Xiao Mo wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead, smiled, and said, "That's right." Just like in the time of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, such conservative old forces, such as Empress Dowager Dou, Han Anguo, and Tian Wei, were all opposed to his implementation of the new policy, to accumulate wealth, expand armaments, and strengthen centralized power; The strategy of the South and South Vietnam and the North to fight the Xiongnu. ”

Therefore, in order to kick out these old guys who obstructed his new policy, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty came to open up a department, used articles and policy theories to select talents, and promoted a large number of people who were also ambitious and wanted to make contributions and make a fortune. People like Gongsun Hong, Dong Zhongshu, and Sang Hongyang all entered the court in this way. ”

"It's the same with Yang Guang, now the loyalty of the Hu generals in Guanzhong is doubtful, and most of the Han families will not support his plan to conquer the Quartet and expand the territory in the future, so the best way is to find a group of people from civilian backgrounds, who are also ambitious and ambitious, and want to make progress."

Wang Shichong nodded, he agreed with Xiao Miao's analysis, and said: "But in this way, he will offend the Hu generals in Guanzhong and the Han families in Guandong at the same time, even if he is ambitious, it is impossible to put it into practice, and when the time comes, it will definitely make the people of the world miserable, and everyone will have complaints." ”

Xiao Mo smiled proudly, and said: "Yes, what Brother Wang said is very true, the premise of raising troops abroad is that the country must be stable, Yang Guang only saw that the country is now a good weather, the people live and work in peace and contentment, the money and grain reserves are sufficient, and there is no problem in repairing the Eastern Capital to make hundreds of thousands of people, but if he really does this every year, plus the future to raise troops to fight abroad, it will be different." ”

"Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty fought back against the Xiongnu. The military consumption used not only used up all the stocks of Wenjing and the two generations. Later, he also engaged in a salt and iron franchise. Even buying and selling officials as financial revenue, even so, it was only barely enough to beat the Xiongnu to Mobei, and it was not enough to completely eliminate it. ”

"And today's Turks and Goguryeo, as well as Tuyuhun in the west, are all powerful enemies, don't look at the Turks are honest now, but after a long time, they will inevitably show their fangs. It's the nature of the steppenwolf, and it can never be changed. ”

"When the war starts, Yang Guang's personality will not stop lightly, and he will definitely levy and extort a large number of Ding Zhuang to fill the army, and then it will be the time when the people of the world are not able to make a living."

Wang Shichong said coldly: "Mr. Xiao really thinks that the emperor will conquer the Turks in the north in the future?" ”

Xiao Mo nodded: "Yes, this is determined by the national character of the Turks, the grassland can only eat and sleep in the wind, how can you not have evil thoughts when you look at the flower world of the Central Plains?" As long as the Khan of Qimin dies. The new khan ascends the throne, and sooner or later he will betray the alliance. Those who take the initiative to attack our Great Sui, then Yang Guang will have every reason to destroy them. ”

"And Yang Guang is not Yang Jian, what he wants to do is to completely eliminate it once and for all, just like Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. Therefore, he will definitely recruit troops year after year, cross the desert, go to the north of the desert to fight the Khan court of the Turks, and even set up prefectures and counties in the conquered places and immigrate to the past. ”

"If it weren't for the fact that the army was infected with the plague and was forced to withdraw the army, I am afraid that it would have become the territory of the Great Sui by now, and the counties would be placed and officials would be sent."

