The streets were bustling with people, merchants and tourists, and the usual days were not affected by the usual people. In the midst of the crowd, a young figure was walking against the road, with tired and slightly squinted eyes, and his body staggered and bumped into others from time to time.

Xiang Yuzhi has not rested since yesterday and today, and his tired body is supported by his will, and he hurries to the north gate in a hurry.

I don't know how long I walked, Xiang Yu finally couldn't walk, and at this moment he was already under the North City Gate, and the North City Gate at this moment was more majestic than before, thickening the width of the outer wall and the height of the city wall. After arriving at the destination, Xiang Yu climbed the ramp steps by himself, knowing in his heart that General Chu Yang Ping Chu must be in the city.

Walking to the third or second floor of the steps, Xiang Yu was scolded by the doorman, and after looking at each other, the uncle with a scumbag face recognized Xiang Yu who was here to help repair the city wall some time ago, and saw Xiang Yu with a tired face, and asked only to see General Chu, that is, to call someone to replace his post, and then helped Xiang Yu up the ramp steps.

Chu Pingyang was ordered to guard the north city gate, which has always been more special than the other three city gates, because this direction is the far frontier of Mangguo, which is the place where the fast horse runs in front. Beyond this city gate is an endless grassland, which belongs to the Yima Pingchuan area. The ancestor of the city gate Mangguo ordered the military generals to guard, one is to be ready to meet the soldiers in front at all times, and the other is that there are the most foreign merchants at this gate, and a tiger will be needed to show the national prestige. The third is that the city wall is only allowed to be raised and built, and it is not allowed to be demolished and disintegrated, so a strong executor is needed, and Chu Pingyang, who is in charge of the army all the year round, was elected.

Chu Pingyang in the city was sitting precariously, holding a parchment roll in his hand, looking at the words on the roll with a frown, and the soldiers behind him shouted: "Xiang Yu asks to see the general, and he has something important." ”

After seeing Chu Pingyang, Xiang Yu's heart was relieved, and he immediately knelt on the ground, Chu Pingyang turned his head to look, his brows were deeply puzzled, and he said in a deep voice: "I already know about the gambling contract made by Lecong and the Wang family last night. Before dawn today, there was a knock on the door of my house, and Dr. Xiran came to visit my house and said that after dawn, he would carefully check the people who came and went, which was related to the safety of the whole country. I have done this, so you don't have to worry that I will refuse.

"Xiang Yu, let me ask you, do you know the power of the Wang family?"

Xiang Yu looked at the ground and said thoughtfully: "The royal family has a big business, and I can hear that his house can shake the government and the opposition regime, however, this is a matter of my dearest, and Xiang Yu must strive for it." ”

Chu Pingyang put the parchment paper on the desk, got up and approached the wall, looked at the plain outside the city, and said: "The Wang family was originally a big family with charity and peace and security as the great righteousness, and in Wang Qingyang's grandfather's generation, the clan dispersed to the whole country, or small towns, or strategic places, because his family's original intention was good, and the court spared no effort to help his family, so that the Wang family could catch up with and surpass the giant black industry at that time. As a solid supporter of the imperial court, the palace has cooperated with major affairs in the court for decades, and has won the recognition of the people of the city with its good deeds. At the time of Wang Jianbai's assumption of the throne, the previous batch of Wang family members had passed away one after another, and their respective heirs were replaced. Wang Jianbai treats each other with sincerity within the clan and still embraces the court sincerely, although the bloodline surnamed Wang that spreads all over the country is not more loyal than his father's generation, but he is still at peace with the court.

"Even in Wang Qingyang's generation, because of his poor and luxurious people, he often used the name of 'authentic' to drink the branches of various places, and over time, the Wang surname family had its own independent meaning. Wang Qingyang himself couldn't notice it because of his desperate desire for wine, but important ministers in the court, such as Dong Huguo and Doctor Xiran, knew that the Wang family was actually a plate of loose sand.

"Now if the orthodoxy of the royal family in the capital is disturbed, the rest of the local branches have no intention of serving the country, and they plan to establish the land as the landlord. If this were the case, the treasury would be at least thirty percent lost. In the past two years, there have been continuous wars on the frontier, and if the 30% of the national tax is cut off, the consequences will be unimaginable. ”

"When Lord Xiran said 'the safety of the whole country', did you mean this?" Xiang Yu's face turned pale and said with a miserable smile: "Xiang Yu has roughly understood the stakes of this matter and said goodbye." ”

After that, Xiang Yu stumbled towards the city, Chu Pingyang sighed, and the soldiers were pushed away by Xiang Yu.

