This year's autumn is very cold, as if winter can't wait to come to the world. The grass has turned yellow early, all the insects and flies have been killed by the frost, and the color between heaven and earth has gradually turned gray.
A piece of dead leaf whirled and flew to the tip of Wu Gen's nose, causing him to sneeze and rub his nose. Wu Gen felt his body getting colder.
When I said goodbye to Ji Jing, I joked that I would never draw a sword against him in the future, but I didn't expect that the prophecy would come true so quickly.
"Old Ji, you are bringing people here in such a cold weather. Is it possible that you are full and have nothing to do to eat?" Wu Gen teased the other party with a joking look on his face.
"Wu Gen, why do you have to do this? Why do you have to do this? Why bother? Just retreat." Ji Jing, however, did not appreciate his kindness and responded with a straight face.
"Why do you want me to retreat? Isn't it possible that Zhenfu should retreat?" Wu Gen stood up straight and stared at the other party.
"The young master is a generous man and the eldest son of the lord. For him to ascend the throne is a blessing to the Iron Hand Province, a blessing to the people, and it is also a blessing to you and me. As long as you switch to the young master, I believe he will Entrusted with an important task. Now that the entire province has obeyed the young master, if you take the opportunity to march troops again, wouldn't you be committing rebellion? Retreat before committing any serious evil." Ji Jing cupped his hands toward the west and pointed to himself. Next to them are the young masters and governors of various families.
"Prisoning a father and a prisoner brother is also a blessing. Ji Jing, you and I both know what kind of person Ji Chen is. Murong Yanyu is the biggest pusher to reach the current situation. When she gradually consolidates her power, how will Ji Chen control him.
Moreover, Ji Chen cannot practice cultivation, and his lifespan cannot be compared with Murong Yanyu. When he waits a hundred years, whose surname will be the throne of the Iron Hand Province, Ji or Murong. At that time, when the chickens are in the morning, only the family is in need, Lord Murong Yan will definitely kill Zhongliang, expel the honest men, and abandon the elders of the Ji family. I saw that the governor dared to say good things. "Wu Gen pointed at Ji Jing opposite him and scolded loudly.
When the people from the opposite families heard this, they all had subtle expressions on their faces, but Ji Jing was completely unmoved, "Wu Gen, your eloquent words are just empty words. You are just making wild guesses and trying to disturb the morale of our army. You and I We have had the friendship of Pao Ze, and to tell you the truth, our Southern Army, Wei Army, plus the reinforcements from various families, have more than 150,000 troops. Moreover, it is destiny for the eldest young master to ascend the throne, and each family responded to the edict. The orders are coming in a steady stream, but your fearless army cannot defeat them, so why waste their lives here."
"Why, if Ji Chen can seize the throne, then Ji Yan can't do it. She is also a serious young master, and she is qualified to ascend the throne. This time our army came under her order." Wu Gen pointed out. Pointing to the banner with the character Ji behind him, he said sarcastically, "It's just destiny that determines who has good luck and big fists. You, Ji Jing, have also been in officialdom for many years. Don't you understand this?"
"Hahaha, Wu Gen, Wu Gen, you might as well invite the third young master out and give it a try." Ji Jing raised his head and laughed, and people from various families around him also laughed in agreement, "That's all, I won't tease you anymore, I'll tell you the truth. Tell me, the third young master has entered Hanlu City and is loyal to the eldest young master. You are just pretending to make trouble. Besides, even if the third young master gives the order, what qualifications does she have to fight with the eldest young master."
"What, the third young master has been captured by you? Is it possible that Ji Chen has to kill all his blood relatives before he is willing to accept it?" Wu Gen pretended to be surprised, without the slightest embarrassment of having his lie exposed, and immediately his expression became solemn, "Ji Jing, Since you think the third young master is not qualified, then is this one qualified?"
With that said, Wu Gen urged his horse to get out of the way, and a carriage drove out from the Fearless Army. When the car arrived in front of the two armies, Wu Gen dismounted and walked to the car, respectfully opening the curtain.
Ji Xin slowly stood up from the car with a black sword in his hand. A breeze blew by, and the long beard on his chest fluttered slightly. The tall body stood on the car, like a furious tiger ready to attack, and his majestic eyes swept across Ji Jing and others.
