"Your Majesty! Something bad has happened, Your Majesty!"

In the majestic and towering imperial city, an old man staggered towards the main hall.

Next to the dragon chair, stood a man in his forties, wearing a black gold dragon robe and an emperor's crown on his head. He frowned and looked at the old man running toward him.

This extraordinary-looking man is the current sage of the An Dynasty, Nangong Zheng.

At the foot of the steps, there stood an eunuch named Liu Gao with a face as white as paper, bowing his head with a smile on his face.

"Your Majesty, Li Boji bows to your Majesty!" Li Boji kowtowed to the ground, his pale temples dripping with sweat, and his breathing became very heavy from running just now.

Nangong Zheng waved his hand: "Ai Qing is in such a panic. I wonder if it is because the war is urgent or because it is difficult to carry out the tasks entrusted to me?"

Li Boji still knelt on the ground and replied hurriedly: "Your Majesty! King Nangong Zhe of Jin has launched an army to attack Huainan Prefecture and has now taken control of the entire Huainan military government! There are also rebels in Dianyun Prefecture, Sucheng Prefecture, and Jianghua Prefecture! There are also Mo in Western Xinjiang.

The troops of Keguo are pressing down on the border, and the war in the East China Sea has been going on for a long time. Both sides have gained and lost, but our army is short of food and grass. If this continues, we will lose! Now that I am safe, the whole country is in turmoil!"

Nangong Zheng looked forward, feeling extremely sad: "Nangong Zhe, he is my uncle! Actually!" As he said that, he slapped the dragon chair hard.

The eunuchs and slaves on the left and right hurriedly knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, please calm down."

Nangong Zheng took a deep breath and asked again: "Only Guangyan Mansion is stable now, right?"

Li Boji replied: "The king of Guangyan Mansion, Zhao Xun, is a veteran of three dynasties, and his son Zhao Dui also has outstanding military achievements. The Zhao family father and son are loyal to His Majesty, and they will definitely be able to maintain the stability of Guangyan Mansion! It's just..."

Nangong Zheng looked blank: "Just what?"

Li Boji quickly said: "It's just that Guangyan Mansion is adjacent to the sea to the east and has a port for trading with foreign countries. Moreover, Zhao Xun regards the people as his own children. If His Majesty wants to find tens of thousands of people to sacrifice in Guangyan Mansion, things may change."

"Bold!" Liu Gao, who had not spoken until now, stepped forward, pointed at Li Boji and cursed, "Your Majesty is acting according to the will of God, how can you allow you to talk nonsense!"

After saying that, Liu Gao turned around and bowed to Nangong Zheng with a flattering look on his face: "Your Majesty, the National Master once said that our Da'an is besieged on all sides now because the dragon veins were damaged and the gods were angry. If we don't perform national sacrifices, I'm afraid that my Da'an will live long.

It’s too long to count!”

"Your Majesty! As the old saying goes, water can carry a boat but it can also overturn it! Your Majesty should bring peace to the country and the people, and quell the riots. You must not go on a killing spree just because of what the alchemists say! This is the disaster of our Da'an!" Li Boji bowed down and said,

He spoke in a deep voice.

Liu Gao was furious when he heard this. He twisted his white face and cursed: "You stupid old man, do you want to ignore the destiny of Da'an?"

"Okay! Stop arguing!" Nangong Zheng suddenly interrupted the two of them, let out a long sigh, and continued: "Although I can't bear it, but now that the country is facing a national crisis, Da'an's 300-year-old foundation cannot be destroyed in my hands! Just

Do as the Imperial Preceptor wishes! Pass on my oral instructions and ask the Imperial Preceptor to set off today to go to Guangyan Mansion to raise holy seeds to sacrifice to the country, so as to quell the chaos in our Da'an!"

"Your Majesty! You must not do this, Your Majesty!" Li Boji kept kowtowing.

But Nangong Zheng waved his hand again and said, "I'm tired, you all can leave."

"I obey." Everyone knelt down and left one after another.

Li Boji walked out of the hall, looked up at the sky, and sighed: "God dies, I will be safe!"

"Hey, what are you talking about, Mr. Taiwei?" Liu Gao came from behind and said with a smile.

Li Boji suddenly turned around and cursed: "Bah! You treacherous traitor! Your Majesty is just bewitched by you, so you do this!"

At this time, Liu Gao was completely different from the furious look in the main hall. He smiled gently and said: "Haha, why did the Taiwei say this? The words of the Imperial Master are also to save me from the fire and water! Since I am a prince,

Official, of course I will take this advice to heaven and listen to it."

