Chapter 74 Section 5 Thunder and Lightning on the Coast of the East China Sea

The elders and nobles blatantly launched an attack, which actually caused a sudden change in the political situation of Qi State. King Qi Xuan originally planned to implement a gradual reform to slowly dissipate the resentment of the elders and nobles.But after the ten-yuan old man's blood book and mourning clothes disturbed the hall, King Xuan of Qi felt a kind of embarrassment that he could not get off the tiger.The aristocrats have issued an order for the reform to withdraw their troops, and the ministers of the reform have already had a face-to-face contest with the elders, and the rest depends on how he, the monarch, makes a decision.If we proceed slowly and step by step according to the original plan, we will lose people's hearts on both sides: we will not be able to meet the demands of the elders, and we will also disappoint the reformers.If the reforms are stopped and Su Qin and Lord Mengchang are deposed, it will be tantamount to the royal family accepting the coercion of the nobles, and will always be coerced by the old nobles; if the evolution continues, it is difficult to guarantee that the Tian royal family will not become the Jiang family back then and be replaced by others !Although King Xuan of Qi did not have great talent and general strategy, he would not back down on the point of keeping Wangye Sheji.After the Yen elders left the palace, King Xuan of Qi was in a state of anxiety and did not discuss with Lord Su Qin Mengchang again, so he locked himself in the study for a day and thought over and over again, but there was only one way to go.

When the lights were on the next day, Su Qin and Lord Mengchang entered the palace through the secret path according to the order. The three monarchs and ministers discussed for two full hours.When the fourth watch of the Diao Dou on the Linzi City Tower started, Su Qin and Lord Mengchang left the palace.The two most powerful mansions in Linzi City immediately became busy, the lights were brightly lit, the gates were rushed out, and the officials from the government offices shuttled back and forth, as if a war was imminent. Waking up in the morning, Chinese people were surprised to find that Linzi had changed!

Large white silk notices were pasted on the gates of the city, the official market, and the streets where pedestrians passed by, and there were small officials guarding them to read to the pedestrians; Qishi Sixth Street, which has always been bustling with people and admired by the Central Plains people, has a row of warriors with spears and halberds at every entrance and exit; but the most shocking thing is the gates of every elder and nobleman. The mansion was surrounded by soldiers, and every three steps there was a spear shining, it was really shocking! The people rushing to the morning market all flocked to the white silk notice, and listened to the little official, it turned out that the Qi State wanted to change the law, so that the people of the country could enjoy their own jobs, and they must not listen to the rumors. Anyone who spreads the rumors will be punished with a felony!Seeing that there was no tax increase, and no emergency collection, people felt a little relieved, let out a long sigh, and went to work on their own livelihoods.As a result, the morning market gradually resumed bustling transactions.

The most lively place is the Six Foot Square.The streets of Liu Chi Fang are not very wide, but they are connected by tall mansions, usually only cars and horses come in and out, but there are very few pedestrians.According to the official name, this street is called Yuguan Street, and "Liuchifang" is just a name for the people in the market. "Six feet" refers to the canopy on the cart: all the carts with six-foot canopy are high-ranking and high-ranking officials, and the carts entering and exiting this street can hardly see the canopy of four or five feet, so The name "Six Foot Square" came into being in the market.This nickname was so loud and vivid that everyone talked about it, and the original name of Yuguan Street was forgotten by the people of Linzi.

Chen Ting's mansion is in the middle of Liuchifang.He is an old soldier. Although he is old, he must get up at four o'clock every day. After washing and grooming, he will practice swords and drink tea to the sound of roosters.The day before yesterday, he came back from the palace in disgrace, full of resentment, he wanted to go to Tianqiyuan immediately to find Zouji and make plans, but after thinking about it, he held back.He was in a hurry, and the old luthier was going to laugh at him for losing his composure.But more importantly, Chen Jing wants to see what King Qi has been up to these days.He predicted that even if the blood letters of the elders could not make King Qi change his mind, it must have given King Qi a bucket of cold water and shocked him a lot!It must make him think calmly, slow down the pace of reform, and alienate Su Qin and Lord Mengchang.With this thought in mind, Chen Ting didn't torture himself too much, and left the bed at four o'clock to practice swords and drink tea.This day I got up early, finished my sword practice in the light sea breeze, and then made tea in the leisure time under the thatched pavilion by the pool.Chen Ding never used servants to make tea in the morning, and he did it by himself, in order to bring out the rough tea taste of the military camp back then, but the servants and maids did it too elegantly, without the rustic taste fishy smell.

