C86

Sima Jingyan didn't see him, the one who saw him was Sima Jingyan's fourth son, Sima Mingzhu! With Zhang Zhou's current status, Sima Ming Zhu didn't dare to easily refuse him at the door. Moreover, Zhang Zhou was now a legitimate marquis, and his career was in a period of rapid growth. In addition, a few days ago, Zhang Zhou had caused quite a ruckus in the Imperial Guard. As a military family, it was impossible for Sima Ming Zhu not to know of it. Therefore, not only did he open the door to welcome the guests, his attitude was also very polite.

Sima Ming Zhu didn't remember having met Zhang Zhou once, so Zhang Zhou wasn't interested in mentioning the past.

After sending those people away, after a few simple greetings, Sima Ming Zhu asked in an extremely courteous manner, "May I ask for your presence, Master Hou? What can I do for you?"

"Young Master Sima, I came here today to pay my respects to the great general!"

"Oh, that's unfortunate, my father has been ill recently and can't receive guests! However, if Master Hou has urgent business, there's no harm in telling me! "

Sima Ming Zhu acted as if she was the head of the family in her stead.

"That's fine too, I've come for the matter of the Great Yan Mountain Pass!"

"Great Yan Mountain Pass? Oh, I understand, it must be the marquis' merchant group being held up! Sigh, there was indeed no other way! As you know, it's hard to avoid the geese locking themselves up in the Keshen Prefecture on the Great Sea Prairie. I truly have no choice but to do so. I hope the duke will forgive me! "

Zhang Zhou smiled and said, "Young Master Sima, let's not beat around the bush. I don't want to know whether or not Servant Hu is here. I have always advocated doing business here. If there are benefits, everyone can share them. As my caravan passes by, naturally, there will be benefits from the Sima family! "As long as the gates to the Great Yan Mountain Pass open a crack for me, this silver would naturally be formed. Why not?"

"Master Hou might have misunderstood. It's not that my Sima family wants to lock down Great Yan Mountain, it's just that the situation is critical and we have no choice!"

He wanted all the benefits, but the future rise and fall of the Sima family, as well as their survival and survival, had to come first. By sealing off the Great Yan Mountain Pass, one could say that everything outside the pass was sealed off. Whether there was wind or rain, it all depended on the Sima family's words. With a caravan passing by, the situation was completely different! In this critical period of time, the Sima family would not take the risk of leaking the news just for the sake of profit!

After talking for a while, Zhang Zhou finally understood from Sima Ming Zhu's attitude that this kid was determined to keep pushing Tai Ji out of the way. Zhang Zhou was in a rush, he had no mood to waste his saliva with him. With a slightly angry expression, his words were straightforward.

"Young Master Sima, I have no time to waste here! Since I can't see the head of the Sima family, I can't open the Great Yan Mountain for my caravan! Then I have no other choice but to submit a report to the imperial court, informing them that the 100,000 Hu slaves had entered the imperial court as a scam! Then, immediately send troops out of Great Yan Mountain Pass. At that time, let's see if your Sima Family can produce 100,000 Hu slaves! Don't think that your Sima family can block all the news from the northwest, I also have a reliable source of information! Compared to the future of your Sima family, I'm just a small official that's as big as a sesame seed. I'm really not afraid of getting caught in a fight to the death! I dare to gamble with my wealth, but I just don't know if your Sima family has the courage to do so! "

Sima Ming Zhu didn't expect Zhang Zhou to be so direct. She wanted to explain herself, but Zhang Zhou didn't even listen to her and just flicked his sleeves and left! He did not have the slightest intention of putting on an act! Sima Ming Zhu naturally knew the truth. She also knew that if Zhang Zhou really did such a thing, it would definitely be difficult to deal with his future situation! He could only stop Zhang Zhou and advise him to be patient! And Zhang Zhou was no longer in the mood to talk to him! Since Sima Ming Zhu was unable to do so, she could only invite her father, Sima Jingyan.

Facing Sima Jingyan, Zhang Zhou only spoke in a slightly calmer tone, but his words were as straightforward as before, without concealing anything.

"Great General!" I am a nobody. I was lucky enough to make a bit of contribution in the West and get this opportunity to negotiate with the West. You have cut off my road to riches just like this. I will definitely not agree to that! Even if I don't have the ability to fight to the death with your Sima family, I can still scratch the blood from your face! "

Towards Zhang Zhou Ruffian's words, Sima Jingyan was not angered at all. He only looked at him with an expressionless face, and indifferently said, "This matter concerns the life and death of my family, I cannot give in. As for your loss, this old man is powerless to help!" You can do whatever you want! "

Sima Jingyan was obviously very confident. However, Zhang Zhou did not achieve his goal, so how could he let it go? They really instigated the imperial court to destroy the Sima family? What good would it do him to turn things upside down in the North?

