Kingdom of Heaven and Han

The New Year passed with all the fuss. On the third day of the first lunar month, Shen Zun said goodbye to his family and went to Xiangyang to take up his post. Also joining him were Lu Cheng and Zhou Ying, both of whom were Zhang Jun's old subordinates when he was behind enemy lines and had rich experience.

Ten days later, when they arrived in Xiangyang, the three of them went straight to a shop in the west of Xioma Lane.

Putting down the salute, Shen Zun said to Lu Cheng: "Previously, the stores were under the care of Manager Hong from the west of the city. You guys take a rest and I will send someone to ask for Manager Hong."

Lu Cheng agreed and went to rest with Zhou Ying.

Not much time passed before Manager Hong came to the store. When he saw Shen Zun, he saluted him.

Shen Zundao said: "Thank you very much, supervisor, for taking care of the store. I'll thank you separately. The store will be opened in the near future. Please ask the supervisor to come and take inventory with me."

Director Hong said hurriedly: "It should, it should. I wish my boss a prosperous business."

At this moment, Manager Hong and Shen Zun took stock of the items in the store and returned to the living room.

Shen Zun's shop mainly makes tofu. In this era, tofu was not yet common, and there were only two or three shops in Xiangyang. It was a good business. I buy soybeans every day, soak them in water, and grind them into soy milk with a stone mill. After boiling it, I went out to sell it early in the morning.

Because it is large and employs many people, Lu Cheng, Zhou Ying and others can be among them and will not be easily discovered.

After seeing off Manager Hong, Shen Zun looked around and was very satisfied with the store. When Lu Cheng and Zhou Ying got together, Shen Zun called them to talk.

Shen Zundao: "We opened a tofu shop in Xiangyang, which can cover people's ears regardless of whether the business is good or bad. There is a 'Jingshuilou' restaurant outside Xiangyang City, and there is a fisherman in Fancheng across the river who specializes in delivering news. The most important one is, It's still with us. Whether we can get the news or not, whether the news is important or not, depends on whether we use the money carefully. Xuanfu sent us to Xiangyang with high hopes."

Lu Cheng and Zhou Ying said: "We all obey the orders of the officials. They tell us to go east. We don't dare to go west. We are told -"

Shen Zun waved his hand and said: "Don't say those coaxing words to me. Whether you are doing well or not, I have eyes to see and ears to hear. Since we are working behind enemy lines, it is impossible to obey everything. Many times you have to make your own decisions. Don’t do things carefully, and you can tell others what you do.”

Lu Cheng and Zhou Ying were a little embarrassed and rubbed their heads.

Shen Zundao: "The official family will come to Xiangyang in February. In the following period, you should first familiarize yourself with the situation in Xiangyang——"

Lu Chengdao: "Guan Shen, we all grew up in Xiangyang. Are you still not familiar with the situation here?"

Shen Zundao: "As a place of conduct in Xiangyang, many places have been renovated. It won't hurt if you get familiar with the situation. There are a few places where you should pay special attention. There is a fishmonger named Jirong by the Han River, Dan Dan in the east of Xiangyang City. Feng Restaurant', the tea shop outside the Xiangyang government office, these places all have people who deliver news to us."

Lu Cheng and Zhou Ying agreed one by one.

Shen Zun said seriously: "What we do is secret work, and you and I have a single line of contact. In other words, for people in our system in Xiangyang Prefecture, you have no contact with them, only with me. Remember, remember !”

Seeing Shen Zun's seriousness, Lu Cheng and Zhou Ying handed over their hands together: "Remember."

Shen Zundao said: "In these days, you should pay more attention to the Qin magistrate. It is best to make more friends with his servants and maids. It is always good to get some information. This is something Xuanfu specially told, but it should not be taken lightly. Yes!" Lu Cheng said doubtfully: "Prefect Qin? He is just the prefect, what news do you want to inquire about?"