After experiencing the incident at Qingquan Palace, Ji Xin's body was actually exhausted. If it weren't for the support of the sword, he might not even be able to stand up.
Everyone on the opposite side was shocked when they saw this, especially Ji Jing, who turned pale and took a few steps back. Ji Xin has been in charge of the Iron Hand Province for many years. Over time, he has accumulated great power, and these governors are afraid of him to the core.
How could these people not be flustered when they suddenly saw Ji Xin again? Even the soldiers watching behind were in an uproar and whispering. No one expected that Ji Xin, who was originally said to be trapped in Qingquan Palace and had died long ago, would appear here again.
If people can choose a substitute, there is no doubt that Hei Qijian, who has been with Ji Xin for many years, is the lord.
"Lead... lord." Ji Jing was speechless, not knowing how to respond. Originally holding more than 100,000 people, he was full of confidence when facing Wu Gen's more than 40,000 people, but when he saw Ji Xin in the opponent's camp, he suddenly felt guilty.
Although many of these Southern and Guard troops were controlled by Ji Chen's cronies, there was no worry that they would rebel. But in the hearts of those middle- and lower-class soldiers, Ji Xin was a god-like existence. He had been aloof for many years, holding the power of killing, and could turn the province upside down with just one word. How could such a person rebel, how could he rebel.
"Ji Jing, do you want to raise your sword to me?" Ji Xin's feet were firmly nailed to the car to prevent herself from swaying in the wind.
The words were very soft, but when they fell into Ji Jing's heart, every word carried great power. Sweat dripped from his forehead, and Ji Jing said with difficulty: "Lord, you have killed too many people, and now the families have been suffering from tyranny for a long time. Since you are out of trouble, why not take care of yourself in your old age, and be the eldest young master? Why go to such trouble."
"Presumptuous." Ji Xin shouted violently, his hair trembling, and he had the power of being in a position of power for a long time. "I, the majestic lord, will not give you the seat to whomever I will give it to. How can I not allow you to comment on it? If I give it to you, I can take over. If I don't give it to you, I will." Just stay there. I think you were just a soldier in the city back then, but I promoted you to this status step by step. Let me ask you again, are you a rebel or a rebel?"
After hesitating for a long time, Ji Jingfang heavily handed over his hand and said, "Lord, I will never forget the grace of being promoted that day, but since my subordinate has already followed the eldest young master, there is no reason to repeat it. Lord, listen to my advice. Although the restructuring is about Okay, but it's too drastic. Now the eldest young master has given an order to allow each family to continue to retain. No one in the entire province except Wu Gen will support you.
Now there are more than 100,000 people gathered here, and other families are sending people one after another. Lord, you are fighting against the entire province, how can you withstand it? "
"Haha." Before Ji Xin could say anything, Wu Gen, an outsider, jumped out at this moment, "Ji Jing, you are just playing this trick to make each family die from a quick death to a slow death. Those with a discerning eye will naturally It can be seen. If it weren’t for the Second Young Master leading you and me to defeat the rebels, how many families would accept such harsh conditions.
However, you have the ultimate plan, and I have the wall ladder. These days, the lord also repented and no longer forced the restructuring. A new edict was about to be issued to the entire province. "
Having said this, Wu Gen turned to Ji Xin and bowed his head and said, "Lord, I suggest that your edict be made public to reassure the public."
The corners of Ji Xin's mouth twitched twice, and her face was gloomy, but she looked at the dark men and horses opposite and finally nodded.
In the past two days, Wu Gen had struggled with Ji Xin countless times regarding this so-called edict. At the beginning, Ji Xin refused to obey. But he couldn't stand up to his own health, and he still needed Wu Gen's help to regain his position. In addition, after seeing Ji Chen's edict, he knew that once this order was issued, it would be impossible to forcefully oppose it given the current situation. Under Wu Gen's persuasion, he finally agreed to the other party's suggestion as if he had eaten a fly.
Wu Gen raised his head proudly, turned around and waved his hand forward. Suddenly, dozens of hawks and shuttles took off and flew towards Ji Jing's camp opposite.
Ji Jing couldn't help but change his face. He knew how powerful the Yifu Army was. During this expedition, Ji Chen asked each family to hand over all the hidden harem birds. It was not easy to collect more than sixty birds, but they were all wiped out in one battle.
