Niao Ni
Chapter 638 We Are All Seas of Different Colors (Yet Summoning Monthly Tickets in the Same Way)
He looked around, his third and fourth junior brothers had stayed in the hut, seemingly because Master had something to tell them. Yun Zhilan couldn't help but look at the setting sun in the west, and gently sighed. These two junior brothers respected him the most, and had also participated in the plot to confine Shi Sanlang and ambush Fan Xian. Master had kept them behind at this time, could it be to question them about this matter?
Based on his understanding of Four Sword, if Master really wanted to deal with his actions, he probably wouldn't need to investigate or ask anything. He would directly order him to commit suicide, and he would probably find it difficult to muster the courage to resist.
The faint twilight shone on the face of the Sword Hut's head disciple, somewhat dim and helpless. The annihilation of the entire City Lord's Mansion today had fully demonstrated Four Sword's attitude. Above the city walls of this Dongyi City, in a few days, the dragon flag of the Li family dynasty would probably be raised.
He knew that this might be the inevitable course of history, otherwise Master would never have reached an agreement with Fan Xian, and bowed his head to that Qing Kingdom emperor named Li. However, his heart still couldn't help but ache.
There was no way to prevent this from happening. The City Lord's Mansion, a major force in Dongyi City, had now been turned into corpses in a pool of blood. Four Sword used the simplest and crudest method to unify the thinking of the entire upper class of Dongyi City and deter the minds of all the disciples in the hut. And the countless merchants and shopkeepers in the city would probably be willing to accept this fact, after all, war was never a favorite pastime for merchants.
Yun Zhilan squinted his eyes, looking at the mountain residence above. The emperor of Northern Qi had already returned to the mountain residence in silence, guarded by Lang Tao and He Daoren. He didn't know what these people from Northern Qi were thinking at this time, whether the agreement he had secretly reached with the other party should be terminated or continued.
Next, the mountain residence closed its doors to guests, making Yun Zhilan's complicated mood even more complicated. The Emperor of Northern Qi had ventured here from thousands of miles away, definitely with the attitude of paying a great price to accomplish this in one battle. Why, after being captured into the Sword Hut by Fan Xian, did this emperor seem to admit defeat and no longer try to tear apart the relationship between Dongyi City and Southern Qing?
Yun Zhilan stood outside the mountain residence and spoke a few words softly with Lang Tao, then walked sadly down the mountain. He walked and thought in his heart, what magical ability did Fan Xian possess that he could suppress the Northern Qi side to the point of immobility?
He still didn't believe that Fan Xian had this ability, and secretly thought that it must have been Master who clearly expressed his attitude to the Emperor of Northern Qi, which made the people of Northern Qi become somewhat desperate. Looking back at the Sword Hut in the twilight, Yun Zhilan's expression was extremely solemn. After a slight pause, he walked towards Dongyi City. He would never betray the will of the Sword Hut or the interests of Dongyi City, but tonight's Dongyi City was filled with fear, and lacking the pressure of the City Lord's Mansion officials to mediate, he, the head disciple of the Sword Hut, had no choice but to start handling the government affairs.
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Contrary to Yun Zhilan's expectations, the people of Northern Qi were not desperate, or more accurately, the Emperor of Northern Qi, whose surname was Zhan, was not desperate. She sat coldly by the window, looking at the flowers by the window that were like burning flames, thinking about the experiences of the past two days, and couldn't help but feel a little shaken. When she was a child, the Empress Dowager held her in her arms and placed her on the dragon throne. From that day on, she didn't know what fear or despair meant.
People in a certain position should have the corresponding judgment. The young emperor knew that in the matter of competing for Dongyi City, she had lost to Fan Xian, and lost very thoroughly, without any possibility of reversing the situation. But on the other hand, she was also clear that the reason why Four Sword chose Southern Qing was not because this Grandmaster had any goodwill towards Southern Qing, but simply because the existence of Fan Xian seemed to bring a little more guarantee for the future survival of Dongyi City.
The most crucial question was hidden in Four Sword's heart. After a long period of contemplation, the clever young emperor of Northern Qi vaguely grasped that key point. Although she still didn't know the details, she guessed that Four Sword would definitely cause a big trouble for Fan Xian in the future.
