Xie Feiyan once said: "If you can't meet a strange man in this life, you will never get married!"

Jinling Xie family, generations of scholars. Xie Feiyan is not only the first talented woman of the Xie family in the past 200 years, but also the first talented woman in the entire Jiangnan. She is not only proficient in poetry and songs, piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, but also miscellaneous studies such as the art of war and mathematics.

Fourteen years ago, it is no exaggeration to say that there were not 1,000 people who came to propose to the Xie family, but 800. Moreover, these families who propose relatives are either royal relatives and nobles, or official eunuchs, but Xie Feiyan can't even look down on any of them.

Fourteen years ago, on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, on the shore of Mochou Lake, at the Lantern Festival, the dream of the strange man finally appeared.

Ignoring the desperate dissuasion of grandfather, grandmother, father, mother, three brothers and eight sisters-in-law, two sisters and brothers-in-law, one uncle and aunt, and two uncles and aunts, Xie Feiyan left the warm home without hesitation and followed Shang Xiaotian from then on.

Fourteen long years have passed, and the flower-like girl of the year has quietly climbed crow's feet in the corners of her eyes.

But Shang Xiaotian didn't marry her, and she didn't marry anyone.

Whether she complained and cried in the bleak night, hating Lang and her affection, only she knows.

Up to Yiling Prefecture and down to the middle reaches of the Yangtze River in Jiujiang Prefecture, all belong to the sphere of influence of Yueyanglou.

In addition to the general rudder Yueyang Tower, there are three rudders of the Three Gorges Pavilion, the Yellow Crane Tower, and the Immersion Moon Pavilion.

The Three Gorges Pavilion was led by Qin Shiyue, a descendant of Shang Xiaotian's fellow villager of the Five Tigers Broken Gate Knife, the Yellow Crane Tower was helmed by Wei Changqing, the chief dart head of the Evergreen Dart Bureau, and the Dipping Moon Pavilion was led by his worshipping brother, Wang Zhanpeng, the Eagle Claw King of Huainan.

The general rudder of Yueyang Tower is not located in Yueyang Tower, but is built on a slope area dozens of zhang behind. Only when there is a major ceremony, a review of the people, or a pledge meeting or something like that, Shang Xiaotian will ascend to Yueyang Tower.

Because there is no dangerous terrain near Yueyang Tower, the layout of the general rudder of Yueyang Tower is designed by Tianshui Zhenren with reference to the river map and Luo Shu, and built it into an almost closed building complex.

In the middle is a hall and eight bedrooms, the hall is located in the center, and the eight bedrooms are divided into eight directions according to the four positive and four dimensions, which are the main meeting and living places of the chief helmsman. Twenty-four zhang away, there are four side halls in the southeast, northwest and northwest, which are called Aoki Hall, Suzaku Hall, White Tiger Hall, and Xuanwu Hall respectively. Behind each side hall, there are also continuous houses for the accommodation of the helpers of each hall, which form a circular peripheral building complex, and only leave four gaps in the southeast, southwest, northeast and northwest for the helpers to enter and exit.

The general rudder of Yueyang Building is divided into one hall, four bedrooms and four halls. The first hall refers to the council room, which is the central hall where the core members of the gang discuss and make decisions. The fourth room is the internal office room, which is divided into an intelligence room, an inspection room, a reception room, and an accounting room, which is stationed in the four-dimensional room of the eight-bedroom room, dealing with daily affairs in the gang, and serving Shang Xiaotian;

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Meng Xiangyang once sighed here: "The level of August Lake is too clear." The steaming cloud Mengze shook Yueyang City. "The scenery of Dongting Lake for 800 miles is described in one poem.

In the clear sky on Dongting Lake, a black dot quickly glided down, and a carrier pigeon swept past the majestic Yueyang Tower, swooping straight towards the rudder of Yueyang Tower, and "Fluttering Lingling" flew into the intelligence room.

