Catching Monsters

Chapter 190: Martial Arts Contest
Jiang Yun slowly stood up and walked into the Juxiang Tower. Tuoba Anyi was sitting in the middle of many Hu people.

Jiang Yun said with a faint smile on his face: "Brother, what's the matter? Have you figured it out? Are you willing to hand over the murderer under your command?"

Tuoba Anyi shook his head and said in a deep voice: "It is impossible to hand over my men. On the contrary, you are just an ordinary person. If you die, it will die. Is it worth delaying the emperor's work for this?"

Seeing that the other party still said so, Jiang Yun's attitude was very firm: "If you don't hand over the murderer, there will be no other discussion on this matter."

Although Jiang Yun was not clear about Xiao Yuzheng's attitude towards this matter, he could roughly guess it.

What was the purpose of allowing the Northern Hu delegation to come and pay tribute?
Did he really surrender to the Northern Hu envoys? Of course not.

Of course it’s for face!
In order to save face, people have to give a large amount of real money when they come here.

This is enough to show that the current Majesty is a person who cares about face.

But now, this group of people have killed citizens in the capital. If they are not severely punished, we will probably lose face.

This is also the reason why Jiang Yun’s attitude is so tough.

Tuoba Anyi frowned deeply and could not help threatening again: "Even when two countries are at war, they still don't kill envoys, not to mention that we are a tribute delegation."

"By doing this, aren't you afraid that we, the Northern Hu, will go to war with you?"

Seeing that the other party used this trick again, which was always effective, Jiang Yun said bluntly: "Brother Tuoba, how about this, you hand over the murderer, and then you and your group quickly return to Beihu and let your Khan raise an army."

"I have explained to the higher-ups, and you have explained to the Khan, so we are both relieved."

Tuoba Anyi was slightly startled when he heard this, and said in a deep voice: "Brother, can you afford this responsibility?"

Jiang Yun thought that if the discussion continued, there might be no result.

Looking at the room full of fierce and ferocious Hu people, Jiang Yun smiled and said, "How about this, we can both take a step back and let him go, but the family of the deceased is outside, so he must go out and apologize to the family of the deceased, right?"

"We can't explain ourselves if we kill people in public, right?"

After listening to Jiang Yun's proposal, Tuoba Anyi thought about it carefully. If the stalemate continued, it would not be a good thing for him.

The main purpose of the Northern Hu delegation was to obtain enough gold and silver from the Emperor of the Great Zhou to purchase a large amount of refined salt, silk, tea, porcelain, and various well-made handicrafts.

As for the constant talk of starting a war, it was just words he used to threaten and intimidate the Great Zhou.

If this matter continues to drag on, it will probably not be good for me.

If it was just asking his men to apologize, that would be the only concession he could make.

"He Lai." Tuoba Anyi looked behind him at the murderer and said calmly, "Come on, I'll go out with you. You apologize to the family of the deceased, and the matter will be over."

"Yes, chief." He Lai walked forward and nodded without hesitation.

He Lai was in his thirties, approaching forty, much older than Tuoba Anyi, but he was full of awe for Tuoba Anyi.

Soon, Jiang Yun led Tuoba Anyi and He Lai out of Juxiang Tower.

Jiang Yun laughed loudly towards the crowd and said, "Everyone, please make way. After our friendly negotiations, we have decided to let He Lai apologize to the family of the deceased."

At this time, the pedestrians gathered on the street heard Jiang Yun's words and looked at He Lai.

"Is this the guy who killed him?"

A scholar in the crowd gnashed his teeth in anger: "Well, you apologize? This barbarian committed a crime in the street, and you won't punish him severely? These Jinyiwei are Zhou people, receiving state salaries, but they are helping this barbarian?"

Someone nearby hurriedly advised, "Hey, keep your voice down. The clothes that man is wearing are from a captain of the Imperial Guard. If you offend him, you will suffer the consequences."

Upon hearing this, the scholar pointed at Jiang Yun's nose and cursed: "How about I scold this guy!"

The Jinyiwei who were maintaining order rushed forward to stop them: "Hey, that's enough."

"If you have the guts, put me in prison. You don't dare to arrest the Hu people, but you are powerful enough to deal with us civilians!"

The Jinyiwei present at the scene were of course feeling aggrieved. Without Captain Jiang's order, how could they dare to take action against this group of barbarians?

But then again, if they can’t deal with the Hu people, can they deal with a little scholar like you?
When the Jinyiwei saw the scholar making a loud noise, he wanted to step forward and arrest him.

