On the border of Dongjun, Daze Mountain, the core of the farm headquarters, outside the Tomb of the Six Sages of Emperor Yan.
The current peasant hero, Tian Yan, looked pale and walked slowly in from outside the valley, holding a carved sword.
Different from Ayan, who was just pretending to be Tian Yan, Tian Yan was really suffering from a serious disease. Although it was not life-threatening, her body bones were much weaker than ordinary people. Even though it was summer, she had to wear a velvet cloak.
.
Ayan had given her a lot of life-saving medicine before, but it was only a drop in the bucket and could not have any real effect.
In the valley, a figure stood in front of the majestic and tall statue of the ancestor Shennong. He was dressed in white clothes, with a mask covering his face. He held Quexie, one of the Eight Swords of the King of Yue, in his palm.
It is Que Xie, the killer of Luowang Tianzi, or it can be said to be A Yan.
She came to find Tian Yan, and her identity as Que Xie was the most suitable. Even if she was discovered, no one would suspect her true identity.
After all, the top management of the farm has basically reached a consensus - their new hero Kui is related to Luo Wang.
Tian Yan walked through the hanging road in the valley and came to the statue of Shennong. He spoke first:
"Sorry for the wait."
"No, I just arrived." Ayan turned around to look at Tian Yan and replied with a concealed smile.
After a few simple greetings, Ayan went straight to the point and asked:
"Did Luo Sheng give you any new orders?"
Tian Yan shook his head, "No."
"The latest order just informed me that the Taishan mission was cancelled."
At this point, Tian Yan asked, "What happened to the Mount Tai ceremony? Why did Luo Wang cancel the mission?"
Because he had received orders from Zhao Gao before, Tian Yan had always been very concerned about the matter of Mount Tai's enshrinement of Zen, but it was not easy for Jianghu people to find out about this matter.
Although the peasant family has many disciples, they have no foundation in the court and have only a mediocre relationship with Confucianism, so they have never been able to understand the details of the Feng Chan incident.
Without enough information, even though Tian Yan was smart, he had no way of guessing what Zhao Gao, the old fox, was planning.
Ayan briefly explained, "This matter involves a power struggle within the empire. In short, it is because of the intervention of the imperial advisor and the changes in Yishan that forced Zhao Gao not to go too far."
"Yishan..." Ayan nodded and responded, "Speaking of which, Luo Wang sent a secret letter before, asking me to take action in advance and go to Yishan to carry out the mission, but I found an excuse to prevaricate it."
As the leader of the peasant family, of course she couldn't just run around casually, so as long as the task of trapping the net was not explained to her in advance, she had reason to refuse.
Zhao Gao couldn't say anything unless he was willing to give up his identity as Tian Yan's peasant hero.
Of course, if she really wanted to leave, Tian Yan had plenty of reasons. The farmhouse was basically hers now, so there was no resistance.
In the end, it's just an excuse.
Zhao Gao also knew that Tian Yan was fooling him, he just didn't get angry easily, but if Tian Yan fooled him too many times, Zhao Gao probably wouldn't be polite.
Ayan nodded, "The Yishan incident was the result of Luo Yu's deliberate promotion. Zhao Gao probably wanted to get the farmers involved, but you pushed him away."
"But it doesn't matter even if you get involved. The peasants are already out-and-out rebels in the eyes of the empire. It's just that it's hard to attack you for the time being."
Tian Yan nodded slightly to indicate that he understood, and then asked tentatively, "The Taishan mission was blocked, what is Zhao Gao's plan?"
"Of course he didn't fail, otherwise he wouldn't have stopped."
Ayan sighed softly and responded calmly, "The successful completion of Mount Tai's Fengchan can only mean that he is temporarily tolerant."
"Then what's next..." Tian Yan asked again.
"I will stay in Daze Mountain for the time being and hide in the dark." Ayan replied, "If Luo Sheng has another mission, he will definitely drag the peasant family into the vortex of internal fighting within the empire. Just cooperate with them."
"I'll help you."
"Okay, I understand." Tian Yan nodded, "Then where will you stay?"
Ayan looked around and then replied, "It's right here. If you need anything, come and see me here."
Yandi Liuxian Tomb is a sacred place for farmers. Even the master of the Sixth Hall would not come here for leisure. It is very suitable for Ayan to hide and for the two of them to meet.
Tian Yan nodded when he heard this and didn't think there was any problem.
If it were a serious peasant disciple, I'm afraid he wouldn't be happy to have people hiding in their holy land.
But Tian Yan didn't care at all.
It's hard to say whether she has more kindness or malice towards the farmers. After all, the farmers are half of the responsibility for her tragic life.
