after being kidnapped by the general

Hearing this sentence, Yuan Li was only slightly surprised for a moment.

"Xiao Ce, the counselor who escorted Shaoning all the way to Youzhou?"

Yuan Li sat down at the table, and motioned for Liu Jixin to sit down together, "Is that the thin, bearded man standing next to Shaoning, who touched a big knife when he saw me?"

He neither asked the reason in a hurry, nor did he take Liu Jixin's words seriously.Instead, he put on the appearance of a long talk without haste, with a correct and calm attitude.

Surprised and delighted, Liu Jixin sat beside Yuan Li, "My lord was reminiscing with Zhan Shaoning at that time, did you also notice this?"

Yuanli nodded.

Liu Jixin couldn't help clapping his hands and laughing, "Okay! Since my lord has noticed him, please listen to me. Xiao Ce must not stay!"

Yuan Li asked patiently, "Why?"

Liu Jixin's expression changed, and he said solemnly: "My lord also knows that I have followed Zhan Qibo, and Xiao Ce is the biggest adviser around Zhan Qibo. He is talented, but because he has spent all his efforts to sell all his family properties, he can't get a filial piety quota." Afterwards, he harbored hatred towards the Northern Zhou court, and his behavior became extreme. He was very assertive, and he liked to influence his lord's thoughts very much. My lord, the most important point is that the lord he recognizes is Zhan Qibo, not Zhan Shaoning!"

The last point is the most important point.

Xiao Ce didn't regard Zhan Shaoning as the lord, but he accompanied Zhan Shaoning all the way to Youzhou. No one knew whether he really wanted to avenge his old master or had other ideas.But Zhan Shaoning trusts Xiao Ce extremely.

Yuanli remembered the conversation he had with Zhan Shaoning in the evening.

Before Liu Jixin asked Yuan Li to say this, although Yuan Li felt Zhan Shaoning's over-reliance on Xiao Ce, he only thought it was because of the deep feelings between their master and servant who fled all the way.But thinking about it now, Zhan Shaoning's words have already been dominated by Xiao Ce to the extent that Zhan Shaoning's words are dominated by Xiao Ce, and Zhan Shaoning will listen to what Xiao Ce says. If things go on like this, Xiao Ce is afraid that Zhan Shaoning will be trained to realize his own ambitions. piece.

Yuanli tapped his fingers on the table lightly, thinking.

Liu Jixin said in a low voice: "My lord, if Xiao Ce stays behind, he will only become a cancer!"

Yuan Li stopped his fingers, raised his eyes fixedly to meet Liu Jixin, and said, "Does Chang Yue think that I will kill Xiao Ce for this?"

Liu Jixin was taken aback for a moment, then smiled wryly, "My lord..."

"I listened to your words in my heart," Yuan Li said slowly, "but you have been with me for a long time, and you should know what kind of person I am. If I kill you because of your two words If I have a counselor who came all the way to join my classmate, will you still trust me? How should I face Zhan Shaoning and the people of the world?"

Liu Jixin stopped talking.

Yuan Li smiled slightly, "I know your worries. Chang Yue, I will send someone to keep an eye on Xiao Ce and take precautions against him in advance. But I also want to see with my own eyes what this person is like, even if I want to kill him He, I'm also going to kill him when he actually starts making mistakes."

Liu Jixin looked at the young protagonist who was wearing only an inner garment by the candlelight, smiling gently against the dim warm light, but with an exceptionally firm tone. In a trance, he thought of Zhan Qibo who had once been alienated by Xiao Ce's few words. .

Yuanli and Zhan Qibo are different, very different.

He will patiently listen to the words of his subordinates, but he has his own judgment, and he is firm enough not to be shaken by outsiders.Clearly young, but not the slightest indecisive.Liu Jixin thought about it for a while, only to realize that since he knew Yuanli, he had never seen a moment when Yuanli was confused and hesitant.

Liu Jixin couldn't help but said, "If Zhan Qibo can be like you..."

Yuan Li seemed to know what he was going to say, shook his head with a smile, stood up and walked to the window to look at the moonlight outside the window, and suddenly became interested, "Chang Yue, why don't you come and have a drink with me under the tree in the courtyard?" ?”

Liu Jixin breathed a sigh of relief, stood up and said, "I would like to accompany my lord without getting drunk or returning home."

"Hahahaha," Yuan Li laughed loudly, "It's okay not to go home without being drunk, I don't have so many drinks for you to take advantage of."

As he said that, he asked Lin Tian to get the wine, and he picked up the soapy water on the ground and moved it to the stone table in the courtyard.