At dawn, the clay pot had rolled away under the red charcoal, and was about to strain the tea, when Chen Ting suddenly heard heavy and hurried footsteps outside the door—soldiers, at least three centurions!He got up abruptly, raised his long sword, and strode towards the foyer. When he walked to the porch, he saw three centurions with full-length soldiers approaching the carriage field outside the door!The gatekeepers huddled together in panic under the porch, trying to close the gate in a hurry. Chen Ting yelled: "Stop! Is this old man a closed general?" The soldiers were so courageous that they lined up behind Chen Ting.However, Chen Jing waved his hand, and came to the officers and soldiers with big strides: "Does the person who comes have the king's order?" The commander who led the team showed a huge command arrow in his hand and said loudly: "The general's command arrow is here! The nobles and elders of Liuchifang are not allowed to leave the mansion for three months after the reform begins!" Chen Ting sneered and said, "I ask you, do you have the order of the king?!" The commander still waved his hand: "The general ordered the arrow here!" Chen Ting sneered. Ding was furious: "The old man is going to the morning market right now! How dare you stop me?" After saying that, he strode out of the carriage and horse field, and the soldiers from the corridor roared and followed immediately.

The commander-in-chief ordered the arrow to strike: "Soldiers to stop! But there is one person who robs the way, and he will be killed immediately without pardon!" "Hi!" The three hundred soldiers roared in unison, and they divided into three small squares, blocking the exit of the carriage and horse farm, and surrounded Chen Jing and the family soldiers in the middle.Chen Ting saw the vigorous momentum of the spear, and knew that this was the most elite martial arts infantry of the Qi army, and his own soldiers were no opponents at all. "Tian Wen privately seals the minister's mansion—! Wolf ambition—!" Chen Ting suddenly shouted loudly, the old voice buzzing and echoing in Liuchifang, just as the shout fell, he heard the noise coming from the left and right mansions, The long and hoarse cry of Taishi Lingyan also floated over with the wind: "The lynching is illegal——! God won't allow——!"

In a short while, the huge Liuchifang was full of crying and shouting.The city people who were early in the street surrounded them curiously, and within half an hour, the streets and alleys of Liuchifang and the carriage and horse farms of various mansions were crowded with pedestrians.Seeing this situation, capable people suddenly realized that those notices and all the surprising sudden changes were actually aimed at these powerful and noble people!As soon as you know it, the Chinese immediately relax in whispers. Yes, the reform was originally a good thing that the common people hoped for. They could get many real benefits, but what they lost were trivial things.Only those lofty nobles are the victims of the reform. If they want to lose their fiefs, wealth, hereditary nobles, private soldiers, and countless exclusive enjoyments that are difficult to part with, they naturally want to I'm about to cry.Look, their family soldiers are very aggressive. If the general hadn't sent troops to suppress them, wouldn't they have killed the reformed prime minister and regained those precious things that they were about to lose?

The nobles were crying, shouting and cursing, but the surrounding city people smiled and pointed, and from time to time they screamed in pretended surprise: "Oh! My lord has vomited blood!" "Look! Madam fainted!" " Yo! That little boy is crying too!" "Ah, I'm afraid that I won't be able to eat and drink when I grow up!" After three or two days like this, the people of Linzi became weaker, and no one came to join in the fun anymore.As a result, Liuchifang regained its calmness.This coolness is different from the coolness of ordinary days.On ordinary days, Liuchifang exudes a kind of dignified tranquility, with dense green trees, few pedestrians, and occasional four horses and high carts rumbling past, which adds a bit of heavenly flavor to the stone slabs of the long street.But now it is full of chills, the wind blows through the alleys, but hearing the heavy footsteps of the soldiers, the carriages and horses being sealed up, the pedestrians disappearing, and occasionally the intermittent midnight cries from the deep courtyard, this Liuchifang has become a noble place. And a bleak grave.

