Chapter 50 Chapter Fifty Who Controls the Overall Situation

Qian Shichen paced back and forth in the lobby of the chief minister's mansion, his thoughts fluctuating.There were more than thirty personal guards inside and outside the hall, but he didn't feel safe at all. He knew he had made a second mistake. The first mistake was that he invited Ge Mo to fight for Chu He for him ten years ago, and the second mistake was to deceive Dahemeng, also for the sake of Chu He, which made it impossible to find someone to discuss with him now.Because of ghosts in his heart, he is most afraid of facing Qiu Jiushi and Ruan Xiuzhen at the moment. For the first time since he knew Ge Mo, he doubted Ge Mo's words.What Ge Mo said about Chu He still staying in the ancient city and that he had to arrive at Yunmengze before Gu Yueming was all excuses and excuses. In fact, Ge Mo saw that his situation was over and refused to stay with him to die.

Thinking of "death", Qian Shichen felt chills from the bottom of his heart, and suddenly, Chu He didn't matter anymore. At this time, a personal guard rushed over and reported: "I received a letter from Feige from the capital." Qian Shichen took the bamboo tube, tore off the seal, and took a look to win the letter. What came belatedly was news about the authenticity of Huaxian Lang Geng. Qian Shichen's spirits immediately lifted, this letter must be a gift from God to mend the relationship with Qiu Ruan, he doesn't need to expose his lying, and he can immediately go to Hongyelou to arrest the five escaped robbers, and everything will be carried out according to the agreement in the future.

Thinking of this, he hesitated, and was about to order his subordinates to prepare their horses, and immediately went to visit Qiu Ruan and the other two, the guard shouted, "Commander General Hu Guang is asking to see you." If it was another person who asked to see him, Qian Shichen didn't bother him at all, and he could dismiss it with a word.But Hu Guang is the second person in Yueyang City besides him, and also his most trusted confidant general, who is in charge of the whole city's defense, so he suddenly asked for an interview, it should be something urgent.He hurriedly said, "General Hu, please come in!"

Footsteps sounded. Although Qian Shichen was distracted, he remained vigilant. When he heard the footsteps of two people, he looked at them in astonishment. He was frightened out of his wits and shouted: "Kill!" A familiar voice sneered, "Shichen, it's too late!" "Clang—" Hu Guang, who led the way in, pulled out his sword and shouted: "The one who comes is Commander Ji Nie Tiji, whoever dares to do it will be killed without mercy! He will also kill his family and family." The eighteen guards in the hall, upon hearing Qian Shichen's order, already held the hilts of their swords, but when they heard Ji Nieti's name, everyone felt as if they were being struck by lightning, they dared not move rashly, more than half of them let go He took the weapon he was holding.

Ji Nieti looked calm, and walked out from behind Hu Guang as if nothing had happened, passed Hu Guang, walked towards Qian Shichen, and sighed: "Shichen, you are too overconfident." There were screams outside the door one after another, and it became calm in an instant. The weapon is unsheathed. The five soldiers screamed wildly and rushed to kill Jneti. With a sound of "嗖", Ji Nie Tilong's first saber was out of its sheath, and he moved it backwards first, and with a backhand slash, the light of the saber flashed, and the soldier who raised the saber from the back and slashed straight at it suddenly spattered blood in his lower abdomen, and then turned around fall away.

At this time, Ji Nieti changed his direction and rushed forward, dodging the swords attacking from both sides, and slid into the space between the other two like a fish. Before the weapon was approaching, the dragon's head saber swung left and right like lightning, One person was stabbed in the face, and the other's throat was cut. The exquisite technique of the saber, the speed of the saber, and the ruthlessness of the attack made the other soldiers who had not done it dumbfounded and felt cold. Qian Shichen yelled wildly, and retreated to the chief seat, his special weapon was hanging on the back wall of the seat.

Hu Guang held a long sword and watched the others with scorching eyes. Ji Nieti turned around, swept the long sword across a circle, and with a sound of "Dang", he slashed heavily at the long sword that was chasing after him and stabbing him in the back. The man's tiger's mouth was shattered, and he dropped his long sword and fell to the ground. When he retreated in shock, Jneti brushed past him, dragging the knife upwards, and the man's neck was bleeding and he fell to the ground. The last person hadn't figured out what was going on, the shadow of the knife rolled in front of him, he blocked the knife twice, and was killed to his left and right. Suddenly, he felt that Ji Nieti was approaching him, and then his chest was in severe pain, and was broken by Ji Nieti's knife. enter the chamber.

