After the canal flood was disposed of, Zhao Xiao rarely had a moment of leisure, returned to the post house arranged for him by the local government, bathed and changed clothes, and rested for a while.

"There is news from Dongshengdu, saying that you have made a meritorious contribution to the flood this time, and the country will increase the number of food and euphemism for you, and plan to add the title of Protector Mage."

Zhao Xiao soaked in the bathtub, emptying his body and mind, Jiang Ru flipped through the screen and relayed various news.

"Now I really become Zhao ** teacher." Zhao Xiao rubbed his face and laughed at himself: "The imperial court has this idle time, so it is better to think about what to do with this year's grain harvest." It has been raining intermittently for more than two months, and the seedlings in several counties are drowning, and they still have the heart to increase food for me. ”

Jiang Ru smiled bitterly: "Don't say that, fortunately, thanks to you, the canal flood distribution was completed so quickly, saving Hepu County, which is the most densely populated and taxed in Huaxu Kingdom, and saving hundreds of people." If the court doesn't reward you heavily, it will only chill others. ”

"Saving people? It's better than nothing. Zhao Huang sighed: "The people will not die because of the flood, but will also die because of hunger and cold." ”

Jiang Ru heard the sigh behind the screen, so she had to pick up another newspaper and said, "Oh? Wang Shangshu was dismissed on the grounds that the relief was ineffective, and the Chiyang Wang family was estimated to be overthrown. ”

"To say that they were brought down is nothing more than to ask them to give up their positions of power with dignity." Zhao Xiao immediately made a judgment.

Jiang Ru's expression was solemn: "The lord of the country can't wait to do it, what do you think?" ”

"This is not really a move, the lord of the country is tempting, if the national teacher shows a little eagerness, there will be chaos immediately." Zhao Xiao was deeply anxious: "Right now, it's just relying on the prestige of the national teacher in the past to make the lord of the country fearful."

I just learned from General Wei that the lord of the country took advantage of the connection between the queen Zhou family and the Phantom Wave Palace, and invited many masters from various water mansions and sects in the East China Sea, just to deal with the Chongxuan Pavilion and the national teacher. ”

Jiang Ru was startled at first when she heard this, but then calmed down: "No wonder the East China Sea Mansion has broken off contact with the Chongxuan Pavilion one after another, it seems that the Lord of the Kingdom has been preparing for this for a long time." ”

"But as long as the national teacher does not go out of the customs for a day, the lord of the country will not dare to do it for a day." Zhao Huang said: "As long as the two sides do not tear their faces, civil strife will not break out in Huaxuguo." ”

Jiang Ru reminded: "This stalemate cannot drag on forever, although the first seat did not say, but you should make a move." ”

"I understand." Zhao Xiao raised his hand and pressed his forehead: "There are not many mandalas to be arranged in the south, and we will set off for Lingtai Market later." ”

"You...... Are you scared? Jiang Ru heard the uneasiness in Zhao Xiao's words.

"How can you not be afraid?"

Zhao Huang vaguely expected that Liang Tao's ascension to the altar would inevitably cause a major outbreak of contradictions and conflicts between all parties. Even if you don't know that Zhao Xiao and Liang Tao are secretly conspiring, people of insight can see that chaos is coming.

However, the opportunity for this kind of chaos to break out lies in when Zhao Huang can finish arranging the altar site. The rise and fall of a country, the blessings and misfortunes of all the people, are all on Zhao Xiao's shoulders, and the future success or failure is even more unpredictable, even Zhao Huang is still deeply afraid.

This almost doomed catastrophe is more hopeless than the sudden chaos.

No matter how hard Zhao Xiao tried, it was impossible to reverse the deterioration of the situation, and even his efforts themselves were making the chaos approaching step by step, how could he not be worried?

As General Wei said, Zhao Xiao did not have to be involved too deeply in this sudden flood in spring and summer, let alone personally help dig the canal, because in the eyes of the government and the opposition, the national training of monks is not for them to do such drudgery.

