There is no need to mention the various calculations in Tang Cheng's heart.
However, Huo Zhengyuan's expression suddenly changed after hearing Tang Cheng's confession, and he couldn't help but asked in shock: "So... the leader of the grain gang who kidnapped you already knew that I was secretly recruiting the subordinates to serve.
matter?"
Tang Cheng kowtowed again to apologize - he had lost count of how many times he had kowtowed today - and defended in a low voice: "Please forgive me, Master Huo. There is nothing we can do about this villain leaking secrets to him! If
The villain was the only one who was kidnapped at that time. Even if he was tortured and his life was threatened, he would never dare to reveal the secret of your plan!
But the villain was kidnapped together with Ding Wenbo. Ding Wenbo was not as firm and loyal as the villain, and he was also slow to react and not cautious enough. After interrogating the two of us separately, the leader of the grain gang,
Obviously, a flaw has been discovered from Ding Wenbo, and it is already destined that your plan will be completely exposed, so the villain has no choice but to take the initiative to confess everything to him and try his best to win his trust, and then have the opportunity to meet with Huo University.
We will meet again and give you a timely warning."
After Huo Zhengyuan was silent for a moment, he nodded slightly and said: "This matter... I really can't blame you! As you said, under the situation at that time, my follow-up plan was destined to be exposed, so your best choice is to fight for it
The other party trusted me, and then had the opportunity to inform me of this matter, so that I could be alert in advance, minimize losses, and not be taken advantage of by others. Maybe I could also go along with the flow and pass on false information to mislead the other party... If I were to change positions,
I’m afraid this is all I can do.”
After saying that, Huo Zhengyuan raised his hand and said: "Since you made no mistake, there is no need to kneel down and stand up to speak."
Seeing that Huo Zhengyuan did not pursue him, Tang Cheng breathed a sigh of relief. He felt that he had made the right bet on Huo Zhengyuan's character. But on the surface, he was filled with gratitude. After kowtowing and crying his thanks again, he finally stood up, bowed his head and lowered his hands again and asked: "
Then...Master Huo, how should we deal with it now? No matter what your orders are, as long as we can recover the losses as much as possible for you, even if it requires the villain to enter the tiger's den again and meet the terrible leader of the grain gang again, the villain will definitely do it.
Won’t hesitate!”
Because of preconceptions, Tang Cheng had always regarded Jiang Xiao as the leader of the Food Gang, but Huo Zhengyuan was also misled at this time and also regarded Jiang Xiao as a member of the Food Gang.
Therefore, Huo Zhengyuan paced back and forth, thought for a long time, and finally shook his head and sighed, saying: "If the person who kidnapped you is the leader of the Liang Gang, it means that the person behind this matter is Zhou Shoufu! If it were an ordinary opponent,
In this case, I can also pass on various false information to the other party to mislead and use them, but this Zhou Chief Assistant is not easy to trick, I am afraid it will be difficult for me to deceive him...
But fortunately, you only know that I want to recruit a group of lowly people to serve, but you don't know my overall plan. Moreover, the position of Zhou Chief Assistant is similar to mine. He also wants to make arrangements to arrest Jiang Xiao, and then follow the clues to find him.
There is conclusive evidence that the people behind Jiang Xiao are secretly raising dead soldiers, and there is no conflict in their goals...
Therefore, under such circumstances, I can only choose to cooperate honestly with Zhou Shoufu and share part of the benefits with him... That's all. Although it is regrettable that the final income will be greatly reduced, after all, it is still a steady profit, and with Zhou Shoufu
After the full assistance, the chances of winning have also improved a lot..."
After hearing what Huo Zhengyuan said, a gleam of light flashed in Tang Cheng's eyes, and a trace of pride filled his heart again, feeling that he had made the right bet again.
The reason why Tang Cheng chose to support Huo Zhengyuan without any hesitation was not only because Jiang Xiao's various control methods were ineffective against him, but also because it was easier to control power after surrendering to Huo Zhengyuan, but also because - in the midst of the changes in Nanjing, Huo Zhengyuan
It is a party that is based on an invincible position.
Although Tang Cheng still doesn't know who exactly Huo Zhengyuan's various arrangements are intended to deal with, he can also deduce that Huo Zhengyuan has discovered the suspicion of a certain temple big shot, so he wants to find this big shot.
With conclusive evidence of guilt, take the opportunity to overthrow the opponent.
