On the day after the Lantern Festival, Su Liang asked Lao Mu to pick up Zheng'er, and negotiated with Lu Yu and Wan Hui to let Zheng'er stay in the Su Mansion for a while.
I don’t know the origin of the assassin last night, but I can’t rule out the possibility that he came after Su Liang and Gu Ling to capture Zheng’er as a hostage.
The assassin's body has been disposed of, and there is nothing left to investigate, so we can only take more precautions.
According to the original plan, the Chunliang Kingdom will send troops to attack the Qian Kingdom. The grain and grass from the Yan Kingdom were given to Situ Xie's people years ago, but so far no trace of bulk cargo transportation has been found in the Qian Kingdom. Su Liang and Zheng'er's grandfather Wan The owner of the house had confirmed that there had been no abnormality in the grain business recently. This made her really start to doubt the existence of such a magical thing as a storage space.
Both Su Liang and Gu Ling felt that Situ Xie would not remain calm before the war started.
However, the possibility of Situ Xie sending someone to assassinate Emperor Duanmu Chen is extremely small. Because Situ Xie knew very well that if Duanmu Chen died, the Duanmu royal family would be gone, and the next emperor would be either Gu Ling or Su Liang , or their friends, Qian Guo will be more controlled in the hands of Gu Ling and Su Liang, which will also be more detrimental to Liang Guo.
Therefore, Su Liang believed that Situ Xie would send people to assassinate her and Gu Ling in March. Because in Situ Xie's eyes, they were the backbone of the Qian Kingdom and the biggest obstacles on his way to achieving his great cause.
If Su Liang and Gu Ling can be eliminated before the war begins, Liang will be more confident of victory after the war begins.
After what happened before, Su Liang felt that it was unlikely that Situ Xie would use this method to grab a hostage and try to take advantage of her and Gu Ling again. Because this method can be countered quickly, and Liang Guo Yaocheng also did it It is not easy for the experts deployed by the royal family to capture Situ Xie. It is not impossible to capture Situ Xie's grandson. But once this kind of thing starts, it is easy to fall into a vicious circle of mutual harm, and the hostages involved are very dangerous.
In the same way, Su Liang and Gu Ling also try not to use the method of taking hostages to force the other party to submit, because they also have many people they care about and do not want to put them in danger.
On this day, Gu Ling went into the palace to see Duanmu Chen.
Duanmu Chen knew that he must have something serious to do when he took the initiative to come. Sure enough, Gu Ling said as soon as he opened his mouth, "There may be fighting in the north after the spring begins. Let Zhongxinhou return to Xuanbei City as soon as possible."
Duanmu Chen's face hardened, "Did you get any secret information?"
Gu Ling nodded, "Indeed. Situ Xie is already old. He doesn't want to wait, and he can't afford to wait."
Duanmu Chen frowned, "But if the Liang Kingdom wants to go to war, they don't have enough food and grass, right? Unless, we have negotiated an alliance with the Yan Kingdom!"
Seeing Gu Ling nod again, Duanmu Chen's face darkened, "Is the news accurate?" If Yan State really plans to form an alliance with Liang State, Qian State will be in a very bad situation. Now the emperor of Yan State is not the same as before. , Duanmu Chen didn’t know much about the new emperor Ji Yuebai, but he had an intuition that he was a strong opponent.
Gu Ling admitted, "The news came from Ji Yuebai."
Duanmu Chen was stunned for a moment. When he heard Gu Ling calling Emperor Yan by his name, he suddenly remembered that when Su Liang disappeared, Gu Ling also disappeared. Soon the Prince of Yan became the unknown Ji Yuebai, he had an idea at that time, maybe the transfer of Prince Yan's position had something to do with Gu Ling.
But at that time, Duanmu Chen was thinking that Gu Ling had a grudge against the original prince because of Mu Ya, so he got rid of him. He did not think about the possibility that Gu Ling's purpose was to help Ji Yuebai, and he later forgot about it. about this.
"You and Emperor Yan have known each other for a long time?" Duanmu Chen's expression changed again and again.
Gu Ling nodded, "I saved him once in the early years."
"Did you help him become the prince?" Duanmu Chen asked.
Gu Ling nodded again, "It's just a push. Whoever takes power in the Yan Kingdom is very important to the Qian Kingdom."
