the enlightener says

I'm afraid you still can't sleep when you go back, right?The captain of the imperial army smiled, and signaled with his eyes to accompany the old minister out of the palace gate.

Pressing the hilt of the sword with one hand, he continued to watch the officials file out, squinting his eyes.

That night, the entire Jingwu Palace was almost turned upside down under the control of the Imperial Army. From the dining room to the cleansing room and other parts, several eunuchs or court ladies who were involved with the assassin were also found.

In the big prison, I don't know how many prisoners are howling under the means of the jailer.As for the group of officials in front of him, many of them must be brought into Tingwei's mansion one day like drowning dogs.

Thinking of this, his mood inexplicably improved, and he was much less tired all night. Looking at the largest hall in the palace, he silently thanked God for caring for Prime Minister Zhuge.

Most of the soldiers of the Jingwu Forbidden Army came from ordinary backgrounds, and they were the staunch force under Zhuge Wanling and Gao Changgong, so naturally they were the only ones who followed suit.Even... if one day they received an order to enter the palace to kill the little ruler who was supposed to be their core protection target, they wouldn't even bat an eyelid.

Chapter 100 Tea House Old Friends Come

Although the news of Zhuge Wanling's assassination was immediately blocked by the palace, but the matter was too big, and the officials were out of the palace, and there were many people talking about it. It took only an hour after dawn, and the whole Jianye city had already spread the news. There was a lot of buzz.

Although the common people are ignorant of government affairs, they are still quite smart after all. Let’s unite with the "Lei Jun" who retreated from the battlefield that day and directly took over the gates of Jianye City, and strictly checked all the people entering and leaving. That unusual smell.

No matter in the streets or alleys, or teahouses and taverns, everyone's eyes are no longer laziness or confusion in the morning. It seems that whenever two people meet, the first sentence that everyone opens their mouths is: "Listen Did you say it?"

As the matter spread more and more widely, there were more and more rumors. Even the reason for Zhuge Wanling's assassination was speculated one, two, three, four...

In a small teahouse in Jianye City, someone discussed loudly: "Did you hear that? Just last night, Prime Minister Zhuge was assassinated in the court hall!"

"This story has already spread throughout Jianye City, and no one knows about it. Are you a bit new?" In the teahouse, the listeners were noncommittal. The matter is related to the prime minister and Jing Wu, so naturally I can't help but want to know more.

"Then why the prime minister was assassinated, you don't know?"

The listener rolled his eyes: "Don't tell me it's because Ms. Sun's family has a grudge because she couldn't marry into a general... This is false, and what about General Mulan of the Great Wall Mission who was messed up by Zhuge Wanling back then?" Finally abandoned, so I drew my sword and vowed to kill Prime Minister Zhuge on the spot, that would be even more nonsense, can there be something new..."

"Hey! That's really new. This time, I'm not talking nonsense. I spent a lot of time inquiring about it. Do you know about the flood in the lower reaches of the river?"

"Of course I know, there are all kinds of sayings, and some people say that the local people have dug up the dragon's veins and offended the Dragon King..."

"That's all for deceiving three-year-old children. How could you offend the Dragon King? Dragon veins can be hidden in the fields? It's all because of those corrupt officials who coveted the imperial court's disaster relief food and intentionally broke the embankment, causing the river to burst. "

The listener nodded, and said with great interest: "I've heard of this before, and it's well said."

"This is a real thing. A few days ago, the prime minister specially gave Mr. Zhou the official name of supervisor, and asked him to go to the lower reaches of the river to supervise disaster relief, you know? Disaster relief should be arranged by officials at all levels. When will Have you ever heard that there is such a thing as an inspector? I heard that Master Zhou went to the lower reaches of the river... not only to supervise disaster relief, but also to investigate the destruction of dikes and flooded fields."

"Is there such a thing?" The listener finally raised his interest and continued to ask, "Then what does this have to do with the assassination of the prime minister?"

"Of course it has something to do with it." The narrator slapped the table and said, "Because the one who assassinated the prime minister was the backer of that corrupt official! Think about it, a few local officials, even if they really want to be corrupt, how dare they destroy the embankment?" Such a big event as flooding the fields? Naturally, someone in the court told them to do it. The prime minister was awesome because of his quick response when the big river broke its embankment. Seeing that the relief food could be put into their pockets, who knew that the prime minister waved his hand and sent another inspector! Now the group of corrupt officials panicked. ? The dog jumps over the wall in a hurry, and it is not surprising that these people do such insane things as assassination."

