On winter nights, there is nothing between heaven and earth except the howling cold wind.
Zuo Mengeng followed Zuo Gui and walked quietly in the wilderness.
After walking for a while, Zuo Mengeng picked up a wooden stick with branches.
Zuo Gui didn't know what he was going to do and looked over curiously.
Zuo Mengeng did not explain, but motioned for him to continue leading the way.
From Zuojia's Zhuangzi to Feng Yuanwai's Zhuangzi, there is no need to go around on the dirt road.
The fields of the two families were next to each other, but Feng Yuanwai maliciously dug a big ditch in the middle.
Such a ravine stopped Zuo Jia Zhuangzi from getting water from the river, but it did not stop Zuo Mengeng and Zuo Gui, two agile men.
Climbing across the ditch, we walked close to the field and walked to the river. There was a reed swamp in front of us.
"The place where the box is buried is on the other side."
The two got into the reed swamp, walked forward for a while, and reached the other side.
Just when Zuo Gui was about to go out, Zuo Mengeng grabbed him.
"few……"
Zuo Mengeng raised his finger to his mouth, signaling him to be quiet.
Zuo Gui had no choice but to squat down and didn't dare to move. He didn't understand why Zuo Mengeng did this.
This stop lasted for more than an hour. Zuo Gui's body was so cold that his feet were numb from the cold.
When I went to see Zuo Mengeng again, he was still well and leisurely, as if nothing had happened.
Zuo Gui couldn't bear it. Just when he was about to speak, a black shadow suddenly appeared from behind the big tree in the distance.
The black figure walked away, cursing at the same time.
"Damn Chen Laoliu, I agreed to replace him, but he's so damn lazy."
Zuo Gui broke out in a cold sweat, and then he realized that he had almost alerted the enemy. I'm just curious, how did Zuo Mengeng know there would be someone?
The reason is very simple. Can a place where hundreds of thousands of taels of silver be buried be left unguarded?
Until the black shadow was far away, Zuo Mengeng stood up suddenly and ran over quickly.
The place where the box was buried was easy to find, and there was nothing to hide it at all. The soil on the ground is all newly plowed, and it is different from other places at first glance.
Zuo Mengeng inserted the wooden stick in his hand into the soil, originally wanting to test how deep the box was buried.
The result surprised him. The wooden stick only penetrated a finger and hit a hard object.
Zuo Mengeng signaled Zuo Gui to be alert, and used a wooden stick to sweep away the floating soil bit by bit, and the wooden box was exposed.
He pulled Zuo Gui behind him, and the two of them squatted on the opposite side of the wooden box's opening, and then gently opened the box.
There is no surprise, there is no mechanism in the box.
But then Zuo Mengeng's eyes straightened.
Zuo Gui told him that the box was full of silver, so he estimated that it was about hundreds of thousands taels.
But when the box in front of me was opened, it was not silver, but gold bars. It's full and worth several times more than silver.
Damn Feng Lun, how greedy was he?
Even with Zuo Mengeng's mentality, he felt unbalanced for a moment.
Fortunately, it was still stable. After covering the box again, he used wooden sticks to restore the floating soil bit by bit. It looked exactly the same as before.
Zuo Gui's eyes widened at the side.
When did the young master have such ability?
After confirming that a large amount of treasure was really buried here, Zuo Mengeng could not do anything for a while.
There were so many boxes that he and Zuo Gui alone couldn't move.
Besides, the time has not come yet, so you have to plan carefully.
So he took Zuo Gui back the same way, letting Zuo Gui go in front and he fell behind.
He walked backwards, scratching and pulling with a wooden stick as he walked, clearing away the traces of the two people's visit.
Zuo Gui looked at Zuo Mengeng's cautious and thoughtful manner, and while feeling annoyed at his own crudeness, he also learned a lot.
By the time the two returned to their residence, it was already two hours later.
Until then, Zuo Gui couldn't hold back the doubts in his heart.
"Master, why did Mr. Feng bury the treasure by the river?"
On the way back, Zuo Mengeng had already figured everything out.
"These treasures do not belong to member Feng, but to the guarding eunuch Feng Lun."
Even if Feng Yuanwai relies on Feng Lun's connections to rob someone, how much wealth can he get?
Such a large amount of money can only be obtained by Feng Lun's means.
Zuo Gui was even more confused.
"Feng Lun is a guard eunuch, just like a local emperor. Who dares to mess with him? Why would he bury the treasure by the river?"
Thinking of the shallow soil layer, Zuo Mengeng's idea was very clear.
"Feng Lun is not hiding money, but preparing to abscond."
Zuo Gui's channels for getting the news were limited.
"Why did he run?"
"Humph, he is Li Chaoqin's godson. Both Wei Zhongxian and Li Chaoqin were captured by the emperor, and sooner or later it will be his turn. Feng Lun is not willing to submit to the law, and running away with the money he has collected over the years is not normal."
