Minglong

Chapter 115: Night Banquet at Qian Palace (4)

"Woo woo ah~~~"

“Crack, crack, crack~…”

The Phoenix Head Priest prayed to the sky in the Linde Hall, and the desolate melody touched everyone's heart.

Emperor Qian originally wanted to see what tricks the Northern Zhou Dynasty was going to play, but as he listened to the serious soothing music, he slowly relaxed.

He recalled the fear and trepidation of being a prince, the desperate battle when he entered the palace with his death squad, the careful planning of fighting against the old ministers and kings after ascending the throne, and the patient planning of dealing with various countries...

My life has been like walking on thin ice, and it looks like I'm almost at the end...

Fortunately, his wife and children were still alive. Although Daqian was plagued by internal and external troubles, it was a prosperous country with a strong people and countless talents, which left Jinghuan with a good foundation...

I didn't see the world united, though I was unwilling to accept it, but it was fate, and I have no regrets in this life...

Let future generations handle the rest of the matter...

……

Li Gongpu, who was filled with anger, even felt a little relieved and muttered secretly:
If the old doesn't go, the new won't come...

Xie Jinhuan is even more powerful now. As long as His Majesty doesn't fall, what can he do to me...

……

All the civil and military officials in the Linde Hall who have climbed to their current positions have their own past.

At this moment, everyone was immersed in a peaceful mood, with different expressions. After the song ended, they remained silent for a long time.

As the instigator, Guo Ziyan knew this would be the result. He waited for the ministers present to sigh for a moment before speaking first:

"This birthday song sung by our ancestors is meant to remind us to remember where we came from and not to fear the future.

"The Empress is a man of both virtue and talent. She has assisted Emperor Qian for twenty years, weathering countless hardships during that time. She remains the same today as she did then.

"You have come to celebrate her birthday, yet you have not put in the slightest effort and have only presented her with gold, silver, pearls, and jade. You have treated the Empress as a vulgar person. In the eyes of these outsiders, you are not worthy of sitting in this Linde Palace."

These words directly scolded the whole audience, but the civil and military officials present found it difficult to respond. After all, these words were praising the queen and scolding them for not being sincere.

Empress He was actually also moved by the song, but she was the empress of Daqian after all. She wanted to say that she liked jewelry and the ministers were just catering to her taste, but this still made the Southern Dynasty seem like a vulgar people and gave face to the Northern Zhou.

Emperor Qian knew that this move was difficult to follow up. Seeing that his ministers were speechless, he looked at Fan Li, wanting this great scholar to debate with him.

At this moment, Duoduo came quietly behind Princess Changning and whispered in her ear.

Princess Changning had been watching with a frown on her face, but after hearing Duoduo's whisper, she perked up. She glanced at the corner of the hall, then spoke with her head held high and chest puffed out:
"Minister Guo is wrong. 'Nuo music' is used in shamanic rituals to pray to the gods. It's not uncommon in Daqian, but with the flourishing of various religions, the opening of altars and sacrifices is left to Taoism and Buddhism, and this unconventional technique is not used in normal times."

"Your Majesty is hosting a banquet for the ministers to create a lively atmosphere and a festive atmosphere. If you want to listen to elegant music, the palace has its own musicians. Why do you need Minister Guo to perform?

"Although the song presented by Minister Guo is elegant, it has plunged the entire Linde Hall into silence, and none of the ministers have smiled at all. Doesn't Minister Guo find this inappropriate?"

When the ministers heard this, they felt that it was a bit inappropriate.

After all, the repertoire is very simple, but Nuo music is a secret magical power of the shamanic sacrifice lineage. Daqian has driven out the shamanism, so where can it find such a musician to compete with the shamanism?

However, Princess Changning was a junior, and even if she couldn't scold him or said something wrong, the elders could still smooth things over. Therefore, the ministers decided to wait and see what would happen.

Upon hearing this, Guo Ziyan turned his gaze towards Princess Changning:
"This song was once performed to celebrate the birthday of the Emperor of Man. We use this song to celebrate the birthday of the Empress, as a gesture of respect from our Great Zhou. The reason there is no birthday celebration is because it was not performed by an official of the Southern Dynasty, not because the song is inappropriate.

