readx;? The heavy rain in Xihuang Mountain fell all night, and the dark clouds at dawn on the second day had gradually dispersed, and in the early morning it was a clear sky, with a hint of moist freshness in the air, and after the wind and rain, a dazzling rainbow appeared in the sky above Xihuang Mountain with the morning glow. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

Such an early morning is gratifying, when the people of the West Imperial City open the door and go out, they are greeted by the refreshing breath that makes the heart and lungs unobstructed, and the sky and the earth are spotless after the heavy rain, and the looming rainbow hanging in the sky is even more refreshing, the meaning of the autumn is already beginning to appear, presumably it will be another warm and peaceful day.

"Squeak!"

A soft sound in the inner courtyard of the West Emperor's Mansion broke the original silence in the small courtyard, and I saw that the door of the north wing room was slowly opened from the inside, and then the robe he was wearing was bright, and Pang He, who looked refreshed, walked out of the room while stretching his waist and shaking his just awake head.

"Whew!" Pang He stood at the door of the room and first took a deep breath of refreshing air, and then inadvertently showed a look of satisfaction on his face, and then he stretched his muscles and bones while habitually calling out loudly, "Come on, bring the prepared snacks!"

In the past, at this time, there would be slaves and maids in the house trotting all the way to bring the breakfast that had been prepared into the garden in turn**** Pang He and his wife to enjoy, but today the house is silent, even if Pang He shouted several times, there was still no response outside the courtyard, as if no one heard Pang He's orders at all.

Pang He also seemed to have noticed a trace of abnormality, and was about to raise his feet and walk towards the outside of the courtyard to see what was going on in person, but he heard a chaotic footstep suddenly coming from a distance, and then before Pang He could open his mouth to reprimand, he saw Ma Quan stumbling in with a panicked face, and was almost tripped by the threshold due to his panicked footsteps.

"City Lord, go and take a look!" Ma Quan's footsteps did not stop, but the words had already reached Pang He's ears first.

"What's wrong?" Pang He frowned, and looked at Ma Quan suspiciously, "The city lord hasn't even taken a sip of tea since he got up, what are you going to let me see first?"

"Lord City, someone has been waiting for you in the hall for a long time...... "Ma Quan said with a sad face, "It's the Lu Yifan who feasted you last night!"

"Lu Yifan?" As soon as Pang He heard Lu Yifan's three words, his originally good mood sank again, and now in Pang He's heart, as long as he hears Lu Yifan now, there will definitely be nothing good, "Didn't we already make it clear yesterday? What did he come to me for?"

"No...... I don't know!" Ma Quan smiled bitterly with an embarrassed face, "My lord, you know who his subordinates are, when they came in the morning, the guards were originally blocking and not letting them in, but they didn't say a word and rolled the guards in our house all over the ground with three fists and two feet, and then Lu Yifan led people straight to the lobby to see you by name, they all looked fierce and vicious, and the villain didn't dare to ask more!"

"What? They even dare to beat my people?" Hearing this, Pang He's face became a little ugly, no matter how he said that he was now also the city lord of the Western Imperial City, and he was so blatantly broken in, his face was a little unbearable at this moment, "It's a blessing or a curse, it's a disaster that can't be avoided! I'll go see why they came!" Pang He said and pushed away the thin horse power, striding towards the outside of the courtyard.

"My lord, do you need me to transfer some people over just ......in case," Ma Quan hurriedly asked after him.

"Don't!" Before Ma Quan's words fell, Pang He vetoed, "You and I are enough!"

"Yes!"

Just as the two were talking, Pang He had already walked to the front of the hall, only to see him tidy up his clothes a little, dissipating the gloom on his face, and replacing it with a very mercenary smile.

"Haha...... Lu Gongzi is here, and the humble house is shining!" Pang He's feet hadn't even entered the hall, but the laughter had already reached the ears of everyone in the hall.

In the hall at this moment, Lu Yifan took Han Ling'er, Yin Xi, Liu Meng, and four or five mortal disciples to sit there quietly, and when they heard Pang He's voice, several people couldn't help but look outside the door.

