Under the sky

Chapter 197

Peng Tiancong led a group of people to stand on the city wall and saw that the Huashan disciples had retreated and dug trenches on the outside.

Liu Yuchun said: "Look at this, are you planning to waste time with us?"

Li Xiangbo raised his head and looked at the sky: "It's already August. How can they survive the freezing cold in winter for several months?"

Wang Shuo said: "They are northerners and are not afraid of the cold."

Peng Tiancong asked worriedly: "Is there enough food in the city?"

Liu Yuchun said: "I can spend several months with them."

Peng Tiancong asked again: "What if it takes longer?"

Liu Yuchun said: "This is troublesome. Bazhong is not a place rich in rice."

Li Xiangbo said: "They come from Hanzhong and can transport food by water. The Nine Families haven't fought in decades, so they have plenty of food reserves."

Everyone hesitated, did Huashan really plan to spend a year and a half?
Peng Tian had no idea in his heart, so he said: "Pay close attention to see what tricks they are playing."

■

Gu Qingshang was clearing the dishes in the cabin. Seeing that the food was barely moved, she asked, "Are you seasick?"

Xie Gubai shook his head, and Gu Qingshang smiled and said, "If you don't get seasick, does that mean you dislike the food? Doctor Zhu said less seasoning is good for your health."

In the past few days, Xie Gubai's food and drinks have been prepared by Gu Qingshang and Xia Lijun. Gu Qingshang personally delivered them, keeping an eye on him throughout the process. Even the ingredients were bought and stocked by the two of them before boarding the ship. Gu Qingshang laughed and said that they were better than the previous emperors. Be particular about it.

Xie Gubai said: "I just can't eat it."

Gu Qingshang handed the bowls and chopsticks to the attendant and returned to Xie Gubai's room. Xie Gubai saw her coming again and asked, "Miss Gu, is there anything else?"

Gu Qingshang said: "I want to ask your opinion on something. I discussed it with Master Shen and my little sister in Qingcheng before. Master Shen said he didn't know, and my little sister said she didn't understand. I want to ask your opinion."

"what's up?"

"Mr. Xie, do you think... who didn't vote at the Kunlun discussion?"

"Why does Miss Gu want to know this?" Xie Gubai asked.

"I think the Tang Sect should have five votes to support it. Zhuge Ran is such a smart man that he could come up with this method." Gu Qingshang said, "But there are only four votes. Someone on the Dian Cang side has defected. This person may be one of us. Maybe we can win over our allies."

Xie Gubai said: "Miss Gu is really thoughtful."

Gu Qingshang said sullenly: "I don't know whether you are teasing or sincere." Then he continued, "I think Master also has some thoughts on this matter, but he was in a hurry to come to Qingcheng and didn't have time to ask her for advice. Looking for this An ally might be able to help Master, you are right, I have to make some meritorious deeds before I can go back."

She paused for a while, then continued: "I know I'm not a smart enough person. Fortunately, the leader doesn't have to be the smartest one. I just need to know how to employ people and know how to ask, so I'm asking you."

Xie Gubai said: "I am Qingcheng's counselor, and what I say is all for Qingcheng. Although this is not asking for help from the blind, it can also be regarded as asking for directions from the enemy."

"Qingcheng is Hengshan's ally."

"As you said, Dian Cang was just betrayed by his allies."

"So I have to figure it out myself." Gu Qingshang said, "Master teaches his disciples like this too..." She suddenly thought that Master had never taught her this way. It seemed that just as Xie Gubai said, Master had never thought of treating her as his heir. Cultivate without even trying.Gu Qingshang suddenly remembered what happened when she was 15 years old. The master asked her, "If you are fifteen, what is your ambition?"
She answered Master that her ambition was to become a person like Master.

What did Master say at that time?

Master shook his head: "Don't be a person like Master, it's too hard."

At the time, she thought that becoming a person like Master would require too much learning and life would be hard. Later, she thought that Master almost never taught her political affairs, but only taught her martial arts and how to behave in the world. Compared with Shen Yuqing, an eldest son who was carefully cultivated, His knowledge of political affairs is almost the same as that of Shen Weichen.

