In April of the second year of Wei Xing'an, Zhao Hongrun's sixth brother Zhao Hongzhao finally led his eldest son Zhao Liang back to Daliang of Wei State.

The father and son took a warship from the State of Qi, sailed up the river, and disembarked at the port of Bolangsha River in the State of Wei.

Not long after getting off the ship, the Qingya people deployed at Bolangsha River Port saw it and quickly reported it to Zhao Run, the new king in the palace. So when Zhao Zhao and Zhao Liang and his son returned to Daliang, Zhao Hongrun had already

The emperor sent Mu Qing, the original guard who was now serving in the Imperial Guard, to greet him.

Mu Qingzuo was seen astride a tall horse, wearing a black imperial guard armor. No matter how you looked at it, he looked very majestic and powerful, causing the people who were coming and going at the city gate to frequently stop and watch.

Suddenly, Mu Qing seemed to see something, and greeted him from a distance: "Fei Wei, Cao Liang!... This way."

The names he mentioned were the two clan guards around Zhao Zhao. They were driving a carriage for Zhao Zhao and his son. When they saw Mu Qing from a distance, they were surprised and drove the carriage close to him.

Of course, Fei Wei and Cao Liang did not forget to report to Zhao Zhaotong in the carriage: "The head of the family is Mu Qing next to His Highness the Eighth Prince."

Of course, Zhao Zhao was no stranger to Mu Qing, so he simply got off the carriage and said hello to Mu Qing.

Seeing this, Mu Qing immediately got off the carriage, cupped his fists and raised his hands, greeting with some respect: "Prince Rui, you are well."

"Prince Rui..."

Zhao Zhao casually glanced at his eldest son Zhao Liang, who had his little head emerging from the carriage, and felt inexplicably in his heart: The brothers of their generation have now reached the age where they are called kings instead of their highnesses.

This farewell has really been too long.

"You're well, Mu Qing." Zhao Zhao greeted him with a smile. Then he looked at the latter a few times and saw that he was wearing the armor of the imperial guard. He asked curiously: "Mu Zongwei is in the imperial guard now."

Are you employed?"

"It's a 'praetorian guard', not a 'praetorian guard'."

Mu Qing explained while instructing his accompanying subordinates to bring over some fine mounts.

He knew that Zhao Zhaojiu, who was in Qi State, probably didn't know the difference between the "Jin Guards" and the "Jin Guards": the Imperial Guards were only the "Bing Wei", "Jin Guards" and "Lang Wei" back then.

One, it was less than the superiors and more than the inferiors. It was at best an honor guard; but after the reorganization of the "former prince Zhao Yu", the imperial guards transformed into a garrison army to protect the royal capital.

A real army now.

It is worth mentioning that this army was also firmly in the hands of Zhao Hongrun, which greatly consolidated the status of the royal power.

"Is it because of the Second Prince Brother...?"

After listening to Mu Qing's explanation, Zhao Zhao let out a long sigh.

During the period when he was away from Wei State, many things happened in Wei State, even among their brothers.

The eldest brother Zhao Hongli was disheartened and lived in seclusion, the second brother Zhao Yu, King of Yong, committed suicide, and the fifth brother Zhao Xin was demoted and imprisoned. Among the uncles, the sixth uncle Zhao Yuanli passed away, his father Zhao Si passed away, and the fifth uncle Zhao Yuan passed away.

You also passed away - especially the fifth uncle Yu and King Zhao Yuande. Zhao Zhao still remembered that when he was young, he had seen the fifth uncle who was in poor health. At that time, he admired the fifth uncle's talent and learning.

At this time, Fei Wei, the chief of Zhao Zhao's clan, was driving a mount lent by the Imperial Guard soldiers, while Cao Liang was driving the carriage. Perhaps seeing that his master was in a low mood, Fei Wei deliberately changed the subject and asked Mu Qing.

He winked and said: "Mu Qing, it seems that you have been doing well in recent years?"

Mu Qing was always a quick-thinking person, so he immediately understood what Fei Wei meant. After laughing strangely, he seemed to be modest but actually said proudly: "Hey, I'm not talented. I'm currently serving as a colonel in the Royal Guards."

