Gujiagou is located at the foot of Tianchi.
Zhou Yi came to the entrance of the village and saw only a few broken walls, buried in the wind and snow, and overgrown grass. It looked like it had not been inhabited for at least several years.
"Where are the people?"
Seeing this situation, I can't help but wonder if it has been a hundred years of seclusion and the world has changed.
Zhou Yi circulated his true energy and used Qing Kung to fly across the snow to the southwest, covering more than a hundred miles in less than half an hour.
There were shouts and curses in the distance. He jumped up and landed on the treetop. No matter how steady the branches were, they were as steady as a mountain. Following the sound, he saw hundreds or even thousands of people.
More than a hundred soldiers wielded whips, cursed and beat the people, urging them to work faster.
The people wailed in pain, endured hunger and cold, and wielded hoes and hammers to dig.
"Zhenbei Army?"
Zhou Yi recognized the attire of his old rival at a glance. He flew forward, his toes passing over several treetops, and landed next to the captain who was drinking and eating meat.
"Where did it come from..."
The captain's vision dimmed, and he cursed subconsciously. He felt a chill on his neck. When he lowered his head and saw the sharp blade made of zhenqi, he suddenly turned pale with fear and his hands and feet became weak.
"Uncle, what are you looking for?"
The soldiers nearby crowded around, and the captain quickly waved his hand to move away, lest the deputy use his knife to kill someone.
"What year is it now? What month is it?"
Zhou Yi hadn't spoken for many years, his voice was a bit strange and dull, and with his long hair shawl, beard two or three feet long, and his clothes almost turned into pieces of cloth, he looked like a savage who ran out of the mountains.
The school captain quickly replied: "It was October 22nd, the 16th year of Taichang."
Sixteen years!
This retreat took longer than expected, but I have perfected many martial arts, my own strength has greatly improved, and my enemies are getting older, so it is a good time to kill them.
Zhou Yi asked again: "Do you know where Gujiagou moved? Why did the Zhenbei Army come here?"
“I’ve never heard of Gujiagou when I was little.”
The lieutenant became more and more convinced that he was seeing an unknown old man in front of him, and he answered honestly: "Two years ago, the prince destroyed the imperial army, and this land became the prince's new fiefdom."
A soldier nearby said: "Uncle, I am from Kaoshan Village, not far from Gujiagou. I heard that someone from the Gu family has become a high official and the whole family has moved to the capital."
"Beijing..."
Zhou Yi's eyes were dim and he soared into the air for more than ten feet, then disappeared after a few rises and falls.
The captain rubbed his head but it was still there, called the soldiers to speak, and asked about the Gujia Village. Suddenly, a great master who could condense Qi appeared, and he had to report it to the palace.
The soldiers recounted all the rumors they had heard, and one of them mentioned Tianchi Diaosou.
"The grave of Diaosou is still on the mountain!"
…
"The man named Xie is dead!"
Zhou Yi went south from Tianchi and inquired about the news in the towns passing by, and found out the major events that had happened in the past sixteen years.
"But thanks to the fact that my family is still here, our family can give you everything, and we can also take everything back!"
Since entering the palace, Zhou Yi has learned that revenge must be retaliated. Even if the target of revenge dies, the debt must be transferred to the nine tribes, and no penny should be lost.
If not, it would be difficult to convince the servants under his command!
Along the way, I asked about the martial arts masters of that year, but everyone hid their secrets and no useful information was obtained.
All the way to the capital, it was already approaching the end of the year.
Zhou Yi did not contact the Dongchang spies. After so many years, no matter how deeply buried the spies were, they would change their minds. Instead, he took advantage of the night to sneak into the sky prison.
Zishi.
Everything was quiet, and the jailer on duty was dozing against the wall.
A black shadow followed the corner of the wall and escaped into the heavenly prison. The forbidden area in the eyes of ordinary masters was nothing to the innate master.
Going around left and right, we came to the deepest part of the Tianlao.
A specially built cell is divided into two rooms, inside and outside. Inside there is a carved sandalwood bed, a blue silk curtain and brocade quilt, and outside there are bookshelves, tables and chairs, pens, ink, paper, inkstones, etc.
Six candles as thick as arms burned brightly, illuminating the cell.
The old man with white beard and hair sat at the desk, sometimes frowning and thinking, sometimes writing and drawing in the book.
Zhou Yiyin observed in the dark for a moment, then slowly revealed his figure and knocked on the fence: "Master Tang, it's time to eat..."
I originally wanted to say long time no see, but for some reason the words came out of my mouth.
"Um?"
Tang Mingyuan felt that the voice sounded familiar. He looked up and saw the strange-looking old man. After observing carefully for a moment, he saw that his little finger was slightly raised and said in surprise.
"Could it be the Governor?"
Zhou Yi said with a hint of yin and yang: "How did the all-powerful Prime Minister Tang end up in such a situation? Which god helped our family to express such a tone!"
Tang Mingyuan said helplessly: "The Governor can't guess it?"
"Jiejiejie..."
Zhou Yi laughed strangely: "The person with such ability in the world must be a disciple of Lord Tang, your Majesty the Emperor Taichang!"
Two years ago, the Northern Patrol was defeated, and the court ceded territory and paid compensation.
At that time, Tang Mingyuan was in charge of court affairs, signed the peace treaty with his own hand, and assumed all responsibilities afterwards.
