It was dark and damp, the floor was full of feces and urine, and there were flies flying everywhere, and countless stinky, dirty, and ragged people huddled together.

Originally a dungeon in Xichuan Province for the most vicious criminals, it became a place for spies, rebels, and other political prisoners after the Cui family's rebellion.

After the defeat of the Cui family, the remaining party trees were scattered, and the guards outside the iron window had long since fled to nowhere they had escaped, leaving only the hard iron rope and the prisoners inside waiting for death alone.

With no water, no food, no one even knows, it's a forgotten place.

In the first few days, the prisoners still had the strength to shout loudly, hoping that someone would save them, but at that time, the city was in chaos, and the major families were dividing up the huge interests left by the Cui family, and no one cared about the life and death of the prisoners.

By the time Zhang Youlin took control of the situation in New Chang'an and remembered this, it was already three days later, and the prisoners were already dying after three days of water and food.

But even if they were discovered, they didn't wait for the "good days", and the Xichuan wealthy clan led by Zhang Youlin began to think about how to please Xu Rui again, and for them, they still only provided a little food and drink, and then left this place behind.

The prisoners, who had been tortured by the war and the Cui family, continued to struggle to survive in hunger, coldness, darkness, loneliness and despair, many of whom collapsed silently and never woke up, and even the corpses had to wait until they stinked before anyone could deal with them.

In the darkness, no one knows if they will see the sun tomorrow.

Until that night, the bright moon hung high, and the bright moonlight shone into the dungeon through the small air window overhead, becoming the only light in the darkness and loneliness.

Suddenly, a flash of fire appeared outside the iron window, and the world gradually brightened, and then a large number of soldiers marched into the dungeon and lined up.

The prisoners stared blankly at everything in front of them, and there was not the slightest surprise on their faces, because their fate may have been predestined for a long time, and even if they walked out of this cold door, it was very likely that a sharp steel knife would await them.

"Dashuai, we're here."

Cao Siyuan held a torch and pointed to the door of a dungeon and said to Xu Rui.

Xu Rui covered his nose and frowned, "Open the door......"

After a sound of "ding ding dong" chains, the door was opened by the soldiers, but Xu Rui did not go in, but showed his big clothes and sat on the big chair that the soldiers had just moved, as if he was waiting for something.

In a few moments, two soldiers dragged a man out of the dungeon like a dead dog, unkempt, with his hair as grass and a foul sour smell all over his body.

The clothes on his body were not only tattered, but also had a disgusting black mud attached to them, but from the occasional patterns, it could be vaguely seen that the original cloth was fine, but it had long lost its former brilliance.

The man seemed to have collapsed, and as soon as the soldier holding him let go, he fell to the dirty, smelly floor, motionless, not knowing whether he was dead or alive.

Xu Rui glanced at Cao Siyuan, Cao Siyuan nodded, poked him with the hilt of the knife, and called softly: "Hey, are you still alive?" ”

The man finally reacted, he slowly raised his head, squinted his eyes and looked up little by little, until his gaze fixed on Xu Rui's face, and he was suddenly shocked.

"Alas...... How did you get this way......

Xu Rui sighed and shook his head helplessly.

The man trembled uncontrollably, the amplitude became bigger and bigger, and finally he cried out with a "wow", crawled forward a few steps with all his strength, hugged Xu Rui's calf tightly, like a sad child, and cried hysterically, and couldn't stop it.

"Your Excellency, you're finally here...... It's finally here...... I thought I'd never see you again......"

The soldiers around him wanted to pull him away, but Xu Rui waved his hand to stop him, and let him use Xu Rui's boots as a handscroll, and the miserable howl made everyone present feel pity.

This person is none other than the white gloves of the King of Liao, Ye Shi, one of the top businessmen in Changxing City.

At the beginning, Ye Shi followed Xu Rui out of Beijing and wanted to open up a way to make money in Xichuan, but he didn't expect to suddenly encounter the Cui family's trouble.

On the dock of Gonghe Mansion, after Ye Shi handed over the dozen truckloads of grain he had just bought to An Ge, he jumped on the big boat and fled from Xichuan, originally everyone thought that he had already returned to Changxing, but they didn't expect to meet Xu Rui again here in the end.

In fact, it was also by chance that he could be discovered, and in the afternoon, Lin Shaodong inadvertently found a "list of traitors" while sorting out the official documents of the Cui family left by Qin Cha Xingyuan, which actually contained a detailed record of Ye Shi.

Even if Ye Shi confessed immediately after he was arrested, and even left a confession, the record would be so detailed.

Lin Shaodong immediately reported the matter to Xu Rui, and Xu Rui was shocked and destroyed his confession on the spot along with the record, but at that time Xu Rui was about to go to the reception dinner, and he didn't have time to deal with the matter, so he dragged it on until midnight.

It's just that no one thought that when he saw Ye Shi again, he had already become like this, where could he still see the appearance of the wealthy businessman who dominated the capital half a little bit ago?

When Ye Shi was almost crying, Xu Rui beckoned, and immediately two soldiers brought a few plates of wine and meat.

As soon as he smelled the aroma of wine and meat, Ye Shi immediately looked like a leper dog on the street, his eyes glowed green, and without waiting for the soldiers to set up the dishes, he grabbed a fat chicken and devoured it with both hands.

"I've suffered a lot during this time, haven't you?"

Xu Rui looked at his miserable appearance and couldn't help asking.

Hearing this, the tears that Ye Shi had just stopped began to flow down again.

