After bidding farewell to Zhang Qichao and Yang Qian, Tuoba Shiruo set off from Sailing Island by boat and returned to Quanzhou. And her maids Ruosi and Ruomeng, as well as the three subordinates Ma Boss, the dumb second brother and Bao Laosan, had been waiting at the dock for a long time, and they were overjoyed to see Tuoba Shiruo.

"Miss, you've lost a lot of weight. Ruosi and Ruomeng hurriedly stepped forward, "I also tanned a lot, I asked you to take us a long time ago, but you just didn't bring it." ”

When he received a letter from Zhang Qichao, Tuoba Shiruo decided to go south alone, which caused Ruosi and Ruomeng to complain.

Tuoba Shiruo smiled: "But I have learned a lot in martial arts, and more importantly, I have gained a lot." ”

"Miss!" the subordinates led by Boss Ma stepped forward and saluted with fists.

"Well, thank you guys. Tuoba Shiruo hugged his fists in return.

"It's not hard at all, I just don't know what the eldest lady plans to do next. Ma Boss asked.

"Back to Beijing!" Tuoba Shiruo replied.

"What?" Ruosi and Ruomeng couldn't believe it, "We just came from the capital, and you want us to go back again." ”

"It's not you, it's us going back together. Tuoba Shiruo said with a smile.

Ruosi and Ruomeng looked at each other, not knowing what the eldest lady thought.

On the other side, Tian Xiaotong did not go to Edao according to the predetermined plan, but turned to Quanzhou, and arrived in Quanzhou just after Tuoba Shiruo left on the front foot.

As soon as he arrived at the dock, his subordinates, who had been waiting for a long time, immediately reported the news that Tuoba Shiruo had come to Quanzhou.

"It looks like we're still a step late!" Tian Xiaotong heard the news and regretted that he was late.

Ling Xuanshuang said with relief: "It doesn't matter, fortunately, they have just left, and it is still too late to catch up." ”

Tian Xiaotong said: "If Tuoba Shi lets her subordinates go to Beijing with her, it seems that we have already taken precautions, and it is difficult to have a chance to succeed, so it is better to let her enter Beijing smoothly." ”

However, if she is allowed to enter Beijing smoothly and get the letter of appointment, then Fu Jingyuan on the island will be able to participate in the ocean trade in the name of righteousness. Mu Xiaoxue said.

"I don't need to worry about how easily my father would let her get his hands on that. Tian Xiaotong saw that Tuoba Shiruo had already taken precautions, and he didn't bother to pursue again, so he said with a smile: "Let's go see Senior Brother and see if he has any good ideas." ”

After speaking, Tian Xiaotong took Ling Xuanshuang and others to a secret mansion in Quanzhou to meet the senior brother who had not seen each other for a long time.

The crowd walked west along the river until they saw a rather large mansion with Fan Mansion written on it, and then they stopped.

Tian Xiaotong looked back at the crowd: "Except for Senior Sister Ling who goes with me, you don't want to come with me, just wait for us in the shade of the tree." Then he stepped forward with Ling Xuanshuang and knocked on the door.

Under the guidance of the Fan family, the two of them suddenly heard the sound of the piano coming from the back garden, so they stopped and listened to the beautiful sound of the piano.

"There is a high-pitched tune in the sound of the piano, and there must be a big man eavesdropping. The sound of the piano stopped abruptly, and then appeared in front of the two of them a middle-aged man who was nearly forty years old, holding a folding fan and smiling.

"Senior brother, don't be harmed recently!" Tian Xiaotong clasped his fists and saluted, "I look much better than before, and sure enough, the people who have become relatives are all full of red light." ”

The senior brother laughed and said, "The little junior sister is still the same, and she doesn't forget to taunt me when she meets." You mean I have rosacea, just say it. ”

Ling Xuanshuang said, "Little junior sister means that you are fat. ”

The elder brother's smile froze, and he scolded with a smile: "What a doll, I'm rich!"

Tian Xiaotong said: "Okay, I don't want to talk to you about these gossips." I'm here to ask my brother to give me guidance on what to do next. ”

"Hang Dao is dying in an instant, do you know what the root cause is?" the senior brother asked kindly as he invited the two junior sisters to sit down.

Tian Xiaotong thought for a while and replied: "They exposed their ambitions too early, and they were counterattacked by the Central Plains Martial Arts, resulting in defeat. ”

"I think it's because they don't have enough strength themselves, but they have to force themselves to do things they can't do, so they will be defeated. Ling Xuanshuang had a different opinion.

The senior brother smiled: "What you said is right, but you are not right. The reason they really fell was because they didn't know how to grasp their allies. At the critical juncture, no one came to help, and this is the real reason. ”

Tian Xiaotong was extremely wise, and suddenly said: "Senior Brother means to let me unite Huidao and Shudao and Uncle Li's Dao. ”

"It is with this intention that the other islands will become shields in front of us, and when the shields are broken one by one, the spears are smoothed. The elder brother smiled.

"Okay, while they are resting, we should take the opportunity to contact the families to deal with the Central Plains Martial Arts together. Tian Xiaotong patted the table and stood up with a smile.

Time passed like flowing water, and Tuoba Shiruo, accompanied by the maids and his subordinates, arrived at the capital calmly along the way. If Tuoba Shi did not rest, he immediately dressed up and went to the palace to ask to see Princess Wei Rouyun.

When the two met, the princess looked at Tuoba Shiruo in surprise, full of envy for her ability to travel the rivers and lakes. After the two exchanged polite words, they began to get to the point.

