Chapter 539 Secret investigation, appointment with Zhao Shixiong (6k)
An "attack" that should have been targeted at Zhao Duan was unexpectedly interrupted by the local gang.
However, only Zhao Duan himself knew that this was not a coincidence.
After getting off the wall, Zhao Duan walked through the fence door in the middle of the two yards and sat on the Du family's dining table with a price of five taels of silver.
On the dining table.
The down-and-out Confucian scholar Du Ruhui, the fierce wife Du Shi, Du Shishi, Du Xiaobao's family of four, and Zhao Duan formed a circle.
Perhaps because of the money, the fierce wife Du smiled and kept picking up food for Zhao Duan. Her skills were indeed good, and she also asked with concern how she adapted.
Du Ruhui, who had a mediocre appearance and had a depressed and sarcastic expression between his eyebrows, spoke little.
Zhao Duan smiled and greeted, taking advantage of the gang fight to inquire about the situation in the city.
"The city is indeed unstable. Some gangs are so bold, which is also related to the fact that the Yunfu Army is connected to the Internet."
Du Ruhui, who had a beard and looked down-and-out, explained.
Are the gangs looking for rebels as protective umbrellas? Zhao Duan is well aware of the survival rules of the lower gangs.
Just like the Red Flower Club in the capital, he also sought the honorable noble Xia Jianghou as a protective umbrella.
"I heard that General Zhao Shixiong was extremely strict in his military administration. The people below were willing to let the gang backers and make money, so would he let it go?" Zhao Duan was puzzled.
Du Ruhui seemed to smile:
"So all these filth is hidden from the top and will not let General Zhao know. Besides, who said that the people who support the gang are the people from the border army?"
Not the border army...that is it the officers from the Mu Wang Mansion?
Even... some military supervisors?
Zhao Duan felt aroused in his heart and realized that this was useful information.
He continued to stumble indirectly, looking for knowledge, and asked Du Ruhui for more details.
Considering that the character he set for himself was a foreigner seeking survival in the city, his behavior of longing for these news was reasonable and would not cause doubt.
Du Ruhui had been holding it at home for a long time, so he opened up and talked about a lot of things he knew.
It was not until Du's wife and a pair of children finished their meals and left the table, and Du Ruhui heard his wife's dissatisfied cough that he ended the topic.
It was dark and the main room was lit with candles.
Du Ruhui was sitting at the table washing his feet, and heard Du’s wife sitting cross-legged on the couch complaining:
"You seem to know so much about that tenant? He went outside to inquire about the news and had to pay. You are kind-hearted and told him for nothing?"
Du Ruhui rubbed his head and feet, and suddenly said:
"This person is not simple. He is definitely not an ordinary child of a wealthy family. His words and demeanor are not obvious when he speaks, but he always asks him to the point.
You are polite to others, but don't get too close...
Alas, it’s a pity that I have already rented it. If I had known it, I would probably have less trouble if I didn’t rent it to him. ”
At this moment, the inconspicuous demeanor between the eyebrows of the scholar was extremely unusual.
Du's wife curled her lips, sat on the bed with her hips, cursing:
"If you don't rent him, do you want to make money to support your family?"
Do you think I, a woman, would be willing to plot against those copper coins?
Then Zhao Shixiong came, and the other officials in the government office continued to be officials? I get more salary. Only you, you have no ability, will you be driven out..."
Du Ruhui was silent and did not explain that he was not driven out, but that he resigned from his position as the yamen before the rebels entered the city, just to avoid disaster.
"Yunfu's King Mu seems to be very arrogant, but in fact he has a very small structure and cannot become the emperor. He will serve the rebels today and will be liquidated in the future."
Du Ruhui wiped his feet clean and whispered:
"Being a husband is a person who wants to be a prime minister. Now he is just hiding in dormant and waiting for the opportunity."
No one responded.
When Lao Du turned around, he found that his wife had fallen asleep with her pillow in her arms.
Du Ruhui:...
...
Next door courtyard.
Zhao Duan pushed open the bedroom door, and it was pitch black inside.