,Except for Wei Jiao and Lu Mu, I have the highest authority in the Imperial Guard... I have an establishment of thirty thousand people under my command!"

"Really?" Fei Wei and Cao Liang were both surprised.

You must know that they had known each other as early as the clan period. Later, because of the good relationship between Zhao Zhao and Zhao Run, the clan guards on both sides became quite close. Who would have thought that Mu Qing, a thief, would be so expensive now?

As a general who commanded an army of 30,000, Fei Wei and Cao Liang were quite envious. In fact, Fei Wei and Cao Liang also had positions in Qi State, but they were not as high as Mu Qing's position in Wei State.

, great power.

The reason is very simple, because the object of loyalty of Mu Qing has become the king of Wei, while the objects of loyalty of Fei Wei and Cao Liang are only the left prime minister of Qi, not the king of Qi.

Under the guidance of Mu Qing, Zhao Zhao and his party slowly entered Daliang.

After many years of absence, Zhao Zhao was deeply moved when he returned to the Kingdom of Wei. He even felt that this Daliang City had become very strange.

"I remember there used to be a Zhenbao Pavilion here...it was opened by a family named Chen in the north of the city."

On the way, Zhao Zhao pointed to a shop along the street and said in an unclear tone.

The Zhenbao Pavilion he mentioned was actually a shop that bought and sold jade, calligraphy and paintings. However, the shop he mentioned seemed to have been changed into something else now.

Not only this shop, but in fact the entire street felt very strange to Zhao Zhao, not at all like what he remembered.

"...Maybe it's because of the relationship with Bolangsha Port City."

Mu Qing glanced at the shop Zhao Zhao mentioned and explained: "When Bolangsha Port City rented and sold shops to outsiders two years ago, many people in Daliang sold their properties and pooled money to open shops in the port city.

I heard from officials from the Ministry of Household Affairs that in the past two years, due to Bolangsha's relationship, the development of Daliang has stalled..."

In fact, Mu Qing was half-understood. In fact, the reason why Daliang developed slowly was because the imperial court had strengthened its monitoring of the foreign population. To put it simply, unless you can show proof, you are not allowed to live in Daliang.

After all, this is the royal capital, and chaos can occur anywhere in the country, but not in this city.

Under such strict regulations, of course, the outside population flocked to Bolangsha Port City, which contributed to the prosperity of the port city and the chaos behind it.

Along the way, Zhao Zhao listened to Mu Qing's introduction to the changes in Wei State in recent years, and at the same time looked at the shops along the street.

He didn't know what he was feeling at the moment, nostalgic, melancholy, and maybe a little confused.

I remember that the last time he returned to Wei, it was nine years ago. At that time, King Lu Xi of Qi was still alive, and King Zhao Si of Wei was also still alive. Tian Dan, the famous general of Qi who escorted him all the way, was fiercely beaten in the Zichen Hall in the palace.

Frustrated the Chu envoy Huang Er and others.

Because of their dignity, they drew the then Wei State into the Qi State's camp, and soon after, they united with the Wei State to launch the "Qi, Lu, Wei and Yue Four Kingdoms Battle against Chu" and captured Sishui County in one fell swoop.

Even the king of Chu State lived in Shouying.

At that time, Zhao Zhao longed for the lasting friendship between Wei and Qi. Unfortunately, the good times did not last long. Within a few years, the death of Qi King Lu Xi triggered civil strife in Qi State, and its strength dropped significantly. On the other hand, Wei State,

However, they are developing vigorously, so it is inevitable that there will be competition for the title of "Hegemon of the Central Plains", and even enemies will arise because of this.

But in the end, with his mere efforts, he was unable to reverse the changes in the entire world situation: Wei and Qi were still at odds with each other, and Qi's old enemy Chu, after all, formed an alliance with Wei.

"Your Majesty, I don't know if I should go to the inn first, or..."

When they passed the fork in the road, Zhao Zhao's Zongwei Cao Liang asked, but his eyes glanced at Mu Qing.

