In the early spring of the eighteenth year of Jianyan's reign, the spring cold in Hebei Province had not yet broken, but flowers were already in full bloom at Wuliang Mountain in Dali.

Deep in the flowers, there is a waterfall in the mountain. The waterfall spurts out pearls and jade, and is majestic. Because blue sheep often pass over the rocks behind the waterfall in groups, it is named Yangshan Waterfall. Below the waterfall, there is a natural deep

The water of the lake is clear, and fish can be seen swimming. And on the bank of the deep lake, there is a huge rock standing impressively.

This stone is extremely tall, enough for dozens of people to climb it and watch the waterfall. In addition, it is flat on three sides and looks particularly neat, especially the side facing the lake. It is as smooth and flat as jade, almost like a mirror, and is very neat.

The contrast between the lakes makes people marvel at them.

Wang Shixiong, the deputy commander of the imperial class of the Song Dynasty, stood under the stone. He was stunned for a long time and could not speak.

After a while, it was Wu Yi, the envoy of the Song Dynasty in Dali, who coughed dryly, which made Wang Shixiong come back to his senses, and then turned around in embarrassment:

"I'm sorry, everyone, but I must not be rude... The emperor's decree states that there is a huge stone under the waterfall of Wuliang Mountain, which is specially named Wuliang Jade... It is thousands of miles apart, but it is exactly the same. It can be seen that the emperor has truly given the gift of heaven."

After saying that, he opened the imperial edict in his hand and read it in a hurry. Many of the descendants of the Gao family of Dali who were accompanying him, starting from the current head of the family with the title of Duke, Dali Buxie (ruler) Gao Liangcheng and below, had no time to think too much and bowed respectfully.

The imperial edict only contained two sentences, but it was indeed conferring the name Wuliang Jade. Many Gao family disciples under Gao Liangcheng couldn't help but panic when they got up - Wuliang Mountain was located between the capital of Dali and the Gao family's core fiefdom of Wei Chu.

There are temples and tea gardens in the area, which is fair, but it is nonsense to say it is a prominent place. It is really surprising that the emperor of the Central Plains can know a stone in a certain mountain in his fiefdom even though he is thousands of miles away.

Of course, there were also some mature Gao family members who laughed bitterly in private at the sound of the waterfall: "This is the edict of the Emperor of the Song Dynasty. If there is this stone, it will naturally be visible to thousands of miles. But if it is not there, we will have the nerve to refute it."

The emperor’s face? I’m afraid I have to help find a piece of it.”

Some people disagreed with this: "What is this? The Bei family was greedy for power and brought the Song Dynasty into the situation in order to fight for power. Since they had internal support, let alone a stone, what could the country hide from the emperor? It was just a deliberate attempt to intimidate us.

.”

As soon as these words came out, the people around him were either angry, sneered, or sighed, and some people glared directly at him, but after all, no one talked about the imperial title anymore.

Just like that, I turned around the jade wall and came to a temple in the mountains. Here, tables and tables had already been laid out, and tea and fruits were placed... There must be no Sword Palace, but Dali worships Buddhism, and there is no such thing in any mountain.

There is a lack of temples. There was a fire in the capital of Dali before, and half of the temples were burned, including Wuliang Mountain. As for fragrant tea, ever since the official family of Zhao and Song Dynasty started the border trade more than ten years ago, Dali’s tea has already become a staple food along with the copper mines.

Not to mention the daily-use tea bricks from Shu and the two lakes, the most important export goods are the high-quality fragrant tea that can be directly spread to the central capital Bianjing and the capital Yanjing, competing with the famous tea from the southeast.

Without further ado, when they arrived here, everyone exchanged polite greetings. Then, Gao Liangcheng took the first place with Wang Shixiong as a duke, followed naturally by Wu Yili, the envoy of the Song Dynasty in Dali and the uncle of the Song Dynasty.

The one who made the first move on the left was Gao Zhenshou, Gao Liangcheng's cousin, who was the head of the Northern Sect of the Gao family based on the Tongtong Mansion in the north of Dali.

As for Gao Zhenshou, the abbot of the temple sat down without any embarrassment, but he specifically separated the head of the Northern Sect of the Gao family from the local Southern Sect of the Gao family... and the other Northern Sects who came here with Gao Zhenshou...

Many of his disciples followed Wu Yi and sat down.

There are two sects, the north and the south, with clear distinctions.

"Gao Gong."

After sitting down, Wang Shixiong first glanced at the strange scene in the hall, and then glanced at Gao Liangcheng. He didn't have time to drink tea before he spoke directly. "Although the official came here with the order, he only came to listen to the words of both sides of the family. The specific results are

It still depends on the official’s decision... Therefore, if you have something to say, feel free to comment on it and don’t pay any attention to me.”

Gao Liangcheng also put down his tea, twirling his beard and smiling bitterly: "As the saying goes, family ugliness should not be publicized, but today Gao's family ugliness will be made known to the whole world. Gao Mou is so embarrassed..."

