Qiu Yizhi was in a state of confusion, but Lingnan King Zheng Gui was still following his own train of thought and said, "I now have a good army and sufficient food, but I just don't have any talented people under my command. That's why I have no choice but to use Wen Honghui."
He paused, and his old eyes, which had drooped somewhat, looked at Qiu Yizi with a longing look, and then continued: "I don't know how many times I have told you this before, why don't you come and help me? With your talent, let alone becoming a prime minister, it is enough for you to be named a prince of a different surname."
Zheng Gui pointed at Lin Shuhan beside him and said, "This is Mr. Bansong, right? Why don't you come with your Lord Qiu? I will treat you equally and will certainly make use of you. If you don't want to leave Lord Qiu, you can naturally work under him. I will never force you. As for the other soldiers and generals under my nephew, they will all be rewarded. And I might as well make it clear that I will never separate these brothers who are as close as life and death to my nephew. Not only will I not reduce a single soldier, but I will also give you greater military power. You can choose any of my elite soldiers..."
Such conditions could not be more generous. Rather than recruiting surrenders on the battlefield, it would be more like inviting a distinguished guest who had a request to ask of him.
Listening to the endless invitations from Lingnan King Zheng Gui, Qiu Yizi couldn't help but secretly glance at Lin Shuhan beside him, only to see that Lin Shuhan's eyes were also glancing at him - it turned out that during the discussion between the two of them just now, they concluded that the Lingnan Palace would not be able to accomplish great things due to its lack of talent, but they didn't expect that Lingnan King Zheng Gui had actually realized this a long time ago, and wanted to use such generous conditions to win over Qiu Yizi.
If it were someone else, they would have been tempted long ago. But Qiu Yizhi's relationship with the current emperor is more than just that of a monarch and a subject. He has a father-son relationship with the emperor's sons, especially the third prince Zheng Miao. He also has a brotherly relationship with the emperor's sons. He will never betray the emperor or the court to attach himself to Lingnan King Zheng Gui.
So Qiu Yizi bowed to Zheng Gui and said, "I appreciate your kindness. If I were born in Lingnan Dao, or if I had not been raised by the emperor, I might have been able to serve you. But the emperor saved my life, and I have to give my life back to him."
Zheng Gui, however, seemed to be sincerely teaching a student, and said: "A gentleman should know how to adapt to circumstances. If a talent like you is left here like this, wouldn't it be a pity? Even if my brother knew about it, he would think it was a waste of talent, right?"
Qiu Yizi replied, "Your Highness, I accept your words. But there is still the so-called 'orthodoxy' in this world. Let me give you an inappropriate example. Your Highness's second prince, Zheng Yu, was defeated by me several times before. If he had surrendered to the court at that time, I wonder how Your Highness would feel?"
Zheng Gui laughed and said, "It is said that my nephew is eloquent and eloquent, and it is true. This is a good example! However, in this world, winners are kings and losers are bandits. It is not a big deal to submit to the strong and the winner. As for what if Zheng Yu surrenders to the court... Then we can only blame him for his poor vision and failure to see who the real winner is. In the end, if I counterattack like today, I will definitely punish him severely, but that is just to punish him for not being able to hear clearly and see clearly."
Qiu Yizi had never heard of such a thing before, and found it novel. However, no matter how much Lingnan King Zheng Gui talked, Qiu Yizi would never submit to him.
So Qiu Yizi coughed lightly and said, "Your Majesty, I have taught you. But everyone has their own aspirations, and I cannot rely on Your Majesty no matter what. Now I am trapped in a jar, waiting for Your Majesty to catch me. But I remind Your Majesty that even a turtle will bite when it gets angry, let alone a turtle. When Your Majesty reaches out your hand, be careful not to be hurt by me."
After saying this, Qiu Yizi bowed to the King of Lingnan again and was about to turn around and leave.
Seeing his firm attitude, Zheng Gui couldn't help but sigh, and tried to persuade him to stay, saying: "I never discourage others. Since my dear nephew has such ambition, I admire him very much. If I don't attack him with all my strength later, it would be looking down on my dear nephew. Then my dear nephew, please go back first and take care of yourself..." After saying that, the King of Lingnan did not look back, but turned around and walked slowly to his own camp under the protection of the soldiers.
Qiu Yizi shook her head and was about to leave when she suddenly remembered something. She stopped abruptly and called out, "Can the senior from the Yuchi family show up for a moment?"
Before he finished speaking, a man in black rushed out from a half-closed door beside him, stood in front of Qiu Yizi, and said, "What did Your Highness Yi ask me to come here for?"
Although Qiu Yizi had been prepared, he was still frightened by the old woman and took a half step back. He finally calmed down and said, "It's nothing serious. It's just that Miss Wen, the saint of your sect, has some friendship with me. I am in danger. From now on, Miss Wen and I will be separated by the Yin and Yang, and we will never meet again. I would like to ask the senior to take care of Miss Wen for me and ensure her safety in this chaotic world. With your ability, this matter should not be difficult to handle, right?"
A glimmer of enlightenment suddenly flashed in the old woman's dead eyes. After a moment of silence, she asked, "Your Highness Yi is the emperor's adopted son, and the young lady is the saint of the Tianzun Sect. You two are incompatible, so how can you have feelings for each other? I am an old woman with bad mouths. Please don't blame me if I say something wrong. I am afraid that this relationship is a bad one and will not end well!"
