Willow Green Villa.
On the east side of the manor entering the fourth courtyard, an independent courtyard made entirely of large stones appeared in front of Li Xuan.
The courtyard does not occupy a large area, but the gate and wall are so high that it is difficult to see inside.
The gate to the courtyard had been closed, but what appeared in front of Li Xuan was a huge boulder behind the broken wooden door, completely blocking the entire gate.
Two small trebuchets were parked a hundred steps away from the door. The large and small stone platforms roared and flew out. In the blink of an eye, they hit the boulder with a huge impact, leaving a clear white mark.
But only white seal.
Behind the towering stone wall, someone poked his head out from time to time and fired cold arrows.
Although the Qianniu Guards and Nanchang Palace soldiers outside had completely sealed the entire courtyard, they did not rush in rashly.
They hid behind hard shields and shot at each other with the gangsters behind the stone wall.
It can be seen that after following Li Xuan for a long time, from Luoyang to Yangzhou, then from Yangzhou to Hangzhou, and now Dongyang, he has experienced so many things, and these Qianniuwei who were born as noble young masters have been completely washed away The impetuous person has become much calmer and more capable, and he knows how to use his own advantages better.
Compared with the gangsters in the stone courtyard, the bows, arrows and crossbows of Li Xuan's Qianniu Guards have a much greater range.
Under such crossfire, someone within the courtyard wall would let out a tragic wail from time to time.
As time continues to drag on, the one who wins in the end must be Li Xuan's side.
…
Li Xuan stood in the distance, watching the battlefield.
Beside him stood Qiu Zhenmu, Zhou Shen and Liu Ji.
Although Liu Ji stood very close to Li Xuan, Qiu Zhenmu and Zhou Shen still stared at him at all times.
Looking around, Li Xuan's eyes finally fell on the huge stone blocking the entrance to the courtyard.
Something flashed in his mind, and Li Xuan immediately turned to look at Liu Ji: "Dragon Broken Stone, do you still have such a thing in your home?"
"Dragon-breaking stone!" When Li Xuan said this, Qiu Zhenmu and Zhou Shen's faces were filled with surprise.
Dragon-breaking stones are usually only used in the tombs of wealthy families and royal nobles, as well as on the gates of big cities.
Once used, life and death will be cut off immediately.
No one from the outside can get in, and no one from the inside can get out.
Who would have thought that such a thing could be encountered in a Dongyang manor like this.
"This was done by Xiao'er, and he also built this stone courtyard." Liu Ji looked a little sad.
For this Dongyang Uprising, the father and son made a lot of preparations, but unfortunately they were not put to use.
Li Xuan took a deep look at Liu Ji, as if he could see through his mind at a glance, and then said lightly: "If Master Ling is to defend here, and I want to take it down in a hurry, I'm afraid I will have to pay for it with my life." , I’m afraid there’s not much we can do.”
After a short pause, Li Xuan continued: "It just seems that your master is preparing for the worst."
The corners of Liu Ji's mouth twitched and he said: "It is true. After Quan Zi learned about the relationship between Lao Chan and the Tianyin Sect, he became restless day and night. It was not until this stone courtyard was built that he relaxed a lot."
Hearing this, Li Xuan said lightly: "I heard Cheng Jijiu tell you about this. When he was young, your son was very talented and loved him. However, when he got older, he suddenly changed, even in his poems. He expressed his disapproval, and later investigated more deeply. He had already seen something fishy about the Liu family, but unfortunately there was no evidence, so he had to let it go. However, you turned around and tried to bite others. Respect your teachers and respect them, and you have learned the lesson. inside."
"Master, you are taught to be loyal to the emperor and patriotic, but my family has also failed to do so." Liu Ji replied calmly, with a trace of dissatisfaction flashing in his eyes.
Li Xuan waved his sleeves and said politely: "I have checked the court tax records of that year. Although the taxes collected by the Tang Dynasty in the southeast were heavier than those in the north, the military service in the south was not much lighter than in the north. , look at Youzhou, look at Daizhou, and the Western Region of Dunhuang, in the early years, which one did not have half a city of soldiers."
Li Xuan sneered. Some people only saw the people in front of them, but completely ignored the many people who were carrying their own difficulties.
"The imperial court doesn't need to raise troops at all. In this way, there is no need to recruit troops in the north, and there is no need to raise taxes in the south. Wouldn't everything be fine?" Liu Ji looked at Li Xuan. Even though he was now a prisoner, once an argument broke out, he would be fine. It doesn't matter who is who.
"Who is your teacher?" Li Xuan suddenly said abruptly.
Liu Ji's face was filled with astonishment, and then he immediately fell silent.
…
"Okay, I don't want to talk about this issue, so let's talk about the people in this village in front of us." Li Xuan looked across the stone courtyard and looked at the stone house further behind. Under the layers of building, he wanted to break through this place. It's not easy.
"Although this stone courtyard was built by Your Majesty, the people in it are probably not His Majesty's people." Li Xuan sneered at the corner of her mouth and said disdainfully: "Although those people in Dongyang County Government are blind, let God The people of the Yin Sect have developed so many followers in Dongyang, but they will never let so many weapons flow into Dongyang and ignore them."
Some things are bottom lines that no one can easily cross.
Even if people from the Tianyin Sect bribe some Dongyang officials, as long as one person leaks the news, there is a possibility that the entire Tianyin Sect in Dongyang will be uprooted immediately.