"Hey, stop it." Jiang Yun hurriedly stopped his men from doing this. The people in the crowd were also filled with righteous indignation and shouted loudly, "Punish the Hu people severely!"

"Punish the Hu people severely."

Tuoba Anyi glanced coldly at the people, then looked at Jiang Yun and asked, "Where are the family members of the deceased?"

"The body has been transported to the Jingzhao government office. Of course, the family members will go there to handle the funeral affairs." Jiang Yun said with a smile.

Tuoba Anyi frowned: "The family members are gone, what do you want to do?"

"Capture this barbarian!" Jiang Yun shouted.

What I want to do, of course, is to lure the murderer out.

The Jinyiwei around were holding their breath and had been waiting for Jiang Yun's order. Soon, the six Jinyiwei who were close to them stepped forward quickly, holding ropes in their hands.

Seeing this, the murderer He Lai was about to draw his knife, but Jiang Yun was quick-witted and kicked him on the wrist, knocking the knife out of his hand.

Soon, several Jinyiwei pinned him down and tied him up with ropes.

"What are you doing! Brother, you are being unfair. You said you wanted him to come out and apologize, but..." Tuoba Anyi looked at Jiang Yun unkindly: "How dare you lie to me!"

Jiang Yun answered seriously: "Brother Tuoba, how did I lie to you? Think carefully about what I just said. Did I ever say that I would not catch him?"

"As for the apology, he will have plenty of time to apologize to the family of the deceased slowly when he comes to my Jinyiwei Prison."

Tuoba Anyi clenched his fists and watched his men being taken away, while many of his men in Juxiang Tower also stood up. As long as Tuoba Anyi gave an order, everyone would rush out and fight desperately with this group of Jinyiwei.

Tuoba Anyi asked coldly: "Jiang Yun, for an ordinary citizen selling breakfast, do you know what the consequences will be?"

Jiang Yun's face darkened, he glanced at the people below, and then said: "Tuoba Anyi, how you, the Hu people, view the lives of the people is your business."

"But in my opinion, the lives of ordinary people are also lives."

"They worked so hard getting up early in the morning, but because your subordinates didn't pay for the goods they bought and scolded you, you hacked them to death."

"If you don't severely punish your men, will there still be justice in this world?"

Many ordinary people watching around also cheered. "Hypocrisy." Tuoba Anyi snorted coldly and said, "What if it was your emperor who killed someone? Would you dare to punish him severely?"

Jiang Yun rolled his eyes at Tuoba Anyi. He knew in his heart that with so many people present, what he said today would definitely reach Xiao Yuzheng's ears.

He said without hesitation: "How dare the mere barbarians under your command compare themselves with His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Zhou?"

"Your Majesty is the incarnation of Heaven's Way. As the saying goes, if the king wants his subjects to die, they have to die. This is a great honor."

"This is the principle of heaven. The ruler is heaven, the minister is earth, and the ruler's orders are like heaven's orders."

"If God wants you to die, how can we talk about right and wrong?"

Tuoba Anyi's eyes turned cold as he watched his men being taken away by the Jinyiwei. Then, he smiled and hugged Jiang Yun enthusiastically, saying, "You are a wonderful man, my sixty-third brother. Let's go and pay our respects to the Emperor of your Great Zhou and see what this incarnation of Heaven is like."

"Brother, are you not angry with me anymore?" Jiang Yun felt strange when he saw the other party's enthusiastic look.

"As the eldest brother, how can I be angry with you?"

As he spoke, Tuoba Anyi put his arm around Jiang Yun's shoulders and shouted loudly to the surroundings: "Everyone, Captain Jiang Yun and I are sworn brothers, sworn brothers! From now on, if anyone in the capital dares to mess with my brother, my Tuoba tribe will never let him off easily!"

When Jiang Yun heard this, although he still had a smile on his face, his heart darkened.

This Tuoba Anyi is more sinister than I thought.

Anyone who announced his relationship with him in front of so many people would be doomed.

Let me ask, given the relationship between the Zhou court and the Northern Hu, who would employ or promote a person who is a sworn brother of the leader of the Northern Hu tribe?
Tuoba Anyi stared at Jiang Yun: "Sixty-third brother, come on, accompany me to the palace to meet your emperor! My people committed a crime in the street, and it was wrong for him to delay you for so long."

Jiang Yun was not polite either, and replied sarcastically: "Oh, big brother, you are too polite. It didn't take up much time. When I behead your subordinate in public, I will definitely invite you to watch the execution."

The two looked at each other with enthusiastic smiles on their faces.

……

In the court, Xiao Yuzheng was sitting on the dragon throne, yawning shamelessly, holding some unimportant memorials in his hands, flipping through them casually.

