The person who intercepted Liu Mang at his door was none other than Old Man Gao, the storyteller at Jizhilou in the inner city.
He was wearing a blue shirt, had a slim build, his white hair was simply tied up in a hairpin, and even his eyebrows were white.
And his remarks were quite heart-wrenching, didn't he mean that the Lord of Jiang City, Lord Ding, was actually not of the same mind as the imperial court?
Discussing these sensitive things at home can easily be leaked, so Liu Mang sent an invitation: "Senior Gao, please come to the room to chat."
He took Old Man Gao to the main hall of the house and poured tea for Old Man Gao himself.
"I don't understand what Senior Gao said. Isn't City Lord Ding the city lord appointed by the imperial court? Doesn't City Lord Ding represent the imperial court?" Liu Mang asked.
Old Man Gao took a sip of tea carelessly, not afraid that Liu Mang might poison it. He was obviously quite confident in his martial arts.
He looked at Liu Mang seriously: "There is only one person in the world who can represent the imperial court!"
Then he clasped his fists in the air above him: "That's the Holy One!"
"If there is anyone under the Holy Spirit who can represent the imperial court, it will definitely not be those city lords, but our Imperial City Secretary!"
Old Man Gao is from the Imperial City Division?
Liu Mang was a little surprised, but he thought it was reasonable.
The first time he met Old Man Gao and asked him about the location of the Four Holy Sects, he instantly analyzed that he had met Mr. Zhong and Mr. Yin.
Who else in the world besides the Imperial City Division has such a powerful intelligence capability?
As a member of the Imperial City Department, he should have developed in secret, but he appeared in public all day long to tell stories.
I have to say that this is an extremely clever method. I wonder if City Lord Ding knows about the existence of Old Man Gao?
"I wonder if City Master Ding has any differences with you?"
"Hmph! We, the people of the Imperial City Division, have been loyal to the Holy One all our lives.
And people like Ding Xian may be somewhat loyal at first. But as they hold power for a long time, they will inevitably develop thoughts that they shouldn't have!"
Old Man Gao's eyes were blazing, and he said word by word: "After all, we have observed for many years that Ding Xian is extremely ambitious!
However, Shi Junzhilu secretly frequently recruits experts and recruits government soldiers. Now I know that the number is more than five thousand, which is far more than the number allowed by the imperial court!"
"If the time comes, this person will definitely support his army and stand on his own feet.
He is not a rebel, but he is better than a rebel; he is not a bandit, but he is ten thousand times more hateful than a bandit!"
Old Man Gao's words were full of fear and disgust towards City Lord Ding.
Then he looked at Liu Mang: "I wonder if Gang Leader Liu is loyal to the imperial court or to Ding Xian?"
Old Man Gao asked, and then stared at Liu Mang with his eyes.
The ferocious tiger in Liu Mang's mind kept roaring filial piety, and his butterfly-level spirituality kept reminding him of the danger of Old Man Gao.
According to his feeling, this person's strength is at least as good as that of Dao Kuang and Master Jingxin, and he is no match for him now.
Moreover, he had no loyalty to City Lord Ding to begin with, and he was meeting Old Man Gao at his own home, so he would be foolish to touch his sensitive nerves.
So Liu Mang said categorically: "Mang didn't know about Ding Xian's wild ambitions before, but now that he knows about it, he won't be bewitched by him anymore. From the beginning to the end, I have only been loyal to the imperial court!"
After hearing Liu Mang's expression, Old Man Gao couldn't help but smile: "Gang Leader Liu's reputation for filial piety is famous all over the world. I naturally believe what you say."
"If Ding Xian rebels by then..."
"I am willing to cooperate with the Imperial City Division to catch the traitor for the Holy One!" Liu Mang imitated the speeches of costumed characters in the soap operas he watched in his previous life, and his words were sonorous and powerful without any hesitation.
Old Man Gao was very satisfied with Liu Mang's attitude, but it was impossible for him to completely trust Liu Mang just because of these two simple words.
Instead, he said: "I hope you can remember what you said today.
Although you are Soul Bell’s apprentice, the imperial court has experts who can deal with him, and they can’t do anything even from the Skyfire Mountain Range.”
After giving the warning, Old Man Gao stood up and disappeared with a whoosh.
Liu Mang was left looking quietly at the direction in which Old Man Gao was leaving, and murmured: "Has the imperial court's fear of local officials reached this level?"
…
Handcheng, outside the Qianyuan Hall of the Imperial Palace.
A group of officials wearing red and yellow official uniforms knelt outside, shouting from time to time:
"Your Majesty, General Han is innocent. He has been guarding the Western Regions for decades. If he had rebelled, why would he wait until now? If he had disobedience, how could he be willing to be captured and brought to Beijing?"
"Your Majesty, if General Han is not in the Western Region, Xilong Pass will be overthrown at any time, Your Majesty!
If the Xilong Pass is broken, the Central Plains will be exposed to the iron hooves of the barbarians, and corpses will litter the fields and starve to death for thousands of miles!"
"I beg your majesty to have mercy and let General Han return to guard the Western Regions!"
