At dusk, a group of messenger knights came to Dugu Ming's mansion after a long journey. By coincidence, Dugu Lie happened to be discussing family affairs with Dugu Ming in the back hall.
At this time, the housekeeper said in the hall: "Master, a team of messengers came from outside the house. They said they were coming from Chengdu to deliver a letter to His Highness King Qi."
Dugu Ming nodded, "Please, the leader, please wait in the living room. I'll be right away!"
When Dugu Lie heard the news about his son-in-law, he said: "Third brother, you go first! See if there is anything important."
"Brother, sit down for a moment. I'll be back as soon as I go."
Dugu Ming stood up and soon came to the living room in the atrium. The leader of the messenger came forward and knelt down on one knee to salute, "Liu Yu, a humble official, is the military commander of His Majesty the King of Qi. On His Majesty's order, I am delivering a letter to the Consort.
"
With that said, Liu Yu presented a letter to Dugu Ming. Dugu Ming took it and looked at it. Sure enough, it was Li Ye's personal letter.
Dugu Ming asked again: "Does Colonel Liu have any other messages?"
Liu Yu bowed and said, "I brought fifty of my subordinates here with me. Not only did they deliver the letter, they also brought fifteen large boxes, which are just outside the mansion. His Highness said that the box is very important. Please keep it safe!"
Dugu Ming quickly asked the housekeeper to collect the box first.
Not long after, the housekeeper came back and reported, "Sir, the boxes have been collected. There are fifteen large boxes in total, and the seals are intact!"
Dugu Ming nodded and ordered the steward: "Take Lieutenant Liu and his men to rest, treat them well, and reward each of them with ten taels of silver!"
"Thank you, Prince Consort, for the reward!"
The housekeeper took Captain Liu Yu away, and Dugu Ming hurried to the back hall and handed the letter to Dugu Lie.
Dugu Ming did not open the letter. He gave the letter to his elder brother to read first. After all, Li Ye was his elder brother's son-in-law, otherwise his elder brother would feel uncomfortable.
Dugu Lie smiled slightly and said: "We are all brothers, so it doesn't matter. I guess Aye needs your help."
Dugu Ming smiled and said: "It is one thing to grab this piece of fat meat from Bashu into a bowl, but it is another thing to swallow it comfortably. Civil and military strategies are indispensable!"
Dugulie opened the letter and read it, nodded and smiled: "He really wanted to swallow the meat comfortably. The letter said that he had annihilated Li Lin's army and captured Li Lin's family. The next step is
We have negotiated with the court, you can see for yourself!"
He handed the letter to Dugu Ming again, and Dugu Ming hurriedly read the letter with a hint of embarrassment on his face.
"Brother, Aye wants me to go find Li Fuguo again, but I'm really reluctant!"
Dugu Lie nodded, "I guess Ye'er won't be willing either, but those who want to do big things have to do some things even if they don't want to."
Dugu Ming sighed, "Of course I can understand it, but is one hundred thousand taels of gold too much?"
Dugu Lie smiled slightly and said: "This is not rice. It will be gone when you eat it. It is just temporarily stored in the private treasury of Li Fuguo and others. Sooner or later, the house will be ransacked and they will come back. Aye will never let them go."
After a pause, Dugu Lie continued: "Aye also mentioned fifteen boxes of calligraphy and paintings. What does that mean?"
"That was what Aye used to bribe the emperor. It is probably a treasure left by the emperor. It has been delivered."
Dugu Ming hurriedly went to the door and gave instructions. Not long after, the housekeeper led a group of servants to carry fifteen large boxes into the inner hall, and everyone retreated.
There were seals on the boxes, and they were all complete. It was difficult for Dugu Ming to open, but there was another box, which should be a catalog, but there were also seals on the box. Dugu Ming picked up the box, looked at it, and said to Dugu Lie: "I guess
That's right, they are all hidden in Fanglin Pavilion, the Supreme Emperor's treasure."
Dugu Lie raised his eyebrows, "Isn't that the authentic work of Wang Xizhi and his son?"
