After leaving Cangzhou, the mission, escorted by the black cavalry, marched slowly but firmly to the north. The Northern Qi State is actually not in the north of Qing State, but in the northeast. There are a lot of independent and powerless vassal states at the junction of the two countries. On the easternmost seashore, there is the largest city in the world and the most prosperous seaport——Eastern Qi State. Yicheng.
The route chosen by the mission this time does not pass through the vassal states, because the more cities they pass by, the harder it is to guard against it. Of course, the implementation of the secret agreement between the two countries is even less likely to pass through Dongyi City. In case that once demented Si Gu Jian suddenly goes crazy and provokes chaos in the Three Kingdoms, who can bear the consequences.
So the mission went north along the wilderness, and then detoured eastward at the Great Lakes. Although the journey was a bit farther, it was better than being quiet. Except for some horse thieves, there should be no powerful forces with malicious intentions.
There was silence all the way, Xiao En was silent, Si Lili was silent, and even the most important person in the mission—Fan Xian began to be silent. Everyone has their own reasons for being silent.
…
…
Fan Xian pulled out the thin needle from Xiao En's hand, and carefully looked at the old man's increasingly tired face. Xiao En suddenly opened his eyes, and two cold lights in his eyes hit Fan Xian's face as if with substance. He smiled slightly and said: "The younger generation has a thick skin, and is not afraid of being looked at by others."
"I have a question." Sean slowly closed his eyes, "Why did you use that cloth belt to tie my arm? I can guess that this method can make my blood vessels stand out more, but you worked so hard. Is it necessary to inject venom into my veins?"
"Yes." Fan Xian smiled. Of course, intravenous injection is faster and more severe than food poisoning. No one in this world knows the method of intravenous injection, but it doesn't mean that Fan Xian can't. The terrifying Sean in front of him, ordinary poison It doesn't work at all, and the true energy is too amazing. The effect can only be achieved by intravenous injection.
Xiao En frowned, and suddenly said after a long while: "I'm familiar with this technique, and I admit, it's really effective... It's a pity that I'm really old, and I forgot who it was."
Fan Xian was startled, but there was no reaction on his face. He smiled and said, "Mr. Xiao, think about it slowly."
…
…
"Those cavalrymen in the distance should be those black children under Chen Pingping's men?" Xiao En suddenly said something very ordinary.
Fan Xian was slightly taken aback, thinking that his carriage had no windows on both sides and was separated by an iron interlayer. It was a bit miraculous that the other party could still know the situation of the black cavalry in the distance. Thousand-mile raids are the ancestors of this team of cavalry." This is about many years ago, Chen Pingping led the black cavalry to kidnap Xiao En from the wedding and return to China.
That incident was the greatest humiliation of Sean's life, and it also brought him indelible trauma.
"When are you going to kill me?" Sean said again, without any fluctuation in his tone.
These few jumping questions in succession imply a certain kind of psychological hypnosis. An ordinary person might fall into the trap subconsciously—but Fan Xian is not an ordinary person. He was a little surprised and said: "What?"
Xiao En smiled slightly, and the faint red in his squinted eyes came out: "I don't think Chen Pingping would want me to go back to the north."
Fan Xian shook his head and said, "I've never been too lazy to think about the ideas of the older generation, as long as I do my job well."
"You are a very nice young man." Sean looked at him quietly, slowly moved his wrist, and put the heavy chain on the table.
"Why did Mr. Xiao say that?"
"We walked together for many days along the way. Although Master Fan often stayed in the little girl's car, he did not forget his duties because of his lust for spring." Xiao En said lightly: "The key is that you have two meetings in the morning and late at night every day. Practice has never stopped, and this kind of perseverance, even if it was me back then, is far inferior to yours."
Fan Xian replied with a smile: "Stupid birds fly first, I know my strength is not enough, and my talent is not enough, so naturally I need to practice more."
Xiao En shook his head: "Your talent is very good, and your strength is already very strong, but you have never challenged a real strong person alone, so you can't inspire the real strength in your body."
