Chapter 262 People’s Hearts Can Change (ask for monthly ticket)
"...Asutai, son of Muhag, the Left King of the Barbarians, was captured by bandits from Vaishsa and enslaved as a barbarian child. He is currently in Shuzhou!"
After Chen Yi finished speaking, he looked at Lou Yuxue, whose eyes were wide open, and said with a light laugh, "That's all."
Lou Yuxue stared at him blankly.
a long time.
She had just spoken when she said, "That's...that's all?"
Do you even know what you're saying?
"The news that King Landu is on an eastern expedition to the border and that the son of the Left King is in Shu Prefecture will surely cause great chaos once it gets out."
"The entire Shu Prefecture, and even the three prefectures of the Nine Provinces of the Great Wei, will be filled with panic."
"Why did you do this? I... you..."
Upon hearing this, Chen Yi smiled slightly. "I'm very satisfied with your reaction."
"If someone as intelligent as you can lose your composure like this, then surely the others in Shu Prefecture will be no exception?"
Lou Yuxue couldn't help but swear: "You're so satisfied!"
"Tell me, what are your true intentions?!"
Chen Yi chuckled, "Relax, relax, it's just asking you to cooperate with my acting."
Seeing that Lou Yuxue was still glaring at him, he had no choice but to explain further: "The news is false."
"Fake...it's all fake?"
"Not entirely."
Lou Yuxue's relaxed mind was instantly jolted back into focus; she nearly choked on her own saliva.
Tell me more!
As a Silver Flag Officer of the White Tiger Guard, and soon to be promoted to Gold Flag Officer, her own experiences far exceeded the imagination of ordinary people. She should have remained calm even if Mount Tai collapsed in front of her.
However, she was repeatedly driven to lose her composure by Chen Yi's antics.
This really made her, the Silver Flag Officer, lose face.
Chen Yi naturally saw through it, but he didn't point it out, lest Lou Yuxue pounce on him and bite him.
"As the younger brother of King Lando, it is not impossible for Lü Jiunan to lead the Peacock King's banner here, but it cannot stand up to scrutiny."
"Bandits are bandits after all. Their weapons, equipment, and soldiers' skills are all inferior to those of the Dingyuan Army. They have no chance of winning if they launch a large-scale attack."
"Therefore, this news is just a 'rumor'."
"As for the son of the barbarian Left King... he is indeed in Shu Prefecture."
Before Lou Yuxue could speak, Chen Yi asked first, "Do you still remember the burning of the East Market granary?"
Lou Yuxue's heart skipped a beat, and she realized, "You mean one of those barbarian slaves is Muhag's son?"
"Have those peasants from Vaishsa Kingdom lost their minds? They even dare to go to the Black Bear tribe?"
"Aren't they afraid that Muhag will lead his barbarian army to slaughter the entire Tea Horse Road?"
Chen Yi shook his head without explaining further, "This is a long story, I'll tell you when I have time."
"All you need to know is that Asutai... that is, Muhag's son, is currently in Shuzhou."
Lou Yuxue gritted her teeth, really wanting to punch him.
However, she knew Chen Yi didn't want to talk about it, and she had no choice but to press him for details:
"Where is he now?"
"have no idea."
"Then how can I be sure that what you're saying is true?"
Chen Yi spread his hands and said, "If both pieces of news are false, wouldn't that be better for you?"
Lou Yuxue said helplessly, "I need to know what kind of impact the news will have after it gets out."
"Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to do this for you."
Seeing this, Chen Yi thought for a moment and nodded, saying, "It wouldn't hurt to tell you."
"After these two pieces of news are spread, the price of grain in Shu Prefecture will skyrocket."
"You, you only did this for this?"
"Of course, I'm not really crazy. Why would I joke about such news for no reason?"
Lou Yuxue roughly understood Chen Yi's intention in releasing these two messages.
The two news items, "King Lando is attacking" and "The son of the barbarian Left King is in Shu Prefecture," have only one impact.
— This caused panic among the people of Shuzhou.
Even if the news is not yet confirmed to be true, and even if many people are not stupid, there will still be people who hold the idea that "it's better to believe it than not to believe it."
Not many are needed.
If even one percent of people believe it, they will try every means to buy grain, causing grain prices to skyrocket.
Thinking of this, Lou Yuxue snorted: "Aren't you afraid of retribution for fooling the people?"
Chen Yi smiled and shook his head: "You used the wrong words and referred to the wrong person."
"It is not I who are fooling the people, but several grain shops in Shuzhou and merchants in Jizhou."
"Playing with people's hearts, isn't that right?"
“Playing with people… that would be one thing, but my targets have never been ordinary people.”
At this point, Chen Yi paused, fiddling with the black iron mask in his hand, and then asked:
Do you remember the questions for this year's imperial examination?
Lou Yuxue thought for a moment, then hesitated and asked, "Is it 'The boat is on the water, why did it capsize?'"
"Yes, why did it collapse?"
