"Didn't Tian Heng say who he was from Chu State?" Master Ban asked.
Pirate Zhi shook his head, "He refused to say it, saying that his eldest brother Tian Dan was not allowed to reveal it in order to protect the safety and privacy of their allies."
"Chu State...are there any other well-known remaining forces?" Master Ban did not dwell on the Tian family's attitude. He looked around and raised a new question.
Anyway, in his old man's impression, apart from the Xiang family, there seemed to be very few people in the Chu Kingdom.
Although Chu State was the country with the strongest traditional aristocratic power among the seven kingdoms at the time, due to the internal fighting among the royal families before the fall of the country and Ying Zheng's extermination of the Chu royal family, there was basically no news about the royal family and nobles after that.
By the way, among the six Shandong kingdoms, the one where the royal family and nobles were purged most severely was the Kingdom of Zhao, followed by the Kingdom of Chu.
The former is due to Ying Zheng's personal grudge, and the latter... has a close relationship with Fusu and Changping Jun.
Although the Chu royal family has not been driven out to death, the remaining nobles are basically living... It's hard to describe in a word.
Thief Zhi touched his chin and pondered for a while, then guessed, "Could it be the group of soldiers who died in the national war? I heard rumors in the world that they all hid in the dark after the fall of the Chu Kingdom."
"Placing your own people inside the empire is very similar to what their special institutions are good at doing."
Hearing this, Xiaoyaozi stroked his beard and interjected, "I remember that before Qi and Chu were destroyed, there was always a conflict between the Chu State's national mourners and the Qi State's Jixiawei."
"After the fall of Qi, Jixiawei was basically taken over by the three Tian brothers. Is it unlikely that they will unite with the soldiers who died in the national war?"
Pirate Zhi spread his hands and ignored Xiaoyaozi's doubts:
"The past was before, and the present is now."
"Now that both Qi and Chu are dead, there is no point in dwelling on past grudges!"
The Moh family can all cooperate with Wei Zhuang.
The Battle of Guancheng had just happened, and the blood feud was right in front of you, couldn't you bear it?
The fight to the death between the Guoshang Shishi and Jixiawei is a normal confrontation between hostile forces, and it may not be regarded as a blood feud.
"Brother Tuozhi is right." Xiaoyaozi did not insist on his own opinion. He nodded in agreement, but then raised a new question, "However, after the death of the Chu State, there seemed to be internal changes among the soldiers who died in the war.
Split, and almost all of them are hidden, I'm afraid it's hard to determine which branch this incident is related to."
"Uh...that's true." Daozhi scratched his head, but he was also unable to refute Xiaoyaozi's words.
The soldiers who died in the National War are indeed very suspicious, but the investigation is indeed difficult.
Master Ben did not rush to comment on this, but asked, "Are there any other possibilities?"
"Maybe it's the remnants of the Iron Blood Alliance?" Xue Nu also put forward a guess.
The Iron Blood Alliance used to guarantee various gambling games among the Seven Kingdoms. It was an organization similar to a broker or middleman, and it was very powerful.
The actual backend of this organization is the Six Kingdoms of Shandong. Therefore, it has wide connections, tough methods, and strong strength, so it can be the middleman.
Before the rise of Quicksand, the Iron Blood Alliance could be said to be the strongest force in the world, except for the various schools of thought and Luo Wang.
But because of this, after Qin destroyed the six kingdoms, the Iron Blood Alliance suffered the most direct and heavy damage.
At the same time, after the demise of the Six Kingdoms, some of the remaining forces in each country chose to join the Iron Blood Alliance in order to survive, while others poached the corners of the Iron Blood Alliance, such as the members of the certain Tian clan.
Of course, strictly speaking, this kind of poaching should probably be called... divestment.
However, these attacks did not completely destroy this huge force. It still exists, but its momentum is far less powerful than before, and it no longer plays the role of a middleman, but exists as a pure anti-Qin force.
Also do some business.
After all, with the relationship between the six countries in the past, the route is relatively wide. It is difficult for them to get involved in the Guanzhong area, but there is still no problem in Qilu, Jingchu, Liaodong and other places.
Master Ban couldn't help stroking his beard and nodded, and he also agreed with Xue Nu's guess, "The Iron Blood Alliance has a close relationship with the royal families of the Six Kings, they have a wide network of contacts, and they also have deep influence in the Qilu area. This matter is related to them.
make sense."
"Moreover, the three Tian brothers are all members of the Qi royal family, so it is reasonable to have connections with the Iron Blood Alliance."
"But the Iron Blood Alliance can't be counted as belonging to Chu, right?" Thief Zhi blinked and raised a question.
"Hmm... maybe one of them is closer to the Chu royal family?" Master Ban added a reason.
"Then... let's check back later." Robber Zhi replied without any further entanglement.
