In Changling, an official of the Rites Department lowered his head, walking nervously on the stone road with tall pines and cypresses on both sides.
In front of him, an elderly censor in a gray official uniform stood in the middle of the stone path.
The closer he was to this censor, the more beads of sweat flowed from the back of this official of the Rites.
"Master Li."
When he walked in front of the censor and saluted, the back of the official's thick robe was already wet.
"It doesn't have to be."
The censor surnamed Li glanced at him lightly, and said slowly: "You know that my duty is to bring some orders from the Holy Majesty to promote or demote officials. Since I want to see you, you have not You should be sure that you will be relegated if you have a meritorious deed that allows you to be promoted. Once the matter is confirmed, there is no need to be so nervous and worried."
Hearing these words from the cold wind, the official didn't calm down much because of it. Instead, he felt that the cold wind here was getting colder and colder, and even his body trembled slightly.
"Your previous military rewards will be confiscated, and you will have to go to the border to enlist in the army for five years. If you still want you and your family to live a good life in Changling, during these five years, you should accumulate more military merits. "The censor surnamed Li continued with a blank expression.
The official of the Rites Department raised his head, his face extremely ugly: "Master Li, I know that I suffered such a relegation because I was on the escape route of Bai Shanshui that day, but I believe that there are many other officials on that route." Existence, why should I be punished so heavily?"
"Do you think you are the only one being punished so severely?" Li Yushi still shook his head expressionlessly: "Before you, I have already met five people here. That day, Bai Shanshui rushed out of the city, and when he fled On the route, there are 17 Changling practitioners who may delay his footsteps, including you. Eight of them made a move and died under the sword of Bai Shanshui. It is very likely that you will be able to put up a formation in time to stop Bai Shanshui. Among the nine of you, seven are court officials, and these seven court officials will all be relegated."
The official of the Ritual Department looked even more ugly, but he was speechless.
The censor surnamed Li has already continued.
"You regret your life and don't dare to go forward. Have you ever thought about how embarrassing this is? Being killed by Bai Shanshui abruptly, our Great Qin Dynasty has so many powerful troops and so many practitioners, and it is in the capital Changling, and It's not because he was killed by him when the battle ahead was urgent and Changling was empty. As a Qin person, he could stop him and kill him, but let him sing wildly with a sword, as if he was in a land of no one. It is more embarrassing than being escaped by him after a hard fight!"
"Your Majesty asked me to have an interview with you in this Yingyuan to let you think about it. The face of our Great Qin Dynasty and your present good life are won by the countless dead Qin people who rest in this Yingyuan."
"Have you ever thought about how many more tiger and wolf soldiers died because of your pity on your life? In the future, when those enemy countries look down on us, how many more soldiers and practitioners will we die? How many ordinary people will be affected?"
"Your Majesty hopes that you can change your mind. Anyone who loves leisure and dislikes work, and wants to keep a small family and ignore others, is not worthy of a foothold in Changling. For me, being shamed and relegated is worse than lying quietly in this English garden. "
…
In the gloomy Shendu Prison, Mo Qinggong stood with his head bowed in front of a thin young man in a dark red padded robe, with an extremely messy short beard.
This man who looked a little decadent and didn't seem to have any powerful aura was the head of the Shendu prison, the head of the prison.
"It's definitely not an accident."
Mo Qinggong said coldly: "The Changling Guard was lured to the Jiujiang County Guild Hall because of a stolen item from the Imperial Tomb. The person who sold the stolen item and provided clues was originally an idler in Changling without a wife and children. He died strangely and suddenly, and even our investigation has come to a deadlock."
Listening to Mo Qinggong's report, Supervisor Chen crossed his hands and fingers and flicked slightly, as if he had completed a lot of thinking in a flash.
He raised his head, the deep and bright red robe on his body formed a strong contrast with his decadent appearance, and it was just this contrast that made him extraordinarily attractive.
"It doesn't have to be chasing after this dead line to investigate. Those who are capable of doing such a thing may not be able to find out even if we do our best."
His dark pupils were also dyed a little red by the robe on his body. He looked at Mo Qinggong's hazy face, and said in a flat tone: "Go in another direction and check for those who may know about Baishanshui and Gushanjianzang. For those who want to know, check what all their confidantes have done these days. Such things will only be entrusted to their most trusted confidantes."
Mo Qinggong's pupils brightened slightly, and said softly: "This subordinate understands."