"Your Highness said that the Empress would like to hear such music, and she can have the musicians play it at any time. In that case, could Your Highness have the musicians play a piece so that the ministers can have a better understanding of it?"

Princess Changning saw this and said nothing more, but waved towards the corner of the hall.

All the civil and military officials present, as well as Wei Lu, Zhang Huaiyu and others, knew that Princess Changning had a bunch of "strange people" under her command, and they thought that the one who would come out would be Duoduo, who could sing any song.

But what no one expected was that a young man in a white robe with extraordinary bearing stood up from the corner of the hall and walked to the front of the hall.

"Eh?"

"This is……"

The ministers were in an uproar!

Wei Lu had already heard about Xie Jinhuan's style of doing things, and thought that he could not dismember the envoy of Northern Zhou in court, so he wanted to pull him back, but failed.

Master and apprentice Fan Li and Zhang Huaiyu were also baffled and secretly pondered:
Is the princess planning to bring some percussion music to Northern Zhou?

I'm afraid this is inappropriate...

……

Emperor Qian, Li Gongpu, Prefect Chen Ping and others had not expected that Xie Jinhuan, a rising star of the righteous path with extraordinary martial arts skills, would appear at this time.

Empress He even whispered:

"Ling'er, what are you doing..."

Princess Changning knew how coquettish Xie Jinhuan could be when he got excited. She had no doubts in her heart and just looked at him to tell him not to worry.

Xie Jinhuan came to the front of the palace, bowed to the emperor and empress, and then looked at Guo Ziyan:
"Although I am a warrior, I also have some knowledge of music. Today I am performing my ugly act to celebrate the Queen's birthday. I hope you will not laugh at me."

"Uh……"

As a foreign envoy, how could Guo Ziyan not be aware of the developments in Jingzhao Prefecture? He was also very familiar with the name Xie Jinhuan.

But I really didn't expect this young man to be so handsome and to be planning to perform...

Could it be that this is 'dancing with swords to entertain the king', and is intended to scare me?

Although it was a bit strange, Guo Ziyan was eager to die in Daqian, and did not lose his composure in the name of launching an expedition to Northern Zhou:

"I didn't expect Master Xie to be so knowledgeable about music. I wonder what piece he's planning to play?"

Xie Jinhuan's purpose of coming out this time was to "dance with swords with the intention of targeting the big demon". He planned to use secret methods to boost the morale and see if he could blow out the hidden manipulator of the Hades Cult.

However, the atmosphere had reached this point, so he still had to say a few polite words. Xie Jinhuan looked around at the gentlemen present:

"Our Daqian nation was founded on military power. Our great ancestor revered the Human Emperor as a holy ruler and built a shrine to him on Yugeng Mountain.

"In the Human Emperor Temple, there are ten generals enshrined. One of them was a Yin Dynasty figure dedicated to Yin Lun. His statue features a war drum and a pipa. Do you know the story behind this?"

The witch priest behind Guo Ziyan responded:

"Yin Lun is one of the ancient witches. According to legend, the Emperor of Man was once besieged by a large army in Luyuan. Yin Lun played 'Shanhe Ling' to boost morale, helping the Emperor defeat the barbarians and establish his rule over the world. This is how the name 'Shanhe Pass' came to be. Could it be that Master Xie wishes to play this song to help the Emperor defeat the enemy?"

Xie Jinhuan didn't know Shanhe Ling at all, but fortunately no one knew what the song was like. He responded:
"Thousands of years have passed, and 'Shanhe Ling' has long been lost. However, my master once composed a piece of music based on this story..."

Upon hearing this, the Wujiao priest reminded:

"What was just played was the 'Nuo music' used for praying to the gods and offering sacrifices. If you only know an ordinary piece..."

"If it's an ordinary piece, why would I, Xie Jinhuan, be involved?" "..."

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire hall fell silent.

Princess Changning and Linghu Qingmo's eyes lit up slightly, and they probably meant:

He's so crazy~ But I like him so much...