The reform had already offended aristocratic families and scholars, so they took this opportunity to launch a massive counterattack, promoting Tang Mingyuan as a treacherous and powerful official who was greedy for military pay and ruined his country.
Emperor Taichang ordered Dongchang to conduct a thorough investigation of the Tang Dynasty, and sure enough he discovered mountains of gold and silver, and was subsequently imprisoned for corruption.
One jail term lasted two years in the heavenly prison. They were not beheaded according to the law, but were served with good food and drink.
Emperor Taichang claimed that he cared about the relationship between master and apprentice and was grateful for Tang Dynasty's achievements. Such a kind and filial emperor was highly sought after by the people of Daqing.
When Zhou Yi heard about this on his way to Beijing, the first thing he did when he came to Beijing was to visit his old friend.
A bit proud, but also a bit sad!
"It's good that I'm alive."
Tang Mingyuan sighed: "The death of hundreds of thousands of young men in Daqing during the Northern Patrol had a lot to do with me. Every time I close my eyes now, it seems that countless parents, wives and children are cursing in my ears!"
After Zhou Yi thought for a moment, he understood the key.
After the death of the Queen Mother, Emperor Taichang, who first took over the throne, was by no means a match for Tang Mingyuan, and he was even less able to mobilize hundreds of thousands of troops to patrol the north.
Therefore, it was Tang Mingyuan who took the initiative to assist and support the Northern Patrol, either because of guilt or connivance, which ultimately led to the defeat of Snow Wolf Valley.
"A woman's kindness!"
Zhou Yi said coldly: "Our family has long said that you are not a material for big things, and sure enough, you let a little brat scheme against you."
The victory of the Northern Patrol was attributed to Emperor Taichang, who could use this opportunity to intervene in military power.
If it failed, the blame fell on Tang Mingyuan, which weakened the power of powerful ministers and relatives, and Emperor Taichang also made a lot of money.
Zhou Yi used himself to save people, and speculated that the subsequent cession of land and compensation were also ordered by Emperor Taichang. Ten million taels of silver was not much for the court, and the area ceded did not have much population. It was just in time to completely blackmail Tang Mingyuan.
Tang Mingyuan, who lost military power during the Northern Patrol, and whose reputation among the people plummeted due to the peace talks, was imprisoned with just a word from Emperor Taichang.
Zhou Yi combed through the twists and turns and became somewhat interested in Emperor Taichang.
Did he ascend to the throne due to his talent, intelligence and luck, or did anyone who ascended the throne learn how to fight without a teacher?
"Governor, I have a favor to ask of you."
Tang Mingyuan said: "When you have time, go to the harem to have a look and find out the quality of Tongtong's real life. Don't let me, the father, get involved."
Zhou Yi nodded and said: "I have met Tongtong several times before, and he can barely be considered an elder. Our family agreed."
"Thank you."
Tang Mingyuan didn't mention the rescue he had done back then. Due to the Duke's temperament, he would only take revenge but not repay kindness. Fortunately, he would usually do what he promised.
Zhou Yi asked curiously: "If Tongtong lives well and is in love with His Majesty, what will happen to Mr. Tang?"
Tang Mingyuan said: "Then there will be no regrets in dying."
Zhou Yi asked again: "What if life is worse than death?"
"..."
Tang Mingyuan's face was as calm as water, without any change. However, his heartbeat beat several times faster, telling Zhou Yi that he was not as calm as he appeared.
Zhou Yi changed his voice and asked: "Was Emperor Taichang responsible for the Queen Mother's death?"
There were no rumors about the Queen Mother's death, but Zhou Yi had seen a lot of harem struggles, and it was almost certain that it was related to Emperor Taichang, and he might even have done it himself.
Tang Mingyuan continued to remain silent. He was vaguely aware of the matter and did not investigate it in depth. Instead, he helped cover it up afterwards.
"I thought you were just being soft-hearted, but you turned out to be a loser!"
Zhou Yi spat, not knowing that he had guessed correctly, and scolded: "Your Majesty even dares to kill your mother, let alone the queen, a mere relative. If Mr. Tang dies, your daughter will die soon."
"Why do you become ill due to worries, do you occasionally feel cold, or do you slip and fall into the water? Don't you hear enough about those things in the palace, Mr. Tang?"
"He dares!"
Tang Mingyuan's eyebrows were raised, his beard and hair were spread out, and he said in a deep voice: "Emperor Taichang has sworn that after I return the power, I will ensure that Tongtong will be stable and happy throughout his life."
"Master Tang, don't deceive yourself. You should know better than anyone else..."
Zhou Yi said word by word: "This is not a treat, but a life-and-death struggle!"
Tang Mingyuan's majestic aura suddenly dropped, as if he had aged dozens of years in an instant. He looked up after being stunned for a long time and saw several jailers coming to patrol, but Zhou Yi was no longer there.
"Yun'er, I promised you that I would protect Tongtong throughout his life..."
Tang Mingyuan murmured to himself, the gentleness and peace in his eyes disappeared, and turned into fierceness and determination. He stood up and took out a book from the bookshelf, flipping through the pages page by page.
There are five simple seal characters written on the cover of the book: Sutra of Ghost Immortals Prolonging Life.
Tang Mingyuan didn't care about power or wealth. Emperor Taichang would take it if he wanted it. He was a lonely soul from a foreign land. How could a person who died once be afraid of death?
There is only one bottom line that no one can touch as a father!
(End of chapter)
