In the 'Jingguo Mansion', Wu Jingguo invited everyone, one person dressed in white, and walked in without notification.

"Ha, Lord Ben has a blessed mouth today. ”

"Yes, please be seated. ”

Fu Wuchang sat down, the next person took the dishes and chopsticks, and Fu Wuchang unceremoniously directly sandwiched a piece of meat over.

"But what's the news?" Master Li, as a master, of course knew that he would open his mouth when it was inconvenient for Wu Jingguo to speak.

"Well, yes, but Lord RB took a fancy to one yesterday...... One...... Oh yes, it's a phoenix, I just want to give it to a good friend, but it's a pity...... Alas. He shook his head as he spoke.

"Master Qian, I'll give Master Yu five hundred taels of silver in a while. Wu Jingguo commanded.

"Yes. Master Qian agreed.

Yu Wuchang didn't raise his eyelids, and said: "I don't know which immoral person showed the newspaper to the emperor, and the emperor asked me for a long time, delaying the meal." ”

"What did the emperor say to Lord Xu?"

"Probably said that I have to give an explanation to the people first to stabilize the hearts of the people, and I can't mix up with specific things, and it is estimated that the emperor will discuss with the governor. ”

Wu Jingguo smiled and said, "Let's eat first, and it's not too late to discuss other matters later." ”

"That's right, that's right. He picked up a crab and glanced at it, probably feeling that he couldn't do it, so he threw it aside, and then took a slice of roast duck and said while eating.

September 25th, Wuzi Day.

Above the court.

First, there was a 'Zhongzhou' official who said that Zhong Mo left his post without permission and entered 'Zhongzhou' in disguise, and then there was the imperial history of Zhong Zhen and the 'Yang Dao Alliance' and Gai Motian who had a very close relationship, and called Gai Motian a brother and brother, and for many years allowed Gai Motian to harm the people of our dynasty, and then several people jointly participated in Zhong Yu's collusion with gangs in the rivers and lakes to plot misdeeds, which is not conducive to the community......

The emperor immediately issued an edict ordering Zhong Yu to close his door to introspection, fine him for half a year, and the courtiers began to rest.

The emperor issued another decree, ordering the soldiers and civilians of the 'Tianmang Dynasty' to see the 'Immortal Evil Venerable' master and apprentice killed, and there was a reward of thousands of gold for beheading, and the title of "Loyal and Brave" was given, and the post of "Golden Guard" and "Capital Head" was sealed.

Then two civil officials of the third rank impeached Gao Kuo, and what they said was not far from what was in the newspapers, and the emperor only said that he would think about it in the long run, and ordered the two to step down.

After the dispersal of the dynasty, the emperor Xuanwu Jingguo was alone in the audience.

Wu Jingguo kowtowed, and the emperor hurriedly left his seat to help him up, and said with a smile: "Wudu is my good teacher, the pillar of the court, so there is no need to salute." ”

Wu Jingguo got up and said, "What is the emperor's order to summon the ministers?"

The emperor took the bloody newspaper and said, "Does the governor know who made this newspaper?"

Wu Jingguo said: "The people of the 'Inner Governor's Mansion' have checked last night, this newspaper has no publication signature, it should be an engraved copy that is now engraved with a hardwood engraving mold and then published. ”

The emperor listened to him speak differently than usual, knowing that it was his subordinates who reported last night, but he smiled secretly in his heart but said angrily: "Hmph, I don't know who made the rumor, that 'immortal evil venerable' is just that, the foreign gangsters have bad intentions, and if they make a will, they will be removed, if there is no such person, there will be no harm to us." But if I listen to the rumors and remove them from their posts, it will inevitably chill the hearts of the ministers of the DPRK and China. ”

Wu Jingguo said: "The emperor thinks carefully. ”