He closed the door first, lit the oil lamp on the table, and the darkness squirmed and retreated. Song Jinxi, who was standing in the corner, was like the dark reefs exposed on the shore when the tide was low.
He didn't know when he lurked in and waited quietly.
"How is the situation?" Zhao Duan sat calmly at the table, picked up the scissors and picked up the wick, without even looking around.
Song Jinxi, wearing a night-distanced dress, said respectfully:
"I have already controlled the Yexiang Sect and lurked in it, waiting for your next command."
Zhao Duan said "happy" and said calmly:
"Yexiang Sect is a good entry point and is very convenient to obtain information, but it is not enough. I need you to expand the territory and power of Yexiang Sect as soon as possible in the next day, so as to control the underground forces in the city as quickly as possible."
Song Jinxi was stunned for a moment and hesitated:
"But in this way, frequent fire mergers will be necessary. Will it attract the attention of the rebels' upper class?"
Zhao Duan said calmly:
"Just do it. Remember, what we lack is time and we don't have the time to slowly build an intelligence network and penetrate. Everything can only be decided quickly."
What prompted him to make this decision was the information provided by Du Ruhui.
The rebels in the city can be roughly divided into two factions:
"Border Army Group" and "Border House Group".
Even within the border army, there will be no internal large and small groups.
In order to make money, the news of the underlying gang will be suppressed, and Zhao Shixiong will not be able to know in a short time.
Just like the emperor can only control within ten steps of his side. Once he is blindfolded by the ministers in the court and his ears, he will lose his awareness of the outside world.
"Yes." Song Jinxi did not hesitate and nodded in response:
"At most ten days, no, seven days, my subordinates have confidence to control the underground gang."
Zhao Duan nodded and continued:
"While expanding the gang, I want you to use the eyes and ears of these people to investigate some people."
"Sir, please tell me, what are the specific ones?"
"The activity trajectory of the military supervisors led by Wang Qi and the guard forces around Wang Qi are too sensitive, so it is best for you to do it yourself." Zhao Duan thought for a while and said:
"There is another man named Feng Xiaolian who has recently appeared in Yunshaoyuan and is one of the shopkeepers of the Huai Palace."
Song Jinxi secretly wrote down: "Is there any?"
"Landlord," Zhao Duan pointed his forehead:
"Let's check the landlord I live in, especially Du Ruhui and Du. Let's see what the background is."
He originally thought that the girl was the most special among the Du family, but after talking at the dinner table tonight, Zhao Duan was surprised to find out.
Inconspicuous, almost cowardly, Du Ruhui, who is in a down-and-out and idle at home, has a lot of miles in his heart. Although he has not had a deep discussion, how can Zhao Duan have the ability to see?
By simply talking, I realized that this scholar is extraordinary and his talents are by no means comparable to a small scholar.
"I understand." Song Jinxi was a little surprised. Unexpectedly, a small person actually caught his own eyes.
"Is there anything else?" Zhao Duan asked suspiciously when he saw that he did not leave.
Song Jinxi reported:
"Nie Yurong sent me a piece of information, saying that lord might need it, it happened to be related to the military inspector Wang Qi."
"Oh?" Zhao Duan raised his eyebrows.
Song Jinxi explained:
"She said that Wang Qi had an ancient self-defense bodyguard given by Xu Jinglang. She didn't know the specific information, but only knew that if you want to deal with this Wang Qi, don't get close to her ten feet in a radius."
Can't get too close?
Zhao Duan was stunned for a moment, and couldn't help but think of the Qingzhou Heng King whom he had dealt with, and the Red Flame Saint Armor controlled by the other party, which almost made him lose his car.
Huh... The Eight Kings and other royal families with profound backgrounds all have a lot of good things in their chests. Now that the war is going to start, it is reasonable to take it out to protect important ministers...
Zhao Duan was alert. He was not so arrogant that he thought that after entering the middle grade of the world, he could walk sideways.
Especially involving warlocks... all kinds of strange magic tricks are far more threatening to people than the sword of a warrior.
Fortunately, there are very few warlocks in the world, far from the number of warriors, and most of them are contained by the Heavenly Master Mansion and are unwilling to participate in the war.
