More than that?

Chen Zhengtai saw the sneaky appearance of the third uncle, so he couldn't help but say, "Then what else?" ”

The third uncle said: "There is also the market, there have always been people buying pig iron on a large scale, using various ways, these iron tools...... But I don't know where it was sent, but this pig iron procurement that can't be found is really shocking. The amount is not small...... The merchants on Shuofang's side also reported that in fact, a large number of iron tools in this desert were actually imported from the Central Plains before, and it stands to reason that even if the imperial court will conduct mutual trading with some Hu people, the amount of transactions is also limited, but judging from various signs, these iron tools are ...... It's just too much. ”

"In fact, not only iron tools, but also those things that are necessary for ordinary Hu people seem to have been imported into the grassland, among which Goguryeo has the largest amount, and other grassland departments have also imported a lot. Even...... In the process of ordering someone to investigate, the old man noticed an even stranger phenomenon. ”

"More strange phenomenon......" Chen Zhengtai frowned and looked at the third uncle suspiciously.

The third uncle nodded and said: "There are some craftsmen who claim that when they went to the border town to repair the city wall, they were paid to inquire about the situation of various passes, and if they provided the loopholes of the city walls and some unknown city defense secrets, they could get a large amount of reward. Originally...... The old man thought it was just something Hu Shang did, but he felt that something was wrong, because when this clue was excavated, it was quickly interrupted, you think about it, if Hu Shang took this information, he could naturally disappear, and he didn't have to be so careful. And the other party is so careful, so it is more likely to ...... It is the people on the side of Guanzhong who are involved in this matter. ”

After a pause, the third uncle said again: "What's even more strange is ...... The merchants who went to Shuofang, they began to contact the Hu people, wanted to do business, but found that the other party knew the situation in the Central Plains well, this is obviously not the temperament of the Hu people, although the Hu people are also hostile to the Central Plains every once in a while, but it is difficult for them to have a careful plan, from the many words, it is obvious that this is a plan to take precautions, in the Hu people, there are even people who say that every time they go south to invade the Central Plains, most of the time, they can always find an excellent path, as if they have discussed with some border towns......"

The third uncle showed a shocked look on his face and continued: "Do you remember the old story when the Turks invaded Bingzhou in the early years of Zhenguan and plundered 5,000 men and women, and then ransacked Shuozhou and attacked Taiyuan? At that time, the current emperor first ascended the treasure, this matter had shaken Guanzhong for a while, everyone was surprised that Bingzhou, Shuozhou, Taiyuan and other places, has been close to the hinterland of the Central Plains, but the Turks are like a whirlwind, the invasion is like the wind, and the states are very strong city walls, it should not be easy to break, but the Turks almost broke several states, it was really terrifying at that time, I don't know how many people were killed, these countless men, directly beheaded by the knife. The women, tied with straw ropes, were all swept away to the grassland and ravaged. The children, who were not as tall as the wheels, were gathered together and slewn into the river, and the water was stained with blood. So much so that at that time in the Central Plains, everyone was in danger, and between the states, there was no fear of Turkic incursion! But the Turks plundered a land, never stopped, coming like the wind, and going like the wind. There is nothing that cannot be conquered. At that time, people only knew that the Turks were brave, but when they thought about it, they were not right, the Turks were brave, but how could such a high wall be conquered in a few days? They seem to know the weaknesses of the city defense well, alas, there are some cities, as if they have been discussed, the Turks have not yet arrived, they have already opened the gate of the urn city, on the surface, it is a series of mistakes, but now think about it, is it actually from the beginning, there has been a careful plan, behind these Hu people, someone has already been ready to respond? ”

The third uncle actually didn't want to mention these past events from the bottom of his heart, because there were too many horrors and too many touching things about these things he had experienced in the past, and every time he thought about it, he shuddered!

Thinking of the old things now, he couldn't help but sigh: "At the beginning, His Majesty had just ascended the throne, and the court was already intertwined and people's hearts were fluctuating, so he didn't care about the affairs of the border town. But now that I think about it, it's really miserable, at that time, the old man had a friend who repaired the book, saying that it was the corpse of the person who was exposed to the wild, and there were countless women who were abducted and raped YIN. What a wicked thing this is......

