The meeting hall of Prince Jia's palace was filled with dullness. Xia Muchao, Xia Chengxuan, Mei Yuanchen and several close associates of the palace were sitting one after another.
"Haizhi, you have fought against them before. Maybe you can tell the origins of these people from their martial arts skills?" Xia Muchao looked unhappy and asked Haizhi in a deep voice.
After Mei Yuanchen carried Xia Chengyi back to the sedan chair, everyone hurried back and did not arrive at the palace until three quarters past noon. After returning to the mansion, Xia Chengxuan ordered Xie Zhi and Ying Zhi to go ahead and report to King Jaw in detail about today's attack. After he and Mei Yuanchen sent Xia Chengyi and Haitang back to their rooms, they went straight to the meeting hall of the mansion. At this time, Xia Muchao, Du Chong, Xie Zhi, Ying Sheng and the other two old men were already discussing.
"Your Majesty, there were five people who besieged Miss Haitang at that time. Except for one person who was subdued by my palm, the other four people fought with the subordinates. The martial arts of the four people were not weak and they were definitely not invincible to ordinary guards. The subordinates intended to give way to After fighting each other for six or seven times, I found that their moves and movements were not the same. Two of them used the Tianshan Sect's Star Pointing Hand, one used the Zhuoliu Temple's Shuanglong Demon Subduing Fist, and the other used the Zhuoliu Temple's Shuanglong Demon Subduing Fist. One person moves here and there, but there is nothing special about it. These five people all have some foundation in internal skills, and their moves are all crude and rough, as if they were done by people in the martial arts world, but they don't have the appearance of a big sect at all." Haechi recalled the moves in detail and analyzed them one by one.
"Yes, there are three people fighting against my subordinates. All three of them used several moves of Gushan Sword Technique, and one of them also used two moves of Bazhou Liang Family's Jiujia Small Capture. But their moves were all useless. , I’m not on the right track, more like the outer disciples of these sects.” Ying Sheng also expressed his judgment.
After hearing this, Xia Muchao frowned, his face became stern, and he said in a deep voice, "The Jaw Prince's Palace and the Jianghu sect have never had anything to do with each other. Now they dare to attack our Jaw Prince's Palace for no reason! If you don't give them any color, I'm afraid that in the future We can’t live in peace yet!” He looked at Haechi and asked, “Where are the injured people?”
"After the criminals were restrained, my subordinates arranged for someone to report to the Yamen of the capital. According to their footsteps, they should be on their way to the prison cells of the Yamen of the capital. After they were registered in the Yamen, my subordinates sent someone to arrest them. Those five people were brought to the palace for interrogation." Haechi replied. Although the Jaw Prince's Palace is noble and prominent, it does not have the power to arrest suspects. However, since it is related to the safety of Jaw Prince's son and the princess, the Jaw Prince's Palace can participate in the review of this case according to the law. Haechi has been working in the royal palace for many years, so he is naturally familiar with the ways in this area.
Unexpectedly, Xia Muchao shook his head and said, "This matter is by no means as simple as a gangster kidnapping someone to do something!" He then responded to Du Chong, "If you go to Liuzhulin with the royal palace's golden order, you will definitely encounter someone on the way. The people from the government office must bring the person to the palace no matter what. In response, you and Du Chong will go together. This matter may change in the near future, so you two should go and return quickly!" The two of them received the clear order, and they didn't even take a breath. Not daring to delay, he hurriedly stood up from his seat and retreated. After they left, the two old men beside them quietly retreated.
"Father, do you think that someone will kill someone and silence them?" Xia Chengxuan stood up, approached Xia Muchao and asked.
"This matter is bound to involve a political dispute in the DPRK. Ordinary Jianghu gangs do not have the guts. The people who sent them will try to rescue them. If the rescue fails, in order to prevent the matter from being revealed, they will definitely kill people and silence them. No matter how to stop them The government offices may not be unreliable to save people or prevent them from killing people." Xia Muchao said coldly, "We can only rely on the people of the palace to track down the murderer!" This is not the first time that the family members of the palace have been attacked, but combined with the current government Xia Muchao has never been so worried about the situation.
"My father is right!" Xia Chengxuan said, stroking his hands, "I just hope that Manager Du and Master Ying Sheng will arrive before they do it!" After hearing this, several people nodded slightly.
