Zhao Pu listened to the "past" that Hu Su said, and then read the letters of the old retainers of the county king's mansion brought back by Ochre Ying, plus the manuscript of Master Wentian and the travelogue of Wang Fuzi, probably ...... I figured out the ins and outs of the matter.

The origin of the matter, to be honest, really has nothing to do with their ancestors of the Zhao family, it was still in the Tang Dynasty, and it was all related to Xingtian.

At that time, there was a very powerful official in the court, and the specific name was unknown. The official was old and had a son, raised like a jewel, and the child was still a civil and military all-rounder, and his future was very good.

However, when he went out to sea with a military ship to capture pirates, he unfortunately fell into the sea and died, and he was in his early twenties.

The official was enraged and hated the pirates, so he ...... At that time, the navy began a frenzied operation to build ships and hunt pirates.

In addition, what puzzled the official was that his son was originally a civilian in the Criminal Department, so why did he follow the navy to round up pirates? Later, after many inquiries, it turned out that there was a group of death row inmates who had been sentenced to heavy sentences for theft, and complained to his son...... They were originally fishermen, but they had no choice but to make trouble at sea, they couldn't fish at all, and they couldn't survive so they had to take risks and do stupid things, and they had no choice but to end up like this. His son was sympathetic to them, and he wanted to be a general of the navy in the future, because he was afraid that his father would worry or send someone to protect him, so he didn't say anything and acted privately, but there was no return.

I don't know if it was because of the excessive grief of losing his son in old age, the official blamed his son's death on the prison felons and those pirates.

However, the pirates were caught, and some of those pirates were originally residents of the nearby islands, and when they saw that the court was holding on tightly, they fled back to the island, and did not come out to do evil, wanting to wait for the rumors to pass.

The official asked the court to send troops to attack those islands, but the court felt that it would cost too much money and money, and that there was no need for pirates, and most of the islanders were innocent.

The more the official thought about it, the more angry he became, firstly, the pirates could not be killed, and secondly, the fact that those felons were originally just ordinary fishermen who were forced to steal was known by the emperor, and it coincided with the queen mother's birthday, so the emperor had the intention of pardoning them.

The official was very dissatisfied, and he couldn't swallow this breath, and at this time, someone came to offer him advice.

The man was a sorcerer, dressed in white, who was said to have the ability to foresee the future, and who was proficient in the art of witchcraft, and he said that there was a way to wipe out the felons and the remnants of the pirates and their descendants without using a single soldier of the imperial court.

The official listened to the sorcerer's advice and agreed to come down.

A few days later, the sea was once again rampant with bandits, which made the emperor realize that if he did not completely eliminate those bandits, it would always be a hidden danger.

On the other hand, many courtiers felt that they should not pardon repeat offenders, and they were afraid that they would lose popular opinion.

The emperor felt justified, gave up the amnesty, and sent some sailors to exterminate the Haikou...... But the strange thing is that all the sailors who went this time have not returned, so everyone is curious - why are those pirates so powerful?

The official took this opportunity to tell the emperor that most of those pirates came from the Eight Tribes Islands, and that the people on the islands were all gifted and ferocious, and that they had been thieves for generations, and that they had accumulated a large amount of wealth with bad intentions, and that they must be completely eradicated.

After hearing this, the emperor also felt that it was necessary, but it was too risky to send someone to destroy the island.

Thereupon...... According to what the sorcerer taught him, the official told the emperor a way to use the method of sacrifice - life for life.

The emperor didn't understand very much, and asked in detail, it turned out that the same number of death row prisoners were sent to a certain island, and after the sorcerer made a furnace, he cast a spell to exchange lives for lives, and as many death row prisoners as he could, as many pirates died.

Although the emperor was a little hesitant, he felt that this method was actually "the best of both worlds", so he instructed the officials to do it.

But in fact, the pirates who had been in trouble recently were arranged by the officials according to the sorcerer's plan, and the prisoners who were transported to the island, after being masked, did not jump into the furnace, but went into the cave, and each was assigned a weapon, out of the cave, and on another ship.

The sorcerer told them that they were going to be sent to some islands to kill the pirates, and if they killed one of them, their own lives would be replaced, and they could start again when they returned to land, and if they killed two, they would get a bounty...... In short, the more kills, the better.