On the front wall of the hall hangs a pair of "Daming Maps", Shang Xiaotian sat in the middle of the hall with his back to the map, a wide rosewood chair, the chair body was inlaid with a circle of dazzling diamonds, and in front of him was a large round table of rosewood with smooth lacquer.

Tall and stout figure, angular face, slightly white sideburns, bright eyes, short beard that had just been cut a short time ago, thin wire-like roots erect, at first glance it looked like a male teacher.

"Landlord, your letter. Su Fangzhong, the person in charge of the intelligence room, walked into the hall lightly and carefully placed the letter on the table in front of Shang Xiaotian.

Shang Xiaotian quickly opened it and looked at it, his eyes flashed, and his sword eyebrows were deeply locked. Suddenly, he stood up and ordered: "Quickly summon the account office to thank the chief and the master of the four halls to discuss the matter!"

After speaking, Shang Xiaotian turned his back and stared at the map on the wall.

The accounting room was next to it, and Xie Feiyan, who was dressed in a light blue Luo skirt and had a silver hosta lightly on her hair, walked in gracefully after a while, and sat down on a seat next to Shang Xiaotian's seat.

After a short time, Su Fangzhong led Qu Feng, the master of Aoki Hall, You Yuanjiang, the master of Suzaku Hall, Chai Jing, the master of White Tiger Hall, and Fan Wei, the master of Xuanwu Hall, walked in quickly, and each sat down on his seat, and involuntarily looked at the right hand of the owner of the building behind him, and saw that his fingers had just bent to his ring finger. As long as the five fingers have not been bent, the landlord will not get angry, and Qi is relieved.

"It's all here!" Shang Xiaotian slowly turned around, glanced at everyone quickly, and said straight to the point: "It's terrible! Chaotian Fort has been lost! Fang Zhiju has been defeated and left the Divine Arm City!"

You Yuanjiang, Chai Jing, and Fan Wei all looked surprised. Fan Wei asked in disbelief: "Landlord, when is it?"

"Last night," Shang Xiaotian's expression also seemed a little unacceptable, "I really can't imagine that Fang Zhiju can't even hold back a dying Tang Sect!"

Qu Feng, who looked a little thin, crossed his arms and pondered, the green tendons on the back of his hands protruded, and his ten fingers were skinny. Only those who are familiar with him know that if anyone dares to underestimate the light skills and the hands of this Shadowless Sect master, they will definitely ask for their own hardships.

Shang Xiaotian glanced at the silent subordinates one by one, and when he saw Qu Feng's lips and gritting his teeth, he wanted to speak and stopped, so he tilted his chin towards him and said, "Qu Feng, if you have anything to say, say it!"

Qu Fenghuan glanced at everyone, then met Shang Xiaotian's gaze and said, "I think, could it be that Chu Xiangmeng sent someone to secretly help the Tang Sect?"

"Oh, it's possible!" Shang Xiaotian said, groaning for a moment, and then shaking his head, "It's just that Fang Zhiju didn't pass on the book to inform?"

"Perhaps, Fang Zhiju is worried that Chu Xiangmeng will also do something to us at the same time, and he doesn't want to distract us, so don't tell us!" Xie Feiyan suddenly interjected and said lightly.

Shang Xiaotian bowed his head, looked at Qu Feng and said: "In recent days, have you ever found that someone from the Chu Xiang League went west to Gongzhou?"

"This ...... Some. Qu Feng pondered: "Seven days ago, Xiao Chu sent a message, saying that it was the 'Divine Sword Soul Chasing' He Zhiyi Protector, leading more than 40 hard-handed people such as 'Thunderbolt Knife' Qiu Ling and 'Killing Sleeve' Ruan Xingang to go out, it seems that they are going to carry out a mission, and we need to be careful to take precautions. After our secret surveillance, this group did not come north, but went west, so we notified the brothers of the Three Gorges Pavilion to continue to watch, but this group did not go to the Three Gorges Pavilion, but continued to go west. First, due to lack of manpower, and second, we also believed that Chaotian Fort would detect the enemy's traces in time, so we did not continue to monitor...... Now that I think about it, it is likely that they went to Gongzhou to help Tangmen. ”

Shang Xiaotian nodded with a grimace, and suddenly said angrily: "I don't blame you for this matter!, however, Shangguan Xiong left the Chuxiang League and went to Junzhou, how come you Aokitang don't know anything about this matter?!"

