Jiuxi

Chapter 160 159 [Weaving a web]

In a spacious courtyard in the southeast of Dazhai, Jiang Yonghuai walked into the inner courtyard study with trepidation.

He did not dare to raise his head to look at Jiang Houming, who was sitting in the Grand Master's chair. He knelt on his knees and saluted respectfully: "Bless me, father."

Jiang Houming lowered his eyes slightly and said expressionlessly: "You went to see Lin Xi today?"

Jiang Yonghuai's heart trembled, and he quietly looked at the man standing next to him from the corner of his eye, and then cautiously replied: "Yes, father."

Jiang Houming said: "What do you want to do with her?"

Jiang Yonghuai looked hesitant.

Jiang Houming's slightly cold gaze stopped on his face. Jiang Yonghuai did not dare to hide anything anymore. He recounted the previous exchange with Lin Xi from beginning to end, and finally said fearfully: "Father, my son is not making trouble for nothing. I just heard that the seniors in the gang are here." After discussing the matter of recruiting people to the imperial court, I thought that by contacting Lin Xi, we might be able to ease our relationship."

Of course this was not his intention, but how could he dare to tell his true thoughts in front of his always majestic father.

Jiang Houming tapped his fingers on the table, noncommittal about his answer, and after a moment he said in a slightly more serious tone: "You are not allowed to disturb Lin Xi anymore during the next period of time, and stay at home honestly. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, father." Although he felt a little unhappy, Jiang Yonghuai quickly agreed.

Jiang Houming waved his hand. After Jiang Yonghuai left, he looked up at the man standing solemnly and asked, "Have you figured out the origins of those people just now?"

The man's name is Lu Yanguang, who is now the deacon of Fengtang. He is Jiang Houming's right-hand man and his most trusted confidant.

He lowered his head slightly and said apologetically: "Not yet."

Jiang Houming was silent. In the past few days, he had been persuading some of the higher-ups in the gang, hoping to get their stronger support and thus convince Lin Jie to accept Yan Chao's offer.

For him, if he can help the important people of the Yan Dynasty recruit the Seven Star Gang, it will be a great achievement, and he will definitely gain a lot in the future.

The problem is that Lin Jie's current attitude is unclear. Jiang Houming knows that the gang leader has a deep mind and it is difficult for others to easily see through his thoughts, so he hopes to persuade others.Unexpectedly, a group of strangers suddenly came to the main rudder village at this time, and Lin Xi personally went to greet them.

What is the origin of this group of people?
Upon seeing this, Lu Yanguang said: "Master, please rest assured, my subordinates will find out their identities as soon as possible. In addition, I just received the news from the south."

Jiang Houming's eyes narrowed slightly and he said in a deep voice: "What's the news?"

Lu Yanguang said in a low voice: "The man from the south has given orders, hoping that the hall master can encourage some people in the gang to use the general trend to force Gang Leader Lin to submit. In a few days from the south, there will be an envoy from the imperial court arriving to cooperate with the hall master's actions."

Jiang Houming remained silent.

When the old gang leader passed away, he thought he could take over, but he didn't expect that his uncle would pass the gang leader's throne to Lin Jie. This incident made him brood and will not be forgotten for a long time.

A large part of the reason why he chose to cooperate with people from the Yan Kingdom's court was that the position of gang leader had fallen by the wayside, so he started trying to take this path a few years ago.

Lin Jie must die. Her Royal Highness the Princess of Jing Dynasty has promised that he will be in charge of the Seven Star Gang in the future, and will even support him in unifying the Northland Green Forest.

That was a feat that his uncle, Jiang Zhi, the first leader of the Seven Star Gang, could not accomplish.

Thinking of this, Jiang Houming's mind quietly became eager, and he said slowly: "If you reply to the people in the south, I will win over some people as soon as possible and try to convince Lin Jie one day earlier. In addition, during the next period of time, people will pay closer attention. For the people around Lin Jie, I don’t want to see any accidents.”

Lu Yanguang accepted the order.

……

In the main hall of the main hall, the atmosphere is very harmonious.

Lin Xi didn't know why his father wanted to keep him, and Lu Chen certainly didn't know either.

His understanding of Lin Jie was extremely limited. He could only piece together the image of No. 1 on the Jianghu martial arts list from the past events told by Lu Tong and the information revealed by Lin Xi.