The emperor said: "But if you ignore it, if the people believe this rumor eight times out of ten today, the New Year is not far away, and the tax revenue is less than 30%, I am afraid that if the people are dissatisfied, it will be a big trouble to deliberately delay." 'Beichuan' has been using troops for a long time, and the salary is as old as a year, and the soldiers can't eat enough to mutiny, and I and the military governor are not stable. ”

Wu Jingguo said: "What the emperor said is that Diao Min is guilty of denial, tax arrears are heavier than a year, and officials are evaluated for their political performance and the people's reputation on the other, and it is indeed not easy to do a good job." He seemed to feel that there was something wrong with the answer, and added: "The emperor may be able to understand the difficulties of the officials, but the soldiers talk with their stomachs, so the taxes dare not be less, and they cannot be less." ”

The emperor said: "The military governor has followed the imperial brother for many years, and there must be a proper method, can you talk to me about it?"

Wu Jingguo said: "The minister is dull and has no good way for a while. ”

The emperor shook his head and sighed: "On the one hand, there are people who can't be provoked, on the other hand, there are military salaries that dare not be paid, and on the other hand, it is the embarrassment of officials, which really makes me embarrassed." ”

Wu Jingguo lowered his head and did not speak.

The emperor knew that he didn't speak because he wanted to make a complete statement on his own, and secretly scolded an old fox in his heart, but he didn't dare to show it in the slightest, he had just eased up his relationship with Wu Jingguo, but he didn't want to be suspicious again. Personnel appointments and dismissals are all in the hands of Wu Jingguo, all he can rely on is the identity of Wu Jingguo's eunuch, which inevitably has some obstacles, and there is the selfishness of everyone between them, which makes Wu Jingguo unwilling to act rashly, if he feels threatened, it is equivalent to yelling in front of the tiger, and it is impossible for the frightened tiger not to hurt people.

The emperor pretended to think for a long time and said: "In this way, the military governor will send someone to 'Zhongzhou' to have a look, as for Gao Kuo, he will stay in office for the time being, and he will deal with it after finding out. ”

Wu Jingguo said: "Marquis Zhong is both civil and military, and his jurisdiction is close to 'Zhongzhou', and the ministers think he is the most suitable candidate." ”

The emperor was overjoyed, and was about to agree, but suddenly thought of his true intention of electing Zhong Zhen, and immediately changed the smile on his face to mockery, and said disdainfully: "I originally thought that he was a clean and self-righteous person, but I didn't expect him to be a person who sells his reputation and reputation, I don't want to cause more trouble if I don't investigate him, how can I still entrust him with a heavy responsibility?"

Wu Jingguo hurriedly knelt down and said: "The emperor forgives the sin, it is the old minister's speech." ”

The emperor said: "Governor Wu, please get up, here is just you and me, it doesn't matter if you say something wrong, there are not so many taboos." ”

Wu Jingguo thanked him and got up, and the emperor said: "I don't have a suitable candidate for a while, so I'll leave this matter to Wudu to worry about it, as long as you know how to collect taxes, and your temperament is stable and don't make trouble, it's good that the affairs of the Jianghu Gang can be appeased, if not, let the yamen close their eyes and let them toss, and it is not a good thing for the Jianghu Gang to consume each other." ”

Wu Jingguo was stunned and said, "Yes." ”

The emperor waved his hand, and Wu Jingguo was about to retreat. The emperor suddenly stopped him again and said, "I heard that Wudu has a righteous grandson named Li ...... Li Qi's, isn't it?"

Wu Jingguo said: "Back to the emperor, it's Li Lin." ”

"Oh, yes, I forgot, I can't remember it. What about this man?" the Emperor asked.

Wu Jingguo said: "Uh...... , Li Lin's temperament is peaceful, but it's just ......"

The emperor said: "Since he is the righteous grandson of the military governor, ask him to replace Gao Kuo, and the 'military department' Shangshu Ren Sixian, this person, the military governor should pay more attention, if there is no banner of the 'military department', then Gao Kuo can't transfer troops if he wants to." ”

Wu Jingguo said: "The old minister has the order!" The emperor waved his hand, and Wu Jingguo withdrew.

