Under the blue sky, the smoke and rain were shaking, and the Hidden Sword Valley during this period of time began to get colder. The oncoming wind mixed with the coolness of the autumn rain blew the hair of the pedestrians. The clouds gathered in the sky, obscuring the light of the sky, and the whole valley seemed to be covered with a light veil, looking gray.

In the deepest part of the valley, the sound of the beating stone was still ringing, and it was inaudible from a distance, but as it got closer, it became louder and louder, until at last it seemed a little deafening.

Looking closely, sure enough, a mountain man was still standing there, holding an iron hammer in his hand, smashing a piece of stubborn iron in front of him.

This mountain man is the palace weapon.

He was still dressed as a wild man, without a shirt, wearing only a pair of brown torn trousers underneath, and stepping on the ground barefoot. The hair was long and messy, and the beard curled around his chest.

A drizzle of rain fell on him and slid down his rocky back. As if he didn't realize it, he continued to hold the hammer, which had been wet by the rain, and swung it again and again.

With each swing, the hammer will bring up a splash of water that will fall on the gold and stone, splashing countless droplets.

It wasn't until the rain that fell on him suddenly became lighter that Gong Buqi stopped and looked up at the top of his head.

Between the cliffs, a banana leaf was propped up, hiding some of the rain from his head.

Looking at the banana leaves, Gong Buqi smiled, and with a muffled sound, he put down the hammer in his hand.

"Mao thief, what did you bring to Lao Tzu this time? ”

In the rain, his voice was heavy and resounded through the valley.

It wasn't until his voice faded away that an echo could be heard from the cliff.

"I didn't bring you anything to eat this time, I wanted to ask you a favor this time. ”

"Oh?" said Gong Buqi under the valley raised his eyebrows, leaned over, sat cross-legged on the ground, and waved his hand at the cliff.

"Come down and speak. ”

The words fell, and after a breath, two figures appeared beside Gong Buqi.

It was a man in white, and a woman in a gray cloth robe, they were Li Si and Shuhu Nu.

When he saw Li Si, Gong Buqi didn't pay much attention to it.

On the contrary, when he saw the Shuhu Girl, his gaze stayed for a while, and then he nodded and said with a smile to Li Si.

"There's a home, that's good. ”

"This is my cousin. Li Si should have been used to the misunderstanding of others, and explained without raising his head, holding on to the banana leaves to find a seat, and sat down with the Shuhu girl.

Although the Tiger Girl looked slightly moved, she didn't speak, she generally didn't say anything to Li Si's friends, firstly because she was not good at speaking, and secondly because she didn't know how to speak.

Li Si's friends are usually weirdos, and each one is weirder than the other.

Holding the hammer beside him, Gong Buqi looked at the two of them a few times with a subtle expression, shook his head and said.

"You young people don't understand Lao Tzu now, you better tell Lao Tzu first, what are you doing here to find Lao Tzu. ”

"Hey, hey. Li Si sat down, and the thief smiled and rubbed his hands.

"You haven't heard of it at all, have you?"

"It's not that you don't know Lao Tzu. Listening to Li Si's words, Gong Buqi rolled his eyes.

"Staying in this deep mountain, even if it is a big thing, Lao Tzu can't hear it, and those rumors on the rivers and lakes are not as loud as Lao Tzu's hammer. ”

This is indeed true, Li Si pursed his mouth, unless the Jin people hit the Hidden Sword Valley, Gong Buqi would not know what it was.

"You always know about this thing that day, right?" Li Si asked instead, he was a little worried that Gong Buqi hadn't even heard of it.

"I still know a little about this. Gong Buqi's tone paused: "That kid Wen Jian also mentioned this matter to me back then. ”

Zeng Wenjian is now the valley master of the Hidden Sword Valley, Li Si knows a little about him, but the two are not familiar.

"That's good. Li Si nodded, this is easy to explain, he is also worried that Gong Buqi has been completely isolated from the world.

"The imperial court issued a summoning order for the whole world. After thinking for a moment, Li Si said straight to the point, and at the same time pointed to himself with his finger: "I'm responsible for helping to contact some people." ”

"Are you doing things for the imperial court now?" Gong Buqi glanced at Li Si interestingly, it was the first time he had seen a thief who worked for the officials.

