Nightwatcher

Shuzi! This official cursed secretly from the heart of the third-rank Honglu Siqing, took a deep breath, and said loudly:

"My official, Liu Da, minister of Honglu Temple, is here to welcome the Yunzhou mission."

He yelled several times, but there was no response from Yufengzhou.

The Minister of Honglu Temple waited for another quarter of an hour in the cold wind, and left helplessly amidst the curious eyes of the people who came and went in the official way. .

The uncle on the boat could wait, but he couldn't wait. It was his dereliction of duty that he couldn't welcome the Yunzhou mission into the capital, and all the princes and His Majesty should blame him.

"My lord, please get in the car."

The subordinate raised the curtain of the carriage for him.

"What car to get in, prepare a horse for me!"

The Minister of Honglu Temple scolded angrily, from the capital city to the inner city, and then to the imperial city, when will it take to arrive in a carriage?

Crackling. While the horseshoes were running wildly, the Minister of Honglu Temple rushed to the Ministry of Rites.

Honglu Temple is affiliated to the Ministry of Rites, and since Yunzhou's Zhuzi thinks his official position is not enough, he can only find someone with a higher official position.

Ministry of Rites, inside the hall.

Minister of Rites frowned:

"Shoot!

"This is to give the imperial court a blow."

The scolding is scolding, the Minister of Rites said in a deep voice:

"Forget it, I will accompany you."

He originally wanted the Minister of the Ministry of Rites to come forward, but considering that in terms of official position, the Minister is only half a rank higher than Liu Da, the minister of the Honglu Temple, so he decided to appear in person.

The Minister of Honglu Temple breathed a sigh of relief, and while walking out with the Minister of Rites, he said:

"Please trouble Master Shangshu."

The Minister of Rites was too old to ride a horse, so the two changed to a carriage and galloped all the way towards the gate of the city.

Half an hour later, the carriage passed through the city gate, and the Minister of Rites lifted the curtain, and saw the huge wooden boat beside the official road.

The carriage stopped beside the wooden boat, and the Minister of Rites said loudly:

"I, Minister of the Ministry of Rites, come to welcome the Yunzhou Mission."

Suddenly, a guard protruded from the side of the ship, with a haughty expression:

"My son said that you are not qualified enough."

The face of Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites sank, he suppressed his anger, and said lightly:

"Go back and ask your young master what's going on, that's why he's willing to go to Beijing."

The guard didn't move, he let out a hey and raised his chin:

"Young Master Ninth said that you want the Prince to greet you, the chief assistant to accompany you, and there is no shortage of rituals and music. If you can't do it, you can tell him earlier that he can go home and tell the 150,000 soldiers in Yunzhou that Dafeng does not want peace talks. .”

"This is not in accordance with the rules of etiquette, let your nine sons come out and speak." The Minister of Rites said loudly.

The guard ignored it and retracted his head.

The blue veins on the forehead of Minister of Rites twitched, took a deep breath, and regained his composure.

He immediately looked at the Minister of Honglu Temple beside him, and said:

"Send someone to ask His Majesty for instructions."

On Yufengzhou, in a simple room, Ji Yuan sat at the table, peeling oranges with his slender, fair hands, and put a small silver bone fan beside him.

"Ninth brother, is this giving Dafeng court a blow?"

Xu Yuanhuai stood by the window and heard the conversation just now clearly.

"Smart!" Ji Yuan praised, then shook his head:

"But not smart enough."

Xu Yuanhuai frowned.

Ji Yuan tilted his head, looked at Xu Yuanshuang who was sitting on the chair and reading quietly, and said with a smile:

"Yuan Shuang, what do you think?"

Xu Yuanshuang didn't raise his head, and said lightly:

"It's nothing more than testing the bottom line."

"Look, look." Ji Yuan said with a smile:

"Sister Yuanshuang is still smart, Yuan Huai, since we landed outside the capital, negotiations have already begun, don't you have to sit at the negotiating table, understand."

Seeing that Xu Yuanhuai seemed unconvinced, Ji Yuan ate the orange and said:

"You have to know where the little emperor's bottom line is. Only when he enters the Golden Luan Hall tomorrow can he be able to grasp his three inches."