"Miss Gu?" Xie Gubai softly woke Gu Qingshang out of her deep thoughts.Gu Qingshang noticed that she was losing her temper and said, "I'll tell you my thoughts first." She was a teacher in an academy, and she didn't like the students being silent. Since she wanted to ask Xie Gubai for advice, she had to tell the "teacher" her thoughts first. Correction.

"I suspect it's Huashan." Gu Qingshang said, "Since Kongtong supports Dian Cang to switch to the Tang clan, the second master is the brother of the third master, so he must be a person who keeps his promise, and he is an old friend of Master Zhuge, so there is no reason to betray him. "

Xie Gubai said: "The second master is a person who can distinguish between public and private affairs. If he thinks that betraying Dian Cang can benefit Kongtong, then it is possible. Besides, Dian Cang can win over the second master, but Zunshi can't? Personal friendship is For one person’s affairs, he still needs to work for the welfare of hundreds of thousands of people in Kongtong.”

Gu Qingshang was surprised: "Do you doubt the second master?"

"No." Xie Gubai said, "Second Master will not betray. I can't think of any conditions that Hengshan can come up with but Dian Cang can't. If Hengshan can do the same, there is no reason for Second Master to betray his friends. It's okay to break trust." Okay." He paused and then said, "Unless Hengshan has bargaining chips that I can't think of."

"It's impossible for Gang Leader Xu," Gu Qingshang said, "Master will not let the Beggar Clan really become Gang Leader Xu's family."

"What does the Beggar Clan's family world have to do with Hengshan? Why does Head Li care about the Beggar Clan's family affairs?" Xie Gubai said, "The real reason is that compared to Hengshan, Dian Cang is more inseparable from the Beggar Clan and will never betray Xu Fangge. Gang leader Xu expressed his dissatisfaction in Kunlun Palace. He would rather offend Hengshan than force Dian Cang to express his position. This does not seem like he had made an agreement with Head Li. If he said this deliberately, he intended to make Dian Cang start a war with Hengshan and sit on the mountain. If we watch the tiger fight and profit from it, then no matter who wins, he will not support his plan to continue to be in charge of the Beggar Clan. He will inevitably send troops to assist one party. Since he hopes that Dian Cang will be the leader of the alliance, why bother to fight this battle more? "

Gu Qingshang was stunned for a moment, and then said: "It's impossible for the Tang Clan. She accepted Dian Cang's proposal to become the alliance leader, and there is no reason to betray her."

"On the contrary." Xie Gubai said, "Don't Mrs. Lengmian know that the alliance leader is just a puppet of Dian Cang? The Tang Sect has indeed obtained the power of the alliance leader, and Dian Cang will also share the power with him. Perhaps Mrs. Lengmian is unwilling to accept this result. On the surface It's a false promise. Dian Cang borders the Tang Clan. If Dian Cang is too strong, the Tang Clan will definitely not like it. With this vote of defection, Dian Cang's plan will fail. He will also doubt his allies, and he may not be suspicious of the Tang Clan. This is worse than the Tang Clan. It would be better to directly support Hengshan."

Gu Qingshang was surprised: "Is it really the Tang Sect?"

"It's possible." Xie Gubai said, "If Madam Lengmian expected that Dian Cang would send troops to compete with Hengshan for the position of alliance leader and lose her rightful name. But it depends on Madam Lengmian's belief that becoming half of the alliance leader would be of great benefit. Or it would be more beneficial for Dian Cang to go to war with Hengshan."

Xie Gubai didn't say anything. If the Tang Sect had other plans, it wouldn't be the powerful Iron Sword Silver Guards in the north, nor the powerful Dian Cang in the south, but Qingcheng who was also in Shu.But even if Mrs. Lengmian expected that Dian Cang would fight with Hengshan and Qingcheng would assist Hengshan, she could not predict Dian Cang's attitude towards the Tang clan after he became the leader of the alliance or Hengshan became the leader of the alliance. Is this risk worth taking?

But now Qingcheng needs Tangmen, not to mention Austrian aid, it is enough that Tangmen does not invade Qingcheng when Huashan sends troops.