Qian Shichen rushed towards Jineti with a spear and shouted, "I'll fight you!" Ji Nieti took the time to pull out the knife from the guard lying on him, pushed it with his left hand, the victim fell on his back, turned around suddenly, the light of the knife flashed, and he struck the spear coming from the back, fast and accurate. Qian Shichen's kung fu was indeed far superior to those of his own soldiers, he stepped on strange steps, retracted his spear, and then appeared many shadows of spears, and attacked Ji Nieti. Jneti shook his head and sighed, "It's too overpowering!"

The dragon's head knife struck with lightning, and the knife hit the spearhead. No matter how Qian Shichen attacked, he still couldn't change the situation. What made Qian Shichen even more frustrated was that he couldn't force Ji Nieti back half a step. Ji Nieti allowed him to use all his strength, blocked more than a dozen heavy blows from him, and then quickly used his exquisite technique to strangle the spear. Qian Shichen almost dropped his spear, backed away in shock, and then froze there, not daring to move. It turned out that Jineti's factory guards had rushed in, and three of them aimed at him.

Jneti put the saber back into its sheath as if he had done nothing, and shouted: "Shi Chen still hasn't put down his weapon?" Qian Shichen's face was ashen, with cold sweat on his forehead. The thing he feared the most had finally happened. It was like an endless nightmare in front of him. He couldn't tell what was real and what was illusory. "when--" The spear fell to the ground. Jneti said happily: "Frankly speaking, you fell into my hands, which can be said to be a blessing from several generations of cultivation. If you fall into the hands of the Grand Duke, you will regret being reincarnated as a human being."

