In the hustle and bustle of the market, there is a spacious and grand private house.
There are only a few doors in the house, and only a few people can be seen passing through it on weekdays, making it especially empty and quiet.
Compared with the bustling and bustling scene outside, it seems out of place.
Afternoon.
Next to the clear pond in the courtyard.
A man in a brocade robe lay down in a rocking chair and took a nap, letting the breeze blow on his face.
The man's cheeks are plump without any wrinkles, and the sides of his mouth are smooth without a trace of beard.
If it weren't for the slight whiteness on his temples, he might just be regarded as a lazy, young and old boy from a rich family.
They are not middle-aged people who are over fifty and have quickly become "old".
A pair of iron balls slowly swayed in the middle-aged man's left hand.
When ordinary people see this, they just think that they are getting old, so they play with these male and female balls to strengthen muscles and bones, coordinate Qi and blood, and delay aging.
But few people know that this male and female ball is not only a fitness thing for the middle-aged man, but also his weapon.
But no one is lucky enough to see the power of those balls.
Maybe I have seen it, but unfortunately it has not survived to this day.
And in the past ten years, he has had few opportunities to take action himself.
All he needs to do is use his brains and words, and he will have a group of people at his disposal to overcome difficulties.
There was one of these people standing next to Teng's rocking chair.
That was the housekeeper left by the middle-aged man in this private house.
In such a large private house, there are not many people and not many things to do. Although there is only one butler, it is easy to take care of it.
The most important thing for the housekeeper to worry about during the day is the "report" that the master listens to when he is resting at home.
The reason why it is called a report is because the matters that the steward needs to report are related to the border situation, taxes in various places, people's production, trivial matters in the rivers and lakes, etc. They should be matters discussed in the court and should be known to the emperor.
Approval.
And these reports are all more detailed than those in the court.
For this reason, the housekeeper has to spend most of his day organizing all aspects of information in order to complete a report that may only take half an hour.
It seems that if you don't have some talent in this area, it will be difficult for you to be reused under such high-ranking officials and nobles.
There is also a desk in front of the butler.
In addition to a stack of memorial documents, there are also pens, inks, paper and inkstones on the desk.
It is used to record the master’s comments and related instructions on these reports.
I don't know whether the master is in a good mood today, or because he is not interested in today's report. After the housekeeper read the first twenty-one reports, he still hasn't written a single record.
There are still three reports left.
If the master doesn't make any statement next, the housekeeper will have some free time today.
The steward picked up the twenty-second report.
This is the second report concerning trivial matters in the world.
The first two contents are related to Tingyuge, which has once again "made trouble" in the world recently.
"Listening to the Song of Dreams in the Rain Pavilion, Luo Piaoling and the song "Xue Qinghuan in the Fleeting Time Pavilion", I have stayed in the inn for the past three days and have no contact with the Lu family."
"Tingyuge escorted the Niu family, father and daughter, and their party. Due to the heavy rain for days, they could not travel more than ten miles. As of today, they have been stranded at Xiaoshan Wanfeng Inn for two days."
"bet......"
From the corner of his eye, he saw his master slightly raising his right hand that was resting on the armrest. The butler stopped talking at the right moment and picked up the brush that had been resting on the inkstone for a long time, preparing to take notes.
But I heard a middle-aged man ask: "If I remember correctly, it's raining heavily in the south of Jiangxi and Gansu."
The housekeeper didn't think about why his master had such a question. After sorting out the information in his mind, he quickly answered.
"yes."
"Three days ago, there was a sudden heavy rain in the southern part of the Jiangxi-Ganxi border. The rainfall was knee-deep in half a day."
"At the end of the day, the water level of the streams and rivers in the southern Jiangxi border surged, flooding the farmland, and the newly planted crops were submerged in the water."
"The rain has continued for days, and all low-lying areas have been flooded. The local government has urgently organized the affected people to move to high ground."
"However, the mountains and rivers in Jiangxi and Jiangxi are contiguous, and the people live scattered and difficult to find. In addition, the flooded land is very large, and there are many people suffering. It is difficult to build a resettlement place for a while, and many people have died or become ill.
"
"It may be difficult to have a harvest this autumn."
"If the strange rain continues for a few more days, it will be difficult for us to regain our strength tomorrow and next year."
After the middle-aged man listened, the male and female balls in his left hand were still slowly spinning around, and the two fingers of his right hand that he put down again gently tapped the armrest of the rocking chair, thoughtfully.
He heard this report in the court yesterday.