Li Boji laughed loudly: "Hahaha! What a clever plan! Did you know that the alchemist wanted to find tens of thousands of people in the prosperous and stable Guangyan Mansion to sacrifice, and turned Guangyan Mansion into a hell on earth! Such words that harm the country and the people, you also

Dare you say it’s a piece of advice? If His Majesty knew that you had received the alchemist’s money, how would he believe you, a shameless villain like you!”

Liu Gao didn't take it seriously at all, covered his mouth and said with a smile: "Since Lord Taiwei said that this slave has accepted bribes, I will write a letter to Your Majesty." After saying that, he walked into the hall with a charming smile.

Li Boji looked at Liu Gao's back, clenching his old fists, but there was nothing he could do to the eunuch.

When Liu Gao was arguing with him in the main hall just now, he showed that he could not control his emotions at all and seemed to express his opinions directly. But after he got down from the hall, Liu Gao showed no emotion or anger. Even though Li Boji cursed, he did not get angry.

.

Li Boji knew that this was a scheming person, and Liu Gao had many eyes and ears in the court, so it would not be easy to unseat him in front of Nangong Zheng.

Li Boji burst into tears: "The court is full of people who wield power, so how can we talk about peace in Da'an?"

After saying that, he walked out of the palace sadly.

At the same time, the eunuch who conveyed the order rode out of the palace and headed towards the Imperial Preceptor's Mansion.

Suhai Wharf is a small and medium-sized port in Guangyan Prefecture in the north of the An Dynasty. It is under the jurisdiction of Suhai County. Although it is not big, it is the busiest wharf within hundreds of miles along the coast.

In this era when the dynasty was declining, heroes were rising, and the world was at war, Suhai Wharf had not suffered from war and poverty because of the large number of ships coming and going, the prosperous trade of goods, the docking of many foreign ships, and the heavy guarding by the government.

The residents of Suhai County have relied on the sea for thousands of years. Their folk customs are simple and they don't care about the competition in the inland world. They work when the sun rises and rest when the sun sets, over and over again.

This year, He Liusi was twenty years old. He was a fisherman from Suhai County. He was born with a well-proportioned body, handsome appearance, and a height of seven feet five. His parents were still alive, and he had a younger brother who lived in the family of Guo Ruqing, the richest man in Suhai County.

work.

Guo Ruqing is in the sea salt business and has a good reputation in the local area. Not only does his family own several large cargo ships, he even bought a small island on the sea twenty miles away from the dock specifically for the production of sea salt.

He Liusi works on the island. In addition to drying salt every day, he and his co-workers also sail out to sea to catch some fish and shrimp and return them to Suhai Wharf to sell.

Guo Ruqing is kind-hearted and does not prevent workers from going fishing in their spare time. He will also lend his fishing boats to workers. As long as they don't miss work, everything will be fine.

Moreover, Guo Ruqing took great care of He Liusi and even deliberately cultivated him. Everyone on the island knew that Guo Ruqing wanted to hand over the island to He Liusi to take care of him in the future.

He Liusi was smart and willing to endure hardships. He did not dare to live up to Guo Ruqing's wishes and worked conscientiously without complaining.

On this day, He Liusi and several co-workers returned home with a full load and sailed to Suhai Pier.

There were many restaurants on the pier, and the fish and shrimps brought back by the fishermen were always easy to sell. Before the boat could even dock, people gathered around them, shouting about the price.

There were several young men on the boat, and when they saw someone coming, they all started working happily, but He Liusi looked full of worries.

When the boat stopped, several young men scattered around, buying wine from the wine buyers and meat from the meat buyers. Of course, the hawking and bargaining should be left to the oldest person, and they could be divided equally afterward.

He Liusi got off the boat and sat on the bank alone in a daze. A young man of similar age sneaked up behind him and yelled, which startled He Liusi.

He Liusi looked at him and said helplessly: "Stop making trouble, Xiao Wu."

Among the dozens of people working on the island, Xiao Wu has the best relationship with He Liusi, and they often joke around.

Xiao Wu sat down next to He Liusi and said, "Do you still miss Dan Niang?"

Hearing the word "Danniang", He Liusi's already somewhat gloomy face became filled with a layer of dark clouds, and his head lowered.

The Danniang in Xiaowu's mouth was He Liusi's childhood sweetheart. However, because He Liusi's family was poor, He Liusi came to propose marriage five months ago, but Dan Niang's parents beat him out.