Fan Xian quietly looked at the old man's old face, those eyes as deep as ancient wells, and couldn't help but think in his heart, are you the first real strong man I have to face independently
※※※
After leaving Cangzhou City, the mission entered the jurisdiction of the Dingbei Army. There is a grassland here, and the military camp is hundreds of miles away. Fan Xian didn't want to meet Yan Xiaoyi, the strong man of the ninth rank, so the mission naturally took a detour. Anyway, there were black cavalry protecting them along the way, so no one in this world would dare to come. A few days ago, several groups of bandits roaring in the forest sent spies to investigate, but seeing the momentum of the mission and the black cavalry in front from a distance, they were so frightened that they retreated into the mountains and dared not leave for months.
Xiao En remained silent, and Si Lili remained silent, and gradually looked haggard.
Fan Xian looked at the two he was escorting indifferently, but he didn't know what he was thinking. During these days of getting along, for some reason, I felt a little pity for Si Lili. One was pity for her life experience, and the other was pity for what happened to her in the future. For a big move, if something happened between him and Si Lili, then the Overwatch Council's plan in Northern Qi would have a big problem.
I don't know how the young emperor of Northern Qi knew that Si Lili was still a virgin, but if the other party found out that Si Lili had lost his virginity, the red sleeve plan would naturally not be effective.
But Fan Xian didn't seem to want to face Si Lili's bewildered face, and he didn't seem to have enough confidence in himself, so he never got into Si Lili's carriage again, and instead boarded Sean more often. From the mouth of this seemingly silent old man, he obtained some gossip news from many years ago, the secrets of the world. On the one hand, he really learned a lot from the once most terrifying spy leader, and on the other hand, Fan Xian didn't want Sean to have too much time to arrange his back.
As the journey progresses and the temperature outside the car drops, the dialogue between the two shadowy characters, old and young, gradually shifts from the Northern Wei Dynasty to the world today.
"No one can truly dominate the world." Sean looked at him and said lightly. These days, he had gradually gotten used to the conversation between Fan Xian and himself. This young official named Fan Xian was indeed a good chat partner.
"His Majesty the Emperor of our country had two chances. One was after the third Northern Expedition." Fan Xian said with a frown, "With Qing's peak military strength at that time, it was completely enough to go north in one fell swoop and wipe out the Northern Qi."
Xiao En shook his head: "Although I was already in prison at that time and didn't hear any news, but after listening to your explanations these days, I think that there could only be two reasons why Emperor Qing suddenly stopped moving forward. On the one hand, it is an internal problem in the government, on the other hand, he has encountered some kind of strong resistance, which made him feel that it is a very risky idea to go north rashly after making a choice."
Fan Xian thought about it. At that time, the matter of the Ye family had not yet broken out, and the government was basically under the control of the emperor and his mother's subordinates. Logically, there should be no internal troubles. As for foreign enemies... He frowned. Is there any power in this world that can scare the mighty Qing state machine
"Temple." Sean seemed to guess what Fan Xian was thinking, and gave a reference answer.
Fan Xian shook his head: "An object that is too illusory is not enough to resist human ambitions or desire for power. To rule the world and unify the world, for an emperor, the temptation is too great."
Xiao En smiled slightly and admitted his statement: "There have been years of fighting between the North and the South. Even if Nanqing defeats Qi, it will take at least ten years if the situation is to be truly stabilized and all restoration forces eliminated. Time. What's more, don't forget Dongyi City... the place where the ninth-rank masters in the world are most concentrated. Under his leadership, it is really possible to do some crazy things.”
"The triangle is the most stable, and the Three Kingdoms stand on top of each other. In fact, it is also the most stable structure." Fan Xian nodded, "Even if the strength of the three parties varies, whoever wants to break this balance first is most likely to suffer backlash .”
"The current imperial court of the Qing Kingdom is the same." Xiao En looked at him with a half-smile, "The emperor, the courtiers, and the seemingly crazy but actually extremely sinister Eldest Princess you mentioned form the triangle you mentioned. Whoever wants to break this balance first will suffer."
These days, Fan Xian did not shy away from it, and talked about some things in the Qing court. Anyway, it was not a secret. If the old man in front of him could not die in his hands after returning to Northern Qi, there must be many ways to know.
Fan Xian's temples were aching, and somehow he began to miss Si Lili's gentle fingers, and said softly, "If everyone is smart, let's maintain the current balance first."
"Impossible." Sean looked at him, "Because you made the move first, the other party must have reacted. I bet that the capital is already in chaos. It's just right that Mr. Fan sent me back to the north this time." It would be a pity to miss this excitement.”
Startled, Fan Xian began to listen to Xiao En and began to analyze the situation in Beijing with some indifference.