Xu Yuanshuang frowned and said:

"Emperor Yongxing may not accept your set."

Ji Yuan picked up the silver fracture fan, unfolded it with a "snap", pressed it flat against his chest, and said with a smile:

"This is also a kind of temptation, to try the little emperor's level."

He was not as old as Emperor Yongxing, but he had a look down on him.

After waiting for nearly half an hour, I suddenly heard someone outside shouting:

"Prince Yan and Qian Shoufu came to welcome the Yunzhou mission."

With a "shua", Ji Yuan unfolded the small silver bone fan, pressed it flat against his chest, shook his head and laughed:

"With such an emperor, why worry about Dafeng?"

The luxurious "welcome team" enters the city, and the people around are pointing and pointing along the way.

"This is the flag of Yunzhou. So Qingzhou has really fallen. What was said a few days ago, is it true that the imperial court wants to negotiate a peace?"

Those who were literate among the common people recognized the flag of Yunzhou in the mission. The yellow background was embroidered with white clouds, and the red thread was repaired to form a big "cloud" character.

Rumors and gossips in the capital are well controlled, and the common people only dare to talk in private on weekdays, and dare not discuss the fall of Qingzhou, the death of the prisoner in battle, and the decision of the imperial court to discuss peace in public places such as teahouses and brothels.

Seeing the Yunzhou mission enter Beijing at this time, the emotions that were suppressed in my heart immediately rebounded, and they stood on the side of the street and talked loudly.

"A mere Yunzhou rebellious party actually came to the capital to show off his might."

"Even Xu Yinluo can't defend Qingzhou?"

In the carriage, Ji Yuan heard these words and opened the curtains.

"It is widely spread among the people that Xu Qi'an alone defended against eight thousand rebels in Yunzhou, and single-handedly killed the 200,000 soldiers of the Witch God Cult at Yuyang Pass. As great as the hope is, so is the disappointment."

Ji Yuan clicked his tongue repeatedly: "Back then, we brothers and sisters heard about Xu Qi'an's deeds in the Central Plains one after another, and we were not angry, thinking that he just usurped the luck that originally belonged to our lineage.

"Now it's really a turn of events. Tell me, after the news of the peace talks spreads, how will the common people talk about the court, and how will they talk about their beloved Xu Yinluo?"

Xu Yuanshuang was silent for a moment, staring at him:

"No wonder you're making such a fuss."

Ji Yuan opened the folding fan with a "snap", fanned it slightly, and smiled without saying a word.

royal palace.

In the imperial study room, after listening to the eunuch's report, Emperor Yongxing was relieved when he learned that the Yunzhou mission had already stayed at the inn.

He stopped walking around and sat back on the big gilt chair.

Not long after, Zhao Xuanzhen rushed in from the outside and said loudly:

"Your Majesty, Xu Yinluo and His Highness Lin'an are asking to see you."

What is he doing here? Emperor Yongxing frowned and said:

"Please come in."

Zhao Xuanzhen stepped back, and a few minutes later, he led Xu Qi'an in blue and Lin'an in red across the threshold and entered the imperial study.

A pair of people.

Seeing the shallow smile on Lin'an's face, Emperor Yongxing relaxed his heavy heart a little.

He then looked at Xu Qi'an and said with a smile:

"Xu Yinluo has finally returned to Beijing, come and give me a seat to watch tea."

Xu Qi'an waved his hand:

"No need.

"Your Majesty, do you really want to negotiate a peace? The Yunzhou rebels are so powerful, why choose to negotiate a peace at this time?

"It's nothing more than trying to take the opportunity to squeeze the court and use up the court's last breath. If there is a peace negotiation, there is really no chance of winning."

The smile on Emperor Yongxing's face slowly disappeared, and he said lightly:

"Then what does Xu Yinluo think it should be? Let you be the commander-in-chief of Yongzhou, and fight to the death with the rebels in Yunzhou?

"Does Xu Yinluo have the confidence to win? I know that Xu Yinluo is a martial artist of the third rank. But even the prisoner died at their hands, so what can you do!"

Xu Qi'an said:

"If His Majesty can trust you, I will go to the battlefield with my own person and die with the Yunzhou Army."

