Hua Zhi was so hungry that she ate half a bowl more than usual.
While walking around the yard to digest the food, Hua Zhi talked about the inside story of the Yu family's water transport, and finally said: "The Yu and Zeng families have been involved in water transport for more than six years. If Zeng Xianglin did it on purpose, he would have worked for the Chaoli clan for much longer than this."
"I wouldn't be surprised even if someone says he is from the Chaoli tribe." Gu Yanxi stopped and said, "Someone come here."
Wang Hai, who was not far away, quickly caught up.
"Go check the Yu family's water transport business. I want to know where their ships often go and where is the farthest they have been."
"yes."
Hua Zhi watched Wang Hai walk away, "Will this alert the enemy?"
"Zeng Xianglin's current focus is on the Yu family and the gambling house, so he will inevitably be distracted by other things." Gu Yanxi held her hand and followed the sunlight. "He was indeed cautious at the beginning, and now he is quite vigilant, but his sensitivity will decrease after being smooth for a long time. It's a pity for this person."
Yes, it's a pity that he has such a big plan behind the scenes but has not been exposed. His ability should not be underestimated. If he has acted uprightly, he might be able to bring blessing to Jinyang instead of bringing disaster to the place.
Hua Zhi built a canopy in front of her forehead, looked up at the sky which was as clean as if it had been washed clean, and thought, it would be great if people's hearts could also be cleansed.
The human heart is the most terrifying, yet the most adorable thing in the world.
After entering March, the earth begins to thaw, all things revive, and vitality can be seen everywhere.
In the blink of an eye, Hua Zhi had been in Jinyang for more than ten days. While gaining the favor of all the women in Jinyang, she also did not neglect her business. Knowing that the mushroom business in the city was hers, the orders in her shop increased by 20% in a short period of time.
Bao Xia pushed the door open and put a bowl of soup in front of the young lady, "Drink it while it's hot."
Hua Zhi put down the account book and drank it sip by sip. She had been hiding at home for two days on the pretext of catching a cold. However, Shaoyao went to the house every day without missing a day.
When you do something you don’t like, time always seems to pass very slowly. It’s only been less than half a month, but it feels like a long time.
But she really couldn't stay there for long. Outsiders always stand out in Jinyang, and there were often people watching outside the gate. If she stayed too long, she might arouse suspicion.
Gu Yanxi pushed the door open, her clothes wet.
Hua Zhi stood up in surprise, "It's raining?"
"A little rain."
Bao Xia hurriedly brought a towel over, and Hua Zhi took it and wiped Yan Xi.
Looking down at the people surrounding her, Gu Yanxi's eyes softened, and a smile was clearly visible on the corners of her mouth. "The Peng family has sent news that Zeng Xianglin has made an appointment with Peng Fangming alone."
"I thought it would take longer. What happened to make Zeng Xianglin so anxious?" Hua Zhi looked up, met Yan Xi's gaze, stood on tiptoe and kissed the corner of his mouth, which caught Sui off guard and prevented him from dodging the attack, causing Xia Zao's face to turn red. Their young lady was really, really too bold!
Gu Yanxi restrained herself and kissed Ah Zhi on the forehead. "It's the Chaoli tribe that's anxious. In order to speed up the closing of the net here, I had someone mention the appearance of a wise man in the Chaoli tribe in the court. Since they are so concerned about Daqing, they must know about this matter."
“Is there really a wise man?”
"I wasn't sure at first. They hid it very well. The Seventh Division investigated for a long time but couldn't find out. But now I am sure."
Hua Zhi thought about it and understood. There is a huge difference between the wise and the foolish Chaoli people. Daqing has a hard time dealing with the Chaoli people who only have brute force. If these strong men also have wisdom, the consequences will be unimaginable.
"What did the Emperor do?"
"Fifty thousand troops have been dispatched to reinforce the defense of the pass, and an imperial decree has been issued that the supply of food and fodder should not be delayed. By the way, the first batch of meat jerky made by Xiaoliu and his men was delivered to the defense of the pass by the Sun family's retainers." Gu Yanxi pulled her to sit down and motioned for her to continue drinking the soup.
Hua Zhi couldn't eat any more, so she stirred the spoon and asked, "Where is Yinshan Pass?"
Gu Yanxi didn't know what to say. Whether for the emperor or the court officials, the importance of Yinshan Pass was far less than that of Guarding Ai Pass. At this moment, they could only take care of guarding Ai Pass.
After Hua Zhi finished asking, she could only smile bitterly. In Wu Yong's eyes, Yinshan Pass was his root and the meaning of the Wu family's existence. To her, Yinshan Pass carried her relatives, and she was struggling just to wait for them to come back. But to others, it was just an ordinary checkpoint for exiling criminals, and it was... not important.
"I have written to my grandfather..."
"It's useless. Duke Anguo has been living in luxury for many years, so his words have no weight." Hua Zhi interrupted him with a calm expression, "I analyzed the situation of Yinshan Pass with my grandfather last time I went there. He will not do nothing."
"Wu Yong is also on guard all the time. There is also Wu Xing. He has been at Yinshan Pass and has not left. Wu Yong has cooperated and made some arrangements."
Hua Zhi remembered Wu Xing, who had been researching black gunpowder. Yes, with such a powerful weapon that had never appeared in the world, Yinshan Pass would not be so easy to break through.
Looking at Yan Xi who looked guilty, Hua Zhi forced a smile and said, "I told you not to take on responsibilities that are not yours. You are not the one sitting on the throne. I will know the situation there when I go there next month."
Gu Yanxi held her hand and kissed her. He felt even worse because Azhi didn't blame him.
"What did Zeng Xianglin and Peng Fangming say?" Hua Zhi changed the subject.
"Official position. He promised Peng Fangming an official position."
"No requests?"
Gu Yanxi smiled, "There is no such thing as a free meal. How could Peng Fangming believe him if he didn't ask for anything? He said that if the deal went through, he would give up 10% of the casino's profits, and he and Zhu Ling would each get half. Peng Fangming was only willing to give up half, and Zeng Xianglin finally agreed."
Hua Zhi quickly linked the dots, "Zhu Ling now controls half of Jinyang. Zeng Xianglin used him as a pretext to tempt Peng Fangming, and then used their current cooperation to convince him. With so much temptation, Peng Fangming would have found it hard to resist at his age. The Peng family was badly hurt in the previous fight for the position of chief steward, and the old man of the Peng family retired in anger. They are no longer as prosperous as they once were. Zeng Xianglin is now offering an olive branch, and it would be hard for ordinary people to refuse."
"Zeng Xianglin is very good at calculating people's hearts."
Hua Zhi frowned, "What happens after letting Peng Fangming buy an official position? His ultimate goal is still to take over the Peng family and take all of his 30% bonus for himself."
"If Zeng Xianglin had enough time to figure it out slowly, I could still guess what he would do, but it's hard to say given the current situation." Gu Yanxi's eyes were cold, "If there are really wise men in the Chaoli tribe, they should know that they should withdraw."
"You want to catch them all?"
"There won't be too many people here. It's not important whether we can catch them all in one fell swoop. What's important is whether we can find where they hide their silver. I can't give them more confidence to start a war. Of course, it would be best if we can keep all the people here."
PS: I updated today’s post using my mobile phone and my fingers are sore from pressing.