Just when the old man and the young man were comprehending the world and summing up a lot of thoughts, the carriage had already arrived in front of the Prime Minister's Mansion.
Needless to say, the notification and greeting were polite. After Han Zeng invited Shao Xi and Lao Wu into the main hall, he congratulated Shao Xi repeatedly.
"I want to congratulate my little friend! Today, I am going to the Hajj. I can see that the gifts you gave me have deeply touched the hearts of my pilgrims. I think the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries must be a matter of course."
Shao Xi also quickly said politely: "Everything depends on the help of Mr. Xiangguo. If Mr. Xiangguo hadn't pushed for this, how would this junior have the chance to take advantage of this ready-made contribution? This time, I came to thank Mr. Xiangguo."
Han Zeng was very proud after hearing what Shao Xi said. At the beginning, he strongly advocated sending an envoy to Jingyuan State. On the one hand, he wanted to use this to stimulate Fu Zuoliang in front of Zhao Hongjin and make him make excessive remarks on the matter, which would cause Zhao Hongjin's dissatisfaction; on the other hand, he wanted to take this opportunity to communicate with Jingyuan State. The person in the dynasty made further contact. After the two countries established diplomatic relations, border trade and personnel exchanges made it easier to transmit news in the future.
Now it seems that this move not only disgusted Fu Zuoliang, but also made Zhao Hongjin and envoy Jingyuan quite satisfied. Han Zeng secretly laughed in his heart that everyone was being used by him, and they didn't know his true purpose, but they came to thank him instead.
"Hey! You don't need to thank me for this. This is originally a matter of benefit to the country and the people of both countries. As the prime minister, I must consider the people of Southern Zhao. I hope that the two countries can strengthen commercial exchanges after the establishment of diplomatic relations. , in order to increase the wealth of our Southern Zhao country and make the people's lives more prosperous. This is originally something that is extremely beneficial to our Southern Zhao country. Why should I come to thank you? On the contrary, I should thank you. .”
These words were so high-sounding that even Shao Xi had to secretly admire Han Zeng's ability to talk duplicity and reach the pinnacle. His face was neither red nor white when he said these words.
If he hadn't known that he wanted to use his own hands to squeeze out Fu Zuoliang and gain military power, which would create chaos in the southern border of Jing Yuan Kingdom in the future, Shao Xi would have really thought that he was speaking from his heart!
Since Han Zeng wanted to act, Shao Xi was naturally happy to cooperate, so he took the opportunity to bring him "good news".
"Your Excellency Xiangguo is so polite! Without the help of Your Excellency Xiangguo, how could this junior's mission go so smoothly? Now seeing that the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries is about to happen, in order to express my gratitude to Your Excellency Xiangguo, this junior has prepared a special gift , but before presenting this gift, this junior also wants to see the sincerity of Lord Xiangguo."
Han Zeng felt a little surprised. Shao Xi had brought him a gift before when he came to visit, and today he came and said he had a special gift, which made him very curious.
However, Shao Xi also said that he wanted to see his sincerity. He didn't know the meaning of Shao Xi's words. He was wondering what medicine Shao Xi was selling in this gourd?
"Oh? My little friend has another gift for you? It seems that I can open my eyes again. But I said that before giving this gift, you need to see if I am sincere. I don't know what you mean? How do you want me to express my feelings? Sincerity?"
Shao Xi just smiled faintly, took out the secret letter Fu Zuoliang gave him from his arms, held it up in his hand, shook it, and said: "This copy in my hand is what Mr. Xiangguo has been asking for. Evidence of the crime of General Fu Zuoliang’s foreign affairs.”
When Han Zeng heard this, his eyes flashed with surprise and greed, as if he had seen the most abundant wealth in the world. Even the beard on his chin was trembling slightly, which showed how excited he was at this time. Excited.
"Little friend, you said that what you are holding in your hand is evidence of collusion between Fu Zuoliang and Jing Yuan. I wonder what kind of evidence this is? Is it enough to prove his crime of collaborating with the enemy and treason?"
"This is a secret letter from Jing Yuanguo. This secret letter is enough to prove that General Fu Zuoliang is suspected of collaborating with the enemy and treason. With this letter, the Prime Minister can launch an impeachment in the court to force Fu Zuoliang to withdraw from the Southern Zhao Dynasty. , the content of the secret letter and the person who wrote it must be what the Prime Minister wants to know most, right?"
Han Zeng was shocked when he heard this!
It was only two days ago that I talked to Shao Xi about Fu Zuoliang's possible collusion with someone in the Jingyuan Dynasty, but I didn't expect that Shao Xi would have the evidence in his hands at this moment. I didn't expect that this young envoy from Jingyuan would actually With such extraordinary ability, he was able to get what he dreamed of in such a short period of time, which was really beyond his expectation.
"I dare to ask my friend, how did you get such important evidence in your hands in two days? You must know that the General's Mansion is heavily guarded. Although Fu Zuoliang seems to be a reckless man, he is actually very cautious in his actions. So How could you get the important secret message so easily? Isn't this kid just making fun of me?"