Of course, strictly speaking, Tian Meng, the former head of Yanlie Mountain, was responsible for half of the responsibility, but this was enough to make her not have a good impression of the farm itself.
She doesn't care whether it's a holy place or not.
She can betray the interests of the farmer, let alone this trivial matter.
………………
Empire, Jibei County.
The huge East Patrol convoy was still traveling on the imperial straight road at a very slow speed.
After the Taishan Fengchan ceremony, Ying Zheng naturally had no reason to continue to stay in the Daizong area, and the East Patrol Team also set off again, heading towards Songhai, which is located on the far east coast.
After Feng Chan, Gu Xun did not leave the convoy immediately, but continued to accompany him.
Because he didn't have anything to do right now, or he didn't have a clue about what he wanted to do at the moment, so he simply stayed in the convoy to take some time off.
By the way, you can keep an eye on that old boy Zhao Gao.
In the center of the motorcade, Gu Xun sat at the bottom of Ying Zheng's car, holding a cup of tea and sipping it.
Ying Zheng sat at the top, still reading official documents.
He is always busy with things.
Under normal circumstances, Ying Zheng's specific location is uncertain. He switches back and forth among several vehicles and is kept strictly confidential to prevent assassination.
But Gu Xun was in the motorcade now, so he didn't bother to bother with this matter and stayed in this carriage.
If someone could hurt Gu Xun despite Gu Xun's protection, no amount of preparation would help.
The two sat in the carriage, neither of them speaking. After a long while, Ying Zheng's work seemed to have come to an end, and he finally stopped what he was doing and looked up at Gu Xun.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! "National Master, you came from Songhai, how is the situation in the mirage?"
"Uh..." Gu Xun pondered for a moment and then replied, "I can't say that. I don't understand that ship."
"Anyway, it looks like there's no problem. Gongshuqiu has repeatedly confirmed that everything is normal, but... there was a little trouble up there some time ago, but it was all dealt with."
"A little trouble?" Ying Zheng raised his eyebrows, "The little trouble the Imperial Master calls a little trouble may not necessarily be a small thing to others, right?"
"It's really just a small matter. A few young boys broke into the boat, but the commotion was indeed a bit big." Gu Xun explained, "This is entirely caused by the unreliability of the Yin Yang family."
"It's okay now, and the people in the Yin Yang family are much more honest."
Ying Zheng looked at Gu Xun, a flash of thought flashed in his eyes, but he did not ask who the "little boy" Gu Xun mentioned was, who could break into the heavily guarded mirage.
"Since the Imperial Master said there is no problem, I naturally believe it." Ying Zheng put away his thoughts, nodded and replied, "I think that when I arrive at Songhai, the mirage will be able to pull anchor and set sail."
Gu Xun clasped his fists and replied with a smile, "I am still sure of the situation in Songhai, but whether the ship can sail on time is not something I can decide. It depends on the public and the people of the Yin and Yang family."
"Um."
Ying Zheng didn't pay attention to Gu Xun's outspoken words. He responded casually and then asked, "Is the Confucian head Fu Nian familiar to the Imperial Master?"
Hearing Ying Zheng suddenly mention the topic of Confucianism, a strange color flashed in Gu Xun's eyes, and he immediately replied with a smile, "To be honest, I'm not familiar with it."
"One of the people I know well in the Little Sage's Villa is Master Xun, and the other is Zhang Liang."
Ying Zheng leaned back slightly, his back still straight, and then asked, "What does the Imperial Master think of the head of Fu Nian?"
Gu Xun thought for a while and replied, "Probably someone... similar to Zeng Zi, perseverant, serious, upright, law-abiding, responsible... he is absolutely qualified to be a leader."
"Then what do you think his attitude will be towards the Book Burning Order?" Ying Zheng snorted and asked immediately.
Hearing this, Gu Xun smiled bitterly, spread his hands and replied, "Your Majesty, why do you need to ask so much?"
"No serious Confucian scholar can accept His Majesty's order to burn books... Not even Confucians, no serious scholar can accept it."
"Ha!" Ying Zheng snorted, closed his eyes, and said calmly, "I have hesitated before..."
Gu Xun sat below, his expression unchanged.
Since Ying Zheng said this, it means that he has made up his mind to implement the book burning order.
What Ying Zheng said later also confirmed that Gu Xun's guess was correct.
"But the matter of Feng Chan has completely strengthened my determination to implement this matter!"
On the matter of granting Zen status, the performance of many Confucian scholars convinced Ying Zheng that there should no longer be so many noisy and disorderly voices in the world.
