Sun Tu and the others had already checked into the other courtyard in the afternoon, but they did not see Xi Fengchang again until after the shift. There was still a bit of unhappiness on his face. After a while, he showed a smile: "Something happened today, so I'm a little bit confused." I’m neglecting you two, I hope you won’t be offended.”
Sun Tu and Sun Tu laughed and said they didn't dare. Then they looked at him and asked curiously: "Young master has gone home, why are you still so worried? I wonder if I can help share your worries?"
"Humph, it's not my brother who is stirring up trouble in front of my father." Xi Fengchang said bitterly: "Originally, I planned to find an official position for you, Brother Sun, in the city, but he objected several times, saying that you were from the Liao Kingdom. The Han people were not trustworthy, which made my father a little suspicious, so the matter could only be shelved for the time being."
"I see, but this is reasonable. I think things are too simple. After all, I am not from the Xia Kingdom. It's not wrong for you to be suspicious." Sun Tu seemed quite generous and turned around. He comforted the other party: "Actually, as long as the young master is willing to trust me and use me, and let me have a foothold in the Xia Kingdom, I will be satisfied."
"Although I have only been with you for a short period of time, I know that you can never be a spy from the Liao Kingdom. Don't worry, I will help you fight for your father's place, but I have to make you stay here for a few days first..." Xifeng As Chang said, he thought of something else: "Actually, it's not impossible to make my father completely trust you. I will arrange everything by then."
"Thank you for your trouble, sir." Sun Tu thanked him again, while Xi Fengchang waved his hand and said, "We won't talk about that today. Everyone has worked hard in the past few days and slept in the open. Now that we are here, we should enjoy it. That's right." As he said this, he clapped his hands, and servants immediately brought the fine wines and dishes into the hall one by one. Although most of them were meat, the color and smell were far better than those in Wu La Hai. It's much stronger, just smelling the fragrance is enough to make people's index fingers tick.
Xi Fengchang immediately poured wine and cut meat for Sun Tu and the others with his own hands, then toasted to each other and said some polite words. Then the three of them let go of each other and ate and drank for a while. It wasn't until about three o'clock that they were all full, and each of them walked back to their room to rest with some staggering steps.
For the next two days, Xi Fengchang still entertained the two of them warmly. Not only did they eat and drink of high quality, but he also allowed them to enter and leave his own courtyard. It seemed that he had complete trust in them and there was not even a follower. As for Huangfu Duan, he not only cashed in the two thousand copper coins he had agreed to before, but after learning that he intended to buy green salt from the Xia Kingdom and sell it to the Liao Kingdom, he also personally came forward to help arrange the deal. On the contrary, it saved the other party a lot of effort and thought, and he was truly warm and considerate.
After spending five days here leisurely, Sun Tu and Huangfu Duan went out to visit Shunjun City again at noon. In fact, they had been wandering around the city like this in the past few days, and it was actually the same today. They were just able to appreciate the style of Xia Kingdom and get familiar with the customs here.
"The Hetao area where Xingqing Mansion of Xia Kingdom is located has the reputation of being on the south of the Yangtze River. Although this place is not within its scope, it is not much different in my opinion." Sun Tu looked at the pedestrians walking by and couldn't help but gently He sighed. Although their clothes still look a bit plain and simple, far less colorful than the people in Song Dynasty, they still feel that they have enough food and clothing.
pretty good.
"Land of the Hetao? How do you say this?" Huangfuduan nodded in agreement at first, but then raised a question. This was the first time he heard this statement.
"Huh? You don't know about the Loop?" Sun Tu also looked at him with some surprise. Isn't this common sense among people? In fact, he really took it for granted. Thousands of years later, this kind of knowledge would naturally be common geographical knowledge that elementary school students would understand, but now, not many people know it. After all, there are no such accurate geographical topographic maps now.
Since he had nothing to do anyway, Sun Tu simply turned into a tavern, ordered a pot of wine and ordered two plates of appetizers. Then he dipped his finger in the wine and drew a few words on the table, lit it and said: "This is the great river that flows through Tubo, Xia and the Song Dynasty." At this time, the Yellow River had not yet turned yellow and turbid due to massive soil erosion in the upper reaches, so it did not have the name Yellow River yet.
Huangfu Duan looked at the words with some surprise, then looked at Sun Tu, and nodded after a moment: "So the river is actually like this? This is really the first time I know this. I didn't expect that the people of Song Dynasty had such a broad vision. , It really puts me to shame."
Sun Tu then remembered that ordinary people lacked geographical knowledge at this time, but he had no intention of explaining more. He just continued to point to the curved part above the few words and said: "This is the territory of Xia Kingdom. Look at it. Does it look like a pocket or a condom? For the convenience of naming, I call it the land of the Hetao. As the saying goes, the Yellow River is full of evils and only benefits, and this is it. And the so-called fortress in the south of the Yangtze River also refers to this place. "
Huangfuduan nodded with understanding: "I see. If you think about it carefully, the rapid rise of Xia State has a lot to do with the wealth of the Hetao area."
