Northern Prefecture Rivers and Mountains

Chapter 132 Traces
Huan Hong is now extremely low-key. He stays in the general's mansion all day long, never going out of the main gate or the secondary gate. Even his two dogs, Huan Daozhen and Xun Xinzhi, have become much more low-key.

Yuan He's status rose instead.

Meng Chang and Liu Yi both gathered under his command, and he had the final say in the military government.

Since Liu Daogui had caused such a big fuss, he naturally had to say hello to Yuan He, so he took the initiative to visit him.

"You want to borrow money from me again? Thirty thousand strings?" Yuan He opened his eyes wide, his face full of disbelief.

Liu Daogui said half-truthfully, "I am now desperate and have no choice but to borrow money from Sima, otherwise the new year will not even pass."

"Why did I hear that you lent money at high interest rates in the military mansion?"

"No way! I only charge 50% interest, no cheating..."

"Your business is quite big. The interest rate is 50% on one string of money. After a year, the principal and interest will be 1500 strings of money. If the soldiers can't pay you back, you can take their land to pay off the debt..."

Yuan He is very familiar with this routine.

"I'm at my wit's end. I can't climb up, so I have to think of other ways." Liu Daogui didn't really ask him to borrow money, but to give him some eye drops and talk him through it, so that no one would make a fuss about this matter in the future.

In fact, these nobles don’t care what happens below. As long as it doesn’t block their way, they will turn a blind eye.

Yuan He thought for a moment and said, "The money you paid for buying two Dubos will be considered a loan to you, with double the interest."

"I……"

Liu Daogui almost cursed out loud, "What a wicked man! Two thousand coins, and after a year, including principal and interest, he has to pay back four thousand..."

The beads on this abacus are more precise than each other.

"What do you think about the Tao?" Yuan He said with a smile.

This was clearly extortion, and Liu Daogui couldn't refuse. "Sima really takes good care of his subordinates."

"Just know it in your mind."

After talking enough nonsense, Liu Daogui handed over the document, which recorded the gains from the expedition to Yanzhou. It was all written truthfully without concealing a single word.

This kind of thing cannot be concealed, it will be clear once it is investigated.

"He defeated five thousand barbarians and captured Zoucheng and Pingyang. Daoze is worthy of his origin from the Pengcheng Liu family. No wonder he has so much money to lend money at high interest rates." Yuan He looked surprised.

"It all depends on the soldiers' dedication."

Compared with the great victories of Liu Laozhi and Zhu Xu, this small victory was nothing. They were just two cities on the border that no one cared about.

Yuan He didn't take it seriously and said perfunctorily, "I will report the truth to the court and ask for credit for you."

When Liu Daogui heard this, he knew there was no hope again.

Now that Wang Gong and Sima Daozi are at war with each other, who has time to take care of such trivial matters?
Moreover, this time I went on a mission without authorization, and if I don't do it well, the higher-ups will investigate...

Just as he was about to leave, Yuan He said nonchalantly, "Lord Wang has ordered the troops to gather at Jingkou to attack Wang Guobao together. Are you willing to go?"

This sounded like a casual remark, but with Yuan He's personality, important things were often left for last.

And there is a lot of information exposed in it.

Wang Gong and Sima Daozi were at loggerheads, a fact known to all, and the target of their attack unexpectedly became Wang Guobao...

Besides, Yuan He was Sima Daozi's man, so how could he push himself towards Wang Gong?
If things go wrong, there might be another big pit here.

"I am a humble man, brave but not wise. I dare not get involved in important affairs of the court. Please find someone else, Sima." Liu Daogui refused very decisively.

It is best to stay away from the struggles among the bigwigs in the court.

Wang Gong doesn't seem like a man who can accomplish anything. Liu Daogui personally feels that he may not be able to defeat Sima Daozi. He is doing well now. As long as he continues to open up the private salt channel, he will make a lot of money. There is no need to get involved in this mess.

Internal strife is often more dangerous than fighting on the battlefield. If you fail on the battlefield, only one person will die, but if you get involved in internal strife, the whole family may be buried with you... "Daozhe is too modest. You have just returned from the battle. It is indeed not appropriate for you to go again. I will choose someone else." Yuan He's eyes softened unexpectedly.

Liu Daogui secretly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that staying out of it was the wisest choice.

You must not make mistakes of principle, and if you don't have the strength, it's best not to get involved in internal strife.

Another year passed in a flash, and Wang Gong still kept his troops in Jingkou. He submitted several memorials, pointing the finger at Wang Guobao.

The court was always slow in doing anything, including internal strife.

Meng Ganzhi promised to contact the illegal salt dealers within a month, but it took three months to make some progress. He only managed to contact Zhang Mazi and several other vendors.

The main reason was that the Yandu incident was too serious, and many people participated in the looting, but they were afraid of being investigated by the court and did not dare to show up.

"I am... incompetent." Meng Ganzhi looked guilty.

It is a good thing that young people are full of energy, but sometimes they may not know their place.

But it was also a valuable experience for him.

Jade cannot be made into a useful object without being carved, and not every qualified person can become a talent.

"It's enough. The salt fields in Langya are not large to begin with, so they don't need so many people. When business picks up, these people will naturally come here."

"My subordinates have found out where Kuai En is." Meng Ganzhi said in a low voice.

"Kuai En? Where is he?" Liu Daogui was shocked. After robbing Yan Du, this man seemed to have disappeared.

Meng Ganzhi pointed to the ground below and said, "It's in Guangling!"

"This guy is so brave." Liu Daogui was surprised and admired.

The most dangerous place is also the safest place. No wonder Sima Daozi, Wang Gong, Tianshi Dao and so many other forces searched for him, but he disappeared like a drop in the ocean.

It turns out he was hiding in Guangling.

Guangling was a place where many merchants gathered, and it was a mixed crowd. He disguised himself as a merchant, and it was difficult to find him for a while.

"Where's the building ship? Where did the building ship he got go?"

The Three Wu areas in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River are all the eyes and ears of the Tianshi Dao, and there are also people from the Tianshi Dao on the sea. He was able to hide the ship for such a long time without being discovered. His strength is not bad.

Meng Ganzhi said: "I only found out that he is in Guangling City. I don't know anything else, but we can contact him."

Liu Daogui stomped his feet. Although he had some feelings for him, they were not on the same page, and he didn't know his background. "Does he know you? Or who I am?"

"They probably don't know. I only heard about it from Zhang Mazi occasionally. Then I spent a month secretly investigating before I found any clues."

No wonder he spent three months, it turns out he was investigating Kuai En.

The current situation is that Liu Daogui knows of his existence, but he does not know of Liu Daogui's existence.

This is a huge advantage.

"Then don't alert the enemy. Keep an eye on him and find out what he's up to. I won't be involved in the matter of the salt smugglers. I'll leave it to you. Keep a single line of communication. Don't expose me and Ba Chuang. You can select the personnel yourself."

Make a fortune quietly. If you spread out such a big piece of fat meat as illegal salt, you may attract wolves if you are not careful.

When people are in the dark, they can do whatever they want.

Once exposed, one's hands will be tied.

"I obey your orders!" Meng Ganzhi became much calmer.

(End of this chapter)