Wang Shichong smiled: "You said so much, and you said that Yang Guang was so happy, what kind of imperial examination did he want to hold in the country, offend the family in Kanto, and also said that he was going to conquer the Quartet and have a grudge with the people, but Yang Guang is not a fool, what can you know, he will not know?" It's true that he has great ambitions, but he can't just make a mess of the world for his own fantasy. ”

Xiao Mo smiled "hehe" and said: "Don't forget that there is also my aunt, she will keep persuading Yang Guang to make contributions and leave a name in history, not to mention anything else, just say that now that Yang Guang has just ascended the throne, my aunt can successfully persuade him to move the capital to Luoyang, and Yang Guang agreed without thinking about it, can't you see my aunt's influence on him?" ”

Wang Shichong said coldly: "The matter of moving the capital to Luoyang should have been made by Pei Ju and Yu Shiji, and it seems that it has nothing to do with your aunt." ”

Xiao Mo waved his hand: "Brother Wang only knows one thing but doesn't know the other, whether it is Yang Guang or his father, they are used to discussing with their own queen after agreeing with the courtiers, because Queen Dugu Wenwen and my aunt are not ordinary women, but have followed them for decades as a married couple, and they have experienced the wind and waves together, and the feelings are completely different, and they are a person who can discuss major matters with complete confidence." ”

Wang Shichong laughed: "It's just that the emperor never dreamed that this wife, who he thought could discuss big things, was his most dangerous enemy." ”

Xiao Miao's face changed after hearing this, and he barely squeezed out a smile, and said, "This is a family matter, and it has nothing to do with my aunt's personal feelings." The children and grandchildren of our Xiao family have all received the education of this country's hatred and family hatred since they were young, and they can be abandoned by the individual. ”

Wei Zheng said suddenly: "In that case, why is Xiao Cong, the former Emperor of Western Liang and the current Duke of Juguo, doing so now?" He is the true trace of your descendants of Xiao Liang. Mr. Xiao, I didn't want to expose this layer just now, and now it seems that I have to mention it, your eloquence is so good, even I can't help but believe you. ”

Wang Shichong also vaguely thought about this just now, but he didn't think about it deeply, this time he was reminded by Wei Zhengyi, and immediately woke up, this Xiao Miao's status is far inferior to Xiao Cong, who once served as the emperor, how can he be the master of the Xiao family? So he looked at Xiao Miao, and there was three points of doubt in his eyes.

Xiao Mo smiled and said: "Mr. Wei's news is really well-informed, but there is one thing you don't know, my cousin Xiao Cong, because he did not keep the foundation of my Great Liang Kingdom, the country was destroyed in his hands, so he has asked himself to give up the position of patriarch at the family meeting, and his aunt is in charge, and my aunt is inconvenient to enter and exit because she is in the palace, so she has carte blanche to entrust me, a junior, to deal with the restoration of my Xiao family." ”

Wei Zheng smiled and said, "Since Xiao Cong is no longer the head of your Xiao family, how do you explain that Xiao Cong is still in charge of the Xiao family's marriage?" ”

Wang Shichong suddenly woke up, at the end of last year, there was a relatively sensational marriage in Daxing City. It was the daughter of Xiao Cong's uncle who married the Qiang wealthy Jian'er clan. Because this is a marriage between a high-ranking Han family like the Lanling Xiao family and the Hu family. It was also discussed in Daxing City.

At that time, Yang Su had not yet left to come to the Eastern Capital, and after hearing this, he went to see Xiao Cong and said to him: "You are a noble family of the Han people, with a noble status, and a royal family, how can you marry your cousin to the Qiang people?" ”

At that time, Xiao Cong replied: "I used to have a younger sister who married the Hou Mo Chen clan (Xianbei clan), and I didn't see you stop me at that time." ”

Yang Su shook his head and said, "That's different, the Tong Er clan is a Qiang person." And Hou Mo Chen is a Xianbei person. "Yang Su has always believed that the Qiang people are a lowly race, while the Hou Mo Chen clan, as a Xianbei clan, is of noble blood.

Xiao Cong replied with a smile: "They are all aliens of Wuhu, what is the difference between high and low?" I haven't heard of it anyway. Yang Su was very embarrassed, and he was ashamed to quit and retreat.

Afterwards, Yang Su also mentioned this to his family, ashamed that his opinion and bearing were not as good as that Xiao Cong, and he actually divided the different races who were also Wuhu into three, six, nine and so on, and he was very emotional in front of his brother.

