Zhao Ning left Yunzhou, turned to Jishui, and went west along the river, intending to go to his next destination: Bianliang, Tokyo.

Bianliang is the hinterland of the Central Plains and the core town of the Tongji Canal section of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal.

At the beginning of the national war in the previous life, the northern defense line completely collapsed, and Yanping City, which was only a few hundred miles away from Yanmen Pass, was naturally no longer suitable for the emperor and the imperial court to stay, so they moved the center to Bianliang. Bianliang was originally one of the four capitals of Tokyo, so it didn't take much effort to move back to the capital.

There are about ten days from Yunzhou City to Bianliang City, when the building boat crosses Liangshan and enters Dayozawa, it is in the endless lake with a radius of one hundred and ten miles, the sky is full of snowflakes, the scenery is beautiful for a while, Zhao Ning asked people to open the window and roll up the bamboo curtains, and Yang Jiani, Zhou Ying, Huang Yuandai and others, set up wine and chat.

One hundred and twenty years of Chengping in the Great Qi, with the continuous expansion of the scale of the imperial examination, the wind of the world rose sharply, and the martial wind was far less intense than when the dynasty was founded.

Before the age of sixteen, Zhao Ning liked poetry and poetry very much, and every time he bought some from poor scholars, and sang them in front of the geisha of the Qinglou, he thought that he was unparalleled, which often attracted Wei Wuxian's applause and Chen Anzhi's contempt.

Today is different from the past, Zhao Ning naturally will no longer chase the trend, and what he is talking about with Zhou Ying, Huang Yuandai and others is also a serious current affairs policy, customs and people's feelings.

"As long as Jia Su lives for one day, the matter of pretending to be Feiyuwei will be revealed sooner or later, in order to prevent the emperor from knowing about this matter, what are you going to do with this person?" After three rounds of drinking, when Zhou Ying and Huang Yuandai went to release the water together, Yang Jiani turned her head and asked Zhao Ning.

In the entire Yunzhou Thorn History Mansion, only Jia Su knows the identity of their "Flying Fish Guard", as long as Jia Su can shut up, Zhao Ning and the others don't have to worry about the big troubles left by their actions in Yunzhou.

"There is of course only one way for a person to be able to keep an absolute secret. Zhao Ning shrugged.

"After all, Jia Su is a state assassin, and he was suddenly killed, how can the imperial court not go all out to investigate?"

"There are many ways to die alone, and it is not necessary to stab you. ”

"What kind of machinations did you use?"

"It's not a trick, among the families of Daqi, the Zhao family is the best at refining cultivation pills, and the 'Mirror Water Cleansing' is in short supply every year, you should know this. ”

"And then?"

"Since the Zhao clan is good at refining pills, it is naturally very reasonable to make some poisons. ”

Yang Jiani's eyes lit up, "You poisoned Jia Su?"

"When Jia Su went to the Yun family for a banquet and wanted to form an alliance of interests with the Yun family, the master cultivators of the Long River Boat Walk present gave him a cup of poisoned wine. ”

"But poisoning will also leave traces, and you will definitely be able to detect it when you do an autopsy, do you buy it?"

"That's too much trouble, and the less people know about it, the safer it is. Although it is inevitable that the poison will leave traces, what marks it leaves behind can be controlled. The poison that Jia Su drank would make people think that he had gone wrong while cultivating, and he went mad and died. ”

Yang Jiani was stunned.

It is not uncommon for cultivators to go wrong when cultivating, and it is not uncommon for them to take pills with large side effects and fail to control them well, resulting in madness. Even if you don't take the auxiliary pill, if you are in a hurry to achieve results when you are cultivating or if you don't handle it properly when you hit the bottleneck, there are many cases where there are problems.

Seeing that Zhou Ying and Huang Yuandai hadn't come back yet, Yang Jiani said strangely: "Why have they been going for so long?"

Zhao Ning joked meaningfully: "These two guys are already in their thirties and forties, and they are middle-aged, especially men, who have drunk too much wine and have a body

Some troubles are inevitable. ”

Yang Jiani didn't seem to understand, but she didn't ask, Zhou Ying's cultivation had been abolished, and her body was almost as good as she should be.

"There's one more thing I'm curious about. ”

Yang Jiani took a sip of wine, looked at Zhao Ning and said: "With the support of the masters in the late stage of the Yuan Shen Realm, and the help of the Long River Boat Company, there is a product building to secretly help, and the Yun family has completely replaced the Fang family's position in Yunzhou, and it is inevitable that they will have a huge influence."

"Although Jia Su must die, the Yun family and the Assassin Mansion should deepen their relationship, with the endorsement of the government, it will be very convenient for the Yun family to do many things, and it will be of greater help to the Changhe Boat Company and Yipinlou, which is conducive to the development and growth of the Changhe Boat Company, and can also save the cultivators of Yipinlou from a lot of trouble from the government when they are chivalrous and righteous.

"Whether the non-governmental forces have bribed officials or not and colluded with the government makes a world of difference.

"But you just let the Yun family draw a clear line with the Assassin Mansion, and also asked the Changhe Boat Company and Yipinlou to keep an eye on the Yunzhou officials, once the other party has improper actions, you must immediately intervene, and guide the people of the Yun family to uphold justice, which is almost a play against the government, and the result will inevitably be a deterioration in the relationship between the two sides.

"The government is not vegetarian, they will definitely stare at the Yun family if they suffer losses and lose profits, and in the end, the two sides will contain each other, and no one can free themselves from the shackles, isn't this putting shackles on the Yun family?"

Zhao Ning did not immediately answer Yang Jiani's question, but first took a sip of wine to moisten his throat unhurriedly.

