The 31st Road of Power and Deception

  The king's mansion was quite deep, and in front of it was a beautiful flower garden with artificial hills, strange rocks, rare flowers, and fragrant grasses that filled the air. Chen Liqing struggled to get down from Wu Song's shoulders to chase butterflies, but Gong Sun Yan hastily stopped her, and Gao Yan ordered a maid to bring over a silk net, laughing: "It doesn't matter, King, you can also bring your ladies here to chase butterflies in your free time."

  Several people continued to move forward, passing through a narrow and quiet corridor, arriving at the main hall of the Duanwang Mansion. Duan Wang Zhao Ji was waiting in the guest room, and from afar, he heard an impatient voice say: "These people are always coming and going, never stopping, if I were to say it, just put down the gifts and leave after patting their backsides, why make such a fuss? This king still has to go play ball this afternoon, there's another girl at Qinghe Garden, with a beautiful figure and good manners, she sings well too, not going would be a waste of one's youth!"

  At this time, another voice laughed and said: "Prince Wang, the emperor has just died. If you go to a brothel now, it's likely not very stable and will be criticized by others."

  Gao Fu heard this and hastily rushed in, laughing: "Your Highness, if you become the Dragon Emperor, all the women in the world will be prostitutes. You can still do whatever you want with whoever you want, can't you?"

  King Zhao Ji smiled and said, "Is there such a reason? But also has some truth to it. I'll just endure for a few more days. However, wanting to take that position is not easy! There are still four brothers above and below me!"

  Outside the door, Wu Song and others listened, shaking their heads secretly. Yang Zan was also ashamed, Lu Da hated to rush over and punch the few losers in the house to death. Wu Song whispered to Gong Sun Yanran: "You go with Li Qing to catch butterflies, so she won't get lost."

  Gong Shu Yan hesitated for a moment, nodded and said: "Yes." He looked at him with gratitude and turned to leave.

  "Lu Lao Ge, aren't you an alcoholic? Go ahead and drink at the wine shop, I'll come find you later."

  Lu Da grunted and walked away with big strides. Wu Song adjusted his collar and thought to himself, "If I don't take the initiative, how can I gain the trust of this foolish ruler?" Then he said loudly, "Your Majesty should now immediately enter the palace and meet with Empress Dowager Cixi, then the matter of ascending to the great throne will be settled!"

  Several surprised voices came from the guest room, and then Zhao Ji said: "Who is outside the door? Come in quickly!"

  Yang Jiao hastily retreated and entered, whispering a few words in the ear of Emperor Huizong Zhao Ji. Wu Song followed closely behind, striding in with large steps. He looked up to see Emperor Huizong sitting in the main seat, wearing brocade robes and a crane cloak, with Gao Qiu standing in attendance beside him. On the other side, accompanying him was a general, clad in armor, his face dark and stern, his skin as hard as iron. At a glance, it was clear that he possessed extremely deep internal strength.

  Wu Song followed the rules of a Taoist, not kowtowing, but only bowing his head to Emperor Huizong. Zhao Ji hastily stood up and said: "Mr. Wu, I have long heard Yang Zongguan mention your greatness, today I finally see you, indeed you are a divine wind with a Taoist bone!"

  That dark-faced officer said with a strange tone: "Your Highness, there are many swindlers in the jianghu who deceive people to get food and shelter. Your Highness must be cautious, lest you be deceived by them."

  Zhao Ji hesitated for a moment, and Yang Jian immediately spoke in a sharp voice: "Tong Guan, Mr. Wu is our family's acquaintance and good friend, do you think we would also cheat King Wang?"

  Chao K'ai hesitated again, and Tong Guan and Yang Jie were both his trusted advisors. For a moment, this king didn't know who to believe. Wu Song saw that he was a man without a mind of his own and felt at ease in his heart. He smiled and said: "Whether the Taoist is genuine or not, the Military Governor of Jingyuan Road, Zhang Jie, can vouch for him. The Military Strategist of Jingyuan Road, Zhong Shidao, can also vouch for him. The generals Guo Cheng, Zhe Keshi, Wang En, Zhong Pu, Wang Dao, and Miao Lü, as well as the over a million soldiers who conquered Pingxia City, can all vouch for him. If Your Majesty still doesn't believe it, you can go ask the surrendered general of Xia Guo, A Mai and Mei Le, they can also vouch for the Taoist! The Taoist was in Xia Guo, competing with the evil monk of Xia Guo, and in a fit of rage, destroyed a city tower over ten meters high, broke through Wuyan Gorge, and tens of thousands of people witnessed it! In Sa Chuan, with the strength of four men, they repelled the 50,000-strong reinforcement troops of Xia Guo, and scared to death Liang Taihou, which was also a spectacle for all to see! Today, I surrendered to Your Majesty, but was unexpectedly suspected by someone, which really chills my heart!"

