"Unfortunately, the time when you came to find Taoist Master Zhenming to spy on the military situation was a little too early, and we did not meet him. I kindly ask you to come to Tianning for the interview. I would like to do some business with you."
The little Taoist priest gave a piece of paper to the neighbor, and the paper looked nondescript. The old woman in the neighborhood took the paper and looked at it for a long time. She laughed loudly and shook her sleeves: "How dare he do anything to me?"
The little Taoist priest said seriously: "The third master said he wanted to do business with our ancestors. He said you can rest assured that you will not suffer any loss or be deceived in this business."
The old woman hummed: "What if I don't go?"
The little Taoist priest said: "It's just natural that you don't want to go as old as you want. Buying and selling is voluntary, and we can force you to grow old."
The old woman stared at the little Taoist priest with a cold light in her eyes. Although the little Taoist priest tried his best to calm down, he still backed up for half a day, his eyes were slightly blank, and he forced a smile and said: "You are not going, are you? That poor Taoist has gone back." He slapped his head.
Turn around to leave.
"Wait a minute." The old woman stood up, her lips slightly raised and her eyes closed, "Since we have business to do, why don't you listen."
The little Taoist priest smiled and said, "That's right. If the transaction doesn't work out, benevolence and righteousness will depend on it. Let's talk about whether it works out or not. Even if it doesn't work out this time, there will be another time."
The old woman sneered and said: "Next time?" She stood there for a long time, closing her eyes slightly. After a long time, she opened her eyes and said, "You go back to report the news first, I will be here soon."
"Okay~~" the little Taoist priest responded abruptly and ran away.
Back at Tianning Temple, the little Taoist priest pursed his lips and said to Jia Cong: "Brother Jia, the female donor immediately turned into an ice hole when she read your letter. I felt so cold even standing in front of her."
Jia Cong hurriedly poured him a bowl of hot tea: "Have some tea to warm yourself up." The little Taoist priest took the tea and didn't know what to say.
About half an hour later, the aunt of the Lao family came. Zhenming and others hid in the next door, and Jia Cong personally held a candle to welcome her out of the room. He was extremely curious about what she looked like, so he kept his eyes wide open for a long time.
At first glance, she is not pretty. There are also beautiful old women. Jia Mu was a beautiful old woman when she was alive. This one is plain in appearance, because she is rich and has not many wrinkles. Now she has a stern look on her face, and the makeup she applied
It's not bad, it looks like it reminds Nie Xiaoqian of her grandmother.
Jia Cong respectfully invited her into the room and served tea himself. He said seriously: "Old man, this junior has a few questions to ask. When Yang Guotai assassinated the late emperor, was it Tu or Liu Pingzhong who seduced Liu Dengxi?"
He didn't even exchange greetings, but when he suddenly said this, the old woman was slightly shocked and replied: "Sir Liu Pingzhong was the late emperor's confidant and loyal."
Jia Cong thought: "That means that after the Supreme Emperor ascended the throne, Tu persuaded him to join the new emperor?"
"It's not like I took refuge with him, it was just a conversation."
Jia Cong nodded: "What am I saying? The late emperor was so greedy for powerful people, how could he choose an unreliable position like the commander of the imperial guards? Thank you for your advice." The old woman nodded, and the chill in her eyebrows just now disappeared.
Jia Cong smiled again and said, "Let me ask you a personal question, why don't you marry Mr. Lao Er? That 'misunderstanding' back then was probably intentional."
The old woman sighed softly: "I have been injured and cannot have children."
Jia Cong was slightly shocked: "So that's the reason. Then Lao Yanci is not your son?"
"No," the old woman said, "I raised him."
"Well. Since you can't have children, instead of marrying Mr. Lao Er, it's better to retreat. It's very difficult for a wife without children." Besides, you are not pretty. In ancient times, women couldn't have children.
There is no way to go.
The old woman smiled and said: "A wife is worse than a concubine, a concubine is worse than a thief, and being able to steal is worse than not being able to steal."
"That's true." Jia Cong took a sip of tea and said, "That person named Li Tao is your subordinate. I guess?"
The old woman raised her eyebrows: "Why do you see that?"
"I have almost never been seduced by fans, especially smart fans. Li Tao looks smart." Jia Cong said with a smile, "I didn't expect that. Fans all know that my family has a brothel, and their methods are still...
She may not know as much as I do. Moreover, Li Tao is just a fan and has never read any books. Have you seen the poems she copied? She is obviously an amateur. Those who know the business will not copy those, but will go to rich families to find women.
Copy some of her poems. Hers was written by a Confucian scholar, and even if I had the talent, I wouldn't be able to write it like that."
The old woman disagreed: "Not necessarily."
Jia Cong said: "Although poetry is a small way, if you want to write well, you must be careful. The meaning in those poems is definitely not the wish of a brothel woman."