Putting down the wine glass, in Yang Jiani's puzzled gaze, Zhao Ning's next words made Yang Jiani even more misty: "What I want is the Yun family, the Changhe Boat Company, and the Yipinlou, and the Assassin Mansion, so that they can stare at each other and contain each other." ”

Yang Jiani felt that Zhao Ning was full of food, but she didn't say it, because she knew that Zhao Ning must have her own reasons for doing things, and this reason is often convincing, what she needs now is to wait quietly for Zhao Ning to explain.

Of course, Zhao Ning was not full of food.

Putting the tripartite coalition forces with the Yun family as the core in an antagonistic relationship with the government was an arrangement made by Zhao Ning after careful consideration.

The reason is actually very simple, to put it bluntly, it is nothing more than two words: checks and balances.

The Yun family is very upright now, and the Tsing Yi swordsman in Yipinlou is also doing chivalrous deeds, but what about the future?

If they get on the same boat with the government, they will be able to call for wind and rain in Yunzhou, and no force can compete with them. In this way, they can indeed reap more benefits and develop and grow, which is also something that Zhao Ning cares about.

But it's not what Zhao Ning cares about the most.

Because at this point, they have absolute power that cannot be limited.

Once people have absolute power, no matter what they do, no one can compete with them, they will become more and more unscrupulous, and corruption and degeneration are the inevitable results. When they can get what they want, they still have to do what they want morally, just chase profits.

What is morality? It's like the law. The premise of the strong abiding by the rules is that the cost of breaking the rules is too great; the weak obey the rules because there is no protection from the rules, and they will be eaten by the strong to the point that there is no dregs left. And once the strong have absolute power and don't have to pay the price for anything, then what are you doing by following the rules?

Isn't it nice to do whatever you want?

The Yun family may become the Fang family.

A chivalrous and righteous swordsman in Tsing Yi can become a bully.

They will collude with the government and pursue interests without restraint.

If the situation becomes like that, Zhao Ning will lift a stone and shoot himself in the foot. Therefore, he asked the Yun family to fight against the Assassin Mansion, draw a clear line between the two sides, oppose each other, stare at each other, and reach a situation of checks and balances.

In this situation, the government does not dare to prey on the people, and the Yun family will stick to their hearts, what everyone has is the power to restrain them, and no one dares to do whatever they want. It is also only in this case that morality is useful.

If one side does not abide by the rules, does not obey the law, and does not abide by morality, and infringes on the interests of the people, it will become the target of public criticism and spurned by the common people, and the other side will be able to take advantage of the situation and make it pay the price.

No one wants to lose their position, so everyone can only follow the rules together.

In order to gain the support of the people, both sides must be diligent in cultivating virtue and seeking the well-being of the people, and the final result will be a great display of morality and righteousness.

Knowing etiquette in a solid manner, ordinary people can live and work in peace and contentment, not be bullied by the powerful, have no resentment and anger in their hearts, and can feel the goodwill of the government and the court, so they will naturally not be hostile to the dynasty, and will become honest and courteous. Once the foreign enemy invades, in order to protect their own good life, everyone will be loyal to the king and serve the country and fight to the death against the enemy.

"Authority and power need to be checked, that's the core.

"The government should not have absolute power, the local tycoon should not have absolute power, the emperor should not have absolute power, and the family lord should not have absolute power. The two legs are the same length, so that the road can be walked steadily. Once absolute power appears, it is inevitable that etiquette will collapse and morality will deteriorate. Zhao Ning finally concluded.

......

After listening to Zhao Ning's explanation, Yang Jiani pondered for a long time.

She saw that Zhao Ning's eyes were very crystalline, as if there was starlight flickering.

Zhao Ning was a little embarrassed by her motionless look, so he could only drink a glass of wine to cover it up.

After a long time, Yang Jiani asked: "I look at history books, every time there is troubled times, everyone will say that this is the time when etiquette collapses, but according to what you say, it seems that the peaceful and prosperous era is the time when morality is truly degraded." Because at this time, the imperial court has absolute power, the officials are corrupt and pervert the law, and everyone is seeking profit in the prosperous world. ”

Zhao Ning smiled, "I didn't say that.

"However, the troubled times are really not the most serious time for the collapse of etiquette, although there are many dead people, although there are many ugly things, but the more troubled the times, the more the people of Li longing for peace, because only when the rules exist, the common people can have the order to live. At this time, the heroes who can protect the rules of law and morality will win the hearts of ordinary people.

"Those who do all kinds of evil and ignore moral rules will not be supported by all the people at all, and where can they get the world?

Therefore, in troubled times, from the king who wants to achieve the imperial industry, to the people who desire a normal life, they will respect morality. Therefore, every time the dynasty is founded, it is the time when the morality and righteousness in the world are the strongest, and the officials are clear and the people are simple. In times of peace and prosperity, everything will indeed be different. ”

Yang Jiani listened carefully and nodded approvingly.

Suddenly, she came out with a sentence that made Zhao Ning almost squirt out the wine.

She said with a straight face: "It seems that you are really going to rebel." ”

Zhao Ning coughed twice, finally put the wine glass down steadily, and said angrily: "Don't talk nonsense." ”

Yang Jiani was full of words: "You have such a big opinion on the emperor and the current world, and you have a way to solve the problem, isn't it a logical choice to want to change the day?"

Zhao Ning smiled dumbly: "You really look up to me." At present, the imperial dynasty is worried about internal and external troubles, I just want to fulfill the duties of the Zhao clan and do my best to prevent this country from being stolen by the Hu people. ”

Speaking of which, Zhou Ying and Huang Yuandai hadn't come back yet.

When they discovered this anomaly, there was a sudden commotion outside the building.

Immediately afterwards, Hu Honglian walked in and reported a situation that made Zhao Ning get up immediately.

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