However, many ministers in the court were secretly complaining.

These ministers, who were able to hold high positions in the government, were quite old. It had been almost noon since early morning, and their legs were almost numb.

Xiao Yuzheng specially gave seats to many elderly ministers out of consideration for their health.

Everyone was wondering when the Northern Hu delegation would arrive, so they could go home and rest early after paying their respects to His Majesty.

At this moment, Zhao Zhongyi got the news, smiled, walked quickly to Xiao Yuzheng's side, and whispered: "Your Majesty, there is news from the Jinyiwei that the Northern Hu envoys are ready to set off and should arrive at the palace soon."

"Is the matter resolved?" Xiao Yuzheng's eyes fell on the memorial and he asked with some interest, "How was it resolved?"

Zhao Zhongyi reported in a low voice: "It is said that Jiang Yun, a captain of the Eastern Pacification Division, entered the Juxiang Tower alone, and used some unknown method to trick the murderer out, and then ordered his men to arrest him."

"Then……"

Zhao Zhongyi reported Jiang Yun's words word for word.

After listening, Xiao Yuzheng narrowed his eyes slightly and whispered: "The way of heaven is the order of the universe. The king is the sky, the minister is the earth, and the king's orders are like the orders of heaven."

"It's rare to hear these words coming from a Taoist priest."

Confucianists are all familiar with this kind of words, but it is rare for Taoists to have such awareness.

"However." Zhao Zhongyi showed some hesitation on his face, but he still reported truthfully: "The leader of the Tuoba tribe, Tuoba Anyi, claimed that he and Jiang Yun were sworn brothers, and it seemed that they had a close relationship."

Hearing this, Xiao Yuzheng frowned slightly but didn't say anything.

Finally, outside the hall, the ritual musicians who had been arranged long ago began to play high-spirited and stirring welcoming music.

All the civil and military officials in the hall stood on both sides. Soon, more than a dozen strong men from the Tuoba tribe, led by Tuoba Anyi, entered the palace hall.

Tuoba Anyi looked at Xiao Yuzheng, who was sitting on the dragon throne and wearing a crown. Then, he put his hands on his chest and said, "Tuoba Anyi of the Tuoba tribe greets His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Zhou."

Placing both hands in front of the chest is the highest etiquette of the Beihu people. All the Beihu strong men behind him also saluted in unison.

"According to the order of our Khan, I have come to present the treasures of the grassland to His Majesty the Emperor."

After saying that, Tuoba Anyi took out a list of gifts. Zhao Zhongyi, as his personal eunuch, stepped forward and took the list.

Then he looked at the things on it, and a look of disgust appeared on his face, but he still read it out solemnly: "The tribes of the Northern Hu offer one thousand horses, cattle, and sheep, one thousand precious animal furs, and one thousand animal blankets..."

Among these things, only the horses from the grassland are more valuable.

All these things have to be transported here slowly afterwards.

The items carried in the car were all worthless miscellaneous items.

Listening to the list of these items, Xiao Yuzheng frowned, but still took a deep breath and said slowly: "You northern barbarians are willing to pay tribute and obey the teachings of the Central Plains. I am very pleased and will reward you with 300,000 taels of silver."

Three hundred thousand taels of silver, with purchasing power in the Central Plains, is enough to buy a large number of luxury goods.

The ministers in the court also spoke up at the right time and played their real role.

Many ministers stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty is wise and wise. The grassland tribes have come to pay tribute and pledge allegiance to you. This is because of your majesty's great power and benevolence."

"Now that the four quarters have come to congratulate us, our dynasty's prestige has grown even greater. This is truly a blessing for the country and the people."

"May your majesty be healthy, your country be strong, and our dynasty be prosperous for thousands of years."

Listening to the ministers' words, Xiao Yuzheng finally showed a little smile on his face, and then said: "You have traveled a long way. Tonight, I will hold a banquet for you in Cuilin Garden."

Hearing this, Tuoba Anyi slowly raised his head and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, but I have another request. According to our Northern Hu custom, if we have a banquet, it would not be enough to just eat meat and drink wine."

"There needs to be a duel between the two sides. I am considered a top-notch warrior in the grasslands, and I want to challenge the masters of your Zhou country."

"We have many masters in Zhou country. Who do you want to compete with?" Xiao Yuzheng remained calm when he heard this.

Tuoba Anyi: "Since it's a duel, we can't hurt the harmony. Jiang Yun, a captain of the Jinyiwei, and I are sworn brothers. How about we have a duel to liven up the atmosphere?"

(End of this chapter)