Datang: Hiding private money, exposed by Xiao Sizi

Chapter 638: Inhuman! Unbelievable!

After the warrior left, he boarded the carriage.

At this time, Shen Lian had already returned to the carriage.

When Wu Shiqi saw Shen Lian, he asked directly: "Sir Shen, did you see it?"

Shen Lian nodded slightly.

He said: "Master Wu has done a great job."

"These businessmen did not have any doubts or wild thoughts, and they followed Master Wu's instructions completely. This was not easy."

Shen Lian was not complimenting Wu Shiqi.

Although, it seems that it is easy for Samurai to do this.

But in fact, when merchants from various countries came to Chang'an, they were not gathered together at first, but suddenly they were brought together.

And take away their weapons.

This itself also has some problems.

It is easy to arouse their suspicion and even cause some panic.

Let them wonder if something unexpected happened.

Therefore, it is not easy to make them obedient without having other thoughts.

There is a balance to be struck here.

And this degree is what Samurai Shikaku did very well.

Wu Shiqi smiled and said, "After all, I have been in the officialdom for decades."

"If I can't even do this well, I'll be letting down my efforts over the years."

Shen Lian smiled and said nothing more.

Wu Shiqi said: "There are a total of 173 caravans that have arrived so far. Some countries have only sent one caravan, while some countries have abundant resources and sent two caravans, so the number is larger than the number of countries in our alliance."

"And among the lists provided by various countries, there are a total of 180 names."

"That means there are still seven caravans that have not arrived."

Shen Lian asked, "Have these seven caravans entered the territory of the Tang Dynasty?"

The Tang Dynasty has an express channel for transmitting messages.

It is much faster than the speed of the caravan.

Therefore, if they entered the territory of the Tang Dynasty, even if they did not reach Chang'an, Wu Shiqi would be able to know their approximate whereabouts.

Wu Shiqi said: "Among the seven caravans, three have already entered the territory of the Tang Dynasty."

"But there are still four caravans..."

He shook his head and said, "No trace."

"There are only two days left before the Wanbang Chamber of Commerce is convened. They haven't arrived at the border yet. I'm worried that it will be difficult for them to arrive in time."

"What I am more worried about is..."

He looked at Shen Lian and said, "They may have had an accident."

Shen Lian tapped the table lightly with his fingers, narrowed his eyes, and said, "This possibility is not low."

"Perhaps, it was the Beidou Society, or people from other countries, who killed them. Perhaps they wanted to impersonate them, but they had some special reasons and could not impersonate them, so they replaced them with other people."

"But those four caravans will never come."

Shen Lian looked at Wu Shiqi and said, "Is the time you left for the merchant caravans from various countries sufficient?"

Wu Shiqi nodded and said, "Of course it's enough. We started preparing several months in advance. Even if it takes a while, we can still make it."

Shen Lian nodded slightly: "Then it is almost certain that something has happened."

“Even if it wasn’t these four caravans that had problems, there were problems in the countries they were in.”

"Master Wu."

Shen Lian said: "I suggest that Lord Wu immediately send a letter to the countries where the four caravans are located, telling them that they did not enter the territory of the Tang Dynasty and asking why."

"I think those countries will give us a reply."

Wu Shiqi pursed his lips, then nodded and said, "Okay, I will send a letter to ask them as soon as possible."

Shen Lian listened to the noisy sounds outside and said, "I hope these countries will respond to us by saying that their caravans have already set out, not that they don't want to come..."

When Wu Shiqi heard Shen Lian's words, his heart suddenly tightened.

He understood what Shen Lian meant by this.

He took a deep breath, looked at Shen Lian, and said, "I hope so too."

"Otherwise, it will be really troublesome!"

The caravan had already set out.

That means, at most, these caravans were killed!

But if you don't want to come...

That means there is something wrong with the countries represented by these caravans.

Then it’s not just a matter of dozens of caravan members.

It is a major event that will affect hundreds of millions of people!

It may even affect the stability of the alliance among countries.

He looked at Shen Lian and said, "If it is the latter, what should we do?"

Shen Lian shook his head and said, "We are beyond our reach."

"Whether it's the former or the latter, there's nothing we can do right now."

"The only thing we can do is..."

