country

Gattuso's face was ashen, waiting for the god of death to come. His whole body was trembling, and he couldn't even utter a word of begging for mercy. The icy cold front stuck to his throat, and he didn't know when it pulled over.

Xiao Su stood in a daze for a long time, and finally said: "Xue...Brother Xue, he is me...my brother, you can't kill him, you...you can't kill him!"

Xue Poye sighed: "Actually, I don't want to kill people, but you don't understand that once Gattuso returns to Rome, the damage to me will be immeasurable. Neither you nor I can bear this historical responsibility."

Xiao Su Chou pondered for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "Brother Xue, I won't let him go back to Rome."

Xue Poye said indifferently: "Can you guarantee it? Xiao Su Gun, I have to tell you something clearly. If he really leaves my Dachu, even if you use your life to make up for it, it will not be enough." of."

Gattuso suddenly trembled and said: "Brother Xue... Brother, you... don't worry, I will stay... stay in Dachu, I will not go back to Rome, I will not go back...God can testify...!"

Xue Poye withdrew his sword, stared at Xiao Su Gun, and slowly said: "Xiao Su Gun, every move of the two of you is under my nose, so you must ensure that Gattuso will not leave you half a step, once Change, and I'm sure it won't end well for either of you."

Gattuso saw that Xue Poye retracted the sword, and his life might be saved, so he hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed on the snow, "Thank you, thank you...God bless...!"

Xiao Su Gun's eyes flickered, he had already seen the carriage in the distance, and several Habayashi guards who looked like stone sculptures around the carriage, and then looked at Xue Poye's armor, and finally realized that his backstage, really A member of the imperial court.

Xue Poye suddenly smiled, put his sword into its sheath, and said calmly: "Anyway, today is a good day, congratulations, what are you going to do next, do you know?"

Xiao Su Gun and Gattuso looked at each other, their faces suddenly blank.

Yeah, the gunpowder recipe is done, what's next?

Xue Poye touched his nose and asked, "Are you still planning to use copper furnace heating to cause an explosion?"

Xiao Su stick touched his head, and said blankly: "Brother Xue, do you have any good ideas? I have been thinking about this problem recently. Now that this gunpowder has been developed and the formula is understood, I think it must be useful, but... . . . and I can't think of how it could be more useful."

Xue Poye looked at the boundless snow-white land, and said with a smile: "Gunpowder is a wonderful work of human civilization, whether it is doing good or evil, it can be used to the extreme."

With gunpowder, I am afraid that Yu Gong will not need to dig mountains with his grandchildren day after year.

Xue Poye was silent for a moment, and beckoned, Xiao Su Gun hurried over, Xue Poye whispered to him, Xiao Su Gun was surprised and happy, patted his head, and said in a voiceless voice: "I...why didn't I Thinking of it, I...why didn't I think of it."

Xue Poye laughed and said: "Smartness is misunderstood by cleverness. A person is too smart, and many small details will be neglected. You can experiment according to what I said. If it succeeds, then you don't need to buy a copper furnace to heat it. , Moreover, it will be much more convenient to use gunpowder in the future." After saying this, Xue Poye took a deep breath, feeling the unique cold air in winter, waved his hands and said: "You guys go, I will come to see you later."

Xiao Su stick hurriedly said: "Brother Xue, you... just wait a moment!"

Xue Poye stopped in his tracks, Xiao Su Gun took out the gunpowder formula from his bosom, handed it to Xue Poye and said, "Brother Xue, this...you accept it!"

Xue Poye nodded with a smile, took the priceless formula, and said in a low voice: "Xiao Su Gun, you must pay attention to Gattuso, if he escapes, bring the formula back to Rome, I am a big brother!" Future generations will be in danger!"

Seeing Xue Poye's stern expression and low voice, Xiao Su Gun couldn't help but nodded.

Leaving Xiao Su stick, Xue Poye returned to Xue Yuan, the only thing he thought of was Xiao Shitou, the man mentioned Xiaoshitou twice, there was naturally a great relationship between them, and Xiaoshitou was practicing obsession in his room at this time. soul step.

The little guy's kung fu has advanced by leaps and bounds, and he is no longer the former Wuxia Amon. Xue Poye is completely convinced that even if two or three four-path masters surround Xiaoshi, Xiaoshi will definitely be able to get rid of it easily.

"Master!" Seeing Xue Poye coming back, Xiao Shitou said pleasantly, "I have fully practiced my ecstasy steps."

Xue Poye's ecstasy gait had only been fully practiced a few days ago, and the speed of the little stone was unexpectedly fast. He naturally praised it, then closed the doors and windows tightly, pulled the little stone and sat down in the house, softly Said: "Xiao Shitou, did your Grandfather ever tell you, what are your parents' names?"