"City Lord Pang, I'm sorry to bother you again!" Lu Yifan smiled back faintly.

"It's okay!" Pang He waved his hand, and then walked straight to Lu Yifan and sat down, and asked straight to the point, "I don't know if Pang has anything to do for Lu Gongzi?" If Lu Gongzi needs to speak, I Pang He will definitely not say a word! Haha......

"When I entered the door today, my people injured your guard, Lu Mou is here to make compensation to the Pang City Lord first!" Lu Yifan chuckled, "I hope that the Pang City Lord, you don't have any trouble!"

"It's because they don't know Mount Tai, Lu Gongzi educated them for me, speaking of which, I have to thank Lu Gongzi for being so, how can I care about such a trivial matter?" Pang Heyan said politely insincerely, "Why don't you tell Lu Gongzi frankly, what is the matter with me......?"

"It's figured out!" Without waiting for Pang He to ask, Lu Yifan nodded and smiled, "Since City Lord Pang is honest with each other, then Lu will no longer go around in circles!

"Borrow something?" Pang He's eyes couldn't help flashing with a look of doubt, "I don't know what Lu Gongzi plans to borrow from me?" In fact, what Pang He is most afraid of at this moment is that Lu Yifan said to borrow someone, as long as he doesn't borrow someone to deal with the emperor, then Pang He can promise him anything.

"Money!" Lu Yifan said bluntly.

As soon as he heard that Lu Yifan was going to borrow money, Pang He's hanging heart suddenly relaxed. I saw that the smile on his face became more intense, and he waved his hand indifferently, and said arrogantly: "How much money does Lu Gongzi want to borrow, just ask, with our friendship, everything I have today is your Lu Gongzi's, and you can use it as much as you want!"

"Hehe, City Lord Pang's words really moved Lu!" Lu Yifan nodded and said, "It's not a secret, after some heart-to-heart discussions with City Lord Pang last night, now I have also figured it out, instead of having trouble with the emperor, it is better for us to do something by ourselves so that we can support ourselves!"

"Lu Gongzi is right!" Ma Quan said with a sneer, "Eating well and sleeping well is the most important thing these days, we live our lives in a down-to-earth manner, why do we need to get involved in the factional struggle between the Emperor and the Sect Master?"

"Not bad!" Lu Yifan smiled and nodded, "So I want to do some business in the southwest to support these brothers of mine!"

"Okay!" Pang He nodded in agreement, "I don't know what business Lu Gongzi wants to do?"

"I have set up a Southwest Chamber of Commerce, and I plan to try to get in touch with all trades!" Lu Yifan said with a smile, "Just like today's Qi Family Chamber of Commerce, the most important thing is to make enough money!"

When Pang He heard this, he nodded a little as if he didn't understand, and then grinned: "Although I don't understand very well, but Lu Gongzi is doing great things as soon as he makes a move, and Pang He really admires this! Lu Gongzi's Southwest Chamber of Commerce has any place that needs Pang He's help, just ask, and how much money Lu Gongzi plans to use this time, please say it's okay!"

"Say more, say less, say less!" Lu Yifan's expression began to become a little strange, only to see him look at Pang He and Ma Quan with a puzzled expression, and only after a moment did he slowly speak, "According to my plan, at least fifteen million silver shells are needed for the operation of the Southwest Chamber of Commerce at present!"

"Hiss!" As soon as Lu Yifan's words came out, Pang He and Ma Quandang gasped even in shock, and the corners of their eyes were as wide as copper bells looking at Lu Yifan, and they didn't wake up from the shock for a long time.

"It's just that Lu Mou is not talented, and the remaining entanglements in his hand are only a million, so I am at least 14 million silver shells!" Lu Yifan didn't know if he really didn't see Pang He and Ma Quan's expressions, or if he deliberately pretended not to see it, he still said his plan casually, "So this matter may have to trouble Pang City Lord to help me!"

"This ......" Pang He finally understood Lu Yifan's words, only to see his mouth open and close for a long time, and his heart turned over but he didn't know how to speak for a while, "Lu Gongzi, this is ...... With Pang's current net worth, I'm afraid that even if I sell this Hou Mansion, it will be far behind......"