Of course, Linghu Qingmo was also worried that Xie Jinhuan was going too far.

Guo Ziyan was intrigued by the arrogant tone and raised his hand to signal:

"Thank you, sir."

The people present were also skeptical and waited to see.

Xie Jinhuan didn't waste any words, just made a slight gesture of his hand, and Duoduo and the court musicians pushed over a big drum.

The drum is a full 1.5 meters in diameter. The drum body is made of nanmu wood painted red, with brass animal masks embellished on all four sides. The drum skin is not ordinary cowhide, but is taken from a special animal, said to be a descendant of the "Kui Niu". The drumstick is also made of its thigh bone. The vibration produced by pushing it is like thunder in the distant sky:
"Boom boom boom..."

Xie Jinhuan took the drumstick, which was as thick as a baby's arm, and stood under the coiled dragon dome. After a moment's preparation, his whole body began to flow with energy, and his white robe fluttered without a breeze. He then raised his hands and suddenly smashed down:

thump—

The sound of the drums is like thunder in the valley!

All the nobles in the hall felt their chests shaking violently, and even the wine in their cups rippled!
Sitting in the first seat on the right, seemingly drowsy, He Guozhang was startled and shuddered. His dim eyes turned sharp and he squinted at the young man in white not far away.

Even Xie Jinhuan himself was startled by the sound of the drum blessed by the spell, but it did not affect the rhythm and he began to beat the drum quickly.

dong dong dong...

The drumbeats gradually became denser, like the sound of iron hooves trampling and war drums destroying a city.

An indescribable sense of excitement emerged from the depths of the ministers' souls, coupled with the sharpness in Xie Jinhuan's eyes, which was accumulated from killing countless people with his own hands. It gave people the feeling that it was not the beating of drums, but a person standing on the top of the city, scowling and looking coldly at the thousands of armored soldiers suppressing the city. Boundless murderous aura rose into the sky with the sound of drums, and only one order was given, and then the swords would point to the north and thousands of arrows would be fired!
The expressions of Emperor Qian and even Cao Fuer behind him changed from admiration to surprise.

The Beiming religious believers who had just played music were all shocked!

After all, although Xie Jinhuan's drum music is completely different from his, the method of arousing people's emotions is obviously a copy of the Beiming Sect's method. The only difference is that he prays for the blessing of the gods, while Xie Jinhuan prays for the possession of the God of War!

Ordinary people can't hear the trick, but he has studied this for a lifetime, how could he not hear the sense of déjà vu?
Dongdongdongdong——Da Da——

The sound of the drums was like thunder that drove away demons, echoing in the huge golden palace.

Even the golden gourd warriors standing guard outside couldn't help but look sideways to see if there was really lightning and thunder in the Linde Hall.

As the drumbeats grew louder, the hearts of the ministers present were moved by the drumbeats, their heartbeats gradually quickened, their fists clenched, their eyes burning, and they couldn't help but nod their heads to the rhythm.

Xie Jinhuan didn't care about everyone's gaze. He just practiced the method taught by the ghost daughter-in-law seriously and beat the drum with all his strength to make everyone present excited!
Music can inspire passion, make people excited and active, and war drums are instruments used to boost morale in battle, specifically to inspire soldiers' belligerence, excitement, fearlessness, bloodthirstiness and other emotions. Blessed by the Zhuji lineage's methods, they can almost make people stop thinking under the dense drumbeats and just rush forward.

Wei Lu and other rough warriors, under the increasingly dense drum beats, almost subconsciously clenched their fists and tensed their muscles to the rhythm, and felt the urge to pick up stools and fight.

Xie Jinhuan himself was actually also affected by the 'Unsettling Curse'. If the occasion was not inappropriate, he would probably have to untie his hair and shake it a few times to feel satisfied.

People in the demon world do not care about restraining their desires. Instead, they indulge in desires such as killing and bloodthirstiness. When they are stimulated by the thunder-like war drums, it is no less than Xie Jinhuan having his face rubbed by the big butt of a peerless luxury car. It would be a miracle if they did not react.

dong dong dong...

