Jiang Yong, father Jiang Wuya, town Xuzhou, Eastern Jin Dynasty was named Yongning Marquis, married Gaozu's sister Ninghua eldest princess as the main room, when Dayong established the country, Jiang Wuya and Gaozu competed for victory, was seriously injured in assassination, and died on the battlefield. Yongjian saw that the enemy was strong, and his mother took the old department to go to the East China Sea as a thief, and attacked his father's title as the Marquis of Yongning. The surrender of Gaozu will never come.

- "Yongshi; The Legend of the Marquis of the East China Sea

After leaving Qinzhou, Lin Bi took more than 100 guards to go to Lunan at night, and the forces of Dayong and the Northern Han Dynasty in this area were staggered, so Lin Bi and others changed their costumes and disguised themselves as merchant travelers, and there was no danger along the way, but in the middle of the day, they arrived at Binzhou, Binzhou is located on the border of Dayong and the Northern Han Dynasty, but this is actually the sphere of influence of Jiang Yong, the Marquis of the East China Sea, when the Marquis of the East China Sea used to crisscross the sea frontier, it was through Binzhou to get supplies, and the merchants of Binzhou in order to ensure the safety of merchant ships at sea, even secretly exchanged news with Donghai Hou. Especially in recent years, after Li Zhen presided over the military administration, the hatred between Dayong and Donghai seemed to gradually dissipate, and the Marquis of Donghai no longer maliciously plundered Dayong's merchant ships, and Dayong no longer severely suppressed the forces inclined to Jiang Yong, so the power of Donghai became stronger and stronger in Binzhou. Especially after the East China Sea opened up the trade route of Yuanyang trade, Binzhou became one of the largest ports in the world, and the Northern Han Dynasty and Dayong continuously sent their own specialties to the merchant ships through Binzhou in exchange for foreign gold, silver, grain and various specialties. Therefore, both the Northern Han Dynasty and Dayong wanted to control Binzhou, but they did not dare to act rashly until they were absolutely sure.

The trade between Southern Chu and the East China Sea was carried out through Hangzhou, this time the Southern Chu wanted to force the East China Sea to exclude Dayong, cooperate with the Northern Han in the north, and cooperate with Southern Chu in the south, which was not a good intention. Therefore, Lin Bi is not enthusiastic about Nan Chu's proposal, of course, if Nan Chu is really successful, Lin Bi will try his best to control Binzhou, although it is difficult, but it is not impossible.

As soon as you enter Binzhou, you will feel the kind of prosperous atmosphere that comes and goes, and the businessmen who come and go are from the south to the north, if it is not for the autumn breeze, it will inevitably make people suspect that they have arrived in the prosperous land of the south of the Yangtze River. The Northern Han Dynasty was nominally an enemy country in Binzhou, so naturally there was no pavilion, but someone had already booked a separate courtyard for Lin Bi at the most prestigious Ping'an Inn in Binzhou.

Ping An Inn, the name is very ordinary, but for example, all Ping An Inn today is one owner. Two years ago, the first Ping An Inn opened in Nanchu Jianye, and soon after opened branches in the world's major capitals, this Ping An Inn is not known for its luxury, in fact, the furnishings here are known for their simplicity and elegance, although the service in the inn is considerate, but there is nothing very special, although it can make the famous dishes of the world's major cuisines, but it is inevitably a little worse than the real famous flavor. It stands to reason that there is nothing worth paying attention to in such an inn, but when the Ping An Inn opened a number of branches, the businessmen who often traveled all over the world were surprised to find that the Ping An Inn everywhere was actually very similar, and the way the inn operated, the layout of the room, and the taste of food and drink were almost the same as coming out of a mold. For these businessmen and travelers who are on the go all year round, the Ping An Inn that can be found everywhere feels like their home, and they can always get a familiar feeling here. And there is another benefit of Ping An Inn, once you live in a certain inn, within a few months, all the Ping An Inn in the world will be familiar with your favorite room, favorite food, etc., so that you feel at home everywhere.