Fan Xian's trouble was Qing Emperor's trouble, and was the gospel of Northern Qi. Although she was clear in her heart that if Fan Xian was really ruthless enough, she could only become a puppet in his hands, the problem was that Fan Xian was never a ruthless enough person, especially to his women.
What happened that night made the young emperor feel somewhat humiliated, somewhat stimulated, somewhat excited, and somewhat novel, and after thinking about it, it seemed to have great benefits.
Fan Xian used this to control the young emperor, but how could the young emperor not use the relationship between the two to put Fan Xian in an extremely difficult situation? The young emperor slowly turned her head, coldly looked at Si Lili sitting by the bed, and said, "Consort, comb my hair."
Including Fan Ruoruo, there were three and a half women on the Northern Qi side. While calmly enjoying Si Lili's gentle combing, the young emperor silently thought, three and a half women, facing a father with potential cracks, what should Fan Xian do?
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Fan Xian was currently deep in the Sword Hut, standing outside the door, calmly looking at Four Sword on the couch. After Shadow woke up, he found a place to heal his injuries on his own. As a top assassin, they always had a final nest to lick their wounds, and Fan Xian wasn't worried about this.
In the twilight, he once again walked into the depths of the Sword Hut, facing the sword-like gazes of the Sword Hut disciples, in order to deal with the point that the young emperor of Northern Qi had previously thought of - the big trouble that Four Sword might bring him in the future.
Wang Shisanlang coughed twice, glanced at him, and walked past him with a basin of hot water, without saying anything. Fan Xian turned his head, looking at the bloodstains on his back, and couldn't help but laugh. The scene of betraying his master earlier made him confirm Four Sword's affection for this young disciple.
Including the hot water basin and towel to wipe his body earlier, even a Grandmaster was sometimes just like a pitiful old man being served by a filial son.
The more Four Sword doted on Wang Shisanlang, the more at ease Fan Xian felt. He coughed twice, cleared his thoughts, stepped over the threshold, sat down on the chair by the bed, looked at the Four Sword with his eyes closed, and said, "Shadow will not take over the Sword Hut."
At this time, the room complex in the depths of the Sword Hut was silent. Besides Wang Shisanlang in the courtyard, no one else could stay here. Even the sword servants who served Four Sword closely had been driven to the front hut long ago.
This abrupt sentence echoed in the quiet room, lingering for a long time, coming without reason and speaking inexplicably.
Shadow was a person who wholeheartedly wanted to kill Four Sword, an official of the Southern Qing Supervisory Council, but Fan Xian seriously told Four Sword that Shadow would not take over the Sword Hut? Could it be that Four Sword would let Shadow inherit his most precious legacy in this world?
What was shocking was that Four Sword didn't ridicule Fan Xian's guess, but slowly opened his eyes, his eyes carrying a chilling coldness, and said in a hoarse voice, "Why can't he?"
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Fan Xian's heart tightened slightly. He didn't expect that with just one sentence, this Grandmaster would directly reveal his true thoughts. He couldn't help but smile bitterly and said softly, "Because he is my man."
"You are half Dongyi, but he is the whole Dongyi." Four Sword slowly closed his eyes again and said, "He is my younger brother, he is the true head disciple of my Sword Hut. After I die, if the Sword Hut is not taken over by him, will it be handed over to you?"
"Me?" Fan Xian shrugged and said, "I have my own master, and I don't have a hobby of establishing a sect."
Four Sword said with his eyes closed, "How did you guess what I was thinking?"
"Yun Zhilan was originally a good choice, but unfortunately he went against your wishes this time, and he is accustomed to administrative work. It is difficult for him to make progress in the way of the sword. You will not watch the Sword Hut decline after your death."
"Shisanlang is a good choice, but you love him too much and have too high expectations for him. You absolutely don't want him to be bound by these grass huts."
"Only Shadow." Fan Xian said after a moment of silence, "You didn't kill him, definitely not because you couldn't bear to kill him. Saints are heartless, this is something you yourself admitted before. You left Shadow alive, naturally to use that life. If the position of Sword Hut Master is left to him, the trouble that will be caused in the future is something that you and I are very clear about."
"So the incident at Suspended Temple was really done by Chen Pingping." Four Sword suddenly laughed hoarsely, laughing extremely heartily, "It seems that even I misjudged this old black dog. It turns out that he doesn't have any loyalty to your emperor."