"You mean, because of you, Ji Yuebai has formed an alliance with the Liang Kingdom on the surface, but in fact he has formed an alliance with the Qian Kingdom?" Duanmu Chen's eyes suddenly brightened a little. He was a little suspicious of Gu Ling just now, but soon There was no way to doubt it, because Gu Ling didn't want him to know about this kind of thing, and it was impossible for him to know. And Gu Ling taking the initiative to say it meant that he had nothing wrong with him.
Gu Ling nodded, "So." It wasn't just because of him, but there was no need to explain so much.
"Is Ji Yuebai really trustworthy? Don't be deceived by him!" The sudden good news made Duanmu Chen a little unbelievable. If Yan Guo is really determined to side with Qian Guo, the situation will be greatly beneficial to them. Liang Liang The country has nothing to fear.
"Believable." Gu Ling only said two words. What Ji Yuebai wants is peace in the world, not to be an emperor. He has made it clear that if Gu Ling approves of Duanmu Chen, he has no objection and will wait until the right time. When the time comes, the power of Yan State can be transferred to Duanmu Chen in a peaceful way.
The royal family has many ambitions, but not all people born in the royal family will yearn for power and that high position. There are always exceptions. Ji Yuebai is a member of the royal family who has the ability and ideals to be an ideal rather than an emperor.
Duanmu Chen let out a long sigh of relief, "You should have told me earlier, so that I don't have to worry about what to do if Liang and Yan join forces."
"Some things have only been settled recently." Gu Ling said, "Ji Yuebai and I are just friends. He doesn't listen to me, but I'm sure he won't associate with Situ Xie." Because of Liang Guo's purpose of provoking the war. It is invasion, massacre, and seizing better land and resources. Past history has proven this.
Although the people of Liang Kingdom can say why they should be poor, Ji Yuebai believes that if the people in power in Liang Kingdom really do good for the people, they should voluntarily give up imperial power, use peaceful negotiations to promote the unification of the world, and seek better conditions for the people of Liang Kingdom. A good future. Because the people in other regions may have a little more luck than the people in Liang Kingdom, but they are not indebted to them.
The world is inherently unfair. Regional disparity is essentially the same as birth gap. Region is also a factor of birth. Some people are born with a golden spoon in their mouths and will be rich and noble throughout their lives. Some people are born into poverty and cannot make a difference in their lives. You can pursue it. It's fair, but you can't commit robbery under the guise of eliminating injustice.
The royal family of the Liang Kingdom has always used such a grand excuse. They are not really doing it for the people of the Liang Kingdom, because war has no benefit to the people. The ambition of the royal family of the Liang Kingdom has caused the already poor people to bear more taxes. and corvee labor, life became even more unsustainable, and a large number of people died of starvation and freezing every year.
Duanmu Chen hesitated for a moment, and finally asked what was on his mind, "If only Ji Yuebai and I are left, who will you choose?"
Calling himself "I" is intended to show that he is also Gu Ling's friend.
Duanmu Chen is very clear that the foundation for his current throne is Gu Ling and Su Liang, and those who hold military power are also their absolute confidants. Duanmu Yi said that Duanmu Chen was manipulated without knowing it, but Duanmu Chen believed that he was not manipulated. , but is selected.
Now, Gu Ling has another emperor friend, which means he has one more choice.
Duanmu Chen knew that if Gu Ling gave up on him, he would have no choice but to accept his fate and lose everything. Fortunately, he believed that he had not done anything to dissatisfy Gu Ling and Su Liang so far. With their characters , will not take away what he has now for no reason, even if it was obtained with their help.
Gu Ling looked at Duanmu Chen and said one word, "You."
Duanmu Chen was a little surprised. Although it was the answer he hoped for, he didn't know how to react.
After a moment of silence, Duanmu Chen thought of Gu Ling's purpose, "Okay, I will give the order later for Marquis Zhongxin to return to Xuanbeicheng."
Then Gu Ling got up and left without explaining anything more to Duanmu Chen.
Duanmu Chen sat quietly for a while and laughed at himself, "This result couldn't be better. Why do you think so much?"
…
Xing Ji received the order and was not surprised to return to Xuanbei City tomorrow. Although he did not know many things, he also felt that the situation of the Three Kingdoms would soon be broken. Last year, the thrones of the Three Kingdoms were changed. This is A very unusual sign of great change.
Old Mrs. The trusted military commander wanted to keep him in the capital to take charge of the city defense army. It was not because of Su Liang's face that he did not send Lin Bojun to the border.
Xing Ji came to Su Mansion later that day to say goodbye to Su Liang and Gu Ling.