There is no need to argue about the answer to this kind of pure guessing. Anyway, just put it on the candidate list.
Xiaoyaozi reminded at this time, "Don't forget, we can't rule out the possibility that there is something wrong with Tian Dan."
As I said before, there is a possibility that Tian Dan and Luo Wang could direct and act in this whole thing... although it's not very high.
However, based on the information currently known, this possibility cannot be ruled out.
Therefore, the news given by Tian Heng cannot be completely believed, and we must remain vigilant.
Master Ban stroked his beard and nodded, "Mr. Xiaoyao is right, you still have to be careful with people from the Tian clan."
"Then what are we going to do next?" Robber Zhi asked, "Would you like to go to Mount Tai?"
Gai Nie, who had been silent all this time, finally spoke, with a rare and unquestionable tone:
"Taishan, there is no need to go, unless you simply want to watch the fun."
"Because of that Imperial Master?" Although the answer was self-evident, Thief Zhi still asked one more question.
Gai Nie was silent for a moment, and then said in a deep voice, "I don't know exactly what he plans to do, but since he has appeared, he will not let anyone destroy and interfere with Mount Tai's Fengchan."
"If you don't want to face him directly, it's best not to take any further actions against Taishan Fengchan."
Master Ban thought for a while and then asked, "If we can't do it, does it mean that the snare can't do it too?"
Gai Nie thought for a moment and replied, "To him, there is no difference, but outside of Taishan Fengchan, Luowang can do more than us."
Thief Zhi asked curiously, "What can they do?"
Gai Nie shook his head and said nothing.
He couldn't answer this question, not because there was nothing to say, but because there was too much to say and it would be meaningless to say it.
The snow girl then raised a question, "If we don't act, will people from other forces also exercise restraint?"
Thief Zhi scratched his head and said in a guessing tone, "They shouldn't be able to take action, right? Do they dare to get into trouble with that national master?"
"It's hard to say." Master Ban said with a wry smile and smoothed his beard.
Everyone knows that Gu Xun is very strong, but not much is known about how strong he is.
People in the world of martial arts never lack courage, especially when they don’t know the truth.
There are always people who are willing to take risks and dare to take risks.
Thief Zhi then asked, "Are there any bad consequences?"
"...No, it will just kill people." Ganie thought for a moment and replied.
With Gu Xun's style, he will definitely clear out all the unstable factors that may endanger Feng Chan before he is granted the title of Chan. Those who dare to get into trouble with Gu Xun will definitely not be able to avoid this round of cleaning.
Therefore, the Fengchan itself will not be disturbed in any way, and there will be no other consequences other than the death of people.
Everyone else who heard this answer had very calm expressions.
As long as it doesn't cause any additional negative impact, as for the dead... there is never a shortage of dead people in the world, people are dying all the time.
Of course the Mohists do not want the anti-Qin forces to suffer casualties, but no one can stop those who want to commit suicide, and they are not the Holy Virgin who saves the common people.
Thief Zhi looked at his companions around him, spread his hands and said with a smile, "So we're fine? We just came to commit a failed assassination?"
Master Ban thought gloomily for a while, then sighed and said, "It seems...except to track down the Tian family, there is really nothing else to do."
"This time, we miscalculated. We may not be able to provide any help for the time being due to the difficulties Confucianism is facing."
Xue Nu interjected, "Gu Xun cannot sit back and watch Confucianism fall into danger. He should do something."
The relationship between Gu Xun and Confucianism is basically clear to anyone who knows a little about him, and everyone present is also aware of it.
Of course, the level of understanding may vary.
Gai Nie lowered his eyes and responded in a calm voice, "He should take action, but whether it will be effective is unknown."
God will help those who help themselves. If the Confucianists are bent on seeking death, how much can Guxun do to remedy the situation?
You can't kill Zhao Gao directly, right?
To put it bluntly, even if Zhao Gao is killed, Ying Zheng may not tolerate Confucianism. He cannot kill Ying Zheng as well.
"Then let's... go back to Songhai?" Pirates Zhi was no longer too lazy to think about Confucian matters and asked directly.
Master Ben did not make a decision and slashed at the others, "Do you have any ideas?"
Xiaoyaozi stroked his beard and said, "I probably won't go to Songhai for the time being."
"The appointment between heaven and man is approaching. It's time for me to go back to the mountain and prepare to face my junior sister Xiaomeng."
Master Ban slapped his head when he heard this, "Yes, yes, there have been so many things lately, old man, I almost forgot about the promise between heaven and man."
"This is an important matter. Mr. Xiaoyao can decide on his own without considering us."
Except for Xiaoyaozi, no one else had any additional ideas.
So in the end, the Mohists and Gai Nie returned to Songhai, while Xiaoyaozi parted ways with them and returned to Taoist Taiyi Mountain.
