In the dead of night, the moon is in the sky.

When Cao Huilong's study was still brightly lit, the two human-height bronze headlamps in the study were blazing, illuminating this already majestic room as bright as day.

Across from him sat a visitor with a smoking gun in his hand, tobacco was a great way for people of their age to relax, and they could chat about what had happened in Sunset City recently and what was to come in the future.

The elderly Cao Huilong has only one son and two daughters under his knees, one of whom serves as one of the nine generals of the Dragon King.

Cao Huilong has never liked to meddle in the affairs of the dragon species, and he also has a cold attitude towards his son to fend for himself, and the only one in the family who can say a few words to this man who leans towards the government and the opposition is only a daughter who has not yet married, and she is so rigid that she is not close to people.

The Daqing Dynasty gave officials at all levels the most money in the world, just the three officials have three thousand taels of silver per month, clothing, food, housing and transportation are all reimbursed by the imperial court, like Cao Huilong, such a cabinet member, the family manor has thousands of acres, there is no need to embezzle half a cent of silver, just by virtue of the annual income of the local industrial family can have millions of taels of silver, counting their Cao family is also half a royal family.

Wei Jing died.

The topic that the two powerful old men were talking about at this time could not avoid these four words.

After all, the news can't be blocked, and even if they want to block it, they can't block it if they make such a big move, especially since they quickly learned this terrifying news as insiders.

At this time, the two of them had no more to talk to and point out the country, and the wind was light, and only the solemnity that was almost suffocating was left in the room.

After a long time, Cao Huilong turned the page of the book "Seeking the Country", and said slowly: "We all underestimated Shen Sanqian's illegitimate son, who would have thought that he would really get rid of Wei Jing, this kid, you have also seen it with your own eyes, I am afraid that you will not be able to take advantage of it yourself, and the efforts of the royal family over the years have been in vain, and it seems that it is almost impossible to turn the Shen family business into an imperial businessman." ”

Dong Qinping's voice was soft, and he sighed softly: "Shen Sanqian and Zhao Huailong are dead, as for the two of us are also old, the world will eventually be handed over to young people, and our top priority is to deal with those barbarian armies, so that Qingguo can find a way to survive in this torrent of troubled times, so as not to become the soul of Yinguo's iron horse like Xilin and Yan Mang." ”

"You don't have faith in the Dragoons?"

"I don't have confidence in anything weak, think about it, this war will sweep the entire Tianxia Dynasty, millions of people will be involved, and the only thing we can use to guarantee the princes and kings is that after the victory, all the treasures and women and land from the Northern Regions, but what if we lose this war? ”

Dong Qinping hit the nail on the head and said: "Cao Shoufu, do you think that today's dragoon army is still as invincible as in the past?"

Cao Huilong's lips squirmed a few times, unable to give an affirmative answer, because he knew better than anyone the risks of this war.

There should never be a word for invincibility, but the stupid people always wishfully believed these four words, that the dragoons were still as strong as ever, until they were broken by some more powerful force.

Just like a peerless woman, she will always be replaced by another woman who is more beautiful and younger than her, and that day is the day of destruction for the dynasty.

There was a dead silence in the room.

These two old men of the same age who were in the officialdom of Qingguo have grown older, and their ambitions have long been worn away by comfort and glitz.

As for Shen Sanqian, after being demoted from the sunset by the old emperor, their control of the Qingguo court became more and more calm, and there were more and more worries in their hearts, and they could even be called cowardly.

Cao Huilong used to be the lion of the imperial court, but the old lion can only maintain his dignity by not fighting anymore.

Because of this, the cabinet chief did not dare to blatantly play the emperor's preparation for war against the Northern Regions.

With the fiasco of the Battle of Feizi Pass in front of them, everyone believed that the dragoons no longer posed any threat to the Yin Kingdom, and the only thing they could rely on now was the army of the princes and kings.

"You are the head of the cabinet, except for the head of the cabinet, no one knows the situation of the treasury better than you, we collect taxes from the six vassal states every year, but until now, the silver in our treasury is only 20 million taels of gold, and it is unknown whether this silver can last until half of this war, why is this?"

