the enlightener says

After all, it is the "Mr. Gaoshan" in Cai Yan's mouth. Even Daotong, who can't understand the qin music, feels that the melody of the guqin is long but rich, and he is not in a hurry.

It was obviously a bit of an obscene and flirtatious song, but it came to life again in his hands, and turned into another beautiful landscape.

After a while, the song fell, and Gao Yishui let out a slight breath, looked at the old man, and said with a smile: "How about it, can you tell me?"

However, the old man with his eyes closed snored again.

Gao Yishui smiled slightly, gently wiped the fine beads of sweat on his forehead, glanced at Daotong, and said a word gently and slowly: "Your master sleeps really soundly..."

Daotong was embarrassed, and was about to say something, but Gao Yishui had already stood up, raised his hands on the guqin and widened his eyes: "Listen to me playing the piano, you have the nerve to fall asleep...Hey, old man, wake up, wake up! If you don’t wake up, I’m really going down this time!”

The old man didn't speak, how could the sleeping person answer him?

Gao Yishui looked at the old man's rogue-like appearance, and shouted angrily: "Ake! Abu! Come on! Give the old man a big beating, let the old man experience what it's like to have a fist the size of a sandbag."

"A fist the size of a sandbag is good for beating your back..." the old man said suddenly.

Gao Yishui frowned, restrained his original angry look for a while, and asked curiously: "Hey, old man, are you asleep or not?"

The old man opened his mouth leisurely and said, "Is there any difference between sleeping and not sleeping?"

Gao Yishui stomped his feet, and said bluntly: "This is not Jixia Academy. I don't bother to argue with you about the difference between sleeping and not sleeping."

The old man gave an "um" in agreement: "Yes, you have some talent. I think you are more suitable than him, but it's a pity... you are too slippery."

"Don't dare."

The old man continued to laugh softly, raised his hand casually, and said, "Look, the butterfly is coming."

Qin Ke raised his head suddenly. It was really a butterfly, almost as big as two palms. The pattern on his body was like the silhouette of clouds and sunset. It came lightly and fluctuated melodiously in the wind.

Now that it is autumn, most of the butterflies are dying and unable to flap their wings. They will slowly fall into the dust, decay and return to the earth.

However, it is like a newborn, flying proudly, under the sun, like a peacock with its tail open.

Finally, it landed quietly on the big bluestone, slightly retracting its wings.

"People in the world only look at appearances, but they don't know where is the truth in everything in this world?"

The butterfly seemed to be frightened by the old man's words, so it flew up again, passing his bun, and flew to the distance. The skylight coated his wings with a layer of gold. The slight howling of wolves, the rustling of leaves being blown by the wind, all subsided without a sound.

But Qin Ke found that the old man was looking at him, as if looking up and down, and as if examining him, his heart jumped slightly, and he quickly bowed his hands in salute.

The old man looked at him and said with a soft smile, "What are you going to do with the Five Elements Sinan after you get it?"

Qin Ke said: "I want to use it to find other artifacts. My master is also looking for divine enlightenment. Maybe I can find him too. Don't worry, old man, I have absolutely no evil intentions."

"It is indeed." The old man looked relieved, "It's just... once the artifact reappears in the world, or even reunites... I'm afraid it will not be a good thing."

Qin Ke stared blankly at him and asked, "Why?"

The old man shook his head without answering, and said to himself: "Since the fate is like this, I don't have to stop it, you... go to the Mo family."

After Qin Ke and the others left, Daotong raised his head and asked strangely: "Master, you used to say that the reappearance of the divine weapon would bring turmoil to the world, but why are you willing to tell him the whereabouts of Wuxing Sinan this time?"

At this time, the old man was lazily lying on the bluestone again, with one leg crossed over the other, almost up to the sky: "What should I say? Everything in this world is like running water. Looking at it from the side, it will flow down day by day. If you stretch out your hand to wash vegetables and fruits in it, it will still flow down. Even if you make a small dam with wooden boards to cut off the water flow, the water will eventually overflow , will overflow from all sides... If so, what is the difference between telling him and not telling him?"