Then he shouted: "Take away the people who have nothing to do with me." The subordinates were ordered to escort away the other soldiers, pick up Qian Shichen's spear, and carry away the five corpses. Ji Nieti walked past Qian Shichen leisurely and sat down at the chief seat, while Hu Guang moved to the other side of Qian Shichen, and then sheathed his sword. Eight factory guard masters lined up on both sides. Ji Nieti looked Qian Shichen up and down, and said, "I knew this before, so why bother. Turn around." Trembling, Qian Shichen turned around to face Jneti, his former prestige was gone. Ji Nieti glanced at the pools of blood left on the floor of the hall, and said: "I'm not threatening. The Grand Duke is now coming to Yueyang by boat, accompanied by five thousand elites. The ministers should know how the Grand Duke deals with the traitors." , For example, cut off a piece of meat every day, and stop the bleeding for the other party, so as not to die from the bleeding, what does Shi Chen say is that like?" Qian Shichen's legs softened and he knelt down. Ji Nieti moved his eyes to his face, smiled and said: "We finally met each other, and I can't bear to see Shichen can't live or die like this. Let's do this! As long as Shichen cooperates with me obediently, I can live in Before the Grand Duke came, let you choose the way of death, and let your family members flee to Lingnan, what do you think?" Qian Shichen burst into tears and said, "Everything is in accordance with Master Ji's orders." Jneti said happily: "This is a good boy." Then he said: "Send me some money, my lord, to enter the room, have a good rest, and recharge your spirits, otherwise how can you meet people with this appearance?" Four factory guards were ordered to escort Qian Shichen away. Jneti pondered for a moment and asked, "Is there no news from Gemo?" Hu Guang said respectfully, "Ge Mo hasn't come back since he left the city at dusk." Ji Nieti frowned and thought hard: "Gu Yueming is like this, Ge Mo is like this, is there any connection?" Hu Guangdao: "The four city gates are guarded by my people. If they are found, they will be reported to the commander immediately." Jineti said in a deep voice: "Remember! We must not only hide the enemy, but also hide the generals in the city, so as not to cause instability in the army and branches. On the surface, everything remains the same, and no one knows that I am in charge of the overall situation in secret. General Hu I have made great achievements this time, and I will recommend General Hu to the post of chief envoy to the Grand Duke." Hu Guangda likes to thank you. Jneti said calmly: "Tomorrow my people will mix with the guests who came to the Hongyelou dinner, sneak into the city secretly, and take the responsibility of killing the enemy. General Hu's task is to stabilize the army and guard the city defense. Don't worry about it." Hu Guang asked: "There is still half a day and one night between now and tomorrow night's banquet. If the target person leaves the city, what should the subordinates do? Qian Shichen once ordered that anyone who holds an invitation card from Hongyelou should not be prevented from entering or leaving." Ji Nieti said indifferently: "On our killing list, there are three people's names, namely Wudun Pirates, Qiu Jiushi and Ruan Xiuzhen. Among the three, Wudun Pirates is the most important. As long as Wudun Pirates are still in the city, Qiu Ruan and the others will never leave. The only chance for the Five Dungeons to slip away is when the banquet is over and some guests leave overnight, and take the opportunity to leave the city. So General Hu doesn't have to worry about this issue." Then he snorted and said: "I have a detailed plan. None of the people on the killing list can slip through the net. The robbers who have never missed their hands will hate the Red Leaf Building, and the two most outstanding people in the Great River League will not be able to do anything." Leaving Yueyang City alive. When Grand Duke’s fleet is moored outside Yueyang City, everything has already been resolved, and the world will return to peace.” Hu Guang took the order loudly. Ji Nieti stood up, his eyes flashed brightly, and said calmly: "I want to have a good chat with Shichen now to find out some things. General Hu has to work on the matter of Yueyang City." After that, he left the main hall. Gu Yueming stood on the top of a hill outside the south gate, watching the closed south gate from a distance, with Gray Arrow beside him. He knew that his estimate was wrong, there was no Jneti outside the city, and the situation was more dangerous than he had imagined. Gu Yueming originally thought that since Ji Nieti knew that Wu Zixu would leave from the south gate tomorrow night, he would set up a net outside the city to catch Wu Zixu and Qiu Jiushi and his subordinates who were chasing after him. Although the south gate is a flat field, a straight official road passes through a large area of ​​sparse forest, and the west is the misty Dongting Lake, but Ji Nieti has enough strength to prevent the target person from fleeing.If Wu Zi falsely planned to take the horse, he would surely die. But no matter what, from the perspective of bullying the few, it is more beneficial to fight inside the city than outside the city. Gu Yueming knew that Qian Shichen was finished. When he found that there was no sign of Jneti's team outside the city, he knew that