Han Zeng's words revealed his suspicion of Shao Xi. He was suspicious of getting such an important thing in two days. This old guy actually wanted to test whether Shao Xi and Fu Zuoliang had formed some kind of tacit understanding through this kind of question.
Such a question was also his test of Shao Xi. If Shao Xi could not give him a convincing explanation, he could conclude that Shao Xi had reached a cooperative relationship with Fu Zuoliang.
If Shao Xi cooperates with Fu Zuoliang, then it won't be anyone else but him who will have to deal with it.
Before Han Zeng got hold of Fu Zuoliang, he had to make sure it was not a trap set for him. If you want to get rid of the other party, you must first protect yourself. He will never do such a thing.
But what he didn't expect was that Shao Xi had already predicted his prediction.
When Shao Xi got the secret letter from Fu Zuoliang the day before, he had already thought that when he put this letter in front of Han Zeng, he would definitely be suspicious and would definitely ask for a reasonable explanation.
If this kind of question had been thought of by Shao Xi in advance, it would no longer be a problem, because Shao Xi would definitely prepare a perfect answer for him. If there was no such preparation, Shao Xi would not ask Fu Zuoliang for this secret letter.
Shao Xi raised his hand and pointed at Lao Wu next to him, and asked Han Zeng: "Does Mr. Xiangguo know who my old personal servant is?"
Han Zeng was stunned when Shao Xi asked, "You said yourself that he is your personal servant, why do you still ask me?" Could it be that he has another identity?
Although he thought so, Han Zeng also understood that since Shao Xi could ask such a question, it meant that his personal servant was by no means an ordinary person, and must be related to obtaining this secret letter.
"Who is this……?"
Shao Xi said proudly: "Your Excellency, the Prime Minister, may not know much about the arena of the Central Plains. The old servant next to me was a famous thief in the arena of the Central Plains. Although he has retired for many years, he is now working for me, Jing Yuan." Serving the imperial court. Even though he is a bit older, his abilities are still the same as before. He can still come and go in places like the General's Mansion as if he were in a no-man's land. This secret letter is what the two of us went to yesterday. After investigating the general's residence, he sneaked into the general's residence last night and stole it."
Although Shao Xi's explanation was quite reasonable, Han Zeng was still skeptical. He couldn't believe that the thin old man in front of him could sneak into the general's mansion and steal such an important secret message. If he really had this In terms of ability, doesn’t he have no secrets in front of Shao Xi?
"Such an important secret message was stolen. Why didn't Fu Zuoliang look strange when he went to court today? Ordinarily, if such an important thing fell into the hands of others, how could he be so calm?"
As soon as Han Zeng finished speaking, Old Wu raised his hand and saw a jade pendant hanging on his palm, swinging gently.
The jade pendant is green and transparent, warm and flawless, with exquisite carving and unique ingenuity. It can be called the top grade of jade, and it can be seen that it is also valuable.
"Master Xiangguo, please forgive me. Such an important personal belonging fell into my hands. I wonder if Master Xiangguo has ever noticed? Old man, I have no other abilities. If I get something into my hands without others noticing, But it’s not difficult in hand.”
After Han Zeng saw the jade pendant, he hurriedly reached out to touch his waist, only to find that the place where the jade pendant was originally hung was empty. The jade pendant hanging on his body had fallen into the hands of the old man at some point. Why didn't he have any traces of it? Awareness?
At this time, Han Zeng couldn't help but feel shocked and looked at Old Wu with incredible eyes. He couldn't believe that this man was so capable and could take away his personal belongings at will under his nose.
Shao Xi stood up, took the jade pendant from Lao Wu's hand, walked to Han Zeng, and handed the jade pendant back to Han Zeng with both hands.
"Master Xiangguo's belongings have been taken away for so long without anyone noticing. What's more, Fu Zuoliang hid the secret message in a secret compartment in the study. He couldn't keep an eye on it all the time. My servant is so skilled that he entered and exited the general's palace silently and no one noticed. I think Fu Zuoliang may not have noticed that this letter was stolen until now, so how could he act strangely? "
Looking at the jade pendant handed back to his hand and hearing Shao Xi's words, Han Zeng couldn't help but tremble in his heart.
You must know that the general's palace is heavily guarded. There are far more guards and servants in the palace than in his prime minister's palace. Under such layers of security, they can sneak into the study and steal secret messages. If the two masters and servants deliberately want to find it in their own palace, Nothing seems difficult. I wonder if the two people in front of me have already gained some leverage over them?
Thinking of this, Han Zeng felt that the sweat on his head was about to fall, and he became inexplicably flustered.
"This old gentleman is indeed very skilled. I have learned a lot today. I should have thought that the person who can follow my little friend will not be an ordinary person. With this gentleman's skill, he can sneak into the General's Mansion to send this secret message." It’s really not surprising that it was stolen, I deeply admire Sir.”
"Lord Xiangguo, do you still have any questions?"
"No more, no more! I believe what I have in my hands is Fu Zuoliang's secret letter."