As a result, the prisoners who were sent to the ship arrived on the island, whether they were pirates or ordinary islanders, and they killed anyone they saw, and it is said that the sea near the Eight Tribes Islands was red at that time.

The only surviving death row inmates originally thought that the mission was completed, and they could go back and start again in exchange for a life...... But who knew that the ship that carried them back was unlucky, and the ship capsized and sank at sea, and even the largest ship, the Xingtian, sank.

This incident was originally intended to be caused by a "naval expedition to exterminate the pirates, and the result was the same as the bandits". However, there are a few people who have found out about this, that is, the shipwrights who built the big ships back then.

The shipwrights all said that these warships, especially the Xingtian, were ships that could not be sunk at all! The ships of the Haikou are all just small boats, and even if they all crash into the Xingtian, it will not cause the Xingtian to be damaged in the slightest, and there should be something strange in it.

In the face of the investigation of those shipwrights, in order to protect themselves, the officials executed all those shipwrights who knew about it for reasons such as cutting corners in the construction of the ship and poor shipbuilding technology.

The above is the real reason why Zhao Pu roughly pieced together from various written records about the Xingtian going to sea and being silent.

Because this matter is very old and the parties involved are almost dead, it has become a secret, but some people still knew about it at that time, especially some high-ranking and powerful people in the imperial city.

After the Xingtian incident, every once in a while, a so-called "sacrifice" event would take place.

In fact, the sacrifice is just a cover-up...... Even if it is tracked down and the so-called "life for life" is found, it is also the second layer of cover-up, and the truth is actually - the remaining descendants of the Eight Tribes Islands grew up with hatred and were ready to take revenge and were discovered, so they ...... The second "life for life" began. The prisoners were sent to Evilpot Island, armed with weapons and mounted on a man-and-leg warship, to carry out a slaughter that would never return, and finally die in the belly of the fish.

It's like entering a dead loop, where there will always be remnants of the descendants on the Eight Clans Islands, and it seems that they can't be killed, and those descendants have spent thirty years growing up and gathering to prepare for revenge, only to suffer the same fate as their ancestors again.

In addition to the islanders, there are also death row inmates who are cared about in prison. But with the advent of the prosperous Taiping, the number of felons became smaller and smaller, so ...... And when the "survivors" of the Eight Tribes Islands grow up and are ready to take revenge, thieves and vagabonds like Shi Jin are involved.

In addition, there is another question that bothers everyone very much - so many prisoners, not to mention the most vicious, are not good, why can a wizard control them? Why didn't they take the opportunity to rebel and flee after giving them weapons, but obediently cooperated to put on masks and kill people?

This qiē is all because of the thing tied to the "moving chain" that Shi Jin saw on the island.

It is said that the wizard brought a monster created by the anger and resentment of the official and kept it on the island to guard the cave, and those condemned prisoners had only two choices, one was to feed the monster, or the other was to fight for their lives and live.

However, hatred may not be able to last forever, and after several generations of calamities in the Eight Tribes Islands, there are fewer and fewer people.

In particular, the other side of the sea has also experienced a change of dynasties, and the thieves on the sea have almost disappeared, and all of them have been forgotten in the vicissitudes of life.

However, the monster is still there, and the resentment has not dissipated on that small island, and every thirty years, two things must be done: one is to send the masked death row prisoners into the cave, most of these death row prisoners do not need to go on the boat to slaughter the island, but are directly bitten and eaten by the monster. The second is to send people to the Eight Tribes Islands to find out if there is a living mouth, and after confirming that there is no live mouth, you can behead anyone who has a live mouth, regardless of whether they are old or young.

The number of death row prisoners is a certain number every time, and there can be no less one, and it is said that once because of the wrong number, the monster made a big fuss at sea, causing many shipwrecks.

The "truth" of the year was like a legend, after Zhao Pu understood everything, he didn't know which one to believe and which one not to believe.

"A monster of resentment?" Zhao Pu subconsciously went to see Gongsun.

