"What are you going to do with me?"
Mu Qinglin asked.
At this time, the person sitting in front of him has changed, not the thousand-handed and thousand-faced person that he finds annoying. To Qianshouqianmian, he was just annoying, but to this young man, he was afraid. Although this person is younger than Qianshouqianmian, although this person looks much kinder.
"I didn't plan, but if you need to leave someone to collect Mu Guangling's body, it should be you."
Fang Jie answered.
Mu Qinglin's expression changed suddenly, but he didn't refute anything.
"Young master should not be dead yet."
He said.
Fang Jie nodded: "Mu Xianjun is indeed not dead, and he is at the Phoenix Terrace."
Mu Qinglin's eyes lit up, and then he smiled, "If that's the case, we should really celebrate. That day when Mu Zihuan came back and suddenly attacked the Duke, I guessed that something must have happened to make Mu Zihuan Huan became crazy. He was on behalf of the Red Eyebrow Army. If it was just a defeat, he would not have the guts to attack the Duke. So I think it probably touched on something that Mu Zihuan couldn't bear, so he did that. The madness of being overwhelmed and knowingly knowing what to do.”
"Actually, I don't hate you, and I don't even blame you."
He took a deep breath, and his face gradually returned to calm. He is an old man, an old man who has seen too many ups and downs of life and death.
"This is the way this world is, the winner decides the fate of the loser. Although this battle has not been fought yet, I know that the Duke of the Kingdom cannot win. The Duke of the Kingdom can no longer calm down and think about things, and no matter what you do, it seems Very calm. Although this is the eastern border of the Duke, the Duke who occupies the geographical advantage cannot win you who occupy the harmony."
"I just hope that you don't go too far. Although there is a grievance between the Duke and you, there is no mortal hatred. Speaking of it, if you hadn't come to provoke the Mu family, there would be no later Hostile. The young man lost an arm in your hand, and the national man may lose his life in your hand... This price is not small. There are many people in the Mu family, but there are so many people I don’t want to die. If someone wants to be buried with the Duke, count me in."
He looked at Fang Jie with a sincere tone: "I know that most of the laws in this world are that the winner should cut the weeds and eliminate the roots, so it is obviously ridiculous to tell you this on my weight. But what I want to say is, The Duke of the State has guarded the eastern border for decades, and the Mu family has kept the eastern border safe for hundreds of years... Is it enough for some people to survive in exchange for these things?"
Fang Jie didn't answer, but just looked at Mu Qinglin quietly.
He found that this old man was very different. After getting along with him these few days, he was sure that Mu Qinglin was not a treacherous person. He was just a person who was full of respect and obedience to Mu Guangling, and perhaps devoted almost all his energy to the Mu family. . Maybe he has been working in the Mu Mansion since he was very young, and he has lived for others for decades, so that he has lost himself. That's why he was able to say so plainly that if someone needs to be buried with Mu Guangling, count me in.
"I have never looked down on Mu Guangling."
Fang Jie was silent for a while and then said: "On the contrary, I have always admired what Mu Guangling did. This is not hypocrisy, but the truth. When I was a young man who was running around the world to survive, I heard that this man was called Da Sui. There are two people in the empire who are like Dinghai Shenzhen. One is Luo Yao in the southwest, and the other is Mu Guangling in the east. With Luo Yao, the He people dare not invade the north. With Mu Guangling, the Eastern Chu dare not raise their heads."
When Mu Qinglin heard Fang Jie's words, there was a hint of gratitude in his eyes.
"No matter what Luo Yao has done, no matter what Mu Guangling has done now... For a long time, without them, there would be no peace and stability. The He people are barren but savage and warlike. Without Luo Yao's suppression, I don’t know how many Han people in the Southwest will die in these years. The rich and rich in Eastern Chu have ulterior motives, if there is no Mu Guangling uniform, I don’t know what will be embezzled in these years.”
Fang Jie poured a cup of tea for Mu Qinglin: "Actually, I even thought about it. After defeating the foreigners, I would like to sit down and have a quiet talk with Mu Guangling. If he is willing to retire, I will choose a beautiful place for him." Take care of yourself. But I know it's too naive and ridiculous, so I just think about it."
