Wei Yujiang thought for a while and then said: "Master Hou, Jiang Changfeng saw the flaw just because he suddenly thought that there was no way the hermit master would come to the East China Sea. This is very intriguing."
There was a smile in Qi Ning's eyes, and he nodded: "You continue."
"Jiang Changfeng doesn't know the true identity of the hermit master, but he knows that it is impossible for the hermit master to come to the East China Sea. This is naturally because Jiang Mantian once revealed the slightest clue to him." Wei Yujiang said: "I am thinking now, who Why is it impossible for the Hermit Lord to come to the East China Sea?"
"What do you think is possible?"
"There are at least two possibilities." Wei Yujiang's eyes flashed: "The first possibility is that the body of the hidden master prevents him from coming to the East China Sea."
"Oh?" Qining asked, "What is the physical reason you mentioned?"
"Maybe it's because of his disability, maybe he's too weak." Wei Yujiang said: "In short, it's because of his physical inconvenience that he really can't risk greater physical damage to come to the East China Sea."
Qi Ning nodded slightly and said, "That makes sense." Then he asked, "What could the other one be?"
"Identity!" Wei Yujiang said solemnly: "Maybe the identity of the hermit master is too special, and his whereabouts are of great importance." After a pause, he continued: "For example, if the Marquis comes to the East China Sea this time, although we It was very secretive when he came, but his whereabouts were still known. This may be the case for the hermit master. He has a special status. Once he comes to the East China Sea, he is likely to be known by others, and his identity cannot appear in the East China Sea. .”
Qining nodded and said, "I understand what you mean."
"There may be other reasons, but the most likely reasons for being humble are these two reasons, and the second reason may be even greater." Wei Yujiang said in a low voice: "The Marquis said before that we can make Lu Shanghe and Jiang Mantian is not an ordinary person who obeys orders. The identity of the hermit master is naturally extraordinary. His whereabouts are likely to be noticed all the time, and he even comes into contact with many people every day, but no one will know that he is a hermit. host."
Qi Ning thought for a while and then said: "Is it possible that the hermit master is from Dong Qi?"
Wei Yujiang immediately said: "Master Hou also suspects that he is from Dong Qi?"
The word "ye" naturally expressed his suspicion. Qi Ning said with a smile: "Wei Sishen has also thought about being from Dong Qi?"
"Master Marquis, during this bandit suppression, Fuso ninjas appeared among them. Even though I am humble, I know that most of the Fuso ninjas living in the East China Sea are in the northern part of the East China Sea and belong to the sphere of influence of the Dong Qi people." Wei Yujiang said lowly. The voice said: "I once heard someone mention it in my humble position, saying that there is a group of people in Fuso who are like ghosts and are good at assassination and tracking. I still remember that someone joked at that time that those Fuso ninjas were driven out of their country and fled to the East China Sea. Maybe the Dongqi people He will take these people for his own use.”
Qi Ning smiled lightly and said: "With the financial resources of the people of East Qi, it is not difficult to support a group of ninjas."
"If this group of ninjas are really taken under the banner of the Dongqi people, then the appearance of ninjas on the East China Sea must be closely related to the Dongqi people." Wei Yujiang said seriously.
Qi Ning nodded slightly and said: "As far as I know, the blacksmiths on Iron Island were tricked by a Dong Qi man into the ship and then smuggled to the East China Sea."
"That's it." Wei Yujiang said immediately: "The blacksmiths and ninjas on Iron Island are all related to the Dong Qi people. The Jiang family must have colluded with the Dong Qi. It is very possible that the hidden master was born in the Dong Qi."
Qi Ning frowned slightly and said, "The Jiang family started preparing for forging weapons in the East China Sea several years ago. In other words, the people of Dong Qi may have contacted here as early as a few years ago."
