Kunlun one millet

Chapter 96
It was severe winter, even though Dongshengdu had a mild climate, far from the frosty and snowy scene of Xingluo County, but in winter, the grass and trees inside and outside the city were withered and yellow, and the flowers and leaves were withered.

However, when Zhao Mi came to the palace city, he found that the flowers and plants were lush and full of vitality. The potted flowers that had been pruned by the palace people still had morning dew on the delicate and tender petals, and they regarded the winter as nothing.

Such scenes that are against the weather and climate should be the handwriting of those geomasters.Even judging from Zhao Shu's current level of cultivation, by arranging the pattern and sorting out the veins of the earth, he can achieve a world of its own, which is an extraordinary achievement.

What's more, such a unique palace city also has the effect of prohibiting magic and getting rid of evil spirits.After Zhao Mi came here, he felt that his hands, feet and limbs were not as light as usual, presumably it was to prevent practitioners from sneaking into the palace to assassinate.

In order for the many restrictions to operate constantly, this palace city must consume a lot of spiritual materials and treasures to lay the foundation.However, considering that the construction of Miyagi is often the effort of the whole country, it is not surprising.

Zhao Mi followed behind Anyang Hou, remembering his previous instruction not to look around after entering the palace city, so he quickly looked away, lowered his head, and secretly beat his heart.

Walking through the corridor and turning into the entrance, occasionally a group of golden-armored guards could be seen passing by in unison. Zhao Mi followed Anyang Hou to the outside of a quiet palace.

There were already people in the palace room, a well-looking man wearing a yellow robe, plain and unmarked, sitting behind the desk, with Zhang Duanjing and Liang Tao at the left and right hands respectively.Liang Tao, as always, wore dark clothes and a crown, with eagle brows and falcon eyes, and a beard with a sneer.

"See Your Majesty." Anyang Hou and Zhao Mi hurriedly bowed down.

"There's no need to salute." The man in yellow robe spoke softly, and his eyes shifted slightly: "Are you Zhao Mi?"

Knowing that this man in yellow robe is the current leader of Huaxu, Zhao Shu bowed his head and said, "Yes. My humble minister, Zhao Mi, see Your Majesty."

"I heard that Wei Qing mentioned you." The king smiled warmly, and his tone was not overpowering: "It is said that you are the first to create the talisman soldiers?"

"My humble minister has occasionally achieved something, but it is due to His Majesty's grace." Zhao Mi answered carefully according to Anyang Hou's teaching.

"Oh? It's He Enze?" the king asked.

"If it weren't for His Majesty's sweep of the flats and foreign invaders, I'm afraid my ministers would have been wiped out of Qiuxu, let alone enter the museum for further study." Zhao Mi replied.

The lord smiled lightly, noncommittal, and then looked at Anyang Hou: "The arrest department has found a batch of treasures in the ghost market, and there are many spiritual materials and artifacts in them. How do Ai Qing think they should be disposed of?"

"The ghosts and evil spirits in the ghost market are accustomed to doing illegal things and amassing treasures. After searching and counting, they should be filled into the treasury. Spiritual materials and magic objects should be given to Yousi, and they will be used to help the country and protect the monarch." Anyanghou replied.

The king nodded slightly: "The spiritual materials and artifacts that have been found out will be handed over to the Jinding Division for inspection and distribution."

The Marquis of Anyang couldn't hide his excitement: "I obey the order!"

The lord of the country handed a book to the eunuch beside him, passed it to the Marquis of Anyang, and then said: "Aiqing goes to work first, I still have something to say to Zhao Mi."

"Resignation." Anyang Hou bowed his head and cupped his hands, and when he stepped back, he took a peek at Zhao Mi, as if to remind him secretly.

After the Marquis of Anyang left, the lord waved his hand to let the eunuchs back down. He tapped on the desk with his fingers, and looked at Liang Tao aside: "Liang Weng, you know why there is a lot of trouble now. Jiujiang Zheng Do you really want to protect him to the end if you do such a thing?"