At this time, Su Qin left Linzi with a group of capable officials and a thousand elite knights. The strategy agreed by the monarchs and ministers was: Lord Mengchang raised troops to guard Linzi, Su Qin took the king's order to clear the fief, and then issued a new decree.This is a strategy proposed by Su Qin based on the actual national conditions of Qi State, which is called "reverse reform".That is to say, instead of promulgating the new law first and eliminating resistance during full implementation, it is to eliminate resistance first and then promulgate and implement the new law.Su Qin's argument is only on one point: before the reform of Qi State is carried out, the old forces will jump out first. If the reform is ignored and the government and the public will be in turmoil, in the end, the reform may also fail completely. If there is no resistance, then the enactment of the new law will get twice the result with half the effort and can speed up the completion!After some discussion, King Xuan of Qi made a decision, and Lord Mengchang of Su Qin split up immediately.

There are thirty-six aristocratic families in the state of Qi, fourteen of which belonged to the Jiang family's nobles, and the remaining twenty-two families are new nobles after the Tian family captured Qi.The old fourteen's family was originally granted a conciliatory reward. The larger one was more than 30 miles away, while the smaller one was only five or six miles away. It was expressly forbidden to form troops in the fiefdom, so it was not a problem.The fiefdoms of the new nobles are quite different, the largest one is more than two hundred miles away, and the smallest one is more than forty miles away.But the biggest difference between the old and new fiefs is the difference in power.The power of the new feudal lords is divided into three classes: the first class is the fiefdom with full power - the right to govern the people, the right to tax, and the right to form an army, which is equivalent to a small prince in a country; the second class is the fiefdom with two powers, that is, the right to govern the people and the right to taxation; the third class is a fief with one right, that is, only the right to taxation, which is equivalent to having a permanent source of wealth. In the first-class fief, in fact, there is only one family of Meng Changjun.Since Meng Changjun's father, Jingguo Jun, was the younger brother of King Qiwei, and he was the prime minister of King Qiwei's mansion in his later years, this piece of full power fiefdom is undisputed among the nobles of Qi State.Lord Mengchang inherited the throne and naturally became the lord of the fief. The elders complained a lot and secretly asked King Xuan of Qi to cut down the fiefdom and power of the little Lord Mengchang.King Qi Xuan did have this idea at the beginning of his accession to the throne, but after going through twists and turns, he finally felt that Lord Mengchang was not an ambitious minister, so he gave up this idea.In this reform, Lord Mengchang asked himself to hand over the fief. King Qi Xuan was very happy, but after repeated weighing, King Qi Xuan confessed to Su Qin: to reserve a fief for thirty miles for Lord Mengchang as a reward for meritorious officials. Su Qin thought clearly that to clean up the fiefdom, he must start with Lord Mengchang. Lord Mengchang's fief was in Xueyi, west of Mount Meng, which was originally the State of Xue. After Qi State destroyed Xue, it was called Xueyi.At that time, the Qi State had not yet implemented a strict system of prefectures and counties. Yi, counties, and cities coexisted without mutual jurisdiction. Except for the fiefdoms within the territory, they were all under the jurisdiction of the royal family.Xueyi has an area of ​​more than three hundred miles, most of which are the fiefdoms of Lord Mengchang.The people of Xueyi called the fief of Lord Mengchang "Mengyi" and Xueyi "Little Banxue".For the convenience of governance, Lord Mengchang built a castle in the center of the fiefdom, called "Mengchang Castle". There are thousands of people from the tribes in the castle, plus officials, soldiers, craftsmen and some merchants, it is also a million people. Dabaozi Xiaocheng in his early years. When the Su and Qin troops arrived, Feng Huan, the chief householder of Lord Mengchang, and the order of the fief had already led more than 30 officials from the fief to greet him at the stone pavilion outside the fort.Needless to say, Feng Huan and others welcomed Su Qin into the castle official office.As soon as Su Qin's entourage was seated, the feudal order led a group of officials to file in. Bundles of bamboo were simply piled up with books, households, warehouses, taxes, soldiers, officials, fields, etc. Wait