What's Mrs. Leng's plan?

"In this case, I guessed wrong, not Huashan?" Gu Qingshang pondered.Just when she felt ashamed of her poor thinking, Xie Gubai made trouble again.

"Huashan is the most likely." Xie Gubai said, "Diancang and Hengshan can't tell the difference, and they will inevitably argue over it. If Zhugeran's plan succeeds, Kongtong can allow Iron Sword Silver Guards to leave Gansu, and they can open trade routes. Lengshan Mrs. Mian can be the leader, and Gang Leader Xu can take the Beggar Gang into his hands. If Huashan wants to obtain the Solitary Cemetery, even if it unites with Songshan, it will have a tough battle with Shaolin. But if the two sides can't argue, Shaolin and Wudang decide to assist Hengshan, Huashan will have a chance. And The Fourth Young Master Yan died in the territory of Tang Clan, so if Tang Clan becomes the leader of the alliance, he will have to swallow his breath. For Master Yan, it will cost the most but gain the least. How can Huashan endure it?"

"So Huashan is the most likely." Gu Qingshang said with a smile, "Although I had many wrong ideas, the conclusion is still correct."

"Don't mistake coincidence for accuracy, it's very dangerous." Xie Gubai said.

He still didn't explain something clearly. It was a blank vote with the most sinister intentions. Yan Feixi had a reason to vote a blank vote, but he couldn't vote a blank vote because it would inevitably cause a dispute, and this dispute would definitely lead to Being dealt with on the spot, after several rounds of voting, it is very likely that everyone will be forced to make their positions clear. At that time, Yan Feixi cannot offend Dian Cang head-on, which will not help the situation. It is better to simply defect to Hengshan, leaving Dian Cang with no choice but to send troops to seize the alliance leader position.

There is only one person who can guarantee that this dispute will continue, and that is Shen Yongci, who mistakenly believed that Hengshan had five votes and had the other heads buried in Kunlun Palace after the first vote.What surprised Shen Yongci was that the Tang clan had already colluded with Dian Cang. This plan turned out to be false, but Huashan turned against him again.

The Tang Clan who secretly colluded, the Huashan who turned against them, and the Qingcheng who abstained from voting, it was the three weakest factions of the nine families that decided the outcome of the Kunlun consensus and set off the prelude to chaos in the world.Shen Yongci's key abstention confirmed what he said: The world is in chaos, and Qingcheng is in chaos.

There are too many people playing this game of chess in the world. Many calculations, missteps, mistakes, and accidents can change the overall situation, and no one can fully control it.

I don't know how many people will investigate this situation. Fortunately, as long as Shen Yongci's collusion with the barbarians is not revealed, they can't think of it. Even if they speculate, there is no evidence or reason, Shen Yongci can completely excuse himself.

Is there a way to kill Shen Yongci?Xie Gubai thought.Another question is, is there a way to hide it from Shen Yuqing?

Gu Qingshang sighed and said: "All of these masters have evil intentions. It is really hard to be a master like Mr. Shen or Master."

Xie Gubai suddenly stood up, and Gu Qingshang asked in surprise: "What are you doing?"

Xie Gubai said: "I want to take a walk."

Gu Qingshang said: "Aren't you afraid of knocking you to death?"

Xie Gubai said: "You can't just lie down when you get to Xiangyang Gang, you have to get used to it first."

Gu Qingshang took the crutches for Xie Gubai and accompanied him to the deck. Shen Weichen was surprised to see Xie Gubai walk out of the cabin, and hurriedly stepped forward and asked, "Why is Mr. Xie out?"

Xie Gubai said: "I want to take a breath." He took a deep breath and walked a few steps quickly from the cabin to the bow. He was panting and coughing hard, and his face was pale. Shen Weichen hurriedly stretched out his hand to support him.

Xie Gubai waved his hand: "No need." He walked quickly from the bow to the cabin, panting, trying hard to inhale, but he felt that he couldn't get enough, and suddenly his eyes blurred.

When Xie Gubai woke up again, he had returned to the room and saw Shen Weichen and Gu Qingshang with worried faces.When Shen Weichen saw him waking up, he said happily: "Mr. Xie finally woke up!" ?" He said and took a needle from the needle box to give him acupuncture.