"At that time, after I separated from An Ge, I took a boat all the way to the north, originally planned to escape from Xichuan by water, and quickly return to Beijing, who would have thought that the whole Xichuan was reversed, and not long after the boat went out, I met the sailor who came on board to search for suspicious people.

I didn't die, someone on the boat recognized me, and the sailors immediately arrested me as a spy, first tortured me, and then sent me to Cui's house.

Later, when they found out that I really didn't know the inside story of the Apocalypse, they simply ignored me and left me here to fend for myself.

I thought I was going to die here, I didn't expect to see you again......"

While eating and drinking, Ye Shi talked about the experience of this period of time, and he burst into tears as he spoke.

Although it is simple to say, as long as you look at his current appearance, you can imagine how much suffering he has suffered during this time.

Xu Rui ordered someone to bring a hot towel, first to help him wipe his dirty face clean, and then let him drink a pot of tea, and after his mood stabilized a little, Xu Rui told him about the big battle outside, and then slowly spoke.

"I asked you to leave Beijing with me, but I didn't expect to encounter the Cui family's rebellion, and I don't feel good in my heart, it seems that you have suffered a lot of losses this time, right?"

When it came to the loss, Ye Shi was surprisingly calm, shook his head and said: "After this experience, I also want to understand a lot of things, how can money not be so important, it is a blessing to be able to save his life, why bother with anything else."

It's just that I came out with the adults this time, originally shouldering the heavy trust of His Royal Highness the King of Liao, the loss of money is a trivial matter, and the matter has not been done, I don't know how to explain to His Royal Highness the King of Liao after returning to Beijing. ”

"What's so hard about that?"

Xu Rui said with a smile: "This matter is on Ben Shuai, you have suffered so much, even if it is compensation, I can't sit idly by, right?" ”

Ye Shiyi was surprised: "Can adults help?" ”

Xu Rui said: "Isn't His Royal Highness the King of Liao just trying to meddle in the affairs of Xichuan, now I have pacified Xichuan, and as soon as the Holy Army arrives, he can operate on his own, Ben Shuai will never interfere, in addition, Ben Shuai also has a big gift to His Royal Highness the King of Liao!" ”

"Really? What gift do you want to give to Your Highness? ”

Ye Shi couldn't wait to ask.

Xu Rui said: "I have negotiated with the Lu family, they will dedicate the ancestral property of Xichuan to the capital to develop, the Lu family has been operating in Xichuan for many years, in addition to countless wealth, the foundation of the network is even more rare, the king of Liao wants to open the situation in Xichuan, with them is like a tiger with wings, and they can also get shelter in the capital after serving the king of Liao, which is to kill two birds with one stone." ”

"The Lu family!"

Ye Shishi was shocked: "My lord, the Lu family is one of the four major relics of Xichuan, even if you look at the entire Great Wei, they are also the leading wealthy family, are they really willing to dedicate everything to the prince?" ”

Xu Rui laughed and said: "At this time, at that time, you have been here for a long time, and you don't know the current situation of the Xichuan Hao family, the current Lu family is a phoenix with a falling hair, not as good as a chicken, and they can climb up to the new master of His Royal Highness the King of Liao, they are absolutely willing, as long as you introduce the head of the Lu family to the prince, it will be a great achievement, and you don't have to worry about how to explain to the prince." ”

Ye Shi was overjoyed in his heart and said gratefully: "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" ”

As he spoke, he quickly knelt down and kowtowed.

When the sky was bright, Xu Rui finally left the dungeon and went home, Cao Siyuan kept following behind Xu Rui, and only then couldn't help asking: "Dashuai, why did you push the Lu family to the King of Liao?" ”

Xu Rui sighed and said: "Don't look at us in Xichuan now, it seems that we want to get wind and rain, but in fact, we are just pulling the tiger skin of the imperial court, and when the war is completely over, this place will become a big piece of fat, and everyone wants to take a bite."

Especially since the crown prince took charge of the country, his power has expanded rapidly, and he will never let go of such huge interests, and he will inevitably go to Xichuan to stir up the situation, and when the time comes, Xichuan, which has just stabilized, will usher in new changes.

The rubber forest in Xichuan is too important to us, and this place must not become a wrestling ground for various snobbies, so I must join forces with the King of Liao to quickly drive other forces out of the door and ensure the stability of Xichuan.

What's more, for the Lu family, they must also find a strong master to ensure that they will not be liquidated and divided by all forces, and there are probably few people who can do this except for the King of Liao. ”

"Isn't King Yu good?"

Cao Siyuan asked puzzled.

Xu Rui shook his head: "In terms of strength, His Royal Highness King Yu is still a little worse, at least he can't eat such a big cake now, and handing over the Lu family to him is equivalent to giving him a hot potato, and if he can't even get into it, he will even have to ride it himself." ”

Cao Siyuan nodded as if he didn't understand, but he still didn't understand a little, and asked again: "Dashuai, the intention of the King of Liao to compete for the crown prince is well known, you have given him such a big benefit this time, maybe he will be assigned to his party by someone with a heart, if the prince and King Yu know, I am afraid it will be displeased." ”

Xu Rui shook his head: "Don't worry, I will explain to King Yu, he is our shareholder and his own person, as long as we are good, he will be fine, he will understand this truth, as for the prince......

Speaking of this, Xu Rui paused and sneered: "Our prince has too much appetite, and he actually stretched his claws into my bowl, this time it can be regarded as a warning, if you continue to be insatiable, hmph, I don't mind chopping his claws directly!" ”

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