Shazhou, Yalong Department, Heishui Village.

The tiger-headed young man Luo Hengshan slipped into Luo Jiujiu's room, looked at her figure sitting in front of the window in a daze, and shouted intimately: "Sister! ”

Luo Jiujiu asked without looking back, "What's the matter?" ”

Luo Hengshan said: "The heads of all the departments are here, and Abba calls you over." ”

Luo Jiujiu was slightly stunned, and he couldn't help but think of the conversation with his father after he came back that day.

"Abba, the Qi people are very sincere this time, they are willing to give Shazhou a lot of gold, silver and materials as compensation, and they will also make a guarantee in the name of the emperor of Qi that there will never be a situation like Hou Yu in the future. As long as we agree to sign that friendly oath, the Qi Congress will teach the people of Shazhou the art of farming free of charge, and the seeds and iron tools will be sold to us at a very low price. ”

Facing the eldest daughter's earnest demeanor, Luo Yaozong was silent for a long time, and said slowly: "Jiujiu, I know that you owe Lu Shen a favor in the capital of Qi State, this time he came on behalf of the Emperor of Qi State, and you want to take this opportunity to repay the favor." But you should also understand that the major affairs in Shazhou are not something that we Yalong Department said, and if we show too close to Qi Guo, it is very likely that we will become a public enemy in the eyes of the other six departments. ”

Luo Jiujiu could only say Lu Shen's analysis of Jingren, and then said: "Abba, now that the competition between Qi and Jingguo has become a foregone conclusion, can Shazhou really stay out of the matter?" ”

Luo Yaozong frowned slightly.

Luo Jiujiu continued: "Last time, Abba said that someone from the north suddenly wanted to do big business with Jinchuanbu, and my daughter suspected that these so-called businessmen were Jingguo's spies. If you have to choose between Qi Jing, her daughter would rather choose Qi State, after all, the current emperor of Qi State can punish Hou Yu, which means that he is different from the previous emperor. As for Jing Guo, the bloody case of Yanziling nineteen years ago was indeed because of the despicable and shameless betrayal of Emperor Qi, but the source was forcing Emperor Qi to do this, and it was Jing Ren who finally attacked! ”

Luo Yaozong looked at her slightly excited face, and said comfortingly: "Okay, you let your father think about it, this matter still has to be cautious, and you can't make a hasty decision." ”

Luo Jiujiu was very aware of his father's calm temperament, and he said that it was estimated that there would be no follow-up in a short time, but he didn't expect that there would be a change in a few days, and his father actually invited the heads of various departments over, obviously to discuss this important matter.

Thinking back to the present, he turned his head to look at the strange smile on Luo Hengshan's face, Luo Jiujiu raised his hand and pinched his cheek, and said, "Stinky boy, what are you laughing at?" ”

Luo Hengshan grinned and pretended to be old-fashioned: "Sister, I know what you are thinking. I heard that the Qi man surnamed Lu was here, so you immediately went to Yunling, and then you wanted Abba to convince the other leaders, right? ”

Luo Jiujiu narrowed his eyes and laughed too: "And then?" ”

Seeing that the situation was not good, Luo Hengshan hurriedly patted his chest and said, "Sister don't worry, I will definitely support you!" ”

"Really?"

Luo Jiujiu got up and came closer, grabbed the young man's ear like lightning, and said angrily: "Abba said that your martial arts have not grown for several months, and you still have the leisure to take care of my affairs, I think you are really itchy!" ”

"It hurts, it hurts, sister, let go!"

Luo Hengshan was picked up by Luo Jiujiu all the way and slipped out, and honestly went to the back mountain to practice martial arts.

Luo Jiujiu saw him leave, and then straightened his clothes and walked towards the big house.

At this moment, the room was full of people, Luo Yaozong sat on the main seat, and surrounded a circle of middle-aged men on the left and right, they were the current heads of various departments in Shazhou.

In addition to these seven men, there were more than a dozen young men, either the sons of the head or the right-hand men of the various ministries.

After Luo Jiujiu came in, several fiery eyes immediately stayed on her face, and she sat behind Luo Yaozong's side after greeting everyone else.

This episode did not affect the negotiations in the house.

"Brother Luo, everyone understands what you said, but Qi Guo wants to buy us Shazhou people again with a little silver, this is simply a dream."

This man's name was Yang Jin, a native of Shuixi, who was forty-two years old at the time, and was known for his upright and strong temperament.

Shuixi is in the westernmost part of Shazhou, not too far from the birthplace of Hengjiang, hence the name.

Among the seven departments, there are the least people in the western part of the water, but Yang Jin's statement at the moment is loud, and the other leaders do not have the slightest contempt, because they know that there is never a shortage of warriors in the western part of the water who are not afraid of death.

Luo Yaozong's expression was calm, and he said slowly: "According to your intentions, we should directly reject Qi Guo's overtures?" ”

Yang Jin said in a deep voice: "From more than 160 years ago to 19 years ago, we Shazhou people have been loyal to the Qi country, but whenever they are in need, as long as a will comes, Shazhou Erlang will bring his own dry food to kill the enemy!" In that battle nineteen years ago, Shazhou didn't even receive the will of Emperor Qi, and the fathers still sent 8,000 warriors after learning the news that Heluo was besieged, but what was the result? Brother Luo, if there is no clear statement on this matter, I, Yang Jin, will be the first to refuse to make friends with Qi State! ”

The atmosphere in the room became more and more solemn.