"You are quite honorable. The three girls take turns guarding the door for you. I have never been treated like this even though I have traveled all over the country."

"Why didn't you just ask Miss Gu to give you ear braces?"

"You think I'm too bored on the ship, so why don't you help me find a job?"

"I should be fine." Xie Gubai asked, "But why can't I breathe?"

Zhu Menshang said calmly: "It's still early."

"I also know some medical skills."

"Compared to me, you don't understand anything."

"All the wounds that can be cured are healed, you don't have to hide it from me." Xie Gubai said, "If it hadn't healed, you wouldn't have agreed to let me come to Wudang."

"I didn't want to agree in the first place." Zhu Menshang replied.

"Doctor Zhu..." Xie Gubai said, "Instead of hiding it from me, it's better to tell it clearly."

Zhu Menshang remained silent, and after a while he said, "You will be better than now if you rest for a while."

"But it won't be all good." Xie Gubai asked, "What will happen to me?"

"I don't know." Zhu Menshang replied, "I don't know how much you can recover. Lack of Qi is caused by lung injury, which has already established the root cause of the disease."

"How serious?"

"If you recover properly, you will be no different from ordinary people on weekdays, and you may be able to run for a short distance. However, if you move violently or your mind is agitated, you will be out of breath and suffocate yourself."

"anything else?"

"Your physical strength will get worse and worse. A little bit of wind and cold can make you sick. If you cough too hard, you may die."

"Even the best situation can't be much better than now?"

"It's still much better. At least you can walk. You're so tired today because your physical strength is too low and you haven't recovered enough."

Xie Gubai nodded slowly: "I understand, then I have to walk more."

It's not a bad thing, Xie Gubai thought to himself, he will always remember what mistakes he made in the future.

It seems like you are becoming more and more self-comforting?
I still want to think about Wudang.

■

Zhu Menshang walked out of the cabin and saw Xia Lijun standing at the door, saying, "Come to my room later. I have something for you."

Xia Lijun said: "I want to take care of Mr. Xie."

From the moment she boarded the ship, she, Gu Qingshang, and Shen Weichen took turns guarding Xie Gubai's door.

In fact, she didn't quite understand this. Although Xie Gubai was the sworn brother of the sect leader and was deeply respected, he was still a subordinate. However, Shen Weichen was the sect leader's sister. He only needed to send a few trustworthy guards, at most four. , there will never be any problem with all four.

"Miss Gu will come to change shifts." Zhu Menshang said, "You also have to eat and sleep, right?" After saying that, he ignored her answer and left.

Later, when Gu Qingshang came to change his shift, Xia Lijun came to the outside of the Zhumen mourning room and knocked on the door three times: "Doctor Zhu."

"Come in."

With a "squeak" sound, the door opened, and Xia Lijun smelled a strong smell of medicine.

Zhu Menshang sat on the edge of the bed and pointed to a wooden box on the table: "Here you go."

Xia Lijun opened the wooden box, and a strong smell of medicine hit his nostrils. It turned out that the smell of medicine in the room came from these two purple things. Xia Lijun touched it. Was it two dry steamed buns?But how come the steamed buns are purple?

"Put these two medicinal steamed buns under your arm to relieve your body odor." Zhu Menshang said, "I have been mixing this prescription for a long time. If it is used together, the prescription is also in the wooden box. Soak it in the steamed buns and dry it in the sun. "

"Can it be cured?" Xia Lijun asked.

Zhu Menshang shook his head: "You have to keep it under control at all times. Your symptoms are severe. The sachet alone cannot mask the smell. You must use medicated steamed buns. The steamed buns absorb sweat to suppress the smell."

Xia Lijun asked: "The eldest lady is concerned about the smell on my body, please ask Dr. Zhu for help?"

Zhu Menshang said: "No..."

"So it's not what the eldest lady said." Xia Lijun said, "Why do you want to please me?"

