He Ruobi jumped up from the ground in shock, his body was trembling slightly, the last time he was happy, it had become a nightmare for his life, he had not discussed this matter with Gao Xi, but in order to cooperate with Wang Shichong, he still played the banner of Gao Servant, every time he thought that if this rebellion was revealed, the whole family would be wiped out, so he was worried and afraid, so he simply gritted his teeth and began to rob Yingzhou, and officially cooperated with Xiao Miao, who had been leaving before, and was told by Gao Xi in front of him about the day. It scared him even more.

However, after all, He Ruobi has been a general for many years, although he can't do it without changing his color when Taishan collapses in front of him, but he also quickly stabilized his feelings, and said to Gao Xi, who was sitting opposite him with a calm expression: "Qi Guogong, how did you know about this matter?" ”

Gao Xi sighed softly: "After all, the old man has been the prime minister of the Great Sui for more than 20 years, and his protégés are all over the world, and his ears, eyes and eyes are also all over the world inside and outside Daxing. You have made such a big move, tens of thousands of people are lurking inside and outside Daxing City, making the city feel like a great enemy, how can the old man not investigate this kind of thing? ”

He Ruobi sat back in his seat and said in a deep voice: "Qi Guogong, you are a loyal minister of the Great Sui, we are not rebelling, but want to support the first prince to reinstate, the first emperor was confused in his later years, and was provoked by the villain, this will abolish the prince who has no fault, and change the king of Jin as the prince, even if you are burdened, you will also lose your official position, this matter has its own public opinion in the world, we dare not do this when the first emperor is alive, and when the first emperor is critically ill, we will help the first prince return to the position that should belong to him." What's wrong with this? ”

Gao Xi sneered: "If this matter is really as high-sounding as you say." Why should you be sneaky? It's unseemly, and even the old man has to hide it? What kind of person is Wang Shichong, you and I both know that cooperating with such a careerist, is your General He Ruo really out of loyalty to the former prince? ”

The sweat on He Ruobi's face began to bubble out, and he said loudly: "Qi Guogong, since you know about this, you have also determined that He is a rebellious minister and thief. Tie up He now and ask Yang Guang for credit. ”

Gao Xi sighed: "Uncle Fu, the old man didn't report you that day, and he won't now." Do you know why the old man didn't publicize you? It is because you were recommended by the old man, and Wang Shichong was too, if you were reported, sooner or later the old man himself would be implicated, besides, it was not easy to be afraid of Renshou Palace that day, Yuwenshu and Yu Zhongwen suddenly led the guards of the East Palace to Renshou Palace. And the emperor died on the same day, and this matter will never be so simple. ”

He Ruobi gritted his teeth: "What does Duke Qi mean." The first emperor was murdered by traitors? ”

Gao Xi closed his eyes, and two lines of tears flowed from the corners of his eyes: "The former emperor's concubine Liu Shu was the only person he could trust at that time, and probably the only person who was still loyal to the former emperor at that time, after that, he was suddenly dismissed from office and exiled to Lingnan Longchuan, and Yang Su was forced to die so quickly, Uncle Fu, do you still think that the former emperor at that time was really a normal funeral?" ”

He Ruobi's eyes lit up, and his hand unconsciously grasped the sword placed on the left side of his body: "Duke Qi Guo, since this is the case, why don't we tell the world about the sins of these people and raise troops to avenge the emperor?" ”

Gao Xi shook his head: "If you and Wang Shishi have a little brain, you shouldn't think about attacking the city and robbing Yang Yong, if you are really loyal to the Great Sui, you should block Yuwenshu's soldiers and horses out of the city, and even directly attack Renshou Palace to protect the emperor, at that time, Changsun Sheng's army has always been neutral, if you do this, at least the old man will be on your side." It's a pity that you only care about your own selfish interests, and want to snatch the first prince and Yang Xiu, and go to Yang Liang, of course the old man can't do this kind of thing with you. ”

He Ruobi said in a deep voice: "Qi Guogong, since the words have been spoken, and you also believe that the first emperor was killed by Yang Guang at that time, what should we do now, just let this murderer continue to sit on the dragon chair?" ”