Daotong thought for a while: "It seems to be such a truth."

The old man smiled and said, "Besides, some people can't hold back anymore."

"Who are they?" Dao Tong was puzzled, and asked softly, "Are those bandits who met you before?"

"They?" The old man shook his head. "They are not even pawns. I'm talking about those guys who can change the situation at any time."

Chapter 318 Cao Meng

The vast sea, the palace martial arts arena.

The sun is shining brightly, but the sun doesn't seem so hot on this vast grassland filled with the fragrance of green grass.

The jet-black edge was even colder under the sun. In the center of the martial arts arena, two men dressed in black stood facing each other. One was strong and well-proportioned, the other was as tall and burly as a mountain. His spear and saber were firmly held. In the hands of two people.

Neither of them moved, but there was already a breath of life-and-death struggle in the invisible. The breeze blew and the leaves swayed. A sparrow of unknown circumstances flew over slowly and landed on the weapon rack not far away. , tilting his head and watching curiously.

The burly man's eyes moved slightly, and he glanced at the sparrow from the corner of his eyes, but at this moment, the person holding the knife standing opposite him shouted angrily, and stomped his legs heavily!

It was only five steps away, and it arrived in an instant. The saber pierced the air, spread the breeze, faced the sun, and fell from top to bottom towards the burly man like thunder!

"Drink." The burly man knew that his opponent was formidable, but if he was one step slower, he was already ten or a hundred steps slower. The saber had already reached the top of his head, and even if he wanted to dodge, it was already too late.

But he didn't panic. He tightened his hand holding the spear, and he didn't take a step back. With a shake of his arms, he was already facing him, and the spear made of fine iron was horizontally in front of the knife.

There was a clanging sound of metal clashing, the saber struck the middle of the spear, sparks splashed out from the huge force, the burly man's feet cracked, and several cracks appeared in the floor tiles.

The sparrow was so shaken by the collision that it could barely flap its wings. It rolled on the ground for a while before struggling to fly high.

Such a knife, if it is cut on the human body, even a practitioner, I am afraid it will be cut into two pieces.

Naturally, the burly man who was slashed by such a sharp knife couldn't really be so relaxed. The hand holding the spear dropped again and again, and the sharp edge of the saber advanced again and again, almost falling on his eyebrows.

Of course, the burly man couldn't be defeated just like that. As the power accumulated in his blood spread and dissipated, his left hand immediately let go, but with only one hand, he supported the power of the saber. , the spear pointed obliquely to the left from his front, and even the sharp edge of the saber also deflected away, and slid out obliquely towards his left side.

The saber moved away, and the burly man's front flap was naturally wide open. The burly man let out a breath, and the thick two-stripped beard on the tip of his nose was blown suddenly. His left hand grasped the gun barrel again, and slammed towards the opponent. Stab out!

The sharp tip arrived in the blink of an eye, and the pupils of the strong man holding the saber shrank sharply, and the saber in his hand tightened again. After a shout, he forcibly stopped the deviation, and a sharp upward thrust hit the head of the gun .

Putting the spear aside, the burly man slammed into him fiercely. He used his shoulders, but his might was as powerful as the head of a battering ram.

The strong and strong man did not retreat, but also went up to meet him, and slammed into him with his shoulder, making a muffled sound.

The spear and the saber were crossed in front of the chest of the two of them. After several collisions, the strong man gradually felt that his back strength was weak. He gritted his teeth slightly, freed a fist, and suddenly hit the burly man's chest, and then spun body, backed away.

The burly man was hit by this punch, as if he was okay, he kept on stepping, exhaled like an arrow, and moved towards the strong man like a mountain.

This is not the martial arts technique of the Central Plains, but the wrestling technique commonly used in northern barbarian fighting. If a strong man is entangled by him, he may be the first to lose a point in terms of size.

The strong man also knew how powerful he was, so he cut out the saber suddenly, blocking the burly man's advance, but the distance between the two was too close, and he had already lost the opportunity. Naturally, this knife was not as powerful as the first knife.

