In September in Hexi, it was the end of the harvest season, and the climate had turned cold. Emperor Zhou had been in Zhangye City for six days, but he was not feeling well and was staying for rest. Although Lu Qi had been accompanying Emperor Zhou, he still took the time to pay attention to the information. Most of the information was military and political matters. Fengxiang's Zhou army had not done much military operations, but the garrison strength reached 600,000, while the Jin army in Hanzhong The number also increased to 800,000. The confrontation between the two countries was limited to scouts exploring each other and fighting each other. What seemed strange was that neither the Jin army nor the Zhou army had any scouts enter the boundary of Longyou. Longyou had obviously become a peaceful and pure land. In terms of political affairs, the grain fields in Hanzhong have been successfully harvested. It is estimated that the harvest can support an army of 800,000 for four months. The situation in Bashu is basically stable. There have been five rebellions, but they were all suppressed and eliminated. Qingwen wrote a letter saying that she highly praised Wu Hai's ability. Wu Hai's governance strategy for Bashu was well organized. In addition, the Queen had arrived in Chengdu and informed Lu Qi that state affairs were the top priority. Lu Qi felt guilty after reading the letter and missed him even more. Seriously, it's just that before Emperor Zhou left Longyou, he couldn't get away to reunite with his lover. Hehuang also successfully harvested grain. Since Lu Qi implemented military farming, most of the fields in Hehuang were under the control of the army. The army only needed to hand over a certain amount of grain to the official warehouse, and there would be a lot of other grain. With a large operational space, nearly 100,000 shi of grain was bought to Bashu, and 200,000 shi of grain was bought to Zhou State. The soldiers and civilians of Hehuang who had a big harvest naturally felt stable and celebrated with each other's foreheads and hands. The bumper harvest of food in Hehuang also caused more merchants to come, bringing various goods in exchange for food and money. Many immigrants came. He Huang sought to acquire land. Lu Qi quietly transported 100,000 shi of grain from Ganzhou to Bashu. The rest of the surplus was openly sold out, and the price was 30% higher than that in the Central Plains. But the business was still booming because the rice from Ganzhou was very delicious, and people came to Hexi in large numbers. When the merchants unloaded the goods, they would rush to buy Ganzhou rice and transport it back. Ganzhou rice became a rare commodity. The emperor refused to leave, so Lu Qi could only wait patiently. On this day, he sat outside the door. At nearly noon, a messenger from the imperial court suddenly arrived. The imperial messenger would arrive every five or six days. They were all sent by the prince and Prince Ji. Reporting on his duties, Lu Qi had already noticed that Emperor Zhou might have wanted to abolish the elders and establish younger ones. Otherwise, why would he have given King Ji such great military power? King Ji was not the governor of Guanlong in vain. Lu Qi was sitting cross-legged on the steps outside the pavilion. As soon as the messenger in bright light armor came, he glanced casually. The messenger also looked at Lu Qi when he went up the steps. Their eyes met. The messenger hurriedly turned his head to face him. Go ahead towards the pavilion door. "Please wait a moment." Lu Qi suddenly said. The messenger hesitated for a moment, looked back at Lu Qi, and asked doubtfully: "Sir, are you calling me a humble official?" "Yes, are you the envoy from His Highness?" Lu Qi said. Qi asked, and the twenty-four squads guarding the pavilion gate also stared at the messenger. The messenger had sharp eyebrows and tiger eyes, and was very majestic. When he saw the question, he turned around and saluted: "My lord, I am a personal guard of His Royal Highness King Cao. I have been ordered to deliver a message to His Majesty." "Do you know this brother?" Lu Qi turned around and asked, and the class leaders all shook their heads. Lu Qi turned to look at the messenger and said: "Your Majesty is not feeling well. Please give the letter from His Royal Highness King Cao to Ban Zhi. Brothers, please don't approach the pavilion door." The messenger hesitated for a moment, then nodded, reached out and took out a letter from his armor. He turned around and handed the bamboo mailbox to a Ban Zhixu who was standing at the door of the pavilion. The Ban Zhixu walked over and took it before taking it. However, Lu Qi walked over and stretched out his hand. The Ban Zhixu handed over the mailbox he had received. To Lu Qi. Lu Qi glanced at the messenger and saw that the messenger was calm. He took the letter box and looked at it and asked: "Where is His Royal Highness King Cao?" "His Royal Highness King Cao has taken over the Luoyang left guard, and his humble position was originally the guard of the Zhangde Army Camp. , was recommended by Lord Du Yuhou to His Highness King Cao," the messenger said peacefully. Lu Qi nodded, suddenly turned around and walked away. After walking five or six steps, he turned back and said coldly: "This man is an assassin, take him down." The class members were stunned when they heard this, but soon more than a dozen people drew