"Master Imperial Master," Princess Zhaoning Xiao Wanjun nodded slightly and said in a pleasant voice, "I have some things here that I need your guidance and help on. I wonder if you are free today?"
As before, Princess Zhaoning still showed a polite and courteous attitude like a student in front of the imperial master, without any of the arrogance commonly seen in superiors.
She did not bring any servants with her, and her carriage was parked hundreds of meters away.
She walked alone against the cold morning wind. The sun illuminated her face and cast long shadows behind her.
"Your Highness, please come in!" the Imperial Master said with a faint smile.
The furnishings in the Imperial Master's home are simple and plain, with no extra chairs. The two of them sat on the floor next to the window.
The imperial master's sitting posture is carefree and informal; the princess sits on her knees, with her back straight and her posture elegant.
"Master Imperial Master, since I saw the 'Fire Character' designed by Director Gu of the Exorcist Department in Longmen Academy yesterday, some thoughts about the 'Shenji Camp' have popped up in my mind. I would like to ask your opinion on future development."
"What do you think, Your Highness?"
"I think maybe my previous concept was wrong," Zhao Ning said. The princess lowered her head and spoke slowly, "When the 'Long Night' comes, the best way to deal with ghosts is not to gather talents and form a special team. No matter how talented they are, it will be difficult for them to do so." Before the arrival of the 'Long Night', he had the ability to confront the enhanced 'Fierce God' level ghosts
"In the previous generation's 'Shenji Camp', there used to be the famous 'Happy Swordsman' Su Wangshan. , 'Jade Faced Yama' Fang Hongshu...their dazzling brightness back then was no less than that of Jiange Su Xiao and Youzhou Zhao Yan today. Putting them together, they may be able to easily eliminate ghosts and monsters such as Zhu Yan, Yu Qi, and Wutong Shen. The results are indeed brilliant, but in the end it will be difficult to really help people across the country. When facing a terrifying monster like 'Qiongqi', they could only sit back and wait for death. "
"Then what does Your Highness think we should do? ”
“Let’s give a simple example! For example, if a young man like Gu Xu is placed in the "Shenji Camp" as a pure combat unit, it would be a waste. Although he has great potential, he ultimately cannot have a decisive effect on the battle situation.
"However, if he is asked to guard one side and lead a group of monks to fight together, he can rely on his own wisdom and use methods similar to the 'Fire Character' to arm the people around him, thus Save more lives. In addition, the Bagua diagram he designed yesterday that can be used for calculations, although it cannot directly replace the Ministry of Household Affairs, has extremely important strategic significance in the long night of shortage of human resources. , at least it can help many remote prefectures and counties with resource allocation. It is obvious that talents like him can play greater value besides fighting."
"But, Your Highness, Gu Xu can be regarded as a genius that has been rare in the Da Qi Dynasty for hundreds of years... Using him as an example, wouldn't it be a bit of a generalization?"
"I I have also thought about this problem," Princess Zhaoning frowned slightly, "But later I felt that this was more due to the imperial court's guidance for the monks - the imperial court chose eight-legged essay to recruit scholars, and the scholars put down their music, chess, calligraphy and painting, They all went to recite the "Annotations to the Four Books"; the imperial court chose to hold an arena competition and allocate resources based on merit, so the monks started wielding swords and swords, obsessed with improving their cultivation realm and combat capabilities."
Here, she looked up at the Imperial Preceptor, her bright phoenix eyes glowing: "Master Imperial Preceptor, the inventions and creations of Senior Chiyangzi you mentioned yesterday left a very deep impression on me. Perhaps in the eyes of others, In my eyes, transforming the Quyuanli or studying the talisman formations for calculating accounts are not things that respected monks should do - but as a mortal without any talent for cultivation, these things made me feel strong. "Resonance."
As she spoke, she took out a few pieces of yellowed paper from her pocket.
On these papers, some imaginary drawings are drawn that are both imaginative and meticulous - such as a formation driven by true energy that can replace the roller for grain hulling or bran removal, such as a formation that can replace the grain shelling or bran removal. There are water smelting devices, complex formations that can transport large amounts of food resources over long distances, and so on.
