That year, that cicada, that sword

Chapter 689

On the second day of February, the dragon raises its head, which is the Qinglong Festival.

A carriage slowly drove out of the Zhengyang Gate of the Imperial Capital City. The grooms were a man and a woman. The man was handsome and the woman was delicate and charming. They were a perfect match, attracting the attention of many passers-by on the road.There is also a man and a woman in the carriage, they are not very old, they are all wearing plain clothes, and there are no jewels, jade, gold or silver accessories on their bodies, they are plain and clean, as if they are dressed in the filial age.

Xu Beiyou left the imperial capital for Jiangdu in such a low-key way. Compared with walking, it was much better. Not only did he have a carriage, but he also had a beautiful wife by his side. He also brought some gifts. After all, he couldn’t go back empty-handed. , whether it is an elder or a friend from all walks of life, you must talk about your heart, and you should pay attention to giving gifts according to your preferences. They are all people with status and status. Xu Beiyou didn't bother to make arrangements.

Sitting in the carriage, Xiao Zhinan seemed to be resting her eyes with her eyes closed, but her mind was full of thoughts. Now she is also a great monk on the twelfth floor of the Earth Immortal. Noticing every detail of the carriage, "Seeing" Xu Beiyou lightly caressed a delicate wooden box on his lap, he couldn't help but opened his eyes and asked, "What is this?"

Xu Beiyou opened the box, took out a blunderbuss, and said, "This is called a blunderbuss. It is said that it is a unparalleled sharp weapon improved and invented by Wei Wang Xiaojin himself. Within a hundred steps, it is more powerful than a crossbow, and it is fired quickly. Gently pull the trigger, even ordinary people can use it. There is another kind, with a long and thin iron pipe in the front and a thick and short wooden handle in the back. It uses lead pellets as bullets, which can penetrate armor and money eyes. Asuka is in the forest, it also falls with one blow, so it is called bird gun. When I was in Jiangdu, I once asked a Wanyan princess to buy [-] guns through the way of Princess Wei."

"Five thousand?" Xiao Zhinan was slightly surprised, "Do you want to raise a private army that is not good enough?"

Xu Beiyou shook his head and said, "It's because of the sea trade. You know that even though I have allocated half of the sea routes to Murong Xuanyin, there is still a huge fleet under the name of Jianzong. It’s not easy to do, pirates come and go frequently, sometimes it’s inevitable to lose some goods, and it’s very distressing when it accumulates over time.”

Xiao Zhinan jokingly said: "If you are not in charge of the family, you don't know how expensive it is, you know now."

Xu Beiyou sighed and said: "That's true. Only when I became the family of Jianzong did I know that money is used everywhere, and gold and silver are not too much. In fact, no matter whether it is an imperial family or a Taoist sect, everything is inseparable from the word money. Look at those scholars who despise the ways of merchants and yellow and white things, but most of the important affairs of the court still fall on a word of money. The biggest brave in the world is the army. The court keeps five forbidden troops. How much gold and silver are used to fill it every year? So the battles are actually fought with money.”

Xiao Zhinan smiled and said, "You can see clearly."

Xu Beiyou said to himself: "Take our Jianzong as an example. Even if I become the number one sword fairy in the world and take back the 36 islands in the East China Sea, if there is no money, how can we talk about rebuilding Jianzong? So I never feel like talking about it. Qian is vulgar, but I think this matter is the most important thing, and I can't be careless in the slightest."

Xiao Zhinan continued his words and said: "So in order to guard against pirates, you are going to arm the fleet with five thousand bird guns."

Xu Beiyou nodded and said, "Before I left, I entrusted Zhang An to handle this matter. I will go back this time to see how she is doing."

Xiao Zhinan asked: "Then have you ever thought about why there are so many so-called pirates in recent years when the sea was relatively calm in the past few years?"

"You are testing me." Xu Beiyou said with a smile: "But I can't help it. I not only thought about it, but also sent someone to investigate. These so-called pirates are like horse thieves on the grassland. They are both merchants and robbers. On weekdays, there are serious caravan identities, but on the vast sea, if you encounter a single ship, you can immediately turn into a pirate who kills and loots goods, so it is difficult to catch them. Fortunately, I have a disciple of Jianzong I once risked my life to sneak into the pirate's ship, and after they drifted at sea for about three months, they finally found their place of refuge."

Xiao Zhinan asked curiously, "Where is it?"

Xu Beiyou slowly said two words, "Wei Guo."

Xiao Zhinan narrowed his eyes, and said softly, "Wei Guo, so that's the case. You just said that raising soldiers costs the most money, so this uncle did not hesitate to form pirates himself to plunder property, so as to raise an army, thinking that one day able to counterattack the Central Plains.”

Xu Beiyou hesitated for a moment, and said, "Actually, looking at it from another perspective, the king of Wei is indeed a great man of his generation. Back in the mausoleum, the first emperor once said that it would be better if the king of Wei was the emperor."

Xiao Zhinan was noncommittal, and asked instead: "Then do you know why King Wei can't be emperor?"

Xu Beiyou frowned, and hesitated a little: "Is it because of the righteousness? After all, the king of Wei is only the brother of the late emperor."

Xiao Zhinan shook his head and said, "No."

Xu Beiyou thought for a while, and then said: "Because the law of heaven does not allow it? There are rumors that King Wei is a visitor from outside the region, so the law of heaven does not allow him to be the co-lord of the world."

Xiao Zhinan still shook his head and said, "It's still not right."

After contemplating for a long time, Xu Beiyou said helplessly, "Master Tai Zuo please advise."

Xiao Zhinan smiled slightly, and asked, "Where does the word chasing the deer come from?"

Xu Beiyou was stunned for a moment, and replied: "The Great Qin lost its deer, and the whole world chases after it."

Xiao Zhinan nodded with a smile and said: "Yes, the premise of competing for the deer is that someone loses his deer, Da Zheng loses his deer, and all heroes fight together. In the end, the late emperor won the deer and created the foundation of Da Qi. What does it mean to lose its deer? To put it bluntly, it means that the world is in chaos, and the people are in dire straits. Now that the world is peaceful, the river is clean and the sea is calm, but the King of Wei wants to forcefully compete for the deer, then we can’t use a word for it, but change it to grab it.”

Xiao Zhinan slightly sarcastically said: "It's a peaceful day in the world, but you use your troops in vain for your own selfish desires. Is this the appearance of a gentleman?"

Xu Beiyou sighed softly: "It really doesn't count."

Xiao Zhinan lifted the curtain of the car, and there was still snow on both sides of the post road that had not completely melted, and said softly: "In the blink of an eye, it will be another new year. It is said that Chen Ye, the master of the Taoist Temple of Suppressing Demons, will leave the customs. What do you think?"

Xu Beiyou said calmly: "I once had a relationship with this headmaster in black in Julu City. At that time, he gave me a small unicorn seal engraved with the four characters of 'Qingge Layman'. I don't know if it is considered good However, if he came directly to Jiangdu after leaving customs, it must be a bad fate."

Xiao Zhinan asked with a smile: "Then what are you going to do?"

Xu Beiyou didn't rush to speak.

The carriage drove slowly along the post road, and the scenery on both sides of the road kept receding.

After a long time, Xu Beiyou said: "Soldiers come to block, water comes to cover, let's take a step and see."

(End of this chapter)