Wang Shichong pondered for a while, and said: "Go back to the Eastern Capital first, see what Yang Guang is going to do to me next, Yang Su is down, it may not necessarily be a bad thing for me, now Yang Guang looks very beautiful, but he also knows that there are many people who oppose him in private, and he needs a powerful eagle dog to help him monitor and grasp the movements of the people below, I think this matter, he will hand it over to me sooner or later." ”

A strange look flashed in Hu Sizheng's eyes: "Lord, General He Ruo has gone a little too far in Jingzhou, do you think you can consider throwing him out at the right time?" ”

Wang Shichong's heart moved suddenly, he couldn't imagine that Hu Sizheng was so ruthless, he had just changed his court from He Ruobi, and he would immediately betray the old master, although he had considered this himself, but at this moment, hearing it from Hu Sizheng's mouth still made him unhappy for a while. Hu Sizheng's face, which had a humble smile, also became extremely ugly.

However, Wang Shichong had already cultivated to the point of joy and anger, and he said softly: "Mr. Husi, General He Ruo is your old master until just now, and you just left him, and you mentioned to me that you betrayed him, don't you think about what I think of you as a person?" ”

Hu Si Zheng's face did not change and said: "Lord, as a courtier, you must abide by the way of the courtiers and do your duty, when I was under He Ruobi, of course, I had to plan for him, and I was honest, I also mentioned at that time that I would do my best to drive you out of Yingzhou, and even assassination was among the optional means." But now that I'm with you, it's natural to find the most appropriate way for you to speak to you, rather than thinking about the old master or something. ”

Wang Shichong nodded: "You are very direct, say it." Why should I stare at He Ruobi. Purely from my point of view. It's not a good idea to report He Ruobi now, as soon as he and I know each other, if I report him, he will bite out my affairs, and it will be the end of the meeting. Second, I think He Ruobi is still useful now, and putting him in Xiangzhou can not only toss some fame, but also effectively contain Xiao Miao. So that it will not dominate Jingxiang and become my fierce enemy, why should he cut off his arm? ”

Hu Sizheng smiled slightly: "Lord, you have great wisdom, you should know that what Yang Guang hates and fears the most is not Yang Su, but Gao Xi, since he appointed Gao Xi as Tai Changqing a few years ago, he just wanted to take the opportunity to get rid of Gao Xi, but Gao Xi also learned well this time." Not a drop of water, those lewd sounds that Yang Guang likes. is also correct, Yang Guang can't catch his handle, like a bone in his throat, unspeakably uncomfortable. If you can secretly report He Ruobi's misdeeds at this time, that force will implicate Gao Xi and help Yang Guang get rid of a big trouble, as long as He Ruobi doesn't know that you did it, he will naturally not bite you. ”

Wang Shichong sneered in his heart, but his expression was still very calm: "Let me think about this matter again." ”

A hint of imperceptible disappointment flashed in Hu Sizheng's eyes, and he disappeared for a moment, and changed the topic instead: "Lord, there is one more thing, my subordinates want to discuss it with you." ”

Wang Shichong said softly: "Sir, please speak." ”

Hu Sizheng blinked: "This time, the lord is going back to the Eastern Capital, what will his subordinates do in the future?" Or will he continue to serve as the chief historian in Yingzhou? ”

Wang Shichong thought for a while and said: "Mr. Husi, this time Yang Guang is going to abolish all the states in the world and change the states to counties, and by the way, all the governors of these states will be removed and replaced with county guards, but you, the Changshi and Sima in the original state, should not move for the time being, in order to ensure the stability of the regime, you stay in this Yingzhou first, wait for the appointment from above, and I will try my best to help you arrange a position to enter the Shangshu Province in the middle of the court." ”

Hu Sizheng's eyes showed a happy color: "So, do I still need to continue to monitor Chen Ling here?" ”

Wang Shichong smiled slightly: "I'm ready to withdraw all my forces from the Jingying region, what do you still want to monitor that Chen Ling?" This land of Jingzhou will definitely belong to Xiao Mill, it is useless for us to monitor or not, it is this Chen Ling, I am afraid that in the past two years, I will also be transferred out of this place by Empress Xiao Milling. ”

Hu Sizheng nodded: "I understand, then the subordinates will go back and congratulate the lord on a smooth life." After Hu Sizheng finished speaking, he got up and saluted, ready to turn around and leave.

