Li Longji frowned and said: "Well, I knew about this matter, which is why I listened to Li Xiangguo's advice many years ago and initiated the formation of the Haoqi Alliance in the name of the imperial court. Thinking that the Valley of the Wicked is just some reckless rogues and the like, what kind of climate has it become, why is Aiqing so fussed. ”

Ji Wen said: "Your Majesty, if twenty years ago, you thought that the Valley of the Wicked was only a few thousand thieves, you really don't have to worry. But since a giant evil named Wang Yifeng joined, after decades of development, it now has 200,000 people. Wang Yifeng, this thief, has extremely high martial arts, is proficient in the art of strategy and war, and has a suspicious heart, which is not comparable to ordinary thieves. If the imperial court does not pay attention to it and allows it to develop, it will become a big trouble. "Listening to the ministers, there are also many openings echoing at this time. Ye Suiyun looked at everyone's faces, obviously arranged in advance. It seems that these guys who are ganging up are all from Jiwen's side, and it is not surprising that Li Linfu has many henchmen.

Li Longji's face changed slightly, and Ji Wen continued: "The Valley of the Wicked is located on the border, and the murderers gather to dominate one side, and the local government has nothing to do at all. Sometimes they go out in groups, sometimes they wander alone. Murder and arson, all kinds of evil, the surrounding people are overwhelmed and miserable. The ministers were worried day and night, thinking of the suffering of the people there, so they could not say that the world was peaceful. ”

Li Longji nodded, and said warmly: "Aiqing cares about the people, and I am very relieved. According to Qing's words, what should be done in this matter? ”

Ji Wen said: "The minister is brave, please Your Majesty select a virtuous person to dispatch the imperial army to exterminate it in order to prevent future troubles." After he finished speaking, many people agreed and asked the emperor to send troops.

When Ye Suiyun heard this, he finally understood that this annoying guy was nagging a lot, and finally got to the point. I'm afraid that the virtuous person in his mouth is Li Linfu. wants military power like this, I don't know if the emperor will be fooled.

Sure enough, Li Longji hesitated, obviously thinking that it was inappropriate. At this time, one person said: "Your Majesty, the grass people have something to say." Everyone looked at it, and saw a person step out of the seat of the Haoqi Alliance and came to the hall, it was the deputy alliance of the Haoqi Alliance. Ye Suiyun was excited in his heart, and secretly thought that with Mr. Zhang's high knowledge, he naturally saw through Ji Wen's little trick. Li Longji also recognized the person in front of him, and said warmly: "What insight does Zhang Qing have? ”

Zhang Huanyuan said: "The grass people think that Lord Ji is inappropriate to discuss this. Thinking that the Valley of the Wicked is far away in the north, thousands of miles away, although there are a lot of people, but most of them are rabble, how can they threaten the imperial court. Why not send a large army to encircle and suppress. Moreover, once the imperial court sends troops to attack, not to mention whether it can succeed in the end, the loss of money and food on soldiers and horses alone will inevitably be huge. Once the war starts, the battle front is lengthy, and the supply of food and grass is not easy. When the time comes, the soldiers will be in trouble, and then it will really suffer the people along the way. Ye Suiyun saw Li Longji nodding frequently, thinking that the emperor was not a fool.

Ji Wen sneered and said, "Mr. Zhang's words are a bit alarmist. A nest of thieves and the like, as long as the heavenly soldiers arrive, they will immediately turn into powder, so why not cause trouble for the soldiers. ”

Zhang Huanyuan said: "It is precisely because they are a rabble that there is no way to find it." Once they can't be defeated, they will disperse immediately, but where will the army of my Celestial Empire go to find them, do you want to squat in the old nest of the Valley of the Wicked and wait for the rabbit? How long do you want to keep it, one day, two days, a month, or a year? The army is outside, which is inconvenient, and the transportation is difficult, once the grain and grass are unsustainable, the consequences are unpredictable. Once the troops are withdrawn, the thieves who are used to wandering around will immediately regroup, and will they send troops again? ”

Ji Wen's face turned blue and said, "According to what Mr. Zhang said, these thieves who endanger the society don't care?" Let them grow? ”

Li Longji also said: "Yes, although Zhang Qing is reasonable, I am indeed worried, if this evil man's valley is tolerated again, will he raise tigers." As soon as Ji Wen heard that the emperor agreed with him, he immediately said: "Your Majesty Shengming, according to the ministers, the 200,000 troops of the Northern Ya, with the troops of the feudal town, will definitely succeed in one fell swoop." ”

Zhang Shuyuan said: "The murder weapon of the soldier is also a weapon, how can it be moved lightly. He turned to the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, the grass people do not mean to let the wicked man run rampant. But at the moment, it has not reached the point where it is easy to use the army. Haoqi Alliance has confronted it for many years, and according to the observation of the grass people, although there are indeed one or two lawbreakers who have committed murder and evil, it is far from the point of endangering the society as mentioned by Master Ji. On the contrary, since the king's relict wind came to the throne, the Valley of the Wicked has a binding force. used to be a plate of loose sand, lawless bandits and thieves, but they have rules and no longer go out of the valley to commit murder for no reason. According to the information obtained by the Haoqi Alliance, the Valley of the Wicked does have the behavior of soliciting money and goods from the people around it, and it is done in an organized manner, which is called the 'security tax', but that's all. There were no random killings. The most surprising thing is that the common people within that radius do not seem to have any special hatred. ”

Yang Yuhuan, who had been listening to it all the time, was quite surprised, and couldn't help but say: "Oh, this is strange, the common people are extorted for money, but they don't hate the person who asks for it, what is the reason?" "Today's banquet is to celebrate the emperor's birthday in advance, and it is not an informal court meeting, so although Yang Yuhuan is a concubine in the inner palace, there is nothing wrong with opening his mouth to ask.

