"After Marshal Li Tianrun returns, I'm afraid that there will be a small upheaval in Hangzhou."
Lou Shuwan took a sip of the tea in her cup and smiled elegantly. When she put down the teacup, the silver bracelet on her wrist touched the porcelain cup lightly, making a clear "ding" sound.
"Liheng is teaching in the academy, so he might be a little more indifferent. But I've also heard that the reason this Wenlie Academy can be maintained is that there are people supporting it from above. But this time, it might affect more people. I heard that … Liheng mentioned some things about Elder Qian in the academy before. Now that the situation is sensitive, people might bring up the past again. Liheng has to be careful … But it's okay. The Lou family has some say in Hangzhou now. Although … for various reasons, Liheng might look down on them. But if there's anything, Liheng might be able to let them know. I might be able to help. I hope that Liheng doesn't hold a grudge … "
Since their reunion at the banquet, this was the fifth time Lou Shuwan had come to visit. Although she didn't have a good reputation, if she really wanted to leave a good impression, a woman like Lou Shuwan wasn't someone that people would directly hate. She was generous and decent, and she had a sense of propriety when she came. The first time she came, she left on her own in less than ten minutes. The second time she came, she seemed to be in a hurry. According to her, the Lou family had some property here, so she used to come and take care of it. In Hangzhou after the war, she had actually lost many people she knew. Now that she had met them again, she had to visit them more often in the future.
In this way, when she came to visit for the third time, it seemed a lot more natural. Lou Shuwan wasn't pretentious. She directly sent some daily necessities that rich families needed, as well as some ancient books or painting scrolls. In the past, these things were probably precious collectibles in Hangzhou.
"They aren't worth much now. During the one or two months of war, people burned and smashed them. Those who knew what they were were killed. No matter how expensive these things were, they couldn't compare to the price of a bowl of rice. The Lou Family took the opportunity to search for a lot of these. To be honest, they wanted to give them to someone … "Lou Shuwan laughed as she said this. She looked a little lonely." However, even if there are a few scholars in the Revolutionary Army, they won't like this. It's better to give them one chest of gold and silver than ten chests of this. They know it's very valuable, but … they can't think of it. "
At this point, she smiled again, "A month ago, General Pan Wende from the West Camp seized a big house and renovated it. He said that there was nothing in the house and asked for some paintings and antiques to decorate it. We hurried to find a box of the most valuable items and sent it to him. General Pan wasn't happy. "Why did the Lou family only send us so few items? The walls of one room aren't even enough to hang them. Moreover, they are all old." We hurried to send two more chests of gold and silver to him. Only then did he calm down. A few days later, another general asked for paintings and antiques. We gathered ten chests. The general said that these paintings were like dragons and phoenixes dancing. They looked better than General Pan's … In fact, ten chests aren't worth much … "
"Later, I thought about it. Since they don't like it, there's no need to show warmth to their cold buttocks. I won't give them anymore. However, it's like a pearl in the dark for our family to keep these things. Liheng is a person who knows what's good and what's bad, so I'll take them to play with. In this situation, these are all small matters. Liheng shouldn't shirk his responsibility to little sister … "
It was hard to guess what Lou Shuwan had been like when she interacted with those scholars in the past. However, in this post-war siege where everyone was in danger, the Lou Family was thriving with each passing day. This young lady of the Lou Family, who had more status than in the past, interacted with people with the indifferent attitude of a true gentleman. If Ning Yi was really that kind of talent who was down and out and had nowhere to go, he might have already been subdued by her elegant demeanor and broad-mindedness. Even if he was sober, in this situation where every bit of help was a bit of help, Ning Yi naturally wouldn't completely reject other people's good intentions.
The next two times, everything became more natural. After hearing about Ning Yi's story about Qian Xiwen in the Academy, Lou Shuwan also mocked herself for a few times that her family's power was nothing. In reality, this wasn't fake. Even though she wasn't a female scholar, Lou Shuwan was rather interested in things like scholars and integrity. If it wasn't for this, she wouldn't have been in the circle of scholars in the past. And this time, she brought the news that Li Tianrun would be coming back. She was subdued by Ning Yi, but she didn't investigate too deeply. If she knew the real reason why Ning Yi was captured or the grudge between Li Tianyou and Ning Yi, she probably wouldn't say these words now.
"Uh, how did you know?" When she said those words, Ning Yi was in the room filing two pieces of news sent by a guard of the Tyrant's Blade Camp. He also knew about the news that Li Tianrun was coming back and had speculations about what would happen next. However, he was really surprised to hear these speculations from Lou Shuwan's mouth.