"I don't know what is the 'such thing' that Your Majesty mentioned?" Liang Tao raised his eyebrows: "If we talk about the assassination case of Jibao Pavilion, in the final analysis, it was Zheng Tunan who reported his personal grievances. The bewitching by evil spirits has nothing to do with the Zheng family of Jiujiang, and the arrest department has already found out the truth from Qing Luoyi and other criminals.

As for the fact that the Jiujiang Zheng clan secretly colluded with the enemy country, it has been ascertained that the specific affairs were entrusted to the ghost market monsters to take care of it.Your Majesty, don't forget that many children of the Zheng family in Jiujiang died on the battlefield because there were not enough close people, so they had no choice but to entrust the farm property to outsiders. "

The lord was silent, while Zhang Duanjing, who was facing him, said: "Sir Liang, on such occasions, there is no need to argue. There are laws and regulations in the country. The defense of the gates on the road relies on the Zheng family of Jiujiang to send letters to the disciples and old officials. Can this also lie that the Zheng family is negligent and ignorant?"

"Zhang Shouzuo wants to talk about laws?" Liang Tao smiled a little: "Okay, I will talk about laws. If the Zheng family of Jiujiang is guilty, how should we deal with the children of the clan who also have close contacts with the ghost market?"

Zhang Duanjing didn't answer, but the king frowned slightly, Liang Tao turned his head to look at the king: "There is one more thing, the old man didn't mention it in the arrest department's case file, can your majesty allow the old man to speak out?"

"Liang Weng, but it's okay to say." The king remained calm.

"I learned that the Overseas Illusion Wave Palace once sent people into and out of the ghost market. Ordinarily, this is not worthy of my attention." Liang Tao said: "However, I have heard recently that this generation has very close contacts with the Zhou family."

The king asked: "Hou Fufeng?"

"That's right. There have been rumors recently that Fufenghou Zhou's family is a descendant of the Magic Wave Palace." Liang Tao said, "Please rest assured, Your Majesty, this matter may be just rumors. The old man has already sent his capable disciples to arrest this Huanbo Palace disciple. It must be sent to the imperial court and ordered this generation to tell the truth. If Huanbo Palace pretends to be the Queen's family and acts, it will damage His Majesty's reputation and will never be forgiven."

Zhao Mi, who was below, was terrified when he heard that Fufenghou is the father of the current queen.The Zhou family did not have any achievements in martial arts, but they are especially good at farming and business. It is said that when the lord of the country was only a son of an obscure clan, he married the Zhou family under the arrangement of Mrs. Zhu Zi, and thus won a large sum of money. The dowry is used as the capital to fight for the honor in the future.

As a result, the Zhou family ascended to the sky in one step. When the national treasury was empty and internal funds were insufficient, the financial resources of the Zhou family were the pillars of the king.After the lord of the country eliminated the troops in Shouyang, he rectified and abolished all the domestic armies. If he had a little spare power, he also reciprocated, allowing the Zhou family's children to participate in the management of many industries in the country, including many national treasures such as mountains, salt and iron.

Back then, Luo Xixian went to the saltworks run by Zhou's family to kill evil spirits, and the other party gave back the luminous beads produced in Donghai Mansion, which shows his financial strength.

Now that he heard that the Zhou family had contacts with a certain cultivating sect overseas, Zhao Mi was not surprised.But Liang Tao's words hinted that the Zhou family was probably instigated by Huanbo Palace.

A descendant of a country, or a family of descendants in charge of a large amount of wealth, turns out to be a descendant of an overseas sect. Isn't this the same as giving away the lifeblood of the country?

Originally, many people in the court were deeply dissatisfied with the Zhou family's control of the salt and iron wealth, and they wrote letters many times but were ignored by the king.