He remembered that the little emperor was very impatient before hearing this memorial.
Although the little emperor is getting older, his body is slowly breaking down at a speed that is difficult for ordinary people to notice. The first thing that shows up is that his concentration is getting worse and worse. He can't even survive the morning dynasty that has been changed to once every five days.
緷**husband.
——This little emperor can't survive for a few more years.
A contemptuous smile flashed across the middle-aged man's slightly opened eyes.
He is a member of the palace, and naturally he has his residence in the palace. However, the current situation is clear, and he only restrains himself where he should restrain himself. As for these trivial matters in life, he believes that there is no need to pretend to be low-key and embarrass himself.
After all, within the palace walls, he can be regarded as having great ears and eyes. As long as there is the slightest noise, he can come to the palace to take charge of the overall situation with just a cup of tea and horses.
The silence only lasted for a moment, and then the middle-aged man pulled back his thoughts and said: "How is the investigation on the identity of the person who escorted General Niu going?"
Thinking of this matter, the middle-aged man couldn't help but frown. This was something he had arranged more than ten days ago. If there was an exact result, it should be reflected in the report. Obviously, the details have not been found out yet.
Xu Shi saw a look of anger on the middle-aged man's eyes, and the housekeeper quickly accused him: "My subordinates are not doing things well..."
The middle-aged man interrupted: "Okay, let's talk about what we have found so far."
The butler then lowered his head and said, "Yes."
"Since Jiangning County, there are currently fifteen people traveling with Niu Kelian and his daughter."
"Among them, a total of six people were confirmed to belong to Tingyu Pavilion, Feipiao, Mu Shang, Xiao Yan'er, Ning Kuang, Ruan Gu, and Zifeng."
"Those who belong to the Xiaoyue Alliance, but don't know why I am traveling with them, don't be sad."
"There is another old man and five young men who should come from a Taoist temple in the southwest of Zhongzhou. The detailed origin is still under investigation."
"As for the sword holder and the blind swordsman who came in halfway, we have been able to confirm that the sword holder came from Jiangmen Town. His sect is not very famous, and he moved to Jiangmen Town during the years of trouble."
"As for the blind swordsman, it is possible that he is a member of the Daoyi Alliance, but I don't know the specific origin of his identity."
The housekeeper gritted his teeth and finished reporting what he knew. He still stood with his eyebrows lowered. There were only about ten people. More than ten days had passed, and nearly half of them still didn't know their whereabouts. As usual, they would inevitably be punished.
"Perhaps he is a member of the Daoyi Alliance?" He heard the middle-aged man repeat in a low voice.
The middle-aged man didn't have much intention to blame. He knew that blaming these servants was meaningless. He had been pondering this world for nearly twenty years, but he still might not be able to fight against those evil spirits, otherwise he wouldn't have to suffer everywhere.
Being constrained, I secretly sought all kinds of cooperation.
He just raised the question in his mind. Since he didn't know the specific origin of his identity, how could he determine that the other party might be a member of the Daoyi Alliance.
The butler replied: "This news comes from Mr. Le from the Yu family. Mr. Le had a fight with the man holding the sword, and could not break the opponent's defense. He also saw that the blind swordsman had used the secret method of Jingzhe of Han Wuyue of the Daoyi Alliance.
, so this is the inference.”
The middle-aged man smiled for no reason and said: "Oh, this boy from the Yu family still has a hard time changing his arrogant temperament. If he had observed more carefully, he would probably not only gain this little. Those lakes are very good at hiding chess pieces, but in the world
There are so many geniuses in the world that can be discovered and cultivated. This blind swordsman is definitely not someone who appeared out of thin air recently. He shows a novel appearance to outsiders. It is nothing more than a deliberate attempt to conceal his identity and confuse the judgment of the world. Don't you know that he is trying to hide it?"
Unexpectedly, his master had guessed the identity of the blind swordsman in just a few words. The butler was surprised and said in a complimentary tone: "What the master said is absolutely true."
The middle-aged man didn't pay attention to the flattery in the servant's words, and said: "Bring me the map of Zhangjiang and Gansu."
The butler said yes, but didn't move too far from the desk.
He only waved to the distance, and a figure wearing a flying fish suit with an embroidered spring knife on his waist came to him, and soon presented him with a roll of maps.
I thought about spreading the map out for my master to see, but I didn't expect that my master had put down the male and female balls and stretched out his hand, so I had no choice but to hand over the map.
The middle-aged man straightened his body, opened his eyes under his thin, curved eyebrows, and carefully studied the map of Jiangxi and Gansu.