Zhang Huanyuan gave a salute and replied: "Just because after paying the money, the local people will indeed no longer be harassed and harmed, and they can work and live with peace of mind." There is a special person in the Valley of the Wicked who is responsible for the security of the other place and restrains the people in the valley. As for the wandering thieves outside the Valley of the Wicked, how dare they commit crimes here? ”

Yang Yuhuan sighed: "I see. ”

Zhang Huanyuan said to the emperor again: "Your Majesty, over the years, the Haoqi Alliance and the Valley of the Wicked have fought several times, and both sides have won and lost each other, and there have been casualties, but they are limited to the two camps, and they are regarded as the dispute between the forces of the rivers and lakes, and they have not affected others. The two sides fought with wits and courage, fighting each other inside and outside, and neither could eat the other. But it is precisely because of this that a balance has now been formed. Due to the checks and balances of the Haoqi Alliance, the development of the Valley of the Wicked has been greatly restricted, making them have scruples and dare not easily show up to do evil. If the imperial court sends a large army, then this balance will be immediately broken, and when the time comes, there will no longer be a struggle between the forces of the rivers and lakes, and the 200,000 criminals and bandits in the Valley of the Wicked will lose their restraint and will no longer act according to the rules of the rivers and lakes, and the consequences will be unimaginable. ”

Ji Wen said softly: "Mr. Zhang, as the deputy leader of the Haoqi Alliance, how can it sound to Ji, but it seems that he is trying his best to clear the suspicion of the Valley of the Wicked, and even has the intention of protecting it. This Haoqi Alliance has been established for more than ten years without any achievements, but I am afraid that there will be no inside information in it. Ye Suiyun couldn't wait to jump up and slap him, this guy was obviously alluding to Zhang Shuyuan's collusion with the Valley of the Wicked.

Who knew that Zhang Huanyuan was not angry, he didn't glance at him out of the corner of his eyes, and said lightly: "Zhang is just talking about things, how do others think, how can they care." ”

I saw Ji Wen's eyebrows raised, obviously irritated by Zhang Yuyuan's contemptuous attitude, and he was about to have a seizure, but he heard another humane: "Your Majesty, please listen to the grass people." It turned out to be Xie Yuan, the leader of the Haoqi Alliance, and seeing the tense atmosphere in the hall, he opened his mouth to interrupt.

Li Longji said: "Xie Qing has any opinions, let's say it." ”

After Xie Yuan knelt on the ground and saluted, he stood up and said, "What Master Ji and Mr. Zhang said is not unreasonable. According to the grass people's opinion, at the moment, as Mr. Zhang said, under the constraints of the Haoqi Alliance, it is difficult for the Wicked Valley to do anything, and please don't worry about it. In the future, we will make more careful arrangements, from the long-term plan, to contact all parties, from the outside to the inside, from small to large, little by little, to wipe out the Valley of the Wicked, in order to minimize the harm, without costing a single soldier of the imperial court. After speaking, seeing that the emperor's face was happy and there was a sense of appreciation, Xie Yuan's spirits perked up, and he continued: "But if before this, there is something that Lord Ji is worried about, and the Wicked Valley really harms the people and brings disaster to the Tang Dynasty, at that time, please ask Your Majesty to send a large army, and there is the full cooperation of the Haoqi Alliance, and it is not too late to exterminate it." ”

Li Longji smiled, stroked his beard, shook his crown, and said, "Xie Qing's words are the most agreeable. I also thought that if there is a small number of rogues, a rabble, where the court needs to use swords, just do it. As soon as he finished speaking, he heard Chao Heng, who was sitting in the distance, stand up first and said: "Your Majesty is wise, far-sighted, and sincerely admired." He was the first to speak, and the ministers naturally did not dare to lag behind, and they all praised the emperor.

Ye Suiyun looked at Ji Wen's face from a distance, and secretly thought that Chao Heng took the lead and led the ministers to praise the emperor, which was equivalent to deciding the matter, and did not give Ji Wen a chance to refute. Thinking about it again, Master Xie seems to have taken care of both, and it seems that he has taken care of both, but he has a feeling of harmony, which is as convincing as Mr. Zhang's insight. Looking at Ji Wen again, it seemed that he had to say more, but he saw Li Linfu, who was sitting in the chief, shaking his head gently. Ji Wen immediately shut up and swallowed all the words back, Ye Suiyun said in his heart that it was indeed the surname Li who was behind his back.