Qu Feng looked nervous, his face was a little pale, and he snorted: "This ...... In fact, the subordinates know...... Shangguanxiong left the Chuxiang League five days ago, but I didn't know that he went to Junzhou. ”

Shang Xiaotian slapped the table and said angrily: "Why didn't you report such an important matter earlier?!"

Qu Feng's heart was horizontal, and he simply didn't flinch, "That's it: we found his traces in the Youshui area, and we have been staring at him to divert the Yuanjiang River." But when the ship came ashore and took the overland route, there was no trace of him, and only two of his attendants remained. We had to follow the two henchmen and find out that they went to the Money Gang and went back. In the past few days, we have been searching for Shangguanxiong's whereabouts, but we have not found ...... But he didn't expect him to go to Junzhou, so he didn't have a hand to investigate there...... The subordinates originally thought that a few days ago, the heroes of Junzhou gathered, and one person could drown him with a mouthful of spit...... It's a dereliction of duty on the part of the subordinates, please punish the landlord!"

Shang Xiaotian's face was slightly gentle, and he said in a deep voice: "Forget it, I can't blame you all when it comes to it! That Shangguan Xiong is not only alert and cunning, but also has the ability to enter the heavens and the earth, which is indeed not something you can bear...... In the past few days, you should closely monitor the movements of Chu Xiang League and keep in touch with Chu Qian at any time...... If there is any abnormality, report it immediately! You must not deal with these two things like this, and you will be blind there!"

Qu Feng breathed a sigh of relief and replied crisply: "Yes." ”

Xie Feiyan glanced at Shang Xiaotian, looked at Qu Feng and said, "Master Qu, you can't just stare at Chu Xiangmeng, you must also carefully investigate the movements on the rivers and lakes. Don't forget, in the Chu Xiang Alliance, there are also many gangs who are not in the main department, and once these people are assembled, their strength is also very terrifying!"

Qu Feng became nervous again, and agreed with a serious expression. I secretly cursed in my heart: This damn Shangguan Xiong! Lao Tzu's brothers are all going to be exhausted by your dog's day! When you Chu Xiang League is defeated, Lao Tzu will not crush you to ashes, and it will be difficult to eliminate the evil anger in your chest!

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In the sound of "pounce on Lingling", another carrier pigeon flew into the intelligence room. After a while, a young man from the intelligence room walked in lightly, put an urgent letter respectfully in front of Shang Xiaotian, and walked out quickly.

Shang Xiaotian opened the envelope, unfolded the letter paper and glanced at it eagerly, his complexion immediately changed greatly, and he stood up and exclaimed: "Something happened to Wudang! Zishi was killed by the Shaolin people!"

"Huh?" everyone was shocked, they all stood up, and went forward to check the letter, and saw that the letter read: "Senior Brother Shang: The death of emptiness, Shaolin and his party did not carefully find out the truth, but they did not forgive us, and set a trap for us to compete to end this matter. This morning, Zhao Yanhao, the head of the 'Three Masters of Buddhism', took the opportunity of the martial arts competition to kill Zishi. Senior brother, I failed to gain insight into Shaolin's scheming in advance, which led to the loss of Zishi's life, and I was overwhelmed with grief and regret...... I suspect that this murder was premeditated a long time ago, but Shangguan Xiong colluded with people in the court to conspire to kill Kong Jing and blame us. The purpose is to provoke the fight between Shaolin and our Wudang, so that we can't come to the aid of Yueyanglou, he has no worries about attacking you, you have to be careful. Brother is afraid that there will be any changes in Shaolin, so he will have to stay in Wudang to deal with it, and he can't come in person, but tomorrow I am going to send Senior Brother Deadwood to lead half of the Wudang disciples to come to support. Ebony. ”

Ebony did not tell Shang Xiaotian in the letter that he had offended Lord Miao, the pacification envoy, and that the Wudang faction was afraid of unimaginable follow-up retaliation, and he was afraid that Shang Xiaotian would be distracted by this, and he would be in chaos in anger.

