People's imagination is always limited to their own knowledge reserves and experiences, and they are completely unable to predict things they have not experienced.
Therefore, everyone has limitations in thinking, even Zhou Shangjing, Zhao Junchen, Emperor Deqing and others are no exception.
And what kind of person is Zhou Shangjing?
He is an example of a civil servant who abides by his duties as a minister. Although he often achieves his own intentions by any means, and often takes the lead in resisting the expansion of imperial power, he has never done anything like raising soldiers to die;
At the same time, he is also a powerful official of the imperial court and a great scholar of the time. He was born in a scholarly family. He entered the officialdom at a young age and has been rising through the ranks for more than fifty years. He is definitely "a scholar who talks and laughs, but no one who comes and goes".
Naturally, there are very few opportunities to come into contact with desperadoes like Jiang Xiao and Hu Xiao, so it is impossible to understand the way of thinking of these desperadoes;
Zhou Shangjing always subconsciously believes that everyone in the world knows how to calculate gains and losses, analyze pros and cons, and will never jump over the wall unless forced. If the interests are huge enough, it is natural to turn mortal enemies into allies.
Zhou Shangjing certainly knows that people like Jiang Xiao and Hu Xiao exist in this world, but when he analyzes the situation, he still subconsciously excludes people like Jiang Xiao and Hu Xiao from the variables.
In comparison, Huo Zhengyuan's situation is better because Hu Xiao is giving him advice, while the situation of the seventh prince Zhu Hejian is better, because Zhu Hejian is not only very familiar with Jiang Xiao's character and temperament, but also personally established "
"Chaofeng" this dead warrior organization.
*
On this day, while Zhou Shangjing and Song Chengren were discussing secretly, in a study room in Zhanyuan, Lu De hurriedly asked to see the seventh prince Zhu Hejian, and reported to Zhu Hejian that Jiang Xiao had led the "Chaofeng" dead soldiers to secretly return to Nanjing.
news.
At this time, unlike Huo Zhengyuan and Zhou Shangjing, Zhu Hejian was still unaware that Jiang Xiao had shown signs of losing control, and the main purpose of secretly sneaking back into Nanjing was to hunt down Hu Xiao and avenge himself.
A few days ago, a group of "Chaofeng" dead soldiers returned to Nanjing City ahead of schedule, but they fought with the pirates under Hu Xiao's command during the riot, causing the death and injury of more than ten Song family servants. Now they are being punished by the Nanjing government.
The whole city is wanted, so the entire "Chaofeng" organization is in danger of being exposed at any time. This is what Zhu Hejian is currently most worried about.
Zhu Hejian thought that Jiang Xiao secretly sneaked back to Nanjing at this time just to follow his orders and properly solve this trouble for himself.
Therefore, after hearing Lu De's report, Zhu Hejian couldn't help but feel a little relieved, but he quickly discovered something was wrong. He stared at Lu De and frowned and asked: "Jiang Xiao can sneak back into Nanjing so quickly.
It's a good thing, but why...he actually passed the message to me through Master Lu? Instead of contacting me directly?"
As soon as Zhu Hejian finished speaking, the long-term eunuch Jia Lun standing behind him asked directly without any cover-up: "Yes, when exactly did Mr. Lu become the link between His Highness and 'Chaofeng'?"
As far as I know, His Highness has never made such an arrangement."
Lu De also seemed to be deeply surprised, shaking his head and saying: "When Jiang Xiao sent people to contact the students, the students were also extremely surprised! Your Highness, you also know that Jiang Xiao had previously forced the students to kill two of your close guards, so that the students
He still has constant nightmares, so the students hate him deeply and don't want to have any contact with him anymore, but Jiang Xiao just keeps his eyes on the students...
According to Jiang Xiao, when His Highness contacted the "Chaofeng" organization in the past, it was mainly through two close guards, Guo Shouzhong and Lu Tong. However, these two people have been silenced now, and His Highness knows about the existence of the "Chaofeng" organization.
There are only a few confidants left, but these confidantes are all under strict surveillance, so Jiang Xiao had no choice but to get in touch with His Highness through his students."
Zhu Hejian still frowned, obviously unwilling to let Lu De become the contact between him and the "Chaofeng" organization.
Lu De's time for seeking refuge with Zhu Hejian was still short. Although he had handed over his wealth and life to Zhu Hejian, Zhu Hejian still did not completely trust him. Naturally, he was unwilling to give Lu De the opportunity to have free access to his core secrets.
But after Zhu Hejian thought about it, he had no choice but to admit that letting Lu De become his contact with the "Chaofeng" organization was the best choice under the current situation.