Cao Huilong glanced at Dong Qinping deeply, and the other party lowered his head, not knowing how to answer.

Dong Qinping said softly: "Let's not talk about the war first, then what do you think of this matter, we couldn't win over Shen Sanqian back then, and now we can't seem to win over his son, the father and son are more stubborn than the other, and they all look like they don't refuse to come without taboos on weekdays, but once the core interests are touched, he is like a tiger who has been offended, otherwise Zhao Huailong will not look at him unpleasantly and demote him from the sunset." ”

Cao Huilong closed the book, gently threw it on the desk, and sighed: "But now Qingguo has no money to fight this war, the only thing we can rely on is these trading houses that hold the wealth of the people, once the war breaks out, we also need to borrow money from these trading houses to purchase armaments, this is a huge expense, with the silver in the current treasury can not support until the end of this war, but we can borrow money from the Shen family and the South China Commercial Bank, if the Shen family child is friendly with the imperial court, he will probably be happy to lend this money to the imperial court, right?" ”

"I'm worried that he will find out something, and then launch revenge on the people of the royal family, the men of the Shen family are all well-known for their revenge. Dong Qinping's tone was full of worry, "his eyes ...... It's terrifying. ”

"yes, I'm worried about what this kid is going to do next...... There was a bloody storm in his eyes. ”

Dong Qinping said in a deep voice: "Of course I know that the kid is not good at stubble, after all, he is the apprentice of Her Royal Highness the eldest princess, and he is also the heir of the Shen family today, and the strength and financial resources in his hands are too great, just like letting a child hold a blade out of the sheath is as disturbing, so I am very worried that he will do something detrimental to the interests of the dynasty, there are some things that the eldest princess can't see and doesn't want to see, as for His Majesty, he is too lazy to do it, and those of us who are courtiers must know what to do next." ”

Cao Huilong rested his hand on the book "Seeking the Country", and said in a flat tone: "Then you might as well tell me, what do you want to do?"

"Don't worry, this matter still has to wait for the end of the martial arts, I don't know if Her Royal Highness the Second Princess is willing to spend the rest of her life gambling this time. ”

——

After the defeat of the Northern Expedition 80 years ago, the Zhao family dragon family reined in the ambition of the Northern Expedition, and then the entire Daqing Dynasty was smooth and entered the prosperous years.

Since then, the people in Luoyang City have been keeping their old ways and have not experienced too many turmoil, and only Zhao Huailong's change in seizing the door back then can be called a major bloody case, but the people who killed were all from Zhao Jialong's room, and it did not affect the safety of the people.

The other incident happened in the past two days, which is known as the Bloody Water Street Case.

In this infighting set off by the Shen family firm, nearly 1,000 people died on Silk Street, including the most notorious sword bandits in the rivers and lakes.

Chu Xianzhao indirectly dealt with these tricky swordsmen for the government, but because of the large number of deaths, the news was blocked by Jinyiwei to death, but the people still knew the ins and outs of this matter.

The people couldn't help but applaud the illegitimate son of the Shen family who seized power and took action to get rid of the dead wolf discord, and even regarded him as a young hero.

On that rainy night, Wei Jing, the second-in-command of the Shen family firm, including those who followed him, were eliminated by him, and the Shen family firm claimed that he had died of illness, and even the imperial court recognized this statement.

Because there are countless officials involved with Wei Jing, once these things are exposed, half of the people in the court will have to throw away their official hats, and they would rather accept the fact of Wei Jing's death silently, as if they had never known him as a person.

After the end of this civil strife in the trading house, the name Tang Huang officially entered the hearts of the powerful, including those swordsmen who came to Luoyang in order to participate in the martial arts.

The feat of eliminating the Dead Filthy Wolf Crowd with the power of one person alone was enough to make these arrogant Sword Sect swordsmen face up to this name.

They really wanted to know who he learned his swordsmanship from, so in the past few days, many swordsmen from the rivers and lakes have come to the gate of the Shen family's manor, shouting that they want to compete with him, almost breaking their thresholds.

