Liu Xiu suddenly remembered something that happened before. When Long Yuan went to Lantian County to find Long Zhun and Long Bu, he encountered two refugees in the fields. The two refugees said they wanted to rob food, but they did not He just wanted to kill him.
At that time, he felt that the matter was strange, but he didn't think much about it. Analyzing it now, the two refugees were probably in the same group as these mysterious people, and their purpose was to kill themselves.
Liu Xiu pondered for a moment and asked: "Zhongyi, Shuli, do you two know who they are?"
Long Zhun and Long Bu looked at each other, and the former said slowly: "We only know that the main messenger behind them is in the capital. As for who it is, we haven't found out yet."
"Capital?" Zhu You scratched his hair inexplicably and said to Liu Xiu: "Axiu, when we were studying in Imperial College in Beijing, we didn't offend anyone?"
Yes! Liu Xiu frowned secretly. He also felt that he had no enemies in the capital.
And to be able to send out so many assassins, he must be no ordinary person. When he was studying at Imperial College, he was just a poor boy and had no contact with high-ranking officials.
Long Bo walked up to the shopkeeper, pulled him up from the ground, and asked one word at a time: "Tell me, who sent you here!"
The shopkeeper's face was pale, but his attitude was very arrogant. He sneered: "I don't know anything."
Long Bo nodded, pushed the shopkeeper back to the ground, then squatted down beside him, and said slowly: "You don't know anything, right? Okay, I've seen a lot of people like you. , don’t you know nothing now? I’ll let you know everything in a while!”
While he was talking, he pulled out a rolled-up leather bag from his lower back and unfolded it. It was filled with steel needles of different lengths and thicknesses.
Long Bo took out a steel needle, waved it in front of the shopkeeper, and said slowly: "If you tell the truth now, you can save yourself some physical pain."
The shopkeeper looked at Long Bu without fear and said with a ferocious smile: "You bitch, if you have any skills, just use them!"
Long Bu nodded. Suddenly, he reached out his hand, grabbed the back of the shopkeeper's neck, and pushed him to the ground. Then he grabbed his back collar and pulled hard. With a hiss, the shopkeeper's back was covered with clothes. Pulling it away forcefully, Long Bu picked up the thick steel needle, aimed it at the lower part of his back, and inserted it bit by bit.
The shopkeeper could hold on gritting his teeth at first, but after less than ten seconds, he couldn't help it, opened his mouth wide, and let out a scream like a slaughtered pig.
Long Bo pressed his knee on the back of his head, pressed his mouth to the ground, and continued to pierce the steel needle inside.
The shopkeeper couldn't scream, and his body was shaking in pain. People around him could clearly see that the flesh on the shopkeeper's back was throbbing and spasming.
Sweat beads seeped out of his skin at a speed that was almost visible to the naked eye, and then continued to flow downward.
Looking at the surprised Liu Xiu, Long Zhun explained: "Don't worry, my lord, Long Bo has always used punishment safely, but it can make people unable to survive or die!"
After a pause, he waved his hand to the side and said, "If my lord doesn't like this, you can come here and take a rest first."
Long Yuan nodded and said: "My lord, the longest record of Long Bu's forced confession is one meal. This person will probably relent in less than one meal."
Liu Xiu was indeed not used to scenes like torture and confession. According to Long Yuan and Long Zhun's wishes, he walked towards the nearby woods, followed closely by Zhu You and Gai Yan, who followed Liu Xiuyi.
Everyone sat on the ground. Zhu You looked around and saw that Gai Yan, Long Yuan, and Long Zhun had all worshiped Liu Xiu as their lord, but he was different from them. He looked at Liu Xiu and said seriously: "Axiu, I I also want to worship you as my lord!"
Liu Xiu smiled and said, "Ayou, haven't you always admired my elder brother?"
Zhu You chuckled, scratched his hair, and said: "Brother has so many helpers around him, and I am not the only one missing. Moreover, if we want to rebel against Wang Mang together, I would rather follow you!" Zhu You admired Liu Yan very much. But in terms of personal relationships and emotions, he was closer to Liu Xiu. He was more unrestrained and felt more at ease with Liu Xiu.
Liu Xiu and Zhu You have known each other for a long time and understand each other very well. Liu Xiu's trust in Zhu You is unmatched by anyone else, including Long Yuan.
Liu Xiu was of course happy from the bottom of his heart to have a person like Zhu You whom he could completely trust by his side.
He patted Zhu You's arm and said with a smile: "We have been playing together since we were little. When we grew up, we went to the Imperial Academy in Chang'an together. If we want to fight against the reckless bandits in the future, of course you have to follow me!"
When Zhu You heard this, he burst into laughter and hit Liu Xiu twice on the shoulder with his big fist. The latter grinned in pain, but he and Zhu You soon broke into a group of laughter.
On the other side, Long Yuan also explained to Long Zhun in detail why he became a disciple of Liu Xiu, recognized Liu Xiu as his lord, and willingly worked for Liu Xiu.
After listening to Long Yuan's story, Long Zhun solved his doubts and gained a new understanding of Liu Xiu.
While they were talking, Long Bo stepped over. He was holding a torn piece of cloth in his hand and was slowly wiping the blood on his palm.
He came to Liu Xiu, bowed his hands and saluted, and said: "My lord, that man has been recruited."
Hearing this, Liu Xiu's eyes suddenly lit up. He patted the open space next to him and said, "Uncle Li, sit here and tell me in detail what is going on."
Now Liu Xiu and Monk Zhang Er are confused as to where this enemy of his came from.
Long Bo sat down next to Liu Xiu and told the shopkeeper's confession in detail.