Therefore, not only those people in Dongyang County, including the chief secretary Li Dingyi, and even Liu Dao and Liu Ji's father and son, do not want to see so many weapons entering Dongyang, but also everyone within the Tianyin Sect absolutely does not want to see them. Don't worry about putting so many weapons in the hands of Liu and his son.
Therefore, those who entered Dongyang with these weapons must be outsiders, and they were also elites from the Tianyin Sect, even recently.
Just like the people Li Xuan met in the ancient pagoda, the Tianyin Sect has a lot of people in Dongyang, but they are the only ones who really have bows and crossbows.
Liu Dao kept his mouth shut and didn't say a word.
Li Xuan looked at him with a calm face and said: "Those people are not stupid, so why do you need to keep them a secret? Let's do this. If you tell me their origins, I can consider releasing a group of people from your family." If you are not guilty, you wouldn’t want to see the women in your family who are old and weak being exiled three thousand miles away indiscriminately.”
Liu Dao couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth slightly. Looking at Li Xuan, he finally shook his head and sighed: "I have already said so much, it seems that I don't have much need to keep it secret."
After a pause, Liu Dao raised his head and looked at the people in the courtyard, with a hint of resentment in his eyes: "Those people, they, they came from Muzhou, and they occupied this stone as soon as they came. The reason why Yuan, Dao'er and Lao Chan want to go to Dongyang is because they don't want to get involved with these people."
"They look down on you father and son." Li Xuan suddenly realized.
People who are closer to the center, even if they live a hard life and don't have many achievements, seem to be qualified enough to look down on those who are fighting desperately outside.
There are stereotypes and bad habits in these dynasties, and it seems that they are not uncommon in Tianyin Sect.
"In the whole Wuzhou, they are the only one who obeys and respects Fang Yunxiu." Liu Ji even gritted his teeth for a while.
"Fang Yunxiu, the leader of the Wuzhou Hall of Tianyin Sect, was the one who planned the assassination of the king." Li Xuan was a little confused for a moment.
He looked at Liu Ji, nodded solemnly, and said, "When we get to Wuzhou City, I will definitely have a good exchange with the Wuzhou Hall Master."
After saying that, Li Xuan turned to look at Qiu Zhenmu: "Don't stand here, go to the servants and servants of the Liu family and ask if anyone is proficient in carpentry, and then let them follow the craftsmen of the navy to build Catapult, build a well gate, this time the king wants a real well gate."
"Here!" Qiu Zhenmu understood immediately, handed over his hands, and immediately walked towards the Liu family's handymen and servants.
Li Xuan turned to look at Liu Ji and Zhou Shen, and said calmly: "In the future, we will definitely have to fight against the people of Tianyin Sect. It is better to be prepared in advance than to sharpen our weapons again on the battlefield."
"It turns out that the prince is talking about craftsmen." Liu Ji's mouth twitched slightly. He thought that he also had a choice about this person.
But the craftsmen, even if Liu Ji didn't mention them, Li Xuan would deliberately select them. He was completely tricked.
At this time, Li Xuanruo looked at Liu Ji thoughtfully and said, "It can be a craftsman now, or someone else later. It depends on what information the captain can provide me in exchange for it."
Liu Ji's brows jumped immediately.
Li Xuan said calmly at this time: "The war here will be over for a while. I might as well go to your accounting room at home and take a look."
After finishing speaking, Li Xuan looked at Zhou Shen and said, "Don't spend too much time. Wait until more trebuchets are built and just drop the grass balls and see how long they can support it under the thick smoke."
"Here!" Zhou Shen immediately accepted the offer.
Li Xuan turned around and led Liu Ji towards the accounting room.
At this time, I heard Liu Ji say: "So the prince has a way to break through this place?"
"Naturally, if I were to do it myself, the people inside wouldn't be able to survive even half a quarter of an hour." Li Xuan's expression showed a hint of contempt on the corner of her mouth.
He had delayed it for so long just to train his men. Otherwise, the less than sixty people inside would have died long ago.
The Liu family's accounting room is in the East Cross Courtyard. At this time, there are only two Qianniu guards guarding the door, and more people from the Nanchang Palace are constantly coming in and out.
As soon as Li Xuan entered the door, he saw Wang Bo and Du Bixing, with many people carefully sorting out the Liu family's account books.
There are people from Nanchang Prince's Palace, people from Dongyang County Government, and even the Liu family's accountant.
"Mr. Zhao knows all about the Liu family's property." Liu Ji looked at the housekeeper Zhao Zhen, who was standing on one side with a frightened expression, and said with some apology on his face: "Mr. Zhao is not a member of the Tianyin Sect. I hope the prince Can be open to one side."
"I will give him the opportunity to make meritorious deeds. Whether he can seize it or not depends on his own ability."
Hearing what Li Xuan said, Zhao Zhen immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
Li Xuan nodded to Wang Bo and Du Bixing, then looked at Zhao Zhen and said: "Mr. Zhao, I hope you can help find out all the Liu family's properties here, and also find out the records about Dongyang that the Liu family has collected over the years. Details of the property and land of each other family.”
"Liu Lieutenant, the Liu family should have records of these things, right?"
Li Xuan's words made Liu Ji's expression change slightly.
(End of chapter)