Gao Xi sighed: "The matter has come to this, it is useless to say more, Yang Guang has firmly grasped the power of the country, even Yang Liang, who has hundreds of thousands of soldiers, was quickly pacified by him, we have no power to resist, we can only choose to surrender, Uncle Fu, how strong is the national strength of my Great Sui, how strong is the military strength, you have been a general for many years, you will not know, now the world is at peace, even if you want to be a soldier, how much chance of victory?" ”

He Ruobi said impatiently: "No, Qi Guogong, you don't know the situation outside, the world is dissatisfied with Yang Guang, and there are more people who want to have a plan, if not, how can I spend so much money in Jingzhou and want to give it a go?" ”

Gao Xi shook his head, and there was a hint of helplessness in his eyes: "Uncle Fu, if you really regard the old man as an old friend for many years, just listen to the old man's advice, all your operations and all your investments in the land of Jingxiang will be empty in the end, whether it is the Xiao family or Wang Shichong, it is not something you can deal with, it is better to stop it as soon as possible." ”

He Ruobi's eyes opened like a copper bell, and he said sharply: "Qi Guogong, you also underestimate me He Ruobi, compared to the talent of governing the country, Wen Taowu strategy, and personal connections, He Ruo thinks that he is not as good as Qi Guogong, but if you want to say that I am not even as good as Xiao Mo and Wang Shichong, two boys in their early thirties, how can it be!" When He Ruo led 100,000 troops and swept the world, they were still in their mother's womb. ”

Gao Xi smiled slightly: "Uncle Fu, the hero doesn't mention the courage of the year, this Xiao Mill is a descendant of Xiao Liang's royal family, he himself may not have much strength, but the Xiao family has been operating in Jingzhou for hundreds of years, and the power is so strong, you should have experienced it in Jingzhou over the years, and there are still Empress Xiao and Xiao Yu behind him, there are people in the court who speak, as long as Xiao Mill is an official in Jingzhou, no one can restrict his development, do you understand?" ”

He Ruobi wiped the sweat on his forehead: "Even if Xiao Mo is a strong dragon in Jingzhou, what about Wang Shichong?" What kind of thing is he! When Lao Tzu pacified Nan Chen, he was a bedbug hugging Lao Tzu's thighs, and Lao Tzu could blow him away when he blew his breath, even if he had a few stinky money in the past few years doing some business, and met some ill-intentioned fox friends and dog friends in various places, but he was not familiar with life in Jingzhou. I don't believe it. He had just been assassinated. Relying on a few broken money to buy people's hearts here and there, can those local tyrants in Jingzhou recognize him as an outsider? ”

Gao Xi sneered: "Uncle Fu, you really think too low of this Wang Shichong, this person is scheming, far-reaching, and has no bottom line, no loyalty at all, just like Cao Mengde in the Three Kingdoms." When ruling the world, he can be a capable minister, and in troubled times, he will be a traitor. During the last Daxing Rebellion, this person was able to recruit tens of thousands of subordinates and allies from all sides at once, and the family soldiers brought by General He Ruo were only hundreds, if it wasn't for the old man's banner, maybe Wang Shichong would not be willing to cooperate with you, isn't this a fact? ”

He Ruobi's face was flushed, and he shouted: "No, Duke Qi Guo, those people from Wang Shichong." Most of them were his comrades and allies everywhere, and most of them were rabble. Originally, I wanted to take the opportunity to come over and loot the Beijing Division, but I was scattered in a hurry afterwards, and I was definitely not elite, not to mention that my Great Sui's million-strong division, that is, the tens of thousands of Changsun Sheng's troops outside the city at that time, could also easily eliminate these people, his strength is not as terrible as you said! ”