"You want me to say good things to the Thirteen Illusion Docks in front of the imperial brother, and ask for a letter of appointment from the imperial court for ocean trade. Wei Rouyun was a little embarrassed after listening to the intention of Tuoba Shiruo's trip, "It's not that I don't want to help you, but this is a military matter, but I'm afraid that it will be difficult for me to work in front of the imperial brother." ”

Tuoba Shiruo said: "The princess is very intelligent, she must also know the purpose of our doing, which is to kill people with a knife, as the saying goes, 'the wicked have their own wicked people to grind', and we also hope to eliminate two hidden dangers for the court in one fell swoop." ”

Wei Rouyun said: "I think of a person who will definitely be able to help you, he is Ma Chong, the prime minister of the dynasty." This person is dedicated to the country and the people, and he has won the trust of the emperor. If you go to him, you will succeed. ”

The princess mentioned Ma Chong, and Tuoba Shiruo looked around, wanting to speak and stopped.

Wei Rouyun understood and ordered all the palace maids to go out.

When everyone left, Tuoba Shiruo said: "After careful investigation, we suspect that Prime Minister Ma Chong is very likely to be Tian Daoxing, the lord of Edao who disappeared twenty years ago. ”

"What? is there such a thing?" Wei Rouyun couldn't believe it when she heard it, she held Tuoba Shiruo's hand and confirmed: "You're not wrong, this kind of thing is not a joke. ”

Tuoba Shiruo said: "Of course I'm not joking, his daughter Tian Xiaotong has helped the former lord of the island in Jiangnan and regained the position of the lord of the island. ”

Wei Rouyun stood up and paced back and forth, she believed Tuoba Shiruo's words, but she felt unbelievable and couldn't accept it for a while.

After a while, Wei Rouyun sat down and advised: "Don't let the imperial brother or other members of the royal family know about this matter, otherwise it will definitely cause a big mess." ”

Tuoba Shiruo said: "When I say it, I just remind the princess to be careful about Ma Chong, and I won't say anything if others kill me, but there is one person who probably already knows." ”

"Who?" asked Wei Rouyun.

"Ma Chong himself!" Tuoba Shiruo replied.

In the imperial study, Emperor Wei Chan was discussing military affairs with Prime Minister Ma Chong. When talking about the six islands in the south of the Yangtze River, Ma Chong told Wei Chan about the destruction of the island.

Wei Chan exclaimed: "I didn't expect Zhang Qichao to have such a great ability to destroy the other party's island alone. ”

The courtier's ability is too big, which is the emperor's taboo. The emperor can temporarily tolerate the great ability of the royal family, but cannot tolerate the great ability of the courtiers. This is also the root cause of Wei Che's long life, and Ye Fengcheng's quick death.

Ma Chong grasped this emperor's mind very well, and exaggerated and exaggerated the role of Zhang Qichao in this battle to destroy the island, making Wei Chan more and more jealous and hateful of Zhang Qichao.

"Prime Minister, did you say that you want to send the school guard south to arrest Zhang Qichao for interrogation. Wei Chan moved his mind and asked Ma Chong in a consultative tone.

Ma Chong knew that the emperor had not really moved to kill, so he said: "The minister thinks that this is not good, the six islands have just been wiped out, and it is the time when we need to make persistent efforts, if we arrest Zhang Qichao, it is likely that all the previous efforts will be wasted." ”

"Well, you're right, so let's put it on hold for now. After Wei Chan weighed the pros and cons, he put away his thoughts.

Ma Chong knows that some things have a beginning, and they will be out of control in the future.

"Your Majesty, the minister thinks that not only can't kill Zhang Qichao, but should also help him. Ma Chong continued.

"How can I help?" Wei Chan didn't understand what Ma Chong meant.

Ma Chongdao: "I heard that the Thirteen Illusion Dream Dock has taken over the industry of Hangdao, but there is no letter of appointment from the imperial court, and most of the merchants are reluctant to go. The ministers thought they could give them an edict and allow them to engage in ocean trade. In this way, the ministers thought that it would be effortless for them to be grateful to the court. ”

Wei Chan thought for a while and agreed: "Okay, according to what the prime minister said, the letter of appointment will be issued." ”

The details of this matter, Tuoba Shiruo only learned from Wei Rouyun's mouth the next day, and it turned out that he had obtained the letter of appointment so simply. And the promoter turned out to be Ma Chong, what kind of intentions did he have, so that some monks of Tuoba Shiruo were confused.

However, Tuoba Shi did not immediately go south, but went out of the customs and went home. When he returned to the North Wangfu in Guanwai Town, he saw his father Tuoba Ruyan.

On the other hand, Tian Xiaotong followed the strategy given by the senior brother, shuttled back and forth between the four islands by boat, and connected a bunch of allies, including Zuo Futang of Feihuafang, Ji Jiao of Huandao, Cai Wenfeng of Huidao, and Qian Yubo of Qianfu, and met in August at Yong'an Palace on Edao to discuss how to deal with the Central Plains Wulin Zhengdao led by Zhang Qichao and Geng Shuxuan.

For this alliance, Tian Xiaotong returned to Ejima, where he had been absent for a long time, and met with Xuanning, the general who guarded Ejima.

Before he had rested for a few days, Tian Xiaotong ordered his subordinates to move all and carefully arrange the Yong'an Palace. Preparations for the upcoming conference, add luster to the conference.

And all this, Zhang Qichao and Yang Qian were not unaware, after discussion, Zhang Qichao and Yang Qian teamed up to go to the conference in disguise to get a glimpse of what was going on.

A storm is about to begin.