"Don't get me wrong, City Lord Pang!" Without waiting for Pang He to finish speaking, Han Ling'er rolled his eyes and took the lead in laughing, "How can we ask City Lord Pang to borrow so much from you alone?" Since we are the Southwest Chamber of Commerce, we want to do business in the southwest, so the fourteen cities in the southwest will be considered by our Chamber of Commerce, and the Chamber of Commerce will naturally pay taxes to the fourteen city lords in the future! In addition, we had dealt with the fourteen cities in the southwest when we were in lockdown before, so this time the Southwest Chamber of Commerce naturally had to ask the fourteen city lords for help to raise money!"

"What does Miss Han mean......" The shrewd Ma Quan immediately calculated the account clearly, "The fourteen cities in the southwest have a total of fourteen million silver shells, in other words, each city will lend you one million silver shells?"

"That's good!" Lu Yifan nodded and said, "I think one million silver shells is really a piece of cake for you city lords, right?"

Pang He couldn't help but smile bitterly when he heard this, and sighed: "If a million silver shells were placed in the past, it might really be a piece of cake, but today...... Alas!"

"Oh?" Yin Xi, who was sitting on the side, couldn't help but raise his eyebrows when he saw this, and asked with a sneer, "Doesn't City Lord Pang want to borrow it?" Could it be that the generous words you said just now were polite words?"

"Of course not!" Pang He immediately vetoed, "The current situation Lu Gongzi should be very clear, the emperor has to collect tribute silver from the fourteen cities in the southwest every month, and it is fine for a month and two months, but it is not a joke for ten months in a row! The Western Imperial City is not bad, and it can barely survive by relying on monthly taxes, so Pang still has some family wealth left to lend to Lu Gongzi, but the other city lords are only afraid that they will smash the pot and sell iron, and even the emperor's tribute is about to be unable to pay, so how can they lend it to you?"

"That's it!" Ma Quan hurriedly nodded and agreed, "If they give you the silver shell, then there will be no one for the emperor, and in the end it will be impossible to escape death, this million silver shell is used by them to save their lives this month, how can they lend it to you......

"Wait a minute!" Before Ma Quan's words fell, Pang He, who was still bitter, suddenly had a flash of inspiration in his mind, and in an instant, he completely figured out the stakes, and even boldly guessed Lu Yifan's true purpose, only to see that he looked directly at Lu Yifan with blazing eyes, and said suspiciously word by word, "What does Lu Gongzi mean when he said that he needs 14 million silver shells at present? Does it mean that he will need it in the future?"

Facing Pang He's question, Lu Yifan just smiled and said nothing.

"The total amount of silver paid to the Emperor Sect by the Fourteen Cities in the Southwest every month is 14 million silver shells, and Lu Gongzi's Southwest Chamber of Commerce needs 14 million silver shells no more, no less, is this really just a coincidence?"

"I do my business, I borrow my money!" Lu Yifan said lightly, "Even if you can't pay the tribute to the emperor after you lend me money, it's not that you can't pay it alone, but you can't pay it over all the fourteen cities!"

"I just said that with the character of Lu Gongzi, he will definitely not give up easily! Sure enough, that's ......" Pang He's expression was simply crying and laughing at the moment, "You want to repeat your old tricks, just like you did against Lou Zong back then, and now you also want to take this opportunity to unite the Fourteen Cities in the Southwest to deal with Huangzong together!, right?"

"It's not important if it's right or not!" Lu Yifan's eyes were dark and deep, and two slightly scrutinizing lights looked straight at Pang He, and then said faintly, "The important thing is whether your Pang City Lord is willing to borrow this million silver shells?"

As soon as Lu Yifan said this, Pang He and Ma Quan glanced at each other with palpitations, and there was a hint of hesitation in their eyes.

"Master Lu, you are obviously chasing ducks to the shelves! It's just that other city lords don't have the friendship between you and me!" Pang He didn't answer Lu Yifan's words directly, but turned the conversation around, and asked with a deep meaning in his eyes, "I just want to know now, what are you going to do if the other city lords refuse to lend the Southwest Chamber of Commerce this million silver shells?"