It was much cooler outside than in the house. When the night wind blew, the leaves whirled and the heat dissipated immediately.

Liu Jixin looked at the several jars of wine on the table, and his addiction was also hooked. His mouth became greedy, and he ran to the kitchen to see if there were any appetizers.

Seeing that Yuanli was so excited, Lin Tian wanted to make it more lively, so he asked, "My lord, after all, there are fewer two people, do you want to call a few more people?"

Yuan Li subconsciously thought about his drink inventory, and heaved a sigh of relief when he realized that he had enough, and nodded, "If there are any people who haven't fallen asleep yet, then ask them if they want to come."

Lin Tian left in a hurry, and before he arrived, several people rushed over.

Apart from Wu Kai and Guo Lin who were in Chu Palace, Zhan Shaoning came with him.

Yuan Li never expected Zhan Shaoning to come over, he hurriedly stepped forward and asked, "Shaoning? Didn't you go back to sleep?"

"I drank too much water before going to bed, and I just woke up," Zhan Shaoning said with a smile, "I happened to see your people looking for someone to drink, so I followed."

Yuan Li laughed, "It's lively now, so many people come, how much wine do I have to drink?"

When everyone was full, there was no room to sit at the stone table.The three of Guo Lin simply sat on the ground at the side, holding a bowl in each hand, waiting for Yuanli to dismantle the wine jar.

Yuanli opened the altar, and the smell of wine wafted out.The wine was poured into the bowl, not clear and bright, but somewhat cloudy.

The taste of the wine at this moment is not strong, it is no different from drinking water with sour taste, Yuan Li doesn't like to drink it very much.He poured half a bowl for himself politely, and gave the rest to others.

Others were already very used to this taste, everyone at the table was very reserved except Liu Jixin, but after a few bowls of wine, everyone became relaxed and carefree.

Zhan Shaoning liked this kind of atmosphere very much, it made him feel relaxed that nothing happened, just like he was still the son of Jing Zhaoyin in the past, a student of Guozixue who had nothing to worry about.

Zhan Shaoning was not drunk, but some people were not drunk. He wiped his mouth and asked carelessly: "Yuanli, you want to buy and sell horses with Karasuma, do you plan to buy them with money? If you use money, then You have to prepare gold, Karasuma people only like gold."

Yuan Li poured him another bottle of wine, "I didn't want to give them gold, I planned to barter with them."

Zhan Shaoning said casually: "That's okay. It's just that Karasuma people are barbaric and rude. If you want to change, they only like salt and iron the most. But Yuanli, you probably don't have salt and iron in your hand."

Yuan Li smiled, said nothing more, and made a toast to him.

He plans to spend a month sending people to the beach to extract sea salt.

For the Karasuma people living in the frontier fortress, salt has always been a scarce resource. Not only people need salt, but also cattle, sheep and horses on the grassland.Zhang Mi could exchange salt, cloth and tea with the Karasuma people for horses, which proves that bartering is feasible.But the salt in Zhang Mi's hands was too scarce, and it was all obtained by smuggling secretly.

Salt has always been controlled by the state, and the Northern Zhou Dynasty was no exception. There were salt officials in the court to manage the salt tax.People in Karasuma really don't like delicate things like soap, calligraphy and painting, but people in Karasuma can't refuse salt.

As long as Yuanli can get enough salt, he can get enough horses.

If the world is peaceful, if it is in Ruyang or Luoyang, Yuanli naturally dare not move salt openly.But now it is a troubled time, the court is too busy to take care of itself, the rebel army is everywhere, and Youzhou is thousands of miles away, who would pay attention to such "small things" at this time?

The salt that Yuanli can produce and the current rough salt are completely two different things.

Coarse salt in the Northern Zhou Dynasty was yellow mud or blue in color, with a bitter taste in the mouth, but the common people did not have any requirements for table salt, as long as they could eat it, it was better if the bitter taste was lower and the salty taste stronger, and noble families would also pursue cleanliness a little.

But salt is something that must be eaten every day. If it is possible, who doesn’t want to eat salt with less bitterness, finer grains, and whiter color?

Today's table salt is mostly salt extracted from sea water, lake water, wells or mines. Without any other treatment, it is eaten as soon as it is found. The quality is very poor and it is harmful to the body.Yuan Li believed that after he extracted the fine salt that was as white as snow, once Karasuma tried it, he would not be able to refuse it.

Absolutely addictive.