"These are all unrealistic fantasies I had in the past, which made the Imperial Master laugh," Princess Zhaoning smiled sheepishly, then she paused for a moment and said in a heavy tone, "It's just that when I was handling government affairs recently, I learned that many places in our Daqi Dynasty lacked food resources - due to the disasters caused by ghosts, many people were killed and injured, and the fields were uncultivated. The food tax collected from the national treasury The money is getting less and less every year. This makes me worried about whether we have the ability to survive the long night. But as a mortal, I often feel powerless and hate myself for not being able to help more.
The Imperial Master looked at her bright and beautiful face and remained silent for a long time. For a moment, he couldn't tell whether Princess Zhaoning's words were sincere or just words used to persuade him.
But no matter what, her words still caused ripples in the heart of the Imperial Master. He thought of Chi Yangzi who was meditating on the edge of the field, and of Gu Xu who was writing furiously in the "Siqi Hall" of Longmen Academy, and he couldn't help but sigh softly.
"If you need it, I will try my best to help you," after a while, the Imperial Master said, "But after all, I am just a lonely old man. If you want more help, You may need to go to the Exorcism Department to find Luo Sishou."
"Thank you, Master!" Princess Zhaoning's mouth curled up slightly. Her smile was like the first ray of light at dawn, instantly dispelling the gloom in the room.
At this moment, she suddenly remembered something important: "By the way, Master National Preceptor,I recently learned from some documents that although the members of the previous generation's "Shenji Battalion" were completely wiped out during the mission to kill the ferocious beast "Qiongqi", the one who actually killed them was not "Qiongqi". ', but 'Mangshan Ghost King'... How much do you know about this? "
"'The Ghost King of Mangshan'? "After hearing what the princess said, the Imperial Master frowned.
Mang Mountain is located in the north of Luojing City, and is also called "Bei Mang Mountain".
Because it is located in the Dragon Veins of the Wilderness. On the top of the mountain, facing the water, it hides the wind and gathers energy. It is an excellent Feng Shui treasure place for the mausoleum. Therefore, there is a saying of "born in the south of the Yangtze River and buried in Beimang"
The former dynasty, that is, the Great Chu Dynasty. The imperial mausoleum is located in Mang Mountain.
However, after the fall of the Chu Dynasty, the Mang Mountain area was filled with howling winds and evil spirits, and was completely shrouded in a blinding gray fog.
< p>In that heavy fog, a "fierce god" level ghost was born.It wore a crown, a yellow robe, a blurry face, and many ghost soldiers and generals under its command. He occupies the imperial mausoleum in Mang Mountain and becomes the king.
It is not a "ghost king" in the true sense and has not held a promotion ceremony, but he is known as the "ghost king".
Perhaps because of its fierce reputation and many evil deeds, people have accepted its self-proclaimed title over time.
Many people have wondered whether it has a relationship with the previous emperors, but so far they have not found out. The exact answer.
“Sorry, Your Highness, I’m not sure about this. "The Imperial Preceptor shook his head.
The previous generation of "Shenji Camp" was established under the leadership of Lu Huan, the then chief minister of the cabinet, and had little to do with him. So naturally, he didn't know much about it. Hidden story.
"It doesn't matter. "Princess Zhaoning smiled faintly and quickly brought up the topic.
…………
In the next period of time, the two briefly chatted about the recent court situation.
About a quarter of an hour later, Princess Zhaoning said goodbye to the Imperial Master and left the simple brick house.
It was a sunny day. /p>
The sun has climbed into the sky, and the air is bright and dazzling. Looking at it, I feel that the sky and the earth are vast, my eyes are aching, and the dead branches of the forest are rustling in the cool breeze.
But Princess Zhaoning was not in a calm mood.
As she walked back to her carriage on the dry grass, she had many things in her mind.
< p>The first thing that bothered her was the many prophecies that had been spread among the people recently - such as "There is the spirit of the emperor in the Northeast", "There are gatherings of dragons from all over the world, and fire dominates when the sun rises" "And so on.Many people think that these prophecies point to the Zhao family in Youzhou.
Princess Zhaoning also learned from some books that some monks who advocate metaphysics will Use the mutual generation and mutual restraint of the five elements to explain the change of dynasties.
For example, the Chu Dynasty belonged to Mu De., advocating cyan and emphasizing benevolence and righteousness, both the background color of the flag and the sacrificial attire are all cyan.
The Daqi Dynasty behind it belongs to Jinde, and its flag is also white and gold.
The reason why Qi was able to destroy Chu was because "gold defeated wood."
According to this theory, after this, it should be "fire defeating metal".
But Princess Zhaoning felt that there were many doubts in it.
