Jiang Qing

After Jiang and Liang's envoys returned home, about ten days later, Mei Shao and Meng Ye also checked Helian Gouyue's spice warehouse.

Helian Gouyue didn't have much stock of spices in Yanzhou, and only rented a small warehouse on the outskirts of the city. Mei Shao and Meng Ye finished the inspection in less than an hour.

The random inspection is equivalent to an inspection of the merchants' inventory by the officials of the two parties before the transaction, to see the storage conditions of their goods, and how often to sample the goods.

Meng Ye and Mei Shao took a few glances at the door. The inspection inside was carried out by Chu Yan with a few knowledgeable people. In order to avoid suspicion, Helian Gouyue didn't go in, but just waited outside.

When Chu Yan came out, his expression was different. He secretly winked at Mei Shao, and Mei Shao made up an excuse, avoided Meng Ye and Helian Gouyue, and followed Chu Yan to a secluded place.

Chu Yan glanced at Helian Gouyue's direction from the corner of his eye, and took out a red bead the size of a pigeon's egg from his cuff, with fine beards and hairs on it. It looked like a rhizome plant growing in the soil.

Mei Shao took it over and weighed it, then asked in a low voice: "What is this?"

"Fuhongzi." Chu Yan looked solemn, and lowered his voice, "It's a necessary medicinal material in the white powder that the owner asked me to check."

Mei Shao was startled, and her face darkened, "Did you get it from Helian Gouyue's warehouse?"

Chu Yan nodded and reminded: "The medicinal materials I mentioned before are only available in Liang Country, and Helian Gouyue is from Liang Country. What is the owner going to do? Do you need me to put it back? Just pretend you don't know anything. , so as not to overwhelm the snake."

Mei Shao took a deep breath, with mixed emotions in her eyes, and said after a long time: "If you startle the snake, it will show that there is something wrong. Now is the best time."

After finishing speaking, Mei Shao walked straight towards Helian Gouyue without the slightest hesitation, spread the red covering in his hand in front of his eyes, and asked, "Master Helian, do you know what it is?"

He stared closely at Helian Gouyue's face, not letting go of any slight changes on his face, the short two or three seconds was silently elongated at this moment, Mei Shao could even hear his nervous heartbeat.

"A kind of spice, fuhongzi." Helian Gouyue replied calmly, without even blinking her eyelids, with just the right amount of surprise in her words, she asked instead: "Master Mei took this from my warehouse? "

"It's just spices?" Mei Shao asked forcefully.

"Fuhongzi has the effect of calming the nerves and relieving pain. Grinding it into powder and making incense can help people sleep well. It is also used for medicine. It is similar to the Mongolian sweat medicine in your Li country." Helian Gouyue's eyes were clear, and he behaved well. replied to his question.

He replied very frankly, without any doubts.

"But Fu Hongzi wasn't among the signed spices, how did Master Mei find this?" Helian Gouyue asked puzzled.

Mei Shao restrained the probing look in her eyes, and still had doubts in her heart, but she still covered it up on her face, "Chu Yan checked the wrong bag, and brought it for me to check."

Helian Gouyue nodded in understanding, without showing any other expressions.

"Let's go, go back to the mansion!" Meng Ye walked over quickly with a serious face, and pulled Mei Shao away, "An accident happened in Han Jueguan! My father and the others are already in the Hou's mansion, and sent someone to call us back."

"What?" Mei Shao couldn't care about anything else for a while, and followed him on the horse, and rushed to the Hou's mansion.

It was less than a dozen days before the end of the mutual market negotiations, and the envoys from the Jiang Kingdom were still seven or eight days away on their way back home. Something happened at Han Jueguan. It seemed that the talks between Li Xunshu and Yu Liang had completely collapsed.

Mei Shao briefly went through the whole incident in her mind, raised her whip and followed Meng Ye, and the two returned to the Hou Mansion not long after.

After getting off the horse, Meng Ye threw the reins of the horse into the arms of the boy at the gate of the house, strode towards the hall, and shouted: "Father!"