Gao Xi nodded: "Indeed, if it is a peaceful period, with such a force, if you want to raise an army to make a rebellion, it is tantamount to hitting a stone with an egg, but if the world is in chaos, thieves are swarming around, and the army of the imperial court is running around, exterminating the people everywhere, these local heroes can use the banner of protecting the territory and the people, and use these people to raise troops to stand on their own feet and legally expand their own power, just like the various candidates in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, it will be powerful." General He Ruo, do you want to stand on your own feet in Jingzhou this time, can you endure the chaos in the world? ”

The sweat on He Ruobi's head had already turned into a stream and flowed: "The world is in chaos? Now that the four seas are peaceful, how can the world rise up in chaos? How many years will it take? I, He Ruobi, am already sixty years old, and I can't afford to wait, after occupying Jingzhou, of course, I will raise troops soon. ”

Gao Xi sighed: "Uncle Fu, listen to my kind words and persuasion, even if you are a hero, you can only take advantage of the situation, and it is impossible to think about seizing the world when the time is not right." I don't know how you get along with that Wang Shichong in Yingzhou now, but I advise you to let go and go back to Dongdu to live this life, so as not to bring disaster to your family. ”

He Ruobi sneered: "It seems that the ambition of the Duke of Qi has been worn out by time, back then you persuaded the first emperor to raise troops to seize the throne, no matter what, I know that you don't look down on me He Ruobi together, I don't believe that I can make any achievements, and Wang Shichong has been with you for many years after all, and he has done a lot of things for you, so you value him so much." This time, He Ruo will go to Yingzhou and make a bet with that Wang Shichong to see who Yingzhou belongs to! ”

Gao Xi said lightly: "Uncle Fu, do you really think that your war horse bet this time can win against Wang Shichong?" ”

He Ruobi gritted his teeth: "Hmph, in fact, I came to you today to ask you for help, I gambled with Wang Shichong on the war horse, since you already know, I won't explain much, now I have thousands of war horses from the north here, I passed through the eastern capital to go to Yingzhou, originally I greeted Empress Xiao through Guò Xiao Mill, and asked them to try to stop the horses at various checkpoints from going south, but I am afraid that Empress Xiao's words will not work for a woman, so I want to ask you to help, please use your previous relationship to help me this time." But since you have such an attitude, I don't think you need to say anything more. He Ruo is going to set off overnight and say goodbye! ”

Gao Xi sighed softly and shook his head: "Uncle Fu, you have already lost, just a day ago, more than 4,000 military horses from Daxing and Dongdu to the south have arrived in Yingzhou at the same time, and they will be sent to Sima Chenling's stable in Yingzhou early tomorrow morning." ”

He Ruobi stood in place like a clay sculpture, his face full of astonishment and disbelief.

Ten days later, in Yingzhou City, in the small courtyard where Xiao Mo once lived, in the secret room where He Ruobi and Wang Shichong gambled according to the agreement last time, Wang Shichong and He Ruobi sat opposite each other on two beds across a table, a candle on the table, the candle flame was burning weakly, and the shadows of the two were reflected on the wall of the secret room for a long time.

It was He Ruobi who took the lead in breaking the silent environment and sighed: "Wang Xingman, you really impressed the old man, I didn't expect that you already have such a huge horse market in this mainland, if you hadn't colluded with the Turks early on, how could you have such ability?" ”

Wang Shichong smiled slightly: "General He Ruo, why do you think that Wang can only get war horses from the Turks?" Last time you were in Daxing, you should have known that Wang's power spread all over Longyou, Hexi. Get good horses from the Silk Road and the Tuyuhun people. It is a fixed business under the merchant group. Of course, it was not made public before, but this time, through the bet with General He Ruo's war horses, it just so happened that I could also extend these war horses to Jiangnan, and I would like to thank General He Ruo. ”

He Ruobi gritted his teeth: "I am willing to gamble and lose, the old man is convinced to lose this time, Wang Xing is full of rising stars, and the old man used to underestimate you too much." Yingzhou will be yours in the future, and the old man will withdraw from the Jingzhou area according to the agreement. ”

Wang Shichong smiled and waved his hand: "General He Ruo, now that I have changed my mind and don't want to drive you away, you can let Shen Liusheng continue to stay here, of course, Yingzhou can't stay, Jiangling and Xiangyang in the north can't stay, but the Xiangzhou region in the south of the Yangtze River (now Hunan Province) can still retain his power." ”

