Frontier Army Warrior

Chapter 698 State Banquet

Lin Feng kicked off the saddle, jumped off the warhorse, strode forward, and came in front of Zhu Qisheng.

He bowed and smiled, "Thank you for your help, eunuch."

Zhu Qisheng quickly returned the greeting: "Haha, Commander, you are too polite. We are the ones who should come out to greet you."

As he spoke, he moved closer to Lin Feng.

"Sir, you may bring six guards and enter the palace armed with weapons. This is the emperor's special permission."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your mercy."

"Hehe, please, sir."

"Father-in-law, please."

Lin Feng stepped forward and followed Eunuch Zhu into the palace gate.

The six people who followed Lin Feng into the palace this time were led by Pei Qiyin. Wen Jian and Bu Yunting had to leave one person behind to command the guard team.

Hong Xiao followed behind Lin Feng, Zhao Shuo led the way in front, Wen Jian and Cheng Liang protected them on both sides, and Qiao Jushan stood at the back.

A thousand guards spread out in front of the palace gate.

When Lin Feng's 1,000-horse guard arrived at the palace, they had already stopped many ministers who had come to attend the banquet outside.

At this time, Lin Feng relaxed his guard after entering the palace gate.

There was no way around it. Regardless of their official rank, these ministers were all kept outside and had to suppress their anger.

Lin Feng followed Zhu Qisheng into the Qingde Hall and walked forward along the wide hall.

Along the way, we saw rows of low tables on both sides, one for each official attending the banquet.

Near the end of the hall, there is a high platform with a large low table on it and a cushion underneath.

Needless to say, this must be the emperor's seat.

Along the lower part of the platform, there is a row of low tables on each side.

Zhu Qisheng brought Lin Feng to the third low table on the left and extended his hand to invite him.

"Commander, this is your seat. Please take a rest."

Lin Feng turned his head and found that there was a screen behind the low table so that he could avoid everyone's sight and take a rest.

At this time, the other guards had been stopped outside the hall, and only Pei Qiyin and Hong Xiao were allowed in.

One reason is that the two are women, and the other is that each senior official can bring one guard or attendant.

Zhao Shuo was not among them. Due to his status, he could come and go freely, so he still followed Lin Feng.

Lin Feng sat on the cushion behind the low table, Zhao Shuo sat beside him, and Pei Qiyin and Hong Xiao stood behind him.

Zhao Shuo introduced him in a low voice.

"The first position in front is Grand Tutor Wan Quan, the second position is Prime Minister Han Qi, and my eldest brother is third. Considering his age, he is truly unprecedented and will never be surpassed."

Lin Feng raised his chin: "What about over there?"

"Oh, the first one is the current Crown Prince Zhao Cun, the second one is my father, Prince Rui, and the third one is Prince Lu."

Lin Feng turned his head and looked at the bustling hall.

"We're here early."

“Brother, it’s not early. The big guys in front have to put up their guard, and the ones behind have almost arrived.”

The fourth person in Lin Feng’s row was the Minister of War, Tang Bingqian.

He was already in position, staring at Lin Feng.

The sound of breathing in the chest was very sad.

There was a grudge between the two men. Among the seventeen officers killed by Lin Feng at that time, there were relatives of the Tang family.

Besides, the third seat should have been occupied by Tang Bingqian.

Following a burst of greetings, all the officials stood up and saluted.

Crown Prince Zhao Cun and two princes walked over together. Lin Feng also stood up and bowed with a smile.

Seeing Lin Feng, the Crown Prince and the two princes turned around and came to the table.

Prince Lu asked in a deep voice, "Marquis Lin, is my son Zhao Gui serving as a soldier under your command?"

Lin Feng was surprised: "Why do you say that, Your Highness? How come I, the commander, don't know about this?"

Prince Lu glared and said, "How could you not know? It's right here in your Kun City."

Lin Feng laughed and said, "Your Highness, Zhao Gui suffered a crushing defeat. Due to a command error, 40,000 imperial guards were killed. According to the law, he should be executed. How could he be in our army?"

