Great Qi Xiyuan, Chengzhou.

For the civil and military officials of the Chengzhou Governor's Mansion and the Assassin's Mansion, this summer was unexpectedly tormenting.

Hou Yu was deprived of his lord and exiled on charges of bullying the king, using swords and soldiers without permission, and colluding with courtiers, and this news hit everyone's heads like a thunderbolt from the sky.

Before they could calm down, a large number of elite spies from the Warp Weaving Division came to Chengzhou with the holy decree and the central text, and began to conduct interrogations and investigations in a small area.

For a while, people in the Chengzhou officialdom were panicked, even if some people were not dead, the appearance of the two Jingzhou armies in the northeast also made them sober up in an instant and honestly accept the review of the imperial court.

Compared with Chengdu, which is full of gloomy clouds, the west of Yunling is a world full of laughter and laughter.

This is the homeland where the ancestors of the seven tribes of Shazhou have relied on for generations.

When Luo Jiujiu brought back the news that Hou Yu was questioned by the Emperor of Qi, all the people of Shazhou cheered, and many people from the seven tribes who lost their relatives because of Hou Yu came to express their gratitude to Luo Jiujiu and her parents in person.

The Yalong Department was already the most powerful among the seven departments, and now as Luo Jiujiu ventured to the capital of Qi to avenge the people of Shazhou, the momentum of the Yalong Department became even more majestic, and Luo Jiujiu, the recognized beauty of the seven departments, did not know how many young men had charmed.

"Abba, why are you smiling so weirdly?"

In the largest black water village in Yalong, Luo Jiujiu sat on a rattan chair in the main hall of his home, looked at the smile on the dark face of a middle-aged man not far away, and asked with a little puzzlement.

The middle-aged man is her father, Luo Yaozong, the current head of the Yalong Tribe.

He was not tall, but he was very strong, and the bulging muscles in his arms showed that he was practicing foreign kung fu, and even if he was over forty years old, he did not see the slightest sign of aging.

Luo Yaozong still had a smile on his face, and his voice was quite rough: "Jiujiu, I received a letter sent by Luo Yan, in which he said that you took a big risk when you went to the capital of Qi this time, but fortunately, it went smoothly in the end. He also said, you met a young military general named Lu Shen over there, and lived in his house for a while? ”

Luo Jiujiu's face was slightly red, and before she could speak, a fourteen or fifteen-year-old boy suddenly rushed in outside the door, and said with a look of surprise: "Sister, do you really fall in love with that Qi person?" ”

This young man is her younger brother Luo Hengshan.

Luo Jiujiu glared at him and said, "The stinky boy knows nonsense, believe it or not, I beat you?" Hurry up and go out to practice, don't be lazy! ”

Luo Hengshan touched the door of his brain, blinked and said, "Sister is shy, it seems that there is really such a thing!" ”

Without waiting for Luo Jiujiu to pick up the long whip not far away, Luo Hengshan ran out with a smile.

"Stinky boy."

Luo Jiujiu was angry and funny, but he still didn't catch up after all.

Luo Yaozong took the opportunity to say: "Jiujiu, you are not too young, it stands to reason that you should find a satisfactory husband." You have been very assertive since you were a child, and your grandma and I have always been reluctant to interfere too much, but you still have to be cautious in this matter. That Lu Shen is the general of the Qi State, although his age is right with you, but his status is too high, and you can't stand the kind of life trapped in the Gaomen compound, this is not a good marriage. ”

"Abba, there's no such thing at all."

Luo Jiujiu couldn't help but hold her forehead, and then briefly explained the reason why she lived in Lu Shen's mansion, and finally said: "Lu Shen and I are just friends, Abba, don't think nonsense." ”

Luo Yaozong was noncommittal after hearing this, but he didn't continue to ask, but it could be seen from his expression that he obviously didn't believe that what his daughter said was the truth.

Especially when Luo Jiujiu talked about Lu Shen's appearance for her in the Qi Palace, I am afraid that she herself did not notice the strangeness in her tone.