At this time, Mu Qing smiled and said: "Prince Rui can do as he pleases, but your Majesty intends to invite you to a banquet tonight, in Yafeng Pavilion, just your Majesty and Prince Rui..." At this point, he saw

Glancing at the carriage, he changed his words and said, "Oh, you might as well take the crown prince with you, so that you can keep company with the crown prince and several other princes. After all, we are also cousins."

Zhao Zhao nodded.

In fact, he had no opinion on whether to return to Prince Rui's Mansion first or go to the palace to meet his brother who was now the King of Wei. However, considering that he was sleeping rough and sleeping rough along the way, Zhao Zhao still felt that it would be better to find a place to change clothes first.

Originally, it was a good idea to return to his own palace, but the problem was that Zhao Zhao did not have a palace in Daliang City - although he was already fifteen years old at the time, because the late king Zhao Si was particularly fond of him, even if he reached the age of

After that, he still lived in the Yafeng Pavilion in the palace until the war between Wei and Xiong Tuo, the king of Yangcheng, intensified.

However, Mu Qing said mysteriously: "Forget about the post house, Prince Rui should go back to the palace first."

"Prince's Mansion?"

Zhao Zhao, Fei Wei, and Cao Liang were all a little confused.

However, Mu Qing actually led them to a mansion, and the name "Prince Rui's Mansion" was clearly engraved on the plaque in front of the mansion.

"This is..." Zhao Zhao asked in surprise.

"It's your Majesty's order." Regarding Zhao Zhao, a wise man, Mu Qing simply told the truth: "Your Majesty was sure that King Rui would return to the country to pay homage to the late king, so he asked the Ministry of Industry to prepare this palace in advance..."

Zhao Zhao opened his mouth and said half-jokingly: "In other words, Hongrun... no, Your Majesty wants to detain me?"

Mu Qing shrugged mischievously, and then said with a smile: "Then, I will leave my humble duty first, and come back around dusk to greet Prince Rui and the Crown Prince." After that, he clasped his fists and left with a group of imperial guards.

After that, Zhao Zhao and Fei Wei were left behind, while Cao Liang and others looked at each other in confusion.

Finally, it was Fei Wei, the chief of the Zong Guards, who said, "Why don't you go in and have a rest first?"

Zhao Zhao nodded.

Of course, Zhao Zhao, the brother of Zhao Run, would not have any doubts about his settlement. After welcoming his wife and concubine, Kui Ji and Tian Wan, the family stepped into the palace.

To be fair, this royal capital is really sophisticated, no less than Zhao Zhao's Zuoxiang's Mansion in Linzi, Qi State. It is full of buildings, terraces and pavilions, and the entire palace is so large that everyone can't figure out where to go.

In the end, it was Cao Liang who asked the imperial guards on duty in the palace with an embarrassed look on his face, and then he found the location of the backyard.

After walking around for a while, my concubine Tian Wan worriedly asked Kui Ji in a low voice: "Sister, the king of Wei will not really detain his husband, right?"

"..." Kuang Ji shook her head, unable to explain why.

She knew a little about the new king of Wei, Zhao Run, and knew that the latter would not force her brother, but looking at this magnificent palace, she couldn't help but feel a little worried.

If she hadn't intentionally detained her husband Zhao Zhao in Wei State, why would the new king of Wei State need to build such a mansion in advance?

After that, Zhao Zhao and others took a bath, changed clothes, and rested for a while in the palace.

Around dusk, Mu Qing arrived on time and brought Zhao Zhao's family, Fei Wei, Cao Liang and other clan guards to the palace.

Compared with the changes in the city, the palace was still unchanged, which made Zhao Zhao feel a little more at ease.

"Is this the palace of King Wei?" Zhao Zhao's concubine Tian Wan asked Kui Ji in a low voice.

Among everyone, she was the only one who had never been to the palace in Daliang, so she was inevitably a little curious.

Because compared to the prosperity of Daliang City, especially Bolangsha Port City, the palace seems much simpler, but for some reason, it still gives people a faint momentum.
To be continued...