"So you saw it that night too?"
"Yes, I saw it!" Ji Jian Chiyang sighed: "Looking back now, it feels like a dream! It's just a nightmare!"
"Things like this will continue to happen as long as the throne remains vacant!"
Chi Jian sighed. This has been the case for thousands of years. In order to compete for power and wealth, people killed each other on this land. Blood seeped into the soil, becoming the best breeding ground for vengeful spirits. Whenever night falls, those The resentful spirits accumulated over thousands of years crawled out of the ground, whimpering, wailing, and longing for sacrifices and revenge. One of the emperor's jobs is to hold various religious ceremonies to appease these resentful spirits, but now there is no emperor.
"I plan to let my family go back to Izumo first!"
"Back to Izumo?"
"Yes, my family and territory are all there! Kyoto is so unsafe at this time!"
"Well, this is also a good idea!" Sha Zha Xiangru asked: "What about yourself?"
"How many generations have my family served the current master? It is impossible for me to leave Kyoto at this time!" Ji Jian Chiying said.
"How many people do you have? I mean if something happens, how many trustworthy people can you summon?"
Ji Jian Chiyun glanced at Sha Zha Xiangru in surprise, but he still answered the other party's question: "About twenty to thirty people!"
"That's all?"
"I'm just a Toneri!" Akihiko smiled and said, "My family is in Izumo Country, which is far away from here, and my house is only so big, no matter how many people there are, I can't accommodate it!"
"If there are only such a few people, then so much silver in your home will not be safe!"
Chi Jian's pupils shrank slightly as he examined the man in front of him, while Sha Zha Xiangru looked at him indifferently: "Don't stare at me like this, I'm not a wild deer in the mountains!"
"How did you know? Heiroku spilled the beans?"
"Don't be so anxious, I don't mean any harm!" Sha Zha Xiangru laughed: "I know your current situation: you are afraid of being involved in danger if you stay in Kyoto; but if you leave, you are worried about being deprived of your property and property. Territory, it can be said to be a dilemma, right?”
Chi Jian stood up and walked to the pillars to look at the courtyard. Two sparrows were chasing each other by the well. Farther away under the hedge, a yellow cat was licking its tail, waving its tail to drive away mosquitoes. fly. This reminded Akami Akatsuki of Izumo's home. If he had followed his original intention, he would have left this ghost place with his family and entourage long ago. But if you do this, it won't be long before someone brings the imperial edict and takes away your property and territory, just like you took it from others.
"Tell me, what is your purpose?"
"I just said, help you!" Sha Zha Xiangru said with a smile: "You have to stay in the capital, otherwise your family's property will be taken away; but if you stay here, just rely on Most of your twenty or thirty people will die in the next battle! Believe me, this is just the beginning. There is still a lot of blood to be shed before the Emperor is sure!"
Ji Jian Chiyun fell into silence again. Sha Zha Xiangru was right. Judging from past experience, the blood shed so far is not enough to soothe the throat in a battle for the throne. For a small family like the Ji Jian family, , it’s not surprising that hundreds of people died.
"Tell me your plan!" Ji Jianchi returned to the house: "If you didn't come empty-handed!"
"My plan?" Shazha Xiangru said with a smile, "Of course, I came prepared. If you are free, I will be happy to tell you!"
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Kawahara Palace.
"Brother, I have fulfilled your order!" The Prince of the Sea People strode into the fighting hall, his crimson cloak fluttering behind his back.
"Saitama agrees?" Prince Nakagashi raised his head from the desk: "This is not easy!"
"Yes, I spent a lot of effort to convince her!" Dahairen said with a smile: "She, I, and you all only retain three hundred people!"
"You?" The eldest brother, the prince, stood up
Coming up, he stared at the people in the sea: "You also have three hundred people?"
"Yes, Saitama said that I must be included, otherwise she would not agree!" Hairen smiled: "I tried my best, but there was still no way to convince her. You also know that she has been like this since she was a child. Once No one can do anything to her if she makes up her mind!"
The fingertips of the prince, the eldest brother, ran across the beard on both cheeks, and suddenly his eyes stared at Dahairen: "Dahairen, if you stand on her side, it will be six hundred versus three hundred!"
"How could it be? I am already your son-in-law, right?" The sea man laughed.