Xiao Shitou was stunned, wondering why Xue Poye suddenly mentioned his parents, his expression darkened in an instant, he shook his head, and said in a very soft voice: "No, I don't know, I never knew everything about them. "

Xue Poye nodded, and said thoughtfully, "You...do you know the name Ye Qingyao?"

When Xiao Shitou heard the name, his whole body shook, and he frowned, as if he was trying his best to think about the name. After a long time, he said in a daze: "I haven't heard of it, no, I... I feel a little familiar...! He squinted his eyes and thought for a while, finally shook his head and said, "Master, I don't know, who is Ye Qingyao?"

Xue Poye stroked his little head and said softly, "Ye Qingyao? She is a very beautiful... woman!"

Xiao Shitou seemed to understand, and asked in confusion: "What does it have to do with me? Why did the master ask me if I knew her?"

"It's nothing." Xue Poye stood up, changed the subject and said, "Practice this ecstasy step a bit more, so that if you encounter danger in the future, you can avoid it."

As soon as Xiao Shitou heard about the enchanting step, he hurriedly dragged Xue Poye and said: "Master, I also showed blood on the third page last night."

"Three pages?" Xue Poye was stunned, the kung fu in this ecstasy book is very mysterious, the first two pages, one is "Ecstasy Heart Method", the other is "Ecstasy Steps", now the third page is finally revealed, but Don't know what kung fu is?

Little Shitou looked very excited, and took out the "Book of Ecstasy" from his arms, and opened three pages, but this page was full of bright red handwriting, densely packed, there may be thousands of words, such a piece of paper reads: There are thousands of characters, and the smallness of the handwriting can be seen in general.

Xue Poye took a closer look, and this time it was not Sanskrit, but the real big Chu characters.

The first four characters: "Living Zun's order".

Xue Poye and Xiao Shitou looked at each other, it was strange, and immediately carefully identified each word, these densely packed small characters really took a lot of effort to identify, what's more, the whole article was very The awkward old saying is very difficult to read, let alone understand the meaning immediately.

The two of them had forgotten most of the previous text after reading it. It took half a day to read a thousand words, but they didn't have any impression, and the paper was full of old sayings.

However, this article mainly mentioned the word "fire", and the two of them saw the last line of words, but it was "picture book".

Both of them are smart people, and they quickly understood that the meaning of this so-called "picture book" is very clear. Where can I find pictures in the "Picture Book" of .

Xue Poye frowned, this "Book of Ecstasy" is not only strange, but the kung fu in it is mysterious, and every page seems to be tricking people, deliberately leaving troubles for people.

One page of paper was poured with fire and water, but not a word or a picture was revealed. It was not until the blood dripped on the small stone that the secret was revealed. The second page was blocked by Sanskrit. Fortunately, it was solved by Gattuso. Three pages, but I want to find a picture, but where can I find this picture?

Little Shitou blinked and asked, "Master, will the picture be on the fourth page?"

It's not that Xue Poye didn't think about it. At this time, he felt that the possibility was extremely small. After all, the first two pages were all about one skill per page. On the third page, this rule might not change.

"If the records are divided into pages, then the thousands of words on this page can be divided into two pages." Xue Poye shook his head and said: "But you guys, all the things in it are gathered on one page, and the possibility of drawing on four pages is relatively low. "

"Would you like to give it a try?" Xiaoshi whispered.

Xue Poye frowned and pondered for a moment, then nodded, but instructed: "The kung fu in this ecstasy book is very particular, it is a page-by-page practice, so if you are not proficient in these three pages, Do not practice the four pages, do you understand?"

Seeing Xue Poye's serious expression, Xiao Shitou immediately nodded and said, "Yes, master, I've made a note."

Little Shitou was about to drip blood again to show the picture, but before the needle penetrated, he heard a respectful voice outside the door saying: "My lord, Mr. General Wei, please lead the deputy general Wei to lead a hundred brothers from Fenghuoying to the door. Department Bank."

Xue Poye was concentrating in the room, when he heard a voice suddenly, he was startled, but he couldn't hear clearly for a while, so he hurriedly asked Xiao Shitou to put away "Ecstasy Book",

He adjusted his armor slightly, and immediately opened the door to come out, only to see a Pinhu captain from Fenghuo camp kneeling in front of the door, with a respectful face full of anxiety, Xue Poye knew that this captain was the sixth captain of Fenghuo camp One of them, Captain Furukawa.

Seeing Xue Poye coming out, Gu He hurriedly said, "My lord!"

Xue Poye raised his hand and said, "Get up, what happened?"

