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The plan proposed by Jiang Xiao to the seventh prince Zhu Hejian can be summed up in four words: "Abandon soldiers to save chariots."
In short, it is to abandon the small number of "Chaofeng" dead soldiers who have been exposed when necessary to cover the continued lurking of the vast majority of "Chaofeng" dead soldiers. The key point is to prevent the forces from all parties from discovering the Seventh Prince Zhu Hejian. The relationship with the "Chaofeng" organization.
However, what Zhu Hejian said at this time was not "abandon the pawn to save the chariot", but "abandon the chariot to save the commander"...
Obviously, Zhu Hejian already believed that if he encountered the worst case scenario, his target of abandonment would not be just a small number of "Chaofeng" dead soldiers, but the entire "Chaofeng" organization, including Jiang Xiao.
After hearing this, Jia Lun, who had always had a gloomy face without any change in expression, could not help but raise his eyebrows and couldn't help but question: "Before we re-appointed Jiang Xiao, we carefully examined his character and temperament. Over the years, we have also Always keeping an eye on him secretly and guarding against changes in his temperament... Although Jiang Xiao was born as a gangster, he has a tenacious and persistent character and a deep understanding of kindness. He also has great identification with the 'Chaofeng' organization. It is hard to imagine He will betray His Highness...and betraying His Highness will do him no good."
Zhu Hejian snorted lightly, knowing that he was suspected of making a fuss, and patiently explained: "I also think that Jiang Xiao will most likely not betray, but as long as there are suspicious signs, even if it is possible, we need to consider the worst case scenario , have to guard against it!
What's more, Jiang Xiao has a firm and stubborn temperament, and when he sets his sights on something, he must get it done. This character is both his strength and weakness! The good thing is that after he recognizes me as his master, it will be extremely difficult for him to betray me, so I feel free to use him. But the bad thing is... if his goals in his heart are not in line with my interests, he will still do whatever it takes to get it done at any cost!
Moreover, he is too capable and confident, and always thinks that he can cover everything and kill two birds with one stone. Even if he acts without permission, it will not harm my interests! Huh, but there are so many good things in this world!
In normal times, I maintain normal contact with 'Chaofeng', and the dead soldier of 'Chaofeng' takes orders from me first. I can still control his shortcomings, but now it is difficult for me to maintain normal contact with 'Chaofeng'. Many things We must take precautions before they happen...
The dead soldiers of 'Chaofeng' have been trained so well by us that they only know how to obey orders. Now they are all gathered under Jiang Xiao and they only know how to obey Jiang Xiao's orders. A paranoid and crazy Jiang Xiao and a group of dead soldiers who only know how to obey No one can predict what trouble they will cause!
All in all, Jiang Xiao's follow-up plan makes me a little uneasy. He seems to want to use me to attract the attention of various forces in Nanjing and create a time gap and opportunity for action. He also deliberately broke off contact with me temporarily to let me If you can't intervene in his actions in time, you might just want to take the opportunity to cause trouble...
Of course, all this may just be me being paranoid, but I have to be careful! If my worries are true, then it's okay to say that Jiang Xiao's follow-up actions will go smoothly. If there are any flaws in his follow-up actions, it will only drag me down completely and make all my hard work over the years come to nothing! The stakes are so high that I must prepare for a rainy day! "
Because of his extraordinary acuity, Zhu Hejian discovered in time that Jiang Xiao might lose control without any actual evidence.
Although it was just a clue and there was no confirmation, it still made Zhu Hejian extremely uneasy. Therefore, when he spoke, he no longer spoke concisely and concisely, but instead spoke at length and incessantly, not only to persuade Jia Lun, but also to sort out complicated thoughts. Calm your inner uneasiness.
Having said this, Zhu Hejian took a deep breath and told Jia Lun again: "Therefore, we must prepare backup plans in advance. If the worst happens, Jiang Xiao will not only act without authorization, but also let the entire 'Chaofeng' The organization has all been exposed, so I must take the initiative to cut off the tail to survive and eliminate the hidden dangers with my own hands before all the forces take action!"
Jia Lun is also a cautious and suspicious person, but he is far inferior to Zhu Hejian in terms of acumen. At this time, he still thinks that Zhu Hejian is making a fuss out of a molehill. He will go to war just because of a few doubts without any evidence, and even plans to take the initiative to eliminate "Chaofeng" It is really unnecessary to organize this many years of hard work.