The "town" that may be used by mortals is not restricted...
"I understand." Zhao Duan thought for a while and said lightly.
Song Jinxi's figure slowly melted into the darkness, and the window seemed to be blown open by the wind, and then closed again.
The big killer has disappeared.
...
Watching Song Jinxi leave, Zhao Duan was still sitting at the round table, staring at the beating flames of the oil lamp and pondering.
He was thinking about the information sent by Nie Yurong.
"Don't get close to the area around him? This almost eliminates the possibility of assassination by a warrior."
"Do you use the warlock? The Red Flame Saint Armor has lost its magic power now. Although it can still try to activate it, it is not enough lethal. Although the Black Turtle Seal can cast spells from a distance, the Water God magic is not very good at attacking and killing, let alone I am not good at using these magic weapons..."
"Pei Niannu? Ask her to control my body and cast spells? It seems feasible, but the distance is still not enough... Wang Qi has a group of warriors guards..."
Although the martial god's path can use the visualized gods to perform some magic, they are not real warlocks after all.
Zhao Duan is essentially a martial artist. Well, the martial arts you master will only come with some magical effects.
Even real warlocks cannot leave too far when fighting with others, just like Jade Sleeve. Although they can control flying swords, the farther the person and flying swords, the worse the lethality.
"Considering that Wang Qi may be fishing, the risk of assassinating this person is definitely not small, I cannot take the risk easily... Maybe, I can find a cheap beautiful master to ask for advice..."
Zhao Duan did not forget that last time he learned about the method of summoning the water god from Pei Niannu.
He immediately tried to visualize, and suddenly, a flame swayed on the table, and an illusory figure wearing a red wedding dress and covered with dark golden facial armor appeared.
Pei Niannu sat opposite the round table, his eyes cold, staring at him impatiently:
"And...what's wrong..."
She seemed to be annoyed me, yes, since I stepped into the world, I started to have sex for free and never told her a story... Zhao Duan seriously told her his needs.
Pei Niannu said coldly: "It has nothing to do with...I...."
After saying that, she faded a little bit and disappeared.
Zhao Duan was stunned, laughing and crying. The long-term relationship made him easily understand the meaning of the sorcerer:
As a "carrying old lady", Pei Niannu will respond to the call to protect Zhao Duan when he is in danger.
We will also make exceptions to give some answers in very rare moments, such as the last time when the disaster of burning the people and avoiding the occurrence of the city burning disaster. But beyond that, she will not provide any additional help.
Assassination of others...is obviously not within the scope of help.
But Zhao Duan couldn't force her. The "senius" he visualized had a certain sense of self-awareness, just like Zhao Duan had tried to ask Pei Niannu about her relationship with Taizu of Dayu and some secrets from that year.
But Pei Niannu has never refused to answer.
"...Senior, it really doesn't work. I am willing to pay for you to read three chapters of novels as rewards. How?...Five chapters? Ten chapters?..."
Zhao Duan didn't give up and tried to lure him with benefits, but Pei Niannu ignored him like a crash.
Is this really angry? Or is the story I told is not exciting enough? Zhao Duan was shocked and secretly anxious.
The bribery that used to be unfavorable has failed!
"But it doesn't matter. If you don't answer now, you may not be the one you were young!"
Zhao Duan muttered, got up and went back to the bed, threw himself on the bed, breathed and entered the "Big Dream Scroll".
...
In a trance, Zhao Duan appeared in a mountain temple.
In the big dream scroll, it is also night, with stars in the sky. Here is the sky that was six hundred years ago in the painting scroll, the end of the Qi Dynasty.
"Crackling."
Zhao Duan sat cross-legged in front of a bonfire and opened his eyes. He was now a boy, wearing a plain Taoist robe and a Taoist bun.
The fire spread out from before my eyes, illuminating the surrounding ruined temples. Further out, the fire quickly disappeared into the dark night.
This is six hundred years ago, in a certain forest on Xiping Road today.
In the past two months, Zhao Duan has been walking in the world as a young teenager in his dream.