Dugu Ming nodded, "There should be five authentic works by Wang Xizhi and his son, as well as works by Gu Kaizhi, Lu Tanwei and Zhang Sengyao. I remember that there are 333 calligraphy and painting collections in Fanglin Pavilion. It is easier to remember.
They should all be in these fifteen big boxes."
Dugu Lie said with a smile: "In order to swallow this fat piece of Bashu, Aye racked his brains and went to any lengths!"
Dugu Ming smiled slightly and said: "You bribed the emperor and bribed the eunuchs, but did not give any benefits to the civil servants. Don't you think this is dividing the relationship between the emperor and the courtiers?"
Dugu Lie nodded, "Yes, but the courtiers will not have any objections to the emperor, and will only focus all their hatred on the eunuchs."
"Leave those fifteen boxes of calligraphy and paintings to my eldest brother. Let me hand them over to the Emperor! I will be in charge of the Eunuch Party."
Dugu Lie said happily: "I will find an opportunity to send it to the emperor tomorrow and the day after tomorrow."
At noon the next day, Dugu Ming got news about the housekeeper, and Li Fuguo asked him to come over and talk.
He sent someone to send a greeting card last night, but Li Fuguo was on duty in the palace and did not go last night. He is probably back now.
This is actually more subtle. Li Fuguo had a feud with the Dugu family. Previously, the eunuch party wanted to plot the property of the Dugu family. The two sides fought fiercely. However, because Li Ye took action, the eunuch party failed.
The relationship between the two parties has always been tense. Now that Dugu Ming suddenly wants to visit, it must be related to the incident in Bashu. Li Fuguo understood this and asked Dugu Ming to come over and talk about it.
Dugu Ming immediately took a carriage to Li Fuguo's mansion.
Li Fuguo's mansion was the former Gao Lishi's mansion, located in Yishanfang. As Gao Lishi's power became a thing of the past, his mansion was occupied by the upstart Li Fuguo.
The carriage stopped in front of the mansion, and Dugu Ming was welcomed in by the housekeeper.
The Plum Blossom Guards in Chang'an have spies everywhere, and public visits between officials like this will definitely be monitored and recorded by the Plum Blossom Guards.
However, the Plum Blossom Guard is controlled by Li Fuguo. When Dugu Ming comes to visit, he will naturally not be monitored by the Plum Blossom Guard.
Dugu Ming came to the guest hall and sat down. Not long after, Li Fuguo, wearing white Zen clothes, walked in with a smile.
"I'm sorry, I was not at home last night, so I made Dugu Prince Consort wait all day."
Dugu Ming also stood up and said with a smile: "Li Changshi is busy with his affairs, and I am too embarrassed to disturb him."
The two of them took their seats respectively. Li Fuguo smiled and said: "We are all pragmatic people. If you have anything to do with Dugu Prince Consort, please tell me directly."
"I am here to visit on behalf of King Qi. King Qi wants to make a deal with Li Changshi."
"But it has something to do with Bashu?" Li Fuguo asked calmly.
"Exactly!"
Li Fuguo nodded, "The deal can be done, the key is the price. Dugu Prince Consort also understands my style of doing things. I don't like bargaining. Dugu Prince Consort, please tell me the sincerity of King Qi's fixed price. If the price is in place, this deal will be done."
If you can’t accept it, I won’t accept the price increase either. Let’s cooperate next time, okay?”
Dugu Ming also understood Li Fuguo's habit of always offering a fixed price. It was not him who quoted the price, but the price quoted by the person who asked him for services. If the price was lower, he would kick you out directly. If you wanted to increase the price, you would have no chance. In this way,
This would cause people who asked him to do things to have to quote a high price, and Li Fuguo would certainly not suffer a loss.
Dugu Ming said slowly: "One hundred thousand taels of gold, His Highness the King of Qi wants Jiannan Road and Shannan West Road."
Li Fuguo's eyelids twitched, "Gold?"
Dugu Ming nodded, "Yes, one hundred thousand taels of gold!"
Li Fuguo's eyes suddenly became enthusiastic, he gave a thumbs up and praised: "His Royal Highness King Qi is so courageous, let's make a deal!"