This may be the most plausible conjecture this morning, and it has naturally been convinced by most people. Whether it is the guest in the teahouse just now or the other guests who are drinking tea and listening quietly, they are all patient. Can't stop nodding.

For the common people, Zhuge Wanling is the pillar of Jingwu's founding. This Jingwu was established because of him, and during the few years when he was the prime minister, Jingwu was even more prosperous.After the people who came all the way from the chaos of the division of the Wu Kingdom back then, after getting richer day by day, they would naturally not forget the prime minister who made the most contributions, and several voices filled with righteous indignation filled the teahouse.

"Hmph! I knew these officials had no good intentions. Prime Minister Zhuge allowed these people to continue to be officials for the sake of Jing Wu, but in the end he raised a group of unfamiliar white-eyed wolves! Damn it!"

"Fortunately, Prime Minister Zhuge is safe and sound. If these corrupt officials have got their hands, I'm afraid that Jing Wu will die."

Everyone agreed, and some people even ordered a large altar of good wine when they were happy, and drank it at such an early morning.

There were no candles lit in the teahouse in the morning, although the windows and gates were brightly lit by the sky, there were still a few seats in the shadows, which looked a little dim.And at the innermost side of this small teahouse, in a private room only separated by straw mats, Liu De smiled slowly, looked at the figure sitting opposite him, and said, "Drink or tea?"

"Tea." Zhuge Wanling replied calmly.

I'm afraid that in Jianye City, no one would have thought that Zhuge Wanling did not stay in the safe palace when the assassination incident continued, but was alone with Liu De in such a small or even dilapidated teahouse Sit opposite.

Liu De nodded, called Xiao Er, and said, "A pot of rice wine and a pot of hot tea."

"Okay, wait a minute, guest officer." Xiaoer was also listening to the discussion, but felt that the temperament of the two guests in the cubicle was really different, so he didn't dare to neglect, and ran away in a hurry .

However, Liu De and Zhuge Wanling faced each other for a long time, and the tranquility between them was finally broken by Liu Dewen's words after Xiao Er brought the wine and tea together: "I don't know whether you are confident or bold. Just yesterday Assassinated, dare to accept my invitation today to come to such an unprotected teahouse. Are you not worried at all?"

Zhuge Wanling picked up the tea, took a sip, and said calmly: "With you here, there are not many people in Jianye City who can kill me."

Liu De was slightly taken aback, he didn't expect Zhuge Wanling to say that, and couldn't help laughing out loud.There is joy in his smile, but also nostalgia. It has been a few years since the two of them sat together?Think about it, at that time, both of them were just innocent civilians, but now, one is the military master Jijiu of Canghai, and the other is the regent prime minister who is under Jing Wu and above ten thousand people. The change can be said to be earth-shaking.

However, when he had the last laugh, he asked calmly: "Then you are not afraid, I am going to kill you?"

The air suddenly cooled down, and the hot tea in Zhuge Wanling's hand was temporarily moved by Sen Leng's killing intent, and the steam was erratic.

Liu De is not joking.

Zhuge Wanling understood this, because he used to be familiar with Liu De as if he knew his own siblings, and Liu De once trusted him as he trusted Cao Meng who is now in the sea.But what happened back then...

Zhuge Wanling's expression was still calm. Although the ancient sword "Zhanlu" on Liu De's waist groaned softly, he still slowly drank the hot tea in his hand.

"You won't kill me." Zhuge Wanling said.

Liu De looked at Zhuge Wanling, as if he wanted to see the person in front of him clearly again. After a long time, he sighed, poured out a glass of rice wine, raised his head and drank it down, and the murderous intent on his body disappeared immediately.

"It's just that I won't kill you now." Liu De said, "But it's not because of you, but because your death at this time doesn't do much good for Cang Hai."

Zhuge Wanling nodded and said, "So, are you determined to choose Cao Meng?"

"He is a man with great ambitions." Liu De was slightly distracted when he thought of the person he swore allegiance to, "and he is one of the few people who can really put the people in his heart."

Zhuge Wanling nodded again, and said, "This is what you have been pursuing."

"What I'm after has always been very clear." Liu De suddenly looked at Zhuge Wanling with burning eyes, "It's you, what do you want? When you disappeared, I thought you were really dead. But in the past few years All of a sudden, an army suddenly emerged, from the largest gang in the Wu Kingdom to the establishment of Jingwu. It seems that there is nothing in this world that you can't do if you think about it."