"My uncle wants to save face, but my nephew doesn't have to think about all this." Before the leader, Dali Buxie (the ruler), could finish speaking, Gao Zhenshou, the head of the Northern Sect, interrupted him and spoke coldly. "Wang Zongzhi, this is

It was our Northern Sect who complained to the Emperor. My uncle didn’t want to talk about it, so he asked me to talk about it... This matter is extremely simple to say. That is, I, the Northern Sect of the Gao family, is the direct descendant of the Gao family.

Everyone in the world knows this... Therefore, the position of duke of the Gao family, the position of Bu Xie of the Dali Kingdom, and the power to control the Shanchan Mansion should all be held by me, the direct grandson of the Gao family! That's all!"

As soon as Gao Liangcheng said this, before Gao Liangcheng could say anything, the disciples of the Southern Sect below suddenly stood up. Someone immediately stood up and yelled. Then the disciples of the Northern Sect, not to be outdone, stood up and yelled. The two sides got into a mess and started arguing directly in the Buddhist hall.

Into a pot of porridge.

The monks present all had their heads hanging down, and the first four, namely Gao's uncle and nephew and Wang Wu, could only remain speechless for a moment.

After a while, Gao Liangcheng still lowered his voice and spoke from a distance: "Two angels, can you allow me to have a private conversation with my nephew Zhenshou, and then explain to the angels?"

"If your uncle and nephew are willing, of course there is no problem." Wang Shixiong glanced at Gao Zhenshou opposite him, and said sternly. "But please understand Gao Gong, this meeting between your uncle and nephew in Wuliang Mountain is an official appointment, please also

Mr. Gao must treat each other with courtesy, otherwise..."

"Where did Wang Tongzhi go?" Gao Liangcheng immediately smiled bitterly. "After all, this is my nephew."

On the other hand, Gao Zhenshou took a look at the chaos in the hall and nodded calmly: "Don't worry, two angels. Since my uncle wants to tell his true feelings, of course I can't be stingy as a nephew... Besides, I have the heart to be honest with my uncle this time.

.”

"I know, I know." Wang Shixiong stood up, still magnanimous. "It's just my duty. No matter how ugly some words are, I still have to say them. Otherwise, what will the officials do with me? Everyone, let's go to Yubi.

The sound of the waterfall is so loud that you can say whatever you want without worrying about anyone eavesdropping."

At this point, Wu Yi also stood up, and the four of them each held their hands, leaving behind the chaos in the hall, and headed back to the waterfall under the leadership of the monk, but this time Gao's uncle and nephew stayed behind the jade bi under the waterfall.

On the other side, Wang Shixiong and Wu Yi simply climbed to the top of the mountain above Yangshan Waterfall... These two people were also old friends in the past. Now they are working separately and rarely get together. Logically speaking, they are inevitably close to each other.

However, when business matters are here, even if you want to have a personal relationship, you can't change it.

"Brother Dewei (characterized by Wang Shixiong) doesn't know the situation in Dali?" Wu Yi said in surprise.

"It's not that I don't know, it's just that it's too confusing and I really can't figure it out." Wang Shixiong answered frankly. "But I won't hide it from you. The officials and the Xifu didn't ask me to be punished here. They wanted me to be punished here.

As the deputy commander of the royal squad, I used Qiao as a tactic to remind Gao Buxie at all times that the officials were watching him, and that the officials had 200,000 imperial armors in hand."

Wu Yi nodded, but then he put his hands on the edge of the cliff and looked at Gao's uncle and nephew below, and continued to ask: "If this is the case, how did Brother Dewei get this job with so many people in front of the emperor?"

"The reason why I can get this job is because of you. Everyone knows that you and I have old friends; the other reason is that I am from the service of King Qin, so it is difficult for King Wei, who is in charge of the West Palace, to refute..." Wang Shixiong laughed dryly. "Let's go to court.

In the middle, water and wood stand side by side, Qin and Wei intersect, and the region is divided into four parts: north, south, west, and middle."

Wu Yi nodded again and again, but finally did not expand on this issue, but directly talked about Dali: "Actually, although things in Dali are complicated, they are just two words: civil strife..."

"Tell me slowly." Wang Shixiong immediately became serious.

"First, the Nanzhao Kingdom was destroyed, and all the heroes came together. Although the Duan family defeated the Yang family, it planted two innate evil roots. First, the local tribes were independent of each other. It was always difficult for Dali to bridge the gap between the white barbarians and black barbarians in the east and west, so that the East Thirty-Seven

The black barbarians feel that they have been wronged and prejudiced, and they always rebel whenever they find an opportunity...

"The second is that the Duan family is from a humble background. Like the Yang family, the Gao family, the Meng family, and the Dong family, they are all Hanized local powerful people. The tribal leaders are all border officials of Nanzhao and the Tang Dynasty in the past. The so-called co-temporaries are

Ministers, we serve the people in the same place. Moreover, even in the process of starting a business, we also relied on the joint efforts of various departments. Therefore, once we gained power and became the leader of the people, we could not stop the lack of awe in everyone's hearts..."

"These are the two root causes, and the next step is civil strife... As soon as Duan Siping, the founding father of the country, died, his younger brother joined forces with the Dong family, a wealthy family in China, to usurp his nephew's position..."