Chu Xianzhao stood beside the railing of the high pavilion, overlooking the capital city called Sunset, his white hair fluttering in the breeze, and the setting sun emitted the last trace of afterglow, setting a faint golden light on the edge of his hair, making him look like a god.

Whoever passes by him now will look at him with a bit of awe.

They know who he is and what he has done, and as for the name Tang Huang, it has completely erased the impression of the people of Luoyang on the son of Yinguo who was once born.

Since there was once a young hero in Yinguo, then they should also have an existence in Qingguo that was enough to deter Chu Xiaohua.

But they didn't know that these two people were actually the same person.

In the eyes of many people, Tang Huang is now in Luoyang City like a fish passing through the dragon gate and turning into a dragon, and his reputation will surely rise to the top.

If Chu Xianzhao, who had just come to Luoyang, was just to protect himself as the eaves of the Shen family, then after that night, Chu Xianzhao had become the backbone of this family, the real powerful person in Luoyang City.

Because he won this civil war, the curtain came to a temporary end with Wei Jing's death and his becoming the head of the Shen family.

Chu Xianzhao didn't know what they were thinking in their hearts, and his face no longer had the fierce and sour energy he had when he left the Yin Kingdom, but more like the satisfied smile that the little boy who squatted by the carp pond to feed the fish when he was a child often showed on his face, so the sense of stability is really important, and the saying that my heart is at peace is my hometown is true.

A flying eagle swept over his head, leaving behind a series of loud chirpings as if to fly to the place where the sun had set, and then swooped down and landed on his shoulder.

"Xiaobai, you have a brother named Heizi on the side of Yinguo, I don't know if my sister has helped me feed it, or that it has left the Great Yin Palace, just like me. ”

Chu Xianzhao stroked this rare and rare beast, and it took him three days and three nights to get the feathers of the "eight-legged dragon" well.

The falcon raised its head, and rubbed its beak against its master's face, as if asking him for dried meat.

"Do you say that Su Nianyu will hate me very much in the Yin Kingdom, she gave birth to a daughter for me, and I couldn't even hold her once when the child was born, and Ye Weiwei, maybe she is the one who hates me the most, I abandoned her in order to save Ying Liyang, but I really wanted to marry her, but I still made a choice...... He was the same. ”

Chu instantly summoned the sunset, his eyes were red, like a snow leopard that was bound to revenge, the hatred hidden in his heart suddenly appeared, and he murmured: "The next time I see you, I will never run away in disgrace, I will drown you with a rain of arrows, just like you once did to Hua Youyue!"

The wind is blowing, and there are eagles flying.

The wind will stop, and the real dragon will fall to the ground.

——

Just seven days after the Silk Street Bloody Case subsided, the eldest lady held a family banquet in the Shen family manor, a room of Yingying Yanyan, plus Chu Xuanzhao and the dragon Meng Shishi, and even those Jiang Tang who secretly guarded him also appeared beside him with a new identity.

Since the news of Shen Sanqian's death came back to Yang, the manor has not been so lively for a long time

This time, Wei Jing called the Dead Filthy Wolf Crowd to find him a reasonable excuse to cover up Jiang Tang's identity, he claimed that Jiang Tang was a member of the Dead Filthy Wolf Crowd, and in order to repay his grace of not killing, he volunteered to become a dead soldier beside him, and there were many crow guards hidden in Sunset City, Chu Xianzhao also used a similar excuse to forge fake identities for them, and placed them behind Sunset with a reasonable identity, and then launched their spy network operation in Sunset's plan.

They should be in harmony with each other, and their actions can be called seamless.

Since this is a family banquet, Shen Chuxia and Shen Huayu and several ladies have personally cooked, although Shen Huayu is delicate but has superb cooking skills, Shen Chuxia is also good at cooking food, resulting in only Chu Xianzhao and the old man Meng on the table at that time, and the one who stood behind Chu Xianzhao and did not seem to plan to participate in this family banquet, any Jiang Tang, who looked cool and cold, can be said to be yin and yang to the extreme.

Chu Xianzhao never believed in the saying that Junzi Yuan was cooking, when he used to live with Su Changyan and Pomegranate, he would occasionally make a small snack with them, and when he also wanted to go to the kitchen to help them cut a green onion and stir-fry a vegetable, Shen Huayu pushed him out with a ghostly look.

