In an ordinary wine shop in Jiming Fang, Yanping City, Xu Minglang, the prime minister of the dynasty, was dressed in a cloth shirt and a square scarf, dressed as an ordinary old man, and was playing against a guest in a private room.

The person sitting in front of him, with a wide-sleeved robe and brocade and jade belt, is graceful and luxurious, and what is even more rare is that the eyebrows are clear and beautiful, and anyone who sees it will praise a good son.

This is none other than Princess Beihu, Xiao Yan!

After she left Daizhou, she did not return to the Tianyuan Royal Court, but went around and returned to the capital.

After a game, the victorious Xu Minglang stroked his beard and smiled: "I don't see you in October, Xiao ...... Gongzi's chess skills have improved greatly, and if he continues like this, it won't take three or five years, and it will not be so easy for the old man to win against Xiao Gongzi. ”

This is very meaningful, not only praising Xiao Yan, but also not saying that after three or five years, the other party will be able to defeat him. Qi people's superiority in front of Hu people has not changed much because of the relationship between the two.

Xiao Yan smiled disapprenosingly: "The games on the chessboard are all small roads, and Xu Gong takes the world as the chessboard and the nobles of the family as the chess pieces, which is the style of the national player." ”

Xu Minglang was very satisfied with Xiao Yan's flattery, and he liked Hu Ren to be in awe of Qi people. This is something that goes deep into the bone marrow, and there will be no change because of any collusion between the two.

He said: "When the old man came, he heard that Zhenguo Gong had entered the palace, the princess might as well guess, what is the face of Zhenguo Gong at this time?"

Xiao Yan waved her hand, asked people to remove the chessboard, replace it with tea, and smiled without showing her teeth: "Of course Zhao Xuanji didn't expect that Bai Mei would suddenly retract his confession, and he would definitely not be able to deal with it at this time, and he was full of surprise, right?"

Xu Minglang laughed heartily twice, and did not hesitate to praise himself: "The princess is indeed extraordinary, this is an eighteen or nineteen stable action, but the princess can take into account various circumstances before the action starts, and make corresponding arrangements, it is really clever." Otherwise, we will not be able to turn the tide now. ”

Xiao Yan smiled calmly: "Qi people's art of war is cloudy, don't think about winning, think about defeat first." I'm just a toddler in Handan, which made Xu Gongjian smile. ”

"The princess's sinology attainments are indeed rare among the Hu people, and if she can have the heart of learning and learning, she is very good, so the princess does not have to be too humble. Xu Minglang said this with a sense of overlooking.

Xiao Yan's face was as usual, and she raised the tea bowl to signal.

After tasting the tea, Xu Minglang continued: "Fan Zhongming is also a person who understands current affairs, and when the old man's people saw him in the prison of Dali Temple, he knew how to speak. By now, Zhao Xuanji must have been anxious and frightened. ”

Xiao Yan said with admiration: "Although this operation was not successful, Duke Xu was able to fight back in a desperate situation, seize the opportunity to fight back, and make the emperor suspicious of the Zhao family, which can also be said to be more than a loss." A group of warriors of the Zhao family, how can they compete with Xu Gong? Xu Gong's great wisdom is admired by the subordinates. ”

Xu Minglang laughed again.

Seeing that he was no longer talking, Xiao Yan beckoned, took a gift slip from his subordinates, and handed it to Xu Minglang, "This is the reward promised in advance, and I invite Xu Gong to read it." ”

Xu Minglang opened it and looked at it, and the satisfaction in his eyes became more and more intense.

Although the Xu family is a family, it is only one of the thirteen civil officials, no windfall, no rich horses, no night grass and no fat, if the family wants to develop and grow and become the first clan of Daqi, how can it lack wealth and cultivation resources?

......

Zhao Xuanji's face was full of apprehension, and he asked tentatively: "Dare to ask Your Majesty how you plan to deal with this matter?"

Song Zhi did not answer, but said slowly: "The prime minister told me that Jiangmen is eager for war and military achievements, and he also mentioned to me the rebellion of the former dynasty. ”

Zhao Xuanji was shocked when he heard this.

The division of the dynasty and the decline of imperial power brought about by the disaster of the feudal town are an eternal nightmare in the heart of any emperor, and he will never want to experience it a second time.