"But what do you want?" Liu De's eyes were full of sarcasm, "Could it be that simply playing with people's hearts can no longer satisfy you, and now you even want to play with the thousands of people in Jingwu?"

Chapter 1 Borrowing Grain

Zhuge Wanling didn't answer, although from Liu De's perspective, his eyes were inevitably dimmed in the dim light.But he still calmly holds the rough clay tea bowl and drinks the low-quality tea picked by the tea farmers in the countryside and costs only a dozen or so dollars, as if it is a rare wine that is hard to find in the palace.

"In your eyes, do common people exist so easily that they can be played with?" Zhuge Wanling asked softly.

Liu De was slightly taken aback, he didn't expect Zhuge Wanling to ask such a question after a long silence, but soon his eyes settled down: "Isn't it? Thousands of people are like uncertain drinks..." He took advantage of the situation Pour down the few drops of wine left in the glass, and the wine dripped on the table.

He filled the wine glass with the jug again, raised the wine glass, and said: "Even if I just lift this glass of wine lightly, the wine in it is already rippling."

"You and I are both toasters." Liu De said.

Zhuge Wanling looked at the slowly dripping wine and remained silent for a long time. After all, he didn't explain anything, but just exhaled softly: "Maybe."

Liu De became more and more confused about the light in Zhuge Wanling's eyes. After observing for a long time, he still gave up: "Forget it. Why should I tell you this? Once, I thought you and I were like-minded, but I was wrong. If If it wasn't to save you, how could Ziyun die tragically? What brothers and sisters, what lofty ambitions... I will never believe your nonsense again!"

Liu De raised his head and drank the light wine in the glass in one gulp. In fact, the rice wine in Jingwu is really weak. Compared with the strong wine that enters the throat like a knife in Canghai Kingdom, this rice wine is like clear water. Thinking of this, Liu De felt inexplicably I began to miss the sea.

This time he and Mulan traveled in a team because he made a request to Cao Meng on his own initiative, and Cao Meng also knew the threat of those fierce beasts beyond the natural danger of the Great Wall, so he let him go south.The mission had spent nearly three months on this journey, and if that matter still failed to come to fruition, he would be ashamed of Mulan, and even more ashamed of Cao Meng.

"Let's get down to business. It's not suitable for the two of us to want to reminisce about the old days." Liu De said with a solemn expression, "Last night, something like that happened in the hall. It's not easy for General Mulan to explain his intentions, but now The situation in the Wu Dynasty changed unexpectedly in Jingjing, I am afraid that even if she wants to talk about it now, she will not be able to talk about it, after thinking about it, I can only find you in private, although it is a bit overwhelming, it is still in line with human feelings."

Zhuge Wanling nodded and said with a smile, "I guessed it. If it was your old style, you wouldn't do such a thing."

"I may not want to call you out, and take the opportunity to kill you to relieve the hatred in my heart..." Liu De looked down at the light wine in the cup, then turned the conversation back, and said calmly: "The Great Wall has always been far away from fighting. Well, General Mulan's trip to the south this time, naturally, he didn't have any intention of forming an alliance. Although I walked with her, this matter has nothing to do with my lord. I naturally hope you don't misunderstand me when I say this."

"Actually, you don't need to explain so much. General Mulan went south because of the military supplies on the Great Wall, right?" Zhuge Wanling took a sip of tea, the calm look on his face suddenly dissipated, looked directly at Liu De and said, "A few months A few days ago, the West Great Wall was in emergency, and there were thousands of blood demons invading the border. In addition, the North Great Wall has been suffering from drought for these years. There is still food to be levied. If there is no way to do it, and you can't bear to pass the pressure on to the people, how could you go south in person with General Mulan's proud heart?"

"It seems that although you live in Jingwu, your ears and eyes can spread all over the world. Now that you understand, I will save a lot of effort in explaining." Liu De raised his eyes, and his eyes were as bright as torches. The world is like lips and teeth. If a ferocious beast crosses the Great Wall and goes all the way to the place where the common people live, the consequences will be unimaginable. But after the fall of the previous dynasty, the world has fought for so many years, and every year it promised to allocate 30 shi to the Great Wall. Food has already become a dead letter, without food, where will the army come to resist those beasts?"