After all, Lu De had many friends in Nanjing, a very high reputation, and frequent social activities. Jiang Xiao's contact with him through Lu De was also the least likely to be discovered by various forces.
So, Zhu Hejian nodded slightly, reluctantly acknowledging this situation, but still shook his head and said: "In this case, I can only wrong Mr. Lu to temporarily become my contact with the 'Chaofeng' organization. I also know Mr. Lu that you
I don’t like Jiang Xiao, but after the chaos in Nanjing comes to an end, I will definitely choose another person to be the contact person, and will never embarrass Young Master Lu."
Lu De shook his head again and said: "For your highness, although the student hates Jiang Xiao, he is willing to compromise for the time being! But the student's point of view remains unchanged. Your highness will soon be the crown prince, so whether it is a desperate man like Jiang Xiao,
A disciple, or a dead warrior organization like ‘Chaofeng’, it’s best to completely cut off the relationship as soon as possible!”
Hearing Lu De's words, Zhu Hejian's doubts eased slightly, he smiled and nodded and said: "Don't worry, Mr. Lu, I know what's going on."
*
Lu De knew very well that if he wanted to become Zhu Hejian's confidant in the shortest possible time, the best way was to take the opportunity to become the contact between Zhu Hejian and the "Chaofeng" organization;
And if you want to successfully become a contact person of the "Chaofeng" organization, the best way is to clearly express your disgust and rejection of the "Chaofeng" organization.
The more Lu De hates and rejects the "Chaofeng" organization, the more Zhu Hejian will trust Lu De and let Lu De become his contact with the "Chaofeng" organization, because Lu De will never be among the "Chaofeng" dead soldiers
With prestige and goodwill, he will only become a pure messenger and will check and balance with Jiang Xiao. This is also the situation that Zhu Hejian hopes to see the most.
After the chaos in Nanjing settled, Lu De had proven his reliability and loyalty as an intermediary contact. It was definitely not easy for Zhu Hejian to choose another loyal and reliable contact, and everyone had gradually become accustomed to it.
Lu De's contact person...
Then, with just a few tricks, Lu De could successfully become a regular contact between Zhu Hejian and the "Chaofeng" organization, and would have frequent access to Zhu Hejian's core secrets.
On the surface, Lu De repeatedly suggested that Zhu Hejian should abandon the "Chaofeng" organization as soon as possible, but Lu De also knew very well that a person of Zhu Hejian's temperament would never give up the sharp blade of the "Chaofeng" organization easily.
*
Zhu Hejian was not aware of Lu De's calculation. After he comforted Lu De, he asked again: "After Jiang Xiao sent someone to contact you, in addition to showing that he has successfully sneaked back to Nanjing City, what else can he do?
Is there anything more I can convey to you?"
Lu De nodded and said: "Jiang Xiao asked the students to tell His Highness that he hopes that Your Highness can exert influence to extend the martial law period of the Nanjing government for two days, and also find ways to further restrict the movement authority of the Nanjing government and the Nanjing defenders.
...It seems that he wants to keep the current chaos in Nanjing so that he can take advantage of the chaos and fish in troubled waters."
While speaking, Lu De took out another secret letter from his arms and handed it to Zhu Hejian, and said: "In addition, Jiang Xiao also asked the students to hand over this secret letter to His Highness, which is obviously a more important secret.
, but are unwilling to let students know the inside story."
After Zhu Hejian got the secret letter, he first quickly checked the envelope and found no signs of opening. Then he opened the envelope and read the contents of the secret letter, only to find that the contents of the secret letter were divided into three paragraphs.
Only a dozen words.
They are "Nine of Thirteen", "East of the Hidden Dragon on the Fifteenth", and "Kill them all to avoid future troubles".
The meaning of these three paragraphs of text cannot be understood by outsiders at all. They are the code words agreed upon during the secret contact between Zhu Hejian and Jiang Xiao.
Zhu Hejian mastered the rules of deciphering these code words and immediately understood the true content that Jiang Xiao wanted to convey.
The so-called "nine of thirteen" refers to the unitary hour in the evening the day after tomorrow;
The so-called "Fifteen miles east of Qianlong" refers to the location fifteen miles west of Zhanyuan;
The so-called "kill everything to avoid future troubles" has a very simple and straightforward meaning, which means killing everyone.
Thinking of the current situation in Nanjing City, Zhu Hejian quickly understood Jiang Xiao's follow-up plan.
At this moment, a group of "Chaofeng" dead soldiers are being hunted by the Nanjing government, and Jiang Xiao wants to cover these "Chaofeng" dead soldiers and let them escape Nanjing as soon as possible, but there are variables in this mission.