On the one hand, her father, Emperor Tianxing, has always left her with the impression that she is very powerful and even invincible; on the other hand, the head of the Youzhou Zhao family, Yan Guogong Zhao Changying, was promoted to " After becoming a "saint" level powerhouse, he has never made a breakthrough again, and his strength has always been the weakest among the five saints of Daqi.
She does not think that the Youzhou Zhao family has the ability to confront the Da Qi court head-on.
"Perhaps...this is a way for my father to take this opportunity to weaken the power of the powerful family?" She secretly guessed in her heart.
The second thing that bothered her was that among the servants in the palace, there were rumors such as "the queen is immoral and jealous" and "your majesty wants to depose the queen".
When she first heard these words, Princess Zhaoning felt that they were outrageous.
After all, Emperor Tianxing has lived in the palace for a long time, practicing in seclusion, and has not touched a woman for many years. Many women who entered the palace through drafts a few years ago are still in perfect condition, waiting in that dark and cramped courtyard for a long time, unhappy.
The queen herself has not seen her husband for a long time.
In Princess Zhaoning's own view, if the "Queen's immorality" is to be discussed, then His Majesty the Emperor should first reflect on his own problems.
However, the princess quickly figured out that these rumors were probably spread deliberately by her father - just like he did not pursue the assassination case of the fourth prince Xiao Shangzhen before, this was because he wanted to beat the Chen family in Xiangyang a means.
The third thing that worried her was what the other princes had done recently.
After the disaster in Qingzhou Mansion, Gu Xu became a rising star in Luo Jing City.
But few people remember that when Kongxuan Sanren held a ceremony to be promoted to "Ghost King" in Yishan, the eldest prince Xiao Shangyuan and his entourage - the royal family with the sixth realm cultivation level worshiped Fancheng. In fact, Also on site.
As far as she knew, after they were rescued back to the capital by three saints who rushed to the scene, the eldest prince had been hiding in his mansion, acting extremely low-key, and was almost forgotten by the world. .
No one knows what he is doing.
"Perhaps he is practicing in seclusion?" Princess Zhaoning made such a guess.
She knew that before going to Qingzhou Mansion, the eldest prince Xiao Shangyuan had already reached the peak of the fifth realm. He was only one step away from opening the "Fengdu Gate" and being promoted to the sixth realm. A strong person.
He was probably mentally disturbed during his narrow escape trip to Qingzhou.Excited and took this opportunity to find an opportunity for promotion.
"If he can really break through to the sixth realm, then the 'Tai'a Sword' should be in his possession sooner or later, right?"
The other princes seem to have He was indifferent to the eldest prince's recent experiences and still lived step by step on his original track.
The second prince Xiao Shangheng still stayed in his luxurious mansion, enjoying singing and dancing, tasting delicious food and wine, and having fun with beauties all day long.
The third prince Xiao Shangli still stayed in the northwest border, following the border guard army of the Qi Dynasty to fight against the northwest barbarians.
As for the fourth prince Xiao Shangzhen... he was still in the backyard of the princess mansion, laughing and playing top with a few servants.
——The four princes seemed to have chosen to hibernate quietly in their own way, and faded out of the scope of people's exchanges and discussions.
Sometimes, Princess Zhaoning can't help but think about what she would choose to do if she were also a good competitor for the "Tai'a Sword".
"I think I should try to communicate more with several Talisman Masters at Longmen Academy, try to develop contacts in the 'Luoshui Conference', and then try my best to connect with the genius named Gu Xu If a young man makes good connections, people like him must be the key to victory..."
But she quickly put an end to these random thoughts.
Thinking about this kind of impossible thing will only make you more miserable.
She sighed softly and boarded the carriage waiting for her on the roadside.
"Go back home!" She ordered the coachman.
"Yes, Your Highness!" the coachman responded respectfully.
…………
At the same time.
Shen Qiu was also in Luo Jing's inn, busy dealing with his own personal affairs.
He wrote a letter to his father, the head of the Shen family, saying that he had found a very good home in the capital and would not return to Jinling for a long time.
"Have you found a wife?"
"There is a woman in Luo Jing City who likes you?"
These are the two replies the head of the Shen family gave him. sentence.
Shen Qiu also replied a few words to his father.
"It's not a woman, it's a man."
"It's not the wife, it's the boss."
Then the head of the Shen family ignored him for a whole day.