How could Yue Hongling be easily fooled by such words? She smiled casually and said, "I am just a wandering person in the martial arts world. I am not involved in the struggle for hegemony. Apart from the alien races, what does it have to do with me whether the surnames in Shenzhou are Xia or Li? If I stay here, it's just to drink a glass of wedding wine."
Yue Fenghua sighed and said, "Hong Ling, if war breaks out and lives are lost, can you just sit there and do nothing?"
"If there is any case of soldiers being allowed to harm the people, I will take action." Yue Hongling paused here and said with a smile: "This also applies to the Li family leaving Guandong."
Yue Fenghua was choked for a moment, and looked at Wei Changming, not knowing what to say.
Unless Yue Fenghua, as her master, forced her to take sides, how could she say that
Beforehand, she could have imagined how to give orders as a master, and deliberately tested whether the apprentice had lost respect for the master over the years. Facts have proved that Yue Hongling still respects the master, and her attitude is impeccable, but when she stood up, her aura naturally overwhelmed everyone, and she instantly became the protagonist. Whether it was Wei Changming or Yue Fenghua, they subconsciously seemed to be half a head shorter, and the rhythm was completely in her own hands.
This is a famous hero who has been in the martial arts world for many years. She is no longer the girl she used to be. Her aura is even stronger than that of the head of a noble family. Perhaps in her eyes, Wei Changming is just a traitor.
Just as Yue Fenghua was trying to say something else, Yue Hongling suddenly added: "In fact, the reason I came back to my hometown this time is really for some important matters."
Yue Fenghua had to swallow what he wanted to say and asked kindly, "Oh? I wonder what's the important matter? Do you need my help?"
"Of course I need it." Yue Hongling smiled as if he was embarrassed. "I heard that the Hu people once broke through the pass and plundered. Now there are still Hu people wreaking havoc in many places in Guanlong. I want to eliminate the evil and restore peace to my hometown. But I am alone and it is difficult to find the whereabouts of the Hu people. I think my master is now prosperous and should be able to help find out some news."
Wei Changming opened his mouth and then closed it. Yue Fenghua was stunned for a long time, then laughed dryly, "This is what a knight should do! But the barbarians are so powerful that you may not be able to defeat them alone. Let's take a long-term view on this matter. Let me ask someone to get some good news so that we can know ourselves and the enemy."
Yue Hongling smiled slightly: "Master has considered everything carefully."
Wei Changming laughed dryly and said, "Miss Yue, please take a rest. I will go back first... By the way, Miss Yue's return home is also a major event in Guanlong recently. If our families hold a banquet to entertain Miss Yue, will Miss Yue honor us?"
Yue Hongling shook her head slightly: "Sorry, Hongling doesn't like socializing, I appreciate your kindness."
Yue Fenghua said, "I'll see Brother Wei off." Then he told his disciples, "Take your Second Senior Sister to the guest house to rest."
The disciples had no idea of the strange atmosphere in these conversations. They were all excited and said, "Yes, we will treat you well!"
"We don't need so many people." Yue Hongling pointed at a little girl casually and said with a smile: "Just let this junior sister accompany me."
The little girl jumped three feet high with joy, and pulled Yue Hongling to the backyard: "Senior Sister, follow me."
Seeing the energetic look of the little girl, Yue Hongling's somewhat depressed mood improved a little, and she followed with a smile. When she reached the door, she turned around and saw that the backs of Yue Fenghua and Wei Changming had disappeared outside the main hall.
Yue Hongling sighed softly and lowered her voice: "I want to go see Master's wife first."
"Oh." The little girl scratched her head: "Then go this way..."
In front of the tomb in the back mountain, Yue Hongling paid respects solemnly, then slowly stood up and looked at the tombstone, asking in a low voice: "Has Master's wife been bedridden for a long time? Why hasn't anyone come to the martial arts world to talk to me about this?"
The little girl replied: "No, I got sick very suddenly and passed away very quickly..."
"What disease?"
"It is said that he has a bad sore."
There are many types of malignant sores, some of which are called cancer in the modern world. If it is this kind of disease, it does not seem strange. Yue Hongling shook her head slightly, and the scenes of her master's performance just now flashed through her mind. The intuition of a powerful person in the realm of control still made her feel that something was not right.
"Who is the one that the Wei family is discussing marriage with?"
The little girl looked around and said in a low voice, "It's Miss Li."
Yue Hongling smiled slightly and knew it. It seemed that it was not easy to say it in front of her, so Wei Changming was vague, but he couldn't hide it. Once this kind of thing was mentioned, everyone would know it, and it would be the same no matter who she asked.
It seems that my coming back may not be a surprise to some people, but a shock.
