Wu Cheng thought for a while and said: "Hiding people is not a matter of a day or two, so I definitely won't hide them in the meadows and woods. They will probably hide them in a house somewhere."
There are many houses in Nanyuan. There are thousands of government offices, duty houses and villages alone. There are also hundreds of vacant or abandoned official rooms and temples scattered inside.
"If it were me, I would hide people in temples."
Most of the settlements are abandoned, and most of them are now inhabited by lawless eunuchs. Hiding in them is not conducive to keeping secrets secret, and it is easy to cause trouble.
In the government office, there are many people on duty, and most of the soldiers on duty are local gangsters, so it is easy to leak information. Therefore, people will not be hidden.
"...The most likely place is the temple in Nanyuan."
"Yuanling Palace?" Li Rufeng shook his head, "That's a palace built by imperial decree. It's not far from the Dahongmen. Eunuchs often come and go in the palace. If a cat catches a mouse, even the capital will know how to hide people.
?”
"The chief escort doesn't know something. In addition to Yuanling Palace, there are more than ten temples and palaces inside! You only know the most famous ones."
Li Rufeng knew this for the first time and said in surprise: "No one can enter here except the royal family and relatives. What do the monks and Taoists in the temple eat?"
"Originally, I was a member of the official family." Wu Chengdao, "It's just that the emperor doesn't go to the garden, and life there is quite difficult. It's been abandoned a lot. It's the safest way to hide people inside."
He listed the temples and temples in the garden one by one: Guangdi Temple, Seven Saints Temple, Earth Temple, Zhenwu Temple, Dragon Temple, Yaowang Temple, Dragon King Temple, Horse Temple, Ksitigarbha Temple, Bodhisattva Temple, etc.
.If you count carefully, there are probably more than 20 of them. They were all built one after another by the government.
"This is too much." Li Rufeng frowned, not to mention whether people are there or not. Even if they are, these temples are scattered throughout Nanyuan. It will take a lot of effort to search them all. After a long time, the ticket collectors will definitely be alarmed.
people.
"...Most of these temples have no abbots, not even monks or Taoists. If you want to hide the population, wouldn't it be very inconvenient to have no one to live in?"
Li Rufeng stared at Wu Cheng for a moment and said, "Old Wu, I think you are a very dishonest Taoist priest."
"The tricks of the Jianghu are just like this. Even if you don't enter this gate, you will understand it after seeing more." Wu Chengdao, "Looking at it this way, there are only five temples where you can hide. The most likely place is the 'Ningyou Temple'."
Ningyou Temple is the Earth Temple. It was built to "sacrifice the God of Earth in Haizi". If it is in the countryside, it is just a masonry shrine on the roadside, and the only thing that is exquisite is a couple of houses. The Earth Temple in Nanyuan is
They are quite different. There are three couplets on the mountain gate, three couplets on the main hall, five couplets on the apse, and three couplets on the east and west side halls. It is very grand.
Because it is a Tutu Temple, and the Taoist priest who presides over it was originally a eunuch in the palace, so he can still receive some money and rice from the palace leader every month for maintenance. Its location is not far from the Eagle Terrace, and it is in a remote place, so no one goes there.
, but the transportation is very convenient.
"There are also several other temples possible. But Ningyou Temple has the best location."
"Sure, let's start the investigation from Ningyou Temple!"
"How many days has it been since we invited Elder Leng here?" Zhou Lezhi suddenly asked.
Liu Zhao was stunned and said vaguely: "It's been almost half a month."
"It's been twenty days." Zhou Lezhi patted his palms with a fan and frowned, "Have you sent the follow-up letter?"
"Already sent."
"Why is there still no news at all? Could it be that they don't want Elder Leng anymore?" Zhou Lezhi's eyebrows showed a little anxiety.
"Guanshan is obstructed, and transportation is time-consuming and laborious. This guy surnamed Wu doesn't dare to make the decision. He has to ask Lingao for instructions before he can make a decision. What's more, this matter is of great importance. The thief Kun may even send someone to take charge of the overall situation. He will come and go.
It will take more than half a month. If this matter can be resolved within two months, it will be considered fast." Liu Zhao comforted him.
Zhou Lezhi reluctantly nodded. Geographical isolation is always a big problem, not to mention the inefficient system of the Australians. Major political affairs cannot be "dictated by saints" and must be discussed and voted by everyone. Topics such as peace talks should not be discussed for more than ten years.
I'm afraid there won't be any results for half a month.
Although the master has said many advantages of this kind of group discussion and decision-making, in Zhou Lezhi's view, the internal friction of the thief is extremely serious. If it were not for this weird group discussion system, but there was an "emperor" or "power minister", they would probably
We have already reached Jiangnan. Speaking of which, this is also a blessing for the Ming Dynasty.
"Sir, tell me, can this traitor agree to negotiate for peace?" Liu Zhao was quite worried.
"About 60% sure." Zhou Lezhi said, "The status of the elders is extremely noble, not comparable to that of nobles and powerful officials. As long as Leng Ningyun is in hand, they have to be afraid of three points, even if they are perfunctory, they have to show off."
"But……"
"Yes, as far as the imperial court is concerned, this is just hanging on for a while. However, as long as we can survive for a while, things may turn around. There is a fierce internal partisanship among the thieves, and anything can be used to attack each other. Leng Ningyun's matter does not matter.
