When the night fell, Qin Shaobai was still lying on the bed with his big eyes open.
He was thinking about his current situation.
He is not Zhao Bai now, not the Sixth Prince, he is just Qin Shaobai.
He is Qin Shaobai, but he is not the Qin Shaobai from Nanyang County.
Bai Min had warned him not to reveal his identity.
Because that may bring more uncertainty.
He can't borrow any official power.
Qin Shaobai sat up from the bed, poured himself a cup of tea, and looked up out of the window.
There were only a few stars hanging lonely in the black sky.
Qin Shaobai was staring at the bleak night sky, when suddenly a dagger was thrown out of the window.
Qin Shaobai was so frightened that he hid aside.
The dagger flew past him and struck the edge of the bed.
Only then did Qin Shaobai realize that there was a note tied to the dagger.
I took off the note and looked at it. It said four big characters: "Meet the General's Mansion."
Qin Shaobai opened the door.
There was silence all around.
Although he had many doubts in his heart, Qin Shaobai still went downstairs quietly.
As soon as he got out of the courtyard, he saw a carriage, which was obviously waiting for him here.
He got into the carriage. The driver said nothing, whipped his whip, and the horse galloped forward.
When he arrived at the General's Mansion, he found that the lights in the General's Mansion were brightly lit.
Outside the general's mansion, which originally had no sentries, there were actually a dozen soldiers patrolling with lanterns.
It is obvious that something is going on in the General's Mansion that requires vigilance.
Qin Shaobai felt a trace of panic in his heart.
He walked quickly to the courtyard, and before he could knock on the door, the courtyard door opened.
"Is this Mr. Qin? Our general is waiting for Mr. Qin in the courtyard."
The nurse who came to greet me was an unknown face.
Qin Shaobai swallowed back what he wanted to ask, and could only silently follow the middle-aged man inside.
The courtyard when we first entered was very quiet, with only a few maids walking around carrying wine and food.
What tricks is Zhao Bai doing?
Could it be that he was entertaining officials at a banquet?
In the middle of the night, if there is anything worthwhile to do, I would like to entertain all the officials.
Soon we arrived at the second entrance.
As soon as the corridor door was opened, bursts of cheers could be heard from the courtyard where they entered.
Qin Shaobai was almost stunned by the scene in front of him.
Dozens of men in armor were sitting around a table filled with wine and food.
But none of the men looked at the table of food and wine. All eyes were fixed on Zhao Bai in the middle of the yard.
Zhao Bai was dancing with a sword.
Wherever the sword energy pointed, grass moved and flowers trembled, rocks fell and tiles cracked, and the cheers continued.
Seeing Qin Shaobai come in, Zhao Bai calmly completed the last few moves, then made a beautiful closing gesture and threw the sword to the guard on the side.
Immediately another person came up, picked up the sword, and started to perform.
"Shaobai, come and sit down."
Zhao Bai pulled Qin Shaobai to an empty table.
"What kind of fun are you having?"
"Oh, I haven't been back for a long time, sparring with the warriors."
Zhao Bai turned to look at the man who was dancing the sword: "How are they? Their mental state is not bad."
"If General Zhao wants to train troops, shouldn't he go to the barracks? If someone with malicious intentions sees this, I don't know what he will say."
"It's okay, I'm just keeping in touch with Zhao Jiajun's brother."
Zhao Bai patted Qin Shaobai on the shoulder: "They were not lazy during the time I was away. It's a pity that I couldn't bring them good news."
"Shaobai understands what General Zhao is thinking, but..."
Zhao Bai suddenly grabbed Qin Shaobai's hand and asked in a deep voice: "Shaobai, you are a person from the future. You should know the future of the Song Dynasty, right?"
Zhao Bai's eyes were full of longing.
When Qin Shaobai first told Zhao Bai his identity, this was what he was most afraid of.
He couldn't tell Zhao Bai the history.
Because he truly believes that history is irreversible.
Even if Zhao Bai knew the future and tried his best to save it, the final outcome would be just sighing.
However, he could now feel the sadness in Zhao Bai's heart, and this sadness made him want to help Zhao Bai.
"General Zhao, I only know that no matter whether it is a country, a city, or a person, one thing must be understood. Relying on external forces is never the best solution."
Zhao Bai stared at Qin Shaobai with wide eyes. He seemed to understand, but he still seemed full of doubts.
"So Shaobai, what do you think I should do now?"
Looking at Zhao Bai's trusting eyes, Qin Shaobai gritted his teeth and finally said: "Now, our most important thing is to enhance our strength. The first is to improve the economy, and the second is to strengthen the military."
Zhao Bai's eyes became profound.
"Shaobai, you are right, but in the past few years, the national treasury has been empty, and the annual coins given to the Jin Kingdom are only so many. Drought and insect pests have left the people with no food left at all, let alone enough silver to do some small business.
.”
He turned around and his eyes fell on the soldiers who were still eating and drinking there.
"Even they, who can be called the main force of our Zhao family's army, are all sallow and thin. As for the soldiers, they haven't seen a piece of fat in three days."
He suddenly let out a long sigh: "Such soldiers, even if they have all the martial arts skills, don't have the strength to fight with the enemy."
"So, what we need now is money, wealth, a lot of wealth."
When Zhao Bai heard what Qin Shaobai said, he immediately understood what Qin Shaobai was referring to.
He stood up, first spoke to the group of soldiers, and signaled them to go home and see each other at the military camp tomorrow. Then he walked in the yard with his hands behind his back for a long time, and finally stopped in front of Qin Shaobai: "Shaobai, really
Do you think we should take out the treasure on Phoenix Mountain?"
Seeing that Qin Shaobai didn't speak, Zhao Bai said again: "Now I feel that we are not the only ones eyeing the treasure."
Qin Shaobai naturally understands this.
Bai Min's purpose is to ensure that no one can touch the treasure.
As for Mu Qingyi, he still can't figure it out.
As for the other force, they don't know if it has anything to do with Mu Qingyi.
That force should not be underestimated either. They messed up Baihua Cave and even captured Xiaolan as a hostage.
"Shaobai, I received this letter when I returned to the General's Mansion a few days ago."
Zhao Bai took out a brocade handkerchief from his arms.
It is still the kind of orchid embroidered handkerchief that Xiaolan likes to use, with bright red words written on it: "If you want to save her life, exchange it with a map in three days."
"Map? What map?"
Qin Shaobai asked.
"I think it should be that treasure map. Xiaolan and I found the location of the treasure that day. I was afraid that I would forget it, so I drew a map by hand."
Zhao Bai's eyes suddenly showed a trace of panic. He raised his eyes and looked at Qin Shaobai:
"Shaobai, you must not believe it. That map is useless at all, because the day before yesterday, I used that map to look for the treasure, but no matter how hard I searched, I couldn't find the original entrance."