Chapter 293
鈥淭he Yi and Miao are neighbors. Even if there are disputes between neighbors, why resort to arms?鈥�
Ye Guhong sat on his horse, speaking sternly.
“If you ask me, your so-called feud is nothing more than a Mongol trick!鈥�
When he said this, the Yi and Miao people were all shocked.
Ye Guhong said with a smile, 鈥淗e built Shunyuan City and made the Lord of Luoshi the Shunyuan Banfan Xuanwei Shi, giving the Yi people the power to govern the various ethnic groups, but the rest of the ethnic groups were not rewarded. This is ill-intentioned and deliberately intended to make the two originally equal ethnic groups decide who is superior. As the saying goes, 鈥楾rouble arises from injustice,鈥� and this is the reason.鈥�
Ye Guhong said, spreading his hands, 鈥淣o one is perfect. Once you have power in your hands, naturally you will take care of your own family first, and it is only natural to oppress, trample on, and take by force. You Yi people may seem to have benefited, but in fact you have become the target of everyone’s anger. In the long run, how can the various ethnic groups not develop resentment?鈥�
The Yi people all looked slightly embarrassed. It turned out that in the past few years, they had been fighting many battles with the Miao people, and many smaller ethnic groups had secretly helped the Miao people. It was just that the outcome was still unclear, so they had not openly turned against each other.
Xie Xiang disagreed, saying, 鈥淣ow the Miao people’s Yang Zhengheng is an official in the imperial court.鈥�
Ye Guhong said, 鈥淵es, this person is ambitious and a source of trouble. Therefore, I have already killed Yang and his father.鈥�
Xiexiang was stunned, and the Yi leaders around him were also shocked. The Yang family of Feishan was powerful in Miaojiang, but now it had died so easily.
Ye Guhong, however, was unruffled, as if he didn’t care whether a powerful man lived or died.
He casually said, 鈥淭hat said, you previously used the Yuan court to pressure him, but then he became successful while you were not, and he used that to pressure you. If you really want to pursue this, the Yang family was just in the right place at the right time. Without the Yang family, there would naturally be this family and that family.鈥�
Yu Chan hurriedly reminded, 鈥淏rother, the Miao people don’t have surnames like this and that.鈥�
Ye Guhong’s momentum was suddenly blocked, and his face turned fierce. 鈥淚f there is no Yang family, there will naturally be the Yu Chan and Xue Wu.鈥�
Yu Chan shook her head and said, 鈥淲ithout me, I would go to Emei to give birth to your children.鈥�
Xue Wu was surprised and said, 鈥淲hy is this my business?鈥�
Xie Xiang’s brows furrowed slightly, her eyes flickering as she looked at the three of them in silence.
Ye Guhong glared at the two women, ignored them, and continued, 鈥淚n fact, there is only one way to completely resolve this matter. Since the leaders of both your families have become high-ranking officials in the Yuan court, naturally there will be no problems.鈥�
Xie Xiang’s beautiful eyes blinked, and she suddenly laughed, 鈥淭he Yuan court wants the Yi and Miao tribes to be constantly fighting among themselves, so how would they ever let both our families become officials?鈥�
Ye Guhong was delighted, clapping his hands and praising, 鈥淲ell said! Although young, Lady Xiexiang is worthy of being the leader of her people, and her insight is rare indeed. The Yuan court wants you to fight among yourselves, so it has offered the position of Prefect of Shunyuan and Bafen as bait. How could it allow you to be like one family? Therefore, it is difficult for both families to be officials of the Yuan court, unless…鈥�
Xie Xiang’s lips twitched slightly, and Long Kongkong suddenly interrupted, 鈥淯nless what?鈥�
Ye Guhong smiled, 鈥淯nless everyone becomes an official of the Great Shu, with the leaders serving as ministers in the same hall, respecting each other and treating each other with courtesy, and the people below them following suit, then naturally they will love each other.鈥�
Everyone froze at the same time, and several people exclaimed, 鈥淕reat Shu? Where did this Great Shu come from? Could it be that we are ignorant?鈥�
Ye Guhong laughed, then said seriously, 鈥淵ou should know that the land of the nine provinces is the ancient homeland of China. It was only because the previous dynasty neglected military preparations that it was occupied by the Tartars. The Tartars ruled for decades, arousing the anger of the people and causing the people to suffer. Now the people of the world, whether Han, Miao or Yi, have all suffered from the Tartars for a long time. If a hero raises his voice, the world will surely respond!鈥�
Xiexiang blinked, surprised, and said, 鈥淐ould it be that you, Mr. Ye, want to be this hero?鈥�
Ye Guhong nodded, with an unyielding look on his face, and looked at the crowd and said, 鈥淭he downfall of the world is a national grievance, and the massacre of my Nan Chang Ye clan by the Tartars was a family grudge. Ye Guhong is a man of seven feet, and if the national grievance is not avenged and the family grudge is not avenged, would that not be a waste of being a man? Therefore, I intend to raise an army in Emei, take over Shu as our base, and shake the world. After three years of preparation, we will march out of the Yangtze River, unite with heroes from Jingchu and Lianghuai, and establish the Great Shu Regime…鈥�
Ye Guhong paused for a moment, his eyebrows flying, his eyes full of heroic spirit, and then shouted, 鈥淲ithin ten years, Ye Guhong will lead 100,000 troops to the land of Youyan; you will see the Longfei Jiuwu, and the rebirth of the Chinese sky! At that time鈥斺€�
He pointed at Wan Dashi, 鈥淭his is the Miao King!鈥�
Wan Dashi’s face flushed, and with a loud cry, two thick breaths shot out of his nostrils.
Long Kongkong nodded in secret, understanding Ye Guhong’s intentions.
Ye Guhong had pointed out Wan Dashi as the Miao king, and although it seemed like a casual gesture, in fact, Wan Dashi was not the only one to surrender. It was Yang Zhengheng who led the Miao soldiers to besiege Wuxianling. This person had to be brave and courageous, and not one of Yang Zhengheng’s trusted men. At the same time, he naturally separated himself from the various chiefs involved in the siege.
If he becomes the Miao king, he will definitely rely on the Wuxian Sect and even the Emei Sect, and only in this way will he be able to sit firmly on the throne.
Ye Guhong then pointed at Xie Xiang and said, 鈥淎s for you, Madam, you will be the Yi king! From then on, the Yi and Miao kings will coexist, and the rest of the ethnic groups will also be granted fiefs according to their military merits. Everyone will be autonomous in their own territory, and if there are any lawsuits or disputes, the imperial court will have its own laws and regulations to ensure fairness. In this way, why worry about there not being peace? Why worry about the people being restless?鈥�
When Xiexiang heard the words 鈥減eace鈥� and 鈥減eople,鈥� a flash of light appeared in her eyes, and she was already moved.
Just as she was about to speak, a fat Yi man with two mouse whiskers suddenly burst out laughing.
Everyone looked over, and the Yi man pouted his lips, puffed out his stomach, touched his mouse whiskers, then looked at Ye Guhong askance and said slowly, 鈥淵ou are considered somewhat famous in the rivers and lakes as the Jade Hero of Emei, so how dare you brag like that? Aren’t you afraid of getting your tongue caught in your teeth? Haha, the Great Yuan Dynasty has millions of soldiers in armor. If you raise an army, not to mention that Chengdu Prefecture has the Generalissimo of the Nation sitting there, who would let you take Shuzhong lightly? Even if you were to succeed by chance, Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang didn’t conquer the world back then, so what are your virtues and abilities, and on what basis can you conquer it?鈥�
The three emissaries of the Wuxian Sect were furious and about to lash out, but Ye Guhong waved his hand to stop them. Without showing any emotion on his face, he bowed and said, 鈥淵our words are extraordinary. May I ask which great person from Luoshi Kingdom you are?鈥�
Xiexiang said indifferently, 鈥淭his gentleman is my late husband’s cousin, and he has always been in charge of the finances and purchases of Shunyuan City.鈥�
Since he had a vested interest, he was not happy to see any changes. Ye Guhong immediately realized that this person must be a conservative.