But in the end, Jia Lun did not question it again, but nodded and said: "In that case, I will contact Xi Zhenshou now and ask him to gather all the factory guards as soon as possible! Wait until the evening of the day after tomorrow, and he will only ask him to send out a small team Some factory guards went to an ambush fifteen miles west of Zhanyuan, and most of the factory guards were on standby at any time. If Jiang Xiao wanted to take the opportunity to act without authorization, and there was a danger of his traces being exposed, the factory guards would take action first and eliminate everything. Hidden dangers, no evidence will be left behind!”
After Zhu Hejian thought for a moment, he added: "Also, let people monitor Huo Zhengyuan's movements more closely. The last time Jiang Xiao acted against orders without permission was to follow Huo Zhengyuan's staff, so he arranged for a group of 'Chaofeng' dead soldiers to return early. He entered the city of Nanjing and fought with desperadoes of unknown origin in the bustling city, thus exposing his whereabouts... If Jiang Xiao wants to act without permission this time, there is a high probability that he has something to do with Huo Zhengyuan! "
After saying that, Zhu Hejian waved Jia Lun away.
After thinking for a while, Zhu Hejian once again summoned Lu De who was waiting in Zhanyuan.
After Lu De entered the room, Zhu Hejian's expression was as usual, and he ordered Lu De seemingly casually: "Mr. Lu, I remember that you had met that great scholar Huo several times, and we got along well, so I I hope you can spare some time in the next two days and go to Doctor Huo’s place to walk around more...
This scholar Huo is about to hold a banquet. He is now sending invitations to people from all walks of life in Nanjing. After the banquet is over, the Nanjing gentry and the guarding eunuch will hold a public debate in Confucius Temple, so this The influence of a banquet cannot be underestimated, and it may change the public opinion in Nanjing. I hope you can try your best to find out what this Academician Huo really thinks..."
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In this way, as all the forces were quickly adjusting their plans, the next day came quickly.
Everyone in Huo Zhengyuan's temporary residence was still busy.
In fact, the temporary gathering of a group of lowly soldiers to fight against Zhu Hejian's dead soldiers was only a part of Huo Zhengyuan's overall plan, or even a very small part.
Huo Zhengyuan certainly had high hopes for this part of the plan, but after all, the outcome was uncertain and there were too many variables, so Huo Zhengyuan did not place all his hopes on it.
Because of Jiang Xiao's active appearance, Huo Zhengyuan had adjusted this part of the plan, but the other part of the plan remained unchanged and was still implemented in an orderly and step-by-step manner according to the established direction.
For Huo Zhengyuan, the plan direction that really needs his focus is to sow discord, intensify conflicts, and pass knives to each other between the Nanjing gentry and the guarding eunuchs, causing both forces to suffer losses in the subsequent battles, while also severely injuring Zhou Shangjing and Zhu Hejian. The prestige between the government and the opposition will eventually benefit the "Zhao Party" forces.
Zhou Shangjing and Zhu Hejian were both very concerned about the banquet that Huo Zhengyuan was about to host. In fact, there was nothing wrong with it, because this banquet was not just a means for Huo Zhengyuan to deceive others and divert attention. He also really wanted to use this banquet to take advantage of the opportunity. Something comes out.
In the past two days, Huo Zhengyuan took advantage of the opportunity of sending invitations and inviting various parties to the banquet to keep in contact with the Nanjing gentry and the guarding eunuchs, and conveyed a lot of news to them respectively.
Huo Zhengyuan believed that these news would soon have a huge impact and change the situation in Nanjing in the direction he wanted.
In the late afternoon of this day, Huo Zhengyuan was sitting in his study, carefully sorting out the many replies he had received today, and at the same time, he was constantly deducing in his mind the subsequent reactions of various forces in Nanjing.
And just when Huo Zhengyuan was thinking seriously, Hu Xiao pushed the door open without asking or reporting, still looking careless and completely ignorant of the rules.
At the same time, although Tang Cheng, Meng Haoxuan, and Guo Min came with Hu Xiao, they followed the rules. After seeing Hu Xiao pushing the door in, they did not follow Hu Xiao into the study. They all stood with their hands down. Outside the study door, he was waiting for Huo Zhengyuan's call.
Seeing Hu Xiao's behavior, Huo Zhengyuan was secretly angry, thinking that after everything was settled, he must find an opportunity to severely punish Hu Xiao, or even get rid of Hu Xiao directly to avoid future troubles.
But on the surface, Huo Zhengyuan only showed a slight dissatisfaction, but before he could reprimand him, Hu Xiao reported with a serious expression: "Master Huo, everything has been arranged! I have arranged for the brothers to leave secretly I arrived here, lurking at a nearby intersection, ready to follow you at any time! And I pretended to let those scoundrels see my appearance inadvertently... Next, Tang Cheng should be dispatched to get in touch with Jiang Xiao's dead men. Got it!"