Mei Shao followed into the hall, and saw Meng Yilin, Zou Xue and Bai Bingchen sitting solemnly.Seeing him coming, Meng Yilin waved to him, motioning him to sit down with Meng Ye.

"Everyone is here, so I won't say anything about the scene. This matter is no longer something that my Zhenbeihou Mansion can undertake alone. It needs the help of Lord Bai and Lord Mei to inform His Majesty."

Meng Yilin glanced at them and told them all about the past few days.

"Over the past few days, there have been bandits around Hanjueguan. Although nothing happened, I sent someone to investigate. They said that some merchants in Jiangguo who participated in the mutual market this time used some means. Squeezed out a few businessmen who originally met the conditions of the mutual market. These people felt resentful and hired bandits to make trouble at the pass. They wanted to force Yu Liang to let go. .”

"Riots at the pass happen from time to time. It's not a big deal at all. The rogues only appear occasionally, and they don't have much actual combat power. I don't know when the riots at the pass became frequent. Jiang Guo's barracks began to talk about the former Association En Wang Li Chengque's heroic deeds back then, the morale of the army was slackened, and Li Chengque's old troops who were stationed in the Han Jue Pass even led a small team to go around the pass, intending to break through the pass."

Meng Ye said, "The rumors didn't start for no reason. Did father inquire about what happened in Jiang Country?"

Meng Yilin nodded, and said: "A few days ago, Li Chengji, the monarch of the Jiang Kingdom, was drunk at the dinner party. He sobered up alone in the back garden and did not sit in the car, nor did he ask anyone to clear the road ahead of time. It happened that a palace man came from the corner with a lamp, which scared Li Chengji. Li Chengji was furious and ordered his father to be responsible for forty years. The palace man died before dawn before dawn. The emperor punished a palace man. Que served by his side, and that day was the anniversary of Li Chengque's death, so there are rumors in the palace that when the palace man secretly burned paper money for Li Chengque, he was bumped into by Li Chengji, and that's why he was tortured so harshly."

"Speaking of which, Li Chengji died only a few years ago, and there were not a few people who followed him back then. If he hadn't died halfway, Li Chengji would have no hope of reaching his current position in this life. He has always relied on respecting his elder brother and thinking of kindness It is because of Qie's reputation that he stabilized Li Chengque's old department, and once this matter happens, some old ministers will come out and speak out, which will really cause some trouble." Bai Bingchen said lightly.

"This is what I'm worried about. If it's just bandits picking quarrels and provoking troubles, it's really not worth the trouble to invite everyone to come here. But now it's hard to tell whether it's the bandits or Li Chengque's old troops who are rioting at the border. I'm really worried. Yu Liang will use this as a cover to fish in troubled waters, send troops secretly, and disrupt our pass, so he wants to hear the opinions of the two adults on how to report this matter to His Majesty before making plans."

"Even if Li Chengji doesn't respect his elder brother, if Li Chengque's old department wants to seek justice, they should go to the gate of the palace to make trouble. Why would the old department of Han Jueguan try to break through the pass?" Bai Bingchen asked slowly, rubbing the jade wrench on his finger out of this problem.

There was no response in front of the hall for a while, Bai Bingchen's eyes fell on Mei Shao's body for a moment, and he said softly: "Unless the real turmoil in Li Chengque's old department is not the death of a palace official who appears to be mild or not, but something more serious." Big things, things they can't accept. For example, Li Chengque's funeral arrangements, the stability of his family, and even the cause of Li Chengque's death."

Mei Shao felt that Bai Bingchen's eyes fell on him, and silently clenched his hands. He didn't expect that Bai Bingchen's conjecture was eight or nine times closer to the truth.

"If it's as Master Bai said, then they don't trust Li Chengji, and deliberately use this method of provoking Li Guo to force Li Chengji to give an explanation?" Meng Yilin followed his train of thought and came up with such a possibility.

"Perhaps, there is also the meaning of wanting Li Chengque's blood to return to China." Bai Bingchen said another possibility in a cold voice.