"But I don't want to!" Emperor Yongxing seemed to lose his patience, and suddenly increased his tone, and said loudly:

"Negotiating peace is the only hope. As long as we can survive the harsh winter, Dafeng will naturally get better when the spring festival comes. Why bother to die with the Yunzhou rebels at this time."

Xu Qi'an didn't say any more, turned around and left.

Emperor Yongxing is now wholeheartedly seeking peace and stopping fighting. Persuasion is useless, so there is no need to persuade him.

"dog minions"

Lin'an chased after a few steps, then stamped his feet, strode back to Emperor Yongxing, and said loudly:

"Brother Emperor, why can't you try to trust him."

Emperor Yongxing shook his head, sneered and said:

"Trust him? Trust him, Xu Qi'an, Dafeng will be saved?

"An enemy that even the supervisor can't deal with, with Xu Qi'an, can he turn the tide?"

Lin'an airway:

"You are cowardly and afraid of death."

"You..." Emperor Yongxing was furious and raised his hand to strike.

Lin An stared at him with red eyes.

"Get out, get out!"

Emperor Yongxing pointed at the door and shouted.

[One: The Yunzhou Mission has entered Beijing with great fanfare. 】

In the Dishu chat group, Huaiqing explained in detail how the Yunzhou mission entered Beijing today.

[Four: He is testing the bottom line of Emperor Yongxing, alas, the bottom line has been figured out before we meet. To invite people into the city in such a hurry, isn't this a blatant expression of the intention of wanting peace talks? 】

Chu Yuanzhen had a keen mind, and guessed the motives of the Yunzhou Mission to every possible degree.

[Two: Emperor Yongxing, the dog emperor, is not even as good as Yuan Jing. Who is leading the team? 】

Li Miao's teeth itched in anger.

Not only angry with the Yunzhou Mission, but also angry with Emperor Yongxing for his cowardice and fear of getting into trouble.

[One: The ninth son of Qianlong City Lord, named Ji Yuan, is currently living in the inner city station, protected by heavy soldiers inside and outside, and there are two golden gongs. 】

[Two: Is this because he is afraid that Xu Qi'an will kill someone? He should go back to Beijing. 】

[One: He is here with me. 】

To die Li Miaozhen gritted her teeth.

Imperial City, Huaiqing Mansion.

In the spacious and elegant inner hall, the eldest princess wearing a plum-colored palace dress put down the fragments of the book from the ground, and raised her mouth.

She looked at the man opposite and said softly:

"The current situation is different from when we called for donations. Even if you put a knife on Yongxing's neck, he will probably not give in.

"It's the same with all the princes. Now, more than 70% of the officials in the capital agree to negotiate peace. This is the general trend."

Xu Qi'an, who had just come out of the palace, nodded slowly:

"Zhao Shou said that in order to revitalize the current dead situation, Dafeng's money and food issues must be resolved.

"Actually, what he really wants to say is that if I want to fight Xu Pingfeng and the Yunzhou rebels to the death, the imperial court must unconditionally support it and not hold back."

Now, Yongxing is holding him back.

Huaiqing was silent for a while, then said:

"He's really weak."

Xu Qi'an waved his hand:

"Don't talk about him, why are you looking for me?"

As soon as he left the palace, he was invited by Huaiqing's chief guard, who was standing guard outside the palace gate.

Huaiqing pondered for a moment, then said:

"Some time ago, you said that there are only three ways to restore Dafeng's current decline. One: the number of superpowers must be equal; two: solve the problem of money and food; three: revive Duke Wei."

Xu Qi listened quietly and nodded.

Huaiqing took a deep breath:

"You have already done the resurrection of Wei Gong, and you will see it at the Spring Festival.

"The problem of money and food is difficult to solve, but you just said that what you need more is a king who is willing to fight with you to the death and never retreat, a court that is willing to bet on the fate of the country."

Xu Qi'an said slowly:

"so?"

Huaiqing stared at him with eyes like autumn water, and said word by word:

"Force Yongxing to abdicate!"

