Chapter 18 from benefit

"Assassinations of Mr. Gu and County Magistrate Zhang in an organized and planned manner. The purpose of the two assassinations is ultimately the same. It is to warn my lord the emperor not to raise the tax rate, otherwise the army will make a surprise attack. Judging from Bu Butou's statement , Nanping is very likely to be the mastermind behind the scenes. They are a small country with few people and cannot exert pressure on military strength. Therefore, it is most appropriate to use speculative methods of assassination and raids. Prevent Nanping raid." Yan Shifang felt that his analysis was in place.

"There is another possibility. I just figured it out in the past two days. Didn't Bu Datou say that the double-faced clothes left by the assassins are unique to Shu? Everyone said that this might be blamed on Shu, who has no interest in it." In fact, it is not true, I think it is most likely an assassin sent by the Shu Kingdom. They have a do not ask about the source, and they have the conditions to send such a sophisticated assassin." Gu Zijing's statement, although everyone does not say it Forced to refute, but my heart is very disapproving. "Master Gu, we have discussed it before. After the tax increase, only the Shu Kingdom has no effect. They have no reason to assassinate me and Zhang Songnian. Moreover, the tax increase weakens the national power of other countries, and can also reduce the threat of the Shu Kingdom's surrounding borders. , They should take this matter as a blessing." Yan Shifang expressed his dissenting tone just as a reminder.

"What Lord Yan said is that I have fought against assassins and know that they are very powerful masters in the assassin business. I would never make such a low-level mistake as leaving the clothes that show where I came from, so I think it was intentional." A cover-up to divert our attention." Bufu also expressed his views. "Have you ever thought of a plan to cover up? The reason they left the clothes is to make us think that this is a deliberate move to divert attention, and take the initiative to rule out the possibility of Shu sending assassins." Gu Zijing insisted on his own ideas.

"But I can't figure out why the Kingdom of Shu wants to do this." Wan Xuehe finally said something. Among these people, his reaction was the slowest, but this question seemed to hit the key point. "There is a reason, there is absolutely a reason. If we increase the tax on salt and grain in transit, then the price of salt and grain in Chudi, Nanping, and Dazhou will rise, and the government will need to spend a lot of money on expenditures and military storage. This loss must be borne by the state treasury. Just imagine, are the countries around you willing to suffer this dumb loss? No, so they will definitely increase the tax rate on some outbound transit goods to make up for their own losses. Shu Although they can be self-sufficient in grain, cotton, salt and other materials, their cattle, sheep and horses are not self-sufficient, and they need to buy them from Dazhou. Tea, oil, and silk cocoons need to be purchased from Chu, and pens, inkstones, and paper have to be purchased from Nanping. .Once the tax rate of these goods is increased, it is equivalent to the loss caused to neighboring countries after the tax increase in the Southern Tang Dynasty, and finally passed on to the Shu Kingdom. The west of the Shu Kingdom is Tubo, and the south is Dali and Jiaozhi. , are small countries with little trade and a place of bitter cold, even if Shu raises the same tax, it will not be able to make up for the loss. In this case, who do you think is the most reason to prevent us from raising the tax rate?"

Hearing this, those few people suddenly realized, and all praised Gu Zijing for his thoughtfulness and foresight. "Why has Zhang Songnian been assassinated for a few days, but Chu and Nanping have not taken any action? It is because this incident was not done by Chu and Nanping, let alone Da Zhou. Otherwise, they should have sent troops to raid Linjing long ago. What's more, I haven't decided whether to raise the tax rate or not, but he has already done it. This shows that they don't have to kill me, but give me a warning and let me know the consequences of raising the tax. So Such confidential assassination information will be revealed to me, and I am afraid that the news from Gu Hongzhong will not arrive. Before the assassination, another informant letter will appear inexplicably in the internal defense room. But if I continue to ignore it, they will Kill me, because it can at least give a warning to the next person who comes to evaluate and make a decision. As for Zhang Songnian being killed, it is a warning to the emperor, warning the emperor that if the goods tax rate for transit and exit is raised, it will immediately lead to surprise attacks by neighboring countries Moreover, killing Zhang Songnian and raiding Linjing was actually a very good strategic step. It stands to reason that neighboring countries such as Chu and Nanping would never warn against such a military operation that can produce good results after implementation. Only Countries that cannot implement it will not cherish this kind of good strategy, and use it as a scare in the name of other countries." After this analysis, everyone knows that it is not a fluke that Gu Zijing was appointed as a member of the Yuanzong Committee.His reasoning and analysis of things can really be said to be watertight.

