Hou Yao and Hou Tianzong recognized each other as grandfather and grandson, and also talked about their respective past events and experiences.
It turns out that Hou Tianzong and He Jinghui formed the Tianwu Gang more than thirty years ago.
He Jinghui's family was a butcher selling meat in Hai County. Since his father passed away early, he took on the burden of the family and sold meat at the market when he was eleven or two years old.
Hou Tianzong's father had mediocre qualifications and had never been admitted as a scholar in his life. He spent all the family money and eventually relied on setting up a stall in the market to write family letters for others to supplement the family income.
The two stalls were not far apart, so we got to know each other. At that time, there was a gangster on that street who often asked businesses to collect protection fees.
The two families had endured their anger for many years in order to make a living, but unexpectedly they became more and more excessive.
Until one time, Hou Tianzong's father really had no money to pay the protection fee and was brutally beaten by gangsters.
At that time, Hou Tianzong, who had returned from being a scholar, stepped forward to break up the fight, but was also beaten badly.
He Jinghui couldn't stand it, so he stabbed the two of them to death on the spot with a butcher's knife, and rescued Hou Tianzong and his son.
Hou Tianzong suppressed He Jinghui's murder case by virtue of his status as a scholar and the fact that the person who died was a famous local gangster.
However, the two families had completely offended the gang and could not stay in the city any longer, so they fled to Wansha Village together with all their belongings.
Wansha Village is located in a remote area and close to the sea. If you are really chased by gangsters, you can escape to the sea as quickly as possible.
It's just that both families have no source of livelihood, which is a big problem.
Neither family knew how to fish or farm, so they had no means of making a living.
It can only be maintained by relying on the little profit that Hou Tianzong helped name the store.
Although He Jinghui was young at the time, he was tall and powerful.
Hou Yao was quick-witted, so the two of them joined a pirate gang.
Just like that, they went to sea and spent two years in a small pirate gang in the South China Sea.
With the increase of experience, the two of them also grew up rapidly. Hou Tianzong felt that it was not enough to continue like this.
So the two re-established the Tianwu Gang. In order to allow the gang to develop rapidly, Hou Tianzong prepared to take the exam for meritorious service, which was the same as Hou Yao's idea.
However, fate played a cruel trick on him. When he was gathering in Nanhai Mansion to take the provincial examination, God played the biggest joke on him.
Gangsters in Hai County found their home, and Hou Tianzong's parents and He Jinghui's mother were killed together.
After learning the news, Hou Tianzong hurried back to Hai County, planning to meet up with He Jinghui to discuss revenge.
At that time, two friends he had met in Nanhai Mansion, Li Kangsheng and Ji Qianhui, came back to Hai County with him.
Originally, Hou Tianzong brought these two people back to bear witness to him, so that he could have evidence of alibi.
However, there was a problem with the operation that day. The newly established Tianwu Gang was not strong enough and could not eradicate the gang cleanly.
The commotion caused by both sides was so great that it alarmed many people in the city.
By coincidence, Ji Qianhui, who was staying in the inn, woke up to look for Hou Tianzong and found that he was missing.
Then he walked out of the inn. Unexpectedly, as soon as he stepped out, he happened to bump into Hou Tianzong who was about to go back to the inn to hide.
The situation was so critical that there was no room for further thought, so Hou Tianzong could only turn around and run away.
No one expected that Ji Qianhui would follow him all the way to the beach.
Before boarding the ship, Hou Tianzong did not have the heart to leave her there, so he could only take her on board.
Afterwards, Hou Tianzong suffered for the rest of his life because of this decision.
While wandering at sea, the vague feelings between Hou Tianzong and Ji Qianhui gradually materialized.
In the end, the fire got out of control.
The young man ate the forbidden fruit without taking any safety measures, and eventually Ji Qianhui became pregnant.
Hou Tianzong then quietly returned to Wansha Village with Ji Qianhui to live.
He Jinghui continued to lead the Tianwu Gang to hang out in the South China Sea.
After the child was born, the family's life was difficult. Although Ji Qianhui was virtuous, she occasionally complained, which was hard to avoid hearing in Hou Tianzong's ears.
So Hou Tianzong returned to the Tianwu Gang and concentrated on planning the rise of the Tianwu Gang.
Because I learned about the private salt trade in Baoan County from my previous contact with Li Kangsheng,
So under his careful planning, the Tianwu Gang also occupied a place in the salt field of Bao'an County, and the Tianwu Gang gradually grew stronger.
As the Tianwu Gang became stronger and stronger, Hou Tianzong's reputation also grew. His frequent visits to Wansha Village attracted the attention of the court.
Under the prying eyes of interested people, Ji Qianhui's identity was finally exposed, hiding her name and willing to live an ordinary life with Hou Tianzong.
It turns out that her true identity is Princess Anhui, the third princess of today.
While Hou Tianzong was away, Feiyuwei took Princess Anhui back to the capital.
Originally, they were supposed to take their whole family back to the capital.
However, Ji Qianhui was worried that the emperor would not be able to tolerate her son, and finally threatened her life to force the Feiyu Guards to retreat.
After Hou Tianzong came back, he was furious but had no choice but to concentrate more on developing the power of the Tianwu Gang.
At this time, Hou Tianzong discovered that private salt production in Bao'an County was increasing. He knew that something big would happen if this continued, so he began to plan a way out.
At this time, the Tianwu Gang had gained some strength, so Hou Tianzong took advantage of the conflicts among the four sea kings to seize the opportunity.