Xu Qi'an had expected it in his heart, but was not surprised, and shook his head:

"This will only speed up the demise of the imperial court. I know you want to support Prince Yan, but he doesn't have enough qualifications, status, or power.

"In times of peace and prosperity, it might be okay, but now people are in panic. If I do this act of being alone again, I will push people to Yunzhou and force them to defect."

If he tried to subdue everything by force at this juncture, he would indeed be able to, but he would turn his head and seek refuge in Yunzhou.

Never forget that the lineage of Yunzhou is also the Dafeng royal family.

Huaiqing said quietly:

"Brother Si Huang has no qualifications or influence, but I have."

Xu Qi'an was taken aback.

He carefully and repeatedly examined the beauty in front of him.

Huaiqing stood firm and fearless, and looked at him:

"The former Wei party is all my people. In addition, I have also attracted many officials from the court. If we want to combine them, it will be the largest party in the court.

"As for the Royal Party, I need Xu Yinluo's help."

Xu Qi'an stared at her for a long time, then sighed:

"Your Highness, I have already noticed that you are a woman like you, but I still didn't expect that you have cultivated such a large-scale power without knowing it.

"Is there any more?"

Now that he had spoken, Huaiqing did not hide anything:

"The Fifth Battalion of the Imperial Army and the Twelve Guards of the capital have my people."

No wonder she was able to send out experts to gather the refugees, and the power in her hands was far more terrifying than I imagined. Xu Qi'an pondered for a moment, and said:

"What cards do you have?"

Huaiqing picked up his teacup and took a sip:

"Master Xu has collected five vital dragon qi, and the Yunzhou rebels also have one. The remaining three dragon qi are with me."

"What?" Xu Qi'an picked out his ears, suspecting that he had heard wrong:

"how did you do that?"

Huaiqing said frankly:

"Wei Gong's dark sons are all in my hands. Before he set off that day, he personally handed over the watchman dark son organization to me."

No wonder, no wonder Liu Hong, the censor of Zuodu, said that he didn't know that he didn't take over the Anzi left by Duke Wei, and sent it to the yamen's file vault. The information about Anzi had long since disappeared. It turns out that Duke Wei gave it to Huaiqing Xu Qi'an, who solved an unsolved case, closed his eyes and sighed in his heart:

Sure enough, he is not his own son.

No, as expected, the son he picked up was still not as good as the daughter of his first love.

Huaiqing didn't know that there were so many inner dramas in his heart, so he continued:

"Accommodating the dragon's energy will naturally lead to deep blessings.

"With my dragon spirit, I can get twice the result with half the effort, whether it is to win over the ministers of the court or the masters of the army."

Xu Qi'an showed a complicated smile:

"Your Highness has already started planning all this. After Yuan Jing's death, you saw hope, so you deployed secretly, step by step. Wait for the opportunity to force Yongxing from the throne."

Huaiqing nodded slightly:

"From the fact that you explained your life experience within the Tiandihui and pointed out the existence of the Yunzhou rebellious party; from the fall of the former emperor and the collapse of the dragon spirit; I know that Yongxing's throne will not be long.

"With such a big mess, internal and external troubles, if you want to secure the throne and innovate, you must have great courage.

"But Yongxing is too mediocre. In a peaceful and prosperous age, he may be a good king, but in a troubled world, he will bring disaster to the country and the people."

You are the real "obscene development". Compared with you, I don't want to be too sloppy. Xu Qi'an murmured to himself, he couldn't disagree with Huaiqing's words.

"Then how do you guarantee that Prince Yan will do better than Yongxing?"

"This palace is a natural way."

"Tell me about your detailed plan."

It was not until sunset that Xu Qi'an left Huaiqing Mansion.

After returning to Si Tianjian, after visiting Sun Xuanji who was recovering from his injuries, Xu Qi'an came to the guest room on the fourth floor, opened the door and walked in. In the warm spring-like room, Mu Nanzhi was doing her makeup in front of the mirror.

Bai Ji curled up on the bed and slept soundly.

She seemed to have just taken a bath, her hair was wet, and she had a delicate fragrance on her body.

"I bought some peach blossom cakes for you. I remember you like this."

Xu Qi'an put a bag of pastries wrapped in butter paper by the dressing table.

