The autumn rain fell continuously, falling on every courtyard within sight.
Incense was burning in the room, and a bamboo curtain separated the room. Next to the window on the other side of the bamboo curtain, Ning Yi was using a brush to sketch some numbers on a long table. He tilted his head to look at the rain outside, and then put the book aside.
There were not many books on the table. Less than half of them had been finished. In the future, most of the books would have been finished before two o 'clock. The bamboo curtain seemed to be doing the same thing. After a while, a woman's laughter came, "Hehe."
The laughter was not loud, as if she had seen or thought of something interesting. She laughed to herself. Ning Yi lowered his head and picked up the brush, ignoring it. After a while, the woman on the other side laughed again, as if reminding him. Only then did Ning Yi close the book in his hand and throw it aside. He asked casually, "Why is my lord laughing?"
"A few days ago, a stone was transported from the mountains. It's green, and it's pretty …"
The voice was not loud, and it stopped halfway. Ning Yi was used to it, so he did not answer. He held the brush with one hand and rested his chin on the other as he read the information in the book. After a while, another sentence came.
"I want to carve it into a big knife and put it at the door. Because when I carve a stone, I thought of Wang Yin … You haven't seen him before. He chisels stones. I think if I ask him for help, he will definitely be angry. If he is angry, they will fight."
"I might not be able to beat him." The figure on the other side of the bamboo curtain nodded and ended with this sentence. She continued to write. Ning Yi raised his eyebrows as he wrote. "I should be able to help with the matter of fighting."
"Oh." The woman did not have much of a reaction. She was quiet for a moment, probably blinking her eyes on the other side of the curtain. She nodded and said, "That's good."
"Tsk, of course it's good …"
On one side, there was a tinge of jealousy in her words. On the other side, she was basically finding a topic to socialize with. In this room under the curtain of rain, Liu Dabiao, who already had the identity of a "lord", probably thought that sometimes there should not be too much awkward silence, so she spoke casually. However, she had an eccentric temperament. Most of the time, her sense of humor was different from that of others. It was said that when the scholars of the Tyrant's Saber Camp dealt with matters with her in the past, the situation would become even more awkward.
Ning Yi, on the other hand, was different. Of course, if he had encountered such a situation a few days ago, he would have been stunned for a moment. Later on, he roughly understood that the other party wanted to be courteous and relax the atmosphere, so he nodded and replied a few words.
Both of them were people with unique personalities when it came to dealing with people. Liu Dabiao told a joke because she felt that as a superior, she should give her hard-working subordinates a relaxing atmosphere, but she did not deliberately pursue the effect. In short, she told the joke herself, and it was up to her to laugh or not. Sometimes, Ning Yi was calculative when dealing with people, and sometimes, he didn't care about other people's acceptance. Between these few sentences, sometimes he made up nonsense, sometimes he talked to himself. In this big room where it was raining, it added to the cold atmosphere.
Because of these few sentences, the room was quiet for a long time. The maidservant in white brought tea, walked under the eaves, and then quietly left.
"A few days ago, the batch of military supplies was sold according to the method you mentioned. We didn't buy much food from Zhou Pingfu. Now that we've shipped half of it back, I'm afraid it's still not enough. Food is always a big problem … A few days ago, from July to the beginning of the month, this many books were sent to me every day. Every day, I would start reading in the afternoon. Then, I would ask someone, and I would only finish reading when the lights were turned on. Now that I've received this many, it hasn't even been two hours, and I'm almost done. I feel that I'm starting to get lazy. Come to think of it, this started happening a few days ago … "
The flat and straightforward tone did not sound like there was much emotion or feeling in it. Ning Yi had only seen the girl behind the curtain a few times. On the streets of Hangzhou, she looked like when she wore a bamboo hat and a traditional dress. Later on, when he fired at her in Taiping Alley, he vaguely saw the girl's eyes behind the veil. It was difficult to associate her with the style of imitating a man's thinking and tone behind the curtain.