Mu Qinglin smiled wryly.
"Why do you think that Mu Guangling can't win this battle?"
Fang asked.
"There is a saying that the Duke of the State has said to me many times. He said that the former sages once said that those who have the right will get more help, but those who have lost the right will have little help... So he has been showing people with kindness and kindness over the years. The hospitality is good, and the people are good. So for decades, the people have obeyed, and the rivers and lakes have gone smoothly. But who would have thought that it would only take a few muddled orders to ruin it... It has only been more than a year, and everyone scolded Mu The mansion, the rivers and lakes are everywhere... Especially after the battle between Shilixia and the Red Eyebrow Army a year ago, the reputation of the Mu mansion, the reputation of the Duke of the State, was ruined."
"The things that have been accumulated for decades of hard work are destroyed once... So it is ridiculous and sad to think about it. The Duke of the country has loved the soldiers like his sons for decades, and everything has changed in just one year. The reason why I It's not that I'm afraid of death to flatter you now... The people of Dongjiang are not on the side of the Duke, and even the soldiers have become unstable because of what happened over the past year. People's hearts, how could they win..."
"After the battle against the Red Eyebrow Army, when the news came out, the entire eastern border was shaken... The quacks who were originally attached to Mu's mansion left one after another. The people who originally believed in Mu's mansion stared at each other angrily. Although there are still many people in the mansion Meteors, but most of the remaining people are idlers, they are basically rubbish, what is the use of keeping them? These people stay for wine, meat and money, will they work hard for the Duke?"
Mu Qinglin sighed for a long time: "I also thought that one day the Duke of the Kingdom will rule the world...but it's just a mirror image, which can be seen but not touched."
…
…
The whole afternoon, Fang Jie chatted with Mu Qinglin in the carriage.
The two talked a lot.
Fang Jie knew more about this Eastern Border, this Mu Mansion, and this Mu Guangling. When the old man starts to recall the past, a lot of things will come out when the chatterbox is opened. Most of these things are trivial matters of old sesame seeds and rotten millet, but we can see people's hearts from them.
Regarding Mu Guangling's actions over the years of controlling Eastern Xinjiang, Fang Xie's evaluation is not low: although it is pretentious, there are many real benefits.
"Let me ask a question, are you planning to trick all the troops in Mufu City out? Where are you going to take them? I believe you have seen through the Duke's plan now. Although your goal is still Malan Mountain, you are sure to win. .These nearly 100,000 elites, are you going to take them to death?"
"No."
Fang Jie shook his head: "Before you asked me if it was possible to kill Mu Guangling without harming others, I didn't give you the answer. That's because I couldn't give you the answer. I didn't say how many people will die in Dongjiang. Forget it, I can only touch the outbreak of death as little as possible. People in the city, I gave them a false order to go to Phoenix Terrace instead of Malan Mountain... "
Fang Jie was silent for a long while, seeming a little sad: "If Malan Mountain is the place where Mu Guangling must die, after he dies, I will definitely take over Mufu City, but the soldiers in the city are naturally full of respect for Mufu, and it is inevitable to fight to the end 100,000 people guard the city, if I attack by force, how many people will die? Even if these people die, they should die on the battlefield of a decisive battle with foreign enemies, not on the battlefield of fighting with their own people."
Fang Jie said slowly: "So I transferred this team out in advance. First, of course, I hope to weaken Mu Guangling's strength and resolve the civil strife as soon as possible. Second, I want to reduce the death of some undeserving people. I saw the joke. I'm not a good person, nor a good person, but I still know what to avoid."
"Why don't you just come and beat foreigners!"
Mu Qinglin suddenly became agitated: "If you didn't come to the Mu Mansion, but led your troops to fight the foreigners directly, there would be no such civil strife. Even if there were, it would be a matter of the future. Why can't we wait until we defeat the foreigners together?"
"I want, too."