Mu Nanzhi didn't care, she curled her lips and asked:

"Where did you go?"

She sniffed quietly, and smelled an imperceptible feminine fragrance on him.

Think a pack of pastries can get rid of her?

Xu Qi'an sat by the bed, took off his boots, and said:

"The peace negotiation mission from Yunzhou came to Beijing today. I went to the palace to meet Emperor Yongxing, but he refused to listen. Then I went to Huaiqing Mansion to discuss matters with the eldest princess."

He pinched his eyebrows and sighed:

"Once the peace negotiation is concluded, Dafeng may really be powerless."

And you, who are in the fate of the country, will die. Mu Nanzhi once again looked at the bag of pastries.

She bit her lip.

A man can still not forget to bring you a pack of his favorite desserts when he is in a state of desperation. This kind of affection worth more than a dozen pennies is more affectionate than those sweet-talking vows of eternal love and Bomei who spend a lot of money. Much heavier.

Xu Qi'an, who took off his boots, lay down on the bed, with his arms resting on the back of his head.

If the plan goes well, two of Zhao Shou's four main points will be satisfied—reviving Wei Yuan and stabilizing the rear.

And becoming a chess player is a suggestion, and there is no degree of completion in itself.

"As long as the fourth prince is in power and can guarantee to support me and fight Yunzhou to the death, then although the matter of money and food has not been resolved, the national power of Dafeng can barely be sustained.

"The only problem now is that my cultivation base is too weak. Although I can compete with the second rank, I will definitely die against the first rank. And what stands in front of me is the magic nail."

The magic nail cannot be cracked by brute force, unless, like Asuro, he knows the formula and secret method of unsealing.

Then if only one nail is hit, it can still be self-extracted.

Xu Pingfeng, oh Xu Pingfeng, you're doing all the tricks. While thinking about it, he suddenly smelled a faint fragrance approaching, opened his eyes, and looked sideways.

Mu Nanzhi sat on the edge of the bed, giving him an infinitely beautiful back view, and a half round buttocks that stretched out the silk pants.

She didn't know when she took off her clothes and was only wearing a white undershirt.

How else can you say that a young girl is better than a young woman's waist, and a young woman is better than an aunt's buttocks.

"I was sent here by my parents at the age of thirteen in exchange for a fortune. I thought I would spend my life in the palace, but Yuan Jing gave it to King Huai. I feel sorry for myself and think that I am a commodity. People sell and sell."

With his back turned to him, Mu Nanzhi said faintly:

"Later, when I got to know Luo Yuheng, a stinky bitch, she told me that I was the reincarnation of the Flower God, and that I was carrying a spiritual resource, and that I was the cauldron of Duke Huai, waiting for him to come and take away my spiritual resource one day.

"I was very scared and asked her what would happen if the spirit was taken away. She told me that of course she would die.

"So I felt that I was not even as good as the goods. I was just a captive animal in Prince Huai's mansion, waiting to be pulled out to be slaughtered one day."

It turned out that she was so afraid of her identity being exposed, and she was afraid that I would know that she was the reincarnation of the flower god, and she was intimidated by the national teacher. Xu Qi'an suddenly realized.

"So I have always been afraid of my identity being exposed, and I am wary of everyone, including you."

Mu Nanzhi didn't look back, but Xu Qi'an could feel her smile:

"But in the past few days, I have repeatedly asked myself, if someone surnamed Xu wants to take my spirit, will I agree? Am I willing to die for you? Until the time you entered the room, I still have no answer."

She paused, and looked at the bag of pastries on the table involuntarily:

"But just now, I suddenly know the answer, and I am willing."

After finishing speaking, Mu Nanzhi tensed her body, and sat stiffly, as if there was some terrible monster behind her, who would rush to bite her at any time.

She waited for a long time, but she didn't wait for Xu Qi'an's hungry tiger to jump on the sheep, so she couldn't hold back and looked back.

Xu Qi'an turned sideways, resting his head on his hands, and looked at her with a smile.

Bai Ji also imitated Xu Qi'an's posture, turning her body sideways, resting her head on one paw, and silently looked at her.

Mu Nanzhi's face flushed "swish", and there seemed to be illusory black smoke rising from the top of his head.