However, after interacting with her for the past few days, the girl behind the curtain still had quite an imposing manner. On one hand, she looked like a student who was eager to learn, and on the other hand, she had various strange and childish ways of doing things. However, it was obvious that after a long period of cultivation, this kind of behavior had formed a unique temperament. At least, from the reactions of the members of the Tyrant's Blade Camp, it could be seen that everyone had general support and admiration for this girl who had inherited her father's legacy. The former could be said to be the cohesive force that her father had left behind, but the latter was not simple. It contained the confidence and reliance that everyone had in her. She had to be right for a long period of time and not make any mistakes in order to cultivate her.
He closed the book in his hands. "Does my lord have any dissatisfaction with this?"
"A few days ago, when Mister Ning handled these matters, the questions he asked and the words he said were quite thought-provoking. However, looking back over the past two days, Mister Ning's way of handling matters has been extremely conservative. He followed the rules and did not do anything truly shocking. If that was the case, I could have just asked anyone to handle this matter. Why did I have to ask you, Mister Ning, to teach me? "
Ning Yi glanced at the other side. "In the beginning, if you want to sell yourself, you have to say a few beautiful words to leave a good impression. However, the most important thing when doing things is to follow the rules. It's not something shocking. There are only a few thousand people in a stronghold, so how many big things can happen? There are rules to begin with. You just have to hand it over to your subordinates and follow the previous rules. If everything is carefully weighed, in the long run, it will not be good if the rules are broken due to human feelings. "
"In that case …" The girl inside the curtain paused slightly, as if she was a little indignant. "I've been involved in everything these few years and done everything myself. Am I the stupid one?"
"It's good to have such a heart and to do things this way. Why don't you do it elsewhere?"
"Why can't you do it here?"
"Compared to other people, it's indeed much better. However, I've seen the way you handled things two years ago. A cat in the stronghold should have a good position. You have to think about it carefully. You have to care about where A Gou's wife is from. You have to take care of everything. I don't think I can do that. Even though you don't usually show your face, everyone knows that you've put in a lot of effort and are indebted to you. The stronghold is also more humane than other places. But humane overrides the rules. When everyone does good things, they know that you're supporting them from behind. But what if they do bad things? They won't think about the rules. They only think about how you'll handle things in the future if you know. When something happens to those who have done meritorious deeds, you can't bear to let them go. You want to show mercy according to the circumstances. In the future, no one will be willing to follow the rules. This kind of thing has happened a few times in the past few years … "
The harsh words from the other side of the curtain interrupted Ning Yi's words. "The law is nothing more than human feelings. I treat the people in my stronghold as my own brothers and sisters. Under the command of the Sage Duke, they fight the most bravely. They charge at the forefront and bleed the most. In the martial arts world of Tiannan, no one dares to provoke the people of Tyrant Saber Manor. Everyone likes it this way. They live a good life. They can't see me, but they can see what I do. If I only follow the rules, one day, I'll be deserted by my own people. "
The first half of her words seemed to be slightly angry, but she calmed down in the latter half. She was simply stating her thoughts. Ning Yi smiled. "You have to have human feelings and rules. There's no place that doesn't have human feelings. But the stronghold has rules, and the country has laws. Let me tell you, what's the simplest way to measure whether a place is healthy or not? When a person has some conflicts or committed some crimes, if he wants to solve them, the first thing he thinks about is whether he wants to go through the rules or find someone to stand up for him. You just have to see what the ratio is. "If he only thinks about the rules and fights for everything, then there's no human feelings in this world. Of course, I've never seen or heard of such a place. But if he only wants to find someone to stand up for him, then the law will be useless. "If you want to manage this stronghold, you need both. Now that there are more casualties and more things to do, everyone is watching you. You'll just tire yourself to death …"
The rain was still falling. The two people in the room argued about this for a long time, but in the end, it seemed like there was no conclusion. A few days ago, he had read some information, asked some questions, and understood some things. He was a little surprised by Liu Dabiao's dedication to the village behind the curtain. There were not many people who could match up to him to this extent.