Wang Shichong smiled, took out a document from his arms, put it on the table, pointed to it and said to Hu Sizheng: "Sir, slow down, as proof of allegiance to me, do you want to sign this oath first?" ”

Hu Sizheng's eyebrows jumped slightly, and he was replaced by a smiling face: "It should be so!" ”

Half an hour later, the person opposite Wang Shichong changed into a blue satin dress, holding a folding fan in his hand, Xiao Milling with a very chic expression, he gently shook the folding fan, while looking at the various decorations in this secret room, and smiled slightly: "Brother Xingman, today you have seen so many road immortals in my place, and it was not my turn until the end, should you also mean it to the younger brother?" ”

Wang Shichong looked calm, poured himself a bowl of wine, and said, "The whole Jingzhou has been given to you, what do you want me to mean?" ”

Xiao Mo laughed: "I'm afraid that Brother Xingman is not so simple, it's true that you left Jingzhou, but you still left Chen Ling and He Ruobi These two pieces of stinky continue to disgust me, is this really good?" ”

Wang Shichong said softly: "Brother Xiao, don't be too greedy, Chen Ling is short-sighted, as long as this Yingzhou is a place, and after all, he has your good aunt behind him, as for He Ruobi, let him go to the Xiangzhou area in the south, it will not hinder your development in Jingzhou." This time, I won He Ruobi in the gamble of the war horse, if I have the heart to continue to fight against you, I can leave an agent here to continue to operate, and you are really so sure that you can beat me in Jingzhou? ”

The smile on Xiao Miao's face gradually dissipated, and his expression became stern: "Brother Xingman, the so-called strong dragon does not suppress the head snake, my Xiao family has been operating in Jingzhou for a hundred years, it's not that you, the strong dragon, have been here for a few months, and the relationship can be settled by throwing money everywhere, even if you can cover the sky with one hand in this Yingzhou city, but there are hundreds of counties and thousands of townships in Jingzhou, and those protégés of my Xiao family are old, can you buy them?" ”

Wang Shichong smiled slightly: "As long as I can stay here forever, sooner or later I will be able to attract some people to come over, Brother Xiao." This is not your Great Liang Country now. It was Jingzhou under the rule of the Great Sui. Your public identity is also a Luochuan county order, and you can't give those Jingzhou heroes glory and wealth, those unsightly Qianliang currency, or an oath of allegiance, and it is impossible to really win people's hearts, unless you can give them tangible benefits and benefits, they are willing to go with you, and people like the four major families in Yingzhou will be rebellious to you. Not to mention the people below, right? ”

Xiao Mian hit seven inches at once, and he couldn't speak for a long time, and after a long time, he sighed: "What Brother Xingman said is extremely true, you and I don't have to brag to each other like this, yes, I do need time to operate and regain the influence of my Liang in the Jingzhou area, so I hope that Brother Xingman can continue to maintain friendly and cooperative relations in the future." ”

Wang Shichong's eyes flashed green. There is no secret between him and Xiao Miao, and that kind of intrigue is also omitted. Today, he chose to have a showdown with all kinds of bulls, ghosts, snakes and gods here, especially with Xiao Mo himself, in order to fix the pattern before leaving Jingzhou, at least not to affect his future appearance in the two key areas of Central Plains and Guanzhong.