"you."

She became angry from embarrassment, grabbed Bai Ji and threw it at Xu Qi'an's face, Xu Qi'an was fine, but Bai Ji screamed in pain.

"Just kidding, don't be angry."

Xu Qi'an pushed Bai Ji aside, and dragged her to bed before Mu Nanzhi could "slip away".

This bitch desperately wants to save face, she is so arrogant and arrogant, she finally mustered up the courage to confess her love, and she wanted to help him advance to the second rank. If she missed this time, she doesn't know when she will be next time.

"You are an undead tree. I can't take away your spiritual accumulation. At most, I can absorb some. I can't die. Besides, I have a magic nail in my body. Even if I sleep with you, I can't be promoted to the second rank.

"I'll be your licking dog for a while, absorbing the spirit, and I'll talk about it later."

Xu Qi'an took advantage of the opportunity to bury his head into his soft chest, and was about to "swipe", when suddenly, he felt like someone had hit his head with a stick.

This is not an ordinary message, this is a request for a private chat.

Normally, Xu Qi'an would throw away the fragments of the book from the ground, and act like a dog licking to his heart's content.

But now is an extraordinary time, members of the Tiandihui chatted with him in private, there must be something wrong.

Reluctantly raising his head from Mu Nanzhi's chest, he took a look at her rosy face.

If you are careless, you should take off the string first, otherwise, looking at your face, it is easy to enter the sage's time ahead of time. He complained in his heart, he took out the fragments of the book, and accepted the other party's private chat.

[Eight: I'm fifteen miles outside the west gate of the capital, can I come out and see you? 】

number eight?

Xu Qi'an frowned. Daoist Jin Lian said a few days ago that No. 8 has left customs and may come to the capital in the near future.

What is he looking for me alone?

Among the members of the Tiandihui, No. 8 is a person who hangs up for ten thousand years, and has no intersection with him or other members.

Let's ask Daoist Jinlian first to see if the number eight is reliable. Xu Qi'an didn't reply, ended the private chat, and sent a private chat invitation to Daoist Jinlian instead.

[Nine: What's the matter? 】

The Taoist priest quickly sent a letter to respond.

[Three: I came to the capital on the 8th, and asked me to meet. 】

Xu Qi'an told Taoist Priest Jinlian the situation straight to the point.

[Nine: Pindao's suggestion is that you might as well go and meet. 】

Xu Qi'an knew that heaven and earth would follow the rules, and Taoist Priest Jinlian would not reveal the identity of the fragment holder without his permission.

After finishing the transmission, he immediately connected to No. 8 and replied:

【good! 】

He had no choice but to get up, and reluctantly stared at Mu Nanzhi's lying flat chest, and said:

"I'm going out for a while, don't wait for me, go to bed first."

After speaking, his body melted into the shadows and disappeared into the house.

Mu Nanzhi let out a breath, unable to tell whether it was disappointment or relief.

"Auntie, I want to be your licking dog too."

Bai Jifei pounced on Mu Nanzhi's chest, but was slapped away by the Flower God. She frowned and said:

"Did you stay with him for a long time and become like a disciple?"

While speaking, she picked up one of Bai Ji's hind limbs, glanced at it, and spat:

"You bitch."

Xu Qi'an kept jumping in the shadows, and arrived at the west gate after a few minutes.

At this time, the night was dark and the surroundings were extremely quiet, and the gleam of the torches at the top of the city was like fireflies.

After leaving the city gate, he dived into the dark night like a black fish, just like swimming in the ocean, moving straight along the official road.

The agreed place is fifteen miles outside the West City Gate, and there is no additional description, so it is on the official road by default.

Fifteen miles away, he soon arrived at his destination, and saw a tall figure standing proudly in the dark night.

He was wearing a red and yellow cassock and was nearly nine feet tall. Compared with ordinary people, he was like a giant.

He has an ugly appearance, the brow bone without eyebrows is slightly raised, and the eyes under the brow bone are as sharp as knives, giving the whole person a heroic and extraordinary feeling.

Ugly and handsome.

He was playing with a small jade mirror in his hand.

PS: typo, correct it at night.