He nodded with a smile and said, 鈥淚 see.鈥�
Then he looked at the fat Yi man and said, 鈥淓ven if the Great Yuan Dynasty has millions of soldiers, how many of them are really willing to die for the Yuan Dynasty? Furthermore, are there millions of soldiers guarding you?鈥�
When he said the latter sentence, his eyes narrowed slightly, and suddenly his murderous intent was revealed. The fat Yi man was shocked and said, 鈥淲hat do you mean?鈥�
Ye Guhong laughed heartily, leapt from his horse, and, now more than ten zhang away from the fat Yi man, slammed out a move called 鈥淪eeing the Dragon in the Field鈥�. Everyone felt a flash of light before their eyes, and the palmprint was already on the fat Yi man’s face. With a bang, the fat Yi man’s head was smashed into a pulp, leaving only a bare cavity.
The Yi people exclaimed in alarm and drew their swords, but before they could do so, Ye Guhong had sat back down on the back of his obedient horse as if he had never moved.
Large beads of cold sweat appeared on the foreheads of the Yi people.
Xie Xiang was also taken aback, her face pale, her hands and feet trembling slightly. However, she forced herself to stare at Ye Guhong with her phoenix eyes, fixedly saying, 鈥淵e Guhong, is this how you want to talk to us about uniting our two clans?鈥�
Ye Guhong raised his right hand 鈥� the same hand that had just smashed the head of the fat Yi man.
His fingers were long and slender, and in the sunlight they seemed exceptionally clean, not a speck of bloodstain on them.
Ye Guhong looked at his right hand and said, 鈥淚 have relied on reason to reconcile your two clans, and I have already finished speaking of reason. If someone does not listen to my reason, then this is an unreasonable means.鈥�
He glanced at Long Kongkong and laughed, 鈥淵e has now become the son-in-law of the Five Immortals Sect. If the Yi people really refuse to make peace, Ye will have no choice but to kill you all first, then lead the Hmong soldiers to break through Shunyuan City, and then sweep through the Yi people in all the mountains and tribes. From then on, the Hmong will be the dominant force in the 100,000 Great Mountains. If you like this outcome, Ye is not unable to make it happen.鈥�
Long Kongkong giggled and suddenly interrupted, 鈥淚n fact, I like this result very much too. But Ye Lang, are you willing to kill this charming Xie Xiang? She took a great risk to enter the Miao territory just to save you.鈥�
Upon hearing this, Xie Xiang suddenly bit her lip, her eyes revealing a trace of anger and grievance as she stared at Ye Guhong.
Ye Guhong waved his hand and said, 鈥淪ister Long, there’s no need to provoke me. Xie Xiang has come here with good intentions, so naturally I won’t lay a hand on her. I can even spare her family. But I have the heart to kill the rest of them and destroy Shunyuan City.鈥�
Long Kongkong made a sound of admiration, and Xie Xiang thought she was going to say something else. Unexpectedly, the woman suddenly giggled, 鈥淪ister Long, I like that nickname. Sister and little brother, it’s also very interesting.鈥�
Since Ye Kuhong suddenly struck the fat Yi man, Zhu Chongba has waved his banner, and hundreds of Emei army swords and spears have come out. The spears are held horizontally, in a combat stance. Wan Dashi’s reaction was a step too slow, and it wasn’t until now that he sent someone to summon the various Miao people.
Seeing the enemy all around them and the elusive master Ye Guhong, the Yi nobles were all thrown into confusion. Shaking their beards and hands, they looked at Xie Xiang and said, 鈥淢y lady, you must decide what to do.鈥�
Xie Xiang’s face grew pale. After a moment of thought, she looked up and said, 鈥淰ery well, Ye Guhong, I am willing to make peace with the Miao people…鈥�
Bai Snake grinned and said, 鈥淵ou don’t have to do it, don’t force yourself.鈥�
Xie Xiang ignored her and just stared at Ye Guhong, saying, 鈥淚 just have one condition. If you agree, everything will be as you wish. If you don’t, the 3,000 Yi soldiers and I will fight to the death with you today.鈥�
Ye Guhong said with a serious expression, 鈥淥kay, just say it.鈥�
Two flushes suddenly appeared on Xie Xiang’s pale face, and even her two delicate ears turned red.
