In a courtyard near the peak of Yunshan, Song Zicheng, the eldest son of the Song Clan, was sitting behind a desk, staring intently at the registration form for the martial arts exam in his hand. An old man is sitting on the honor seat on the right, closing his eyes and recuperating.
Song Zicheng carefully read the last line, Fang raised his head and said with a smile: "This time I'm bothering you, uncle Liu, I have to read this information again, and I'll reply to you tomorrow. In addition, I have prepared a small gift for you I will send someone to your house."
The Song Clan elder waved his hands and said with a smile: "This is such a small matter, what gift do you need to give? I grew up watching you, Zicheng, so why should I see you outside. But this time the martial arts test, you can't take it lightly. This old guy is also going to do some sorting. I heard that Song Zian is very ambitious and is going to pull you down from the number one position in one fell swoop. He is determined to win this martial art."
Song Zicheng's face became a little more serious, but he didn't panic. He said flatly: "I have the upper hand in political theory, and the military strategy is not the same. As long as martial arts are not left too far, it will not be able to overturn the overall situation. Sixth uncle, please rest assured. "
The clan elder stroked his beard and smiled, and said: "Zi Cheng has always been prudent in his work, so I'm just nagging. Well, I want to avoid suspicion before the exam, and I can't stay with you for too long."
"Sixth Uncle, go slowly!" Song Zicheng got up and personally sent the clan elders outside the gate of the courtyard before returning.
Song Zicheng recruited several confidantes and aides, and began to study the list of participants for the martial arts exam. The rule of this individual group arena is an elimination system, and the order of the battle has not yet been arranged. What they want to discuss now is how to exert a little influence on this order.
Song Zicheng's contacts among the elders gave him the convenience of fine-tuning the order of battles, that is to say, in the first round or two, he could choose to avoid a certain person, or let his warriors meet a certain rookie in advance to maintain combat power , to snipe the powerful opponent behind.
It's just that this kind of adjustment must be acceptable on the bright side, and it cannot be overdone.
At this time, several staff members had read the list, and among the almost all ninth-level fighters, the few eighth-level fighters seemed particularly glaring. The other eighth ranks are all the children of the Song Clan who participated in the assessment, and as guest warriors there are only eighth ranks, only Qianye.
An aide pointed to the information and said, "This An Renyi is only level eight, which is just right for our people to face him in the first round."
Another staff member said: "This is Qi Shao's person? It's strange. I heard that Qi Shao recruited many experts outside, and the strongest three under his command are called the Ningyuan Three Tigers. This time only one Gao Junyi came. The boss of the three tigers. I've seen that guy before, he is indeed a good player, could it be that An Renyi, who is only level eight, is stronger than the other two tigers?"
Another person said: "I always feel that things are weird... It seems that someone said that An Renyi is in charge of gray business under Qi Shao. This kind of person must have special strengths."
Song Zicheng said thoughtfully: "I heard that this afternoon, the second child and the seventh child had a little friction at the practice field?"
The attendant who reported this to Song Zicheng happened to be in the study at the time, and said, "That's right, that An Renyi was also there at the time, and Qi Shao gave him his quota of heaven-level practice rooms."
Several people in the study made sounds of surprise.
Song Zicheng also raised his eyebrows. The conflict between brothers was nothing new. He only heard the general idea at the time, and didn't ask for details at all. Only now did he know that there was such a thing.
He couldn't help laughing and said: "So that's the reason. I said that the second child has nothing to do to bully a guest, even if it is for the woman of the Yin family, there is no need to give Xiao Qi face like this. It turns out that seeing Xiao Qi value An Renyi so much, Just want to get rid of him? The second child has always boasted that he is straightforward, but in fact he has the most eyes."
At this moment, a personal guard hurried in and whispered in Song Zicheng's ear, "Seventh Young Master is here and wants to see you."
"Zining? What is he doing here?" Song Zicheng was a little surprised.
The relationship between him and Song Zining was not bad, but they weren't particularly close. Basically, they didn't have much contact with each other. They occasionally cooperated in handling family affairs, but it was considered a pleasant cooperation. However, during this sensitive period, Song Zining's visit had many other meanings.
Song Zicheng ordered his guards to take him to the flower hall in the front yard. He reached out and tapped on the table, pondered for a while, and said, "What do you guys think?"
An aide said hesitantly: "Seventh Young Master seems to have made a lot of enemies recently, and the troubles with Second Young Master and Third Young Master are very unpleasant." Accepting a friend is bound to take over his enemy, and this staff member obviously meant to do something more It's better to have one less thing.
Another person sneered and said, "It's as if if you don't want to see the seventh young master, the second young master won't want to get the first place in the college entrance examination." Song Zian's thoughts on the position of the first heir are known to everyone, and they have always been Song Zicheng's number one enemy.
The previous staffer argued: "But the reason why the Second Young Master and the Seventh Young Master had a bad relationship was Qiqi of the Yin family, and the Seventh Young Master didn't take it very seriously in that matter." At this point, the whole room exchanged ambiguous glances, and the staff added One sentence, "Besides, Yin Qiqi is followed by Prince Bowang Hou."
After Tianxuan Chunhun, Song Zining's successor ranking dropped two places in a row. The reason why he was punished so heavily was not because of Song Zian's efforts, but because the Song Clan wanted to give Yin Qiqi and Bowanghou's son Wei Qiyang an explanation.
