Xi Shantu sobered up his head, sat up, rubbed his eyes, and looked at the front of the couch.

Two people in front of the bed.

One standing, dressed in black, is indeed the servant who serves him every day; The other kneeled, playing with a life-threatening kowtow.

Xi Shantu couldn't see the face of the person who kowtowed, and asked, "What are the feet?" ”

The man raised his head, his appearance was clear, his long beard was fluttering, and he had a rather unearthly atmosphere.

Xi Shantu suddenly sounded who this person was, but after the defeat of Chengdu, Huan Meng in order to win the hearts of the people of Shu, raised the virtuous and benevolent, and widely opened up Li Dang's former ministers and the Shu scholars in the opposition to enter the mansion, at the same time, because of the huge power of the Heavenly Master Dao in Shu, the famous Taoist priests in the Heavenly Master Dao, including the descendants of Fan Tianshi, the leader of the Heavenly Master Dao who helped the Li family to build a country in Shu, also recruited, and invited many of them to Chengdu, set up a wine meeting, and enveloped them; At this time, the person who asked for help from the mountain map in front of the bed was a Taoist priest of the Heavenly Master Dao.

This Taoist priest is known for his ability to distinguish qi from the stars and predict the future.

When he came to Chengdu, Xi Shantu had not yet gone to the Sword Pavilion, so he had a few encounters with him, and the two had conversations.

Xi Shantu said: "It turned out to be a step. He asked, "What did you just say?" ”

The man cried and replied, "Duke Huan ordered the villain to cut himself and ask the master to save his life." ”

Xi Shantu asked, "Why did Duke Huan order you to cut yourself?" ”

The man repented and replied: "Yesterday Huan Gong summoned the villain ...... at night."

I remember the first few times I saw this person, this Tao is not humble or arrogant, and Xi Shantu discussed Taoist classics such as "Lao Tzu", and also said that the head is the Tao, but now he is kneeling on the ground, embarrassed, calling himself a "villain", the difference between the performance before and after is too great, Xi Shantu couldn't help but interrupt him, and said: "Didn't you call yourself poor before?" ”

The Taoist man was also honest and said: "The villain claims to be good at stargazing, but unexpectedly, he can't even count his own life, where can he dare to call it 'Tao'?" ”

Xi Shantu smiled and said, "You go on, what did Duke Huan call you to do?" ”

The man replied: "Duke Huan summoned the villain last night, and he was very polite to the villain at the beginning, and he held the hand of the villain, and asked how rich and noble he was?" I don't know if the villain answered something wrong, Duke Huan sent an official this morning and sent a silk cloth, 5,000 yuan and the villain. The silk cloth is to make the villain judge himself; The 5,000 yuan is the cost of buying a coffin. Hearing that the master book was returned today, the villain came and begged the master book to save his life. ”

Xi Shantu asked: "Duke Huan asked about his wealth, how did you answer?" ”

The villain replied: "The public can do it."

Xi Shantu immediately understood, understood why Huan Meng was not satisfied with this Taoist's answer, and said in his heart: "Huan Gong is heroic and heroic, aiming to trace the traces of ancient heroes, become the unfinished business of the second Yu, cleanse the Central Plains, recover China, and build the name of immortality for thousands of years; Although the three dukes are expensive, the previous Qin Dynasty has been worshipping the public, not to mention hundreds? Even a year for a few changes! How can it be compared with a thousand autumn ministers? How could it be what Duke Huan wanted?

"This Taoist doesn't know Huan Gong's mind, he speculates with common sense, and he says this flattery, and he doesn't blame Huan Gong for playing with silk and money."

"Shanggong" Yunyun, this dynasty implements the system of "eight publics".

Dazai, Taifu, Taibao, the three public officials of Zhou, this dynasty and the previous generation to put it bluntly, are all usurped by the ministers, the country is not right, in order to maintain the imperial power, this dynasty intends to reorganize the order of respect and inferiority, so the Zhou system was attacked, and the three public officials of the Zhou Dynasty were moved over, which was for the three princes of the eight dukes; below the prince, it is the great Sima and the general; Next, there are the three princes of Taiwei, Situ, and Sikong.

A total of eight gongs.

Whether it is the Shanggong or the Eighth Duke, as Xi Shantu thought, from the previous Qin Dynasty to the present, in the past few hundred years, there have indeed been more than hundreds of ministers who have to worship the public. Confucianism pays attention to the unity of heaven and man, and when there is a natural and man-made disaster, it is often necessary to remove a certain "gong" who is in office, and in many cases, it will indeed be replaced by several in a year.

How can this be compared with Huanmeng's ideal of being a "minister for a thousand years"? It's no wonder that Huan Meng will use silk and money to tease this.

As for why Huan Meng is teasing him, instead of really asking him to judge himself? Huan Meng has not been in Shu for a long time, and he is winning the hearts of the people, so naturally he will not kill the people he invited because of this matter, if he really wants to kill, he will not be able to get the hearts of the people in Shu.

