Infighting is not something only sects have.
In a sense, the struggle in the imperial court was more intense.
Because Dayan was so big, the imperial court was much larger than a single sect's base, and the entanglements of interests were much more complicated.
Especially in recent years, there has been almost one wave of turmoil in the court.
In his memory, Xu Yuan's most intuitive feeling was that he came from Jiaofangsi.
Since five years ago, basically the top chefs at Jiaofangsi have been rapidly iterating every month.
Today a royal censor's wife will appear, and tomorrow a minister's daughter will appear.
When he returned to the Imperial Capital this time, Xu Yuan estimated that he would see a lot of new henchmen with sky-high prices in the Jiaofang Division.
Because three months ago, the previous Ministers of the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Hubu had their homes confiscated.
This is the highest-ranking official whose home has been confiscated in recent years.
Xu Yuan doesn't know the inside story now, but he knows that in the decades since the emperor ascended the throne, with the efforts of the emperor and his father, most of the stubborn old forces in the previous dynasty have been purged.
In other words, the important ministers above the court are basically the prime minister and the emperor's own people.
But now the top leaders of the two most important departments, the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Household Affairs, have had their homes confiscated.
In the past, most officials of this level were transferred, and the most cruel thing was to let them retire and return to their hometowns. Even if the internal fighting was kept within a controllable range, the ones who died were only some low-level officials and officials.
But now the house was confiscated directly.
This is a deadly move.
As a former playboy, Xu Yuan didn't know which side these two officials were on privately, but whether they were from the Prime Minister's line or the Emperor's line, this could already show that the internal fighting in the court was gradually intensifying.
These people are a lesson to the Prime Minister's government.
With the current size of the Prime Minister's Mansion, there is no way to release military power over a glass of wine. At this position, it is already necessary to retreat if you don't advance, and behind you is an abyss.
After the words fell, there was silence.
An unconcealable wavering appeared in Xu Xinyao's beautiful eyes.
Although she was explaining to Ran Qingmo, she knew that a large part of what Third Brother said was meant for her.
To break the thoughts in her heart.
Ran Qingmo on the side didn't think so much compared to Xu Xinyao. After being quieter, he asked aloud:
"But if there will definitely be a fight with each other, why do we need to enter into a marriage contract?"
Xu Yuan pondered for a while, shook his head and smiled:
"This engagement is a covenant of change."
Ran Qingmo's eyes were puzzled:
"Is this kind of covenant useful?"
"It's no use."
Xu Yuan denied the binding power of the marriage contract without hesitation: "This kind of covenant that can only cover up conflicts was signed with the intention of tearing it up later."
If marriage could ease conflicts, there wouldn't be so many wars between the dynasties and the nomads in the previous life.
But after a pause, Xu Yuan added:
"But both the emperor and my father need this."
Ran Qingmo looked at Xu Yuan, his eyes blinking, as if he wanted to figure out the reason, but in the end he still couldn't figure it out.
She didn't understand why she would go to such trouble to do something so non-binding.
Xu Yuan looked into her eyes:
"The conflicts that the emperor and my father have accumulated over the past few decades have become bigger and bigger, and there is a high probability that they will intensify if this continues. But now we can't break up, and we still need to rely on each other's strength.
"With this marriage, under today's conditions, everyone can communicate through this marriage if they want to have conflicts. After all, the princess and I are direct relatives of both parties. Before the relationship really breaks down, it will be more or less I will take some care of it."
"You could interpret this as a signal or a sign that both parties want to reconcile."
Hearing this, Ran Qingmo lowered his head and glanced at the Mo sword in his hand:
"oh"
Xu Yuan noticed her look:
"What's wrong?"
Ran Qingmo shook his head:
"nothing."
Xu Yuan's eyes curved and he came close to her ear:
"What, do you feel uncomfortable?"
"."
Feeling the man approaching, Ran Qingmo raised her faint eyes to glance at him, then lowered them again:
".A little."
"."
Xu Yuan was stunned and subconsciously stopped.
The two girls didn't wait for him but still walked towards the main hall of the county government in front of them, their graceful backs appearing further and further away in their eyes.
After a long silence, Xu Yuan's lips curled up slightly, but then he sighed and followed quickly:
"Actually, you don't have to feel uncomfortable."
Ran Qingmo glanced at him sideways, his eyes still a little downcast: "Oh"
Xu Yuan thought for a while and whispered:
"I mean it because you are special to me."