He Ruobi's face changed slightly: "Wang Xingman." What do you mean by this, don't you want this Yingzhou. Or even the entire Jingzhou area? ”

Wang Shichong said lightly: "General He Ruo, you are from the Eastern Capital, you should know that just ten days ago, Yang Su, the Duke of Chu, died at home, and I, the Assassin of Yingzhou, was recommended by the Duke of Chu, he died, and I can't continue to be an official, sooner or later I will be transferred back to the court and have another appointment, so my business in this place has no meaning, rather than offending you General He Ruo and Mr. Xiao Milling Xiao for this place that does not belong to me, it is better to be a favor and return this place to you." ”

He Ruobi couldn't believe his ears: "You, what did you say?" Do you want to return it to the old man? ”

Wang Shichong nodded: "After all, you have let Shen Liusheng operate here for many years, but I am afraid that General He Ruo's life savings are here, if you are asked to give up the industry like this, it will be unfair to you, so I can allow you to sell all the industries in this Jingzhou area, and then go to Xiangzhou in the south to operate, this Jingzhou land will be handed over to Xiao Miao, what do you think?" ”

He Ruobi originally thought that all the investment over the years was a bamboo basket for water, but he didn't expect Wang Shichong to be so generous, and he actually let himself get a lot back, and the whole person felt much better, haha smiled: "Very good, very good, great, Wang Shichong, if you show mercy to your subordinates this time, the old man will definitely remember your benefits." Okay, according to what you said, I'll let Shen Liusheng handle this matter. ”

Wang Shichong smiled slightly and raised the wine bowl in front of him: "Then we will cooperate happily." ”

An hour later, the person opposite Wang Shichong changed from He Ruobi to Chen Ling, Chen Ling changed into civilian clothes today, his round fat face, two balls of fat were shaking, his little eyes were wide open, and his voice was full of anger: "Wang Tingshi, what do you mean?" This time, you obviously won the bet, why did you withdraw from Yingzhou? If you weren't here, how could I be able to beat Shen Liusheng and Xiao Miao? ”

Wang Shichong said with a smile: "Sima Chen, don't be impatient, isn't the five million money already given to you, with money, are you afraid that you won't be able to fight them?" This time, 3,000 military horses have also been bought, and you can build a 10,000-year-old pile here in the future, even if I, Wang Shichong, are not there, they will not be able to shake your power. ”

Chen Ling gritted his teeth: "The person behind Xiao Mo and Shen Liusheng is strong, it's not something I can deal with, Wang Tingshi, even if you are not ready to be here in Yingzhou, you can completely let me take care of you here, can you not trust me Chen Ling?" ”

Wang Shichong sighed: "Sima Chen, your purpose is to protect this place in Yingzhou and become your own territory in the future, I'm not wrong." ”

Chen Ling nodded: "Yes, it has always been so." That's why we can work together, I know that Wang Tingshi is a person who wants to do great things, staring at the entire Jingzhou, and this small Yingzhou is not in your eyes. ”

Wang Shichong's face flashed a painful expression: "But the current situation is that I can't stay in Jingzhou anymore, today I have received an official letter from the imperial court, ordering me to leave my post on the same day, return to the Eastern Capital, and make another appointment, so I have to leave here, Chen Sima, you have to do it yourself in the future, if you have difficulties, you can ask someone to come to the Eastern Capital to find me, if you can help, I will definitely help." ”

Chen Ling opened his mouth wide: "What, why are you only two months in office, and you have to be transferred?" ”

Wang Shichong gritted his teeth: "That's right, Chu Guogong suddenly died like this, my backstage has fallen, this Yingzhou is an important land, of course the Supreme is not willing to fall into the hands of a person he doesn't like and distrust, in fact, I have made this kind of preparation before, and I will be transferred at any time, but I still didn't expect this day to come so quickly, if I have more than a year to operate here, how can I be willing to give away these foundations?" Chen Sima, I advise you, Xiao Mo will definitely return to this Jingxiang area, you still have to have a good relationship with him. ”

