The inn was already booked by Ye Qingyi's people, with members of the Spring Revival Sect everywhere.
"Your Highness the Saintess, what should we do to assassinate Liang Xiao now?" a female disciple asked anxiously.
Ye Qingyi sighed, "Don't you still believe our Marshal's advice? This person can only be won over, not opposed..."
The disciples present were all distressed and lamented.
Ye Qingyi was also full of sorrow at this moment.
He had become a hero of Luzhou, strategizing and even protected by the Heavenly General, his achievements in both civil and military matters were enough to be sung by future generations! 138 Reading Net
And she had to give up her past reputation here for a cause that opposed him, and hide in the shadows forever...
Fate plays tricks on people!
"No matter what action you take, I will not support assassination, nor will I allow you to plot assassination anymore. Anyone who disagrees can leave now and report back to my master." Ye Qingyi said resolutely.
She was indeed the Saintess of the Spring Revival Sect, but she was more importantly a remnant of the Great Heng Kingdom, the latter being her identity and belief.
At this moment, Ye Qingyi truly understood Zuo Wushang's foresight.
What heroic figures were Zuo Wushang, Hong Qu, and Hong Jie? Their actions were rarely unsuccessful, yet when they faced Liang Xiao, all their plans seemed ridiculously futile. They were nipped in the bud by Liang Xiao before they even had a chance to be implemented!
Among the remnants of the Great Heng Kingdom, there were less than a thousand people truly committed to restoring the nation.
By not openly falling out with Liang Xiao, they could at least leave a way out for their compatriots, preventing them from being completely tied to the Spring Revival Sect and becoming scapegoats for others, leading to eternal damnation!
The disciples were speechless.
They all believed in the gods of the Spring Revival Sect, but after they discovered the "manifestation of the Heavenly General," their previous faith almost collapsed!
Their so-called gods in the sect were so pale and ridiculous in the face of the Heavenly General, who could slaughter his way through armies and capture flags!
Many people had already begun to secretly read "Refuting the Spring Revival Sect."
Seeing that no one objected, Ye Qingyi finally breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Let's first investigate his recent travel routes, and then we can make plans."
The crowd finally got an explanation, and they responded with submissive murmurs before dispersing.
Ye Qingyi looked helpless, leaning on the railing alone, gazing at the distant crowd, feeling lost.
After a moment, a carriage entered her view.
Upon seeing the figures in the carriage, Ye Qingyi's pupils contracted, and she sighed several times, tears of grievance streaming down her face.
Another woman was by his side.
It must be the Jinling Painting Immortal, right?
"If only we had met at a different time, a different time..." Her exquisite face was already streaked with tears.
Liang Xiao also made a detour to the military camp, inspecting the soldiers' meals to ensure there was no withholding, before returning with peace of mind.
In the Great Gan Kingdom, "slaughtering cattle and sheep" was a general term for rewarding the army.
In reality, both the Great Gan and Great Liang Kingdoms strictly prohibited the casual slaughter of draft cattle, which were farming tools. Only old or sick cattle that could no longer work were allowed to be slaughtered.
Therefore, the army of the Great Gan Kingdom usually rewarded soldiers with meat from pigs, sheep, chickens, and other poultry. Occasionally, they would add wild game bought from hunters, such as venison, and decommissioned horses, as long as the soldiers had meat to eat.
Back home, Liang Xiao impulsively wrote chapters for "Romance of the Three Kingdoms." After showing them to Yue Lian and Zhuo Xun, he saved them.
"I know the plot in advance!" Jian Qinwan, who was playing the zither, had a rare look of smugness. But suddenly she remembered something, her pretty face blushed, and she continued to play the zither, not daring to say more.
She was indeed the first person to hear this philanderer tell stories from "Romance of the Three Kingdoms." However, this philanderer's hands had become increasingly unrestrained, making her both shy and annoyed each time, until she surrendered and begged for mercy!