The spear suppressed the saber, like an angry dragon trampling a tiger, the saber could no longer be lifted, and struggling was useless.

And the burly man finally knocked down the strong man, pinning him to the ground, unable to move.

The strong man lay on the ground and struggled for a long while, his face flushed, but in the end he couldn't get away, he could only sigh, and said with a wry smile: "Oh, I lost, I lost, really, it's like a bear, it makes me gasp Don't be angry."

Hearing the voice of admitting defeat, the burly man let go of all the previous violence, gathered all his strength, showed a simple and honest smile, and said with a smile: "The lord has surrendered? I help you up."

Within the sea, there is only one person who can be called the lord of the country.

The strong man, or Cao Meng, the lord of the Canghai Kingdom, wiped the sweat from his brow, and finally staggered to his feet with the support of his subordinates.

Although it was only a few short breaths, he felt as if he had galloped for a whole day, sweating profusely.

The burly man stood up, smiled brightly, and at the same time reached out to support Cao Meng.

Cao Meng also stretched out his hand, held his broad and rough palm, exerted a little strength, stood up from the ground, glanced at the broken floor tiles, and pulled the corner of his mouth slightly, thinking that he couldn't succeed with the knife that opened mountains and cracked rocks. It's a pity.

The soldiers on the side handed over the sweat towel respectfully, Cao Mengshun handed over the saber, wiped the sweat from his forehead with the sweat towel, and at the same time took a deep breath to calm down the surging blood in his body due to the violent exertion.

He looked at the burly man and just wiped his face indiscriminately to finish the job. He obviously didn't sweat too much. He laughed and laughed at himself: "It seems that martial arts is really not what Gu is good at. Gu has already exhausted his strength." With all our strength, we still haven't been able to get any benefit from General Dian Wei."

Dian Wei shook his head in disapproval, smiled naively, and said, "Why should the lord belittle himself? In the past year, the lord has made great progress. At the earliest time, he could only stick to it. Now even the ministers have to be on guard." It won't be a disadvantage, it's just that the cultivation base of Qi and blood is still a little short, and the back strength is not good, otherwise, it will not be easy for the minister to win."

Cao Meng squinted at him, and said with a smile at the corner of his mouth: "What kind of pretense is it? If I guessed correctly, it wasn't your intention that you were distracted to look at the sparrow just now, right?"

Dian Wei blushed, knowing that his little thoughts had been discovered, but out of face, he forced himself to calm down and said: "How can the lord say that, the minister has other distractions, it is better to concentrate on the lord, even though he has occupied Those who have practiced for many years are cheap, but the heroism of the king is beyond the reach of the ministers."

Cao Meng just smiled, took the saber from the soldier's hand again, and used the sweat towel to wipe the few gaps on the blade due to the impact, his voice was calm and even relaxed: "You can't say that, you should It was Wen Ruo who taught you. He has been busy revising etiquette recently, and he probably told you to be careful when speaking. But you are a military commander, so don’t follow those civil officials’ flattery. Adds to the embarrassment."

Dian Wei said cheerfully: "Master Mingcha, I am most annoyed by those pedantic people. Every time I see them, I just want to sleep. It would be better to let me go out with a gun and have a good time. After all, I People are going to fight in front of the battle, so what's the use of holding those books? Could it be possible that if you use the words in the books before the battle, the opponent will be convinced and surrender?"

"You don't have to study." Cao Meng shook his head and said with a smile: "But books still need to be read. To calm down this troubled world, it is not enough to rely on blood. Sometimes words are not necessarily weaker than swords, even if it is a pen in the hands of a scholar. , Sometimes it can kill people. Talking before the battle may not make you unable to retreat thousands of miles, the so-called soldiers who surrender without fighting are just like this."

Dian Wei was confused, scratched his head, and stared at Cao Meng blankly.

"But you, a pig-killer, probably won't listen to you." Cao Meng laughed, knowing that Dian Wei wouldn't listen to him even after a day or two. He asked Dian Wei to talk to the civil servants for the purpose of nurturing him. .