Jneti's action site was inside the city, not outside the city.But to act in the city, the prerequisite is to control Qian Shichen, turn him into a puppet that can be manipulated at will, and put Yueyang City in his hands. Gu Yueming remembered what Ji Nieti said at the time of parting, asking Gu Yueming not to go to him, and he would go to Gu Yueming when something happened.At that time, Gu Yueming didn't take these words to heart, but when he thought about them now, he realized that there was a deep meaning in them.Ji Nieti said this because he wanted to deal with Qian Shichen, and he didn't want him to break into the empty house.Of course Jneti would go to him, but it was not to discuss something, but to kill him. Gu Yueming took a deep breath to suppress the fluctuating emotions. He'd never worried about anyone before, not that he didn't have empathy, but kind of walking dead, feeling numb.But now he has become a living person with flesh and blood, the blood flowing in his body is hot, and he can no longer be indifferent to others. Wu Zixu, Qiu Jiushi, Ruan Xiuzhen, Baichun, and even Wushuangnv were all in great danger, and the biggest crisis was that they didn't know that there was no Qian Shichen to check and balance J Nie Ti, and J Nie Ti could Let go, he will use the tactics of bullying the few to the fullest, and fully promote his murder plan. The hands-on venue will be the Hongye Building, and the tenth anniversary dinner will become a death banquet.With no scruples, Jneti will not allow any target person to leave Hongyetang alive. It was impossible for him to return to the city, and it was the most unwise course of action. Judging from the current situation, Wu Zixu and the others are sure to die. The only hope can only be pinned on the Goddess Yunmeng. Only her boundless magic power beyond the mortal world can reverse the defeat. What kind of magic trick does she have this time? Eight Gardens.Gazebo in the back garden. The stars and the moon are dark this night, and the stratus clouds hang low. It seems that the weather will not be better tomorrow. Qiu Jiushi came to sit down next to Ruan Xiuzhen, who was sitting alone in the pavilion and meditating, and said with a sigh of relief: "I hope that tonight can pass without any danger." Ruan Xiuzhen looked up at the sky and said, "It's really strange. Every critical moment, the weather will suddenly change, such as the storm when you and Baichun broke up in Banzhulou that day." Qiu Jiushi said: "It must be a coincidence!" Ruan Xiuzhen said: "How do you explain the rare heavy fog when Wudun Pirates met Qian Shichen secretly? The change of the weather seems to be around the movements of Wudun Pirates. When the heavy wind and rain raged, it was Gu Yueming who came to Hongye Loufeng The moment when Zhuge met the five escaped robbers, the meeting between the two decided the future development of the situation. Do you still think it is a coincidence?" Qiu Jiushi said: "So, Goddess Yunmeng can actually affect the weather?" Ruan Xiuzhen smiled wryly and said, "I don't know, but I hope that Goddess Yunmeng has such astonishing magic power. Whether it is a thick fog or a storm, it will be beneficial to us and not harmful if it happens at the right time." Qiu Jiushi said: "Should I go to see Qian Shichen?" Ruan Xiuzhen said: "It's best not to. You are not good at lying, and it is easy for Qian Shichen to see your flaws. After I leave tomorrow morning, you avoid the Hongye Tower, and Ji Nieti will mistakenly think that you are fighting with Baichun. Too hot to part for a moment. Ha! It may be so." Qiu Jiushi said shyly, "Don't laugh at me." Ruan Xiuzhen said happily: "The so-called hero is sad and beautiful, there is nothing to be ashamed of. What's more, Baichun is indeed full of charm, and it is a veritable god-sent match. You don't need to think about everything else." Qiu Jiushi said: "If you leave the city tomorrow morning and I don't provide Qian Shichen with a reasonable explanation, will it make Qian Shichen suspicious?" Ruan Xiuzhen said: "If he becomes suspicious, he will naturally ask you, and you tell him that I am going to mobilize people and prepare for an uprising, so that he will only be happy and not lose his temper." He sighed again: "But if he doesn't respond, you have to be careful. My departure can be used as a direct test of the real situation." Qiu Jiushi frowned and said, "What does that represent?" Ruan Xiuzhen said: "It means that the situation I fear the most has appeared. I have been thinking about a problem just now." Qiu Jiushi felt his heart twitch. This was a feeling he had never felt before. Could it be that his courage has become smaller?Faintly, he knew that this was indeed the case, and what he was afraid of was that he would be unable to protect the flowers and that Baichun would be hurt. Qiu Jiushi said: "What's the problem?" Ruan Xiuzhen said: "Eunuch Feng led the army south this time not to fight, but to win the Chu He. If Qian Shichen resists with all his strength, Eunuch Feng will be forced to stay here for the siege battle. This is the next strategy. Even if Eunuch Feng can hand over the battle of siege to the people below, and go to Yunmeng Ze by himself, but in the wild and chaotic situation, there will be many variables. Like Eunuch Feng, he is used to taking everything Those who are in control will never allow this to happen.” Qiu Jiushi changed his face and said: "You mean