At least she saw this marriage with the Li family, and felt it was strange. It sounded like nothing, why couldn't the senior brother marry a girl from the Li family... But if you think about it more carefully, why would the Li family marry their daughter to you? Do you really think that Luoxia Villa is prestigious? It was a naked exploitation, just for her, Yue Hongling. It's not certain whether the married girl is from the direct line of the Li family, most likely from a side branch, and it's possible that she is a maid.
This is different from the marriage with the King of Cui, because no matter how the King of Cui married, it could not affect what King Daoning of Cui Wenjing wanted to do; but if you marry with the Li family, you have some say in the matter, but you are still a complete vassal and you do whatever you are told to do...
When the matter is settled, in the subsequent dispute between Guanlong and Xinhan, will it be difficult for Yue Hongling to take sides? If things go wrong, her master may put pressure on her to stand on the side of Guanlong.
This was completely aimed at Yue Hongling. If Yue Fenghua had some sense of not wanting to embarrass his disciple, or if he had some respect for his disciple's ideas, he would not have discussed it. If he wanted to discuss it, he would at least find someone to contact Yue Hongling and ask her opinion first. Not long ago, Luan Shi Shu had just flashed that he had killed the Black Miao King in Miaojiang. His whereabouts were confirmed, so it would not be difficult to send someone to look for him.
But let alone trying to send someone to look for her, I can't even explain it clearly standing here. It seems that he also knows that this is essentially a plot against Yue Hongling, but he is too embarrassed to say it...
Did he take the reputation that Yue Hongling had earned and the closeness that others had gained because of Yue Hongling as what he deserved? Did he think that he could make a fortune by marrying the Lord of Guanlong
Yue Hongling turned around and looked at the prosperous manor, sighing in her heart. If it was just this, it wouldn't be a big deal. She wouldn't do anything because of the pressure from her master, so it didn't matter how they climbed up the ladder. The only thing she was afraid of was that once she got too deep into it, something else would happen.
For example, the Hu people that I mentioned.
Why do we need to go outside to know ourselves and the enemy? Aren't there Hu people's troops stationed in Chang'an? Are you pretending not to know
Is this the chivalrous way you taught me since I was a child
If I insist on killing the Hu people here, it will give the Guanlong nobles a headache. They will no longer consider whether they can win me over, and will most likely try to get me out as soon as possible. And if I start killing the Hu people now, what will be the result
There is a high probability that the various families set an ambush and let Yue Hongling die at the hands of the Hu people.
Just as he was thinking this, he heard footsteps behind him. Yue Fenghua was standing behind him and sighed, "Hong Ling."
Yue Hongling turned around and bowed: "Master."
Yue Fenghua whispered: "If you want to kill the Hu people, you will be in danger... and you said it in front of Wei Changming..."
Yue Hongling's mind moved: "Master means..."
“No matter why they invited the Hu people into the pass earlier, maybe they felt that they were not strong enough and needed to borrow the power of the Hu people, or maybe they wanted to borrow a knife to eliminate the forces that were still loyal to Daxia in the country, or maybe they just wanted to get rid of people who were not of the same mind... In short, now that the world is not settled, they still need to borrow strength. It is impossible for them to turn against the Hu people now. If you want to kill the Hu people here, it will make it very difficult for them.” Yue Fenghua whispered: “In fact, if they win the world, then you kill the Hu people, everyone will support you.”
There was a hint of disappointment in Yue Hongling's eyes: "I know."
Some people are working to equalize the land and provide education, wholeheartedly serving the people, while others are only thinking about how to gain control of the world.
She took a deep breath and said, "Again, politics has nothing to do with me."
"But have you ever thought about..." Yue Fenghua held back for a moment, and finally said: "If you insist on doing it your own way, you may be able to leave freely afterwards, but what about your master? How can you survive here in the future..."
Yue Hongling said, "Let's not talk about the killings of the Hu people in the past. Just talking about this time when they ravaged Guanzhong, countless souls of our compatriots were killed by their swords. Master, you are thinking about this? There are also righteous armies resisting in the mountains in various parts of Guanlong today! Master is at the ninth level of the Mystical Gate today, and you are afraid of this?"
Of course, what we fear is not survival, but the loss of glory.
Yue Fenghua was silent for a moment, then whispered, "Will you contact these bandits... these rebels?"
"What if?" "In order to stab the Li family from behind when they are fighting with Xin Han?"
Yue Hongling looked into her master's eyes, the disappointment in his eyes reaching its peak.
Changhe hadn't thought about these things, and neither had he. If they really contacted the rebel army, everyone would only think about it to resist the Hu, but at present, there were too many shadows of gods and demons in Guanlong, and neither he nor Changhe would drag these ordinary warriors into the quagmire, and would not even consider it.
