The mastermind behind Yang Ji's last assassination was He Ruobiji. As a result, he not only killed his family, but also dragged Dugu Shun, Dugu Tuo, Yuan Zhou, Yuan Yan, Yu Wenbi and others into the water, resulting in the deaths of these people. , dismissed, dismissed, but only one night and half a day later, Yang Ji caused a lot of trouble in Furong Garden. First, he was provoked by the Shandong gentry and banned. Then he wrote two good poems, which people are still talking about. He was assassinated again, and it was still broad daylight.
As the news spread, Daxing City was suddenly cast under a shadow. Soldiers patrolling the city could be seen everywhere, and even soldiers from the Wuhou Guards Mansion joined the search scope. The first people to suspect were the Dugu family, the Yuan family, the Dou family, and the Yuwen family. The source of the losses for these four families was the dispute between Yang Ji and He Ruobi. Although the He Ruobi family was annihilated, Yang Ji was still there.
It is normal for these four major families to hate Yang Ji, especially the Dugu family, which is the first to be suspected. After all, Dugu Tuo admitted that he was greedy for the wealth of the Wei Palace, so he colluded with the Turks to invade the Sui Dynasty like a traitor, withheld military information, and ambushed Changsun Sheng. For the sake of wealth, even the Sui Dynasty was sold. Is there anything else they dare not do? Moreover, the Dugu family paid a heavy price. In anger, it seemed reasonable to assassinate Yang Ji. This is what everyone thinks, and it also puts the Dugu family, who are having a funeral, in the center of the storm.
Yang Ji had a vivid memory of the assassin's appearance. When he returned home, he used sketching to draw the assassin's appearance vividly.
"Is this the assassin the king mentioned?" Seeing the portrait drawn by Yang Ji, Li Yuantong, the Minister of Punishment who came to inquire urgently, changed his expression.
Yang Ji glanced at him in surprise: "Does Li Shangshu know this person?"
"I don't know this person, but I know that he is a wanted criminal by the imperial court." After Li Yuantong said this, he raised his hands and asked: "Your Majesty, you should have heard of Zhang Zhongjian, the most heroic man in the world, right?"
Yang Ji nodded: "Of course I know."
Li Yuantong said: "The style of knight-errants is very popular in Guanlong. Although there are many capable people among these so-called people, more than 99% of them are rogues. These people have invested in a certain place one after another with the purpose of cheating food, drink and money. Under the command of these powerful men, they then bullied the market, bullied men and women, and made the land of Guanzhong a smog. These people were not afraid of the law and did not respect ghosts and gods, but they regarded the bearded guest Zhang Zhongjian as a god. The image of Zhang Zhongjian is very similar."
"Zhang Zhongjian, the bearded guest?" Yang Ji's mood became a little complicated. I have read Liang Gujin's martial arts in my previous life, and I always feel that the heroes who eat big meat and drink from big bowls have a wonderful life. They always easily get all kinds of beauties to throw themselves into their arms, have endless money to spend, and are always so chic. Uninhibited, happy and resentful. However, as I get older, I am no longer interested in martial arts. Although martial arts is a fairy tale for adults, after adults have experienced the ups and downs of the world, they know that fairy tales are all lies. When I watched "The Swordsman" again, I realized that The most respectable person is Yue Buqun, the head of the "Huashan Family" who was once the most hated; and the most hateful person is the selfish and self-centered white-eyed wolf Linghu Chong.
When I merged into the Sui Dynasty where "heroes" were rampant, I finally knew what heroes were. They were clearly bandits and bullies who killed people, stole people's property, and dominated people's land. They were clearly the destroyers of a stable society. As for Zhang Zhongjian, judging from today's performance, he is the leader of a killer organization. It is unknown whether he works alone or is loyal to a certain family like the "Red Fu Heroine".
"It's this person!" Li Yuantong said with a bitter smile: "This person has already killed the governors, chief ministers, and Sima of four states. He is a wanted criminal by the court. I didn't expect that he was so bold today that he came to assassinate the king."
