Sunny City

Fifteen miles east of the city

This is a small village that cannot be found on the territory map of the Great Sui Dynasty. It is not because the village is small or because the village is remote, but because the village is very new and so new that it cannot appear on the map printed in the Sui Dynasty decades ago. Until the reign of Emperor Tianyou Yang Yi, the standard map needed by the military was also using the version from decades ago.

This village has been established for no more than four years.

When Luo Yao entered Gyeonggi Province, a large number of Gyeonggi Province people fled. Their first choice was near Yanyang City, because it was rich enough and there were no bandits. In addition, Gao Xianze was quite concerned about the people who had been exiled here and specially designated some places to build villages for them to live in. Therefore, the number of people in Shunchengdao has grown rapidly in recent years.

There are no inns in the village, but there is a small tea shop on the side of the road.

This shop is extremely deserted on weekdays because few people pass by here. The owner of this shop is an old couple, and both sons died in the war in Gyeonggi Province. The couple was taken here by their nephew to take refuge. When they were halfway through, their nephew was caught in a cold and died.

The old couple settled here with their nephew's children and lived on their meager money for tea. The people in the village took good care of them and came to deliver some food and vegetables from time to time.

After noon today, more than a dozen people in fresh clothes and horses stopped outside the village and rested at the tea shop. They drank with their own tea leaves, and even brought their own water, but they borrowed the kettle from the shop to boil the water. A servant brushed the kettle four times, which made the old couple feel a little distressed.

However, these people took advantage of the situation and threw out a silver ingot that could reach ten taels.

This is simply a fortune for poor families.

Two days ago, I peeked out of the house from time to time and found that the middle-aged man with kind eyes but a little gloomy face must be the leader of these people. This man was sitting there, and naturally had a kind of power.

"Owner"

A strong man rushed over from a distance, lowered his voice and whispered in the middle-aged man's ear: "After lunch, Fang Jie and Wu Yidao talked in the room for a while, but obviously were on guard. Niu Qi heard the words that they were indeed suspicious of Dugu Wenxiu. Half an hour later, Wu Yidao left, and Fang Jie slept in the room for a while. Niu Qi said that he was breathing unevenly and should not have fallen asleep."

"Then Fang Jie sent someone to call Gao Xianze. The two left the house and went to the river east of the city, talking while walking. The place was too open and our people couldn't rely on it. After Fang Jie and Gao Xianze left, Zhou Queer went into the house to check it. There was no trace of pen, ink, paper and inkstone in the house. He had carefully looked at the paper without any trace."

After the man finished speaking, he stood up and waited for instructions.

The middle-aged man sitting there tasting tea listened carefully, his brows slightly frowned.

He was silent for a while and then asked the man wearing a hat sitting opposite him: "Brother Dugu, what do you think?"

The person sitting in front of him raised his head and it was Dugu Bingwen.

"You Ye family raises hawks, dogs, snakes and rats, and the news should be quite reliable. Fang Jie can't notice that Niu Qi is not able to realize that Niu Qi has no cultivation, but his ears are easy to use. All his current performances are not what he has discovered, but just a habit. He chose to meet Gao Xianze in an open place, but he was worried that someone would eavesdrop. However, this is an attitude in itself."

Dugu Bingwen said: "What would have happened if you had trusted Gao Xianze?"

Ye Manwen thought about it carefully for a long time and suddenly understood: "Brother Dugu means that Fang Jie can't believe Gao Xianze at all?"

"Um"

Dugu Bingwen nodded: "If I trust someone, I will not expose this person, especially at such a critical moment. It is the stupidest thing to expose the person I trust. He and Gao Xianze avoid talking to others by the river, so on the surface they don't want others to know what they are talking about. Then they make people feel that he wants to win over Gao Xianze... In fact, it is not that, isn't this an attitude for two people walking by the river? He has sold Gao Xianze, and I have to say that Fang Jie is a smart person."

Ye Manwen nodded: "He wants to tell us in this way that he wants to win over Gao Xianze. If we are fooled, we will be impatient to get rid of Gao Xianze."

Dugu Bingwen thought for a while and said, "Originally, we mean to get rid of Gao Xianze. We have not been able to control this guy who can't splash in water yet. It will be a disaster for him to stay. Although we are following Dugu Wenxiu's path, he asked him to send someone to contact Gao Xianze. Gao Xianze is also a smart person, and he must have guessed that there is someone behind Dugu Wenxiu. He just can't know who is behind Dugu Wenxiu."

"Will Fang Jie trust Gao Xianze after having a long talk?"

Ye Manwen asked.

Dugu Bingwen was silent for a while and slowly shook his head: "It's not important anymore, Gao Xianze has no value anymore. Fang Jie will not look back once he makes a decision. I suspect that he wants to use Gao Xianze to test our abilities. If he sells Gao Xianze like this, he must hope that we will take action to get rid of Gao Xianze... In this way, Fang Jie can use this to see how capable we have."