Pang He's ability to say such words was enough to show that his heart had been shaken. What Pang He is most worried about now is not whether he can fight against the Imperial Sect, but whether the Fourteen Cities in the Southwest will be just his own Western Imperial City willing to join forces with Lu Yifan? In other words, Pang He is now a grass on the wall, and which side he wants to fall to does not depend on which side Lu Yifan or the Emperor is stronger, but on which side the other thirteen city masters fall towards! If the so-called responsibility does not punish the people, if he can unite the other thirteen cities with both glory and loss, then even if Pang He dies, at least his heart will be much more balanced.

And after Lu Yifan heard Pang He's question, a meaningful smile quietly appeared on the corner of his mouth.

......

At the same time, in Buling City, which is two hundred miles away from the Western Imperial City, the Hou Mansion is in a mess at the moment, from the gate of the Hou Mansion to the inner hall, there are many seriously injured guards lying all the way, some of them have broken arms and legs and wailing, some are rolling on the ground in pain with their wounds, and some are lying on the ground motionless, not knowing whether they are alive or dead.

At this moment, in the inner hall, Wei Ting, the city lord of Buring City, who was nearly sixty years old, was slumped in the chair with a frightened nose and swollen face, and the hall was full of kneeling with his relatives and family slaves, all of them were all covered with black faces, kneeling on the ground and trembling, none of them seemed to be spiritual at this moment.

Seven or eight mortal disciples with swords in their hands were standing in the hall casually, staring at them cautiously to prevent chaos, and at this moment everyone's attention in the hall was focused on Wei Ting's body, because now on Wei Ting's chest, a powerful big foot was stepping on it firmly, and the owner of this big foot was playing with a long knife that had not yet been unsheathed, looking at Wei Ting with a playful face.

"City Lord Wei, I talked about it just now, what kind of stand do you say? You have to force Lao Tzu to trample you under your feet now before you are willing to listen to me, why bother?" Liu Sandao pretended to have an innocent expression, but it was a pity that his innocent face at this moment was even more terrifying than the devil in Wei Ting's eyes.

"I ...... I really don't have a million silver shells to give you the Southwest Chamber of Commerce......"

"It's okay!" Liu Sandao slowly unsheathed the knife, and then slowly put the cold blade on Wei Ting's trembling cheek, "Our master specially told us not to hurt people's lives, so even if you don't lend us so many silver shells, Lao Tzu won't kill you!"

"That's good...... My money has become tribute silver, and now there is really no extra silver, if I give it to you, then the emperor will definitely not let me go......" Feeling the coldness on the blade, Wei Ting was so frightened that he even trembled when he spoke.

"Oh! That's nothing!" Liu Sandao gently pressed the sword god on Wei Ting's cheek, and slowly swiped towards Wei Ting's ear, "We need capital to save our business now, if you don't lend us it, you won't give us a way to live, you won't let us live, you say that if I go back like this, are you a little sorry for our master's entrustment?"

"You...... What do you want?" Wei Ting's voice sounded like killing a pig at this moment, and it was actually quite sharp and harsh.

"I can't help it, I always have to make a difference, don't I?" Liu Sandao looked at Wei Ting playfully, smashed his mouth with a look of regret, and said with great reluctance, "Now I want a million silver shells, if you give me less than 10,000, I will cut off one of your ears, if you give me less than 20,000, I will cut off your pair of ears, and after cutting it, there will be eyes, nose, tongue, and then your ten fingers, ten toes, and of course, your life, maybe that thing Lao Tzu can be worth 10,000 more......"

With Liu Sandao's creepy words, Wei Ting's whole person gradually turned from anger at the beginning to heartfelt fear, his face was pale, his whole body trembled like a sieve, and finally his eyes turned into complete despair!

"Say no more! I ...... I'll give you ......."

Wei Ting's words were almost squeezed out of his throat, and when he finished saying this, the whole person was like a deflated ball, and he collapsed directly in the chair, looking desperate and full of sadness!

......