The atmosphere in Fang Mansion's study was not as harmonious and friendly as it was at the dock outside the city. On the contrary, it was a bit solemn and low.
Fang Changyun stared at Cao Mian sitting aside with a stern expression, and after a while he gritted his teeth and said, "Cao Mian, what do you mean?"
Cao Mian frowned slightly, as if he was a little dissatisfied with Fang Changyun's rude behavior, but his face remained calm and composed.
"Why are you so anxious to get angry?" Cao Mian took a sip of tea and said calmly.
Fang Changyun was not only anxious to get angry, he almost wanted to start a fight.
Just looking at the calm and calm Cao Mian in front of him, he couldn't hold back his anger after all, and said: "Shouldn't I be anxious? Don't you know how much our Fang family has lost during this period, Mr. Cao? Where did that boy named Dongfang come from?
Where did it come from? Brother Cao, shouldn't he give me an explanation?"
Cao Mian raised his eyebrows slightly and said, "Explanation?"
Fang Changyun sneered and said: "That boy didn't show up earlier or later. He showed up right after your son arrived at Shangyong. Do you dare to say that it has nothing to do with your Cao family?"
Cao Mian said: "Brother Fang, if what is written in Jie'er's letter is correct, your son died at the hands of that young man last year. Was it your Fang family or my Cao family that was responsible? That young man kept saying he wanted to
Yingzhou Island has changed its owner."
Fang Changyun sneered and said: "Everyone sent by the Fang family was wiped out. Naturally, the master has the final say on what happened."
Cao Mian was not angry, and stood up and said calmly: "It seems that Brother Fang just wants to lose his temper with me. In this case, we can talk about it after you calm down."
Seeing that he was really going to leave, Fang Changyun became a little anxious and said angrily: "Your Cao family is very powerful now. I can't afford to offend you. At worst, we will break up!"
Cao Mian frowned slightly and looked back at Fang Changyun who had an angry look on his face.
To be honest, Fang Changyun has never been a good partner, but he had no choice at the beginning.
The previous head of the Fang family had no ambitions. He just wanted to protect the Fang family and become the local emperor in Yingzhou.
The next heir to the Fang family was originally a shrewd, powerful and difficult-to-control person. Only Fang Changyun was ambitious but not very shrewd, so Cao Mian chose to cooperate with him. However, over the years, Fang Changyun's temper was violent and suspicious.
If Cao Mian hadn't been there to help him, the court might have discovered something was wrong.
If he didn't want to make too much noise and really didn't have a reliable candidate, Cao Mian really wanted to change the head of the Fang family.
Cao Mian sighed and sat back again.
"Brother Fang, you also know that what you are doing now is not very good. Let's not make trouble again."
Fang Changyun then calmed down his anger a little and snorted softly: "If there hadn't been something wrong with your Cao family, how could you have been taken advantage of by a boy of unknown origin?"
Cao Mian rubbed his brows and said a little tiredly: "That young man of unknown origin is not the point. The war in the northwest ended earlier than we expected. Can't you understand what has happened in the past six months since the regent returned to court? He is like this
It is time to purge Chaogang. We have all underestimated this prince. He is not only good at fighting. Neither Xie Zhang nor Ruan Ting is his enemy. Once Shangyong is reorganized, what do you think he will do next?
Where do you want to stretch?"
Fang Changyun was silent. He naturally understood what Cao Mian meant.
Now that the court has been reorganized, the next step is naturally the place.
For example, the pirates along the coast, such as Yingzhou, who have been ignoring the imperial court in recent years.
Fang Changyun took a deep breath and said: "Xie Yan is brave and good at fighting, and the Suppressing Army under his command is invincible. And the Dingguo Army under Luo Yun is also a battle-hardened cavalry. If you go head-to-head with them, you will definitely have a chance of winning.
?”
Cao Mian smiled lightly and said: "Brother Fang, the Zhenguo Army and the Dingguo Army are indeed scary, but the question is...how many people can they mobilize? Southern Xinjiang needs people, northwest needs people, and Gaoyu people are not fuel-efficient.
Deng. The most people they can use are less than 100,000 soldiers and horses currently stationed in Shangyong for rest and recuperation."
Fang Changyun wanted to say, that's a lot.
But when he met Cao Mian's smiling eyes, he couldn't help but swallow those words back.
"Are the Cao family really ready for the hasty rebellion now?" Fang Changyun asked. Rebellion is a matter of losing one's head and is not a joke.
Cao Mian said leisurely: "Even if I am not ready, I must take action now. The Empress Dowager passed away, and the Regent suddenly ordered me to go back to attend the funeral. I always feel a little uneasy."
Fang Changyun suspected that Cao Mian had a guilty conscience, but he could understand it consciously.
If he had been planning a rebellion for more than ten years, he would not dare to run back to Shangyong by himself.