"Dong Qi is located between the Northern Han Dynasty and our Da Chu, and is just hanging on." Wei Yujiang sneered: "They know that the Donghai family has dissatisfaction with our Da Chu, and they secretly collude with the Donghai family. Once they find an opportunity, Donghai will raise troops, and my Da Chu will be behind Being attacked by enemies will naturally be of great benefit to Dong Qi."
"Looking for opportunities...!" Qi Ning pondered for a moment, his expression turned serious, and he whispered: "After the people of Eastern Qi learned about the changes in the north, they immediately married our Chu State and sent Prince Duan Shao to the Chu State in person. The purpose is to join forces to send troops to the Northern Han Dynasty, Wei Sishen, looking at it now, do you think there is fraud in this?"
"When the Marquis said this, I also felt that there was something fishy in it." Wei Yujiang's expression became more and more serious: "There was civil strife in the Northern Han Dynasty, so we took the opportunity to go north. That is also reasonable. It's just that the last time I, Dachu, fought with the Northern Han Dynasty After several years, Dong Qi remained motionless from beginning to end, but this time...!"
"They were very active this time, and they seemed to be more eager to attack the Northern Han Dynasty than we were." Qining sighed.
"Last time they did not act rashly, and the East China Sea side was calm as usual. Perhaps it was because everything was not ready yet." Wei Yujiang said: "The East China Sea family was not ready yet and did not dare to cause chaos. However, the last war was also Let the people of Dong Qi know that Da Chu and Northern Han will eventually be divided, so they want to take advantage of the opportunity of another war between the two countries to benefit, Lord Marquis, I wonder if this is possible?"
"Of course there is." Qi Ning sighed: "As you said, Dong Qi survives in the cracks. They know very well that no matter who Chu and Han win in the end, their Qi country will face annihilation, so they must also be in trouble. Find a plan to survive.”
Wei Yujiang said: "I am thinking, if we, Da Chu, really send troops to attack Han in the north, once the main force crosses the river and fights with Han, what danger will we face if the people of Qi block the waterway? When the time comes, we will raise troops in the East China Sea, The Donghai Navy is under control, and once it joins forces with the Dongqi Navy, no one on the water can compete with it. At that time, the Donghai rebels move north, and the Qi people send troops to invade our territory of Dachu...!"
He did not continue, but Qi Ning naturally understood the meaning, and both of them knew that once such a situation really occurred, the state of Chu would be in jeopardy.
When the Chu State used its troops against the Northern Han Dynasty, it naturally used all its elite troops. Once attacked from behind, the main force was dragged into the Han State, and the waterways were blocked, making it impossible to return reinforcements.
"If this is the case, we may have fallen into a huge trap." Qi Ning sighed: "I went to Dong Qi as an envoy to bring Princess Tianxiang back. Everything seems to be that we took the initiative to form an alliance with Dong Qi. Who knows? , the people of Qi are probably waiting for us to pass." He frowned: "The people of Qi are eager to join forces with us to send troops, maybe they are moving the tigers away from the mountains, the purpose is to let our Chu soldiers and horses go north to attack the Han, and they can take advantage of the opportunity Implement your own plan.”
"Master Marquis, all this is just a wrong guess, it may not really be the case." Wei Yujiang said: "But the imperial court is already planning the Northern Expedition. Once it is confirmed, it will be even more difficult to change the imperial court's decision. So Before sending troops, we must understand the thoughts of the people of Qi, and we, the great Chu, must also make complete plans."
Qi Ning nodded and said: "Yes, the matters here will be dealt with as soon as possible, and we will rush back to the capital as soon as possible."
Now that the imperial court is discussing the Northern Expedition, Qining knows that the core figure must be Ma Lan of the Zhenguo Company. Once the troops are sent out, all the offices in the capital will focus on the Northern Expedition. Everything, including money, food, troops, and strategies, will revolve around the war. , it is like drawing a bow and drawing the string, ready to go. Even if you raise your suspicions to the court, if there is not enough evidence to prove that the Dong Qi people have evil intentions, the court will never change its decision just because of your few words. .