The person who refuted him laughed even louder, "Yin Qiqi and the Second Young Master are related by marriage, and Yin Qiqi and Bowang Hou Shizi are also related by marriage. Even if there was no such thing, they would not stand on the side of the First Young Master."
Song Zicheng, who had been listening quietly to everyone's speech, stretched out his hand and pressed down to stop everyone's discussion, and said: "Okay, let's discuss the ranking list of the group arena first, and I will go to see the seventh brother. Although Yin Qiqi and Wei Shizi There is a personal relationship with the second brother, but it will not affect the family relationship. As long as I hold this position firmly, there will be no serious problems."
The relationship between the Song Clan and the two aristocratic families of Yin and Wei is the standpoint between the two clans, and will not be affected too much by an individual, even if that individual is the head of the family. Otherwise, there is no need for everyone to compete for an heir at all, as long as they compare the relationship networks of both parties.
Song Zicheng walked into the flower hall and turned around.
Song Zining stood up and said, "Brother, younger brother feels that he has enough respect for his elder brothers and is not disrespectful. But the second and third brothers do this, and they don't even want to leave me a place to stand!"
Song Zicheng was vaguely sure of Song Zining's intention when he heard the words, so he said a few words of gentle reassurance, and then listened to Song Zining's statement.
After a while, Song Zicheng looked at the seventh younger brother who was quite different in age from him with a solemn face, and said, "You mean to support me in the right of inheritance, and this big exam can also clear the way for me?"
"exactly."
Song Zicheng picked up the teacup, played with it in his hand, and said slowly: "Seventh brother is very confident!"
Song Zining smiled and said, "If I didn't have this ability, how could I dare to come to my elder brother? No matter what else, as long as I help you in the military battle, even if the second and third brothers team up, it won't be a problem to win them."
Song Zicheng took a sip of tea slowly to buy time for thinking. He drank the tea for an extraordinarily long time, but finally finished it. He put down the teacup and asked casually, "I heard that the caravan of the third child suffered heavy losses a while ago?"
"There was a little conflict. Then the third brother's people were very high-spirited, and they wanted to swallow my people in one gulp, but in the end they were all wiped out. From my younger brother's point of view, the third brother's people It still needs to be practiced well so that it will not be embarrassing.”
Neither Song Zicheng nor Song Zining mentioned Song Zian.
Both of them knew very well that there was only hostility between Song Zicheng and Song Zian, and there was no possibility of an alliance at all. But Song Ziqi was different. Now the eldest son of the Song family is actually facing a choice, one is the third brother who has already stepped into the threshold of a warrior, and the other is the seventh brother who has just emerged recently.
Song Zicheng lowered his eyes, stared at the steaming teacup in his hand, and asked, "What does Seventh Brother want?"
Song Zining had been prepared for a long time, and immediately said: "Brother's Yuancheng Heavy Machinery's assault floating warship is the best model in its class. My Ningyuan Heavy Industry has just built a few new bases recently. Unfortunately, there are no heavyweight products. I hope big brother can Transfer the technology to me. In addition, my eldest brother does not have many mines in the Evernight Continent. It is very troublesome to mine and transport it back to the mainland. My younger brother, I happen to be able to use it locally. Why don't you let me do it cheaper, and... "
Song Zining said one condition after another, each of which is of great value, including technology, minerals, and even two mature truck production plants.
Every time Song Zicheng heard a condition, his heart would drop. When Song Zining finished speaking, his heart seemed to have not sunk to the bottom, but it was not far from bottoming out.
"Seventh brother, your asking price is a bit high."
Song Zining smiled, "Even if you don't talk about the position of the lord, the stable number one heir is not worth more than these things. Besides, my brother, I am not someone who crosses rivers and demolishes bridges. I am helping my brother to reach the top of this big exam right now." , in the future, if there are disputes in the family affairs, I will also stand on the side of the eldest brother."
Song Zicheng pondered for a long time, finally made up his mind, stretched out his hand, and shook hands with Song Zining.
When Song Zining was sent out of the flower hall, Song Zicheng's face was already tired, and he said with a wry smile, "I've paid a lot this time. You bastard, almost swept away more than half of my family property."
Song Zining smiled and said, "Brother, you are doing great things, why do you pay attention to a little private property? My Song Clan lacks everything, except property."
At this time Song Zicheng suddenly remembered something, and hurriedly said to an aide who was guarding the door: "This time the ring battle is rescheduled, our people should try to avoid the seventh brother's people."
The staff was stunned for a moment, and couldn't help but ask, "But what about the eighth-level one?"
Song Zicheng waved his hand and said, "Avoid."
"But, anyway..." the staff only started a conversation, but the meaning was obvious. An eighth-level fighter came to the field to deliver food anyway, why not give it to his own people
Song Zicheng has a temperament for big things, and he doesn't want to care about such small profits at all. He values Song Zining's feelings more, and immediately frowned: "That's it, there is no need to discuss it."
Song Zining listened beside him, and said with a smile, "Big brother is wise."
After sending Song Zining away, for some reason, the eldest son of the Song Clan always felt that his seventh younger brother's smile at the end had something to do with it, which made people feel uneasy.
In the "Shen Yuntang" at this time, Qianye asked someone to open the martial arts arena in the backyard, and placed dozens of refined steel puppets densely packed inside.
This field is completely enclosed and the area is not big. After dozens of dolls are stuffed in, it looks very crowded. It is a bit reluctant to swing the sword without touching anything.
Qianye pulled out Dongyue and looked at it carefully.