#1001 - Hantai catfish, cleaning opportunity

Ding ding ding.

The royal bells collided.

The horse stopped in the middle of the road and stood still, its furry tail fluttering, and hot, smoking horse manure piled onto the ground. The semi-stinky smell of livestock wafted around, and the manure quickly froze hard, but the unique smell lingered for a long time.

After finding out, he was not surprised at all. He snorted and took half a mutton home.

Half a year of life and serious study.

"Why are you eating before I come back?"

"What is he mumbling about?"

"Asking us how we got to eat, before you came, we used to speak Snow Mountain dialect to learn it as quickly as possible. Today, we found out that our eldest brother went to buy meat."

Cha Qing was startled when he heard the local accent in the room and pushed the door open.

The room was bustling with activity. A large copper pot was bubbling and emitting hot steam. The table was covered with fresh vegetables, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and tofu that came from nowhere, and the aroma was fragrant.

Liang Qu, Long Eying, Long Binglin, even an unknown bald monk, Fan Zixuan and Kou Zhuang sat together, a total of six people, with two water rats beside them, and the room seemed a bit crowded.

"Sir!" Cha Qing suppressed his excitement and saluted respectfully.

"Come, sit down and eat together." Liang Qu moved the stool to make room. "We brought the vegetables. We picked them from Pingyang Prefecture this morning and are waiting for your beef and mutton to be put into the pot. I have heard that the beef and mutton in the northwest are good, but I haven't had a chance to try them."

Taotao stepped forward to take the beef and mutton, picked up the dagger Qinglang, and quickly cut the meat and put it into the pot.

Cha Qing was extremely excited, but still spoke incoherently: "When did you come, sir?"

"We arrived yesterday. The boat didn't dock yet, so no one knew about it. It took me a while to find the three of you. Don't get excited. Sit down and chat. How is life in Hantai? Are you adapting? How are you learning the local dialect?"

Cha Qing calmed down and said, "I'm not used to it. Hantai is drier and more stuffy than Pingyang. It's easier to breathe than Pingyang. The cold miasma near the Blue Lake is too strong. The local dialect is not a problem for ordinary communication."

"It's just lack of oxygen." Liang Qu picked up the piece of meat.

"Lack of oxygen?"

"It's okay, go on. I just finished chatting with Kou Zhuang and Zi Xuan, and we didn't get to the point. I want to hear about your achievements over the past six months."

The three of them looked solemn.

The two looked at each other, and finally it was Cha Qing who made the summary.

"Hantai Prefecture is adjacent to the Blue Lake in the southwest, and across it is the Great Snow Mountain. In the northeast, it is connected to Qianzhangyuan, which is the winter pasture of the Beiting Chigu tribe. The Chigu tribe belongs to the Naiman, one of the great tribes in Beiting. They are the original tribe of the Harukhan who once fought with you in the imperial capital."

"Yes, I remember."

"The actual controller of Hantai Mansion is the Bai family. All the patriarchs of the Bai family have been the masters of Hantai Mansion, and they are of the third rank. The current patriarch is Bai Mingzhe, who is of the second realm of perfection and a great master."

"Wait a minute." Liang Qu blanched two rolls of mutton, dripping the soup, and asked, "Should I be appointed as the lord of the mansion first, and then the clan leader, or should I be the clan leader first, and then the lord of the mansion?"

"Become the patriarch first."

Liang Qu was surprised and asked, "How could this be? Isn't it the Bai family who has the final say on who will be the lord of the mansion?"

Generally, a prefect is of the fourth rank and is not qualified to be called a prefectural master.

Only in special places, such as Pingyang Prefecture in Nanzhili, Heyuan Prefecture in Saibei, and Hantai Prefecture, which are of vital military importance, the prefect here will be two levels higher, the third rank, and only in this way can he be called "prefectural lord". The prefectural lord must be both civil and military, and his power is much greater than that of an ordinary prefect.

With such status, if they encounter the Hantai barrier again, should the Bai family make the decision themselves?

Cha Qing explained helplessly: "Sir, the Bai family was not actually placed by our dynasty later. They are a mixed race of Xueshan, Zhongyuan, and Beiting. They have been rooted in Hantai Prefecture for a thousand years. Their descendants number more than a million, and there was even a martial saint ancestor in the past.

Strictly speaking, the Bai family had been prosperous since the previous dynasty, and our control over them is not as strong as it was during the Dagan period. Moreover, it is righteousness to win over distant people, and our control over the Great Snow Mountain is not that high.