As the drumbeats became more and more intense, everyone's eyes were filled with surprise, and their hearts were gradually being stimulated to the extreme. At the same time, a reminder came to Xie Jinhuan's ears:
"Push harder, it seems someone can't hold it any longer."

Seeing this, Xie Jinhuan took a deep breath and raised his hands high like a god beating a drum:

Boom-!
The sound of the drums was like thunder shaking the mountains and cracking the earth!
Li Gongpu was sitting nearby. He had been so inspired that he wanted to howl and pounce on Xie Jinhuan to bite him to death. Suddenly, he did this, as if he was ready to go to the extreme. Suddenly, he received an order and almost jumped up.

The elderly father-in-law He, half-closed his eyes and seemed to be listening, but he was also startled by the sudden sound of drums and his hands shook. Several light sounds of wine glasses hitting each other were also heard in the hall.

At this time, the ghost wife came to the conclusion:

"In the southeast corner of the hall, in the third row, the old man with the goatee is, unsurprisingly, the hidden demon."

Xie Jinhuan stood in the center of the hall. He couldn't see behind him and didn't look back at this moment. He just tried his best to mobilize his energy and beat the drum!
dong dong dong-

But unfortunately, he was an amateur after all, and he used the method of "pouring candles" to control the spell, so the power was a bit weak. It was extremely difficult to directly blow out the Hades Cult's hidden man.

Soon after, the song ended.

The excited atmosphere in the Linde Hall suddenly dissipated, but everyone's hearts were still beating like thunder and their eyes were still excited.

Xie Jinhuan put away the drumstick smoothly, saluted first to the emperor and empress, and then turned to salute all the officials present. During this time, he glanced at the target mentioned by the ghost daughter-in-law, and saw that it was an old man in a brocade robe.

The old man was nearly 70 years old and looked kind. At this moment, he lowered his head and his expression could not be seen, and no one knew what he was doing.

Although the ghost wife had detected that this person was not right, judging from where he was sitting, he should be just a marginal figure, not a powerful undercover agent of the Hades Cult...

Thinking of this, Xie Jinhuan did not alert the enemy and turned to look at Guo Ziyan:
"What does Minister Guo think?"

"Oh..."

Only at this moment did the people present regain their composure and express surprise and doubt.

Emperor Qian had just been appeased to the point of "doing one's best and leaving the rest to fate", but now, the sound of war drums inspired him to "sweep across the wilderness and unify the world", and he couldn't help but clap his hands:

"Okay, reward!"

clap clap...

The gentlemen present also nodded repeatedly, looking at Xie Jinhuan with eyes full of approval.

Although Xie Jinhuan's musical skills are just adequate, they cannot be compared with the masters of music theory.

But this is a murderous 'war drum', and what is needed is that domineering and unstoppable momentum!

The rough technique does not affect the viewing experience. When supplemented with the method of the sacrifice lineage, it can really make people appreciate how the Human Emperor led his people to turn the tables despite being surrounded on all sides, and dominated the land for ten thousand miles!

If Xie Jinhuan came from a family of music theory, the people present could only say that he had a wide range of knowledge, but Xie Jinhuan was a serious martial artist, and his performance in court really shocked many people.

Princess Changning, Linghu Qingmo, and even Duoduo who was watching from the sidelines, all had eyes that were filled with shock!

Especially Princess Changning, her eyes probably meant - Wow, you're really a hidden talent. I thought you only knew how to play brothels. I'll have to reward you well when I get back...

The talented people in the sect, such as Wei Lu, who had heard of Xie Jinhuan's reputation and had some desire to compare with him, were completely stunned.

After all, his talent in martial arts is impressive, which is not surprising in the practice of cultivation, and Wei Lu’s talent is not bad either.

But he is able to fight with them in martial arts, his ability to handle cases is unmatched, his handwriting can rival Zhang Huaiyu's, and he is also knowledgeable about music, and he plays the secret Nuo music of the Northern Zhou Dynasty. His knowledge is a bit too broad!

If this person can also play chess, draw, recite poems and compose essays, wouldn't it become the "Xiaoye Temple"?

Do you want to kill the local talents?
……

(End of this chapter)