After everyone finished reading the letter, you look at me, I look at you, and they all looked at each other for a while.

Fan Wei suddenly said angrily: "In vain, he is also the leader of a gang, and he actually used this kind of sneaky trick to damage me!"

Xie Feiyan came back to her senses and muttered, "It's amazing! What a trick to kill two birds with one stone!"

Chai Jing looked at Xie Feiyan and asked, "Two birds with one stone?" Sixth sister, what do you mean?"

Xie Feiyan sighed faintly and said, "Didn't the head of the sect make it very clear? As soon as this move came out, Shaolin not only did not help us, but instead formed a deep enmity with us; moreover, the head of the sect had to leave some disciples to guard against Shaolin, and could not fully support us." In this way, compared to the Chu Xiang League, our strength is inferior. ”

Everyone looked solemn, nodded secretly, and were silent for a while, and the atmosphere was a little depressed.

Shang Xiaotian broke the dullness and puffed up: "Don't be too nervous, everyone! Our Yueyang Tower is not so easy to deal with! Next, let's analyze and analyze together, how Shangguan Xiong will attack us...... Let's talk freely!"

You Yuanjiang said: "I think they will come both on land and water. Compared with us, the strength of their water gang cannot take advantage, but the land gang has nearly a thousand more people than us. This is their advantage. ”

Shang Xiaotian waved his hand and said: "This so-called land advantage does not exist! I don't believe that Shangguan Xiong is so bold that he dares to come out, and he will not leave a thousand children and eight hundred people to guard the house!"

When the four hall masters heard this, their brows furrowed and they breathed a sigh of relief, but Shang Xiaotian's other words made them hang their hearts again, "It's just that although our numbers can be close to them, there are more than eight hundred people scattered in the three rudders. If they directly attack our Yueyang Tower, they will still have an advantage in numbers. ”

Xie Feiyan said: "Landlord, I don't think there is any need to worry about this problem. First, if Shangguan Xiong arranged for some of the gangs to deal with our three rudders, then the number of gangs attacking us would be much smaller, and there would be no numerical advantage. Second, if Shangguan Xiong did not divide his troops, the Yellow Crane Tower would come to help, but it would only be 500 miles, and he could reach it in most days, while the Three Gorges Pavilion and the Immersion Moon Pavilion were far away, but they were only 8 or 900 miles, and how could they be caught up in one day and one night. With our strength, there is no problem in supporting it for three or two days. What's more, the Deadwood Daoist will also lead the Wudang disciples to come...... In this way, Shangguan Xiong will suffer from the enemy on his back, and he will not be defeated?"

Shang Xiaotian nodded, but he was still a little uneasy, and thought about it: "Shangguan Xiong and Ma Mingshan are both very thieves, I'm afraid that they will use some unexpected tricks again, which will make people unguardable!"

Xie Feiyan looked a little disdainful, and sneered: "Ma Mingshan, a down-and-out scholar, how can he be enough? I can't imagine why Shangguan Xiong actually obeyed him as if he had picked up a treasure...... I know this kind of person best, except for being able to chant some poems and paintings, drink and complain when he has nothing to do, what other real skills can he have?"

Qu Feng's eyes flashed, and after thinking about it, he still said: "Sixth sister, listen to Xiao Chu, this Ma Ming Mountain is indeed terrifying, full of ghost ideas......"

Xie Feiyan interrupted: "What's the use of the ghost idea? The two armies are fighting, and the battle with clear swords and guns is a competition between the strength of the two sides! I also analyzed it just now, what can Shangguan Xiong do with us?"