"Li An?" Zou Xue said in surprise: "Li Chengji has three adult princes, and there are also generals such as Yu Liang who are connected with his in-laws. It will be dispelled by Li Chengji secretly, without leaving any future troubles, even if Li An goes back, as a person who has no roots and roots and has been raised and abandoned by Li Guo, can he win the throne in the hands of the scheming Li Chengji?"

Zou Xue denied Bai Bingchen's statement almost instantly, and what she said was indeed reasonable. When Li Chengji died, he hardly left any family members behind. , no doubt suicidal.

"This is just my guess. Who knows the truth?" Bai Bingchen glanced at Mei Shao pointingly, and passed the conversation lightly.

Meng Yilin was silent for a moment, and then said: "Then according to Master Bai, how to solve this dilemma?"

"Why don't you ask Lord Mei about matters on the battlefield?" Bai Bingchen threw the question to Mei Shao in a serious manner.

Ever since Meng Yilin said this, Bai Bingchen has been looking at Mei Shao nonchalantly, and even his words imply something. Now he is asking himself what he thinks, and Mei Shao knows that he probably He guessed that this matter was related to himself.

Even though he had been seen through, Mei Shao still bit the bullet and said the excuse that he had originally thought up, "General Zou is right, Li An is nothing to be afraid of. If you let him play the role of Li Chengque's legacy, it will solve the urgent need."

"Oh? How to play?" Meng Yilin asked.

Mei Shao paused for a moment, glanced at Bai Bingchen's face, and said, "Imitate the law of Emperor Xian when he took over the Li clan."

As soon as these words came out, there was silence in front of the hall.Except for Bai Bingchen, everyone else had expressions of surprise on their faces.

"Master Mei means to let King Xie En guard the Han Jue Pass?" After a while, Meng Yilin frowned and asked: "The former emperor ordered Li Chengque to guard the Han Jue Pass and enfeoffed the land as the original land of the Li clan to suppress Jiang's disobedience. At least before the death of Li Chengque, there was no rebellion in Jiangdi, but the current King Xie En may not have this ability."

"The undercurrent of the Jiang Kingdom now comes from Li Chengque. We are just using the name of Li An, a legacy son of the former king, to frighten the Jiang people who want to break through. Since they are Li Chengque's old department, they will not treat his legacy. Let's do it, with Li An in Han Jue Pass, Zhenbei Hou only needs to let his guards of Han Jue Pass watch over, and he can relieve the suffering of Zhenbei Hou Yanshouguan and Han Jue Pass. After all, this exchange, The people from Liang Kingdom are also from the prince of Liang Kingdom, and the Lord of Liang Kingdom is very old. If there is a sudden disturbance one day, the Marquis of Zhenbei may not be able to take care of himself. If it changes, our country's frontier defenses will be in danger."

What Mei Shao said is indeed an issue that needs to be faced directly in the north of the Li Kingdom. Since Li Chengji rebelled from the Li Kingdom and attached himself to the Liang Kingdom, the relationship between the two countries has become increasingly close. If there is chaos at the border, there will be two simultaneous attacks.

If the Yanshou pass is broken, the cavalry of Liang State can go straight to the northwest border of Li State, and the west of Shanxi is only two states to the west. Apart from the natural barrier of deep mountains and lush forests along the way, there is no dangerous place to guard the pass.And if the Hanjue Pass is broken, the northern land of the Li State will be lost, and the three prefectures of the Zhenbei Marquis will be invaded by the west and the north. , Lost the land of ten states.

Thinking of this, Meng Yilin frowned, and said hesitantly: "Master Bai just said that it is possible for Li Chengque's old department to want King Xie En to return to the country. As long as Li An stays in Pingdu, no matter how much disturbance Li Chengque's old department , and does not have that much power to rob people in Pingdu. But if he is allowed to come to the border, and Jiang Guo is only one step away, it will be much easier for Li An to go back."

