Looking at the man in front of him who was covered in cold sweat and scared to death. The Prince of Guilin's face became slightly better, he raised his hand and said, "Get up. I have misunderstood the King of England's affairs. You have done a lot for me these years when you have been with the King of Shu. , even if there is no credit, there is still hard work. I will not pursue those small mistakes this time."
Although he heard his master telling him to get up, how dare this person actually get up? It wasn't until he kowtowed a few more times that the man stood up cautiously: "Thank you, Master, for forgiving my subordinate's sin of incompetence. Master, please rest assured that from now on, my subordinate will do his best for the Master, and will go through fire and water without hesitation. No mistakes will be made again." , and will never let down the master’s high expectations.”
Regarding this person's guarantee, the King of Guilin just smiled lightly and said: "I still believe in your ability. Since you have that ability, I will tell you one more thing. The imperial court is now going to fully open the sea ban and take it back. The palace has exclusive rights to overseas trade for a hundred years, and ordered the palace to close the twelve trading houses in Quanzhou."
"Although this is an imperial edict and a law of the imperial court, logically speaking, even I have to accept it. But just handing over the country that the previous kings have worked hard for more than a hundred years to conquer, I, the king, just handed over I am really unwilling to do so. Lu Wentao, since you are known as the Poison Fighter in Prince Shu's Mansion, what should I do in your opinion?"
If the King of Shu, who is currently on the run, would probably be furious to death if he saw this man standing in a well-behaved position as the Prince of Guilin. This person was none other than the one he had been searching for for many days, but could not find him until he left Jingzhao in a hurry. It turned out that he had always relied on Lu Wentao, who had mastered most of the secrets of the Shu Palace, and now he wanted to get rid of Lu Wentao.
Lu Wentao is extremely cunning and treacherous. He has been with the King of Shu for more than ten years and he already knows the character of the King of Shu very well. The King of Shu sent him to Zhengzhou to preside over the silencing of King Jing's family, and he realized that the King of Shu wanted to silence him. Therefore, although he went to Zhengzhou, he did not show up at all. Because he knew very well that as long as he showed up, his life would definitely be gone.
After the Dali and Tubo masters sent to Zhengzhou by the King of Shu were killed by Huang Qiong's arrows, he sneaked back to Jingzhao. It's just that this man was so bold that he didn't completely disappear from King Shu's side. After sneaking back to the capital, he hid in the King of Shu's Courtyard, less than thirty steps away from the exit of the secret passage. It was in a secret stronghold that he had set up in order to monitor the King of Shu's palace.
Because every time he went to Beijing with the King of Shu, the King of Shu never allowed him to enter the other courtyard. Not only was he not allowed to enter the other courtyard, he was never even told about the two secret passages from King Shu's courtyard to the outside world. If he hadn't accidentally discovered it, he wouldn't have known that this courtyard actually had a passage to the outside world. It was when he discovered that King Shu actually didn't tell him everything.
This behavior of the King of Shu gave him the feeling that the King of Shu did not completely trust him, and it could even be said that he had begun to be wary of himself. Therefore, he used some of the confidants he had secretly cultivated during his years in Prince Shu's Mansion to set up surveillance posts at the exits of the two secret passages in the other courtyard. And this time, he didn't tell the truth when facing the King of Guilin.
Not only did he know that the King of Shu was not dead, but he also knew what happened when the King of Shu fled from Jingzhao in a hurry and who was following him. They were all seen by him, who was hiding in a two-story attic less than thirty steps away from the exit of the secret passage where the King of Shu fled. Even when the King of Shu fled from Beijing to Songzhou, he planned and set up the secret strongholds along the way.
But no one knows why he concealed this matter. Even though he acted extremely trembling in front of the Guilin King, he still did not reveal the true whereabouts of the King of Shu. As for now, although the Duke of Guilin expressed his importance to him in his tone, many years of undercover career have made Lu Wentao distrustful of everyone, especially the master in front of him.
No matter how afraid he was of this master on the surface. But in his heart, he never believed in any of the promises made by the Guilin County Prince. Therefore, Lu Wentao not only did not show any pride in the Guilin County Prince's inquiry, but instead deliberately adopted a posture of sincerity and fear. Because he clearly knew that being praised by the prince was not necessarily a good thing.
Not long after the King of Shu left the palace, he was recommended to the King of Shu by the King of Guilin. In the name of a counselor, he was working as an undercover agent. But Lu Wentao knew clearly that he was definitely not the only one who had been installed by the Guilin County Prince in the Shu Prince's Mansion. Although his position in the Shu Prince's Mansion is very important, in the Guilin County Prince's Mansion, he is just a pawn.
His true position there is not even that of the person in charge. The Guilin County Prince's Mansion was placed in the eyes of the Shu Prince's Mansion, and someone else was in charge. What he knew even more was that although the King of Shu and the King of Guilin had always used each other, the extremely suspicious King of Shu also distrusted the King of Guilin. The Shu Prince's Mansion also has spies in the Guilin County Prince's Mansion.
It's just that despite these years, I have been exposed to a lot of secrets in the Shu Palace, including every move in the palace. It was he who proposed and was responsible for Concubine Shen who was placed in the palace by the King of Shu. Even in order to prevent Concubine Shen from having an affair with the emperor, it was Lu Wentao who planned it.