Luo Jiujiu vaguely felt a little awkward, so he took the initiative to divert the topic and asked, "Abba, how is the family doing in the past six months?" ”

"After Hou Yu was transferred, the soldiers and bandits under him were honest for a while, and now Hou Yu is completely finished, and those people dare not mess around, you have done a great thing for our Shazhou people this time."

Luo Yaozong said with a smile, and then said, "As for the family, it is still the same, and the other tribes are similar. Oh, by the way, the old man of the Kanekawa Department came to me a few days ago, and he said that there are people in the north who want to buy the goods of the Kanegawa Ministry. He wanted to ask me what I thought, I estimated that this business must be not small, and maybe it would involve the interests of other tribes, and he was worried that it would not be human inside and outside in the end, so he set up an ambush with me in advance. ”

The Jinchuan tribe is in a medium position among the seven tribes in Shazhou, not as strong as the Yalong tribe and the Tieyang tribe, and stronger than the remaining tribes.

They hold the Flying Bird Pass, which is the only passage for the Shazhou people to go to the north in the upper reaches of the Hengjiang River, this pass is extremely steep, it can be described as the ultimate in the world's Xiongguan that is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and only a few dozen warriors can block the attack of thousands of enemies.

"People from the north?"

Luo Jiujiu's eyebrows frowned slightly, slightly puzzled.

Seeing this, Luo Yaozong asked, "What's wrong?" ”

"Not really."

Luo Jiujiu smiled slightly, and then said with great interest: "Abba, since there is nothing to do at home, I want to go to other tribes." I've been away for a long time, and I don't know how those friends are doing. ”

Luo Yaozong has nothing to do with this, Luo Jiujiu, as his daughter, has a good martial arts, plus his good reputation now, he naturally does not have any safety worries on the territory of Shazhou.

With her father's permission, Luo Jiujiu walked out of the main hall with a relaxed face, she stood under a locust tree in front of the house, looking at the green mountains and green waters in the distance, and a look of doubt floated in her eyes.

"Who will be the people of the north?"

……

Yongjia South City, Li's mansion.

This time, the court's disposition was extremely fast, and after the end of the imperial meeting, the three princes Li Zongjian did not enjoy the last night in the palace, and was escorted to Qiushan Lane by the guards in the evening, and within a few days, the poor princess Jian was also sent to the third prince.

followed by Li Yunyi, who was condemned as an accomplice by the Son of Heaven, and he could not escape the punishment of national law.

Li Daoyan personally took him out of the mansion, and then handed him over to the guards waiting outside the mansion, waiting for Li Yunyi will be exiled for 2,000 miles, and the Son of Heaven Chrysostom Yuyan said that he was not allowed to leave the exile place for a single step, and he could only be trapped in that remote and bitter cold place in this life.

The moment he was taken away, Li Yunyi finally couldn't restrain the fear in his heart, and wailed and begged for mercy.

Li Daoyan didn't react, turned around and walked into the mansion.

As the door of the Li family was completely closed, Li Yunyi was taken away by the guards with a desperate face.

In Jinlin Hall, Li Daoyan was holding a cup of tea in his hand, and Li Gongxu, who was twelve years old, stood solemnly beside him.

Li Shizhi walked in slowly from the outside, and the bright sunlight outside the house was blocked by his body for a moment.

"Greetings to my father."

As far as he got closer, Li Shizhi saluted respectfully.

Li Daoyan looked at the face of his eldest son, Qingxi, and seemed to have a thousand words for a while, but in the end it only turned into one sentence: "Think clearly?" ”

Li Shizhi lowered his head and responded: "Father, my son has already figured it out." Now that His Majesty is in power, the Beijing military system is too busy to take care of itself, and the Jiangnan clan has its own ghosts, and it is not His Majesty's opponent at all. Under the general trend, if anyone continues to stand on the opposite side of His Majesty, there is only one end, and that is to lose all the capital. Father took this opportunity to take the initiative to hand over the handle to His Majesty, which can be described as a strong man's broken wrist, which is enough for the Jinlin Li family to gain His Majesty's trust and withdraw from the clan. Although the Li family can no longer be alone like before, there will be more room for it in the future. ”

Li Daoyan looked at him steadily, and said for a long time: "It's naturally best if you think like this." ”

Knowing his son Mo Ruo's father, he knows that this eldest son's city is very deep, and this remark is not true.