………………
Two days later.
The East Patrol Team arrived at the Taishan area as scheduled.
At this point, the prelude to Mount Tai's Fengchan ceremony has officially begun.
However, the somewhat embarrassing reality is that the Confucian scholars recruited by Ying Zheng still have not discussed how to conduct the ceremony.
The ritual system of the Zhou Dynasty was very complete and comprehensive. Unfortunately, the Zhou Dynasty has lost its ability to rule for more than five hundred years.
The ability to preserve information in the pre-Qin period was very limited. Whether it was bamboo slips, leather, cloth, or later paper, it was extremely easy to damage.
During the Confucius period, the detailed process of the Zen ceremony has been completely lost, let alone today. It can be regarded as a profile of the collapse of rituals and music.
Of course, the direct result of the collapse of rituals is not the disappearance of rituals, but the fragmentation of rituals, just like the ruts, writing, and weights and measures of various countries - these are strictly speaking part of the Zhou rites.
So now these Confucian scholars are discussing which family's 'rituals' should be used.
Some people think that the traditional heaven-sacrifice rituals of the Lu State should be used, some think that the Chu State should be used, and some think that the Qi State should be used.
Of course, there are supporters from other countries as well.
There is nothing public about their choices, they are all selfish.
Mainly, there is no "public" discussion on this matter.
The real rituals and sacrifices have been lost. In theory, Ying Zheng can use any existing sacrifices, regardless of whether they are suitable or not.
Of course, these Confucian scholars chose the one they liked the most and the one that was most beneficial to them.
As for what Ying Zheng thinks... they don't care.
In their opinion, if Ying Zheng had an idea, there would be no need to summon them to discuss it together.
As we all know, the Qin State originated from the western border. It was a barbarian land hundreds of years ago and did not know "rituals".
In fact, the Qin State is indeed inferior to other countries in the Central Plains in terms of etiquette... To be precise, except for martial ethics, it is not very good at anything.
Of course, none of this matters.
The important thing is that because the etiquette system of the Qin State was lacking and inferior to that of the Central Plains, Yingzheng needed Confucian scholars to study the Zen ceremony for him - this was a common idea among those Confucian scholars.
It is precisely because of this idea that the emperor wants something from them that these Confucian scholars have been so arrogant recently.
In the motorcade, Fu Nian met a fellow Confucian, one of the few Confucian scholars in the world who could rival him in status, Imperial Ph.D. Officer Chun Yuyue.
As a Confucian doctor who once taught Prince Fusu, Chun Yuyue's status was ranked high within Confucianism.
He is also one of the few Confucian scholars who can truly communicate calmly with Fu Nian.
But he and Fu Nian were not the same people.
"Mr. Chunyu, I wonder how you have considered what I told you last time?" Fu Nian asked Chunyu Yue with a hint of exhaustion.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Chunyu Yue looked at Fu Nian calmly and replied directly, "I already said everything that needs to be said last time."
"Master Fu Nian, it is impossible to get any support for your idea."
What Fu Nian told him was very simple: he wanted Chunyu Yue to support him and suppress Confucianism, which was becoming more and more noisy and chaotic.
Chunyu Yue's answer was naturally no.
He understood Fu Nian's behavior and knew what the other party was worried about, but he could not support Fu Nian.
"Mr. Chunyu, can't you still understand the current situation of Confucianism?" Fu Nian suppressed his anger and asked in a suppressed voice.
"I understand, but I...the entire Confucian family cannot let this opportunity pass by." Chunyu Yue shook his head and responded calmly.
"This is not a chance!" Fu Nian emphasized with an emphasis.
The already old Chunyu Yue did not give in, and replied with a strong voice, "For us, this is an opportunity, the last chance to practice the way of a saint!"
The reason why Chunyu Yue refused to cooperate with Fu Nian was simple - he was a pure, fundamentalist Confucian supremacist.
In other words, he insisted on restoring Zhou rites.
Of course, he was not asking the empire to change its name to Zhou, but he just hoped that Ying Zheng could restore the feudal system.
This is an unreasonable request, but Chunyu Yue is not a stubborn old man who refuses to change. He does not insist on completely restoring the enfeoffment of the Zhou Dynasty, and accepts a certain degree of changes and concessions.
However, Ying Zheng's move to completely abolish feudalism and fully implement counties is completely unacceptable to him.
Taishan Fengchan allowed these people to see an opportunity and an opportunity for Ying Zheng to give in.
Of course they didn't want to miss this opportunity.
So Fu Nian naturally stood on their opposite side.
Chunyu Yue was able to maintain a gentle attitude towards Fu Nian and did not reject him blindly. This was considered to be a great honor to Fu Nian, the leader of Confucianism.