"Old minister, hmph, don't you call yourself a minister?" the emperor sneered in his heart, sat down slowly, the tense muscles and bones of his whole body suddenly relaxed, and he felt tired. As the emperor, he was worried every day, and he lived as if he was plotting to rebel, which was really uncomfortable, and he dared to eat the food in the imperial dining room these days, not as difficult as the first few days when he first ascended the throne, but it was only stronger than before.

When will this day come to an end!

'Raising the Sword'

In recent days, in addition to grief and hatred and anger in the upper and lower parts of the 'Yang Dao Alliance', the battle of 'Bairui City' was a big defeat that the 'Yang Dao Alliance' had never had since the establishment of the gang, and the defeat was so tragic and so complete that the alliance leader and the deputy alliance leader were almost killed together.

The loss of the 'Yang Dao Alliance' this time was very great, the battle of 'Bairui City' plus the general rudder and the various branches alone lost nearly 80 people, of which the 'Bairui City' was the most miserable, losing a whole team of 'Xuanyi Guards', the general rudder lost more than 10 people, the first group of the strongest 'Xuanyi Guards' led by Xiang Tieyi also lost a few people, and the rest of the branches and Lu Chaohua also had 'Xuanyi Guards' killed, compared with the enemy's casualties are still expected.

The other brothers lost a total of 1,000 and 36 people, of which the battle of 'Bairui City' accounted for sixty percent, and the casualties of the chief rudder did not seem to be too large, but many of the people who died in the chief rudder were people from the 'Qi Tang', these people were not good at martial arts, and they may not be good at writing, but they were good at calculation, and they were scarce talents in the rivers and lakes, and the deaths of these people would be difficult to replenish for a while and a half.

The 'Yang Dao Alliance' invited all the masters to help the boxer, and the 'Bairui City' all suffered all the way, and there was not much loss in other places, of course, the biggest losses were still Chu Zhongqing and Li Wan, the two hall masters.

Shao Mingqian has been busy calming the emotions of the gang and burying the dead brothers, and at the same time arranging for the 'Qi Tang' to calculate the property losses and personally verify them, and in addition to discussing the bereavement and reward and punishment matters with the 'Qi Tang', Heng Wuxuan, Lei Jun, etc., and how to fight back.

There is a precedent for the bereavement in the 'Yang Dao Alliance', the difference is that the pension is raised according to the increase in food prices, as for the counterattack and other things, the other party has the 'Immortal Evil Venerable' master and apprentice in charge, and there is the red-clothed master on the side with the strength of the 'Yang Dao Alliance' must avoid its edge, and finally it was decided that the 'Yang Dao Alliance' will add 8,000 taels to allocate a total of 18,000 taels of silver to ask the 'Thor' to deal with the 'Immortal Evil Venerable', and the news will be sent out, and then there will be only a response from the 'Thor'.

The pension plus the silver of the 'Thor' and various losses, the 'Yang Dao League' spent more than 300,000 taels of silver due to the changes of this night, which is enough to cover the surplus of the 'Yang Dao League' for more than a year, which is already difficult to make up for in a short time by suppressing the benefits brought by the four gangs, and all this Liu Huanjin has to take up more than half of it.

The loss of manpower and the loss of real money, the interests of the three elders who contributed money but never showed up in the gang were extremely unhappy, and they came to the door early in the morning of September 24 to ask for the guilt, Shao Mingqian and Heng Wushu wore out their mouths to no avail, these people saw that the government was pressuring the 'Yang Dao Alliance' The situation was critical, and they withdrew the silver invested in the 'Yang Dao League' together.

Since the morning of September 24, a total of seventeen or eighteen such people have come from the night, including those who were originally elders of the 'Yang Dao Alliance', and there are also people who have just joined the gang to invest money, and there are more than 100 people who have come and gone, and they have only one purpose - to break up the gang with money.