"Okay!" The eldest brother, the prince, nodded: "Now I can only choose to believe you!"
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Omi, Otsu, Ishidaso.
When Sha Zha Xiangru rolled off the horse, he felt that he had lost all feeling on the inside of his legs.
"Where is the king? I want to see him right away!" Sha Zha Xiangru shook off the hand that was stretched out to support him and asked. Among the Baekje exiles, the word king can only represent one person.
"The king is in the living room. He said you should go see him as soon as you arrive!"
Sha Zha Xiangru nodded, and there were sharp stabbing pains on the inside of his legs, as if invisible fire was burning. He gritted his teeth and quickened his pace. The pain was like fire and steel, making people stronger. He climbed the steps and knocked on the door. A familiar voice came from the door: "Is it Xiangru? Please come in!"
Sha Zha Xiangru opened the door, and Fuyu Fengzhang's familiar face was full of smiles: "You are back from Feiniaojing? Did everything go well on the way?"
"Everything went smoothly!" Sha Zha Xiangru wanted to help Yu Fengzhang bow and salute, but he was stopped by Fu Yu Fengzhang: "Tell me, how is the situation in Asuka Jing now?"
"It's very bad!" Sha Zha Xiangru carefully moved his right leg back a little, so that he could feel more comfortable: "The prince Zhongda, Dahairen, and Qiyu are fighting for the throne. No, it should be said that they are drawing swords. On the other hand, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if they started fighting after I left!”
"It turns out we've reached this point!" Fuyu Fengzhang sighed: "No wonder Katsuragi asked me to come to Omi!"
"What do you mean?"
Fuyu Fengzhang did not speak. He walked to the door and looked outside, then carefully closed the door: "Did you know? The Tang envoy asked the Japanese to hand us over in exchange for the captured Japanese!"
"I've heard of it! But Katsuragi's attitude is very firm. After all, he also needs the support of you and the Abe Department!"
"Yes, but what if the one who ascends the throne is not Katsuragi, but Kaito or Saitama?" Fuyu Toyocho's voice became deeper: "We cannot entrust our lives to others!"
"You tell me what to say!" Sha Zha Xiangru said: "I will do whatever you say!"
"Very good!" Fuyu Fengzhang nodded with satisfaction: "Katsurogi asked us to lead the troops to Asukakyo and kill Dahairen and Saitama!"
"What?" Sha Zha Xiangru was surprised: "Let us directly intervene in the internal fighting of the royal family?"
"Yes, I was also surprised when I first heard this order!" Fuyu Fengzhang smiled: "I told the messenger at that time that as an exile but killing the royal family, the consequences would be very serious. The messenger replied that if he ascended the throne It’s not Katsuragi, and the consequences for me will be even more serious!”
"He is right!" Sha Zha Xiangru whispered: "To be honest, during the days I have been in Feiniaojing, the influence of the Tang Dynasty has become greater and greater!"
"The influence of the Tang people is getting bigger and bigger? What do you mean?"
"The Tang people not only negotiated peace with the Japanese in Asukakyo, but also brought many kinds of Tang goods, such as utensils, medicines, tea, poetry and books. Japanese nobles and women flocked to them, even those who sided with Katsuragi. There are very few people who can refuse these goods brought by the Tang Dynasty!"
"Yes!" Fuyu Fengzhang sighed: "No one can compare with Tang people in this aspect. I understand what you mean!"
"Your Highness, no matter what, I, Sha Zha Xiangru, will fight to the death for you!"
"I understand, you should go down and rest first!"
After Sha Zha Xiangru left, Fuyu Fengzhang was the only one left in the house. He walked to the fire, stretched out his hands and let the flames bake his palms. After a while, he retracted his palms, took out a small bag from his waist, poured the few spices in the bag into his hands, and then closed his hands. Close your eyes and silently pray to the gods: Eternal gods, please give me the truth and lead me on the right path, overcoming dangers and heading towards victory.
A few minutes later, Fuyu Fengzhang opened his eyes again. He sprinkled the spices in his hands into the brazier and stared at the fire. As the spices burn in the flames, the smoke rises from the fire, and the flickering illusions sway in the flames. One illusion just takes shape, then begins to melt and fade into another; the color is sometimes golden, sometimes scarlet; the shape Sometimes weird, sometimes scary, sometimes charming. He saw skinny faces with empty eye sockets weeping blood, staring at him. Then there was a mountain city, submerged by the red tide rising from all sides. Skeleton-shaped shadows were flying and then dissipated into mist. Each body was hungrily entangled with each other, twisting, rolling, and tearing. Finally, he saw riding shadows emerging one after another, hovering in the sky, sweeping everything away.
