The situation at the stone pillars was urgent, so it was inconvenient for Tian Xiufeng to stay at Songkan for long. The next day, she had Ye Xiaotian appear before imperial envoy Wang Shiqi, and Tian Xiufeng brought him on a journey to the stone pillar department.
The stone pillar division's territory was not very far from here because Songkan was on the border between Guizhou and Sichuan. The stone pillar division was not much weaker than Bozhou. The reason why it was not as famous as Bozhou's Yang Yinglong was because they were governed by the Imperial Court to a different extent.
In terms of territory, the stone pillar Ma family ruled over nine streams and eighteen caves. The nine streams were Xiushan's Qingxi, Youxi, Tuxi, Miaoxi, Shaoxi, Rongxi, Youyang's Houxi, Hunan's Huayuan's Diexi, Guizhou's Songtao's Man Creek.
The eighteen caves were Xiushan's Upper and Lower Song Long Cave, Demon Beating Cave, Lubi Tan Cave, Junbei Cave, Di Long Jade Cave, Shangji Cave, Nanrong Cave, Di Yin Cave, Wansen Cave, Wei Ping Cave, Rong Ping Cave, Youyang Cave, Xi Ning Cave, Ba Xi Cave, Youzhi You Cave, Hubei Lai Feng Cave, Jiu Jiang Cave, Guizhou Songtao Cave, Yun Luo Cave.
From this, it could be seen that the stone pillar Ma family's territory included parts of Sichuan, Guizhou, Hunan, and Hubei. With such territory, they could be called one of the top chieftains in Sichuan. However, although their autonomy was strong, the degree of control by the Imperial Court was also strong. Ma Doufu could be imprisoned and exiled because he changed the management of the mines. The same punishment would be very difficult for the chieftains in Guizhou.
But even so, the ruling rights of this area still belonged to the Ma family. This was also the main reason why the Ma family did not rebel. Otherwise, Ma Doufu would not have accepted such a punishment. However, after Ma Douhu was exiled, the Ma family was in turmoil, and the internal affairs were in chaos.
Tian Xiufeng and the others were not far from Guizhou's Songkan to Songtao. And once they entered Songtao, it was equivalent to entering the stone pillar division's territory. There were three major stream masters and cave masters here, respectively ruling Man Creek, Jiu River Cave, and Yun Luo Cave. These were all subordinate territories of the stone pillar division.
Man Xi, Jiu Jiang Cave and Yun Luo Cave were too far away from the stone pillars. They did not participate in this crusade against Madam Qin and had been maintaining a neutral stance, so the atmosphere in these three places was not particularly tense. Tian Xiufeng and Ye Xiaotian were able to pass through them calmly and gradually entered the core territory of the Stone Pillar Division.
In the green bamboo forest on the Eastern Mountain of the Stone Pillar Residence.
The yellow bamboos formed a sea of bamboos that covered the mountains and plains, boundless. In the depths of the bamboo forest, at the end of a naturally formed small path, a simple and crude little hall built from local materials stood there quietly like a small umbrella. Beside the pavilion was a pool of green water that was as still as a mirror. This scene was just like an immortal's paradise.
There were two people sitting in the pavilion, a man and a woman.
The man was dressed in the traditional attire of the Tujia Bizika Clan, with a pipa front jacket and a green silk handkerchief wrapped around his head. The woman's head was wrapped in a floral scarf and her dress was embroidered with lace. She wore a pleated skirt that reached her knees and wrapped her legs with cloth.
Bizika belonged to what the ancients called the Wuling Barbarians and the Five Streams Barbarians. They liked to wear colorful clothes. The so-called Five Color Clothes referred to colorful clothes. Therefore, this man and woman were both dressed in bright colors. The man was handsome, and the woman was beautiful.
Such a pair of young men and women wandered in this fairyland-like bamboo sea and quiet lake, but they weren't snuggling up to each other and being intimate with each other. Instead, they were doing something that didn't match this: They were playing chess.
