Ye Jin looked at the direction where Gu Piaoran left and whispered, "Zhaozi, can this old man be trusted?"
"We have to try it out whether it's credible or not." I stood up and said, "Let's go back and pack our things. Let's do business."
When Ye Jin and I returned, the women of all ages in the house had probably gone shopping, and even Guazier was not at home. I packed my things in a hurry, left a note, and went out.
The meeting place that Gu Piaoran arranged for us was several hundred kilometers away, and we could arrive there just within the agreed time by driving there. Gu Piaoran obviously didn't want us to make too much preparation.
As soon as Ye Jin drove the car to the door of the agreed location, he saw four or five cars driving in one after another. There were about ten people getting off the cars, but they didn't say hello to each other, and it seemed that they didn't know each other. However, from the position where they were standing, these people were old hands who were used to the scene.
I had just lit a cigarette when Gu Piaoran's car drove over from a distance. He leaned out of the car window and said, "Since everyone is here, follow me! When we get there, I'll tell you about this business in detail."
Everyone got into the car without saying a word. Gu Piaoran drove the car to a secret beach. If I'm not mistaken, this place should be a secret dock used by illegal immigrants. Gu Piaoran wants to go out to sea
After Gu Piaoran jumped out of the car, he sent a signal to the distance, and soon, a large ship slowly approached the dock. Gu Piaoran called to the driver who was driving him, "You can go now."
The latter suddenly pulled out a dagger from his body and slashed his neck with it. The body fell to the ground with blood splattering, and soon after, he climbed up with lifeless eyes, opened the car door with blood dripping, started the car and drove back along the same road we came from.
Is Gu Piaoran trying to silence someone
In order to be absolutely sure, Gu Piaoran had someone die in front of him. Also, in order to conceal his whereabouts, he controlled the dead man to drive away.
What kind of business does Gu Piaoran want to do
Just as I was frowning, Gu Piaoran said, "Everyone, follow me aboard. We can talk in detail once we are on the sea."
The people who came with me boarded the ship with Gu Piaoran without any hesitation. After boarding the ship, Gu Piaoran remained silent and just sat quietly in the cabin with his eyes closed. Strangely, all the people who boarded the ship with him also sat quietly in the cabin without saying a word.
It was not until the morning sun shone into the cabin that Gu Piaoran opened his eyes: "I have asked someone to prepare breakfast for you. We can talk while we eat."
Gu Piaoran reached out and took the egg brought by the waiter, slowly peeled the eggshell and said: "I asked you all to come here to find a secret burial place left by Senior Shen Gong Weijing of Rumor Sect."
After Gu Piaoran finished his words, he began to peel eggs attentively, as if he was deliberately giving us time to digest the information in his words.
I didn't know who Shen Weijing was, so I looked at Ye Jin. Ye Jin had worked in the antique business and loved collecting unofficial history, so maybe he knew something.
Ye Jin whispered, "Shen Weijing was a diplomat during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty. Official history records that he was born into a Jiaxing merchant family, but unofficial history says that he was a typical street person. But it was this person who stirred up the Three Kingdoms at that time and became the most popular person for a time."
Ye Jin explained: "In the 20th year of the Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the actual ruler of Japan, sent 150,000 troops to invade Korea. After being defeated, Korea asked the Ming Dynasty for help. Although Emperor Wanli decided to send troops, Ningxia was not pacified at that time, and someone had to delay the war in order to buy enough time militarily. But the terrible thing was that there was not a single person available in the Ming court."
"In the end, it was Shi Xing, the then Minister of War, who found a businessman or a street vendor who was fluent in Japanese to serve as the Ming Dynasty's special envoy. That man was Shen Weijing."
"After Shen Weijing entered the court alone as a special envoy of the Ming Dynasty, he used his eloquence to appease the Joseon court while threatening Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and actually delayed the war. It was not until the Ming Dynasty general Li Rusong led his army into the court that Shen Weijing played a role for the second time."
"Although Li Rusong won a series of victories in the early stage, the Ming army could not win a comprehensive victory because the Joseon court system was loose and the Ming army could not supply logistics. Toyotomi Hideyoshi's side also had no intention of continuing the attack due to heavy losses. The two sides decided to negotiate a withdrawal. The person in charge of the negotiations this time was Shen Weijing."
"This time, Shen Weijing was so bold that he deceived Emperor Wanli by saying that Toyotomi Hideyoshi had surrendered to him. At the same time, he told Toyotomi Hideyoshi that the imperial court had fully agreed to his seven unrealistic conditions. Later, the truth was revealed and Shen Weijing was arrested by Li Rusong and taken back to the Ming Dynasty. He was also imprisoned with the Minister of War Shi Xing."
"After Shi Xing was imprisoned, he died of depression and starvation within a few days. Shen Weijing, on the other hand, ate and drank as he pleased, and lived in prison for another two years until he was beheaded when the imperial court came to settle accounts."
Ye Jin said this and added: "According to legend, Toyotomi Hideyoshi actually died at the hands of Shen Weijing."