When he met today, the appearance of the other party was in line with his imagination. He was not the kind of worldly expert who could not live in the world. He exuded a clear majestic aura from head to toe.

"...Ten years ago, I went to Guangling to help you hone your martial arts foundation. At that time, you were taciturn and even a little timid. It is very different from your current performance of being a circle on the outside and a circle on the inside. It shows that Brother Lu has taught his children well."

Lin Jie opened the topic with past events, and then said gently: "I have heard about your deeds this year. I am sincerely happy for Brother Lu."

His conversation was not the enigmatic style Lu Chen imagined, but rather like an ordinary person talking about their daily routine.

Lu Chen said sincerely: "Uncle Shi is so kind, and my nephew is sincerely grateful."

Lin Jie waved his hand and said with a smile: "One family does not speak the same language."

This sentence made Lin Xi, who was sitting on the right, slightly startled, then lowered his head and stared at his toes.

Lu Chen was also a little stunned. Although Lu Tong and Lin Jie were close friends of life and death, the term "family" was too close.

Lin Jie continued: "Back then, I wanted to accept you as a closed disciple, but due to unexpected changes in the gang, I only stayed in Guangling for more than a month, so I had to give up the matter. It would not be appropriate to bring up the old matter now, because I'm really too busy and don't have much time to give you advice. It may have a bad impact on your future, so don't worry yet—"

Seeing that Lu Chen wanted to object, Lin Jie smiled lightly and then said, "After careful consideration, I have thought that it might be more appropriate for you to become Xi'er as your teacher."

As soon as these words came out, both young people were speechless.

Is this why his father asked him to stay?

Lin Xi was flustered. Senior sister and brother and master and apprentice were two completely different concepts.

Especially in this era, there are many cases where senior brothers and sisters or senior brothers and sisters get married, but there has never been an example of master and apprentice finally becoming husband and wife.People in the world attach more importance to inheritance and teaching, and ethics are as important as a mountain.

She didn't notice the gentle smile in Lin Jie's eyes, and her face turned slightly pale for a moment.

Lu Chen quickly came back to his senses and said calmly: "Uncle Shi, before my nephew left, my father had told me to complete the ceremony of apprenticeship. Uncle Shi was busy with his affairs, so he didn't have to give advice on my nephew's martial arts. This matter made me sad. Senior sister can just do it for you." "Well..."

Lin Jie was silent.

Lin Xi's voice sounded next to her: "Dad, my daughter thinks junior brother's idea is more suitable."

Lin Jie smiled, nodded and said: "That's fine. But the formalities of apprenticeship are waived. You are now the lord of Nan Qi and have a military position, so you don't need to make it known to everyone. In recent times, you have to pay attention to Keep this matter confidential, be careful with your title in front of outsiders, I will announce to the middle and higher-ups of the gang that you are the envoy sent by Governor Xiao of Huaizhou."

Lu Chen immediately realized the deep meaning hidden in the last sentence, and said calmly: "Uncle Shi, what do you mean, people outside have already stretched their hands in?"

Lin Jie was not surprised by his sharp reflexes, and said leisurely: "That's right, let them have their own agendas for the time being, and then catch them all when the time comes, so as not to lose the strength of the Seven Star Gang over and over again."

Lu Chen couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

Lin Jie pondered: "Actually, I probably know the reason why Governor Xiao ordered you to go north, but I'm not sure what conditions he will give to the Seven Star Gang. These days, I'm thinking about a very practical question. If the Yan Dynasty and even The Jing Dynasty army invaded the village, drove tens of thousands of people here into the mountains, and then blocked the surrounding roads to trap us. What kind of help can the Huaizhou Governor's Office give to the Seven Star Gang?"

From what he said, we can understand the four words of distinguishing between public and private affairs.

Between Lin Jie and Lu Tong, between Lin Xi and Lu Chen, these are just personal friendships, and it is difficult to affect the final decision of the Seven Star Gang, because this is not only the future of Lin Jie's family, but also affects the lives and deaths of tens of thousands of people. event.

If Xiao Wangzhi and the Huaizhou Governor's Office can't do anything, they just hope to use the friendship between the Lu and Lin families to let the Seven Star Gang openly raise the flag of resistance to the Yan Dynasty, and then sacrifice countless people's blood and lives to implicate the Yan Dynasty. Lin Jie would definitely not be able to agree to the energy of the North Korean army.