"Not really. Li Si probably felt a little strange and denied Gong Buqi's statement: "It's just because I'm running faster, so I'll do you a favor by the way." ”

Fortunately, Gong Buqi didn't dwell too much on this matter and continued to ask.

"Then why did the imperial court issue a summoning order?"

Speaking of this, Li Si's expression was a little more serious.

"Because the people of the northern land went south, there were internal ghosts in the rivers and lakes, so that the border was in an emergency, and the imperial court made this decision. ”

"Inner ghost?" Gong Buqi's eyes were cold: "This kind of person that Lao Tzu looks down on the most." ”

As he spoke, he glanced at Li Si: "So you're here to ask me to help catch the inner ghost?"

But then, he shook his head again and said, "No, if that's the case, you shouldn't have come to me." ”

Indeed, he can't help with this kind of thing, and Li Si is also very clear about this, because he doesn't know much about the rivers and lakes when he stays in the mountains all the year round, and in terms of brain alone, he may not have Li Si's aura.

"Huh. Li Si looked at him and chuckled, and said, "Don't worry, someone will solve the matter of the inner ghost." I'm looking for you to help in the fight. ”

"Fighting?" Gong Buqi's eyes lit up: "It's good to fight, Lao Tzu is good at fighting, who is fighting?"

"Gold striker. Li Si replied with the corners of his mouth hooked.

"Gold striker. Gong Buqi muttered, and then laughed with Li Si: "It doesn't matter if you are a gold striker, a gold striker will not have grievances." ”

"It's really not a grudge. Li Si nodded affirmatively.

What Jianghu people are most afraid of is being contaminated with grievances, but between families and countries, there is no personal relationship.

"How much is that?" Gong asked again.

Li Si glanced at him and stretched out three fingers: "Call 300,000." ”

"Three hundred thousand?" Gong Buqi paused, half loudly, as if he shook his head with some regret and said, "Three hundred thousand is less." ”

"Less?" Li Si was stunned, thinking that this mountain man was in a daze in the mountains, and said with a smile: "300,000 is a lot." ”

Seeing Li Si smiling, Gong Buqi also grinned.

"You're too young to understand. As long as the Jianghu people go to Yicheng, 300,000 is less. ”

How many people are in this vast river and lake, Li Si doesn't know, because his age is indeed too young.

But Gong Buqi is very clear, because he has lived long enough.

Although those forces in the rivers and lakes are like a plate of loose sand on weekdays, once there is a factor that brings them together, then they are an almost uncontrollable force, even the current imperial court is unable to resist.

The reason is very simple, because there are always more people than officials, not to mention that these people are all armed with swords.

The imperial court and the rivers and lakes have always been a symbiotic relationship, without a peaceful court, the people of the rivers and lakes will not be happy, and if the people of the rivers and lakes are forced too tightly, the court will not be able to live in peace.

This is why the imperial court will allow the local forces to develop in a certain space, and also do everything possible to win them over. They need to be interdependent with these forces, and they also need these forces to check and balance each other.

Li Shizong has always understood the horror of the rivers and lakes, but what he cares about is never one person, but the mountain gates on the rivers and lakes.

In fact, the emperors of all dynasties are also aware of this, but unlike ordinary emperors, Li Shizong was not afraid, what he did not choose was not control and suppression, but chose management and balance, which is the reason for the long-term stability of his rule.

On the surface, he is a person who doesn't care about this river and lake at all, but in fact, he is the one who sees this river and lake the most thoroughly.

He could have allowed Yin Wu to live in the prison for twenty years without paying attention to him, and even forgot about his existence in the end.

You can also follow Li Si in the palace freely, and even come to him without any hindrance.

These are his bearings, things he doesn't care about, and can accept and tolerate.

But he will actively win over Jianghu organizations such as Fengyulou and Sishui Gang.

will also give favors to everyone in the rivers and lakes in a timely manner, so that they can help him at critical moments.

These are the practical things he did, and they were his means to balance the rivers and lakes and the imperial court.

Li Shizong has always been sure of doing things, although what happened this time was somewhat unexpected to him, but he also had a back hand.

Jin Guo, a small country that only gained momentum outside the customs two hundred years ago, dared to attack the key problems, which is really a bit too self-conscious.

The water in this river and lake cannot be seen clearly by throwing one or two stones.