"Then what should we do now?" Yan Shifang asked. "The soldiers and horses in Linjing cannot be withdrawn for the time being. An order was sent to General Zhou Shining to go to Linjing to take charge and continue to strictly guard. Lord Yan and Lord Wan immediately wrote a memorial to the emperor, explaining everything that happened recently. And I will analyze it just now. In addition, it shows that you are advocating tax increases, which will allow you to make a contribution. And my hidden promise will definitely come before you. Also, the ship will be opened and released early tomorrow morning, and the transit tax for all goods will be increased by 30%. Collect. The food tax will be deducted in kind, and the collected food will first be sent to Linjing County as military rations." Gu Zijing stood between the two third-rank officials in a fifth-rank official uniform, and his heroic aura of raising his chest and waving his arms was not affected by it. No effect.

"Isn't it too abrupt to do this without the emperor's approval? And it may be detrimental to the adults." Yan Shifang was really worried. "It's okay, since it's confirmed that Shu is the one who will suffer the biggest loss, then what are we afraid of? They are separated from our country by the land of Chu, so they won't fly over to make a surprise attack on Linjing. Besides, why didn't I let the soldiers and horses in Linjing not withdraw? I want to try to raise the tax first, but if the neighboring countries don’t respond, I will continue. If there is any action, we will discuss it later. I just say that I, the supervisor of the fifth rank, made my own proposals, and the emperor will not lose face. Although it may be against me, but I Serving the emperor is loyal and will never give up, so why not be afraid of disadvantages. Another thing is to hurry up with your memorial. After you arrive in Jinling, you can first submit it to Prime Minister Feng Yansi, and it will be faster for him to hand it over. The content of your memorial cannot be disclosed in advance. Let Han Xizai find out and stop it. We need the emperor to make a decision as soon as possible to increase the tax rate, so that it will be meaningless to attack me. I don’t think the huge Shu kingdom will take the action of killing me just to vent its hatred, right? At that time, I was in trouble. As for the safety these days, there is Bu Butou here. Master Yan, you can mention Bu Butou's title, so that I can feel at ease with his protection."

"That's that, that's that!" "I'd like to do what Mr. Gu wants." Several people were obedient to Gu Zijing. Gu Zijing ignored the three people, but turned his head and pointed at the boats in the river and said, "Look! These boats are just a lot of grain and a lot of money, and they shouldn't be allowed to flow away with the water! " Qi Junyuan originally planned to go back to Tangzhou to re-do the assassination, and then take the woman in Tsing Yi to the Xiuwan Collection in Chudi designated on the "Lu Mang Jian".But the assassination target this time is a bit special. If the assassination fails, it must be heavily guarded. It will take a while to wait for the guard to relax before finding a chance to strike again.And suddenly another King of Hades appeared here, and he also said that he wanted to take the girl in Tsing Yi away.what happened?Lihengu would not make such a mistake, and Qi Junyuan felt that he needed to figure out the reason.

Qi Junyuan led the woman in Tsing Yi and the King of Hell to run for dozens of miles, detoured from the lower reaches of the Xiwang River and entered the territory of Chu, and then stopped to rest by an old well in the wilderness. Along the way, the woman in Tsing Yi never stopped talking, threatening, intimidating, begging, and playing tricks, all for the purpose of getting Qi Junyuan to untie her.But Qi Junyuan just ignored her, let her speak softly or violently, and just go his own way. According to the instructions of "Lu Mangjian", after Qi Junyuan brought the woman in Tsing Yi to Xiuwanji, someone would naturally contact them and explain the next step.But from the voices of these two young children, it can be heard that they all know what they should do next and how to do it, and the purpose and destination are different from what they received.As a result, Qi Junyuan himself was the most at a loss.