In today's world, whether it was managing a stronghold or ruling the world, human feelings were more important than rules. It was natural that his modern management philosophy, which completely emphasized triangular checks and balances, was not accepted. But theory was theory, and one had to look at the results. Over the past few days, Ning Yi's seemingly conservative but neat way of dealing with and categorizing things had indeed made Liu Dabiao, who was flustered, heave a sigh of relief. The girl on the other side of the curtain was also well aware of this. Hence, after the two of them argued for a long time, she snorted coldly. "I'll consider what you said." She sulked and stopped talking. She curled her lips and began to do what she was about to do.
After a while, the person on the other side of the curtain said, "I heard that Mister Ning has been making friends with people outside these few days? Do you have social engagements every day? "
Ning Yi thought about it and nodded. "Well, since I'm going to stay here, I should at least get to know some people."
"I thought you'd stay in the Tyrant's Saber Camp and not get involved in too many things. That's fine too, but now that you're going out to get to know people, the people you're making friends with are people from all walks of life … "
"Most of them are businessmen," Ning Yi corrected.
Liu Dabiao snorted softly. "Anyway, they're people who aren't worth making friends with. Head Steward Liu said that you're degrading yourself. I've said it before, since you've joined the Tyrant's Saber Camp, I can guarantee your safety. You've been handling a lot of things for me recently, and I want to thank you. I don't need you to do these things that you don't want to do. If you don't want to go, just say that you're sick at the Hundred Officials' Banquet the day after tomorrow. I'll allow you not to go. "
When she said this, Ning Yi blinked his eyes in amusement. In the three or four days after the Mid-Autumn Festival, he began to go out to make friends with some people and participate in some small social engagements. Nowadays, there were all kinds of people in Jianghu and people from all walks of life in Hangzhou. There were still opportunities like this. However, once he began to communicate and get to know the people around him, he would gradually be drawn into this circle. It was just like attending the Hundred Officials' Banquet. Once he was marked by the government, if something happened in the future, as a scholar, he would not be able to get away.
If he was not willing to make friends with people in Fang La's system from the beginning, it would be difficult for people to really trust him, even though he was noble and virtuous. However, taking the initiative to go out and make friends with all kinds of people was equivalent to starting to show his loyalty. Liu Dabiao called it self-defilement. Although it was not appropriate, the meaning was clear. Ning Yi admired this girl a little. Naturally, he insisted on his own business with a smile. The other party did not force him. She just snorted and said, "Whatever you like."
Although the two of them talked and argued every day, they were not close. After a while, they finished their business and discussed a little more. Ning Yi stood up and said goodbye. The person on the other side of the curtain told him to take an umbrella and leave. After Ning Yi left, someone came in from the side door. This person was tall and burly. He was Liu Tiannan, the Head Supervisor of the Tyrant's Saber Camp. Before Hangzhou fell into enemy hands, he followed Liu Watermelon into the city and met Ning Yi once. He even thought that he was Liu Dabiao himself. Just now, Ning Yi was in the room. He waited outside the side door for a while. He came in now mainly to ask about the daily management of the Tyrant's Saber Camp.
Now that Fang La had risen up, the Head Supervisor of the Tyrant's Saber Mountain Villa had sent their families to the Tyrant's Saber Mountain Villa and Hangzhou. The young and strong people who could really fight were still participating in the war in Jiaxing. Every day, big and small, there were reports coming in. Liu Watermelon was a person who did everything herself. Liu Tiannan saw that she had been injured recently and was tired all day long. He was a little anxious. However, the girl was very strict with herself. She saw this as a test for herself. Even if Liu Tiannan tried to persuade her, the girl would just skip it.