Under such circumstances, Huo Zhengyuan seems to be weak, but he is the one who takes the initiative to attack. At most, his efforts will be in vain and he will return without success, but there is a high probability that there will be no exchange of offense and defense, and he will be beaten upside down.
Even if the offense and defense were exchanged, Huo Zhengyuan's flaw in catching someone failed and he was beaten instead, but Huo Zhengyuan still had the full support of the elder Zhao Junchen in the center of the temple, and he would never collapse casually.
All in all, no matter how the subsequent situation changes, the worst outcome for Huo Zhengyuan is not to win, but there is a high probability that he will not be completely defeated. He can be said to be in an invincible position, so Tang Cheng chooses to side with Huo Zhengyuan, so naturally
You can protect yourself to the greatest extent and reap the benefits.
However, just as Tang Cheng was secretly feeling proud, he suddenly heard someone interjecting, sneering: "But... is the person who kidnapped Mr. Tang really a member of the Liang Gang? The clothes of the Liang Gang members
, it’s easy to get, maybe this identity is just the other party’s disguise!”
When they heard someone interrupting, both Huo Zhengyuan and Tang Cheng's expressions changed.
Among them, Tang Cheng looked a little confused. He didn't expect that besides himself and Huo Zhengyuan, there was another person hiding in the dark and eavesdropping.
Huo Zhengyuan, on the other hand, looked dissatisfied. He turned to look at the window on one side of the room and said coldly: "Brother Hu, if you still don't understand the rules and eavesdrop on my conversation at will, then don't blame me for being rude to you.
It’s time! I don’t have much patience, this is the last warning!”
As Huo Zhengyuan finished speaking, a man opened the window from outside the room, then turned over and entered the room.
After seeing this person, Tang Cheng's expression suddenly changed slightly.
He is short and stocky, with dark complexion and smooth appearance. He has a black mole on the lower right corner of his mouth and a pair of impressive wolf eyes...
Obviously, this man is the target person Jiang Xiao asked him to find.
Of course, Tang Cheng didn't know this person's name at this time - Hu Xiao.
The next moment, Tang Chengcheng changed into a puzzled expression, as if he had no idea about the identity of the person in front of him.
The humble experience during this period not only allowed Tang Cheng to hone his profound skills and wit, but also gave him strong emotional control and demeanor control.
On the other side, after seeing Tang Cheng's reaction, Hu Xiao nodded slightly and murmured: "No wonder, with that person's cautiousness and suspicion, he was able to hide it from you... Hey, in the lowly position,
There are talents too, I underestimated you..."
After muttering to himself, Hu Xiao turned around and bowed to Huo Zhengyuan to apologize, saying: "Please forgive me, Academician Huo, I didn't deliberately eavesdrop on your conversation, I just happened to pass by and overheard it by the way. I can't help it.
People have good ears...
However, it's a good thing that I overheard this conversation, otherwise you might have mistakenly believed the other party's disguise and misjudged the other party's identity! In my opinion, when the other party showed up to kidnap Mr. Tang, although
He is wearing the clothes of the Liang Gang, but he may not be from the Liang Gang, it is most likely just a disguise."
Huo Zhengyuan raised his eyebrows. After Hu Xiao's reminder, he also realized that he had just fallen into a misunderstanding. Just because of Tang Cheng's one-sided words, he believed Tang Cheng's speculation without careful verification. It was indeed easy to misjudge the situation.
Of course, Huo Zhengyuan just didn't think of this for the time being. He has always had a good habit of reviewing situations, so even without Hu Xiao's reminder, he would have discovered such an omission very quickly.
But after all, Hu Xiao alerted Huo Zhengyuan in advance, so after Huo Zhengyuan frowned, he did not continue to investigate Hu Xiao's eavesdropping activities, but just asked: "Then why do you think that the other party is not from the Liang Gang? Is it because you discovered it?
What's the flaw?"
Tang Cheng also quickly echoed: "Yes, the other party kidnapped me and Ding Wenbo within the scope of activities of the grain gang, and wore the clothes of the backbone gang members of the grain gang. When I was in contact with the leader of the grain gang,
, and also conducted many subtle tests, but found nothing suspicious... Various signs indicate that the other party is from the Liang Gang."
Tang Cheng wanted to show off his abilities in front of Huo Zhengyuan, so naturally he was unwilling to admit that his inference was wrong and almost misled Huo Zhengyuan.