In fact, before Zhao Huang personally assisted in the excavation of the canal, the monks of the other pavilions were only relying on the rapid exchange of contacts, and let them be responsible for delivering the news of the disaster. In previous years, there were also droughts and floods, and I didn't see any monks in the hall who could take care of it.

And Zhao Huang obviously has the ability to be pragmatic and practical, so naturally he can't sit back and watch the flood devour the disaster, and secondly, he also has the intention of delaying time.

Zhao Huang really couldn't bear to see the people experience the flood first, and then sink into the war in a blink of an eye, so he personally participated in the digging of the canal, and in any case, he also wanted to minimize the suffering of the people.

It's just that Chongxuan Pavilion didn't care about such a flood, which really made Zhao Huang feel cold. Chongxuanguan may be on its own, in order to retaliate against the frequent suppression of the lord of the country in recent years, deliberately sit back and watch the people fall into the waves and not take action.

As for Liang Tao, Zhao Xiao felt that there were no Li people in his eyes. If it weren't for his pretending to be unfathomable, it is estimated that Zhao Huang would not be allowed to delay for half a year in order to dig the canal.

Jiang Ru, who was on the other side of the screen, found that Zhao Xiao was silent for a long time, and couldn't help but worry in his heart, and originally planned to go in to comfort him, but when he heard the sound of water, Zhao Xiao got up and changed his clothes.

"What's wrong?" Jiang Ru knew that Zhao Xiao had not rested well at all in the past few months.

"I sensed someone coming for me." Zhao Huang dried his hair as soon as he was angry, put on his robe, and Jiang Ru familiarly helped him tie his hair in a bun.

"People are looking for you all day long." Jiang Ru complained: "Most of them are people who tend to be inflammatory, and they come to the door to give gifts, either asking for your help, or claiming to have grievances to sue." If you don't want to see it, I'll send it away for you. ”

"It's not someone else, it's the original Wang Juncheng of Xingluo County." Zhao Xiao was changing his clothes, and someone outside the house came to say:

"Marquis Zhenming, there is a squire surnamed Wang who came to the door to ask for a meeting, claiming to be your old friend. Do you want to drive him away? ”

"Let him stay in the antechamber for a moment." Zhao Xiao replied, and the next person said that he was leaving.

Jiang Ru was puzzled: "That Wang Juncheng has already resigned, what are you doing seeing him?" ”

Zhao Xiao shook his head: "You don't know, I didn't know anything in Xingluo County back then, and many things were taught by him, otherwise there would be no later achievements in power." I have a lot of confusion, and I am worried that I can't find the right person to answer, and he came to visit, just by chance! ”

Jiang Ru sighed in his heart, Zhao Xiao's cultivation is superb and proficient in magic, which is expected, but he can not only learn from the creation of heaven and earth, but also learn from ordinary people, and he is not ashamed of it, which really makes Jiang Ru feel incomparable.

After Zhao Xiao changed his clothes, he hurriedly came to the front hall, and saw Wang Juncheng wearing a simple green shirt, not like a rich and noble person.

"I didn't expect Wang Juncheng to visit in person, and I missed the distance!" Zhao Xiao stepped forward and bowed.

"Oops! Marquis Zhenming doesn't have to be like this, he tortures the old man! Wang Juncheng hurriedly returned the salute: "The old man is only a white body now, and he is no longer a county prince, so he should not be so polite as the Marquis of Zhenming." ”

Zhao Xiao sighed helplessly: "I'd rather not have the identity of Marquis Zhenming, many etiquette constraints make people feel different." ”

"The Marquis of Zhenming seems to be worried?" Wang Juncheng asked.

"Sure enough, I still can't hide it from you." Zhao Xiao asked the servant to serve tea and then stepped back.

