Aggrieved Fish Sprite

Meng Qi likes to deal with smart people.

Save trouble, don't waste your words.

Without a cup of tea, Meng Qi had already got the list.

——Tsk, there are quite a few people under King Wu, but there is no leader, and it is a bit of a mixed bag.

Huang Yang had a bitter face, as if mourning his concubine.

"Okay, why bother to pretend." Meng Qi wrote down the list, rubbed his hands together, and the piece of paper turned into powder.

Brushing off his sleeves again, Meng Qi said casually: "In this list, the important people are all far away in Qiantang County. Maybe Huang Biejia is your opponent. They are dead, you can only be happy."

Huang Yang wanted to defend subconsciously, but then he reacted and smiled dryly without speaking.

Meng Qi glanced at him, feeling even more satisfied.

But Mo Li felt strange, so he asked Meng Qi how he could see it through sound transmission.

"There are many and mixed people on this list, but whether they are from Ningtai or Qiantang County, they are in charge of the same things. There are also these positions, most of which are low-ranking officials of the eighth and ninth ranks. Some of the names are very strange. The yamen where I live doesn't need so many assistant officials... Presumably they are from Jianghu, the King of Wu has recruited many such people, it is unreasonable not to give them official positions."

Meng Qi suddenly stopped talking, looked at Mo Li's blank eyes that still couldn't understand, and said the conclusion embarrassingly: "This Huang, don't avoid the important ones, most of the people on the list are unimportant people, and those important ones, of course, will not be A Jianghu person who gets a salary in name. There is a famous trick here, and if you have not been in the officialdom, you will not understand the key points."

It is not surprising that Huang Yang used this method to prevaricate, relying on his status as both sides of the officialdom.

"Since we both know our identities, there's no need to pretend to be confused." Meng Qi casually picked up a paperweight from the desk to play with.

But don't say, this Huang Biejia not only wears exquisite materials, but also uses first-class things.

Inside the ancient bamboo pen holder is a few tens of taels of silver or even hundreds of taels of fine brushes, clear clay inkstones with natural carvings, fragrant pine smoke ink, whole stacks of high-quality rice paper, and even the brush-washing paperweight. Such a small object does not reveal a delicate and elegant taste.

It took a lot of effort to search for this table, especially the craftsmanship of the Chengni inkstone was gradually lost due to repeated wars in the world, and the number of pine smoke inks dropped sharply in the past century due to the deforestation of ancient pine trees. It is top grade, and it doesn't look like extraordinarily expensive ancient inkstone and ancient ink.

It should be noted that such things, as long as they are a little old, the owner is not willing to use them, but they are passed down from generation to generation as treasures.

In Huang Yang's room, apart from these things, there is not a single piece of gold or jade, no antiques, not even a large porcelain vase from a famous kiln, and there are no calligraphy and paintings on the walls.Most of the valuable things are probably in the desk and wardrobe, let alone the clothes. After all, these days people respect Luo Shang to watch the dishes, but the things on the desk are probably not known to the government servants or ordinary Jianghu people.

For example, this black jade paperweight.

It looks ordinary, but when you pick it up, you realize that it is not light. It seems a bit too heavy for a paperweight?

Meng Qi did not miss Huang Yang's sudden nervous expression, although the latter quickly covered it up.

"Look at this doctor, fish-shaped paperweights are quite rare."

"..."

To be honest, if Meng Qi hadn't pointed it out, Mo Li really wouldn't have noticed that it was a fish.

Although it is black jade, if you look closely, it does have scale-like lines and water waves, but the carving is too primitive, like a jade pendant from the Warring States Period.

At that time, there were jade carvings with dragon patterns that looked like pigs. What is a mere fish that looks like a pig?

Seeing Mo Li's expression of disapproval, Meng Qi smiled more heartily.

There was more cold sweat on Huang Yang's forehead. He gritted his teeth and said reluctantly: "The news from me is no better than that of Fengxing Pavilion, but I also know the prestige of Meng Guoshi. The news that the two of you went to Jiangnan was spread privately a few days ago. Huang just A little man, of course he knows the times."

There was something in his words, but Meng Qi didn't ask, and didn't follow Huang Yangpu's path.

"I'm just joking, the old man has not asked about world affairs for many years, what prestige can he have?"

Huang Yang's expression was distorted when he heard the words, and he probably wanted to hit Meng Qi's face with a mirror, so that he could look in the mirror and call himself an old man.

The ink carp coughed.

"Forget it, since you are not willing to give the list, just talk about something useful." Meng Qi said while playing with the paperweight in his hand: "For example, who is the most important counselor of the King of Wu, and who is the most eloquent in front of the King of Wu?" The person who speaks, King Wu has soft ears, he can't do big things with his fault, there are not many people who can make up his mind for him, he can't have too much ambition."