Liu Tiannan was actually a smart person. He was a veteran of the Tyrant's Saber Camp. He was skilled in martial arts and had a lot of authority. He was also capable of handling things. Otherwise, the real Liu Dabiao would not have let him be the Head Supervisor and entrusted him with his child. However, there were a lot of things to do recently. Although he and Liu Watermelon did their best, they were still very busy every day. However, after Ning Liheng came, he pointed at them and said, "You go here" and "You go there". Then, the situation seemed to have eased up. Liu Tiannan noticed this.
"Speaking of which, this Mister Ning is really a talented and learned person. However, when I was in Hangzhou, I saw that he was very brave. When he led the army to break out of the encirclement in Hu Province, he was brave and smart. I thought that he should be a free and unrestrained person. However, these days, it seems that he does things more orderly than those old pedants. Haha, Villa Master, if this person is sincere, we have really picked up a treasure. "
"So what if he is not sincere?" The girl sat on the big bed and flicked a stone in her hand. Then, she opened the window with a bang. "He has made friends with many people. If we lose in the future and the imperial court investigates, there will be people who will point fingers at him. When I told him to attend the Hundred Officials Banquet, he understood and started to do these things. "
"Isn't he … a little too decisive?" Liu Tiannan frowned. He had seen people who would rather die than submit. He had also seen people who were greedy for life and afraid of death. However, the things that Ning Yi did did not show much emotion. This kind of thing was a little strange.
"Everything is done according to the rules. When we attacked, he helped the imperial court to attack us. When he was captured, he started to help us. When I told him to attend the Hundred Officials Banquet, he knew that he couldn't refuse, so he simply did it thoroughly. These days, he has been handling things the same way. He knows what he should do, but he doesn't know what he wants to do. But at this point, he should know that he has no way out. "Liu Watermelon thought for a while." … Boring person. "
People in this world have their own persistence and desires. There were many bad people under the Sheng Duke's command. They were full of selfish desires and dirty thoughts, doing dirty things. However, there were also people who were worthy of admiration, even though everyone's thoughts and perseverance were different. For example, Marshal Fo had racked his brains for this foundation, Lou Minzhong wanted to leave his name in history, Chen Fan seemed reckless but was actually meticulous, but he was also a man with a fiery temperament when it came to some matters. An Xifu was cold and indifferent, killing his own people on the battlefield was like cutting grass, but he had his own hard work and perseverance.
Back in Hangzhou, she knew that there was a person like Ning Liheng who set up a trap for the imperial court. Later on, in Taiping Alley, she saw him blow up the entire alley. With his power alone, he rendered her, Shi Bao, and the others helpless. Then, he went to Huzhou to launch a vigorous counterattack. She also thought that this person might be a carefree and unrestrained man of honor, like Mr. Wolong, whom her father had mentioned when she was young. But now, it seemed that he did not care about those things at all.
The most important thing was the rules and how to do things, not how he wanted to do things. He wanted to set up a trap to save his life, so he almost blew up all of them. In Hu Province, he was among the fugitives, so he manipulated the hearts of the people, making the remaining soldiers rise up and kill more than three thousand people on her side. He was captured, and she asked him to do things, but he could not refuse, so he continued doing it. She asked him to attend the Hundred Officials Banquet, but he knew that it was inevitable, so he simply went out and made friends with all kinds of people, even if he did not like it. If her life was like this, what was the point?
Liu Tiannan knew what she was thinking and laughed. "If he was that interesting, I'm afraid we would not be able to get him to do things for us."
"Yes …" Liu Watermelon nodded. But she still hoped that he would be a little more interesting … There was no need to be too thorough. She had originally thought of many ways to make him yield or move him. In the end, he would gladly agree. Of course, she thought that he was a good person. But after experiencing his temperament for the past few days, it was like a knife slashing at empty air. She couldn't help but feel a little bored.
But it was fine. This kind of person was what the villa needed the most. If he did things well in the future, she would naturally treat him well as the villa master. As for the other things, it did not matter.
Of course, she really wanted to know what this person really wanted to do. But this matter was not urgent, so she would take it slowly …
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