After drinking a pot of tea, Hu Shen personally washed the teapot and cups, and re-boiled the water to make tea.

Sang Luo sat quietly next to him and watched, staring at Hu Shen's hands, carefully looking at each finger, the fingers that pointed to the country, those fingers had held countless holy decrees, taken countless twists and turns, and had also tapped the map, deciding the life and death of tens of millions of people, and had pointed to the starry sky and imagined the future.

After Hu Shen poured the tea, he raised his hand and said politely: "Please tea." ”

Sang Luo picked up the cup with both hands and asked, "Teacher, what if I can't overcome my desires?" ”

Hu Shen replied: "Why should the desire be overcome? Because desires are certain to arise, what you have to do is to control, not overcome. ”

Sang Luo shook his head slightly: "What if the control is not good?" ”

Hu Shen said eight words: "In one thought, there will be no recovery." ”

Sang Luo repeated those eight words, some fragments flashed in his mind, and his hands began to tremble slightly.

Hu Shen said: "Fate is not really unfair, God is fair, and everyone will always be given the opportunity to choose." You see, now that Jiuyuan has not been truly pacified, it has not been truly unified, you need to think about whether to help the imperial court Kuangfu Sheji, or to do your best for the people of Jiuyuan. ”

Sang Luo was puzzled: "Teacher, is there a difference?" ”

Hu Shen said: "If the current saint is a faint tyrant, what you are helping the court is not Sheji, but helping him to keep the throne." The way of heaven and man is not incompatible, so you must figure it out, whether you want to help one person, or help the world? ”

These words may sound like a great rebellion to others, but they are heavenly principles, no, they are heavenly principles.

What is the Way of Heaven? The way of heaven is people-oriented.

The people are precious, the community is secondary, and the monarch is light.

——

Tiangan Road, under the tower of Liangcheng City.

Liang Cheng Taishou Kang Yongzhi led the officials of all sizes in the city to wait in line under the city gate, and the word "Tianqian" on the banner held by the surrounding soldiers was particularly conspicuous, and the two were surrounded by a circle of auspicious clouds, and the gun head at the top of the pole was replaced with a pheasant tail.

The pheasant symbolizes life and agility, while the pheasant is seen as loyal and incorruptible, so when greeting the king, it is necessary to replace the head of the ornament on the pole with a pheasant tail as a sign of respect.

The Tianqian Army led by Kang Yongzhi today is also a carefully selected elite, all wearing leather armor, which is different from the leather armor of the Shendu Army, which is based on leather, with thin copper sheets and thin iron skin and iron combined armor, and the surface is painted blue and black.

Tiangandao got its name from the gossip, and the Tianqian position in the gossip corresponds to blue, and pure blue is not majestic, so it was changed to blue and black.

Kang Yongzhi, who was full of white hair and wrinkles, and it was difficult to even open his eyes, watched Xiwang's motorcade coming from afar, and immediately tidied up his dark crimson official uniform and knelt down. When the convoy arrived, he immediately led the Liangcheng officials to chant Chitose.

Among the officials, there was only one person who did not speak out, and this person was Kang Yongzhi's chief of staff Shi Xueyun.

Although Xue Yun is already forty years old and has reached the age of no doubt, his face and body are still like that of a young man, if it weren't for the wide official uniform, I am afraid that everyone present would be frightened by his strong body.

The deafening cry directly woke up Ji Chengying, who was dozing in the carriage.

Ji Chengying was so frightened that he trembled, and was about to get angry, but suddenly realized that this should be in Liangcheng, so he opened the curtain and glanced outside, looked at the civil and military officials and soldiers kneeling in front of him, and raised his eyes to look at the tall city tower in Liangcheng, and then waved his hand to step forward.

Ji Chengying instructed the chamberlain: "Tell Taishou Kang Yongzhi to come forward." ”

After being summoned by the attendants, Kang Yongzhi stepped forward cautiously with unhurried steps, knelt beside the carriage and said: "Liangcheng Taishou Kang Yongzhi pays a visit to His Royal Highness King Xi, and King Xi is Chitose Kang Jian." ”

Ji Chengying said in the car: "Get up, you come into the car." ”

Kang Yongzhi was stunned for a moment, thinking that he had heard it wrong, where did he have the qualifications to ride in the same car with King Xi?

Just when Kang Yongzhi was stunned, Ji Chengying said again: "Are you deaf?" I'll let you in! ”

The elderly Kang Yongzhi had to climb into the carriage and get into the carport with the support of the attendants, but he knelt in front of Ji Chengying and did not dare to look up.

Ji Chengying looked at Kang Yongzhi in front of him, trying to recall, he was very familiar with Kang Yongzhi's name, and since he ascended the throne, he had seen Kang Yongzhi more than once, but because there were too many civil and military people in the Manchu Dynasty, he really couldn't remember who was who, but he was just surprised that this Liangcheng Taishou was so old?

Ji Chengying subconsciously asked, "Kang Yongzhi, how old are you this year?" ”

Kang Yongzhi replied: "Chen Kang Yongzhi has passed the sixtieth year this year. ”

Ji Chengying was surprised: "Are you still a Taishou at the age of sixty?" ”

As soon as these words came out, Kang Yongzhi's cold sweat flowed down, and he didn't understand in his heart, what did this Xiwang mean? Because Kang Yongzhi's position as a taishou can be hereditary, his father and grandfather were both former Tiangandao Liangcheng Taishou.

The reason why the Kang family can be hereditary is because when Emperor Dingyuan fought the world, when he hit the Tiangan Road, the Kang family, who was originally the richest man in Liangcheng, surrendered his family and contributed money and efforts. Therefore, after the establishment of the Dachang Dynasty, Emperor Dingyuan directly issued an order to let Kang Yongzhi's grandfather, who was already old at that time, become the Taishou of Liangcheng, although he did not give any title, but the position of Taishou was hereditary for their Kang family.