Her eyes, however, remained fixed on Ye Guhong as she said slowly, 鈥淢y condition is that you must also marry me! Don’t you want to be King of Shu? A king can have a secondary wife, and my position in your harem cannot be lower than the women of the Wuxian Sect.鈥�
Ye Guhong was momentarily stunned, and then a trace of admiration rose in his heart.
This woman can really take it all in her stride, make decisive decisions, and is truly worthy of the title of extraordinary woman of our time.
You must know that the dispute between the Yi and the Miao is due to the fact that one is higher in status than the other. Now Ye Guhong has stepped in to reconcile the two, promising that each family will be allowed to call itself the king, but if the Miao woman marries him several times in a row, won’t that be a case of affinity differentiation?
Therefore, Xie Xiang’s request was a means of bowing in and then breaking the game.
Long Kongkong was also taken aback, but then revealed an understanding as expected.
He nodded and said, 鈥淲hat a clever Lady Xie Xiang. Although Aicui’s wife, children, grandchildren, and nephews are all dead, you are not the only concubine, but you happen to be the one who has secured his position. I thought you relied solely on the influence of your family, but now it seems that you are quite capable.鈥�
Xie Xiang swept Long Kongkong’s face with her gaze, looked at Ye Guhong, and smiled faintly, 鈥淢r. Ye, these women of the Wuxian Sect are full of tricks. If you marry them, I’m afraid your home will never be peaceful. What Master Long said was clearly telling you that I was someone’s concubine before, and I’m not worthy of you.鈥�
Ye Kuhong laughed and said, 鈥淵ou don’t need to say such provocative things. A great man who rules the world will inevitably have an unvirtuous wife and unfilial children. Am I, Ye, a great husband, going to argue with a woman?鈥�
He then looked at Long Kongkong and said, 鈥淏ut if someone else were to be deceived by Sister Long’s words, I happen to know the whole story. Aicui and Xiexiang are famous but not real, so why should I care?鈥�
Long Kongkong was stunned, and subconsciously looked at Xiexiang. Xiexiang, however, looked confused, her expression alternating between anger and happiness, as she looked at Ye Guhong with a complex expression on her face: 鈥�…So it was you!鈥�
At that time, Ye Guhong pretended to be afraid that her future husband would misunderstand, so they said goodbye outside the city. How could he be so sure about Ai Cui’s relationship with her?
Obviously, this person’s farewell was false, and the truth was that he infiltrated Shunyuan City and used poisoned weapons to kill the entire Aicui family in one day.
For a moment, all kinds of things from a few years ago flashed through her mind. Xuexiang suddenly realized and blurted out, 鈥淢r. Ye, when you met me a few years ago, you already knew what would happen today?鈥�
Long Kongkong raised his eyebrows and suddenly realized something as well.
At that time, it was rumored that the Feng family had been killed by the Wuxian Sect, which was a great morale booster. Although she knew it wasn’t true, she had accepted it as a fact. She had always been curious about the real murderer, and now, judging by the time, wasn’t Ye Kuhong on his way to the Wuxian Sect?
Upon further thought, Wuxian Sect had a secret manual that had fallen into the hands of Ye Kuhong, and since Ye Kuhong was responsible for the deaths of the Poisonous Hand Book and the Poisonous Fan, it was not difficult for him to impersonate the sect.
For a moment, she also suddenly felt a creepy sensation, and looked at Ye Guhong blankly, saying, 鈥淗ow old were you then? Fourteen? Fifteen? You already had everything planned out back then? You…鈥�
She was proud by nature, with an eye for the best, and she prided herself on her wisdom and martial arts skills, which were on par with any man of the time. In the beginning, she wanted to marry Ye Guhong, mostly because Ye Guhong was the 鈥渁ntidote鈥� to her short life expectancy, and partly because of Ye Guhong’s appearance and martial arts skills.