"This..." Wang Shixiong, who was listening carefully, suddenly couldn't help but speak out.

"I know what brother is thinking, but it's really not the same thing." Wu Yi responded with a sigh. "Taizong succeeded Taizu. Although there were rumors, there was no war, and there was no dethronement of the throne...

…After the father and son inherited the throne, the Duan family was seized by their uncle, the Dong family, who jointly ruled the country. They also led a wolf into the house, and the Dong family has been in power ever since."

Wang Shixiong nodded repeatedly, but then motioned for the other party to continue.

"The first civil strife was caused by the conflict between uncle and nephew. The second time was the decline of the Dong family and the gradual rise of the Gao family... About a hundred years ago, the Gao family deposed the then ruler of Dali and re-established the founder of the country, Duan Siping.

Later generations helped him up, but after the Gao family got up, he also became a powerful minister, and he was more authoritarian than the Dong family. You can also see this...

"The third civil strife was when the Gao family gradually became uncontrollable, and finally directly deposed the Duan family and established himself as king... However, before his death, Gao Shengtai, who became the head of the country, specifically asked his son to return the throne... This is about

That happened fifty years ago.

"The fourth civil strife happened, but it was the turn of the Gao family... The Duan family continued to be in chaos and weak. The Gao family was named Bu Xie (ruler) and was actually the ruler of the country. The Gao family took care of all internal and external affairs on their own.

However, in order to ensure the authority of the Gao family, there were also cases where brothers died instead of father and son. As time went by, there were internal sectarian disputes. Now the leader of the Duan family, Duan Heyu, is a man with a good heart. About a few decades ago,

, he took advantage of the good opportunity of inheriting the Gao family and took the initiative to distribute Weichu Mansion and Tongsou Mansion in the north and south of Dali to Gao Taiming's son. From then on, the northern and southern sects of the Gao family existed side by side... The current Bu Xie is Gao Liangcheng of the Southern sect.

He has been in power for twenty or thirty years, but Beizong Gao Zhenshou is the direct eldest son of the Gao family..."

"So why is this happening now?" Wang Shixiong finally understood. "Brother Gao Zhenshou is getting older and more powerful. On the one hand, the commander's office is growing in strength by trading with us, and on the other hand, his younger brother Gao Zhenming is in Zhongdu.

I went to Imperial College and was selected as a Jinshi by the river...so you want to involve the officials to regain the position of Bu Xie?"

"Yes and no."

"how to say?"

"The key and core is of course the rebellion between the northern and southern sects of the Gao family. Who makes the Gao family the real person in power in Dali?"

Wu Yi looked at the pair of uncles and nephews below from a distance and talked about it. "But the current civil strife is actually not only the affairs of the northern and southern sects of the Gao family, but also Duan Heyu, who has been in power for decades and worked hard to rule as a proper king. However, the result is that

Natural and man-made disasters, internal and external troubles, have never been able to revitalize Dali, and they have never been able to shake the authority of the Gao family, so they have gradually lost their morale... Nowadays, it is not only the civil strife of the Gao family, but also Duan Heyu who is disheartened because of the death of his concubine Wang.

Leng wanted to escape into Buddhism. As a result, his disciples were held hostage by the Gao family and the Duan family was fighting for the throne. In addition, Dali defeated the Vietnamese Li Dynasty a few years ago. The country was hollowed out. The black and white barbarians watched the resumption of chaos.

…This is a total outbreak of civil unrest!”

Wang Shixiong nodded, thoughtfully: "No wonder Xifu said it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity..."

"It's not a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence." Wu Yi shook his head again and again. "I first stayed in Honglu Temple for three years, then went to Japan once, and then came to mediate disputes in Dali and Vietnam, and finally stayed in Dali for three years. I thought about it over and over again, and I just figured it out.

The thing...that is, in the world, the most difficult thing is to live a stable life in peace and prosperity, and the so-called small country is prone to chaos and is becoming increasingly decadent. It is normal to be able to live one bite at a time... You

Only when you are used to living a peaceful life in junior high school do you think this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience! In fact, the situation in our junior high school in the past seven or eight years is truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience!"

"It's all the Holy Emperor who is in court." Wang Shixiong responded quickly.

Wu Yi still shook his head in reply, but was unwilling to say more... It wasn't that he didn't have enough friendship, or that he disliked Wang Shixiong's martial arts background, nor did he want to deny the other person's words, but that he knew that reading thousands of books and traveling thousands of miles would not make any personal gains.

It is impossible to feel this from the heart if you have been exposed to the conditions of these small countries for a long time.

While the two kings of Wu were condescendingly chatting away some gossip, the uncles and nephews of the Gao family below had to enter into some crucial words that related to the rise and fall of the country and the survival of the family.

"Zhenshou, I heard people in the Song Dynasty say that centipede insects are dead but not stiff. Although we, a large family with hundreds of years, have some inappropriate things, they are deeply rooted and have lush branches. If you want to be corrupted, you have to be at home.
To be continued...