Twenty-five early in the morning, Shao Mingqian just sent a handful of more than 20 people came to the door, these more than 20 people did not finish dealing with four more people, and then five, these five have not yet entered the door and another person came, Shao Mingqian, Heng Wushu, Lei Jun and the people of 'Lutang' were so busy that they didn't even have time to drink water, and 'Xuanyiwei' almost broke his leg.

In the past two days, some of these people have taken 10,000 taels of silver to join the gang, and some have only 100 taels.

The 'Xuanyi Guard' 1234 group of 'deacons' is not there, the mutiny of the mutiny, the death of the dead, the defense on the mountain is responsible for the deacon of the fifth group Fang Rong, the deacon of the sixth group Zhang Xi, and the deacon Liang Xie of the seventh group are supplemented, and the 'Xuanyi guard' obeys the arrangement, Liang Xie is good at assassination, and the guard arrangements are far less than Tan Xingde and Yifeng, Tan Xingde is injured so the seventh group' Xuan Yiwei's was handed over to Yifeng and Yu Qibai to arrange, and he helped deal with chores and take care of the injured, Yu Qibai resolutely resigned for some reason, Tang Xian used to be one of the masters of the Great Interior, but he was unwilling to command others, Yifeng saw that everyone was unwilling and did not shirk, and immediately assisted Fang Rong to arrange guards.

At the end of the day, the sky was overcast again, and as winter approached, the wind on the mountain was colder than usual. Shao Mingqian sent away the last batch, and finally breathed a sigh of relief, and several people hurriedly drank water and ate.

Sure enough, Shao Mingqian's bowl of rice did not enter his stomach, and three or four people outside made a noise, shouting to see Shao Mingqian, the exit was extremely inferior, Liang Xie happened to be present, so he invited someone to wait in the conference hall, explaining that the alliance leader was eating, and he would come in a moment, where are these three people willing to listen, they can't die if they open their mouths to eat less, and they close their mouths 'Yang Dao Alliance' to sell their reputation, Shao Mingqian's pigs and dogs are not as good.

Heng Wushu put down the dishes and chopsticks and drank a saliva of water and was about to get up and go out, when suddenly a cough and a mouthful of blood spurted out, Shao Mingqian was so frightened that he hurriedly called 'Xuanyiwei' to help him go back to rest, and immediately ordered someone to find Lang Zhong, and he himself hurried out to deal with the people who were messing around.

It was easy to appease the emotions of these three people, and after asking for a long time, they found out that these three people had ordered a batch of goods at Li Wan earlier, saying that they would deliver them before the end of September, but not only did the goods disappear, but the entire 'Zai Wutang' was also gone, Shao Mingqian explained for a long time, these three people still did not give up, and had no choice but to return the money and make compensation.

The three of them went together, and the whole afternoon was full of this kind of mess, some of them did have their own things, and some of them made something out of nothing, it didn't matter if they talked nonsense, but the 'Yang Dao Alliance' had to be repeatedly verified, and Shao Mingqian, who had received five or six such people, also had a rough idea in his heart, most of these people were fishing in troubled waters and blackmailing, in short, they were falsely accused of the 'Yang Dao League'.

Shao Mingqian was helpless, he compensated for what happened, and let him go down the mountain and leave for the beginning of the extortion, and then he had to ask someone to take out the manifest stamped with the seal of the 'Yang Dao League' and then check whether there was such a deal, it didn't matter, the bill in the hands of every person who came to the blackmail was stamped with the seal of the 'Yang Dao League', otherwise it was the signature of the hall master of the 'Yang Dao League'.

Shao Mingqian knew that this was the handwriting of the four gangs, and as for copying the inscriptions, it was Liu Huanjin's forte, and there was no one else who imitated Li Wan and Chu Zhongqing's signatures.