The next day, Qiu Yizi got up early again, said hello to Zheng Miao, and then went to visit the Grand Prince Zheng Xin.
Unexpectedly, Zheng Xin went to the palace early in the morning, leaving Qiu Yizhi empty-handed. Fortunately, the imperial army camp was nearby, so Qiu Yizhi changed her plan and went to visit her sworn brother Yuchi Lianghong and Marshal Dai Luanxiang.
The Imperial Guards always had 200,000 to 300,000 soldiers stationed in various camps around the capital Luoyang. The so-called "Imperial Guards Camp" in the capital only had more than 20,000 soldiers stationed there. However, these 20,000 soldiers were the elite of the elite Imperial Guards and the only mobile force that could be deployed at any time in the capital, so they were extremely important.
Therefore, the defenses of the Imperial Guards camp are no less formidable than those of the Imperial City, and it is not easy for ordinary people to enter.
Fortunately, Qiu Yizhi was also a military man. After Zheng Rong succeeded in the "rebellion suppression campaign", he selected trusted veterans from the Youyan army and placed them in the Imperial Guards as officers at all levels. Therefore, after some twists and turns, Qiu Yizhi finally found an old Youyan officer he was familiar with, and under his leadership, he entered the Imperial Guards camp.
Today's imperial guards are still nominally under the command of the Ministry of War, but are actually controlled by Zheng Rong's second son Zheng Sen. However, although Zheng Sen is a good commander in battle, he is not good at paperwork, so the daily affairs of the imperial guards are currently handled by former general Dai Luanxiang, while military training is handed over to the leader of the Wulin Alliance, Yuchi Lianghong.
Former general Dai Luanxiang is also an old friend of Qiu Yizi.
He was the most famous general in the court except for Youyan King Zheng Rong. In the campaign against rebellion, he was the enemy of Youyan army. He led the army to garrison Henan Road alone, and made Youyan army, the lion of the world, helpless. For this reason, Qiu Yizhi, with the support of Zheng Rong and Zhongli Kuang, used the strategy of alienation and the chain of strategies to force Dai Luanxiang to surrender to Zheng Rong. Since then, Zheng Rong defeated Qian Qing and Bai Wenbo, two commanders, and successfully took the capital and ascended the throne. Therefore, Dai Luanxiang's surrender can be said to be a turning point in the "campaign against rebellion".
Emperor Zheng Rong was indeed not a narrow-minded emperor who would abandon his father after his death or put away his bow after all the birds were gone. After he became emperor, he reappointed Dai Luanxiang as the general of the imperial guards to assist Zheng Sen in presiding over the affairs of the Ministry of War.
Therefore, when Qiu Yizi entered the Imperial Guard camp, the first thing he did was to go straight to the central army tent to pay a visit to the famous Marshal Dai.
Qiu Yizi had rescued Dai Luanxiang's entire family from the minions of the Ministry of Persuasion, so when Dai Luanxiang heard that Qiu Yizi was coming to visit, he was very happy. He immediately put down what he was doing and went out to greet her.
Qiu Yizi greeted Dai Luanxiang when he saw him.
However, when he was trying to win over Dai Luanxiang for his adoptive father Zheng Rong, he did not use entirely upright strategies. He felt a little guilty when he saw him, and after saying a few words, he asked him where Yuchi Lianghong was.
Before he finished speaking, he saw Yuchi Lianghong walking quickly towards him from a distance.
It turned out that he heard the news that Qiu Yizi had arrived, so he immediately handed over the task of training the troops to his subordinates and went to the central military tent.
Yuchi Lianghong and Qiu Yizhi were sworn brothers, and they had been through life and death together for many times, so their relationship was already extraordinary. Therefore, after Yuchi Lianghong and Dai Luanxiang exchanged greetings, he dragged Qiu Yizhi to his daily office tent to talk.