But in their minds, that’s it…
Yue Fenghua finally said: "Hong Ling, Master has not asked you to do anything else... I just hope that if you see the Hu people in Chang'an this time, you must be patient and don't attack rashly."
Yue Hongling stared at him for a while, and only smiled brightly when he saw Yue Fenghua looked away, "If I disguise myself and assassinate him, will it bring trouble to the sect?"
Yue Fenghua hesitated for a moment: "That's fine."
Yue Hongling said: "Then can I ask Master to investigate and give me a better entry point? For example, which Hu leader is stationed here and where he usually stays."
Yue Fenghua said helplessly: "Okay, you wait for news from the master."
After saying this, he hurried away.
The little girl next to them watched the conversation between the master and the disciple with great admiration. In the little girl's eyes, both the master and the disciple were heroes.
Yue Hongling looked at the back of his master, thinking that this was the last test. If the "entry point" given by the master was surrounded by people, it would be really funny. It would not have come to this, and it would have been dragged on.
She thought about it, patted her head, and felt that it was meaningless to be stuck in such private matters. She had come back to find out the situation in Chang'an for Zhao Changhe. The so-called leader of the Hu people and where they could be assassinated were things that could be found out by just squatting outside. What was the point of returning to the sect? Since she was back, she had to understand some things that she couldn't understand outside.
Come to think of it, the first time I came here, I met the head of the Wei family. This is a very good entry point. Why not use it... What's the use of worrying about what kind of person the master is now
Thinking of this, Yue Hongling suddenly felt a lot more relaxed, and his figure flashed and disappeared.
Wei Changming sat in the carriage, on the way back to Chang'an from Huashan, he was swaying all the way, his mind was swaying too. Yue Hongling came back with the look of wanting to cause trouble here and kill the Hu people, this time it was lively... As long as Yue Hongling insisted, the final result would inevitably be that everyone would try to kill Yue Hongling here. It was impossible for her to destroy the alliance between Guanlong and the Northern Hu people.
This is a bit unfortunate...
I have invested in Luoxia Villa for several years. The situation was not like it is now. There were no major troubles. It was just a pure emotional investment.
According to the level of Yue Hongling being able to kill the corpse of the Black Miao King alone, he is definitely a Heavenly Ranking, not an Earthly Ranking. What does it mean for a faction to have a Heavenly Ranking? It means that they are qualified to compete for hegemony. Just look at Li Shentong and you will know.
In common sense, according to the current relationship between him and Yue Hongling, if there are some difficult problems outside, or if the family offends someone they cannot afford to offend, and asks Yue Hongling to help, Yue Hongling will definitely help without hesitation. Being able to get a helper from the Heavenly Ranking, this investment is really a success.
As a result, right from the start, there was a struggle for hegemony in the world and the grudges between the Hu and Han peoples. This investment was not enough. Not to mention the investment, even their master-disciple relationship was not enough in the face of justice... I am afraid that the investment over the years has gone down the drain, what a pity.
But if you look at it from another angle...
Before he could finish his thoughts, a warning sign started to rise in his heart. Wei Changming quickly drew his sword, but was shocked to find that the sword was completely out of control and he couldn't pull it out.
The next moment, a fragrant breeze blew by, and the opponent's sword was already on her neck. She didn't even see when she entered the track of the carriage.
Wei Changming was extremely shocked. His so-called strength on the human list was just like a child in front of the other party: "Ms. Yue, Miss Yue... Wei has never offended you..."
Yue Hongling said calmly: "Pulling a marriage between my master's sect and the Li family, putting me in a dilemma, isn't that an offense?"
"Oh!" Wei Changming stamped his feet: "What do you think I am thinking? Li Boping proposed this, and it is hard for me to refuse. If it is really according to Wei's own idea, it would also be a marriage with my own family! To be honest, I have thought about this, but I was afraid that if I married your master, it would arouse suspicion, so I put it on hold!"
Yue Hongling blinked his eyes, as if smiling: "Li Gongsi is dead, Li Boping seems to be in the middle of the list, I forgot the exact number, but he should be inferior to you. I am very curious, why are you still willing to follow the Li family's lead? You are not interested in the thousand-mile Guanzhong and the cause of hegemony?"
"Uh..." Wei Changming didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and asked carefully: "Miss, can you put down your sword first and talk?"
Yue Hongling put away his sword and sat opposite.
Wei Changming took out the wine utensils prepared in the carriage, poured a glass of wine for Yue Hongling, and said slowly: "The struggle for power is of course not just about experts... Especially when no one has many experts, it is more of a simple comparison of money, food, soldiers and horses. When Li Gongsi was still alive, he managed the business very well with his prestige and skills. After joining forces with the Hu people to kill several disobedient families, he became the only one in power... This is normal. Anyway, I can't compare with them. I'm far behind."
