Yingzhou·Hou Mansion
A full moon shone down and sprinkled on the ground, dyeing it pale yellow.
The night is getting late, Fuzhong Lake reflects the bright moon, and there are many sweet-scented osmanthus planted around the lake. At this time of year, you can smell the fragrance of sweet-scented osmanthus everywhere, and there are many little maids secretly picking sweet-scented osmanthus and putting them in sachets.
The patrolling soldiers turned a blind eye and didn't care.
The study room of the Hou Mansion is hidden deep in the lush forest. The yard is full of bamboos. It is very quiet when you blow the whistle. There is a guard every five steps in the corridor. The lights shine out, making the guards within a few meters look bright. gorgeous.
In the study
Wei Ang was wearing a green shirt and an eye patch, and his remaining eyes were sinister, making him unrecognizable as a refreshing young master. At this time, An Anjing was sitting on one side, holding a ledger in his hand, and talking to the Marquis of Jibei. .
They were talking about the profits earned by the fleet and working for the Marquis Mansion, which made Wei Ang feel that there was still value in living. The Marquis of Jibei listened with a smile on his face. He was very satisfied with Wei Ang, but felt regretful in his heart.
"San'er has finally matured, but it's a pity that he has to pay such a high price - he will not be able to become an official if he is blind, because he pays attention to an official body."
Her hatred for Pei Ziyun has increased by three points. She loves her son the most. How could he be like this if it weren't for Pei Ziyun
Just as he was thinking about it, Wei Ang presented the account book of income and output, and added: "Father, I have already connected with Fuso Shangyue Fan, and Shangyue Fan is quite respectful."
Then he said: "Fusang is really interesting. There is a court, but it is already a puppet. A while ago, there was a prince who basically unified Fusang, but he called it the general who conquered the barbarians and opened the shogunate."
"But this unification is very different from ours. Each prince still has a fiefdom and an army." Speaking of this, Wei Ang was very envious: "It seems that it was when we divided the feudal state in ancient times."
"This is where the Shangwue Domain is located. It is a small island. The actual land development is only 10,000 koku. With trade, it can only be 30,000 koku or even 100,000 koku. If it loses trade with the mainland, its family will decline, so let's take a shot. Just together, it can be considered as a help to us."
"There are some people and materials that cannot be placed on land. We can just arrange to send them to the Yueyue Domain, but this is not a long-term solution."
"It's only been a year since they left the army, and it's hard for some old soldiers to stay the same." When Wei Ang said this, he shook his head and sighed: "Let alone the next generation, even our generation, it's hard to say how many years it can last."
"This is indeed a big problem." The Marquis of Jibei pondered. The so-called breaking up into parts can be maintained for a while, but without the system, it cannot be maintained for a long time.
At this time, there was a knock on the door, and Shen Zhi whispered outside the door: "Master Marquis, Young Master, I have something to report."
"Come in." said the Marquis of Jibei.
Shen Zhi hurried in, approached the Marquis of Jibei, and whispered a few times.
After Shen Zhi finished speaking, the Marquis of Jibei became furious and slammed the thick account in his hand on the table.
"Peng" the ledger bounced on the table, the teacup fell over, and the water in the teacup gushes out and flowed to the ground. The two of them just looked at the Marquis of Jibei and roared loudly.
"I have been through life and death, with eleven injuries. After sixteen years of fighting, the imperial court wanted to reduce the military power. I swallowed my anger and handed over the military power. Now I only have 5,000 people in a palace in my hands. I still don't want to let go and want to kill them all?"
"Going back on your word is really the most ridiculous thing in the world, a ruthless and unjust villain." The Marquis of Jibei roared, his face turned red and the veins on his neck bulged.
"Am I fighting all my life just for these twelve hundred stones?"
"My boat earns more than this amount in a year!"
In the Daxu system, 100 households were granted the title of male, 300 households were granted the title of son, 600 households were granted the title of uncle, 1,000 households were granted the title of marquis, and 2,000 households were granted the title of duke. However, these are all false titles. In reality, the marquis is given a thousand shi to one thousand yuan a year. Thousands and five hundred stones.
The Marquis of Jibei had only 1,200 shi, which at that time was equivalent to the output of 700 to 800 acres of fertile land.
Hearing the scolding from the Marquis of Jibei, Shen Zhi trembled and said, "Master Marquis, be careful that the walls have ears."
After saying this, the Marquis of Jibei was still angry, and it took him a long time to sit down. Once he sat down, he leaned on the chair, looking ahead with sinister eyes and saying nothing.
Wei Ang understood what happened and said with a sullen face: "Father, cutting down the town will destroy our foundation. Even if we and Fusang can talk, the soldiers arranged in the fleet can also be I obey orders, but this all depends on my father still being in office and still in charge.”
"Once my father has completely reduced his military power and is nothing more than an idler with an empty title and no say in the government, it will be difficult to control Fuso and the fleet. Then we will no longer be in control of our life and death, and our financial resources will be cut off. .”
"And if our financial resources are cut off, we won't be able to support our people. Those who rely on us, whether they are generals, soldiers, merchants, etc., will all fall to pieces and scatter."
"If this continues for ten years, my family may not even be as good as a county magistrate."
"It's abominable for the imperial court to kill them all." Wei Ang gritted his teeth, wishing he could bite off a piece of the imperial court's flesh.
The full moon in the sky had some shadows, and an owl flew across the night sky, leaving a strange cry. The atmosphere in the room was depressing. After a long time, the Marquis of Jibei turned his face and smiled ferociously: "Mr. Shen, what are you doing? look?"