The old woman said: "The poems Li Tao showed you were written by Mrs. Tu."
Jia Cong said "Oh": "Could it be one of her concubines who did it?" The old woman frowned. Jia Cong hurriedly explained, "The Tu family has not produced a Jinshi until now, so we know that the family does not like reading very much.
.Tu was a woman, so her family wouldn’t read her more books than men, so how could she have written those poems?”
The old woman said: "She was sent to the palace by someone when she was very young."
Jia Cong opened his eyes wide and nodded repeatedly: "This can explain it. She must have been asked to leave by Mr. Liu soon after entering the palace to teach her specially. And it can also explain why the current rumor is that she is a granddaughter of the Tu family.
Not a 'daughter'. She was too young when she left, just a granddaughter. Well, I have no doubts anymore. Oh, there is one more thing. I don't understand, now that the world has been divided and the royal guards have dispersed, aren't you just free?
How good would it be to go to the green forest to pimp and earn a few intermediary fees. And you are too old to live in peace and contentment? Why do you still want to seek territory? "
The old woman looked at him for a long time and smiled: "It seems that the news is wrong and you have no intention of rebelling."
Jia Cong blinked: "Huh?"
The old woman said slowly: "You have never tasted what it feels like to have power."
Jia Cong thought for a while: "That seems right." Nai said seriously, "Let's get to the point. I want to discuss with you today and work together to send those bandits to North America."
The old woman frowned: "Is this the business you're talking about?"
Jia Cong nodded: "Anyway, they are no match for General Li. If they stay in Jiangxi, they will die sooner or later. They have been bandits for a long time, and their banditry is hard to change. If they stay in Jiangxi, they will not cause trouble to Mr. Su. Instead, send good people away.
North America is very risky. Because the good people in our country are kind-hearted, tolerant, and value harmony. When ordinary immigrants go abroad, it is still better to do more than to do less, and big things are reduced to trivial ones. North America has been dominated by Westerners.
After immigrating for 1560 years, they killed all the territory occupied by the local natives. They are the most murderous. When good people meet Westerners, due to inertia, they only give them an inch, even if they don't give back a foot.
It won't be too aggressive. However, this will make the Westerners think that our good people are afraid of them and will become more and more unscrupulous in the future. Therefore, it is best to send the bandits over. They will fight to the death with the Westerners and will not tolerate everything." He paused.
, "Furthermore, the bandits don't know how to farm, do crafts, or do business, and they are best at killing and robbing. If they kill one more Westerner, the soldiers will be more relaxed. Even if they don't kill, they will rob the Westerners of all their money and food."
Even if he does, we can force him to go back to the West."
After hearing this, the old woman was silent for a long time, then nodded and said, "I understand what you mean. What good can I do?"
Jia Cong smiled and said: "Don't you love power? North America is so big, as long as you don't claim to be emperor, no one will care about you."
"What if I don't agree?"
"Then I have to kill you and find your men to do these things." Jia Cong tilted his head, "Anyway, if you die, someone will take over your work."
The old woman said coldly: "Mr. Jia, are you negotiating with me?"
"It doesn't matter if you think it's coercion." Jia Cong said with a smile, "I have already decided to send the bandits to North America. Old lady, now you are the loser, and it doesn't matter. If it weren't for saving time and energy, I would
Just go directly to old man He Dulu. Without you, they can both succeed."
The old woman sneered: "Can they succeed? Mr. Jia might as well give it a try." Then she stood up and walked away.
Jia Cong shouted from behind: "I'll give you three days to think about it. After three days, I will treat you as dead." The old woman ignored her and didn't look back.
Even when visiting a neighbor's house, the old woman would sit in a carriage seriously. It was already dark when the little Taoist priest passed by, and now she was walking more and more at night. Fortunately, her house was very close to Tianning Temple, and there was a bridge hanging in front of the carriage.
Two lanterns were lit. After a while, the carriage returned to the small house in the bamboo forest. The old woman got out of the carriage, stood and thought for a long time, then returned to the carriage and ordered the carriage driver to "go to Xuanchun Temple." The carriage driver turned around and left without saying a word.
This is the south of Nanchang City. The carriage bumped under the stars at night and circled around the city to the north of the city. There is Qingshan Lake in the north of the city. There is a Taoist temple named Xuanchun Temple on the lakeside. There is not much incense in the temple, but fortunately the Taoist priests have farmed it for three or four years.
Acres of land are used for food. Occasionally, wealthy men come to pay homage to Sanqing and drop dozens of taels of silver, which is enough for the Taoist priests to live for a year or two. The old woman got off the carriage in front of Xuanchun Temple and held a lantern with her own hands.
I walked to the temple and knocked on the door four times. After enough time to have a cup of tea, the door of the temple opened with a creak, and a middle-aged Taoist priest appeared inside. He glanced at the old woman through the lantern, frowned slightly, and turned aside.