I have seen the customs and customs along the way, and I have also seen many sects in the world that have long disappeared from history.
For example, Zoroastrianism is one of them.
However, at the current time, the master and disciple Zhao Duan had left the territory of Zoroastrian and continued to experience the world.
Pei Niannu at this time also had the strength of the world. Although he was not the first echelon in the world, his status was not low.
As her disciple, Zhao Duan also learned about some of Pei Niannu's past events.
For example:
When she was young, she had fought against evil sorcerers with a group of like-minded partners. Well, the evil sorcerers of this era are very powerful, far more powerful than six hundred years later.
Later, everyone was injured one after another and disbanded and returned home, but Pei Niannu was still growing up.
Now, she has become a high-quality person in the world, visiting the residences of her former companions one by one. However, her peers who had been in the world who had been in the world, either had already washed their hands, bid farewell to the world, or had just died.
Yes...
This journey is somewhat of a bit like "The Burial of Flillian"...
At this moment, footsteps came from outside the ruined temple, and a figure of a female hero wearing a silver mask and a cloak appeared in the darkness.
Well... Fulinu is back... Zhao Duan was shocked and stood up to greet:
"Master."
"Yeah," the young Pei Niannu threw a little beast hunted in his hand to the ground and said lightly:
"I'm hungry, let's eat it after roasting."
Then he swayed and sat aside waiting for the meal.
Zhao Duan sighed softly, and handled the ingredients skillfully, saying:
"Master, does the warrior have a way to attack the warlock at a long enough distance?"
Then, he told the general situation of the enemy that he had in reality.
This kind of question is abrupt, but Zhao Duan has long discovered that although Pei Niannu in "The Great Dream Scroll" seems wise, he is actually not a "living person", and is not much different from Lao Xu in "The God of Martial Arts".
It's just an NPC... Therefore, even if it's such a strange conversation, the other party will not "be suspicious".
The only one who truly looks like a living person is Pei Niannu hidden in the "Six Chapters of the Sutra", and there are no other ones.
Sure enough, Pei Niannu, who had heard his question, thought for a while, suddenly stood up and walked outside the temple again.
But this time she didn't go far, but soon walked back with a few bamboos.
bamboo? Zhao Duan thought about something.
...
On the same night, Yunshao Courtyard was brightly lit, and the military supervisor Wang Qi returned home and took a carriage to return to the military camp.
When he arrived at the residence in the military camp, Wang Qi's eyes suddenly became clear with an intoxicated face, a big belly, and a lustful reputation.
As if he was not at all drunk, he sat upright on the table and began to look through the notes sent by dozens of other "military supervisors" in the army one by one.
This is his daily job, and he is still at peace today.
"I ordered the people below to be more alert recently. The court seems to have no action now, but since Xue Shence has returned to the eastern front, Zhao Duan will definitely not be inactive and may have restrained us."
Wang Qi said calmly.
A military supervisor who came to report in the room was worried:
"Sir, are you worried that the other party will come to carry out the assassination?"
Wang Qi said in a deep voice:
"Then Zhao Duan is quite treacherous, and he has several worldly realms to call under his command, so he must be careful. However, I hope he will send someone to assassinate me. As long as the other party dares to take action, he will teach him that he will never return."
While speaking, the rich military supervisor had an old blue and white porcelain bowl the size of a palm in his hand.
The kiln at the bottom of the porcelain bowl was actually red talismans, and a pool of clear water was supported in the bowl.
But no matter how the porcelain bowl shakes, even if it is upside down, the water in the bowl will never spill.
...
...
In the next few days, a subtle change occurred in Yongjia City.
The change occurred in the lower city area. At first, the Red Rape Gang caught fire with Yexiang Gang in order to seize the territory. The result was surprising. Yexiang Gang actually gained the upper hand, and in turn swallowed up many territory and members of the Red Rape Gang.
And this is just the beginning.
Next, the Yexiang Sect, which was thriving in power, started fighting with the gang "Yinwajiangxing".
This gang was originally composed of a group of craftsmen who specialize in repairing houses for people. They were old forces. After the rebels entered the city, they forced a large number of fortifications to be built, so they declined a lot.