But the old man had no other way.

He has cultivated Li Shizhi as the heir for more than 20 years, even if he does not lack the courage and ability to take over the Li family's foundation with another person, he can't do this.

Because Li Shizhi already has his own foundation, because the Li family up and down and even the outside gate valve family recognize Li Shizhi's status, because removing an heir is not a simple move of one or two sentences.

Moving Li Shizhi now will inevitably lead to a series of bad consequences, and it is not a problem that can be solved in a short time.

The most critical point is that Li Daoyan is already old, and he can feel the taste of death becoming clearer and clearer.

He didn't have the time and energy to cultivate a new heir, although he had high hopes for Li Gongxu, but how could a twelve-year-old boy's thin shoulders be able to carry the burden of Jinlin Li's burden?

Li Shizhi didn't seem to know his father's thoughts, and said ashamedly: "My son has been in a hurry in the past two years, but fortunately, my father turned the tide, so he didn't let Jinlin Li go on the wrong path." Now that Your Majesty has achieved the general trend, it is only futile to make senseless stubborn resistance, and I will wait for a step back to calm down. ”

Li Daoyan bowed slightly, and sighed lightly: "I have asked Li Yuliang to send people to go with Yunyi, one is to protect him secretly, and the other is to ensure that he is no longer messing around." You are his father, after all, you are a blood relative, even if you don't go out to see each other today, your father knows that you are not very comfortable. His Majesty spared Yun Yi's life, and as a father as the head of the Li family, he would naturally ensure that he lived well. ”

"Thank you father for forgiving that unfilial son."

Li Shizhi bowed.

Li Daoyan waved his hand and said, "Go back, after a while when Jingzhong settles down, you will go to the Criminal Department to be on duty." ”

"Yes, father."

Li Shizhi respectfully saluted and retired.

Back in the study room in the East Garden, Li Shizhi slowly walked to the table, on which there was a chessboard, and the chess pieces on both sides were intertwined, and its situation was quite tragic.

Li Shizhi sat calmly at the table, and the chess pieces on the chessboard that were strangled with each other fell into his eyes, as if they had become vivid names.

The Son of Heaven, the Empress, the Prince, the Prime Minister, the Privy Envoy, the Commander of the Beijing Army, the Governor of the Border Army, and even the chief officials from the center to the locality.

"Father's eyes are like torches, I know that no matter what I do, it will be impossible to completely hide from you, so I will use these clumsy plots to make you believe that this is just the last struggle of the family."

"Actually, I never thought of going against Your Majesty, because this matter is too risky."

"Your Majesty has many merits, and I admire his patience the most, and he has finally achieved his long-cherished wish after more than ten years of perseverance, so it is really terrifying to be so ambitious, so how can I risk my own death to provoke His Majesty's anger? I'm just imitating Your Majesty on how to set a goal, how to perfect it step by step, and how to move on with determination. ”

"So, I'm just helping Your Majesty find out those bad guys, and then let them appreciate His Majesty's methods as much as possible."

"Perhaps my father has forgotten that the first time Hou Yu lied about the military situation in Chengdu was exactly a year after I went to Chengdu to serve as the Yizhi Governor. Of course, I didn't contact Hou Yu directly, but I just used some means to provoke his ambitions. I persuaded my father to transfer Hou Yu to the capital, so that he would become the first target of His Majesty's surgery. ”

"Hou Yu is the first, but the third prince is definitely not the last."

"Only the fear of blood and death can bring a plate of loose sand together."

"Chess is in the middle game, and the time is long."

"One day, my father will understand that it was an extremely wise decision that you chose me to take over the Li family's inheritance."

Li Shizhi smiled faintly, raised his hand to cover the chessboard, and only listened to the sound of the chess pieces colliding, like the sound of gold and stone.

(End of chapter)