  Zhao Ji heard this and hastily smiled, saying: "Mr. Wu, please don't take offense, Dao Fu (Tong Guan's courtesy name) is just like that." He scolded Tong Guan, saying: "You're so unreasonable, you've gratuitously offended a superior man!"

  Yang Jian sneered on the side: "General Tong claims to be unmatched in military strategy, but has he ever achieved such merits?"

  Tong Guan's old face turned red with shame, and he muttered: "If our family were to lead troops to conquer the West, we would certainly not be inferior to him. Mr. Wu, you only talk about your own accomplishments, can you show us a few tricks to open our eyes?"

  Yang Jiao heard this and couldn't help but feel anxious, he also knew that Wu Song didn't understand the magic trick at all. But Wu Song calmly said: "The Taoist showed off his skills last night, I wonder if Master Tong saw it?"

  Zhao Jie showed interest and hastily inquired, Wu Song said: "Last night, the Taoist priest Wang Laozhi from Cai Shangshu's mansion came to visit me, mentioning the Five Thunder Method. The Taoist got excited and demonstrated the technique of releasing thunder with five fingers. However, he couldn't control his power and destroyed Yang Zongguan's residence. The Taoist didn't dare perform the ritual at Wang Fu, may I ask where Tong Dajun's residence is?"

  Zhao Jie's face lit up with excitement, saying: "So the thunder last night was your doing, Mr.! It really scared people to death! Just now Tong Guan said it must be because Yang Zongguan has committed too many evil deeds and suffered heavenly punishment!"

  Yang Jiong glared at Tong Guan with anger, Tong Guan was speechless and felt a chill in his heart. The thousands of thunderbolts he had witnessed last night were still fresh in his mind, and he knew that Wu Song's magical powers were not to be trifled with. If he had offended him, the next thunderbolt would wipe out his entire family! This eunuch was also cunning and quickly apologized to Wu Song, who remained expressionless and inscrutable.

  Tong Guan's heart was filled with anxiety: "Look at this, it seems that only gifts will do. Money can communicate with the gods, so let's send them over quickly to avoid disaster!"

  Yang Jia thought to himself, "Brother Wu is really shameless, not only did he take advantage of Wang Laozhi, but also claimed the Five Thunder Seal Great Method as his own. However, this idea is indeed clever, losing a house in exchange for something even better..."

  Wu Song said, "Now, let's talk about the emperor's death and who will ascend to the throne. You should quickly enter the palace and see Empress Dowager Cixi. First, cry and complain in front of her, but don't mention anything about who will take the throne. If she asks, just say you miss your brother and don't know what to do. Someone will help you with this, and you will definitely receive good news!"

  Zhao Jie straightened up, overjoyed and said: "Meeting Mr. Cui is no less than Liu Bei getting Zhuge Liang or Emperor Shen getting Wang Anshi! I'll go to the palace to see the Empress Dowager right away!" He told Gao Hu: "You prepare the sedan chair and on the way disperse those people in front of the gate, we won't receive any more guests today."

  Gao Qiu saw Wu Song gain the favor of the king with just a few words, and in his heart he was both admiring and jealous. He had used over ten years to climb to his current position, but this person had climbed above him in just half a stick of incense worth of effort, truly a superior tactic.

  "One day this Mr. Wu will surely be a superior man, and it's good to make friends with him now, as it may bring benefits later. I wonder if he likes women or wealth, this is something that needs to be investigated..."

  Gao Zhan took care of everything and returned to the guest room to invite Lord Duan to get on the sedan chair. Before he could show his respects to Wu Xie, he heard Tong Guan say with a smile: "Mr. Wu is living in Yang's mansion, but since Mr. Wu destroyed Yang's mansion, doesn't that mean you have no place to stay? Dao Fu recently bought a house, it's not too big, about 30-50 mu, if Mr. Wu doesn't mind, I'll give this house to Mr. Wu to support himself."

  Wu Song's face remained calm: "How can this be... where is the deed?"

  Tong Guan was overjoyed: "I'm not afraid of your high Taoist skills, I'm just afraid you have no hobbies! As long as you take our house, can't you use thunder to strike our house again?"

  Gao Zhan stood by, secretly anxious, as Tong Guan sent out a large mansion, and he couldn't compare to his wealth and grandeur. What was he to do? This Mr. Wu had a beautiful woman by his side, naturally looking down on ordinary women, could it be that he was greedy for money or perhaps fond of antiques and calligraphy?

  Wu Song was quite pleased with himself. Among the six great treacherous officials beside Emperor Huizong, Yang Jie was already on his side, Tong Guan and Gao Qiu had already submitted to him, and two others were not yet prominent. Only Cai Jing, the old thief, was the greatest obstacle to his own rise as a powerful official.

  The number one traitor of Great Song Dynasty has emerged!

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  Updated early, seeking recommendation votes, hoping to get 10,000 recommendation votes this week ~