Yue Hongling said: "If this is the case, the Li family has been completely crushed by the Hu people in terms of both masters and power. Will they become puppet emperors who only listen to the Hu people?"
"It was possible." Wei Changming smiled meaningfully, "But under the pressure of the New Han, it is difficult for Timur to take the lead. He can only show a cooperative attitude. Li Boping is not a fool. He won over the Buddhist sect to increase his influence, and later brought in Yuxu. With this strength, he has the confidence to speak for himself. It is difficult for him to be a puppet emperor."
Yue Hongling asked, "If what I have seen and heard is correct, the conflict between Buddhism and Taoism is quite fierce?"
"Yes, this is a kind of balancing power strategy, which makes use of both Buddhism and Taoism. The more they fight each other, the more they rely on the power holder. As a result, when the incident of Langya came, many people suspected that Yuancheng might be the second Guichen, which led to Yuancheng's departure. We had never thought of this beforehand... Just when Yuxu was about to dominate, Dayan Temple moved a new Buddha from somewhere, and now it seems that the balance has been restored."
Yue Hongling thought for a moment and said, "The Li family is walking a tightrope."
"We can't help it. The Four Symbols Sect is the established state religion in Xinhan. Others can only fight for it among other forces. Whether the Li family walks a tightrope or not, this situation will come sooner or later." Wei Changming took a sip of wine and pointed out, "Of course, there are great hidden dangers. After all, the Li family really doesn't have any strong people. Once they can't grasp the balance and one family dominates, they may be sidelined. And they may also annoy one party and stop playing with him. But for now, no matter how different the various forces in Chang'an have their own ideas, they are united in facing Xinhan. Their overall strength is really not weaker than Xinhan, or even stronger."
Yue Hongling said: "Don't mention Xinhan to me all the time. I'm not a Xinhan official."
Wei Changming smiled warmly: "Yes, young lady can build a powerful faction on her own."
This is the tacit understanding that the two sides have been talking about for so long. Yue Hongling asked, "Are you not interested in this thousand-mile Guanzhong and the cause of hegemony?" Of course, it is impossible that no one is not interested, but the situation is so complicated that no one dares to make mistakes easily. What is certain is that once the Li family loses control, there may be a pack of wolves surrounding and biting them, and one of the wolves is him, Wei Changming.
However, Wei Changming was obviously unwilling to collude with Xinhan.
The attitude of suppressing the noble families and promoting the common people is too obvious. This is a great attraction in the eyes of the lower classes, but it is not necessarily beneficial to the current situation of hegemony. The noble families resist and many things cannot be done. Assuming that Xin Han reuses the noble families, they can now directly try to instigate Wei Changming to rebel. Unfortunately, Wei Changming is unlikely to be willing to learn from Cui Wenjing and disperse his martial arts, so he keeps testing the relationship between Yue Hongling and Xin Han.
If it was Yue Hongling two years ago, she really wouldn't understand these subtexts. But now, with Zhao Changhe's time, her horizons are no longer limited to the martial arts world, and her thinking about these things has also broadened a lot.
She also leaned on the backrest of the carriage and sipped her wine leisurely. After a long while, she suddenly said, "I am on good terms with Changhe, but we are not really involved in power struggles. Even if I help Changhe, Xia Chichi and I are not on the same side. Can you understand what I mean?"
Wei Changming blinked and said with a smile, "I understand."
The dispute between the East and West Palaces... The Queen of the West Palace also needs to have her own power.
Yue Hongling said: "In fact, I only care about the Hu people. Whoever colludes with the Hu people, I will oppose him. I am not contacting you on behalf of Xinhan, but only on my own behalf. Your investment in Luoxia Villa is nothing more than for me, Yue Hongling. I can put it here. As long as you can provide help in the fight against the Hu, then no matter how the situation changes in the future, I can personally become a friend of the Wei family."
After saying this, he disappeared.
Wei Changming looked at the light snow outside the window with a changeable expression.
Speaking of investment, with Yue Hongling's words, it is comparable to the previous investment in Luoxia Villa for several years. What we want is Yue Hongling, otherwise what is Yue Fenghua
Regardless of Yue Hongling's level on the Heavenly Ranking, or the Zhao Changhe forces behind her... Even if the New Han is not friendly to the aristocratic families, it is still a way out. If things go wrong, this thousand-mile Guanzhong may not be able to have the surname Wei.
This investment is invaluable.
But there is a prerequisite for investment... Hu people... Hu people. It just so happens that I have no connection with the Hu people, but the Li family does.
(End of this chapter)