This woman, who looked beautiful and charming, had a bit of a woman's plump and beautiful, bone-penetrating charm, and also had a bit of a young girl's softness, bright and moving. She was naturally the eldest young miss of the White Mud Tian Clan, the third wife of the Bozhou Heavenly King, Tian Xiufeng. Sitting opposite her was Ye Xiaotian.
"Forget it, I won't play anymore!"
With a wave of her slender hand, Tian Xiufeng messed up the black and white pieces on the board. There seemed to be a tinge of unwillingness on her face after losing the game. Ye Xiaotian's gaze involuntarily froze. Although this woman's ambition was not inferior to a man's, her beauty was not reduced in the slightest. Towards a woman's beauty, how many normal men could not like it?
Tian Xiufeng clearly noticed his gaze, but she was not angry. She had long gotten used to men's breathtaking gazes, and seemed to have become immune to Ye Xiaotian's invasive gaze. Or rather, she was used to it.
Stretching her waist lazily, Tian Xiufeng said, "Your chess skills are pretty good!"
As Ye Xiaotian picked up the chess pieces, he smiled and said, "I learned it from those criminal officials in the Heavenly Prison when I was young."
When Ye Xiaotian said this, he was suddenly shocked. Such a beautiful scene, such a beautiful woman, his wariness seemed to have dropped to the lowest level. There was something wrong with this sentence, if Tian Xiufeng knew enough about the two brothers.
Ye Xiaotian immediately tried to remedy it. He stopped and revealed a nostalgic expression. He said sadly, "My second brother's chess skills are better than mine. Those criminal officials often say that my second brother's talent is outstanding, and he will definitely make a name for himself in the future. Unfortunately … "
Ye Xiaotian lowered his head sadly. Tian Xiufeng smiled and said, "He did it. Unfortunately, the heavens are jealous of heroes. It is important for a person to have ability, but more important is luck! A person blessed with good fortune will be able to walk further than a person with ability! "
When Tian Xiufeng said this, she suddenly paused and said, "Do you think the Heavenly King is a person blessed with great luck?"
Ye Xiaotian smiled apologetically and said, "Naturally, the Heavenly King is a person blessed with great luck. Otherwise, how could he be the Heavenly King!"
Tian Xiufeng shook her head and said, "That's a foundation, it has nothing to do with luck. You were able to go from a prison guard to a chieftain, bare-handed, and start from scratch. This is called luck. I spared no effort to rope you in for the Heavenly King, and this is also one of the reasons … "
Tian Xiufeng's eyes turned into a pair of crescent moons, and they were exceptionally seductive. "A person with great luck will have a capable helper by his side. He must also have great luck."
Ye Xiaotian was speechless. He didn't expect that Tian Xiufeng's plot was not only for the power that he controlled, but also because of Tian Xiufeng's superstition. She believed that he was able to achieve what he had today because of luck! Such a person with such a strong fate could stand by Yang Yinglong's side and strengthen Yang Yinglong's luck.
Tian Xiufeng saw that he was in a daze and couldn't help but smile sweetly. She reached out and picked up the chess piece. Because of her hand, the embroidered sleeves revealed a section of her smooth wrist. "Do you think the Heavenly King has the great luck of the world?"
Ye Xiaotian smiled apologetically and said, "Of course, the Heavenly King …"
Tian Xiufeng suddenly raised her brows, and the corners of her eyes were full of hidden sharpness. "Say what you really think!"
Ye Xiaotian's body shook, and he choked for a moment. Then he said embarrassedly, "I … I feel that the imperial court has control over the four seas and is incomparably powerful. It won't be so easy to deal with, right?"