When he learned that it was Gu Ling who suggested that he return to Xuanbeicheng, Xing Ji was stunned for a moment, "Is there going to be a war?" Of course he wouldn't blame Su Liang and Gu Ling, but he just felt that they must have a reason for doing so. He was able to come back last year. Su Liang was also a big help.
"The current news is after the beginning of spring, early March." Su Liang said.
Xing Ji's face straightened, "I understand. We will set off early tomorrow morning. If you have any letters or items you want to bring to Qiu Jing and his grandfather, you can give them to me."
Su Liang said that he would send it to Zhongxinhou Mansion when it was ready.
Xing Ji hugged Gu Xiaonuan, then said goodbye and left.
Su Liang wrote a letter to Qiu Cong, and asked Gu Xiaonuan to press a small fingerprint in it. He also knew that Qiu Cong wanted to come back in Xuanbei City. But as long as Qiu Jing was still there and Liang Kingdom still existed, Qiu Cong would not Will be back.
Su Liang asked Qiu Cong and Qiu Jing to go to Ping'an Temple outside Xuanbei City to find Monk Chengyun and hand him a letter. Su Liang wanted to ask Chengyun if he had seen Yan Shiba in the past six months.
When they last met, Yan Shiba was considering whether to quit being a killer, become a normal person, and pursue Cheng Yun because of Su Liang's words.
Therefore, it is possible that Yan Shiba went to find Cheng Yun after that.
Cen Man and Nangong Qian both wrote letters to Qiu Cong, and Nangong Qian also made shoes for the grandparents.
After putting the letters and items together, Su Liang asked Qi Yan to deliver them to the Zhongxinhou Mansion.
At dawn the next day, Xing Ji led a group of people and set off northward. Qi Jiang still insisted on following him.
…
In the blink of an eye, it was the end of the first year, half a month had passed since the assassination of Zheng'er on Shangyuan Festival, and no other incidents suspected to be related to it had occurred, which made Su Liang even more aware that the origins of the two assassins that night were very strange.
Su Liang really didn't expect to go to Nian Ruting because she didn't know that this person was still alive. Nian Ruting did that because it happened to be the night before the Lantern Festival when she entered the capital, and she secretly saw Zheng'er on the day of the Lantern Festival. Entering and exiting the Su Mansion, she devised a poisonous plan on a whim, sacrificing two licking dogs that she seduced with her beauty.
Shaoyao and Nian Ruting's master and apprentice have been hiding in the vacant Nian family mansion. Shaoyao often goes out alone at night, but Nian Ruting is not allowed to go out again.
After waiting for half a month, Nian Ruting still didn't know what Shaoyao was doing or what he planned to do. That night, she finally couldn't hold back anymore and asked, "Master, can you tell me the purpose of this trip? I can help Master."
Shaoyao was wiping her sword without raising her head, "What if I said that my purpose is to kill Gu Ling?"
Nian Ruting frowned, "Master can't kill him."
Shaoyao raised his head suddenly and looked at Nian Ruting coldly, "I was really blind at the time. I accepted you, a fool like you who lost your heart for men and was abandoned like a coward without realizing it!"
Nian Ruting's face froze, "In this life, you must always have something you want and do whatever it takes to get it, otherwise what's the point of living?"
Shaoyao changed the direction of the polished long sword and pointed it at Nian Ruting, "You should give up on Gu Ling as soon as possible. Even if he is not with Su Liang, he will not belong to you."
"Master, what do you mean by this?" Nian Ruting looked unhappy.
Shaoyao snorted coldly, "Master said that there is a big shot who wants Gu Ling alive. But he hasn't made a move yet."
"Then why did Master say he was here to kill him?" Nian Ruting asked.
Shaoyao shook his head, "The purpose of my trip is not to kill people, but to find something from the Qian Kingdom Palace. Unfortunately, I haven't found it yet. Next, I will go to the Su Mansion to find it."
Nian Ruting was puzzled, "What kind of treasure is it?"
"The secret records of the Mu family. Master said that there must be a complete copy in the capital of Qian Kingdom. It's not in the palace, but in the Su Mansion." Shaoyao said.
"We can seize a hostage and force Su Liang to hand him over!" Nian Ruting said.
Shaoyao put the long sword back into the scabbard, "You can throw away your brain if you don't need it. Don't forget how you were taken out of the prison by Su Liang. That kind of clumsy method is useless against her. Once Su is alerted,
Liang and Gu Ling, we showed up, I can leave, you just wait to be torn into pieces by them!"