"These people are indeed from Chang'an, and the person they obey is Dr. Guanglu, the Grand Master of the country."
Doctor Guanglu? Imperial Master? Everyone's expressions changed. Liu Xiu subconsciously said: "Liu Xin?"
Long Bu corrected him: "My lord, Liu Xin has already changed his name to Liu Xiu."
"..." Liu Xiu was silent. We are both Liu Xiu. This Liu Xiu is just a country boy, while that Liu Xiu is a dignified Grand Master.
Liu Xin was one of Wang Mang's most important confidants, but the official position of Imperial Preceptor sounded intimidating, but in fact it did not have much real power.
The Imperial Preceptor is like the emperor's secretary-general, providing documentary legal basis for some reforms implemented by the emperor.
After a moment of silence, Liu Xiu said: "In this case, the person who wants to kill me is Liu Xiu!"
Liu Xiu wants to kill Liu Xiu. This sounds awkward, but in fact that's what happened.
Long Bo nodded and replied: "My lord, that's it."
"But why? Why did Imperial Master Liu Xiu want to kill me?"
"Because of a prophecy."
Liu Xiu frowned and asked subconsciously: "What prophecy?"
"Liu Xiu sent troops to arrest him, but the barbarians gathered in Long Douye. On April 7th, fire is the main thing!" When Long Bo said this, he looked at Liu Xiu without blinking, and his heart was filled with turmoil.
I couldn't calm down for a long time.
The meaning of this prophecy is very straightforward. The person who can become the emperor in the future is Liu Xiu.
Liu Xiu was stunned for a moment, burst out laughing, shook his head and said, "There is such a prophecy in the world."
Long Bo said seriously: "This prophecy comes from the "Chi Fu Fu". It is said that the prophecies in the "Chi Fu Fu" have come true."
Liu Xiu raised his eyebrows and asked, "Is that the Imperial Master Liu Xiu trying to kill me because of this prophecy?"
Long Bo nodded and said: "According to the meaning of this prophecy, if Wang Mang is overthrown, the person who will replace him will definitely be Liu Xiu! The national advisor Liu Xiu has secretly executed all the Liu Xiu in the country, and now there are only two left in the country.
Liu Xiu, one is the lord and the other is the national advisor."
Liu Xiu himself did not believe in prophecies or metaphysics such as prophecies, and believed that most of these things were to fool people.
For example, before Wang Mang usurped the throne, he pretended to dig out a stone in Wugong County with the words "Proclaim Anhan Gong Mang as Emperor" engraved on it. Who could not discern that Wang Mang was behind the scenes?
So after hearing what Long Bu said, Liu Xiu didn't take it seriously at all and regarded it as a joke. He shook his head and smiled bitterly: "Because of this prophecy, the Imperial Master wants to kill all the people named Liu Xiu in the country. He
It’s just crazy!”
This was Liu Xiu's true inner thought. In his opinion, the national counselor Liu Xiu wanted to be emperor and was obsessed with evil. He had reached the point of confusion and madness.
Seeing that Liu Xiu didn't believe the prophecy recorded in "Chi Fu Fu" at all, Long Bo swallowed his saliva and whispered: "My lord, what if this prophecy is true?"
Liu Xiu looked at Long Bu happily and asked with a smile: "So, I can be the emperor in the future?" After saying this, Liu Xiu himself burst out laughing.
However, no one else present smiled. Everyone was looking at Liu Xiu eagerly, their hearts beating faster.
After laughing for a while, he saw that Zhu You, Gai Yan, and Long Yuan were all staring at him with strange eyes. Liu Xiu restrained his smile, cleared his throat, and asked: "You don't really think that I will do this in the future?"
Emperor, right?"
Even if this prophecy may come true, the possibility of Liu Xiu becoming the emperor is hundreds of times greater than his own.
Zhu You, Gai Yan and others looked at each other, and then sighed in unison, seeming to think that it was unlikely that Liu Xiu could ascend the throne and become emperor.
Long Yuan said sternly: "The Imperial Master is determined to kill the lord, so the lord must be on guard!"
Liu Xiu did not take the prophecy in "Chi Fu Fu" seriously, but the key issue is that the national teacher Liu Xiu believed this prophecy to be true and wanted to kill himself, Liu Xiu.
The failure of this operation, with so many people dead, might have aroused the vigilance of the Imperial Guards and brought greater murderous intent to oneself.
This was indeed a difficult problem. Liu Xiu couldn't help but slap his forehead. The difference in status between him and the Imperial Master was so huge that there was no room for counterattack.
Everyone also frowned, thinking about how to deal with this crisis.
Zhu You hammered his head, stood up suddenly, and said loudly: "Axiu, no, my lord, if it doesn't work, we will go back to Chung Ling now, what the hell!"
Liu Xiu glared at Zhu You, waved to him, and motioned for him to sit down. He said in a deep voice: "The time is not yet ripe, and starting a hasty attack now is tantamount to asking for death."
"If we don't fight back now, what else can we do? That Liu Xiu is the national master and the favorite in front of Wang Mang, the old thief. We can't hit him, but he can hit us easily. This time there is Zhong Yi and Shu Li secretly With help, we can be lucky enough to save the day, but what about next time? What will we do next time they attack again?"
Gai Yan, Long Yuan, Long Zhun, and Long Bu lowered their heads and were silent. This situation was indeed too passive for our side.
Liu Xiu rolled his eyes and suddenly asked: "There is a huge difference in status between me and the Imperial Master."
Yes! The difference is huge. Everyone looked at Liu Xiu and wondered why he said such a thing.