"I heard that in the past, the Revolutionary Army used to have enlistment factions …" Lou Shuwan lowered her voice. "But Fang La … the Revolutionary Army is getting more and more powerful. Especially after conquering Hangzhou and declaring himself emperor, enlistment is naturally impossible. Among these people, some have changed their minds and are willing to go down, while others won't reveal their thoughts. But for a long time, the higher-ups have been very wary of these people. It's just that the country has just been established and its foundation is not stable, so it's impossible to clean up the whole country from now on. But in the past month or so, the news of these things has been very tight. Many people have been killed because of these kinds of things. My brother said that this time, Marshal Li Tianrun may come back to make a big move, so I'm a little worried that you, Liheng, will be involved … "
"My brother … your second brother?"
"Yes, big brother. His name is Shuwang … Oh, Liheng, you've met him once."
"… Oh."
*****
As dusk approached, Lou Shuwan walked out of the small courtyard where Ning Yi lived on Xiliu Street and got on the carriage. There were people coming and going on the road. The carriage went toward the neighboring streets in the setting sun and then disappeared from sight. In the courtyard, Xiaochan put away the tea set and chatted with Ning Yi in the courtyard corridor. Ning Yi smiled and replied a few words. Occasionally, he waved his hand and drew a few circles in the air, which made Xiaochan laugh. After a while, Ning Yi picked up a few documents and passed through the medical center from the side door of the courtyard. He went all the way to the main courtyard of the Tyrant's Blade Camp.
The classes in Wenlie Academy had already ended at noon. Without the chattering children, everything seemed quiet and comfortable in the magnificent light of the dusk. The path to the main courtyard was a series of courtyards that were already filled with people. However, at this time, most of the people here were women and children. There were also some members of the Tyrant's Saber Camp who had returned from work. Some of them knew Ning Yi and waved at him to greet him. There were also some children who saw him and came over to greet him.
The children knew that he was a teacher, but most of them still liked him. The main reason was that after Ning Yi came here, they had many more stories to listen to. Some of them were told by Ning Yi himself when he had nothing to do, and some were told in class and passed down by word of mouth. In short, everyone knew that he was a person with a lot of interesting stories.
In the past, he had managed many things, so he was not a frivolous and lively person. Of course, he was humorous, but the direction of his humour was usually a little profound. He did not expect that he would become a person that was liked by many children today. He admitted that he was not a good teacher, but he was very interested in the various strange changes that happened to others after they were influenced by him. According to some of the novels he had read in the past, many people who were great devils would have such a bad taste.
Sometimes, when he thought about it, he felt that his current situation was not good. He should not have this kind of misconception that did not match his identity …
Every day, he went to the main residence of the Tyrant's Blade Camp with ease. By the time he finished his work and came back, the sky was already dark. The lights in the courtyards were lit, and the fragrance of cooking wafted out from every house. The clothes hanging in each courtyard and the running of children made the atmosphere of an ancient farm. Many people set up tables in the courtyard and invited one or two of their friends to chat and eat. Ning Yi often received invitations, mostly from Liu Tiannan and the others. After all, he was the chief steward of the Tyrant's Blade Camp and had a close relationship with Ning Yi. If some of the people who followed Liu Dabiao became familiar with Ning Yi, they would also know that he was easy to get along with.
"Commander Li is coming back. I'm afraid that Hangzhou City will not be peaceful in the near future. Liheng, you know that you should try not to go out. If something happens, you can inform Little Sha or Ah Chang and arrange more people to follow you. Safety first. "
He asked his daughter to inform Xiaochan that Ning Yi would not be home for dinner. When Liu Tiannan invited Ning Yi to sit down, there were already five other people in the courtyard. There were Du Sha, Ah Chang, Chen Fan, An Xifu, whom he had met once or twice, and Liu Tiannan's assistant, Liu Shuangmu. Ning Yi knew him, but he was not familiar with him.
After nodding and greeting them, Ning Yi sat down with a smile and took the wine glass that Liu Tiannan handed to him. "I heard that Commander Li is very strict. He won't do anything out of line for a small figure like me, right?"
Liu Tiannan shook his head and said, "It's hard to say. I'm afraid that he will come with a big force."
"If he comes with a big force, he won't act in private. Everyone will know in advance."
After the two of them talked, Liu Shuangmu frowned and asked, "What big force?"
"The big purge that will happen soon."
"Mr. Ning … Hasn't he been busy dealing with foreign affairs …" Liu Shuangmu wondered, "How did you know?"