The two chatted happily. When talking about Yuchi Jiming, Qiu Yizhi couldn't help but admire him: "The ancients often said: 'A tiger father cannot have a dog daughter'. I just realized it a few days ago. Jiming is a martial arts expert and he is also reliable in his work. I think he has the demeanor of a brother!"
Yuchi Lianghong sighed and said, "I have two sons and one daughter. Only my daughter Jiming is very talented. I may not be her opponent in the future. But my two sons are mediocre. Even if they can practice to the top, they are just ordinary first-class masters. They can never be the best in the world!"
Qiu Yizi smiled and said, "Brother is an outstanding man, how can you still have the prejudice of 'preferring sons over daughters' like a foolish man or a foolish woman? I think Jiming is very good, and he is not inferior to ordinary men at all."
Yuchi Lianghong nodded, sighed and said, "My dear brother, you are too kind. But our Yuchi family is a martial arts family. It is not a long-term solution for a girl to show her face outside. Even if she is really a martial arts master, it is hard to guarantee that others will not say that our Yuchi family has no successor."
Qiu Yizi waved his hand and said, "Brother, you are wrong again. The leader of the martial arts world is like the throne. You see the emperor sitting firmly on the dragon throne, but in a dynasty, who can guarantee that every emperor is the best in the world in terms of wisdom and martial arts?"
When Yuchi Lianghong heard this, he was stunned and stared at Qiu Yizi in surprise.
Qiu Yizi then realized that he had been too arrogant and said quickly, "I was wrong. Brother, please don't spread this."
Yuchi Lianghong quickly agreed, and then heard Qiu Yizi say: "Then let me change an example. Brother, have you heard of Tianzun Sect?"
Yuchi Lianghong had been through many dangerous things, so he had naturally come into contact with the Tianzun Cult. However, he didn't know what Qiu Yizi wanted to say, so he asked, "Brother, why did you mention the Tianzun Cult for no reason?"
Qiu Yizi grinned and said, "I wonder if you know, brother, that all the leaders of the Tianzun Sect have been inherited by the Wen family, which is no different from the dynasties of the past. Could it be that all these so-called leaders are so wise and have such high reputation that they can command everyone?"
Yuchi Lianghong shook his head and said, "Of course not..."
Before he could continue, Qiu Yizi interrupted him and said, "Brother, have you ever thought about why the Wen family has been able to make the demons obey them for hundreds of years?"
This question really stumped Yuchi Lianghong. He was stunned for a long time and couldn't think of an answer, so he asked: "I am a warrior, how can I know the truth behind this? Please enlighten me."
Qiu Yizhi said "I dare not" and then said: "I think it can be summed up in four words: 'hide the head and show the tail'. Take the current Tianzun leader for example. Everyone follows his orders, but no one knows his whereabouts, so naturally no one knows how capable he is. Since no one knows how capable he is, they dare not easily rebel - after all, if this leader is really heroic and extraordinary, then I will die without a burial place."
Although Yuchi Lianghong was not a stupid man, he was a complete layman when it came to politics. He still did not guess the meaning of Qiu Yizi's words and just stared at Qiu Yizi.
Qiu Yizi smiled and said, "Brother is still too honest. He can't see through the mystery. Then I will tell you clearly - Brother, and your predecessors of several generations, are all very famous in the martial arts world. With such prestige accumulated over several generations, I am afraid that there are not many people in the world who dare to challenge them without hesitation. Even if there are a few desperate people who dare to take the lead, the Yuchi family can just send niece Ji Mingxian to deal with them immediately. By then, there will definitely be other rumors in the world - a woman in the Yuchi family is so powerful, let alone the heads of the family."
When Yuchi Lianghong heard what Qiu Yizi said, he couldn't help but applaud and said in surprise, "My dear brother, you are really smart. You can come up with such a cunning and slippery plan! Fortunately, I am sworn brothers with you. Otherwise, if I become your enemy, I will die without knowing how."