Fang Jie shook his head: "But you come to answer me, will Mu Guangling sincerely join hands with me to resist the foreigners? When I lead the Black Banner Army to fight against the foreigners on the battlefield, Mu Guangling will resist stabbing me in the back One knife? Besides, I never said that I don’t want the land of Dongjiang. Since I’m here, Dongjiang will naturally be taken. Wherever my black flag army’s battle flag goes, it’s all our land! Guangling is well aware of this, so there can be no sincere cooperation between me and him."
"The only difference is..."
Fang Jie let out a long breath: "I put the chaos of foreigners first, and Mu Guangling regards me as the first enemy."
"But I think it's always your fault."
Mu Qinglin said seriously.
Fang Jie nodded, without denying, "If I were Mu Guangling, I might die worse than him."
Mu Qinglin didn't understand these words at first, but it took a while before he realized the meaning. He didn't know whether Fang Jie's words were true or false. If it was true, it would be more tragic. What Fang Jie said was that if he was Mu Guangling, he would be willing to cooperate sincerely with others to defend against foreign enemies. Because of this willingness, his death might be worse than Mu Guangling's.
This is the reality of this world.
Cold and impersonal.
"Yeah... you want to fight for the world."
Mu Qinglin smiled wryly, as if he had lost his ability to talk. He knows that he can't control anything, and he can't change anything. There has never been anything in this world that can stop ambition with a few words, and the young man in front of him has begun to no longer hide his ambition.
If he was an old acquaintance of Fang Xie, he might be a little surprised by Fang Xie's transformation.
But when he knew Fang Jie, Fang Jie was already a successful person. For winners, there seems to be nothing wrong with Fang Jie's choices.
I don't know how long it took before the silence in the carriage was broken again.
"I heard that you have been promoting the practice of dividing land into households in other places. This will indeed benefit the people and win the hearts of the people, but I also know that it may be nothing if you do it in one city and one place, but if you After success, promote the world... maybe you will die miserably."
What he said was very serious, and it was definitely not a curse to vent hatred.
Fang Jie leaned back, as if he didn't want to explain this.
"as far as I know… "
Mu Qinglin looked at Fang Jie and said: "Since ancient times, no dynasty has been established by ordinary people. The founders of any country cannot do without the support of aristocratic families. That's why there are so many ambitious people throughout the ages. Even the emperor, no one dares to tear himself apart with the big families of the whole world. If he really hurt his face, the world will suffer more suffering than the war."
"And you, bear the brunt."
He pointed at Fang Jie, so sure.
"maybe."
Fang Jie stretched his body and drank the herbal tea in the cup: "Maybe what I do will not last long, maybe I will die soon. For a person like me who is neither a good person nor a good person, doing these things Does it look stupid and idiot? I can obviously accept the world more smoothly and enjoy the support of those rich and powerful families... If that's the case, I think, now I have become emperor in Chang'an City, right?"
Mu Qinglin nodded without denying it.
"Maybe you think I'm arrogant."
Fang Jie took off the pipe that had not been touched for a long time from his waist, stuffed it with shredded tobacco, lit it, and took a deep breath. He has never been a smoker, but at this moment, he really wants to take a puff.
"I want to fight for the world... to dominate the world... But I really don't think highly of the word emperor, let alone think that my children and grandchildren will sit on the throne forever. The world I want to fight for may be the same as what you have in mind. It's different from fighting for the world, and if I explain it to you, it will be a very troublesome process, even if you understand it, you won't understand... I don't need your understanding, so I won't say it. "
"Struggle for world hegemony..."
He exhaled a smoke ring, seemingly leisurely but so heavy: "I want to fight and dominate, so I have to be ruthless, decisive, and murderous... When I die one day, I hope that I have fought." This world has changed because of me. This world will become a little fairer, a little more stable, enough... I have never said this to others, maybe this is why I came to this world."
"Since I'm here, I'm here, and I can change."
Fang Jie smiled: "Why doesn't it change? I can't control it in the future, I only care about things when I'm alive."
Mu Qinglin was silent, he didn't understand.
But he understood the meaning of one of the sentences.
Fang explained that he had never told anyone about this.
So Mu Qinglin knew that he was not far from death.