Fang Changyun snorted softly and said: "Well, you have been preparing for so many years just waiting for this day. Now there are 60,000 soldiers and horses on the island, as well as many people from the world who have been recruited this year. You can do it this time
take away."
"Thank you." Cao Mian nodded and said, "How many people have dispersed over the years?"
Fang Changyun thought for a while and said: "There are about 20,000 people, what? Want to call them all back?"
Cao Mian shook his head and said: "No, let them attack the coastal areas with all their strength."
Fang Changyun nodded, and just as he was about to ask something else, there was a rush of footsteps outside the door, and both of them immediately stopped talking.
The people outside the door couldn't wait to report, so they stood at the door and hurriedly said: "Report to the head of the family, Commander Fang has been killed."
There was silence in the study, and it took a while before I heard Fang Changyun's voice, "Come in."
The person standing outside the door then pushed the door open and went in. Unsurprisingly, he saw the gloomy face of his master.
The man bowed respectfully to the two of them and stood in the middle of the study without daring to speak.
Fang Changyun said impatiently: "Why did he die just a short while ago? How did he die?"
The steward said: "He died in the alley next to the Hung Hom Pavilion and was found by a drunkard. He was stabbed in the heart and throat. He was clean and had no other injuries. The body has been brought back."
Fang Changyun snorted unhappily and said impatiently: "Let Huo Shan go and see, aren't they on good terms?" He will celebrate his birthday tomorrow, but someone died today. Doesn't this bring bad luck to him?
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Fang Changyun was shocked, Fang Yuan was not an ordinary person, killing him at this time was someone's deliberate provocation?!
Thinking of this, Fang Changyun became even more angry and said sternly: "Tell Huo Shan that you must find the murderer for me!"
The steward nodded in agreement and hurriedly exited.
There were only two people left in the room, and Cao Mian asked: "Fang Yuan Huoshan, are you the two people who joined the National Army who surrendered to you back then?"
Fang Changyun nodded and said angrily: "What a waste!"
Cao Mian narrowed his eyes slightly and said: "If he can achieve the position of commander, I'm afraid he is not completely useless. He was suddenly killed at this time. Didn't you expect something?"
Fang Changyun was startled, and his face suddenly changed slightly, "You mean... the Zhenguo Army discovered that they had betrayed?"
Cao Mian said: "It's not impossible. It's a wonder that the Zhenguo Army hasn't discovered it for so many years."
Fang Changyun immediately became nervous and said: "If this is the case, the court..."
Cao Mian sighed and said: "Whether the imperial court discovered something or not, the nights are long and the dreams are many. Originally, I thought that the imperial court would not have time to take care of us for at least three to five years. We still have at least one year to prepare calmly, and then give him a beating."
I was caught off guard. But the incident at Yunhai Academy has been making me uneasy, and now a descendant of the previous dynasty appears out of thin air. I'm afraid that if we delay it any longer, all our preparations over the years will be wasted."
Fang Changyun nodded, stood up and said coldly: "No matter who killed Fang Yuan, he is still on the island! I don't believe it, we can't find him out!"
In the somewhat remote courtyard on the other side of Fang Mansion, Fang Yan waved his hand to signal those who came in to report to leave.
When he was alone in the room, a complicated look appeared on his calm face.
He raised his hand and took out a piece of paper from his sleeve and unfolded it. There was a rubbing pattern on the paper.
It is two inches square, with complicated patterns and a square character in seal script.
As a son of the Fang family, Fang Yan naturally knew what it was.
He lowered his eyes and thought for a while, then stood up and threw the paper into the incense burner in the corner of the study. He watched the paper burn up in the incense burner before turning around.
"Here comes." After a moment, two men who looked like guards pushed the door open and came in, bowing to listen to the order.
Fang Yan turned his head and looked at the two of them, and said calmly: "Go and give a message to your third uncle. I will go and pay my respects to his old man after the reception banquet tonight."
"Yes, sir."
On the other side, Huo Shan felt very complicated when he received the news of Fang Yuan's death.
He guessed who killed Fang Yuan almost immediately, and he couldn't help but wonder in his heart, if his response that day was slightly wrong, would he be the one lying here now?
The body of the house was placed in a remote and uninhabited small courtyard in the northwest corner. It was far away from the main courtyard in front, and it would not hinder the happy events of the past few days. Although the adopted son was killed the day before the birthday banquet, the other party's family
This is bad enough for the head of the family.
Huo Shan stood in front of Fang Yuan's body, his eyes were still wide open, as if he was refusing to rest in peace.
Huo Shan stepped forward and raised his hands to cover his eyes, and it took him a while to close them.
Looking at the bloody hole in the heart of the corpse and the knife on the throat, Huo Shan turned his head and asked the person next to him, "Are there any witnesses?"
