Song Qingshu had to agree with Han Xingzhou's judgment. After all, if one put aside their standpoint, Guo Jing was more suitable than Linghu Chong in all aspects. Since he didn't appoint Guo Jing directly, but went through all the trouble to arrange a martial arts competition, it was clear that Zhao Gou had other intentions.
But even so, Guo Jing had already cultivated the Nine Yin Manual to perfection, and the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms was also famous. Adding on the Left and Right Inter-fighting Arts, he could be said to be one of the top masters in the world.
Linghu Chong's Nine Swords Beyond the Swords was amazing, but he seemed to only be more familiar with the Sword Breaking Form. His attainments in the Palm Breaking Form and Qi Breaking Form were probably not enough to deal with Guo Jing. Fortunately, he had also practiced the Yijin Scripture, which increased his chances of winning by thirty percent. But even so, in Song Qingshu's judgment, if he really fought with Guo Jing, Linghu Chong would still be at a disadvantage, at most forty to sixty percent.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but smile bitterly. "If it really is a martial arts competition, Ling … ahem, Wu Xi probably won't have any advantage."
Han Xingzhou nodded. "That's right. Tiande's martial arts are high, but Guo Jing's reputation is out there. According to the analysis of our advisors, the chances of winning are not optimistic. I originally had some doubts about their conclusion, but now that Qingshu has said so, there is no doubt." A person's reputation was like a tree's shadow. These years, Song Qingshu's achievements were brilliant, and in the hearts of others, he was already a grandmaster. Naturally, Han Xingzhou wouldn't doubt his judgment.
"How does Jiefu want me to help?" Song Qingshu asked curiously. The other had done so much good, and it was time for him to return the favor. If it was a simple matter, he wouldn't mind helping out.
Han Xingzhou didn't speak directly, but gave Wu Qian a look. Wu Qian understood and said with a smile, "Guo Jing's martial arts are unparalleled, and there are probably few in the world who can beat him. Qingshu, you are one of them. If Qingshu can give him internal injuries before the battle, Tiande's chances of winning will greatly increase."
Song Qingshu frowned as he listened. Sure enough, there was no such thing as a good banquet. "This is no small matter. I need to think about it carefully." He didn't refuse directly. After all, they had been smiling at him, so there was no need to embarrass them and make enemies out of nothing. Moreover, to some extent, he and Han Xingzhou had the same interests. If Jia Shidao got what he wanted, it wouldn't be a good thing for him.
"Don't worry, don't worry." Seeing that he didn't refuse on the spot, Han Xingzhou and the others were overjoyed and didn't bring up the matter again. They just kept drinking wine to warm up the relationship between the two sides.
As for the Jia family, after seeing off Guo Jing and Huang Rong, Jia Shidao asked in the study, "What do you think about the kung fu competition between Guo Jing and Wu Xi?"
A figure flashed out of the shadows. It was Liao Yingzhong, Jia Shidao's most valued advisor. He said, "Prime Minister, Guo Jing's Nine Yin Scripture has been practiced to the highest level, and it combines the hardness and softness of the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms. I'm afraid even Hong Qigong can't compete with him. Although Wu Xi has shown amazing swordsmanship these days, I don't think he can compete with Guo Jing."
"Probably?" Jia Shidao frowned. He was obviously very dissatisfied with this statement.
Liao Yingzhong hurriedly replied, "According to my judgment, Guo Jing has at least a 70% chance of winning."
"70% is not enough," Jia Shidao said coldly. "I need a 100% chance."
"Prime Minister, what do you mean?" Liao Yingzhong asked curiously.
"Find a way to deal with Wu Xi in advance." Jia Shidao's eyes flashed with coldness.
Liao Yingzhong smiled bitterly and said, "Wu Xi is a member of the Wu family, so I'm afraid it will be very difficult to buy him over. If we use force against him in advance, once Han Xingzhou has something on us, it will be bad. "
Jia Shidao stroked his beard and said calmly, "In life, what people pursue is nothing more than power, money, and women. Since power and money can't move him, we should start with women. I remember that when Wu Xi was the General of Quanzhou, he seemed to be quite lustful. A leopard can't change its spots. It doesn't look like he's faking it. "
"At this critical moment, I'm afraid ordinary women won't work. How about we ask Lady Rong …" Liao Yingzhong asked carefully.
"It's not a big deal to sacrifice for the family at this critical moment." Jia Shidao frowned and said, "But in case our people alert Wu Xi, we should ask Lord Beijing to help us with this."
"Yes!" Liao Yingzhong's heart skipped a beat. Lord Beijing was very good at this, so it was perfect to ask him to help.
"When Wu Xi was the General of Quanzhou, his martial arts skills were very ordinary, but on his way back to the capital, his sword skills improved by leaps and bounds. I don't believe that he was hiding his skills before. Do you think it's possible that he obtained the Bixie Sword Manual by chance when he passed by Fuzhou?" Jia Shidao suddenly asked.
Liao Yingzhong nodded and said, "It's very likely. We sent so many people before, but none of them obtained the Bixie Sword Manual. Obviously, someone else got it before us. Wu Xi happened to pass by Fuzhou at that time. How could there be such a coincidence in this world?"
Jia Shidao said expressionlessly, "We'll ask Lady Rong to ask him about it."
"Yes." A beautiful and sad face appeared in Liao Yingzhong's mind, and he couldn't help but sigh. Since ancient times, beautiful women were often unlucky. The ancients were right.