their swords. He rushed to the messenger and surrounded the messenger. The messenger said in surprise: "Sir, I am not an assassin. I am really the messenger of His Highness King Cao." "Tie them up." Lu Qi ordered coldly. Ban Zhi immediately obeyed the order, tied up the messenger, and took away the messenger's weapons. The messenger did not resist, but looked at Lu Qi in panic and confusion. Lu Qi waved his hand to call a classmate, handed the letterbox over, and said: "Put it against your ear and listen." That classman directly put the letterbox to his ear. After a while, he said in surprise: "Sir, there seems to be something moving here." Lu Qi nodded, Unexpectedly, the messenger suddenly let out a low roar, and his arms that were cut behind his back suddenly broke the rope, and he jumped towards the door of the pavilion. The squad members were shocked and fought bravely to stop him. Unexpectedly, the messenger was so braveSuddenly, two bangs were heard and two Banzhi were knocked away. The two Banzhi's bodies flew towards the pavilion door and opened the pavilion door with a bang. Lu Qi was shocked. The courier's martial arts was beyond his expectation. He thought that the assassination of the courier was mainly due to the assassination of the messenger, so he hurriedly jumped at the courier. After Ban Zhi's companions were knocked away, they all tried their best with red eyes. He attacked and broke the pavilion door, which shocked the Holy Master. boom! The messenger quickly bullied a Ban Zhi, punched Ban Zhi in the neck, and reached out to grab Ban Zhi's saber. But Lu Qi was also quick, and quickly pulled out the long sword, turning into a cold light and striking the messenger. The messenger's body With a twist, he swung the knife in his hand to slash the Ban Zhi who was coming from behind. The sword flash passed by, and the two Ban Zhi were hit with a muffled sound, and their necks were opened. Bang! The messenger's long knife struck Lu Qi's knife. The two knives collided and broke together in the clash of gold and iron. Lu Qi felt a sharp pain from the tiger's mouth, and a force penetrated his arms and struck his heart. He couldn't help but get excited. Suddenly, this assassin's martial arts was similar to Guan Chong's strength. "You have to die too." The messenger spat, already approaching Lu Qi with a spring of pace, his reaction speed seemed to be faster than Lu Qi's, and a broken knife stabbed Lu Qi's throat like a poisonous snake spitting out a message. Lu Qi's eyes burst with murderous intent. He stepped forward instead of retreating. He broke the knife in his hand and stabbed the enemy's knife diagonally. Surprise suddenly appeared in the eyes of the messenger. The sudden force of the knife stabbed Lu Qi's abdomen, but he still did not escape. Lu Qi's stab made a clang, and the courier's saber was knocked away. The courier roared and violently hit Lu Qi with his left fist. However, Lu Qi suddenly squatted down with one hand on the ground, and kicked the courier's legs almost simultaneously with both feet. . The messenger jumped up in surprise, and threw the knife with his hand to stab Lu Qi. Lu Qi moved his arms and spun around. Not only did he avoid the flying knife, but he also leaned forward and kicked the messenger sideways in the air. The messenger was in the air. It was impossible to dodge in the air. The key was that the enemy was too fast. The courier hurriedly raised his arms to block the kick. With a bang, the courier's body fell sideways. A flying knife then flew forward and hit the courier's left thigh. It penetrated sharply, but it was Lu Qi who threw his hand and severed the knife. The courier screamed and fell to the bottom of the steps. Lu Qi's spinning body also landed on one foot. Those classes rushed over with roars. "You have to live." Lu Qi ordered. Ban Zhi rushed over and restrained the messenger, cruelly breaking the assassin's hand and foot tendons. One of the messenger's and the assassin's legs was already dead, and the femur was penetrated by a broken knife. The assassin was restrained, and the letter box was smashed open with a saber. There was a letter inside, but a black spider was hidden inside. Ban Zhi led the army and hurriedly reported to the emperor. After a while, he came back and took the assassin for interrogation. The ministers had already heard the news and came over. After listening to Ban Zhi's story, Zhao Pu first expressed his gratitude to Lu Qi, and other ministers agreed one after another. After the ministers came to see him, the emperor let him in, and Lu Qi was naturally among them. He entered the cabinet to pay homage to the emperor and greeted him. Lu Qi saw that Emperor Zhou's expression was calm, without any anger or panic, and he could be said to be calm and calm. "Tianfeng, thanks to you this time." Emperor Zhou looked at Lu Qi and smiled and thanked him after greeting the ministers. "It is my duty to be able to protect His Majesty." Lu Qi responded respectfully. Emperor Zhou nodded, then looked at the other ministers, and said calmly: "It seems that someone wants me to go back. I will drive back to Beijing tomorrow." The next day, Emperor Zhou drove away from Ganzhou and arrived in Liangzhou to see the monument. After the pavilion, he left Liangzhou the next day, passed through Huizhou, Yuanzhou, and stayed in Fengxiang, letting three thousand cavalry troops escort the emperor to Chang'an City.