Liu Shuangmu obviously understood the series of things that Li Tianrun's return to the city might cause. What he was puzzled about was not what exactly happened, but how did Ning Yi know. Liu Tiannan patted him on the shoulder, and Ning Yi also glanced at him. "Recently, there have been changes in several businesses and relationships in the village. Xiao Jinjian, Guo Yan, and these people used to be on the side of appeasement, and the news of Commander Li's return is not very secret. With the war situation in the north, it is not difficult to imagine … After all, the numbers can't be falsified. "
Chen Fan drank a glass of wine and shrugged. "Don't think too much. Since this guy is involved, things can't be hidden from him. Either you are mentally prepared, or Shuangmu, how about you kill him? "
Ning Yi laughed and said, "Why haven't the higher-ups issued an order to hang all the unemployed?" Since he lost his identity as the head of the city management, Chen Fan was basically no different from an unemployed person.
An Xifu listened for a while and asked, "What does Mr. Ning think about the war in the north?"
The two didn't have much contact, but they had basically fought once in Huzhou. Ning Yi glanced at him and said, "I can't guess much. Speaking of which, Jiaxing is definitely not going to be taken, right?"
These words were said lightly, but Liu Tiannan didn't hold it against him. He nodded and said, "Yes, Tong Guan led the troops, and the siege has been broken."
"I'm afraid Fang Qifo doesn't want to come back. The grain harvest in July and August has always been a land of fish and rice from Hangzhou to Jiaxing. As the saying goes, before the three armies move, provisions and fodder go first. Everyone collects what they can and burns what they can't. Tong Guan has a lot of troops, and the logistical needs of the troops are also strong. Over here … they probably plan to occupy the city to fight. Is that so? "
This time, no one answered. Ning Yi smiled and said, "They just harvested the grain. As long as Hangzhou doesn't fall, it can hold out for a long time. Revolts, proclaiming oneself as an emperor — with a title, there will always be people who come to join us. Even if we can't break the siege of Hangzhou, as long as we can hold out here, the pressure on the court from outside will increase. In addition, the Jin and Liao Kingdoms have already started fighting in the north. The Wu dynasty is also going to send troops on a northern expedition. With 150,000 troops stuck in Jiangnan, it's possible that … the court will collapse. That's all I can guess. "
Ning Yi thought for a while and said, "When the Yongle Dynasty was first established, it was impossible to immediately kill a group of people and make people panic. But since they are preparing to defend the city, the most important thing is whether the people in the city can be united. I heard that Marshal Li is a steady person. If he leads the troops back and cleans up a group of people, the situation in Hangzhou will be better stabilized. That's probably what political struggles are like. "
What Ning Yi had been dealing with in the Tyrant's Blade Camp was related to internal affairs. Those related to core secrets or the war in the north had basically been filtered out. This was why Liu Shuangmu was surprised by him. After he finished speaking, everyone fell silent. Chen Fan was probably the one who knew the thoughts of the Seven Buddha of Fang the best. He frowned and asked, "Is it possible?" He was naturally referring to the purpose of dragging down the imperial court.
Ning Yi laughed and said, "We are all armchair strategists. I am very good at speculating. If you want to take this seriously … then I don't know. There is no method in the world. There is a saying that goes, build high walls, accumulate grain, and slowly proclaim oneself as an emperor. But here, you are in a hurry to proclaim yourselves as emperors. Of course, you have your own ideas. Whether you can succeed or not depends on concrete actions … "
Everyone looked at each other. Not long after, Liu Tiannan said, "Build high walls, accumulate grain, and slowly proclaim oneself as an emperor. This saying is quite reasonable. I wonder who said it …"
Ning Yi said, "It was Han Xin who said it to Liu Bang."
At this time, he was talking to Chen Fan about a poetry meeting that he was going to attend the next day. In fact, Ning Yi and Wenren Bu 'er, the head of special agents sent by Elder Qin, had met for the second time a few days ago. This was the place where they had agreed to meet for the third time. Therefore, in front of Liu Tiannan and the others, he first told them that Lou Shuwan had asked him to go. In fact, it was Ning Yi who mentioned the poetry meeting today, and Lou Shuwan happened to say that she also had an invitation. He didn't pay much attention to the simple history topic until a group of people started talking about "Han Xin actually said this …" Only then did he seriously think about it.
"Uh … it seems … maybe … yes …"
After a long time, the famous saying "build high walls, accumulate grain, and slowly proclaim oneself as an emperor" spread through many strange ways. Most people thought that it was Ning Yi himself or his aides who said it. As for what he said about Han Xin, after many years, there was still no evidence to prove it …
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