"My lord, my lord General Wei has issued a military order, my lord, please lead a hundred feather forests, and hurry to the bank of the household department." Furukawa said quickly: "The subordinates have already gathered, my lord, please leave immediately."

Xue Poye frowned, and said to himself: "Household Bank?" Seeing Furukawa's anxious expression, he knew that the situation was urgent, and immediately said: "Let's go!" If he didn't stay any longer, he would follow Guhe to the Household Bank.

It's just that after returning, it was too late to see Mrs. Lv. I wanted to have fun with my hands, but this time I couldn't. Fortunately, before going out, I finally saw Mrs. Lv coming out from the corner of the room. The two looked at each other and smiled, Xue Poye Go with the crowd.

The Ministry of Households is one of the six departments of the Great Chu. It is the place where the Great Chu manages household registration and finance.

And the place where the world's endowment silver is stored is the household bank.

The Bank of the Ministry of Finance covers an area of ​​tens of miles, and the seal is strict. No one can be trusted within ten miles. The Kyoto garrison guards the Bank of the Ministry of Finance. Those who enter the warehouse must be naked, leaving only a pair of small pants, and even their mouths must be naked. Put a special bamboo on it, tie it behind the head, and fix it in the mouth, just for fear that people will hide money and go out.

Once someone who hides money is caught, it must be a crime of quartering, which is extremely strict.

Silver is the foundation of the country, and it is a matter of great importance, and the dynasties and dynasties have never dared to neglect it in the slightest.

There are dozens of silver warehouses in the household bank. They are tall and majestic, and they are as solid as a rock. They are made of extremely hard boulders, and even the gate is made of huge stones. Shimen is indispensable, otherwise, it will not move at all, as stable as a rock.

In the past, this place was peaceful and solemn, and outsiders were not allowed to enter without permission.

But today, there are many people gathered in front of the huge black stone row with the words "Great Chu Bank".

Standing at the front was Liu Ziyin, the second prince of the Great Chu Kingdom. He was a prince, but he held the title of servant of the household department. Although he didn't take much care of the affairs of the household department, he had to come today.

Compared with a month ago, Prince Yin's expression was obviously much haggard, his eyes were sunken, and those eyes had lost the sharp light of the past, replaced by a kind of anger, a kind of fear from the bottom of his heart.

Prince Yin was surrounded by Jingyan King of the Kyoto Prefecture, Shangshu Moi of the Ministry of Justice, and Liu Tuo, the minister of the Ministry of Justice. Besides, there were Luo Wuyan, the guard of the Kyoto garrison yamen, and Teng Xifeng, the general guard of the Habayashi Battalion.

Everyone has a dignified expression, Luo Wuyan's face is ashen, and the Beijing Yan Wang Wei Shantai, who is always as smooth as a fox, is also dignified this time, with an extremely serious expression.

The sound of "clang clang" was loud, and Xue Poye led a hundred Habayashi guards to rush over like lightning. The golden arms were shining, and the armor clattered in the cold winter, making people daunting.

"I've seen my lord before!" Xue Poye led several generals to bow down.

Teng Xifeng ordered: "The four gates of the bank are guarded by me. No one is allowed to enter or leave without my order."

Xue Poye replied: "Yes!" Standing up, he said in a loud voice: "The four gates of the bank are guarded by manpower. No one is allowed to enter or leave without the order of the General Guard."

Liu Tuo couldn't help but sneered and said, "Can't we people from the Ministry of Punishment do it too?"

Teng Xifeng said coldly: "No, no one can do it without my order."

Teng Xifeng was the chief guard of the Yulin Camp, and he could be regarded as His Majesty's number one confidant, so even if people from other yamen had opinions, they did not dare to refute them in person.

Mo Yi, Shangshu of the Ministry of Justice, just sneered twice and didn't speak.

The Habayashi guards were agile, and were soon distributed among the four gates of the bank.

Xue Poye looked at the tall and wide boulder storeroom in the silver warehouse, and sighed in his heart: "Could it be all silver in it, my dear, there is really a lot of silver in this big Chu country." But this time there are so many heavyweights They gathered here, but they didn't know what happened. On the way, Xue Poye asked Guhe, but Guhe didn't know anything, only that Teng Xifeng's military order came down, and everyone obeyed the military order.

The Yulin Battalion put on heavy armor and drove away the four gates of the Jingdu garrison soldiers, and quickly blocked the four gates. Seeing that everything was done, Xue Poye returned to the stone platoon and respectfully said: "Master Chief Wei, The four doors have been sealed, and no one can enter or exit without the order of the Chief Guard."

Teng Xifeng nodded in satisfaction, and said with a smile: "Vice President Xue, come, let me introduce you to the adults."

When the people present were introduced one by one, except for Luo Wuyan, the guard of the Kyoto garrison, and Mo Yi, the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, Xue Poye knew everyone else, so Xue Poye naturally met them one by one.