I was surprised and asked, "What do you mean?"
Ye Jin continued, "Legend has it that when Toyotomi Hideyoshi hosted a banquet for Shen Weijing, he saw Shen Weijing taking a pill and asked him what it was. Shen Weijing told him that he was taking an elixir and he talked to Toyotomi Hideyoshi about the wonders of the elixir."
"It was well known that the emperor of the Ming Dynasty liked to take elixirs. Toyotomi Hideyoshi regarded Shen Weijing as a close minister of Emperor Wanli. He heard that Shen Weijing had elixirs that only the emperor could take, and he believed Shen Weijing's immortal appearance, so he asked him for a lot of elixirs."
Ye Jin curled his lips when he said this: "You also know what the pills that the emperors of the Ming Dynasty took were made of. They were indeed full of energy when they first took them, but after taking them for a year or two, they were basically close to death. Although Toyotomi Hideyoshi knew that he had been fooled by Shen Weijing, he did not stop taking the pills. After five or six years, he fell ill and died of illness."
After listening to it, I couldn't help but nod secretly.
Although I don't know whether Shen Weijing is a member of the Rumor Sect, I am sure that he is definitely not a street person. How can a person who roams the streets deal with many court officials with ease and be calm in front of the great hero Toyotomi Hideyoshi? I am afraid that even ordinary court officials cannot do this, right
Judging from the fact that Shen Weijing was able to hold back Toyotomi Hideyoshi on his own, it is not an exaggeration to say that he was an extraordinary man of his generation, or even a heroic figure.
I am now 80% convinced of Shen Weijing's identity as the successor of the Yao Sect.
Gu Piaoran waited for Ye Jin to finish speaking before slowly swallowing the egg. "In fact, Lord Shen didn't just trick Toyotomi Hideyoshi into eating the elixir. Japanese history calls Lord Shen a fierce general, which shows his reputation at the time. With Lord Shen's ability, it wouldn't be easy for him to cheat some money from Toyotomi Hideyoshi."
At this time, someone couldn't help but ask: "What on earth did Shen Weijing cheat?"
Gu Piaoran said: "Hideyoshi Toyotomi's ambition during his lifetime was to build an Asian empire that included China, India, and Korea. He even dreamed of making Ningbo the capital and moving the Japanese emperor to Beijing."
"Mr. Shen really grasped his psychology and won the trust of Toyotomi Hideyoshi with the secret technique of Feng Shui, and emptied his treasury in a few years. How much gold was there? Even I, the heir of Rumor Sect, can't estimate it!"
I couldn't help but ask, "How many years did you say? Wasn't it Shen Weijing who was imprisoned at that time?"
Gu Piaoran smiled and said, "If the people of Yaomen were so easy to catch, how could Yaomen be so powerful? According to historical records, the Ming general Li Rusong ambushed and captured Lord Shen outside the Japanese military camp. In fact, he only captured a substitute. The real Lord Shen had been staying with Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and he and another disciple of Yaomen were refining elixirs for Toyotomi Hideyoshi and moving his treasury. The place we are going to now is the secret burial place left by Lord Shen."
While Gu Piaoran was talking, I was paying attention to the others. Among the dozen of us, only one or two showed joy after hearing the word "gold", while the others looked normal.
Those people are either old hands who are good at controlling their emotions and never show their emotions, or they just don't care about gold at all.
Gu Piaoran continued, "I invited you all here to open the secret burial, but this is also a life-threatening business, and it can even be said that it is a life-or-death struggle. However, I can guarantee that as long as the secret burial is successfully opened, you will all get what you want. If someone fails, the family members will also receive generous compensation."
At this time, someone spoke up: "I would like to ask, since Mr. Gu has repeatedly claimed that Shen Weijing is a senior of Yaomen, then when he left the secret burial, didn't he leave you a map?"
Gu Piaoran said: "There is a map. But at that time, in addition to Mr. Shen, there were also many Japanese masters of magic who participated in the secret burial. At that time, in order to gain mutual trust, both parties left their own methods. Mr. Shen's map can be trusted at most half, or even less. Besides..."
Gu Piaoran paused and said, "After the Ming Dynasty, the southeast region was also plagued by pirates, and there were many masters of magic among them! According to my investigation, those masters of magic also set up many restrictions outside the secret burial site. Adding all these factors together, it is not an exaggeration to say that the secret burial site is a forbidden place for magic."
Gu Piaoran's words were somewhat credible. If a Taoist master found a secret tomb that was difficult to open, he would not give up easily, but would set up another barrier outside. One purpose was to inform his peers that someone had gotten there first, and the other was to prevent those unruly peers from getting their hands on their prey.
Pirates hide on the sea all year round and are more likely to encounter ghosts than regular merchant ships. Therefore, there are many masters of magic among large-scale pirates, so it is reasonable for them to impose restrictions.
However, what I am interested in now is not the secret burial, but what does Gu Piaoran want to find in the secret burial? (To be continued)