The noble question was naturally expected by Fan Xiaoer, and he had already considered this possibility with Fan Wucheng before he came, and thought of a good explanation. Therefore, Fan Xiaoer said unhurriedly when he heard this: "Senior brother, you only know one thing, but you don't know the other." Yes, the Fourteenth Master and Qian Yuanshan were indeed brothers who knocked their heads on the ground back then, and now they are indeed both in business and one in martial arts, and the two have nothing to do with each other and have no conflict. But these were all after they returned to Middle-earth, and the feud between the two of them was actually forged on the ship that left the island nation and returned to Middle-earth. At that time, because Qian Yuanshan was unreasonable and did not know how to be flexible, the result was that he indirectly killed the brother and nephew of the Fourteenth Master, who were at fault but did not die for his crimes. Although it was the fourteenth master's brother and nephew who were at fault first, the fourteenth master did not go to Qian Yuanshan to take revenge, but the beam between the two was settled.

After returning to Middle-earth, the two were forced to put down their hatred and become brothers together with the others because of the treacherous and dangerous conditions they had just landed on, and the mediation and mediation of other companions. But the righteousness boils down to righteousness, but the fourteenth master has not forgotten the Liangzi between the two, and Qian Yuanshan is also very aware of this. Therefore, the two have almost no contact in ordinary times, and they are cold-eyed when they meet, and Qian Yuanshan often takes the opportunity of brothers' deliberations to try his best to suppress the Fourteenth Master, for fear that after the Fourteenth Master's Shili surpasses him, he will go to him to settle old accounts. And in order to seek justice for his brother and nephew, the fourteenth master is also wrestling with Qian Yuanshan all the time, and vigorously develops his own shili, preparing for the complete overthrow of Qian Yuanshan one day. ”

After listening to Fan Xiaoer's "reasonable" explanation, most of the doubts in Gao Gui's heart suddenly disappeared. In particular, Fan Xiaoer's mention of Fan Wucheng's relationship with Qian Yuanshan for his brother and nephew caused a noble resonance. Therefore, after being silent for a long time and carefully thinking about the pros and cons, Gao Gui finally let down his guard and asked: "I didn't expect that the Fourteenth Master had a similar encounter with Gao, and he was also killed by Qian Yuanshan's close relatives. If he can win the favor of the Fourteenth Master, Gao will naturally not be able to ask for it. It's just that Gao is just a small commander of the 'Flying Dragon Army's Logistics Baggage Agency. Neither can he often provide the Fourteenth Master with the movements of Qian Yuanshan's house, nor does he have the opportunity to investigate the illegal evidence of the Fourteenth Master, why does the Fourteenth Master value Gao so much? ”

"Brother Gao is too modest." Fan Xiaoer replied, "Senior brother, as an old man at the beginning of the 'Flying Dragon Pioneer Battalion' and the 'Flying Dragon Army', many battalion-level and even regimental-level officers in the 'Flying Dragon Army' were once subordinates of the second regiment and the third battalion under your command back then. Moreover, now as the commander of the Uniform Battalion, although it seems that you are only responsible for the distribution and management of the uniforms and bedding of the various units of the 'Wyvern Army', you are not in a prominent position. However, because of the needs of his duties, he can obtain various confidential information about the staffing, transfer, and even the operation of the various departments of the 'Flying Dragon Army'. It can be said that there are not many officers in the entire 'Flying Dragon Army' who can know all kinds of confidential information like you, Senior Brother. ”

In Gao Gui's view, Fan Xiaoer's first few words may have been complimenting himself, but the last few sentences have been out of the category of compliments, making him have to think more - maybe he can indeed use his connections in the "Flying Dragon Army" to provide some news that is more beneficial to the overthrow of Qian Yuanshan, but all kinds of confidential information about the staffing, transfer, and even going out to fight in the army have nothing to do with it, and Fan Xiaoer's interest in these news has obviously exceeded the need to bring down Qian Yuanshan.

However, although the subtext revealed in Fan Xiaoer's words made Gao Gui think a little more, it did not affect his determination to serve Fan Wucheng and bring down Qian Yuanshan. In the noble heart, the first thing in line is to avenge his cousin and himself. In the past, because the difference in strength with the other party was too great, even if he risked his life and didn't care about the life or death of his family, the possibility of revenge was very small, so he could only bury the idea of revenge deep in his heart. Now, with Fan Wucheng, who can compete with Qian Yuanshan and also has a deep hatred with Qian Yuanshan, as a backer, the chance of realizing his long-cherished wish in life can be said to have greatly increased, and the noble fire of revenge, which has almost been extinguished, is burning inhibitibly again. Now, as long as he can achieve this goal, everything else can be put aside - even if it requires him to reveal the confidential information of the "Wyvern Army" to outsiders.