"Great General, I know what you're thinking. There's no point in talking too much. This lowly subordinate will not deny that recruiting soldiers is a good idea, but to pretend to be sick like this is definitely not a good plan!"

Removing the disguise would make it easier for them to communicate with each other!

"Oh, I'm in a good mood today. I can listen to your brilliant idea!"

"Great General, how long will you wait and wait for His Majesty to leave us like this?" Admit that your Sima family has the qualifications to challenge us, but are you sure that His Majesty won't retaliate in the future? You must know that you are not the only family in the Southping Prefecture! If the emperor was determined, he would deploy several tens of thousands of troops to guard the pass. After that, we will give our all to support those Northwest Families. In front of the benefits, can you guarantee that those Families will still be loyal to the Sima Family? What a tigers can't handle a pack of wolves! At most five years, even if I can't destroy your internal structure! Even if your Sima family can achieve an undefeated victory and become the only family power in the Southampingland, how much capital would you have left? When the time comes, do you think you still have the qualifications to challenge the imperial court? This may seem like it will pay off in a short period of time, but in reality, it will cost the entire Sima family's future! "

Sima Jingyan's face was gloomy and uncertain.

Zhang Zhou continued, "And now, if the Great General were to give His Majesty a way out, not only would it ease the relationship between the Emperor and his subjects, it would also reduce the amount of resentment His Majesty has toward the Sima family! They would also understand that it was because of the existence of the Sima family that Tang Dynasty was in so much less trouble! Your Majesty will no longer make things difficult for your Sima Family! On the contrary, they would even heavily reward him! Whether or not the 100,000 Hu slaves come or go depends on the mood of the Sima family! "Why not?"

Zhang Zhou purposely added on.

"This lowly official thinks that the general has no other disrespectful thoughts!"

Sima Jingyan did not express his position. Instead, he seriously looked at Zhang Zhou and asked, "In that case, what do you want?"

"Hehe, I like the way the general does things!" Let's get along. It has nothing to do with me what your family does in Nanping Province. As for me, I just want to make money! I want to monopolize the trade with the Western Tribes. I want the pass to be open to me! Of course, the Sima family has its own benefits! "

Sima Jingyan nodded.

"Our conversation today …"

"General, don't worry. I know what to do to my advantage." If the Northwest is not in chaos, then I'll be able to earn money, right Great General! "

"Hahaha, a young hero comes out!"

After sending off Zhang Zhou, Sima Jingyan immediately entered the pilgrimage!

While Zhang Zhou was still waiting at home for the news, the palace eunuch arrived! Zhang Zhou's heart skipped a beat. Did something happen again?

Every time Zhang Zhou saw the Emperor of Tang, he would feel a lot of pressure because the impression Zhao Qianyuan gave him was too gloomy. It was hard to figure out what he was thinking. He dared to play tricks in front of the empress, but he did not dare to act rashly in front of Zhao Qianyuan!

"You went to Sima Jingyan's house today?"

Zhao Qianyuan's straightforward question sent chills down Zhang Zhou's spine. He was panicking! He had secretly trained his spy intelligence, keeping a low profile about his own actions. To put it bluntly, he was doing something to protect himself. However, now that he knew that he had become the target of surveillance and was living under someone else's surveillance, his mood was definitely different. Furthermore, the one who asked this was the emperor. It was difficult for him to maintain his calm due to the fear he felt! What he did not know was that the Department of Investigation was only targeting Sima Jingyan. He was not qualified to be targeted!

"Yes, yes, Your Majesty!"

"Are you nervous?"

Zhang Zhou, who was kneeling in front of the imperial desk, naturally couldn't speak the truth. He forcefully suppressed the panic in his heart, and after a brief moment of thought, explained, "Yes, I'm a bit nervous!"

"What's there to be nervous about?"

"This humble subject came to General Sima's residence to share some views with him. This humble subject does not know what he specifically said to His Majesty afterwards. When His Majesty summoned this humble subject, this humble subject is very worried. Could it be that Sima Jingyan said something that annoyed this humble subject and caused something to happen to this humble subject? This humble subject is somewhat afraid! "

Zhao Qianyuan gave a rare snort of laughter.

"What did you tell him?"

Zhang Zhou couldn't figure out what the emperor knew either! However, judging from Zhao Qianyuan's laughter just now, there shouldn't be anything that would infuriate Long Yan and he wouldn't know the details of his conversation with Sima Jingyan! His mind became much calmer.