Dozens of imperial guards outside the Qianyuan Hall looked indifferently at these officials who were pleading for Han Yunzheng, the General of Zhenxi, with no expression on their faces.
And the door of Qianyuan Hall has no intention of opening it at all.
Inside Qianyuan Hall.
A dignified man in golden casual clothes sat cross-legged on a high raised platform with his eyes closed.
He is about forty years old, and the skin on his face is so thin that you can see the bones, as if he has never had enough to eat.
Under the boss, there is a huge silver copper furnace.
A dozen men in blue alchemist uniforms were surrounding the copper furnace, some were blowing wind, and some were adding firewood, as if they were refining something.
Suddenly I heard a 'bang' sound.
The man on the ledge couldn't help but open his eyes. Although his cheeks were thin, his eyes were very bright, as if there were two flames burning all the time.
"Did you make it?"
The alchemists below hurriedly opened the alchemy furnace, but took out a black thing.
Their expressions changed drastically, and then they all knelt down.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me!"
The man on the ledge is none other than Emperor Qingping, the current emperor of Zhao State, and the most powerful man in the world.
Any other force in the world, even the ten major sects, are completely inadequate in front of the behemoth of the imperial court.
As long as Emperor Qingping is willing to pay the price, no force can withstand his full blow.
This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! Unfortunately, the emperor was obsessed with pursuing immortality, obsessed with alchemy, neglected the management of government affairs, and paid no attention to the precarious society.
A trace of anger flashed across Emperor Qingping's brows: "It failed again. How many times has this happened? When can I refine the elixir of immortality!"
Seeing the emperor's anger, many alchemists in the audience were lying on the ground shivering, with cold sweat breaking out all over their bodies.
At this time, an old alchemist led by him bravely said: "Your Majesty, this elixir of longevity has never been successfully refined. In fact, it is because of the lack of a medicine lead."
"Oh, what is it?"
"It takes noble daughters and noble sons born on the same day, every month, and every day to use their essence and blood as medicine to refine the elixir of longevity!"
As soon as the old alchemist said this, many alchemists in the crowd echoed it. It was obvious that this person was quite authoritative in alchemy.
The emperor pondered for a moment, and then shouted: "Where is the commander of the guards?"
A man wrapped in pure silver armor appeared silently: "What are your orders, Your Majesty?"
"Go with the Imperial City Department to investigate with all your strength, the noble daughter and son born on this day, every month, every day."
"I obey my orders!"
Two days later.
When the emperor was preparing to go to bed in the palace of his favorite concubine Hui, someone outside the door reported: "Your Majesty, the commander of the Imperial City Department has asked to see you, saying that he has something important to report."
"Ask him to wait in the main hall." The emperor said calmly.
"Your Majesty, I have investigated the identity of the noble daughter and son born on the day, month and day in the world.
Those who meet the status of a noble son include the legitimate son of the Lord of Heng City, the second son of the Minister of Hubu, and the young prince of Prince Hua's palace. There is only one who meets the status of a noble daughter, and she is..." The commander of the Imperial City Division obviously paused in his words, but under the emperor's stern words
Under his gaze, he still said obediently: "Ping Nanhou's legitimate daughter."
After the emperor heard this, he narrowed his eyes and said nothing.
The status of those legitimate sons seemed noble to outsiders, but to the emperor, killing them was just killing them, and it was not a big deal.
However, Ping Nanhou guarded the southern border and guarded the safety of the Central Plains. His status was no less than that of Han Yunzheng, the general who controlled the west, and Ji Sheng, the king of Saibei.
If his daughter is captured, there will be no big trouble.
The emperor returned to Concubine Hui's palace in confusion. Seeing the emperor's frown, Concubine Hui asked thoughtfully: "Your Majesty, is there something on your mind?"
The emperor expressed his worries.
Concubine Hui smiled and said: "Why are you so worried, Your Majesty? If Marquis Pingnan is really loyal, he would definitely want to see His Majesty live forever, so what does it mean to sacrifice a daughter?"
At worst, I will give him a good reward and compensation when the time comes."
The emperor was overjoyed and said: "What my beloved concubine said is true, but this matter needs long-term consideration."
Concubine Hui said: "It is better to call Tian Shangshu to discuss it. He has always been kind to the country and the people and shared your Majesty's worries."
The emperor nodded, but did not notice the proud look flashing in Concubine Hui's eyes.
A few days later, Ping Nanhou's daughter suddenly disappeared while hunting.
Marquis Pingnan ordered his army to search for hundreds of miles and found his daughter who had been robbed by several imperial guards.
When one of the guards saw what had happened, he slashed at the daughter of Marquis Pingnan with his sword.
The body of the daughter of Marquis Pingnan was separated and she died tragically under his sword!
The furious Marquis Pingnan tortured all of them alive, but he still couldn't vent his anger!
That night, Elder Huang Tiandao asked to see Pingnan Hou.
The two sides did not know what they discussed, but Pingnanhou resolutely decided to surrender to the southern barbarians on the second day.
In the 22nd year of the Qing Dynasty, the Marquis of Pingnan rebelled and the whole country was shocked!