He originally thought that Feng Yuanwai was burying wealth, but when he went to the place and looked at it, he knew it was not the case.
If it is a hidden treasure, then the location of the treasure must be well concealed so that no one can easily see the traces. And it won't be buried so shallow that it can be dug out with just one dig.
The only reason is that it is easier to dig out the treasure by burying it like this.
It happened that the place where Feng Yuanwai buried the treasure was by the river, so Zuo Mengeng thought that Feng Lun was preparing a way out.
That small river can lead directly to the Wei River. If you just pick up a boat and load it with treasure, you can travel hundreds of miles in one day, which is very convenient.
Money and silk move people's hearts, and Zuo Gui is no exception.
"Master, let's rob the money, right? It's secret anyway, no one knows."
Zuo Mengeng sneered.
"Are you stupid, or is Feng Lun stupid?"
In Zuo Gui's resentful expression, Zuo Mengeng analyzed it carefully.
"Next to Zhuangzi, outside of Feng Yuan, we are a family. If the treasure is lost, how do you think Feng Lun will look for it? Also, don't forget, Feng Lun is still a guarding eunuch, but he can mobilize the government and the garrison. At this time, the treasure If you steal it, can you hide it?"
That was not a box of money, but a dozen boxes, maybe even more than twenty.
Except for people like Feng Lun who cover the sky with one hand in the local area, others can't hide it at all.
"Then... what should we do? Just watch so much money being taken away by Feng Lun?"
Zuo Mengeng was not in a hurry.
"This matter is quite strange. Why Feng Lun did this, I can't figure out. But as long as Feng Lun is around, these treasures will not be touched. We still have a chance."
These treasures belonged to Feng Lun. Zuo Mengeng was not afraid that Feng would take advantage of the money and leave Feng Lun and run away with the money.
Without Feng Lun, Feng Yuanwai is nothing and cannot keep these wealth at all.
So as long as you keep an eye on Feng Lun, you don't have to worry about these assets disappearing.
The two of them ran back and forth, and after another night of cold wind, they were really exhausted, so they fell down and fell into a deep sleep.
When Zuo Mengeng returned to his mansion the next day, it was almost noon.
As soon as I entered the main hall, I found it very lively.
Liu Zongzhou, Hou Xun, Cao Wenheng, Zhang Zhenxiu and others were all there, and there were two more people I didn't know.
The strange thing is that the owner Zuo Liangyu is not here.
Zuo Mengeng understood it as soon as he thought about it.
This is a gathering of literati, and the things they talk about are either government affairs or poetry. Zuo Liangyu didn't know many of them, so he would suffer if he came here.
Now that I feel comfortable serving a few big bosses, it's better to be busy with my own business.
When Liu Zongzhou saw Zuo Mengeng, he waved quickly and said bitterly.
"Here comes the little thief who throws stones to scare birds."
Zuo Mengeng walked over and greeted them one by one. Hearing Liu Zongzhou say this, he couldn't help but smile.
"May I ask Mr. Nian Tai, who is this bird?"
A group of people clapped their hands and laughed, even Liu Zongzhou laughed and cursed.
"You mean boy, let me teach you a lesson later."
Hou Xun asked Zuo Mengeng to come to him and introduce the two strangers to him.
"These two are the two outstanding figures of the Gong clan, after Duke Wen Jie."
The older of the two, tall and bearded said, "Gong Heng has met Brother Zuo Xian."
Another person said elegantly: "Gong Duan has met Zuo Xiandi."
Zuo Mengeng did not dare to neglect and returned the courtesy respectfully.
"I have heard for a long time that Mengyin Gong's virtues are unparalleled, and his poetry and calligraphy knowledge are the best in Qilu. I will ask my two brothers to teach me in the future."
The father of Gong Heng and Gong Duan was Gong Nai, one of the three great families in Shanzuo during the Wanli period.
In the Ming Dynasty, the Mengyin Gong family was a famous imperial family, with five jinshi in one discipline, and two Hanlin scholars in father and son.
The flourishing style of writing is rare in the world.
However, although the Gong family emerged in Shandong, Gong Nai's poems advocated Qi Feng, but not Qi Dang.
Gong Nai is a veritable Donglin Party, so it is not surprising that Gong Heng and Gong Duan appear here.
Zuo Mengeng asked and found out that Gong Nai had passed away three years ago.
During the Tianqi period, Gong Nai was deeply marginalized by the eunuchs and resigned from office and returned to his hometown.
This time the eunuchs were destroyed, Gong Nai was also among those rewarded.
Although he passed away, his two sons were all awarded official positions.
Gong Heng is similar to Liu Yiyuan. Although he comes from a scholarly family, he is better at martial arts. This time he is going to Xuzhou to serve as a general.
Gong Duan took the civil service route and was appointed as the Prime Minister of Guanglu Temple.
The two brothers had received letters from Liu Zongzhou and Hou Xun early, and happened to meet up in Linqing. This was the scene where Zuo Mengeng saw the gathering of talents.