Gongsun's head shook like a rattle, "Impossible! It's! At the beginning, it is still somewhat credible to use death row prisoners to slaughter the island and then destroy people on a boat, but what the hell is that monster born with resentment! ”

Zhao Pu said to Gongsun, "The general of the royal mansion said that in the early years, when it was more chaotic, many people used this method to eliminate dissidents, and King Boyang was a typical example, he sued the emperor that there were still living mouths on the Eight Clans Islands, and that he used death row prisoners to calm the anger of monsters...... What it is, only King Boyang himself knows. ”

Master Bao frowned, "The monster thing...... There may still be some inside information that has not been clarified. ”

"By the way, there's one more thing." Zhao Pu said, "About that wizard." ”

Gongsun also asked, "Did the wizard live for so many years?" Or are they all badass from generation to generation? ”

Zhao Pu pulled out a portrait from the letter and said, "Here's a portrait of the legendary wizard, don't you think it looks like a person?" ”

Everyone looked at each other and leaned over to look at the portrait.

After just one glance, the little fourth son was startled and hurriedly got into the arms of his grandson.

Xiao Liangzi also jumped up, "Ah! It's that guy! ”

The person on the portrait looks very much like a fox, with a demonic aura, it is the same Bai Ji who almost plotted against Gongsun and Xiao Sizi in the demon fox case before!

"It turns out that the wizard who made the damage move, is it the White Ji Clan?" Gongsun asked, "

"With this guy here, he might make some kind of monster!" Zhao Pu couldn't help frowning, "Do you remember that at that time, he made a woman and turned into his appearance as if he borrowed a corpse to resurrect his soul, and grabbed the little fourth son, pretending to be a ghost!" ”

"In addition to pretending to be a ghost, Bai Ji also has some real skills, so beware of him."

Everyone was discussing, and someone outside accosted a sentence.

In a blink of an eye, I saw Yin Hou walking in.

Yin Hou helped Zhao Pu to follow Wusu to inquire about the situation, and since he came back, he said that he had a clue.

"So fast?" Zhao Pu was very surprised, sure enough, the old man was doing things safely.

Yin Hou sat down, and Gongsun poured him tea.

Before Yin Hou could start speaking, he saw the little fourth son lying in his father's arms like a quail, and was a little funny, "What's the matter?" ”

Gongsun was helpless, so he moved the portrait to Yin Hou to see.

Yin Hou glanced at it and sneered, "He is the Demon King who is not there, and he doesn't dare to go to the road when the Demon King is there, so he will directly play him to death." ”

"The wizard back then may have been the White Ji Clan." Zhao Pudao.

"Then this time the position is reversed, and he may have instigated those people to take revenge." Yin Hou said, "There are eight of those masked people, it seems that they are from eight islands......

"The Eight Clan Islands?" Zhao Pu asked.

Yin Hou nodded, curious, "It seems that there are a lot of clues on your side." ”

Gongsun succinctly told Yin Hou the clues they had investigated.

Yin Hou touched his chin gently, "Monster...... Hmmm......"

Everyone looked at him, "That monster has a clue?" ”

Yin Hou frowned and thought about it, then shook his head, "This is really not too clear, it's a little suspicious, let's talk about what I found first." ”

Everyone nodded.

"Those eight little ghosts are from the Eight Tribes Islands, and their kung fu is not bad, I don't know where they learned it, I probably grew up watching the bones of their ancestors, and I think that all the people who live on this land across the sea, especially the royal family and the generals, are devils, and they are simply used by people in a mess. The fat man seemed to be a little shaken, thinking that the surname Zhao was not as bad as the legend, but most of the others regarded that Mo as a god...... What I was more curious about was who the 'sea god' they called their father, as if he were omniscient and omnipotent. Yin Hou waved his hand to Chen Xing'er who was passing by the door, "Girl, give me that bowl of noodles." ”

Chen Xing'er hurriedly ran to get food for Yin Hou.

Everyone was a little embarrassed, and they couldn't even take care of eating when they were more than 100 years old.

Yin Hou said to Zhao Pu, "They are hiding in a mansion in the west of the city, I see that they are all asleep and have no intention of leaving, so they will come back." Their task is to wait, it seems that there are people who should cooperate with the outside, and when the imperial city is in chaos, their task is to take advantage of the chaos to enter the palace to assassinate Zhao Zhen. ”

Zhao Pu frowned, sure enough, the other party planned to assassinate Zhao Zhen.

Yin Hou looked at Zhao Pu and spoke, "Do you want to listen to the opinion of this old man of mine?" ”

Zhao Pu was stunned for a moment, and hurriedly nodded, naturally listening.