Shen Zhi thought for a long time, looked solemn, and bowed and said: "Your Majesty, there was news recently in the capital. I heard that the emperor asked the prince to take the thorns, but the prince did not dare to take them. The emperor sighed and said that you don't dare to take them, even though he is old. , only to remove the thorns for the prince."
"Thorns!" When the Marquis of Jibei heard this, his heart immediately brightened. He wanted to speak, but suddenly felt dizzy and faintly heard the roar of a dragon.
"Boom" dark clouds covered the sky and the earth, and a dull thunder woke up the Marquis of Jibei. The Marquis of Jibei stood up and took a look. At this time, a bright light flashed through the window, illuminating the inside and outside of the study in white. The bamboo forest in the courtyard swayed, and then an order was given. The terrifying thunder made the study room tremble and the Marquis of Jibei trembled with shock!
A gust of wind blew against his face, and the wind crackled down. The Marquis of Jibei looked up at the dark sky, thunder was rolling, and lightning flashed from time to time. He was about to say something, but suddenly he felt dizzy. He reached out to hold the table and sat down with all his strength: " Let me think, let me think again.”
Sweat was pouring from his forehead, and he was palpitating. For some reason, some thoughts that he might have had but never dared to think about in his mind appeared in his mind for some reason.
"Boom" thunder sounded in the sky, and only a few hundred meters away was an inn in the Hou Mansion. This was an elegantly decorated guest room with paper on the walls. The sleeping old Taoist was startled.
When he woke up, the old Taoist felt a palpitation in his heart and opened his eyes: "Is this dragon energy?"
The old Taoist from the Holy Prison Gate who came to negotiate went to the window and opened it. It was still clear and bright at night, with the moon shining brightly, but at this time, there were dark clouds covering the stars.
Looking towards the sky, I don't know why the hair on my hair stood up, and I felt a chill all over my body.
"Huh?"
The old Taoist frowned, his face changed and became cloudy, his mind turned around, and he turned around and left. The Marquis' Mansion here was too close and there was interference. He ran there at night. These are all residential buildings. Now the streets are quiet, and the doors of every house are closed. , the lights were dim, and some even turned off completely.
Occasionally, I met a watchman holding a lantern and beating a gong. The old Taoist walked along the narrow and long streets and alleys. When he arrived under a remote bridge, he saw no one around, so he took out the communication talisman and stretched out his finger. , the talisman suddenly lit up.
After a while, the head of the Holy Prison Sect appeared. Looking at the old Taoist, he asked: "We were summoned late at night, but what happened?"
The old Taoist Jishou said: "I was told to strengthen contact with the Marquis of Jibei. I have been there during the day. Tonight, I will stay in an inn not far from the Marquis of Jibei's mansion. It's only a few dozen meters away."
"In the middle of the night, I suddenly felt a change in the dragon's energy. It seemed that an earth dragon appeared, but it just disappeared in a flash."
"you sure?"
"yes!"
"Strange, the true dragon emerges, the earth dragon disappears, the true dragon declines, and the earth dragon rises. This is a general rule. Although it is not a perfect shot, it is almost enough."
"Now that Great Xu has been in power for ten years, the situation is gradually becoming peaceful. How come the Earth Dragon appears at this time?" The leader was very puzzled. He pondered for a long time and said, "You should pay close attention."
As the leader said, he thought about something again, stared at the old Taoist and asked, "Is there any vision?"
"Master, I was about to report that it was a clear night at night. I noticed a change in the dragon's aura. When I opened the window, I saw the sky was covered with dark clouds and there was thunder."
"Could this be a mysterious change?" The leader murmured, and he suddenly came to his senses: "This matter is important, and we must summon the elders of the sect to discuss it. You continue to follow up. This is a matter of life and death in the sect, so we must be cautious."
With that said, the leader stretched out his finger and closed the talisman.
The old Taoist suddenly shuddered and stood for a moment before going back to the inn.
Capital·Prince's Mansion
The lights in the palace were bright, and the prince came in from the outside. He took off his boots casually and put them on with wooden treads. A eunuch came forward and served tea.
The blue-colored porcelain cup was filled with warmth. The prince took it and took a sip. When he saw hundreds of households entering, he whispered: "Your Highness, Master Pei is here."
Hearing this, the prince stood up with some joy and quickly said: "Quick, quick, please come in."
When Pei Ziyun came in, the prince wanted to greet him, but stopped and said with a reserved smile: "It's been a long time since I saw him."
Pei Ziyun saluted, and the prince hurriedly said: "Excuse me, you are not in the capital. I am really miserable. Your Majesty has been arresting me for more than ten days to review memorials and study state affairs. I have not been able to have a day's leisure."
He asked Pei Ziyun to sit on one side and said, "Serve the real person tea."
A maid served the tea. Pei Ziyun took a sip and put down the porcelain cup. He looked at the prince and saw that his face was the same as before, except that his face was paler and his eye circles were a little dark. He smiled and said, "This is the emperor's painstaking efforts in cultivating His Highness."
Everyone knows this. Although the prince shouted that he was working hard and was so lonely that he could not have a day's leisure, if the emperor did not want him to do it anymore, the prince would be very painful and disappointed.
He immediately changed the subject and asked: "Your Highness, there are rumors in the capital that Your Majesty wants to further reduce the vassal?"
"Yes, if the world is peaceful and the elimination of vassal towns is the right way for the country."
"Even for the heroes, it is a way to protect them. It is the emperor's grace." The prince said very relaxedly and took a sip of tea, obviously not realizing the seriousness of this matter at all.
(End of chapter)