"Your Majesty, you are overthinking it. This servant does not believe that Liu Wei is that shrewd."

Zhang Rang said casually, "He has very likely fallen for Your Majesty's scheme and turned all his anger towards the He family!"

"In the borderlands surrounded by powerful enemies, the King of Clouds not only survived but also commanded tens of thousands of troops, making him a force to be reckoned with."

Zhao Zhong disagreed with Zhang Rang's words, "My two subordinates are also very shrewd. Their lives are now uncertain, and most importantly, we don't know if Your Majesty's secret agent has made contact yet?"

"It's hard to say whether Liu Wei himself is stirring up the rumors and influencing public opinion in Luoyang."

“This servant believes that we must remain vigilant now.”

The previous emperor, Emperor Huan of Han, Liu Zhi, had no sons, and Emperor Ling of Han, Liu Hong, was brought from Hejian to Luoyang from a young age.

The eunuch beside him told him that from now on, the father in Hejian was not his father, but the now-dead Liu Zhi was his father.

Young Liu Hong was isolated and helpless, and became close to the eunuchs around him. He once said: Zhang Rang is my father, and Zhao Zhong is my mother.

But Zhao Zhong was unhappy. Why was Zhang Rang male, but he was female?

Although the Ten Attendants were a group with vested interests, Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong were privately at odds with each other.

Zhang Rang, after being rebuked by Zhao Zhong, had already lost interest.

Empress Dowager Dong preferred to entrust many secret matters to Zhao Zhong. Although she respected Zhang Rang, she treated him like a revered Buddha.

"Your Majesty, since that's the case, you can discuss it with Zhao Zhong. I'm feeling restless, I'll go out for a walk first."

With that, Zhang Rang left without looking back, accompanied by two eunuchs.

"This little brat is getting more and more audacious!" Empress Dowager Dong muttered, her dry lips twitching.

Zhao Zhong listened carefully, his heart filled with joy, but his face remained impassive:

"Chief Steward Zhang is busy serving His Majesty all day long, so it is only natural that he is in such a hurry. He is powerless to help with matters concerning the Empress Dowager."

On the surface, it was said that he was speaking well of Zhang Rang, but in reality, he was saying that Zhang Rang only knew the Emperor and not the Empress Dowager!

It should be noted that Zhang Rang, Zhao Zhong, and others were all promoted by Empress Dowager Dong.

"snort!"

Having experienced many hardships and the chaos of the Partisan Prohibitions, Empress Dowager Dong was well aware of the power struggles and deceit.

She did not respond to Zhao Zhong's words.

Although the Ten Attendants were all considered her people, Empress Dowager Dong did not want them to be united, as that would sideline her.

On the contrary, splitting into two groups to fight back and forth suited her just as well.

“At present, the King of Clouds has no conflict of interest with us, and it can even be said that we are trying to win him over.”

Empress Dowager Dong said slowly, "As long as the Prince of Hongnong is not allowed to succeed to the throne, then the throne will belong to Xie'er."

"Your Majesty, there is something I'm unsure whether I should say it or not."

Zhao Zhong hesitated for a moment, but finally made up his mind to speak.

"explain!"

“Those two men under my command...were involved in the Zhuojun incident!” Zhao Zhong stammered.

The two men went with the delegation to Liu Wei's place, and then disappeared without a trace.

Some of the people who were with them also returned, only mentioning that many assassins had been captured, and that Chen Ji and Cai Yong's followers had been detained.

As for these two unremarkable individuals, the returning members of the mission knew nothing about them.

What!

Empress Dowager Dong immediately said angrily, "If they are captured by Liu Wei and reveal the matter of Niujiazhuang in Zhuojun, wouldn't that be terrible?"

"Little Zhongzi, you've always been so steady in your work, how could you have made such a careless mistake?"

Zhao Zhong told her about this, thinking that Empress Dowager Dong would blame him, and he was already mentally prepared.

Empress Dowager Dong was only angry and blamed him for not doing his job properly, but she did not intend to punish him.

It seems that he has passed the Empress Dowager's test.

"Your Majesty, this was indeed my carelessness. However, these two are very tight-lipped, so please rest assured."

"Even with pliers, we can't pry their mouths open!"

Zhao Zhongxin solemnly assured him.

"Now that these two are out of contact, the secret agents are completely in the dark and have lost control of Liu Wei's every move!"

Empress Dowager Dong said regretfully.

“This servant believes that Liu Wei will not oppose us at this moment…” Zhao Zhong said.

"What if that vile woman He Hui tries to win over Liu Wei to deal with us?" For some reason, Empress Dowager Dong suddenly thought of this.

"Impossible! Everyone knows that Empress He sent someone to assassinate Liu Wei. How could the two possibly reconcile and get back together!"

Zhao Zhongjian shook his head firmly.

"I hope so!" Empress Dowager Dong said to herself.

......

"It's truly as white and fine as snow!"

"It's absolutely perfect! Only the royal palace could have salt like this!"

"Tsk tsk, 50,000 catties of coarse salt, and only 5,000 catties of fine salt were extracted. So precious, how could ordinary people afford it!"

"Fine salt? The prince said it's called snow salt!"

"Snow Salt, it truly lives up to its name. I wish I could grab a handful and take a big bite."

"Hey, I'll make you sick of it!"

"......"

After Liu Wei took over the fiefdom, the five hundred original inhabitants in Wuyuan City naturally became the people of the fiefdom.

When Liu Wei took over the fiefdom of Wuyuan, they all expressed their loyalty.

Liu Wei agreed to give them a job to make a living.

After Zhang Xun, the prefect of Yunzhong, went to the abandoned city and delivered 50,000 catties of coarse salt to Liu Wei.

Liu Wei then instructed each of the five hundred households to provide able-bodied men and firewood, and to set up ten large pots to boil salt.

The process is not complicated.

1. Dissolve: Add the coarse salt to the water and let it dissolve completely.

2. Filtration: Use filtration to remove insoluble impurities.

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