"Could it be that the imperial court didn't work hard?" Yang Ji heard the hidden meaning, that is, the imperial court had nothing to do with Zhang Zhongjian. Yang Ji could understand this. After all, there were wanted criminals who could not be caught in the later generations of the country. It's really difficult to catch someone who wants to hide these days. As long as he hides casually, he won't be able to find anyone. But Yang Ji did not intend to interfere. The three laws of the imperial court and the center of the Great Sui Dynasty were not places where he could make the decision. It would not hurt him to keep a certain low profile.
Moreover, this assassination was not without its benefits. Not only did he know that Zhang Zhongjian's own martial arts skills were like that, but he also had an excuse to expand his bodyguards. After all, he was assassinated one after another in just a few days. Couldn't he be able to raise soldiers like Yang Su? The important thing is that if the case is not solved for a day, the Ministry of Punishment will always be in a position of inferiority.
As for who was behind the instigation, he was powerless, but today's old account could become a sharp weapon in his hand. When he was strong enough, it would no longer matter who instigated Zhang Zhongjian. In other words, he hoped that who was instigating it would not matter. Then who is the behind-the-scenes instigator.
Looking at Yang Ji's puzzled eyes, Li Yuantong shook his head and smiled bitterly: "The sea arrest documents have been issued a long time ago, and the court will ask questions every time. But the problem is that no one knows what Zhang Zhongjian looks like. The portrait painted by the artist is probably not even Zhang Zhongjian's." Unrecognizable to himself."
He looked at Yang Ji's lifelike sketch and said confidently: "But now that I have the king's painting, I can make engravings, print out the lifelike portrait, and then send the documents to all states in the world."
Yang Ji's heart was moved when he heard this, and he said slowly: "Zhang Jianzhong can kill as long as he can, but his martial arts is secondary. The key is his penetration ability, and the unknown number of subordinates are chilling. This time I am lucky, next time I will be Not necessarily. Please ask Li Shangshu to add an article to the wanted order."
Li Yuantong saluted and said, "Your Majesty, please give me your instructions."
"If the government, soldiers and civilians catch or kill Zhang Zhongjian, Prince Wei's palace will reward him with an additional three thousand taels of gold."
Yang Ji believes in the power of money, and the most important thing in the palace is money. When this bounty notice is posted all over the world, he will definitely become a street rat that everyone wants to beat, with no place to stay.
Compared with the soldiers and civilians of the Sui Dynasty, Yang Ji actually believed in Zhang Zhongjian's subordinates more. Those desperadoes killed people for money. When this reward order comes out, I am afraid many people will stare at Zhang Zhongjian's head, even if they can't kill him in the end. , can also make him feel uneasy about food and accommodation.
Waiting for Li Yuantong to leave, Yang Ji sat on a chair and thought about what had happened these days, and said to Gongsun Huan who was bowing his head: "Master, although I have narrowly escaped the successive assassinations, the next time I will... Not necessarily. And I found that although the guards in the mansion have good combat effectiveness and are very loyal, they can only fight openly and frontally; while the dead soldiers and Xuanwu guards also advocate offense, and there are serious deficiencies in defense. I plan to build the Xuanwu Guard and the Suzaku Guard into a defensive force capable of both offense and defense. The Suzaku Guard cannot be accomplished in a day and can be ignored for the time being, but the Xuanwu Guard must immediately change its combat thinking."
Although today's assassination had nothing to do with the guards in the mansion, these incidents made Yang Ji reflect on the guards in the mansion. From the current point of view, several numbers of private armed forces have great disadvantages, and they all focus on active offense and passive defense. Even if If Yang Ji had not developed a keen sense of smell and a beast-like insight into danger since he was young, he would have been doomed today.
And as Yang Ji officially entered his official career, his enemies within the Sui Dynasty also changed from dandy children to parents of dandy children, and behind those people stood a family, a force, and a political interest group. If they If you can't kill yourself in the political struggle, you may not attack your family; Dugu Tuo has clearly stated his attitude. His ultimate goal is to seize my mother's business, but normal competition is not enough and the official power is not enough, so he joins forces with Bujia Khan Attacking my mother's weakness and trying to kill me in Ganzhou. If I unfortunately die in the battle, my mother, who regards me as my lifeblood, will collapse. If it's the other way around, wouldn't my mother and Xiao Ying make me my weakness? If something happened to them, wouldn't he be in a big loss? If someone uses today's method to deal with the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, then Yang Ji really has nothing to do. Therefore, it is urgent to establish a private force similar to the Zhongnanhai Bodyguard. If there is such a force that is both offensive and defensive, can detect dangers and eliminate them first, the coefficient of being assassinated will be reduced countless times.