"." Ran Qingmo stopped, his eyes widened slightly, staring at him flickeringly.
Xu Xinyao, who was in chaos on the side, subconsciously cast her gaze when she saw this. She temporarily put aside her complicated thoughts and looked at the Sword Sect leader and her third brother with a little curiosity in her eyes.
Xu Yuan glanced at her and waved his hand, signaling her to get out of here.
Xu Xinyao pursed her lips, but had no intention of leaving.
Seeing this, Xu Yuan let her go.
Ran Qingmo's beautiful eyes were full of emotions, but in the end they lowered their eyes and walked forward silently.
"."Xu Yuan.
Xu Xinyao poked Xu Yuan.
Xu Yuan looked back.
Xu Xinyao gestured:
Don't you want to comfort me?
Xu Yuan rolled his eyes at these four sisters and said:
"It's no use."
"." Xu Xinyao's eyes were speechless and she sighed.
The corners of Xu Yuan's eyes twitched.
Although Ran Qingmo was a bit stupid about certain things, she was not stupid. More importantly, the deception effect of her past life's rhetoric to deflect conflicts was basically non-existent.
Xu Xinyao did not say anything to Xu Yuanduo, but quickly followed up and walked side by side with Ran Qingmo, whispering to her in a low voice.
In the county government hall,
Lieutenant Wang had taken off his military uniform and was wearing a brown cloth, with blood oozing out from the surface. He was rubbing his brow vigorously, and an adjutant stood beside him, reporting various matters in the city to him in a low voice:
"The list of brothers who died in battle has been calculated. Here is the list. 5,369 people were killed and 2,765 were missing."
".We temporarily recruited corvees in the city to clean up the rubble and corpses on the streets, but the speed is still too slow."
"The stock of medicinal materials in the city has bottomed out. It is estimated that many people will not survive tonight."
As he continued to report one thing after another, the adjutant's tone suddenly dropped slightly:
"Also, the warriors in the caravan group have begun to be a little dishonest."
Hearing this, Lieutenant Wang, who kept his eyes open, put down his hand and said in a tired voice:
"Tell me carefully."
The adjutant was slightly silent when he heard this and said in a low voice:
"The city walls in the west and south of the city have been destroyed, and a large area of residential areas there are in ruins. Now that the tide of monsters has subsided, many people have gone home to collect money, but some warriors have already taken away these properties, and conflicts have arisen. Some people have been silenced.
"And more importantly, the remaining beast elixirs and materials left by the monsters outside the city are also being misappropriated bit by bit by that group of caravans."
"."
After a while of silence, Lieutenant Wang suddenly slapped the document in front of him with his palm.
The desk case was broken by Wang Xiaowei's palm.
"These bastards! The cooperation in defense of the city failed more than failed, and now they have appeared. How dare they?!"
After saying that, Lieutenant Wang took a long breath and smiled coldly:
"It doesn't matter. Stabilize them for the time being and let them seize the time to clean up the corpses in the city. As for the demonic beast inner elixirs and materials, let them take as much as they can. When the reinforcements arrive, let them take the capital and profits. Spit it out! If you don’t spit it out, no one will leave the city!"
When the adjutant heard this, he cupped his fists and saluted:
"Yes, General."
Captain Wang pondered for a moment and added:
"Remember, we just turn a blind eye and don't want to reach an agreement with them officially."
"yes."
"Is there anything else?"
The adjutant thought for a while and whispered:
"General, Doctor Cheng just sent word that the detergent powder has been used up. If this continues, I'm afraid there will be a plague soon."
Captain Wang pondered for a moment and said in a low voice:
"Then let people transport the corpses out of the city as soon as possible."
The adjutant shook his head slightly when he heard this and said:
"General, Dr. Cheng said I'm afraid it won't work just to transport it out, it will have to be burned."
"Burn?" Captain Wang frowned.
"."
The adjutant glanced around, then stepped forward and whispered to Captain Wang:
"Build an isolation zone in the city and burn all the corpses in the south and west of the city."
Captain Wang heard the adjutant's words and just asked:
"If it is burned, is it confirmed that it can prevent the outbreak of the plague?"
The adjutant shook his head: "It just reduces the chance."
Captain Wang lowered his eyes, and gently tapped the armrest of the chair with his calloused palms. After a long while, he whispered:
"Go and organize the manpower and clear out the area."
