indianbanksassociation #248 - Dragon's Lair and Tiger's Den
#248 - Dragon's Lair and Tiger's Den
Hearing this, Liang Jin felt relieved.
“By the way, Zhao Bao, what's this about you going on a long trip?”
Liang Jin remembered what Zhao Bao had said yesterday and asked.
Hearing this, Zhao Bao's originally relaxed expression turned solemn, and a deep worry flashed in his eyes.
He said truthfully:
“Brother Jin, I'm going to carry out a very dangerous mission in another place.”
“It can be said that this trip is no different from entering a dragon's pool and a tiger's den, and even… I may never return.”
“If I really don't come back… Brother Jin, I can only entrust Xiao Lian to your care in the future.”
Zhao Bao said, feeling extremely upset.
He first drank a glass of wine, then couldn't help but pick up the wine pot and take a big gulp.
Liang Jin was surprised to hear this, he said:
“Tell me about it in detail.”
Zhao Bao wiped his mouth and then said:
“To put it simply, this is a dual mission from Consort Han and the Jishi Factory.”
“The specific situation is like this…”
Originally.
Recently, Consort Han had been in a very bad mood. Although she had successfully brought down Consort Zhang, she encountered some problems afterwards, which could be described as misfortunes never come singly.
One reason was that the emperor moved out of the palace and into a new residence, causing Consort Han to face the predicament of losing favor.
The second reason was that her father, Han Guozhang, lost an important source of funds and had no money to spend.
In the past, the tribute from the Yang family in Qingzhou to Han Guozhang every year was enough for Han Guozhang to maintain a extravagant life, and it was also enough for Han Guozhang to maintain relationships in the officialdom.
But the Yang family was suddenly exterminated overnight.
The vast wealth was also looted.
And the culprit was a newly emerging religious sect called the Taiping Dao.
This aroused Han Guozhang's wrath!
Han Guozhang immediately mobilized his connections in the officialdom to harshly criticize the evil deeds of the Taiping Dao in the court, trying to define the Taiping Dao as a rebellion and let the court suppress the Taiping Dao.
However, it happened to be the Chinese New Year, and the emperor was on vacation.
It was not easy to wait until the emperor returned from vacation, but the emperor moved to the new residence and did not ask about government affairs.
The affairs of the court were all handled by the factory director.
But the factory director had a big appetite and did not want a rebellion to happen in the country during his administration, so he did not care about the Taiping Dao at all.
If Han Guozhang wanted the factory director to mobilize the court to deal with the Taiping Dao, he would have to pay a great price.
This was something Han Guozhang could not afford.
Han Guozhang had no money, which meant that Consort Han also had no money.
Consort Han naturally could not sit idly by, she decided to personally accuse the Taiping Dao in front of the emperor.
Therefore, Consort Han decided to send her confidant Zhao Bao to Qingzhou to secretly collect evidence of the Taiping Dao's rebellion and investigate the whereabouts of the Yang family's wealth, so that it could be used when she accused the emperor.
In order to prevent the Taiping Dao from harming the Daqian court, after learning that Zhao Bao was going to collect evidence of the Taiping Dao for Consort Han, the Jishi Factory also gave Zhao Bao another task.
The Jishi Factory hoped that Zhao Bao would secretly investigate the leader of the Taiping Dao, the Great Virtuous Teacher, especially hoping that Zhao Bao would investigate the secret of the Great Virtuous Teacher's Five Thunder Righteous Method.
Speaking of this, Zhao Bao was quite helpless:
“Brother Jin, on the surface, I am Consort Han's confidant, and at the same time, I am an excellent and promising secret agent in the Jishi Factory.”
“But the redder a person is and the more promising they are, the more dangerous tasks they have to do.”
Speaking of this, Zhao Bao picked up the wine pot and couldn't help but take another big gulp.
Liang Jin was really surprised!
This Zhao Bao is actually going to Qingzhou to find trouble with the Taiping Dao?
Isn't this a case of the flood washing away the Dragon King Temple?
Immediately, Liang Jin persuaded:
“Zhao Bao, there's no need to work too hard, just deal with it when you should.”
“It doesn't matter whether you can complete the task or not, the most important thing is that people are safe and sound.”