Hu Xiao shrugged, his expression seemed relaxed, but there was a hint of solemnity hidden in it, and he said: "I didn't find any flaws or anything suspicious, but... the other party's way of doing things and his personality made me feel an inexplicable feeling.
A feeling of familiarity! What does that line of poetry say? By the way, it takes no effort to find a place even if you step through iron shoes! Perhaps, without our deliberate search and layout, our target has already been found in front of us.
!”
After hearing this, Huo Zhengyuan's eyes lit up, and he turned to Tang Cheng and ordered: "Please tell me in detail how the person pretending to be the leader of the Liang Gang spoke when he interrogated you, and what actions and reactions he had.
Never leave out any detail!”
Seeing Huo Zhengyuan's seriousness, Tang Cheng did not dare to insist on his own opinion. He quickly recounted all the details of his contact with Jiang Xiao, trying his best to restore all the scenes at that time, including all Jiang Xiao's original words.
, or Jiang Xiao’s actions and reactions, they all dare not be missed.
Finally, Tang Cheng concluded: "The man was wearing a mask all the time. I couldn't see his specific appearance and expression changes, so I could only recall these things."
Huo Zhengyuan turned to look at Hu Xiao and asked, "How? Can you confirm his identity?"
Hu Xiao sneered and nodded: "Nine times out of ten, it's Jiang Xiao! Although he deliberately changed his tone and habits, his methods of acting and thinking are completely consistent with Jiang Xiao! What's more, the Liang Gang is a rabble.
Forget it, those leaders of the grain gang are all mediocre and incompetent people. I have deliberately inquired about their character and style, and no one has such means and scheming!
Therefore, the opponent is most likely Jiang Xiao. Apparently he has secretly sneaked back into Nanjing City. He also deduced that I am now hiding under the protection of Academician Huo, so he kidnapped and controlled Mr. Tang to confirm
My inference is correct...
After he confirms my hiding place, he will definitely make a decisive decision and take quick action, or find a way to lure me away from the protection of Academician Huo, or he will lead his dead soldiers to attack this place directly! With his
With his character and style, he can do even the craziest things!"
Hearing that Jiang Xiao might lead his dead men to directly attack his place, Huo Zhengyuan couldn't help but shrink his eyes.
But the next moment, Huo Zhengyuan had regained his composure and said slowly: "But now that we have discovered his whereabouts and plans, some things are easier to operate! Although Jiang Xiao is cautious and ruthless, he is not Zhou Shoufu after all, so we
We can completely push the boat forward and let Tang Cheng contact his men again, send people to secretly track him, find his hiding place, and finally attack him first and round him up with all our strength!"
Hu Xiao quickly added: "That's right! Now is the opportunity in danger. Although Jiang Xiao discovered your arrangement of Master Huo in advance, we also caught his tail in advance! However, Jiang Xiao has always been cautious in doing things.
, it is very likely that we will control more low-ranking people to become informants, we cannot just place our hope on Mr. Tang alone, so we still need to put on a whole show, and we must not let him discover any flaws!"
After Tang Cheng's expression changed slightly for a moment, he gritted his teeth and patted his chest and promised: "Master Huo, just follow your orders! As I said, I am loyal to you and am willing to go to the tiger's den for you again!"
Huo Zhengyuan is good at planning and layout, Hu Xiao is very familiar with Jiang Xiao's style of doing things, and Tang Cheng is very familiar with the specific situation in Nanjing, so these three people have quickly formulated the follow-up plan just by talking to each other.
The general framework of the plan.
*
And just when Huo Zhengyuan and others were following the trend, they changed their follow-up plans.
The other two forces in Nanjing City - the chief minister Zhou Shangjing and the seventh prince Zhu Hejian - also noticed the clues through various signs at this time and became alert.
At 1 o'clock in the morning of this day, in a hidden study in the East Garden, Song Chengren, the head of the Song family, and Zhou Shangjing met again to exchange information. Their expressions were extremely serious. They had been frowning since they sat in front of Zhou Shangjing.
"Shoufu Zhou, something is wrong! Under our arrangement, the Nanjing defenders, government officials, gentry servants, and grain gangs have all been mobilized. We are about to carefully check all suspicious places in Nanjing City.
Once, but so far we have not found the hiding place of the dead soldiers under the Seventh Prince... Whether it is Jiang Xiao who has most likely sneaked back into the city, or the dead soldiers who killed my servants of the Song family in public a few days ago, they are all
No trace found!