"By the way, I heard that Li Qiuhuang from the Tang Kingdom also met a pig butcher before, and he was named a general."

Dian Wei dismissed it, and raised his eyes: "Isn't that the 'pig-killing general'? Heh, he has been serving as a watchdog in the Imperial Army since he was named a general, and he has never been in battle so far. I think he is an idiot, but the minister came from a mountain of swords and a sea of ​​fire. It's really annoying to be compared with him who broke out from here!"

Chapter 319 Alliance

Cao Meng looked at Dian Wei's indignant expression, and comforted him with a smile: "The person who can attract Li Qiuhuang's attention must have some real skills."

Just at this time, a soldier shouted from outside the martial arts arena: "Military master offering wine—here!"

Cao Meng was overjoyed, slapped his thighs and quickly stood up from the chair, walking outside and said: "Liu De is back, I can hear new things about him along the way."

After a while, Liu De, who was dressed in a Confucian robe, had already arrived outside the tent. His waist was full of ancient swords, but his forehead was full of sweat. It was obvious that he didn't take a rest after returning to the city, but came here in a hurry.

"Lord." Liu De straightened his clothes and was about to salute respectfully when he felt his arms being held by a pair of rough and wide hands. He raised his head slightly. Cao Mengzheng held his arms with a smile on his face and said, "So If you do something cautiously, this is not court, and Wen Ruo would not say that you 'disrespect etiquette'."

As he said that, he looked Liu De up and down, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "I lost a lot of weight during a long trip. If you don’t gain much, it’s a welcome wind for you.”

Liu De felt warm in his heart, bowed his head and said sincerely: "Thank you, Lord."

Cao Meng slapped him hard on the shoulder, causing Liu De's body to shake, complaining and mocking, and said: "My mind is full of those broken rules..."

The two looked at each other, and after a while, they burst out laughing at the same time, even with Dian Wei beside him, he also giggled. The relationship between the military adviser and the king is very good, and it is a good story on this grassland.

Back then, Cao Meng was just an idle kid from a family, he didn't care what the world was like, he just went out to shoot and hunt every day, even in the family he seemed to be the most incompetent one.

However, such a seemingly incompetent person was like a huge wave in the complicated situation at that time, sweeping half of the north. The general trend swept down, laying down this huge country.

And at this turning point, Liu De's figure already existed.

After laughing, Liu De showed a bit of worry on his face, and said: "Master, eating is a trivial matter, let me first talk about the result of this contact with Tang Guo."

Cao Meng nodded, but he didn't intend to overthrow his own thoughts, and took a step forward: "Then, talk while walking, even if you are at the banquet, you can talk while eating."

The two walked side by side, and Dian Wei followed suit behind him, acting as a small guard with peace of mind.

Liu Dedao: "What the Tang State means is that it is best to start a war with the Mohists next year. They will dispatch an army of 20 troops, including the Southern Conscript Army. They just... require us to have an extra [-] troops."

The smile on Cao Meng's face gradually faded, and he couldn't tell whether he was happy or angry. He seemed to be in deep thought. After walking for a while, he asked softly, "Is this what Li Qiuhuang meant, or Yang Taizhen?"

Liu De shook his head: "In today's Tang Dynasty, Cai Yong no longer has the position of Zuo Servant, and has become a grand tutor with honor but no real power. The left servant of the Tang Dynasty shot. Yang Taizhen’s party won a complete victory in this mutiny. Li Qiuhuang didn’t even go to the court recently. It's Qiuhuang, but Yang Taizhen. It seems that he doesn't want to meddle in state affairs at all."

Cao Meng nodded: "Li Qiuhuang doesn't care about the important affairs of the family and the country, and let a woman dominate all day long. In recent years, the officialdom of the Tang Dynasty has deteriorated, and corruption by party formation is common, and the national treasury is at least several million taels short. If the money is not enough, the people will be taxed next year in advance. I really don’t know if the hero of the Li family will break into the Tai Chi Hall with a sword and kill people when he sees his people being bullied like this.”

"My lord, be careful with your words." Liu De said in a low voice.