Liang Jin certainly wanted to persuade Zhao Bao to slack off at work.
After all, this kid is going to Qingzhou to investigate the Taiping Dao.
Zhao Bao heard this and said helplessly:
“Brother Jin, of course I understand this principle. It is impossible for me to complete the tasks of Consort Han and the Jishi Factory. This is too difficult.”
“Especially those guys in the Jishi Factory, no one dares to accept the task of investigating the Taiping Dao. Isn't it because they see that I am promising but have a humble position, so they forced this task on me.”
“But as long as I go to the Taiping Dao's territory in Qingzhou, I will already be in danger.”
Liang Jin heard this and coughed twice:
“Taiping Dao, is it really that dangerous?”
He thought about it carefully, the Taiping Dao hadn't dared to do anything harmful to nature.
How could it become like a dragon's pool and a tiger's den in Zhao Bao's mouth?
Zhao Bao sighed:
“Brother Jin, you don't understand the Taiping Dao.”
“But I have carefully analyzed the Taiping Dao's information in the Jishi Factory these days.”
“That Taiping Dao is born with rebellious bones!”
“They do not respect the court, nor are they afraid of the law. In Qingzhou City, they even openly confronted the garrison army and the Six Doors, and even unscrupulously slaughtered the Yang family and looted their property.”
“And in Qingzhou, from the government to the people, all walks of life, all cities and counties, are all eyes and ears of the Taiping Dao. Even the states near Qingzhou are widely distributed with Taiping Dao believers.”
“Especially that Great Virtuous Teacher, not only is his origin mysterious, but his martial arts are even more unfathomable. Moreover, he is cruel by nature, resourceful, and extremely good at bewitching people's hearts.”
“The strong men under his command are all bloodthirsty and fearless, and they have been brainwashed to be wholeheartedly loyal to the Great Virtuous Teacher.”
“This Taiping Dao is a fierce place. It is simply death for anyone who wants to lurk and investigate the evidence of this organization's crimes.”
Zhao Bao finished speaking, with a bitter and helpless expression on his face.
Liang Jin couldn't help but open his mouth wide.
In the Jishi Factory's intelligence, is the Taiping Dao described as so unbearable and so fierce?
But Liang Jin thought about it carefully.
This intelligence is quite accurate.
The Taiping Dao has indeed done these things and has the corresponding power.
This…
Liang Jin couldn't help but cough twice:
“Zhao Bao, it's okay.”
“I believe that this trip will not only be smooth, but also safe return.”
On the grounds of Qingzhou, Liang Jin could naturally ensure Zhao Bao's safety.
However, Zhao Bao only took Liang Jin's words as comfort.
Liang Jin stood guard in the imperial palace every day, knowing very little about the outside world.
Moreover, Qingzhou was thousands of miles away, so how could Liang Jin know about the matters of the Taiping Dao?
Therefore, Zhao Bao could only drink alone for a while in silence, and then got up to bid farewell.
"Brother Jin, I'm leaving tomorrow."
"This meeting today, I don't know if it's the last time we'll see each other."
"If something really happens to me, don't avenge me."
"Please help me… You must take good care of Xiao Lian!"
Seeing that the wine was finished, Zhao Bao got up to say goodbye.
After Zhao Bao left, Liang Jin finally couldn't suppress his forced smile.
He drank while laughing, shaking his head helplessly.
But thinking about it, it made sense.
The style of the Jishi Factory was to strike hard at officials and common people within the system, but to be fearful of organizations and forces that dared to rebel or cause trouble.
After all, the people of the Jishi Factory were all very precious and naturally cherished their lives.
Their duty was to monitor the officials for the emperor, collect intelligence, and investigate cases.
After all, they were not soldiers going to the front line to fight.
They were good at playing power games, but not good at dealing with rebellions.
People like Cang Du, who could lead people abroad to investigate cases deep in the Western Desert, were, after all, in the minority.
Most of them, as Zhao Bao said, would shirk difficult and dangerous tasks and force them on newcomers like Zhao Bao who lacked background.
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Only this time.
Liang Jin also had to think carefully about how to let Zhao Bao make some contributions and bring them back, so that he would not be too harshly treated by Consort Han Gui and the Jishi Factory.
Afterwards, Liang Jin still seriously finished all the food.