Therefore, just a turn of mind in his heart, Gao Gui had already left behind his belief in absolute loyalty as a member of the "Flying Dragon Army" and the discipline of keeping secrets that he should abide by, hugged his fist to Fan Xiaoer, and said: "The second brother of Lao told the fourteenth master, saying that Gao Mou was grateful to the fourteenth master and was willing to include Gao Mou in his door, and promised to avenge Gao in the future, which is really as gracious as a mountain." Gao is not talented, and he really can't repay such a great favor. Now I have to hand over this more than 100 catties to the Fourteenth Master, and in the future, I will look forward to the Fourteenth Master, and I will go to the soup for the Fourteenth Master. ”

At the end of the day, after being full of wine and food, and agreeing to go to Fan's Mansion to meet Fan Wucheng in person another day, Gao and Fan left the restaurant. Gao Gui went home to rest, while Fan Xiaoer hurried back to Fan's mansion to repay his master.

On the third day after Fan Xiaoer reported his merits to Fan Wucheng, Fan Xiaoliu, who went to Liangxiang County on an errand, also sent back good news -- after a long talk, he had successfully persuaded his second brother, Duan Ming (Fan Xiaoliu's original name was Duan Liang), who was currently the deputy commander of the Sixth Regiment of the "Security Army" and the commander of the first battalion, to join the command of the Fourteenth Master. On the first day of the fourth month of the lunar calendar, Fan Xiaowu, who had been out for the second time, invited the other party to have a sumptuous dinner and went to the largest green building in Beiping City, "Xiaoyao Building", to "entertain" him, Xu Wang, deputy captain of the "Chengguan Brigade" in Beiping City, and Xu Huan, the captain of the Qingjinmen team, also joined this camp.

However, although the process of developing Liu Erxing, Gao Gui, Duan Ming, Xu Wang, Xu Huan and other five people went smoothly, the highest rank of these five people was only a small major (Gao Gui, Duan Ming), although they could provide some valuable information and confidential information within their own capabilities, they were only suitable for use as eyeliner and spies after all, and would not give obvious help to Fan Wucheng's promotion. In order to significantly improve his shili and influence in the Beiping Army and within the crossing team, Fan Wucheng also needs to develop a lower line or ally with a higher level and greater power. In this way, he can not only truly fulfill his previous promise to Zhang Yan, but also consolidate and strengthen his position in the Beiping Army and the crossing team, and get more benefits when the team distributes benefits in the future.

Of course, compared with Liu Erxing and the other five, it is not possible to convince those who are in high positions and hold great power overnight. Don't say that Zhang Yan promised to give Fan Wucheng three months, I'm afraid that even if it takes a year and a half, it may not be able to convince one. Therefore, Fan Wucheng passed the news of his success in wooing and recruiting Liu Erxing and others to Zhang Yan through secret channels, so that the other party would no longer entangle himself on this issue. On the other hand, they began to go out by themselves, launching a gradual persuasion offensive against several possible targets, and striving to achieve something by the end of the eighth year of Xiande.

Just when Fan Wucheng was cautious and tried his best to cultivate and build his own Shili Group, on the 25th day of the fourth lunar calendar of the eighth year of Xiande, a telegram from the "Hidden Garden" of Chenqiaoyi fifty miles outside Kaifeng City and sent by Zheng Zhiwei himself was a stone that stirred up a thousand waves, which made the crossing team immediately nervous and excited.

-- Zheng Zhiwei's "Hidden Garden" emergency telegram on April 25 of the lunar calendar:

On the eighth day of the fourth month of the lunar calendar, Queen Fu's illness, which had not recovered for a long time, suddenly took a sharp turn for the worse, and she was declared dead four days later. Chai Rong was deeply affected by the death of his beloved wife, and his body, which had gradually recovered, recurred due to the pain of losing his wife, and by April 24 he was bedridden, and his illness was even more serious than at the end of last year. According to the news from the Imperial Medical Department of the palace and Lin Xiaoyu, Chai Rong's illness is menacing this time, and I am afraid that it will be difficult to drag it out in May this year.

At the same time, Chai Rong, who knew that he was seriously ill and had no chance of turning around, made a holy decree. On the one hand, the clan and ** were sealed, and the daughter of Fu Yanqing, the king of Wei, and the sister of the late Empress Fu were crowned as the queen, and the virtuous concubine Lin Xiaoyu was crowned as the concubine. With the emperor's eldest son Zong Xun as the general of the special left guard, the king of Liang; With the second son Zong Rang as the general of Zuo Xiaowei, Cao Guogong; With the third son Zong Jin as the general of the right military guard, he was named the Duke of Jiguo; With the fourth son Xiyu as the general of the left leading army, he was named the Duke of Qi; With the youngest son, Lin Xiaoyu's son, Zong Qian, as the general of Zuo Wuwei, he was named the Duke of Yanguo. It is hoped that this will establish Chai Zongxun's status as the heir to the throne and lay the foundation for his smooth accession to the throne after his death. On the other hand, Zhang Yongde, Zhao Kuangyin, Fan Zhen, Wang Pu, Wei Renpu, Wu Yanzuo, Han Tong and other important ministers of the DPRK and China were crowned and knighted in a series of titles to win over the ministers and stabilize the situation between the DPRK and China.

Now, with Chai Rong terminally ill and difficult to treat, the Later Zhou Dynasty is once again in turmoil, and it is hoped that the committee and the brothers will adjust their deployment in time to cope with the changes in the situation.