Although the hidden master is very likely to be from Dong Qi, or even a high-ranking member of Dong Qi, this is just a judgment I made based on some clues I have at the moment. Not only is there no evidence to prove that Dong Qi must have evil intentions, but it is also my own guess. It's not entirely defensible.
Fortunately, Qi Ning did not wait too long in the East China Sea. A few days later, an imperial edict arrived from the capital. The person who conveyed the edict was Qi Ning's old acquaintance, Fan Dehai, the eunuch in charge of the palace.
Fan Dehai read out the emperor's decree at the Governor's Mansion. Before that, Qi Ning, Xin Ci and others were invited to the Governor's Mansion.
The three documents presented by Qi Ning and the others that day obviously played a big role. Jin Daohou Tantaihuang was granted the title of Duke of Yiguo, and Tantai Zhilin was posthumously granted the title of Jinghaihou. Now far away in Xichuan Tantai Zhixiu inherited the title of Jin Daohou.
In addition, Chen Ting still remained as the governor of the East China Sea. The emperor rewarded him with a calligraphy and painting written by himself. However, there was no clear reward for Qin Ning. He only said that he would give the reward after returning to the capital. As for the black tiger shark Mo Yanbai and hundreds of pirates under his command, the imperial court allowed the surrender and ordered Xin Ci to recruit them on the spot. Proper disposal. As for how to dispose of it, the decree is not clear.
Except for some of the imprisoned members of the Donghai family who were killed on the spot, most of them would be escorted to Xichuan by Chen Ting. The men would be sent to the army and the women would serve as military wives. The materials and weapons seized would be sent to Qi under the decree. Ning personally escorted him back to the capital.
After the edict was read out, everyone thanked them one after another. Qi Ning stood up to accept the edict and congratulated Xin Ci, Chen Ting and others. Xin Ci and Chen Ting both knew that had it not been for Qi Ning this time, not to mention being rewarded by the imperial court, once the Donghai Family For the sake of chaos, he might even lose his life, so he was naturally extremely grateful to Qi Ning.
Fan Dehai said with a smile: "Master Marquis, the Holy One has not rewarded you in the decree, so there must be a bigger reward waiting for you to return to Beijing. The Za family would like to express their congratulations to Master Marquis here first."
"Eunuch Fan has worked hard all the way. Mr. Chen, we will prepare a feast tonight to welcome our father-in-law." Qining said with a smile.
Chen Ting said hurriedly: "I will send someone to prepare now. I will never neglect it."
"Father, please wait here for a day." Qining said: "The shipment of the captured weapons and supplies had already begun before you arrived, but there were too many supplies and not enough carriages and horses, so all the shipments have not been completed, but There’s only one day left, so that’s it. Besides, it’s quite a long journey to the capital, and this batch of supplies is very important, so we must take good care of them. I will discuss the matter of escorting the convoy with Mr. Chen and Governor Xin.”
Fan Dehai said with a smile: "It's okay, the Za family is waiting here, and the Marquis and everyone don't have to worry."
"My father-in-law has worked hard all the way. I will arrange accommodation right now." Chen Ting cupped his hands and said, "When the banquet is ready, we can invite my father-in-law to the banquet."
"Mr. Chen, my father-in-law and I haven't seen each other for a while, and we miss him a lot. We were just about to talk. What do you think is a suitable place?" Qining said with a smile.
Chen Ting understood immediately, raised his hand and said: "Master Marquis, father-in-law, please come to the back hall!"
Qi Ning also smiled at Fan Dehai and said: "Please!" Chen Ting led the way, and the two of them followed to the back hall. The other officials very wisely left first. When they arrived at the back hall, Chen Ting asked someone to bring tea, and also left. After sitting down, Qi Ning smiled and said: "I didn't expect that my father-in-law came in person. It's really hard work. The palace should send someone else here."
"Master Marquis, this... well, it's hard to describe in words!" Fan Dehai smiled bitterly, looking frustrated.