Of course, some people are worried that there will be problems with the Ping An Inn, but at most there are only one or two stewards in the Ping An Inn who really belong to the Ping An Inn, and the other servants are all hired from the local area, but after training, these servants all act according to the pamphlets full of various rules brought by the stewards, and if they violate it, they will be dismissed. That's why the Ping An Inns in various places are basically similar, but also have some different characteristics in the details. This method of operation is very convenient for local governments to send spies to investigate, but it also makes it difficult for them to detect any secrets. So to this day, the backstage owner of the Ping An Inn is still a secret.

chose the Ping An Inn to live, Lin Bi naturally didn't like this inn because of this, but because the Ping An Inn also had an advantage, each of its rooms was isolated from other rooms with flowers and trees, rockeries and corridors, etc., with two characteristics: privacy and security. If you rent a courtyard, then it will be safer, the scattered guest rooms in the courtyard just control all the key places, as long as the personnel of each room are properly arranged, then it will naturally form a protective circle, which is most suitable for dignitaries and dignitaries who travel far away with bodyguards and servants. As long as you have lived once, many guests who like luxury will also like to live in the Ping An Inn, and although the Ping An Inn is not luxurious enough, the furnishings are also elegant and indifferent, and they do not disgrace their identity.

As soon as he settled down, Lin Bi sent someone to take his post and send it to the mansion of Huang Wei, the prefect of Binzhou, Huang Wei was nominally an official of Dayong, but in fact he was a retainer of Jiang Yong, the Marquis of the East China Sea, which everyone knew. Although Jiang Yong's influence has expanded to Binzhou, Jiang Yong himself will not be in Binzhou, and if he wants to go to the wedding feast, he must first hand over the post, and then the Hou of the East China Sea will send a boat to welcome him across the sea.

Lin Bi really wanted to meet with the envoys of Southern Chu once before the birthday feast, but this time the envoys of Southern Chu came from Hangzhou by sea, and the two sides could not meet at all before the birthday feast, so Lin Bi let it go.

Just after everyone in the Northern Han Dynasty rested, Wang Ji was lying on the bed and couldn't sleep, Lin Bi monitored him very strictly along the way, he never had the opportunity to contact his own people, and now he stayed in the Ping An Inn, if he remembered correctly, this was the only opportunity to contact his own people. If he can't get in touch and get instructions from the benefactor, then how can he go to see the benefactor? Three days later is September 28, which is the time of the wedding of Hou Aizi of the East China Sea. And October 2 is the first birthday feast of the benefactor's beloved son, how to do it, Wang Ji was very hesitant in his heart.

When Wang Ji was tossing and turning, someone knocked on the door and said, "The villain brought tea, please open the door." ”

Wang Ji raised his voice and said, "The door is open, you can come in by yourself." ”

The door opened, and walked into a shop with a small hat in Tsing Yi, he closed the door while saying: "Guest officer, the shop is equipped with famous tea from all over the world, I don't know what special preferences the guest officer has, the villain is in charge of his own affairs, and the one who sent is Longjing tea, if the guest officer does not like it, you can change it at any time." ”

He said this, but the behavior was very weird, after putting down the teapot, he hurriedly took off his clothes and hat, Wang Ji was startled at first, and saw a jade plate on the table that the shopkeeper put on the table, his face was happy, and he also untied his clothes, but said in his mouth: "Longjing is very good, by the way, you want to take a nap next, you must not come to disturb." As he spoke, he changed into the clothes of the shopkeeper and pressed his hat down, the two were of similar figures, and their faces were seven or eight points similar after they were hidden. The shopkeeper jumped on the bed, covered his head with a quilt and pretended to be asleep. Wang Ji walked out with a tea tray. He had his surroundings in mind, and without saying a word, he walked outside. Sure enough, as soon as I walked out of the courtyard gate, I saw another shopkeeper waiting there. Wang Ji didn't say a word, followed behind the man, turned around a few times, and walked into a very secret guest room.