"Your Majesty, this humble subject was naturally very concerned when I heard about the military news of Great Yan Mountain Pass. When I learned that General Sima was sick and was at home, I more or less guessed a few of the problems! In addition, this humble subject was also acting on his own initiative. He was worried that the chaos in the northwest would not be able to settle down in time, and the advantages bestowed to this humble subject by His Majesty would be in vain! "That's why I wanted to give it a try at General Si Ma's place!"

"Oh, you are quite outspoken! Continue to speak! "

Zhang Zhou seemed to be conflicted as he said softly, "Your Majesty, please forgive this humble subject for debating over the sins of the current situation. Only then will I dare to speak!"

"Hehe, did you say something outrageous?"

Zhang Zhou quickly straightened his body and waved his hand: "This humble subject doesn't dare!"

"Then tell me, I just want to hear the truth!"

"This humble subject will definitely speak the truth! This humble subject did not see General Sima at the beginning, but the one who saw me was his son, Sima Ming Zhu! His original intention was to send this humble subject away, so this humble subject bluntly said to him, "Your Sima family is facing a calamity!" "If Sima Ming Zhu doesn't believe it, then I …"

Zhang Zhou secretly sized up the Emperor, obviously having some concerns. Zhao Qianyuan frowned and said unhappily, "Just what?" Say it quickly, don't hesitate to say it! "

Zhang Zhou quickly continued, "This humble subject has left behind a single sentence, you Sima Family isn't the only family in the Southflat State! Then he turned around and left. This humble subject does not know whether that Sima Ming Zhu was truly afraid, or if it was for some other reason, and later on this humble subject was stopped. "

"And then?"

"Then, that Sima Jingyan came out, and with that gloomy face of his, he interrogated this humble official about what he meant! This humble subject also became anxious and said, In the past hundred years, Tang Dynasty has handed over the Northwest to be guarded by your Sima family! The purpose of the countless favors you've received is to allow you to maintain the stability and peace of the Northwest of Tang Dynasty. Now is the time to ask for your help, you actually want to stay out of this matter? Ignoring it? His Majesty will be very disappointed! His Majesty was a decisive warrior, and now that the Tang Dynasty was strong and strong, he had shown mercy to the Sima family. It was just that His Majesty didn't want to hurt the peace of the world, didn't want to disrupt the peace and prosperity of the common people! If the Sima family is stubborn and steeled their hearts to be that piece of rotten meat that is useless to the Tang Dynasty, His Majesty would be able to endure the pain of wielding a saber and exterminating his relatives! What else to say, this humble subject can't remember. I can only remember that I was very angry at the time. Later on, this humble subject also thought that they should have long had a heart of cowardice, but they were still holding on to that little bit of face. In the end, Tang Zheng was still His Majesty's. It was one thing for an official to have the temper of a child, but did he really dare to not fear the wrath of the Son of Heaven? This humble subject feels that it is not possible! After this humble subject left, I heard that General Sima went to court. I don't even know what happened after that! Your Majesty, if Sima Jingyan had provoked Supreme Dragon in any way, it really wasn't this humble subject who instigated him! "

After hearing what Zhang Zhou had to say, Zhao Qianyuan did not say a word. Zhang Zhou had a few words that made him very satisfied. Although Zhang Zhou did not have a high political standing, but his words were reasonable, and he believed Zhang Zhou's narration! Especially during Zhang Zhou's narration, he imitated Sima Jingyan's expressionless face. When Zhao Qianyuan recalled it, he found it very interesting! However, what moved his heart the most wasn't the process of Zhang Zhou's narration, but the sentence that Zhang Zhou had said at the beginning: You Sima Family isn't the only family in Southflat State!

And Zhang Zhou could not possibly reveal the idea of splitting up Nanping Province. What he wanted was for Tang Dynasty to be stable, and that was all.

After pondering for a while, Zhao Qianyuan said lightly, "Sima Jingyan the Senior has agreed to send troops to fight the enemy!"

Zhang Zhou, who was kneeling on the ground, felt pain in his knees as he hurriedly said, "This humble subject congratulates Your Majesty!"

"You've done another meritorious deed! How should I reward you? "

Zhang Zhou didn't think this was a good time to ask for benefits.

"Your Majesty, this humble subject can't finish the trade with the Western Tribes in a short period of time. If I were to bestow more rewards, this humble subject really won't be able to take it!"

"Oh, you're not greedy at all! How about this! You are the adopted son of the empress, so you should be a Marquis! You are the first person to have such a status since I've succeeded to the throne. Today, I shall give you a proper and proper status as a marquis! I'll give you the title of Marquis of the Nine Prefectures! In the future, he would participate in court meetings! Another mansion! Satisfied? "

"This humble subject thanks Your Majesty for his grace!"

Zhang Zhou, who was kneeling on the ground, replied, "Thank you," and thought to himself, "Shouldn't we be going to work every day from now on?"