Joy of Life: I, a man, became the Queen of Northern Qi?

Chapter 161 The Old Guy in the Sword House. (5K update)

Dongyi City, Jianlu.

This place is located by the sea, far away from the bustling inner city, without any noise from merchants coming from all over the world, and behind it is an endless mountain forest, connected to Danzhou of Qing Kingdom. However, even though it can save most of the time of merchants, no one can safely pass through this deep forest and go elsewhere.
In desperation, merchants could only pay more and take a longer route or sail to transport their goods.

This also caused the Jianlu to become even quieter and silent.

Today, all the thirteen ninth-rank disciples under the Sword Saint have returned, not to mention those disciples who are less than the ninth rank and scattered all over Dongyi City, even the owner of the Taiping Money House, the world's number one bank and the busiest one, has returned here to meet his master.

There is no need to say much about the eldest disciple Yun Zhilan.

Li Bohua was Si Gu Jian's second disciple, a man of mid-ninth-grade cultivation, and the owner of what was considered to be the largest and most reputable money house in the world.

He glanced at his eldest senior brother who was kneeling outside the hut, and then asked his junior brother in a low voice, fearing that his loud voice would disturb the people inside and end up like his eldest senior brother: "Shisanlang, is the master still the same as before?"

"good."

Wang Shisanlang, whose real name is Wang Xi and alias is Tiexiang, has an unknown origin. He is Si Gu Jian's last disciple and the thirteenth among the nine-rank disciples, so he is called by this name by his fellow disciples.

Although it was a bit of a joke, over time, even Master Si Gu Jian started calling him that, and he himself was happy with the title. It was obvious that he recognized his identity as Si Gu Jian's thirteenth disciple.
Following Li Bohua's gaze, he saw a very young, handsome and gentle man, with eyebrows like swords, eyes as warm as jade, thin and slightly upturned lips, which made him look less fierce and more amiable. He was a very handsome and heroic young man sitting cross-legged on the spot, as if he was sympathizing with his eldest senior brother, or looking after his master in the hut, with a worried look on his face.

"Since Master heard those words from Weiguo, he has been trapped in the Sword House for several days without eating or drinking."

Shisan Wang gently took off a fallen leaf from his head and put it on the ground. He could not help but ask, "Is the Queen of Northern Qi really that powerful? How could she make Master behave so abnormally?"

"And what about the sentence 'A ruthless sword of killing intent cannot defeat a sword of affection, and a sword of affection is not as good as having no sword at all. Do not be bound by external objects, grass, wood, bamboo, and stone can all be swords.' What does it mean?"

The meaning of the words was not yet complete. He also omitted many of the Queen of Northern Qi's remarks against the master, such as the arrogant words that the master's road had come to an end and he would never be able to defeat the other party in this life.
"The Wei State has been destroyed."

Li Bohua corrected his junior fellow apprentice's remarks, "Now that place is Wei County of Northern Qi!"

When he said this, he became distressed.
Unlike other junior brothers who specialize in martial arts, the eldest brother travels around the world on behalf of the master, completing various instructions and orders; but he himself is in charge of the lifeblood of Dongyi City due to his own abilities, and is disturbed by worldly affairs all day long. I am afraid that it will be difficult for him to make any progress in the way of swordsmanship in this life.
The destruction of the Wei State made him very busy these days, dealing with all kinds of messy business tasks.

But his junior fellow student asked him what that sentence meant, as if he had encountered a puzzle in martial arts and was seeking answers from others. How could he answer that?
He is not even as good as his junior brother in fighting!
With his mind made up, he said in a deep voice with a stern face: "Brother, you have some understanding of the words of the Queen of Northern Qi, but is the answer given to you directly by others really the most suitable answer for you? When others tell you the conclusion directly, they set an upper limit for you based on their own knowledge. Even if it can make you unimpeded on the path of cultivation for a while, the end of your road will not be beyond the former!"