for the account books to be clearly listed.As soon as the inspection was completed, Su Qin immediately issued a command arrow to the three thousand soldiers, and drove them to Xueyi to station nearby, and sealed off the warehouse and government treasury, and the key points of the handover were basically announced. "Feng Huan, I've heard the phrase "the three caves of the cunning rabbit, where is the third cave?" Su Qin called Feng Huan aside. "It was Feng Huan who joked that it was a valley thirty miles north of Surabaya, very poor, not far from Baozi." Feng Huan laughed. "King Qi granted Mengchangjun a fief for 30 li, as well as this Mengchang Fort. Look, where is it appropriate?" Su Qin looked at Feng Huan quietly, with a faint smile on his face.Before leaving, Su Qin asked Mr. Mengchang, and Mr. Mengchang just smiled and said, "Prime Minister, it's easy to deal with business affairs, so why bother me?" Su Qin knew it well, so he didn't ask any more questions.He knew that Feng Huan must have a bottom line in this matter, and Feng Huan's meaning must also be Meng Changjun's meaning. But Feng Huan said: "Prime Minister is ordered by the king to reform, and I dare not ask privately." Su Qin said with a smile: "Since I dare not ask for it privately, I think it's only thirty miles away from the Sishui River Valley. It's easy to talk about poor places." "Obey!" Feng Huan took the order loudly, his eyes suddenly brightened. "Feng Huan, I left two scribes for you. Within ten days, can you transport the goods to the Linzi treasury?" "There will be no mistakes!" Feng Huan agreed generously, and added in a low voice: "This is also a major matter for Mr. Mengchang, how dare I make mistakes?" Su Qin's horses rested in Mengchang Castle that night, and at dawn the next day, the horse team galloped northward, detoured to the northwest of Linzi, and galloped straight to Tianqiyuan.Su Qin knew that what he was about to face, Chenghou Zouji, was a really hard nut to crack. Tianqiyuan is still so peaceful and charming, surrounded by vast reeds and grasses is a pool of water like a mirror, beyond the flood is a green field like a chessboard, and there are two verdant green peaks.The big manor with red walls and green tiles in the woods by the water at the foot of the mountain is like a pearl on the mirror of fertile fields, which makes people fascinated by love.Such a lovely landscape and countryside is like a beautiful woman in the palm of his hand, who will always be submissive in every way, for him to taste and enjoy.But Zouji climbed Niushan Mountain today to look at her from a distance, but for the first time felt that she was confusing, unable to see through, faintly felt that this charming and fertile land was about to leave him, and the gloomy coldness was coming to him day by day. Approaching! It was really unexpected that the three strategies to destroy Su that he carefully planned would actually add fuel to the fire?Instead of knocking Su Qin down, King Qi jumped up inexplicably, and moved his hand so quickly!A group of elders were all imprisoned in the forbidden area of ​​Liuchifang, and the mountain pass around Tianqiyuan suddenly had a military camp. Suddenly, they were all prisoners and could only be slaughtered.It's just that Zou Ji still can't think of it all at once, how should Su Qin start this reform?According to the usual rules of the Warring States Reform, a batch of decrees must be promulgated first, and then implemented one by one.According to this method, when it is the turn to confiscate the fief, it will take more than a year.That is to say, my days of sitting in this fairyland are about to come to an end. After half a year, will I be an old luthier again? Suddenly, the old man's strange voice came from behind him: "Marquis Cheng, listen..." Zou Ji was startled, he had already got rid of the chaotic thoughts, and then he heard a rumbling sound drifting over with the mountain wind, although it was faint, but it was continuous and became more and more clear. "Cavalry? That's right, it's the cavalry." Zou Ji smiled lightly, he was sure that his ears, which could distinguish thousands of sounds in the wind and rain, would not go wrong. "Cavalry?" The old man's eyes flickered: "It's not the hunting season, nor is it a border town fortress, what's the reason for the cavalry to come to Qiyuan?" "I can't think of it." Zou Ji smiled: "You go back to the village first, maybe Liu Chi Fang has been banned again." "In my humble opinion, I always feel that there is something strange." The old man said, "I'll take a step first. Don't delay Chenghou for a long time." Zou Ji smiled and said: "Play a piece, and I will go down the mountain." After finishing speaking, he entered the quiet and simple Qin Pavilion on