Xiao Jiu's eyes stared at Daniel Zhang's eyes, as if to verify whether the other party was lying.

After a long while, Xiao Jiu retracted his gaze and asked, "How can I believe you?" ”

As soon as these words came out, Daniel Zhang opposite Xiao Jiu was speechless.

Yes, the entire Qingzhou knew that Xiao Jiu was at odds with Lu Yaoliang in the state capital, but when he led the Qingzhou army before, Wen Jie and the other party wore a pair of pants.

The scene cooled down for a while, and the atmosphere began to reveal an eerie silence.

"I believe in Lord Wen."

I don't know how long it took, Xiao Jiu finally chose to believe Wen Jie.

The letter sent by Daniel Zhang before had already written the beginning and end of the matter, and asked Xiao Jiu for assistance.

The mention of Baoyu Qianzhuang in Chinese in the letter made Xiao Jiu even more convinced that Wen Jiu was really anti-Lu Yaoliang.

After sending Daniel Zhang away, Zhang Ben, Zhou Jin and others gathered around Xiao Jiu.

"The owner of the village, do you really want to believe in the Wenjie of Yangjun?"

It was Zhang Ben who spoke, although Xiao Jiu had become the county magistrate of Lingshui County, but the old man of Hare Mountain was still more accustomed to calling Xiao Jiu the owner of the village.

As for Zhang Ben's rhetorical question, it is also reasonable, after all, they had a quarrel with the state before.

Now Wen Jie suddenly said that Lu Yaoliang was going to murder him and asked for Xiao Jiu's assistance, and no one had to think about it again and again.

After listening to Zhang Ben's question, Xiao Jiu shook his head lightly and did not answer.

He didn't care if Wen Jie had a falling out with Lu Yaoliang, but wanted to give Wen Jie an attitude.

After all, Lingshui County belongs to the jurisdiction of Yang County, although Xiao Jiu has just obtained Yangcheng County in Yuzhou, but the base camp is still in Lingshui.

Moreover, the assistance mentioned in Wen Jie's letter was only a cannon made by Xiao Jiu in Lingshui County.

Now Xiao Jiu has sold the cannon to Kyoto and Jizhou, and it will also be used on the battlefield of Yuzhou in the future.

All this is no longer a secret, and it doesn't hurt to sell a few doors to Wen Jie.

After all, the cannonball's shells are still in their hands, and the formula of gunpowder is the key to the core.

Several people discussed until the evening, and finally when they left, Xiao Jiu kept Zhou Jin.

"How much do you know about the wealthy family in this Baoyu Money Village?"

Listening to Xiao Jiu's inquiry, Zhou Jin also began to give detailed answers to the other party.

Among the nineteen states of Great Xia, the richest are the three northern states, Qingzhou, Jizhou and Yuzhou.

The political system of Bactria was different from what Xiao Jiu knew in his previous life, similar to the Zhou Dynasty's product of a mixture of slave society and feudal society.

At the time of the founding of the Great Xia state, the imperial court was strong and firmly controlled the entire country.

However, with the passage of time, a large number of families monopolizing various resources have grown in the context of land annexation.

The relationship between these people and the imperial court was hostile to each other, even if they cooperated.

The imperial court treated these families as captive domestic animals and constantly squeezed their financial resources, and the families needed to rely on the force of the imperial court to continue to collect wealth.

With the decline of the dynasty's national power, the imperial court could not effectively control these families, and these people grew up like wild horses.

First of all, these families monopolized knowledge and formed bureaucratic groups at the local level, resulting in the phenomenon of flowing county guards and iron officials.

Secondly, these families still hold a large amount of land and grain in their hands, and it is undoubtedly infringing on their interests for the imperial court to deduct money from them.

Now that the world is in turmoil, many of the rebels are puppet forces raised by these wealthy families.

Take Yuzhou as an example, without the support of Baoyu Qianzhuang, it is impossible to develop such a large scale.

In addition, Xiao Jiu was also keenly aware of an unexpected information in Wen Jie's letter.

Qingzhou and the families of Yuzhou and Jizhou had differences in interests.

Not long ago, the entire Great Xia was hit by drought, but Qingzhou, which is located in a remote corner, was not affected by Qingzhou.

Therefore, the behind-the-scenes traders in Qingzhou turned their attention to Jizhou and Yuzhou, two states where civil changes were rampant.

At the beginning, these families in Qingzhou supported the rebel forces in the north and the states and counties in the south behind the scenes, providing each other with a large amount of money and food.

But as the families of these local states and counties came back and knew the ambitions of Qingzhou, they also began to co-opt and cultivate these rebels.

At the beginning, the rebel army, which had only a faint light, was supported by these big families, and they continued to grow their power and gradually fought against the imperial court.

This situation completely broke the balance after Yuzhou was broken by the rebel army, and the rebel army, which had greatly increased in strength, gradually broke away from the control of the family.

But later, with the failure of the attack on Jizhou, the rebel army that had originally deviated from the established track was beaten back to its original form, and it was in urgent need of the grain and grass provided by these families.

From the mouth of the young Confucian sent by Jin Zi from Yangcheng County a few days ago, Xiao Jiu learned that the rebel army in Yuzhou had reached some kind of agreement with the local wealthy families in Yuzhou.

Now the county shou Wenjie of Yang County secretly sent a letter again, allowing Xiao Jiu to gradually figure out the context of the matter.

Qingzhou Governor Lu Yaoliang was instigated by these wealthy families in Qingzhou to have a dream of cutting land and becoming king, and wanted to sit in a high position with the support of Baoyu Qianzhuang.