Of course, the imperial court will not let the Bai family have the final say. After the founding of the country, we require that the first generation head of the Bai family must give up the throne during the Shen Zi period.

Second, and even later clan leaders must have lived in the two capitals for more than ten years before the age of twenty-five. This is the result of a compromise between the two parties. Bai Mingzhe has actually served as the lord of the palace for the past ten years. "

Liang Qu suddenly realized.

Still in Huairou.

"The Martial Saint Ancestor of the Bai Family has passed away peacefully?"

“No, he only lived to be over 500 years old. He perished long before our dynasty rose to prominence. His descendants refined it into a ritual, similar to the Mahakala God you encountered during the duel in the imperial capital. They summoned the general and enjoyed incense and offerings.

It is said that the celestial master can make the general descend upon himself, which makes him invincible in the realm of Zhenxiang, far more powerful than the ordinary celestial beings in the third realm. "

Liang Qu thought silently.

The control of Hantai Prefecture by Dashun was not as strong as that during the time of Dagan. After all, the country was established not long ago, only about seventy years.

Perhaps this is why the snow-capped mountains across the Blue Lake saw this and had some evil thoughts.

Now that various forces are competing for the drought fruit, the Holy Emperor agreed to let me come here. Does he intend to act as a "catfish"?

Pick up the mutton and fill your mouth.

"How many Zhenxiang masters are there in the Bai family?"

"There are nine Zhenxiang masters in public, two of whom are celestial beings. There should be more than two dozen in secret. If we count the people in Lifeng Prefecture and Qiyun Prefecture south of Hantai Prefecture, who have names and positions near the Blue Lake, there are more than thirty Zhenxiang masters active."

"Why so many?" Long Binglin was surprised.

Five Zhenxiangs would make a formidable clan, but the Bai family actually doubled its number?

Moreover, the number of masters in these states and prefectures is too exaggerated. What about the inactive individual players?

"Lord Long, this place is a frontier." Cha Qing was boiling vegetables in a copper pot. "The arrangements made by the imperial courts of all dynasties here are not even as good as those made in Beiting Heyuan Prefecture. Heyuan Prefecture is the real frontier."

Long Binglin sighed secretly.

I thought that with three Zhenxiang on one boat, they would cause a big wave when they arrived at Hantai Mansion, but who knew it would be like this.

Grandmaster Zhenxiang is indeed powerful in a state or a prefecture. He stands out among millions of people and can call the wind and rain. However, when he comes to the border between countries, where major forces compete with each other, he is still not good enough.

Recall the memories again.

The Ghost Mother Cult is really unpopular.

The meaning of the four words "lingering on" is extremely clear at this moment.

Long Binglin felt pressured.

Liang Qu held a small bowl and blanched two heads of lettuce, not caring about the Bai family.

On the way, Pu was promoted to Grand Master, and he is no longer the same as before.

As long as they don't come to besiege him and he uses more numbers to defeat the fewer, he is not afraid of anyone in the Zhenxiang realm. Even the gods can be challenged. If he has condensed his magical powers, it would be even easier to say.

If someone can go to the water at noon or midnight, "What is the situation inside the Bai family? Are there any hostile factions? Or an excuse for a purge? After so many years of development, the trees have diverged, shouldn't they be united as one?"

“That is indeed”

.

There was a knock on the courtyard door, interrupting Liang Qu's words. A sentence in local dialect came out, and the words seemed to be calling Cha Qing's name.

Liang Qu glanced over.

"What are people saying outside?"

Kou Zhuang whispered, "It was Li Gongga from the next door courtyard who came to bring food to Brother Chaqing. He has a good relationship with us, but Brother Chaqing said that Li Gongga must be a spy for the Bai family."

Liang Qu asked with a smile: "How do you know that it was a spy?"

Swelling.

There was another knock on the door, quite urgent.

The three of them had no time to explain and looked at Liang Qu.

"Just open the door, don't worry about me."

I couldn't figure out Liang Qu's intention. He had said before that he would come quietly, so was he announcing his arrival now?

“Here it comes!”

Cha Qing put down his chopsticks, stood up and opened the door.

Creak.

The beam of light goes from narrow to wide.

Li Gongga brought a fresh fish and walked into the house with a familiar look, looking around: "Brother Chaqing, why are you three men eating hot pot behind closed doors in broad daylight?"

Three people?

Find out and look back.

The cold wind blows the hot mist sideways.

On the table, there was beef and mutton, but the vegetables and extra bowls and chopsticks had all disappeared, and there was no sign of the adults.