Ji Chengying also realized that there was something wrong with the sentence he blurted out, so he explained: "I just sigh, you are so old, your body is still so tough, and you can still manage Liang Cheng in an orderly manner." ”

Kang Yongzhi immediately thanked him: "Chen Kang Yongzhi ......"

"Okay, don't talk about those clichés, I know what you're going to say," Ji Chengying hurriedly interrupted Kang Yongzhi, "The emperor asked me to come to Liangcheng with his will this time, for the sake of Princess Baomeng and Fanlang's concubine, because the two had some unhappiness after their marriage, the princess left in a bad mood, and the concubine chased people out, and the emperor was afraid that something would happen, so he sent me to Liangcheng to find them." ”

When Kang Yongzhi heard this, he said: "Lord Wang, the minister immediately sent people to look for them in the counties on the border of Liangcheng. ”

Ji Chengying immediately said: "This matter can't be publicized, it must be kept secret, no one asks, you can't say it, just say that I came to Liangcheng to play, do you understand?" ”

Kang Yongzhi understood: "The minister understands. ”

Then, Ji Chengying changed his words and asked, "Is there anything delicious and fun in the Liangcheng area?" ”

Yes? Kang Yongzhi thought he had heard it wrong: "Lord Wang, you are asking about delicious and fun, right?" ”

Ji Chengying said patiently: "Don't you always let me repeat it a second time, okay?" When is it time for dinner, I haven't had a serious meal all the way here. ”

Kang Yongzhi immediately said: "Lord, the minister has set up a banquet in the palace. ”

Ji Chengying said: "There's no need to set up a banquet, it's not those dishes that you get around, and besides, I like to be clean, don't let those officials accompany me." Listen, you go get some local specialties and snacks, and then, just the two of us find a place to have a quiet meal, and I'll explain something to you by the way, do you understand? ”

Kang Yongzhi knelt down and said, "The minister understands." ”

After Kang Yongzhi got out of the car, he stood in line with other officials on both sides, watching Xiwang's motorcade enter the city.

"My lord, is something wrong?" Xue Yun on the side asked in a low voice, "Why are your faces full of doubts?" ”

Kang Yongzhi called Xue Yun aside and repeated the previous conversation with Ji Chengying. The two naturally didn't know that the so-called King Xi in the car was actually the current emperor, even if everyone knew that the emperor and King Xi were twins, no one would have thought that the emperor would do such a ridiculous thing as swapping identities with King Xi.

Although Xue Yun's identity is the chief of staff and Kang Yongzhi's confidant, he is actually strictly speaking, Kang Yongzhi's butler, and there is no real rank in the imperial court, because the imperial court originally assigned the so-called staff to the taishou of each city, that is, the strategist, similar to Zhu Lu, the strategist next to Tang Chen.

The reason why the imperial court is to send them is actually to send people to monitor the imperial guards of the cities, although these staff and strategists have no real power, but they must handle military and political affairs, but whenever they find any problems, they will quietly report to the imperial court.

However, the strategist originally sent to Liangcheng by the imperial court was named Gu Huaiyi, and there was also a man called Gu Maniac. This person is crazy on weekdays, and hardly cares about anything, except drinking, sleeping, or hanging out. Therefore, Kang Yongzhi made Xue Yun a long history without official rank, which was tantamount to replacing Gu Huaiyi.

Because the three generations of the Kang family were loyal, they not only paid taxes on time and in accordance with the amount every year, but also paid tribute to the royal family in their private names.

The reason why the Kang family is so rich is because of smuggling, and the objects of smuggling are Rouyuan and Ruiyuan.

Although the imperial court nominally ruled Jiuyuan, in reality only the Huayuan region was completely under the control of the Dachang Dynasty. Ruiyuan and Rou were originally in dispute with each other and were also hostile to the imperial court, so if it was discovered that the Kang family had been selling illicit salt, ironware, cotton cloth, and spices to the Tuo Si Department and the Yan family, although it was a felony, it was more of a trouble.

If a decree was issued saying that doing business with Rouyuan and Ruiyuan was a collaborator, then the imperial court would be tantamount to publicly informing the whole world that these two regions were not part of the Dachang Dynasty. Therefore, the Kang family knows very well that even if their smuggling is known to the imperial court, it will only bring endless trouble to the imperial court, because from the official point of view, they will pay more taxes and privately make a separate offering to the royal family, which can make the royal family turn a blind eye.

This is also the reason why the imperial court would send a drunkard like Gu Huaiyi to Liangcheng, if he had sent someone else, he would have discovered the Kang family's smuggling and reported it to the imperial court. Gu Huaiyi is different, he doesn't care about anything except drinking, and the relevant documents that are regularly submitted to the imperial court are all ghostwritten by Xue Yun.

Of course, Kang Yongzhi also takes good care of Gu Huaiyi, and this Gu madman does not have any other requirements except for the need for good wine and food every day, let alone interfere in all military and political affairs of Liangcheng.

After Kang Yongzhi informed Xue Yun of Ji Chengying's previous request, he said in annoyance: "You say, what does this Xiwang mean?" ”

Xue Yun smiled when he heard this: "My lord is worried, I don't think this is a temptation, King Xi came to Liangcheng this time, in addition to looking for horses and princesses, I think it is also for fun." ”

"Play?" Kang Yongzhi looked at the Xiwang convoy that had entered the city gate, "As far as I know, Xiwang usually doesn't go out of the gate, why do you want to come to Liangcheng at this time?" ”

The reason why Kang Yongzhi wants to say this time is precisely because the Kang family and the Tors Department have just agreed on a big deal.