At that time, although Wang Shichong heard about this matter, he didn't pay much attention to it, and when he heard Wei Zheng suddenly mention this matter today, he immediately realized it. Marrying a cousin is a matter of not having to be done by the patriarch, because according to custom. It is the order of the parents to marry, and when the parents are still alive, they can be the master to marry the sister, which is obviously done by the powerful figures in the clan, just like when Yang Su was also the master of marrying his niece to Feng Lun, and Cui Hongdu could also be the master of marrying his sister and niece to Yang Hao and Yang Zhao, the kings of Qin, respectively. When Wei Zheng asked like this, he was obviously reminding himself that this Xiao Mo was running a carriage with his mouth full of words, and he couldn't be trusted.

Xiao Mo rolled his eyes and said with a smile: "That's because Uncle Cong is in Daxing, and the people of their branch have also moved to Daxing together, so he is in charge of the marriage of his children, and he can't do such a big thing as restoring the Liang Kingdom, not to mention that he himself let the Liang Kingdom perish, and he is no longer qualified to lead our Xiao Clan, even if he has this plan, with the imperial court's monitoring of him, the emperor of the previous dynasty, he can't make a difference." ”

Wang Shichong made up his mind in his heart, even if this Xiao Mo is not as powerful as he said, but just relying on his ambition and talent is enough to make the world dark, just this is enough to become his ally, Wang Shichong stood up and smiled: "Okay, okay, who in your Xiao family counts, I don't say anything now, it's still the same sentence just now, look at the results, if you can do the things I just said, I will admit that you are a partner who can cooperate, no matter who is in charge of the Xiao family, I only recognize you Xiao Miao, not others. ”

A trace of excitement flashed on Xiao Miao's face, and he also stood up all of a sudden, stepped forward to hold Wang Shichong's hand, and said excitedly: "There is the richest man in the world like Brother Wang, and there is a hero in the world like Brother Wang," he glanced at Wei Zheng and added, "Of course, there is also a talent like Mr. Wei, who is a last-ditch talent, plus the power of our Lanling Xiao clan, why worry about big things?" ”

Wang Shichong also smiled, suppressing the extreme disgust and contempt in his heart for the ambitious wolf in front of him, and said: "I hope we have a chance to cooperate, I will handle business in Yingzhou City these days, and if you can do the two things I explained, first let your aunt drive Mrs. Xuanhua and Mrs. Ronghua out of the harem, and then you can be an official in this Jingxiang area, then we will talk about the details of cooperation." ”

Xiao Mo smiled: "Naturally, there is no problem with this, Brother Wang will wait and see." ”

Wang Shichong suddenly thought of something again, and said, "Wait a minute, I have one more condition." ”

Xiao Mo was stunned for a moment, a trace of unhappiness flashed through his eyes, and then asked, "Oh, what else does Brother Wang command?" ”

Wang Shichong looked at Xiao Miao's reaction, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "Mr. Xiao, don't be impatient, this matter is just a trivial matter compared to the previous two, and I believe that it is just a matter of hand-to-hand capture for Mr. Xiao." ”

Xiao Miao's heart was a little hairy, since the time he came into contact with Wang Shichong, he found that this person was not at all the person who could only drill the camp as rumored by the outside world, on the contrary, this person had seen superhuman knowledge, and the city government was very deep, and he was never under himself.

The more Wang Shichong looked like this, the more scared Xiao Mo became, the last two conditions he put forward were very difficult for himself, and he didn't know what new tricks he had this time.

So Xiao Mo stiffened his head and snorted, and said, "Brother Wang, please tell me, as long as Xiao can do it." Be sure to do it! ”

Wang Shichong smiled slightly. There was a hint of meaningful color in his eyes. opened his mouth and said: "Wang's new official took office, he is not familiar with the place here, and he doesn't know anything about the state and county officials in this place, Wang wants to know the bottom of these officials, it is best to have some evidence of their corruption and perversion of the law, Mr. Xiao is here with his hands and eyes, presumably these are just a gesture for you, I don't know if I can help Wang with this little favor?" ”

Xiao Miao's heart was quickly calculating. The smile on his face gradually froze, he was judging what Wang Shichong wanted, was it really as simple as catching the handle of local officials? Or do you want to test the capabilities of your local intelligence network? Or do you want to know how many of your fellow party members you have infiltrated among state and county officials?

