Ji Jie sent out a signal, and the Sima family's contact person in South Korea came immediately.
According to the request, they will rush to Dazhou at starry night with Ji Jie's handwritten letter and Han Fei's master and servant, taking advantage of the fact that no one knows his plan yet, lest the Koreans control Han Fei after his identity is exposed.
The person in charge of the Sima family in South Korea is named Sima Longteng. He smiled and said to Ji Jie: "I have received a letter from the head of the family and was ordered to set up a secret service. I didn't expect that the first task would be to serve the king. I am so honored. ah!"
Ji Jie smiled faintly and said, "Thank you for your hard work on this trip. Make sure you send Mr. Han to Dazhou safely!"
The handwritten letter not only stated that Han Fei had come to Zhaocheng to explain things properly, but also asked Zhao Qian to stop his stuttering. Ji Jie did not want his Minister of Justice to be a stuttering guy in the future.
Originally, he wanted Chen Yao to go back with him, but she just didn't agree and insisted on following, so he had to give up.
After arranging these, the two of them can go on the road with peace of mind.
The journey to Xinzheng, the capital of South Korea, went smoothly. On the way, Ji Jie learned in detail about the customs and the thoughts of the people here. The people spoke highly of Zhao Wenjun, and they all opposed the Three Jin Alliance's use of troops against the Great Zhou Dynasty.
"You are the first person from another country to have such a high opinion among the people of your own country!" Chen Yao's tone revealed an unconcealable pride.
"Haha, I didn't expect that either!" Ji Jie smiled and then sighed: "It's a pity that your Majesty the King of Han cannot listen to the voices of the people. To be honest, if he hadn't kept saying If you attack the Zhou Dynasty, I will help you Korea, just like I helped the Yan Kingdom!"
"Really?" Chen Yao said meaningfully: "How did I hear that you were willing to help because you fell in love with someone else's eldest princess? By the way, what's the name of that eldest princess... Oh, I remembered, her name is Ji Lin, I heard she is a beautiful woman with Hun ancestry!"
"How come you know everything!" Ji Jie was a little embarrassed, and quickly clamped the horse's belly, trying to run to the front.
Chen Yao showed no signs of weakness. Her riding skills were not outstanding and Ji Jie couldn't get rid of her at all.
Ahead is Xinzheng City, a fairly majestic city. Unfortunately, this city has been besieged by enemy countries many times in history. I don’t know whether it was due to the incompetence of the successive Korean kings or the bad Feng Shui here.
There are still traces of war on the city wall. Chen Yao said: "There are hundreds of thousands of people in the city. The Han Palace is located in the center of the city. Most of the ministers live in the north of the city. 20,000 city defenders are stationed in the south and west of the city. In addition, two people are stationed in the east of the city. There is also a military camp ten miles away, with about 20,000 troops stationed there. It is mainly responsible for the training of the new army, and it is also used to defend the capital during war."
Before coming to South Korea, Ji Jie identified the first person he was looking for, Prince Han Han An.
Although Ji Jie and Han An have never met, they have been "spiritual friends" for a long time. Zhao Qian was originally going to marry him as the crown princess, but was snatched away by Ji Jie to become his wife. This made Han An He felt that he had lost face. He was laughed at, so he cursed several times and wanted to kill Ji Jie with his own hands.
But if that's the case, why would Ji Jie still look for him? Isn't that just throwing himself into a trap?
No, as the saying goes, there are no eternal enemies and no permanent friends, only eternal interests.
At this time, Han An could not firmly sit on the throne of the crown prince. In order to oust him, several of his brothers used all kinds of tricks. It can be said that they did everything possible. King Han Hui turned a blind eye to this. One eye.
This is one of the policies of King Han Hui. His sons focused all their attention on competing for the crown prince's position, so no one wanted to take the throne. Furthermore, a person's strength can be shown more in the competition. ability, he also wanted to know which son was more suitable to inherit the throne.