Xi Shantu saw that this person was pitiful, tears came out, he felt funny, forced himself to restrain his smile, comforted him warmly, and said, "Jun Ji died by mistake!" Jun is good at stargazing, and should hear that the stars have the meaning of not being covered, so Huan Gong gives you silk as a gift, which is a playful ear; The money of 5,000 is the fare for Jun to go home. You can rest assured, Duke Huan will not force the monarch to judge himself, just say goodbye to Duke Huan, pack his bags, and return home tomorrow. ”

The Taoist was surprised and delighted, and said: "Is this what Duke Huan gave silk, money and villains? ”

Xi Shantu said: "Yes. ”

Taoist knows that Xi Shantu is Huanmeng's love minister, otherwise he would not come to Xi Shantu to save his life, he is a love minister, want to come to understand Huan Meng, he said that Huan Meng has no intention of forcing himself to self-judge, it should be true, he believed Xi Shantu's words at the moment, happily, got up, shook the dust on his clothes, and changed back to the self-title of "poor road", and said: "Thank you for the main book, poor road will go to the handsome tent to see Huan Gong, farewell and return home." ”

Xi Shantu asked in surprise: "Didn't Duke Huan go to the city?" ”

The Taoist didn't understand what Xi Shantu was talking about, and said: "Duke Huan is in the handsome tent, discussing with the ministers, and he didn't go to the city." What does the master book mean by this? ”

Xi Shantu thought: "What Yuan Jun said to Xin Zhengyu is a lie. Huan Gongshi did not go to Chengdu. I don't know what to discuss in the account? Huan Meng summoned him to see him, but he didn't want to go on his own, although he had doubts in his heart, he just said, "I said casually." ”

The Taoist then resigned from Xi Shantu, went out of the tent, walked along the avenue in the barracks, and came to the center outside the tent.

The handsome tent is a hundred sub-tents, covering a large area, and there are 100 Huanmeng soldiers around it, all wearing armor and holding a lance, and the guard is strict.

The Taoist didn't dare to approach, so he stayed in a far corner, waiting for Huan Meng's deliberations to finish, and then went to ask for a meeting.

In the tent, Zhou An, Cheng Wuji and other important generals of Jingzhou soldiers are there.

Yuan Ziqiao, Hao Sheng, Meng He, Xie Zhi and others were also there.

Huan Meng sat on the main seat, leading his head forward, frowning at the map spread out on the ground.

Yuan Ziqiao bent over the picture, watched for a while, returned to his seat, and said: "Wang Teng, Deng Hao, and Zan Ding, all the generations, don't know what to do, and they rebelled and lived up to the love of Ming Gong, which is really hateful. However, these people have no long materials, Li Dang has been escorted to Jiankang, although they are now supporting Fan Jun, who is Fan Jun? Or can you deceive a little bit of Heavenly Master Dao disciples, how can they have prestige? Hit the stone ear with an egg. There is no need for Ming Gong to negotiate with him, Ziqiao and General Zhou each lead 3,000 soldiers and horses, and they can be exterminated respectively! ”

Xin Er arrived at the camp, Huan Meng was gone, not all as Xin Er guessed, not only to give Xin Er a dismount, but another important reason is: Shu Qin's ministers Wang Teng, Deng Hao and Zan Ding, supported Fan Tianshi's great-grandson Fan Jun, and raised troops to rebel.

Speaking of which, Huan Meng really didn't treat Wang Teng and others badly.

Wang Teng and Deng Hao were both ministers in the Li Dang Dynasty, and they were appointed by Huan Meng to join the army in the palace, and Sasuke pacified Chengdu.

Zan Ding was ordered by Li Dang, the lord of Shu, out of Chengdu and rushed to the aid of Qianwei, but unexpectedly, Huan Mengjing passed through the trail, and the light troops rushed forward and attacked Chengdu directly. When the Huan Meng soldiers arrived at Shili Mo, the news spread to the Zanding army, as Yuan Ziqiao expected, the Shu army was already fluctuating, and after hearing the news, the Zanding army collapsed. Zan Ding hesitated with no way out, and after Huan Meng broke through Chengdu, he led thousands of defeated soldiers to surrender. Huan Meng's kind words comforted him, and he also temporarily turned him into the army, and told him that when the will of the imperial court came down, he would definitely be given another use.

Unexpectedly, Wang Teng, Deng Hao, Zan Ding and others, respectful in person, but behind the conspiracies, sneaked out of Chengdu and Daying a few days ago, and carried out Fan Changsheng's great-grandson Fan Jun as the banner, gathering the believers of the Heavenly Master Dao and the old department, Wang Teng and Deng Hao in Du'an, southwest of Chengdu, and Zan Ding in Linqiong, south of Chengdu, rebelled one after another.

Just half a day before Xin Er arrived at the Jingzhou military camp, the military report of Wang Teng and other rebellions reached Huan Meng's case.