Listening to Meng Qi talking about King Wu in a familiar tone, Huang Yang's expression became more complicated.

He is a life-saving person, and he is also very ambitious. Since tricks and scheming are useless, if he wants to survive, he can only tell the truth-Huang Yang doesn't know, but Meng Qi won't kill him, all he can think about is It was Qiu Si, whose life and death were unknown. Qiu Si had cast too much shadow on him for so many years. Even Qiu Si was defeated now, and Huang Yang couldn't give birth to any resistance.

At any rate, Qiu Si had more than a dozen attendants, all of whom were as good at martial arts as him, so he could escape with his life, so what chance did he have?

"There are three forces in King Wu's jurisdiction, but they seldom fight, because King Wu's heirs are not prosperous, and there is nothing to fight for, so their eyes have been staring outside..."

Huang Yang talked about the important officials of King Wu in one breath, including the famous families in Wu.

Mo Li listened carefully for a while, and found that the twists and turns and complicated relationships of these aristocratic families were really troublesome. However, there was a very obvious characteristic of the territory under King Wu's jurisdiction. They were more interested in making money than fighting for power.

Power is important, but if you are not careful, your family will die.

There are too many ways to make money in Qiantang County. When the speed of encroaching on the fields is far less than that of opening workshops and selling goods on HNA, when the workshops are always short of manpower, the common people are as sought-after as the fields. goods.

Wudi is very exclusive, no matter how many opportunities to make money, they are unwilling to share it with others, and foreign companies will be excluded.

"...They wish Jiangnan would be in chaos. It would be best if the Qi Dynasty went to war with King Jing, and King Ning would fight to the death with King Jing. In this way, people with little wealth and rich households would flee to Wu. Since they have money, they can afford it Goods, people who can write and count when their family is in decline, farmers who can’t read big characters are not popular... No matter what, they must be people who are smart and able to work. Women are even more valued than men. Women don’t drink and make trouble. All kinds of embroidery work rarely make mistakes, and rarely damage the goods that need to be treated carefully due to clumsy hands during work, especially when King Wu sent troops to fight against the mountain tribes the year before last, and many newly built mountain tea gardens lack tea pickers."

The more Meng Qi listened, the brighter his eyes became, and there was an obvious smile on his lips.

&nb-->>

sp;Compared with the idea of ​​the clans taking advantage of the chaos to plunder the population, he cared more about what Huang Yang said about the status quo of Wu.

It is quite a feat that the nobles of the family can give up, even for a short time, to annex the land.

——If you think about it carefully, this is still a unique situation in Wudi. There are many rivers, lakes and fertile fields scattered and difficult to connect into a piece. Besides fertile fields, there are only small hills, and there are few mountains, so it is impossible to reclaim wasteland.Wudi can produce mulberry, hemp and salt, and all kinds of brocade weaving skills are also good. Even ordinary wealthy households have the habit of opening shops to do business, instead of thinking about just buying land and becoming a local rich man.

"So you want to instigate King Ning to raise troops?" Meng Qi was in a good mood, and Huang Yang was also pleasing to the eye.

Huang Yang choked, and said lightly: "The plan can't keep up with the changes. The Holy Lotus Altar has reached out to the south of the Yangtze River many times. It's a pity that King Jing is entrenched by Xiliang people. King Ning's here is the old nest of Fengxing Pavilion, and King Wu has won over many rivers and lakes." People, that's why they didn't succeed. But since King Tianshou colluded with Holy Lotus Altar, the situation in Yizhou has accelerated, and Mr. Qiu seems to have secretly contacted King Tianshou again, and the people in Wudi have become anxious."

They just want to reap the benefits of being a fisherman, and they don't want to cause a real chaos in the world.

The holy lotus altar is bluffing and deceiving, coercing the people to rebel, isn't this robbing the population of Wu land?

"There is news, you may not know it yet, King Jing was assassinated."

Meng Qi stared at Huang Yang and said, the latter was startled, and blurted out: "A person from the Heavenly Sect?"

"Except for him, there will be no one else." Meng Qi said playfully, "You are also a smart person, so you can take care of yourself."

After speaking, he signaled to Mo Li, and the two jumped out of the window without a sound, and disappeared in an instant.

Huang Yang opened his mouth to cry out, but held back.

He realized that Ning Tai couldn't stay any longer, he had to go.

Going to Qiantang County, whether it is planning for the future or avoiding danger, because the Tianshou Wang army is very likely to sweep Jiangnan like locusts, and the rebellious army short of money and food will never be willing to plunder Jingzhou.