Peng Xuan, who was sitting opposite Yang Jin, nodded and agreed: "Lao Yang is right, for the past nineteen years, the Qi Imperial Court has not responded positively to this matter, how can I, Shazhou Eight Thousand Erlang, sacrifice in vain?" ”

These words won the support of a considerable part of the house.

Luo Jiujiu looked at this scene and understood his father's hesitation more and more.

At this moment, Hardy, the head of the Jinchuan tribe with a fat body, played a round and said: "Lao Yang, Lao Peng, don't worry about it first. Brother Luo's meaning is very clear, now that Qi Guo took the initiative to come to the door, he did not send a small character who had never heard of it before, but sent the famous Shanyang Marquis Lu Shen. From this point of view, the Emperor of Qi really wants to shake hands with our Shazhou this time, the so-called sky-high price to repay the money, we can put forward some conditions, see how the Qi people will react, this is not a betrayal of their own people, right? ”

The strength of the Jinchuan Department in Shazhou is not weak, second only to the Yalong Department and the Tieyang Department, and because the Jinchuan Department controls the upper reaches of the Hengjiang River and the only main road from Shazhou to Jiangbei, the Bird Pass, there has always been a trade of goods with the north, so the life of the clan is the most comfortable.

Hardy has the most sleek personality among the seven leaders, and as for whether his words eased the atmosphere or wanted to use this opportunity to knock Qi Guo hard, others naturally don't know.

Luo Yaozong took over the conversation: "Lao Ha's words are also what I want to say." Brothers, the blood feud back then naturally needs an explanation, but we also have to consider it for the clansmen. In the past ten years, because of the complete severance of contact with the Qi State, everyone's life has not been easy. Now that Qi Guo has taken the initiative to come to the door, I think I can at least give the other party a chance. ”

Yang Jin was silent.

If the situation is difficult, because of the influence of geography in Shuixi, the life of the clan is the most difficult, thanks to the secret support of the Yalong Department over the years, so when Luo Yaozong talked about this topic, he could only choose to be silent.

Next to Hardy, Na Yan, the head of the big stone department with a thin body and eyes as sharp as a falcon, sneered: "Actually, this matter is not difficult to do, if the Qi State is really sincere, then let the Emperor of the Qi State personally write a sacrifice for the Shazhou Eight Thousand Erlang!" I heard that the Qi people care about this thing the most, as long as Emperor Qi makes it clear what happened nineteen years ago in the sacrificial text, then we can also give an explanation to the ancestors. We don't embarrass Emperor Qi, we don't need him to make amends to the people of Shazhou in the sacrificial text, as long as there are no lies in 1510. ”

Before the leaders could speak, the young people around them applauded.

Unlike these elders, the younger generation in Shazhou has not experienced the tempering of war, and they do not have much fear of Qi State, on the contrary, some of them are eager to try.

Luo Jiujiu couldn't help but say: "That uncle, the emperor of Qi will definitely not write this sacrificial text, I heard that he will only worship to the heavens." Besides, the Emperor of Qi punished Hou Yu before because he heard me about the sins that Hou Yu had done, so he really wanted to repair relations with our Shazhou. ”

Na Yan loved her quite much, just like his own daughter, and said with a smile when he heard this: "Jiujiu, the emperor of Qi punished Hou Yu, in Lao Na's opinion, it has nothing to do with Shazhou. You also said earlier that Emperor Qi not only punished Hou Yu alone, but also dealt with many officials, which shows that Hou Yu colluded with those people to deceive Emperor Qi, which is the reason for his anger. If he doesn't clean up these people ruthlessly, which Qi State official will take him seriously in the future? ”

Luo Jiujiu was slightly stunned, she didn't expect that Nayan, who had never left Shazhou in her life, could see it so thoroughly, and she couldn't think of how to refute it for a while.

A tall and handsome young man took advantage of the situation and quipped: "Sister of the Luo family, we all know that when you were in the capital of Qi Kingdom, you received help from that Shanyang Marquis, so you will want to help them speak." However, Qi people are deep and scheming, you have to be sober and don't fall for the other party. ”

Luo Jiujiu's face sank, but before she could get angry, the middle-aged man in front of the young man scolded, "What nonsense are you talking about? Don't talk to no one when you're dumb. ”

The young man bowed his head in disdain.

The middle-aged man's name is Shen Min, and he is the head of the Tieyang Tribe, the second largest ethnic group in Shazhou, and the young man is his eldest son Shen Tianyi.

Shen Min smiled apologetically at Luo Jiujiu, and then said to the other leaders: "I agree with Brother Luo's opinion, since it is Qi Guo who takes the initiative to reach out now, then we can give the other party a chance." However, we Shazhou people value the word courage the most, if that Shanyang Hou Lu Shen has the courage to come to Shazhou and meet us face to face, this matter will be possible to be discussed. If he didn't have the guts, he would have gone back as soon as possible, and he wouldn't have to waste everyone's time. ”

Luo Jiujiu subconsciously wanted to object, but Luo Yaozong coughed lightly, and then said: "Brother Shen's proposal is reasonable, let's take this opportunity to see how sincere the Qi people are." ”

The rest agreed.

Luo Jiujiu looked at his father's side face, and couldn't help but feel faintly worried in his heart.

(End of chapter)