During the break, Qi Junyuan asked in detail about the identities and tasks of the two people in order to judge how he should arrange the next step. "I am Qi Junyuan, born in the Lihen Valley, with the hidden name 'random', and I am listed in the 'Miaocheng Pavilion'. This time, the 'Lumang Jian' made me assassinate Gu Zijing, the governor of the household department in Tangzhou. Then I will find someone who will go to Linjing to report Gu Ke, who has a personal grudge, must be brought safely to Xiuwanji in Chudi, and handed over to the respondent." Qi Junyuan first reported his family name and explained his purpose in order to win the trust of the two people.In fact, the skills he showed before were enough for the two of them to understand his origin.The "Miaocheng Pavilion" he mentioned is actually the genus of Gongqi. They all have their own code names, which are "Li Ji Tang, Du Yin Xuan, Gou Hun Tower, Miao Cheng Pavilion, Tianmou Palace, and Strange Shock Pavilion".

"My name is Qin Shengsheng." The woman in Tsing Yi said. "My name is Ai Nongnong." Yan Wang immediately answered. "Screw your mother's bastard, if you don't find a chance to untie me along the way, you will take advantage of my aunt." "To be honest, I don't like joking with unfamiliar people, and I don't like unfamiliar people joking in front of me. It makes me feel dangerous." Qi Junyuan calmly stopped the two people from scolding. "I'm a guest of Lihen Valley, with the hidden name 'Miaoyin', and I'm listed in the 'Ecstasy Tower'. But the 'Hui En Note' given to me didn't mention that you were going to take me away, it only said that you were going to send me back. People from "Enjian" met in Huhu. At that time, this pickled bastard and his master came to send me "Return to Enjian". If I had known that you were here to look for me, I wouldn't be broken in Tangzhou. Your business. I didn't realize that you were a senior of the Gongqi genus until you used the assassination of Moyushuiche, and I knew that there was a misunderstanding, but it was too late to regret it. Your ultimate move was really too much. Absolutely, except for the masters of 'Miaocheng Pavilion', who in this world can have such a wonderful design? But I really don't know what relationship you have with me, and no one wants me to follow you." The woman in Tsing Yi It's hard to stop chattering as soon as you open your mouth. "Could it be that you also noticed my actions from the sound of footsteps?" Although Qi Junyuan had estimated the reason for his appearance, he still hoped to be affirmed.Because discovering your own mistakes will be a kind of improvement for yourself. Qin Shengsheng didn't speak this time, but nodded affirmatively. Qin Shengsheng's affirmation made Qi Junyuan quickly find another abnormal phenomenon. "But how do you conclude that I will definitely attack on Sanqiao Street, not in the supervisory office or Gu Zijing's mansion?" "I can't be sure, so I secretly left on the letterhead in the internal defense room. It only said, 'There is a person in Sanqiao Street who wears cotton-top hard thin-soled shoes and will assassinate Mr. Gu.' Perhaps someone from the internal defense room accidentally called Maybe they hit you by mistake, or maybe they wanted to catch you from Sanqiao Street in advance." Judging from his expression, Qin Shengsheng should be telling the truth. "No, the officers and soldiers quickly took control of the entire Sanqiao Avenue after the incident, and the streets and alleys on the outer three floors were also under control. This must be a counter-pocket beforehand. It was sent by 'Miaocheng Pavilion' The "Lumang Note" mentions "you can choose to hit the waves on Sanqiao Street" incidentally. Could it be that the content of this "Lu Mang Note" has been leaked? That's not true. Where to start is still up to my own idea, not to mention that I haven't determined the best position to hit the wave at that time." Qi Junyuan's thinking has entered a dead end, and he knows that the truth cannot be judged based on the existing information.But he somehow felt as if he was being manipulated by an invisible hand, and it was a hand that he couldn't get rid of at all.