Liu De let out a long sigh, and continued: "You said a few months ago that the West Great Wall was in an emergency, and blood demons invaded, resulting in the death of nearly [-] garrison troops on the Great Wall, and the treasury is almost empty now. , I can’t even pay out the pensions for the dead soldiers... I, the Lord of Canghai, is willing to give out food for emergencies, but after all, Canghai doesn’t have such a foundation, and part of the [-] shi of food distributed is even military rations..."

"So, you want me, Jing Wu, to take out the stored grain from the treasury and transport it to the Great Wall?" Zhuge Wanling looked at Liu De, and asked softly, "Where are the Mo family and the Tang country? Since you are all the way south, I think you are already on the way. Have you dealt with these two countries?"

Liu De shook his head, with a serious expression on his face: "The Mohists said that they are also willing to give [-] shi of grain, plus [-] carts of ironware, but the struggle between the Mohist court, the Confucianism and the Legalists has become increasingly fierce, and what should have been a firm promise was exchanged for ten in one day. Several theories have not been unified so far.”

"Where is Tang Guo?"

"Tang Kingdom..." Liu De sighed, "As the lord of the country, Li Qiuhuang ignores state affairs every day, indulges in drinking and composing poems, and lets the beloved concubine Yang Taizhen, a woman, monopolize all the power... General Mulan and I once fought with her There have been several contacts, but every time these things are mentioned, the woman can make an excuse to change the topic. How could General Mulan tolerate being so contemptuous and perfunctory, and left without even saying hello in a rage Tang Guo continued to travel southward, and finally arrived at Jingwu."

"So... these two countries are hard to count on?" Zhuge Wanling said meaningfully.

"Yes." Liu De talked about these troubles, and poured a glass of wine from the jug again.

Zhuge Wanling looked down at the jug, half-closed his eyes, thought for a moment, and said, "So, how much grain does General Mulan want me to supply from Jingwu?" After a pause, he continued, "Or, in addition, Salt, ironware, kerosene?"

Liu De hesitated for a while, holding the wine glass slightly, his fingertips turned white: "15 shi for grain, and 5 for salt and iron." The country can send three thousand war horses to Jingwu."

In fact, 15 shi of grain was just a small number in terms of Wu Guo back then.The capital of the former dynasty lived in the current Mohist territory, but there were not many rice fields around it for cultivation. However, the food transported from the south every year still made it the largest city in the world. It can be seen that the south is called a rich place not just rumor.

Since ancient times, the south has abundant rain and dew, a suitable climate, and the runoff irrigation of the two waters of the Changhe River. At least two seasons of rice can be planted every year, plus one season of winter wheat. Three times as much.

It's a pity that after the civil strife in Wu, more than 30 small countries, large and small, were split into more than [-] small countries.Although Jing Wu stands majestically today, and can even stand against Tang, Mohism, and Canghai, after all, time is short, and a lot of waste is waiting to be done. After the big battle with Tang a few years ago, how much food can be left?

Liu De has been proficient in field ridges for many years, and he was in charge of farming in Canghai, so he naturally knew that his request was too much.But after all, this is not about him alone, it is about the Great Wall, and even the people of the world.

He must speak.

"Although these three thousand horses are not the standard horses for my Canghai tiger and leopard rider, they are also young horses that have been selected by my Canghai country. They are running like thunder. I believe they will definitely help the Jingwu Qingzhou ghost rider."

Although 15 war horses are worth a lot, compared to [-] shi of grain and ironware, they can only be regarded as a small sweetener.

However, Liu De thought about it again. Jingwu has long occupied the southeast plains, and it is far inferior to the vast grasslands in the sea where horses can be raised directly. In recent years, Jingwu has vigorously developed the cavalry. It must be extremely thirsty for high-quality horses, so he will Advice to Cao Meng, use this method to increase the bargaining chip for borrowing grain.

Zhuge Wanling sat quietly, eyes half closed, and did not say a word for a long time.

He didn't know the importance of these three thousand war horses, not only for expanding the cavalry, but also for the breed of horses.

Canghai and the Mohists have always restricted the sale of horses, strictly forbidding high-quality horses from entering Tang and Jingwu, so if Jingwu wants to get good war horses, he can only go to those smugglers at a high price.

And with these [-] majestic war horses, Jing Wu will certainly be able to domesticate a batch of high-quality war horses in the next ten years, the significance of which is self-evident.

There was a sudden silence between the two of them.

Outside the cubicle, those guests were still chattering about whether Zhuge Wanling's assassination made a few shouts of righteous indignation.

Liu De whispered: "How?"