Shen Zundao: "I don't know either. In short, this is what Xuan Fu told me, so you have to be very careful!"

Lu Cheng and Zhou Ying looked at each other and agreed.

Finally, Shen Zundao said: "There are rumors in the market that the Kingdom of Jin sent a secret envoy and gave a secret letter to the prefect of Qin. You can check whether it is true or not."

Lu Cheng and Zhou Ying agreed and then left.

After leaving the room, Lu Cheng asked Zhou Ying: "It is so secret that the Jin Kingdom sent a secret envoy. How would ordinary people know about it?"

Zhou Ying laughed after hearing this and said: "Prefect Qin has always been in contact with the Jin people, and everyone in the court knows about it. It is not surprising that there is a secret message for him."

Lu Cheng was amazed after hearing this.

In fact, when Qin Hui became prime minister for the first time after returning to the Southern Song Dynasty, he sensationally said that I had a plan to calm the world. Zhao Gou sent someone to ask, but Qin Hui just pretended to be a master and smiled without saying a word. It was not until he was appointed prime minister that he said, "People from the south should return to the south, and people from the north should return to the north." Zhao Gou didn't dismiss Qin Hui until the Northern Expedition, and said, "People from my north will return home safely"? Zhao Gou's ambiguity towards Qin Hui is evident.

After Qin Hui returned to the Southern Song Dynasty, he often communicated with the Jin Dynasty, and even had secret envoys traveling back and forth. This was known to everyone in the Southern Song Dynasty, and Zhao Gou certainly knew it. But it was never made clear and no one blamed Qin Hui. Zhao Gou is afraid that he has always kept an illusion that he can make peace with the Jin Dynasty through Qin Hui.

Zhou Ying told Qin Hui's story, and Lu Cheng was amazed. He said: "How can we fight against the Jin Dynasty when there are ministers like this in the imperial court?"

Zhou Ying laughed and said: "The officials never talked about fighting against the Jin army. In the last Northern Expedition, there was Xuanfu on the west route, and the officials couldn't control it at all. The Northern Expedition on the east route was about a crusade against Liu Yu, but I dare not say it was a crusade. Golden Army.”

Lu Chengdao: "Fortunately, the Western Route to the North Expedition to Xuanfu was a complete victory. The officials should be confident, right?"

Zhou Ying sighed and said nothing.

Lu Cheng looked at Zhou Ying's face and felt something was wrong. It is said that the West Road won a great victory and even the marshal Nianhan was killed. How could the emperor still lack confidence?

Both of them were junior officers. Some knew that there was a rumor that Wang Xiaolie wanted to work for the emperor, while others were very strict and didn't know. Now that we are behind enemy lines, we dare not tell the enemy what we know. In fact, for Lu Cheng and Zhou Ying, they shouldn't talk about politics.

After sending Lu Cheng and Zhou Ying away, Shen Zun sat alone in the room, thinking about the Jin Kingdom's secret envoy in Qin Hui's mansion.

As Wang Xiaolie's top intelligence officer in Xiangyang, Shen Zun's subordinates certainly included more than just Lu Cheng and Zhou Ying. Even the two of them had little role. Shen Zun just wanted them to familiarize themselves with the situation in Xiangyang as soon as possible.

Shen Zun initially established an intelligence system in Hangzhou, and a large part of it was transplanted to Xiangyang. Most of the tasks of inquiring about Qin Hui's secret envoys will be left to them. It's just that I didn't work hard at Qin Hui's house before, so it was more difficult.

Shen Zun thought about it again and again, he should still put more effort into the servants of the Qin family. Those servants and maids are insignificant in the eyes of others, but they are of great use. In the past, when Lu Yijian was the prime minister, he often made friends with subordinate officials and firmly controlled the political affairs hall. Sometimes those with low status get information that is important. Moreover, there are gold envoys in Qin Hui's house, and the family has become accustomed to it and will not take special precautions.

(End of this chapter)