Wang Shichong looked at Xiao Miao's eyes, knowing that his heart was hesitating and entangled, so he smiled and said: "Mr. Xiao, please don't misunderstand, this is just another request of Wang, not a prerequisite for cooperation like the first two things, if Mr. Xiao is unwilling or it is difficult to do this, then it is better to assume that Wang has not said this." ”

Xiao Mo gritted his teeth. stomped his foot fiercely and looked directly into Wang Shichong's eyes. said: "Brother Wang, can you tell the truth, what is the purpose of what you want Xiao to do this?" Brother Wang's intelligence spy ability, although Xiao has not seen it with his own eyes, he has also heard of it, it is definitely the top in the world, which can be confirmed by knowing Xiao's identity before you come to Yingzhou. ”

"Brother Wang, today Xiao Mou repeatedly emphasized that the cooperation between our two sides should be based on integrity, if Xiao Mou's expectations are not bad, you should have already found out the information of all the officials above the ninth rank in this state and county and the county below, even me, a cloth-clothed civilian, you can notice it, let alone them. In that case, why did Brother Wang still check their information from Xiao? ”

Wang Shichong also put away his smile and said, "Mr. Xiao must Wang make his words clearer?" ”

Xiao Mo nodded seriously and said, "Yes, Xiao hopes to see Brother Wang's sincerity." ”

Wang Shichong said: "There are several reasons why you need to do this. First, although Wang sent some secret agents before taking office, after all, time was in a hurry, I had been quelling the rebellion in Bingzhou for a while now, and it was only more than 40 days since I received the news of this appointment in Yingzhou, and after deducting the time to hurry, it was only 16 or 7 days to really start here, and the information obtained was limited. ”

"As for Mr. Xiao, your reputation is much more famous than many officials in the state and county yamen, in this Yingzhou, who the state Sima or the county prince is, ordinary people may not know, but your Mr. Xiao's name is familiar to even the peddlers and pawns, so in this regard, Mr. Xiao does not need to be presumptuous."

"Speaking of which, the information we inquire about is inevitably sparse, not as much information as Mr. Xiao has mastered for many years of business here, Wang has the courage to ask Mr. Xiao for intelligence support here, this is not difficult to understand."

After hearing this, Xiao Mo nodded and said, "Brother Wang is reasonable, you only said the first just now, is there any other reason?" ”

Wang Shichong continued: "This second, Mr. Xiao is also in charge of this spy work, since you intend to cooperate with me, then you should show the sincerity you said, in the future, you go to other states and counties as officials, it is impossible to continue to stay in this Yingzhou, then there is no need for these spies of yours in Yingzhou City to stay, Wang hopes that before Brother Xiao leaves Yingzhou, he can also transfer all these spy spies, so as not to hurt the harmony of our two families." ”

Xiao Mo secretly scolded this Wang Shichong in his heart, and he originally wanted to leave some spies to continue to monitor this person in the future, but he broke it with a word. But his face was still unusually calm, and he continued: "Is there only these two reasons? ”

Wang Shichong shook his head with a smile and said: "I haven't finished talking yet, the third reason and the most important reason is that with Mr. Xiao's ability, in the past few years, I am afraid that some powerful henchmen have joined the government of Yingzhou, and can even be promoted to high-ranking officials. ”

Xiao Mo said in a deep voice: "What does Brother Wang mean?" Let Xiao withdraw all these people who have finally entered the government and are already in certain positions? Suddenly resigning for no reason will only arouse the suspicion of the imperial court, and when the time comes, send someone to investigate, and maybe the major things you and I are planning will be ruined!"