Seeing that the atmosphere had eased up, Yang Yuhuan smiled and said, "It's good that the matter is resolved satisfactorily." Today, in order to celebrate His Majesty's birthday, the concubine spent several days arranging several new repertoire, and specially invited Gao Changguo's musician team to accompany it, so that His Majesty could appreciate it. ”

Li Longji's face was happy, and he nodded: "Ai Concubine is hard. It's just that there are many disciples in the pear garden in the palace, so why bother looking for people outside the palace? ”

Yang Yuhuan said: "Your Majesty doesn't know that these new songs of the concubine are from the Western Regions Hu Xuan dance steps, and their soundtracks cannot express the essence of non-foreign musicians. Although the disciples of Liyuan are skillful, they are afraid that it will be difficult to taste the taste of the rhythm. Li Longji suddenly said: "I see." ”

The music sounded, and a group of graceful dancers slowly walked into the Zichen Hall and danced with the music point. For a while, the crony was flying, and the sky was full of pink. At this moment, Ye Suiyun, who was hiding in the team of musicians, had no intention of appreciating it, he was holding the flute and pretending to play, but his eyes were locked on Chao Heng in the distance. The strange thing is that Chao Heng doesn't seem to have the intention of singing and dancing in front of him, staring at the wine glass in front of him, thoughtful.

After three rounds of drinking, singing and dancing, as soon as the musician has completed the task, he is naturally invited out of the palace. Ye Suiyun was helpless and had to leave. Out of the palace, Ye Suiyun couldn't help but be a little frustrated, secretly thinking that he had to make so much effort to sneak into the imperial city, but in the end he couldn't say a word to Chao Heng. After thinking about it, I finally met him, and finally I didn't work in vain. It's just that I never expected that Chao Heng turned out to be Abe Zhongmaro.

Back at the residence, Tang Xiyao saw that Ye Suiyun was in low spirits, so he only said that he couldn't see Chao Heng, and comforted: "Even if it fails this time, I will find another opportunity in the future, or I will find Yun Rao to find a way." Ye Suiyun was stunned for a moment, and then smiled: "People have seen it." I just didn't say anything. Do you know who he is? Tang Xiyao shook his head: "How do I know." Ye Suiyun said: "It's the son of the city lord of Lunshan City the day before yesterday, the old man named Abe Zhongmaro." Tang Xiyao was also quite surprised: "How could it be." Ye Suiyun said: "Yes, when I was in the main hall, I was always thinking about how to get close to him, and how to explain my intention, so that he could agree to help." Tang Xiyao thought for a while and said, "Just tell him that if he doesn't help, tell the emperor about his going to Rilun Mountain City for a banquet, and he will definitely be afraid." Ye Suiyun shook his head and said: "I don't think he is a person who is afraid of threats, and besides, I sincerely beg him, but I don't want to use such a method." Tang Xiyao's face turned red, stuck out his tongue and said, "I'm a villain." ”

At this time, a servant hurriedly came and said, "Miss, the ninth girl is arguing with someone outside the door, go and take a look." The two hurriedly walked out, and before they saw anyone, they heard the impatient voice of the ninth sister: "What Ye Suiyun, there is no such person here, no matter how entangled you are, don't blame the girl for being polite." But he only heard the other party smile, not angry, and said: "I have heard that the ninth sister of the Tang Sect has a pungent temperament, and today I have seen it." ”

As soon as this person spoke, Ye Suiyun heard who it was. When he stepped out of the door, he saw that it was Li Fu. When the two people outside the door saw him come out, the ninth sister even made a look at him and asked him to go back, Ye Suiyun smiled and said, "It's okay." Turning to Li Fudao: "You are really ghostly, how did you find here, and what is the matter?" ”

Li Fu said with a smile: "I don't know what name you changed, so I had to report your name directly, and this ninth sister reacted too much." “

At this time, the ninth sister also saw that the two knew each other, and when she heard this, she glared and said, "How come you even know my name?" Ye Suiyun said with a smile: "This person likes to inquire the most, and there are really not many things he doesn't know in the world." Tang Xiyao naturally recognized Li Fu as well, she nodded slightly as a greeting, and pulled the ninth sister back to the house.

Li Fu said: "Come with me and take you to meet someone." Ye Suiyun asked, "Who?" Li Fu didn't reply: "I'll know when I arrive." ”

Ye Suiyun had to follow, muttering in his heart, could it be that he was going to see Chao Heng, if this was the case, Li Fu would not be annoying at all.

When they came to a courtyard, there was no one guarding the door, and the two pushed the door by themselves. When I entered a side room inside, I saw a person reading, with a focused expression, it was the Haoqi Deputy Alliance. He also heard footsteps and looked up.

When Ye Suiyun saw it, he was pleasantly surprised, stepped forward to bow down, and said, "Mr. Zhang, I see you again." "Zhang Shuyuan can be regarded as a teacher and friend to him, although the two have been together for a short time, but he has taught Ye Suiyun's swordsmanship cultivation a lot, and he really has the righteousness of master and apprentice.