Yin Hou said, "You take care of going south to fight, how to deal with these people, leave it to Zhao Zhen." ”

Zhao Puluo was surprised.

"Zhao Zhen is not your son, you can't help him settle everything, you are fighting, not to settle grievances." Yin Hou hugged his arms and said, "These children can be said to be the only generation left in the Eight Clan Islands, maybe if you kill them, you will have a thorough understanding of the affairs of the Eight Clan Islands......"

Zhao Pu frowned slightly and looked at Yin Hou.

"But what is the difference between this approach and the practice of King Boyang back then?" "These eight are all being used, and they firmly believe that every thirty years, many warships will come from the other side of the sea, dressed in people wearing ghost masks, and come to their island to kill. Now it's fast approaching another thirty years, and this time they're going to fight back. ”

Zhao Pu and the others frowned when they heard this.

Xiao Baoyan couldn't help but say, "From their standpoint, it is indeed not good on our side, there are so many corpses and bones on the island, except for those pirates, most of them are innocent people, and it is natural for future generations to take revenge." What's more, it was true that it was tossed almost every thirty years before, and people didn't want to sit back and wait if they wanted to strike first. ”

Pang Yu tugged at Bao Yan's sleeve, don't get excited, this thing was not done by Zhao Zhen.

Zhao Pu sighed and said to Yin Hou, "Old man, are you asking me to push the most troublesome matter to the emperor?" ”

Yin Hou waved his hand, "From Zhao Zhen's attitude towards this matter, you can also see what kind of emperor he is, if Zhao Zhen lets people kill these eight people, I advise you not to work for him, find an island to live in seclusion, the Zhao family will not last long." ”

Everyone sweated for Zhao Zhen, but what the old man said was right, this is also a sense of "repayment of father's debts and sons", how can we end this hatred for generations? It all depends on Zhao Zhen's decision, anyway, killing will definitely not work, and you have to think of other ways.

Gongsun also nodded, he said to Zhao Pu with some concern, "Don't be distracted, I don't know how the battle is going on, people are prepared, you have no experience in water fights, Zhao Zhen really uses you as Zhuge Liang!" You leave something for him to figure it out! ”

Master Bao shook his head helplessly - hey, Gongsun is still facing the prince.

Zhao Pu was originally annoyed, but Gongsun spoke like he was bent on himself, and he was inexplicably in a good mood.

Zhao Pu looked at Bao Zheng.

Master Bao smiled, "The prince doesn't have to worry, I still have confidence in the emperor, just concentrate on the war." ”

Zhao Pu nodded, thought about it, picked up the pen and told Zhao Zhen the location and use of those eight people, as well as the reason for the war against Song, and finally added a sentence, that means - I am busy fighting, you can solve the matter by yourself.

Waiting for the ochre shadow to deliver the letter, Zhao Zhen opened it and took a look, stretched out his hand to hug the sleepy Xiangxiang and rubbed it, complaining while rubbing, "Father's life is bitter!" They don't care about your father, the emperor......"

Xiangxiang pouted, stretched out her little hand and patted Zhao Zhen's shoulder comfortingly.

Nangong glanced at the letter on the side, and couldn't laugh or cry...... The emperor really hasn't been worried about it for a long time, this thing is really difficult to do, more difficult than fighting.

Nangong asked Zhao Zhen, "Your Majesty, do you want to discuss it with the Eight Kings, or discuss it with other ministers?" ”

Zhao Zhen smiled helplessly and shook his head, "I have to solve this matter myself, and I can't leave it to anyone." ”

Nangong was puzzled.

Zhao Zhen put down the letter, "If I don't handle this matter well, I'm afraid it's hard for anyone to be willing to give me their lives...... Whether the father pays the debt of the son is justified. After speaking, Zhao Zhen suddenly raised his head, "I want to leave the palace!" ”

Nangong stared at Zhao Zhen for a while, and asked uncertainly, "Is the emperor going to the thatched house......

Zhao Zhen raised his foot and kicked him out, "Go get me a set of handsome and chic clothes, tomorrow I will go out on patrol!" ”

The first thing Nangong did when he went out went to Kaifeng Mansion, what were you doing? Wait!