Fenggong Guild wants Ji Nieti to overthrow Qian Shichen and secretly control Yueyang City before the army arrives?" Ruan Xiuzhen sighed: "You and I know better than anyone what Qian Shichen is like. Such a self-interested, unreliable dude is far worse than Ji Nieti." Qiu Jiushi showed a resolute look, and said decisively: "Tomorrow not only you have to leave, but all brothers must also leave together. Let's change our method and send someone to inform Qian Shichen tomorrow that you must go to see Huangfu Tianxiong immediately. In order to prepare for the uprising. In this way, whether it is Qian Shichen who is in charge, or it is changed by Ji Nieti, he will let it go, and the latter will snicker that you are going to die." Then he said worriedly: "I'm most afraid that Jneti will send someone to intercept you on the road." Ruan Xiuzhen said, "I will leave by boat." Qiu Jiushi was stunned and said, "Didn't the five escaped robbers point out that going by water is the most dangerous?" Ruan Xiuzhen smiled wryly, "That's why I care so much about tomorrow's weather." Qiu Jiushi was speechless. Ruan Xiuzhen said in a deep voice: "The most ideal is that Ji Nie will let me go to see Huangfu Tianxiong. Even if he hides the fleet in Dongting Lake, it is safer to go by water than by land. I will pretend to enter the river, and then suddenly change direction." , based on our familiarity with Dongting, try to get rid of the enemy. Of course I am not good at fighting with real swords and guns, but I am fully sure of commanding a high-performance warship. As long as Goddess Yunmeng is willing to help me , such as a gust of wind, I should be able to reach Yunmengze safely." Qiu Jiushi said: "When will you leave the city?" Ruan Xiuzhen said: "Leaving too early is a bit of a guilty conscience, and it may cause Ji Nieti to start early. I decided to leave before dusk and go out to the west gate to board the boat. At that time, guests will flock to it, which will make Ji Nieti afraid. Act rashly, because the more chaos, the worse it is for him." Qiu Jiushi nodded and said, "That's the decision." Ruan Xiuzhen let out a breath and said with a smile: "Until now, we still have no better choice. We know that Goddess Yunmeng is still in charge of the overall situation, not Eunuch Feng, not Ji Nieti, not anyone, right?" Qiu Jiushi wryly smiled and said, "Yes!" Ruan Xiuzhen's eyes were shining brightly, shining with the light of wisdom, and said: "Your casual sentence inspired me, and I want to make up a flawless excuse to let Ji Nieti let me go. But for him, The person who is most scrupled is you, not me, and I must have been tricked." Qiu Jiushi was puzzled and said: "Didn't you think it over? You are going to see Huangfu Tianxiong." Ruan Xiuzhen said: "This is a good excuse, but it can't explain why I didn't wait for Wu Dun to be caught, so I left without waiting." Qiu Jiushi suddenly said: "I understand." Ruan Xiuzhen said: "How simple, as long as we say that we have received news of a fleet entering the river, and suspect that the imperial court sent a large army to attack our Dahe League, it is unreasonable for me not to leave immediately. But because it is equally important to capture the five escaped robbers, so You have to stay and deal with the five escaped bandits. If Gu Yueming's prediction is correct, the person Ji Nieti wants to kill the most is the five escaped bandits, so he has no choice but to watch me leave." Qiu Jiushi frowned and said, "Is it reasonable that I don't go to see Qian Shichen in person for such a serious matter?" Ruan Xiuzhen said: "Of course it makes sense. I will write a letter and send someone to the chief minister's office to explain that you have to go to the Hongye Building to monitor the five robbers. If there is something Qian Shichen doesn't understand, you can go to Hongyelou can solve this problem by looking for you." Qiu Jiushi said: "But how do you explain that all the brothers left with you?" Ruan Xiuzhen said confidently: "Who knows how many brothers will come with us? Even Huangfu Tianxiong can't figure it out. This is my usual way of dealing with things. It's hard to know the reality. It's not a problem at all." Qiu Jiushi's eyes shined brightly, nodded and said: "As long as you can leave safely, I have no scruples. It would be best to meet Jineti and see if his knife is as sharp as the legend." Ruan Xiuzhen said: "Your mission is to send Baichun to Yunmeng Lake, not to fight against the enemy. Do you understand?" Qiu Jiushi happily said: "Understood! As long as we can reach Yunmengze, our chance will come." The two looked at each other and smiled, without saying anything. Ji Nieti left Qian Shichen's bedroom, went to the corridor, and took a deep breath of the cool night air to calm his mind down, because he felt as if he had just escaped from the stormy sea. Qian Shichen's words were too shocking. It wasn't until now that he finally believed that the Chu box really existed. What a twisted and bizarre story that was.No one knows what happens after taking Xiang Guo, because no one has tried it.But if he was Eunuch Feng, he would definitely be willing to take this risk, because no one knew better than him that Eunuch Feng's deadline was approaching, and it would not be a big deal to be early. After allegiance to Eunuch Feng, he and Eunuch Feng were on the same matter for the first time, and there were obvious differences in interests. Qian