Luo Yuan hurriedly got up from Qin Baichuan's arms, sorted out the clothes for a long time, but they were uneven and wrinkled, and after coming down, the family maid of the Anyang branch came out to greet him, seeing that the head of Luo was flushed, Minister Qin was proud, and the family maid was smiling, and respectfully let the two of them in.

"It's all your fault, it's a joke!" Luo Yuan took advantage of the fact that people were not paying attention, and secretly pinched Qin Baichuan: "If it reaches Qu Xi's ears, see what you do!" ”

"I've done everything, what can I do?" Qin Baichuan didn't care about the eyes of others, let Luo Yuan take a break to deal with the circulation of Zhang's steward's funds, and ordered his subordinates to arrange rooms for Abraham and Zhu Geguli, who came with him.

When the servants saw two blond-haired and blue-eyed Westerners, and heard Minister Qin communicate with them in a strange language, their eyes immediately widened. Especially seeing those two tall Westerners constantly nodding and bowing to Minister Qin, the subordinates were even more shocked, worthy of Minister Qin, not only did the big manager Luo have to look at his face, but even the Westerners had to be respectful.

Ignoring the admiring gazes of the people, Qin Baichuan took the monkey and You Hang and Liu Jiadong, who were guarding the Anyang branch hall, back to the room and asked about some things on the battlefield. It was night, Qin Baichuan and Luo Yuan performed their duties, and they were busy until late at night before falling asleep.

Qin Baichuan, who was addicted to military exercises, didn't know that when he was discussing tactics with bright lights, Lu Shigao was not idle. In a sheltered harbor in Anyang, Lu Shigao was standing behind the current saint in a cloth coat and whispered: "The above is Qin Baichuan's performance today, and the old minister feels more and more unfathomable. ”

"Bamboo basket fetching water, square eggs, this can only show that he has a wide range of hobbies, his heart is as careful as a hair, and his knowledge of Western dialect is beyond my expectations." The emperor's expression was calm, and he couldn't see any emotional fluctuations: "Judging from your description of Qin Baichuan, he will never do a loss-making business, this time it is ostensibly to contribute to Qingfeng Academy, but he blatantly took away two Westerners, what do you think his intentions are?" ”

"Qin Baichuan likes to earn silver, and these two Westerners are probably pulled away by him and squeezed out all the value." Lu Shigao pondered for a moment and said: "Second, according to the information that the old minister has, Liu Yuanyuan of the Qiushan Army supported Qin Baichuan to form the Bliss Sect, Qin Baichuan is not good at management, and he does not rule out the possibility of stuffing these two missionaries into the Bliss Sect. ”

"If that's just the case, then you can't help but underestimate Qin Baichuan too much." The emperor's eyes were deep, and he said lightly: "He will not be untargeted, since he revealed to you the inference that Da Song may be in trouble within ten years, that is, he realizes that the development of overseas countries has surpassed Da Song." He may be trying to find a breakthrough from these two Westerners, and then make some fame. ”

Lu Shigao nodded thoughtfully, in fact, with his wisdom, it is not unexpected, but if a courtier can say all the possibilities, and his eyes are higher and farther than the emperor, then the life of this kind of courtier is not estimated to be long.

"If the emperor's inference is correct, then Qin Baichuan also has a heart of worrying about the country and the people." Lu Shigao followed the emperor's tone and said with a smile.

"Laugh and talk." The emperor snorted coldly and said: "Anyang is only a hundred miles away from Jiangling, if there is really an enemy invaded from the sea, Anyang will be in trouble, followed by Jiangling!" Jiangling is Qin Baichuan's roots, his home, his silver, and his women are all in Jiangling, how can he let such a thing happen? It is not so much about worrying about the country and the people as it is about protecting one's own interests. ”

Lu Shigao was silent, only listening to the emperor snort coldly: "Businessman, mercenary!" ”

There was some anger towards Qin Baichuan in the emperor's tone, and Lu Shigao trembled lightly, but he didn't dare to say good things for Qin Baichuan, for fear that it would backfire.