Li Boan, who has been strong all his life!
He used the same bluffing he used against other merchants on his junior fellow apprentice. Li Boan blamed himself, but he really couldn't come up with an answer.
"As expected of you, Second Senior Brother!"

Wang Shisanlang's eyes lit up, and his interest increased greatly. "Brother, your words are thought-provoking. The path I have realized is the most suitable for me. Thank you, Second Brother, for the reminder!"

After saying this, he bowed deeply to thank his senior brother, but he didn't notice the twitching corners of Li Bohua's mouth.
"Let's not talk about that. Why is the eldest brother kneeling outside the door?"

He will return to Jianlu today. Although it is Yun Zhilan's order, it should be the master's instruction. But why is the master still like the past few days, deeply immersed in Jianlu and unaware of external affairs?
Shisan Wang retracted his action and said helplessly, "Although Master is at the level of Grandmaster, he is still a mortal after all. He has not had any food or water for several days. Maybe it is because Master has persuaded me countless times that Master got angry, so he ordered him not to say a word and not to disturb us again. Master has no choice but to ask all the disciples to return to the sword room and persuade Master together."

"Since he couldn't speak, he could only kneel outside the sword room, not eating or drinking, to keep him company."

Alas~ After explaining the reason clearly, the young man also sighed.

This is a case of hard means not working, so try soft means.
"I see." Li Bohua nodded, straightened his clothes, and seeing that the other ten fellow apprentices had almost arrived, he followed Yun Zhilan and knelt outside the sword pavilion. Finally, he whispered to Wang Shisanlang, "Big Brother should have called us back earlier."

Wang Shisanlang nodded in agreement and knelt beside Li Bohua facing the sword pavilion.

At this time, apart from the sound of the whistling cold sea breeze, there was not even a trace of conversation in the field. The disciples had high levels of cultivation and keen senses, and they could still hear Si Gu Jian's murmurs in the sword hut: "Li An'er, I wonder what level you have reached in the way of the sword now? There is no sword in your hand, but there is a sword in your heart."

Si Gu Jian is not a martial arts fanatic, but he does have a "crazy disease"!
In his life, he was not good at anything except the sword. Of course, he was a little self-deprecating. Compared with several other colleagues, the skills he taught his apprentices were the highest!

The number of ninth-grade disciples under him is the largest!
Although he is not a martial arts fanatic, he has not eaten or drunk anything because of Lee Ang's few words and has been thinking about them until now, just like when he was young, he squatted under a tree and observed the movement of ants, forgetting the passage of time.
"Master! The way of the sword is so long and so profound. How can ordinary people understand it in a day or a night?"

The eldest senior brother was forbidden to speak, so it was Li Bohua who should speak: "There is a long time to come, I hope Master can take care of his body and eat more. It is not too late to meditate when he is energetic and refreshed!"

"Yes, Master, please take care of your body!"

The other disciples also spoke up, just wanting their master to "wake up".

"Who can tell me how to achieve the state of 'only by reaching the extreme of emotion can one reach the extreme of sword' before reaching the state of having no sword in hand but having a sword in the heart? How can one achieve it?"

"I care about the people of Dongyi City. Isn't that the ultimate in love and swordsmanship?"

Inside the Sword Pavilion, there was a low roar from Si Gu Jian, while outside, all the disciples could sense the Master's rage, it was so intense that it was about to ignite the Sword Pavilion!
Si Gu Jian had certainly heard their previous requests for consolation, but he just shook his head unnoticed by outsiders and murmured, "Li An'er was able to gain enlightenment on the spot when fighting with Ye Liuyun. If Ku He hadn't interrupted him and wanted to save Ye Liuyun's life, who knows how much that evildoer could have gained."

"Good interruption! Great interruption!"

"This way, our Dongyi City can survive for a while."

"But! For the sake of Ye Liuyun, you cut off the complete principles of heaven and earth, and the birth of the infinite sword art. Ku He! I wish I could grind you to ashes with my own hands!!!"