Wang Juncheng nodded slightly, his face was serious: "Forgive the old man for talking too much, Marquis Zhenming previously opened the altar to patrol the realm and flatten the heroes, although he has some achievements, but it also caused resentment. ”

"The four surnames of the Chongxuanguan Immortal Department occupy the land and plunder the people, if they don't care about it, the foundation of the country will be hollowed out by them." Zhao Xiao frowned and said.

"That being said, does the Marquis of Zhen Ming know that in the past two years, although half of the fields of the four surnames of the immortal family have been collected, not all of them have been used for the calculation of the land." Wang Juncheng said, "Do you know where these fields end up?" ”

"Where did you go?"

"Take Hatoe County, for example." Wang Juncheng lowered his voice and said: "Originally, more than half of the Zheng family's land manor was classified as public land, which was nominally owned by the imperial court, but in fact it became the property of the lord of the country and the sons and daughters of the clan!" ”

Zhao Xiao's face was slightly gloomy, and Wang Juncheng continued: "Originally, there was nothing wrong with collecting the Hao family grange as national public land, firstly, it could enrich the treasury and pay taxes for the national court, and secondly, if it was a disaster year, part of the public land could be borrowed or given to the affected people.

However, the state public land should be managed by the imperial court, rather than directly granted to the sons and daughters of the clan. In this way, the name is public, but the truth is private. It seems to have weakened the four surnames of the immortal family, but it has messed up the laws of the country and damaged the authority of the imperial court! ”

This situation was indeed beyond Zhao Xiao's expectations, he did not personally participate in the local Shangkou Juntian, and did not expect this situation to happen.

"Isn't this just competing with the people?" Zhao Xiao's face was ugly: "The clan brother dares to act so recklessly, I'm afraid he still has the permission of the country lord!" ”

"Be careful, be careful!" Wang Juncheng said cautiously.

"Anything else?" Zhao Xiao asked again.

Wang Juncheng continued: "There is also the matter of the land restriction order, I wonder if the Marquis of Zhenming knows? ”

"Of course, this is to prevent the powerful clan from occupying a large number of land, and the number of acres of land should be limited according to the rank of the official." Zhao Xiao said: "The four surnames of the immortal family relied on their power positions, and there was no shortage of land contributions in the past, trying to exempt them from taxation and servitude, but they did not know that this would shake the foundation of the country, and naturally it should be restricted. ”

Wang Juncheng shook his head and said: "But does the Marquis of Zhenming know that when the local government implements the land restriction order, there are many private acts of giving and receiving from each other, such as using hands and feet in the book of acres of land, allocating part of the amount of acres to other households, or degrading good land to poor land. Similar to these methods emerge in an endless stream, and the old man can't finish three or two sentences. ”

Zhao Xiao was disappointed in his heart, his seemingly mastery of the people, but in the end he did not reverse the situation.

"The old man's visit this time is to thank the Marquis of Zhenming for digging the river to divert the flood and save the people from displacement." Wang Juncheng said: "Second, I also advise Marquis Zhen Ming, don't get involved in the affairs of the DPRK and China for the time being." The lord of the country and the Chongxuan Pavilion have been in discord, and there will be chaos soon! ”

Zhao Xiao sighed: "I also see that Hua Xu Guo is in a troubled situation today, but I am already in it, and I feel quite in a dilemma. ”

When Wang Juncheng heard this, he asked carefully: "Listen to the meaning of Marquis Zhenming, there is another mystery in the matter of opening the altar to patrol the realm?" ”

Zhao Xiao nodded, but did not elaborate. Wang Juncheng pondered and asked: "According to the order, the Marquis of Zhenming acted according to his orders, and he should not have doubts and scruples. Dilemma, could it be that the arrangement of the mandala is a hidden disaster? ”

Zhao Xiao smiled bitterly: "I'm afraid that the disaster is not small, but I can't help it." ”

"Is the Marquis of Zhenming having the idea of retreating?" Wang Juncheng asked.