He cannot let tens of thousands of people die for his own selfish reasons.

"Before leaving, Governor Xiao told me that in addition to sending us to help the Seven Star Gang train an army, if Dongyang Road can be recovered in the future, the Seven Star Gang can form an army on its own and be included in the frontier army. The court will not Intervene in your internal affairs. As for military positions, pay, ordnance, food and other benefits, the Seven Star Gang is completely equal to the border army."

Now that he was talking about business, Lu Chen quickly got into the mood and conveyed Xiao Wangzhi's words in a leisurely manner.

"That's not enough."

Lin Jie replied bluntly.

Xiao Wangzhi's promises are all rewards afterwards, but for the Seven Star Gang, the key now is to survive.

Either accept the Yan Dynasty's recruitment and find a way out, or be prepared to face the pressure of the army and carry out a long-term struggle.

If he chooses the latter, Lin Jie must consider the reaction of the vast majority of people in the gang.

Because in the eyes of many people, accepting the Yan Dynasty's recruitment may not be a bad thing, at least you can live in peace and stability.

Lin Xi felt the solemn atmosphere in the hall and looked at Lu Shen nervously, but she did not try to smooth things over and ease the atmosphere at this time.

She knew why her father said this, so she could only look apologetically at her junior brother sitting opposite.

Lu Chen blinked at her, indicating that she didn't need to worry, then turned to Lin Jie and said, "Uncle Shi is right, these conditions cannot solve the crisis the Seven Star Gang is facing now. My nephew has two immature ideas, and Uncle Shi, please correct me."

Lin Jie said: "You say."

Lu Chen said unhurriedly: "First of all, it is a bad idea to accept Yan Chao's offer. The other party will definitely accept it pretendingly and then divide the power around Uncle Shi. It won't take long. As long as the core of the Seven Star Gang is scattered everywhere, by then They are just fish and meat at the disposal of the Yan Dynasty. If my nephew is not talented, he may be able to help Uncle Shi train an elite army. He can use the complex terrain here to frustrate the enemy's spirit and slow down their advancement, thereby achieving the purpose of maintaining the status quo. .”

"continue."

Lin Jie's eyes gradually became sharper.

Lu Chen then said: "Secondly, since Uncle Shi already knows that there is an enemy inside the gang, my nephew thinks that we can use this to set up a trap and suppress the enemy's ambition at the initial stage. In this way, we can unite our people and eliminate hidden dangers. It can also set an example for Beidi Green Forest. As long as most gangs do not surrender to the Yan Dynasty, they will not be able to focus all their energy on the Seven Star Gang."

Lin Jie asked with great interest: "How to set up a trap?"

Lu Chen said calmly: "Uncle Shi, please give my nephew three days. I promise that I will have a complete strategy."

"it is good."

Lin Jie agreed, turned to look at Lin Xi and said, "Xi'er, do you remember that there is an unused courtyard to the east of your residence?"

Lin Xi said: "Yes, father."

Lin Jie said: "Let Lu Chen and the people he brought stay there, so that you can be close enough to take care of me."

Lin Xi stood up and responded.

When Lu Chen saw this, he stood up and left.

"I will ask Xi'er to sort out the situation in the gang and leave it to you." Lin Jie stood up slowly, his burly body like a mountain standing proudly between heaven and earth, giving people a great sense of oppression.

He came to Lu Chen's side and said with a smile: "Don't worry about thinking about countermeasures. You have a good rest today. Tomorrow I will summon the gang leader and steward. You will meet them as the envoy of the Huaizhou Governor's Mansion. This meeting is very important. It’s important, there will definitely be people who question you, and I hope you can try your best to convince some of them.”

Lu Chen said understandingly: "Thank you, Uncle Shi, for the advice. My nephew knows what to do."

Lin Jie nodded slightly, and then asked Lin Xi to send Lu Chen there on his behalf.

Looking at the extremely matched backs of this pair of young people, and remembering that they had almost exactly the same reaction after the trial of the master-disciple relationship was thrown out, a look of emotion suddenly appeared on Lin Jie's face.

I heard that this child Xi'er has been in a daze for most of the past six months...

It turned out to be the case.

(End of this chapter)