As long as they don't make any big mistakes, then let's go ahead and cause trouble.
Of course, there is a bottom line. If anyone dares to kill his brother, King Han Hui will not show mercy. Therefore, the sons have been arguing for so long, but nothing serious has happened. They usually focus on intrigues.
Han An knew very well that as long as he had the title of prince on his head, he would be the target of public criticism. His brothers who had their own evil intentions would not hesitate to join forces, and he must be cautious, otherwise if he makes a mistake, he will be punished. There is a possibility of being demoted.
The ministers of the DPRK and China each chose their own supporters. In terms of a single contest, no prince was Han An's opponent. But then again, it was difficult for two fists to defeat four hands. When those people unite, what will happen? The scale began to tilt towards each other.
After listening to Ji Jie's explanation, Chen Yao suddenly realized and said, "You want to use Han An's eagerness to keep his position as crown prince as an entry point to force him to submit, right?"
"Yao Yao's wife is smart!" Ji Jie said with a smile, "That's it!"
"Are you going to meet him directly as Zhao Wenjun? That would be a bit dangerous!"
"Of course not!" Ji Jie has already made up his mind. He will pretend to be a businessman to meet Han An in the name of giving gifts, and will reveal his identity when the time is right.
At the gate of the city, a group of disheveled soldiers blocked their way. One of them shouted: "For outsiders, if you want to enter the city, you have to pay a poll tax!"
"What, poll tax? I've never heard of it!" Chen Yao said angrily: "When did the poll tax start? Why do you do it?"
"That's it!" The man took out a yellow notice and said: "His Majesty the King of Han has issued an order. In order to meet the urgent need to collect money and food for the army, a poll tax will be levied on all outsiders entering and leaving the city from now on. , all must pay taxes! Not only people, but also goods entering and leaving must pay taxes!"
"How can you be sure that we are from outside?" Chen Yao refused to admit defeat.
The man sneered, pointed at a commoner who was leaving the city and said, "Have you seen it? Those who are covered with a red city stamp are locals, and those who are not covered are outsiders. Stop talking nonsense and get your money quickly, otherwise you will never get in!" "
Korea is really decadent to the extreme. The King of Korea can actually come up with such a bad idea. The monarchs of other countries would like foreigners to settle in the country. Only when the population increases can various taxes and military resources be guaranteed. Even if they cannot stay With these foreign population, they can also drive the commercial development of the city, so why not do it.
But the King of Han decided to risk the disapproval of the world and impose heavy taxes on foreigners and goods. Was his brain kicked by a donkey?
However, there was really no need to argue with these ruffians. Ji Jie asked: "Tell me how much it costs!"
"One ingot of silver per person!" the soldier ruffian hummed.
"What?" Chen Yao was on the verge of getting angry.
Ji Jie quickly pulled her sleeves, winked, then took out two silver coins and handed them to the soldier with a smile.
One ingot of silver is enough to feed an ordinary family for half a year. These people are really big mouths. Fortunately, it is just a head tax. If it is a businessman with goods, I don't know how much money they will be cheated!
This episode did not affect Ji Jie's good mood. In his opinion, the more stupid the King of Han was, the easier it would be to complete this mission. Find an inn to stay in, and then prepare to meet the prince.
Since it was a gift, one should not be too stingy with it. When Ji Jie sent the gift list to the butler of the Prince's Mansion, the butler only took one look at it and hurriedly sent it to Han An.
Then, he was led by the housekeeper to the back garden and met Han An who was admiring the flowers.
"Little man Jijie, meet His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!" Ji Jie bowed to the ground, and the pseudonym Jijie came in handy again.
"Mr. Ji, there is no need to be polite. Please sit down and serve some nice tea!" The reason why Han An was so polite to him was not just for the sake of those expensive gifts.
Ji Jie sat down and Han An asked: "What kind of business does sir do? It must be very big, right?"