The carriage stopped in front of a large mansion, and servants immediately came out to greet it.
"Master is back."
The servant came to the carriage, opened the door, and was about to help Wei Chenglin out of the carriage.
Wei Chenglin looked the servant over and realized he didn't recognize him at all.
This courtyard is Zhou Tong's home. Under normal circumstances, Zhou Tong spends the day in the mining area and only returns home to rest at night.
Given the recent unusual circumstances, Zhou Tong needed to cooperate with the government in suppressing the rebellion and should be at home at the moment. Thinking of this, he spoke up:
"This is Manager Wu, from Louye. He is preparing to do jade business and will cooperate with us."
I've been traveling by carriage all day and I'm very tired. You take Manager Wu down to rest and serve him well. I'll go find Zhou Tong and tell him about this.
“Yes, sir,” the servant replied.
Wei Chenglin looked at Hu Dong and said:
"Manager Wu, go and rest for a while. I'll bring Zhou Tong to see you later. You can talk to him about the cooperation."
"Okay, I understand. Thank you for your consideration, Manager Zhou." Hu Dong was quickly led away by the servant.
At this moment, another servant came over, stood before Wei Changlin, and said:
"General Wei, the military advisor and Manager Zhou are in one room. I'll take you there."
Wei Chenglin nodded; he hadn't expected Wei Jin to be here as well.
The servant was clearly dressed as a soldier, and Wei Chenglin followed him to the door of a room in the main house.
The soldier gently pushed the door open, and Wei Chenglin went inside. The soldier then left and closed the door.
Inside, Wei Jin and Zhou Tong were sitting at a table with three cups of tea on it. Needless to say, one of the cups was prepared for them.
"Uncle, you're back. Please sit down and have some tea." Wei Jin stood up to greet him.
Wei Chenglin nodded, sat down at the table, and without any ceremony, picked up his teacup and drank the tea in one gulp.
Zhou Tong picked up the teapot and refilled the teacup.
"Uncle, we have read the two letters you sent over and know some of Lanwei's situation. Did you bring back any other information?"
Wei Chenglin nodded and began to tell the two about what he had discovered inside and outside Lanwei City.
After listening to Wei Chenglin's account, Wei Jin pondered for a long time before finally speaking:
"It seems these barbarians are trying to kill the people of Lanwei City. If we forcefully attack Lanwei, not only will our soldiers suffer heavy losses, but Lanwei City will also be riddled with holes, and countless people will suffer great calamities."
"Young Master, what do you think we should do?" Wei Chenglin asked.
"Let's go back now and tell General Jin about these things so we can work together to come up with a solution."
Wei Chenglin nodded and looked at Zhou Tong, saying:
"Manager Zhou, let's go see this foreigner Hu Dong first, and then we'll hand him over to you. I'll take him back to Lanwei in two days."
“Alright, let’s meet Hu Dong first. I need to discuss business cooperation with him,” Zhou Tong said with a smile.
Afterwards, Wei Chenglin led Zhou Tong to see Hu Dong. Hu Dong was resting in his room at the time. When he saw Wei Chenglin bring someone who looked similar to him, he knew that this person was Zhou Tong.
Hu Dong stood up, and Wei Chenglin began his introduction.
"Manager Wu, let me introduce you. This is my younger brother, Zhou Tong."
In our family, I am mainly responsible for jade mining and processing, while my younger brother is mainly responsible for jade sales and external cooperation.
Therefore, Manager Wu, please discuss some cooperation matters with my younger brother. After we've settled things, we'll return to Lanwei. Let's make the most of the time and try to finalize the cooperation within two days.
Hu Dong nodded and said, "Okay, then let's do it this way."
Afterwards, Wei Chenglin and Wei Jin left the Zhou residence and went to the government office in Yuanxi.
In the council hall of the government office, after learning about the situation in Lanwei City, everyone began to discuss countermeasures.
The next day, Zhou Tong took Hu Dong to learn about the jade market in Yuanxi.
Zhou Tong first took Hu Dong to the jade mining area to check on the jade mining situation, and then showed him how the jade was cut and processed.
After learning about the basic situation of the mining area, Zhou Tong took him to the city to see the jade market and jade trading situation.
In fact, Hu Dong had no interest in learning about the jade that day. The jade mine was located outside the city, and even though the mine was in a remote location, the presence of the army was still visible.
Needless to say, in the city, soldiers patrol every corner, and if they find any suspicious persons, they immediately step forward to question and inspect them.
Hu Dong's heart sank completely. Xiao Yi's idea of taking down Yuan Xi was simply impossible. Huang Liang's small force would be wiped out before they even got close to Yuan Xi.
Finally, Hu Dong discussed the jade business partnership with Zhou Tong. After giving a perfunctory reply, Hu Dong told Zhou Tong that after returning to Lanwei, he would tell their young master what he had learned there, and the young master would make the decision on the partnership.
Zhou Tong nodded. Both of them were putting on an act, each with their own calculations.
In the council hall of the former Xifu government office, based on the information they had gathered and the information provided by the people sent by Huang Siyuan, the group discussed the matter for a day and finally determined a sound plan.
Everyone knew that Xiao Yi was very clever, cunning, and difficult to deal with. To trick him, they had to use ruthless tactics to make him completely despair.
Two days later, Wei Chenglin took Hu Dong back to Lanwei by carriage.
On the carriage, Wei Chenglin inadvertently said something that terrified Hu Dong.
He told Hu Dong that he had heard people in Yuanxi say that Yuanxi was going to send 20,000 troops to Louye to take it first.
It is said that Canjun had been wanting to send troops to quell the rebellion, but General Jin had not agreed. After negotiations, General Jin finally agreed to send troops, but only to attack Louye.
After resolving the Louye issue, Yuanxi sent another 20,000 troops, and the two sides joined forces to trap Lanwei City.
General Jin, having somehow obtained information that there were foreigners in Lanwei City, and that these foreigners were extremely cruel in their fighting methods, and that a forced attack on the city would result in heavy losses, planned to deal with Lanwei by besieging it.
This time, we must trap Lanwei's enemies and capture the foreigners alive, no matter what.
Whether this is true or false is unknown. The imperial court only sent 20,000 troops to Yuanxi. How come there are suddenly 20,000 more troops? Could it be that the imperial court has sent a large army over again?
Hu Dong remained silent, believing that the matter was most likely true. He was certain that Yuanxi had so many men and forces, and Yuanxi should be aware of the various defenses they had built in Lanwei.
At this moment, Hu Dong was extremely anxious. He wanted to tell Xiao Yi what he knew immediately so that he could make a decision as soon as possible. Once Lan Wei was trapped, it would be impossible for them to escape.
The more anxious they were, the slower the carriage traveled, until the sun set before they returned to Lanwei.
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