Wang Shichong nodded: "Brother Xiao, please tell me, what is this friendly cooperative relationship?" How is it different from what we agreed to last time in the hut overhead? ”

Xiao Miao's eyes sparkled: "Then I'll say it one by one first, if you think you can confirm it directly, if you think it's not good, then let's discuss it openly and honestly today." How about the line full of brothers' intentions? ”

Wang Shichong smiled slightly: "Listen to me." ”

Xiao Milling nodded: "The general goal of you and me is still the same as last time, to work separately, to overthrow the Yang clan of the Sui Dynasty as a responsibility, I Xiao Milling is operating in Jingzhou, and you Xingman brother is operating elsewhere, Jingzhou area, Xingman brother can not leave his own power, but can do business here to make money, I Xiao Milling will use the relationship here to open the door for your horses, tea, silk, bronze business, you get profits, we are twenty-eight, you eight and I two, how about it?" ”

Wang Shichong smiled slightly: "Brother Xiao's appetite is not small, this time I will completely squeeze my power out of the Jingzhou area, and the money I earn from doing business here, you also want to share a vote with empty gloves, I want to know, why?" Wang is doing business all over the country, and he only needs to pay taxes to the government, and he doesn't need to pump another 20% of water from others. ”

A confident smile appeared on Xiao Miao's face: "Elsewhere is elsewhere, you Xingman brother is just doing business elsewhere, not considering doing big things, and you are in this Jingzhou area, you can sell a large number of military horses, buy iron ore and copper ore, and even do salt and iron trading in private, Jingzhou is my territory, I will let my people provide protection, and I am also responsible for helping you open these purchase channels, Brother Xingman, don't forget, these money-making private goods you want to sell, but the imperial court expressly prohibits them, if there is no Jingzhou businessman loyal to our Xiao family to help you ship." You can't sell these things. ”

Wang Shichong said quietly: "But I can not do these forbidden businesses, I used to do these businesses because I had the idea of running Jingzhou, but now I don't play here, is it still necessary?" Not to mention risking the extermination of the race. ”

Xiao Mo laughed: "Brother Xingman, don't you want to be an ally with me Xiao Mill and work together for the world in the future?" If it weren't for your help, I wouldn't be able to get War Horse Weapons, and I wouldn't be able to help you in the future. ”

Wang Shichong sneered: "At this time and that time, I used to have at least my own power here, so I can still form a constraint on you, but now that I have nothing here, what can you help me?" The main army of the Great Sui has never been here, and if you raise troops here, it will not be useful to contain me, but it will pose a threat to my plan to run the Central Plains. ”

Xiao Mo smiled slightly: "Xingman, you and I are smart people, so you don't have to hide it, although my Jingzhou area is located in the north of the Yangtze River, it is still the Jiangnan region in the traditional sense, where the water network is vertical and horizontal, mostly hilly, rather than the endless plains in the north, where the cavalry and horses are useless, and the northern army will be more unaccustomed to the water and soil when they come here, on the contrary, the boats and infantry of the southerners are unimpeded here." ”

"The customs of the Northern and Southern Dynasties are very different, and the reason why they have been able to fight each other for hundreds of years and maintain the balance of power is not the reason for the same river, but more because of the difference in lifestyle and terrain, so I will raise troops in the future. It will not enter the Central Plains lightly. Instead, it will gradually take Bashu westward. Go south to Lingnan and east to Jiangnan, unless you wait until this qiē is mastered, you will not consider the matter of going north to the Central Plains. ”

"I Xiao Milling knows that I am not a genius who has passed through heaven and earth, and it is not a big problem to protect Jingzhou, but if I want to unify the south, I may not be able to see it in my lifetime, if you are Brother Xingman, you have not been able to unify the north for decades. Then don't worry, when the time comes, my little brother and I will go north and compete with you in the Central Plains. ”

Wang Shichong smiled and raised the wine bowl in front of him: "Brother Xiao's words are very happy, we should also have a drink when we are so frank with you." Foolish brother, I'll do it first! As he spoke, he drank the bowl of wine.