In desperation, Chu Xuanzhao could only return to the fish pond and squat beside the old man who was fishing.

Chu Xuanzhao had been observing the changes in the old man's expression from beginning to end, and only when the old man's fishing line suddenly twitched and he caught a fat red carp, did he show a smile for the first time.

For this grandmaster-level figure who can punch and kill dragons, Chu Xianzhao didn't have too much jealousy in his heart, but was more close.

It wasn't until the old man didn't fish the red carp ashore, but threw it back into the pond, and after throwing the rod and hook again, he said softly: "When you first came here, I was actually very wary of you, and I didn't understand why Shen Sanqian sent you to Luoyang City, but now it seems that you are much more reliable than him." ”

Chu Xianzhao nodded, and said solemnly: "Thank you for protecting the eldest lady and Huayu when I am not in the manor." ”

Meng Shishi shook his head and said, " It is my duty to protect them, Shen Sanqian has a wide range of friends, and there are many people who are like carp crossing the river, there are many people who are willing to make money for him, but there are few loyal people, he was lucky enough to suppress those white-eyed wolves with dirty eyes when he was in Luoyang City, but now that he is gone, these thieves are united in everything to seize power, except for me, few people can stand in front of the young lady and Mrs. like a man and a woman without retreating, but I can only save their lives, the old man doesn't know anything about the business operation, so in the end it is these poor women who suffer, but fortunately, the lord sent you to Luoyang to take his place, Since you won Wei Jing, there is no need to worry even if the old man is not there in the future. The young master is a member of the Shen family, and he is also the one who is about to take over the position of the head of the family, whether he can do a good job in this position or not has nothing to do with the old man. ”

Chu Xianzhao smiled, "Shen Sanqian and the eldest lady I have kindness, Huayu and Chuxia also treat me as relatives, as long as I can do it, I will naturally do it with great strength, and the things that need to be borne by me will naturally not be their turn to help me carry them, men, no matter what, there will always be a little bit of wanting to protect women." ”

"What you say is uplifting, the old man likes it. The old man smiled and said, "Then the old man has a question next...... That's what you're willing to ...... Forget your past for the sake of this family, and treat this place as your family...... Everything for you?"

Chu Xianzhao was slightly stunned, frowning and thinking for a long time.

He couldn't understand why the old man had asked him such a question, which was so complicated for him and for anyone else in his current position that it made memories come to mind.

He thought about it for a long, long time, remembered everything about Yinguo, the subordinates who had been born and died with him on the battlefield, and the poor women who treated him as if he were life, and said seriously: "It's okay to give your life...... But forget everything...... Absolutely not!"

The old man admired his answer, for he knew that a thoughtful answer was more trustworthy than an impulsive answer without a brain.

"From today on, you are a member of the Shen family, no matter what your past is, the old man believes that you are a person worthy of our trust. ”

"Do you trust me?" Chu Xuanzhao felt a little flattered.

"The first time I saw you, I only had three points of trust, and now I have at least seven points. ”

The old man raised his head and smiled: "Besides, as long as I live for a day, if you kid dare to do anything sorry for Madame and Miss, since the old man was able to kill Jiaolong with his fist, he didn't dare to say that he would be able to kill you, but it would not be too difficult for me to hammer you half to death." ”

Chu Xianzhao smiled bitterly: "Count you ruthless." ”

Meng Shishi shook his head and said: "Old man, except for this martial art, the old man has nothing to do to help the Shen family, but since the young master's swordsmanship is so extraordinary, you can come to Yuchi here to find the old man when you have time, the old man has some boxing experience here, and it will also be beneficial to the young master's swordsmanship, otherwise it will be a pity to bring it into the soil, people like the young master can stretch and contract, and as soon as he takes power, he dares to take the hard bone of Wei Jing, and the future is immeasurable, and this family will ask you in the future." ”

Chu Xianzhao stood up and gave him a solemn salute, and said solemnly: "Xie Mengbo pointed." ”

The old man smiled.