Huan Meng frowned and said, "I am not worried about the rebellion of Wang Teng's ancestors. ”

Yuan Ziqiao said: "What Ming Gong is worried about is that if Wang Teng and other thieves are rebellious and known by Xin Zheng, it will not be conducive to Ming Gong coercing him to return the Sword Pavilion to me?" ”

Huan Meng said: "Yes! ”

Li Dang and the Li clan have been sent to Jiankang as soon as possible, that is to say, no one in Shu can form a call in the "name" to unite people's hearts; Although Fan Jun is the great-grandson of Fan Changsheng, he attacked the two officials of Heaven and Earth Taishi and Xishan Marquis, and there are thousands of people and tribes who have depended on his Fan family for generations, but now it is not what it used to be, and he really has no reputation for calling all of Shu.

The rebellion of Wang Teng and others was regarded by Yuan Ziqiao as "hitting a stone with an egg", and Huan Meng also thought so.

Huan Meng is not worried that the rebellion will not be able to be quelled, but if the rebellion is together, he may not have the strength to threaten Xin Er and ask for the Sword Pavilion.

Yuan Ziqiao has no good plan for this.

Everyone discussed for a long time, and at the end, Yuan Ziqiao said: "Xin Zheng's captives have come, so you can't do nothing." Ming Gong, but today's plan, there is no other way, only one way. ”

Huan Meng asked, "What is it?" ”

"First hide the news of Wang Teng's rebellion and other thieves, and don't rush to send troops to exterminate them; According to the strategy agreed before, just do it, and try to see if you can bring the Sword Pavilion over within three or four days! ”

"What if not?"

"I had no choice but to send troops out of the camp to annihilate the traitors."

Wang Teng and the others will definitely not succeed, they can ignore it for the time being at the beginning, but they can't let them conquer the city and expand their power, so they can hide the news for three or four days, and it won't work for a long time. Yuan Ziqiao's implication is that within three or four days, if he can't bring the Sword Pavilion to come, then he can only tolerate it for the time being, and acquiesce to the reality that the Sword Pavilion is all the others, and don't mention this matter.

Huan Meng said: "That's all! ”

The matter was agreed, and the group discussed the matter of counterinsurgency for a while.

By the end of the evening, Zhou An, Chen Wuji, Yuan Ziqiao, etc., all of them said goodbye and left the account.

The Taoist who was guarding outside the tent saw Zhou An and the others leaving, and hurried over to ask to see Huan Meng.

Huan called him into the account and asked him what was the matter.

The Taoist said: "Poor Dao is here to resign. ”

Huan Meng asked, "What do you want to say?" ”

The Taoist told Huan Meng about finding Xi Shantu to save his life, and said: "Poor Dao was given the gift of Ming Gongjuan and money with a vulgar body, and I am grateful. The Ming Duke was busy with military affairs, and he didn't dare to disturb the poor road, so he dared to resign from the words of Xi's master. ”

Worried that the sword pavilion might not be able to get the dark clouds, because this person relayed Xi Shantu's words dissipated slightly, Huan Meng couldn't help laughing, and said: "Shantu said that Jun died by mistake, and Jun must have lived by mistake. If you have been reading books for 30 years in vain, it is better to study the main book. "I promised the Taoist to return home.

The man packed his bags and went home without mentioning it.

The next day, Huan Meng summoned Xin Er to see him.

Xin Er did not bring Wei Shu, Wei Xian and the guards, only Li Liang, and under the guidance of Yuan Ziqiao and Xi Shantu, he went outside the tent.

Yesterday, Huan Meng discussed the military with Zhou An and others, and there were only hundreds of armor soldiers outside the tent, but today, there are 500 armor soldiers outside the tent, and the entire big tent is surrounded by water.

In front of the tent stood two columns of armoured men, tall and strong, with bright armor.

Xin Er stopped slightly, and said in his heart: "The appropriate talent Xi Shantu discussed with Li Liang the etiquette process when I met Huan Meng, and said that Huan Jingzhou would wait for me at the tent gate. Now that the tent door is empty, where is the shadow of Huanmeng? Hehe, I made two columns of armor, but it was majestic. ”

Yuan Ziqiao smiled: "General, please." ”

Xin Er replied with a smile: "Please." ”

Yuan Ziqiao and Xi Shantu accompanied him, and Xin Er and Li Liang passed through the two columns of murderous armor soldiers and entered the account.

The tent was full of people.

Xin Er didn't look carefully left and right, but only looked into the depths of the tent, and saw a person, sitting on the couch, with a thick beard and a military uniform, and the red hakama was like a fire, pouring into his eyes and burning people's hearts.

Xin Er bowed down and said: "Xia Guan captures the general, Yongzhou Assassin Shi Xin Er, and meets Duke Huan." ”

For a while, I can't wait for a response.

Xin Er calmly straightened up, turned around and left.

Li Liang hurriedly followed him.

Xin Er strode out of the tent.

Xi Shantu chased him out, grabbed Li Liang, asked Xin Er, and said, "General, what is this for?" ”