After hearing this, Qiu Yizi suddenly remembered the old lady from the Yuchi family. It was because of a love affair that she was opposed by her clan that she betrayed the Yuchi family and ended up in this situation today.
Thinking of her, a person with outstanding martial arts skills, who could only wear mourning for the rest of her life and become neither human nor ghost, Qiu Yizi was actually a little moved. However, the situation today did not allow him to express his feelings to his heart's content. He could only lower his head and sigh, saying, "What reason can be given for a man-woman affair? I only hope that the old senior can agree to me, and then I will have no regrets."
The old woman in black was silent for a long time, and then she said quietly, "I know what Your Highness Yi is thinking. The young lady left on the same day she came back. I have to protect the leader all the time, and I don't know where she went. But please rest assured, Your Highness Yi, a person like the young lady won't suffer any loss for a while, and I won't let her suffer from others. Your Highness Yi's request, I will definitely do it for you!"
Qiu Yizi nodded with some gratitude, and just said "thank you" a few times before he couldn't say any more.
Behind him, Lin Shuhan, a son of an aristocratic family and a talented man from the south of the Yangtze River, actually hid the fact from his parents and elders and stayed with a prostitute. Lin Shuhan, who did such a rebellious thing, was also very moved by this scene. He seemed to have thousands of words in his mind, but he didn't know where to start, so he could only stand there and sigh.
The few of them stood in silence for a long while, and the old woman Yuchi finally spoke, but she was talking to Yuchi Jiming: "My child, you are very good at martial arts, even better than when I was your age. But no matter how strong a person's martial arts is, it is useless against thousands of troops. You are very capable, and the Yuchi family will still rely on you for support in the future. Although I have cut off all ties with the Yuchi family now, there is still a saying: When you have no choice, you have to leave! As long as the green mountains remain, there is no fear of running out of firewood, do you understand?"
After hearing this, Yuchi Jiming twisted his neck stubbornly. Just as he was about to speak, he heard the old woman say, "Well, I have stayed here for too long. I am afraid that the leader will find it offensive. I will take my leave now. Please take care of yourselves."
After saying this, without any movement of her feet, she flew away into the air like a kite blown by the wind.
On the wide and straight avenue in front of Yanziji Wharf, only Qiu Yizi, Lin Shuhan and Yuchi Jiming were left.
The three of them each had their own thoughts, but they all lowered their heads and remained silent.
Suddenly, he heard a series of muffled sounds from the north, which pulled Qiu Yizhi out of his deep thoughts. He looked up at the sky and saw that the sun was already at its zenith and gradually began to set in the west. There were floating clouds in the north of the sky, and a gust of wind blew from an unknown direction, bringing a hint of blood in the city and a hint of sulfur outside the city, which made the floating clouds in the sky lighter and thicker.
Qiu Yizi smiled in self-pity: "It's a sunny day, is it going to rain?"
Lin Shuhan echoed, "Maybe God felt that our deaths were unjust, and wanted to call back our souls, right?"
Qiu Yizi smiled dumbly upon hearing this, and said as he walked, "Mr. Lin has always sneered at such illusory supernatural powers, so why are you talking about such a connection between heaven and man today?"
Lin Shuhan was stunned for a moment, then suddenly smiled to himself: "As for me, I have been strong all my life, but I only know how to accept my fate when I am about to die. Whether it is a good omen or a bad omen, although no one has ever succeeded with such things from ancient times to the present, since there are a few words about this in the quotations of saints, I am afraid there must be some truth in it..."
After hearing this, Qiu Yizi suddenly slowed down his pace and said something irrelevant: "Mr. Lin, I have received great favors from you. Now I can only serve the emperor and the court by dying. But with such great talents, it would be a pity if you died like this. There is no reason for you to be buried here with me. Why don't you just get away?"
Lin Shuhan was stunned again, then laughed and said, "Are you joking, sir? Look, the King of Lingnan has blocked the road ahead like a dam. Even an ant may not be able to crawl through. Where can I, a weak scholar, run to?"
Qiu Yizhi shook his head: "Mr. Lin is joking, right? The King of Lingnan is a man who wants to establish a foundation, and he will not offend scholars too much. With Mr. Lin's literary reputation in Jiangnan, even if he is a corrupt scholar without real talent and learning, the King of Lingnan will still worship him. Mr. Lin can walk out with a swagger, and the prince will definitely not harm him. Mr. Lin is such a wise and intelligent person, can't he understand this truth?"
Lin Shuhan listened to Qiu Yizhi's endless speech, neither agreeing nor objecting, but his pace did not slow down at all. After walking back to his own position, he replied: "Whether you want to understand is one thing, and whether you are willing to do it is another. As the saying goes, 'A scholar will die for his confidant'. Although Lin does not have the character of the ancient sages, he is willing to emulate it..."
"Well, sir, you're right!" Before Lin Shuhan finished speaking, he heard a woman's voice echoing, "As the saying goes, 'women dress themselves to please themselves.' Since you're going to die, I don't want to live in this world, and I'd like to go with you."
Lin Shuhan was startled when he heard this, and hurriedly said, "Rufei, this is all men's business. You are a woman, don't get involved..."