Walking on the street, Xiang Yu looked more pitiful than the beggar on the side of the road, his eyes were distracted and his body was tired, and his original firm consciousness was about to collapse. Before coming here, Xiang Yu was full of joy, but after hearing General Chu's general words, Xiang Yu woke up, it turned out that Dr. Xiran and the important ministers of the Manchu Dynasty seemed to be very close to him, but they were all about the country, and they didn't care about the essence of the gambling game.

"Really a good minister. Xiang Yu looked at the sky with a sloppy look in his eyes, and exhaled, with a wry smile on the corner of his mouth.

Xiang Yu didn't know how long he had been walking, and he didn't know where he had been, but finally he couldn't bear it anymore and fell to the ground...

······

In the afternoon, Mang Guo had always been in the early morning, and the courtiers had something to do, and the king approved it in court. Today, with some exceptions, in the afternoon a crowd gathered at the palace.

This afternoon was full of people, not as loose as usual. All of you are wearing dark official uniforms and wearing a molded crown with different colors indicating different ranks, which are used to distinguish the level of official positions.

The Manchu officials stood on the left and right, above the high hall was Chu Qianze in a cloth robe, and beside him was the princess Chu Ziyi in a white robe and dress, as if there were few people here, Chu Ziyi's face was as plain as water, but his eyes were looking at the characters in court.

The sound of footsteps outside the door came, and the audience looked outside the door, and the music swayed lightly from the well-dressed paper fan, and sighed lightly when he stepped into the palace, "How many days have I not entered this palace."

Although it was combed, the tiredness on Lecong's face was not all cleaned, although he was dressed up and changed into a gorgeous dress that he didn't wear on weekdays, but the dust and dust still hit his face.

When he entered the temple and stood up, he didn't bow down, but just shook his fan and kept silent, as if he had come here for sightseeing.

One of the remaining people got up and said, "Lord Lecong is so comfortable that he doesn't bow down in the face of the pilgrimage." Although it is a private profligacy, it is more or less necessary to restrain it at the moment. ”

Le looked from the probe and saw that it was Wang Qingyang of the palace, wearing an official uniform that did not match his body shape, as if he had lost a lot of weight, and his head was wearing a blue silk stripe, second only to the rank of Doctor Purple Xiran and his party. Although Wang Qingyang tried his best to hide the squeeze he was subjected to by the ill-fitting clothes, he really felt a little funny to outsiders.

"Lord Wang's words are reasonable, but Le Cong also thinks that although you live casually on weekdays, but today in front of the saints, you should also bow first and then turn your head to question me. ”

Wang Qingyang's face was pale, as if he was eating a closed door, although his face was not happy, he still had to smile and bow, and bowed to Chu Qianze in the high hall. Seeing this, Le Cong also respectfully saluted Chu Qianze.

"Lord Yang, today everyone made an exception to judge the court in the afternoon, just to wait for you in your busy schedule. Since you have arrived, then I will not hide it, but simply express my meaning to you. ”

Le Cong turned his head to look at the man who was now speaking, and arched his hand: "Lord Chang, the juniors are listening." ”

The man was tall and thin, with rolling eyes and slender ears, and the whole thing looked like a shrewd businessman. This person is Chang Yunjie, the current head of the Chang family among the four major families in Kyoto, with a blue ribbon on his head, and he has a very close relationship with Wang Qingyang.

Chang Yunjie's lips that were slapped open by his father because he did something wrong in the past have not yet recovered, but he still likes to grin, and his lips are scattered like flowers blooming in this smile.

"Lord Yang made a bet with Lord Wang yesterday, saying that he would find that folk woman as a condition for victory or defeat within five days, and if he lost, he would be willing to accept the charge of framing and slandering, right?"

"Everyone was here yesterday, so why bother asking?"

Chang Yunjie said twice, "Last night, Doctor Xiran said, this matter is a private agreement between you and the Wang family and the Xiang family, and others are fair, right?"

Le closed the paper fan and said with a serious expression: "Yes." ”

"But unexpectedly, today the city gates ordered the investigation of identity information, which made the procedures for the people coming and going in the palace complicated, and added trivial matters, I don't know what this arrangement has to do with the 'private bet'?"

Another person stood up on one side, this person was handsome, there was often a smile on the corner of his mouth, but there was a sense of evil in his eyes, originally this person had been looking at the princess on the high platform in the corner, and only then did he move his gaze to Le Cong. The head is bundled with blue silk, which is the same grade as the king and Chang Liangfu.