The position of the Zhou family of the later relatives is quite special. The children of their clan rarely enter the temple to practice immortality and learn Taoism. In this turmoil with clear walls in the court, they did not stand on any side. This can be regarded as a wise way of life way.

But Liang Guoshi now involved the disciples of the Magic Wave Palace, and the Zhou family was also dragged into the quagmire.This move directly aimed at the most vital part of the country's lord, which can be described as extremely ruthless.

Zhao Mi speculated that Liang Guoshi might have known about the relationship between the Huanbo Palace's disciples and the descendant Zhou's family for a long time, but he kept it secret in the past and waited for this kind of time to talk about it.

But he also understands that the turmoil in the court has reached the extreme. It is not just that the two factions are arguing about right and wrong, but the king and Liang Guoshi are facing each other.

"Liang Shouzuo, what do you mean?" Zhang Duanjing questioned, "Are you going to use this as a threat?"

"I'm just following Zhang Shouzuo's opinion and putting the country's laws first." Liang Tao's eyes were bright and frightening.

"Okay." The king quickly interrupted the conversation between the two, looked at Zhao Mi, and changed the subject: "Zhao Mi, this time you assist the arrest department to take down the spies of the Jiuli Kingdom, which is considered a great contribution to the country."

"This is the job of a humble minister." Zhao Mi replied with his head bowed.

"Responsibilities?" The king asked: "You are the deacon of Jinding Division, and your duties do not seem to include arresting evil spirits and spies."

"My minister made a slip of the tongue," said Zhao Mi.

"I want to ask one thing now, and you answer it truthfully." The king's gaze was sharp: "When you left the Jinding Division and went out of the city with the Chongxuan Pavilion, have you ever been coerced?"

Zhao Mi raised his head slowly, and the three people above looked at him. He felt the pressure, and quickly lowered his head and said, "Weichen, I dare not answer!"

The king looked at Zhang Liang and Zhang Liang, and waved his hands lightly: "You two step back for now."

Zhang Duanjing stood up and cupped his hands, while Liang Tao bowed slightly, looking at Zhao Mi with meaningful eyes.

It wasn't until the two chiefs left that the lord said: "Zhao Mi, you can speak now."

But Zhao Mi still couldn't afford to bow, the king smiled lightly: "Don't worry, I will keep you safe and sound, you just need to answer truthfully."

Zhao Mi raised his head and said with determination: "At the beginning, I voluntarily went with Chongxuan Pavilion, and I was never coerced."

There was no strange look on the face of the king: "Is this your answer?"

"Yes." Zhao Mi lowered her head again.

"I understand." The lord pondered for a moment, and then asked: "Zheng Tunan colluded with evil spirits to assassinate, how do you think the Jiujiang Zheng family should be dealt with?"

Zhao Mi hurriedly replied: "Your Majesty has the right to decide this matter. I am ignorant and dare not speak nonsense."

"If you are ignorant, does what you just said count?" the king smiled.

Zhao Mi was taken aback, and the king said: "I originally thought that Zheng Tunan did such things, you should have resentment towards the Zheng family of Jiujiang, and you will definitely seek revenge."

"But...Your Majesty, the Zheng family also has children who are able to do things well in the Jinding Division. It is really inappropriate to implicate the whole family." Zhao Mi said.

The king smiled and was approachable: "When did I say that I would implicate the whole Zheng family? Could it be that's what you intend?"

"No." Zhao Mi changed his mind and replied, "I feel that the Zheng family of Jiujiang has indeed violated the laws of the country, so we might as well take away his official title and demote him to a commoner."

"And then?" The king saw that Zhao Mi had something to say.

"Jiujiang Zheng's farm property stretches across fields and across counties and counties, and there must be a large number of tenants and farmers hidden." Zhao Mi thought about it: "Zheng's death penalty can be avoided, but they can no longer hold these farm properties. The court You might as well take the opportunity to check the number of land acres of the Zheng family, and reorganize the households to Qimin and the counts to equal the land.