the top of the mountain.The elder exhorted the two servants outside the pavilion in a low voice, and left in a hurry.Behind him was the jingle of the piano, hesitant and depressed, and there was an indescribable sadness, but he didn't have the kind of vigilance that should be there when a catastrophe is imminent.The gray-haired old man couldn't help but shook his head with a wry smile. Before the end of the song, he heard the neighing of war horses down the mountain, as if he was outside Tiancheng Village!Zou Ji was startled, and immediately put away the qin and stood up. Just as he walked out of the qin pavilion, the elders of the family had already sent warriors down the mountain to report urgently: Linzi cavalry had arrived in front of the village, please wait for Marquis Cheng to come down the mountain.Zou Ji knew that the old man wanted to find out the truth before letting him show up, so he went back to the qin pavilion and sat down, but he couldn't play the qin anymore. About half an hour later, the elders of the family sent someone to report: Su Qin led the soldiers and horse officials to clear the fief, and it seemed that there was no malice to inquire about the crime. Please ask Chenghou to go down the mountain to deal with it.Zou Ji broke out in a cold sweat from shock. He originally planned to arrange the funeral in a year, so that even if the fief was handed over, he would not have nowhere to hide. Teach him how to end?It was helpless to think about it, so I had to go down the mountain and play by ear.Zou Ji was sweating profusely during the short section of the mountain road.Suddenly, a kind of sadness of old age welled up in his heart, and he felt old for the first time. Outside Dezhuang, I saw a thousand armored knights lined up in a neat square formation in the carriage and horse farm. A group of officials stood in the corridor, but Su Qin, who was in a high crown and red robe, was pacing leisurely in the corridor, and the elder stood there with a smile on his face.Zou Ji was shocked again, this Su Qin didn't even accept the courtesy of having tea in the main hall, it seemed that it was more ominous than ominous.Although he was worried, Zou Ji had been the prime minister for decades, and he was very experienced in the officialdom. As soon as he entered the gate, his face was full of joy and he waved his hands away: "It's been a long time, Mr. Wu Xin, are you okay?" His tone was as friendly as an old friend. "Chenghou's boyish face and his hair are even more elegant." Su Qin looked at this beautiful man from the Qi country who had also talked freely with him at the beginning, and smiled: "Today's abruptness, Chenghou Jian forgives." "In this way, Mr. Wu Xin is engaged in state affairs." "Su Qin was ordered by the king to confiscate the land, dare you not do your best?" Then he handed a bundle of bamboo slips with envelopes to Zouji: "This is the imperial edict of King Qi, please read it, Marquis Cheng." "Dare to ask Wu Xinjun, but how to collect it?" Zou Ji didn't open the bamboo slip. "According to the confiscation of Monarch Mengchang's fief as a rule: keep the fief of Chenghou for five miles, and the rest of the property, warehouses, households, soldiers, etc. should be paid immediately." As soon as he heard that there were still five miles of fiefdom, he knew that he was not going to kill them all. A big stone in his heart fell to the ground. Zouji waved his hand and said, "Please enter the hall and take a seat. I will pay you immediately." After entering the main hall, Zouji ordered the tea to be served. Then he ordered the elders to immediately arrange more than a dozen major cases in the courtyard, and arrange for the officials of the Xiangfu to sit down.In a short while, the feudal edict led a group of retainers to bring in a few accounts, and began to check and accept them nervously.However, Zou Ji just drank tea with Su Qin and chatted. Su Qin also understood that Zou Ji was entrusted by civil servants, and there were no tribes and soldiers in the fief. say. Zou Ji said: I wanted to reform the law in Qi country back then, but who would have thought that the old people would firmly oppose it, so I had no choice but to give up; now that Su Qin can make drastic reforms, it is really a blessing for Qi country. Although Zou Ji is in the opposition, he is willing to do his best help.Su Qin couldn't tell the truth from the false for a while, so he just listened quietly, occasionally agreeing.After all, Zou Ji is also a famous minister and veteran of the Qi State, so if he can support the reform, isn't it a good thing?At the end, Zouji smiled and asked: "Dare to ask Wu Xinjun: Can I choose a place to live in the five-mile seal?" Su Qin said with a smile: "Chenghou wants a piece of