The space seemed to be boiling with murderous intent as this roar, and the oppressive feeling that was like a tempering heart came over them. All the disciples frowned and gritted their teeth to persevere. The cold wind blew, and the terrifying momentum subsided for a while. Only then did everyone realize that their backs were soaked with sweat.

No one could know that at that moment, Ang Lee was just suffering from the aftereffects of copying others, and it was not a real epiphany!

When Wei State killed King Wei, he was just venting his anger and forcing Si Gu Jian to pay war reparations.
But Si Gu Jian took it seriously~
He only believes what he sees with his own eyes and hears with his own ears!
It all connects! It all connects!

It’s not enough to just think about it, Ang Lee’s understanding is almost driving Si Gu Jian crazy!

After a moment's silence, Si Gu Jian's voice sounded again: "Bring some food and water to the master, and the rest of you go do your own things!"

"Zhilan and Bohua left Shisanlang behind, so you should stay too!"

Their sight shifted away from the door outside the hut. The disciples bowed and left. Wang Shisanlang, who was about to serve the food, stopped with a puzzled look on his face. His shoulder was patted by his second senior brother, and the three of them opened the door and walked into the hut together.

In the hut, Si Gu Jian still looked shabby, as if his bad behavior over the past few days would not make his appearance any worse.

He glanced at the first two people, and finally locked onto the friendly face of Wang Shisanlang. He sighed and said, "The defeat of Qing Kingdom is also the defeat of my teacher!"

"And the reason for the defeat is that everyone underestimated this queen!"

"Originally, the money that was supposed to be paid to Qing State to clear the country of any connection with Lin Gong's death now seems to be paid to Northern Qi."

When these words came out, Yun Zhilan was slightly startled:
"Master, didn't Qi conquer the four vassal states? You still think that's not enough, and you want me to pay Dongyi City another compensation?"

"Enough? How can there be enough between countries?" Si Gu Jian sneered silently, "The four countries' lands were taken by others themselves, what does it have to do with us? The money previously prepared for Qing Kingdom is not only not enough now, but we have to add more!"

The reason is simple. The one who assassinated Fan Xian was Yun Zhilan's apprentice. They can just deny it if they are ambiguous!

Just put on a show and give some money and let the matter go, the other party won't take it seriously. As for the truth behind Lin Gong's death, Si Gu Jian, the king of the century, said that everyone knows the real situation and you have to be more precise!

And what about Northern Qi?
This time, it was Si Gu Jian himself who made the move after judging the situation. He cannot deny it no matter what.
"It's okay to compensate Northern Qi with some money. I have already prepared the amount. Master made the move for the future of Dongyi City. Even if we lose, it won't hurt the foundation. Even if we increase the amount of money, Taiping Bank has enough cash!"

Li Bohua gave the information in a deep voice, which also made Yun Zhilan and Wang Shisanlang feel at ease.

Unexpectedly, Si Gu Jian still shook his head and said, "Not enough!"

not enough?
"Does the other party want to swallow us all? Aren't they afraid of breaking their teeth?" Yun Zhilan's face was filled with resentment, and he seemed a little agitated. "Although the lands of the four vassal states were taken away by the other party through means and strength, they should be able to understand that asking for land from Dongyi City again will touch our bottom line! At that time, the other party will lose more than they gain. At that time, not to mention us, even the Emperor of Qing will forcibly restart the war to help us, and will not sit idly by and watch the Northern Qi gradually encroach on us and grow stronger!"

If the masters were to restrain each other and finally compete with each other in national strength and military power, Northern Qi would not be much stronger than Western Hu, let alone fight with Qing Kingdom.
Yun Zhilan was speaking happily and felt more and more that what he said made sense. Suddenly, Li Bohua raised his hand to stop him.

He looked at Si Gu Jian with a somewhat depressed look in his eyes: "Master, you are worried that after the war, Northern Qi and Southern Qing will indeed sign a peace treaty, but the content of the peace talks will not include Dongyi City?"

"As the eldest brother said, it is impossible to give more land now, and if we can't give an exaggerated amount of gold and silver, the queen will not be satisfied. If it is more, Taiping Bank and Dongyi City will be damaged!"

