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These were the three people who were talking at the entrance of He Zhongbao's tent last night.
Lin Chong was the leader who came to inspect, while Sun An and Ruan Xiaoqi were the two guards who were chatting idly.
In order to minimize any openings, the two of them actually stood guard for He Zhongbao from yesterday afternoon for a full day and night.
"Whether our acting is real or not doesn't really matter,"
Sun An laughed and said, "After the Liao people go back, they will definitely inquire everywhere. We just need to let them know that in another half month, this year's birthday tribute will enter Shandong."
"Given the greed of the Liao people, how could they not be tempted by such a large quantity of gold and jewels!"
"Brother Sun An, this is a perfectly legitimate scheme!"
Lin Chong praised, "I have no worries that these Liao people won't jump into the pit."
"Brother Zhu Gui has already had people in various hotels spread the news of the birthday tribute. Even if the Liao people don't fall for it, other mountain bandits and brigands will eventually be fooled."
Sun An let out a sigh of relief: "We've done everything we can now. It all depends on whether my brother can pull off a clever switcheroo!"
Chapter 215 Chao Gai's Unlucky Year
After leaving the north bank of Liangshan, He Zhongbao dared not delay.
After returning to Guanshan Town, they traveled north and reported the matter of the birthday tribute to Princess Tianshou.
Dalibo was also somewhat surprised after hearing this.
"The people of Song are indeed wealthy. The prime minister of the court receives 100,000 strings of gold and silver treasures every year on his birthday."
"Your Highness, this is still from the Daming Prefecture."
Dalibo replied, "I heard that the Song court's prime minister, Cai Jing, is extremely powerful. Officials and wealthy merchants from all over the country are vying to curry favor with him. On his birthday alone, he probably receives one or two million strings of cash in gifts."
“How could there be so many?”
Dalibo was stunned. She had been the beloved daughter of the King of Wei of the Liao Dynasty since childhood, and last year she was bestowed the title of Princess Tianshou.
But the amount of money spent each year was only ten or twenty thousand strings of cash.
Not to mention her father, even Emperor Tianzuo of Liao was not as extravagant as Cai Jing.
"Your Highness, if we can obtain these 100,000 strings of gold and silver treasures and bring them back to Liao..." He Zhongbao said slowly.
Princess Tianshou, being exceptionally intelligent, naturally understood his meaning immediately.
In fact, Dalibo also wanted to go north and return to the Liao Kingdom.
The so-called desire to seek revenge against Liangshan was merely an excuse.
After all, this southward journey was ordered by Dalibo.
In the end, the entire army of the Prince of Wei's household was wiped out, and even Qiong Yao Nayan perished at Duiying Mountain.
Princess Tianshou returned to the Liao Kingdom, and naturally she didn't have to worry about losing her head like the He brothers, but she was still in danger of falling out of favor.
Dalibo's power and freedom stemmed from the favor shown to him by his biological father, the Prince of Wei, and Emperor Tianzuo of the Liao Dynasty.
If these two elders disliked her because of her trip south,
Like the other disgraced noblewomen of the Liao royal family, Nadaribo would have to live cautiously every day.
This is not the kind of life that Bo, who has become accustomed to being powerful and influential in front of others, would want to live.
“But now there are only three of us, how can we possibly seize the birthday tribute?” Princess Tianshou asked.
"Your Highness, this matter is simple; we only need to leverage your power,"
He Zhongbao smiled confidently and said, "I have inquired beforehand and found that in Dongxi Village, Yuncheng County, which is not far from here, there is a hero who is quite famous in the Central Plains Jianghu, named Chao Gai, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King!"
"I've heard that this man has the strength of a thousand catties in his arms and is quite famous in the martial arts world. Why don't we go find him and tell him about this?"
"Anyone who hears about this 100,000 strings of gold and jewels would be tempted!"
"At that time, Chao Gai will gather skilled martial artists, and together we will rob the birthday gifts!"
"As for the distribution of the stolen birthday gifts, that will naturally depend on each person's abilities."
Princess Tianshou and Hechai immediately understood his meaning.
"That's right, that's indeed a good idea!"
Dalibo nodded approvingly, while Dehechai, standing to the side, was still somewhat worried.
"Brother, you just said that the Qing-something Yang Zhi who escorted the birthday gifts is a descendant of the Yang family of Tianbo Mansion,"
He frowned and said, "Since he comes from the Tianbo Mansion, Yang Zhi must be extremely knowledgeable about military affairs in addition to being brave and brave. With him around, it will probably not be easy to take the birthday tribute."
"Whether it's easy or not, we have to try."
Princess Tianshou made the decision: "Tomorrow, we will set off for Dongxi Village to meet Chao Gai, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King!"
......
the next day,
Princess Tianshou and her entourage of three immediately headed south.
After arriving at Dongxi Village,
The three did not immediately go forward, but instead hid at the entrance of the village and carefully observed for a while.
After confirming that there was nothing unusual in Dongxi Village,
Only then did he step forward and knock on the gate of Chao Gai's manor.
Princess Tianshou, Dalibo, had already changed into men's clothing before setting off from Guanshan Town.
The servants at Chao Gai's manor, seeing Dali Bo's air of nobility,
He dared not be negligent. While welcoming Princess Tianshou and the other two into the main hall to wait, he hurried to the back hall to inform Chao Gai.
At this moment, King Chao was in the backyard drinking and chatting with his friends.