"What the Marquis of Zhenbei thinks is true. But fortune and misfortune depend on each other, and there are advantages and disadvantages. Since you want to use Li An's name to deter the old troops, you have to bear the risk that he may return to Jiang. After all, Han Jue's gatekeeper He will be cultivated by the Marquis of Zhenbei, with the ability of Marquis of Zhenbei, can he still not be able to restrain Li An?" Mei Shao followed Meng Yilin's words calmly and went back.

For a while, neither of them could convince anyone.

"It's really too risky for King Xie En to guard Han Jue Pass, and His Majesty will not let go easily." Bai Bingchen said, "It's better to let Prince Cheng go with him."

"Prince Sheng?" Almost instantly, Meng Yilin and Mei Shao said in unison.

Meng Yilin's words were only full of surprise, but Mei Shao's tone had a hint of refusal.

If there is anyone in Li State that Li An truly admires, only his righteous brother Zhao Yuansheng, if he goes to Han Jue Pass together, Li An's hands and feet will be imperceptibly bound, and he will not have any other thoughts.

"If Prince Cheng is willing, this would be a compromise." Meng Yilin thought for a moment and agreed with Bai Bingchen's proposal.

"No." Mei Shao couldn't help but retort, "It's too eye-catching for the two kings to gather together. If Jiang Guo regards it as a provocation, it will cause unexpected problems."

"They violated my Han Jueguan, so it's not a provocation?" Bai Bingchen asked with a sneer, cast his sharp eyes on Mei Shao's face, and said word by word: "My lord, don't lose the big because of the small, Now the most important thing is to stabilize the Hanjue Pass."

It wasn't until now that Mei Shao realized that when he and Bai Bingchen confronted each other before, he still gave in a lot to himself.Even at the time of life and death, Mei Shao had never seen such a cold and ruthless gaze on Bai Bingchen's face, like a sharp sword, analyzing the opponent's thoughts bit by bit, with a kind of absolute coercion Suppressing the lucky thoughts in the opponent's heart, this is how Bai Bingchen dealt with political opponents in the court, and he was able to take it easy.

"At the beginning of His Majesty's ascension to the throne, Prince Sheng also put on his horse and wiped out the rebels for His Majesty. Every inch of the court ranks was led by Prince Sheng. Prince Sheng must have never forgotten the bloody blood that year. If Jiang Guo If there is any action, he will definitely renew his battle robe. At that time, the Marquis of Zhenbei only needs to guard the gate of Liang Kingdom. Isn't this just in line with Lord Mei's words, that the two gates can be guarded at the same time?"

Bai Bingchen looked directly at Mei Shao, with sullen eyes in his eyes, and his words were blunt, almost forcing Mei Shao to agree in front of everyone.

His palms were sweating, Mei Shao looked into Bai Bingchen's eyes, and couldn't say a word of excuse. He closed his eyes and sighed deeply, knowing that Bai Bingchen must have figured out the whole story to be so aggressive .

It was precisely because he was with Bai Bingchen that he understood more and more how difficult Li An's situation would be if the arrangement according to Bai Bingchen's words was really followed.When he was in Pingdu before, judging from his situation, he may not be so cruel to Zhao Yuansheng to sever the relationship, but if he can't cut off this feeling, he will not be able to return to Jiang country smoothly.

He knew that Bai Bingchen was used to manipulating people's hearts. Perhaps as far back as six years ago, when Zhao Yuansheng exchanged his own position for Li Anyu, Bai Bingchen had already seen the unusual friendship between them. This emotion is so well used.

Mei Shao knew that this matter was a foregone conclusion, and he couldn't change anything, so he finally let go, "Then follow what Master Bai said."

What they said next, Mei Shao didn't listen to a word, until the people in the hall had left, he was startled.

Bai Bingchen sat quietly in his original position without saying a word.After waiting for Mei Shao to recover, he said coldly, "Come with me."

The author says:

Meimei: Oh hoo, what should I do if my wife catches me? Wait for the countermeasures online.

In vain: (in low pressure