At Prince Yong's Mansion in Jingzhao, Lu Wei handed over 1,500 taels of gold to Princess Lu Xiu. The 1,500 taels of gold were nearly 100 kilograms. Lu Wei used three boxes to pack them. The three big boxes were full and very heavy.
He was brought here at night, and the internal guards were responsible for escorting him. This time Chen Qing was also present.
Lu Wei silently handed the gold to the princess. Lu Xiu wrote a receipt to him and signed and stamped it. Lu Wei carefully kept the receipt.
Lu Xiu then asked three female guards to pick up the gold box and follow him back to the inner house. Only Chen Qing and Lu Wei were left in the outer hall.
Lu Wei sighed and said, "I didn't expect them to actually give me two thousand taels of gold."
Chen Qing smiled lightly and said: "If the iron fire thunder is real, it is far more than two thousand taels of gold!"
"What if they find out soon that it's fake?" Lu Wei said worriedly.
Chen Qing smiled and said: "Don't worry! They won't be able to imitate it in less than three years. Just the purity and fineness of the nitrate powder will require them to study for a year or two, not to mention the gunpowder formula, which they know well.
, it’s almost impossible, and there is also the manufacturing process of the iron shell. The thickness of the iron shell is exactly the same everywhere. It is easy to say, but how difficult is it to do it? Our top iron caster spent fifty years.
It took many iron shells to succeed in this one."
Lu Wei suddenly realized, "I understand, if you can't imitate it, then it's not a question of authenticity."
"Not wrong at all!"
"Then what should I do next?" Lu Wei asked worriedly.
"Continue to make excuses with them. You might as well reveal some real secrets to them, but I will tell you what secrets to reveal. My purpose is very simple. There is one lie among ten truths, and it is the most critical lie.
Whether we can win the final victory in the Battle of the Central Plains depends on this lie."
Lu Wei smiled bitterly and said: "My shoulder bones are almost broken by this lie."
Chen Qing chuckled, "I believe it won't be too long, I guarantee you will be freed within this year!"
Lu Wei added: "They want to invite me to dinner at noon tomorrow. They probably want information. What should I reveal?"
Chen Qing was prepared and said with a smile: "Tell them that the Ministry of War is mobilizing warships to the Yellow River and is also recruiting boatmen who are familiar with the Zhengzhou area."
"Ah! This is true. I am mobilizing two hundred thousand-stone ships to go to the Yellow River. I am indeed recruiting boatmen who are familiar with the Zhengzhou area."
"So I tell you, tell one lie among ten truths. Now is the time to tell the truth. As for how much money you want for this information, you decide."
"What can I decide? The money doesn't belong to me anyway." Lu Wei muttered softly.
"What did you say?" Chen Qing's eyes were suddenly as sharp as a knife and he stared at Lu Wei.
Lu Wei's heart trembled, and he was so frightened that he quickly changed his words: "I mean the other party will probably arrange for people to participate in recruiting boatmen."
"You can ask them to arrange one or two. They just want to test whether your words are true."
Speaking of this, Chen Qing's eyes softened again, and he said to Lu Wei: "I don't let you get a penny from the other party, but I am actually protecting you. This is a profound lesson I have learned. At that time, one of my civil servants named Yang Qi was killed by Xixia
You and your current situation are exactly the same. He also sold true and false information to the Xixia people and got a lot of money. I kept half of the money for him. The last information was a hundred taels of silver, and I gave it all to him.
, but I never thought that his heart was corrupted by the money, and later he really became a spy for the Jin Kingdom, and finally died a violent death.
I have learned this lesson and will never let you get a penny of benefit. I also lent you the money to buy your house. Your heart will not be corroded by this kind of money. In the future, when you reach a high position, you will have a clear conscience and no fear.
Do you understand that others use this matter to attack you? Even if you only charge the other party a penny, there will be a stain on you and you will no longer be clean."
Lu Wei was really moved. He nodded silently and said: "I will never charge a penny from the other party!"
Lu Wei said goodbye and left. Chen Qing returned to the inner study, and Lu Xiu brought her husband a cup of tea.
"Still worried about your brother?" Chen Qing said with a slight smile.
Lu Xiu nodded, "Two thousand taels of gold and fifty thousand guan of money. I'm worried that my brother won't be able to bear such temptation. Do you know? He used to be a bastard who specialized in making trouble. Otherwise, he wouldn't have such a good relationship with Lu Xiu.
."
"I know! But I can believe that he will not be tempted by these ill-gotten gains. Sometimes, people who are dissolute in youth will become tough and rational in adulthood. Although this is a minority, Lu Wei is one of them.
."
"My husband thinks so highly of him, hey! It's his blessing."
Chen Qing shook his head, "I don't think highly of him, it's him. How many people can resist the temptation of two thousand taels of gold? But he can do it."
Lu Xiu felt a little ashamed and said, "I understand, I underestimated my brother."
After a pause, Lu Xiu said worriedly: "But. He is very dangerous. Once he is exposed, his life will be in danger. Husband, please let him be shorter! He also has two young children."
Chen Qing pondered for a moment and said: "I will definitely put an end to him within this year. I will let the masters of the inner defense faction protect his safety. I will try to be more considerate and not let him show his weakness."
The next morning, Hu Yanlei hurried back from Mengzhou and presented a complete report to Chen Qing.
Chen Qing flipped through the report and asked, "I heard that there are a lot of undercurrents on the river in the Mengjin area. Didn't you notice it?"
"Reporting to Your Highness, we asked the old boatman, and he said that there is no undercurrent every year, and it has something to do with the sand content of the Yellow River water. If the sand content is large, the undercurrent will come out. Generally, in July and August in the summer, there will be undercurrents on the Loess Plateau.
After several heavy rains, a large amount of sediment will be washed into the Yellow River. The water of the Yellow River will become very turbid, with a large amount of sediment, and undercurrents and vortices will appear. Therefore, they usually appear after July, but rarely before. In spring
Basically none."
"Have you seen Mengjin Pass?" Chen Qing asked again.
"Beizi went up to take a look. The pass is very strong, the city bricks are tightly connected, and the surface is very smooth. Beizi thinks that iron fire thunder cannot exert its power, but kerosene can be used."
"Why is kerosene okay?" Chen Qing asked again.
"There is a large forest over there, stretching for about ten miles. We can cut down hundreds of trees and pile them under the city wall to burn. If the city is closed, no one can stay there, and even the iron gate will be burned by the fire."
Chen Qing pondered for a moment and said: "We can only wait for the actual battle, which will be decided by the commander. Have you gone to Zhengzhou? Can you go ashore there?"
"We went to Zhengzhou and sailed into the Bianhe River from Biankou. The army can disembark in the Bianhe River on a large scale, but it will be more troublesome if the other party sends a large army to block the Bianhe River, and the landing is likely to fail."
Chen Qing smiled and nodded, "Okay! I will take a good look at your report. Also, how are the refugees in Mengzhou?"
Hu Yanlei scratched his head and said: "I don't know what other people say about Beizhong, but according to what I have seen and heard, they live a good life. Most families have income. If they have income, we don't need to provide relief. We only need to provide relief to some lonely elderly people, or
Some widows with children have no labor force to mine coal, and most people can buy Changping grain and cloth. I think the refugee camp is like a county town, with many shops, taverns, teahouses, and grocery stores."
Chen Qing said happily: "It seems that working-for-relief is a good way to reduce our burden and the people themselves are satisfied. It can be said that everyone is happy. Now you go to Counselor Chiang. He is very concerned about the situation in the refugee camps. You will