One of the people in the room stood with his hands in his hands, turned his head when he heard the sound, and his eyes were facing each other, all of them had tears in their eyes, and they each stepped forward and saluted with their arms. The man shouted softly, "Chiji, I haven't seen you for three years." Wang Ji, no, he should be called Chiji, he said word by word: "Green ear, I haven't seen you for three years, you are more stable, how is the son, how are the brothers?" ”

Green Ear opened his mouth to speak, but felt that there were thousands of words, I didn't know where to start, pulled Chi Ji to sit down, sorted out his thoughts, and then said: "The son is now very healthy, often take his wife to sail on the sea, flowers before the moon, so not enviable, now the little boy is about to turn one year old, Miss Roulan is lively and cute, and there are Li Ye, Manager Dong, Zhou Shangyi to serve, it is endless fun." ”

Chi Ji listened to the back of the show of joy, said: "That's good, before the son retired, sent me to walk in the wilderness, these years drifting outside, only feel like a wanderer, drifting, now I can finally return to the son, and the little boy is happy on his first birthday, it really makes me overjoyed." ”

Green Ear smiled: "Who said no, in the past few years, I have been ordered to run the Ping An Inn, and I have also drifted all over the world, and I didn't return to Binzhou until a few days ago. You were selected by Gongzi to listen to the military and people's hearts, we were still worried about you, but I was afraid that the barbarians were cruel, your surname was worried, I didn't expect you not only to come back safely, but also won a 'miracle doctor Bole' reputation, I heard that the barbarians worshiped you as a god, I thought you would be happy, I didn't think you would still think about Gongzi like this, if Gongzi knew that he would definitely be moved, maybe he wouldn't drive you away. ”

Chi Ji picked up the teacup on the table and drank it all, and said lightly: "The barbarians are nomadic for a living, do not produce, and come to plunder the Central Plains when the autumn is high and the horse is fat, burning, killing and plundering, doing everything, we Central Plains people naturally feel that they are cruel and cruel, in fact, I am in the barbarian land for two years, I think those ordinary herdsmen are also very simple and kind, after I was in the grassland, I have been in distress several times, although I saved my surname, but the dry food and horses were lost, and they were all rescued by the herdsmen. The barbarians are rude and unliterate, but their surnames are simple, and their love and hate are on their faces, and I think it is much happier to be with them. It's a pity that there are not only herdsmen but also nobles in the steppe. Most of the so-called nobles are the leaders of various tribes and their relatives, most of these people are ambitious tyrants, in order to compete for women's gold silk, they not only fight to plunder the Central Plains, but also fight each other. The ordinary herdsmen in those tribes were actually only better than slaves, and they worked hard, and they had to fight in wartime, and if they were victorious, they could naturally get some rewards, and if they were defeated, their wives and children's property were taken away by the enemy, so they were all brave and good at fighting, only because of the relationship between victory and defeat. In fact, even if they win, most of the spoils will be obtained by the nobles, and they themselves will only get some leftovers. ”

Greenear asked curiously, "If those herdsmen are so pitiful, and they are warriors who are good at fighting, why don't they resist?" ”

Chi Ji smiled bitterly: "It's not easy to resist, life on the grassland is hard, it's difficult to survive alone, these herdsmen are inseparable from the tribe, and those nobles have the most abundant water and grass, with elite war horses and weapons, they can easily buy the bravest warriors in the tribe to die, how can those most oppressed herdsmen resist, and no matter when and where, as long as they can survive, how many people are willing to risk death?" ”

Green Ear said hesitantly: "I have heard that barbarians do all kinds of evil, but when I hear you say this, I have some sympathy for them, but I am afraid that my son will be angry when he hears it?" ”

Chi Ji said calmly: "What kind of character is Childe, he won't blame me, and I have doubts in my heart to ask Childe, although those barbarians are my Central Plains blood feud, but I see that they are also good and evil, my Central Plains, when fighting for hegemony and fighting, the means may not be more merciful than them, so I must ask Childe, why can't we live in peace, but kill each other?" ”

Green Ear said: "Childe will definitely be able to solve your doubts." ”

Chi Ji nodded, put aside the distress and doubts in his heart, and asked: "Now that you have become the owner of the Ping An Inn, you have a lot of money, which is naturally gratifying, but I heard that the thief is even more beautiful?" ”

Green Ear smiled: "Yes, the thief Li set sail to the sea twice, and he has gone thousands of miles, and the exotic jewelry and specialties he brought back are really dazzling." In fact, the most beautiful thing is Hua Liu, after this kid's identity was revealed, General Qin Yong and the old lady didn't blame him, this kid's identity was leaked, and he couldn't leave the capital, but he was called by King Yong to his side as a guard, I heard that he is now Xiahou Yuanfeng's deputy in the Mingjian Division, if you talk about official positions, he is the highest. It's a pity that Bai Yi, Yu Lun, Shanzi, and Qu Huang are still busy with the affairs of the Splendid Alliance and Tianji Pavilion, and even the prince didn't let them come back this time. ”