Chen Ling sighed: "Alas, I was about to tear my face last time, and I don't know how to get on good terms with him again?" Wang Tingshi, I will fight here alone in the future, you see, can you give me a little more money? ”

Wang Shichong smiled slightly: "This is a trivial meaning, I have already prepared it, two million dollars, not a tribute, with this flying money letter card, you can directly send someone to the branch firm in the eastern capital to get it." As he spoke, he took out half a piece of sandalwood from his bosom (a token of money taken from the money in the Sui and Tang dynasties) and put it on the table.

Chen Ling's eyes began to glow, and he grabbed this pair in his hand, and said with a smile: "Then I'll laugh, Wang Tingshi, go all the way, don't forget the old guy in Yingzhou!" ”

Half an hour later, the person opposite Wang Shichong was replaced by Hu Sizheng, the governor of Ying, his face was gloomy, there was no expression on his face, he sighed: "Wang Tingshi, I didn't expect you to be transferred back to Yingzhou so soon, Hu Si originally wanted to cooperate with you, but unfortunately the sky is not fake." ”

Wang Shichong smiled slightly: "Oh, Hu Si Changshi, don't you want to continue to follow General He Ruo?" ”

Hu Sizheng gritted his teeth: "Actually, from the moment Wang Tingshi's war horse came to Yingzhou and appeared in the Yingzhou stable, oh, no, it should be said that since Wang Tingshi and General He Ruo met here that day, Hu Si has already made up his mind and wants to follow Wang Tingshi in the future, because Hu Si believes that only Wang Tingshi is the person who is really worth following in the future." ”

The smile on Wang Shichong's face gradually retracted: "Hu Si Changshi, you are an old subordinate who has followed General He Ruo for many years, if you change the court so lightly, isn't it a little bad?" ”

Hu Sizheng laughed: "Good birds choose wood to live, virtuous ministers choose the lord to serve, this is nothing bad, although General He Ruo has taken care of him for many years, but Hu Si has also been working hard for him in Yingzhou, now he has been completely squeezed out of this place, and he has no ability to arrange a new future for Hu Si, so the cooperation between Hu Si and General He Ruo will end here, Wang Tingshi, are you willing to accept Hu Si?" ”

Wang Shichong laughed, stood up, and bowed deeply to Hu Sizheng: "Wang is not talented, I hope to get more guidance from Mr. Hu Si in the future." ”

Hu Sizheng hurriedly got up and returned the salute, although Wang Shichong had already had the intention of recruiting Hu Sizheng in his heart, but today he was loyal to Hu Sizheng at this last moment, compared with the previous two times compared with He Ruobi and Chen Ling's hypocrisy, the current mood is really like drinking cold drinks on dog days, and it is extremely cool.

After the master and the two sat back, Hu Sizheng said: "Lord, are you going to leave the Jingzhou area completely this time and not come back?" ”

Wang Shichong remained silent and asked rhetorically: "Mr. Husi, then what do you think I should do?" ”

Hu Sizheng frowned: "As soon as the Duke of Chu died, the lord's future will be unpredictable, foolishly thought that he should temporarily rein in his edge and wait for the opportunity, before General He Ruo came to see you today, he had talked with his subordinates about the situation in the Eastern Capital, Yang Guang is now proud, and has engaged in a series of new policies, one of which is very important, that is, to abolish the state of the world and change it to a county, so that all the assassins in the world will automatically step down, and he can justifiably transfer out of the assassin history of the states, just like the lord You." ”

Wang Shichong nodded: "This trick is actually very clever, I also have to admire Yang Guang this time, he will not just fight this idea for me alone, but against the entire Guanlong Military Meritorious Group or Shandong family, I estimate that there are many people who can't sleep now." There are not too many children of those families who can enter the court, and they all rely on the official positions of four or five hundred states in the world to meet their needs as officials. ”

Hu Sizheng smiled slightly: "Then what is the lord's plan next?" (To be continued......)