Fan Xian wasn't angry either, smiling gently, "The Dean's loyalty to Qing Kingdom cannot be questioned. If you want to bring Shadow to the forefront, thereby provoking a war between His Majesty and the Dean, I advise you to give up quickly."
Four Sword fell silent, and the entire Sword Hut was shrouded in an oppressive atmosphere for a long time. From last night to today, Four Sword finally understood that Fan Xian, the son of an old friend, indeed possessed a calmness and even indifference that was difficult for ordinary people to find. He had actually guessed his true intentions, which he had been hiding all along, just from his subtle movements.
"How long can you hide the fact that Shadow is my younger brother? A year, two years?" Four Sword suddenly said coldly, "The things that happened in Dongyi City today will always be reported back to Kyoto, Qing Kingdom. Do you think your emperor really won't guess anything?"
"I don't care what he guesses. I'll delay it as long as I can, but I don't want you to make this thing clear and concrete." Fan Xian looked at Four Sword's thin cheeks without flinching and said, "In Dongyi City, there are only six people who can guess Shadow's identity. The third and fourth disciples in the hut have already seen you, naturally they told you about the things that happened the night before, and I think you have already sealed their mouths. With your position in their hearts, they probably won't say anything in this lifetime. As for Shisanlang, I believe in his character and morals. The rest are only me, you, and the young emperor. If you don't say it, and I don't say it, what are we afraid of?"
Four Sword said coldly, "The problem is that you haven't been able to convince me why I shouldn't say it. Once the world knows about this, your emperor will definitely kill Chen Pingping. If Chen Pingping dies, what will you do?"
Fan Xian was silent for a long time and said, "You feigned agreement to the agreement between you and me, but you actually focused your attention on the aftermath. If the Dean dies, and my Daqing falls into civil strife, there will be no time to care about the east..."
"I just don't believe in your emperor." Four Sword suddenly opened his eyes and looked at him, "I still believe in you more. The problem is that as long as you are not the emperor, it is useless for me to believe in your sincerity. Qing Kingdom is not up to you to decide."
Fan Xian's expression was extremely serious and he said, "I do not have the ability to make the decision to make His Majesty give up the determination to start a war, but if you anger me, at least I can make the decision to let Qing Kingdom destroy your Dongyi City."
He stood up and said, "Don't try to provoke internal strife in Qing Kingdom, and don't try to put my most respected elder in danger. Otherwise, there will be no agreement in my heart."
Four Sword didn't say a word for a long time, and suddenly said, "If there really is such a day, will you still have the mind to focus on Dongyi City?"
"These are all things that haven't happened yet, but this kind of threat is a warning that can be sounded in advance."
Four Sword looked at him and said, "Did you also use this crude method to force the female emperor of Northern Qi to shut her mouth?"
Fan Xian wasn't worried that the young emperor's gender would be revealed by Four Sword, because the collapse of Northern Qi was definitely not a scene that this Grandmaster wanted to see, and directly replied, "I now find that only crude methods can solve these problems. This... I learned from you."
"Don't try to use me or control me." Fan Xian said this sentence, his mind was slightly confused, as if he had returned to the old Fan family mansion in Kyoto many years ago, and he was talking to his father.
Since he came to this world, every move, all his thoughts and actions, seemed free, but were actually shrouded in countless shadows. Father, the Emperor, Chen Pingping, all the old guys were arranging his future according to what they thought was right.
Later, some more monsters were added to these old guys, such as Ku He, such as the Four Sword on the bed at this time, they all wanted to use what happened that year to secretly control him.
If Fan Xian wasn't Fan Xian, he would probably live a much easier life. As long as he followed the existing steps, he could live happily. However, he was unwilling to do so, even if his head was always shrouded in the name of Ye Qingmei, he was still unwilling.
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Two days later, the two major embassies of Southern Qing and Northern Qi finally drove over slowly and solemnly on the official road. Since leaving Song Kingdom, the two embassies had begun a vigorous low-speed competition on the road. It seemed that no one was willing to be the first to step on the territory of Dongyi City and launch the first wave of political offensives.