"The way out, where's the way out?"
Fuyu Fengzhang grabbed his hair, his body trembled violently, and his body seemed to be burned by flames again, causing extreme pain. The heat wave burned through his skin, seeming to leave mysterious lines on it. A mysterious voice called in his ears: "Go forward, go forward, overcome the obstacles, victory is right in front of you!" Fuyu Fengzhang stood up and took a step subconsciously.
Wow!
With a sound, Fuyu Fengzhang was awakened from his dream. He noticed that the stove had been stepped over by himself, and the flying sparks lit up his trouser legs. He quickly took a step back, slapped the flames on his trousers hard, and finally managed to Put out the fire. Minutes later, he stood by the overturned stove, recalling what he had just seen and the mysterious sounds he heard.
"Go forward, go forward, overcome obstacles, victory is right in front of you!" Fuyu Fengzhang repeated everything he heard, his eyes gradually becoming firmer.
——————————————————————————
Asukajing, the residence of the Tang Dynasty.
"The Japanese seem to have become quiet in recent days!" Cui Hongdu whispered.
"Really?" Wang Wenzuo closed the book: "This is a good thing!"
"A good thing?" Cui Hongdu asked: "I thought it was a good thing that they killed each other?"
"Hongdu, let's wait and see what happens!" Wang Wenzuo put the book aside: "Have you ever planted grapes? First insert the branches with buds into the fertile soil, then wait patiently for them to germinate, sprinkle water, and fertilize. Set up a scaffold, let the grape seedlings climb along the scaffold, bloom, bear fruit, and then mature. Crush the fruit, squeeze the grape juice, and let it ferment. Finally, it will become fine wine. Time is indispensable for any of these processes. If there is no Be patient, tampering in the middle will only turn the wine sour. In fact, the strategy is the same. We have done everything we can, and the only thing left to do is to wait patiently!"
"Then what if it doesn't succeed in the end?"
"Then wait for the next opportunity!" Wang Wenzuo said, "Time is on our side!"
Cui Hongdu shook his head in disappointment. He moved his right shoulder that had been injured by an arrow: "It's been a long time since I drew a bow and shot an arrow. It's really uncomfortable!"
"If you just want to stretch your muscles, you can practice shooting in the backyard! If you are thinking of something else, I advise you to be patient for a while, it shouldn't be far away!"
"Not far?" Cui Hongdu became nervous: "You mean-?"
"That's what you think!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "It is said that a few days before the Xuanwu Gate Incident, Chang'an City was surprisingly peaceful!"
Amaterasu Shrine.
The crescent moon is like a hook, like a sharp knife, the red leaves are whispering in the wind, Saitama is whispering, but he can't hear clearly what he is saying. No one knows the age of the maple tree in the yard. Maybe it already knows what is going to happen in the future and wants to tell me this. Unfortunately, it does not have a mouth. yes! Even things with long mouths cannot live this long. Only rocks, trees, and the moon cannot speak.
Things can live longer and longer.
I don’t know if I can survive this time, Saitama thought to himself, but even if he can survive this time, he will die one day in the future, and then this maple tree will still be in the yard, whispering in the wind. , tell the next person the secret that no one knows. Thinking of this, Saitama laughed, thinking that these useless things were too much.
"Princess, it's almost time!" the maid's voice came from behind.
"Well!" Princess Saitama stood up and hung the sword on her belt: "Let's go!"
According to later records, the first arrow that night was shot by one of Princess Saitama's personal guards. Because that day was an important religious festival in the Japanese country, the Japanese people in Asukakyo, regardless of their high or low status, were offering sacrifices to the gods devoutly, and distributed the sacrifices to the poor people of the same race to taste. Princess Saitama's army only had about two hundred people, and they wore linen clothes outside their armor. Many passers-by thought it was a religious attack. They retreated to both sides of the road, knelt down and prayed devoutly to the marching ranks. Therefore, this night is also called "The Great Change".