fertile and fertile land to support his life?" "Don't dare." Zou Ji said solemnly: "Tian Qiyuan has a fertile field in the surrounding fields, so it should be cultivated by officials and households, and the increase in the treasury should be the top priority. What the old man wishes is only two cow mountains. For the rest of his life, he lives in seclusion near the mountains and rivers. " "Two hills, no land to cultivate, how will the livelihood of Marquis Cheng be?" Su Qin was a little worried. Zou Ji smiled and said: "This old man has a little knowledge of medicine. There are dozens of drug farmers in Niushan, so they opened a pharmaceutical workshop. No more closures, no good land, but give this old man a place to learn from, okay?" "Chenghou has such a mind, so he should be complete." Su Qin was a little moved, and said loudly: "Come here, Chenghou has five miles of fiefdom, from Qiyuan in Tianqi to two peaks in Niushan Mountain!" On the map of the enfeoffment, Su Qin delineated the "Two Peaks of Niushan Mountain" on it, and attached a line of words after the imperial edict: "Chenghou asked for his own rhythm, Prime Minister Su Qin was flexible, and the five-mile fiefdom became Niushan Mountain." With the copper seal, the matter is settled.Zou Ji said many words of thanks, and held a small banquet to wash Su Qin away.Su Qin saw that it was just a pot of wild vegetables and wild jujubes, and the wine was also the usual Linzi rice wine. If he wanted to refuse it, it would be pretentious, so he drank a few bowls with Zou Ji and talked a lot of gossip. darkened. Zou Ji is not Lord Mengchang, Su Qin has to personally guard the fief to supervise and make clear, it cannot be finished in a day.Seeing that it was getting dark, Zou Ji ordered the elders to make preparations and invite Su Qin to live in his own courtyard at night.Su Qin insisted on refusing, and accompanied the officials until the third watch, and then went back to live in the big tent outside the village. After working hard for several days, Su Qin fell asleep and fell asleep. In the dimness, he heard the sound of horseshoes outside the tent, and a familiar voice was in his ears.Turning over and sitting up, she saw that it was Jing Yan standing in front of the couch in a dusty manner! "Brother, you're back!" Su Qin looked over in surprise, took the wine bag from the hook and stuffed it into Jing Yan's hand. Jing Yan chuckled: "It's better as a big brother, I haven't forgotten my fault." Then she pulled out the cork, gulped down half of a bag of rice wine, wiped the juice from the corner of her mouth and said with a smile: "I'm in the country of Yan Then I heard that my eldest brother has become the prime minister, but it’s a pity that he doesn’t have wings, so he can’t fly here.” Su Qin pushed Jing Yan down on the couch and asked quickly: “Tell me first, how is Yan Guo? Is she still there? " "Brother, don't be in a hurry. There are entanglements in both matters. You must listen to me one by one." Jing Yan gasped for a while, and then spoke slowly. clear. It turned out that after Su Qin entered Qi, nothing happened, and he had no way of knowing the news of Yan State. He was worried that Su Dai and Zizhi would get deeper and deeper, and he was also worried about Yan Ji's situation, so he sent Jing Yan back to Yan State. He plays by ear.When Jing Yan returned to Jicheng, she went to see Su Dai first.Su Dai opened his mouth and asked: How is the second brother in Qi State?Jing Yan followed Su Qin's instructions and said that everything was fine.Su Dai was dubious, saying that the Yan Kingdom had already made a major decision, and Zizhi became the Prime Minister of the country, and he would be regent with full power in the near future, and Su Qin was urgently needed to return to Yan to plan a big plan together!The implication was to ask Jing Yan to return to Qi State immediately, urging Su Qin to come back.Jing Yan knew it well, so she said that she would go home to visit her parents before going to Qi State.The next day, Jing Yan didn't stay in Jicheng, so she flew to Tianquan Valley of Yanshan Mountain to look for Yan Ji according to the drawing drawn by Su Qin.Unexpectedly, for three days in a row, there were no clues. Those caves that Su Qin mentioned were empty and devoid of anything, as if no one had ever lived in them.Having no idea what to do, Jing Yan had no choice but to go back to Jicheng to find Su Dai.Su Dai said that Yan Ji had been missing for a long time, and he hadn't seen her in two secret visits, and he was too busy to go there afterwards.Jing Yan hurriedly asked the reason.Su Dai said that he didn't know either, and guessed it was always related to the royal family's treasure. In desperation, Jing Yan found a general who was