Besides Chao Gai and Wu Yong, there were two unfamiliar men in the courtyard.
One of them had a purplish-black broad face, with vermilion hair on his temples, and a fierce appearance. A broadsword was placed beside him.
The other person was dressed as a Taoist priest, with a dignified appearance and three long wisps of beard under a full beard.
These two people are the ones who have been in contact with the recent events.
Because of the birthday tribute incident, they found Liu Tang, the Red-Haired Devil, and Gongsun Sheng, the Cloud-Piercing Dragon, in Chao Gai's mansion.
The four men ate and drank while sighing.
It turned out that Chao Gai had already learned about the birthday gifts from Liu Tang and Gongsun Sheng.
Since Zhao Yuan joined Liangshan last year, Chao Gai has been experiencing a series of unfortunate events.
Although they had previously obtained 3,000 mu of fertile land in Xixi Village that originally belonged to Li Baozheng from Liangshan,
But the cash in Chao Gai's manor,
Previously, a portion of the tribute had been given to Huang An, the military commander of Jizhou.
As a settlement, a portion of the money was given to Liangshan.
Afterwards, in order to obtain the land deeds, one would naturally have to spend money to bribe everyone in Yuncheng.
And when spring arrives, those three thousand acres of fertile land...
We need to hire people to cultivate the land, and buy seeds and farming tools.
It can be said that every item costs money.
Chao Gai quickly poured all of his remaining wealth into the scheme.
Suddenly, even private businesses ran out of capital.
Even if he was short of money for the time being, as long as he could wait until the autumn harvest, Chao Gai would naturally be able to recover.
However, no sooner had the seeds been sown than an epidemic broke out in Sukiyaki less than two months later.
The plague then spread to Jeju Island.
. ... 0
To save their lives, the tenants hired by Chao Gai fled.
However, the few dozen servants at Chao Gai's manor were simply not enough to take care of these three thousand acres of land.
Seeing that these fertile fields are all destined for a poor harvest this year,
With nowhere else to turn, Chao Gai was even prepared to sell half of his fertile land to raise cash to get by.
At this moment, Liu Tang and Gongsun Sheng came to the door.
Upon hearing about the 100,000 strings of gold and jewels, Chao Gai immediately had an idea.
This year, Shandong was hit by an epidemic, causing land prices to plummet.
Rather than selling at a loss now,
It's more cost-effective to wait until the plague is over next year before starting to cultivate the land.
The reason I wanted to sell my land earlier was simply because I had no money to make ends meet.
Now that we have these 100,000 strings of gold and jewels, crossing the river is no longer a problem.
However, robbing the birthday gifts is a delicate matter; too few people won't work, and too many won't work either.
Chao Gai recalled that he had seen the Big Dipper in his dreams two days ago.
They then decided that the number of people who would rob the birthday gifts would be seven.
However, after bringing Wu Yong in as well,
Chao Gai couldn't find a suitable candidate for the time being.
Because of the plague, many of the Heavenly King Li Jing's brothers who were private merchants have left Shandong this year.
Other acquaintances, such as Song Jiang, Lei Heng, and Zhu Tong, all held official positions.
They certainly couldn't be involved in robbing the birthday gifts.
Wu Yong sighed, "It's a pity those three Ruan brothers went to Liangshan. Otherwise, those three would all be upright and honorable men, and they could have made a perfect pair with the four of us, forming the Big Dipper."
Chapter 216 Seven Stars Gather at Chao Family Manor
The four were worrying when a servant came to report that...
Three men came to pay their respects to the manor lord.
Chao Gai asked if he knew the other person's name.
The farmhand shook his head, saying that one of the three looked undeniably noble, while the other two were both brave and Wuhan-like.
Chao Gai apologized to Wu Yong, Liu Tang, and Gongsun Sheng.
Then they went out of the backyard and into the front hall.
In the foyer at this moment
Princess Tianshou recalled what she saw upon entering the manor: stone blocks everywhere, swords and spears scattered about, and broadswords placed in every corner.
Even the farmhands, who could be seen everywhere, all walked with a steady gait and had calloused hands, clearly having undergone considerable training.
Chao Gai truly lived up to his reputation as a renowned figure in the Jianghu (江湖, the martial arts world) of Song; even this manor he owned was extraordinary.
If we can persuade him this time, the birthday tribute matter will definitely be accomplished!
Princess Tianshou was pondering this in her mind when she saw someone enter through the hall.
His face was purplish-black, his body was robust, and his movements were like those of a wolf or a tiger. His arms, hands, and feet were all different from ordinary people, and he was clearly a master of martial arts.
After entering the hall, the man cupped his hands and said...
"I am Chao Gai, the master of this manor. May I ask where you three brothers come from?"
Princess Tianshou rose, and mimicking Chao Gai's gesture, cupped her hands in reply,
"I am originally a Han Chinese from Youzhou, surnamed Liao, named Tianshou. Due to the constant wars there, all my family property was destroyed. I took two family members and went through many hardships to finally escape to the south. I heard that people in the martial arts world say that King Chao is righteous and chivalrous, so the three of us have come to pay our respects."
Princess Tianshou and her two companions all dressed in Han Chinese attire.
He Zhongbao and He Chai were Han Chinese, while Princess Tianshou, as a noblewoman of the Liao Dynasty, spoke fluent Han Chinese.
Therefore, although Chao Gai felt that the man who spoke was somewhat delicate, he did not doubt the identities of the three men.