"Forget it, you don't have to think about it." However, the emperor waved his hand helplessly: "Looking at the entire Da Song, I'm afraid that he is the only one who understands Western Chinese, and those two people should be handed over to him." ”

"After Dabi is over, the old minister will go to Jiangling in person, and he will definitely persuade Qin Baichuan to take the right path." Lu Shigao said seriously.

"If you follow the right path, you will be like a scholar in this world, what is so peculiar about such a person?" The emperor asked rhetorically, and Lu Shigao was speechless. Ya, the person who is angry with Qin Baichuan is you, and the person who says that he is peculiar is also you, since ancient times, the king's heart is unpredictable, what kind of trouble do you want to make?

"Have you ever arranged the opportunity for me to meet with Qin Baichuan?" The emperor didn't say much on this topic, but asked.

"At the end of today's big competition, Qin Baichuan was called away by Academician Fang to discuss the actual battle tomorrow, but the old minister did not find a chance." Lu Shigao explained first, and then said seriously: "Your Majesty, I think you should think twice about this matter. After the First Battle of Huangshi Island, Li Mingxiu's movements were unknown, Qingchuan Yanran disappeared out of thin air, and the rivers and lakes poured into Anyang, and King Yi intervened again...... Now Anyang is calm on the surface, but the undercurrent is surging, and the old minister thinks that the emperor should return to Gyeonggi first, so as not to have an accident. ”

"Does Qin Baichuan participate in tomorrow's competition?" The emperor didn't answer Lu Shigao's words at all.

"Back to the emperor, Academician Fang has already reported to the list later, and Qin Baichuan is among them." Lu Shigao also wanted to persuade the emperor to go first, but seeing that the emperor had no intention of doing so, he had to swallow the words back into his stomach.

"Knowledge covers the universe in all directions, and knowledge includes heaven, earth and the world is the most basic premise of a good minister. With a long-term vision and practical decrees, the subjects are closely rally around the royal family, and they can be called the pillars of the country. The emperor said to himself, "When I gave the mandate of heaven, the country was in turmoil, and the people were panicked, so I wanted to create an illusory scene of peace and prosperity by emphasizing literature and ignoring military force. Now that my mission has been completed, if Tianzhao wants to continue my great praise, he must have a pillar of the country by his side. ”

The emperor glanced at Lu Shigao meaningfully: "It's like me back then, Lu Daring back then." ”

Lu Shigao heard some other flavors from the emperor's tone, and secretly sweated for Qin Baichuan, his lips moved and he wanted to say something, but in the end he still held back his stomach.

If these words are heard by others, they may think that the emperor wants Qin Baichuan to assist the crown prince, which is a good opportunity to ascend to the sky in one step, but Lu Shigao knows very well that the royal family is the most cruel, and now that he feels that Qin Baichuan is useful, he will do whatever it takes to win him over, but what if someone is more capable than Qin Baichuan? At that time, Qin Baichuan may have known too many royal secrets, and there were only two outcrops that were abandoned, exiled like himself, and the other was to kill the nine clans.

"What's up ahead?" The lonely boat drifted along the waves, and the emperor saw a small island from a distance that was brightly lit, and from time to time there were Sanskrit singing, and frowned and asked.

"Back to the emperor, that's the Temple of Repentance." Lu Shigao glanced in the direction of the emperor's finger and said: "In the previous dynasty, General Yue Xiang and General Han Shizhong fought against the silver army here, and with the help of the coastal army of Anyang at that time, they forcibly killed more than 30,000 people of the silver army, bleeding and drifting. ”

Lu Shigao paused, as if there was some taboo, and did not dare to speak again.

"Repentance Temple, but it has something to do with Qin Hui?" The emperor sighed and said.

"Yes." Qin Hui was a close confidant of the emperor back then, so Lu Shigao didn't dare to say more.

"Say it." The emperor waved his hand weakly, and his eyes were quite complicated.