The person standing nearby shook his head and said: "There were no people in a place like the Red Paper Pavilion in broad daylight, but some people saw Commander Fang walking that way, but no one saw how he died, and no one saw him
Who is the murderer?"
Huo Shandao: "Fang Yuan went to the Red Thread Pavilion on a temporary basis, and he was obviously being followed. Let him go and check again to see if there was anyone acting suspiciously nearby at that time."
The people standing nearby were a little troubled and couldn't help but said: "There have been a lot of outsiders in Yingzhou City recently, especially those... If there are probably a lot of people who act suspiciously, how can we check this?" There are also those people in the world.
The wanderers in the surrounding small countries are not rule-abiding people.
In the eyes of ordinary people in Yingzhou, they are probably all suspicious people.
Huo Shan glanced at him coldly and said, "Go and check!"
"yes."
"Wait!" The man was about to turn around and leave when Huo Shan suddenly stopped him.
Huo Shan stared at the corpse intently for a while, and suddenly he tore open Fang Yuan's clothes. There was a dark green mark under Fang Yuan's collarbone.
Both of them were stunned, and the person next to them asked in confusion: "What is this? Commander Fang also got a tattoo?"
Huo Shan said coldly: "This is the emblem of the previous royal family." Wasn't it done by someone from the Zhenguo Army? Why did the other party leave the mark? Deliberate provocation? Huo Shan was confused.
"I'll report it to the head of the family first." Huo Shan turned around and walked out.
When the Fang family went to war in Yingzhou City because of Fang Yuan's death, Luo Junyao was sitting in the teahouse listening to books with his chin on his head.
After all, Yingzhou is different from the Central Plains. Even the books mentioned in the teahouse are different. Luo Junyao listened with great interest while eating melon seeds.
Qin Yao'er also listened with great interest and ate melon seeds more enthusiastically than Luo Junyao.
It wasn't until there was a burst of noise downstairs, followed by the thumping footsteps of a group of people going upstairs, that the guests upstairs noticed and looked towards the stairs.
Qin Yao'er lay down at the window and took a look, then turned around and said to Luo Junyao: "There are many people outside."
Luo Junyao glanced lazily and said, "It's none of our business."
Really?
Soon, several people wearing the uniforms of the Fang family guards came up. The leader glanced at all the guests upstairs and asked, "Are there any suspicious people coming in and out here today?"
The teahouse owner who followed us had a grimace on his face and said, "Sir Mingjian, you see, all the people who come in and out of our shop are serious customers. The two younger generations are doing business in the city. How dare you accommodate bandits?"
Although the shopkeeper explained again and again, the man still ordered the people around him to carefully search every private room in the teahouse.
He himself stood in the lobby on the second floor, scanning every guest sitting upstairs with sharp eyes. If anyone felt suspicious, he would step forward and question them sternly.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Not only this tea house, but also the entire street is full of Fang family guards. Obviously, all the shops, inns and even residences along the street must be strict.
examine.
Although the guests were dissatisfied, they also knew that the Fang family had the final say in Yingzhou.
Of course the locals didn't dare to mess with the Fang family, but outsiders even less dared. After all, they were far away on an isolated island and were very weak. If someone was accidentally thrown into the sea, they would have no choice but to accept their fate.
"What do you do?" the leading man walked to Luo Junyao's table and asked casually.
He didn't think that the two teenage girls would have anything to do with this matter. He only asked more questions when he saw that the two little girls were not accompanied by their fathers, brothers and elders.
Luo Junyao smiled and said: "I came here to play with my brother. My brother went to discuss business today. Uncle, what happened?"
The man didn't answer, but just said: "You two little girls, don't run around."
Luo Junyao said: "I didn't run around, we stayed in the inn next door."
"Commander, there is no suspicious person inside!" The person who went to search the private room came back to report.
The man nodded, glanced at the guests upstairs, and said in a deep voice: "Close the team!"
Seeing this group of people leaving downstairs, everyone upstairs breathed a sigh of relief, and soon started talking noisily again.
With such a big battle, it was obvious that something had happened in the city.
Luo Junyao leaned against the window and watched those people leave the teahouse and continue walking forward, obviously he wanted to continue searching other places.
"Yao'er, what do you think of them?" Luo Junyao asked softly.
Qin Yao'er said in a daze: "Ah? What is it like?"
Luo Jun shook his head and did not answer her.
These people are obviously not ordinary guards, they are infinitely closer to regular soldiers. This can be heard from the names they call their leaders.
In terms of individual strength, they are naturally not as good as the elite Zhenguo Army and Dingguo Army, but if they are placed in the Wuwei Army, they are not bad.
Also, these people are obviously not natives of Yingzhou, they can only be sent to Yingzhou from other places.
A ragtag army is of no use. If you want elite soldiers, you must train them.
There is always the risk of being discovered when training troops in the Central Plains. It is indeed a good idea to send people to Yingzhou for training.