“The common people are like the water, the boat is like ‘Shuzhou’, the nine provinces and three prefectures of the Great Wei, and the officials of the court.”
"If the boat capsizes, is it the fault of the people on board or the fault of the water below?"
Lou Yuxue looked at him unhappily: "I haven't read much..."
Chen Yi shook his head and said, "What I want to say is that water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it."
"Since they want to scheme against the people of Shu Prefecture, I don't mind letting them know what pain is."
Lou Yuxue gave him a deep look when she heard this.
She may not have read many books, but she understood the meaning behind the saying "water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it."
Since the merchants of Jizhou do not care about the people, they manipulate grain prices, force the people to buy high-priced grain, and make huge profits from it.
He, "Liu Wu," wanted to end this farce as soon as possible.
Two questions.
"First, aren't you afraid the situation will get out of control? Those people from the Jizhou Trading Company are not to be trifled with."
Chen Yi smiled and said, "Simple."
"Why not just find a way to buy all the grain they have before releasing the news?"
"Where did you get so much money?"
"I have my own way of doing things."
Lou Yuxue was slightly taken aback, and after thinking for a moment, she couldn't help but remind me, "Whatever your plans are, you have to give me the money I used to buy grain from Luanfeng."
"Don't worry, I'll give it to you when the food arrives."
"If you try any more tricks, the Cui family will not let you off the hook."
Seeing Chen Yi nod, Lou Yuxue continued, "The second question."
"These two pieces of news will only mislead you temporarily. Once the authorities issue a clarification notice, your plan will fall through, won't it?"
Chen Yi raised an eyebrow slightly and praised, "As expected of the White Tiger Guard's female tiger, to think of this is quite impressive."
"Enough with the nonsense, tell me your plans."
The Buddha said, "It cannot be spoken."
Lou Yuxue slammed her hand on the table, her beautiful eyes glaring at him: "You won't tell me this, you won't tell me that, are you planning to trick me again?"
Chen Yi was both amused and exasperated. "My lady, this matter is like an arrow already drawn; it has to be released."
"If I were to try to trick you now, wouldn't I be shooting myself in the foot?"
"The reason I didn't tell you is simply because I didn't want to be targeted by your White Tiger Guards."
Lou Yuxue was skeptical, "I doubt you would dare..."
The two then discussed some details, such as when to spread the two messages and when the grain would arrive in Shuzhou.
It wasn't until 1:45 AM that Chen Yi stood up, preparing to leave Chunyu Tower.
Before leaving, he took out the letter written by Lin Huai'an from his pocket and handed it to Lou Yuxue.
"Here, consider this my thank-you gift."
Since Lou Yuxue made a deal with Cui Qingwu without his persuasion.
He wouldn't mind returning the favor and using this letter as a bonus.
Lou Yuxue initially didn't care, but after glancing at it, her expression suddenly turned serious.
"Lin Huai'an, King Lando, ironware trade?"
"Where did you get this?!"
As the person in charge of Mingyue Tower and having lived in Shuzhou for many years, Lou Yuxue naturally knew Lin Huai'an's identity.
But she never expected that the secret letter between Lin Huai'an and King Lando would clearly contain the word "ironware".
She couldn't help but recall what General Xing had said earlier—that his meeting with King Lando was to find evidence of his dealings with certain court officials in Shu Province.
"This letter should count as such."
"There are only a handful of people in Shu Prefecture who can provide ironware."
"No matter who it is, I'm sure General Star will be happy."
Unfortunately, Lin Huai'an is already dead, and further investigation is needed for this letter to be effective.
Chen Yi, of course, knew nothing of these matters, and raised an eyebrow, asking, "Useful?"
"Never mind that, just tell me where this letter came from."
“I was there the night Lin Huai’an died.”
Lou Yuxue was stunned. "You killed him?"
Chen Yi scoffed and said, "Someone else killed him."
After thinking for a moment, he said a few more words.
"The supplier of the 'ironware' mentioned in this letter is Zhu Hao of the Shu Prefecture Commandery."
"Zhu Hao?"
Lou Yuxue suddenly realized, "So it was him."
After a moment's thought, she asked, "Does anyone else know the contents of this letter?"
"It's gone."
Chen Yi replied, and seeing Lou Yuxue's evasive manner, he understood that the White Tiger Guard must need this letter.
It's impossible to reveal the identities of Wang Ji and Zhang Dabao.
Lou Yuxue nodded slightly. "I have accepted this letter. Thank you."
Chen Yi said nonchalantly, "I'm glad I could help you. I'm leaving now."
This time, his target was not the likes of Lando Wang or Zhu Hao, but Liu Hong, who was even more important than them.
Even those grain shops in Shu Prefecture, he dealt with them casually.
They didn't care about a letter that could prove Zhu Hao's guilt.
After chatting for a while, Chen Yi repeatedly instructed Lou Yuxue not to leak the news, and that even the White Tiger Guards should not know in advance, before he left.
Lou Yuxue did not refuse.