Now, however, she suddenly realized that this Jade Hero of Emei was even more outstanding than she had thought, and for a moment, she was at a loss for words.
Ye Guihong looked at the expressions of the goddesses. Except for Yuchen, who had an expression of 鈥淲hat are you guys talking about?鈥�, even Xuewu seemed to be greatly shocked. He couldn’t help but laugh. He thought to himself, if I keep filling their heads with things like this, I’m afraid I’ll get the reputation of being 鈥渢en steps ahead鈥�.
He waved his hand and laughed, 鈥淚’m not a fairy who can tell fortunes by counting fingers, so how could I have predicted today? To put it plainly, it’s very simple. To restore China, it takes more than just the Han people; all the ethnic groups in the nine provinces must work together to achieve it. This is Ye’s big goal. As for what Xiexiang said, it’s just a move that will have an effect in the future. Although I know it will be useful sooner or later, I don’t know when or how useful it will be.鈥�
Long Kongkong heard this and let out a small sigh of relief, thinking to himself that this is not bad at all. He befriending the Wuxian Sect in the first place was also a move of a spare piece.
Xie Xiang’s eyes were confused for a moment, but then they turned resolute, and she shook her head and said, 鈥淣o, you can figure it out! You told my clan leaders all along the way that you came to fight the Miao because you wanted to help me, and your intention was to lure me here to join forces with the Miao and force us to agree to your plan!鈥�
Ye Guhong sighed and said, 鈥淚 already said I’m not a god, so how could I have predicted that you would be so heroic as to dare to go deep into the Miao territory alone…鈥�
As he said this, he suddenly had a thought, and looked closely at Xie Xiang. But he saw a deep affection hidden in the depths of her eyes.
He couldn’t help but think: Oh, did this girl fall in love with me a long time ago? Otherwise, with her calm and decisive nature, how could she have done such a risky thing?
Immediately, she swallowed back the words she hadn’t said, and said, 鈥淚t’s just that although I am not a fairy, I always have a sense of whether people are good or bad to me. Alas, I knew you would definitely come to save me, and only someone like you would be so desperate.鈥�
Saying this, she bowed and said, 鈥淚’m sorry, Ye is really a bit despicable in this matter, not open-minded enough.鈥�
She thought to herself, 鈥淲omen are after all sentimental, and I can understand her feelings. I’m just afraid that whether I’m calculating her is more important than whether I understand her…鈥�
In fact, Xie Xiang’s heart was very different from Long Kongkong’s.
She was innocent and had no ambition, just wanting everyone to live peacefully and happily.
It was only because Ye Kuhong had killed the Aicui clan and her tribe was powerful enough that she took the opportunity to push her to the forefront.
So in these past few years, she has had to suppress her true nature and show off her clever and capable side to get along with others.
Although her life seems glamorous, Luxiang is exhausted inside, and therefore subconsciously relies on a man like Ye Kuhong, who is 鈥渄eeply resourceful鈥�.
Seeing that Ye Kuhong has acknowledged her 鈥渄eep thinking鈥�, Luxiang’s affection in her eyes suddenly deepens.
She stared at Ye Kuhong for a long time, then suddenly smiled and sighed, 鈥淲ell, Mr. Ye, if you are really so calculating, and with the help of the Yi and Miao tribes, you may be able to dominate the region! This land of Shu is easy to defend and hard to attack, and the Mongols no longer have the same vigor as when they first founded their empire. It is worth taking a chance on you. Xie Xiang gambles that you are not a heartless person without a sense of trust. I will watch you achieve the safety and happiness of my people.鈥�
In one sentence, she used the three self-addresses 鈥淚鈥�, 鈥淴ie Xiang鈥� and 鈥渃oncubine鈥� in succession. Ye Guhong understood the meaning behind them.
He was also filled with awe and said sternly, 鈥淒on’t worry, your gamble is destined to win.鈥