The outskirts, mountains and mansions surrounded by the Zheng family were all under the jurisdiction of the imperial court, or they were used for rewards.The children of the Zheng family left fifty acres of land for each family, allowing them to work on their own without using knives and axes to show the favor of the court. "

The king looked at Zhao Mi for a moment, but the other party lowered his head and dared not say anything, then he smiled and said, "Are you robbing the rich and helping the poor?"

Zhao Mi replied: "Those who cultivate immortality and learn Taoism only hope to ascend to the top of the truth. If they can damage the excess and make up for the deficiency, they may be able to steal the way of heaven."

"What a eavesdropper." The lord laughed and said, "With your words, I can deal with Liang Weng."

Zhao Mi snickered secretly, and the ruler sighed: "The Zheng family of Jiujiang has made great contributions to the country in the past, so it is indeed inappropriate to massacre them. But each family of the Zheng family has only [-] mu of land, is it enough?"

"Your Majesty doesn't know something, this is more than enough!" Zhao Mi said: "As far as I know, in many rich family farms, a family of tenants farms a hundred acres, and most of them only get [-]% to [-]% of their own income. It doesn’t count the lease payments of various cattle and agricultural tools.”

The king nodded slightly, with a smile on his face: "You are a bit overqualified for staying in Jinding Division."

Zhao Mi hurriedly replied: "I don't know how to do ordinary things. Your Majesty has all the ministers to offer advice, so you don't have to listen to the nonsense of my ministers."

The ruler changed the subject: "I heard from the Marquis of Anyang that your father once led a fine cavalry to lead an army of the Xiong Kingdom into Fumi Valley, but unfortunately died because of it?"

"Yes." Zhao Mi replied.

"After being a hero, I didn't expect to be disappointed for a long time." The king tapped the book case with his fingertips, and then asked: "What do you think of Liang Guoshi?"

Zhao Mi couldn't see the intention of the lord's words, so he could only ask: "Does Your Majesty want to hear the truth?"

The king feigned anger and said, "Could it be that you still want to deceive the king?"

Zhao Mi said: "Then please forgive me for speaking boldly—Master Liang is the pillar of the Huaxu Kingdom."

"Is that how you see it?" The king was puzzled: "Could it be that you intend to switch to the Chongxuan Hall?"

"I thought about it in the past." Zhao Mi replied, "But I have personally experienced the assassination, and only after this incident did I realize that without the support of the Liang Guoshi, the Huaxu Kingdom may not be able to maintain the peace and prosperity it is today."

"I saw in the dossier submitted by the arrest department that you were instructed by Liang Guoshi to stop the evil spirits. Are you going to repay your kindness now?" the king asked.

Zhao Mi denied, "I have no such intentions. But please think about it, Your Majesty, why did the spies of Jiuli Kingdom want to assassinate Wei Chen? Why did they let Zheng Tunan participate in it? In the end, it was nothing more than wanting to kill Jiujiang Zheng Shi and Chongxuan Hall were involved, and finally all the spearheads were pointed at Liang Guoshi.

Isn't the chaos in the court today caused by an assassination in Jibao Pavilion?In such a situation, Liang Guoshi was deeply involved and had no time to deal with foreign enemies. This was the real purpose of Jiuli Kingdom.It is precisely because Liang Guoshi is the mainstay that he has to use such a clumsy method just now! "

"But you have seen Liang Guoshi's attitude." The lord said: "Huaxu country has always been helped by Chongxuan Hall, but Liang Guoshi regards Huaxu country as a plaything in his palm, and the number of dissatisfied people in the court is increasing day by day. .”

"Your Majesty, let's not talk about the past. If an enemy invades the Huaxu Kingdom again in the future, except Liang Guoshi, who else can turn the tide?" Zhao Mi asked.

(End of this chapter)