Tian Xiufeng curled her lips and said, "Whose world will be seized when someone else has more territory and a larger population than him? What did Liu Bang and Xiang Yu have back then? Li Yuan only had Taiyuan, and Zhao Kuangyin was only a general under Chai Shizong. There's no need to mention our dynasty's Taizu. If it were all like you, the world would still be the Xia Dynasty, and even the Shang and Zhou Dynasties wouldn't exist! Forget it, forget it, why am I asking you these things! What you are talking about has nothing to do with luck, but courage and boldness! Your courage and boldness … "
Tian Xiufeng looked at Ye Xiaotian with some disdain. Ye Xiaotian seemed to be unable to bear such contempt from a beautiful woman. He puffed out his chest and said, "So what if I have courage and boldness? Who is born with the courage to challenge the world? If I also had Yang Tian Wang's tremendous capital, hmph! Hmph! "
Tian Xiufeng smiled and said, "You don't have the capital of a heavenly king, but you have the opportunity to possess Crouching Ox Ridge now. Once you successfully replace your deceased younger brother, you can become a lord of a region at the very least! I will help you, but you need to have the courage and determination yourself! "
Ye Xiaotian slowly clenched his fists and said sternly, "I will!"
Over the past few days, Ye Xiaotian had gradually changed from his cowardly self. Unknowingly, Tian Xiufeng had also accepted this change. Seeing how confident Ye Xiaotian was, Tian Xiufeng smiled in satisfaction. Just when she was about to encourage him again, someone suddenly rushed over from afar.
Ye Xiaotian and Tian Xiufeng looked over and saw a young man in a similar pipa shirt. He strode over as if he was flying, startling a few birds in the forest. Some of the bamboo leaves were shaken off by the birds, drifting to the still, mirror-like surface of the lake and creating ripples.
The person arrived before Tian Xiufeng and clasped his fist. "Madam, I've infiltrated the Stone Pillar Estate and have already learned everything …"
The person told Tian Xiufeng everything he had learned after infiltrating the Stone Pillar Estate. The madam thought that now that her husband was imprisoned and her eldest son was dragged into the matter, she could become the sole ruler of the clan. Never did she expect that she would overestimate herself.
The villagers and big-headed people of the Ma family were usually as obedient as kittens, but it was all because they were respectful to the crude and boorish husband she looked down on. For a long time, her husband had always obeyed her, which gave her the misconception that these people were useless and that the one they feared was her.
She believed that these people were incompetent, that she was the one they feared, and that her foolish husband had been nothing but a mouthpiece for her to control the monolith. Only when Ma Doubo was imprisoned did she learn she was wrong, completely wrong. Ma Doubo, who was worthless in her eyes, was the true leader that the villagers and headmen of the stone pillar obeyed wholeheartedly. She was just a fox using the tiger's might to intimidate others.
Ma Bangpin, Ma Doulin and a dozen of the Ma family's clay monks and big headed people all objected to the Tan family's decision to appoint herself as the female Chieftain. First, they had an intense argument, then the clay monks resorted to force and surrounded the Chieftain Mansion. Both parties fought.
It was only now that the madam realized how weak her rallying power was. Only the soldiers who were directly under the Chieftain Estate were willing to listen to her command, so they retreated in defeat. Now, the territory that was truly under her control was only one of the places where the Chieftain Estate was located. The other places were all independent and she was only left with the title of being the ruler.
After listening to the spy, Tian Xiufeng felt an indescribable sense of satisfaction. She smiled and commented, "Overestimating herself! A stupid woman like her wants to lead all the heroes? "
Ye Xiaotian sat at the side and thought, "Junting is not bad. Following my instructions, she incited the headmen of the Ma family to create a rebellion against the madam Tan. As expected, that vixen was forced to a dead end."
Ye Xiaotian coughed and pretended to be anxious. He asked, "Madam, what should we do now?"
Tian Xiufeng's eyes turned and thought, "If I don't do anything, the heavenly king will definitely not be happy. Even though I can't rescue her, I still have to do something! " Thinking of this, Tian Xiufeng said, "The madam Tan can no longer stand on the stone pillar. Let's rescue her and return to Bozhou!"
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