"In this case, there is only one thing left—the shares of Taiping Bank?"

After analyzing all the methods and paths, Li Bohua finally came up with this answer helplessly. It was also the first time that the discussion in the Jianlu stopped at martial arts and turned to money. The confusion in the eyes of several people continued to rise, and they seemed a little at a loss.

Si Gu Jian silently closed his eyes and raised his hand to gesture a number.

Thirty percent!

Thirty percent of the shares of Taiping Money House!
Ironically, the concept of shares was invented by Ye Qingmei. No one in the world knows the significance of the Taiping Bank she left behind! They only know that it is the largest bank in the world with a guaranteed reputation, and that's all.

But they don’t know that this is the fastest way to make money!

It is also the most critical core!
The fact that Dongyi City has been able to survive between the two countries until now is not only due to the existence of the great master Si Gu Jian, but also because of the Taiping Money House!

But are we going to give 30% to Northern Qi so easily now?

After a long silence, Li Boan smiled bitterly and said, "Disciple understands. When the letter from Northern Qi arrives, I will hand over 30% of the shares."

The atmosphere seemed depressing, and what Si Gu Jian wanted to see was how Qing Kingdom would act in the future.

I think that Li Yunqian, who is like a real dragon, would send someone here soon, right?
"Even if Li An'er is hiding, he has only practiced martial arts for a few years since he was old enough to understand things. He has already achieved the status of a Grandmaster. He defeated Liuyun Sanshou. He can only be described as a genius!"

"Is this the true meaning of a Heavenly Vein?"

Temple: Don't get involved.
Si Gu Jian was already very old in this era. He grinned with his big mouth that was missing a few teeth and said, "If I hadn't been burdened by the people in Dongyi City, I would really like to learn some sword skills from him! I think that given his status, he should think the same as me~"

"Sure enough, it is this behemoth called the country that is suppressing us!"

After a slight pause, Si Gu Jian called out, "Shisanlang?"

"Master, I'm here." Shisan Wang half-knelt on the ground, his face gentle and calm, which made people feel less irritable when seeing him.

However, those who are familiar with him naturally know that the little junior brother is not at peace now.

In the past, the words and actions of the master and the junior apprentice would be filled with countless discussions on the way of the sword. However, before today's conversation, the topic of the country was embedded at the beginning. It is foreseeable that the topic that the master will talk about next will be particularly deep and important!
With a wave of his arm, the inner energy surged out and opened the door. Standing outside were the disciples who had already brought food and were waiting for a long time. However, without Si Gu Jian's order, he did not dare to go in.

Si Gu Jian stood up and walked in front of Wang Shisanlang. He reached out and gently stroked the top of his head. He let the light shine in his eyes that had not seen strong light for many days. He smiled slowly and gently: "Your cultivation is sufficient. It's time to go out and have some adventures."

"Go, go to the capital of Northern Qi to look for the Queen Li An'er."

Originally, Wang Shisanlang was trained by Si Gu Jian as a child of Ye Qingmei.
I didn't expect that I would change my mind today!

This is an investment on the surface, but it is also an invisible way of using the gentle and friendly qualities of the Thirteenth Disciple to secretly influence the decision makers that Si Gu Jian values, those who can truly make decisions for the world!
This is the last way out. No matter what the fate of Dongyi City will be in the future, whether the son of Ye Qingmei, the Heavenly Vein, will succeed in the end or the queen of Northern Qi will win. As long as Wang Shisanlang is alive, Dongyi City will not be completely destroyed for the sake of this loyalty.

To use the words of the fairy, this is called a special administrative region? Or a special economic zone or something like that?

Not important anymore.

"From now on, you will work for her!"

　Make up for yesterday
　　Thanks to the reader [是老九] for his 2066 book coins reward! In such an ambiguous atmosphere, it is hard to justify the author not sleeping with the emperor.
　　I would also like to thank the godfathers for their votes!

　　Crab!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)