The last emperor of the previous dynasty was used by the feudal town to coerce the Son of Heaven to make the princes, and suffered humiliation, and later the lord of the feudal town usurped the throne and became the emperor, so he did not hesitate to kill the emperor and the imperial family.

As long as this kind of thing is brought up, it will make any emperor afraid and unable to sleep.

"Your Majesty......" Zhao Xuanji wanted to bow down again.

Song Zhi stopped him, sighed heavily, and said solemnly: "Why does my grandfather have to be like this? Daqi is not the previous dynasty, and the Zhao family is not a feudal general, how can I not even know this truth?"

Zhao Xuan breathed a sigh of relief, "Your Majesty Mingjian!"

Song Zhi looked at Zhao Xuanji with a sincere gaze: "What I mean is that Zhun Aiqing was beaten by a secret fold, so that Yanmen Pass increased its troops by 30,000, and increased the supply of Fu Bing Pill by 20%!"

Zhao Xuanji's eyes widened, his face was full of disbelief, and he immediately bowed down again, "Your Majesty is wise, the Zhao family will live up to Your Majesty's expectations, and swear to defend Yanmen Pass for Your Majesty!"

Since we talked about the official disposal plan, Song Ye no longer called himself me, "I naturally believe in the Zhao family, and the previous emperors of all dynasties believed in the Zhao family." It's just that Aiqing needs to remember that before there is no change in Beihu and I have no order, the Yanmen army is not allowed to leave the customs without authorization!"

"Obey. ”

"Aiqing, you also know that the prime minister has a different view on the affairs of Daizhou. I believe in the Zhao family, so I approved Aiqing's play, but the prime minister is bound to chatter in front of me, and Aiqing also has to worry about me. The emperor said this quite helplessly.

"What does Your Majesty mean?"

"The Jinling Wu clan and the Guangling Yang clan fought because of a small hunting ground, resulting in the death and injury of nearly 100 servants, and also affected the nearby villagers, which caused an uproar in the government and the opposition. So the prime minister asked, the Wu family and the Yang family should be reduced to the first rank, what does Aiqing think?" the emperor asked in a consultative tone.

Guangling Yang's family, which is the in-law family of the Zhao family, has always been the only one of the Zhao family.

Both the Yang family and the Wu family have hereditary princely positions, and they also retire with the country, but they are one level lower than the princes of the country.

Now that the knighthood has been reduced, the two families have become hereditary earls. In the peaceful season when the four seas of Daqi were leveled and there was no war, it was impossible for the title to be lowered and wanted to be mentioned again.

This is a great blow to the two noble families of the generals, and they can be called the middle of the family.

But Zhao Xuanji knew that he couldn't refuse this matter at all, because this was an exchange, an exchange with the civil official group, so he could only bow his head and say: "Your Majesty is wise." ”

.......

After Zhao Xuanji retreated, the emperor was still sitting in the Fengxue Pavilion.

He didn't move the food and drinks on the table, just quietly overlooking the imperial city and the dotted neighborhoods, until the sun set and the twilight fell, as if it had become a statue.

His eyebrows are very high, his posture is very tall, and his five-clawed dragon robe is worn on his body, which sets off his heroic spirit, so even if he is motionless like a statue, he is also a statue with a lot of bearing.

"Now there are four royal courts in Beihu, and the Tianyuan Royal Court is only one of them, and it has just emerged, so it doesn't have any profound heritage. What's more, their territory does not border with Daqi. The cultivators of the Tianyuan Royal Court, what reason do they have to deal with the Zhao clan?"

Song Zhi suddenly said without looking back.

His Majesty is reasonable, and the old slave also feels strange. ”

In the shadow of the pavilion, there was an old man with a rickety figure and a eunuch's costume, his face was not real in the dark, and his voice seemed to come from the throat of a male duck.

The old eunuch continued: "However, the cultivators of the Wang Extreme Realm of the Tianyuan Royal Court, after all, when they arrive in Daizhou City, Princess Tianyuan's words may not be fully believed. The ancestor of the Tianyuan Royal Court was the previous generation of King Zuoxian, who was beheaded by the Zhao Clan, and they had hatred for the Zhao Clan. ”

Song Zhi was noncommittal, beckoned, and the old eunuch understood, so he asked people to take a copy of "Fang Wuzhi" and hand it to Song Zhi respectfully.