Little by little, the sales channel of Japan's salt road was pried away from the hands of the four sea kings.
Until sixteen years ago, during the great purge of Bao'an County, the Tianwu Gang had completely controlled the salt trade business with the Japanese country.
After that, the Tianwu Gang soared into the sky and became stronger day by day.
At this time, Hou Tianzong wanted to try to take Princess Anhui away.
It is a pity that the Tianwu Gang has the strength to match the imperial court at sea, but on land, it is completely unable to compete with the imperial court.
After several attempts to sneak into the palace, he failed. Instead, the emperor caught his weak point and used it as a threat to force the Tianwu Gang to secretly work for the court.
They have forced the Tianwu Gang to fight for the imperial court four or five times.
Hou Tianzong told Hou Yao exactly what he had experienced, but he concealed the fact that his grandmother was Princess Anhui.
Hou Yao also told Hou Tianzong about his situation with the Squid Gang.
Hou Tianzong could only shake his head and smile bitterly:
"This is our fate. The Yu Xiuer you are talking about is the girl who fought with Xue Liquan, right?"
Hou Yao nodded:
"Yes, grandpa, what do you think?"
Hou Tianzong shook his head:
"A bit thin. You were thin when you were pregnant. When you gave birth to your father, you almost had dystocia. Although you were rescued, your vitality was damaged and you have been in poor health.
Your father is not very smart because of this. He probably suffered a head injury when he was born.
That's why when I was choosing a wife for your father, I specifically selected your mother, who is a well-known beauty in Hai County.
Look at you now, you are better than your predecessor. This proves that women still need to be a little fatter to be lucky.
But grandpa can't make the decision for you, you have to figure it out yourself. Emotions are so weird.
The pig butcher kept telling me that your breasts are too thin and there’s nothing good about them, but I just like them and can’t forget them.”
Hou Yao laughed dryly:
"Haha, you'd better like this woman yourself. Grandpa, did you catch Guo Ming on purpose to lure me out today?"
Hou Tianzong shook his head:
"There's something on Guo Ming's body. I originally planned to get it, but now I think it's probably in your hands. It's okay if you don't want it."
Hou Yao took out the jade flute from his arms:
"You want this. Guo Ming still has the one hidden. I don't have time to get it, so I'll give you this first."
Hou Tianzong took it in his hand and played with it before giving it back to Hou Yao:
"You'd better keep it well."
As he spoke, he also took one out of his arms and handed it to Hou Yao:
"This jade flute is not actually about the secret of treasures and rights as in the legend. It is the secret about the disappearance of the Poseidon Emperor. It is said that there are six.
For decades, I have been trying to find the secret of the Poseidon's disappearance. It seems to be a huge secret related to the life and death of Daxia.
The current emperor has also been secretly investigating this matter. If you are destined to have this jade flute, I will give it to you.
If you can find all six jade flutes one day, you may be able to solve this mystery."
Hou Yao held the jade flute and didn't know whether to accept it or not:
"Grandpa, aren't you afraid that the four sea kings will come to rob me?"
Hou Tianzong smiled and said:
"I was really scared before, but seeing the changes in Bao'an County with my own eyes, I know they can't rob you.
This Bao'an County has been firmly tied together by your interests. Anyone who wants to come here to attack you must consider the consequences.
Public anger has been the most terrifying thing since ancient times. But this alone is not enough. Just saying that you have an army in green is pretty good.
However, the number of troops cannot be too small. Anbao County is a good place. We have reached an agreement with the emperor here and he will not send troops here.
You can safely expand your army to 20,000, but you need at least 20,000 to have the strength to protect yourself."
Hou Yao smiled bitterly and said:
"If I want to expand to 20,000, isn't this tantamount to rebellion?"
Hou Tianzong nodded:
"Ji Honghe has been in power for more than fifty years. He has governed the country with power and thought he controls the world. Little does he know that he has already exhausted the people's support accumulated by the ancestors of Daxia.
The ministers are also disloyal. In recent years, Daxia seems to be stable, but in fact, there are turbulent undercurrents, and foreign ministries are preparing to make trouble.
Several princes are useless, and none of them has the ability to rule the world.
Ji Honghe can still stabilize the government with his imperial power accumulated over fifty years, but he is afraid that Daxia will fall apart if he dies.
None of the princes are raising private soldiers, not to mention that Yao Yuanzhou’s rebellious intentions are well known to everyone, and he is so close to you. Why don’t you wait to die without training to protect yourself?"
Hou Yao nodded, and then said in confusion:
"Since Yao Yuanzhou's rebellious intentions are known to everyone, why doesn't the emperor get rid of him?"
Hou Tianzong sarcastically said:
"Ji Honghe wanted to change, but he didn't dare. Yao Yuanzhou can sit in Nanhai because his father is the great master Yao Zhongyuan.
He is also the only remaining Grand Master and his last life-saving talisman.
If Yao Zhongyuan is gone, his enemies in Annan will rush into the Daxia Palace in minutes, and he will be doomed."
Hou Yao asked in surprise:
"Are you talking about Imperial Master Annan? The woman who can break into the Forbidden Palace from Dongzhimen?"
Hou Tianzong laughed:
"You actually know about this? Although many people know about this, almost no one who knows about it dares to mention it. How did you know?"
Hou Yao awkwardly pointed at Yu Xiuer and Chen Junnan:
"Both of them are disciples of Imperial Master Annan..."