heart.
Temujin led An Lushan toward the palace, outwardly calm but inwardly seething with murderous intent.
Upon arriving at the palace and entering the brightly lit hall, the banquet was already prepared.
Temujincheng picked up his wine cup and forced a smile: "Prince An, try my 'Flying Apsara' wine. Rest assured, there is absolutely no poison in it!"
The moment Temujin uttered these words, the atmosphere in the hall froze instantly. The officials present looked at each other, unsure of what to do.
An Lushan's smile remained unchanged, but a cold glint flashed in his eyes. He picked up his wine cup, swirled it gently, and smelled the aroma. He said unhurriedly, "Your Highness's words are quite interesting. Are you implying something to me?"
Temujin realized he had spoken out of turn. An Lushan was now surrounded by experts, and the number of cultivators he could mobilize was many times greater than that of him, the crown prince.
Since it wasn't the right time to completely break ties with him, he immediately burst into laughter, trying to defuse the tense atmosphere.
"Young Master An, please don't misunderstand! I was just thinking about those unpleasant things from the past, all that scheming and backstabbing, and I blurted out whatever came to mind. Come, come, let's drink, let's drink!"
As he spoke, he poured himself another full glass, tilted his head back, and drank it down, trying to use his bold actions to cover up his inner panic.
An Lushan stared at Temujincheng, a mysterious smile appearing on his lips. He then drank the wine and praised, "This 'Flying Apsara' is indeed worthy of its name. It seems that His Highness the Crown Prince is a blessed person to have managed to acquire this secret formula!"
When Temujin heard An Lushan mention the secret recipe for "Flying Fairy" wine, his heart tightened, but he quickly recovered.
This is something that the three major factions covet. Even if you, An Lushan, have the Emperor Ming's backing, you can forget about getting your hands on it!
Then, Temujin Cheng, his smile undiminished, picked up his wine cup, swirled it gently, and said with a forced smile, "It was just luck. I only managed to capture the pig demon who used to brew wine for Zhuge Liang by chance and obtained the secret recipe for this 'Flying Heaven' wine from it. I never expected that this little secret recipe would elevate my status so much!"
"Oh! I wonder where that pig demon is now? Such a strange thing, I am quite interested." An Lushan asked with great interest, still wearing a faint smile on his face.
Upon hearing this, Tie Mujincheng's eyes flashed with a barely perceptible wariness as he said, "Now that we have the secret recipe, what use is it? Let's kill it and eat it!"
"Hahaha! Your Highness is indeed brilliant; you're leaving no chance for anyone else."
An Lushan laughed a few times, but a hint of suspicion flashed in his eyes. He then said, "However, since this pig demon can be used by Zhuge Liang, it must have some skills. Your Highness, you didn't have much trouble killing it, did you?"
Temujin cursed An Lushan's persistent questioning in his heart, but forced a smile on his face and said disdainfully, "So what if a little pig demon has some skills? It can't possibly cause any trouble on my territory. A few guards were enough to take it down, and killing it was a piece of cake. It didn't take much effort at all."
An Lushan nodded slightly, now certain that Temujin was lying.
Back then, he asked the Golden Core cultivators of the Biyou Sect to intercept and kill Zhuge Liang in the Yuan Dynasty. According to those who returned, even they had difficulty breaking through the defenses of the pig demon beside Zhuge Liang.
How could a mere few guards possibly kill Zhu Ganglie and eat meat? Aren't they afraid of breaking their teeth?
An Lushan picked up his wine cup, took a sip, and then changed the subject, "By the way, I've heard that His Highness the Crown Prince's Eastern Palace is full of talented people. The purpose of this mission to your country is to increase exchanges. I would like to ask His Highness to introduce them to you. I am not very talented, but I would like to discuss heroes with you all over wine."
Although Tie Mujincheng didn't seem very bright, he could tell that An Lushan wanted to investigate the strengths and weaknesses of the Eastern Palace. Historically, the Eastern Palaces of various countries could recruit strategists and even cultivators for their own use.
Moreover, this is the capital of the Great Yuan Dynasty; he didn't believe that An Lushan could cause any trouble.
Therefore, not wanting to diminish the prestige of his Great Yuan Dynasty, he slowly spoke, "I have five hundred supporting cultivators and three thousand advisors. I would like to ask how you plan to deal with this?"
Upon hearing this, An Lushan's smile deepened. He leisurely put down his wine cup, cupped his hands, and said, "Your Highness the Crown Prince has a wealth of talented people under your command, which is truly enviable. Although I do not have such a large team, I also have many extraordinary individuals under my command. If I can exchange ideas with the people of the Eastern Palace, this trip will be worthwhile! I can then return and present a satisfactory report to His Majesty of the Great Ming!"
Temujincheng sneered. An Lushan was just bluffing. His side was full of experts, so why would he be afraid of him?
He readily agreed, "Oh? That sounds interesting. Why don't we wait a few days and let them compete? Let this Crown Prince broaden his horizons."
"There's no time like the present, I'm already quite impatient. Perhaps through this exchange, we can even come up with some new ideas that would benefit both countries."
An Lushan's expression was calm, but his tone was full of an unyielding authority.
Temujin's expression changed slightly. He had originally planned to buy some time to borrow some troops from elsewhere to increase his chances of winning and to demonstrate the might of the Great Yuan.
However, An Lushan's relentless pressure left him in a difficult position. As the Crown Prince of the Yuan Dynasty, he could not show weakness in front of all the officials and An Lushan.
"Alright! Since Prince An is in such a hurry, let's set it for tomorrow. What do you think?"
Temujincheng gritted his teeth and agreed, then put down his wine cup, gave a few instructions to the ministers beside him, and left the hall.
An Lushan's visit was ill-intentioned; he needed to go back and consult with his strategist, Zhuge Liang, about countermeasures...