When they met, they even told He Liusi that they had already started to propose marriage to Dan Niang, and that He Liusi would never get to eat their golden branches and jade leaves in this life.

Although He Liusi's parents couldn't swallow this breath, their family was indeed poor, so they persuaded He Liusi to forget Dan Niang.

But the most important thing is that a few days later, He Liusi secretly climbed into the wall of Danniang's house. After seeing Danniang, he found that her attitude had also been shaken.

Although Dan Niang did not explicitly say that they were separated, she did say that she hoped they would think about each other. In the next five months, Dan Niang never saw He Liusi again, which was also the reason for He Liusi's depression.

Xiao Wu patted He Liusi on the shoulder and said, "There are tens of thousands of women in the world, right? Now I value you so much. When I get rich in the future, I will have to rely on you to help me get married!"

He Liusi also smiled: "Yes! Dan Niang said that she will wait for me for a year! I will definitely do something great this year!" After saying that, he stood up, got on the boat, and shouted to the workers who were bargaining with others.

Said: "Brother Cai, let me help you!"

People were coming and going on the pier, boats were passing by, the sun was slowly setting, and the sunset filled the pier.

At this time, a silver-white ocean-going ship slowly approached the dock. There were a row of small windows on the steel hull, and a dark gun barrel poked out of each window. The huge hull made other wooden cargo ships entering and leaving the port look distinct.

It was so fragile and short on the outside that it almost looked like it was about to fly out after being hit by the waves coming from the cruise ship.

A deafening whistle made the people on the shore couldn't help but block their ears and quietly watched the cruise ship dock majestically.

He Liusi is no stranger to this kind of ocean-going giant ship. Although Suhai Wharf is not big, it is the only port in the north of the territory of the An Dynasty. Many foreign empires will send ships to Suhai Wharf for trade, so foreign ships and goods,

Even He Liusi has seen a lot of foreign women.

He Liusi watched the giant ship docking and was amazed. Although he had seen a lot of them before, everyone was willing to see something new.

Suddenly, Xiao Wu, who had been strolling along the shore, shouted: "June 4th! Come here quickly!"

He Liusi jumped to the shore and asked, "What's wrong?"

Xiao Wu looked straight ahead, raised his hand and pointed: "Look, look!"

He Liusi looked around and saw two Taoist priests, one old and one young, standing next to the ocean-going ship.

The two Taoist priests wore blue-grey robes, carried iron swords on their backs, and had their hair tied upright. The older one had snow-white hair and beard, while the younger one actually looked like he was in his thirties.

It is not unusual to see Taoist priests at Suhai Pier. What is strange is that in front of these two Taoist priests, there are several foreigners with brown hair and blue eyes standing in suits and leather shoes. They are talking to the young Taoist priests. They look very polite.

There is even a hint of restraint.

You must know that Taoist priests pay attention to self-cultivation and disdain for the secular world. Most of them are far away in the mountains and old forests cultivating immortality. And 90% of those who walk in this mortal world are using the guise of Taoism to deceive. Although the two Taoist priests in front of me are not in the deep mountains and old forests,

But being able to talk to foreigners, anyone can see that these two are by no means simple people.

He Liusi clicked his tongue and marveled: "It's really amazing! These two Taoist priests can also speak foreign languages. Do they want to buy foreign things?"

Unexpectedly, Xiao Wu said: "What! These two Taoist priests got off that boat!"

"ah?"

At this time, He Liusi's curiosity was also aroused. Although these foreigners had been doing business with the An Dynasty for a long time, they had a natural disdain for the people of the An Dynasty. To put it bluntly, they looked down upon them.

These two Taoist priests could actually make even arrogant foreigners be so respectful!

At this time, the two Taoist priests said goodbye to the foreigner, bowed their hands to the foreigner, turned around and left.

He Liusi straightened up and patted Xiao Wu: "Let's go!"

"Wait a minute, wait a minute!"

"What? Are you going to talk to foreigners?"

"No! Look at those two Taoist priests, are they coming towards us?"

He Liusi glanced at them and saw that the two Taoist priests were really walking in their direction, but He Liusi didn't take them seriously and just kicked Xiao Wu's butt.

"People can go wherever they want, you don't care so much!"

"Oh! My sixth master! Why are you so ignorant?" Xiao Wu beat his chest and stamped his feet.

"Why am I not enlightened?" He Liusi looked puzzled.

"Look! Everyone has gone abroad, how can they be so incompetent!"

"Then what?"
Chapter completed!