Yang Ji has read countless books and movies about special forces and bodyguards, and has some similar theories in his mind. Coupled with the way of training scouts and dead soldiers in this era, he can completely create a bodyguard team; the guards in the mansion, the Xuanwu guards, the secret guards, and the secret guards. There is no doubt about the combat effectiveness and loyalty of the executioners, but they lack the awareness to take the initiative to do things, discover dangers and eliminate dangers. At the critical moment, this over-reliance will miss the important thing; therefore, specialized people are needed in this regard. Cultivate, and the best way is to conduct confrontational drills and play hide-and-seek games in different environments without interruption.
"Young Master is very worried. Since he passed away, he has made arrangements to rectify the Xuanwu Guards and clarify their responsibilities. But I don't know whether to use these people or re-select them?" Gongsun Huanshen nodded in agreement. As the general manager of the palace and the martial arts master of Xuanwu Guard, it is impossible to follow Yang Ji all the time. In a short period of time, he can protect Yang Ji nearby, but after all, it is not a long-term solution, as Zhi said , it is indeed advisable to train a group of guards specifically to protect Yang Ji, Dugu Min, and Xiao Ying, and we must seize the time to train.
"The candidates should be chosen from among the palace guards, Xuanwu guards, and dead soldiers. It would be best if they specialize in some combined attack techniques."
The quality of the individual soldiers of these three private armed forces is sufficient, but they may not be able to work together, especially the dead soldiers who are considered disposable items. Don't expect them to know the art of battle formation. As for how to do it, Yang Ji believed that Gongsun Huan would be stronger than him, so there was no need to intervene in everything by himself.
"I understand!" Gongsun Huan thought for a while and then asked: "Can you teach me the art of breathing and breathing?"
"Okay!" Yang Ji agreed without even thinking about it. Breathing technique is the 'internal skill' in ancient martial arts. It is based on the essence, energy and spirit of the three treasures of the human body. It uses the method of reverse training to adjust the acquired essence, energy and spirit of the human body. For your own use. Practicing supplemented with medicine can make people's internal organs full of qi and blood, and their essence and marrow are full, allowing people to recover quickly from fatigue. The external manifestations are quick reactions, sharp ears and eyes, a strong body, and a physique that is different from ordinary people.
It's just that people who possess these breath-taking techniques are unwilling to tell others, and in order to prevent leaks, they are not written on paper, so many breath-taking techniques gradually disappear in the long history of history; coupled with the rise of hot weapons in later generations, a A ten-year-old child can kill a strong master with one shot. This makes ancient martial arts lose its space for survival and eventually becomes a physical fitness sport.
The internal strength in martial arts is actually described based on the breathing technique in ancient martial arts, but it is exaggerated countless times and written to be as incredible as a god.
. . . . . . . .
In the northwest corner of Chongyi Square, there is a mansion covering an area of 100 acres. This is the residence of Li Yuan, Duke of Tang Dynasty. Li Yuan's Li family is the same as other Guanlong nobles. His ancestor Li Hu was also one of the six town garrison troops. However, as the conflict between Hu and Han within the Northern Wei Dynasty violently broke out, the nobles representing the interests of the Xianbei people instigated soldiers from the six towns to launch an uprising, which was finally suppressed by the Tuoba clan, who had been Hanized in the Northern Wei Dynasty, with the help of the Rouran army.
After the defeat, hundreds of thousands of Six Town Hu and Hu Hua Han people were dispersed and resettled in the hinterland of the Northern Wei Dynasty. Among them, the soldiers and civilians of Five Towns were resettled in the Hedong area of Hebei Province, and later formed Gao Huan's Eastern Wei and Northern Qi forces; The soldiers and civilians of Wuchuan Town, the middle of the six towns, were placed in Guanlong. They slowly gathered around the wise and powerful hero Yu Wentai, and eventually formed the Guanlong force. This is why so many famous generals and ministers of the Sui Dynasty were originally from Wuchuan. for the sake of.