She went in and quickly closed the door. When the old woman entered Tianning Temple, she brought two maids and two women with her, but now she went in alone.
It wasn't until the rooster crowed the next day that she came out in a hurry. The maid, mother-in-law, and coachman all waited all night, but they didn't say a word when their master came out, and everyone kept their mouths shut. The old woman got on the carriage, and the coachman
He raised his riding whip and softly shouted "drive" twice before leaving before the sun set.
About two hours later, horse hooves were flying on the spring mud by Qingshan Lake. A group of men and horses came from nowhere, wearing round helmets and carrying muskets on their backs, and surrounded Xuanchun Temple. A Taoist priest guarding the gate heard the noise and opened the door.
He only looked around and immediately closed the door and pushed the threshold from the inside. The leading general just ignored him and signaled the soldiers to guard several places with guns. The place was deserted and there were few people nearby, so a few boatmen on the lake stretched their necks.
Visit.
I saw a soldier take off his musket and fire a "bang" shot at the Taoist temple door, then he flew up and climbed open the two doors. The Taoist leader hurriedly walked out and faced the intruding soldiers.
He shouted: "I dare to ask you where you are from and why you broke into my Xuanchun Temple without permission!"
The general was very young and said with a smile: "Surrender without killing."
The leader of the Taoist priests said: "This poor Taoist is a monk..."
The general interrupted: "Master Liu, you can choose to surrender or die."
The Taoist leader was speechless. After a long while, he slowly asked: "May I ask how you found me?"
The general said: "I don't know. That's the job of the scouts."
The Taoist leader thought for a moment: "I am a poor Taoist who is willing to surrender."
"Thank you."
The Taoist leader raised his hands, and the Taoist priests behind him also raised their hands. Several soldiers came forward to wipe their shoulders and tied up their arms. An old Taoist priest ducked behind a big pillar, narrowed his eyes and quietly raised his arms. Hearing.
With a "bang" sound, a bloody hole opened in the old Taoist priest's forehead. The general said: "Our snipers have no blind spots."
The Taoist leader said sadly: "He is also a good man, he is not used to surrendering."
Not long after, all the Taoist priests were arrested. The general ordered the soldiers behind him: "Search the Jinyiwei files."
The leader of the Taoist priests said: "It's all hidden in the back."
"Thank you."
The soldiers went straight to hide and saw densely packed bookshelves reaching the roof. One soldier laughed and said: "For such a small Taoist temple with little incense, it hides so many books. Doesn't anyone think it's abnormal?"
The Taoist leader said: "Outsiders can't come in."
Several soldiers randomly picked out three books from each bookshelf and flipped through them. The outermost shelves on the first floor were all Taoist classics, and the rest were also wrapped in Taoist classics book covers. Inside were all Jinyiwei archives. At this moment, someone came
He came in and gave a military salute: "Report! The carriage carrying the files has arrived."
The general said: "Let them come in and move."
The Taoist leader wondered: "Why didn't the carriage come with the general?"
The general said: "We thought we were going to fight. They came to deal with the aftermath."
The leader of the Taoist priests said: "Why do you come in such a hurry? How different is it from coming with us?"
The general said: "If you gentlemen do not surrender, the fight will be over in this moment." The Taoist priest was speechless.
A young Taoist priest in the back hummed: "You are just relying on the power of firearms. If you have the guts to fight with me!"
"No fighting," the general said, "It's not like Green Foresters fighting with each other. If you can win with firearms, why do you have to fight with fists?"
The young Taoist priest raised his eyebrows and said, "You can't beat me in a fist fight! I'm not convinced!"
"Whether you are convinced or not is your business. What I want is these files, and I am not prepared to make you my subordinate, so why should you be convinced?" The young Taoist priest took a deep breath and choked to death.
The Taoist leader thought for a moment, raised his hands and asked, "May I ask this general what Mr. Jia plans to do with us?"
The general said: "This is not under the jurisdiction of the general. However, Mr. Jia probably won't accept you for work. He has no shortage of people under his command. If you are willing to go overseas, it would be best. If you are not willing, he will probably find pirates to force you."
Ship it over."
The leader of the Taoist priests laughed a few times and said with emotion: "He really only has foreign eyes in his eyes. It's better than being a Taoist priest all his life."
The general comforted him: "You have some skills, many times better than ordinary people. Westerners have been operating in North America for many years. The land is ready-made and there is no need to open up wasteland. There are also houses that do not need to be built. You can just grab it."
If you don't want to farm, you can become a bandit. The land is vast and the people are sparse. The enemy is weak and we are strong. Being a bandit has a bright future. It would be best if you are willing to bring more bandits along with you. Mr. Liu may be able to win more from this.
You are an official." The Taoist leader laughed even more.