"By the way," Liao Yingzhong was about to leave, but Jia Shidao stopped him and said, "Have you found out where Young Master is?"
Liao Yingzhong suddenly had a cold sweat on his forehead and said, "Not yet. Young Master seems to have disappeared from the world."
Jia Shidao looked gloomy and said, "Then continue to investigate. I don't believe that anyone can hide from us!"
"Yes!" Liao Yingzhong left the study and found that his clothes were soaked in cold sweat.
While the Han Family and the Jia Family were discussing the martial arts competition between Guo Jing and Wu Xi, the attention of the palace was also on the two of them.
"Sir, I don't want Jia Shidao to control the capital and Sichuan, so I arranged this martial arts competition. Isn't it too obvious?" Zhao Gou said to a shadow.
He was wearing a black cloak, and he seemed to be shrouded in a thick layer of fog. Huang Chang's voice sounded, "The emperor is the king. He doesn't need to consider the feelings of his subjects before making any decisions." He didn't address him respectfully at all, and called him emperor like an elder lecturing a junior. Zhao Gou, who was always narrow-minded, didn't seem to be angry at all.
"That's true." Zhao Gou smiled. He gently stroked the golden dragon throne, an intoxicated look on his face.
Huang Chang was silent for a long time, then suddenly said, "Actually, even if His Majesty didn't do this, I would have made a similar suggestion."
"Why?" Zhao Gou was instantly curious. Huang Chang never made suggestions to him, and now that he was speaking for the first time, it definitely wasn't because of the Art of Balance.
"Does His Majesty still remember the incident of Chen Qiaoyi and Huang Chang wearing the Yellow Robe?" Huang Chang asked.
"Yes." Zhao Gou's expression didn't look good. Obtaining the throne had always been a knot in the hearts of the emperors of the Zhao and Song Dynasties.
Huang Chang didn't care about his feelings at all. He continued, "Back then, Chai Rong had four princes. Chai Zongxun abdicated and became King Zheng. Chai Xijin was adopted by Pan Mei and changed his name to Pan Lang …"
At the mention of Pan Lang, Huang Chang's eyes shone with a frightening light, as if he cared a lot about this name. After a long time, he continued, "Chai Xihui was adopted by Lu Yan and changed his name to Lu Duoxun."
Zhao Gou snorted coldly. "These two traitors tried to rebel. Luckily, Emperor Taizong was wise, and the Song Dynasty had the mandate of heaven, so they didn't succeed."
"The mandate of heaven?" Huang Chang smiled noncommittally. "If it really was the mandate of heaven, then the Chai family wouldn't have been burned by the wildfire."
Zhao Gou frowned and said, "After the King of Wei failed in his rebellion, Lu Duoxun was exiled to Cliff Mountain. Pan Lang's whereabouts were unknown, and we haven't heard any news of him since. He most likely died in some wild mountain. How can it be considered as the wildfire not burning?"
Huang Chang looked at him deeply. "Did His Majesty forget that Chai Rong had a son?"
Zhao Gou was shocked. "Sir, are you talking about the King of Cao, Chai Xirang? But he disappeared without a trace, as if he had evaporated from the world. "
"That's right. The rumors outside say that he died in the chaos, but the records of the royal family clearly state that his body was not found, so he must have successfully escaped Kaifeng." Huang Chang raised his head and looked into the distance, as if immersed in his memories. "All these years, I have been secretly investigating the whereabouts of this branch. At first, I had no leads, until the people of Liangshan rose up in rebellion."
"Hmph, if it wasn't for the fact that the power of the country had been exhausted by suppressing these traitors, the great Song Dynasty wouldn't have been so easily defeated by the Female Zhenren, unable to fight back!" Zhao Gou slammed his hand hard on the dragon throne, clearly very angry.
Huang Chang clearly didn't want to discuss the battle of Song and Jin with him. He continued, "Back then, among the bandits of Liangshan, there was a leader called Sai Rengui, Guo Sheng. By chance, I saw him fight. It was very similar to Chai Rong fighting on the battlefield."
Zhao Gou's pupils contracted. "Guo Sheng?"
Huang Chang nodded and continued, "After that, I investigated and found out that Guo Sheng was the descendant of Chai Xirang. Because Chai Xirang had escaped in a hurry, he didn't have time to take the martial arts in the palace, so he only knew some fighting skills on the battlefield, unlike the other two branches who knew the profound martial arts."
"If I remember correctly, Guo Sheng died in the battle against Fang La, right? Why do you suddenly mention him, Sir? "Zhao Gou asked in confusion.
"That's right. Back then, the court sent me to encircle the leader of the Ming Dynasty, Fang La. Liangshan happened to be recruited at the time, and participated in the encirclement. Guo Sheng died in that battle, and I also noticed his identity at that time," Huang Chang answered. "As to why I mention it now, it's because I recently found out that Guo Jing is Guo Sheng's grandson."
"What!" Zhao Gou instantly exploded. Once he thought about how the descendant of the Chai family had unknowingly grown to such a high level of martial arts, he shuddered. "But … Guo Jing has been guarding Xiangyang loyally for the past few years … could you be mistaken, Sir?"
Huang Chang shook his head. "Previously, I sent people to Guo Jing's hometown, Ox Village, to investigate. Now, the spies have reported that everyone in Ox Village knows that Guo Jing's father, Guo Xiaotian, is the descendant of Guo Sheng."
After receiving confirmation, Zhao Gou took a deep breath. "But why would Chai Xirang let his descendant have the surname Guo?"
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