"Yes." Lu Shigao said cautiously: "After this battle, General Yue Xiang led his army north, and when he wanted to kill Huanglong Mansion directly, Qin Hui falsely passed the holy decree and recalled the marshal with twelve gold medals, making the reconquest of the lost land fall short. Later, General Yue Xiang was killed on the charge of 'needless', and the people of Anyang hated Qin Hui to the core, so they built this temple of repentance. ”

"The temple is dedicated to the statue of Marshal Yue, and there are four people kneeling at the bottom, which are Qin Hui and his wife, as well as the two culprits who killed the marshal." Lu Shigao explained clearly: "On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the people of Anyang come spontaneously to repent to Marshal Yue, and pray that the marshal's heroic soul will not be extinguished and bless this land with good weather and rain." ”

After hearing this, the emperor was silent for a long time.

"Your Majesty, the wind is blowing." After being silent for half an hour, Lu Shigao said in a low voice when his feet were numb.

"Qin Hui, Yue Xiang ......" The emperor recited these two names that had been a long time ago, and suddenly let out a chuckle: "I am the Ninth Five-Year Honor, this is a merit or a merit, and it will be commented on by future generations!" Where is Master Lu? ”

"The old minister is here!" Lu Shigao hurriedly fell to his knees.

"Tomorrow's Academy, choose a secluded place for me, and I want to watch it for myself." The emperor narrowed his eyes and said, "After Dabi is over, let Qin Baichuan come over to see me, and the location is in this temple of repentance." ”

"The old minister's order." Lu Shigao bowed to the leader and responded loudly.

……

In the main hall of Jiangling Splendid Villa, when the sky was about to dawn, Qu Xi, who had dealt with the main hall for a night, got up early, and after finishing freshening up, he heard a knock on the door. Tightening the fox fur behind him, the owner of the big village Qu sat precariously: "Come in." ”

"Owner." Zhao Yanan held a scroll of letterhead in his hand: "Anyang Branch, there is new news from Manager Luo." ”

"Read." Qu Xi pretended to be careless, but in fact, because he was worried about Qin Baichuan, he was extremely nervous.

"One, Minister Qin was hit by an arrow in the shoulder, and although the injury was serious, it was not life-threatening." Zhao Yanan said cleanly.

Qu Xi only felt that his stiff muscles relaxed instantly: "When will they come back?" ”

"It wasn't mentioned in the letter." Zhao Yanan continued: "Second, yesterday afternoon, Minister Qin was injured at the request of Xue Shihan and Xue Fuzi of Qingfeng Academy to participate in the academy competition, and he performed well. ”

"Humph!" Qu Xi's face suddenly changed, Qingfeng Academy, Xue Shihan, have you been seriously injured and still don't forget to provoke other women? That Qingfeng Academy, that Xue Shihan is what I said clearly, don't have anything to do with her, Qin Baichuan, Qin Baichuan, are you going to do it against me? I'm worried about your life or death!

"Third, Steward Luo is dealing with the problem of the flower payment in Anyang Branch, and will be notified on the specific date of return." Zhao Yanan finished the content of the letter concisely, and seeing that Qu Xi did not say anything, he said: "The owner of the village, Cheng Yangtian, the young master of the Cheng family in Lin'an, has arrived in Jiangling, and he also sent a message this morning. ”

"Got it." Qu Xi waved his hand and motioned for Zhao Yanan to go out, but as soon as Zhao Yanan walked to the door, Qu Xi suddenly said: "You go in person, just say that I still have some things to deal with recently, and when I am done, please ask Brother Cheng to go to Wanhua Xiaozhu to talk about it." In addition, Luo Yuan was informed that there has always been a problem with the payment of flowers in Anyang Branch, and Fairview Villa is about to launch a new product, so that she can come back as soon as possible. ”

"Yes." Zhao Yanan was clearly instructed to push the door and leave.

"Qin, Bai, Chuan!" A moment of pain flashed between Qu Xi's eyebrows, and he gritted his teeth and said.