Qiu Yizi scratched his head and said with a smile: "Brother, what you said makes me feel ashamed. But I have another unwelcome request. I want to borrow Ji Mingxian's niece to be with me as a guard."
Yuchi Lianghong nodded and said, "Jiming has also told me about your matter. The martial arts of this 'Miaozhen Lay Buddhist' are very strange, unheard of and unseen in the Central Plains. If it weren't for Jiming's martial arts foundation being much stronger than hers, she would have suffered a loss. In my opinion, it would be a good idea to let her follow you to investigate the situation. Maybe she can even eliminate a disaster in the martial arts world!"
"Okay!" Qiu Yizhi was very happy to hear that Yuchi Lianghong had agreed, "It's a pity that Jiming is a woman after all, otherwise I would also ask the emperor to reward her with an honor!"
Unexpectedly, Yuchi Lianghong sighed and said, "Brother, please don't mention being an official anymore. I am thinking about how to give up my official position."
Qiu Yizhi was surprised and asked, "Brother, you are now a fourth-rank military officer, right? For an ordinary soldier to get such an official position, I don't know how many times he would have to fight for his life on the battlefield. Why do you want to give up this position?"
Yuchi Lianghong sighed again and said, "Since I became a military officer, I have been training the imperial guards all day long and have not had any free time. The emperor has also assigned me to control the martial arts world. These heroes all know that I am from the court. Although they are polite to me, they really look down on me as a 'court lackey' in their hearts."
After Yuchi Lianghong said this, it was Qiu Yizi's turn to be speechless.
He thought about how unruly he was in the Prince of Youyan's Palace. However, since he became such a minor official, he had troubles everywhere and suffered a lot of humiliation.
He had thought about quitting his official position and retiring to the mountains. However, his adoptive father, the current emperor Zheng Rong, might not be willing to let Qiu Yizhi, who knew the whole story and was full of tricks, live in the world.
So Qiu Yizhi was helpless, half to comfort Yuchi Lianghong, half to comfort herself, saying: "Thunder, lightning, rain and dew are all grace from heaven. Since you and I are in this position, we must be responsible. Moreover, the will of heaven is unpredictable. Don't you know that being able to hold an official position in the court is also a great blessing!"
Yuchi Lianghong felt relieved after hearing this, and turned back to the topic, saying, "My daughter has mentioned it to me before, saying that she admires your character and intelligence very much. In just a few days in Jiangnan, she has made several good friends outside the martial arts world. I think she is willing to gain experience by your side. I have doted on my daughter too much since she was a child. Since she is willing to go, I will trouble you to discipline her for me."
Qiu Yizi was naturally happy to hear that. He thanked him repeatedly and then picked up a light topic to chat with Yuchi Lianghong.
The two brothers, one literary and one martial, talked for a full hour, and Qiu Yizhi wanted to leave because he had to visit the Grand Prince Zheng Xin. Yuchi Lianghong refused to listen, and begged Qiu Yizhi to have lunch with him before letting him go reluctantly.
It was already past noon, and it was the time when Zheng Xin was returning home from court. Qiu Yi had gone to visit him earlier and happened to meet Zheng Xin.
Zheng Xin had accepted his father's mission to inspect the south of the Yangtze River and secretly try cases. He knew that he was the first prince to go out on business since the establishment of the new dynasty. This matter must not only be done well, but also done beautifully to leave a good impression in front of his father. Therefore, he had to rely on Qiu Yizhi, his sworn brother who also had a say in front of the emperor.
So Zheng Xin enthusiastically invited Qiu Yizi into the palace, and asked him in detail about the cause of the case. They also discussed coping strategies with each other, and talked until the day was almost over.
Zheng Xin originally wanted to keep Qiu Yizi in the palace for dinner, but Qiu Yizi didn't want to disturb him too much, so she thought of an excuse and left. She found a stall on the roadside, ate some ordinary food to satisfy her cravings, and then returned to Zheng Miao's palace to sleep for the night. (To be continued)