In fact, the ancients had a relatively high tolerance for death, which is actually understandable, and in later generations, a tragedy will inevitably shake the world. But in this era, because of disease and war, people are used to seeing birth, old age, sickness and death, and there will be some numbness. Especially a person like the third uncle who has lived for most of his life, has gone through several dynasties, and this has long been commonplace.

But if even he was scared and frightened, it must be really miserable to the extreme.

And all the questions raised in the third uncle's words point to one problem, that is, there are spies within the Tang Dynasty.

And this kind of spy is not alone, because this spy is obviously much stronger than the vast majority of people in terms of means and ability. It may even be that he has formed some kind of symbiotic relationship with the Hu people in various departments outside the Guan, and the Hu people can get a piece of the wealth obtained by taking down and plundering. And they provided the Hu people with intelligence, weapons, traded with them, obtained treasures, and sought the greatest benefits.

The last thing I like about smuggling is the mutual market or the normalization of transactions.

Because for some people, once the market is exchanged, there will be many merchants to compete, but only when the imperial court prohibits certain exchanges with the grassland, they can rely on their privileges to sell the scarce things of the Hu people to the grassland at a high price.

On the other hand, because they don't like the Han people's power to enter the grassland and compete with them, they are often willing to support the Hu people to sack the Central Plains!

On the one hand, they can get a share of the benefits, and on the other hand, only if the Central Plains gritted their teeth more against these Hu people, they would ban trade, so that a vicious circle was formed.

Most of those Hu people are short-sighted and difficult to formulate long-term strategies, but if there is a smart person behind them who is planning for them, then the destructive power is particularly amazing.

In fact, there are countless such people in all dynasties, but the princes who recorded history obviously did not perceive the harm of these people!

The Central Plains Dynasty tended to take a disdainful attitude towards the Hu people, and these people were often so deeply hidden that they were difficult to detect.

The reason why Chen Zhengtai noticed the abnormality was only because his observation of the market was more detailed than most people, and he suddenly felt that there were so many more of these goods on the market, which was a little strange.

But for those ministers of the DPRK and China who do not touch the spring water with their fingers, it is obvious that they ...... They were not interested in knowing the origin and price of the ginseng.

After hearing the words of the third uncle, Chen Zhengtai's face couldn't help but become solemn, and he said, "Have you found out the identities of these people?" ”

The third uncle widened his eyes and said, "If the old man can easily find out, I'm afraid that these people have already been exposed, so why don't you wait until the court today to find out at all?" ”

"Do everything you can to continue the thorough investigation." Chen Zhengtai said very seriously: "You have to check these things to the bottom of the sky." ”

"Or, let's report to the court secretly, right?" The third uncle thought for a while and said: "With the strength of our Chen family, I'm afraid that we won't be able to catch it, and you don't want to think that our Chen family is neither a hundred horsemen nor a criminal department, how can this be investigated?" ”

Chen Zhengtai shook his head and said: "If you tell the court, it will inevitably startle the snake, but I am afraid that those people will not be easy to find out if they have precautions!" Well, I'll go and see Your Majesty. ”

Without delay, he greeted and immediately asked people to prepare the carriage and go out!

Entering the palace in a hurry, Li Shimin was surprised when he saw Chen Zhengtai coming to see him early in the morning!

Seeing that Chen Zhengtai didn't wake up, he couldn't help but say: "It's weird, when you didn't marry a wife, you still slept until three poles a day, but now that you have a wife, you know how to get up early." ”

Chen Zhengtai didn't say anything, so he said with a straight face: "Your Majesty, there is one thing that the minister needs to play." ”

As he spoke, he revealed his awareness of Goguryeo ginseng and the investigation of the Chen family after that.

Li Shimin couldn't help frowning: "When you say this, I also feel a little weird, at that time I had just ascended the throne, but the Turks seemed to be familiar with the way, but at that time, I had not long been on the throne, and I was riddled with everything, although I ordered Li Jing to lead troops to help and recover a few empty cities, but I didn't think much about it, and now the old things are brought up again, think about it carefully, this matter is really strange!" In this world, the person who can do such a thing must be extraordinary, and it must be the minister of the DPRK and the central government, who can detect the movements of the court at any time, and in this world, the person who can do such a thing......"