Xiao Mo also drank the bowl of wine in front of him with a smile, wiped his lips, and said, "But since we have reached an agreement, we have become friends." In the future, we can also work together in troubled times, and the full brothers can sweep the Central Plains. Dominate the north, the younger brother will still send troops to help if he can, after all, it is better to cooperate with a friend like you who started from the end of the world than to deal with those northern clans. At that time, if you really take the north, and the younger brother is fortunate enough to unify the south, my Liang State is willing to become your vassal state, just like when I surrendered to the Northern Zhou. ”

Wang Shichong said with a smile: "Brother Xiao's words are so hurtful and quiet, it obviously means that I, Wang Shichong, came from a humble background and could not get the support of the family in the north, so even if I get the north, I will spend my energy on consolidating my rule, and I don't have time to send a large army to the south, right?" ”

Xiao Mo smiled and nodded: "Brother Xingman is so smart, why bother to say it?" For me, Xiao Miao, of course, you are the best choice for the overlord of the north, not only because your brother has this ability, but also because of the reason you just said, and only in this way can we maintain cooperation and coexist for a long time, isn't it? ”

Wang Shichong secretly scolded this Xiao Milling in his heart for being shrewd like a ghost, and his own hard injury gave him a good score, it seems that how to deal with this Jingzhou predator in the troubled times in the future is really a headache. But he had a smile on his face: "Okay, then according to what you said, I will continue to provide you with the war horses you need, as well as iron ore for refining iron armor, bronze and other things, these products will be transported to the bazaar in Jiangling, and your people will buy them, and the profits will be according to what you say, in the future, we will take Xiangyang in the north as the boundary, and support each other when the world is in turmoil. ”

Xiao Mo nodded: "Very good, then it's a word." In addition, the last time He Ruobi talked to you about the conditions of Shen Liusheng, the transportation of the Dajiang Gang was my authorization, the shipping ships on the Yangtze River, and the Dajiang Gang, were all my Xiao people, He Ruobi just borrowed my name at that time, and now that we have got rid of him, let's talk about cooperation directly, I know that Xingman's business has penetrated into the Jiangnan region, and there are tea and silk businesses in Zhejiang and Fujian, and most of your businesses are from Jiankang to Guazhou Ferry North to the Central Plains, Enter Luoyang and Guanzhong, and then take the Silk Road out of Longyou into Hexi. Right. ”

Wang Shichong nodded: "It seems that Brother Xiao also knows my business very well, what's the matter, you also want to meddle in this business?" ”

Xiao Mo shook his head: "These business routes do not pass through Jingzhou, and the younger brother naturally does not dare to stretch out his hand with Brother Xingman, but you can also consider dividing some goods when you are in Jiankang, going up the river, and transporting the ships of the Guò Dajiang Gang to Jiangling, and you can continue to transport them upwards to Bashu, these are normal businesses, just making money, I will ship, you will ship, and everyone will get rich together, how about it?" ”

Wang Shichong laughed: "Brother Xiao really doesn't miss any opportunity to make a fortune, it's okay, I have been suffering from the lack of Yangtze River shipping, unable to transport goods from the southeast to Jingzhou and Bashu through guò water transportation, this is good, with your Dajiang Gang, I don't have to worry about this problem anymore, we can cooperate in this matter, that's it." ”

Xiao Mo pondered for a while: "That's it, the line is full, the goods in the south of the Yangtze River such as silk silk, as well as tea, from Jiankang to Jiangling, can probably double or so, I will extract thirty percent according to the price of the goods in Jiankang, as my transportation costs, if you encounter wind and waves and bandits, the goods are lost in the river, I am fully responsible, how about?" ”

A meaningful look flashed in Wang Shichong's eyes: "Brother Xiao, do you want to take this opportunity to expand your influence to Xunyang (now Jiujiang) and Jiankang, which are areas in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River?" ”

Xiao Mo gave Wang Shichong a word to explain his thoughts, and his face changed slightly: "Even if it is, this does not conflict with Brother Xingman's purpose, your target is the north, the Central Plains, not the land south of the Yangtze River." ”