In return, Lu Yaoliang will give all the land under his rule to these powerful wealthy families.

However, Wen Jie always had a glimmer of hope for the current imperial court, and he knew very well in his heart that when the family nominally obtained the power of land autonomy, the whole of Bactria would completely fall apart.

This kind of political system controlled by the family will completely corrode the foundations of an empire, even more so than the Yuzhou rebellion.

The two have already had political differences on this, but Wen Jie can't get the assistance of the anti-thieves in Yuzhou, and Jizhou can't free up his hands under the turmoil.

Therefore, Wen Jie could only set his eyes on Xiao Jiu, the Lingshui County Commander who had never been favored before.

When the Qingzhou army came to crusade before, Wen Jie also went out with the army and saw the amazing power of artillery.

Now Xiao Jiu has taken Yangcheng County in Yuzhou again, and he is no longer the little person who can only be trapped in Lingshui County.

After thinking everything clearly, Xiao Jiu sent a letter back to Wen Jie, asking Daniel Zhang to bring it back to Wen Jie, promising to send four cannons and a certain amount of shells to Yang County later.

Daniel Zhang left tremblingly, but the young Confucian student who was sent to Lingshui County from Yangcheng County, Yuzhou, was a little anxious.

The young man's name is Zhao Shuang, born in a wealthy family in Yuzhou, and his father Zhao Qinghe is at the helm of a generation of powerful families.

Zhao Shuang originally thought that Xiao Jiu would happily choose to cooperate with the family in Yuzhou, but he was left aside for several days, which really made him a little confused.

But no matter how Zhao Shuang proposed to the soldiers guarding around his residence to see Xiao Jiu, he only coldly received a reply of "not allowed".

……

Kyoto, the Imperial City.

Emperor Qin Yu listened to the report of the eunuch beside him, and his brows trembled slightly.

The news that Xiao Jiu sent troops from Lingshui County to quickly capture Yangcheng County has spread everywhere.

Although Qin Yu had always been very optimistic about Xiao Jiu before, it was really beyond Qin Yu's expectations that the other party could open the situation so quickly.

Qin Yu knew that Xiao Jiu in Lingshui County could no longer be regarded as a dispensable chess piece.

Now that Xiao Jiu has proved his strength by taking Yangcheng County, the Yuzhou thieves who lack food and grass are now too busy to take care of themselves, and it is impossible to send troops in a short time, so they can only let Xiao Jiu become bigger.

After next year's harvest, as long as Xiao Jiu can control the current situation, he will be able to become a well-deserved hero.

"How do you win him over for your own use?"

Qin Yu asked himself this question repeatedly in his heart.

Previously, the direct holy decree to marry Li Luoyao and Lingshui County Ling Xiao Jiu was a means to win over the other party, but now it seems that it is far from enough.

Now Xiao Jiu already has a certain strength, and Qin Yu has also received a secret letter from Yang County before.

In time, Wen Jie and Xiao Jiu of Yangjun in Qingzhou will become a breakthrough for the imperial court to regain the lost territory, after all, the two are still nominally at the disposal of the imperial court.

In the end, Qin Yu chose to add Fengyang County Wenjie as the governor of Yuzhou, and Xiao Jiu as the county guard of Yangcheng.

After Wen Jie was crowned as the governor of Yuzhou, although Wen Jie would not receive any actual support, he was nominally qualified to compete with Lu Yaoliang.

As for correcting Xiao Jiu's name, it is easier to understand that he was crowned as the county guard of Yangcheng, and now Xiao Jiu has actually controlled Yangcheng County.

And if Qin Yu has anything in his hand that can impress the other party in addition to his official position, it has become a natural thing to seal the official.

The edict was soon sent to all the states and counties in the north, and those who knew a little bit of the inside story were also sighing when they heard the news.

"The Great Xia Dynasty is about to change again."

Many people think this in their hearts.

……

Qingzhou, the city lord's mansion.

"Who told you to assassinate Wen Jie? Who gave you the courage? ”

"Don't you know that Wen Jie is my classmate and friend?"

In the back hall of the city lord's mansion, the furious Lu Yaoliang picked up the bench and smashed it in the house, and all the Qingzhou officials gathered in the house were silent at the moment.

It didn't take long for the anger in Lu Yao's conscience to dissipate before a middle-aged official stepped forward.

"Lord Lu, the edict of the imperial court has been sent to all parts of Great Xia, and Wen Jie's heart is no longer in Qingzhou."

After the official finished speaking with a cold face, he took two steps back and stood in his original position without saying anything, and the atmosphere at the scene began to gradually cool down.

"Wen Jie will not betray me."

Lu Yaoliang had gradually calmed down and whispered, but with an uncertain tone in his tone.

Now the imperial court's intention to add Wen Jie as the governor of Yuzhou has been obvious, obviously to let Yangjun break away from Qingzhou and let them fight among themselves.

Wen Jie can get the sealed edict, and he must have passed with Kyoto before, these Lu Yao conscience is very clear.

But what he couldn't accept was not the infighting in Qingzhou, but the betrayal of his friend Wen Jie.

When he heard the report from his subordinates that these family officials had assassinated Wen Jie without telling him, Lu Yaoliang knew that the gap between him and the other party could not be bridged.

It's just that he can't understand Wen Jie, and he can't understand why he is unwilling to help him tear the earth and seal the king and dominate the party.

In Lu Yao's conscience, the tree of Great Xia was dead, and there was no point in continuing to water it.

"Is it really wrong?"

Faced with the betrayal of his friend, Lu Yaoliang fell into deep self-doubt.