Zhan Shaoning didn't know what he was thinking, and he was still drinking bowl after bowl of wine. At the end of the drink, he was a little overwhelmed, holding the wine glass and crying loudly, calling his parents and brother, I'm sorry .No one else could understand the nonsense, but they still listened quietly and let him vent.

In the end, Zhan Shaoning held Yuan Li's hand tremblingly, and smiled like he was crying, "Yuan Li, do you know... I covered my little nephew with my own hands, my little nephew who was only five months old .”

Yuan Li was taken aback, "What's going on?"

Zhan Shaoning stuttered, Yuan Li frowned, "Who told you to take the baby with you before you fled?"

"Yes, it's me," Zhan Shaoning said with his tongue out, "Uncle Xiao saw my little nephew was found by an officer and soldier, I, I rushed up, desperately saved my little nephew, and then left Luoyang. Yuanli, I was wrong, I regret it so much, I am sorry for my eldest brother and little nephew..."

Saying that, Zhan Shaoning closed his eyes and fell backwards to the ground.The moonlight was faint, illuminating the pain and wet marks on his face.

Yuan Li slowly picked up the wine bowl on the table, just as he picked it up, a surge of anger suddenly rushed into his heart, and he put the bowl heavily on the table.

The wine bowl shattered in an instant, and the muddy wine trickled down the stone table onto the grass.

Maybe Yuanli thought too much, but Yuanli still couldn't help the conspiracy theory.

Did Xiao Ce deliberately let his little nephew die in Zhan Shaoning's arms?Even if Zhan Shaoning didn't smother his nephew to death, the road is long and he is on the way to escape, the baby will not be smothered to death, but will also be knocked to death by a horse or starved to death.A little bit of dust can suffocate a five-month-old baby to death, doesn't Xiao Ce know this? !

He clearly knew that bringing this baby would not save him, and when he saw the baby, he should act as if he hadn't seen it, and he should never have reminded Zhan Shaoning.Even if Zhan Shaoning saw it, he should step forward to stop it.Could it be that Xiao Ce didn't have the slightest intention to stop him, and just let Zhan Shaoning go all out to save a baby who was doomed to die?

The anger in Yuan Li's heart boiled.

Or is it Xiao Ce's intention to do all of this?

Because he hated the Northern Zhou court, he let Zhan Shaoning's only close relative die in his arms, making Zhan Shaoning hate the Northern Zhou court and the emperor even more, making him more helpless and dependent on him, and easier to be controlled by him?

Everyone around was startled, and immediately stood up and said in surprise, "My lord?"

Yuan Li closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, it was already peaceful.

He looked at Lin Tian, ​​"You carry Shaoning back to the room."

After Zhan Shaoning left, Yuan Li looked at Guo Lin again, "Let Zhao Ying send someone to watch every move of Xiao Ce and other trilogy."

Guo Lin clasped his fists and said yes.

Yuan Li finally looked at Wu Kai and Liu Jixin, "Before returning to the battlefield, I will ask Zhan Shaoning to help me buy medicinal materials, and Xiao Ce will definitely be by his side. You two work with them every day, take a look Who is the one who decides between the two of them, and also, strictly prevent them from approaching the soap shop."

The two also said in a deep voice, "Yes."

The crowd dispersed, and Yuanli sat alone for a while.

To be honest, he did have a killing intent towards Xiao Ce at the moment just now.

But this killing intent was suppressed by Yuan Li, because these were just his conjectures without any real evidence.

Yuan Li hacked and killed four people with his own hands, causing them to bleed to death.He also shot Ma Renyi to death with his own hands, piercing his head with an arrow.

But killing these people did not make Yuanli feel burdened at all.

As he once said, in this era, in troubled times, it is impossible not to kill people.

Yuan Li has always been very clear about his goal. In order to achieve this goal, he will never let the person who deserves to be killed be spared.He didn't have a penchant for killing, but he was ready to have blood on his hands.

But Yuanli is a very stubborn person.

He has his own perseverance and principles, if a person is not to the point of death, why does Yuanli wave the butcher knife at this person?

The education received in the previous life is intertwined with the experience of this life, and no one can overwhelm the other. Justice and evil, order and chaos, everything constitutes the soul of Yuanli's contradictions.

Even in the eyes of people in this era, some of Yuanli's behaviors are really incomprehensible, even too benevolent. It is hypocritical to put on a show after clearly killing someone.Some people may think that he is not cruel enough, and some people may think that he is too hypocritical, but Yuanli will not deny himself because of other people's thoughts, and he does not want to change himself at present.

He wants to keep the goodwill and justice in his heart, and has been walking on this road.