Wang Shichong said coldly: "In the southeast area, I have been operating for many years, and the tea and silk there can make a lot of money, and I can't give it to you so lightly, so I just said that even in the troubled times, your forces can't go out of the two Huai, let alone go to the south of the Yangtze River." ”

A chill flashed in Xiao Miao's eyes: "What if I have to go?" ”

Wang Shichong's voice was very calm, but it revealed a trace of undoubted firmness: "If that's the case, don't blame me for being rude, whether I raise troops in the Central Plains or Guanzhong, there are many directions that can be developed, if you want to seize Jiangnan, I will go straight to Jingzhou, there is no lie." ”

Xiao Miao's face changed greatly, staring at Wang Shichong's eyes tightly, these green eyes revealed absolute firmness, without flinching, not negotiable, for a long time, Xiao Mi let out his breath, and sighed: "Xingman, your hand is too long, and you want the Central Plains and Jiangnan, how can you let others live?" ”

Wang Shichong said coldly: "This doesn't bother you. Everyone can make money together, run their own territory together, and raise troops at the same time when the time comes, but this sphere of influence still has to be demarcated in advance, I don't want the Sui Dynasty to be destroyed by then, and our own people will fight first. ”

Xiao Mo gritted his teeth: "Okay, then I will depend on you, with the Jiangzhou Thorn Shi Wenqiao Station Mine Pond that guarded Jiangzhou during the Eastern Jin Dynasty as the boundary, you are not allowed to come to the west of the Thunder Pond, and I will not go to the east of the Thunder Pond, how about it?" ”

Wang Shichong changed his smile: "Very good." Brother Xiao, this is the attitude of cooperation. ”

Xiao Mo nodded: "Then since I don't take a step beyond Lei Chi, there are two more things to discuss with Brother Xingman, you can see if you can agree."

Wang Shichong smiled slightly: "Brother Xiao, but it doesn't hurt to say it. ”

Xiao Miao's eyebrows raised: "This number one, it's Chen Ling, I don't like this person, but Brother Xingman seems to have a good relationship with him now, and he is ready to continue to support him to stay here in the future, I hope that Brother Xingman can give up his support for this person, so as not to hurt our harmony." ”

Wang Shichong looked at Xiao Mo and said calmly: "Brother Xiao, stay a line, and see you in the future, Chen Ling knows you and me very well, and this person is not ambitious and short-sighted, just trying to stay in this place of Yingzhou, staying here will not cause you any harm." ”

Xiao Mo said categorically: "No, this person is my aunt's eyes and ears, and he is here to monitor me, as long as he is here, I will be like a thorn in my back, and I will not rest for a moment, Brother Xingman, I know that you have an agreement with this person, and I also want to figure out that this person will continue to control a part of Jingzhou after you leave, but in this regard, I will not give in." ”

Wang Shichong smiled slightly: "I said, I have left Jingzhou, and I will no longer have any thoughts about this place, Brother Xiao, you should have this minimum trust in me." It's just that I said that Chen Ling knows the details of you and me, and now drive him away, I'm afraid that he will find a way to report us in a fit of anger, I left here anyway, he has no evidence, but your brother Xiao is very disadvantaged. ”

Xiao Mo sneered: "As long as Brother Xingman doesn't interfere, I naturally have a way to drive him away, and he also has a sore foot on my hands, so he doesn't dare to do anything to us." Brother Xingman, I only hope that you will be able to do so immediately. ”

Wang Shichong immediately said: "There is no problem with this, Chen Ling came to me today, I gave him three million money at one time, he should be content, if you squeeze him away at this time, I can't ask for it, so that he won't bother me in the future." ”

Xiao Mo breathed a sigh of relief and continued: "This second thing, it's He Ruobi, I don't like this person, and I don't like him to stay in Xiangzhou, sooner or later he will attack him, Brother Xingman It's better to keep a certain distance from him, so as not to affect himself in the future." (To be continued......)