Wang Shichong waved his hand and said: "Mr. Xiao misunderstood Wang, Wang has no intention of letting Mr. Xiao waste his previous efforts, but I just hope that you can sue me about the officials who are loyal to your Xiao family in Yingzhou City, I have a number in my heart, so that if Wang wants to communicate with Mr. Xiao in the future, someone will send a message, do you say?" ”

Xiao Miao's face became more and more gloomy, and he spoke: "Brother Wang, your request seems to be too difficult for a strong man, if Xiao wants you to explain to me all the new spies who have infiltrated this Yingzhou now, will you agree?" Cooperation should be equal, not one-sided. May I ask Brother Wang, you have put forward three conditions today, and our Xiao family can put forward one condition to your Wang family? ”

Wang Shichong laughed, a majestic look suddenly appeared on his face, and the aura of not being angry and arrogant appeared again, and his voice was as sonorous and powerful as steel intersecting: "Mr. Xiao, cooperation requires the sincerity of both parties, and it needs to be based on equal strength!" I emphasized a few times ago that the strength you have shown now is not on the same level as my Wang family, otherwise you wouldn't have come to me to talk about cooperation, right? ”

A trace of sorrow flashed on Xiao Miao's face, he craned his neck and replied loudly: "Yes, your Wang family is indeed stronger than our Xiao family now, but you also have your own problems, and you also need us to help, Brother Wang didn't even say anything when he made two requests before, and now he wants me to hand over the intelligence network here, this is too much!" ”

Wang Shichong shook his head and said, "Mr. Xiao, this request is not gratuitous, in exchange, after you return to Luoyang, you can go to the steward of my Wang family's shop, and he will give you five million money as a reward for the friendship between our two families." ”

Xiao Mo was stunned when he heard it: "What did you say?" Five million dollars? "You must know that the Sui Dynasty's annual thorn is only 2,000 stone meters, and according to the price of about 2,000 yuan per stone of rice here in Yingzhou, the annual income of three or four hundred officials is only 4 million yuan, which is not as high as the 5 million that Wang Shichong casually said.

Wang Shichong smiled and said, "Does this show the sincerity of my cooperation between Wang Shichong and Mr. Xiao?" ”

Xiao Mo swallowed his saliva and said, "Brother Wang, your shot is really generous, it's just ......"

Wang Shichong didn't wait for him to finish speaking, then waved his hand and said: "Wang just said very clearly, this matter is a one-to-one exchange, you expose your intelligence line, remove your spies, I will pay the corresponding monetary compensation, and even where you will be an official in the future, I can also send someone to take care of you in the local area and help you establish your own intelligence line as soon as possible." It's just that in this Yingzhou, after I, Wang Shichong, became an official, I don't want to see spies from other families. ”

When Wang Shichong said this, his voice was slightly higher, and the weight of his speech became heavier: "If Brother Xiao is really reluctant to work hard here for many years, Wang will not win people's love." It's just that when Wang establishes his own intelligence force here, he will inevitably eliminate other people's spies, and at that time, Wang will not know which spy is working for whom, only the jade will be burned. Mr. Xiao, don't blame Wang for not saying hello. ”

Xiao Mo was shocked in his heart, this is the first time Wang Shichong has naked threatened himself today, but he wants to refute and speak ruthlessly, but he finds that he is really powerless to fight back, after he leaves, it is absolutely impossible for the intelligence officers and spies here to fight Wang Shichong's terrible intelligence network, rather than being actively dug out by someone at that time and then affecting the relationship between the two families, it is better to accept Wang Shichong's benefits now and withdraw calmly.

Thinking of this, Xiao Mo sighed and said, "Brother Wang, it seems that I don't have the confidence to refuse your proposal." Well, tomorrow at this time, please send someone here, and Xiao should give those officials the handle. ”

Wang Shichong smiled and said, "Then let's talk about it tomorrow, don't worry, let's just talk about the last two things, does Mr. Xiao agree to withdraw all the spies?" ”

Xiao Mo gritted his teeth and said, "Then according to what Brother Wang said, I will order all the activities of the secret agents to be stopped tonight, and I will arrange for them to evacuate in the next few days." (To be continued......)