"Not really." Zhao Huang already attaches great importance to the Dao Kingdom of the world: "I'm just confused, and I can't make up my mind." ”

Wang Juncheng was silent for a long time, and then said: "There are some things that are not suitable to be said to the outside world, but Zhenming Hou is a smart person, and he can understand it if he thinks about it." Chongxuanguan has become a lesion in Huaxu Kingdom, entangled in the internal organs, and it is difficult to give up this problem without a knife and a sharp blade.

It's just that this kind of action is equivalent to dissecting the patient's chest and abdomen, but I am afraid that if the lesion is not removed, the patient will die first. However, if the lesion is not removed for a long time, the patient lingers on the bed, and has a slight wind, cold, dampness and heat, which will also take his life.

Since sooner or later it will be a death, it is better to take a risk while there is still a breath left, and maybe you can still save a glimmer of life. ”

Zhao Xiao understood: "You mean to say that instead of delaying time, it is better to let the chaos come as soon as possible?" ”

"There are no two days in the sky, there are no two masters in the country, and the contradiction between the lord of the country and the Chongxuan Pavilion has no room for turn, and it is destined to have a war." Wang Juncheng said bluntly: "Now that the lord of the country is using you to cut off the wings of the four surnames of the Chongxuan Pavilion Immortal Line, it is to avoid the chaos from being too widely implicated, otherwise the Huaxu Kingdom will only attract the covetousness of other countries." ”

Hearing this, Zhao Xiao immediately understood that this was also Liang Tao's intention. The four surnames of the immortal family were entangled with the Huaxu Kingdom before, if the four surnames of the immortal family could not be separated from the government and the opposition of the Huaxu Kingdom, once the conflict broke out between the two sides, there would be more than Liang Leopard who refused to resist the flood pass and would raise troops.

But that kind of chaos is also something that Liang Tao can't tolerate, and he should hope more than others that the situation can transition smoothly, so that the foundation of the human Dao country can be laid safely.

"How do you think chaos will evolve in the future?" Zhao Xiao asked.

"In fact, the best case scenario is that either side can win the game in one breath with a thunderous momentum, completely subduing the other side, so as to put an end to chaos." Wang Juncheng said: "To be honest, the old man doesn't like Chongxuan Pavilion, but if the Liang family changes the dynasty one day, the old man will not be surprised. But the most feared thing about this kind of thing is that they are evenly matched, and they can't hold each other, and they will do everything they can to win in order to win, and no one wants to see them when the time comes. ”

Zhao Huang thought about it, the Chongxuan Pavilion seemed to be powerful, but now most of the disciples were scattered to various places to support the mandala, and they couldn't gather in a hurry. What's more, everything in Chongxuan Pavilion is centered on Liang Tao, and if Liang Tao cannot be defeated, the lord of the country will definitely not give up.

It's just that Liang Tao is now cultivating more mana than in the past, and the more complete Zhao Xiao's mandala is, the more extensive Liang Tao's ability to instigate the qi of heaven and earth will be.

Even if General Wei said that the lord of the country had invited many high-ranking people from the East China Sea, Zhao Xiao still didn't think that these people could deal with Liang Tao, but would only make the battle more fierce and implicate him even more.

"Marquis Zhenming, I know that you have a common heart, but sometimes in the face of complicated situations, benevolence has become the cause of indulgence." Wang Juncheng reminded: "The current situation can no longer tolerate the left and right, you have to make a choice as soon as possible." ”

Even if Zhao Huang didn't say it explicitly, Wang Juncheng still guessed that Zhao Huang opened the altar to patrol the realm, and I am afraid that he was also a little secretly involved in Chongxuan Pavilion. Considering that in Xingluo County, Zhao Huang was able to break the barrier and take the initiative to make friends with Liang Shuo of Chongxuan Pavilion in order to deal with the rebellious party and bandits, so it is not completely impossible to join forces with Chongxuan Pavilion again.

"I see." Zhao Xiao thought for a long time and nodded heavily.