In the whole world, there is nothing but the royal land!
The empire should have only one voice!
"I keep reading the books of the sages, but to the end I am just comparing the past with the present, slandering the government, and cholera is the rule!"
Gu Xun listened silently to Ying Zheng's views on scholars without saying a word.
It's not that he has nothing to say, it's just that he's too lazy to do the useless work.
Ying Zheng is not a person who listens to advice, at least now Ying Zheng can no longer listen to advice.
If it's some trivial matter, Ying Zheng doesn't mind insisting on it, but if it's a big matter that he has made up his mind, then all opinions that are different from his are just mistakes, and he is the only one who is right.
Guxun is no exception.
However, Gu Xun was too lazy to speak, but Ying Zheng insisted on asking him to give an attitude.
"National Master, you think what I did was wrong."
Gu Xun helplessly cupped his hands and said, "Since your Majesty has a holy decree, there is no other choice. I am the same."
Gu Xun didn't want to waste his breath, but he also didn't want to forcefully say that this was right without conscience.
After hearing this, Ying Zheng was silent for a moment and said, "It seems that the Imperial Master is indeed very resistant to this..."
Gu Xun sighed softly and explained helplessly, "Your Majesty, I have no objection to what you said."
"Xunfuzi said in his article "On Heaven": Heaven's behavior is always constant, and it will not exist because of Yao, nor will it perish because of Jie."
"Why, the Imperial Master wants to say that I am Jie and Zhou?" Ying Zheng rarely spoke to Gu Xun with a hint of coldness in his tone.
Gu Xun also lost his temper and replied harshly in a not very good tone:
"First of all, I didn't mean this. If your Majesty thinks so, you might as well find the reason from yourself."
There is a saying that lies never hurt, but the truth is the sharpest knife.
If Ying Zheng thought there was no problem with the book-burning order, how could he think that he would be labeled Jie and Zhou?
How many people do good things but worry about being scolded?
"Secondly, I quoted Master Xun's words not to express his thoughts, but my own attitude."
"Heaven and earth are long, and the years are ruthless."
"A human life lasts only a hundred years, and thousands of years are but a brief moment in heaven and earth, not worth mentioning."
"Whether it was the sage kings Yao and Shun or the mediocre Jie and Zhou, now they are nothing more than empty names and nothing more."
"Your Majesty is no exception to this. Your actions are only a few words in the history books. So no matter what I think, I have no intention to dissuade or oppose Your Majesty."
"However... I would also like to remind Your Majesty that as an emperor, he enjoys supreme power and naturally also bears unlimited responsibilities."
"You can do whatever you want, but...everything, in the final analysis, is just a matter of life and death, and everyone will get their own retribution. Your Majesty, you will not be an exception."
"As long as your Majesty is prepared to bear the consequences, then... please feel free to do so."
Ying Zheng suddenly opened his eyes, his eyes were sharper than ever before, and he stared at Gu Xun, his expression became a bit gloomy.
Gu Xun said that he would not oppose Ying Zheng, but what he said really didn't sound good.
Ordinary people would be unhappy after hearing unpleasant words, let alone the supreme emperor. It would be strange for Ying Zheng not to be angry.
However, he did not have an attack in the end, because although Gu Xun's words were unpleasant, they did not mean any disobedience to him.
As long as he doesn't explicitly oppose him, Ying Zheng is still willing to be extra tolerant of Gu Xun.
Ying Zheng's mood gradually calmed down, and his expression returned to his natural state, but soon a hint of sadness appeared again, which disappeared in an instant.
Gu Xun's words reminded him of his own sore spot - immortality!
Human life lasts only a moment and a hundred years, which is not only extremely insignificant to the world, but also insignificant to human civilization.
The fundamental reason why Ying Zheng is afraid of death is that he knows very well that no matter how many things he has done, whether good, evil, wise, or cruel, after he dies, it will be nothing more than a piece of loess.
Except for a few words in history books and people talking about examples, nothing about him exists anymore.
Perhaps for many people, it is a great honor to be able to leave a name in history and be remembered by everyone.
But Ying Zheng is not surprised.
He just wants to truly exist in the world, and truly exist as a living person.
Therefore, he pursues the illusory immortality at any cost, no matter how absurd it seems.
Gu Xun's words deeply touched his biggest pain point, but he was not angry about it, he was just scared from the bottom of his heart.
For most people, extreme fear often turns into anger and madness, but Ying Zheng didn't want others to know his fear, so he just suppressed it forcibly in his heart and feared alone.
At the same time, he also looks forward to achieving satisfactory results in Songhai.