Prince Lu was stunned and pointed at Zhao Shuo.

"But he... he said..."

Zhao Shuo quickly bowed and said, "Uncle, I didn't say anything."

The ministers around pricked up their ears, wanting to know what was going on.

Prince Rui quickly tugged at Prince Lu's sleeve.

"If you leave, anyone who dares to violate the law will be punished, even if they are a relative of the emperor."

Prince Lu turned around blankly and walked towards his seat.

Prince Rui was secretly happy. Lin Feng was really capable. He shut Prince Lu up with just one sentence, preventing him from nagging his son endlessly.

Hearing the voices, Grand Tutor Wan and Prime Minister Han Qi both came out from behind their respective screens.

It turned out that they had already arrived a long time ago, and I didn't know what the two of them were talking about while hiding in the back.

Everyone sat in their seats and a waitress brought them tea.

Lin Feng looked up and found that the seating arrangement opposite him was wrong. According to Zhao Shuo, the second seat should have belonged to his father, King Rui, but King Rui sat in the third seat.

But the second position was left vacant, and I don’t know who it was left for.

Just as I was wondering, I heard a eunuch shouting loudly.

"The Emperor has arrived..."

All the ministers in the hall knelt down with their heads touching the ground, waiting for the emperor to pass by.

Lin Feng followed the people in the front row, bowed his head, and placed his hands on his chest.

Grand Tutor Wan and Prime Minister Han Qi did not need to kneel.

King Rui and King Lu opposite also do not need to kneel.

After waiting for a while, Emperor Zhao Zhen strode into the hall and walked forward, followed by Zhao Tianyu, who was dressed in a young man's long gown.

Zhao Zhen stepped onto the platform and sat down, while Zhao Tianyu sat down in the second position on the right.

"My dear ministers, please stand up and take your seats."

All the officials then shouted "Long live the emperor", stood up, straightened their robes, and sat down.

Zhao Zhen waved his hand.

Zhu Qisheng hurriedly stepped forward and unfolded a scroll from a tray held by a little eunuch.

"By the providence of Heaven, the Emperor proclaims that Lin Feng, Marquis of Jingguo, commander of the Imperial Guards, defeated the rebels at Qiancheng, killing 40,000 enemies and driving back 160,000, thus lifting the siege of Kyoto. For his hard work and outstanding contributions, he is hereby granted the title of Marquis of Jingguo. This is my decree."

As soon as the imperial edict was issued, there was an uproar in the hall and the ministers were talking about it.

Lin Feng stood up and bowed: "Thank you for your grace."

He walked quickly towards Zhu Qisheng who was walking down the platform and took the imperial edict with both hands.

A flash of cold light flashed across Prime Minister Han Qi's eyes, then disappeared in a flash.

He served as prime minister for many years and served two emperors, and his contributions were remarkable.

But he was only promoted to marquis.

Lin Feng was so young and was promoted to Duke after winning a few battles, which really made him feel unwilling.

Zhao Zhen raised the wine glass on the low table.

"Come, let's toast to Duke Jingguo's victory in Qiancheng."

The ministers quickly raised their glasses and echoed loudly.

"Cheers to the great victory of Lord Jingguo in Qiancheng."

The atmosphere in the hall was lively. After three rounds of drinks, some people began to leave their seats and come to toast.

In order to avoid getting drunk, Lin Feng just touched his lips lightly to show his appreciation.

In order to create an atmosphere in the hall, there were drums and music, and the palace maids wore colorful gauze clothes and danced gracefully.

In an instant, the atmosphere of the banquet reached its climax. The whole hall was filled with erotic fragrance. The thin gauze clothes faintly revealed the fragrance and color of flesh, which aroused people's reverie.

After the dance, Zhao Tianyu stood up, pressed his hands down, and signaled everyone to be quiet.

All the ministers knew her importance, so the hall soon became quiet.

Zhao Tianyu turned around and smiled at Lin Feng, which made Lin Feng's heart skip a beat.