With the candle flame held by the old eunuch, Song Zhi looked through it for a while, and closed the book again, "I have been busy with internal affairs all these years, and I have paid little attention to things outside the border, and there is too little content about Beihu in the "Fang Wu Zhi". ”

"The old slave received the order, and this arranged for people to enter Mobei. The old eunuch took back the "Fang Wu Zhi".

Song Zhi continued to look at Yanping in Kyoto, and fell into a deep groan.

The chessboard-shaped streets and alleys are brightly lit, the streets are full of the fragrance of BMW carved cars, the pedestrians talking and laughing one after another, and the rhythmic shouting of large and small vendors, along with the fragrance of wine and food in the night market, drifted to the Fengxue Pavilion together.

There is no curfew in Yanping, and the bustling and lively night will last until the early hours of the morning, which is the manifestation of the prosperity of the Great Qi Dynasty, and it is also the picture scroll of the society that Song Zhi never gets tired of seeing, whenever his mind is chaotic, he will come here to meditate.

"Beihu's great cultivator and Fan Zhongming, after being escorted to Dali Temple, all retracted their confessions, and they couldn't bite their mouths. ”

Suddenly, Song Zhi spoke again, his tone inexplicable.

The old eunuch pondered for a moment before answering: "Whether the prime minister is true to his word depends on His Majesty's intentions. ”

Song Zhi bowed slightly, and his expression relaxed.

In the middle of the sound, he said again: "Spread my will, let that Beihu Great cultivator go." ”

The old eunuch was surprised, "That's also a king's extreme realm, killing it is just to deter Beihu and set an example." ”

Song Zhi shook his head: "It's just the early stage of a king's extreme realm, and it doesn't matter whether you kill or not you don't have the overall situation. Let him go, it's more useful. If my eyeliner wants to enter Mobei, explore the truth and reality, and write "Fang Wu Zhi", I can't let Beihu take precautions. ”

"Your Majesty is wise, and the old slave obeys. ”

......

Out of the imperial city gate, Zhao Xuanji glanced back at the majestic palace, and when he turned back to face the Suzaku Street with cars and horses, his face was already like water, and all kinds of vivid expressions in front of the emperor before dissipated without a trace in an instant.

got into the carriage of the Zhao Mansion waiting beside him, and Zhao Xuanji closed his eyes and pondered in the carriage.

Xiao Ningzi expected that when the great cultivator of Beihu arrived at Dali Temple, he would immediately retract his confession, and the confession was not much different from what he had speculated. Fortunately, Fan Zhongming is now under the control of the old man, and it is indeed a clever move to let him retract his confession. In this way, His Majesty will be suspicious of Xu Minglang's old horseman and worry that he is too powerful. ”

Thinking of this, Zhao Xuanji was very happy in his heart.

He is a general, not good at conspiracy, calculation, intrigue, this time he was able to successfully achieve the goal, so that Yanmen Pass increased the army by 30,000, all thanks to Zhao Ning's plan.

This is also the first role that Fan Zhongming played after he took refuge in him.

Thinking of this, Zhao Xuan was a little puzzled.

Although he was busy with official duties all day long and had little time to teach the children of the clan, he took special care of Zhao Ning. In his impression, Zhao Ning used to be a stubborn person, but now he suddenly changed his appearance and became thoughtful, and he had to be deeply surprised.

"Beiwang's temperament is too loose and uninhibited, and in addition to the achievements of Jin Ge Iron Horse on the battlefield, there is only the love of children and daughters-in-law, and he recites poems with his daughter-in-law all day long...... If it weren't for the old man sitting in the overall situation, the Zhao family would not be messed up in his hands!

"Fortunately, Xiao Ningzi is a dragon and phoenix among people, not only is he extremely talented, but he is also smart and wise, although he was a little squirming before, it is also a young man's nature, after Zhao Yujie's incident, he finally grew up. Now that he is both civil and military, this is a great blessing for the Zhao family!"

Zhao Xuanji's eyes were full of smiles, and he was very happy about his grandson's growth.

"When this kid comes back, the old man will definitely teach him well, and when he reaches the age of sixteen, he will enter the golden four years of cultivation, and he will not dare to be careless. September autumn hunting, be sure to let him behave well in front of the Manchu Dynasty's civil and military affairs, and let the nobles of the family see why I, the Zhao family, am the first nobles of the Jiangmen!"