"Hmph! I'm afraid they won't take action. If we deal with them all together, it will save us the effort of searching everywhere!" No matter how many of them there are, they will never come back! The martial arts skills of the two masters, Yongchu and Hua Fang, are unfathomable. There are only a dozen people in Dahua who can escape from their combined efforts. !" It turned out that the two old men who just quietly got down from their seats were the top and second-ranked masters in the house: Yaozhu and Hua Fang.
At this moment, the rest of the people have retreated, and only Xia Muchao, Xia Chengxuan and Mei Yuanchen are left in the meeting hall.
"Haha, today is a rare day. The three of us, father and son, can sit together. Let's go to the side hall, serve some wine and food, and we three can have a good chat." Walking to the side hall, Xia Chengxuan and Mei Yuanchen looked at each other, walked outside the hall and gave a few instructions to the servants, then quickly followed.
"You guys should sit down too." Xia Muchao said to Xia Chengxuan and Mei Yuanchen, "It's just time to have lunch together." It was lunch time, and the kitchen had already prepared food and wine. The three of them sat down at the small dining table. A food plate was brought and several exquisite side dishes were served. Xia Muchao picked up the bowls and chopsticks and said warmly to the two of them, "Eat first, don't be hungry! When you're full, let's talk slowly."
The three of them were all really hungry, and the side dishes were not enough. A few dishes and a jug of wine were quickly gone. The maid standing by the side cleaned up, served a jug of wine, then closed the door and left.
"I wonder how long these days of having no worries about food and clothing can last!" Xia Muchao sighed softly, with endless loneliness in his eyes.
"Father, is the court really in a difficult situation?" Xia Chengxuan asked with burning eyes.
Xia Muchao looked at his beloved son, stretched out his hand to touch his head, and said with a smile, "No matter how difficult it is, your father will support you now. Whatever you did before, it will be fine now. You are still young. You can learn everything, but you don’t need to do anything. In a few years, when you are older, even if you want to refuse, I won’t allow it.” There is really endless love in his eyes and words. "But after all, you are the children of an extraordinary family. At your age, you can naturally get involved in political affairs. I really should tell you more about the affairs of the court." The two nodded heavily after hearing this, hoping to share the responsibilities of their father and the king. Father's heavy burden.
"In the past few years, salt shortages and natural disasters have spread across more than ten counties, and the people's lives have been very difficult. Moreover, Dahua has been suffering from many years of abuses, officials are corrupt, and people's resentment is getting worse. Local big families, noble families, and gangs have accumulated a large amount of money and are competing to build troops and build up their strength. . According to reports, the largest Jianghu gang, the Salt Gang, which engages in private salt trading, has nearly 30,000 members. Almost everyone in the gang is armed with troops and is running rampant in the local area. Officers and soldiers from all over the place dare not speak out. Not to mention the common people." Xia Muchao looked solemn, poured himself a drink, and continued, "The Xu family of Ruozhou, the number one family in the martial arts world, openly trained more than 5,000 servants in the palace. Hmph, if these people want to do something Even an ordinary army would find it difficult to suppress evil deeds. If you want to rebel, it is not difficult. The Huangfu family and the Gongyang family each have 130,000 troops under their control. In the past four or five years, they have secretly trained more than 50,000 people, but It is said that the soldiers are strong and the horses are strong. Although they have not yet rebelled, whether they rebel or not depends only on their thoughts. On the other hand, in the imperial court, in addition to paying salaries, the money in the treasury is used for disaster relief. Military funds are often insufficient, and horses and weapons are also far from enough. To meet the needs of the war. Although there are millions of troops, I'm afraid only less than 40% of them can fight!" After saying that, he drank three more cups.
"Father!" Mei Yuanchen had always respected Xia Muchao, but now she knew that he was in such a difficult situation. She felt sad and called softly.
Xia Muchao waved his hand and said with a wry smile, "It doesn't matter." He poured another cup and drank it, then said, "These are all internal worries of the country. As a father, I admit that if you give me five years, the vassal king will be able to gather troops and the government will be muddy." All winds can be reversed. However, powerful enemies are currently surrounding us. Since the beginning of winter last year, the Ministry of War has reported the entry of enemy generals more than 30 times. It is obvious that they are testing the strength of our border defense. The country has been experiencing good weather for decades. Tiao, officials govern the Qingming Dynasty, and the current national power is no longer inferior to that of Dahua. In addition, the Xianma Kingdom, Shatuo Kingdom, and Xue Kingdom are plundering the formation from the side. Humph, now that Dahua is weak and they are strong, how can they want to miss this? An opportunity that has been rare for hundreds of years? Alas, I'm afraid there will be a war within a few years!" After saying that, he raised the pot and drank.