"In recent days, the government has invited a lot of foreign businessmen to come and go, and it used to be able to queue up to enter the capital in half an hour, but now it has to drag on for an hour and a half, and there are many grievances in my heart. Lord Yang's move really makes some things difficult for my house."

Le thought about it from his heart, and roughly understood the current situation and himself, and the-for-tat confrontation was not enough to describe, it should be said that he was embattled.

After a slight salute, he said with a sad face: "Lord Wu and Lord Chang have talked a lot about business, but now because they are acting recklessly in the next moment, they have caused a lot of trouble, and they are abrupt. ”

"Although it is true that the behavior of Leshun is not careful, but the intention is good. At present, the war on the frontier is unstable, and the four cities are also taking precautions for the safety of the people in the capital. And although the capital of Fang Jinguo is as stable as spring, it is living in winter for other places. With all due respect, most of the people who come to the government to negotiate today are to settle the accounts for one year, or to come to the government to discuss the cooperation next year in detail, or to enjoy this auspicious festival with the night. Rao felt that the old man's words were wrong, and the old man didn't change his words, could it be that your two mansions are so busy that business can't stop, and my Ji Mansion only cares about settling accounts and communicating with each other!"

gave a look, Ji Chengyun, the head of the Ji Mansion, seemed to be saying to Le Cong that I will bear the burden for you, don't panic. Joy smiled back. Chang Yunjie of Chang Mansion and Wu Zeming of Wu Mansion laughed dryly for a while, and a trace of hatred flashed in their eyes, but it quickly disappeared.

"All the adults are thinking about the country and the people, Wang has been watching for a long time, and seeing that the adults are sincere, they can't help but give their opinions. Wang Qingyang exchanged glances with Chang and Wu, and then said: "Lord Xiran kindly dispatched ironclad soldiers to help the Wang family clear their suspicions as soon as possible, and the palace was moved.

Xi Ran Deyi, who was at the forefront, closed his eyes slightly, thought deeply, and was named at this time, so he had to cheer up and said: "There seems to be a group of thieves in the city, and the old man ordered him to go to inspect for a while in order to maintain the stability of the city, why not?"

"No, never." Wang Qingyang hurriedly shook his head, "It's just that the patrol in the palace seems to be lax, and before coming to the court, I saw that the air-raid gap was much larger than before, so I told you loyally."

On the high platform, Chu Ziyi raised his thin eyebrows slightly, and he didn't like to open his mouth, and Xi Ran Deyi said early: "Lord Wang is thoughtful, presumably those little thieves are frightened by the ironclad army at this moment, and they have long been invisible. The old man ordered the ironclad army to return to the palace. ”

opened his mouth suddenly, Chu Ziyi felt angry, pouted and glanced at his anger, and inadvertently saw that the eyes of Wu, Wang, and Chang Sanfu in the audience were all on him, and a trace of uneasiness flashed in his heart when he was stared at by these three pairs of cunning eyes like a fox, and just about to face the reprimand, these three pairs of eyes suddenly moved away.

The scene was quiet for a while, and everyone had their own thoughts in their hearts, hidden under the seemingly calm turmoil.

Dong Qing's eyes swept over everyone present, and said loudly: "The long-term peace and stability of the world depends on the cooperation of the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty. That's all for today's government. ”

After everyone left, the eyes looked at Dr. Xiran suspiciously, and then turned around and wanted to retreat, but Chu Qianze opened his mouth and stayed.

dismissed the guards and servants, and only Chu Qianze, Chu Ziyi, Dong Qing, Xiran Deyi and Yang Lecong were left on the field, and Xiran persuaded: "Lecong, you go to the palace another day to apologize to Wang Qingyang, saying that this matter is my own confusion for a while, and it is only Xiang Yu's crime." You are also confused about this matter, you shouldn't have made a promise for Xiang Yu alone. ”

Le Cong's footsteps stopped, his face was gloomy with his back to everyone, and his originally tired body felt even more tired, and he said, "According to the doctor's wishes, this is the end of this matter?"

Xiran Deyi said bitterly: "The war on the border is unstable, and the three governments have made it clear that they are wary of you, and the domestic needs of the DPRK can be taken into account as the overall situation, and the public cannot be abolished for private purposes." ”

"Huh.." Le Cong smiled bitterly, "For the sake of the country, adults naturally dare not obstruct it." However, if the heavens of justice are not neutral, I am afraid that they will survive in vain."

"Le Cong, you're talking too much." As if he hadn't heard Xiran's reply, Le Cong left the palace with just a care. The heads of the three mansions of Chang, Wu, and Wang, who had not left outside the palace, saw that Le had left the palace door in frustration, and looked at each other and smiled for a while.