Therefore, we must seriously consider the worst case scenario... If we still can't find conclusive evidence that the Seventh Prince is secretly raising dead soldiers after we go to war like this, how should we end it?"
After hearing Song Chengren's inquiry, Zhou Shangjing also had a solemn expression and said slowly: "If that's the case, then... we can only arrange for manpower to search the whole city again!"
Song Chengren's expression changed slightly, but he refuted Zhou Shangjing's opinion in a rare move, shaking his head and saying: "We need to search again? No! It's absolutely impossible! Nanjing is the largest city in our dynasty, with a population of one million, it will definitely not survive
The turmoil and martial law will last longer! In particular, the United Shipping Company is now taking the lead in rioting and protesting. The confrontation between the army and the people has become increasingly fierce. No one knows when an accident will occur and lead to a civil commotion. We all cannot bear it.
Take such responsibility!"
Zhou Shangjing sighed softly and said: "Our search operation this time can be said to be extremely rigorous. If we still cannot find the specific hiding place of the dead soldiers under the Seventh Prince, it means one thing, that is - Nanjing
Some local gangsters in the city are secretly covering up the whereabouts of these dead soldiers and providing them with shelter! Which force do you think is the most suspicious?"
Song Chengren was stunned for a moment, then thought carefully for a moment, slowly shook his head and said: "It can't be the major yamen in Nanjing City, even the Nanjing Guarding Eunuch's Mansion is absolutely impossible! Because these yamen are all covered by our informants and internal agents.
, if they secretly cover up the whereabouts of the dead soldiers under the Seventh Prince, we will not be unaware of it no matter what!
It is unlikely to be the major Jin gentry families in Nanjing! These Jin gentry families have deep roots and are not easily controlled. They all seek advantages and avoid disadvantages. There is no reason to take such risks. Moreover, during our searches in the past few days,
They did not let go of their property, did not encounter any obstacles, and did not find any doubts... In the same way, the suspicion of 'United Shipping Company' is not high...
At the same time, considering that it has only been three months since the Seventh Prince's dead soldiers arrived in Nanjing City, even if they arranged in advance to have backup forces and subdued several local snakes in Nanjing City, it would be impossible for the local snakes under their control to
The strength is too strong, so..."
Having said this, Song Chengren's expression changed slightly again and he said: "Thinking about it this way, the local snakes most likely to protect these dead soldiers are the Nanjing garrison and the grain gang!
Although we have also placed several informants within the Nanjing garrison, these informants are only concentrated around the high-level military attachés of the Nanjing garrison, and the monitoring of the middle and lower-level military attaches is not strong! The Liang Gang is a group of rabble, although Li Bao is
The big boss of the Grain Gang in Nanjing City, but he does not have the ability to completely control the smaller bosses under him!
Whether it is the middle and lower-level military attachés of the Nanjing garrison or the middle- and lower-level leaders of the grain gang, they are all a mixed bag of good and bad, and they can easily be controlled by others! Therefore, if the dead men under the command of the seventh prince control a few local snakes in Nanjing city, they will serve as their backbone.
Hands, those middle and lower-level garrison military attachés and grain gang leaders are obviously the best targets!
At the same time, when we raid the whole city this time, the Nanjing defenders and the grain gang are the main forces, so the properties under the name of the Nanjing defender and the grain gang are most likely to be ignored, or even skipped! As the saying goes
It’s dark under the lamp, and if there are middle- and lower-level military attachés and grain gang leaders who are secretly covering the dead soldiers under the seventh prince’s command, then it will naturally be difficult for us to discover their whereabouts!”
Zhou Shangding nodded and said: "That's right! That's why we need to search the whole city again. But this time, the focus is not to find the specific hiding place of the Seventh Prince's dead soldiers, but to carefully search.
Pay attention to the reaction of the local gangsters in Nanjing City, especially the middle and lower-level garrison attachés and grain gang leaders, and observe whether they behave suspiciously!"
After Song Chengren hesitated for a moment, he finally nodded and said: "If this is the case, this city-wide manhunt will not take too much time, nor will it cause too much noise. I will make arrangements now!"
After saying that, Song Chengren got up and left in a hurry.
Zhou Shangjing looked at Song Chengren's leaving figure with a thoughtful look on his face.
Although Zhou Shangjing did not think there was anything wrong with his judgment, he also vaguely felt that he seemed to have overlooked a certain key point.