Shang Xiaotian pondered for a moment, nodded and said, "Master Xie's analysis is very reasonable, but Master Qu's worries are not unreasonable. ”

Xie Feiyan heard Shang Xiaotian's words about the style of music also made sense, and she looked a little dissatisfied, glanced at Shang Xiaotian, and turned her head angrily.

Shang Xiaotian didn't seem to see it, and said, "I'm worried that Shangguan Xiong will secretly ask gangs such as Soul Chasing Valley, Seven Demon Sects, and Money Gang to deal with our three rudders, so that he can deal with us with all his might......"

Xie Feiyan interjected: "Those rabble, they will collapse at the first touch, why be afraid? Shangguan Xiong can still count on them to fail?"

Shang Xiaotian shook his head lightly and said, "You can't say that, if you really have to fight for your life, these gangs will also be difficult to entangle......"

Xie Feiyan interrupted: "I don't believe they will really spare their lives!"

Shang Xiaotian frowned slightly with some displeasure. With his temper, if it had been ten years ago, or if the person who spoke was not Xie Feiyan, he would have been angry. He felt that she did not really understand how cruel the war between men was, and that if she was distracted, she would be defeated and never have a chance to turn over.

But thinking that over the years, she only needs a bite to eat and nothing else, her heart softened, and she suppressed the anger that had just risen.

In fact, for so many years, Xie Feiyan still didn't really understand Shang Xiaotian, so he couldn't replace Xu Qinxin's position in his mind.

If Xie Feiyan wasn't of this kind of temperament, after so many years of sharing weal and butter, would her relationship with Shang Xiaotian not be what it is now? No one has an answer.

The music style seemed to be deliberately singing against Xie Feiyan, echoing Shang Xiaotian and said: "Shangguan Xiong and Ma Mingshan are both clever tongues, maybe they can really move them to serve their lives!"

Xie Feiyan glanced at Qu Feng, but he also felt Shang Xiaotian's displeasure with him, and finally stopped refuting.

Shang Xiaotian glanced at Qu Feng with satisfaction, and said warmly: "Master Qu, any of the five protectors of the Chu Xiang Alliance, you can be sure that you can deal with it." ”

"This ...... The subordinates are not sure, do their best!" Qu Feng was not very confident, and seeing that Shang Xiaotian's expression did not seem to be very satisfied, he added: "However, it is not so easy to defeat me without paying some price!"

Shang Xiaotian nodded, turned his head and asked the other three hall masters with his eyes, You Yuanjiang, Chai Jing, and Fan Wei all expressed a similar attitude to the style of the song, Shang Xiaotian nodded, and ordered: "Let's discuss it here, go down separately, and do your part." ”

And they all stood up and walked out. Qu Feng walked a few steps, suddenly turned around, turned his head, looked at Shang Xiaotian, and said: "Landlord, there is something I have forgotten to report: last month, Xiao Chu mentioned one thing to me, saying that he felt that there were still a few secret masters in the Chu Xiang Alliance, and martial arts were probably not under the five protectors!"

"Oh, there's such a thing?...... Why didn't you say it earlier!" Shang Xiaotian stood up, his expression a little nervous, and he glared at Qu Feng with disgust. When the five people who had already walked out heard this, they all turned around and came back, looking at the music in amazement.

Qu Feng Dead Pig was not afraid of boiling water, and said stubbornly: "Xiao Chu said that he couldn't be sure, so I didn't report it." I told him to check it carefully, and report back as soon as he had the exact news. ”

Shang Xiaotian's eyes flashed, and he asked, "Why is Chu Qian so suspicious?"

Qu Feng said: "It was on the twenty-third of last month, Chu Xiangmeng held a wine feast, and Xiao Chu listened to what Teng Protector said at the banquet. However, Leng Protector immediately stopped him, saying that he was drunk and talking nonsense. ”