serving as a guard in the palace, and said that she wanted to be a guard in the palace for a few days.The general called Shi Bei, an old friend in the army, although he felt strange, he agreed without asking any further questions.The general was only told that there have been many strange things in the palace in recent years, so there is no need to make a fuss and cause trouble.Jing Yan agreed generously, and chose the guerrilla leader who patrolled the palace to do it.Jing Yan used to be a soldier in the royal palace, so she is not unfamiliar with the situation in the palace. She has done guerrilla inspections, so she will not make any unprovoked mistakes.But for half a month, the palace was deserted during the day and lifeless at night, and there was no news about it.However, Jing Yan was tenacious, so instead of leaving, she chose to patrol in the middle of the night.Ever since he heard the ancient scriptures about treasures from the clan elders when he was young, he had a stubborn idea: all the secrets of treasures are stories of more profound and quiet times. One night, Jing Yan finally had a little surprise—in the courtyard that was always dark in the middle of the night in the past, there was a faintly flickering light!Judging from the azimuth, the bright light is within the woods by the pool.Jing Yan knew that there was only one thatched hut for relaxation in that place. It was in that hut that Duke Wen of Yan summoned Su Qin for the first time. Later, King Yanyi often spent his nights here in Xia Ri. This place has become desolate, who can relax here in the middle of the night?Jing Yan asked the ten soldiers who accompanied her to stay where they were, and approached the woods alone. After looking carefully, she found that there was a black spear shadow behind every big tree. It was impossible for her to pass through the woods, let alone Don't talk about approaching Maoting. After holding back for a while, Jing Yan suddenly remembered: After the guard Su Qin crossed Weishui, he worshiped a fisherman from Chu State as his teacher, and his water skills had grown, so he took off his armor and sneaked in from the reeds on the bank. pool water.After a while, he arrived at the bank of Maoting quietly.Stretching her head to look through the gaps in the reeds, Jing Yan was shocked: there were two men and a woman in the thatched pavilion, and one of them was his old friend—Jiang Shibei!The other two had their backs to the water, and their voices sounded very young, but he didn't recognize them. I only heard the young male voice say: "Since we have the same heart, this is a great cause. Gathering people doesn't seem to be difficult, the most lacking thing is money." The female voice said: "There is a lot of money, but this person is hard to find. "The male voice asked urgently: "A big lump? But where is it?" The female voice said: "There are several unnamed caves in Yanshan, and the picture is in the hands of that person." The male voice asked: "Who is that person? Where is it?" The female voice said: "After Wen Gongguo, she lived in seclusion in Yanshan." The male voice said: "Since she is in Yanshan, how can I not find her?" The female voice said: "She is not an ordinary woman. I have searched for it many times, and I have searched all the caves. There is no trace." The male voice sighed a long time: "Could it be God's will that the Yan Kingdom should be destroyed?" Then he fell silent.But the general said suddenly: "I have a law, but it involves the palace of the first emperor. I don't know if I should say it or not?" The male voice said: "What taboo is there for the great cause of prosperity? But it doesn't matter." The general said: "It is rumored Empress Wu and Lord Wu Xin are very loyal, if you can get Lord Wu Xin's help, it will definitely not be a bad idea to ask her to come out of the mountain." The male voice murmured: "Mr. Wu Xin has a deep friendship with that guy, how can you help me?" The female voice said: "Not necessarily , Wu Xinjun is upright, and he is not in the same party as the traitor. It is just that it is difficult to find Wu Xinjun, and there is no suitable candidate for a confidential matter." The general laughed and said: "It is also God's will, and there is just one person—Wu Xinjun's Righteous brother." "Ah—!" The man and woman both exclaimed softly at the same time... Jing Yan was astonished, she quickly swam out of the pool and went ashore, guessing that the city would come looking for her after dawn, fearing that it would be difficult to escape, she left a note for the city, and left Jicheng before it was dark.Originally, she wanted to report to Qi State immediately, but Jing Yan had an extra thought, fearing that they would find Yan Ji first, so she went to Yanshan to