But after so many years in the Shu Palace, he never knew the identity of the informant placed in the Guilin County Prince's Palace. Even the information about the Guilin County Prince's Palace in the hands of the King of Shu would not be allowed to be seen by him. He was able to intervene when the King of Shu targeted other kings and palaces in the clan. Only in this Guilin County Prince's Mansion, the King of Shu will let him know some things, but the real core will not be known to him at all.
The only thing that can be confirmed is that the Prince of Shu's Mansion not only has a spy in the Guilin County Prince's Mansion, but also the status of this spy is not low. Because from the few words he mastered, the King of Shu knew even some secret things about the Guilin County Prince's Palace, and even the fact that the Guilin County Prince's Palace secretly trained 100,000 elite soldiers in the 100,000 Mountains on Guangnan West Road.
Over the years, apart from myself, I have learned more about the Guilin County Prince. Coupled with some information about the Guilin County Prince's Palace that he obtained from the Shu Prince's Mansion, Lu Wentao knew the character of the Guilin County Prince very well. It can be said that even the prince of Guilin County probably doesn't know as much about his father as Lu Wentao does.
Although he didn't have much direct contact, Lu Wentao knew from years of understanding that the King of Guilin in front of him was a more vicious person than the King of Shu. If the King of Shu is a ferocious and cunning wolf, then the King of Guilin is a combination of tiger and wolf. The level of ferocity far exceeds that of the King of Shu, and the level of cunning and cunning is even more difficult for the King of Shu to even flatter.
This master likes smart people very much, but he doesn't like people who act too smart in front of him. Because of this, Lu Wentao's behavior in front of his master was far more cautious than in front of the King of Shu. He didn't even dare to show the slightest bit of excitement at the compliment from the Guilin County Prince. Because that would be too artificial in front of this master.
Anyway, this master likes to see himself putting pressure on others and making others act fearful. This master likes the feeling of being in control of everything too much. The more people show fear in front of him and the more they show that everything is under his control, the happier he is. This master has always believed that he is the smartest person in the world.
Therefore, he did not dare to answer the question from the King of Guilin, but said cautiously: "Returning to the master, my subordinate has been in the Prince of Shu's Mansion these years, doing things according to the master's instructions, and is not too clear about the affairs of the Prince's Mansion. If this matter If you need your subordinates to do something, please ask the master to make it clear, and all subordinates will obey the master's instructions."
The Prince of Guilin was not surprised by Lu Wentao's performance. Lu Wentao is a smart man, and he likes smart subordinates. But if this person is too smart, or even surpasses him, that's another matter. However, he was satisfied, but the calm expression of the Guilin Prince did not change at all. He just looked at Lu Wentao indifferently, and the gleam in his eyes seemed to see through him.
After once again sizing up Lu Wentao, who had been standing in front of him for a long time, the king of Guilin said: "Don't stay in the capital any longer. In these years, you have done a lot for the King of Shu, and there must be many people in the capital. Not many people know you, and it is easy for you to get into trouble if you stay in the capital for a long time. You will go to Quanzhou tomorrow, and I have decided to leave the affairs of Quanzhou to you."
"The imperial court asked me to close the twelve trading houses and hand over the power of trade. Okay, I will just hand it over. I want to see what the officials in the court can do without the palace of Guilin County Prince. What a trick. When you go to Quanzhou, you will first close all the twelve trading houses. As for the private ones, they will also be stopped for the time being. "
"No matter what means you use, my king, you can't let those merchants buy a tael of tea, a piece of silk, a piece of porcelain, or a load of medicinal materials. Tell those merchants in Jiangnan that if anyone dares to go behind my back and talk to those merchants in private, If there is a business transaction, then pray that the Guilin County Prince’s Palace will not know about it. Otherwise, let the whole family wash their necks and find someone to collect the body in advance.”
"Humph, I would like to see, those merchants can't even buy a tael of tea, what are you using to collect taxes? This right of trade is given to you, so what's the use of you? Since you are so unkind First, don't blame me for being unjust. If you want to cut off my wealth, I will cut off your livelihood. Without 30% of the Guilin County Prince's annual income, how can we support our troops?"
At this time, the King of Guilin County could not look as elegant as he did in front of the emperor during the day. The expression on his face looked like that of a hungry wolf. After he finished speaking his thoughts, Lu Wentao, who finally breathed a sigh of relief, quickly said: "My master has such a clever plan to draw out the salary from the bottom of the cauldron, and I admire him very much. Please rest assured, master, my subordinates will definitely follow my master's instructions when they arrive in Quanzhou." Do."
Lu Wentao's assurance, the King of Guilin, who had heard many such words, nodded disapprovingly, waved his hand and said: "Well, I can rest assured if you do such a thing. Okay, it's getting late now, you I'm going to Quanzhou tomorrow, so go and rest early. Go to the manager and tell him what I've ordered, and ask him to find two virgins to accompany you."
"Today, you can choose any woman in the garden, choose the one you like. You have worked hard over the years, but it is still not the right time. When the big thing is decided, I will naturally reward you with many rewards. Remember, as long as you serve me faithfully, I will never be stingy. But if you are half-hearted and selfish, I will never be too tolerant."
Although he had always considered himself a ruthless master, in front of Guilin who was a hundred times crueler than him, his methods were a hundred times more vicious, and his power was far beyond his expectation. Lu Wentao always felt frightened. Almost every time he saw this master, especially his cold eyes, an inexplicable feeling of fear arose in his heart.