How it will end in the end, I'm afraid the Senate will not understand it if we don't quarrel for seven days and seven nights." Zhou Lezhi smiled contemptuously, "As far as I know, there are quite a lot of people among the bandits who are unwilling to go to war with the imperial court and want to go to Southeast Asia to plunder their children's treasures.
. Now that Leng Ningyun has been arrested, it is a perfect excuse for them. It is also uncertain whether they will turn around."
"Is this really happening?" Liu Zhao asked in surprise.
Zhou Lezhi nodded: "This is absolutely true. Moreover, although the Kun thieves captured the territory of Guangdong and Guangxi, they spent countless material and financial resources. The military and civilian power has reached its limit, so the discussion of going south is top of mind."
"It is not an exaggeration to say that the current situation of the imperial court is besieged on all sides. However, the imperial court's decrees can still be extended in all directions. If there is a chance to breathe, and there are capable people in the court joining the cabinet, there may be another chance."
"You are right, could it be Mr. Zhang who came to visit me a few days ago?"
"Of course it's him." Leng Ningyun said, "Although Mr. Zhang doesn't hold any official position, his power is no less than that of cabinet ministers. Even our Prime Minister Wen must be polite when seeing him."
"Wen Xiang also means to caress."
"Yes, it's just that he didn't dare to express his position like this." Zhou Lezhi said, "The person he wants to caress the most is probably the emperor himself, but he himself is determined not to say it."
"Why don't we just ask Prime Minister Wen to contact several ministers and submit a letter together?"
"Prime Minister Wen doesn't dare," Zhou Lezhi said. "This matter would hurt the court's face too much. Prime Minister Wen has made many enemies in the court over the years. If he were to write a letter to negotiate for peace, he would probably be drowned in the spit of the court! But the emperor..."
He did not continue, but Liu Zhao knew what he meant. He thought for a while and said: "This is not necessarily the case. For seven years since Prime Minister Wen has been in the cabinet, the emperor has tried his best to defend him regardless of court discussions. Everyone said that the emperor was 'suffering from the plague'.
"
"This time is different from the past. Now Wen Xiang's position is not stable." Zhou Lezhi said, "If Wen Xiang is no longer careful, I am afraid that this position of first and second aid will not be achieved next year."
Although Liu Zhao was used to his predictions, his understatement already made him feel in awe - because Mr. Zhou's words had never failed in dealing with major events in the court over the years.
"In that case, who else can propose to caress Kun?"
"It doesn't matter who proposes it. The key is that there must be enough support in the court to suppress the main fighting faction. There must also be ministers in the palace who can safeguard the peace talks in front of the emperor - tell me, is this difficult?"
"Doesn't this mean we have to deal with the powerful officials in the palace?"
"That's right." Zhou Lezhi smiled.
"Sir, you have to do what others cannot do." Liu Zhao flattered him.
Zhou Lezhi smiled faintly. He knew that his status in Wang Yehao Group has been rising over the years - the reason is simply that he can understand the "Heavenly Book" left by his master. Speaking of which, the actions Mr. Wang is taking now are somewhat similar to the "Heavenly Book"
"It is related to the content of the prophecy above.
The Ming Dynasty building will collapse. Once it falls, it will not be a change of dynasty, but the end of China.
But this cannot be explained clearly to people like Liu Zhao. They are just tools. If you explain it too clearly, it scares them.
Liu Zhao said: "If the thieves take the initiative to propose peace, the court's face will also be taken into consideration. Even if the conditions are higher, the emperor will not be unable to accept it."
"exactly."
While chatting, a young man suddenly ran in and whispered a few words in Liu Zhao's ear. Liu Zhao was stunned and asked, "Really?"
Zhou Lezhi knew that this young man was Xu Yong, a disciple of Liu Zheng, who was born as an orphan. He always followed his master, and only stayed in the capital when he went to other places.
Xu Yong nodded, then bowed and retreated.
"What's the matter?" Zhou Lezhi asked with concern. Liu Zheng is now the commander-in-chief of the operation, and every move he makes is related to success or failure.
"Liu Zhao didn't send anyone to deliver the letter." Liu Zhao said worriedly.
After Liu Zhao went to Tongzhou, he would send someone to the capital once every three days to deliver messages, exchange information with Liu Zhao, and coordinate actions.
Today is the day to send letters. It is only forty miles from Tongzhou to the capital, and those with fast feet can call back in one day. The messenger sets off in the morning on horseback and can reach the contact point in the capital before noon.
It was now past noon, but the messenger had not arrived.
"Could it be that the messenger was delayed on the way..." Zhou Lezhi said.
"These days, the messenger arrives before noon every time." Liu Zhao was a little worried. "From the capital to Tongzhou is the thoroughfare at the foot of the emperor, so there will be nothing wrong with traveling in broad daylight."
After saying this, Zhou Lezhi also became a little confused. Liu Zheng was a very cautious person and would never change the agreed things easily.
"I know Brother Liu, he is the most cautious in dealing with things." Zhou Lezhi said, "It's just that there are some flaws in his recent actions. I'm worried..."
"I will immediately send someone from Beijing to Tongzhou to make inquiries along the way."
"Is it too late?"
"Go on horseback. We will definitely reach Tongzhou before nightfall!" Liu Zhao said, "Send two more people to go on foot to see if the people in front are missing. But they are too late to reach Tongzhou in the evening, so they will stay halfway and continue the journey tomorrow."