After a long time, the middle-aged man sighed: "If it's God's will, then you can't blame me."
He was obviously sighing, but the housekeeper could hear the hint of joy in his master's tone.
"Please give me your instructions, sir." The housekeeper knew that he had to get busy with something.
"Are the Niu family father and daughter still trapped in Xiaoshan?" This seems to be the middle-aged man's last question before making a certain decision.
The housekeeper affirmed: "The news that just came this morning should be correct."
The middle-aged man fixed his gaze on a spot on the map and murmured: "This place is sparsely populated and is suitable for an ambush. But how do we drive them here?"
The butler knew that his master was asking and answering questions, so he did not dare to say anything.
While thinking about something, the middle-aged man said: "There is a Ganjiang River between Xiaoshan and Wild Boar Forest. There is an arch bridge over the Ganjiang River. The bridge is thirty feet long. It was built two hundred years ago. It has been damaged many times over the decades.
. Nowadays, renovations are carried out every three years in autumn and winter, and this year seems to be the year for that renovation."
The steward said: "Yes."
The middle-aged man added: "A heavy rain that has not happened in a century will inevitably cause floods. How can this arch bridge, which has been in disrepair for a long time, withstand it?"
The housekeeper seemed to have understood what his master was planning, and said hurriedly: "I can't bear it."
The middle-aged man nodded and said: "Since the dams in the upper reaches of the Ganjiang River can no longer hold back the flood, they should be washed away if they should be."
The housekeeper shuddered when he heard the words, but his face remained calm. He just took a note and said yes.
The middle-aged man fell into deep thought again. The location has been chosen, but where are the manpower?
After a while, the middle-aged man said, "What do you think of letting some Japanese people in?"
The housekeeper was stunned when he heard this. His master was very judgmental and rarely asked their opinions.
This is really the first time.
But my master heard that he was a little moody like Yi Wusheng who did as he pleased.
He seems to be quite kind at ordinary times, but he can also change his mind when he falls out. Now when I ask this question, how should I answer it?
As he breathed, drops of cold sweat flowed down his forehead.
"Just say what you say." The middle-aged man's tone was very calm.
The housekeeper knew that if he didn't say something, his master would no longer be so easy-going.
He quickly sorted out his thoughts and said: "Those who are not of my race must have different minds. Although the Japanese people who have been let in obey the discipline, I am afraid it will be difficult to keep an eye on them if they are more. In order to avoid big mistakes, my subordinates think that we should
The key is to control the number of Japanese people."
That is to say, the housekeeper didn't know what the middle-aged man had done back then, otherwise he would never dare to say these words in front of his master.
Of course, the middle-aged man is not a foreigner, but there are things in the world that once you do, it means there will be a second or third time...
The middle-aged man looked as usual and said: "It's a good idea. It's about controlling the number of Japanese people, but this time, I plan to try the abilities of these Japanese people."
The housekeeper somewhat understood his master's plan and said, "Master, are you telling the Japanese to attack and kill the Niu family's father and daughter?"
The middle-aged man said: "Yes, General Niu has this value, let them take action. We can let more Japanese people in, but we have to see how much they pay - how many people die, so how much can we make up for."
The butler continued to take notes.
The middle-aged man asked again: "How many people do you think are suitable for them to go this time?"
The butler put down his pen and asked tentatively: "Two hundred?"
The middle-aged man shook his head and said with a smile: "Two hundred? Two hundred people are not enough to kill. Don't forget that Weaver Girl and Cowherd are following behind."
The steward hesitated for a moment, doubled the number, added more people, and said, "Five hundred?"
The middle-aged man pondered for a moment.
"Five hundred? If it's done, then five hundred."
"I think there are five hundred people. Even if they are piled up, they can be exhausted."
"If five hundred people can't kill twenty, then the Japanese are not worth spending a lot of money to win over."
"Eight hundred miles is urgent. The secret message must be delivered to the Japanese people within today."
"As soon as the arch bridge is broken, they must set off and change their route within two days."
"The Japanese need to prepare an ambush here before this happens, otherwise everything will be empty talk."
"What we can help them fight for is to make the Daoyi Alliance and Tingyuge become deaf and blind within one day."
The middle-aged man finally added: "After this incident, I will report to Your Majesty to rebuild the new dam and arch bridge to restore peace to the local people."
The butler kept writing notes. During this period, he raised his head and glanced at where the master's finger fell on the map.
There are three words written on it, "Condensing Terrace".