He wasn't used to wasting things.
After eating, Liang Jin got up and left Zuifeng Tower.
He went to the bustling street for a stroll, enjoying this rare vacation time.
Along the way, Liang Jin actually saw a group of people wearing yellow turbans on the street.
They were spreading the Taiping Dao everywhere, teaching the "Taiping Jing."
Last time on vacation, Liang Jin had only seen one person from the Taiping Dao.
But now, he actually saw more than a dozen.
If he counted the ones he didn't see, there would probably be even more.
Obviously, in these days, the Taiping Dao had also made good progress in the capital.
This also made Liang Jin secretly decide that he must determine the person in charge of the Taiping Dao in the capital as soon as possible and establish a branch of the Taiping Dao.
Even in the capital, there were many believers, so naturally, there was no need to say more about other places.
The development of the Taiping Dao had actually exceeded Liang Jin's own expectations, which was indeed a gratifying thing.
At this moment.
Suddenly, a shout came:
"Liang Jin! Hey! Liang Jin!"
"Here, over here!"
Liang Jin raised his head in response to the sound.
He saw someone waving at him from the third-floor window of a restaurant on the street.
That person was actually his superior, Wu Huan.
"Liang Jin, come up!"
"Come up quickly!"
Wu Huan waved at Liang Jin and shouted.
Liang Jin glanced at the restaurant.
Yayun Xuan.
This was a high-end restaurant in the capital, catering to dignitaries and nobles.
Wu Huan's little money was not enough to spend in this kind of place.
It seemed that the host today was someone else, and their identity was not low.
And Liang Jin had a rough guess in his heart.
But since Wu Huan was calling him, Liang Jin couldn't refuse.
So Liang Jin entered Yayun Xuan and went straight to the third floor.
After entering the private room where Wu Huan's window was located, he saw that those sitting at the table were a group of sturdy men.
Liang Jin glanced at them and roughly recognized them.
These were all mid-to-high-level officers in the Imperial Guards!
Obviously, this was a dinner party for Imperial Guard officers.
In addition to the acquaintance Wu Huan, there was also the Chief Clerk Fang Qianfeng and Battalion Commander Xi Rong, whom he had met during his last vacation.
And sitting in the main seat was a strong and powerful middle-aged man with dark skin.
He looked to be in his fifties, with a strong military aura, indicating at least decades of military career.
Especially the way he sat upright, and the orderly placement of the bowls and chopsticks in front of him, suggested some compulsions developed in the military.
Liang Jin naturally recognized him.
He would appear every time the Southern Imperial Guard camp held a military exercise.
He was the Deputy Commander of the Southern Imperial Guard, Hong Wei.
"Subordinate greets all the lords!"
Liang Jin immediately saluted the group of officers.
His attention was secretly focused on Hong Wei.
In the past, Liang Jin had never been able to see Hong Wei's strength clearly, but now he could feel it clearly.
Hong Wei's aura was terrifying, probably even above Zou Cifeng, the number one expert in Dongzhou that his Hualongmen clone had encountered, but lower than most of the elders of Hualongmen.
Which proved that Hong Wei was at least a Third-Rank expert!
But he would definitely not be in the early stage of the Third-Rank, at least in the middle or late stage.
At this time.
Wu Huan immediately smiled and introduced to everyone:
"Everyone, this is Liang Jin, whom I mentioned just now."
"This kid is a rare talent, he is…"
Before Wu Huan could finish speaking, he saw the Deputy Commander of the Imperial Guard, Hong Wei, slowly raise his hand.
So Wu Huan wisely closed his mouth and sat back in his seat.
Hong Wei stared at Liang Jin with his eyes.
He asked in a deep voice:
"I've heard of you, you are very close to the descendants of Marquis Anqing?"
Liang Jin knew that Hong Wei was talking about Xue Feng.
Immediately, Liang Jin replied:
"Reporting to the Commander, Xue Feng and I are just standing guard together."
"He and I are not on the same path."
Hong Wei snorted:
"Of course, I know that you and he are not on the same path, otherwise I would not have let you continue to guard Prince Huaiyang with him."
"Liang Jin, you should have been at the banquet of the Prince Huaiyang's heir today, why didn't you go?"