Xue Poye finally walked to the side of Prince Yin who was quite far away from the crowd.

Prince Yin stood at the front, separated from the group by a few feet, staring blankly at the wide and tall warehouse, his face was pale, his lips were black, and he lost all the vigor of the past.

Undoubtedly, in this battle with Prince Fu, both sides suffered losses. The power he was once proud of was wiped out by His Majesty the Emperor this time.

He already felt a kind of fear.

"The last general has seen His Highness the Second Highness!" Xue Poye sighed inwardly, and saluted respectfully.

How many years of painstaking efforts were completely ruined, so suddenly and so thoroughly, no matter who it was, they would fall into great panic and helplessness.

Prince Yin turned his head, saw Xue Poye, smiled wryly and said: "So it's Master Xue, but we haven't seen each other for some time."

"How is Your Highness?" Xue Poye asked calmly.

Prince Yin pondered for a moment, then smiled wryly: "Okay, very good." After a pause, he said indifferently: "Master Xue, have you found out today whether Rouji was stabbed by Wuhuan?"

Xue Poye was startled, in fact, after Wuhuan died that day, the investigation of Rouji's case stopped.

Wuhuan's death is just an introduction.

Prince Yin suddenly asked this question today, it was a little strange, Xue Poye thought about it, and finally shook his head and said: "Your Highness, I am not in charge of the assassination of Rou Ji, so I don't know the truth even today."

Prince Yin was not angry, but nodded, thoughtful, and after a while, he said in a low voice: "If Wu Huan really stabbed me, I would have nothing to say today. If it wasn't for Wu Huan..., hehe ,Forget it……!"

Xue Poye frowned, although Prince Yin's words were not straightforward, but Xue Poye could hear the meaning.

If Rou Ji was really killed by Wu Huan, then the battle between Prince Yin and Prince Fu is nothing more than a fierce life-and-death battle, a battle that has been brewing for a long time without gunpowder smoke.

But if Rou Ji hadn't been killed by Wu Huan...!

Wu Huan killed Rou Ji, this is the introduction of the fight between the two princes, everyone thought it was Wu Huan who ignited this introduction, but if Wu Huan was not the murderer, then it can only mean that someone pretended to be Wu Huan and assassinated Rou Ji behind his back. Instigate a war between the second prince and the fourth prince.

Who is instigating it?

And who is sitting on the mountain and watching the tigers fight?

Prince Yin obviously thought of this, so he is very unwilling, maybe he is doing everything possible to find the mastermind behind it.

This sentence also aroused Xue Poye's curiosity.

Yes, who could it be?

Gradually, Xue Poye felt cold all over his body. It was not because of the cold winter air, but because of the weird guess that he could provoke the two princes to fight, and hide it from the two princes and the two factions. The person behind it was a what kind of role?

Moreover, that assassin not only pretended to be Wuhuan's "Snake Sword Technique", but also entered the Fubo Temple as if he had entered a land of no one. The elite Habayashi guards didn't even notice it at all.

Both scheming and martial arts are top-notch characters, who could this be?

Both Xue Poye and Prince Yin stood there in a daze, without speaking.

But at this time, a figure in the distance rushed towards the crowd like lightning, and in a short while, that person came close, with the purple clothes fluttering, but it was the purple clothes of the Kyoto Prefecture.

Wei Shantai stepped forward to meet him, and Ziyi knelt down respectfully in front of him.

"Is Chen Shangshu here?" Wei Shantai asked in a deep voice.

Zi Yi immediately said: "My lord, Chen Shangting, Minister of the Household Department, died of drinking poisonous wine in his mansion at noon today. We found out the poison, and it was ordinary crane crest red."

"Dead?" Wei Shantai was startled, and all the officials behind him were shocked when they heard it.

"Chen Shangting had lunch, took a bath, and then went to the ancestral hall to pay homage to his wife and son Chen Qian, then walked into his study, closed the door, and told no one to disturb you." Ziyi said clearly: "Subordinate Following the wishes of His Highness the Second Highness and Your Excellency, we took people to the Shangshu Mansion to invite Chen Shangshu to come here. The servant then led us to the study room and kept yelling that there was no one there. After the subordinates knocked open the door, they found that Chen Shangting had drunk poisoned wine and died .”

Xue Poye had already approached this side when the man in purple came running, and was dumbfounded when he heard the man in purple's narration.

He suddenly understood that something big happened to the Ministry of Finance, and something big must have happened to the bank of the Ministry of Finance, otherwise it would be impossible to alarm so many heavyweights.

He turned his head, looked at the wide and tall warehouse, and asked in his heart: "What happened?"