Outside a thatched hut outside Xuzhou lies a young man, wrapped in a white cloth. For several days, he has been holding a firewood knife as a accustomed sword, and the sword spirit is full of energy in the entire small courtyard. A young man squatting outside the door looked seriously, and the seriously injured brother was sent by the gang, and only used a few days of medicine, and the little brother began to practice martial arts with branches all day long.

I remember once an uncle in the gang visited and commented that the little brother's sword had reached the grandmaster. The young man didn't know what a grandmaster was, and his uncle only said that no one in the Lotus Gang had this sword. Let the young man admire this little brother who is not a few years older than himself, it turns out that the little brother who practices swords all day is so powerful, and the big knife in his uncle's hand falls directly under the branch of the little brother, and there is only one move.

Wen Xiaoming, who stopped practicing swords today, took a firewood knife in his hand to cut an arm-thick peach wood. The young man had always been curious about why the little brother had found this peach tree from someone else's house, and now he watched the peach wood gradually take shape and asked, "Little brother, you are carving a sword." ”

Wen Xiaoming looked at the young man with a stern look, these days only this young man is with him, and every once in a while, a middle-aged man will bring some food. From the young man's mouth, he learned that half a year ago, a group of people with strong martial arts appeared in Xuzhou, annexed small gangs in Xuzhou, and established the Lotus Gang. Although the Lotus Gang has only just been established, it is already a big force, but the young man still doesn't know who the gang leader is, and even the uncle of the small leader of the Lotus Gang has never seen the gang leader.

He glanced up at the boy and said, "Carved sword." ”

The young man stared at the wooden sword with envy, and in the early years, he saw his uncle carrying a big sword. I thought that if I could have a knife in the future, I would definitely be as majestic as Uncle He, but the moment my uncle saw the wooden knife, he directly broke the wooden knife. The uncle was very angry that day, and the boy cried all night, but the uncle's face did not improve, and the next day he sent the boy to a private school.

said quietly: "Little brother, are you good at teaching me to practice swords, my uncle who has always wanted to practice swords just doesn't agree." ”

Wen Xiaoming looked at the young man's fiery eyes and said, "As long as you can get your uncle's consent, you can teach some simple swordsmanship." ”

The happy boy is jumping up, and he will definitely be more powerful than his uncle after he can practice swords with his little brother. Wen Xiaoming looked at the young man and showed a smile, and he seemed to be so happy earlier. I don't know how my sister is now, Ren Yan from Shandong didn't chase it out.

Suddenly, with a vigilant expression, he put down the wooden sword, protected the young man behind him, and said, "Don't move here, dog." Wen Xiaoming strode towards the courtyard gate, and heard the sound of a pair of cavalry. The sound of war horses that have been walking in the rivers and lakes for many years can still be heard, war horses are taboo in the beams, and non-soldiers are not allowed to ride.

I saw five generals in armor stop, and Wen Xiaoming looked at the people who came before putting down the firewood knife. The middle-aged man who came on horseback immediately turned over and dismounted, and until now he didn't know who these five generals were. just received an order from above to bring five people to this small courtyard to see Wen Shaoxia.

Liu Zhixing looked at Wen Xiaoming who was holding a firewood knife and smiled, although he knew early in the morning that Wen Xiaoming had left Taiping City smoothly and was arranged by Chu Hanlin to a mountain village in Xuzhou. The middle-aged man has always been curious about who this leading young general is, others don't know him, but Chu Hanlin is still familiar, this person is the second-in-command of the Lotus Gang.

It's just that I don't understand why these people are wearing battle armor today, and the middle-aged man said, "Mr. Chu." ”

Chu Hanlin just glanced at the middle-aged man and said, "The general was in a hurry just now, now I will introduce you to which General Zheng is the helper." ”

The middle-aged man looked back at Zheng Shuixin, and Zheng Shuixin looked at the middle-aged man's admiring eyes a little shyly. The establishment of the Lotus Gang can be said to be all the connections in Xuzhou used by Liu Zhixing, from the Xuzhou general Qin Zhichang to the Taiping Cheng's power in Xuzhou, it has become the largest gang in Xuzhou in one fell swoop, with thousands of people, plus many businesses in the 13th Battalion. In fact, from this moment on, all businesses outside the thirteenth battalion have been wiped out and become the industry of the Lotus Gang.

Such a big deal can only be done by Liu Zhixing, who is the commander of the thirteenth battalion, even Chu Hanlin may not be able to have such great ability. How could a middle-aged man who has been walking the rivers and lakes for many years not see that Mr. Chu and the nominal gang leader are all around this young general.