If there are too many, if you are unlucky and operate improperly, it may be counterproductive, and these "chaofeng" dead soldiers will be completely exposed and be surrounded by all forces in Nanjing.
In order to prevent this worst-case scenario from happening, Jiang Xiao hoped that the Seventh Prince Zhu Hejian could set up an ambush fifteen miles west of Zhanyuan at midnight the day after tomorrow.
Once the group of "Chaofeng" dead soldiers who are wanted by the Nanjing officials are unable to escape smoothly and leave Nanjing City, but are completely exposed, Jiang Xiao will instruct them to flee immediately to a location fifteen miles west of Zhanyuan.
Let all these "Chaofeng" dead soldiers die in Zhu Hejian's ambush!
At that time, there will naturally be no evidence of death. No one can trace the existence of the "Chaofeng" organization through the bodies of these "Chaofeng" dead soldiers, and it is even impossible to follow the clues and find evidence that the Seventh Prince Zhu Hejian secretly raised the dead soldiers.
In short, it is to abandon the pawn to save the car, cut off the tail to survive, and nip the danger in the bud.
After thinking about Jiang Xiao's follow-up plan, Zhu Hejian couldn't help but nodded slightly, fully agreeing with Jiang Xiao's plan, and believed that Jiang Xiao was indeed acting cautiously, thinking about defeat before thinking about victory, and had already anticipated it before taking actual actions.
The response to the worst-case scenario is indeed foolproof.
However, Zhu Hejian is an extremely perceptive person. Just as he nodded in agreement, he suddenly became alert and realized something was wrong!
In Zhu Hejian's impression, Jiang Xiao has always been reliable in doing things, and he has always been hands-on when performing tasks. Unless he encounters a last resort situation, he will never ask Zhu Hejian for additional support!
But this time, Jiang Xiao took the initiative to ask Zhu Hejian for help and wiped his ass for the end. This approach was obviously not in line with Jiang Xiao's usual style.
What's more, once the worst-case scenario is encountered, soldiers must be abandoned to save the car to avoid future troubles. Then why can't Jiang Xiao do it himself to get rid of those "Chaofeng" dead soldiers who exposed their whereabouts? Instead, Zhu Hejian needs to do it for him?
If Jiang Xiao does it himself, whether poisoning or using a knife, it will be easier, faster, with fewer variables, and it will not easily arouse suspicion from both the government and the opposition. Obviously, there are more benefits. Why does Jiang Xiao still want Zhu Hejian to do it himself?
Take action?
When Zhu Hejian stepped in to do the work, what was Jiang Xiao doing? Was he just hiding nearby and watching?
Or... taking advantage of the opportunity that attracted the attention of all the forces in Nanjing City, Jiang Xiao wanted to take the opportunity to do other things?
Thinking of this, Zhu Hejian frowned again, feeling that Jiang Xiao's arrangement was quite suspicious.
After thinking for a long time, Zhu Hejian raised his head and asked Lu De again: "When Jiang Xiao sent people to contact you, did he reveal more information to you? For example, when he sneaked back to Nanjing, how many 'mockers' did he bring with him?
Is Feng's dead man accompanying him? Where is he hiding now? And how should I contact him?"
Lu De shook his head and said: "Students don't like Jiang Xiao, and Jiang Xiao probably doesn't like students either, so he didn't reveal any more information to the students. The students didn't know how many 'Chaofeng' dead soldiers he had accompanying him, nor did they know
His current hiding place, and his contact information are even less clear... Jiang Xiao is just informing students that he will proactively contact them when necessary."
Zhu Hejian's brows furrowed more and more, feeling more and more suspicious.
Jiang Xiao did not leave any contact information, which meant that until the two parties completely restored contact, all the "Chaofeng" dead soldiers would completely obey Jiang Xiao alone, and Zhu Hejian had no chance to interfere.
Thinking of this, Zhu Hejian's seemingly delicate face could not help but flash a hint of sinisterness.
Although Zhu Hejian did not think that Jiang Xiao would betray him, he had always been suspicious and ruthless, and the various suspicious things Jiang Xiao had shown so far were enough for Zhu Hejian to arrange backup plans to nip the problem in the bud.
Therefore, Zhu Hejian calmed Lu De again with a normal expression, and then found a reason to let Lu De leave the study temporarily.
After Lu De left the study, Zhu Hejian's expression suddenly changed. He was unprecedentedly dark and sinister, and his tone was particularly cold. He turned to Jia Lun and ordered: "Send a message to Nanjing's eunuch Xi Cheng and ask him to immediately summon all factories in Nanjing.
Guards, prepare your swords, guns, bows and crossbows, and be ready to take action at any time!... I have a bad feeling in my heart. If the worst happens, I may have to abandon the car to protect the commander!"