Shichen didn't know how to open the Chu box, but he believed that the Lord Zhuancheng could break the lock of the Chu box, and he could do it himself. Does Eunuch Feng know how to open the box? He didn't know, all he knew was that the Chu box must never fall into Eunuch Feng's hands.He has been waiting hard for the day when Eunuch Feng died, and then he will take over Eunuch Feng's power and become the most powerful person in the court. He will not allow any sudden changes when this dream is about to come true. Killing the five escaped robbers became the top priority.The second must kill is Gu Yueming, Qiu Jiushi and Ruan Xiuzhen can only be ranked third and fourth on the must kill list. Gu Yueming did not lie to him, the five escaped robbers were indeed the key figures in finding the ancient city, because the five escaped robbers once showed Qian Shichen the luminous pearl from Chuhe shining golden in the dark.What made Ji Nieti even more puzzled was whether the pearl that Gu Yueming showed him last night was the same pearl?If so, why is there no light in the pearl?If it wasn't the same pearl, how did Gu Yueming find such a strange pearl in a hurry? He really couldn't figure it out. At this time his most capable subordinate Han Kaijia came to his side and said in a low voice: "Please advise how to deal with Qian Shichen, my subordinates are afraid that he will seek death." Ji Nieti wanted to laugh, but found that the muscles on his face were stiff, and his smile turned into a strange facial movement, saying: "Qian Shichen is a person who never keeps his feet on the ground, holding unrealistic hopes, this kind of person is not good. He will have the courage to commit suicide. But just in case, feed him medicine! Let him sleep for five hours, I don’t want him to go to Hongyelou’s 10th anniversary dinner tomorrow night with red eyes and a dull expression.” Han Kaijia took the order and went. Looking up at the night sky outside the corridor, Jneti saw the clouds hanging down, and wondered if there was another heavy rain? Tomorrow is July 7th, and it is the Qiqiao Festival where the Weaver Girl crosses the river and the Cowherd meets once a year, and begs for cleverness through needles.There is a proverb that goes, "If you don't go out on July 7th, you will be drenched in the rain when you go out." This proverb is likely to be fulfilled again. Hongyelou really knows how to choose a date, and the night of Qiqiao is celebrated with the whole city, which greatly limits his actions.Fortunately, he has a detailed plan, and everything will be settled in Hongyetang, the dinner venue of Hongyelou.When Wudun Pirates and Qiu Ruan enter the Hongye Hall, they will never be able to leave alive. He was quite sure of that. Dreaming again. Wu Zixu found himself in a strange place, not in a mountain city, but a place like a paradise. He screamed in his heart, I was dreaming again, and felt my heart beating uncomfortably, as if I was about to wake up, it was actually a lucid dream. He was standing beside a beautiful small lake, and there was golden rain falling from the sky, but there was no sound, and the cool breeze was blowing gently on the surface of the lake.Gradually he calmed down and fell deeply into a haunting dream, the waking world receding from him as a blur of memory. In the golden rain, the trees in the lake are hazy, and the maple trees on the lakeside are like fire, reflecting low in the water.In the distance, you can see the steep and straight green peaks, and the colorful vegetation. Wu Zixu glanced around, the houses in the back could be seen or hidden, hidden among the trees, and there was a small road winding around, reaching directly to his foothold. When he was engrossed in watching, there was the sound of horseshoes behind him. Wu Zixu immediately turned around, and there were two riders looming on the opposite bank, running towards him along the lake. His mind was completely attracted by Lai Qi, and there was an emotion in his heart that he couldn't understand. The flow of time slowed down, the sky and the earth gradually turned dark, and the golden rain turned into a little bit of golden light, which made the sky and the earth golden. Reluctant to drop to the grass so soon to complete the journey. Lai Qi's movements slowed down, undulating like waves in the beautiful golden light. The charming laughter spread into his ears like a gust of wind, and Wu Zixu's blood boiled, and he wanted to run forward, but found that he couldn't move, that feeling was extremely weird. But he has forgotten that he is dreaming, everything is so natural, so real, even if the most unreasonable thing happens, he still does not think it is different. The two riders finally came into his clear field of vision, and the riders were two charming female knights. When he saw their appearance clearly, Wu Zixu's mind was shaken violently, and the scene immediately became blurred, like a mirror-like water surface being blurred. Throw in a stone and it will cause ripples circle after circle. Wu Zixu remembered that he was in a dream, and when he was about to wake up, a voice sounded beside him, but he couldn't make out what the other party said. Wu Zixu was dragged back into the dream, the two female knights had disappeared, and the golden rain continued to fall. Wu Zixu was confused, turned his head to look where the sound was coming from, and when he saw it, his mind was shocked and he woke up.