Chi Ji smiled: "What are you anxious about, when Dayong rules the world, we can be leisurely." ”

A hint of longing flashed in Green Ear's eyes, and he smiled: "Yes, I really look forward to the unification of the world, and then we don't have to fight and kill." By the way, Chiji, why did you come with the people of the Northern Han Dynasty? When Childe saw the secret report, he also thought it was funny? ”

Chi Ji smiled bitterly: "I wouldn't have thought that I would meet someone from the Lin family?" However, I was very blessed this time, not only met General Long Tingfei, but also met Lin Bi, the princess of Jiaping, who is as famous as Her Royal Highness the princess, alas, they can also be called a pair of heroes and heroes, but unfortunately they are the courtiers of the Northern Han Dynasty. By the way, do you have any instructions from Childe, Long Tingfei and Lin Bi want me to join the Northern Han Army, if Childe has a life, I am willing to go undercover in the Northern Han Dynasty? ”

Green Ear shook his head and said: "Childe said, Lin Bi and Long Tingfei are both unborn geniuses, such people are not only determined, but also extremely smart, if it weren't for the long time, you wouldn't be able to get their trust, so it's useless for you to go undercover by their side, after Childe asked you to accompany them to the little marquis's wedding banquet, he made an excuse to leave, and Childe had his own means to deal with such people." By the way, Childe also asked me to tell you, don't miss the little boy to catch Zhou? ”

A hint of joy flashed in Chiji's eyes, and he said: "Please return to Gongzi, just say that Chiji respects Gongzi's edict and will definitely arrive before the second day of October." ”

Green Ear nodded and said, "I've already arranged it, and after a while, your stand-in will call the shopkeeper to send a new oil lamp, so you can take the opportunity to exchange it with him." ”

Chi Ji nodded, his heart was already gone, and he smiled: "I brought a precious gift to the little boy, I will definitely arrive on the second day of October." ”

Green Ear smiled: "Yes, I have also prepared a gift, but I'm afraid that no one has the novelty of the gift of the thief, but he has just returned from a foreign country." ”

Chi Ji said: "There is no way to do this, but my gift will not be bad, that is the thank you gift I got for the most powerful patriarch in the barbarian land to heal the mount?" ”

The two talked for a while, someone came to report that the time had come, Chi Ji took the oil lamp and walked back to the residence, although Lin Bi sent someone to keep vigil, but did not prohibit the shopkeeper from entering and leaving, Chi Ji returned to the room smoothly, and the shopkeeper who was lying on the bed instead of him changed his clothes and walked out quietly. Chiji lay on the bed and fell asleep not long after.

The next day, Lin Bi ordered everyone to go out for a walk, but they were not allowed to provoke right and wrong, but Wang Ji was pulled out by Lin Tong together, although he didn't know Lin Tong's thoughts, but Lin Bi's thoughts Wang Ji understood, now Lin Bi will never let himself out of their sight, sure enough, the guards responsible for protecting Lin Tong were also taken off by Lin Bi, and replaced by Lin Bi's own two cronies and guards, this man and woman are very good in Wang Ji's opinion, Wang Ji knows that he has no ability to beat these two people together, If he wanted to take the opportunity to leave, there was absolutely no chance, and Lin Bi was really cautious. However, Wang Ji had already made contact with his own people, so he accompanied Lin Tong to play in Binzhou City without restraint.

This Binzhou City was originally just a small coastal city, but now it is like a big city, the city is full of merchants, all kinds of shops abound, and the shops are even more dazzling, which is dizzying. Lin Tong looked around excitedly, attracted by something new from time to time. The two guards beside her, however, were always keenly aware of the situation around her.

After walking for a few hours, Wang Ji, who was already full of boxes and parcels in his hands, looked at Lin Tong who was still full of interest in distress, and he didn't know why, the little county lord wanted to let him hold everything, but the two guards just looked at the joke with a smile. Wang Ji naturally knew that they would not take the initiative to help him carry things, so as not to hinder their hands and feet, but why should he be the servant of this little county lord.