Liu Zhixing looked at the middle-aged man and said, "I know you, the Lotus Gang is also part of the Thirteenth Battalion. From now on, your gang leader is Feiying, not this General Zheng. ”

Zheng Shuixin dismounted and stood with the middle-aged man and said, "I know why you betrayed the original gang, for that child. ”

During the conversation between the two, Liu Zhixing dismounted and walked into the courtyard, looked at Wen Xiaoming, whose injuries had improved, and said like a brother: "Xiao Ming, you are now invaded by the imperial court, and there are notices everywhere. Come with me, go to Nanjing, no one can catch you when you get to Nanjing. ”

The young man holding the firewood knife tightly stared at Liu Zhixing and asked, "Liu Zhixing, you just gave up your sister like this, my sister is having a bad time in the palace." "The young swordsman who has always been strong has tears in his eyes.

Liu Zhixing gently patted the young man's shoulder and said, "I want to too, but there is no way." If I'm alone like you, what if the palace breaks in, even if it's death, what's so terrible, but I can't do that. ”

The unconvinced young swordsman asked fiercely: "Why, why, my sister likes you so much, and you like your sister too." ”

Liu Zhixing showed a helpless look: "Xiao Ming, look at Lu Lin outside, each of them has a family, and I have it." I, Liu Zhixing, love her very much, I really love her, but my father, my mother, and my brother and sister-in-law, Xiaoxiao, there are more than 100 people under Liufu Mountain. If I do that, I will be even more impressed as the master of the Thirteenth Battalion, they are all brothers and living people like you. ”

At this time, Wen Xiaoming didn't know how to answer, and this time he didn't know how much Liu Zhixing had to pay to rescue himself from the palace. I knew in my heart that there was only one person who was willing to save myself in Taiping City, and he was the person he hated the most.

Then he said: "Xiao Ming Xuzhou City can't stay for a long time, first go to Nanjing and then return to Shandong." Zhang Bai will help to suppress the matter of breaking into the palace, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will help if he wants to accept the gift with peace of mind, rest assured. After a while, things will calm down, and you can leave at any time if you want to go back to Shandong, and now you must come with me to Nanjing. ”

Although he didn't understand the government, how could Wen Xiaoming not know that night, how could His Royal Highness the Crown Prince have nothing to do with him, how could he help him. After closing his eyes slightly for a long time, he nodded and said, "Okay, I'll go to Nanjing with you, but I want to take someone with me." ”

Liu Zhixing looked at the young man standing straight not far away and said, "I have no opinion. ”

Wen Xiaoming strode to the middle-aged man's side, directly interrupting Zheng Shuixin's explanation to the middle-aged man: "I want to take the dog egg with me." "It's not a discussion at all, it's just a notice."

Hearing Wen Xiaoming's words, the middle-aged man was stunned at first, only to hear Wen Xiaoming say: "I promised the dog to teach swordsmanship, and if you can't talk, it doesn't count." ”

Lu Lin and Liu Zhixing accompanied each other and smiled, the boy is still the same teenager, he never discusses things with others, and only does what he likes. Liu Zhixing walked up to the middle-aged man and said, "Big brother, my identity is nothing to hide, Liu Zhixing, the commander of the thirteenth battalion." Maybe I haven't heard of the Thirteenth Battalion, but I'm sure I'll hear about it later. Rest assured that the child who walks with us is my Liu Zhixing's younger brother, and he will not be treated badly. Xiao Ming's swordsmanship is also understood compared to his eldest brother, and now people of similar age in the rivers and lakes, I know that only this one is almost the same as Xiao Ming. I will not force it, are you the child's uncle or not, it depends on the opinion of the eldest brother, if you are not willing Xiao Ming, I will persuade you. ”

The middle-aged man looked at Liu Zhixing and only asked, "General Liu, if the dog is willing, I won't stop it." ”

The white-haired and white-bearded old man of the Qin Heavenly Prison in Taiping City meditated quietly, and as a master of the Great Liang State, he never participated in court politics. In response to the trust of His Majesty the Emperor to control the fabrication of a country's solar terms, it is more about practicing in the imperial palace. Daliang seems to be peaceful for half a year, and the court alone is very lively.