The more Li Shimin said, the more frightened he felt!

There are such people around me, you can imagine how great harm such people will cause.

He couldn't help but say coldly: "It's also a shame for you to report this matter secretly, otherwise, I will really continue to be used by this traitor." ”

Chen Zhengtai said: "Your Majesty, the top priority at the moment is to find out the people thoroughly. But the crux of the problem is that once a large-scale investigation begins, it is bound to startle the snake, this person is not only an important minister, but his family background is also extraordinary, and they see every move of the court, but whenever there is a stir, it is inevitable to escape, or the dog jumps over the wall in a hurry. ”

Chen Zhengtai is worried about this, and this kind of person must not be allowed to get away with it again, no matter how he tries to pull it out!

"Yes." Li Shimin bowed: "This is the difficult place, if it is a secret investigation, how can it not be startled......

Li Shimin was silent, muffled for a while, and suddenly said: "The first thing to do is to find out what kind of person has such ability!" After thinking about it, I can do such a thing, and there will be no more than 30 people in the world who have this ability, you and so on. ”

Li Shimin immediately ordered Zhang Qian to bring a pen, ink, paper, and inkstone, and then spread out the paper, picked up the pen, and wrote dozens of names in a row!

For each of these names, he carefully considered, he wrote while greeting Chen Zhengtai: "You come forward." ”

Chen Zhengtai was not hypocritical, he stepped forward directly, and after a closer look, he saw that on the white paper, the first name was actually written: "Chen Zhengtai." ”

A mouthful of old blood almost spurted out of Chen Zhengtai's mouth, and he couldn't help wailing: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty...... It's the ministers who came to report the news, our Chen family and Your Majesty are both prosperous and lossy, why is Your Majesty suspicious? Besides, in the early years of Zhenguan, the Chen family itself was difficult to protect, how could it be ...... Besides, I was a kid at the time......"

Li Shimin glared at him, and couldn't help but say: "What is the name of the ghost, I just list the people who can contribute to this matter first, if it is an ordinary Xiaoxiao, it will definitely not be able to do such a big thing, I will make a list first." ”

Well, it turns out that he is the belly of a gentleman with the heart of a villain, and he made a big misunderstanding!

Chen Zhengtai relieved his heart at this time, and sure enough, after seeing his name, there were still the names of Fang Xuanling and Eldest Sun Wuji and others!

The ones listed after that, such as Du Ruhui and others, are all Li Shimin's close ministers, or people who hold great power, or they are from the world's top two families.

There are twenty-seven names, Li Shimin stared at the names on the paper, did not move, hesitated for a long time, and then said: "Probably these people, as for other people, there should be no such manpower and material resources, and it is impossible to have such eyes and ears. ”

There are many people who are familiar with Chen Zhengtai here, and there are also some unfamiliar ones, Chen Zhengtai looked at the names of those people, and also twisted his eyebrows for a long time and thought carefully!

At this time, Li Shimin said: "Come, summon the prince and the people in this list to come to the audience." ”

Zhang Qian stood aside the whole time, and he was already shocked to listen, but he was a regular servant and was very trusted by Li Shimin, and he was loyal, but he also showed a very calm appearance, and he probably read the list, and then went to do it.

Fang Xuanling and the others were already on duty in the Taiji Palace, so they came quickly.

As for the others, they also came in twos and threes.

Everyone didn't know what His Majesty had suddenly summoned him for early in the morning, and they were also suspicious in their hearts, but when they came to Sheng Yan, they saw that His Majesty had been pursing his lips and was silent, but he didn't dare to ask more.

Everyone sat down, the eunuchs served tea, and everyone came.

Li Shimin smiled and said, "I had a dream last night. ”

All the ministers are safe people, and they know that this is just a talk, and His Majesty will have something to say, so they all have natural expressions.

Only Chen Zhengtai secretly complained in his heart, dreaming, what is there to say, this matter, Zhou Gong is good at it, he should find Zhou Gong.