Seeing that Hu Xiao was reporting serious matters to him, Huo Zhengyuan finally suppressed his anger temporarily, raised his hand to Tang Cheng, Meng Haoxuan, and Guo Min outside the study and called: "Mr. Guo, Mr. Tang, Mr. Meng, you three Come in and talk too.”
Following Huo Zhengyuan's instructions, the three people finally entered the study one after another and quickly reported the progress of their mission to Huo Zhengyuan.
Tang Cheng took the lead and said: "Scholar Huo, after these two days of continuous running, I have contacted all the lowly households and craftsmen in Nanjing City, and persuaded nearly 300 people to work for you! Among them, those Not long ago, there were about 130 new lowly people who came from official families and were in a similar situation to villains; there were about 80 fishermen with nine surnames, and more than 70 craftsmen... According to your request, These people are all courageous and determined, and their bodies are relatively strong! At the same time, the fishermen of the Nine Surnames have a large number of harpoons and fishing nets that can be used in combat, and the craftsmen have also provided more than a hundred pieces of various iron tools..."
Meng Hao Yinzi opened the way and the relationship was quickly restored. All it takes is your order, and the villain will be sure to convince them to cooperate!"
Finally, Guo Min also reported: "To the great scholar Huo, according to your instructions, I have also persuaded the 'United Shipping Company' to ask the shopkeeper Qian to summon more than a hundred strong men who know martial arts. I didn’t reveal any more information, I just made an agreement with Boss Qian that when he sees the agreed signal, he will immediately send these men to follow your orders."
After hearing the reports from these people, Huo Zhengyuan nodded gently with a serious expression, then raised his head and looked at Tang Cheng seriously, and asked: "Master Tang, since all arrangements are in place, will our follow-up plan succeed or fail?" , it all depends on your performance! Are you... confident?"
Tang Cheng's face was a little pale. He was very aware of Jiang Xiao's ruthlessness and keenness, and he also knew that he would die if he had the slightest flaw. Naturally, he was feeling uneasy at this time.
But after Tang Cheng took a deep breath, he tried his best to regain his composure, and nodded: "Please rest assured, University Scholar Huo, I have repeatedly deduced the subsequent situation, and also inquired about Jiang Xiao's character and temperament in detail from Brother Hu, and then I will definitely do my best when I come down, and I will never let you down!"
Huo Zhengyuan nodded again, seeming to have full confidence in Tang Cheng, but he couldn't help but remind him again: "Remember, your mission is just to lure out Jiang Xiao's dead soldiers and let us take advantage of the opportunity to track them, so when you are performing your mission, Everything is based on protecting yourself and hiding your intentions! In order to reduce Jiang Xiao's suspicion as much as possible, you can do whatever you want!
But at the same time, you can't reveal too much information to Jiang Xiao at once. You have to pretend that you still have a chance to find more information and let him have high hopes for you! In this way, you will not only be able to escape smoothly, but you will also have the opportunity to meet him again. If we accidentally lose the target this time, then when you meet Jiang Xiao next time, we can still continue track! "
After Tang Cheng solemnly nodded in agreement, Huo Zhengyuan finally stood up and waved: "Time is too tight and opportunities are fleeting. The situation in Nanjing can change at any time. Therefore, although we have been hastily prepared, many arrangements still have flaws. , but you must seize the time and take risks!”
While speaking, Huo Zhengyuan had already walked up to Tang Cheng, raised his hand and patted Tang Cheng's shoulder, promising: "As long as you successfully complete this mission, when it is completed, you will also be the first person to succeed! When it comes to that At that time, I can guarantee that not only will you be able to escape your lowly status and regain your status as a good citizen, but it will also be easy for you to regain your family status and even be directly rewarded by the court!"
Upon hearing Huo Zhengyuan's picture cake, Tang Cheng's eyes flashed, he nodded vigorously in agreement, and most of his anxiety was immediately dissipated.
*
After another quarter of an hour, Tang Cheng had left Huo Zhengyuan's temporary residence.
Then, in accordance with the agreement with Jiang Xiao, Tang Cheng deliberately stopped for a moment after passing the location where he was kidnapped early yesterday morning. It seemed that there were stones in his shoes. He took off his shoes and shook them before moving on.
And when he walked to the next intersection, a "Chaofeng" dead soldier dressed as a Liang Gang suddenly passed by Tang Cheng.
"Follow me, keep about ten steps away."
After speaking in a low voice, the "Chaofeng" dead soldier took the lead and walked in the other direction.
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