He looked at Wu Shiqi and said, "We must do a good job in this Wanbang Chamber of Commerce. As long as this Wanbang Chamber of Commerce is successful, let us maintain close cooperation with the countries behind these chambers of commerce, so that we will be inseparable from each other."

"Then, even if there are problems in those countries, it will not affect the overall situation."

"The monarchs of other countries are not fools either. They will understand who to follow to have a future."

"There is no doubt that the Wanbang Chamber of Commerce, as a big stage, allows all countries to communicate with each other and have economic exchanges. This is a win-win situation for all countries."

"so……"

Shen Lian said: "Even if the enemy has conspiracies and plots, we can defeat them with our strength!"

When Wu Shiqi heard Shen Lian's words, he nodded heavily.

He said, “I see.”

Wu Shiqi smiled bitterly and said, "Sir Shen, I was already feeling a lot of pressure from the Wanbang Chamber of Commerce, and now, I feel even more pressure."

"The importance of the Wanbang Chamber of Commerce has even exceeded my initial expectations."

Shen Lian smiled and said, "That's how things are in this world."

“Things are always changing, and there are always unexpected events, so what we have to do is to make sure the result is what we want no matter how the changes and unexpected events happen!”

The warrior nodded heavily.

The carriage moved slowly.

The horse's hooves made a ticking sound as they stepped on the bluestone road.

Outside the window, there is the lively sound of hawkers calling out their wares.

Shen Lian leaned against the car window and said, "How many weapons have you collected?"

Wu Shiqi said: "Almost every caravan of these merchants is equipped with some weapons and has people guarding them."

"So we collected a lot of weapons. If we counted them carefully, there are thousands of swords."

Shen Lian nodded and said, "This is normal."

"They are originally from the Tang Dynasty. After all, the mountains are high and the roads are long. We have to be prepared for accidents."

"It would be strange if there were no guards."

"What matters now is not how many weapons have been collected, but whether they are still hiding weapons."

……………………Wu Shiqi smiled bitterly and said, "Master Shen, you can rest assured about this. I have already arranged for people to search their rooms and luggage."

"Of course, the reason will be more pleasant. It is to protect them."

"Moreover, I did not search them for weapons. I wanted to check the goods they brought and confirm whether they were the same as the list they submitted..."

"So, we have legitimate reasons to search them."

"And they had no reason to refuse, nor did they have any doubts."

........................

Upon hearing this, Shen Lian couldn't help but give Wu Shiqi a thumbs up.

He said, "Master Wu, you are amazing!"

"Even if it's me, I'd have a headache trying not to alert them, not to arouse their suspicion, and to get them to cooperate with me in the search."

"I didn't expect that Master Wu could do it so easily with just one move."

Wu Shiqi smiled and said, "This is nothing, it's just a more reasonable application of the rules."

"After all, I have been in the officialdom for decades. If I don't have this little ability, then I have lived in vain for decades."

Shen Lian laughed.

After laughing, he looked at Wu Shiqi and said, "If you guys search like this, there will basically be no problem with the results of the search."

"So next, what we need to do is to keep a close eye on them."

"We need to keep an eye on where they go, what they do, and who they meet."

"Not surprisingly……"

Shen Lian said: "At the latest the day after tomorrow, they will reveal their true colors!"

Time passes like the tide, it cannot be stopped or retained.

In a flash, a day passed.

This day and night.

Shen Lian left the Dali Temple and was about to go home.

Then I met Han Min.

Han Min was seen carrying a roasted chicken, a lunch box and a jar of wine, and said to Qin Wenyuan with a smile: "Master Shen, do you want to drink?"

Shen Lian looked at Han Min and said, "Did you encounter something sad? Or something happy? Why do you suddenly want to drink?"

Shen Lian knew that the route from Jingzhao Yin Han Min's residence would not lead to the entrance of Dali Temple.

It was obvious that Han Min came to see him specifically.

Shen Lian knew Han Min.

Or when something happens, you have to do it yourself.

Or, there are mood swings.

Otherwise, Han Min wouldn't come to see me so casually.

Han Min chuckled and said, "It's true that nothing can be hidden from Lord Shen."

He said to Shen Lian: "My wife is pregnant. I am so happy and want to find someone to celebrate with. But I can't find any friends in the officialdom who can share the good news with me."