"Ha ha"

Ye Manwen couldn't help laughing: "I didn't expect that Fang Jie, who is known as benevolence and righteousness, is so sinister."

"Benevolence and righteousness?"

Dugu Bingwen snorted coldly: "Things that are worthless."

Ye Manwen took a sip of tea, looked around and couldn't help asking: "I just don't understand, why do you want to run so far more? Why aren't you in the west of the city, but in the east of the city?"

Dugu Bingwen asked back: "If you understand, would you think we will come to the east of the city? Chang'an City is clearly in the west, so he would think that our people are also in the west of Yanyang City. They just run dozens of miles more, and the place is still clean."

Ye Manwen was surprised and smiled and said, "You are always so careful."

"We are going to sail the ten thousand-year-old ship."

Dugu Bingwen said seriously: "How can you be careless?"

...

...

Little Que River

This river is not well-known at all, that is, the people near Yanyang City know its existence. This river is not wide enough or deep enough, and the widest part is only more than ten meters. Moreover, there are no trees on both sides of the river bank, and there is no scenery on the bare river bank. Even the most affectionate literati and poets cannot write a flower-studded text, which is like ours without any highlights.

There is only flowing water and no one else.

There is a small bridge dozens of miles away, but it is also not beautiful.

"Standing on this river bank, people with good eyesight can see me and the prince from a very far distance."

Gao Xianze couldn't help but smile, a little bitter: "It seems that the prince has chosen the terrain long ago. I knew that there was such a place here before entering Yanyang City. As long as the prince and I walked around here, even if the prince just asked me if there are any famous actors in Yanyang City, or which brothel girl is the most cute... I'm afraid that my head will be marked with the price in the morning."

Fang Jie also smiled: "Do you think I'm selling you?"

Gao Xianze asked back: "Isn't the prince selling me?"

"I'm protecting you."

Fang answered.

Gao Xianze was stunned for a moment, but he didn't understand.

He knew very well that Fang Jie came to Yanyang City, and those who wanted to get rid of Fang Jie were clear. And he was sure that maybe somebody was observing every move here with a clairvoyance. It won’t take long to get the news that he and Fang Jie had been working side by side for a long time. This is undoubtedly telling those people that Gao Xianze was already Fang Jie’s person. In this way, his death period was almost over.

But Fang Fang actually told him that this was protecting him.

"Why should you bully me like this?"

Gao Xianze said with some disappointment.

"You didn't think it through."

Fang Jie stood by the river and stood with his hands behind his back: "I walked side by side with you and walked so far. Those people don't know what you and I have talked to, but their attitude has been expressed. Do you think I am selling you because you think I am telling those people like this that I trust you. As long as I trust you, your danger will come, right?"

“Isn’t it?”

Gao Xianze asked back.

"no"

Fang Jie said seriously: "If I don't talk to you or even see you with a cold face, you will be in danger. They know my attitude towards you and use it to make a judgment. I seem to be trying to win you over. The first reaction of those people is that you have to stand on my side. What about the second reaction? Few people who do big things believe their first feeling. Because the first feeling is 100% wrong, especially when facing a cunning enemy."

"They would wonder, is this what Fang Jie did on purpose? Could it be that Fang Jie deliberately wanted us to get rid of Gao Xianze? Why did Fang Jie get rid of Gao Xianze?"

He looked at Gao Xianze: "What is the answer?"

Gao Xianze pondered for a while, and suddenly his eyes lit up: "I understand! Because they would feel that the prince wanted to use selling me to test their abilities. But now, they dare not show all their strength. So... they will not touch me."

Fang Jie nodded: "I need you to help me, so the first thing is to keep you. Compared to them, they have confirmed that I want to sell you, so they will not kill you. If what I expected, they will continue to send people to contact you, and the person sent is definitely not Dugu Wenxiu's people."

Gao Xianze was silent for a while and asked curiously: "I just don't understand why their reaction is so strong? Now the prince is the new master recognized by the world, why do they insist on overthrowing you?"

“Because I will touch their most fundamental interests.”

Fang Jie said: "This sentence is a bit false, you may not understand. In other words, I am not the one they selected. I am not easy to control, and they are not easy to benefit. This is a relative relationship, and I do not rely on them to be out of their control. So I need to cultivate my own strength... You have to get on my boat now."

Gao Xianze smiled bitterly: "It's not something I've ever been to voluntarily... If I can choose, I will still not get on any boat as before."

“It’s time to choose.”

Fang Jie turned around and said, "You can go back... You should go back, and I should go back too. After you go back, you'd better take your position and be a little angry, but don't go too far. I should go back, go back to the camp and pretend to be worried, and then take the team back to Chang'an."

"The prince is worried that there are their people in your army?"

"have"

Fang Jie nodded: "It's impossible not."

"After returning to Chang'an, the prince will get rid of these people first?"

Gao Xianze couldn't help asking: "Can I know who these people are?"

Fang Jie glanced at him: "Remember, you'll be without you."

After saying that, Fang Jie left with great strides.
Chapter completed!