When Wang Ji was angry, Lin Tong had already seen a shop selling weapons, although she was a woman, she grew up in the war since she was a child, and she liked weapons and horses from the heart, so she walked in happily. This shop is very wide, and there are swords, guns, swords, and halberds hanging on the four walls, all of which are excellent weapons. On a long table in the middle, there are some exquisite daggers and short knives, some of which have strange styles, and at first glance you know that they are not weapons made by the Central Plains.

Lin Tong walked over curiously, picked up a scimitar and looked at it carefully, this was a sheathed scimitar, a green shark skin sheath, a warm and white ivory handle, the place where he held it was wrapped with black gold filament, and the blade was shaped like a crescent moon. Lin Tong pulled out the knife, only to see that the knife light was like frost and snow, and he loved it very much in his heart. At this time, the middle-aged shopkeeper walked over, waved his hand to let the guy who received Lin Tong leave, and said with a smile: "Miss, this is a scimitar bought from Persia, which can cut gold and jade, and is the most suitable for a young lady who knows martial arts to wear for self-defense." If the lady likes it, the villain is willing to give it away. ”

Lin Tong took the scimitar, walked to the stake where the knife was tested, and chopped it down, and the hard old wood was easily cut off. Lin Tong was overjoyed and said, "How much is this knife?" The shopkeeper hurriedly said: "This knife is used by the royal family in Persia, and the villain does not dare to raise the price without authorization, as long as three thousand taels of silver." ”

"What?" Lin Tong was taken aback, although she knew that this knife would not be cheap, but three thousand taels was too expensive, although she was born in a famous family and had the title of county lord, but in the era of the Lin family, she guarded Daizhou, and in order to train soldiers, the silver money was spent like flowing water, and the Lin family was known for being honest, so Lin Tong did not have so many silver taels. With a sigh, Lin Tong put down the short knife, if he really spent three thousand taels of silver to buy a scimitar that could not go into battle to kill the enemy, he was afraid that he would be punished by his father. Walking out listlessly, Lin Tong couldn't help but turn around several times and look at the exquisite Persian scimitar.

At this time, a little girl jumped in, she walked very fast, but it happened that Lin Tong was turning around again, and the two bumped into each other, the little girl was young and light, and fell backwards with an "oops". Lin Tong is a martial arts student, he reacted immediately, stretched out his hand to hug the little girl, and looked down, only to see that this little girl was five or six years old, beautiful and delicate, skin like clotted fat, a pair of apricot eyes were clear and clear, with a hint of cunning, and the temperament between the eyebrows was very delicate. Lin Tong couldn't help laughing and said, "Little sister, didn't hurt you?" ”

The little girl shook her head and said, "Big sister, don't worry, Lan Lan is not injured." ”

Lin Tong let go of his hands, and the little girl rushed to the table, picked up the scimitar that Lin Tong liked, and said excitedly: "Uncle Shopkeeper, I brought the money, sell it to me." ”

Lin Tong's gaze froze, such a valuable scimitar, this little girl actually wants to buy it, what's going on?

The shopkeeper was also a little embarrassed, just now this little girl just wanted to buy this scimitar, of course she didn't believe that a little girl would have so much silver, so although the little girl asked herself to leave the scimitar and not sell it for the time being, she didn't abide by the agreement, she glanced at Lin Tong with some surprise, and he said kindly: "Little girl, this is three thousand taels of silver." ”

The little girl said triumphantly, "I brought the silver, but I just gave it to someone else." Uncle Hai, Uncle Hai, are you going faster? ”

With the little girl's crisp and pleasant voice, a deep voice said: "Come, come, the little ghost is running so fast, Uncle Hai can't catch up with you." The voice was still in his ears, a man in a green shirt walked in from outside, this is a man in his thirties, his appearance is handsome, but his complexion is bronze, and the skin on his face is rough, at first glance, it is the result of perennial exposure, although this man is dressed plainly, he is calm, and his expression has a faint majesty. The shopkeeper's eyes flashed, and he had already recognized the identity of this person, and stepped forward with a smile on his face and said: "It turned out that Hai Ye is here, what do you say to buy, the villain's business is all thanks to you, if Miss likes it, just take it." While speaking, the shopkeeper pondered, when did Hai Ye have such a pampered niece by his side?