The young Taoist priest hurriedly pushed the door in, and the national teacher Taoist slowly opened his eyes and said, "Why are you so flustered." ”

The young Taoist priest slurred his words for a long time, and the national teacher said slowly: "Inhale and exhale, meditate." ”

After several consecutive breaths, the young Taoist priest said: "The master has just had a sudden change in stargazing, the purple star hanging high in the starry sky is dim, and the two companion stars are exceptionally bright, and they want to compete with each other. Lord Chen, who was in charge of the stargazing platform, had a very strange face, and ordered the apprentice to ask the master to rush to the stargazing platform. ”

The old Taoist suddenly got up and hurriedly pushed the door away, and the young Taoist priest followed behind. Following the master's many years of astronomical learning, Ziweixing has been an emperor star since ancient times, and Ziweixing is a glorious Ming emperor in his upright prime. Over the years, he has been following his master to observe the sky, and the appearance of the two companion stars has always been a major event for Qin Tianjian.

King Qi returned from the north mirror, and one companion star was transformed into two, and there was also a tendency to compete with the prince. For this reason, the national teacher has seen it thoroughly, and the changes in the court are even more in the eyes of the old national teacher. Rushed to the stargazing platform to look at the bright starry sky, the purple stars were dim and irrelevant, and the two companion stars were exceptionally bright.

The middle-aged official asked, "Is the national teacher going to inform His Majesty about this now?" ”

The national teacher thought for a while: "Master Chen or the old man will go on a trip in person, this matter is very important. ”

Leaving the stargazing platform all the way to the emperor's bedroom, the old Taoist was full of things along the way. Zi Weixing has been dim for more than a month, and the emperor's body is also taken care of by the imperial doctor. Others don't know that the national teacher knows very well that His Majesty the Emperor's body is getting weaker and weaker, and he is already at the end of his strong crossbow.

In his sleep, the emperor suddenly opened his eyes and his forehead was full of sweat, and Gonggong Wei hurriedly came, and hurriedly wiped the sweat for the emperor and asked, "Your Majesty." ”

The emperor took the jade cup and drank a sip of warm water and said, "It's okay, it's just a nightmare, get used to it." He looked up and asked, "Who is outside the temple?" ”

Gonggong Wei said: "Back to Your Majesty, it is the national teacher who asks to see Master Chen. The servant said that His Majesty was sleeping soundly, and the national teacher and Master Chen were waiting outside the hall and did not dare to disturb His Majesty. ”

Waving his hand, Gonggong Wei passed the national teacher and Lord Chen into the dormitory, Lord Chen looked at the emperor with an anxious look, and the national teacher looked calm, as if he was breathing a sigh of relief. Tell the emperor about the stars tonight, and the emperor seems to have known that this day will come earlier.

just said: "My body, I know in my heart that there is Lao Guoshi worried." After making the eyes of Lord Chen retreat, Gonggong Wei had no choice but to retreat when he saw the emperor's eyes. There are only two old men left in the dormitory, one is the king of a country and the other is a Taoist leader.

The four unmanned national teachers said bluntly: "If Your Majesty's body is still so hard, I'm afraid I won't be able to survive this year." ”

The emperor, who seemed to have expected it a long time ago, said calmly: "The imperial doctor has already told me that this year is already a long time. The struggle between the prince and the prince has always been a difficult matter for me to choose, and the prince's heart seems to be benevolent, but in fact, he is more like me than Kun'er. Kun'er is so happy, maybe he can accomplish what I have always wanted to do but can't do, and he may not be a good national army. Kun'er and Yin'er are both my sons, but it's a pity that the royal family is ruthless. What happened in the past twenty years, I don't want it to happen again, and while I still have a few days left, the national teacher thinks who is more suitable to sit in this position. ”

The national teacher said: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has set an example for a country since he was in charge of the country, whether it is the government or military affairs, the governance is in order, and the old man can see it clearly even if he is an outsider. His Royal Highness King Qi is a soft-hearted person who has his own set of theories for dealing with military and political affairs. Prince, King Qi, whoever is the emperor is a good thing for Daliang. "Actually, the national teacher wants to talk about another person, but now it's useless to talk about it thousands of miles away.

Before the emperor could reply, the national teacher said: "I think Your Majesty already has a candidate in mind, and the old man treats the people of the world to thank Your Majesty, and asks Your Majesty to draft a decree." ”

Stretched out his hand to take out a piece of gold silk from under the futon, handed it to the national teacher, and said, "I don't want to happen again in the past twenty years, but I still can't be ruthless." ”

The national teacher opened the golden silk and his face was calm, as if he had already thought of it.