With so many rebel troops flying to their own camp, it's possible that Wu Gen couldn't make a sneak attack.
"Wu Gen, what are you going to do?" Ji Jing shouted.
"Calm down, calm down. I haven't decided to send people to sneak attack on the camp before the commanders of the two armies talk. Just wait and see." Wu Gen proudly raised his chin and motioned to Ji Jing to look back. .
The Rebel Army flew over Ji Jing's camp, but instead of raining down arrows like locusts, there was a heavy snowfall against the flowing wind.
Pieces of paper fell down, fluttering in the wind and sunshine, and landed in every corner of Jijing Camp, even the small village across the river.
Ji Jing looked at the pieces of white paper in astonishment, with the faint black characters appearing, and for a moment he suddenly became frightened. people
It is often said that swordsmanship can kill countless people, but someone like him who has been involved in officialdom for many years knows that sometimes pen and ink are the weapons that can kill without blood. These seemingly ordinary words can really destroy a family and a country, wipe out thousands of living beings, and stain thousands of miles of rivers and mountains with blood.
Wu Gen threw out these papers with great fanfare at this time, probably because he saw the large number of people in his family, and was afraid that there would not be enough straw paper to send a batch. Ji Jing wanted someone to take a look at it, but he was afraid of seeing the words on it.
Still, a soldier rode up to him and handed over a piece of paper. Ji Jing took a deep breath and opened the paper.
The above is an edict from the current head of the family, Ji Xin. It reiterates the terms that Ji Chen promised to each family, that is, each family will maintain the existing regulations unchanged and can retain its own territory and people. After the death of the family head, the territory must be divided equally among the family members. His own heir.
But one more thing is that once these family heads are found to have committed six crimes, thousands of families from each family's branches and jurisdiction can take their place. Whoever is the first to report and cooperate with the court to exterminate these offending family heads and their direct descendants will be able to obtain his position.
These six sins are also explained in detail on the paper, namely conspiracy, treason, transgressing boundaries, amassing troops, immorality, and unrighteousness. Among them, treason is self-evident, and fighting against the imperial court is a dead end. Rebellion means connecting with other provinces. This is also specifically established in view of the past experience of Ji Bi's collusion with the Xianyu family in Shule Province.
To cross the border, the heads of each family left their own territory at will, or sent troops to attack other provinces. Immorality refers to the crime of the head of the family destroying humanity, killing the shepherds, Li Shu, and human beings at will, and dismembering thousands of families under his jurisdiction. Unjust means killing the governor appointed by the imperial court.
In the edict, it was clearly stated that each Thousand Household family was protected from being attacked and killed at will, lest these Ten Thousand Households deliberately destroy these relatively weak families in order to prevent their subordinates from seizing power.
At the same time, it is stipulated that each family of ten thousand families must not have more than 10,000 soldiers, and each family of one thousand families can have up to 3,000. In this way, if these thousands families are connected in a little way, they can launch an army that is enough to overthrow these ten thousand families. Thus laying the foundation for unrest in each family's territory.
Ji Jing's hands were shaking slightly. Once this edict came out, if nothing else, the families who came to support him might not be able to count on them. The five families who came to help this time were all led by young masters or Zhenfu. Needless to say, they must be thinking of eliminating Ji Xin, the biggest threat, in one fell swoop. However, many of their subordinates are from their own side branches or from various areas in their territory. Thousands of families were recruited.
Originally, these people had to rely on the direct lineage of the big family and fight bravely to gain some power and survive in their territory. But now that we have the opportunity to usurp the throne and replace it, who would stupidly raise his head and fight for you? Live well and stare at the family head's every move with your eyes wide open every day. If you get the chance to report to the court, take advantage of it. Isn't it nice to take your position, your money, and your woman?
This also means that after the people of each family have strange thoughts, they will no longer be able to manipulate them as they used to. Moreover, this great opportunity is right in front of them. The lord is here, and these family heads dare to confront each other. It's not rebellion.
For a moment, these young masters and Zhen Fu felt their backs were burning, and all of them looked pale. Looking at each other, several people suggested that they should not start a war today and that they had to go back to discuss a countermeasure. Otherwise, if some greedy guy stabbed me in the back, wouldn't it be an unjust death?
Ji Jing no longer dared to talk to Ji Xin, turned his horse's head, and returned to his home camp with the family members behind him.