"If I know, it means the White Tiger Guards know. Whether we keep it a secret or not depends on the consequences of this matter."
After all, she has not yet been promoted to a Golden Banner Officer, so she cannot make decisions on many things and inevitably has concerns.
If things go well, everyone will be happy.
If it doesn't work out... she can't possibly shoulder it all alone.
We might have to make "Liu Wu" take the blame.
Thinking like that.
Lou Yuxue did not hesitate for long. After putting away the letter, she summoned her subordinates and explained the matter to them one by one.
Although she was still wary of "Liu Wu", she was more willing to trust "Liu Wu" than the money-grubbing people in the Jizhou Merchant Guild.
At the same time, she also wanted to see how "Liu Wu" planned to make the Jizhou merchants suffer in Shuzhou.
"Hmph, those people have made so much money in the north, yet they still want to covet Shu Province. They are truly insatiable."
"It's just the right time to teach 'Liu Wu' a lesson..."
Not long after.
Chen Yi returned to the house behind the tailor shop and summoned Zhang Dabao to remove his disguise.
He looked out the window at the night, listened to the pattering rain, and the chessboard in his mind kept moving pieces.
One by one, the black stones were moved back and forth.
Among them were King Randhu of Vaishsa and others, as well as the barbarian Left King Muhag and others.
On the other hand, Bai Zi's side only had Lou Yuxue and Pei Gan from the mountain tribe.
In the end, Chen Yi held the white piece that represented himself and sighed inwardly.
"Wang Ji alone might not be enough to lure those people into a trap."
After much thought...
Only if he personally gets involved can this play be made more realistic.
"Fortunately, I have another identity."
Nothing more.
Chen Yu.
Thinking of this, Chen Yi changed his clothes and instructed, "Wait for me here tomorrow."
Zhang Dabao responded with a "yes" without asking any further questions.
Chen Yi didn't say much, and silently disappeared into the rain, returning directly to Chunhe Garden.
After changing into dry civilian clothes, he went to his study and lit an oil lamp.
Sit quietly for a moment.
Chen Yi cleared his mind a little, took out paper and pen, and started writing and drawing.
He gained a lot from tonight's trip.
Not only did he gain the trust of Asutai, but he also discussed and finalized subsequent plans with Lou Yuxue.
In addition, an unexpected piece of news was obtained—Fu Wanqing is currently in the heart of the barbarian territory, within the tribe of Left King Muhag.
This trip was undeniably smooth.
However, even though he has made his move and many things are proceeding according to his plan, he still needs some luck.
Although he often says "human will can conquer nature," when it comes down to it, he inevitably needs to be more cautious.
Especially since he was now facing not fools like Liu Wen and Liu Jing, but Liu Hong, King Landu, and the people from the Jizhou Merchant Guild.
If word gets out, or if something goes wrong, the whole plan could fall apart.
He had no choice but to handle it carefully.
"Now it all depends on the Xiao family's luck."
As Chen Yi pondered this, he composed himself and began to draw portraits of Xiao Wan'er, Xiao Jinghong, and others on the broad sheet of cloud-patterned paper.
So much time has passed, and he really does have to produce two paintings to fulfill his obligation.
Why are there two?
Of course, his wife, Xiao Jinghong, also needs to be pregnant.
So Chen Yitian shamelessly drew himself on the image, with handsome features and dashing figure, looking like a refined gentleman.
"A family should always be together."
As the painting was completed, Chen Yi's true essence flowed, and he used the artistic conception of the painting to connect with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.
The next moment, he saw that the portraits of the people on the cloud pine paper seemed to come to life.
Not only can it move around, but it can also make various facial expressions.
Chen Yi looked at the figure in the painting with a strange expression. "The art of painting actually has such magical abilities?"
Then, a thought crossed his mind.
Within the Qi Sea at the Yintang acupoint, the spiritual essence of the four divine beasts shifted positions, and strands of true essence flowed into the painting.
The next moment, a figure walked straight out of the painting.
—It was none other than "Xiao Wan'er" dressed in a long dress.
He saw that "Xiao Wan'er" was solid, with a rosy face, and was smiling at him as if she were alive.
Chen Yi glanced at it, reached out and tested it, and only after confirming that it was just a shadow formed by the spiritual energy of heaven and earth did he feel relieved.
"A pleasant surprise, not bad."
His painting skills are currently only at a minor level, so this illusion is of little help to him.
If one waits until the art of painting is perfected and fully developed, it may have other benefits.
Chen Yi thought about it and then drew another one, a slight smile appearing on his face.
"Lord Ye's love of dragons...that's quite amazing."
...
The next day.
As soon as dawn broke, Chen Yi dressed himself and went to the living room to sit at the dining table.
Xiaodie asked with slight surprise, "Young Master, are you going out today? I remember there are classes at the academy tomorrow."
As Chen Yi instructed her to prepare breakfast, he looked out the window at the light drizzle and said:
"I need to go to Baicaotang to take care of some things..."
(End of this chapter)
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