search again.Jing Yan went through every cave again, checked each cave repeatedly, and finally found a parchment bag under the manger in the stable cave... "Brother, look, it's this thing!" Su Qin hurriedly opened it, only to find that inside was a piece of white silk with two large characters on it—— The vigorous handwriting in the graceful appearance is so familiar and kind, Su Qin couldn't help but sighed, but he didn't say anything for a long time. It seems that the royal family of Yan has a new secret force, and it seems that it is still a mysterious figure that Su Qin is not familiar with.That woman, Su Qin speculates, is very likely to be Princess Liyang, the queen of King Yanyi!But what about the man who led the "big cause"?Su Qin couldn't figure out where he came from.Yan Wang Ji Kuai's son is only fifteen or sixteen years old, could it be this boy?If not for him, what other characters could there be in the royal family?Such a "great cause" is almost impossible without the leadership of the royal family. What great things can such a force gather together?Naturally, it is necessary to regain the power of the royal family from the hands of the son and restore the Ji family of Yan.They want to find themselves, and they have to find Yan Ji through themselves. In this way, both he and Yan Ji will be sucked into this vortex.Yan Ji has always had opinions on the affairs of Yan State, but she can't find any traces. If the secret prince sends someone to Qi State, how should she respond?For the first time, Su Qin felt that he was in a daze at a loss as to what to do in the state of Yan.In the final analysis, I still have countless thoughts about Zizhi's New Deal.If Zizhi is really an iron-blooded reform figure like Shen Buhai, Su Qin would rather betray the royal family of Yan and support Zizhi.However, Zizhi's state affairs always made Su Qin feel a strong smell.Say he is treacherous and ambitious, but he is not completely like him. Even Su Dai supports him so much. Can you say that Zizhi is not superior?While decaying and old, at the same time vigorous and vigorous, why can't the Yan Kingdom emerge with an upright new force? No matter how troublesome the matter of Yan State is, Su Qin can't miss the important event of Qi State's reform, so he can only get busy. After the fief was confiscated, it was already a yellow leaf.When the autumn frost came, the elders and nobles also withered like weeds.It is also due to the limitations of Su Qin's laws and regulations, which did not deprive the elders and nobles of their fiefs, but always kept more or less three or five miles as appropriate.As a result, there are only less than a hundred miles of land left for the nobles of the Qi State, and there is not even a county big.Among the seven great war states in the world, it is almost the same as Qin State, and has become the largest country with the fewest feudal lands. As soon as the fiefdom barrier was broken, Su Qin immediately re-planned the administrative area.According to the tradition and actual situation of Qi State, Su Qin canceled the two administrative districts of city and city, and Qi State was merged into forty-three counties. The original "city" became the seat of the county, that is, the county seat.In this way, the administrative area is greatly simplified, and many cumbersome entanglements in the three administrations of the town, city, and county are eliminated.As soon as the administrative districts were demarcated, Su Qin immediately made some major adjustments to the county magistrates of the forty-three counties: one was to investigate and prosecute a bunch of corrupt officials, and remove a bunch of mediocre officials; Only sixteen subordinates are allowed; the third is that the county magistrate takes office in a different place, and all the local county magistrates are transferred to other counties; After these two big steps, it will be the summer of the next year.From then on, Su Qin's prime minister's office began to promulgate decrees continuously, three laws per month, promulgated for four months, and all twelve decrees were promulgated throughout the country.Su Qin's reforms consciously imitated Qin's Shang Yang's reforms. Although they were not as stern and complete as Shang Yang's decrees, they included rewarding farming wars, abolishing hereditary inheritance, abolishing slaves, cultivating land for farmers, opening up civilian cities, training new troops, Major laws and regulations such as the unified government decree are in place. "The reform of ministers should be completed in three waves within ten years. This is the first wave. After establishing the muscles and bones, we should gradually develop it." Su Qin Qixuan Wang said the general plan of Qi State's reform in this way.