At the time of Yuwentai's strong rise, Li Yuan's grandfather Li Hu also entered the political stage strongly and became one of the eight pillar states of Guanlong. According to Yuwentai's order to return to Guanlong, Li Hu attached himself to the Li family in Longxi and became A branch of the Li family in Longxi.
Although Li Yuan's grandfather Li Hu had a high status, his father Li Bing died before the establishment of the Sui Dynasty, and Li Yuan was only six years old at the time. This also prevented the Li family from seizing the opportunity of the Sui Dynasty to become stronger than the Zhou Dynasty. Not to mention the dividends from the deposed Zhou Jian and Sui Dynasties, the Li family, which had no backbone, quickly declined. Although Yang Jian, who was nostalgic, still named Li Yuan the Duke of Tang, the Li family could only be regarded as an inconspicuous little player in the Guanlong Group.
When Li Yuan grew up, he was tolerant, cautious and timid. This kind of character, coupled with his inability to rely on his family, was first of all an innate condition for the emperor's trust. In addition, Li Yuan's aunt was Empress Dugu, so Yang Jian paid special attention to Li Yuan. The governors of Qi and Long Prefectures made Li Yuan step by step from the distant Xuzhou to Daxing in Guanzhong. If nothing unexpected happens, he will enter the center sooner or later.
But Li Yuan felt very worried. On the one hand, Yang Jian, who came from "one emperor and one courtier", who valued him highly, was already old. Once the old man was gone, would the new emperor continue to value him? The answer is obviously no, because he has no outstanding political achievements so far. In front of many governors, he looks very mediocre and has no advantage at all. How can the new emperor reuse such a person? On the other hand, Li Yuan himself is getting older. He is already thirty-eight years old this year, and the time that allows him to make progress step by step is quite rare. If he is stuck in the position of governor for ten or eight years, let alone revitalizing the Li family, I am afraid that he will not be able to revitalize the Li family. It is impossible to keep a job at the level of governor. After all, the number of governors is limited, and the competition among the major aristocratic families is very fierce. Why should we let a mediocre person occupy it for a long time?
Li Yuan felt this and rushed back to attend Princess Leping's birthday banquet. However, just like Yang Lun's birthday banquet, Princess Leping's birthday banquet was also disrupted by Yang Ji. Everyone left early and Li Yuan went to see his aunt. My cousin didn’t even have a chance, let alone show her kindness and ask for an official position.
When he returned to his mansion, he sat blankly in his study, thinking about his official career and the future of his family.
When he couldn't get any clues, he asked someone to call the eldest son.
After a while, a clear voice came from outside the door: "Aye, are you looking for me?"
Li Yuan said: "Well, come in and talk."
"Here." The door opened, and a gentle and elegant young man walked in. He had a horizontal knife on his waist, and he looked outstanding and handsome.
This is Li Yuan's eldest son Li Jiancheng. He is only fifteen years old this year. When he becomes an adult next year, he will marry the Taiyuan Wang family's daughter.
Li Yuan put down the tea cup in his hand, looked at the eldest son dressed in a Confucian shirt, and asked, "Are you with the Wang family today? Although the Wang family in Taiyuan is where your uncle and aunt are, and it is your fiancée's family, you don't want to follow him all day long. They were messing around together.”
"Don't worry, Aye!" Li Jiancheng said with a smile: "I'm not messing around with them. I know very well what my father meant for me to get married to my cousin. The name of the Taiyuan Wang family is helpful to our Li family, especially. Aye is now a local official, and they still need their reputation among scholars to increase their momentum."
Li Jiancheng stood under his father. Although he was still young, he had an aura. This was not the result of a playboy relying on the influence of his father's generation, but the aura developed as a descendant of the Eight-Pillar Country and the eldest son of the Duke of Tang Dynasty.