Cao Meng smiled casually, regardless of Liu De's sweat, he grabbed his shoulders, Liu De hurriedly dodged, but Cao Meng's arm was very strong: "Liu De, although you and I are monarchs and ministers, we can be said to be brothers and sisters, Dian Wei The general is also a trustworthy person, so why worry? The Tang State is decayed. The country that was rich and powerful in those days is now just an empty shell. A series of losses has made Tang Dynasty overwhelmed. People's hearts are like water, and people's movements are like smoke. In an instant, even thousands of miles of mountains and rivers will be washed away by floods. She needs to go to war, needs to stabilize people's hearts, and needs a victory to tell her courtiers , she has enough ability. But in Gu's opinion, if you can't implement the New Deal, clean up the bureaucracy, no matter how good the face is, what's the use?"

"After a big battle, the already exhausted Tang State will only become weaker and weaker. Drinking poison to quench thirst will not escape the word 'death' after all." After destroying the Tang Kingdom, and then pacifying the group of Mohists who are chattering and talking about wars on paper, the mob in Jingwu will all be dragged to the execution platform. In this troubled world... there will be a day of great unification."

Cao Meng clenched his fist with one hand, but found that Liu De was standing there without saying a word.

"Liu De. Liu De?"

Liu De woke up suddenly, and said apologetically, "Master."

"What are you thinking?" Cao Meng asked with a smile.

Liu Deqian saluted and shook his head.

But there is actually a saying in his heart: the unification of the world may not be as easy as Cao Meng thought.

He knew Cao Meng's temperament. Although Cao Meng would not anger Cao Meng when he said this, it would still make him feel a little unhappy. , but he is a courtier after all, he still has to weigh some words.

Liu De couldn't just say nothing, so he raised his head and asked Cao Mengdao: "Master, how should the Tang State respond? Fifty thousand troops...is not a small number."

Cao Meng rubbed his chin, and suddenly asked an unexpected question: "Liu De, how is the grain harvest this year?"

When Liu De was not involved in state affairs, he was always responsible for the important affairs of farming and land reclamation in the sea, and Cao Mengwen's sentence was also targeted.

After all, Canghai has not been established for a long time, and it is far less profound than Tang and Mohists. If it were not for the implementation of the policy of garrisoning land, Canghai would not have such a strong military force and substantial treasury today.

"Thanks to the country's lord's continuous implementation of farming over the years, this year's wheat harvest is bumper, the treasury is full, and the granary is overflowing." Liu De said.

Cao Meng nodded and looked into the distance.

"Someone said that a person should not be a rice worm, full of food all day long, to kill his ambitions. Besides, the teeth of tigers and leopards should always be stretched out for grinding, lest they will lose their original sharpness if they are hidden in their mouths for too long." Stand up straight Cao Meng is only half a head taller than Liu De, but Liu De feels that Cao Meng is as tall as a mountain that inherits the world.

"Since this is the case, there is no need to wait any longer. Tell them that I am willing to join forces with Tang to defeat the Mohists." Cao Meng said decisively with two palm strikes.

"The lord agrees?"

"It's just..." Cao Meng changed the subject and said with a sneer: "If you want soldiers and horses, you can give them to Gu. Since Yang Taizhen has made a good plan, Gu can't lose too much. Tell her, Canghai can send [-] troops, but some time ago Mocheng and Pingcheng, which were occupied by the Tang Dynasty in [-], must be returned this time."

Although the Tang State and Canghai have always been in harmony, there are still some frictions, and the upper echelons of the two countries deliberately ignore this. After all, their archenemy is the Mohist family, although the mountain of the Mohist family has gradually collapsed in the eyes of Cao Meng. However, as long as this giant does not fall completely, both Cang Hai and Tang Guo will have to maintain their superficial harmony day by day.

"This...the friction between the two countries has something to lose, but it also has to gain. The Tang State occupied our Mocheng and Pingcheng and refused to return it, but I, Canghai, also took a pasture in the north of them to raise horses. If they want to use it as a exchange……"