"Yes, the Dangxiang people rose up because of this place, but the Song people were even more embarrassed because of it. If the Song army could seize this Hetao land, they would no longer have to worry about the lack of horses, and at least they could have a fair fight with the Liao people. . But now... not only are war horses scarce, but there is also a powerful enemy on the side for nothing. It’s not worth it even thinking about it." Sun Tu said, and looked at Huangfu Duan solemnly: "Brother Huangfu, you have an extraordinary ability. The ability to raise and look after horses was nothing in the Liao and Xia Kingdoms, but if you go to the Song Dynasty, it will play a big role."
Huangfu Duan naturally understood his solicitation intention, but he couldn't accept it at the moment. After all, he is just a businessman, he just wants to make money in a responsible manner, and he really doesn't want to take risks.
Sun Tu didn't try to persuade him. He just had a few drinks with the other party and then left. At least now, even if the other party accepted his invitation, it would be impossible to bring him back to the Song Dynasty. It would be better to wait and talk about it later. .
The two of them walked around the city again until it was almost dusk, then they returned home exhausted. But when the two of them arrived not far from the other courtyard, Sun Tu bumped into a pedestrian. Before he could reprimand him, the other person had already walked away quickly. This surprised Sun Tu, and then he suddenly realized that he There was an extra note in his arms. When he took out the note from his arms, Sun Tu's eyes suddenly shrank. He was still a little too relaxed. If the person didn't send the note but stabbed him with a knife, he might be injured now.
However, he was not in a hurry to take out the note and read it clearly. He just continued to talk to Huangfu as if nothing happened.
After returning to the other courtyard and entering their separate courtyard, he took out the paper and took a look at it, only to find that he didn't recognize any of the words written on it.
Huangfuduan was also a little surprised at this time and understood: "Brother Sun, was this secretly given to you by the person who just collided with you outside?"
"Exactly, but I don't recognize what's written on it. Come and take a look?" Sun Tu said and handed the note over. Huangfu Duan took it and only glanced at it, then his expression suddenly changed: "This is the text of the Liao Dynasty! What I want you to meet at midnight tonight is in the third alley to the north of East Street... This is, Does Liao Guo Xizuo want to have a secret meeting with you?" At the end of his words, his voice was trembling because the matter was really serious.
Sun Tu showed a sneer: "Brother Huangfu, do you think there are people from Liao who will contact me secretly?"
Huangfu Duan, who originally wanted to persuade Sun Tu not to take risks, suddenly realized after hearing this: "Yes, Brother Sun, you are not from the Liao at all. How could there be someone from the Liao to contact you? This..."
"I'm afraid someone wants to test my exact identity." Sun Tu raised the corner of his mouth and gave the answer immediately. If he was really a secret spy of the Liao Kingdom, this thing would be of some use, and it would at least make him doubtful for a while. But he was obviously from the Song Dynasty, so the secret letter from the Liao Kingdom sent to him seemed very ridiculous.
"You mean... Xi Fengchang and the others did this just to test you?" Huangfu Duan asked uneasily as he had straightened out his thoughts. Seeing them nodding, he added: "Then why don't you hand over the things to them quickly, so that you can win people's trust."
"Sending things in can save a lot of trouble, but I'm afraid it's not enough for them to trust me completely." Sun Tu shook his head and said: "Originally, I was worried about how to make them trust me further and use me again. Now. Now Isn’t the opportunity coming?”
"Are you planning to..."
"Go and meet with the so-called Liao Kingdom's experts in the evening, and then help the Xia people solve these problems." Sun Tu smiled and then put the note away.
Half an hour later, Xi Fengchang looked at his open courtyard door again, but he still didn't see Sun Tu and the others coming. This made his face become more and more gloomy: "Is there really something wrong with Sun Qianli?" He said early today When he came back, he just wanted to wait for Sun Tu to send him the secret message asking him to meet, so that he could be sure that there was no problem with the other party. But it's good now. The two people have been back for a while, but they haven't come over to explain. Could it be that they really believed what the boss said and planned to go there for a while in the evening
"Master..." The cronies around him saw his displeasure, and tried to say: "Why don't you let me lead people to take them down now! Since it is a detailed operation of the Liao Kingdom, they must not be left here. Otherwise, if they are If the Sixth Young Master's people find out about this, it will be very detrimental to the master."
"No rush, just wait." Xi Fengchang had the rare poise of a person of his age. Hearing this, he just shook his head and said, "It's not too late to attack them after today. Sun Qianli, this person is indeed a talent. It would be a pity if the Liao Kingdom was really careful..." Although he said this, there was murderous intent in his eyes and he could not hide it.
While I was talking, it was already dark and it was the first watch!