At this time, Supervisor Chen frowned, pondered for a moment, and said: "Put more pressure on the soldiers and horses. They are the most implicated in this matter. They must come up with some explanations. We will use some of their strength , things will go more smoothly.”
Mo Qinggong already had such an idea in his heart, but when he heard Chen Jianshou say it himself, his heart felt hot, and his tense body immediately relaxed.
He didn't say anything more, turned around and left.
When he walked out of this room, he paused unconsciously.
The sky was still clear just now, but now it is full of lead clouds, and bursts of coldness are constantly falling from the sky. It seems that the winter solstice is not really there yet, but a snow is about to fall.
…
Outside Changling City, somewhere on the vast waters of the Wei River under the lead cloud, a small boat with a black awning drifted slowly with the waves.
A fishing boat approached from a distance, and when it approached this small boat with a black awning, a faint streamer flashed, and a man dressed as a fisherman landed firmly on the bow of the small boat with a black awning, but the small boat with a black awning It didn't even shake.
The man dressed as a fisherman is Fan Zhuo, one of the true disciples of Yunshui Palace who was dressed as a coachman in front of the Jiujiang County Guild Hall a few days ago.
He glanced at the outline of Changling City from a distance, with a sneering coldness on the corner of his mouth, and said to the cabin with black curtains hanging in front of him: "You are the one who delivered the letter to me a few days ago? The person behind you Master, who is the noble person in Changling?"
The black cloth curtain was parted by a thin bamboo pole and hung on both sides.
Sitting cross-legged in the cabin, the gray-haired master in black shirt made a gesture to welcome one in the cabin, and said at the same time: "It is General Liang who told you to leave."
"General Liang waiting for the title?"
However, even though he was dressed as a fisherman, Fan Zhuo, who still exuded the aura of arrogance unique to the Great Rebellion, had no intention of entering the cabin and sitting down. He just mocked: "What does this nest mean?"
"The fish is trapped in the tank and wants to jump out of the tank, but without some assistance, instead of being able to swim freely in the big river, it will fall to the ground and die alive." The black-shirted master smiled nonchalantly, and pointed his backhand a little away Changling, whose outline is extremely majestic, said: "For you, Changling is also a vat, and it is dangerous for you to go in, so General Liang feels that you also need some friends."
Fan Zhuo sneered, "It's impossible for us and the people of Qin to be friends."
The black-shirted master said indifferently: "It's impossible to be friends, at least we can use each other. And you already owe us a favor now. If you didn't have the letter I sent you, you would have no idea that you were being watched by the prison of God. If it's time to collect the net, let alone you, even Bai Shanshui will not be able to escape from Changling."
"Although I don't know how many secrets of the Gushan Sword Collection you have mastered, but you have stayed in Changling for too long, and anyone can conclude that there should be something related to the Gushan Sword Collection in Changling. Is it the key? Or something more? How many clues?"
Before Fan Zhuo could say anything, the black-shirted master looked into his eyes and continued: "But if you leave Changling in a hurry, you will definitely not be able to get what you want. You must enter Changling again, so you Will accept the proposal in my letter and come here to meet me today."
"You're right."
Fan Zhuo sneered and said, "I have to admit that the abilities of your gods and some dignitaries are able to find our traces and even guess some of our intentions. I really came here to see if there is enough weight. There is a possibility that the dignitaries can use each other. It’s just that General Liang... forget it. In the bloody storm before Emperor Yuanwu’s ascension to the throne, General Liang came to this position by stepping on the bones of his brothers and friends. How could we believe him like this? people?"
"There is no eternal friendship, only eternal interests."
The face of the black-shirted master still did not change significantly, but his eyes became more determined, "As General Liang, cooperating with you is already a matter of life. There is nothing in this world that is more important than safety and security, so you can rest assured .”
Fan Zhuo laughed mockingly.
His laughter was very loud, and it spread along the river, like the tails of many big fish beating the river.
"There are many things in this world that are more important than life, but for people like General Liang and you, it's the most important thing."
"It doesn't matter how you look at it, as long as we can use each other." The master in black also laughed and said.
Fan Zhuo's smile slowly disappeared, he looked at the master in black and said, "What do you want? Do you want to be a marquis for you?"
"We only ask about your whereabouts in Changling, and we are responsible for helping you hide your whereabouts and ensure your safety in Changling. We only need something that can help General Liang improve his cultivation, whether it is Gushan Jiancang, or The secret book of your Yunshui Palace." The black-shirted master shook his head and said: "There is no official position in this world that is more important than real power."