But if she were to sleep in separate rooms from the philanderer, losing such a big "hug pillow," she couldn't bear it!
Yue Lian and Zhuo Xun looked at Liang Xiao expectantly.
They knew, of course, that this was something Liang Xiao had told Jian Qinwan before bed!
They couldn't possibly go sleep with Liang Xiao now, could they?
Jian Qinwan unintentionally bore the slightly jealous gazes of the two girls. Only a certain person hid his shameless face, still appearing as upright and composed as ever, writing calmly.
Chen Shaoling ultimately did not come to ask Liang Xiao, nor did he let his junior disciples spread the word.
As the first disciple of the Sword Saint, Chen Shaoling considered more. He understood that he and his junior disciples were only responsible for receiving orders from their master's wife, protecting the young couple, and occasionally helping Liang Xiao with some tasks. They should not cause Liang Xiao any additional trouble.
Of course, occasionally playing matchmaker for the young couple wasn't considered causing trouble!
However, looking at his junior sister's current demeanor, she clearly no longer needed his divine intervention!
Including those who had been recruited and employed by Liang Xiao previously, the students of Luzhou Academy willing to become Liang Xiao's retainers exceeded three hundred. Each of them was a scholar of local repute.
Liang Xiao decided to keep a hundred people to work for him in Luzhou, and to assist Li Xiuyun in managing Luzhou, making it easier to replace the officials of the aristocratic families and clans in the surrounding prefectures and counties in the future.
The capital, Ouyang family.
"What? Liang Xiao has also opened bookstores in Jinling and other places?" Ouyang Ji and Ouyang Ping's eyes were bloodshot.
Where did he get so much money?
The thirty thousand taels of gold the Emperor had rewarded him today could not have reached Jinling, thousands of miles away, so quickly!
"Father, this beast seems to have inexhaustible money. Should we continue..." Ouyang Ping felt his scalp tingling.
Ouyang Ji trembled, "Of course we must continue! Once we stop, his books can be sold at the promised price to the common people. Not only will we have worked for nothing, but we will also lose half of our capital! But we can't let him continue to be smug. Your father will find the Ministry of Justice to investigate his source of money carefully. Perhaps he is involved in smuggling East Sea salt and pocketing the profits!"
Ouyang Ping suddenly realized, "That's very possible. Otherwise, it's truly impossible to explain such a huge outlay!"
As he spoke, Ouyang Ping casually picked up a copy of "Book of Songs" from the table and opened the first page, frowning, "Father, look!"
Ouyang Ji glanced at it and found a line of text printed on this page: This book is exclusively sold by Ouyang Bookstore!
This was the slogan that the Ouyang family always chose for printing books!
"Why would he be so kind as to use our Ouyang family's mark?" Ouyang Ji muttered to himself, and suddenly a drop of cold sweat appeared on his forehead, "How cunning is this beast! Once our Ouyang family stops buying his books, he can print his own bookstore's mark..."
An elder beside him exclaimed, "At that time, even if our books are priced the same as his, the common people, out of their goodwill towards him, will only buy his. If we don't lower the price, we won't be able to sell them!"
The core members of the Ouyang family present all felt a prickling sensation.
He was even calculating them down to such minor details!
Ouyang Ping began to panic, "Can we ask his bookstore to remove this mark!"
Ouyang Ji's voice began to tremble, "The contract is written clearly in black and white. His mark is reasonable. He will definitely use the excuse of 'it was originally sold to Ouyang Bookstore' to brush us off. If we object, he will have a reason to refuse to sell and sell to the common people instead!"
Everyone swallowed with difficulty.
Liang Xiao had put them on the spot, forcing them to keep buying...
This group of seasoned individuals had always been the ones scheming against others, and in the end, they were actually being outmaneuvered by a nineteen-year-old young man!
"What should we do!" Ouyang Ping was frantically pacing.
"My lord, Minister Dugu and Minister He have arrived together."