"It's not... impossible." Zhuge Wanling said slowly, holding his teacup lightly.

"Really?" Liu De's eyes immediately burst into surprise. To be honest, he had already prepared for the worst, and even thought about Zhuge Wanling flatly rejecting him. How to persuade him further, but he never thought of it. Zhuge Wanling would agree so simply, he glanced at the hot tea in Zhuge Wanling's cup, it was still a little hot.

"Then I... first thank Jing Wu for General Mulan!" Liu De sat up straight and bowed his hands.

Chapter 1: The Identity of the Assassin

Liu De subtly did not thank Zhuge Wanling, but raised the height directly between the two countries.

"It's too early to say thank you." Zhuge Wanling said, "Even if I gave you 15 shi of grain, the waterway between Jingwu and the Great Wall is different, and the road is high and the water is far away. You can only go by land. How can you... 15 shi of grain safely transported to the Great Wall?"

Liu De nodded. The excitement just now gradually calmed down, and he sighed: "This is indeed a trouble, but General Mulan and I are already discussing countermeasures. I have thought about it. But if I go all out to borrow from her, 15 shi is not impossible."

Zhuge Wanling smiled: "Do you want Jingwu to return the 15 shi of grain to Canghai, and then you will allocate grain from Canghai to escort the Great Wall?"

"Not bad." Speaking of this plan, Liu De showed a bit of confidence on his face, "It is of course unrealistic to transport grain directly from Jingwu to the Great Wall, let alone how much manpower and animal power are needed to transport the 15 shi, just the journey. Loss is already a huge expense. But if we directly collect taxed grain from Canghai in advance, and then exempt subsequent taxes, and finally fill the treasury with grain shipped from the Tang Dynasty, the loss of the 15 shi of grain will be can be minimized.”

"It's really a good idea." Zhuge Wanling smiled gently, and praised: "This idea is indeed a good idea, and this is enough to prove that Cao Meng did not misunderstand you when he chose you to be his military advisor."

Liu De shook his head, and said: "The lord's literary and military strategy is not inferior to mine at all. To call him the chief counselor is actually just to discuss everything with me."

"Really. To receive such admiration from you, I am starting to wonder what kind of person this Lord Canghai is."

"There will be a chance." Liu De looked at Zhuge Wanling and said, "He has also mentioned your matter many times. A person who can piece together the fragmented Wu Kingdom into a complete Jingwu is enough to be called He deserves to be a hero.”

"Don't dare." Zhuge Wanling waved his hand lightly.

The two sat and talked, even though it was only half an hour, they had already explained many things clearly.

Liu De finished a pot of wine, while Zhuge Wanling only drank half a bowl of tea, and the two walked out slowly side by side.

"How's the talk going?" Gao Changgong's figure appeared by the door, obviously he had been waiting for a long time.

Although he was only dressed in plain linen clothes, he was still the focus of everyone just standing there idly.

He didn't put his hair up in a bun, but let his long black hair flutter gently in the wind. From a distance, he looked a little out of this world, but no matter how he was beautified by the world, the heroic look on his brow The resoluteness and the lines of his face never make him appear half-feminine.

Along the way, the little girls on the side of the road looked at his face, and they were too ashamed to raise their heads, but they couldn't help covering their faces with silk handkerchiefs, and looked at him secretly with Huaichun eyes. It's not that there is still a little girl's reserve, I'm afraid that one or two will become disciples who follow her.

Of course, although Gao Changgong is so eye-catching, no one will really think of this man as the Jingwu God of War who is more than ten thousand people. When to come to such a poor place?

"General Gao has been stationed in the palace all night, why doesn't he go to rest now, but has the leisure to come to a remote place?"

Ask knowingly.

Gao Changgong looked up and down Liu De's plain clothes, which were similar to his own, and said with a smile: "Mr. Liu is carrying on the mission of building a country across the oceans. Isn't he also drinking in this small teahouse at the moment? Drinking in a teahouse, the military master is really in a good mood."

Liu De returned a salute and asked, "Since General Gao is here, there must be some clues to what happened last night?"

But Gao Changgong asked back: "Why is Liu Junshi so intentional? Is it possible that he is in Canghai to sacrifice wine, but he is just a job?"

Liu De smiled helplessly, thinking that Gao Changgong seemed like a person who would never suffer a little.

When the idler said it, he was naturally expressing: "It's not your turn to take care of the internal affairs of Jingwu."

It's just a bit of politeness in words.

"gone."