Wei Hua, the chief envoy of the Northern Qi embassy, vaguely felt something strange, but he had no way to change it. He guessed helplessly in his heart that Fan Xian had probably already arrived in Dongyi City. However, the officials of the Ministry of Rites in the Southern Qing embassy absolutely did not expect that the Northern Qi officials who arrived in Dongyi City in advance to negotiate were actually their emperor!
The welcoming ceremony in Dongyi City was extremely lively, but inevitably there were still many problems, because all the officials of the City Lord's Mansion were dead. The officials that Yun Zhilan transferred from various territories acted hastily, so there were always some inconveniences.
These details were also all seen by the officials of the two embassies. Then they learned about the bloody case that happened in the City Lord's Mansion, and couldn't help but look at each other, not knowing what had happened.
In fact, the real negotiations had ended long before the embassies entered the city. The real big figures on both sides had secretly fought countless times and had already set a concrete tone for the ownership of Dongyi City.
On this bright spring day, on this sunny day, within the courtyard where the Southern Qing embassy was staying, the Southern Qing officials stared in shock, looking at Lord Fan sitting at the head, too astonished to speak for a long time. Of course, they knew that Lord Fan had entered Dongyi City in advance, but they never expected that Lord Fan would actually use only three days to repel the aggressive offensive of the Northern Qi people, convince the solitary Sword Saint Grandmaster, and suppress the opposition forces in Dongyi City, securing this matter for Qing Kingdom!
After listening to Lord Fan's words, all the Southern Qing officials became excited. If it weren't for the Dongyi City ceremonial officials outside, the cheers would probably have broken through the roof and rushed into the blue sky above Dongyi City.
Qing Kingdom was born from blood and fire, developing from a small border country into the strongest country in the world today. It relied on constant border expansion and constant warfare. Especially twenty or thirty years ago, His Majesty the Emperor personally led the army to conquer the south and the north, and only then did he lay down the current territory and strength of Qing Kingdom. The four words "opening borders and expanding territory" had long become a part of the blood of the Qing people. Whether they were corrupt officials or honest officials, whether they were peddlers or scholars, they all eagerly yearned for Southern Qing to unify the world.
It was just that in these twenty years, the three major forces in the world stood in a three-legged position, and Qing Kingdom had been quiet for too long. The enthusiasm for border expansion had been suppressed for too long, so after the Da Dong Mountain incident, knowing that the two Grandmasters of the enemy countries were no longer obstacles, all these enthusiasms broke out.
Dongyi City was included in the territory of Daqing!
This wasn't conquering Nanzhao, or invading the grasslands to the west, or small wars back and forth with Northern Qi, cutting off some land, but was truly conquering a major force!
Except for His Majesty's three personal expeditions to the north in the past, which broke up the Da Wei and established the eternal achievements of Qing Kingdom, conquering Dongyi City was undoubtedly the most glorious stroke in the history of Qing Kingdom's border expansion!
All the officials looked at Fan Xian like they were looking at a god, their eyes filled with fiery expressions. Without wasting a single soldier, just by relying on negotiations, he could seek such great benefits for Qing Kingdom. They couldn't find any words to describe their feelings. They even thought in their hearts that His Majesty the Emperor was truly prescient, and was preparing to make Lord Fan a prince two years ago.
Lord Fan had made such an unprecedented contribution today, not to mention dividing the land, at least being made a prince was something he couldn't escape.
The old Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, who was about the right age, had a hard time digesting this earth-shattering good news. He was so excited that his face was flushed red, and a cough got stuck in his throat. He actually looked at Fan Xian and fell down like this!
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Fan Xian walked out of the bustling embassy residence, but there was no joy on his face. According to reason, being able to convince Four Sword, suppress the young Emperor of Northern Qi, and bring Dongyi City into the territory of Qing Kingdom in this relatively peaceful way was definitely the greatest achievement he could make in his life. But he still couldn't be happy, because he knew what kind of dangers were hidden behind Four Sword's promise.
He had already told the officials in the embassy that Yun Zhilan, the head disciple of the Sword Hut, was responsible for negotiating the details on the Dongyi City side. Yun Zhilan's position in this matter was already known to everyone. Four Sword's choice to let him come out to negotiate was undoubtedly to use a tough attitude to seek the greatest benefits for Dongyi City.