"General Wang!"
The adjutant interrupted Lieutenant Wang, and his tone became a little more serious: "Even accounting for the losses, there are tens of thousands of demonic beast inner elixirs and materials. If all are sold, it will be enough for us in Shengshan County to re-engrav the formation patterns and even train the new army. "
Captain Wang nodded and said:
"I know."
"Then why?"
Colonel Wang looked at the adjutant and forced a smile:
"If people are gone, Shengshan County is really dead. If there are such heavy casualties, the court will definitely provide disaster relief. Go down and prepare."
The adjutant didn't move.
Captain Wang frowned:
"Li Chengqi, do you want to disobey me?"
The adjutant shook his head slightly and whispered:
"General, we only have about 200 brothers who can move now. We simply don't have enough manpower. If we order something like this, the caravans in the city will not agree to it."
Colonel Wang grinned coldly:
"Do you think they dare to rebel?"
The adjutant shook his head:
"They don't dare, but if they dare not contribute, with the people we have now, we simply can't complete such a large project."
"."
Colonel Wang was silent, and finally sighed helplessly: "Go down and leave me alone for a while."
The adjutant stood there and paused for a few breaths, cupped his fists and saluted, and said respectfully:
"General, you rest, I'm going down first."
After that, he turned around and walked out of the main hall, leaving Captain Wang sitting alone in front of the document that was broken into two parts.
For a long time,
Lieutenant Wang bowed slightly, picked up the list of those killed and missing from the ground, and read through the pages carefully.
The faint sound of turning pages echoed in the silent hall.
Looking at the familiar and unfamiliar names on these rosters, his fists clenched bit by bit.
He has been in Shengshan since he joined the army.
Twenty-seven years.
From Xiao Wang, to Brother Wang, and then to Uncle Wang.
He has seen all the people represented by the names on the roster, and has interacted with many of them. Some called him General Wang, some called him uncle, and some people came back from the market and happily told him that he had picked up something again today. If you miss it, you can make a lot of money and improve the military camp in the coming year.
But now, they have all become a few words on this roster.
Captain Wang could not treat these young people as numbers like those in higher positions, because they used to be a group of living people in front of him.
Page after page, turning to the last few pages, Captain Wang's breathing gradually became difficult.
A thick sense of suffocation almost enveloped his entire body.
"Wanxiang Sect"
A low, almost tooth-crushing voice sounded in the quiet county government hall. His hand holding the roster was bruised by veins, but the burly middle-aged man still refused to destroy the roster.
I don't know how long it took, Colonel Wang slowly picked up the brush on the ground, lightly dipped it in the ink that spilled on the ground, then opened the roster, and wrote his own in the last row of the last page. name.
After doing all this, Lieutenant Wang gently leaned on his chair and smiled, feeling relieved.
He is going to the Wanxiang Sect to seek justice.
Even though he knew that he would most likely die if he went there this time, the brothers in these military camps, the people who died, and the dilapidated Shengshan County all needed justice.
Thinking of this, Commander Wang casually placed the roster on the ground.
And at this time,
"Captain Wang, what do you want to do?"
A low voice sounded beside him.
Captain Wang's pupils shrank slightly, but he was relieved immediately, because he recognized who the familiar voice belonged to, and slowly stood up and looked back:
"Mr. Zhou, when did you come?"
He saw a handsome young man in blood standing behind him, looking at him calmly.
Xu Yuan didn't say anything when he heard the words, and glanced at him calmly. He slowly walked closer and picked up the roster on the ground. He opened it and flipped through it for a moment. When he saw the name on the last page, he sighed softly:
"Actually, you don't have to do that."
Captain Wang said nothing:
Xu Yuan looked at him and asked:
"You don't believe that the imperial court will take action against the Wanxiang Sect?"
Captain Wang shook his head:
"It's not that I don't believe it. I have been in Xizezhou for so many years. I am very familiar with everything around here. Attacking the Wanxiang Sect will involve a lot. If Shengshan County is really gone, maybe the court will do it for political purposes. We will take action against the Wanxiang Sect, but with the current situation, there is a high probability that we will not do so. Shengshan County needs disaster relief and reconstruction."
Xu Yuan raised his eyes and sighed softly:
"You are right, the imperial court will not attack the Wanxiang Sect."
Captain Wang smiled and looked down at his calloused hands:
"So, someone has to do something."
(End of chapter)