***

When Meng Qi came out of Huang Yang's courtyard and passed the first roof, he suddenly stopped, like a falcon that suddenly swooped down from the sky, and pulled out a man in black from the darkness with lightning speed.

Mo Li was taken aback, seeing that the man in black was thin and small, but his lightness kung fu was extremely superb.

Sudden attack, the man in black tried to break free from Meng Qi's restraint with three consecutive movements, but unfortunately his movements lacked flexibility and internal strength, like a sparrow caught by a falcon.

Meng Qi didn't speak, the sky was bright now, it's not a good idea to stay on the roof of Xuncheng Yamen for a long time, he and Mo Li came to another secluded alley in the east of the city at a very fast speed , and then threw the person in his hand heavily on the ground.

The man in black rolled over on the spot, huddled pitifully against the wall, his eyes wandering in search of a way to escape.

Mo Li frowned slightly, he smelled the faint smell mixed with pharmacy sachets and sweet-scented osmanthus hair oil.

"is her."

The woman who squatted on the roof last night and chased Jing Shanhu, who wanted to solve the murder case, left.

Meng Qi noticed the shock and doubt in the woman's eyes under the black scarf when Mo Li spoke.

"You, you..."

The woman's voice sounded weak, but it was also clear and pleasant.

Her eyes flickered here and there, at first Mo Li thought she wanted to run away, but when the woman's eyelids flickered to the point of cramp, she realized that something was wrong.

Meng Qi smiled but wasn't smiling.

In the eyes of ordinary people, even though this woman is well covered, those pair of scissored pupils are really moving. When she glanced at them, her eyelashes inadvertently drooped slightly, showing a graceful and charming attitude. It is a pity that she winked at Longmai, who is just a blind.

It doesn't matter whether it covers only one pair of eyes or half of the face... As long as the whole face is not exposed, it doesn't make any difference in Longmai's eyes.

The woman simply pulled off the mask and said in a soft voice: "Li Kong'er, my servant, has no intention of offending the two seniors. I wonder what admonitions seniors have?"

"Li Kong'er?" Suspicion suddenly arose in Mo Li's heart. He hadn't forgotten the thief Li Kong'er he met in Yongzhou, so why did one appear here?

Meng Qi laughed directly: "It's not easy for you to maintain your reputation as the world's number one thief."

Brothers and sisters of the same generation all walked the rivers and lakes under the name of Li Konger, and their footprints spread all over the country.

The woman bit her lip and said: "Huang Yang, who patrols the city's yamen, has a black jade double fish pendant from the Warring States period. If the two seniors also want it, I will retreat when I know it is difficult."

The ink carp frowned, what kind of ink jade Pisces pendant, the fish can't recognize it, okay?

Meng Qi exposed her unceremoniously: "If you want to steal Huang Biejia's things, why don't you go into the house to get them when he is not around? Didn't you see people gathered at the door of the ice cellar last night? Why did you go after Jin Bukuai and his group again, and you didn't steal until Mo Yupei's owner came back?"

The woman looked at him in horror, unable to lie for a while.

"No, my slave..."

Her eyes began to wander again, her expression was sad, and her small, palm-sized face was full of tears.

It turned out that the two people in front of them really seemed to be dead, and they didn’t respond at all. Li Kong’er didn’t know what to do, so she hurriedly lowered her head to explain: “Actually, the slave family knew about the Thunderbolt Hall and wanted to sell it to Huang Yang. The people in this world are always generous.”

Just as the words before her finished, there was a sudden loud noise in her ear.

The sound was like an ancient beast breaking out of the ground, the smoke and dust billowed, the ground shook, and nothing could be heard clearly.

Li Kong'er was so unlucky that his forehead almost hit the blue bricks of the alley wall.

"What's going on?" Mo Li stabilized his figure, his expression changed drastically.

Meng Qi, who jumped onto the roof first, looked even uglier than Mo Li, and a section of the city wall collapsed in the distance.

Ningtai City is very large, and the city walls are also very high. It was built by King Ning after the pattern of Taijing. No matter how you think about it, it will not collapse easily. Now it not only collapsed, but also affected three squares, and many houses were smashed down. , Contiguous ruins, cries and shouts can be heard endlessly.

Mo Li had seen tragic earthquakes in Qiuling County, but right now it was considered a man-made disaster.

Li Kong'er's face was pale, and he got up and wanted to run, but was stopped by Meng Qi who was full of murderous looks.

She fell down with a thud in fright, and said tremblingly: "I don't know, I didn't know they were doing it so quickly, no no... I just saw people from the Thunder Hall sneaking around the city wall when I was stealing things a while ago." Fiddle."

The smoke and dust dispersed slowly, and I saw that the city wall of Ningtai was destroyed about [-] feet long, and it would not be repaired within ten days and a half months.