Li Yuan smiled proudly and said: "The marriage between us and the Wang family of Taiyuan is actually the Wang family, not us, that we care about and are most happy about. Don't think these so-called five surnames and seven sects look down on our Guanlong nobles, but if they really have the chance, they will Take the initiative to come to marry the Guanlong nobles. When your aunt married into the direct lineage of the Wang family in Taiyuan, they took the initiative to propose marriage to you. Haha... Shandong gentry such as the Five Surnames and Seven Sects now generally take the title of family member The concubines sold their concubines into marriage for the sake of power, so what else can’t they do now?”
The so-called sold marriage means that after the Northern Qi Dynasty was destroyed, the suppressed Shandong nobles looked for opportunities to marry everywhere in order to maintain their family status and re-enter the center of the imperial court. They even married off their daughters and concubines to officials of the Guanlong nobles with ordinary backgrounds. , and then collect "huge betrothal gifts", which is actually selling their daughters in disguise, which is despised by the Guanlong nobles as selling marriages and selling daughters.
Although many people now say that the five surnames and seven sects are famous all over the world, and that their marriages are all over the world, how well they master academics, and how famous they are in Guandong. However, the Guanlong nobles, who were the core force of the Sui Dynasty, did not pay much attention to the Shandong nobles. Li Yuan is naturally no exception. Even though his family has declined terribly, he still looks down on the Shandong gentry headed by the Five Surnames and Seven Sects in his heart.
The marriage between Li Yuan and the Wang family in Taiyuan was just to use their old reputation to add icing on the cake.
"Da Lang, I will go back to Longzhou tomorrow." Li Yuan, who was proud for a while, told his son about the business: "If you want to become famous all over the world quickly, military force is the best. King Wei is the best example, so When you are in the capital, don't waste your time reciting poems, composing poems, or traveling around. You should work hard to learn the art of riding, archery, and the art of war; there is one more thing you should remember."
Li Jiancheng nodded and said, "Please give me your instructions."
"King Wei forcefully blocked the path of more than a dozen of Cui, Lu, Zheng, and Wang's sons to become officials in Furong Garden, and then defeated the Shandong gentry's sons with their best poems. This can be said to have greatly boosted the morale of the Guanlong nobles. The noble children of Guanlong present highly praised King Wei and regarded King Wei as a model for learning. However, not long after, King Wei was assassinated in Furong Garden and almost died from an arrow. Some people said that the assassin was the Dugu family, the Dou family, the Yuan family, and the Yuwen family. However, some people say that it was done by the Shandong nobles. In short, there are different opinions." Li Yuan glanced at his eldest son and solemnly warned: "Before this assassination incident is over, you must not associate with the children of the suspected family, lest you It’s a disaster for the fish in the pond.”
"I understand." Li Jiancheng bit his lip, looked at his father expectantly, and asked softly: "Aye, can I visit King Wei? I also want to go to the battlefield."
Li Yuan pondered for a while and said: "It's okay to visit, but it's absolutely not okay to go to the battlefield."
"Why not?" Li Jiancheng was anxious.
Li Yuan sighed and said bitterly: "Your mother-in-law is a woman. She cannot come forward on many occasions in the capital, and there are no capable people in our family, so you, the eldest son, have to manage this family and go to Beijing on my behalf." Participate in some banquets that are unavoidable. Besides, your brothers and sisters are still young. If our father and son are no longer in the capital, who can take care of them? Who can manage them well? Who can teach them well? "
When Li Jiancheng heard this, he suddenly felt like a deflated rubber ball and whispered: "Okay then!"
"If I transfer you back to the capital, it won't be too late for you to go to the battlefield. Study hard now and prepare for the future." Although Li Yuan also hoped that his son could go to the battlefield as soon as possible to experience, there was no one in the family who could control the situation, and he any idea?
"Yes." Li Jiancheng responded sadly.
At this time, there was a rush of footsteps outside the door, and a servant reported outside the door: "Alang, we have a visitor."
"Who is here?" Li Yuan asked casually.
The servant quickly said: "It's uncle Dugu Zheng from the Dugu family and uncle Dou Wei from the Dou family."
"What?" Li Yuan was shocked when he heard this. The two families were currently organizing low-key funerals for Dugu Tuo and Dou Yi, but these two people suddenly came together. This is a good thing. But the former is his uncle, and the latter is his wife's uncle, but it is impossible not to see him.
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