As a result, it was quickly swallowed by Ye Xiang Gate.
In less than a few days, the power of Yexiang Sect doubled, which shocked the whole area. More gangs became nervous and began to form secret alliances to curb the Yexiang Sect's need to expand.
"This gang cannot continue to expand, otherwise we will lose all the remaining territory." The leader of the Hongluo Gang slapped the table and ordered people to ask for help from the rebels behind him.
But I only waited for a basin of cold water:
The backers of the rebels were unwilling to send troops to suppress them, as if they were worried about mobilizing their troops and attracting Zhao Shixiong's attention.
After receiving the news, Song Jinxi became more and more bold. Within seven days, he used the gang's staff to spread his eyes all over the city.
A lot of intelligence was obtained.
In the room rented.
"Sir, Feng Xiaolian has no problem. He has confirmed his identity. He is undoubtedly from the Huai Palace and has a high status in the Huai Palace. Now he is publicly identifiable in the city. He is the shopkeeper who manages the industries under the Huai Palace."
Song Jinxihui reports:
"The Du family has also found out that there is nothing special. It is not surprising that Du is a wild warlock in the world.
Du Ruhui was not very special. The only thing worth noting was that he found reasons to resign from his position in the government office long before the rebels entered the Huai River and also disconnected many connections. Later, the rebels entered the city and recruited many people to do things, but he avoided them. ”
So savvy? Many officials with high rank lack this courage and foresight in order to decisively abandon their iron rice bowl when the situation is unclear... Zhao Duan nodded:
"What else?"
Song Jinxi handed him a thick stack of manuscripts:
"This is all the information we investigated, related to the city's military supervisor. Wang Qi is at the top. Sir, this Wang Qi is a little wrong. It's too high-profile. I don't know if it's fearless or deliberately attracts our attention."
Zhao Duan looked through the information, leaving only Wang Qi's, threw the rest back, and said lightly:
"Notify the shadow guards in the lower city to cooperate with my actions tonight. You can choose at least five supervisors here and try to assassinate."
Song Jinxi responded and smiled:
"Don't worry, sir, my subordinates are best at killing people. If that Wang Qi is handed over to his subordinates, even if he is careful, his subordinates will have the confidence to eradicate him."
"No need, just do your job well." Zhao Duan waved his hand and sent the person away. He looked at the information several times again, and then burned the papers.
...
Yunshaoyuan.
"Young Master Dong Ping is here?"
Zhao Duan entered the brothel lobby again and discovered Feng Xiaolian among the women.
The shopkeeper, who was a green-shirted gangster, was drunk all over, hugged him left and right, with several "strawberry marks" on his face.
The women around him smiled and did not compromise at all, as if it was a rare happiness to be with him.
This is a man who will make women willing to accompany him, even for free.
Feng Xiaolian's eyes lit up, and she smiled and called Zhao Duan over, exchanged a few greetings, and drove others away on the grounds of tranquility.
"The governor wants to give instructions if you have something to do?" Feng Xiaolian asked with a smile.
Zhao Duan glanced around, confirmed that no one was paying attention, and whispered:
"I want to talk to Zhao Shixiong and need an intermediary to recommend it."
Feng Xiaolian was shocked, her eyes changed, and the smile on her face was also curled up a little:
"Is the governor serious?"
Zhao Duan glanced at him: "Will my identity be so boring that I am looking for you to be happy?"
Feng Xiaolian thought about it and said after a moment, "Zhao Shixiong will not see you."
Zhao Duan picked up the wine glass and took a sip, and said lightly:
"I will not go to see him, I just handed him a letter."
Is it just a letter to communicate? Feng Xiaolian breathed a sigh of relief, thought for a moment, and said:
"What the governor wants should be sending a message privately, and he definitely doesn't want to be known to many people. Well... we can start with Zhao Shixiong's wife Gongsun.
I can find someone, deliver the letter to Gongsun, and then she will convey it to Zhao Shixiong, but this matter takes time to prepare for at least three days. ”
(This chapter ends)