This really speaks to Zhu Menshang's concerns.Xia Lijun is a serious man. In the past, he and Shen Weichen joked with each other. Now, Xia Lijun follows Shen Weichen all the time and keeps a straight face every day. If he jokes and offends with Shen Weichen, his cold gaze will sweep over him, making him feel uncomfortable all over. Especially this person is difficult to The conversation was so intense that I couldn't squeeze out a few words, which was very embarrassing.Wanting to help her cure her persistent body odor problem is not only due to the kindness of the doctor but also to the friendship between Xia Lijun and Shen Weichen, but I also want to get closer to this girl.

At least don't glare at yourself when you say something bad.

"I don't need it." Xia Lijun put the wooden box into his arms. "I want to eliminate the smell because I am worried that the smell will reveal my identity when I protect the eldest lady. Putting this thing under the arm will affect the movement and be inconvenient. What do you think? Take it, if you treat the eldest lady more solemnly, you will please me."

Zhu Menshang couldn't answer for a moment, and there was a moment of silence. The two of them were speechless. Zhu Menshang only felt embarrassed. After a long while, he said: "It's okay, you can go."

Xia Lijun nodded and went directly.Shortly after she left, Shen Weichen poked his head in and asked, "Did Sister Xia accept it?"

Zhu Menshang said: "I accept it."

"Oh?" Shen Weichen's eyes widened, he opened the door, walked into the room and asked, "Sister Xia really accepted it?"

"Well, take it." Zhu Menshang said with a guilty conscience.

Shen Weichen saw that he was hiding something and asked with a smile: "What are you hiding from me?"

"She said she accepted it, but she didn't know how to use it and it would hinder her."

Shen Weichen smiled and said: "That means it doesn't work. I told you that Sister Xia has other ambitions. If you want to please her, you might as well respect me."

"Who dares to disrespect you? The soles of my feet are about to be trampled to pieces by you." Zhu Menshang said, "Okay, you all have ambitions. You have become General Wei Shu, what is your next ambition? Steal your brother Will you be the leader?"

Shen Weichen was silent for a moment. She had followed her parents' instructions for most of her life, just waiting to marry into Qingcheng. In just a few months, she couldn't figure out what she really wanted to do.She first entered the execution hall and then left. She became the commander-in-chief of Wei Shu and was responsible for taking charge of Wei Shu's army to protect Shen Yuqing's safety. At this juncture, she did what she could for Qingcheng. But in terms of ambition, Wei Shu Is this her ambition?

But you can never go wrong in protecting your eldest brother and Qingcheng.

Zhu Menshang saw her expression was different and asked, "Why, what did you think of?"

Shen Weichen forced a smile and said: "I can do my best to help Qingcheng, just help dad and brother." He added, "Doctor Zhu, if you have nothing to do, accompany me to the bow of the boat to watch the river."

Zhu Menshang couldn't help but feel regretful when he thought that Xie Gubai had finally found the root cause of his illness. His mind was disturbed and he felt bored. He stood up and said, "Okay, let's go up to the deck and take a look."

At that moment, the two of them got on the deck and stood on the bow of the boat, looking at the surging river. Zhu Menshang smiled and said: "Last time we went to Wudang, it was your brother and us. This time we went to Wudang to discuss things. Without your brother, we have more care. girl."

Shen Weichen said: "Don't bring up old things again. I don't know if Huashan has sent spies nearby. If you are captured, I will have to rescue you."

Zhu Menshang rolled his eyes: "Catch me for nothing? I'm arresting you anyway!"

Shen Weichen said with a smile: "You must have this ability. When the time comes, I will run away first, and you will stay behind. Mr. Xie has always behaved like a national scholar, and he still goes up to the mountain to talk about things. Miss Gu and I may not be free. I hope you can understand."

She suddenly thought that the two encounters with Li Jingfeng, once in the Xiangyang Gang and once on the merchant ship of the Xiangyang Gang, were both related to the Xiangyang Gang. Would she encounter Li Jingfeng again if she went to the Xiangyang Gang this time?
Qingcheng and Huashan are at war, and Li Jingfeng's character will definitely come to help. Where is he at this moment? Is he on his way to Qingcheng or is he delayed somewhere?
(End of this chapter)