The man smiled faintly and said: "They are all businessmen who seek profit, how can I take advantage of you, this girl is the daughter of one of my best friends, the most naughty and mischievous, this time I took a fancy to this scimitar, and the cost is also her own pocket money, this is this girl's own business, you don't have to worry about me, how much is how much." ”

The little girl pouted and said, "Uncle Hai is so unsympathetic, and he doesn't help Lan Lan bargain." ”

The man smiled slightly and said, "Who made you so stubborn, Uncle Hai doesn't have any precious things in his hands, if you like it, you choose it, but you just like this scimitar." ”

Lin Tong heard that this person was very angry, and couldn't help but be a little more curious, pretending to choose a sword, and left to look lively.

The little girl said angrily: "How can it be done, this is what my father promised, let Lan Lan buy a gift for her brother, if you choose it from Uncle Hai, it will not be a gift from Lan Lan." ”

The man laughed and said, "Your father has always cared about this, but you are so stubborn, okay, Uncle Hai doesn't care about you." As he spoke, he took out the silver ticket and handed it to the shopkeeper, and said: "It's good now, your pocket money and red envelopes for the past two years have been taken, just don't come to me to borrow money in the future." ”

The little girl said triumphantly: "This Uncle Hai doesn't have to worry, my mother loves me the most, and I will definitely give Lanlan more pocket money." ”

At this time, the shopkeeper had already packed the scimitar in a brocade box, respectfully handed it to the man, and returned part of the silver ticket, saying: "Master Hai, the villain will not dare to fight for profit on your head, and please accept it with a smile." ”

The man smiled: "This is not a big deal, you have come all the way to bring the goods back, how can there be a reason to sell cheaply, my niece likes these delicate things, and it will inevitably be disturbed in the future, you just need to be fair in price." So saying, he returned the silver tickets to the treasurer. The shopkeeper's eyes rolled and said, "That villain is better to be respectful, Master Hai, the villain has a kind of delicate things for the young lady to enjoy." So saying, he asked the man to go to the back and get an antique piece made of stainless steel, and when he skillfully pulled and flipped it, the object was completely opened, and it turned out to be a delicate hand crossbow, and the crossbow arm made of steel was tightly held together by hinges, and an extremely strong string wire made of unknown material was firmly tied to the two sections of the crossbow arm. The whole crossbow is fully open, not much larger than the palm of the hand, and it fits right into the sleeve, which is the best way to defend yourself. The shopkeeper said: "This is what the villain got by accident, because there is only one piece, and the power is not very great, so I didn't take it out for sale, so I gave it to the young lady to enjoy." ”

The little girl's eyes flashed with excitement, and she snatched the crossbow and looked at it for a long time before she said, "It's really exquisite, Uncle Hai, Lan Lan likes it very much." His bright eyes were full of pleading, and the man smiled slightly and said, "Since it's someone's kindness, you can keep it." After that, he took the little girl's hand and walked out, and the shopkeeper followed behind to see him off, smiling, obviously very happy that Hai Ye had accepted the gift.

Lin Tong thought about what kind of person made this shopkeeper respectful, he must be a well-known figure in Binzhou, right? While thinking, he couldn't help but stare at the man, revealing his form. The man had already noticed that someone was looking at him, but he was very identious, and it was a very common thing for someone to pay attention to him, so he didn't care, but when he went out, he still looked at it by the way, and when he saw it, a strange smile appeared on his face, and a cold glint flashed in his eyes.

When the man was far away, Lin Tong asked the shopkeeper, "Who is this man, and you flatter him like this?" ”

The shopkeeper smiled and said: "The girl is a foreigner, or she doesn't know her, this is the owner of our largest shipping company in Binzhou, and the master of the sea who controls the ocean trade with one hand." ”

Lin Tong exclaimed, and when he went out, there was no trace of the boundless sea.

At this time, the shopkeeper was shouting to the guys: "The Hai Gongzi who deals with us is the most shrewd person, it is more difficult to take advantage of anything else, Hai Ye is generous, that is, he is a prudent person, he does not like to socialize, he is the most difficult person, I can't think of such a coincidence, let me get the lottery, don't hurry up to send a letter to the owner, and ask the owner to visit the Hai Ye with gifts in two days......"

Lin Tong stomped his feet and said, "It's a pity, it would be nice if my sister was here." After that, Lin Tong was no longer interested in shopping, and walked towards the inn depressedly. Wang Ji smiled faintly, and a trace of joy and longing flashed in his eyes.

;