"After thinking about it, the only one is Lord Shen."

Upon hearing this, Shen Lian smiled and said, "Congratulations. How many children are you having?"

Han Min said, "This is the third one, but the first two were daughters. I don't know if this time it will be a son."

Shen Lian smiled and said, "It doesn't matter whether it's a boy or a girl. With your own abilities, you don't need a child to support you, so you don't have to care about whether it's a boy or a girl, given your identity."

Han Min chuckled and said, "That's right, I really don't care."

Shen Lian couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

The prosperous Tang Dynasty was truly a magical dynasty.

Although it was ancient times, the concept of gender was far less strict than that in other dynasties.

In the Tang Dynasty, women could serve as officials and even generals.

Later, the only female emperor in history, Wu Zetian, was born!

The Tang Dynasty was the most open-minded and broad-minded dynasty.

Here, no one will look down on women.

This is not much inferior to that of later generations.

Therefore, Han Min didn't care whether the child was a boy or a girl. When he knew about this happy event, he just wanted to celebrate with his friends.

Shen Lian smiled and said, "Let's go to my house. I'll cook a few more dishes and we can celebrate properly."

When Han Min heard that Shen Lian wanted to cook, she swallowed and said, "When Lord Shen started talking, I got hungry."

Shen Lian smiled and said, "I'm not a great cook. I just know how to cook two dishes."

Han Min shook his head and said, "But after eating these two dishes, I can't forget them! Fortunately, Lord Shen is not a cook, otherwise there would be nothing for other cooks to do."

Listening to Han Min's subtle flattery, Shen Lian smiled and shook his head.

The two of them strolled towards Shen Lian's home.

On the way, Shen Lian asked, "Have any special cases happened in the past few days?"

Han Min shook her head. "It's about the same as usual. The frequency of cases is a little lower than in previous years. It's relatively stable..."

Shen Lian asked: "Is there any incident of the Beidou Society's base being massacred?"

"Nothing."

Han Min said: "Only those two strongholds were massacred, and after that, there were no cases of multiple deaths."

Shen Lian nodded slightly, and reminded: "The Wanbang Chamber of Commerce is about to be held. I predict that something will definitely happen before and after the Wanbang Chamber of Commerce is held."

"You Jingzhao Yin should also be more careful and make some preparations and choices in advance, so as not to be too concerned about the consequences."

When Han Min heard this, he was suddenly startled.

He couldn't help but look at Shen Lian and asked, "Is this inside information?"

Shen Lian smiled and said, "These are just some of my judgments. If you believe me, then be prepared. If you think I am overthinking, then just proceed as usual."

"Of course I believe in Lord Shen."

Han Min looked at Shen Lian and said very seriously: "From the first moment I met Lord Shen, I told myself that I would cling to Lord Shen's thighs in the future."

"So I have absolute trust in Lord Shen."

"I will arrange personnel tomorrow to increase patrols and call back all those on leave to be ready to respond to emergencies at any time."

Shen Lian nodded slightly: "Be careful, it won't hurt."

As the prefect of Jingzhao, Han Min would be held jointly responsible if anything happened in Chang'an City and it was not handled properly.

So Shen Lian specifically reminded him.

To Han Min, these words are worth a fortune.

Shen Lian and Han Min talked and laughed as they came to Shen Lian's courtyard.

After entering the courtyard, Han Min suddenly sighed and said, "After Lord Shen gets married, I won't be able to come to Lord Shen for meals anytime."

"Thinking of this, I actually feel a little sad."

Shen Lian smiled and said, "Why can't you come? Although I'm getting married, I'm still me. There won't be any difference except that there's one more person in the family."

Han Min said: "It's different."

"After Lord Shen gets married, he will be the public consort."

"The prince consort is a relative of the emperor, how can they be the same?"

Shen Lian smiled and said, "To me, identity is just an additional product after marrying my eldest son Changle."

"I don't care, why do you care?"

"Do not worry."

Shen Lian said, "I promise that even after I get married, you can always come over if you want to drink with me, and you can always come over if you want to eat with me. After we get married, I also want to let Changle cook for you. My wife is a very good cook, and I will let you have a taste of her cooking."