Fan Xian didn't care about these things. Whether it was actual rule or nominal surrender, at least it wasn't a problem to be considered this year. After Four Sword's death, Dongyi City didn't have much opposition. As for whether it would remain unchanged for fifty years or five years, that was the decision of the Emperor.
At the thought of this, his mood became dim again. The secret report to Chen Garden had already been sent out. Shadow, who had been silent, had also been sent to the Jiangnan Treasury to heal his injuries, but Fan Xian really didn't have any confidence in whether he could smoothly digest this matter.
Walking out of the embassy gate and getting into the carriage, Fan Xian leaned against the window with a headache, looking at the prosperity of Dongyi City. This prosperity didn't seem artificial because of the arrival of the embassies of the two major countries, nor did it seem desolate because of the collective death of the officials of the City Lord's Mansion. The merchants' profit-seeking and daring nature made them seem unrestrained and extremely free.
The black carriage traveled to the end of the long street, where there were three destinations. The members of the Qi Nian Group who were driving the carriage asked for instructions, "Lord Supervisor, where shall we go now?"
"Go to the seaside," Fan Xian replied softly.
It took a long time for the carriage to pass through Dongyi City, avoid the busy transportation teams, and drive away from the busiest port, arriving at the quietest silver beach outside Dongyi City. The official driving the carriage jumped out of the carriage and led the carriage to a beach. Suddenly, he found that there were already people on the beach, and keenly realized the other party's identity. His pupils shrank sharply, and he lowered his voice and said, "Northern Qi people."
Fan Xian had already gotten out of the car at this time. He looked at the members of the Qi Nian Group beside him, smiled, and said, "I'm here to find these Northern Qi people today."
This member of the Qi Nian Group was the one Fan Xian met in Qingzhou City last autumn. Fan Xian had no doubt about the loyalty of these confidants. Under the training of Wang Qinian and Deng Ziyue, these confidants only knew Fan Xian, and they might not even care much about the one in the palace.
He was going to meet someone today, so Fan Xian didn't bring the Sixth Bureau swordsmen of the Supervisory Council, but only brought this confidant. The member of the Qi Nian Group was stunned for a moment, and cleverly didn't ask anything more, leading the carriage to a secluded place, guarding under the green branches, closing his eyes and pretending to sleep.
Fan Xian walked on the soft beach, step by step towards the sea. There were several people by the sea, watching the sea. The waves of the East Sea were so calm, so gentle, gently beating the silver beach, drawing different shades of wet color, with a circle of reefs not far from the sea and layers of green trees behind the beach, it looked very beautiful.
Fan Xian bowed his hands and saluted seriously, "Greetings, Lord Lang Tao."
Lang Tao looked at him calmly, his hands naturally hanging by his side, and two scimitars were suspended on the side with chains as ropes, swaying gently in the sea breeze. He looked at the young man in front of him, his mood was very complicated, but his expression was unusually calm. After a moment, he gave way to the road leading to the sea, and walked towards the distance of the beach.
Fan Xian walked to the young man next to him, who was wearing a plain long shirt and full of scholarly aura, put his hands behind his back, and watched the sea with him.
Si Lili wore a beautiful light yellow dress, like a fairy, smiling and accompanying the two of them.
The young man was naturally the young emperor of Northern Qi. Northern Qi had completely failed in the Dongyi affair. He couldn't leave the Shangjing court and the dragon chair for too long, and he had to leave today.
In the embassy, the Qing Kingdom officials, in their excitement and excitement, had worried whether Northern Qi would sabotage it. At that time, Fan Xian didn't answer, because he was about to meet the Emperor of Northern Qi.
The two sword-like eyebrows of the Northern Qi Emperor were still so straight, and his eyes were clear and firm. No one could see that under his clothes was a woman's body.
He didn't look at Fan Xian, suddenly raised his right arm, pointed at the vast sea, and said in an unusually firm tone, "If I were a man, I would definitely be able to unify the world and then conquer this sea!"
The waves suddenly became bigger at this moment, hitting the reefs in the sea in the distance, stirring up thunderous roars, swallowing the Northern Qi Emperor's words that were full of confidence but also full of unwillingness.
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(Crazy, everyone is crazy, I'm going crazy too, applauding fiercely, please give some monthly tickets to support me, comrades who still have tickets in hand, quickly support me, I can't hold on anymore.)